#beat you at your own game

[sarcasticscepticles]

Raphael is the funniest antagonist in the game to me, he's a powerful devil trying to steal your soul and speaks to you in rhymes that he probably practices in the mirror, he has his own incubus that says he's a bottom only and bad in bed, and then you can call him out. You can go and rob him blind and then kick his ass in his own house.

You can ask some guy he had you kill if he wants to help you kick his ass, and if you convince him he'll go 'yeah sure I bet you'll win' while Raphael is standing right there.

[goldkirk]

hey this isn’t aimed at anyone in particular but I’m saying it for the record here: if I tell you no, please stop messaging me about fundraisers and mutual aid.

I get enough messages that it’s impossible for me to keep up without devoting at least half an hour each day, when I’m not even on tumblr that long most days. Me having a boundary about this isn’t a moral failing, it’s a lifeboat for me on my own blog.

In my personal life I’m already advocating and donating literally as much as I can spare. This is not me not caring, it’s just me not willing to interact with that on the one place I go online to not interact with irl news and world events for the most part.

I cannot be upset all the time. I cannot be upset everywhere. I cannot use all my emotional and mental energy fielding my own upset from ongoing events. My options are to hold boundaries about this or stop coming online at all.

I’m all for sharing information and signal boosting to reasonable extents, but the scale of it this year is so large and so enduring that it is literally not possible to for me to participate on every account I have. I’ve previously shared links to Gaza eSIM donations and a major hub of verified Go Fund Mes here and elsewhere online. We, the online humans, know how to look those things up ourselves by now. There are many, many people choosing to do advocacy work, and right now, I can’t be one of them.

If you’re extremely upset when I tell you I can’t share/donate right now about a Gaza family or personal fundraiser you ask me to share here, just unfollow and block me. That’s what those buttons are for. Protect your own emotions and energy and get me off your feed instead of staying upset and continuing to engage with online people or content that upsets you.

Please don’t send repeated angry messages based on manufactured purity politics and moral outrage into my messages and inbox when I exercise the right to run my own blog.

[thatneoncrisis]

Curious about your issues with the show!! I have my own ofc but always interested In more opinions

spoilers for like. all of the show el oh el

its hard for me to like. properly articulate on the fly but i think its primarily 1. a show that is genuinely trying to build a complicated structure out of the rusted metal and twigs that makes up LoL lore that gets overhauled every like, four years, so often times it feels like a character in arcane will get hard shafted out of a natural arc so they end up where they "should be" in accordance to their league counterpart.

strongest example i have off the dome is violet, where i think in act 1 of arcane shes a really intriguing and well crafted character whos sympathetic and has goals and values you can follow. and then they shunt her off to prison during the time skip and when she comes out shes like. everything she does from that point on just feels Tilted it feels like they gutted out all the parts that would have gotten me from A to Z wrt her going from scrappy kid in the lanes whos like. direct causes of terror and unhappiness in life were from enforcer. to a bitch who joins the enforcers. and its not that i dont think that turnaround is possible, i just dont think they articulated it well with such a truncated amount of episodes split between so many subplots

and then my main Thing 2. uuuh. this is more of like my own issues with this kind of story telling in general rather than an arcane specific issue that i will codify as "liberal progressives attempt to Both Sides the issue of apartheid in their magic story." the creators of the show emphasized that they wanted each character to be morally grey, differnt shades to them and the motivations contextualizing their actions. which is like, fair enough thats just good character writing but i dont think theyre particularly. great at that. especially when trying to marry it to my earlier point about how certain characters essentially have to invert to become their league analogs in some sense. also someone like ekko? not grey. hes just right? he doesnt fuck with enforcers and he doesnt fuck with the kingpin flooding the lanes with shimmer, he just wants to help the people suffering the most. stand up dude.

theres a lot of different levels to which this clashing between intent and execution falls flat for me in arcane but the one ill get into now is silco and vander. from an objective view its a classic story of two close brothers in arms driven apart by ideology/circumstance, weve seen it with professor xavier and magneto, it also reminded me of tchalla and killmonger although they dont have the childhood friends aspect going for them. but the point is its not like a unique idea. two people want to change the world for the better, one of them starts killing civilians about it, the first guy is like hey! maybe dont do that! epic fall out ensues.

and the story is cognizant of the fact that silco IS an antagonist: not just in the sense that he is opposing our protagonists goals, he sold out the children to the enforcers in the first act, he released shimmer onto zaun and keeps a stranglehold on the city with his circle of chem barons like he fucking sucks. and the whole time im watching im noting how his methods to "free zaun" are like, THE thing destroying it. the streets are rampant with nameless mutated homeless people hooked on shimmer he is directly responsible for. and i was kind of waiting for like. a shift within his circle. if that makes sense. obviously people like violet and ekko and caitlyn dont like him but they never did they dont have to be convinced, but to have someone who initially put all their trust into him as the guy to bring zaun into glory and then slowly have to reckon with the fact theyve propped up a mad man who has prioritized power in himself over the initial goal of liberating the city would have whipped ass.

and then it just didnt happen. theres this fascinating thing going on with silco where hes talking mad shit about the likes of vander, oh hes too softhearted, he will never do what it takes to truly ensure the safety and freedom of the lanes bc he cares too much about his damn babies. and then silco finds himself as caretaker of one of those babies. the show meticulously shows me how he cares for her, he softens for her, he lets her tinker in her silly cave all day and blow up cops with harley quinn bombs. so we have three main things to keep in mind with silco:

his primary stated goal is to free zaun from piltovers repressive rule.

his shimmer production is one of if not The thing actively destroying the lanes

he now has Baby, whos safety has become a growing priority for him.

this culminating in the finale where he is presented with the opportunity to hand her over to the authorities in exchange for zauns independence. now THIS could have been a really interesting internal dilemma for him. he is now faced with the exact choice that led vander to becoming "weak" in his eyes. whats one girls life in exchange for his dream finally becoming a reality. but its also an impossible thing to ask because thats his Daughter. so now hes risking scrutiny from his underlings for being wishy washy. ooh intrigue mystery. youd really need some time to steep on his agonies and what hes really willing to prioritizeat this point in his life

and then none of that happens bc hes immediately kidnapped and shot and never has to seriously consider it. he never has to SACRIFICE he always just. has everything he wants. forever. until he dies. powerful chem baron running the show with his army of teen supersoldiers.

another route i considered them being able to do is something more focused on him and sevika. she left vander to join his cause specifically bc she thought vander was weak. as his right hand, she would do anything for silco, including literally giving up her fucking arm when she saved him from the blast in act one. timeskip, now we see she has a fun new mech arm powered by silcos own shimmer, which we are shown the side effects of time and time again. i thought this was leaning into a metaphor about how her emotional dependence on him and his cause was being represented by a chemical dependence on shimmer. like its destroying her physically and mentally but she NEEDS it to work out to know it wasnt all for nothing so shell put up with whatever sketchy bullshit hes got going on, the ends justify the means. and we get like six detailed shots of shimmer being pumped directly into her body i thought for sure they were gonna be like oh this is fucking killing her, like a compound v situation

but shes like. fine. theres no side effects besides a cool scar. shes chilling.

i also thought her antagonistic dynamic with jinx was going somewhere. like if sevika noticed that silco was putting her above what needed to be done for the sake of liberating zaun, and noticing how it mirrored how vander became "weak" and getting that much more pissed about playing second fiddle to a 17 year old. like imagine you get that whole scene where sevika makes it look like shes gonna execute silco, then murders the chem baron who asked her to do it because she trusts him THAT much, then later she hears about jayce's offer to silco and sees him GENUINELY considering leaving the offer on the table JUST for jinx. sorry if i was her id snap. id go crazy id start a coup.

so basically what im saying is. lotta different options to make the characters richer and more grey as they struggle with what they really care about. but the story just kind of shuffles past them and then insists that the bonds were there the whole time you guys jinx and sevika are totally besties now shes a symbol of zaun <3

[belliesandburps]

Interactive - Favorite Burp Scenario

I need something to take my mind off the fact that we are home to the dumbest, most bigoted fucking assholes on this planet, and I feel like a lot of you probably feel the same way right now. So, how about another interactive game? Send me character requests via my askbox here and I will respond with my favorite burp scenario to imagine for them. (Note, ideally, keep it to characters I know or that you think I may know)

[lesbianralzarek]

Hi! If I were to experiment with VTM, what would be good places to start?

i cannot describe the sound that came out of me upon reading this ask. the answer to this today is the same as 20 years ago, funny enough. vtmb is to vtm as bg3 is to d&d. it has a deep devotion to and love for the lore and Vibes™️ of the ttrpg, and if youre wanting to learn more about the game, or figure out what exactly people love about vtm, or discover whether or not its for you, vtm bloodlines is the best place to start! its my 2nd fav game of all time and if i start singing its praises we'll be here all night lmao

heads up: this game is utterly unplayable without the unofficial patch by wesp5. i cannot stress enough how much you need the patch. one non-bug example is that in the base game they forgot to implement the healing ability they made. this game is an rpg first and a video game second and you can see where the priorities were. also i dont wanna explain too much but clans nosferatu and malkavian change the game so very much and are therefore not recommended for first time playthroughs

lemme know if theres anything i can do to help! im always wanting to see more people loving vtm!!!!

[ikilledamanforthisurl]

really fun parallels between Minami & Nishida in which one guy who wants most of the fights he gets into generally has a bit of a dodgy win/lose ratio, meanwhile the other who has only ever welcomed one single fight in his life is the more violently competent

[cuubism]

has anyone asked you about deja vu...................... i am very Interested and Invested in this one..............................................

ohh yesss. I've made SO little progress on chapter 4, but it's a rare fic where I have basically the entire story planned out, so here's a scene from chapter six. featuring my favorite 1940s film cigarette motif, anachronistically slotted in there considering this takes place in the mid 1700s, but what can you do XD

--

They fall together lazily, after, Dream leaning against Hob’s shoulder, Hob’s leg slung over his as they lean against the headboard. Dusk is falling, the room in shadows now as the sun has long since traversed over the roof. Dream studies the play of dim light over Hob’s shoulders, the softening of all his features in the shadows. The way their skin sticks together in the summer heat, almost too hot and tacky, and the way the faint breeze through the open window flutters the curtains and the long strands of Hob’s hair. He runs an indulgent hand over Hob’s chest, down over his stomach and across his thigh, reading it all anew like he hasn’t just had Hob all over him. He is beautiful to touch, Dream thinks, but to do so carves a little hole of melancholy in his heart. Each brush of skin is like an echo, a memory calling to him across time whose origin point is distant now. Concentric ripples on a still lake, the thrown stone long gone under the water, and its thrower, too. Hob’s found some cigarettes in the nightstand drawer, and slants a smile sideways at Dream as he sticks two of them in his mouth to light, and as Dream keeps touching him lightly. “Am I pleasing to you?” “Yes,” Dream says, honestly, and Hob chuckles. “Good.” He strikes a match, the flame flaring brightly in the dark, and lights both cigarettes. Meanwhile, Dream watches the movement of his hands. Hob takes one of the cigarettes from between his lips and holds it up to Dream, and Dream takes with his teeth, Hob’s eyes on him all the while. The tobacco is acrid on the back of his tongue when he lets himself taste it — which he does, because whatever Hob would give him directly from his own mouth, he will have. Hob lets out his own breath of smoke, the breeze catching it and whistling it further into the room before it can linger. “You don’t strike me as a heavy smoker.” “I am not,” Dream concedes. “And yet.” Hob drapes his free arm around Dream’s shoulders, stroking up and down Dream’s arm idly with his thumb. “Getting a taste for it?” “Perhaps.” “Perhaps,” Hob echoes. He tips his temple against Dream’s so they’re breathing the same air, the same smoke. “Careful. It can be habit-forming.” Dream takes another inhale of smoke into his nonexistent lungs. “I am aware.” “Hard to break,” Hob stresses, close enough now that his lips nearly brush Dream’s. “One would think it best not to start at all,” Dream says, as he takes another long breath in, and almost feels the tang of it in his chest like he were truly breathing the way Hob is. “Bit late for that,” Hob says, though he doesn’t sound horribly chagrined about it. He tilts his head to catch Dream’s eye, and smiles, that warm, confidential Hob smile, like everything spoken is a secret between them, and it makes Dream want to whisk him away to the Dreaming to keep him forever, or twist his form back into Eleanor so he can have his husband again, or simply drop the façade entirely and see if Hob could possibly love him like this as Dream. And he does none of these things.

[forcedhesitation]

stop fucking flirting with me, you rancid little man

[spiteriisen]

tag drop ; isande.

( even scorched by fires of war ; i will fly on wings of my own making. ✧ ic. ) isande. ( gold as the rising sun ; she holds her shield aloft to greet the dawn. ✧ visage. ) isande. ( what good is any faith if in yourself you hold none ; be your own devotee. ✧ isms. ) isande. ( through shade & sleet-- through all winter's wrath ; the thistle maid blooms in xanntash. ✧ aesthetic. ) isande. ( born in the dark but her heart never beat ; not 'til light touched her face was she truly complete. ✧ lore. ) isande.

( a message to all the holy temples dedicated to me ; you all really make up any shit huh. ✧ crack. ) isande. ( do not follow me-- do not pray ; choose to walk alongside me and i will stay. ✧ game shenanigans. ) isande.

connections ;

( i'd trade all tales human & divine to turn back time ; for song in your smile & light in your eyes. ✧ isande & finnegan. ) passionfell. ( you seek no god & i never sought to be one ; not demanding or bestowing-- i am asking for a champion. ✧ isande & ankita. ) passionfell. ( you can't wield a sword for me-- i don't carry one ; pledge oath to you & let blind faith be gone. ✧ isande & alwin. ) risingretribution.

[rynnthefangirl]

Heartbreaking to realize one of my favorite songs is Aegon II coded (the Family Jewels by Marina)

[perenlop]

yknow, it is kinda weird that they made paul’s gliscor a recurring character with a sympathetic story about being driven out from its home and unintentionally creating this whole gligar pack (trapping them all in the city with it), getting ash’s gligar as an underling, implied it was going to be a rival to ash’s gligar, tying ash and paul’s teams together even tighter with the chimchar conflict, and then they just. didnt do anything with her after she beat gligar’s ass that one time

[gnaga37]

also! for how much you can argue that mc is not really a sandbox, you can't artificially create goals for the players. you Have To create your own goals in the game. you're just making a new game otherwise.

[nerime]

I just finished bg3 and saw how half-assedly they treated wylls ending after half assing his quests the entire game AND I go on tumblr to learn they added g*ds specialest pr*ncess line for shart into the GAME???

[xrosevoidx]

veronica besty dont. dont compare yourself to oedipus thats not- that means something else. veronica.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

sometimes I think about how the game that completely changed how the general public viewed pixel rpgs, has a breathtaking soundtrack that has completely escaped it's original circle, has lines like "It's you!" "Despite everything it's still you", changed so many people's mind about empathy in video games, was damn near revolutionary in how it used game mechanics as part of the story and literally fucked with the code of your computer, uses the game code as a means of storytelling, has secrets people still are trying to unravel to this day, and has a boss fight so mind-blowing people still talk about it and for so many people it's ongoing legacy is Kanye West likes...., selfcest, and that time it killed the queen of England. And I love that. good job team

[bravevolunteer]

which horror trope/theme are you

family as a cult

you will never need anyone else. outsiders will hurt you, aim to corrupt you and ruin you and leave you in pieces, but your family will always be there for you. everyone has the same eyes, the same smile. the same sickly yellow light cast over their skin. the same tastes, the same food that melts to gray sludge on your tongue. family recipe. hugs last too long, touches linger and sting like sunburn. don't stray too far. if you come back looking like a wolf rather than a sheep, the dogs will eat you.