#anti chazz

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Why I like Manjoume Thunder as a Yugioh rival

Hot take: And why I say 'screw you he is actually one of the best thanks!'

Appearance

Starting off on a silly note: Chazz is very pretty. Like seriously, look at him.

Tbh, sometimes you can mistake him for a girl at certain angles and close-ups :)

Anyway, I like his aristocratic look (dark hair and eyes and pale skin). I think the only rival who comes close to his blue-blood look is Ryouga from Zexal (I have only watched the first four Yugioh shows so you know). However, Ryouga has the tentacle theme going on with his hair which ruins the aesthetic a bit. I think it emphasises the concept of the rival usually being rich and upper class.

Personality

The rivals tend to have similar personality beats. However, I have a soft spot for Manjoume's. I didn't fully understand why until it hit me!

Manjoume Jun is a mix between Kaiba and Joey!

Kaiba's stoicism and self-confidence

With Joey's goofiness, playful nature and resiliency in the face of hardship

Love it! It makes Manjoume stand out among the rivals. You won't see Ryouga, Kaiba, Kaito or the rest rough housing with their rivals the way Manjoume does with Sho and Judai.

I just find Manjoume's personality entertaining. He's fun to watch. Not to say I like Manjoume being treated like a joke so often...but it made him very endearing. He does have a certain charm to him.

Relationship with siblings

Yugioh GX has many faults but I think GX has the best brother dynamics with the Manjoume and Marufuji brothers.

Don't get me wrong: I love the Kaiba brothers. I love how much Seto loved Moki and how the relationship became corrupted after Gozaburo adopted them (re. Seto using Mokuba in his plan to take over Kaiba corp and Seto's other emotional problems). I like how Mokuba steps up in running Kaiba Corp and has his own badass moments and is not some boring helpless damsel in distress like Haruto. Gosh, I despise Haruto and his relationship with Kaito. I found the entire thing such a bother.

Anyway, Manjoume stands out as being the only rival with older brothers (Jack has no siblings but I have always seen him as the big bro in the best friend trio). Manjoume isn't in a position where someone is looking up to him or depending on him to save them. He is out there trying to prove himself and I found the antagonism in his relationship a refreshing dynamic.

A bit of a hot take here but I kind of feel like Manjoume's brothers push his character in a positive direction whereas Mokuba and Haruto push their brothers in a negative direction. Kaito stole people's souls to save his brother (part of why I dislike Haruto but this is not the place for that) and Kaiba pushed to be adopted by Gozaburo and suffered abuse at his hands so that he and Moki could stay together on his terms. Whereas, Manjoume's brothers really kickstart Manjoume's arc to being a better person. I hope that makes sense?

Antithesis to the rival power deck

We all know the rivals have the heavy hitter, power decks. Almost to the point of being OP like Kaito's photon eyes (Kaito is kind of a boring rival IMO. He's badass sure but he only gets truly interesting in his interactions with V and Mizael).

I think Manjoume once again stands apart from the other rivals. Unlike the other rivals, he learnt that there was value in weak cards. To the point where he can say to Ojama Yellow in season 4 that he is the ace of his deck. Not Armed Dragon L10 or VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon like what you would expect from a normal rival. But this disgusting, annoying 0 attack monster. This monster won his match against Aster and it makes me so happy to see Manjoume's development.

Jack was supposed to have an arc like this where he determined that power was not everything...only to get a stronger version of his ace 😒. Yawn. I really don't like Jack. At all. Well a bit. But mostly I can't stand him.

It makes Manjoume seem more down to earth than Kaiba and the other rivals (except Ryouga, I think his deck is pretty balanced).

Unrecognized Talent

It seems to be an unappreciated fact that Chazz is canonically an extremely talented duelist.

He beat everyone at North Academy with random cards he picked up in the ice. He beat almost everyone at the school and brainwashed them into joining the Society of Light. Yeah, most of these kids are NPCs but it still counts!

It's honestly so unfair that Manjoume was dumped in Slifer. As much as he deserved to be humbled, he never deserved to be in Slifer when there are so many talentless hacks in Obelisk. Plus the other exchange students weren't put in Slifer in season 3! Outrage I tell you! My boy deserved better. It is such a Manjoume power move to stay in Slifer out of spite though lol.

Manjoume's story ending in season 4

Ok, I never really watched season 4 so I don't really know much about the Darkness plotline. But! I do know the story beats for Manjoume.

Besides Ryouga once again, I think Manjoume had the most satisfying story conclusion.

IMO Kaiba's story climaxed in Battle City with some good moments in the Orichalcos arc. I wish Kaiba played a bigger role in the Memory arc.

Jack's story climaxed in the dark signers' arc with Carly. After that, he kind of became a bum. I appreciate him pursuing his duelling career to become king again, this time for real, but it's nothing grand. Although I will say that his final duel with Yusei looked epic.

If I start talking about Shark's story in the Barian emperors' arc, I won't stop gushing so I'll just say that Shark's final duel as Nasch was cheff's kiss. His final speech to Yuma 🤧. To be fair, I wish they explored his Barian background more in the early seasons. It's so unfair how Shark was messed up so much by Barian powers while Rio was immune 🤨

Anyway, I like how in season 4 Manjoume was determined to become a pro duelist on his own to earn his brother's respect. To the point where he endured so much crap as Aster's assistant and suffered so much humiliation as Ojamanjoume. Season 1 Manjoume would never do this. Beating Aster with the school cheering him was a sweet ending to Manjoume's arc. He became a pro duelist without losing himself like Zane and without his brothers' handouts. He proved himself as a man to his brothers. I wished we saw Shoji and Chosaku after the duel in season 1 where Chosaku acknowledged Manjoume's strength. It would have made season 4 even more powerful for Manjoume.

Conclusion

These are just my opinions. I am not saying Chazz is the best Yugioh rival - Seto Kaiba will always be my #1 - but I just wanted to write this appreciation post for Manjoume Thunder who often goes unappreciated as a yugioh rival.

If any Jack or Kaito fans are offended, well...whatever. Kaito is truly overrated and his relationship with Haruto is boring and dull. Jack's character suffers after the signer arc. I really wished he and Carly got together. Sigh, 5ds had some of the best romances and they still never gave us anything at the end.

[your-pal-nebula]

You can call me Nebula, Abel, Silver, Cori, Adaluza, Royal Dandy, Chazz, Razzle Dazzle, Glen, Velvette, Jax, Hexadecimal, or any nickname that is a spin-off of those (Nebby, Nebs, Luza, Vel, Dan, RD, Hex, ect)

Transmasc + agender + boygirl + pangenderspace

Pansexual + aroaceflux + fagdyke

He/It/Xe/She + any space themed neoprounouns

My main fandoms are WordGirl, Wings of Fire, Reboot, Hazbin Hotel, and Stardew Valley

I'm an alterhuman. Kinlist below. There's a lot. I'm simultaneously therian, fictionkin, otherlink, songkin, objectkin, and otherhearted. I'm autistic and believe this to be the source of my alterhumanity.

I'm the host quoigenic plural system. I have two brainmade alters, and everyone else is a fictive/introject, all of which are from WordGirl. Brief introductions for all of us below. If a post isn't signed, assume it was made by me. Collectively, we use vae/vear pronouns (no they/them).

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Alterhuman Kinlist:

Theriotypes: Eldritch Dragon, SilkWing, Wolf, Snow Leopard, Peacock, Frog, HiveWing

Kintypes: Nephilim, Buglike Alien, Cyborg, Piglin, Necrozma

Fictotypes: Silver Boxleitner (WordGirl OC), Cori Worst, (WG OC), Adaluza (Hazbin Hotel OC), Velvette (Hazbin Hotel), Royal Dandy (WordGirl), Glen Furlblam (WordGirl), Jax (TADC), Hexadecimal (Reboot)

Linktypes: NightWing (Wings of Fire), Living Doll, Shark, Razzle Dazzle (WordGirl OC), Chazz (WordGirl)

Songkins: Every song by Creature Feature

Hearttypes: Axolotls, dolphins, machines/tech in general

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System Members:

Necro/Salem: Brainmade, they/it/he/zhe/corpse, vampirekin, ageless, genderless, intersex, androsexual

Knife/Marisol: Brainmade, gore/fog/shx/shadow, crowhearted, darkness conceptkin, demonkin/analog horrorkin, orchidaroace lesbian, intrusive thoughts holder

Silver Boxleitner: She/Her, mouse copinglink

Cori Worst: She/Her, fox therian

Sketch: She/Her, originally my sister's OC

Tobey Mccallister: He/Him

Victoria Best: She/Her

Dr. Twobrains: He/Him

Invisi-Bill: He/It/Wolf, sparkledog, golden retriever, coyote and wolf therian, protecter, self identified guard dog

Beatrice/Lady Redundant Woman: She/Tech/Machine/Cyber

Ms. Question: She/Her

Big Left Hand Guy: He/Him/Any (yes, neoprounouns included)

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Fandom OCs:

WordGirl: Silver Boxleitner, Cori Worst, Marleen Everwood, Alynxai, Malakai Jackson, Comet Skyrunner, Apples and Oranges, Cat and Dog, Bella Bloodsucker, Razzle Dazzle

Hazbin Hotel: Adaluza, Plushie Guts, Midnight, Violet Vicicous

Wings of Fire: (A lot but mostly) Goldenstar, Bloodseeker, Widow, Borealis, Dreamflower

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DNI:

Prosh1ppers, p0rn blogs, pro/neu/comp contact harmful paraphiles, anti-therian, anti-neoprounouns, radfems/TERFs, radqueers, pro cringe culture, transandrophobia deniers, people who believe in the validity of thought crimes, anti endos/sysmeds (endo neutrals are okay!), queer exclusionists

Please do not involve us in syscourse, queer discourse, or really any sort of discourse against our will. Discoursers are welcome to interact and follow, but please do not involve us in it unless we deliberately join in.

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You see the gun I have in my profile? That's for Justice Cheese shippers.

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My mutuals, who I love and hold very close:

@holdthefuckupwhat @toonycatuwu @emberthearsonist @pennyroks77 @rootbeertime @evaiskindaweird @dreadthedecay @snickerzanddoodlez @thatgayoctopus @jamiesolas @autistic-fuckwad @the-girl-from-dres @inkangeliguess @victoriabestdefender @ratlordsarah @persistinghorrors @therianslaypotato @corvidthedragon @shepherdingthepie @v0id-clawz @nabbit-unmasked @moonlightravensblog @gabriella-sec @elzore-da-great

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| Featured Muse: Valentino |

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Muses:

ANGELS: Abstemiounessa, Adam, Emily, Archangel Uriel, Valore

FANKIDS: Tonito, Dimas, Eden, Lucero, Marica, Pitaya, Vanemma, Vugguch

HELLBORN: Barbie, Cash, Chazz, Crimson, Glitz, Gretchen, Kitty, Stu

ROYALTY: Andrealphus, Leviathan, Baetyl, Beelzebub, Charlie, Mammon, Ozzie, Paimon

SINNERS: Alastor, Angel Dust, Anya, Legiondario, Magpie, Mimzy, Niffty, Ostello, Rosie, Summer, Travis, Valentino, Velvette, Vick, Vox, Zeezi

Alt Verse Muses (Request Only): Gobblette (Brokenverse!Velvette), Lowell (Brokenverse!Ostello), Mickey (Brokenverse!Chazz's Brother), Bogart (Overlord Travis)

NPC/Guest Muses: Anton (Knife-Thrower at Cash's circus), Ariadne (Andrealphus' Wife), Brick (Bodyguard to Ozzie), Chastity (Close Friend to Ozzie), Fabien (Andrealphus' Son), Miss QuiQui (Replacement Fortune Teller at Cash's Circus), Nikiva (Close Friend to Ozzie), Rock (Fizzarolli's Accountant)

NOTE: Most of my muses are canon divergent, but Velvette and Vox are both not canon compliant at all except in appearance!

Note About Vick VS Vox

M!A'S ACCEPTED: 0/5

None At This Time

PROMO - The Vees

PROMO - Valentino

[morally-grey-variant]

Reminiscing with a friend about our early fandom obsessions from ages 8-10 and how I wrote my first fics about Gary Oak. That shifted to Seto Kaiba and Chazz Princeton in middle school, with thoughts of Prince Zuko firebending in my head. I dipped slightly out of the fandom universe in college and am getting back in the most unhinged way in my 30s with my beloved anti-hero Loki, and the pattern is really coming together. I guess I've always loved a misunderstood bad boy. 💚

[moonlit-orchid]

Random cross duel au headcanons that I felt like spewing:

-They're all multi-lingual in some way. I hc Jack as French and Chazz and Kaiba both know many languages due to being rich kids/business people, and so the others all end up picking up on some of the languages

-Pretty much EVERYONE knows at least basic Arabic. This is because Atem and Yugi (who I hc as half-Egyptian) speak Arabic. Atem and Yugi speak to each other in arabic a lot, and Atem likes to use Arabic nicknames for everyone (especially Yugi). Also if Atem is annoyed he'll switch to Arabic. And if Yugi speaks in Arabic when annoyed, you're screwed. Because of this the others all can speak at least the most basic Arabic, even Yuma and Joey (Joey retains his Brooklyn accent in his arabic and it drives Kaiba insane while Atem just cracks up)

-Anyone under the age of 15 is labelled a child. Astral is the only 'partner/mentor' who is one of the children, and this annoys him a little more than he likes to admit.

-Yuto is the oldest of the children, then Yugo, then Yuri and Yuya, then we get to Astral, and then Yuma and Yuga's group. The fact that he's younger than all the Yu-boys, even Yuya, also annoys Astral, especially when him being younger means he's not listened to.

-Age is power. Especially when it comes to the younger group, because in any situation a yell of 'well, i'm older than you!' immediately leads to said older person being in charge. They've ended up in so many stupid situations because Yuya, Yugo, or even Jaden has pulled the 'I'm the oldest' card, which shuts down anyone younger than them (it drives Astral insane because he's perfectly aware that he's the smartest-and he's only like 3 months younger than Yuya)

-But on the other hand, pulling the 'I'm younger' card works too, because the younger they the more babied they get. Especially if they want something. Yuma takes full advantage of this. Astral can too, he just choses not to because he doesn't like manipulation.

-Everyone has called Yugi 'mom' at least once. Either it's a slip up, sarcasm, or a friendly nickname.

-Yugi is the only person who doesn't get overruled by the "I am older than you" card. Everyone, even Kaiba and Jack, end up listening to him.

-The fact that big strong Yusei is very obedient to Yugi and Yugi orders him around exactly like a parent will never not be funny to the group, especially to the younger ones.

-Everyone has had to share a bed at least once. Even Joey and Kaiba (it was chaotic) and they all share rooms that are CROWED simply because Kaiba never built the mansion to house 15+ people!

-The only person who doesn't share is Kaito, who is even more anti social than Yusaku. He sleeps in a tiny storeroom. By choice. And somehow fit a whole computer set up in there.

-Surprisingly, Kaiba is actually kind of close to the younger group. They remind him of Mokuba. And something about how helpless Yuma is makes him feel the weird urge to protect him.

-Yusei keeps mixing Leo and Yuma up. They're exactly the same. They're also a completely chaotic, idiotic duo who encourage each other to do reckless things. They're also not allowed to be together without Astral.

-Yuya, Yuma, and Jaden are not allowed to be together without Yusei right there and Kaiba within the next few miles.

-Kaiba does a lot of the telling off.

-On mother's day the group gave Yugi gifts which touched Yugi. On father's day they gave Kaiba gifts which embarrassed him but also made him secretly happy

-Kaiba has started a duel school that all of school age attend, middle to high ("as if the last one didn't traumatise a bunch of kids"-Atem)

-Astral is the only one of the kids that doesn't attend. For obvious reasons.

-Mai and Jack have, on more than one occasion, had to pretend to be one of the younger ones' parents.

-Mai never calls herself the mom. She's the cool aunt. And she says Joey is the cousin who does drugs, while Kaiba is the aunt who talk shit about everyone. Kaiba isn't sure what he thinks of being called an 'aunt'

-Astral's closet consists of pieces of everyone's clothes more than his own, even one of Kaiba's shorter jackets (it's still huge on him) and a scarf from Declan (Declan also has a million red scarves and Yuya is starting to find that concerning). He even has a jumper of Kite's (except he stole that to tick Kite off-these two are currently beefing and will be petty with each other)

-Astral and Kite get into too many fights. Waaay too many.

-Actually Kite ends up in a lot of fights. He has a talent for irritating people. His main beef is with Bandit Keith of all people (kite mutters he's like another mutton hair he knows)

-Quite a few people have picked up on Zuzu's fan-hitting habits. Mostly the girls. And Astral, Syrus, and Yusaku

-Yusaku and Skye can transform back and forth from their Playmaker and Blue Angel personas.

-Yugi taught Yusaku how to crochet, so Yusaku can do something other than stare at a computer screen. Yusaku finds it comforting, and likes making little animals with them.

-Yugi, Yusei, Astral, and Yusaku are the 'quiet group'. Sometimes the other boys want to attend something that is waaay too crowded and loud for Astral and Yusaku's liking, and as Yugi isn't a fan of that and Yusei prefers quiet, the four of them end up doing something more calming.

-The girls hang out together in one group. It's a much more organised group than the boys. If they go to the fair, all the girls manage to get to all the places they want and all come home comfortably. As for the boys... at least 2 will go missing, 3 will need to run looking for a toilet, and Kaiba has had calls from them begging for help.

[bapyswordsman]

Fanfiction request

Hello everyone. I want to read a fanfiction which gives fairytale + DnD vibes. This story may be inspired with Snow White (mostly characters) and I’m glad to see some relics easter egg from different fairy tales (like in Shrek). I want to see an adventurous saga with different locations (like in JRPG, inspired with old Final Fantasy games). I’m sorry, not so many details about the plot and characters motives… I want an epic story, but not a love story Some info about the characters: MC is a girl based on Snow White. All princess get along with animals (believe Disney), so I want to see her as a summoner of fantasy creatures or maybe a druid. But. She is not lightheaded and silly like a typical princess. I want to see her personality kinda like Rivet from Rift Apart. Hunter is a dragon born (DnD). He is a severe warrior who is doomed to serve the kingdom forever, because his dragon-people were sealed and tortured, soo, maybe he is the last one. He is a skilled warrior, who always can catch his prey. But he is actually a really kind-hearted dragon, who cares about people. His speech is really primitive, he often spells his name while talking. The Evil Queen as the antagonist/anti-hero. So, in this story she is the real mc mother, but she hates her, because the king (I want his personality elegant+insane like Phantom Thief) killed the person she sincerely loved and made her marry him instead and make 2 children in the past. The king had an abnormal blood, so the queen got some ugly scars on the half of her face. She tries to hide them, because she thinks people love her only for her beautiful appearance. She is kinda emotionless and really cold, but sometimes really hysterical and loud. She killed the king to rule the kingdom, because she hides her necromancy skill. She uses it to make people her puppets. (Also, in my imagination she wears something like gothic lolly dress lol)

Soo, there will be also the prince, but not the lovely man of the dream. Well, the prince is mc little brother, who always dreams to become the great knight, but he is a newbie who barely holds the sword. Always asks Dragon born to train him. His personality is based on funny rival characters kinda like Chazz from Yugioh GX. He is impudent and rough, but really innocent. The mirror is not the mirror, but the magical all-knowing crystal creature. It can be a sarcastic humorist with comic relief stuff.

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 185 Rundown

The Witch from Mercury: The attack on the plant is in full swing and the crazy Lagoon Company girls from Earth are ready to take Suletta on. Guel hears Suletta might be around and escapes his ship to find her, unfortunately his dad is now on the front lines and attacking all the enemy ships coming out of the hijacked one and they don’t have open comms so yeah Guel ends up unknowingly killing his dad in a fit of desperation to survive. It’s kinda really sad because even while he’s pleading for his life he still shouts that he’s his dad’s son to identify himself, like he’s just murdered the main thing he staked his entire identity on, Guel’s Chazz Princeton rich boy humbling arc is ROUGH. Everyone else is scrambling around the station and Nika sends the enemy a morse code to tell them to not blow them up, outing her ambiguous loyalties we’ve been kind of hinting at up until now. Meanwhile Miorine finds her dad and he gets fucking stabbed by debris and tells her to continue the family line because that’s what her mother did and she’s just like ‘fuck that shit’ and Darth Vader’s his dying ass to the nearest escape pod. While that’s happening Suletta gets to the Aerial and is immediately confronted with the rising stakes of the situation as her mom murders four people in front of her and tells her to go out and murder more. Like I feel like the friendly school duel thing is used as a smokescreen for how these kids are not ready for murder but at the same time they’re piloting giant mechs that seem to explode if you flick the right spot, I’m almost positive people have died in those duels even if the intent is to minimize that possibility. Still, Prospera uses a shonen determination speech to gaslight her impressionable daughter into feeling like murder is okay and she proceeds to go and make a giant fuckoff laser cannon to blast away the Earth girls without killing them ironically. The Discoung Lagoon Company has to run away when the Anti-Gundam squad shows up because their girls are still running on the old Kaio-Ken model of Gundams and can’t keep powering up forever so they’re kinda SoL. Still in the stinger Suletta finds Miorine and her dad and fucking squashes the dude trying to kill them and we get the iconic scene of Suletta covered in blood reaching out to Miorine with a smile. Again, like I get both sides her, Suletta’s simple enough to not really process the ramifications of what’s going on, like she knows murder is bad but her mom said it was okay and she just saved her favorite person ever so of course she’s happy. Meanwhile I’m sure Miorine understands a Gundam doesn’t have a lot of non-lethal options against a dude with a gun but seeing Suletta come out of it with no reaction to smushing a dude like an ant is rather frightening all the same, so this’ll make their relationship a little awkward. Apparently this was a place for a season break during the original run even though Crunchyroll lists it all as one season, honestly between cours and seasons anime’s confusing nowadays because you’ll have a cour like a year later and then a full season like three months later so who fucking knows, more war crimes and lesbians next time let’s fucking go.

Inuyasha The Final Act: We start out the episode with one more round of Inuyasha modern era shenanigans with him just doing dog shit around Kagome’s house and it’s really funny but also we’re about to get into some heavy shit so it’s probably necessary. Byakuya leads Sesshomaru away with a decoy Magatsuhi so the real Magatsuhi can attack the village and incarnate in Kohaku’s shard, essentially taking control of Kohaku and giving him the badass power of manipulating Kohaku’s kusarigama which is honestly really cool like is it bad that Magatsuhi is a lot cooler inside Kohaku than when he had his own body? Miroku tries to suck up Magatsuhi but he’s basically just absorbing the incredibly noxious ghost energy coming off of him since he’s using the shard as a perpetual energy device now, but absorbing part of the ghost of pure evil is enough to knock Miroku the fuck out and Kohaku’s bending kusarigama takes out Sango too. Magatsuhi says fuck it and decides to take the shard straight to Naraku, Kohaku and all. Inuyasha and Kagome come back and find Miroku’s basically half dead from poison AND his Wind Tunnel has started to expand to the extent that you can hear it even while it’s covered so he’s basically dying on two fronts here. Sango resolves to go after Kohaku to save Miroku while Inuyasha and Kagome follow suit. Sesshomaru takes out all one thousand of Bykauya’s demons with one strike which is just like the pinnacle of the weird numbers power scaling the show has had up until this point considering Sesshomaru’s just literally ten times more powerful than the Wind Scar now and Byakuya’s just had enough. Magatsuhi is coming to rendezvous with Naraku but Sango reaches out to Kohaku who’s being taunted by his shard’s darkness and a combination of her faith in him and the remnants of Kikyo’s help give Kohaku a moment of lucidity where he resolves to break his own body so Magatsuhi can’t meet up with Naraku before Inuyasha and co. can take the shard back from his corpse. His courage and faith in his friends and family amplifies the light still remaining in the shard and forces Magatsuhi out of the shard completely, ending with him hurtling towards certain death after expelling the source of all evil.

Castlevania: Alucard takes the kids down into the Belmont estate and tells them he’s going to teach them about everything he can so not only the warfare of his father but also the science of his mother survives. Seeing as how he’ll definitely outlive these two idk how useful it’ll be having them be the evangelists of science but gotta start somewhere I guess, just a trial run for Alucard’s School of Electricity and Vampire Killing. Isaac runs into an old lady Forgemaster who points him in the direction of the nearest sidequest so he can build up his army before fighting Carmilla and also coincidentally get revenge on the crazy magic anthill guy who killed all her friends and neighbors. I swear the size of Isaac’s horde seems to fluctuate from episode to episode, like last time when he was talking to Bug-Eyes he had like a full crowd and now they show him with like two dozen guys to emphasize his need to buff his numbers, maybe some of them are dying off en route idk. Trevor gets to flex his fighting muscles and beats up some of the monks scratching symbols into the town only for him to basically tell them nothing and them to go with their preexisting knowledge about what’s going on to figure shit out. So basically Trevor just beat some guys up and broke their legs to go ‘yeah all that stuff we already know but it was this guy in particular’. Also Germain finds that the priory has crucified a rainbow-eyed demon in the basement Evangelion-style and is worshipping this presumably multiverse-empowered god of destruction, so that’s fun.

Konosuba: Kazuma joins in the big battle against the Devil King’s army and immediately dies and is so embarrassed he basically has an Evangelion Elevator Scene staring contest with Eris before she gives him the quest that Kris was trying to give him two episodes ago. So he has to gather a body-swapping device and a monster summoner, both of which sound prime for Konosuba shenanigans. Kazuma revives and finds out everyone else has been infinitely more useful in battle than he has and Megumin has a God Usopp level following where she can’t let them know her real level of strength. Either way they come back to the castle and talk with Iris only to reveal she has the body swapping necklace by accident and OF COURSE Kazuma accidentally bodyswaps with Iris. I really like the performances here like they don’t trade VAs but both use such drastically different inflections it’s really easy to tell right away. Megumin agrees to take Kazuma!Iris out on an adventure while Iris!Kazuma stays back at the castle and gets up to some HILARIOUS shenanigans, like it’s basically a shorter and sweeter version of all the jokes shows like Tanya the Evil and that Old Man Villainess show use for ‘scumbag guy in the body of a little girl’ tropes and with Kazuma’s extra flavor they do a good job with him telling of Mitsurugi and getting into standard scumminess. Honestly Megumin should’ve known better and had someone stay behind to watch Kazuma but the results are so funny I’ll let it slide. Just before Kazuma gets to see Darkness and Claire’s titties he swaps back with Iris mid-punch as he’s taking a beating from Megumin’s trash-talking lessons, perfect timing. Honestly with as much as he did see I’d still call that a win even if he probably doesn’t think so, plus at least Iris didn’t get punched in his body.

Delicious in Dungeon: Falin gets up and sleepwalks to the dragon’s corpse, addressed by the Elven Mage as if she’s the dragon itself and commanding her to find the Elven King from the time Laios was stuck hopping around in paintings which the Mage remembers somehow. It’s kind of funny because the Elf addresses Falin as the dragon but the ghosts still seem fond of her as a human so it’s like a half and half thing. The rest of the party catches up to her and are attacked by the Mage who they assume to be the Ruler of the Dungeon. Marcille manages to fight back but you’re fighting the guy who basically controls the whole structure you’re in like lego blocks so they just get dropped into the trash compactor and almost squished until the ghosts save them by dropping them into the remnants of the Orc Village from a few episodes ago. Since Senshi has the panache skill from D&D and automatically has good relations with everyone they manage to avoid dying and heal up though they’ve lost Falin again. The rest of the episode is a little reflection on Chilchuck’s character about how he’s basically the Nami in a crew full of Luffys and it’s driving him insane how they keep barely getting out of things they should statistically die from. After a good amount of reflection and some advice from the orc princess he decides to tell everyone they’re pressing their luck and they need to go back before they push themselves too far so they can regroup and make a stronger push for Falin again. Laios begrudgingly agrees with the promise that the town will give them more support thanks to being so close to finding the dungeon’s ruler and having the full support of the Orc factions thanks to killing the dragon, so we’re basically back where we’ve started but we’ve learned a lot, it really is a Rougelike anime.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End:  Frieren’s group is still struggling to catch a bird and is having a little meeting to plan their next step. Meanwhile Fern’s group’s somehow already got their bird and is plotting how not to fall into an ambush from one of the other groups. Basically this is like that part in the Chunin Exams where everyone in the Forest of Death already had their scrolls ready and the infighting in getting to the tower was starting to kick up. Eventually both conversations come down to water sources, since the testing barrier blocks off rainwater and cuts off rivers, the main lake setting is where everyone is holing up Hunger Games cornucopia-style so it’s the most dangerous place when trying to find or protect a bird. Fern’s group is attacked by the Grimmjow-looking motherfucker from the opening but given her teammates are fandom favorites I don’t think she has much to worry about. Meanwhile Frieren’s plan takes shape as they freeze the main lake and taint as many of the secondary water sources with some of the waterbender girl’s magic like a magical deer scare to keep birds away. With Frieren’s group being the only one that knows which water sources are untainted, they camp out and eventually nab a bird using Frieren’s greatest skill: patience. However the dude that’s been filling the audience in on the particulars of Frieren’s plan all along steps in to ambush them and take their bird, so between this and Fern’s fight looks like we’ve got a good old fashioned Chunin Exams fighting arc on our hands next time, whoo!

No Monogatari/Utena this week since I still haven't decided which of those I wanna watch next and I could definitely use a shorter block this week since I'm still recovering from con last week so that's it for now!

[eliantosbed]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better:

tagged by @itsanidiom, who wrote my fave PhayaTharn ff I'm obsessed with in unhealty ways.

So:

3 Ships You Like:

VegasPete. Where it all began. My blorbos. My babygirls. Never not thinking about them.

Chen Yi/Ai Di. Do I have to say more.

Akk/Ayan. Akk is my boy. I love the Eclipse so much.

First Ship Ever:

The oldest I can remember was being obsessed with Chazz and Alexis from Yu Gi Oh GX. Well, more like I loved Chazz and Alexis was the only girl around. Apparently the original names are Jun Manjome and Asuka Tenjoin, as I just learned.

Last Song You Heard:

Steal the Show by SHAUN and Jeff Satur, I think. Jeff, you're the prettiest man alive and I would give everything to be as pretty as you.

Favorite Childhood Book:

I was obsessed with Roald Dahl, particularly Chocolate Factory and the Witches.

I was a bit older, but I can't not mention my namesake, Elianto by Stefano Benni, who shaped me and my insufferable way of speaking and made my sense of humor even worse. I haven't reread it in years, I should do it.

Currently Reading:

Apart from the million fan fiction tabs I have open, I don't really have the attention span at the moment. I have like ten books near my bed and I can't read more than two pages at once. The ones at the top are Vespertine by Margareth Rogerson and a book about fabrics.

Currently watching:

I'm watching 1000 years old, but I'm not invested. Same thing with Anti Reset. Oh, I'm also watching 23.5 and Deep Night. I've finally finished everything I started at the end of last year and now I have to survive in a world without Pit Babe and the Sign every week. Pavel, come and save me.

Currently consuming:

If this is about food, tea and almond paste biscuits. If this is about media, I just watched episode 2 of 1000 years old.

Currently craving:

Some sleep, some good series, a better job and enough vacation days to go and spend all my money on visiting Thailand.

[the-final-straw-blog]

June 11th & Long Term Prisoner Support

This week, we’re offering a few pieces of content.

[ 00:03:20 - 00:07:07 ]

First up, after some announcements concerning a local case of police brutality and jail issues in Buncombe County, NC, we’ll hear a statement from Mark “Mustafa” Hinkston, a politicized prisoner we first heard from some years back, who is being held in Ohio about the cruelty of his keeping. His letter can be found below.

Transcripts

Mark Hinkston Letter

June 11, 2023 Call

UprisingSupport

PDF of UprisingSupport (Unimposed)

Zine of UprisingSupport (Imposed PDF)

[ 00:07:07 - 00:23:57]

Then, we’ll hear a reading out of Against Oblivion, Against Despair: A Call for June 11th , an invitation to the 2023 celebration of the June 11th International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. More on that, including translations of the statement, statements by prisoners, artwork, action reports, can be found at June11.org.

[ 00:24:47 - 01:00:24 ]

Finally, we’ll hear a chat with Chazz, an anarchist participating in continued support of prisoners from the George Floyd Uprising. You can find more on some of these prisoners at UprisingSupport.Org, and info for other political prisoners at PrisonerSolidarity.Com.

Hear our past shows on anti-repression or June 11th more specifically, check out . We’d also like to suggest recent episodes of Channel Zero Network member shows Its Going Down podcast entitled ‘“States of Incarceration”: Abolition, Revolt, and Organization’ and Coffee With Comrade’s episode, “June 11th”.

Announcements

Support

If you’ve been seeing our social media presence, you’ll note that we’ve been releasing interviews into our patreon stream early. You’ll start seeing some of those soon appearing in our podcast stream in the near future, including Scott’s interview with trans antifascists from Liverpool about migrant solidarity and a sort of scene report in that town. If you want to get earlier access to chats like that or our chat with Shannon Clay, co-author of the recent history of Anti-Racist Action called We Go Where They Go, alongside many other thank-yous, check out patreon.com/TFSR and consider pledging $3 or more a month. The money goes to support our webhosting, printing and postal costs and, most of all, our monthly transcription work that helps get these interviews translated, printed as zines and sent in to prisoners.

Bail Limbo

On Wednesday, May 17th Asheville Community Bail Fund posted a secured bond for someone currently incarcerated in Buncombe County Detention Facility.

They have still not been released.

After spending hours and days trying to get answers, we've learned that this bureaucratic nightmare revolves around an order for an electronic ankle monitor.

The court has been instructed to pause these orders, but did so anyway, putting them in legal limbo.

Their bail is paid, but they are trapped because the county is requiring something the county no longer provides...

Call the DA's office (828) 259-3410 from 9-5pm to demand they stop ordering electronic monitoring and drop existing orders, otherwise it's just a dishonest way of denying people access to pretrial release.

Devon Whitmore Fundraising

Devon Whitmore, an African American man in Asheville, was arrested by Asheville police under violent and questionable circumstances, with police claiming Devon had a gun that never materialized and for a misdemeanor warrant for communicating threats. The police were filmed kneeling on Devon's neck and was possibly spared serious injury by intervention from neighbors at Livingston Apartments. As a result of this, Devon and his fiance were evicted from their apartment and need help renting an apartment and bailing Devon out of jail. You can find articles and video about the interaction as well as ways to show up in support or to donate at  https://linktr.ee/applythepressurecommittee

Mark "Mustafa" Hinkston

Mark Hinkston #707-808 SOCF PO Box 45699 Lucasville, Ohio 45699

This is none other than Comrade Mustafa… And I’m reporting “live” from the other side of Amerikkka!

Here in the infamous “Lucasville” (which these tyrants refer to as SOCF), and where I’m currently being held against my will, those filthy pigs have created an isolated torture chamber in the K2 cellblock, which is designed specifically to destroy the mind and the soul of Black men!

There’s 40 cells on the K2 cellblock ---- 1 through 40 ranges --- that are filled with Black faces, with the exception of 3. And the white faces are becoming less and less as these racist (and self-hating) administrators continue to produce new elements of a fake program that will no doubt allow them to stereotype and profile Black prisoners.

I n the K2 cellblock, prisoners are subjected to the harshest of living conditions: most of the cells should be labeled as “out of order” since there are plumbing and electrical issues.

In some cells the toilets don’t have water-pressure enough to flush the urine and feces after these facilities are used.

This leaves prisoners to live with the smell, germs and bacteria in their immediate living quarters, day in and day out, as they perform daily rituals such as eating, praying, sleeping, etc.

In some cells the lights don’t work, so prisoners don’t have adequate lighting to read or write. To add to this, the cellblock isn’t operative!

There’s no laundry services provided – period!

The prisoners are not allowed to property groom themselves, there’s no barber services provided.

And the corrupt prison-officials refuse to give prisoners razors on the appointed days of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Further, when they do give razors, they commit unthinkable deeds like they’ll place someone else’s used razor into the bag with your cell number on it, which is unsanitary and subjects you to contracting a disease.

The food trays always have less food on them than that which is nutritionally appropriate by the “healthy heart diet” standards. And this is the type of diet being enforced by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Yet, the prisoners in K2 cellblock are NOT allowed to buy food items from the commissary to compensate for the lack of nutrition provided.

In essence, the captives of K2 are being starved as a torture tactic.

And to further add insult to injury, the oppressed brothers in K2 cellblock are not provided with any mental stimuli. There is no TV, no radio, very few books to read. There’s no library services at all!

We can’t use the phone for months at a time, and the commissary services won’t sell US postage or embossed envelopes either, so we can’t communicate with our family and loved ones or comrades for months at a time!

This creates a state of depression within the K2 cellblock that’s so thick that it can be cut with a knife.

The temperature is freezing in this torture chamber, cold as ice! But the prisoners won’t attempt to get the windows closed because ultra aggressive, corrupt prison-officials continuously use excessive force on prisoners via chemical agents like riot canisters of mace, which cause everyone in the cellblock to choke and get sick.

Add all of this, along with the element of racial-imbalance and it equals Black torture!

The oppressed brothers of the Lucasville torture chamber are appealing to the “people’s army” for aid and assistance now!

To get involved, contact Annette Chambers-Smith, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Director.

Also, you can contact Governor Mike Dewine at 624 466 3555

. ... . ..

Featured Track:

1000000 Died To Make This Sound by Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra from 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons

  Check out this episode!

[chazz-is-a-zelda-fan]

3, 7, and 17 for the ao3 asks !! 🌟

thank you for the ask, min!! stars :) 💫💫💫

3 (what work are you most proud of?): i think i’m always gonna say insomniacs. first time breaking 3k for a fic, and i just love reading it. also the ending is so goood it’s not fair

7 (if you use song lyrics, which artists songs did you use the most?): i was going to say taylor swift considering *vaguely gestures at self* but i don’t think i used one person in particular all that much over the others? the This December draft WAS named Rooting For The Anti-Hero, so i guess that counts…?

17 (favorite character to write?): even though they were the only ones i wrote, chazz and atticus. pulling off goofy exteriors to reveal The Horrors is such a good trope, and they fit it so well. these boys work so well with hurt/comfort that i make BOTH of their fics end in them cuddling cus they needed it 😌

once again, thanks for the ask min!! 💫💫💫

[redbullgivesyouwingedkuriboh]

OH FUCK YEAH HERE WE GO MY BLORBOS

Atticus Rhodes/Fubuki Tenjoin

How I feel about them: (slams head into wall repeatedly, grabs them in my mouth and shakes them like a fuckin dog) DA BABY DA BLORBO GOD WHAT A GUY HE IS REALLY JUST A LITTLE GUY OMG in all seriousness Atticus is one of my faves and I love him so so much, I would also like to wrap him in a blanket and put him in a corner never to be hurt by the world again. love you atty

All romantic ships: CHAZZ #1. STORMSHIPPING MY BELOVED. NONBINARY STORMSHIPPING?! EVEN BETTER. also zanexatticus fucks severely, and I have been known to enjoy the poly O-Blues before (fujiwara deserves love too!!!!)

Non-romantic OTP: I love the friendship Atticus and Jaden have. I wish we’d gotten more of them, and I would have LOVED to see them duel post-volcano incident.

Unpopular opinion: he’s straight in the way Neil Patrick Harris plays Barney Stinson. (that’s not the unpopular part bear with me) by that I mean he expresses straightness very very well because of some internalized homophobia and it’s not until he really interacts with people at duel academy (aka Crowler) that he starts to get past that, but his shield is still VERY MUCH UP. especially after the Shadow Riders shit. he throws his walls back up after The Rescue tm, and the main wall he knows is I Am Straight Haha.

One thing I wish had happened: MORE ATTICUS AND ALEXIS SIBLING INTERACTIONS THANK YOU. also LET HIM WIN A DUEL FOR FUCKING ONCE PLEASE

Zane Truesdale/Ryo Marufuji

How I feel about them: (picks him up and puts him on a very high shelf where no one can reach) you’re an asshole but I love you and I would like to throw you across the room and also never let anyone touch you again you poor baby why did you treat your brother like that who hurt you I’ll kill them. also just a guy tm but man did the character development develop

All romantic ships: Mainly Atticus, but I am a sucker for some enemies to lovers with Aster hatesexhatesexhatesex I have a lot of feelings about them and how they grow around each other. I do think Zane is aspec, though (re: “I’m in love with dueling” is NOT a heteronormative thing to say)

Non-romantic OTP: I really wish we’d gotten more development of his and Syrus’s relationship. Toxic siblings to best friends is a favorite trope of mine, and I just. Zane and Syrus, ok. The anti-Kaibabros, and I just want them to be okay.

Unpopular opinion: he should have gotten WAY more flak from Alexis and Jaden about how he treated Syrus in S1/S2. honestly I think if Alexis had said two words to his ass during that whole Hell Kaiser arc he would’ve snapped the fuck outta it and cried for an hour. can I get a hallelujah for S3– while it may have traumatized the fuck outta the J boys, Zane fixed a lot of shit he broke.

One thing I wish had happened: someone should’ve punched him. Preferably Syrus or Alexis. Preferably during S2. oH AND: Season 4 should have gone a whole lot differently for Zane. I think him passing on the deck to Syrus was a great conclusion for Syrus, but not for Zane, and after S3 I wanted more Zane than I did Syrus. IMO, the ideal Zane conclusion would have been him dueling Syrus for the deck, losing, acknowledging Syrus as a duelist, and then going on WITH SYRUS to lead the Cyber Duel School and/or starting a charity to help down-on-their-luck duelists so they don’t have to go to the underground duel ring.

thank you for requesting atticus and zane I love them SO MUCH

not my creation but please send in any gx character :P

[justanotherdumpingground]

Rant on RCD

Normally I don't rant about stuff because doing so feeds negativity, but Red Carpet Diaries continues to nag my mind. I know it's a story most people, including me, hate, but I also think it had potential. Note: In this post, I'm using the name Jessica to refer to the MC, as that's her default name. Also, this post is pretty much personal opinion.

Initial Expectations

For starters, I don't mind the concept about being an up-and-coming actress trying to work her way up to stardom, the underbelly of the film industry, and the relationships she builds up from the bottom. In fact, it has the potential to have some variety if it focuses on building up one's career from the ground up properly, like gradually climbing from the bottom and learning a lot from experience along the way.

Reality

The execution, however, destroyed my expectations. Even though my interest in this story started decreasing since about Chapter 5, Chapter 8 is when I officially dislike this series because of Markus von Groot upgrading Jessica's supporting role to a lead one in Tender Nothings without much effort shown. This reeks of Mary Sue vibes that also makes me dislike her as quickly as I dislike the series, which dragged too long with little substance along the way. After all, it shouldn't be easy to get a lead role, and to see Jessica doing it without getting through so much of the trouble actors go through sends a bad message that you don't have to do much to get to the top. This applies to all professions instead of just acting.

I also notice people's complaints that the HWU characters are sidelined, but since I've never played the game, I wouldn't want them to hog the story. What they could've been is having the same level of significance as the HSS characters from the original app: supporting characters at the most while the new cast continues to dominate the spotlight, just like the HSS series in Choices.

One character I utterly despise is Markus von Groot. He shows unprofessional behavior towards others like attacking them for their insecurities, wasting resources and other people's efforts by rewriting scenes at the last minute (hypocritical of him because he claims to value practicality), and valuing property over people. I also hold him responsible for making Jessica a Mary Sue and singlehandedly ruining my enthusiasm for this series. He's also a pretentious snob who looks down on others for not having the same level of "intelligence" as him, which points out to his massive ego. Not to mention that his disorganized way of directing the movie shows how useless he is in the end. It was good riddance that he never came back for Tender Nothings.

The last scene of Chapter 12 is, without a doubt, controversial. Thank goodness the writers changed Victoria's reaction from a physical attack to a verbal one, but the damage had already been done, and I blame Pixelberry for daring to write such a scene like this in the first place while not doing so to acerbic male love interests. Now, this comes as a shock to others, but when I first played the scene, the person I was angriest at wasn't Victoria, but Markus. Honestly, Victoria has the right to react angrily at betrayal, whether real or suspected, though having her physically assault Jessica is too much. As for Markus, there's trouble brewing among the cast members, yet he gets mad not because of a quarrel breaking out but because a priceless painting gets destroyed. I get that such a painting is valuable, but diffusing tensions, which he never did, is a much higher priority than a broken painting. Can't he just take a good look at the mirror and realize all the blunders he committed towards other people? It doesn't help that he insulted the actors and studio executives evaluating his work, which he has no right to do. That makes him the ultimate asshole in the scene.

Inner Circle, particularly the Love Interests

I like that all of the love interests are unique in their own ways. Each have their own personalities, backstories, and struggles. Matt wants to prove Hollywood that he can be a versatile actor. Seth talks about getting rejected for his ideas. Teja has to put up with feeling unappreciated for all the hard work she has done. Victoria struggles with sexism and ageism in an industry that treats women as expendable despite the skills they've built up. All these prove that they are much more than meets the eye.

As for which love interest that fascinates me, that would be Victoria Fontaine. She's the best LI in the series as well as the only one I like, though moderately. Look, I know she started with a rocky relationship with Jessica, but that doesn't mean I excuse the bad things she has done. In fact, I disapprove of her mind games during Jessica's audition. Even if characters are supposed to be flawed, they should make amends for their mistakes, and she's no exception, such as burying the hatchet, which is what she did (albeit in a premium option). She also acknowledges her own shortcomings, such as criticizing the tension between them as unprofessional. She even apologized immediately for the verbal assault when she had the chance. What seals her as the only love interest I like is that she's aware of reality's harshness and gives good advice on celebrity life and some scenes for Tender Nothings, in part because she has a good amount of depth in many of her scenes, whether free or premium. For example, she works in an industry where women are treated as commodities with a short shelf life. Directors and tabloids judge her by her appearance and disregard her acting skills, prompting her to prove them wrong, swallow her pride when working with Jessica, and surprisingly make efforts. It doesn't justify her initial hostility, but what it does is that it gives sense to her actions. It's far too easy to demonize her just because of personal bias against certain character "types", but doing so is a disservice to her character by assuming she's a one-dimensional character, which she isn't and shouldn't be. After all, she provides the harsh reality of the film industry looking down on women.

Knowing Pixelberry's disregard for its female characters, my anger's directed at the writers for doing her a grave injustice, such as giving her a very negative first impression, delaying the progress of her storyline in favor of unnecessary screen time with Matt, and paywalling her, up to and including her involvement in the movie. All because of her gender and Pixelberry's blatant pandering to their target audience without regard to the story's quality. This post essentially sums up Pixelberry's mishandling of such a well-crafted character. I get that Pixelberry is ultimately a business, but in an app explicitly titled Choices and focused on telling stories, nothing can justify this mistreatment of a character with a good deal of depth in her just for the sake of pandering to your target demographic.

Unfortunately, all love interests have uneven screen time. Matt continues hogging the spotlight even though most of his screen time is pointless fanservice. Seth and Teja don't have a lot to offer, while Victoria has the least, and not enough to progress the story in a meaningful way. Honestly, Pixelberry made a mistake by adding too much screen time for Matt without addressing him as a character. Sure he's nice, but most of that screen time should be given to other love interests, particularly Victoria because of her story having a slow progress. By lavishing all attention on him at the cost of other love interests, Pixelberry has created a self-fulfilling prophecy that discourages players to pursue other love interests not favored by Pixelberry, and this has been going on in various stories.

As for Chazz, he's the only member of Jessica's inner circle that I dislike. For a best friend, he comes across as unreliable, such as lying about his house and job to his own best friend. I get that there are times that he's helpful, such as giving moral support to her when she was down, but his job as her agent means he has to be sincere at all times, even if it means giving the unflattering parts of his life and career.

Book 2

Fast forward to Book 2, and we get a warning about mature themes in this book. Sounds exciting that RCD will tackle serious issues in the film industry inspired by the #MeToo movement, yay?

Unfortunately, it's badly executed. At first, it seems alright. Viktor Montmartre established himself as a threat by attacking Jessica and using his power to make her career and even life as miserable as possible. After all, that's what a villain should be portrayed as. However, he more or less remains on the background while using Tommy Phelps as his proxy to do his dirty work, which makes it hard for me to think of him as a real threat throughout the story. Even worse, the last third of Book 2 turned the book from a mildly interesting plot regarding an important issue into a nostalgia filler for characters I don't know. Not only does this left me confused, but disappointed. In the end, it irritates me that Viktor Montmartre receives a mere slap on the wrist by being hounded by paparazzi. Why can't he be put in jail instead? It's a huge disservice to people who have experienced this kind of stuff, considering the amount of effort and pain they went through to get their story heard.

Even the love interests were done dirty. Matt, who spent Book 1 proving his versatility as an actor, ends up in an action movie again, even though he's playing the villain this time. Look, I get that action movies are his specialization, but would it be better if he tries something that doesn't throw his efforts to waste for once? It doesn't help that him starring in the same movie as Jessica means he ends up hogging the spotlight again until Chapter 10. Seth finally gets to work with Teja, who gets to direct her own movie. Unfortunately, they end up bickering like kids while expecting Jessica to take one side over the other. This is a far cry from their personalities back in Book 1, where they were sensible and addressed serious issues of their respective careers. It's like the writers decided they no longer cared for both of them and screwed their personalities. Victoria is shoved aside to a movie of her own and given no storyline, rendering her superfluous, which is another huge disservice done to her, especially since it's revealed that her experience resembles Jessica's the most. That could've given her some opportunity to help Jessica in a major way while not imposing her as the main love interest. All this happened just to build up Thomas Hunt, a character from the HWU app, as a love interest. As someone who has never played that game, I wonder why he should be a love interest even though he already has a story that paid its due, especially since he may already have a love interest to someone who isn't Jessica in some people's games, which made me uncomfortable. Not to mention that she never knew him on a personal level in Chapter 10. It was a no-brainer for me to reject him.

Chazz does yet another thing that proves how much I dislike him. Instead of quitting when his own best friend got attacked, he quitted when Matt got injured even though he wasn't responsible for Matt. If he is really Jessica's best friend, he would've quitted right after she got attacked. Some friend...

As for the HWU characters finally becoming supporting characters during the last third of Book 2, it gets ruined by the Viktor Montmartre arc, which addresses an important issue, getting sidelined. It gets worse with Thomas Hunt becoming a love interest just to pander to nostalgic HWU players while ignoring the important issue that is sexual harassment in the film industry. Look, I get that there are people who have played HWU who want to see more of them, but it shouldn't be done at the cost of the storyline, especially one that addresses an important issue.

And what about Apricott Persimmon and Chadley Fortnum? Honestly, I agree with this post that Apricott's insecurities should've been hinted at early during her debut and developed throughout her screen time instead of dumped at the last moment possible as a buildup to a premium option. Doing so would've given another perspective from a sheltered individual, especially one serving as a foil to Victoria, who clawed her way to the top instead of being born and raised in fame like Apricott. I also think her method of "I'll help you if you help me first" makes it hard to understand and sympathize her or even convince players to pick the premium option to accompany her. Chadley's okay, though I think he can be a better friend by standing up to Tommy and Apricott.

What could've been done to make it more interesting

Make the protagonist a veteran actor trying to disprove the tabloid rumors about being washed-up a la Victoria, or even make her the protagonist: I know the latter's controversial because not everyone likes Victoria, and doing so means altering her character in some ways, but I find the idea of a veteran defying the odds a more interesting story than that of a newbie rising to the top. To be honest, I prefer playing as a character who starts out having flaws in behavior and skills and doing their best to overcome them.

Work with the HWU crew since Book 1: I admit that working with the HWU characters in the last third of Book 2 was fun because of how helpful they've been, especially Holly Chang. Then it struck me: Why wasn't this in Book 1, where Jessica could've been at least content to get a supporting or minor role and sticking with it? Having her work with the HWU characters alongside the love interests would've been a better way to use them, like with the HSS old guard. That would've at least pleased HWU players who expect to see more of them. I think their lack of real involvement in Book 1 is one factor in the series' failure, which contributed to demands for more of their appearance in Book 2. Unfortunately, their growing prominence derailed the #MeToo-inspired plot by sidelining it. Since I prefer having the protagonist being a veteran instead of a newbie, have her work with them as a last resort to prove the tabloids wrong while addressing important issues of her time.

Get rid of Markus von Groot: The previous point brings me to the conclusion that Markus is ultimately unnecessary, in addition to being loathsome. I've already mentioned the reasons why I hate him, though I started disliking him when I first played the last third of Book 2. Ironic because he doesn't appear on that part.

Do not make Thomas Hunt a love interest: No offense to those who are romancing Hunt, but his setup as a love interest raises too many red flags on creepy older men taking advantage of younger women. A mysterious note in your room telling you to meet that person in a dark, secluded area? What could possibly go wrong with that? Another factor is that Jessica didn't know him on a personal level during the bridge meeting. Look, I get that he's not a bad guy like Viktor, and he's a capable director, but Jessica was still suffering from the attack, and Hunt hates Viktor as well, so the latter should've known better than to meet Jessica in a secluded place. Not to mention that as a HWU character, Hunt has no business hogging the spotlight, let alone as a love interest.

Stick to one tone: After reading this post, I couldn't agree more on the weak points of RCD. The weak execution of the harassment issue and the shift in tone despite its original presentation as a light-hearted take on Hollywood is proof that Pixelberry is desperate to keep making it lucrative no matter the long-term results and costs.

My thoughts on Book 3

Honestly, I was furious at the announcement that there will be a third book and Pixelberry continuing such a horrible series just because it was "popular" with the "silent majority". If this book eventually gets released, I'll just play it as a diamond mine and for Victoria Fontaine and the ocelot. If I'm feeling optimistic about it, which I'm not, all the love interests have equal face time, I get to see more of Holly Chang, and Markus von Groot never appears. Unfortunately, the more I think about RCD, the angrier I feel, bringing me to the conclusion that it's a lost cause and irrefutable evidence of Pixelberry's mismanagement of time, resources, and effort. If it weren't for the few characters I like in this series, I would've shunned Book 3.

[steeve-harrington]

A note before following me for S*pernatural content...

This blog is:

Sam positive

J*red negative

I try not to post too many negative things but yesterday I went a little feral sorry 😂

[dollythots]

Valentineshipping would be cute if Chazz was with someone who ACTUALLY returned his feelings.

[dykexion]

I stand by cyber dragon and infernity being the coolest yugioh archetypes. the BEST is ojamas because they're so fucking stupid and fun to play but cyber dragon and infernity are the coolest

[argylemnwrites]

Red Carpet Diaries 3 LI Breakdown - Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Chazz

Alright, now that this book is coming to a close (probably 3 chapters left? who knows how all 87 random plotlines will get tied up!), I was looking through some of my RCD3 recordings for a fic I’m writing, and I felt compelled to document how often my MC has gotten a chance to see Seth, her fiance, face to face.

Vacation in Hawaii (Chapter 1 into Chapter 2, all LIs present)

Seth shows up unannounced to audition for MC’s movie; Diamond scene to celebrate casting him in Ninradell with option to make out in Ryan Summer’s pool (Chapter 5, Hunt and Matt also present)

Seth reads lines on set for Ragnar auditions; Diamond scene with Seth’s poster from his first comedy show (Chapter 7)

Spend the night at Seth’s after stalker breaks into MC’s home (Chapter 8, defaults to everyone’s main LI)

First day of filming, quick chat in trailer, MC gives minimal advice on set after Teja rips into him (Chapter 9)

Enchantland with everyone, diamond scene make out option during fireworks (Chapter 10, diamond scene defaults to main LI)

Superfan con meet up and panel; Diamond scene to walk around the convention hall, but minimal romantic/personal dialogue as scene is focused on PB Easter Eggs and boosting Seth’s confidence as an actor (Chapter 11)

Return to set after staying away due to stalker, brief hug when nearly killed by lighting fixture (Chapter 13, Teja also present)

So, this felt like a really minuscule amount of time with a “locked-in” LI, but I decided to actually be empirical about this and compare opportunities with Seth to the other four LIs, as well as Chazz for shits and giggles. Buckle in folks, this is a lengthy one. It is also the end result when insomnia meets frustration at storytelling decisions.

I looked at time spent with Victoria next, as she has been insanely paywalled in books 1 and 2:

Vacation in Hawaii (Chapter 1 into Chapter 2, all LIs present)

Head over to Victoria’s after tabloid photos leak where we meet Arianna; Diamond scene to go to gardens and extend time together (Chapter 5)

Spend the night at Victoria’s after stalker breaks into MC’s home (Chapter 8, defaults to everyone’s main LI)

Victoria’s charity ball with more Arianna drama; Diamond scene to sneak away for a private romantic moment (Chapter 8)

Enchantland with everyone, diamond scene makeout option during fireworks (Chapter 10, diamond scene defaults to main LI)

Help Victoria track down Arianna; Diamond scene to cook dinner together (Chapter 12)

Next up is Teja, as female LIs are often less present than male LIs:

Vacation in Hawaii (Chapter 1 into Chapter 2, all LIs present)

Coffee with Teja where she gets hired as director; Diamond option for wedding cake tasting (Chapter 4)

Helps run auditions for William (Chapter 5)

Set visit with Marianne to look at set dressing and audition people for Ragnar; Diamond scene to take a hike and destress Teja (Chapter 7)

Spend the night at Teja’s after stalker breaks into MC’s home (Chapter 8, defaults to everyone’s main LI)

First day of filming, chat in editing bay, Teja frazzled and demanding on set (Chapter 9)

Enchantland with everyone, diamond scene makeout option during fireworks (Chapter 10, diamond scene defaults to main LI)

Superfan con meet up and panel; Diamond scene with movie poster (Chapter 11)

Return to set after staying away due to stalker, Teja channeling Markus then breaks down and requires comforting after MC almost dies and ends up quitting the movie; Diamond scene to go to cartoon movies (Chapter 13)

Alright, now to get to Thomas Hunt, who was added by popular demand and the only LI to get a new look this book:

Vacation in Hawaii (Chapter 1 into Chapter 2, all LIs present)

Diamond scene in art gallery with romantic options (Chapter 3)

Breakfast at diner; Diamond scene to extend time together and help him brainstorm (Chapter 4)

Diamond scene where you can run into him at Ryan Summer’s party, option to make out in his pool (Chapter 5, Seth and Matt also present)

Spend the night at Hunt’s after stalker breaks into MC’s home (Chapter 8, defaults to everyone’s main LI)

Meet up at cemetery where Hunt continues to whine about his lost creative spark; diamond scene to go on outdoor movie date (Chapter 8)

Enchantland with everyone, diamond scene makeout option during fireworks (Chapter 10, diamond scene defaults to main LI)

Hunt comes over for breakfast; Diamond scene to select wedding food (Chapter 12)

Bookstore trip where Hunt refuses provide any advice; diamond scene for modeling poster (Chapter 13)

And Matt, the “official” LI of the series:

Vacation in Hawaii (Chapter 1 into Chapter 2, all LIs present)

Diamond scene at Matt’s house to help him with his character motivations, presumed options for romance (Chapter 3)

Diamond scene where you can run into him at Ryan Summer’s party, option to make out in his pool (Chapter 5, Seth and Hunt also present)

Fly down to Mexico together, where he promptly locks himself in his bedroom, one which he does not share with his fiance (Chapter 6)

Walk around estate/into barn with diamond option for his movie poster scene (Chapter 6)

Discussion of baseball hat left by stalker (Chapter 7)

Spend the night at Matt’s after stalker breaks into MC’s home (Chapter 8, defaults to everyone’s main LI)

Diamond scene helicopter date (Chapter 9)

Enchantland with everyone, diamond scene makeout option during fireworks (Chapter 10, diamond scene defaults to main LI)

Finally, we have our MC’s “best friend” and painfully unneeded agent, Chazz:

Talk show appearance prior to vacation (Chapter 1)

Announce engagement after returning from Hawaii; Diamond Scene option to choose a wedding locale together; Diamond Scene with HS playbill (Chapter 2)

Chazz gives tips for meeting with Marianne (Chapter 3)

Flight to Mexico, heart to heart while horseback riding (Chapter 6)

Diamond scene to go out with him and Addison (Chapter 6)

Breakfast at the Rodriguez estate after stalker shows up at edge of estate (Chapter 7)

He brings food to set; diamond scene to choose wedding invites (Chapter 7)

Brings donuts to LI’s home, takes to hire bodyguard (Chapter 8)

Enchantland with everyone (Chapter 10)

Diamond scene to choose flowers for wedding (Chapter 10)

Chazz and Crash come over to keep MC company; Diamond scene for Chadley’s movie poster (Chapter 12)

So, Chazz is absolutely more present than any of the LIs and actually has more diamond scenes than all the LIs except for Hunt, who has the most at 7. Victoria is the least present, followed by Seth, both of whom only have four diamond options (Of note, I did not include Victoria’s movie poster scene as a diamond scene for her as she was not physically present at all. If you count that as a Victoria diamond scene, Seth holds the title of least diamond scenes all by himself.)

Hunt is clearly the money maker as nearly every time he pops up, there is a diamond scene. He and Matt are about equally present in the story. Surprisingly, Teja is about as present as both of those men, but numerous appearances for her are interacting with her on set and contain minimal, if any, personal interactions. This will presumably become more imbalanced next chapter when Hunt and Matt go to Iowa with MC.

Seth is slightly more present than Victoria, but much like Teja, numerous appearances for him occur on set and are not personal.

So, what’s the TL;DR here? Maybe that Victoria romancers are particularly justified in their continued annoyance with the paucity of content for her? And that Seth romancers are also fairly reasonably justified? Really though, other than Hunt who at least gets a ton of diamond scenes, all the LIs are pushed aside in favor of Chazz. And I get that it is cheaper to write the book this way, @playchoices, I really do. But it does not make for good storytelling. Why not charge players diamonds to bring their chosen LI home to Iowa like you did with the Cordonia location shoot in book 2? That should help offset the cost of writing 5 different scenes somewhat and would have the benefit of not pissing off as many of your readers. As someome who is only buying Seth scenes in this book, I can tell you guys that you are making less money off me than you did in books 1 and 2, where I would sometimes buy scenes with other LIs, even just to play platonically. But here, spending diamonds largely feels like a waste.