#new annihilation was pretty simple

[anime-scarves]

The gang's all ready to annihilate.

[seat-safety-switch]

Race teams go through a lot of parts. Not just through crashing, as you might expect. The reason why is simple: when you want to compete at the highest level, having a part that is even 1% out of spec means that you're operating at a disadvantage. Imagine you were like a long-distance runner, or a good-jumping person at the Olympics. If you had a hole in your shoe, you'd go buy some new shoes. Seems wasteful, but the only thing money can't buy is another race weekend.

What this means in practice is that, if you know where to look for it, you can get a lot of pretty-decent race car parts. Leftover engines, half-broken transmissions, gently-annihilated tires. Race teams are always spitting them out, and they're all gonna go to random weirdos like you. Yes, you'd expect them to be going to other people who work at the race shop, but it turns out that after driving a loud and exciting cutting-edge race car all day for money, you want to drive home in a boring automatic Camry with no modifications whatsoever.

Races are always happening, too, so the parts fountain will never run out. I'm sure there's some guys pulling the positronic thought matrices out of one of those robot racers they ran the other weekend. Probably gonna put them in a slightly less fast race car, one where people don't ask too many questions of a depressed Honda Asimo breaking into tears between heats.

Now, I myself do not have the money to buy even used race car parts. Which is not to say I'm not aware of them: I hang out and pull stuff out of their scrap metal bins all the time. Even a race team's offcuts are nicer than my actual race car, which is why my hood is now made out of four different colours of carbon fibre and a box of wood screws that they forgot to take inside when they tried to fix the fence. They're Robertson screws, of course, because race teams demand the best.

[txttletale]

nothing about ai art is new

[we’re sitting in a taco bell drive through and ive abused my control over the aux cord to make you listen to indie rock classic apollo 18 by they might be giants for hours on end]

so there’s been a lot of yammering on about stable diffusion and how it will revolutionize/destroy/democratize/annihilate the world of art, depending on which impassioned twitter thread you read. what they all have in common though is (incorrectly) treating this as some radical new shift, an unprecedented leap forward caused by cutting-edge technology. this is wrong: nihil sub sole novum.

this post is not about:

ip law

whether ip law is a good thing (no)

whether ai art is Real Art (what is this girls 1917?)

how AI art actually works (as far as i can tell, like this)

this post is about

karl marx babeyyy

so in a sexy little number called wage labour and capital, carlos marx lays out some of the foundations of marxist theory. these include the labour theory of value (that the value of a thing, whether expressed in the use of something or in its exchange for other things, is only created or increased when a human being performs labour. e.g. fabric + hours of human life = clothing, which is both more useful and more valuable in exchange terms than the fabric) and the division of labour

to make a long and well-written argument short and poorly formulated (seriously, read the original, it’s like 25 pages), the price of a commodity* rises and falls around a base price that’s based on the cost of production. ‘wages’ are simply the term for the price of the commodity of ‘labour-power’, or hours of human labour**--and therefore, they rise and fall around the cost of producing human labour.

now, how much does that cost? pretty simple. first there’s the basic costs of the labourer continuing to survive day to day. then there’s the costs of them having children who can grow up to be labourers and keeping them alive too. finally, there are the costs of the labourer’s training, and these can far outstrip the first two. it’s expensive for a capitalist to hire a digital artist because the cost of producing digital artists (the survival of a human being + years and years of practice) is high--so the commodity of their labour power is priced highly.

however, marx also succintly explains supply and demand--concepts everyone’s probably semi-familiar with. when there are many sellers of a commodity, they compete for buyers by offering their commodities at lower and lower prices.

bearing in mind that ‘wages’ are just the price of the commodity of human labour-power--this means that technological development in production has a twofold depressive effect on wages: not only are less people employed (if a capitalist can produce twice as much of a commodity, they’re not guaranteed twice as much of a market--so they will instead tend towards producing the same amount at half the cost), but more people are capable of doing the work. so for the same process of production, there are more people capable of doing it, and less people needed to do it. as marx puts it:

“The greater division of labour enables one labourer to accomplish the work of five, 10, or 20 labourers; it therefore increases competition among the labourers fivefold, tenfold, or twentyfold. The labourers compete not only by selling themselves one cheaper than the other, but also by one doing the work of five, 10, or 20; and they are forced to compete in this manner by the division of labour, which is introduced and steadily improved by capital. Furthermore, to the same degree in which the division of labour increases, is the labour simplified.

The special skill of the labourer becomes worthless. He becomes transformed into a simple monotonous force of production, with neither physical nor mental elasticity. His work becomes accessible to all; therefore competitors press upon him from all sides. Moreover, it must be remembered that the more simple, the more easily learned the work is, so much the less is its cost to production, the expense of its acquisition, and so much the lower must the wages sink – for, like the price of any other commodity, they are determined by the cost of production. Therefore, in the same manner in which labour becomes more unsatisfactory, more repulsive, do competition increase and wages decrease”

when marx wrote this, he was talking about artisan craftsmen who made goods by hand in small workshop. since then we’ve seen this exact process sweep across every industry, devouring the manufacturing sector, now creeping second by second into the white-collar service economy. now, we are seeing this on the horizon for artists--there’s far more skill in creating AI artwork than some people give credit for, but it is ultimately in terms of time and accessibility easier and broader to do--it will have these effects if it is able to produce output on par, or even just slightly worse than, professional photographers and artists, for a fraction of the cost of labour-power.

so, like, why have i just written all this? to point out that the phenomenon people are scared of wrt AI art driving already precarious working artists into poverty is not some new and endemic technological horror. it is a social process that’s been ongoing for centuries--and the productive forces are not going to roll back, because capitalism demands ever-rising profits which demand ini turn ever-lower costs of production, including (especially) lower costs of production of skilled labour. if you are trying to stop stable diffusion AI tech from being used then you are trying to stop the horse by pulling on the reins of the cart. 

if you are scared that AI art is going to make your passion and profession economically worthless, the tools themselves are not your enemy--it is the system that decides how these tools will be used, that art becoming easier to make is a vector by which to divide and precaritize working artists instead of to broaden access to the joy of creation--in the same way that industrial production has been used to create the system of wage-slavery instead of providing for all, in the same way that will repeat over and over again until the system that allocates resources and labour to maximize profit instead of human welfare is toppled and replaced

[the drive thru employee politely clears their throat. i turn to them and say ‘oh i didnt want anything i just like the smell out here’ and drive away directly into a lake]

*in marxist terms, a commodity is anything that: 1. has use value, as in, someone wants to have it and use it--eat it, wear it, play with it, watch it-- 2. has exchange value, as in, it can be exchanged for other commodities (price is a reflection of this exchange value through money), 3. has value through the application of labour power (someone has worked to produce it. even raw materials count--coal power plants don’t buy coal that’s still in the ground)

**engels explains the distinction between labour-power and labour in the introduction to the 1891 edition:

 “What the economists had considered as the cost of production of “labour” was really the cost of production, not of “labour,” but of the living labourer himself. And what this labourer sold to the capitalist was not his labour.

 At the most, he could sell his future labour – i.e., assume the obligation of executing a certain piece of work in a certain time. But, in this way, he does not sell labour (which would first have to be performed), but not for a stipulated payment he places his labour-power at the disposal of the capitalist for a certain time (in case of time-wages), or for the performance of a certain task (in case of piece-wages). He hires out or sells his labour-power.”

[autumnmobile12]

Human turned Vampire variations

From the classic bite of Bram Stoker's novel explained to some really convoluted metamorphoses, here are 6 ways humans are turned into vampires throughout modern media.

Shiki

This series had a slow process, similar to the classic Dracula. The shiki chooses one victim to feed off of over the course of three nights and holds said victim entirely under their sway through a means of hypnosis. Growing increasingly more anemic and unable to tell their family and friends what's happening, the victim eventually passes away from heart failure.

However, the vampire bite itself doesn't guarantee a new vampire. It's caused by an unspecified genetic factor that responds to a vampire bite. The shiki in the series gather around the grave of their latest victim and wait for signs of life, digging up their new member if they do and giving up if they start to smell the body decaying.

It led to a pretty devastating moment for one of the vampires who desperately tried to turn the rest of her family, but none of them had the genetic factor and she ended up killing all of them for nothing.

Hellsing

Vampire bites virgin human of the opposite sex.

Okay, seems simple enough, but what exactly are we considering virginity here? This is an arbitrary concept with a definition that has changed multiple times over history, not to mention the 'loss of virginity' definition today varies according to who you ask. What are we considering gender? Are we strictly adhering to an individual's biological characteristics or is transgenderism/gender-fluidity at play? What about intersex individuals?

This one seems straightforward until you consider all the non-heteronormative angles, but really...I'm pretty sure no one watches this series for the plot. I think we all just showed up to see a vampire annihilate the Third Reich.

Twilight

I've never read/watched the books/movies, but I've heard it's venom in this series. Is it venom? If so, that's an interesting take.

Vampire in the Garden

Saliva.

The vampires of this series are the result of a genetic mutation and can change another human into a vampire by introducing an unspecified pathogen/chemical found in their saliva into the human's bloodstream.

Soulless (or the Alexia Tarrabotti novels)

All right, this book series is fun and I highly recommend. British sass, steampunk Victorians, LGBTQ+ representation, fabulous vampires, and dorky werewolves, I love it.

Anyway, vampires in this series have what's called 'feeder fangs,' but the female vampires have a second smaller set called 'maker fangs.' So only a female vampire can create a new vampire.

Also, the supernatural system of this world revolves around souls. People can have an average 'amount' of soul, for lack of a better word, an unknown percentage of people can have 'excess soul,' and a rare number can have no soul. Excess soul lingers after death, so people with excess soul become ghosts when they die. Or, if they are bitten by a vampire or werewolf, they can become that supernatural being and gain immortality.

But since there's no feasible way to measure how much soul one has, becoming supernatural is a roulette with death. Similar to Shiki, immortality by vampire bite is not guaranteed.

Vampire Knight

Vampires can reproduce with each other and give birth to children, essentially making them just a long-lived, virtually immortal sub-species of humanity that needs blood to survive.

There's also a vampire hierarchy of which only the rare 'purebloods' can create new vampires, but the former human vampires are unstable and often become mindless, blood-driven monsters, adding to the classicism of the upper hierarchy.

(If I remember right, it's been awhile since I read these.)

...

These are all the methods I can think of, but reblog if you can think of another method or one that's similar to the ones above.

[ludiharambasha]

While I am not against the idea of Aang not killing The Firelord, and instead imparting justice for the genocide of his people on his own terms and in accordance with his culture per se, something about that narrative thread and how it was explored in the series rubs me the wrong way. It was apparent that AtLA was a rather neolib narrative from the get-go, and this choice is one that is but a culmination of this twisted mindset.

The thing is, killing The Firelord was always meant to be a symbolic action rather than a literal one. The Fire Nation started its military campaigns and conquest long before Ozai was even born. Killing The Current Firelord is not an immediate band-aid fix to a hundred years of oppression the other nations suffered through. While yes, The Firelords stand for the Fire Nation's imperialism, the people of the Fire Nation directly attributed to these campaigns. Ozai didn't kill the Waterbenders of the Southern Water tribe, nor the Airbenders, and neither did Sozin. People of the Fire Nation and its soldiers did.

And killing Ozai would have been a fine narrative choice, as Ozai is nothing more than a symbol of the Fire Nation, and his death would symbolize the death of the Fire Nation itself and its ideology. One could argue that that would have been a rather simplistic choice, but a completely fine and appropriate one for a children's cartoon. After all, children's media rests upon these personified or metonymic representations of abstract things, substituting them with something concrete. While it would have been an oversimplification of the conflict, it would have been narratively more effective than what the series actually offered.

When Aang refuses to kill Ozai, it brings forth all kinds of complications into the narrative, by completely shattering that symbolic aspect of the entire ordeal. The entire series hinged on Aang going against the Firelord, and the audience's engagement was based on this suspension of disbelief that killing the Firelord is in essence, killing the Fire Nation.

Now, when you decide to take this route you have to engage with the literal implication of their fight. Killing the Firelord isn't the end, as the people who actively upheld that system are still alive and did not answer for any of their crimes against humanity. So naturally, defeating the Firelord would only be the first step in that direction - but the writers of the series did not engage with that choice, not really. The series did pretty much end with Aang defeating the Firelord and taking away his bending, and reinstating Zuko as the new Firelord. The people who up until yesterday murdered or fully supported the murder and annihilation of the other nations, just magically started supporting and accepting peace, and aside from Azula and Ozai, no one answers for anything.

Nevermind that Iroh was also a military commander and killed many innocents, nevermind what Zuko did, nevermind that people that tortured Hama and their ascendants are walking scott-free, never mind that we never see what happened to the police officers in the Boiling Rock or the Fire Nation's soldiers that didn't die during Sozin's comet. No one ever pays for murdering Jet's family.

I truly don't understand this choice. You either make the narrative more simple, or you dabble in the more complex implications of it, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

The people of the other Nations are supposed to just make peace with the people who butchered their loved ones for an entire century.

[itsclydebitches]

for all that it's very clear RWBY took influence from a lot of anime, the writers sure don't seem to have learned much of anything from it. i'm watching the redub of the classic sailor moon anime right now, and it's insane to me how much better this thirty-year-old anime packed with filler was at things like character arcs and believably redeeming villains and having a main character that is at once childish and yet a great leader who, when the chips are down, could talk some of the worst evils in the universe down from their plans.

if anyone could talk salem out of her plans for world annihilation by just being able to love her, it's usagi tsukino.

Right? Man, I'd pay for a high-budget, animated version of that crossover lol.

That's one of the big arguments of the Why RWBY is Disappointing vid though, using Cowboy Beebop as an example, if I remember correctly. There's no doubt that RWBY has been influenced by a number of classic series, but deliberately mimicking something that worked in another show doesn't guarantee success, particularly if you don't understand why it worked in the first place. I'm constantly emphasizing that stories are whole products made up of a thousand smaller pieces, like a puzzle or a patchwork quilt, and simply slapping one piece down because it looks good in another story isn't enough. You have to carefully build everything around that piece so that it fits into the unified whole. Continuity, world building, characterization, setup... RWBY is very good at throwing out those "cool" moments, but it does none of the work ahead of time (or, just as often, after the fact) to make those moments satisfying outside of the initial adrenaline rush of watching.

Plus, RWBY is over-crowded nowadays. Characters, mysteries, real world issues, and those "cool" ideas have populated like bunnies until, I think, it's easy for a lot of fans to just get swept up in the spectacle of it all. The simpler your story is, the less there is to hide behind, which is why I think a lot of manga like Sailor Moon still rings true 30+ years later. If you do right by your core concepts and prove to the reader (often subconsciously) that your storytelling skills are strong, it will resonate even after new generations have different expectations in their media, or these ideas have become "cliche" in wake of that initial popularity. If we go with a food comparison (always my favorite lol) Sailor Moon makes me think of something like good home cooking. Looking at it now it's simple, it's straightforward, it has some technical flaws, but the comparatively low number of ingredients have all been treated stunningly well and there is an insane amount of love poured into the dish. Meanwhile, later seasons of RWBY feel like a semi-successful restaurant serving a special so long it took the server a week to fully memorize it, rattling off an absurd number of ingredients and fancy techniques used until you're not even sure what the dish is supposed to be anymore. Some diners go, "Wow, what an amazing, clearly high-end dish! And they've included this super rare ingredient which means it must be good." Meanwhile, others are going, "... Honestly, that sounds like Too Much. I'd have preferred a simple, well-done pasta." And all the while the restaurant—which is pretty big and popular now, garnering a lot of critical attention—is trying to pass this complicated, fancy-for-the-sake-of-fancy dish off as the product of a humble, mom-and-pop establishment. No, you used to serve that kind of food: simple, technically flawed in a lot of ways, but with so much love poured into the dish that most diners didn't care. Now people suspect that your chefs are miserable and we definitely know they're overworked, so even if that insane dish would have tasted great to certain pallets, it was doomed before it even left the kitchen.

[moonstruckdraws]

Luci Interacts Pt 2

technically it's the next day so technically I'm allowed to draw so- yeah I'll stop making excuses, I was so sooo bored

So! This is how Luci interacts with the Mad Dogz (there's a lot of reading, so just a heads up)

Luci: sigh "I hate how much you get me." Raph: "Ha ha! Really? Glad we can relate to each other."

When Luci first saw Raph, she thought he was so badass and be cool and spunky. Needless to say that she was immediately disappointed when she learned that he was a more of a softie, and she kind of dismissed any interactions with him. That is until she goes to their lair for the first time and sees his room and her eyes go to his stuffed toy collection. Raph would ramble on and on about them, and Luci would get invested. Luci doesn't fully understand the appeal, but when he gifts her a plush, she finds it oddly comforting and is always somewhere within her reach when she goes to bed. Their relationship expanded from there with Raph's room becoming another one of her safe spaces. Luci and Raph would relate with each other's anger issues (someone clearly having it much worse) and he would be one of the only people she'd talk about some of her issues with. Raph even shows her methods to deal with her short temper, which doesn't really work but the effort is what counts. Their bond is close but they don't do much aside from these small therapeutic talks in Raph's room. They have small talk, but don't have that much in common.

"I find Raph to be kind, and not in the suspicious way like that Beaver, and compassionate. He's a good friend to have and his fiery spirit to fighting makes him even cooler! I gotta have him teach me some moves. Maybe I can kick that trash eater's *** if I do. Speaking of him, the big guy loses some points for being all buddy buddy with the trash eater. Though knowing him.. it can't be helped so.. I don't hold it against him harshly."

Luci: "We're definitely killing this guy, right?" Donnie: "Oh we are going to ANNIHILATE them, my friend."

Luci is the closets with Donnie! She finds his sarcasm very charming and his sass being on the same level as hers. These two would verbally destroy ANYONE if they stood in the way (they're the mean girls). When they first met, Luci wasn't interested in him at all since he kept to himself. It was only when she meets S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N for the first time that she gets interested in what Donnie actually does. Luci is very interested in Donnie's tech, in contrast to Pico, mainly because of the lights. She also finds the sounds that they make to be quite pleasant. Luci zones out at everything Donnie says until she tells him to shut up; but if it's any kind of math, she's immediately invested and will assist in any equations Donnie is working on for projects. Her working in the junkyard, when it came to repossessing cars, she's actually a bit handy with tools. She's no expert but she can get things running, even if only barely, so she helps with what she can with building Donnie's inventions. Aside from them bonding over tinkering, they also watch tv shows together, mostly sci-fi related or specific dramas. Luci likes how Donnie is also straight forward like Repo and appreciates people like this because their simpler to understand. Adding the fact that Donnie is a terrible liar, she can read his ques even easier because she's still trying to understand them since being mutated. He's also the most helpful to her when overwhelmed from the blaring lights and constant noise of New York.

"Dee is pretty cool, ignoring his terrible music tastes. He's a bit talkative on things I don't understand, but his passion has my respect. His lab is the most interesting thing with all those robo things. I like tinkering with things in there, mainly big shelves he neglects to bolt correctly, so I tighten or loosen them so they're actually stable. Who knew a genius like him could forget the damn basics with simple things. I try to stay away from any of his bigger projects though.. the engines can be very loud.. And I hate to say it, but I understand the trash eater's point with robots. They don't gotta be everywhere doin' everythin' but they are handy. I like assembling them more then the end results and functions of 'em."

Leo: "Okay okay, you're gonna love this next joke" Luci: "Pff- please no more! They're so bad!" Luci: "LEOOOOOO YOU MOTHERF-"

Luci and Leo have a weird dynamic. One moment, they could be chill and cool and the next, Luci will want to rip Leo's head off. Luci likes Leo's sass and sharp wits and actually finds some of his jokes funny, though she doesn't do more than snort at them. Luci instantly liked Leo with his charisma, but finds him to be annoying. For a long time they would only be sassy with one another and their relationship wouldn't grow until Leo catches Luci watching tv, specifically a dramatic romance (for a reason I'll elaborate on another time). Leo would instantly be invested and the two of them would watch romances, dramas, and reality tv shows together. This grows them closer, but Leo's mischievous side screws with Luci a bit. Luci doesn't understand the concept of pranks as a way of messing with someone in a lighthearted way and instead sees it as an insult. Everytime Leo pranks her, she will literally hunt him down and attack him. She forgives him at the end of the day, but her lack of understanding and Leo's inability to not mess with someone, leaves their relationship stuck in this wishy-washy state of being good friends to awkward acquaintances.

"I like Leo, I really do but.. I just don't get 'im sometimes. He's the most fun to hang out with, but then he does things that make me angry and it's supposed to be treated as not a big deal. I've seen his brothers act the same way as I do at his antics, but we always seem distant by the end of it.. it's so confusing, honestly. Why are people so confusing? It makes me wonder why I should have friends at all sometimes. But then again, I know they have my back so.. clearly it's not all confusing, right?"

Mikey: "Hey Luci! How've you been? Still trying to fully tame Mrs. Nubbins and stuff..?" Luci: "Hm? Oh, yeah I guess."

Luci is indifferent towards Mikey. At first, Luci was untrusting towards Mikey as his brightness reminded her of Todd's kindness. She avoided him the most out of all the brothers, and their relationship took the longest to develop. But she'd notice all the drawings on the wall or the fridge and get sucked in by the splashes of colors. She finds out it's Mikey by catching him draw at one point. She'd observe from a distance before it became their little activity for Mikey to draw and Luci to just watch. It was a comfortable silence for them, and Mikey would be cheerful that they'd be growing closer. That is until the "Nothing But Truffle" episode when Mikey ditches Todd for Meat Sweats. Luci is aware that Mikey is a major fan of Meat Sweats and understood his desire to be friends with him; she even understood him leaving Todd to hang out with him. The problem was that, despite not liking Todd, she didn't like Mikey's actions. She didn't understand how he could easily cast away someone he considered a friend for a person they didn't even really know, instead idolized. This kind of broke their relationship as Luci started getting confused again. She wondered if Mikey would do the same thing to her, thinking a bit selfishly but its justified in this case. She gains a bit of sympathy for Pico when she sees his clear distaste towards Mikey's actions. As it stands now, they don't hang out unless someone else is present, and even then Luci won't initiate conversations. Luci is stuck on whether she can trust Mikey and wanting to at the same time. The situation is very confusing to her, so she acts like how she did when they first met, dismissive. (Mikey just cannot win, can he?)

"My thoughts on Mikey..? He's.. he's artistic, very talented in that. He's spunky and bright, I guess. And he's... I don't want to answer this anymore."

[crystalelemental]

Okay, I'm giving up on Class of Heroes. I do not have the attachment to deal with this.

The specific finisher that broke me is the final boss, Demorea. Even before this, there were two earlier boss fights that effectively came down to "keep reloading and fighting them until you get one with lower HP totals." Each one of them hits for like 700+ damage, which is infinitely more than I can possibly have, takes so little damage even from spells that unless we kill in one round we cannot beat them, and even with my Party Skill to boost team defense, we still all die. The only solution is to mindlessly grind in dungeons until we are statistically strong enough to handle this shit, and I regret to inform you, I am not doing that. I'm sure we saved the day. I'm sure everything's fine. I'm not sticking around to find out.

I want to like this game. I really do. I think I generally like the idea of a dungeon crawler, but this is the least reinforcing game I have ever played. At a bare minimum, your gameplay loop is "go explore, come back to town when you're carrying too much." Easy.

Problem 1: you have to identify the items you got. Hope you have one of two classes that can do that, and also that they're a good enough level to handle the identification if you get bigger items.

Problem 2: If you identify, you then have to divine the alchemy recipe to make it. Most don't show up at all, and you can buy the recipe book, but they're exorbitantly expensive, and you can't know if what you bought is actually for the item you rolled.

Problem 3: Once you make that item, there is an exceptionally high chance that all of it is useless. Items are restricted by class, race, and gender, and more than likely you won't be able to use it anyway. Get a cool scythe usable by the Valkyrie? Oh sorry, you chose Celestia as your race, unavailable. Get a cool bow you want on a Ranger? Sorry, you didn't choose a Fairy, unusable. Hell, I found a super strong weapon that was clearly a boss drop for how expensive it was, only to find out you can only use it if you're male. I do not know how to deal with something like that.

It's awful. "But hey, at least you can level grind, right?"

Problem 1: Accuracy is so bad that you're more likely to miss than hit. I want to say "Thracia accuracy," but Thracia is generous compared to this shit. So level grinding is not only tedious, it's dangerous, because you can just keep missing while opponents beat your ass. Late game, enemies can just casually one-shot your back row for no discernible reason.

Problem 2: Even should you acquire level up, stats can go down. I have had no shortage of level ups where a character will just lose a point or two, gain shit for HP, and be worse after the level than before it.

Problem 3: Before anyone can guess at class allocation being off, know that taking on a new class resets your level to 1. This has a beneficial effect on HP should you just grind back up, as HP doesn't completely reset and early levels are easier to unlock. But it does absolutely annihilate your accuracy, which was already shit.

The game should feel unplayable, by all accounts. The only reason it doesn't is that the game has a surprisingly simple overall feel. I got through pretty much everything just fine, with only the occasional boss giving me any real trouble. But in another bizarre decision, this game randomizes boss HP, so you can just try again and there's a chance they're just overall worse off. Even when I started getting into these nigh-impossible endgame fights, the solution was pretty easy. Turn 1 apply buffs and debuffs, Turn 2 cast the party skill for boosted magic damage and fire. Provided they didn't roll really high numbers, most bosses dropped just fine. The major hiccup and the reason I'm not playing this any further is because the final boss is a two-phase, and there's no way to reliably clear a two-phase fight without grinding, which sucks.

"I mean...shouldn't that just be fairly simple at this point?" You'd think that, but no. As mentioned, late-game enemies can one-shot your back row, and there's a chance Revival fails, leading to becoming ash, which as I understand it is permanent death. Even casual fights that have one move that can surprise you are a huge threat.

But nothing beats the chests. Getting good equipment is fully a matter of opening chests, and all of them are trapped. Well. Not all, but close enough. Without one of the thief-aligned classes, you're basically dead upon opening a chest. With them...you're still probably dead because the game fucking lies to you. You can search it to identify the trap, but then it'll just be a different one half the time, or it'll be the exact one identified and that you attempted to disarm, but it'll go off anyway, and it's not a failed check because failing to disarm will just say "disarm failed," this is a different kind of fucked up event. Which is horrid, because there are some devastating chest effects. Medusa's Eye and Stun Gas are basically party-wipes. In the best case, it misses your healer and you continue no problem. In most cases, it might miss a character or two, but not anyone who can fix the status, leading to leaving. If it hits everyone, you lose instantly. Then there's Reaper's Scythe, which kills someone, leading to the hope they don't turn to ash. And there's one that lowers Stamina, a mechanic that is incomprehensible because it is never explained, but sucks ass.

Apparently, Stamina is age, and the lower the number, the older you get. What happens when you get older? Increased chance of stats going down on level up. Meaning this is, effectively, as good as killing your character forever. It is insane that this is considered something reasonable.

By all accounts the game is beatable. If I really wanted, I could spend the requisite...however long it takes to farm out a bunch of levels for this fight. It can be done. But I have zero interest in it. Runs are already empty enough without this feeling of not being able to make progress until I level like 50 times. I'm out. I'll try Class of Heroes 2, but if mechanics feel the same and I don't have it on good authority it gets better, this one may very well be a trade-in.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group E Round 3: #E5 vs #E6

#E5: Magic kid travels in a quest to end all “evil”

#E6: Vampires and humans cannot coexist in a small town

Details and poll under the cut!

#E5: Radiant

Summary:

Nemeses—powerful and mysterious demonic entities that fall from the sky and vaporize anything they touch. The only ones who can combat these creatures are Sorcerers, those who have survived an encounter with a Nemesis but were infected in the process.

Seth, a Sorcerer from Pompo Hills, sets out on an adventure to exterminate all these Nemeses. Accompanying him are Doc and Mélie, fellow Sorcerers who share his ideal. Their main objective is to bring about a world where Sorcerers are no longer persecuted for being infected, and to that end, desire to destroy the source of the Nemeses themselves: the mythical Radiant.

Propaganda:

Radiant is adorable: the main duo are a perfect combination of airheads with good intentions.

The story is a pretty clear stand against notions of prejudice / racism / xenophobia, and since the original comic is French, you know it’s not just fiction.

Aside from that, the series is a delight to watch: it’s colorful, soft, the designs are fantastical. Still surprised Tumblr didn’t find Grimm and turned him into a sexyman.

Trigger Warnings: Animal Cruelty or Death, Child Abuse, Racism.

Magicians suffer prejudice and sometimes are physically and verbally assaulted. Nemeses are animal-like creatures and are hunted.

#E6: Shiki

Summary:

Life is idyllic and unassuming in the small town of Sotoba, a simple place where everyone knows everyone. However, tragedy strikes when Megumi Shimizu, a young girl with high aspirations, unexpectedly passes away from an unnamed illness. Over the torrid summer months, as more unexplained deaths crop up around the village, the town's doctor—Toshio Ozaki—begins to suspect that something more sinister than a mere disease is at play.

Toshio teams up with Natsuno Yuuki, an apathetic and aloof teenager, and siblings Kaori and Akira Tanaka, two of Megumi's friends, to unravel the dark mystery behind the deaths in Sotoba. With their combined efforts, the investigation leads them toward an eerie secret pertaining to the new family in the Kanemasa mansion.

Propaganda:

Shiki is a horror story about vampires. They need to feed on humans in order to live. They’re a threat to society. We’re all afraid of them. Except it’s not, actually, because Shiki is a horror story about genocide. The vampires and the village are fundamentally at odds: one cannot survive without the complete annihilation of the other. Conflict is inevitable. Conflict is completely justified, in the eyes of both groups. Conflict is still terrifying. Shiki though, is actually a horror story about human nature. You have little choice about whether you end up a human or a vampire. You, dear viewer, and capable of inflicting unimaginable violence and misery, and you will think yourself completely justified. You’re only trying to protect yourself, aren’t you?

Trigger Warnings: Cannibalism, Emotional Abuse, Genocide, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Self-Harm, Suicide

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplay Ramblings: Artifacts part 4

(art by YunaXD on DeviantArt)

Creating Artifacts

With the power that artifacts promise, be they something as benign as an amethyst crescent ioun stone or as destructive as a sphere of annihilation, it’s pretty easy to see why you wouldn’t want to let these items be something that the heroes can just make willy-nilly, and not just because they’re so powerful.

While I’ve said in the past that you as a GM should endeavor to make even lesser magic items seem special, this goes doubly for artifacts. After all, these are especially powerful magic items which may be unique or extremely rare. Items with history and power with great weight and gravity to them. So before we talk about putting the tools of artifact creation into player hands, let’s take a look at some of the explanations why the game doesn’t normally let you do that.

Oftentimes, most artifacts were made during a bygone era. Perhaps there was a greater understanding of magic that has been lost, or there was simply more magic in the world that could be harnessed for artifacts, or something of that sort. Either way, most artifacts are assumed to have been made in some halcyon golden age long forgotten, which is perfectly fine if you’re playing up the Tolkien-esque themes. Also, consider that in such an age of antiquity, heroes and craftspersons may have literally been larger than life mythic figures that could do such things.

Not all artifacts are ancient (or just ancient, as the case may be). Some were made of exotic materials are not easily replicable, such as the blood of a now-dead deity, for example. Or to use a Pathfinder lore example, spheres of annihilations aren’t made, but rather grown like strange seeds from the bizarre crystalline structures found on the Negative Energy Plane. Such structures would be nearly impossible to replicate on any other plane than the Void.

Other artifacts may be simple the results of nearly impossible to replicate circumstances, such as a divinity becoming involved, or a rare mystical confluence, or perhaps a magic item that grew in power as the wielder became a legend, et cetera.

Now, it would be remiss of me not to mention that there is a way to create artifact-level items in the game, namely with the legendary item rules from Mythic Adventures, in which a mythic hero’s favorite powerful items gain a measure of their power and ascend to greater heights. Many, however, find that particular subsystem lackluster. Still though, if you’re using the mythic rules, I’d say that such is carte blanche for a GM to allow the crafting of artifacts.

Another way that you might allow the crafting of such items would be to actually set your adventure in the aforementioned age of antiquity that most other settings would relegate to setting lore. In such an age, ancient magic is still known and the gods more prone to bless mortals as their champions and the implements of their will. Such a setting offers many opportunities to wield legendary magic and power, but also offers foes of equally legendary power.

Of course, just as special circumstances might be a good reason why player characters can’t normally just make artifacts, it can also be the perfect reason why they can. Perhaps during a campaign to stop some great evil, the party comes across knowledge of some event where they can harness the power to create a new artifact of their own, perhaps using this as an excuse to give them an established printed artifact, or help them design an entirely new one.

As we can see, there can be fun to be had in breaking established rulings, as has always been the case in RPGs. That will do for today, but tomorrow we’ll make our final conclusions!

[wanderingnork]

Stop Motion Horror Movies

On this list, each movie either fully uses or incorporates elements of stop motion. If you’ve never heard of it, this is a technique of moving objects in tiny increments and taking photos at each stage to create a series of individual frames which, when put together, make the object appear to move. It can be as simple as toy dinosaurs moving around or as complex as an entire world. In horror, it can make the impossible possible.

The Haunted Hotel: Made in 1907, this spooky little comedy comes in at just 4 minutes. It’s the first movie about a haunted house, and also the first to combine live action with stop motion. A live actor interacts with moving handkerchiefs and silverware, which serve him dinner and mischievously torment him. It’s pretty charming.

Q: The Winged Serpent: A dragon-like creature hatches at the top of the Chrysler Building in New York City, then proceeds to wreak havoc on the city. Q itself is done fully in stop motion. It doesn’t exactly resemble the Aztec god it’s named after--and it’s not entirely clear if it really IS Quetzalcoatl or if it’s just been named that by the bizarre cult worshiping it--but it is a neat beast.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: This is a triumph of stop motion animation and a classic for a reason. It took three years for 120 or more people to animate, using 227 puppets or more, 230 sets with secret doors for animators to use for easy access to sets, and 400 heads for the main character alone. The result is a movie with incredibly fluid animation, characters dancing and singing as “easily” as a living actor might.

Mad God: A project thirty years in the making by Phil Tippett, a master of stop motion, the movie is entirely made in stop motion. Its plot is...a challenge to follow, if there is a conventional one at all, and it’s more of a tour through a bizarre and horrifying dystopia that plays by alien-but-uncomfortably-familiar rules. Worth a watch just for the atmosphere, or to admire the myriad ways that stop motion can turn fantasy to reality.

V/H/S 99: The frame for this short horror anthology isn’t a story, exactly. It’s a series of stop motion interludes of toy soldiers fighting toy dinosaurs. The interludes eventually link into one of the segments themselves (The Gawkers), because they’re made by one of the segment’s characters. That itself features a creature once animated by Ray Harryhausen, one of the pioneers of stop motion. It’s a fitting framework for a movie saying goodbye to one century and hello to another, shouting out to the monsters of the past while bringing in monsters of the new millennium.

Some questions for thought: Why has stop motion endured as a medium for so long? How does it affect monsters made with it? Are there some things it’s better at doing than others? How has stop motion changed from The Haunted Hotel in 1907 to Mad God in 2020? What hasn’t changed in that time? If a movie that uses primarily CGI for its monsters--like A Quiet Place or Annihilation--had used stop motion instead, how would that have affected the movie? Do you think you’d still like it? What movies would you add to this list?

(Previous Recommendations)

[cerezamii]

Goretober Día 8: Mutilación.

Goretober Day 8: Mutilation.

[Español]

"El liderazgo puede atraer varios enemigos, IDE"

IDE Demdust, jefe de la Organización Demon Dust y otro de los cinco dioses creadores. Su agencia se dedica a acabar con los criminales y peligros que hay en Clazar.

En Clazar cualquier crímen es legal. Es por eso que su agencia se dedicaba a los asesinatos únicamente dirigidos hacía los que causaban algún mal a la ciudad.

Al igual que la señora Angdel, el había adoptado a muchos niños, aunque lo hizo con el propósito de convertirlos en asesinos.

IDE nunca obligaba a nadie, desde un principio dejaba en claro lo que tendrían que hacer si querían ser adoptados por él.

A pesar de las cosas que él y sus "empleados" hacen, en Clazar se los respeta mucho. Los clazarinos se sienten agradecidos por tener a alguién que acabe con el mal que desborda de la ciudad, incluso si sus métodos son poco éticos.

Como sea, hablemos de mí.

Luego de acabar con la familia Angdel, fijé mi vista en un nuevo objetivo:

La Familia Demdust

Al principio pensé dejar al más fuerte, IDE, para el final, pero cambié de idea. Me parece que será divertido ver como sus niños quedan indefensos ante mí, sin tener a su querido líder para que los proteja.

IDE no se resistió ante mí, nos conocemos muy bien y el sabía que no había escapatoria. También sabía que luego de satisfacer mí sed de sangre, crearía otra línea temporal y todos volverían a la vida.

Me lo hizo bastante fácil. Normalmente no me gusta matar a gente que no se aferra a su vida, pero IDE es una excepción. Sabía que sin importar lo que hiciera él se mantendría tranquilo. Podría haber aniquilado a todos su lacayos y el seguiría como si nada, no porque los chicos no le importasen, sino porque él sabía que eventualmente los reviviría.

En fin, espero tener más diversión con los demás de esta familia. ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Nota del Artista: La verdad hoy no tengo mucho que decir, me gustó el resultado del dibujo aunque siento que es muy simple.

[English]

"Leadership can attract several enemies, IDE"

IDE Demdust, head of the Demon Dust Organization and another of the five creator gods. His agency is dedicated to end criminals and dangers in Clazar.

In Clazar any crime is legal. That's why his agency was dedicated to murders only aimed at those who caused harm to the city.

Like Mrs. Angdel, he had adopted many children, although he did so with the purpose of turning them into murderers.

IDE never forced anyone, from the beginning he made it clear what they would have to do if they wanted to be adopted by him.

Despite the things he and his "employees" do, they are highly respected at Clazar. The Clazarians are grateful to have someone to put an end to the evil that overflows from the city, even if their methods are unethical.

Anyways, let's talk about me.

After finishing off the Angdel family, I set my sights on a new goal:

The Demdust Family

At first I thought I should leave the strongest one, IDE, for last, but I changed my mind. I think it will be fun to see how his children are left defenseless before me, without having their beloved leader to protect them.

IDE didn't resist me, we know each other very well and he knew there was no escape. He also knew that after satisfying my bloodlust, I would create another timeline and everyone would come back to life.

He made it pretty easy for me. Normally I don't like killing people who aren't holding on to their lives, but IDE is an exception. I knew that no matter what I did he would remain calm. I could have annihilated all of his lackeys and he would carry on as if nothing had happened, not because he didn't care about the little guys, but because he knew i would eventually revive them.

I'm looking forward to have more fun with the rest of this family. ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Artist's Note: Being honest, I don't have much to say, I liked the drawing's result, although I feel it's too simple.

[gamerdog1]

Bocchi the Rock Season 1 Review

I’m just gonna come out here and say it right away: I’m not a fan of the ‘Cute girls doing cute things’ subgenre. I know it’s got it’s fans, and not everything someone else likes is going to be something I like. Still, when it comes to picking out a new series to try, I’m quick to dodge all series where the main characters sit around and basically do nothing. Good media, to me, is about things that don’t happen in real life, so something like K!On is too mild for me. 

So, color me surprised that this month, I found a ‘Girls do nothing’ series that actually got me engaged and entertained. This month, I was assigned the series Bocchi the Rock by my friends at my university’s anime club, and what I initially expected to be another snooze-fest hyped up by legions of diehard ‘moe’ fans, turned out to be a heartwarming story of overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder through the power of friendship.

Bocchi the Rock stars Hitori Gotoh, a 15 year old with crippling social anxiety who has a passion for the guitar. Hitori, (who later gains the nickname ‘Bocchi’, a pun on the Japanese word for loneliness), spends her days in her closet, posting covers of popular songs on Youtube and dreaming of stardom. A chance encounter with other musicians her age thrusts her into the world of underground rock bands, where she becomes a guitarist for an indie band, and faces her anxiety head-on. 

What struck me immediately about this series was how often Bocchi’s anxiety was brought up, and not always just for a gag. Her social anxiety makes even the smallest interactions a struggle, from trying to join a conversation with classmates, to making plans outside of school. Yes, the series uses some of these moments to lighten the mood with a little bit of comedy, but overall, its clearly not trying to minimize her struggles or make fun of her. 

Bocchi’s anxieties often lead to catastrophizing, linking even the smallest perceived slip-ups with total annihilation. In one episode, we see what she thinks will happen if she tries getting a job: she gets flustered dealing with a customer and stumbles over her words, someone films it and it goes viral, she is called into court to testify for the crime of being weird, and then given the death sentence. Scenes like these are cute and light-hearted gags, but also can't help but make you feel bad for her. They give a greater insight into how her social anxiety affects her, and do a better job at representing social anxiety than your typical ‘shy kid’ archetype.

Bocchi’s fantasy sequences are also the highlight of this series, because of how experimental they can be. These scenes are probably the most discussed aspect of this series, and for good reason. There aren’t many anime out there that switch art style this often, just for a quick bit. Bocchi the Rock uses zoetropes, stop motion, clay figurines, live-action footage, and much more to break free from the monotony of cutesy style in order to convey the main character’s feelings. Its not every day when you see an anime girl revert back to her 3-D model and smash into a pile of untextured polygons. 

The animation in this series is also quite good. I was pretty shocked to see the girls playing their instruments in a somewhat accurate and realistic way, which you’d think would be a low bar for a series about a band. The studio behind this series clearly put in the extra time and effort to animate the guitar and drum playing accurately, and are clearly proud of it, with the amount of close-ups they show of the instruments being played. It almost makes you wonder why other music-centric series aren’t like this...

Bocchi the Rock’s weakest aspect, however, is it’s characters. In most ‘Girls doing nothing’ series, cuteness is prioritized over deep character writing, so main characters often lack any negative traits. These series are content with re-packaging simple character traits, knowing that giving the characters a chance to show any negative traits will take away from their perceived cuteness or ‘wholesomeness’. The same, unfortunately, can be found in this series, as the four main girls stick to the common character archetypes of the subgenre, and don’t make much of an effort to deviate from them.

Nijika, the blonde, is little beyond the peppy heart of gold, the face of the group. Kita, the redhead, is never shown to be anything more than the perfect, pretty popular girl that everyone adores. Ryo, the blue-haired one, has some level of character flaws, as she reveals herself to be terrible with money, and ends up owing her bandmates lots of money by the end of the season. However, beyond Bocchi herself, we rarely get to see the bandmates presented outside of their archetypes. Perhaps in season 2, we could get to see the characters reveal more about themselves, and struggle with things from their own lives?

The series’ story has a decent flow to it, following Bocchi and her band’s journey from obscurity to their first big break. At times, I felt a bit lost, wondering when the characters were going to move to the next big event instead of doing little thing, but that’s about par for the course when it comes to these types of plots. The plot revolves mostly around performances, interspersed with downtime in between, where we see the characters socialize, go shopping, or peek into Bocchi’s home life. While the show in general does little in terms of building suspense in these in-between moments, Bocchi’s internal monologue paints a clear picture of how important each performance is, making each one feel like a battle she must face. 

With a season 2 on the way, I can only hope that this series continues down the path its headed, and tries to improve where it lacks. Its a ‘Girls doing nothing’ series that isn’t afraid to give one of it’s characters crippling social anxiety, and lets her have flaws beyond just being clumsy in a cute way. I can only hope that the rest of the cast gets the same treatment in the future, which I believe will lead to a deeper story, and therefore, a stronger emotional core. Overall though, Bocchi the Rock is a funny and light romp that occasionally takes a detour into downright zany visuals, and we are here for it. I’m not usually a fan of cute girl-centric series, but perhaps I’ll make an exception, just this once.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Un ballo in maschera (Met, 1980): Reactions, Part II

the moral of this act is really quite simple: for a variety of reasons, going to sketchy gallows at night is a bad idea (this is a joke)

she is beauty she is grace somewhere is a veil to cover her face

also this prelude slaps

v stands for verdi! v also stands for vienna lighting!

(it’s not quite that bad but…pretty close)

“what is left once love is lost?” …your identity as a soprano heroine in a nineteenth-century italian opera? (i kid, i kid. they have so much more going on even if people don’t pay attention to it)

“or stop beating and die! annihilate yourself, my poor heart!” y’all did not have to go so hard

Area Soprano Is Now Losing It (in other news: what’s new)

brava!!!!!! (also: the floor is always a good place for the opera folk to be)

did she fuckin ASK you to show up? no? then LEAVE

okay but the way he just casually plays around the phrasing and timing and makes it sound so lovely… *chef’s kiss*

two greats just doing their thing *melts*

and she said YES

i swear this exact moment sends me onto a different plane of existence every time i hear it

ONE OF THE BEST FUCKING LOVE DUETS OF ALL TIME EVERYONE

but like all good things, this moment must come to an end

tfw you and your bestie’s wife are having a Moment but her husband/your bestie shows up

they didn’t even TRY to give her a veil that covered her face 😭 *redacts earlier statement*

“i need you to swear by the love you have for me” that sounds VERY heterosexual of y’all. outstanding heterosexual behavior.

“come to think of it, i fucked up here.” yeah. yeah you did.

yet ANOTHER boptastic ensemble

well this is awkward!

WELP!!!

the sheer delicious irony and laughter…*chef’s kiss* pure genius

“i will literally stab you with your own sword if you keep this stupid-ass chorus going”

despite what you may say, this tragedy has NOT turned into comedy. if anything, it’s the exact opposite.

poor amelia :(

[put-me-out-of-my-destiny]

Okay, I've finally gotten around to watching the first 4 episodes of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, my thoughts so far:

The first scene would have been really cool if it wasn't constantly jumping back and forth between the fight scene and the opening credits. It's too bad this was made before Devil May Cry 5, the animators could have taken notes.

Not even four minutes in and Dante tells a little girl that "maybe in ten years" he'll ask her out. Like, I know he's joking, but I don't think it's very funny tbh 😐

I can see why Patty's a fan favorite so far, though. She's bright for her age, but she still has the same simple wants as any other kid. Also she's a little bit savage.

Wait a minute, Justin Cause? That's not Reuben Langdon? Either the end credits are blatantly wrong, or this guy's a hell of an impressionist.

Lady still wearing her schoolgirl look so far into adulthood is rather lazy. As much as her Devil May Cry 4 costume sucks, at least they tried to give her a new look that time.

"I prefer you in this form~" 👀

I do like Lady's characterization so far, even if the camera is a little too horny for her, and her VA was a great choice.

Dante, marksmanship is her whole thing, why would you bet against her like that?

"I have a need to annihilate and destroy." She's so edgy 😍

Dante: *destroys a bridge while doing a job for the highway patrol* "How could Lady scam me like this?"

If this Dante weren't such a dick I'd actually really appreciate the implication that he asked that biker dude out.

Brad and Angelina's story is very sweet, I'd love to see them meet Nero and Kyrie some day.

Also, it's nice to see Dante having a heart for once.

And omg, the butler literally did it.

Episode 4 really beats the "women like shopping" horse into the ground, which is pretty ironic given how Dante typically dresses.

"How can clothes cost this much?" Oh, I don't know Mister Red Leather Suit, how do they cost that much? 🤔

Okay, it might just be because she's in more shots, but Episode 4 is being noticeably hornier about Lady.

I really really REALLY don't like Trish being written like she's Dante's ex-girlfriend, even if it's not meant to be taken literally, that is so wrong 🤢

Oh yeah, Lady takes offense to the notion that she's attracted to Dante, so clearly she secretly is 🙄

TRISH DID NOT JUST CALL HIM "BABY", I DID NOT HEAR THAT.

Unfortunately the single crumb of LadyTrish at the end does not make up for how much I disliked this episode.

Also, I was certain they replaced Lady's VA throughout Episode 4, but apparently not, her performance is just really different for some reason, I don't like it.

My final thoughts for now - Episode 1 was meh, 2 and 3 were good, and 4 sucked shit. I genuinely don't know if I want to continue.

[ladywynne]

I posted 1,000 times in 2022

That's 617 more posts than 2021!

57 posts created (6%)

943 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nowritingonthewall

@stormkobra-5

@nikolatexla

@mccnknightstcrdst

@bensolothelastskywalker

I tagged 515 of my posts in 2022

Only 49% of my posts had no tags

#moon knight - 167 posts

#marc spector - 62 posts

#steven grant - 47 posts

#lwmarvelmonday - 35 posts

#poe dameron - 33 posts

#lwswwednesday - 26 posts

#jake lockley - 23 posts

#lwasoiaffriday - 20 posts

#andor - 19 posts

#star wars - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 78 characters

#but actually i identify with marc because he seems closed off but feels deeply

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Heart and Soul: You and Marc are expecting. Now you just need a name.

Disclaimer: I am not Jewish nor do I have DID. I have no intention to offend in any way. If I have and let me know so I can change it. I just wanted to share this sweet moment.

TW: pregnancy

Purest fluff, please enjoy!

******

Today was a special day. Today you and Marc held hands as you listened to your little one's heartbeat. You both gazed at the grainy image on the screen, transfixed by the miraculous flutter of new life.

Today was a special day. Today you learned you were having a son.

******

That night you are half-sitting in bed with Marc, your head rests on his chest as you discuss baby names. Marc's hand moves over your growing belly, gently caressing.

"What about Bartholomew?" you ask with a smile, hoping the suggestion will cause a similar response in Marc.

It does, and you are rewarded with a soft chuckle. "What're you trying to do to the kid? He's going to have enough to deal with, what with the whole "my three dads" thing going on."

You hum in a noncommittal way, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment with any heavy discussion. You do tilt your head up so you can see Marc's face for a moment. He is serene, no telltale crease between the brows. He know you are checking on him, and he dips his head to give you a gentle kiss that says he is all right.

You relax back against him, "Something simple then."

After a moment Marc's fingers still and he spreads his hand over your bump. "What about your dad? We could use his name if you like."

You shake your head. "No. I don't want to honor him that way. I barely knew him, really. Besides, his name was Harold."

"Okay....scratch that."

You know better than to ask about family names on his side.

You fall into an easy silence, comforted by the strong, steady heart thumping beneath your ear. So different from the small rapid one that thrilled you both earlier in the day. You'd really love the baby's name to mean something, have some connection or significance for your husband. You know Marc feels unsure about his fitness as a father. He carries so much, feels so much. He deserves to have an extra, special connection with his son. You want to give it to him.

Finally, it comes to you.

You slowly raise your hand to touch the gold around his neck. Looking up at him, you ask softly, "What about David?"

Marc doesn't say anything for a breath. Then he takes your hand, securing it against his heart. When he finally bends to place his forehead against yours you know you did the right thing.

"David is perfect."

32 notes - Posted June 21, 2022

#4

So I spent summer 2022 watching Oscar Isaac. Here are my very subjective favorites!

Annihilation - I love Kane. That southern drawl. Plus I teach biology and I am a believer. I get Kane and Lena's dynamic. It is fascinating, and I am glad they still love each other. I want to read the book now.

The Promise - Mikael Boghosian is such a sweetheart, so gentle. The beginning when he is at Constantinople is beautiful and so is the way he cares for Maral.

Star Wars sequel trilogy - Everyone's favorite flyboy, Poe Dameron! I was pretty biased for The Force Awakens even before this Oscar Isaac kick. It is so much fun, and I remember how I was a kid again the minute I heard the theme in the theater and saw those scrolling words. Poe has so much joy in this movie too.The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker are good too.

See the full post

44 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

#3

Oscar Isaac...

I can see that 😆⬇️

See the full post

87 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#2

Top Ten Characters I'd kiss for Christmas or New Year's.

Thanks to @riderj123 for the tag! It's never too late, right?

In no particular order.

Jaskier (season 2) - I'm scared too. I'm scared that one day, the muses will stop speaking to me. Because who are we when we can no longer do the one thing we were put on this Continent to do?

Ned Stark - We Can't Afford To Fight A War Amongst Ourselves.

See the full post

102 notes - Posted January 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Waking to the Rain

A Moon Knight drabble.

A tiny moment. You have been married to Marc and Steven for years. No more Moon Knight. No more Khonshu. Simply being with them and waking with them. On AO3 here.

-----------

Lying in bed with them is such a blessing every night. To feel their nearness, their warmth, and to hear their deep even breathing. Steven had told you they used to be unable to sleep, but all that is in the past. They sleep peacefully with you every single night.  

Waking up is even more beautiful. It is usually Steven, the early riser, who greets you with a smile, the tip of his finger touching the tip of your nose. “’ello luv. Sleep well?” he would say before kissing your cheek and cheerfully rising to greet the day.  

Today though, it is Marc. You open your eyes to find him watching you in the soft light, rain falling gently against the window. One side of his mouth curls up in greeting.   

You smile sleepily back. “This is a nice surprise.”   

“Wanted to see you.” Marc’s voice is rough from sleep. “You’re beautiful in the morning.”  

“So are you.” You reach for his shoulder and pull him to you, not caring about anything but him. Marc leans over and kisses you, a sweet and gentle meeting of lips. It conveys so much - a deep and genuine love, unrushed and precious.  

You think he will get up and dress but he doesn’t. Instead Marc grunts and gathers you in, your back pressed against him. “Let’s go back to sleep,” he mumbles. Nothing ever sounded so good.  

124 notes - Posted May 6, 2022

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