#Which is very generous of her because it's actually extremely pointless

[stardustedknuckles]

When I was in Oklahoma there were these pokemon go players, blue team, and they would drive out to the park behind my house and take over all the gyms. Which.... Whatever. But if you knocked their pokemon out, these grown ass men (I never saw more than two despite there being six pokemon in each gym) would get in their big trucks and show up a full ten minutes later to kick you out again. It was about a ten minute walk to the park, dark and often cold so like. As a recent yellow team member to join my sister, there was nothing I could do. They actually camped out in their truck behind a fence out of sight once and spent an hour kicking people out but not taking the gym over. Bunch of kids getting real bummed out and we all thought each other was responsible, but we ended up talking and realized none of us was doing it. I saw the truck parked on the way home, idling around the corner.

It wasn't a lack of coins. They were just dicks and it legitimately made me mad. They also had a guy on red team who would come around and knock their stuff out for them so they could refresh their coin gathering. Complete bullshit.

Context for tonight, when I'm in bed and the yellow gym I can hit from my apartment starts going nuts. There's this one guy who comes by every night and takes over this gym and two more. I kicked him out tonight. He came back. War ensued, and since I was a little high I could feel myself fixating on this but was unable to stop. I could feel the stress coming back of not being allowed to get coins, that frustration. I'm not repeating that experience and I'm not quitting over this, so what can I do? Only one thing.

Anyway after nearly two hours of bullshit (I took breaks) it was very satisfying to grab the team medallion, swap to blue team, and put a magikarp named midfinger up next to their 4k tanks. Petty, yes. But I started out blue team anyway and I HATE the way the yellow team guy looks so I had already been considering it for the past week every time I had to look at him. Really, this was just a nudge.

Now we hope he and his buddy don't swap teams too. It would admittedly be very funny. (important context: you can only swap teams once a year)

[loycos]

my head's a bit clearer, some thoughts about act 3

-my biggest gripe is episode 7- cool idea, love the concept of peaking into a different universe and seeing what our characters couldve been under different circumstances, but a WHOLE episode. when you only had 9 episode in this season, that already feel like theyre moving at a neck's pace. for a universe that ultimately doesn't matter to the main universe where the story takes place. the fact it had timebomb made it feel extremely fan service-y.

-no emotional resolution to a lot of characters. viktor and jayce are the only ones i can think of that felt like they got the screen time and care for an actual emotional closure.

-isha wasn't even mentioned in this act. in general she was already a martyr for jinx's character development but guys can you make it less obvious.

-it started in act 2, hence why i was so jaded on it, but it continues here: just where the fuck the political drama between 2 cities go? the conflict between zaun and piltover took a back seat since episode 4 and never came back. the resolution to it isn't bad per say, but when u got so little focus on it in the finale it just feels rushed.

-i loved the cait and jinx scene. but like, that was the resolution to it??? after act 1 thinking about it disappoints me. im not against a conversation being the climax to a story, but that is, and im not joking, the ONLY conversation these 2 have in the show one on one. in general the jinx\cait\vi arc ends with 1 conversation per duo (well caitvi got one fight and one very steamy sex scene but u won't catch me complaining). and after act 1, idk i think i wanted just a little bit more. im biased though- the jinx\vi\caitlyn dynamic is my favorite part about arcane. the teasers for s2 always had them front and center so i assumed it'll play a bigger part in the story???

-i felt like what the show was at its core, which is the conflict between the sisters and the cities, was completely sidelined this season. in general i can't really tell what the main theme of the show is anymore. but yeah look at the resolution to the jinx and vi story.did it feel like it had the emotional impact u expected? cause i felt like it was underwhelming.

-sevika?? didnt speak since episode 4???? huhh???

-maddie was pointless. why was she there?? i don't understand the point of that character. i dont understand her motives. she ended up not mattering at all to caitvi's story. the only thing i got from her inclusion is "caitlyn fucks" but is it that THAT important??? of a character trait??? to add to caitlyn of all people?? in THIS season??? this belongs in the realm of fanfiction.

-a lot here felt like fanfiction actually. every silco inclusion (except of him in the cell with jinx), the whole "nobody dies au" they threw in the middle, even the caitvi sex scene (IM NOT COMPLAINING THO). the caitvi scene at the end was dialog out of fanfiction, wtf was that.

-why did caitlyn lose her eye? im not like against the idea on a base level but losing an eye is very symbolic, and im not sure what its supposed to represent here. caitlyn is an observant person, its a big character trait for her. so youre basically saying she sees less now? that she's more laser focused? i sure hope not. wasnt her whole arc with giving up of revenge about seeing the "bigger picture"? her sacrifice didn't feel in character, because caitlyn is not really a "fight to the death" type of character like ambessa is. if she made that sacrifice for something like love, or for the betterment of other people, that would be more in line. idk, you couldve made me on board with it but im just very meh on it. also caitlyn only really emotes through her eyes, it sucks that we get even less of it now?? though i guess it doesnt matter at this point.

-what was the point of the enforcer that looked like vander?

-ambessa was so wasted in these last 2 acts its crazy. where's the "you have to be the fox and the wolf" mindset from her? she felt like she was wolfing only with no wit anymore by the 3rd act.

-mel????????????? it was. uhhh. maybe you shouldve saved it for another series, riot. but in this show, waste of time. the fight she had with caitlyn against ambessa was cool tho.

-i sound like im a hater but u have to understand. s1 of arcane was a political drama and a character study show. seeing all this discarded for magic and time travel shenanigans on like 4 different fronts was so jarring it took me out of the show multiple times.

-cant believe im saying that, but i wish they'd try to stick closer to the characters' current state in the source material (the cursed game). someof it felt out of left field and done for shock value, which isn't why we love the story or these characters to begin with.

good stuff:

-caitvi sex lmao ill take it babyyyyy

-jayce and viktor's scenes at the end were powerful.

-as usual, the visuals were phenomenal. the animation is gorgeous. fortiche u made this show what it is and youre still its saving grace.

-thank god they dropped the warwick\vander plot

-i liked the implication of the conclusion to jinx's story, even if it felt a little inconsistent with the character.

-the ending to jinx\vi\caitlyn was poetic and i did love it, even if it was rushed and didn't really hit the emotional highs i wanted it to.

[therealdesastrffxiv]

I submitted a suggestion to FFXIV Forums

HERE IT IS:

"I adore FFXIV, but one of the things in this game that is extremely grating is the how alt-unfriendly it is.

I realize people use the excuse of 'we can use all jobs on one character', but that honestly does not appeal to me in the slightest. Most jobs do not work for my character, who I write stories about and roleplay. This same situation applies to most glams, pets, and mounts.

The ironic thing is, I would do far, far more in this game if only it were more alt friendly. I would likely actually try to dive into more extreme PvE content, but as it stands now, it simply is not worth it. A lot of content just does not fit for this character, yet she is meant to remain my main, and I want to do the content on her.

I do not have enough time or want to level up and get through the story on every single alt I want to write a story about, and to have to grind everything out a second time, it makes collecting in this game for people like me pointless.

Therefore, I propose an idea: All mounts should be shared. All hairstyles should be shared. All minions should be shared. In the case of glams, might I suggest a special storage chest that is account bound, allowing you to swap glams to your alt? Quite like 'transmog collections' in other games (and mounts/pets being shared in general).

If the above is considered unreasonable - I think it is fair to at least say we could farm everything multiple times, BUT on a main which then could provide the item to the alt.

Example: A glam drops, you can only use it on one character, but you can transfer it to a different character even if it doesn't apply to the one you got it on.

Example 2: I get a mount drop on this character, don't really want it on this one, put it in my chest to give it to an alt.

Example 3: I have a mount collected already, but get another drop, so transfer it to a different character.

Example 3 would also encourage people to farm even more, because there would be a point to getting multiple drops, as we'd be able to give them to alts.

Please at least consider something like an account bound chest, thank you!"

THOSE WHO WANT ALT FRIENDLINESS IN THE GAME - We'd have to bring it up on the forums, or get the word out there more via Twitter. I use the hashtag #altfriendlyxiv or #altfriendlyffxiv.

Something as simple as being able to mail alts & all shop items being account bound rather than just the non-holiday mounts would be great, in the very least. (Aside from the boosts, obviously.)

The suggestion I had someone leave on the forums is linked here.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials: Number 23 Danganronpa V3 Case 6

//Oh Jesus...

//Now, let me just make one thing clear with this one. I actually don't dislike V3's ending with a burning passion. I definitely don't LIKE like it, but after sitting on it for a while, some of the twists and events of the trial are...pretty good actually, and really show what Danganronpa V3 is all about.

//So I don't tend to agree with the lavish hate that this trial gets.

//HOWEVER, with all that being said, I DO agree that this is by far the worst ending in the entire franchise. And yes, that includes both the Another games, Ultra Despair Girls, AND DR3.

//Which...Actually, to their credit, despite having a very iffy runtime for me, all of those examples had actually pretty killer endings that I really enjoyed.

//But yeah, I mean...V3's final trial and the whole thing that happens in it is just so fucking infamous. And for all very valid reasons. So...without further ado, let's talk about it for the umpteenth time.

//In case I already didn't make it clear, describing Danganronpa V3's final trial and ending as "controversial" among its audience...honestly doesn't do the full scope of the situation justice.

//It's very hard to come by someone who has played V3 and is a fan of Danganronpa who probably doesn't have more mixed feelings about a single segment of a video game.

//And honestly, I'm not sure if I should talk about the good things, or the bad things first; because again, divisive implies that it kind of balances out.

//I think I'll focus on the stuff I don't like, because that's the main crux of the argument that explains this trial's placement.

//Something I've always noticed is that when you look at the ending trials for all three mainline Danganronpa games, you notice that all three of them suffer from very similar issues. Those issues being the ridiculousness of the events, the sheer length, and the fact that they are just incredibly blatant plot dumps that try to scramble every bit of the established lore together in one uncomfortable package. And the reason why DRV3 is the worst of the endings is because it does all three of these at MAXIMAM VELOCIPY.

//(I spelt that wrong on purpose by the way.)

//In the Danganronpa series, it has become widely recognized that the trials progressively increase in length with each installment. I kinda see this as a good thing, as it contributes to the franchise’s appeal, because longer trials mean more intricate mysteries, additional plot points, and unexpected twists.

//The final trial in Danganronpa V3, however, takes this idea to the extreme, likely in recognition of its status as the series' concluding chapter. It goes all out, lasting, at minimum, 4 to 5 hours.

//And unlike the ending trials of 1 and 2, that ridiculous length of time is filled up by basically random bullshit. Some sections are highly innovative, like the segments where players must intentionally fail certain minigames to progress as a means of rejecting hope in confrontations with Tsumugi. However, other parts can be frustrating, and just...packed with pointless dialogue.

//For example, the whole segment where they kind of bring up the fact that Kaede had a twin sister as a red herring? Pointless.

//I mean, I take advantage of that fact later, but generally why was this even a plot point to begin with? It's so weird, and nothing comes of it.

//There's also the strangely unfomfortable spike in difficulty, and the fact that fluctuates VERY often.

//The trial features a mix of straightforward puzzles and extremely challenging minigames, some of which rival the difficulty of Danganronpa 2’s notoriously tough (and ridiculously fucking stupid) "Improved Hangman’s Gambit." These difficulty spikes, combined with long stretches of dialogue between minigames,don't do anything for this trial other than cause a pacing imbalance.

//How about the actual culprits though? Well, they are equally as divisive.

//This is, unfortunately, the only moment in Danganronpa V3 where Monokuma gets to show himself off to be the same bad bitch bear he was in the original game, and the Monokubs don't stick around long enough to be an issue to him. And unlike the first two games, he sticks around for the entire trial.

//But then he's coupled...with Tsumugi...

//And all my homies HATE...TSUMUGI...

//Okay, to be fair, Tsumugi is one of the most fun characters to write for Survivor, but I feel the need to point out that a large part of her character arc is that it involves her desperately trying to take up the mantle of the Ultimate Despair, and be on the same level as a criminal and terrorist Mastermind as Junko.

//And the reason I even have leeway for this type of character building for her is because there isn't just room for character development and improvement with her. There's FAR TOO MUCH of it.

//Tsumugi isn't just the least compelling masterminds in the series, but one of the least compelling characters IN GENERAL. And even after she IS revealed to be the big bad, she somehow remains the incredibly blank and boring character that she was for most of V3's run time.

//Junko, Monaca, and even Nagito as something of a pseudo-Mastermind were all batshit crazy and demonic to the core, but it's important to point out that they all have REASONS driving their evil acts, as psychopathic and evil some of them were. But Tsumugi lacks any sort of personal motive, and relies on her role as an avatar for the audience’s desires. The general passivity compared to other masterminds makes her insanely underwhelming.

//Speaking of which, if I may be allowed to go on a bit of a tangent here; the way that Tsumugi is outed as the Mastermind is kind of controversial in and of itself for me.

//By which I mean it's discovered that what actually happened at the beginning of the game is that Kaede's trap to kill the mastermind failed to kill Rantaro. But because of the first blood perk that meant the students would all die if no one was murdered, it meant that time was running short, and in the heat of the moment, Tsumugi got a second shotput ball, killed Rantaro with it, and used her authority as the Mastermind to frame Kaede for the crime anyway.

//Which all feels like unnecessary bullshit if I'm being honest.

//Case 1 and the twist that Kaede was the actual killer was great; and her subsequent execution is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in V3, because it it sends her off as a tragic, morally gray protagonist who was willing to kill for the greater good. Hence the reason why she's my favourite character in the series.

//However, the revelation here retroactively strips her of agency, making her a victim of Tsumugi's manipulation rather than someone who took a flawed, bold step to save her friends.

//This twist also diminishes Kaede's character arc. Her determination and selflessness, even if her actions were misguided, is largely the reason why she manages to be such a spectacular character despite her short runtime. By revealing that she was framed, the story shifts her role from an active participant to a passive victim, which feels like a betrayal of her established personality and the unique premise of her narrative.

//Additionally, the reveal is poorly foreshadowed, and feels like a contrived attempt to shock the audience, and a desperate attempt to redeem Kaede, rather than a natural development. The explanation relies heavily on Tsumugi’s ability to perfectly execute a plan without leaving meaningful clues for the detectives, which feels inconsistent with the game's emphasis on logical deduction, and inconsistent with her being an absolute dumbass every other time, even AFTER her Mastermind reveal. As a result, the twist feels less like a clever subversion and more like an unfair rewrite of the story's emotional stakes.

//All in all, Tsumugi's character feels less developed than those who came before her, and it feels like the emphasis on her being a "cosplayer of fiction" was little more than a bad excuse to avoid giving her any type of depth or a unique personality.

//She's just plain. And she stays plain even when she's revealed to be the main villain.

//Also, this is a comment that's gonna get me smited by everybody, but fuck it, I refuse to hide how I truly feel: Keebo is equally as dogshit.

//Keebo is such a NOTHING character, and I don't understand why he has such a massive fanbase. This is supposed to be him at his best, and his whole point is that he's the one who has to stick it to Tsumugi, but he fails to do even that.

//There's a tiny segment of this trial where we get to play as Himiko and Maki, and a large segment where we get to play as Keebo, and BOTH are UTTERLY POINTLESS, even though they are kind of cool.

//Keebo's actions during this trial when you play as him are a clear homage and cliche to the series' origins, where he is constantly encouraging everyone that they should never give up since the game isn't over yet. But this is effortlessly shut down when Tsumugi abruptly informs him that she WROTE his character that way, and it's exactly what she wanted him to say, as well as the fact that he unknowingly served as the audiences eyes and ears for the game. Thus Keebo's one single moment to shine in this entire game is ultimately futile.

//What was the fucking point of even that?

//So between the dogshit gameplay, and the dogshit Mastermind behind everything, this case is already bad enough. But sad as it is to say, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Something that I believe is always a make-or-break for the final trials, and that's the Ultimate plot twist that it entails. Usually a big reveal of some sort.

Game 1: The world outside the academy has been basically destroyed.

Game 2: Jabberwock Island is a virtual simulation, and the students in Class 77 are the brainwashed Ultimate Despair terrorists who aided Junko in the Tragedy. Hajime is also Izuru Kamukura, a talentless boy who was experimented on by Hope's Peak Academy against his knowledge.

Another 1: Similar to Game 2. Yuki is revealed to be the true Mastermind behind the Killing Game, and his real identity is Utsuro, the boy with the power of Divine Luck that reshapes reality in his favor.

Another 2: Sora isn't real, is actually an AI based on Akane Taira, is the one who really has the Divine Luck Mikado seeks, and she is left behind as the virtual world is erased.

//I'm not gonna dance about it any longer than I have to, we all know the twist of V3, and we all know it's kind of bullshit.

//The case reveals that the events of Danganronpa V3 are part of a fictional reality show within the game’s universe. The students' lives and personalities were fabricated, their memories manipulated, and the killing game broadcasted for entertainment.

//V3 is actually the 53rd entry of the Danganronpa franchise, with the V in V3 actually being the roman numeral for 5. And Tsumugi directly references the previous Danganronpa games, framing them as part of the same fictional reality show franchise.

//This retroactively positions Danganronpa V3 as a reboot rather than a continuation, suggesting that the events of earlier games may not matter either.

//And the final trial frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the player directly and critiquing their role as consumers of violent, despair-filled entertainment. Tsumugi frames the killing game as something the audience demands, effectively blaming players for perpetuating the cycle.

//So yeah...

//EVERYTHING here just SUCKS!

//In the Meta sense, I will say that the twist is interesting, kind of humerous to an extent, and shouldn't be taken seriously in any sort of degree. Not to mention, to a certain extent, it's innovative and quite thought-provoking, as it rightfully critiques fan obsession with sensationalized entertainment.

//But it's done in a way that, in the attempt to portray their games audience, makes me wonder if Danganronpa understands its audience at all.

//The way it's handled here is a betrayal of the narrative, dismissing the emotional weight of the characters' struggles and reducing them to fictional constructs.

//If you're someone, like me, who is/was deeply invested in the original cast and continuity, this just feels insulting. It's like the series we love has been seemingly reduced to a meaningless cycle of fabricated tragedies. Some even see it as an attempt to erase the legacy of Danganronpa's 1 and 2, and it generally makes V3 feel disconnected from the rest of the series.

//I think what upsets me the most is that Tsumugi's claim that the game is made "for the fans, by the fans," is done as a way to make the player complicit in the killing game, suggesting that their desire for entertainment is what perpetuates the franchise’s cycles of despair.

//In other words, this game is basically telling you that you are a terrible person for playing and enjoying it. And I don't vibe with that AT ALL.

//This meta-narrative comes across as kind of self-indulgent and dismissive, overshadowing the characters and plot in favor of philosophical commentary. And not even the good kind.

//But this is why I specifically use words like "controversial" and "divisive" to describe this twist. The events of V3 single-handedly created a divide in the fanbase, with some appreciating the meta-commentary and others feeling disrespected.

//But besides the twist itself, what makes me personally lean towards the latter side of the argument is that all these twists, turns, and concepts are brought up, and despite the trial almost physically forcing the ideas into your throat, what baffles me is how strangely and concerningly ambiguous everything remains by the end of it.

//When you think about it, there are no grounds upon which Tsumugi makes her claims, so everything she says and states in this trial is questionable at best, and a blatant lie at worst. Shuichi even makes note of this at the very end of the game.

//It’s unclear whether the events of Danganronpa V3 were "real" in the context of the game world or entirely fictional within its universe, which many at this point in time have accepted as its own alternate timeline; hence why I make it so in Danganronpa Survivor. This ambiguity extends to whether the surviving characters have truly escaped the cycle of the killing game or are trapped in another layer of fiction.

//The surviving characters (Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko) are left in an uncertain state. Their escape from the game is metaphorical rather than literal, and their identities, forged through fabricated memories, remain unresolved.

//It's up for debate whether this can be called clever storytelling or unnecessarily confusing bullshit. For some, it feels like a cop-out that avoids resolving the story definitively, while others appreciate the open-ended nature, which allows for personal interpretation.

//The lack of clear rules or boundaries for what is real made the ending feel nonsensical or overly convoluted, and it's hard to get invested in a story that defies traditional narrative logic in this way. Even for something like Danganronpa.

//The ambiguity about the trio's futures and identities felt hollow, and that's why a lot of people want more closure.

//Speaking of which, yet another huge issue with this trial is something that V3 shares with 3. Despite the fact that the purpose of the game is to tie the knot on the franchise, there is SUCH a lack of CLOSURE, for FUCKS SAKE!

//Ultimately, it doesn't matter at all whether we can say that V3 was truly real, or fictional. It doesn't matter, because either way, people still want a satisfying conclusion for the characters they’ve followed, but V3 provides NONE of that. The ending’s open-ended nature, while probably done with good intent, makes it difficult to discern any definitive meaning or takeaway from the story.

//So god tell me, what did I just waste four hours of my life on!?

//Trial 6 of V3 is the worst ending in the series because it is generally a waste of time, spends so long trying to meticulously explain a very stupidly handled twist, and ultimately has NO CONCLUSION.

//Which is why it's so low, and yet, it still manages to avoid not only the honorable mentions, but the bottom spot (although it's really fucking close, trust me.)

//My opinion of this trial is overly negative, and it's not one I enjoy revisiting in any sense, but there are things about it I like.

//For starters, the characterization. I kind of already rambled on about this before when I went on that tangent about Tsumugi being a stupid as fuck villain.

//But while Tsumugi is incredibly poor...SHUICHI is BRILLIANT!

//I like all the Danganronpa protagonists about the same, and though I generally prefer Kaede, I ADORE Shuichi too, and THIS is why. He is EASILY the best-developed protagonist in the main series, and the way that growth that happens throughout all of V3 culminates here is near FLAWLESS.

//He's been through so much pain for this whole game, and it crushes him tenfold when he finds out what little enjoyment and fulfillment he DID have wasn't even reality, and just part of a fictional series. That, and the fact that people will never empathize with him, because in their eyes, he's just a character behind a screen.

//But he goes on to assert himself as a protagonist and chooses to challenge the killing game’s rules. His defiance is a moment of growth festered in him by the emotionally REAL relationships he had with Kaede and Kaito, showing that he can stand up for his beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming odds. His journey from self-doubt to confidence is deeply satisfying, well-handled, and emotional for fans who connected with his struggles. His choice to reject both hope and despair in favor of forging his own path is empowering, just as much, if not more, than even Hajime's from Game 2.

//There were a few characters, namely Kaede, Kaito, and Kokichi, who did massive gambits in an attempt to break the killing game and ruin it, but they all failed. It feels good to know that Shuichi was the one who succeeded.

//Despite its kind of unholy subversion, the trial also acts as a tribute to the Danganronpa series and how far it's come, incorporating callbacks, references, and homages to earlier games; most notably when Tsumugi transforms herself into characters from the series before this.

//It's not quite closure, but it's the closest we get.

//As far as the twist goes, while I generally think it was handled poorly, the idea behind it comes from a very important place. The meta-narrative of this trial turns the game into a commentary on the nature of fiction and the role of creators, characters, and audiences. It’s a fresh and daring approach that sets this game apart from its predecessors, making it memorable and thought-provoking in regards to people's relationship with the series and the medium of storytelling as a whole.

//And while I generally dislike the open-ended conclusion, it does invite the idea of interpretation, allowing players to draw their own meanings and decide what is real within the story.

//I mean, I did that. You're reading that very blog now.

//The worst part about this trial for me is the fact that it feels like the twist is designed to attack the hardcore fans; something that I can't really forgive. But the way the trial critiques fandom culture, exploring the implications of endlessly consuming horrible concepts for entertainment, is kind of a valid statement to make at the current state of the world. It asks the audience to consider their role in perpetuating the killing games and questions the morality of reveling in such dark content.

//I just wish it had done so more kindly.

//But yeah, overall while I do appreciate V3's final trial for its boldness and willingness to subvert expectations, I generally dislike it for its perceived disrespect to the series' characters, themes, and fanbase. Case 6 is somehow both a brilliant deconstruction of the series’ tropes and a reflection on the nature of storytelling, fandom, and media consumption, as well as a betrayal of the series’ core themes. The ending’s ambiguity, meta-commentary, and radical deconstruction of the franchise leave it as one of the most polarizing conclusions in gaming history, and I doubt there are many that come close.

[enixamyram]

Arcane S2 Spoilers

I finally got around to watching Arcane and honestly... It was a big let down.

The first half was good but by the second half, I was a little put off by just how much was being squeezed in so sloppily. It just felt like there was so much going on at once, it wasn't giving everything a chance to properly play out. So many storylines were dropped as soon as they started (Jinx leading the Undercity) or there were storylines which didn't go anywhere and seemed extremely pointless and all out unnecessary (the very brief romance between Caitlin and Maddie). Or there were "twist" that were dumb because there was no time to build on the characters enough for it to actually hit (Maddie's entire story) and even bits I really loved; Isha, felt like once her part was done she was tossed aside writing-wise and never even referenced again.

The entire storyline with Vander felt like it was tacked on. Jinx and Vi were supposed to be the main characters, yet during the big battle it felt like they were just fighting one of many henchmen while others dealt with the real threats. You could have easily swapped Vander out for any big henchmen and the fight would have been the same minus a line or two at the very end. Even Jinx's death felt so out of place. It would have been better done during the fight, instead they fake out it being finished and they start everything up just so she can sacrifice herself.

It also felt like a lot of things weren't even resolved properly (all the conflict between the Uppercity Vs Undercity) and they should have saved some plotlines to be the focus of their own future stories. In general it just felt like they were trying to do too much in a short space of time. Which sucks because I was so into the show and yet by the time I finished the finale episode, I was pretty much over it.

[lakesbian]

okay, as i have been encouraged by the public (like 2 people) to go forward with this research, i present the very scientific Tier List of Blonde Wildbow Characters Ranked From Most to Least Likely to Have A Piss Kink. virtually no one wanted this post. i did not want this post. it is 2.1k words long. i wanted to inform you of that before you clicked read more in case you were just expecting a tier list image and did not actually want to read 2.1k words about piss kinks.

wherein:

the tier list exists because of this ask, which was written in jesting response to the subject of victoria dallon's canon piss kink (more on that below) and somewhat intentionally misrepresented by me as being contextless because i thought it was funny to crop it and reply with 'ok.' which led to a massive containment breach and several thousand people not realizing anon was trying to make a joke. sorry. my bad, anon.

here, "likelihood of having a piss kink" is defined as "likelihood of having a kink that involves primarily or significantly urine," and genre of piss kink shall be clarified for the characters where it's a possibility.

no pictures are included for the characters because not all of them have fanart and also there's a lot of them and the tier list is only so big and i'm lazy

characters i do not know well enough to vibe check are not included

rationally speaking it would make most sense to presume that unless a character has a canon or heavily implied piss kink it is heavily implausible for them to have one but this post would be boring and pointless if i went that route so i'm going to include some somewhat baseless vibe-checking/discussion of hypotheticals where it's not explicitly disproven or improbable. with my bestest attempts to remain reasonable levels of character accurate given the post circumstances.

our ranks here are:

canon: this character canonically has a piss kink

highly plausible: there is strong contextual evidence that could be used to argue for the presence of a piss kink

plausible: based on more vibes/less solid evidence than "highly plausible," but a piss kink is still possible

could go either way: there is a lack of evidence in either direction, there's no way to make a clear argument on the matter

not very plausible: there is decent contextual evidence or simply Character Vibes that could be used to argue against the presence of a piss kink

strong evidence against: it can be deemed nigh-certain that this character does not have a piss kink

The Chart:

the characters who were not included because i do not know them personally (opinions welcomed):

all three ashleys

bianca

The Analysis:

Canon:

victoria: stated by wildbow to have some kind of "preferred fluid" you shouldn't drink, knows what urine tastes like. canon watersports kink. i hate her. i hope she stands within 20 feet of fentanyl and overdoses and dies. i hope she goes down a slide too hard.

Highly Plausible:

citrine: we know that accord is certainly and without doubt enough of a control freak (<- said w/ deep affection) that he insists that his ambassadors refrain from Wanton and Unprofessional Bathroom Breaks, but also insists that they never indicate they have to pee (or engage in any other basic bodily function) ever because that's Icky and if they do he will want to Rube Goldberg Machine But The Machine Is A Saw Trap them about it. and we know that citrine gets off on him being a control freak. it can thus be reasonably extrapolated that she's constantly doing accidental omorashi w/ accord and is just as into that as she is all the other aspects of control. the piss is incidental--the main point is still whatever appeals to her about the control in general--but, like, The Piss Is There. extremely does not want to experience what would happen if she ever even remotely fucked up holding, but presumably enjoys the mortifying ordeal of attempting to politely excuse herself to the restroom and/or stoically holding so she doesn't have to excuse herself in the first place.

paige (pact): she textually, literally, canonically, For Fucking Real, is a lesbian who enters into the world of pactverse magic because she's tempted by a hypothetical dom/sub dynamic with a hot professor who is actually a sphinx. (if any of you who haven't read pact yet are reading this post. Please go read pact.) this extrapolation is less blatant than citrine, but it's by no means unreasonable to assume that there could be some bladder control going on here. she can go to the bathroom when she's a good girl and finishes answering all of isadora's questions. etc. hey do you think pactverse would have really hardcore RACK omorashi where you make a statement that you are NOT going to go until [x amount of time] and it's your karma on the line if you fuck it up. i bet people with executive dysfunction in pact do this type of shit a lot. they're like i am going to start my homework RIGHT NOW!!! and then they Have to. i digress.

Plausible:

peter: we have no information about his love life beyond him flirting with ainsley amidst a Serious Disaster involving Demons, so this is just vibes-based, but he's mean and manipulative and unpleasant in a specific way that could theoretically insinuate that he would enjoy accidentally-on-purpose preventing a girl from getting to the bathroom & watching her squirm. you'll have to trust me on this.

Could Go Either Way:

ellie: my consultant re the pelhams vibes-based ranked her higher than peter, but i don't see it. i could see her having one, but it'd be in a different and grosser direction than peter. i feel like blake's comparison of her to a weak, groveling dog in a pack may be relevant here.

rose (old): i don't strongly see it, but based on what we know about her sex life i wouldn't be surprised if she participated in any heat-of-the-moment watersports.

rose (young): somehow coming in with the exact right bizarre psychosexual complexes to score higher than both blake and pre-meiosis thorburn. i don't think it's likely, but i somehow don't see a reason to mark her down as entirely implausible. her theoretical psychosexual complex about blake is marked by a few facts: she says that he has a "hate-on" for her, she does that weird thing where she hugs him for comfort & lets him give her his jacket (what if the lamb you were leading to slaughter was the man you could've been, and for just a moment, you wanted to take kindness from The Man You Could've Been despite the fact that, because you are not him, you will betray him regardless), when he sacrifices himself to fuse with/bolster her the fusing is described in ostensibly sexual language (being Inside her, the two halves grinding, etc), and she does that whole noticeable twice-over to his almost-naked body. she would absolutely never admit to wanting to fuck her "clone," but were she to envision it, the scenario she would mentally craft would involve blake wanting to fuck her (he never would & she knows this) and, like, eating her out like he wants to kill her or doing some boot frotting with splinters. oh and she would give him the most awkward dry unpleasant handjob on the planet where she's very clearly treating him like a program to experiment with, press button A and find out if it gets result B. I digress. one could also imagine a theoretical rose thorburn piss kink which remains an entirely subconscious psychosexual fixation that she freudian-slips into conversation at least once a la "hate-on," wherein the ideal scenario for her earlier into the book would be wetting herself for reasons entirely against her control despite being so very brave and stalwart and stoic, and imaginary blake is like "wow you were so brave and stoic about that...it's ok everyone has gotten into an awkward spot once or twice in their lives. in fact, [personal recounting of relevant horrible memory]. here have my jacket i will tie it around your waist for you with a lingering amount of physical contact." and later into the book that would switch to just Making The Fuck Up that he'd be really mean and humiliating about it and then getting mad about her imaginary vision of him doing that even though he literally would not do that ever. (the hypothetical of him being mean about it would be a kink thing for her also obviously. Hate On, she says.) okay sorry for talking so much about rose thorburn's psychosexual fixation with blake thorburn i think it's really funny for her to be extremely abnormal about the clonefucking quandary.

fell: i don't actually know him well enough to postulate what genre it would be if he hypothetically had one but despite not Expecting that he has one i wouldn't find it wholly implausible if wildbow got up tomorrow and made an announcement declaring that he does. i think this could be utilized primarily for the humor purposes of, like. blake being like "hey i know we can't really pull over right now BUT could you pull over? i need to take a leak. should i say want to? is it technically lying if i say need but it's not an emergency yet?" and fell being like No. Do Not Say Another Word On This Subject And Also I Hate You. which is because he is desperately and fervently and furiously and with great and genuine anger and rage attempting to Not think about Blake Thorburn, A Conventionally Attractive And Very Annoying Man, having to pee. but blake interprets it as fell being an asshole for no reason and is like ohhh ok fuck you i guess should i just pee on your seat then. you want me to ruin your car seat? [accusatory, fully bluffing, would rather kill himself than piss in fell's car] you're a car guy who doesn't even care about your fancy white upholstery? and fell is like [desperately doing mental math on if blake thorburn, whomst is already covered in fleas and bloods and mysterious liquids, would be petty enough to intentionally piss himself to ruin fell's car] . I will make you walk. like you can see my vision right.

Not Very Plausible:

kathryn: i simply do not see it. she could have something weird going on but it's not a piss kink. the vibes are not being served.

sandra: also a simple matter of the vibes not being there. has probably been exposed to it at one time or another but sees it as undignified and so on

callan: not sensing it

lisa: bathroom shit is surely beyond mundane to her just like everyone elses private bodily workings thoughts feelings etc. i dont even think she has any kinks or interest in sex in general

crystal: this is the only interesting one in this section! she was described to me as "very laid back, but also kind of passive. she's a slob in her private life. sort of goes with the flow to the point that it led her joining a paramilitary force with no oversight." i think being in the dallon-pelham torment nexus sort of intrinsically adds +20 Not Likely points unless youre victoria but i can only assume from this description of her personality that if someone she was fucking was into it she would just roll with it.

neil: was described to me as "neil barely gets anything. he's kind of reckless? he trained victoria a lot. he cheated on his wife with her sister. he liked knocking toddler-aged victoria over as a form of 'training.'" probably not very likely at all but who knows. maybe "declines to fuck sarah and watches panty pissing porn instead" is on his list of secrets next to "cheated on his wife with her sister."

Strong Evidence Against:

carol, paige (worm) (this is canary in case you forgot like i did), cuff, theo, sarah: the club of generic respectable milquetoast cishets who would not do any of that shit and would probably judge someone at least a little for any amount of kink (or in some cases even vanilla sex <3), with paige coming on on the less-judgemental end of the scale and carol coming in at the high end of the judgement scale.

ciara: not generic milquetoast or respectable but the idea of her being into it is just like. silly to me. faerie queens aren't into piss that would be ridiculous. unless they're pactverse faerie queens, then it's a "got bored of it 31 centuries ago" situation, but ciara is not a pactverse faerie.

elle: already struggles with keeping up with hygiene and like...general Existence. surely would not associate any bodily function w/ anything but a task to complete or a mess to clean (<- other task). also presumably might need help going to the bathroom/being reminded that she needs to go sometimes so that certainly would not b anywhere near sexual to her

scion: uh. well. I don't think he knows what any of that shit is to be real with you. Does he even fucking count as blonde?

blake: is textually extremely triggered and distressed and disgusted by being dirty/unclean & losing control over his physical body, to the point where not being able to regularly shave is actively seriously detrimental to his mental health. his tragic character arc of having his identity degraded to the point where "is that still blake" becomes debatable a la ship-of-theseus question is viscerally represented by the fact that bogeyman-blake is just constantly filthy, to the point of turning snow into gray, stained slush when he walks thru it. struggling to deal with basic bodily functions & cleanliness while homeless absolutely severely traumatized him. he would react to someone else wetting themselves with, like, appropriately blake-like levels of kindness & concern, but he would still 100% find the actual piss disgusting. he would try to avoid showing it, but he would find it disgusting. we see him reacting with immense horror to conquest threatening to make him soil himself. if he were ever actually forced into a circumstance where he was genuinely worried about the possibility of pissing himself--let alone if he actually did so--he would have a Category 5 DEFCON 1 Mental Health Moment. all of which is a great reason he should have pissed himself at least once during pact! (<- i just elaborated on this point at such great length i had to force myself to backspace it all and move onto the next bulletpoint)

PMT: exact same trauma as blake. because you know. They were Blake before they got got. unlike blake, still capable of wanting to fuck people, but, like, We Know They're Not Doing Anything With Piss. leatherdyke piss kinkster pmt is a beautiful beautiful vision but its not true.

there you go. thats it. thats the tierlist.

[lilxmoo]

what do you think each of the couples' houses would look like

COUPLE CONTENT LETS GO!!!

Finlett - expensive. No but seriously. A zero g room probably costs a bit, and Scarlett definitely wanted a pool, walk in wardrobe, etc etc. But honestly, I love it for them!! The house is probably fairly big, and the hallways have those flic vines in them! The initial design of the house, before they moved in/made it their own was very white, sleek, y'know. Think the Kardashians house almost, just sci-fi. But it takes a total of a week before there are photos everywhere - not good ones, mind you, but the ones on the walls are like Polaroids, the fridge has 0.5's, you get it. I think all of the furniture would just be very nice. Y'know the couches that have a button to wind back, or kick up a foot rest? Everything. Everything is that. The carpet is definitely soft af, and NOONE will EVER wear shoes indoors. No. Scarlett also has an actual bedroom! She sleeps in zero g with fin, but she has a bedroom for her closet, her mirror, a bed for her to pass out in if she's tired and Fin isn't. It's very cute, very Scarlett. A lot of clothes everywhere, sleek patterns and led lighting. Their house should feel like a minimalist nightmare, but everything is so full of obvious thought behind it and intention, along with just how much I think Fin and Scar would actually care about the place they live, that it almost just feels admirable instead :) I think they also live on a planet similar to Sempiternity, if not exactly that. A place where a lot of different types of people and aliens live, lots of opportunities for parties (not a junky place, mind you, they would both hate that) but also genuinely cool experiences! Think if Melbourne was a planet :)

Tydii - this is the hardest one, because it's said that they're long distance. However, theyre so horny uh i mean deeply in love, they would eventually move in together, even if it's once Saedii gets pregnant. It would need to be somewhere extremely close to where they work, which would probably be Aurora Academy. I think that they would live on a space station. It's about convenience for them - they don't want to settle somewhere on a planet when that's not needed or practical. But still, I think they would care about practicality inside, too. In the first few months they live together, it's quite bland. No need to spend money on pointless things, right? But Syldrathi are very maximalist, and Tyler grew up with Scarlett and Cat, who surrounded every area they were in with posters and clothes, so eventually they caved so that they don't feel like they're waking up in the sci-fi equivalent of an apple store. Chess and tae-sai boards are always on their dining room table, as well as shelves, because they are definitely rare board collectors. Figurines of ships, too. They belong to Tyler, but Saedii is also very fascinated by them. Historical artwork in certain places, pieces that they find interesting. Dare I say, it becomes an elegant nerd house. Probably quite sharp, too, given all the shelves and tables (and Saedii's blades on the walls), which would definitely be child-proofed at some point. But once Lae comes into the picture, there are also spaces just covered in bright books, a pale nursery, and generally just adorable little secrets that show love for their future daughter, which you can only see if you look close enough.

Kalauri - Just BEAUTIFUL. Think a semi-small house, not actually small, but not nearly as large as the other twos, on a hill on New Syldra. Separated from the rest of the village, with flowers and meadows surrounding it. Kal probably made it, because I don't think simply buying a house lives up to his standards for what Auri deserves. (Don't settle for anything less than Kal fr) There are TONS of windows, so that the sun can shine through to every corner. I also think there's a window above their bed, on their roof, so the sun can warm it up. Not to mention, they love stargazing, and that gives them the chance to when they're in bed together! There are plants EVERYWHERE. Forget flic vines, Fin, their house is almost a jungle. Not actually, but Kal is a plant dad through and through, and every plant is just as precious as the last. I think old Chinese furniture would make an appearance, as well as Syldrathi. Everything is painted, too. The wooden drawers are painted with little clouds and birds, corners of the walls in certain places have painted flowers. A lot of cushions and blankets on every seat and bed, pale carpets, and the most elegant pearly wind chimes. It should feel like a lot, but the constant sunshine and nice colors just make the whole place incredibly beautiful. There's a lot of love in quite literally every single corner, and there is not one place that the two of them have not designed very specifically. They're living the colorful, pale cottage core DREAM, and quite frankly its what they deserve!

[blvcklizard]

I was going to treat this idea as an AU, but while making this post I realised it works out a lot better than I initially thought, so it's a theory now. Unless- disclaimer- it was mentioned that it did in fact happen in canon at some point and I either missed it or completely forgot, in that case it's more like an analysis. While I'm at it, major spoilers for Castti's story and Journey for the Dawn ahead. (Also under cut because it got a little ramble-y and stupidly long, I got carried away I'm sorry.)

Anyway. It would make so much sense if Trousseau encountered a shadow at some point?

The Castti/Ochette crossed path essentially explains that the shadow uses the darkness in your heart (which like, despite his characterisation, he had plenty of), so not only would he be absolutely weak to it (if even Castti almost broke down, someone who's already extremely unstable on that matter isn't holding up for two seconds here), it'd also explain why he lost his mind like that? Like, I can totally see Claude and the Book of Night twisting his idea of salvation, and he clearly wasn't the pinnacle of mental stability before either, but shadow influence playing into his insanity would make so much sense.

This could go two ways, either that the effects of the shadow put him under so much stress he just snapped, or that he was actually (partially) taken over by it, as we've seen, I assume, the shadow attempting to do Castti in her second crossed path chapter. I don’t like the idea of treating these two as entirely separate where one would be correct and the other not, realistically it's probably a mix of both, but for the sake of exploring I'll treat them as two different options.

The first one is probably more in line with canon, because it might as well be a side effect to the poison (rather than an actual shadow encounter). It's very heavily implied he experimented with it, so he probably came in contact with it too. There's no actual evidence that it affects the mind iirc (you could argue that Castti's amnesia/hallucinations fall into that category, but personally I don't think so) but if he repeatedly handled shadow energy, I can very well imagine it resonated with all the issues he already had. It would also explain the changes he went through from Castti's chapter 3 to 4. (This is a small detour but he seemed slightly more sane in her chapter 3, mostly regarding the way he acted towards Eir's Apothecaries/Castti. In chapter 3, he obviously still cared about them despite everything since he wanted to keep them out of the picture, and the scene where he leaves Healeaks is called something like "painful goodbye" [loosely translated as I'm not playing the game in English] too. Meanwhile in chapter 4 he's far quicker to see Castti as the enemy and doesn't try to explain his actions anymore.) This is actually relevant for my next point, which is another reason why I think both cases would likely coexist.

(I'm back at defending a part of his characterisation most people don't like, I'm sorry, it's something I actually love for multiple reasons. anyway) As for the "partial possession" approach, it would also explain the duality of his state. We see this a few times, but the most extreme example is the mid-battle dialogue during his boss, where he (rather explicitly) goes from "in a lot of pain and genuiely believes he's doing the only right thing" to "insane mass murderer" within a few lines. And sure, maybe he truly tried to convince Castti and realised it was pointless, but that doesn't seem in line with his previous actions. So I'm not talking about possession in the literal sense, but rather that two states of being coexist in his mind. On the one hand a part influenced by the book and his general instability, that genuinely believes all life is suffering and there's no other way out, and on the other hand the death-obsessed maniac that's influenced by the shadow.

I just think the distinction between his belief system and mental state is interesting, and if we assume it's true, it'd further support the idea that it has different origins. It'd "realistically" make so much sense too, as far as we can speak of such in this context lol. Claude and the book convincing him that murder is the kindest choice makes enough sense, but imagining his insanity as the result of shadow influence adds such an interesting layer to the whole thing, especially in contrast to Castti in light of her second crossed path chapter.

[lackablazeical]

💙🆘️Mona Lisa🆘️💙

Specific Trigger Warnings -

Kidnapping, forced/unconsentual amputation and restraint, mental/physical torture, stolkholm syndrome, dehumanization

General info -

Mona's birthday is November 23rd. She is a Scorpio-Sagittarius cusp ♏️♐️

Mona's love language to be physical touch, but has since changed to quality time.

Mona Lisa is Demisexual Bicurious.

Mona has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Mona has SAD (Separation Anxiety Disorder).

Mona has Stolkholm Syndrome.

Personality traits -

Mona is empathetic, adventurous, sporty, creative, resourceful, extroverted, and a people-pleaser.

Mona was always empathetic, wanting to comfort those around her and help the little guy. This could make her empathize with people who didn't deserve it, though.

Mona has a taste for adventure and challenge, she always loved playing sports and working hard. She loved wandering the streets of the Hidden City, too. Sadly, this resulted in her being kidnapped.

Mona is extremely creative, as well as resourceful. She loves arts and crafts, and thinks of creative (if not complex) solutions to her problems.

Mona was extroverted, and made it her mission to make friends with everyone she met.

Mona was also a people pleaser, wanting everyone to like her, which also translated to being a people-pleaser to Donnie, and listening to what he said, in the hopes he would treat her better.

Important details -

Her dynamic with Donnie -

Mona has stolkholm syndrome, and is empathetic, sweet, and friendly with Donnie.

Mona originally was terrified of Donnie, but began to fawn him in the hope she would gain freedom for 'good behavior'.

Donnie treats Mona much like a pesky dog, and will often insult her or hit her. But sometimes he also let's her have things like crayons and paper.

Mona has long since stopped trying to escape, as she sees it as pointless and is too dependent to even consider it anyway.

Donnie kidnapped Mona when she was 14.

Donnie kidnapped Mona for her acidic spit, to run experiments and have limitless supply.

Mona cannot run away, because her muzzle is completely glued to her teeth with a homemade cement. It would be extremely difficult to get off without causing mouth trauma. The muzzle would also likely lock completely shut, meaning Mona would starve/dehydrate before she could get help.

Her life before the Hamatos -

Mona was originally a popular, well-liked, and skilled teen who was often seen as helpful, kind, and determined.

She had a brother who went by the easier-to-pronounce name, 'Mondo'. They were twins, and very close.

Her family now holds yearly memorials to remember Mona, on her birthday. It's a party, because they know Mona would've preferred a party to remember her then something sad.

Mona had good grades and a bright future.

Fun facts -

Mona's favorite food is fast food, and she likes fizzy drinks.

Mona likes to draw.

Mona is not allowed to sit on the couch/be on furniture.

Mona's actual name is Y'gthba, Donnie just named her Mona Lisa because he didn't care to know her actual name, and because she 'is a work of art'. She barely responds to her actual name now.

Mona loves swimming.

Mona liked to weave her own bracelets.

Her and Raph get along well.

She hates Leo.

Tags that include Mona Lisa -

#addams! mona lisa

[docholligay]

Holligay Tries Things That Aren't Running: Kettlebell AMPD

The answer is a very obvious, 'Because people like it that way' but I swear to god, working out in groups is just choreography, and, why?

I walk into Kettlebell AMPD after a full week of doing strength classes, and I'm not too proud to tell you: I am beat to shit. I literally put dinner on the table and ran out in my Extremely Noble Quest to win an overpriced and unnecessary kitchen item, after having ran in the morning, and the idea of lifting a weight is not thrilling to me.

But, the only way to get a sticker is to do this class, and I've picked it specifically because it's only 45 minutes, and not an hour, and I am lazy.

The teacher's name is Lacy*. I am worried that she will think I'm a lazy shit, because I have every intention of picking up a 10 pound kettlebell and being a lazy shit. Echoes of Boot Camp haunt my mind. She'll see me for sure.

Then she struggles to tell the teenage boys playing hoops that open gym is over, and I offer to do it.

I grab my ten pound kettlebell. She ain't saying shit.

A kettlebell is essentially a flat-bottomed bowling ball with a handle. I've been in enough classes involving weight to have a rough idea of what is going to go on here, but what I could not have imagined is that the squats and bicup curls and whatnot would be set to the beats of That's What I Call Music: Doc is in and around High School.

I want you to imagine trying to get a serious workout in while you're listening to Fall Out Boy and The All American Rejects. You're doing squats in time the Good Charlotte. Am I the dad rock?? I ask myself. I never listened to this stuff really, but there is nothing like the popular music of your generation being used to inspire a bunch of greying women in t-shirts to make you realize that the greying woman is you, DocDoc.

All of which would have been fine until some other unspeakable mid00s hit came on, and she displayed a motion of making a wide swing with the kettlebell, trading it over at the top of her head, squatting down and passing it to the other hand, again, through her legs.

Like most people just this side of 40, I have a handful of infirmities, my only saving grace being that they were caused by something other than being old: Being an idiot.

When I was about 19, I fell through the floor of an abandoned farmhouse, from the second floor to the first, and have a handful of issues to show for it. A few light scars that most people never notice unless I point them out, a knee that gives me trouble occasionally, an elbow with a weak ligament that gets overtaxed easily, but most interestingly, a hand that drops something if I grip it wrong.

I assume this is some kind of nerve injury, as it's the same hand that loses feeling in two of the fingertips if it gets cold, but I don't know as I've never had the money and inclination to chase down an injury for which the diagnosis will be: Hell of a thing! But what it means is I often have to be thoughtful about the way I lift something with that hand, especially something heavy. I have done it so long that people never notice I do it, and honestly it's generally easy to avoid.

Swinging a kettlebell around my legs and through the air to the beat is PRIME TIME for me to be grabbing something incorrectly and sailing it off into Kelsey's head. I stand there for a moment like an idiot, unsure of what to do. Then i just go grab a 5 pound kettlebell and .5% ass it.

I would say I got nothing out of the class, but in fairness I didn't really give it anything to reinvest, it's not like I was actually trying. I don't think I would do it again though, it was weightlifting without any actual oomph. I would go to that class every week and never get any stronger.

We finished with a stretching session to Jimmy Eat World's song about a dead person.

*Or, as with these (reviews? Thoughts? Pointless asides?) a close enough approximation of her name.

[lemonhemlock]

i keep seeing so many wildly different takes on the tomshiv fight so i'm gonna throw in my two cents. prefacing by saying that i do really think there is little point in trying to count how many blows one of them struck against the other bc ultimately this was a relationship that was dishonest and mismatched from the get-go. similarly, it's relatively pointless to argue over which character in this show is "more awful" than the other bc they're all arseholes, so i guess the best way for everyone to make a distinction is to just go by your personal benchmark of annoyance. people have different thresholds for what they consider annoying behaviour and rate social transgressions via an individual hierarchy. so, for some people, shiv's cheating might be a bigger infraction than tom's betrayal and so on. but these different reactions ultimately reflect the commentator's sensibilities; they are not meant to be reflective of a universal, immutable truth.

that being said, i personally am leaning more towards tom's side of the argument. he has just spent an entire evening witnessing his wife demean him repeatedly (not a solitary incident or a joke gone wrong) to his guests in his own house and hearing about how he's going to get fired (news to him). he's sleep-deprived and is going to have a very busy and long day tomorrow since it's election day. so he tries to extricate himself from the situation and simply go to bed. i generally see tom as a slimy corporate suck-up but this was really a very composed, civilized reaction. he repeatedly tries to pacify shiv and disengages but she keeps needling him bc she is suddenly regretting her own schemes. she complains that she's betraying her family for this as if it wasn't her idea in the first place - no one was forcing her to go through with it at any point. her plot was so half-baked that it turns out she threw her husband under the bus in front of their guests for nothing, as "a tactical joke". i mean?? i feel like tom is in the right to point out her hypocrisy and extreme privilege here.

so far i think that most people would agree with what i've said, but the thing that i think sets this apart a little is that this is classic shiv behaviour. she repeatedly disregards tom's feelings and situation and minimizes his problems in favour of her own. so tom being upset by her agreeing with the firing rumour is immediately brushed aside because the REAL problem here is that shiv's plot is gonna fail and she's gonna lose against ken and rome. which isn't actually a real problem anyway because she's going to be rich AF no matter what.

i will diverge now from the generally-accepted takes and say that tom pretty much clocks shiv's behaviour but, while she does spell out some truths about him, part of what she says are delusions and projections. tom does impart some hard-hitting truths like calling her broken, not a good person to have children or incapable of love. these things are not false and they are also not insults. i really don't get why so many are saying he is insulting shiv. these are observations based on her own (repeated) behaviour.

whereas she doesn't really respond in kind, i feel. shiv is the one who throws insults at him, calling him a hick and insulting his entire family by labeling them striving and parochial. these are also crouched in classism and made all the more ridiculous by the fact that tom's mother is a well-respected lawyer so "parochial" is truly a delusional word to use in this context, which goes to show how extreme shiv's billionaire privilege is. in return, tom doesn't insult her family and actually chooses the reasonable reply of "that's not a fair characterisation". the part about tom's mother loving shiv more is, again, complete fabrication. so is the part about TOM being the reason she didn't speak to her father for the last six months of his life. shiv is well within her rights to be upset tom revealed her plans to logan, but even if he hadn't, logan would have still been massively pissed at her and her brothers and they STILL would have been estranged.

again, maybe this is just me, but calling someone broken is not an insult, while calling some pathetic is? shiv goes on to tell him that she never loved him and doesn't even like him and he never even "deserved" her, which are hard to label as anything other than cruel. even during this fight tom still tells her that he loves her? idk, man, tom has so many flaws and he is a social climber and he did become prissy bc she kept postponing having children but it feels like shiv spends the majority of this fight accusing tom of things that are not true and calling him mean names

[bonefall]

Oh god, I haven't read books since Omen of the Stars. (I love fanclans/fanfics way more then the books anymore. lol) How have they messed up each clan since the first two arcs?! I know ThunderClan has too many cats and ShadowClan went leaderless or had leadership problems for some reason?? Also SkyClan is there now. Maybe. Again, haven't read the books in forever. (Is the current arc any good? Or better then Omen of the Stars at least?)

The current arc is good, I can promise you that Warriors has never been as slow or as boring as it got mid Po3 - early OotS. I have a lot of issues with AVoS but I would say that all of the modern arcs have been worth reading.

BEFORE WE START: Check out this Helpful Info on my process as I redux the family tree, it contains my Three Strict Rules, the Onestar's Exception, the definition of an Orphan Warrior, etc. Very, very important.

Each Clan has a unique family tree problem;

ThunderClan

The Frostfour (Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Brightheart, Cinderpelt) had THREE cats who were extremely prolific. The entire new generation traces back to them, completely and utterly eradicating genetic diversity.

The fresh bloodlines, from Daisy and Ferncloud, were nerfed so hard with pointless killings that there's no ability to fix modern ThunderClan. The ONLY cats who could save it (Finleap x Twigbranch, Stormcloud) have also been prevented from having kits by the narrative, which is incredibly frustrating.

And it doesn't stop there, because the writers for some reason were obsessed with tracking Firestar's lineage through Bramblesquirrel instead of Lionblaze. They wrenched out Squirrelflight's infertility issues so they could shove two kits into her, while also having Lionblaze produce 3 kittens who have kittens of their own.

It's an exponential problem which made Nightheart's ENTIRE ARC in ASC less serious, because half of the Clan is descended from Firestar while he somehow has 'especially high' expectations.

And the bloat. They keep killing off mildly interesting background characters while not building on the ones they have, so now the Clan is just full of nobodies who have done nothing.

ThunderClan is really bad, in canon.

ShadowClan

Link to Diagnosis

The entire family tree from the earlier arcs is dead. Rowanclaw's one of the few carry-overs. Snowbird specifically is the progenitor of half of the entire Clan, to the point where Sunbeam actually can't be shipped with a cat she isn't directly related to (unless you put her with Blazefire, her mentor, or her mentor's brother.)

SnowbirdClan is so profoundly fucked that I can't save it. I can reasonably fix the others, but ShadowClan is so irrevocably destroyed that I can't save it.

WindClan

Link to Diagnosis

In spite of being full of "Orphan Warriors" (cats without a single parent and usually without children) they still managed to inbreed Heathertail and Breezepelt.

Onestar canonically thinking about how cool inbreeding is in his Super Edition made me so uncomfortable that I made the Onestar's Exception rule on the spot-- an exception that makes Rule 1 (no first cousin pairings) even stricter by banning First-Cousin-Once-Removed as well when there are cats alive who are old enough to remember the great-grandparent.

But that aside, most of WindClan is Orphan Warriors.... MALE orphan warriors. They ran out of women, and then Shellfur stole the ONE clean girl out of WindClan for himself.

Which I must admit is VERY funny. But anyway, fixing this tree means blasting the Woman Beam at most of them.

SkyClan

Link to Diagnosis

THREE first cousin pairings :/ And they only had like 3 generations, come on, it should NOT have been this hard to not bungle this.

Most of the problem is Clovertail and her prolific litters... but also, SkyClan is almost as bad as ThunderClan in terms of bloat. Which is weird because it's not even bloated with all the interesting ex-kittypets from the SEs and SkyClan side content, it's just nobodies because SkyClan queens keep pumping out 3 and 4 kit litters for NO reason.

It was an easy fix though. So I guess I can't complain.

RiverClan

Link to Diagnosis

Missing Generation Fog that settled over RiverClan just after TNP LMAO. That's it that's the whole problem.

Really it's a problem for opening up TOO MANY possibilities, like which cats are Reedwhisker's children. Everyone litter works as Reedwhisker's kids. Reedwhisker is everyone's father. Reedwhisker is YOUR father.

[understandingbimbos]

so what i will be doing here is reposting my notes unaltered via screenshot, transcribing them, and then describing how i feel now. What do we mean when we say a bimbo is dumb? Are there multiple ways to be dumb?

In the context of bimbo, dumb usually means "ditzy" -- flighty, playful, and scatterbrained. But "dumb" may also mean shallow, vapid, simple -- focused entirely on superficial and material things. Obnoxious, crass, trashy (classless) behavior could also be considered "dumb". Point is, there's a lot that goes into the presentation of stupidity. General physical clumsiness and aloofness can also be a way for a character to appear dumb. Or subservience and submissiveness. Or childish naivety and innocence. Sometimes a bimbo will be all of these, or only one of these, or maybe even none? Who's to say? What someone considers intelligent or unintelligent usually has to do with their own personal biases, or in this case, turn-ons. It varies from person to person. (Recklessness is an another example of what could be considered "dumb")

I still agree with this wholeheartedly. The debate of whether a bimbo should be dumb or not, or how dumb a bimbo should be, is ultimately pointless because in the end a bimbo will always *appear* dumb. You could even argue that what we've commonly come to accept as "the bimbo look" is actually an extension/reflection of purported "dumbness," a physical expression of stupidity. After all its this same projection that largely formed the concept of the "bimbo" in the first place. The assumption that a woman is -- slutty because she wears revealing clothing, stupid and impossible to take seriously because she's young (see: giggles) or has large breasts, and vain because she wears makeup or has an interest in fashion. "Bimbo," as we know it today just takes this up a notch. "Large breasts" become fake breasts in general. Lip fillers. Dyed hair. Tattoos. Rhinoplasty. Fashion Nova. Botox, acrylics, high heels, waist trainers. Misogyny projects idiocy and promiscuity onto these traits, procedures, items, and practices.

Again, let's take Adam Warren's Empowered for example:

Is Emp a bimbo? To the uninitiated I think the answer would be an obvious resounding "yes". Those familiar with the series may find the question more complex (it isn't). She's not a dumb woman by any means and has her fair share of successes and badassery, but she's also an inept curvy crybaby blonde with big thick lips and a very "slut-tastic" "do-me-riffic" costume.

Her extreme insecurity can render her meek or oblivious. Constantly getting captured and tied up makes her look like a klutz. And I'm not sure this should count, but she likes sex with her boyfriend A LOT.

She's also considered a bimbo in-universe. Not by anybody that knows her closely, of course, but its very widely assumed (as is often the case IRL).

It's less a matter of "can bimbos be smart?" or "bimbos should be dumb" and more a matter of how do you prefer a bimbo's intelligence (or lack thereof) be expressed? What do we mean when we say a bimbo is "hyperfeminine"? What defines femininity?

I think there's two ways to gauge this. Physical femininity - big ass, big tits, clean shaven, soft full lips, etc. Physical femininity can also be expressed through choices in makeup, color, or clothing. Take for example -- drag queens, who can express femininity very clearly while lacking some of the usually associated physical attributes. But then there's also, feminine behavior, the second way to gauge this. Feminine behavior is usually defined by… weakness. Submissiveness. And it's probably why it plays such a big role in this fetish. Feminine behavior can also be associated with gracefulness, gentleness, kindness -- being emotional, dependent, loyal, social, etc -- which are also themes commonly found in bimbofication works. Generally, one of the two (physical femininity or behavioral femininity) will be expected of a bimbo, if not both or a combination of varying degrees (for example: exaggerated soft pouty lips, slutty clothing, and submissive behavior - but a flat chest).

I don't have much to say about this. Yes, I still generally agree with this. It pairs well with my last point and the toolbox theory/sliding scale of bimboism (really not sure what to call it yet) The drag queen example is a little clunky though. I could've just used effeminate gay men in general as an example, and worded it a lot better...

Why does a bimbo act the way they do? Why the look? What does a bimbo want?

For love. Or maybe it's attention, is there really a difference either way? A bimbo wants to be happy, and what makes them happy? Being adored. A bimbo wants to be able to light up a room through their looks, their personality, or maybe both. Some bimbos are happy making others happy. Some bimbos find happiness through what others do for them. Sometimes the love, adoration, and validation of others is enough. Sometimes it's for self-validation. But whatever a bimbo does, they usually do for themselves.

Honestly, it depends entirely on the bimbo and the context in which she exists. A mean, manipulative, bitchy bimbo may act the way she does because she wants the respect or power she thinks she deserves. She values herself highly and thinks everyone else should too. A nice bimbo, ironically, might also act the way she does for the same reason -- because she's high value and pities low value people -- she rather attempt to share her value and be kind to those less fortunate in life.

This one has two because I struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer. Reading it back now I don't really see the point of this question. I still believe bimbos do things for themselves, that's kind of essential to me. I think its because of all the (terrible) bimbofication stories I've read where the man's pleasure is paramount. I do think this applies in general but those stories are really what motivates this "rule" for me. Bimbofication, for me, is not about control. I know it is for some people and that's fine but, and I've said this before, for me its more like MC author Pan (aka panwhowrites) said. Ironically, he's not a bimbo author and as far as I know doesn't really like bimbo stuff but what he said once that applies to bimbofication art and writing to me is that his biggest turn on and interest is female arousal.

The second answer I gave is bad because its half-expressed from my memory. It's based off this:

"Bimbos gravitate toward chaotic good, but are easily shaped by their environment: a bimbo that hangs out with mean girls, might easily assume that bullying is just good fun and doesn't hurt anyone; a bimbo that is spoiled by her sugar daddy can easily become a brat. a bimbo is shaped by her interests and environment like anyone else, don't write a walking self-parody stereotype."

which comes from further 4chan notes I never posted but hopefully will soon.

[its-venusite]

art is !!!! hard!!!! so I'm posting drawings from a while ago

mock exams are kicking me in the arse right now, but I'm pushing through solely to survive to Christmas because I love the holiday season a little too much

see below for character lore and stuff

This character is actually not one of my own, but one of my friends! She is such a cutie that I had to draw her. It's a part of our little anachronistic shared universe that is basically just a normal OC verse except most of them are royalty/nobility and in historical fashion (which I believe I've spoken about here before?), the range gets a little crazy with my friend's character Princess Ælfgifu of England being very early Tudor inspired and this character over here being 1940s inspired.

Klara II actually doesn't have very much lore as of now, but here's what exists at the moment. Klara was born to the Austrian Princely House of Sauber, but after the House was elected as the Imperial dynasty following a succession crisis, she was taken in by her aunt, Empress Klara I. Klara I was, for lack of a better term, a piece of shit who should make out with Empress Anna Ioannovna of Russia and King Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia at the same time because that's just how shitty all of those people are. That's dramatic, but I'm naturally very dramatic, so we ball!!!

Klara II was not free from the Empress' tyranny, often having to go out onto the battlefields of the pointless wars she caused as a field nurse since she was quite young and suffering from the mental torture of being her ward. However, this did not shake her will, and she was an extremely effective Empress herself!

Klara II's reign marked a golden age within Austria, kickstarting cultural and economic reform within the Empire through her patronage of the arts and just being generally pleasant unlike her predecessor who probably kicked babies on the street idfk

[cogcltrcorn]

apropos of gay kendall, he's not well at all and is making me unhinged. 1) kendall marrying a woman straight out of college although (or BECAUSE) he is gay. eldest boy, must continue the family line. but it turns out he's infertile. (eu)genetically selected to not reproduce. twice. probably thinks he was doubly denied personhood and continuation. 2) i can see kendall knowing he's gay very early on and framing it like some sort of birth defect: he's accepted, conceptually, that he is homosexual, but can't accept it effectively, can't embrace it (in the same way he strives to be a good father and husband as a concept but he's unable/unwilling to do the things that the role entails). he's twin track, he's gay but he's NOT gay. like i can see him a few years into marriage, seeking help from some shady sex therapist (i mean, dude even has "a great grief guy"), because he loves rava so SO much and he wants to stop zoning the fuck out during sex, wants to be present. but he can't. so he just gets better at eating pussy to overcompensate and ten years later he thinks that's how he can still win rava back. 3) what are YOUR thoughts on kendall's relationship with jennifer, the love bombing etc? 4) would stewy find all of this actually funny?

I am so glad my insanity re: gay kendall is contagious... I love reading ya'll hcs... anyway. Frankly Jennifer seems like another case of kendall trying to prove something to himself re: masculinity, which is intrinsically linked to his father's approval, which is why he Immediately drops her the moment he is faced with logan. not approving of her. like his entire relationship with her reads like him trying to unwind in a way a Real Man would, and love-bombing is simply a natural part of that, merged with the fact that kendall is suffering from a serious condition called "was unthinkably wealthy his whole life". besides everything else: it's important to remember that kendall is Very starved for any form of intimacy. like. he pops a boner because his wife that he's been separated with hugs him. he loves sex because it feels good and because he gets to be held.

would stewy find it funny? no. I don't think so. like I don't think stewy really thinks about the question of "is kendall attracted to women, in general?" he just kind of thinks that every relationship kendall has is stupid and he should stop because he is pretending to be someone he's not and he takes it too seriously. like kendall's heterosexual attempts look to him the same way kendall's waystar attempts look to him. "dude please this is fucking pointless you should be having FUN. you should be doing something you LIKE"

I feel like the whole Gay Thing only gets brought up in the context of Extremely Mean Dirty Talk (which they have definitely engaged in, because it gets kendall hard)

[barbwillbrb]

Hi. About Rackal and Clairice...

1. Is there some companions they don't like?

2. Who killed Raphael?

3. Which one is the bg3 faction they despise more.

1.

Rackal

Rackal and Minthara cannot stand each other. Rackal very much wanted to kill her both at the Grove/Moonrise, and the feeling is extremely mutual. The only buffer between them is Clairice, who stands up for Minthara/sees she’s a pawn of the absolute, regardless of where Minthara’s moralities might lie, and calls Rackal out on his hypocrisy/unwillingness to give her a second chance.

They eventually end up in a begrudging, sort of respect for each other halfway through Act 3, primarily because 1) they are extremely effective in combat together (turns out, a pair of berserker paladins with 0 regard for their life/nothing but rage are really good at taking shit out when backed by some spellcasters) and 2) Clairice is the one captured by Orin and her safety is the one thing they can agree on.

Rackal and Astarion also butt heads regularly.

Clairice:

Gale. She drives him more nuts than anything; especially her treatment of the Weave. In general, she finds wizards too stuffy about their magic and he finds her faaaaaar too lax about hers. Overall, though, it’s more of an annoyance akin to that between an older/younger sibling.

Genuinely, she gets along with pretty much everyone, although Lae’zel is extremely thankful she did not pursue things further with her.

Arch nemesis is Volo.

2. Honestly have not thought this one out fully and am not sure!

The main thing I know is that while Rackal, Minthara, and Karlach are off trying to find Mol’s contract/definitely setting off an alarm, Clairice is banging Harleep. Both versions.

She isn’t even doing it for the hammer (the team already got it snagged); she just knows what she wants.

Truthfully I gotta research the full implications of what doinking Harleep means, but if I have my way I like to imagine it’s just no strings attached hells yeah sex. Like, she actually has a charisma check to fuck the devil for funsies, because she just wants to do it. Genuinely pointless with almost no repercussions (except maybe the minor body possession stuff).

… the more I think of it, Clairice is definitely landing the killing blow, even if it’s just an assist as she walks in all “yo your incubus said I was a better lay than you” *fingerbangs* and that allows someone to land the last hit.

3.

Rackal: the Druids (wants to off Kahga asap per Zevlor); Absolutists; Flaming Fists (honorably discharged; starting to really butt heads with leadership before he left)

Clairice: Absolutists, Zhentarim, the Guild (kinda sorta; having a rough patch), the Flaming Fists

Both: Sharess Caress. No one, NO ONE, warned them of the drow twin jokes. They are very much considering burning it to the ground.