#i have a lot of opinions on that game and most of them are not positive

[dollgxtz]

I’m seeing a lot of “People are so soft, of course Caleb drugged MC he’s a yandere.” discourse here and on twitter.

As a dark content writer, I wanted to add my two cents. So firstly, it genuinely pisses me off when I see statements like that. People are not soft for having boundaries and triggers. They are not soft for not wanting to be drugged in their fictional game? Like hello? A lot of people have irl traumas surrounding it too so it makes sense why they’re upset that it got sprung upon them in the main story.

Infold should’ve added a content warning. Full stop. It was very distasteful of them to spring this onto people. I’ve genuinely seen people in the lads community express how uncomfortable they felt or how they weren’t expecting it and got triggered.

It truly hurts my heart as someone who writes this kind of content, because the last thing I’d ever want to do is trigger someone with His Watchful Eye unexpectedly. That’s why it’s properly tagged and multiple warnings are given at the beginning so people know what they’re getting into. I tag every potential trigger and sometimes I still feel it’s not enough. That goes for any of my fics tbh.

Stuff like this really does give us who enjoy dark content a bad name. Like we have to realize we are the minority, majority of people do not enjoy that and it’s okay!! We shouldn’t be shamed for what we enjoy, but that doesn’t mean we should turn around and shame others for what they don’t enjoy.

“This must be y’all’s first otome game”

Please stop it with that statement too. There’s no prize for who’s the most desensitized 😭.

I’ve always encouraged freedom of expression with His Watchful Eye. I don’t get upset when people tell me they wish Yan!Sylus would die or they hate him and hope him and MC don’t end up together. I love Yan!Sylus. But does that mean I expect others to? Absolutely not!! That’s the beauty of fiction, everyone has different opinions on it!

All in all, let’s not shame people okay? People are vastly different in their opinions and thoughts, so let’s keep it respectful. Let’s not attack real people over fictional characters yall 🤍

Adding a pic of Sylus that I took below cause I literally can’t stop looking at it 😌

[relicsongmel]

Iris, Miles, and their mutual "secret"

The Ace Attorney fandom is no stranger to discussions of homoerotic subtext in the game's script—pretty much everyone who's spent more than five seconds here will be able to tell you that. Screenshots of lines that imply romantic tension between same-gender characters are all over the place, to the point that many fans are drawn to the series purely by its reputation as "the gay lawyer game." Some scenes are more well-known than others, but one I find brought up fairly regularly is this conversation between Miles and Iris:

This is optional dialogue that can be triggered by presenting incorrect evidence on Iris' Psyche-Lock during the Investigation portion of Bridge to the Turnabout. The argument here is that the "secret" Iris is referring to is the same as her own: that being, a romantic interest in Phoenix Wright. Which is definitely hilarious when you consider that Iris has known Miles for less than a day and she's already reading him for filth (granted, she could have been clued in by the similarly infamous "indispensable friend" line, and she's also exceptionally good at reading people despite Miles thinking otherwise). As a Narumitsu shipper myself I am not immune to enjoying that interpretation; however, I feel like there's a lot of nuance in this scene that isn't often addressed by the fandom at large. Which is unfortunate because watering it down to just Iris calling out Miles for being the gayass he is (to be fair. she's not wrong) does a MASSIVE disservice to both of their characters, and I'll explain why.

My bone to pick with the usual analysis of this scene is mostly centered around the larger conversation to be had regarding the treatment of female characters in fandom spaces. All too often they tend to play second fiddle to the male characters, and a similar principle holds true for ships with their canonical male love interests: mostly ignored in favor of the the more popular M/M ship(s). At best these women are sidelined, at worse they are flattened into wingmen for the boys (as is frequently the case with many AA girls and Narumitsu, Iris included), and at the absolute worst they are demonized for their perceived "competition" with whatever gay ship is most popular and therefore the Only Valid One for the male characters involved (as exemplified by some very "passionate" fans that I generally try to avoid interacting with). Whenever this scene gets brought up, the focus is almost always exclusively on Miles and what the interaction says about his relationship with Phoenix; Iris is only relevant insofar as she's the one initiating Miles' Homosexual Moment™—you could replace her with almost any other character and there'd be a similar level of neglect for their role in the interaction. Only very rarely will you see attention given to what Iris' question about Miles' secret means when she is the one asking it, and what it can tell us about her relationship with Miles/what she thinks of him, and vice versa (absolutely wild how even Miles himself is often flanderized despite being the fandom's golden child). It's all too characteristic of the systemic misogyny that has plagued fandom since its inception, which is deeply frustrating to me as someone who adores Iris as much as I do (if that wasn't obvious by now). So that said, let's dive deeper into what I think the missing link is here: namely, the Iris-Miles dynamic as it pertains to their relation to Phoenix.

Iris and Miles is one of my favorite relationships to explore in the whole series—but as I've described above, unfortunately a lot of people get it wrong in my opinion. Discussion about the two is frequently centered around Narumitsu Love Drama—which is a conversation worth having, don't get me wrong—but the elements at play there aren't always represented the way I envision them, which again, is frustrating. Take the idea of potential jealousy, for instance: it's pretty standard love triangle fare that can be (and often is) quickly turned into demonization when it's used in a shipping context, character assassination be damned (re: Narumitsu fanfic authors that project their personal dislike of Feenris onto Miles via his jealousy of Iris and/or how they tend to portray Iris unfavorably). However, it's not inherently a bad thing to explore: personally, I do believe that there is mutual jealousy between the two of them. Miles might not have the full context of Iris' history when this conversation takes place, but he's emotionally intelligent enough to pick up on what Iris means to Phoenix, and vice versa. And him being a jealous hoe about it isn't out of the question when you consider that he's a bit of a loner by nature and doesn't have many close friends or outlets for socialization outside of his job. The crucial element that's sometimes missed, though, is that Miles not only lacks the self-awareness to realize he's a jealous hoe...he's also a self-sabotaging jealous hoe.

And the same can be said for Iris, who is similarly introverted and doesn't often leave her home at Hazakura Temple.

The whole reason Miles is peering into Iris' heart in the first place can be found in this exchange, after he breaks her Psyche-Lock:

Miles uses the Magatama in order to gain the answers he needs to bring the truth to light and get Iris acquitted, and he does so for the express purpose of reuniting her with Phoenix so they can find closure—in fact, he reiterates this to her multiple times. He obviously recognizes how Phoenix is suffering from what happened between them (I'd argue he sympathizes with Iris' plight as well) and has resolved to do what he can to help him heal, but there's no reason for him to be so insistent that she rectify things with Phoenix when it does nothing but harm his own chances with him. Unless, of course...that's the whole point.

To convince Iris to reveal her secret so he doesn't have to face his own, because he thinks himself undeserving.

And Iris, noticing this because she empathizes with that feeling of unworthiness, calls him out on it in an almost uncharacteristically forward manner when she asks him what he's hiding.

Takes one to know one, indeed.

Iris highly respects Miles for taking on her defense despite the risk to his job as a prosecutor. She's willing to trust him after hearing he's a friend of Phoenix, hearing him out and letting him reason with her. She still keeps her cards close to her chest in some regards, but she's more honest with him than she's been with anyone else in her life apart from her sister. She sees his commitment to the truth and how it starkly contrasts with how she's lived her life to this point, and thinks that this is the type of partner Phoenix deserves—not someone like her, who only knows how to survive using lies and deception. She sees so much strength in him but still recognizes the insecurity lurking beneath his tenacity, which is why when he falters in his logic, she takes a leap of faith and gives him one last chance to examine his reasons for pushing the burden of his unspoken affections onto her, as if to say: "Look in the mirror. Is this really for me? Or is it for you? Do you really seek the truth for its own sake, or do you merely hope to find one truth so you might run from another?"

Her question to Miles is a gamble—a coin flip of self-sacrifice. If she loses and he presses on, she has to face the secret within her heart she's been suppressing for five years. But if she wins and he gives in to the truth in his, she has to live the rest of her life watching it unfold and knowing she threw away her chance to finally stop living in fear of her own love.

Either way, there's no escaping heartache for her anymore.

Miles and Iris both want what's best for Phoenix and prioritize their vision of his feelings over their own. However, they are also both deeply emotionally repressed people who find difficulty in being direct with their feelings, and are predisposed to self-sabotage due to childhood trauma. These tendencies may manifest in different ways for both of them, but the fact remains that such people would likely not compete for a person's affection in the traditional sense, which is exactly what we see with how Iris and Miles deflect their feelings for Phoenix. These selfless, lovestruck idiots toss that man around like a game of hot-potato because their mutual self-hatred for the ways they've harmed him has rendered them terrified of the reality of what he means to them, and desperate to find a way out of admitting to it. It's the most compelling explanation I can think of for why the usually unassuming Iris makes such a bold judgment about what Miles might be keeping locked away, and why Miles goes to such lengths to make sure she talks to Phoenix and tells him the truth—his agreement to defend her was conditional on that exact promise. They go through this whole song-and-dance of playing wingman to ignore their own feelings while still trying to bring Phoenix the happiness they think he deserves—and then they wonder why seeing Phoenix give the other one attention burns them up inside.

Because they’re dumb. And I love them.

TL;DR the Iris Psyche-Lock scene in BttT is so much more than just "haha Miles gay" and I wish people talked about it more. Also Iris and Miles are way more similar than they appear at first glance and if I think about it for too long it makes me physically ill thank you for coming to my TED talk

[justtheclippy]

Tips and FAQ for Asks

Hello beautiful humans, I want to do my best to get to everyone's asks so here are a few things you can do to help make that happen! (if you're looking for the cast stream master list, skip to the bottom)

Please don't spam the same question repeatedly. I will get to you eventually, I promise! But when you submit the exact same thing multiple times, it just slows me down. I've got one single brain cell, please have mercy.

No spoiler requests. I cannot tell you anything about future episodes, when they will come out, what will happen to certain characters, how the story ends etc. We're limited on what we can say in general until more episodes release. The entire cast has signed NDAs (non disclosure agreement) preventing us from revealing anything, but more than that, we wouldn't want to ruin your experience of watching and engaging with the show organically! Trust me, just enjoy the ride, it's better that way.

Don't take anything too seriously. Please keep in mind most of these answers will just be for fun. My thoughts and opinions on the character, both for silly things like favorite dessert and more serious things like character analysis, are not hard and fast canon. Same goes for any of the actors. We can speculate about our characters, we know and understand them well, but when in doubt, assume its allllllllllllll non-canonical haha

Read through previous asks. This will help prevent asking things I've already answered. I'm going to be tagging (i swear I'll do it fr) my answers with #amanda asks and #tadc asks so you can find them more easily. If you do ask a question I've already answered IT'S OK DON'T PANIC I won't be upset haha

Even though I'll be tagging my answers so you can easily find them, here are a few frequently asked questions just to get them out of the way. If you decide to ask me something I've already answered, or something that goes against the guidelines above, I'll probably skip it, you silly geese.

Q: I've seen people use several different pronouns for you, what are your preferred pronouns? A: They/them and I prefer masc leaning terms generally! I'm queer, NB and very open about my identity. But people will sometimes use she/her because they don't know. I will never get upset with someone for not knowing- it's ok. But now that you've read this, you know! So you can go forth educated. You're welcome to correct anyone who doesn't know, but please be kind to each other. We've all been the person who didn't know before.

Q: What do you think of X ship? A: I love and support all the ships! Ships are part of a healthy fandom, keep creating content that makes you feel seen and that YOU want to see, that's the foundation of creativity. And if anyone disagrees with you, remind them that a lot of classics are just fanfiction about the gods at the time. It's always been here.

Q: What is your favorite ship? A: Bunnydoll and Buttonblossom, because the dynamics are so much fun.

Q: Do you like X AU? A: Yes. It doesn't matter what it is, yes. I love the AUs and if it's a new one, you better include a link so I can find it. I want all of them, thank you so muuuuuuuuch~

Q: Have you seen or played X game/show/movie/meme etc.? A: Always happy to chat about other media! But if you wanna ask about something specific, please include a link or explanation because lets be just so very honest, half the time my brain is off in adhd land so there's a good chance I'll have no idea what you're talking about at first.

Q: Have you watched Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure? A: Not yet! But due to VERY POPULAR REQUEST I will be putting together a watch stream to watch it live with yall. Once that's happened, I'll put the link here.

Q: Have you seen Queen's second game and will you be playing it? A: Yes, we've all seen the trailer and we're very excited! We will be playing it as a full cast, just like last time, as soon as the game is finished. For now, please go enjoy the demo and support the team! Once it's out and we're ready to stream it, I'll post the link here.

Q: Can you come to X convention? A: I will come to any convention that yall want to see me at!

BUT

In order for that to happen, you have to request me directly with the convention. Most will have either a request form on their site or a specific email for requests. Just write in that you would like to see me at their event, and then they will get in touch with my agent to book me!

Q: Can I request a song for you to sing? A: Of course! I promise yall I'll do my best to put out more songs this year. If there's a cover you want me to consider doing, or an artist/composer you'd like to hear me work with, let me know!

Outside of that, if you just want a little clip, you can drop requests in the asks and if I know the song I might record a bit. This is COMPLETELY dependent on time, especially if I'm busy. Please understand ❤️

You can also make requests during stream signings, which is easier to accommodate in the moment. Just put the request in the order notes, and I'll sing a little bit for you while I sign IF I know the song. So choose wisely.

Q: Can I write an ask just to show you cool stuff or tell you you're awesome? A: Of course you can! You can also tag me in stuff, that's ok too. I appreciate all the love and support yall have shown for me, Ragatha and the show in general. Yall are truly incredible. ❤️

Q: Do you have a PO Box so we can send you stuff? A: I'm setting it up THIS WEEK. I will post it here when it's ready.

Q: Where can I find X stream that the cast did? A: Moving forward, I will keep a master list of our group streams in order of date aired, to the best of my ability. If I miss one, let me know and I'll get it on here!

Saberspark TADC Cast Interview

Streamily Signing #1 (Amanda, Michael, Alex, Marissa)

Streamily Signing #2 (Amanda and Michael)

Streamily Signing #3 (Amanda and Sean)

Streamily Signing #4 (Amanda, Sean, Alex, Michael, Marissa, Vera, Hamish)

TADC Fan Game Stream: Game 1

Streamily Signing #5 (Amanda, Alex, Ashley, Sean, Michael, Marissa, Vera, Hamish, Wiz)

Fast Food Simulator Charity Stream (Amanda, Lizzie, Marissa, Michael, Ashley)

[directdogman]

Hey Mr. Doggo, do you have a favorite character you created?

I truly don't. When I made DT, it was a goal of mine that every character with a good bit of screentime be someone I genuinely liked (or disliked in an intentional sort of way.) They're all either likable or entertaining.

When it comes to writing characters, Gingi, Crown, Mingus, Randy, and Karen come to mind first and foremost as of my answering tonight. Gabby, Tango + Mr Dickens and God too. Oliver + Norm are cool too... I really could just list every character.

Typically, the less time a character has on screen, the less I have for them on paper (with Crown/Milt/Marla being the obvious exceptions), but of the developed cast, there's something I really like about all of them. They are people, first and foremost. They love, hate, win, lose and have opinions/insecurities that drive who they are and what they do and there's always *something* I about them, even if the audience doesn't know it yet, that makes me relate to them on a human level.

Even Gingi, who spends a lot of the game scampering around, talking about eating gravel/horse jerky and chugging cough nectar. The amount of people I've had tell me that Gingi is somehow the character they relate to most of the cast tells me I'm doing something right at least. I really love all of these zany lil guys

[ranchstoryblog]

ICYMI: Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Livestream News

Earlier today there was a nice, hour-long livestream covering new information and details about the upcoming Guardians of Azuma, set to release on May 30th. The stream archive is linked above, and is absolutely recommended viewing, but if you just want a quick summary of the basics, that's what this post is here for!

15:05 - Countdown Ends, most recent trailer begins playing. The trailer features the different season-based villages, Village Builder Mode, Adventure, Romance, and story-focused segments.

18:50 - Our host, Ovilee May introduces herself and welcomes viewers to the livestream. She also introduces us to Suzie Yeung, the voice actress for Kaguya, the game's heroine, and Brandon McInnis, voice of the game's hero, Subaru. They emphasize how much work they've put into the game, with a lot of voice acting and story emphasis for the game. Brandon and Suzie describe the protagonists as "good listeners," but adds that Kaguya is refined and elegant while Subaru is a bit more brash.

22:48 - An overview of the Rune Factory series, with slides pictured above. Brandon relates a story about how his voice acting career began during his play-through of Rune Factory 3. Suzie hasn't played Rune Factory yet, but is a fan of farming sims. The basics of the series are laid out, farming, fighting, romance, RPG elements, etc.

30:13 - A look at Guardians of Azuma specifically. Describing it as a re-imagining of the series, building on the core tenants of the series but adding village building and earth dancing. There is emphasis on the turtle in the artwork, which is appreciated as turtles are extremely cool. Please look directly at the turtle in the above image.

32:32 - The next segment focuses on the Earth Dancers, our protagonists. Brandon and Suzie emphasize again that their characters are a bit brash and more elegant respectively while also adding that Subaru is a bit more emotional and Kaguya is more reserved.

34:25 - We move on to the next segment, which covers the Village Builder and farming aspects of the game. Players will be able to place residences for villagers, build farming/ranching facilities like barns, and storefronts. Ovilee emphasizes that you can design the town for your own quality of life, such as setting up the blacksmith next to your home instead of having to run into town every time you need them.

35:20 - There's emphasis on the Eastern style to the game's world design, though there will be some Western aspects as well, such as foods. No specific mention of actual Western foods included in the game.

36:33 - Bows and Talismans are new weapon types, and the ability to recruit monsters and party members to adventure with you as a returning feature is emphasized. When asked about favorite characters, there's some evasion on being able to mention specific characters, but shout-outs to Woolby, the game's mascot.

38:19 - We pivot to the romance side of Guardians of Azuma. If there was any doubt, same-sex relationships are emphasized as a returning feature. While, there was some evasiveness on favorites at first, Brandon does say that the writing is wonderful and that different scenes would make him laugh or cry from the ways different relationships play out before highlighting Cuilang's story in particular.

41:15 - Ovilee, begins asking Suzie and Brandon about their characters. Kaguya and Subaru being childhood friends who were betrothed in an arranged marriage before the events of the game, where things "get complicated." Ovilee then asks about their opinions on the depths of the relationships of the characters. The phrases "comprehensive," "fleshed out," and that each side character has a strong story without short-cutting anyone. Playing their characters did have plenty of strong emotions, with Suzie mentioning one of the characters made her extremely angry, "I was ready to take a swing at somebody." Kaguya and Subaru have a lot of history with each other as well.

45:33 - Garrison Denim, localization team member, joins the group to hand out three Sacred Treasures from the game, a Sacred Drum, Sacred Sword, and Sacred Parasol. After praising our voice actors, it's time to jump into some gameplay. Garrison narrates as we're given a look at Spring Village, the first in the game. Village customization is emphasized, and it's shown that villagers are also helping with the farm work, not just the player. They can plant, water, harvest, and each villager will have distinct qualities and specialties. You can also still use monsters to handle your fields.

Next, the Sacred Treasures are introduced. Each has special abilities: The Sacred Parasol can water every tilled tile simultaneously, the Sacred Drum can speed up growth, the Sacred Sword generating seeds from crops ready to be harvested. While the drum is being used, there is a pop-up referencing a "Drum Dance Skill Tree."

An alternative, birds-eye view for village customization is shown. Maintaining villages will be extra important, as you're "not farming just for yourself" as the leader of these communities, and "making sure all the villagers are fed." There's also a lot of decorations to help creative village designers. Each village will have a fully customizable space, or multiple spaces, to use.

55:55 - We now switch to demonstrating combat. Your party can have a maximum of six, filling in with romance candidates, monsters, or villagers while you adventure. It's demonstrated that bosses have specific weaknesses and that filling a stun gauge can allow you to get an upperhand, and different characters will have different specialties. You can also ride some monsters, relationships with party members will improve, Sacred Treasures are demonstrated to offer combat abilities like debuffing enemies, and perfect dodges will grant bullet-time like effects.

1:07:22 - It's time to get to relationships! There's a new menu while interacting with characters that will give you options based on your bond level with them, with new options unlocking as your bond level increases, as well as a time-based cost. Each character has a variety of different things to do with them, as well as likes and dislikes, and some interactions lead to distinct scenes.

1:12:25 - Sakuna collaboration DLC! She exists as a villager, can join your party, and such. She's itty bitty. We also get to have a little look at the Collectors Bundle. Closing out, Suzie and Brandon also mention that this is probably the longest running project they've worked on, with lots of hard work and voiced dialog that they're looking forward to players experiencing. Finally, the newest trailer plays again.

[callsign-sucker]

//Sucker\\

So. Been a while since I shared my opinions on a mech.

So let's talk about the Nelson, and, because of its history and association, Albatross.

So, the Nelson is a highly mobile skirmisher chassis meant to conduct a variety of high-tempo operations. Specifically the kind of operations that IPS-N likes to conduct when on the offensive, and is, for their use, meant as a compliment to the Blackbeard in situations where ballistics are a non-starter.

On a qualitative level, I think the Nelson is decent. It does what it's designed to do well, as is the trend with IPS-N frames. However, the Nelson is one of the few times IPS-N uses paracausal tech.

The Perpetual Motion Drive onboard the Nelson serves to make it move faster, and make it shiftier, making it better at what it already does. Move fast.

Because of this drive, as well as it's manuverability, the Nelson tends to outshine the everest in conversations of fastest mech, and while the everest is faster, the Nelson isn't far behind.

And then they strapped a ramjet onto it! Because it wasn't fast enough apperently!

Now, This mech has become synonymous with Albatross, and for good reason. IPS-N makes a whole lot very good frames with a decent price tag, combine that with the agreement the two organizations have had since before thirdcom, and some people make the mistake of thinking Albatross is subordinate to IPS-N.

They're not.

Albatros cooperates with IPS-N on convoy security detail, both as an augment to IPS-N's own in-house security teams, like the ever ignominious Trunk Security, and as subject mater experts, as Albatros will often engage pirates on their own and often without any input from IPS-N.

Now, remember when I said Albatross predates thirdcom?

They were the spark that lit the Thirdcom revolution. Seccom had them listed as a "Terrorist Organization" due to their saunch anti-authoritarian position, and their willingness to act on that.

Yes, IPS-N unofficially backed them in this period, but that was because for most of the lead up to the Thirdcom revolution, IPS-N were fence sitters. They saw the writing on the wall, that there was going to be a revolution, and so the curried favor with both seccom, and the revolutionaries to hedge their bets.

Notice how IPS-N's formal agreement with Albatross only happened after it became clear that Seccom was losing.

The relationship between IPS-N and Albatross on the surface seems to be like they will always have eachother's backs. That's IPS-N lying through their teeth.

From having spent some time with Albatross on my way out of HA space, Albatross, especially the veteran leadership, many of whom are older than Thirdcom itself, views IPS-N with the same trepidation as anyone else who knows of the shady shit that they got caught doing. They would never let their organization become subordinate to such a group.

//For Cogito Ergo Sum\\

(OOC: A lot of this about albatross is because many here in the fandom make the mistake of seeing Albatross as an extension of IPS-N. They aren't. They would sooner tell IPS-N to get bent than let themselves become an extension of that which they fight against. That doesn't mean that they won't be misled, but they would never willingly or knowingly become a tool for IPS-N to expand its influence. (not to mention, IPS-N has a gameplan akin to that of the imperialist-era Dutch. They have nowhere near the territorial ambitions of, say, Harrison Armories. IPS-N is perfectly happy being space UPS/Fed-Ex, they just want to be the only game in town. That's why they have Trunk Security. To do all of that shady shit people think IPS-N has Albatross do for them.))

[thebreakfastgenie]

Is it just me, or have liberals largely drained their poison of Bernie Sanders? I remember back in 2016’s aftermath you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a dozen people saying he single-handedly got Trump elected. (Brainstatic even blamed him for personally ruining the Dems with young people)

I think we've just kind of moved on. There's still some anger at him, some for 2016 and some for 2020 and some for things he's done since then, but it's been years and we have bigger fish to fry. We can't re-litigate 2016 forever. I think some of the anger was exaggerated or misdirected because it was a very emotional time, so it's natural that this was recede over time. Some of it was also, in my opinion, kind of a tit-for-tat thing because people were so angry at Hillary Clinton and her supporters. I'd call that part not entirely reasonable, but very understandable. It is worth remembering, though, that most of it was based in very real grievances.

Bernie insisting on remaining in the primary after he'd been mathematically eliminated did contribute to the party being divided and by that point we could see how serious a threat Trump was going to be. A lot of the arguments people use against the Democratic Party "from the left" now, or just arguments the progressive wing uses against "establishment Democrats" originated with Bernie's rhetoric, even though in many cases he didn't use them quite as egregiously, he got the game of telephone started. Some of that I think he couldn't have reasonably seen coming, but some of it he could have. His complaints about superdelegates did give a lot of people an inaccurate understanding of the primary process in a way that eroded trust and created a false belief in corruption. That one I think he did knowingly to help him in the primary and I think it was wrong and had bad consequences. He introduced a whole new demographic into politics and specifically Democratic politics and I think he was very short-sighted about how he did it.

A lot of the worst stuff came from Bernie's supporters (really a vocal minority of them), not from Bernie directly, but he encouraged some of it to varying degrees. "Bernie or bust" was a real problem. I don't think there were many people who actually voted for Bernie and then declined to vote for Hillary Clinton, and I think of the ones who did, most of them would have simply not voted in the primary at all if Bernie hadn't run and would not have voted for Clinton anyway. However, the Bernie or bust rhetoric and the constant negativity about Hillary did hurt her campaign. And I think liberals were/are understandably angry regardless of material effect on the outcome, because that rhetoric shows a clear disregard for the threat Trump and Republicans hold. Partisan Democrats (and anecdotally I think a lot of liberals gained a stronger partisan identity particularly from 2016-21 in the process of organizing against Trump) are offended by Bernie being a Democrat when it benefits him and an Independent the rest of the time. Honestly that bothered me too, more so with his 2020 campaign than his 2016 one because he left the party in between, but it only bugs me slightly on principle, some people feel a lot more strongly.

There are liberals who dislike Bernie Sanders for other reasons besides Democratic Party infighting, too. The sexism issue is very real, though I have seen it exaggerated and used in bad faith. I remember when he called Planned Parenthood "the establishment" because they endorsed Hillary.

The other reason you're seeing less liberal anger at Bernie now is that he's just less relevant. Bernie and his followers, including progressive Democrats who were elected in the wake of his 2016 campaign, had a decent amount of influence from 2017 to 2024. It might not seem that way because leftist posters ignore or outright deny it, but it happened. The Biden/Harris administration got a lot of policy from the progressive wing, and they were just a bigger part of the national culture and conversation. The era of every corporate office adopting DEI and campuses doing land acknowledgments. 2024 put a pretty abrupt end to all that. The national mood has shifted to the right and the narrative about it coming out of both traditional and social media makes the shift out to be even stronger and more widespread than it actually is. Bernie's brand of leftish populism is no longer getting much attention or consideration, and won't for a while. I think a lot of liberals are also assuming the Democratic Party will pivot to the center, not necessarily because they want it to, but because historically that's what happens after this type of loss. Think Bill Clinton in 1992.

I'm going to add a little personal context about my opinion of Bernie Sanders because he's a very polarizing figure and I think I'm able to be a bit dispassionate about him in a way that's unusual online.

I was aware of Bernie Sanders before 2016 despite not living in Vermont. I have my issues with some of what he's done, but I still have an overall positive view of him for the most part. I supported him for a while in 2016 and stopped supporting him because I was dissatisfied with his campaign; I felt he was repeating the same talking points in every speech and he did nothing to convince he had a plan to actually accomplish any of his policy goals, most of which I supported. I already liked Hillary too (I adored her as a child before she even ran for president and rooted for her in the 2008 primary when I was 12) and throughout the campaign she came across to me as more prepared to do the job of president. In 2020, I voted for Joe Biden in the primary because by the Ohio primary Biden and Sanders were the only candidates left and I did not want to vote for Sanders. My priority in 2020 was beating Trump and I based my primary vote on that. I was angry at Bernie for running again under the circumstances, but I was angry at a lot of unserious candidates in 2020, it wasn't personal to him. My ultimate conclusion about Bernie Sanders is that I think he's a perfectly fine senator and I would feel fine voting for him if I lived in Vermont, but I do not believe he would be a good president. At this point, he's done some things, including recently, I dislike, but I don't hate the guy. I don't get mad at people who do, though, we all have our personal grudges. Mainly I'm unhappy that he ran for re-election this year when his state has a Republican governor. I think that was irresponsible.

I've definitely observed variation in how socially acceptable it is to speak negatively or positively about Bernie Sanders in liberal circles. Some of that is different periods of time, but some of it is just which liberals are in the room. The intense anger exists but it's never been universal among liberals. I think at various times people choose to stay quiet because arguing about Bernie Sanders won't accomplish anything so there's no reason to make people mad. I don't think it's a dangerous "you're not allowed to raise a dissenting opinion" thing, just people choosing their battles in social situations.

And, you know, maybe other liberals had the same experience I had of talking to normie Bernie supporters and remembering that most people who supported Sanders just liked him and happily voted for Hillary Clinton in the general and this whole feud mostly exists among people who are hyperengaged in politics. Very offline Bernie supporters are all over the place in New England and talking to them really helps me get a sense of perspective. There's more overlap between 2016 primary Sanders voters and resist libs than you would think if you spend all your time in online left-lib slap fights!

[author-main]

Welcome back to Author Takes the Romance out of Wrightworth just to Put It Back Later. The reason why I do this is because, I'm a relatively newer fan, haven't been here for super long. And I wanna share my thoughts and opinions as a fan who got into the games because of nrmt/mtnr. I (personally) think a lot of the meaning in the characters' dialog gets kinda lost in fanon. So today, I will discuss how:

Phoenix becoming a lawyer for Miles isn't THAT extreme when you learn how easy it was to "change his life" to do it.

By that, I mean... it wasn't THAT big of a change.

Point One: Phoenix did not change his entire college course for Miles, nor did he need to.

I should start with: becoming a lawyer is no joke, no matter where you live. But since I'm American, we'll follow the localization.

In the U.S. you're required to obtain your Juris Doctor (J.D.) to take the bar exam. What you need to start working towards a J.D. is any bachelor's degree. Phoenix was 21 and still an art major (April 2014), even after knowing for up to over a year (February 2013) that Miles was a prosecutor. He is said to have taken law classes, that could mean three things

Law electives

Law minor

double major

Note: The double major is the least likely in canon, because if that was the case, his character profile in 3-1 would've mentioned it.

Given the timeline of events, I believe that Phoenix was already a graduating senior at by the time of 3-1. Not a super important thought, just a "he's pretty much ready to get into a grad program anyway" thing.

Point Two: Larry Butz is his other reason in becoming a lawyer.

And not so many people ship them now do they? Most people either see Larry as just a friend to Phoenix, or they outright forget him (which is why I have to point him out NOW). Phoenix knew Larry for his entire life, longer than he knew Edgeworth. And he's the reason they all became friends in the first place. But he's even more important than just being the reason he and Miles became friends.

Phoenix wanted to show his gratitude to Miles and Larry in the exact same way, by defending them in court. This isn't romantic, this is wholly platonic. This is his way of showing how much they actually meant to him, how much their friendship meant to them. He's trying to show them what exactly they've done for him. They changed him as a person. Showed him that he should follow his convictions and intuition, to believe in people and defend them especially when the rest of the world is against them.

Point Three: "I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth": You NEED to pay attention to the entire conversation to understand why he said this. (though I obviously can't share it all here, but here are the most important parts for this post)

Probably the most seemingly obsessive part this of is: "He's in pain… And no one's on his side. I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth. I'm the only one who can help him." But you really need to actually consider what he's saying here. Phoenix knows that the world is cruel and that mob mentality can form no matter the demographic. He knows that whether it's a class of elementary school kids, or full-grown adults in suits and ties; if the world thinks you did it, you're discouraged from defending yourself. If the world thinks you did it, you'll start believing it too. If the world tells you to apologize and take responsibility, you're going to do it, even if what they accuse you of isn't true. And Phoenix knows what it's like to not be able to defend himself. He knows that he needs to defend the seemingly indefensible. That's why he became a defense attorney. That's what the class trial taught him, what Miles and Larry taught him.

"I'm the only one who knows the real Edgeworth." -> "I'm the only one who knows what it's like to be in Edgeworth's shoes and I know for a fact that he's innocent. I know that no matter what happened in the past, that he doesn't deserve this."

Extra: The other reason why I decided to write this is because of Xitter lurking

This was all part of a conversation but I'm only sharing my own opinions

[gatheredfates]

Of course I was going to respond to my own qotd! I actually have a few, so.

I wish I had more confidence to post my original work, most especially (but not limited to) my Thirteenth verse and some of the ideas I've had rolling around regarding Solution Nine/Shaaloani. I've talked a little around Coyote/Tech Bop but I also really want to explore the idea I've had for an Elezen knight-simulacrum—her name is Edelgard and I'm kinda not normal about her. I think the major thing that stops me is that I'm naturally a collaborative person, I much prefer to write with people than writing alone, and that tends to stop me a bit. It's why I don't write all that much about my WoL verse for Kor as I much prefer writing it with people or exploring it for people. When I'm doing it for myself, I both get really into it and end up really bored because it's the same feedback loop. It's why I struggle with, but am trying to overcome, my tendency to write fanfic every like two years LOL.

In pure indulgence, I'd love to write more ships/romance with people. I'm just a sucker for a good ship!! Let the OCs kiss!! Shipping is one of those things in roleplay/fandom that far too many people put down and yet seem to want at the same. Embrace your hedonism and write that stuff! Who cares if people think you're cringe!!!

In addition to the above, I'd also like to write with more people—whether in game or out. However, I have a woeful timezone and attention span, which I'm also trying to work on. Work doesn't help when I'm absolutely exhausted from the day, but I'm hoping the new job will help with that in making me tired in a less burnt out way and more a genuine weariness.

I'd love to go to more events, but that plays into the above as well. I do genuinely miss in-character club events where people could drink, dance and have fun. I know a lot of people put nightclubs down, but my controversial yet brave opinion is that fight clubs are no better for being 'acceptable' and, frankly, are less collaborative because you have to make room for the people to brawl (This is not a go at them btw, it's just an observation based on my experiences). I love a mixture of serious and non-serious events. Honestly, I wish I had more events to add to the Compendium, but they are hard to find!

I'd just like to do more collaborative things. I'm a collaborative girlie. I love doing things with other people.

This is one of my favourite oc/wol qotd posts to make because I do think it paves the way for positive interactions and the like—so!

If you could have one self-indulgent thing in your writing/roleplay/characterisations right now, what would it be and why? This could be something as simple as 'I wish I had the confidence to post x work' or 'I wish I could roleplay x and y but I would need [insert character type here] to make it work' or even 'I'd love to find x community but I'm not sure if it even exists'.

If you see someone's indulgence here and you can help them by either supporting or contributing to it, take the time to reach out! ✨You might just make a new friend or encourage someone to be more confident in their work.

[lizzybeeee]

I didn't like every map in Inquisition, but the elven ruins were some of the best parts of it. Sometimes I think about how Suledin Keep was laid out where you're running through this kind of mazelike environment and then you can glance up at one point and there's this GIANT dread wolf statue watching you from the mountains. that was neat. Arlathan has giant statues too but imo they aren't framed in a very fantastic way where you can get startled like that. and where are the elven prayer puzzles. why can we not show our obeisance to the Evanuris with logic and whimsy :<

I loved Suledin Keep as well!

Especially since, by that point, you've fought your way through red templar camps and the giant behemoths to get to the *heart* of the operation at Suldein. There are red templars, rifts, the people/quarry operation, and then you get to the Keep and, like you said, there's that cool moment where you look up and the Dread Wolf is just LOOMING over you (like Solas in the story!).

Something that really appealed to me with this world was the tangible sense of the past, the consequences of decisions made ages ago, looming over you - the Blights, the Ancient Elves, the Dwarven Empire, Tevinter...the world never let you forget it.

And that's the whole game of DAI - wherever you go there's always traces of the people that came before you, unable to swept away by time or conquerors...and sometimes those people claw their way back to the present like Corypheous or Solas. In Ferelden you find traces of the Avaar and Chasind, In Orlais you find the remnants of the Elves, the Western Approach is dotted with Old Tevinter outposts and the Wardens, and the Hissing Wastes/Storm Coast with the dwarven ruins on the surface! I loved discovering every inch of those maps (large as they were lmao) and it added so much to the world. It made the world feel large! It added to the idea that this world had so much mystery to it - so much lost history.

And Arlathan?

It's a maze, not in a good way, but because parts are cut off only to be opened 'when allowed', and not like in Inquisition where there was a rock-slide or you needed a bridge etc... You're boxed in with glowing doors that tell you 'not now come back later' or water that instantly drowns you, and it's hard to not be taken out of the experience when the game is so very upfront with you that you are not supposed to explore until we say you can.

This game doesn't reward exploration, it has fast travel spots all over the place that seem to discourage it once you find an area. Camps in Inquisition were spread out over large maps but sparingly used in comparison - it still made certain that you explored the world to find new things on your journey from a to b. The quests train you to fast travel, to get to where you need to go - kill, talk, repeat. The game teaches you to look out for crap to break and so my eyes are rooted firmly on the ground because of it. The game can look gorgeous at times, but it doesn't feel like it wants me to look at it too hard, like it will break the illusion of this game lmao.

It's a personal opinion, of course, but my experience with this game was that it made the world smaller, less interesting, and devoid of that mystery and reverence that made this series so compelling. Like you said, there are some cool visuals like those giant statues in Arlathan, but everything else in the map is so condensed and twisting on each other that it's hard to notice them naturally while playing the game.

'Why can we not show our obeisance to the Evanuris with logic and whimsy'

That would be so cool! I can get Andruil's alter having a hunting test - like with the Vir Tanadhal (the way of three trees), which is a hunting philosophy the Dalish have relating to Andruil who is the Goddess of the Hunt. That makes sense - you show deference to her by hunting according to her way.

...but for all of them?

It's a game design choice, I get that -> make it simple, keep it the same...it goes with the repetitive combat and exploration loop of this game. But they really lost out on showing us how the Evanuris differ to each other - how each of them had their own little 'aspect' they had dominion over in accordance to their lore. Why not have a little puzzle for June, God of the Craft? A riddle for Dirthamen, God of Secrets? Have some sort of brazier lighting puzzle for Sylaise, the Hearthkeeper, who gave the elven people fire?

From what we learn in DAI with the veilfire and temple of Mythal we know that they were massively egotistical assholes for the most part, some way more than most. They had their own temples, their own valaslin, their own mythology/legends...giving them all the same prayer puzzle is pretty dull when you consider how different they all are and the efforts they went to to distinguish them. Not that you'd really know in this game - for a game about the 'Elven Gods' there's very little discussion about the rest of them.

But, yeah, to sum it all up: Elven ruins in Inquisition were gorgeous, encouraged you to explore and interact with the lore with veilfire runes, and gave you some gorgeous set pieces like with the giant Dread Wolf statue in Suledin. Inquisition may not have been everyones cup of tea, totally get that, but for me it really captured the wonder of Thedas - the depth of its history...datv unfortunately did not.

[griem]

ijbol idk man releasing screenshots of very polarizing things said in a private discord server between friends in a public "callout" post is #the most #tumblrific thing ive ever seen LOL.

#opinion 😱 in tags

[llitchilitchi]

I get hating certain political systems and trying to abolish totalitarian regimes but at the same time many of them are so interwoven with our history and society they have become tropes and when I consume media with a setting where the monarchy is absolute and revered then I am playing my part and sucking that princeling off

[moeblob]

I’d just like to say thank you for drawing Gavin and Chris being friends. Definitely an underrated pair and I’m so happy that art of them exists. Makes my day to see them honestly.

Also, please make more because this fandom definitely needs it 💕

OH HELL YEAH that's some of my favorite stuff to draw for DBH tbh! There is something so charming about unhinged coworker dynamics... I say this as someone who has been the unhinged coworker and someone who has heard unhinged coworkers.

Thank you so much though! I'm glad you've enjoyed what I have so far! I will say that while I didn't have the energy to draw it yesterday for Halloween, the idea that I had was them just alternating who got to wear the Ghostface mask. (I have never seen any of the Scream movies but I do know that there's not a Singular Ghostface, but multiple people)

Like someone would walk past Gavin's desk and he's just on his phone not looking up while Chris is making a work call - wearing the mask. Then five minutes later Chris tosses it over saying he needs some air and Gavin wears it. But the fact it was Halloween nobody really clocks the swap at first just "wow I am REALLY tired I thought it was the other one wearing it. I must really need coffee" and then half an hour passes and they've swapped who's wearing it again.

[hotsugarbyglassanimals]

i feel like this site leaning heavily into the "pedophilia and incest and rape kinks are good" angle lately can be attributed to the mass expulsion of sex workers and black ppl on here ngl

[ridl]

Something i rlly dislike abt Ganyu's characterization in fandom is how ppl see her being read as a stupid weak stereotype, and they just retaliate with another stereotype but from the other end of a spectrum.

She can be strong, competent, knowledgable and have very important role in the Liyue Qixing for years, but also be kind, humble, avoiding conflicts and NOT always knowing everything. those are not mutually exclusive!!! Yes she's old, no that doesn't mean she's now perfectly confident, knows everything and is good at everything. She's not some untouchable, divine being, better than everyone else. Stop removing humanity from her, when that's the whole point of her identity!!!

When i see overly confident, dominant, bitchy, smug, flirty Ganyu i start throwing rocks bc that's not Ganyu, begone impostor.

I just want Ganyu to be actually herself. Not a submissive secretary caricature. Not a dommy mommy caricature. JUST Ganyu, with all her complexity, strengths and weaknesses.

It's like treating Ganyu's personality as inherently weak and boring, so in the act of "justice for women" ppl just remove it and replace with a caricature of a strong woman. It's driving me insane when those "women defenders" are just slandering them, without even thinking abt it. If someone thinks a woman being quiet, kind, humble, avoiding conflict etc. is inherently "misogynistic" and needs those traits to be completely removed and replaced, then they just hate women

[kakusu-shipping]

The hardest part of Pokemon Self Inserting is Team Building.