#stuff is explained as it becomes plot relevant

[havinganormalone]

One of the most refreshing things about Dungeon Meshi is that it's a return to fantasy without the isekai aspect. There was a long stretch of time where it felt like fantasy anime had no idea how to world build without the "fish out of water" character that would ask obvious questions that could lead to exposition. Dungeon Meshi proves that you don't need that tired fish out of water framing. All you need is a cast of autistic characters who are excited to info dump about the niche aspect of that fantasy world that happens to be their special interest.

[mlp-natural]

We cut from Cas and Jody to the exterior of Jody's house. A phone vibrates

The phone continues as we move through the kitchen, a case of beer on the counter by the window

Looks like the noise from Castiel's phone woke up someone.

Why, its Alex Jones! (as a pony) She must have had a late shift last night.

She answers the phone, it is Sam calling, he relays a message to her to pass to Cas, 'Let Cas know we made it to Garth's place.' That's the main thing to note from this conversation we see one side of.

Alex says a few words, some less polite which is to be expected at this early hour, so Sam thanks her and mentions passing along a 'Hello' to the others (Claire, Jody, Jack) for him. Sam hangs up the phone and turns the engine of the car off. He turns around-

-and tells Dean to get up. Looks like Dean had a rough night and wanted to get a bit more sleep before trudging through research with Garth today.

Weary, but glad to have made it to Garth's in relatively good time, Sam unloads his saddle pack with his road gear and clothes, and some books from the library that may be helpful for identifying the monster Garth has been tracking. Dean is not awake enough for this. However, Garth and Bess certainly are as they greet the brothers eagerly.

The werewolf ponies have more dog like tails and fangs, and bright welcoming smiles. A stark contrast to the burly hunters that just arrived. Three curious faces are in the window, it is Gertie, Sam, and Castiel, Bess and Garth's kids. It had been some time since the Winchesters last saw them, but they seem well.

Inside the main entrance, Bess escorts Sam and Dean to Garth's hunting office where the three will run over the case and what they know for certain. Sam and Dean believe it may be a non-native monster, something that hitched a ride and is becoming a problem to local wildlife and people. They are planning on staying a couple days before driving the twelve hours back to the bunker, so Bess and Garth set up the guest room for them to rest between scrambling over lore and the actual hunt.

Bess comments on the last time they saw each other, when the Winchesters were out of luck. The Chuck situation was messy, and in the supernatural in my head a lot of minor things got rewritten which changed the outcomes and some development to make things make sense but I'm not getting into that. All you need to know is that Chuck is not god anymore and they are alive. Dean has accepted his fate of being hugged by Garth (the strength of whom he will never get used to)

(part five btw)

[plat3uau]

I honestly do not know where to begin or how to even write a decent looking introduction, so allow me to just drop this and leave…🤣😭

Okay, but jokes aside, since I’ve been getting really into visual storytelling lately, I just thought “Huh, why not test it out with Jingluo, and capture their dynamic while trying to add a fairytale-like elements to it?”

Also, I genuinely want to become even more expressive through my art, overall… and I guess it’s also an excuse to draw even more stuff related to the two (shhhh, and excuse me for the repetition.😫😫)

Notes on the title (that I think might be needed): I know the matter of language isn’t relevant to the game’s plot at all, but for some reason I’ve developed the headcanon that Luocha is good at picking up languages, as he travels a lot. (I see him just… being very quick at adapting and blending in with the locals’ way of doing things, in that kind of sense. <3)

We don’t really know much about him as for now (still waiting for that lore drop, though!!), but judging from his appearance and aesthetics (so please take this with a grain of salt), he looks like (at least to me) a character from a place based off Europe or the West… So because of that, I had the view that Luocha might have had a harder time actually writing down/learning by heart the Chinese characters (or at least the writing system there) commonly used by the people in the Luofu, when he first set foot there (I mean, I thought of that as it’s a region very much inspired by Chinese culture), since most European languages use the Latin script as for their writing system.

So hopefully this explains why there are two inscriptions: the one on the left side of the canvas is actually written by Luocha, and the other one being the translated version of the title!🥰

(P.S. I tried to translate the title in Chinese to make the Luocha’s writing seem… how to say, more believable? More real? Anyways, I ended up with “我在你身边”, which translates into “I will stand beside you”, so not super faithful to the original title, but I believed that the essence of the general meaning of the original one was still there, so I decided to go along with it.

I’m no native speaker here nor a translator, just a person who studied some Mandarin for a while. T - T❤️)

(P.S.S. I’ll try to keep you updated! My creative process is usually quite slow, so I was thinking that maybe I could share some of the wips with you all. Or you know, just to document some of my thoughts, that kind of stuff. ^_^

Alright!!! I wrote too much, and honestly, BLESS your heart for reading through my stream of consciousness, lmao. But I genuinely appreciate it, I really REALLY mean this.🥺❤️

Thank you so much for taking your time to do so. To whoever reached this point. <3)

[mothmans-side-ho]

Armand called Lestat a clown in the most round about way

s2e3 hot wired the two passions in my brain into this info dump, however seeing as a central theme of this episode (and the season) is power, status, and their subversions, it seems relevant. for context, I have 2 degrees in theatre, specifically theatre history and how trends effect form. (I am in no way an expert though, and this is very simplified). long story short, I'm relishing in being a big ol nerd about this entire season

FINALLY, we got to see Lestat (a version of) strutting his stuff on stage in a scene with peak commedia dell'arte shenanigans. Commedia dell'arte is/was an originally Italian form of theatre which was defined by lazzi (comedic bits), improv, and stock characters. these stock characters have been around from Roman times and are still super familiar to us today - the young lovers, the pervy old rich man, the soldier with bravado, etc. It's been seen as a somewhat formulaic form of theatre which relied on quickly identifiable characters and situations so audiences can sit back and enjoy the butt jokes and servant beatings.

In the book - specifically The Vampire Lestat - our beloved Lestat RELISHES in playing a character called Lelio, one of the young lovers. It is in playing Lelio that he "found a tongue for verses and wit [he]'d never had in life" (TVL pg 31). It is in playing Lelio that Lestat first gets a taste of the person he can become, and it is in Lelio that we see the first glimpses of the Lestat which so fully seduces Louis. In short, Lestat casts himself as the suave and handsome romantic protagonist, here to sweep people off their feet. The young lovers are also notably some of the only roles portrayed without masks, to emphasize their youth and natural beauty.

SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN LESTAT SHOWS UP IN S2E3 DRESSED LIKE THIS:

He has a half mask! He's wearing all sorts of colors! He's clearly acting as a go between between two other characters who seem to be of a higher status than him! As I said before, commedia dell'arte can be very formulaic (especially by the late 1700s when it is being codified away from being improv focused to being cemented into scripts). From all of these visual and characterization clues, Lestat is not playing Lelio the young lover, he's playing a Harlequin! And his costume seems to be heavily based off of this Harlequin (Arlecchino, Arlecino, etc.) which is literally the wikipedia image of a Harlequin.

(note, if you give a fuck, this image is depicting an Arlechino from 1671, roughly 125 years before Lestat on stage. in my mind, this accounts for the changes in silhouette, styling, why Lestat doesn't wear the mask for the entirety of the performance, etc. Also, just while we're talking about costuming, I believe the late 18th Century was still a time in which actors would have been expected to provide their own costumes, which would explain why Lestat's version is made with expensive fabrics and includes cunty little details like the bow in his hair. At the very least, I can see him making looking good a priority as the owner of the theater and as...well...Lestat.)

Okay, okay, okay. Why does this matter?

Harlequins are not characters of any social status. They're servants who are quick witted enough to get into antics but stupid enough to be commanded by animalistic instincts (lust, food, you name it). The Harlequin being beaten by their master was ENORMOUSLY funny, and is the origin of the term "slapstick comedy". They a memorable iteration of clown.

In this scene, which I'm willing to bet was inspired by (if not outright) Carlo Goldoni's A Servant of Two Masters, Lestat plays a servant who interacts with two characters. One appears to be a young woman in a breeches part - another common trope of commedia performance. The other appears to be the young male lover! We see Lestat prancing between the two, seemingly facilitating some romance plot, being paid for his compliance, and doing a good ol fashioned butt lazzi. (Could he be presenting his ass for beating? Maybe.)

So why is Lestat not the young valiant lover, but instead A LITERAL CLOWN? Three potential, not conflicting, reasons. By the time Lestat is performing (mid to late 1790s, based off Armand's earlier comment about Robespierre's 1794 execution), the Harlequin characters were the most sought after roles! At this time, we are seeing the emergence of "Celebrity Culture" where audiences sought out actors for their off-stage personalities as much as their on-stage ones. This is an extremely fitting position for Lestat to fall into. Yay a semblance of historical accuracy!

Secondly, Lestat's ENTIRE ROLE in season two is to come between this season's new pair of young(ish) lovers: Louis & Armand. Lestat's function is to repeatedly detract and distract from their relationship through Dreamstat's antics (appearing at the piano calling Louis a whore, having Louis re-kill him, etc.). Additionally, simply put, Lestat (and Sam Reid as Lestat) is a lot of fun to watch. He is absolutely a stand out (if not THE stand out) of the show! His constant ability to serve cunt is often what your eye is drawn to, he pulls focus to himself, and often undercuts the more subdued, philosophical, and morose nature of others. Both on-stage and on-screen, Lestat continuously upstages his screen partners. He does kinda function as a Harlequin. But in the end, the Harlequin's antics are also what ultimately drive the young lovers together. If not for Lestat's actions, Louis and Armand would have never met nor bonded over knowing this fucked up brat prince.

But we also have to remember! This portion of the episode is presented by Armand the mind fuckery master. It is absolutely in his best interests to paint Lestat as some sort of ridiculous, lesser being driven by animalistic nature. Especially if - by extension of the metaphor - this frames he and Louis as the virtuous and optimistic young lovers, striving to cling to each other in a world of chaos. I would be EXTREMELY interested to see if, when recollected by someone else, Lestat appears in a different role or characterized differently.

Again, given the celebrity culture of the time and Lestat being himself, it is entirely believable that he would appear in the Harlequin role (Truffaldino, if this is Goldoni's Servant). However, I think it's extremely telling that in Armand's iteration of the story Lestat is not the dignified, refined, and sympathetic young romantic. He is instead a literal fucking clown.

[bi-bard]

Taylor Swift Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Fiyero Tigelaar - Fiyero Tigelaar Imagine [Wicked]

Title: Taylor Swift Songs That Would Describe a Relationship with Fiyero Tigelaar

Pairing: Fiyero Tigelaar X Reader

Word Count: 3,233 words

Warning(s): argument, yelling

Summary: Three songs by Taylor Swift that would describe a relationship with Fiyero Tigelaar. Features "How Did It End?", "The Alchemy", and "Now That We Don't Talk".

Author's Note: I did get to see Wicked. I really enjoyed it. We're ignoring the plot of it so I can get this story to work.

I also think this is my first piece of fanfiction inspired by Taylor Swift's music since before my little hiatus.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS!

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How Did It End?

We'll tell no one except all of our friends We must know How did it end?

Leaving Fiyero the first time wasn't easy. It never had been.

It was being ripped away from the best form of comfort I had ever been able to experience. I remember being angry and scared and sad. I yelled at my parents, tried to justify what had happened, tried to explain that my bad choices weren't his fault just because he happened to be with me at the time.

They never believed me. They always saw him as a terrible influence and now they had the evidence to prove it.

Their perspective began to sink in after a matter of months. I found myself becoming increasingly angry with Fiyero, no matter how illogical it felt at first.

Coming to Shiz University felt like it had been a chance to re-center myself. To focus on my future instead of being consistently angry about the past.

But time has a cruel way of making the past relevant in the present.

I had no idea where the rumors about me started. I had no idea who had started the spread of those rumors either.

All I knew was that there was one day where I was living in a quiet peace of being unnoticed and the next, I was being met with strange side glances and whispered conversations about me after I passed.

I tried my best to ignore it. I had hoped it was just my mind attempting to play tricks on me. Maybe they weren't looking at me, but I had just happened to catch their eye. Maybe their whispered conversations were never about me, they just happened to be going on as I walked by.

It wasn't until I met Elphaba in the library that I realized that anything was wrong at all. She had met me with a tight hug, as if softening the blow of something that I didn't realize had hit me.

"What is it," I asked.

"You haven't heard?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

"No... should I be worried?"

"Maybe," she replied, pulling me to sit down next to her. "Someone has started some terrible rumor about you."

I felt my blood freeze for a moment as I realized that my brain hadn't been playing a trick on me. It had been showing me exactly what was truly happening.

"About you and Fiyero," she continued.

I was confused and it must have shown on my face.

"Apparently, your avoidance of him hasn't gone unnoticed... especially after your run-in with him a few days ago," she explained. "I don't know where it started, but there is this story going around that you used to be obsessed with him and his family. Then, your behavior was discovered, and you were sent away. Now, you're avoiding him as a result of your guilt"

"What?" I scoffed. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Most rumors don't."

"Do people actually believe this stuff?"

"According to my roommate, yes," she confirmed. "A lot of them."

My heart dropped to my stomach and my body suddenly felt like it was burning. It was like a million eyes had all focused on me all at once.

"I tried to tell her the truth, but I have no idea if she believed me or not."

"I'm so sorry..." Elphaba touched my arm.

"I... I just wanted... I feel like a fool."

"You have nothing wrong," she promised, squeezing my arm for comfort.

I tried to grin at her, but my stomach was churning and my head was spinning.

I looked toward the library's entrance just as Fiyero walked in. He had clearly been looking for something. I realized what it was when he met my eyes.

I abruptly stood up, startling Elphaba. "Sorry. I... I need to go. I'll speak to you later. I... I'm sorry."

I quickly walked out of the library, narrowly avoiding Fiyero at the door. I heard his steps behind me.

I weaved in and out of groups of students. My face was on fire as I did. It felt like every single pair of eyes were on me at once and it was beginning to bury me.

If Fiyero had tried to call my name, I couldn't hear him. Or maybe my brain had just tuned him out in the hopes of getting me to go a little faster. I didn't fully comprehend him saying anything until we were in the hallway to my dorm.

"(Y/n)!" he called. "Please, just wait for a moment!"

"Just leave me alone," I muttered, trying to move even faster than before.

"If you would just listen to me for one moment, then I can explain that I had nothing to do with any of this-"

"Leave me alone!" I shouted, sharply turning on my heels to face Fiyero. "This is all you have done our entire lives! I face the consequences for the actions you have done! You made a scene and now I am left looking like a monster! Have you not done enough to ruin any future I had? This is why my parents wanted me so far away from you in the first place!"

"I thought... I thought your parents found new work-"

"Yes, they very suddenly found new work right after you managed to get me kicked out of the best school that I could have gone to in my situation," my voice was sarcastic. "Very believable."

"(Y/n)-"

"Leave me alone!" I snapped again. My voice dropped. Anger turning into pleading. "Please. You've done enough harm."

"(Y/n), please-"

I stepped back into my room, slamming and locking the door behind me.

I stood in the center of the room. I didn't know what else to do or where to go. I was just left there, crying as I tried to figure out what could possibly go wrong next.

The Alchemy

Ditch the clowns, get the crown, baby, I'm the one to beat 'Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?

It was really nice to find myself with a close friend after all this time.

It was like having a safety net. Someone that I could follow into all sorts of previously scary situations with the knowledge that if I fell on my face, I wouldn't be doing it alone.

I kept having to repeat that thought over and over as I walked with Elphaba to the doors of the Ozdust Ballroom. I had been avoiding this place long before I had an actual good reason to. Large crowds had never really been my thing, so if I could avoid them, I was going to.

"We don't have to go," I said, stopping in my tracks. "We could go have a great night... somewhere else."

"Now, that doesn't follow your usual speech about fear not holding power unless you give it power," she chuckled at me.

"I made that speech long before... you know what happened."

Her face turned into a look of pity as she took my hand and squeezed it. "Be brave on my behalf then, instead of your own."

"Alright," I mumbled.

Her arm locked with mine as we walked toward the doors again.

The entire building was buzzing. The energy seemed to move from one person to another like everyone was connected through some kind of wire.

I spotted Galinda across the room. She was trying to wave down Elphaba. I pointed to her, holding back a chuckle at how she flailed her arms.

"You can go," I said.

"Are you sure?"

"I will be just fine," I promised. "And I will come and find you if something happens."

She nodded and dropped my arm. I grinned as she walked to her roommate. It was nice to see that they had seemingly developed some kind of connection since beginning to live together. They were good for each other. I could see it.

I continued down the steps. I took some comfort in the fact that nothing stopped as people noticed me. Some people glanced at me and muttered something to whoever they were with but still continued to enjoy their night without me interrupting.

I reached the bottom step without feeling like a complete nuisance.

And then, Fiyero spotted me. He was the first to completely stop when he saw me. I stopped too.

It seemed to cause a wave to ring through the room as more and more people stopped. He started navigating through the crowd of people, which was only causing more people to stop and look at where he was heading.

I should have run away. Turned around and walked outside and left everyone to enjoy their night, but I couldn't. Something stopped me where I was as if I had been physically stuck to the stairs.

The music stopping made my stomach lurch. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I just wanted to come out and enjoy myself. I wanted to be able to ignore the eyes that could have landed on me. Now, I was left with no choice other than to hear the hushed and panicked conversations between other students as Fiyero weaved through the rest of the crowd.

The room was silent by the time Fiyero had stopped in front of me. In everyone else's mind, I'm sure it was a frightening sight. They were all prepared for the worst. I knew that much.

Maybe they were better off than I was. They had a clear image of how this interaction could go; I had no idea at all.

I tried to remain tall and stoic. Shoulders rolled back and my back straight. Chin held up as if I had something to take pride in.

"I'm sorry," Fiyero said after a moment. It cut through the tense silence like shears through fabric.

I didn't respond. Not because I didn't want to, but because I couldn't.

I still felt some part of me yelling for me to turn around and walk away.

But still, some other part of me told me to just stay because running would do nothing to help me anymore.

"About everything," he continued. "You were right. I have dragged you through mess after mess and I'm sorry. I don't know how that story about you started."

I felt my chest tighten slightly at the mention. Fiyero turned to the crowd that had gathered.

"None of what you have been told was true," he announced. There was some murmuring. "That is all you deserve to know."

He turned back to me. I finally found the ability to speak again, "Thank you."

"You have no reason to forgive me," he said. "None at all, but I would enjoy being in your company again, if you will allow it."

I took a deep breath, letting my shoulders drop a bit before I started nodding. "I think that would be nice."

A smile broke out on his face before he hugged me tightly. I let out a small, shocked sound as he did. I was a little nervous that he was going to pull me off the step. As I stepped back, I looked out into the crowd, who was still standing and watching us.

I heard some particularly loud muttering to the side of the crowd. I looked over to see Galinda and Elphaba clearly in a heated discussion. Well, more Galinda was clearly very passionate about something and Elphaba was trying to get her to lower her voice.

"Will you stop shushing me," Galinda asked, swatting away Elphaba's hand that was trying to touch her arm.

"You are not very good at whispering," Elphaba explained.

"I'm just saying that after all of this, I was expecting them to finally kiss-" she glanced around at the eyes that had landed on her. I was now aware of just how much my dear friend had let slip to her roommate. "Oh..."

"Do you understand what I was saying now?"

"Sorry, continue, please," she motioned to Fiyero and me.

I found myself chuckling over the entire interaction. Fiyero looked at me, seemingly finding some relief or comfort or just joy in my laugh. I don't know if I had ever seen him be quiet for so long. I was about to question it before he abruptly grabbed my hand and led me back up the stairs that I had just barely made it down.

He didn't stop until we had rounded the corner. We were out of sight of the doorway now. Alone... for now, at least.

"I would apologize for that, but I think it would start to make the words seem meaningless," Fiyero said.

"Probably," I agreed.

There was a pause between us. For all the tension that had been alleviated, it still felt like there was still so much.

"I lied," he muttered after a moment. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "About your hair. It doesn't make your face look weird."

"Thank you?" I laughed a little as I spoke.

Fiyero smiled at me for a moment just like he had been before we had left the Oz Dust. As my chuckling died down a bit, he leaned forward. He kissed me gently as his hands touched my sides. My arms wrapped around his neck as I started kissing him back.

When he pulled back, he didn't move far. It felt like his hold on me only tightened, as if he was scared that I was going to be pulled away from him again. His eyes were closed, face close to mine.

"Fiyero..."

His eyes opened before he spoke, "I've missed you."

I smiled. "I missed you too."

He slowly stepped back, grabbing my hand and beginning to pull me along with him.

"Where are we going," I asked.

"No idea," he shrugged. "You know that I prefer it that way."

I didn't respond, instead just allowing him to pull me along with him. Maybe I could enjoy that way of thinking for a little while too.

Now That We Don't Talk

I miss the old ways, you didn't have to change But I guess I don't have a say Now that we don't talk

I was a child.

I was simply a tall child carrying around books just so I could look like some semblance of a student at Shiz.

At least, that's how it felt when I found myself scrambling from one place to another as soon as Fiyero happened to waltz into the room.

The first time it happened, I had been with Elphaba. We were discussing our essay for Dr. Dillamond's class when I spotted Fiyero from across the quad.

My feet froze, my heart stopped, my eyes went wide. I had completely stopped functioning.

"(Y/n)?" Elphaba touched my arm, trying to shake me out of my panicked state.

And then, Fiyero's eyes met mine.

I abruptly grabbed Elphaba's hand, dragging her with me in the opposite direction of the crowd that was gathering around my old friend.

"(Y/n), what's happening?"

"Nothing, nothing," I explained quickly. "Just want to take a new route. Adventure and discovery and avoiding the large crowd."

She stopped us both, looking at me with nothing other than pure worry. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Because I think I have," I muttered. "I'm sorry, Elphaba, I really am. I will explain everything soon enough, but I need you to just trust me for now. Please."

She merely nodded and let me continue pulling her with me.

After that day, I made a point to avoid Fiyero at all costs. It was the only choice I really had at the time. I had no interest in drudging up old memories and avoiding him was the only way to truly avoid that.

That's not to say that he never knew I was there. He had spotted me more than once. The only job then would be to get out of the given area before he has a chance to say a single word to me.

Elphaba was more than willing to help with my little escape routes.

I truly thought that I was doing fine.

And then, I stepped out of class and straight into his line of sight.

I think he had been waiting for me. He had no books or notes or anything. He was just there, leaning against the door frame.

I froze for a few moments, my feet becoming stone.

Fiyero's eyes lit up when he saw me in front of him. "I knew it!"

I turned around abruptly, starting to quickly walk down the hall in the other direction. I knew that this building was a circle. I just had to move quickly.

"Wait, wait!"

I did not wait. I had a matter of seconds to track down Elphaba and use her as an excuse for why I was simply too busy to stop and chat with an old friend.

I managed to make a full circle, so focused on checking how far Fiyero was behind me that I didn't notice what was in front of me until I ran into it headfirst.

"I'm sorry-" my words fell flat when I saw I had run into Fiyero. "Oh."

"Hello, (Y/n)" he said as he smiled at me. "I thought that was you."

"Fiyero." I nodded awkwardly, tapping my fingers against my books. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know me," he shrugged. "Having the time of my life."

"Easy when everyone fawns over you," I replied.

"Oh absolutely," he agreed, his expression changing to show his amusement.

He really hadn't changed much since I saw him last. The same attitude and annoyingly convincing charm. Everything about him was exaggerated. It was almost endearing but mostly infuriating.

I saw his eyes bounce along my features. From my eyes to my hair to the rest of my face and body. He was never one for subtly. I always thought it bored him.

His eyes went back to my hair. "When did you change your hair?"

"Some time ago." I kept my answers purposely vague. Unlike him, I had changed. My openness was one of the many victims of the process.

He pouted, looking away from me like a toddler. "I don't like it. Makes your face look weird."

I scoffed at him. "Mature. Good thing you have no right to an opinion on my appearance."

"(Y/n)!" I looked over as Elphaba called my name. I didn't wait to say goodbye to Fiyero before going to meet her and let her drag me away from the scene.

"I owe you," I promised. Since my first incident with Fiyero, I had told her the entire story. She wasn't impressed with him.

"Getting to see the look on his face as you walked away was good enough for me."

I chuckled. There was a pause as we walked before I spoke up again, "Do you like my hair?"

"What?"

"Do you like my hair the way it is?"

"I think it's nice."

"It doesn't make my face look weird?"

"Not at all," she stopped and stepped in front of me. "Please, don't let that boy get in your head. You've worked hard enough to keep him out."

I nodded. "I won't."

It was unfortunate that I had already broken that promise.

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[anthurak]

Something I’ve come to appreciate in video games recently is when a game about some special place needing to be saved by a newcomer who just showed up doesn’t actually have everything go to hell before the protagonist shows up or within a few minutes of them arriving.

To use the example that really made me appreciate this trope, I actually really like how in Psychonauts, Raz/the-player gets to experience Camp Whispering Rock as more or less normal for a while before Oleander’s big ‘steal a bunch of kid brains and stick them in an army of psychic-death-tanks to take over the world’ plan gets revealed, Lilli gets kidnapped by the giant, hulking traumatized lungfish and everything really goes bad.

Like I feel that most games would have all that stuff happen within the first five or ten minutes or so, but with Psychonauts, somewhere between a third and a full half of a playthrough can potentially take place before night falls and everything really goes bad.

Just to give an example, look at how much the game restricts your movement around Whispering Rock in the early game, or rather doesn’t actually restrict it. I think it’s easy to imagine a version of the game which blocks off the different areas of the camp until that area’s relevant mission became available. But no, the only real roadblock to exploration the player faces in the early game is the first mind level. Once Raz completes Basic Braining, the entire rest of the camp becomes open to explore at your leisure.

Heck, the game even encourages exploration by being deliberately vague on where exactly Sasha Nein’s secret lab is. And with the combination of the game both explaining how PSI-Challenge Markers work right in the tutorial and teasing you with a ‘New Psychic Power When You Reach Level 10’ whenever you level up, and a lot of those Markers and Cards being accessible even before you unlock Levitation, the game is already nudging you to go out and explore the camp. And that’s not even mentioning the Scavenger Hunt items.

Or how while the game does direct you to Ford Cruller after the first Brain Tumbler experiment, it’s entirely possible, even likely, that you’ve ALREADY met Ford thanks to simply dropping into one of the fast-travel stumps while exploring.

I mean, consider this; it’s entirely feasible and without too much trouble for Raz to have Pyrokinesis before he even learns PSI-Blast from Sasha. And to have Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis and Invisibility by the time he fights the Blueprint Tank at the end of the Brain Tumbler Experiment. Heck, if you’re really going the grindy-route, basically ALL the collectables in camp, save for one scavenger hunt item, can be acquired before nightfall.

And personally, I really like that you can do this.

Because it feels like Raz/the player gets the chance to experience Camp Whispering Rock as a camp in a more relaxed, easy-going state before night falls, Oleander’s plot is fully revealed and everything becomes a lot more urgent and dangerous. Instead of being thrust into the meat of the action right off the bat, Raz gets the chance to explore and learn and basically do the stuff he actually WANTED to when he came to Whispering Rock.

Thematically, it fits really well with just how driven Raz is to become a Psychonaut, as well as the limited time he seems to have before his dad comes to pick him up. Why wouldn’t he throw himself into exploring, learning and generally doing everything he can at Whispering Rock with what little time he had?

And it also fits nicely with the rest of the game as well. It makes the first third/half of the game feel like Raz is actually learning to become a Psychonaut, and the battle against Linda, breaking into the asylum and rescuing Lili, Sasha and Mia feel Raz is putting everything learned in the first third/half of the game into practice.

Or how Ford’s faith and confidence in Raz’s abilities start making a lot more sense if Raz has both picked up and become reasonably proficient in FIVE psychic powers in what was basically an afternoon.

Honestly I wish we could see this sort of thing in more games with this sort of ‘hero arrives at a super special place and has to save it from destruction’ premise. Just let the protag/player explore and experience the place in a more casual, relaxed manner before everything goes to shit. Like give them a reason to get invested and CARE about this place so it feels all the better to actually save it.

[myfairkatiecat]

okay so shannon giving us a keefe pov seems actually lowkey important and what i would do in the story rn but I'm not convinced she's going to use it to do the things I feel like we need her to do.

let me explain.

Shannon set Sophie up as a character who behaves certain ways. A lot of those ways are very good, and she's certainly a hero, but she also has character flaws that get worked through. For example, she can be a little reckless (personally I would have made all the same choices) (I know we think of Keefe as the reckless one but he's a different type of reckless) she can prioritize the wrong things, she can be disorganized, etc (all things that are super valid and understandable and make her relatable btw. I am a sophie foster defender)

and BECAUSE sophie is the protagonist, we see all of this develop. She has certain qualities that are a little stagnant sometimes, at least if you look from the outside, but there's actually a ton of development going on. She hears others' opinions on her actions, good and bad, and the reader sees how this impacts her and how she grows and changes, even if that change is nonlinear or in many ways she stays the same and just grows more mature.

Here's the thing about Keefe. he wandered out of side character territory and into second main character territory starting at the end of everblaze and peaking in legacy. And Shannon has been INTENTIONALLY writing him with consistent character flaws since the beginning, explainable by his past circumstances in fascinating ways. But we aren't there to see a lot of the falling out for that stuff.

A lot of people complain that keefe never faced consequences for stealing the caches or never had the black swan or adults yelling at him or mistrusting him or his friends avoiding him. And like... we do not know that. It could simply be that that was just not Sophie's problem at the time. Sophie also may have simply not been one of the people giving him a difficult time about it. In fact, we know she wasn't, but boy oh boy Fitz certainly didn't bounce back in less than five seconds. And we don't know what the Council and/or black swan did with him that sophie just wasn't involved in--and bc it didn't become relevant to the plot from sophie's perspective, sophie being the actual MC, it just seems unimportant.

Another thing is that Keefe has a lot of the same character flaws throughout the series, but they do shift somewhat with his experiences, and that's without us even seeing in his head, you know? So here's the thing.

Shannon went and started developing Keefe like a second protagonist (who is interestingly also an anti hero in some ways) and even if you aren't a person who thinks he's the most developed character on the paper (disagree but see where you're coming from) he's DEFINITELY most developed in shannon's brain, and that bleeds through. But then we ONLY see Sophie's perspective BECAUSE THIS IS SOPHIE'S STORY, and everything revolves around what is relevant to the plot from her perspective, and then keefe is just in the background being extremely important and relevant and having all these extra issues that we ONLY ever see from sophie's perspective.

Unlocked was... well, it was half a book, and only half of it was keefe. I actually do think his perspective was enlightening in some ways, but a full keefe book at this point kind of seems necessary to me. Because... he's taken on the role of another main character in this story, but we don't see any of that development happening, and for a lot of people i can see that getting taxing. Now I get that those same people also wish keefe would just. step back from the plot. and i get that! but I think with the way he's involved in the plot NOW, seeing his perspective is important, because sophie's POV (especially with her unreliable narration) doesn't give us enough of a window into the complexity that is keefe's worldview right now, especially with all the ways he keeps impacting things. it's just a really important perspective to have at this point.

Shannon, if unraveled is just keefe trying different human foods and giggling like a kotlc react on wattpad, I will probably enjoy it bc i love your work always, but i will also be shaking you by the shoulders because we need this book and you better spend it doing the things we need

[fancyfade]

2009 era Damian reading

As I've been doing my 2009 era Damian reading, I'm trying to condense the good stuff and bad stuff, and things I believe are relevant for his character. These are in addition to what I assume is obvious (Batman and Robin 2009, the comic where he has a starring role).

Battle for the Cowl: this has how Damian becomes Robin. It's not necessarily good. Daniels really does not understand Damian, especially this early in his writing, but it does have some important context for things going down b/c Damian helps Squire save Tim's life, and we can see Dick viewing training Damian as something he is responsible for.

Secret Origins (2014) #4: This is a much more in character Damian becoming Robin, though fit for a condensed new 52 timeline that leaves some stuff out (like Damian's rocky intro with Bruce).

Batman #688 (Long Shadows part 1): Winick seems one of the early writers who does a Damian as he lines up with later characterization (views himself more as a professional assassin), so I think this one's good.

Batman: streets of Gotham #1-6: damian makes some minor appearances here.

Batgirl #5-7: Always take Damian's guest-starring stuff with a grain of salt, as often times writers just go with "how would an obnoxious 10 year old boy act here" without understanding he's a specific kind of obnoxious 10 year old boy... that said I do like some of his interactions with Steph, and I think it's incredibly important that we see Damian defends his competence based on his training, not on his blood.

Like he'll sometimes justify why he belongs based on his blood (which like... no one acts like they want him around), but he isn't going around saying "I'm better than you b/c I'm batman's son". he was trained intensely since birth (and that's why he should say he's better than you :P)

Batman #692-697: not a ton of Damian in this, and it is Daniel's writing, but he's a little better than he was in Battle for the Cowl. We see Dick training Damian some.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #7, #10-#11: love this plotline for him. Good show of competence and characterization.

Blackest night: batman: More focused on Tim and Dick, and Tomasi sucks at writing Babs, but at there is some Damian content that I remember enjoying.

Red Robin #11-15: as long as you read this one with your brain turned on, it's good for explaining some Tim and Damian stuff. Sadly some fans are like "woooo arrogant 10 year old gets beat up". Nicieza makes some missteps (frames Tim's thinking around Damian as coldly logical, when it is anything but and he is reacting from a place of emotion), but one can ignore those.

Batman #703: shows Damian's character pretty well in a default Batman and Robin adventure, and his relationship (or lackthereof) with Bruce and his dynamic with Dick and Alfred

Teen Titans #88-92 (including Red Robin #20 in a crossover plot): surprised by how well I liked this one. I think it portrays Damian pretty fairly, and we can see that he is trying hard, but hasn't been given a lot of support up until now (or even now, Dick kind of just drops him off with a bunch of older kids who all also have issues and are predisposed to disliking him XD). His dynamic with rose is fun and I think it is notable how quickly he does acquiesce to following Cassie's orders when she's like (at first) the only Teen Titan who is OK with him being there and assures him its not personal when she makes a comment he doesn't like.

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin: Has some nice Dick and Damian banter, showcases how they've worked together well

Batgirl #17: more damian and steph interactions.

I will probably add more (either editing this post or in a reblog) as I keep reading.

[thewertsearch]

GG: ok, so what is the plan? […] CG: OK WELL THE MOST IMMEDIATE POINT OF BUSINESS IS CG: YOU SEE THAT GLOWING BLUE SCREEN BEHIND YOU? […] CG: YOU NEED TO TURN THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT OFF.

The Fourth Wall again?

So far, it's really only been relevant to the non-canonical Hussie interludes, but maybe it’s dangerous for Watsonian reasons, too. Gamzee certainly seems interested in it...

It did belong to Jack originally. Maybe Derse can still make use of it, so it needs to be disabled before someone like DD gets any clever ideas.

CG: I'M NOT GOING TO SAY MUCH ABOUT IT. CG: BUT SUFFICE TO SAY THERE ARE JUST SOME THINGS YOU DON'T WANT TO SCREW WITH. […] CG: THEY ARE FORCES WHICH IF HANDLED RECKLESSLY WILL NULLIFY THE BASIC ABILITY OF INTELLIGENT BEINGS IN ALL REAL AND HYPOTHETICAL PLANES OF EXISTENCE TO GIVE A SHIT.

Oh, I get it. Karkat’s taking a little break from canon himself, and explaining to the audience that too many meta shenanigans would eventually ruin the story.

I’m absolutely in agreement with this. A fourth-wall break in the wrong place could completely ruin the comic’s dramatic stakes. This is a goofy comic, and we have fun here, but going full Deadpool would tear the plot to shreds.

CG: […] MY ROLE AT THE MOMENT IS TO ACT AS A SORT OF GO BETWEEN FOR YOU AND YOUR FUTURE SELF CG: TO HELP ALONG THE PROCESS OF MAKING THESE PLANS CG: WHILE YOUR FUTURE SELF IS DELIBERATELY VAGUE ABOUT SOME STUFF SO AS NOT TO "JINX" THE CONCEPTION OF THE IDEAS IN THE FIRST PLACE I GUESS?

I like this idea. It allows Future Jade to guide her past self’s actions, but filters her guidance through a layer of indirection. Present Jade will be getting some help, but she'll still be able to come up with her own original ideas.

Jade really doesn’t want her plans to be stable-looped into existence, and I can get behind that sentiment, too.

CG: MEANWHILE TIME IS KIND OF RUNNING OUT HERE, WHERE I AM CG: WE'RE COUNTING DOWN TO SOMETHING CG: SOMETHING LOOMING ON THE TROLLIAN TIMELINE AND NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IT IS CG: AND MY TEAM IS KIND OF FALLING APART CG: I'M COMPLETELY LOSING TRACK OF EVERYONE AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

It's been a while since we've done a Veil roll call, actually. Let's give it a whirl.

Karkat is coordinating with Jade on what may or may not become the Scratch plan, and trying to keep tabs on his deteriorating team.

Vriska and Terezi are fighting a proxy war using John and Dave respectively.

Aradia has exploded, and the status of her ghost is currently unknown.

Kanaya is trying in vain to dissuade Rose from the trajectory that Scratch and the Gods have set her on.

Gamzee has recently developed a hatecrush on Dave. He also has some huge hidden importance to the comic, and he’s going to be attacked close to the end of the countdown.

Eridan is planning to confront Jack with his 'awesome' new Science Wand.

Tavros is on his way to confront Vriska and there's like a 98% chance she's going to paralyze him again.

Feferi is consorting with monsters in her dreams. She's also destined to be killed, but her assailant is currently unknown.

The only trolls who (as far as we're aware) aren't up to something are Equius, Nepeta and Sollux.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

book 7 part 7 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7, PART 7 OF THE MAIN STORY!!***

There are only 16 new chapters total in this update; with this, we are up to chapter 116 in book 7.

You should check out this livestream if you want a more part-by-part summarized translation of what's going on and/or if you want to hear the voices and watch the characters along with the commentary!

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

As expected, we start off where we left off last update; Yuu, Grim, Silver, and Sebek have met up with the Shroud brothers. (Lilia is not with them.) According to Idia, they are still in a dream realm since Sebek is still in armor which he cannot bring back into reality. Ortho is present via a projection of some sort.

It's weird seeing Idia, Sebek, and Silver introducing themselves to one another in the main story and acting as though they've NEVER met before; they were all featured in Glorious Masquerade and interacted quite frequently. I'm aware that the main story and events don't share the same timeline, but it's still quite the jarring knowledge gap to witness.

ADFIHBADIYFBIOAFBEWQVUQOCAB SILVER AND SEBEK SUDDENLY CLOSE IN ON IDIA TO PROTECT HIM FROM SOMETHING THEY SENSE, HE CAN'T BREATHE... Waaaah, Idia... You're a princess squished between two pretty boy knights wwww

Idia and Ortho tell us that Malleus is expending a lot of energy to monitor Lilia in particular...? Ortho then goes on to explain that his "individuality" has become useful. Even though he cannot have a UM (okay, so confirmed that Ace is the last one to gain it shjdbahsdbasda), he is the only one capable of transferring his consciousness from one body to another. This is how he was able to reach out to Idia and the others!

Ortho tells them about his Cerberus Gear. We get a flashback of what he was up after getting suited up; he's flying over Sage's Island to collect information on Malleus's UM for STYX.

Thorns pierce through the clouds and Ortho battles them! STYX sends reinforcements (not personnel, but like technology/cannons?) to help Ortho. The thorns form a short of shield over Sage's Island, so he breaks through via a weak point. asdbhbaisdbals It's so unsettling to see the port looking so dark and depressing...

Ortho's mom reminds him he can only stay in there safely for 20 minutes. Aw, she cares so much about Or-kun 😭

It's going to take over several minutes (I think 17) just to analyze the complex nature of Malleus's magic and save it. While the analysis anchor does its job, Ortho has to protect it!

OH SHIT IT'S OB MALLEUS

ebfyvoFoaHhahaahahaHHhahaahah ORTHOS STARTS TALKING ABOUT A BUNCH OF TECH STUFF LIKE WIRELESS TO EXPLAIN TO MALLEUS HOW HE CHANGED BODIES, Malleus surprisingly understands???? I half expected him to combust on the spot from confusion... DBHLBSYOFOFYAAFIAFIL MALLEUS IS BEING DUNKED ON BY A CHILD, Ortho says that since magic is powered by imagination, Malleus cannot block Ortho's advances or force his new body under sleep since Malleus does not understand tech.

I can't believe him being shit with tech is actually relevant to the plot 💀

AEFHLBFBYFOVYFEQRUROQ OB MALLEUS PROCEEDS TO RESPOND WITH VIOLENCE, HE'S GOING TO DESTROY THE ANALYTICAL ANCHOR SO ORTHO DECIDES TO FIGHT BACK

RIP Or-kun, he could only resist for so long... his attacks have no effect in this domain where Malleus has complete control.

JUST 30 SECONDS BEFORE THE ANALYSIS ENDS, QUICK ORTHO STALL HIM BY SHIT TALKING MORE!!! I KNOW CHILDREN CAN BE SAVAGE, SO UNLEASH YOUR WRATH

HFBFYOAEOFYEEIAFL MALLEUS.?>??? ?? ? ?? ???? HE IMPLIED HE'S GOING TO KILL OFF ORTHO AND THEN GOES OFF (?) ON ONE OF HIS DOGGIE DRONES...

"Good night, little Shroud." You have to hear it for yourself, it sounds very ominous 💀 He really said he ain't above child murder, eh?

??? For a second Malleus froze and his shot missed? So Ortho decides on a strategic retreat with the second dog drone. NO MALLEUS ENDED 02 TOO, IT TOOK A BLOW FOR ORTHO WHILE HE RETRIEVES THE ANCHOR

We cut back to STYX, which is dedicating its resources to creating an opening in Malleus's barrier for Ortho to escape. He clears the barrier!!

Aaaaaaah, another cute moment for Shroud Mama! She and Shroud Papa collapse onto the floor in relief. He has sustained some damage, but his core is intact!

One line I really like from Malleus is him referring to Ortho and others as "uninvited guests" that he's going to chase off no matter what.

NOOOOO THEY CONFIRMED BOTH DOGGIE DRONES GOT MCMURDERED IN THERE OTL Never forgiving Malleus for this, fr (Shroud Mama says she can fix them though so we're all good!)

They tell Ortho "welcome back" and Ortho says "I'm back" 😭 AND THEY GROUP HUG

RUH-ROH

Shroud Papa says that Malleus's UM... reminds him of Grim's magic... WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN

STYX has support from Briar Valley, which should help with their analysis. However, the results so far are not looking good. According to Shroud Papa, the barrier is 99% impossible to destroy unless either Malleus dies OR Malleus chooses to lower the barrier himself.

It's not plausible for Mama to make enough Cerberus Gears for a whole army. Besides, if they they destroy the barrier, Shroud Mama theorizes that they may also accidentally destroy the consciousnesses of everyone on Sage's Island... so that's definitely not an option!

FJLDADBIAFSVYOFFEQFA ORTHOS UGGESTED TELLING MALLEUS "Your grandma is so sad" FROM OUTSIDE THE BARRIER TO CONVINCE HIM TO LOWER THE SHIELD........ . . . ....... . . .. .... .. . . . . .. . . ... . . LIKE IN THE OLD MOVIES

They're now looking into Idia's dream on a monitor? Ortho notices Idia's dorm room does not have Ortho's mainenance dock, so... um, he realizes that Idia must be dreaming about an alternate world where his little brother never passed.

Shroud Mama is going to try and "hack" into the dream spaces. AJAFSVOSvfvfefea SHE HAS A CUTE LITTLE GREMLIN GIGGLE??? She's very fired up because Malleus insulted mankind's best technology, saying it cannot stand up to his magic. (aslbhflasbifabfd THIS IS WHERE IDIA GETS IT FROM????????)

"It's rare to see Idia so happy." LDBHbiadib THIS BOY IS MAD DEPRESSED, LET HIM BE

"Isn't it time that everyone got tired of the dream world and want to return to reality?" No, Shroud Mama. I guarantee you that most TWST fans WANT to stay in Twisted Wonderland and don't want new content to stop coming out, this is our escapism :)

WAAAAAH ORTHO HE'S REPEATING THE LINE VIL TOLD HIM, THEY HAVE TO TRY BECAUSE NOT TRYING IS ALWAYS 0% BUT 0.001% HAS THE POSSIBILITY TO BECOME 100%

Shroud Papa warns Ortho that Idia may reject reality, and therefore "this" Ortho. He's concerned that this will put Ortho through a lot of emotional stress. Shroud Papa wants professionals (psychologists) to try and contact Idia instead of Ortho.

ADFILBAFIYAEGIYQEFBIAF ORTHO HAS SO MUCH FAITH IN HIS OLDER BROTHER, he says Idia would get hype about a cute robot boy trying to get in contact with him, this means he'll become a protagonist like in his light novels!

DNBHdsvyofwFTOwqihbyow8fS WE'RE GOING TO IDIA'S DREAM NOW, he pulled like 3 SSRs of his favorite character (of course he'd dream this, OF COURSE).

Video chat notif from Ortho???

OMG IT'S ROBOT ORTHO AND IDIA FREAKS OUT THINKING IT'S COSPLAY

Ortho reintroduces himself. "It's nice to meet you for the first time in 'this' world!" Idia starts to laugh and assumes it's Ortho's avatar for virtual chat, that kind of thing. Or maybe Ortho is talking about the plot of a new anime?

ILBFIBYADBFADBEFQFIPo; IDIA REPEATS THE EXACT LINES ORTHO SAID HE WOULD SAY, THAT HE'S THE CHOSEN ONE BEING CONTACTED BY A CUTE ROBOT BOY

Here's the breakdown... Idia gets a headache and finally realizes the truth. afhbBIfieeq;ofBHQEF;????? ?the DREMA ORTHO IS CALLING HIMAND TEELLING HIM THE REAL ORTHO IS A FAKE, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM (this is THE definition of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss).

DREAM!ORTHO TRIES TO PULL IDIA DEEPER INTO THE DREAM, TELLING HIM HE'S JUST SLEEPY FROM GAMING TOO MUCH SO GO BACK TO SLEEP

Oooh, interesting that RSA!Ortho still appears to be similar in body type to Robo!Ortho? I always assumed Ortho was small because Idia kept him "preserved" in the moment of death. Maybe the dream Ortho is just modelled after Robo!Ortho since that's what Idia's memories are familiar with.

Idia loops back around again to the start of his dream, where he is in ceremonial robes and Malleus approaches him. HERE COMES MALLEUS TO GASLIGHT HIS CLASSMATES AGAIN

adhfgyoafdodp THERE'S A LIGHT FROM THE SKY???? TSUMTSUMS???????? GOD?????? AND ANIME ON IDIA'S SIDE?????? OMG, here comes Ortho in his Cerberus Gear come to save the day! Idia recognizes STYX's emblem.

UH-OH, MALLEUSIS PISSED THAT ORTHO SURPRISED HIM TWICE"Stand down, you fools." MALEFICENT ENERGY IS OFF THE CHARTS

Idia recognizes Malleus as being in Overblot adhbafliafa AND THE SKY STARTS CRACKING because Ortho is not meant to exist in this dream. He basically goes against the canon www

Malleus teleports away (yeah, FUCK IDIA I guess) and leaves them to be swallowed by the abyss. Idia's being pulled into the darkness, and their mom's voice comes in warning Ortho to stay away before more damage occurs. Idia recognizes his mom's voice and remembers even more!!

Aw, Ortho promises to save his brother...

Idia is at the gates to the Underworld again? Phantom Ortho says Idia fell there and speaks to him kind of in a friendly manner. "It's too early for a reunion."

asfkjlnsUPBUADGPAGB IDIA IS SO CONFUSED, HE'S WONDERING WHY A PHANTOM IS CALLING HIM BIG BRO, HE STILL BELIEVES THAT HIS BROTHER GOES TO RSA AND THAT THIS IS A NIGHTMARE Idia is sooooo in denial...

Phantom Ortho reassures Idia that his death is not his fault, so please stop blaming himself... that Idia promised he would live without looking back, so he should look at the truth.

WHOOOOO HE REMEMBERS BOOK 6 FELLAS

AYO WE GOT IDIA CRYING AND IT'S ANIMATED, WE SEE THE TEARS ROLLING DOWN HIS CHEEKS, WE WINNIN'

"I'm always being saved by my little brothers (YES PLURAL, WEH), I'm such a pathetic big brother."

Ah, so now Phantom Ortho calls himself "King of the Underworld" says Idia cannot leave since it's not a good example for the rest of the phantoms. It's going to be the boss!

OOOOOH IDIA'S HAIR GOES FULL DIFFERENT COLOR + new facial expression (we previously only saw the hair change color in his Dorm Uniform Groovy and his Suitor Suit Groovy).

IDIA CALLS HIS FAMILY CURSE A BLESSING, he gets more power in areas with lots of blot since there is more fuel for him to burn. HASDIYASODBASID IDIA OBS TO FIGHT PHANTOM ORTHO??????? IS THIS A PREVIEW FOR OVERBLOT CARDS OR SOMETHING

They have the same battle lines about how they will be "free"...

IDIA'S CRINGE ERA RETURNSSSSSSSS (he's making those cringe sound effects of blowing things up) and claims the title of "King of the Underworld" (the same title given to players who own 10 cards of a particular character).

afhbabilfbialfi IDIA LAUGHS SO HARD HE CHOKES

He finally uses his UM to open the gates and escape, telling Phantom!Ortho he cannot stay there. PHANTOM!ORTHO LOVINGLY WISHES HIS BROTHER SAFE TRAVELS, AW "The whole universe is waiting for you."

Idia tries to wake up and hears Dream!Ortho's voice??? BUT IDIA IS FULLY AWAKE NOW, HE KNOWS IT'S SUCH A DREAM He has finally accepted Ortho's death AND calls both the robot brother and the dead brother as his "brotherS"

Idia points out all the discrepancies in the dream... adfbilasdibalbiaflb I LOVE HOW EVERYONE KEEPS CALLING RSA A "SHINY" SCHOOL, Idia's all like, "No WAY is my little brother going to a school like that!"

THE DREAM ORTHO PANICS AND BEGS IDIA TO LISTEN TO HIM BADSBILADIAIDVFADIL IDIA TELLS THE DREAM ORTHO "Sorry, I don't like anyone other than anime/game characters calling me onii-chan!" IBRO, YOU'RE OUTTING YOURSELF LIEK THIS????????? ? ????? ????

He plots revenge on the person that would dare show him this disgusting dream, he's ready to FILE A COMPLAINT to them! (Watch out, Draconia, this otaku is coming for YOUR ASS) sayusdbyosfvayf What's with Malleus pissing off big bros with dead little bros...

Idia finally reunites in his dream with Robo!Ortho and apologizes for the hurtful things he said... Ortho talks about the adventures he has been on + explains what has been going on. Basically, they reconcile without a problem!

After all the summary, Idia first comments on how shocked he is that their mom hacked into his computer 🤡 Yeah, Idia... she saw everything... Ortho tells him it's okay, she didn't comment! BUT THAT MAKES IDIA EVEN MORE UPSET, "it's the worst thing for a male high school student!" It just might make him Overblot a THIRD time www

I can't believe THIS of all things is what makes Idia seek revenge on Malleus... (HE SAYS HE WANTS MALLEUS TO CRY AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS)

Idia is really out here about to doxx Malleus huh 💀

I honestly was not expecting to cry this update (since I was thinking it would just be a flashback about how Ortho "woke up" Idia) but NOPE, I just guess every update now is going to elicit tears... I've always been highly invested in the Shroud brothers' storyline, so I'm really happy they touched on it again here and enhanced it by giving us more Shroud Mama and Papa, as well as Phantom!Ortho. It was sweet to see Idia recognize Phantom!Ortho as his brother too instead of completely renouncing him or "replacing" him with Robo!Ortho. ihbdiladqeofqbeafnasi The updates are making me like Idia more, but in the same way you'd like a character for being pathetic... Man made SO many dog chew toy nosies this time 😭

I did not expect Malleus to be so... pro-child murder/j He will stop at nothing to keep everyone under his thumb, and that's so awful. There was so much gaslighting in this part as well, even if Malleus is not directly doing it himself. The fact that his magic can just... do that on its own is... It sort of gives me the vibes of trying to enforce a toxic kind of positivity on everyone, which in of itself has its roots in his own insecurities and inability to cope with loss. He's projecting that onto everyone else, and that has very scary results as we see here.

There were a lot of memes pre-book 7 about how Malleus's inability to understand technology would come to bite him in the ass later, and all of those fans can now feel vindicated because WELL, IT CAME TRUE.

And last, but not least, I'm shocked at Idia's reason for wanting to fistfight Malleus 🤡 BRO'S MAD FR FR... WHAT MUST HIS MOM HAVE SEEN ON HIS COMPUTER TO MAKE HIM SO AGGRO... WAS IT LEWDS OR SOMETHING???????? ?? ? ??? ?????? ?? Glad that Idia is on our side now, this is an excellent place to leave off on for next time!!

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Hi! Where could I read your villains.au as a story? Cause I've seen kinda comic style posts of yours but I don't know if it's actually a comic or if it's just more art? Overall I just wanna know more of the AU cause I really love your designs but I'm kinda confused on what happened to get there

currently it's just art and posts yeah 😔 I'd love to write it as a fic or comic or post more one-shot style comics of it but I'd have to beat the ADHD first and currently I am rawdogging life. I was going to work on a master-post but, again, the ADHD and then also I got SICK, so that may or may not actually get done. However I DID get a kinda plot summary written down so I'll share that ig.

Sorry for the Wall Of Text. This doesn't cover the pre-story backstories though, which, I feel are incredibly relevant! So let me explain some stuff. Zane: he was infected/partially possessed by the Overlord during Rebooted when he Exploded said Overlord. It laid dormant until post-Ice Emperor to which he ran away and that sealed his doom. At some point during his take over of the part of the land, he grabbed Pixal and never let her go either. Kai: this one's pretty simple, it's basically what if the staff in ToE actually just drove him evil and he never shook the influence. Cole/Lilou: bad ending of DOTD where he was completely forgotten and managed to keep Yang tied to the temple but in the process got himself trapped in it. This did not go well, clearly! Nya: well, Seabound happened first, so she combined with the sea but she did so much less ready than in canon, and significantly more grief-ridden and angry. So that affected what she was like as the ocean, and it eventually lead to her kind of ....for a lack of a better terms eating Nyad and becoming even stronger. She just continued to lose her humanity from there. Jay: so, well, his story started back in skybound where he ended up wishing to be a djnn instead of wishing no one had found the teapot. He stuck with the team still, and pretended to not regret that wish but he just got progressively more bitter and disillusions as time went on and after seabound he just quit. Up and left, leaving just Lloyd. He continued to get worse after that. Lloyd: he was 'okay' up until crystallized where he just kind of cracked from all the stress and loss. That cracking resulted in Harumi dying and that started his transformation and spiral.

(as for Wu, he just never got out of the time-stream.) Hopefully that helps explain somethings Akahslfaiogs? I'm going to link some other posts that explain other stuff too. Zane & his kingdom: x Jay & Harumi Ninja Pixane (<- NOTE: the kid thing isn't canon, but this post just explains their dynamic good) x (<- second post explaining similar) Kai's cult + kai-nya relationship

OKAY that's all for now I think! sorry i feel like trying to figure out this AU for anyone whos not me is like putting together a red string board but I try!

[infizero]

cat kid comic club epic transgender representation ramble 🗣🗣

ok im gonna explain the trans stuff in cat kid comic club bcuz i cant stop thinking about it and i want to share it with you all

so basic premise for context, former villain flippy the fish has 22 frog children he adopted, and this spinoff series follows them all being part of a club about making comics

while i was reading and becoming familiar with the kids, i noticed that wendy was seemingly the only girl that was drawn without eyelashes. and i DID immediately go hmmm. does that have significance and she's meant to be trans or am i just reading too much into things

later on, it's shown that one of the kids, el, is non-binary and uses they/them!! which made me happy and also made me think that maybe i was right about wendy

"El likes birds and dragonflies. They sing in a punk rock band with their brothers, Pink and Curly. It's called: 'The Eye Screams.'"

no attention is drawn to this, until a plot point where one of the kids naomi makes a comic and sends it to a publisher. it gets rejected and when reading out the email that was sent back, this is mentioned:

"'Global sameness' fails to recognize that everybody isn't always given the same opportunities or chances in life. Furthermore, some lines in the story (i.e. 'just poke your nose beneath your clothes, you'll see we're all the same'), could be seen as making controversial statements about gender that may offend or diminish many readers.'"

for context, the comic is about a bunch of halloween monsters who dance around in their underwear, with the intended message that we're all the same deep down.

naomi gets upset at the idea that the comic that she intended to preach unity might offend people. but when she explains this, she specifically mentions wendy and el!

POPPY: "Wait. Who got offended?" NAOMI: "That publisher lady said my comic made statements about gender that are offensive!!!!!!! Wendy and El probably HATE me now!!!" POPPY: "No they don't."

naomi then goes to talk to wendy and el and make sure they know that wasn't her intention. to which they say they know and that they didn't take offense to it

NAOMI: "Remember those parts where I said... something like... 'everybody's the same underneath?'" EL: "Yeah." WENDY: "Kind of." NAOMI: "I wasn't talking about gender." EL: "Yeah. We know."

NAOMI: "I just didn't want you to take it wrong." EL: "We didn't." WENDY: "We're good."

and that's that!

what really struck me about this was that they actually... acknowledged it? like it's become more normalized to have trans and non-binary characters, but a lot of times esp in kids media it isn't directly addressed. like a character may use they/them, but attention won't be called to it or anything

but here, it's actually addressed, and in a really lowkey and realistic manner! like it's not a big deal or something they have to have like a whole PSA about. but el and wendy ARE trans and in this scenario that fact is relevant, so it comes up

it's also interesting to me because despite this, neither el nor wendy are explicitly STATED to be trans, but they're very obviously treated as such. which again feels very natural and i like a lot, but i do also wonder how this reads to the intended audience of young kids. like if they dont know that trans people exist, how do they interpret a moment like this? do they understand why el and wendy were specifically singled out? i have no idea but im fascinated thinking about it.

also smaller thing but i like how the trans kids werent portrayed as getting all super angry at something like that (since we are so often stereotyped as being easily offended snowflakes lol), but at the same time the idea that they might've been offended is taken seriously and naomi is shown to be in right for checking in with them to make sure she didnt hurt their feelings. again it just feels very realistic and i really appreciate that!

i do wonder if this fact will come up again or if this was the extent of it. i guess we'll have to see lol

in conclusion, dav pilkey says trans rights and continues to be the king of treating kids as intelligent and capable of handling more complex and nuanced topics 🔥🔥

[level2janitor]

how to run an OSR game

a while back i made this post to help people who were interested in OSR games but didn't know where to start, explaining the general design philosophy and going over a bunch of different OSR rulesets you can run a game with. so this is a follow-up post about how to actually run these (especially bc not all of them have much actual GM guidance)

note this is a highly opinionated post and some people from the more meatgrinder-y end of the OSR might take issue with this. but this is advice that works extremely well for my games.

how to prep situations and not plots

this is good advice for most games but OSR especially because OSR gameplay is so driven by player scheming: don't ever include "and then the players will..." in your prep, because you do not know what the players will do.

if your prepped scenario hinges on the players taking a specific action or the whole thing falls apart, you're digging your own grave as the GM. trying to account for every action the players can take is a trap, because players are creative and clever and their options are only limited by their ideas. that's the game.

so "prep situations, not plots" has become popular advice in TTRPG communities, especially OSR circles. but how do you actually do that

the most important elements of prep you want to figure out are:

what do all the NPCs involved in this scenario want? what social levers (wants, fears, habits, allegiances, guilty pleasures, relationships) do they have that the players can pull?

what will happen if the PCs never interfere? what conflicts and schemes are brewing in the background?

what locations are there to explore? who and what is inside them, what dangers and treasures are inside?

the best prep is stuff you can't improvise, or stuff that's unsatisfying when improvised. you should probably know monster stats ahead of time, know the layout of dungeons, that sort of thing. elements relevant to challenging the players are important to prep.

stop rolling for everything

coming from nearly any other TTRPG to an OSR game, your instinct when a player says "i want to do X" is "okay, make an X roll" through a skill system or a pbta move or something.

if you do this in an OSR game, you run into problems.

player characters aren't very strong. they have single-digit hit points, few if any class abilities, and whether they're carrying a crowbar, a grappling hook, a lantern, etc. is as impactful as their choice of class.

this is because the game is about using your head more than using your character sheet - the sheet just lists tools to apply your creative thinking to. scheming and managing your resources is the game.

and this means if a player has a clever idea, you should almost never reward them with a die roll to see if they succeed. a skill check is just a random chance of failure. instead most actions should succeed or fail automatically.

here's a good checklist to determine whether something succeeds:

is it something a normal, untrained person could do? if yes, you succeed.

could a normal person do it with the right tools, training and/or time to work? if yes, you succeed if you have any of those things.

if you don't have any of those, you can't. find another approach or get ahold of those conditions for success.

die rolls are for resolving uncertainty and risk. picture a version of 5e where there are no ability checks, only saving throws - dice you roll when something's gone wrong and you're in danger.

which leads into the next point...

communicating information

one of the worst sins of roll-based task resolution is when it's used to determine perception. players making informed decisions is the heart of the game, and they can't do that without information.

give information freely. if your character could know it, they probably do. try to do this too much. never gate information behind a die roll, especially the PC's surroundings.

part of this is always informing the player what is at stake. if a player's in a dangerous enough situation that success comes down to a die roll, you must let them know that before they opt into making that roll, and what the consequences for failure are.

OSR games are about risk management, so tell your players what is at risk when they make those decisions.

entering combat

combat is one of the most dangerous things in an OSR game - it's unpredictable, lethal, and entering it is always a big decision.

if you're coming from a game like 5e, often your first instinct when an encounter occurs is, "roll initiative!" but this is a mistake. you always, even when combat is about to start, ask players for their approach. do they fight? flee? negotiate? surrender?

because combat is so risky, forcing players into it unprompted fundamentally changes the dynamic of your campaign. keep in mind, once combat starts, you don't get any input between rolling initiative and taking your turn. your fate is up to the dice - your tactics matter, sure, but they can't save you from losing initiative, being crit, and dying from bad luck.

if players willingly choose combat as their approach, they should know the risks and what they're getting into. sometimes combat is the best way to achieve your goals, so it'll still happen.

[dullyn]

Arthurian Retelling Book Review II

Spear by Nicola Griffith

Here's a spoiler free review with my rating for anyone who wants to read it without having everything revealed. There will be a full review with spoilers further down on this post.

It was an enjoyable book that followed a very traditional bildungsroman style of plot. The author took interesting creative liberties like the gods being the Irish ones and Peretur (Percival) being some sort of demigod-like being (I'm not counting that as a spoiler as you learn this on page 4). There was also a cool take on the Holy Grail quest with it being more of a thing of the traditional cosmologies and Tuath Dé instead of a Christian one.

There's also other stuff that got changed with a new twist like Llanza (Lancelot) being from Spain instead of Brittany and also disabled, and the love affair between him Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere) being common knowledge and almost encouraged. (No clue why Llanza is from Spain though, I looked into it and the author basically said they were trying to make everything Celtic but like,, Bretons are Celtic? Like Breton, the language of Brittany, is one of the closest relatives of Welsh?)

Back to Peretur though, she serves as a cool figure as she is a very masc-looking girl whose sense of adventure and curiosity leads her away from her sheltered life and to Caer Leon (Camelot) where she eventually becomes a sort of knight. There is a romantic relationship between her and Nimuë but it seemed sudden and random for most of the book until about 3/4 through when it was like "awww they love each other." However, romance is not the focus of this book so it makes sense that the relationship is not wholly fleshed out as it is not overly relevant to the actual plot, which is Peretur's ascension to becoming a knight.

Peretur and Arturus (Arthur) clash because Arturus in this is very paranoid due to magical influence. This added an interesting element to the whole thing as he is a king who will eventually lose everything and he just cannot see it.

My biggest peeve is I did not like the way Cei was portrayed. He eventually got better and seemed to be more of a loud dumb jock figure (the author even notes he is similar to a rugby player they know). His ugliness at the beginning was necessary for the story's plot as it served a motivation for Peretur to do various acts of valor and gain her knighthood.

4/5 ⭐

EDIT: under my new ranking system for all books (not just Arthurian retellings) this book gets a 3/5 ⭐️

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

FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS BELOW

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

Okay I was so flabbergasted for like half the book on why the gods were Irish. Like the Tuath Dé just vibing in Wales was so confusing, then on page 111 it finally explains it. Honestly it turned out super cool with the fact that Manandán was there because he was power hungry and wanted to keep the bowl and its magic for himself.

With Manandán and his assault of Elen came Peretur's birth. Which, did not like that part as like, gross, even though I know it is a common literary thing especially in Arthuriana. However, I do love Peretur’s inherent magical otherworldliness. Her demigod status and whatnot and the way that she feels the earth around her and talks to the animals is so so so well done. I also like the way she struggles with her identity and has to confront the fact she’s not entirely

I want Peretur's gender presentation. End tweet.

This was definitely a better romance with Nimuë than the last book i read with Nimuë as the love interest. Though it still felt like Peretur and Nimuë just fell into bed together without having a real connection, hook up culture in 500AD I guess. The whole "unclean" thing was also very striking and it dealt Peretur such a psychological blow, but when she like thought it out it seemed to change her character for the better but I don't know. I didn't really like them together as a couple until right before they leave on the Grail Quest. Though they eventually do develop a relationship that made me go: Yeah, Go For It.

Love that Llanza is called Arturus’ “special friend” and that his word is held above almost all others in the king's eyes. I also like the way they say that Llanza is still an incredible knight with his twisted leg, even if he must mainly do it on horseback. I like that, I like it when knights can have disabilities and still be revered and not just be like shoved to the side. (also horseboy Lancelot, the rarest of sightings considering he typically is an accidental killer of horses).

"We both love her, as we love each other. We will not set her aside" (p 141). LLANZA MY GOD.

I don’t like the way the author characterized Cei. Why did he have to be weird towards women? Why did he have to grab Angharad and try to forcibly kiss her? I know it’s so that Peretur can show her knightly virtue and then be forced to go on quests to try and redeem herself and make herself a stronger fighter, but still. He gets better as the story goes on but I really did not like that part at all. On another note, he does call Peretur “Pretty Per” and “petal cheeks” which is so random and silly.

Gwenhwyfar. (That’s it that’s the paragraph). Aughhh she hurts me inside, she’s so beautiful and sad and the way she’s portrayed makes me want to eat drywall while listening to Lord Huron. Like that’s my Shayla. Llanza mourning the fact that she is so proud but still finds her praying on her knees in the new chapel that's been built to try and have God bestow a baby upon her??? Nicola Griffith I'm in your walls.

Then there is the whole thing with Myrddyn. That wizard being Peretur's uncle was a choice, though well executed because it leads Arturus to trust Peretur enough to go get the bowl at the end. I also like that he's portrayed as having been a manipulative man who was also pretty sinister. Like creepy mentor Merlin is the exact way I envision him in my head when I write him. That along with his manipulations of Arturus and like the hold he had over him. Arturus never had a chance of being mentally stable between Myrddyn and Caledfwylch's magical influence. The sword making him go crazy is just such an iconic plotline.

"Her mother made no reply, as she would never make reply again" (p 147). This part had me going insane, the death of Elen and Peretur's care for her corpse was so AUGH. The wistful nature of it all really hit hard.

Peretur snapping at Llanza for insulting her childhood home (the cave) and defending her mother is so aughhhh oh my god. Literally this entire scene with Elen's death and Peretur taking care of her mother once again is just so so, raw. Like the emotion through her actions and the way it kind of acts as penance for leaving her mother behind in the first place. The way she apologizes for not being able to bury her with the cup (her lifelong prized treasure)? Immaculate.

Galath (Galahad) is not a big fixture in this obviously but when Peretur and Llanza are reminiscing about their homes after burying Elen and Llanza thinks, "His own son would despise him for his imperfections" (p 152). Yeah. That's Galahad through and through, that's personally how I view him too where he's judgy in the wholly righteous mannequin way that only a strict Catholic upbringing and faith can do.

The end is so bittersweet with Peretur and Nimue talking about how Caer Leon and everyone in it will fade away into stories and legends because Arturus has no heir and so his legacy dies with him.

But like, would someone else not just take the throne? Not the point though, overall I liked the book. It definitely felt a bit flat with the traditional bildungsroman, I think that if I knew nothing about Arthuriana I would not have been nearly as enthused. However, until the death of Elen and everything after that had me going insane it was so well done. Peretur, Nimue, and Llanza going to find the bowl and burying Elen really made the book gain like a whole new level of depth to it that I really liked.

I'm giving this book a 4/5 ⭐

EDIT: under my new ranking system for all books (not just Arthurian retellings) this book gets a 3/5 ⭐️

[rabbit-surfboard]

Fictional podcast recs

One of my friends got into audio drama and I just sent them a whole list of recommendations to go through, I thought someone who follows these tags might also appreciate it and perhaps have some more to throw in. I resisted the urge to throw in the little blurb about audio dramas as a weird little medium and their tropes that I wrote up. It was something to the effect of nodding at how the medium has rapidly been improving since Welcome to Nightvale started, also how a lot of the tropes that tie the medium together are products of the indie podcast scene being accessible and primarily based in audio. Also at how well horror works in the format. Those paragraphs went unsaved but writing first about the medium in general helped me to reflect on a lot of the things that make audiodramas appealing or repulsive to me for discussing each show in brief beyond just explaining what they're about.

All recommendations are tagged for the tldr.

Fiction podcast recommendations in no particular order:

The Magnus Archives

Horror

The biggest criticism I ever had of this podcast’s voice acting from episode 1 turned out to be a relevant plot point. This thing is probably the best of the best, but I would never recommend it to someone unfamiliar with podcasts because the listener only notices a plot hook somewhere between episodes 20-40 and that’s daunting in the face of a 200 episode show. Getting sucked in rewards you with 200 episodes of thoughtful content and a great explanation for most of the weird things this show chooses to incorporate.

Old Gods of Appalachia

Horror

Fantastic production quality on this ongoing show. Many seasons with interconnected lore and a hell of a narrator. It’s not my personal favorite but it’s quite excellent.

Red Valley

Found footage mystery

One of the newer shows I’ve gotten into, Red Valley is well-crafted. It becomes compelling very quickly with a rapid pace that slows down to land in a neat spot for a while so you can savor the cool parts. The production quality is excellent and the two main voice actors have excellent chemistry. The third and final season is currently being produced.

The Silt Verses

Horror

Often compared to American Gods, this newer podcast made by an experienced team is doing a lot of creative and fresh things at once. The magnificently fucked up religious system of The Silt Verses is both a neat plot vehicle and cleanly works as a criticism of late stage capitalism, where many podcasts like to jab at capitalism this one is much more pointed in its commentary. Episodes are long and very well produced. All the credits in the third season have been mostly diegetic and add flavor to the world.

Archive 81

Found footage horror

Slow to start but by season 2 the production quality and plot are among the best in the game. Unfortunately, on an extended hiatus.

Ars Paradoxica

Science fiction, historical

Very well produced considering its age, this is a highly regarded show among people who follow the medium. Excellent time travel mechanics here. The plot drags a bit by the end because time travel stories must violently contort themselves into a conclusion, but the first season or two are fantastic and it’s always nice to have an ending instead of interminable hiatus.

Caravan

Gay demons n stuff

Showed up, did magic and gay shit, disappeared and went on hiatus probably with some kinda unsatisfying cliffhanger seeing as I don’t remember the plot. Could I recommend it in good faith? Not until they at least cough up season 2. I don’t remember it being bad and that alone is notable for the medium.

Mabel

Gothic horror

This is the deepest cut on the list except for maybe Caravan. Lesbians pine at each other for increasingly complicated reasons, eventually devolving into them doing datura and then spewing cryptic poetry together for the rest of their days. The production quality is fair. The slow windup and creepy house are American-gothic af. This show has had a few hiatuses, but each time it comes back significantly more intriguing.

Welcome to Nightvale

Goofy spooky news broadcast

Old and iconic, not very consistent. Sometimes explores emotional, tense, spooky, or funny scenes well, but the show is really focused on being local news for an ooky spooky desert town because Cecil is damn good at his job. Don’t come here looking for plot, it’s a fun vibe and I don’t know that anybody’s ripped it off and notably improved on this classic. Above average production quality for its time which improved through the years.

Alice isn’t Dead

USA road trip, horror

Made by at least one of the Nightvale writers, totally different show with a lesbian trucker making wry observations of some magnificently twisted shit seen around the United States. The producers know how to run a show, so the production is pretty good.

Tanis

Found footage horror

Tanis is not good. However, it was the first fiction podcast to make me ask “Is this real?” and hesitantly believe it for a frankly embarrassing number of episodes. The stories in the first season were interesting and the lore is just some big-tent conspiracy style of cramming a bunch of fun Wikipedia research into what turns out to be an increasingly nonsensical plot. Every season after the second, I return to hate-listen and am gaslit into thinking the show might low-key rock a few episodes before the finale, which is routinely frustrating and makes sure to throw out any good plot points Terry Miles comes up with. The acting is routinely terrible, and the frame narrative allows lazy and frequent retcons, ruining what I think is a good premise. Also it’s incomplete.

The Black Tapes

Horror

Terry Miles started this show before Tanis began releasing about 5 months later. I think of it as one of his earlier works because it behaves like Tanis with an added layer of cringe from a time waster of an awkward romance(?) between the two main characters. I couldn’t finish this show. You won’t see this recommended as often as it used to be online because there’s many better shows now, but this used to be a big deal. There’s a bunch of memes making fun of the annoying cadence of the characters’ speech and iconic sponsorship reads in both this and Tanis. If you’re interested in some cringe atop your creepypasta podcast, the two are interchangeable.  

Rabbits

ARG investigation

Not as horror focused as Terry Miles’ other shows, the cringe is dialed down and the show is better for it. Tanis and The Black Tapes are more well known, I think the only reason more people don’t think about this one is because the first two don’t inspire trust in the production or narrative quality of this show, but I remember it being fine for a season. I have not gone back to catch up now that more is out.

Malevolent

Horror

Inspired by The King in Yellow, one man performs two voices and verbally abuses himself with aplomb. Having a blind main character with an extra voice in his head is a frame story I haven’t heard yet (unless it came up in the magnus archives and I don’t remember), the concept works out great for the frame of a podcast to deploy the environmental imagery that foley cannot communicate. It also prevents the podcast trope of lengthy exposition about visual surroundings from sounding awkward or potentially impacting someone’s character development to show setting.

Wolf 359

Comedy, science fiction

A crew of whacky characters is stuck in deep space, hanging out and researching a star. Since that’s not actually very interesting they crack jokes and fuck around for a slow burn until interesting stuff happens. Good but not great, this one is long and satisfying and a bit less heavy than all the horror this medium often focuses on. Decent production quality.

The White Vault

Found footage horror

I lost patience with this podcast even though the overarching story seemed very cool – it progresses very slowly yet appears to grow bigger and more confusing instead of deigning to answer basic questions for a frustratingly long drag through the first four seasons. I worry that this frustration may be the point and the Patreon gated stories are the drivers for this tendency towards the confusing patchwork of ideas this show communicates. The production quality is good though.

The Left Right Game

Found footage horror

Genuinely great reddit creepypasta got turned into an overproduced podcast – I say “over” in comparison to the voice acting quality because it’s kind of impossible to sell some of the lines, which makes sense considering the source. Brief, complete, punchy, interesting, and just a little odd to hear such a clean production but a creepypasta this fun deserves the effort.

Wooden Overcoats

Comedy

Surprisingly good production quality for its age, and also a refresher from the usual tropes of the medium. Just a chill sitcom about a funeral parlor in a small town. I haven’t finished this 4 season show yet but its good.

The Black List Table Reads

Movie script readings

Some movie scripts just short of making the cut to be turned into a full Hollywood production were well liked enough by a group of film nerds that sat down to act them out as a podcast. Half of the episodes are interviews with screenwriters, and the other half see a script read all the way through by actors. They’re all rejected for different reasons so there’s a pretty broad spread of genres. My favorites were Blood From a Stone and Balls Out.

[crustaceousfaggot]

Hey did anyone else notice like a weird amount of parallels between the Arcane ending and the RQG ending or was that just me

Takes place in a magi-tech society that blends elements of sci-fi and high fantasy with elements of British industrial revolution aesthetics. The bulk of the story takes place in a city which is divided in two - a wealthy and entrepreneurial upper city, and a poor and dangerous undercity ruled by organized crime.

One of our protagonists is an emotionally volatile young woman, raised in the lower city by a powerful crime lord who acts as her surrogate father. She believes that her only worth to the world is her talent for violence, and over the course of the story learns to trust again and care for (an) adopted kid(s). This character has a natural talent for engineering and makes her own bombs.

Another of our protagonists is a nepo-baby from a powerful family who eventually learns that they're a sorcerer with a hidden magical bloodline. This bloodline manifests, among other ways, with their skin becoming more metallic. As this is happening, the character decides to step away from their family legacy and inherited power to become their own person.

The catalyst for the plot is a brilliant scientist pioneering a new kind of magi-tech which he believes will revolutionize humanity and make life better for everyone.

Through a bizarre series of unintended dominoes, this magi-tech (which just so happens to be blue) entirely loses control, leading to the creation of a spreading gestalt hivemind which threatens to overtake the entire world.

Quick break from this to watch a couple of our characters get thrown into another dimension. They'll be fine don't worry (lying)

The final battle involves a very large cast of characters doing cool shit but essentially revolves around "we need to kill the center of the hive mind". Part of this involves taking down a Big Powerful Beast that got infected.

Despite this, the conflict isn't resolved just through combat, but through a scene where a character gets sucked into the Hive Mind Dimension and has a conversation with the entity controlling it. The entity genuinely believes that what it is doing is for the betterment of humanity, and has to be convinced that human weaknesses and differences are something to be embraced rather than eliminated.

Also idk the parallels between the "we'll finish this together" moment and the "we've got this" moment.

From a thematic perspective, a lot of the really interesting stuff set up early on about societal inequality, corrupt but well-meant leadership, and growing tensions between the upper and lower cities gets kiiinda overshadowed in the end by the whole "we all need to band together to deal with this goddamn hivemind" thing, and (in my opinion) doesn't get an especially satisfying conclusion in either case.

Smaller stuff

Amputees with magi-tech prosthetics

Magic Twink that dies and gets revived multiple times (at least once by his partner) and ends up with cool white hair.

"What If We Had A Gay Love Confession In Your Post-Death Mind Palace"

Kooky old mad scientist side character who actually ends up being pretty plot relevant and having some surprisingly solid emotional beats.

Moral debate over whether or not it's worth it to shut down the Very Sketchy Dangerous Machine that also supports a huge chunk of this world's economy and infrastructure.

Various orbs

Evil (?) magic flower

Post-canon lesbian domestic bliss!!!

"It's fun when a Lawful Good character edges over the line into full-blown fascism"

Zolf is Vi but I can't explain that one. It just is

Rqg still wins because Arcane doesn't have Mr Ceiling or Bertie MacGuffingham. And frankly I'm disappointed by the lack of blokes