#idk. i just think it's a neat thing to explore.

[danieyells]

Revisiting more non-ghoul anomalous persons on campus(although I do think there'd be something to Moby being the only one. . . .)

I remember posting about a Gorgon and I think maybe she would do well as like. A Darkwick General nurse. Because DG is an inpatient facility, they don't do outpatient work. So if she, as somebody who is able to curse people(or, well, it really depends on how much of one's body has turned to stone if it's an illness or a curse,) were to take an interest in long term curse care, I think that would make sense right?

And then I thought of another OC. . .a minotaur who teaches(or is currently substituting for the person who normally teaches) Enigmatology. . .obviously she specializes in anomalous mazes and escape rooms that use anomalies and the like.

I just. Want to explore the idea of anomalous peoples being integrated into society or into the Institute and its staff. Because while I'm sure Moby is a rare case, I'd like to think there are at least a handful of others. The Anomalous Investigation Institute is everywhere in the world after all.

I imagine none of them are particularly well regarded, especially by the general students. Understandably this makes them keep to themselves more to avoid abuse(and avoid causing a scene or inconveniencing others or risking things being turned around on them) which tends to reflect poorly on them because people don't see or understand what they're going through or think that if there was a problem they'd get help from Darkwick or the Institute(of course this is discouraged--don't wanna ruin the lives of students who have so much ahead of them or who will contribute to the world and Institute at large! Unlike them who, as anomalies, simply aren't allowed to be in public at all which makes them less valuable. . .even among the Institute in many places around the world the prejudice against anomalies being 'people' is strong)

But they're passionate about what they do! And about a future where maybe anomalous societies/peoples can at least be somewhat apart of the world--even if they have to be hidden away they could at least be part of the Institute and make things better for anomalies and people and maybe someday there could be a world where they all live in harmony, as one. Maybe they don't all believe that but doing something for everybody's lives is good right?

I also like to think there's a school-like facility for young anomalous persons taken in by the Institute to be raised/trained/taught to be contributing members of human society [in the background because they obviously can't just be out there]. And maybe one of them could be a Darkwick student. And this is the first time they're among humans meant to be their 'peers' and kind of among human society and it's all very nerve-wracking especially when they aren't treated well. . .but they still try and fit in and contribute and such.

I just think there's a potential for exploration there. Of person-like anomalies and how they exist within the microsociety of the Institute's network.

(also all of them are scared of Towa--because anomalies are often afraid of Towa--and Taiga--because he just looks at them and gets hungry lol.)

[pinoruno]

spn poetry month - day 6 - shadows: blood in the backseat

a tribute to anna for today's "shadows" prompt! wanted to explore the angels'-deaths-as-wing-shadows sort of idea, & this odd dissociative-grace thing sort of just. Sprung Forth.

@spnpoetryrenaissance

[welcometoteyvat]

ykw ga-mings stories still make me emo i really need one of those good old character study comics rn

[bodegadulac]

What did you think of the first phase of the WCU?

Hmmm, you know what. I'm reviewing it.

First of all Dragon from 2008, the movie that started it all.

I liked:

●Seeing her origin, how newfoundland fell and her sheer sense of powerlessness before triggering.

●The evolution from her first crude suit to a more regined dragon armor.

●I liked RDJ as Collin, i was very happed they picked up his stinger for the sequel.

●Teacher was a pretty good villain, hapoy they didn't kill him off.

What i didn't like:

●Gwynnet Paltrow's character was unnecesary, why would dragon need a secretary???

●It doesn't get how to make you feel stakes when the protag is an IA

●Terrence Howard as Rennick is just there, and how they changed the actor in the next film left a sour taste.

7/10

Then you have Lung: Dragon of Kyushu.

What can i say that hasn't been said yet? I was skeptic for them reimagining Lung as a hero but it just works.

I like how it set up Leviathan as the overarching villain of the phase, i like how it has that runaway vibe with Kenta running from the Yangban.

The CGI of his fight against Seven was pasable, and the post credit scene with Zero planning to hunt him down went nowhere. But idc, it was overall pretty good. 9/10

I would have killed for another Lung movie.

The ugly duckling of Phase 1, Dragon 2.

I honestly liked it more than the first one, Saint and the dragon slayers are an actual threat that works.

Dragons own issues with her nature are explored in a neat way.

I liked the teacher plot twist at the end, that he had been manipulating saint.

And please tell me the scene of Dragon and Armsmaster killing the Dragonslayers didn't fuck.

8/10, fun watch.

Theo my beloved. Golem fucked so much man.

A coming of age story about a young man leaving his nazi family behind.

It kind of gets completely interrumpted by the Slaughterhouse nine tbh.

Like i get you are building up a cinematic universe but having some guy show up, say "i will come back on a couple years and kill everybody and thats on you" and fuck off wasn't terribly great.

But the final fight against Hookwolf as a middlepoint between the nazi family subplot and the slaughterhouse 9 subplot worked.

6/10

I don't like flashback movies in big cinematic universes. Sometimes they feel like they don't mean a thing on the long term because most characters are dead so they won't affect that comes later.

Miss Millitia: the first ward shutted me up.

Hanah is a fucking great protagonist, all of the first wards are great.

I loved her bromance with mouse protector, i cried when she died.

What the fuck is Hugo Weaving playing Allfather????

Overall i feel like this is the best out of the Phase.

10/10

It all came to it. Protectorate from 2012.

Leviathan was pretty built up from Lung and Dragon so it felt like it worked. Jack felt pretty tacked on tbh.

I like how it sets up Scion as this cameo total force of good that can't affect the plot. Wonder what they will do with him.

I didn't like that Collin set a fucking nuke towards new york. I hope there are consecuences for this in the future.

Liked how director Armstrong got to assemble the tram through the movies.

I don't know how to feel about Blue Flechette, apparently her first costume in the comics was like that? Idk.

Scarlett Johansen as Queen aka Emily Piggot from the PRT was cool.

Honestly that what Protectorate is. Cool.

Even if that bastard Jack escaped at the end of the movie.

8/10

[welldrawnfish]

How do I know if I'm plural?

I recently started talking to myself as like, a way to reassure and encourage myself and stuff. Saying stuff like "you're fine, you didn't do anything wrong" or "Do you want to do X, Y, Z... Z? Alright, let's do Z then." And now I'm not sure if it's just a good coping strategy for me or if I might be plural?

Like I'm not sure sometimes if the person doing the reassuring and the person being reassured are the same person, y'know? And sometimes it feels almost like a kind of dialogue, but other times it just feels like I'm speaking into a void? Are we median? Am I only one gal? Dunno!

And idk what if I'm just trying to like. Appropriate plurality because I think it's neat or something. I know and see a lot of systems and genuinely do think plurality is rly cool so what if I'm just trying to be plural on some level. It always feels kinda deliberate when I talk to myself

Needless to say I am very lost and thinking about it is making my head hurt and my chest tighten. Sorry if this is a bit of a long ask you don't have to respond I'm just trying to find answers however I can

I'm a bit under the weather rn im sorry if this is loopy so I want to make a comic on this eventually, Im just no good at general infographics Plurality is vast, complex, and varied. So its hard to say yes or no based on this But heres the three rules I'll follow looking for plurality without typical DID/OSDD redflags 1. If you have opposing thoughts or morals appear in your thinking process, particularly after a stressful event. 2. If you have names, images, or other things associated with these reassuring voice 3. If people say you have different "modes" or literally say you act like a differnet person sometimes and its confusing. 4. If these voices in your head arent... yours. Its hard to explain, but I feel like those with plurality could explain. --- Ultimately if you want to find out if your plural, 1st.

Be ready if you are scared, might freakout, or are actively angry or upset at these thoughts, understand that if an alter can emerge, they wont if they are under threat. You have to be kind, ready to accept them, and most importantly ready to apologize the them if you were toxic before. They can tell if you are sincere. 2nd.

Look yourself in the mirror, ask to meet anybody in there, tell them Thank you for existing.

3rd.

Imagine yourself a headspace if you don't have one. This is an imaginary world that can be anything you want from vast universes to an empty void. But create a place to meet.

Meditate, create a place to see them, to meet them, to speak with them. Be patient, focus on breathing, focus on visualizing the space. Try to exist solely within that space. Invite them there, they might show 4. Be Ready. Plurality cannot be unseen once you see it, your life will never be the same. And ultimately it could be the best thing ever, but it can be incredibly hard, rocky, and bring up alot of trauma in your life. Be sure you want to explore this and are in a point of your life you are able to handle it.

-- If theres any advice from more educated systems let me know, im not the most educated here, these are just whats worked for me.

[meruz]

hi meruz please tell me all your thoughts on outer wilds I am absolutely Living rn

HI oh my god i have so many thoughts. I think I'm gonna keep posting fanart so this definitely isnt gonna be my last word on the matter but wow what a game! um... idk if I wanna just type forever but I can give you at least a few key thoughts I had...

It took me a second to get into! I had been waiting for the switch port so I was really excited starting out but there were a couple early play sessions months apart where I was struggling with the controls and overwhelmed with the openness...I have a hard time with a lot of open worlds games because I just..dont have a lot of free time LOL. But I was complaining abt this to my brother and he was also having a hard time rly digging into the game so when he flew over to visit me a couple weeks ago I was like ok lets do this together (incentivizing gaming by making it social/co-operative). And we had a blast!!! it rly is the type of game you can play as co-op just by having someone else on the couch or on stream doin the thinking alongside you or bouncing theories off of. I do think he's a much better puzzle solver than me though lol (he works in research, so he's got that researcher brain), he made a lot of the leaps of logic way early while I was still turning things over in my head lmao.... AND he's better with the controls because he plays a lot of flight sims?! i think he got annoyed watching me bumble around anytime i had the controller. my sole contribution was doing the stealthy parts in the dlc because im stupid and consequentially lack fear.

I kind of grew up playing majoras mask and windwaker like that was the era of zelda games I was rly activated and engaged for as a kid and I didn't realize how much I was missing and craving that type of experience again LOL. I think especially with how I personally felt that tears of the kingdom was narratively and structurally a step down from botw... idk... i mean you can tell from interviews abt Outer Wilds that the devs clearly have a lot of affection for and thoughts abt the Zelda series as well and I think Outer Wilds was like such a good encapsulation of everything I loved abt those games and also everything I wish they would do lol!! IT ALSO kind of solved a lot of my pain points with open world games and did it in a way that was so elegant... like I think i initially recoiled at the openness but then when i started exploring and realized the scope and level of detail it rly clicked into place.. im just in awe.

umm i love every hearthian they were all so charming. it rly did feel like an older school of nintendo rpg where every npc has so much personality lol. i loved that every alien race in the game was some weird animal like the designs for all of them were rly good. i love that it was a "worn" universe and that everything looked old or used. I love astronomy and space and space concepts but I don't really like really lofty and impersonal/minimalist scifi so i feel like this was a great and accessible art direction for me personally. i especially thought the backpacking/outerdoorsy aesthetic was really inspired! I think "exploration" sometimes exists on a spectrum where one end of it can be really colonialist/militaristic LOL... UM which im not like. fully against i think it can be an interesting idea to dissect? but i feel like we see it a lot and it was neat to see this which felt like the complete opposite end of that spectrum. weirdly enough playing Outer Wilds made me immediately go and finally finish Firewatch right after but I felt a little spoiled I was like ehh..that was good but it wasn't Outer Wilds LOL.

i think a lot of the themes reminded me of lord of the rings/tolkien lore LOL IDK. I GUESS THIS IS LIKE BIG SPOILERS SO if you havent played dont read but like. the entire concept of being born at the end of a great and enormous world/age with a rich history and you only getting to see the end of it, living in the shadow of great civilization...keeping your humble home in your heart idk. but then also the new world being a song ... I'm a sucker. I love it.

yeah sorry only compliments. anyways yeah i want to do more fanart... soon!! hopefully!

[ooctlt]

I think the etiquette of ask blogs is a forgotten art. what I'm saying is (imo) it's not that people don't want to play, it is they don't know HOW, and more importantly they don't understand that the game exists to begin with. obviously you do not have to teach people the rules because your time and energy is finite but idk. it feels like from some of your OOC responses that you assume people know the rules and are playing badly, but I genuinely think people (me) just don't know what you are wanting them (us) to do. and also they (i) don't know how to tell if they (i) are playing the game correctly.

An example I am genuinely confused about is, is inciting a "shut up" answer a signal that the game is being played correctly, because we are inciting a reaction from the character? or is a "shut up" answer a signal that we are playing wrong and need to do something different? I'm sorry. I really love your art and seeing the story unfold but I'm confused and I want to play and I don't understand how.

yeah ive had a couple people tell me this has been the first active askblog in a while and the concept of askblog etiquette has been forgotten- @thatneoncrisis and i made a diagram:

link to full-res image

a "shut up" reaction will hopefully show whether or not it's a closed path of exploration: if you have gideon sweating, going "pshhh its nothinggg" it means there is something worth exploring. if you have harrow slamming the door in your face, that is an advance that wont work on her

transcript under the readmore:

DEAD END QUESTION ANON: CAMILLA DO YOU THINK HARROW'S HOT?

"Please stop talking to me."

This question is BAD because it's BLUNT, INCREDIBLY PERSONAL and founded on INCOMPLETE KNOWLEDGE of their relationship.

NOTE that its not that shitty questions will NEVER be answered, its that 1) they have a LOWER chance of being answered and 2) they have a HIGHER chance of being made fun of in character

gideon: haha who thinks harrow is HOT

DECENT INCONSEQUENTIAL QUESTION ANON: CAMILLA DO YOU LIKE TO DO ANYTHING FUN WITH HARROW?

"Sure. We run a lot of errands together."

This kind of question may not advance the plot, as it is INCREDIBLY BROAD yet NONINVASIVE. They're good for quick 1-3 panel answers. May generally be met with a less EXCITING answer.

It might also be DIFFICULT TO ANSWER because a broad question could include MULTIPLE ANSWERS - asking "do you guys go out" could not be answered SUSTAINABLY, because i cannot draw all the places they visit

ANON: EVERYONE, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CLOUD / WATER / MOLECULAR STRUCTURE / BONE / CAR / COFFEE BRAND/ BOOK CHARACTER?

me: "i have to do so much research"

NEAT QUESTION CAMILLA HAS HARROW EVER ASKED YOU TO DO SOMETHING WITH HER SHE WAS EXCITED ABOUT?

"Yes, actually. She once invited me to [REDACTED], I didn't know she liked that sort of thing."

This question is SICK AS FUCK because not only do you learn something SUBSTANTIAL about the characters, you have stumbled upon A NEW PLOT BRANCH, one that actively deepens character connections and their past within the world. It specifically remarks upon a MEMORY* rather than AN OPINION and will typically be LONGER.

Another good option is to PROMPT something following this:

ANON: CAMILLA, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY TAKING HARROW OUT TO DO [REDACTED] THAT SHE LIKES BEFORE XYZ?

and this can then spiral onward…

*DM, ONE TIME I ASKED ABOUT A MEMORY AND I GOT A RUDE ANSWER; WHAT DID I DO WRONG?

It's not that this topic can never be spoken about, it's about WHEN you asked it and HOW you said it, or even WHO you asked.

Some topics, like the nature of HARROW AND GIDEON'S UPBRINGING are too recent for them to talk about, it has only been TWO YEARS since they left and there are SPECIFICS about the situation that the AUDIENCE hasn't discovered yet. There are things like GIDEON'S PARENTS that she CANNOT answer because she DOESN'T KNOW and answering multiple asks with I DON'T KNOW becomes repetitive and dull for both the DM and PLAYER.

BUT! She can learn! Over time, when the time is appropriate and feels the most natural for STORY PROGESSION. Think of it like a BAD ENDING in a visual novel. You START OVER and ask a DIFFERENT QUESTION, or approach it from a DIFFERENT ANGLE. If Gideon reacts poorly to someone congratulating her leaving BAD CIRCUMSTANCES, consider talking to her about the FUTURE. Instead of trying to pry at Camilla to see if she had an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with Pyrrha, try to ask about other things in that period of her life, like how they met or what caused her to move out.

FINALLY, if you'd like an ask to be answered out of character, your best bet would be to goto @notedchampagne and send it there. If you'd like an ask to be answered SINCERELY or you don't want SNARK, you can specify this in the ask, but know this blog may not be your thing.

[hollowtones]

Hi Holly, whenever you take screenshots in steam games has me wondering if you take pictures of things that you come across in real life or is the video game environment something that has greater interest due to its non-physicality? (Sorry if this has been asked before)

I do photography IRL as a hobby, too! I like real pictures & video game screenshots for different but similar reasons.

For video games specifically there's something really neat to me about having a non-real space to explore. The suggestion of a space out of space and time, tangible but not physical, smoke and mirrors to suggest something that isn't there or to give form to something abstract that could never be. IDK! I've always found it compelling. That's less about taking pictures and more just me being fascinated by digital spaces & game development in general. LOL

At the end of the day just I like trying to capture a moment. Fun to think about different angles and different perspectives & how that changes how we feel.

[noperopesaredope]

I noticed that the Mouthwashing fandom and sometimes even the game (though that may be due to it being from J*mmy’s perspective) tends to be very dehumanizing towards Curly post-crash. He is often treated like a burden or straight up corpse. But the only truly corpse-like thing about him is the fact that he has no skin (because that is literally impossible to survive). For a bit, I thought his limbs were missing entirely, or at least above the elbows and knees. Even then, I wrote out a whole thing on ways he could use (slightly more advanced) IRL devices that people with his disabilities use now. 

I thought it could be more interesting to explore Post-Canon Curly using assistive technology without it being super sci-fi levels of advanced or going into certain disability tropes. I had a whole list of ideas for types of devices he could use besides prosthetics (or at least arm/hand prosthetics), and I might honestly still put it out there. It just was to show that Curly would still be capable of a lot of things, and though he would need help from others in certain areas and would need physical training, he could do a lot. I think the only thing that was ever truly holding him back was the pain of not having skin.

The most frustrating part of this is that even while still in the Tulpar with no technology for communication, there are ways he could communicate. One that I thought of is morse code. He may not have lips, but he has a functional jaw. He could open his mouth to represent dots and dashes, or even use other body parts to do morse code. Though it might be slow, it could work, especially if sped up a bit. And a bit of patience could go a long way. IDK, it would just be neat to see content where he and Anya find ways to communicate (even if a little slowly) and we see him interact with others post crash.

Especially seeing him talk to Anya and them keeping each other company etc. Not even in a shipping way, just in a "Curly didn't help Anya when she needed it most but she will still help Curly when he needs it most, and Curly realizes he was wrong but Anya chooses to forgive him" kind of way. It would also be neat to see him interact with the others like Swansea and Daisuke and J*MMY (derogatory), especially if it takes a little bit of Anya and Curly to develop a form of communication, so the others have the attitude they have in canon. But then Anya reveals Curly can talk now (albeit slowly), and each ends up visiting him at some point (Daisuke talking to him could be so much fun honestly).

It could have a pretty interesting effect on Curly's psychology and maybe even role in the story, as he wouldn’t be completely helpless like he appears to be in canon.

He is able to say things to others, like maybe provide certain information (important captain knowledge). He could convince Anya not to die (might not work, but could be interesting if he at least tries). He can have some interesting angst, like still trying to keep up a confident front and be the strong, reliable captain despite everything. However, he is also aware that he is in a difficult position right now and worries the others see him as weak and helpless or a burden of some kind (as they lowkey treat him in canon). He could tell J*mmy to fuck off. The possibilities are endless.

I just think there could be a lot of potential there and would feel less infantilizing/dehumanizing.

[guy-with-dumb-hobbies]

I feel like Star Wars has had a recent push to make droids less human and more robotic. Idk if this is a bad thing or not I just think it's an interesting shift.

SM-33 and the droids on At Attin can be overwritten just by lying to them

B2EMO from Andor actually had to charge and got less effective over time and could also be asked to overwrite its memory

Like in the past Threepio basically was just a metal man and Artoo was more than a man. In the sequels we had a droid with trauma for Christ's sake (not sequel hate just an interesting choice that I believe was made correctly)

Also Chopper.

Then again we've always had battle droids that are in no way human but still had SO MUCH CHARACTER kinda like the other mentions here.

This is neither positive nor negative I just think it's neat and I want writers to explore both sides of it in the future.

[bee-ina-boat]

heres a collection of concept art for the rest of the entities for the mythos au!! if you're wondering where the eye is, they've been drawn already!

they are all FAR from done. keep in mind these are all just my initial concepts and i plan to do in-depth design sheets as i go to explore their designs more.

IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THESE DESIGNS PLEASE THROW EM AT ME- MY ANON IS OPEN AND I READ TAGS I DONT CARE JUST!!!! GIMME!!!!!

(also au context: the magnus mythos is an au where the entities are all gods, similar to various religious mythology, rather than paranormal entities that feed on fear)

design thoughts for each of them under the cut

The Web - God of Fate (she/it): im pretty happy with her design atm, shes meant to be a half spider half woman thing and i love that for her. shes probably the one ive thought the most on so far given her importance to the story. i want her to wear silks and shiny silver jewelry that just sparkles like wet spiderwebs do, not sure if im gonna keep the veil?

The Dark - God of the Dark (she/he/it): probably my weakest concept at the moment. it doesnt do the dark any justice. i mean i like the cloak idea but i want them to be very tendrilly, all consuming, shadowy, but i dont know how to properly portray them :/

The Desolation - God of Destruction and Fire (they/it): i have a neat vision for them! i want them to be made of coal and ash and smoke, to be burning and glowing on the inside, and their body is decorated with melted wax to look like clothes. not quiiiiiite sure about how their melty candle dress is now? i want it to be less constrictive

The Stranger - God of the Unknown and the Whimsical (he/she/they/it): it's meant to be this. weird wirey creature hidden behind masks and a lot of fabrics, like the framework of a poseable plush doll? i like the way the masks look but im not so sure about the body.

The Vast - God of the Above (she/he/they/it): im not so sure about his design at all im gonna be real. i want them to look like the atmosphere and be covered in clouds and have mountains for feet and an ocean cape but i feel like it might be a bit?? idk??? im just not that happy with it :/

The End - God of Death and Time (they/it): ugh i love this concept sm, making death read as less scary and more divine is so fun. theyre based on a seraphim and a sand timer,

The Buried - God of the Underneath (she/he/they/it): ANOTHER OF MY FAVORITES!!!! i love them. theyre inspired by hermit crabs!! and they have silver chains holding their shell to them. they look so endearing with their lil lopsided eyes ;; <3

The Flesh - God of the Body and Meat (she/he/they/it): i have so many ideas for the flesh y'all- im very excited to do a concept sheet for them. theyre meant to have no skin, just exposed bone and muscle, large limbs, hooves, exposed heart underneath a ribcage, teeth that close around their abdomen. white bandages that wrap around like clothes. a teeth/horn crown? i dont quite know whether to go for a more animalistic look or a more human one? like- theres so many ways to go with him idek!!!

The Hunt - God of Predators and Pride (they/it): see, i like this design but i feel like its too werewolf like? yknow? thats cool!! but itreads more monster to me than God :/

The Corruption - God of Nature, Rot, and Disease (she/they/it): i love this weird bug thing. this one i was really inspired for (mostly because. corruption aligned. so obviously im gonna think about this one alot) theyre this weird bug thing, the veil is inspired by the one from the art on the wiki! i want to maybe make them a bit more gross and weird because nature is like that sometimes, a moot on tiktok suggested that i add animal bones!! and i think thats SO smart im absolutely going too

The Spiral - God of the Incomprehensible (it/its): this weirdo is so hard to pin down istg. i imagine them as this spiral thing. body is kindof liquidy, arms are spindly and long, multiple shifting faces, overall just constantly changing and moving and like!!! how am i meant to draw that??? when my brain cant even wrap my head around what its supposed to look like yknow??? bruh jrdbhgfjdldgfh- that being said i think the main problem with the design is that it just gives me too many Michael vibes!!! is it the hair? the arms? its probably both.

The Lonely - God of Solitude and the Self (they/it): i like what this one has going so far! theyve got fog hair, fog tears, their body is meant to be splotchy like turquoise marble, i vibe with it so hard. not so sure what to do with their outfit tho :/

The Slaughter - God of War (he/they/it): another one of my more stronger designs i think! centaur with weapons sticking into them, face concealed, medieval armor and antlers- it vibes

the extinction isnt drawn because i literally have no idea what they should look like aside from color palette-

once again any and all suggestions will be taken!!!! i need ideas!!! plese!!!!

[pain-is-too-tired]

One thing I find so fun about the Apollo cabin after rereading a couple bits from botl is just how badass they are.

Like Lee is usually written and drawn to be almost even more laid back then Will at times. Like chill kinda guy.

Which isn't completely wrong I'm sure.

But I reread couple of his parts and my gods,I swear the Apollo kids sometimes feel like children of War gods because Lee is so quick to prepare for battle.

He's paired up with Clarisse, described as a deadly pairing, and they won.

He leads his cabin to chase off a FREAKING DRAKON, WHICH I DON'T THINK WE TALK ENOUGH ABOUT.

and when they have the meeting about what to do with the Labyrinth entrance in camp, Lee is the first to offer to set up defenses.

"We could fight," Lee Fletcher said."We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If any army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with out bows"

Battle of The Labyrinth Ch:4 Page:67

And Michael just as much of a strategist.

Idk,I just think it's really neat how the cabin who often seen as "laid back and chill" has some the most epic members.

Like even Will, the non combatiant, is rushing into battle with no weapons and getting out alive every time.

No wonder he's respected so well by camp fyfrg

But yeah, I wish we had more about Head Counselors like Lee and Michael. Lee just seems like he could be so intriguing to explore.

And Michael of course already has a good bit of intriguing characteristiation to explore

Will coming up calm but still so incredibly stubborn and determined make so much sense tbh.

His predecessors chased off a Drakon and helped keep Kronos' army at bay.

I love the Apollo cabin y'all usgd

[rat-shark]

some thoughts about Chuck and Texas (character analysis?)

thinking bout they're actually very similar, at least in my perception

and it's not visible at first glance, they seem like polar opposites, actually - Chuck, anxious, withdrawn, kinda insecure; Texas, loud, confident, certified bragger and bullshitter

but that's not entirely true, when you get into it

from Texasify, I think it's safe to say that Texas does all that - constant boasting, coming up with a million ideas that no one really asked for - cause he feels like the team, or specifically Mike doesn't appreciate him enough and take him seriously. and honestly, isn't that what Fearless and Blonde Thunder tackle, but from Chuck's perspective? He takes the booster cause he feels like, because of his fear, he isn't on the same level as the other Burners, and in Blond Thunder it's even more obvious. He even pulls a Texas move at the beginning of the episode and starts bragging about how good of a driver he is, even though he's never been behind the wheel. He's scared the Burners will think he's a joke if they knew he wasn't as good at driving as them. These episodes (Texasify, Thunder and Fearless to an extent) are literally about the same thing except in relation to two different characters.

And the thing is, both Tex and Chuck ARE right - the Burners DON'T take them seriously. In Amazons we see that the Burners dismiss Texas's idea to infiltrate the other gangs from the get-go and only humor him because they think it's funny. Even Mike is very opposed to Texas's ideas (which I thought was kinda out of character honestly but let's not get into that), basically treating him like an annoyance, or even a hindrance to his own plan.

Chuck ALSO doesn't get treated seriously by the gang. In Fantasy Vans, they start out making fun of his hobby, cracking jokes and basically laughing at him instantly. And yeah, okay, guess you can say it doesn't rly matter cause it's just a hobby (even though it's clearly important to him), but in Fearless we see them sat around a table and laughing at him screaming in fear for his life, very obviously making him the butt of the joke.

What I think is especially interesting is that Texas is probably most guilty of this (making fun of Chuck), with him laughing at Chuck the loudest and even making snide comments. And then what makes that even MORE interesting is that Texas very clearly recognizes Chuck's intelligence while not thinking he himself is smart (very evident in the texasified intro where "Texas is intelligent" is the only claim he backtracks on)

I think it's safe to say that Texas feels a kind of insecurity cause of not being as academically gifted as the others, ESPECIALLY Chuck. Idk if I'd go as far as to say he feels resentment, but it's definitely a neat idea to explore.

What is ALSO important to point out that the show itself doesn't take them seriously. Both Texas and Chuck are often made to be the comic relief character - Chuck with his screaming and clumsiness and Texas with his outlandish ideas and lack of understanding of situations he finds himself in.

BUT that's not where the similarities end. I like how both of these characters don't seem to have problems with... let's say departing from the truth. Obviously, Texas just makes up stories that never happened to make himself look more heroic, or overexaggerates his abilities, but Chuck does that too, to an extent. Like I said before, he lies in Blond Thunder, he also has no problem with taking the booster and not telling anyone about it, or not admitting that his first LARPing win was due to him tripping, essentially taking credit for something he didn't really do (a thing that Texas also does, most visibly in Threat level)

Another thing, which is maybe less important but present nonetheless, is that both of them have negative rizz. Texas, thanks to his over-confidence comes off as douchy and, dare I say, misogynystic, whereas Chuck is so insecure he basically forgets how to speak around Claire.

They both also care very deeply about Mike's opinion. Texas clearly feels inferior to Mike and feels like they're in a constant competition, resulting in him trying very hard to impress him. With Chuck, it's a little different - his need of Mike's validation pushes him to try to be better. He comes clean to Mike about the LARPing thing (even though he didn't need to) and takes the booster mostly because of Mike also, then, of course it's Mike who gets him to take it out. It makes sense, of course, since Mike is the leader of the Burners, placing him directly above Tex hierarchically, and Chuck's best friend, but neither Dutch nor Julie feel that need to prove themselves to Mike constantly (Julie feels the need to prove herself in Off the rack, but I think it's mostly targeted towards the team as a whole and not Mike specifically)

Also also, little thing, but it's funny how they both don't have canon last names

Overall, Texas and Chuck are actually two sides of the same coin and I really REALLY wish we'd gotten more interactions between them. Also they both have super ultra autism. You see it, right? You totally do

[ganondoodle]

still thinking about how even just the decision to basically act like the shiekah tech never existed is just ... so baffling to me

bc again you could have done all the sonau tech does with shiekah instead, and they were perfect to be explored more in a sequel, why wouldnt you grasp that potential, the literal building blocks for more??

if you are that tired of shiekah tech .. dont make it a fuckign sequel to the game prominently featuring it???? totk doesnt take place generations after botw in which things could have changed drastically, its just a few years afterwards??

you want to reuse the map and get rid of shiekah tech? ok fine take LINK into the past then and the focus is for you to find a way to return; do some neat twist where its revealed that link was the one who sealed gan bc he couldnt defeat him without zelda or something if you dare (they wouldnt)

want less work than that and still reuse the map and get rid of shiekah tech AND reuse characters? ok then make it some alternate universe thingy like majoras mask in which everythign is the same but also isnt, its weird and creepy how characters you thoguht you knew suddendly dont act like themselves, shiekah tech doesnt exist, malice is now miasma, etc, it would give reason to why you feel so much like something about this world is familiar yet also very wrong

as far as im aware every "sequel" we have had so far were either generations apart from the first one, some alternate universe or a different location altogether- in all of which its plausible that things are different, things seem weirdly familiar but also wrong, or that another continent just works different from hyrule

but totk does none of that, its supposedly just a few years after the first game, same world same character, but its BUILT like some strange jumbled mess of stuff from botw and new stuff out of nowhere that just .. doesnt fit, but feeling a strange sense of otherness, a déja vu of something you know but it acts off, like an imposter, thats NOT intentional and it shows, its a mess of botw stuff, from stuff that people missed from the old games and entirely new stuff; i dont doubt it CAN work but the way it turned out is like a mix of 3 different puzzles forced together and being told 'see it fits!' even tho you can clearly see the pieces dont look right in these places

again it feels like a sequel that desperately wants you to forget the first game happened, that anythign from it mattered at all

and that isnt really ... the sense of a sequel? why insist on it being one when it only creates problems? is it marketing?? just like it was marketing to call age of calamity a telling of what happened before botw but then it wasnt that at all and that is still the sole reason why i dislike it? bc i was lied to? totk is like 10000 times worse than that, its a main title and doesnt even have the excuse of yeah its basically an excuse to play all your fav characters in fun ways and the game beign well aware that being its main appeal; what is totk appeal? a toybox with botw aestethic and none of the flavor?

(on a sidenote; the sonau tech doesnt even .. matter? in botw at least calamity ganon was made of shiekah tech parts and him overtaking other tech is a big point, the sonau tech doesnt serve anything but .. idk minerus useless mech? gan doesnt even aknowledge it, he doesnt care, all it is is toys for the player, not link, but the player. the monsters mining the tech materials? what for? gan doesnt give a damn and they dont work for the yiga either??)

i said it before but it gives me the feeling that the way botw invited you to theorize, to look beneath the surface, the way it intrigued you and laid the groundwork for so many interesting things without denying anything.. was accidental? or perhaps put in the game without the directors noticing? i cant stop thinking about them saying sth like "after botw zelda wondered if the kingdom of hyrule needed to keep existing the way it had been before the calamity, but then totk happens" bc it just feels like they realized too late that botw naturally led into questioning the status quo and they scrambled to fit it back into a flat and boring road we have seen so many times before (or even worse really) with totk

zeldas character naturally leads into her questioning and reexamine their history and set of rules? we gotta teach her a lesson of why she is importante god given monarchy girl that has to keep it bc what if evil brown man shows up again for no reason

maybe im grasping at straws here but looking at it this way the sonau .. make more "sense"; the shiekah were a group that was under the rule of the royal family, and misstreated before (oh no look soemthing interesting) so they dont lend themselves well to be used for teaching zelda that lesson- the sonau however are tailored really to be just that; they are a supposedly godly race from the literal sky that founded this version of hyrule, that had tech even more advanced and better than the shiekah, she gets put in the past to meet the perfect god king of goodness personally, also his very fridgy wifey that zelda later replaces in a way, shes put there and treated like family and then gets to see just how evil that evil big man from the desert is, sonia is falcon-punched to death solely so zelda can feel obligated to take over her role, have her new, better 'family' hurt by gan; similarly so raurus sacrifice, look what a noble and good king he is, he payed the ultimate price to lock that evil man away, now zelda you cannot let their sacrifice go to waste, rebuild that divinely good kingdom like it was!!

and even though they go so much out of their way to put the cart back onto the rails of black and white-good and evil in an even flatter way than the old games, it still doesnt feel right, at least to me, it still feels like zelda shouldnt have gone along with all of that, it feels like even her character from botw was walked back entirely, except for the intro, it made her feel like a stranger to me-

because this is a sequel, i know this zelda, she wouldnt act like that after all that shes been through, this feels ... off

and it all just insulting to anyone who cared about botw more than surface level, or the zelda lore in general, i dont even care much about the timeline, but theres alot of lore and themes beyond it that felt ignored, especially so given that .. its a damn sequel, non AU, not generations apart, directly part 2-

but its not.

it even feels very "corporate", put zelda in a dress again, people liked that, put crazy abilities in the game to flashbang people with how insane it is even if its not the best for the gameplay or the story, put a new asthetic into it out of nowhere bc its 'new' and act like its been there the whole time, put gan in there bc people miss him and find him sexy even if his role is just as flat as that of an evil cloud monster-

*sigh*

you know, i saw a post that said aoc was like a bad fanfic (affectionate) and totk was like a bad fanfic (derogatory) and tbh thats like one of the best comparisons/summaries i have seen ..

[makingqueerhistory]

For the AMA: I've sent this before but idk if it's lost to time due to not being during an AMA so I'm sending it again, sorry if that's annoying!

Anyways do you know about the Queer Zine Archive (QZAP)? https://archive.qzap.org/index.php/Splash/Index . I forgot what else I said last time but I just got really into making zines in, like, November of 2023 so I have soooo many links about zines now haha, and I've made so many, and I think they're really neat! And I think people should know about this aspect of history. Many public and academic libraries have zine collections now, and you can find queer zines in them b/c the whole Thing with zines is that they're self-published and free of censorship b/c of that.

Have a great day, I love what you're doing and I direct people your way when they ask me about queer history! <3

I was just editing our tatiana de la tierra article, and I found this quote from Sara Gregory: “Zines matter to marginalized folk because they offer alternative, non-hierarchical spaces of healing, resistance, and knowledge. They respond to wider cultural and institutional ills with creative, radical, and celebratory fragments of truth. For queers, women, gender non-conforming folk, and POC (none of which are mutually exclusive) they creative and force open what is never offered in wider society: accurate, multiplicitous, and contradictory representations of lives lived in the margins. Zine culture resists and replaces the heterosexism, racism, ableism, and xenophobia around us with creativity, celebration, and survival strategies.”

And it got me really into the idea of making my own zine, so I am likely going to do that soon. All of this to say, this ask has perfect timing, and I can't wait to explore this resource!

[technowings]

I feel like "Nor The Battle to The Strong" is a very important Star Trek episode. We see a lot of exploration, a lot of small teams on planets, and of course space battles, but I don't know of any other episodes that show what things are like planetside during battles.

It also shows that starfleet IS military. There are soldiers on the ground fighting and protecting people - and people dying. Not everything is fixed with a hypospray and a dermal regenerator.

It really could be the model for a M*A*S*H style spinoff, but idk how you could do that without just actually *being* M*A*S*H.

Idk I just think about the rumours I heard years ago about a medical based star trek, as well as a police/legal style show and I still think they would be neat.