#but it's still pretty good quality imo. yeah

[royalarchivist]

Ironmouse: Part of the reason why I love this server so much is because everybody's so nice. Everyone! Like, every single person is super nice! And it's like- it's like, genuine nice, it's not like fake niceness. [...] I've literally talked to almost everybody at least once like outside of the QSMP. We've talked on Discord, people regularly check in on me, we get in group chats and we play games like outside of the server... You don't really find that sort of connection all the time with people.

Ironmouse recently talked about her experience on QSMP, and how kind all the members are. I'm posting the entire conversation instead of cutting it up like I usually would because I really enjoyed hearing her thoughts on the server.

[ Subtitle Transcript ]

-

Ironmouse: Honestly, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I did. He's so nice, he's so- he's always been super nice to me. He's been so nice, I– part of the reason why I- I love this server so much is because everybody's so nice. Everyone! Like, every single person is super nice! And it's like- it's like, genuine nice, it's not like fake niceness. You know how sometimes like– you always hear like, "Oh yeah, you know–" when–

Ironmouse: Whenever you like, join like a new thing, right? Whenever you like join like a new thing, you always worry, 'cuz you always think: "Oh, are the people gonna like me? Are they gonna be nice to me? What if- What if- you know, what if this, what if that?" But everybody like genuinely was nice when I first came by, and everybody has been so nice to me– not just in the game, but outside of the game, and–

Ironmouse: Something special about the QSMP is like... People wanna be your friend like outside of the game? Like, I've literally talked to ev– almost– almost everybody at least once like outside of the QSMP, like... We've talked on Discord, people like regularly check in on me, and like we get in group chats and like we- we play games like outside of the server, and it's just like... You don't really find that sort of connection all the time with people? You know what I mean? It's very– it's very not common when you go on like, a content creator-like server or stuff like that, you know? You'll get like one or two people that you get close to and stuff, but like... Everybody is SO nice, and everybody's been so nice to me, and I can't tell you how many people like, wished me– not just like wished me happy birthday, or like wished- said, "Oh, you know, hap- Merry Christmas!" dadadada, it's like genuinely like... Asked how I'm doing, and like talk to me, and like... Just like– I dunno, it's just like so- so- it's so wonderful. Ironmouse: Like, I get that with VShojo a lot, like– we're all like besties, and we all like talk all the time, but I feel like it's different, 'cuz like VShojo– we're VShojo, we're like– we're our own group, but this is like... You know... You don't expect this sorta thing when you get invited to like be on some- be a part of something, you know? And it's- and it's been so– it's been so wonderful and everybody's been so GENUINELY nice to me, and I- I appreciate everybody on the server so much, and they're just some of the nicest people that I've ever met ever, and it's just–

Ironmouse: It just warms my heart, and I'm just really– really like, thankful to be a part of something so great, and something so positive! Because like, everybody's so supportive! Like– the time when like, I didn't like– I- I- I had a moment where it's like I– do you guys remember in December when I- I was not around a lot? And like, I had to take breaks and all this stuff and it turns out it was like the concert stuff? They all like would message me regularly, like, we would all keep up with each other, and we would all talk. And I remember telling them about like, how much stress I was under, and like all the- all the pressures of the concert and stuff, and– and they were cheering, and- and- and they were just so... so kind to me, it was just so– so sweet, and- and you know, I was in a group chat with a- with a few people, and they were all just so excited and- and- just super nice, and- and very- very sweet, and it's just– and it's just very– I'm sorry if I'm rambling! It's just...

Ironmouse: I dunno! I- I- I just enjoy being here, and I enjoy hanging out with everybody, and... it's just nice to meet really good people. You don't really find that. You don't find that sort of thing all the time. Don't get me wrong– it's not like I haven't met a lot of good people, like– I just feel like this whole like, my whole like– Ever, like– My streaming journey, I've just been nothing but surprised at the goodness of people? Don't get me wrong– I've met assholes and sht like that, and I've met- I've encountered some people that are NOT so nice. I'll never like, talk about it or whatever because that's their thing, and I'm just gonna do my thing and I don't wanna like, you know, spread any type of stupid drama or whatever the fck, but like... I'm just always surprised about how– how incredibly nice people are, and how genuine a lot of people are, and it's... It- it's just nice, especially since like– You're used to coming from like, a certain background and a certain like, environment where it's like, you've met a lot of like fcked up mean people in your life, and you've just been around a lot of like fckery, you know? So when- when you're around stuff that's NOT fcked, it's just like, "Woah, this is crazy! Is this- is this how life is supposed to be?!" And it's just- it's just really... it's really- it's really nice. It's very nice.

Ironmouse: Yeah, it's very refreshing, that's why I- I enjoy hanging out on here, everybody's just so nice to me. And it's not just like being nice just to be on-stream, it's nice off-stream, on-stream, friendship on-stream, off-stream, it's- it's just- it's just so- it's- it's- it's wonderful. It's wonderful. And I just have to say like... man, I'm just really thankful that like... it's crazy that like I got invited to be on here and I'm just really thankful that, you know... Quackity like, reached out to me and he's- he's just been nothing but nice, everybody- everybody's just so kind. Everybody's so nice. This is something truly special.

[britneyshakespeare]

i am at the looking-at-dolls-as-self-soothing part of the night. i definitely wanna beef up my bratz collection since unboxing my alwayz bratz yasmin was just like... oh... oh man... and... and i didn't think it'd be like that for me man i didn't think i had as much nostalgia for bratz as i actually do not just buy owning some but by touching them and playing w their clothes and their hair.

and one of my issues of course is that i'm a redhead and as a redhead my Default Lookalike Doll is meygan (not that having a doll that looks like you is the most important part of bratz, but it is so much of the fun right? the fact that there's a character out there for just about everyone?). and i like meygan as a character well enough, that's not the issue. but of the meygan dolls that have been reproduced, there's none of them that are like, hardcore needs for me except for sweetheart meygan. and i did not buy sweetheart meygan in time. i was not really collecting at that point. that was like 2022. i had a few... na na na surprise dolls at that time. which is funny bc i have four of those that i got all either on clearance or w giftcards and i do really like them even though a lot of doll collectors thought they were kinda dumb, and they were. i just liked the gimmick of the fabric bodies and there were just enough dolls i thought were really cute that i kinda caved at one point. i also knew it was a brand i wouldn't go overboard with. anyway. we were talking about meygan...

sorry meygan back to you girl. i know original 2000s bratz that have not yet been reproduced at crazy expensive on the secondhand market and it's genuinely out of control. but sweet heart meygan, both the repro and the original, are selling for triple digits on mercari, ebay, what have you. that's just ridiculous. frankly. i'm not buying her at that. i don't even like her enough to hunt for her regularly, if that's how it's gonna be. there are plenty of more readily-available bratz dolls that are either regular retail price or clearancing online andin stores. did you guys know alwayz bratz jade is going for 15 bucks on amazon right now? that's crazy. the other always bratz dolls aren't going for that low if they're even marked down yet. that release wasn't even that long ago. anyway i'm thinking of getting jade from that line bc i know some ppl thought that alwayz jade was a let-down, but i thought she was cute. yasmin was my favorite from that line and that's why i got her but jade was my second fave there easily.

i also wanna get the kumi they reproduced sometime and maybe girls nite out cloe since i see she's still available. it's funny there aren't that many core girls i've wanted from the repros but if i go for any of the cloes, new or old, it's gotta be girls nite out. cloe isn't even usually my favorite character no offense blondes she's just kinda. she's just kinda cloe to me. idk i love her but i'm not gagged over her most of the time. these are still bratz standardz we're talking about here so obviously i love her.

there's nothing going on in the world right now other than my bratz dolls. and if someone we won't mention wins the election, i'm definitely going doll crazy. i'm gonna be buying dolls after this anyway, but i'm gonna justify spending an unusual, nearly-irresponsible amount of money. you know. bc i'm an adult and i can.

hey also and of all the lines they could've reproduced why is their most recent slumber party? why? why? when the poll posted by mga had tokyo a go go WINNING? bc tokyo a go go is the correct option? i mean the slumber party line is cute and i like the base dolls and the accessories especially the stuffed animals are cute. but. everyone knows the bratz audience these days is adult collectors. which adult collectors are losing their minds over dolls in pajamas and bathrobes? again they're CUTE. but why. also why did they reproduce bratz babyz when those things were nightmare fuel

[massiveladycat]

i will never get over people laughing at octavian's death personally,,, he was SHOT INTO THE AIR!!! thats so painful. all the burns and the impact, plus being flung from a cannon and probably slamming into gaia (literal earth goddess) plus festus (gigantic metal dragon, i bet that HURT) and leo (pretty sure leo was burning)

he was a kid and he was annoying to some people and he was usually antagonized but he didnt deserve to die OR go out in that way. the gods are a thousand times worse than octavian, and apollo told him that he'd be a savior of new rome, but people still justify them. not to mind there are much worse people in the PJO universe (gabe, LUKE)

octavian ily they could never make me hate you EVER. idc what you say he could have been redeemed. did he do bad things? yes. but he was so deeply influenced and the day meeting with leo and the others, in which i remind you octavian literally was watching new rome get blown up (no wonder he was livid, his home was on FIRE).

like come on. octavian is a complex character and people aren't willing to admit that he could've been better and he was just a literal teenager in the sake of hating him because everyone else/pjo characters hate him.

he is such a tragic character imo because he grew up in new rome and all he wanted to do was protect it (and he was highly ambitious and aiming for praetor, i won't deny the fact that he was selfish but that is a quality that can be REDEEMED) and sure the way he went about it was messed up but most of his actions (except killing that one centurion) were justifiable

btw im not saying octavian's like an angel or anything im pretty sure i remember him "killing" a 5th cohort centurion once but then she was revived which . . . what was the point of that?? was it just to like make us hate him more?? huh??? and then was it even ever talked about again?? also yeah he blackmailed hazel thats not good also judging from the wikipedia it only said frank suspected octavian because.. he didn't have his spear?? what?? reminder that there is proof that a lot of pjo characters are unreliable narrators and for all we know octavian could've screwed up somehow and left his spear somewhere (just saying i'd do that too ngl)

also "I am the savior of Rome! I was promised!" i didnt know why but that quote DESTROYED me but now i know that it was because he genuinely believed he was doing the best for new rome and he'd finally have someone's praise and they'd praise him like they praised percy and reyna. pretty sure his mental state was not very good in that scene either and nico and will just let him shoot himself out of an onager on accident. also are we just going to gloss over the fact apollo told him that and encouraged him he was doing the right thing?? of COURSE octavian trusted apollo on that and believed it was the truth; apollo was his ancestor and someone he worshipped as an augur and trusted in for omens and prophecies and allat

yeah. octavian's an asshole. but he was a kid and he couldve been redeemed. then again i am a huge octavian apologist and im not saying you have to have the same opinions as i do also i will not be responding to any asks in my inbox im 2 tired to deal with that!! anyways dont go and insult people or me if you think the opposite thats fine !! i was just bored and found this in my drafts so whats the harm of posting it because im not going to get sent threats over this right,,, right??????

[dawnbreakersgaze]

Dr.Greyson got a face reveal in Zayne’s new card !!

OH MY GOD HE DID!!!!!

Please nonnie TELL ME WHY I CRIED trying to get the courage to freaking watch the video lmaooooo I'm such a god damned baby 🤣😩😭

But it's okay he's an adorable little DORK

Everything else I say will be posted below the cut for spoilers

First off, SAY HELLO TO CANON GREYSON

I'll update this with better quality photos when I actually get the card on my iPad and get some BEEFY good quality.

I got the brown hair and (maybe??) blue eyes right, though they look more on the gray-blue side rather than the piercing blue I gave him.

And those glasses?! You guys have no idea how BADLY I wanted to give Grey glasses but I thought it was "too much" like Zayne SO FUCK YEAH I GET TO DRAW HIM IN GLASSES MUAHAHAHA

He's definitely got the straight af nose I gave him, but the jawline is very much more typical of the style LnDS likes (which makes sense, it's still an art style, even in 3d models). I love that they gave him the longer, less arched brows (another thing I drew, though they definitely went thinner, to compliment the much more delicate, boyish facial structure they've gone with).

My only big complaint is the haircut tbh, and that's just because I desperately wanted SOMEONE, ANYONE on LnDS to have some longer, wavy hair 😩😩😩 I'm going to miss drawing those luscious locks and imagining running my fingers through them and thinking about pulling his hair a lil, you know, as a treat 😌

Overall, while he doesn't resemble my Greyson very much, I give him a 7.5/10

Would still smash. He looks like he'd fall to pieces if you showed him your boobs and imo that's just as wonderful as a man who's confident with them. He's a man you can teach and he'd study pretty damn hard iykwim 👀

His glasses are cute and so is he. He's giving "the entire cast of The Mummy" smashed into one person, and my bisexual ass is here for all of it.

As for what this means for Greyson's blog and my art and my Greyson? Well, that'll be an answer for not very very tired Kay 😅

[ranfordgallus]

What's it like working on comics on your own? Have any tips that could help artist that aspire to do the same?

Working on a comic i would say...obviously, its pretty difficult since i do all the sketching, lineworking, colouring, and all the details like the backgrounds..though its fun either way since i get to do work on something on my own and im passionate abt, yes its...time consuming and can get pretty tiring but its worth it at the end of the day imo..

It would be easier to have a couple of people work for my comic but, one: i dont have money to pay the people working, like i dont have money, none, not even a cent or a nickel.. two: im not a very good art director, i cannot like...explain it very well, yeah i can do the sketch n stuff but the thing is that uhm...my sketch looks like shit LMAO, three: i prefer this being a one person project, because its my passion, it wont be as fun if someone works for me and i do this for fun, i dont wanna be fast at creating comic panels or else..again ill get burnt out, i prefer taking it easy

Though to make it work, i do each step for the comic in a day, its hard to understand or explain it but basically

Day one: i create my panels first

Day two: i sketch and line art

Day three: i colour and do the backgrounds

Day four: i shade and do the details like...the speech n stuff

Basically like that so i have enough energy to finish the comic without being burnt out and rest and do my stuff after

Thoughh...im not very good at giving art tips or even comics, im still considered an immature artist, and im not experienced in doing webcomics or...like "high quality" comics in general because krattastrophe is my FIRST webcomic at the moment, you can see in the first episode of my comic that my art is..very different from now..

[fumifooms]

do you think the succubus chilchuck sees is his wife, but blonde? he seems so upset when its dead

I think it’s a very strained theory. There are two layers to this: Chilchuck’s expression, and the succubi’s appearances. And notice the plural of appearances.

Chilchuck’s expression here is meant as comedic, we can assume because of the lashes and sparkle in his eyes, it gives shojo energy (which is intentional and heavily present at the very least with Marcille in the same chapter). It’s a type of dramatic sorrowful expression that I think Marcille with Hareus and Laios with scylla Marcille would have had the same, the type that Laios had when Marcille crushed the cool dragon familiar he made the type of face you make when a unicorn is killed in front of you. Chilchuck would have this face regardless of this being his wife, because regardless of it being his wife or not the succubi are still Chilchuck’s ideal form. It’s like having the blorbo you fantasize about brutally mauled inches away from your face, or a painting you love stained. Chilchuck wants the sirens to come for his life and is sad he lost the opportunity for it lol. But most importantly imo, if that was his wife, he would have had a face much more like genuine terror or horror (which would have been still both funny and understandable so it was a deliberate choice to pick this expression instead), like in his nightmare with his dead daughters.

Ok now onto appearances: Here are all of Chilchuck’s succubi we see.

The biggest thing against this theory for me is that yes, these are different women who are visibly different. There’s no denying he has a type, long wavy blonde hair, deepset light-colored eyes and sultry mouths, faces with a mature quality to them, but different women no less. It would be interesting to analyze what it would mean for Chilchuck to have only one of his succubi in a sea of succubi be his wife, but it would defeat the purpose of it I think. We see waves of women succubi throw themselves at him, and I think the intent is just that; for them to just be women, his ideal type materialized but sort of identity-less, a mass of them that isn’t really meant to be differentiated or individualized. If you believe that the nameless black-haired half-foot woman portrait is his wife, that shortens the conversation, but there are also arguments beyond it for why yes his wife would have black hair, and why she’d have deepset eyes and a face like this (because it’s a solid argument that his type would be at least influenced by her yes. I go into this topic in this post). If we go with the portrait chilwife theory, then it’s pretty straightforward that none of them truly closely look like her. If we go with another theory then we’re truly walking in the dark for how she looks like. How close is close enough to "be" ‘her except blonde’, anyways? It’s the sort of thing you can believe if you want to, but it creates more questions than answers, which albeit isn’t always bad. My interpretation of Chilchuck’s succubi makes me biased though of course, because it’s closely intertwined with my overall interpretation of Chilchuck and whatnot. I’ve talked about succubi in dungeon meshi and them in relation to Chilchuck a lot over time. I think them being faceless and varied rather than one single model of perfection is because he craves pleasure with no ties, something to feel good for a while and forget all his troubles, including his separation. I think that when Chilchuck reacts like that below, it’s because he feels some amount of guilt at it not being her, and again not wanting to think about painful things, but it could be interpreted to be "can you not, when you just blew her up" I suppose. I go into it here and here as well.

I don’t know Kui’s brain so like, this is just my thoughts, like you asked for, but yeah I don’t think that first succubus literally had his wife’s appearance.

[szollibisz]

I'm a big mush and I forgot to send you something for the ask game, so for Curt and Owen:

-33- redeeming qualities

I see my elusive lover spirit is being called upon after all my haterism towards these two <3

I wanna preface by saying that a lot of their generally positive/neutral qualities unfortunately become twisted into bad qualities due to the times they were living in and the lifestyle they led, but I'm still going to mention said traits as good. And also that most of this pertains to pre fall, since it really brought out the worst in them, and minimised many of these otherwise good qualities.

Curt:

- His optimism. It's mentioned multiple times by other characters in the show, but he truly is a very hopeful person, who wants to do good in the world. I feel like his aggressive optimism might've saved him and Owen a few times. Since Owen is very logical, he may get lost in trying to figure out how to get out of a tricky situation, and may even become overcome with a sense of dread after not finding a good solution, but Curt has this almost naive hope, a sense of being untouchable when together with Owen, so he may make impulsive choices that may not seem logical at first, but end up saving them in the end, or generally help Owen relax until he can properly figure out his plans.

- Being caring and affectionate. It's clear throughout the show that the people he loves, he loves very much and that when he's not in his post-fall depression spiral he's quite personable. He initiates the hug after him and Tatiana agree to be friends, and while she's hesitant he doesn't seem awkward about it at all, which to me comes across as both a. He's used to being like this with people, close, friendly etc and b. He really needed a hug which you know. He does. But yeah, overall when he's not trying to hide behind his macho spy persona too much, his kindness shows through. (Chronic case of kind but not nice most of the time)

- Spontaneity/thinking on the spot. I explained most of this in the optimism paragraph, but yeah, to elaborate that's not just about missions, but the way he generally lives his life. While it does mean he's kinda unreliable, it also means he's always ready to do things and enthusiastic about everything. He's the kind of guy that plans a week long vacation from scratch in like an hour, and even if there are many faults in the plan he will still find a way to make it enjoyable. Also ties in to being sociable and constantly set on having a good time.

- Helpful. I think much of his youth was about helping people, and making up for the things he did wrong/lacked in. He genuinely wants people to be happy, he's just at odds with himself which constantly ends up causing trouble. He gets bad grades, he gets in fights etc etc. He tries to fix it all by being a helpful member of his community. Imo it's not just his hero complex and McCarthyism that fuels his need to be a spy and make a difference, it's a genuine hope for a better world and wanting better things for people.

Owen:

- Logical. Pretty self explanatory, we see it a lot in a1p1, but it's also part of his entire world view. He overanalyzes every feeling and every thought he has and he has a very specific idea of how things work now and how things should work ideally. His logic gives him the capacity to change these ideals, albeit not easily. He's still less susceptible to propaganda than Curt, purely on account of the constant self checking. I think he's the kind of guy that wants to hear multiple perspectives before making a decision, especially since he himself is in a marginalized community, and knows how the most popular opinion on something is not necessarily the "right one"

- Devoted. Whether to ideals or a person this man is all in. Since he is so logical, he often justifies his (very intense) feelings with facts and is more firm in his beliefs than a lot of people are, shaken out of them very rarely. This is especially true with Curt, who he can't stop loving even after the fall. He'd do basically anything for him, or the other ideals he has. So all I'm saying is, if there is only one loyal man in the world it is Owen.

- Detail oriented/persistent. He's very good at focusing on the little things, which is why he's such a good spy and actor. He knows how to pick very specific character quirks to get people talking or pay attention to the small mannerisms of his targets to catch them in lies and whatnot. He's also very organized because of this, having specific methods for everything, from packing his clothes to torturing information out of someone. It's also useful in his relationships, it makes him seem sort of insane and obsessive (he is) but he remembers every innocuous detail about Curt, and he cares for him according to those. Often Curt won't even say things, Owen will just pick up on the and remember for later, like watching how much sugar Curt puts in his coffee and making it the exact same way for him next time.

- Adaptability. He could survive anywhere anytime, because honestly, even though he's a mess post fall I still think he managed better than 99% of people would. Just cause he doesn't win the idgaf war doesn't mean it isn't crazy he survived and managed to carve some semblance of a life out for himself. Even before the fall he had to survive ww2 era London, spying, A Situationship and so on. He can stay mostly composed and rational in most situations, until he figures out what to do, and if not he has Curt to rely on for moral support.

There are more for both of them but I want to keep this. Well not short and sweet it's already not short but yeah.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

This is just me rambling and stuff, and this is the only way i could get out my monty brainrot and a little bit of yves brainworm out of my head, but just ignore it if it's cringe or too insane

I think with the way Yves would take care of me thoroughly and know me so well would unsettle me at times, but ultimately it would probably cement his place as a comforting and caring platonic partner in my head 😭😭 cause i know i would be thinking like "oh! He's so inspiring! I think he's the perfect role model for how i should take care of myself and love the people close to me ^^" <- absolutely missing the point and every romantic gesture i would misunderstand (what lacking romantic experience does to a mf) as something he does with other ppl, even though i would imagine that he's barely seen with anyone else than his darling :'); or maybe he would account for the fact that i misunderstand things? But i have a feeling that he would catch on to the fact that I'm a bit of a blockhead

Imo i think that i would choose Monty over Yves, despite everything that he did for me; maybe because he's done so much for me, i would probably feel immeasurably guilty even if he does say he likes doing it and personally, the power imbalance in both his material and physical qualities as well as the lack of vulnerability would intimidate me 🫠🫠 errr in a way, Monty I love so much because of how loving, protective and accepting he is, he's got characteristics that are close to my type!! (might also be the fact that to some extent, he can be controlled :3); he's endearingly trying his best and flopping a lot, but at least he listens to valid criticism 🥰🥰 he's... Cute... And maybe because of the food too, since receiving and giving food is a big sign of love for me <3 His messiness is a bit of a charm to me, because personally it takes a lot of guts and vulnerability to show someone how messy you are physically and mentally, or well, maybe its pity over the depression mess 😔 One thing i want to know is if he'll ever get immune to his darling's romantic and sexual advances and throw it right back similarly? Or is still gonna be giggling and kicking his feet on the bed over it? And i wonder how his reaction would be towards a darling that starts off meek and quiet, but gets more dominant and pursues him as well? Man, i want this guy pegged <3 And to get him pregnant <3 I want to give him backshots that make him better or worse :3

Anyway, this is also a way of grieving over not choosing Monty over Cyprus 😔 because i read Cyprus first before Monty and i regret picking him for the poll 🤧 but, I'm looking forward to any potential Monty content and how this silly guy locks in or flop <3

Boy oh boy do I have the ask for you

Thanks for the ramble anon it was a good read 👍

Well Yves does act accordingly to your personality. If you are pretty clueless BUT would accept him as your ONLY romantic partner for life, he would be extremely straightforward, cutting to the chase and be clear in what he wants the relationship to be (it was exhibited in Best and Worst of Both worlds)

But if he predicts that you will reject him or eventually cheat on him later in the relationship despite all the measures to stop you from doing so, he will remain platonic. And his prediction model is horrifyingly accurate. Mans will even reject YOU if he knows you can't keep it in your pants 💔

Oh yeah if it's vulnerability you're looking for Yves is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT the man you're looking for homie 😭 he is THE fort knox of mental illness, you can (almost) never catch him lacking and is always locking in while Monty is human

Literally Yves isn't actually human anymore

Here are other pieces of writing that has monty in it, idk if you seen them yet but it was all clumped together with Yves's MASSIVE sections

What makes Monty wanna fuck you (the lower half of this post is just Yves waffles)

Montgomery as a dad (scroll to like half of it to skip Yves's part)

Yves isn't necessarily okay with being only a platonic yandere

[suffarustuffaru]

The fanbase is scaring me, the redesigns brought up some weird people that are REALLY passionate about Liliana being half naked

Like theres a whole war going on on twitter rn and the poor character designer got harassed

My problem is with the amount of people upset with this, like i knew we had a bunch of pedos around because of the way tappei writes the girls, but damn i didnt think there were this many of them 💀

yes ive heard about that....... im answering your ask late oops haah but i hope the situations a Bit better..... the toxic parts of this fandom give me a headache but my usual motto is to stay off twitter, touch grass, ignore people, and then hold onto my own viewpoints unless proven wrong alsjdflsdj but like. yeah this fandom is a bit tough to stay in when it comes to certain circles (for example the amount of people low quality shitposting / ranting about the fandom or whatever on rezero ao3 atm in the past days/weeks is. mm. interesting). not my first time being in larger fandoms that make you sometimes feel like youre fighting in the trenches (you could name off a few big fandoms notorious for being toxic that date back to like 2016 and odds are ive been in a couple lajdlf) but yeah seeing people complain about liliana and capella's designs and then overly fixate on emilia's boobs when these three characters have more to bring to the table than just that and theres lots and lots of good things to say about the s3 trailer and their designs..... mm. yeah. im squinting hard at a few of the things ive heard on that. but anyway!!

like the new designs are an Improvement. In General. like ok, as a boob haver myself ("boob haver" is the funniest phrase to me alsdjfls but it is true nonetheless, i am one) i do not give a shit about emilias larger boobs like ok?? her boobs are bigger?? she is still my fav ever and sometimes it just happens when youre still a growing teen/young adult and emilias back to her more revealing main outfit when she wore a different outfit in s2 so the difference in chest size is really not that much. but liliana and capella? those are Improved designs. i think ive talked abt the treatment of underage characters / characters who appear underage on my blog before (and i definitely couldve worded myself better then but i stand behind the fact that some of the stuff otsuka and tappei do regarding this in rezero is just Unnecessary).

could designs like emilia's still be improved on in other ways? yeah 100%, just in the sense that there could probably be changed a bit to fit her slightly more timid and soft spoken personality. or you could take different directions on it in general if you wanted. ive seen some great redesigns of her main outfit!! though her main outfit in of itself is pretty nice to look at imo and its iconic and well-known for a reason. im of the personal opinion that i wish it was a little less revealing in the same vein that her s2 main outfit was (i like that outfit a lot!!) but its still a really solid design overall.

i had some faith after seeing the anime designers fix up typhoon's original design to be More Appropriate, and i love how the essence of liliana and capella's designs were kept the same. like its not just that theyre a little less revealing (and even then, theyre both still showing a lot of skin!!! which is good!!! i like the improvement while keeping the main stuff the same), but stuff like liliana's pants aren't transparent (probably to make it easier to animate?) and the yellow/orange gradient in capella's hair looks great!! they also both look more like grown women which is a bonus. unless youre Weird about this shit which is unfortunately a small percentage of the rezero community. like you cant win with those sort of people ig, bc capella's boobs are bigger too ljasdlfj youd think that win more people over.

also i appreciate capella's sports bra bc unlike elsa's outfit it Actually looks like it's supporting her chest. if youre someone with boobs and you dont have a flat chest, youre gonna need support when being active or itll Hurt. and elsa Does Not have proper chest support okay. ill forever wince remembering elsa's design in that sense HAH....

anyway but i digress. i got no clue what to do with toxic people in fandoms despite spending a lot of time lurking in large fandoms with loud toxic people haah.... its hard to do much about it especially with increasingly declining media literacy rates everywhere.... the notorious misogyny/homophobia/etc that can happen sometimes in anime communities.... that sort of thing. i kinda just avoid it when it comes to rezero in specific, or briefly talk about it on here, or rant about it to myself in my head or chat with pals about it in private if it really frustrates me that much!! and id say im a pretty patient person hah... im not frustrated often. and the fandom is not all weird people of course and i can attest to that as ive chatted with a lot of people here... ive also seen a lot of people leave due to the fandom's Issues which is. totally fair tbh.

and i think rezero is often a "baby's first fandom" so to speak... i dont mean that in a bad way of course but its more like its the first exposure to fandom and fandom etiquette and fic etiquette and that sort of thing when it comes to english circles. or at least its a pattern ive noticed, so my theory is that that occasionally that combines with toxic fans and then you get a few people complaining about the community and how bad our fics are on rezero ao3 ig lajdlfjsdlf. which is false by the way :<< and an annoying misuse of ao3 as a free creative archive :<<

but ultimately i hope the rezero character designer's alright (and honestly theyve done super super great work - like the anime Did Not need to give emilia a bajillion outfits and go above and beyond with improving liliana, capella, giving the suwens and their hometown a whole unique aesthetic, etc). and also while i have stuff to criticize with otsuka and tappei... and the toxic parts of the fandom hah... i still enjoy rezero apart from that and the uproar with the designs has not chipped away at me too much!! ive been in this fandom long enough i guess lmao i just roll with punches at this point T^T but i also just try to look on the bright side a lot in general so ;-;;;

these are the sorts of things i like to be aware about but i dont like to get myself super involved with it (since itll probably make it worse and/or make me stressed for no good reason lmfaoo) and i wont let it enjoy the parts of rezero that i do enjoy a lot (which is to say like. the other 98% of rezero hah). so. getting off twitter is the biggest godsend i promise lajdlsfj.

but anyway!! yeah i dont have much organized thoughts on all of this, this is just me rambling my feelings on it. hope this all makes sense anon <3

[mylittlesecrethaven]

Obey Me Vs TWST Vs Genshin Pulling Methods

Because these are 3 of the games I play the most and they all have a pulling/wishing system. And I wanna rank em.

1st Place - Genshin Impact

Look, I love TWST showcase system, but just in terms of luck, ability to get cool shit, and ease of use, Genshin wins.

It's simple to look through what you can get. You can get cool weapons alongside characters that are actually useful that are also ranked 5 star, and the luck system is pretty cool.

Maybe it's just me, but getting good pulls happens a lot, and there's rarely any wishes that I outright hate or that I get so annoyed with because I can't get something. And if I do get a 5 star character? Even better!

2nd Place - TWST

Yeah, Obey Me couldn't hold a candle to this. TWST was pretty close in beating Genshin, but the luck for TWST isn't as good as with Genshin, imo.

However, the showcases are super easy to look through, I can tell what I'm most likely to get from the showcases, and there aren't a shit ton of different cards that I can get, meaning that I can get doubles and therefore level up that card more.

Also, like Genshin, you can see how many pulls you have done. (Although, with TWST, instead of simply being told how many pulls you need for what, it has a progress bar, which is super nice.) (Also, this is from much later, but while TWST has less cards than Obey Me, they are better quality and have more stuff for the cards, so even if you get a regular card, it's still fun to have because of all the stuff you can do with it besides side stories and fights)

3rd Place - Obey Me

This is for both OG and NM because they basically have the same banner system.

But.... yeah.... Obey Me's banner system kinda sorta sucks. You can see the card you want front and center, yes, but trying to see what else you're likely to get is extremely difficult. Also, the luck on Obey Me fucking sucks, and it's a total cash grab.

Also, there's way too many different cards. I can't even tell you how many times I get new N cards every time I pull, and I've been playing for a long ass time. I rarely ever get a double card, and it's usually only for an N card I already have. (Cause, yet again, the luck system is shit.) (Although, getting gems from the pulls is ok. It's not great, but it's something)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, yeah. This is just my ranking off of personal experience. I can't even tell you how badly I wanted to put TWST 1st, but I had to do what was right and do Genshin just of the luck and pity system.

Edit from later: Also, because I forgot to put this, while you do get a lot of free pulls for the regular banners in Obey Me, you don't actually get the currency to pull from the event banners very often. (I actually haven't gotten the little devil pull thingies in a long while) But in Twst, I can pull maybe once ever week and a half and for Genshin I can pull maybe every three weeks because I can easily get the currency.

(Edit from waaayyy later: There was a reblog talking about how twst pulling was better, and while it didn't really have much else regarding that besides how they personally felt, it did make me think for a minute. So, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe twst does have a better pulling system. Cause every card I've ever gotten off the showcases, I've used. Not just in battle, but in the Guest Room and on the home screen. Plus, if I get a double that I've already got full Uncapped on, I get something I can spend in the store for more backgrounds. So, while I'm in a sensible state of mind, I'm gonna say twst is probably better than Genshin simply because you use all the cards in twst at some point, and I could bet $20 y'all don't even glance at weapons if they aren't 4 star.)

[lemurblog]

Here’s some more ragging on the ahkj writers for ya. Why the hell did they do an entire episode about the lemurs wearing diapers!? You could do the exact same premise with so many other kinds of clothing! Like silly hats or onesies! That could have been adorable! But no, they just had to do fucking diapers!

I swear, it had to be somebody’s fetish on what’s supposed to be a kid show! And with that said, why in god’s name was the show made as a kid’s show!? Seriously!? You wouldn’t even have to change that much for the show to work as an average American adult cartoon show! AKHJ Mort would fit right in in an adult cartoon and King Julien! You wanna put in your fetish in a show so badly, make a show for adults!

There are shows that children and adults can enjoy that include adult jokes and are still appropriate for children. AHKJ is not of those shows. It fails! It loses! It gets no recommendation from me! Good day!

bahaha THAT LAST PART. I feel seen as someone who would not want the children in my life watching the whole show. Nor would I recommend it to almost anyone. I'm so excited to have a reason to share my controversial diaper episode opinions though.

If it was a fetish then yeah I pretty much agree. I'll never get the logic behind an adult making a kid show episode about their fetish. And the whole premise of these fetishes is their plausible deniability, which I find lame and cowardly.

imo ahkj is pure kid's tv, though. I beef with it for being behind its time (it came out after steven universe so the fatphobia and misogyny are like, come on) but i think its general humor is perfect for 8-12 year olds. It's true the characters would be at home on an adult show with no changes, but we see the same dark or adult humor in Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Trolls.

What sucks 4 me is I LOOVE this episode, lmao! It deserves better than its infamy by a mile. The diapers annoy tf out of me and I hate their design, but unlike everyone else I've followed over the years, it completely won me over in the end. It's too good for anyone to be skipping it and I'm so serious.

Yes it could've been about anything but diapers, BUT ahkj is a gross-out cartoon. They never passed up an opportunity to imply something was covered in poop. It's not ahkj's best quality, but it was part of their comedic ethos. A writer can go for gross as a humor subgenre without it being a fetish.

And my BIGGEST DEVIL'S ADVOCATE FOR THIS EPISODE: diapers are relevant to kids. It may seem super basic but I do wonder if our childless, skeptical, online adult brains are primed to see a fetish that we might miss how likely it is the team came up with this episode from watching their own kids play, or noticing what gets a reaction out of them.

I don't know if it's naive, but I never see this brought up when this episode gets roasted. The fetish seems unlikely by comparison to me.. esp when I don't believe fetishes like these are what's happening in cartoons. I don't know! The thing is I was ready to kill ahkj for years over this so I am very much the "(throws aside the large rock she was holding)" meme after I thought this other stuff over.

You gotta hear your gut out though. I hope what my gut is telling me is of some help or at least reassuring. Not to say the staff must be innocent lambs bc I'm not convinced they weren't on tumblr a little. It would be in-character for them if the point was to embarrass/shock/annoy kids and adults. One reason I called them little shits.

[sadquickchristmassnowman]

hi! what do you think are the best/most tolerable episodes in season 4 of community? it’s widely regarded as the worst season and I never know which episodes to watch each time I go through a community rewatch binge lol. so, I figured I would consult the encyclopedia! (this is my first time using the ask feature so I apologize if I am not using it correctly)

heyo! this is a great question. I actually have an abbreviated season 4 watchlist that cuts out the worst episodes (in my opinion), while staying comprehensible and making sure you're still able to follow the season's overarching plots:

4x01: history 101

4x03: conventions of space and time*

4x05: cooperative escapism in familial relations*

4x06: advanced documentary filmmaking

4x08: herstory of dance

4x11: basic human anatomy*

4x12: heroic origins*

4x13: advanced introduction to finality

the episodes with asterisks* are the ones I actually really enjoy watching. the others on the list are pretty mid, but are, in my opinion, important enough to the overarching plot and character development to be worth watching. when I'm showing other people season 4 for the first time, I adhere to this watchlist lol.

I’m going to do some (hopefully quick) explanations of how I came up with this list, but you don't have to read it if you don't want to lol:

✅ history 101: it's the first episode of the season, so it really does set the tone and establish some important details (jeff wants to graduate early, troy and britta are dating, this is their last year at greendale, etc.) as with most of season 4, the weirdness seems really contrived and unnatural, but it does have its moments of being genuinely funny. it's also a pretty abed-centric episode, which is always a bonus lol

❌ paranormal parentage: I don’t hate this episode, but it's just kind of boring and doesn't really add anything to the season. I love megan ganz but... yeah. a lot of the jokes seem forced, and there's way too much pierce for my liking. there are a couple good one liners ("you should probably tell your boyfriend's boyfriend" "I remember when this show was about community college") and it does help set up jeff finally contacting his dad, but imo it doesn't quite make the episode worth watching

✅ conventions of space and time: I’ve heard that some people hate this episode? couldn't be me. way too much trobed for me to hate it lmao. there is a lot of jeffannie in it too, but that resolves with the conclusion that annie is just a romantic who loves to fantasize, and doesn't actually have real feelings for jeff. it actually fuels my lesbiannie agenda tbh, because she is evidently just in love with the idea of a man but doesn't actually put that into practice. but that's another post lmao. we have some great one-liners, we have britta helping troy through his jealousy, we have "troy will find me :)" we have some more inspector spacetime lore, etc etc. I love this episode and rewatch it frequently.

❌ alternative history of the german invasion: for me, this episode has almost zero redeeming qualities. the jokes are lame, I hate professor cornwallis, there is so much discontinuity, it has zero importance in the bigger picture of the season and the show, it's out of character, etc. the one thing I like is the end tag.

✅ cooperative escapism in familial relations: this is a big one for me. I never see people talking about it, but to me this episode is one of season 4's saviors. we have HUGE jeff development, jeffbritta moments, some much needed shirley screentime and development, some great jokes ("-to eat garbage dip WHY DID I HAVE TO GO THIRD), classic trobedison shenanigans, and the shawshank redemption homage is very funny to me. plus! adam devine cameo! I like this episode more every time I watch it. unsung hero fr.

✅ advanced documentary filmmaking: okay so I won’t lie, I fucking HATE the changnesia arc. I think it is so incredibly stupid and uncreative. there are a million different and better ways they could have brought him back. but, this episode is just too important in the season's development to skip. and, honestly, if I ignore the whole premise, there are a lot of funny bits and jokes in this one. troy constantly smiling at the camera (read: smiling at abed), troy and annie being the silliest ever, jeff's trust issues, and ken jeong is truly very funny, I just hate this arc so much. but ultimately it's too important to cut. imo.

❌ economics of marine biology: I basically feel the same about this one as I do about alternative history of the german invasion. it's boring, the premise is stupid, it's out of character, it's unfunny, the guest character is lame, and it's pointless to the overall plot. abed and the delta cubes is a little bit funny? and I guess you could argue that the jeff and pierce development is important? but I’d refute that very quickly. it's pierce, who cares. not. worth. it.

✅ herstory of dance: this episode is honestly the upper end of mid, but it has enough good jokes and development to make it worth it. it is also Very abed-centric, which we've established is always a plus imo, and his whole bit with going on two dates at once is very in character. he also meets rachel, who comes back in season 5, so that's important. it also has some great jeff & britta development!!! which is sort of few and far between in the later seasons!!! yippee!!!

❌ intro to felt surrogacy: tied for my least favorite community episode of all time. it's clear they tried to do something similar to what they did with abed's uncontrollable christmas, but it is so incredibly contrived that it is physically painful to watch. I hate the puppets. the hot air balloon story is so stupid and out of character. the songs are bad. how dare they sully the legacy of my third favorite episode (lmao). the only redeeming qualities are troy as a whole (all of his lines are good, and that moment when he pretends his puppet is falling asleep is very funny), and the fact that pierce is not physically in it. but those do not make up for how horrific the rest of it is. in my opinion. haha.

❌ intro to knots: once again! Tied For My Least Favorite Community Episode! they're right next to each other, how convenient. and again: bad jokes, bad premise, I fucking hate professor cornwallis, the changnesia shit is back, the plot is ALL over the place, there is little to no actual character development, the dialogue just goes in circles, and it ends with a random litter of kittens that are never mentioned again??? I guess the only mildly important thing is the end tag with the evil study group, which comes back during the season finale. but yeah. not worth it. disgusting.

✅ basic human anatomy: and here we have a HUGE jump from the last one. this is my favorite season 4 episode, and is probably in my top 15 from the entire show. I could talk about this episode for hours. the troy development alone is so so so good and important. add abed into the mix and Oh Boy!!! britta is great in this one, jeff and the dean's whole thing is so fucking funny, shirley and annie competing against leonard for valedictorian on a technicality is very in character and silly, danny and donald's acting in this one is commendable, etc etc etc. there really isn't much, if anything, I dislike about this episode. jim rash being the credited writer makes me love him even more. legendary. outstanding.

✅ heroic origins: I actually really like this episode. it does still have that sort of unnatural and off-putting vibe that the majority of season 4 has, but I think it holds up. it's in character, it has some great jokes and one-liners, and although it does have its moments of discontinuity, it does a surprisingly good job of staying compliant with what has already been established. certainly much better than alternative history of the german invasion. abed's whole bit with the star wars prequels makes me laugh, the annie's boobs lore, footage of annie and troy in high school (surprisingly well done if you ignore the discontinuity of troy's injury), etc. it's also massively important for the overarching season plot, and we finally get to the conclusion of the stupid changnesia arc. I could go on and on, there's just a ton of really cool callbacks (including one to the pilot, which I only noticed a few months ago and am obsessed with), and I just. wasn't expecting this one to work out as well as it did. pleasantly surprised, all in all.

✅ advanced introduction to finality: this one is not great tbh, but it's too important plot-wise to skip. and, I mean, it does have some good moments. abed immediately recognizing evil jeff, the whole thing being in jeff's head a la remedial chaos all being in abed's head (insert something about how this being yet another demonstration of how fundamentally jeff and abed understand each other, which I could expand way more on but won't in this particular post), season 2 of the cape, "one of us is out of bullets" "is it you" "...yeah" "why would you tell me that," and more. overall, yeah, worth watching imo.

I do also want to say that I think season 4 is a bit overhated. I do agree that it is the worst season, I think most of us can agree that that is an objective truth, but it does have its moments and I do get slightly frustrated when people write the entire season off.

I’m also happy to hear anyone else's opinions on what you think is/isn't worth watching in season 4, especially if you really strongly disagree with me. I’m curious to what your reasoning is lmao.

okay! this is definitely way more elaboration than you needed, but I hope this was helpful 💯💯💯

[mecachrome]

Hi k! I think you’ve maybe mentioned this before but if you want would you share any thoughts on the Jenson/Oscar/Lando dynamic (either observed or in your fic!)? Love your scholarship as always.

omg i would love to but disclaimer that this is like an entirely fictional dynamic of course and basically just something i want to see in badvibez fic HLSDFHLKH. actually as a jendo 1oa shipper my Very very early idea was one-sided attraction on lando's side + 814 fwbs but eventually i fell down the jb81 brainworms path...

oh but in terms of observed dynamics, one thing i remember very clearly from 2022 is when crbgate was happening and jenson was talking to skysports about it like "i've been through this situation before but actually i was wrong and selfish 😊 oscar shouldn't make enemies in his career so early when he's literally never driven in a formula 1 car ❤️" in that lowkey condescending (affectionate) way of his which was hilarious to me fsr because like. well to be clear Many pundits/tps/etc. were speaking presumptuously on oscar's situation and often it was through this lens of "surely one team can't be that fucking stupid and incompetent right?" (spoiler alert: well you know) but Still... because mark webber (we'll get to him) was actually managing oscar correctly and oscar WASN'T as stupid and brash as young jense. similarly people love comparing oscar's driving style to jenson's and i remember once during an fp session someone doing it right before oscar went off and jenson was like ...Okay then. :) HLSDFH like i do think jenson rates and likes oscar don't get me wrong i just also think that 1) jenson is obnoxiously obsessed with and loyal to lando and 2) jenson can get carried away with the Narratives like any other pundit but... he's also pretty clearheaded and objective with where oscar's current level is and doesn't ever praise him senselessly, which interests me because of how much old people adore oscar and hype him up. also the first f1 race oscar ever watched was melb 2009 which jenson won... guy who meticulously studied canada 2009 as race prep two weeks ago 🧡

basically the idea of the fic really is that Literally Everyone Ever is obsessed with jenson button except for oscar. and Literally Everyone Ever around jenson's age is charmed by oscar except for jenson. and oscar's like ok yeah he's cool but what is so great about this guy... has logan texting him going all mate seriously he's actually so nice 🥰 and lando turns beet red every time jenson so much as breathes near him in the paddock and he and alex get along swimmingly and everyone he talks to seems to think jenson is the funniest guy alive. he's like ??? PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER.

also what i love about jenson is that he's so good at playing mindgames by never succumbing to them in the first place. which is a distinctly oscar piastri quality... so like i love the idea of their banter/dynamic being very insincere but in this distinctly light-hearted and polite way??? like they're both clearly trying to fuck with each other but they're having fun with it. ok actually sorry let me just paste an entire text post. Basically c'est comme ça:

also this is something chel and i discussed once but the hilarity of jenson and mark is that jenson treats the young brits like they're his mates but actually maintains some sort of moral emotional/physical distance whereas markw is out here like calling oscar his kid and pup while being... i mean. You know. hasklfdh anyway i LOVE their dynamic in the context of jendo/jb81/814 etc. because while jenson and mark are friends mark will always be that loser who never got his wdc and lost to seb every time... which really the latter is the most embarrassing to him imo because jenson lowkey rates beating lewis higher than winning his championship.

tl;dr: when you're in a Make Everything about lando norris competition and your opponents are jenson and oscar

tbh i kind of gave up on this a while back but then miami brought everything back because JENSON was there and then i was just like >>>THE DELICIOUSNESS OF JENSON BEING THERE FOR LANDO'S WIN AND OSCAR FLOPPING... there is nothing more delicious to me than sleeping together about another person imo. and it first happens in silvo or something because they have all these misdirected feelings about lando who is Inaccessible to them for different reasons (jenson: thinks he's being an upstanding citizen by only lusting after lando from afar / oscar: has been told by mark webber to not hook up with a teammate. never said anything about old rivals though) and then it keeps continuing because oscar's season kind of goes to shit once they hit the americas and well... you get the gist.

i could talk about this forever tbh. even though it makes NO sense <3 can someone please write me jb81 😭😭😭

[noblechaton]

gonna ramble a bit about the ml art style change bc ig I have more thoughts about it than I knew. tagging this as leaks but no like story stuff is gonna be mentioned bc I don't really know any lol

so going off what little we've seen of it (and in arguably the lowest possible quality at that) I think it's gonna make the show very visually pretty which isn't to say it couldn't be or wasn't in the older style(s) but that was def more inconsistent between studios and such so if this new style is the standard then like. yeah it's gonna look great

buuuuuuuut I also think it looks kinda. generic? like what's happened to a lotta brand logos that used to have personality but now all look super flat and simplified. like the Pepsi logo or whatever. it's a similar situation to the movie (I'll get into this in a bit) where like yes it looks pretty but it doesn't really look like Miraculous to me? like ik the style kinda varied somewhat between the studios but it was largely consistent enough and felt much more unique. like I could see a screencap from any timestamp of any episode and place it as Miraculous just bc of the visual style

now tho it looks less unique to me and more....like a mobile game ad? some kinda un-marketed direct to streaming movie? not trying to sound mean or anything but it just doesn't strike that same feeling the old style did for me as of yet. it feels more like an attempt to ape off a generic Pixar/Disney sorta style which the movie's style did too - and that ig is a good excuse for me to kinda dive into my thoughts there bc like. it looks way more like that movie now right? the y'know completely non-canon movie that to my knowledge wasn't received too terribly well lmao. I feel like this is on some level purposeful tho

I made a post the other day about how someone (especially the youngins) might go into season 6 thinking it's actually more of a season 1 only to presumably find that very much isn't the case pretty quick lmao - but that's still a new viewer, which makes number go up, which is a Good Thing. that s6 looks to be something of a fresh start given the whole Gabe in da Ground situation makes me believe this more since I'm pretty sure he got got in the movie too (<- does not remember the movie she saw twice) albeit in a different way. very real chance they view s6 as something of a soft launch pad with the hope of ppl who only saw the movie just jumping in without looking first. I also have an even more insane conspiracy theory that they're using movie assets at lower res for the sake of cost management but again. nutso hunch

regardless I'm kinda surprised they're changing it so drastically this deep into the series and I have no idea how the quality of animation is gonna hold up from episode to episode, season to season. presumably this is part'a why we haven't had s6 drop yet, that they've been working on it thoroughly, but it's been a good minute since s5 ended and I feel like the drought in content isn't really worth it?

like it's been so long that to me sometimes it's felt like the show straight up ended and while I don't mind a wait like this, the show then coming back looking entirely different to how it used to is gonna be jarring. I'm giving it a chance bc we haven't really seen it yet and that footage is very likely a wip of some sort but all the same I'm not terribly impressed? the emotions seem more stilted and flat, there's a few sorta redesigns that look....off (namely Adrichat, imo), and it feels too much like an attempt at cashing in on whatever success the movie might have had by bringing the look of the show more in line with it

think what gets me the most is that the style and animation of the show was one of the biggest things that drew me in beyond the bugcat of it all. it was the first CG animated show I'd seen where I felt as if the animation really worked; the world felt alive and vibrant, the city lived in and populated, but it didn't feel uncanny or like realistic in any sense, and there were plenty of gaffs and flaws throughout but I feel that only endeared the look of the show to me more - it had its own style that stood out for better or worse and I think that played more a role in the show's success than most have given credit for, and now that it's being entirely dropped in favor of a style that feels much more like some generic CG animation style I can't help but feel a bit disheartened and even nervous about the future of the series tbh

want to say that I'm not looking to hate it - I'm gonna give it a chance, and again I think it does visually look pretty, but I feel like it loses a lot of what made the show stand out to me and changes things I don't think really needed changed. time will tell but as of now I'm really not sold on it

also think having a special (or two? maybe?) in the old style just to drop us into the newer one presumably shortly after is kinda weird. wonder what happened there. bad timing? tbh using a special to introduce it mighta helped a bit but idk for sure

[three--rings]

In music, sophomore albums (i.e. second albums) are generally seen as very tricky and often disappointing.

Because a band/artist has their entire lives up until their first album to write those songs, to perfect them, to play them live, and then they get an opportunity and make an album and put the very best of themselves into their first album.

And then, if that is a success, they get to make a second album, and they have a very limited time under pretty significant pressure to produce album #2, and it almost invariably feels disappointing. Less polished, the songs are more bland, not every one is a banger, etc. Because they were basically the first draft of the first songs that the artist came up with to fill an album.

And a lot of the time, artists learn from that mistake, and decide they need to take more time for their next one, be more selective, have a better plan, or figure out a new way of working to produce quality in this new environment of Being a Successful Professional Musician.

So I think a lot of seasoned music fans, when presented with a lackluster sophomore album are like, well, let's give them time and see what they produce next time and only then will we decide if their first album was a fluke or not.

Why am I thinking about this? Come on, if you follow me, you probably have guessed I'm thinking about OFMD.

Because that's exactly what OFMD s2 feels like to me. A lackluster sophomore record.

The first outing was spectacular, really blew me away with a new sound, unexpected mashups of genres, satisfying themes...

But the second one felt rushed and pressured and like it hadn't finished cooking. It hadn't had enough time with the songs being played and having the rough edges rounded off, the empty spaces filled in. It felt a little like a jumble of vaguely good ideas thrown together without a cohesive through-line or thematic elements tying it together. A collection of demos, not a well thought-out album of strong songs.

And look, don't ask me to fully flesh out this metaphor. I don't know how it applies to making television exactly, because I don't really know that much about how to make tv. Did the writers really have more time to plan out S1 than S2 or was it purely the reduction in episodes and budget that hurt things. Was it the pressure of following up something quite successful that nevertheless got cut budget from the network? IDK.

But this is how it feels.

I don't hate OFMD now. But I am perhaps less inclined to call the people behind it geniuses. Because they've proven themselves very fallible and capable of producing kinda a hot mess. But they can still pull it back with a third album that reminds you why you fell in love with the first one.

Or they can prove they were hacks and that was a fluke. It's up in the air. IMO.

And it kinda depends on how they handle making something that isn't universally popular. How they can handle criticism. Can they be honest with themselves and say "yeah that was rushed and sloppy and I see why people didn't love it" or are they gonna pretend it was fucking genius actually because it sounded better in their head.

And hopefully we'll get a chance to find out. But unfortunately TV is harder to get made than records, so you get fewer chances.

[paulmccartneyexplodingonstage]

Hi!

1-4 for the controversial beatles asks:)

thank you for the submission anon let’s start some wars

1. is there a John opinion that *isnt* unpopular at this point? ermmm ig the fact that i find him more sympathetic than not? like i feel his good qualities outweigh the bad ones, or more accurately that his responses to his bad qualities make him more sympathetic in my eyes. Because i feel like he generally was pretty self aware and introspective, and i think he did have a genuine desire to be a good person. Basically i think he was struggling with a lot of mental health stuff that society at the time was not equipped to treat and accommodate properly, which obviously didn’t help him in the long run.

2. Paul’s mullet era was his best era fight me about it. also not unpopular per se but i am damn near 100% sure he and linda had threesomes with other guys. i know it happened.

3. I don’t really like Ringos acting :( this one might also not be that unpopular but uh yeah. he’s not the best actor of the group (that’s john imo) but he isn’t terrible either (paul is the worst lmfao) sorry ringo stans :((

4. Giorgio Giorgio….I guess my most unpopular take about him is that I don’t find him that attractive 💀 NOW THAT IS NOT TO SAY that i don’t think he is conventionally and by and large an attractive fellow, he very much is!! But he’s beautiful to me in the way a very lovely sky is, or a particularly lovely scenic view. Gorgeous and untouchable. he does not ignite in me the carnal flame of animalistic desire that 64-66 John does :(. or 70s paul :(. i feel very bad about it but i ofc still cherish his beautiful self 😔💕