#it's a crappy screenshot but oh well

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 7, day 12, working on cleaning up the base color for Frey's face/hair/eyes/etc before I start on actually doing shading. I know it looks like a whole lotta crap right now, but it'll look better the more I work on it, I promise 💜

[weezerlvr228]

It's giving the...main character syndrome. like who tf does she think she is??? Y/N???

NO OH MY GOSH ANON. LET ME TELL YOU. LET ME FRIGGIN TELL YOU.

[ryssbelle]

The Brozone Misconception

(This picture is more a joke don't take it too seriously)

This is a kind of long analysis, deep dive, and discussion about certain fandom misconceptions. I am 100 percent open for discussion but I would ask that you read the whole thing first before reaching out, and please be respectful!

A link to the og google doc with images as tumblr image limit killed part of the essay XD

Essay under the cut

There is a common misconception in a small subset of the trolls fandom about the character of Brozone. That is their reaction and treatment of Branch, their overall purpose in the story, and whether or not Branch should have forgiven them. Whether or not their trauma born toxic traits which they aim to grow out of should be forgiven or not.

Let’s begin with an analysis of the beginning, middle, and end of their arc progression more or less.

We start with our favorite problem child, Jonathan Dorian, mounting the pressure of tonight's show, building expectations, and showing us, the audience, a bit of what goes on every time these guys perform: 

Making Bruce do 100 more push ups in the time before showtime (1 minute) 

Pressuring Clay to wear the funderdrawers even tho he clearly doesn’t want to 

Rebuffing floyds attempts to calm himself down

And his worst crime

Making Baby Branch Nervous

Now you could see all of these and think “Evil! Evil John Dory! Jail for John DOry for 1000 years!!” because he is being oh so toxic. Now JD’s main motivation for pushing his brothers so hard in this moment has to do with the “Perfect Family Harmony” which according to baby Branch no one has ever hit before

And you can see the strain it puts on the other brothers not just through the scenes i showed before but Clay literally tells us

John Dory not only sees it as a great achievement, but he is putting his own and his families self worth all on whether or not they accomplish the perfect family harmony

(ignore the crappy cropping image limits)

And when they fail he blames it on them not following his lead 

He still believes after all of that that they can successfully complete the Perfect Family harmony 

This looks to be about the first time the brothers air their grievances out to their older brother about how they actually feel about not only completing the harmony, but the direction of the band itself.

All of this happens within the heat of the moment, and only continues to get worse as when confronted with all of this Negativity JD decides to leave. You can see by his facial expressions in the above screenshots he was already feeling terrible about the situation as a whole. Animation is very show don’t tell just as much as live action is, it’s very important for storytelling as a whole. A character should not have to SAY they are remorseful for you to be able to see it.

So JD leaves leading his other brothers to leave as well. Ironically they are following his lead badum dum dum. 

Now we can assume this is probably par for the course for these guys, cuz Grandma is right there, and she just lets them leave, you say plot convenience I say subtle story telling/ It is implied they do this all the time and will eventually come back. (they don’t)

(Also ignore this image its also a silly and not serious XD)

Now you may be thinking, Ricky, you say that Brozone is not toxic, yet you show us the worst examples of their character. Listen dear reader, this is only the beginning, what I’ve shown you is merely the establishment of the eventual conflict that will be part of the driving force behind character growth and the story itself. 

Let’s move on to adulthood. The main arguments against Brozone happen here, other than the initial abandonment of Branch, which, I should remind you, happened when the oldest among them was still a teenager (teenagers are dumb). 

In this section I also have to mention another movie, and another character, as he is usually brought up in these discussions 

Creek

Creek is usually used as a comparison to the Brozone bros in the argument that Brozone is EVIL AND TOXIC AND UNFORGIVABLE and Creek by comparison should be seen in a better light and not deserve the hate. To be honest I have never seen the level of hate that has been given to Brozone leveled at Creek in the slightest. He is canonically a toxic character, and one who is incredibly self serving which a majority of the fandom recognize and vibe with. Creeks admittedly rancid personality is a massive factor in his appeal (at least for me), and that is kind of the point of his character: To be awful and unforgivable. Creek wasn’t made as your average side character, Creek was specifically made to be an antagonist, to be a contrast to one of our main protagonists, Branch. That is why they are always at odds with each other within both 3D media and 2D media. 

Taken from the trolls wiki

Creek has also shown disregard for Branch’s hobbies in the main show, tossing his puzzle into the fire. This was during Haircuffed, when Creek didn’t want to do Branch’s puzzle

Which you think not so bad, its just a puzzle! Well…

Puzzle’s have incredible significance to Branch, a comfort object if you will, and another way to feel connected to his Grandma. Now you might cry “Creek didn’t know it was significant! He can’t be held responsible for that!” HE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO KNOW THE TRAUMA BEHIND THE PUZZLE TO NOT DESTROY THE PUZZLE.

Conversely let's look at the Brothers:

Throughout the course of the film they are a bit rude to Branch and dismissive of him:

JD:

Bruce:

Clay:

(You could argue the face grabbing is just a troll thing cuz)

But anyway

These scenes are minor things that add up during the course of the film for the purpose of showing off the traits they will put aside and grow out of for the sake of each other.

(brb reading xmen)

Lets talk about Xmen, you think JD is bad well watch this

Bam!

Anyway

Before we tackle the entire argument scene let’s first tackle the individual character of each of the bros, Specifically: John Dory, and Bruce, who are most criticized for their actions.

John Dory is one of the first brothers we see return in the film, and his first and foremost objective is to collect Branch so that they can go get their other brothers to rescue Floyd. Some have called John Dory uncaring for his younger brothers, but if that were the case why start the rescue mission at all? An uncaring brother would just ignore the letter and go on with his life, but John Dory literally drops everything just to go rescue his little brother. The letter even specified getting the other brothers first, but John Dory goes alone to get Floyd out of danger as fast as possible only retrieving the other bros when he fails (and cuz he didnt know where they were, can’t waste time when you got a brother to save)

A brother who didn’t care about his family wouldn’t go through all this effort. Some would say he’s only doing it for appearances sake, but for whom? Him and his brothers have been out of the limelight for 20 years, JD especially has been isolated in the neverglades, who is he trying to impress with this? No one, he’s just a good brother.

Also a reminder! When thinking about breaking Floyd out he is not the first to bring up the harmony! Floyd is, John Dory had a much more clever idea

So it's not just to complete the harmony either.

He’s also held on to all the merch from their Brozone days, mementos of his family, it shows how he cares, but also the flaw he aims to overcome: his desperate attempt to cling to the past, the better days.

Now let's go to Bruce, easily the most scrutinized of the brothers (because of the baby comment) 

When he first sees his brothers again this is his reaction: 

(Another point for JD, got ignored but is more happy to see his bros getting along)

Bruce is excited to introduce them to his family, excited to reconnect.

(Note: At this point tumblr stopped allowing images so i will be giving descriptions along with a link to the original google doc for reference purposes these are screenshots from the movie)

Cut image: Bruce introducing his wife to his brothers "These are my brothers, unexpectedly"

(Still excited and immediately introduces them to his wife despite them being “unexpected”)

Cut Image: Brandy saying "It's so nice to finally meet you"

“It’s so nice to finally meet you” Implies that he’s talked about them at length and the possibility of them meeting up with one another.

Also all of his kids completely ignore their mom, just to ask their father something, or tell on their sibling, or ask for his help as seen in this entire clip

With the ketchup kid he assures his kid he will handle it (and yes Brandy had to handle it but um rescue mission?) and that he loves them he just needs a bit of time to address, um who was it again? His brothers, right…

Bruce is argued as being incredibly selfish, I had seen a meme once that had suggested Bruce would let his own children die before he would give up his own life, which is horrendous and blatantly untrue. Bruce only tries to turn away his brothers when John Dory brings up the perfect family harmony and that’s before he knows it's for Floyd, once he finds out it’s for Floyd he is immediately on board! His biggest concern about the harmony at this time is how they’re going to do it. 

As for “abandoning his family again” Bruce is going on a rescue mission, which he asks his wife before hand if it is alright

Which she approves, he also agrees to cover for a WHOLE MONTH for the yoga retreat (Also seen in the clip above)

He spends the majority of the journey caring for Tiny Diamond as well, he lets Tiny into his hair, carries him around in a baby sling he’s a dad to any kid who needs him.

Clay doesn’t get as much scrutiny as either of the older bros, most likely due to his inability to leave the golf course and the fact he apologizes to Branch at the end. There are many things that mimic the same in the ending scene but let’s address the points brought up within the argument that people use to claim the evilness of Brozone. 

Also fun reminder, Clay is the one to start the fight, Not John Dory, not Bruce, Clay just a fun note (he is a lil problematic and argumentative and thats why i love him)

Clay brings up John Dory being bossy which sets everyone off into a tangent about the past, past actions that they think are resurfacing

Cut image, the beginning of the argument:

Clay: No. No, dude. You’re forcin' us to be perfect, just like you always have, so we can hit the perfect family harmony.

John Dory: Yeah. For Floyd.

Bruce: Is it? Or is this all just so you can tell people what to do again?

John Dory: Wha What?

_

Bruce: This isn’t gonna work if you keep on bein' the same old John Dory.

We all know John Dory’s reason for being “bossy” ; his reason for his perfection, once done out of an effort to impress, is now one out of necessity. They need to be perfect because now someone can die, and the others can’t see that due to their own trauma at the hands of JD’s perfectionism. 

As shown way at the beginning of the essay, all of the brothers suffered at the hands of JD’s past obsession, Bruce had to look a certain way pushing his body past its limits, Clay had to act a certain way disregarding his own happiness to keep up an image, Floyd was ignored and his advice pushed aside, and Branch was pushed to be perfect when he was only about 2 years old (or a month old if you go by the brozone blog). JD also suffered, pushing himself to make song after song, mentally exhausting himself and inadvertently hurting his brothers in the process of doing what he thinks is right for them. 

JD also had the responsibility (as a teen) to parent all of his younger brothers:

Cut Image:

John Dory: Well, I’m not allowed to change. I’m the oldest. I had to be the leader.

John Dory: Why do you think I moved to the middle of nowhere? So I didn’t have to be in charge of anyone. Four little brothers is a lot of responsibility.

You could argue it's his responsibility as the oldest but Grandma was right there, they shouldn’t be his sole responsibility. 

When most of them left it was done out of self preservation, to protect their sanity and to finally find happiness outside of a place that was no longer bringing it to them. They were kind of acting how most would want Branch to act, they cut out the toxic family for their own safety. 

Bruce:

Cut image:

Bruce: [stammers] Why do you think I left? So no one would treat me like you did.

Clay: 

Cut Image:

Clay: I’m gonna find trolls who take me seriously. Next to Clay is a picture of himself in a graduation cap

(Also that is Clays graduation photo, they are all around teen years in  the prologue which means this is either a middle school graduation photo or he graduated early and is still not taken seriously, which as someone who also faces that [only being seen one way despite your achievements] is incredibly discouraging and soul destroying) 

They most likely didn’t return due to the fact they didn’t want to be faced with this kind of treatment again (golf course entrapment aside) 

(Now you’re probably wondering about Floyd and he’s a whole other post, this is mostly focusing on the brothers who receive the most criticism due to misrepresentation)

During the argument they talk about going their separate ways, it is admittedly harsh they way they talk about leaving again, but they never say they’re leaving forever. Bruce has to return to his wife and kids, Clay left the golf course without one of its leaders, JD has his own life and routine, of course they’d go back to it once it was over, but that doesn’t mean visiting is off the table, and that they’d never see each other again. 

Cut Image: John Dory: What? The mission’s the mission. [chuckles] You didn’t think we’d all live together when this was all over, did you? Singin' songs and roastin' marshmallows?

Again i recognize JD is being an asshole here, but he is only knocking the idea of living together off the table, which kind of understandable they’re all adults with their own lives they don’t need to live together, I don’t get mad at my sister for going back to her house when shes done visiting. But again it is more how they say it then what they’re saying

Cut Image:

Branch: [scoffs] Oh, I’m sorry. Is that funny to you? That I might want us to actually be a family again? Tiny Diamond, pull over. Now.

Seen is JD's look of regret

You can see on his face that he regrets what he said when Branch says this, when he gets angry at him, he didn’t mean it like that. Thats when the don’t be a baby comment comes in, they still don’t actually understand why he’s upset, they think he’s acting childish, they don’t recognize he’s changed yet

Cut Image: The bros reaction upon hearing of grandmas death

These are their faces when they hear what Branch has been through, they obviously are upset, they’re hurt on his behalf, they are remorseful, this and their future actions signify the shift from who they were (hurt kids turned hurt adults, fighting over their past trauma) 

After Branch leaves, they, on their own accord, continue the mission to save Floyd, which is how they get caught, and during the final climax control freak JD relinquishes control, having changed and lets Branch take the lead. This is after Branch reminds them they don’t have to be perfect to be in harmony, just to be as they are together which they AGREE

Cut Image:

JD: We'll follow your lead, Branch

Once they save Floyd we are brought to Bruce’s restaurant, he brings them there to host their reunion, there is where branch gets encouragement from JD, where Clay apologizes, where Floyd reminisces and you can see JD engaging with his brothers more than just encouraging Branch he has joined Clays sad book club

Cut Image: JD reading a sad book behind Branch and Clay talking about said book club

This isn’t the end of their reconnection, this is only the beginning. They still have lots of time to grow, and to become closer as family. 

Now lets head back to Creek for a moment before we close this off:

We have brought up the puzzle destruction and his purpose as an antagonist. The main argument most people use is that Creek had no other choice but to sell out his entire race to be eaten and killed to save himself. He had a choice, Branch would’ve let himself get eaten if it meant protecting all of troll village as noticed when he protects poppy in twt (though he might’ve actually found another way out), Poppy would’ve as well. In tbt Floyd begs each of his brothers who meets him before the climax to let him die so they don’t face the same fate, these are all selfless acts. Creek reacts selfishly, eat everyone else but don’t eat me, then he smugly confronts Poppy, obnoxiously laments about how he has to live with his actions when if he were a truly good and selfless character wouldn't have been an issue. He smiles smugly, shrugs his shoulders, and lets himself be carried to safety when his people look at his betrayal with disbelief and sadness. 

Creeks actions in the 1st movie are awful, they’re supposed to be, they’re meant to be unforgivable crimes, and that is why he is killed in the 3D canon, legit he is dead in the 3D canon. 2D and 3D are different continuities, which is part of why I find them (Brozone and Creek) to be mostly incomparable.

Brozone’s arc only affects Branch and each other and in the end they grow stronger, and into better people. Creeks arc/actions affect an entire species and their survival, within the 2D continuity his actions only continue to be self serving, and rather toxic (more for funsies but you know) he should not have been forgiven, but he was. His actions were deplorable yet forgiven which then begs the question why aren’t Brozones? Creek also wrote the apology song solely to humiliate Branch in front of his friends which is not cool bro, Branch did not deserve the treatment he got in the episode from anyone. 

To conclude my thoughts are that Creek and Brozones actions are incomparable, Creek’s actions are not meant to be taken in a positive or sympathetic light, he is a villain cut and dry, that is who he was made to be and he does it wonderfully. I don’t hate Creek, I love his character, he is awful and that is great! Love toxic awful characters! Brozone are a representation of a broken family coming together again, they are toxic, and then they grow, they are meant to do so, the villains of that movie are Velvet, Veneer, and familial trauma all of which get mended by the end of the film. It’s not perfect but its there, and the ignorance of it is what causes these major misconceptions. 

TL;DR Learn media literacy please

[sjbattleangel]

Public Service Announcement: Please, stay away away from HellYeahHeroes, Ubernegro, Chadfarsight*, KK4EverStuff, and Cohore.

*I'm aware Chadfaresight doesn't speak to HellYeahHeroes anymore but she's still responsible for spewing the very same toxicity.

HellYeahHeroes/HellYeahTeenSuperHeroes, Ubernegro, Chadfarsight, Cohore and others are the most vile, most pettiest, most hateful people who have no right to call themselves "comic fans".

[Trigger warning for screencaps in the links] They will personally target comic writers using hyperbolic, personal attacks on them: Disgusting insults, making horrible assumptions of them like calling them "Hacks" multiple times, along with "Pussys", "eugenists", "homophobes", "perverts", "mysoginysts", "sex offenders", "cowards", "rape apologists", "fascist sympathizers", "Nazi apologists", "dog f***ers", telling them to "lick goats" and more.

The way they talk about writers like Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brisson, Matthew Rosenburg, Dan Slott, Donny Cates, Brian Michael Bendis, James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson and others, it's clear that they hate them solely as people. In fact, they have held a deep personal hatred for them WAY before they read any of their works. Yet they will happily mask what is clearly a bloody vendetta against people ,who never harmed them, under a smokescreen of "criticising crappy writing" and wanting their favourite characters "treated with respect".

KK4EverStuff has gone on to send death threats and wish harm upon creators, it's very possible HellYeahHeroes, Ubernegro, Cohore and Chadfarisght have done so too.

Please, report and block them. They are the most hate-filled toxic people to ever exist in the comic fandom.

Eventually, My friend Samasmith23 and I bumped into @Majingojira and told him HellYeahHeroes and co.'s behaviour since he is their friend. Because of his more chilled, open-minded attitude, we thought he would listen to us and condemn this behaviour but instead...

...he just kept shifting the goalposts; using whataboutisms: Like "Oh, HYH doesn't talk about comics anymore", "KK isn't a member of our group", "That was old stuff", "he (Samasmith) should hold SJBattleAngel to a similar standard", "Screencaps as ammunition is a C*micsgate tactic" and others.

He then suggested that I "fabricated" the screenshots.

But worst of all?

He made excuses for their abhorrent behaviour towards creators. He dismissed our calls for acountability as "tone-policing", being "puritanical", operating under "Tumblr Morality" ect.

He even excused HYH and co's attacking of comic writers by saying: "Complaining about insults towards creators is rich when creators themselves are generally okay with its existence. Just don't do it to their face."

NO.

Calling for innocent creators to be fired is NEVER "okay"!

Telling them to "lick goats" is NEVER "okay"!

Attacking them as "perverts", "eugenists", "fascism apologists" is NEVER "okay"!

Encouuraging harrasment against them NEVER, NEVER "okay"!

Sending them literal death threats is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER "okay"!

Majingojira turns a blind eye to toxic fan harassment and, by doing so, enables it. Stay away from him.

I've wrote to multiple comic/nerd/fandom blogs on Tumblr, telling them about HellYeahHeroes's and his friend's toxicity; asking them to shame this sort of behaviour. But most never reply back. They probably think I'm some sort of "troll" trying to "start drama". And I don't blame them, HellYeahHeroes, Majingojira, Ubernegro and others are some of the most beloved, well-respected comics/social justice bloggers on this website, I understand looking up to someone thinking they could never do any wrong. I know because I was once one of those people.

You know, this takes a toll on my mental health: Trying to tell people that some of the most revered members of our communities are actually horrible pieces of work, but they don't believe you. It's like being trapped in a room all alone, with no door. You scream the truth at the walls, hoping a door will appear. But it never does, and you're stuck forever with no-one to hear your cries. And it hurts. This pain of never being believed.

I hope you all understand.

I just want our community to be safe and healthy. Please, believe me.

Dear @Hellyeahheroes, @ubernegro, @farsight-the-char @Cohore,

The way you targeted and demonized creators like Dan Slott, Tom King, Donny Cates, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brisson, Matthew Rosenburg, Grant Morrison, Jason Aaron, Brian Micheal Bendis, Adam Glass, Tom Taylor, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Rian Johnson, Neil Druckman was just disgusting and horrible. You have every right to dislike their work but to personally attack and vilify them is unacceptable! They are not "misogynists", they are not "creeps", "they are not "racists", they are not "antisemites", they are not "eugenists", they are not "fascist sympathizers", they are not "Nazi apologists", they are not "closeted Neo-Nazis" but most of all: They are not "hacks!"

To @Hellyeahheroes, @ubernegro, @farsight-the-char, @Cohore,: Seeing your disturbing parasoical hatred of creators like Slott, King, Cates, Hickman, Brisson, Rosenburg, Aaron, Bendis, Snyder, Tynion Williamson, it's clear that outside of comics, way before you read any of their work you've always held a personal vendetta against them as people.

Why? Did they personally hurt you or your loved ones? Did they ruin your lives? Even if they did, that gives you no right to email them countless death threats!

I don't know what you think but personally attacking these writers and sending them death threats will not magically undo the likes of One More Day, Robin: One Year Later, Avengers Academy: Arena, Avengers Undercover, Heroes In Crisis! No! Your actions are the very reason people see nerd fandom as a toxic cesspool of bullying and entitlement. And you're just proving them right!

Apologise, do better or leave.

Tell Lily Orchard, CinemaSins and Mr. Plinkett I said hi.

[kevsimblr]

Well.. I played a round in the Diaz family and a lot happened...

TWINS?! So Eloise got pregnant (by Tony) and gave birth to two baby girls. One called Nevaeh, and the other Bambi.. (If anyone reading this has the name of either Nevaeh or Bambi.. I'm sorry but I honestly picked out of the most 'trailer trash' names I could think of...)

But with the arrival of the twins, this made it pretty hard since neither Eloise or Tony has a job.. So I put Tony to work fixing up cars and hopefully we can fix up the trailer and make it something worth living in since they've had some children.

I have a head cannon that Eloise is not going to be a good mother, just very inattentive towards the girls while Tony is excited they're here.. (Eloise almost went into aspiration failure TWICE because she had to change nappies.. like come onnnn).. As Eloise didn't really plan for children so soon, she ran away from her own family to be with Tony and she didn't think she'd be having one of her own so soon. I think there will be some resentment there, Tony dragged her to this crappy town, forced her to get married, got her pregnant and (unaware to Eloise) got someone else pregnant too? OH the DRAMA.

Eloise still doesn't know that Tony had a baby with Carolina but I'm sure she'll figure it out.... somehow.

I'm having the most fun!

Have a great day guys! I'll be introducing more families next, just getting round to creating, building and taking screenshots... I am not a rigorous Sims player, I like a more relaxed approach but I've been loving your guys support.

[satureja13]

Greetings from Tomarang!

They pushed the trash aside and stepped out. Saiwa: "This is a junkyard!" Jack: "Do you remember? You always said that about the Space Bar too! Haha - and then you cried when we moved out." Saiwa: "Ach!"

Jack followed his nose: "There must be a market! A Night Market! We can deal with this junkyard tomorrow. Let's take a look around and eat something!" Jeb: "Let's go and check out our neighborhood. Vanië, don't be upset. Living in the Otherworld is the best that could possibly have happened to us. We're save here. And you'll see - after a few days of work it will be amazing here." Saiwa sighs: "Let's go then..." Jack: "That's my boy! Oh I'm so hungry! We haven't eaten since we left the Meteorite Crash Scene!"

Jack: "Look how beautiful it is! We will be so happy here!"

Jeb: "There are the food stands!"

Jack: "Ahh the smell! And it looks amazing too! Jeb, do you think you can learn to cook this?" Jeb: "Sure :3 "

Vlad: "It really is so beautiful here."

Saiwa: "Can I have this?" Jeb: "You can have anything you want from me, Vanië." Saiwa: "Aowww Jeb!"

Jack: "Too bad you can't taste this. It's so delicious."

Saiwa: "Hey! They even sell outfits here! Oh - I can't wait to get rid of these clothes! And we're going to find a loose outfit for you which doesn't worsen your pain, Jack."

Jack: "Awesome! This cloth is amazing! It's cool and I really like the feeling of this skirt! Nothing pinches!" Saiwa: "You do wear boxers, do you?" Jack: "Hm?" Saiwa: "Omg Jack!"

They took a walk along the river.

Saiwa: "It really is so beautiful." Jeb: "You really are so beautiful. I love you."

Jeb: "We will be happy here."

Vlad: "Let's go home. You hurt."

Saiwa: "I'm sorry I was so upset, Jeb. Other Jeb and Jack sacrificed a lot to give us a safe place. Forgive me." Jeb: "Ah don't worry, Vanië. It was a bit of a shock for all of us ^^' We are going to make the best out of it, hm?"

And they went home. Because the have a home now. A crappy home. (screenshots are not edited! Amazing lighting in Tomarang!) (And we did well with the timing!)

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🛺 'Home crappy Home' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: 🌴 'The Expedition' from the beginning ▶️ here 🎤 'Putting the Boys Back together' from the beginning ▶️ here 🥀 'Disbandment of the Group' from the beginning ▶️ here

[sneezemonster15]

I'd give you an analysis, but frankly from what I've seen from your own "analysis" you're not very good at reading

also if you'd be so kind to tag this as mha spoilers, or screenshot this ask and put it under a read more so i dont spoil anyone who's interested in reading mha. it'd be greatly appreciated

(also thanks for getting rid of anon, this time i will include pics !)

anyway, this is the "straight dude who is having a typical cutesy high school het romance with a girl in a taken for granted het world." you're talking about;

also i wont lie, calling mha a het world when these are real dialogue is highkey stupid:

and i know the topic at hand is s/n/s and bk/dk but lets pivot to tg/chk bc theyre more relevant to what im saying

theres a lot to say but honestly, the manga speaks for itself :)

oh and also, you're right, bk/dk has no romantic subtext - it has romantic text. no subtlety needed! :) that is, if you have read the manga - my favourite example is this:

and then shgrk then proceeds to kill bkg, who "dies" (sort of) thinking about izuku in his final moments:

and then izk loses control when he sees bkg "dead" on the ground

and these are from recent chapters! imagine the rest of the series, ey

well! that got long. i'd tackle your crappy assessment of deku's character, but then I'd be here all day!

anyways, if i were you, I'd reread mha and really really understand the text you're reading. you might end up seeing something you missed at first!

Aiyyo someone got triggered! Hehehe. Ah it was inevitable that the moment I talked about MHA and rejected shippy head canons from the show, some delusional hardcore shipper would get all up in arms. Sigh.

You think what you wrote is analysis? Hehehe.

So just some random panels and chapter covers from the manga prove Bakugou or Deku is gay? Lol. I have seen fans like you in Naruto fandom as well. But you are right, I am not as invested in MHA, because it just doesn't have the versatility and genius of Naruto and Shippuden, it is actually quite a straightforward story and I don't need to burn a lot of my braincells to 'get it'. Lol. I am not saying it's bad, but as compared to its contemporary mangas, it just isn't at par for my tastes. It's good for entertainment but it doesn't affect me like other mangas that it takes inspiration from. Some silly shipper telling me I can't read, I would tell you my credentials but nah, too much work for disproving silly ass headcanons.

Fans make comparisons between Naruto and BNHA because Horikoshi is inspired by Kishimoto, definitely some similarities are there, but it misses on the most crucial point. Naruto and Shippuden are love stories. BNHA is simply your typical shounen manga. Naruto and Shippuden use the narrative tool of subversion to tell a love story in the restrictive genre of shounen. It has multiple layers and you need presence of mind to see them. Naruto is gay and you see comphet in his character, his interest in Sakura looks superficial from the beginning and then in kage arc, it is concluded as a mere cover to run from confronting his dilemma, and closetedness. His character is consistently shown as having an internal fight, a dilemma. Sasuke is just on your face, he is clearly shown as having no interest in women, but with Naruto he is especially intimate on his own accord. Ya know, using random panels ain't gonna help, you need to establish it in the narrative. Headcanons are all nice to entertain when that's all you watch media for, shipping. But please to be showing more maturity and media comprehension when sending me an ask, I am not very sympathetic to gaslighters whose heads are filled with shippy shit and cheap self gratification. When I talk Naruto, I make comparisons with other clearly gay media, and point out the common tropes, it's a result of expansive research. Not just random panels that prove nothing. Little one, you need more than that to prove your theories. I have watched a wide range of media, including gay media, your ask is just representative of your ignorance and lack of knowledge about how storytelling and character building works. Heh. Or do you think BNHA has its own concept of homosexuality, its own private language that cannot be compared with how other media establishes homosexuality in a given universe? Yeah, solipsistic ideas like that cannot be taken seriously.

Conformity is one of the pillars Japanese society is built upon, so it's not surprising that Japanese media talks upon how anything that doesn't conform to the norms is rejected. Their media is representative of their society. Mha also touches upon that and there's no surprises there, but again, you need more than that to prove it in the course of plot building and narrative. Some random out of context panel about some character saying something about conformity proves your point? You need to SHOW it and not just tell. But where other mangas, great mangas, popular and critically well acclaimed mangas have explored this idea in detail, MHA is just touch and go. It doesn't entertain a balanced proper discourse on it. It is truly shounen in that sense. Again, I am not saying it is bad, it is just more age appropriate. Which is totally fine. Do you know how heteronormativity is established in the narrative? Like this. Show me where this happens in MHA. Lol. Sweetheart, if the writer had made any attempt to write this world as heteronormative, where gay characters face challenges, I would have seen it. But mha is just not that deep. Sorry to burst your bubble. But that's just a fact.

Seriously, you are going to give me the example of Toga? I haven't gone through the recent chapters yet. I have only watched the anime. But it is clear that, that girl is medically insane. Her idea of liking someone is to kill that person and drink their blood, for her own pleasure. She ain't a homosexual, more like hemosexual. Hahaha. Again, you gotta show me the trajectory of her character, start with the base and show me how it escalates, how does she learn better about herself, her own feelings, the world from her perspective. No character is isolated, any writer who is talented enough to write multimillion franchise knows that. Don't project your assumptions on the story and the characters, work with what you have and draw the meaning from what's given, not the other way round.

There is no doubt Izuku and Bakugou have a strong relationship, even if it is mostly rivalry. But one can see that Bakugou cares about Deku and vice versa. Before telling me how to read, perhaps you should have done it yourself. Lol, I see this type of behaviour a lot from typical silly shippy shippers. "What, did you just say my ship makes no sense? 🤬"

Read.

Do you even know what subtext or text is? Hahah. This is text and subtext. So just because Bakugou and Deku talk about their rivalry in their vulnerable moments, that the audience knows as congruent since we have already seen they have a hot and cold relationship but that they are friends nonetheless, that proves they love each other romantically? You obviously don't know how romance tropes work. The dynamic between two men who respect and admire each other is always shown with a lot of empathy in Japanese media. It is one of the founding pillars of shounen, a genre meant for teenaged boys. They are certainly closer to each other than they are with women they are interested in, but a lot of fans such as yourself misinterpret it as romantic, because headcanon goggles. No, you gotta have more than that. Where Naruto and Shippuden have it in truckloads, none of that in BNHA. Deku is heterosexual af. If he is so interested in Bakugou, how come he reacts the way he reacts to Uraraka? Where is his conflict? Where is his dilemma? His affection and romantic interest in Uraraka is genuine and sincere, not a cover to hide his more private feelings. Unlike in Naruto's case. Kishi uses clever narrative tricks and tools to tell his love story in shounen and he does it skillfully. His motives and intentions are clear as water. He uses inventive smokescreens and red herrings to escape from being too controversial and colour inside the borders of shounen, nothing like that in BNHA. To begin with, Horikoshi doesn't even delve into the sexualities of his characters, because his story is not about that. There's no context, no set up, nothing. His worldbuilding is simply conventional, by which I mean heteronormative, there's no talk about sexual orientation of characters. You see the usual shounen perviness by Mineta and Kaminari and typical straight girls going kawaai over good looking boys like Todoroki, what impression does that give? If Horikoshi wanted to establish his characters being gay, he would have set up the context mindfully and carefully, like Kishi did. Gay relationships and characters can't be shown so explicitly in shounen as that would jeopardize its distribution in the west. Reason? Censorship. That's why Kishi had to be so careful, his target audience might not get it, but the adults do. Well, unbiased adults do, at the very least. So the boys in bnha are gay just because? Because you want them to be? Storytelling and character building doesn't work like that.

Seriously everything you think works as 'analysis' isn't even valid. I honestly didn't even want to respond to this ask, given it's so surface level and ridiculously simple minded. Perhaps you are a tween or teen who thinks every time two boys or girls smile at each other or rescue each other, they are gay and in love. Lol, watch gay media. Like actually watch it and see where your arguments stand in the scheme of things. I will tell you, nowhere. Juvenile kiddy stuff. I won't entertain anymore asks like these, they are a waste of my time.

[chaifootsteps]

theres something painfully ironic about fans going "stop drawign that character skinny youre fat phobic!!!" when theres like. 3 main characters thatre fat in vivs show. compare that to 80% of the sexy, skinny main characters.

"oh but theres background characters thatre fat!!" yeah. BACKGROUND characters. vivs fans are the only mfs desperate enough to go "see viv likes black people and fat people and trans people and wlw!! see how she put them in the background!!!! she didnt draw them but theyre in her show so she must clearly not be a bigot!!!!!"

And then when you point out that Vivzie made Millie's trans brother cis, their immediate response is "Well, he's only a background character, it doesn't matter and Vivzie's totally not a transphobe and those screenshots of her saying transphobic things are wrong!"

Background characters are the most important thing in the world to them just as long as they're proving whatever crappy point they're arguing.

[osterby]

Baldur's Gate 3, via Osmosis

So I think I played the first Baldur's Gate game for like an hour at a friend's house back in college, and all I remember about it was how delighted I was by the miniature giant hamster. I didn't even know there was a second game until I started hearing people get excited about the third one. That's about the sum of my knowledge of this franchise.

So without more ado, here's what my tumblr dash has taught me about these blorbos (I got @malaloba to huck the screenshots at me, so I didn't spoil myself on the names)

I want to say this one is Shadowheart, but that's too on the nose. She's probably .... Mythrin... Mithras... Mithotyn... Nope, I haven't got it.

She looks grouchy, and like she has a very good reason to be grouchy, and I would assume she's a combat class from her armour, but that's all I've got.

Gale (or Halsin) I know this one! He's the one who turns into a bear in The Cutscene that broke the internet for a few days. That means he'd be a Druid, right? I think he cross classes or something, though.

I hope the furries are having a great time drawing him as an anthro bear with a very large weenie.

Astarion! This vampire twink was all over my dash long before the game was released. Apparently he has a tragic backstory and is a jerk about it in a way that is either annoying or endearing, depending on the player's opinion of vampire twinks. His main role in the game, however, seems to be comically failing to pick locks. This means he's a Thief. Apparently the thing with the bear just had Astarion as the player character, and he isn't canonically dating the bear guy. Oh well.

Halsin (or Gale) The Other One who is Not a Bear. I would have said Bard for his class, but he's glowing a bit much for that here, so maybe a caster? I feel like he's more popular in areas of Tumblr that don't cross my dash.

Karlach or Karlak or something (not Karkat, that's a Homestuck thing).

Lesbians love her! She is large and angry and apparently really easy to romance just by approving of her chopping things with her axe. I think she was a child soldier? I see a lot of jokes about her crappy ex. I think her ex is actually her god and not her ex, though. Anyway, she seems like a prototypical Barbarian, good for her.

EDIT: I just remembered that she has PLAGUE, and is on a quest to Stop Having Plague. This is apparently her ex's fault

Laz'el. Lae'zel. La'zael. Something along those lines. I've seen treatises on her backstory and characterization, and she sounds like a really interesting character. Grew up in a cult of some kind, got dead or something, got abandoned by a crappy god (who might have also gotten dead or something), and is now wandering around trying to figure out how to exist in a world that isn't a cult. Apparently Other Players don't like her and dont't get what's up with her, which is a sore point for her fans (It's very possible that I'm mixing up portions of her backstory and fan reception with Karlach's) Her nose weirds me out (some uncanny valley thing between a skeleton lack-of-nose and a nose-nose), but I think she's pretty neat.

Ok, so if the blue lady at the top of this post isn't Shadowheart, then this one is Shadowheart. When I first saw the name Shadowheart, I thought it was someone's OC, and then I thought it was a generic name for the player character. From what I can gather, she's Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way with the stupid scraped off. She seems to be younger than most the other characters; she and the red tiefling are the kiddos of the group (Astarion doesn't count, because vampire). I think she grew up all sheltered in a weird little cult, too. Did ALL these characters grow up in weird cults? Is that a theme? Did I hear one backstory and apply it to a dozen different characters?

I happen to know for sure that this guy's name is Wyll. Good for me.

I don't know beans about him but I suspect he might be my favourite character when I do finally get around to playing, just from how his peronality is conveyed in fanart.

I get the impression he's the Only Sane Man to all these characters who grew up in cults and divorced dead gods and got vampire'd and whatnot, but he also has horns in like half the fanart and screenshots and is clearly Haunted (metaphorically, figuratively, literally, probably all of the above), so who knows.

As for the second figure here, I know the premise of the game is you've all got brainworms, who are in leage with a mindflayer con man who you can bone but who is also running some sleezy marketing scam, so maybe that's the brainworm made manifest?

I also see a lot of talk about character called Dark Urge, and the fan art doesn't look like that, but if Dark Urge is a manifested brainworm, then it could take various forms.

[lovemyromance]

They post all that but not a peep of all the nasty comments on SJMs post yesterday about Elain. Tbh there’s crappy people in each ship and it’s very narrow minded and immature when they assume it’s just their anti ship but what can you expect from people who can’t read context clues and proper foreshadowing 🤷🏼‍♀️

There's no point in arguing with people who use random words pulled out of context and fanon/HCs to form entire arguments for the foundation of their ship.

If you disagree with them, you are "rude and dumb". We are using canon to back our ship and they are using their personal feelings on the matter because all they have in canon is 3-4 uncomfy Elucien interactions and a ribbon(?) and sparky sparky glow glow.

Every time I've told an anti (and mind you, they come to my posts, I don't go out and comment on anti-Elriel posts unless for it's truly a diff reason altogether) that their argument isn't wholly correct because it goes against canon, here are screenshots from the text - I get called stupid and dumb and "toxic to the fandom" and blocked.

If someone genuinely calls out something incorrect I have said from canon (which, mind you has only happened once and wasn't even the related to the purpose of my post), I have thanked them for keeping me honest because sometimes we all make mistakes. That same person has gone on to trash me on their blog and other blogs indirectly for that one interaction where I was nothing but kind to them.

They love to point fingers a lot and say "well I've only encountered Ewriels that are mean" like they aren't incredibly biased and ofc other Eluciens wouldn't snap at you like y'all snap at us. There are bad apples on every side of this fandom and to act like "oh well I've only encountered mean Ewriels so therefore that is the case" should tell you all you need to know about their logic.

I can't control what they think. What I can control is how I react to things and how I treat people. If everyone else took a little more accountability for their actions, this fandom would be a better place to be in, but alas.

So... yeah... I don't like to interact with antis because citing the actual text of the book hurts their feelings and threatens their personal (mis)interpretations of canon. Then they feel like that gives them authority to be rude and mean and so the toxicity continues.

[notasapleasure]

EastEnders run (2000-2001), part 4/4

You would not believe the effort I put into finding these two smh. But you all need to know how it ends, right? Take it from me: you do.

19 February 2001

Sandra turns up to take Joe for the holidays, in the process accusing Beppe of planting class A drugs on Jack to get him to lose his job.

Beppe denies it, but when Joe says something like 'Dad why did you get uncle Jack in trouble' Beppe storms off to the zoo with Joe, to the annoyance of both Sandra and his boss.

Exposition central, I wonder if Jack himself is actually in this one or if I need to go back an episode...

YAYY researching skilzz CONFIRMED! (UKTV player so only crappy phone shots I'm afraid)

Beppe: "What was your favourite animal?"

Joe: *points* "Uncle Jack."

The boys just about manage to keep their hands off each other, but it's nice to see Sandra being a bit more fierce and Jack a bit less so. Beppe refuses to let them see Joe despite what the courts say. And it’s just this one scene for this episode, so have a bunch of screenshots:

19 March 2001

End of the previous episode, Joe was asked to choose between Beppe and Sandra and ran across the street to Sandra but got hit by a car in the process.

He's fine but both of them are suitably chastened. Until they're told only one parent can stay the night, and then they start squabbling about that too. Sandra gives up first and leaves. The morning after, Beppe still doesn't trust her alone with him.

Here's our boy! Sorry, I just kept clicking and then it seemed rude not to upload all the photos 😇 SO MANY screenshots

Sandra says Jack has his own relationship with Joe and deserves to be there.

Beppe doesn't want to hear it, but agrees to talk with Jack for ten minutes. Jack promises Sandra no fisticuffs.

Jack says even though the drugs charges didn't stick, Beppe's still ruined his reputation and he has a few choice words about bent coppers...

(Beppe was kicked off the force for being corrupt, obvs)

Screenshots presented without further context.

The boys are fiiiiightiiiing (on the stairs which is a bit concerning). They used to be partners! How could Beppe do that to him?!

(is there fic? There's got to be fic surely?)

HELLLLPPP OH MY GOD BEPPE JUST RIPPED HIS SHIRT OPEN SJAJSHDHDJDFFF

(it's to check if he's wearing a wire. Uh huh. Sure.)

YOU'RE WELCOME INTERNET. I SPENT MY AFTERNOON WELL IN FINDING THIS FOR YOU.

My people, I bring you a gif, from a video recorded on my phone. It’s the least I could do, as the screenshots I tried to take just made me weep for how poorly they captured the raw artistic beauty of the scene...😌

This is the expression he pulls at having his shirt ripped open I stg

I couldn’t get this bit without blur :( too much jiggle

It's very much all about Beppe making this about Jack - wishing he had gone down for the drugs, going on about how they used to joke about 'Jack the lad' fucking anything that moves and so Jack must have stolen Sandra from Beppe and was it the same as all the others Jack tell me Jack I just want to know Jack when you were fucking everyone we used to joke about it Jack you used to tell me all about it just tell me Jack tell me like it’s me you’re fucking Jack

Izzy-Hands-OoohhhDADDY.gif

Beppe fucking. Goes for him.

The hospital staff evict them, and Sandra follows.

SIR YOUR TITS

Beppe: "Maybe I'm angry at myself for thinking you were anything but a two-faced scheming bitch and that Jack was a friend. He was like a brother to me all that time."

Beppe's really uh. Hung up on how they got together. He gets a big sob story soliloquy. Really twists the knife about what Joe wanted.

Tragically, Jack found a button.* *they’re actually poppers, presumably they didn’t want to waste buttons/shirts on multiple takes. This does, however, mean he should have been able to do it up sooner.

Jack's coffee-based peace offering is accepted, and then Sandra tells Beppe she won't go to court for Joe because it's not fair on him. Beppe agrees that Sandra and Jack can have Joe on weekends and school holidays though, so everyone’s happy ig?

Final shot of Jack: hugs with crinkly chin <3

---

My godddd how are there no Jack/Beppe fics on ao3? Letting the side down EastEnders fandom *shakes head solemnly*

Right. That’s enough of all that.

Rating

Dead? No!

Evil? EastEnders doesn’t deal in the moral certitudes of good and evil. Jack fought for his girl, who wanted her kid back. He was just a bit of a creep while doing it. Allegedly he didn’t get with her while she was still with with Beppe, if that matters to anyone

Affects the plot? That’s what he turns up to do bitchessss! Jack’s in town to get Sandra back! And he gets her back! By being a persistent, shouty, whingy ass.

While I’m riding the high of the shirt-ripping still: 4/5. Tempted to knock a point off for that unhinged display in the pub with the American accent, but ultimately I enjoyed this exercise about a million times more than I expected to. Jack isn’t nice. I don’t like him, I don’t want to hang out with him. However, I understand him being known as ‘Jack the lad’ because if I never had to listen to him speak I’d be down for anything.

Anyway. I watched it so you don’t have to: you’re welcome, fandom.

I also unlocked a more than grudging respect for EastEnders actually, but you can’t watch episode after episode with an analytic brain on the whole time: things move SO SLOWLY for episode after episode, characters have the same conversations time and again so that anyone tuning in can catch the drift even if they’ve missed the rest of the storyline. And then EVERYTHING happens all at once with lots of drama. But there’s still something rather heartening about the whole thing.

[pokenimagines]

NDOWBFKWDDBOWDBW I JUST FINISHED THE MAIN STORYLINE AND OMG I GET WHAT YOU MEANT NOW OMG WTF XIABDKABDOQBDWJSSKS DJBS

BRO THAT CAME SO OUTTA LEFT FIELD (I did suspect SOMETHING was up, but like, NOT THIS?!? at least not until like, that 4th research base) POOR ARVEN DUDE IM LITTERLY ABOUT TO CRYYYY

ALSO HE HAD A PICTURE OF ARVEN AS A KID WITH HIS BABY MASCHIFF PINNED TO A WHITEBOARD IN HIS LAB I CANTTTTTTT

(yes the picture does actually exist, I took a crappy, crooked screenshot of it cus xoabdkadbaksbwkwb)

also dw about the request thingy. I might send it in again (but altered obv) when youre requests are open again so dw!

It did!!!! Salt and I were on vc when I was going through this part (would've been on vc when they went through it, but we can blame my headphones for dying for that and the fact that they were ahead of me for a few different reasons) and Salt was able to listen to me as I lost my shit at finding out the truth.

There was a lot of "what the fucks" being said. I feel like they did really well with Arven and Turo's story both together and separately. Salt and I both had our theories on why the professors were absent from the game/Arven's life and it definitely went in a different direction than we thought it was going to.

Oh my goodness for real though, when I discovered it I deadass texted Queenie to get back on call with me. I had to know her reaction because I was speechless. Legit couldn't form words at all. I was thrown for a total loop. Like Queenie said, we both had theories as to why they weren't present, but what happened totally came out of left field!

I just...I do love how they portrayed Arven for everything that happened, and how the characters around him reacted. I really feel like this was a true story about friendship and overcoming obstacles. I don't think I have ever felt for characters as much as I have for Scarlet and Violet. I wanted to hug Arven and tell him everything would be fine. I wanted to reassure Penny that she's great and go to school with her. Hell, I even get Nemona. Imagine being so good at something naturally that even when up against someone who's supposedly the best, you had to hold back. Then you see this kid with the same potential you had. Of course you're going to be overly excited. Someone to finally challenge you in something you love. Ya she came across as annoying at times, but I get it.

Sorry for rambling, honestly I could do a total deep dive on why I love these characters. Team Star? Oh babies, I'm here for you. I just...I loved the game. It had its glitches, but the story was there.

Btw, like I said before, if you wanted to send in a request for Arven then feel free. It might take a while before I get to it, but who knows when the inbox will be open next (hopefully before the end of the year if I can get everything written up by then).

[enbyleighlines]

Leigh plays Tellius prt 7

I'm at the halfway point of PoR, so I decided to look through all the units I plan on using until endgame and compare their stats to their average stats for their current level.

To recap, here are the goals I set for myself:

No one dies

Get Ike and Soren to rank A

Get Ike and Ranulf to rank B

Max out Soren and Ilyanna's speed

Get Ranulf to his max level with as many capped stats as possible

Thus far, I have restarted for every death, and thus no one on my team has perished. Ike and Soren are at B rank, so they're on their way to that A rank. I don't have Ranulf yet, so I haven't made any progress on goal #3. Soren is 7 points away from capping speed with 13 level ups to go, whereas Ilyanna is 11 points away from capping speed with 21 level ups to go, so I think I'm on the right track for goal #4. And again, I don't have Ranulf yet, so no progress on #5.

Now let's take a look at my most-used units!

For this, I put a green up arrow next to any stat that is higher than their average, a yellow star to any stat that is the same as their average, and a red down arrow to any stat that is lower than their average.

First up: Ike!

Turns out that my Ike is not doing too hot! He's good for strength and HP, but every other important stat is lagging behind. Uh-oh! I'm probably going to have to be more strict about his level ups going forward, if I want to defeat the Black Knight.

Meanwhile, my Soren is doing pretty dang great! He's either at or above his average for every stat, which makes me really happy.

My Mia is also doing fantastic! She's above average in every stat except for magic, which is fine because her magic stat is entirely irrelevant anyway.

Oh, Ilyana. She's really not doing so great, aside from that speed. Which I guess is fine, since I'm mostly just using her to cap out her speed for Radiant Dawn, but still. It's a bit disappointing.

My Rolf has been doing super well, though! Look at all those green arrows. I was initially worried about him, because he started off getting really crappy level ups, even a couple of level ups that included absolutely no increase to any of his stats, but he eventually turned it around. Good job, Rolf!

So, it wasn't until I took this screenshot that I realized that her skill was at 4. Literally so behind where she should be that I gave her two red down arrows next to it. I mean, she's doing great otherwise, but damn. I cannot count on my Mist to dodge anything.

My Neph is doing pretty good, just a little below average in terms of speed. I gave her vantage on top of her wrath skill, so she's been absolutely annihilating foes on the enemy turns.

Kieran, my man! I have to say, he's been hitting it out of the park for me on this playthru. His strength is a little behind average, but I honestly haven't even noticed, because he's just been slaughtering every enemy I set him up against.

My Jill is definitely lagging behind in strength, which feels super unusual for Jill. Hopefully she makes up for lost ground in the next few chapters.

Oh, Astrid. She's probably been my biggest wildcard of a unit. She either gets great level ups or absolute garbage ones. Her strength has been so pitiful. But at least she's capped her speed, right? She actually capped it, like, several levels ago. But I didn't want to promote her early, since her speed was like the only thing she had going for her.

Boyd! Somehow I got an unusually defensive Boyd, which kind of goes against his class. But with skill and speed that bad, I am definitely not complaining about the extra cushioning.

Oscar! Like Kieran, I haven't really been worried about his strength. He doubles and crits enough that it really doesn't matter. Overall, Oscar has been really good to me.

Aaaaaand, that's it! Those are all the units I am using on a near-constant basis.

Next time, I have to try to re-recruit Shinnon. Wish me luck!

[cottlestonpie77]

Calum smugly walks around the apartment with his UNBURNED toaster pastries, rubbing it in Abner's face.

Abner: Eh, I don't think you really need to go to college, son. The only thing kids do at college these days is party.

Pretty sure Abner is just more worried about the cost.

OH HELL NO, BRANDI. These kids are like two days from being out of the house.

FUCK. That is all I have to say about that. These guys are elders in just a few days!

Calum's Ex: Oh, shit, there's Calum's dad. Do you think he saw me? Maybe he didn't see me.

Narrator: Abner did in fact see her.

Brandi: So please tell me we have the kids' old toys stored in a box somewhere so we don't have to rebuy everything, okay?

Narrator: They did not have any toddler things stored in a box somewhere

Calum: So yeah, not quite sure what to do about my psycho ex. She comes over every day and kicks the trash can over!

Dylan: Well, never stick your dick in crazy, Calum. That's my motto!

Calum: ...I'm still a virgin, Dylan.

Abner: So as I was saying, Dylan, college is useless and you really shouldn't attend.

Dylan: Dad, I'm a fortune Sim. I HAVE to go to college. I have a couple of scholarships, it'll be FINE.

Well, here we go again.

And this is how little Edward? I think? Was brought into the world, amidst the stench of his father's poop.

Sorry for the crappy screenshot and cropping lol

Calum sits and contemplates why he thought it would be a good idea to have sex with his wife with no birth control.

Dylan wonders why he has to spend his final days at home sharing them with an infant.

But he's an adorable big brother.

Brandi, wondering how this happened so late in life. I'll tell you, Brandi! ALL THE WOOHOO.

Fitness is Dylan's chosen hobby so he jump ropes a lot. Remind me to get a default workout outfit for teens, please.

She's your mom's friend, Dyla! Stop it.

Calum: Dammit (ex-girlfriend who's name I can't remember), quit coming over here and kicking over our trash can! I don't want to call the cops but I will if I have to!

Dylan: We broke up because you were crazy mean to me and made me cry at the birthday party! Now MOVE ON, please!

Ex-girlfriend does not understand why Calum should be so angry and this is because ex-girlfriend is an idiot crazy lady.

Calum ages up to adult while Brandi burns hamburgers.

Abner tries not to choke on the blackened burgers...

...while Calum has a nervous breakdown in the bathroom about his crazy-exgirlfriend.

And also the fact that he didn't go to college.

Bye, Calum! Enjoy your new townie life!

[sapphoslavender]

starting a new AC:NL town! DAY ONE!

hi everyone! today marks a new beginning: a new AC:NL town! i've had this game since 2013, and i've made dozens of towns since then. i really want to make a new AC:NH island as well, but i can't bear to delete my current one, and i don't exactly want to buy a whole new switch just to play animal crossing (nintendo, please, i'm begging you, let us make multiple islands!! or else i will cry).

i'll be honest: i have no idea what i'm doing. i haven't played since 2020. i always give up on new towns and don't even end up getting my first house before i reset! i have commitment issues, ok?? but i'm gonna try this time. can't promise that it's gonna be pretty at all, but...

side note: i'm not gonna be hacking anything. mostly because i don't know how and don't want to accidentally kill my 3ds. i wish i knew how, but :P oh well. i also won't be doing time travel because i don't really want to lol.

ANOTHER note, my 3ds is old and kinda crappy, so there won't be any photos....for now. just my thoughts n stuff. that's it!!!

first thing's first, creating the town. this will be mayor lavender, in the town of sappho!

my native fruit are pears, and my current villagers are wart jr, sally, hamlet, opal, and rosie! i was excited to get rosie because, i mean, of course. i also loved meeting opal, she's really cool! and hamster villagers always give me such nostalgia, because in my first ever new leaf town, i had two of them. but still, i'm not sure if i like hamlet yet. same goes with wart jr and sally. we'll wait and see!

after setting up my tent, i started on the basics. getting a feel for the new town, getting money. i started plotting out my pathways and blocking off areas i dont want villagers to move on. does that trick still work, using paths to block areas? i'm a little rusty on this game, lmao. i hope so. after that, i put in my down payment for my house, and got started on isabelle's tasks. i started my flower farm down on the beach - it's just red and white roses for now, since i forgot about all the color combos...i'll google that later. and finally, i talked with all my villagers, paying more attention to rosie and opal because i love them.

there's not much to do on day one of a new town, but i hope there's some new stuff tomorrow! i also hope my sibling will move in after they make their own town. maybe i can even convince them to write a post....

that's all for now! see you all tomorrow :) i'm currently trying to figure out how to send screenshots from my 3ds to my other devices, but the 3ds internet browser isn't really working right now. i'll try again tomorrow :(

[riddlerosehearts]

baldur's gate 3 thoughts again except this time i made a mistake while trying to save the draft partway through and lost a bunch of random screenshots and things i wrote 😔 oh well. good news is that this post marks the end of act 1 for me!

the underdark is so cool. i really wish i had a better PC because even with my crappy specs this place is so gorgeous and fantastical while also being vaguely unsettling lol. definitely not regretting my decision to double back after finishing the mountain pass stuff. also, i feel like elenion would definitely enjoy getting to visit a myconid colony and see how they live and how their society works up close, so that could be an additional roleplay reason for me to be doing this.

...you know things are getting bad when at this point i really think elenion would be okay with trusting a literal mind flayer to help him because wtf else are we supposed to do LMAO. genuinely at this point it sounds less insane for the party to ingest dangerous mushrooms at the suggestion of a mind flayer than it would be to let volo give any of them eye surgery. we have to get these tadpoles out of our brains somehow, i guess.

omeluum is actually a fascinating character, though. an illithid who broke free and literally just wants to do good and live a peaceful life? i'm surprised that i wasn't spoiled on literally anything about him before i played. i hope that's not because he's a secret bad guy or something, because he seems really earnest and trustworthy right now.

LMAO GALE PLEASE. i'm so glad i brought him along to the arcane tower.

oh huh, interesting that the history check here was a bard-specific option! i'd always heard that the bard colleges in DND weren't neccessarily actual colleges and were more just representations of just different schools of thought and such, similar to wizard subclasses being called schools, but apparently larian wants our bards to have gone to college! sure, i guess i can work that into his backstory.

anyway, bernard makes me sad. the whole tower is incredibly ominous and makes me sad for lenore, who we don't even get to meet... like she literally programmed a robot to give her a hug and emotionally support her on command!! :( i wish that when we went back with the mushrooms we could tell omeluum and blurg that lenore was missing, because they act like they didn't even realize she wouldn't be there.

obsessed with the fact that this is a bard option for when omeluum wants payment for the ring. and that you get to make him so happy that he gives it to you for free awwww.

i love how sometimes, the bard specific dialogue options actually allow your character to be studious and knowledgable about poetry and folk tales and music, which i was not expecting considering the way bards are generally stereotyped--

and sometimes they allow you to be a snarky little shit ASFKJGDFHJ 😭😭

since i went mountain pass -> underdark and i've already found the adamantine forge and done everything else it seems like i can currently do in my journal, i... think i'm actually ready to move onto act 2? i will say that i forgot to talk to dammon for karlach before the tieflings left the grove so i really hope that won't be too big of a problem. but if i did miss anything in act 1 (and i'm sure i must have) or mess anything up, then i think that's fine with me because i'm planning on doing several replays of this game anyway lol.

i went up the elevator, ended the day, and immediately mizora shows up and starts barking orders. i passed a perception check to pick up on her being desperate and this possibly being a chance to negotiate wyll out of his pact, and now i'm really wondering what would've happened if i failed that check?? would i have missed out on this whole scene where we try to negotiate with her?? would i have lost the chance to do this??

ngl i'm not so sure elenion actually would do that because it's a little too goofy for such a serious situation, but i couldn't resist trying it. and then i went back and tried the history check instead and they actually result in more or less the same thing--you recite an incantation you remember from an old children's story and she laughs in your face. where's the option to punch mizora in the face smh >:(

and now we get another ominous visit from the dream guardian! also, astarion told elenion he wants to talk to raphael and they told him they want to know what he's planning, which he disapproved of and refused to do. astarion why are you literally so hard to get along with omg.

this seems like a good place to stop for now but i am so excited to be making it further through the story.