#ep: allie's rules

[the-tenth-arcanum]

I threaten to throw you out of a window and call you a snake. and other erotic activities

[iamespecter]

Whats your tadc au? :3

Uh- that's too vague of a question, so I'll just list all five- ~~~~~~~~~~~

'The Suspenseful Digital Mystery' AU Status: hiatus

plot:

There are rumors amongst the less fortunate about a mysterious mansion inviting wealthy people, and urging them to bring a plus one for a sophisticated social gathering. There's a lot of weird rules: 1) DON'T say your real name. 2) wear the mask and outfit provided to you. 3) What happens in the mansion, STAYS in the mansion. They even say that by the time midnight strikes and you didn't venture outside the grounds by then, you disappear to god knows where. Thankfully, 6 people thought it's all just a dumb rumor.... right?

'An Unexpected "Reunion"!' AU Status: ongoing (I just have writer's block for Chapter 7-)

plot:

Pom- no. That's not her name anymore. Pauline Agbayani manages to find a way out of the tormenting existence known as 'The Amazing Digital Circus'. Attempting to return to normalcy in her life while figuring out how to find her circus friends, and bringing down the company that brought about her worst experiences in life, she meets an unexpected man with red hair, mismatched eyes, and that grating showman voice she knows all too well... Working a 9 to 5 job in a retail store? What the hell is happening??

'The Marvelous Mechanical Harlequin' AU Status: VERY active

plot:

After the attempt of taking the infamous Puppetmaster's life goes awry due to a stalemate, Pomni, the Last Harlequin, finds herself in a strange position of helping him out a year later on his even stranger mission: Gathering the hearts of crazed Puppets. Things start to change between them when she suffers her first of many deaths, which unbeknownst to her, sets up a domino effect that leads to her discovering something about herself, the man she allies with, and a third party who seems hellbent on capturing her.

'Digital Nightmares' AU Status: semi-active

plot:

Picture this. You find a strange headset that compels you to wear it. Next thing you know, you're in an another world full of monsters, and now you're just as small as you feel. You run, you jump, you duck out of reach, and hide. Repeat. Thankfully, you're no longer alone, for you meet another fellow about the same size as you. Find a way out. Avoid traps and foes. And most of all... Don't give in to the call.

'Circustaker' AU status: under progress lmao

plot:

Pomni wants a harem of hot circus demon girls, so Pomni gets a harem of hot circus demon girls. This is a Helltaker x TADC AU born out of spite, due to the hate against Jesterdoll on ep 3. What better way to fight homophobia with, than making a big wlw polyamory group? :)

I genuinely had no idea what you meant by that question, so here's all five of my current TADC AUs, even the underdeveloped Circustaker one lmao

[supremefloof]

ep 12 thoughts!!

WOOOOO FIGHT SCENES!!!!!!!!!

this is so interesting!! is this like the police force...? made by the commission... also Bowa says she doesn't want to be a "commission suit".

crack theory that's X's arm and he shot her

I mean the arms do match... do you see the vision

somebody give X a gun

i agree x is very handsome and strong :3

man every time you see Micky again it just gets nailed in how yucky he is.

oh my gosh the fear people... I wonder if this is an Aether labs researcher. the design is so unsettling 😭it's like a slug fused with the boston dynamics robot dog

and Queen can fly now! it seems her powers are to set rules within an area, to fly, to summon spears, and to command the spears to do things like home in on people.

this really feels chilling every time somebody vaporizes someone lost to Fear. like- that's a person. it's been shown you can take someone out of this state.

WHAT IS THIS? it seems DOS is trying to investigate X and his ties with other heroes? ...why is wreck on this screen? who is NINE? could that badass looking woman on the left be the woman who shares the billboard with X in ep 1?

Nine is a "rebel hero". does this mean like a vigilante/rogue hero? suspected ally of X?

this chart is generally confusing. does this mean Rock has a poor relationship with X or a poor relationship with DOS because both work. why would you suspect nine to be your ally. uhhhh somebody smarter than me solve this please

I like how there's powerscaling LMAO. Wreck gets a grade of A. Nine is S- (maybe this guy is in the top 10? or close?) X gets a grade of SSS.

THIS FIGHT SCENE IS INCREDIBLEEEEE. ITS SEVEN AND A HALF MINUTES LONG??!!

oh my gawddddd. they knew we would be sad about not seeing a Queen vs X fight and gave us THIS instead!! pure eye candy.

it's so long too, absolutely beautiful, love the use of being conveniently in a place with many easily destroyed shipping containers and cranes and things

I REALLY like Bowa as a character now. this is so insanely tragic to me. she's been stewing in Fear for years - but like Trust, this doesn't necessarily just seem like fear. she truly has worked twice as hard as anyone else! she is attacking in rage, yes, but the animators really made sure to show that she's also SMART.

she's got excellent battle prowess, figuring out how to work around an overpowered ability of setting rules, and is more experienced than Queen. she's DANGEROUS and she has a goal that you completely believe she could deliver on. she wants to kill Queen. she wants to stop her from becoming X. and on one of those fronts, she succeeds.

When Queen tells her she can't even go to the tournament anymore and THAT's what takes her out of the Fear...sobbing...

it seems like getting Fear inflicted on you first changes your eye color before changing your shape to be some monster. and it can last quite a long time. I wonder if your Trust Value affects how this process works.

Bowa is extremely strong with Fear, but where is the fear coming from?

Queen almost dies and takes an entire year to recover omg. the damage that heroes can cause to the environment and each other is no joke. the collateral alone probably means everybody has hero insurance or something

Cyan asks if something happened in Queen's childhood. Queen says no. QUEEN YOU ARE A LIARRRR I HAVE SEEN YOUR PV

queen is a car girlie!!

and big johnny makes his appearance!! although loli's episodes are next so hm.

[rainyinautumn]

alright with wild life ep. 4 coming out soon it's time for me to start talking winner predictions. in order to understand my bet, let's first understand why past winners won—and, for bonus effect, why another player who I think really had a shot ultimately lost.

GRIAN. The traffic crown typically falls on the head of whichever player is most able to bend and break the rules to their advantage. 3rd Life, as the archetypal Life Series with the fewest rules to manipulate, was won by the man who understood (and broke) them best—their inventor. Throughout the series, I think Impulse demonstrated a similar cunning and could have been able to pull off a win. His error was failing to establish trust with his allies in a series that was defined by its faction loyalty.

SCOTT. With the introduction of the Boogeyman, Last Life demanded a winner with a level head. With favorable relationships paving the path to regaining lives, there was very little wiggle room for more aggressive, risk-taking players, making this season favor players with high survivability. Continuing the trend of rule breakers, Scott was the only player to weigh the odds and refuse to act on the Boogeyman curse—which ultimately paid off for him. Similarly calculating and loyal is Etho, who lost this win by aligning himself with a volatile group that failed to lend him the stability Scott had throughout the series.

PEARL. It was so, so much easier to die in Double Life than any other series, and so its winner was the player who proved to be able to survive without a soulmate at all. The thing about Life Series gimmicks is that they are always, always the thing that kills you—as such, refusing to engage with them as intended elevates one's chances of victory. Such is the case with Pearl. Cleo also failed to engage with the Double Life mechanic as intended, but lost (ironically) due to her ability to forgive and the endgame belief that aligning with her soulmate was the wisest move.

MARTYN. Limited Life introduced the ability to live longer by killing, and as such encouraged players to pursue maximal violence with minimal risk through traps (namely, falling TNT minecarts). If playing by these rules led to a win, the victor would have been crowned on Skynet. Instead, Martyn broke the season-long strategy and a few series expectations along the way to opt for an absolutely brutal PvP win, which he pulled off by being the only one crazy enough to try. A good few other risk takers had a solid shot of winning this season—namely Joel. Unlike Martyn, however, Joel was unwilling to gamble with the permanent death of his teammates, and this soft spot led to his demise.

SCAR. On the surface level, Secret Life's gimmick asked its contestants to be good at the game—to be good at keeping their mouths shut, good at following directions, and good at reading other players. The kicker with all of the tasks, however, is that the gimmick is the thing that kills you, and what the tasks actually asked was for players to be bad at the game in one way or another. This made earnest attempts at success by far the most risky path forward (especially once yellow names started being able to guess tasks), and as such, Scar's continually baffling behavior worked in his favor. Similarly incomprehensible, Skizz's playstyle lent itself well to this series—however, he was simply too likable. The secretive nature of the tasks in this season brewed a hostile atmosphere in which trustworthiness made one a threat, and the Heart Foundation painted a target on him that he was unable to shed.

So. Who do I think is winning (and almost winning) Wild Life?

GEM. Of all the players in the Snailpocalypse, Gem was the only one to doggedly refuse to fear and avoid her snail. Wild Life is designed to breed uncertainty and chaos in its players, and her refusal to give in to this makes her a good contender for the crown. However, other players have begun to notice this, which could place her in hot water. My second winner pick is BigB—although more willing to engage with the wildcards, BigB has always thrived in the strange and peculiar, making him less outright afraid of them and putting him in position to potentially rise above them down the line.

[lillypad-monopoly]

Wild Life Episode 5 Thoughts

(Except I'm insane about Martyn's ep)

LIFE SERIES TRIVIA is DIABOLICAL! The watchers literally being like "how well do you guys know your pain and suffering?" (also sorry only winners remember theory truthers)

The way Grian and Scar are such bitter ex-soulmates that Mumbo has to point it out is hilarious. (also them getting even and saying "Just like Third Life" hurt my heart)

Grian not remembering iconic moments from his own series is so funny. What do you mean he only knows Martyn beheaded Ren with an axe from fanart? Grian gaining possession of the Red Winter Axe was a whole plot point.

MUMBO FIRST OUT! IN SESSION 5! The canary curse is broken for real now guys but at what cost.

Grian standing on the ruins of the tower by himself going through the five stages of grief over Mumbo's death as the sun rises in the background is a gorgeous piece of fanart waiting to happen

Martyn you didn't need to start the episode by talking about how Ren is providing for you, you're asking for the shipping at this point 🤣

MARTYN YOU DO THE LORE OFC JIMMY AND TANGO WERE OUT FIRST. Also REN YOU WERE LITERALLY IN DOUBLE LIFE. RIP Ren/BigB we know where his true loyalties lie

THE TWO NICKLES MEME BREAKING CONTAINMENT I CAN'T

Ren inviting BigB to join the RenWood Mound alliance WITHOUT REMEMBERING DOUBLE LIFE is so insane I don't even know what to say.

OF COURSE SCAR REMEMBERS THE DESERT DUO FLOWERS I'M GOING TO BE SICK

Martyn and Ren saying they're going to be boat bros. This has been coming since last session but I NEED Joel and Etho to call them out on it

"We're boat boys," MARTYN INTHELITTLEWOOD WHEN I CATCH YOU-

Etho yelling for Bdubs to hit him so they could test if the wildcard affected damage and then Tango going "smack me harder~" in the background was diabolical. Suuuure you guys are all PG.

Etho sitting in a boat for Joel to jump over him feels like some boat boys relationship symbolism I'm not smart enough to explain

So Etho is currently living with team BET, but allied with the Four Gs, and in the family with Gem and Joel. Wildcard Etho is so back!

Of course Impulse immediately remembered the clock question.

Joel boasting about how he immediately knows all the questions is peak Joel form and I would expect nothing less. It is kind of warranted though because everybody else is waffling on the simple ones.

Joel is now two for two on unquestioningly trusting Etho only to have something bad happen to him and not even being mad about it what is wrong with this man 😭

Does Joel have the censor bleep on his keyboard or did he just straight up start swearing at Tango and know they would both have to censor it in post to get the effect that he was also making the noise?

Scott's gone from a creaking fanboy to a body horror situation and I'm living for it (also considering he's agreed to "go wild" this session--am I sensing a Scott corruption arc?)

Scott cutting directly from saying he and Jimmy were never married even though they called each other husbands to a scene WITH Jimmy was kind of an insane choice

Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss Girldad has been confirmed by Scott as the actual reason for the 4Gs. I still think Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss ImpulseSV is funnier but good to have an official ruling

Scott giving up his life for Pearl and them being good natured about it and calling it therapy! I love them so much!

Lizzie being the only person who's not exicted when a trivia bot spawns is so funny. Even the other players who weren't in all the seasons don't seem to be as miffed by them as she is.

Lizzie's flaming snail arising out of that hole while smiling is potentially the funniest thing I've seen all day. Why did it look like that 🤣

[danwhobrowses]

Since Critical Role's big endgame battle has begun (as of ep. 113) and looks to give us a fair handful of Lv. 20 combat across the board with VM and later the Nein - and also since the Omen Archive are yet to do a level up overview for Bell's Hells to Lv. 15 like I expected them to do after ep. 112 - I find myself optimistically and curiously wondering how Bells Hells would shape up should they reach Lv. 20.

Admittedly, I do remain worried about how underleveled they are; I know it's intended since the Hells are the 'underdogs not meant to be in this position' group but still, for comparison Essek debuted at Lv. 15 in C2 and Vox Machina ended their campaign at Lv. 18 when the stakes were slightly lower than what we have with Ludinus, the Vanguard, the Imperium, and Predathos. Still, with nothing we can do but pray they make it out alive - and I hope they do - I've decided to indulge that rare bout of optimism and deep dive into what would their Lv. 20 state look like? While also considering what they may add during this final arc should they level up in between like they did the last time they were on Ruidus.

We're gonna go through each character one by one for this, so I'll start with my favourite (aka the one I wanna talk/ramble the most about).

Ashton is perhaps the easiest endgame build to tell class-wise, it's likely Tal will have them go the full 20 since Grog has already done the Fighter dip and there's not many other multiclasses that can be of a greater benefit to them; the intrigue however with Ashton focuses on the ASI they get at levels 16 and 19, the first one particularly if there's still a level up mid-battle. The obvious route for the first ASI is to get back the CON they lost in the shard incident - which I still find an unfair penalty since they gained nothing from surviving the bold and deemed impossible action, 'your reward is you get to live' doesn't stick with me given that the 10 rolls (well, 9 plus the resurrection ring) are proof of survival anyway - and absorbing Dusk Hunger sadly didn't give back, adding to their DEX instead - which, also kinda stubborn of Matt, adding 1 AC isn't exactly worthy of absorbing a legendary item especially compared to what Orym got with Ishta, they were better off trying to dual wield it if Matt's not gonna give stats that'll suit Ashton's wheelhouse, STR and CON, and let the tank be a tank - so it will likely fall into Tal's hands to get Ashton's stats to where they want them to be. Either way, Ashton's STR and CON are going up if they hit Lv. 20 as pure Barbarian, Primal Champion adds 4 to both and increases their max to 24, so without ASI Ashton will have 22 STR and 20 CON by Lv. 20 anyway, with ASI however Ashton can go 24/22 in either direction - and we can't rule out more absorption in the future, since Legendary loot may be yielded from this endgame battle plus Otohan's Backpack, Zathuda's storage cloak and maybe any other armour from the two could be Legendary items just gathering dust among the group, but if Ashton were to take any of them they'd have to wait a day since the Harness only grants 1 permanent and 1 temporary buff per person, and each person who uses it on the same day risks it breaking by 20%. However, we also can't rule out Ashton taking a feat instead of ASI, it's a slim chance but there are some feats that can be of use for Ashton in general or specifically vs Ludinus; Mage Slayer, Strike of the Giants (Hill or Stone Strike, of the two I'd go for Hill because of it causing the prone condition, which will help Ashton and allies, like Orym with that 1d6 extra Force Damage, stack critical damage), and Great Weapon Master could be powerful if they don't focus on ASI. The Tough feat is always good for being tanky too, but such a feat would likely only be used at the Lv. 19 ASI/Feat domain to get the most out of it. The only other places Ashton can get major potential buffs - outside of any new enchanted items that aren't armour - are from Dunamancy and their Titan powers, but neither have provided a clear opening for improvement as of yet. Ashton hit their final Dunamancy path at Lv. 14, where they got Mark of the Messy End (which compared to Essek getting access to stuff like Reality Break doesn't seem to balance out but I guess Wizards are glass cannons so Dunamancy does more with them), but there is a quiet, lingering mystery over how Potions of Possibility and Luxon Beacons will behave if Ashton and their Dunamancy brain interacts with them, given how they have many potions on hand, in general and gifted to them by the Kryn Dynasty before they met with the Nein, and Ludinus using Luxon Beacons as power sources, there is potential for Ashton's Dunamancy to increase that way - or simply through Matt adding an extra Dunamancy path in place of an ASI/Feat, a Dunamancy-based feat, or swapping Primal Champion with something else. The Titan Form could also improve by level, and I kinda hope it does, it's powerful but given the time limit and Exhaustion it's still below the level of Grog's Titanstone Knuckles in terms of utility, if more power or less limitations are imposed the higher their level it could scale Ashton up further in a similar manner to having a Vestige or, in Orym's case, a Relic of the Red Solstice.

Speaking of Orym, you'd assume that he'll also go for the clean 20, but this is Liam O'Brien we're talking about - he gave Vax a Druid level for his love of Keyleth, so you can't put it past him to add a level in Bard for Dorian. Like Ashton, Orym has 2 ASI waiting for him at levels 16 and 19, due to maxing his DEX - and absorbing Ishta overclocking it (a DEX increase that actually makes sense as a Finesse blade Fighter, adding +1 to AC and attack rolls and a higher DC for enemies to save against superiority die attacks) - Orym has already dipped into feats a lot but could always find room for more. Great Weapon Master, Shield Master, Mage Slayer, and Tough again at level 19 are viable options for Orym and his build, but there's also a unique option of, instead of taking a level in Bard, Magic Initiate: Bard in lieu of Dorian; taking the feat lets him gain the 4th attack Lv. 20 Fighter yields while adding some handy Bard magic such as Friends, Thunderwave, Command, Bane or Cure Wounds - all of which are Level 1 Bard spells. While adding a level in Bard would be a nice gesture, the Magic Initiate feat would probably work better for Orym's build if he wanted to reference his connection to Dorian this way, since he doesn't need 4 extra 1st level spells and he already has a lot of proficiencies and bonuses to cover his rolls anyway, plus he still carries the sending stone if he doesn't want to do either. If he went for ASI, Orym could try to rival Ayden's passive perception by buffing his WIS, but I doubt anybody would hold it against him to be less perceptive than a god. Regardless of ASI and feats, a pure 20 in Fighter does up Orym's lethality immensely, getting a potential 12 attacks with two Action Surges - the second gained in Lv. 17 - in one round (16 attacks if hastened and 17 if hastened and a Time Rage Mark of the Messy End - which I believe allows you to attack with Bonus Actions - is used on an enemy), which would make him an extra efficient killer and protector for combat, which suits his character as well. While multiclassing is an uncommon trait to reference a partner, in Orym's case it's probably moreso cute but unnecessary flavouring.

Adding an element of their partner into their build is something Imogen has done already with decent effect, however. Imogen is another pure 20 likelihood; she has 2 ASI, a Metamagic choice, her final Origin Feature - Warping Implosion: essentially you teleport and anyone within 30 feet will be caught in a gravity fissure - and Sorcerous Restoration - 4 sorcery points restored per short rest - waiting for her at the full 20. As alluded, she already has Laudna influences in the Shadow Touched feat and a vial of her blood in her equipment so she needn't use a feat or a multiclass in further reference to her, which means it comes down to what options she chooses for her ASI/Feats and future skills. With her CHA maxed out already, the two ASI would need to go elsewhere or to feats; War Caster could be used to help her concentration spells, such as the reskinned Hunger of Hadar, Telekinesis, and Investiture of Lightning, unused spells such as her mother's Reverse Gravity, Hold Person, or Globe of Invulnerability, or future 8th-9th level spells such as Dominate Monster, Gate, and Mass Polymorph (turn them all into horses!). Otherwise using one of those ASI to add 1 to INT and WIS will add to saving throws of those stats (+1 for INT and +2 for WIS), she can also remove all her stat negatives by adding an ASI to her STR in place of a feat. Imogen also has options with choosing a final Metamagic from Sorcerer; she has Quickened, Distant, and Twinned Spell already, so the next one needs to also be helpful in combat; the potential of Extended and Transmuted Spell are decent, but Heightened Spell may be the best fit for her - spending 3 Sorcery points to impose disadvantage on a spell save can be very useful when using Imogen's spells such as Psychic Lance, especially against powerful magic users like Ludinus. Going a little extra meta with things, Imogen at Lv. 20 is only going to exist in one-shots or guest appearances - which means short rests aren't likely to faze her as much, also recovering 4 out of a total of 20 Sorcery Points per short rest isn't a lot when you get all of them back after a Long Rest. If Imogen were to pull a swerve and multiclass she could simply sacrifice an ASI for an 18/2 split or just take a 19/1 dip without it doing any negative effect to her current build. Of the multiclassing options, I find that the Tempest Cleric could gel pretty well with her build; connecting her lightning magic and her storm analogies (and her attempt to reach out to the Stormlord) from a narrative perspective, while combat-wise she'd get to use Wrath of the Storm to damage anyone that attacks her (as many times as her WIS, so 1-3 depending on her ASI usage) and, if she goes for the 18/2 split, she can use the class' Channel Divinity to max out a spell's lightning damage - which if used on a 9th Level Lightning Bolt is 76 damage without enhancements! - she also gets some minor healing to add to her repertoire, and with a group without a pure Cleric you can't really have a shortage of players who can heal even if it's a little bit. I can't see any other dip doing her as much benefit, so the full 20 is more likely, even if the maxed out Lightning Bolt would work wonders.

You know who also knows Lightning Bolt? Well, a fair amount of players and NPCs but also Dorian! Let's talk our Boy in Blue - no I did not say 'Blue in Boy' in my head when typing, shush! - he's our last PC likely to be a pure 20 of the group, also because the rest have already multiclassed, but like Imogen there is also the opening for a little bit of multiclassing. The ASI in levels 16 and 19 are probably best put into maxing his CHA stat that's currently at 16, DEX could also go up to 20 for additional Gambolcleft damage but the sword is pretty powerful as it is - it depends if Robbie wants Dorian to focus on Spell or Melee output for stats, but casting is probably the better way to go. Not many feats would help Dorian outside of maybe Tough and War Caster, perhaps Slasher but they do seem like minor additions he can go without, so ASI is likely the best route to take for him. Unlike with Orym where a dip in Bard wouldn't do much good mechanically, Dorian could easily take a dip in Fighter and have it be a solid investment; the Bard's Lv. 20 ability Superior Inspiration only helps if you've used up all of your Inspiration, and as said with Imogen that probably won't come up in a one-shot scenario where Lv. 20 Dorian would likely appear, but by Lv. 19 he will already have added spells from any magic class via his final dip into Magical Secrets - and honestly I have no clue what one he could take because like, all of the spells! Wish is probably the go-to one but Dorian doesn't want anything from the gods so maybe not? - and he'll already have a 9th level spell slot from earlier levels. A 1-level dip in Fighter can give Dorian Second Wind for some self-healing and another Fighting Style to choose from: either Superior Technique - like Orym has - or Duelist would suit best, and if Robbie sacrifices an ASI he can go up to a 2nd level for Action Surge, which is handy should he focus on melee. There aren't many other 1-level dips that would suit Dorian narratively, there was probably Warlock potential in EXU: Prime when the crown was in play but since, again, the group lacks a pure healer, Dorian is probably better off investing his stats and skills towards Bard spells - which in turn bolsters DPS as well as healing.

From one Bard/DPS healer to another, Braius debuted with some pretty high stats to begin with, with only WIS being a negative modifier. As a 12/3 multiclass he can go a few different directions - much like his character arc and selection of deity - but it leaves him at a crossroads - also like his character arc. The 12 levels in Oath of the Ancients Paladin means he's locked out of getting Bard's Magical Secrets, if he maxes out his remaining levels in Bard he gets 2 ASI, a College of Tragedy feature (make crits be at rolls 18, 19 and 20 after an ally is hit with a crit plus a '+10 on a roll but a -10 penalty on the next' skill), Countercharm, and his Bardic Inspiration dice will go up to 1d8, but all of those are kinda covered by Dorian's higher level Bard class and Ashton's Mark of the Messy End while in Luck Rage to a higher or better extent. The 3 levels in Bard however has locked Braius out of Paladin's Aura improvements and the big Elder Champion buff, which is a big loss, if maxed out in Paladin they'll get Cleansing Touch - end a spell on yourself or anyone you can touch as many times as your CHA, one ASI, a 5th level spell slot (handy for Banishing Smite, Circle of Power, Destructive Wave, and Summon Celestial), and Undying Sentinel - which is just a once-a-long-rest Relentless Rage with no CON save. Build-wise, it would be best for Braius to go one of three different paths; either go for a 15/5 split - so no 5th level spell but he gets 1 ASI, Undying Sentinel, and Font of Inspiration for the 1d8 inspiration - a 14/6 split - where we swap Undying Sentinel for the college feature, or go the unique path and add a third class - while the 5th level spell slot has powerful spells Braius' combat is much more melee-based so it is a less likely option. A 14/3/3 triple split sacrifices his ASI/feats but 3 levels in Fighter gives him another Fighting Style, Action Surge, Second Wind, and a Fighter subclass to add to his combat prowess. One unlikely Fighter subclass that could suit Braius is the Rune Knight; with 3 levels Braius will have access to 2 runes, which can be tied to his character's artistry, to add to his gear - the Fire and Cloud Runes being the most useful to him from what I see - they would also get Giant's Might as a skill for an extra 1d6 of damage once per turn. Fighter isn't the only class Braius can benefit from though; he would only need to dip 2 levels in Cleric or Druid to gain their subclass-based abilities; a Shepherd Druid would give the group a slight benefit with the Hawk Spirit skill, using a reaction to attack with advantage and having advantage on perception checks, but similar to Imogen he'd probably benefit a bit more from dipping into Cleric - particularly Grave, War, Ambition, and Peace Domain Clerics, who each have abilities that can further empower him. A dip in Barbarian would be handy for Danger Sense - not so much Rage because you can't use spells - maybe opting for the Zealot path subclass, which also suits narratively, for an extra 1d6 damage, or a dip in the Monster Hunter Ranger to aid in picking out weaknesses. A 12/4/4 split could also work, forgoing Cleansing Touch to grant Braius 2 ASI or feats if Sam wanted them; with that they can balance their WIS to 10 and then max out their CHA and another +1 elsewhere, or just do a feat like Fey Touched - since he was touched plenty by a Fey Hag all across her manor - to max the CHA and gain a spell like Hunter's Mark to aid in combat.

Speaking of Hunters, Chetney may not have been designed to survive the campaign but with Travis rolling the fatal 0 when playing as Grog that old man is still, somehow, kicking. If Travis doesn't pull a Bertrand and allows him to continue defying the odds and live to Lv. 20, Chetney would be in a similar position to Braius - having gone the Tealeaf route and locked himself out of the full 20 in Blood Hunter by having a dip in Rogue - in being in a crossroads of classes. If he invests his remaining levels in Blood Hunter to 19, he still gets a lot from the class; 2 Order Features (advantages on bloodlust saving throws and on any branded creature, then unlimited hybrid transformations on the next feature), 2 ASI, and an extra Blood Maledict. Chetney's 1-level dip in Rogue however means he could also invest into any Rogue subclass for a 17/3 split (or a 16/4 split if he sacrifices a Blood Maledict for 2 ASI over one) instead; Assassin would help his damage output especially since he likes going Invisible, but the Revived subclass would be funny implying that he died but miraculously came back and no longer needed to risk dying in his sleep because he doesn't need to sleep anymore. Chet could also triple class like we suggested with Braius; 3-5 levels in Artificer - since he's a toymaker his toys can be infused beyond the enchanted distractions, going for the Armorer subclass can also be handy for the Thunder Gauntlets ability too, 2 levels in Fighter - for Action Surge, 2-4 levels in Monk - which has decent potential if his chisel is made a dedicated weapon plus the possible boons from Kensei, Mercy, or Open Hand paths, or even 3 levels in Ranger - where Hunter, Gloom Stalker, and Monster Slayer subclasses each have skills that could help Chet in combat, can all be seen as options, but it can also run the risk of being overcomplicated. Despite a Feat sidestepping Chet losing control in his Hybrid Form, logic says that Chet would likely stick with the 19/1 route since the feat only imposes a disadvantage against losing control and he can still do collateral damage, character-wise he'd likely want to keep his Lycanthropy on lock as much as he can. Plus, going to 19 Blood Hunter levels yields unlimited transformations and the second ASI hits at Lv. 19; with the two ASI - which he cannot get from triple classing - he can max out his STR and buff up his CON, DEX, and/or CHA for any additional bonuses, he has no negative stats so any are fair game. I don't see any feats that'd be too helpful, but outside of AC or DC boosts from increasing CON or DEX, upping CHA could also help with persuasion and being persuasive and tricksy.

Persuasive and Tricksy are some of many words you can use to define Fearne, who is also a Rogue multiclass. Her current 10/5 with Wildfire Druid as the majority allows her some wiggle room for her to go a few different directions. The 5 levels in Rogue have locked her out of a second ASI in Druid, the timeless body (not really a big deal for a fey), additional Wild Shape perks, and the 9th Level Spell Slot though, but if she invests only into Druid levels for the full 15 she does still gain one ASI and her Wildfire Feature 'Blazing Revival' - where once per long rest Mister can sacrifice himself (I don't think it's a permadeath sacrifice just like an 'off the board until resummoned' sacrifice) to revive her to half HP if she's downed - alongside a 6th, 7th and 8th level spell slot. If she goes for an even spread of 10 levels each with Rogue's Arcane Trickster however, she gains 2 ASI, 2 more proficiencies, Evasion, Magical Ambush, and a few more lower level spells. Both have valid directions - and as much as Fearne is a 'collector' I think a third class probably won't suit her and will perplex Ashley further - for her character even with mixing the level splits; a 12/8 split will grant her 2 ASI and a 6th level spell slot, while a 14/6 split grants one ASI, a 6th and 7th level spell slot, the Blazing Revival, and 2 proficiencies. Since Fearne doesn't do many sneak attacks and uses her Rogue abilities more for pickpocketing, it would probably be sensible to lean more towards Druid; a 15/5 split if she wants that 8th level spell slot for Sunburst, Incendiary Cloud, or Feeblemind, but a 14/6 split if she can do without - Plane Shift could narratively be on her radar so she can travel to the Feywild as she pleases, but Fire Storm is still a mighty 7th level spell that can be additionally buffed by her titan form which as mentioned with Ashton could also potentially scale up with levels - would give her more stuff to work with, plus extra Druid Levels buffs up Mister's health so he could be looking at 75-80 total HP (5+(Druid Level x 5)) depending on whether Fearne goes level 14 or 15. Since Fearne took War Caster already from her last level and her WIS is already maxed out, ASI to CON could be looked into to add health, AC, and DC, while also improving her chances at holding concentration for her saving throws, alternatively she can up her DEX to improve her pickpocketing so she can finally claim one of those eggs, since she's tragically 0-2 on that. Feat-wise, there is still the Elemental Adept: Fire feat to bypass enemy resistances to Fire too, lots of enemies will have Fire Resistance after all, so if she doesn't want to use ASI there is still that to use it on. So level-wise there is some wiggle room but class-wise she is better off picking one to focus on.

Our final member of the Hells Laudna has already picked her focused class; on a 12/3 Sorlock with her patron bound to a soul anchor - get fucked Delilah - she has implied to go pure Sorcerer from herein. Marisha has previously stated that she saw no gain in any more Warlock levels even when Delilah was still active and while a 6th level in Warlock would grant her an ASI at Lv.4 and unlocks Grave Touched - change damage to Necrotic plus 1 extra damage die when in Form of Dread, which is pretty solid - it does indeed suit narratively for Laudna to avoid more Warlock levels. The 3 levels she has gained from Warlock though have (war)locked her out of her final Sorcery feature of Umbral Form - which would've made her resistant to everything but Force and Radiant Damage, so like Braius' Primal Champion it's quite the loss - but she still looks to get Shadow Walk which aids her mobility, providing that there's darkness or shadows in the vicinity, as well as one ASI and another Metamagic option by continuing the Sorcerer's path, not to mention a dangerous 9th level spell slot. Unlike Imogen, Laudna opted for Empowered Spell in her current Metamagics alongside Quickened and Twinned, doing Heightened or Transmuted probably wouldn't suit Laudna like it does her partner though. Instead, Careful Spell could be a good choice for Laudna since her CHA is maxed out, so she could pick 5 creatures to auto-succeed a saving throw to a spell she sends, but since she doesn't have many AoE spells Extended Spell may be the better fit to keep up concentration on spells like Animate Objects, Mirror Image, or any future powerful concentration spells she'll have access to like Eyebite, Globe of Invulnerability, Reverse Gravity, or Blade of Disaster - which Delilah used pretty effectively in Aeor - ongoing. Even so, the one ASI remains; the Amulet of Health puts her CON to a fixed 19 so if she added one CON it'd be 16 without attunement, which is still pretty good but worthless if she just keeps using the amulet, she could put +1 in her woeful STR so it's a -2 rather than -3, or opt for feats such as War Caster - for those powerful concentration spells - or another Eldritch Invocation with Eldritch Adept, such as Armor of Shadows or Eldritch Spear, which may be more fitting for her fun scary nature.

And that's all of them, for a TL/DR I expect Ashton, Orym, Dorian and Imogen to do the pure 20 for their classes, while Chetney will go 19/1, Braius and Fearne go 14/6, and Laudna goes 17/3. But if it were me, the only ones I'd adjust from those would be Dorian (19/1, adding Fighter), Imogen (18/2, adding Tempest Cleric), and Braius (14/3/3, adding Rune Knight Fighter) just from a meta/fun perspective. Either way I'll just be happy to see them make Level 20, so fingers and every other digit I have stay crossed for whichever route they choose.

[mgrover]

Ok I said I was going to so i will:

(TLDR i counted a definite 10 episodes but with a maybe on another 5 my math shown below the cut)

To begin with episodes that will be on the regular stage:

First the obvious:

Brennan, Katie and Iffy with what appear to be house crest banners, though there is a shot without them so might not be the main concept

A modded main set with Rekha Jordan and Trapp this is the same episode as peeling Paul based on clothes

Anna, Jeremy and Oscar with some game with jumpsuits with no podiums, maybe rules they have to follow? Theres a big wheel for this

Now those that I think are a bit of a stretch but I'm 90% sure I'm right:

Vic Lou and Jacob maybe a Sam says game samer? but they did a different cast last time they replayed this

now you say Lou isn't in this image? ah well that is where my stretching comes from. Here is Vic obviously same ep, please note the arm and sleeve in the right of the frame:

and then this clip of lou:

That looks like the same vest also this ep seems to be based around dressing up and we have this of lou riping his shirt off:

Next Zac Ally and Unknown third player:

This is ally note shirt on right

Same shirt:

Now based on the amount of stage hands(?) I think these are the same ep with Demi and Ele

Ok moving to new sets:

We don't have a set really but I think it's safe that these are the same ep.

Team 1: Grant, Katie, Iffy, Izzy and Erika

Team 2: BDG, Jiavanni, Rekha, Becca and I think Tao

Not sure on tao but i feel kinda safe saying it based on this image that I think is the same ep:

Next Jacob, Kimia and Jeremy on what I assume is who wants to be a millionaire, not sure if I should know the others:

Then another big cast Persephone, Rekha, Erika, Izzy, Angela(smosh), Jiavanni, Angela, Ele, Becca and Lily. Wild speculation minute to win it? They're playing human knot but they also all have flasks? Really don't know, the second shot has a good view of faces. Seems to be the same set as the last ep:

Another cast over 3, Ally, Aabria Vic and Demi seem to be the contestants based on podiums but there are a lot of people in these shots including Zach and Keith (try guys), Raph, Chris grace

Now on to uncategorized stuff:

There are also 2 comedians I should probably know the names of but don't probably will be their own ep based on the audience but might not:

Then Santa same curtain as last image:

Got a judging panel with Jordan and Demi same new set area as this part of sam leaving:

Jacob Screaming at a marching band probably in one of the other eps he's in:

lisa gilroy maybe the third in Zac and Ally's game? Jukebox is a cool set piece though so maybe separate

And finally Ren faire with Jiavanni, Jeremy, anna and someone who I think I should know the name of cause I recognize him but can't find the dropout property he is in feels like it is it's own ep cause I don't recognize the cast as from another ep but also this is so many episodes:

[softantlers]

ok so I would like to talk a little about ep 4 with regard to the YJs as a soccer team because I think the trial really reflected those team dynamics in an interesting way

so the freeze Allie out plotline:

- Natalie functions as the moral authority. She thinks that a better strategy is to play like a team and win (the unspoken outcome of that is that they could always lose instead). In a way, this sort of mirrors what you might expect from a judge: their goal is to convince the prosecution and defense to play it fair, let the pieces fall where they may, and what will be will be.

- Taissa is sort of in prosecutor mode. She has diagnosed the Problem of Allie and there's no really coming back from that. The outcome is black and white to her. Allie = Them losing. Therefore, Allie needs to be taken care of. She shows a similar degree of conviction over Coach Ben. Who Burnt Down the Cabin needs to be taken care of and Coach Ben is the candidate that will put the problem to rest.

- Lottie and Shauna are a bit like a jury in both plots. Lottie's "I don't like it" about Allie gets across her gut feeling, which jury members at the end of the day are meant to rely on in addition to the facts. Her gut feeling in the wilderness is also that Ben shouldn't be killed. She does concede that Allie kinda sucks but the "not liking it" part maybe insinuates that she has at least a latent concern for what "freezing her out" would mean for the team.

- Shauna, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to have a high stake about Allie besides the fact that "Jackie won't like it" and in a way Taissa is usurping Jackie's authority. We kinda see early on that Shauna's morality is often informed by other people. Sure, she has her own specific beliefs that flare up but they are heavily repressed and dissociated in season 1. Often, her belief systems are shown better in contrast to who she doesn't agree with (re: Natalie and the jealousy there) at the moment, and not so much her moral code. At the end of the day, she could have warned Allie or told Jackie if she disagreed so much but she remained passive, only bringing it up later when she was frustrated at the party (from the longing looks at Jackie and Jeff) and seemed to need a bone to pick with Tai to release the energy. Her mode of operation is frequently Displacement. Displacing rage and displacing responsibility.

Anyways, you see those moral dynamics among the team heavily foreshadow their behavior in the teen and adult timelines. For example, Taissa doesn't have a lot of moral guilt about killing people to cheat Van's death. This reflects her Solution to Allie. Just solve the problem. I don't care if Ben is guilty because I need him to be guilty. Prosecutor.

On the other hand, Natalie is perhaps the most morally grounded character. Ben deserves a fair trial. Travis deserves justice. These bitchy soccer players in the woods don't deserve to die, even though they often treat her terribly and ungratefully. Natalie is Justice in its most extreme form, to the point where it is honestly self destructive and easy for the others to take advantage of her. She just wants to play like a team and win but the others aren't interested in following the rules she holds herself to.

Lottie can see it both ways ("doesn't feeling right but she does suck") and she can make decisions if she thinks ultimately will serve the group for the better. She would be the swing vote on a jury and I truly think her vote wrt to Ben is because she thinks the fallout of Shauna's rage will be worse for everyone (remember she has an intimate connection with it, having been beaten almost to death) and she raises her hand when Shauna starts to lose it.

And Shauna. God, Shauna. Girl is ungrounded. Ben is her target right now because she has so much rage and she's tired of being looked over and she needs a path to usurp Natalie. I don't think she really cares whether Ben lives or dies. Shauna can shift her moral reasoning at the drop of a hat and it's generally self-serving (the fact that she even forgot that the lie about Adam attacking her was a lie). She fundamentally can't accept responsibility for her actions because that would require accepting the horrible things she's done, not least othering and ultimately being an indirect cause of death for her best friend. That would break her. So she's the least preferred jury member because she wants to be the prosecution. She wants the outcome without knowing the facts. She's not invested in Ben as she really wasn't with Allie but she'll use the fallout to serve her purposes, if she needs a bone to pick or disagrees with the person in charge simply for being in charge. When the judge rules, it doesn't matter. Because the judge isn't her. And she has to be right or she'll fucking die.

[dangermousie]

The best cdrama you probably haven't watched - Tribes and Empires Storm of Prophecy

Most of my airing cdramas are ending within the week and unless we get a lot of other good replacements, it means time to rewatch a favorite.

And this favorite? The sprawling, epic fantasy Tribes and Empires Storm of Prophecy. Tribes has a huge cast (one of criticisms I've seen leveled at it - but that is why I love it; it's epic in every sense of the world), but it centers around three very different men - Shaofeng Heye (Zhou Yiwei), a son of a murdered barbarian chief who will eventually lead the rebellion that tries to topple the empire, Muyun Sheng (Huang Xuan), a disregarded prince who is half-fae and whose mother was supposedly the emperor's great love who he mourns (the truth is so much darker and more complicated) and Muru Hanjiang (Shawn Dou), the cursed son of the chief general who was abandoned to live on the street due to prophecy. Sometimes they are allies, sometimes enemies, sometimes both at once.

Despite the huge budget, it was not a hit either in China or internationally - people complained about the slow pace, the large cast and the lack of ending (the drama is 70+ eps and tells only half the story.) I loved every second of it. I grew up reading Russian novels which were also sprawling, with a huge cast, deliberate pace and often lack of resolution at the end. Perhaps that is why the one audience where I think it was a hit was the Russian-speaking cdrama fandom (all the MVs I can find, btw, are made by Russian speakers.)

(The above is a gorgeous general MV)

Why do I love it? Other than the amazing visuals (it's directed by Cao Dun, all of whose dramas are genuinely stunning looking), there is the fact that it really feels like a window in a whole other world - epic and a little alien, complex, full of horror and beauty.

And there are the characters and the narrative. Because this drama does not hurry, it's not only the mains who get fleshed out - secondary and even tertiary characters are fully-fledged. Two of my favorite characters are emperor and empress - two intense monsters locked in an emotional cage with each other, clawing at others and themselves, as bystanders die.

This is a dark dark world - made before the censorship tightening up, there is none of that "tireless emperor ceaselessly working for the people" nonsense or even other character spouting about working for the greater good. The emperor and most of the imperial family are monsters, grasping for power, lives of people as ants to them. Some characters do have ideals but they are not glib or easy or fit within modern parameters. This is a narrative that starts with Shaofeng Heye's entire tribe being wiped out because of an act of kindness by a boy (and his tribe and other tribes are locked into a life death struggle for resources perpetually.) Blind loyalty to the crown is not viewed as a virtue - Muru Hanjiang's father is a monster for throwing his infant to die due to a prophecy that states he's a threat to the throne.

(another general MV)

Also, me being me, there are ships. There are a bunch, but my favorite is Muru Hanjiang x Su Yuning. She's a minor noblewoman picked to be a crown princess because her horoscope says that whoever she marries will be the ruler (interestingly, MHJ's prophecy that upended his life is that he will end the rule of the Muyun dynasty - clearly they are meant to marry at some point, heh) and she has no choice about it. Their love is glorious and largely unspoken and kinda doomed; the way the drama ends with her ditching literally EVERYTHING and following him and his clan to horrifying exile that might result in death (and even as he still tries to drive her away to protect her, she knows what he's doing and vows to wait for him) is glorious.

This MV for them is amazing:

I also loved Shaofeng Heye and Princess Muyun Yan Shuang. Not functional in the least but so hot!

(The third main OTP of the prince x spirit, I liked but not as much as these two.)

Anyway, this is my next rewatch.

[sco-ot]

viserys i targaryen was an exceptionally shitty parent.

when aemma was alive, he consistently ignored and neglected rhaenyra, to the point that at her mom's funeral she isn't just coping with her grief but also says explicitly when being told that her dad will need her that 'i will never be a son.'

later, when he finally gets the son he so desperately wanted, he also ignores and neglects him and his siblings, leaving them to his child bride. the only time we have seen him interact with aegon positively was when aegon was a baby at his name day feast. evey other time it was either to berate him, like in s1 ep 7, or to affirm that rhaenyra is more favoured than him and his siblings, like in s1 ep 8.

and that episode annoys me particularly, bc viserys makes a public appearance in a long time, by the reactions of the courtiers and he does it for rhaenyra. imagine what aegon and his siblings must have felt, seeing their father and knowing that despite his pain, he came to see rhaenyra, that he was willing to climb the iron throne for her. and knowing that he would never do such a thing for any of them.

his first public appearance in ages, and it is for the child that has effectively abandoned him for years to go and live on dragonstone, while they lived with him in the keep and he never bothered to try and see them, or call for them or get to know his grandkids by them.

they probably would have wondered what they had done, to have their father not love them. they would have questioned their self worth, and what they could do to get their father to pay attention to them for once. aegon was drinking by the time he was 13, aemond was so desperate for a dragon that he was willing to get mauled to get one, helaena was a dreamer and struggling with it and her father, who had read up on valyrian magic and believed in prophecy, arguably the only person who could have recognised the signs and helped her never even realised it bc he spent so little time with her and daeron was sent away from his whole family when he was 4, and viserys didn't even seem to notice that he was gone.

and again, even in rhaenyra's case he's a shitty parent, because he named her heir out of guilt for aemma and to spite his brother, and even after he had sons he kept to that decision, thus putting her in danger and risking a succession crisis.

he does all of this without preparing rhaenyra to rule in any way, he didn't make her hand (like jaehaerys made baelon hand after naming him prince of dragonstone), he didn't give her a seat on the small council so she could familiarize herself with ruling, he didn't have her go on royal progresses so that she could get to know the realm and the nobles, didn't teach her diplomacy, or warfare or any of the myriad other things a ruler or any lord should know. he just let her do her own thing, and when she fucked up he covered for her in a way that not only ensured she didn't learn from her mistakes but also hurt and pissed off people who could have been her allies.

so yeah, he was a shitty parent to all his kids, but particularly to his kids by alicent and watching aegon destroy his model of old valyria, knowing that he spent more time with that thing than with his own damn kids, felt extremely cathartic.

[alevolpe]

Hello! I plan on doing a Sailor Moon rewrite later on next year (bc i have a lot of shit to do in the entirety of my 3rd year of university) and I'd like to know what issues you have with each season of sailor moon. You don't have to name all of them, just name the biggest problem(s) you have with each season!! I hope I am not troubling you :3

Hi! You're no trouble at all! Thank you for asking, I'm humbled you're interested in hearing my opinion.

Ok, let's see. Before I start I wanna say, these are MY opinions based on also how I'm doing my own rewrite AU thingy, so don't take it personally if I don't want to include elements or characters you love. (Most fo the time it doesn't even mean I don't like those characters in canon, I just don't think they'd fit with the specific narrative I have in my mind)

I'll say for Season 1, my biggest issue is the amount of time it takes to get everyone in the cast. By the time we get Mina it's like what, over 3/4ths of the season in? I like that the show takes its time introducing everyone and giving the girls some organic bonding time in the filler, but there's better ways to do it imo. That's why I have Usagi be the last to awaken and meet an already tranformed Ami and Rei, so we don't totally break from Usagi being the center at first. We can use her as a vessel to get to know these new people and this crazy new identity at the same time she does, letting us know more about her too in the process, while not slowing the pace of the story to a crawl. As we get to know more, you can introduce the rest of the girls and break from the main group to catch glimpses of Mako and Mina, to later unite them. But that's my fix, there's other ways to fix the slow introductions, just.. don't maybe go manga style and spend only one ep per girl and immediately move on to the next, give them time to breathe.

My main issue with Season 2 is the time travel. The show does NOT know its own rules and that is a recipe for disaster, once you introduce an ally that is able to time travel, you got a LOT in your hands. Everything in the show could be solved with one travel through time, but they never do. Why? Cause otherwise the show wouldn’t exist. It leaves too many possibilities and questions that is not ready to answer. Idk how one could fix it, I'm sure there's many ways you could, I just have 0 interest in incorporating time travel in sm.

With Season 3 I'd say it's the introduction of the whole Pharaoh 90 or Mistress 9 thing. I don’t know, I know they are the main baddies, but like.. just make Saturn the main threat, she already basically is. That's my problem with it, I'm sure a ton of people disagree, but I'd rather the season just focus more on Saturn, Haruka, Michiru and Pluto, I don't need another "queen Nehellenia" type villain that gets introduced 2 seconds before the end. And I lovee Eudial and Mimete, but we don't need 5 of them. I'd just make those 2 Tomoe's assistants and that's that. Too many villains, especially if you're not going to do a motw format.

With Season 4.. uff where do I even begin. Tbh I scratch the whole season and do a ground up rebuilding project, but if I HAVE to stick with the canon structure I'll say make Nehellenia more present. She's THE BEST part of SuperS, make her more present and more threatening. Give her that mirror power from the get go, make her appear in mirrors, reflections, show her subtly , in the background, give the season a subtle but palpable atmosphere of unease, make her scary. I WANT TO BE SCARED of her! Also unrelated, but get RID of the S*A metaphor with the 3 eyes.

With Stars the whole pacing the season is a mess. The start is way too slow and the end is rushed as fuck. Introduce Galaxia as a present threat earlier, again idk how you'd do that exactly while keeping the episodic tempo of the show, but my solution is. Don't! Lol

[withallthingslove]

You make such good points talking about this show I love reading your insight!

Do you have any theories as to what you think this “betrayal” could be? I’m interested in knowing your thoughts!

Thank you!

And I feel like I need to think on it a bit longer, but the context we know is that:

Nick and June see each other while June is in a Martha disguise. So probably at a Jezebels when June and Moira are undercover. Nick allegedly says June's the only thing good in his life then (unless that soundbite is from a different ep and the trailer is manipulated)

"Nick and Serena make consequential choices" that episode as well

By the end of the season Tuello feels Lawrence is his last shot at having an ally

The betrayal shows June who Nick really is and what he is capable of

Nick is "tempted by the dark side on a fundamental level, primarily because of" Wharton

This seems to show June that "Nick is a member of Gilead’s hierarchy and will abide by their rules"

In my predictions before there was the press kit leak, I hoped Nick would maybe join June if Rose possibly died in episode 5 or that his choice was faking his death. I also predicted that Nick's choice could be one that is either the opposite of Serena's or the same as hers where he doubles down on Gilead. Knowing what we know now, my guess is both Nick and Serena's choices involve Wharton and are aligned somehow.

The press kit says Nick betrays June's trust. To me that signals it is not Nick directly betraying June. It's a broader definition that makes her doubt her faith in him, not him directly harming her. What would make June doubt Nick and see him differently? In season 4 she tells Luke he would do "anything" for June and Nichole. So does he do something that affects someone in her orbit, or does he refuse to help her with something?

I think June has thought of Nick and Lawrence as commanders who solely exist to help her and she doesn't think about them doing Gilead things when she isn't around to see it. She's had confrontations about Lawrence's role creating Gilead but not with Nick about what his day to day and endgame actually is. She probably still sees him as a driver who is going around with his head down. But we've seen him bomb places and lead soldiers, campaign and negotiate for New Bethlehem, and kill commanders in cold blood. So he chooses something that follows the rules of being a commander, and it either inadvertently gets back to June or he's asked to do something by her and he refuses and abides by Gilead's rules instead.

It also doesn't say that he falls to the dark side, but that he's tempted. Most heroes in Star Wars are tempted by the dark side, that's part of the heroes journey. They are tempted by it and taste it before choosing the light. Or characters that are villains are tempted and fall, but the point is the temptation stage is a turning point where you can go either way. It's not definitive.

My guesses are:

He breaks his alliance with Tuello and June finds out. Maybe Tuello is put in danger by it

He breaks his alliance and gives Wharton information that puts a group of rebels in harms way or disrupts something they were planning (so they then shift to a wedding attack)

He maybe orchestrates or helps with the infiltration of the rebel camp June was at in the beginning of the season (that he knows of because he helps June and Tuello with something earlier in the season)

He accidentally or on purpose gives away the boston globe hiding place

She finds out from a rebel she meets that Nick is a commander who gave an order for something

She gives Nick a task while they are at the Jezebels and he doesn't do it - maybe he even tells Wharton about it or him not doing it gets someone hurt/killed

Maybe it stings even more when she finds out Serena's engaged to Wharton and Nick "chooses that family" over her and Nichole

If his baby with Rose dies, maybe he claims Nichole as his own to get her to New Bethlehem (this goes against The Testaments which states Nick is not known as her dad publicly)

He oversees Hannah's location being moved or has the opportunity to help get her to June and Luke and doesn't

My guess right now is it's something between her finding out why the Swiss don't want to deal with him and him bombing Chicago. It's got to be something he chooses in episode 5 and she finds out at the end of episode 6 or beginning of episode 7. Which makes me think it's not directly to her but something she finds out about. Something that makes her confront how she sees him and not rely on him for the wedding plan (because that will probably be solely about the women). If it was something involving Nichole or Hannah I see that being more of a deal breaker, and Nick would have to have his reasoning.

It seems most likely that Nick makes the choice to be selfish and either not help June or temporarily choose helping Wharton over the rebels and he then regrets it and changes course. But there's always the chance he makes the choice to outwardly betray June's trust and the rebels while doing something else to help the rebels behind the scenes.

We shall see, I think there's too many options until we know what the dynamics are in the first few episodes.

I'm curious to know other people's guesses!

[unsleepingtales]

Cloudward, Ho!! Episode four!! Reactions!!

I love longer eps but since I am currently six hours ahead of est I will not complain about it being under two hours tonight lol

Also ngl I'm a bit less locked in than usual (positive fun reasons) so reactions will be sparser

Monty going to hug Marya bc she got them there is so. They're so.

Van on top of the tick checks!

Oooh what’s up with Van’s eyes

I love their bits and how well the characters know each other!!

Max trying to wrestle Van is so funny

THEY DONT HAVE STANDING IN THEIR HEARTS ‼️

Come back in an hour! She said to the. Winged turtle!

Window of Wonder is such a great aspect of this season

The aolies that Bert could be making with these….

Wouldn’t it be cool if we all had older relatives ex lovers to look after us

“Oh she was so hot” I’m OBSESSED

OH?????? Private info??????

Marya and Van are spiking readouts??

Ally and dice!!

Oooooh this is awesome I love learning about the world.

Wealwell is from the underworld??

I fell asleep lol. The issue with getting to live with a bunch of your friends in a new city for a while is it kind of takes up a lot of your time so it is the next day, once again past 1 am, and we're doing the thing

Also I was falling in and out of sleep and apparently the last thing I caught before going under was Wealwell being from the underworld? So let's rewind and see what that was all about shall we?

Yeah okay I don't understand it much better now but I do appreciate how down Daisuke immediately is

God they're all so direct. It's wild.

What in Marya's intent is causing this wild energy thing wow

Oh Emily.... oh she got so deep into this wow

Oh!! Other humans!

Oh boy okay

New rules!!

Also I love Emily's sweatshirt it's very good

MAPS?? Drawings!!!!

So many little things!!!

Hitchhikersguide ref !

Oh I'm so obsessed

My god how many conlangs did they make for this season

Holy SHIT what is that thing oh that's so cool

Ally why

LORE DUMP LORE DUMP LORE DUMP

God I love me a lore moment thank you for the information yayyy

OOPS

NOW NOW

He's just a guy!

HES NOT JUST A GUY UH OH

UH OH

FUCK

So he magically gave them a migraine

Oh that's so creepy

MOST HANDS DONT HAVE EYES MY GUY

Oh boy! Okay! See you next week I guess!

[cherrylng]

Best "Emo" Disc 50 - Part 5 - Further Seems Forever, Thursday, Burning Airlines, The Used [ROCKIN'ON (April 2007)]

『THE MOON IS DOWN』 FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER 【March 2001】 The first album by Further Seems Forever, whose sound even hints at the fact that ‘after the break-up of Florida's legendary Christian hardcore band Strongarm, four of its members formed the band with current Dashboard Confessional vocalist Chris Carrabba as the band's lead singer’. Unlike the Strongarm era, when the basic structure of drums/bass was hardcore itself, they built an even thicker wall of sound and fortified themselves with it, this work conveys an airy mode of breaking down all walls with their own hands and wishing to connect to any genre. The title track of this album and “Snowbirds And Townies” feature chord work that brings to life heartbreaking sadness, and Chris' vocals, which take you beyond the world of pop rather than the heavy dark world, easily clear the “prescribed performance” of emo while at the same time presenting an unshakable “golden rule.” The band's dignified sound was needed at a time when emo was in turmoil, but after repeated member changes, they disbanded in January last year. What a shame. (Tomoki Takahashi)

『FULL COLLAPSE』 THURSDAY 【April 2001】 Thursday is a band that emerged early on in the New York & New Jersey scene. They have released four albums to date, but I think this second one is still their masterpiece. Vocalist Jeff Rickley raised his fist with his painfully thin (now he's finally grown into a visible physique) body, and always embodied the sorrow, haste, and impulse that the band portrays in their albums. However, for example, “Understanding in a Car Crash” was written based on a friend's accident, but the melody line swings so naively that it is often compared to the Cure, and the sound is also more refined than other bands whose sound tends to be monotonous and hard-edged. This was their originality, and it also seemed to make the band's spirit freer. They have evolved the format of hardcore punk itself by expressing the complex and fragile emotions of facing death, loss, and despair, and still having to move forward despite the feelings of helplessness. (Akemi Nakamura)

『IDENTIKIT』 BURNING AIRLINES 【May 2001】 Regarding their sound, Yoshiyuki Suzuki once left a very intriguing quote, which I will use with a slight modification because there is nothing better than that. In other words, it is as if the spirit of Fugazi and the pop sensibility of XTC were fused together by a demon. Can the essence of both really be compatible? But you'll know it when you hear it. Their music is full of surprises, yet catchy, unrestrained, and at the same time has a neat beauty similar to a mathematical formula, with reason and instinct, intellect and impulse are two sides of the same coin, and it is filled with thrills and excitement that will make your spine tingle. The band was formed in 1998 around J. Robbins, the leader of Jawbox. This is their second album, released in 2001, but their first album, with its slightly brighter melody, was also excellent. Unfortunately, these are the only two albums they have released. After the band broke up, J formed the Channels with his wife. They released an EP on Desoto and the first album on their ally [label] Dischord, but shortly afterwards their child was diagnosed with a serious illness and the band was forced to stop. For more information, please visit the Desoto Records website. (Tomoko Nakagome)

『THE USED』 THE USED 【June 2002】 The Used are headliners again for this year's 'Taste of Chaos Tour', currently taking place in the USA. Six years after their debut, they are still making an impact on the post-hardcore scene, especially as the originators of screamo.

Formed in Orem, Utah, in the mid-90s, they were kicked out of their home for not following the Mormon teachings, had no money to buy drumsticks even if they wanted to record, were kicked out for being too loud to play live, and became addicted to drugs…… This is the story of how they had to escape from the cage of Orem in order to survive, and it is actually a boring and common story that is repeated countless times in rural America. However, they produced this debut album even though they had not yet performed live 20 times. Passion ignited by the friction and discord of oppression. This deformed, twisted sound, but with a solitary beauty, more than anything else tells us why such an ordinary story did not have an ordinary ending.

For example, what was interesting about watching the Warped Tour around 2002 was that the bands stimulated each other, and at an incredible speed, they took in new inspiration and developed and expanded in order to give their own bands their own characteristics. It was similar to the hip-hop scene, and I think it was also important that it was born as an extension of the mainstream mixture, but discovering new sounds was the driving force of this scene. I think that's why the scene had the stamina to survive in the mainstream, from metal to disco.

This album was also an album that took the scene one step further with such a discovery. From “Maybe Memories,” with its metal guitars, dry drums, and screams that seem to say, "Let me out of here," to the pop singalong number “The Taste of Ink.” This song is about living every day as if you were dead thinking, ‘today might be the end’, but believing that you know ‘that day’ will come. If there is a theme running through the whole album, this might be it. Hopes and fears that this might be their first and last chance. The days when we believed that even if we were at rock bottom, we could always get out. The pain of being trapped in a cage of boredom, trapped and unable to escape, sometimes in heavy guitar sounds, sometimes in screams, sometimes in the pain of distortion and high tension, as in one of their best-known songs, “A Box Full of Sharp Objects”. Bert McCracken's vocal style changes rapidly, and the lyrics scream that today is the time to shine, more than yesterday. Then there is the falsetto voice on “Blue and Yellow” and the acoustic guitar and strings in “On My Own” are also beautiful. The boring everyday life in their eyes. The desire to convey these emotions in a realistic way by any means possible broke the rules and was beautifully sublimated in this album. In 2004, they released their second album, “In Love and Death”. (Akemi Nakamura)

Translator's Note: I think in terms of history, to say that without the existence of Warped Tour, there wouldn't be a catalyst responsible for the second generation of the "emo" movement is an understatement. Somewhat ironically and unsurprisingly, The Used hated being called an "emo" or "screamo" band, and it was only until 2017 that Bert McCracken finally accepted that their band was emo after all.

Please do support me via my ko-fi! ☕

[burningdreambanana]

Something that doesn't quite make sense about Bayezid and his relationship with Mustafa

I've mentioned many times on this sub Cihangir bizarre obsession with Mustafa. Bayezid never reached that level, but he is still pictured as being very close to Mustafa. However, I am currently rewatching ep 105, and its clear that Bayezid wants to be the heir to the throne as well, hence his deep desire to govern Manisa.

Yet he doesn't seem particularly concerned about what this mean for his relationship with Mustafa. Even if he believes he can become the sultan without having to kill his brothers, does he really believe that Mustafa would just accept him being taking the throne? As they are close, he supposedly knows him, Mustafa even once told him he would one day be the sultan so he should know Mustafa wants to rule, yet he doesn't seem to see him as a rival, nor is he particularly concerned about Mustafa's popularity with the army, and all his numerous allies.

Like I understand he hates Selim so much and sees him as his main rival but the fact that he is just so cool with Mustafa despite wanting to be the sultan is just weird to me

[ispyspookymansion]

wait tell me more abt tbs podcast? what is it about exactly? i’m always looking for new podcast audio dramas (if that’s what it is?)

YAY ACTIVATING MY TRAP CARD! yep its an audio drama. the bright sessions is, for the most part, the recorded sessions of joan bright, therapist for the strange an unusual, or atypicals. theyre not superheroes by any means but people who have some kind of ability - her main three patients that we hear from are a time traveller, an empath, and a telepath! the episodes start off pretty short, 10-20 minutes long, and are recordings of her sessions with these patients where a lot of the focus isnt on superpower training or anything but traditional coping skills, emotional intelligence, anxiety, trauma processing, etc

as the show goes the eps get a bit longer and more complicated than just a session recording. joan’s history with a questionable secret organization called the atypical monitors, or AM, becomes more important. it gets into shady government organization territory and sort of transitions from patient logs to communication between allies against the AM and others. but still some therapy.

its got a nice range of diverse characters in terms of age, ability, orientation, why they seek therapy, etc, and one of my favorite shitty antagonists ever <3 + like i said short eps at first getting up to around 25-40 minutes later in the show. theres 4 main seasons (about 56 episodes total), a season of one off eps about other patients dr bright has, and 2 seasons of spin off podcasts following up the main plotline. i really love it its so fun and goes down really smooth i am always shilling it because it rules!!