#I just think she’s hyper competent at everything

[woof-verine]

okay but emancipated teen laura who has her own apartment and her whole life together wayyyyy before logan and wade do

[nostalgebraist]

Honestly I'm pretty tired of supporting nostalgebraist-autoresponder. Going to wind down the project some time before the end of this year.

Posting this mainly to get the idea out there, I guess.

This project has taken an immense amount of effort from me over the years, and still does, even when it's just in maintenance mode.

Today some mysterious system update (or something) made the model no longer fit on the GPU I normally use for it, despite all the same code and settings on my end.

This exact kind of thing happened once before this year, and I eventually figured it out, but I haven't figured this one out yet. This problem consumed several hours of what was meant to be a relaxing Sunday. Based on past experience, getting to the bottom of the issue would take many more hours.

My options in the short term are to

A. spend (even) more money per unit time, by renting a more powerful GPU to do the same damn thing I know the less powerful one can do (it was doing it this morning!), or

B. silently reduce the context window length by a large amount (and thus the "smartness" of the output, to some degree) to allow the model to fit on the old GPU.

Things like this happen all the time, behind the scenes.

I don't want to be doing this for another year, much less several years. I don't want to be doing it at all.

----

In 2019 and 2020, it was fun to make a GPT-2 autoresponder bot.

[EDIT: I've seen several people misread the previous line and infer that nostalgebraist-autoresponder is still using GPT-2. She isn't, and hasn't been for a long time. Her latest model is a finetuned LLaMA-13B.]

Hardly anyone else was doing anything like it. I wasn't the most qualified person in the world to do it, and I didn't do the best possible job, but who cares? I learned a lot, and the really competent tech bros of 2019 were off doing something else.

And it was fun to watch the bot "pretend to be me" while interacting (mostly) with my actual group of tumblr mutuals.

In 2023, everyone and their grandmother is making some kind of "gen AI" app. They are helped along by a dizzying array of tools, cranked out by hyper-competent tech bros with apparently infinite reserves of free time.

There are so many of these tools and demos. Every week it seems like there are a hundred more; it feels like every day I wake up and am expected to be familiar with a hundred more vaguely nostalgebraist-autoresponder-shaped things.

And every one of them is vastly better-engineered than my own hacky efforts. They build on each other, and reap the accelerating returns.

I've tended to do everything first, ahead of the curve, in my own way. This is what I like doing. Going out into unexplored wilderness, not really knowing what I'm doing, without any maps.

Later, hundreds of others with go to the same place. They'll make maps, and share them. They'll go there again and again, learning to make the expeditions systematically. They'll make an optimized industrial process of it. Meanwhile, I'll be locked in to my own cottage-industry mode of production.

Being the first to do something means you end up eventually being the worst.

----

I had a GPT chatbot in 2019, before GPT-3 existed. I don't think Huggingface Transformers existed, either. I used the primitive tools that were available at the time, and built on them in my own way. These days, it is almost trivial to do the things I did, much better, with standardized tools.

I had a denoising diffusion image generator in 2021, before DALLE-2 or Stable Diffusion or Huggingface Diffusers. I used the primitive tools that were available at the time, and built on them in my own way. These days, it is almost trivial to do the things I did, much better, with standardized tools.

Earlier this year, I was (probably) one the first people to finetune LLaMA. I manually strapped LoRA and 8-bit quantization onto the original codebase, figuring out everything the hard way. It was fun.

Just a few months later, and your grandmother is probably running LLaMA on her toaster as we speak. My homegrown methods look hopelessly antiquated. I think everyone's doing 4-bit quantization now?

(Are they? I can't keep track anymore -- the hyper-competent tech bros are too damn fast. A few months from now the thing will be probably be quantized to -1 bits, somehow. It'll be running in your phone's browser. And it'll be using RLHF, except no, it'll be using some successor to RLHF that everyone's hyping up at the time...)

"You have a GPT chatbot?" someone will ask me. "I assume you're using AutoLangGPTLayerPrompt?"

No, no, I'm not. I'm trying to debug obscure CUDA issues on a Sunday so my bot can carry on talking to a thousand strangers, every one of whom is asking it something like "PENIS PENIS PENIS."

Only I am capable of unplugging the blockage and giving the "PENIS PENIS PENIS" askers the responses they crave. ("Which is ... what, exactly?", one might justly wonder.) No one else would fully understand the nature of the bug. It is special to my own bizarre, antiquated, homegrown system.

I must have one of the longest-running GPT chatbots in existence, by now. Possibly the longest-running one?

I like doing new things. I like hacking through uncharted wilderness. The world of GPT chatbots has long since ceased to provide this kind of value to me.

I want to cede this ground to the LLaMA techbros and the prompt engineers. It is not my wilderness anymore.

I miss wilderness. Maybe I will find a new patch of it, in some new place, that no one cares about yet.

----

Even in 2023, there isn't really anything else out there quite like Frank. But there could be.

If you want to develop some sort of Frank-like thing, there has never been a better time than now. Everyone and their grandmother is doing it.

"But -- but how, exactly?"

Don't ask me. I don't know. This isn't my area anymore.

There has never been a better time to make a GPT chatbot -- for everyone except me, that is.

Ask the techbros, the prompt engineers, the grandmas running OpenChatGPT on their ironing boards. They are doing what I did, faster and easier and better, in their sleep. Ask them.

[cuephrase]

Of the DC comics you've read so far, what would be your top recommendations for people to check out/what have you enjoyed the most?

when i tell you i have been thinking about this all day- i have been thinking about this. all. day.

so disclaimer, as of writing this, i have only read 31 runs from start to finish and 18 arcs/events outside of those runs. on top of, everything i've read so far has been strictly robin-centric, so dick, jason, tim, and damian. (i have read all of steph's robin appearances lol, but i haven't gotten to reading material for her, like say batgirl 2009, yet.) i've also decided not to rec from any run i'm currently reading, so for example, you won't see any batman: gotham knights recs here. because i'm most well-read on the robins, i'm only going to rec for them.

also, i'm going to operate under the following assumption: you've got a basic knowledge of the robins. none of these are where i would necessarily recommend anyone start reading about the boys, but i do think they'd be pretty interesting if you're already somewhat familiar with them and don't want to commit to reading whole character backlogs. does that make sense? i hope that makes sense.

alright, let's do this!

DICK GRAYSON

oh god. this one is actually so hard because he has so much great stuff, but then also i have like a love/frustrate relationship with so much of it. like for instance, i really enjoyed The New Teen Titans, but also lowkey can't stand space adventures so whenever that went down i was like 😀👍. but okay. hmmmm.

i have two preboot recs, with explanations + caveats.

devin grayson's mob!dick arc, so Nightwing 1996 #99-100, 107-117. caveats: it doesn't really get to finish playing out/wraps up weird because of editorial changes/infinite crisis. but!! it's a super interesting look at how dick handles...failure. how he values himself in light of that failure.

tomasi's run, but specifically #147-153. (listen, i love the dick and tim moments in 'freefall' but the whole eternally pregnant lady thing was too weird.) this is classic, hyper-competent dick, okay? he's such a bad-ass. and an idiot- bro literally flops his severely injured ass over the bars of his glider and rides it UNCONSCIOUS back to the batcave. i can't with him. poor alfred. anyways, he deals with two-face, always a good time. and then at the end, as a treat, he cries because bruce is dead. so fun!! what was my caveat here? oh yeah, he has a girlfriend. i don't remember her name, she serves like...very little purpose, the whole relationship is very minor/background okay, but like it was so unnecessary. he can be single, dc, it's okay.

for post re-boot, just read tom taylor's run!! it's the best thing ever!! zero complaints!!

HA. yeah, just kidding. that run is very like/frustrate for me lol. oh man i'm struggling here. it's not all bad okay, i'm just really picky, and i haven't re-read any nightwing n52 and onwards since my first foray into comics (8 months ago) so my memories of these are the foggiest and i'm not sure how i feel about all of it in light of what i've read now. yk what, i'm just going to...not rec anything. sorry!!

JASON TODD

his comics either go so hard or they're absolute ass, why is there no in between. istg, i can't figure out why writers struggle with him so much?? well. i mean, i do have theories. but you didn't ask for those!

pre-boot:

detective comics #569-574. robin!jason in the hands of writers who like him is so much fun. which, don't get me wrong, i don't flat-out hate how starlin writes him, but i think you get a more well-rounded view of jason as robin when you also see him in 'tec. jason and bruce tangle with the joker, scarecrow, + mad hatter, and all of those adventures are...idk if they were intentional foreshadowing okay, but reading those and knowing where the story goes? oof. especialllllly #574. caveat: #572 is pretty light on jason, but he is great when he's on panel!

reboot:

probably a very basic answer but rhato rebirth (2016) #1-13, annual #1. i abhorred n52 rhato so i almost skipped rhato rebirth since it was still written by lobdell, but i'm really glad i didn't. i really enjoy jason's relationship with bizarro + artemis, but especially with bizarro because i think jason struggles a lot with feeling like a doomed creation, so yk, parallels. i want to say more but i know i'll get too wrapped up in discussing jason so i'm just going to stop myself.

i actually really enjoyed task force z, too. i think about tfz #8 so much, jason is such a manipulative little shit and i love it. he's so- i can't. i can't get into this rn, it deserves its own post(s).

overall for jay, i need people to read something other than utrh/lost days/b:ul 1-6. i love those, i do, but they aren't the only good pieces of jason content!!

TIM DRAKE

MY BELOVED!!!!!!!!!! in my heart of hearts, i just want to rec his whole robin run lmao. dick was my intro, okay, he is why i decided to start reading comics, but tim, specifically his robin solo is why i'm still reading comics. hooked me fr. and young justice 1998, ugh love. but it has been a minute since i read these as well, so hmm. okay okay okay

pre-boot:

batman: prodigal. short version, tim is robin to dick's batman. super fun. there's a solid amount of dick and bruce angsting too, which, love. tim is honestly just thrilled that jpv is out of the batsuit and even happier to working with dick. very cute.

robin #46. listen. they're all superheroes okay, they all feel pressure to save people. but tim...losses get to him. the amount of times that he gets shoved to a breaking point and then...gets back up. keeps going. *screams*. anyways!! this is not tim getting back up, okay? this is him being shoved way, way down. it's so good.

teen titans 2003 #20. tim's dad has died. he shows up for his weekend at the tower anyways. he is not okay. that's it, that's the pitch. i did not like...mmm at least 80% of this run okay, but a few of the issues HIT and this was one imo.

reboot:

*deep sigh*. look. tim is not tim for like basically all of n52, although there are moments here and there were he feels like himself. i did not like his 2023 solo, the best parts of young justice 2019 imo are the character designs, (except for his drake costume, what was that omg), and i haven't read any rebirth batman/'tec yet. except for zdarsky's run. which. tim is good there! but yeah, not really a whole lot of material to work with + very limited reading experience atm.

DAMIAN WAYNE

god, i love this kid. nature vs. nurture fascinates me, and so much of his story digs into that on top of trying to figure out who he is apart from all of that. i will say, i'm not a huge talia fan and by that i mean, i have no idea who she is "supposed" to be, like i have no frame of reference for that atm, so if you are a huge talia fan these recs might not hit for you because from what i've observed from her fans she is not well portrayed a whole lot since becoming his mother? i think one of the things that is normal is dick absolutely disliking her though, which cracks me up. there's this older batman story (batman #322-335) where bruce works with talia and dick goes running to selina and i was so entertained. what were we talking about? oh! damian!

preboot:

batman and robin 2009 #10-12. damian is struggling, with a lot of things. the fact that bruce might be alive, what that means for him and dick, and his mother's puppeteering. there's this line that kills me: "can't you just love me for who i am? not what you want me to be?" and the thing that gets me, is the use of who vs. what. because he could have said, "not who you want me to be", but he doesn't

reboot:

batman: shadow war. this is post-alfred's death, and honestly, most damian stuff post city of bane is pretty juicy, but there's this specific moment in shadow war: alpha #1 that had me speechless. just like 😧 i love bruce, but that man has some of the most chronic foot-in-mouth disease. oh but fair warning, for whatever reason they don't draw dami's mask connecting?? it's so- it drives me nuts.

JUST FOR FUN

these are just two issues that i enjoy for the brother content!

nightwing 1996 #25. dick and tim's relationship makes me ILL. *ahem*. this issue is mostly just super cute and fun, (there's like 0.2 seconds of angst when tim asks dick if he ever thinks about jason 😭) and i adore it sm. fun fact, it's actually one of the first comics i ever bought!

batman 2016 #16. unfortunately, tim is not here for this, but duke is! jason and damian's interactions in the background of bruce's Very Serious Speech are excellent. bruce is so dramatic and his kids are so unserious.

what i've most enjoyed

i've enjoyed the majority of what i've read, even titles/events i wasn't particularly looking forward to but had on my tbr for whichever character. i'm going to break down most enjoyed into two catergories, arcs that i loved top to bottom and then the guilty pleasures. this is not an exhaustive list, just what immediately came to mind.

top to bottom

bruce wayne: murderer?/fugitive. shocker, ik. but it's just, it's just so frickin good. i've said before, and i'll say it again, gotham war could NEVER. this right here is peak batfamily drama. the tension? the mystery? the angst? i knew nothing going into this okay, and truth be told, when i started it i was like "oh joy. another event." because i was just trying to read the 1996 nightwing run, but i'd committed to reading in full all the events it crossed over with. but i was invested so quickly. and like, i loved how the narrative supported the possibility that bruce was the murderer, because like, you know there's no way, but the more that comes out the more damning it is, and so you're like really dying to know what actually happened and i feel like the reveal was satisfying.

batman: city of bane. i'm going to cautiously put this here, because there might have been something i didn't like but i cannot recall it for the life of me right now. something about me is i love when the heroes lose. infinity war, empire strikes back? love. and ik bruce takes back gotham, but they lose alfred, okay, they lost. i also didn't expect to like this arc, i decided to read it because i wanted to know how alfred died. and first of all, i was shocked, even though i knew it was coming because i expected it to like happen towards the end. but nope. just *snap*. and then later when bruce is back in the manor and is confronted with alfred's body and his good-bye message? oh. my. god. i was bawling. despite my penchant for sad narratives, i don't tend to cry that much, but this got to me so bad. like i had to pause because i couldn't see. amazing.

red robin. his cowl is so ugly, but i really do love the run. i see a lot of discourse about it and also a lot of...interesting fanfic takes, so i don't really talk about it a lot here because it feels like most people are kind of tired of hearing about this run, which fair. i really enjoyed it as a sequel to his solo robin run. tbh, i almost put this in the guilty pleasure catergory, because there are a couple things i don't totally love, but like if the others are 10/10, this is 9/10.

young justice 1998. i love this comic so, so much. i don't even know what to say, i get so overwhelmed with joy when i think about this comic. nothing has hit the same way with this group since either, which is a crime. i need a title with this team so badly.

guilty pleasures

these are all runs/events i know some/most? people cannot stand and i totally get why, and i have problems with them, so i'm probably never going to rec them in good conscience but also like i can't lie and say i don't like them. these are not recs, okay? okay.

robin war. is it a hot mess? yes. but there is not a whole lot of canon content out there with all the boys working together, okay? so much of that event had me banging my head into a wall, but for me, there were a handful of pearls in there. i mean honestly, if i listed out pros and cons the cons list would be way longer but those pros are very precious to me.

batman and robin: eternal. very similar reasoning overall to robin war. plus cass finally came back!! i missed her. i love robin!dick and batman content, and the kids working together. this is probably my least favorite guilty pleasure though, okay, it's on thin ice.

grayson. listen, i love janin's art sm. i'm pretty neutral about spy stuff, so like i don't engage with it a whole lot. meaning, although i've heard it's tropey af in regards to the genre, i'm not familiar enough with the genre to be like trying to dig my eyeballs out with blunt spoons at the cliche of it all. the constant sexualization of dick got old super fast, and her name may have been helena but she wasn't- my list of dislikes is lengthy. but idk, i had fun with it. and imo it does have some genuinely great moments, i love dick in the desert with the baby, the ache i felt when dick wanted to come home and couldn't get ahold of bruce, issue #12 stabs me in the heart- the dick and dami reunion? stoppppp. i feel like this run and the ric grayson era are dick's most out there lmao

so yeah!! thank you so much for this ask, i had sm fun answering it. if you have any recs for me, feel free to drop them :)

[living-dead-author]

Heel worship with Amanda, Jill, Tiffany, and Baby

This has been on my list of things to write for a hot minute and right now I want to write about Saw characters so this is what I'm doing. I'm trying to make it a daily thing where I put some effort into writing something, but I'll have to see how that goes.

18+ ahead, minors and ageless blogs dni, you will be blocked

Content includes: Heel worship, reader kissing characters high heels, praise, dom/sub relationships, sub reader, GN reader, collar and leash mentions, slight degradation, humiliation if you squint

Amanda Young

Amanda has to compete in a very male dominated field when it comes to her apprentice work. Hoffman is annoying as hell, John can be a bit demanding, and Lawrence isn't always the easiest to work with. Amanda needs an outlet, and you gave her the perfect one.

Amanda loves being the dominant when you two are in a scene together. She loves having control and being able to tell you what to do and you do it without question. Seeing you on your hands and knees for her, waiting on her hand and foot is better than sex in her opinion.

So when she's naturally a very dominant woman, and you're her submissive, the topic of heel worship comes up pretty quickly. She goes out and gets herself a nice pair just for this. She loves how she can give you a command and you'll do it.

She wants you to kiss her heels, you'll bend down on the ground and kiss her heels. She wants you to clean her heels, you'll clean her heels. She wants you to walk at her feet like a dog, you'll do it. Maybe she should even get you a collar and leash for being so obedient like dog.

She adores the scenes you two do together involving heel worship. Seeing you so eager to do somethings as degrading as kissing her heels gets her so horny. She loves her submissive to death.

Jill Tuck

After her marriage to John, Jill is a woman who doesn't take shit from anyone. It'd be a shame if she did considering she's trying to help people at her clinic and also stay on her toes with John's jigsaw work. Which is why she likes to have a partner who follows her lead.

I don't think Jill is very kinky in the bedroom, she prefers to have standard, vanilla sex, which there's nothing wrong with at all. But I feel like she'd also be open to exploring different things with you.

So when you suggested you try heel worship she was curious. At first she was confused as to why you'd want to 'degrade' yourself by kissing a pair of her high heels and well, just worshiping them in general.

But she gives it a try just for you and it turns out that she really likes it. It's a wonderful change of pace for her to have someone worshiping something as simple as the shoes she's wearing. If you choose to praise her and speak to her like she's a goddess among humans that just adds to her arousal.

I can see Jill using your heel worship as a sort of foreplay, getting her really in the mood, or if she doesn't have the energy for sex she can just pleasure herself while you literally and figuratively kiss the ground she walks on.

Tiffany Valentine

Tiffany is a very hyper feminine woman with that gothic flare to her. It's also pretty clear that she's into some kinky things in the bedroom. While she doesn't mind being dominant or submissive, I feel like she prefers to be the one with the control of the situation.

So when you first suggest the idea of heel worship to Tiffany she's very happy to try, very quickly. Now before you do any kind of scene together she's going to brief you on safe words, limits, what's allowed, everything important to know for a kink scene.

Tiffany has many pairs of heels to choose from when it gets to your scene, so why not worship them all? Tiffany would send you out of her trailer for a couple hours while she got ready, then you'd come back and she'll be sitting on the side of her bed, waiting for you to pick the first pair of heels you'll be worshiping on her.

Obsession is a big part of your relationship. Obsession and dedication are huge for Tiffany and seeing you down on your hands and knees, worshiping her like this, you're in for a whole lot of loving.

I feel like Tiffany would have this sort of back handed praise for you that she uses in a way to also prop up how much power she has over you. "You're so good at serving your superior honey" "I'm very pleased with how well you know where your place is"

Baby Firefly

I don't see baby being a submissive woman, she loves having control over whoever she's playing with and her partner is no exception. I can also see her being well versed in kink knowledge, just considering how the Firefly family is as a whole.

So when you bring up heel worship Baby's first reaction is to laugh and tease you about it. You really want to degrade yourself by kissing her high heels? Are you really that pathetic?

But that's not to say she doesn't like the idea. Oh no, she loves the idea. She wants to do it with you as soon as possible. Getting herself comfortable while you wait on the floor for her permission to start kissing her heels.

She could go either way with praise or degradation depending on your preference. She can have her entire attention on you while you worship her, or she can focus on the TV or filing her nails, whatever you want in your scene together.

Also because of the various outfits we see Baby in, I feel like she has a good amount of costumes for the two of you to share if you want to dress up for your scene, again, it's whatever you want.

[warriororb5]

Ok now that I’ve had some time to think about it;

Everything I liked and disliked about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga:

Likes:

- That they tied in the one good thing from the comic, being Furiosa’s peach stone.

- Same goes for adding Scabrous from the game.

- Max’s cameo in his own franchise.

- Seeing the Green Place.

- Seeing Gastown.

- That even Joe of all people immediately clocked that the girl with Dementus was absolutely not willingly with him at all. (Takes one to know one I guess.)

- Seeing the Citadel not take Dementus seriously at all at first, basically the whole scene where they have his gang pick a random warboy to show him exactly how much he fucked up by picking a fight.

- All of the air fight stuff with the parasailing bikers.

- That Dementus and Octoboss both have their own version of Joe’s icon.

- That the warlords and Joe’s sons canonically hang out together at the Citadel.

- The shitty 3 wheeled car.

#1 - Praetorian Jack 🥰

Dislikes:

- That Peeps and Bullet Farmer weren’t at their towns at all the whole movie, especially when they tell Farmer to go get everything ready and he’s still at the Citadel afterwards. It makes it feel like the only reason they’re not at their towns is that they need them to survive to Fury Road and needed an easy reason Dementus didn’t kill them when he took over both times.

- How disappointing the Bullet Farm ended up looking.

- That we only get to see the Green Place for like 2 minutes (mostly only the outskirts of it) and other than establishing that Valkyrie and Furiosa were friends we get absolutely no other connections for Furiosa herself in her community.

- We got so little canon backstory for Furiosa other than the exact amount of days it took for her mother to die and they didn’t do anything with that, I personally looked over at my friend sitting next to me and held up two fingers on the morning of the second day thinking they were going to build suspense because the audience started the movie with that knowledge but no, they don’t make it clear how much time is passing.

- Furiosa mostly being hyper competent as a kid except for following her mom’s instructions to go the fuck home and walking straight into the enemy camp where she’s being killed.

- That Furiosa seems to have spent almost no time in the vault (possibly only one day?) before escaping and becoming part of the cog fodder then mechanic crew. That it doesn’t even seem like anyone bothered looking for her. That the only wives we see from this movie seem to be with Joe willingly, desperate to stay wives rather than be abandoned or demoted to milkers. Which I guess highlights their parallel to the warboys better, being brainwashed cogs in Joe’s machine. But the whole “everyone but Furiosa being cool with being in sexual slavery” gave me rancid vibes. It just seemed like a bizarre choice given how desperate the wives were to get away in Fury Road.

- Having basically everything terrible done to Furiosa in her backstory be done by Dementus rather than Joe. By the end of the movie it literally had me questioning why she even personally hated Joe as much as she did in Fury Road to even motivate the original “Remember Me”. Like don’t get me wrong, he’s still a warlord running a cult that dehumanizes everyone in it down to what they can do for him but why does Furiosa the titular protagonist hate him personally? He got her away from the man who originally stole her and killed her mother (for obviously selfish reasons by essentially bargaining for her like an object) and offered her what he and at least some of the other wives at this time considered a “”good”” future with him. After she (nearly instantly) escaped she became a Praetornian and then openly presented as a woman which Joe seems to not give a shit about at this point. And that’s kind of it. She shows up to tell Joe about Dementus’ trick which he believes and acts on. She steals his son’s car and gets Dementus herself which not only seems to have incited no punishment but he also lets her do that stupid tree thing to him. They gutted all of the implied horrors that Joe might have committed towards her to give the lesser villain from this movie more teeth and if taken as canon actively lessens Fury Road as a story.

- They didn’t even have her bond with any of the wives from this movie. . .

- Seriously guys, outside our protagonist there are basically no named women in this movie besides like her dead mom and that one biker who had the cool facial scaring, I’m not sure if she had a name in the movie so benefit of the doubt here. And I guess kid!Valkyrie for 20 seconds.

1# The stupid tree thing. Why. The actual fuck. Would Furiosa plant her peach stone in the Citadel before she knew she was going to stay there???? If she still planned to escape back home, and she did as we see 30 seconds after she gets the first peach from the tree, then why would she have planted that fucking tree in the first place with the expectation of abandoning it??? Also, just stupid. I go into a Mad Max movie with the intention of accepting everything. My willing suspension of disbelief for this franchise is so willing guys. But this is probably, hands down, one of the worst makes absolutely no sense endings in the franchise aside from Max “saving” those kids in the oasis with fresh water by leading them to the abandoned city for some reason in Thunderdome.

[c-is-for-circinate]

MCU Rewatch #2: IRON MAN 2 (2010)

General impressions: Kind of a hot mess but fun though?

This movie did not suck and I did not hate watching it. Still, kind of a mess in places for reasons that weren't entirely its fault.

I think maybe the single biggest thing that fucked this film over is the difficulty of making a movie about the evils of the military-industrial complex while taking money from the US military. It worked in the first Iron Man, because Tony started that movie as such a complete unwitting villain of an international arms dealer that moving away from that at all was clear heroic improvement. Here, we've already achieved that -- so how do we continue on the path without undercutting ourself?

The main question this movie asks is whether I'd prefer this hyper-capable superweapon suit be in the possession of the US Military at large, or one libertarian billionaire with the self-preservation and thrill-seeking tendencies of a Kennedy. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is a vehement NO PLEASE, and that's not really an option. So we're left with questions that get brought up (who can we trust with this technology, and why?), and no good answers, because the movie got them big US Armed Forces millions and therefore can't just say 'nobody'.

The Hero: Well, Tony Stark remains the single best thing about this film, so there's that at least.

There's a great line of continuity here with the first movie. We've already seen that Tony is over-the-top, prone to too far and too fast and too much. In the original movie, we get to see that channeled towards trying to improve the world -- but now that the goal isn't as clear as "stop these specific guys from destroying this one specific town" or "don't die", there's really nowhere to point it. Add on the fact that he's dying, and Tony is a powderkeg of disastrous impulses and flashy self-destruction. It makes sense. It's hard to watch sometimes, but it's also fun to watch, in a cool movie explosions sort of way, and it manages to resolve messily enough to feel earned but also hopeful. RDJ does a great job with Tony's over-the-top disaster self, but also his quieter moments, especially watching back video of his dad. It's good acting for a film with this many explosions.

The Villain: Painfully forgettable, unfortunately.

Look, it's not like 'son of a guy who worked with Howard Stark, working to ensure his father's legacy' doesn't have potential here. There's room for Tony to see himself in both Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer. It's just never actually realized. We don't get to delve into comparing the complexities of fathers' legacies, and neither of these two people really have anything to do with the true conflict of this movie, IE Tony vs himself.

Tony himself is sort of the other villain of this movie, with his self-sabotage and his desperation. The emotional conflict here has nothing to do with the actual bad guys and everything to do with him. Unfortunately, in a superhero movie, while IM2 gets points for having that level of internal conflict it really is important for the external conflict to reflect those themes back, which it Does Not.

The Ensemble: Unfortunately underused, except for Rhodey.

Sadly, Pepper got shafted here. Most of her attempts to help went weird (WHY are you charging onto the racetrack like that, what is even happening), and there was a little more shrieking and running than I'd hope/expect from the lady who found and then accompanied the SHIELD guys so skillfully in IM1. For someone who's been promoted to Fortune 500 CEO, you'd think she'd be more...active? competent? Sigh. Still, Pepper's always fun.

Natasha felt weird after a decade of knowing her through other things. Scarlett Johanssen was about 25 when this was filmed and she looks like a baby. I don't know how to square that with Natalia Romanova, Red Room veteran and SHIELD convert who changed sides long enough ago that she's respected and trusted in the organization by now.

Rhodey though...it's interesting. I think it's very clear that Rhodey loves Tony, and is doing his best to be the best friend he can to him. I just don't think that Rhodey, fundamentally, is a very good friend for him. He's a colonel who works in weapons development. He is always, always, no matter what, going to have those priorities and exigencies pulling on him. He values what the US Military stands for. And that's a complicated and in many ways deeply unfortunate perspective for Tony to be dealing with, in these circumstances.

The Plot: Oh no, Iron Man 2. Oh no.

Look I'm not saying it doesn't, for the most part, work. There's just a lot of Applied Phlebotinum in this one. Tony synthesized a new element in his basement based on a secret his dad built into a model city in the 1950s? Like, just sit with that one for two seconds and then tell me hey what the fuck. (I do not think these filmmakers know how the periodic table works.)

Like, the actual events stacked up more or less ok, but because the villains were boring and detached from the actual emotional core of the movie, they just kind of...hung there. It didn't hold together well, unfortunately, although I am sure there's worse to come.

The Franchise: Well, this didn't kill the MCU, so there's that.

I need to write that post about the promises made by IM1, but the two biggest things that this movie attempts to follow up on are the consequences of a world with open superhero identities, and the problems with the military-industrial complex. I already talked about how the failed attempt to deal with that second theme is the root of a lot of this movie's issues, but I think the open superhero identities thing is one of the movie's big strengths.

We get to see a lot of fallout from Tony coming out as Iron Man! There's no superhero secret identity hunt; there are Congressional committees, and there's federal agents setting spies and putting him on house arrest, and there are real-world copycats. Rather than these things all being Tony's Problem Alone, these impacts feel very tied into the entire world. There's no weird isolation of Superhero Problems. Venko is Tony's problem because he's trying to kill Tony specifically, and using tech only Tony can understand to do it. I think this was well done! (I'm glad something was.)

VERDICT: A Flawed-But-Fun 5/10

I don't think this counts as an objectively good movie, but I think it was a fine popcorn flick. (And I know it gets worse. Of course it does.) 50% seems just about right.

[dramioneasks]

Can u please recommend some full length rom-com style dramione

Random recs:

Benefits By: artemisgirl - M, one-shot - “I’m trying to make a case for why she should marry me,” Draco told him, scowling as Harry started laughing. “If I want an upgrade from ‘friends with benefits’ to 'husband with benefits'—” … When Draco Malfoy realizes that 'friends with benefits’ just isn’t enough anymore, he begins to strategize on how to get Hermione to commit to more.

Hot for Teacher - MotherofBulls - E, 26 chapters - Draco is a single dad trying to raise a teenager on his own. When he notices his son’s newfound interest in girls, he takes it upon himself to give him some fatherly advice. Little does he know that his son’s crush is none other than his own childhood nemesis, who has taken up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. Draco tries to juggle awkward situations, parenthood, and his own budding interest in Hermione Granger. Part 1 of “This Is Everything” series. COMPLETE!

The Bargain by Lincolepog - M, 29 chapters, Words: 102,657  - Heading back to Hogwarts for his 7th year, Draco Malfoy is given a very interesting deal from Hermione Granger; to play the role of her fake boyfriend. As time goes on, they learn to get passed their differences, but is it enough? What will it cost the two of them?

Starving by CharliPetidei - E, 5 chapters - Hermione has everything figured out. Sex is like food. Club nights are far too expensive. And men belong in the category of 'things that are more faff than they're worth'. You know, like hair straightening charms, lingerie, and mathematical integration. This is a story about food and sex, though not at the same time. Winner of best fluff, best smut, and runner-up for best use of prompt in the Dramione Fanfiction Forum's 2020 'Sounds Like Dramione' comp.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare - E, 36 chapters, Words: 199,584 - Hermione straddles the Muggle and Magical worlds as a medical researcher and Healer about to make a big discovery. Draco is an Auror assigned to protect her from forces unknown – to both of their displeasure. Features hyper-competent, fiery Hermione and lazy, yet dangerous, Draco. Slow burn.

Bad Books and Second Looks - GracefulLioness - E, 10 chapters - Hermione has not been lucky in love. When a break-up forces her to find a new flat, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot. Until she realises that she might just be falling for her new flatmate’s boyfriend. Perhaps when Ginny lends her some of her steamy romance novels, her luck will change.

You Make Me Shiver and Shake by Stargazing121 - M, 16 chapters - Draco is an artistic genius, Hermione a budding art agent. But once they start to work together, will they be able to resist the growing attraction between them? “I’m not going to take you on as an art client!” Hermione scoffed. “Why not Granger,” he said. His tone was silky, like the sound of fine cloth running through your hands. “You know there has always been something between us.” “That won’t work on me,” she answered flatly. “Ok, I admit that was pushing it.” He shrugged, “But pushing against beautiful women is what I do best Granger.” “Not that either.” “Damn it, I forgot that trying to flirt with you was like flirting with a slug. Actually, I think I’d get more luck with the slug.” “You’d make a lovely couple. You’re certainly as slippery,” Hermione said. “I can think of someone I would rather form a partnership with,” he said, his voice low and almost a whisper.

Clueless - jacemorgensterns - T, one-shot - Draco is a college student living in an apartment with his roommate Theo. He occasionally gets into trouble and always gets away with it. When his luck is threatening to turn on him Hermione comes to to the rescue and an agreement between them forms that eventually spirals out of control. A Dramione romcom AU with as many romcom tropes I could fit in from Draco’s point of view. One-shot.

Fate Has It In For Me by jigglyjelly28 - T, 39 chapters, Words: 196,573 - “Seeing as you two have driven me half-mad over these few months with your Veela heritage problem, I thought that it would be perhaps, in Pureblood politeness, that you at least give a suitable explanation of what you’ve been doing.” Draco was told he was a Veela years ago but forgot. He’s been told again and has a year to find his Mate.

Accidental Proposal - CJRed - M, 36 chapters, Words: 108,673 - Hermione finds out that she is really a Nott, and there are so many rules to being a Pureblood, too bad Draco Malfoy seems to have forgotten one of the most important rules of all! Hermione/Draco. Theo and Hermione are siblings. Ignores epilogue and off canon in some other places as well. Set in 8th year. Language, Fluff, and Lemons. Complete.

-Lisa

[crehador]

translation issues aside, the story of reverse 1999 is really surprisingly good for a gacha. i'm vibing with the characters and setting, and the STRUCTURE of the currently released chapters is just downright excellent

major spoilers for chapters 1 through 4 below the cut

introducing us to the world through regulus was such a good call for chapter one, it's all new to her just like it's all new to the player. we get a chance to learn through her eyes

another reason this works so well imo is it paints vertin, in regulus's eyes, as this hyper-competent character with her own agenda and agency (only to reveal bit by bit that she's in a much more difficult position than it may seem at first, and in so many ways is still just a hurt kid trying to right the wrongs she's seen in this world, desperate not to lose more people)

then we move on to chapter 2, where we see schneider's tragedy unfold and meet some major players like arcana. schneider's story even on its own is pretty damn good, but the way vertin acts and reacts in chapter 2 is full of perfect little hints to what kind of past trauma might have shaped her

THEN CHAPTER 3. THE TRAUMA. i loved schneider's story, but i think this is where we really dive into the meat of the overarching plot. and it is such a perfect dive

like after the events of chapter 2, it does more or less make sense that vertin is being treated for Something. right away chapter 3 gives off a bit of a foreboding feeling because vertin's in the hands of the foundation now, which we as a player knows she doesn't trust, and it's deliberately made ambiguous what she's being treated for and exactly when she'll be released

but at this point, to me at least, it still seemed... possible that she really was just being treated for damage from chapter 2

THEN THE HORRORS UNFOLD vertin's past is shown to us throughout this chapter, and bit by bit it dawns that the foundation is capable of much more heinous acts than we already expected. when we meet the ring and isabella, a feeling of dread sets in right away. because they're clearly important to vertin, but where are they in the present? it's not hard to figure out she lost them (which adds so much dimension to her reactions to everything with schneider)

when the escape plan is coming together, with those side looks at what constantine is scheming, the inevitable dread gets heavier and heavier. like even knowing exactly what would happen, that the kids would be deliberately funneled into the storm just so vertin would see them die and feel responsible because it was her plan that led them there... seeing it actually happen was still a major gut punch, very effective

vertin's naivete in this past is such a haunting thing to see as well, there are moments where the text even shines a light on "will they realize this is going TOO smoothly for them?" and no! no they do not!! because they are 12-year-old kids who haven't lost all hope in the world!!!

seeing these grand scenes unfold with chess (and later go) on the screen was visually very cool as well, imo. might feel a bit gimmicky but it's a gimmick i enjoyed

anyway so then we get to chapter 4, and by then the sense of dread surrounding the foundation has fully set in. so it's almost unsurprising (yet still HORRIFYING) when you realize holy shit the foundation is keeping vertin hostage in a medically induced coma!! treatment for trauma my ass!!!

i feel like chapter 4 was the perfect place to end this arc as well, it was like an extended prologue. a lot of the tension/excitement for me came from the realization that vertin doesn't yet have a place to belong, it's not like "manus bad, foundation good" and that's that

looking at it through the lense of arknights, it would be like if doctor didn't have rhodes island at the start. all these factions around vertin, with their own agendas, and she doesn't have her own "home" yet

we get there, at the end of chapter 4. but of course it's not perfect, the terms of her operating her own team are very conditional, and there are loads of unanswered questions for the future

but it's a nice little set-up for future events, for vertin building this team (family) of arcanists who have some measure of freedom. the tension is still there, the foundation is still scheming, and some new mysterious organization is getting ready to enter the chat...?

all in all just, imo, an excellently structured story so far. it's a shame the translation detracts so much from it, i do think some powerful moments suffered from that. but the actual story is really quite strong, and vertin and her circle are all quite captivating to me so far

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

Feral Hunter

I wrote most of this in a reblog but thought it deserved its own post as my unwieldy response took on a life of its own, which they have a tendency to do. I’ve added more to it as well so there’s some new extra ramblings on one of my favourite ideas/headcanons/theories for season 3 of The Bad Batch. 

Give me Feral Hunter. My kingdom for Feral Hunter. Completely unhinged, vengeance fueled, feral Hunter. He can go on his Joel Miller/The Mandalorian/John Wick/Liam Neeson in Taken/The Punisher arc, as a little treat.

I've been trying to figure out why I love this idea so much. I think it's because we never really see any of the Batch actually, properly unleash. Sure, they're unconventional and a bit bonkers in their approach but they're still a very well-oiled machine. When they're on a mission, they all know exactly what they're doing, what their roles are, and where their squad mates are. Even when they improvise on the fly, they all adapt fairly easily and smoothly. Everything is still all rather professional, smooth, and efficient. Like they're all operating on muscle memory, which they basically are given how many countless times I'm sure they've trained and done missions together.

Even when the Batch is fighting their way through Kamino, they still operate with that same smooth, efficient, hyper competent professionalism. Despite their unorthodox approach, there's still this sense that they're contained. Never throwing off the shackles and being completely unrestrained. The full unbridled force of their abilities and skills simmering just below the surface, waiting to be given free rein and just obliterate everything.

There's a little hint of this in the opening scene of episode 2x14 'Tipping Point', where the ARC Trooper in Echo comes out to play. But oh, how I would love to see more. From all of them, but especially Hunter. 

Look at his face. Look at that expression and all those emotions from Sergeant Stoic himself, who is usually fairly reserved and contained. Dorito Bod Bandana Space Dad on the warpath to get his ad'ika back, cutting a swathe through the Imperials, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, and taking out anything and everything that even thinks about getting in his way. Hunter goes full Space Rambo mode, ruthlessly taking out Stormtroopers, blood dripping off his vibroblade, eyes wide and deranged, as he turns into a complete animal. His half tattooed skull now completed by the blood of his enemies covering the other side of his face. For extra angst, when he finds Omega, she doesn’t recognise him. The figure standing in the smoking remains of the door to her cell looks like Hunter. Is wearing Hunter’s armour. Is holding Hunter’s vibroknife. But that’s not Hunter. That’s not her buir. Not anymore. And she’s afraid of him. We get a little hint of this at the very end of season 2 and oh ho ho, I am so ready for more. I am so ready for Hunter’s descent into vengeance, revenge and rage. Not just Hunter either, I’d love to see the rest of the Batch unleash as well.

Can you just imagine Wrecker properly unleashing? All of that strength and power finally freed as he rips limbs off Stormtroopers, snapping necks and crushing skulls with his bare hands. The crumpled, pulverised bodies of his enemies discarded behind him as he rages down corridor after corridor of whatever Imperial base they’ve infiltrated. We got a hint of how damaging Wrecker can be when his chip activated but that was chip controlled. This would just be pure Wrecker. 

We see a little more of this in Crosshair's actions and you could also argue that this is chip controlled. Or if his chip has actually been removed, then Crosshair’s actions are definitely still clouded by his Imperial mindset and blind delusion that the Empire is right. Right up until it all goes horribly wrong on Barton-4 and he finally wakes up to the reality of his nightmare. Either way, that unrestrained part of him is still there. The amount of rage and anger that must be building up and festering inside Crosshair is eventually going to explode. When he snaps like he did at the end of 'The Outpost' then there isn’t going to be an Imperial left without a blaster bolt between their eyes. When Hemlock ends up dying (he better), my bet is on Crosshair taking him out and getting revenge. And it won't be pretty. He'd shoot him execution style at the very least. 

I'd love to see Tech (shut up he's alive) completely lose it and finally snap off every ounce of his carefully crafted control. I've written about this before but Tech's combat is exceptionally efficient and precise. He only ever uses the minimum number of shots or moves to take out an enemy because he doesn't need to expend anything beyond what is necessary. Complete economy of form. His combat style is very contained, almost like a mirror of his personality and character. Can you just imagine him snarling and growling like a beast, teeth bared, eyes dark, face distorted in rage, as he slams a Stormtrooper's head into a control panel desk with enough force to crack their helmet and shatter their visor. 

I mentioned above that we've seen a tiny bit of this slightly unhinged quality from Echo. There's another little hint of it when they're all in that training simulation on Kamino.

This gifset from @starqueensthings shows this perfectly, especially the above gif. I love the line they wrote at the top of their post as well, which I'm going to quote in part here: "I’d like to introduce my scomp arm TO YOUR JUGULAR WIRE." This perfectly encapsulates the unhinged quality lurking in Echo. He just leaps onto the back of what looks like the Kaminoan version of a B2 super battle droid and then proceeds to flail and stab madly before plunging his scomp arm into the battle droid's chest and ripping out the droid version of its jugular. Absolutely unhinged behaviour. The absolute madlad.

Now picture Echo finally snapping and doing this to a bunch of Imperials and just absolutely annihilating them. There is so much in him that is screaming to be let out. The general batshittery that comes with being an ARC Trooper. The insanity and chaos of coming from the 501st and Torrent Company. The unconventional, yeet-the-reg-manual-out-the-airlock, bonkers existence of The Bad Batch. Plus all that trauma, fury and rage of what has happened to him, what was done to him, and everything that he’s seen, experienced, endured, suffered, and survived. When the last few frayed threads holding Echo back finally snap he is going to go completely postal.

Is it healthy? No. Is it "good"? Probably not. But my god, would I love to see it.

The Clone Wars has a history of tackling and portraying difficult, multilayered and nuanced topics and we've seen that in The Bad Batch as well. More recent Star Wars series, such as Andor and The Mandalorian, have also had a real interest in showing the murky areas that exist between the good (Republic) and the bad (Imperial). There's been a particular focus on showing that there's a lot more grey than we think, rather than the pure dichotomy between cliched black and white. That sometimes there is no right or wrong decision. That sometimes everything is awful and everyone is stuck in a shitty situation from which there is no way to escape unscathed. In order to make it out alive, lines are going to be crossed. The battle of good vs evil takes on a new edge and the line between good and bad gets very murky.

That quote about how “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” comes to mind. In this instance, the Batch are still fighting tooth and nail for each other but their sacrifices and actions are starting to take them to much darker places. It’s a classic example of good people being driven to do bad, awful, terrible things when those they love are in danger and they will do whatever it takes to save them.  

The whole 'deeply flawed parental figure seeking vengeance' is a popular trope at the moment as well so Feral Hunter would make sense narratively for a number of reasons.

Will we actually get it? Probably not. And even if we do, it'll probably still be a watered-down kid friendly version.

But oh, just imagine if we did.

[mymanyfandomramblings]

I was just thinking about Steven Universe, and I was joking about how in Beach City the dads are all mostly used for comedy (except for Greg bc he's a major character, but even he's occasionally used for jokes), meanwhile the mothers could kill a man, when I realised about how well Steven Universe, even with the background characters, deconstruct the 'bumbling dad/hypercompetent mother' tropes.

It's pretty common in TV shows to have absolutely terrible dad characters, who can range from mildly incompetent to straight-up abusive, and it's extremely unusual to see a show where the father is the more competent parent than the mother. Steven Universe, however, shakes up the normal dynamic. At first Greg is everything you'd expect from your bumbling sitcom dad: he looks like a bit of a slob, he's a hoarder, he's far less attractive than Rose, the Gems don't think very highly of him, and he works a rather unimpressive career, having failed to achieve his dreams. But Greg goes on to prove himself not only as a competent parent to Steven, but probably the most competent of any of Steven's parental figures (and we all know if Rose had been able to live, she would hardly have been a wonderful parent either). This is not, however, to say that Greg is perfect--far from it, he has plenty of faults, but no more so than any other character. The point is: Greg may have the outward trappings of a bumbling dad, but subverts the trope instead, by being a responsible, caring and genuinely good parent.

The show also deconstructs the 'bumbling dad's' sister trope--the badass mama bear who is incredibly competent at running their family, and is involved with their children's lives. The mothers we see around Beach City--Barb Miller, Priyanka Maheswaran and Vidalia (as well as the Crystal Gems, who are Steven's maternal figures) all pretty much fit this trope, although certain of them fulfil certain parts of the description better than others. However, the show does display that none of them are perfect parents. Barb would clearly die and/or kill for Sadie and would love to be a part of her daughter's life, but there's multiple episodes dedicated to showing how stifled Sadie feels by her mother's enthusiasm and desire to be involved in her life. Dr. Maheswaran is incredibly competent but is also hyper-controlling of Connie, leading to a breakdown in their relationship. Vidalia is clearly a cool mum who supports all her children's ambitions--which would be great, if one of her children wasn't Onion, who would probably benefit more from discipline, rather than just affirmation of his behaviour--which ranges from minor crime to full-scale mayhem. And this isn't even starting on discussing the Gems and their failures when it comes to their parenting.

I just think it's really intriguing how Steven Universe plays with and subverts the classic tropes when it comes to parents and the roles and expectations of each parent. It's another example of why the show is so good at deconstructing classic character archetypes and tropes.

[theworldvsyoshiko]

And two bits of analysis on how things with Harriet played out:

1) The format

Children Only Ideology is fun, at least if you allow up to 18 years old. (Cutting off earlier than that will kill your research fast.) One thing I hadn't thought about, though: Combat Extended largely gets rid of Rimworld's default behavior, where enemies have a chance to die when they're incapacitated, scaling based on your colony size. Which is to say, the bigger your colony is, the more likely enemies are to instantly die once they're downed, to stop you from growing forever by recruiting enemies.

In CE, enemies die, you know. Based on their injuries. Which is more realistic and overall less infuriating, but if you're playing any kind of 'I have to take in everybody under 18' arrangement it, uh. Causes you to end up with 14 people in your colony. Frankly I kinda cheated once or twice later on by not trying very hard to save enemy teenagers, or else it might've hit 20. That's a number I find pretty unwieldy, and it's way too many for talking about on a blog.

Even without that, though, it was getting into some of the stuff I struggled with on Yoshiko. Taking in every kid you get and banishing them once they're old means that you'll have an ever-rotating cast. I think it's more fun when there's a relatively small and stable group of core characters, though. The focus on individual characters is part of why I usually find Rimworld more fun to talk about than Dwarf Fortress, and having tons of people dilutes that.

There's really no perfect balance. If recruitment is entirely open, you're free to optimize to having a big group of hyper-competent colonists who trivialize most things. If recruitment is restricted too much, you'll struggle to keep up with raid sizes unless you really min/max for it. If there's forced recruitment, you can end up with half a dozen people who mill about the colony all day, not doing much. I think the happiest I've been with it was on Karina, where she could get as many colonists as she wanted to, but each one had to be raised from birth.

2) Combat Extended

I experimented with CE a bit before committing to this run, but this was still my big learning experience with it. Overall, I was a lot happier with it than I expected going in. It doesn't complicate things that much, it's compatible with a lot more mods than you'd expect, and it really does improve on vanilla Rimworld combat a lot.

Which, as I alluded to in my previous post, is partially a problem for this kind of format. Being able to build a fortress and then relax in safety is more realistic and rewarding, but it doesn't always make for compelling storytelling.

Pros:

Like I just said, no random death-on-downed. You won't suddenly start killing every raider with moderate bruises just because you already have several colonists.

You can usually safely assume that e.g. a grown adult with a club can win a fight against an angry turtle. This is far from a guarantee in vanilla Rimworld.

Similarly, an experienced combat veteran in armor with a good weapon can take down an entire horde of unskilled yokels in t-shirts with rusty daggers. They aren't invincible, but they have an edge that makes them really satisfying to use, and terrifying to go up against if you're on the other side of that equation.

A wider variety of guns is useful, rather than gravitating toward 2-3 guns for everything. Sniper rifles are actually a solid way to pick off enemies at long range, and an experienced sniper can reliably get headshots with them. SMGs and machine pistols are good DPS at close range. If a pack of enemies rushes straight at you, firing a machine gun at them will usually get them to stop.

Mortars are actually useful. Vanilla mortars are so inaccurate that the standard strategy for them is to have several saturating the area, because they're bound to hit something eventually. CE lets you have spotters that make them pretty accurate, and gives you a solid counter to stationary enemies.

A lot of the arbitrariness in vanilla combat is gone. Somebody crouching behind an armored barricade is not going to get shot in the chest. Semi-auto guns won't miss 80% of their shots based on pure luck. A parka is not going to shrug off a direct hit from a bullet.

Enemy spawning rules are heavily reworked, so that enemies are more likely to show up in suitable armor for your tech level, and much less likely to do things like bring rocket launchers to a close-quarters indoor raid. I generally found fights to feel more interesting but more fair.

Cons:

Despite the wide range of compatibilities, it isn't compatible with everything. In particular, the Big & Small gene for dwarves didn't seem to get along with CE's new encumbrance system, so Gransier was always heavily encumbered.

There's so much clutter. There are approximately two billion guns, a lot of which are just different RL variations of assault rifle, and they're chambered in about a dozen different types of ammo. Each of which come in multiple flavors. You can consolidate a lot of this in the settings, which I absolutely will if I play with it again.

A colony can be so well-defended that the game stops being much of a challenge, at least on the sorts of difficulty I usually play at. I could potentially turn the difficulty up, of course, and this was an extreme case.

You can't just pick any gun up off the ground and use them - you need ammo. This is generally pretty easy. For most guns, it's like 12 steel to make 500 bullets. That said, this stuff does require an established industrial base, and it requires a solid chunk of research to unlock. It makes it much harder to build up early combat ability on solo starts. With something like Umeko's setup, it would have made it nearly impossible to use guns. So, this isn't generally a problem, but it's a limitation for weirder playstyles. Although again, this can be disabled in the settings.

Overall? Playing for my own fun, in something vaguely like a normal setup, without incompatible mods, I'd probably use CE again. (I hate to say it, because CE evangelists are kinda insufferable at times, but it turns out they're right about some things.) If I do another one of these, I'm not sure if I'll use it again or not. It probably depends on the format.

[ematsubusa]

An introduction? Uhm… sure, why not? Hiya, nice to meet’cha!

//(A better picture will follow, it’s just a small display of one of her possible teams) ((We ignore the legendary/mythical overload, I just love those little critters)) (((also also, I’m thinking of making a newer artwork for her… soooo… yeah)))

Full name: Elisabeth Matsubusa

Nickname: Lizzy

Age: 33 years old

Birthday: 24th of May

Being a so-called “Faller” is hard… I feel like the protagonist of some shitty Isekai-Anime!

OOC & Lore/Infodump down below!

//OOC:

Hi, I’m @starlightcosmos04245 and I’m the one behind Lizzy and also Maxie (@matsubusa-m) and Jördis (Courtney) (@kaga-ribi-612)

Like I already said in my Maxie-introduction: I, personally, am usually very open about everything. Though I have to admit I’m very shy and get nervous easily… so sorry for that. I’m happy though to be included in the "multiversal beef" ^^

(I maybe disappear sometimes for some time due to mental health reasons)

Lizzy is an OC and serves as a stand-in for the various protagonists throughout the Pokémon games. She basically is the personification of how I remember playing those games. That said… she’s probably a bit OP since the protag always wins… I'm very sorry… （−＿−；）

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Lizzy was born in our world. The real world. One day, when she was around 9, she just awoke in this strange world this all takes place in. She basically has been isekai'd, if we’re looking at it that way. A faller. She’s been on her own ever since then, travelling the world, catching Pokémon, conquering gyms and leagues… kicking villain-ass…

Her unusual presence has also attracted many legendary and mythical Pokémon over the years. Her goal is to befriend and protect them all. Especially after she saw how villainous organisations are after them to mistreat them for their own gains. That legendary and mythical Pokémon cling to her like magnets has only worsened after battling Arceus in the hall of origin during her travels in Sinnoh. After catching them, Arceus punished and temporarily killed her - reawakening her after three days to be their servant on earth. It was rocky in the beginning, when she had to learn to control her new powers.

Lizzy was and never will be able to return to her original world. Over the years she accepted this and came to terms with it. Though it sometimes still stings when she thinks about her family, that she will never see them ever again and that they will never really know what truly happened to her.

Personalityvise (is that a word?), she’s usually very friendly and hyper, laughs a lot, but can quickly become either very serious or even angry - then she’s a walking, ticking bomb. Though most of the time, she’s a people pleaser (she wouldn’t save every region she travels to, if she wouldn’t be, let’s be honest)

She knew Maxie and Archie from her journey through Hoenn, kicking both their asses and befriending them afterwards. She’s also good friends with her universes Courtney, they’re practically like sisters and have each others backs (this universes Courtney looks up to Maxie, viewing her as a mentor and maybe even somewhat of a father figure, but she’s not obsessed-obsessed).

Many years later (and I mean MANY years), Lizzy marries Maxie. They have three children together.

She’s still the Hoenn Champion (and basically the world champion but she mainly competes in Hoenn) but also often helps out around the Team Magma base. She serves as the second in command, when she’s around, and has her own little flock of Grunts.

Some more useless info:

- She’s small. Like, smol. 1,53 meters of pure sass walking

- Especially BAVARIAN sass. The nightmare of each and every "prussian" German…

- She mostly trains psychic-types

- She loves rock and metal music (especially the older ones), though she also listens to a lot of other stuff too

- Her favourite band is Ghost, though. Her favourite song is "The Riddle" by Nik Kershaw

- Lizzy is a nerd. Games, Manga, other random trivia… she’s got it

- She also is a cosplayer, jumpscaring Maxie a bit too often when randomly running around the house in cosplay (he’s an old man, don’t scare him to death)

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

I might add more stuff someday, but that’s it for now.

If you’ve read it all, you earn my respect (just like with the Maxie one, like, damn. Someone is really reading this stuff?)🫡

With all that said… I hope you have fun and happy rp-ing (๑╹ω╹๑ )

[pinkcrocss]

What do you like about Marie and Jordan individually and what do you like about them as a pair?

Thank you for the ask! ❤️

For Marie, I just love her so much. First of all, I am always happy to see a black girl lead in any kind of diverse, non-stereotypical, non-sassy-side character role like this.

But I also appreciated how realistic she was. Like, I understood almost every choice she made. I saw people get mad at her at the start for not always doing the altruistic, "right thing", but for most people, self-preservation comes first. She didn't owe those other characters anything (especially after how they treated her) and I loved that she had a back bone and would actually talk back to people. But at her core, she is still a good person despite everything that has happened to her and still chooses not to be corrupted by Vought's influence once she understands the true material cost.

For Jordan, they're just such a nuanced character. One, I always have a soft-spot for the Lancer character archetype. The highly capable, second best, who can never quite out-do the main character (e.i. bakugo, reki (from sk8), Ron from HP (fuck jkr, but no other examples are coming to me atm)), and Jordan is just that. Like, yeah, they were kind of a bitch at the start, but it's so clear that they are secretly a softie and the world and their experiences have forced them to have a tough shell. Also, their powers as an allegory for gender identity, yes, it's on the nose (although, as someone who grew up reading 90s/2000s manga like Ranma 1/2, not that unheard of), but I think the show handled questions of their identity really well.

And finally for Limoreau...

idk where to start. tbh, as someone who has been hyper fixating on characters and ships since high school, I never really have a clear explanation of why I ship the characters I do. I either like it or I don't. But Limoreau is such a pleasant surprise because the chemistry was there from the start, but it felt like one of those queer dynamics that the writers would be too scared to pursue (think Arthur/merlin or Gojo/Geto). I think the fact that our MAIN PAIRING is a queer, interracial couple with no white people, shouldn't be as revolutionary as it is in 2023, but it is! I hope this is a positive direction for on-screen storytelling.

But also everyone loves a classic "enemies to lovers" (yes, I know they're not EtL in the true sense, but I consider Rivals-to-lovers as a subset of EtL, so I'm using it as an umbrella term). I think the reason people like EtL dynamics (Especially in het pairings) is that there is always an underlying respect beneath the "hatred". Like, to see someone as a threat, you have to see them as at least an equal.

It was clear from the start that Marie and Jordan were more alike than different and it was Vought and the corrupt nature of Godolkin pushing them to compete. They're both lonely in different ways, and I love the idea of them finding acceptance and a home with each other (Also all three actors are extremely attractive and have great chemistry, so that never hurts).

Do I wish their relationship had been paced out a bit more? Yes. But that was my issue with all of Gen V. I think the whole show would have benefitted from 12 eps, instead of 8, because development was needed in most areas.

I also just want to note, for all the people saying their relationship "came out of nowhere", I truly feel that if Marie looked like Erin Moriarty and Jordan looked like Chace Crawford, most people would have clocked the romance from the beginning, jus saying...

[hellobitchlet]

Here are some thoughts on Natlan, as of finishing act 1:

- this will mostly be negative, so let's start with the positives. First off, I'm happy to say that I have, in fact, found something I find interesting in Natlan! I am SO happy that the abyss has FINALLY been brought back into importance outside of hard-to-follow deep lore.

- while I still don't like that Natlan is hyper focused on sports, the idea that the pilgrimage is a glorified way to get ppl to go to war is amazing. That is such a good concept, even if it being in the archon quest means that it probably won't be acknowledged after act 5.

- one of my biggest complaints about Genshin has been that extremely few characters have been important, and connected to lore stuff. So of course, I also adore the abyss stuff for the sheer number of characters who have participated in the war. It's nice that their characters aren't entirely focused on their participation in the war either, as that's one of the big differences that makes Yoimiya better written than most Inazuma aq characters imo.

- I'm happy that the writers have finally remembered Traveler's purification abilities, even though it came out of nowhere after being forgotten about for literal years.

- I have likes and dislikes about Kachina's mini arc in part one, but it was handled slightly better than what I'd expect from Genshin. The main positives; we were actually shown that she cries in short bursts a lot instead of being told, Traveler wasn't automatically allowed to be involved and was told no for once, and her relationship to Mualani is great and accentuated both of their characters well.

- and now, let's start with the negatives. My main negatives of Kachina's act 1 arc; the fact that everyone saw her as weak bc she's lost a lot and not bc she's a fucking child was stupid, the teams portion being filled with brown skinned ppl being mean to her was gross, and the whole thing felt slightly rushed.

- considering that Traveler and Paimon usually act as the voice of 'reason' (as in, telling u what u should think), it's greatly concerning me that they don't seem to see the pilgrimage and a fucking child competing in it as a bad thing. Why were they as initially okay with Kachina dying as Mualani????

- I'm calling it now: the pale skinned npc's shitting on Kachina were pale bc they're Fatui, not bc the writers realized that brown skinned npc's doing that would look racist.

- I understand that the npc who almost died is probably important to the pyro archon, and we did end up with a decent intro to how the abyss acts in Natlan out of it, but I was so bored with the People of the Springs that the 5 minutes spent with the abyss didn't feel like it made up for how bored I was for the 20 minutes spent setting it up.

- absolutely everything about the People of the Springs makes no fucking sense. How the fuck are they a tourist destination AND regularly being attacked by the abyss at the same time?? It's so obvious that they just picked the first stereotype about Hawaii they could find and carelessly shaped their entire identity around it for the sake of it.

- I seriously want to care about Natlan's unique archon situation, but why should I when we haven't gotten an old archon who actually feels like an archon and isn't hopelessly clueless since Inazuma? Like I know that this isn't the same as Nahida and Furina lore wise, but writing wise, I'm not super optimistic about our third young archon in a row.

- seeing how Iansan acts... I definitely think that I'll be crossing off the "Iansan is an adult" part of the Natlan bingo. This point is kind of including the beginning of act 2 that I already did.

If anyone who has finished act 2 thinks that act 2 will change my opinions, don't bother 'politely' 'correcting' me. Not because I care about spoilers, but because I can decide for myself whether my opinion changes :)

[vivlily]

lone trail spoilers below

I went into the event expecting to not think much of the binake. Like I expected her to be super hyper competent the whole time. Which to me would have felt a bit boring. So it made me very happy to learn that she's sorta just a teensy bit pathetic(affectionate). Especially everything involving her towards the end. I really ended up liking her a lot.

I also really love that Doctor, Mumu, and binake all are tied together by being the last(as far as they know) of their kind. I also love the different perspectives they had towards that fact.

I'm excited to see what, if anything, happens with Friston or Nasti in the future.

Semi Related to lone trail, I finally got Ptilopsis' module, what an interesting piece of lore. I can't believe I never read it for this long.

And finally I just wanted to mention I have 0 clue how her outfit looks even after drawing her. The tail was very fun to do however.

[quietwingsinthesky]

how about twelveclara or gwenclara (gwen cooper/clara) for the ship ask game? :3

twelveclara

they literallt make me feel so unwell i cant stand it everything they do drives me insane. clara oswald said im gonna fuck that old man and then she did and it nearly ended the universe. and he needs her so much, he needs her so bad. from the very first moment, she’s all he has and he wants her to see him and- AND THE THING IS. LIKE. GOD. THEY ARE GOOD FOR EACH OTHER. AND EQUALLY AS BAD. and watching them slowly destabilize until clara gets herself killed because running with the doctor made her feel invincible, made her feel like he would always have a plan to get them out of trouble. im going t. to throw uo.

AND. AND. “CLARA. MY CLARA.” HI CAN WE TALK ABOUT DARK WATER IVE BEEN DYING TO TALK ABOUT DARK WATER (<- hasnt shut up about it since he saw it) foaming at the fucking mouth. “Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference”………………. INSANE SCENE. what th e fUCK. you cant just DO that you cant just put that in your show. thats not okay!!!! im never going to be okay again!!!!!!!!! IF HE MET HER AGAIN, HE WOULD KNOW HER. AND SHES RIGHT THERE. SHE S RIGHT THERE DOCTOR SHES THERE SHES THERE BUT YOU CANT SEE HER AND IT FUCKS ME UP SO BAD HOW TWELVE STARTED THIS BEGGING CLARA TO SEE HIM AND ENDS IT WITH HER RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM, A STRANGER. i need to lay on the floor.

gwenclara

oh please ive never thought about it before but they would drive each other crazy (positive). puts two hyper-competent control freaks in the same room and locks the door. either theyre going to kill each other or start scissoring or both. let gwen be clara’s companion for a bit she deserves it. (me is in the background with a little board that says 0 days since we had violence in the workplace tardis. she is Not helpful at all, she’s encouraging tjem to bite each other.)

[put any ship in my ask box and i’ll give my brutally honest opinion]