#Which is a shame bc like. a lot of the fun for me is developing said s/is

[wayfinderships]

Hmmm.... Maybe I should make some more s/i dedicated posts..

[cryptids]

..

I just need to ramble for a minute, but I think it's all little bit of a shame that so many constructiprowl fics (which is already not many 😭💔) really only seem to use the dynamic from the early stages of their relationship where Prowl was still pushing the constructicons away and resented them. And on the one hand, I understand the appeal bc an antagonistic relationship is fun to explore, and I LOVE fics where they start off that way and then develop a closer relationship out of it.... but, I also come across a lot of fics where he hates them way more and for much longer than he ever did in canon, or where that's the only dynamic they'll ever have. There's a sentiment, I think, that it would be impossible for him to ever warm up to them and continuing to hate them is the only realistic option?

And that's alright if it's your preference, like far be it from me to get in the way of people's toxic yaoi hdbsbds, but they DID move past that in canon and it feels like a shame that's not really acknowledged as much? Mostly bc I wish there was more stuff that explored the dynamic they had later on once he decided he wanted to be in control of Devastator and was keeping them around willingly..... idk just that specific period of time in their relationship was so funny and endearing to me djsbhs, I need more of him being their boss and bringing them everywhere with him to everyone else's dismay lmao

They still had some issues at that point, Prowl was power tripping like crazy and injuring himself by pushing an unstable gestalt bond too much/too fast, with the nosebleeds and the Scrapper moments, so they still had a long way to go. But what I'm getting at is mostly just that by then he was long past hating them or trying to make them go away, he seemed to consider them an extremely valuable asset and was actually trying to keep them around and make things work. In the end he was only forcibly separated from them against his will too, and he never actually wanted to leave them.

((There is a lot about Prowl's combiner wars storyline that I don't love, but I'm putting that all aside for now 😪))

I think he was essentially neutral on the constructicons as individuals/on a personal level... he was mostly just treating them like all the subordinates he'd had before. THEIR devotion and adoration of him was definitely very different to anything he'd experienced before though (and extremely gay lmao), I always feel sad that canon didn't give him the time to notice or react to that.

Just going off on a little side tangent but actually (as a shipper lmao 🤧) I like to think he could have become fond of them over time. Actually I think Prowl and the constructicons have a lot more in common than was ever really explored?? Especially if they had been allowed to have distinct personalities and demonstrate their intelligence a bit more lmao. I don't mind them being himbos (affectionate) or the way they spoke or anything, but I feel like they were just really underutilised in IDW1... like we never saw any fun chemistry stuff from Mixmaster or any of Hook's medical skills for example. Speaking of Hook in particular, I think it's interesting he usually has a bad temper and a very perfectionist, prickly and stubborn personality that makes him very Prowl-like in a way that would have been fun to play around with...

*** Coming back to add a point here about whether he blames them for the mind control and non-consentual modifications that were done to him, and honestly I don't think he does? I think he blames Megatron for that (which makes some sense since they were only doing it on his orders), I think it is a very large part of why he doesn't want to be near them at first bc they remind him of it and bc they took part in it, but it's definitely not something he continues to hold against them. It's similar I think to how he feels about Soundwave's involvement which he also seems willing to forgive after a while. Meanwhile his anger at Megatron never goes away, and at the trial he listed forced combination as one of the crimes Megatron was directly responsible for (which I think is interesting bc Starscream forces the constructicons to combine with Scoop later on against their will too, but never really faces any consequences for that? Anyway sjdbdhs)

I think it probably means something to him to be able to take control of the constructicons after they were involved in a trauma he went through where he had no control over himself, and to be secure in the certainty that they won't turn against him again... plus I think it says a lot about their relationship that Prowl (who already has trust issues anyway) is eventually able to trust them so fully? He even trusts them to stay loyal to him on a mission where they're working against other decepticons, which is a huge gesture really.

Anywayyy..... I guess this whole ramble was just to say I wish there was more happy/endgame constructiprowl content bc it could be so good and I'm yearning for it jsjsjds 😭😭

I have also seen a few people say this ship is inherently one-sided and depicting it any other way is ooc, and I disagree!! I think it CAN be one-sided, but it doesn't NEED to be in order to be true to canon.

Just adding a couple of relevant panels here too bc I am thinking about them 🤧

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi nalyra, I saw the MW Felix comment and I have to say it's sadly very much in character for the Lestat they have built. We've seen lestat make comments about seeing people as "inferiors" and "cattle", we've seen him not only enjoying the hunt but also mocking his victims (Mardi Gras, the tenor). He believes the earth to be a savage garden. As per Sam's comments lestat has fully embraced being a monster and his future arc will supposedly be to "crawl his way back to his humanity" (in contrast to louis whose arc is the opposite). His motivation according to sam is shame. Shame for things we've seen (I dread what they will do with claudias death and lestats involvement)

With season 3 coming I think it's safe to say we can take rolin and Sam and everything we have seen so far as face value. This is not the humanity loving, his light ever persevering, forgiving to the point of naive book lestat.

It's rolins interpretation of lestat which is...lacking if I say so. If he sees him as a sad clown or someone who would hurt his most beloved companion (which is directly against what Anne wrote bc she has lestat saying he'd never hurt louis and he never has) well then this is what we're getting.

I have been personally gutted by coming to this conclusion, that this is what the show is actually serving us. Messy vampires who are monsters and do monstrous things and petty relationship drama with some brilliant moments on the side, where I was hoping it would be the other way around. I really don't think they have a bigger plan in mind where all will be explained and made right, season two revisions and the latest autumn brown interview and long face reveals killed that hope.

We can certainly engage for the show for what it is and keep the good parts to enjoy it but I would be lying if I said its easy to do that. The show really has the potential to be impeccable and for some reason the creators chose to limit it and mischaracterize the lead of the series.

I know this isn't a fun topic to discuss (it certainly has not been fun for me to think about) but since it's a conversation that's been happening I'd love to hear your and everyone's thoughts !

It's funny, isn't it, that the version of Lestat we're getting is this jaded, hardened person, thanks to the shift they did, and the Louis we're getting is the version ... who got some of Lestat's good characteristics / world views.

I mean, I remember Rolin saying that, that they gave the evildoer-thing to Louis on purpose. Which, granted, at the time I didn't mind it much - but now it becomes ever clearer that they've pumped Louis up to be a better character by using (some of) Lestat's characteristics, which is... a choice.

And I agree, this is the show Lestat, and, in the context of the shift in character and time, it does make sense(!)

I have talked about it in the turning post, and others - this Lestat is a lot more jaded, he's been alone, he's been hurt, he's experienced heavy loss. He has experience with vampires, pitch forks and torches, and... Armand.

He clings to what he has quite differently. And can lash out a lot harder, too.

I've said it before, this is what we'll get. I waited 30 years for this show. There won't be another anytime soon, not that I'd necessarily want one(!), and I'm also anxious about certain real life developments which could have impact sooner or later.

I WILL enjoy this.

Like hope, with bloody knuckles. :)

But it is clear and has been stated that this is not Anne's Lestat, and that is actually quite the statement.

They are adapting the Vampire Chronicles - and fundamentally changed the main character(s). That will have repercussions for the upcoming arcs. And I do think the hinted at Amel plot is only the tip of the iceberg there, and when it hits it won't be pretty.

I have seen a development like this before, this "adaption of the books but freeing themselves of the books"... we all have I guess. The Witcher, for example, which was an incredible let down with season 2 for me. I hope this show will not follow that example. But when Rolin said something to that effect in one interview (I think it was a video) the alarm bells did ring in my mind.

Anyways. No, it isn't fun to talk about this.

But I'd rather be surprised positively by s3 than otherwise :)

[teeterarting]

How about... 7 and 10 for the ask game!

7. Which has the best post game?

Blue Rescue Team!!!! // ~ v ~ ) // haven't played Red or DX

It's not the best because it has super good writing, or the gameplay is fun, or anything. I think Rescue Team's post game is the best bc it's the longest!!!

at least, it very much feels like the longest. to me...

like, every PMD game after Rescue Team has this sort of "finish line". a point which you reach in the post-game and after that, nothing interesting happens anymore. In Explorers, it's after beating Darkrai in Dark Crater. In Gates, it's bringing Hero back in Worldcore // Gates barely has a post-game, which is a shame.... // and PSMD suffers from the same problem as Gates.

the og Rescue Team also has this "finish line", but it takes a lot, lot longer to reach it. Even when the most impactful post-game event happens, there's still new interactions that unlock, and fun quests, and incredibly rare events, and it makes the world feel so alive for so much longer.

I guess this comes from my stupid, naive wish for the adventure to never end - I wanna keep experiencing the PMD world, and its charming characters, and explore new places. that's not feasible for any game, I believe. Rescue team somehow gets close....... that's why it's the best for me!

10. What starters would you add?

frickkkk nobody would want my starters :'D not the players and not the developers. pretty sure their movesets would be crap for starter pokemon standards. among other issues.....

but uhhh...... I'd add grimer partner. and slugma partner. and magnemite player..... and vanillite player.... and a litwick player/partner......

for no reason other than I'm obsessed w/ these little guys and if I could have them as pardnter or player, I would get attached to them so fast and so intensely. lookit my grimer partner......... they're a cutie......... also they stink and it sends enemy pkmn packing. a lifesaver

[playpurpur]

reccomendations of the forgotten realms series i've read:

i would recommend the avatar series for being the most lore-heavy, but be prepared for the quality of the writing, esp in the first three books, to be. not great. it's frustrating how much potential cyric's character has and how much it's squandered in novels whose strength is not character writing. the highlight of these novels for me was bhaal's depiction in waterdeep because i'm an evil pervert and like when midnight talks about how his touch is corrupting and painful.

the moonshae trilogy can be skipped. they're not bad novels but they're also not like. worth spending the time to read.

i found the first book of the empyrean trilogy to be super interesting, and then they gradually tapered off in interest imo. by the third book all character development has plateaued and the novel is mostly descriptions of battles. the relevant lore tie-ins felt like second thought and weren't explored in a way that i found that satisfying, which is a shame because these novels are supposed to cover the start of the spellplague and the end of the world tree cosmological model. the first novel is the most homoerotic and a woman experiences contemptuous envy for the attention her own unborn child receives.

i REALLY liked the haunted lands trilogy. the cast of characters it follows were genuinely fun enough to be interesting and i really enjoyed the depiction of szass tam. it's also satisfyingly lore relevant since it covers szass tam's rise to power in thay. there's a monk of the long death who i really like and some pretty cool depictions of bardic magic. this trilogy does have the worst fatphobia of all the series i've read however n it is set in thay so. there's thayan things.

i also attempted the baldur's gate novelizations and had to quit on them bc the character depictions are so bad. apparently the author also hates these books. would not recommend .

sembia: gateway to the realms introduces erevis cale as a character in the first novel and covers his ascension to being mask's chosen in the second novel. the rest of the series isn't really worth reading imo. it follows a noble merchant family in sembia and while the characters are decently interesting, there's not really enough relevant world lore to be worth reading all seven novels.

the erevis cale trilogy i WOULD recommend. however i am biased because i desire drasek riven carnally. it has one of the more interesting villains out of all the series I read. there's a villainous pain pervert and some pretty good homoerotism moments between drasek riven and jak fleet

return of the archwizards covers a LOT of relevant lore around netheril and the return of shade enclave in 3e. that being said the writing of these novels somehow manages to be deeply uninteresting and they were drudgery to get through. i was disappointed because I liked troy denning's writing and Malik's character in the avatar series, but this man somehow managed to make recovering the still-beating god heart of karsus boring. the events of these novels happen between the erevis cale trilogy and the twilight war trilogy, so if you're planning on reading both, i would say just read the archwizards summary online LOL

the twilight war trilogy is a continuation of the erevis cale series. it's pretty good. some of the villains in this series are really interesting imo. i like the depiction of the princes of shade. there's also an evil girl pervert. drasek is my highlight as usual but he doesn't come in until pretty late in the first novel. there's some cool shadow monks. paul kemp experiments with some first person stuff in these novels and it low key sucks. would recommend because i want to get drasek riven pregnant.

[chaoortu]

Chao

Chao

The movie announcement!!! I am genuinely excited for it.

I know that it'll shave off a lot of development for some of the characters (which is a shame cuz the reason I personally wanted a s4 is to see Imogen and Isaac more, the rest of the gang at least get a webcomic ending), but considering that I thought it was gonna get cancelled only 3 months ago, I'm just ecstatic.

Honestly the number ONE thing I'm most excited for is to see Kit act his ass off in a Nick breakdown (that will be coming forsure).

I also hope they keep the crew from the series, the cast seems to be comfortable around them and it'll probably keep the tone of HS the same.

DUDE I AM SO PUMPED FOR A MOVIE!!!! I really hope the movie will narrow down the arcs for the characters bc they weren't as tight in the third season as they could have been. I'd love to see Imogen and Isaac have their own moments. I was sort of holding my breath on it because I think Netflix would be dumb as hell to not continue HS but then again, Netflix is allergic to making money anyway... (I jest... maybe.) Kit will be acting his ass off and delivering, I believe that. I am so excited to see how he'll portray the "I had a dream you died" scene from the comic. I know it will wreck me to pieces. He wrecked me to pieces in Warfare and he only had like six lines, his face just had that emotionality every time the camera was on him. I think drunk Nick will also be quite fun as well as Nick sort of slipping back into people pleaser mode. The show does a better job at balancing Nick's friendship with Tara, Darcy, and Elle so I hope we see someone other than Charlie call him on it sooner. One thing I do appreciate abt the show is that we see more of Nick's interpersonal relationships outside of Charlie <3 hard agree! I'm hopeful that they'll work on a more mature/less bubblegum portrayal of the show now that the characters and actors are older and the themes are changing.

[ardentpoop]

i sometimes feel like ripping out my hair when I think of the way both normies and fandom treat Sam and Dean within the Narrative but so much of my anger dissipates when I just think about how Americans are simply Not That Smart. i know its quite cruel, but so much of the conclusions, themes, structures and interactions they have with this show are so intertwined with Americanisms and the things that are baked in the country (patriarchy, anti-intellectualism, colonial settler fantasies) that in a strange way someone who is disenfranchised or completely removed from american life has a better grasp on the show than usamericans (ex.Chinese, Russian, and eastern fandom in particular imo) even me personally, who grew up in Texas ironically 💀 as a Muslim girl had an inexplicable draw to spn despite it being the antithesis to my existence in many ways. even sam and dean in their own show, despite being the protagonists and lauded as images of pure masculinity and heroism (esp dean in the later seasons lbr) if both of them were real- they'd be very much disenfranchised and disconnected from "normal" and societal life that's promised to white men like them- but their whiteness offers them the semblance and "look" of normalcy, despite living lives completely removed from that.

i personally feel that the only way this show will be fun to analyze in a broader space and have a fandom worth interacting with to think critically w esp w normies is when american culture shifts- which will be a long while with the state of things here lmao. but it's kind of the same song and dance in terms of analysis and values w most of the other fandoms I've been in too, which have been pretty diverse in terms of origin- but eventually tainted by the American Thought that reached the broad fandom and normies, which is what I feel happened w spn fandom mostly and the writing of sams character (which unfortunately affected the actual canon sooner or later). but so much of my grief and issues with western and American feelings and views on spn and fandom I can boil down to a very mean thought which kind of bleeds to many other things: Americans are Not That Smart dkduskhssk

anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts bc i feel we have similar feelings esp as samgirls in a Dean Centric World 😔 but more importantly as ppl who grew up muslim and have that context and feeling when it comes to interacting with media. Love 4eva and luv ur posting abt samdean divorce era <3

omg hi <3

I’m always startled to realize how many muslims (slash ex-muslims) were drawn to the show despite ummmm. the obvious reasons it “shouldn’t” appeal. I wish I’d connected with more of you during my first stint in fandom bc meeting a couple of other muslims thru my original interest in the show was a profoundly impactful experience for me :’) I grew up in a very conservative household so you can imagine the confusion of my teenage years. the tumblr fandom feels extremely white american overall and always has, which is a shame, bc as you said I think we could be having much more interesting conversations collectively if the majority didn’t routinely bulldoze fan POVs that are considered fringe.

and yeah tbfh……it is simply a harsh truth that americans are not that smart. as a stupid american myself there were a lot of realizations about the world that I came to much later than I would have had I been forced to start seriously developing my political consciousness when I was young.

thank you for sharing and I hope this silly blog lifts your spirits occasionally in these difficult times :)

[oodlyenough]

rogue!

well i really enjoyed that! felt like a classic MOTW doctor who episode, in a way that none of the others this season really have (except maybe space babies... except i uh. did not like space babies lol). i think it makes sense that bringing in two new writers (women! hooray) would stick pretty close to the formula, and i think it worked well. as much as i love the experimental episodes, the formula done well is still a very good formula. that's how you get 60+ years of tv.

the one-off romantic interest for the doctor who tragically gets sacrificed to save the day shtick felt refreshing because it was a man this time, and also because it's in a season where the doctor and the companion haven't had any ship tease stuff themselves lol. also the kylie song playing reminded me of astrid, who had a very similar arc. wonder how intentional

i also liked ruby's subplot of bonding with the one girl, she felt very Companion in this episode

i thought the bridgerton cosplay angle was pretty hilarious and i enjoyed it. i haven't really been paying much attention to the "it's a tv show!" theory -- mostly i find it... more enjoyable to not create theories for myself on doctor who bc there's a 99% chance i'll be wrong and get disappointed -- but i have to wonder if that being the plot of this episode helps or hinders that idea.

also this. really felt like it was meant to be episode 2 of the season. sorry. i know i've been in a "devil's chord got swapped in its order" conspiracy theory this whole season. but space babies leads to the doctor meeting carla again and then we flash back to that conversation here. to prove her identity ruby only references TCORR and space babies. the 6 month jump in devil's chord and the obvious finale tease at the end of it, which was notably missing from this episode. i feel like rtd could personally pinky promise me these episodes weren't swapped in their airing order and i'd still be skeptical

overall, i feel like we've had a pretty enjoyable run of episodes. i've liked just about every episode, with space babies being my least favourite. 73 yards / dot and bubble / rogue is a really strong three ep run for me, had a blast with all of them for different reasons.

however, with only two episodes left in the season, i have to say fifteen and ruby as a team tardis feel quite... generic? they're both extremely likable in the role and i enjoy both characters and the dynamic they have. but there's not really any tension between them, i feel like we skipped so much of the getting-to-know you, i don't feel that ruby has any big character challenges to overcome which means there's not really a lot of growth opportunities for her development either. it's such a shame because this was always the RTD1 era's biggest strength. i think a lot of it is the reduced episode count, but i'm still surprised we haven't seen more of that characterwork that is usually his bread and butter.

sad there's only two episodes left though, i've had fun with the season

[bibibbon]

Hey I stumbled a post about dabi and how he is a vile character and it made me think of how victims in the MHA are either good dekus or dark dekus. No nuance and it makes me think of Shig.

Ok...imagine for a moment, Shig defends Izu. This act could be used to humanize him even more as create a connection with them.

The scene where a villain calls Izu "useless deku" and shig steps in and defends Izu.

I ask this...bc I know for sure if hori had made this it would have been in a mean spirit way, it would be at shig and Izu's expenses.

And the fandom, even Shig's stans would either ignore the moment or make fun

"lol shig stop by bothering with this deku"

Or

"lol Izu is so lame shig has to save him"

Which is a damn shame bc this could have been useful to humanize shig and create a connection with him...as well understand the character. But nope.

Shiga is king of inconsistency.

Hi @mikeellee 👋

Yeah it's a pretty well established fact that horikoshi very much lacks nuance when depicting his abuse victims. The narrative depicts them as either always good perfect, innocent victims who can do no wrong or they're always horrible people who deserve worse than their own abusers somehow.

Shigaraki could do a lot of things that end up humanising him like protecting the leauge but a moment where he himself protects a hero (izuku in this scenario) it would do a lot more than just humanise him. It would

1) humanise him obviously

2) add more to the underdeveloped dynamic of izuku and shigaraki

3) may show the change in shigarakis goals, may make him realise that the problem isn't heroes but necessarily the system that they're all in.

Hmm a scene like that may not inherently work or maybe I just prefer a scene where shigaraki protects Izuku physically from a villain instead of standing up for him verbally. The scene you suggested would need the development for it. What I mean is that shigaraki and izuku need to have way more interactions than they do in canon for that scene to properly work.

Personally I would think that shigaraki stans would use this moment to show how good Shigaraki is and how he should be saved and redeemed rightfully so to be honest.

Shigaraki is definitely the most inconsistent character out of the bunch and it really bugs me especially with the potential he has😭. Anyway Imma need someone to take Shigaraki away from hori cos he clearly doesn't care or like him.

[yonemurishiroku]

Jason died cause he boring. He literally an all American boy someone who would have been popular in the 90s. Compare all main characters first chapter to Jason and you can tell he bland like white bread. Jason lacks the popularity of Percy cause if Percy was dead expect a riot plus we already had a better Zeus contrast with Thalia. Apollo is the more interesting character and Apollo son is a better contrast to Nico. Had he not had a GF maybe he could have been Nico love interest but Rick decided on Nico being gay extremely late he said it himself and what does it look like having a guy break up with his GF (poc) to be with Nico(white emo kid) in a kid series. Will was convenient no weird background no known relationship and the complete opposite to Nico and people get mad but it work you don’t get a solo book if the fanbase wasn’t big. The

There’re so many points at once in this ask and I don’t think I’m comprehending them right so I guess I’ll just post my reactions upon reading this.

- Jason’s bland like a white bread -> Good news! I like white bread. I think white bread is a perfect canvas to add all of your favorite toppings to make the best meal for you. ☺️😋😋

So if Rick really did kill Jason only bc he’s bland then he’s a coward solely bc he can’t figure out what color to put on Jason’s canvas.

- Apollo’s son is a better contrast to Nico -> This is subjective so I’ll leave it for any day. Though it got me thinking. Why, exactly, should the contrast matter?

Because fun fact! Jason and Nico have many working parallels that can be great materials for relationship development. Ask a random Jasico fanfic writers and they’ll give a thesis.

On the other hand, to be honest?, we already have Percabeth as the opposites-attract/bantering/significant annoyance trope. I ngl can do without another similar one. 🤷‍♀️

- Err i’m not American so I don’t think I’m in any position to talk about the poc girl vs white emo boy thing but if anything, I find it’s valid. Smh shame

Edit: Haise pointed out that Nico is not white, he’s Venetian and has olive skin. I honestly don’t know what it makes this…

- You don’t get a solo book if the fanbase isn’t big enough -> This is undeniably true.

HOWEVER

Pal. My friend. Mate. Listen. Just wait until I show you how many people absolutely despite the existence that is TSATS——

I’m all for letting people enjoy things. Though, if you ask me - me, who came to PJO solely for Solangelo and binge read TSATS in like 2 nights and cried a river on my pillow, I would say TSATS is Rick’s poor attempt of:

1/ milking the franchise (which is understandable. Capitalism you know bla bla bla)

2/ giving a half-heartedly made closure to the fandom’s favorite (which is sort of fanservice? Idk)

3/ and along with it solidifying the foundation of his gay love story, which didn’t have the… err prettiest start? (which I reckon accounts for a lot of the franchise’s popularity).

And yeah it’s easy to see that Nico being gay is a late decision with how Rick worked it out lmao.

[rainwingmarvel7]

coming back for more character asks bc I can ☺️. 5 & 10 for Galladon. 3 & 20 for Alistair and Erwyn.

You got it bestie😌

For Galladon

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

Not gonna lie it’s almost entirely based on vibes. I looked through this spreadsheet with canon ASOIAF names (fr tho it’s so helpful), and I knew that I wanted something a bit more unique for him. I knew I wanted him to be an Estermont, and when saw Galladon, it just fit. It’s such a fantasy knight name if you ask me, and that just makes perfect sense for him.

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Honestly Galladon is a bit newer so he doesn’t have a ton planned out for him yet, but I do know some details. He is a knight for Team Black, so his first appearance will probably be in Season 2, and I like to think that he volunteers to accompany Rhaena and the twins to the Vale, and they fall in love and have a lovely chivalric court romance. He kind of has a happy ending in that he gets to marry Rhaena and have children with her, but he does die fairly young so that Rhaena can have her other relationships and children lol.

For Alistair and Erwyn

3. What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

Alistair - I’m pretty sure it was his name.

Erwyn - Also probably his name.

20. Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

Alistair - As much as I love Alistair in his other arcs, there’s something about him in Essos that is so special to me. It’s the first time he really has his own narrative separate from his siblings, and I think he really starts to shine as a character. He gets to travel the world, see the sights, fight dangerous assassins, lead an army, ride a dragon, and best of all, marry a queen. He is living the life, and I am so happy for him.

Erwyn - Erwyn and his relationship with his mother is everything to me actually. Fun fact, he doesn’t actually know her identity until Season 2, when his magic starts to manifest and he begins having visions of her. She even starts to teach him magic. They don’t meet in person until Season 8, which is such a shame, but let’s just say Erwyn is quite the mommy’s boy and suddenly realizes how much he needed a hug from her. Knowing who she is answers a lot of questions for him, and I think getting to know her more helps him better understand himself.

[animalpetcel]

Finished chapter 14. Messy thoughts:

The Good:

- I liked the conclusion a lot more than the conclusion of the first arc

- Very interested in the Priestess atm

- Wisadel was pretty fun. Logos was pretty cool

- Nadine is interesting, I would like to see more of her

- I think it tied together the different plotlines and developments of the Victorian arc well

- I’m still distrustful of the Sarkaz narrative but bc things didn’t completely burn down I will continue to hold my tongue

- Bc it was told over 23 nodes instead of 9-10, reading felt less like a slog (also I was able to take my time with it instead of trying to read it all in 2 days)

The Bad

- I still feel kinda shaky on Theresa’s character and agency. Also given other comments I saw online I think her true motives could have been demonstrated better

- I disliked how easy the stages were. I know that this is a limited event and newbies need to be able to clear but this is also like a major turning point in the overall plot of AK (which newbies shouldn’t be reading) so the combat feeling like a wet blanket takes a lot of wind out of its sails

- Tho it did its best, I still feel like the cast of this arc is way too bloated. I honestly forgot that Saileach was in this arc at all with how little she mattered in the end

- I say this as someone who likes Manfred: Ascalon should have been allowed to do something to him. So far it feels like her assassin powers falls apart whenever it’s not a faceless NPC, which makes her somewhat less cool

- Theresis…? Idk where we’re going with this man.

- During the Doctor’s Originum Dream section, we saw a bunch of characters the Doctor didn’t really know or care about (Allerdale and Baird as examples)….Why?

- The Civilight Eterna Reveal. It feels very thinly like they just wanted “Canon Playable Theresa”

The Mixed

- Theresa and Frostnova I feel like parallel each other a lot when it comes to their decisions to fight us as a test. Shame I didn’t really care about either to the extent that the game wanted me to so I wasn’t really broken up about fighting them/them dying

- We could have gotten more from The Followers. Actually we should have gotten a proper event for them a while ago but also they just need more in general

- It kinda feels a little easy how RI was able to get the KMC and Victoria to walk away from each other with no one stirring the pot but the arc needs to end on a somewhat hopeful note so I get it

And that’s it! I honestly don’t really think that Kazdel & Theresis alone could carry a whole chapter arc (also I think it’ll be a while until we’re able to confront the Priestess). An Anni event yes but I don’t think any more focus on just the Sarkaz is necessary atm (idk maybe I’ll be proved wrong). Since they do have an RI monitor, I do hope we get a playable Damazti when we get another Kazdel event though.

For the next major story arc, whenever that comes, I would honestly love for us to finally get focus on Ursus. I’m dying to know what HG has planned for that nation and I want to meet Neon.

Like please HG I want to go to Ursus!

[ladycrimsonandblack]

Hi! I'm also making my way through welcome to the nightmare live ❤️ Would yo talk a little more about it? Just your thoughts bc I value your opinion a lot and want to know what tou think. Wen Jianyan is in fact awesome ❤️❤️ and I'm glad you like him

i'm so glad there is someone else reading this novel!

honestly, i'm having a lot of fun with it. i actually like it so much i started MTLing after the translation (which is also excellent) stopped, and i don't do that with a lot of novels. but wen jianyan is such a good character, and honestly it's like he's specifically tailored for me, i just like him so much. i would've probably read this novel just for him even if the plot were not good, but no, it's genuinely interesting.

so, a couple of things that make this novel so fun for me personally:

the characters! all the characters are so good, not just wen jianyan, even though he's my favorite. every senior member of the guild has a distinct personality and i love their interactions so much. the teammates we meet in the instances are fleshed out. the enemies are not one-dimensional. honestly, the one character with the least amount of development was ML, but he's been getting more attention lately, so i'm being cautiously optimistic.

the plot is so well-written. i've read a lot of unlimited flow novels, and i really like the genre, but WTNL has some of the best instances i've seen. every one of them is logical, the audience gets all the same clues the characters do, and the solutions always make sense. i don't feel like wen jianyan is pulling answers out of his ass just to be seen as the most powerful, the smartest character in the game. he has to put in effort, and while he gets more info than other anchors based on his connections to wu zhu and the nightmare system, he's not the only one who gets the special advantage (the oracle, the top ten players, etc.).

i'm kind of genuinely amused by all the different ways wen jianyan has lied to or conned people so far? honestly, that's a real talent. i don't think he's ever used the same lie twice (unless pretending to be weak and pitiful counts?), and the way he talks his way out of some sticky situations is impressive. and my favorite thing about it is that the author had to come up with all of that! there is a real life human out there thinking about how to put wen jianyan into situations and then how he can talk himself into even more serious Situations. love that.

i'm being cautiously optimistic about the romance. honestly, i don't need good romance to like a book, but it would've been a shame for me to dislike such a big part of a book that i'm otherwise enjoying. and anyway, this is because the romance in the first couple of hundred chapters didn't really meet my personal preferences — which is completely alright, not everybody will like everything — but it seems to be heading in the direction i like, so i'm hoping this too will become part of the novel i will enjoy.

i think what i really appreciate is that wen jianyan is never really at disadvantage. a lot of cnovels love to make MC strong and great and powerful, until ML comes into the picture, and suddenly he's helpless under MLs power. and i thought this novel would be the same, but no! i've been conned! wen jianyan conned me, the same as he conned ML! his disadvantage is always temporary. when the chips are down, he's never the one at loss. he can bide his time and pretend to be cowed, but wen jianyan appreciates freedom more than anything else, and he would not relinquish it for anything.

small thing, but i'm just genuinely delighted by his custom-made froggy slippers. he paid someone to make him frog slippers, twice. i love him.

i tried to keep this spoiler free (except the frog slippers. i'm sorry if you still hadn't reached the frog slippers.) but i'm really enjoying it. i don't know how far i will be able to read with MTL, as i usually don't really have strong tolerance for it, but the novel is so good that i'm powering through.

i would also love to hear your thoughts!

[p5x-theories]

This is unrelated to anything, but I feel like Joker is kind of just his own character now instead of merely a "silent protagonist"... So I think he should get an official birthday or something 😭 maybee around September which is the month the original game released. 15th September. Or somewhere around May-June bcs I think Gemini fits him well tbh

Also it's a bit of a shame the characters in P5X don't get birthday arts, but maybe because there's a lot of characters and they don't have time for that. The thing is, Genshin has a LOT and somehow can still do them but it is what it is I suppose ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Honestly? I think I've said this before, but Joker was kind of always his own character, regardless of ATLUS' intentions with a "silent protagonist"; as far as I've seen in any of the Persona games, they've literally never achieved a protagonist that's a "blank slate", because the core mechanics of the game are working against them. Think about it this way- all the protagonists feel different from each other, right? But if they're supposedly "blank slates", that shouldn't be the case. In my opinion, this is because of the core concepts of the games- the different experiences they've had prior to the game, and circumstances leading up to their awakenings- as well as their Personas themselves, and even the dialogue options the player is presented with while playing as them in the games.

To me, it says something that we get to hear Joker's will of rebellion, as opposed to the P4 protagonist not needing to face his own shadow. It says something that the male P3 protagonist walks to the Iwatodai dorm for the first time almost completely ignoring the Dark Hour, while Joker and Ryuji are both shown to be confused the first time they enter Kamoshida's Palace. And it sure says something that in P3, you choose whether or not to side with Ryoji, and in P5, you choose whether or not to side with Yaldabaoth, but P4's the only one with an accomplice ending (ie, where you side with the human antagonist)! That's not even getting into their dialogue options- mostly because I don't want to spend the time digging them up- or even environmental details, like how Joker can struggle to focus on studying in the school library, or differences in social links and game mechanics, like how the P4 protagonist has a social link with a fox that gives him side quests.

And of course, that's not getting into the P1 protagonist, or female P3 protagonist, either, let alone Tatsuya and Maya, who become their own characters in the games where they're not the protagonists, haha. Which is basically what's happening to Joker now! I guess my point is that the characterization was kind of always there, and now it's just a lot more obvious. Even if that's... a bit off-topic from your original point, heh. You can always just headcanon the game's original release day as his birthday, until proven otherwise?

I do think it's a bit unfair to compare Genshin directly to the circumstances here, though, while I agree it'd be nice to have unique birthday art. I have no idea how the size of the team working on Genshin compares to the size of the team working on this game, for one- it'd be unfair to expect a smaller team to do the same amount of work as a bigger team. Genshin's also far more established (having first released four years ago), and according to Wikipedia, gets updates every six weeks, rather than every two weeks as is almost always the case here. It's also just possible their priorities lie elsewhere? I'd rather have more fun in-game art, and promotions for new characters, than birthday art, for example.

Which is to say, basically, I don't see the point in comparing Genshin to this game? It kind of feels like you're annoyed they're not keeping up with Genshin's standard, but they're different games, with different development circumstances. Why does it need to be Genshin?

[choiraugur]

So you've mentioned that you like all the Soulsborne games, not just Bloodborne, but which Soulsborne was your first exposure to the series? What made you want to check them all out, and what is your favorite thing about them (each individually or in general as they also have reoccurring themes? nobody trolls people in power like they do xd) .

Also I can't forget you asking me about Creighton so I assume you like DS2 as well (rare but huge W in these trying times vvhjgjjg). Who are your DS2 favs? 🌛

I need you to know that I had to pause for like one hour after getting this ask because I got so excited to respond to it that I couldn’t think straight enough to properly manage a reply with actual words. in fact what I’ve written down here isn’t as eloquent or articulate as id want it to be but. autism works in funny ways so the best I can do rn is say words and giggle to myself with glee

im putting the reply under a cut bc it’s long af also lmao

the first dark souls was my initial exposure to the series as a whole! I got into it some years ago but I don’t think I was as invested in it then as I am now. I’ve always loved the themes of the series and the gameplay was, despite all the frustration, very fun and engaging so I wanted to check out more souls games after it. Dsi remains my favourite game of all time along with bloodborne btw! I would blame it on nostalgia but honestly the game really does have so much to offer. dark souls i meatriding is very cliche but there’s a good reason for that yk. Nothing teaches you patience like dark souls. (this game also has one of my two favourite characters of all time, gwyndolin! they managed to create a transgender allegory that speaks so closely to me- from familial expectations to the desire to be seen and recognised by the family that constantly neglects you and shames you for your very existence to the point where your identity ceases to exist because you are trying so desperately to belong. you try to forge yourself into the perfect shape but the core of the problem lies not in the shape of your identity, but your very existence. the unending cultist devotion to the people who made your life hell because this is all you have. I love gwyndolin so much)

I moved to dark souls ii after and honestly loved it (and still love it) very much. I feel like people give it too much shit and criticise it too quickly because of its reputation, which is a shame because it has so much to offer. The lore is so rich and the gameplay can get so fun if you just give it a chance. I agree that the start is difficult, but isn’t this true with every new fromsoft game you play? The thing I really love about soulsborne games is that there is a learning curve. Absolutely anybody can finish these games even if they are a terrible gamer because of the fact there is a learning curve. And sure it’s a frustrating one a lot of the time, but when you get comfortable enough with the mechanics and become more confident in playing, the experience becomes so so fun and rewarding. The estus problems people always complain about at the beginning of the game honestly stop being a noticeable issue after you discover items that help you replace this bother. I can 100% see why somebody would dislike dsii because it unfortunately went through developement hell, but I do believe that 98% of the time people judge this game too quickly and too harshly just because of the negative reputation it has. It sucks that they don’t give it a chance. I’ve seen so many people have an opinion on it (always a bleak one) without even playing it themselves also which is so dumb. At least play it man. Idk. It gets the second-installation-in-a-series curse I guess. dsii fans need to stick together and call it the best game oat to piss everyone else off

i got into bloodborne after dsi and dsii, i think I started playing bloodborne in mid 2021? Not that long ago but it has been my absolute favourite thing in the world ever since. SO much about it has kept me around because it manages to cater to so many of my general special interests lol. I’ve always loved cosmic horror and the victorian era of medicine. religion (and how those in power can use religion to control the masses) is another thing i always end up getting fixated on, so bloodborne was just the perfect thing for me. I love the themes! And characters! And designs! And gameplay mechanics! The world building! Everything is so so good. The thing that has mainly kept me around so intensely is how important exploration and personal interpretation is with this game. this is honestly my favourite thing about all spulsborne games actually- fromsoft never gives you any direct answers, and we are still finding new things about bloodborne several years after its release which is insane. It has just an endless amount of things to offer, I can’t say ENOUGH about it. I could write pages upon pages on why I love bloodborne so much, it’s difficult to keep my answer here concise. All I can say is it consumes my every thought every second of the day. Very good.

Dsiii was the last soulsborne game i got into (not fromsoft tho, that was elden ring, which i somehow only got into on august of 2023) i love dsiii because i love the dark souls series so so much in general, but for some reason it’s my least favourite out of all spulsborne games. The story and bosses are all super cool and i loved the conclusion it provided for the series, but it’s the one i find the least entertaining? or not the least entertaining, but it’s the one I think about the least. maybe it’s because i still kind of experience it as a. second version of bloodborne since i played bloodborne before ds3 lol. which is an unfair judgement but I can’t let go of that feeling it gives me for some reason. great game but I end up fixating more on the others fsr

navlaan is my favourite character in ds2 also! i love a little fucked up sorcerer. I need more grey thinking. good and bad mean nothing in the name of acquiring knowledge. nuance is required to understand navlaan and its why I often avoid reading stuff about him lol.

I’m realising my response to your ask focuses more on just my personal experience with the games rather than what it is within them that I love, I didn’t really get into detail about that at all lol but. I already said so much 💀

[spearxwind]

been thinking a lot about my different oc worlds recently. ive said before ive got four, but technically it's five if you count extinction.

im gonna put all my thoughts under a readmore bc once again this got insanely long jkllkjjkf. i be rambling

most of my attention has definitely been going into challenger deep the past year (and will likely continue), recently i refurbished hollowridge as well and have had a lot of fun with it (even if i havent drawn much to show for it...)

the other two of the set of four i originally posted about are my agony drive and broken horizon settings. Broken horizon is more of a personal headworld where ive set my dragon ocs, but I have not really been successful with it in terms of like. worldbuilding and crafting a story for it, mostly because there are very few characters in it currently and i struggle with it. But it's the world where cercerion and my sona dima (as an oc) exist. i would love to actually do a better job with it sometime but it currently isnt a huge priority because ive been focused on the other two main ones (but again since its just a personal headworld it literally is just some place i like to mentally hang out and fly around in, im not super bothered by it being undeveloped.)

However we have the two troublemaker worlds now

the agony drive setting has been driving me more than a little nuts because of its whole situation with it. i absolutely adore the characters i have in it, but i have no idea what to do with the world itself. it used to be a joint project so i was extremely limited in the way i could develop it bc i depended on the other individual enjoying the ideas and i did my best to keep it afloat almost being the sole contributor to it, so now that its liberated i just didnt know what to do with it. i do like a bunch of the lore bits i came up with but some part of me is like 'idk if i enjoy this as a world' bc it still feels limited in some way? Another issue is that while hollowridge (previously my horror and slapstick gore setting with demons/angels/magic vibes) was dead in the water, i channeled that violence slapstick demon/magic vibe through TAD, but getting a focus back on hollowridge has kinda just. straight up deleted a bunch of TAD's reason to exist? i dont know if that makes sense

HR isnt really that much slapstick violence because death is final, and TAD is more cartoony in that sense bc death ISNT final which is its main reason to exist (unlimited violent major character death for the funnies), but theres a weird overlap that is keeping me from focusing correctly because it makes my brain go 'you are doing the same thing twice'

I would really really love to actually turn it into something fun and unique (separate from my other worlds) but i really havent been sure how to go about it because of that overlap. i genuinely think its just a problem of 'you have to actually develop the setting to have fun in it' and i just havent been able to do that yet bc i cant decide what i want it to BE. TAD has also never really had a lot of story to begin with so it makes things harder bc the story is the vehicle to explore the world with. its pretty frustrating bc midas set and david are some of my fav ocs ive made and i miss them but god dammit if it isnt hard to actually work with the whole thing....

and last but not least... the fifth one. extinction. a lot of you probably know this one from my comic. if youve been here since like... 2014-2015 (which would be insane) you might remember me beginning to develop that story until it eventually became the comic that is currently sitting unfinished and feels like a huge weight on my shoulders just out of sheer shame

the issue with extinction is that it was a lot of characters that i deeply loved (and still i still deeply love!!) all with fun plotlines, backstories, and a lot of fun tidbits to em that i ended up bending and breaking dozens of times just for the purpose of fitting them into a relatively short story that i could draw out and finish. and more importantly into something i hoped would be handleable instead of spiralling out of control like it had happened before

but what i didnt realize is that by doing so, i "locked" their lore in place into these very small boxes that would fit into a story, and thus i would remove what i had loved about those characters and their interactions that i had come up with years and years ago and a lot of my very very cool ideas for them simply went out the window in favor of .... well i dont. know. but off it went

i live in complete shame for not being able to finish the comic. it genuinely is a huge and extremely heavy weight on my shoulders and this whole thing has prevented me from even thinking of said ocs for years now even though they are some of my oldest and most beloved. saying all of this is not something i take lightly in the least as well

so recently I have been thinking about bringing them back as well... maybe (to the extent that i can... i have a lot of ocs and you guys know i have a lot of bias when drawing faves. so i cant guarantee content but at least i would be able to think about them again).

essentially the same way that i rewrote and got back my old concepts for hollowridge that slapped hard i want to get back my original ideas for extinction that i thought were really cool and just wasnt able to fit into a comic narrative

obviously this would come with a lot of retconning and i know a lot of people will probably not like it if i do it and i think thats something i have to face and learn to live with

but yeah anyways. TLDR is i really want to actually do something proper for TAD but have been having a lot of trouble with it unfortunately, but im working on it. and ive also been feeling rly nostalgic about extinction so you might see the characters again, albeit different in terms of story from what you probably know