#and imo it really misses the point to just. remove it.

[sun-marie]

not a hardened!lucanis romance mod....... say it ain't so.....

[aghostwithnoname]

Okay it's been about two weeks to cook on my initial reaction to finishing DATV, and I feel like, for the most part, it still stands?

Like smooches to all the companions - you're not really the problem in this. I also love my Rook. Adore you, Taash and Davrin extra special. Assan, my son, my beloved, you are perfect.

But aside from diehard DA fans either defending or detracting Veilguard within an inch of their lives, imo the defining problem of the game is sets up these interesting, compelling, and tasty conflicts we've come to expect with the franchise but instead of like, you know, delivering on that, playing out that tension, eking it out for angst, lols, rage, and tears, asking serious moral quandaries of the player... they just… resolve them? create false equivalencies? say "here is your choice - it will have consequences!" but really the outcome is mostly the same?

So yeah, it's really just a lack of stakes on anything and everything important. And I think that's a missed opportunity as a writer myself - bc while some people may see the removal of real world social ills in a fantasy setting as being more "inclusive" (a take I as a person with multiple marginalized identities don't really understand and frankly sounds to me like some corporate BS), what BioWare really is doing is attempting to rebrand its signature series into something it isn't : a world without complication or friction or messy realities.

The Bad Guys are literally straight up Evil - the Good Guys are So Good. Whether you choose to doom Treviso or Minrathous, the idea that the Crows are no longer being child-enslaving assassin mafia houses (Rip Zevran and your revenge), the fact BioWare completely avoided any depictions or barely mentioned the horrible mistreatment and enslavement of the elves in Tevinter, even going so far as to paint the elves as partially at fault for that bc of their shitty gods??? (good lord, there's too much to unpack there), nothing truly matters.

DA was never just simplistic, good vs evil fantasy, so why start now?

Like any good storyteller knows that stories are fundamentally about change whether that's changing a society or your own personal mindset. And more often than not, conflict is a result of that! Change is hard! Some people don't like change! That's not to say conflict must be physical or violent - sometimes the most interesting stories are ones where the hero is a different person that the one they started out as.

DATV literally changed so much about the lore and mechanics of the world (which okay fine), but everybody just rolled with the punches like it was nothing. Like, for ex, "The Maker doesn't exist and Andraste is Mythal"??? Damn son, you just got proof that literally thousands of years of abusive religious dogma that has been used to terrifying discriminatory ends in both the North and South of Thedas is a lie. And everyone just accepts that????

And for some of us who experience and live with discrimination every day, who come from abusive families, and are religious trauma survivors, part of the appeal of previous Dragon Age games, for me, is that it didn't run away from those issues. It made characters like me human and fallible where at the end of the day, yeah you can end the Fifth Blight but there is no right answer to who should rule Ferelden bc monarchy is a fucked up system that ruins everyone's lives - here is the quintessential "Chosen One" archetype who doesn't fucking want to be chosen (DAO); no you can't always save the world (re: Kirkwall) and those you love, and violent change of an abusive system can also blow up in your face (DA2), and no you're not in control of how other people perceive you, especially in how celebrity and status can dehumanize you to a point where you don't even recognize yourself (DAI). Like you could still be a hero in these games without being perfect. Whereas with DATV, I just felt... nothing. Like, it was a fun way (sometimes, not Weisshaupt jfc) to spend 80 hours. I learned that Solas and Mythal are even more horrible that I could possibly imagine.

but I didn't feel like Veilguard left me with anything like catharsis so I could go back and face the Merediths and Venatori and Loghains of the real world. it was just that - you defeated the Bad Guys! Game Over. Here's Varric Mufasa'ed in the sky (so very sad). Talk about a totally ridiculous misuse of the One Guy whose whole shtick is how you can use narrative as a weapon.

These are just my thoughts, and ofc everyone's allowed to like or dislike the game as they please, but I don't feel like it's appropriate to give Bioware (and their shitty treatment of their creative team) a free pass on a frankly subpar narrative ten years in the making that did not deliver the emotional beats it was meant to.

[cessmaga]

My own take on ben and rex's timeline 😗✌️

based on my own canon and rewriting some stuff especially on ben 10 lol

I'm not entirely sure about the ages idk anymore

I want to keep ben's OV outfit cuz I actually like it a little but it's more of an alternate outfit he would wear just like star's from svtfoe, similar to rex's (omg I still haven't decided what color it would be lol) (honestly I originally not gonna give rex an alt outfit but I ended up liking it)

Here are some of my (ben 10) rewrites I had in my head for now

I don't think ben really I mean really cannot take the omnitrix (it misses the point of the idea of a kid wielding a powerful weapon and unable to take it off it so has no choice to look after them imo) I feel he wouldn't use it in his 13-14 yrs that much than he used to until the events of alien force

I'm not gonna give ben the ultimatrix, I'm sorry man I don't really like it's idea and it's way too gimmicky and nothing else, also it just adds the fact that the omnitrix can easily be removed

his personality is a mix with alien force and omniverse, a goofball at heart but he's serious when he needs to

I'm not gonna include alien x into the roster, idk I find it weird that ben just casually had this ultra powerful thing and it just adds the fact that cn just power creeping ben and it's so ehhh, he never really had an earned character development god mode just like rex just cn just refused him to, I find it weird that this omnipotence ass alien that can wrap reality has dna and anodites don't have for some reason, (they probably want gwen to be special) my point is I don't like alien x

but there's this headcanon I find where ben's actually had the anodite heritage but the omnitrix suppresses it for the transformation and also, I really like this idea idk

I really don't have any rewrite with gen rex, since I'm really content with the main canon, but I'm still sad that we won't have more content cuz rex's powers and lore is really interesting

ok this rewrite feels more ranty than it shouldn't be so yeah

[seeker-ophelia]

Ophelia Rants: Veilguard is Weird

I had another post (Review, Pt 4) composed about how much I love dragons, but the AMA kinda knocked me on my ass.

* * *  

[INTRO]

* * *  

I’m going to share the image I made collected from the results of my survey:

And while everyone only contributed one word for this, it IS possible for Veilguard to be ALL OF THESE THINGS AT ONCE.

Now. We need to take this with a grain of salt and remember that most of these responses came from tumblr, and often ones Social Media Frens are an echo chamber of ones own thoughts.

The words that repeat over and over are all similar; sanitized, shallow, underwhelming, trimmed, incomplete… Fun But Not Dragon Age.

And I could not agree with this more.

Caitie (YT: Ghil Dirthalen BS: Ghil Dirthalen), (Mythal’enaste her and her data-mining efforts) has released so much information from Datamining Veilguard. So much dialogue not used, paths ignored or forgotten, Keep choices abandoned, Lore identified.

Flipping through the Art Book shows how much time and effort and ideas have been put into DA4; all of its iterations. All the creativity, the different worlds, the different possible paths. YEARS of work, abandoned.

Which feels soooo… opposite. I’m not a writer. What’s the word for a complete opposite dichotomy in all things? Contradictory? Inconsistent? Irreconsilable? Antithesis?

How can Dragon Age be Sanitized and Shallow�� but so much work be put into it?

* * *

[OPINION]

* * *

After I removed my emotional connection from Dragon Age, IMO, it really does feel like something is missing from this game. Even if one tries to lay down their preconceptions of what the game might have been in their dream world, this game, to me, could not decide what it wanted to be. Narratively, it’s a sequel to Inquisition. Solas’s story matters from Inquisition, the Inquisitor matters from Inquisition… and yet it spends so much time onboarding new players. The story feels simple, the world is straightforward, like its dumbed down for players new to the series.

Inquisition, even though in a gameplay sense it is different from Origins and 2, still feels like its building off of a complex world that the player might not understand. And when I played Inquisition, I hardly understood any of it. That’s part of the joy of Dragon Age. People who read LotR or Malazan or WoT or ASOIAF, don’t expect the author to hold their hand. They’re dumped, unceremoniously, into a world, and they have to figure it out themselves (figure it out through strategically placed tidbits from the author). Dragon Age (O through I), was a masterclass in this, I think. Somehow, no matter how deep you want to dive into the game, whether just playing superficially one-and-done, or playing it over and over to capture as much lore and depth as you can, Origins through Inquisition does that. It gives you just enough crumbs to keep you going, keep you questioning, and to point you enough in the right direction, that when you DID get a lore reveal right, you felt GOOD. Yes, plot-twists and subverting expectations are important, but so is letting your audience figure things out, giving them concrete answers. Veilguard drops you, sure, literally in Minratheous into a Gods Magic Ritual. But then it takes your hand, and skips with you through beautiful landscapes, phenomenal level design, and whirlwind combat, to place you right in front of the information you need. And then gives you a cutscene explaining, just in case you didn’t get it 😉).

We, as fans, need to realize that while the Personality of Veilguard is Toothless, the Lore, The Skeleton, is not.

Yeah, Epler said some things that hurt my feels during the AMA. (I’m ignoring the Solas stuff, because I really do believe Epler is speaking from a personal bias and not from a cannon-perspective. [edit: he just talked bout this on BlueSky]) But do you know why? Because they broke my personal headcannons. They proved MY theory crafting wrong. The real problem with Veilguard is that it came out too late. 10 years is too long to have people care so much about a game and theorize and craft worlds for themselves.

* * *

[LORE]

* * *

Superficially, VG dropped a lot of lore. But Deeply? To the DA Lore-Core? I don’t think they dropped ENOUGH.

[Image Credit: Helena Hansen on ArtStation]

HOW did Soals cleanse the dagger? HOW can Elgy & Ghill control the blight? HOW do they control their archdemons? HOW does the veil work? (How can it be weak with Elgy & Ghilly holding it up but 100%-strong-no-holes-perfectly-good with only Solas providing power for it?) HOW do spirits work? HOW do souls work? WHATS the difference? HOW does a Dragon-thrall-bond work? WHY isn’t Lusacan a Great Dragon? HOW does the rite of tranquility work? WHAT happens to Solavellan in the Fade? Is it different from what happens to a tricked Solas in the fade? WHAT happens now to Hawke/Stroud in the fade? WHAT is an orb? WHAT is a cube? WHATS the difference? WHERE is The Black City? WHAT is the ‘real blight’? (Because according to VG Solas, it’s still in the prison and its still super dangerous and way more dangerous than the blight that’s out in Thedas.) HOW did Solas burn his Vallaslin off? WHAT is the Calling? WHAT is the NEW song in the calling? WHY did ‘Mythal speak the calling’? WHY does lyrium sing? How is lyrium mined? WHY can tranquil work lyrium safely? HOW did Dirth & Falon split? WHY did Dirth & Falon split? WHERE are the rest of the Evanuris? WHERE is the Abyss? WHAT is the Abyss? WHAT do you MEAN there was more than 8 Evanuris?? HOW did you make your lyrium bodies? HOW can Elgar’nan destroy a FEELING?

WHERES MY ELVHEN DICTIONARY.

Obviously not ALL. But SOME of these NEEDED to be answered, or at least strongly alluded to, IN GAME. NOT in an AMA.

“We're leaving that ambiguous on purpose…”

“We haven't been SUPER specific about this…”

“I'm so glad these stories have their hooks in you! We have to leave some threads to tug on for future stories.”

What DID get answered in game?

Some of the Evanuris hats. Archdemons/Old Gods = Evanuris. Solas (w/ Mythal?) tranquil’d the Titans. Solas (accidentally) created the Blight. Solas used a Blood Magic Ritual to create the veil. Solas regrets a lot of things & has mommy issues. Worm-Solas (which, do not get me wrong, a million thank you’s and blessings for werm-Solas… But…) That’s it. That’s IT?

Oh, and there’s a shadow organization that’s been pulling all the strings from behind the scenes but I am NOT getting into how much I hate that idea in this post we don’t have time. Do we? No, we don’t. You know what, fuck it. This is my blog. Once you introduce that idea there is no way anyone NOT the author can know how much sway the puppeteer has over the marionette. ‘Oh it’s just a nUdGe, just a *whisper,* ‘they still have their free will’. Bitch get fucked what does that MEAN. That doesn’t MEAN anything its just a lazy retcon-y way to tie in a new villain to old material. Completely erasing the autonomy of they characters your fanbase has come to love (and love to hate). Do not corporate-speak at me with synergy and circle-back and deliverables. WHAT is a WHISPER? WHAT is a NUDGE? Because unless you lay it all out in an ELI5, NO ONE CAN KNOW- EXCEPT FOR YOU.

Ok obviously I have feelings about that we need to move on.

You can argue Veilguard was about the Evanuris, you can argue that Veilguard was about Solas. You can argue that Veilguard was about Regret and Pride and letting it all go. You can argue that Veilguard was about the ~*Power of Friendship*~ But for me, who has been obsessed with whatever the ever-loving-fuck has been going on in Thedas since 9.30 Dragon, Veilguard is about the Blight.

Corrine from the AMA: What really captures my imagination now that we've resolved some of the mysteries pertaining to the blight and the Elven gods, is exploring the aftermath of this crisis in a deeply destabilized Thedas.

Sorry… What did you answer? We actually know nothing about the Blight except that Solas created it, and with Antonie and Evka claiming the song has changed… what does that mean? Is a Titan consciously controlling the blight now? Is it soothed because Harding Soothed it? Is all the blight from the Kal-Sharok Titan? Are all their orbs/cubes in the Black City? Do the Executors control the blight? What is a calling, then? Will the Wardens never be called to the deep roads again? The Blight is different in a Warden than it is in a darkspawn, or an Archdemon? How? WHY? The wardens are just going to fade from existence because… all the darkspawn are just going to disappear now? Where in game is this stated as truth? Actually, in fact, ZERO questions were answered.

But Wait…

I feel like the news of the AMA COMPLETELY overshadowed the two IGN articles that came out; 1 & 2. Because… holy shit you guys. There was A LOT of lore dropped here.

Unfortunately for Epler & Corrine, and this is a hill I will die on, ALL OF THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANSWERED IN GAME. The fact that it was NOT? Is inexcusable. You cannot drop giant lore reveals like this outside of the game and hope it smooths everything over. The lore dropped in these interviews could have been a DLC, a side quest in game, or at the very least a novel or WoT Vol 3.

* * *

[What IS Dragon Age?]  

* * *

I've used this photo before and I'll use it again I fucking love it so much

I wish Veilguard came out a year later, I would have waited longer, paid more for it, if it was a more a whole, inclusive game.

The problem with dumbing down a pre-existing franchise is that you’re alienating the fans that are carrying you on their shoulders. They carried you through a game-less 10 years, and through Andromeda. And you can bet your ass when they drop you, the new fans you roped in with VG are not going to be picking you up.

Dragon Age feels like it cannot find its identity. That Veilguard, inexplicably, does not feel like Dragon Age.

“But how can you explain what Dragon Age feels like when every Dragon Age that came before it was so different?”

New Protagonists, new companions, new locations, everything is different. On top of more meta things; new gameplay, new combat, new art styles, its all different.

So what makes Dragon Age, Dragon Age?

Well, when I was nervous about the game back in September, I asked Kala, when she got pre-access to the game, if she FELT anything.

“I’d love for you to touch on how the game made you FEEL… Did anything you played in Veilguard make you Feel™?”

She sent me a private message with 1 word: Yes.

We can go into the design decision to have the companions react with each other instead of Rook and how that can be alienating to the PC. We can talk about how shafted the romances were. We can go into how gentrified Minrathous and the Crows were. We can go into how child-locked the lore was. We can discuss the toothless-ness of Veilguard.

But Veilguard still made me Feel.

And, even if that emotion is anger, if Veilguard made you Feel, it did it’s job.

[ganondoodle]

sorry i keep coming back to totk rants, but something that utterly baffles me from a game design perspective especially is

who, in their right mind, would think to put similar objectives with the same characters in the EXACT same place as its previous game when already reusing the same exact map (no, single rocks springkled around isnt a meaningful change, fight me)

like from a purely logical point of view its just ... not logical?? and TWICE so when most players will have played the previous game, so now that the exploration, which was the main driving point of it, isnt as satisfying simply bc you know most locations and what is what, the thing you need to do is subvert it as in you go to that location and theres something else now or something that leads to a new reveal, but not NOTHING either, bc you likely cared about what youd find- the satori mountain was such a cool mysterious place, so now you head to it to see what is now and its nothing but maybe an obvious treasure chest? thats both lazy (i realy use that since its way overused by people missusing it) and just ... it might be meant as a lil nod so that there isnt nothing at all but to me it feels even more condescending as if there were literally nothing instead

satori isnt here anymore? thats weird if its always been there, so you go find a cause, maybe theres a fissure somewhere you can enter a large cave system, an hidden entrance to the underground that reveals there is something corrupting the place somwhere nearby but not exactly in the same spot- make it into a bossfight at which end satori gets cleansed- maybe it got captured and taken somewhere else, to a place that was kinda neat but didint serve a big fucntion in botw like maybe it was dragged somwhere into the big tabantha canyon, or to the forgotten temple

you try to visit rito village but the snow and cold there got so bad that you cant even reach it without special gear, and when you do reach it its utterly frozen in thick ice and not a single soul is there, the perch of vah medoh is knocked over building a bridge as a subtle hint as to in what direction perhaps, its intriguing bc clearly they have to be SOMEWHERE, maybe they tried to use vah medoh to evacuate but bc its losing power and doesnt have a skilled pilot they crash land it into the mountains, now trapped there and due to the storm not able to send anyone out to get help, maybe some did but they didnt make it and you can find them on your way and rescue them, and bc of the storm being so bad no one can get out and no one can get in (except for our special boi linky ofc) and even after the storm has weakened they dont immediately go back and act like everythings normal, maybe theres an extra mission afterwards helping them rebuild the village but not exactly the same as it was but fortified, different to account for things like this happening again, establishing the crashsite of vah medoh as a second outpost, or a temple, to thank it for bringing them out of immedaite danger but couldnt go all the way

theres so many places that are so clearly modeled around botw that are entirely unused now bc they had to remove all things shiekah for no reason, the holes they left jsut being holes where somethings clearly missing or some chest with a gem in it while the new shrine thing is within view distance a few meters away, might as well have put them in the exact same place bc it really doesnt make a difference

(like alot of those ideas im using for the rewrite which changes many things but you get the point right??)

and its even worse imo with the building stuff, bc now you dont even have to journey there you can fly glide and literally drive there instantly like a giant skip button so you cant even appreaciate the way to it, you skip to one important part to the next

and then points of interest are REPEATED AGAIN, like with shrines and lightroots and settlements and big mines- that is the opposite of satisfying gameplay, you dont have to explore shit bc its all in the same place which is probably why they only did tiny changes to those few spots and nothing else bc they knew most people would run right to those so it gives the illusion of changes (which are half reversable or barely a change at all) and even those are STILL meaningless

its right up there with having even MORE grind with less substance to it than in botw, the shrines and krogs got a lil old but at least the environment, its subtle storytelling etc were something- and totk just bloated everything with more little meaningless collectables while not changing anything meaningfully (and instead pretends that some things where never there and those new boring things were always there)

more shriens with shorter puzzles or none at all, more krogs with the same reward system, over a hundred tiny caves that all blend together bc they are all so similar and you really only do them for yet another colelctable for old gear and ONE cool new one with a bad effect after which the things collected become uselessreally, souls to collect to buy you a single armor set, rewards being largley reused old stuff from botw (imo you should have a chest in your house, yes YOUR house, that got most of the standard versions of botws armor in it so you dont have to buy it all again??? but you gotta think of going home first and dont have to use it- make new versions of them alternatively so you can choose if you want the old one or new one and also LEAVE ONE AT YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT HAVING TO SELL IT SO YOUT INVENTORY ISNT AS ENDLESSLY SCROLLING AS YOUR STUPID ARROW BAR)

theres new effects from food and armor thats largely useless (like the attack when hot?? why wouldnt you you jsut combine an armor and a potion- put on hot armor and drink an attack potion? its way more efficient no?? idk i found it to be yet another effect thing to bloat my inventory especially when NPCs keep giving you shitty effect food)

the whole sonanium (zonaite?) collecting with multiple ways to convert it into yet another currency??? huh???? AND have it be the thing for you to autobuild with?? when you need it upgrade your battery which takes an insane amount of those stones?? wells, while finally an actual well are NOW ALSO LIKE A COLLECTABLE and im gonna take a wild guess that the reward is utterly disappointing too

the fairies are all blocked by much more annoying means than in botw (like i wouldnt want to carry those NPCs three meters away in their little cart antoehr time please) and the amount of material AND MONEY NOW you need is so much higher for no reason (if its their attempt to make the game harder its the lamest way to do it)-

all while instead of expanding on the foundation of botw they ripped it out to build a new one while pretending they are both there (im so so slaty about this .... a sequel like this should expand upon the stuff of the first game, both in theme, narrative, mechanics and more and not ... replace it with slightly different versions of it while abandoning everything established before and really only using it as a way to skip having to make you care about some characters bc you might still care about them from the other game)

i could go on, as always lol, anyway, i really really dont get why this got into the final game ..

[thewonderfulwitchofthewest]

my thoughts on Wicked part 1 :D

(spoilers for act 2)

stuff that made me happy:

Absolutely loved and appreciated that there weren’t any huge song or scene removals, just smaller stylistic changes that were usually made to help things flow better

More emphasis being put on Elphaba’s midwife/primary caretaker being an Animal. That was one of the gripes I had from the musical, especially since it forms the basis of Elphaba’s motivations and empathy. Plus, the book was more prevalent about it as far as I remember

Elphaba causing the mural of The Wizard in Shiz’ welcome hall to crumble and reveal the Animal mural underneath was one of my fav additions!! What a clever way of pointing at that revisionist history, and also foreshadowing Elphaba herself being the one to uncover the truth behind The Wizard later.

The recurring For Good leitmotifs FUCK!! that was so mean of them, but so amazing

Set design went insanely hard, kudos to the team!! Everything was visually stunning! I’m in love with Shiz’ rotating library in particular, keeping to Wicked’s theme and aesthetic of circularity

Speaking of circularity, costume design also went incredibly hard!! Of course I miss some of the original designs, like Glinda’s yellow dress, but the new outfits brought in do feel similar to the ones that weren’t included, so I’m not pressed about it. I’m very happy that most if not all of Galinda’s outfits incorporated circles/curves (see above; also a nod to the bubble aesthetic)

Elphaba’s innocence and joyous whimsy in The Wizard and I!! So beautiful. She’s so outwardly excited and fantasizing so vividly, something she only expresses in the safety of her own solitude. But she has a chance, she’s free to explore something she never thought she could have before, she’s unlimited. Really great I Want song sequence

Original Dillamond is more humanoid and looks more refined as a professor imo. But I’ll admit, this Dillamond’s very endearing…he’s just a lil goat. And I love him :)

I really enjoyed all the The Wizard of Oz-like stylizations being included, like the title font. The references were great too, like the ‘ruby slippers’ in Popular

The gadgetry in general was super cool. Gotta love all those fun lil inventions, like Dr. Dillamond’s tea set that accommodates the fact that he doesn’t have hands

The vocals HOLY SHIT. Do I need to say anything?? I was blown out of my seat dude. Loved all of the little personal touches added into the songs, it felt so raw and close to what actresses would’ve done on stage

things that could’ve been better:

Honestly, my biggest issue is that I needed Elphaba to be more mean. I like my Elphabas blunt, and angry. She was grumpy and petty and bitter from the start, but was still a good person, and I loved that about her character. While I respect the decision to make this Elphaba more composed (possibly to garner more sympathy from the audience), she came off as a bit too somber and self-pitying for my liking. Elphaba is witty and sarcastic. She’s unapologetic, but knows when to yield. And most importantly, she’s very much fuelled by rage, as much as she’s moved by love and compassion. I hope part 2 brings in all her nuances and inner fire, because that would really elevate everything for me!

EDIT: As an extension to the point above, I do still love fiery Elphaba, but I recognize there was nuance in this particular decision for this version of her character! This is the insanely good post that changed my view of things (for the better)

Somewhat related, I was looking for a bit more oomph, more emotion and inflection in tone for some of the line deliveries. The ones off the top of my head would be Elphaba’s explanation about being green, and Glinda’s sadness over Fiyero’s changed behaviour at the train station. Maybe this is a nitpick, maybe it only makes sense on a stage, but yeah I do miss the intensity.

Overall, I’m not the biggest fan of Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero. No disrespect to him, but I think they could’ve found someone a bit less charming and more rogueish for Fiyero, especially since he’s supposed to be a troublemaker and an airhead in this act

Also no disrespect to Michelle Yeoh, but I’m not the biggest fan of her singing. I wasn’t that torn up about it. It came and went, that’s what I’ll say. As for her as Morrible acting-wise, she’s okay. I love when Morrible is more over-the-top and loud, but Michelle plays her quieter, sneakier. She’s got room to be more intimidating later on in part/act 2

godddd I wish we could’ve gotten new scenes with Elphaba and Fiyero because as fun as gelphie is, fiyeraba is a compelling dynamic to me too, and I think the movie could’ve taken a great opportunity to rectify what a lot of people’s problem is with the ship, aka it being too rushed. I would’ve loved to see an additional moment where they shared something with each other and only each other, like a personal tidbit about Fiyero’s life as a prince, or something he did at other schools, anything Elphaba could grasp onto and relate to in order to flesh out their relationship more, as two people who understand what it’s like to not be happy and seen for who they really are deep down

Even just making the I’m Not That Girl sequence more visually appealing would’ve been nice. I miss the poppy field. We lost that flower symbolism in this particular context, representing love, remembrance and hope for the future, which does encapsulate the basis of Elphaba and Fiyero’s relationship

The Defying Gravity sequence was of course absolutely incredible on several fronts, but it did feel a little clunky at times. Somehow the pacing was slower here than it was in the musical. I should feel my heart pounding alongside Elphaba and Glinda’s. Elphaba trying to steal The Wizard’s balloon was a nice touch though, I loved that.

Small gripe, but I would’ve loved more steampunk stuff incorporated (the train to the Emerald City was great!!), as well as the Time Dragon Clock somewhere (unless I missed it in the opening sequence?)

If I think of more, I’ll add it in later, but that’s pretty much it for now! I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was very well done and it captured the soul of the musical!!

[daz4i]

actually lemme make this into a proper post

a possibility: fyodor will take over bram's body? hear me out-

assuming fyodor's ability does indeed involve taking over the body of whoever killed him, and the vampire killed him (and died in the process as well). who told the vampire to kill fyodor? who was literally in control of the vampire, in that moment? all the vampires are connected to bram in some way, aren't they? one could argue that bram was the one to deal the killing blow, in that case

this would connect meursault to the airport - it will bring fyodor to the scene to cause whatever havoc he so wishes

^it'll also remove dazai from the equation - aka, force the agency to fight fyodor without the one person who may know how to beat him, thus raise the stakes

it can connect to whatever backstory bram and fyodor have going on together. maybe fyodor's looking for some revenge. maybe he just wants to say the last word and waited for the perfect moment for that

listen. maybe this is just me, but i don't think bram should stay in the story. ig you can pull a "and then he went back home on good terms with the agency, never to be seen again" like some of the guild's members, but that's boring. he is a couple hundred years old vampire. that's kind of a big thing with big implications on the lore, imo. leaving him alive but missing feels like a waste, but at the same time he can't exactly gel into the main story, i think. i don't think he's fit to be an ada member tbh 😭 BUT MY POINT IN THIS VERY LONG RAMBLE IS that it could be a really interesting way to finish his existence in the story! a sad one, but interesting nonetheless 🧐

^and add some possible implications to fyodor's future in the story, too - if he takes over a vampire's body, could he theoretically start his own vampire pandemic, somehow? we don't know! we don't know how his ability works!

ngl so far 100% of my bram related theories were wrong, but most of my fyodor ones were at least somewhat right, so the odds aren't looking too great but i think it'll be a good move that may *feel* out of nowhere like asagiri likes, but has actual buildup and reasoning behind it 🤔

oh wait and the most important reason-

please don't hurt nikolai please please please please please i already miss him so much please don't make him gone for good or make him suffer too much please i am asking so so so nicely. if anything happens to him i'm detonating the charges

[powertaco]

What are your thoughts on WR development overall and your thoughts on WR being developed/made canon in V10?

Ugh I am going to ramble about everything here I can feel it...well you asked for it. I apologize for none of it, and if you all hate me at the end well I don't mind.

Volume 6 and before are pretty much great. They go from kinda at odds to tentative friends, learning to trust, and rely on each other, best friends, pining over one and other and V6 was a loooot of WR for us to feast on.

Afterward I felt like it got sidetracked. There could be various reasons for this (in hindsight I feel like Penny being given a way bigger role so her death could hit harder is to blame for part of this because realistically how long has Ruby known Penny? A month?)

Even if you don't like the ship they're supposed to be canon best friends so I take personal issue with almost all of volume 9.

I think it was sloppy writing that didn't move the story forward, and even though I don't care about Bees I feel like they still got shafted since they basically were forced to confess to move things along, and them doing so made them miss out on the sister/supposed friend and her problems, and only showcased the worst sides of the relationship.

For example Yang let's Ruby scream at Weiss but only moves to do something when Blake gets yelled at. Blake and Ruby still have...less dialogue than Ruby does with Ren I think etc.

Jaune was too present merely because his entire deal took away from Ruby's imo.

I've said it before but frankly Nora falling and learning who she is away from Ren so when she sees him in V10 she's ready for the relationship is far more satisfying to me narratively.

Leave Jaune above ground so he has to deal with the fact that he thinks he failed his friends and they all died and let him learn from that experience instead.

This also doesn't take into account that Jaune's one interesting change in 9 (being old) is taken away via random deaging (although I guess this makes deaging canon and hey young maria this is how dwr can still win! more at 11!)

Generally when characters go through a volume you want some sort of arc for them to go and change through. Weiss gets none of that. Out of all the characters nothing really happens to her, and she doesn't change at all. She's just sad about Atlas. Neat.

There's no time for it just like there's no real time for Ruby.

In Ruby's own words 'gotta help Jaune right?' and they do. Ruby removes herself from the census, which is how its framed, and they stop to...help Jaune.

There are a few moments that are WR'ish in 9. The Nevermore summon, Weiss believing in Ruby, and calling her name first etc, but overall Weiss's main job is to backslide.

I said it before but in the market Neo, the perfect assassin is after Ruby, and they split up. Weiss goes 'gross nosehairs', and ditches her best friend who she already knows by that point is NOT doing well.

This is not Volume 1. This Weiss is not that petty, and she's literally had to manhandle corpses. The fact that she wouldn't stay near her canonical best friend, and leader is asinine, and only happens so she can be alone to meet the smith.

Even if Weiss can't help Ruby fight Neo she's an extra pair of eyes (and Neo doesn't care how crowded it is in the market), and just being there for Ruby can help.

With all that said RWBY is big into symbolism. When WR are together in almost all the side spin off material it means something. Manga Anthologies has them making heart eyes and flirting like every other page. Ice Queendom was a love letter to WhiteRose (precious?). The movies, etc.

When their weapons rest next to each other on screen like the Bees do? It means something. When their flowers break ranks to be near each other (and Weiss's flower is the lily please note)? This means something.

Ruby can stand and jump from missile to missile but has to wrap her arms around Weiss to stay seated?

If Chibi continues it's pattern of predicting things in the main plot then the fact that Weiss is the woodsman in the fairy tale means a loooot as in several versions of that fairy tale the woodsman marries little red after helping her deal with the wolf problem (which varies by the story).

They're the knight and princess for each other. Ruby comes into Weiss's live turns it upside down, and helps her change. Likes her for her genuinely and wants to be her friend at the start. Through this she changes the world for Weiss, and helps her grow, and Weiss in turn helps Ruby be the leader she can be.

But yeah I guess that's just friends things and they should date some guys they've had like a half a dozen lines with instead? I don't get it really.

She and Oscar punch each other in the face, and they talk about strategy. Oscar has a younger kid crush on her, and Ruby is awkward because that's her headmaster in this kids head. Oh right he went in for a hug she ignored. Peak romance.

Jaune and Weiss have almost no interactions, and when he saves her at Haven her response isn't to be like 'omg i love you' it's 'keep doing it i have work to do'. Are they friends now? Sure, but that's about as far as it goes.

It remains that outside of group hugs the only person that's allowed to initiate contact with Weiss almost all the time outside of battle is Ruby.

Ruby knows when she needs help and will guide her away when she needs it, but other people don't' touch Weiss unless she does it first because they know she doesn't like it...except Ruby.

I have tried to look at other relationships for them, and I honestly don't see them as realistic.

Even Penny would need a lot more development to make it work. I get that it's cute and wholesome but they've known each other for again a month, and Penny just defers to Ruby.

Ruby needs a partner and equal not a submissive enabler. That's a relationship you have with a pet, and not a person.

Now if Maria were young and hot that'd be different...

Anyway...

Ruby and Weiss are partners. If they're allowed to have the much needed conversations they never seem to get, ie haven, ever after, Ruby's mom, everything, etc.

Then is it possible? Maybe. If they do go WR I suspect it'll be more hints, and slow ramp up until the final season.

I would expect it either on the eve of the final battle, or literally during it maybe as in Weiss gets feds up with waiting, and decides to do something about it.

More likely at this point is they'll both just end up single with maybe faint hints so fans can imagine what they want for it.

Would I prefer it if it was WR so the team can truly be family? Yes, but I don't even know if we're getting a volume 10 at all to be honest. The fact that it wasn't announced at the last festival, and we get an extended eppy, and then nothing after the last movie?

Not making me feel super confident. I could be wrong though. On many things. Except Young Maria.

[devil-works-hard]

Adding Things to BATIM

BATIM is one of those games that scratches the inside of my skull just right- to the point that one of my biggest gripes is that there's not much there. Sure, there's easter eggs and compelling environments, but a lot of the stuff introduced doesn't get taken as far as I think it could. So here are some things I would have liked to have seen in the first game.

NOTE: I know that Bendy is made by a small team, and that definitely influences how the games turn out. These ideas are purely hypothetical in a "unlimited money and hired talent" kind of way.

Art & Story

A multiplane camera and puzzle - This was a huge part in the animation-making process, as it helped with depth in the animations. I'm picturing a puzzle where you collect the different cells and backgrounds, and have to put together the sequence to unlock a secret.

Abby's desk/office

Discarded concept art for characters (kind of like the Don't Let Joey See This art)

Just adding the Story Department in general - Could literally just be a room with a bunch of books and typewriters.

Dot's desk, preferably with something relating to Buddy

Mr. Hemmings' desk/office

More things related to the filming/editing crew, including a dark room for the negatives

Music

The Employee Handbook says there's supposed to be a lot of offices there, so maybe more of those to make the space feel bigger

Sound Effects booth. They did some really creative stuff to achieve sound effects for those old cartoons. This could be another coded puzzle to unlock another secret

Maybe some more vinyl records, and a puzzle related to that

It sounds weird to say but Music is not nearly as flooded as people make it out to be. I Want It Underwater

Infirmary

An audio log from a nurse/worker talking about people getting sick from the ink, or even just from stress

Alternatively, an audio log from a disgruntled worker complaining how bare-bones and understaffed the infirmary is

Another ink monster corpse, just for the ✨aesthetic✨

Heavenly Toys

A maze room filled with shelves and boxes of unsold merch. This could also be in the Projectionist's domain

Different kinds of toys, like planes and Edgar's ducky

A puzzle where you make/fix toys

Instead of just grabbing the hearts from the Butcher Gang's hands, Henry should remove the hearts himself. That could be really tense in the Projectionist's domain

Finance

Again, add the Finance department. The handbook says Grant has 40+ people working under him, they should have offices. There's an overhead door to the right of the elevator; it could go there.

A math puzzle. It could be actual arithmetic/algebra, could just be messing with 1940s calculators.

Alternatively, a clock or time-related puzzle, because time is money

Adding this kind of stuff could add build-up to Grant's office reveal, which happens a little too soon in the chapter imo.

Archives

Make it a maze - it was a missed opportunity not to make it even bigger

Safecracking puzzles, for easter eggs and whatnot

Let Us Open Some Books! It would've been cool to have some special lore bits in the Archives.

Bendyland

Rollercoaster - I was half joking about the euthanasia coaster thing, but a rollercoaster thing would've been fun to see. Maybe it keeps getting stuck on the tracks, and Henry has to free up the wheels before something gets to him (a la the boat chase in Chapter 5)

Make the Bendy animatronic move. Lacie's audio log makes it sound like it should, so why not make it happen? It could be a Weeping Angel-type of enemy.

More fair games, like a dunk tank or duck pond game

On that note, give us a prize if we can beat them all, like an actual weapon for defeating Brute Boris instead of the cans

More audio logs from Bertrum, just to really build him up (and to give his boss fight more oomph).

Administration

Changing the locations of the functioning inkwells - The one inkwell that you need for the thick ink is right next to Joey's office, but once you've found it there's no incentive to search the rest of administration. Maybe, once you've grabbed that one ink blob, you have to find another functioning well.

PR department/office, bonus points if Joey's Chapter 4 audio log gets moved here

HR department/office, featuring a list of complaints made by employees

For a department so deep in the studio, Administration is surprisingly free from ink. Some offices could be flooded; there could be another plumbing puzzle to drain the offices.

The Maintenance Department is apparently lumped under Admin, so maybe give Wally a proper office (and/or broom closet)

And, as a bonus, a couple smaller ideas:

The ability to search through desks, file cabinets, lockers and trash cans (as seen in BATDR). This could really add some depth and interactivity to the studio and insight into the lives of the workers. Plus, there's more opportunities for spooky stuff. Imagine opening a desk and finding a still-beating heart.

Crevices, crawlspaces, secret tunnels and areas that were discovered/used by Norman- these could lead to secrets, or just be a shortcut through complicated areas of the studio.

Another area that requires a flashlight (like the dark hallway in Chapter 3).

I've got more ideas, but those are the ideas that don't involve fundamentally rewriting the game. Feedback and thoughts would be appreciated!

[sexhaver]

i wanna prod at ur catholic confession post actually. like yes, murder and child rape is obviously bad and there is an inherent problem with how the catholic church shields abusers. but i think removing some of the restrictions of what a priest can or cannot say about a confession could cause some problems. like, for example, how a lot of priests considerer LGBT people to be child abusers/predatory! hypothetically if the cath church made it so preists could openly condemn confessions guilty of child abuse, and if the church considers identifying as LGBT as child abuse, then that could cause problems if someone confessed to IDing as gay/trans. or alternatively, what if someone confesses to killing a rapist/sexual abuser. a priest could use that confession to testify against them and get them imprisoned. is it ok to imprison people for murdering their abusers? idk, but i dont like the idea of the catholic church having that power having a blanket statement that priests cant mention ANY confessions makes it *slightly* more immune to corruption IMO. obviously i dont think this solution is perfect, but my alternative would be to dissolve the catholic church entirely, and i dont think thats happening anytime soon.

well as you point out there isn't really a good solution to this, and that is because the idea of confession is inherently dumb as fuck. everything the catholic church considers a sin falls into one of three categories:

failing to be pious enough (forgetting to pray, missing church, taking the Lord's name in vain). keeping these secret is fine because they aren't, like, actual crimes, and in small + devout enough communities there are definitely priests who would gossip about to their neighbors if not for the confessional seal.

really cool and good activities that are only an issue if you were raised to believe that they would send you to eternal neverending torture after death (jacking off, being gay, having premarital sex, getting/considering an abortion). these should obviously be kept secret because they're embarrassing and potentially dangerous. however, this is kind of a moot point, because any decent person (priest or otherwise) would understand this without needing a confessional seal making it official. so these need the seal to stop the average priest from tattling to a kid's parents when they confide in them.

actual literal crimes with prison sentences and everything (rape, murder, manslaughter, assault). you should not be telling anyone about these if you can help it. what the fuck guys. this isn't even an ethics thing, this is a "don't be fucking stupid" thing. if you murdered your abuser and got away with it, good for you! now shut the fuck up about it because murder is still illegal. is the guilt eating you alive so badly that you need absolution from God about it (cringe)? do what Protestants figured out centuries ago and cut the middleman out of the equation by talking to the J.C. directly via personal prayer! yes i am aware this is heretical. if you care about heresy more than getting caught you are stupid.

so looking at the three points above, the best argument in favor of confessional seal that i can formulate is "sure, it allows murderers and abusers to literally have their actions condoned by God with the explicit guarantee of never being held legally accountable or even changing their behavior (just say a few Hail Maries), but think about the consequences of removing it! priests would be even MORE bigoted than they already are! some of them might even GOSSIP!" like hm, okay, i hear you, you make some excellent points, i think we should nuke the Vatican

[meret118]

Woe's Hollow:

I watched the previous episode again before the new one, and was struck by two things. The first, is Dieter"s eye coming out. It reminded of the Bible verse about, "If your right eye offends you, pluck it out." If Dieter is actually Keir's shadow self, then Keir killed that part of himself by plucking it out.

The second was red-headed Woe sitting where Helly would normally sit in relation to Irving during his dream.

I still think the night gardener story is stupid. Did Helena do it on purpose so she wouldn't have to keep pretending to be an innie? It makes no sense to me that a company so detailed oriented they already removed Irving's image from the photos by the time the innies return to work wouldn't have anticipated their questions, and come up with a better story for her.

Trojan's Horse:

Severance is back, baby! Apparently what I needed was Helly. :) The pacing was a lot better this episode IMO too. It shouldn't take this long for the show to hit it's stride in season 2 though. The season is half over.

Those looked like dental tools, and the whistling man had an old fashioned dentist's smock on. It made me think of the dental torture in Marathon Man. Do they put tracking devices in teeth? Are they changing people's teeth so dental records can't be used to identify them?

What the hell is Mark drinking? Is that part of the reintegration?

Helly has her fists clenched when elevator open. She's prepared to fight immediately.

I posted about the Grakappen here.

They ate Irving's head - there was a big piece of it severed. Dylan was eating his ear though, because he didn't listen to Irving's suspicions about Helly.

I couldn't find a picture of it, but I call those type of mug handles finger traps. Two holes, innie and outie.

Milchek wanting validation on his reaction to the white bullshit from Natalie was painful and sad. I think she wants to agree, but is afraid to.

I can't tell if he actually drank the cool aid, and is now starting to see the light, or if he just pretended to in order to get the job, and is finally starting to have qualms now that it's affecting him personally more.

I was starting to think Helena was changing too until she referred to the innies as animals. I can see why she would be afraid to return, but the word choice was telling to me, even if she doesn't believe the Kier mythology.

"Here is the lunch menu." Ha!

"Uses too many big words," is a microagression against an educated black man. Is it because it makes the white man uncomfortable, and they want him to "sound black" by which they mean uneducated? (If he did use AAVE, they would penalize him for that too.) Or it a complaint by a young teen because the words are "big" to her? Or both?

". . . and to treat as what they really are." Slaves? It's interesting that they chose a black man as an outie supervisor given the history of experimentation on black people.

Mark, Helly and Dylan are now a work threesome, while Burt and his husband seem to be interested with Irving. I didn't know Burt was fired. I thought he had been retired for his age. I thought he said he was retiring in that video. Or maybe he was embarrassed, and just said it was retirement rather than "erotic entanglement."

Fields is a very unusual name. I wonder what the significance is.

Natalie is black and a woman, and the only outie I remember being frequently referred to as her first name, like an innie.

Miss Huang is very into the corporate mentality. There's a reason cults go after young people. I hope they eventually explain her presence. Her being there still feels like something weird for the sake of being weird at this point.

So much for Rickon's ideals. I so want Devon to leave him! The most improbable thing in the show to me isn't the severance chip. It's her being married to him. He can't even use the term correctly - Trojan Horse, not Trojan's Horse. The horse was from the Greeks and destroyed the Trojans,

Helena pretending to Helly was a Trojan Horse. Outie Mark pretending to be Mark R would be the Trojan's horse.

[mecachrome]

rewatching gtg as one does when they miss oscar nerding out but i was just thinking about how the format is so bland and they've been doing the same challenges over and over so my question is. if you could come up with a gtg challenge / change the format any way you wanted what would you propose?

HI anon i love this question because i too complain frequently about the redundancy of the gtg format!!! tbf it's fairly easy to film so i can't knock it too much but in a hypothetical fantasy world where we are blessed with unlimited resources and time and the drivers can be put in a room all together then there are several things i'd like to see:

really the problem is that there's no SPECTACLE!!! also part of the problem is simply the editing i think... like if you watch k-variety then you'll see that editing contributes a lot to the watchability regardless of what they're doing lol, but gtg editing is pretty minimal which is understandable but does make it a bit more boring. tbh for giffing purposes i prefer minimal editing but just as an entertainment product it could use more... also the videos need to be like 40+ minutes long i hate how much they cut out from my favs!!!! from a "i want to see oscar" perspective i need them to stop removing half of his answers 🙏

related to point 1, what helps in adding spectacle is raising the STAKES. there are no stakes other than the trophy... this is what happens when you have a simple linear round format. again this is because gtg is filmed in one go and then the points at tallied up and they release the episodes over the course of the season, but in a hypothetical world i wish there were like, a proper tournament!!!! we need gtg PLAYOFF BRACKETS. we need TEAMUPS. like either by team (mclaren vs red bull) or by prowess (for ex if it's a geography game then max and lando team up vs 2 guys who are kind of just in the middle)... tbf with a competition style you remove the ability from some guys to get an answer in which can be disappointing if you're half watching to just Look At Your Guy, but it would imo make it more fun.

i think another problem with gtg is the type of questions they ask sometimes? which i understand because there's only so much you can think of, but part of i think is that they ask kind of basic things that fans have a similar baseline knowledge of (which is still interesting but there's room for more i think!!). like the "drivers being able to identify the track by sound" party trick is something very few fans can do, so that would be fun incorporated into gtg. stuff that's like very much f1-driver-specific trivia that they're more adept at... and then on the reverse side, maybe some stuff that drivers WOULDN'T be expected to be good at that fans would know so there's a balance. or idk maybe they need to do a jeopardy trivia game with varying levels of difficulty

anyway f1 should also do more proper variety to make up for mclaren giving up on 8+ minute challenge videos... so not gtg but i desperately want them to set up like a proper gaming tournament / padel tournament etc. that they film officially and turn into a gtg-style multi-episode Thing !!!!!!!

do you have any other ideas... i'd love to hear

[decepti-thots]

That post about aileron reminded me of how I think of nautica trying to erase skids from her memory like she just doesn’t know how to cope with death and loss cause she was removed from the wild ass war! It’s a weird beat in the comic but it speaks loudly to me

Ohhh yeah. These two are definitely a couple different perspectives on a theme, as it were.

While I have critiques of Nautica's arc in execution there (it's… got a LOT of flaws and IMO does not stick the landing at all, to put it pretty mildly; hence why I find exRiD overall better at exploring these ideas), I think it's a real shame that unlike so many other arcs in MTMTE/LL with issues or incomplete resolutions or whatever, there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in taking the core emotional idea and running with it in fandom spaces? It feels like a really toothy emotional hook to latch onto that a lot could be done with as a part of the canon that is definitely a font of massive missed potential and lingering threads. (God, it really kills me ever since it was first pointed out to me how Nautica and Brainstorm's relationship might change because he's watching her do what Chromedome kept doing.) Nautica gets stuck in a kind of Cheerful Generic Girl Best Friend mode in fandom that skips past uhhh. A lot of her actual canon presence, when you really look at it!

It's especially interesting to think about because as a species their feelings about death are very different, right? Which IDW1 does address, and MTMTE specifically mentions this, with Cyclonus talking about how there's one version of the Guiding Hand myth that states Cybertronians are "immortal" because they killed Mortilus. Like. They don't have a lot of context for death as a regular, natural part of life that everyone comes into contact with in the day to day. Caminus isn't just full of civilians in the way you or I might be a civilian during peacetime; if you're a civilian for these folks, death is an abnormality period, a freak accident or whatever at most. (And even then: you're so hard to kill, it can't be common.) Cybertronians in the war are the weird ones for being used to it as a regular occurrence, and for both Aileron and Nautica it's not just that their friends experience traumatic and violent deaths, but that they die at all. It's got to be existentially destabilising in a way so many of the characters on that ship just can't relate to. (Tailgate likely could, but he's uhhhh, he's got other stuff going on at that point, so we will forgive him being too busy, lmao.)

Hell, I mentioned Brainstorm. He's an MTO. MTOs are the first of the currently living generations of their species to grow up with no memory of a society in which people do not regularly die; even once peacetime sets in, we see that they have reached the point in their species' lifespan where death by old age is becoming increasingly common and thus part of their cultural landscape. Those are a lot of Nautica's friends, who maybe want to help but have no easy way to really understand why she's reacting so strongly, you know?

Ohhh I love Nautica so much. Can you tell. Someone hug that poor woman good lord.

[godtier]

so i got an email from RT about the last season and i'm kinda annoyed

first there was this:

brother, just say it was because of the strike lmao c'mon now. we all know that's why you're pushing it back

tho don't get me wrong, i will always support a creative team pushing a release date back to perfect the product (whether it's a show, movie, or video game), but this was just stupidly phrased and they coulda just said it. i'm guessing WB was like "no don't mention it at all for the love of god"

then there was this:

now the way this reads to me is that only first members get to watch the season?? traditionally, first members got the release ... well, first. then, non-paying members got the release a few days/a week later. that makes sense to me and it's how it's been since forever. the last time i bought a first sub was for the shisno paradox trilogy and i didn't need to be coerced into it; i wanted to see it as it came out. doing it like this seems really fuckin stupid.

and, in case anyone missed it, rt already removed all seasons of rvb off of their youtube channel. so the only "official" way to watch rvb (aside from DVDs/blu-rays) is their site.

not only that, but just seven episodes? and yet it's gonna be released as a (presumably) feature-length film? so if we're to assume the "movie" cut is gonna be about 90 mins long (being generous here), that means each episode is gonna be about 12-13 mins long, which is fine... but just seven? idk, for the last season, i would have thought they'd have gone all-out and produced a more "standard" length season.

for reference, the average season length (not counting rvb: zero) is about 19-20 episodes. the season with the smallest number of episodes (again, not counting zero) is s17 with 12. i'd have been satisfied with 12, but 7 is just... what. how are you gonna wrap up an entire 20+ year-long series with 7 episodes?? if the episodes were 30 mins long each, then i'd be like "aight let's go son" but if my assumptions are correct, 12-13 min long episodes isn't enough

idk, i was probably gonna renew my first sub anyway, but the fact that they're locking it out entirely unless you either buy first or buy WB's movie-version... it just seems yucky

tbh, if you ask me and consider all the main cast seasons, rvb ended with s17. it had the best wrap-up imo (aside from s5, but only OGs will agree that's a good ending point, myself included), and it tied up everything neatly and left it open-ended. the boys had their biggest adventure, donut got to shine (yes i'm biased), and it ended in a place where you could feasibly imagine them living out their lives in peace, like they deserve.

it's been a long time since i was active in rvb fandom (and it was here, on this very tumblr!) but i'm wary about going forward now. i'm gonna watch it somehow, but i've gotta figure out the best way to do so. i'm hoping they either clarify that they meant that first members are getting it ... first (as it has always been) and the wording was just bad, or they roll back on that stipulation and just leave it the way it was.

[foundfamilyhq]

EDIT: Sorry for all these textposts tonight. This is a repost of the ealier post to remove mentions of one of the users in the transcript from the comments section. I appreciate everyone who commented on the previous version of the post and will be presenting a couple of different options on how to continue this blog either tomorrow or on Tuesday - Original post:

I've been made aware (in a transcript posted below the readmore) that the whole premise and language used on this blog is harmful and dehumanising to adoptees. This was genuine ignorance on my part, but I don't want to continue running this blog in a way that's harmful to a marginalised group

So because of that, I'm going to be ceasing running this blog as "the tumblr found family adoption agency" and in the coming weeks will remove this language from the blog as much as I can

Now, I do enjoy running this blog and would like to continue it in some form. I had considered simply removing references to adoption agencies, but while the original sentiment is still there, I don't think this small change would be good enough

So, my next idea was to change this blog to:

Finding the Tumblr Quest Party

The idea is that we're all on a quest and choosing members of our party. This way the blog would still function on a similar premise, but remove any references to adoption that would be harmful to real life adoptees. The question would simply be "Should this character join the tumblr quest party?" with the answer being yes or no and the results dialogue being something along the lines of "This character [did/didn't] join the quest party", to remove the upsetting ditching on the roadside aspect

Should I go ahead with this, all current characters on the list would carry over as they are, because I'm sure none of us fancy doing hundreds (possibly even into the thousands?) of polls again. Also, the current queue of characters would continue to run

I'd be happy to hear feedback on what you think of this possible change, especially from other adoptees from across the world (though ofc I wouldn't want you to doxx yourselves in the replies, so only say anything your comfortable with sharing)

Transcript:

user 1: hey op: are you an adoptee and did u talk to adoptees about this? because personally, as an adoptee, i think this is whole thing is really insensitive to us, and the experiences we go through. please stop this, it’s harmful. the private adoption industry should not be used as a joke for blorbos. it is an unregulated industry that costs lives

user 2: it's like insanely harmful and romanticism at every turn. I could write a whole entire ESSAY on how it's fucked up and basic romanticism that leads into silencing adoptees and their trauma.

user 2: honestly the excuse of "I know an adoptee that said it's okay! 1! " is first of most likely lying, second off just because one adoptee says it's okay, doesn't give you the right to Invalidate , romantize and glorify adoption and trauma.

Easily a "well x said I could say this slur even when I can't reclaim it!!" Like okay doesn't mean you should or you arnt gross

It's also, ignoring all of that, missing the point of found family in thee first place.

user 1: yeah like found family is removing all those labels why is this even a thing. makes no sense. and exactly!! it absolutely is romanticism & op says that they got permission they’re def lying imo 😭😭

user 1: honestly i will take bets they won’t even reply to us, block us, or ask why we aren’t being nicer or are making ‘hurtful assumptions’. but if they cared about adoptees this blog wouldn’t exist. if they know an adoptee and asked that adoptee probably doesn’t trust them enough to be honest. op also definitely doesn’t know the history of adoption agencies either cuz yikes…

user 2: Exactly, if the adoptee community is telling you it's gross (which there Isnt a lot of us due to being forced to be silent about trauma and to be grateful etc) then you should probably realize it's gross. This isn't animal jam pillow room where 8yrs wanting to roleplay family stuff, you are obviously smart enough to realize that it's gross, dehumanizing and romanitzing trauma. can write a whole college thesis on how gross it is.

user 2: people don't care about adoptees bc it apparently doesn't exist or only does for "the people who are adopted from China" or some shit that's their concept of adoption besides pets. It's like adoption itself is a fictional trope.

user 2: "Gotta block them, the minority spoke up and now I'm scarred of the conquences of my actions"

user 1: no literally they treat us like fictional concepts. and even tho this person is from the UK so adoption isn’t for profit like it is in the US, they probably do look at it like we are pets. like “ditch on the side of the road” truly disgusting language

user 2: God exactly.

user 1: it’s so dehumanizing, it really goes to show that people do not care about us. like the ppl reblogging going “this is such a fun idea!” FOR WHO?! some of us actually have lived experience. they MAY have sympathy for the one child rule adoptees but that’s probably bc of racism. it’s truly sickening how we r imaginary to them

user 2: EXACTLY no thoughts

foundfamilyhq: Thank you both for taking the time to bring these concerns to me and I can only apologise for the harm that this blog has caused you both and other adoptees who may have seen it and not been brave enough to speak up. While I can assure you that this blog didn't come from intentional malice, it clearly has come from ignorance and I don't wish that to carry on. (Cont.)

foundfamilyhq: I shall suspend activity on this blog and attempt to remove the uninformed, harmful and dehumanising language from it within the coming weeks. I shall make a post including your messages for transparency's sake. Once again, I am sorry for the harm you have received and appreciate you making me aware of matters I have been ignorant on

[paingoes]

🔮&🩸for you and 42 & 43 for deltaa :o

yesssssss

🔮 - What's a favorite whump trope of yours?

casual cruelty my beloved. i love little "blink and you'll miss it" moments of dehumanization. normalized cruelty on a societal level. all very good. less is more w this imo and these are always what stand out to me more than any shocking violence.

additionally the reason i love recovery arcs so much - and probably the thing that originally put me on to whump or h/c - is removing a character from an abusive environment but getting to watch all the little traits and assumptions they hold onto and trying to project them onto other people. like the total culture shock of being with people who do not want to hurt them and who are actually concerned about them in a way that isn't exploitative. slowly letting their guard down and learning to form healthy relationships. its so beautiful…..

🩸 - What's a least favorite whump trope of yours?

i don't know how niche this is but i really hate hypnosis and hypnosis-adjacent tropes. this is same reason i have an aversion to a lot of BBU material. i hate when a character's agency or personality is erased on like an objective/physiological level. it's just very boring to me and it kind of squicks me out. this is related to my last answer about what traits i do like - internal resistance and an inner world is a huge thing for me. the idea of that being erased is very bleak and not fun.

What is their favorite thing about their physical appearance?

What is their least favorite thing about their physical appearance?

awwww. i feel like delta is actually kind of self conscious about what he looks like. the alien thing is…weird. because they are all aliens! and they all have varying appearances (even though i never describe them sorry). but he is very visibly distinct as someone from outside of empire (paris describes him as an "off-worlder" i believe when they first meet!). so i think he has a bit of shyness about feeling othered. he has a slight fixation on normalcy and how it's been denied to him and this is something he can't really get away from within empire.

simultaneously he knows he's pretty. he gets fawned over a lot by the maids. paris puts a lot of effort into curating delta's appearance before showing him off. i think he builds up kind of a resentment about how he has to present and ends up feeling like his body has been exploited on all levels. so at this point he kind of just doesn't want to think about it at all, positively or negatively. he would be really into body neutrality if he knew what that was.

he develops more positive feelings about his look when he's outside of empire - because people there are also more visibly strange-looking and alien. this will be a recurring thing in rubies. people are very fucking weird and varied outside of empire's hegemony and it helps to reduce his feelings of alienation (lol) by a lot.

so his least favorite thing about his appearance is how distinct and recognizable it is, so he can't really escape notice. he is going to struggle to say he has any "favorite thing" because he ultimately feels like none of it belongs to him anymore, if it ever did.

less depressing and perhaps more revealing answer: AS!delta loves his hair and his coloration and his eyes and his body and is generally pretty positive towards all of it. canon delta will eventually catch up with him on this - though he's still going to have some mixed feelings about his hair. got yanked too much :(