#and it would lose so much of what makes it unique and compelling

[fictionadventurer]

"If the structure of your world ever evaporates, I will still be here."

I think The Q might contain one of the greatest declarations of friendship/love ever.

[blacktabbygames]

What’s been the biggest change in Scarlet hollow from its design concept/beta script to how it is now?

I can think of quite a few! • In the earliest concept stages of Episode 1, you met EVERY romance option on the way to the woods. A bit of a quest with Stella to get everything you needed. This felt very "game-y" and a slog to write, so we instead chose to introduce characters one-by-one over the course of the next few episodes. I want to say Wayne originally didn't show up in episode 1 either!

• There was originally going to be a worst of both worlds Fourth Option for the major decisions (i.e. losing gretchen and duke in episode 1.) Scrapped because it was unfun, went against our core design philosophy (no wrong choices) and would be a ton of extra work for something people would just re-load and undo anyway!

• In the first draft of Episode 2, originally it was Stella who went deeper into the mines, thrilled at the chance to finally film Tommyknockers. Becka would make Alexis stay behind because "chasing after ghosts for youtube clout" was super lame, and Street Smart players would be able to convince her that it was cool actually. When the collapse happens, you would have to choose between going out of a *closer* exit, or going back after them. It was sloppy and not good. I believe discovering the carving in the mines was also optional in that draft! The whole situation made Stella, IMO, Too Much™, so we did a rewrite.

• The ghost hunt in Episode 3 was originally more of an active puzzle where you'd have to go back and forth between different rooms until you actually pieced everything together. This was: 1.) Not very fun* 2.) Hard to write 3.) Again it violated the no-wrong answers thing. Likewise, if there was no real consequence to getting things wrong, it would just be solvable via brute force. Much more compelling to leave folks with lingering questions and have them piece things together on their own.

*One of our longstanding rules of writing is that if something isn't fun or interesting for you to make, it isn't going to be fun or interesting in other people. Cut it and move on. I genuinely think this mentality is a large part of our Secret Sauce™ as a studio. • Avery was originally not a romance option and also a total dweeb instead of hot. Now they're a total dweeb (confident version) AND hot.

• We scrapped an alternate version of the clinic in episode 4 where a romanced Kaneeka would accompany you — we even did a bunch of unique art for it which you can find in the game files. Can you guess why it was cut? (IT WAS NOT FUN (also it felt like her presence undermined so much of what makes the clinic interesting — there was too much familiarity with her there. Too much comfort. We wanted players to be more uncomfortable!))

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

okay so full transparency: i've never really read much fic. i don't have a ton of free time set aside for creative/recreational purposes and the time i do have, i use to write because that just fills me up a lot more. however, i made a commitment to consume more fan-created work in 2024 and i succeeded in that!!! there were still periods where i wasn't able to read much, which has lead to an ever-growing tbr, but i wanted to take a moment at the beginning of this new year to share a hodge-podge of some (completed) fics that wow'ed me this year. a great deal of these are several years old and likely 'old news,' but i got to experience their magic for the first time in 2024 and want to spend some time showing them some love!!! in no particular order:

in losing grip by @keep--driving - 2024 was the year of me learning to love a good second chances au. this fic has all the trope-y goodness you could ever want, along with toe-curling kiss scenes, the perfect kind of humour that makes you squeal into your pillow or porridge or wherever you find yourself, and characters that you just love and root for so easily. i especially loved her take on james and lily's mums and the ways they navigate the world with and beside their children. i read a large chunk of this fic on my kindle as i pushed a stroller this autumn and i will forever associate it with peace and calmness. i'll be re-reading it soon!!!

i love you (ain't that the worst thing you ever heard) by lizardcookie - enter: the other trope i fell in love with in 2024—failed friends with benefits. the way this fic deals with grief in such a poignant, devastating, incredible way had my jaw on the floor. yes there is sexy jily, but there is also giggly jily and insecure jily and scared jily and earnest jily and oh mannnn this is the good ish. the small detail of lily coming around to sirius and james both through her help with the flying motorbike. i love the minute breakdown of lily's thick walls until they come tumbling down and james is right there, waiting, as he always is, patient and Good.

i would drink a case of you, darling by treacherous_talks - one of the tags on this fic is "a good old fashioned 'lily and james get together fic' because there aren't enough of them" so obviously i was in from the jump. this magical fic does such an excellent job at highlighting exactly what it means to be a teenager with a crush on another teenager who you think has a crush on you but you're not completely sure and so you can't ruin it because what if you're wrong. that is such a jily sweet spot i don't often see done as well as it is in this fic!!!

poison of trust by soopsiedaisies - not a jily fic! gasp! in fact, it's remus and sirius (not wolfstar) who are actually not usually as compelling a relationship as some of the other marauder era possibilities. but this fic made me eat my words because it is delicious. the part that i literally included in my ao3 bookmark and that i think about all the time is when remus tries to accuse sirius of equating harry and james and sirius says, oooooh i have chills thinking about it, "i dare you to finish that sentence." YES guarddog sirius black! his position as sole protector of the potter family will never not be important to me and this fic highlights that in such a unique and compelling way.

bad day wall by @apalapucian - there's nothing i could say about this incredible fic that hasn't been said, and recently, but truly—jayne is such a phenomenal wordsmith. this has a dash of 'texting fic,' but make it canon compliant and so beautiful it makes you wanna diiiiiie. the blackevans is unmatched, of course. but james's head-over-heels-ness for lily also has to be mentioned. i love every single one of his batty contributions to the bad day wall as he mopes and wades through all the chaos of trying (and failing) to get over lily evans.

The Guide to Becoming a Better Man for Lily Evans by bronzeagepizzeria - the shirtless james potter agenda is quite special to me, which needs to be stated right out the gate, really. the shirtless james potter who is shirtless on purpose just to get under his dream girl's skin agenda is an ascension i have yet to come back down from.

Of Chrysalism by @maraudersftw - i shall give you this, line, dangling on a stick as a perfectly buttered and garlic'ed (??) carrot, enticing you to cast your cares aside and come read this fic: "He’s spoilt, and persistent, and endearing, and she’s hopeless." like??????? yeah. okay. sure. i'll pretend that i'm capable of returning from that in this lifetime. but actually: james "my feelings matter, too" potter is so important and i love the agency this fic gives him!!!

Scenes from a Hogsmeade Pub by @bcdaily - i think i read this years ago. perhaps. idk i was basically a baby when it was published in 2012. but i recently stumbled upon it (again? maybe?) and just absolutely devoured it. this is quintessential jily to me, in each iteration, as they grow and learn each other and finally, finally, finally choose each other. each of these scenes is so carefully crafted to showcase really important moments in their relationship, but does it using really unimportant moments, which is genius. it's the grand fromage of showing, not telling, and this would absolutely be the first week assigned reading on my syllabus if i got to live out my dream as a professor on jily.

say goodbye to my heart tonight by spinawren - my bookmark for this was literally just "SQUEEEEEEE" and i don't exactly know what i meant by that, but i think it's more eloquent than anything i could come up with here. the premise of this fic is genius: james and lily repeatedly having 'one-night stands' with each other until they realise they've accidentally started dating. but james potter's devotion to being in lily evans' presence is what makes this fic belong on the top shelf!

Bluebird by ocean_away - whewwww, this fic knocked me back in a way i didn't expect. it's a second chances fic of a different calibre all around, but what stands out to me the most in this particular fic is the way james and lily are both shown to so seamlessly grow. they begin as two broken, purposefully hurtful individuals (read: teenagers) and become young adults who choose goodness and each other over and over, even though it's not easy. i feel proud of them, when i read this fic. what a labour of love for our favourite couple.

The Way the Light Looks by @stonecoldhedwig - i have nothing more to say about this fic than this: BEST KISS SCENE I HAVE EVER AND WILL EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!

Whispers in the Dark by @yallthemwitches - okayyyy so it's difficult to choose just one of tay's fics, but this is such a stand-out to me. friends to lovers!!!! james "but i've never lied to you" potter, i want to kiss you on the MOUTH! he's so earnest, so pure, so "no actually i just wanted to see you" when he has no business being such a sweetheart. honourable mention: the beyond-precious proposal scene at the end.

Love is Complicated by @theesteemedladydebourgh - this fic feels like sitting in the most beautiful library in the world watching rain trail down the ornate, darkened windows—and then the hottest professor on earth walks up to you and snogs you without preamble. except it's made better by the fact that he is somehow both james potter and an indiana jones variant? listen. just read it. then squeal and kick your feet with me, okay?

Sunshine in my Eyes by monroeslittle - another fic i devoured on my kindle this year (but definitely not during standardised testing at school when i was supposed to be actively monitoring teenagers for academic integrity and technically signed an oath that i locked all my electronics in the closet). ahem. this is some of the most rewarding angst i have ever read, which is genuinely some of the highest praise i could ever bestow on someone. lily going to james for lessons on how to kiss and the entire scene that follows will follow me forever. they're so endearing and sweet and did not deserve all they went through. but. angst with a happy ending xx

[thydungeongal]

https://www.tumblr.com/thydungeongal/769949043465093120/i-often-see-this-when-people-air-out-their

What do “dramatic, personal stakes” look like in tabletop gaming? What games center them in their mechanics and how?

Alright, so there are lots and lots of games out there that do this in very different ways, so this is going to be a very long and meandering answer.

Starting with the most "trad" example, Pendragon, the game of playing knights in Arthurian Britain that freely mixes history and myth, is for the most part a very traditional adventure game, but it also introduced the idea of Passions and Personality Traits to give mechanical heft to characterization. These are effectively measured on the same 1 to 20 scale as regular skills and attributes in the game, meaning that they can be "tested" just like skills, but they also have the potential for putting the player character into trouble. A character with the "Hates Saxons" Passion will have their hate actually manifest in play, whereas a character who is high in Lustful and low in Chaste will find themselves entangled in lots of romantic drama. Character personality will thus actually have concrete game mechanical effects. The Passions system has since been ported into more recent editions of RuneQuest and its descendants, including Mythras.

Fate is a more modern indie RPG that is less concerned with measuring out Exact Statistics and more about modeling narrative convention. Fate characters are, more so than their skills, basically defined by their Aspects, which are effectively narrative tags that define How a character should behave in a story and What sort of stuff should be happening to them. Aspects can be invoked (using Fate points, the game's main meta currency that the whole game operates on) for bonuses on actions that relate to that tag, but they can also be compelled to put the character into trouble in a way that makes sense for their Aspect, thus granting the player a Fate point if they accept the compel. Aspects are pretty much at the core of Fate and they are utilized for much more than just characterization: new temporary aspects can be created on the fly to represent things in the environment, aspects can be used to represent things in the world and the wider narrative, injuries and consequences of losing conflicts are effectively temporary aspects, and so on. This way the game is largely one where the meta resource management game ties heavily into things that matter in the fiction.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy (by @anim-ttrpgs) is another very trad RPG and a game that is very much a "going on an adventure" game (but the adventure is a mystery that needs to be investigated), but the game adds a bit of extra mechanical heft to characterization of make it clear that the game is about regular people investigating mysteries: the Trait system is one of the most important mechanical dials for character customization and Traits are effectively packaged options with both benefits and drawbacks, and those mechanical effects also inform characterization very heavily; Truths are unique to each investigator and are something I would compare to Fate's Aspects but much more precise and personal and less meta, giving investigators minor bonuses on actions in a scene when they are acting according to their Truth; and finally, Tiers of Fear, which are also very personal to each investigator, define how an investigator reacts to various fear stimuli that exist in the world and thus also heavily intersect with the game's Composure mechanic. All of these mechanics interact with an investigative game with a very clear intended gameplay experience to further influence characterization and add personal stakes into the narrative.

Getting back to the more avant garde, Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine is a game that I still struggle to wrap my head around because it's a game for smart people, but as far as I have understood: the gameplay largely revolves around player characters choosing personal goals called Arcs which are further divided into Quests; each Quest is defined as a number of experience points that must be accrued towards the quest for it to be completed, as well as specific actions that characters can do to gain bonus experience on those quests, and then you basically just. Let your characters loose on quests. The important thing is that while quests can be shared among a group (for a more traditional "Group of Heroes Going on an Adventure" narrative, which Chuubo's does also support) they are also personal (so each character will have their own personal quests they will be working towards) and asynchronous (a character may pick up multiple quests over their arc and not complete them in the same order as they started them, as some will be shorter diversions on the path towards victory). Again, this is a very broad-strokes, top-down view of how the game works, because it is a very heady game that I have yet to wrap my head around. If any Chuubo's fans notice any egregious omissions or mistakes here, please let me know.

Finally I'll finish with something a bit broader, the World of Darkness "series" of games, while not having anything quite as in-depth as personality mechanics, do all have various mechanical frameworks for tying characterization into gameplay: the Classic World of Darkness games had their Archetypes, effectively defining a broad personality archetype that the character needs to act according to in order to regain Willpower; the Chronicles of Darkness games have Vices and Virtues, with characters having one of each, once again defining how they regain Willpower; and I'm sure the newer Paradox White Wolf titles also have something to that effect as well. Basically, little carrots dangled in front of player characters to encourage characterization and acting according to a specific archetype. It's neat!

[moonmaiden1996]

Zoro as a romantic partner- My thoughts

Alright, hear me out.

Zoro, the stoic, sword-wielding badass of One Piece, doesn’t show the slightest interest in romance—at least not in any of the arcs I’ve read or watched. He’s far too focused on his goals, his loyalty to Luffy, and his never-ending quest to become the greatest swordsman in the world. But... what if?

I’ve been thinking about what kind of partner Zoro might have, and honestly, the idea that keeps popping into my head is less “typical romance” and more... Tatsu from The Way of the Househusband. If you’re unfamiliar, Tatsu is an infamous and feared yakuza boss, nicknamed "The Immortal Dragon," who (after literally defeating all his enemies) leaves the crime world to become a devoted househusband to the woman who once cared for his wounds.

Now, while Zoro definitely wouldn’t go full Sanji mode (because, let’s be real, Zoro cooking is a kitchen fire waiting to happen), there’s something about that protector-turned-househusband energy that feels surprisingly fitting.

Let’s pause for a second on the Sanji comparison. Sanji is all about charm, flirtation, and over-the-top devotion to every woman he meets. He’s a master chef who pours his heart into crafting meals and showering people with compliments. Zoro, on the other hand, would never lower himself to something he might see as “cooking duty.” It’s just not his style.

But here’s the twist: if someone did something genuinely kind for Zoro—like how Miku cared for Tatsu in The Way of the Househusband when he gets injured—I feel like Zoro would be smitten (or at least, as smitten as Zoro can get). He’d show his appreciation in his own gruff way, and his feelings would manifest through actions rather than words.

Zoro’s approach would be much more subtle, quiet, and honestly, a little rough around the edges—more of a “guard dog” than a “gentleman chef.” He’s the type of guy who lets you sleep on him, beats up Sanji to make sure your favorite meal gets cooked, and stares down anyone foolish enough to think they have a shot at you. It’s that unspoken but undeniable protection that makes the idea of Zoro as a partner so intriguing.

Zoro strikes me as the kind of person who wouldn’t even notice someone as a potential romantic partner unless they demonstrated qualities he deeply values—like loyalty, strength, or determination. He’s stubborn as hell, and most attempts at flirtation would probably fly right over his head. But the moment someone proved their worth to him in a way that resonates, those blinders would come off so fast, and suddenly... boom. Enter Zoro, househusband—but with a twist.

I see him as a fiercely protective presence—the ultimate guard dog for his partner. He’d be the type to wordlessly handle problems before they even reached his significant other, standing as an unshakable shield against the world. Whether it’s physical threats or emotional support, Zoro would embody dependability and unwavering commitment. And let’s not forget—if his partner is equally supportive of him, this man would be unstoppable.

In this hypothetical scenario, Zoro doesn’t lose his edge; instead, he channels his loyalty and protective instincts into a new kind of role. And honestly? That blend of strength, dedication, and quiet care makes for a dynamic that’s as compelling as it is unexpected.

What do you think? Could Zoro be the ultimate househusband in his own unique way? Or is he just too much of a lone wolf for any of this to work?

[musicfranchisetournament]

propaganda under the cut !!

ensemble stars :

what can I say. it's the no.1 highest earning joseimuke of recent times for a reason. i wouldn't say it was the founding father of male idol franchises but it's undoubtedly important for them and the popularization of them. the characters are enjoyable and the story writing is (sometimes) done pretty nicely. when the songs hit well they hit GOOD. with a cast of over 50 characters you're pretty bound to find someone you'll enjoy, you know. there's a nice variation on unit archetypes that is great for music variation :]

There's just soo much happening in this goddamn idol thing I hope it loses bleehh

Idol game except the plot is NOT what you would expect of an idol game. Notably : murder, the War, vampires, and a guy who lives in the vents.

"oh it's just a silly little idol game" and then the silly little idol game has some of the craziest lore you've seen

milgram :

it's very cool and interesting !! idk !

SUCH a unique concept. I love it so much. Delivering insight into characters crimes and psyches through music?! Genius. And the music all slaps too. The VAs are all super talented, the voices all sound different from one another, and even when a character's music style switches between T1 and T2 to reflect their mental state, there are still things making it obvious it's the same character. Also the VA for Haruka (best character in MILGRAM) is the guy who voiced Linhardt (best character in hit turn-based strategy RPG Fire Emblem: Three Houses for the Nintendo Switch) in the JP soooo. Awesome and based, Fire Emblem fans vote for this one. (Also I think there's other overlap of VAs with Fire Emblem but like Natsuki Hanae has been in everything so of course there is)

genuinely so sooo interesting to me from a standpoint. not only is a franchise that runs and happens in direct response to what the fans decide to do with it but also the songs and mvs are sooo good and it's such a nice thing to see coming off of deco, feeling like a passion project with all the different song style and experimentation going on in them. ive been there since the beginnings and its a great feeling to see just how much everyone involved in the project be it art, music etc has improved. the moral experiment point of it is something very curious to follow for me and see people discussing their votes or takes on things as to why they voted for x thing or another is nice! the deco song remixes that always come with the characters album release are (mostly) fire too. milgram my best friend milgram

The songs are absolute bangers!! And each character is so compelling and it's really interesting to see how the audience's votes impact the story and the characters!

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Josephine Baker (The Siren of the Tropics, ZouZou)— Josephine Baker was an American born actress, singer, and utter icon of the period, creating the 1920s banana skirt look. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion film. She fought in the French resistance in WWII, given a Legion of Honour, as well as refusing to perform in segregated theatres in the US. She was bisexual, a fighter, and overall an absolutely incredible woman as well as being extremely attractive.

Joan Crawford (Dancing Lady, Mildred Pierce, The Women)— God, where do I start!!! Her face is so UNIQUE and compelling and stands out so much. I love her thick brows and high cheekbones. She has a school-marmy hardness too her that makes her a little scary and therefore sexy. Her low thick voice also does it for me. Despite being an unusual looking woman with an unusual face, she never loses her glamour. Just a gorgeous talented actress, AND she was some sort of gay!!!

This is round 5 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut. the famous banana skirt is mildly NSFW.]

Josephine Baker:

Black, American-born, French dancer and singer. Phenomenal sensation, took music-halls by storm. Famous in the silent film era.

Let's talk La Revue Negre, Shuffle Along. The iconique banana outfit? But also getting a Croix de Guerre and full military honors at burial in Paris due to working with the Resistance.

She exuded sex, was a beautiful dancer, vivacious, and her silliness and humor added to her attractiveness. She looked just as good in drag too.

So I know she was more famous for other stuff than movies and her movies weren’t Hollywood but my first exposure to her was in her films so I’ve always thought of her as a film actress first and foremost. Also she was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture so I think that warrants an entry

Iconic! Just look up anything about her life. She was a fascinating woman.

Joan Crawford:

I just love women that are very mean.

she was a smoke show in every decade, from the 20s to the 60s.

The classic matronly beauty with amazing eyebrows

of course there's a space for MILF joan but i want to just take a second and say she was so cute in her early movies (like grand hotel and the women)! those parts often get forgotten but her stardom shines in them just as much as in her older #queen #icon roles

Misremembered for wire hanger hatred, this original screen queen mastered the art of the comeback and refused to let Hollywood toss her aside as she aged. The term “auteur” is usually revered for directors or writer-directors, but most critics have one actor they’ll give that title to as well: Crawford—anyone who knows classic movies already has a “Crawford picture” in their head. She knew how to style herself and promote herself. She made herself a star and kept herself fixated in the Hollywood firmament. What’s hotter than knowing just how hot you are?

(don’t think about Mommie Dearest right now) Joan was known for being super nice to all the like crew of the movies she worked on and she’d get everyone gifts. Joan would hold movie nights at her house and knit at the back of her home theater. Joan was sooo obsessed with other women including Greta Garbo, whos dressing room she would obsessively and purposefully walk by. She said that while working on Grand Hotel, Garbo grabbed her face and “if there ever was a time in my life where I would’ve been a lesbian, that was it.” But like Joan also probably did sleep with women including Barbara Stanwyck. Joan was so obsessed with Bette Davis, screening multiple movies of hers in a day at her watch party, constantly trying to spend time with her or do a movie together, insisting on the dressing room next to hers at Warners and sending her daily gifts… etc. Once Bette said that sex was gods joke to humanity and Joan said “I think the joke is on her.” Joan fucked a lot. Joan got caught publicly fucking a man and sent a letter to the woman who saw them basically saying “I bet it excited you” and the woman was like you know what. It did. Joan was best friends with a gay man. Joan was an actually genuinely good actress even though people mocked her a lot for being like cheap and stupid (partially because she never finished school because her family was broke). Joan was so insane and so cool that’s all.

[dragonfly0808]

Tecna: The Thesis

This one has been a long time coming I know

First Things First

The first words I have for Tecna in my character profiles are tech nerd child, but she has so much more depth than that, even more than I’d ever originally planned

One of the things I really wanted to get across with Tecna is that is not and has never been an ice queen or unfeeling or cold, just bad with communication and her way of showing affection is atypical

While writing s1, I wrote her as autistic coded but was very hesitant to confirm her as autistic since I really did not want to accidentally write her autistic traits in an offensive or just misrepresentative way, but, after seeing my portrayl of her landed well with a lot of commenters who were part of the autistic community, I decided to do my research and properly commit to portraying her as autistic (whilst of course, never making it her full personality, just a part of who she is)

To me, Tecna is one of the most compelling characters to write, since she has a huge heart and holds a lot of love for her family and the Winx and, over the course of the seasons, we see her get better at communicating that whilst never forcing herself to conform or change to do it the ‘normal’ way

Family Matters

Aside from Riven, I think Tecna is the one who benefited the most from the changes I made to her family

I gave her a big sister and a little brother as well as loving parents who raised them all in a farm on the domestic side of Zenith, that focuses on farming and crops

After I committed to writing Tecna as autistic, I chose to portray nearly her entire family as neurodivergent, her dad is autistic and has ADHD, her mom has dyspraxia, her brother has ADHA as well as dyspraxia, her big sister being the only neurotypical one

The reason for this was because i wanted to portray her parents as always has taking Tecna’s needs/triggers into account and accommodate for all of their childrens needs and never try to change who they are; this is why from the get go, Tecna is unapologetic about who she is and what she needs, having never once been taught or pushed to mask.

Tecna in the OG always had a sense of absolute confidence and in my mind, giving her an understanding family who always embraced her as she was would be a great way of explaining why that is.

Also, I just really wanted to give her a loving, fluffy family since so many other families in the rewrite have issues and problems

SPOILERS FROM HERE FOR SEASON 3, THE OMEGA ARC AND SEASON 4 PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT CAUGHT UP!!!

A Frozen Loss

Now, from the moment I knew I was going to rewrite s3, I knew the Omega Arc was going to be one of the hardest and angstiest to write

i feel like both in the OG and in the fandom, Tecna can often be underrated and underused and I wanted to take the chance to show why I love this character so much and how she is an integral part of the group and there is no Winx without Tecna

In a sense, yes, Tecna is the brains of the group, she is the strategist and the one who comes up with a 27 step plan and the tech genius. But she is also the glue. She’s probably one of the most loved characters in the group, every single one of the girls and the boys have a very special and unique bond with Tecna, partially because of her odd way of showing affection and love

When Tecna cares about someone, she shows it even if she doesn’t always know how to say it, everyone knows it and loves her for it.

The Omega Arc also gave me a chance to show how resilient and smart Tecna is. Like I mentioned, she’s a strategist and a chronic overthinker and our girl doesn’t know how to back down, she’s determined and a survivor.

After the Omega Arc; surviving by herself for a week in a hostile planet and losing both her right leg and left hand, there is of course a huge shift in her character.

I chose to have her lose limbs to fully push how traumatic and life-changing the Omega Arc is not just to Tecna, but to all the Winx. After Omega, Tecna becomes a bit more comfortable with physical contact and starts to question her priorities and what she wants with her life… which leads us to-

Potential Can be Suffocating

One thing I thought I could do with Tecna was to have her shift her priorities when it comes to her plans for the future, going from being determined to be a buisness woman to realizing that she, while she still wants to be successful, it’s no longer all she wants

I think we all know how damaging hustle culture can be sometimes and, to incorporate smth a bit more personal, as someone who was always seen as ‘the smart one’/‘the one who’s gonna maintain us’ in the family amongst the cousins, I’ve felt the looming pressure of being the one in the family with the most ‘potential’. And as I’ve grown up, I’ve kinda realized that I don’t really want to throw myself into being solely dedicated to becoming this big buisness person like- obviously I want to be successful and be able to provide for myself, but I also want to have time for my writing and my family and myself, and I wanted to give this same kind of quiet realization to Tecna

For Tecna, it’s herself who puts on this pressure since, as a little girl she started seeing the modern side of Zenith as ‘superior’ in her mind and really wanted to leave the farm life to become exclusively focused on buisness, but as she grows up and, especially after Omega, she realized she wants to stay close to home and wants a quieter life, she still wants to be successful and to change the world, but it’s not all she wants anymore

Not sure if I explained that last point as well as I wanted to.

Thoughts Behind Her Main Relationships

Tecna

I love Tecna and Musa, they are very much a friendship between unconventional girls who don’t always come across as they mean to.

They both struggle to make friends for different reasons but the second they meet they realize that they are quite similar and so never push each other outside of their comfort zone at first and that’s what allows them to become close enough to then push one another.

Musa gets what makes Tecna tick and makes sure that she’s comfortable, she makes sure she gets her alone time and makes sure she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Tecna gets that Musa doesn’t want to talk about herself so instead gets her to open up about her music.

And it’s through this that they start to trust one another and by s2 we see them knowing each other well enough to keep the other from spiraling.

When Tecna’s confused about her feelings for Timmy, it’s Musa who reminds her that it’s okay to not be ready for a relationship. And when Musa and Riven first kiss, it’s Tecna who suggests they take it slow since she knows how skittish they can both be.

At this point, they push one another when they need to.

They are crucial to each other’s growth.

Timmy

Now, my darlings, my softies, my introverted nerdy lovers

I know a lot of you were like- what the fuck do you mean they’re still not dating? Towards the start of s4 but I really wanted them to actually take their time before getting together

Timmy has a crush on Tecna since s1 and it’s in s2 where Tecna falls for Timmy slowly but surely, being a bit confused about her feelings since this is the first time she’s ever fallen in love. They have a talk and decide that neither are really ready for a relationship, Tecna because she’s still learning to communicate and just doesn’t feel ready in general, Timmy due to his anxiety and desire to work on himself before trying for a relationship

Once the feelings are out in the open, they are a lot less shy about being affectionate towards each other, since they know they’re headed for a relationship someday.

After Omega, any subtlety goes out the window for a bit, but they still aren’t official since, they really just- they know what they feel and what they have, that’s enough for them throughout s3, especially with everything going on (the song Tell Em by Sabrina Carpenter I feel really encapsulates how they feel about having a concrete label)

But now in s4, they are finally going to be dating and… honestly not much will change. That’s what I love most about Tecna and Timmy, they’re best friends in love. They act like best friends… who ocasionaly kiss. Love it!

Nabu

Now, Tecna was the last Winx to get her platonic soulmate, and I really loved introducing Nabu into the story through Tecna

These two just click from the very start, they are both have quite cool and calm demeanors that hide the ocasional gremlin behavior beneath the surface

They are each other’s impulse control and they trade a singular brain cell back and forth (Tecna has it most of the time).

I’m not really sure how to describe their relationship since, there are just some people in life with whom you just click for absolutely no reason, they just make sense to you in a way that very few people do, these two click and just want to hang out and protect one another

Who is Tecna in this Rewrite?

In this rewrite, Tecna is a young girl who isn’t the best at communicating

She is a girl who slowly grows, not in the sense that she changes, but in the sense that she grows into herself, learning more about herself, slowly learning how to communicate her love and care

The only thing that truly shifts are her priorities as she realizes just how important her family and friends are to her and, whilst she is a very ambitious girl and that doesn’t change, instead it is re-directed into… I actually can’t quite say how it is re-directed quite yet since that won’t be revealed until a lot later on

But my fave way of describing Tecna is just a girl growing into herself, into her love, into her hobbies, into her ambitions and into a wonderful woman.

———————

Masterlist

Tecna Moodboard

Tecna’s Instagram

Tecna and Musa Moodboard

Tecna and Timmy Moodboard

Tecna and Nabu Moodboard

———————

I know this one has been a long time coming, I apologize for the delay I just could not for the life of me put this into words, but here it is!!!

[synchodai]

Does Astarion have a soul?

Even before Larian muddied the waters by introducing their special boy (who defies a lot of conventional D&D vampire rules), there's been a lot of debate amongst players whether undead have souls. Which undead have souls? Incorporeal undead like ghosts and banshees are lost souls, after all, but what about corporeal undead? Are they just necrotic fleshbots (as per Eberron rules)? Does it have something to so with their sentience or power level or autonomy?

A lot of Forgotten Realms source books are contradictory, deliberately vague, and told through multiple unreliable POVs, so we don't really have a definitive answer. D&D vampire lore isn't exempt from this. Usually, the answer is just "DM ruling" since the point of D&D is to twist rules and lore to accomodate the players' stories.

In BG3's case, Astarion clearly still has a soul because he can do the following:

Bargain it with devils

Receive blessings from Astral Plane deities

Attune to equipment (or BG3's version of attunement with the Necromancy of Thay)

Can be revivified and (true) resurrected (unique to Astarion, as other vampire spawn turn to mist when they are lethally damaged consistent with D&D rules)

Unless the mindflayer tadpole re-ensouled Astarion somehow (very very VERY unlikely), this means that vampire spawn retain their souls even after dying.

That being said, I highly discourage turning your PC into a vampire spawn if you're playing D&D. Because they are under the complete thrall of their sire, you will lose any player agency. They will effectively become an NPC and you will have to roll for a new character to continue playing.

This also means a spawn!Tav is not a true vampire spawn since they maintain their free will and cannot be compelled (at least, from what I've heard as I've never gone down spawn-AA route).

Spawn!Tav Implications (aka spoiling your "vampire bride" theories)

I've seen posts going around citing Van Richten's Guide to Vampires (a 2e source book) to explain spawn!Tav's transformation. However, if we were indeed going by 2e rules, Astarion would have to be an ancient vampire (400-499 years old) to be able to make a vampire bride/groom.

In Curse of Strahd, Strahd's consorts function mechanically as regular vampire spawn. As far as I know, there is no special ritual to designate "brides" or "consorts" in 5e. Sources have never specified how much blood a spawn needs to draw from their sire to become true vampires, so theoretically, even one drop should be enough.

And so, here is my more likely theory that explains spawn!Tav: Astarion, either accidentally or deliberately, made his first spawn into a true vampire — into another Vampire Ascendant even. This is the theory I'm leaning towards because it's the funniest and is in-line with Astarion's characterization of not making the wisest decisions and sometimes plain-old just not knowing what he's doing.

But hey, if you still want to use 2e Vampire Bride/Groom rules to explain Ascendent Astarion and spawn!Tav's relationship, feel free to do so. At the end of the day, this is D&D and it all comes down to DM's ruling.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Just hit me that Episode 1, a big seed of insecurity is planted in Powder when she overhears Mylo and Vi arguing about her, but she leaves before Vi stands up for her, and then in Episode 9 she overhears Silco musing about how he has his dream in his hands and all he needs to do is give up Jinx. It cuts away before we see anything happen next but it can be surmised that she knocked him out before he was made aware of her presence.

At her most tenuous and uncertain of who she was—awkward Powder, frenetic Jinx— Fate decided to have her stumble upon important conversations had by those she loved about her worth and value as a person, and understandably she fled before she could hear the final verdict.

In Episode 1, she ran from the door with the impression that her sister thought she would never be strong enough, never be good enough, and any conversation to the contrary were just lies that family tells you to make you feel better. In Episode 9, she knocked out Silco before he could monologue his decision (lol) because she has been this man’s shadow for 6 years. She knows that he values utility, ruthlessness, and his dream of a free Zaun at all costs. No matter how fond he was of her, how gentle or patient or allowing, it all culminated into her being the powerhouse that would land him Zaun, and now he has it, so what good is she now? By all metrics that she herself has witnessed of him, all signs point toward him favoring giving her up.

It’s a mixture of Jinx’s own insecure attachment and Silco’s almost pathological refusal to not define their relationship as her being an exception to his personal policy of cutthroat zig-zagged loyalty that led to Jinx jumping to very logical conclusion that he would give her up to Piltover. Because he delayed having that very important internal conversation with himself about how important she was to him, he had to have that debate right at the finish line instead of, I don’t know, at Singed’s operating table when he was in danger of losing her?? Life comes at you fast and you don’t have time to sort out your feelings, I suppose. The show is very much a whirlwind of everything happening at once, but moving on…

But it also makes sense, because Silco’s love for Jinx is hinted at having snuck up on him without him fully noticing. He thought he was in control of his fondness for her. He must have thought it was an understandable and unavoidable side effect to raising a protegè that you genuinely respect for her cleverness and usefulness. But he grew to genuinely love her in his unfulfilling, disparate way. It filled some holes, and left others bare. The question of unconditional support and love was broken with Vi, and Silco by his nature, his behavior, his endeavors ensured that Jinx grew up in an environment where social darwinism reigned supreme and that faltering or failing rendered you lesser in Silco’s eyes. Silco never outright said it to her. We never see him denigrate or threaten her, but kids don’t need to be told anything to get the general feel of “how things are”. The general air around Silco was one that encouraged her penchant for gadgets and engineering, but left her suspended in a limbo where she felt compelled to be strong, be the best, be perfect, otherwise he would look elsewhere. He would drop her, because the strong eat the weak and he only values her because she is uniquely strong. A gem in his collection, almost. It’s a girl whose abandonment issues have her seesawing back and forth between cavalier “I don’t caaaaare, I’m irreplaceable and you know it” and “Please don’t drop me, I’m strong, I’m good, I can do this, I can, I can, I swear I can” which, in Episode 9 culminated in her Shimmer psychosis as “How dare you. After everything I’ve done, after everything you’ve lectured me about Topside, you want to give me to them? Who do you think you are? I made you. I’m this broken fizzing-wire thing whose sister gave me up for a Topsider, I killed my childhood best friend with a bomb, and now you want to throw me away for your shiny dream city? You think you can throw me away like trash, don’t you dare look away, don’t you DARE THROW ME AWAY”

Like GIRL. I usually hate the “left before they heard the context of someone’s seemingly damning conversation” but it works here because it aggravated therapy-needed Powder/Jinx’s insecurities.

[martialartslover7]

Weird Wednesday Headcanon: Inner Sakura is a STAND!

Let's be honest, guys, the only reason why the female characters in Naruto got held back so much in their overall potential and fighting prowess, was because of Kishimoto's, very likely, and I mean, VERY LIKELY (we don't even really know, all I am saying is, everything that happened so far in his material, and some of the things he said in interviews about the female characters, doesn't do him any favors), underlying misogyny, since...

Off-topic, but c'mon. Demon Slayer would like to have a word with him. The entire IP was written by a female mangaka, and yet she managed to make both males AND females in her story, equally as interesting and compelling. Sure, it was more on the simplistic and straightforward side, it's Shonen after all, but it was really well done, regardless. And even the "housewife" archetype was done in an appealing fashion, with Tengen's three wives, who were more than stay-at-home housewives, they were his bodyguards too, they kept active to not lose sight of their, now sadly, physically handicapped husband. Sometimes, you don't need to make every single aspect of your IP so deep and philosophical to be good. The point, "more is less", exists for a reason. And once again, because this is a mentality I kept seeing on Reddit and Twitter, just to remind you all, who will try to get all smart on me:

THIS. IS. FICTION. YOU CAN WRITE, ANYTHING YOU WANT! NOTHING LIMITS YOU! ESPECIALLY NOT WHO ARE YOU!

Like, this is fucking ridiculous, you really mean to tell me, that, just because you have a penis, all of a sudden, you can't relate to the problems of women, as though, they are an entirely different species from you? WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS? If you write, you write, nothing should be limiting you, unless maybe, you tackle serious, real-life problems, then it's best advised to do a little research first, before tackling them in a tactful way, but aside from that, NOTHING should hold you back.

Anyway, venting over, back to the topic at hand.

You know what'd be a serious buff to Sakura, overall? Outside of gaining access to the 8 Gates, thanks to Rock Lee and Guy?

...taming Inner Sakura, and turning that joke character into a dangerous weapon. And the way it works, at least if you were to go off of what the 2000s PS2 era was showing off with her, Inner Sakura is an inner, astral projection, manifesting in the real world, and making you eat her dust. Not convinced? Check it out:

C'mon, people! There is no doubt about it. Sakura. Is a STAND USER. And that stand of hers, is like if you were to fuse the lady that King Kong kidnaps, with himself. It just makes you ask: Why wasn't regularly used by Sakura? It could just be a unique extension to her Genjutsu toolkit, in that, her Genjutsu, is so painful, it has real-life effects on you. Basically, her anxiety and delusions are so strong, along with her wild, livid imagination, her mind ends up creating this astral projection of her inner turmoil. And with that, Genin Sakura, buffed to hell. And before becoming a healer, she is mostly a wrecking ball.

All she needs to do, is catch you in her Genjutsu raidus, and you're toast. She will toss and punch you around, like a little kid, venting its frustrations on its plushie.

Just imagine how devastating that technique might look for reals, and the reason I am saying this...

...mentally replace Jotaro with Sakura, and just picture Inner Sakura bombarding, her opposition, who might be, hypothetically, Kabuto, who is tormenting Naruto from afar, so Sakura decides:

Kate Higgins. Chie Nakamura. I will pay you, real-life money, just to replicate this, while replacing the ORA with CHA.

PEACE.

[willowmosby]

Seven Seasons & a Movie

I have now finished all 7 seasons and the Movie of Homicide: Life on the Streets. Well actually I finished it yesterday but I needed to process (ie Read as much fanfic as i could my hands on) but now I am ready to info dump, forcing all of you to hear my thoughts on a show that aired over 20 years ago in a similar way to my CSI Post.

The TLDR is Homicide is a really well built show that more people should watch. There are things that you don't agree with but it mostly feels like those things happen because its grounded in reality. Also i can't think of a procedural that does continuity as well as this one did.

Sorry that this is so goddam long & Spoilers incoming.

Lets talk seasons:

1 &2: they are short enough that they feel like one continuous season. the Adena Watson case starts as something for the show and the characters that, honestly, never goes away (I personally feel like the arabber did do it if your curious). I feel like these seasons are a masterclass in introducing characters and a formula. also name another show where a season one case is refenced every season including the end.

3: the 22 episodes season is were H:lots hits is real stride. Season 3 has some episodes that will live rent free in my head for ever. Crossetti, the last of the watermen, the city that bleeds arc those are the stories that I'm really going to remember.

4: The season of 2 part episodes, I think this is the season we really start to see a shift with the addition of Kellerman and the promotion of Howard and demotion of Russert the characters get to be put in new and unique postions.

5: While I would say season 3 has my individual favorite episodes I think 5 is the shows most compelling. Some people do bad things some people do good things. It was hard to watch some of those things but it never felt like the show was going to hard or jumping any sharks.

6: Don't getting me wrong their were some bangers, looking at you Subway and Finnegan's wake , but i did start feeling the weight of this show a bit more in this season. Some of the new characters don't work for me.

7: Some of the new characters still didn't work for me but some of them were a lot better. I feel like this was Bayliss season to win or lose and in a way that just makes sense for the series. I think that there are very few shows that can say they stuck the landing as well H:lots dose.

The movie: listen "avengers assemble" has nothing on the montage of the detectives getting the call that Gee's been shot. Some of this was probably because i knew this was the end of the line for the story but i genuinely was really moved by a lot of the movie. The Scene between Pembleton and Bayliss deserves every award possible.

The characters (kinda in order of how long they were on the show):

Steve Crosetti: I'm going to be honest besides his obsession with the Lincoln assassination the reason he is memorable is because Lewis remembers him. His death means something for everyone but I can't pretend like I remember a great deal about his life, which i suppose is a morbid point the show likes to make a fair amount

Rene Sheppard: At the other end of the only here for about a season, she is one of the better late season additions. I think they were trying something interesting with her to examine what it means to be a female detective in a male dominated squad. unfortunately i don't think the show had enough time to make a clear arc for her.

Michael Giardello: His relationship with his father was compelling and I never minded seeing him on my screen, but also i don't know he wasn't my favorite no real reason just didn't know him long enough.

J.H. Brodie: Fuck him, honestly. This is the clearest example of how I will forgive a character for anything except being annoying & without purpose.

Staurt Gharty: I really didn't understand the choice for him to come back after that one guest spot. I had moments were his presence meant that other character had some great development but i still don't like the guy.

Paul Falsone: Ehhh he had his moments I actually quite liked him when he was paired with Ballard and Stivers but I also i don't know i think its fair to say I have a bias for characters who are there for the long hall and he unfortunately doesn't benefit. The scene where he and Kellerman pulled their weapons on each other kinda ate though.

Laura Ballard: Kinda in the same boat as Falsone, I appreciated what they were going for and I definitely think there was a lot of good. I didn't like when they had her kinda go out with Bayliss but thats not really her fault you know. It was also interesting to hear an outside perspective of Baltimore.

Beau Felton: I love to hate this guy. I mean what a fucking mess (affectionate). He was never my favorite and he doesn't seem to be that great of a detective but you know I valued what he did on the show.

Stanley Bolander: What a guy, i mean he's just some dude. He and Much are hilarious. I don't know what else cause like he's just a very solid detective who is sometimes a bit annoying but in like a fun way.

Jullianna Cox: At the start there was a bit were i felt like she was only there cause they knew they needed more female characters but i do think they found a way to make her compelling. I mean she can be toxic as fuck, like she and Kellerman needed to attend AA soooooo badly, but i enjoyed having her on my screen.

Terri Stivers: Do I maybe have a weakness for Butch women? Yeah okay but shes just so cool and so good at her job and I love her okay. She's the only one that comes out of the Mahoney chaos with any sense of high ground and I love that for her.

Mike Kellerman: I mean this guy, this guy he feels like every time he tries to do something right he just diggs himself further and further away from what would actually help him. He is the example of how I should hate a character for everything they do but I just can't cause he's just so damm compelling. The scene where he tries to commit suicide, I don't know it really fucking got to me.

Megan Russert: I really love what she was able to do for the show. She was able to play equal to Giardello and she made her own path. She has also actually good a the political game, well mostly good at it. She had her own way of keeping people in line which I appreciated.

Kay Howard: You know this is my girl. You know it. I love her. I know she has her faults and her arrogance but I don't care i can forgive it all. I think she's a great detective and a great leader. I really felt the loss of her in last two seasons of the show. I wish I had something more intelligent to say or something to make it sound less like I am just a simp for her (which to be fair i kinda am but i do think there is more than that). There is a whole essay in my brain as to what Kay Howard means to me as a Queer woman, I mean I don't actually think she's a lesbian, but she's definitely got something LGBTQ+ going on.

Ed Danvers: Okay so technically he might be a reoccurring character but he deserved a mention. As an avid SVU watcher i enjoy a good ADA or in this case ASA. He really dose know when to deliver and he really urns the times when tells the detectives they don't have enough and the times he goes along with their longshots.

Frank Pembleton: There is a reason people think of him as the main character in an ensemble show and its well deserved. Get him in the box and this man shines. He isn't without his arrogance but he gets the job done every single time, even when maybe he should let sleeping dogs lie. He and Bayliss have one of those sexually charged relationships that just make TV work. also got to love a Guilty Catholic tm.

Al Giardello: Name a better leader i dare you. This guy cracks me up like he takes absolutely no shit from his detectives. I feel like there are some really shinning moments that get overshadowed by the flashier Pembleton and Bayliss. His talk with Megan about being a darked skinned black man and the episode where he kills a man are some of my personal favorites in the show. I almost cried when it was reveled he actually died in the movie.

Meldrick Lewis: He has some clear issues with women that I don't love but other than that he's really fun. He just seems like the kind of guy who just keeps going but he gets paired with partners who have some more serious issues. Again the Scene on Kellermans boat is a brilliant piece of acting. I know he was actively involved in some shady/ bad decision but I don't know I just don't blame him for it.

John Much: The reason Homicide was even on my Radar is because of his time on SVU and the man did not disappoint. I mean his conspiracies and crashouts are stuff of legend for good reason. I think the character is also really interesting as a lot of the harsher edges he has on Homicide get buffed out on SVU. I think if i actually met him in real life i would hate the guy but he's great TV. I also just have to take a moment for the scene in the sniper episode where he has an absolute crashout over the possibility of seeing Howard get shot again and Howard is just in the car going "what the fuck john". got to be a top ten moment of the show for me.

Tim Bayliss: I mean just has to be one of TV's greatest characters. He's haunted by a case he didn't solve. He had sex in a coffin. He's Bisexual, He's a Buddhist (?), He's a cop, He's a murderer, He's the new guy, He's the burn out. I could never wright fanfic for this show because there is no way I could do him right. He just so soft and kind but also so angry and harsh. I guess the implication is he commits suicide after the series but I think I want to live in the world where he just goes to jail.

Ships:

Note: I love shipping so I have to talk about it, but as the the low number of fic on Ao3 and lack of ship names implies i'm not sure if its a popular topic for this fandom so..... i guess what i'm saying is that these ships really are base off of my read of the show which i can't pretend is particularly impartial or astute.

Pembleton/ Bayliss: the best iteration of the partners in love bit can't/ won't get together. Like their are so many homoeotic moments but there are also plenty of moments where your just like these two men are so co-dependent and only one of them is aware of that. From blowing smoke in Bayliss's face, to " the sin is not your own", to "yeah i loved him" to " absolve me frank". I mean truly no one is doing it like them. 1000/10

Mary Pembleton/ Frank Pembleton: They are very lovely and I feel like i had to have a chance to mention how much I like Mary. I do feel like they work on their marriage in a way that isn't perfect but is more than most shows do. 10/10.

Russert/ Giardello: What? your saying you don't see it? It just they feel like they are so well matched and have great chemistry. not alot to say just that i think they would be good together. 9/10

Russert/ Felton: Girl you know you can do better. I feel like the sex was probably good though. 4/10.

Ballard/ Bayliss: Bad. I didn't like it for either of them. The writers were trying to work on some stuff and it didn't work. 0/10.

Cox/ Bayliss: Again not good, but at least everyone knew it wasn't good. 1/10.

Cox/ Kellerman: I mean its toxic as fuck, but i also kinda fuck with it. you know. 7/10.

Ballard/ Falsone: Okay they were just so sweet. I really thought they were fun. And i feel a bit bad saying this but i do think them being a couple made me enjoy them both a lot more then before they had a thing. 10/10.

Stivers/ Lewis: I fucked with it at the start, but then the show stopped pushing it for very good reason. Like they both had some bigger issues happening. 5/10.

Howard/ Munch: Okay this one is a little bit cause I read fanfic about them post series,and little bit cause I want my favorite characters to be happy. But Its mostly cause like i actually do see it. I genuinely think that out of all the detectives Howard worked best with Munch, they had a mutual respect and care that should be surprising but really works well and so yeah I ship it. I'm okay if others mark it down as a Brotp but I think it works romantically as well. 10/10.

Howard/ Danvers: Howard says he's great in bed and they stay friends after wards so you know can't be bad. 8/10.

Thanks you so much for reading if you made it this far. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts. I may be moving on to a new show, but I promise you tumblr i have some more H:lots content cooking cause I feel like there need to be more for such a good show!

[russilton]

Sorry but it's obvious Mercedes wants George to be above Lewis in wdc and is doing everything to achieve this. I don't know why you justify this team so much.

I honestly loved your account and your opinion but I just can't agree with you here. Ferrari does stupid things but at least they don't play with showy priorities.

Why would they want that though- genuinely, why would they want that, it makes them no extra money, it gets people yelling at them, and they have had multiple DNF’s for George this year that sure seem like a bad look if they’re trying to master mind this shit. In this race that masterminding would lose them points and money, Merc never, ever, want a situation where they lose money. They are a business.

Merc suffer from successful idiot syndrome- when they do a risky thing and it works out they look like geniuses, but sometimes you do a risky thing, it doesn’t work out, and to everyone you look like morons. Look at Oscar passing George now when he started 5th. George also would have come out behind Lewis had he not ran long with yuki— but as shown ultimately Merc’s strategy was safer than McLaren’s, but makes them look bland when mclarens risk works out. If there has been an early safety car like there usually is, or if he had made overtakes on the start, Lewis would have looked clever as hell for going soft

Tire picks are not uniquely up to the driver, but they are also not decided arbitrarily by the team either- they are made in combination with strategy and lewis’ engineers Mike and Bono, there’s a reason Lewis Bono and Mike will have seperate meetings on Saturday to Lewis Marcus and Chris. They are working in combination but still racing each other, look at SPA— that was not them deciding not to do for Lewis what they did for George, that was lewis’ team playing it safe, and not accounting for George’s team having nothing to lose and playing risky.

All of this is really boring, it doesn’t sound as compelling or spicy as some great conspiricy theory about fucking one driver or the other over as we have had FOR THREE LONG YEARS, but it’s just what’s happening when you don’t have the quickest car and you’re trying to claw ahead of the quicker guy ahead. I would love some great silver bullet that if we pulled would fix everything but it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you gamble on something with your best assumption as to what might happen, and you don’t get it, racing is boring like that, because you can’t will your way to being be a bit faster like in a foot race, you are limited by the car you have.

I know this is annoying and it feels extra shitty because you can’t do anything about it, and if there’s a greater plot then you can justify that feeling easier, “I can’t get by because they are out to get me” is easier than “I can’t get by bc we just don’t have a good enough car”

But that’s the reality of this sport. And it’s so fucking annoying I get it, you think I don’t frequently partake in “McLaren’s are cheating and redbull is evil and my special guys deserve more” ? Of course I do, that’s also part of the sport. If I had had my way Lewis would have won today I wanted it so badly, but as evidenced by McLaren and ferrari getting by us we just didn’t get it right today. It sucks whole ass but that’s what it is.

Grit your teeth, kick a wall, curse the heavens, move on.

[secret-engima]

I have tea and a soap box let's spill something shall we (Wakfu Rant)

*sips tea*

I've been in this fandom for like. A month? more? Depends on how long it took me to work through the show. I've not actually interacted with the *fandom* at all, just the canon stuff and my own spiralling insanity. But while I'm here I might as well make enemies /s. Therefore:

Oropo is a much more compelling character deserving of redemption than Qilby. Qilby:

Had a loving literal goddess mom and a bunch of loving siblings.

A beautiful planet and thriving culture he could go anywhere and do anything on

The capability of going into space without any technological aids once he got bored of the Eliatrope world and started to suffer the effects of his eidietic memory thing. We know for a fact that Eliatropes and their dragon sibs literally don't need so much as a helmet to vibe in space, they could have gone out there any time, explored the cosmos a bit, found cool things as souvenirs and brought them back to show off to his siblings.

While this is very clumsily and blatantly retconned in s4, in s2 Qilby is very open and blatant about the fact he willingly picked a fight with Orgonax with the INTENTION of forcing his entire people to flee their world into space just so he would have more company than Shinonome. An entire world and no doubt thousands of Eliatropes and who knows what pieces of their history and culture were lost because this man, and I remind you again that s2 Qilby taunts Yugo with this fact no matter how s4 woobified him, wanted to FORCE his people to join him in space rather than just let manning the fuck up and going out there with his sister on a buddy roadtrip.

Seems very convinced that some or all of his specimens in his lab are the last of their kinds, which at best means he intentionally targeted dying species on alien worlds to capture and put into jars for literal eternity which is all kinds of animal cruelty (assuming some of them aren't sentient!!) and at worst means he is the reason they are the last of their kind because Qilby wanted his souvenir to be Unique.

when his people finally found a new world to settle on and be happy and try to reclaim their culture, he instigated a SECOND GENOCIDE, this one taking out not only their home world but literally every. living. adult Eliatrope (and dragon considering the propensity for dragons to have Eliatrope twins as stated in s1). Literally thousands if not millions of people are dead, thousands of children are orphaned and left trapped in a realm where they cannot *grow up*, the vast majority of his own siblings are dead and oh look at that. He's stuck in sensory deprivation hell. Man. If only there was some course of action he could have taken that would not have led to him fighting his own siblings, losing his arm, and getting stuck in the white void of horribleness. Man this truly is a tragedy of fate. Definitely no way he could have gone back into space without the Zinit. Definitely could not have just hopped on Shinonome's back with a packed lunch and gone out there on his own knowing he would have a loving family to come back to whenever he got lonely. Man.

upon breaking out of the White Void Of Horrible he is even more mentally unstable (and yes I know he's mentally ill during the above events, that does not excuse his actions when he is aware enough of them to gloat about them to yugo later) and immediately decides that he's going to kill this entire world in order to leave and he's going to take his siblings and the few surviving eliatrope kids with him by force.

has ANYONE other than me noticed the incredibly dark and horrific implications of him apparently planning to kill Phaerys and Yugo (and Adamai likely). Yugo says he couldn't go through with it and I'll believe that, but the fact he apparently consciously PLANNED it. Am I the only one who saw that scene and went "if he kills them, then they go back to the dofus and hatch without any memories, which means he will be able to RAISE AND GROOM THEM in the Zinit to believe that whatever Qilby says is right and do whatever he wants, like galavant in space for eternity".

S4 can retcon as much as it likes to make the Orgonax thing an accident and Qilby a mama's boy (which I freely admit was funny and I would have enjoyed in any other villain), but going off s2 and moving into s3 I REALLY cannot see why people like him more and hate Oropo.

And even if we DO count s4's retcon that made the first incident an accident the SECOND WAS STILL DAMN WELL INTENTIONAL. And Qilby is still responsible for the death of thousands twiceover on top of the death of an entire culture. All of Eliatrope history, culture, science, medicine, *music*, *STORIES*, it's all gone save for whatever the Emrub kids happen to remember (and the kids will not remember it accurately because they are children). All their architecture is destroyed, all their native cuisine is GONE and so are the ingredients to make them. All because Qilby wanted to force them into space WHEN THEY DID NOT WANT TO GO and HE COULD HAVE GONE ON HIS OWN AT ANY POINT WITH SHINONOME.

Speaking of Oropo! Let's look at what we know about him for comparison!

Was created by accident and is intimately aware of it.

was thrown back in time and lived most if not all of his life perpetually terrified of changing history or accidentally erasing himself and his siblings

Not only saw all of his siblings die off over the years but had their energy absorb into him in something that is no doubt extremely traumatizing to undergo. if any of you have watched the Oropo-centric ova, man for a mastermind manipulator he sure do look like he wanna cry and throw up and curl in a little ball when two of his siblings die in front of him and he is forced to assimilate their life energy.

"Supposedly" staged several key villain creation events which I personally press x to doubt because it's so clunky when mixed in with s1 and s2 lore BUT if we graciously assume that he did then gee. can't possibly be a factor of the third bullet point and his terror of erasing the timeline with his own existence can it? Can't possibly be Oropo falling into Every Heroic Time Travel Trope Ever where the hero ensures a certain event happens in order to maintain the timeline in key points hm? Even if it's a bad idea?

Has been successfully and lovingly married? partnered? mated? to a badass half-dragon wife for literal centuries and every time they are on screen together before the Dramatic Amalia Bullshit they are loving and balanced and give off so many Old Married Vibes and then THEY RESUME that dynamic for the few seconds on screen they have before they both die.

Adopts and raises hundreds of orphaned demigods who apparently were more than happy to live in the Tower and follow him throughout their lives, and in fact show no sign of abuse or manipulation in their behavior until the finale when Anakam decides it's time for everyone to think Oropo is horrible

is actively DYING when we meet him and not just dying but faced with the prospect that there is no happy ending for him. He will never see his loved ones in the afterlife, he will never know peace, he will be assimilated by his creator Yugo and at *best* be essentially digested into raw wakfu and at *worst* be a ghost stuck in the head of a man he has extremely complicated and negative feelings about for the above time travel and sibling trauma.

Adamai EXPLICITLY MENTIONS THAT OROPO IN S3 IS ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER when he goes into his more Blatant Villain Moments. Which sure, could be "the mask" falling to reveal someone "oooo evil" but isn't it far more likely he's acting out of character because he's dying and having a crisis about it.

canonically hates violence, but was so desperate to ensure his loved ones would have a better world he was willing to resort to turning himself into a suicide bomber to "create a better world". Was this a good idea? no. but ppl apparently love to point out how Qilby is mentally unstable to justify his behavior soooooo like. Why is that excuse not applicable to the guy who's literally spent his entire life being uncertain he's even real and has a right to exist but is real enough to DIE and never see the people he loves again and therefor go off the rails in his attempts to make something better for them?

in s4, the same season that makes Qilby sympathetic so if you count that as canon then by gods you better count the Oropo moments as canon, Oropo gives Yugo a reprieve from the literal life sucking torture he's in, helps him get a new outfit, and lets Bouillon play fight him (because again, Oropo hates Doing Violence) to keep him distracted and SANE while his body is being horribly tortured. In the end Yugo even confirms they are real and a part of him which is literally all Oropo wanted in his dying speech if you rewatch the finale and boil down his fury to its bullet points (he is a clone without a future and literally says stuff along the lines of just wanting to be REAL and wanting Yugo to ACKNOWLEDGE him).

For a supposed mastermind villain who wanted Yugo dead Yugo sure does seem Super Duper Alive in the months/two years/whatever timeline Ankama is using this hot second since he created the clones and was therefore *no longer necessary* for Oropo to keep alive.

At the end of the day Qilby actively chose HIMSELF over the wellbeing of others and got multiple siblings killed as well as two worlds and an entire civilization/culture wiped out. OROPO set himself on a path of similar destruction and then ACTIVELY TURNED BACK because he was faced with the choice of his ambitions or HIS LOVED ONES and he PRIORITIZED THEIR LIVES OVER HIS OWN AND HIS OWN GOALS where as Qilby not only did not do that, he didn't do it TWICE. TWICE. Oropo's death count is miniscule and he chose to sacrifice himself rather than lose the people he was doing this for and Echo knew he would make that choice, which means she also knew his love of them was genuine. You cannot compare that to Qilby and tell me Qilby is in any way better.

Okay rant over I'm going back to planning my wakfu canon rewrite and my various Echo/Oropo oneshots thank you and good day.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

About the whole "Fyodor-switch personality" thing: We don't have enough information to confirm whether it was real or fake right now, and besides, both possibilities are really interesting.

If the switch was real and Fyodor was lying to cover it up (...because 'you know characters can lie, right' could mean... this part of it was the lie too...), that could easily be made a reference to Dostoevsky's The Double, as I was kindly made aware of. We've also already had an image of a young woman who looks like Aya from potentially a long time ago, given the outfit and that it is Bram's memory we're presumably seeing there, which may tie in interestingly with "what year is it?" The knife he pulled out also is genuinely a unique design for the series, and looks like it might be an old make. If this original is very old, then something in the takeover of personalities may explain why he hasn't seemed to age. Fyodor being a separate personality created from his ability and kicking out the original could tie in with his ability not attacking him in Dead Apple. This also raises more questions about Fyodor's motives, and I think opens the path for some pretty fascinating theory making. It also places Fyodor as something both human and not... intriguing for the ongoing theme of humanity in the series.

If the switch was a fake and Fyodor was being a completely hilarious little shit (which, we know the Joker is part of his inspiration and he is often contrasted with Dazai, Nikolai, and Mori, for whom this kind of behaviour would be expected - it's characterization, that's not 'done for no reason'), it would quite possibly be the funniest thing he's done in the series so far. But! More importantly, it strengthens Fyodor's connection with the Book (or rather, with altering the narrative). He's told a lie that sounds completely ridiculous but makes sense given the world and situation he's in - and notably, could fool Sigma... and the readers. Fyodor also managed to change the lightness of his eyes without changing the state of his soul - something that no other character seems to be able to do. (I know Dazai can feign the shocked expression, but that's not the clear lightness we saw in Fyodor's eyes in this panel. Nikolai's eyes change lightness but that actually seems to be genuine.) While this doesn't help us discern anything more about Fyodor's motives, it does emphasize his expertise at information manipulation - we cannot trust a single thing this character says, not just in universe, but out of it too. We, the readers, cannot listen to Fyodor and take anything he says as supporting evidence for theories. If this is true - that's fascinating. The other characters will have to solve the mystery of this man completely indirectly, and so will we.

Of course, there is the secret third option: it was a lie mostly, but there is an element of truth to it somewhere, which is actually par for the course for BSD as a whole. It is very rare that a character turns out to be lying completely. The question then becomes "what part is true and how much is it true", which is also very compelling. This, personally, is what I'm ascribing to for now until new info comes up.

Anyways, the last thing I wanted to point out is that if it was genuine, then remember The Double was inspired by Hohol's works, and if it was a lie, then that is very similar to the bait-and-switch performances that Nikolai has done multiple times in the series. Either way, it implies some influence on Fyodor by Nikolai and of course vice versa, which probably means the return of the clown (finally!) and more focus on their dynamic, which is a funny thing to show Nikolai having apparently had influence on Fyodor (even if in more of a meta way) as he is actively trying to kill him right now.

Love wins/loses?

[the-far-bright-center]

Came across a post discussing the concept of ‘inherent goodness’ in relation to Anakin’s story, and the implication was that talking about Anakin’s True Self as being ‘good’ was somehow missing the point of his character. I’m rather confused by such a take, but then I’m also very much an outlier on most SW fandom topics these days. My view on the saga is simply not ‘in fashion’, I’m afraid.

Welp, sorry not sorry, I DO think Anakin is supposed to be ‘inherently’ good, in the sense he is born innocent and, as a child, is pure of heart despite his hardships. I use this terminology partly to combat the weirdly pervasive fanon view of Anakin as some kind of ‘bad seed’, but also because the concept of one’s ‘True Self’ was introduced all the way back in Return of the Jedi, specifically in relation to Anakin. How things work in the real world is not relevant here — in the SW ‘verse there absolutely is this idea that someone can have a ‘True Self’ (aka, a core spiritual identity, almost akin to a ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’) and can lose that or turn away from it, but also regain it again. In Anakin’s case, he returns to his True Self through compassion, unconditional love, and sacrifice, all of which culminates in his redemption.

Whether people like it or not, Lucas’s Star Wars has spiritual and religious themes. Anakin himself is proof that a being in the SW universe can be ‘created’ for a specific purpose. Anakin’s status as a Force-user and particularly as the Chosen One *is* absolutely relevant to this topic, even if some would rather downplay it. Anakin has a ‘divine’ role and purpose. But even so, having a True Self that is ‘good’—or perhaps, more accurately, that is intended to DO good—doesn’t mean the character is any less human, or any less flawed. Because goodness does NOT necessarily equal perfection, and that’s one of the things that makes Anakin particularly fascinating: he’s a demigod, an ‘angelic’ figure, even, but also simultaneously a tragically-flawed human being. I adore these dual aspects to his character and it’s one of my favourite things about him.

Some may prefer to view Star Wars from solely humanistic, agnostic, or secular perspectives. Some may prefer to see the saga as mainly a political allegory or a modern day Greek drama. Some may acknowledge the mythic references and fantastical elements but balk at outright spiritual interpretations. That’s fine, to each their own. There isn’t one singular way to perceive or appreciate the Lucas SW films. But for me, personally, it’s always been the spiritual elements of the saga that have moved me the most deeply. It’s what elevates the story to a truly transcendent level for me, and which gives me the greatest sense of catharsis. All of this is due to my own personal experience with the saga and the way I was introduced to it as a child. But I truly don’t think this perspective is in any way negating Anakin’s humanity or his flaws — in fact, I feel strongly that it is the tension between Anakin’s cosmic role as a demigod and his all-too human vulnerability that makes his story so unique and so incredibly compelling.