#Dropout Media

[natp20]

i'm going to lose my mind

[brionbroadway]

everybody say thanks zac

[desire-mona]

oh no! theres an infestation of rodents in my apartment!

the humble mice trap:

[kael-writ]

The gradual degradation of Brennan's costume in Never Stop Blowing Up is a common environmental story telling trope in 80s action movies where the main character get progressively more injured but doesn't let it slow him down as he keeps fighting.

In a horror movie, these injuries would be slowing the character down, putting them in more peril, showing weakness and anguish.

In Action, it (at least) borders on comical how little injuries can matter - as Brennan showed in the hospital scene. Action is defiance of and triumph over death, it's about feeling like you're insanely tough, a badass who can defeat and overcome anyone and anything (physically).

The art and make up team here are telling a story. This is a character who exists parallel to our main story who is going through his own action journey, patching himself up when he can as he goes but bleeding through those bandages later as he rips a wound open that probably needed stitches but he doesn't have TIME to get a much needed blood transfusion, goddamnit, he's gotta get to the thing with the thing before the bad thing happens.

There's so many little interesting details unraveling in the story the make up is telling, like having one side of the body clearly have gotten exposed to an explosion. Meanwhile the cut on his left arm goes from open, to cleanly bandaged, to bleeding through the bandage. The latest episode brings us to the point in the movie where he finally just throws off the torn and bloodied dress shirt.

Which is part of action stories too, where the main character moves further and further from someone who was trying to be a Business Adult in the Real World before shit hits the fan and the battle can't be fought by a civilized man in a suit and tie, it's gonna get fuckin messy.

(as always please be mindful and respectful anytime you think about commenting on a performer's appearance).

[notesbynor]

Day 13 of drawing every D20 character: Pete Conlan!

[echosfandoms]

I just finished this most recent fantasy high episode (I'm late, I know.) and so much shit happened, but I'm such a sucker for how tracker and Kristen's relationship has evolved, I'm gonna hyper focus on that for a second. And how fucking tragic this separation truly is, and how their dynamic has changed.

They're so awkward in a way thats so realistic. And actually, I think breaking up has helped them communicate with each other more effectively. Both Kristen and Tracker call each other out on their religion bullshit, in a way that's maybe not the nicest, but is truthful. And it's so upsetting that this truly was probably the best thing for both of them.

I think what fucks me up the most though, was actually the conversation between Nara and Kristen this episode. That comment Brennan made about Naradriel being exactly like Kristen, if Kristen had money. That hit something in me and I can't quite articulate why. It could just be a comment about how Tracker has a type, or perhaps alluding to how Tracker has an unhealthy tendency to try and "fix" people, just like she's trying to do with galicea even. But there's something in there to me, of Kristen possibly having this moment of "this girl is so similar to me, whats so different about her then? Why am I not good enough, but she is? Would Tracker have stayed with me if I had x y z" and just.. the fact that some part of Tracker is still attracted to Kristen, because fucking of course. Kristen is a great person, but Kristen's also a mess. Makes you wonder if she's going to do it all over again with Nara, and what happens to wolfsong when Naras family takes away that help.

So many parallels between characters this season, it has me going feral oh my god.

[youling-the-ghost]

Guys, the ao3 team responded to my email!

(there's more but this is the really important part)

TLDR: since the longforms themselves are unrelated and ao3 no longer does tags for works from a specific creator (such as a disney fandom tag for all disney films for example), redirecting the Shoot From The Hip - Fandom tag to British Comedy RPF is the best that the tag wranglers can do. Also, Beetroots & Murder is essentially the wrangling team's trash bin for all tags that are evidentally sfth but haven't been wrangled yet.

So it seems like a sfth fandom tag isn't possible after all :( it makes sense in hindsight since the boys are just considered actors in the longforms. I know I mentioned a Shoot from the Hip - All Media Types fandom tag as a possibility, but with this explanation that's probably not possible either.

I think our current system is the best solution (tagging it as Shoot from the Hip - Fandom and using the tag filters) and of course @i-may-be-an-emu's incredible fanfiction masterlist (btw love ya buddy) is also a great resource.

But this also means that following the tagging conventions is especially important now, so please check out my ao3 tagging guide or canon sfth ao3 tag masterlist if you need help with it :]

[inkstainedhair]

[g-n-c-quoi]

alright sorry gang i gotta talk about game changer for a second (this could go on for several hours i’m far too awake to sleep much tonight)

[ribbittrobbit]

a wizard and her paramour

[avaisdramatic]

Every time online discourse starts, I can only think of the fact that like, wouldn’t everyone be happier right now if we weren’t doing this?

We could actually just move on. And I think a lot of people would have been able to avoid getting their feelings hurt. What if next time we just, like, didn’t?

——

That was just a general feeling, but this is definitely inspired by the new D20 Misfits and Magic discourse. All I’m going to say about that specifically is, I think a lot of the time, you guys overthink things, and accidentally ruin media for yourselves. That’s okay. But you don’t need to ruin it for everyone else, I think.

You don’t need to make a post saying how adamantly you don’t want to watch something, when nobody was telling you that you had to watch it. Nobody cared at all until you condemned others for enjoying it, and made it an issue of morality. People don’t like that. When you tell people they are upholding the institution of trans-misogyny just by watching an internet show, they usually don’t like it. Usually people get mad when you say things like that. Sometimes they will even disagree!! as is the nature of the internet. I think if you don’t like that happening, you probably shouldn’t make a post. Just my opinion though I guess.

Feel free to disagree, just promise me you’ll take a big, long, meditative deep breath before you reply.

[captaincleverusernamehere]

I think that Barsimmeon is so old because he uses NSBU as functional immortality, avoiding dying in the film means being unable to die in real life, and that this is an unsubtle way of saying that if we keep using physical media "we" (this generation's culture and history) can never die.

It's funny to symbolize that with an extremely old white man though. That type of person (especially in a Brennan-run D20 season) would typically be seen as a villain, or at least someone with incredibly unsympathetic and outdated ideals, however in NSBU, he's a main supporter of the ideology that surrounds the season (physical media good, digital capitalism hell bad). Though of course he's going about showing his support for this idea in a very forceful, anti-heroic way.

I'm curious to see to what extent this season ends up agreeing with Higgs/what nuance will be added by the time he explains himself and the whole season resolves.

[name-pending-i-promise]

Kinda curious how much crossover there is between fans of Cool Zone Media and Dropout. They've got similar vibes, a lot of former employees of a big 2000's comedic media company (Cracked and CollegeHumor, respectively) that fell apart and the employees just kinda started their own thing that's half company and half friend group. Both exist as companies but go out of their way to prioritize consumer satisfaction over profits. Both are very anticapitalist and left-leaning. Jamie Loftus and Vic Michaelis follow each other on Instagram.

Anyway I think they should do a crossover. Get Brennan on BtB. Get Robert Evans, Prop, and Margaret Killjoy on Game Changer.

[desire-mona]

little easter egg (that clearly many people have found before me) - that phone number on jacob's cd commercial leads straight to his voicemail recording. thanks again arcadia high!

[elfcow]

Dropout should commit to the bit and release Never Stop Blowing up on physical media. Do it, you won't

[wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos]

SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE WITH NEW ANNOUNCEMENT BY FALCON THIEVES

PIBE Fanwork Week Day 6: Social Media/Fantasy AU (Part 2)

I wanted to create so Instagram posts and then I went insane and wrote a Wikipedia article. Enjoy some more details on the Falcon Thieves, and don't forget to stream Elysian Fields!

All art by @sourscratched and all text by me!

Band AU co-creators: @fatestitcherr and @incorrect-play-it-by-ear