#idk it’s very cool on a technical level

[maacbrem]

Once again getting ready to watch critical role live while on episode 25/26 because I’m here for a good time not a making sense of the plot time

[prismbearer]

Do you think the idea of severance came from Harmony's own desire to be free of the grief and ties to the labor they endured at that Factory?

[musical-chick-13]

Regarding the previous post, I think the way I approach trying to evaluate a piece of art is asking "Do I think the positive things I get out of it outweigh the parts of it that I don't like?" And when I call something a "guilty pleasure" song/show/book/piece of media/etc. it's really more in the sense of, "Given who I am as a person, the flaws I've found in this should be complete dealbreakers for me, but somehow they aren't, and it makes me feel like I'm having an identity crisis."

[mister13eyond]

daring to be vulnerable and open about my work on tumblr on a tuesday afternoon

i have a strange relationship with april 6th where it is simultaneously the proudest achievement i have and also my white whale that i will forever be chasing

which is funny because looking back at it now, years later, i'd probably write it differently at this stage in my life? i think i've grown a lot as a writer and there are parts to me that read clunky or messy and i think i could have pushed things a lot further

but it's also like. idk, i'd never made a fic About anything before. I'd never even made a full completed piece of fiction? and then i went from "a few oneshots scattered over the course of several years and fandoms" to this fucking.... multimedia epic. this thing i updated in real time. this thing i learned to PROGRAM TWINE GAMES for. this thing i got reviews on that said it helped people deal with their own grief, that i feel like Actually spoke to people?

and that's a high fucking bar to reach! it was a very specific and precise fluke that came from a lot of things all at once- me processing my OWN feelings of loss and fear about the future after 2020. my own slow and delicate tiptoe into a new relationship where everything was uncertain and scary. my personal way of getting revenge-via-success after a year-long burnout inflicted by a really bad friendship that had a really negative impact on me creatively and killed all my confidence in my ability to finish things.

so it's like. weird having this relationship with a piece of my own work that is so Symbolic? weird having a relationship with my own creation where it is simultaneously My Testament To My Own Ability and also The Rival Whose Shadow I'm Always Chasing.

AND IT'S NOT EVEN LIKE... I don't necessarily think it's my best writing, you know? On a purely technical level, it's definitely not BAD but i've grown as a writer since then and I think I've learned new strengths and have continued to improve

but like. also.... it'll always be That Thing I Wish I Could Capture The Feeling Of Making Again. it'll always be that weird moment of lightning in a bottle where i made something really really cool and now everything i make afterwards has to take a backseat to this project i started on impulse in 2021 because i had a bunch of feelings

[chaos0pikachu]

4 Minutes and the Cinematography of Nipples

I said before that I thought 4 Minutes was pretty instantaneously the best looking BL on the market for 2024 after one episode. Which, not gonna lie, is a pretty big fucking claim. There’s been a lot of BL that’s come out that’s looked good, and I do think there’s been a steady improvement overall in the market in the last few years. Personally I think Japanese and Korean BL have a stronger production quality over a majority of Thai BL but like, if that’s a hot take I guess I prefer my food spicy. 

The point being~ if I’m gonna make such a hyperbolic statement, well I better back it up right? 

So I’m gonna break down a few scenes from the first episode, what I liked about them, why they worked for me, and why on a technical level I think 4 Minutes has just got it going on.

For better readability you can also check out this essay here.

Sidenote: my google docs kept trying to autocorrect “Bible” to “the Bible” and idk how to teach google I mean the hot Thai actor and not the book of Jesus. 

To start, I’m going to break down this scene featuring Great and his nepo baby cat: 

I thought starting with this scene would be good because it’s such a low-key scene and honestly making these simplistic scenes visually interesting is very difficult! But if you have the basics down, the foundations of cinematography and film making, these simpler scenes can be really memorable. 

Like yeah we’re all gonna remember this scene because shirtless Bible and oh my god Akira!? - I have only recently learned who Akira is; why is this cat getting a bigger bag than me? - but beyond that, what makes it cool to watch? What makes it interesting? What information does it showcase to the audience? 

One thing I added to the video was a grid for the rule of thirds. 

Rule of thirds is a shot composition technique applied to both film and photography. It’s the grid you see if you film a homevideo and helps a Director and Cinematographer figure out where to place the subject or subjects of the shot. The idea is the gridlines show you where you “should” place the subject(s) of said shot. 

Like everything, the rule of thirds is a guideline in filmmaking, not a hard and fast unbreakable rule. Filmmakers like Wes Anderson like to play more with central composition shots, rather than ROT. 

Anyway on to the opening shot, right after our credits and we’re moving into the shot. 

To start, the first thing I notice is the scene’s color grading. Color grading in film is the manipulation of raw film footage to create specific color tones throughout a project. Sometimes this grading is more pointed and obvious, think The Matrix, while in other films it’s not as obvious but still very prominent, think Killers of the Flower Moon. 

It’s not that the before credits scene looks entirely, jarringly different from the opening scene, but the hospital scene is surrounded by whites and blue tones, it’s darker, and only a single source of light exists. It gives the entire scene a much more frantic, uneasy aesthetic but it’s not so far off from the darker muted tones of the next scene that it feels jarring or out of place. 

The second big thing I noticed in the episode is the use of aspect ratio. I’m not 100% sure what aspect ratio the production used exactly, but the use of widescreen as opposed to full screen in my opinion, gives the episode a more cinematic feel to it in comparison to other Thai BLs. 

Example, if you look at Century of Love (2024) it appears to be filmed in the standard full screen - which I believe is 16:9? - while 4 Minutes is widescreen (thus the black bars at the top and bottom). Widescreen can give a show a more “movie like” quality to it which is part of the vibes I get from 4 Minutes. 

(source)

Onto Great’s actual introduction scene.

We’re not starting the shot with static movement, but with a camera panning right. I’ve talked about camera panning and such in BL before and it’s something I’ve found doesn’t happen as often as it should. Which is a shame! It’s such a simple technique but it adds so much. 

Imagine if we entered the frame with a static center shot, and then a cut to Great sleeping and turning off his alarm clock, and then another cut to above the bed. Think about how much more boring that could be visually. 

Instead, we enter the scene with movement, panning over and creating some interesting visual framing. 

So here’s our opening shot, do you notice anything interesting? To start, what I like about this shot other than the panning movement in, is that we don’t see Great’s face yet. In fact we don’t see his face in full until about 30 seconds into the scene. This builds anticipation, yeah we all know what Bible looks like, but for the audience who doesn’t this helps build anticipation. 

Who is this character? What does he look like? What’s his deal? 

It also engages the audience more, if you notice part of the composition of the shot has Great in the mid-ground slightly blurred out, while the foreground emphasizes the things on his desk. He’s distant from us, the audience, sleeping off his hangover not yet ready to “join” the world yet. 

Here’s another two more things I like about this shot:

Lines. 

Using lines and shapes can make a scene more visually interesting and invoke different feelings to the viewer. In this shot, I get a sense of symmetry, the camera panning right, lightly drags across the screen alongside the lines below and above Great, almost creating a frame within a frame effect. As if Great is boxed into a clock in and of itself. 

You can also see the use of balance in the scene as well, connecting back to that visual theme of symmetry as well as blocking our view of Great’s face. The lava lamb and champagne bottle are almost the same height, which helps create balance in the shot. The champagne bottle informs us Great has been drinking or does drink since it’s positioned so close to his bed, whilst also continuing to hide his face away from the viewer. 

I also like that the lava lamp is a bright spot of color. The tone of the scene is mostly muted greens, and gray, but the bright orange lava lamp and even the pink champagne bottle draw our attention but don’t overwhelm us either. It provides the scene with some warmth but doesn’t offset the overall tone of the color grading. 

And then, the last bit of this shot:

We have Great knocking over the champagne bottom, and turning off his alarm clock. Notice that the alarm clock and the champagne bottle hit those ROT dots almost exactly. There’s also the use of lines by the length of Great’s arm - I just forgot to add a line I’m a failure, a fake, fml - we see him knock over the bottle, and then we follow the line of his arm directly to the alarm clock which is also a shape, a circle. 

I like that they used a clock with a specific notable shape, since by the end of this scene the clock is relevant to the story as a whole. Using a shape makes the clock more visually noticeable and memorable to the audience. 

So in the next cut we’re above Great - just like Great’s gonna be above Tyme, fuckin hell I’m corny - in a medium-full shot and there’s a couple things I really like here. 

I really like the use of lines here with the bed going in one direction but Great’s body going another. It’s disconcerting, and off kilter a bit. 

The use of patterns plus the opposing symmetry, whereas in the previous shot the lava lamp and champagne bottle were providing balance, here one side of the bed is patterned, while the other isn’t. This creates a sense of imbalance and makes the shot more visually interesting.

This medium-full shot at a high angle makes Great smaller, and continues to showcase his dishevelment, keeping him distant from the world itself. Also notice the lack of color here as well. 

What could this say about Great as a character? Or his story? 

So this next cut is the one that actually inspired me to write this essay to begin with and know what I’ma eat some crow here. I originally said it was a great ROT shot but I was wrooooooong. It’s definitely a center composition shot. 

Notice as well, the bed itself is its own shape - rectangle - center in the frame, and yet the shot almost looks unbalanced again because of that singular patterned rug. It’s the only pattern in the entire shot, not even Great’s pillows have noticeable patterns on them. 

The above view camera angle in a full shot creates almost an omnipresent feel, as if the audience - or something else? - were looking down upon Great. Whose face we still haven’t seen! It makes him smaller, less powerful, and almost vulnerable. Shots like this are often used in horror films like James Wan’s Malignant (2021) where the horror spector will be looking down above the would-be victim. 

Another thing I like about this scene though is we have Great moving. It would be simpler and easier to have his phone just by his alarm clock, or under his pillow, but think about how much more visually interesting it is that he has to move down the bed and reach for his phone. It creates action in an actionless low stakes scene. 

And now, 30 whole seconds in and we’ve finally seen Great’s face! 

Fun fact, with the ROT grid the gridlines fall right across Bible’s nipples. That’s not a film analysis, just something I noticed entirely intentionally. Thanks Madam Director Ning Bhanbhassa Dhubthien.

The actual shot is in center composition again, as Great rolls over and reveals his face the camera begins to zoom in. 

This creates movement in the scene instead of leaving the camera to statically observe it’s now, finally, inviting the audience to meet Great. Pulling us in towards him whereas before we were kept at a distance. Great’s awake and, well as ready to meet the world as somebody with a raging hangover can be. 

I also like how Bible is moving constantly in this scene; he rubs his eyes and nose, he twitches his fingers, titles his head back and forth, etc it’s nothing revolutionary but it’s appreciated. 

When the scene cuts, we get this shot: 

I didn’t put the red dot on his nipple, it just landed there. This is all Madam Director Ning chepie. 

But you can see how Great’s body is landing on all those gridlines pretty solidly. Also in the background we see his alarm clock again, a bright blurred circle in the distance. I also like the angle of this shot, as it creates depth in the frame, with Great’s head being in the foreground his lower body in the mid-ground and the background blurred out. 

What follows is Akira appearing in frame. Which was really difficult to capture so I don’t have a screenshot. But what I really like is Akira entering the frame out of focus. They could have just cut to Akira, but instead they opted for Akira to enter the frame which is more interesting. 

When we do cut, Akira is firmly on one of those dots so we don’t miss them in the frame. I think it’s also interesting that we’ve pulled out again, into a mid-full shot, hanging above Great, and we see that clear symmetry line again between the patterned rug and the regular carpet. 

I also really love that when we got to Great sweet-talking Akira and feeding them we’re not just doing a cut, we’re panning downwards which continues to add movement to the scene. And we get that moneyed sponsor shot! 

Durex can’t pay for everything okay?

So in the final bit of this scene we get focus on Great, who’s in focus, before he gets up and leaves the frame where the camera then focuses on the clock behind him. 

See how in the first frame the background is all blurred out, but once Great walks out of the frame - again, great that he walks out, movement!! Y’all don’t understand how boring 1000 Stars was for me to watch because of the lack of this stuff okay? - and then the focus shifts to the clock. Which is round. 

God I know that sounds so dumb, but imagine the clock without that ring light bit on it, it’s just a tiny little rectangle. Not as fun or interesting to look at right? Or as noticeable especially from a distance? 

This shift in focus also tells us “this is important” whatever “this” is. The subject of the shot goes from Great to the alarm clock but they are positioned as equally important. We’re meant to pay attention to this seemingly innocuous item, which we learn later in the episode is time. We’re meant to remember and note that time will be important to the story - I know with a title like 4 Minutes you’d fucking hope time would be important but have y’all ever read Youtube comments? It’s rough out there for visual comprehension okay? 

So all in all this scene is only 1 minute and 40 seconds give or take. It’s very short, but I don’t think it was boring at all. I think it’s a really solid introduction to a main character. Think, Korn didn’t get this much time to showcase his introduction, his scene is shorter - though also well done - which showcases which character is more of a story priority. 

This scene eases the audience into the story, inviting us to wake up into the world like Great is. It uses techniques like lines, shapes, symmetry, color and focus to make what could be a very boring scene into an interesting one. 

There’s so so much I probably and certainly missed, I’m far from an expert, but I hope I was able to articulate what I liked about this scene, and why I think it looks good. 

Stay tuned for more if I can manage to focus long enough to breakdown more scenes lol

Also red dots on Bible’s nipples are just funny to me it be what it be. 

Further Reading: 

Composition in Cinematography / THE LAST OF US

Center-Framing vs Chaos-Cinema: Mad Max vs Transformers

Camera Framing: Shot Composition & Cinematography Techniques Explained [The Shot List, Ep 2]

The Ultimate Guide to Camera Shots (50+ Types of Shots and Angles in Film)

Color Grading 101 - Everything You Need to Know

Mixing Film And Digital Footage: Killers Of The Flower Moon

In Praise of Subtle Cinematography

[hiccup-in-the-code]

How to train your dragon question (or I guess technically questions but related) that I want headcanon answers to because I'm interested in what y'all think, I'm currently watching Race to the Edge, and, so Gothi right? So in the movie the only time they acknowledge Gothi she only needs to nod or shake her head because that's all that her character is needed for, but in the show it's expanded upon that she doesn't speak and instead writes with her staff in dirt/sand/snow/etc. AND they make it a point that the ONLY people who can read her writing are Gobber, Hiccup, and Fishlegs.

We also know that it is not the regular written language as 1. We know that while there are definitely illiterate Vikings it does seem to be commonplace to learn to read and write on Berk, not just Stoick (and therefore extension Hiccup as heir) being a chief having to be able to read and write for treaties, Borks papers are a treasured and regularly displayed thing that are viewed, ALL of the teens are told to read the book of dragons meaning the expectation is that they are somewhat literate. 2. We get to see some of her writings and they are more so sketches, a "picture" language and occasional "chicken scratch".

Now my questions

1. Why specifically do you think Gothi doesn't speak? The two ways I've seen it explored in fanfics (that I unfortunately can't remember the names of at this time) were 1. Literally losing her ability to speak as a pack with the gods in exchange for her healer knowledge which, while very cool, is more based in mythology realm and Berk is definitely meant to be a bit more real (obviously minus the dragons, but for example they believe Thor doesn't like metal when the joke is that we know IRL the lightning is just attracted to metal as a conductor so the in world belief becomes silly to us, not fourth wall breaking but fourth wall joke writing kinda stuff) and 2. She had her tongue cut out as part of being the like, "level" of healer she is she needs to be "prevented from gossiping about her patients", which again, very cool. We know she's been nonspeaking and a healer since she was young so I think it may either be that she took a vow of silence similar to a monk, though this one would be related to her as a healer, maybe her "level" requires dedications such as a vow of silence OR maybe she was born mute and Berk had a belief of those with certain born disabilities were more spiritually tied to the gods and thus are put in positions such as healer.

2. What language specifically does she write in? Is it standardized across mute healers? Is it specific to her and if so how was it first translated? and on that note..

3. Why can only Gobber Hiccup and Fishlegs read it? Fishlegs I understand, he's an academic, he would be interested just because. Hiccup I understand, both from a character perspective of like Fishlegs, being kinda an academic, wanting to learn for the sake of having the knowledge, but also as heir to the chiefdom, it would be insanely important to be able to understand your best healer. Which leads to WHY CANT STOICK READ IT? Idk just feels weird (I remember him asking Gobber what she was saying which is how I know he can't read it) and on that note, why is it Gobber of all people who can also read it? (Obviously the IRL writing perspective reason is that stoick is busy doing Chief stuff and we need a familiar character that is not one of the main characters sometimes to be able to read it) but like in universe why do you think it's him of all people? do you think it has to do with him being a descendant of Bork?

Just something I think about while I'm watching the very beginning of Race To The Edge again

[thistlerock]

Gods I love Fabian's battle sheet so much the idea of it is just so. Good??

Like, first of all, the aesthetic. What is Fabian Aramais Seacaster if not the moment. The beautifully woven elven sheet with the ridiculous thread count sparkling in the light of the fire as he battle ballets* just goes hard.

(*well I think he combines all sorts of dance styles during battle but probably a lot of it is capoeira venturing into hip-hop venturing into. Like. Modern dancing? Classical high-elven dance is to me a folk thing that's very ballet adjacent and then Fabian puts his own spin on it and carves out his niche further as he levels up.)

Then obviously the battle sheet is significant story wise? Fabian's arc is so genuinely nice I love him connecting with his elven heritage through dance. I love that he learns to step out of his father's shadow and comes into his own by exploring a part of him that previously went ignored not even because he thought it to be bad or lesser but simply because he wasn't even aware of it. It wasn't his father's so what did it matter to him? His mother wasn't exactly an active participant in his life (or her own life, really) until shortly before that, of course he'd never even thought about what it means to hail from Fallinel. I love that what really does it for him is protecting his friends, scrambling to extinguish fires with increasing confidence in his grace and just. Yeah.

Idk if they ever go into detail about it mechanically, but to my understanding it technically acts as both Fabian's spellcasting focus for his bard spells and a shield, because you need a shield for the protection (imposing disadvantage on attacks on allies) fighting style and Lou describes Fabian whipping out his sheet when he does it. Idk if it actually grants him +2 armor class, maybe? His AC is 19 which is pretty high and I really don't know how he got there because I think they mechanically use regular armor stats and Fabian for sure doesn't have disadvantage on stealth but hey. (Studded leather + his dex(5) + 2 from a shield?? Better armor stats that max out at +2 from dex but without the stealth disadvantage because they don't stealth that much anyway??) Either way the battle sheet is cool as shit. I love you Fabian's battle sheet.

Also I like when people make it perpetually warm because of the fire elemental in fanfic, very fond of that :) especially when he uses it as a blanket for his friends or something. Or when it's like yeah wrapping Riz up in soft warm blanket, comfy, absolutely swaddled. Big fan.

[sabianandocs]

What do u think of undertale aus if you've seen some ? :p

I find it's impossible to navigate this fandom without running into AUs, so I have seen quite a few!

I'm not involved with any AUs, and Classic has always been and always will be my favorite, but I am familiar with the vague concepts of a few AUs, or at the very least I know what their Sanses look like (approximately)

Underfell and Underswap are the two big ones, as far as I'm aware, or maybe just some of the first-er ones? I was aware of them way back in 2016 when I first got involved in the fandom. I honestly have no clue about any of the lore or story of either; I know that Swap is just. Personality swap. Pretty par for the course in fandom. No clue what Underfell actually is though- it's been described to me as just 'edgy Undertale'; a version where the whole underground lives by the principle of 'kill or be killed'.

Horrortale I only really encountered more recently; I'm not sure if that's because it's actually new or just came to be at some point between my first foray in the fandom and my more recent re-involvement. I think the concept is super cool- that the whole underground went insane from isolation after Frisk left- (I think) but I haven't been able to really get into it personally.

Dusttale just makes me sad. I don't know a lot about it, obviously, since I'm not actively looking at any AU content, but from what I know it's a version where Sans decides after so many resets the only way to stop it all is to kill everyone himself to level up. Once again, super cool concept, but really depressing?? And personally I don't really feel like it's something Sans would do- he may be generally apathetic, but he cares about the people around him. I suppose anything goes once you've been kind of driven insane, though, to be fair.

--

I find the fascination with Sans across different AUs fascinating. No matter what AU you look at, Sans always seems to be the star of the show- to the point where, even in all the AUs I talked about above, he (and MAYBE Papyrus) is the only one I've really seen art of in those AUs. I think I've seen a little bit of Swap or Swapfell Alphys and Undyne (don't ask me about AUs of AUs, I would have no idea; I barely know the regular AUs), but only by one artist, reposted without credit on Pinterest. It's to the point where the most often I've seen these AU Sanses isn't even in their own universes-- It's interacting with OTHER SANSES. MAYBE an AU Papyrus. There's like, an entire separate branch of fandom that's just all the different versions of Sans hanging out. That's WILD to me. In fact, the reason I recognize the sheer number of AUs I do (well, only their versions of Sans, actually) is just because I've seen so much content of the different Sanses just. Hanging out. Interacting.

Like I said, I don't really have a lot of interest in AUs, even though I appreciate the concepts; that being said, through fandom osmosis, I am able to identify/recognize:

Nightmare, Error, Geno, Fresh, Swap/Blueberry, Fell, Horror, Dust, Death (?), Dream, Murder (? is that one different from dust?), the one with a target on his chest??, Ink, and probably a few others that I'm just not thinking of. I've also heard of Mafiatale but idk much about it other than a few isolated comics I saw on Pinterest. Similarly, I've heard of Farmtale(?) because I've seen a comic or two where other AU Sanses fall into his world.

It's kind of impressive, honestly, considering the fact that I do not seek out AU content at all- this is all entirely just through seeing stuff while trying to look for Classic content- almost all of which is completely separated from their AU worlds and focused more on the Sanses interacting with other versions of themselves.

(oh, also, I guess technically Handplates falls into AU category! I consider it so close to classic that I didn't think to put it here; in my mind, it's less of an AU and more of just an interpretation or extrapolation of Classic. I'm a fan)

--

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID!!!

I consider everyone's own interpretation of Sans (and all other characters) as their own Sans- it's a fun way to look at it; you can't 'get it wrong', because every interpretation is its own individual. I like to think that every download of Undertale is its own version of the world, and so everyone gets their own cast to be friends with and have fun with! So, in my case, that means that MY copy of everyone never had to deal with full resets (only the couple times where I died and got sent back to a save point, never a full reset) and now they're living happy on the surface. Same with my original copy from way back in 2016 on the family computer. Then I have another of my own, separate copy of the UT cast that exists in my art! If that makes sense!

I hope this answer was satisfactory and not too terribly long!!! If you guys want to request AU characters I might draw them but I won't make any promises; like I said, my interest, and therefore my art, focuses on the classic characters. But! Some AU designs are cool so I might take them for a spin if asked.

[moldy-flowers]

Izuna x Tobirama au in which Izuna or Tobirama is kidnapped by the others clan and held captive but Tobirama slowly comes to the horrifying realisation that izuna is a yapper

(RELATED TO THIS POST IN WHICH I TALK ABOUT AN HC THAT ALL UCHIHAS ARE SECRETLY YAPPERS BUT ONLY TO LIKE, ONE PERSON)

See, now Tobirama doesn't know about the whole "there's only one person they'll be comfortable yapping to" and he thinks that this may be some weird tactic to get information out of him.

Like Tobirama, kidnapped in enemy territory. He's thinking through every situation possible. He could get out. Except someone with equal power to him just walked through the door, he closes his eyes and looks away, as long as he's looking away they can't get him. He knows who he is just by the way he walks, the way he breathes and the way his heart beats.

Ba-bum, Ba-dum.

He stops approximately a metre away from him.

Ba-bum, Ba-dum.

He crouches down, getting eye-level with Tobirama.

Ba-bum, Ba-dum.

Tobirama would not submit. No matter the torture he be put through by the Uchiha before him. He had danced with swords in the midst of the evanescent flames with Izuna, he felt the burn of the fire and the cool sweat dripping down his temple. He knew all of that Bastards tricks, how to counter them and how to block them.

Ba-dum, Badum.

Izuna opened his mouth to speak, pausing for a short moment to collect his thoughts. 'I will not yield, I will not yield,' Tobirama chanted to himself silently, mind racing he of every angle he could go at this. He knew Izuna well enough to know what his counter would be. But he knew Izuna would be thinking of ways to counter his counter attack.

"Do you know the breed of dog that's native to the mountains in the East? The small ones with the fluffy coat."

Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum Ba-dum.

"...What?"

Oops went on a bit of a writing spree whoopsie daisy's!!!!

But ANYWAYS you get the jist. Tobirama sits there really really confused while Izuna talks his ear off. Like Izuna cannot physically control himself from the yaps. Like their convos are 25% Izuna angrily insulting Tobirama for some sort of information and 25% is him Snarkily yapping about anything that interests him and 50% willing him to open his eyes in silence, like way to close to Tobirama's face. (It's a scare tactic, obviously!!)

Tobirama is originally upset confused and pissed off till Izuna brings up Madara. Tobirama is like "This is my chance im gonna learn all their weaknesses" Izuna complains about how Madara idk is way too strict with routines or something and Izuna was just a little tiny itsy bitsy bit late and he got chewed out. Its not like Izuna did it on purpose‼️ Usually he's very punctual (kind of) but a bunch of suitors kept bothering him‼️ oh uhmm btw bc he's like 19-20 (he was like 24 when he died i think) now and bunch of people of the clan want to get married to him bc Madara has made it clear he won't be taking any wives and threw them all on Izuna, anyways isn't it so rude for Madara to be mad at that like its his fault anyways that Izunas late and omg you'll never guess what he said during training too.

So Tobirama has technically picked up some good information but not really like what he was expecting? He knew that he'd have to read between the lines to try and actually get any actual info that would help him but he just really doesnt know what to do with what he was told. Like he didn't want to know that Madara keeps getting into arguments with the lady that trades fruits in the North East East centre of the Uchiha district over how 1 watermelon should not cost 26 apples. But uhh... its nice to know??

At some point Izuna storms into the room and yells at Tobirama cause Izuna assumes that Tobirama has used that weird idiot fucked up brain of his to make a jutsu that forces Izuna to yap. Like, Izuna can be a little yappy sometimes but it's never this bad and NEVER to a prisoner what did that bastard do to him‼️‼️

This whole time Tobirama actually assumed that it was some stupid tactic to make him talk, but apparently Izuna is under as much stress as he is. Well, not really but he's in an amount of stress that is not insubstantial

I cant think of anything else for this one someone do it for me!!!!

OR if we go the Senju kidnapped Izuna route it could just be Tobirama trying to get information from Izuna and all Izuna will talk about is random bullshit that's kind of relevant and maybe a little helpful but like only really specifically. Like the Senju are totally prepared to fight that one Uchiha with the three ponytails who snores, not loud, but really squeaky like.

They think Izuna is just immune to intimidating tactics but in all reality they're working, but working in a way that he's like "If I'm being interrogated cruely here then what's happening to the Uchiha what if they're all dead omg oh no omg" he just misses his home and he doesn't know if Madara or the clan is okay without him there he is literally in the worst state of his life and when hes anxious he starts to yap and its especially bad when he's with Tobirama. Like the words are just flowing out neither he nor Tobirama can stop it. Like at some point Tobirama isn't even trying to use scare tactics anymore he just sits there and listens to Izuna anxiously waffle about literally everything. Like just when Tobirama thinks he has spoken about literally everything that can be spoken about but somehow Izuna just keeps talking.

And like at some point Izunas throat is a little raw bc he has been speaking non stop for like two weeks and he's trying desperately to keep quiet, he's like spaced out multiple times and not realised what he's been saying for all he knows he's told Tobirama all of his clans secrets and hes getting more and more anxious and just when Izuna manages to stop his 1 hour rant about the bird that used to follow him around and shit on his food there's just like a minute of silence that Izuna desperately wants to fill with the rest of the story about the bird (He still has yet to tell Tobirama about the bird somehow projectile shitting onto lamb he had yet to trade, but bc of the crap on the meat nobody would take it and he swears he heard that bird laughing he KNOWS it!!!!) And he's tweaking trying to keep quiet, till suddenly Tobirama starts talking!! He's lowered his guards!!

Ofc Tobirama isn't going to like tell Izuna all of the clan secrets, but he tells a short tale about Hashirama gambling his shoes away to a six year old child and having to walk home shamefully while Tobirama stared on in silence. Izuna, who has only seen Hashirama in the most serious of circumstances, almost crys from laughter (his vocal cords are DYING) Izuna, after getting a drink of water then tells a story about Madara getting a squirrel tangled in his hair, and not noticing the crying critter for about 5 hours. After this event there was then a game among clansmen, "How many things can we put in Madaras hair before he notices" Tobirama thinks this is hilarious of course, and the both of them bond over their brothers being absolute fucking idiots.

And in like a meeting where everyone wants to know what information Tobirama is getting, and he, who is still on a high after sharing a good laugh with his prisoner, tells everyone about the game. Now- they have word that there will be a battle in the land of ice quite soon, (why? I don't know why are you asking me) and Hashirama feels all left out,,, he wants to stuff random crap into Madaras hair too!!!!

Madara, of course, is so not happy about this WHERE the hell is his brother he is tweaking the fuck out and this battle will be the one where Hashirama dies. The clan has literally been in the worst panic ever since ever and nobody is okay. Even the mean fruit lady looked upset!! They have seventeen different invasion plans and all of them are gory and very sort of glass half empty situation. Like everyone genuinely believes Izuna is either dead or dying and has been traumatized on every level.

Hashirama however has different plans (apart from the plans to put feathers in Madaras hair) see he's a smart lad and he's noticed that Tobirama is a lot more chipper than he used to be. And being the good brother is, he spies on them both. And it was heartwarming!! I mean it was a little mortifying hearing his beloved brother and Izuna laugh at the time Hashirama tried to cut his own bangs and absolutely tear him to shreds but after he got over that he was absolutely giddy!! They're just like Him and Madara were back then frfr!! This could be their chance for peace!!! I mean, out of all of them Izuna was the one who was the most against a peace treaty!!! He doesnt seem too against it now seeing as he's comfortable enough to have general banter with Tobirama!!! Oh well they're quiet now, wait no they're not, holy shit are they making out wait what no maybe its not like him and Madara uh oh maybe he should leave this feels a little private um. Uh..

I don't really want to think of the details on how Izuna actually gets out cause that sounds boring so like Hashirama probably assured Madara all is well or whatever and said some talk-no-jutsu shit to calm Madara down and bring him to some peace grounds or something and get Tobirama to get Izuna back. Which Tobirama doesn't want to do but despite Tobirama being funny and interesting and so cool Izuna really really wants to see his brother and clan mates again and he will chew through Tobirama if it means getting home.

Anyway I'm thinking the war ends with like Izuna getting sent from the Uchiha to marry Tobirama as like a peace offering or smth. The Uchiha are like really sympathetic towards Izuna like "Oh we're so sorry it had to be you this must be so hard for you I saw how you were like totally interested in the women of the clan" and Izunas like "Ikrrr its so terrible I'm sooo totally sorry i couldn't marry any of the girls of the clan boooo :("

Happy ending, TobiIzu are together, Izuna can yap freely, bc of the newly opened trade paths the price of watermelons has lowered to 14 apples, Madara has multiple caterpillars in his hair and almost all of both of the clans have lost respect for Madara and Hashirama and now treat them as those silly guys and not powerful political figures.

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 5 - vash is. super good with kids

disclaimer: more triangulation purposes etc etc

so i mentioned before in my part 3 that the japanese language has an inbuilt hierarchy quirk to it. and i kind of noticed this nuance getting somewhat lost in the english translation, either because again i have skill issues with english, or that EN inherently doesnt come with the same quirk.

elaborating a bit more: this hierarchy of position/standing can be determined by age, profession, occupation, and experience. in terms of hard priority, age and profession tends to take precedence over everything else.

this means effectively, vash being over 150 should be top dog and given respect in JP/Asian context (respect your elders! or else!!), but because he 1) looks 24, 2) uses very immature speech with strangers, 3) uses boku, hes effectively keeping his head down and posing as a dumbass schmuck.

ヴァッシュの兄貴　行っちまうのか！？ Big bro Vash, you're leaving?! (兄貴 = aniki = big bro but informal and can be used for no blood relations)

so schmucky that he has no problems handling children. in fact, in the JP version during his departure on the sand steamer, the kids call him Big Bro Vash. twice! so he's earned their adoration in no time flat.

ヴァッシュの兄貴—ッ Big Bro Vash!!

leaving the translation like that ^ wouldnt flow well in english, so rip. also. cute scene.

and yet his meeting with Kaite is chaotically bad to say the least. i mean, he even gets drugged and knocked out. Kaite does not respect the guy who gave him food at all and plans to seemingly feed him 3 meals a day for the entire trip. so how? well.

once Brilliant Dynamites Neon comes in and turns things serious, Vash's starts doing a few interesting things.

skipping forward this and that. after getting almost blown off the sand steamer, vash holds onto kaite and they both cling on for dear life:

もうちょっと登れば通風口があるよ mou chotto noboreba tsuufucou ga aru yo If we can climb a little higher there's a ventilation duct そーか　そーか　今行こうすぐ行こう souka souka ima ikou sugu ikou Okay, okay, let's get going right now!

added romanji and color to highlight how vash is repeating phrases in his line. the そーか　そーか souka souka and 行こう 行こう ikou ikou repeats are there as if to 1) make himself sound immature, and 2) to reassure kaite that things are under control.

only touching on the bottom right panel. another possible reading of that line:

助けて頂いてありがとうございましただろう Situations like these are where you should say "thank you very much for saving my life" instead!

はいそーでした!!!

Now say it!!!

he's chiding kaite and doing the very asian adult thing of teaching the youngin manners in terms of tone. but in a stern funny way no offense taken way bc, as you might have noticed...

vash is deliberately putting himself on the same level as a kid. in tone in standing in speech. hes not being condescending. hes not lording his status as an adult over a child. (something something christ like but in the context of jp... hehe.)

this is ultimately what gets tough nut kaite to trust vash to get down to business to defeat The Neon. even without the words hes visually getting himself to be on the same (eye) level with kaite. i think its so good alsdjfdsa

kaite starts crying after thinking of his dad and regretting what he's done, gets caught in a regret reflection loop, but vash brings him back to reality. like this:

な に を 感 傷に ひ た って る か な こい つ は

another reading of this "What the hell are getting all sentimental for now ya brat?!" line might be "What. Good. Is. It. To. Lose. Your. Grip. On. Yourself. Now. You. Dummy?!"

with this he puts kaite's head back into reality and readjusts both their priority.

so again. vash just. is good with kids. his emotional intelligence is through the fucking roof as proven by all the other moments throughout tristamp and trimax*

idk its warms me bc. the asian confucius hierarchy is so... yuck. im technically of chinese descent so i know how fucked it is. so. vash is really cool with this slightly extra japanese asian hierarchy context.

i think this aspect of vash is something i dont see in english fanworks a lot, and not in the same tone. on the other hand, i do see this a lot in the jp fanworks. so idk exactly what factors or if im looking in the wrong places, but yeah. vash is good with kids. just like wolfwood.

again, studio orange understood the assignment and gave some of that dynamic here to Tonnis.

are they called studio orange bc im meant to squeeze stampede for all its worth or what. stampede is actually incredible to me im in awe.

bonus:

the jp version of the left text says roughly:

"I'm cursed!! I must be! By either the reaper or a god of misfortune and or more!!"

yeah he specifically says Shinigami and Binbougami. i dont think that would translate well in en bc this kinda throws the catholicsm theme into a bit of a tailspin LMAO. (also. the Ore here. note the context.)

[bannock-freak]

The thing about the kokomins....

Yes theyre creeps. 100%.

Theyre also a self-regulating body of people who enforce the good behaviour of all their members in regards to Teruhashi, and allow her to live a mostly unaccosted life. They are nasty pieces of work who threaten to kill Saiki just because he was seen with her and invoked their jealousy and wrath, and then they immediately back down because they think Saiki is Teruhashi's baby daddy, and they don't even shame Teruhashi for the teen pregnancy they think she had. She can do no wrong in their eyes. They decide amongst themselves who is the most privileged among them to even approach her, and rigidly enforce the rules that say who can and can't talk to her without her approaching them first, as though Teruhashi has no say in the matter.

There are adults in the government who are card carrying kokomins. and that's WEIRD. and the implications are nasty.

there are other implications, though, that i don't see get talked about. which is, why wouldn't the Japanese government want to keep an eye on The Perfect Pretty Girl? To protect her at the highest possible level? To ensure that other countries won't snap her up and use her for world domination. Teruhashi is basically Akira, to me. That girl's Angel Beam would take over the world only a little slower than Saiki could.

now. follow me on this.

what if it was Teruhashi who founded the Kokomins?

She's been stalked. She's been harrassed. She's been stopped in the streets. And a lot of people are so enchanted by her that they take her no for what it is. But there are some people who Don't - her own brother among them. Teruhashi is wicked smart. I'm sure she was just as smart as a little girl who grew up too fast and would see where things were going. Who was scared and awe-struck by turns of the effects she had on other people.

Especially on men.

And in a patriarchal society, that can be dangerous. But with that patriarchy bowing at her feet, it can also grant her power. And Teruhashi loves power.

We see her work in very subtle ways to enforce the heirarchy she's at the top of. She doesn't technically even have to do anything except exist and tell the truth to let Imu know who the TRUE queen is.

Her family is, judging by the size of her house, probably also wealthy. Perhaps wealthy enough that her family rubs elbows with the elite of society. And perhaps one party was all it took for Teruhashi to let loose a couple of glimmering, pearlescent tears at the Prime Minister himself and confess in a soft shaking voice how scared she is.....

Boom.

The Teruhashi Protection Squad is born - IE, the Kokomins, whose canon goal is to protect Teruhashi's happiness and destroy anybody who might put a stain on that.

Idk, it's an unpopular opinion to have, to say theyre creeps with a purpose, but I don't think it's a stretch either. Just consider how often she turns into a cult leader in AUs - iirc it was demonstrated in canon at least once and happened in the light novels as well.

Teruhashi is the most powerful woman on the planet. Why wouldn't she have an organization dedicated to furthering her goals, ykno?

She shouldn't need to have to, and they're creeps, 100%, but they're also weaponized creeps that Teruhashi has turned in her own favour, imo, and I think that goes a long way in demonstrating her cool-factor.

[your-unfriendlyghost]

for the character asks: johnny, ponyboy

Since I answered Johnny here, I’ll just do Ponyboy here :))

How I feel about this character

  Ponyboy is the best, man. He’s tough, he’s cool, Bryon thinks he’s stuck up but really he’s shy. He seems sensitive to us and his gang but to the rest of the world he’s a scary hood.

  He’s a dreamer. He carries a switchblade. He memorizes poems. He’s a good fighter. He loves movies, and Paul Newman’s tough while he’s not. He’s good-looking and doesn’t know it. He’s small for fourteen. He has a good build. He behaves himself. He’s buddies with Mark Jennings and Dallas Winston. 

He’s a list of contradictions and it makes him feel like such a real person. He’s a wonderfully written, incredibly believable character. And beyond all that technical stuff- he’s just a good, relatable, interesting guy. 

  I needa do another post sometime about the Outsiders and masculinity, because Ponyboy is such a great example of a masculine male protagonist who gets to be soft sometimes without being taken less seriously. The way he interacts with his own masculinity and presents the masculinity of the gang is no small part of why I’m mostly secure in my own now- bc lemme tell ya, back when I first read the book I definitely wasn’t lol. But I am now, and honestly I owe a lot (a pathetic amount really) of that to Ponyboy and SE Hinton.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

  Uhh I guess Cathy Carlson, his (offscreen lol) gf in TWTTIN. It’s a boring answer I know. It’s just the most grounded/relatable (to me!) relationship he could be in rn. I don’t see it as particularly serious, but I think they’d be happy for a while. They’re not Steve x Evie level high school sweethearts, but I can see a universe where Ponyboy helps Cathy feel like herself again after Bryon’s whole…everything.

  I definitely think Pony had a crush on Cherry Valance. I know that’s also not the most interesting take but c’mon look at her! Her only flaw to me is her poor taste in men (/hj), who wouldn’t crush on her?? That said, I don’t think it went anywhere. …But sometimes I like to imagine them ending up being…something after re-meeting far from Tulsa, in university somewhere. Ik some folks are freaked out by the two-year age gap, but idk I feel like if folks ship Pony with Johnny- who has the same age gap- then it’s no big deal to ship hypothetical-college-age-Cherry with hypothetical-college-age-Pony

  I also could theoretically see something going on with Pony and Mark Jennings, although I don’t think it’d be very healthy. It’d be Ponyboy unconsciously looking for ghosts of Dally in a person who’s uncannily similar looking, and it’d be Mark seeking the structure Bryon gave him in the form of someone who’s also smart and book-loving. I think they’d be solid friends, but terrible partners. Neither would ever measure up romantically, because Pony never liked Dally romantically and Mark never liked Bryon either. They’d irritate each other after a while romantically I think. But as friends they’d be okay still I think??

Important caveat- I don’t think Markboy would happen unless it’s a Soda-in-Vietnam timeline. I don’t think Ponyboy’s mental health would get quite lousy enough for pursuing Mark romantically unless he didn’t have Soda by his side.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

  Soda honestly. He says it himself- he loves Soda more than anyone. Soda gets him in a way others don’t. 

  And also somewhat Cherry. She’s iffier because of the whole Soc/greaser situation, obviously, but I really do love the idea of them being close someday. I mean c’mon Pony knew her for an hour or two and was already spillin his guts lol, they clearly clicked

My unpopular opinion about this character

  Not exactly an unpopular opinion, but idk I hate when fanworks infantilize Ponyboy. And I’m not fond of when they make him seem like a soft kid like they do with Johnny too sometimes- he is a greaser, and he considers himself a greaser. Sure he doesn’t like violence, but he’s known for being a good fighter. He’s more innocent than the others, sure, but not…really, I don’t think? I think the thing that gets me about Pony is that he knows how bad the world can be, but chooses to “stay gold”. Like he has every reason to get tough, to get cold, but he doesn’t. Not because he isn’t tough or because he’s naive, but because he wants to look at the sunset. He’s a deeper thinker than most people are, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t as much of a hood as the others. I think we forget that he’s probably lifted things from stores, that he woulda joined Dally in pestering girls if they were greaser girls, and that he carries a switch most of the time…I guess what I’m saying is is that to the rest of the world outside of the Curtis gang, Pony’s just as much a hoodlum as Curly Shepard. But he can still be sensitive and kind at the same time. That’s the point of the book really.

  Idk I sound like a real broken record, but I hate when folks soften Pony’s edges. 

  (Disclaimer again this is just my two cents, interpret everyone however you want b/c this is fandom and everyone’s takes on the characters are real to them!! This is just my preference lol)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

  I dunno, I’d have liked to see more of him in TWTTIN. But I think Pony ultimately served his role in the story well. He’s just such a wonderful character and I love him.

[froginthebag]

my very unfinished notes i wrote angrily after mw3 came out and i ran it

i might as well toss these here. sorry for 900 million spelling mistakes. might post my gaz headcanons ?? someday i love him dearly actually

open missions

Feel long and awkward with minimal dialogue, like a match in the dmz but more annoying especially if you’re trying to find all of the items. it gets quiet unless you’re in a fight.

not utilizing the dialogue system from alone and recon by fire. both missions were long but had the same sort of feeling, especially alone with the scanvenging. especially a big problem in highrise where price and gaz say NOTHING unless you go up or down a floor. it feels weird especially after recon by fire. should and could have been used for character building or smth fun.

too many of these in general. gora dam + precious cargo are REALLY good for open combat. highrise is fun and i love the level design, but gaz not having an ascender is WEIRD.

soap’s death

Feels off as a plot beat. I understand he died in the original mw3 but having him die in mwIII reads as just a shock effect of a game scripted too fast.

Price should have died instead, more below

the dialogue and reaction compared to the original mw3 and soap’s death is lackluster. minimal. it’s not emotional, it’s BORING. Price is screaming in mw3, where is that from him? where is that from ghost? where is that from gaz? Give me a cutscene after the bomb defusal of price scrambling up to soap with ghost sitting there looking away and gaz rushing the bomb in the background because look ok i have headcanons that would make this more understandable bear with me. give me them discussing where to send him. give me the ash scene where simon motherfucking riley can’t look at the ash because he got to know this bastard too well.

also talk about character assassination. the only reason ghost is loved and has character is because he played off of soap. now he’s gonna become that stony bastard in the background saying they should missile strike this and that. fuuuck.

Price and why he should die

survived original mw series as the only ’main’ person who didn’t die. less predictable.

has had a fakeout death in EVERY reboot game he has been in. his original introduction was a fakeout death (and recon by fire start is also one). him not waking up/realising it’s not a fakeout would have been a much more efficient and interesting plot point. Rule of three.

him dying is a chance to explore a lot more of Gaz as they’ve technically known the longest (by how much we’ve seen them together in games) + i want gaz to grieve and to be forced into a leader role because Ghost is too freaky to be captain and soap is too young while Gaz’s introduction was already showing him as a good (N)CO. Also like is this not a natural progression if he’s so calm/ idk how to put it? diplomatic? in mw3?? 

his whole ’cutting the head off a snake’ thing. he’s getting his head cut off. what with the whole royalty thing makarov talks about (french royalty and beheadings)

more frusturating in-universe. he’s dead and the team is FUCKED because they just lost their lead. and makarov isn’t behind bars. bigger blow, bigger panic -> wonderful set-up for the fourth game.

I want either Gaz or Soap killing shepherd. Ghost would be too stereotypical lmao. Specifically Soap would be neat- he’d spiral into revenge for sure and he’s already got good reason to hate shepherd for the whole mess in mw2 AND false intel for price AND he had the whole thing about shooting shepherd earlier. on the other hand, Gaz specifically bargained for shepherd and had remained the calm here, so i think it’d be cool to see him fuck around. if he must have his changes then god give me ��WE HAD ACTIONABLE INTEL ON THIS” gaz back. also like ’taking command’ is getting your hands dirty and i feel like killing shepherd would be a LOVELY start if you ignore the butcher scene in 2019.

Gaz 

i feel like his character changed. 

he curses when the dad dies in embassy, he’s shocked when price tosses the guy with the bomb off the balcony. HE STILL TRIES HELPING EVEN IF THERES NO TIME. He gives Farah coffee after embassy. He’s KIND. HE CARES. SO WHY IS HE SO DISTANTLY BALANCED? This guy has righteous fury, where the FUCK is it? 

he’s literally concerned about random people at a checkpoint (shock n awe cutscene! the cop car one!). he’s literally asking what if they don’t move- he doesn’t like the idea of hostages, he’s concerned where they stop. he’s concerned about innocents. it’s development that he’s willing to go further but why is he so ready to forgive and forget when he wasn’t before??

i feel like the fact he can refuse to help Price interrogate the informant on mission is important. Price gives him an out to stay clean. i do not remember which is canon. i just. like that he has the choice yk.

he’s level-headed, but his introduction shows him LITERALLY joking / being sarcastic with his commander. “can’t truly alarm the public”, “terrorists know that too sir?” He comments that someone’s an easy shot in old comrades. He’s prickly when Norris declares Farah’s army hostiles. He jokes when he’s angry and frustrated. He literally pushes back when that happens, why didn’t he push back with SHEPHERD? HE GETS PHYSICALLY AGGRESSIVE OVER JUST THE BUTCHER, WHERE DID THAT RAGE GO??

he’s BITTER. he starts bitter. He’s pissed at the piccadilly attack because there wasn’t proper support or authorisation. He’s PISSED. He curses when he talks to price. he wants to fight, he’s FRUSTRATED. Where did all of that go? Why is he so unnaturally level-headed, why isn’t he frustrated? Why isn’t he pissed at shepherd for the civilians in alone when he cared so much in piccadilly and the embassy? Is he just repressed or did they change him?

Why isn’t there more talk with him and price? he’s clearly the only one slated to be captain or a higher rank. let him and price exchange looks more. let them talk more. let price either talk to him like a friend or like a mentor. ?? link back to my highrise complaints ok i really like the way they play off eachother in 2019 and in 2022. wish they’d kept that up

thaaats everything i wrote i swear i had more thoughts way back then. i liked laswells mission tho. cheers. also i swear i had thoughts about the plane stuff ?? uhhh something something why don’t we get anymore actual choices in these games

[beesmygod]

perhaps foolishly throwing my hat in the ring here about cohost developers making 90k/yr (as someone who used cohost for like five minutes but does work in software. although I'm not even close to making SWE-level money lol): depending on your stack, experience, location, other benefits, etc., that's genuinely in the bottom twentieth percentile for engineer salaries at your average startup, if not lower. especially for a "founding engineer who does literally everything"-type role. idk how much experience these people have or what their stack is, but just to guess, at your average seni-marture startup they could easily double that salary, and at a big FAANG company or whatever stupid acronym we're using now they could probably quadruple that, plus or minus whatever part of your comp package is stock instead of actual salary.

there are a couple interesting/relevant reasons I bring this up: (1) at really really early-stage startups, where you only have four guys and a couple hundred grand in the bank, having bottom-twentieth-percentile salaries is normal *because they make up for it by giving you a shitload stock options that will theoretically be worth a lot in the future*, if things ever take off, although of course they rarely do. in cohost's case, it doesn't seem like stocks and shit were part of their long-term plans (which, fair enough, not trying to say they should've been), so in theory the cohost devs were making a lottt less than your average early-stage startup devs, even though overall comp at an early-stage startup is mostly monopoly money.

(2) the other thing is that if the pay is uncompetitive, which it obviously was, then attracting worthwhile talent is really hard. again, idk these devs, they could all genuinely be very good at their jobs. and cohost was clearly a passion project for them. but it makes me wonder if *some* (not all) of their problems stemmed from technical or even positioning/market issues that having more people or more experienced people would've solved, and they just weren't able to hire them. especially since they were doing design work and moderation and other shit in addition to plain old engineering!

I guess my angle here is that unless you see how the sausage is made, it's really really easy to underestimate just how much money (and human labor!) it takes to build anything, and that most projects only manage to pull it off for as long as they do thanks to a near-bottomless supply of venture capital funding. even not-for-profit community projects (which I was considering whether something like cohost could survive as, but even then I'm unsure) rely on corporate sponsorship and free labor from people who are getting paid a lot of money at their day job. so like many of you I am not at all shocked that they're folding—easy to say in hindsight but I definitely say this coming, although maybe not so quickly lol.

but like, even most VC-funded startups fail despite having way better odds and a shitload more money. legit kudos to them for trying anyway, because the only way we get cool shit is if someone's willing to take a risk and maybe fail. that said as a *user* there's still no way I'd hitch my wagon to a fledgling startup unless I was totally okay with that wagon falling into a gulch within 24 months, because that's usually what happens

interesting insight. thanks boss. much to learn about this world that, as an outsider, seems uniquely annoying and stupid to try to navigate

[stoic--rose]

over the last two weeks or so ive played through earthbound two and a half times, and mother 1 three times. replaying both back to back repeatedly has made me realize a lot of things

1.) mother 1 is a LOT more open in what it lets you do, where it lets you go, and when. once you open up the train tracks, you're free to go do the rest of the game in pretty much any order you want. hell, you can make it all the way to R7038xx without ever getting a single melody, which i find to be pretty interesting. not only that, but you dont even need to get most of the party members. strictly speaking, the only one you truly need to get is Loid, and that's just to get rid of the rock on the train tracks. and even then, with the use of an exploit i found out about only a few days ago, you can get rid of him and go fight giygas by yourself, which is pretty funny.

2.) mother 1+2 is like, wicked impressive. nevermind the fact that they crammed earthbound onto the gba, they also packaged it with mother 1 as well, and they're both the full games. it ain't no rayman advance kinda deal either where it's a super botched port, like it's a perfectly valid way to play both games, and some people even prefer the gba version of mother 1 since it makes a couple of quality of life improvements. not to mention, they rebuilt both games from the ground up, it's not like they could emulate snes on gba. (i mean, you can emulate NES apparently, since there's that nes classic line of games for the gba, but... this is cooler.) the sound department could... definitely use some work, and the colors look pretty washed out, but there are patches to fix the colors, and if you're playing the game on a real gameboy, i think the sound is the last thing you'd be concerned about. also, apparently some people took the time to apply the earthbound script to the mother 2 half of mother 1+2, and even reprogrammed the text system to have the original fonts and make it non-monospace, which is SUPER impressive. for my second playthrough of earthbound i played it with the new fantran patch, and it's pretty damn slick.

3.) man, fuck the sword of kings. i realized very recently that i'd never fully committed to the sword of kings grind, and decided that this would finally be the time i claim my birth right as a mother fan and do it. and like, it SUCKS. i mean, to begin, yes it's annoying that it's a 1/128 chance, but it goes deeper than that. the fact that it's only dropped by an enemy that you can potentially never see again, and it's the ONLY item poo can equip as a weapon is pretty fucked up. not to mention, the other enemies that they put in the starman base just absolutely suck, i hate the nuclear power robots so much. they made the grind WAY more painful than it already would have been otherwise. at the very least, i find it to be very gracious that jeff's spy command has the secondary effect of letting you steal whatever item an enemy would have dropped mid battle, just so it doesn't get overwritten by another enemy drop, which by the way YES that can happen, and YES i had it happen to me. it sucks ass. and the worst part is, the sword of kings isn't even that good!! and neither is poo on a gameplay level! you get the guy way later than any other party member, he has all these little catches like not being able to eat american food or equip anything but the kingly items, he gets taken away from you almost immediately after you get him, he just feels really weird. starstorm is pretty cool, but you only get the omega version right before the final area, and you can only use it on the handful of encounters you get there since you can't really use it in the final boss. (i mean technically you can use it in the first phase, if you want to get a biblical reflected beatdown when it hits both pokey and giygas) idk, the guy just isn't all that useful, and it's unfortunate since i really like him on a design level.

i have more words i want to say but honestly i might save them for an entry on my website instead since im very close to the tumblr word limit rn

[sandyca5tle]

Slimeshifter HRT - Month 3(/28)

Well, hello again, I’m back after what feels like ages (even if it’s only been a couple months), but instead of Slime HRT I’m bringing you Shapeshifter/Polymorph HRT (not sure which I’m going with, Shapeshifter’s what I default to, but Polymorph is a more technical name (also seen ‘Omnimorph’ thrown around, but not really a fan of that myself) we’ll see how it shakes out). 

Before I get into my new changes tho, I’ve actually got some life updates: We got a job! In Hyper City of all places. It’s not very glamorous or anything, it’s just cleaning/washing up glasses and stuff, but it pays the bills - turns out that, with the control I’ve learnt over my acidity, I can actually clean things like that very well, just kinda melt all of the dirt and grime off, and eat it up. It can take a little while to do it, since I have to be careful not to damage the glasses, but I’ve gotten really good at it, and it’s helped my acid control too, so win-win there, not to mention with additional limbs I can then polish multiple of the glasses at once (although only like, two at a time, otherwise it’s hard to quality control)

On top of the new job, I also got a place to live in Hyper City too, just a simple apartment for myself. It doesn’t make the commute that much different, but it lets me deal with a few less weird looks from people, and I can be nosy at all the cool things here, not to mention it makes attending appointments just that bit easier too. Not to mention I can meet my friends and partner easier here too - it being only like a twenty minute trip from anywhere on Earth makes it an amazing meet up point.

Anyways, on with the transition update!

Unfortunately there’s really not much to say at this point, it being early on and stuff, much like with the start of my Slime HRT, but I have been paying very close attention and trying to spot anything that seems off, so I have a few things to talk about.

First thing, and honestly I’m not sure if this is the tail end of Slime HRT or the beginning of Shapeshifter HRT, but I feel very connected to my whole body. Now, I say I’m not exactly sure which transition this is exactly, because Slime HRT definitely kinda removed the distinction between body parts, at least as humans understand it as I only really have two now - my core, and my slime - so everything I make with my slime is just part of that, which definitely led to a greater sense of wholeness and connection to my body (also y’know, the whole feeling more comfortable in my goo helps). But this is new, it’s like I almost kinda know what each part of my body is doing - which I know sounds weird to say, like ofc I know what my body’s doing, it’s my body - but to use a human analogy, humans don’t know what their organs are up to 98% of the time, other than hoping they’re doing their job, so it’s kinda like if a human knew that for certain? The line’s a lot blurrier with slime biology, but idk, it feels more like my mind properly extends all throughout my body, rather than just being in a centralised location, even if (I think) I know  it’s all stored in my core. 

This change has both improved my dexterity - being able to more keenly feel any limb or extension I make makes it a lot easier to have fine motor control - and also improved my ability to alter my shape, hence why I think it might be a part of the Shapeshifter HRT, but either way, being able to feel every inch of my body has certainly helped with perfecting shapes - I can actually make my slime kinda sharp now! Although it’s still made of goo, so it isn't great at cutting things, but it’s a bit sharper than my previous attempts, so progress!

The other thing that’s helped with shapeshifting, and that I’m fairly certain is the Shapeshifting HRT, is that I’ve noticed my body has gotten, well, less viscous, more fluid. It’s been a little awkward, as I’ve gotten used to a certain level of solidity, and while I can change it back to normal if I focus, at the moment I’m stuck being a little less cohesive than I’ve gotten used to, which has led to a couple instances where I’ve suddenly ended up a bit, or a lot, more puddley than normal, which is both inconvenient and embarrassing. Fortunately I’m very adept at reforming myself, so it’s no worse than tripping over your feet and ending up on the floor, but it still sucks that I’m having to deal with it again. But hey, the benefit is that it makes it much easier to alter my shape, and I’ve been loving the increased fluidity, even if it has made shapes harder to hold… have had to be careful with my wings, since there’s less structure to hold them up and in shape, which sucks a little, especially as I’ve had to forgo them once or twice. 

As another annoyance to this is that it also makes me occasionally leave slime behind me when I walk, or otherwise move, which both sucks from a cleanliness perspective and a mass retention one, although the former is much more of an issue than the latter, particularly in the new apartment.

The other main thing I’ve noticed since starting is that…. argh it’s hard to describe, it’s like a new understanding of… things? Like when I look at something I’m automatically picking out more little details about their shape, and the same when I pick something up. I’ve found myself idly staring at things, or rolling them around in my hand, or engulfing them in my slime (mostly without dissolving anything), and just picking out all the details in them, sometimes mimicking cool shapes I notice either at the time or later. It’s kinda weird, it’s like a whole extra bit of information on top of the normal sense. It’s actually helped a lot with my job, since i can feel any imperfections be they dirt or scratches in the glass much more easily that i might have otherwise

Between that and the greater connectivity to my body, I’ve been dealing with a lot more sensory information, primarily with touch, but a little with the other senses too. This has all led to some bouts of sensory overload, which have been…. unpleasant to say the least (it’s an overload for a reason), and it’s particularly hard to block it out when it’s touch - ever tried not touching anything? Fortunately if I limit how much I do touch when it happens, as well as other stimuli, I can recover, but it is distinctly unfun…

But asides from those issues it’s been overall chill with these early changes, and frankly the improved altering of my shapes has been a great change.

As a quick note, separate from my latest transition, I’m very curious about how I’m storing all the mass I have - I mean, I can eat and eat, and I don’t gain any size unless I want to (and I know that sounds like boasting - and I guess it is a little, but not like that), but like, I have eaten some really big things when i’ve had the chance, and there’s been no change - I don’t even weigh more, or at least, nowhere near as much as I should for what I’m eating. I can go from my 4’4” self to the size of my apartment block, maybe even taller now, and I don’t become some kind of super dense slime when I’m small.  I’ve hypothesized before that I think it’s stored in my core, since I really started noticing this once that had formed, but there’s too much to just be stored in there, and again, the density would be an issue too, I should have started making some kind of way towards becoming a black hole or something. I’ll send an actual message to the company that supplies my medication to ask about this, see if they know anything about it, because honestly, I’d like to know what’s going on and also, if it’s some kind of weird timelord bigger-on-the-inside deal, that’d be really interesting - not to mention it could be really useful if it’s something we could learn to replicate with technology or something. So yeah, hopefully we can find out more about that if only to satiate our curiosity.

So yeah, that’s the first update for Shapeshifter HRT! Hopefully I’ll actually get to do some proper shapeshifting by the next time I post but until then: See ya!

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Well, here we go, Slimeshifter HRT, and I've got some plans for this next 'season' of this story hehehe, so hope you'll look forward to that hehe. Also wanna add a little something here about @ayviedoesthings 's Dragon HRT and @welldrawnfish 's Fish HRT having ended soon, given that they were some of the first to start writing their stories, and inspired so many of the rest of us to start our own, which has led to a wonderful community where we've made a bunch of wonderful new friends. So sad to see their series each wrapping up, but thankful to them both (and the others who started all this of course) for bringing us all together by lighting the spark that created this awesome community. And on a more individual note, this all also encouraged me to actually start posting my writing, something I'd never done before, let alone maintained a project this long, so I'm really glad to have had this inspiration to actually do this, which has also lead me to putting other (shorter) pieces up as well, and all in all that's been wonderful too, so yeah, really happy for all of that. So yeah, thanks to everyone who started this, and to all the new friends who are a part of this community and who've helped me in writing all this hehe. First - Prev - Next Previous Side Story - Two of One

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