#mn;ask

[arcadecoconut]

There's a lot of great meta about how Bells Hells never seemed to realise how powerful they became over the course of the campaign, and how this skewed perspective gave them a strange and at times hypocritical relationship to authority. There's also been a lot of discussion about how having a single-focus plot established early in the campaign was detrimental to individual character development, but I don't think I've seen much about how the single-focus plot is directly connected to their ignorance about their own power level. I think one of the key benefits of having various smaller arcs across c1 & c2 was not only that it supported individual character development better, it also gave the parties a sense of their own growing capability and power scale in the greater world. By having distinct arcs with enemies who were overcome and defeated, the PCs have concrete evidence of their own growth. Each arc follows a mini heroes journey too. For the MN, the Lorenzo and Obann arcs both involve PC characters being killed or overtaken early on, setting high stakes and establishing difficulty. Eventually, with persistence and planning, the Nein were able overcome and eventually defeat them. For Vox Machina, it's the Briarwoods, then the Chroma Conclave, then Vecna. At the start of each arc, every mission feels like an impossible task but again with persistence and planning, they conclude each arc in a stronger position - not just on their character sheet, but with concrete in-world elements too - the resources of Whitestone, key allies in powerful government positions, etc. These victories give each party a material sense of their achievement, which is mirrored by their internal acknowledgement, which is so natural it's mostly not explicitly acknowledged unless they're pointing out how they're capable of stepping up and helping more people. Bells Hells, by comparison, got very few distinct arcs. As a result, they never really achieved the same smaller victories to give them a sense of escalating power and agency over the course of the campaign. To be clear, it was possible this could have been achieved anyway, even within the constraints of the moon-plot. Defeating Otohan, defeating or flipping Lilliana, severing the alliance between the Unseelie Court and Ludinus, explicitly winning allies out of The Volition, or the Grim Verity, or Vasselheim and the Judicators - each of these could have been distinct arcs with victory conditions that would have served as markers of Bells Hells growing power. If they'd had concrete mini-goals to achieve along the way to dealing with Ludinus/Predathos, they could have taken time to focus and plan. In this way, we could have gotten larger investment into the world and NPCs. Imagine what it could have done for her personality if the party had to research Otohan’s role in the Apex War! Maybe if they needed to broker peace between the Grim Verity and Vasselheim to unite them against a greater threat, we could have seen Bells Hells establish their own authority in Exandria. Instead, all these potential villains and world building hooks ended up largely ignored or accidentally achieved along the path of some other muddy goal. By not giving the characters this sense of growth, BH and particularly Ashton and Laudna ended up with a very skewed perspective of themselves. They never realise their power grew well above average, putting them in a much more privileged position than the average Exandrian. It’s this skewed perspective - and their resulting attitudes towards various NPCs - which gave many viewers an 'ick' factor about their interactions. I also can't help but juxtapose this with exu: divergence, where the party's relationship to power (both their own and others') has been a core element. Their story has also been conducted over a very short time period in-world, yet their responses show a marked difference in awareness and empathy.

[themissingnumbers]

NEW GAME (you are here) || PREV | NEXT

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

"... [ ASSISTANT ]? Are you still with me?"

"Oh, good. You were spacing out rather badly there- I got worried about you."

"Look... You seem exhausted. I know I've completely lost track of time- how long have you been at this for...?"

The Professor's expression softens. Ace reaches a hand out, gently pulling you to your feet.

"I think you've more than earned a little break from all this work... Why don't you head back upstairs? Given I'll be staying down here for the time being, what's mine upstairs is yours- just don't steal any money, hah! Drink some water, get some food... look around and get familiar with the place! And take care- make sure to wash up and rest."

"I'm... Sure I'll be upstairs by the time you've wrapped up all of your business and gotten some shut-eye. But for now, you've gotten enough eyestrain and excitement for the day."

Gently, the Professor gestures away from your desk, encouraging you to stretch your legs... It's hard to say no to those gentle and encouraging eyes.

[ ... Might as well. ]

WELCOME BACK TO MISSING NUMBERS.

"FIRE" RED YUUJI / "GLITCHY" RED TAJIRI / LEAF AOYAMA ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS(?).

PROFESSOR ACE MAPLE IS AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.

EXPLORATION OF ACE'S LAB AND HOME IS NOW AVAILABLE.

INSERT INSTRUCTIONS ON WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO, WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO, AND WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CLOSER INVESTIGATE, INTO THE ASKBOX; AS WELL AS ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR ACE.

And don't forget to wash up and rest.

[mello-and-near]

Speaking of, how is your relationship with L?

Near: At the moment, he's very busy. I can't recall him ever making much time to speak with us in the past though either, especially not directly.

Mello: He never really talked with the other children much. Once his successors were pretty much picked out, he sort of... went quiet. But he visited me once! I saw him in person and he told me loads about his work! He's fucking awesome! We're not, like... close... or anything. But he obviously sees plenty of potential in me if he did that! And now he's letting me be his official successor despite...

Near: The Successors Program wasn't well-managed. You know that. It focused far too much on academics.

Mello: I know. Still, I should have been able to...

Near: I used to dislike L quite a lot. Our relationship is still... not the best, I'd say. I appreciated him, to an extent, but not nearly as much as Mello did. Now... I can see more of the good in him. He truly is intelligent if he can understand how much Mello deserves the role he's been given.

Mello: ...He obviously likes me better.

Near: I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. I certainly prefer you over him.

[spooksier]

as a minnesotan i’d like to ask about representation in the freedom au. i don’t know in what form but it’s cold as fuck here so there’s that

minnesota gets the lonely and the vast purely because of this poem

[mix-no-sense]

consider:

CHIMERA WATARI

[mayakern]

Why everyone on tumblr I follow that I don't know Minnesota or Wisconsin adjacent? You, bibliosphere, niel gaimen, who is next?

Welcome back

we all end up very Online thanks to being stuck inside in the winter

[ask-jean-vicquemare]

okok i have more

karl

apostrophe

dust mite (inspired by judit’s dustball)

clostridium

yersinia pestis

paper towel

stapler

bathroom spider

JEAN VICQUEMARE - He hums, nodding in thought. "Karl Marx, Apostrophe works, I don't like dust, I don't know what that is, The Black Death is acceptable, Paper towel too, I don't want her to be called stapler, or Bathroom Spider."

[phantom-used-copycat]

Why do you think you get to call Sero Hanta? That's too familiar for what your relationship is.

Mistyped. Urgh, I'll have to edit it later 😮‍💨

It may be Gotham paranoia getting to me but if this is you trying to make me feel bad.. I feel like you should try a little bit better, no?

[creatively-cosmic]

fuck with me

fuck with meeee

im trying to do different sprite styles and sizing down full drawings to make a base is so fucking dumb looking. christ. also ace not looking like they havent slept in days feels illegal.

on another topic god seeing other pokepasta blogs interact with each other lately has been so fun. i really wanna do that sometime soon... it certainly wouldnt be canon but i havent gotten to see stuff like that circling around since my time in the daily pokemon community! though maybe its just cus of the blogs that i follow that im seeing it now hajnsljkns

[lanctiflora]

Hi! Not sure if you did these or not, but: ☢ What fads/trends are you so over? / ✉ A fandom that you feel is open and accepting?

the MALDING salty af munday meme

☢ What fads/trends are you so over?

Another trend I am kinda done with (and this is Tumblr only really) is when people are restricted by "Tumblr etiquette" when interacting. And you guys can help me out because I just returned on Tumblr this February and culture has changed.

But there are instances when people almost appear unapproachable because they have this "Tumblr elite" image to uphold. This still goes a little bit into formatting/icon requirements, but just in general, how people act. Tumblr isn't a secret society; there are no secret handshakes to ask for a starter or send an Ask Meme. For me, I just want to bark in all of your dms or something and ramble about our freaky, evil plans for our charas. Why are you sliding me a fucking Tip% screen after I said hello?

✉ A fandom that you feel is open and accepting?

Well, since I have just returned to Tumblr, Danmei is really my first fandom back. So far, no complaints. I was welcomed with hugs and candy, so now I am like a parasite sitting here. Eating.

But on Discord? Crazy take, and maybe I am biased bc I have been an admin, but Valorant. I KNOW, those of you who know the game, LISTEN. Valorant rp community maybe small but I have met some FUNNY fucking people. I also had the most creative, long-running experiences there. I am telling you all, the AUTHORS I wrote with who play FPS shooter? Insane. Our community is hilarious and hella media literate.

[themissingnumbers]

how it feels to disappear secret ending

gif version too lol

i spent three days on this.

[mello-and-near]

Do you guys argue about cases a lot

Near: I wouldn't call them arguments, really. We disagree sometimes, but we do always eventually figure out how to get things done without too much trouble. It was much more difficult in the beginning. Mello often disagreed with me even when he believed that I was correct.

Mello: We've figured out how not to get into each other's hair while still working as a team. It's decently efficient, I guess. Point is that I'm doing more than half the work anyway. If Near fucks up, that's on him.

Near: It is interesting that you call us a team in one moment and then essentially say that I am on my own in the next...

Mello: You know what I mean. It's your responsibility and I'm not afraid to call you out on your bullshit.

Near: Indeed. And I am not afraid to call you out on yours.

Mello: I don't need you to call me out. I know when I've fucked up...

Near: And yet you often still try to justify those mistakes. It is good to make those, Mello. And you have made them far less often, recently. That means you're improving. We both are.

Mello: ...Shut up. I don't need your judgement or your praise.

Near: Very well.

[bakawitch]

When you said that Virgil's nemesis is a hyper feminine girly girl my brain immediately went to magical girl venom 🤣

I was thinking more on the lines of Eternal Sugar Cookie or a Pretty Cure-esc character, but that works XD

Maybe she's usually wearing a mask to cover her venom face to appear cute at first but takes it off when it's nightmare time lol

[asklatenightonceler]

We want to see you oiled up

"...Nah, that's it."

"Face the wall!"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

🌕: Ayo Mod here!

This is the last ask for the day hope to see you all next week! :)

[marenights]

[thelonelyshore-if]

MC on their hands and knees lamenting that Easthaveners have missed out on so much of classic Minnesota.

“They know naught of Camp Snoopy…nor Sweet Martha’s… They have never seen our most beloved Cherry Spoon… A thousand curses upon this damned Fog.”

Nonnie thank you so much because this ask immediately conjured a scenario in which the ROs, MC, and Willow visit the Mall of America together and that mental image is gonna get me through the rest of my work day.