#but also it does apply to a LOT of things

[little-onion-heart]

@thedouglastrap, I want to first acknowledge and celebrate you for doing what looks like some pretty significant research into the TSR era, the OSR, and how the WOTC era is different; I respect you so much more for that than Average Commentor who responds based on their perception of Old D&D owing mainly to hearsay.

Anyway, it's true that the old school spirit of AD&D 2e is somewhat contested in the OSR, but I do still think the release of 3e works as a dividing line due to just how different it was. Although 2e was definitely starting to shift in a direction closer to modern D&D, it is also true that

A. that shift really began in the 1e era, especially with Dragonlance, and

B. 2e does still have all the most crucial hallmarks of old school dungeon play: reactions, morale, XP for treasure (as an optional rule, but still) and dungeon turns.

(Granted, they did kinda screw up reactions by having the roll modified by morale instead of PC charisma for some reason, but other than that it's good. There's even multiple columns you can use to account for the PCs' or monsters' demeanor!)

Now of course reactions and morale were always more like guidelines for the DM to lean on if they couldn't/didn't want to decide on their own, but the fact that they are in the game at all says a lot; specifically, it tells DMs "These are things you should be considering." 3e's monster lore is great, but it's a lot easier to ignore a paragraph of fluff than an actual game mechanic. Similarly, it's a lot easier when skimming a stat block to see that a creature's morale score is a high number, indicating they're less likely to flee or surrender, than to scan through paragraphs of lore to find a written description of the same. When something like this is more usable during actual play, it is less likely to be ignored.

3e brought in a lot of new players, in addition to bringing back a lot of old ones. And I'm sure there were many old-timers who'd keep playing monsters as having agency out of habit, and I'm sure there were many new DMs who figured it out on their own, but like... the game itself wasn't teaching those things anymore.

Related: @imsobadatnicknames2, most of what you said about BX does apply to 2e! Again, 2e was a clear step toward 3e, but in the big picture it's much closer to 1e and BX than it is to any modern edition. Main difference is that AD&D clerics (in both AD&Ds) get their spell at level 1, so healing is slightly easier from the get-go. 1e does have negative HP, but 2e turns it into an optional rule.

So there is a pretty clear shift in playstyle between TSR D&D and WotC D&D: for better and for worse, D&D 3e introduced the idea of encounter balance, de-emphasized mechanics that had previously encouraged the GM to think of the monsters as real living creatures (reaction rolls, morale, etc.), and it had the effect of making D&D a much more combat-focused game. D&D has always been a game that's opinionated about combat, it's basically the most expressive and detailed form of play regardless of edition, but combat in the TSR editions was not exactly zoomed in and tactical. The WotC editions purposefully made combat zoomed in, granular, and tactical.

And this has had an effect on playstyle: since combat is now the main form of player expression what players actually want is for their characters to get into combat. Because combat is the most fun part of the game. But the game has also changed from the largely amoral dungeon-crawling game into a game of fantasy heroics (even though a lot of the trappings of the amoral dungeon-crawling still remain, which contributes to the dissonance), so you can't just have the player characters going into combat for the sake of it. That would frame the player characters as kind of Fucked Up, and we can't have that in our supposedly heroic fantasy.

What you end up with is a variety of contrivances like "they're bandits," "they're cultists," or, my all-time favorite, "they attacked first" to make the action seem morally justifiable, even though gameplay is still motivated by a desire to fight. The monsters fight to the death and, importantly, can often not be reasoned and negotiated with, partly because combat is supposed to be the fun, engaging part everyone is here to do, but also because if they actually acted like reasonable people it could cause dissonance with the whole "the player characters are the goodest heroes."

As my friend @tenleaguesbeneath once called it: what is actually going on is that the player characters are hunting people and monsters who have been programmed to fight to the death and never negotiate for sport, while justifying it as self-defence.

It's a simple power fantasy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Sometimes you want to play a morally uncomplicated game about killing guys with cool magic swords. But I think it's also fun to think about what the specific types of monsters players end up fighting reveals about Society the invisible, unexamined ideology lying under the surface that the designers of even modern D&D have failed to examine. And to me it often reads like a frontier justice fantasy. None of that is to detract from anyone's joy of the game, and for me it's just fun to think about and post about this stuff while Still Enjoying the Game, but if someone expressing that opinion makes you feel uncomfortable, why? That's pretty silly imo.

[spanishskulduggery]

You're probably familiar with the cardinal directions in Spanish (and they're usually cognates with English):

(el) norte = north

(el) sur = south

(el) este = east

(el) oeste = west

However there are other more literary terms that you will see from time to time for using the directions as adjectives. This is different from something like norteño/a "northern" or "northerner" and sureño/a "southern" or "southerner"

And sometimes people will say del norte / sur for "from the north/south" as an adjective though it can translate as "northern/southern" regardless

...

Primarily what you will see for the fancier or more literary/geographic terms is:

septentrional = northern

meridional = southern

oriental = eastern

occidental = western

Particularly oriental and occidental get used with geographical terms, like el Medio Oriente is "the Middle East" or something like el hemisferio occidental "western hemisphere"

It's also common to see el Oriente as "the East" or "the Orient", and el Occidente as "the West"

I'd say oriental and occidental are much more common than septentrional for example... Largely you can consider them synonymous, but I think of septentrional as more formal than del norte and meridional feels more formal than del sur to me

These terms may also be used in relation to nautical things, or astronomical terms like constellations or the stars in the night sky, especially septentrional being used for the constellation Big Dipper [called (La) Osa Mayor in Spanish as Ursa Major, or "big bear"; sometimes called El Carro being "the Chariot" or "Wagon/Cart"], and sepentrión or septentrional also applies to stars near the North Star/Polaris and the Little Dipper [(La) Osa Menor or Ursa Minor; "smaller bear"]

Unrelated but Osa means "she-bear" literally; el oso is generally "male bear"

...But in etymology septentrional means "(related to) seven oxen", as the old word for the Big Dipper was "the Plow/Plough" or "Wagon", and it was said that the Seven Stars were the oxen pulling the plough; that sept- is related to "seven"; so again septentrional came to be related to "north" simply because that's what you'd look for as a sailor because that's where the North Star was

In other words, "north" was related to "the North Star and where you'd find it and what other stars were around it" hence septentrional

-

The other important directional words you'll want to know are:

el Levante = the East

el Poniente = the West

You may have heard the term "Levant" used for the Middle East; these terms come from Latin but have to do with the rising and setting sun

levantar is "to raise/rise", and poner(se) el sol is "for the sun to set"; thus el Poniente is "where the sun sets" for example and viceversa el Levante is "where the sun rises" which is more based on the old world knowledge of the East being more like Persia, Mesopotamia, and what the Ancient World called Asia [today we'd say "Asia Minor" now that we know fully about China and the Far East]

-

Other words to maybe just be aware of:

boreal = North / North wind

austro/a, austral = South / South wind

These you won't see too much except for something like la aurora boreal for "Northern lights" or just the Latin aurora borealis or when you look into the etymology of places like Australia as literally being "southern" [the north wind was el bóreas related to Boreas from Greek mythology]

And maybe be aware of el céfiro "zephyr" which was linked to the west wind; not that you necessarily need to know it for "west wind" unless you're reading Greek mythology or fancy literature, but they do use it when discussing the wind every so often

-

Side Note: el norte is also related to the ideas of "finding one's way"; like perder el norte can be "to lose one's way" which is literally "to lose north" - but it's related to nautical terms where people would follow la Estrella Polar "North Star / Polaris" and compasses facing north

A lot of directional vocabulary is related to wind and stars; which does make sense since it features heavily in navigation and nautical terms

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Alright so MY opinion for the most interesting way Stede and Izzy's interactions in s2e5 could've gone

Now personally I'm glad they didn't do anything that could be read as flirty, not only because I don't think that makes sense for Stede but also because I just don't think that would've scanned coherently with how Stede has just got back together with the love of his life and all. BUT I do also agree that once Izzy is chill his personality becomes a very bland vaguely hostile sort of swear-y guy that everyone's strongest feelings about are kinda like "ehhh I guess he's chill now??"

So here's what I think. Izzy should've tried to be First Mate Izzy to Stede, applying that sort of weird intensity to Stede's way of doing piracy.

I just think there's a lot of comedic potential there. Izzy starts encouraging Stede to find more Stede-y outfits (because that is what Captain Stede Does and if there's one thing Izzy will do it's form a very strict and narrow perception of his captain's behavior), perfect way to segue into the cursed suit plotline. He's visibly uncomfortable about Stede's sense of style still but you can see him internally reminding himself that He's Chill Now. He gets really intense about Stede's leadership style. When the crew are scared of the suit, he's stomping around going "HEY! Fucking TALK it THROUGH!" Maybe Olu expresses a real geniune emotion about how he misses Zheng and you can see Izzy sweating before he gives the most awkward little "good. I'm. proud. of you. for not bottling it up???" and it actually makes Olu feel better. He sees Ed across the deck doing something fruity such as using a hairbrush as a microphone to sing a song to himself as he works and you can see the homophobia struggling to resurface but he has a comedic flashback to Stede telling him something very basic like "don't be an asshole" as he takes notes and then Izzy takes a deep breath and walks away to go scream in a broom closet or something

[beabnormal24]

My personal opinion is that every driver should say “I can beat this person” [generic this person]

Whether I agree with that, or not, it is intrinsic in the athletes to be self-aware and have an ego. [(!) having an ego does not justify disrespect to the other person]

And I’ve been reading a few comments about Yuki saying that he will keep beating his teammates and that he is not scared of Max, mostly comments that do not agree with that but also comments that say he doesn’t deserve the chance at all.

Now, my honest opinion is that he does deserve it, perhaps I may be biased by the fact that I like him a lot as a driver, but- I mean.

They put Nyck next to him and he did the job, also with Daniel (this is no hate against either of them, just stating what actually happened).

Liam is very on level with him, though Yuki still is that step ahead that I think makes a difference (also considering that Liam still has to properly - although not voluntarily- complete an entire F1 season, of course). Even with Checo, it’s the same.

People using the fact that he was beaten by Pierre should also remember that it was his rookie season and that Pierre had much more experience than him, just like, in fact, it is now between Yuki and Liam! So if you want to defend Liam by using this rightful justification, then why should it not apply to Yuki as well?

Another thing is about the “not being scared by Max”. Well, I mean, of course he is not, he is a racer, an athlete, first and foremost. If he said he is scared it would basically be like stepping on his own feet, imagine working your ass off to get where you are and then having to say that you are scared- that would be pretty stupid, no?

He can respect Max and say that he is not scared by him at the same time, it’s that simple.

I think as of now Yuki is the perfect representation of someone who is showing constantly of what he is capable of without ever being recognised for his efforts.

Consistently entering Q3 and finishing in the points on the weekends, racing hard against other drivers, and his defence is just- I mean, have you seen his moves? A M A Z I N G.

Even with a very inconstant car that sometimes decides to perform and sometimes not, the way he defends is just utterly amazing and so so beautiful to watch, it makes goosebumps appear on my arms, I swear.

It’s just such a shame that he is not being considered at all.

[alexanderwales]

@queenlua

(this is sort of a tangent so feel free to ignore me ENTIRELY but: who exactly is the audience for litRPG stuff? my first time hearing of it was at a sf/f writer's workshop, and when it was described to me i was like "wouldn't these people simply read webfiction" but then i was informed of The Sales Numbers Around LitRPG People I Had Never Heard Of and was like What The Hell, but i was clearly the only Extremely Online person in the room so figured i wouldn't get any further context from present company lol)

For some reason I thought I had answered this, and maybe I did somewhere and can't find it, so sorry if this is a restatement of something you've already read, but ...

There are a few fundamental fantasies being fulfilled by the modern litRPG.

First, there's the power fantasy, the idea that you can have control and be agenty and make decisions. I don't think there's anything wrong with power fantasy per se, and I expect that the desire for power fantasy will grow when people feel more and more powerless. litRPG does not offer anything much different from e.g. superhero stories, at least as far as power fantasy goes.

Second, there's the progression. This is part of the power fantasy, the getting stronger over time angle, powering up, getting better. litRPG promises that, it's in the nature of the RPG elements, and fundamental to the appeal. This is something that e.g. superhero stories usually don't have. (There is a whole genre, progression fantasy, that focuses on this, and litRPGs are usually a subset of that depending on who you ask.)

Third, the litRPG offers legibility. It is clear what the powers are, what they do, what choices are to be made. Everything is clearly laid out and easy to conceptualize, at least most of the time. And because this is the case, it's good as a platform for the imagination, especially for analytical readers. It's something for people to daydream about, argue over, etc. Legibility is super important, IMO, or at least the appearance of legibility, the illusion that the author has a Concrete Plan with Hard Numbers. Armchair psychoanalysis is that a desire for this relates to a lack of legibility (and by proxy "fairness") in real life.

Fourth, the litRPG naturally speaks the language of videogames, and a lot of the readers are super into videogames, so there's some element of "thing that I like" in there which I don't think can actually add to any analysis, but also some of the things that people like about video games are power fantasy, progression, and legibility, so ...

There's also a lot of overlap between webfic and litRPG. I don't know that I'd say it's the most popular form of webfic right now, but ... probably it is? The overall market is young men for both. [Edit: I should probably clarify that I don't know what the hell goes on over at Wattpad. AO3 is also webfic, but that's fanfic, and female dominated last I checked. I'm talking more RoyalRoad, SB/SV, QQ, etc. I am not a market expert, terms and conditions may apply.]

Here are some other reasons I've heard from people when I've asked:

it's hard to screw up, so you're guaranteed a quality baseline

the writing is often simple popcorn that's easy to digest

the writing is often bad in a way that makes it less predictable

there's often no romance or introspection

the numbers are going up, and I like that consistent dopamine drip feed

the characters are simple

the main character is just like me

I think some of these are just wild to think about, and others are not really about the genre, just the kinds of people who write within it and the stories that make up the bulk of what people are reading.

LitRPG where the protagonist's game system is very clearly from a game with a 20-minute day-night cycle, and whose gamification of hunger, thirst, and sleep just wreaks havoc on his personal and professional life.

Just kidding, litRPG protagonists don't have personal or professional lives.

[quitealotofsodapop]

MK

Something came up on the mountain. Will explain during training.

DO NOT BRING OUR FRIENDS! Especially Jangles! Trust me, you'll understand why when you get here.

MK reread the message for the 100th time, worried over the implications. Not only does Wukong rarely use the phone Mei got him, preferring to simply Astral Project any messages they need to do, but he'd never forbid their friends form joining in on training. Not since they all started training together while fighting against Azure and Wukong had promised to not keep secrets anymore what with the Samhadi Fire debacle. So the fact he's asking to keep it a secret is a big deal. Although, as Mei had pointed out when he showed her the message, the other monkey had never explicitly said to keep it a secret, just that he didn't want anyone except MK on the mountain for some reason, likely related to whatever he was going to tell him during training.

"Weird that he pointed out Tang in particular. Like, what did Tang of all people do to make Wukong not want him near!?"

MK didn't know. But as he flew towards the mountain he resolved to find out. The last thing he expected was to be met by a very familiar face when he landed. Or rather, four familiar faces that looked far too similar yet still different from his family to be a coincidence.

"Eeek! Demon monkey!!" The Great Monk Tripitaka shrieked as he cowards behind Zu Baijie, Ao Lie, and Sha Wujing. All of them with weapons pointed towards him.

"Aye! Knock it off!" Wukong's voice roared out as he appeared in a flash of gold and red, standing between MK and the others, guarding him. "It's just my c- It's just my successor!"

The weapons immediately drop as the Pilgrims, the ACTUAL PILGRIMS from the STORIES, looked at Wukong incredulously. Zu Baije was the one to voice it.

"You!? A TEACHER!?"

"Yeah, I know!" Wukong snorted, as if hardly believing it himself, "But a lot can change in 1300 years and MK is a good kid. He deserves only the best, Piglet!"

"And... that's you?"

"No, but I'm the one he's got." Wukong's voice was flat, prompting MK to turn his attention to him. He yelped as a well placed kick hit his shin. "MK! What the heck!?"

"What have we talking about regarding self deprivation, Monkey King."

"What... I- that was for you!"

"Still applies!" MK folded his arms triumphantly as the audience began snickering at Wukong's flustered expression as he tried to find a comeback. Eventually his master concedes defeat with a chuckle, throwing his arm around MK in a side hug with a wide grin.

"Alright... well, let's do introductions! Master, Ao Lie, Sha Wujing... Piglet. This is Xiaotian, or MK as he prefers, my student and successor. MK, the Lilgrim of the Great Journey."

ah yes

Wukong now has to deal with an interlude of his old companions crashing at his place, whilst also worrying about possible time paradoxes!

At least half of the Pilgrims are convinced MK is Wukong's kid.

Tang is especially told to stay away cus he's not supposed to exist according to Buddhist doctrine. Golden Cicada was supposed to be done with the whole reincarnation thing after Tripitaka.

Macaque is going to laugh himself silly when he finds out about this! XD

[velvetvexations]

(someone should correct me if I get anything wrong about forcemasc and autoandrophilia)

The thing about autoandrophilia and autogynephilia is that they're extremely basic concepts. The idea of fetishizing becoming a man or a woman a very simple idea. Using it as a basis to "explain" trans people is dumb and wrong but that both cis people and trans people would have kinks that fit that definition is neither surprising nor should it be scandalous. Forcemasc is often tagged transandrophilia because it literally is fetishizing taking on aspects of masculinity from a theoretical starting point of non-masculinity, regardless of if "beginning as something other than a man" is how one conceptualizes their transness out of kink. Forcefem kink likewise fits the definition of autogynephilia, but isn't used because, while transmascs also get routinely accused of what is in essence autoandrophilia, that specific word is used less, and so autogynephilia has a more viscerally negative reaction even though it's obviously also fetishizing transitioning and the act of becoming and/or being a woman.

It's very arguable, though, that the dictionary definitions of autoandrophilia and autogynephilia can be taken at face value because it's whole conception and advancement are transphobic in nature. No one ever applies them to cis men and women, for instance, even though cis sissies should also fall under the category of autogynephilic. I believe there are people who self-identify as AGPs but I know nothing about them. You could go by that dictionary definition, but can you really do so neutrally or is just a poison word from the ground up? Autoandrophilia may be used by actual transphobes less, but it does get used, so some transmascs have chosen to do so on their end in spite of that. Presumably there are transmascs who are into forcemasc but don't like the term autoandrophilia and actively avoid it, too.

There are in fact transfems who do actually fetishize the concept of autogynephilia as well, of which I am one myself. The funny thing about that, though, is that while forcemasc tagged autoandrophilia is autoandrophilia, all transfem content I've seen to use AGP is closer to a form of autoandrophilia itself, getting off on how one's masculine features contrasts with societal standards of femininity. Like, to go all "ohhh I'm such an AGP freak >:3" you're not actually doing autogynephilia, you're getting off on the idea of theoretically not being a woman, which is the exact opposite of an actually "autogynephilic" kink.

AGP kink is an element of misgendering and detrans kink. For transmascs, as far as I can tell, misgendering and detrans kink usually takes the form of being an extension of misogyny kink, while for transfems it leans more towards things like trans supremacy. In both cases the idea is that both are, within the simulated kink scenario, applying cissexist bioessentialist ideas to revert trans women and trans men alike into sexual stereotypes of their AGAB, which is to say sexually aggressive dominant men and sexually weak submissive women. There are some transmasc trans supremacy doms, however. There are also a lot of submissive trans women into misgendering/detrans or kinks adjacent to those, for whom it goes into homophobia and sissy stuff, or just the general masochism of processing the pain that often comes with unwanted detransition.

I kinna got off on a tangent here, but I just like talking about kink. Ultimately it's within the rights of transmascs to use the word autoandrophilia if they want to because it is something that also gets thrown at them even if not always using that name (and often indeed using that name) while transfems are within their rights to not use it. Yes, I know this may be shocking, but the big conclusion here is "do what you like and let other people do what they like."

[justwriting]

THK episode 1 rambling thoughts

I am obsessed with this show. I have watched episode 1 five times! And I am absolutely in love with all 4 main characters.

I am not good at writing in-depth analysis or meta of any series as I tend to take things to literally sometimes. However, several things that strike me:

Kant and Fadel are more similar than we (I) think: Fadel with his job as an assassin by night and chef by day is precise with whatever he does. One only needs to see when he cut those tomatoes perfectly and carefully prep the burgers. Similarly, Kant as a tattoo artist means he needs to be meticulous and patient when he designed + apply those tattoos on his clients. Both also clearly love their brothers and willing to do die anything for them - including letting said self being blackmailed multiple times by a shady cop or moving your entire life hood/business to another town cause your beloved baby brother went bonkers during a drunken karoake session. Both also internalised their problems and project calm externally - although Fadel comes across as broody (but handsome) while Kant appears more affable (also handsome!) because of his flirtatious nature. Nevertheless, this is one of the reason why I think Kant & Fadel clashes (apart from Kant wanting to boink Fadel's baby brother) - they are too similar in nature and knows how the other operates.

Style and Bison are chaos incarnates and gremlins to the core. While Style may come of as ridiculous and bold, he is sharper than he looks. The fact that he can get under Fadel's skin so quickly means he clocks on what irritates Fadel and just roll with the punches without fear. Similarly, when Style told Kant he will only hit on Fadel if Kant gives up his precious car? That is him checking out Kant's interest in Bison because he knows how much Kant adores that car. Bison despite his sweet look is cunning and knows how to play to his strength. We know he has Fadel wrapped around his fingers. And while Kant may be the one flirting (at this point), Bison is the one pulling the strings. Even from their first one night encounter, Bison sets the pace (and tone) - from declining to give his name to boldly stating "You're not doing this solo, you know?". Plus while he seems receptive towards Kant's flirting (later on), Bison is constantly watching Kant's moves and calculating in his mind how much he wants to trust him.

Fadel and Bison relationship as brothers - they are polar opposites. However, it is obvious Fadel loves Bison even though he does not truly understands his lil brother. Similarly, while Bison may rebel, he ultimately obeys his big brother. After all, he wouldn't have asked Kant to win Fadel over if Kant ever wants to date him. May I also add that both Bison and Fadel are broken in some ways and it will be interesting to see their background story as the series progresses. I also personally think while Fadel is more stoic on the outside, he also has the gentler/fragile heart when compared to Bison.

Kant and Style are crazy - the former knows Bison is a hitman but still decides to seduce him (even with him being blackmailed, you can't convince me that is enough reason to proceed with the seduction). Style does not know Fadel is a hitman - however, the fact that Kant does not feel the need for his best friend to know of this important fact tells you a lot about how bold and fearless Style can be.

Kant, Bison and Fadel have control issues - in some ways they are all powerless and have no say on how to live their live. From Kant being frequently used by the police to do their dirty job to Bison/Fadel being raised as assassins. So, it certainly will be interesting to see how the 2 couples face their lack of control - some people have already theorized the BDSM scenes we will be seeing from KantBison stem from the need to have/give up control and it certainly seems to be heading towards that direction.

Either way, I am enjoying the cat and mouse game both couples are playing (although Fadel is clearly an unwilling participant at present). Both sides are convinced they have the upper hand, but I think all 4 are actually on a more even plane than they themselves realised.

[vodika-vibes]

Personal Clone Headcanons!

Scorch bleaches his hair, but he does so by putting plastic gloves one and rubbing the bleach over his head, which means he always misses a spot.

Sev has a massive series of scars across his face. He got them when he was a cadet and tripped over something, but he tells people that they're from a knife fight.

Fixer is perfectly in regulation in all ways and is identical to Jango in every way....save for the fact that his eyes are hazel and he has a mole under his left eye.

Boss is going grey from the stress of being in command, and he has a massive dragon back tattoo that he's very proud of.

Dogma is heavily tatted under his armor, though they're all geometric in design.

Tup is also heavily tatted under his armor, though he tattoos things on his body. For example, a massive tree across his back.

Actually, all of the clones with face tattoos are heavily tatted. You don't start with a face tattoo after all. Hunter's the only one who, technically, has one massive tattoo down the side of his body.

Cody got his facial scar by headbutting a droid when he was a cadet, and he tattoos the names of his brothers that he loses on his body.

Rex is a natural blonde, though he likes to tell people that he bleaches his hair.

Comet is a prankster who likes to sneak temporary hair dye into his brothers shampoo... He stopped when Wolffe ended up as a redhead.

Hardcase designs the tattoos for the 501st, but Jesse is the one who tattoos them on people.

Jesse applied for ARC training after the Umbara shitshow because he couldn't forget the image of his own brothers aiming their blasters at him. He never quite forgot that they were so willing to turn on him.

A lot of the 501st has Ahsoka's face markings tattooed on them, she's their baby sister after all.

Kix wouldn't want anything to do with Anakin if he didn't serve under him. He once applied for a transfer to the 212 but was denied. Jesse and Rex are the only ones who know.

Monnk learned that the clones are allergic to a traditional Nautolan meal after he ate it...he nearly died from anaphylaxis, and the next week a note was sent out to all battalions warning the clones to avoid that particular ingredient.

After Dogma kills Krell, he gets absorbed into the Coruscant Guard under the name Delta. Fox thinks he's irritating, but would shoot anyone who tried to hurt him.

Thire once killed a civilian on Coruscant when the civilian tried to stab him, Fox helped cover up the crime. Everyone in the Guard knows about it.

[demigod-shenanigans]

Hi I’m super stuck on the “Nicknames/Wilderness”  prompt for Day 1 of Lost Trio Week, and for various reasons I only have a week to write something. If you could be so kind as to drop a few hcs/thoughts that might get me inspired to write, that would be very much appreciated! (The writer’s block is real)

Laughing a little bit because that’s the prompt I’m also stuck on

I will share headcanons, too, but a general gentle reminder: if it’s too much or you’re not feeling a certain prompt, you can absolutely participate in lost trio week without participating in every single day. Also not sure how you’re doing it, but personally, I’m not writing these in order. I started with Day Four because that was the one I felt most inspired to work on

That being said:

-If we’re talking Wilderness as in Wilderness School, Leo and Piper clicked the moment they met. I’m not sure what it was, exactly—maybe he made a stupid joke and she was the only one that laughed. Maybe she caught him trying to play a prank on someone and wanted in on it. Whatever it was, they’ve been inseparable ever since. It could be interesting to explore some of those memories, or how they looked like with Jason added, or maybe what it would have been like if Jason had actually ended up at the school with them somehow.

-When it comes to Wilderness as more of a general concept, one of the specific silly things my brain just went to was camping trip. Piper has little to no skills when it comes to that stuff. She’s lived in mansions and had private chefs for most of her childhood. The closest she’s ever come to camping has been missions and the time her and her dad camped in the yard of her grandpa’s old home when she was ten, but that wasn’t real camping. Jason has lived in the woods before when he was very little and probably has skills based on that and some stuff he picked up from survival classes in that context, but living with wolves is very different from regular camping and if he’s ever had to apply his theoretical Camp knowledge, he cannot remember it. Leo has the most practical skills when it comes to sleeping outside but he was just kind of making shit up as he went and didn’t really have equipment. —This is all to say they take like an hour failing to set up a tent. Leo has never been more frustrated in his life because he rebuilt a celestial bronze dragon from scratch but is somehow being foiled by a tent instruction manual. Jason keeps bringing up that sleeping under the stars at age three wasn’t that bad. Piper goes from frustrated to laughing hysterically because this being the thing they fail at after every ridiculous impossible task they’ve mastered is objectively hilarious. The whole trip is a disaster for a variety of reasons but I feel like they end up having a great time

-I’m not very good with Nicknames (neither as a prompt nor as a general concept honestly, I’m not really someone who gives people nicknames a lot), but one of the things that comes to mind there could be these changing over the years? Leo and Piper go from strangers to friends and use nicknames for each other for the first time, and it means something, because Leo’s not stuck around another person for long enough to come up with a nickname in years. Jason getting a nickname from Piper and Leo and not really being sure why it feels as strange as it does since he doesn’t have his memories—Reyna doesn’t feel like she’s the type of person to really use nicknames, and since everyone at Camp Jupiter saw him as a leader, I don’t feel like they’d casually call him by some nickname either. Jason hearing that nickname and it being meaningful because for the first time in ages he feels like a kid instead of a leader. Jason getting to use a nickname for Leo and/or Piper for the first time and it feeling significant for the same reason. Jason and Piper post-breakup trying to figure out what to call each other now because they’re objectively better as friends but it’s still weird and new and everything is different and it’s too strange to keep using the same nicknames they did when they were dating.

Hope some of this was helpful!! Please feel free to use however much or little of it as you’d like! Writing this out actually helped me massively because it made me realize I’m a massive idiot and do have a concept I want to use for this prompt (not any of the above ones so again please feel free to grab them if you’d like!) so thank you for that haha

[quinloki]

I gotta take a moment and say a thing:

Stop expecting perfection from people.

I mean. Especially singular individuals on the internet.

People aren’t going to know everything. I don’t know everything. YOU do not know everything. You can dedicate your life to a singular topic and still not know everything.

So perfection is impossible.

Social media artists cannot be held to celebrity or business standards. We don’t have copywriters or law teams or press liaisons.

Assuming someone knows the intricacies of English enough to be perfect in it is classist/ableist at best, and assumptive at the least. I know one language, I went to college to learn about this singular language, and I can promise you, i fuck up wrtijg and speaking English CONSTANTLY.

Hounding someone from behind anon is bullying. If you mean to help educate or enlighten someone, be sure enough in your knowledge and conviction to do it with your entire face, or just move on. I’m irritated seeing perfectly decent people pestered by pedantic cravens who can’t even own their views honestly.

And if you don’t want to be put on blast for “trying to help”, then realize your convictions are thus, and move on.

^_^

[dykedvonte]

I think depictions of Anya being cruel to Curly or drawing out his suffering are artful and chilling but completely miss the point of the story and her character.

I'm not saying she doesn't deserve to have that "I told you so" moment with him but not in something callous or cold. Even if that is how it happened, she'd immediately feel guilty cause at that point she's not tormenting her tormenter or even the person truly at fault. She's doing something cathartic, similar to how Jimmy likely hits Curly to release rage he can't against the rest of the crew. She'd see herself as no different when she'd come back from the moment and see Curly cowering at her. She wants someone to take responsibility but how does being cruel to the defenseless help? Why would she want the power Jimmy has over her over Curly?

The idea of her extending someone else's pain is just so against the struggles she already faces and how she can't even bring herself to cause someone pain even to help them. Her very desire is to release herself from her own suffering and I doubt she'd even fine some sort of guilty release in being cruel to another.

[sysig]

Ah, childhood memories (Patreon)

[carus26]

A couple more points I'd like to discuss, given the opinions I sometimes come across x)

Yes, I've been doing *analysis* a lot lately

Just give me some time

I've been saving all this up since 2013 

And I won't rest until I say it all

In my personal blog lol

*Sulley cheated at games just for himself, It was a purely selfish act*.

No, not just for himself. Because before that he literally defended Mike in front of the dean, and sincerely believed in him, but after her words *do you really think he's scary?* he began to doubt. Yes, he did all this so that everyone could get into the scary program, including Mike. Yes, he did a bad thing (which he already regretted a thousand times), but he did it not only for himself, otherwise the scene between him and the dean would not have existed. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have protected Mike, or tried to train him, he would have just done what he did.

*That conversation between Mike and Sulley (lake scene) is meaningless because Sulley doesn't understand him*.

He honestly admitted that he doesn't understand him, and honestly responded to Mike's claims that *everything comes easy to monsters like you, no matter what you do, you always win*. As it turns out, no? Everyone needs to try to achieve something, even when you have talent. If Sulley didn't try himself, he would not have achieved anything. And he admitted that everything in his life goes wrong, only because of him, and nothing can just happen if you don't try. So the reproaches about this scene are pointless, they both expressed their point of view and both understood each other.

*After fear was replaced by laughter, employees are now working overtime, Sulley is a bad boss*.

I don't really agree. This is not the moment when you get a ready-made business and you just do exactly what was done before you, this is a business from scratch, there is a complete restructuring, and this takes time, besides, no one is forced to work here. Seriously, what can you expect in a situation like this, when you don't have enough workers, and the management demands FAST results. Especially when you were made a boss on someone's whim, and now you have to clean up all the mess. In the future working hours should return to normal. By the way, he also works overtime.

And also my personal opinions on why I didn't like some of the scenes from maw related to him:

1. That episode with baseball, I still honestly don't understand why everyone, including Sulley (who suggested it himself), got mad at Tylor, who literally did what he had to do. Some weird childish grievances, he suggested it himself, and he himself got offended.

2. With all due respect to the scene with the *revelation* of Tylor in the eighth episode, it was very strange....

Everyone just went and believed that Tylor did all these crimes, and the company does not even have banal security cameras? Sulley just believed all the accusations and did not even think that they could be false? Considering that he KNOWS Tylor, and they have a good relationship in general.

But, you know, don't blame the character for a lazily written script... Everything happened so conveniently, just so that the script would work out as it should. It's a children's series, no one will ask questions, right? And this applies to ALL the characters in the series, which is why I sincerely hope for a sequel in the form of a full-length film, and not a continuation of the series.

At least with writers who care about how they portray the characters and the franchise.

🔹A few thoughts about Sulley, why i like his character and his relationship with Boo🔹

(personal opinion and views, I can say the most predictable basic things, and yet I want to express my personal feelings, it's corny but it's honest work)

(also a lot of words..and doodles)

I apologize in advance if I expressed myself in some way unclear or incorrectly and for grammatical mistakes, since I am not strong in english ")

Personality and appearances:

All of the Monsters Inc. characters have great designs that complement their personalities perfectly, and Sulley is no exception.

I LOVE how his design perfectly captures his character. He has soft and sharp features, just like he himself can be *soft and sharp* at the same time. He has a gentle nature, but under the right circumstances can become formidable and even dangerous. In other words, I like the fact that while he is calm, you may forget or even not know HOW scary he can be in the moment, that is, exactly until he HIMSELF shows it. A great way to show a character's kind nature without forgetting who they are and what status they have in their world.

I olso like that he is not a *perfect do-everything-right* protagonist. He is impulsive, he listens to himself and his opinion is based on his own considerations, often incorrect or risky. 

People can say that only at Monsters University Sulley is so *rebellious* and only does what he wants (hinting at how calm and humble he is in the first film as opposed to the prequel) and, based on my personal observations, I can say that he is ALWAYS like this, he acts for his own reasons, and yes, he acts from considerations of *do what is right*, but what is *right* everyone understands in their own way.

For example, like when he risked his and his best friend’s life/career for the sake of a human child whom he had known for a couple of days, or when he cheated at games and then goes to save Mike from the human world. Always impulsive decisions based on feelings and one’s own understanding of what is *right* at the moment.

He also thought that it would be right if he was in the company of high-status monsters and behaved the same way as them (because his family and those around him expect this from him, I believe), and he realized that he was wrong only when he understand (and saw) that he could be himself and that he can’t judge everyone by their appearance and *status* (specifically in that scene when Mike secretly brought everyone to the MI in order to show the uniqueness and dissimilarity of each monster) 

What I mean is that his worldview is always changing based on what he sees and feels, and he always acts based on his personal understanding of what is right and don't, which I find actually a very interesting character trait for a protagonist (not that it's super rare, but still).

Also how many different emotions he can express, from joy to rage, I always liked characters with a rich *baggage* of emotions, and who at the same time do not irritate, do not become hysterical with or without reason, and who simply use emotions at the right moments, not going too far, that is, not capricious and not *drama queens*. 

Another small detail I really like is the fact that Sulley is very aware of his physical strength and never brags or uses it unnecessarily. He is VERY strong, and somehow communicates and contacts with the smallest creatures without any problems, and does not even really use his full strength in a fight, only as self-defense or protection of another.

I also see a lot of different opinions about his prequel version, but honestly? I only started to like him more after university. He was shown from a completely different side, as was his development from who he was to who we know from the first movie. Showed what kind of character he is without Boo. What he thinks about, what he worries about, what kind of relationships he builds, his goals, what did it take for him to get to that point in his life that is shown in the first movie. Love how he went through his arc from "worst to best", how he accepted and realized his mistakes, and how he gradually became attached to those who are dear to him.

(the way he expressed himself to Mike at the end? Being the only one who told him the truth, while highlighting his virtues, thereby showing how attentive he is to those around him and how much he values ​​​​those who help him) 

Although I’m not really a big fan of the prequel, and I also think some scenes from there are little...questionable, and how Sulley turned out different from the version from inc, but in GENERAL I can connect these two images together, I can understand why Sulley behaves this way (given his problems with family and self-esteem), and how in fact it fits with him as an adult.

I can also say that in general I like the way he is written in Monsters at work, despite the fact that he and Mike don’t play a special role for the series, I’m just glad that he act's like himself and hasn’t been spoiled, he’s still trying to make the right choices in life, dealing with a situation that he never even thought about or was ever prepared for, and I just like the little funny moments with him.

Of course, you can't do without *questionable scenes* and sins (and animation ")), but overall I'm quite pleased.

(and I noticed that the writers kinda combined his images from mu and mi, big fan of this decision)

Overall, we have an interesting, well-written protagonist, with excellent design, a great movie as a solo film, and even prequel/series as a good bonus.

Why I think his relationship with Boo is so beautifully written:

First of all, I like the way they met for the first time.

Namely, HOW Sulley reacted, because we know that children are not only *toxic* for monsters, they are literally consumables for them, without feelings, without any rights, which means do with them what you want, your conscience will not torture you.

But Sulley never harmed her, although he could have used any means to get rid of her, because at that time he did not perceive her as a *person*, and still acted with caution. Tried to calm her down, cheer her up, and even sang her a song before bed, although he shouldn’t have even tried?

He understands that she is a living being after all.

And he actually care about this *creature*, he himself decided to bring her home, stayed up all night making a costume for her, he even realized that she is a girl and referred to her correctly all the time, and not as a *thing* (even worried that she was in the men's locker room? ")).

I just love the fact that he treats Boo well INITIALLY, he doesn’t hate her, he doesn’t think she’s a burden that needs to be gotten rid of.

He truly begins to worry about her when he finally becomes attached, but even at the very beginning he treats her tenderly as possible. And it’s just very cute to watch how they gradually get closer and Sulley becomes more and more attached to her, which makes him openly ignore all the advices of his best friend, whom he listened to and supported unconditionally before. He begins to worry about her so much that he no longer pays attention to everything that happens around him, he doesn’t just want to get rid of her quickly, but wants to protect her and do everything possible so that she gets home safely, and does not end up in wrong hands. And this attachment became SO strong that he was ready to leave his friend alone in the human world, risk his life saving her, and he no longer cares about HIS position and condition, she became his number one priority, and this is very damn touching honesty.

And, of course, THAT ONE scene, key to Sulley's development as a character, a scene, where he accidentally scares Boo.

A moment, where his whole consciousness is turned upside down, all the experiences that he went through became meaningless, and the work to which he devoted his life turned out to be cruel exploitation, in addition, a huge feeling of guilt, which will be difficult to get rid of for a long time, and everything that was important in his life ceased to have value, everything except the safety of this one *thing*, the *thing* he shouldn't have felt anything for.

I really love this scene, it perfectly conveys the mood of what happened, when you feel pity, compassion and understanding for both sides.

(you'd think that Sulley stop scaring kids just because of this scene, but honestly? I’m more than sure that it would be difficult for him to do this after meeting Boo, after what he experienced with her, it would be difficult to continue working in this direction)

And one of the best details for me is the fact that this event does not remain without a trace for the characters, this experience has consequences, they don't just continue to live as if nothing happened, Sulley realize that people are also living individuals with feelings that should not suffer, as a result of which he not only changes himself, but also changes his environment for the better, considering that the majority simply will not understand him, he considers it his duty to do something to somehow change and influence the situation (even without the fact that the energy of laughter is stronger than scream), and never again connect his life with what he feels guilty about.

The final scene with them is also so touching. 

The way Sulley says goodbye to her, knowing that he will never see her again, everything he had to go through for one single moment.

Betrayal, discovery of a conspiracy, expulsion, a quarrel with a close friend, disappointment in himself and his life, he even almost lost his own life several times, and all this was experienced in order to bring home one little girl.

And I'm just sincerely glad that they didn't end there, all this time I wish I had seen at least a little short with them (because I just have to squeak with joy every time Boo is mentioned in the series :"))

I know that the first movie ended perfectly and there is no need for a sequel, but as a fan I’m too weak :)

Honestly, this is the shortest and most general “essay” I can write about him as a character, if I had my way (and enough strength/knowledge in english) I would describe every key scene with him.

So, that’s all, I'm glad I was able to express my thoughts about a character that is important to me, at least in this format, and if you read to the end, thank you for your attention! 💙💜

(still waiting for a full-fledged sequel from Pixar and hope that it will come out acceptable...)

[faaun]

the way that diff languages sound r so fascinating they're all different and all so vivid

[yukisloser]

you all know it's possible to dislike a character and still understand they're complex right. even hating on a character doesn't mean someone doesn't UNDERSTAND their actions, just that they don't LIKE them