#also i guess this isnt really a new design or anything.. just throwing some ideas on his clothes.. seeing what works better

[microstmnt]

How many times am I gonna design Casey? Yes.

[itsbebebe]

So I got bored and decided to binge rewatch some deltarune theory videos and now I'm writing this i guess. I dont hang out too much in the deltarune tumblr tags so idk how much of this is spewing well agreed ideas already but...

Its interesting to me how susie and noelle have this sort of order v chaos thing in terms of their narrative roles. (This is looking like a long post so ill be kind and add a cut here)

Susie is like the character that drills the "your choices dont matter" concept into you (the player - if im referring to kris in this post ill use their name). Not only is she the first to say it but the main times where you make a choice and it doesnt matter are because theyre stopped by susie. Iirc, the only power you have over susie in her segments in both chapters are in puzzle solving (something that actively aids her in her goal). During both the lancer battle and the ferris wheel scene you cannot change what happens. You just have to sit there and watch. Not only that, but susie also can straight up override your decisions in moments like when you try and decide who to go with at the crossroads in chapter 2. You also cannot stop Susie fighting at the start of chapter 1. Some of the few choices that you do make (how you design the thrash machine in chapter 1, speaking to onion san in chapter 1 in hometown) are specifically done when susie isnt around to stop you.

Susie, intentionally or not, forces some order upon the story. She helps force the beads down their designated path, or whatever that metaphor in the hospital is.

However, in chapter 2, susie, by her own choice, leaves for a while and its our new party member who allows us to make a big choice that will matter. Snowgrave. Ive seen people point out before that the snowgrave route really parallels noelles history with game bugs (shown mainly through the sweepstakes blog posts) as the route feels like a game break. In fact it is a game break, considering you are supposed to not have any meaningful choices and do the normal route. It sort of makes it seem like Noelle herself facillitated the route. Not only that, but Noelle (likely due to insecurities in her relationship with Kris) lets you make a lot of choices when you are with her. (I think it could even been argued noelles presence allows you to override susies tendency to stop you making choices in the cutscene at the start of chapter 2).

So Noelle allows you to make the choices, allows the chaos. Susie keeps you on a set road, enforces the order.

This is a fun frame on their relationship. If you told me there was 2 characters, one of which was a girl who was a known rulebreaker and bully and the others was a girl who was top of her class and the mayors daughter, and asked me to tell you which one was chaos and which one was order, i would get it wrong! (It also seems like a good framework to throw some tragedy upon their relationship but lets not think about that rn)

But now if you are anything like me you will be thinking "where do ralsei and kris (as our other 2 established main characters) fall onto this chaos v order paradigm we have established?"

Lets start with kris, as their position feels more quantifiable. Kris does what you tell them. By our established parameters that should make them more chaos leaning. However, Kris will actively stop you from affecting how each chapter ends. This suggests that they want some sort of order, or control over you but will allow you most of the time to make decisions, and allow chaos.

This suggests Kris is order leaning but chaos permitting.

Ralsei, meanwhile, i dont think sits on the paradigm as we have established it. He wants the prophecy to be fulfilled but he wants us to make changes that lead there. He gets upset when Kris is unable to make choices but firmly believes we must fulfill the prophecy. What ralsei does and doesnt know about Kris or us is vague and unknown, and therefore by extension how he feels about Kris and us is vague and unknown.

So is he more order - forcing us to do specific things and stopping us from having meaningful choices in the story? Not really... But then is he more chaos - allowing us to make big changes? In a sort of apathetic, not really bothered way maybe. All in all, i think Ralsei falls outside of the scale, as he has a very unique relationship with us and Kris.

Generally, choices and chaos and order are all very big themes in deltarune. So i think its interesting to link the two together like this.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, ep 12-16 thoughts! these episodes, in comparison to the first 10 or so, felt way more laid back and low-stakes, which I appreciate sometimes. I didn't appreciate how lazy jack's halfa design was in masters of time, it made me so annoyed I redesigned it. 👎🏻 u_u

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-'picking a fight with me and my upgraded form!' 'you upgraded to a mullet?' DANNNNY. YOU CANT SAY THAT TO TECHNUS. YOUVE HAD A MULLET TWICE NOW ('fun' split danny, and evil future danny BOTH HAD THEM). I HAVE THE RECEIPTS.

-danny seeing technus hurting valerie and yelling I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU IN HALF. SAMEEEE <3

-axion labs is now a part of vladco. FUCK YOU VLAD. hes not even really IN this episode, but just thought I'd throw out a nice fuck you anyway.

-'capable of blasting a single person into space in (2) minutes!' tucker. that would kill someone. i mean yeah they might get to space, but theres NO WAY THEY WOULDNT CATCH FIRE, OR THEIR ORGANS WOULDNT LIQUIFY BECAUSE OF THE STRAIN. THEY'D PROBABLY PASS OUT BEFORE THEN, BUT. ...no, okay, I get why vlad bought this company. this is RIGHT up his alley.

-danny KNOWS VAL DIDNT DO THIS, THAT SOMEONE STOLE THE SUIT. AND SPENDING ALL NIGHT CHATTING WITH HER. <3 and val is a 9TH DEGREE BLACKBELT?? danny's mom is, too!! omg and she hunts ghosts, his parents would love her. and her fav fruit is kumquat bc its a funny word. im so with danny val is amazing. I love her and I Do Not Want To Hear It From Sam.

-I knew danny wanted to be an astronaut, but the bowling tidbit is like. yes give me more useless info abt these characters, I love tiny details that make them feel more human, and im glad hes got hobbies aside from ghost stuff, we dont really see a lot of that!!! (I mean, we knew 'fun' danny from when he split himself in half liked bowling, so obv it makes sense he LIKES it, but hes very GOOD at it. so proud of him, bowling king) val calling him neil armstrong and them teasing each other. LOVE THAT.

-technus you are my favorite grandpa for setting this up. SAM WHY ARE YOU BEING SO CREEPY BE HAPPY FOR YOUR FRIEND!!! STOP SPYING ON THEM!!! who actually cares if technus did 'set them up' together, theyre having fun and enjoy each others company!!! 'you think the universe wants you two to be together?' 'i dunno, but maybe /I/ do!' EXACTLY DANNY!!! SOO TRUE.

-and valerie being happy sam said she wants to try and be happy for them and make room at the lunch table for them. and hugging sam over it. VAL NEEDS MORE FRIENDS.

-VAL GOING AFTER TECHNUS IN HER SUIT WITH (1) MILK, AND (1) TREE BRANCH AND KEYS!!!. I LOVE YOUUUU BEST GIRL. her new suit kicks ass

-dannys like 'HEY IM AN ASTRONAUT :D' AW. ...HES IN SPACE... the fact he's actually intending to give her the ring. with SAMS NAME ON IT?? IM CRINGING DANNY NO. YOU CANT DO THAT...thank god he didnt. thank god valerie cut it off and said they can just stay friends for now. tbh, they both have a lot on their plates!! they obv both still like each other...it can be a future thing!! when she knows about phantom! youre 14 theres no need to rush. I just want her to have friends and be happy :(

-...danny struggles to do (1) pull up. SAME. but all the ghost fighting in phantom form REALLY doesnt carry over at ALL? that sucks

-sam being as fit as she is, is not just a goth. shes a goth jock.

-honey I Shrank Our Kid, One of his Enemies, and his Bully: the episode

-dash's crush on phantom is So Obvious. fitness buddies :) watching them interact always makes me laugh. also, phantom, with PANTS. 'how many costume changes you gonna go through, what is this, vegas??' DASSH DJKSFHASKDF

-MADDIE GOING AFTER THE MOUSE WITH A BROOM, WHAT THE FUCK. AAAH. JUST BUY SOME KIND OF MOUSE TRAP.

-danny likes lime and vinegar chips. which sound very good.

-'our boy finally has the physical prowess of a 60 year old president!' ...poor danny LMAO

-'what's wrong with beauty pageants' oh tucker you sweet naïve child. what ISNT wrong with them. who approved this for a high school?? (I mean, yes. unfortunately child pageants exist, but...) also danny and tucker once again treating the pretty girls like objects. I need to meet the grown man who wrote this, I just want to talk...

-prince aragon's dragon form reminds me of maleficent (color scheme wise) which is always a bonus. considering the episode is called beauty marked, I feel like the sleeping beauty references are deliberate

-sam with the fake fangs. once again her accessories never miss. hate the 'not like other girls, girls who get sucked into this kind of thing are all shallow and all want to be carbon copies' bs tho.

-sam trying to be the Worst Bride, being rude as shit. DORA IS GOING TO GET KILLED. DID YOU MISS THE PART WHERE SHE SAID THE PRINCE WILL HAVE HER HEAD IF YOU ARENT THE IDEAL BRIDE. YOU /KNOW/ DANNY WILL COME SAVE YOU. JUST ACT CHILL UNTIL THEN. even if you were doing fine to get him to take off the crown, consider maybe not letting his poor sister get punished also?? sure, she could also take off the crown and has dragon powers, but did you know that for sure?? dora didnt even really realize it until you guys talked!! (or at least, she was scared to stand up to him. you had no guarantee she would...) but. good for dora. ANOTHER friendly ghost to add to the List :)

-tucker is so under appreciated in his time. if he was doing a tech-based campaign today he'd have a better shot. people in 2004 had NO IDEA how much tech would be a part of our day-to-day lives...altho. tbh if you're going to be running for student council president, maybe you should..focus on things to actually improve the school? since he's going for a tech angle, he could say like, he would be running fundraisers for the schools computers to be upgraded, etc? we've already SEEN he can be good at money-making entrepreneur type stuff!!

-oh my god wait. this episode is JUST YUGIOH?????! A REBORN PHAROH USING A TEENAGER AS A VESSEL?? YESSSSSS

-tucker using his new minion to feed him grapes and carry him. AND LOCUSTS ONTO THE BULLIES. I love how when he's possessed, he gains winged eyeliner.

-this episode is giving me big 'plankton makes everyone in bikini bottom his slaves and build monuments of him from the spongebob movie' vibes. and the pharaoh has a traitor who works for him? VERY big yugioh vibes. aknadin confirmed

-I like that danny is still completely exhausted after using ghostly wail. (still patiently waiting on him to get duplication)

-LOVE the fenton's 80s outfits. I get hes 14 and embarrassed by everything they do because theyre his parents, but. cmon, this is one objectively cool thing theyve done. love 80s fashion.

-...was vlad just standing on that streetlight waiting for danny to come out? how'd he know they'd be coming out the back? how long has he been up there???

-oh, wait, his ecto-acne has flareups? that SUCKS. danny was...well I dont want to say he was LUCKY HE HALF-DIED, but he was lucky his was pretty instant (I'm assuming that had to do with the power/scale of the portals being different?) I remember in the ep we met him, vlad made a point of saying he was stuck in a hospital for a long time, so. that really actually sucks and I feel bad. not that it excuses anything he's done...but like. it does suck.

-vlad being so sure danny wouldnt help him he made it somehow contagious to his friends to make sure he'd get help? danny is a nice boy, he wouldve helped if it was anyone else. the only reason he wouldn't have is because of the shit vlad did to him, on purpose. vlad 100% dug his own grave by being the biggest asshole, so it is very hard to feel bad for him.

-clockwork is back!!! and making danny learn lessons The Hard Way. Uhhh, okay. I kind of get Danny’s logic, that time traveling this far back would prevent vlad from becoming a halfa also, ergo no arch nemesis or ectoacne to worry about. But the fact that was basically the first solution Danny came up with to solve this problem is actually so funny. It’s so extreme

-APPRICIATION FOR THESE 80S LESBIAN BG CHARACTERS.

-vlad telling maddie in the lab (in the 80s) he has something he's wanted to tell her 'for a long time'...how long have they known each other? I assumed they met in college, since jack always calls vlad his college buddy/roommate, so jack and vlad for sure met in college, but did vlad know maddie longer? thats surprising if so. Tho we don’t know what year of college they’re in so they could mean they met as freshmen and a few years have past…speaking of maddie shes crushing the 80s look.

-vlad blames jack, but. maybe dont stick your face 2 inches from the portal??! THIS FEELS LIKE LAB SAFETY BASICS. IF SOMETHING HAS POTENTIAL TO BE DANGEROUS, DONT GET NEAR IT. WITH YOUR FACE UNPROTECTED IN ANY WAY. (altho jack didnt really give a Big Warning besides screaming BONZAI. so. also that, but cmon.) also, they need gloves, goggles, and to pull all of their hair back tbh. but fuck lab safety, I guess!

-cryyyyinnng at how lazy they were with jack's ghost form design, its just plasmius' design on jack!!! you couldve given him his own design!!

-there. I did that in about 10 minutes and its somehow less lazy than what made it into the show. embarrassing! better yet, I think the episode would've been better if maddie would've gotten the ectoacne. or maybe its just me, wanting to see her design! anyway. I'm sure people have already done redesigns of them both as halfas. I have to go look after I finish this watch through. Also mildly frustrated jacks resentment and bitterness is basically also a copy paste of vlads backstory. They’re different characters, I really don’t think jack would stew in bitterness and jealousy the same way vlad would!! I also don’t think he’d give up after one time of trying to hunt ghosts and getting laughed at. Our canon timeline says different…I dunno, I get it was for laughs, but I’m annoyed because the POTENTIAL this plot has…

-did vlad really wear a stupid cheese hat to his wedding. ok actually that kinda rules. and the cheese door knocker. the dairy-only buffet table. vlad still got rich, just on being the New Dairy King. (Assuming that means he owns a lot of dairy businesses?) ok! this actually is great. hope maddie isn't lactose intolerant!

-'no matter how hard I tried, I could never get rid of my ghost half, the half I knew Maddie could never accept' ohh, ouch, what a horrible thing to say to her HALF GHOST SON. 'YOUR MOM WILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU' BASICALLY.

-maddie strapping danny to the table with a lazer pointed at him in a secret lab she keeps from vlad that she makes a point of saying is sound proof so he can scream all he wants...CHRIST. DANNYS POOR PYSCHE.

-also, not to feel bad for alternate vlad (because, he did lie to maddie saying jack blames her and never wants to see her again...) but. being married to a woman 20+ years and she immediately goes back to jack? if she didnt love vlad and feels like she had to hide shit from him, and says she wasted her best years with him, WHY MARRY HIM. it feels like leading him on!!! cannot believe im feeling bad for vlad, but. this alternate timeline vlad is significantly Less Horrible than Our Vlad. did she not think she'd get funding for her ghost stuff? (which, fair assumption since they're considered 'ghost fanatics/nuts in canon...but...) why did she think jack or vlad would be her ONLY OPTIONS? be like your sister. be single. Actually, this au could’ve been really interesting if after the accident, vlad lied to her and said jack never wanted to see her again, but she stays single. Imagine how much that would bug vlad… like, in her mind, it was never a competition it was jack or no one type situation…

-danny being like 'leave him ALONE' this jack is a HOMEWRECKER, DANNY. let them go to court and settle this at the least. ...or just throw vlad into the portal. (100% human, defenseless vlad) CHRIST, MADDIE THATS BRUTAL. THATS MURDER.

-danny seeing his mom immediately accepting him and his dad being half ghosts in this universe, if I was him this would be a great sign that his universe's maddie would also.

-*maddie voice* "clockwork will help!" *2 seconds later, with clockwork* "I will Not Help." TOUGH LOVE KING. YES LET DANNY SEE THE SODA HIMSELF AND DEVOLP BETTER OBSERVATION SKILLS.

-when clockwork ""reset time to the way it was"" just before danny "meddled"" ...did he really erase a whole alternate timeline? ...damn. because maddie and danny both called it an alternate timeline by name, it splitting when the college incident went different, so it wouldnt have really mattered if he reset it, right. like because danny's timeline is on a different stream? why didnt clockwork just. show danny a replay and not Reset That Timeline. wh...I wonder how many people that Erased From Existence. Anyway! once again stating clockwork is casually terrifying!

[curlytemple]

niche interests list 

okay sure yes this is fun! i havent posted a thing like this in such a long time. thank you new gal pal @scottspack for tagging me! 

pigs????

alright first lets throw it back to preschool! my fav childhood toys were my baby doll (snookums) and a plush pig that my grandma got me that i just called ‘pig’ ...i watched the babe movies countless times, and piglet? that anxious little guy GETS ME bro. when my preschool did a nativity play and my class got to choose an animal to be in baby jesus’ manger, my mother recalls me saying that i would be a pig because jewish people (jesus christ) wouldnt eat me. she has no idea how or when i learned about kosher foods. ironically despite my namesake i was too afraid of the movie charlotte’s web to watch it more than once because the scary farmer tries to kill wilbur for being small and the pretty spider dies. 

sugar creek gang 

OKAY this is a book series from the 40s-70s about a group of christian little boys in indiana who went on adventures in the woods and helped people. my dad read a LOT of chapter books to me as bedtime stories when i was little (see also the mandie series, nancy drew and the hardy boys, little house on the prairie) but sugar creek gang is one that really hit. i read all 36 books with dad and at least once again on my own. there was a series of 4 or 5 movies in the early 2000s when i was the Perfect age to have a crush on most if not all of them. this might be too much detail but i have to tell you about these boys. we WILL not be revisiting the heavy religious themes. 

 the narrator is bill who is Good and Kind and wants to be a doctor when he grows up. his best friend is a chubby boy nicknamed poetry because he memorizes and quotes poems, he is the Detective of the group. BIG JIM is the leader of the group who is supposed to be like, 14, which was very cool and hot, to me. and yes there is a little jim, who is the baby of the group. then there is CIRCUS who is known for his climbing and acrobatics, and his FIVE SISTERS AND BEAUTIFUL SINGING VOICE. dreamboy. i’m almost done listing boys, i promise. a boy called dragonfly who is allergic to everything and hella superstitious. later in the series a new boy named tom moves to town and tom has an older brother bob who is NOT A CHRISTIAN (bully) 

tangentially, the buttercream gang, a movie from 1992 that was almost definitely made by some christians who grew up reading the sugar creek gang series which i’m guessing on vibes alone. will spare you Good Boy details but scott is in love with his best friend pete who moves to chicago and falls in with a bad crowd and scott just refuses to stop LOVING HIM. very gay christian film in retrospect. 

peter pan

so i know liking disney’s peter pan isnt niche, but it was the way i liked it. tinker bell stan from day one, i watched all of those disney fairies movies, even the ones that came out after i was definitely not intended audience. there was an online pixie hollow game where you could design your own fairies and play mini games where you gathered dew drops or something. had a HUGE CRUSH on jeremy sumpter in peter pan (2003) then i got really darkly obsessed with the idea of growing up when i was 12 or 13, and everything peter pan was deeply My Shit for my entire adolescence. i read the original book and every other twisted version of the story i could find and seriously freaked myself out about wasting my youth. 

shug

you’ve probably heard of jenny han now, or at least the netflix adaptations for to all the boys i’ve loved before and the sequel ps i still love you (always and forever, lara jean, coming soon?) but before she wrote THOSE, she wrote my first ever Favorite Book, about annemarie “shug” wilcox, a girl in the summer before starting middle school. it is SO engraved on my heart i cannot explain. i felt so incredibly understood and cant even tell you how many times i read it. thinking about all of the ways it made me feel SEEN is actually making me very tender so i’m gonna go on.  

the summer series

on the subject of jenny han, since she was now my Favorite author, when she came out with the summer i turned pretty in 2009, i was ALL IN. it’s not summer without you, and we’ll always have summer were published the next two years. a coming of age series about a girl isabel “belly” conklin who stays at her mother’s best friend's house at the beach in the summers. i really could talk about it forever yall. i actually dont know how to be succinct about it. i will try. her mom’s friend has TWO BOYS. one brother, jeremiah, is the golden boy and her best friend who is in love with her! the older one CONRAD is her childhood crush who's just sort of around while belly is firmly getting over her childish feelings and going out and experiencing teen beach life with jeremiah for the first time and figuring out who she is and wants to be! by the end of the summer he admits he feels differently about her (hence belly internalizing this as The Summer I Turned Pretty) and they get together. this is already too much so i will just say that the next two books deal with a PROFOUND LOSS and the selfishness of grief and the SELFLESSNESS OF CONRAD and i will absolutely lose my shit if netflix picks it up for a second jenny han series adaptation. 

pappyland

this was a kids show in the 90′s that features a character named Pappy Drew-It, an artist dressed like a 49er who lives in a magic cabin in pappyland. there’s tons of characters and music and life lessons but the meat of every episode is a detailed drawing how-to (pappy is actually a cartoonist, michael cariglio) and i have a hard back cover sketch book from my grandpa that i FILLED with drawings that pappy and DOODLEBUG taught me to do. there is a running gag that pappy always breaks his crayons.  

boy meets world

i KNOW this is beloved by many but i’m counting it because i’m simply too young to have such an obsession with it! the show ran from 1992-2000. i was born in 1996, but reruns on the disney channel and abc family cemented it as one of my favorite shows. cory and shawn, closer than brothers, shameless homoromantics, shawn is cory’s first wife!!!!! truly showed me what a best friend can and should be!!!!!! the great love of your life!!!!! TOPANGA, the og weird feminist girl who said stop shaving your legs and start speaking your mind, ladies! the characters are so richly developed that they are real people to my heart. YES every character on this show is in their late 30s-early 40s and YES i feel like we grew up together. in season one they’re in the 6th grade and we follow them all the way to COLLEGE. countless poignant life lessons, often literally dictated by the wise and hilarious MR. FEENY, cory’s next door neighbor and somehow one of his teachers for YEARS. my love was only solidified by the 2014 girl meets world reboot, centered on cory and topanga’s daughter and her best friend. (which was literally cancelled because disney didn’t want to transition from a kids show to a teen show, something essential to the original. also because that teen show would have had CANON LESBIANS. extremely shameful move in 2017!) boy meets world lives rent free in my heart and i will never evict it!!!!!!!

i consulted my mother when i got stumped for more and she reminded me that i had obsessions with the impressionist art period and babies and ANYTHING fairies or pixies, and i was way too young when my love of the canadian teen after school special degrassi began. she also said bob ross, which i was hesitant to include because he’s been super ~trendy in recent years, but to be fair (To Be Faaairrr) she’s right! i don’t think people really watched the joy of painting as much as i have throughout my life. best sick day show of all time.

lastly i could honestly list anna herself as a niche interest, my mom actually metioned that ive always hyperfixated on my girl friends (gay) but i’ll just note that YES friday night lights, YES barry lyga novels. love to share so many things with you, niche or not, they’re niche in Our Mind.

[antlorien]

More Mangai Rantings

Coming off of a whopping 26 note high on my secondary toa teams post, I have more rantings about the whole storyline of the Mangai.

So for starters, WHAT THE FUCK.

Lhikan, my heart and soul, my golden sweet sweet trauma boy, has the most fucked up life out of anyone in the entire lore like his entire life is spent losing the things he cares about and watching troves of people die around him. Like, boy probably had PTSD before he even GOT to Metru Nui from the Frostelus incident, like he had one job and he failed and ran away and everyone died horribly. Thats gonna leave some psychological scars. 

He then proceeds to fight A LITERAL GODDAMNED DRAGON and like, he was probably useless as fuck in that mission. Maybe running support at most, but homeboy is a specialist with fire, and this thing specifically went to a giant lava pit to gain more power. He aint gonna hurt it. They had to call in 4 ice toa, mess up the 6 toa different element comp and just cranked it up to 11. SO hes not having a great start. 

Then, after he kills the dragon, someone starts MURDERING THE CIVILIAN POPULATION LIKE WHAT THE FUCK. No other villain seemed to be as careless about Matoran life. Makuta? Brainwashed and boxed em up. Piraka? Brainwashed and enslaved. Not great, but it wasn’t just straight up elaborate murders! Tuyet, I love her. She is so full of personality and spite and I want to do so much with her character. Like next to Naho, I feel like before this, Lhikan would have trusted her the most. She is smart, skilled, and good at what she does. Easily a very useful friend, and so he had to really trust her and to find out she was doing this? My boy would have been devastated. He then has to watch as the one he doesn’t trust as much has to pick sides, which has gotta be stressful. Also yes, he definitely doesn’t trust Nidihki. Dude comes from the hell peninsula of hell island where life is hell and he gets out of there, dude aint gonna be a socialite. Hes the dark side of what toa are meant to be before he even gets there and golden boy has to just trust him to do what is right in this moment, and obviously, it isnt an easy decision, because we only know he sided with likhan in one universe, all the others might have been more in line with the Toa Empire or something like that.

So Nidhiki makes the right choice, they throw tuyet in jail to IMMEDIATELY have her stolen away to NAUGHTY HELL JAIL, so like, that must have been a conversation, like none of them knew it, and last they saw her, Tuyet was about to become possibly the most powerful toa ever, with the ability to become even more powerful as time went on. So shes just... GONE... and nobody knows shit. Thats gonna be stressful. 

AND THEN A WAR STARTS. Like all of this has gone down, things are going to shit, and shadow boy just decides fuck it im going downtown and invades the island. Thats gonna be a hard time on Lhikan, who now is essentially a war general. He has to run an island that does not seem particularly equipped for dealing with this kinda stuff. At this point also, we might just be getting the start of the Vakhi, so its not clone wars level, they cant just send out all these robocops to deal with the issue, at best they might still have kralhi??? but no idea. Nuparu might even still be working on the vahki when the hunters show up, just trying to crank em out. So Lhikan has now 10 toa vs dozens to hundreds of dark hunters, and thats gonna be a fight you lose. So in order to make this work, he has to arrange for Naho to sneak out, leaving them with even less defenders because also so. 

Water toa right? Easily some of the most powerful, if not the most powerful toa, especially in a small island like this. Just use the water around them to suck people to the ocean floor, and I feel like while Tuyet was more of a tactical and combat specialist, naho was really focused on her elemental powers, kinda like lhikan, with his precise fire powers. So she, possibly the strongest member of the team, just leaves, and has to go find some other army in the meantime. After this goes down and she comes back, its gotta be rough i mean they were holed up in the colliseum, thats gonne be crowded and hard to deal with morale, because that place cant be that secure, its got no roof sometimes. So any hunter that can fly is gona be up there trying to make a move, and those that can dig or climb have their own ways in. So after defending this for who knows how long with 9 toa, she brings in the cavalry and messes them up, but lots of them die. like just straight up in canon on both sides they were dying. By this point, its been a hard war already, righting back from within the colliseum, and trying to get control back of the city. 

Then we get the big slap in the face numero dos. Nidikhi, all ready for his glory, gets too overeager and betrays likhan and is so bad at doing so that he wins the war for the toa. He is so weak compared to what tuyet could have been like he had no sense of anything going on, no military knowledge, he was just edgy. Now he goes off and tries to sell them out and Lhikan already was able to suspect this right off the bat so he cant be too trusting at this point still, so he has probably had these doubts like what if he had been thinking about what might have happened if nidikhi had sided with tuyet this whole time. Like he probably set the bar so low that Nidihki just tripped over it not knowing it was there. So he gets that, and has a whole plan set up. 

THIS IS WHERE IT COULD HAVE GOTTEN GOOD FOR HIM. SO he talks to Hakann, makes the deal to RETURN THE ONE THING HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE FROM HIS FIRST BIG TRAUMA so like huge personal victory for him and hes gotta be doing pretty okay, but the issue is, hes now gotta kick nidikhi out. I dont think hed be okay doing so either, like he had totaally been trying to give the edgelord a chance, and he just throws it back in lhikans face. So he kicks him out, never to be seen again, and the war ends. Nice and easy. 

AND THEN HIS BOSS GETS POSESSED. Like this boy cannot catch a break, he has fought a dragon, an impossible war, lost two teammates to betrayal, maybe more during the war, I have no idea, but they have gotta be on edge after the war at least, because they were likely split up. they were the toa with the most knowledge of the city, so they would likely all be generals, not to mention whoever was assigned to Dume’s guard, because that would also be so much stress and i feel like that was probably nahos thing after she saved the day the first time. so shes been stressed, lhikans been stressed, and then their boss starts sending all his teammates off on suicide missions. That’s just gotta destroy him. He also probably knows at this point that shit is going south, you are telling me a man who has seen this much betrayal would not instantly be on guard about this? I think if anything this might have been the hardest part for me to believe, that after being betrayed by two of his teammates who he was so willing to trust, to have dume start pulling weird shit and him not question it is hard to get. SO I think naho would have been last. Naho would have been his rock, ironically, because shes there to make sure hes still sane after the war, and shes been personally guarding dume this whole time so she trusts him more, and is persuading lhikan right up until its her turn. I have more personal head-canons about some of this but ill save that for later. 

so he is alone again. team all disintegrated, boss possessed, when guess who comes a-knocking, but the horribly mutated spider version of the only person he knows is left from his team. He has this last reminder of what he had show up, and it is so warped and distorted that he has gotta be just messed up so completely by that. So he decides to do what he can, make the stones, and then take on his old teammate, and then the movie happens, he gets captured, has to teach new toa how to do their stuff, which he has no experience in and so he is getting this chance to get to be a influential part of this toa team

AND THEN HE JUST DIES. And this is real hard, because Vakama and the rest were so ready to believe he was the Heart of Metru Nui like, this is someone who you can tell all the matoran respect and know and he just dies right in front of Vakama. This hero of the city, such an integral part that he was considered its heart, is just straight up killed by getting thrown aside by a shadow hand. That is the end of his life, is he gets this chance to try to prove his worth to these toa, and then he gets killed protecting them, even as a turaga. Beyond this, he was already a legacy. The metru, when they became turaga, told all these stories about him, about the adventures he did, like they know what he did for them, and so he does live on, in Jaller, in the metru, and in the minds of all the matoran, who may know now that this legend from their stories was actually real and actually did all this stuff. No other toa team did as much as the Mangai except the mata, and they werent even normal toa, they were specifically designed to be toa like they had to be the best designs, and also got upgraded several times. Lhikan and the Mangai didn’t. they got beat down time and time again and eventually all died protecting their city or turning against it.

I will tell this story in detail, and I think that it is one that needs to be told, because it isn’t one of the main stories that ends all happy, it is a tragedy, but it is the most important and untold tragedy of the entire canon. 

[comicteaparty]

July 15th-July 21st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 15th, 2019 to July 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on Radioactive Underground by Ezra Rose.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Radioactive Underground by Ezra Rose~! (https://tapas.io/series/Radioactive-Underground)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until July 21st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think caused Robbie’s scar that is briefly seen? Further, why is Robbie taking medicine? What might all this have to do with Griffin’s particular concern for how Robbie is doing?

ezzy

Wow what a wonderful comic surely who ever made this comic is very smart and also handsome

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Which aspect of the world has caught your eye the most so far? Why does it interest you? Also, how do you think it will play a role in how the story unfolds?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably the first scene we see robbie at maki's. i liked the little flirty dialogue and then the ultimate payoff with it at the end. like i really felt like i was in robbie's shoes during it cause i wasnt sure if there was chemistry and then the "robbie with an i e " thing really sold it for me. just a great banter setup i can really appreciate. 2) Given the opening scene, I gotta imagine Robbie was fighting monsters or w/e he fights in the underground and took on a challenge he wasnt ready for. And that probably nearly killed him and thus why the scar and medicine. Cause the medicine is probably keeping his heart going or something like that. As for Griffin's concern, Griffin gives off a kind of motherly feel to me despite the aggressive attitude. And it seems she and robbie have a sort of mother-son bond (at least a little bit). and ya know, mom's worry when their sons almost die.

3) my favorite character atm is probably robbie. While this could change as the characters become more familiar, I really just like Robbie's design. It feels edgy and relateable at the same time without being overboard. I also think it super suits his personality. 4) I'm really interested in the underground aspect of the comic. Cause it really doesn't feel like their underground, yet it's clearly a thing. And given robbie's crush isnt from the underground originally, itll be interesting to see how the cultures differ. Since there already seems to be some inequality going on. In terms of the story, I definitely think the underground's probably...status in society is probably a breeding ground for crime. hence robbie's entire life situation.

ezzy

>:3c

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Yui was supposedly kicked out of the family business, and how do you think she got involved with Griffin? What theories do you have about the rest of Griffin’s crew? Alternatively, who do you most want to learn more about?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think the ultimate goal is for Griffin’s group as for why they steal? Is it just for money, or is there some larger picture? Further, what do you think Robbie’s personal investment is in the whole thing?

RebelVampire

5) My fave illustration...s is probably the ones of Griffin on this page. https://tapas.io/episode/1357536 Griffin looks so cool, and something about this up-close shot choices really made me appreciate her really cool, badass design. Instantly won my heart over as a top-contending chara for favorites. 6) Yui sort of strikes me as the type who rebels just to rebel. Like the teen who never got out of the rebellious phase because she's 2kool4skool. And from what we've seen with her relationship with her family, rebelliousness is not well-received. And I can see from her families perspective how it kind of just looks like Yui lazes around and then throws attitude. I don't really have theories about the rest of the crew, although I definitely do want to get to know the completely non-human world. They'd be a great insight into the rest of the non-humans that are in this world.

7) I probably enjoy seeing Robbie and crush chick the most. They've got really cute chemistry that just makes me squee on the inside. And I also hope he continues to be called Robbie with an i e for a while. 8) I think the answer to this question depends on perspective. Most of the crew, like Robbie and Yui, are probably just in it for the money. While I think Griffin is in it for the money, I also think she has a bigger picture idea. Like eventually aiming for the grand jewel and making people super pissed. Or more I should say, she's waiting till they can make the heist of a lifetime and retire on a beach in Hawaii. As for Robbie's personal investment, besides money, he kind of maybe just has nothing better to do? So far my impression of him is hes the type to think hes not good at a lot of stuff besides running and fighting. Thus morals be damned, lets steal things? XD Plus if he needs medicine, hes gotta pay for it somehow. So to summarize, his investment is needs money + belief in lack of job opportunities. I think if something better came along hed be heavily tempted.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who exactly do you think Griffin is? In other words, what’s Griffin’s backstory and why is Griffin invested in stealing? Further, why do you think Griffin keeps the group at arm’s length and has them drop her off at random locations?

RebelVampire

9) One deal I appreciate is the balance of Griffin's design. Like there's this right blend of human and non-human traits that you could even guess she was a half-breed before anybody even said anything. And being able to get that across immediately visually is really A+ work there. 10) I think Griffin was probably someone a lot like Robbie. Just in the underground, nothing to do, no opportunities, and so she took the easy route of theft. However, I think she was at least once part of a bigger organization (given the connections she has) and that she kind of betrayed them and ditched them. Like I said earlier, I think she's both in it for the money but kind of has some bigger idea picture about retiring in style or something like that. As for keeping the group at arm's length, I actually think it's to protect them. Cause she clearly seems to know dangerous folks who know her and have a bone to pick. So by not letting the others become too notorious, she keeps the heat on her.

ShaRose49

I started this one awhile ago and I thought it was very well-drawn(edited)

ezzy

Thank you i try very hard

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Why do you think the new girl working at Maki’s has come to the underground? What might it have to do with her relationship with her parents? Further, what role do you think she’ll play in the larger story?

spacerocketbunny

1. Favourite scene is probably the one where everyone is in the diner after the heist! The banter is fun and I like how the characters interact. Yui and Robbie are great, they act like siblings who can't stand each other but of course cover each other's asses if they get in trouble. Also the moment when Robbie meets Sky, she asks his name so she can label his food but then he asks for her name and she pauses like "why are you asking the server's name lol" 3. Ummmm Griffin because she's a mysterious babe?? Love me a stoic lady with questionable motives ;)) also Sky is so sweet, I love that she's an artist! 4. Love the demons and other folks that are integrated into the world, it's a lot of fun! I hope there'll be more interesting people to see :)

5. The latest pages with Griffin on the phone look great, great colours, nice backgrounds, I like how the colours are starting to become more dynamic! 6. Mmmm my guess is that she's a bit messy and callous and probably messed something up in the family business. Too early to make any hard speculation but if anything I think it was Yui's fault probably... I want to see more of what these heists are for, and how their group operates. I'd like to see more on Griffin and her origin since it was pointed out that she was a %100 human (I'm assuming the other half is demon?) 7. Right now Yui and Robbie because of the bickering they do, but now that I've seen Sky blush after interacting with Griffin I'm

9. I like the style of the comic, it's angular and sharp and I like the character designs! I feel like the comic's aesthetic and mood is still being realized but it's progressing with each page and I can't wait to see how it develops further! 11. Like previously mentioned I think the style is definitely a strength, it's fun and offbeat and I like that it's one that I'm not seeing in the comic scene right now. The character interaction is great too, even as early as it is I'm already invested in these characters and I want to know more about them, they're a fun lot and they all play off each other in a great way. I'm interested to see where this comic goes and how it'll develop, I'll definitely be checking back for updates

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Who do you think Solomon Reiki is, and what does they want with Griffin? What does this have to do with the guard who Griffin fought during the heist? What could this mean for Robbie and the rest of the crew?

RebelVampire

11) I think the comic's strength are definitely the character designs. There's a lot of personality packed into them. Not just the main characters we've seen so far but even the side characters as well. It makes for a really dynamic setting and cast that immediately catches your eye. Somehoe all the designs also really suit the tone of the story as well. 12) I feel there definitely has to have been a falling out with her parents. And she fled to the one place where she thought they would never look for her or something. Given she seems somehow hardcore herself, I could totally see her joining the crew and going on thieving adventures. Or at the very least being an informant of some sort. 13) I'm looking forward to learning more about the rest of the crew and seeing how they all play off each other. Cause that will definitely have a big impact in terms of how the heists go. 14) Given my previous theories, I think Solomon Reiki was Griffin's old boss who is super pissed at Griffin's betrayal of leaving. But until recently they havent been able to find Griffin so hence the guard. Heard some rumors and sent the guard to confirm whether its the traitor or not. Of course, this probably gonna put the rest of the crew square in sights and get them unwanted attention from bigger criminals or something like that.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Radioactive Underground this week! Please also give a special thank you to Ezra Rose for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Radioactive Underground, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/Radioactive-Underground

Ezra’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ezrarose

Ezra’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/ezzymourao

Ezra’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperSonicSoda_

[cold-arrow]

Doctor's Notes, entry ??

New fifth book, part 9 | The Road to Recovery |

Summary, things of note since last entry: stuck in bathtub, and no idea what to do. moisturizer, Lym ran off. Baras’s  insensitivity the priestess of Timora, certainty in the lack of hope we return to Waterdeep, (Kolbaz's insight) Lym's miracle, Baras' reserach. Lady silverhand, GayUncleGym/Gauntylgrim. Mirrorbar, horses, track into the valley Khedrun The stone giant. the path to the city

|

1 / 9 | didn’t really sleep that well, that night. im not sure if it was because ive been stuck in here, stationary for so long, or because of the disease. ( or whatever other reason, like being submerged in water. in a small uncomfortable bath ) I woke up the following morning rather exhausted. tried to do an experiment though. see If I could breathe water, or had started to develop gills yet. But I… very much regret trying, for all it accomplished was me nearly suffocating on the slimy water in this bath. (didn’t taste particularly pleasant either.) maybe I should ask the innkeep if they;d be willing to change it out, to get some actual fresh water … Actually nevermind, I cant be bothered. … though his design his a bit patchwork, Lumos’ new chassis seems to atleast be… functional. Definitely will have to make some improvements later though if I can. … tried making the moisturizer that Omrick bought me the ingredients for. but the results were… disappointing. And painful. seems like it reacts rather poorly when applied to my skin, causing some sort aggressive and caustic reaction, which wasn’t particularly pleasant any kind of way. Guess ill have to throw that idea / solution into the trash as well. next up on the stupid idea list. Make a hermetically sealed suit and fill it with water to keep myself hydrated. How complicated can that be right? Especially with Alll my tools and resources at hand. And my now lovely aquatic work environment. … I need to get some proper rest.

| 2 / 9 | I havnt seen Lym since… yesterday. I was thinking about apologizing. I… could probably have put things a lot better than I did. Maybe ill send Lumos instead, with a note. That way, if she doesn’t want to talk, she doesn’t have to.   … Omrick came in again as well. said Lym had disappeared or gone off by herself, not long after she returned to the tavern yesterday. She might just have stormed off as well. don’t know if…  I am the one who’s to blame the most for that, or if something else happened, after she dropped by yesterday. But… I don’t know what to do. Id go looking for her and apologize. But I cant. Im stuck. Don’t think it would help much either. If she left after that, I’d doubt she’d want to see any of us, nor our faces right now. guess, ill just sit here and… do nothing. Worry. I suppose. Don’t have anything better to do besides worry, and stress, and fret and think a…

-- I need to find something to disitract myself. Being left alone with my thought for so long, with nothing to do. isnt good for my mental. I’d try t… trying to research is useless. Getting out of this damned bath is useless. Trying to look for Lym in this damned city is useless. maybe ill count the tiles and boards again. or play go fetch with Lumos.

| 3 / 9 | After drinking my 7th waterskin today. I remembered that I havnt actually refilled Baras Alter-self flask yet. He’s been stuck in his room I think, since we came back. Hopefully refilling it for him means he’ll be able to do stuff, and not be as bored and stuck in his room like I am. Also, making the alter-self elixir means I have something to do as well thankfully. will send Lumos up to him in a bit. … it's not often that id consider Baras to be a fool, or an idiot. But he’s managed to surprise me somehow…. though id like to say that he cant really help his insensitivity and bluntness sometimes, since he still seems to be struggling with the concept of emotions and such. And what they are to him. I… very much understand now, as to why Lym had stormed off and left the tavern yesterday. If my… conversation with her wasn’t already enough to upset her, Baras being offended and actually accusing her  of -- intentionally -- hurting us, definitely would do the trick. it took a bit of coazing, or interrogation, to get the truth and details out of him. But after a few minutes it definitely become clear that, Baras had said some rather upsetting things to Lym, and hadn’t yet fully “realized” the extent or magnitude of mistake just yet. Even after she threw a drink in his face… I knew something was wrong the moment I asked if he knew why lym had left and disappeared. And his vagueness and dodging of answering my questions were more than enough to raise my suspicion. Atleast I have a better idea -- as to whats going on now. Not that I can really DO anything about. Im still stuck in this damned bathtub. I just hope I was able to talk some sense into him. so that if she does return, he can at least Properly talk and apologize to her. Keeping her feelings of guilt, and remorse, and anger -- a bit more in mind. * (maybe I should expedite / move forward my idea of making a mood ring for him. Maybe that’ll help gain him a better sense or grasp on things. such as his own, or others, emotions.)

| 4 / 9 | Lym has been gone -- for quite a while now. Im starting to get more and more worried. She didnt return to the tavern last night, nor this morning. Hopefully she found a decent place to rest and sleep for the night. ? I’d assumed Baras would have gone out to look for her and apologize at this point. Now that ive refilled his flask. But instead its as if he’s just – sulking or moping around in his room. Frozen with either fear or indecision on what he should about his actions, and the things he said. And instead Omrick has now gone out to look for her, which doesn’t necessarily bode well. I doubt he’s gonna improve things much with irritated mood he’s been in lately. I guess I can only hope for the best… Maybe I should send Lumos out instead, to look for her. …            it wasn’t until later that day, in the afternoon, that Lym eventually returned. And she brought company. She had spent most of the morning helping out at a temple of Timora apparently, after asking one of the priestesses if they could perhaps… take a look at me. To try and cure me. Omrick had eventually found her as well. He;d spotted her from outside the temple as she was helping out with some chores. And had waited outside until she eventually left with the priestess once they had a moment to spare The… priestess herself was a curious sort. But I guess that goes for most clerics at a temples I suppose. But her being a servant to the Lady of luck, definitely made her a bit more… odd? than most priests ive encountered. She did carry herself with conviction, and dignified manner. And while I, have never been a great believer of luck, She -- definitely seemed to have that conviction. we tried explaining my condition the best we could, and her conclusion was pretty similar to healers that had visited the Rosilio family it seems. A greater restoration Should alleviate me of my disease, and affliction. She grabbed her components and the required diamond dust, And although I somewhat doubted her – reliability at first, for being a priestess to luck and all. The divine magic she possessed and summoned to try and cure me, were… amazing, Quite Impressive. Yet, it wasn’t enough… once the divine glow of her magic faded, I… was still the same. My skin still translucent and slimy and dehydrated. So it seems like we indeed need something a bit more powerful. if we want to have any hope of curing me. We thanked for atleast trying, and her time and effort. And we offered to make a donation to the temple, in return. But she graciously declined our offer. And simply headed back to her temple, after we nevertheless conveyed to her our gratitude.   there was an awkward silence once she’d left. Omrick had been quiet all this time, and patiently been waiting, observing things. Lym had been a bit quiet as well, but spoke up shortly afterwards. Asking what we should do next, and suggesting that we maybe head back to Waterdeep and Baras’ mansion. Atleast there’s bigger bath there, and there might be some info or knowledge perhaps, in his library that might help. I agreed that it was a good idea. And sincerely thanked for finding a cleric for me. For taking the time look for one and might help figure out how to cure me. -- Omrick gave some snarky comment about how she shouldn’t have left without a word, and disappeared or something, which she didn’t appreciated, and said as much. And I quickly shot him him a warning glance as well. There’s a reason she didn’t. And I wonder as to whether either Baras or Omrick really understand that yet. ( even though we gained some certainty in the fact the greater restoration will not work. Im not really hopeful as to what even might at this point. I decided to make a donation to the temple of Timora nevertheless. As a thank you, and a small compensation for the material costs and gem dusts, and the time of the priestess. If paying Lady luck pays back in tenfold. then it atleast doesn’t hurt to show a bit of gratitude by trying to make a donation, I suppose. )

| 5 / 9 | the following day, we headed back towards Waterdeep. we bought a few wineskins (for my to douse myself in and quench my thirst.) Threw a cloak over me and Baras, and made our way to Mr. Kolbaz’s mansion, early in the morning. he was there to great us this time, when we dropped by. And he actually managed to give us a bit of useful info and insight on my condition. Appearently he actually has heard of the Kuo’Toa before, and gave us some pointers on what to perhaps look for, when we try to do some research the matter. in return I decided to actually give him some of my blood. I’d prepared a vial after we came through last time. however he was curious to have a vial of my blood in my current condition as well. which I didn’t really mind at that point, to be honest. Am curious as to how that’s gonna turn out. Will have to ask him next time we visit. … we managed to get back to the mansion without too much issue. While we were in Yartar, people didn’t really pay much to attention to Baras fortunately. which was a relief. But once we were back in waterdeep and traversing the streets, the stares of other people were… a lot less comfortable. As soon made it trough the front door Baras’ mansion, I immediately headed towards the baths, and dived into water.  And thank the gods ( or Dave I suppose) that the baths in his house are a lot more spacious, larger. I feels as if I finally have some proper breathing room ( not funny) And I can actually properly swim around for a bit now. The… webbing between my hands and feet are certainly Interesting.  Because it does actually make swimming a lot easier, effortless almost. Which shouldn’t be surprise but , I guess that’s atleast one plus if I become a fish person… I wonder if the celestial curse from the pillow is gonna have any effect on my condition as well. *actually nvm. I don’t wanna know. … Asked Otto if he and some of the other skeletons to help me get set up here in the baths. Got a few chairs and stools that I can use as tables now at least. Its been kind of difficult, to keep things dry and not covered in the slime from my skin. So hopefully that should help. Also, If I hadn’t mentioned before, writing like this isn’t the easiest thing either. I have to constantly submerge and then dry my hands, Again, pretty much every minutes. Being careful as to not stain any of my papers, or equipment. maybe I could ask Baras to let my borrow some books from the library. If he’ll allow it. Will have to be even more careful then with my own books and papers though, in that case. Or I fear the wrath he would unleash upon me, if I damaged one of his books…

| 6 / 9 | She did it! She actually managed to do it. Both Lym and Baras actually she dropped by the following day, saying she wanted to try something. And before I could really process what had happened, or prepare myself. I was cured. Healed of my affliction and disease! My skin being its usual normal colour and texture again. I … havnt felt this relieved or – havnt even felt this well in ages. Even some of my smaller physical ailments, such as the pain in my back, or in my neck and hand are gone! We really do not deserve Lym. -- I… guess I finally kind of understand what the proudness of a parent feels like. Or… what my father might have felt, in those very rare moments, when I did actually manage to impress him. Or what my mother might have felt like, if she knew what things I’ve done, and accomplished. if she was still alive I owe Baras as well, appearently he had stayed up most of the night researching in the library to try and find pretty much anything that might be able to help. Jarvis had already narrowed down some of the books for him. And after reading through most of them, he found one that listed a possible cure. I want to try and find a way to repay her, the both of them. Lym used a lot of her energy to cure me. Let alone the time and energy she spend when we’re still in Yartar. The sewers the temple. And ive very much underestimated to sheer magnitude of the knowledge contained in Baras library. I should start spending some time there if I actually want to learn even a fraction of knowledge held there before my death.

| 7 / 9 | With Lym’s brother now being safely out of jail. And with me being cured and no longer at risk of turning into a fish person, or Kuo’toa. The question now is, what do we do next? Baras had send a message to Lady Silverhand to try and schedule an appointment, for a conversation. but it seems like that’s going to take a while, or a bit longer then we expected. For the better or worse. ( not really looking forward to that, so the longer it takes the better actually. ) -- So we either just wait and do nothing. Or… we could perhaps set out again. With Omrick having discovered the location of the ancient dwarven city, and the fact that we have some time to kill / “free time,” I guess we’re going head out and look into that matter of his. Its officially decided, and we’re getting ready to set out. it's pretty important to him it seems. A thing that his father had always talked about. And held great significance to him. Will have to ask some more details about it, along the way. ill admit to atleast being somewhat curious about the idea of an ancient, long lost dwarven city. or capital even.

| Baras got the teleportation coordinates, or runes, to mirrorbar a while back, so we decided to finally try them out. Safe a bit on travel time. -- I think, if I heard correctly, that the ancient long lost dwarven city, was rumoured to be somewhere in the valley of Khedrun. Which means that Mirrorbar is the closest place, I suppose

… The circle in Mirrobar is… rather well hidden apparently. I guess no-one would expect to find such a thing in the hay attic of a barn. The… guardian of place does need to work on his -- acting a bit though. it was rather obvious that he was hiding something up there. But besides his poor acting skills, he seemed like a nice fellow Zaspar Bronzefire ,was his name if I remember correctly, auburn haired young dwarf covered in hay. I Do wonder if he actually knows any magic himself, or if he is just a simple stable hand/owner under contract by the Harpers / LA maybe I shouldn’t write down, this kind of sensitive / classified information. Especially if I end up loosing my notebooks again at somepoint … Oh, and I almost forgot! Veran had succeeded in his mission, the favour I asked of him, And actually found / recovered pretty much most of my belongings. There are a few smaller things that are missing / gone, and probably lost forever. But all my important Magical, and alchemical belongings are here, and back. My supplies, tools and components I bought ( the regeants ) are gone, but I can always find new ones. But, all the things I worked so hard to make, or that we fought to earn or gain. I have them again now. I don’t remember when the last time was, when I actually had felt that happy, or hopefull. Having both been cured of an uncurable desease. And gifted pretty much all my belongings that I had lost. On the same day. Thank you Illmater, thank you Timora, And thank you to my friends.

| 8 / 9 |

The road of Stones our journey, once we left mirrorbar, was mostly uneventful. However, I was stupid enough to forget to buy rations before we set out. Thankfully the others were kind enough to share some of their rations with me, so I at least have something to eat. (doesn’t seem like the barbarians at Svalberg left any of the food I had when the emptied my bag ) It wasnt until a few days later into our journey though, that we encountered a bigger issue... The night before, Omrick had just found a cavern marked by dwarven script, or a symbol. Which contained a very clever sedimentary? map, that gave us further directions on how to reach the gates and entrance to Gauntlgrymm. It’s only dwarves who have the knowledge of, or studied the masonry and geological of their ancestors, who could read it. He was pretty excited to not only find evidence of the city’s existence, but the cleverly concealed map to its exact location as well. It… was during that night however, that Baras had noticed something in the distance. large shapes, that were dragging something behind them. he informed us of the sighting, and that the shapes had stopped to rest for the night, some distance ahead. And that they fortunately hadn’t spotted us. It was hard to tell from of distance, but they appeared to be stone giants. And they were dragging several dead bodies, and possibly lives ones with them. He -- wasn’t particularly keen on facing them, wanting to save his and our strength for the city ahead. But…. If there were dragging not only corpses, but prisoners with them. We couldn’t just abonadon those people right? Lym seemd to doubly agree. And Omrick was confident, as per usual, that he could take them on. And that we should save those people, or atleast stop them. so with that, we set out to ambush them. | 9 / 9 | Remind me, to not underestimate stone giants, or any giants for that matter again in the future. There were only 2 of them. But they proved to be a lot more dangerous then we expected. Both of them. The first one, was a formidable fighter by himself. Far stronger than any hill giant we’ve encountered. But the second one, She… was a incredibly powerful and dangerous caster. Who could have annihilated us for sure, if thing had gone differently. *(she might have even been capable of even casting some the highest level of chronomancy in hindsight. if im not mistaken? ) the warrior, we managed to take down quickly enough. With Omrick taking him down a peg after trading a few blows, untill he was still on the ground. but the terrifying, Geomancy / Seismomancy / Terramancy or whatever magic she had at her disposal. Were powerful enough to summon earthquakes that could level villages and towns in seconds. we took some substantial blows trying to take her down. but outnumbered once the giant warrior had fallen, she eventually turned and fled, only to be taking down by Lym. -- I think Lym took that fight rather personally, this was the first time I think, any of us have seen her fight this aggressively, or offensively, in a while. She summoned some terrifying divine magic to both incinerate, wither, and tear apart the stone giants. The divine flame strikes were definitely something to behold. And she teleported closer towards the female giant, instead of way. Not only once, but twice. The first time crippling her severely. Before finishing her of and killing her the second time.

.

I hope she was able to vent and unleash some of her frustrations from the past week, or two today. For I worry as to what would happen if she directed more of the fury unto us. … the rest of our journey didn’t really provide any futher challenges, and eventually we managed to find The Cave, thanks to the directions that Omrick had found / gotten, from before. It was a bit of journey down. But right now were standing infront of a beautifully carved stone gateway, next to an underground waterfall. The craftmanship on this entrance alone… is amazing. And I can only look forward as to what other structures, and architecture, and other dwarven ruins and buildings that we might found down here.

| Extra | (during one of the previous nights, after the encounter with the stone giants. I had a… rather unsettling dream. we were fighting the stone giants, again. But there were so many more this time. We were all separated, scatted across the battlefield. I was trying to reach them. But… A ravine tore open beneath Baras, as he started to fall into the endless depths of the earth. Omrick was slowly being overwhelmed and crushed into the ground by dozens of giants. And Lym was slowly, painfully turning to stone. being petrified. And I had to watch in horror as I failed to reach any of them. Trying my best to make my away across the gravel, erupted earth and broken stones as they one by one fell. … I didn’t feel particularly great after that, the following day. I just hope that -- it isn’t something foreboding.

[tumblunni]

Also I actually do really like that Silver got an androgenous design without having a “reason”. Like uuhh, what i mean is the idea of him being cutesy and ‘feminine’ just cos his fashion sense is androgenous, and such. Anime tends to go all-in with the gender essentialism and be like ‘must have stereotypically gendered personality of the opposite gender’ instead of even just.. person looks like neither.. might have stereotypes of neither. And i mean in real life there are plenty of LGBT or gender non-conforming people who might be a dude with long hair who’s a tough sports fan, or a short haired girl who likes feminine hobbies or whatever. or just no correlation whatsoever between how you like to dress and what gender stereotypes you do or don’t have. Man when I was a kid I always felt weirdly pressured to enjoy sports and stop finding pet bunnies cute or else lose my ‘tomboy card’. aka the closest thing 90s era kids ahd to a conception of what being transgender is, lol. (man i wonder if i could have missed so many years of self hate if i grew up on today’s cartoons that have more canoncical non-negatively portrayed LGBT characters...)

Oh and also randomly a chance to mention how much i love Crona from Soul Eater, again! A canonical non-binary hero who’s 100% just portrayed as a normal person who exists and is nonbianyr. No overblown weird obsession with ‘uwu how sexay its a boy in a dress’ or ‘omg how weird we cant tell what gender it is’ or ‘omg stereotypical flambouyant scary gay tropes applied to a trans person who isnt really actually nonbinary but just comes off that way because this author somehow thinks that being gay and being trans are the same thing, and also that trans women are something less than full women’. And seriously Crona doesn’t have any steroetypical personality of either gender, and is a REALLY REFRESHING case of a socially anxious character being portrayed without either kind of weird gendered stereotype anime seems to have. Like the ‘uwu sexy helpless child’ if it’s a female characetr, or the ‘gross creepy nerd’ or ‘is allowed to perv on everyone because ha ha he doesnt realise he’s doing anything wrong’ version for male characters. Nah just.. shy person. Exists. Actual realism. Nothing else. kinda wish we could give more of this to the cis characters too, yknow? like seriously even nowadays we only tend to see ‘subversion! this anxious woman is actually gross and otaku instead of sexy!’ or whatever. just flipping the script instead of thinking ‘hey maybe we could write this personality like a personality instead of a pile of prewritten lines that nobody actually says in real life?’ ALSO ALSO!! I really like how Crona’s plot actually goes out of its way to subvert the idea of ‘must have a reason to be gender non-conforming’. Like there’s soooo much ‘this girl was forced to act like a boy because contrived circumstance and is really cis’ or ‘this character is just super depraved and thats why they act queer’ or ‘this character isnt human and their species is all nonbinary and thats the only reason they’re nonbinary’ or ‘this character got in a magic space rays accident that gave him a female body even though he was born cis, and him still identifying as male is thus kinda the opposite of what being trans is, yet we simulteanously use it as a chance to Talk About Why Trans Is Scary’. like the big sad twist of Crona’s plot is that they ARENT some magical created homunculus which would be an ‘excuse’ for being genderless. Its supposed to be a huge ‘holy fuck let me hug you’ moment when you find out they were actually the villain’s actual child that she experimented on as a toddler to turn them into a weapon. And like they also give a resounding no to the ‘crona identifies as genderless because they are two people in one body' thing because ragnorok is male. The actual creepy homunculus demon blood thing is the one who’s cis! Reminds me of how pissed off i get whenever people throw around the false fact that “Qus are a genderles species” in final fantasy 9. No, Quina is the only one who gets neutral pronouns, and the other two we meet of this magical fantasy species are both male. Quina is queer within the game’s world as well as ours! Also incidentally for some reason Quale was changed to female in certain european countries? I wonder why that even happened because he’s male in japanese too. Like thats an actual decision someone made, not a mistake. Maybe someone out there in the dubbing team crossed paths with my Really Weird Evidenceless Headcanon That Quan is Quale’s Ex Boyfriend and decided to pull a crusadermon censorship on him. Also that was funny because Crusadermon was a male-only species for ages in japanese, and female-only in english, so then when the japanese continuity introduced a female Crusadermon in one of the videogames it would give her an entirely different impression in the dub. Like the twist of her identity was way less surprising because we never had this perception of this species of magical robot monster as being male only. Though it was still a pleasant surprise in both versions to see a female alphamon! or transgender themes with a character who switched identity from male to female upon becoming human? it wasn’t super clear but either way she’s awesome!

OKAY IVE GONE ON EIGHTY TANGEANTS OKAY BYE

whatever in summary this is my reasons for still giving redesign-silver an androgenous fashion sense whenever he’s in different outfits, even though his hairstyle got shortified. You Have Implied The Potential LGBT Relateability, You Can No Longer Remove It. Also him and gold is a really cute ship in the manga, so i can’t not see him as gay/bi/pan. Every Route Leads To LGBT For This Man, Sorry You Cannot Stop It. ALSO crona and quina are great characters also, even if they have nothing in common with silver so this post is a big ol ramble of nothing i guess New Pokemon News just made me really hyper!

[dhj8735]

KIP

Well, lets get started.  My research is about, humans and monsters.Why are Humans more afraid of monsters that do not exist, when they should be more afraid of humans. From my understanding is that people are afraid of the unknown, and to those young minds, their imagination may end up being vivified, causing fear of monsters. -(Omar de Icaza ). Now humans should be feared the most than monsters. One, have you seen a monster? NO? Well you see humans right, and do you know what is in their mind? No? Some people are psychopaths, murderers, rapists, Sadists, etc. And guess what, there is 7 Billion people out there. And some keep their desires in closed curtains.As you all know, we humans are afraid of the unkown. This should be already apperent to all of you. Trying to find out why people. Or mostly teenagers are afraid of these mythical monsters. I for one may have been araid of monsters. Well. I still am, yes I am old but throwing the rubbish at 12 am in the night isnt really a walk in the park. Just thinking of something that might come and scare me arojnd the corner scares me. Maybe that could be the reason as to why we are afraid. We over thibk things to a certain degree to the point of where our imagination just beckmes the superior emotion than common sense. Horror movies do not help, the human mind is quite complicated, and in some cases naive. Like a simple boy meets a nice girl, she treats him nicely and wants to be friends. The girl only wants to be friends. But the male counter part interprets it very very differently. They think that its some sort of way of flieting from the female. That she wants to hit on said boy. Again two very different and distinct ways of thinking. So are monsters. But maybe there are monsters in this world. And its the people around you. RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Why is looking through this beneficial to us, ill tell you why. Have you ever stopped and though about what someone has done, something unforgivable, look around you. Do you know what that person has done. Do you really know the people that are close to you. I'm not saying you should question everyone, but don't be surprised when they have a secret you didn't know. The people that are close to me, I know their true intentions, and they know I know. Also why do we overthink? Our tendency to overthink everything holds us back from doing something productive. Thinking too much about things isn't just a nuisance. It can take a serious toll on your well-being. Research says dwelling on your shortcomings, mistakes, and problems increases your risk of mental health problems, I guess I over think also, and in that we think irrationally and do things that we will regret. LITERATURE/ PAST RESEARCH REVIEWThe news. That is my Literature. Love is something that makes others blind, to what really lies between someone. I'm not saying everyone is bad but they have some things deep down, just be cautious. An Article:   https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/wife-and-son-murdered-husband-for-inheritance-698.html It claims that the wife of a wealth businessman, plotted his murder with her son because she wanted his money without the trouble of a divorce. Which is sickening. The mans wife, wanted his money. True intentions lie beneath the skin right? Cults.https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/the-5-scariest-cults-in-modern-history/ This I guess is a scary subject, there are still cults that exist today that sacrifices humans. I needn't explain myself, since it is already there, but it still is worth reading no doubt.Also religion.I would consider myself to be christian, I guess, I have sinned, greatly, I mean we all sin. But its religion that people should also fear, the extremists that take it to far, such as ISIS, terrorists and such. They scream out praise god while killing people, but we Christians aren't so different back then, the crusaders used this as an excuse to remain calm, it is okay to kill someone because god said it was. And you know I'm right. RESEARCH QUESTION/ DESIGN/ PLAN OF THE STUDY AS for my for my Kip project, I would say its research, because I do not see how I could experiment, homicide, murderers, fetish, crime and such. Doing a survey is a waste of time, because people wouldn't tell others about the dark things in their minds.I presume My research will be about the statistics of crime around New Zealand, just to be specific. My goal hopefully by the end of this hopefully will convince you, and or others, to open your eyes and also be cautious with those around you. Do not make the same mistake that I did. Foolish Naive child I was. I'm not sure if I am even doing this research right. But at least I get to share my cautions. Now my first Idea was to make an actual survey to the people around my block, which is... pretty dangerous. Hehe. I for one am entirely unfamiliar with the Laws and crimes in New Zealand. So with my unbiased logic of others, I am some what confident at how some people think, all it takes is to just talk with them, learn how they talk, and move, and I guess, read them. But back to the reason as to why I didn't or might not want to do a survey is because, two reasons, Firstly, I am shy,  and I do not want to talk to strangers. Secondly this survey would be a big hit and miss, people could lie, about their crimes or what not,  and lie that they have never done anything wrong, and also, security and privacy, I couldn't just stand there and ask them what illegal things they have done. There are some people that are nice out there. But in a survey, the assumption to think that it would be fines is flawed. First of all, people assume anyone would volunteer to speak out. The truth is, people like to keep their privacy in check, even though they themselves show their faces in the internet, I know one person so far who wants to keep his privacy, and that person, does not use Facebook, Instagram, snap chat or any of that, just messages. And he himself agrees with the way I think about others. "There are a lot of $#@&^$ up people out there." He himself understands the flaws in humans, desires. Most people will fall into peer pressure, many would prefer to keep their desires a secret, or carry on with their lives. So with the assumption that they are there willingly to talk with me, is slim. There is no possible  way for them, to volunteer themselves for the position where they can speak out their secrets. But I wont do my research face to face, ill do it online, just to see what it may be like, maybe some people will open up, since they can't see me, and they may feel safer at their own homes. I have sent my incognito email into the web in hopes of finding anyone willing to open up. ETHICSNow my research may or may not hurt someone mentally, as it may bring back past memories that they are trying to forget, but still had the courage to open up to me. Now I know this may be unreliable and a lie, but its still a much safer way, and I guess new way of doing things, making sure that we understand the new generation.The only problem is damaging them mentally for bringing unwanted memories. Same thing had happened. A man had entered a studio in California TV Station, on Tuesday, and revealed a shocking confession: he was involved in an unsolved murder 25 years ago, and finally wanted to do the right thing and turn himself in. "Every minute of every day has been a nightmare. It's kind of weird,@ Is what he says. So if There were a survey this may bring unwanted emotions to arise. Resource and budget.The only budget I would be concerned about is the electricity bill and internet bill, haha. And I am using my PC as my source of research. All kidding aside, Well my research would require human individuals, online, or someone that I am conversing, with. I will just ask them questions and I shall see as to how far it will go. Location.Location would be around the world, previously I had said New Zealand but there are not much people that I could converse with online or at face to face.Also Gmail, and or YouTube. Timetable for completion.Around 8-9 weeks of questioning others, and hopefully not doing anything illegal doing this. Risk and limitations. The only risk is personal space, and mental damage, I will not force them to talk nor will I beg, they have a choice, and Bluntness will help. I will record these by via photos, and screenshots of the people I will talk with online and converse with. References. By Ian Herbert, North of England Correspondent, Thursday 7 April 2005 23:00 BST. WIFE AND SON MURDERED HUSBAND FOR INHERITANCEhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/wife-and-son-murdered-husband-for-inheritance-698.html   Cheryl Eddy, March 14, 2016, 12:00pm. THE 5 SCARIEST CULTS IN MODERN HISTORY.https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/the-5-scariest-cults-in-modern-history/ Billy Hallowell, Senior editor.January 15, 2018.MAN WALKS INTO NEWS STATION AND MAKES SHOCKING CONFESSION TO COLD-CASE MURDER. http://www.faithwire.com/2018/01/15/man-walks-into-news-stations-and-makes-shocking-confession-to-cold-case-murder/

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The problem with Magic: the Gathering no one is talking about | The Daily Dot

Two weekends ago, Magic: the Gatherings Pro Tour, the seasonal capstone of its organized-play system, kicked off in Madrid. The decks were creative and diverse, the matches were strategically interesting, and the new cards were sweetat least to people that already really, really like Magic cards. When the climactic last round before the playoffs went down, only 27,000 people were watching, andfull disclosureI wasnt one of them, despite being a hardcore Magic player in the past.

On the same Sunday the most recent Pro Tour wrapped up, Wizards of the Coast, the Hasbro subsidiary that makes Magic, announced itd be cutting benefits to Magics top competitive players by some $11,000 per player per year. By Monday, a backlash had begun among some of the biggest voices within Magic, and the following Tuesday, Wizards relented, pledging to restore the funding for next year.

Behind the numbers and the news, however, theres an even bigger problem that no one is addressing: Magic is a bad spectator game, and to truly save the Pro Tour, Hasbro might have to kill it first.

Magic: the Gathering is an enormous commercial success; its annual revenue, upwards of $300 million, is greater than Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 combined. However, Magic is a game from a different era, and nowhere is this more evident than its system of organized play.

Theres an even bigger problem that no one is addressing:Magicis a bad spectator game.

The Magic Pro Tour, which has existed since 1996, has been overshadowed by esports, whose prize pools regularly exceed the Pro Tours modest $250,000 purse. Magic is somewhere around the 30th-most popular offering on Twitch.tv, and it is hemorrhaging market share to Hearthstone, whose revenue roughly matches Magics $300 million a year and whose rank on Twitch is usually number two.

The Magic Pro Tour, saddled with small prize pools, low production values, weak commentary, illegible cards, and a game thats difficult to follow, appeals only to a narrow audience. If its top-tier tournaments appealed to a broader audience, Magic could be much, much bigger. To do so, Magic will have to implement some drastic changes.

Over the last few months, these changes have been set in motion. Though Magic has been growing by some 30 percent a year for the last six years, Hasbro announced in April that Wizards was switching CEOs, from Greg Leeds, an international marketing executive, to Chris Cocks, a sales guy from Microsoft. That followed another announcement from the head of all Hasbro, Brian Goldner, extolling the digital ecosystem, branding through storytelling, and a product called Magic Digital Next, to be released in the next few years. On top of that, at Hasbros 2016 investor day, the company called Magic a top 5 esports brand.

The last announcement was surprising for two reasons: Its untrue, and Hasbro has, since around 2007, been loath to spend any money on promoting competitive Magic. Magic pays its pros very little to do something very hard, and in this context, taking away $11,000 from Magics top players looks like yet more shortsighted cost-cutting. This is the prevailing interpretation among Magic players, who are right when they add that Hasbro would benefit hugely from professional Magic being a real thing. The problem is that Hasbro and Magic players have completely different ideas about what the competitive future of the game actually looks like.

Wizards original pay-cut announcement explained itself like so: The appearance fees we awarded for Platinum pros were meant to assist in maintaining the professional Magic players lifestyle; upon scrupulous evaluation, we believe that the program is not succeeding at this goal. Well, who would disagree with that? Magic doesnt grant its pros a living wage. The recent Magic documentary Enter the Battlefield stars two top players who live with their parentsnot a great incentive for players aspiring to be the best in the world.

Magicpros are, with a few exceptions, not the people Hasbro wants representing its brand.

This is crazy, because Magic makes its owners a ton of money, and there have been calls for a steep raise for the pros for over a decade. Indeed, later in the pay-cut announcement, Wizards revealed the Magic World Championship purse would increase from $150,000 last year to $250,000 this year, then $500,000 in 2017. Hasbro has a lot of cash to throw around, and creating a real professional class, via larger prizes and appearance fees, wouldnt cost much more in the grand scheme of things. So why not do it now?

Its simple: That wouldnt address the real issue. Very few people watch Magic. More than million tuned in for Dota 2 during the International, by contrast, and roughly 100,000 tune in regularly to watch Hearthstone on Twitch. And judging by its continuous attempts to defund the Pro Tour and marginalize the pros, Hasbro must think part of the problem is the current cohort of Magic pros. In Hasbros eyes, the current Magic pros have demonstrated a willingness to work for little money and few professional prospects, and they lead a lifestyle few would envy. If your final goal with organized play is to attract stars and engage a broader audience, then youre acknowledging the current crop of pros youve hired and retained, at a lower rate, is part of the problem.

Its true that a steep raise today would help legitimize Magic and improve the lives of the pros, who deserve it. But it wouldnt change the fact that Magic pros are, with a few exceptions, not the people Hasbro wants representing its brand. Under Leeds and Goldner, Magic achieved its high growth rate by moving its branding towards storytelling and resonance, and away from the pros. To casual players, the faces of the game arent Owen Turtenwald and Gerry Thompson; theyre the in-game characters Jace and Chandra.

For the most part, the pros are hardcore gamers, a holdover from a previous, less populist era of gaming. Comparing Magic pros social-media followings, streaming incomes, and cross-brand appeal with top esports competitors, its clear almost all of them struggle to attract mainstream viewers. Magics Pro Tour, which puts its competitors through a grueling schedule, doesnt even cater lunch, and draws an audience of hardcore Magic gamers only, faces the same problem.

Greg Leeds once tried to eliminate the Pro Tour entirely, but he was rebuffed by Magic R&D. Im guessing Chris Cocks will be more persistentand Magic R&D, already subordinate to Magic branding, will be brought further under control.

To call Magic a bad spectator game isnt a knock on the design. Even though I dont play much anymore, its still my favorite game, ever. Plus, it came out in 1993, and no one knew itd be important to appeal to huge digital audiences decades down the line. But Magic also has a bunch of weird timing rules that are delightful to junkies like me and baffling to the casual viewers Hasbro wants. Magic has over 13,000 unique cards; Hearthstone has under 1,000. To succeed as an esport, Magic will have to be radically simplified.

This sounds more difficult than it really is, and Magic Digital Nextwhich Goldner described as a new digital experience leveraging contemporary technology to create a seamless digital experience that meets all the players needs from new players to pro playersis likely to be Hasbros first attempt at making a modernized, simplified Magic.

To succeed as an esport,Magicwill have to be radically simplified.

The digital platform can not only give the brand a distinct identity from paper cardsit also has many advantages over them. With Magic Digital Next, Wizards could stop worrying about card stores, gambling laws, and a secondary market thats profitable for barely anyone. Paper cards are expensive: With a digitized Magic, casual players could be engaged and retained without having to spend fabulous sums just to play. The whole catalog of old, archaic, or confusing cards could be cut at once. Game-design mistakes could be retracted or revised. Cheating could be contained. Short animations could tell the story of the game to a casual audience.

And almost anything would be a better story than whats currently being told by the Pro Tour, which draws a tiny audience, or the small-print cards and buggy interface of Magic Online streams.

No one knows how the story of Magics overhaul ends. My best guess is that the game will exist both as a simplified Magic Digital Next and as a traditional paper product. Though the paper product will still be supported, allowing collections to retain value and addicts to justify spending the huge per-capita sums that make Magic so profitable, the digital will quickly outgrow the paper.

A big part of this will be competitive play, which will be conducted over Magic Digital Nexts pleasing new client. This will let streamers make a living catering to mainstream audiences. Hasbro will then increase spending on premier Magic events from $500,000 to $1 million and beyond, since doing so will actually attract a larger viewership, as well as premier gaming talent. And Magic will at last grow beyond a niche audience and afford its representatives a decent living, which will grow the audience, which will increase the prizes, which will grow the audience. And so on.

Of course, the plan could fail. It necessitates drastic changes in gameplay and personnel, which will take time and money. But Magic, which has been drifting towards making these moves for the last six years, isnt that far behind: Its prizes and revenue are on par with Hearthstones. And, though Hearthstone is a formidable competitor, with big events and stars of its own, all the pieces are in place for Magic. Its already a great game, with many skilled designers, a long history of profitability and innovation, and a handful of players whose cross-cultural appeal would be right at home in the esports world.

The exciting thing is that Magics barely begun to tap its potential. If Magics revenue can exceed $300 million with peak viewerships of 27,000, how big will it be when it monetizes digital platforms like Clash Royale, harnesses elegant watchability like Hearthstone, and draws real esports audiences?

In the words of Wizards founder, Peter Adkison, the Magic Pro Tour was created 20 years ago as a lifestyle opportunity for a young generation of Magic players to be professionals. This vision has been lost. But if Magic becomes an esport, it could once again be realized.

CML, a freelancer in Seattle, has written for Gawker, the Seattle Weekly, and several other publications. He maintains a website at cmlwrites.com and a Twitter at @CMLisawesome.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2oAjDj3

from The problem with Magic: the Gathering no one is talking about | The Daily Dot

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Bunni continues to play Monster Rancher Advance 2! And generally not enjoy it as much as the first advance, though i can kinda blame it on the fact the first advance trained me to get used to a bunch of differences from regular monster rancher and now thats all gone again :P ANYWAY, ONWARD!

* Its a shame that the training coach system’s revamp makes it so much harder to actually achieve it now. i feel so guilty that my first monster Wrigley didnt quite make it! And like.. fusion isnt even WORTH it anymore! if I fused my high stats Wrigley with another high stats monster then all I get is the base stats version of that fusion, it doesnt carry over AT ALL! And it doesnt even let you carry over Traits like MRA1 did. And retiring a monster just seems to be like another name for deleting them, so I just have Wrigley frozen in the hibernation lab forevermore now. I DONT WANNA LET HIM GO! I do feel guilty for giggling slightly at the fact he’s got that cold minty freshness now XD

* Oh, and the ‘nobody dies anymore’ thing has been rebalanced now. In MRA1 you could just continue going forever with your retired monster, you just couldnt raise its stats anymore. (Tho you could still LOSE stats, so that was kinda awkward) Now you cant do anything with your retired monster except rest and give it items, and then send it to retirement/coaching class. BUT because of that change, I didnt realise Wrigley had as little time as he did, and I didnt manage to do that final tournement in time. :(

* For some reason the ‘SPECIAL’ training has been renamed to ‘Sparring’ training even though its exactly the same thing. And its called Errantry in every other game. I DUNNO LOL Also Loyalty has become Reliance, and now the E rank tournement has returned from Monster Rancher 2. (This is part of why its harder to reach teacher rank now)

* A funny glitch that may have possibly fucked up my ability to complete the main story, I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW?? Okay, so.. in MRA1 there was an annoying thing where you could still ‘use’ unuseable items, and they’d be gone forever with no effect to your monster. I lost 5000 gold due to this, the badly translated item descriptions meant I didnt even know that the Silver Cup passively reduces stress when you keep it in your inventory... In MRA2 you now actually get a ‘this is unuseable’ message when you select them! BUT... there’s one random specific circumstance where the game doesnt check for this. Sometimes when your monster is upset with a choice you’re making, it’ll say ‘[Name] would rather [suggested action]’. This time it SOMEHOW came out with ‘Wrigley would rather eat [magic amulet key item]’?? And I was just mashing thru the text and didnt realise it until I’d already hit yes! I really hope this doesnt come back to bite me in the ass later...

* Oh and there’s now a cool rival guy character! I’ve gained three rivals so far but he’s the most actually a rival. Can I just say the plot works a LOT better with actual other monster trainers as characters?? Seriously. THANKE! Why on earth was I even fighting in these tournements last time, lol... Anyway, here’s Mr Bishie Mysterious Jerk Rival:

* There’s also another rival who has more of a story role.. or uhh.. maybe I’m not able to get bishie man story scenes anymore cos i lost the key item, lol Anyway, he’s a younger cutie patoot rival who’s actually on your level as another rookie, rather than being an asshole adult randomly picking on kids. (No seriously, bishie man is introduced as a dude who’s ATTACKING OTHER RANCHES and then he’s just instantly forgiven??) lil rival boy is a bit competitive and grumpy but its just cos he (understandably) feels like you’re cheating by having the legendary holly as your mentor. But then when you battle him he realises youre actually a worthy rival and then you become Kinda Friends I Guess? I like him!

* Also your third rival is GRANDPA Seriously, you literally just fuckin.. find a wild grandpa starving in the cold and take him in. And he says he’s gonna repay you by giving his monsters as free tutors for a certain period of time, but for the life of me I COULD NOT FIND any way to unlock them in the tutor screen! But this was back when I was first learning all these new systems to maybe I just messed up somewhere? Anyway, after a certain amount of time he’s all ‘I’m proud of you, you dont need me anymore, i’m gonna go join the tourneys too cos you inspired me to get back out of retirement’. And its kinda sad that he leaves :( I WILL MAKE U MO PROUD, MYSTERY FOREST GRANDPA I STILL DONT KNOW WHERE DE FUCK U CAME FROM

(Clarification: he is not saying this about you but about the jerkass bandit you just fought off.)

(This is the jerkass bandit you just fought off)

(It is TOTALLY unfair how the game throws you immediately into a battle with him as a tutorial to the exploration system! I literally got this as the first thing with my new monster after Wrigley, I just got lucky enough with the RNG that all his attacks missed and I somehow survived!)

* Random fun highlight of Wrigley’s short career: winning an all bunnies league.

* I really don’t like the random addition they made of a ‘counter system’, though. Apparantly this was an addition made in Monster Rancher 4 for the PS2? It wasnt very liked there either, but this is an absolutely TERRIBLE port of it into a modified game engine that was never designed to include it. In the PS2 game each move is assigned to the four face buttons, and you press one of those to choose which move to counter. Its still not very good cos you only have a 1 in 4 chance of it working, and the AI is completely random anyway so it’s only predictable in 2 player mode. but they somehow made it EVEN WORSE in this version, cos the moves ARENT mapped to buttons yet you still have to input a button combination with a 1 in 4 chance! You have to awkwardly try and hit B and one of the directional buttons simultaneously, and there’s no way to know which random direction the AI picked, and just... GAHHH The only good thing is that you can still play the game perfectly fine without ever using it, and the AI is equally likely to fuck up. I only saw a successful AI counter ONCE after raising three monsters! Anyway, look at this dumbass who failed a counter and smacked himself in the head for 220 damage as soon as the fight started.

* My second monster was kinda awesome, i lucked out and got a rare monster from random tablet regeneration! Its the only Antlan type that I actually like, cos its unique colouration makes it look more like a giant skull thingie. Woo!

* His name was Heartbreak! He didnt have many spectacular adventures along his way, just managing to become a coach for future generations. I mean, he didnt break my heart, so it turned out better than expected XD I’m sorry i didnt have faith in you, lil buddy! THIS GAME IS STILL REALLY DAMN HARD THO

* i haaaaaaate the changes to the coaching system I HAAAAAAAAATE dear fuckin GODDDDDD now you have to keep paying a salary every half a year or you lose your coaches forever all your memories of your past monsters dont have enough for one payment and they NEVER COME BACK T_________T I’ve been savescumming a lot more in this version of the game, there’s a lot of bullshit chances to lose everything... And like.. they kinda wanted to make a good change by letting you hire governement-funded coaches if you cant train your own. but their prices are so ludicrously high and the most powerful one just has 300 in two stats and 600 in one. Your own monsters are always gonna be better than that, and you’d need to raise a few monsters to even get enough money anyway! So yeah just.. fuck this system, seriously, dear god. I still had complaints about it last time, but i was more forgiving cos it was a new change to the formula and all, but this is just making it worse in every possible way...

* Its also very annoying that we have a lot more items in the game but all their descriptions are badly translated. I have NO CLUE what the whole second page is about! ‘Its a cake’, ‘its a candy’, ‘its a meat dish’. Even stuff that had descriptions last time doesnt! You’d never know that ‘smoked newt’ lowers your monster’s ‘spoiled’ status! I mean, at least you could kinda assume that the cake raises it, if you’re getting too strict? I think? Cos I thought maybe the cake is for raising weight like the diet pills are for lowering it, but I can never get it to actually do that. the weight system is so unintuitively awkward! Any choice you make will change it wildly while your monster is a baby, and then as soon as they hit maturity its nigh impossible to change it! And its really hard to keep pushing it back and forth to keep the middle for whenever the maturity flag pops up, cos its not even set to happen on their birthday or anything. And being fat or thin causes gigantic debuffs because WHY NOT! Weirdly enough the raising style doesnt seem to do that anymore, its just like the chance of them running away, and a (never actually explained) small chance of lowering their overall lifespan every time you drift away from the medium.

* But anyway, I AM glad that now your strict/spoiled meter actually does exist in the menu again! It was definately still actually a part of the mechanics in MRA1, you’d still get stress and disobedience and stuff and just not be able to know when you were getting close to it. But MAN is it unforgiving this time... its always been the most difficult thing to manage but seriously... but seriously I am glad its at least in the menu...

* HOWEVER... i have no idea what the personalities do!! There’s now a thing on the menu above the spoilt/strict menu that says stuff like ‘hot headed’ or ‘medium’. And it never seems to change throughout their whole lifespan, so it seems to be like a personality or nature value? Does it actually affec anything? is it like pokemon and it means its easier to train a certain stat?

* Also there’s now the ability to get ill and go to the doctor. Its mostly pointless as its just like.. okay now you get TWO potential punishments for being too strict- monster can run away OR get sick. And running away just means you have to wait a few months and lose training time til they return, but instead sickness is like a debuff that halves your gains in a certain training. Its surprisingly in-depth, they give you a full diagonosis of a random illness and some made up medicines you need to take to fix it.

* ...do you really get anemia from being malnourished? i thought it was genetic only?

* And then ALAS I didnt manage to get any screenshots of my third monster while I was actually training her. I coulda sworn I did?? But it seems I forgot, so have a pic of her as a training coach

(for some reason special monsters get an ugly red background in status screens)

* She was actually surprisingly useful as my designated Explorer monster! It just sucks that you have to rank up in combat tourneys to unlock exploration areas, and you have to do it AGAIN every time you get a new monster. I didnt realise this so i trained her with an exploration-focused moveset and had to blunder thru the tourneys like a total mess. Errantry/Special/Sparring is now also based around combat stats, your chance of gaining a skill is greatly reduced if your stats are lower than the tutor, even if you win the fight! And if you dont, its fuckin impossibleeeee! So I couldnt even gain more skills to fight the skill tutor to gain more skills, GAH! Am I supposed to assign my own tutors here who have terrible stats?? But then the stat gains I get would be low too! So yeah, an intelligence based monster and I never managed to get a single intelligence skill in her entire lifespan. ALAS!

* Oh and Exploration is also REALLY WAY TOO HARD AND UNBALANCED AND  HARD Well I mean.. its not??? But it is??? Its actually got much smaller stat requirements than in MR on PS1, and the chance of getting nothing when you inspect a ruin is much lower. But the odds of the MOST HATED STUPID MECHANIC are way higher, and it seems that there isnt ANY stat that affects it, its totally random with no way to avoid! See, sometimes randomly when you’re exploring you can get lost. this ends the exploration immediately and you lose every item you’d collected. COMPLETELY AT RANDOM. NO WAY TO AVOID. keeps fuckin happening at the end of my 500 HP long 50 items gathered super sessions with super Rina the kitty of joy and hugs so I just ended up savescumming every time it happened, its too bullshit to be allowed to exist! Rina earned around 30000 or so Gold during her lifespan, and I was able to get the barn upgrade to keep bigger mons. And she also found the item that unlocks Monol monsters. Yay!

* So yeah thats the end of my gameplay today, and I didnt really enjoy it as much as the last one. The weird new gameplay decisions are a part of it, but also because of just HOW MANY monsters are locked behind various sidequests, and how you have no clue how to get half of them. Last time they were all just tournements you had to beat, now there’s bullshit like raising five monsters of specific species to master rank and sending them to certain exploration areas to find orbs... And like, with the inability to carry over traits and stuff, and the smaller amount of fusions, you cant even make a particularly customized monster out of the ones you can start with. So its just les fun to wait to open up all the options. And there doesnt feel like much incentive to even do it anyway, its not like most of them were locked away because theyre stronger. There’s loads of stuff that was a starter monster last time and there’s just no reason you have to save up a titanic amount of 20000 just to get the weird rhino motorcycle i got by typing my own name in the game last time... But ehh, I might play again anyway? I dunno. Later. Much later.

* BUT I STILL LOVE MY SWEET MONSTER FRIENDOS love and hugs list of all the bebs: Jade the Golem/Lesione, Carole the Momo/Zan, Kyubi the Zan/Mocchi, Dandelion the special albino Lesione, and Diva the special albino Dragon and now Wrigley the Hare/Lesione, Heartbreak the special albino/halloween variant Antlan, and Rina the special albino Mew that looks more like nidorina hence the name ...I’m only just realizing that I tend to like the albino variants the best. I guess maybe its cos they look more normal and dont tend to have overpowered stats or anything. Except the albino dragon which was the strongest one in the first game, hence why I picked it when I just gave up and wanted to brute force my way to the ending... ANYWAY THEY ARE ALL CUTE AND YOU WILL APPRECIATE THEM

* ok bunni go play different games now

* also bunni go try and learn how to draw these monsters, yo