#criticism under the cut

[liltaireissocute]

full under the cut (don't open at work lol)

[baby-xemnas]

I love so much that “Bepo is Law’s weakness” is arguably canon. It’s not “Law’s weakness is cute things” like some ppl in fandom try to say since Law is pretty visibly unaffected by Chopper, little kids, all the standard “cute things” in OP. It’s literally just Bepo and his cuteness that has an effect on Law, and we see it in reaction to Bepo going “🥺” when Bepo was sick, letting Bepo hug him all the time, taking Bepo to Uta concert only bc he knows Bepo wants to go, etc. LawBepo is such a perfect ship, massively underrated ship frfr 🩷🩷🩷🩷

there is this very good compilation pic from @/daily_trafalgar on twitter with a caption "law's reaction to cute things"

you mean barely a reaction

and then there is Bepo

Bepo is special he is spoiled and coddled and can do anything he wants with barely a word from Law. i do think Law is good with kids but Bepo is a grown man - his best friend

and as much as some lawbepo non-shippers want to see them as parent and child -you dont see someone YOU grew up with. YOU were children at the same time with - and grew up alongside each other as a CHILD. You just don't see them as that, it's nonsense. Yes he is like law's little brother but not a child

(i call him Law's baby like 20 times a day but that's in a way that a cute girlfriend is "baby")

Saying all this to say that "oh Law is weak to Bepo's cuteness because he is like Law's baby" (implying child) or even worse = when people call him a pet They grew up together - 4 year difference is forgotten about -you are peers - yes of course Bepo is both subordinate and looks up to Law as an stronger smarter leader etc. but thats not a parental dynamic at all.

its a very serious, rational and collected guy and his favorite guy who he spoils in big and little ways and have been spoiling him their whole lives...

i love that Law saved Bepo from getting his ass beat and dying alone and brought him home and they just stayed in that dynamic their whole life and both became adults but this "Bepo is precious and weak af and i love him" pretty much didn't change.

and Bepo is so comfortable with it. novel was Law focused so it never gave Bepo an "I'LL TO PROVE MYSELF TO YOU THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO PROTECT ME ALL THE TIME I CAN HOLD MY OWN" arc - and that would make sense for his character if there was time/desire to focus on him but because of those constraints Bepo bypassed that and i kinda love it? (you can call it another of many copes of mine idc) but him NOT having a standart "little brother" arc is awesome, Bepo is very comfortable in his role and when he speaks its always

"I'll do my best for you and help where i can because you are so amazing" there is zero of his own ego. He is comfortable in his "lower rank" role, he doesn't strive to be Law's equal he knows he can't be! Law san is the greatest!!

Law is happy with it too because he is a protector in nature (look at his bigass crew ;-;♥) so bepo being HAPPY to be protected makes him happy too. It makes Law feel strong and good, it plays on his ego in a positive way being looked up to and sought out as a protector - yes it's pressure (that Bepo does his best to elevate) but it's not negative and Law takes it happily, it's good to feel needed. And it all started with Bepo and they preserved that - Law is always strong and cool leader and protector and Bepo is always UUUU CAPTAIN 🥺😭🥺😭🥺😭

they are the best and i love them so much it's such a special dynamic and it makes Law's character so much better

[fumblemoon]

Long time, no Shadowgast 💕

[tiny-vermin]

hehe popped corn

[allgremlinart]

Top 10 Zuko Outfits Cus I Can Do Whatever I Want

he's like the only character in the show with this kind of outfit diversity so like of course I'm going to do this. also yeah there's a lot of ponytail ones on here who the fuck do you think I am YOU are ??? . let us begin ->

10. The Rip Grandpa Fit

rip grandpa 🥰

9. The "Hey Wait He Looks Different Here"

hey wait he looks different here ?

8. Workout Wifebeater

you know he had to have smelled crazy you know it would have been fucking awful to be stuck on that boat with him.

7. Book 3 Daddy's Boy

look its probably just because he was so fucking miserable all the times he was shown wearing it but yeah

6. Tea Boy

Tea Boy...

5. Big Pink Idiot

he's pink and bald like baby mole rat. he's about to get tricked by his sister Charlie Brown and Lucy style. can you even ask for anything fucking else ?

4. Towel Boy

we see him in this exactly once for about 30 seconds. like you needed a whole character model for this ?? for Towel Boy ?? well I appreciate it. cus he looks like a vulnerable square.

3. Date Night

so fucking snazzy but I'm pretty certain his uncle dressed him for this so it makes sense

2. Book 1 Extraneous Robe

again why did they need a whole character model for this why was it important to let us know that this villain also sometimes had a cute off the clock outfit he wore around the house. what was the reason.

1. Tea Boy 2.0

Tea Boy... he looks so feaking cozy and I'm gonna throw up.

[quitefair]

alright time to gripe about inquisition again (what’s new)

dyou know i barely understood what the fuck was going on in orlais politically from just playing the game? i’m basic, i never read the masked empire, also by the time we hit like wewh i am absolutely not reading all the codex entries because im distracted with how pretty orlais looks VISUALLY and also mentally scarred from all the warden nonsense

but in doing research i found out a bunch of COMPLETELY WILD THINGS that the game does that they don’t??? talk about???

okay so here’s the deal:

Vivienne’s lover is this guy called Duke Bastien of Ghislain. A dude you have to help kinda save as part of Vivienne’s personal quest (I have even more gripes about how Vivienne’s character and arc was so poorly handled but that’s a post of its own)

So yeah this dude

Crusty old guy you kinda only see as some random B plot side quest with no relevance. But okay okay I went in and read up about him right? 

He’s the head of the College of Heralds. Yknow what they do? They literally handle any and all problems to do with titles and lineage related to them among the Orlesian nobility. They were called in when Emperor Florian died in 9:20 Dragon without an heir. They were the ones that chose Celene over Gaspard as the new ruler of Orlais.

They’re technically the reason the entire Civil War happens in the first place!!!! The Fuck!!!!!!! I may be stupid but I don’t think anybody stressed on this in the game???

Also wait, there’s more yeah!!!

This dude had a wife (who died or something idek the details sorry) and had two kids - Calienne and Laurent

Calienne, mind you, went on to fuckin MARRY??? GASPARD DE CHALONS??? Duke Gaspard was this DUDE’S SON IN LAW???? A dude that he (as part of the College of Heralds) chose to snub as they chose his cousin as the Empress instead of him????

This is fucking wild you guys.

Calienne supports Gaspards claim to the throne despite what her father did, plays a part in the assassination of Celene’s mother, and eventually was murdered by Celene’s father and cousin (another thing I had to read with my own eyes was that Duke Motherfucking Prosper of Mark of the Assassin infamy was Celene’s relative. Oh also that his son Cyril is also on the Council of Heralds and is also the Orlesian representative at the Exalted Council??? What the Motherfucking Shit???)

On the other hand, we have his other child Laurent.

On first pass I seriously got him confused with the dude that tries to get the Inquisition to pay taxes to him cause he owns the land around Haven?? THEYRE WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT???

But apparently they’re not the same guy. And the only time you interact with him in person is in Skyhold after Vivienne’s personal quest where he thanks you for helping his dad or something. You barely see the guy, and he’s apparently the heir to all his father’s lands and titles, including the seat at the Council of Heralds?? While his BROTHER IN LAW is MOTHERFUCKING GASPARD DE CHALONS????

And despite all of this, the only more you can learn about him is through this absolutely random war table mission where you help him out and they give the Inquisition some insignificant strip of land in Orlais??

Dude what the fuuuuuck.........

[essektheylyss]

I know you said you need to stop screaming first but I am EAGERLY awaiting your thoughts on Essek in the teaser

OKAY OKAY HERE GOES.

The thing is, there's no real reason to include him.

Yes, he's very popular, but he has never historically been included as a default, validly! He occupies a very interesting space mechanically and narratively, but he is still not a PC. Yes, he's part of the Mighty Nein as a group, per canon, but not until the end, which in theory would be well beyond the first season, and so is Cad, who is not present in this teaser—presumably to preserve the mystery around [INSERT MAJOR SPOILER WARNING HERE].

I would imagine that Cad is not present because having Taliesin's voice twice is too much of a tipoff for anyone watching LoVM but not the campaigns, whereas simply having Matt voice someone is not.

HOWEVER.

There are a decent number of lines that you could choose for Essek that are about the Nein—personally, my favorite, that I've thought previously would make a really stellar trailer line, is from 124: "You certainly carve a unique destiny, don't you?" Everything down to the way Matt delivers it (which you can see here) would make it a really viable option.

But the line they went with isn't about the Nein—it's very much a line about Essek himself. "I want to unlock these mysteries. I want to dive as deep as I can into that ocean of the unknown and see what is possible." It's a line that is very specific to Essek and his actions and goals, even beyond his involvement with the Nein.

And it's placed in the middle of the pack, which frames him on the same level as the rest of the Nein! Someone who is not familiar with the campaign would hear that as simply another protagonist. But of course, he's not—unless there is some serious restructuring (more even than the restructuring present in LoVM, which, aside from introducing a few of the initial less plot-bearing aspects later, like the Slayer's Take, it's thus far structured in order), he won't come into the show for quite some time, and almost certainly not in the first season.

But we don't really have any idea how this show will be structured. There are different comments on the beginning from different sources; notably, Gizmodo mentions Calianna being present in some way initially, while no one else does. The logline most outlets are reporting revolves the Nein "prevent[ing] the kingdom from plunging into chaos when an arcane artifact capable of reshaping reality falls into the wrong hands," presumably the beacon (my beloved).

So it makes sense to mention Essek, for, you know, the obvious reasons, as comment on the beacon itself. (I'm going to guess they're simplifying it to one beacon, per the press release, for ease lol.) But this line, while about dunamancy as a whole and the powers of the beacon, is not about it directly. It's still about Essek's interest in it. It is an excellent line, and on its face, it has nothing to do with the Nein or the plot of the first fifty episodes of the campaign.

There's plenty of speculation to be done about how this might be structured, and I'm sure I'll do plenty of it because, let's be honest, I do not shut up about adaptation and translating stories between formats, it is one of my absolute favorite subjects, and this is the Nein, babey!!!

So my point here being: I think there is a lot of room with the nature of Wildemount politics to get a little wild with structure in the translation from D&D game to TV show that, while not impossible in LoVM, wouldn't really have added anything to the story, and honestly, might've taken away from it. Because the point is to watch Vox Machina become the big damn heroes! We do see tidbits of Brimscythe and the Briarwoods beyond the purview of the heroes, but mostly in ways that feel very '80s cartoon villain cameo' which fits the feel of the show perfectly.

But there are a lot of political players and forces in Wildemount that the Nein navigate whether they're aware of them or not, one of whom of course becomes a member of their party, and that's part of what makes their story so interesting. The Nein are the heroes that no one knows, who are always playing within and against the system and are hyper aware of that, and I think expanding how much of that we get to see now that the format allows for it (not necessarily a lot, not to the point of adding whole plotlines, but at least some of it) would only add to the tension and stakes, and Essek's presence in the trailer makes me wonder if they will.

[roxannepolice]

So I was thinking of the answer for one of the ask games (which is coming!) but soon realised my reflections are both too long and slightly too salty to include in a fun ask, so here we are.

Because yeah what is below is hands down my favourite Delgado!Master quote, and one of my favourites from any regenerations. Hell, it may be one of my favourites in the entire show.

Gifs by cleowho and I'm sorry I ended up including them this way but I gave up trying to find the exact moment via gif searcher when my phone started smelling of burnt plastic.

So why do I love this so much and why should this result in saltiness? Because this is a very clear statement: there's actual philosophical outlook on the universe behind the Master's villainy. A deeply nietzschean one, but ironically enough underlying much of contemporary critical theories, usually of the progressive vibe. The Master apparently sees power relations as the inherent, fundamental aspect of all sentient relations, and acts accordingly, doing onto others before they do onto them (And that [a self-defence in advance] is how the Master started). And I don't even see it as a neurotic reaction to direct abuse! No, this is something much more intellectual, frozen and abstract. The salt lies therein that there is nothing "just..." to the outlook the Master presents here. Those aren't daddy issues, or the drums (which I love and think can be reconciled with classic Who canon with a bit of timey wimey cause and effect grandfather paradox shenanigans, but fundamentally don't see as the source of Master's villainy, unless they are a metaphor of permanent unsatisfaction and indeed neurotic need for more which is on the one hand awfully difficult for one and everyone around them but on the other perhaps underlie everything you are and you don't know what you'd be without it but you actually like at least a bit of what you are and this is very narcissistic and yes I have OCD), or getaway of insanity, there is no cheap psychologizing, no never heard the music, no Doctor complex that just needs to be talked through, only actual outlook presumably built on decades if not centuries of experience. That is not to say those psychological elements aren't essential to the Master's choices, just that there is no simple obstacle to overcome, no freudian complex to solve for them to see the light. This is something much more conscious.

And I can't express how fitting it is that this nietzscheanism should be the "dark twin" of the Doctor's philosophy of fixing everything they can - in its extreme taking on the form of prometheanism. Frankly, probably the reason Thoschei gives me such a brainrot is the idea of two people with very similar backgrounds (compare and contrast with Professor X and Magneto's backgrounds) arriving at universal outlooks that are at the same time so morally opposing yet in a way fundamentally similar. Because is not overcoming all possible pains of the universe an expression of will?

And the best part? The Doctor does not refute the Master's philosophy! He rejects it morally, but does not point to any single fallacy, does not overthrow it intellectually! And then...

... And then there's the reason I see Tensimm as Goethe's Faust to Threegado Marlowe's (that is not in terms of one being superior or sth only one being a logical development and discussion with the other). At a first glance, Ten is simply repeating what Three said all those episodes ago. But there's more, and there's no way I'm risking my phone again, so a quote will have to suffice.

To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough.

Ownership. As in having discretion to dispose of something as pleased? As in a very simple power relation?

Like. Wow. This here is indeed a Prometheus whose desire to make people better and literal knowledge of all possible pasts and futures pushed him to call some people more important than others and superimpose his will and knowledge of good and evil disregarding anyone else's choices. This here is indeed the Time Lord Victorious. And yes, knowing when to stop was much easier when there was an external shadow to judge.

The thing is, the Doctor here concedes to the Master's outlook on the universe. Indeed, power relations are unavoidable in sentient life. This is a moment of deep understanding between them because the Doctor now knows what it feels like to wield all that knowledge and perceive no powers saying no. Except, regardless of what poststructuralism might say, there is a fundamental moral difference between power imbalance of seeing vs being seen and y'know, forcing people to build you statues and conquering all other civivlizations and humiliating them in the process. As such, the difference becomes much harder to delineate, forcing one to always reflect instead of following a set of simple guidelines.

The question is, would it still be remembered if the walking counterpoint ceased to exist not physically but intellectually and morally?

[werewolf-transgenderism]

I have cut 11 pages of text from this draft and it is still somehow four pages longer than it was before

[noisytenant]

discovered that one of the more non-evil use cases for chatGPT is asking it to reword existing writing to be more concise. If this is a thing you struggle with, of course you still need to review and edit carefully, but I was pretty happy with the results and it saved me a lot of time. might help you if you have a word or page maximum on something. godspeed

[cmdonovann]

oops i'm obsessed with percy vox machina now. coupla shitty little sketchbook things, since i still don't have my computer & tablet set up at the new place

here's even more, including other members of vox machina

plus a bonus linhardt&lysithea in the second-to-last one, lol

[front-facing-pokemon]

[mllekurtz]

wip wednesday

A while ago I shared a snippet of a modern au one-shot I'm writing, affectionately known as the vibes fic. It has since grown into a 13k words (and counting) project, and I hope to be done with it by the end of the month.

Writing without worrying about a plot, just opening a doc and seeing where the story takes me, has been very refreshing! Enjoy this snippet.

Taking advantage of Caleb’s momentary speechlessness, Essek goes on. “I’m also aware of the assumptions you might have made regarding my experience. Yes, I have kissed before, and yes, I’ve had partners.” He keeps his voice flat through all of this, as if he were commenting on an experiment. “I’ve never liked lacking experience. I want to try things firsthand, this one included. But it wasn’t… it was never because I wanted it,” he finishes, addressing the last words to Caleb’s left shoulder.

Having recovered a little, Caleb doesn’t force him to look up as he asks, “And now?” After a long moment, Essek makes eye contact again. He doesn’t look frantic like a few minutes ago, whatever urgency caught him has eased its grip upon him. He seems determined and calm. “I want it,” he admits. “I want to know what you like and how and for how long. I want you to tell me what you want me to do to you. And then I want to do it.” These words, delivered in the plainest, most factual tone, make Caleb’s cock twitch distinctly. His palms suddenly feel like they’re burning. He helplessly wonders how many layers are still buried under the calm surface of Essek, and for how long he will let Caleb peel them off. “And you?” he manages to say. “You asked me what I want.” With sudden tenderness, Essek cups his cheek. Caleb’s heart aches under the weight of this touch, and of the sad smile tugging at Essek’s mouth. “Do I need to say it? Nobody has ever asked me that before.” He looks at Caleb, unblinking, searching. The gravity in his eyes is inescapable. His hand leaves Caleb’s cheek and grabs his shirt by the collar. “First, I want this off.”

[identityquest]

Ghosted

Lore drop 💖

If you're unaware of my little narrative, called Deep Breath, the inciting incident is the partial collapse of the main characters' universe. This collapse destroys Earth and kills all of humanity except for three survivors: Penny, Jia Su, and Romsir. Though all human technology has been obliterated, and though they live literally on the other side of their universe now, all three humans still have perfect connectivity on their cell phones. Mysterious!

The currently-planned first chapter of Deep Breath focuses on Romsir, the last survivor and person in this comic, and their friend Charlie observing and reacting to the approaching apocalypse. Neither takes it well. Ultimately, Romsir is in the right place at the right time to be rescued at the last second, while Charlie unfortunately perishes. She is intended to be a ghost haunting the rest of the narrative for Romsir, both literally and figuratively. Romsir deletes each message they receive from Charlie, but they are unable to bring themself to block her.

The other two humans, Penny and Jia, both suffer this strange phenomenon as well.

Penny, a normally exuberant young woman, quietly suffers these messages without telling the others. Though they all know this strange phenomenon has no sapience behind it (it's just strange feedback from a strange universe), Penny keeps every stray message from her contacts and regularly looks through them when she's alone.

Jia suffers from survivor's guilt, largely because his many siblings were left behind while he was rescued by his god-like father. The messages pile up on him, driving him to isolate out of grief and guilt, until a dam finally bursts and he blocks every number in his phone.

[natp20]

you are fresh cut grass (faithful care giver? maybe? once, perhaps)

you are made of metal (repairable, malleable, breakable)

you don't have legs (but wouldn't it be neat to have some, to be able to move of your own accord?)

you are living history (and you are still so young, still learning, still growing)

you put yourself before others (the stress is what will kill your friends, when it becomes too much)

you once tried to kill your favourite person (and maybe she'll never forgive you, but you're learning to be kind to yourself)

you have faith in the gods (but not in yourself to make the right decisions, to carve your own path forward)

you want to provide (to feel useful, to feel like you weren't made just to inflict pain, to hurt and to harm)

you are learning to be a person (is it foreign to you? to be treated like one? did you yearn for it, believing that it was never yours to have?)

you have a soul (doesn't everything?)

you can love (and you are loved)

(and you've got a schrödinger's tongue)

[edrurysz]

Reading GRRM's latest blog post and yes, all of that. I agree with every little thing he said. But not only does the complete removal of Maelor effect events in KL's, but for Daeron's storyline as well. He burns Bitterbridge and does not show mercy despite being begged to because of his young nephew's gruesome end there.

In general I feel that changing B&C so drastically undermined Helaena. And for seemingly no reason at all, in some places - why have her offer a mere necklace, when it is already established that she offered herself up to the assassins instead? Which makes far more sense and shows a more self-sacrificing and motherly intention. (To be clear, I do understand the argument that she was panicking and not thinking clearly and not quite all there doing the events. Her eyes roaming around in pure terror, showing whites like a spooked horse - brilliantly performed. I don't mean to imply that show Helaena does not love her children, though we see so little of her. We are left to imply so much about her character and many others because the little screentime we have is spent on - that's another topic but :))))))) ). But since the book already gave us that she had offered herself?????? Ugh.

Yes, she 'chose' in a way by them making her tell which child is the boy, but it really didn't feel the same as the horrific nature of the choice she made between Jaehaerys and Maelor -- and then having it disregarded anyway. Her choice, that horrific, torturous, agonizing choice, made no difference in the end at all.

She also just. Isn't as despondent post B&C as the book makes her out to be? Which, while yes, it didn't go down as it did in the book, what did occur in show is traumatizing as is? So there's no reason she couldn't then still follow that part. But even that seems...not the case here.