#hastings is really a hilarious character

[mccoyquialisms]

Incredible things from the london D20 live show in no particular order (straight from memory so may not be totally accurate or have much context at all):

First of all the line up was incredible. Kugrash, Pete, Sundry Sydney, Skip, Fabian and Adaine. What a terrible combination of personalities, it was so funny

Btw everyone looked so good. They looked really good, those fits <3. Murph striped button up/polo? shirt and Lou grandpa sweater you will always be famous

When Siobhan rolled Adaine everyone was so excited. Lou (who had already rolled for Fabian) hugged her, picked her up and spun her around on stage ❤️

Everyone was so excited to have a buddy ❤️

The setting was rolled as a crown of candy, after Brennan literally said “wow we happened to have a few people from the same place, wouldn’t it be hilarious if we got a crown of candy or neverafter or something?”

Everyone arrives and are doing introductions and the first thing Fabian says is “[tearfully] Adaine is that a giant rat?” Cue the whole atrium losing it.

Sydney then proceeds to minor illusion Kugrash as “sexy.” After some deliberation and when prompted by Brennan, Murph decided this means he looks exactly the same except for giant veneers

Beardsley: Can I distract the guard?

Brennan [flabbergasted, as the rest of the party was doing INSANE shit around this]: Sure, the DC is 500.

Beardsley: If I crit will you let it happen

Brennan [indulgently]: sure

Beardsley: [rolls a nat 20]

Brennan: [despair], cast: [running around in circles on stage and jumping], fans: [losing it]

And that’s how they accidentally start a revolt in Candia within minutes of arrival by Pete the Chosen Outsider with the peppermint tooth and prophesied king of candia. But it’s cool because in the next few minutes Kugrash teaches them about democracy.

So many little references to past campaigns and character one liners. Way too many for me to list but the cast was clearly enjoying dropping them

Sundry Sydney hitting King Calroy with 3 grenades ON SIGHT

A Hasted Kugrash doing an opposed athletics against Calroy and Brennan rolls a Nat 1. The dice wanted that motherfucker DEAD.

Kugrash to Calroy: “I eat from the trash, and I’ve never seen a cake as shitty as you!’ And then proceeds to 300-style kick him off the castle wall (as acted out by human man Murph)

Sooo much PVP though really most of that was between Pete and Fabian as they fought over the crown of candia

Sundry Sydney successfully seduced and awakens personhood in Adaine’s identify spell. His name is ANUS now. (Another use…)

Skip is quangled out and replaced by Lapin (played by Zac) and tries to keep the party on track. He fails many times. He takes up smoking from the stress. Adaine does as well.

At some point Pete’s wild magic turns his hands into rock candy, which he uses to deal 2d20 damage to Fabian during a fight

Emily as Sydney, whenever crazy shit happens: this is canon! [raises cannon arm]

All of them (except Pete) have some bad baby milk and do kublacaine. Cue a small detour for more pvp between Pete and Fabian

Arthur Aguefort is released from captivity in a castle full of/made from eggs. He and Lapin may or may not know each other biblically. They met on an app for old magical men, don’t worry about it.

Bill Seacaster is the pirate prince of the dairy lands and has the quangle. They get into his castle with Operation Fancy Perfume Part 2 except Emily rolled a nat 1 for her assist, so first poisonous perfume takes out most of the party and everyone inside the castle. I think Emily may have been crying she was laughing so hard.

They sort of defeat Bill by giving him pleasure putty (which he USES behind a curtain in front of EVERYONE) and then has to go take a nap, so they sneak into the rest of the castle to find the quangle. I am never going to forgive Brennan for making it canon that he goes “yar har har YO HO HO��� when he gets off. I WILL NEVER UNHEAR THIS.

Pete Conlan somehow gains the power of flight from Bambi LeRoux (Sydney brought her) singing the Reading Rainbow theme song. He does a flying ribbon dance out the window, where she stops singing and he falls and takes max fall damage. He’s still up, so Fabian jumps out the window with Feather Fall and shoots him with a laser gun until he actually dies lmao. He gets injured too somehow but I forgot how. They both get healed and everyone continues on like nothing happened.

Emily took her dice that rolled a Nat 1, kissed it, and threw it into audience with a cheeky expression. I’m in love with her I fear

The time quangle is an entire pool of lemon yogurt. At the bottom of the pool is a completely naked Gilear Faeth

Kugrash eats all the yogurt despite knowing it will kill him in order to end the quangle. His farewell speech has as a backdrop Gilear’s giant hog (played by Brennan’s arm, as he got out of his chair to stand behind Murph the ENTIRE time he was talking). Kugrash then ascends to the big bodega in the sky.

Sydney also seduces Annabelle Cheddar (EDIT: fuck it was like 12 AM forgive me) Primsy Coldbottle, who is explicitly 29 in this version of time. Both her and Anus join Sydney in returning to AnarchEra. I cannot emphasize enough how horny this live show was

Everyone gets sent back to their respective universes, except Arthur. He’s going to hang out in Candia for a bit to be Lapin’s “roommate.”

Fabian’s last line is that he has to call his banker because he has a new nemesis

Lapin: “That was the worst group of people I have ever met.”

God that was so funny, I really hope these live shows are getting recorded and will be released somewhere later. I need everyone to experience the epic highs and lows of this d20 session.

[spaceorphan18]

SO's Guide to the Bridgerton Children so @coffeegleek can tell them apart ;)

Violet Bridgerton

Okay, so first of all this is the mom of all these children. Her husband was Edmund. He got stung by a bee and died, so he is no longer around.

Anthony Bridgerton

Okay, so the oldest son is Anthony. He is the current Viscount (don't ask me about British nobility, I know nothing) and is currently running the Bridgerton estate, though that is not his favorite thing to do. He had very unfortunate sideburns in season one. And he likes to shout things like "you are the bane of my existence" and "LILACS". He does have oldest child syndrome where he acts like he doesn't want to be in charge, but he totally loves being in charge and telling everyone what to do.

His wife is Kate Sharma. She is a delight, and possibly the second best character on this show (obviously after Penelope). So just remember, passionate and loud guy with Kate -- that is Anthony. Oh, and they have one child who is being born in India because Jonathan Bailey is apparently very in demand right now.

Benedict Bridgerton

Benedict is the artsy, bisexual who hangs out on the swings with Eloise. He is an actual delight, but the writers don't seem to really know what to do with him. He makes a good comedic foil to Anthony. Also they cut his hair for seasons 2 and 3 which doesn't help the whole looking the same thing. We're speculating his season is next because of a bunch of hints. In the books he falls in love with a lower class girl.

Colin Bridgerton

Colin is the sweet, sensitive (most likely demisexual) writer and world traveler. He's got some insecurity issues, a massive hero complex, and is a complete simp for his wife.

HOW HAVE YOU FOLLOWED ME FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS AND NOT KNOW WHO COLIN IS - C'MON GIRL, PAY ATTENTION

He is married to Penelope Featherington, aka Lady Whistledown, aka the best damn character on this whole show. 90% of the time, Colin is hanging off Penelope, so he honestly should be easy to spot. Also, he got her pregnant BEFORE the wedding and little Lord Feathertington was born 8 months into their marriage.

Daphne Bridgerton

She was the main character of Season 1, who looks a lot like Keira Knightly. You don't really need to worry about her, because it's doubtful that she's coming back.

She is married to the Duke - Simon Basset, Lord of Hastings or something. He enjoys licking spoons. Daphne burns for him. Again, he's not coming back so, you know, I wouldn't worry about it.

They do have a child together, a little boy I believe and I think they hinted at a second one? Idk, maybe the kids will come back to hang out with Gregory and Hyacinth at the end of the series.

Eloise Bridgerton

Probably my personal favorite Bridgerton? (Idk, Colin wormed his way up there.) She stands out because Claudia Jessie is just amazing at giving her a lot quirky mannerisms. She doesn't want to get married and is really into women's rights. She is also fucking hilarious. I would love her to be asexual, but the writers insist she's getting a love story at some point, so.... The internet would prefer her to be a lesbian. That's cool, too, but also unlikely to happen.

Eloise spends a lot of her time on swings with Benedict and in is often the third wheel with Pen and Colin (though sometimes Colin is that third wheel).

She and Penelope are BFFs. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Francesca Bridgerton

Francesca is SUPER into the piano(forte) and really nothing else. There's really not a whole lot to say about her other than she IS probably going to be the lesbian of the show.

She is currently married to John Stirling. The two are very quiet together and that's exactly how they want it. Don't get too attached to him, he's most likely going to die in the next season. John also has a female cousin named Michaela, whom the internet is mad about because she is a woman -- making Francesca's future love interest a woman instead of a man. I say more power to the lesbians. Calm your tits folks, it'll be fine.

Gregory Bridgerton

OMG, look how adorable this kid is. He's gonna look just like his older brothers when he grows up. They've already given him a tad more to do in Season 3, and he's been an utter delight. I'm sure he'll be great leading Season 8 when we get to it in 2034.

Hyacinth Bridgerton

The youngest Bridgerton! She is excitable and energetic and super excited about all the marriages and also KNOWS who is ending up with who and is totally down for it. She is also a sassy delight and really can't wait until she starts holding her own with Eloise!

THERE YOU GO THAT'S THE WHOLE BRIDGERTON FAMILY - DOES THAT HELP??

[burningvelvet]

I finished Moby Dick. So, to continue my former post(s) documenting my thoughts, here we are (spoilers ahead):

captain ahab: i am once again asking hast thou seen the white whale

Narrator, for the 5 millionth time describing captain ahab: "MONOMANIACAL. MONOMANIAC. MONOMANIA."

I was thinking "the homosexual themes everyone talks about are really exaggerated apparently…" and then I got to the chapter about sperm squeezing

Stubb meeting with the French in chap 91 had the exact vibe of a filler episode on a comedy sitcom

there are a lot of moments that reminded me of The Office ngl like i could just imagine stubb in the little interview chair just talking. so much meme material. he's seriously just doing his own thing. the little random characters like the blacksmith and carpenter just talking shit and side-eyeing ahab in the background lmaoooo

Saint George didn't kill a dragon, it was a whale #THETRUTHREVEALED #WHALETRUTHERS

It would have been hilarious if the British people told Ahab that they already killed Moby Dick already before he could get to it. I was so hoping that would happen. Bonus points if it was the Rachel after he'd turned them away.

Ahab discusses the topic of madness a lot. It's almost like he's… mad...

I vote Ahab for the most Byronic hero to ever Byronic… Heathcliff and Rochester have nothing on him… The origin of the Byronic hero, Byron's titular character from the narrative poem Childe Harold, is literally mentioned by name in the novel and had to be a blatant inspiration - it could not be more obvious! (I have yet to encounter the famed Byronic heroes of Russian literature, most notably Eugene Onegin, a work where Byron is also blatantly name-dropped).

Everyone thinking Queequeg was dying and having a coffin made to his measurements and filled with grave goods at his direction and then him literally climbing into the coffin to test it out and then waiting silently to die…. then all of a sudden getting better and saying he chose to recover bc he remembered he had something on his to-do list….. iconic

Ishmael referring to Queequeg as "my Queequeg…" omg. Queerqueg

Queequeg drawing figures like the ones on his tattoos omg… au story where Queequeg is an artist/tattoo artist when???

I was literally saying "AWWWWW" out loud when Ahab and Pip were having their little moments

The irony of Ahab abandoning the Rachel then it coming back for Ishmael… the coffin lifeboat… etc… good stuff…

okay ahab is my man but yeah he was an asshole to the captain of rachel.

also feel bad for tashtego. he wanted that gold doubloon so bad and ahab was like SIKE, MOTHERFUCKER! umm tashtego did not get cut out of a whale by queequeg to deal with ur shit ahab!

Once again wanting a Black Sails/Moby Dick AU… I found this essay about the similarities between Flint/Ahab https://ijms.nmdl.org/article/view/22389/14361

They only have like 2-3 little moments together but like… Starbuck/Ahab kind of outdoing Ishmael/Queequeg there for a moment… chaps 132/134… oh my godddddddddddddd whyyyyyyy

Captain Ahab's moments in chapters 36/37 AAAAAHHHHH you will see me being normal about this

I noted some of my favorite Ahab moments/chapters and they are 36/37/41/70/99/108/109/113/115/116/119/125/129/132/134/135. Like I may seriously just re-read those chapters (no offense to Melville's whale facts, Stubb's jokes, & Pip's insanity)

the end is kind of similar to the great gatsby in the sense that you finally realize the entire novel was actually written for him to cope with his grief-related trauma & then suddenly it all makes sense. the lingering, the sentimentality regarding seemingly insignificant details or people, the meandering/digressing/procrastinating getting to the end, etc.

there are actually several moments -- i don't know if he actually referred to ahab or the others in past-tense specifically, but there were several moments where i felt like i kind of thought he was giving away the end before he did (it wasn't a shock to me bc i read about the end prior, but still)

[chryblossomjjk]

bts fic recommendations | 03.14.23

→ hi friends! this is a little segment i do every tuesday (reviewsday get it, aren’t i funny, pls tell me how funny i am) where i read and review two-three fics. as a content creator, i know how big of a role other creators play in your growth, therefore, i want to do my part in making sure everyone gets the recognition they deserve! so with that being said, please check out the amazing fics listed below. make sure to like, reblog, and leave feedback! ♡ #reviewsday #kikirecs

banana clip - @vvh0adie (jhs x jjk x reader | angst, fluff, smut)

summary: nature is great at putting you to sleep. but man-made objects are just as good at waking you up with annoyance. and they’re even better at messing with your senses overall. but nature also made the two most wonderful men who you get to call your boyfriends, and they know just how to comfort you.

for one, let me just say this graphic goes crazy eep!!!

also let me just say, you would write a mean fantasy fic bc the scene setting in the first segment is so good. YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT WORLD BUILDING?? YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT WORLD BUILDING???? YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT MAKING THE SETTING REFLECT THE CHARACTER??? THIS IS IT!!

also i think the representation in the fic is so fucking important like- to have the reader be queer, chubby, and neurodivergent and then depicting in detail the things that come along with it is really great!! especially bc so many young adults read fanfic and thats such a complex time where you're juggling different parts of your identity and how they coexist!! just seriously thank you for writing this!!

"His large hands make haste of grabbing as much of your ass as he possibly can and giving it a good squeeze, oil slick painted nails leaving crescent indentation on your melanated skin. The succulent pain causes a moan to escape your lips. You always knew how to break them down, but he could play too."

oof when i tell u i read this paragraph multiple fucking times bc YOU PICKED OIL SLICK NAIL HOBI I COULD DESTROY MY FUCKING ROOM RN LMAO

“Ah, fuck, it’s times like these when I remember how much of a slut you are.”

dom hobi rattles the fucking peanut in my skull bc i know for a fact that man is the kinkest dom sex freak out here PLS!!! and the mentions of kook throughout made everything incredibly hotter like uGh!! and then i really love when sweet aftercare n cleaning up is added into fanfic after a dommy moment :') <3 overall, this was the hottest shit ever pls fucking read this yall NOW I SAY NOW LMAO!!

paired & pierced - @yoon-kooks (jjk x reader | college au, smut, fluff)

summary: when your professor assigns a collaborative midterm project, you’re paired up with jeon jungkook, the quiet grumpy smartass who keeps to himself and doesn’t fuck with popular kids like you. if you can win him over, he might give you a taste of the tatted and pierced body he’s carefully tucked away beneath those oversized hoodies.

so as soon as i saw that pairing i knew i was a goner!! but babe, this fic made me discover kinks i didn't even know i had like erm?? CAWK TATTOO??? OF A SNAKE???

I HAVE A NEW FETISH LMAO!!! thats like one of the hottest visuals i've ever read in fanfic and it will plague my daydreams from here on out!

where does one find a friend like oc who hooks you up with men like JUNG HOSEOK ?? she is so real for that (one is incredibly lonely despite having friends and never gets checked on by those around her unless they need something which i feel like is so relatable to so many people like i can totally tell why so many readers were drawn to this fic)!! and tim can catch this knuckle sandwich bc FUCK HIM >:(

also the newborn joke made me audibly crack up like the bleak dry humor is fucking hilarious to me-

and i just love their dynamic? like the way you wrote their dialogue is just so natural, which seems simple on the outside but as fic writer i understand that writing believable dialogue is so INSANELY difficult like you literally have to be an a1 writer to nail it as good as you did in this fic!! the talent is screaming!! same goes for the smut!! it was so fucking hot and everything kook said had my coochie wet pls!! i just love the switch for apathetic to complete sex god uGh! i love u n this saur fucking much!!

nature cafe - @virgodolls (jjk x reader | s2l)

oh my goodness i love this so much! like when you told me you were a new writer on here i was already extremely excited, but after reading this, my excitement for your future works has doubled, TRIPLED! you are bringing something new and refreshing to the table! like don't get me wrong i looooveee smut (legit all i write is smut-) but slice of life content is kind of hard to find on this platform! so reading this was such a welcomed change and i loved it wholeheartedly!

you really have a knack for writing in the perspective of the character, which is not an easy thing to do AT ALL! ITS SO DIFFICULT! AND YOU EXECUTED IT SO FLAWLESSY HERE AND ITS ONLY YOUR FIRST FIC? PLS THE TALENT IS UNREAL!!

i also really loved this oc! as someone who is also v sensitive and easily overwhelmed, i didn't find her annoying at all, just incredibly endearing and relatable! THIS JUNGKOOK IS ALSO SUCH BOYFRIEND MATERIAL AND SO SWEET LIKE IM TRYING TO PICK HIM UP TOO UM??? anyways, thank you for sharing your writing! its definitely so scary at first but you did it and you should be v proud of yourself!! i am proud of you!!

[loquaciousquark]

Final Thoughts

Okay! I went back and replayed the final sequence again and was much, much happier with both how everyone looked sans helmets and with some randomly varied flavor text in the background. I remain really, really happy overall with how this game ended both generally and for my particular runthrough.

The run-up to the Morphic Pool was really, REALLY creepy, and I liked the ways they threw all the li'l brainies at you to start wearing down the group resources. It does remain hilarious that the noodle-armed rogue was rowing the boat, though maybe that's why we couldn't get out of the way of the stalactite in time. The brain was fun gross and I couldn't quite tell--was the voice the same as the narrator? That would have been a nice touch! I did absolutely roll a natural 20 on that DC 99 check to Dominate the Brain (loved that setup in the dialogue window), but alas, the brain took off to destroy everything anyway. The biggest issue I had here was figuring out how to get past that dumb pile of rocks for that very mediocre chest.

In the Astral Plane, I managed to get enough brains to craft several potions of psychic resistance that I never used, but which made me feel better to have. There was never a chance my Tav was going to let Orpheus stay bound (I'm still working on her backstory, but I know she comes into the game feeling strongly anti-authoritarian and only gets moreso over the course of the events), so the only question I had was what was going to happen to the Emperor when I made that choice.

Sidebar--the Ansur fight & environ was one of my absolute favorite locales of the entire game. I loved the set design, the puzzles, the music, the reveals, and the final fight--I thought it was a fantastic setpiece altogether, and the reveal that the Dream Guardian was not only an illithid, but Balduran, made me actually gasp. Getting a conclusion to that questline as narratively satisfying as this one made me really happy, and Wyll's response to its conclusion with his dad--becoming the Blade of Avernus--I also thought was incredibly fitting for both that character and the choices he made within this world.

Anyway, I played through becoming an illithid just to see what happened (Astarion's comment about preferring any option that doesn't change your beautiful face--I felt that, bro), and as soon as I saw that grey triangle torso I was like, nope, sorry Prince, tagging you right back in on this one. Just can't do it, even when the fate of the city's on the line. I've spent too many hours looking at her janky eyes and her scarred lip to turn them all into tentacles now. I wasn't surprised the Emperor turned on me, but I didn't expect him to just full-on go Netherbrain and leave us in his rainbow skull.

I loved, loved, love the rally scene in the High Hall. What an awesome way to remind you of how many ways you've made a difference in some of these quests. The owlbear & Dannon along with the Strange Ox were my favorites, but seeing Barcus, Zevlor, and even Isobel & Dame Aylin was just wonderful. Really loved this entire sequence.

This is the first time I've ever really both utilized summoned allies in a big fight like this and also felt how much they turned the tide! A fantastic balanced encounter in the courtyard, and I called down so many Harpers & Fists & the owlbear & the dragonfire (so COOL) and Yurgir (got stuck in a building and did poke damage for the rest of the fight) and Rolan's tower (absolutely LOVED that you could save his fam & they could come live with him). It truly took an encounter that was really, really difficult into something absolutely manageable and in some ways quite easy. They told you to gather allies and by GOD I GATHERED ALLIES. I feel rewarded for my exploration!!

Of course, it then became utterly paramount to keep all summoned allies alive, but thankfully that wasn't much of an issue. My rogue by the end of this had Celestial Haste, two cunning action dashes, extra movement from momentum, and could easily clear 120+ ft a round and still have actions at the end of her movement. Plus she had a longbow that gave Guiding Bolt on a hit (GOD it's such a good longbow, I want to go back and play more combat just to play with it again), so even the few times the mindflayers were able to Dominate some Harpers I was able to get over there with either her or Lae'zel jumping rampart to rampart across the entire map & break their concentration. A super fun, exciting fight with a lot of variety. Orpheus is powerful as a mindflayer! The power is not small! He just doesn't have a horizontal mouth or a nose anymore & I can't do that to Tav!

Still never figured out how to get into that blocked-off area at the south of that map. Found a random forum post that suggested there was a chasm you could jump into to access the "Upper City Sewers," but the only things I found in the chasms was death, womp womp.

Anyway, got up to the brain (very cool cutscene! Not a snowball's chance my Tav was actually able to haul herself up that stem!) and REALLY liked the brain fight. I didn't have any issues navigating it (though a timer on the battle is always cool!) and only got Lae'zel & Orpheus killed once on the first run when I didn't understand how the Marked for Negation electric balls worked. The final cutscene where the brain fell in the water was beautifully animated; I loved seeing those NPCs keep cropping up in this sequence. I liked the image of everyone hauling themselves out of the bay onto the dock & Astarion complaining bitterly about how often he's having to swim on this trip.

My first run-through of the final dock conversation made me very sad. I didn't like Minsc's pithy comment about sunflowers for Astarion at all, and I hated watching Karlach's heart break behind that hideous helmet. (The stats were so good, and the aesthetics were so awful...she was in my party 99% of the time so Hide Helmet worked almost always...except when it mattered the most, ugh.) The second time, being able to see her face & Wyll's really helped that scene land and it really, really worked for me. I still don't think there's a fantastic in-universe Watsonian explanation for why we can't fix her engine for good with all these acres of infernal iron we've been collecting, but ACCEPTING THAT ON FACE VALUE FOR THE MOMENT I thought the writing and acting in that entire sequence were beautiful. Karlach's voice actress in particular just wrecked me. Beautiful, beautiful writing at the end; just wish the structural tentpoles were a little stronger to justify the moment.

On my second, helmet-less runthrough, when Astarion started to burn, Halsin made a much more sober comment along the lines of "he will miss that freedom; it may be some time before we see him again," and I much preferred that. It felt right in line with how my Tav felt about the situation, and she was very grateful for his empathy there. I still wish we'd figured out a way to have a celebration or something together, though I appreciate Wyll & Karlach's absence would have put a serious damper on things.

I am glad, I think, that I waited to see Karlach's ending after the patch. This read so determinedly hopeful, even with the very bittersweet sting, that I think to have anything less would have really undercut her journey even more than the options we currently have. All in all, I was very satisfied with sending her and Wyll to Avernus while we figure out how to fix her. Their final cutscene charging into the credits was the bomb.

The Astarion wrap-up scene was almost, ALMOST perfect. The choice to tell him we'd find a way to get him back in the sun was EXACTLY what I wanted to say (which was a theme in this game--there were only a handful of places in the entire game where I was frustrated by not being able to react the way I wanted--so impressive, Larian!). I just wish they'd been able to have one kiss in a room with walls and a ceiling, weh.

Anyway! The game is over, I'm immensely satisfied with all outcomes and party storylines with a few minor asterisks here and there, and I'm already plotting out several pieces to flesh out the places I want to explore. The characters are so rich and dynamic and reactive, the world feels so very real and robust, and I'm eager to live in it a little longer. I don't think I'm going to start another playthrough anytime soon--for me my first run is usually "canon", and I want to sit and marinate in this version of the world a little longer--but eventually I'll probably try a Durge just to see what the deal is. It'll honestly be incredibly hard not to romance Astarion, but we'll see! Maybe I'll just make Tavish again with a tweaked backstory. I don't know much about the Durge at all, so it'd be pretty blind!

What a good game. What a good time! I probably will go back and see what achievements I can pull easily--I was delighted to get one for "saving every tiefling possible through the end of the game," yeah boiiiii. Now to unblacklist everyone and see what the heck I've missed out on while spending every waking moment smooching an insufferable elf!

[teecupangel]

I was wondering if you might be interested in playing with the idea of Tears of the Kingdom or Outer Wilds style approach to the ancient aliens nonsense that Assassin’s Creed supposedly does. Because I think ancient human civilization finding broken but still usable Isu technology by literally just slapping it together with some string and wood sounds hilarious.

I keep coming back to this stupid idea, trying to world build a more sci-fi world for Assassin’s Creed to the set in rather than our world but with this one specific sci-fi nonsense but with the generic memories. Like, what if Ancient Greek people had found parts from Atlantis that they could stick on boats to make them hover. Not even really flying, just hovering. They could do a lot with that.

The problem is that you either need an idea of where you want to end up and work backwards or have an idea for something to build from and work forwards. I don’t really know where to start either way.

Anyway, just thought I’d infect you with the random idea I had. Because I am convinced these things are in fact a disease. Or Tribbles.

Love your stuff. Hope your move went well. Take care of yourself!

I do have this fic idea that’s more in line with how Horizon Zero Dawn integrated Old World and machine tech into the current world and the tribes. Like, Aloy’s weapons have strings and wood but they also have parts from the machines she took out with her spear that has a tip of the same metal as the machines so it’s more of a fusion between old tech and human ingenuity. Like, ice and electric bombs make use of the machines’ cooling system or electricity powering them…

Anyway, my idea for an AC fic set in that sort of world was that it was set after the Great Catastrophe.

But not the Catastrophe that wiped out most of the Isus, no.

The Solar Flare that took out most of humanity and destroyed or rendered the current technology dormant when Desmond Miles didn’t activate the device in the Grand Temple in 2012.

The idea was this would be set a few centuries or so after Desmond’s death (of old age) and he’s already being hailed as a god and the main character would be an ancestor of his having been reborn (with no memories of his past life) as part of one of the settlements further from the capital, Monteriggioni. (My obvious choice would be Altaïr because… well, it’s me)

Humanity is just starting to rebuild their life, using what they could salvage from the old world and just slapping them with wood and string to prop them up.

Then the main character would find some ruins underneath their settlement and he’d find some kind of device that lets him talk to a person, an artifact from the Old World that was still functioning for some reason.

But that person who’s talking to him?

He says his name is Desmond Miles and… he doesn’t know who he is or where he is.

Unorganized World Building Notes:

So my idea is more on the side of humans who do not know how to use Old World Tech and Isu artifacts due to unknown reasons so they just… wing it, creating a mix of old world tech, Isu stuff, and human ingenuity.

The people of this world call the technology humanity had before the Solar Flare as ‘Old World Artifacts’ while the technology of the Isus was called ‘False Gods Artifacts’.

The main religion of the new world is the worshipping of the god known as ‘Des Mondes’. The religion’s name is the ‘Creed’ and the clergymen/women of this religion are called the ‘Brotherhood’. While it’s not against any law, it is frowned upon to worship any of the False Gods but only the ‘cults’ worshipping a specific False God are prosecuted. Those who worship the False Goddess Juno, the False Goddess Who Set the World Ablaze. (It’s too long so they usually just say “Juno the Destroyer” or just the False Goddess of Destruction)

The Creed have two leaders, both of which are called ‘Mentors’, and they take new names when they are promoted. Mentor Hastings is the leader who travels around, doing the holy task called ‘Patrol’. Mentor Crane is the leader that remains in the main headquarters, doing the holy task called ‘Maintenace’.

There is a rumor that there is actually a secret third ‘Mentor’ that goes by the name ‘Mentor Miles’. The rumor says that Mentor Miles is in charge of traveling thru the danger zones were the world has become too dangerous for humans in search of any and all possible Old World Artifacts and False Gods Artifacts that could still be of use or could be repaired. It’s all rumors though because a lot of people say that Mentor Hastings already do a similar job.

Monteriggioni, the capital of this new world, is said to be the most advanced city in the entire world and there are rumors that it has a great library deep underground where the ‘forbidden texts’ were located. (Supposedly, these forbidden texts held information about the Old World and the False Gods). It is also the main headquarters of the Creed. Their main fort is located in a place called Auditore and it is said to sit upon the ruins of a temple of the False Gods.

The Creed isn’t necessarily corrupt but they adhere to the Creed as if it’s the absolute law and are quite zealous. The resistance against their oppressive nature is called the ‘Hidden Ones’.

Unorganized Character-Specific Notes:

(If Altaïr was the main ancestor) Altaïr would be living in one of the farthest human settlements known as Masyaf and he’d actually find ‘Desmond’ after his father’s death when he ran away out of grief and fell underground. He would learn how to use Old World Artifacts from Desmond who seemed to have access to a collection of forbidden knowledge which meant that Altaïr had to hide Desmond from everyone. The main plot would be Altaïr leaving his settlement to help Desmond remember who he is by checking the signals Desmond keeps getting.

(If Ezio was the main ancestor) Ezio would be living in the capital as a son of a high-ranking government official. The Creed would take his father away because he was in possession of an illegal Old World Artifact. While his brothers weren’t taken with their father, Federico tells Ezio to check their father’s childhood home which was in a human settlement a few months away from the capital while Federico stays with their family to appeal for their father's release. Ezio does go and he finds ‘Desmond’ underneath his father’s childhood home who serves the same function as he does in Altaïr’s version. Then he heard that his entire family had disappeared and Mentor Hastings was personally on his way to Ezio’s location and Ezio decided to book it. The plot of this one is that Ezio would be looking for his family while trying to find the reason why they’re being targeted with Desmond acting as his support and a bit of a deus ex machina in terms of techs Ezio has no idea how to use.

(If Ratonhnhaké:ton is the main ancestor) Ratonhnhaké:ton would be raised in a settlement by the name of Davenport and it’s less than a day away from the capital. His meeting with Desmond would happen because the ground of their home crumbled and he saw something like an underground cave below. When he went to check it out, it turned out to be some kind of place that looked both Old World but with so many things that Ratonhnhaké:ton remembered seeing in the capital. He meets ‘Desmond’ there and, when he returns, his mother is waiting for him with a pale devastated expression on her face. Apparently, according to the prophecy passed down to their line, one which is of their blood will find their way into the secret resting place of the true god and would have to go on a journey to find the god’s missing pieces, only then will ‘Des Mondes’ be whole. They will not be allowed back into the settlement until the god awakens so Ratonhnhaké:ton sets out on a journey with ‘Desmond’ to make him whole again.

(sidebar: I may have used names that seemed to be all over the world in this one but they’re not the Old World names but names given to them after the Solar Flare. For example: the Masyaf that Altaïr was born and raised in? That mountainous area’s Old World name was “Black Hills”)

[smaller-comfort]

WIP game, on Retail Hell?

Ding! You found some of the original stuff!

This was kind of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Scooby-Doo/X Men thing spawned by my unending distress over my own shitty retail job at the time. The premise: a bunch of queer misfit teenagers with psychic powers all hang out at a haunted music store, where most of them have part time jobs. They solve crime! Or, really, just the one crime, which is the murder of the girl who haunts the store.

It's very funny to look back at my old original work and see the character templates I'm still using. There's a scene where the main character and his love interest finally get together that hilariously looks like I cribbed it from gotta start somewhere. Gay idiots, man. An eternal weakness of mine, apparently.

Here's a fragment that doesn't involve those two particular goofballs together, but does involve some of the Retail part of the Hell.

"Oh my god, Rose, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Rose patted Derrick awkwardly on the shoulder. She almost had to stand on her toes to do it. "Of course you didn’t mean it. Insurance’ll take care of it, I’ll just need your help cleaning up. You need a few minutes to freak out?"

Derrick’s face was wan and ashen, and he nodded jerkily, locs swinging violently.

Rose gave him a gentle push in the direction of the back door. “Go on, have a sit down and a bit of fresh air. Ian will mind the till for you.”

He nearly tripped over the smoking ruin of the vending machine in his haste to get outside. Rose shook her head and balanced the fire extinguisher on one hip. “Ian, love, do you need a few minutes to freak out? Because you’ll have to wait 'til Derrick’s back before you can take your fifteen. It’s not good to leave Michelle alone up front for too long.”

“Michelle?” There was something hysterical and sharp clawing its way out of his chest, and he didn’t know if it was a scream or a laugh or a toothy fucking alien, but at this point anything was possible. “You let Michelle watch the store?”

“She can mind the front door in a pinch, but it’s not like she’s any good on register.”

“Right." Ian covered his face with both hands and took a deep breath. "Right, of course, Michelle can't cover the register. She’s dead. Of course I can't take my break now. I have to cover for Michelle, who is dead, and for Derrick, who just set the vending machine on fire with his brain.”

Rose gave him a deeply unimpressed look. “No need to be rude about it.” She shoved the fire extinguisher into his arms. “You stay here and point this at anything burning, then. I’ll see if Robin wants to pick up any extra hours on short notice.”

[pindagreat]

I finished Baldur's Gate 3 last night and wow. Really good game! It could get a little overwhelming with the sheer amount of content. I needed guides a lot more than I would have liked, but I loved the story. The entire cast of playable characters is great, but I do find the party size of 4 too restrictive. I just stuck to using the same party of my Paladin Tav, Gale, Shadowheart and Karlach(my wife). I would have appreciated some sort of sidekick system where inactive party members can provide some sort of passive buff to an assigned party member. This way even characters the player doesn't use can have out of combat conversations, which are fantastic, as well as being able to participate in story cutscenes. It would also be nice to swap my party around in a menu instead of talking to party members individually to change around the party.

On the subject of the party, here are some thoughts on the party members (Full game spoilers):

Note that I went for the righteous choice at pretty much every turn

Gale is a fantastic little goober. The thing about him eating magic items in act 1 was hilarious. Tim Downie's performance was perfect for the character at every turn. Gale takes himself seriously to the point of both gripping drama and hilarious blunders. He was a mainstay of my party not just for having a good spell list, but he was a great guy. I love the arc I got for him, where he learns to accept that he doesn't have to keep ascending to greater heights, and becomes a teacher.

I thought when I met Shadowheart that I would hate her. I kept her around in the first few hours of act 1 because she was the first party member you got and also a cleric, which I knew would be useful for the entire game. I found her and Lae'zel bickering annoying at first, but it progressively got more and more entertaining. Then they actually tried to kill eachother, which gave great insight to both characters. Every bit of Shadowheart's quest made me love her more, from facing the gauntlet of Shar and rebelling against her to killing her captors and letting her parents go with their love in her heart. Also spirit guardian + boots of speed is goated holy shit

Karlach is amazing. She's goals and also my wife. From the moment I saw fanart of her, I knew she would be my favorite character. Her narrative of trying to escape from her past and it catching up with her struck a chord with me. Trying to fix her engine was a great conflict, and I love the ending where Karlach and my Tav Nadia go to Avernus to fix her engine once and for all. She's a ray of sunshine, and I love every second of joy in her eyes. I loved finding all the best equipment I could for her, with her getting the Balduran giantslayer for the final battle + amulet of health + being hasted. So much fun

Astarion is such a gremlin. I loved helping him kill his abuser and save all the other vampire spawn. I didn't use him very much, so he was kinda just comic relief to me, but he's still a great character even if you don't wind up going into his deepest depths.

Lae'zel was in a similar boat to Shadowheart, where I was put off by her in the beginning, but she won me over. I love a narrative where a character rejects a supposed truth they were brought up believing, and Lae'zel's crusade to kill Vlaakith was amazing. Gith lore was a corner of dnd lore I was more familiar with going in to the game from listening to Rolling With Difficulty, and that made Lae'zel's arc all the sweeter.

Wyll was the origin character that compelled me the least, but he was still cool. I don't have much to say about him.

Halsin and the quest to heal the shadowcurse are some all time favorite quests in this game. I love the ending he gets where he becomes the guardian of all the refugee children.

Jaehira was kinda just there. She was fun in the few interactions I had with her, but otherwise eh. I'm glad other people get more out of her than I do

The Emporer is a fascinating character. He is extremely set in his ways. He is unwilling to consider the idea that Orpheus won't try to kill the party because he thinks Orpheus would kill him for what he's done. This uncompromising nature is why he killed Ansur, and why he will betray you if you don't give him the netherstones and let him kill Orpheus.

Orpheus himself was a little underwhelming since he came in at the 11th hour, but I liked convincing him to live. I headcanon that if you convince him to live he meets Omeluum and those two learn from eachother.

Also the dead three's chosen were fun antagonists. I loved being jumpscared by JK Simmons when he showed up. I only kinda remembered that he would be in this game.

I love a ton of the changes and additions to the format of dnd 5e. The 1/short rest abilities make martials have a little more depth, which is a great boon. One minor thing I wish they got rid of from 5e is that you can't cast spells while raging. I would have loved to get more use out of Karlach's smites.

Instant short rests is something I love. It makes the game flow well and lets the characters that rely on short rests stay good. I'm honestly planning on adopting that in some form when I start dming.

One gripe I have is that the game pretends as if resurrection magic isn't a thing in the story. Each character starts the game with a couple scrolls of revivify, so I don't understand why you can't be resurrecting NPCs. That would save a lot of hassle.

All in all, I love Baldur's Gate 3. It's the perfect game for someone who loves RPGs and going for most of the sidequests. The story is engaging, and I don't have any gripes that ruin the game. It's mostly just things I would change to fit my own tastes more. 10/10

[thealmightyemprex]

VOyage Through the Disney Canon(1950-1959)

Now we enter the 50's looking at films 12-16

5.Cinderella-While this fiolm has grown on me this is not a movie I love .I like Cinderella herself finding her to be a sympathetic chararacter,Lady Tremain is a subtle yet creepy villain with how manipulative she is ,Verna Felton is fun as the Fairy Godmother,Lucifer is a fun secondary villain and the animation is pretty ......Problem is I dont like most of the side character and unfortunately they take up most of the movie.The prince is barely a character ,the king is a psychopath who I find more frightening then funny ,and ogh GOD ,I cant stand the mice,they are so grating to me and they are in so much of the movie I kind of wanted the cat to eat them .I get their are people who love this film,glad you like it,but their are better Cinderella films to me

4.Alice in Wonderland :I debated how high to put this film cause I do like it but I dont love it like others do .I love Alice herself who is played brillaintly by Katheryn Beaumont ,the Mad Tea Party scene is one of the funniest scenes of the Walt era due to the animation and vocal performances ofEd Wynn and Jerry Colona ,This is a great showcase for Disney regulars ,like J PAt O Malley showing his range as Tweedledee and Tweedle Dum/Walrus and Carpenter ,Bill Thompson is wonderfully pompous as the Dodo ,Sterling Holloway is great as the Cheshire Cat,and Verna Felton is scene stealingly good as the Queen of Hearts .As a film it is fun to see Disney get weird with great visuals (Hasts off to Mary Blaire ).....However I dont like the songs ,I never liked this takeon the Carterpiller,and while Bill Thompson is great as the Dodo I never thought his voice for the White Rabbit worked .I also think as an adaptation of the Alice stories go,its just a good version and not my favorite (the 99 TV movie is probably the winner there )

3.Peter Pan:So this was one of my favorites as a kid ,then I had a backlash to it ,now I like it but acknowledge it is flawed .Flaws first,the depiction of Native American ,specifically their song is really cringy and racist .....But now that I think about it,that is my biggest issue.I used to have a problem with Peter himself ,findinhim too unlikeable.....But honest this maybe my favorite version of Peter,now that I realize Peter isnt supposed to be likeable ,and in fact I think Bobby DRiscoll does a fine job balancing being both impishly charming and being smugly arrogant ,and I love the animation of him,how he will just float around.Katheryne Beaumont grounds the movie as Wendy,and I kind of love that Tinkerbell who has become a mascot for the company is a murderous little sociopath .I love the character animation of Nana the Dog ,the action is great,Smee maybe bBill Thopmpsons best role and the film has many great jokes.The scene stealer of the film has to be Captain Hook who is one of my absolute favorite Walt era villains ,he is threatening,he is stylish,he is funny and he is marveolusly voiced by the great Hans Conried ,I love his scenes with Smee,his duels with Peter and the hilarious chase scenes between him and Tick Tock the Croc who wants to gobble him up .I'll admit part of me might be putting this film this high for a mix of the villain and nostalgia....But I really like it

2.Lady and the Tramp:This canine romance is higher then I thought it would be but I love this movie ,bioth Lady and Tramp are likeable ,I love the side characters like Jock,Trusty,Boris (Whos played by Alan Reed AKA Fred Flinstone ),Peg,Joe and Tony .The songs are all good,the animation is solid ,voice acting is good and yeah the speghetti scene is iconic.I dont like the fake out near the end and yeah Si and Am suck .However the main love story make this one enjoyable for me

1.Sleeping Beauty-....SO this is my second favorite Film of Walts era ,and might be my favorite of the Princess movies .I like the trivk it pulld by the film being basically about the fairies instead of the Princess .I actually like Aurora and Phillip ,I love the ballet score ,the art style is beautiful,the kings are funny,Once Upon A DReam is one of my favorite Disney songs and the final battle against the dragon is awesome .Maleficent is a MAGNIFICENT VILLAIN voiced wonderfully by Elanore Audley whose true plan is one oif my favorite evil plans ever and she is wonderfully designed and animated by Marc Davis .My favorite characters however are the heroes ,that is to say the fairies,Flora,Fauna and Merryweather who are so fun and lovable (Though Merryweather is my favorite )

Agree ,disagree,comment and share your oppinion

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @the-blue-fairie @makingboneboy @themousefromfantasyland @filmcityworld1

[macgyvertape]

Thoughts on Season of the Witch

Usually I do a little post of my thoughts on the D2 season right around when it ends, with little notes I’ve made from playing the season through the weeks and my thoughts about game enjoyment as a whole. For most of Season 22 (Season of the Witch) I didn’t play D2 aside from clan raid nights, then when I did play everything was really overshadowed by the layoffs where discussing it would be repeating the same points said by others about Bungie’s bad upper management. 

Because when Destiny is good and I’m having fun with friends it's “I’m so back” but when I feel obligated to play more than I’d like to get x reward and the grind isn’t respecting my time “its so over”. So for me entangled with the thought of “this is my favorite season of Destiny, I’ve fallen in love with the game again” has been “goddamn Bungie fired the people who made the game this good”. 

I think my favorite seasons storywise are when Eris shows up and does a cool magic ritual against the Witness: I just liked the activities in Witch more than Haunted

The “tithe with haste” mechanic was a fun return of the scythes from season of the Haunted, and overall I really liked Altars of Summoning as a season activity with random encounters of player controlled variable difficulty.

Savathuns Spire had enjoyable randomized combat, but by the end of the season I was tired of the transverse the traps mechanics. 

New graphics card for the season where Eris gets a hot new look, but seriously the game looks gorgeous with light shafts and the highest texture settings. I have a new appreciation for just much effort is put into the maps and items, especially the warlock season pass armor where its a shrouded skull

Weekend of funny guns was so great even if I only got to do about an hour and a half of it due to being out of town. It reminds me of the 12 person bug, just having fun with something silly to push the limits of what's possible.

I liked the fights in the seasonal story missions, there’s a limit to how hard they could be so that everyone could play them but they felt engaging and dramatic like a mini campaign

I liked the Immaru Engine puzzle; a good mix of puzzles where I felt rewarded by making a good faith attempt at trying it without spoilers, and visually the first room is a very cool space. 

Story:

Eris of course dramatically shreds her chest armor in her Hive transformation, but I had a bad graphics card before so I didn’t realize none of the Hive wear tops, even the Wizards aren’t wearing dresses just some sort of tasset skirt

Its a very fun concept that Savathun made this plan that required Eris to turn into a Hive , that Eris and the Guardians had to play along with Savathun’s scheme because both parties benefited.

I’ll never get sick of the hilarious contrast of Immaru being a small floating spiky ball and the gruff threatening way he tries to talk like he’s a Far Cry villain. It got a big laugh out of me that he voiced the intro cutscene 

Xivu Arath was also a delight, I really loved getting more info about her in the lore and her voiced lines in the seasonal activities with the weird Hive look on violence

Immaru beats out “How’s your sister” for most savage personal attack with, “It was fixing the mistake it made when it chose you” 

Very fitting Drifter has the lore for the hand cannon weapon this season, and lmao that it was an “anyway transmat firing” meme. It's the only time in the lore he says it. I also really liked his radio interaction with Immaru

I think it really worked as a writing point to have Immaru be the one on coms telling us that Savathun approves as “positive reinforcement” because then it allows for player character in control moments like when we grab him like a stress ball, without making Savanthun feel less of a threat. 

This season had a lot of good Eris and Ikora interactions, their storyline is something I’ve enjoyed seeing since Shadowkeep

It's a shame the season is transitory, as the cast of characters (Eris, Immaru, Ikora, Xivu Arath, Savathun) and how they interacted with each other in the short seasonal actives has been my favorite 

[shslskaterboy]

Ok how about loid for the character ask thing i want to know what y think about this tormented father

OH my god wow okay this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. To put my new blorbo thoughts to the test.

Favourite thing about him? He’s such a loser. He’s really good at his job- the best even- but other than that everything he does is a mess. He’s always teetering on the edge of an anxious breakdown, but despite all that he’s still a great father and husband to his pretend family

Least favourite? Hard to pick because he’s such A Guy, but maybe that every episode I look at him and Yor and I go 👁👁 yall really not gonna kiss her yet? You’re just letting her sit there on her own and not kiss her? Coward.

I don’t remember any lines word for word but every time he’s like “our plan is doomed. This is it I’m ruined” is so funny to me because it’s always over like a minor inconvenience

Brotp I mean. It’s Franky obviously. Alternatively Anya because I think whenever they hang out it’s hilarious but I don’t think that counts as bros

Otp. Barely even a question. It is clearly Yor. That man needs to be stepped on POST HASTE and she can easily kick his ass so it’s no contest

Notp. Get out of here Fiona. You and your emo bangs could never compare to Yor so don’t even try

Random headcanon is that man is autistic. If you don’t see it idk what to tell you, but that man is not neurotypical

A song I associate with him is Beneath the Mask from the Persona5 OST. Because I mean come on it’s perfect

I had to look into it a bit but I found what has to be one of my fave moments encapsulated in image form which is

Mans was about to THROW HANDS with this guy who was tormenting Anya, he was one second away from completely blowing his mission and only stopped himself short at the last moment. And if that’s not the best idk what is

[miryum]

Hey! I don't know if you've already done it, but if not could you make a description of what the brothers look like?

(I'm gonna assume you're talking about the Foundling Villa) I don't wanna really put descriptions for the reader's family because I don't want to say "yeah, you're parents are both blonde and have light skin" when someone's who's reading it is another ethnicity and they don't look like that at all. However, I am going to put a list of character down below just as a recap.

So, The Williams Royal Family:

King of Williams- Reader's father (not super involved and just wants to garner money for himself and the kingdom)

Queen of Williams- Reader's mother. Was originally a duchess but married King of Williams because he was royalty. (is obsessed with climbing the social ladder. Wants her daughters to marry the wealthiest royalty in Formuline)

Robert- First child of King and Queen of Williams. Married to Cambria who is currently pregnant with their child (a chill brother, but super protective of reader)

Brenda- Second child of King and Queen of Williams. Eldest daughter. Married to a duke of Haas and has the platonic, friendship love with her husband. Because of this relationship, her husband let's her travel much more to visit reader. (sarcastic, loves girl-talk, and wants to make sure reader is safe and okay)

Kaitlyn- Third born to King and Queen of Williams. Married to a prince of Alpine and cultivated a loving, romantic deep love with him. Was the one to write to Charles about you. Can worm secrets out of people, but uses them to help others (we don't know much about her, only that she's pretty busy and can't spend much time with reader. Is close to reader)

Marie- Fourth born to King and Queen of Williams (holy shit how many pregnancies did I make reader's mum go through?). Has a very restrictive marriage to a misogynist earl of Wolff (again, we don't know much about her, only that she has a lot of responsibilities and that her husband pressures her into)

Reader- Fifth child of King and Queen of Williams. it's you. You've read the series. You know what's happening

Ralph- Last-born child of King and Queen of Williams. Hasn't been married yet, but the Queen is pushing him to choose someone of the court (very sarcastic and hilarious. Doesn't love the court procedures and is probably the closest to reader)

Y'all know the Leclerc family, cause that's who we're here for. However, here are their advisors:

Jules Bianchi- Steward (staff mangement) Fernando Alonso-Chamberlain (looked after King Hervé) Fred Vasseur- Marshal (horse/transportation dude) Daniel Ricciardo- a Knight Carlos Sainz- a Lord Pierre Gasly- an Advisor

Foundling Villa Household:

Yuki Tsunoda- Chef Lando Norris- Stable master Oscar Piastri- Gardener Nico Hulkenberg- a Knight

Other Important People in Formuline that will come up at some point-

King Jos Verstappen- King of Redull Prince Max Verstappen- Prince of Redull Sergio Perez- A Redull Advisor Samuel Hasting- A Redull Duke that I made up King Lewis Hamilton- King of Wolff King Guenther Stein- King of Haas

[nightcrawlerzincorporated]

i have some more bc now i’m curious about your mysterious least favorite and also i’m enjoying your analyses :)

the gang turns black, charlie has cancer (for the mac/carmen plot line), a lot of charlie gets crippled, the gang gives back, sweet dee’s dating a r person (love the rock band storyline tho), thundergun express

it’s hard for me to say i dislike episodes entirely bc there are always parts i like but yeah as a whole i would say these are in my bottom 20

The Gang Turns Black: disagree. I was shocked to learn this one was so hated honestly. I love musical episodes, and I think all their singing is perfectly fine (I don’t know why people say they sound bad??) and the songs are mostly funny and catchy. And I know people think the Quantum Leap thing is stupid but I like it. I like the idea that the gang are so racist it would take a literal magical scenario for them to learn how to be better. I like that the final message of the episode is the reality of systemic racism and police brutality, but I get that’s heavy for a sunny episode and some people find it tactless and I understand completely if anyone feels that way.

Charlie Has Cancer: agree. Honestly I’ve seen this episode so few times specifically because of that plot line. But because I’ve seen it so few times I barely remember it and so don’t have a big rant prepared. But my biggest take away is—it’s one thing to show the characters being transphobic, because they’re horrible people that’s just what the show is, but when the camera is transphobic that’s just the writers thinking the idea of a trans woman having a penis is funny and expecting the audience to find it funny too. Awful. Honestly maybe this one is my least favorite I’ve just seen it so few times and so long ago it’s hard to even remember for me. I don’t even remember the Charlie plot at all or what Dee was doing if anything.

Charlie Gets Crippled: I think agree depending on what you mean by “a lot of”. The stuff about being in a wheelchair getting them free strippers is stupid and based on the false idea that life is somehow easier for disabled people because of pity (wrong and bad). And pretending to be disabled to get attention does make sense for the characters to think of and again it’d be one thing for the characters to be proven wrong but the episode plays it like they’re right and being disabled does get you adoration which uh. If you’ve ever actually been in public with an assistance device you know how wrong that is. But I like the Dennis and Dee stuff and of course our dear friend Mr Tibbs (RIP). I love the opening where Dennis runs Charlie over in his haste to flee from his shitty dad. I love that Frank is introduced as being “manically depressed” for most of his life—it’s a good way to set up the way he acts throughout the rest of the show. But yeah a lot of bad with the good. I don’t watch it often.

The Gang Gives Back: disagree! I love this episode! The gang are so horrible I think there’s a lot of humor in pairing them up with kids (also why I love Frank Reynolds’ Little Beauties). I love Mac and Dee competing to be head coach and I love the horrible dangerous things they tell the kids to do. I love that Frank “trying to bond” with Dennis turns out to be a ruse for Frank’s gambling, something Dennis doesn’t at all seem surprised by, which says so much about Dennis and Dee’s childhood without even directly mentioning it. I even think Charlie using AA to flirt with The Waitress while she’s only interested in Dennis is funny. And it’s hilarious that Frank chastises Dennis for sleeping with The Waitress when he knew Charlie likes her when Frank did literally the exact same thing lol. Just a very funny one for me I think all the character dynamic are really good and the kids are funny.

Sweet Dee’s Dating a: Agree! You found my least favorite episode! Congratulations! I hate it so much even the band parts and Dennis’ slutty little outfit don’t save it for me, which trust me is saying a lot about how bad the rest of the episode is. It’s just. Ugh. Similar issue as the others where it’s one thing for the characters to be ableist, but the narrative itself is ableist too. And it’s not even funny like. Even the band parts aren’t funny beyond their outfits to me. Yeah the scene of Dennis helping Charlie when he’s upset is cute but even that doesn’t save it for me. It’s hard for me to even think about this episode without my blood pressure rising. It’s both boring and offensive! Worst combo. I’ve watched this one as few times as I’ve watch Charlie has Cancer but this one sticks in my mind more in a bad way which is why I say it’s worse for me but who knows maybe if I rewatched both I’d feel differently. But I don’t want to lol.

Thundergun Express: disagree. This one’s another really funny one to me. The whole “we’ll come back for youuuuu” running gag is great to me every time, I love Frank’s awful boat tour where he just rambles about his chaotic life, I love that they’re all so excited for the dong, I love Mac stealing a motorcycle, failing to drive it, and abandoning it in the middle of the street, I love the sewer (yeah, that’s shit in my hair) and I think Frank calling in a bomb threat because he’s so upset he didn’t make it is a fantastic ending. Dennis’ plot is pretty weak but that’s my only criticism, the rest makes me laugh and there’s a lot of great quotable lines from this one.

[randomthoughtquest]

I really could have loved her. I did love her. A girl forced to grow up too fast, practically sold to the highest bidder to fuel her father’s schemes. Abandoned by her dearest friend who just doesn’t understand that she doesn’t have a choice, that she doesn’t have the freedom to make choices, like Rhaenyra does. Forced to watch as her friend lives her life by her rules, free and happy while she’s saddled with responsibility and duty. It’s so clear that the only things that are actually hers in this cruel world are her children. Yes they remind her of so many things she hates, but they’re hers it just doesn’t make any sense for her to be so suddenly willing (especially in comparison to S1 where she was ready to harm Rhaenyra in defense of her son) to toss them out with the rest of the garbage at her earliest convenience.

It’s like the writers wanted that one scene at the end of ep 8 and were willing to speed run through the season to get there, not caring at all about all the character assassinations that took place in their haste to get there. They do not care enough about the show, instead they’re making it all about promoting this hilariously bad take on feminism.

You don't understand, Alicent that in S1 that helped orchestrated Aegon on the Thorne knowing full well who he was. That fought Rhaenyra, that this season cried on Aegon bed and asked for forgiveness that tried to reach Aemond. Now just abandoned her sons and is ok with the death of one of them if that means her survive and Helaena after that other team killed her grandson is just character assassination of the biggest level. Nothing she done makes sense with her characterization and absolutely paint her in the most disgusting way possible over a fanservice ship.

There is no coming back after this for her character. She absolutely is hateful, any sympathy that the views might have felt for her dies here. She gone from one of the most complex characters of the show to one of worse characters even grace television in a span of a episode.

[lextenou]

Whiskey Advent Calendar: The Only Reason I'm Not Playing Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is Because I Can't Remember My Nintendo ID Password

I gave Lords of the Fallen a try tonight. Visually nice, if cramped perspective. Definitely a good hack and slasher style. Everyone in it looks freaking massive. Like the size of the Mountain. I didn't play much of it, though. It was making VLC crash and I ain't giving up my Poirot marathon no matter how pretty the game is.

Tonight's sample is Bower Hill Reserve Rye. Prettily ambered in color, it definitely looks like its aged a bit in a charred barrel.

Deceptively delicate nose. Hint of floral underneath the caramel and woodsy notes. Bit of an alcoholic burn to it.

The top ten fandoms on Tumblr were announced. Of them, the only one I wasn't familiar with was the one for The Bangtan Boys, mainly 'cause I've never listened to them or gotten into them. Of the rest, three are fandoms I'm very familiar with: Supercorp, Sanvers and WayHaught. For the uninitiated, that is: Supergirl, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor; Supergirl, Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer; Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught. Curious that a show with so much discourse surrounding it should have two entries. Overwatch made an appearance, as did Yuri! on Ice. An interesting list.

Definitely nice to see three femslash ships show up on the list.

Sweet and caramel flavor, with a nice burn and clean aftertaste. It reminds me of a nice Coke, but alcoholic. That is a strange one. The burn is reminiscent of the effervescence of the carbonation.

A dash of water cuts the burn from the nose almost entirely, leaving a rich, almost cloying sweetness. It definitely opens it up and makes it taste more like Coke with the water. This is such a weird experience. My tongue doesn't know if its coming or going.

What is most curious with this whiskey is the lack of any information about the distillery. Its got a minor web presence and no actual stills? Its made in Kentucky but bottled in Ohio? 

Very tasty, regardless.

Review from The Whiskey Wash

Review from the Masters of Malt

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Fireflies and Dying Stars: One

“Holy Shit,” Jason yelped

“Jason lang-” Bruce started to correct him but never got the chance to finish before Barbara joined in.

“Grayson is dating a podcaster!”

“A podcaster?” Bruce said slowly.

“And not just any podcaster,” Tim added, similarly scrolling through the twitter gossip. “Y/N Y/L/N of House of Velvet and Glass.”

“Oh I know them!” Cass squeaked, “Y/N does like- half the voices herself. Those behind the scenes are insane.”

Bruce made a soft noise, “Well. We should probably wait until we hear it directly from Dick himself,” he chuckled, “instead of a gossip rag.”

“I dunno,” Jason said passing him the phone he was holding, “This looks a lot like puppy love.”

Bruce glanced down at it and had to admit that Jason had a point. It was a picture of Dick leaning down, apparently about to kiss a very pretty looking young woman who certainly didn’t look like she minded. It may have been one date. But the body language didn’t seem like it.

“Sup?” Dick asked looking around.

“When’s the wedding?” Barbara asked, passing Dick the phone she’d been scrolling.

And when Dick’s face turned red and he coughed uncomfortably, “There’s no telling,” he said shrugging, trying to keep it casual. “She left for her tour last night.”

“Tour?” Bruce asked.

“Sure,” Dick said, “They do live shows and stuff. She and her crew are doing their first international tour- England, Ireland, and Scotland.”

“How do they do a live show of a Radio Drama?” Cass asked.

“They don’t,” Dick laughed, “They do live versions of other shows- and depending on what’s booked she does a “seance” in character.”

“That’s cool,” Cass said, “Sidequest is hilarious.”

“That still doesn’t tell us when the wedding is,” Barbara said taking her phone back.

“It’s not-” Dick huffed and took a deep breath. “Look doesn’t a crime need stopped?”

“Are you ashamed of her?” Jason asked, smelling blood. It wasn’t often any of them got to watch Dick squirm. For anything.

“A smart, pretty, creative girl who started her media company in her parent’s garage and now runs a multi million dollar company?” He helped himself to a coffee and snorted, “Appalled, yes. She’s hideous.”

Bruce shook his head, “Ambitious certainly.”

Dick nodded and sank into his spot at the table, sipping his coffee.

“So how’d you meet her?” Steph asked, leaning forward. Dick’s cheeks were still pink and he looked like he wanted to sink through the floor.

He smiled a little, “She tripped over a chair and spilled her drink on me at a nightclub.” The chorus of cutesy noise from the girls made blood rush to his face and he shook his head. He knew that they were picturing something romantic. Dick being charming and gallant- or something close to it offering you a napkin and making a joke. But. That wasn’t it at all.

You’d tripped over the chair in your haste to get away from your ex husband when he walked in flaunting the best friend he’d cheated on you with- you’d been half in tears and making a valiant effort to hold it together. But when you collided with him, your gin and tonic going down his sleeve, it had been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Sure. He’d set you gently back on your feet but the trembling lip and shaking voice that had apologized, had him steering you towards a private table, ordering another round. And you’d poured your heart out. Drunk and heart broken. Even if you didn’t want him back, the two of them flaunting their betrayal was just too much to be borne. But- he didn’t feel like explaining all that right now. It wasn’t really his story to tell. “And that was- four months ago, I think.”

“So you managed to date a girl for this long and no one knew?” Barbara asked incredulously.

“She likes her private life to stay private,” Dick said shrugging.

“Especially after the divorce,” Cass chimed in, “That was- horrible.”

“Yes,” Dick said nodding, “Though, even before then she kept a pretty tight rein on her public image.”

“So you’re dating a 26 year old divorcee with a podcast,” Jason said, “Damn. The dating pool in Bludhaven is rough, huh?”

Dick snorted, “She’s a nice girl with a business to run. Her only vices are vintage costume jewelry for her collection and good coffee.”

“Are you going to bring her to your birthday dinner?” Steph asked, eyes glittering.

Dick shrugged again and smiled a little, “We’ll have to talk about it when she gets back from her tour. Not quite sure we’ve hit the “meet the family” part of the relationship yet.” And he was pretty sure they hadn’t. Between his work with the Titans and your business, it was hard to even schedule a proper date. Truth be told, if he could cancel his birthday dinner to spend the night with you, he probably would.

He’d spent last night with you, saying good bye, he supposed. Even if he knew you’d be back. There was some comfort in knowing that you were still in the same city. This morning, your perfume still clung to his skin. He could still feel the warmth of your body against his. And he missed you. He’d said goodbye and wanted you to hurry back. To chase you through the gate and go with you- But, at least this gave you time to plan. Spring was in the air, getting soft and warm. It was the perfect time to plan something. Anything that might make you smile at him in that little way you had that made his heart skip a beat.

“He’s ashamed of us,” Jason said nodding. “That’s what it is.”

“It seems that way,” Steph agreed, teasing.

“I don’t care if he’s ashamed or not as long as he introduces me and-” Cass started.

“You’ve met like- the entire Justice League,” Tim broke in, “what-”

“She’s amazing,” Cass gushed, “I have both the books-”

“There are three now,” Dick added.

“Why did no one tell me?” she gasped.

“It won’t drop until early next year. They just finished the first draft.”

“Oh. my. God. I need it- like now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey,” Dick said smiling, leaning back on his pillows, stifling a groan, “How was the show?”

“A mess from start to finish,” you sigh, “But not quite a disaster.”

“Did you get the flowers?” he hummed.

“I did- thank you-” and he can hear you biting your lip, trying not to smile. “You didn’t have to.”

“I did have to,” he said softly. “It’s not like I could hand deliver them to your dressing room.”

“You didn’t have to do that either.”

“But if I don’t then I don’t have an excuse to come back there and help you get out of your costume.”

“Dick!” you protest, giggling.

“Corset lacing just does something for me,” he chuckled.

“And here I thought it was the bloomers.”

“Those too,” he laughed, “Those turbo granny panties are just- so sexy-” Truth be told, those undergarments did do something for him. It was like unwrapping a present getting you out of the yards of fabric- add that into the fumbling and giggling and he’d probably never be able to watch period drama movies the same way again.

“I knew you were a pervert,” you tease, stretching.

“Everyone has secrets,” Dick laughed. “Did they at least put you in a nice room this time?”

“It’s a far cry from the Red Roof Inn across from the truckstop,” you snort, “They even have room service.”

“Ooo swanky,” he snorted, “Did you order your chicken nuggets?”

“And some wine.”

“Perfect,” he chuckled. “Any particular wine?”

“I think I gave the kid an aneurysm asking for ‘Whatever pairs best with nuggets and barbeque sauce’. There was a very long pause and then just- the most irritated sigh ever.”

“But did you order as yourself?”

“This time- I might start doing voices tomorrow.”

Dick could hear you munching happily on your dinner for a second and shook his head. At least, he figured you were eating something. “So-” He broke off for a second, wondering if he should broach the subject now, or wait. But when he hears you pause, he can practically here you tense. “Pictures of us hit the internet,” he said.

“I know,” you sigh, “I’m sorry.”

He chuckled, “Why are you sorry?” It’s absurd to him that you’d apologize. You hadn’t even wanted to go out.

“I just- some of the implications-”

“Last year all the tabloids were speculating that I was fucking one of my brothers,” he snorted. “Believe me- we’ve caused worse- and weirder scandals.” When you huff a laugh, he presses on, “But- now that everyone knows about it, that means my family also knows- they want to meet you.”

“Is it so they can make sure I’m not after your trust fund?” He can hear the teasing in your voice and it makes him smile.

“Babe,” he snorted, “You’re worth more than me, even with my trust fund. No they- they want to meet you because- well. I mean.” He knows he should say something about you being beautiful, and smart, and perfect, and too good for him but- all of that feels trite. Even if it’s true. “They’re intrigued- and one of my sisters is fucking obsessed with you.”

“I’m boring in real life,” you protest.

“Y/N,” he said smiling a little, “You’re a lot of things. But you aren’t boring.” And it was true. Even that first night, at the nightclub when you’d been pouring your heart out to him. All the pain coming to a head in front of a total stranger. Someone you didn’t have to be okay for- he’d never been bored. Even with your make up ruined, old wounds torn open and weeping, you wove together a story that even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t pull away from. You’d drawn him in, You still drew him in. Even in the quiet, on rumpled bedding, the moonlight dancing over your skin, looking up at him like he was everything you’d ever wanted. Or after a long day at the studio, swearing as you strip off shoes when you could through the door; leaving behind you an absent minded trail of bobby pins and clothing as you go to sink into a bath. Every quiet contradiction- not liking candy but loving sour gummy worms on road trips. Needing total silence but not too much silence. Eating pickles out of a jar but never not once on a burger- You were chaos in all the best ways. An antidote to relentless training and order and discipline. A reminder that there were things worth dying for but even more things to live for.

And he wished, not for the first time, that he had 1/100th of your talent with words. So that he could say it without sounding stupid.

“Besides,” he says instead, “My family is a little- chaotic.” ‘Chaotic’ was probably an understatement. Collectively they all had more baggage than an airport. “You’ll probably fit right in.”

“Whatever you decide,” you yawn, “I’m sure if someone hasn’t shown my parents by now they will tomorrow.”

“Moms love me,” Dick said confidently.

“What about Dads?”

Dick sighed, “Dads- they usually threaten to shoot me.”

“My dad would probably do it- but first he’d tell you about the time he saw bigfoot.”

“Bigfoot?”

“He grew up in bumfucknowhere Oklahoma- there’s not much to do but get lit in someone’s cousin’s uncle’s field, go to a rodeo, and look for Bigfoot.”

“Kinda like how you used to go to the movies then go to Walmart?”

“And I had to drive 30 minutes to do it,” you confirm.

“Jesus Christ-”

“Listen. Leiter’s Ford has a Dollar General and a Subway now- they’re almost entirely metropolitan. Give it like a year and they’ll get a supervillain.”

“Oh my god go to bed.”

“Dick, you called me.”

“Goodnight, beautiful,” he chuckled.

“Night.”

And When the line goes dead, all he can do is shake his head. He doesn’t understand how your ex-husband could do it. How he could walk away like he did. Because he’d love nothing more than to be where you are. He’d love to call you back and just listen to you ramble at him, sleep-deprived and grumpy until you fell asleep. Instead, he plugs in his phone and pulls up florists near where you’ll be tomorrow. Tomorrow feels like a good day for lilies.