#also if you are sad about the Giant Bomb Stuff

[boy-armageddon]

Personally I think the little phenomenon w/ Johnny Whitney writing a just genuinely sort of devastating song once per every record or so (or twice! take, well, Take Me to the Sea 4 example. actually three times maybe. talking about specifically georgia + my organ sounds like… here and also bonetrees and a broken heart a little. also also As Brass And Satin just feels utterly melancholic in its near entirety) is that he just wakes up face down covered in blood in the studio, his own or someone else’s he can’t tell, shaking and grasping some shoddily scrawled out lyrics on a rlly very old piece of paper. The rest of the band might be like “johnny what the fuck happened” and he just springs 2 his feet like “oh haha nothing :> im fine don’t worry. nothing happened!!!!!!! anyways i have this cool new idea 4 a song wanna hear” and any time anyone tries 2 ask about it he immediately dodges the question and moves on2 a diff topic. He can explain what it’s about, but any time someone asks about the inspiration he gets nervous and is like “ohhh ummm. I 4got! Any other song though lol” and doesn’t wait 4 an answer. that’s just a theory though a Seattle theory

[raconteur-wanpi]

ONE PIECE 1123

Dear lord I have so many thoughts I don't even know where to begin. This was a pretty short and lower stakes chapter compared to all the chaos and the bombs that came before it, but I think despite that, it gave me more revelations and thoughts than some of those ones did. It's all vague stuff like, it's soup in my brain but it just keeps getting more interesting.

Starting off with S-Snake continuously showcasing normal human behavior. I really like the insistence of the story of honing in that the Seraphim are, in fact, people. They are children. Their existence is horrific and it IS supposed to make you feel uneasy, especially comparing them to the rest of MADS' history of experiments. I do think, in a story about freedom, that these authority-chip-ridden-kids will eventually seek out their own freedom and independence to be people instead of weapons. Alber himself was a victim of MADS' experimentation, so was Kuma, Sanji, Mocha, every victim of the Smile fruits, hell- Bonney was a victim of the science of the Gorosei / Saturn. It's very interesting to continuously see Stella's role in all of this, and how Oda showcases that you could put the nicest guy alive into the same system as the most wretched monsters, and they will produce the same results. Which does bring me to this realization moving forward:

Sanji is in fact the person that was closest to the events of Vegapunk's death. He is specifically chosen out of all the strawhats to be the one to grapple with Vegapunks decision and sacrifice, and he is the only member of the strawhats to have experienced the horrors of MADS firsthand. I find that very interesting, it's looking at that dilemma of morality again. How do you judge a person who has spent years creating weapons of war, even if it's been the result of his naivete? How does a person who realizes what he has done, redeem himself? Death? Sacrifice? Admitting you can only throw your life away to undo the damage, to the face of someone who you know understands the horrors of such science? I don't know, it's interesting.

Going back a bit however, I think my favorite page in the chapter, is this. My god. Luffy thanking Emeth, full of joy, smile across his face in his Nika form, juxtaposed to the Iron Giant's dark unresponsive face. It's so moving and joyful and sad, genuinely. The brightness of the sun against the shadow of a sacrifice. Emeth in his "death" looks somehow both content and saddened. Luffy's recognition and gratitude towards him. OK. I'm fine. Damn.

Back to Vegapunk, this has been wild to see said textually when I've seen many people, myself included, discuss it. "Evil" and "Greed" being the two things Stella ended up leaving behind, despite his best efforts to do good. He recognizes greed was his downfall, his desire to continue building and discovering, without thinking about the consequences of it; just what we discussed earlier. It's also interesting that they all suspected Lilith at first, but she turned out not only to be innocent, but also a valuable ally in the battle and the only other survivor. Lilith leaving the garden, Stella being the forbidden apple (of knowledge) that brought about the downfall, the Gorosei being demonic entities that entered that space, it definitely is all very biblical. I wonder if Lilith will see a path towards becoming a more complete person, rather than, as Stella says here, a compartmentalized personification of "Evil". Similar to what I hoped for earlier with the Seraphim and Kuma (or even the Vinsmokes if you want to go there), a manifestation of full (rather than artificially partial or removed) personhood.

This is something I've been thinking about the entire time as well! Is Vegapunk really dead? Is it just his body? What does it mean to be able to keep your consciousness separate from said body? Within other people, even? Is he really dead as long Lilith and York are around? Is Stella himself, still in there, in Punk Records? Could you bring him back? Much to think about.

Aaaand closing in with my second favorite moment from this chapter. The confirmation we're going to Elbaf! Usopp being help up by the giants! His arc begins! I am so so giddy. I know I'm biased considering he's, well, my favorite One Piece character but, god. I am as nervous as hyped. I am so, so excited. This is delightful, he deserves this!

[dr-spectre]

Talking about Side Order and... Marina. (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

You know, i really enjoyed Side Order, like it wasn't perfect or anything but i had such a blast with it and if they continue to expand on it we could have something REALLY amazing. My reaction to the GOD DAMN TUTORIAL BOSS GOT ME HYPERVENTILATING! IM NOT JOKING! IT WAS SO EXCITING AND SHOCKING!!! THE FINAL BOSS WAS INCREDIBLE TOO! I was singing along to Spectrum Obligato and WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN THE STUFF FROM THE LIVE CONCERT VERSION OF EBB AND FLOW MY JAW DROPPED!!!

However i gotta admit, the story could have been better, what was the deal with the Octoling engineers Marina was talking about? That goes completely nowhere and i thought it was gonna build to something with the repeat playthroughs of the final boss.

And of course, the biggest missed opportunity in my opinion, Marina Agitando.

Now look, i wanna say right off the bat, the design is excellent, it was so smart to bring back her Order outfit and make her into a giant abomination that moves in such a weird way that makes you feel uncomfortable. When i saw her for the very first time when you enter the room, i stood there for at least a solid minute in complete disbelief and shock seeing a giant Marina in some octopus tentacle heart thingy that beats and pumps with the music. The song that plays too "Unconscience" is such a BANGER and honestly it rivals Octo Callie's Bomb Rush Blush remix in my opinion.

The build up for this was pretty good too, seeing Marina say "help me" before she was knocked unconscious and then possessed by Overlorder BROKE ME! I was like "OH NO! ITS HAPPENING AGAIN! NOT MARINA!!" The build up to the 10th floor was so anxiety inducing because you know in the back of your mind that Marina is gonna fight you but you don't know what it's gonna look like, if you were there since Splatoon 2 and have watched Pearl and Marina since the beginning then this build up is even more anxiety inducing and its pretty damn good. And once you free Marina she feels so sorry about what happened and helps you out to put things right, heck she goes through a small character arc of embracing chaos.... but... i have to say...

It is unfortunately not executed that well or with any depth in my opinion because they repeated the whole thing of "oh no a character we know is evil because of (quote on quote) mind control!!!! oh noooo!!" Which is a tired trope in this series that needs to stop or else I'm gonna get REALLYYYYYY pissed off.

I've done enough ranting about Callie's villain arc and how that has been misinterpreted and stuff, but for Marina, i really wish they didn't do the whole "oh no a character is evil because of an evil character oh nooo!! we gotta save them!!" thing again and i wish Marina was more of a villain with a sad motivation for her actions. As much as its cute to see Pearl and Marina act all flirty with each other in Side Order, it kinda ruins the mysterious and dark tone of the story that was teased from the trailers and the tutorial in my opinion. Everything is also explained so quickly early on which really sucks. I really wish Marina was actually conscious throughout her time as Marina Agitando and most of it should have been her fault. She does blame herself for creating Overlorder but it's kinda brushed aside quickly and Marina ends up being totally fine and free of guilt. There isn't enough depth to it which is so lame and a missed opportunity.

Marina is flawed, she makes mistakes and acts emotional and angry sometimes. We have seen a side of Marina where she snaps at Pearl when she loses Splatfests and has shown signs that she still hasn't recovered from her time before she met Pearl.

She picked team Order because she was genuinely scared that her new life would fall apart and she doesn't wanna lose the people (especially Pearl) that she's met and grown to love. Marina is also heavily theorized to be on the autism spectrum and as someone who is autistic, i can see myself in Marina, they could have really explored Marina's psyche and mental health in Side Order but they just... didn't. Instead she's put to sleep and controlled by her ai child and all of the focus is put on stopping it like a traditional "oh no we gotta stop an evil ai!! oh noo!!" story... ugh... I mean Smollusk is cute i guess but there's not a ton to them and they come off as yet another "evil ai that wants order and control!! roarrr!!!"

From reading the most recent interview on Side Order and seeing the concept art, they said that they wanted to tell a story about Marina losing herself to a machine that she created. Could you imagine how tragic it would have been to learn more about Marina and how she's so wrapped up in anxiety that she decides to make this replica of Inkopolis Square and make the Memverse? Maybe at first she makes it to help Sanitized Octolings just like in the dlc, but then maybe due to overwork and burnout (which Pearl mentions in the tutorial by the way), her emotions and anxiety become so strong that she becomes consumed by it, this obsession of order and trying to achieve happiness takes over her and then she gets the idea to spread this order to the real world, where her friends can be "happy" and "safe." Maybe Overlorder is still there but they just whisper to Marina, manipulate and point her in the right direction to continue to her mission of order instead of just fucking knocking her out and using her as a meat puppet for 5 minutes.

Could you imagine how much better the build up would have been to not see Marina until you get to the 30th floor for the first time and you got to unlock her diary entries beforehand? Seeing her thought process and her slow descent into becoming an antagonist. I'm not sure how they would have changed the permanent upgrades but they could have thought of something man. I get that they wanted to subvert expectations but, i think they should have gone WAY further with Marina Agitando.

I was waiting for Pearl and Marina to have their "Tidal Rush" moment where it's this emotional battle between the two, could you imagine how DEVISTATING a remix of Ebb and Flow would have been if it had gotten that "Tidal Rush" type of remix? Pearl singing her parts in this chaotic and emotional way, on the brink of tears trying to get Marina back and calm her down, and Marina trying to fight back against her words, not wanting to believe her because she's so wrapped up trying to make them both happy in her way. She's so caught up in order that she has forgotten what Pearl wants, that Pearl wants to be with her and go against any obstacle that stands in their way together. God i would have cried seeing that I'm not gonna lie. Maybe once Marina starts to think rationally, she breaks free from the machine and then leaps into Pearl's arms, and then we have to go back up the 30 floors to fight Overlorder and we slowly see Marina learn to embrace chaos throughout the floors instead of it just being at the final boss.

I really do feel like Splatoon has this issue of trying to appeal way too hard to kids and being really scared to dive into the flaws of these characters. They are so avoidant of being more serious and they hide it away in optional collectables and obscure posts on social media that creates misinformation and stories that feel way too undeveloped. They just say "oh this character has been brainwashed!!" which is such a lazy and bullshit trope they slap on these characters to avoid getting into their flaws for some stupid reason. (Hell that word has lost all meaning to me now to be honest. Like no, Callie wasn't "brainwashed" per say, hypnosis is not brainwashing or mind control I've said that a trillion times in other blog posts but whatever. Agent 3 was knocked out and had no clue on what was happening. They weren't "brainwashed" they were used as a puppet from a fucking goopy telephone for five minutes while they were asleep. Maybe its poor translation i don't know.)

I know that Splatoon is made for all ages and primarily for children but, i find that to be a stupid excuse for bad storytelling, a good story with depth that's explored and set up properly can be applied to all kinds of age groups not just adults. And the adults that say that shit too, why do you think like that? Why do you wish to dismiss that sort of thing in media? So what if it's made for kids? Adults write these stories and plant themes and arcs into them. Why do you think people cried over the Rosalina storybook in Mario Galaxy and think its the best part of that game? You don't want that kind of stuff in games because "they are made for kids"? Why do you think there are so many adults in the Splatoon community hmm?

I am so worried for Deep Cut in the next game because i really don't want this to happen again, i want an actual proper villain arc for either Frye or Shiver. No hypnosis, no brainwashing, no mind control. Just a pure fucking villain arc caused by the flaws of the characters and without the involvement of a third party. Please, i wanna see growth in these characters that is explored way more clearly and better. Or maybe don't do a villain arc again and just have Deep Cut be fully happy with each other and develop their relationship more with lore and backstory. PLEASE!

Anyways ramble over, thank you for reading!

[luffyrose]

Well uh- due to my feed on stuff hating me forever, I now have a Humans are Space Orcs thought-

Whales.

This is gonna be a bit gross because it is specifically dead whales and how they bloat. If you DON'T know what I'm talking about I beg you to spare yourself this knowledge. It is horrifying enough to know and gross to possibly ever see.

Ssoooo, Earth is a Deathworld hellscape that honestly shouldn't be livable with how it is. Especially not with the various predators, even if Humans are scarier than them all. But when a human is talking about a whales body that had recently beached, the aliens were confused by the disgust on their face.

Alien 1: Usually your dead creatures bring you sadness, why does the whale bring disgust?

Alien 2: Yes, I remember you mentioned whales were large but beautiful creatures.

Human 1: Ah- well....whales themselves are great, don't get me wrong. It's just after they die, which does make me sad, they uhm...John help-

Human 2, John: They swell up till they explode if we don't do nothin.

Alien 1, feeling faint: what?

Alien 2, also feeling faint: explode?

Human 1, sighing: Yeah, it's a gas build up or something and you have to cut them open to release it. Causes a mini explosion of guts and stuff on ya.

John: I did it once, showered a whole 3 hours and still felt like it was on meh body. Really a shame.

Because honestly. It's horrifying enough for us that they literally explode after death, imagine this giant goliath of a sea creature that could easily kill probably anything dying and you think it can't do anything now only for its entire body to become a live bomb of its innards.

And we just learned that it's better to deal with it ourselves by stopping it from building up that much if they beach. Our solution to seeing a dead whale if we aren't experts on it or anything and can't do anything? "Oh just stay away, the skin will give at some point."

We just decided that yeah, this was fine.

The aliens decide this is not, in fact, fine. A new note is added to the human's deathworld guide, reminding how dangerous the sea of the human world is, even for semi or full aquatic species.

[i-eat-nail-polish]

Hey I’m gonna probably post more serious stuff because I need to have discussions with people about Palestine. For one I live in an area and am surrounded by people who aren’t pro Palestinian. They don’t take anything surround boycotts or information in general about the genocide serious at all because it doesnt effect them. It’s starting to wear on me because there’s no one to cope (idk if that’s the right word) with what I see online on a daily basis. Ever since mid October or so? (When the tik tok algorithm caught up with the time) I’ve seen countless atrocities that I’ve only ever seen in video games or movies played out in real life against real people. I learned what real bombs sound like both far away and up close because of these videos. Lately I’ve also started to dream about being trapped in Gaza with that feeling of death looming. It sounds dramatic but it’s true. Every day I’m thankful that I’m constantly shown information about Palestine and surrounding Arab countries and I’m also in shock. I’m in shock for a few reasons. 1: I’ve watched for months now, a country, a land and it’s people go through something worse than hell and nobody around feels the same sadness and basic human empathy. No one cares to take in that there’s a massive loss of life and culture and future for whatever reason. It’s gut renching to think about it. 2: I can’t help beyond witnessing and documenting. It seems stupid and corny to think that we’re privileged to have phones but documenting this horrible event through a phone camera is so incredible for history. It just feels almost insulting that that’s all I can do as a poor college student in America. Yes, I can call my representatives which thankfully where I live do support a free and liberated Palestine, but others won’t even do much as think about their constituents. It’s hard because it feels like we’re trying to move a volcano with plastic beach shovels. So all we can do is sit and save videos before social media giants take them down. 3: coming to terms that nobody looks out for each other on a large scale. Because I follow now many journalists from various sectors ranging from on the ground in Gaza to political scientists giving me lessons on the United Nations history, I’m shocked at how all of it is fake. Nothing makes sense anymore. You’re telling me because 2 countries won’t vote on a ceasefire but 98% do we can’t move on with it? Why does the US get privileges that to my limited knowledge no one else has the same power leverage as. How has nobody else stepped in when MANY war crimes are being committed. Why do they even exist if countries are never seriously prosecuted? Why even have rules if you can’t follow them? It’s disheartening to watch but I can’t give up hope. I’m not giving up hope because that’s all we have. I may not have direct ties to Palestine but as if needless suffering is enough for me to care, I care especially for the queer family in Gaza. They are as much apart of the queer family as my roommates are. I don’t know if and when we lose LGBTQ+ people in Gaza but I know it’s happening so I cry for the loss of our family. I need to see an end to this. I need to. I don’t know how to process any of what I’ve witnessed or feel right now or even what else I can do to help stop a genocide. I need to talk to people so please may you strike up conversation. Correct me in any place, tell me about the latest boycotts, show me protests. Please converse we have to keep hope alive.

[connectionterminated13]

Could you tell us more about Phone Guy in the fallout AU? Was he ever in a vault or has he always been on the surface?

You have made the Teddy very happy

He worked as a Vault tech reception as pre-war.

It paid well enough and he mostly took calls for some big corporate man that he never actually met about vault stuff and other boring stuff like arrange meetings. It was enough to support him and his wife and their dog and it was a very nice simple life! Then the bombs dropped while he was at work. He was in the vault tech Office building when it happened and the whole thing almost immediately collapsed with him and nearly 400 others inside... Phone guy was pretty much ghoul like immediately because he was so close to the blast, That's probably why he survived the building collapsing and no one else did the high levels of radiation healed his like broken messed up body when he finally was able to climb out.

Of course by then it was pretty obvious that his family was dead.. He had lived in the area that the bomb had been directly dropped on so all that was left of his nice little life was a giant irradiated crater in the ground. The whole thing was very sad and he did a lot of crying. It wasn't much better after that either. The few people left alive in the city either had by some miracle survived and were now hungry and territorial, Turned like him and we're also now hungry and territorial and scared, Or just Feral Ghoul. It was horrible and scary and there was a lot of blood and phone guy was almost sure he was going to die at any minute but he didn't.

After a while of just like wandering looking for some kind of civilization He came across a small settlement in salt lake filled with mostly ghoul that let him in. It wasn't exactly a nice place to live But it was better than nothing.. That's also where he first met Michael. He came to the camp a couple months after phone guy. He didn't really talk to anyone or except medical attention for his many wounds. Most of the time he just kind of sat there.. Phone guy didn't interest with Mike much over the next 15 years, Michael mostly just doing Small Jobs around that needed to get done. All he learned was that Mikey came from a really rich family and All of them had died out in the wasteland with him.. Mikey then left after 15 years because in his own words he was going to find a safe place, Also the mormons were beginning to become a problem... Constantly showing up at the settlement and getting more and more mad.

In the next year the mormons finally got fed up and Nearly completely destroyed the small camp and phone guy fled once again. He spent the next a years as a drifter, Then he finally got a real job when the animatronics start showing up and he began to volunteer to go out and shoot them away from settlements for caps! It turns out he was pretty good at it! Sure he wasn't allowed to actually go in any of the settlements usually and people were still not kind to him but it was better than nothing! After about 20 years of that Mikey showed back up and began to do the same thing. Michael was now in adult having spent the last 40 years traveling around America's surrounding areas in hopes of finding somewhere spared from annihilation, He didn't so he just came back to Utah...

They continued to do their work sometimes crossing paths for like a 70 years, Until on one especially bad night poor phone guy got covered in egg and got severe Burns all over his body.. So he gave up being a night guard, Moving into an abandoned gas station. That's where he was until Jeremy comes into the plot and phone guy begrudgingly agrees to help Mike and Jerry find the yellow rabbit man, And we're trying to do that gets himself murdered by Animatronic

[lilenui]

Hi! So I have a question regarding IBO. From what I’ve heard on the Internet, the show had a very troubled production. However, when attempting to research the production issues, I couldn’t find very much besides very basic generalizations. If it’s not too much to ask, could you either explain these issues from your own findings, or link to a place where they’re laid out please? If not, I completely understand; thank you for taking the time to read this question.

Hi anon! Hm, I'm not aware of any technical difficulties during the production so I'm assuming you're referring to the conflict between the series' composer Mari Okada and the series' director Tatsuyuki Nagai over their diverging views on the show's finale and Tekkadan in general. Unfortunately I cannot offer you anything more concrete besides what you've probably already read online.

The gist of it is that Okada wanted a happy end for everybody and she fought hard to salvage even as many lives of the protagonists as she did. Nagai was the opposite, he originally planned to kill the entire Tekkadan by dainsleif carpet bombing of their base, including Atra and Kudelia. Okada has stated that she's never seen him be so adamant about something in the entire history of their collaborations. The series finale has been rewritten many times (about five I think) and none of them were "happier" than what we got in the end. Okada expressed regret and sadness over the ending, while Nagai showed a level of harshness and indifference toward Tekkadan. He made numerous comments about their rotten, criminal nature centered around Mika and Orga in particular. Their end was supposed to be punishment for their crimes. In Kudelia's case it would've been guilt by association with mafia. Nagai was also opposed to the Mars independence movement gaining ground thanks to Tekkadan and McGillis' actions because his vision was of a nihilistic and stagnant world where such reforms are not feasible. Nagai had the executive producer in his corner who also supported the "maximum emotional damage" ending and total desturction of Tekkadan. However it needs to be stated that after a while Nagai has changed his position on the matter, and said he'd like to give Tekkadan a happy alternative ending "if the fans are willing to forgive him." No such plans have ever materialised though.

Huge diclaimer regarding everything above: I don't have access to any of the magazines where the interviews shedding light on the issue were being published (mostly Animage, Newtype and Great Mechanic G) and I've yet to muster the courage to read the interviews published in the books, so just like you I'm operating on third-grade quality of sources. I'm basically sourcing from impressions of other fans of those interviews. I don't want to plant false narratives in anyone's mind as a result of passing those along, so please take everything you've just read with a giant grain of salt! Maybe this will be the kick I needed to finally chew into the stuff I have available, so thank you for the question anon.

[blazehedgehog]

Thoughts on Jeff Grubb and current Giant bomb?

My first impression of Jeff Grubb was him being an asshole on twitter and endlessly dunking on Sonic fans for no reason. Punching down is never a good look and he was doing a lot of it.

That's colored everything I've ever heard of the guy since then. And if you search his account for "Sonic" he's still doing it! Constantly! All the time! This man lives to rile up Sonic fans like Sonic the Hedgehog personally killed his dog or something.

I want to believe he's a normal human being. I remember the Galloping Ghost video he did with Jess and Dan and he had this really fun big brother energy that I thought was charming. But also he's positioning himself like he's trying to be an enemy, you know?

I have gone back and forth on the current state of Giantbomb. When Jess and Jason got laid off I kind of fell off pretty hard and you could definitely feel the vibe of the site get really sad for a while. Then around February of this year I started getting back into their stuff...

And discovered that the current crew is, like, raunchy as hell? In a way that's far beyond what Gerstmann and the old crew would ever touch. And like, I don't think I'm much of a prude (despite keeping it relatively clean on this blog), but sometimes they hit on really nasty grossout humor that crossed a line for me.

And then, like, every now and then I'll see clips of them just being really aggressive and adversarial with each other, there are times where Dan's competitiveness runs rampant over everyone and he seems like he's going too far... just kind of a nightmare in a lot of little ways.

Plus, like, I'm not a wrestling guy. It'd come up some times in the old guard, but it never felt annoying and was kind of kept to sort of a minimum since only Gerstmann and Alex were really in super deep. Gerstmann was a lapsed fan, too, so he was grumpy and had kind of a distance from it anyway.

But Dan does not shut up about wrestling and the rest of the crew is constantly needling him for factoids and every time I hear Dan say "For Shoot?" instead of "For Real?" I want to grab and shake him until the rocks in his head fall out. And again: seems like he's more dedicated to "being annoying because it's funny" and I personally do not enjoy torturing myself as a form of entertainment.

The last GiantBomb video I watched was "Catch Me If You Dan" but I haven't been interested in anything else they've released since then.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

QSMP PURGATORY FINALE

Liveblogging Phil's POV - Part 1

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 ]

Strap in lads, this is a longgggg liveblog.

NEW BOLAS EMOTE LETS GOOOO

Aw, the idea of a shared playlist is so sweet.

Yeah I'm sick of Purgatory it's super stressful watching it and seeing the Fandom being stupid about it. If they keep Purgatory going (which I doubt they'd do, but One Fear and all that) I might stop watching stream as much. It's really not my vibe. If I do watch I'll probably just solo Phil's POV and that's it. I've been watching Fit more than Phil lately (for once) but that's been stressful).

Whenever Phil and Roier interact I gain a +10 boost to my mood

Oh, Maximus was streaming? OK yeah he's definitely set off that bomb today LMAO

Noooo they're all shouting over Maximus and he just goes silent noooo :((( SHUT UP AND LET MAXIMUS SPEAK GOOD GOD

Thank you Phil and Mouse for answering him I was losing my mind

Roier and Etoiles arguing about stupid stuff with each other is so funny, I'm so glad Purgatory made them become so close

LMAO Etoiles I'm so sorry, your team just loves dying

It's sad that Maximus didn't log on more, I wish more people knew how funny he is and what a good RPer he is :(

Mouse is so funny too I wish I had time to watch her

44m - Phil: Do we have a choice? Tubbo: We always have a choice. Banger convo

46m - Etoiles: I could kill them naked You sure could dude

NOOO ETOILES DONT SAY THAT THE EGGS ARE GONNA HAVE A DEATH BATTLE MY HEART DROPPED INTO MY STOMACH oh nvm "Dapper clears" made me laugh. Pomme would be awesome too.

52m 30s - Two coffee beans and a wooden hoe I'm DYING

Cellbit was only holding back his murderous tendencies on the Island because of coffee (and Roier)

POP OFF ETOILES I KNOW THAT SONG!!!!

The pure serotonin of hearing Etoiles sing a Spanish song I know :')

Poor Maximus coming back after 30 minutes. Surely he isn't working on his bomb (copium)

LMAO Maximus and his new server

58m - Maximus: Gays, any news?

I love him

OH CRAP CUTSCENE

"I SPY WITH MY GIANT EYE" LMAO

Oh Phil is gonna wipe the floor with Tubbo

LMAO of course he says stick fight

Poor Etoiles he's suffering

"Switch your hearts to Hardcore" Ok, Slime said that as a joke but that'd go so hard

Thank god Phil is going to be honorable about it, I know Tubbo will be too.

SHAKING MY SCREEN PLEASE STOP TALKING OVER MAXIMUS EVERYONE!!! This is a topic we’ve talked about a billion time but man, I wish they could implement translations / subtitles into their group chat as well, every conversation during events is biased in favor of English speakers. Aypierre was based for speaking only French with Bad and Fit the other day.

I love Etoiles he’s so funny

I LOVE THAT PHIL AND TUBBO ARE TALKING THIS OUT, AGH!!! I LOVE COMMUNICATION I MISSED THIS!!!!! I hated the lack of communication during the first week and a half of Purgatory

LMAO CELLBIT BEING SO TOXIC TO BAGI I LOVE HIM HE’S SUCH A TERRIBLE LITTLE BROTHER

Awh, Fit checking in on Maximus :’)))) Fit’s always been so sweet to the OG Spanish-speaking members of the server, it melts my heart. He brings them up every so often during his streams and he’s always so kind.

I CANT BELIEVE I MISSED THIS GAMBA IM SO SAD

LMAO I was gonna be like “Aw Tubbo being sweet about the kids” and then of course he’s like SCREW DAPPER, classic Tubbo

TUBBO HAD DREAMS ABOUT CELLBIT CHASING HIM DOWN WITH A KNIFE??? LMFAO This does not surprise me, somehow.

The only real winner of Purgatory is Antoine, he knew better than to log on while Purgatory was going on.

OH GOSH THE TRANSCRIPTIONS ARE A NIGHTMARE ok so it was definitely a good call to watch an English streamer for this. I know better than to rely on the transcripts / translation box during an event day with THIS many people online

PFTT ElQuackity wandering through

The gasmasks make me crack up so much because they remind me of a fly and also an old Majora’s Mask mask

“May the cursed team win” STOP BAITING THEM TBH I think they’re either all cursed or there is no cursed team

NOOOO I’m so sad I can’ hear the music Phil played during this fight

Screw it, pausing the VOD and pulling up my own hype music

I love seeing Phil going into sweat mode, his whole posture and expression shifts

Yeah no surprise there, Phil is cracked

Aww Bagi being so supportive of Tubbo is sweet

LETS GOOO WAY TO GO SLIME LMAO EVEN THE ADMINS WERE LIKE “FRICK THIS GUY” based

Wait noooo I just realized Pac isn’t online :(((((((((

Uh oh ladies

“I had my fun shuffling those friendships around” man wants to be taken seriously so bad with his little villain of the week speech PISS OFF oh ok just a few more games PHEW I thought he was ACTUALLY gonna pull a “Purgatory 2: Electric Boogaloo” on us and I was about to straight up turn off my computer and go to bed.

THE EYE IS GONNA PARTICIPATE????????

That’s sick as hell actually LETSGO I wanna see them wail on this circus clown

Phil: KILL HIS ASS KILL HIS ASS Phil just like me fr

“I’ve been close to you this entire time” Mouse: I’m gonna kill Quackity Based. Everyone immediately attacking the frickin admin I’m cackling LMFAO THEY ALL JUST KILL ELQUACKITY everyone be like “THIS IS FOR SENDING US TO HELL FOR 2 WEEKS THAT WAS SO STRESSFUL”

OH??? LETTERS NEXT TO THEIR NAMES??? Everyone except Aypierre, Bad, Fit, Baghera, Cellbit, Foolish, and Slime… Hmmmm… G I L G H S C M Ok well that’s a bunch of nonsense. I’m pausing the VOD I wanna try and work this out. Yeah I got nothing, I’m gonna keep watching for now lmao. I wonder if this is related to their tickets maybe? Though that doesn’t match up

Bagi has a 4 now??

I’d say “Maybe this is another ploy by the Eye to make them suspicious of each other and fight” but I think it’d be more interesting if the Eye was saying the truth this time

Aypierre (ha– “EYE-pierre” I wish someone made that joke) and Max having a private convo??? I’m sure there will be no major lore repercussions from whatever they’re talking about! (Copium)

LMAO I’m glad one of them was finally like “Is this a trap? Maybe we shouldn’t ALL run head-first into whatever this is.”

I swear if Quackity logged out to switch accounts or something–

I always wonder what “logging out” would translate to in the world. Would it just be like, the character falling asleep? Phasing out of existence? Hmm…

NOT ANOTHER FRICKIN ROULETTE WHEEL

1h 48m - Bagi: I think the one who should spin it is Phil! Phil:

Big mood Phil

I wonder if this is gonna determine what Egg we get back… will we only be able to rescue one? OH ACTUALLY NO – the Eye talked about multiple games. Maybe each game is about getting one of the Eggs back? That seems to easy though, I’m starting to wonder if they only get one Egg back. That would suck though because it implies that they’d have to do a whole Purgatory-esque event again for EVERY single Egg, and if they did that I’d drop dead.

Fit I love you, thank you for telling everyone to shut up and listen to Phil. Too much chaos.

Slime: I think I misclicked SHUT UP LMAOOO Oh so the Eye told Phil to spin it too, so they were right.

I FRICKIN KNEW IT THEY ONLY GET ONE EGG BACK

Poor Phil :(((( That’s so much pressure on him

THE WORKER HAS AN EYE WTF Lmao Roier immediately laughs at it Is that supposed to be the thing that was “close to them” all along? That doesn’t make any sense.

Ok cards on the table here: my first choice would be Richarlyson. I know this is all RNG based, but he’d be my first choice of all the alive Eggs. I’m almost certain it won’t be him though, I feel like it’s gonna be Tallulah or something.

Number 7? Roier: Vegetta? 777? Pftt

LMFAO NO SHOT SLIME ACTUALLY SCREWED IT UP

They should’ve just had Phil be the only one in the room– OH DOOR? Slime: YOU COULDN”T AFFORD A FASTER DOOR? GET THEIR ASS SLIME LMAO

Foolish: I’m drowning! Oh wait no, I meant the opposite of that. Pfttt

That frickin one-eyed worker looks so tired I wonder if that’s the worker Cucurucho sent, and it just got possessed by the Eye dude since the Eye didn’t have a physical body or didn’t want to show them its actual physical body or something? Hmmmmm.

RICHARLYSON AND POMME??

OH WAIT ITS ALL THE EGGS OH NO

OH NO DO THEY HAVE TO PICK ONLY ONE???

OH THANK GOD THEY CAN GET OUT wait but no they're blocked by glass still?

RICHASSSS CHAYANNE SOBS!!!

RAMONNNNNNNN FIT CALLING FOR RAMON IM GONNA CRY, THAT'S HIS BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY MADE IN HEAVEN BY GOD HIMSELF

I'm so sorry Chayanne but that did make me laugh

Phil: You did well Me: *BURSTS INTO TEARS*

LMAO Why is Tallulah just dancing

Ramon: Took u long enough to find me Me: *BURSTS INTO TEARS EVEN MORE*

Bro I missed the Eggs so much dude :( I know we probably won’t get them all back rn but it’s so nice just seeing them

FRICK OFF, DON’T MAKE THEM STAY HERE I’LL KILL YOU MYSELF

Slime: My sleep schedule, no–

1h 55m - Foolish: CUCURUCHO, BREAK US OUT! FRICKIN FOR REAL, CUCURUCHO GET THEM OUT OF THERE IM  LITERALLY GONNA DIE IF I HAVE TO SEE ONE MORE DAY OF PURGATORY

Cucurucho please get your ass over here

FRICKIN REAL AS HELL ETOILES

Genuinely though, if they kept this event going any longer I think so many streamers would actually quit and I wouldn’t even blame them. I’d probably drop it too for a while, it’s just way too much stress.

WAIT NO RAMON DOESN”T HAVE HIS MOUSTACHE oh wait no 

Tallulah: So he is not here? again? :( I hate to be that guy but literally what did you expect LMAO his ass is NOT coming back for some random Purgatory event

Phil: Don’t worry, I am here. HELL YEAH YOU ARE!!! BEST DAD PHIL

Oh… Phil running between Tallulah and Chayanne breaks my heart a little bit :(((

I wonder if Chayanne is separated because he’s the leader / eldest of the group. :(

Maximus: Guys, I’m gonna explode an atomic bomb. Phil: WHAT?

IM FRICKIN CRYING, MAXIMUS PLEASE, THERE IS A TIME AND A PLACE BUT NOW IS NOT EITHER

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD”VE FRICKIN LISTENED TO MAXIMUS EARLIER!!!!!!!!

Head in my hands everyone is STILL talking over him while he’s doing this big important lore thing. I am dying. Maximus you deserve the world I am so sorry.

On a meta level, I wonder how many creators actually KNEW that Maximus had a bomb because I know for a fact at least a few of them were genuinely in the dark

This is miserable actually, I’m pulling up Maximus’ VOD rn because this is genuinely frustrating me. “Everyone always talks over everyone else in an event” and all, I know I know, but it still sucks to see.

MAXIMUS’ VOD INTERLUDE

OH DANG HE REALLY JUMPED STRAIGHT INTO THE LORE Lmfao not the cutesy hello in the midst of tense music, Max I love you.

Bro I’m about to start posting Sapo Peta clips, I NEED people to know how insanely good this man is at storytelling and RP, nobody frickin Gets It

I’m jumping to his conversation with Aypierre.

Aypierre: I’m a little curious Maximus: You can keep that “curious” in your mind. I love him.

1h 16m - Maximus: When all of this is finished, you won’t need my trust anymore. Banger line.

Aypierre: …Are you gonna kill yourself, Maximus? No, don’t do that. AGH.

Maximus: Maybe. AGH!!!!!!

Head in my hands, Maximus saying hi to Tina and getting no response, I think she was AFK

1h 18m - Maximus: I don’t trust you.

LMAO not Aypierre saying “I won’t kill you anymore.” Completely normal thing to say.

Aypierre: Will it kill only the Federation, or everyone? Maximus: *dead silent* Me: YEAH ALRIGHT, BUCKLE IN BOYS IT’S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Maximus what the hell is wrong with your facecam

Maximus just laughing after the Eye said they couldn’t leave. Badass.

Nobody listening to Maximus. I am chewing a live wire.

Bagi I love you but your volume is so frickin loud in everybody’s POV I’m dying

OH WTF ITS THE EYE THING????

THAT”S FRICKIN TERRIFYING WHAT THE HELL

That being said: absolutely badass of Maximus to just reveal where it is

AYO WHAT IS *THAT*

THAT SKIN IS FRICKIN HORRIFYING WHAT *IS* THAT QUACKITY

LMFAO POOR CHAYANNE JUST HIDING IN THE CORNER WHILE FRICKIN ELDRITCH MONSTER ELQUACKITY IS STANDING 2 FEET AWAY FROM HIM

I hit the word limit so I'm splitting this liveblog into 3 separate posts! Please see Part 2 and Part 3 here for the rest.

[praphit]

FAST X: Pastor Dom

The world is a pie. It's been placed in the oven. It's got all kinds of goodness in it:

apples, what else do y'all like?... banana pudding? - sure, maybe some walnuts, of course the milk and eggs and stuff... what's that? - you like meat pies?... idk if that's gonna work... but sure, it doesn't matter, um... got some... BBQ pork up in there as well... imagine whatever goodness you want. We are all baking inside of this goodness pie at 350 D's. But, the main ingredients of this pie are pain and disappointment. What a twist, right?? Makes it kind of a crappy pie. Maybe there's literal crap in the pie as well.

That's what life can feel like at times though, right?? You walk outside and look at life, and say to yourself "Wow, there are a lot of sad and angry people out there." And perhaps more times than you're willing to admit, you're one of those sad and angry people.

But, FEAR NOT, there are plenty of ways to cope (and it's all about the coping) : faith in God, cute animals, booze, guns, strippers, pills, dark magic, robbery, murder, chocolate, etc.

But, one of the best ways I've found..... you guessed it -

Watching Fast & Furious movies.

This man, right here... my emotional anchor...

VIN DIESEL

There's something about him isn't there??

Vin is rocking his most beloved character -  Dominic Torretto, leader of the... "FAST GANG". Is that what they're called? Doesn't matter. I love this guy! When I saw the trailer, I smiled big, and said "The bullshit IS BACK!" And I meant that in the best way.

It's been over 20 years of this nonsense. 20 years of fun, racing, ridiculous acts with cars, thievery, Coronas, and FAMILY.

ANNND probably killing. No one ever wants to talk about this, but they've caused a lot of property damage haven't they? - and within that damage, there has more than likely been a rising body count. The damage alone may have ruined lives! BUT, they're such a cool group of people, and VIN... those flex poses?? - C'MON :) 

You can't help but love him.

This time around Dominic is seeing the end coming. He tells his lovely wife (Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez):

"How long can we keep doing this shit? We've got a kid. We've got a nice home. I'm making all of this Marvel Money ("I AM GROOT"), and dishing out hot singles “Feel like I Do”

(real song - check it out).

We can get out. We don't have to live this life of sexy, dangerous racing anymore."

The problem is, when you've spent 20 years stealing, and probably killing, you make some enemies.

In walks Jason Momoa (Dante), dressed like Prince.

He's our villain who doesn't just want to race Dom, doesn't just want to kill him, but wants to make him and his team (sorry, his FAMILY) suffer. This is why we need to chill and be kind to one another. There's already so much sadness and anger, then you add assholes to your life, like this... But, Momoa don't care, he wants revenge cuz Dom killed his daddy. To be fair, Dom didn't mean to kill him. He was driving 1000 miles down the highway, while stealing his daddy's money, and shit happened. Plus, Momoa's daddy was a criminal, so... you know... the real offender here is karma.

But, here we go anyway.

Jason Momoa had a blast making this movie. You can tell that he had a lot of fun. 

Dante's a fun character, but also kinda confusing. Sometimes, he acts like The Joker, sometimes like a super villain from... a show like “The Power Puff Girls”, and sometimes he's serious gangster revenge guy. Idk. What in the world did the director whisper into Momoa's ear as motivation? If the director whispered the words "cartoonishly evil" , perhaps he nailed it.

The movie is pretty much Dante chasing Dom's family around with Looney Tunes gadgets, guns, and at one point a giant rolling bomb, that was on fire.

YES!

Now, I don't think this installment is as fun as some others, mainly cuz there's no real mission here. You normally get the vibes of Ocean's 11 meets The A-Team, but it feels more like Dom and the Family getting chased for 2 1/2 hours.... cuz that's what it is. Some actual acting star power up in here:

Brie Larson 

and ONCE AGAIN, the underrated, yet GREAT Charlize Theron. 

whom I still don't understand why she's a part of all of this (being a real actor), but she works. They finally got her hair right tho.

Trust me, that's an improvement.

  That's her not long after getting her ass BEAT, and she still looks amazing. Those UFC people must be doing something wrong.

I love this franchise! I get it :)

It's just not quite as good. And the dialogue, which has always been bad, but... c'mon y'all. There's been talks within this current Writer's Strike of protection from writing scripts with AI action like “ChatGPT”. People will say "Well, that won't happen, and even if it did... it wouldn't be any good." And then I saw this movie.... Not only could AI have def written this film, but it would have been 10 times better! I'm not sure how the strike will affect the next movie or two that come out for this franchise, but... honestly, it might be an improvement.

Ludacris and Tyrese are old. 

Not that they look old, but their act is old, you know?? Like, they're still cool for their age, I guess, but they're not "young people cool" anymore. Sorry, fellahs. It happens to everybody. Just part of the pie we're all baking in :)

BUT, all in all, lots of laughs (even though I was the only one in the theater laughing at the absurdities) Good, solid, destruction porn. An AWESOME fight scene between Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron.

And so much star power... though I think they might have to beef-up the villain star power in the next one.

Go after some other respected actors: see if Angela Bassett and Jake Gyllenhaal are doing anything.

Grade: C+

I really think that Dom would make a good pastor. 

Perhaps once he's truly done with the stealing and killing.

He's good with people. Very accepting. He's always got that mood music in the bg; perfect for his sermons.

I feel like Vin could keep his congregation focused on the goodness in the pie, not just all of the crap. Plus, his churches would be filled with sexy people. Church is not all about sexy people, but it helps.

And the best part is, he can solve any of the world's sad/anger-inducing problems with racing.

Rising Homelessness - "Let's ride!"

Climate Change - "Let's ride!"

Crippling Depression - "Let's ride!"

Sign me up for that church!!!

[cat-n-rabbit]

Today on... cool things in SaGaRS that are no longer available.

Modern heroes! Or.. all the funny prefecture collabs edits and other events where the 7 Heroes just had fun.

Unfortunately all of these were from post Polka's arc where the game got little to no writing anymore so all these events have no story beyond what you can come up with while reading the descriptions. I don't know why it was so difficult to attach some dialogue and exchanges between the characters in a pixel art game but I suppose that was too much to ask for from the small indy developer SQUARE ENIX ...

These are now only available in the game's custom battle design option, and I don't really remember others, but anyhowsies.... here we go, for they are a lot!

We start of with the Music Fes 2022! It was one of my favorite events. It was so colorful and so many SaGa characters were having music/performance styles! The event came with a raid event and bosses with their own stages. Wagnas had not only a banner style but raid boss style too!

I don't remember the BGM that played on his stage but I assume it was one of the 7 heroes arrangements. Modern world pop star Wagnas?

Sadly majority of the events didn't get any story context. The best you could do is piece together a narrative based on their banner lines...which wasn't much. Given how Final Emperor had a music festival style too along Wagnas makes me wonder how were they both talked into this? Then again Wagnas seems to easily hop into festivities.

Next up is all the Saga prefecture collab bosses! RS will often have collabs with the saga prefecture in Japan and as result have raid events designed over various places in the prefecture. At various raid nodes you would have bosses who seem to be enjoying the activities there!

Your guesses of what's going on here is as good as mine xD;

Beyond Subier got drunk and claimed the spa pond(?) and Dantarg is out there to eat all the goods and you just happen to be on the way... I have little clue what's Kzinssie's deal. Did he try to eat a crab and the crab tried to eat him??

I assume these are the prefecture flag/colors? Bokhohn just had to control a giant...whatever that is (giant goby?) and we had to fight it at some point of course. I recall Rocboquet had a banner style during that event with skill especially targeting the giant gobby. It's a shame we never got story attached to these cause it felt like there was something going on here!

And lets not forget ... ... balloon Wagnas.

-Deep breathes- the source of my PTSD... Balloon Wagnas. Now, now... I know the event is gone and the game will disappear at the end of November, but let me just... just explain the pain and suffering. We had to get a drop from every prefecture boss from this event to turn in and get gems, typical grindy stuff. Usually RS is not too bad with drops. But not Wagnas, oh no... He claimed the skies with his balloons and he would not drop a dang balloon. 200+ fights later I finally got it, normally it would take like less than 50... Wagnas, what have I done to you!?? I've always collected your styles and used you in battles T^T;;;

Anyhowsies... so you know... Wagnas likes his ballons and he ain't sharing any. Not until you cry and beg I guess.

And last but not least.... That one time when idk what Bokhohn smoked but he went full Grinch/Scrooge mode and decided to ruin christmas for everyone !

Not only he was a boss he also had a banner style where he was all about riding a mechanical sleigh with puppet reindeers and raining bombs over Avalon! What was the context behind that? Who knows! It was event without any story context once again. I was especially sad we got no story cause Noel had a wonderful christmas style where he seemed to be enjoying himself for once. And Final Empress had a style on the same banner as Noel and it looked like a truce to enjoy the festivities.

Hokay... forgot about the School banners! The RS Academy events which... got a short 3 part manga comic but not an in-game story for some reason. But! We got... Astronomy Teacher Wagnas! Trickster illusionist Bokhohn and Janitor Kzinssie!

I remember in the manga Wagnas was being a bestie with Gerard and nerding about stars which I thought was really sweet, especially considering one of Gerard's styles does have Galactic Rift (strongest light spell!) and It's just me here connecting the dots like some wild conspiracy theoriest but I guess nerdy boy Gerard also enjoys astronomy!

Bokhohn seemed to be a student this time...which is funny cause isn't he supposed to be older than Wagnas? He mentions he prefers illusions and tricks to actual magic. Maybe in modern world he will be all about card tricks!

And... that's all I could pull from the vault!

I hope it was fun read. :>

I will miss the sillies RS provided. . . u_u; You could randomly miss a character regardless of which SaGa game and log into RS then put them in silly hat and go smack a random old boss or something... I only hope they will make a new SaGa mobile game at some point cause RS even in Japan is not doing well right now.

[acorgiirl]

Hi I'm emotional about dumb things

I don't write much but Mega64 hosted like a "telethon" (???) the other day bc they aren't doing great financially and idk. I'm just sad and want to write about some of my memories of them. I'm just kinda rambling in here idk.

So I remember finding Mega64 way way back, sometime before 2005. It was pre-youtube, I know that much. You could go to their website and they had some sketches you could download their like 240p video of and I thought they were super funny. But also, this was before any social media so I kept their website as a bookmark and would visit it once every few months to see if there was a new video.

But then in like late-2006 or early-2007 I visited and they had started a podcast. It had been a while since I checked so by the time I saw it they were already on like episode 12 or something. I had never listened to a podcast (they were a relatively new medium at the time) so I decided to give it a go. That podcast changed my life. It's insane looking back and realizing how much I was shaped by it.

At that time, I was a sophomore in high school. I would tune in every week and listen to these guys just sit around and talk. They would talk very casually about video games, their videos. Stuff like that. I remember Rocco was the only one at the time who worked full time on their stuff. Shawn worked at Chili's and Derrick at Barnes & Nobel iirc. Garrett was just a friend who helped out with their stuff: costume design, makeup, special effects, stuff like that. They were just normal people.

So here I am, probably like 15, listening to these guys in their early 20s just talking. And like, I've always been really socially awkward. Conversation is not my forte. I actually think something that fucked me up was watching a lot of tv. Like in a sitcom, everyone is funny. They always know what to say and make great jokes. I wasn't like that. I wasn't that funny. I didn't know what to say. It was really difficult for me to communicate with most anyone outside my very small friend group. But here's this group of normal guys just having a pretty normal conversation. They have in-jokes and are funny, but also nothing was like "scripted". I felt like listening to this really helped me learn how to speak to people. At first I remember I would just try to emulate parts of the podcasts if I could work them into conversation, but it eventually turned into me just talking.

Now, I have rose-tinted glasses about this and I know. They were just young guys on the internet before like, "wokeness" or w/e had really spread or guys like us online had to really grapple with the idea of women or other sexualities or w/e. They used the F-slur. There were things from it that looking back really sucked. By around 2010 or so I learned more and more about Feminism and the like and it really changed my world view. Thankfully around the same time they seemed to as well. I remember once someone used the F-slur on the podcast and someone else stopped them and said something like "we don't say that anymore". It was nice. It felt like as I was growing up, so were they.

Also around this time they all had their own youtube channels and were either posting dumb little videos of themselves, small skits they thought up and didn't fit the main channel, or whatever. But I remember my favorite was just looking at everyone's favorites. This was right around the time youtube switched from where you upload your videos to where you have your little tv show. They would like all these weird videos of people just being weird on a video. Something that was uploaded thinking it'd get like 100 views, that sort of thing. To this day, my all-time favorite youtube video I found this way. And then on the podcast they'd be referencing the videos and it felt like I was in on the joke too. It was just super fun and felt good for my lonely ass.

Eventually though, I fell off. I started getting into Giant Bomb, which led to my era of being a "Hardcore Gamer". My tastes developed in a new way that differed from the guys at Mega64, and eventually I just found myself getting annoyed at them and had to stop watching. By that time I had probably been around for a good 200-300 episodes of the show.

I stilled enjoyed their content from time to time. I would watch new videos that interested me and the like but for the most part I was kinda just off of it. But now I am 33. I started watching them like at least 20 years ago. I've seen them go from some dorks that dropped out of college to like, Shawn is married with kids! They were a huge part of my life for a while and really helped shaped my sense of humor and social skills.

So to hear now that they're struggling financially sucks. It makes sense, their average views on a podcast is around 17k on youtube. Their proper videos don't seem to get to even 100k very often.I don't know how sustainable it can be now. Like I know they sell a lot of merch but at what point do you just not have enough fans to buy merch to support you?

Looks like the telethon and stuff doubled the number of paid members on patreon, but they were sitting at just under 2000 members for a while. That's minimum $10k a month. Which when you split between the members and take out bills, I can't imagine covers as much as they'd like.

So idk. It sucks! Like yeah, they've been around over 20 years. They got Miyamoto, Kojima, and Gaben on their videos, but that was all 10+ years ago. They might have just peaked back then and slowly just fizzling out. It sucks to think about. These guys are now in their late-30s or early 40s at this point. I'm sure they've made tons of connections and developed a lot of skills you can't really get outside of the entertainment industry, so I'm sure whatever happens, they'll land on their feet. But man. It just sucks!

I remember in 2007 they announced that Shawn and Derrick were both quitting their jobs to do Mega64 full-time and I was so scared for them. That's a huge leap! I was so afraid they'd just fall flat on their faces. But that was 17 years ago and they've survived this whole time. So I don't know. Maybe they can keep going? There's a precedent for exceeding my expectations. I signed up for their patreon upon hearing about this and I am wishing them the best. That's about all I can do.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Elton John - Tiny Dancer" on YouTube

This is right about the time when the Baja race would end and they are singing this song All over California because they see the light cycle car and you can hear my husband say but it's for sale they say we don't care we need one and we need it now it's supposed to occupy us building that stuff we know it's for it's for facing down these clones and they say we're going to do that and they still see it and how much and they started saying it's about Jen who is Katia and they're going on about it and on about it and yeah someone bothering our son I mean my husband damn it yeah I was killed today and Abby was hurt in the last episode and they tried to bring it back and they're saying that she didn't make it been in real life she's alive because it's Sarah and people don't believe it that's quite a transformation but her daughters do it all the time. Now she gets to get out of the show Tommy f is a rude bastard and they're all going after him and it helps and she didn't necessarily really die or even have a wound so it's an exit plan and it works. And actually the guy got shot and the interview Tim and they showed you show them killing the guy who interviewed him. Not bad. Now the clothes are mobilizing too but that question is starting to get tricky. What are they going to be doing.

I've been informed the mini Baja song we got permits to race alongside some of us were allowed to enter the race the formal race. But not the light cycle they don't know what it does they don't know where it's from it'll be some sort of weird machine so they want it outside the race the military monitors the race too it's about 4500 miles north of the tortugans now it's about a hundred miles north of Tortuga and they are going to go there and the ladies are singing about it cuz they said that some people have seen them but in the past and that they're going down there and some of them lost people already this time and the old lady lost when someone last time and they don't know who the Giants are but they want to know. Makes me sad too because we're supposed to be having lives together and we are but he's kind of in prison and people say they know it is real now there's also going to be Arcadia and some off the coast of Florida this is going to turn into a war and they might find a relatives and who knows what the real story is it's beginning shortly. It was trying to sitting across from the victim in this TV show CSI Miami. And a donut chip mom will do that it also is designed to destroy the head and body of the victim whereas he was almost a little bit too far away and he's fooling with a flap on his chest and it was laying forwards the bomb went off and pushed upwards and that's what happened and it's my husband's wedding ring this is wedding band and someone is wearing it for protection and didn't do anything you shot the clone in a San Diego and he was not a pharmacy and she was pushed aside and left the show and it's Sarah and it was one of Trump's grandsons. And the clan is saying hello give my son dollars if not you're in trouble that's what it says on the show it's coded too

Hera

Well we finally have something and yeah his face is gone but the brain is not and the flap did the job doesn't make sense I don't know that's the other guy no that's him it's impossible. But he was disguised as a black guy that's some kind of foolishness going on here. Sometimes people change color after they get hit. The impact ruined his body again these clones are a deadly and we have to go after them now

Mac daddy

[callmearcturus]

So for literally years now, people have been asking the people at Waypoint to make a subscription service and they finally launched it, and its 5$/month and I have joined it and now I am here to preach the good word of Waypoint Radio.

What is Waypoint Radio?

Waypoint Radio is the flagship podcast of VICE GamesWaypoint, a subsection of VICE News that focuses on video games with a more critical lens then you'll find most places. They've been around about five years, founded by Austin Walker (formerly Giant Bomb, currently Friends At The Table and other ventures), helmed by Patrick "Scoops" Klepek, Rob Zacny, Ricardo Contreas, Gita Jackson (formerly Kotaku), and other contributors.

The website has many very good articles on video games. They've run everything from goofy internet shitposts to stuff like...

A Hardcore Lego Fan Spent Six Years Making an Ambitious 'Bionicle' Fan Game

The Quiet Horror of ‘Fatum Betula’ Harkens Back to a Classic Era of Games

The Near Impossible 20-Year Journey to Translate 'Fire Emblem: Thracia 776'

Super Nintendo Music Does Not Need "Restoration" (THIS ONE IS SUPER INTERESTING I PROMISE)

They once did an entire week focusing on firearms in games and our relationship to them. They both have on-staff writers who are black, hispanic, queer, neurodivergent-- and also spend their freelance budget on marginalized voices to talk about shit other sites don't make time for. They are one of the voices that made Labor In Games a huge deal in the past 5 years. They are very solidly part of the rise of the post-GG voices in the industry.

They're also sharp people, extremely funny, have incredible chemistry. Their podcasts are long (jokingly said to be "five-star podcasts with five-star run times). Topics range from

what does it mean when Blizzard lays off their employees while reporting record-breaking profits, how does that happen?

what happens if you try to figure out the plot of Kingdom hearts using only lore wikis and watching cutscenes in chronological order?

what's Rob baking today?

are the Jedi cops? what is their jurisdiction? where are they empowered from?

is The Purge series quietly the most cutting social commentary of american society that exists in modern film?

how irrational is it to do the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon demo 40 times and make a spreadsheet of all the quiz answers because Cado is certain he's not a fucking mudkip, Nintendo?

serious in-depth discussion of games and their themes and how they portray people and what verbs they offer us

“Did I ever tell y'all about how I started collecting protection money in grade school?”

They do good work.

If I had to unsubscribe from every podcast in the world but one, I would pick Waypoint Radio.

Also, this is important: this podcast has ruined me for most other discussion podcasts because they fucking know how not to interrupt and speak over each other, when someone is cut off they loop back to them, and people just get to TALK. That, to me, is incredible.

I can go on. I can talk about how Patrick has literally 5000 stories about games industry minutiae because he's been in it literally his whole life. I can talk about how Austin has influenced me so fucking heavily in how he speaks about media, especially about how famine mentality makes us act like morsels are feasts. I can talk about how it's been years and the sheer JOY everyone has when Cado accidentally fucks up his twitter handle makes me cackle. And I... could never explain who the fuck Rob Zacny is because I think he's a fake person. He cannot be real. But his and Natalie's friendship truly is a guiding light.

But the point is: Waypoint is the best video game podcast by far, and they are gearing up to expand.

(well really over the years they've done a lot of cool shit like devoting some 12 hours of podcast to talking about the BBC Pride & Prejudice, and having a video game book club DEEP discussion of various games, and a weekly pop culture podcast, but all of those were cancelled by their bosses at VICE, and with this they want to revive all those shows)

So I am now asking: If you like video games, please listen to Waypoint Radio. Start anywhere. The latest episode is super good, but also I can give you recs. And if you enjoy their work, please subscribe to them.

Thanks for reading. Be good, and be good at it. Peace.

[batfam-rewrites]

Tim: *walks into Insomnia Cookies at 1:30 am*

Employee: *half asleep* Hi, how can I assist you today?

Tim: *trying to fight back tears and replace it with a fake smile* Hi, can I get an everything?

Employee: I’m sorry, what?

Tim: Just everything. Every cookie, brownie, plus frosting and ice cream. And a sorry your day sucked cookie please. No vegan cookies though.

Employee: Ummm......any specific....

Tim: Just all of them but not the vegan cookies. Save those for the vegans.

Employee: Ummmm.....Okay give me a few minutes.

Tim: Okay.

A few minutes later

Employee: Okay, your total is....

Tim: No worries! *puts in his Wayne family credit card and gives a $100 tip*

Employee: *shocked* Your order will be ready shortly.

Tim: Thank you! *his phone vibrates but Tim doesn’t pay attention*

An hour later

Tim: *walks out with his order and pulls out his phone to see a missed phone call from Bruce* Oh, cool. *calls Bruce back as he walks back to his dorm* Hi Bruce, how’s Gotham?

Bruce: Tim, why the fuck did I just got a giant charge from Insomnia Cookies.

Tim: Oh, I bought all of the stuff and left a $100 dollar tip.

Bruce: Why the fuck do you need all of the cookies?

Tim: And brownies, and icing, and ice cream.

Bruce: WHY?

Tim: Oh, because I was sad and disappointed in myself.

Bruce: *takes a deep breath*

Tim: Look, I know your mad, and I know this may seem unreasonable, but it was for a valid reason.

Bruce: What is it?

Tim: I bombed my test *starts to cry* and have been studying very hard and am so, so, so, so, so, so, stressed about finals. I want to curl up in the fetal position and cry my eyes out as I choke on my sugar.

Bruce: Tim, I’m going to have you wait a quick second while I get Dick.

Tim: No.

Bruce: *hangs up*

_____

Bruce: *calls Dick*

Nightwing: *tries to grab his phone but drops it as he swings to the next building, then dives to try and catch it, then swings back to a new building and onto the roof*

Bruce: *calls again*

Nightwing: *answers* You almost cost me a phone. What’s up?

Bruce: I’m sure that’s an exaggeration. I need you to call your brother.

Nightwing: Jason?

Bruce: No, Tim. He’s pulling a you.

Dick: He’s going undercover for a secret spy organization after faking his death?

Bruce: No, he’s...

Nightwing: Going full Boyle on Steph and she’s getting tired of it so you need me to talk him out of it?

Bruce: No, he’s...

Nightwing: .Hanging from a...

Bruce: DICK, SHUT UP!!! He’s having a major mental breakdown before finals and drowning his pain and stress in pastries.

Nightwing: Oh, that one! While on the topic, no one has touched my toaster strudels, right?

Bruce: *sighs* No.

Nightwing: Good! Okay, I’ll give Timmy a call.

_____

Nightwing: *calls Tim*

Tim: *answers with cookies in his mouth* Hello.

Nightwing: Tiiiimmy!!! Tim-o-thay!!! Timmy!!! How’s it going buddy?

Tim: Not great. 

Nightwing: So I’ve heard!

Tim: Then why did you ask!!! *sobs quietly*

Nightwing: Force of habit I guess. Let me ask you, have you tried seeing a therapist out in Chicago, specifically for stress?

Tim: No.

Nightwing: Okay, try that. Also, tomorrow, I am assigning Steph to be your personal distraction all day.

Tim: She’s sick. I was late for my test today because I decided to take care of her and lost track of time.

Nightwing: Then take care of her all day tomorrow, or I’ll call one of the Young Justice members. You need a day off.

Tim: No.

Nightwing: Yes.

Tim: No.

Nightwing: Yes.

Tim: No.

Nightwing: Yes.

Tim: No.

Nightwing:

Tim:

Nightwing: Fine. What is your go to right now.

Tim: Insomnia Cookie. *looks at the boxes of cookies* Cookies

Dick: Okay. We are going to go full finals Dick here. Save them for each morning, then use them as your source of happiness each morning.

Tim: Okay.

Nightwing: Now step one, save it all. 

Tim: *puts all of the cookies back in the container* Okay.

Dick: Okay, now, change your clothes and brush your teeth. Then cry yourself to sleep and ration each cookie for each morning.

Tim: Okay. Goodnight Dick!

Nightwing: Goodnight Timmy!

To every college/high school student reading this, I wish you good luck on your finals - Dick

[newts-and-sharks]

Ok, here is the Ophiuchi Fleet/Crew! My alien oc’s for @maudiemoods alien au!

Rasal is the positive and cheerful person of the group, his power basically being a flash bomb, but he can control the brightness, so he can either be a homing beacon, distress signal, a night light, or a living glow stick. He is a little dumb, but he has a good heart and would do just about anything for his crew. He has poor patience and terrible memory, but luckily Sabik is there to help him out. Rasal is quick to form attachments to people and gets very sad about leaving a planet and all the friends that he had made. At least he’s got his crew with him though! That is his main comfort, knowing that his crew will never leave him behind. However, this also makes him grow a hero complex, always going out of his way and even endangering himself to save his crew mates. He would never forgive himself if one of his crew mates died under his watch, whether he could have prevented it or not. But at the end of the day, as long as his crew is safe, he will be the happiest creature in the entire universe.

Sabik is the most manipulative of the group. He has no qualms about lying to get his way and does what he has to to survive. However, they would never do anything that wasn’t in the best interest for their crew. He grew up on the streets and still likes to partake in a little shop lifting here and there, but he mostly steals stuff for Omi in hopes to impress her. They are an excellent strategist and can has the second best poker face on the ship, but he also has a slight anger issue and is terrible at intimacy or anything touchy-feely or emotional. Sabi’s power is the Siren Call, basically verbal Hypnosis. Even a whisper can convince someone to do as they ask, but he prefers not to use this. Mainly for the fun and challenge, but he also hates using his power due to the intense headaches and temporary voice loss.

Cebal is the gentle giant of the crew. He is unusually big and bulky, but don’t ask him about it. He is a selective mute and has his own collection of terrariums in his ship quarters. He cares deeply about all life on all planets, and likes to collect tiny trinkets from all the planets they visit. He is kind and gentle in everything they do and finds it difficult to harm others, even when the crew is in danger. His power is controlling plant life, which admittedly you wouldn’t guess by looking at them. They mainly just grow flowers to decorate the ship and give as gifts to everyone. They have severe social anxiety, and he’s the most introverted of them all, rivaled only by Nu.

Marfik is the prankster of the ship. She has boundless energy and is the most active of them all, always scouting ahead and finding places to settle down when they explore a planet. Their power is unnatural speed, and they love to use it to trick the others. They know just how to cheer up the others, always getting to make them laugh and smile. They even got Nu to smile one time, but it might’ve been a trick of the light. She has a very very high metabolism so they’re always hungry despite not needing to eat for several days. Sometimes they ask Cebal to grow fruit from other planets just so they can eat it and stave off the hunger. Their favorite prank victim is Sabik, mainly just because it’s easy to get him riled up. The reason their nickname is Murphy is because everyone started calling them Marfi, and eventually it just blended into Murfi/Murphy.

Omi is tired 24/7. No nonsense, and all common sense. She is a bit stressed out about everything, but uses her studies to block out any negative or unwanted feelings that arise. She is the brain cell holder of the ship and 95% of everyone’s self control. She has the best poker face, and has become apathetic to most things. Sometimes Sabik gives her gifts that he says he bought, but she knows they are stolen. She has, however, grown a soft spot for him. Her power is telekinesis, but she uses it sparingly. Her power gives her major headaches, but she will do what she must to help the crew. She has grown up with the mindset that if she can’t be of use to someone, then she was useless over all and unwanted. She cares about her crew mates and wants to be wanted and useful to them, so she has a habit of over exerting herself for them.

Nu is…Nu. They crawl around the ship and fix any damage from the journey, Murphy’s pranks, Sabi’ temper, or Attacks from other ships. Most of the time, they can’t be found on purpose. You either find them on accident, or when they want to be found. Sometimes the crew finds them crawling in the vents, or in a dark corner of the ship while repairing something only to have them spin their head at a 180 angle and stare right into their eyes. On the rare occasion, they can be found ravaging the fridge at the dead of sleeping hours for their rations. Despite their cryptid and creepy behavior, they actually really care about their crew mates, which is why they work so hard to make sure nothing is wrong with the ship. Their power is being able to walk on any surface. They use this power to walk on the wall or ceilings, and also stick to the side of the ship when doing external repairs. They sometimes help Murphy out with pranks to spook other crew mates. Their best friend is Cebal, sometimes just sitting next to him and reading a book in comfortable silence as he takes care of his terrariums.