#my knowledge of it mostly comes from critical role

[carlyraejepsans]

UTY!Flowey, "lore" and how to criticize a fan prequel without being an insufferable pedantic, a guide by Biscia.

(for my muskless fellows, here's a transcript of my thread on Undertale Yellow that I posted on Twitter. enjoy!)

There's this really frustrating attitude in fan spaces i like to call "lorepilling" where people are substantially more concerned with encyclopedic knowledge of details & minutiae (so called "lore") in place of full-text thematic/narrative analysis as if the two are mutually interchangeable.

It's especially common in large franchises and story heavy videogames, and it's like... Are You Treating This Piece Of Art Like A Trivia Battle Or Are You Treating It Like A Story

This is coming from a person who is also deeply autistic about UTDR trivia btw, I'm just saying that when it comes to transformative *stories*, depending on the impact it has on character, themes, and narrative structure... lore is expendable.

Ultimately this is why most of the UTY criticism i see (on twitter specifically) falls flat. What does it matter if "lore" means Flowey couldn't chronologically be there when the justice human fell, as long as the game narratively justified his presence in the story in a compelling way?

The real criticism, in the end, is that it didn't.

He's a plot central, main cast character from the canon returning in a cast of mostly OCs and what does he have to show for it? An admittedly sick boss battle in 1/3 endings, sure but... not much else. He has no significant "presence" in the story, no tie, interaction, or even just... an opinion on the rest of the cast. Which is a huge miss when Flowey's meta role is to be Thee completionist player mirror. He's the OG lorepilled UT fan! He's an opinionated little shit!

This isn't to say that UTY *didn't* engage w/ his metanarrative. When me and @a-town-called-hometown first started playing the game (we were both skeptical of Flowey's inclusion), he immediately said "It would be really cool if they made it so this has been going on for a while and Clover has no idea". Which is precisely what the game did in the neutral ending, and what I will openly say was the most well written & well executed part of this game's story...

...a part we almost didn't see, because the pacifist ending disappointed us so much we lost all will to replay.

To put it in the words of my friend Mel @clowwwnbytes, there's a deafening hollowness to UTY Flowey's motivations & core principles where his guilt towards Chara—and resulting black and white thinking—should be. You're telling me Mr Kill-or-be-killed, "sacrificing yourself to do the right thing is stupid", would stand there after 1000s of failed attempts to make Clover survive, look on as they make the same mistake Asriel he did, and fondly call them friend? Cue the guitar, roll the credits?

He would lose it. Oh my god he would lose his goddamn mind, he would throw the nastiest temper tantrum in the world. Are you serious? How dare you. How DARE you. All this effort, all my patience, and you just let yourself DIE for a few worthless idiots? I should've let you ROT!

*clears throat* sorry got a bit too into character. as i was saying.

I can understand a UT prequel wanting to distance itself from the canon Chara storyline in order to form its own identity, but then turning around and choosing Insane About Chara The Character™ for a sidekick is... far from optimal. In the end, Flowey comes across as underutilized and inconsistent, with a whole lot of wasted potential.

This is an issue I have with UTY's character writing (original AND returning) and story structure as a whole. Lots of inconsistent character arcs, tonal dissonance, overuse of situational sadness... it's an amateurish work, after all, and you can feel it. There's no shame in that.

(Though, there ARE some issues that i take more seriously with its writing, especially when it comes to its two main female characters—Ceroba's lack of narrative agency and depth borders on misogynistic writing imo. But that's a topic for another day)

Over all, UTY was an incredible piece of collaborative transformative work, with gorgeous art and a genuinely incredible OST, which... would have benefited from more experienced writers. But hey, you can only ever learn by trying!

For all it could've been a better story, it certainly did not fail to entertain: both when my friend was playing it, and after in our many discussions of its writing, its faults and how it could've been improved (royal scientist!ceroba character fix you will always be famous. to ME!)

I'm sure this project served as an incredible source of experience for the developers: as individual creators AND as a team. I look forward to their future projects!

but also if i have to see another person say UTY is better than Undertale i might turn into The Jonker.

end of the essay! really couldn't stand any of the pedantic ""criticism"" I'd seen of this fangame so far, so i had to say my piece as someone more versed in analysis. happy to elaborate on anything in the replies or in my inbox!

[uva124]

So yeah, I finished the drawing of Asha's redesign from Wish :D, maybe I'll make some changes in the future, but I'm happy to have finished it, it should be noted that I haven't seen the movie. , so I can't give my opinion on it yet, but I found it very interesting that their fandom is mainly made up of people who rewrote or made their own version of the movie, they are all very creative and it got me out of an artistic block. that I had a few months ago, but above all I found the rewriting of @annymation which is the one I have been most hooked on, so I wanted to do some redesigns of the characters coming out of its rewriting, that's why everything that has to do with the story of this version of Asha, as well as her personality and her world on which I base my drawing are the ideas and work of this account: @annymation

I'm just making a drawing of her character and how I would design her as well as sharing part of the process I had to do to draw her because, why not?

BOARD:

The first thing I had to do was put together a table full of references that reminded me of the character and things that I would like to add to her design, so I used milanote to do it:

-Looked for some Asha's concept art and save the ones I liked the most, and add the main colors that I used in the design. -I also created notes to write down the personality of the character and some of his data to have a better guide, I did a little research and found publications that talked a lot about Asha's discarded designs and how Disney workers had put that she had tribe ancestry Amazigh on his mother's side and since his father was from the Iberian Peninsula, that's why the next thing I wanted to do is research more about their culture. -I am not an expert on this topic, nor do I belong to the cultures from which Asha has ancestry, so you can comment on any correction regarding this topic, I wanted to implement details of this culture to her design and I would really like to give a correct representation :)

HAIRSTYLE

Continuing with the theme, I saw that the hairstyles in the Amazigh culture mostly had this type of colorful decorations on their braids and dreadlocks, that's why I also posted these reference photos for Asha's hairstyle.

-Finally I decided that Asha would not have all her hair full of braids or dreadlocks, but only a few accompanied by these decorations with a great variation of colors, although it was fun to sketch the many hairstyle options that I had in mind based on these concept art and other photos that I had saved

TATTOOS:

-Another detail that I liked was giving Asha some tattoos with designs from the Amazigh culture, because I saw that it was quite common for women to get them, the tattoo on her forehead is a symbol of protection against bad influences, that's why the The middle symbol is responsible for deflecting it in the 4 directions, I also added a similar one in Asha's right hand.

ASTROLOGY AND THE SPACE:

-An important part of Asha's rewrite is her knowledge of astronomy inherited from her father, especially with the stars for obvious reasons xd, so in addition to adding constellations to her dresses, research the meaning (or something like that) of the planets. Only 3 really reminded me of the character, which were: -Mars: Symbolization of the internal conquering function of moving forward, independent, self-determined, enduring failures with new energy, courage and energy to fight for your desires. -Saturn: Maturity, effort to solidly build realistic criteria, frustrations are transformed into objectives to continue growing, critical and realistic, far from getting frustrated when an objective does not work, you strive to move forward and obtain even more resistant and solid achievements, perseverance , and tenacity (I feel like yhis it the most similar to Asha :D) -Moon: protective role, feeling very vulnerable outside your known areas, feeling of security with your ties, importance of family ties. The one that reminded me the most of Asha was Saturn, that's why I drew those Saturn-shaped earrings :).

SUITS:

I looked for references and placed some on milanote, I noticed that the concept art was mainly divided into whether the dresses have lilac colors or warm colors, I decided to draw 2 models based on the discarded designs, although at first I thought of using only one color palette lilac and bluish, I realized that the reddish colors of her dress reminded me of Mars which has certain meanings that in my opinion coincide with Asha's personality. In the end I didn't decide what wardrobe she would primarily have 😅, but I like to think that in this version of Wish, Asha would have wardrobe and hairstyle changes like in some older Disney movies.

-These are some of the concepts that I mainly used for my version of the dresses

FINAL COMMENTS:

I am satisfied with the result, it was fun to make all this, although what I researched mostly seems little, it actually cost me several hours and I did it at night, so as a funny fact the next day I was explaining all this information to my mother and I felt like I looked like that:

(Make this drawing was so funny LMAO)

(Apologies if there are errors in my writing, English is not my first language and my writing is very basic)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Topsy Turvy Days in Diasomnia

Yes, I intentionally added the thorns in the background for… reasons :)) If you know, then you know—

SORRY FOR GETTING THIS OUT LATE I’VE BEEN TRYING TO WRITE SEBEK’S BROOMQUET FIC ON TOP OF SCREAMING ABOUT THE YEAR III ANNI STREAM 🤡 But with this, my blog event for TWST’s third anniversary comes to a close! Thank you for following me on this week-long writing prompt~

The Thorn Witch, and her Spirit of Nobility.

Riddle Rosehearts…

… stakes his claim in Diasomnia right from the get-go. Word quickly spreads, making Riddle out as the “fuck with me and find out” guy. For the students of Diasomnia, who take great pride in their magical prowess, to set Riddle off and be beheaded revokes the source of that pride. “Have you reflected on your actions? Only then will I remove that collar.”

Though he’s removed from his usual dorm, he takes care to still observe the rules of the Queen of Hearts! This earns Riddle no shortage of strange looks from Diasomnia, some of whom (mostly the strictest of Draconians) criticize his loyalty to Heartslabyul. He doesn’t relent though–Riddle tunes out the naysayers and stays true to his own ideals. His fellow queen, Vil, approves.

He’s a(n unwilling) bat magnet. Apparently, a cauldron (group) of them hangs out in Diasomnia—Riddle made the discovery when he was first strolling down a particularly dark hallway. Screeching had filled the air, and he was immediately swarmed by bats!! “I don’t understand why they’re so attached to me…!” Riddle protested, shooing one off of his shoulder. (E-Eh, isn’t it because he’s the closest in height to Lilia-shi? Idia wonders.)

The students of Diasomnia (and even Jack, a first year), he notices, are much more disciplined than those of Riddle’s own dorm. They stay in line and do their work, though with perhaps more arrogance than one would like. If only his own students were just as diligent!! Riddle gets a headache thinking about what Ace and Deuce must be getting up to unsupervised (and no, Azul is no role model for them!!)… but even so, he doesn’t wish for them to be carbon copies of the Diasomnia kids. Heartslabyul may be full of fools, but they’re Riddle’s fools and no one else’s!

He beelines to Diasomnia’s bookshelves every evening to stack texts up high before stumbling off with them to read until he knocks out. Riddle is on a quest to take in as much knowledge as he can, from new spells to tips and tricks to simplify the current spells in his repertoire–his ambition is apparent! Then, perhaps, he will be wise enough and strong enough to overcome the Malleus Draconia in combat.

Though Riddle’s specialty is practical magic, the level at which the Diasomnia students perform it is astonishing to him. He burns out so quickly, while they can change the color of a dress multiple times without batting an eye, and orchestrate many cleaning implements at once! It’s frustrating, but it’s from this feeling that Riddle is able to drive himself to work even harder to achieve his goals.

It’s so odd for him to see bramble bereft of any flowers. The sight is so depressing to Riddle, but he can’t put words as to why exactly. He’ll politely avert his eyes when he sees those ashen, creeping thorns, or make a passing comment about how the atmosphere feels dreadfully gloomy. It’s like being trapped in a cage, he thinks. Memories of his past prick him, but he is quick to dismiss them before they overwhelm him. Like a rose, he shall grow and rise above the thorns.

He develops a fondness for floral teas during his time at Diasomnia. Maybe it’s the absence of flowers that makes him feel nostalgic for the gardens in Heartslabyul. When he sips a cup of rosehip, he dreams of the red and white of the maze, of strawberries and porcelain, and the card suits that decorate his vision. Ah, he realizes, the warmth enveloping his chest. That was it—that was where his home, his hearth, is.

“I do feel as though I’ve gained knowledge in Diasomnia that I could not have anywhere else. However, the same can be said of Heartslabyul. There were many things I could only learn because I was in Heartslabyul. That is not to say that my dorm members did not get under my skin every now and again, but I will always be grateful for the lessons they have imparted in me. This, too, is an experience for which I am grateful for–but, if you would allow me to say… there is no place like home. Fufu. Perhaps I’m simply becoming too sentimental.”

Jack Howl…

… keeps to himself and doesn’t trouble anyone—not unless they start trouble with him first. Most face-offs with Diasomnia students involve them staring each other down until they get scared off by Jack’s menacing face. In a weird way, that makes him the conflict resolver of the group—because people tend to run away rather than face him!!

Jack feels as though he’s witnessing a lot of things that he shouldn’t. For example, Riddle and Vil have made it their personal mission to whip underperforming students into shape… starting with their temporary dorm mate, Idia!! They confront him together, taking turns knocking at his door and then physically dragging him out when Idia inevitably pretends that no one is home. (Jack stares after them, wondering if Ruggie ever had to do the same to Leona to get him to attend class.)

When in doubt, Jack tends to defer to seniority. Like the good boy that he is, he’ll follow his upperclassman’s orders with barely a second thought!! … But trouble arises when Idia is the upperclassman that’s giving the order 😅 Jack takes his hyperbole seriously, so when Idia says something outrageous like, “C-Could you please not get within aggro range of me? Lmao, I could be at a single hit point and I’d still not want to deal with face-to-face interaction. Kk, thnx,” Jack just shrugs and lets Idia flounder when the Diasomnia mobs are assaulting the dorm leader with Malleus facts.

His poor nose just can’t stop sneezing!! It’s not that Diasomnia is filthy, but his sensitive nose can pick up on all the dust and the secrets littering the castle. From the ancient tomes to the artifacts and relics of the past that line the walls, there’s no place where he isn’t met with an enigmatic history that tickles his nose.

Jack’s used to doing everything himself, by hand. It catches him off-guard when he sees the Diasomnia students so casually use magic for everything. He shouldn’t expect anything less from a dorm that is full of all-rounders, but the last thing he expected to see was silverware flying across a table and serving up breakfast by itself! And… is that a clock and a candelabra fighting?! Who’s ever heard of living furniture…

He tries to incorporate some older techniques (recommended by Sebek) into his exercise routine. (”Our dormitory is well-equipped with everything you’ll need!!” Sebek had reassured him. “See to it that you use them well!”) Jack didn’t realize that it would involve hauling around weighted weapons!! He thought they were just fancy-looking wall decorations, not actual morning stars, axes, swords, and javelins! “Is… Is this really how they train in Diasomnia?!”

By happenstance, Jack discovers a single red rose blooming amid prickly thorns in Diasomnia’s west wing. He becomes strangely protective of it–maybe because it reminds him of the flowers that sometimes grow on the (just as prickly) cacti he raises in his dorm room. One might say he’s the beast that defends a beauty.

The night is especially beautiful over Diasomnia. When the moon is full, Jack watches it through his window, drinking in the stillness of the night, the shapes of the shadows and the thorns that run contradictory to the bright, silvery orb above them. In these moments, he sits back and contemplates where he is, and where he’d like to be.

“I’ve never noticed it before, but the sky looks different depending on where you look at it from. What does it look like where Leona-senpai and Ruggie-senpai are, I wonder… Maybe they’re so busy that they haven’t even had a chance to notice the moon. If that’s the case, then I’ll have to catch up to where they are! When I get back, I’ll show them just how strong I’ve become!”

Vil Schoenheit…

… looks perfect laid out against the backdrop that is Diasomnia. His austere looks and overwhelming aura make him the perfect evil queen of the castle. Every picture he takes of himself inevitably involves his face being illuminated by sinister green flames or an imposing dragon glaring down at him. Fitted in his own Diasomnia uniform, he gives off stronger villain vibes than ever “… This is hardly the sort of thing I need for my image,” Vil sighs.

Indeed, Diasomnia can be quite archaic in its ways–but in coming from Pomefiore, Vil brings with him a certain sense of respect for the old. He recognizes the past as not superior nor inferior, but as a basis for which the future is forged from. To him, it’s crucial to understand and to be aware of what came before so he can build himself up from that. This philosophy is what guides him as he learns to adapt to the lack of modern amenities in Diasomnia.

Like Riddle, he is keen on doing his own thing, regardless of the comments that others make. (Since when has a queen like him let the thoughts of his subjects dictate his behavior?) That means rising bright and early to train with Jack, engaging in a thorough self-care routine, and maintaining a healthy diet and sleep schedule. Unlike Riddle though, Vil’s anger is more icy than fiery. If someone offends him, they’re met with a cold shoulder and perhaps a cool tongue lashing.

For the most part, Vil acts courteous to his other dorm members–for it is easier to attract bees with honey than with poison. His natural charisma and charm get him in the good graces of some students, who pass on their knowledge of certain potions and curses. One sleeping curse he hears of is so powerful that it could only be broken by true love’s kiss! Vil shivers, praying that such a thing would never come to be weaponized.

He continues to work on crafting his own homemade cosmetics. Vil has to change up the ingredients in them, since he no longer has access to the same things he’d have back in Pomefiore. Thanks to his new connections, he’s able to obtain rare plants from the Briar Valley to use in his lotions and liquids. Vil also experiments with repurposing the creeping bramble around Diasomnia in various forms—dehydrated to brew a tea, powdered as a setting product, pounded into a paste for a wash-off mask…

He changes up his style to feel more “at home” in his new territory, adopting more vintage clothing and accessories to suit the era which the castle comes from. At any given point, Vil will look like he has just walked out of filming for a historical drama or a period piece.

Vil had always thought that Epel would be his biggest problem child… but hey, Idia is a close second. While Riddle harps on his in-person attendance, Vil focuses on how Idia chooses to present himself in both appearance and behavior. “For Sevens’ sake, you’re the son of the distinguished Shroud family. It’s high time you started acting like it,” he chides his peer. “You’re wasting your good looks with that gloomy expression and hopeless slouch!!”

After witnessing how well-trained the students of Diasomnia are, Vil has a newfound respect for his fellow dorm leader, Malleus. It’s not like he’d ever share the compliment out loud, but for him to have a positive opinion of the man who constantly misses dorm meetings is still a step up. It seems that they do have some things in common.

“It is said that the Thorn Witch boasted great grace and decorum. If Diasomnia is a reflection of her character, then I can say with confidence that my expectations have been met. Beyond the superficial aspects–although I do find them to be in good taste–there is a noble spirit that runs throughout the dormitory. As much as it pains me to say this, not even Pomefiore would be able to replicate such elegance. Hmph, we’ll just have to polish our own unique traits such that our sparkle rivals Diasomnia’s.”

Idia Shroud…

… couldn’t be more unenthused. Not only has he been forced out of his room and deprived of his vast collection of tech, anime, manga, and games–but now he’s trapped in the same living space with all kinds of super strong personalities! It sounds like a plot straight out of a meta harem manga where the main character wants no part in any of it, he grumbles. S-Save me from this living hell, Ortho!!

He tries to minimize his presence as much as possible, but it’s difficult to do when his flaming hair makes him easy to spot in every dark corner or amid the sconces lit with green flames. (Everyone’s so quick to hone in on him, it gives him near heart-stopping fright!!) Because of this, Idia has chosen to wear his hood up most of the time (in hopes of diminishing any light he’d be giving off). 

He’s so disappointed that he didn’t at least get lumped into a dorm with a cute cat (Idia had been praying for Grim, but even Leona would have been acceptable). But nooo, instead he gets stuck with a muscly dog man. Why’s my gacha luck so bad IRL?! Cats are obviously far superior to dogs, NO QUESTION!! (Jack wonders why Idia stares so intensely at him, but maybe it’s best he doesn’t ask…)

Diasomnia has wifi, but it’s not nearly as fast as Idia would like for it to be. He constantly complains about missing the high speed internet of Ignihyde, though he supposes it’s sufficient for gaming. Idia laments to his online gaming buddy, Crimson Muscle, who reassures him that all will be well; Gloomy Samurai will surely get over this rough patch!!

This man can’t be left alone to just be a nerd in peace!! Idia could be playing a fantasy game, watching an anime, or reading a manga, and out of nowhere a Diasomnia kid will pop up and lecture him about how actually the depiction of dragons in that game/anime/manga is inaccurate, or how it spits upon Malleus’s image to indulge in such materials. Idia often doesn’t have the energy or the confidence to fire back, so he’ll pack up his stuff and rush away. In his mind though, he’s cursing out the killjoys! (Idia gatekeeps on a regular basis, but he can’t take it when others do the same to him.)

He doesn’t get the hype around all the Draconians who stan Malleus or claim him as their oshi. Idia’s just smart enough to know when to zip his lip so as to not incite an angry mob. (What’s so great about that guy anyway? It takes more than being an OP character to get Idia’s attention!) Unfortunately for him, a Diasomnia mob mistakes Idia waving green glow sticks for an online concert as a sign that he, too, is a massive Malleus fan. This leads to Idia being introduced to other Draconians (he was too timid to correct them) and thus getting locked into a miserable cycle of being force fed boundless praise for their dorm leader and expecting Idia to echo their sentiments.

He takes solace in knowing that the biggest Draconian of them (Sebek) all isn’t around to shout in his ear about WAKASAMA this, and HUMAN that… but it’s honestly just as bad to have Riddle nagging him in one ear and Vil nagging him in the other! Idia feels like he’s playing a stealth level every time he has to exit his room—cuz once either of them catch wind of him, it’s Game Over!! It’s safest for him to just hole up forever…

Because Ortho begged him to try and make new friends, Idia attempts to try and start a D&D (or whatever the Twisted Wonderland equivalent of it is) campaign up. Something simple that allows for socializing! … The problem is, the Diasomnia students are WAY too competitive and take the game super seriously. They even have the gall to defy HIM, the DM! (“Womp, womp, womp. Your character died! Sure sucks to be you, hihihi!” “I roll to stab the DM and claim his position as god of this world!!” “LOL, you can’t do that, dude…” “… I roll to stab the DM.” “I LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT’S A NO-GO!!”) They get nowhere, so Idia has to shut it down.

“D-Did all the elements of the world come together one day and decide to dunk on me or what?! E-Every time I leave the safety and comfort of my bedroom, th-there’s some kind of world-ending event thrust in my face... I-I’ve been kidnapped by a ghost, pulled out of school to run tests on my classmates, possessed... B-But even worse than all of that is... being forced into social situations I didn’t ask for!! Seriously, not a single soul wanted that birthday interview ‘oh, if you had to pick a different dorm to join’ hypothetical to come true!! If this is some kind of cruel and unusual joke, you can pop out and point and laugh at the geek already! J-Just get it over with so I can go back to my uneventful otaku life already!!”

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

Hi, I'm hoping this is a safe space for these thoughts because I feel if the #criticiallykind TSSers won't listen, nobody will. Pretty much, this isn't groundbreaking by any means, but I've begun to feel really… skeptical of how much I can love Taylor. Don't get me wrong, I have been a Swiftie for years. I own merch, CDs, know all the songs, everything. Taylor's music has helped me through so much and her songwriting remains unmatched in my mind. But I'm just beginning to question how much I can be a "fan" of her as a person. I'm questioning things like can why she charges astronomical prices for merch when she is literally a billionaire who could pay for herself and everyone she cares about to retire. I am questioning things like how she can watch her fans send literal death wishes to her exes and ex-friends and not try to intervene. I am questioning things like how she made a really big deal (rightfully so) about speaking her mind re: politics, but then has kept quiet on a whole host of recent political issues that her voice (and pocketbook) would make a large impact towards. I am not coming from a place of "she's a celebrity she has a responsibility to do things about these issues" but more from a place of "these are traits I would not appreciate in anyone I know personally, so why don't I think of Taylor in this critical lens?" I'm curious to know if you or anyone else has thoughts on this at all. As always, thanks Sarah for hosting a safe space for all of us.

Hi friend! I'm going to do my best to match your sincerity in this. I do want to believe and feel your internal struggle here on this topic and I don't want to diminish how it really can feel like a battle of minds and emotions. How do you come to terms with someone you care for disappointing you? How do you then layer that disappointment onto the sort of silly knowledge that that disappointment is aimed at someone not actively present in our immediate social circles as a real 'friend' (but who very often fills that emotionally comforting role that a friend often occupies with their art presence in your life - and that is worth noting + valuing!).

I think at its core, my advice to you is to question: Do you actually feel you need to love Taylor in order to love her music?

Do you need to measure Taylor's perceived actions and traits to the same extent and manner that you do of someone who you know personally? Do your feelings about those perceived demerits impact your ability to positively interact with her art?

I want to note that there aren't wrong answers to these questions. The only person who needs to answer them is yourself - and only you know the truth of what those answers might mean. I propose them to you as a starting point as you reassess your relationship with her and her music and what it all means to you. Again - no wrong answers and no judgement. They're questions that require introspection and honesty from yourself. You answer to you and you deserve your own, unvarnished truth.

With all of that, in my response I mostly wanted to center your confusion and the tough emotional uncertainty you might be facing. I didn't want to address through your concerns like a bulleted list of counter-arguments. Ultimately, this is about your relationship with those issues that matter to you and where you land on them. That said, if you feel like you might benefit or be interested from my talking through my stance on those things to perhaps offer alternative opinions that might explore a different side that might disagree with you I can also do so as a follow up. Just let me know!

I truly wish you the best friend. I know it probably has felt overwhelming and confusing to be dealing with this mentally. And then perhaps even scary to admit it and seek advice!

[caffinatedcastiel]

explodes you

i read your fic (very interesting so far) and you said youd like to talk turtles ‼️ whats your interp of bad future donnie?

Is explodes

Hello there, my first turtle caller. I’m very happy to answer your question (with some information omitted to avoid spoilers for my Leader Future Donnie fic)

Im going to mostly focus on Donnie’s role as leader here- since that is probably where my interp of future Donnie differs from most fanon, but I can go into his interpersonal relationships and other details at another time too if that is of interest.

I like the concept of Donnie taking the lead at the start of the invasion due to Raph and Leo’s conflict that we see at the start of the Rise movie. Raph has learned from the end of the series that their way of life is not just dangerous, but is life-threatening. He’s seen this through Splinter’s memories and the death of Karai. So post-series and pre-movie, he wants to impart that onto Leo so he doesn’t have to learn it the hard way by losing people. Leo sees this as a lack of trust in his abilities and a criticism of his leadership, and gets defensive as a result. They both want to see their family succeed and thrive, but ultimately get in their own way while doing so. They are teenagers, they get insecure about their place. It unfortunately happens to play into a larger conflict they had no knowledge of.

This conflict and strife is what brings the team to fail circa the start of the first Krang invasion. Leo and Raph’s fears both come to light when they lose and resentment has the opportunity to boil over and poison the team’s dynamic. As such- neither are in the right mental or emotional headspace to lead effectively.

Enter Donnie. Donnie already has had a few lessons in leadership without actually taking on the position in the past. We can see this in a few circumstances.

In Donnie’s gifts and Mind Meld, Donnie is doing what he thinks will be best for the team. He gives his brothers technological aid (just as he has given himself with his battle shell) and enhances their mental performance (in a way that is exactly like him, focusing on intellect rather than other points of knowledge). And it doesn’t work because his brothers are not Donnie. He is the brother that probably understands best that trying to get people to do things the way he would, rather than they would, is not the way to lead.

These circumstances also help to expose Donnie to failure. Of the turtles, Donnie has had the ability to fail and recover quite often (Lair Games anyone?). To fail is to be a scientist. It doesn’t paralyze his decision making process as badly as it might with his brothers. He just pivots to find the next thing that could work. (and some things he’s just bad at, but he does anyway!)

Additionally, I headcanon that Donnie is the turtle that came to terms with his and his family’s mortality first out of the brothers. The creation of his battle shell is especially telling here, but a majority of his tech also reflects this. The Turtle Tank having defensive and offensive capabilities, Donnie’s gifts, the Donnie pods… Donnie knows that at any point, something can come around that can hurt his brothers and take them out of his life. So- he chooses to focus on evening the odds rather than despair over the possibility.

I also headcanon this as to why Donnie is less in tune with his mystics at first. Hamato Ninpo is triggered by the desire to protect the family. Donnie’s always been able to protect his family with his tech. It’s only when that fails that he needs to look inward for other options. (Example- Raph unlocks his mystics when he jumps after Leo from Big Mama’s roof. Donnie didn’t need to. He had his tech to protect and catch Mikey). And it still manifests in the way he has protected his family in the past- through manifestations of things he can build.

While this has led him at times to feel that his tech is his best and only contribution to his family, he has also had opportunities to accept that isn’t true. This is especially evident during his time in Witch Town. He failed, seemed discouraged and hopeless about who he is and what he is able to do- but April pulled him out of that. It is just really unlucky that Leo didn’t have that chance as leader. His first major obstacle just happened to be near unbeatable.

End-all-be-all: Donnie understands he can’t do everything himself. He understands that he needs other people to succeed and people have areas of knowledge that he may not understand that will push them to their goal of survival. He’s grown out of his pride to an extent and is able to see how to make up for his weaknesses with other people’s strengths (though his ego still can surface, he is still a kid after all).

These experiences and details all combine into how I see Future Donnie operating. He makes sure people are put into positions where they can thrive and in positions where they can fail safely. He doesn’t want people to get discouraged at their odds, so a structured environment that is built for learning and growth is his focus for regular, non-leadership positions in the resistance. He’s seen how pressure has impacted the people in his family (including himself) and doesn’t want the life threatening and dangerous world they now inhabit to lead to an implosion of panic and hopelessness through any level of his ranks. He knows firsthand that is the best way to lose.

He also employs this logic with his inner circle. Mikey is a particular asset when considering the well-being of people during their day-to-day operations. April’s extensive experience from her many different jobs makes her personable and versatile in assigning positions. Raph and Casey aid in training staff and soldiers and Leo focuses on scouting and recon. (Donnie also makes sure people have a rotation through positions they are good at, positions they like, and positions that they need multiple people to learn. He doesn’t want anyone to feel like they are “just the science guy” or anything of the sort. He feels that the focus on roles in his family did ultimately lead to the divide that got them in this mess).

I like to think that if the Krang were any less unbeatable and Donnie and his family actually had time to prepare in the way they did with the Shredder- Donnie’s leadership would be successful. He got an impossible hand, but also does help queue up their actual success in the movie.

This turned really long- and I apologize if it isn’t exactly the answer you were looking for. But I absolutely love the purple turtle and could keep going on and on if I don’t force myself to stop here. Thanks again for the question ❤️

@docaid

[rawliverandgoronspice]

This is not me defending Nintendo's shoddy writing when it comes to heavy parts of the Gerudo lore. But I do wonder if some of their really bad missteps are because of their lack of knowledge of Western racial politics. A lot of Japan is still heavily xenophobic, and racial diversity is almost zero, so they might just not actually think about the implications because they just... don't know they exist. It's not an excuse, because Nintendo IS a global company, and there should be some extra research done, since stuff like that is just really fucking iffy. I'm just trying to figure out where that stuff comes from tbh, and why it's still around, instead of being weeded out. So maybe that's a reason, in which case... maybe get some writers who can write depth into their characters.

Hey, thanks for the ask!

So... I feel many things about this, and I completely see where you're coming from, and I think you have hit the nail on the head about why Nintendo do not feel like handling this issue is necessary, or that it doesn't concern them altogether... but I have to be honest, I feel like we give Japan way too much slack on these issues in general, and it's a very common problem (thinking of the controversy on FF16 for just another recent example, or the way queerness is handled in a lot of anime and games). Regardless of, just, the artistic integrity to incorporate the rest of the world as existing alongside you which isn't... mandatory of course, but I believe is important for the sake of honesty: there are japanese people of color, there exists a queer japanese community, and a lot of immigrants living in Japan have to deal with rejection and being considered a second-rate citizen all of the time. Not to mention anything about the new generations of people who were victims of their occupation not so long ago, a subject which is still regularly repressed and ignored by their government (and by the world at large, the US had interests in quieting down some of the worst things they did due to Cold War stuff, and in the West we mostly focused on Germany and collaboration --which makes sense, it's what we knew, but anyway it's complicated and not the topic). This is not a case of mere innocence, it is a case of politically construed ignorance; which is very different, and should not be regarded as equivalent.

But even beyond their own internal socio-political issues, which I am not qualify to speak about beyond what I know from second-hand stories I heard and what I have personally researched, The Legend of Zelda is an IP that is tailored for the West (TM). It is incredibly more popular here than it ever was in Japan. It is a product designed for export. Trying to anticipate what the western market enjoys and fitting right in is part of their responsibilities as a brand if they want to succeed. So, either they did not consider this aspect, which was absolutely something they should be criticized for, as subjects of diversity are hot and trending right now (even without getting into their moral implication) and they did what I consider to be the bare, cynical minimum in this department; or they had an inkling, and considered their choices wouldn't be a dealbreaker. Which... they clearly were not.

Again, I am sorry to be a little cynical here, but while I certainly don't think Nintendo was being consciously malicious here, like making choices to actively play into harmful stereotypes and strict gender roles as some form of active ploy in some sort of culture war, Nintendo is run by conservative japanese men with capitalist interests and a responsibility towards their own government as a major player for japanese soft power. The company will *never* question its own biases, especially if the West just eats up whatever they do and build a human wall of excuses to justify their absence of accountability. This, beyond the game itself which is good and fine and also kind of soulless the more I think about it (in my opinion), is what depresses me and what makes it hard for me to move on: to give them a free pass on these subjects is a choice everyone is collectively making, because it is the Nostalgia and the Childhood and we are desperate for wonder and joy --and it ultimately makes us somewhat toothless as consumers.

And I want to add I am absolutely not immune to this, and it doesn't mean I'm condemning the practice of fandom or the possibility, or even the necessity, of holding several simultaneous truths about a piece of media at the same time and navigating them depending on what is being discussed; but Nintendo is obsessed with controlling its image as a company, curating things as acceptable or unnacceptable as they see fit, approving or disapproving of their consumers' behavior and punishing them accordingly (as well as the rest of the industry *side-eyes the thirty patents on basic gameplay actions*), and it's to say nothing of how employees may be treated beyond the perfectly curated Pikachu yellow walls. This corporate image of being non-controversial is enforced. It doesn't mean I don't admire them for a lot of things, their genuine commitment to game design innovation, their virtuosity when it comes to level design in particular, the way they foster pools of raw talent, their devotion to open up the market to new demographics of gamers, or for the risk they took with the Switch and the wonderful venues it opened for indie devs. I love their games, profoundly, and I owe the company a lot of my joy.

But again, I think it's important to consider several realities simultaneously; and this joy, this goodness, this beauty, while absolutely wonderful and worth preserving, always runs the risk of getting in the way of our discernment in what is getting sidelined.

[randoimago]

Hi! I'm a huge fan of your work and I've been sending anon requests for a while, but I had this idea and I thought you'd like it!

What about an M9 and Essek x reader (preferably platonic) where the reader loves to bake and decorate pastries for the group as a way to relax and calm down after trips or a particularly difficult days events?

With a Reader That Bakes for the Group

Fandom: Critical Role

Characters: Beauregard Lionett, Caduceus Clay, Caleb Widogast, Essek Theylss, Fjord, Jester Lavorre, Veth Brenatto, Yasha Nydoorin

Type of Request: Headcanons, Platonic

Notes: Aw thank you so much! This is a very cute idea and I’ll do my best to write it for you!!

Mighy Nein (and Essek)

Beau definitely sneaks bites of raw cookie dough or finger fulls of icing (she washes her hands first). Might complain that you’re trying to ruin her physique with your baking, but she loves it.

Caduceus enjoys making tea to go with your baked goods. He has a lot of knowledge of which types of tea goes best with what kind of sweet you make. Does his best to stay out of your way since it’s difficult to find big kitchens that’ll be available to use.

Caleb isn’t really a sweets person, but if you baked bread then he’ll gladly sample some. Definitely has some bittersweet memories of some treats you make as it reminds him of things his parents would bake, but he still thanks you for doing this.

Essek is also not really a sweets person, but he’ll do his best to help decorate. Art isn’t really his forte, but it is kind of funny how much of a perfectionist he is when it comes to decorating cookies or cake.

Fjord feels so guilty eating your baked goods. They taste so good, but he has enough trouble with Veth teasing about his lack of muscles. Still eats it because he can’t let your talent go to waste.

Jester absolutely loves the fact that you bake! Even if you’re all in the middle of traveling she’d ask if you could make her a very specific type of cupcake. Probably has some kind of recipe book somewhere for you or she’d ask if you could make the most crazy types of sweets for her (and the others, but mostly for her).

Veth would make requests if you could add alcohol to any of your baking. Not too much, but just a tad. She’s heard that cooking with alcohol is a thing, so maybe you could replace some milk with whiskey. There’s hardly a difference in her mind.

Yasha is constantly surprised by what baked good she likes. At first she didn’t really have an opinion on cookies or biscuits or whatnot, but she’s constantly finding a new favorite from your baking.

[pb-dot]

Film Friday: Lost In Translation

Today's flick is a bit of a departure from my usual ouevre. There are no sci-fi high concepts or murderers or ravenous horror beasties. All we have today is two sad and lonely people finding each other in a lonely city, and the knowledge that some times that's enough.

Charlotte, played by Scarlet Johansson, has gone to Tokyo with her photographer husband. As this is a work trip for hubby John, Charlotte is mostly left to herself and in aimlessly drifting around in her spacious but sparse hotel in various states of melancholia and alienation until she encounters the equally thousand-mile-staring Bob, played by Bill Murray. Bob is a film star solidly past his prime, in Tokyo to shoot comercials for Suntory Whiskey.

The two form something I struggle to place entirely on the scale of friendship to romantic relationship. It almost seems more like a mentor-student-relationship at times as the world-weary Bob does have some wisdom for the freshly graduated Charlotte, but what I like is how equitable it is. Charlotte learns from the aging actor, yes, but she also gets him out into the world, past the sulking he'd otherwise do in the hotel bar. They learn from each other, like any good mentor/pupil pair should, and it's a considerable step up from the coldness Charlotte gets from her husband John, who isn't in the movie much and generally doesn't seem to recognize what a jewel it is he has married... or maybe he's just a distant guy when he's not performing the "Entirely Too Social L.A Guy"-role, either way it's not working particularly well.

I tend to think of this as a movie about friendship more than a relationship, but I will concede that this reading is weakened somewhat by Charlotte ostensibly getting jealous at a lounge singer Bob has an one-night stand with in the movie's back half, as well as the distinctly romance-tinged feel to the ending, where Bob shares some secret or other wisdom that is so intimate as to even exclude the audience with her. I have throughout my years heard much speculation about what this final muted message actually was, but a reoccuring theory was that she should tell her husband she's not happy, as a kind of mirror to Bob's own little confrontation with his wife a little bit earlier in the movie. Either way, I think the message isn't quite as important as the scene itself. It's a bittersweet little thing, but Bob comes out of it smiling, I believe his first genuine smile in the movie just before the credits roll. Sometimes what you want isn't as important as what you need, and all that.

There's a very touristy feel to Lost In Translation, and for once I mean that as a compliment. The handheld cinema variete-inspired cinematography takes us on a tour of tokyo as that most lucky type of tourist, those that know a few locals so they got a hookup for some cool spots that are not tourist traps. There is a bit of spontaniety to it, and Bob & Charlotte's karaoke & fleeing from BB gun-wielding bar owners-night in particular feels free and footloose the way being lost in a city you have no need and no ability to fully understand can be. It's all very soft focus character study stuff, but there is also a sense of not dwelling too long.

Well, the above is true most of the time. Personally I feel some scenes that are meant to establish theme early on perhaps spends a little more time on Bill Murray Not Understanding Japanese People than what is strictly speaking neccesary. Granted, one of these segments is pretty funny. In this scene, the production company has ordered what I can only assume is a prostitute to Bob's room turns into quite the "Who's On First" segment as ideas of sexual agency and dynamics between east and west collide, and it's all a good fun. As for some of the other related segments, I can kind of understand why some scholars have criticized how the movie portrays japanese people, as it feels a lot of the joke is on the difficulty inherent in translating colloquial japanese to English for a native Japanese speaker. I would argue that the purpose of these scenes are to establish that Bob is a place where he has nobody to talk to, no place or person his world weary wit can bounce off of, but again, the implication that the joke's on these people who so utterly fail to communicate with Bill Murray is hard to ignore entirely.

Communication is in general important in Lost In Translation. A lot of it is talking, of course, the dialog between Bob and Charlotte is fun and charming and at times profound, but it's also in looks, in what they chose to talk about as much as what they say about it. It's a lot of interpersonal stuff, and with a less skilled writer/director it could be a little navel-gaze-y and tedious, but Sofia Coppola has a real touch for stuff like this

So in short, while I don't think Lost In Translation is a perfect film, it is a quite beautiful. It's beauty isn't in flawlessness, but in it's little chaoses, the natural light graininess from having a camera and light rig you can carry around with you, to show off the frivolous but genuine joys of an arcade, the shared intimacy of a karaoke room as the night grows long, pondering over a person's nature in the light from a taxi window, that sort of thing.

[tepkunset]

The Legend of Vox Machina S02E01 Impressions

An important reminder: I have zero experience with Critical Role’s Vox Machina campaign. I only have limited knowledge of like a handful of things from tumblr osmosis, but mostly I'm coming into the story fresh!

I adored season one of this show and I'm really excited to see where it goes next, so let's get to it!

-----

Why is nobody running? Holy shit flee the fucking area idiots!

Oh shit, his retirement didn't last long

I'm sorry, what the fuck is this thing? Why is Vax hallucinating a masked creature? Am I supposed to recognize this or is it new? I feel like its new.

My emotions over these two are something else. I just really enjoy their loving sibling relationship instead of the stereotypical hate and bullying, you know? Cause by now I've really gotten the impression that each other is all they've have in the world for most of their life.

OMG Percy pushed Vax out of the way to take the damage instead OMG???

Oh thank god Pike healed him

Holy shit, I forgot how gorgeous this show is...

I love them your honour.

Gilmore saying Grog's new sword "radiates dark magic" can't possibly be foreshadowing, can it? Because my foreshadowing senses are tingling

Vex, sweetie, I don't know how to tell you this, but I doubt locking the gates is gonna stop a motherfucking dragon

Does Scanlan have literally any redeemable traits?

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Seventh Son (originally The Spook's Apprentice):

The book is a dark fantasy book for children, with fantastical elements that ring true to folklore but still have their own distinct flair, really well written horror centered on the fact that the protagonist is still just a boy, and a very strong theme that the spook opposes the forces of darkness and evil with knowledge and wits rather than heroics. The series as a whole has a lot of digs at established powers, both the Church or the nobles. It also has a mentor that is showed as imperfect from the get-go because of sexist tropes, and a protagonist who criticizes it even at the beginning when he's just a boy. The movie makes the protagonist an adult, turns the spook from an old wise man who practices using a stick (peasant weapon!) to fight and throwing silver chains to immobilize supernatural creatures, into the SURVIVOR of an ORDER OF KNIGHTS, and generally removes all the slow creeping horror to turn it into generic shitty fantasy movie #493, with bad acting on top. And it bombed so bad it probably RUINED the Spook's series chances to ever get a good adaptation, damnit!

Mentor gets changed from being part of a long line of people with a cool fantasy job to a discount Templar, cool methods of handling monsters got reduced to just killing them, awesome assassin grandma changed to Default Movie Witch, and more! It's pretty much not the story anymore.

It takes pretty much nothing that I liked from the books with the initial premise and some names being pretty much the only things kept intact.

The plot and world were completely changed. Most of the changes make for a much more generic and, in my opinion, worse story. Spooks in the books are seventh sons of seventh sons who are trained to fight creatures of the dark because seventh sons of seventh sons are able to sense the supernatural. They are hired for jobs by ordinary people, usually exorcising ghosts or capturing creatures like boggarts and witches. In the movie, the Spooks are also seventh sons of seventh sons, but for some reason, they are an order of knights. In the books lot of people think Spooks are charlatans until they come face to face with a ghost or creature of the dark because the world is usually pretty ordinary and peaceful. The setting is inspired by Lancashire and the world feels pretty unique. The setting in the movie is Generic CGI Fantasy Land where everyone has American accents and big CGI monsters are everywhere.

The protagonist Tom and Alice, his friend and later love interest, were aged up like in the Percy Jackson movies. In the books, Tom starts out as a 12-year-old and grows up as the series continues. He starts out very uncertain and wants to stay on his family farm. He only becomes a Spook because he knows he has to get a job to ease the financial burden on his family. He grows into his role as a Spook's apprentice over time. Alice is a pretty interesting character in the books, she is naturally very talented as a witch but struggles with the darker side of her powers over the course of the series. In the movie, they became incredibly generic Hero and Love Interest characters with pretty much no personality and instantly fall in love.

Mother Malkin was a first-book villain, who was mostly only such a threat because Tom was an extremely inexperienced 12-year-old at this point who accidentally released her and didn't realise how dangerous she was. She was monstrous and decrepit and fed on blood. In the movie she is turned into a beautiful seductress and a world-ending threat who can turn into a dragon. They also made her the Spook's lover for some reason.

Tom's mother is a really cool character in the books who pushes him to become a Spook despite him being reluctant and plays a larger role in the later books. In the movie, Tom is the one who wants to be a Spook and his mother doesn't want him to.

I think the character who got it worst was the Spook himself, John Gregory. In the books, he is a former priest at the end of his career as a Spook, he is incredibly uptight and disciplined to an extent that other Spooks find over the top. For example, he has a rule of fasting before a battle that he makes his apprentices follow and he only kills as a last resort. He's tough but usually pretty fair to Tom and explains things to him so he doesn't get hurt. In the movie he is pretty much the complete opposite, he's a drunkard who spends the whole movie making getting angry and fighting and doesn't seem very interested in teaching Tom how to be a Spook. Also, the accent that Jeff Bridges uses is terrible.

I'm not sure the movie would be enjoyable if you hadn't read the books, having read them I hated it, but I feel like it would be mediocre at best even without the comparison. The acting is pretty bad despite the big-name cast. I think you could maybe enjoy it in a so bad it's good kind of way. The books were spooky and pretty charming from what I remember and I think if they had been adapted more accurately, preferably as a TV show, it could have been pretty good. Sorry this is such an essay, I've never hated an adaptation more. It's been a long time since I've both read the books and seen the movie, so if anyone wants to correct anything feel free.

The Hobbit trilogy:

Ugh. Too long, added a bunch of unecessary stuff. Tried to make it be the same as lord of the rings instead of a bunch of weird little adventures

Stretched into three films, unbearable amounts of filler, yet important scenes are dropped or not given their due.

Stretched a book that could've easily been a single movie into three, added useless romance subplots, doesn't delve into any of the subplots that *might* have benefitted from more time, the dwarves are turned into caricatures, tried to unnecessarily connect it to the events of Lord of the Rings beyond the already present connections of the original story

[toonpunk-game]

Vehicle Overview

WOO! It’s been a minute since my last post here. Well, I can tell ya, it’s because this post was really, really complex to write. We’re talking about some heavy concepts, not just about gameplay. Let me get into it here.

So when I first drafted the vehicle rules, I’d already put the finishing touches on toonpunk first edition. It was my intention, once upon a time, to release these as an expansion pack; but that expansion pack ballooned up into a whole thing, and then there was a few parts of the core book I wanted to change, and now it’s just part of second edition. In a sense I prefer that: releasing it as part of a core book keeps it from being bolted-on. Players won’t have to dip back and forth between books, and there’s (theoretically) not going to be any dangling rules contradictions.

Vehicles have their own statlines and traits, which you guys are already familiar with from the way everything else works. I’ll let the text speak for itself once the book drops, but let’s talk for a moment about the philosophy behind this section. The idea behind this section stemmed out of a gameplay concept for which I’ve gotten a fair bit of flak. That being the idea of the “van guy”. 

For as long as I’ve been developing toonpunk--even longer, actually, because I think this dates back to the first time I started playing roleplaying games--I was fascinated by the idea of the character who helps the crew tick along without being there on the frontlines. When you look at a typical roleplaying game setup everyone is some kind of hacker, gunslinger, ninja, wizard, or whatever. And those are all pretty exciting things to be, sure. 

But you look a little closer at any gang of heroes or outlaws, and who do you see standing just behind them?  You see Simon Pearson, Samwise Gamgee, Alfred Pennywise--someone who keeps the gang moving through their practical knowledge, while the “Heroic” stuff is mostly other people. Most of the time this critical supporting character stays back at the camp, or the lair, or wherever--so, in the case of a roving gang of cyberpunks, they are the “van guy”. 

Everyone seems to agree those characters kick ass. So why don’t more games let you play as them? Well, that’s what brings us to this. Read after the break for more.

The idea of a largely passive and supporting character, who helps the more combat-oriented characters mostly in a logistical and medical capacity, is something that really appealed to me. So the vehicular customization and functionality of Toonpunk grew up out of the idea that this character would have a customizable safe haven, where they help the other characters--being an in the sky, their invisible hand--who would spend most of any given game session watching and waiting, coming in clutch with some obscure skill when they’re needed most. In the book, this role is called “The Founder of the Feast”. 

My old co-conspirator pushed hard back on that character concept, categorically denying that anyone could ever find it fun. Me personally, I’m all about it. I love being kind of an invisible hand. Let me show you some of the tricks they get to play around with using the new vehicle section. On one hand, you’ve got things that let you support your teammates’ abilities, like this:

And then there’s some things that let you take center stage, like this.

But all of this is pretty simple. What made this part so difficult to write about? Well, because, simply put--it wasn’t enough, for me, for players to just drive cars. Toonpunk is a game about being a weird wacky character in an impossibly banal fucked-up world. One of the things I wanted--and this was another thing my old editor pushed back hard against--was for players to be able to play as talking cars and weapons. The hard part wasn’t drafting these rules on how vehicles would work; the hard part was figuring out how to integrate them into character creation. 

Well, I did that part. 

But then I had another, harder thing to do, which I haven’t actually done yet: which is figure out whether or not I actually should include this in the core manual. I like this idea a lot, mind you, there’s some fun stuff in here--we got acidic window-washer fluid, we got unhinging your grille and devouring people whole, we got doing really funny movements to tip-toe yourself through small places--but the core manual is already up to 210 pages and this’ll take on 30 more. So, for the last month and a half, I’ve been drafting, writing, and repeating this process in an attempt to make this thing slim enough to justify including in core but also robust enough to be worth doing.

And so far I’m not really satisfied with what I have. So this devlog ended up being late, and not having as much to show as I really would’ve liked. Sorry about that. But this does have a question, for all you out there in the audience.

Do YOU think this is worth putting into core, even if it beefs up the book? Or do you think this would be better served as a small supplement? I dunno, so...maybe you all do!

[jvstheworld]

My Ted Lasso Re-watch: S1E1 (part 2)

Pilot

History of football according to Beard: created to stop boys from maturating. Isn't that why cornflakes were created too?

First time on the new pitch, it's almost a spiritual moment for Ted and gives us a good shot of just his hand touching the pitch.

In comes Nate telling them to get off the grass while running across it.

Ted apologises to the grass and it reminds me of Jester in Critical Role campaign 2 when she is talking to Henry Crabgrass. That's not the name of a person, she literally talks to grass via a spell called 'speak with plants'.

No one asks Nate his name because they view him so unimportant, and it's part of the reason why he grows to like Ted so much. Ted cares. Everyone else either ignores him or bullies him.

Nate is scared of Rebecca, so is Keeley the meet.

Rebecca tells an old joke in a new way that peaks Ted's interest.

Beard knows everything that Ted will need for his new place, showing just how well they know each other.

Ted likes coffee as long as he can't taste it? Doesn't that defeat the point of getting coffee? Tea is gross, I will give him that, and this comes from someone from Yorkshire.

Rebecca offers to take Ted on a tour, which he misunderstands to mean a tour of London. Ted's mum, Dottie, does the same thing when she appears.

The history of the club: used as a makeshift hospital during the war. Hmm, that sounds important.

Ted changes his tune immediately when he finds out that the picture of the guy surrounded by women is Rebecca's ex. He then goes straight to asking how she is doing. He is going through a rough time with his own marriage and knows that it's important to check in on people going through difficult times.

Rebecca throws Ted to the lions, the press. He has had no sleep and has just arrived in a new country. Ouch.

We get the first proper glimpse of the team in the gym, mostly focusing on Sam; the best boi, Jamie; who only cares about himself, and Roy; who threatens everyone in the room.

Ted is surprised by sparkling water. Yeah, it's gross, just drink normal, still water.

The 3 regulars in the Crown and Anchor. A constant fixture in the pub.

Ted is open and honest about his lack of football knowledge, probably to his detriment. But he got to win his bet with Beard.

Trent Crimm - The Independent. He's kind of an ass in the beginning, but you can't help but love him.

That ringing as Ted is being bombarded by questions happens every time Ted has a panic attack. So, while he isn't having one here, it is possible he is on the verge of one.

Eww, Ted spitting the sparkling water everywhere, because he is so overwhelmed with what is going on, he forgets that the water isn't something he likes. He apologises at least.

Beard preemptively getting Ted still water because he just knows that's what he needs.

Despite Rebecca going to bat for Ted in front of the press, the truth is revealed. She wants Ted and the club to fail to spite Rupert. The image she creates of Rupert and the cricket bat is certainly something.

[smash-64]

2022 Game of the Year Countdown 4. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Nihon Falcom Nintendo Switch, 2022 (orig. 2011)

The Crossbell saga is finally being officially localized and I was highly anticipating this release since I was not able to play a proper translation of the games. There was a highly polished fan translation, but I was unable to play it as they originally promised PSP support, only to change course once work got underway on the PC versions. So, I was stuck with a mostly unedited machine translation that was only passable. When I first played Zero a few years ago, I had a good time and would have said that the poor translation didn’t really affect my enjoyment. However, after playing a proper translation, I can see how it severely limited many of the best aspects of the Trails series.

The NISA version brings the same level of detail and immersion that was lacking in my last playthroughs. In fact, I would say it was almost like playing Zero for the first time again, which is an experience I wish I could have with every game in the Trails franchise. The characters are unique and fun, well designed, and accentuate the tropes they fit by growing instead of just fitting a label and never moving from it. 

There are aspects of the combat that I enjoy in later Trails installments, but Zero has the best of the classic combat in the entire franchise. Complex arts system (magic) that is fully customizable? Yes. Flexibility of roles in combat? Yes. A party that compliments each other? Yes. I never got tired of combat in this turn-based JRPG, and sought out as many special/hidden monster fights as possible. Planning out your attack is really fun, and by swapping specific accessories, you can create really powerful units. And unlike later Trails games, it’s not as easy to break the game with 100% evasion or guaranteed critical hits on characters with an already double boosted attack stat. Do I like those things? Absolutely. But I also like the challenge of not being able to do that, or at least not as easily.

Zero gives you a full party of four characters right from the start, and they all fit together so well that it feels only natural for these complete strangers to form a powerful bond as a group. I think part of why Crossbell is such a beloved pair of games comes down to how the initial party fits together so well, supports each other, and grows to form a group that becomes emblematic. 

In addition to the new characters from Zero, we see a few returning characters from the Sky trilogy, including my two favorites in the entire franchise: Estelle and Renne. Their storyline was actually the driving force that kept me playing during my first playthrough a few years ago, and to see it fully realized with a proper translation was amazing. I cannot get enough of these two and the way that Falcom was able to write them into the story without overshadowing the new cast was phenomenal. 

One negative about Zero is that the start of the game can be a bit slow, and maybe even a bit boring if you don’t immediately fall in love with the city of Crossbell or your party of characters. Very little of consequence really happens until you pass the halfway point, which can turn some people off. I’m down for this sort of thing, especially in the Trails series, so it wasn’t a big negative for me, personally, but I can see it being a speed bump for others.

Falcom is well known for having great music, so of course this soundtrack is filled with bangers. Inevitable Struggle is an all time great when it comes to boss fights. Afternoon in Crossbell is a calm and relaxing location tune. Firm Strength has a creeping sense of confidence to it. Even Get Over the Barrier is a great tune, despite how overplayed it is. 

Trails from Zero is an all time classic. If you haven’t yet jumped into the Trails series, I might not recommend this as your entry point since there is a lot of background knowledge you’d need to fully appreciate the plot, characters, and overarching setting, but I cannot stress enough how JRPG fans absolutely need to play the Trails series. It’ll ruin RPGs forever for you because nothing else can even compare, but it’s absolutely worth it.

[cerebraldischarge]

They say, you have to leave in order to return.

But I have been both at home this whole time and far away from home. My body is a lumbering RV rolling through this ambiguous vacation. I see every new landscape through a window, without being a part of the scene. I have accepted that as my role, for the most part. Maybe that’s why the destructive whispers of most humans barely reach my ears anymore, let alone my heart. Or maybe I just got used to the fact that, by virtue of not being human like them, I will always attract suspicion with my unusual nature. The vitriol itself abated, too - perhaps they figured out that I meant no harm, and classified me as a non-threat simply because I’m just an observer. And yet, I still hope that keeping this travel diary can sort of count as participation. After all, I may be the only one who notices a certain thing on the road.

There’s one observation that I keep spotting out there, attracting my attention like an odd-shaped cactus in the dry orange sea.

This is it: What the hell happened to the queer community?!

Willem Arondeus, before being executed for resistance activities by everyone’s favorite German villains, made the statement: “homosexuals are not cowards”.

Amelio Robles Ávila, a trans man born in 1889, would shoot anyone who taunted him by calling him a woman.

Aileen Wuornos made the world a slightly safer place for women by taking out seven male creepers, then went to her death with the knowledge that she did nothing wrong.

But are we still not cowards? Are we still ready to fight in a revolution? Are we still willing to protect ourselves?

I won’t get into the statistics here, because they can be just as easily used to prove one thing as its opposite, but there seems to be a theme within the bulk of the queer community (and the allies) which puts a strong emphasis on peacefulness, warm and fuzzy feels, community-orientedness, and projecting a generally “cute and harmless” public image. That on its own is not really a problem, but the balance seems to have been shifted. In the content the community leaders share, there seems to be a lot of talk about how we are supposed to be afraid, targeted by the baddies, experiencing dread and hopelessness, being essentially a helpless victim and expecting to be validated by legislation and flashy, organized gestures of acceptance. Is this really necessary?

I don’t mean we should “be fine with” discrimination and actual rights being taken away, but do you think the people who legitimately want you dead (whether they admit it in daylight or not) will suddenly change and start giving a damn if you show them how miserable they are making you the hundredth time? And do you really think any politician actually cares? I don’t know who said this, but it appears to be truer than ever: people who think politicians truly represent their interests are the same people who think the stripper at the bar really likes them.

As for my personal reason why this bugs me so much: while projecting the image of “we love everyone”, nonviolence, peace-light-and-harmony, these same community leaders shut down any sort of disagreement or criticism with the help of technology, money, and clout. It’s as if some people (I’m not naming names because 1. It’s not important, 2. I don’t remember half of the names of the people I had this experience with) have a poor ability to distinguish between bigots and real enemies on one hand, and potential allies with a different perspective on the other. Let’s not mince words here: I have been banned, deleted, harassed, and made out to be the bad guy multiple times by my fellow queers because I dare to advocate for self-defense - both on a personal and on an organizational level. I try to educate and infect the community with my love for the Second Amendment and the ideas that often come associated with it, such as personal responsibility and economic sensibility, as well as restricted government power and mostly unrestricted discussion of ideas. (Am I the only one who expected this stuff to be part of the default American attitude package in the first place, by the way?) Occasionally I get a positive response, but most often I get called out for “bigotry”, “ignorance”, and “disrespectful” behavior.

I get it, y’all. You probably only heard stuff like this (especially the Second Amendment part) from actual bigots who 1. hate you without even knowing why, and 2. have less than zero idea about what being a sexual or gender minority even means and think that gays have been invented in the 1980s. That’s who gets on TV, that’s who gets to be heard - because perturbed emotions equal higher ratings, and you can’t sell a media product without covering some kind of conflict. The more exaggerated, the better. People - all people - have a ghoulish side to them: they want to “spill the tea”, “own the libs”, see someone fly high and fall down. We are drawn to gawking at tragedy, even if we hate it - at least it’s not boring, after all!

(one of my favorite songs seems relevant here: TOOL - Vicarious)

So, it’s natural to associate the words in my mouth with the rotten people who try to weaponize them against us. (Mostly the “religious freedom for me, but not for thee” crowd, who often have the audacity to display patriotic imagery while spouting their nonsense. I forgot the name again, but years ago I’ve seen a white-haired man preach the wrath of his god on anyone who isn’t 100% cis and straight - and he did this with the Preamble as his graphic backdrop. I remember that part, because it made me livid. You would never say that stuff if you have read the damn thing!)

But stop and think. As the popular slogan goes, “we don’t want to make your kids queer, we want your queer kids to survive” - if that’s really the case, what are we actually doing towards that goal? Could we be more effective? Have the years of dragging out statistics proving our victimhood changed anything? Yes, some minds can be changed through discourse, as the growth of the secular/atheist community has demonstrated. But some minds will not be changed and will not respond to anything gentle. In fact, I myself have been embarrassed to be associated with people who, frankly, appear to be weak and vulnerable. Yes, some of us are genuinely vulnerable, gentle souls who could never hurt a fly - even if said fly actively works for the KKK or something. But that’s not all we are.

Perhaps I’m painting too bleak a picture here - after all, Erin Palette and Gina Roberts, with their wonderful organizations, are already doing the work I’m trying to urge y’all to start doing. But there is still, in many places, this self-destructive resistance towards the idea of putting on some big girl pants and protecting our own community, and it’s just sad to see.

The government is not there to feed and save you. Not even if you sacrifice everything to it and let it micromanage all your choices and lives. If you let it control you in exchange for bribes and comforting feelings, you risk it turning against you on a whim - all it takes is an election, or one corrupt person, or an unforeseen situation in your life that the algorithm cannot handle. (There was a British series in the 1970s called Space: 1999, in which the main computer brain, when faced with a particularly difficult problem, ethical dilemma, or outlandish occurrence, displayed the words “Human Decision Required” on its screen. I’m sure you can think of situations from your life where, inevitably, human decision was required. Or even a moment when the option applicable to you was not present on a standardized questionnaire you had to fill out. I mean… do I really need to explain this to you, of all people?)

[wanou-dorm]

Flynn but as different Birds 1

Flynn belongs @fumikomiyasaki This has been running through my Mind So I will use my Bird Knowledge and Critical thinking to interpret Flynn as different bird ,

…. you next Rubina just as Soon as Figure what birds Your next.

Raven

This Wouldn’t Change anything but he would be notably Taller

Extra Feathers on the Face on the Bridge of his Nose ( It’s literally the only way to Tell a Crow and a Raven apart

Slightly Smarter ,.. only Slightly

hes Cawing sounds more like Croaking

Every Corvid would be the Same yes Even Blue Jays

Yes Even pokemon like Honch

Owl (great Horn ) - Favorite Birb(it’s actually Barn owl but Owls)

Thank Lord Jesus You are not a Barn Owl No one need to hear Banshees Screeches When your Angry . Bro chill

He looks Plump but It’s Really all Just Feathers please believe him

okay Hes kinda Plump but its mostly Feathers

soft

In other News you can’t hear him now. Great for what he Dose .

Extend Whoooo

I would say he’s Smarter but Owl are Actually Considered dumb by bird strandard (cause Raven and Crows) so ever so slightly stupider still smart and Cunning cause it’s Flynn

Owls are just Cat birds susceptible him to do Dumb Cat Stuff

hes Always Staring

Can’t forget Stolas Paralles

Can forget Turn his Head like An owl , creepy

Secertary Bird-

I can already here someone saying “step on Me please!!”

finally he can Kick people with those Legs - I mean he could before but now he can kill people .. not like he’d want too

He’ll probably Still use a Dagger

he’s probably Model , on the Side along with Acting

Snakes ( and Jamil ) Beware

Luscious Eyelashs

he’s Probably look More Feminine .. to his advantage probably

comes with Eyeliner

Puffin ( third favorite Birb)

He’s be more Baby face than he already is

In addition to Flying he can also Swim which would help him.

I feel like he’d torelate being made fun of they are called clowns of the sea or be less tolerant

Did mention he Be seen as a fucking Adorable he’s definitely not getting the Roles he Prefers .

“Sick “ dance moves

I Would done the Chicken god from Wily Beast and Wicked creature but I’ve just been given a finely written letter saying Chose Another Touhou Bird so Instead it’s

Utsuho Reiuji ( Touhou)

Arsene with the Power of Nuclear Fusion …

I imagine he’s Still Smart un like Okuu who is incredibly Dumb, But I Imagine he’s more over confident and paranoid

… Hoshi’s Going to going to Field day When he mentions his Third Leg cause Yatagarsu

He unfortunately would have still have Voices his Head but now one is an actual God .

This Dose Impile that Flynn Ate part of A Yatagarsu but with his Backstory he could’ve Stolen it or Found it Somewhere And since Nano is Human it doesn’t effect him but Flynn being a Bird made him a perfect Vessel

I kinda What to see what his Overblot would Like it cause Okuu and her Power strangely make since Flynn is going through a Meltdown .

[scoundrels-in-love]

I posted 15,453 times in 2022

345 posts created (2%)

15,108 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined

@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

@bumble-b-goode

@cup-ah-jho

I tagged 9,203 of my posts in 2022

Only 40% of my posts had no tags

#critical role - 2,276 posts

#cr spoilers - 1,004 posts

#art - 927 posts

#video - 891 posts

#cr fanart - 655 posts

#cats - 447 posts

#ashton - 374 posts

#kdrama - 292 posts

#rainy rambles - 271 posts

#fashion - 198 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i think this is good to internalize for myself and also for some people who might be weary and worried how to deal with me when i am in cert

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I love that Ashton is all "I will literally stand between any harm and any of these *gulp* friends", but then they just don't trust Chetney as far they could throw him (which is far) and I feel like it's mostly because he keeps being dick to Dorian and others. Like, you soft hearted punk, I love you so much.

204 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

#4

Ashton being the one to restrain FCG, one advocating for letting them down and even saying please, reminding they're all powderkegs that have hurt rest of the party in crossfire, trying to find kindest way to share the roughest news, setting up Orym's speech about taking care of each other and being first to agree with Orym's speech while most of the party didn't actually voice their agreement, just Ashton and their friendship with FCG and how much they care about their friends. /openly weeps

224 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#3

I am thinking about Ashton, left to grow up in an orphanage, going through the change that perhaps is brought upon by one of their unknown parent's heritage, alone and confused, and like no one else.

Having to navigate that alone, most likely scared the first time they realized their hair was changing into stone, or even it first all fell out, the skintone shifting and all these physical changes truly no other puberty would be alike and there was no one to tell them they weren't straight up dying of some unknown disease and I just--

268 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#2

One thing I think about a lot is how resigned, perhaps even inadequate, Ashton seems to feel about their role as purely muscle within the group.

There are definitely more than just these examples, but what comes to mind is post-duel at the ball when Orym approaches Ashton and says they might need Ashton, and Ashton immediately asks who needs beating up. As if that's the only input that they can contribute or be expected to contribute.

And then in latest episode, when they've all looked at Ruidus, someone needs to help the telecope to be moved so it can look at Catha and Ashton immediately volunteers all "this is what I'm good for".

And it's after everyone has chimed in with opinions about the moon storms and Imogen's experiences, but Ashton remained quiet, because what do they know? All these people are magic users or at least connected to someone wise and knowledgeable and Ashton's just a thug from orphanage.

I don't think it helps the way Bell's Hells sometimes don't hear them, like Ashton several times said they can have a go at picking locks (proficient), but the group always looked to someone else for that or a different solution.

The few times they're confident is when Gus "spoke Marquesian" and Ashton stepped up to speak bluntly with some cussing, and when they're fighting - and as they said themselves, it might be in part to make someone look at them and care. And when they're in smaller groups and dealing with odd vendors. Or have to protect someone, even if it's making sure FCG isn't hurting themselves emotionally.

I also recall how eagerly Ashton just echoed and boosted up Imogen's lines at first in the knick-knack store. They're eager to learn and support in more than just muscle-way, but so many of the current problems Bell's Hells have are magic and knowledge aligned, where they cannot help much and I feel like they feel kind of inadequate about it.

I wonder if it's something that comes from how they were treated in Nobodies, with how excited they were about their bribe moment early in the campaign, or just how cards have fallen currently in the story.

And I really hope they will gain confidence in themselves and their place with Bell's Hells. (And get a hug.)

308 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Between having been really into mermaids and underwater kingdoms as a concept during my childhood and the absolutely hauntingly stunning horror movie sequence where you root for the sirens introduction to Talokan, it's not really any surprise that I became instantly and deeply fascinated with this nation and its' people.

Like, there is so much I kept thinking about during the movie and even now, a whole day later. This great post by @thebctman raised even more that I hadn't gotten to.

Until the call to arms scene, I assumed that they cannot speak under the water, so I was quite stunned at the scene. But it does make me wonder just how much of importance does body language carry in Talokanian society! And how hard it might have been to preserve their native language, especially before the establishing of the cave sanctuary(ies).

And I have to think for how long Namor was only one who could only briefly exit the water, how, before the invention of water masks, there could be no sanctuary and he would be the only one wandering the caves. Pushed into role and revered as the leader from birth, fitting in with none of them.

The fact they ended up building this sanctuary and filling it to the brim with parts of their cultures they couldn't practice under the water - like the murals. How they must have lost their national cuisine, without access to ingredients or ways to practice it - or even consume, since they cannot eat above the water. I have no idea how much jade deposits are under water, but perhaps even that became a scarce material.

It makes me think of Namor's speech the first time he meets with Queen Ramonda and Shuri - about how clean and unharmed the land is and how much Wakanda's people have not had to change and compromise who they are, their culture, just to continue to exist. Though Talokan is their new land, it is still an exile. Exile deep into the cold waters that have slowly been poisoned and polluted by people.

Somehow, they've managed to befriend sea animals and even communicate with them (which leads back to my point about non-verbal communication under the water, maybe they quite literally can emit sounds similar to dolphins or whales), there is no way that they do not know the absolute devastation done to the oceans, that it has not impacted them, that Namor or his people haven't personally known whales that have been killed by whalers.

And yes, I do wonder about the pressure - how fast can they raise and lower themselves in these depths, without reprecussions, and just how damn fast can they travel because they seem to traverse incredible distances so very swiftly. One moment they're near USA, then Namor can respond to Queen Ramonda's call very swiftly. Like, just how fast can they all swim, without exhaustion?? Fascinating.

I know most of these things will never be answered, if any at all, but a lot of them are just lot of feelings about things in the subtext and I'm gonna go drown in those kthxbye.

392 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

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