#-and I promise to correct it. Thanks!

[trans-opossum]

Feeling conflicted…

When I saw the original, I *knew* I had to join this challenge! My poor Mar-Mar..

I hope you enjoy! ;} (p.s, masculine marcy has all of my love <3 <3)

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 267

bit of a spiritual sequel to my first autobiographical comic on this blog

we did it lads we r coming full circle lol

this is easily the worst period i have had in a while but it is also THE LAST ONE I AM EVER GOING TO HAVE as my hysterectomy is in less than 2 weeks!! it's certainly keeping me motivated to stay excited for my surgery date instead of panicking.

[sanasanakun]

I think my favorite part of the dlc’s final boss is how it (can) directly mirror your Tarnished, and by extension, their relationship with Ranni. Obviously, this is coming from me, your resident Ranni glazer who will make everything about her if I can, so please understand this is my interpretation. 

My interpretation is that Miquella/Radahn act as a foil to Ranni/Tarnished, specifically when it comes to the themes of love, consent, and freewill. Now, I know it’s up in the air about how consenual the pact between Radahn and Miquella is. Personally, I see it as non-consensual; Miquella resurrected and controls a puppet of Radahn and/or bewitched him to be his “promised consort.” Given the theme of control with Miquella, I don’t think FromSoft would turn that around on us at the last second. Radahn’s situation is meant to be the final nail in the coffin; a demonstration of what Miquella’s “love” exactly means. Total control over one’s entire self and mind. Anyway, I digress, let’s get into how I see their situation mirroring, and acting as the antithesis, to Ranni and Tarnished. 

First, we’ll examine Miquella and Radahn. Miquella is presented almost throughout the entire game as a beloved figure. He is literally called “Miquella the Kind,” and his actions at the Haligtree paint him as an even more heroic figure. A demi-god who wants to help the weak, the oppressed, and anyone in between who has been scorned by the Golden Order. As we discover in the DLC, Miquella wants to create an “Age of Compassion.” But there’s always a catch, and Miquella’s plan is no exception. Why? Because his new age would remove the free will of everyone by giving him total control of how they feel, act, etc. He’ll make them happy and at peace because they’ll have no choice; they’ll have no self. This is exemplified in literal form with Radahn. The relationship between the two brothers presents itself as a one-sided obsession on Miquella’s part. Though we don't know a ton about them together, I think it’s safe to theorize Radahn didn’t willingly go along with Miquella’s plan. Radahn is canonically a fan of the Golden Order given his admiration of Godfrey and his father, Radagon. I can’t see him wanting to disrupt the current way of things. Plus, I don’t believe Maleania and Radahn would stage a fake war just to get Radahn into a position where he could be resurrected via Mohg. Too many hoops to jump through, so Occam’s Razor says Radahn rejected Miquella. 

Now that’s great and all, but the real meat I want to analyze comes from the actual boss fight, or more specifically, the twos’ body language during the fight. Radahn is an empty shell. He doesn’t have any dialouge aside from small grunts. He doesn’t address us at all, which is entirely unlikely for how he’s been described. He’s a ferocious warlord who values the strength of both his allies and enemies. At the very least, he would address someone as prolific and talented as the PC Tarnished. Yet, he doesn’t. Radahn is literally there to act as “the muscle;” he is the strong and powerful lord that Miquella admired him to be. However, by making Radahn only act like this, Miquella has erased the true essence of what made Radahn. He lacks his soul. Miquella might be the more interesting of the two when it comes to body language. I think Miquella’s theme of control really shines with how he places himself on Radahn during the battle. He is literally draped over Radahn with his arms wrapped around his neck. Obviously, at first glance this is meant to imitate an embrace, solidifying the two as both a team and lovers. Yet, Miquella’s position doubles in meaning when considering his need to control. The arms could represent a collar, with Miquella acting as the leash. His hovering gives off a “helicopter” vibe (for a lack of a better term). While playing I called him a “helicopter parent,” comparing him to where they are constantly looking over your shoulder and trying to direct you. Essentially, Miquella is caging Radahn in his embrace, revealing his need to control the situation and Radahn himself. Miquella is the personification of control; he won’t allow free will to happen because he thinks it causes too much pain and uncertainties. And Radahn, he embodies the fate of those who would live under the Age of Compassion; he is a puppet. Specifically, he is Miquella’s puppet in both battle and love. He doesn’t have a choice in the matter at all. 

So, how is this the antithesis to our beloved blue wife and the Tarnished? Ranni doesn’t appear to help the Tarnished during their fight with the duo, which I’ve seen a few complain about. While I would love to fight alongside my support princess (and I have downloaded the mod lol), I think Ranni appearing would undermine the character FromSoft has established and her relationship with the Tarnished. Ranni is very hands off. She gives her vassals the tools to work with and then tells them to do what they wish with it. She never forces you to do anything you don’t want to. When you confront her about her role in the death of Godwyn, she willingly admits it and then asks you if you’d like to pledge service to her. She doesn’t say, “You know my secrets, therefore you will be in my service so I can keep an eye on you.” Instead, it’s a choice; a choice for someone far below her in class and power, but she gives it to you nonetheless. For Ranni, the ability to choose and live the way you desire is incredibly important. She seems to dislike outside forces messing with the ability to expereince life (as she says feel, see, taste, etc). 

Therefore, in the final battle with Miquella and Radahn, Ranni is there with you via the tools she’s provided and the faith she has in you (you can interpret this as her blessing with the “we will see each other once more”). She doesn’t need to be hovering over you, arms wrapped around your neck; she trusts the Tarnished above all else to succeed and fight for her. But should they choose not to, she’ll be heartbroken but she won’t stop you. As for the Tarnished, our character is not a shell of a person. They are someone teeming with ambition and the will to fight for their chosen successor. They fight because they want to be there and challenge whatever comes to face them; they don’t need Ranni telling them “go fight Miquella and Radahn for me pls.” 

Their “Age of the Dark Moon” also is the antithesis to Miquella’s “Age of Compassion.” Whereas his is about control, Ranni wants to remove all outer god influence from the world. She wants people to experience their lives without the intervention of any god; to experience life on their own terms, whether they want otherworldly guidance or not. She literally takes her order and leaves the planet (?) with it and you. 

Ok, that’s enough of me rambling about whatever the fuck comes to my sleep deprived mind. I have a flight to catch in three hours, so I’m gonna leave it here. In closing, Ranni good I love her very much mwah<3

[forgotten-daydreamer]

"I hate how they're writing Damian in Batman #146, he can't be that dumb, he's so ooc."

I mean, they're writing him almost as if he were a literal child who wants, no, needs to believe that his father's ideals aren't as fucked up as his mother's, who blindly believes in the man whom he learnt to trust despite being raised with widely different beliefs and ideals for the majority of his so-far short life.

Almost as if Damian were a pre-teen, or young teen at most (because how old can he be here, 13? 14?) who desperately clings onto the belief, onto the hope that his father hasn't really abandoned him, because his father is Batman, and Batman always has a plan, doesn't he? Obscure, complex, but a plan nonetheless, and it (almost) always turns out fine, so Damian needs to trust him, he knows he can, he knows that Batman is safe.

Logically, everyone else is older; I think the one whose age he's closest to might be Tim here, who's about 18 as usual, I guess. But Damian is a child, he's a child who's overall relatively new to Batman's antics, and he's a child who (unfortunately) rarely saw the difference between Batman and Bruce Wayne, a child who rarely got to meet Bruce Wayne at all, if you think of it.

You (you readers, not the characters in the story - because it makes sense for them to be so lost in the plot of their world that they lose sight of things) cannot blame a child for being delusional for believing with his whole heart that his father is not an evil bastard who's attacking everyone, allies included, family included. Because again, Damian doesn't really have a clear idea of how Batman and Bruce Wayne differ, he rarely got the priviledge to be with his father, Bruce Wayne, and not with his work partner, Batman.

You (readers) cannot really tell me that you're putting the blame on a child for 'snapping out of it' so late.

Of course, everyone is free to have their opinions, and if you think that this version of Damian is ooc or whatever, it's a valid, let's agree to disagree. But from a narrative pov, you can't possibly deny that it makes sense for Damian to be acting like this. He's a child, a literal child.

Expecting him to regulate his emotions as well as his sibs do is messed up. Which, by the way, they don't. Dick is a mess but keeping it together - except for the whole "punching your father senseless" thing, but good for him, I'd have done the same there. Jason is a mess and doesn't try to hide it, Steph is baffled and Babs is exhausted. The others are nowhere to be seen (and I'd have done the same pt2). Tim's the only one with a plan that's actually somewhat good - hope he makes Bruce snap out of his fear-induced little gateaway once and for all.

I know not many are fans of this run, but honestly? I'm digging it, it's possibly one of my faves. I love the drama, love the angst, love the plot-twists, like Damian snapping out of it just for Zur to silence him? Backup Robin who grins suspiciously like Jason? Tim ditching his phone - which is ossibly the most shocking thing? I'm hyped as hell.

All of this endless yapping to say that, okay, feel free to hate this or whatever, but please be humble enough to admit that Damian is being written exactly like he should be. I get it, DCAU gave us "Damian who talks like an old man, who never smiles and doesn't understand his peers" and it's cool. He's a bit like that in the comics too. But newer comics have a (very welcome, imho) tendency to write him as 'awkward' while simultaneously keeping in mind that he's a teen. And it's the best thing ever.

I, for one, needed reassurance at Damian's age. I needed an anchor and that anchor were my parents - growing up, the dynamics shifted but it's not the point. At 13, 14, or whatever Damian's age is, you're just a child who needs reassurance, because you're changing, the world around you is changing, and you're disoriented as if lost at sea. Writing Damian like that makes sense, it's not even up for debate.

He's not ooc, and he's not dumb either.

He's just a child.

Feel free to dislike how they're writing him, feel free to dislike literally every single detail about everything, this is a free world. But please don't tell me that needing a parental figure to be there for you, and that siding with said parental figure no matter what because they're essentially all you got left (rip batfam I guess?) - is ooc for a child. Damian is a child, don't forget that.

[sciderman]

I just read a few of the 2017 spiderman and Deadpool comics and.

Its god awful. #12 is where I stopped. The quips feel dry, this isn’t who Wade is this isn’t Peter please kill me

i sm so sorry you had to see that chief

[crowempress]

FAMILIES IN NEED OF FUNDS 🍉

Here are some fundraisers that have reached out to me in the past few days. Please boost and if you are able to donate, please send even a few dollars to one of the campaigns below. Small contributions from many people will make change!

Some of these are not yet vetted, but are very likely legitimate, please boost in hopes we can get these families vetted so their campaigns can pick up more traction!

Basic Necessities for Ola's Family to Live $42,772 USD / $50,000 Fundraiser Post (Vetted, Line 205)

Help Mohammed and his Family Escape War $4,034 USD / $35,000, Fundraiser Post (In process of being vetted, digital footprint is legitimate)

Help Najah Provide for her Children 965 € / 80,000 €, Fundraiser Post (Not yet vetted, but reverse image search is clear and donations are protected)

Help Evacuate Abod's Family 25 € / 49,200 € Fundraiser Post (Not yet vetted, but reverse image search appears to be clean and donations are protected)

Provide Medical and Basic Needs for Mohammed 297 € / 10.000 € Fundraiser Post (Not yet vetted, reverse image search clear, and donations protected)

Help Khalid's Sisters Escape Homelessness $1,440 USD / $15,000 Fundraiser Post (Vetted)

Help Ali Evacuate His Family €613 / €70,000 Fundraiser Post (Not yet vetted, reverse image search is clear, and donations are protected)

Help Hazem's Family Escape War €5,424 / €50,000 Fundraiser Post (Vetted)

[creepyscritches]

Ouuugh fuck yes the opthalmologist said I appear to be a strong candidate for LASIK :3c gotta coordinate with my other doctors for their opinions, but just this year my eyes finally stabilized enough to even HAVE these conversations in the first place!!! It probably wouldn't be something I pull the trigger on for at least another year, but very exciting to not be eliminated as a candidate bc of my autoimmune stuff :') it was also super cool as always to learn how providers explain some of these conditions + procedures on a patient level then a clinical level. Eager to talk shop with the opthalmology SME on my team :3

[compacflt]

The poor SECDEF being referenced in Ice's postcard as an unfunny man and then in the Slider POV where Ice and Mav talk to SECDEF and have some sort of inside joke where they laugh about them. I love all these small inside references that feel like Easter eggs. How do you keep track of them when you're writing? Not sure if it will be in the 120k words of extra scenes (which I'm so grateful for, like I'd be fine with even just scraps) but being a fly on the wall while Ice interacts with the SECDEF be like sounds hilarious. Ironic that Ice thinks that he'd sit out in his retirement until he becomes SECNAV and then possibly SECDEF in "Debriefing" and that Ice has become the sort of unfunny man that lost his acerbic wit but regained it by the end in Slider's POV. Anywho I'm kind of in love with your writing and these characters and will sorely miss them when you're done posting these extras. Thank you for writing this fic and the extras and the WIP Wednesdays and everything. I know you've got other writing projects and wishing you the best, and can't wait until the 120k words drop this weekend. :)

to be clear the secdef ice says is unfunny/the secdef ice & mav laugh about at his retirement party are these two fucking guys

im very hesitant to label anyone war criminals even for Funny Reasons because words do mean things., but when it comes to Bob gates i do get all twitchy and hair-triggery

i think ice being secdef after being secnav is unlikely at best & impossible at worst but the thought of him stepping up to do it during bidens second term & then having to deal with. like. china invading taiwan is unbearably funny to me so it’s not out of the question in my fic universe because it would be good for the bit. first openly gay secretary of defense and he sends the US to open all-out conventional war with China,

[hongluboobs]

book reader i have a copy of dream of the red chamber (volume 1) that ive been trying to get through for over a year how do i motivate myself to finish it

I'm recently coming out of a half a year ish period of not reading very much so trust me when I say the lack of motivation comes for us all. I think I have some tips for how to motivate reading in general+ some for DOTRC specifically :)

(Real quick, I assume because you mentioned a volume 1 you're talking about the Hawkes-David translation published by Penguin in five volumes under the name 'The Story of The Stone'. This is the translation I read through, and it's the one I see recommended most to english speakers looking for an enjoyable reading experience, so to any other prospective readers of this novel I HIGHLY recommend reading this translation as opposed to any other ones. I don't know if I need to say this or if it's well-known to seek out that version, but because Hong Lu's canto is coming up I want to make sure anyone interested in reading through the source material can have the best experience possible with it👍)

It's important to remember that reading is a hobby, and the best way to keep going with it is to make it a habit. Unfortunately, this means forcing yourself to read sometimes, but it comes easier the more you do it. The trick is: it doesn't have to be a lot of reading.

The hard part for me is really just picking up the book and starting to read. Normally with books I like to set a goal of a chapter or so per day, but because this book has longer chapters that wasn't always feasible for me, especially if I had stuff to do. But once I had the book in my hands and started reading I would usually go above my goal I had set :)

Last year a lot of my DOTRC reading was done while I was waiting in line for things, getting/eating food, waiting on the bus, or killing time between classes/during boring lectures (I don't know if I'd advise that last one). This is moreso once you get in the rhythm of things, though.

Another tip is sometimes the format is the thing to stop me. I don't know if you're reading from a physical book or an ipad/kindle/etc or a computer or what, but sometimes I read better on my laptop than other things because it's Always Around. Sometimes I don't feel like grabbing a book or I don't have it with me, but my laptop's already open and I'm bored so maybe I'll do a little bit of reading instead of scrolling social medias. Lately, i've been jumping between my laptop and kindle for reading (laptop for convenience, kindle for portability and reading before bed at night) but I've gone between physical books and digital devices before. (If you want the epub versions of dotrc, I'd be willing to share them as well. The only difficulty is page numbers change between reading formats so I can only really switch at the start of chapters or if I skim to where I last was.

Something that saved me while reading DOTRC specifically (as well as other sinner books) was having a place I could discuss/"liveblog" the book. These books can get LONG and the reading experience varies from "really interesting and compelling" to "oh my godddd I do not need 20 pages of Outdated Whale Facts right now". (no offense to Moby Dick. I'm only slandering that one because I read the whole thing and in spite of enjoying it I understand why there are SO many abridged versions around.) It's kind of just the classic lit experience to deal with these types of things, but it's a lot more tolerable to me if you can talk to other people about it.

When I read DOTRC I didn't have anyone else reading with me, but just having a place to tell people about all the things that happen in this book helped me to keep track of events and characters. It also motivated me to keep reading so I could tell The People what happened next. Having someone else read with me would probably have helped as well, but it's hard to sell people on reading a 5-volume behemoth of a novel with so much stuff in it it has it's own field of study dedicated to it.

You can really yap anywhere. I have a channel in my Limbus Discord dedicated to the books so I don't drive everyone insane with my rambling and it seems to have helped some of my friends get through some of the other books as well so I think this method is a pretty solid success? You could also pretty easily do it just in someone's DMs if they're already familiar with the book (this has the bonus of them potentially being able to clarify things for you and help you get a deeper understanding of the book) or even yapping on a tumblr sideblog or empty notes doc or something.

So TL;DR:

Picking up the book is the hardest part. Reading a little is better than not reading at all.

Subjecting your friends to this book will make it easier to keep going :)

Also: for Dream of the Red Chamber specifically: the book starts slow. I don't know how far in you are, but so many people drop it early. I started reading it during a 12-ish hour car ride and that might've been the play because i can see people getting bored during the first few chapters. It definitely picks up though, so trust me when I say it gets a lot easier to read as you keep going. Chapter 5 is an incredibly interesting chapter, and from there I find things pick up and start going faster. (It helps that chapter 5 is pretty relevant for the direction I think Limbus is going to take canto 8 in!) The later volumes were able to go by a lot faster for me than the earlier ones as well.

This is a long ass book, but it's gonna be a while before Hong Lu's canto drops and we get to Witness that Surrender. Or Surrender that Witness. I'm not actually sure. But regardless, you've got plenty of time to get through it, even if you're a slower reader or don't have much time to dedicate to reading. Steady progress is the name of the game for stuff like this.

Worst case, you've killed a bunch of time during the wait for Hong Lu's canto (because oh boy, I have a feeling this one's gonna be a wait) and you are able to gain a better appreciation for canto 8 by understanding some of the nicher bits of how it adapts stuff from the source.

Best case, you really enjoy reading it and end up like a bunch of the Hong Lu fans I know who were permanently changed by reading this book and started reading scholarly analysis of it for fun (or start seeking out every adaptation of it you can find, or read the book 5 times over... I am coming to realize this book does something to people.)

This book is legitimately incredibly good, even outside the context of me reading it because I was very invested in that beautiful cyan freak from a game I like. I might not have been able to get through it without Limbus providing me the push to keep going on days where I really didn't want to read, but it's a legitimate interest of mine now I will seek out information on regardless of its connection to Limbus! Trust me when I say it's worth getting through even if it feels hard or tedious.

(and if it helps- a solid amount of the stuff I feel is most likely to be Limbus relevant happens near the end of the book. There's so much in this book so things that could be relevant are scattered throughout almost all of it, but I've been picking up so many end of the book vibes from stuff we've seen lately. so you've got to get there!!)

[meiloorun-notthefruit]

“We’ve got your back though. That guy isn’t going to do anything bad to you.”

- Jester, to Yasha, about the group going to look for Obann and the Tomb under Baxozann, 4 episodes before she is mind controlled and taken by Obann for 17 episodes

[vmddirectory]

Small behind the scenes info

Or maybe blog lore, if you will.

Primarily, I use firefox when on desktop. It's an outdated browser, but it doesn't slow down my computer so I prefer it. However, the big downside is that it appears tumblr and firefox are at odds.

Sometimes when a post from the queue gets posted, parts of the public post will be deleted. Usually, it's whatever I added to the post last. This results in sentences ending abruptly, dates being listed as 0/0/0 (as that's how they're written on my post template), tags not being added, or entire lines being omitted.

These parts of the post will be present in the drafted version AND the queue'd version, but will inexplicably be deleted after the post publishes. Because of this, I try to go back and check posts after they're public to be sure they're complete and not missing parts. It's very frustrating, and I apologize for any confusion it may cause if you see these posts before I can correct them.

If you do see a post missing something, Please give me a moment to fix the post before treating the situation like a joke or correcting it. The queue is automatic, and I'm not always on my computer at exactly 12 pm CST, so I may not get to it right away.

I am just one person, But if it's the case of something being missing I WILL catch it.

I appreciate your patience.

[existential-dread-in-the-am]

I just inhaled an entire book on two hours.

This is a fairly strong sign that my brain is back to normal.

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

sugar we're going down, all the things she said, and shake it for either one of the jaides!! :] their lore is SO creative and i love hearing abt both of them so i didnt know which one to choose oops

MILO.

YOUUUUUUUUUUU

WHERES THAT DISCORD STICKER DRAWING OF YOU BEING SQUEEZED BECAUSE THAT'S ME RN IM SQUEEZING YOU‼️‼️‼️ MY BABYGIRLLL RAAGGH THANK U FOR THAT DOODLE WTF😭😭😭 IM ALSO ANSWERING FOR BOTH BECAUSE YES

Sugar We're Going Down: Does Jaide's inclusion in the media’s plot change anything majorly? If so, what’s changed?

oh bro you already know what im answering for this one. MANGA JAIDE EXISTING TURNS A LOT OF THINGS SHAHAKAKSJJA aka fixing the RUBY HAS A CELEBI OUT OF NOWHERE INCIDENT BECAUSE UNCLE GOLD DID A THING WITH CELEBI <3 /hj

honestly i think spe!jaide is the bridge to giving a character more development and impact to their personality, she might not be the most crucial to the plot, but she was there to give more depth and characterization to ruby, gold and steven and I can name a few

- ruby: learned how to use pokéblocks because of jaide being good at snacks that are performance enhancers (aprijuice)

- gold: the aprijuice being used in pokéathalon (that one is minor but shh) and the impact of gold's internal turmoil of his insecurties being given more weight because jaide is there

- steven: this is manga spoilers territory. okay good? we good?

'kay. anyways in rs arc he was evidently more serious and incredibly busy. handed the champion role to wallace and had a little more strained relationship with ruby (oops new lore) but after he fucking DIED he realized that he was so clouded in being the hero for the entire population (see: team magma and aqua situation) that he risked his life for almost nothing and that it's okay to not be the hero all the time, being the hero for his family is good enough and that his son is also very smart with that CELEBI MOVE. which explains his more carefree personality in oras arc. he's prioritizing his family more now (e.g training mumu while ruby is away, holding ruby's secret from sapphire) BOOM. MIC DROP. BOWS DOWN

All The Things She Said: If your characters was a part of the original media they're an insert for, how would the fandom treat them? How would they treat the ship?

I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT WEREWOLF MIRROR MEME WHERE A MAN STARES AT A MIRROR AND HIS REFLECTION IS A WEREWOLF EXCEPT ITS GAME JAIDE LOOKING AT SPE JAIDE OR VISE VERSA AHHSHSJAKSJ basically they get thrown in a lot of... dual identity meme. yes the spiderman pointing meme counts. for the ship I think fans would compare redjaide and stevaide a lot and it's hilarious since they're so different

Shake It: If Jaide had to pick a song for karaoke (whether it’s one by herself or perhaps.. with someone else too?), what would it be?

spe jaide would uhh pick like a classic love song she's such a romantic with steven it makes ruby and gold throw up /lh

im thinking of that one discord convo with those two where jaide sung just the two of us and steven forgot the next lyrics PFTTTT

game jaide would pick early to late 2000's music. i bet you she sings i love you like a love song baby and makes sure to direct her singing to red and watch him get flustered as she dances around silly. he loves her for being so bold but man others were watching he'd pass out

[theidiotabides]

I work for a major travel brand & one of my jobs is to man the corrections desk & hoo boy let me tell you some people have just the MOST confidence about the completely incorrect shit they think they know

[tarakau]

[maraschinomerry]

Valid yet unfair criticism is the worst, especially when it's from someone you really respect :<