#but this is just for visual purposes it doesn't mean anything lmao

[glysaturn]

i love the idea of both genji and cass being trans so much bc it tickles me just the right way, that there are these two guys who look so different yet they're both trans. really drills in that fact that a trans person, in this case a trans guy, can look like literally anything. it sparks joy and all that. yippee. transgenderism

[tae-rambles]

OP ch 1120 SPOILERS

My reaction as i read:

hi Denjiro where did you come from? was he just on a walk or did he come to meet w Yamato on purpose? also he's the new daimyo of Kibi? did we know that already or is it a new info i cant remember

also i like how Yamato is like "no need for all this, its ok"

a flashback?

oh... never even crossed my mind to ask why was Clover arrested and let go so many times... thats clever

"answer to good and evil"? what does that mean

oh my god another D family! (how do you even pronounce that surname) i wonder which other characters we know of were/are hiding the initial...

i wonder what changed Vegapunk's mind to continue Ohara's research and risking his life if he couldnt understand why Clover did it those 22 years ago

hi Zeff, Patty :D

oh Robin... this is making me sad

damn Atlas...

wtf was that "snap" coming from Lilith

oh Atlas please dont tell me youre about to do what i think

good job Atlas but can ppl pls stop sacrificing themselves for at least five minutes my heart cant take it

but what about Stussy? she can skywalk so she might be fine?

the Marines are just so out of their depth lol

Luffy can hear Emet! :D Luffy's so confused lol

lmao Emet's immediately annoyed w him i cant

oh Emet, he's so sweet! i love himm!! "i've known Emet for only a couple of chapters but if anything happens to him i'm gonna kill Oda and then myself"

aaaah he's talking to you Luffy! but i like how Oda keeps emphasizing that Luffy is his own person, not Nika, not Joyboy, but Luffy

"but there are those who cannot be stopped" under the imposing worm Peter going in for an attack - love this visual storytelling

uh oh... Emet's rusty

and still fended the worm off! you rock Emet! :D

Saturn doing a jumping spider impression

dont fucking talk to the precious Kuma and Bonney you damn spider!

Atlas! D: my poor heart! this is just Pedro all over again

fuck off, York

dont you dare Emet dont you fucking dare! no more sacrificing yourself! no more blowing yourself up! i said no! D:< (also Peter bit off his arm :( )

oh, right, the general population didn't know Roger was a D

Great chapter as always :D, even though it was painful, can't wait for the next one...

i really hope Emet won't sacrifice himself here but it seems that's where it's headed... dammit!

EDIT: i've thought about this some more and was Joyboy really someone who would instruct his people to sacrifice themselves for him and his cause? that doesn't sound right. so maybe Emet has something else up his sleeve?

also, Emet is the second person to lose their arm to a snake-like monster while protecting Luffy. both Emet and Shanks were also waiting for the awakening of the Nika fruit to make their move it seems. i wonder if there are any other parallels between them...

[ebonysplendor]

Where Winter Crows Go Review ❄️🐦‍⬛

TL;DR: Chaga mushrooms ain't the only thing that Crowe be foraging, but this time he doesn't want to share the spoils with the squad for research purposes.

Game Link: https://prikarin.itch.io/where-winter-crows-go

Notable Features: Gender Neutral MC, Optional Reader-Insert with choice of pronouns, Yandere LI, 17+ Spiciness: 1/5 -- It gets a little flirty, but it's sweet and innocent LI Red Flags: 3/5 -- Manipulative, little hands on, has a temper

Want to know more? Well, let's get into it!

Okay, so, the full release finally came, and ya girl was SO excited! The demo was very promising, but I needed a little more convincing. That being said, this wasn't by any means one of the one's that I was the most ecstatic about, but I was still excited enough about it to check back occasionally for the full release. I just so happened to get lucky recently and saw that it had actually dropped back in November. So, I was late, but not embarrassingly so. Now, this review on the other hand... But listen! I just recently decided to take the plunge and start making reviews, so mind ya business lol.

Anyways, this isn't about me and my tardiness, this is about this pleasant little game that really went for it in the full version, and boi, did they go for it!

I'd classify this as one of those "slow burn" visual novels, simply because it's not obvious that our LI is a lil' psycho off the rip, and there's nothing too unsettling from the jump aside from getting caught in a blizzard. Actually, since we're on the topic, the LI -- his name is Crowe Lynn, by the way -- is actually pretty damn hospitable, and he's a full blown scientist. The most shocking part is, he isn't even doing anything sketchy! for the most part. He is deadass living in the middle of nowhere for research purposes and is writing books to know why nature is...well, naturing, for lack of better wording.

That being said, I think the intro is long enough, and I'm really excited to tell you more about this game, because you guys have got to play this whenever you get the chance! As always, I'm going to tell you as much as possible about the game without ruining the game itself.

So, boom. We're -- or Aspen, should you decide to play through their eyes, but I prefer self-insert -- going on a trip in our favorite run down car to get to some town where there is supposed to be this really nice place to let off some steam via skiing. Trust me, we did research on this; we know what we're talking about. Anyways, while driving, we start noticing how we've been on this same road for a long time, and yet, we haven't seen anybody for an equally long time.

Run down car? Long road? No one for miles? You already know what's about to happen.

Yep, you guessed it, we get a flat, and as you've also probably guessed, we have no spare tire, but bear with me! The game isn't this predictable, I swear! You've gotta understand that it can just be a little hard to get away from certain tropes, and let's be real, they kind've have to happen for plot purposes. I mean, think about if we actually had a tire in the trunk. We would've been outtie, we would've had a great trip, and there would've been no game lol. Sometimes, you just gotta cut the devs some slack.

Anywho, so yeah, flat tire and no spare. Naturally, we hike it to try to find some help, but the weather kind've picks up, and the clothes that we have, while appropriate for the cold, aren't adequate enough for a full blown blizzard. No worries though, because guess who comes to the rescue? This guy!

Everybody, this is Crowe. Crowe, this is everybody.

As you'd expect (I know I keep saying that, but lmao it's not a overly predictable game, I swear!), Crowe is this really chill dude. Actually, more than a chill dude, he's a massive nature nerd. That's actually why he's out in the middle of the woods anyways! Like I mentioned before, he's researching why nature be naturing, specifically -- at least, his current topic from the way it was worded is -- partial migration. If you've never heard of that, don't even worry about it, in the game he explains it to us. Like, I'm telling you. This man is super into this stuff, and we love a smart man.

Getting away from that though, he basically ends up telling us that the town that we're in is pretty much deserted with the exception of like 13 other people, and because of the blizzard, the time it'd take to clean the roads, the likelihood of there being another blizzard right behind the one that just happened, and cleaning up after that blizzard, getting to our planned destination just wasn't going to happen. ...Well, shit.

What are we going to do then? Our car has a flat, we can't travel, and there's not any resorts nearby. No worries though, because the bae came through! He said "Oh, you can just stay with me!" Oh wooooooord???

So guess what we do? Make ourselves cozy in this bomb ass cabin. I'm not even exaggerating about that. Like, this cabin is REALLY nice! Take a peek!

That's just our room and the hallway. You can only imagine how bomb the rest of the place looks. Like, I'm telling y'all, it's super cozy up in here. But we must stay focused! And by we, I mean me, because I could go on and on about how nice this cabin looks.

Back to the topic at hand though, we've agreed to stay with Crowe, even though, we honestly don't have much of a choice, but it was just dope that Crowe was cool with everything. That being said, during our stay, we do all kinds of pretty cool stuff! We go foraging with him for chaga mushrooms and winterberries, we create some powders to add to other stuff, and we make some medicines. Everything was going super smoothly ... until it wasn't.

Crowe kind've has...a weird temper. Like, we had accidentally gotten hurt, and he had gotten super pissed about it. We love a man that cares about his guest, but he was a bit overdramatic about it. You'd think we would've lost a limb or something. The main thing that got him really pissed, though, was when we had mentioned our car and implied leaving. He did not like that, and when I say we got into it bad? Oh, the insults were flying. Like, look at this!

So, yeah, we fought, and what about it? It's whatever. Forget him...

...Actually, we felt really bad about the whole thing, and so did he. We talked it out, and everything was all good again; however, now he's acting really weird, we're getting really suspicious, and we still have to get home. That being said, we call it an early night, borrow one of his books, and pretty much make a gameplan so we can figure out how to get home as well as what the hell is going on that is not only making Crowe act weird, but what is going on in general.

And we do! We sneak out the next morning and ... we actually make things worse because now, we're REALLY confused. I'm not going to get into the details, but just know that there are more questions than answers at this point. So, yeah, while the investigating helped, it only helped a little, and I genuinely mean only a little.

One thing that we know for sure though...

This man is definitely crazy in love with us.

And that's all I'm going to tell you! Lol I'm sorry! But if I tell you the rest, it'll literally be the ending, and it'll ruin it! You know how much I want you guys to play it, so no way am I going to spill the details, but like most visual novels, how it ends is completely up to the choices that you make.

Guys...the full game delivered.

I prefer choice heavy visual novels like Darling Duality and Forcefully Yours, but this still wasn't bad by any means. I actually thought it was quite good! Like I said, the most shocking thing to me about all of this is that this man is deadass a scientist! Like, he really isn't doing anything entirely sketchy out there! That was the biggest plot twist of the century to me! But, anyways, letting go of that. Let me tell you more of my thoughts on the game, and why I feel like you should play it whenever you get the chance.

The visuals are absolutely stunning, first and foremost. So far, my favorite VN visual wise has been Mushroom Oasis, but this is definitely a solid number 2 spot. I absolutely adore the art style. I also appreciate the revamp that they did with Crowe. There is nothing wrong with femboys by any means, but to me, Crowe was a little girly looking, and he very much so looked like a small child lol. Like look at the difference in this.

This is the old Crowe Lynn

And this is the new Crowe Lynn

Lol you see what I mean? He looked like a child that wanted to be a scientist when he grew up versus the actual adult him that chose science as a profession. The redesign was definitely a good choice, and I love how he looks now, especially with the longer hair and worn out lab coat. What do you think, though? Which did you prefer?

Aside from that though, you know what one of my favorite things about the game was? The fact that -- and listen close, because this is about to be a tip! -- the endings that you get are based more on how the character feels about Crowe versus how Crowe feels about us. How curious is that?

In a majority of visual novels, the endings are literally dependent on how far we push the LI or their affinity for us, but it's not like that in this one. We get a different ending based on if we trust him or not, if we flirt back with him or ignore his remarks, and some other factors that I don't want to include and possible spoil the story. I just thought that was a really interesting take, and that was super creative of the developer. It was definitely refreshing to play as more of myself and base the gameplay on my -- or rather my character's -- feelings versus playing for the LI and his feelings.

With all that in mind, I definitely say give this game a go! It has a nice mystery/suspense to it, and not to mention, there is a really bomb song during the credits. I was so sad to see that it was not on Spotify! Well, let me clarify, it IS, but it's not available to me which sucks ass. It's not even on YouTube, and it hurts me so bad! Ugh!

Anyways, in case my feelings and opinions weren't clear -- play this game, play this game, play this game, play this game! As always, be sure to leave your comments on the dev's page if you feel like they've done a good job, and you want to give them that extra reassurance to keep making games. Of course, donations are always helpful to them as well! Like mentioned at the very top, here is a link to the game so that you can play it for yourself, and I really want you to play it for yourself!

That's all from me! Drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Where Winter Crows Go

[velvet-games]

intro post

I'll probably add more to/change this later; I've just needed an intro post for a while, and this is what I could think of. you should probably remind me to update it if this section is still here after like six months lol.

name/pronouns/age/gay shit~

honestly you can call me whatever, but I probably won't know you're talking about me unless you use vel/velvet.

prefer they/it; any pronouns are fine.

I'm probably non-binary I guess.

I'm an adult.

I basically just identify as queer at this point, but I'm like,, vaguely aroace-spec probably? still figuring it out. I'm actually very happy to talk about it more specifically, but I might have to sit you down for an entire day to explain it lol.

what I do/post~

I mostly post fandom stuff, and my original posts include a lot of art + occasional meta. I'm starting write fic too, so that might be a more regular thing in the future :)

other accounts~

@/velvetygames -- explicit nsfw twitter/x account, not very active

@cornerbytes -- old dragon prince account that I will probably revisit when the new season comes out

@/velvet_games -- ao3 account

nsfw~

I post occasional nsfw here (never super explicit; that's saved for my twitter); it'll be tagged #nsft.

fandoms~

current fandom: hazbin hotel

previous fandoms:

hannibal (will always have a very special place in my heart)

arcane (will revisit when the new season comes out)

ofmd (literally so happy this exists; devastated it's not getting a new season)

the dragon prince (will probably revisit when the new season comes out)

good omens

lotr (I also read like 2/3 of the hobbit and will hopefully finish it this summer lmao)

things in media that make me go insane (in a good way)~

friendship

happy endings

cannibalism

(WELL-WRITTEN) romance (THAT RESPECTS THE CHARACTERS AS INDIVIDUALS AS WELL AS WHO THEY ARE IN RELATION TO OTHERS)

surrealism

good visuals (even if everything else is shit; extra points if it's animation)

angst

fake-hating

this one's weird but I love situations where a character is really helpless; I thought I liked whump because I can be borderline sadistic about it sometimes, but whump is really not necessary at all to this concept

religious stuff, mythology, angels specifically for some reason (especially when they're terrifying and/or fallen)

gay people

requests~

you are welcome to send in ideas through comments, DMs, asks, etc., but I can't guarantee I'll draw them. if I don't, it doesn't mean that I don't like your idea; I'm probably just busy or have too many brainworms about a specific thing to draw anything but what's on my mind.

notes~

I randomly get really anxious about feedback on stuff sometimes lol, but I promise I read every single comment/tag and cherish them very deeply <33

also, like/rb spamming is totally fine and welcomed! I know some people don't like it, so I just wanted to make it clear that it's completely cool with me.

mutuals~

for a really long time, this was my pinned post, and it's still true! definitely welcome any interactions from mutuals <3

I do have a problem with randomly ghosting people though; I've been much better with it recently, but please try not to take it personally if I don't respond to DMs quickly. I'm probably just being insane and in my head about it. I'm really sorry.

misc~

this is an account that is purposely removed from my irl stuff; I'm here to have fun and relax on my mostly fandom-oriented blog.

I don't block often since I mostly meet nice people on here, but I am very happy to block accounts that make my experience on this app shitty.

I try to tag triggers when appropriate, but please let me know if you need me to tag anything I haven't.

art for me is just a hobby I use for fun and self-expression, so while I really appreciate concrit, keep in mind that my goal is ultimately to make stuff that makes me happy.

I am also very protective of young artists that get made fun of for being beginners or making unconventional art; you should never assume why someone is making art, and you especially should not assume that they are focused on becoming more skilled or making things that are beautiful to you. if they're not hurting anyone and you're not their target audience, get the fuck out.

I am of the mindset that media is not real, but that your reaction/the things you learn are. liking cannibal media does not make you a cannibal, but seeing bigoted portrayals of minorities can feed your biases (doesn't necessarily mean you can't consume it; does mean its effect on you/others irl should factor into if/how you decide to interact with it).

I'm vaguely fucked in the head. just keep that in mind.

[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

[genericpuff]

Wait wait when and where did RS say Hermes and Persephone used to make out behind Demeter's back??

I believe it was her Patreon specifically. She has a very bad habit of dropping "canon" information on social media/other platforms/anything that isn't the actual webcomic. It's also how she "retconned" Minthe's BPD, through a mod post on Discord; and she had first revealed Hestia and Athena as a couple through shipping art on Patreon.

Unfortunately a LOT of this kind of information has been lost because her Patreon no longer exists, and because all that information was kept behind a tier subscription (which users can no longer access) all we have left are screenshots of old Patreon drawings that got backed up and statements from people who were there to witness it themselves as Patreon backers. It's honestly pretty smart, if you're looking to cover your tracks and retcon your own canon information you gave out, but that's of course dependent on backers not saving screenshots or image files which they always do (and did because you can find lost Patreon content out there all the time). I doubt that was Rachel's intention either, to try and "cover it up" that way, it was just something that sorta worked in her favor due to the nature of Patreon. She already retcons things plenty as it is without needing to "bury" what she originally said so I doubt she would care about using Patreon in that way LMAO

That said, the fact that she dumps this information outside of the comic does mean she can easily go back on it at any time. So... that's definitely a thing that I feel like she does on purpose to some degree, even if it's just so she doesn't have to 'commit' to any one solid idea. Again, she doesn't have to be doing that intentionally, but people do end up doing these sorts of things subconsciously all the time. Considering how flip-floppy LO's decisions and plotlines are, I wouldn't be surprised if RS just had commitment issues with her own ideas. But I don't know, this is getting into more speculation that I can't back up with actual fact, just my own experiences reading her work. So take it with grains of salt.

Another fun fact from her sharing things on social media outside of the comic: that panel of Hades working tirelessly on his computer isn't his arms moving really fast, apparently he actually can grow multiple arms.

Only shown once (and it was assumed to just be comic book motion) and confirmed as canon by RS outside of the comic. It's actually insane the amount of weird or otherwise random shit RS has tried to depict in the comic without explanation or context with just the assumption that people would "get" whatever was going on in her head when she drew it. There's definitely a weird disconnect between RS' own internal ideas/how she views her writing vs. how it actually comes out on paper. Comics are both narrative and visual communication, there are loads of "rules" you can follow to help achieve that communication in the clearest and most appealing way possible - what she's basically doing is the writing equivalent of jaywalking.

[mommyashtoreth]

am i allowed to ask about your opinion on the fanon tsunderefication of crowley

This is so funny of COURSE you're allowed to ask me I love talking. You can always ask me anything PLEASE ask me my opinions on things. However, even more than talking I love being contrarian and I'd like to propose that it's not quite as much of a "fanon tsunderefication" as you may think. It's a TV canon tsunderification. Obviously the levels to which Crowley displays these personality traits in the show vs the levels to which he does in a lot of fan stuff are very different, with the latter being Very heightened, but that's the case with any fandom flanderization. What I'm talking about is the slight change made in Crowley's characterization in the adaptation of the book to the show, with book-Crowley being kind of a more softhearted guy and okay with that than show-Crowley, although I do stand fast by the idea that they're both definitely the same character. The biggest example of this is like, quite famously, "I always knew you were deep down a very nice person" being met with "oh don't tell the whole blessed world about it" in the book, and with the whole "I'm not nice I'm never nice" wall slam song and dance in the show. The show tsundereified him! That was a weird word to write! And I think that's fine, it's funny and it works in a visual format and David Tennant is really really good at making that dramatic sort of anger very funny. So I definitely don't think it comes out of nowhere when Crowley seems to be overdoing it in fan stuff, but I do still think he's too often overdoing it. Which is like. fine? I guess? It's not the end of the world lmao but it does get annoying. Ultimately I find it not an instance of fandom mischaracterization but of fandom flanderization, I know we're all sick of that word but there's nothing else to describe it I'm sorry. I treat it the same way I treat like, people overdoing Aziraphale's "niceness" which most certainly does happen. I think a lot of people are afraid to make Crowley be mean (which he actually is sometimes!) so they just rely on this kind of "it's not like I like you or anything" crutch. Which can definitely work! But doesn't work always. Just have Crowley run over a hedgehog on purpose and move some traffic cones around and you'll fill your "Crowley is mean and she means it" quota for the fic

[dio-the-thot-exterminator]

Old Art Archive

AHHHHH this is our baby Natalia.

She is the android in the story. 

Writing this on a computer instead of my tablet so hopefully, this is more coherent.

Even though she is meant to be an Android, we wanted her to look more doll-like. Since the person she serves under The Madam likes that aesthetic more, (The Madam may or may not be self-projecting onto Natalia). Natalia takes on every role in the “Brothel”, I mean we called it the brothel but it's not like that. It's more of a farm and or factory. Humans and other creatures being the meat/food. Anyways anything that needs to get done at the Brothel Natalia is the one that handles it. But she usually just does heavy lifting and security. She is basically like the fucking terminator.  

Anyway, I liked the idea of her being able to use her body parts as weapons. Like she is being held together by magnets almost. So one force can attract and the other force and repel her. She can shoot her body parts, for example her fingers. A human finger has about 3 sections. For Natalia, each of those sections can separate and she can shoot them like bullets. Then she can attract them back to her body and shoot them again, like infinite ammo. If she wants to she can shoot her entire hand out (this is how she grabs creatures who are escaping). I just think it would be a cool visual. 

You may see those strange little doodles and that is of Pheobe and Natalia. Natalia was made by The Scientist and Pheobe was made by The Doctor. Pheobe is like a Frankenstein’s Monster of sorts, she is made out of the leftover pieces of any unused human and creature. They are basically like sisters. However, Natalia was made for a “practical” purpose while Pheobe was made because the Doctor was lonely and wanted a daughter LMAO. Natalia doesn't like Pheobe because she thinks she’s annoying and “does not serve a purpose” (Pheobe is the younger sibling). Pheobe loves Natalia unconditionally, no matter how mean she is to her. 

I like their dynamic because it’s literally just Natalia trying to do her job and the Doctor is like “If you going out you gotta take Pheobe with you”. 

Pheobe is just drawn as a blob because we didn't give her a definitive form (as her body parts are always changing). But Pheobe just likes to be around Natalia, like she just follows her around and Natalia hates it. 

The Scientist and the Doctor are always like “stop being mean to yo sister”. 

There is not much else to say, I mean I could go into personality (i guess with all our characters). But that's for another day. 

Also, the little drawings look like that because we would come up with little scenarios and send notes back and forth to each other in the middle of class. 

[bonesandthebees]

Okay, last batch. Tntduo time. First up, I really love all the drinks you describe. Itss just a tiny detail, but visualization them is a lot of fun and brings life into the scene. It’s also a subtle way to show how good Quackity is at his craft. It also leads straight into the flirting.

Now this could be my ace ass not properly picking up the context, but to be it feels like it’s more playful banter the way friends might flirt than actual flirting. Though there might be too much blushing for that. Either way, whatever’s going on it’s normal enough to neatly fit into a category. Either way, it’s something Wilbur has never done before. It’s a new human experience and something a normal person of his age would do. Though being a normal person also means having to do the dishes and laundry like the rest of us plebs.

Even still, Wilbur isn’t ready to consciously accept that he’s just a human. Yet he feels like he has no right to call himself the Pythia. Because he doesn't want to leave and he doesn’t want to get a vision telling him to leave and he’s not even worried that Clara might be trying and failing to reach him. Well, he isn’t until he realises that he should be glad she can’t reach him and then the religious guilt kicks in.

This leads to him spilling his worries to Quackity, because in all this he’s a safe person to talk to. He’s a neutral party. And I’ve said before he’s what Wilbur could have become if he hadn’t been chosen to be the Pythia. [What’s a Pythia to a non-believer?] just a normal human being with some extra fancy title and privilege.

And so the little Phoenix in his chest comes to life again sending smoke from the ashes as we slip into only pronouns territory. And Quackity asks good questions to. Would it be bad if Clara had given up on him? For Wilbur it would be terrible, but everyone with eyes can see how much it hurts him. It would be better in the long run, but Wilbur’s not ready to see that. Because it’s been drilled into him from age 12 that his only purpose is to serve Clara.

He is nothing but an empty vessel and it runs back to the existential crisis of whether he even deserves to live if he’s not serving her. Though this time around it’s less “I don’t deserve to breath if I’m not serving her” and more “this is all I know how to do, what else am I supposed to do? I don’t know how to do anything else?” which is pretty close to the normal “what am I going to do with my life” everyone else has like Quackity points out, except with builds-in additional “am I not good enough?”.

And then we circle back to the empty vessel and we get another way of dealing with it. The Quackity way, which is somehow even unhealthier than whatever Wilbur and Tommy are developing. Quackity’s intention is to make a point that Wilbur is just like everyone else. That point is ‘if I pinch you, you feel pain just like everyone else’.

They have a different definition of empty. Wilbur thinks that empty is what he is because that’s what he’s supposed to be, but Quackity knows that empty people can barely function. Empty people have no personality. They wouldn’t banter and flirt with him. They might not even react when you hurt them. And that’s what he’s trying to show Wilbur. He’s not empty. But Wilbur has an entirely different definition of being empty. And even by that one he’s ‘failing’. So Quackity’s way doesn't really work. It doesn’t shattered Wilbur world view (not in one go anyway), but it does make him feel very human.

And this ask is getting long, so I’m cutting it off here, but I just noticed the invisible countdown above his head comment, which is definitely foreshadowing for the vision at the end.

(1/?)

-🌲

lmao thank you for the compliment about the drinks I describe, but I gotta be honest the drink wilbur has in ch 18 was straight up a drink I had once at a bar that I still think about to this day. yes it tasted like chocolate strawberries, yes it was pale purple, and yes it had bourbon in it. I do not understand how the bartender did it at all but she was fantastic. I desperately want to go back to that bar. I'm also gonna attach a picture of it at the end of this under a read more bc it's a very pretty drink (but the picture is shit lmao)

the thing is with the tntduo flirting is that it's not able to be fit into a box. maybe some of it's genuine, maybe it's just jokes, but it's not clear on either side. but most importantly, like you said, it's a normal human experience. wilbur is finally experiencing genuine flirting and not just being forced to flatter rich people at parties.

gotta love when wilbur's having some Thoughts and the religious guilt suddenly kicks in and he spirals again. classic.

yes that's exactly why he spills to quackity! he's the only true neutral party in all of this! and that's also partly why wilbur is so drawn to him. he's a non-believer. no matter what wilbur does or says quackity doesn't view him as anything other than just a guy. even the deathlings, while recognizing him as a person, still view him as Clara's Chosen. there's still something there. quackity doesn't have that.

god. it would be so good if clara had given up on him. maybe he finally could've gotten some peace after he got over the religious guilt and anxiety about all of it.

"The Quackity way, which is somehow even unhealthier than whatever Wilbur and Tommy are developing" when I tell you I cackled at this. you're so right they are even unhealthier than the codependency circus that is crimeboys rn and that's saying something. gotta love tntduo. but yes that's exactly his point. wilbur is made of flesh and blood and feels pain just like everyone else. he's not empty, and quackity knows empty. he's seen it sitting at his bars enough times to recognize it at a glance, and wilbur is anything but empty.

(drink pic below for funsies lol)

mine was the drink closest to the camera. you can't tell in the lighting of the pic bc the entire bar was lit up in shades of orange and yellow, but it's a very pale purple color. also sorry the pic is terrible this was my 3rd drink of the night and I was, uh, more than tipsy by the time I took this

[leeyanyanyaaan]

afterthoughts for kh3

guess who's not sleeping again =w=

listen, i really enjoyed the kh3 experience, mostly bc of my bias for kh in general, the fun new additions like exploring in the gummi ship and cooking w remi, and especially graphics wise it was very visually pleasing to play through, but if i have to be honest, some things just put me off ESPECIALLY with how the story went (but its kh what else should i be expecting 💀) and some of the game mechanics.

if you asked me what my favorite of the kh games were, i'd answer kh2 and khbbs (with the addition of the main title games too tho haha). only i hated grinding on bbs and the powers were absolutely insane LMAO

but the video in the link actually covers a lot of stuff really well; as much as he disses the game the guy makes a lot of good points and feedback for his criticism in ways it could've been done better or how the previous games have done it.

honestly just ignore me i just want to put my thoughts somewhere LMAO

DISCLAIMER: This is purely subjective opinion!

If my opinion opposes your own, all I ask is for uhm... no knives please? ;w; and by no means do I intend for anything that I've said to offend or hurt anyone :"(

Gravity - This. Right off the bat he already points out one of the game mechanics that's been... well, come to my attention? I DEFINITELY noticed how KH3 has become way more aerodynamic. I feel like one of the reasons why, that I think he doesn't state, is because from the beginning we already have so many skill moves that it felt like we were already midgame lol (it's probably the wall climb and airdiving). But yeah, Sora's floatiness is pretty obvious, like, he just has a lot of airtime. The one thing I really wanted and hoped would be in the game would be a ground slam, like the one in Genshin. I mean tbf sometimes the more aerodynamic mechanics helped in fighting but only for the typical crowds of mobs; for bosses they can get annoying and get me more caught in attacks easily (then again, I'm not the best blocker OOF)

Attractions - Okay, for my case, the attractions was a great way to keep my baby sister entertained AHAHA she would always ask me "Ate! Ate! Do the unicorns! Do the teacups! Do the pirate ship!" with the addition of the Disney characters that she's a little more familiar with (cough Frozen and Monsters Inc cough) she always liked watching me play =w= but otherwise I'd usually ignore the attractions LOL. He absolutely called me out there tho AHSDJASKBD but I did not realize they were DisneyLand attraction rides until at least three rides where I pieced it together LMAO. I can see his point about its disjointedness from the gameplay and his ideas make sense but IMO I also think that saving the attractions for boss battles would work too like the train, eg. the Pirate Ship for The Caribbean? It also kinda makes me sad how The Carribbean was the only world to stay consecutively for the three title games :"( then again, it is a nice refresher to see the newer Disney/Pixar films in the game and I liked how way more fleshed out The Carribean was this time. Plus IMO the way they tied in the concept with the possible "New Seven Hearts" and the reason for why the characters could be a new heart of light actually made sense to me, so I didn't mind it too much... except that concept kinda just gets dropped in the end so 😐 (I mean, I get that they needed to purpose for the Disney worlds to still remain, but seriously, this isn't the first time KH just decides to drop a plot point when it's no longer relevant ToT)

The Original Worlds - !!! THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE RADIANT GARDEN 😭😭😭 WHERE DID IT GOOOOOO I WANTED TO SEE THE RESTORATION COMMITTEEEE but I mean... idk i guess we still got to have Winnie the Pooh and Remi? and Scrouge and the triplets were still there too (but no more DisneyTown.) I guess I liked that there was more to do in the Keyblade Graveyard with the labyrinth? ig? The war itself... it kinda felt underwhelming 😥 then again, in terms of combat it really pales in comparison to BBS (even tho bbs was super op oof)... that game really gave me a challenge especially with Vanitas :") as for Scala ad Caelum... this is something that plays more to UX, doesn't it? (sidenote: I got so jelly when all the UX players got to be in the final attack 😭💔 by the time I wanted to download UX it wasn't available anymore :") and even when I did see it I haven't even gotten past KH1 first so... yeah) I wanted to explore the world but I forgot that the save data would be just before the final boss battle so I was stuck going on round 2 :") at least I got the secret movie I guess? Though I may just need to play through the post-ending save data a few more times to discover more things.

The Enemies - Like he mentioned about the unique special moves for each mob... Yeah, I really preferred KH2 and BBS's game mechanics over KH3... as cool as all the starter skills we got was, the battles, especially for the bosses weren't nearly as challenging as the past two days (remember when Mickey had to save our ass?). Back to when I mentioned Ventus, you really needed to think out a game plan and actually dodge or block attacks, you couldn't just tackle him head on especially because levelling up and grinding in BBS was terrible. Even though there were insane killer moves (which, IMO while yes they look too way OP for KH3, they were really cool!) not even that would've been enough, at least, not for your first 1v1 against him.

LMAOOO THE WAY HE DISSES BBS AT THE END 😂😂😂 fair enough though, i'm well aware bbs isn't part of the best games of the franchise, but then again, a big part of why bbs is part of my favorites is A. Aqua my waifu <3 and B. the storyline :") (fun fact, I even made a stand-alone BBS!AU for OCs with two of my old friends even though they knew nothing of the franchise! I only got them to skim through a BBS gameplay video and it was coherent enough for them to understand, me only needing to fill in the role of light and darkness LOL) BUT. I'M SO SO SOOOO HAPPY THEY'RE BRINGING BACK THE REACTION COMMANDS FROM KH2 TO KH4!!!! IT WAS MY FAVORITE MECHANIC IN KH2 BOSS FIGHTS! and probably in RPG games in general, the reason why I favor the first of the One Piece: Pirate Warriors series is because of the action commands and just how much more game mechanics there was in comparison to its predecessors.

One more thing I'd like to mention is the underwhelming performance of how scenes were carried out technical-wise... I mean, at this point I know it's nothing new but come on! The least they could very do is add subtle BGM to help carry mood if they're going to have empty spaces in between dialogue 💀 I know that they only added the Frozen songs for the marketing 🤡 but hey my sister liked it. Dialogue wise if I didn't like it I would just rewrite it in my memories 🤗

So now that game mechanics are covered, let's talk about plot :) warning though that uh I might be hazy on some details of the story by now, especially as half of the games I didn't have I watched gameplays of, so my understanding might be more limited than your average avid KH fan. I'm literally hanging onto this understanding by a thread ToT also it's three a.m. and my bestie insomnia is sleeping over <3

Like I mentioned above, what I did like about the plotline was how the New Seven Hearts were introduced and gave purpose and reason for each of the chosen Disney/Pixar worlds... UNTIL IT JUST BECOMES IRRELEVANT BY THE END OF THE GAME ToT but I mean, at the very least, it did make journeying through the new worlds more enjoyable? Well, for me at least. It's probably the Disney child in me talking 🤭 plus the fact that I played with my baby sister by my side.

But just as I was finally starting to get some sense of the plotline, it felt like by the end of KH3 they kinda just... dropped the ball. Rushed the plotline? Forced even. Especially in terms of Kairi.

I feel like we were robbed of Kairi's character. What was the point of her training to become a keyblade wielder if she was only going to be a damsel in distress in the end? It really only felt like she was just there to be the push Sora needed whenever he fell into... darkness. and only that. Literally. If Kairi was going to save Sora, couldn't it have been done at the very least, physically? With the keyblade? Show her strength? (pls i wanted badass kairi so bad and where she physically saved sora for once ajsdbkas)

The Keyblade War in general was so lacking :( like, when I said I rewrite scenes I didn't like in my head it was most of the keyblade war. It's probably harsh of me to say this, but I feel like they just didn't put in the effort the story deserved, for the keyblade war at least. Especially what were supposed to be emotional and moving scenes, they just didn't have impact they were trying to convey. The way the characters were thrown into despair felt so cheap, and they barely did much to turn the tables either. I don't know. I guess I was just expecting more because of the concept of "war". Literally, at the very least, they could've shown more reaction and action when they were under attack? As overdemanding this sounds, if they're able to program visually high quality combat mechanics for the whole of the game, why not for the cutscenes? Though this might be my lack of knowledge in the game development side of things.

And then the ending? Kairi's disappeared and now Sora's going after her...? (Update: just quickly watched a summary of Re:Mind. So Sora's gone because basically he messed with the Laws of Nature/Keyblade magic so Sora's disappeared to the Human World/Quadratum as punishment... I think? Well, I guess there's a little more closure now, albeit it feels like they've found a convenient loophole to bring back Kairi 🤡 KH Lore still not making any more sense as always LMAO) Like, is this really how we're concluding KH3? What about the Heart Hotel gang? The vessels? Like, hooray everyone gets to have a happy ending and be reunited but is this book closed end of story for them? The Heart Hotel played a big role for Sora and his powers and the story (I think I saw a tumblr post talk about this). I'm just- I dunno... no closure? I don't even know what to expect for Kairi in KH4. I know Riku is gonna be following Sora, but I feel like Kairi deserved way more than the role of the damsel of distress and the shining light for Sora. Is she really just gonna be yet another Shonen Female Lead with Wasted Power?

But I myself don't think I'd know how to connect the events of KH3 to the Quadratum in KH4 with a different ending. Maybe they should've played more on the idea of Sora falling to darkness, since they've emphasised this a lot (and well he's in the "afterlife" now). They seem to have the Heart Hotel sorted so they'll probably only be briefly mentioned as like voices or shining lights in Sora's depths of despair from now on. And again, I'm still hazy on certain parts of the KH lore, so I'm not sure how the Foretellers, Luxu and Master of Masters will tie in either (though do note that I haven't played beyond KH3 yet so maybe there's answers in the preceding games).

I dunno. Maybe it's just my sleep deprived braincell not processing information XD

Anyways, I'll just be here hoping for the story to continue to unfold and for the release of KH4 :D I'll also try to navigate my way around the rest of the games that I need to go through for lore. It's nearly four a.m. so I'll try get some shut eye now =w=

[Overall score: 8.5/10 ⭐]

[moonlitlex]

ok fine if you want me to spell it out for you thinking of new ideas does require creativity (note i said new ideas lmao because if you're just thinking of a drawing of superman flying that is not really something that requires you to think of new ideas and plenty of ai art is just this shit). and i never said that thinking of new things to make art of doesn't require creativity.

i said that "ai art" isn't art. and i said that this is specifically because ai doesn't do what humans do when we make art. ai is not a skilled artist making choices about colour and composition and subject matter to convey a message. because people do this regardless of intent. that's just how our brains work. if the only think i've decided is that i want to draw a cup of coffee in the margins of my notebook, i am still making all these decisions. they might not be very purposeful decisions and they might be entirely devoid of intention but it is impossible for me to make art without deciding these things. i have something i want to express with my art, which is that i want a drawing of a cup of coffee, and then i draw it.

i'm talking about visual art here but the same criticisms about using your knowledge of a medium to express something using that medium applies to pretty much any medium. this is what people do when we make art.

ai doesn't do that. it's a predictive algorithm. it decides things based on statistics. that's why hands don't look like hands. the ai isn't trying to draw hands and failing. the ai doesn't understand what a hand is in the first place. those are just the series of pixels that it spat out in the first place.

and ok. fine. i'm a generous woman. you are trying to convince me that ai art is art so i agree for the purposes of this exercise. this still doesn't make "ai artists" actual artists. in this equation the "ai artist" is the client commissioning a piece of art, not the artist. or it's like me, telling my friend she should draw a skull because i think that would look sick.

"ai artists" online are extremely full of themselves because they use programs that steal artists' work without their permission, then type some prompts into a box, generate some images or text or a video, and think this makes them better at art than the artists that ai got trained on because they did it faster. and that we are too haughty about having skills that we spent years developing and continue to refine.

i am a poet. maybe not a very good one. definitely not an award winning or critically acclaimed one. definitely not a popular one either. but i am a poet nonetheless and i have been for a long time. your ask compares writing poetry to writing prompts for ai.

as someone who has done both, they are nothing alike. ai prompting is stupid easy and akin to spamming the w key when your game lags. i've seen ai artists' fully documented processes. sometimes their process is very long. but just because something requires effort doesn't mean it requires skill or intention. it doesn't mean it communicates anything. it doesn't mean you're using it as a means of expressing something. it doesn't even necessarily mean that it's going to look good (which is the one thing proponents of ai art maintain is true about it when frankly a lot of these generative ai images are )

ai prompting takes about as much creativity as it takes to pour water into a glass. and depending on your tools, it could be really hard and take a lot of effort. but someone trying to use a teaspoon to painstakingly transfer water into a glass

poetry is different and this is true of low effort terrible poetry as well as high effort well-crafted poetry. rupi writing "profound" sentences that she proceeds to split up into multiple lines still takes creativity. her milk and honey collection is different to ocean vuong's time is a mother because of the care put into the craft and level of skill they've developed (sorry rupi kaur fans lol). they're trying to do the same thing, ocean vuong just didn't stop at thinking of a nice sentence. a child painting a landscape with a sun in the corner and wonky house and wonky river is still painting a landscape. the difference between that child and karl friedrich schinkel (look him up btw i love his work so much the dramatic lighting creating a somber mood really got to me) is how long they've spent cultivating their skill and thinking about their work.

and like. i write poetry right. and sometimes i write a poem i am happy with in like 10 minutes. and sometimes i spend years periodically looking at my poem and trying to figure out how to say what i want to say. but fundamentally i am doing the same thing when i write both of those poems. i have something i want to say using the medium of poetry and i am trying to figure out which words to use in which order to say that thing. there's this thing that happens in your head when you make art that doesn't happen when you think of a sick idea like having three weed smoking girlfriends. and that's what happens when you make art.

and really people make art for a lot of reasons. because it's pretty. because they like it. because they just want to. because they have a brainworm that is going to drive them insane if they don't make the art. because they want to say something. because they want to look at a painting that doesn't exist yet so they have to make it. because they're horny. because of some other reasons i haven't listed here. but at the end of the day people make art because we are people and that's what we do. and ai doesn't do any of those things. ai artists can make all the art they want, but it's not going to be on midjourney or whatever they're using these days because telling someone what your cool idea for a drawing is isn't drawing it. me telling someone what my sick idea for a poem is isn't me making art. it's me having an idea. writing down what my idea is isn't making art. it's keeping a list of the ideas i've had so i don't forget for when i want to make art in the future.

so anyway tl;dr only people can create art. prompts for ai generators are not art. and generative ai output is not art. and i am personally offended that you decided to compare poetry to typing out a prompt for dragons or furry porn or whatever shit into an ai generator because that really shows how little you understand about what goes into the making part of making art. and this is kind of why every artist (using pretty much any medium) i've seen is against ai art. because it's not art. it's interesting technology. cool maybe. pretty sometimes. but it's not art.

s writing a poem not creative? Because plenty of prompts are longer than poems. Regardless, I don’t use these generators because I personally don’t find them to be useful tools for my process, I just find a lot of the criticism of them to be ignorant.

you are genuinely a fucking idiot if you think writing a poem is the same thing as writing an ai generator prompt.

[funnywormz]

im bored and i feel like rating grokes (in a similar style to those old emoji rating posts) so here i go. it's gonna be a long post so im putting it under the cut

(im gonna start with the book grokes and then move onto stage and tv adaptation versions)

BOOKS

finn family moomintroll - 10/10

first proper appearance of the groke. very classic. very intimidating. she's a bit more malicious in this one than in future books and i love that for her. just a good solid groke

moominland midwinter/moominpappa at sea - ♾/10

lumping these in together because they strike me as very similar in terms of characterisation and are pretty close appearance-wise. my favourite version of the groke from anything ever. means a lot to me. a lonely and misunderstood creature longing for warmth and friendship. scary and can unintentionally cause harm but seems to mean well overall. the perfect groke, both a little terrifying but also very pitiable and loveable. the version of the groke that exists in my mind is 95% just this groke

who will comfort toffle - 11/10

honestly i don't think i could possibly rate any of tove's takes on the groke lower than 10 lmao. this one is no exception. visually she is very striking and very shaped and im a big fan of her design in this. nose at maximum size, very impressive. this is also the book where we get canon confirmation that she has a tail, despite never seeing it, which i also very much appreciate. doesn't really do much in this book except be a bit scary though. she kidnaps someone but it's unclear if it's on purpose or if she just does it accidentally, and what her motivations are for doing so. just a big beast.

ADAPTATIONS

die muminfamilie (1959) - 7/10

i like that she's fuzzy and i like her nose. im not a big fan of those eyebrows though. she is a bit fucked up and desperately needs someone to brush her hair but i love her anyway. also puppets are cool.

moomin (1969) - 1/10

this thing is groke-like in appearance but it is not a groke. i refuse to acknowledge it as a groke. its name is "licky licky" apparently and its whole thing is it licks people so hard their skin comes off????? horrifying. it gets the 1 for being a decent looking groke-ish thing but that's all i will give it. i do not like this.

shin moomin (1979) - 9.5/10

very very cute very round. my poor little scrunkly. i would score her higher but she seems to be mostly lacking that scary-ness that other grokes have which is an important part of the character for me. she is very lovely though and i like how they emphasised her friendly and harmless nature in this and leaned into the tragic side of her. i want to hug her so bad. beautiful creature.

mumindalen (1973) - -100/10

i hate this thing. she looks like an evil potato. why is she so skinny!!!!! get this beast out of my sight!!!!!

Opowiadania Muminków (1977) - 100/10

OHHHHH YEAHHHHH THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABT BAYBEEEE!!!!!!!!! SHE IS SO SO CREEPY!!!!! i love this design for her so much she is so beautiful and pretty and yet very scary and ominous. the way her eyes glow and change colour is the best. i love this groke

mumi-troll (1978) - 8/10

not particularly groke-like but still very excellent. i love how fluffy she is and her big bushy eyebrows. a unique take on the groke for sure

Shlyapa Volshebnika (1980) - 0/10

this is not a groke. this looks like a rich person's weird pet dog. the groke needs to be more goth than this. this looks like an old lady that would call me slurs. not a fan. sorry to those who like her.

CONT. IN A REBLOG BC I HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT LOL

[yuuforia]

Okay so I'm new to the fandom and I'm hella intrigued? But the content is a bit touchy for me (specifically the rape, everything else is a walk in the park) and being a sexual assault victim myself, I'm a bit reluctant to join it? Mainly bc 1.) Mental well-being and 2.) Im worried people will call me out as someone who supports or justifies anything that happened in the game. I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want people to attack me over some eroge with a good plot. Any suggestions?

i don't know how old is this question so first let me apologize for a late answer, and second – this is a interesting question! whether you're still in the fandom or not, i hope you feel welcome 💜 there's like, five of us in this fandom.

euphoria is not for everyone, and i'll repeat it as many times as needed. the content is very shocking and hard to digest, there's this review by Annie Gallagher that sums up my feelings about it. i recommend giving it a read because Annie is way more eloquent and a better writer than i'll ever be, haha.

you do have the choice of skipping the scenes if they make you uncomfortable in any way, they're not exactly vital to the plot (which sounds absurd since this is a nukige we're talking about) and they can seem repetitive after a while. nowadays it's what i would do, honestly, considering my mental health isn't the best and hasn't been for a while

the second point is something i'd like to talk about! euphoria is a very controverse anime/visual novel and its plot doesn't really helps either, for a long time i hid the fact that i like it so people wouldn't attack me over it – but as i grew older, i realized what the fuck: this is just a game. hannibal is one of my favorite series and do you see me supporting cannibalism and murder? obviously not.

sure you can tell people euphoria actually has a plot and probably they'll laugh because sounds like a dumb justification, but anyone who finished the main route can tell you it's indeed a beautiful game with a good plot hid under a pile of shocking content and fetishes. it's not easy to convince people about this since the game is indeed known for being shocking/extreme, though

i guess it takes a certain amount of maturity to talk about this game? you don't really have to justify yourself to anyone who'll attack you over liking a controverse media without at least trying to understand the reason you like it. i spent years trying to tell people that i'm not into scat and neither i support sexual assault, and some people i know actually played the game and realized i was serious about the plot lmao

controverse media has always existed, and so have problematic characters. which reminds me of this tumblr post:

calling out people for liking something you don't really like is somewhat weird, in my opinion? and accusing people of supporting s/a or anything related just because of what they like does more harm than good. you can take this anger and fight for actual irl causes, you know? donate to charities and people who are in need instead of arguing online because "omg tumblr user yuuforia likes a controverse and shocking visual novel" imo

this is getting too long so i'll tl;dr it – euphoria is a hard novel to read, has a shocking beginning and it's not easy to reach the true ending since the road is paved with possibly triggering content. if it does not makes you feel comfortable, no one would judge you for it! always put your mental health first.

(i'd like to talk more about liking controverse media because there are some exceptions to it, i talked more about euphoria because i can talk about it for hours, but there's a difference between liking it – a vn with shocking content on purpose with a deep meaning – and liking content where there's no real meaning and it was clearly made just to please a questionable audience, as in loli/shota stuff)

[number1villainstan]

episode 24, another nanami episode. i think also a recap?

Orff's Carmina Burana, huh? What's that?

oh damn Nanami actually said thank you

not this animal shit again

"a secret no one else must know?" is it about nanami? why is it so sensitive?

oh nope, never mind, apparently the "secret nanami diary" is tsuwabuki's. i can see why that's so important to keep secret for him

oh shit, tsuwabuki was stalking nanami way before--what was it, episode 8? 5? with all the animals getting broken out around nanami. also "personification of school justice" tsuwabuki you sweet summer child

shit i think i've been spelling his name wrong this whole time

"Nanami's true face", huh? maybe he actually did know about nanami's bad intentions

i don't remember chu-chu downing that glass in the og episode

"one who rules the school from the shadows" okay so he does know about nanami being a dick. also kid you are such a stalker stop that >_>

aaand nanami's throwing tsuwabuki under the bus when she gets exposed. dammit nanami you were on a halfway decent path of character development and now you're backsliding

i suddenly remember saying "the clouds are moving quickly so plot is happening" at the end of the student council arc. and someone on a different website said they'd be interested in what i'd think after the black rose arc. to satyreyes: plot did not, in fact, happen

i definitely do not remember the nanami-obsessed triplets waiting for curry. or the elephants being literally right outside the room wtf

WAIT THE ELEPHANTS ATE THE CURRY WITH THE TRIPLETS??? i. holy shit. why does that make so much sense

wait holy shit. if keiko (and maybe yuuko and aiko) only hung out with Nanami because they wanted access to touga, or popularity, then going to India (or whatever illusory version of India they actually went to) with her to trek through jungles and up cliffs is some serious dedication

lmao at the triplets-as-elephants chasing tsuwabuki. or maybe they're just elephants but that's not as funny

man i forgot just how much those elephants hated nanami

wait, tsuwabuki gave chu-chu a banana? as a souvenir? why? maybe he just likes cute animals

the elephants dressed as the triplets. so those were just regular elephants then?

bro he broke into the building? and spied on them while they were in a bedroom? tsuwabuki stop

...the elephants just. standing right outside watching through the windows. are those the triplets or just regular elephants (as much as anything can be 'regular' at Ohtori)

"No matter how she hurts people, she ends up getting hurt the worst!" i wanna say that maybe she should stop trying to hurt people then. that's what her character arc is about, isn't it?

nanami trying to play dumb lol

"there's a profound reason for nanami hating anthy" and nanami doesn't seem to know what that reason is

and tsuwabuki has been awake the whole time, to hear the entire conversation

lmao at how unfazed anthy is over this whole thing

"soft teeth grinding" somehow it distracts nanami (and maybe anthy but maybe not)

damn tsuwabuki how did you sneak into the student council meetings before you had nanami as an excuse

and then we get to touga. the main source of nanami's Issues(TM)

but not for long because now we're back to tsuwabuki being creepy af! why would you want her to get hit with a car! dude! although the visual/silhouette comparison between tsuwabuki and touga (who he's emulating) is pretty telling. especially cuz we know now about how touga actively uses the prince/princess dichotomy and narrative for self-serving purposes

that shot, with nanami being the only one visible and all the rest being shadows...what does it mean. along with the line "if you get agitated you'll turn into a cow again" has that happened before

the triplets dressing up as cows to be closer to nanami will never not be funny

what was with the way her ears were drawn in that scene

fun fact: bovines are colorblind. in bullfighting, it's not the red that makes the bull ready to charge, it's the movement of the cloth. at least i'm pretty sure i don't have a source

"i'll always take care of you, even if you're a cow" is a nice sentiment. if only it didn't come from such an absolutely deranged place jesus FUCK tsuwabuki that WOULDN'T WORK SHE'D FUCKING TRAMPLE YOU

the same shot as before, with anthy and utena as silhouettes but nanami and tsuwabuki visible. and then nanami throwing herself out a window just to be able to grab the diary again?

"strategy 24" tsuwabuki. baby. please. no. twenty-four??

"the king has the ears of a donkey!" damn i thought it was gonna be midas for a hot second. (the barber's strategy of "dig a hole and whisper the secret into the hole" would have been great if it wasn't a greek myth tbh. ah, tragedy, where even the most well-intentioned and carefully-considered path can still lead to ruin)

the triplets seeing the shadow girl play is great. also the monkey-catching robot comes back! i hope that means it has a friend now?

"Curry!" are the triplets and elephants still body-switched???

Oh also, along with writing the December 2023 Monthly Short Piece today, I finally watched the first episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena after days of seeing a moot post about it and--

"I am the Rose Bride. From this day forward, I belong to you."

i am going to murder everyone in this damn school for anthy

[theirondragonrants]

8 Thoughts on GOT 8X06 - The Bittersweet Ending

I might be lit up in flames for saying this, but I didn't hate the ending? Granted I was ready to be disappointed, but I think it wrapped up everything the way it promised to wrap it up, despite the shit season its riding up behind.

1. Daenerys Targaryen's ending

Dany spent so long trying to get a throne that wasn't hers, on behalf of a family she didn't get a chance to know, for a cause that didn't stand.

Daenerys would've never stopped fighting, because there would always be bad men to burn, whether they knew it or not. There was always going to be a reason to make people into the bad guy. Like the kids she burnt, and the ones she would've burnt.

It hurts because she wasn't a bad person. She was a good person whom circumstances soured, but at least she can rest now.

2. Jon Snow's ending

It's no secret how much I LOATHE Jon Snow. I think all Stark men are absolute peanut heads and their moral absolutism keeps getting them into shit.

That being said, Duty is the death of love and I loved that they brought the phrase back because it's exactly what I assumed he was thinking. Jon lost the woman he loves over a throne he didn't want, because she thought him a threat. He wanted away from the Wall, and he has to go back because that's how you get a hateful ending, but he can go to the true North now. He even gets ghost because they both belong beyond the wall.

I won't justify the stupid writing decisions that were made to get him here, and I won't admit people have a reason to hate what they did to him. But honestly what's worst for Jon than losing all you gained, but getting to return to your true home anyways.

3. Arya Stark's Ending

Arya Stark, the princess who was promised. Arya Stark who looks death in the face and says not today. Arya Stark who wanted to go home.

I appreciate the way they wrapped up her story because to do anything else would've promised that, eventually, they would've sacrificed her character and her sense of self to marry her off, or rule over a castle, or something like that.

She's wanted to know what's West of Westeros for the longest time, and much as she wanted to come home and avenge her family, this is both bitter and sweet. Arya Stark will get to see the world, and be herself.

3. Tyrion Lannister's ending

Bran said it best. He thought he was clever and he made a lot of mistakes, and he'll spend his life paying for them. He told Shay once that these people were what he did best. This power hungry city and the people in it.

But he's gone past that because power killed people and power corrupted a woman he believed in so deeply he let her worst flaws go on behalf of believing in her.

So now, he gets to live in the city he had a hand in burning, fixing the Kingdoms he played a hand in destroying, for a King he had a hand in crowning. And unknown in the story of the fight he had a hand in playing out. Seems fitting for the hand of the King?

4. Daenerys' troops ending

This is a virtue of shitty writing, but the Dothraki and the Unsullied ended up being war criminals. They killed innocents, and prisoners, all in the name of Daenerys Targaryen.

She's gone now. They have no place in Westeros because without Daenerys they've got nothing here. So they lose their Queen, and their purpose here, but they get to go home.

Grey Worm who lost so much in the end, and lost his humanity, held on to Missandei's last wish and got to take his men to a peaceful place, where they can live it out.

Grey Worm doesn't get what he deserved after years of loss and pain, but he can fulfill Missandei's last wish.

5. Brandon Stark's ending

I'll admit I didn't see that coming? Again, granted, probably the virtue of shit writing but I digress.

Maybe Bran didn't want the Lordship of Winterfell because it was his mission to gun for something bigger? Maybe this is the rightful ending to the struggle life of the Stark family? But who better to rule a kingdom than the one person who can see every injustice and truly punish the guilty and reward the good?

Brandon didn't want power, but maybe the best man to sit on the Throne is the one who doesn't want it. He also gave independence to the North and I live for that.

6. Ser Brienne's ending

Brienne lived her life for duty. She served the Starks because duty to Catelyn compelled her to, and then proved herself worthy of everything by being the most kickass knight in the Seven Kingdoms.

But she lost the man she loves, and now she gets to write the end of his story, including the part about Cersei, and she'll live out her life protecting the Stark King. Podrick lived to serve by her side in the end, and I'm glad he got knighted (though I am almost 100% sure Brienne did it and I would've loved to see that).

Brienne gets to be a knight, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Kingsguard for a King who is good and just. Just not the King she wanted. And she survived through insurmountable odds, but lost the man she loves.

7. Sansa Stark's Ending

Sansa Stark, first of her name, the Red Wolf, and the Queen in the North.

MAN I'VE BEEN CALLING THIS FOREVER! THIS IS WHAT VINDICATION LOOKS LIKE!!!!

Honestly I've got nothing but happiness that this is a thing. They fiddled the least with Sansa's story in this shitty season, so I 100% believe she deserves this. Sansa's been telling people what they're doing wrong and that they should listen to her. And yet nobody does.

Sansa had the piece of mind to make sure Bran knew, in PUBLIC, that she loves him but the North fought for its freedom and it deserves its freedom.

Nothing feels better than hearing a room of men chant for the Queen in the North, after so many Kings in the North (especially because the ones we've seen were well meaning morons).

8. Game of Thrones' ending

(lmao anyone notice they told us from the start with the Raven on the seat? Sorry just thought it was funny)

Shitty writing decisions aside, the Game of Thrones was the story of the ruling families of Westeros fighting for a throne.

It was the story of the Stark family, the family that lost everything to love and duty and had to fight to get it back. It was the story of the Targaryen family that conquered Kingdoms and held them by fear, and lost the favor of the throne. The Lannister's who could buy the world with their gold until the gold and the power ran out. The Baratheon's who blindly followed orders, no matter who or what other factors were in the way.

And now, there's no more Throne to fight for.

The Targaryen's are dead, except for a Bastard in exile.

The Baratheon's are dead, except for an unknown and unprepared Bastard.

The Lannister's are dead, except for the imp son who may as well be a Bastard.

And the Starks live in the end. The King of the 6 Kingdoms, the Hero of the World,The Queen in the North and a man who is finally free.

At the end of the day, the Starks who lost everything for the Throne are now the ones who won the game, and that feels like the most poetic justice in the world.

Final Thoughts

I've taken this season at face value. For the effort of the cast, the crew, and the amazing story they brought to life. The writers and their decisions aside, these people took on a titanic job and delivered the most amazingly acted and visually gorgeous story they could.

So Thank You, Game of Thrones, for the last 10 years of my life. Thank you for the theory fodder, and the ending that I can't entirely hate, and the characters that have shaped my life.

Thank you for a strong Sansa. A just Daenerys. A loyal Jon. A brave Arya. A wise Bran. A clever Tyrion. A dutiful Brienne. For every character that was not black and white and played the game. For the characters that left early but made this story so important.

Thank you, GoT. Despite your final flaws, you went out fighting.

Thank you.

BONUS GHOST REACTION

A GOOD BOY GOT PETS IN THE END AND HE GETS TO LIVE IN THE NORTH I LOVE THAT FOR HIM!!!!!

[tobias-fell]

alright so i think the phrasing is off on both accounts here, actually. It's not censorship related, per say, moreso.... idk. acceptability? illogical thought processes? whatever it's called, it's a Thing.

and it's not just reading =/= wanting, it's ALSO reading =/= being.

Let me explain.

R =/= W:

just because you read something doesn't mean you want it to happen to yourself or others. Reading about murder =/= wanting to be murdered or for someone else to be murdered. Reading about abusive relationships =/= wanting to be abused or for someone else to be abused. Reading about the world exploding =/= wanting the world to explode.

R =/= B:

Just because you read something doesn't mean you do the thing or are the thing. Reading about murder =/= being a murderer. Reading about abusive relationships =/= being an abuser. Reading about the world exploding =/= being someone who would try to blow up the world.

and, a third (under keep reading, this got long):

r =/= ioi

reading =/= intent or identity. This is basically both of these concepts tied together, w/"intent" being "want" and "identity" being.... being.

These things can also be taken over to writing, but i didn't use that, bc "w =/= w" is a confusing visual, lmao.

overall, it can also be F = IOI. "F" standing for fantasy, instead of fiction, because i feel that "fantasy" is a better reminder that this is not real. Fictional murder did not and has never killed anybody. Murderers have probably used fiction they've read to justify their own real actions. Maybe there's even a murderer out there that exclusively kills people who read murder books (unlikely but let's pretend). the fiction is still not what killed people. The living, breathing murderer is what killed people. To pretend anything else is to take away the responsibility there.

~

I came up with these because.... I don't like "fiction doesn't affect reality" and I also don't like "fiction is a perfect 1:1 for reality". Neither of those are true, and it's inaccurate to pretend they are.

I read a lot of books about thieves and murderers. I have never killed anyone, and I have never stolen anything (unless you count taking a toy robot from my brother when I was 12. I'm graciously not, for these purposes). Fantasy does not equal intent or identity.

Similarly... when I was 9 or so, I read a book series that said it was ok and cool to be mean, annoying, not care about school, to make fun of feminine girls. This series was my mother's attempt to wean me off of the Scary Fantasy Books that I had been wanting to read more (it didn't work. Hi).

The book itself, though... truly, it's not it's fault that I became a little brat. I read it, emulated the main character's actions, and no one tried to stop me. It certainly helped my thought process! but 1) I was 10, 10yos in general suck 2) i'd seen the similar behaviour normalized by my peers already before that, and 3) literally no one saw that tiny assholish child and went "hm, maybe i should tell him to quit it". Fiction affected my perception of what was okay, yes. But it was far from the only factor. Fiction's affect on reality is not inside a vacuum.

I'm not sure how to conclude this, except with a note that I'm turning off anon, because there are undeniably going to be people who read this and go "SO YOU SUPPORT REAL ACTUAL ABUSE, THEN!!".

I'd like to reiterate: all this post is saying is that what you read does not equal your actual moral beliefs, and that you do not have to worry about reading the Wrong Thing and becoming an immoral monster. There are more variables than that.

I'd also like to note that... this isn't about fanfic discourse. This is about published media and real films, which have a farther reach than fanfic ever will; besides, I don't know enough about fanfic to talk about it. Again, all I'm saying is what I said at the start:

reading about murder =/= being a murderer, wanting to be murdered, or wanting other people to be murdered.

And, with that, I conclude my discussion (for real this time).

another censorship-adjacent thing

reading =/= wanting

i will explain this later