#Alex Wendell

[ospsstuff]

You would think, for a monster with power and money he wouldn’t stoop so low to Alex’s pettiness and just curse at him

[blueskiesandstarrynights]

I don't think we as a fandom are giving ify or Alex enough love this season. Local cringe fail teens being put in huge bodies and positions of power are Doing Their Best my beloved

[belleandkurtbastian]

I love the moment of realisation of “Craps is a dice game… we can LITERALLY play Craps in the middle of this TTRPG instead of trying to adapt it to our TTRPG mechanics.”

[sylvansleuth]

You go to get your gun out and you kind of whip it and throw it and BLAM! Behind the guy's head is a completely soaked red Kingskin's head. Everyone screams.

[kettlechip-krispy-kreme]

[tubes-and-dice]

I fucking love the dynamics between the ‘people’ and the ‘avatars’ in NSBU.

G13 is using Usha, because he’s a hacker and a manipulator, and she’s exactly the kind of person who can be easily scammed. Haunting. Spine-chilling. Cool as fuck, truly unbelievable storytelling, and it’s developed so organically!

On the other hand, Vic is mentoring Wendell in a way, and we got to see them really sync up this episode, working together to advance the narrative and protect their people. Wendell totally gets the kind of person that Vic is, and I think that helps him take Vic’s advice as the more experienced person- but also know that he’s not always going to be right.

Paula and Jack are sort of… misaligned. She keeps trying to find guidance from him, but they’re almost too similar? Jack so far that we’ve seen is very hands-off, and doesn’t seem all that worried about Paula- or his own family. Whereas Paula of course cares deeply about Jack’s family already, because she’s much more involved and familial minded than what we’ve seen of Jack.

Liv and Kingskin are, I think, the most compatible duo. Liv has settled nicely into her role in some ways, the control and power it grants her suits her well, and it feels like Kingskin likes her because of that? But at the same time her compassion for others is making such a notable difference in the way that she’s able to interact with people in Kingskin’s circles that it feels like he could learn as much from her as she’s learning from him. They feel like the most balanced pair, with the most mutual respect.

Dang doesn’t match Stocks’ vibe at all. He’s trying to do the cool action movie things, he’s playing into the role really well at times- but who Dang is, really, doesn’t sync up. His morals and priorities are very different from Stocks’- for good and bad alike. There’s very little connection between the two, it feels like- to me it reads as Dang just trying to fill the shoes of this Bond-like character, more than anything. Sometimes he’s really able to pull it off, and sometimes it just… doesn’t work. Stocks isn’t helping him. He’s on his own- which it seems is perhaps a norm for Dang.

Then of course, Russell. Russell and Jennifer are not a team at all- what Russell is learning from this experience, he’s learning from simply being Jennifer, not from communicating with her. He’s a man who we know is used to being attractive, used to being complimented and unused to being told off for the way that he behaves. I love the way that Ally’s taken his character as Jennifer- because he isn’t Jennifer. He’s Russell. He doesn’t want to wear a skin-tight bodysuit, he wants to get a baggy shirt to hide this form that he’s not used to, and work with the new skills that he has.

Idk I just think it’s super super cool that all of the players are working within the mechanic so differently, and I think every single manifestation of this dynamic makes so much sense for the characters that it’s just astounding. This last episode was such a good show of these dynamics and the impact they actually have on the plot.

[itsgonnagetinspiringsoon]

They're so funny for this askdfhj

Bonus Rekha

[islandoforder]

vic ethanol with a canonical crush on kingskin is. just so good

[lilapetrichorwinteryrogue]

I already love every single character of this season. Like all of them, the video store workers, their alter egos and the hybrids. They're all so so so fun to me and I genuinely cannot wait to see more of them

[longdeadking]

struck by the image of liv putting a hand on wendells back in the last scene of nsbu. its such a small detail, but theres so much to unpack there.

liv just spent several days as kingskin, gigantic, powerful (physically and socailly), completely self-assured. hands big enough to crush a man's skull. and she was comfortable in that body, not hesitsting to use that strength or size. liv was more comfortable being kingskin than she ever was just being herself.

and then, leaving the movie, probably still reeling from the sudden change (and stuck back in her body that feels more alien than kingskin's did, that feels too small, too weak), liv puts a hand on wendell's back. a tiny, subtle, but present act of control and power. not over wendell neccessarily, just in general. a way to say, i support you with my strength. something liv could do as kingskin. something she can't do as liv. something she wants back, maybe.

[dropoutconfessions]

People saying tht NSBU should have been different with changes to story lines and character choices need to remember,,, it's a tabletop game run by friends/comedians. NOTHING is scripted outside of the story beats Brennan makes up for the crew. Things won't end nearly with a bow all the time. That's unrealistic for normal games, and the same goes for the shows. They're people having fun!!!

-

[acourtoffeyandfables]

[th3b4dk1dzz]

I know this is a small bit and I should come to except it with this show, but I do admire the effort to not having Liv and Wendell have a first kiss that would be in any way considered non-consential.

Given the tropes they're playing with this season and the nature of improv, it could have been easy to fall into an uncomfortable pitfall. This episode does a lot to establish the want for it to happen on both parts, but makes it clear that when they kiss, it will be on their terms.

Not while a criminal gang is forcing them into it. Not while Liv is intoxicated and Wendell is sober.

It shows a level of care on Ify, Alex, and Brennan's part towards the other players at the table and to the audience that shouldn't go unsung

[umbraticstickerz]

Alex and Winfrey!

Winfrey is a nightmare to draw lol, ended up fully shading them. Still had fun though! Sorry that Alex looks a bit off I was struggling to think of a position to draw them in and it kinds got all messed up but I'm too tired to fix anything.

[sylvansleuth]

Guess I'll never see it again!

[weclassybouquetfun]

Archive of Our Own (AO3) has released their Top 100 Stats. When I posted last year's stats there was a comment that the stats are incorrect because writers have deleted or made their stories private due to AI concerns. I would assume the same goes for this year. But working off what the mods report, the top ship is

GOOD OMENS' starcrossed loves Aziraphale and Crowley.

A new entry in the top 10 is RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE's Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry Fox.

What took you lads so long??

THE REST OF THE LIST UNDER THE CUT

From 21 to 40, we get the old guard - no not the film THE OLD GUARD (tho, no love for Yusuf and Nicky?), but the stalwarts: HANNIBAL's Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter and SUPERNATURAL's Dean and Castiel.

The majority of names from 41 to 60?

From 62 to 100 there are platonic ships of the BatFamily - a mix of Jason Todd, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake.

Thank you for your service, writers.

Shippers keep shipping!

Am I suppose to care that Jamie and Cersei are siblings, cos I don't.

Look, this more touching that some ships actually do, so it's valid.