#gosh I wish there were better resources

[cluster-b-culture-is]

cluster b culture is struggling to find non-ableist resources for aiding in your own journey and research

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[e-vay]

Hi! If you have the time, could tell me a little about Love and Deep Space? I originally played a ton of Dress Up! Time Princess, as obsessed, and even occasionally threw a little money at it, but ditched it once the UI became too cluttered, they added a ton of things that used up massive resources, and almost all events were P2W. I keep eying LaDS but am worried it might have the same issue? Also, does it have a lot of customization/personalization options? That'd be a big selling point for me.

Oh my gosh, where do I even start! Listen I'm not a saleswoman but I'll do my best to explain. I'll put it below the cut so that people who aren't interested don't have to read. Oh and also (not that you are, but I just want to make this clear for everyone) Love and Deepspace is NOT a game for children. So don't download it for your kids lol

I haven't played any other game like LADS before so I don't know what to compare it to. It is just this very rare game that happens to check every single box of all my niches! It's a romance, it's a sci-fi/fantasy, it's got action and fighting as well as really cute mini games, its got steamy audio stories that'll make ya go WOOF, the writing is superb and the animations are STUNNING!!!! I am not kidding when I tell you the story is so well written; it makes me cry, it makes me laugh, it makes me sweat 🥵 (in a good way haha), the writers really know what they’re doing! Here are just some samples of the different things you can do in the game:

RPG Battles - Multiple fighting styles, including your choice between guns, sword, wand/staff and claymore.

Main Story - This includes written stories, animated cutscenes, character interactions and battles.

Special Events - Variations of the above ^ But limited to a small window of time so you can only participate and get rare items during that window

Lottery ("Wishes") - This is how you obtain 'memories' which you use for battling. Think of them like Pokemon cards. Some of them are extra special and will unlock dates/stories/animations for you to enjoy.

"Date Minigames" - These are cutesy things to do with your love interest like playing cards or claw machine. You can even choose whether you play the claw machine or your date does (hint: some of the guys are good at some of the machines, while others are not)

Photobooth - You can take cutesy snapshots with stock poses or you use the studio mode and make a lot of adjustments to capture the scene you want. They also have an AR mode where YOU can take a photo with him, haha!

Interact with your love interest(s) - The stronger your affinity with him, the more you can do together. This ranges from cute, animated interactions to having "conversations" with him. He'll also text and call you. You can romance all of the love interests if you want and it doesn't negatively impact your affinity with the others.

Audio stories - These are steamy vignettes starring you and your love interest. This one is for all the “Booktok girlies”!!! 🥵 Listen with headphones! 🙈

Anecdotes and other Side stories - The lore in this game is ENDLESS! If you enjoy reading, there are plenty of written stories within the game. If you don't like it, you can just skip through it to gain your reward and move on.

Dress up (limited) - As you play you'll earn different outfits, but there are also outfits you can buy. You can use real currency or in-game currency, it just depends on the outfit. You can't completely create your own ensemble but you can pair different outfits with different accessories to use in the photobooth. You can also decide what your love interest(s) wear or have him decide what he wants to wear.

LADS is free to play and doesn't have any ads. However, if you're prone to FOMO, you'll have better luck receiving items during their special events if you do make purchases. But again, you absolutely do not have to spend any money on it to play.

There is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to the navigation of the game because there is so much to do within it, but you get the hang of it really fast. I feel like the UI is actually quite clean and organized. I’ve put a screenshot below:

The most confusing thing is the story mode; it kind of jumps around out of order because characters were added after the game's story had already started. But I personally didn't find that a dealbreaker and you can go back into the story and replay it in order any time.

The amount of storage the game will take up on your phone/tablet is a lot, but that's because the game is GORGEOUS. All the characters are fully rendered in 3D and the animations will blow your mind. I can't tell you how many times I'm playing it and I can't believe it's a mobile game. I play on "medium" resolution so my phone doesn't explode on me, but even then the quality is so good.

Customization is where the game unfortunately falls short. Though you do get to customize your protagonist, there are limitations. You can change her face, makeup, hair and voice, but during in-game fighting, dialog and cutscenes, MC will always default to a woman with long dark hair. Some players have found ways to glitch the game so that your customizations like hair style and color will appear in the “kindled” animations (you’ll know what that means when you play it), but it's not a long-term solution. We're all crossing our fingers that they'll update the game one day so the animations reflect our choices better!

There are other customizations in-game that are fun. You have a banner that you can change the appearance of and change your title. As you build a stronger connection with each of the guys, you can have them call you by unique nicknames and they'll refer to you as that moving forward (though you can change it every day). There are also elements of the game that involve you sending and receiving text messages, phone calls, and social media posts and you can customize how those look to an extent as well.

As far as the unique experience you have as a protagonist, when it comes to dialog/action choices there are only so many options you can choose from. The writers have an overall plan for MC so sometimes she'll say things that I would never want her to say, but I didn't write her so 🤷‍♀️ We still get more control than some games offer so I can't complain!

Personally, I do wish it was a little more inclusive than some other games out there. Right now you can only play as a woman and you can only romance the male characters. But that's what other games are for, I guess.

I don't know if this game will be your cup of tea and I know for a fact it's not for everyone, but DANG if this game wasn't made for me in every way! If you do end up playing it, I hope you enjoy it! And you can add me! My hunter’s number is: 82001322820

[onceuponapuffin]

Fanatic Intervention Part 4!!

Someone mentioned a play on Divine Intervention, and I thought that would make for a short, sweet, tag-able title. So here it is - Fanatic Intervention!

This poll came really close. Gosh. Please share this around. I want anyone who would like a chance to play to have the chance to play. This isn't about followers or activity, this is about letting people know they are welcome and invited :)

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The Metatron walked calmly through the halls of Heaven. Anyone who didn’t know any better would use a word more like “stalked” or “stomped.” Of course, no one in Heaven would ever use these words to describe the Metatron, even if his eyes were angry and his feet fell firmer than usual. No, the Metatron was the Voice of God – he merely walked with purpose, grace even.

At the end of a corridor that did not exist, he approached a door that opened at his touch and his touch alone, into a room that took up no space. It is in here that he stopped, the door closing behind him as it was right to do, and brought his hands together in Prayer.

“I beseech you,” he began, “Mother and Father both of All Creation, Commander of mine tongue, and through whose Grace I carry out Thine Will.” He paused, unsure exactly how to proceed with asking if someone new was supposed to be there. “In my best efforts to bring about the long-foretold Second Coming, I have come upon some trouble. A human was dropped into the path of my efforts* and has suggested that they are here at Your Will. If this is so, please instruct me so that I may step aside or aid them as appropriate. I wish only to serve You, Your Will, and Your Designs.” With this, the Metatron paused and waited. He waited for what felt like eternity, even though he kew all too well it wasn't. He was met with nothing but silence. With a sigh, he spoke now to himself (and if anyone had been around to hear, they might have – mistakenly, mind you – inferred his tone to be sad).

“I suppose I should have expected nothing less.”

He straightened himself. Well, clearly The Almighty trusted him to sort this trouble out for himself. Oh, how he adored the trust and love the Almighty had for him. Alright, so, given that he was sort out this trouble himself, he deigned to use all the knowledge and intelligence that the Almighty had granted him. He had other resources that he could consult.

Exiting the room, he walked once more (with purpose and trust in God – not with pride), to the Room of Records which held The Book of Life. If anyone saw him, they said nothing and let him pass. If he saw anyone, he paid them no mind. The Metatron approached The Book.

The Book of Life holds all the world’s stories, whether they are true or not. Every. Single. One.

He turned the pages to the one where he had seen the passage regarding The Second Coming, and the events leading up to it. His eyes widened in surprise (he was far too important to gawk). The lines that had carefully discussed Aziraphale returning to Heaven, and the Second Coming of Jesus, had all been painted over with what appeared to be a thin white tape. And overtop of this tape, new words were appearing, detailing the arrival of the strange human and their interference. The Metatron glared (not snarled) at the way in which their interaction was being recorded. After a moment, he experimentally scratched at the tape. Much to his relief, the white tape gave way, revealing the original words still lay underneath. Well now, that was good news. The original plan, writing, story, was still there – hidden just beneath the surface. No doubt, if he took the human out of the equation, so to speak, the Plan would continue as is had been written so many thousands of years ago. He smiled, closing his eyes, and thanking God for this insight. Now, all he had to do was find a way to get rid of that human.

Suddenly, the lights in Heaven started flashing red, and a siren began blaring. The Metatron rolled his eyes. WHAT, exactly, had happened now? He went to the room that contained the large rotating figure of Earth, and noticed a large red plume of smoke trailing from it. While all of the lesser angels were fussing with it, Metatron stayed near the door that didn’t exist. He had no need to inspect it closer. He knew precisely what it was.

*(not that kind)

It didn’t take you long to tell them about the Second Coming, and convince Aziraphale and Crowley to ward the bookshop. Well, there was some slight resistance, but you pointed out that if they did a Big Joint Miracle On Purpose, then there wasn’t likely to be anything that anyone could do about it, even when they did notice. And thus, it had gone without a hitch.

Now, Aziraphale was collecting stacks of Bibles that he felt would be helpful for research, Muriel was taking notes, and Crowley had gone to get some wine (something about needing a drink to deal with all this). You look to your phone, pointedly ignore the Lives Counter, and start toward Google to help with research.

BUT

Does your Good Omens playlist still work? You can’t help but wonder, and your curiosity has you distracted and opening the app. Oh, well, there it is. Honestly it’s impressive. But then again, you suppose, Good Omens exists in this world, and the songs in your playlist exist here too, it’s just the show (specifically the Final Fifteen) that doesn’t exist here. Not anymore anyway. Any songs related to the show are gone, but otherwise your playlist is still very much intact. You smirk, crank the volume up on your phone, and start blasting Mother Mother’s Problems.

Now, dear Reader, I will take you aside to reassure you that Hozier is on the list of music they must and will hear. I have merely chosen this one because I don’t know your playlists, but I know mine, and this song fits the mood I expect you must be feeling. You are on the other side of panic, having explained everything, and secured the bookshop, you are now feeling the glee of being in Aziraphale’s bookshop with your favourite characters. You need something upbeat to dance to, wouldn’t you say? And Take Me To Church, being the most upbeat Hozier song that I know of, doesn’t quite cut it.

Crowley enters the room with a bottle of wine and two glasses (only two? How dare he. Doesn’t he know you’re...well...not going to deny a demon the temptation of a glass of red?). Aziraphale sighs the word “Bebop,” and you begin an elaborate sort of bouncing while singing the lyrics and pointing at them in turn.

“So,” Crowley says quietly to Aziraphale, “Any idea what’s actually happening here?”

You, dear Reader, are lost in your dancing. You are having the time of your life making up dance moves and trying to convince Muriel to at least bob in time with the music. You notice none of this.

Aziraphale sighs. “Honestly,” he replies to Crowley, “I can’t say I do. But given what we have to work with, I rather think that trusting them is our best option. Besides,” Aziraphale glances at you, then back to Crowley, “They don’t feel like the bad sort. I may not always be the best judge of character when it comes to angels, but I’m certain that this human is, well, rather the good sort.”

“Mm,” Crowley replies. He pauses, watching for a moment as you try to convince Muriel to stand and take your hands. “And, what about...you know, the thing that Nina and Maggie erm...talked to us about?” He notices Aziraphale’s cheeks turn pink.

“I think that we had best leave that for when the world is safe,” but the angel sounds resigned when he says it. Crowley suspects that “the world,” is actually meant to mean “we and the humans.” He doesn’t mention this, he only nods. The demon pauses.

“Wait a minute, wait, is this song about…”

You had finally convinced Muriel to walk in a twirl under your arm when Crowley finally notices that you had been trying to make it clear as bloody daylight that the song’s lyrics fit them to a T. Now that you have their attention, your smirk grows into a full mischievous smile.

“If you think this is impressive, just wait,” You say. And NOW you turn on Hozier.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 🖤

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[rottenbrainstuff]

A whole lotta thoughts here! We've been spoiled with so many big updates! And I'm going to be blunt about some stuff that is going to make everyone mad, so. Cue the angry anon hate maybe I guess.

I started playing this game in the fall and you know... I've been having a lot of fun, actually. I like the stories, I like the events, I like the characters, I like the marketing. It feels exciting to be involved. I have my one friend who recommended the game to me and we talk about it together and it's been fun. Compared to other otome games I've played, this is amazing, like, my gosh. They took the standard, overdone, cookiecutter character tropes and really expanded on it in a way that surprises me, even for the characters that are not my personal favs.

So......... because I'm enjoying the game so much, and I'm able to recognize where it stands compared to other otome games and other gacha games, it's irritating to me to see the fans start this entitled and absolute nonsense complaining about Sylus needing more content. Friendos, he was added six months after everyone else. Since I have started playing, it has been a balanced and equal release of content between everyone. Infold never told you (I mean, if they did, I missed it) that they were going to retroactively release extra content for him so that he would catch up volume-wise with the other characters. That doesn't even make any SENSE to me. Yes, it means he has less cards in the pool and statistically you have a lower chance of pulling his stuff. Yes, I wish they would hurry up and add more anecdotes and deepspace trial levels and whatnot. But I actually saw with my own two eyes people want to file a CONSUMER FRAUD COMPLAINT? Fraud??? What exactly was the promise Infold made that they are failing to keep? Having a rarer character that is harder to level up does not constitute fraud. You know what? Even if he was a special character that was never included in the group banners ever and only got special content released like once every two months and you always had to pay cash money for it, that would not be fraud. It would suck but it would still not be fraud. Sorry to be blunt, but you are entitled and insane. This is absolutely deplorable fan behaviour. I really do hope this is just a small pocket of vocal fans, because if Infold starts getting harassed en masse they will just pull the fucking game. Why would they not?

I totally understand not liking the way gacha games work, I totally understand not having the money to spend on gacha games, I totally understand wishing you could enjoy an experience that other fans get but you don't, I totally understand being frustrated because your favourite character is the one with the least content, I totally understand disliking it enough to refuse giving the game any money or to stop playing it entirely, but this entitled "I need to speak to the manager" Karen bullshit is absolutely embarassing. This is no different to me than toxic gamerbros complaining about things in their FPSs. Knock it off.

This makes me so annoyed that I'm also going to bluntly tell you something I've only said vaguely before: the english audio is AI. It's AI. This is apparently a very controversial thing to say, because when I went googling to try and find definitive answers, I saw everyone who brings this up get shouted down. I don't care if you don't like it, it's the truth.

You guys seem to think that AI all sounds like Siri or something, and you would be able to easily recognize that it's AI. You hear video clips that other fans have made using free-to-use AI apps that sound very obvious, and it doesn't occur to you that the big devs have access to much better professional-quality resources. You haven't heard, I guess, that even big North American devs are starting to replace humans with AI, and the AI is getting very sophisticated, truly next-level. (I recently watched a video talking about Activision and Call of Duty, for example.)

The AI in this game is very good. I did not actually notice it myself until I had played for a couple hours. And I think the only reason I started to suspect it at all in the first place is that the company that I work for has all these training modules that I take, that include sample characters speaking with AI voices, and after a couple years of this, I am really used to how it sounds. (and even then, it took me two hours of playtime to catch on!) It's hard to tell with just a casual listen, it honestly is, but there are some tells.

First of all, after you listen for a while, you notice an odd consistency. Surprised lines are always said with the same rise in pitch. Whispered lines are always said with the same drop in pitch. It's the same every time. There's an odd clarity to the words as well. English naturally has a lot of slurring inbetween words, but AI always sounds like it's being pronounced by a VA enunciating carefully like they're reading the evening news. That is a red flag.

But, you say, maybe the VAs were just given this direction, or maybe they're just such good VAs that their delivery is so consistent and the words are so clear.

Well, second of all: AI will make mistakes sometimes and emphasize the wrong word in a sentence. I have noticed this happening in the game, it sticks out like a waving red flag. It's been so long since I played the english audio that I can't think of an example actually straight from the game, but this is made up just so I can explain what I mean: let's take the sentence, "I hate wasting my time on busy work." Busy work is a phrase that specifically means tasks that keep you busy but are pointless, tasks that were assigned to you just to give you something to do. It is pronounced with an emphasis on BUSY and the "work" is dropped in pitch. (or, sometimes "busy" and "work" have equal emphasis) A human being saying that sentence would most probably put the emphasis on these syllables: "I HATE wasting my TIME on BUSY work." An AI might not understand that "busy work" is not just the words "busy" and "work", but a specific figure of speech, and might pronounce it like this: I HATE wasting my TIME on busy WORK." (and I think I did hear the phrase busy work in the game actually, which was why I chose it for this example) Any time you hear a weird sylable emphasis that doesn't make logical sense, that is a red flag.

But, you say, maybe these are just an honest mistake by the VAs that wasn't caught by chinese devs, or maybe once again maybe it was weird direction.

OK look. Then let's talk about the most important thing of all: an uncredited actor means it's AI. Period. Period. You guys are driving me insane talking about maybe the VAs want to remain anonymous, maybe they're embarassed doing a romance game, maybe Infold doesn't want to release their info because of political issues they had in the past with english VAs:

No! That's not how acting works. That's not how actor unions work. That's not how credits work. That's not how any of this works.

Actors do not get embarassed doing roles like this. I know you guys titter with every single update, but you do realize there's steamier stuff aired on regular tv, right? This game is not embarassing. Actors want to be credited for their roles so that they can have a resume of projects. Union rules REQUIRE them to get a credit. Do you know how many rules there are about even a simple thing like movie credits, and where and when and how large a font an actor's name can appear in the credits? A company like Infold can not just choose to not credit their actors. An actor does not want to not receive a credit for work they did. One uncredited main actor would be weird enough, but when they will not release the info for a single main character: that is a huge, enormous, and unignorable red flag. This rule is very important: No human credit, no human actor. Period. And you need to learn this rule, because like I said, even large NA companies like Activision are adding AI to their games now and are not apologetic about it.

I'm sorry if that upsets you to hear, but it is driving me absolutely batty to see you guys talk about these mysterious english VAs and you hope they're getting paid well and you don't understand why Infold won't release their info and you say things like "haha it's probably because they're all 50 year old men" as if that somehow makes it this embarassing secret that cannot ever be revealed (the japanese VA for Sylus is 51 and no one gives a shit) sigh. Look. Enjoy the english audio if that's what you like. I get some people prefer english, I get some people prefer no subtitles, I get that it makes it so you can listen to the audios with your eyes closed, like, I don't actually care if you want to stick to the english. But be honest about it, and don't repeat this nonsense about mysterious anonymous VAs that are all too embarassed to be credited. (my god, the japanese Zayne VA has hentai credits, you guys.)

I dunno. Maybe it's because back in the day I used to be a part of actor circles, I guess I find it a bit insulting to see everyone making up these weird excuses that don't make any sense with how the industry actually works. I've seen people asking about AI get shouted down that they're being offensive to the mysterious anon VAs: Well, you guys are being offensive to actual, real, professional actors by suggesting that a professional would be too embarassed for a credit, or suggesting that Infold has somehow gone around union rules and you're ok with that. I'm sorry, but this has to stop.

Well. There we go. If there's anyone left still reading who hasn't gone away clutching their pearls to send me a nasty message, I will say some nice things now: all these end of year updates have been really fun, and now we have Caleb's big trailer. There's been some fans who seem to be surprised he is positioned as an antagonist, or even just surprised in general that it was Caleb and not someone else... ??? Whatevs. Some people are comparing Caleb to Zayne, but to me the only thing they have in common is the fact they were both childhood friends of the MC. To me he's more comparable to Sylus. Sylus was introduced like he was going to be the bad guy love interest who acts way too familiar with the MC and is always pushing her boundaries, a standard otome game trope that I don't like very much, but surprisingly that's not what he ended up being at all - it seems like Caleb might get that role in the end. I'm kind of interested to see what they do with him (cyborg parts is a fun start) but the truth is I kind of only have enough money to invest in things for one character and I don't know if he can win me away, lol. I do love me a good evil dude in a sexy uniform though. We'll see.

Hey wait.... important PSA... I know you are all excited (???) about a period tracker........... look... if you think that's cute and want to see the content that comes with that... can you at the very very least not enter in your actual period dates? I dunno, it's hardwired into my brain to NOT use ANY app-based period tracking. You do not want anyone having that data. No playing around, guys. If you want the content, enter in fake dates. DO NOT enter in your actual accurate info. Stay safe.

Perhaps an unpopular opinion: 3.0 update is cute but I prefered the 2D mini games to the 3D stuff and I find the chibi characters a bit weird and unappealing. However, what I DO like is that two nights ago the game said hey we notice you have some duplicate files, can we run a clean up? And it did, and somehow freed up 6 goddamned gigs on my phone. Very happy about that.

I recently got a brand new phone, and now my old phone is a dedicated Love and Deepspace device, so I'm not so stressed anymore about it getting literally too large for me to play anymore. Super enjoying my fake digital boyfriend. This is just a silly otome game, but I continue to be legit impressed by the quality of it, the amount of content they put into it, and the way the characters are much more interesting and in-depth than other otome games I've played. I'm sorry to be cranky about some things today, but some of you really are behaving quite badly and this online echochamber amplifies the nonsense, and I don't like to see that.

Who cares what I think anyways, I am ridiculously outside of the target age range here.

[heyyyyyybuttercup]

Cw: Suicide and suicide attempt mention

Just saying it'd be nice if we get an emotionally devastating episode centered around suicide in South Park.

In S20 it was kinda referenced but c'mon it was just the kids without their phones ahaha I don't know if that was even mockery lmao. In "Marjorine" the boys made Butters fake his death to get the paper but again it was used as a resource and ofc kids wouldn't take seriously this and you get the Stotch's that their reactions were extreme like always. I don't know if Matt and Trey are actually afraid to depict this serious topic. You could say that they already covered this in "You're getting old" but that was depression itself, what I mean is an episode focused on someone attempting suicide and its consequences whether they succeed or not. I don't think many adult shows have tried to put into perspective this and how of a deep topic it is, being that one person commits suicide every 40 seconds worldwide.

Why South Park?

In "You're getting old", this series managed to grasp depression in such a unique way that felt both funny and relatable for those who suffer it and I think that's nothing a series was able to manage before. Plus we've seen serious episodes before like "Kenny Dies" or "You're getting old" again (gosh I love that episode lol) so it's not too far fetched.

Why is this topic important?

I believe there are many misconceptions of depression and it's been so mocked so many times and normalized that at this point many believe it's either a phase or that while it's a mental illness, "it's not that deep". That's wrong, it is actually deep and it affects the depressed person and their loved ones. Life is never experienced alone, even if you don't notice it, the way you do affects others and it'd be nice if it's shown in a serious way.

How do I know this?

I attempted suicide a month ago, I've seen in all this time how it affected my family and for the longest time before my attempt my depression was way too normalized, everyone knew I had it but it wasn't a big deal, not even for me. Then I had a bad day and as an impulsive person I took that decision haha, I barely survived. This post ain't about me and I'm going through therapy now, my point is that when you get through all of this you learn a thing or two about how much you can affect others lives and I think that's something people with depression don't realize. I had to learn the hard way, I would never wish this to others.

How could the episode go?

There are many ways it could go to be honest but I'm going to yap about one with Kenny bc he's my fav alongside Butters. I think there's a bit of potential with him being immortal, him having already killed himself in the Coon trilogy so he's used to it. But is he really used to seeing them suffer in all of his recovery bc he didn't die? Tho this is very silly and I think an adult character fits better for this

Well that was my rant :-)

[ggitty]

(JN anon) My memory is a little hazy but pretty much been there when Jimmy was interrupting other Nicktoons and the airing of those promo shorts. THE ICE CREAM AND FUNKY FRIES. Cereal too. Its own website. There was also a promo during the Kids Choice Awards for the huge reception to the movie and marketing the show; which was thankfully uploaded. Another I remembered was that they had Jimmy, Carl and Sheen commentating over several episodes as a lead-up to the movie airing on the network, which they also talk over. Only the latter is archived sadly. (Long story short, it wasn't simply "3 seasons and a movie", those are just the easiest things to obtain from the series now. You got to search for everything else.)

The movie was basically like an indie studio who had just started its foundation vs two of the biggest entertainment giants and was good enough to be nominated with them. Didn't win but it was an accomplishment in itself for them to be noticed. (Fun fact: The winning animation for it does exist and has been uploaded; apparently it along with Shrek and Monsters Inc. submitted both winning and losing animations for the Oscars.)

*nods* It was very smart on their part to reuse movie assets with tweaks here and there for the show to save on resources. (Like, it's very easy to tell TV budget vs Movie budget when it comes to shows and can be distracting or determining factor for some) Some things from the 2000s have aged worse; Jimmy now just looks like the WIP of a current series that hasn't added the finishing polishes yet. (Which is a pretty good leg to stand on compared to certain "Baby's first CG" I've seen.)

It had started out as "Nickverse" on Roblox and they had certain Nick characters playable. Then I believe they changed it to just Spongebob and TMNT. (Strangely, they had some Jimmy and Danny Phantom accessories drop not to long ago) There was also the now defunct "Pixel Town", that never released outside of Asia. (How ironic that this is where the OG Unite gang reunite. *stares at All-Star Brawl*)

Yeah, animation in general isn't a good place right now. Here's hoping there is a light at the end of the tunnel for that industry. (I will give Nick credit for trying to get stuff out that Paramount and Netflix dropped long enough for fans to legally get it then archive immediately.)

I remember when that show first aired, I couldn't quite place why [inwardly] it felt different from the original show back then. But then I remember Barnyard; more the show than the movie, and it kinda clicks. Planet Sheen's vibe felt like Barnyard with a Jimmy Neutron skin, but it couldn't quite get away with it. (Even Sheen himself felt like something about him was missing. While I agree with the writer that said Sheen is a character that works better in short bursts, it didn't help that some characters had the same problem)

I will laugh if they do just make it Sheen's fanfiction in a reboot. But, also knowing Jimmy Neutron, they likely would toss in a "maybe it did happen, you'll never fully know though". (*cue Nesmith being at a zoo and Sheen doesn't know him, but can't place why he looks familiar*)

Funnily enough, *the "A New Wish" crew said if they get a 2nd season and had the 'ok' for it, they're not against the idea of doing another Power Hour with Jimmy. (Would be hilarious if this is used as a stealth test for a Jimmy reboot.) *Source is KTLA 5 news, if curious. They were promoting the premiere on Netflix.

The show has been smart in the way it did things that I feel it could handle that with grace without losing much of its charm. (As far as characters, there's really one I could see not coming back period without some overhaul being made.)

OH GOSH SORRY I JUST SAW THAT THIS WAS IN THE DRAFTS INSTEAD OF POST

Yeah, I saw a lot of this while I was surfing the internet archives and sites ( apparently trying to absorb all the media I can lol) But it was still a reveal when I found out about it a few years ago, you should have seen my reaction when I found out about the promo prequel shorts to the movie lol

I'm still giggling a bit at the fact that the movie was nominated, but nevertheless, an achievement is an achievement

Yeah, I mean the show doesn't age half as bad as people say it is!

(the whole art field is not in a good place right now, I live and breathe it, and now its feels like a sharp breath)

Haha, “Barnyard with a Jimmy Neutron skin” is a pretty accurate comparison from what I remember of Barnyard. I honestly never thought about the connection, but now I remember that they were really made by the same studio and maybe the “vibes” from one project could migrate to the other along with the people who worked on it

Oh I heard about it. Like, I really like New Wish and I see that the authors really approached the “soft reboot” with great care and attention and I will always appreciate them for that! But uh this crossover thing will probably always going to give me an odd feeling in guts lol

I hope so! (and yes some things need to be reworked lol)

[positivexcellence]

FRĒDA WOMAN: GENEVIEVE PADALECKI

TALK TO US ABOUT YOU.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON A PROJECT?

Gosh. I wish it was that easy!  I think to echo what Odette Annable said, “Taking on a new project usually means that I had to work very hard to even “get” the role. The audition process can be grueling with multiple rounds of auditions and each step feels like a victory.”  And that's the truth. I think having the ability to be able to work and play in our industry is pretty extraordinary and I feel incredibly lucky that I have been able to connect with the role bond with the team and find light in the message.

WHAT MADE YOU START TOWWN?

The awful truth is that I am a big waster. I have 3 kids. I used disposable diapers. Bought single-use plastics and easy on-the-go snacks. I did what was convenient and the best for my family.  But I wanted to understand how I could be better for our planet. The resources that were available to me were ones that we doom and gloom or all or nothing. I wanted something that made more sense to me. Where I could have a solution-based platform that was relatable and evolving.

HOW DO YOU SPEND TIME OUTSIDE OF WORK?

Great question. It depends on the day. But it’s either with my family or with myself, but most likely in nature. On a hike or with a book. But definitely recentering and hopefully getting our hands dirty.

WHAT HAS BEEN MOST REWARDING ABOUT BEING A MOTHER?

Knowing that there is an even greater capacity to love that I didn’t know existed.  My heart grew tenfold when I became a mother.  And I had such a deeper and greater respect for my own mother.  She always told me you’ll never know how much I love you until you have a child of your own.  And she was right.  I also love how much I learn from my children. They are so wise and earnest.  I love seeing the world through their eyes.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’VE BEEN LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF?

I hope that I am always learning. I think when I was younger I  was stuck in a loop of who I thought I was supposed to be. Or how I was supposed to present myself.  Now I enjoy letting my guard down and trying to go more with the flow.  Not sweating the small stuff and trying to be curious every moment.

HOW DO YOU FEEL SUPPORTED FROM THE GROUND UP?

My family. They are my world. And knowing they are safe and sound and feeling centered makes me feel incredibly grounded.

YOUR MANTRA?

I love a quote from my grandfather which is, “You don’t get what you expect you get what you inspect.”  Sometimes I tend to wash over the details and this quote reminds me to pay attention.  That I have to work hard to achieve what I want. It’s not owed to me.

I also always tell my kids that today is a brand new day. And we can start fresh.

TELL US ABOUT A FAVORITE SUMMER TRIP.

I grew up going to a place called Graeagle that was nestled in between mountains in Northern California. As kids, we learned to fish; tying flies, cleaning and cooking our fish, hiking the mountains and finding our way back. These trips encouraged self-reliance. In those summers we tuned out the noise and came together as a family. It was heaven for me. Now I try and recreate that feeling for our kids. This year we are heading on a rafting and fishing trip as a family (with zero cell reception, I cannot wait).

ANY FUN SUMMER PLANS?

Yes! Currently, Jared and I are in Italy.  We have been in Rome for a quick work trip and then we explored (are currently exploring Corsica) and then Sardinia. We are also doing an annual trip with Jared's brother and sis in law. It’s become a bit of a tradition now and it makes me so happy to have this time.  This year we are biking around France. Last year I tumbled ass over a tea kettle in the Dolomites so wish me luck…then Jared and I and the kids head to Idaho to get lost on the river.

TELL US ABOUT A FAVORITE SUMMER TRIP.

I grew up going to a place called Graeagle that was nestled in between mountains in Northern California. As kids, we learned to fish; tying flies, cleaning and cooking our fish, hiking the mountains and finding our way back. These trips encouraged self-reliance. In those summers we tuned out the noise and came together as a family. It was heaven for me. Now I try and recreate that feeling for our kids. This year we are heading on a rafting and fishing trip as a family (with zero cell reception, I cannot wait).

ANY FUN SUMMER PLANS?

Yes! Currently, Jared and I are in Italy.  We have been in Rome for a quick work trip and then we explored (are currently exploring Corsica) and then Sardinia. We are also doing an annual trip with Jared's brother and sis in law. It’s become a bit of a tradition now and it makes me so happy to have this time.  This year we are biking around France. Last year I tumbled ass over a tea kettle in the Dolomites so wish me luck…then Jared and I and the kids head to Idaho to get lost on the river.

THE AUSTIN DIARIES

FAVORITE SHOP: Estilo, Valentines, Maufrais, Hearth and Home, or Alexa James Baby, bygeorge

GO-TO RESTAURANT: Soto, Dai Due, Wu Chow

ALL-TIME BEST BBQ: Terry Blacks

CAFFEINE KICK: I go more for the smoothies and matchas…so Juiceland

SUNDAY ACTIVITY: Gardening, running Lake Austin trail or boating

HIDDEN GEM: I can’t tell you…lol

RAINY DAY DESTINATION: My library

TOURIST ATTRACTION LOCALS LOVE: Probably the bats on Congress Bridge or shopping SOCO

BEST THING ABOUT LIVING THERE: Your neighbors, Austin is an amazing community

[sentient-rift]

In Paradox Rodea's dimension...

"This was a great idea, Rodea. Since Dr. Star line took over my lab in my dimension, I can use the lab here for resources and materials..."

"Yeah... I'm glad this lab can be put to good use after..."

Rodea looks down, clearly saddened.

"...I'm really sorry about your Mr. Tinker, Rodea..."

"It's fine... He died saving this dimension... He was a hero...

"Anyway, we better continue bringing resources to SciLab."

With the help of Emerl, Gamma, and Terios, Mr. Tinker and Rodea began moving the materials and resources to Mr. Tinker's lab. In the middle of it, they heard something in the sky.

"UNIDENTIFIED FLYING FORTRESS DETECTED."

"Hey! It's Vanilla's Flying Bakery!"

"Did you say 'Vanilla's Flying Bakery?!'"

Up in the flying house, Vanilla's voice could be heard on the intercom.

"Greetings, everyone! We have a new, special treat for you today. My daughter made strawberry and cream pie. I hope you enjoy it!"

"Strawberry and cream pie? That sounds awesome... Really wish I could eat so I can try some."

"I knew Cream and her mother were great cooks, but I never imagined they'd have a flying fortress to sell their baked goods."

"Funny enough, the Mr. Tinker of this dimension built it for them... And Vanilla doesn't actually sell them. She goes around looking for poor and homeless people who could use a meal..."

"That sounds like Cream and Vanilla, alright. Those two are like purity incarnate."

"INTENTIONS REGISTERED AS GOOD. HOWEVER, ERROR IN LOGIC DETECTED. THEIR BUSINESS CAN'T CONTINUE IF THEY RUN OUT OF RESOURCES."

"You have a point there, Gamma. Rodea, is anyone funding their flying bakery?"

"Oh, gosh... You're right... The Mr. Tinker of my dimension was originally funding them, as well as making sure to give the flying fortress a check up every so often... But with him gone..."

"That shouldn't be a problem! We could have Welch fund them. She loves helping people, and she has plenty of resources to spare. Plus, with her help, Cream and Vanilla can help people in need both here AND the rest of the Multiverse. It's a win-win!"

"Terios, my boy, that's an ingenious idea! You make your father so proud!"

"This also means we'll have Cream and Vanilla as part of the crew, too!"

And so, Rodea flew up to the flying bakery to explain the plan to them. Both grateful to him, as well as happy to see Rodea again after so long, the Rabbit residence accepted the offer and they met up with Welch, who was also on board with the idea. And soon enough...

"There! All done! Everything is set, so you can continue giving out food to the poor all across the Multiverse with no issue! I'll gladly provide any resources you need, Mr. Tinker and the other scientist will give your flying bakery maintenance whenever needed, and Emerl here will serve as bodyguard whenever you go out so you'll stay safe out there! Plus, my employees in the food department will provide extra help for you whenever you need it."

"Thank you so much, Miss Vineyard! We really appreciate it!"

"My pleasure! Glad to have you as part of the team!"

(Cream. Cheese, Vanilla, and Chocola have joined the party!)

[fake-ascension]

oh my gosh i actually wrote a complete drabble in one sitting.... theres a possibility for a continuation but i've haven't written this much in FOREVER... have wrio pov reflecting on his prior relation with silvanus:

There was no reason for Wriothesley to come to Palais Mermonia in person this often.

He very easily could continue his regular correspondence with Neuvillette from the comfort of his own office back at the fortress, rather than make the trip for his meetings with Neuvillette every month. He keeps trying to tell himself that these trips were got for himself: to breathe in fresh air and feel actual sunlight on a regular basis. Though partially true, he doesn’t want to pass up on the opportunity to see Silvanus semi-regularly again.

It was extremely selfish of him, after all he was the one to end their short-lived tryst while Silvanus was still interning at the Fortress of Meropide. Aside from their relationship being a theoretical nightmare for the Human Resources department, It was a horrible decision by both of them. Wriothesley had never let himself experience these affections before, finding it hard to trust anyone after everything he had been through. But he genuinely cared for Silvanus, more than anyone else in his life.

It scared him.

But despite his own emotional baggage, he finally wanted to find solace in another person. Even though the two of them had grown up in very different environments, there was too many similarities. His love grew out of the desire to protect her, to make sure she would find happiness and peace far sooner than he did. And he unfortunately knew that he could not bring Silvanus this. He had his responsibilities to the fortress and it would be too cruel to ask her to stay. She deserved so much better than a life underground.

So he left her go. He used the excuse that she had far too much potential to be stuck as a low-level official within Meropide and gave his reference to the Fontaine Research Institute on her behalf. He was sure she understood his true feelings on the matter and chose not to question him further.

He would would ensure her happiness, even at the cost of his own.

And Wriothesley was correct about Silvanus’ abilities. Hearing in passing about her accomplishments and eventual employment at Palais Mermonia.

But after seeing her again in person. He couldn’t stay way, he wanted to see her despite knowing it would only hurt himself more. Wriothesley knows she must have moved on at this point but couldn’t help but feel guilty trying to worm his way back into her life.

This was a bad idea, but he couldn’t stay away

When Wriothesley announces his leave for the next meeting, Sigewinne gives him a knowing glance with a small smile and wishes him luck.

On his walk through the streets of Fontaine, he thinks about how Neuvillette is starting to catch on. At the same time, Wriothesley senses a change in Neuvillette’s demeanor and suddenly realizes that the Iudex’s feelings may be similar to his. He feels a sharp pang of jealousy and protectiveness, mixed in with his own sadness but it quick passes after another realization: Neuvillette could give Silvanus the adoration and happiness she deserved and Wriothesley would make it happen.

‘Yes, that’ll do’ Wriothesley thinks. ‘this will be a good thing for her’

[multiplicity-positivity]

Hi, I'm George, and I suppose I'm questioning whether or not I am a system. I'm not sure if this is the right place to come for this, but I saw some similar asks on the blog, and doing this myself has been very frustrating, so I figured I might as well try. So I occasionally have these very strange dissociative episodes, where I have these intense screaming arguments in my head with myself. I spent a long time thinking they were just auditory hallucinations, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. In the past year or so I've been under a lot of stress, and some of these arguments have turned into almost calm conversations where I actually start sorting problems out. I've noticed in these conversations I'm both an active and passive participant on both sides, if that makes sense. In addition to this, I often feel like I have multiple identities. I am an atheist, but I sometimes strongly feel I am part of religious groups that I have literally nothing to do with. I'm also transmasc nonbinary, but sometimes I get the idea that I should be transfem, which is always very confusing to me. I will occasionally refer to myself with we/us pronouns on accident, but other than that I've never had the common symptoms of plurality, like amnesia, or people I don't know knowing me, and I'm running out of other explanations. Again, I'm not sure if this is the right place to come, but I couldn't find a better place, and therapy isn't an option for me right now. I'm just not really sure what to do or where to go, so any resources or insight you might be able to offer would be a huge help. Thank you : )

Hiya, George! So we’ve got a few things we can say that might help you :3

Since it sounds like you’re questioning things right now, the best resource we can give you is our resource post for questioning systems! It has a ton of links to articles with info on a bunch of different kinds of systems and plurality. It’s a great place to start for anyone hoping to learn more about multiplicity! >w<

Honestly, we’re not going to be able to confirm or deny whether or not you’re plural… sorry about that! >_<” But! What we can say, is that amnesia is not a requirement for plurality! And as far as dissociative amnesia goes, it’s possible to experience it without really knowing that’s what’s going on! We’ll link a post we wrote on dissociative amnesia, too, in case that might help! :3

We’re not trying to deny or dictate your experience at all here!! Members of our own system didn’t really know or understand that we were experiencing amnesia before we knew about our system, so we thought it was worth it to bring this up >w<

In the mean time, while you’re still learning about yourself and whether or not you’re plural, we’d like to say that anyone who feels like the plural framework is good for them is welcome to use it. So you can definitely call yourself plural if you want, as you are! If you find out later that you’re not actually plural after all… no harm done! It’s okay to question, and it’s okay to be wrong, too :33

Um, one last thing we’ll include here, is a post we wrote on establishing contact with headmates. If you’re questioning whether or not the voices you hear in your mind are other system members, this post might help y’all begin to make connections!

Gosh, we hope that this response here will be useful for you in some way! No matter what you end up deciding or discovering about yourself, we’re wishing you the best of luck with everything!! :3

[princeescaluswords]

And oh gosh, now I am overthinking my overly blasé comment at the end of what I just sent. I am absolutely not wanting to come across as dismissive of what the fandom has done to your favorite character and the actual pain you might have gone through, and I apologize if it came across that way. I just wanted you to know that I wish and mean you well!

First off, thank you for your concern. I'm not being sarcastic. We'd all be a little better off if we took a moment to reflect on not only what we're saying but how we say it. I appreciate it. And while my words below might seem to run counter to this, it's okay if you don't share my attitude toward the fandom.

But, to be clear, I haven't devoted a significant amount of my online presence to this particular situation only because it causes me pain. I didn't join a fandom until I was middle-aged, and if my participation mostly served to make me miserable, I would simply stop participating. After all, I have enjoyed media for decades before that, sometimes quite intensely, without it. I feel my motivation goes deeper than that. I am motivated by justice. I am motivated by teenagers. I am motivated by Ronald Reagan, and I am not joking.

I know it might sound a little over the top, but as a product of my life's experiences, I see this fandom's behavior and I know that it is wrong. The usual counter to a statement like that is that while it might be wrong, it's trivial. Even if people are disappointed by the rampant racism and misogyny, it's about a fictional character on a television show. How much hurt could it cause?

I remember growing up as a teenager in the 80s, and while I've talked about this before, this is from where my conviction arises. We lived in the suburbs where there were limited cultural options. We moved around a lot due to my father's occupation, so I never developed a large friend group. My father practiced an authoritarian parenting style, limiting my options. So when I became aware of my own sexuality, the only resources I had for what this might mean was on television. Gay characters on television in the 80s fell into three major categories: clowns, predatory criminals, and victims. That's what I saw. Without peers, without parental support, that's how I came to view myself. It was damaging, and I had to struggle with internalized homophobia for a long time. I sometimes daydream about what I could have accomplished with my life if I had been born twenty years later.

I experienced first-hand how cultural depictions can shape identity, so I am indeed sensitive to the fact that they still do. When I watch as the Teen Wolf fandom -- and it's not the only fandom that does this -- goes to extreme lengths to establish value in white male characters and only white male characters regardless of these characters' narrative purpose or even their behavior, I am fully confident that this is not just. It's not about something as personal as liking or disliking something. We are indeed individuals with our own wills, but those wills can only act in the environment in which we find ourselves. Parts of the Teen Wolf fandom work hard to create a toxic, racist environment. They should stop.

We see the impact it has beyond influencing the narrative or fandom interactions. It's been known that Dylan O'Brien wasn't going to be in the Teen Wolf movie for nearly a year before it came out, and he's still the primary media focus. The response to movie has been primarily driven by this. How is this remotely a good thing? Imagine the decision making in the editor's room about how to cover this story: "We know this show isn't about this white man, we know this white man isn't in the movie, but we're going to focus on it anyway." The sad part, the source of injustice, is that this isn't an innovation. Hollywood has always been this way.

And that's when we get to Ronald Reagan. I spent a lot of time during the 80s and the 90s thinking about him in terms of the AIDS crisis. (And if you think that crisis didn't scare the crap out of a young gay man, let me disabuse you of that notion.) Unlike some people today, I don't think he personally hated gay people. I don't think he turned to Nancy and said "Let those Sodomites die." He had to have known gay people; he had to have worked with gay people. He spent three decades in Hollywood before entering politics. But here's the thing -- the way Hollywood dealt with gay people during those three decades was to pretend they didn't exist. This isn't my opinion -- read any history of that time period in Hollywood. Sexual minorities were part of the day-to-day business, but to function the powers that be simply edited them out of their perception of reality. So I believe that at least part of what motivated Reagan's response to AIDS was habit. He was so used to not mentioning what was behind the curtain that he simply didn't perceive any value in talking about it openly. People like him created an alternate reality where what actually happened didn't matter as much as what they wanted to have happened.

See the connection? It doesn't matter how many actors of color Hollywood employs or how many stories about characters of color they tell if at the end of the day the production and the audience still act as if white characters are the only thing worthy of time and attention. Fandom has become a significant part of media. It's undeniable. So anodyne bullshit like "Don't like; don't read" or "Fiction =/= Reality" isn't just distasteful to me, it's the root of the problem. This false consciousness -- this daydream that fandom can create enormous amount of content vindictively transforming a story about a Latino character into a story about white male characters and it's not about race at all -- is just another manifestation of an ongoing social injustice.

I'm not, and I never will, ask people to see this situation exactly as I do. But I won't stop talking about it. Not yet. I think it's too important.

[bazzybelle]

13, 16, 17, and 27 for the historical asks ❤️

Oh my gosh! So many questions! :D Thank you for the ask, my lovely!

13) Something random about some random historical person in a random era.

Here is an interesting fact about Dante Alighieri, one of my favourite writers/poets.

Dante was the first writer who used a different language other than the commonly used Latin. Instead, he promoted the use of a more easily accessible vernacular language, based on the dialect of his beloved Florence. His treatise De vulgari eloquentia (On the Eloquence of the Vernacular), outlines the ways in which promoting the vernacular language is better for unification of the people. He was essentially a pioneer in this, and his views on language will be instrumental several centuries later, when Italy finally unifies.

Another fun fact, the "Italian" that is typically taught in schools and which is heard on the news is based on Dante's early Florentine vernacular.

16) Do you own some historical item? (coin, clothing, weapons, books, etc) If yes which one is your favourite?

Sadly, I do not. My husband has some fancy printings of famous books, but they're just a fancy version of them. I wish I did, though.

17) What historical item would you like to own?

I answered this question in another ask, but I can try to think of another answer. I really love period clothing. I've been wanting to try and find retro-style clothing for myself because they're just really gorgeous. I really like clothing from the 40s and 50s in particular. So, if I could get like a wardrobe of various period clothing and learn how to wear them, I'd be very very happy. :)

27) Favourite historical “ What if… ” ?

Oh man, this is GOOD one. Ok so I LOVE finding videos on YouTube that dive into these What If... scenarios. It's always fun to look at massive historical events, and see how the patterns of history would have changed had something not happened the way that it did.

One of my favourite What Ifs to follow is about The Black Death and what would have happened if it just never had the massive impact it did, or if it just never occurred.

Now The Black Death (the medieval one) had a DEVASTATING toll on the world. In Europe, it wiped out nearly a third of its entire population. This had an effect on the economy, as now workers were able to demand better wages and respect from their Lords, or simply move out of the farms and into the cities.

During the Black Death, a LOT of people lost faith in the Catholic Church, leading to an era where philosophy flourished, as well as hedonism and an appreciation for beauty. I think you know where I'm going with this... The Renaissance.

But, what if it didn't happen? What would change? The YouTube channel AlternateHistoryHub does a pretty decent dive into the What If scenario here, so I encourage a watch if you're interested. Take care though, he goes in depth about the Plague and its effects, and talks about the rampant anti-sematism that occurred during this time.

He presents a very bleak alternate history, talking about overpopulation and a severe shortage of food and resources. Feudalism stays in tact, no peasant revolts, no shift in culture. He does makes it clear that it wouldn't mean we'd all be serfs to this day, but that certain shifts would have taken a lot longer to occur.

Really fascinating stuff.

ASK ME THE HISTORY QUESTIONS PLEASE!

[loquaciousquark]

4-Sided Dive Highlights - Critical Role C3 up to E40 (Dec. 7, 2022)

It's Christmas! We'll pretend this isn't three weeks late as we join Liam, Laura, Matt, and Taliesin. Liam wins host with a 6 and Matt nearly topples the Jenga tower cheering. The host's script instructs him to intro in song ("Motherfucker!") and to The Twelve Days of Christmas we get "On tonight's 4-Sided Dive/We will have for you/A silly gift exchange game, Mercer's Nein Mighty's reunited, Taliesin played as Kingsley, Orym totally died, and Laura Bailey sundered a tree. Let's fucking do a show!"

What the Happy Holidays Fuck is Up With That? Everyone is sad Eshteross is dead. Matt never killed Allura or Shaun or Essek, so this took the players by surprise. Matt says it was possible in any campaign (Gilmore & Allura did almost die), but it still sucked for him to do. There's been a lot of death for this party in the two-three months they've been together.

Laura says it felt like Otohan was toying with them; the only reason they're not all dead is that she wanted them to live. Matt says it was meant to be a deadly encounter but she was defeatable. Now they have something to work for.

Everyone wants to know where Imogen's mom is. The moon? Yios? Is the city on the moon old or did Otohan set up a popup town?

The were clan was very cool and they were all very attractive. They joke about derailing the campaign to set up a dating sim in the Gorgynei and leaving the moon stuff to Vox Machina.

Matt was so stressed going into the VM stuff, which Liam brings up to discuss as he wasn't on the last episode. "All I could think of leading up to us recording that next session was going, 'Oh shit! I have to do multiple characters of your characters in front of you to each other! Great.'" Everyone agrees that Matt did an awesome job representing their characters. There are a lot of side conversations the players didn't get to see; Matt thinks everyone was communicating with each other on the back end (especially with Percy) while the ritual was going on.

After a dig from Taliesin, Matt reveals that the old Talks faux-pas where some incredibly expensive scotch was mixed with Coke was not actually his doing; it was mixed for him. Sure, Matt. Sure.

Taliesin and Matt discussed Whitestone's advancement and development over the years, since it's a bunch of very expensive resources in a very tiny space. Taliesin tells us that the acid pit has become a low yield battery electrifying street lights at night in the city. "What Lex Luthor could have been with better friends."

Laura protests that she knows nothing about the Ruidus flares and is met with general skepticism. Matt tells us the flares have happened for years with no pattern; this isn't a new thing. However, the recurrences are getting more frequent.

What's causing the flares, the gods trying to break free? Otohan? Laura doesn't think Otohan is on the moon. Laura posits that the city is all the gods' original worshipers; when the gods were bound there, all their worshipers & belief were transported there and bound with them, since that's what gives the gods power. Laura realizes belatedly (and very dramatically) that if this were true, the BH's efforts to figure out what's going on are actually weakening the barriers to belief and helping them be released. Liam has been wondering this for a while, apparently--what if Otohan is the hero and BH are accidentally releasing these evil gods? Horror upon horrors! Matt's poker face reveals nothing, argh.

The Mighty Nein reunited! Everyone loves Kingsley's vibe. Laura regrets not at least calling Caduceus for help. Laura improvs calling him in the moment, and oh my gosh I've missed Cad's voice so much. "Caduceus, Uk'otoa's free and we need your help! Can you come, please? Because you're a healer, and I'm still a healer, but you're better." "Hey. Oh wow! Yeah. Look, I'm kinda stuck here, working on a spell and my house that needs to be fixed. I wish I could help." Taliesin tells us he's in the middle of resetting the Blooming Grove by casting Temple of the Gods, which must be cast in the same place every day for a year. This is partly why Tal played Kingsley; he couldn't justify Caduceus leaving for this, and Kingsley had imprinted hard on the pirate life and would be more fun anyway.

They all loved the incredible fight and AMAZING mini. The tactics were super fun and they loved the opportunitis to experiment. Matt thanks Tyler Walpole who designed the mini and Ian of Iron Tusk who did the painting.

Matt talks about how they left many long term threads open at the end of C2 "like Law & Order for twenty years." He was glad for the opportunity to come back and close this one.

Uk'otoa is not a god, he's the creation of the god the Cloaked Serpent. He's just very powerful, and when the gods were sealed beyond the Divine Gate, he took his old god's dominion in the Lucidian Ocean by the Menagerie Coast for his own. He converted some of the Ki'Nau people there to his worship which gave him power. It wouldn't have been world-ending if they'd failed to seal him, but it would have changed a large chunk of the navigable waters in that area.

The Tower of Inquiry! It visibly wobbles multiple times, but Laura manages to get the block pulled. What would your characters' custom cocktails be? Imogen: a dark and stormy with the beer head being lavender-infused. Orym: an Aviation (which Marisha drinks a lot and Liam dislikes), which apparently tastes like potpourri, yuck. Ashton: a drink Taliesin can't remember the name of which involves pouring lots of clear liquors together with fruit infusions, which must be drunk quickly to avoid it seeping through the paper cup. Matt for Weva: Corpse Reviver (gin, Lillet blanc, orange liqueur and fresh lemon juice).

Gasp, an abuse of power: Liam forces Laura to go pull from the Tower again immediately, which she does successfully despite great sturm und drang. #10: what would your characters' phone cases be? Orym: a blue gem case. Ashton: duct tape over a cracked screen. Imogen: full horse girl with a custom case from a photo of Flora. Eshteross: a Blackberry with a silver stylus, ha!

The Deep Dive! Orym is just trying to do right by his group, lots of push ups and egg whites. He's feeling very overwhelmed all the time, but he tries to focus on the job at hand. There's no way forward without the group, and he's wondering if the current crazy conversations are what Keyleth and Percy used to experience. His death was a moment of certainty in his abject failure to everyone he loved, but he's dutiful and wants to serve, so he keeps his panic quietly to himself. :(

Imogen is also overwhelmed at the minute with the roller coaster of emotion. Her mom's alive but refuses to see her; they don't know what's happening with the moon. Liam marvels at the dichotomy of seeing this path of power before her that she seems clearly fated to master, and yet fearing becoming a villain if she leans into it too much.

Orym is flat-out the reason that Ashton joined the group because of his connection with "Ashari," similar to the "Hishari" keyword connecting Ashton to his past. The moment everyone went down in the Otohan fight was the moment Ashton realized he was genuinely invested and was going to have to put in an effort to build these relationships. Liam loves Ashton's reaching out to people and feels Orym and Ashton have started becoming quietly supportive.

Matt imagined the Claret Orders scattering throughout the world to help those who were cursed. The Gorgynei were a splinter group focused specifically on lycanthropes, and Matt created them in response to Chetney. Matt LOVES taking elements from the characters' narratives (some backstories, some future goals) and getting to tease and reveal it in game. Travis especially "lights up like a lighthouse" when he realizes they're getting into character material. Matt also says definitively that there are no wereherbivores. Alas.

Orym doesn't really blame himself for having his mind read to reveal Eshteross's location; he's a swordsman with no magical defenses. Matt knows a ton about Eshteross's backstory and hopes to get to discuss it soon.

Imogen doesn't think she created her own dreams, even though she can control aspects of them now.

Character block break!

Ashton's habitually being left behind causes low expectations of other people. "People come. People go. People die. People don't. It's kind of just how it goes. It's a very low-impact reality." All his intimate relationships thus far have been built on that, with knowing everyone loved and cared for each other while still maintaining a safe distance.

Yios, the City of Flowing Light! It's illustrious and in the middle of the lake and is rivaled only by Ank'harel in its places of learning. It's a mostly orc/half-orc society.

Orym felt awful about being chosen over Laudna; it echoed everything in his past where the important people were gone and he was still there.

Imogen/Laura "sobbed every single day" Laudna was dead.

Ashton's feelings about his own death are very different to Laudna's resurrection. He deserved what happened to him; she didn't.

Matt considered bringing in Essek to fight alongside the M9 but didn't want to overshadow the main characters; plus, he's still in hiding from nearly being executed. It would have had to be seriously dangerous for him to come out. Matt was glad for the brief cameo at the end.

The Tower of Inquiry, Reprise! Laura pulls a third block even faster than the last two, but the tower wobbles dangerously. What would your characters hoard as dragons? Ashton: things that are not useful: string, packaging from iPhones. Caleb: a pile of flame-retardant books. Orym: a pile of pies; Vax: a horde of days in the sun, ouch. Percy: a mine of money and magical rocks and oh, right. Jester: sweets. Imogen: a field of flowers.

The Tower of Inquiry, Matt Edition: he baaaarely manages to pull one successfully, but does. Laura: "Let me propose something to you. If we stop pulling from the tower now, then whoever does 4-Sided Dive next is going to have to suffer the consequences of our actions." Liam: "You're asking me to band together with you and turn on them. I'll take it into consideration."

Is it hard to keep character backstories from each other? Liam prefers delighting/disappointing people at the table, so it's not hard for him. Taliesin likes keeping it secret as well, but did talk with Travis about blood hunters. He often tells secrets to Dani because she likes knowing secrets, ha! Laura has a tough time not discussing it with people.

Liam is gone to the bathroom and orders Laura to pull another block while he's gone. However, mutiny from the inside reveals no block pulled and a charade played by all remaining actors instead. Except--a second twist! Liam doesn't actually go to the bathroom, he goes to play a wolf puppet with glasses whose mouth hardly ever moves (I get the impression Liam is having to work very hard to stay up with the teleprompter). Wolfie tells us the story of Winter's Crest with more racing hot rods and Errevon the Rimelord vs. Santa than I think I remember from C1.

Post-Break Shenanigans! A gift-exchange game based on die rolls, apparently a combination of White Elephant and Dirty Santa, along with questions scattered about throughout.

Weva was created as an interesting mirror to a society that can speak with the dead and bring the dead back to life. She reminds Matt of the theater goth girls he knew in high school that used to ask him if he knew about rotten.com.

Orym has gotten glimpses of Percy & Vex in the past, and it was cool for him to be in the company of greatness.

Ashton is growing more comfortable with physical contact from the BHs the more he gets to know the BHs. Strangers cause worse pain.

Matt was very excited to get to play the Uk'otoa oneshot. The Earthquake spell at the temple really shook up his plans, ha ha ha.

For Laura, killing Delilah twice was beautiful. She was terrified to fight her at that level.

Laura keeps rolling the "steal a present" number and holds the entire stack in her arms like a child. It's hilarious.

Jester loves living at sea; all she wanted when she left home was to have an adventure, and this is a chance for her to get to destroy and create. She thinks she and the Traveler have become really good friends but she understands him better now; it's like knowing your parents after you've grown up, where you understand better where they've come from.

For Laura, seeing Vex in all her glory was fabulous. She thinks Matt well understood Vex's motivations and her greed/generosity.

Liam felt so low with Orym's death. "It was not the way I would have ever wanted his story to end." Seeing Will was beautiful.

Caleb went to the Soltryce Academy because it's better to keep your enemies close, and also Beau made him.

Final gift tally:

Taliesin: looseleaf tea, a ball of Band-Aids (ew!), a laser pen, and deer knuckle bones (fitting)

Matt: an Oculus Quest 2 (!) and staffer Jerry's stapler

Laura: a small digital camera that insta-prints photos, A BAG OF SAM'S BABY TEETH GOD WHY

Liam: a ream of printer paper, the original shellacked Tower of Inquiry (ha!), candles from Cantrip Candles, and duct tape & gaffer tape

(It should also be noted that I was tracking these in real time as they switched and stole from each other, and at one point Laura gave Liam the shellacked tower in exchange for another gift--only at that point the tower was actually TALIESIN'S and not hers to give, so clearly the whole thing is moot and ought to be redone)

Liam makes Laura draw one last time from the Tower due to her earlier truthlessness, hahaha. No topple, though this sucker is now precarious. Theme songs for characters? Imogen: Barracuda by Heart. Orym: Queen. Ashton: War Baby.

We close on a gripping monologue about the tragic ephemeral joy experienced by seasonal decorations from a set Santa statue in a pilgrim hat. Who's writing these??

And that's it! Merry Christmas, and is it Thursday yet?

[erin-bo-berin]

Hi can I request a steve x fem reader where she has an unhealthy obsession with dogs and every time she sees a stray she gets so upset and Steve always knows whenever she feels that pain in her heart and so every time it happens he grabs her hand and asks if she wants to get ice cream as a way to cheer her up?

Aww oh my gosh can you imagine him working hard and extra shifts at Family Video (or wherever considering the aftermath of the s4 finale but for this instance let’s just imagine that it’s FV) to save up enough money to adopt one of the dogs? Like he’d surprise her with a trip to the shelter and tell her he wants her to pick the dog they’re gonna adopt I’m so SOFT. Okay anyways, blurb incoming I’m sorry it’s so short 😩

Dogs were the love of your life. Well, besides Steve Harrington—the human love of your life.

You’d had pets growing up, but they were always your parents’ dogs or other family members. Needless to say, your love for dogs started at an early age.

Steve always teased you about your soft heart when it came to dogs, but you knew he loved it. It was true though, you just had the biggest heart when it came to panting tongues, messy paws and sloppy kisses. Wagging tails made your heart happy, furry, warm, four legged babies made you happy and Steve knew it.

What hurt the most though, was seeing strays.

“I don’t know how anybody could toss a pet like it was last week’s garbage,” you’d always mutter.

Sometimes, humanity baffled, infuriated and saddened you. It was the strays that always pulled on your heart strings.

When you first started living with Steve, he’d had to get used to the amount of stray dogs that would come and go in his backyard. You constantly had dog food and water in rotation for any dogs who needed a safe space.

You kept things from flea treatments to first aid too, to help any injured canines that might wonder your way.

“You’re the Florence Nightingale in the dog world,” Steve would lovingly tease, giving you a hug from behind when you were busy and a sweet kiss on the cheek.

It was a rewarding, but emotionally exhausting task. Sometimes, it seemed like you couldn’t do enough. There’d always be more and not enough supplies, money or resources for you to help. Most of the strays always went on their way after finding your help, something that you understood but it also broke your heart. Most would hesitate to trust again after being treated so awfully.

It was when it took its toll that the heartache would really begin. Sometimes you’d just sit and cry, wishing you could do more.

There was one instance where after a tough week, seeing a stray on the streets while you were out in town with Steve caused you to have a break down. The tears just started coming and didn’t want to stop.

He didn’t even have to ask, he just stood and held you in the middle of the sidewalk while you rid your body of all the worry, stress, tension and emotion that had been building. He rubbed your back, murmuring to you.

“I don’t know anyone else with a better heart than you,” he whispered into your hair.

“You,” you sniffed, wiping your face as you pulled away, “You care so much about everyone you love.”

“Well,” he smiled shyly, not used to being complimented so much, “I have an excellent teacher.”

He tapped your nose with his finger as if it to make his point.

“Come on, how about some ice cream to cheer you up. I’ll get you your favorite flavor.”

“Two scoops?” you asked, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.

“Two scoops,” he confirmed, nodding.

It became a tradition ever since.

[booasaur]

*FOR ALL MANKIND SPOILERS*

I thought Larry was gonna do something right for once BUT HE COULDNT DO IT. Then Ellen stepped in and was like “ILL SHOW YOU HOW ITS DONE LAR”. I’m so happy for her, I mean I know she’s gonna be going through a lot of backlash but I hope the shitstorm ends with her and Pam OR ANYONE AT THIS POINT I JUST WANT ELLEN TO BE HAPPY 😭😭😭

ALSO THAT ENDING!!!! 🫠🫠🫠

Awww, I do actually give credit to Larry for deciding to do it in the first place, and if Ellen hadn't walked in like a badass, I think he'd have been able to stumble through it. So, I think I'm in a better place with him.

AND GOSH! I knew Ellen'd do it this season but it was still so cool to watch. At first I was just taking in that it was happening at all, and Margo and Pam's reactions, and how Will specifically was mentioned, and his reaction after. I warmed so much to the Helios + NASA crew around him in that moment. FAM's always been so good with those scenes, like mission control after a daring rescue, and it's kinda lovely that they treated this as a similar climactic emotional payoff.

On rewatch though... Well, y'all know how I feel about people being treated like they're liars and in the wrong for being closeted. I get that this is an extremely complex situation because she did lie in actually significant ways and did indeed do wrong with DADT and Will Tyler, but the other part of me was like, screw the armed forces and the American people, you were right to distrust them, they should be apologizing to you! And the situation with Pam is so much more complicated than just refusing to come out.

But I don't feel those objections toooo strongly, they were just kinda in the back of my head and I didn't want to put them in the tags of my gifset, lol. Ultimately I'm quite pleased.

And indeed, quite interested to see what happens now, considering she's still president. Executive order everything, President Waverly! And I mean, if the season doesn't end with her and Pam together now, I'm really gonna be crying foul. This is one of those times I really wish we didn't get side character love interests because I'd have loved to see more of what was happening around Pam, a whole group of queer friends, and what the reaction this would have been in those circles.

At the end of the ep, lol, I have to laugh. That kinda thing seems as silly as Kelly's pregnancy. Just like it really stretches our credulity to believe that grown adults didn't realize what could happen if they had sex and it wasn't already drilled in them not to and everyone else wouldn't have stopped them and NASA wouldn't have fitted them with fancy alt reality birth control, we're supposed to believe this country with no resources was able to get a whole alive astronaut to Mars, okay. Or maybe I'm just salty that Dani wasn't the first on Mars, haha. I guess I'll wait to see what happens now.

[waitingforwinterwinds]

A Clash of Kings - 08 TYRION II (pages 111-123)

Tyrion fires Janos Slynt, with well deserved prejudice, then gossips with Varys about the philosophy of power, and treason.

-

"Ser Jacelyn thinks overmuch of imself and his honor, as I see it. You'll do better leaving that one where he is, my lor- Tyrion. Allar Deem's the man for you." ... "The carrack Summer's Dream sails on the morning tide. (...) When you see Lord Commander Mormont, give him my fond regards, and tell him I have not forgotten the needs of the Night's Watch. I wish you a long and good service, my lord." Once Janos Slynt realized he was not to be summarily executed, olor returned to his face. He thrust his jaw out. "We will see about this, Imp. -" ... Slynt spun on his heel like the watchman he'd once been, and strode the length of the Small Hall, boots ringing on the stone. He clattered up the steps, threw open the door... and came face-to-face with a tall, lantern-jawed man in black breast plate and gold cloak. ... "Lord Slynt," Tyrion called out, "I believe you know Ser Jacelyn Bywater, our new Commander of the City Watch."

Love this, it is exactly the right blend of identity/promotion reveal and "you and what army?"|"Well, mine, actually."

But oh gosh, Slynt's people killed baby Bara and her mum. It was a baby, and a girl, you actual human garbage!!!!

"Some say knowledge is power. Some tell us that allpower comes from the gods. Others say it derives from the law. Yet that day on the steps of Baelor's Sept, our godly High Septon and the lawful Queen Regent and your ever-so-knowledgable servant were as powerless as an cobbler or cooper in the crowd. Who truly killed Eddard Stark, do you think? Joffrey, who gave the command? Ser Ilyn Payne, who swung the sword? Or... another?"

Power resides where we believe it to reside, and where, by our belief in it's right, it is enforced. Each person is responsible for their own part, when they actively seek to participate in causing harm. Joffrey gave the order believing it would be carried it out, and Ilyn Payne committed the physical act, whatever events led them there, they were the final two who could have stopped his death, but chose not to. They are both guilty. It's almost like blame and fault are self-generating resources.

Varys smiled. "Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less."

*coughs awkwardly* sorry, got a bit ahead of Varys there.

Tyrion was a little drunk, and very tired. "Tell me, Bronn. If I told you to kill a babe... and infant girl, say, still at her mother's breast... would you do it? Without question?" "Without question? No." The sellsword rubbed thumb and forefinger together. "I'd ask how much." And why would I ever need your Allar Deem, Lord Slynt? Tyrion thought. I have a hundred of my own. He wanted to laugh; he wanted to weep; most of all, he wanted Shae.

Mmmm, there's this thing the show does, where even in moments like this, they would have made Bronn seem like he was making a complete jest and would never have a price to kill an infant, where the show makes all the characters (that D&D liked) seem like they have secret depths and morals and a hidden heroic ideology.

But they don't, do they. Bronn doesn't, does he. He has a price.

Little light on talking points, but it's late because I've been watching the Quantum Leap reboot, and I have an early morning tomorrow, so I focused on the highest of lights~ I should maybe put my reading a little earlier in the day instead of right before bed...