#like overall i think amnesty was good but

[yardsards]

clint mcelroy creating a dnd character: oh yeah, this bad boy can fit so much simple zest for life in him

[eyesopod]

i think its so strange how taz went from seen as like. good/fun dnd content, and then taz graduation happened and it became cringe (as if balance and amnesty arent fully separated from that but thts not the point), and now it just like. doesnt exist in dnd media spheres online. like taz trended after every single new episode of amnesty when it was coming out, and graduation just fucking killed it

[dindjarindiaries]

The Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 3: Direct Parallels

After rewatching The Mandalorian season 3 cohesively and thinking back to season 1, I came upon a realization that every episode of season 3 somehow directly parallels back to each respective episode of season 1. Below is a breakdown going episode-by-episode and diving deep into each parallel I noticed. Please keep in mind that these are my observations and theories, nothing more!

CHAPTER 1: THE MANDALORIAN & CHAPTER 17: THE APOSTATE

“Chapter 1: The Mandalorian” is all about setting up Din Djarin’s journey, mainly the job he’s tasked with that causes him to cross paths with a new ally, Grogu. “Chapter 17: The Apostate”—like many season openers—accomplishes the same thing: setting up Din’s journey and causing him to cross paths with a reluctant ally, Bo-Katan Kryze. IG-11 is an important part of each episode and helps to bring some comedic relief to the screen. In Chapter 1, Din utters the infamous “I like those odds” line when his odds are 4 to 1. Din also finds himself with 4 to 1 odds during the pirate showdown, where he takes down four of them and leaves Vane standing. Lastly, Chapter 1 reveals that the job Din’s taken is a very difficult one that other hunters either can’t complete or refuse to. Chapter 17 proves that Din’s journey to Mandalore is also seemingly impossible and many others refuse to do it.

CHAPTER 2: THE CHILD & CHAPTER 18: THE MINES OF MANDALORE

“Chapter 2: The Child” seals the bond between Din and Grogu as Din faces trials in his journey to bringing Grogu back to Nevarro. “Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore” seals the bond between Din and Bo-Katan as allies while Din faces trials in his journey to redemption on Mandalore. In both episodes, Grogu has to rescue Din when he’s in danger, and both times he tries to use the Force to do so. Each episode also features Din fighting off an ambush on his own, though that tends to be pretty common for him. Both episodes also featured a creature that hasn’t been seen in Star Wars live action before: the mudhorn and the Mythosaur, respectively. By the end of each of these episodes, Din’s gained at least one new ally and has accomplished his original goal (getting Grogu back to Nevarro and earning his redemption).

CHAPTER 3: THE SIN & CHAPTER 19: THE CONVERT

“Chapter 3: The Sin” and “Chapter 19: The Convert” both see their protagonists going against a set of rules they’re expected to follow in order to further what they view as the greater good. In Chapter 3, it’s Din breaking the Guild Code to rescue Grogu. In Chapter 19, it’s Penn Pershing breaking the rules of the Amnesty Program to restart his research. Both episodes feature a betrayal of sorts, Greef Karga and Elia Kane respectively. Additionally, the Children of the Watch in both episodes—most notably Paz Vizsla—start both episodes off by being hostile towards Din only to end up helping him in some way. In Chapter 3, it was saving him and Grogu from the hunters, and in Chapter 19, it was accepting his redemption as well as Bo-Katan’s. Each episode title also uses religious language.

CHAPTER 4: SANCTUARY & CHAPTER 20: THE FOUNDLING

“Chapter 4: Sanctuary” and “Chapter 20: The Foundling” each start off a 3-episode run of different adventures that fill in the storytelling space and offer the characters time to face trials and grow before the overall story starts to wrap up. In Chapter 4, Cara Dune mostly leads the effort to rescue the village. Bo-Katan fills this same role in Chapter 20 by leading the Mandalorians to rescuing the foundling. Interestingly enough, both these episodes also are some of the only to address how and when a Mandalorian should remove their helmets to eat. Chapter 4 offers some Din backstory that he gives to Omera while Chapter 20 offers some Grogu backstory. At the end of each episode, the rescues are complete, but another call to adventure haunts the protagonists.

CHAPTER 5: THE GUNSLINGER & CHAPTER 21: THE PIRATE

These two are probably the hardest to draw parallels on. “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger” starts with a dogfight, while “Chapter 21: The Pirate” features quite a long dogfight as well. Peli Motto was originally meant to appear in Chapter 21 and her introduction to the Star Wars galaxy was in Chapter 5. Fennec Shand tells Din of the Mandalorians’ fate on Nevarro in Chapter 5, but in Chapter 21, the Mandalorians are the ones taking down others on Nevarro. Each episode also leaves off on a cliffhanger that isn’t resolved by the next episode, with Chapter 5 featuring Boba Fett saving Fennec and Chapter 21 featuring the New Republic finding beskar within a destroyed shuttle.

CHAPTER 6: THE PRISONER & CHAPTER 22: GUNS FOR HIRE

This one has some of my favorite parallels, and for no good reason! In “Chapter 6: The Prisoner,” Din teams up with mercenaries he used to work for, while we see in “Chapter 22: Guns For Hire” that Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, and other Mandalorians have become their own band of mercenaries. Both episodes feature Din being very hostile towards droids, even more so than usual. They also both include notable cameos, Bill Burr and Matt Lanter for Chapter 6 and Lizzo, Jack Black, and Christopher Lloyd for Chapter 22. In Chapter 6, Din is against the side of the law, while in Chapter 22, Din is united with Bo-Katan on the side of the law. The end of Chapter 6 saw Ranzar Malk and Qin sharing some choice words about Din while the end of Chapter 22 saw Axe also sharing some choice words about Din. (It’s fun how similar these two episodes are to each other in my head!)

CHAPTER 7: THE RECKONING & CHAPTER 23: THE SPIES

“Chapter 7: The Reckoning” and “Chapter 23: The Spies” each act as a part one of the overall grand finale of their respective seasons, with each ending on a devastating cliffhanger of a main supporting character’s tragic death. Both episodes start with a somewhat reluctant team-up of Din’s collected allies to continue a journey. Each episode is also Moff Gideon’s first appearance in their respective seasons, with both featuring Moff Gideon’s holographic image on a call before his actual physical appearance. Both episodes see the groups venturing across a desolate landscape to get to where they need to go only to get led into an ambush. In Chapter 7, it’s Grogu who gets captured by Gideon, while in Chapter 23, it’s Din who gets captured by Gideon. Additionally, each episode has peril in which allies cannot be contacted by comms. Lastly, as referenced before, Chapter 7 ends with Kuiil’s tragic death, and Chapter 23 ends with Paz’s.

CHAPTER 8: REDEMPTION & CHAPTER 24: THE RETURN

“Chapter 8: Redemption” and “Chapter 24: The Return” both end on a hopeful and somewhat peaceful note for Din and Grogu with a brand-new call to action. In Chapter 8, Moff Gideon blows up Din, while in Chapter 24, Moff Gideon gets blown up. Grogu protects Din and his allies from fire in both Chapter 8 as well as Chapter 24. In Chapter 8, the Armorer tells Din he is as Grogu’s father, while in Chapter 24, Din officially adopts Grogu as his son. Din earns a mudhorn signet for Grogu in Chapter 8 and Grogu earns part of Din’s name in Chapter 24. IG-11 sacrifices himself in Chapter 8, but comes back to life to serve as the marshal of Nevarro in Chapter 24. Both episodes contain big battle scenes that eventually lead to an entire planet being liberated. Chapter 8 features the Darksaber’s first appearance in live action, while Chapter 24 features the destruction of that same weapon. Finally, Chapter 8 sees Din and Grogu leaving Nevarro, but Chapter 24 sees Din and Grogu staying there in a home of their own.

[liminal-zone]

fanfic round up 2023

(2021, 2022)

LIST OF FANWORKS

Posted

Crave (LOTR | haladriel | tentacles and rings of power | rated E)

somewhere in the haze (LOTR | Celeborn/Sauron | mutual stockholm syndrome | rated M)

taking me with your song (The Little Mermaid (2023) | Ariel/Eric, Ariel/Ursula | tentacles and possession and mindfuckery | rated E)

can't escape the ghost of you (The 100 | clexa, clarke/the judge | being fucked by the divine wearing the face of your dead lover is better than therapy | rated M)

Eating fire (SPN | Claire Novak | the girl who was castiel grieves for her fathers | rated T)

Bound (SPN | megstiel | a demon and her angel | rated NR)

uncharted territory (Supergirl | supercorp | the dangers of being hated by a luthor | rated M) (technically, just chapter 4 counts for 2023)

nothing can go wrong when you're in love (Nimona (2023) | Nimona/Gloreth | when your boss’ boyfriend looks like your ex, ugh! | rated Gen)

through a father’s eyes (Narnia | King Lune | dads gotta dad | rated Gen)

atomic blonde (Narnia, LOTR | Susan/Eowyn | it’s not the first time a power beyond understanding ripped Susan away from her home to fight in another world’s war | rated M)

Beware how you give your heart (LOTR | haladriel | a fourth age haunting | rated M) (a wip!!)

a little touch in the night (LOTR | haladriel | a love letter in tiny bites | rated T)

+three yuletide offerings to be revealed in January!

WIPS

MCU: the king and queen of Asgard wrt Valkyrie/Carol Danvers

MCU: the final conclusion of my winterbaron sugar daddy fic

LOTR: Doriath trash party wrt Melian/Galadriel

LOTR: “Sauron becomes a tree”

LOTR: dark Galadriel/Samwise and their garden of the world

LOTR: healing generational trauma with fourth age Arwen and her peepaw

The Matrix: Trinity and Smith as mirrors

Good Omens: Crowley haunted by his angel

Star Wars: A really scandalous dinluke sex pollen

Total number of completed works/fandoms written in: fifteen completed works in 2023 for a total of just over 32k words; six LOTR, two SPN, two Narnia, the rest sundry & various.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: ::taps the top of this car:: you can put so much monsterfucking in this bad boy, jfc.

PERSONAL FAVORITE: Getting unblocked by the most unlikeliest of sources and FINISHING MY SUPERCORP HATESEX. uncharted territory finished FIVE YEARS LATER. This has been a weight on my shoulders for years; I always knew it ended with a sadistic Lex Luthor torturing Kara (oop), but it was time passing and The Flash (2023) that got me where I needed to be to get that banged out. I’m really really pleased how that ended, and that I actually can finish a WIP.

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED: Bound is really exceptional. It was part of my WIP amnesty week, and a revisitation and remix of a meg masters fic I wrote in 2013 after I had a terrible life-altering accident. My favorite 2023 additions are how she can only speak in the language of Sodom at the end. It’s not a GREAT fic, but I really love Meg and I love Meg & Castiel.

MOST POPULAR: Definitely Nimona (nothing can go wrong when you're in love) with 1,200+ kudos. Y’all, the teen/gen fic in younger fandoms hits hard. OOPS. re: my deeply funny stats for the little mermaid tentacles fic with over 3k hits and 86 kudos. AHAHHAHAH. welp.

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT: OKAY, so this is sexy specific to me: in Crave, Galadriel taunts Sauron about how he has to fuck Ar-Pharazôn (a mini love letter to my beloved 5ummit!) and this, to me, is everything: “And you’ll never enjoy Ar-Pharazôn’s little prick again,” she says, drinking in the horror of his recent memories, a soured scheme. “Your play at feigned pleasure in service to a base creature will be ash in your mouth now. You will only think of the taste of my cunt with his cock shoved in your whore mouth.” The crass words burn on her lips but she can sense how he trembles, even in this form. “You’ll hunger for the taste of me. And when he’s dead, when you’ve sucked the miserable mortal life out of him, you’ll never take a lover again for the rest of your unnatural life,” she says. “You know where your dick should be sheathed. In me and no where else.”

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE: Okay, I traveled for work a LOT this year and one night I was feeling down and angry about the world and asked on twitter that for every like, I’d write a soft haladriel headcanon and by the end of the night, i had the bulk of a little touch in the night and I was such a happy delighted lil soul. Such a highlight of the year.

HARDEST: A tie between Crave, which was writing on hard mode since I’m violently anti dominant Sauron (oop), and uncharted territory since I had been blocked for years.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The delicious lush connection of Celeborn/Sauron in somewhere in the haze that STARTED AS A JOKE and now I’m full rarepair conspiracy theory into it.

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR? Posting SPN in 2023, lol what was that. And neither of them explicitly destiel. Girl. Both tanked but I love those two fics.

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY: Okay, one of my yuletides this year is really too close to something I’m working through in therapy. Oop.

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES: Okay literally everything in atomic blonde, that fic is nonstop bangers imho. I love this especially:

“Ah, there it is,” he replies. Stops, and turns to look into her eyes. To drink in her fury. “This isn’t your world, Daughter of Eve. Take your cursed horn and your beautiful face and take the little shieldmaiden too for all I care and leave Middle Earth to me. Grow old and find joy in women’s work.” He blinks, nonsense words emerging out of him: “In Christian Dior dresses and Chanel lipstick, in Italian leather handbags and silk nylons, in handsome British officers and those American boys who offer more than kisses, in the rumble of a Jaguar and the cries of healthy babies who do not fear war. Live and die on an island far, far away.” He blinks again. “I do not want you here.”

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023: Repeatedly saying “you hear me, baby? hold together” at the haladriel fandom like Han Solo does to the Millennium Falcon and we did! We made it another year!!! Let’s go, 2024!!!! (YOU HEAR ME, BABY. HOLD TOGETHER.)

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS: same as last year’s: Write more steadily and consistently. Get back into the drabble mode. Make time, take time, just do it. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, it just has to be creating something. The joy of creation is like nothing else. Chase that high.

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON: Jan 1 - htp trash fic exchange Feb 3 - rffa exchange March - haladriel exchange!

[fionajames]

Hey!!! How’s the concussion? Hope it’s almost healed. How are you since the last time I’ve asked?

Requesting time: may I pretty please with a cherry on top have a story about an AU where the wars over and all our fav clones have been recognized as citizens and all have their dream jobs (what do you think they would be) please?

If that’s too hard, may I substitute it with a little story about Xi (I believe that’s his name?) the clone who got sick from one of my other requests and has a little crush on General Skywalker?

Thank you so much, hope you’re well, have a great day! -Sha 🫡

fix-it-fox au

HI SHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

I MIGHT DO UR SECOND IDEA LATER, BUT RN IM DEAD

ok so guys, originally i was also gonna do headcanons for all my clone ocs and i wrote a few but gave up cause its been hours.

also, yes, normal dogs and cats and their various breeds exist in this.

have some headcanons:

(writing below the cut)

Overall

The Clones get like, idk imma just say money but basically they get a bunch of money to make up for not getting paid but especially to make sure they’re not gonna end up homeless.

Most Clones live in groups as it feels unnatural for them not too.  (i feel like im doing a david attenborough documentary rn, read: ‘most clones live in groups’ in david’s voice, go check him out if you dunno him)

The Clones are then all ‘employed’ by the GAR (they’re not rlly given a chance, as the senate wouldnt fully permit them to just become civvies, padme, chuchi and bail as well as some others managed to negotiate this, which was the best why could do). This means they can have other jobs and are only called upon if there is a problem that requires them. Sorta like how the Jedi were before that, but different.

Most Clones move to planet Nay-Mets (an anagram of amnesty, i think this is funny because the definition of amnesty is ‘an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offences’ which is kinda what the anti-clone people would think about them, so its like the clones r saying ‘we dont care what you think’ and owning it) - which I have made up. Nay-Mets is a planet of earthy terrain, with lakes and rivers running through it. Its beautiful, and had a sparse and small population until the clones arrived. The clones are careful with what they do to the land and care for it dearly. The Non-Clone civvies are very welcoming and help the Clones build homes and other things. They moved into a town that had been uninhabited for a year or so for no real reason. Only a month after the end of the war, Nay-Mets is busy and buzzing, with Clones and Non-Clones.

Bail Organa has become Chancellor and is pushing everything for Clone rights. Between him, Chuchi and Padme - plus some other senators - they’ve gotten good and better rights for the Clones.

Anakin lives with Padme on Naboo. When the war ended, he ended up telling Obi-Wan about his marriage who happily informed him the Council was changing the code to allow such things. 

Anakin is off-world when Luke and Leia are born, but feels it through the Force. He rushes home (Obi-Wan orders him to, claiming he can finish the battle by himself) and cries upon meeting his children.

Obi-Wan visits Naboo before returning to Coruscant and immediately feels the tug towards Luke, who’s Force is a blanket of warmth and sunlight. Ahsoka comes as soon as Anakin comms her (which is pretty quickly, and rather excitedly) and upon meeting Leia, she can’t help but hear the raindrops and feel the moonlight she emits to her. Luke has a special bond with Obi-Wan, just as Leia has a bond with Ahsoka. 

Even though Palpatine is dead, the events of the other seasons take place, but slightly differently. The battles that do take place (no way im specifying, i dont have the patience for that) are run by Dooku. He’s keeping the war going, but without Palpatine, it’s hard. He’s captured by Anakin, then Grievous is killed by Obi-Wan. Dooku goes to jail.

Ahsoka still gets the message from Bo-Katan and frees Mandalore. She captures Maul who is taken to trial and he is the reason that the trial against Fox finally proved him not-guilty (well, guilty but fairly).

Order 66 never happens (no shit) and the Kaminoans are ordered to de-chip every single Clone. They are taken to jail immediately afterwards. Some Clones remain on Kamino to raise the youngers, and Shaak Ti ends up taking control of the whole place.

During this time period, after the Kaminoans were arrested, the Bad Batch stumble upon a certain blonde girl hiding in a lab. Hunter - seeing no reason not to - immediately ‘adopts’ her. 

Some cadets and baby Clones leave Kamino, but these are only ones who have an older Clone who has managed to snag legal custody over them. These guys aren’t very common, as they didn’t have much exposure to older Clones, but it’s not so bad.

Shaak Ti begins to make the Clones’ training intertwined with schooling, and also give them excursions off-planet. The young Clones no longer hate Kamino like so many of their elders did.

Alongside the de-chipping process, Clones are all given a vaccine that returns their ageing to normal, meaning they get to live normal, long lives.

Oh and Ahsoka is paid for helping Mandalore, so she’s no longer broke.

Rex

As soon as the war is over, Rex goes and visits Cut.

He isn’t really sure what to do at first, as he’s put his heart and soul into the GAR, and now he doesn’t have to.

He follows Ahsoka around like a lost puppy because she’s got more experience with civilian life, and frankly, he’s missed his sister. He does help Fives whilst he’s recovering from his trauma and as a result, it's Fives and Rex bunking at Ahsoka’s place for a bit (she pretends to be annoyed but she really isn’t).

Eventually she convinces him to take Fives and Jesse (who’s been crashing on her couch and making ramen at 3am for a few weeks) and go get a house. This is because the Clones are given… like, money, because they didn’t get paid during the war.

So Rex, Jesse and Fives get a place next door to the Bad Batch (including Echo and Omega) and end up knocking down the fence separating the two houses and building a hallway between them so it’s like one big, slightly separated house.

Rex slowly begins to relax as a civilian, but still is a bit too rigid. He’s the third person to meet Luke and Leia (aside from Anakin and Padme, ofc) - first being Obi-Wan and second Ahsoka. He’s utterly honoured but immediately uneasy, as he hasn’t had much exposure to children. 

But Luke, with his mighty force connection, sees Rex and is instantly puppy-eyed, and won’t stop crying until his uncle holds him. This boosts Rex’s confidence a lot, and he finds himself visiting a lot.

Rex wears mostly hoodies and baggy/cargo pants. The first time he put a hoodie on, he did that thing where you pull it over your knees and curl up. He didn’t move for hours. Ahsoka went out the next day and put him a ton, mostly blue ofc.

His favourite hoodie is the custom one Fives got for him (although he’ll never admit it aloud). It’s blue and white - the 501st’s colours, ofc - with his jaig eyes on the front. On the back is his CT number, but with a line through it and below, his name. Fives says he wants everyone to know that they’re not numbers, they’re people. Rex cried when he heard.

Rex doesn’t get a job at first, and instead helps Fives, Jesse and Echo out in their cafe when needed. Eventually, he turns his farming hobby (something he’d picked up to use his time) into profit and attends the farmers’ market to sell products.

Echo

Echo didn’t really know when the war ended, until the Bad Batch came and rescued him. 

Even after being sweetly reunited by Fives, he struggles mentally and physically, unused to being a cyborg. 

He finds himself staying with the Bad Batch the most, because of his newly found troubles. When it comes to house-arrangements, he has a talk with Fives, and they agree to live separately, but everyone knows you can often find them in the other’s house anyways.

He ends up running a cafe with Jesse and Fives that becomes popular very quickly. His favourite thing to have is a hot chocolate with a choc-chip cookie, which he often does whilst reading a book at the counter.

Speaking of books, Echo is finally exposed to books, like, fictional books. Although others were shocked, Echo prefers fiction over non-fiction, as he likes the made-up stuff. He wishes desperately he had it growing up and with that thought, he and Shaak Ti teamed up to get the cadets and baby Clones on Kamino books.

Echo cries when he gets his custom hoodie. It’s like the rest of the Bad Batch’s with the grey, black, red and white pattern and ofc his crossed out CT number and name on the back, but there’s also a blue hand print where it was on his armour. 

He wears his hoodie everywhere, much like Rex.

Other than his hoodie, Echo mostly wears baggy long-sleeved stuff in an attempt to cover his robotic screwdriver-thing hand. Anakin offered to get someone to remove it and replace it with a prosthetic hand like his own but Echo denied it. He's proud of it, but a little self-conscious.

Echo’s a lil more shy than he was before, but still his sarcastic goofy self. He buys a bike (bicycle) when he arrives on Nay Mets, and rides it everywhere. Its not uncommon to see him riding his bike through the hills at 6am.

Fives

Because of the whole ‘Tup’ incident, Fives’ mental health has deteriorated drastically. Rex is his biggest help, alongside Echo and as well as Jesse and Ahsoka.

Because of this, he goes with Rex when he moves into Ahsoka’s apartment temporarily. They basically get two mattresses and chuck them in an empty room, sleeping on the floor (on the mattresses tho) with blankets, but its so much comfier than their bunks.

Fives starts becoming his usual self a bit quicker than expected, especially when he arrives on Nay Mets.

He ofc runs the cafe with Jesse and Echo, and is the main drink maker. He makes the best milkshakes.

After a bit, Fives ends up assembling a group of Jedi and Clones to help him get hoodies for almost all the Clones. It takes a few months but with him learning to sew, dozens of others doing the same and various people across the galaxy being paid to make them, the hoodies are distributed everywhere.

He designs his last, and its pretty simple with the blue and white markings and his crossed out CT number and name.

Like most Clones, he prefers comfy and baggy clothes, wearing mostly hoodies and baggy pants. He develops a love for beanies.

Fives takes up electric guitar as his hobby, and thoroughly enjoys it. 

When he first meets Padme, she hugs him and comforts him without a second’s hesitation. He cracks immediately and cries. She spends the entire day calming him and comforting him, and she’s self-employed herself as his unpaid therapist.

He returns to Naboo to visit Padme regularly, and his General, ofc. 

To everyones’ delight, when Leia is toddlerish age and her rebellious side is evident, Fives becomes more like himself as he assists her in getting into trouble.

Anakin and Padme don’t mind having to clean off the noticeably washable marker from the walls when Fives starts laughing again. They’re grateful he’s getting better, and that he chooses to use materials easy to clean up.

Jesse

Jesse spends the first few weeks of his civvie life going absolutely nuts in trying to experience stuff. 

He quickly realises that he has no home and ends up crashing on Ahsoka’s couch. She pretends to get annoyed at him when he constantly gets up at unholy hours to make ramen but she frankly is glad he’s doing well.

He’s the one to organise a house for him, Rex and Fives on Nay Mets.

He ofc runs the cafe with Echo and Fives, and he’s the cooking expert. He’s well known in the town for his delicious foods and alongside Fives’ excellent drinks, its what gets the cafe popular quickly.

His hoodie is the same as Fives’, but with his number and name, ofc.

It’s only been six weeks since the War ended when Jesse arrives home with a sheepish grin and a box that moves. He giddily reveals a black and blue merle mudi dog (such a cute breed, go google it, you wont regret) that he names Tundra. Tundra is rather quiet for his breed (never had this breed but during researching, it says the bark a lot, sorry if thats not true) but filled with energy and affection. 

Jesse and Tundra are rarely separated. When Jesse has work, he brings Tundra. He either sleeps on the floor whilst watching or will go out to the fenced-in area through the dog door they installed in the cafe.

Jesse adapts rather quickly to civvie life and really enjoys it. 

Kix

Kix has pretty mixed-feelings post-war.

He loves being a civvie but can’t help but find himself up late at night, waiting to attend to a wound of sorts.

At first, Kix is really anxious and uncomfortable with being aware from the battlefield. Jesse tries to get through to him but ultimately fails, as Kix needs alone time.

Anakin sees his medic in distress and tells Padme. She immediately agrees to let Kix live with them on Naboo until he can regain his footing, no matter how long that takes. 

Kix spends his almost-three months on Naboo recollecting himself and then turns to Jesse, who immediately agrees to let him move in with him, Fives and Rex. 

Kix ends up taking a job at the hospital, and instantly finds himself better footing. Its much easier for him after he takes up the job.

His hoodie is the usual but with his red medic symbol on the shoulder. He wears it as much as possibly, and thanks Fives almost daily for the gift.

When they were de-chipping, after he got his removed, Kix worked tirelessly to remove the other Clones’ chips. He was thrown a ‘thank you’ party afterwards by all the Clones he helped. 

Cody

Cody’s immediate reaction is relief.

He’s just grateful the war is over.

The first few weeks he spends living with Obi-Wan (idc if you see this as a ship or platonic, basically the embodiment of the ‘and they were roommates vine’ tbh) as he doesn’t really have any where else to go.

Eventually, he moves to Nay Mets like many others, and takes Meerrt and Vick with him. They have a room for Obi-Wan which is used a lot more than expected, but they love having their Jedi over.

Cody’s hoodie is the usual, in yellow of course. 

He spends most of his first few months reading and experiencing life as a civilian (alongside making the best cinnamon scrolls you’ll ever taste) but eventually gets a job at a kindergarten, of all the places.

Unexpectedly, Cody works really well with kids, and it really shows. He becomes an idol to a lot of little kids on Nay Mets.

Upon meeting Luke and Leia, he takes up a job as unofficial babysitter when Padme and Anakin need a break. 

Cody wears mostly sweaters and cargo pants - like so many other Clones - and a golden bracelet with a sun charm attached. He doesn’t take it off.

He also starts learning violin, and really enjoys that too.

He’s one of the first to get de-chipped, and waits until his battalion have also been de-chipped to even leave Kamino. This is mostly because Obi-Wan got annoyed when he found out Cody wasn’t sleeping out of worry.

Wolffe

Wolffe’s immediate reaction was also relief, but in a sarcastic way. Like, ‘oh we’re finally done?!’ But deep down, he is super glad.

He stays with Plo and several others from his battalion before finding a place on Nay Mets with them. Plo lives more on Nay Mets than Coruscant, just like many other Jedi do too.

When he gets his hoodie - the usual but in grey with a small wolf symbol on the front - he breaks and grins, giving Fives a huge hug. But he then blackmails him into not telling anyone he did.

Wolffe wears his hoodie everywhere, rarely takes it off. He likes the ‘not a number’ statement that comes with it.

He also wears like thick, fluffy winter coats and cargo pants a lot, with the occasional bad-ass leather jacket.

He attempts to get a job somewhere, but can’t really find one that works, so he stays unemployed. 

After a little while, Wolffe adopts a grey, male tamaskan dog (also beautiful, check it out, they look like wolves) he names Fang. Everyone thinks its hysterical he got a dog that looks like wolf.

Wolffe and Fang are also inseparable.

Wolffe finds himself enjoying hiking and does it almost daily, with Fang joining him. He finds it peaceful and enjoyable.

Fox

Fox is ofc the one who basically ended the war, or at least he majorly turned the tables.

He’s so relieved when its finally over.

He’s one of the first Clones to move to Nay Mets, and ofc Dhole, Vector, Menace, Dice and Bloodshot tag along. They live in one great big house.

Almost immediately, Fox impulsively adopts a ginger tabby she-cat he names Pumpkin. She’s a beautiful, silly cat and Fox has zero regrets in getting her.

He lets her be a very free cat as he feels bad for being any other way.

His hoodie is red and white with the usual and a fox symbol on the front. He loves sweaters.

He wasn’t really looking for a job at first, and eventually decided to stay unemployed.

Fox picks up piano as a way to calm himself, and grows to become a great pianist. He practises practically all day with Pumpkin sitting on his lap.

He regularly goes for long walks and takes Pumpkin, cause she’s that kinda cat. 

Once there was an incident in town when a guy lost it and started shooting or smth and Fox just calmly tackled him (that's an oxymoron lol) and got someone to arrest him. He was really quiet afterwards.

When he got his chip removed, Fox became a lot more quiet for a little. This was because he could finally hear properly. When he had the chip, he always heard a little voice in his head, something he now knew was Palpatine.

OK IM DONE

MIGHT POST PT 2 LATER (A FEW DAYS)

PLEASE REQUEST THINGS PEOPLE, CHECK THE PINNED POST ON MY BLOG FOR INFO.

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<3

[utilitycaster]

Didnt realize you were a long time listener of TAZ - ive found it to be very hit-or-miss personally, but id be interested to hear your opinions on each of the seasons (or just your favourite and why if thats too long an ask)

Sure! A brief opinion on each season with some notes on mini-arcs.

Balance: extremely strong story, but, I will admit, having met people who are longtime D&D players and not actual play fans, TAZ Balance is the example I think of, because I like both but MAN do they play fast and loose at times. I am already a "no, you gotta read the rulebook too" kind of person but for TAZ Balance it really is like "please forget basically everything that occurred on a mechanics level and just vibe with the narrative." Of the Balance arcs, Crystal Kingdom was my favorite at the time but I think I need to give the Eleventh Hour another listen at some point for timeloop reasons; it does culminate really well.

Amnesty: I binged Balance first but I think Amnesty served for some time as the strongest marriage of a good story and a rule set that supported it, plus a setting that the McElroys clearly understood and deeply loved. I still think it might be their strongest overall, and people who left it because it wasn't More Balance are weak and will not survive the winter.

Graduation: ngl despite having purchased a book that is sort of a Magic Academia Book at a used bookstore last week and being a Fantasy High fan I feel like my tolerance for Magical Academia has really not been maintained. Like can we stop pastiching Harry Potter. Between Rowling being a rabid transphobe and me being tired of my nostalgia being strip-mined when it wasn't that deep anyway I just think we should start parodying literally anything else that was popular among children in the late 1990s/early 2000s. I did love The Firbolg though. It was fine, basically, but I suspect if it hadn't aired during the pandemic when I was taking like a 2 hour walk alone daily while also still driving a lot, if I'd have kept up.

Ethersea: I think the premise was great and to be totally honest I wish it had played out a little more slowly and for a longer time; I'm struggling to remember it because it felt rushed, even though I enjoyed it a lot at the time. I will say, The Quiet Year is not a good podcast-only system.

Steeplechase: Also extremely strong and very well done. In general I know that listenership dips when they do systems other than D&D but I happen to think those systems work better for them and they should say fuck the haters. Extremely good and I think Justin's approach to GMing was great; I still think about Shlabethany.

Vs. Dracula: I think it suits what Griffin wants to do namely "throw in everything" which is not a criticism, but I have found it a little harder to stick with. Like, it's fun, but it's a little insubstantial for me.

Mini-arcs: I recall not being terribly into Commitment in part because I think the Fate system is just. not great and hard to follow; the concept was cool. The Marvel season that Clinton GM-ed more recently was I think a better implementation. Dust is quite good and I'd like to see Travis work with that; also I loved Erika guesting in that. Also Dadlands is peak and I was at the second live show.

[wizard-loving-wizard]

okay so far i really love amnesty and it's so different than i expected. let me dump my thoughts

first off. beforehand, the title "monster of the week" completely misled me because i really thought that meant there would be a new monster every single episode, when really it's just a bunch of mini-arcs exactly like every other taz story lmfao. and now that im in it, im really enjoying the MotW game because it lends itself so well to the narrative and i feels so easy to interpret and understand.

the pcs are fantastic... i adore duck so much, what a guy!! beacon is the coolest 😭 and there's something about the way travis plays aubrey that feels so genuine and lived-in and very endearing. that highly impulsive bisexual 20-something stage magician just leaps off the waveform

ned is fun but i think he's my least favorite clint pc because i often get annoyed by the terrible lies clint comes up with that are so extreme just to be funny it ends up being not funny at all... and so far ned's class has hardly been used at all, his backstory as a criminal serves the story well but it feels like the class itself isn't very useful. though some of his decisions have been very very interesting and compelling to me, like sacrificing his car, and taking the hit to stop the goatmen from escaping. also if he kept his loot from the night he robbed aubrey's house, does that mean he still has the flamebright pendant?!? bitch give it back

but anyways i love the worldbuilding so much and the setting and the town. very cozy fun good vibes

the NPCs. oh my god the Npcs i love them so much. i would die for momma and barclay. minerva has my heart. im so thirsty for more dani scenes. heathcliff is a fantastic char. i've only had indrid for like 3 episodes now but if anything happens to him or he leaves town, i will explode. and billy??? my sweet billy??? i am extremely invested in billy's wellbeing, what a darling.

one random thing. the boys never asked about how the sylfs get their magical disguises. and after they met indrid, they lied to barclay about going to meet him, as if indrid is some secret stranger. none of the boys said anything about how it seems very obvious that indrid is the one who gives all the sylfs at amnesty lodge their disguise accessories so im not sure if they've realized... maybe it's just too obvious to point out lmfao but like why did they lie about where they were going? anyways whatever

i have a lot of thoughts about the story that are kind of jumbled. there's just a LOT going on. it's increasingly sus to me, all of the similarities between the abominations and the sylvan world. somehow the abominations DON'T come from there, even though they have the exact same goat people and the exact same black slime as the corrupt sylvan forest (i can't remember what it's called).

overall, very fun campaign. so many good goofs. im having a great time

[theramblingvoid]

Different anon. If i am the blog you and another have been vaguing about, ive opened up my own anon asks so if a direct approach is too awkward, there's that.

If ive been radicalized, i didnt notice. In all honestly i just dont think anyone should be dying and ive never understood war. Ive been called naive before and i doubt ive changed much since, so im willing to listen, and i hate arguing.

Whatever's going on feels too complicated to put into an ask or even a post and i feel like my words always fall short of my intent to begin with (or end up in the opposite direction). Im not even sure if i should send this so im going to end it here

Hello anon! It's perfectly alright that you sent this and I respect you a lot for doing so. I am admittedly extremely sleep deprived right now, so my words and thoughts might be a little jumbled, so I'll do my best.

Long post ahead, but I think it's very worth it.

The main couple of issues I've seen with the posts you've reblogged (if you are the same person) is that, first of all, they either minimize or blatantly ignore the death toll and suffering in Palestine, and secondly, they tend to link human rights activism (a separate thing from political support) as well as political support of Palestine to having antisemetic motivations 100% of the time (for example, that post claiming that scrolling down on "any" blog that speaks up in support will reveal antisemetism). This is harmful because of the leaps in logic that the posts are designed to make you overlook. It makes a false equivalency between caring about human rights of a population and a stance in favour of a terrorist group working from their country, and then claims that is the same as a hatred of a cultural/religious group that is much more expansive and varied than just the country of Israel. The aim is to have readers accept these jumps so that they stop believing anyone cares out of true empathy, and start associating people speaking out against the killing with antisemetic bigotry.

Similarly to a lot of conservative talking points, these posts also tend to fixate on terminology and technicalities to either minimize an issue, or make it look like something it often isn't. For example, a large number of the posts get quite angry about the current events being called a genocide and claim that it's been definitively proven not to be, but that is blatant misinformation. There is disagreement as to whether Israel's actions qualify as genocide or if ethnic cleansing or a variety of other terms might apply, but it has never to my knowledge been proven in court not to be. They have very proveably been systematically driving Palestinians from their homes in a pattern moving south, hitting civilian targets such as hospitals and refugee camps, and using many other tactics typical of genocide, but in order to be officially named that there has to be intent to wipe out a culture or group and intent is hard to prove. If you'd like more information on where the debate stands, you can find it in a fairly readable format here. (Apologize for using Wikipedia as a source, I am quite tired.) All that aside, though: treating what this mass killing is called as more important than the fact that it is happening is a distraction tactic and an overall weak defense against how horrific the scope of what's being done to Palestine is.

I know this post is getting long, but if you don't mind bearing with me for one more moment I can share some of the news I've seen that the people who focus on tearing down activists are overlooking. I have spent a good chunk of time collecting info from credible sources like CNN, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Doctors Without Borders, and I highly recommend reading a few of these articles all the way through. (They are very easy reads and shouldn't contain anything descriptive enough to be triggering, based on a quick scan by me.)

- 47.3% of Gaza's population is under 18 (this source also contains a lot of useful information on the ongoing effects of oppression in Palestine prior to this year) (keep in mind that it was written in 2023 so the death toll numbers are no longer relevant)

- Israel is a top 20 global military power with an estimated 670,000 active military personnel. The total population of the Gaza strip in 2022 was only an estimated 2,375,259, with no official military.

- the UN states 34,622 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since October 7th, including 7,797 children, 4,959 women, 1,924 elderly, and 10,006 men. This does not include an estimated 10,000 not recovered from the rubble. Only just over 1200 Israeli people have been killed in the same time period, the majority on October 7th.

- Israel has been unlawfully attacking residential buildings in areas they promoted as safe for civilians to evacuate to

- Air strikes by Israel on refugee camps

- Israel has banned Gaza residents from collecting rainwater

- Israel has used drones that play recordings of babies crying and people screaming for help to lure out and kill people who come to investigate

- Israel is blocking humanitarian aid shipments containing essential food, medical equipment, and generators from entering Palestine

- Israel targets journalists who try to document and broadcast what is going on

Antisemetism is an undeniable fact that is ongoing in the world around us and is causing active harm. There are no doubt people using this conflict as an excuse to further their own bigotry, and the people suffering from that have every right to speak on it and point out ways it might fly under the radar. When they do it by minimizing the gravity of the tragedy Palestinians are experiencing right now, though, and by implying dissent against a brutal colonizing government is the same as antisemetism, they are only making the issue worse by attaching the struggles of real individual Jewish people worldwide to the defense of sickening acts against humanity by Israel.

I hope this has been informative and kind as it was intended to be, and I hope you can leave better equipped to spot the differences between honest spreading of awareness and veiled bigotry, and decide which approaches to the situation you would rather show support for. Thank you again for opening yourself up to discussion like this. I think it's a deeply valuable and necessary tool against the Internet's current decent into echo chambers.

[roomeight]

So, it's been a year since britpopabuse started their account. And as hellish as the past year has been, I just want to say thank you to the fans who listened. In the past year I learned a lot about the metoo movement and how victims are treated when coming forward that I didn't understand until I saw how fans reacted to the GC allegations. As unfortunate as the situation is, I'm grateful to the victims who have come forward to share their story in what is most definitely a hostile environment that always rewards abusers with amnesty, in a music industry that actively upholds abusive people. I'm sad that things went the way they did with Britpopabuse, the amount of harassment they (and Blurhatesme) received was more than a person can handle imo. I'm grateful to them for giving me the wakeup call to speak up about something that had been weighing on me for so many years. If I'm being honest, it was much easier to say nothing at all. It still is. The friendships I lost over this. It takes a lot of resilience to say the things fans don't want to hear and become an online punching bag. I think it's impossible to say you know someone from their online persona, but fwiw I never felt like britpopabuse's motive was in the wrong place. I may have disagreed with their methods some of the time, but I think they genuinely cared about the women they supported. That sort of empathy is very rare in this world.

People will hate us and that's fine. People will question us as being legitimate fans. Maybe it is difficult to understand that loving a band this much sometimes means that you have to hold them accountable, despite it being against your personal interest to do so. I will never fault any fan for feeling the grief that comes from that cognitive dissonance-both in realizing this about your fav and also from alienating yourself from a fandom. I have always struggled with people I like being 'cancelled,' but after the past year and observing how GC victims are treated when sharing their stories, I get it now. This is a problem that directly endangers minors in the Blur fandom, and either you (as an adult) will say something or you won't. It is dangerous, scary, and isolating to say the truth. You will be gaslit, you will be harassed, the overall response is not that different from emotional abuse. What is glaring to me, is that even the questioning of Graham's behavior facilitated a violent response from Blur fandom. If you cannot question the behavior of your favs without being put in danger, then I think there's a problem. Let's address the elephant in the room: there is a new crop of young teens in Blur fandom almost every year/every other year. The pattern repeats itself; I have seen it so many times now. I was the first Blur twt generation. Young Gorillaz fans finding Blur fandom, then sexually tweeting at G. Many of them directly responded to, by him. Minors with usernames like grahamcoxonslut. Does that not make you uncomfortable? If it doesn't, why?

It is important to hold the people we admire accountable. It is also important for Dave, Alex and Damon to realize how concerning this issue is to the Blur fandom and how silence on the topic is not okay. Covering for and enabling Graham's abusive behavior to save face or money for the band is NOT OKAY. Some of us fans will not stand by as these things happen and remain silent. If that stance pisses you off, then good.

[mariacallous]

Around the time Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017, I said to colleagues in the newsroom where I worked at the time that we shouldn’t cover everything he said or tweeted. Previously, a president’s every word was assumed to be a carefully chosen signal of future policy, and was reported as such. Trump, on the other hand, clearly said many things purely to get a rise out of people. Reporting on them, I argued, just fed the flames. Another editor pushed back. “He’s the president,” he said, or words to that effect. “What he says is news.”

Eventually, many (if not all) news outlets kicked (if not entirely) the habit of amplifying every wild tweet and got back to doing their real job, which was to report on what Trump’s administration was actually doing—much of which he himself may have been, at best, only dimly aware of. Over the past few weeks, though, news habits from the early Trump years have resurfaced around Elon Musk.

Here, for instance, we saw a slew of rapid-response news stories about Musk’s tweet on December 11 that “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” a dig at the government’s former chief infectious disease expert, as well as at gender diversity. Here’s another bunch about the picture of his bedside table with two replica guns on it, and some more about his tweeting a far-right Pepe the Frog meme.

News coverage of what Musk is doing at Twitter betrays another trope of the Trump years. There’s a large category of stories that report with a kind of ghoulish delight on moves that will surely—surely!—sink the platform in short order, like alienating advertisers and influential users. Meanwhile, there’s a drumbeat of pieces from right-wing outlets that just as willfully ignore Musk’s worst behaviors to argue that his slash-and-burn tactics are literally the only way to rid Twitter of excess bureaucracy and make it profitable, as if it were such a pit of vipers as has never been seen in the annals of corporate management. 

This is precisely the way coverage of Trump worked. The liberal-leaning media were often drawn to stories confirming the belief that a person so clearly unfit to be president would only succeed in bringing himself (or the country) down in flames, while the right-wing media treated his evident egomania, corruption, and lack of interest in grasping basic policy issues or actually doing the job as at best irrelevant and at worst essential qualities for reforming Washington. There was plenty of good reporting going on at the same time, but these polarizing accounts tended to dominate the conversation. The losers were the public, whose understanding of what was actually happening across the country was forced through incompatible narratives around the behavior of one unhinged man in the White House.

This is what’s happening with Musk and Twitter. Conor Friedersdorf in the Atlantic describes a “dysfunctional relationship between Twitter’s new owner and so many of the journalists who cover him … where the least defensible statements and claims on all sides are relentlessly amplified in a never-ending cycle that predictably fuels disdain and negative polarization.” 

Friedersdorf goes on to argue that Musk’s journalistic critics should give him more benefit of the doubt; after all, he did ban Kanye West, he refused to reinstate Alex Jones, he’s right that Twitter helped suppress the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop that later turned out to be at least partly true, and maybe his idea of amnesty for suspended accounts is not such a bad way to reset the clock and rebuild overall trust in the platform. But I think that strays toward both-sides-ism and misses the point.

The point isn’t that Musk may not be as terrible as you think. He is definitely terrible. Just as Trump was unequivocally unfit to be president, Musk is unequivocally cruel, vindictive, a heartless manager, and a troll who amplifies extremists. (Over the weekend he sicced his followers onto Yoel Roth, Twitter's former head of trust and safety, who fled his home with his family after getting threats.) He is also a chaotic leader who, far from having a plan, is—in the words of Chris Sacca, a venture capitalist and self-confessed admirer of Musk—“winging this.” It’s entirely possible that he will either destroy Twitter outright or turn it into what right-wing platforms like Gab and Parler only dreamed of becoming.

The point is that the focus on Musk is a mistake. Arguably not as much of a mistake as it was with Trump; an owner-CEO has more power over their company than a president does over their country. But trying to report on what’s happening by expecting either his abject failure or resounding success and then using his most attention-grabbing tactics as evidence for that thesis is not doing anyone a service. 

As with Trump, the real story is often what’s going on below the level of newsmaker in chief. It’s about the actual numbers around Twitter’s advertising, not Musk’s claims that advertisers are coming back. It’s about who’s actually joining and leaving Twitter, not about who’s threatening to leave. It’s about Twitter’s role in the world—its importance to natural-disaster management or to any number of communities for whom it’s a store of social wealth—rather than just how much money it will lose. Musk and Trump subvert the ability to focus on such nuances by making the story all about themselves. The very same tactic that draws their fans ensnares their critics. And we, by which I mean everybody, but especially the media, fall for it every time.

Just before Musk bought Twitter, I tweeted a prediction that “not much [will] change. Trump et al will come back, trolling will increase somewhat, rest of us will block and mute more and engage less but still use it for publishing—more web 1.0, less 2.0.” As foolish as it is to make predictions, and as crazy as the past six weeks have been, I still think this is as plausible a long-term outcome as any other. It’s neither the destruction of Twitter nor a turnaround, but a bet that the platform is too important to too many people to disappear altogether and will hobble along, however dysfunctionally, in some form. This prediction could be utterly wrong, but its chief quality is that it’s boring. People should make boring predictions more often. Like boring opinions, they are more common and more likely to be accurate, but they get short shrift because they don’t fit the easy narratives of success or failure.

Both the Trump and Musk sagas show that we are still in the thrall of the great-man theory of history. The desire so many have to see people like these either soar or burn produces an attendant bias in evaluating them—a feeling that their actions are the only ones that really matter. That’s what produces this breathless obsession with their every move and blinds us to more complex information that might paint a clearer picture of the messier reality—and whatever future we’re barreling toward.

[somelazyassartist]

hi sorry i stopped listening to taz after amnesty and googling it confused me but i saw ur tags referenced on someone elses post. did taako transition and change her(?) name. is that. am i misunderstanding or. im incredibly behind on taz but i feel like idve caught ppl celebrating canon trans taako please tell me if im going crazy

Yeah, they did change their name!! "Taako" (as they're most well-known as) goes by the name Jocasta Nightstrider as of TAZ: Imbalance (the 3-episode sequel to TAZ: Balance)!! Jocasta's not explicitly stated to be transgender, but their subplot throughout the story is (probably unintentionally) HEAVILY trans-coded. To try to explain in a not-super-spoilery-way, Jocasta's story involves suffering from severe mental health issues due to people pressuring them to be Mr. Taako You-Know-From-TV, with people refusing to see past their name into who they are as a person. Throughout the miniseries, they take a (very silly) journey of rediscovering who they are and escaping the chains of their old persona, which involves changing their name, how they speak and dress, and overall people's perception of them in order to start healing from the severe stress their old identity caused them. There's way more plot involved, including a lot more Magnus, Merle, and Davenport character exploration, but that's Jocasta's subplot at least lol. I personally like using she/her and thou/thee for them, but like I said, them being transgender isn't officially stated to be canon so most people still use he/him for Jocasta. If you're interested in watching it it doesn't take too long to get through, and I personally think it's very very good (though if you've skipped past the TAZ liveshows you might miss out on some context, that happened to me the first time I watched and I was kinda confused lmao). Here's the link if you want it!

[justassorted]

Meta character design (( here too ))

Oooh okay let’s see.

.

Mirian

Mirian was originally a bug alien type creature who was an NPC for an adventure I was running on an rp forum! So when I switched to designing her as a human, I made the potentially misguided attempt to try to keep her overall value scheme and a few other design hints? I.e. very pale eyes and somewhat darker skin, and big old glasses in place of the v. big mirrored eyes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On the plus side, it has at least shaped her human backstory in interesting ways! Even if I somewhat regret the ocular albinism thing — it feels like a cop out to conveniently have her on the very upper end of good vision among people with albinism, there are enough misconceptions about albinism as it is. :’D I’ve been waffling about retconning it for years now.

Other than that it was all vibes based. I asked my brain “somewhat unhinged lesbian scientist?” and it went “Short. Short is good,” and here we are. xD

.

Ithadel

I already had purple and grey associated with rock creatures in my brain (my other OC Brian), so that was probably part of his overall color scheme. Goliath (?) from Gargoyles was probably haunting my subconscious, too, even though I’ve never watched more than an episode or two of the show. xD

But mostly, I was on a crest of my eternal “bat wings are versatile limbs! They grab things! And climb! And walk with them! And it’s neat!!” kick. So then I was having fun thinking about prehensile limbs in general, and gave him prehensile feet — because hey, wings, maybe they can hunt like raptors?

I also had Medusa on the brain — not literally, I don’t know much about the actual myth, but just… general petrification and turning things to stone thoughts. Thus the stinger (paralysis).

As for his human design, for whatever reason that’s… just what felt right the first time I started trying to sketch him and make picrews, hah. No thoughts head empty!

.

Oscar

So this isn’t strictly visual design, but there were two things on my brain when I was first designing Oscar, and those were:

1) Duck Newton from TAZ Amnesty’s abysmal lying

2) Maurice from Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast

Which. Mostly just informed his general flustered and blustery speech patterns in my head, hah. xD And idk how well that will be preserved in writing moving forward. As for his appearance… once again, it kind of just formed? Not a whole lot of conscious decision making.

The achondroplasia was very intentional, though. He was originally a D&D character, and I imagined him visually how I imagined him, but I also very much imagined him with a human attitude and cultural background. Plus I wanted the variant human stats for backstory & class building reasons. So… even in fantasy settings, he is definitely not a dwarf. :)

[anosci]

(106-120 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9])

names and thoughts below cut

106/ VA - Dubstep Is Fun! Vol.4 (2010) 2010 is a weird era for dubstep and this falls in line with that. a bit closer to uk but not quite. its a fun era and im happy to explore more of it. maybe ill even remember to check the other 4 vols? "Magnet" personal highlight i think

---

107/ VA - Rinbo (Remixed) (2012) alternates between super chill and massive (but still with chill) i find that i enjoy the latter more

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108/ VA - Bodrog OST: The Remixes (2018) kinda grab bag of styles and flavors. oldschool idm flavor, insane dark electric sounds, hazy crystalscapes, 'chillout'… overall a good time. standout remixes: adapt, nagz, proswell

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109/ SGX - Wonderful Bite (2010) this doesnt hit me as hard as sgx's previous albums, which i guess is a tall order since those earlier albums are some of my all time favs. overall just ok imo. still has some bite, at least.

---

110/ Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs (2011) a stillness hanging in the air. beauty.

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111/ Vektroid - Starcalc (2011) i guess its vaporwave? im finding it to be a bit of a mixed bag. why is it so crunchy sometimes… anyway. (mostly) chill vibes and a lovely accompaniment as i program into the night.

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112/ nelward - the mondo zone (2016) good lord this is fun and beautiful??? am i basic for adoring the EB salute?

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113/ (all the music compos from Revision 2023) lots of bangers. i love the funk in oldschool! personal highlight is seeing some digifu sweep the exemusic category!

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114/ zunzagi - delayed emotions (2011) biggish beatish chillout. home made music that invokes a certain feel. feels wintery to me. a little bit nostalgic.

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115/ Shane Mesa - Mother 4 Soundtraaaack!! (2017) true to its name: this is a soundtrack, including incidental cues. as such: its a strong album but weird to comment on as an "album". but yeah i do love me some EB insp tunes. battles esp!

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116/ Andrea - Due in Color (2023) (starting the album) some nice hazy tunes to vibe to at night :) (reaching "Sephr") oh shit!!!! that bass is a nice foundation for the softer textures above.

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117/ Rave Angst - Exist (2023) i loaded this up blind, expecting actual rave. instead i got some greenroom chillout stuff :O there's also a lot of uziq-ish idm flavorings sprinkled in. a nice ride.

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118/ VHS Head - Phocus (2023) i remember listening to some older vhs head releases and finding the chops a bit… offputting. too shuffled? cant explain in a tweet but yea. this doesn't have that. it coheres. there's more ambiance i guess? it feels good. i like it.

---

119/ (every music compo at Edison 2022) eh……….. (imo) there are a few winners here tho. digifu sweep bb! personal standouts: "Happy Summer Goat" and "Bosse Casionova"

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120/ VA - Straight Up Glitch Hop! Vol. 2 (2012) kicking it 2012 style with the most 2012 opening ive heard since 2012. of course this is a comp and thus all over the map. hi lites: "Cerebellum Serenade", "Amnesty" :), "Bangers n Mash"!, "I Don't Yoga" (appreciate the gunky funky)

---

(nextpage)

[ungarmax]

so disclaimer, i don’t remember things so well and have only listened to amnesty once, as it came out, BUT

i wish we could have had more time with the reconciliation.

i see people comparing it to the robot world in the stolen century, which is the parallel i initially made as well. but in the end, i found that it actually struck me as closer to the hunger -- a planet of disenchanted people coming together to become something bigger than themselves with the intention of destruction, for the most part.  the reconciliation had more idealistic goals, of course; the hunger just wanted to consume, but the reconciliation was destroying planets in the name of peace, albeit in a supremely fucked up way.

i think it was @terezis​ who pointed out the sort of weird dissonance of how careful the pineguard was to not destroy the quell and then just stabbed the computer without trying to save anyone, in spite of the fact that billy immediately switched sides when he was free of the collective. in my opinion, that was directly linked to the fact that we’ve been told for a while that sylvain (the planet) can’t exist without the quell, that it needs both sylvain (the goddess) and the quell for continued existence. obviously, we like sylvain (the planet) and want it to continue to exist, right? the pineguard had formed bonds with people in sylvain, so their only option was to Make The Quell Stop, Please.

but like, when it came to the reconciliation, what motive did they have to not fuck it up? we didn’t know what the reconciliation was until the very last episode. their story is sad, but we didn’t spend any time getting to know them. if they’re the hunger, we didn’t have a john.

the thb had to fuck up the hunger. it was the only way to keep it from destroying the world. john didn’t have control over it anymore and even went so far as to tell merle how to destroy it. it was a satisfying ending to the story because it was an extremely personal thing for the thb - this monster had been chasing them around and even killing them repeatedly for a hundred years. it was sad to see john go, because we had gotten to know him a little bit, but the finale was incredibly satisfying.

introducing your villain in the very last episode is reminiscent of old final fantasy games where you find out that the bad guy was actually just being manipulated by a BIGGER bad and isn’t really the villain. yes, let’s defeat golbez and save the world - just kidding, golbez was being controlled by some dude named zemus who we’ve never mentioned until this point. now go kill him instead. who is zemus? why do i care about him? i don’t. weird pull, final fantasy iv.

anyway, i feel like amnesty was overall a good story with a satisfying ending. i just feel like it could have been better for me with a little bit more exposition on the reconciliation. that said, i also feel like griffin was letting the boys have way more control of the places the plot went, so i imagine it was very difficult to get that in there anymore than he did. maybe if they hadn’t gone immediately from confronting the quell to fighting the reconciliation? who knows.

okay so that was supposed to be a short little post, and it sort of got away from me, so i’m sorry if you read through all of this and then discovered i actually had nothing of value to say. 

[thiswasinevitableid]

For the meet Ugly- 13 with Danbrey?

Here you go! I went SFW on this one

13: we make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine

The bus is not as fun as she remembers.

When Aubrey was a little kid, her mom would use the bus to take her to the museum or the movies or, on the best days, the magic store. Yes, the Little’s had a nice car, but her mom believed that not only was the bus better for the environment, it was a way to remember that there was nothing scary about being around people who come from all sorts of circumstances (Aubrey later learned this was due to her mom once being at a PTA meeting where hands were rung over children using public transportation being exposed to “unsavory” people).

“The world is full of all kinds of people, firebug. That’s not something to be scared of.”

She wipes her eye surreptitiously under the West Virginia sun. You’d think she’d have learned not to think about mom in public by now.

The bus line she’s using for her tour is inexplicably crowded; half these towns are on their way to being ghosts but somehow she’s always fighting for a seat. She doesn’t like her chances for this leg of the ride, since she got distracted reading about the history of Doc Martens and ended up towards the back of the line.

By some luck, there’s one seat left as she squeezes onto the bus, using her body to keep people from elbowing the fabric carrier containing Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. But in the time she takes to turn to sit, someone else slips into the spot, so fast it’s almost inhuman.

“Um, excuse me, but this was my seat.” She turns to confront the thief and finds herself looking at a young woman about her age, with honey-blonde hair and hazel eyes which, were she not tired and grumpy, Aubrey would have lots of compliments for.

“No, it wasn’t. I got here first. You’ll just have to stand.”

“That’d be fine if it were just me.” The bus pulls away from the curb, “but it’s bad for Dr. Harris Bonkers to be suspended for too long.” She adjusts the bunny bag, hoping his big brown eyes and wiggly nose will make her case for her.

“Awww” the blonde coos, booping him through the mesh, “don’t worry little guy, you aren’t going too far. You’ll be fine if your person stands for a little bit.”

“It’s not a little bit, it’s twelve hour trip to my next stop!”

A smile full of understated charm and triumph, “It’s thirteen to mine.”

“Aw beans.”

“......are you going to get out of my lap at any point?”

“No” Aubrey turns her head to look out the window, “this is a good seat, even if there’s someone in it. I’m staying.”

It’s not her finest moment, to be sure. But she’s tired and heartsick so she is staying in this seat, damn it. The other woman grumbles something and slumps back against the black seat.

They hit the next stop, but not enough people get off, so she stays in her mystery lady’s lap. Her seat(mate) pulls a baggie of granola from the pocket of her definitely-not-cute-at-all overalls and crunches it louder than necessary by her ear.

“Uh, your rabbit is trying to get out.”

Aubrey glances down to see the mesh front straining as Dr. Harris Bonkers attempts to reach the granola.

“Don’t beg, young man, it’s rude.”

“Can he have a piece?” She holds up a dried strawberry.

“Um, sure.” Aubrey watches as she unzips the top of the carrier and let’s the rabbit nibble the treat from her hand. Aubrey’s a little jealous.

They don’t say anything to each other, but the rabbit gets two more treats before they reach the next stop. The person who’s spent the whole trip asleep in the window seat next to them jerks awake and hurries off the bus. Aubrey scoots into it before anyone can dare challenge her.

They’ve just turned onto the highway when she says, “Thanks. For, um, for sharing your granola.”

“You’re welcome.”

“And I’m, um, I’m sorry for sitting on you.”

“Yeah that wasn’t great, but if someone was going to sit on me I’m glad it’s the cutest passenger on the bus.” She points at Dr. Harris Bonkers, but keeps her eyes on Aubrey.

“We’re both kinda tired. We had a show late last night and we’re nervous for the one tomorrow.”

“Show?”

“I’m a magician and he’s my assistant. I’m known as the Lady Flame” she snaps and finger-guns, setting off a flashpaper, “but you can call me Aubrey.”

“Ma’am, no smoking on the bus!”

“Sorry!” She calls to the driver.

“I’m Dani” the blond boops Dr. Harris Bonkers again, “whose this guy?”

“Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD.”

“Nice to meet you, doctor.”

“Are, um, are you just traveling for fun?” She unzips the carrier enough for them both to pet him.

“Not really. I was running an, uh, an errand. I’ll be glad to get back to Kepler.” She fiddles with something in her pocket, “could I see more of your act?”

“I think that might get me thrown off the bus.”

“Don’t you have pictures?” Dani smiles.

“Oh duh, right, here, I even got someone to take some videos.” She scooches closer, Dani closing the remaining distance to rest their shoulders together. As they move through the videos, Dani is noticeably excited, even claps a few times. When Aubrey’s battery dies, they say “fuck” in sync.

“...want to play ‘I Spy?”

“Hell yeah.”

The next three hours pass in a flash, the two of them laughing and trading stories, all the while both cuddling closer to the window (to better play the game, of course).

They reach a travel hub, the driver informing everyone that they’ll leave in an hour on the dot. The two of them select a Dennys, since in Aubrey’s experience they tend to ignore her bringing in an eighteen pound rabbit.

She charges her phone while they eat, Dani getting corned beef hash, (“not as good as the one my friend makes back home”) while Aubrey has pancakes. She gets a little syrup on her cheek and nearly asks Dani to clean it off for her. With her tongue.

It’s dark when they get back to their seats, but the driver keeps the A.C cranked to the point that Aubrey is shivering. Dani pulls a shawl from her backpack, draping it around them both like a blanket as the trees become nothing more than vague shapes in the dark.

They talk about Aubrey’s tattoos, about the garden Dani has back home (“lots of veggies, you’d like that, wouldn’t you buddy?”). Last night starts catching up with Aubrey, yawns threatening to steal her attention from the way the light catches in Dani’s hair.

“Wanna see more videos?” That’s low energy flirtation, right?

“Of course.”

As she opens the videos, she hits an older album and an image of her and her mom fills the screen. She freezes, like the highbeams of the past are barrelling towards her and all she can do is watch.

“Aubrey?” Dani touches her cheek.

“Um, sorry.” She shoves the phone in the pocket of her jacket, “I, my, my mom died a little while ago. That was her. Um. I guess that was obvious. Sorry.”

Dani’s fingers find hers, interlacing them gently, “I’m so sorry, Aubrey. I...I get it. My family is, well I made some choices that mean I’ll never get to see them again. I, the reason I went on this trip was because I heard one of my brothers might have, uh, done the same thing. He hadn’t.” She sighs, “I don’t even know if they’re all still alive.”

“That sucks. This all. Fucking. Sucks.”

Dani nods, rests their heads together, “You know what doesn’t suck? Meeting you.”

“Pfffft” Aubrey smiles through her tears, hoping the joking noise will hide her blush.

Dani cups her cheeks, “I’m serious. Getting to know you feels like, like rounding a corner and seeing your house after years away. I, this is going to sound silly but please tell me you’re stopping in Kepler for a show?”

“I’m not but I, um, I guess I could still stop off there? If you really wanted me to.” Something about Dani’s smile, the warmth in her eyes, soothes her grief to sleep for now.

“I do, fireblossom, so much.”

Aubrey blushes, “Think you might be my first fan; no one else ever requests a show.”

Dani kisses her cheek, “I might even request one in private.”

“I could get into that” she yawns, “damn it, I don’t wanna sleep. I wanna keep flirting with you, cutie pie.”

Dani shifts their luggage, scoots sideways and guides Aubrey’s head down into her lap, “Get some rest, Aubrey. Just being able to look at you is enough for me.”

“Awww” Aubrey nestles against her stomach, “you’re so cute...just a...cutie...pie...zzz”

The last thing she feels is a kiss on the forehead and Dani tucking the shawl around her.

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

Aubrey does not want to get off this bus; Dani is cuddled up next to her, telling her about what kind of flowers she’d grow her, when he stops come up.

“Whelp….this is me.”

Dani helps her off the bus, passing her the carrier containing a sleeping Dr. Harris Bonkers. Then she smirks, “is your balance pretty good.”

“Yeah? Wh-mmphhoh” She holds tight as Dani nearly knocks her off her feet in a kiss. She tastes like the strawberry poptart they split for breakfast and is not making it any easier to say goodbye.

“Promise you’ll come see me in Kepler?’ Dani murmurs against her lips.

“Promise.”

A kiss on the nose, then a longer one on the mouth that makes Aubrey feel like she’s going to go up flashpaper. Then Dani is gone, off towards Kepler. A town Aubrey has no knowledge of and no idea how to navigate. And she didn’t get Dani’s last name.

“Fuck.” She says to the rabbit.

The rabbit simply snuffles in reply.

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

A few hours after her most catastrophic show to date and getting a gun pointed at her, Aubrey walks into Amnesty Lodge and finds a certain face, haloed with golden hair, waiting for her by the fireplace.

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

I listened to the TAZ Grad finale!

Fellas is it gay to become imbued with the essence of the sea after influence from your water genasi teammate, pester said teammate afterwards to name a boat after you, and sail away with them into the sunset to run a cruise line scam and become morally righteous pirates?

Ive been looking at people’s reactions on the finale and yeah I loved the chaos magic parts! The whole issue with the mishandling of D&D mechanics was never really a problem with me, although I know some people feel more strongly about that than I do.

Personally, I’ve always listened to TAZ for the story and not the actual D&D so I never really took issue with any of the DM-ing mistakes Travis did. Parts of the actual story had problems (the centaurs, Ranier, other points where Travis tried to be inclusive but implemented it where it wasn’t relevant) but overall I think the enjoyable parts far outweighed the bad.

And the McElroys in general are funny as hell so even though Grad wasn’t as profound as Balance or as sad as Amnesty I still enjoyed it a lot! I would probably put Grad above Amnesty but below Balance, but of course Balance holds a special place in my heart.

A problem people had with the finale that I didn’t notice while listening was that of all their talk of “destroying capitalism,” the trio settled down to comply with capitalist society at the end. And while I do agree that the “this system is bad but let’s slowly make change from within” message has been done to death, I don’t think that the ending was necessarily performative and disingenuous on the McElroy’s part.

The first point is that even though the trio decided to participate in Nua’s society in stereotypically “exploitative” careers, (particularly in Fitzroy and Firbolg/Gary’s case) they did so explicitly to keep people from being exploited by the system. Not to mention their paths fit their character arcs pretty well. 

Fitzroy’s “who will protect the weak from the strong” speech doesn’t indicate a sleazy lawyer willing to exploit the law to make a quick buck. One person described him as one of those pro-bono lawyers and I agree with that comparison. Fitzroy is a morally good person at his core, and he initially thought the hero society would help him do good, and after becoming disillusioned with hero society, he decided to carve out his own system to allow him to do good, both by being a lawyer and by being a pirate that only attacks rich assholes. (I really like that he clarified he would only attack rich assholes my chaotic good lawyer boi <3)

Firbolg’s whole character arc of being conscientious of resources to help the community instead of hoarding things to himself, in my opinion, culminates neatly with his decision of becoming a financial advisor. He has learned that both the “share all your resources without regard for the future” ideals of the Firlbolg and the “hoard all your resources for your own benefit” ideal of Nua’s society are both flawed extremes, and has dedicated his career to helping communities find a balance between the two.

Argo’s cruise seems more of a small business to me than a capitalistic venture, but I have never taken an econ class in my life so I digress. His character arc was about finding something to live for other than the past and I think it’s a good conclusion to his arc that he commemorates his mother and friends with the cruise line but still seeks out his own future outside of that by becoming a pirate. His original plan was to go with the establishment and work with one of the most powerful heroes in the world until he gets revenge, so it’s nice to see him grow to find his own self sustaining outside of the establishment.

The second point is that TAZ Grad was never about destroying capitalism. That was a joke that Travis laid the foundation to, but it was the players who made that joke and rolled with it. Tumblr user @fitzroythecreator wrote a really good analysis of how the main theme of Grad was self reliance which I agree with. While that is one of the main themes, I will be focusing on the theme of capitalism that a lot of people tend to focus on.

The characters’ goal was to destroy the HOG, which was an allegory for how organizations function under capitalism, but never a direct parallel with capitalism as an ideology or functional system itself.

When they first joked about “ending capitalism” by blowing up the HOG I was concerned because that’s not how anything works. The HOG was just one cog (heh) in the capitalist machine that was Nua’s society, and while destroying it would cause significant damage and change, it wouldn’t immediately shift everyone’s worldviews to discard their capitalist society as a whole. If the boys carried out the mission and all of a sudden the whole world was fixed, it would be even more disingenuous to present a utopian solution to a pressing, real world problem that simply cannot be solved this way.

I’m glad that they didn’t end capitalism. Social issues like this can never realistically be resolved by three spunky heroes on an adventure. You would need action from an entire population. Often violent action. There were already issues with too many NPCs in the spotlight so describing and entire population’s uprising would have exacerbated the problems even more. As four white men, the McElroys neither had the answers for how to end capitalism, nor would their medium of a D&D podcast have allowed them to present them effectively.

From my perspective, the way they would have actually ended capitalism was to go to war like Chaos and Order wanted. In this case, the entire social order and way of life for Nua would have been overturned. The main characters, Fitzroy most vocally, reject this option because of the human toll (or elves, or dwarves...whatever the term for that is for D&D races). Instead, they disturb the system to expose its flaws and let society recognize said flaws in the background. (Again, they couldn’t focus too much on it as it would take away from focus on the main characters.) Then, they choose to find their own place in the system and fix it from within.

I’m not surprised that the McElroys would pick the “change the flawed system from within” route over the “use continuous and possibly violent action to force rapid social change” route in the end. While the second stance could work if written correctly, there’s a lot more room for the message conveyed to be catastrophically bad if the writing doesn’t work. I’m personally glad that the McElroys, who don’t have a solution, presented the tamer first take instead of trying to give a solution with the second take and failing spectacularly.

TAZ: Grad was social commentary on the problems of late stage capitalistic society, but it never tries to present a clear answer on how to end this society. Rather, it recognizes that this is a problem that can’t be solved by one small group of people. It presents several possible solutions to navigate this society to bring yourself happiness within this soul crushing system while slowly changing the attitude of the society. After all, if everyone quietly changed societal attitudes for the better, then perhaps one day the population will be united enough to bring about the drastic social change that we all hope for.