#All that said

[petulant-plants]

I feel like a see a lot of speculation about ‘the Sun King and The Lady are the real bad guys of the story’ and ‘maybe Sarcean wasn’t so bad after all’ kind of stuff…

And I think there is definitely more going on between them that makes the story less light vs dark, black vs white. But I also think that the overall story kind of plays with nature vs. nurture (or circumstance) and that in one context someone can do “evil” and in another do “good”. I don’t think it’s bad thing if Sarcean was a bad guy who did bad things, like making and using the collar, like killing all those people. Of course I believe it’s more nuanced than a black and white, light and dark, good and bad. But just because there’s nuance doesn’t mean the rolls flip and that secretly the whole time the light were the real bad guys and the dark was fighting the good fight.

I feel like if that is the case then it might neglect all the inner turmoil the characters have had to go through to try and understand their rolls in this new old world. If Sarcean maybe actually had a point and was doing the right thing, then Will’s battle with himself and his desires doesn’t mean as much because he’s not actually fighting any dark impulses

[zuiz41]

Happy Birthday to Our Dearest Setter! <3

He's 30** this year, can y'all believe that?

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

Cyberverse Novastorm

Propaganda below the cut

Look at her. God. I want her to put a cigarette out on me and shush me like that while it burns 💖💖💖

[gamebunny-advance]

Fine, I'll Talk About It

Tbh, I didn't think they were gonna do another plushie this year. Sayu met the goal last time, but despite arguably being the more popular character, she sold less than DJSS, so I thought they were getting diminishing returns on these plush. And they probably are, but I guess they think they're still worth doing, which is nice.

I'm kinda impressed by how much detail they were able to retain for the plush. We lost a lot of neck, so her necklaces kinda turned into a bib, and the coat is flat, but pretty much everything is there, even her tattoo. And it's not even more expensive than their other plush. I'm pretty surprised by the addition of hard pieces for the bracelets, you almost never see that kind of detail in Makeship plush, so I guess they're taking this one just as seriously as the others.

If the poll from a couple of years back is anything to go by, I'm thinking that this is actually gonna be the last one, or if it's not, we'll finally get B2J. I don't think there were plans for anyone else, but never say never I suppose.

[penspolin]

One thing about me is - I literally do not care how good or well-intentioned the second love interest is.

Debling could be the most upstanding guy in the Ton. He could be perfect for Pen in every way. But I will toss him aside like he is nothing. I will snarl at him for taking Pen away from her real love.

An enemy of Polin is an enemy of my heart.

[karuma-meii]

thinking about plvspw again and how (mainly aa fans) react to the final twist. like both of them are classified as "mystery" games but layton really isn't and i feel like that gives players the wrong expectation. in aa the cases are often super whacky, but you're still supposed to figure stuff out yourself and be able to come to a conclusion. and that is just plain not possible with layton.

layton is not a "mystery" in the traditional sense; it is an "anti-fantasy" (to speak in umineko terms for a bit) and everyone who expects a mystery solution will be sorely disappointed.

still i'd recommend every aa fan to play it if they haven't, it's still rlly good. just don't expect anything but a layton-esque ending.

[posletsvet]

I frequently think about how challenging it must be to write convincing antagonists. It's relatively easy to justify morally driven, righteous thinking and good-hearted actions (that is, if justification of something like this is at all needed). Pulling off solid reasoning behind uncompromising, dedicated malice is harder. I think that is because benevolence comes naturally to us -- that's what our evolution as social beings taught us to be beneficial. So more often than not villains come off as cartoonish, false and awkward with their cardboard-thin beliefs and exaggerated petty grudges. And that's why it's always exciting to see characters who are objectively horrible people but still exhibit intricately nuanced and dimensional personalities you can at some extent empathize with.

I guess that is also why I like Toji as an antagonist so much. (Yes, this is a Toji Fushiguro post,, Why do I feel like I should I be sorry?) He is essentially a case study of a deeply flawed, disrespectful and inexcusably violent character with a plethora of other gruesome traits (I mean, the anime adaptation isn't even remotely subtle about showing his nastiness) who's also... just another ordinary human being. He eats take-out food. He overspends inpulsively. He watches sport and gambles. He loves and misses his wife and settles down while he's with her. Toji has harmless basic needs like entertaining himself with a hobby in his free time and having someone to keep him company while doing so. He seems to seek simple human connection (like when he suggests that he and Shiu go eat out in some fancy place after receiving their reward). He gets genuinely amused with the job's destination which is Okinawa and expresses his confusion over the cult's representative's bigoted speech in a mundane, kind of goofy way. He's curious when something goes slightly off a pre-established course of action and asks Shiu about it. He gets nervous and tries to calm himself down by strategizing. He thinks of his family in his last moments.

I'm saying all this with no intention to condone Toji's terrible actions or make them seem more forgivable. I guess it just drives home a point for me that while he destroyed the destiny of entire Jujutsu society he was really just minding his own business by going through another job. Yes, he was in some way taking out his spite on the Jujutsu world by trampling on the 'blessed talents' of both Gojo and Geto, but there was never an emphasis put on it. Defeating two Special Grade sorcerers wasn't a prime event in his life (well, up untill he died as a consequence of it, I guess). Even if there were some strings attached to this job, Toji was in it first of all for the money.

He's mundane. The extent of his cruelty and filth is sickening. He's just like those people you could pass by in the street. He's so morally corrupt it's alienating. He's both unthinkably horrible and still just an ordinary person.

Toji is a walking representation of the duality of man, really, and I find it truly admirable how Gege tied all those conflicting traits into a coherent and convincing character.

[velveteenbard]

Overall? I’m very torn… Season one has some great moments, brilliant acting, beautiful visuals, and good music but… it feels like it’s so close and yet not quite there. The biggest issue is the pacing, which feeds into things feeling like an anticlimax. I feel like the fight with Ares (which I really enjoyed) lasted only a bit longer than Annabeth choosing sweets (hyperbole, but you know what I mean?). The sweet or chatty moments can take the length they do, fine, but only if the fights and stakes and drama also take the time they need. This is also the problem with the kids instantly knowing everything the second they enter a scene (including the prophecy twist we all knew about). There’s no slow realisation, or subtle hints for the characters and viewers to pick up on, to work it out together; there isn’t time, so the characters have to already know it all. This is absolutely not the fault of the actors or the story, just of the strange pacing and wavering stakes in the writing. If the series just *breathed* a bit, allowed the epic bits to be more, longer, bigger, and allowed the viewers to work things out over time, it’d be so good. It’s been fun to watch and keep up with, but the constant anticlimaxes have kinda been a bummer.

[enixamyram]

I once made an "Unpopular Opinion" post and a few responses were along the lines of; my opinions weren't actually that unpopular after all.

Now THIS opinion, I know is definitely gonna be unpopular. So... Be nice? XD

*Deep breath* Okay... I do not necessarily want it... But. I would be open to a redemption storyline for Valentino or the other Vee's.

HEAR ME OUT!

I personally, do believe in redemption. I believe that that, for example, people in prison should have a chance to be better and if someone truly wants to make up for the bad they have done (so long as they are doing it for unselfish reasons) then it is possible. Obviously, I do not believe everyone is capable of this and there are certain crimes that cannot be redeemed given our human lifespan is limited and I think time is an important factor in a redemption.

However, in a world like Helluva Boss where the sinners are immortal, if an evil character put in the genuine effort and time (I'm talking hundred and hundred, maybe even thousands of years)... I think it would be an interesting idea to play out. I'm not saying they should get a happy ending or anything, but the goal of a true redemption is not so you can have a better life (hence, my unselfish reasons comment earlier). It is to make up for past deeds for the sake of others.

Now, this is a very sensitive matter. So the writing would truly need to be top-notch for it to really work. I for one, would be one of the most critical of it because I am very critical of redemption storylines. I think there are a number of points that need to be hit for it to work but, in general, I think it would make an interesting thought.

Maybe even that could end up being what the Vee spinoff is about. The Vee's, the worst of the worst, trying to achieve what should be impossible for them. And raising the question, how hard does the worst person have to work before they can truly make up for all their evil?

[heyclickadee]

So, today on silly headcanons that don’t matter and would probably never apply to the batch’s situation but I like them anyway: Random thoughts on what would happen if each of the batchers had to make a cake (and had unlimited access to all of the ingredients that they’d need):

Omega: Woo!! Cake!! *makes a bunch of space chocolate (there’s space chocolate, right?) cupcakes with a few different colors of icing so that she can put them together and make it look like Ruby. Wrecker keeps walking by to help out and even sneaks her some ruby chocolate chips so it can be a ruby chocolate Ruby cupcake cake. The end result is very cute, even if Omega does have to end up having to use mantell mix to make the face (someone kept eating her cupcakes and she ran out by the time she got to the face). The kitchen, though—it’s a complete disaster by the end, and Omega had the best time making that mess*

Hunter: So…my batter’s cured solid in the mixer. Is that supposed to happen? *Okay, so, his cake looks gorgeous. He’s managed to paint a sunset on Pabu onto what looks like a three tiered cake with buttercream, and it’s got this amazing texture and impressionistic look. Unfortunately, when you cut into it, it’s just three tiers of ground up ration bars fused into a kind of concrete using burnt caramel. It tastes like sand and death.*

Echo: It’ll be perfect as long as I follow the recipe. *He looks at the recipe, sees at least five ingredients he can’t eat, and decides to make a smoothie that he can eat instead. He’s not a big fan of cake, and that’s okay. It’s a really good smoothie.*

Tech: Baking is just chemistry. What could go wrong? *Lots of things. Lots of things can go wrong. Turns out that chemistry (outside of biochem) is a bit of a blind spot for Tech, and our guy can’t just follow directions without experimenting a little. Or a lot. In the end, he does end up with something. It’s not cake, but it’s definitely something. Some might call it clam chowder in a bread bowl. Really good clam chowder in a bread bowl. Just—it’s definitely not cake.*

Crosshair: Hhmm. *Crosshair can’t be too bothered to make a cake, so he buys three boxes of space funfetti cake mix, follows the directions on the box exactly, stacks the three funfetti cakes with funfetti icing in between, and then decorates the whole thing with the icing leftover from both Hunter’s and Omega’s cakes. That said, his piping is amazing. Everyone’s afraid to eat his cake because it looks so pretty. He also ate about five of Omega’s cupcakes, but it’s okay—she kept putting them on his side of the table so that he would.*

Wrecker: YEAH! CAKE TIME, BABY!! *disappears for three days and re-emerges with this gravity defying illusion cake that looks like the Maurader flying over a rocky moon full of B-1s. The B-1s are made of tempered chocolate and full of salted caramel, he’s using at least four different flavors of cake and three different kinds of cream filling, there’s a ganache river on the moon surface, the marauder cake is actually levitating (because Star Wars), it has jets of sugar glass that actually light up coming out of the engine, AND it fires choux pastry proton bombs that actually explode with jogan fruit mousse when they hit the ground. There’s even a whole section especially made for Echo so that he can eat it. And it all tastes perfect. He ends up the designated cake guy on the rare occasions they need a cake, and he couldn’t be more delighted.*

[krakenartificer]

I just missed the pleasant, cool part of the day because I was writing a 2000-word essay on how to be a responsible citizen of a democratic society. Y'all better appreciate my sacrifice smh

[oilcolor]

so I just got diagnosed with adhd

It's not a surprise. I've been pretty much certain of this for like, ten years or so (only growing more certain when immediate family members were diagnosed), but it's... pretty vindicating to have a professional be like, 'yeah you've really, actually been struggling for reasons fairly out of your control.' I guess I'm posting about this here as a sort of sorry excuse for my progressively-worsening difficulty with drawing (in terms of frequency + how long it takes me to get through commissions). When I've said I have motivation issues, I don't mean that I've lost my passion for art or my desire to be drawing; it's more like I'm running at full speed into an invisible brick wall I could never find a way around - which, in and of itself is demotivating, but that's not really my point here. My point is that I'm really really hoping this is just some busted dopamine trickery and maybe, somewhere down the line, I'll find a medication that works for me and maybe I'll actually be able to draw more than like, three times a year? If I'm lucky. I have so many ideas I've wanted to draw so badly for so many years (I have a whole list! I write down every idea! It's pages long!), and I've been suffocating and I just desperately, desperately want this to work. Pray for me lmao

so... thank you all for all your patience and support despite it all

[solitudeandseclusion]

i first listened to taylor swift when love story (2008) came out. i didn't know she "only writes about her exes" until speak now (2010). so yeah i liked taylor lautner. i disliked john mayer. i hated jake gyllenhaal. liked harry styles. tried to listen to more calvin harris. you get the gist.

but it wasn't until blank space (2014) that i took a step back and thought about what the media has been painting her as. and then the whole kanye-kim thing happened (2016). i already loved tom hiddleston & i hoped for great things which never happened. since then, i've never cared for who she dates. i never googled joe alwyn or tried to watch his movies. i don't care for travis kelce either.

it's not because i dislike them. i love joe's contribution to her albums & that he's an introvert. it's just that we've always just heard one side of the story. the other person never gets to say much (which is fine in some cases). but i am here to listen to that one side. because she writes well & that's all i care about. i decided not to mindlessly hate or love the people she dates. that's her job. i'll just listen to her songs & her side of the story. i don't even wanna speculate about what went wrong. i will read theories but won't spread them or believe them as the whole truth.

i thought of writing this down (for myself) so i could revisit this in april because i see the joe alwyn hate train gaining traction. i refuse to hate him. and i hope the album doesn't change that. because it will again be just her side of the story.

[see-arcane]

If in your opinion Jonathan is bi who do you think among the guys would he be most possibly attracted to? Surely not Dracula!

Dracula and the Brides/Stoker's vampires in general seem to have an automatic Voluptuous 'You Find Me Attractive Despite Being Creeped Out' trick going on with them, so any spontaneous feelings of 'ooh~ vampire sexy~' throughout the novel have to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially with Dracula, considering...you know. The everything.

Regrettably, I do have to give the undead bastard some points for charisma when he's actually trying to put the effort in. Jonathan did seem genuinely interested in Old Man Dracula's storytelling even after alarm bells started ringing. But any twinges he might have felt were way too tainted with artificial attraction to count as real sparks, period.*

*Though I do think the vampires' sexy spell is only effective on those whose sexualities/preferences are open to said attraction in the first place. Dracula couldn't have left Jonathan ~all in a sea of wonders~ if he wasn't into men in general. But moving on.

As to who among the Suitors Three Jonathan might find appealing, Quincey is the best bet. They were knife buds! Violent vengeance pals! Jonathan probably spent whatever time he wasn't with Mina or sharpening the kukri getting some manfully mansome sparring time in with Mr. Morris. Much to Jack's lasting distress.

However, my money for the guy he might have had a proper 😳 reaction to doesn't even get to show up in the novel! He got cut from the main story with "Dracula's Guest," and didn't even get a name! A petty officer among soldiers coming to the rescue:

[Insert an already 👀 scene with Dracula the Wolf laying on top of Jonathan and licking his neck after saving his ass from a village of vampires here.]

The soldiers come to take him back to civilization. A trigger happy fellow pulls the trigger too soon, almost shoots Jonathan, but...

I saw one of the horsemen (soldiers by their caps and their long military cloaks) raise his carbine and take aim. A companion knocked up his arm, and I heard the ball whizz over my head.

Always felt this implied said companion was the PO. So, rescue number one.

As they drew nearer I tried to move, but was powerless, although I could see and hear all that went on around me. Two or three of the soldiers jumped from their horses and knelt beside me. One of them raised my head, and placed his hand over my heart.

“Good news, comrades!” he cried. “His heart still beats!”

2. Fellas...

Most of the soldiers start panicking, rightly suspecting vampire business. They fret about whether Jonathan might turn, but:

“There was blood on the broken marble,” another said after a pause—“the lightning never brought that there. And for him—is he safe? Look at his throat! See, comrades, the wolf has been lying on him and keeping his blood warm.”

The officer looked at my throat and replied:

“He is all right; the skin is not pierced. What does it all mean? We should never have found him but for the yelping of the wolf.”

3. Our guy the Petty Officer is covering for him from minute one. Yes, covering. There is absolutely a mark--if a near imperceptible one. (Like Lucy's 'pinprick.') And he's too blood-loss woozy for a drink not to have happened.

The soldiers are understandably still antsy. Not the PO, though.

“What became of it?” asked the man who was holding up my head, and who seemed the least panic-stricken of the party, for his hands were steady and without tremor. On his sleeve was the chevron of a petty officer.

“It went to its home,” answered the man, whose long face was pallid, and who actually shook with terror as he glanced around him fearfully. “There are graves enough there in which it may lie. Come, comrades—come quickly! Let us leave this cursed spot.”

The officer raised me to a sitting posture, as he uttered a word of command; then several men placed me upon a horse. He sprang to the saddle behind me, took me in his arms, gave the word to advance; and, turning our faces away from the cypresses, we rode away in swift, military order.

4. F-Fellas...fellas is it--

As yet my tongue refused its office, and I was perforce silent. I must have fallen asleep; for the next thing I remembered was finding myself standing up, supported by a soldier on each side of me. It was almost broad daylight, and to the north a red streak of sunlight was reflected, like a path of blood, over the waste of snow. The officer was telling the men to say nothing of what they had seen, except that they found an English stranger, guarded by a large dog.

5. Fellas is it gay to fall asleep in the arms of your rescuer while riding horseback and then waking up to hear him ordering his buddies to cover for you and say you definitely weren't getting tasted by a vampire to keep you out of trouble, asking for a friend--

“Dog! that was no dog,” cut in the man who had exhibited such fear. “I think I know a wolf when I see one.”

The young officer answered calmly: “I said a dog.”

“Dog!” reiterated the other ironically. It was evident that his courage was rising with the sun; and, pointing to me, he said, “Look at his throat. Is that the work of a dog, master?”

Instinctively I raised my hand to my throat, and as I touched it I cried out in pain. The men crowded round to look, some stooping down from their saddles; and again there came the calm voice of the young officer:

“A dog, as I said. If aught else were said we should only be laughed at.”

6. Petty Officer Be-Chill still covering for this pretty stray Englishman who clearly got vamp-snacked. For reasons.

I was then mounted behind a trooper, and we rode on into the suburbs of Munich. Here we came across a stray carriage, into which I was lifted, and it was driven off to the Quatre Saisons—the young officer accompanying me, whilst a trooper followed with his horse, and the others rode off to their barracks.

7. Nameless PO, probably: Do not worry swooning solicitor vampire bait man, I will accompany you back to your lodgings. Do you need help getting over the threshold? I could lift you again.

Fast forward to the hotel, and...Jonathan. Buddy.

The officer saluted me and was turning to withdraw, when I recognised his purpose, and insisted that he should come to my rooms. Over a glass of wine I warmly thanked him and his brave comrades for saving me. He replied simply that he was more than glad, and that Herr Delbrück had at the first taken steps to make all the searching party pleased; at which ambiguous utterance the maître d’hôtel smiled, while the officer pleaded duty and withdrew.

8. Jonathan, inviting his rescuer to his room for wine and gratitude: Thank you c:

Nameless PO: No problem. ...So is there a Mrs. Solicitor--

Herr Delbrück, mood killer extraordinaire, apparently invited himself into Jonathan's room to watch these guys drink wine together: ;) ;) ;)

Nameless PO, ducking out of the room: oh hey wow look at the time need to go do soldier things bye

Jonathan: :c ?

Oh, Nameless Petty Officer. What fun the speculation would have been if you were thrown to the Dracula Daily crowd from the start. As it stands, he exists outside of the 'official' start of Jonathan's travel journal entries, so he lives in a limbo outside the book/only in Jonathan's potential memory.

(But then, all of the above is moot anyway, as Jonathan is more Mina-romantic/Mina-sexual than anything else. Even if someone he found hot did want to take things further, Jonathan is a Mina First, Foremost, and Always kind of guy. No permission from her = No exploring his English countryside, The End.)

[spot-splatter-splash]

When I said I like We're Lalaloopsy more than the OG Id like to add an addendum to that.

I've never really had the means to watch the Nick Jr. Series (we never had cable in my house, so the only times I got to watch any Nick, Disney, or CN shows was when over at families and friends) nor did I have a lot of opportunities to watch the Webisodes coming up (We didnt have a computer in our home or internet till I was in middleschool. So I only had acess to online spaces at friends, family, and the public library.)

Because of that I realize my lack of nostalgia for the earlier series was due to the lack of ability to consume it consistently growing up. And I will admit its hypocritical of me to make a statement implying one is superior to the other when I'm not well versed on the other side of the specturm.

I based my opinion on the few movies I saw. The search for Pillow (in my opinion) was probably the worst movie to start with. When compared to the others its feels really long and repetitive. Its not a bad movie but I think that caused part of my opinion to be skewed.

I did like Lalaloopsy Ponies: The Big Show but when I came from watching Welcome to L.A.L.A Prep where the jokes landed due to the sheer pettiness of the two leads. It felt rather tame. Cute for sure! But It didn't scratch the same itch as the Girls movie and there was no nostalgia to elevate my enjoyment.

All this to say that I did get to watch So Near and Yet So Far last night on call with friends and finally understood why people liked the older series so much.

It was cute, the animation was smooth, and I liked how the character interacted with eachother. It was charming and I think after 4 years I was able to see past my intial bias.

Ideally I'd like to be able to access as much of the older series as possible to draw inspiration from. However the current hurdle now is a lot of the content seems to be lost, unlisted, or behind a paywall.

I'll keep my eye out for second hand DVDs going forward and allow myself to put my bias aside because I do love this franchise and again I want to see it revived and allowed to grow in the future.

[crowleyholmes]

Sorry I must have missed it; what did Michael say that Twitter fans misinterpreted/were rude about?

To paraphrase, he basically said he hopes for a ceasefire in the israel/palestine conflict and for compassion and safety for all innocent people on both sides.

I guess the x/sh/tw-itter radicals didn't think that was.. radical enough of him? How dare he wish for safety for everybody instead of only for palestinians, right? Is what I'm getting from the tweets and responses I've seen anyway, but I didn't dig too deep into it because I'm so secondhand ashamed of the things people are saying to him I couldn't read it all.

I just hope he knows we love him and most of us are aware he doesn't actually think genocide is a great idea.