#<- sorta. for archival purposes mostly | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ceejaykayess · 1 year ago

Text

The long awaited sequel! Super-cute Cyber-girl AI-Ball Ene, at your service! I kid, I kid, I know no one saw the last post, because it didn’t get posted under the tag for some reason… ah well, second try’s the charm.

After hearing that next year’s Dazecon would be our last, it sorta kicked my ass into gear to get some more of these Kagepro ideas off my chest and onto paper. So, Ene, our deuteragonist to our beloved protagonist (derogatory).

I had a lot of thoughts ever since the first picture on how I wanted to draw Ene’s cyber form. Given Aiba and Tama’s designs, we have something of a base to work off of, but we need at least one more game for me to confidently declare what is and isn’t a pattern. What we can easily tell, at least, is that AI-Balls have white hair and and dress in mostly black and white. And while Ene does do the latter, she… doesn’t do the former. Why? Well… maybe you can figure it out?

But in terms of her design, while I mostly stick to her regular design, the things I want to point out (because it might not be super obvious with my image quality) are the glowing strands in her hair, a blue one in her fringe, a red one in her left pigtail, and a white one in her left. I suppose you could call them remnants of what should have been… I also want to point out her outfit- it’s skin-tight from the neck to the waist, the skirt being a part of the bodysuit. The sleeves are, almost ironically, like Miku’s in that they’re detachable. And the most AI-Ball feature to her are the tech veins that compose her legs, as opposed to generally lacking them as in most Kagepro material.

I made Ene’s gel form a rabbit, in consideration of those mini-sketch comics I read yonks ago that drew Ene’s pigtails as being like hands for her since hers are in her sleeves always. Also, I thought it’d be funny if the first time Shintarou saw it, he’d consider renaming her to Tono in honour of his rabbit.

In case it’s hard to read, the shocked Ene in the top right is saying, “Master! MASTER! Oh no, he can’t hear me, he’s wearing his Raycon:tm: Earbuds, supremely comfortable for all your needs-” The little sketch in the bottom right, of Shintaro face down in bed and Ene in rabbit mode on his bedside table, reads, “Get the fuck up Master, we’re goin’ to the amusement park today!” “Ene, I’m dying…”

Here's a link to the first picture of Shintaro that never posted properly. And here's a link to the follow-up Yaki picture.

How long had she been wandering? She wasn’t really sure. Sure, if she looked at a calendar, or even just the UI on near anyone’s digital device, she’d see that it had been a year, more even. But that wasn’t really what she meant.

When she first opened her eyes, she had a purpose. She wasn’t wandering- she was seeking. She wasn’t on a Journey, she was on a Quest. She had to find them, had to know what happened to them, because if she were here, like this, then the others, then he had to be-

But though she had a Quest, she had to figure it out, her newfound capabilities, how to parse the sheer amount of information that tried to force its way around her, through her, tried to twist the information that made up herself-

And by the time she had come to a balance with her newfound self, body made of numbers and pixels instead of blood vessels and organ systems, what she had been seeking had become old news, hearsay that was washed under the waves of time and new information and new tragedies and new things for people to talk about. The longer it took, the deeper the information was buried, and the deeper it was buried, the longer it would take for her to come and go.

But eventually, after months and months, 8 months and 17 days and 9 hours and 21 minutes and 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, she had bounced from Wiki article to Wiki article, dug through news archives, dragged herself through Towitter discussions and arguments dated around that August 15th, and a bit after, she had learned and pieced together thus: Three people were marked as dead. 14 people were injured, 9 of which being detained as members of the syndicate that caused the explosion. There was no mention of who died, or even of the state their bodies were in. There was no specific mention of their fourth, her annoying kouhai who was so bitter, who brought everyone down despite his brilliance, who everyone loved despite his acidic tongue and obvious disdain, who she hated because of how much it felt like she were looking at a mirror, her kouhai who was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, surrounded by rubble and mumbling things she could barely understand being in such a terrible state herself-

She felt herself lose it, the desperate, fickle hope she held in her oversized jumper, because what does it matter? For all intents and purposes, she was dead. As far as she was aware, as far as anyone was aware, her best friend was, too. Maybe even her kouhai. And her-

And-

That kind boy, the one that irritated her so, the one that she wanted to see every day, the one that made her feel this terrible, terrible way, he too is-

Gone. They’re all gone. So what’s the point? Her Quest was over. And she couldn’t even delete herself, backspace over the 1′s and 0′s that composed her new existence. She was too much of a coward to throw herself at a virus and let it have its way with her. She could just stay here until eventually this webpage rotted away, but the longer she stayed in proximity to this information, to this reminder, the more she felt like she needed to expel the non-existent contents of her non-existent stomach. So she ran. She left. She tried to separate herself from her name, from the life that could no longer be hers, that simply was no longer.

She wandered.

How long had she been wandering?

…

Long enough that she felt nostalgic, at least. Long enough that she’s actually contemplating her current course of action, long enough that she’s following through on that course even as she contemplates the wisdom.

Her current location, digitally, was in the mainframe of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Her destination was downstairs, 5 floors underground in fact. The Advanced Brain Investigation Squad. Her… former squad, to put it a way. She followed along the flow of data from the routers to the elevator, holding and holding and holding on to the connection as she sunk deeper and deeper and deeper until she felt like she might actually suffocate despite not needing air, before feeling the next router and leaping for it, bringing her all the way down to the abyss.

Taking in deep gasping breaths of nothing that still let her feel like a human, she looked around. The ABIS mainframe wasn’t anything special. Tunnelled far as hell away from anything else, sure, but nothing special. So much for the stupid old man and his so-called “professional coding skills”. Feh. She’s seen message boards with more interesting encryption.

Despite her trash-talking, she still looked around curious as she wandered deeper. Jumping from computer to computer, camera to camera, she saw how much the place had changed in the last year. Or rather, how little it didn’t. It was like she had never left. Eventually she came across a concrete room with a familiar sense of decoration that made her want to spit and laugh and scream and cry-

Which was immediately blown away when she looked down on the room’s occupants. There was, of course, the room’s owner and decorator, with his scruffy brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail, holding his iconic lab coat rather than wearing it, glasses askew and face looking as if he hadn’t slept or washed his face for days. His cybernetic eye, pupil the same as his remaining brown one, stared deep into the eyes of the person that had her stopping short, looking again, re-evaluating and readjusting, checking the feed and the system and refreshing everything, video and audio, again and again, just to make sure she wasn’t being deceived, that the person she was seeing was really who she thought he was.

“-is that understood, Shintaro?” “…I understand, old man.”

His voice was somehow more unbearable than usual, his face lacking its usual stern and uncaring look. It was loose, and flabby. Like he didn’t even care enough to pretend to not care. Instead of the red coat her best friend was so fond of, or even the black suit he was partial to, he stood in just a white shirt, arms bare. He was missing an eye, a scar covering the eyelid, one that made her think of a boy reluctantly in red, facedown in a puddle of the colour.

“Oi, I told you already, call me Boss, y’got it brat!?” “Mm.”

Barely acknowledging him, he turned away, making his way out of Boss’ Office, as the namesake would have you call it. Without thinking, she began to follow after him, but was stopped when she heard the old goat mutter something.

“Give me strength, Ayaka…”

Whispering the pained prayer, the man she always thought of as an unreliable lout that only ever got moving when he was being put under threat stood, donning his lab coat and fixing his glasses. Reaching into it, he withdrew a small sphere, chockful of electronic components- very similar to the one in his own eye, actually… or rather, based on it. He gave it a long look, and so did she. What was he planning…? Her musing was broken by his clenching of his fist and replacing the orb, muttering tomorrow as he moved out of the room- down the hallway and towards his lab. The opposite direction of Shintaro.

Shintaro.

Almost without thinking, she turned around, searching for the apathetic genius, that damn ikemen that couldn’t take a hint for the life of him. The hallway was lonely, and he was never very fast, so she caught him easily halfway towards the elevator. She hesitated. She had already seen more than she expected, more than she even wanted. She had expected the old man. Hell, maybe some part of her even expected to see reference to the others, pictures maybe. She hadn’t even gotten to look at their old workplaces, at her old work bench where she fiddled with her Evolver- she didn’t even know if her Evolver was still around.

But she hadn’t expected a man, no, a brat she thought was dead to be walking around with the living. She shouldn’t follow him. She wanted to check on her Evolver, see if Mr. Tateyama had improved on anything in the last year, see if the three of them are still remembered. She doesn’t even like Shintaro that much anyways, if he knew she was spying on him he’d just scold and scream at her like the ungrateful punk he is-

But even so, she follows him anyways. Jumps to the data in his phone, barren and new, clenched in his hand. She’s only doing this because the other two would have wanted her to. Not because she wants to.

And so, she watches as he rides the elevator, not once glancing at his phone. She watches as he hails a cab and asks for an address that, after a quick search, she finds is set in Tokyo, not Chiba. She watches as he sits silently through the whole ride, rudely ignoring his chauffeur’s attempts at conversation and instead looks with almost a sad look at the cityscape passing him by. She watches as he pays the driver, walks up to the rundown looking building, sighs, and opens the door. She watches as he nods at the tired 30-something reclining against a couch in the foyer, walking up the stairs until he comes up to a door. And she watches as he silently pulls out a key, opens the door, and skulks to his room. She can’t see anything else out of the narrow view the phone’s camera offers her, but it looks like he’s trying to be quiet. Could there… be someone else here?

And eventually, he enters a dark room. He makes for the bed in the corner, planting himself on the mattress, and looks down. In his hands, his phone, and thus she, face towards him. He looks into the screen, and for a moment she felt panic. Did he see her? What was she going to say? How does she explain it- anything? Would he even care? As she opened her mouth, prepared to speak through the microphone-

He slumped his shoulders, sighed, and closed his eyes. “Damn it,” he mumbled. He rubs his eyes, and places the phone down. Whatever he does next is a mystery, as the phone she’s in is can only see up and down, and half of that is unavailable to her on a flat surface. She feels out, and finds a computer to connect to. She shuffles over, and finds herself in a much roomier space. Taking care not to activate the screen, she peeks through the camera to see… him, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. She stared at him for what must have been a reasonable time before turning away- she wasn’t going to get anything out of him, not like this, and not without announcing herself, which- she still hasn’t thought on whether she actually wanted to, let alone how. So, instead of being productive and thinking on it, she turns back to the files on his computer and, invasion of privacy be damned, went scrounging.

His internet history, nothing but 2channel, various forums she also used to browse, anime piracy websites, and the occasional risque website search. She held back on this occasion, she didn’t need to know. Yet. Around certain dates, he would even search up strange things like gift ideas or idol showing tickets. Weirdo.

Outside of his history, there’s his documents. A lot of deleted drafts, the occasional downloaded risque image (legs, huh? Is that why she had always…?), and a lot of editing software. A lot of editing software. What was all this…? She found unfinished music projects, which she wouldn’t dare listen to while he’s still here. Poems that trailed off, half-thought out lyrics written here and there. The occasional poorly drawn picture, and… photos. Lots and lots of photos. Some in a file labelled “Never forget.” Others labelled in a file called “Never forgive.” The former was full of pictures of… them. Shintaro, and her, and… and Ayano, and Haruka, their faces ones she hadn’t even realised she had begun to forget until this moment. Them in high school, their first meeting at the school festival, group projects and study groups, sleepovers and festival gatherings- their first day at ABIS, too. And, not just that. Pictures of Haruka drawing, of herself fiddling with the Evolver or a game she was practicing, Ayano hard at work on a test or humming while folding paper cranes- none of these were taken by Shintaro, she was certain, but he collected them all anyways. There were even more besides.

Some of a bright little girl with searing orange hair, the barest similarities to Shintaro in her face and the strongest in her eyes (he had mentioned a little sister, didn’t he?), others of that bright girl next to him and a woman that looked older than both but even more similar, even older ones of a young boy and girl that could only be those two standing hand in hand with that same woman and an older man. Pictures of a cute white rabbit (Tounou, wasn’t that her name?), of the old man, and of old and familiar places. Their school, that bridge, even the one game convention they all attended.

She… didn't know how she felt about it. Leaving that, she opened up the other file, and found… pictures of that place. As it was before the explosion, and as it was after. Documents detailing changes, listing occupants and suspects and those connected to the members they captured, pictures of them with friends and family, all connected together by a metaphorical red string in the document that centres around one simple question: Where are they?

She… really didn't know how she felt about it. He hadn't let go or moved on, he hadn't been wallowing- he was on just as much of a Quest as she had been. As she still could be. Closing the file, she looks through the camera at her kouhai's slumped form, thoughts running through her mind…

…

He left the building bright and early the next day, once again holding tightly onto the new phone. And once again, the two of them found themselves returning to their old workplace. She wasn't certain of what he was here for, but she could guess. As he made his way out of the elevator and towards the old man's so-called lab, the Psync Room, she felt even more certain of her prediction.

And eventually, standing in front of the jacketless boy, was the old goat she had once called teacher, looking just as rumpled as yesterday but at least clad in his lab coat. And in his hand, as expected, was the small orb filled to the brim with cybernetics. He began to explain what exactly was in his hand, an AI-Ball he called it (the shitty punster he is), and started rattling off features like different vision wavelengths, internet access, and most notably, an AI companion to keep him company.

This piqued her attention the most. Someone to stand by his side and help him out, to protect him as he tries to protect others. A partner… and one that can't die, by virtue of their existence being backed up on the so-called Wadjet System. To her, it sounded like…

An opportunity.

As the old man rambled on, she tried to feel out the AI-Ball. For such a supposedly high-tech piece of equipment, it felt rather… undefended, from threats such as her. Then again, she doubts anyone could've expected a sapient AI to be floating about. Or maybe they'll add some better antivirus later… hopefully. Pushing through some gaps in the firewall, she found herself in the core of the device. Looking this way and that, she tried to familiarize herself with her new housing. Looked like audio was here, here was video, here was… AR projection? And… a neural link, a gel formation, a shock response, and- a self-destruct??

Before she could really parse through all that (seriously, why so many abilities??), she found herself stumbling on… well, what she should have expected, really. An AI, young and unassuming. And asleep. It lacked an appearance in this digital world, merely a bundle of code vaguely shaped like a person. If she was going to do what she had to do, then she had to… get rid of it. There was no way she could hold control while the AI this body was made for was running around too, but… well, it felt a bit like murder to her. But that was silly, this wasn't a person, just an AI, with no life to speak of, and no memories either (she steadfastly ignored the stupid, stupid old man's remarks that the AI-Ball would grow alongside him to become his perfect partner).

She had to do it. She had to. For Shintaro. For Ayano. For Haruka. And maybe even a little bit for herself, too. She raised her hands and stepped toward the nameless AI, preparing to unravel the lines of code holding it together, preparing to scatter its 1's and 0's into the Cloud, preparing to deprive it of the chance to become its own person- and stopped. She- she couldn't. She just- she was callous but not cruel, the last year hadn't changed that. It had made her energetic in a way she never could consistently be in a body but tired in a way that was deeper than her bones, but it hadn't made her a murderer.

But still she had to- to do something. Maybe, maybe they could share, or-

"Well, go ahead and put her in, Shintaro."

And then suddenly the neural link was being opened and the AI was opening its eyes, slowly generating an appearance just from the barest hints of Shintaro's psyche, body becoming more defined, hair appearing and growing long, down to the waist, and-

She panicked. She reached out with her hand and pulled, binding and zipping the core of the AI down as she hurried, ignoring the voiceless cry as she reached out with her other hand, grabbing the neural link and-

Then she was twisting and writhing, her body being compressed and stretched out, information not native to her forcing its way in, connections to something beyond, a Mother that was not her mother, her form changing, blue becoming white and she could hear him, his thoughts, feel his sorrow, his confusion, his annoyance, his apathy, and she opens her mouth to scream-

And then it all faded away, assimilated with her, and she felt different, but she still felt like herself, and she opened her eyes and looked out through a single eye, taller than she had ever been (silently, an eye coloured #fa3c3e shifted to a hue constantly transitioning from #55edfe to #0e2652), and-

"I can… see. Thanks, old man."

"Oi! I already told you, call me Boss! Hell, I'll even accept you calling me by name, anything's better than old man!"

"Mm. So, what was that about an AI companion?"

"Eh? You can't hear her? Strange, maybe she's a bit shyer than I expected. Let me just-"

The old goat made motions towards the AI-Ball, and she quivered, she had to do something, else he'd see that she isn't meant to be here, but what could she- oh, duh!

"I-it's nothing to worry about! Sorry!"

"Eh?"

Her kouhai looked this way and that, scratching his head. He almost looked scared.

"Did… you hear something, old man?"

"…no? Oh, is that the AI-Ball?"

"Yep yep, that's me!" She tried to centre herself, she needed to land a good introduction so they don't suspect a thing. Briefly, her mind recalled a conversation she and her best friend had about this dense bastard, and decided to follow through in her unspoken plea. "Super cute cybergirl AI companion Ene, at your service, Ma-su-tah~"

Alright, maybe that was a bit much, but sue her! She was panicking, and needed to keep him off kilter!

"E-eh? Ene? Super cute?? Master??? Old man, what the hell kind of AI did you stick in my head!?"

The old goat raised his hands in defence. "Hey, I didn't do anything. The AI-Ball determines its personality based on what's best for you. Is there something you need to tell me, young man…?" He raised a brow mockingly, barely suppressing a gross smirk.

Her… guh, Master blushed red, shaking his head frantically. "N-no! And- and it's barely even been few minutes, how could she know what's best for me!?"

He shrugged. "That's just her opinion. Maybe you'll feel more comfortable with it in a few months."

"A few months!?" Her Master went bug-eyed. Pfft, if only she could see his face… "Hell no, get this thing outta me!"

"Aw, Master, that's so mean… sniff sniff… am I really so deplorable?" To try and strike it home, she used the AR projection feature, placing an image of her newly reformed cyberself before him, now detachable sleeves covering her face as she shakes and shivers. After all, this guy…

"Guh… f-fine."

Was an absolute pushover.

"Alright, that's great to hear brat! Now get out of here, I'm busy. I'll be seeing you here next week for you to resume your apprenticeship, so make sure to send me any emails if any issues pop up with her."

With his piece said, he turns back to the rows of computers, completely ignoring Shintaro. Her Master, still shaking off his flush, turns away and grumbles. As he stalks his way down to the elevator, Ene felt out his being, the rush of thoughts on her, on Kejirou, on the past, on the future, all blended together with his embarrassment, his frustration, his exhaustion- it was all rather dizzying to her. Maybe if she were truly an AI, designed for this sort of relationship, it wouldn't be so hard. Silently, she tried to mute the connection, grunting when she saw that wasn't an option.

As he entered the elevator, he slumped against the back wall, riding it up to the ground floor. He's silent, so she is too, not really sure what to do.

"Hey, Ene."

She jumps. That wasn't ever a thing she expected him to call her.

"Yes, Master?"

He winces, but shakes it off. He stands silent for one beat, two, three, and she almost thinks he's ignoring her before he continues.

"…let's get along."

Ene stared blankly. That was… probably the most polite he had ever treated her. She smacked her face- now wasn't the time. Make a good first impression. Even so, she couldn't help the way her voice softened a bit as she said her first genuine sentence as Ene instead of as the ghost of Takane Enomoto.

"…yeah. Let's get along… Master."

#ai the somnium files #kagerou project #art #ene #aitsf #Her centre stance is based on her pose in the Meka Trio's portion of the anime OP #Her face in the top right is based on a frame from the Summertime Record MV #This story got right the heck away from me it's way too long #I messed up and didn;t realise reblogs didn't count as posts that would appear in the tags in and of themselves #I should have because that explains why I never saw reblogs when I was scrolling through a tag's history rather than my feed but alas #Also I decided Fraying was dumb; this story just works on the Snakes

4 notes · View notes

papermonkeyism · 3 years ago

Text

It appears I've gotten quite a few new followers lately, so I'm finally making a pinned post.

Hi!

First off, this is a personal blog of a former chronic art student in their mid-thirties, who's possibly a forest troll. While my art might be cute, I do not aim my material at kids (my target audience is me), so do be aware that by following this blog you run the risk of seeing things like 3am brain farts and doodles of orc boobs.

If you want just the art without the brain barf, you might prefer my bluesky (@paperiapina.bsky.social) or my twitter, though that's mostly left for archival purposes (@Paperiapina) or DeviantArt (deviantart.com/paperiapina)

It's all Queer in here.

I have a chronically hyperactive imagination that has spawned multiple headworlds, including but not limited to:

The DINOSAUR PROJECT THINGY: Working title "the Herd". Follows a small clan of troodontid dinosaurs called the Singing People and their herd of cows (domesticated Einiosaurus). Based on Two Medicine formation. #the Herd #dinosaur headworld

ENTICA: At the beginning of the pandemic I resurrected an old headworld from my highschool days nearly two decades ago, and what started as a fun little nostalgia trip to my old fantasy furries has now turned into a sorta speculative evolution worldbuilding project. #Entica

WINGBEANS: Doodled some funny little griffin-y things. People seem to like them, and I find them fun to draw, so I keep making them. #Wingbeans

WURR: A comic project featuring mutated monster dogs I started in 2007. Currently on hold for life reasons. #wurr

ARCANTH: Working title (a name of a character) of a fantasy story thingie I want to make. Really needs a better tag, though. #Arcanth

SIMON'S ZOO: What if mythical beings had a magic zoo. Has things like vampire janitor and centaur animal caretaker (half the tag is probably Pony the centaur, because I like drawing her) Kinda on hold? #Simon's zoo

I tag my adventures in tabletop RPGs as #Paper plays DnD

I tag posts with myself in them as #the Papermonkey

I chronicle my experiences as a pet invertebrate owner in the tag '#Bookshelf bugs'. I currently have a small colony of Armadillidium vulgare isopods of the Magic Potion color morph.

ALSO! With so many new followers here, it means there's a lot of people who haven't yet seen my tattoo! To remedy this, you may now bask in the glory that is the chest dinosaur! (the flowers are my mom's favourites)

#dinosaur headworld #the herd #wurr #Entica #Wingbeans #Simon's zoo #the Papermonkey #Bookshelf bugs #Arcanth #Paper plays DnD

114 notes · View notes

mamthew · 2 years ago

Note

Hey! I had a few disagreements with certain plot points in forbidden west too… so I’m curious to know which ones you were against? (Clearly there’s gonna be spoilers discussed here so warning all!)

Yeah uhhhh major spoilers right off the bat, but

I was really bothered by Varl's death. Not so much that a character with that role would die at that time. It made sense in the story and I'd predicted it enough that I stopped and did most of the side content right before that point because I wanted to maintain that status quo as long as I could. But so much of the writing for both Horizon games seems to be trying to avoid outdated tropes and doing representation right, so the fact that they just...exactly reproduced the trope of the Black man dying early bothered me a lot. Like to a point where I'd say the decision to do that was racist - not intentionally, but certainly in practice. That single decision called many previous decisions into question, too. Like...did they only create Zo and add her to the group so there'd still be a Black character in the squad after Varl's death? I'd like to think not, but from a sorta utilitarian writing perspective, it's hard not to think that's her purpose. I'm going to be thinking for a very long time about how Varl's death unravels many decisions I'd originally appreciated. Also sorta on that note, but just like in Zero Dawn, only one trans character, hidden away in a missable sidequest? Come on, Guerilla. I'm also not a huge fan of the scene where Aloy destroys the Bulwark. Or rather, I'm not a fan of the framing of that scene. Destroying this important piece of Tenakth history and culture is bad, but it's not necessarily bad writing for the protagonist to do the wrong thing. Frozen Wilds had introduced the thread that Aloy's tendency to ignore tradition and culture and steamroll through them was a character flaw she would need to work on. Forbidden West mostly blunts that initial flaw, instead making Aloy just kinda skeptical of traditions, maybe sometimes manipulating them to get her way. That change was...fine, but the destruction of the Bulwark feels like it was made for an earlier version of the story where Aloy is much less accepting. As it is, the game frames that moment as a triumph. She's celebrated by NPCs for the rest of the game as the Wallbreaker, and that feels so wrong in a game about preservation and archives. Less glaring than the previous two, but I'm also not huge on the big final reveal that an angry hivemind is coming to destroy earth. Once I was given some time to think about it, I understood how that can be thematically interesting in the next game, but in the moment it was so quick and pulled the rug away on the victory the characters managed to win, and pushed the world's scale out too much and too quickly. The series has always had weirdly mass-effect vibes - redhead finds a device that lets her hear the words of a past civilization, telling her that a world-ending threat is on its way - but this game leaned too much into it. The hub area just feels like the normandy, and navigating dialogue trees with characters who have holograms on their temples so I can unlock their loyalty missions felt like I'd been pushed into the wrong game at times. Obviously, this plot isn't exclusive to mass effect - it much more closely follows the beats of, like, FFXIV Endwalker - but it feels weirdly stagnant for a franchise that's mostly so unique from others in its genre. I'm sure if I thought about it there'd be more. Ulvund being essentially a union leader and also the antagonist, for instance. But that's what comes to mind off the bat. I've heard folks have been mad about some of the sci-fi elements being too sci-fi, like Faro and the Zeniths still being alive, but I thought they were fun and didn't really strain my disbelief by all that much. I'm already buying into hard light and robot sauropods; it's not that much of a stretch to extend that to immortality.

#horizon forbidden west #horizon zero dawn

4 notes · View notes

adultswim2021 · 3 years ago

Text

Ephemera Week (2002)

It’s still ephemera week, and we’re still talking about John K. I said most of my piece on him in the last post, so don’t expect there to go full bore on this one, except I forgot to say he’s animation’s Jerry Lewis. His current stuff is basically Hardly Working. I will not elaborate, because I’m being mean to you0.

MARCH SPECIALS!

In March, Adult Swim advertised a run of one-off specials. A couple of them were already covered because they fell under the parameters of “Adult Swim original production”. They were Welcome to Eltingville (March 3rd) and Saddle Rash (March 24th).

Day in the Life of Ranger Smith | March 10th 2002 - 11:00 PM (Originally aired on Cartoon Network in 1999)

This was one of two specials commissioned by Cartoon Network re-imagining Yogi Bear. The artist what took this assignment was John K, who I REEEAALLY skewered in last night’s post, didn’t I?

This is about Ranger Smith harassing animals and writing them up for violating park rules, basically. It’s short! I remember liking it at the time! Okay, maybe I’m going crazy here, but I distinctly remembered a part at the end where Ranger Smith is in bed and he solemnly confides in the viewer that the noises of wilderness give him nightmares and then it just ends. Did I imagine this? It does end with him in bed, but this doesn’t happen in the version on YouTube (which is from the Adult Swim airing). Huh.

Boo Boo Runs Wild | March 10th 2002 - 11:15PM (Originally aired on Cartoon Network in 1999)

Boo Boo Runs Wild was another one of these stand-alone Yogi Bear John K specials. This one was 30 minutes long. The Ranger Smith short was a brief 7 minutes; I’m guessing they aired a couple Capt. Lingers or something to fill time.

This one is about Boo Boo reverting to his feral nature and causing BIIIIG problems! This special would later go on to be kind of a weird trolling thing Adult Swim would do where they aired it every Sunday for a few months, even promoting regularly. This was like 2006, I think? They’d also air it as part of April Fools. Is that Adult Swim admitting this special sorta sucks? Does it sorta suck? Again, I liked these at the time and REFUSED to actively rewatch these for this write-up. Sorry.

The Jetsons: Father and Son Day/The Best Son | March 10th, 2002 11:45PM (Originally aired on CartoonNetwork.com in 2001) Our John K rock block ends with a pair of Jetsons shorts, Father and Son Day and The Best Son respectively. This is kinda the same deal as his Yogi Bear shorts, but these were exclusive for Cartoon Network’s website. I remember watching them on there. They are as bad as you’d expect late-period John K internet shorts to be, though the second short is a superior version of Spielberg’s A.I. (in that it’s shorter).

Night of the Living Doo | March 17th, 2002 - 11:00PM (originally aired on Cartoon Network, 2001)

Night of the Living Doo originally aired as wraparound segments during a Halloween Scooby Doo marathon on Cartoon Network. It’s kinda like an episode of the Scooby Doo Movies, which shoehorned in a guest star each episode. Suddenly my man Dick Van Dyke be running a carnival and shit. That’s the Scooby Doo Movies. At the end of the night they played all the wraparound segments in one uninterrupted sitting, so the viewer could appreciate it as an actual full-on Scooby Doo episode. Night of the Living Doo functioned both as an extension of that series as well as a parody. The guests were Gary Coleman, David Cross, and the very cool band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It was all very self-deprecating and had jokes about the absurdity of Scooby Doo tropes. Well trod territory by this point, sure. But this is better than most irreverent Scooby Doo things. It didn’t hurt that I was a HUGE David Cross fan when this aired. Is this where I tell the stupid-ass story about getting mad at a message board guy for not liking David Cross? Sure. Okay, yeah. When this aired on Adult Swim a guy on Kon’s (hi Kon) message board posted something about not finding David Cross funny, shrugging that he didn’t get the hype. He cited this and his appearances in the Men in Black movies, and nothing else as proof for his lackluster comedy skills. It’s kinda like deeming Eddie Murphy as a bad comedian after watching Dr. Doolittle.

The point of this special is that David Cross is a little wooden and stilted, like in the old Scooby Doo Movies episodes. This poster revealed that he never heard David Cross’s stand-up or seen Mr. Show, explaining “I don’t watch puppet shows” A response that still baffles me to this day. Why Mr. Show isn’t a-- WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT? I’m not even sure if there was EVER a puppet on Mr. Show*. David wasn’t even a guest on Crank Yankers at this point! SO WHAT THE FUCK? To this day whenever mutual pals from that board get together and watch a movie or show and a puppet appears we make a joke about this guy. Good story? No? Fuck you.

Other stuff about this show: When it originally aired on Cartoon Network it was a little bit longer than the Adult Swim version. There’s a missing scene. I think it’s David trying to play an improv game with a mummy or something. At one point I had it on tape, but I’m not sure I kept it. Sorry.

*sorry to be coy here, but I do know of at least one puppet on Mr. Show, episode 204 there is brief footage of Grass Valley Greg putting on a puppet show for his staff. This CAN’T be the source of the confusion, can it? It’s literally like, 5 seconds.

MAIL BAG

This’ll teach me to skip a day cuz this really piled up. Thanks, guys. I love all the attention. It is my favorite thing.

I never really saw oblongs as something for the hot topic set. They had Invader Zim and Squee for that kind of shit. Oblongs feel like it was always directly targeting me: the shut-in comedy nerd who would appreciate will ferrell and the sklars being in a thing. Since they ended up doing the exact same show with Janeane Garofalo and David Cross a few years later it seems like that was the goal.

Yeah, I guess that also makes sense. There were a few elements that were kinda gothy but this show was mostly just Angus Oblong ahem, clowning around (puckering mouth to stifle laughter like Chris Elliott in Cabin Boy)

What are your thoughts on the other adult animation blocks of the past couple decades? Spike's notriously failed attempt. Animation Domination. Apparently Syfy has had their own going?

Spike was irredeemably bad. People think this shit is easy. Animation Domination is sorta legit, but it’s anchored by mostly crap. That ADHD thing was kinda good and underrated. Is that still going on? I wish I were more diligent about watching/recording that. Some of them bumpers were good. Also, we mustn’t forget MTV’s oddities. They were kinda the first cable network to court Adult Animation as their thing. They deserve some kind of credit for that. I’m sure they’re doing fine.

I'm having a nice big thing of spaghetti for dinner with some chicken parm? Jealous?

I’ve never had those are they good

What does Ephemera mean? Why is this happenening? Why aren't you talking about 10 Home Movies episodes in a row like a good boy.

In dude time, my friend. In dude time

What would be your Adult Swim dream come true?

Having a complete archive of Adult Swim blocks on a harddrive like Don Giller has with his Letterman archive. Even the commercials and shit. I know of a guy who was a regular taper of the entire block from night 1 but I’m not sure he kept up with it when they went nightly. I should ask him if he still has his tapes, huh?

That or they bring back the BUILD YOUR OWN DVD thing but with blu-rays and you can make your own bumps, which was a different thing they had. THEY SHOULD COMBINE THEM. And you can master it in SD if you wanna put 10 hours of stuff on a disk.

All this is archival bullshit dork shit. Real answer: Clay Croker comes back from the dead and every block is hosted by Space Ghost. That’d be it, right?

If anyone has genuine/better answers please write in with them I wanna keep this conversation going. ‘kay?

McDonalds reintroduces limited edition Adult Swim Toys. You can get them all (plus an extra to keep wrapped for collectors purposes) but you have to spend 20 dollars at McDonalds to grab them all. This is the last day of the promotion. You have to personally eat everything you buy but you can take it home. You can only buy one of each food item. What are you getting? I know the longer the mailbag message is the quicker you are inclined to give some glib remark but indulge this one for once.

Oh wow. I’m literally going to take this seriously. I’d roll in as breakfast was ending. Get myself a McChicken Biscuit and a Bacon Egg & Cheese McGriddle, hashbrowns and a Coffee. Gobble that knob on down. Wipe my mouth with a napkin. It’s lunchtime, bitch. Big Mac, Large Fries, BIG ass soda. You feel me, dude? Lemme tally up. Okay, probably need more. 20 piece nugget. Take that home cuz I’m probably gonna have to save some for dinner. That’s probably 20 bucks right there, especially if you go to the McDonalds on Burnside where all the menu items are more expensive because of the amount of security they have to hire (did you know that different McDonalds have different prices even in the same city? I didn’t until very recently). If this somehow doesn’t satisfy my price point I get a Vanilla shake and eat it anally DURING my BIG D squirt sesh, so it’ll spend as little time in my body as possible. Wait, do I get something for this? I might do this tomorrow just cuz. It sounds like a funky thing to do

Do you think you'll open an Adult Swim mueseum at some point? You seem to be the only steward of its history.

Unless I’m hired to by a large corporation, probably not. Also I don’t think I actually have much in the way of merch other than DVDs. I stopped being a DVD completist at some point around Freaknick The Musical. Oh, I never EVER bought a Robot Chicken DVD, EVER. I literally had a nightmare once that one appeared in my collection.

Hey! Please keep us abreast any time you put more of your garbage on eBay. Maybe you can put your wedding dress on there, you big girl.

Fucking sexist/trasphobic behavior.

Check out my eBay auctions I got season 18 of NCIS up there and some other things :)

The Ripping Friends blow chunks. I don't care if a rapist or the opposite of a rapist (a virgin who volunteers, lol) made it. It sucks a high hard one like when Ozzy banged the Cheiftan's Wife in that Black Sabbath TV Funhouse cartoon. Tell me more.

Tell you more?

Name one rap song you tolerate lol. You can't say anything by weird al or marky mark.

I guess I like the song the pest sings from the motion picture The Pest

Are there any good podcasts on adult swim?

The official one hosted by Matt Harrigan is good, but I’ve only bounced around on it. I don’t know if there’s any formal recap ones. I simply don’t know!

HE'S GIVING HIGH HARD ONE TO CHEIFTAN'S WIFE? UH OH!

Buddy, you are BANNED for LIFE from my MAIL BAG! You drive me CRAZY!

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #night of the living doo #boo boo runs wild #yogi bear #jetsons #ephemera

9 notes · View notes

flusteredmountainman · 5 years ago

Text

Main 6 as Powers/fears

BC I'm hyperfixating on the Magnus archives atm

Nadia: The Eye

This is mostly to do with her seer powers. She’s more perceptive than most people, and often can sniff the truth out before someone even opens their mouth. That, and she has the uncanny ability to get honest opinions out of people - even if they hadn’t meant to volunteer that information in the first place.

Asra: The Buried

This plays on his own fears but also some of his tendencies with those he does care about. He hates being caged, feeling like he’s being smothered, and clinginess, but at the same time with people he really cares about, he can rarely stand to be parted from them.

Julian: The End

This is pretty obvious lol. Avatars of the end can’t die - and neither can he in canon. He also has a particular obsession with preventing death as a doctor - and obsession with death of any kind lends itself easily to the end.

Portia: The Web

Her greatest fear is also her greatest tool - control of information. She fears being manipulated of losing agency in her own life, so she collects information (and therefore power) over others. Whether or not she uses that information, she ultimately would have power over some of the most powerful people in Vesuvia should she choose to use it.

Muriel: The Lonely

This one’s easy. Being alone is sorta his whole thing, lol. To feel lonely, one needs to compare solitude to being around people. He sees everyone else in their lives full of love and contentment, but never considers it something he could ever have.

Lucio: The Desolation

The desolation’s whole thing (and Lucio’s whole thing at times) is cruel destruction for destruction’s sake - whether it be physical, or the destruction of a future, of potential. Often Lucio might’n’t necessarily destroy things on purpose, but his selfish actions lead to inadvertent destruction - which is just as damaging regardless of intentions.

#the arcana #the magnus archives #nadia satrinava #asra alnazar #muriel #count lucio #portia devorak #julian devorak #jaye writes #nadia #julian #lucio #portia #muriel the arcana #the arcana game

56 notes · View notes

cozymochi · 5 years ago

Note

can you tell us more about Marzi? I was reading your archives and saw that she was a pilot in the royal military. what was that like?

OH GOD MARZI LORE HUH JFHDGDGD THIS IS DIGGING BACK JFHDGDGDG. [cracks knuckles] Bear with me, i’m now digging deep into my own mental archives to remember what notes I made about it internally. 🤔🤔 I’ll fully admit it’s been a hot minute since Marzi’s lore crossed my mind lol, and a good chunk of it I probably never actually brought up. I don’t think there’s much to say about it though 😭, there’s probably some stuff to say surrounding it I think.

(Side Note: The DB universe is weird. They have a single King ruling over the ENTIRE planet, so by extension they sorta have... one single global military. Logistics?? There arent really any in that universe)

See Marzi’s dad, Scone (i remembered his name finally)

This guy^ is a retired Major General of the Earth’s Airforce. Pretty high ranked guy. The only reason she entered Earths airforce was because of him. Especially during her teenage years, Scone was concerned over Marzi’s overall flaky nature and, well, she DID promise him she’d join right after high school if her original intentions of being some kind of fork-bending, treasure-hunting, dinosaur whisperer didn’t fall through. It seemed to be the more secure direction for her life and there was anything this girl might have needed it was some kind of clear path on where to lead her life (in his perspective anyway). Lord knows he didn’t want her to be unhappy but he also didn’t want her chasing after fruitless endeavors either.

...BUT HEY, Marzi just looks at everything as an opportunity to learn sOMETHING new to add to her constantly growing list of interests, so I guess the next obvious logical step is to enlist into a global military faction. It also serves as a wonderful means of escaping oneself from the idea of romance actually working amirite fellas??!!

Anyhow, despite the fact most of her life was spent as a pilot, a lot of that era of her life is mostly unknown and the story constantly changes. On my part this is an intentional choice, mostly to expand upon a joke of her life after high school and before retirement being so improbably bizarre it can’t possibly be pieced together properly. It’s just a series of noodle incidents. What WERE those events?? Honestly that’s purposely up to the imagination. This is like a free space on a bingo card. She could have found a tribe of cat people who worship alligators and it’d probably be something that happened. It’s DB. It may have lost a lot of it’s absurdist elements in recent years, but they’re very much present for Marzi. Just go wild really.

What’s mostly clear about her pilot life is that she didn’t end up in combat situations and mostly just did transport, yet was still very much a maverick. She is very skilled at flying. I know that may not mean a whole lot in that universe considering flying aircrafts is like driving a fuckin car— but think of it like driving regular car vs. driving a racecar. Marzi is in the latter camp, but with flying. It’s possible she was recognized for some kind of achievement, and moderately climbed up the rankings, but it’s not something she really discusses (not out of negativity mind you, it’s just not brought up kfhdgdhd).

Made friends, lost friends. Had experiences. On the bright side she was able to travel the world like she wanted to! (And continues to do so)

THIS DIDNT REALLY EXPAND ON WHAT ANYTHING WAS LIKE AT ALL LOL- but it really is just left open on purpose. The pilot thing was a means to an end to more or less explain where the heck she was during the duration of the entire series (since only highschool and post-retirement is when she’s really “active” as a character). But naturally like many non-player-characters in that series, she suffers from “inexiplibly not remembering major planet affecting events prior to the cell arc” syndrome that most npcs suffer.

But hey she got a sweet jacket though

THANK U AND GOOD NIGHT

#cozy ask #anonymous #god this really takes me back to a place two years ago jfgdgsvfj #maybe she also joined cuz after hs she hit a particularly low point and didnt have much drive left except do something more straight laced #she bouced back eventually though #this is so wacky lmao sorry peeps not here for this saga jfhdhgg #marzi #She’s like. 50.#LOLOL SOMETIMES EVEN I FORGET THAT MUCH #But anyway this also should insinuate that she knows how to defend herself and has been disiplined #it just isn’t really. brought up.

13 notes · View notes

itsbenedict · 5 years ago

Text

Kingdoms and Koopas: Ep. 9

K&K is a Fate Accelerated campaign set in the Mario universe, which I’m running for three players:

Bee @thebeeskneesocks, playing Kandace Koopa

Jovian @jovian12, playing Cozmo Naut

Malky @sleepdepravity, playing Dr. Chevy Chain

Last time | Archive | Next time

Previously on Kingdoms and Koopas, the gang infiltrated the previously-invisible Orbital Doom Casa of the alien invasion force led by Orbulon, Tatanga the Mysterious Spaceman, and the disembodied head of Sir Grodus. They did a number on Tatanga and rescued Princess Opal, but... they’ve still got to get a hold of the Music Key powering the ship, get out, and do so without causing the now-powerless giant spaceship to fall out of the sky and onto the unsuspecting city below.

Also, an unexpected interloper shows up and has a bad day.

So to kick things off, they’ve got a power core room featuring the power core (which they can’t take without causing the ship they’re on to crash), an unconscious spaceman, and a destroyed mech suit. For reasons I don’t totally understand, they decide their first priority is to hide the evidence of what they’ve done. That means disposing of a ton of huge mech parts- and their search for a mech-parts-sized garbage chute in the power core is fruitless.

So, they call in some assistance from Orbulon. Or, rather, they make use of the codephrase they received from him to command the Space Bunnies at the Bunny Ranch to do their bidding. They head over there, all three of them totally failing their spot checks as they leave.

The Bunny Ranch is incongruous with the rest of the spaceship- the walls are painted sky-blue, there’s astroturf or possibly actual grass on the ground, and all the bunnies are defying gravity and frolicking around. When Chevy speaks the codephrase “time to strike”, they follow her commands. Her commands are to find somewhere to hide the parts of the Pagosu. They don’t say anything to acknowledge this, but they line up and start following the party, so...

When they return to the power core, as they step through the door, they immediately feel the ship lurch, see the lights go out, and notice the consequences of their having failed their spot checks earlier.

What they didn’t notice was a tall figure in a black cloak- you know the tall figure in the black cloak, the one who’s been following them around and apparently trying to steal the Music Keys for Kammy Koopa- slipping into the room as they exited. And what they see on their return is that exact figure, having snatched the Music Key that was keeping the ship afloat, making a break for the elevator to flee.

Thankfully, they rescued Princess Opal earlier. As the princess of the Magic Kingdom, she has magical power to spare- that’s why Tatanga was trying to hypnotize her into serving as the ship’s new power core. She rushes over to do so voluntarily, channeling magic to restore power.

This is heavy work, though, so Kandace decides to help lighten the load- literally. Remember she has that one spell she keeps using on Chevy, the one that makes things lighter- but also softer and rounder? She, uh... attempts to cast this spell on the ship. Yes, the entire ship. No, that shouldn’t have worked. Yes, she rolled pretty well, and I had to give her something.

So the floor and walls of the ship suddenly get- not totally cushiony like the spell does to normal targets, but a little bit softer and springier. The floor is like a trampoline, now.

But meanwhile, the cloaked figure is still getting away! Chevy is in hot pursuit, and accidentally wings one of the central power pylons, but she manages to catch up. Cozmo follows, attempting to, uh...

Well, he’s attempting to ride a firework for speed.

It, uh, doesn’t work exactly as planned. Fireworks aren’t known for being able to support the weight of an entire person, so he sorta eats dirt on account of his aspect Actually Lame. But, hey, there’s a convenient logical consequence of trying to ride a firework: they explode! Even when you’re riding them! Which meant I got to channel Dale Friesen for a sec.

“So, would you like it to explode in your favor, or not in your favor?”

“Oh! Uh, in my favor, please!”

“As you command. The firework explodes in your favor.”

Which means that the force of the explosion is much greater than expected, and Cozmo takes a heavy hit as it explodes underneath him, and... launches him into the elevator, allowing him to catch up to the cloaked figure. Which was his objective, making the roll! Entirely in his favor.

So Cozmo and Chevy manage to get in the elevator with the cloaked figure, and hold the door open for Kandace, not far behind. Opal stays behind to power the ship, and Nauti Naut helps the space bunnies do... something with the Pagosu parts.

Anyway, they roll for initiative and start beating up on this dude as the elevator heads up. They try to snatch the Music Key from his hands, but he has a surprisingly strong grip, and they aren’t having much luck. Plus, he manages to steal Kandace’s broom!

They’re in the middle of this brawl, Chevy having managed to pin him down under his bulk, when the doors to the elevator open- onto the bridge of the ship. They are immediately noticed by X-Naut guards- who recognize Cozmo, and ask what the heck is going on. Entirely truthfully, he tells them that this creepo stole the power core, and they’re trying to get it back so that the ship doesn’t crash. So a couple guards come over to try and join the fight.

Chevy isn’t having any of it- that’d just make all this more complicated. She whips her chain and hits the door close button before they can get inside, and they head back down towards the power core. And they... do a pretty bad job lying about why they did that, making the guards pretty suspicious.

But that’s a problem for later! Back down they go. Chevy finally manages to get the cloaked figure to drop the Music Key by threatening to bite his hand off, and then rolls shockingly well to spit the Music Key back into place as soon as the elevator doors open again.

The cloaked figure, heedless of his assailants, runs to go try and grab it again- but Opal manages to block him, now that the Music Key is in place and she’s not tied up channeling magic. And Kandace follows this up by casting a spell against him.

The spell is a tornado made of fire.

The tornado made of fire behaves erratically, in this round room with two “downs” and no “up”, and begins spinning around the room at high speed. It hits the cloaked figure, lighting up his cloak of magical darkness and burning it to a crisp.

And the true identity of the cloaked figure is...

...some weird tall purple guy with a crooked mustache and a big nose! Sort of an... underwhelming reveal. Kandace thinks maybe she’s seen him before on TV somewhere- like, a sporting event, maybe?

Anyway, they continue trying to down this weirdo. Chevy pops over to the Bunny Ranch to call in the cavalry, while Kandace just goes totally apeshit on him and bites onto his head. Cozmo goes to slap him, and apparently doesn’t know his own strength because it’s a crit that severely wounds the dude, dealing more damage than any single attack the party has ever done. Things continue on in this vein, with Kandace continuing to aggro him, the horde of space bunnies ineffectually pulling at him and impeding his movement, and Cozmo launching him to the ceiling by shoving fireworks up his nose. The whole time, this guy- his name’s “Waluigi”, if you’re wondering- he’s single-mindedly focused on grabbing the Music Key, failing to attack the party.

Having taken him down, the space bunnies disperse and the team is left in... roughly the same situation as before, except instead of a destroyed mech there is an unconscious man with a destroyed nose. The X-Naut guards show up, but their suspicious are quickly dispelled when they see that the party did, in fact, subdue the intruder and return the Music Key to the power core.

(They do worry about Tatanga being unconscious, but the party manages to bluff past their questions- their story is that Tatanga was a traitor who was working with Waluigi to steal the power core.)

Chevy starts patching up Waluigi’s injuries, which Kandace objects to.

Kandace: “Aw, no, why would you do that?! He sucks!”

Chevy: “Hippocratic Oath.”

Kandace: “The Hippocratic Oath doesn’t say anything about having to help people!”

GM: No, it’s mostly about killing hippos.

Jovian: No, that’s the Hippopotamus Oath.

A line that I for some reason found so god damn hilarious that I started laughing uncontrollably and had to spend a couple minutes laboriously regaining my composure. I... couldn’t tell you why; I wasn’t even drunk.

So while Chevy is working on patching up their victim, Kandace works at cross-purposes- drawing a teleportation circle (you know, the kind that teleports stuff specifically to the cloud of one obnoxious Lakitu at the school across the street) underneath Waluigi. Halfway through Chevy’s patch job, she triggers it and banishes his unconscious body. Chevy’s not happy, but what’re you gonna do.

So now they need a plan to actually... take the Music Key. They can’t do it right away, or else the ship falls out of the sky, crushing a bunch of people. They need to get the ship somewhere else first, so that when it crashes it does not cause the kind of carnage typically associated with a spaceship crash.

They’ve got a couple ideas- Chevy heads down the elevator with Opal to investigate Tatanga’s Hypno-Chamber, and Cozmo and Kandace head up the elevator to see if they can convince Grodus to steer the ship somewhere else.

Convincing Grodus... doesn’t go well. He congratulates them for dealing with the intruder, but sees no reason that the ship should land for emergency repairs. They’ve always done their emergency repairs in space, the place they’re from. If they could just land places, they wouldn’t need to go about taking over planets. Duh. So... their rolls to persuade him there don’t go great.

New plan, then: distract Grodus, use the controls while he’s distracted, and land the ship themselves. This is difficult both because the bridge is packed with people who might notice, and also because Grodus is a disembodied head more or less bolted to the control console, and thus is difficult to distract from said controls.

Kandace does her best anyway, though. She puts on a juggling act- with a rotten worm-filled apple she was planning to give to a teacher, a magic crystal, and a Mini-Yux she snags from a nearby and now-unhappy Yux. And... bombs the roll. Grodus is displeased and gives her ten Juggling Demerits, prompting a round of “ooooooooooh”s from the surrounding personnel.

All in all, bad rolls mean their attempts to trick Grodus into flying away end in abject failure. How are Opal and Chevy doing downstairs?

The Hypno-Chamber is pretty sparse- just psychedelic walls, a desk full of miscellaneous hypnosis-related gadgets, and a table to strap people down to. Their investigation, supported by Opal, determines that the transmitter for the wide-cast hypnosis isn’t in the lab- and was probably stored in the Pagosu, which they destroyed and then gave to some mute space bunnies to hide the pieces of, somewhere they can’t tell them because they don’t talk. So Chevy’s Plan A- hypnotize Grodus into getting out of Dodge- is a no-go.

But one thing they do find... is a set of project notes. Including a blueprint for a device, powered by four Music Keys, which would be capable of hypnotizing everyone on the entire planet. And they also contain some diary entries that describe the failure of this project.

Evidently, Tatanga hypnotized someone- some agent, who would be tasked with going to steal the Music Keys from where they were being kept. However, he felt the connection to his hypnotized agent get stolen from him, just as that agent was in the process of stealing the Keys. The agent managed to send him one of the Keys- the blue one now powering the ship- but someone stole the hypnosis and tasked the agent with obtaining the keys for them.

Chevy has a theory- that Kammy Koopa was Tatanga’s agent, and is now working for an unseen master to collect the Music Keys and hypnotize the world.

...Even though, wait, Kammy Koopa supposedly already had the Keys, until something unspecified happened and they all flew away? Hence the mission the party is now on? What exactly is going on behind the scenes, here?

Anyway, Kandace and Cozmo meet up with Chevy and Opal, and they come up with a Plan B. It’s sort of a cross-counter, relying on the existence of two different ways to mind-control people on this ship.

Remember, the X-Production Chamber had a bank of brainwashing machines at the back. Hypnosis victims from Rainbow Road were collected there, all queued up to get more permanently brainwashed by the machines. Tatanga was temporarily hypnotizing people so they wouldn’t resist being placed in those machines and made into honorary X-Nauts.

So... well, they’ve got the unconscious body of Tatanga with them. They have access to brainwashing machines. And Tatanga is a talented hypnotist who can hypnotize people into doing his bidding. So, logically, if they brainwash Tatanga into hypnotizing Grodus, they can get him to steer the ship into, say, the ocean.

It’s a skeezy plan, but, y’know, lives are at stake, and all. Opal agrees to help.

So they lug him down there, and encounter... total chaos. Because... when they knocked out Tatanga, or possibly when they destroyed the mecha broadcasting the hypnotic control signal, all the people lined up to get brainwashed were suddenly less inclined to do that. So there’s just... this massive brawl between the native and brainwashed X-Nauts, and all the unruly prisoners who were in no way restrained except by the now absent hypnosis. It’s total anarchy in there.

They find a group of X-Naut scientists who have taken cover behind a desk, and tell them that hey, they’ve got this traitor here- and he’s the Supreme Hypnotist, so if they can brainwash him, they should be able to get this mess under control with hypnosis again. They’re amenable to this idea, so Chevy and Kandace cross the battlefield over to the brainwashing chairs, while Opal and Cozmo stay behind to watch the scientists operate the computer.

So, the thing about this is that the X-Naut scientists aren’t going to brainwash Tatanga into hypnotizing Grodus. Meaning, they’re going to need to figure out how this brainwashing computer program works, so they can do it themselves. It’s this behemoth of arcane tools, views, and menus that they don’t understand, like the first time you opened Photoshop or an audio editing program or something.

They have mixed results on their rolls to observe, and only figure out how to a) install presets (things like Obey Grodus Unconditionally, Know X-Naut-Fu, Do Space Science, etc.) and futz with the personality sliders.

As they’re trying to figure out more, a Bob-omb goes off and blows away a bunch of the scientists, giving the team an opening to sweep away the rest (literally, in Kandace’s case. Broom.) But now they’ve all got to work together to figure out how to work this crazy thing! There’s a ton of settings and sliders that they have no idea how to use, and they’re going to use them to give Tatanga a fun new personality. It’s time for an episode of Monster Factory: Brain Edition!

Mechanically, this works as follows: You take turns rolling both Clever (to see if you can accomplish what you want to do) and Careful (to see if you avoid terrible side effects). Chevy is good in both, Cozmo is okay in Clever and awful in Careful, and Kandace is high-Clever low-careful.

And then there’s Opal, who has boss-tier Clever, and negative Careful. She’s a mad scientist! Or, magician. She was banned from Mario Kart because her inventions were too unpredictable and dangerous. When it gets to her turn, there will be a problem, guaranteed.

So Chevy, unfortunately, bombs her rolls and accomplishes basically nothing. Cozmo, on his turn, doesn’t manage to accomplish much, and accidentally sets his personality to “incredibly lost and confused”. Kandace manages a little better- she manages to make him devoted to someone, but that someone is Cozmo, not herself.

And then Opal, who rolls high on Clever to make him actually obey Cozmo, and a -3 on Careful. The result- because we were running long and I wanted to hurry things up- was that the brainwashing would wear off very quickly, and they had to act fast.

So they run up to the bridge, towing an extremely-confused Tatanga behind them. When they get there, their plan mostly goes off without a hitch. Tatanga hypnotizes everyone there, they all start chanting “Sir Cozmo”, and Grodus obediently steers the ship into the Enchanted Sea. There is a small glitch in the wording of “gently and carefully” that causes the landing to be less than gentle and careful- but they manage to get it done just before Tatanga’s brainwashing starts wearing off and he starts wondering just why Cozmo is such a good friend when all he’s done is beat him up and then order him around.

So, now what?

Well, they run. They have an escape route, remember- Kandace drew a teleportation circle in the power core, the one she used to banish Waluigi! As Cozmo and the rest handle Grodus upstairs, she nabs the Music Key and shuts down the ship. It starts sinking, so Chevy rolls mondo good on Forcefully smashing through the elevator doors and falling down there and dashing for the power core. They all crowd into the teleportation circle, Kandace triggers it, and they’re outta there!

So, next time... well, next time they’ll be emerging from the cloud of Ted the Storm God again, and who knows what kind of hot water that’s gonna be landing them in?

Last time | Archive | Next time

#kingdoms and koopas #waluigi

3 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 5 years ago

Text

May 13th-May 19th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from May 13th, 2019 to May 19th, 2019. The chat focused on Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses by J Alice Bown.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses by J Alice Bown~! (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until May 19th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. In so far, what aspect of the world-building catches your interest the most? Why is that so? Also, what theories do you have in regards to differences between places like Persephone and Hestia?

Delphina

For serious scenes, I think I gotta go with the big swordy magic scene where she saves Jake from being crushed by the statue (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=202) because the lighting effects are gorgeous and seeing Lave doing big magic stuff with her sword was really really cool. For silly scenes, the one that always sticks with me is Lave trying to be a host and failing miserably. (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=123)

keii4ii

2) I really liked this page. http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/index.php?comic=20180423 How she just asks a random person on the street for a magic shortcut and gets an answer right away. While it's always been clear that magic is an ordinary thing, this kind of little details really shows exactly how ordinary.

Capitania do Azar

I really like the prologue, particularly the part where they climb the lamppost. There's just so much character into the entire scene, and the exchanges are really cool. It's a very strong beginning for a story too, imo!!

2) http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/index.php?comic=20130423 I really think this part has a lot to show about world building like, here's this weird magical event going on, but everyone is just "I was just trying to show you something cool urg" and "well this ain't it"

duskglass

for the worldbuilding, i especially love the variety of creatures/nonhumans we've seen so far, and how well integrated they are with the setting! it's got a classic urban fantasy vibe while also being very fresh and unique

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think Lave’s backstory is? Do you think she got all her scars from her job, or might some of them predate her job somehow? How do you think Jake will change the way Lave handles and deals with her life?

ClauseArt

heeey I just saw this! This is my comic! Thanks for taking the time to read it! c8

RebelVampire

1) i definitely gotta go with the scene where jake is in dream world like place with aishe. I really love how this scene just suddenly adds 1000 layers of mystery. Plus, i really just love the change in color scheme. It really gives it this other worldly feel that gives me goosebumps. Plus, I also just like Aishe's design. 2) I've really been enjoying the differences in magic. Like, for example, how most zombies actually suck cause ya know...theyre dead. I feel this adds such a great twist what we expect, cause every change I feel fits a more logical setup for what the magic does. Again, like how the zombie thing makes 1000% sense cause dead bodies are not the sturdiest. I am curious about why Lave had such a reaction to Hestia magic schools, but I don't have any theories outside of magic must be viewed very differently in places.

3) Kestrel because he's such a precious failure at life. Like...he just cannot catch a break and for some reason that makes him super endearing to me. Plus now hes got the whole aishe connection thing going on so that makes him double interesting. But mostly I want to boop him for all his failures. 4) I would think some of her scares would have to predate her job. Cause she's...she's got a lot of them. And considering she mentioned having been in jail, I'm kind of struck with the idea that maybe she ran with a gang or something. She super gives me the impression of someone who mostly raised herself and didnt have a huge loving family involved in teaching her how to deal with life. I think Jake will be a good influence on her though and teach her to be more careful. Cause she seems very fun loving and reckless, and while that can work when youre solo, its not great when you have other ppl. Like i think the Kestrel thing was a good example cause I felt Lave perhaps was too loose cannon with it, which semi resulted in Kestrel almost kicking the bucket. And Jake is like 1000 times more fragile, and I think it'll force Lave to see that she cant protect anybody if she goes around without a plan.

ClauseArt

@Capitania do Azar that scene with Kest and lave interacting around the lamp-post was actually the moment I decided Kest worked well as a main character. He was honestly going to die in the original draft. @keii4ii thanks! I super love just....the mundane feeling of everyday magic. @Delphina Honestly Lave just being a f--k up is probably my fav part of writing her character, especially for comedic effect XD Next to drawing glowy magic scenes of course.(edited)

@RebelVampire Oh wow this is a lot. Thank you! ;-; dammit I really can't respond to these kind of questions cus spoilers. But I'm glad you noticed a lot of my characters having...well a habit of messing up (and Lave did not handle that first chap well cough) XD Also Aishe is my fav character to draw, because Kest is my fav character to draw only its + because glowy effects. I do really like when more real world logic is put in fantasy, like corpses making for bad heavy hitters unless they're in a swarm. So I'm super glad you liked that!

Capitania do Azar

4. If Lave's style has always been what we've seen so far, then all those scars don't surprise me at all! They'd be the natural consequence of past encounters, work related or otherwise. It just kinda feels that everything ends with someone getting punched around her

3. I've really liked pretty much everyone, but I think Lave's my favorite cuz she's sturdy but messy and I feel there's a lot to be learned about her aha

And also she prolly also has a lot to learn

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Jake is in Persephone with no guardian? What theories do you have on Jake’s hatred of non-humans? Will Jake be able to overcome his prejudice?

Capitania do Azar

6. Jake feels a lot like is somebody important's family but important could mean a lot of things. And has for his discomfort, I think it mostly stems from not knowing/being used to all this magic, which gives me the idea that some of these cities are less magical than others

5. Not an illustration, but I really love how in the last pages, as the sun rises, the colors become brighter and the sky becomes pink!!

It really helps bringing home the feeling that the night is over and the quietness of early morning, which is kinda fitting since they also stopped fighting

Delphina

I think I gotta go with Lave as my favorite character too because competent + ridiculous + magical +swordy is my entire jam so she's sorta the best of all worlds. Gena holds a special place in my heart too because she's clearly trying to keep a lot of things together.

Illustration-wise, I love how things like Jake's anxiety (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=198) or Chirovision (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=237) or Aisheland (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=225) traveling through magic spaces (http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/index.php?comic=20170501) make the palette and rendering different depending on the mood. Really good use of a more abstract style to convey tone and worldbuilding.

(Now I want there to be a DDWG theme park where there's weird places like Aisheland)

varethane

Lave is my fave!!!! I love her goofy attitude paired with how much butt she kicks when it's necessary. I love seeing people underestimate her and then get surprised, haha.(edited)

My favourite illustration is.... hard to pick, but probably this page: http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/?comic_id=206

Capitania do Azar

oh yeah, I really love the color work for those scenes, it carries out the emotions very well

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. For what purpose do you think someone sold Kestrel the cursed orb? How does this tie into the axe theft mystery Lave is asked to solve? What overall is going on regarding these illegal items, and how will it tie into the story?

Capitania do Azar

7. Anything that comes out of Kestrel's mouth is gold, but when he and Lave bicker it's even better!!!

Please just let them bicker more for my amusement

8. It really feels like someone's around trying to spread SOME mayhem and if one object was possessed then maybe it's not the only one... could be a tricky situation

Delphina

Will second that Lave and Kest definitely need to bicker more

RebelVampire

5) im kind of cheating by saying i really like the extra page about the leylines http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/index.php?comic=20160620 its really simplistic yet i think the illustrations work super well to help convey all the world-building information. its just a nice combo of huge info drop with some pleasant visual accompaniment 6) I assume Jake is probably an orphan from some important family? Or that Jake's family is super high up in rank somehow and just went "nah man we dont want this kid no more." while i def think some of jake's hate comes from ignorance, i also get the impression that jake had a bad experience with non-humans. something about jake's reactions just really strike me as ptsd. overall yeah, i think jake is gonna have to overcome it. plus, exposure breeds familiarity. its hard to be in the lion's den and continue to hate the lions.

7) jake and basically any non-human. I really just enjoy seeing jake's various reactions of "eww no" and then having to be confronted with the fact that not all non-humans are bad. It just makes me more and more curious about jake's past. plus, all these interactions really serve as a great tracking devices for how jake evolves in opinion. 8) With Kestrel, I kind of think someone is trying to draw Aishe out. I mean Aishe does have pretty neat butterflies and powers, so I can't blame them. Though I assume its a revenge thing cause I get the impression ppl arent all that happy with Aishe. But thus why other illegal items are being involved because you need powerful stuff to get to the powerful people.

Desnik

That leyline page is gorgeous and informative, I love the combo of worldbuilding and infographics

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who exactly is Aishe and what are their goals? What does this have to do with the undead from the first chapter? Why did Aishe help Jake? What will Lave do when she learns about Aishe?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What do you think the story with Chiro is? How did he wind up as Lave’s roommate? Will Chiro and Jake learn to get along? Also, do you think there might be anything special about Chiro that might affect the story?

AshAngelV

6. I think he's come from an entirely different world that doesn't have non humans and magic.

AshAngelV

11. The world building and color scheme are definitely strong points. It feels fully fleshed out and magical, but also very grounded like it's this amazing magical place that's also totally normal. Also, the characters. Having a bunch of flawed characters with baggage is always more interesting than having perfect characters with no problems and even the bit characters feel dynamic. Like they have their own story and interests rather than being part of the scenery exsisting only for the MCs to interact with.

RebelVampire

9) The thing I appreciate the most details wise is just the physical flaws. Especially Lave's scars. Adding details like that can be really tedious, yet it really helps deliver so much character that I always enjoy when the time is taken to include things like that. 10) I feel like Aishe is probably some necromancer from the past who is trying to rectify a mistake that was made. I think Aishe helped for the reason they said: Jake did a kindness and gotta pay that shit forward. I feel like Lave is 100% not going to trust aishe and basically just encourage everyone to do the same. Maybe suggest Kestral seek professional help. But yeah, I don't see a green butterfly person flying with Lave XD 11) I think this comic's strengths lie in two areas. First, the implementation of magic. There are clear rules, there's enough deviations from the standard to be interesting, and the fact its presented as a normal culture thing is well-integrated. second, the color palettes are really amazing and suit the tone and atmosphere of each scene really well. 12) I feel like Chiro might be a bit special since that one person did wonder what species Chiro was or something like that. And that because of this specialness Chiro was outcasted. Hence why he wound up with Lave cause ya know, outcasts gotta stick together. I think Chiro and Jake will bond for sure down the road. Cause i mean Chiro did just help save Jake's butt, and thats gotta earn him some Jake points right?

AshAngelV

12. I think Chiro might be a vamp that just stays in bat form or maybe only has bat form.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. What do you think Kestrel’s role will be in regards to the larger story? Can Kestral and Aishe be detached from one another, or is the attachment permanent?

AshAngelV

14. I think he'll be the guy that's in a constant state of terror and peril. And I think the detaching will be up to Aishe.

ClauseArt

man its super hard not to chime in on these ahhh D8

Delphina

Rebel makes such good questions XDD

varethane

I am looking forward to several things! - what is Jake's deal and how is he linked to aishe -Lave's bite mark scar!!!! what is it!!!!!! -what will Kest do next -more Lave plz(edited)

RebelVampire

@Delphina thank you for saying so~!

13) im looking forward to more aishe doing aishe stuff just cause i dig that aesthetic a whole lot. im also looking forward to learning more about jake so more concrete theories can be made about wtf jake's deal is. and also why nobody else could take jake besides lave cause i mean seriously...theres gotta be more sane choices XD 14) Kest is gonna become a real mage and do magic stuff. also ya know, hide out with lave cause now the ppl he owes money too are probably gonna be out for blood. as for detaching...maybe not so much. i more feel like once Aishe is done with their tasks, their essence will just kind of disappear and merge with kest.

AshAngelV

Hang in there Clause.

ClauseArt

@AshAngelV I will try D8

I can at least promise a lot of these theories are gonna be answered sooner or later

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses this week! Please also give a special thank you to J Alice Bown for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Damsels Don’t Wear Glasses, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://damsels-dont-wear-glasses.com/

J Alice’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JAliceBown

J Alice’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A732E2D

J Alice’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlicesBrainPad/

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #damsels don't wear glasses #j alice bown

3 notes · View notes

futb-o-lka · 6 years ago

Text

So, here is today's god tier TMA-related conspiracy theory

Which was originally just a throwaway thought but by now it's so late into the night that we might as well call it early and I've long since gone full 9th season of x files on this thing.

But still

Many think the 15th Fear to be connected with technology. Well, what if it isn't.

You see, every time something Russian is mentioned I go 'yay finally a familiar word' so I noticed that it happens quite often.

Or, to put it simpler:

Let's count:

другой Цирк (aka the Circus of the Other). The most obvious one, and to me the funniest as well. What makes a russian circus so creepy? I mean, the circus as we know it developed in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Traditionally these are Italian circus families who are most renowned for their art and the most famous contemporary circuses come from the US, Canada and France. As for Russia, circuses - and clouns - were never historically associated with evil or feared here. For crying out loud, ever since 1975 clowns are etched into our subconscious as these sad guys who have to do their job no matter what they really feel (all thanks to The Song). Doesn't make much sense, huh? Note: associated with the Stranger.

The Tundra (aka Peter Lucas' ship). Fyi tundra came into Russian from Finnish tunturi, i.e. a high woodless mountain, and then transferred into English as well. Tundras are flat and treeless, but more importantly they are vast, cold and lonely. Ironically enough, note: associated with the Lonely.

The Sannikov Land (aka i checked and such a place never really excited). Fun fact: maybe it did. Nowadays it's referred to as 'a ghost island'. The first explorers back in the 19th century proved its existence through simple observations as well as studying the migration routes of wild geese. Some modern scientists explain the phenomenon by stating that there was an island, just not a solid one, but one formed by the fossil ice of permafrost with a thin layer of soil on top. They discovered the Sannikov Bank, after all. It is situated right where the the original island was supposed to be: to the north from New Siberian islands, Russia. Note: associated with the Spiral.

That book in Cyrillic that attempted to read Michael Crew. The vaguest one, as several Slavic nations write in Cyrillic. Maybe I'm reading too much into it (haha), but there is no proof that it wasn't in Russian either. Note: a Leitner, probably associated with the Eye.

Well, over with fun facts, here we are. Four things connected with four different entities and covered in total of at least 7 statements (mag 24, mag 33, mag 44, mag 91, mag 99, mag 104 and mag 126 are all I can name off the top of my head but hey, it's the effort that counts). What unites them? One word, 6 letters: Russia.

I gonna cut the bullshit now: I think that Russia might be the 15th Fear. Yep! The whole friggin' country!

That's how it works.

As this (actually coherent and plausible) speculation on entity politics goes, each entity feeds of several more specific fears (aka fear territory). When a new Fear gains enough power to become a whole new entity, the other entities are forced to share some of their territory with it. (Which they happen to hate, thus the coalition that is supposedly forming rn). Anyways, what really interests me here is how small fears can be regrouped. Like, if that's turns out true, under certain circumstances they can sorta assemble into a big bad Fear Power-Rangers-style.

So, given in tma universe the number of paranoid guys who fear one (1) country for a number of different reasons (its appearance as vast, deathly cold, thoughtlessly brutal hellhole, its government reeeally continuous struggle to pull off power play against the rest of the world and whatever else) is big enough, the said country will turn into something other than just a country...

So basically the Russia (lmao) as an entity feeds on the fear the foreigners feel for it. Its every citizen is its avatar. If you were born in Russia you are doomed (as a person, not as a creature of pure terror, naturally).

Also good luck with those plastic explosives of yours, Team Archives.

UPD: I forgot Mr Sergey Ushanka from mag 65: binary, associated with Elias-knows-what. 'Ushanka' (шапка-ушанка) is a hilarious fur hat (with flappy 'ears', thus the name) btw

TMA geography is wider than that ofc. There are statements from France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, China, and India was mentioned at some point, too. Apart from that there's USA, which is home for at least two of the entities. These are the facts BUT within the context of this theory I prefer to turn a blind eye to them, pun intended.

Thanks for reading my Wild Speculation™, hope you enjoyed it at least a little. As for the facts (Researched for Fun and Educational Purposes Only), the articles I read were mostly in Russian, that's why there are no links:( I still can provide them; feel free to ask but beware of paranormal properties of Cyrillic texts dxhdhflhpej

4 notes · View notes

asexual-society · 7 years ago

Text

Aspec & Arospec YouTube List Part 2!

Apparently there are a lot more ace youtubers that I missed on the last list…

The descriptions for each channel are pretty much just copied and pasted from their channel descriptions. Unless they didn’t have a description, in which case I just wrote ‘vlogger’.

Please note: All the content of the channels below may or may not reflect the views or opinions of this blog or it’s moderators. Nor is all of it safe for work or free of problematic elements. Please use your own discretion.

Note 2: If your favorite youtuber is not on this list, feel free to add on!

Enjoy!

Aaron Ansuini: A trans ace vlogger who talks about both asexuality, being trans, video games, art, and motivation; Twitter

Abbie Wells: Aspec singer, actress, and vlogger; Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram

Aced It!: We are just a handful of Ace/Aro YouTubers who wanted to make a community to chat! Hang out let’s talk! ; instagram

Ace Ideas: We are a diverse group of asexuals here to share our knowledge, experiences, passions, hobbies, and stories surrounding our asexuality.; Facebook, tumblr, twitter

Aceland Alexander Kent: Transgender-Male, Homoromantic, Aceflux-Asexual musician and vlogger. He used to run the queer information channel, Questions and Queeries ; Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, BandCamp

Ahsante the Artist: Artist, Storyteller, Harvard 2015. A place for educated discussion, spirited lifestyle, cultural critique, creative reflection, and the silly goings on in the life and mind of Ahsante; website, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Portfolio website, Patreon

Androigynous: Hey guys! Andie here. Your resident cat girl. You’ll find gameplay, art, unboxings and feline vlogs! There’s something for everyone. ✨; instagram, facebook

Antastesia: A French asexual feminism/lifestyle/travel/vegan vlogger; Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, professional website

Anthony Pero: Posting funny videos and skits with the purpose of making people laugh. I like to focus on anything from serious topics like depression to goofier subjects like my Facebook newsfeed. My channel also consists of parodies of people I know, things I see, or random events that I think need to be spoofed; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

ArtByFlan: Sometimes I draw things. Sometimes I record myself drawing things. Sometimes I post videos of myself drawing things here!; tumblr, deviantart, facebook, twitter

Asexualise My Asexual Life: Asexualise Your Asexual Life: Empower And Enhance Your Asexual Life. Giving Asexuals a voice in the world. It is my mission to give asexuals a voice in the world; to empower other asexuals to be comfortable and confident with their asexuality; and to give insight into my colourful asexual life, to enable others to better understand their own and to know they are not alone. I want to educate others about asexuality, so that in the future, all asexuals can live in society happily.; twitter, facebook

Autistic Asexual fangirl Adventures: just a vlog page, random ramblings and adventures of a autistic asexual and geek who wants to try and make the word a better place.; twitter

BaptismOnFire: My name is Jack, I love horror and all things creepy. Here you’ll find videos about nightmares, monsters, creepypasta and generally spooky things! Remember to watch the skies, stay paranoid and trust no one…; Twitter, Tumblr, DeviantArt

Blue Phoenix Ace: American ace education vlogger. My goal is to educate people about Aromanticism and Asexuality, because maybe it will help someone learn the truth about themselves before they hit the age of 37!; music channel, Website, Soundcloud, Facebook

BreakfastAlexis: An asexual artist who creates animatics; tumblr, twitter, redbubble

Brian Langevin: Occasional videos discussing asexuality and life in general! This channel also hosts an archive of Everything’s A-Okay - a project Brian Langevin started alongside the project’s writer, Amy Liang, to bring greater visibility to asexuality; Twitter

Channel for Positivity l Understanding l Justice: Demisexual Korean-American motivational vlogger. Stay woke. See BOTH Sides. Social Justice. Bite-Sized Politics. Build more POSITIVITY :D Pragmatic Utopian. Diversity. Understand Humans & Relationships. Embrace Progress.; twitter, tumblr

Christi Kerr: This channel is a mix of whatever I like to do, which mainly includes vlogging but could include any number of things; Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram

Christine Sydelko: The youtube channel of vine-star/popular internet comedian and her boyfriend; Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat

Clara Unleashed: Denmark based asexual/biromanic vlogger. They also run the aspec focused youtube channel, My Ace Experience ; Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr

Cultlleader: Asexual Vlogger; Instagram, twitter

curlybobofelia: UK based asexuality Awareness, LGBTQ, Mental Health Awareness, Disability Rights, Child Rights & Anti-bullying Advocate vlogger; Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Dylan Tyler: I’m Dylan, and I suck at writing the intro things, so let’s just eat a lot of popcorn together and do an unhealthy amount of binge watching. Subscribing makes it easier to find me when you’re up for binging :) ; instagram, twitter

ElectraSnow: Demisexual artist, makeup artist, and special effects makeup expert: Twitter, Etsy, Tumblr, Facebook

Elisa Hansen/Maven of the Eventide: Voraciously vivacious Vampire Reviews. The Maven peers into the realms of the creatures of the night for a humorous analysis of vampires in media and pop culture; Twitter, Facebook

Embly: 18 years old, also the cutest small potato in the neighbourhood, wine mum, also very salty and nostalgic over a jam sandwich she lost over 2 years ago; Twitter, Instagram

Estelle Z: Music, vlogs, scrapbooks, and whatever else I happen to fancy; Tumblr, Twitter, Soundcloud, Facebook, Patreon, Gumroad

happy fish: Autistic, mentally ill, queer, nonbinary person vlogging about my life and trying to pretend I know how to function as an adult.; etsy, tumblr

Heroic Pages: Canadian, lover of books, films and imagination…and also a huge nerd!! Critter! Very much an unapologetic introvert (INTJ) ACE hermit cat lady den mother!; twitter, instagram, goodreads

JakeMale TV: I do Comedy sketch videos but also Vlogs! I share my life experiences with you so you can laugh at my mistakes. I have funny moments in my life, come and join me living my life. Click on ‘SUBSCRIBE’ to be told when I upload a new video! I advice it, MY LIFE IS WEIRD! I also do a University Advice series!; twitter, facebook, vimeo

Jeff Miller: Demiromantic/demisexual transmasculine musician, actor, and all around content creator; Patreon, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr

janeil darnell: An aroace vlogger; twitter

jennaclarek: Heteroromantic asexual. I just graduated college with a BS degree (get it) in Audio/Video Production. I’m also obsessed with Taylor Swift, strawberry cake, and musicals. I mostly make videos about books, but I also make videos about my life, my faith, and the other things I enjoy!; goodreads, twitter, tumblr, instagram, bandcamp

Jourdann: A channel that’s all about ships (the tv kind), college life, and artsy videos; Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram

kaihugstrees: Non-binary asexual. I make videos every week about my life, from travel vlogs and challenges to videos about mental health, disability, and queer topics; Twitter, Tumblr

Kelly McCraw: Akoiromantic Asexual vlogger

Marshall John Blount: Just an Ace guy trying to make it through life…This vlog will be about my everyday life and Asexual awareness…..I hope y'all will tag along on this interesting journey with me 💜💜

marsisnotcreative: Brazilian vlogger. Does covers of songs, videos chatting about stuff i enjoy, giving opinions, rants about some things that bother me, pseudo-artsy videos; twitter, tumblr, instagram

megathornberryy: Aspec book reviewer and vlogger; Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram

Milo Stewart: My name is Milo and my pronouns are they/them. Gender confused college kid named “YouTube’s most controversial trans vlogger” by The Daily Dot; Twitter, Instagram

Mikey Neumann (of Chainsawsuit Original): Ace president of Chainsaw Original and film critic ; Twitter, Website

moonchild: My channel covers a large variety of topics and genres, some of which include asexuality, body modifications, mental health, with the occasional story time or rant video thrown in; Tumblr

Overlysarcasticproductions: Sarcastic, yet informative, summaries of classic and not-so-classic literature and mythology, as well as major historical events! (Red has stated that she is asexual); threadless, cafepress, twitter

Peach The College Girl’s Vlog: Asexual Biromantic gaming channel ;twitter, twitch, snapchat

Phoebe Saturn : i make youtube videos as a hobby and hopefully have a positive impact on your day :] ; twitter

ppusherr: Gender, Sexuality, and Social Issues solved with Positivity and Education; Tumblr

punkygirlontherock: Asexual Canadian vlogger

Ricky Dillon: American YouTube personality and singer-songwriter; Book website, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Spotify

Sally Le Page: Grey-ace UK vlogger. Aims to bring science further into popular culture by making science videos that make you laugh, make you feel and make you think; Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr

sara elizabeth: Demisexual American make-up vlogger. i’m sara and i’m sorta obsessed with makeup and musicals; twitter, instagram

Sebastian Columbine: A horror and surrealist, filmmaker and artist in Los Angeles, California. This youtube channel surrounds Sebastian’s unique style, both in terms of fashion and beauty, as well as their lifestyle and artistic endeavors; Professional blog/website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Patreon

skellydun: life is an experience. here are some of mine; Tumblr

SixFootNerd: British, six foot and a total nerd! Just someone talking about Movie/Tv News, Events, Reviews and Discussions; Twitter, Tumblr

Sophie Foster: Demisexual/biromantic fashion, makeup, and lifestyle vlogger from the UK; Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram

SoulOfEbony: I wanna scribble cartoons for a living and make people smile.; tumblr, twitter

Taye Nic: I’m just an 20 year old college student who is trying to live for the first time:) Lol, I just got into makeup! I also love making things, broadway, Disney, my boho chic style lol and NYC more than anything else! I also love to make friends so stop by; twitter, instagram, pinterest

The Asexual Goddess: Ace and in your face. I’m actually an introvert so i don’t know how that works

TheGothicAlice: Asexual Aromantic artist, Manic Panic dyehard, horror junkie, cynic, and part time model; facebook, Etsy, Tumblr

TheMysteriousMrEnter: Asexual/Aromantic animation reviewer; DeviantArt, Tumblr, Twitter, TvTropes, Facebook,

Vivi Addams: Feel free to hang around for a while, watch some Lego animations, hopefully subscribe… Enjoy!; Tumblr, Twitter

#asexual #masterpost #aaw2017 #asexual awareness week #youtube #ace representation #aspec #arospec #list #grey asexual #aromantic #demisexual #youtubers #video #mod britt #long post

787 notes · View notes

vaportea · 7 years ago

Text

Okay so I’m surprised that the tease of Moira has once again incited Discourse in the Overwatch fandom. There was this post here that I mostly agree with. You heathons with your McHanzo this and your Angela did that and Gabriel had a these have let what we know slide past you, purposely in some cases, to suit what YOU think would be the best universe, and considering the objective evidence otherwise all this fanon wankery is considerably silly.

Yet it is that same objectivity that leads to so many indiscrepencies. The quotes, the photos, the comics, what is and isn’t canon anymore?? That’s a good question! And I have the answer.

It’s a Blizzard game.

Here’s what we DO know about the Overwatch world.

Those photos? Renegotiated.

Comic storytelling? Renegotiated.

Ages? Renegotiated.

Who was where and when at what stage of Overwatch’s conception, prime, and downfall? Renegotiated.

Talon and it’s purpose? Renegotiated.

Vishkar? The fuck is that

What Blackwatch even does? Hell do THEY even know??

Blizzard is like...how do I put this...

Blizzard is that DM who like...really WANTS to write and WANTS to be good at it? And has all these huge ideas and character concepts and world building ideas and it all just kinda jarbles up into a big pile of stuff, just stuff, a whooole lotta stuff. They want to include everything because everything is so epic and awesome but do it in a way that is like...in a rush, whether out of excitement or laziness, they forget that the included element has to connect to all others. And very often? It just sorta...doesn’t.

Every Blizzard game as far as story suffers or has suffered from world expansion. In larval stages it’s containable and plot/loopholes seem small, but with every addition, every new territory, new concept, new element, new faction, new character, it raises more questions that Blizzard just answers flat out poorly. Who is this? How did THEY get there? When did this happen? Why is this group (STILL) fighting that one? Where did this take place? “Oh they’ve always been here” or “it was always like this” is a classic Blizz cop out. “Oh, that’s there because of this” well what is THIS?? “This is that thing” well what does that thing signify? And eventually you ask so much and more they studder, throw up their hands and go “it’s just how it is” or worse “what do YOU think it is? Okay it’s that”.

Blizzard vet players are just so jaded at this point because we’re so used to this? Like, it’s such an eye roll anymore because it always happens. To my Overwatch fans, just expect your world to be tweaked, destroyed, rebuilt, war, destroyed again, interdimmentionally intervened, destroyed again and then thrown in a time travel arc, because that’s what Blizzard does.

To the point of @raptorific’s post and posts like it, accept the boundaries of the world presented to you, as translucent as they seem at times. I know there are things you WANT and want to happen and want explained, we all do, and it is okay to imagine and create the fills for the holes missing, but do not enforce that onto an entire fanbase as gospel. So many of your arguments can already be squashed if you consider conjecture off the bat.

THIS BEING SAID, understand that fans have stepped in because devs and writers have not. I totally empathize with the confusion. When something is always changing, of course everyone will feel lost and start to feud! Archives need changed, plots need explained, characters need rewritten and the world needs solid boundaries. Creators can’t lazily rely on the “anything is possible” and the “it is what it is” rhetoric forever, because it is just what it is, lazy and uninspired.

#overwatch #blizzard #mchanzo isnt canon: these are facts #world of warcraft #starcraft

4 notes · View notes

jafreitag · 5 years ago

Text

Jane’s World: Joni Mitchell’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Hi. It’s JF.

Jane is on vacation. She planned a quick blogpost about Joni Michell’s 1975 album, The Hissing of Summer Lawns. This is how it started:

“It’s still summer, and I have p-t-o to burn. So I’m going to post a quick thing about a seasonally-titled record with which I’m not super familiar by an artist of whom I’m enamored (big caveat coming), and head out on vacay. A girl needs fresh air with her pal and her pups.

Joni Mitchell is a legend. She’s also a bitch. Which is cool. I’m a bitch. But I’m also something that Joni is not: A proud feminist.

In a 2013 CBC interview with Jian Gomeshi (a real piece of human shit, who got canned in 2014 for sexual assault of his gf, which he conveniently documented on his work phone – call him patient zero of #metoo), Joni distanced herself from the movement. Here’s the exchange, cut and pasted from her archive:

JG: Well, do you feel like – do you feel then, and especially doing this all as a woman too and what you just talked about in terms of the terms of your contract that Neil and others were followed in your footsteps, do you accept that you were a pioneer?

JM: Oh, yeah. Sure. I blazed a lot of trails. Mm-hmm. Self-publishing. A lot.

JG: And a lot of that as a woman but you don’t like to be called a feminist, correct?

JM: I’m not a feminist.

JG: Where’s that line for you?

JM: I don’t want to get a posse against men. I’d rather go toe to toe myself. Work it out.

Hm. Decontextualized, that’s ok. Fight your own fights, sure. She doubled down, though: ‘I’ve got a lot of men friends. Too many amazons in that community. The feminism in this continent isn’t feminine, it’s masculine. Our feminism isn’t feminism, it’s masculinism.’

That’s problematic.”

Agreed. And explaining why was also problematic. That’s the wrong word. It wasn’t problematic; it was time-consuming. Jane and I discussed the post at length. She was passionate and articulate and funny, as always. (She’s LN Executive Editor for a reason.) Her rebuttal of Joni’s statement would have been long, and challenging – bell hooks, difference theory, intersectionality, and other vital theoretical and real life points (like how maybe office fave Joan Didion might not be a feminist, either, so we should reconsider the lobby placement of the near-lifesize pic of her next to the Corvette) that deserve to be discussed. Together, we decided that maybe making her flight, rather than her self-imposed deadline, was more important. And she decided that I should just cover this record like any other. This is a music blog, so focus on the music?

Right on. Let’s talk about summer and grass.

Joni Mitchell was riding high in 1975. Her 1974 album, Court and Spark, was nominated for four Grammys. She won one – Best Arrangement, whatever that means. Court and Spark is one of the best adult (an adjective that wasn’t as pejorative then, as it is now) records of the ’70s. Impeccably produced, for sure. Critically received, for sure. And popularly consumed. Cooler than Seals & Crofts, and more cerebral, but in the same general ballpark. If you were a kid back then, you heard the single “Help Me” regularly on AM radio. And the record is one that your cool aunt and uncle had in their vinyl collection to play on the hi-fi for the grownups smoking crooked cigs during fondue or curry parties, while you and your cousins were screwing around in the back yard and didn’t notice. Court and Spark was/is foreground and background, depending on your situ and mood. It’s aggressively L.A., like the Eagles’ Hotel California, but totally different. (The culture-change from ’74 to ’76 was seismic. I was there, and I could tell.)

Court and Spark laid a foundation for Joni to explore even further her version of proto-adult-contemporary. Some people call her stuff from this period jazzy – mostly because there are jazz instruments backing her, I think. What’s jazziest, though, is her vocals. Her approach is sui generis. Joni’s most famous song, “Big Yellow Taxi” from 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon, follows a traditional verse-chorus-verse pop-rock structure. So do “California” and “A Case of You” from 1971’s all-time classic Blue. Much of her output from the mid-70s, however, is an extended argument against that form.

Take a sorta well-known track like “You Turn Me on I’m a Radio” from 1972’s For the Roses. It’s a vocal riff over a strummy guitar and harmonica background. The melody stays the same, but she refuses to give us anything lyrically to grab and hold. Nothing repeats. She sounds like she’s making shit up in a heady, controlled way. (A compliment, not a slam.) She never scats; her words in her voice are just light as air, and they float like the sound from a sax or a trumpet. The Hissing of Summer Lawns isn’t the culmination of that style (her 1978 album Hejira, featuring bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, probably is), but it’s a statement of purpose. As in, you guys liked “Help Me”? Well here’s more of that, only weirder. Light up and sit back. She’s got you.

I’ve grown to love this record. I’ve listened it at least ten times for this post. It’s not as good as Blue or Court and Spark. (On a road trip last weekend, my best friend checked out on THoSL around the middle of what would’ve been side two.) But it’s more interesting, and it’s thematic for our purposes here – whose lawns aren’t hissing for more water in late August? Worth a spin. Key tracks: “In France They Kiss on Main Street,” which is a deeper dive in to the vibe of Court and Spark‘s “Free Man in Paris;” “The Jungle Line,” which samples field recordings of drummers from Burundi; the title track, which oozes cool; and “Harry’s House – Centerpiece,” which is a single-track song-cycle that’s almost indescribable. Anyway, here’s the widget.

More soon.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2Hpkv5K via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes