#like no one was concerned??? esp with the contrast with fantastic days

[sunshine-of-my-shoulder]

there's something in the water that's specifically affecting green haired princesses who have purple eyes and also bpd (momochi and hiyori)

[ranboo5]

Tbh while this is “controversial” (is it??! Idfk) I would love 2 hear your thoughts on like. The comparing and contrasts of ranboo and his dynamic with bench trio (tubbo and tommy) compared to boreal boys (techno and philza) because like. The differences between the two groups r both night and day and also... not? I think about em a lot and don’t have a good way with words but anything you’ve got is always welcome. (Personally I like both, with a slight bias to boreal trio- but I’m sendin an ask 2 you after all so. Go ham) -butchpuffy

Okay I’m gonna answer this in two bc I don’t know if u mean streamers or characters and I ASSUME u mean characters but it could be either sO 

Also this is going under the cut because I started analyzing comedy (all good things, all good things) and it got long because I’m an improv kid 

Streamers - 

I think the commodification of streamer dynamics to the point where the names become anything other than, well, shorthand for streamer combos you like to see is like, legitimately concerning and a symptom of one of my biggest problems with streaming as a cultural phenomenon in general. Like it’s literally the marketing of Hanging Out With Friends as a product and it’s :nervous:. Like at the end of the day these are just different vague configurationz of friends Ranboo hangs out with and I think like, reading into like Who He’s REAAAALLY Better Friends With or whatever is like. It’s literally just truthing. It is literally just truthing 

Howeverrr to partake in that commodification and view it as like, which combo of entertainers I personally would like to watch more as again an entertainment product I thiiink borealtrio has to take it, solely bc Technoblade fdhkfjsh. Like both groups are funny in different ways and are clearly all comfortable with each other so 

I will however now dissect some of how and why I think peerpressureduo and alliumduo in particular are funny because I love overthinking 

Peerpressureduo are great bc like. You really get 2 see the overlap between their mannerisms and more importantly their general joke style and let me goddamn tell you the effect Stacks. They both encourage this like, uncorpsing sarcastic yes-and in each other and it’s great they go for so much longer than either would be able to sustain independently whether that is this like sarcastic self-aggrandizement or judgement of other ppl/things around or black humor and exaggerated confusion. Bc of their similarities they mesh really well and bc of their differences they can keep it going for a while (Techno tends to be more prompting and Ranboo’s really good at yes-and) -- it’s fantastic and bc both of them tend to Sell their sarcasm really hard and rarely corpse or break character/sona during bits like this the effect is unrelenting. Like they just keep saying funny things and they don’t even flinch. My go-to example is the infamous 

Technoblade: On the bright side, we might have inflicted enough trauma onto this child for it to become funny. Ranboo: Ooooh, yeah, he could become a Minecraft YouTuber! 

Technoblade’s statement here is black humor carrying through the bit they have been doing lampshading how fucked up villager mechanics are, and this is kinda looking too far but he does also leave it open and explicitly includes his scene partner by saying “we” 

Ranboo’s response is literal textbook yes-and, and a very effective one -- he actively uses the information his scene partner gave him and carries it through+synthesizes it into a joke that follows directly from that, keeps the tone, and is also fridge self-deprecation in keeping with both the players’ general comedic brands  

Alliumduo meanwhile also have excellent improv chemistry but in a much less... I want to say less balanced but that has bad connotations. It is very much balanced but it’s less two-way and the way they work together is much more metalevel. It’s most pronounced in all their beef. Tommy has been noted to Throw For Content, and like to set himself up to get made fun of for comedy to a degree, and I’ve compared Ranboo’s dunking on ppl to like, retroactively setting people up -- like, you’re walking with him and pass through a revolving door and you should be moving with the door but without warning he grabs it to still it so you walk directly into the door, and he was definitely the one being (joke) mean to you but you still walked into it so you look like the clown. These obviously work  together really well esp bc Ranboo tends to be very good at not going too far and actually being mean and generally with like, reading How to yes-and a situation. So you get stuff like the infamous: 

Tommy: We don’t like you here. You’re not welcome. [...] Who would you say, Ranboo, is the better duo, me and Tubbo or you and Tubbo?  Ranboo: You know, based on how you’re acting on Twitter, I think you’re beginning to realize--  Tommy, crosstalk: FUCK YOU, BITCH--  Ranboo, with increased malice: I think you’re beginning to realize which is better!  

Tommy sets himself up for this both a) by acting in that exaggerated sadboy:tm: manner on Twitter (which he had been particularly doing at the time) and b) by this comment in and of itself. With the paradigm he’s set up, there is no way he would have gotten a flattering answer to this question. It’s also carrying through the jealousy bit in general and his brash no-thoughts-head-unspeakably-rude streamersona 

Usually dunking on ppl is bad improv, but why that is is bc it tends to shut people down, or disregard what they’ve said -- and Ranboo’s response here does neither! It’s another yes-and, though it’s harder to recognize: he is taking the gift his scene partner has given him and is fully carrying it through. By how Tommy’s been acting on Twitter, Tommy, intentionally or not, basically handed Ranboo this punchline through this question -- Ranboo picks up on this and, as he is wont to do, gracefully delivers 

The interruption also ends up working, not only bc it again keeps Tommy’s streamersona bit going but also bc it briefly interrupts Ranboo so he can repeat it while doubling down on the gleeful malice in his tone, so both Tommy’s persona and Ranboo’s acting+delivery gets to shine 

These are definitely not the only funny moments they have, and it doesn’t mention the dynamics they have with other members in the trios, but I had to rant abt these bc these are literally exemplary improv and I think it’s just. Delightful. The way I said it also makes it seem like they all like, Directly Thought This Out, and like they obviously didn’t, but like. They have clearly been doing enough comedic improv and working with each other that they have a feel for it; that’s how improv works, and this very like, deliberate-seeming breakdown is just a breakdown of how the responses they felt out worked well 

Tubbo and Philza are both iconic in their own rights in these dynamics too: Tubbo’s being terminally casual while also being immaddogimberserkimacyclepath.mp3 is fantastic both to Tommy’s more straightforward chaos and Ranboo’s Backhandedly Polite Yes-And, and Philza in the boreal dynamic is not just a great hypeman but also the #1 catalyst of incredible comedic hostility, to which Ranboo rises with no hesitation and to which Technoblade either joins in on effectively or reacts to balance out. I don’t have improv-analysis paragraphs for those (I admit the paragraphs up above are kind of canned ahdgdskjfhdfjds), but they are all very good together and both trio dynamics and all involved subdynamics tend to all be just well handled collaboration between competent entertainers

Characters - 

Okay, like in real life, benchtrio and borealtrio in character are just fundamentally different dynamics, and bc of this reality I don’t rlly feel like it works to call one like, better or more story interesting they just work differently; personally I find borealtrio more interesting, again, solely bc I have more investment in the characters involved. I don’t think either dynamic is less valuable, though full disclosure I am like, mildly bitter bc benchtrio is the default dynamic ppl draw Ranboo in and like... sobs... canon gives me nothing... fancontent does give me things but for every Syndicate/borealtrio/peerpressureduo content there are 50 benchtrio and [sobs]

Okay but in terms of story and in universe analysis, finally, which is what this ask was probably even sent in to solicit at all: 

Both benchtrio and borealtrio offer Ranboo different forms of solidarity, and they place him in different positions. They’re his current main support circles, and it’s good that he has both -- it places him in a better position than many on the server, and honestly probably the others in either dynamic 

In benchtrio, the solidarity is that of people who have been failed by authority that was previously trusted, which is why I think a lot of the fandom, which tends to skew younger, gravitates toward em. Tommy and Tubbo, even if you don’t consider ages canon, tend to read younger bc narratively their arcs have heavily relied on authorities they looked up to and trusted for guidance and protection failing them at that, in some way or another repeatedly, and benchtrio seems very narratively bent towards finding a replacement for a place for that trust with kind of a solidarity with people who have been similarly fucked over, and surviving that way, which is incredibly, painfully relatable to I think most of the ppl in our age group l m a o (me tf too. Sobs). Benchtrio’s friendship is based on just hanging out a lot, too, but is also based in mutual trauma and solidarity around disillusionment on a personal level. 

It’s also relevant to note that Ranboo is generally moreso in the comforter role in this dynamic, which isn’t a bad thing or stating that it’s like, necessarily unreciprocated or w/e, just an observation. Like you are going to have friends where you help them out actively more than vice versa, and it definitely makes sense with how private Ranboo is; either way Ranboo definitely holds himself as responsible for the other two members of benchtrio to a degree (again, not necessarily a bad thing). It’s just kind of a consequence of how their dynamics developed and how Ranboo sees them -- he’s always been moreso in that role (trading letters w/ Tommy in exile, supporting Tubbo while Tubbo was Going Thru It as a child president), and he’s just continuing that, comforting them both and grinding armor and stuff for them, etc 

In borealtrio, the solidarity is that of having explicitly been failed, marginalized, and ostracized by political systems, and of being victims of coercion to some degree. Like there’s a reason peerpressureduo are called what they are, and Philza’s whole thing with killing Wilbur and his treatment under NLM puts him there too; the same thing applies to Niki, but her dynamic w/ Ranboo is currently still in the “they haven’t talked since they fell out” area unfortunately. All their narratives have relied on being taken for granted and taken advantage of, as well as being ostracized or excluded systematically, and reclaiming power in the face of that (which personally I find. Deeply compelling and relatable afhsdkfj). Borealtrio also work together and share interests and investments unique to that dynamic (grinding+roadtrip streams+etc) that don’t show as much with benchtrio (who tend more to fuck around and find out kind of hanging out). Borealtrio’s unity is based around mutual trust and understanding as well as solidarity from similar/analogous trauma and disillusionment on a political level. 

In this dynamic, Ranboo is also in much less of a provider role. He is more occupied with being a guest than a responsible party, and to some degree trusts Technoblade and Philza to help him actively moreso than he lets on/allows to benchtrio; he’s disclosed to them things he’s worried about, including the voice and the enderwalk experiments to an extent. Bc he doesn’t see himself as responsible for their wellbeing to the same degree that he does his peers in benchtrio, he’s willing to let them in and let them help (or know smth’s up at all) more than he would for benchtrio, and they’re capable of offering that help. Not to say he doesn’t help back; he provides resources, shares powers, and helps Philza deal with his feelings abt Wilbur, but he never has the same vibe of like, I Have To Be The Support System he tends to have w/ benchtrio; here the support system tends to be more spread out/balanced and he will accept help and mentorship (or WOULD IF TECHNO LOGGED ON!!!) 

It is also important to note that Ranboo’s kind of on edge in both underlyingly, though for different reasons

In benchtrio it’s partially bc of aforesaid responsibility, and I would say w/ Tubbo it’s again partially because of the previous dynamics and the way they’ve been leveraged (stuff in L’Manberg and around the nukes in particular) 

In borealtrio it’s much more like... internally sourced and exaggerated rather than minimized? It’s also based in previous dynamics and even moreso about reputation and like, prowess affecting how Ranboo sees the other two, which could be a FASCINATING thing for Techno considering esp now in S3 Techno seems to heading narratively into being in conflict with that exact thing, his reputation  

Ranboo definitely needs both dynamics and what both dynamics give him, and different shades+manifestations of his conflict come out in both; the throughline of his caginess and distrust in others, the throughline of agency, the throughline of responsibility, the throughline of keeping himself and the people he cares about safe. Both narratively and in terms of in-universe mental health, both benchtrio and borealtrio are essential to him, and I love it sm, and I desperately need to see them both explored 

[blackjack-15]

Puttering Around — Thoughts on: Secret of the Old Clock (CLK)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: CLK, CUR.

The Intro:

In our next Jetsetting game, Nancy travels back from Modern-Day England and straight into 1930s Titusville (aka River Heights 70+ years ago) to help an acquaintance who’s in the middle of two unrelated plots to turn Titusville upside down.

A game famously reviewed as “pleasant but inconsequential”, Secret of the Old Clock tends to be passed over for both praise and censure, famous for two minigames (the sewing minigame and the mini-golf) but otherwise overlooked. It’s a shame, really, that it’s sandwiched in between two much flashier games, as CLK is a wonderfully solid entry into the Nancy Drew series. It pioneers the two-culprit variation on the standard Nancy Drew plot, tackles a new time period, and includes dozens of in-jokes towards the Nancy Drew books.

It’s also the first introduction of Carson Drew as a phone character, which is a lot of fun, and makes sense that he’d show up in the game that includes nods to all things canon. He doesn’t show up again until much later in the series, so it’s nice to introduce him here after hearing about him for 12 games.

As opposed to CUR right before it, CLK takes care to ground itself in a linear plotline, handling its story with relative ease and taking care not to reach too far out of the box. This is one of its greatest strengths, and provides a much better game overall because of it. It’s a simple story, pretty well told.

Though it doesn’t stand up to other more “simple” games before it such as CAR or DDI, it never reaches any of the lows of SCK, FIN, or CUR, and allows the player to be sucked in to its fantastic facsimile of life in the 1930s for teen sleuth Nancy Drew — blue roadster and all.

The Title:

As CLK is a mixture of the first four Nancy Drew books, it retains the title of the first book. As a nod to the history of Nancy Drew, it’s a great choice for the title.

Unfortunately, though the Old Clock does appear and hold secrets, it’s just not prominent enough to deserve the title that it holds. The other three books — The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn — are other options, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn would have been the most appropriate title. It doesn’t have the immediate name recognition, which is why they didn’t pick it, but it really is much better and encapsulates the game much better, as the game revolves around the Mysteries that are tied to the Inn.

That’s all I really have to say about that, so onto the mystery!

The Mystery:

Nancy Drew is summoned to the Lilac Inn to help Emily Crandall, the friend of Nancy’s friend Helen Corning, who needs to put her recently deceased mother’s jewelry into a safe, and figures that Nancy’s father would have one.

If it sounds to you like a simple, if slightly contrived premise, then you’d be right.

Once Nancy gets there, however, she finds out that Emily is cracking under the pressure of running an Inn, that her guardian Jane Willoughby isn’t as much help as she should be, and that Emily and her mother were depending on money from Josiah Crowley’s will, which mysteriously only included his recent ESP teacher, Richard Topham, rather than the Crandalls and the local banker.

From there, things go from bad to worse as the inn’s kitchen catches fire, Emily’s jewels are stolen (and partially returned), and voices in the walls start manifesting — not to mention the fetch quests around Titusville that Nancy is sent on and the ridiculous Richard Topham hiding everything about himself other than how pompous he really is.

Nancy soon figures out that this mystery is two-headed, with one side revolving around the Inn itself and the other around Josiah Crowley’s real — and missing — will. Our villains catch on too, however, and Nancy has to race against their suspicion to expose the frauds, discover hidden secrets and identities, and solve the Secret of the Old Clock.

As a mystery, this one really is quite good for its time. Dual villains, each unconcerned with the other, hidden inheritance, Shakespeare references — it’s got it all. Though Jim Archer lets it down a bit in his sheer nothingness, and it functions as a howdunnit with a weird whodunnit beginning, CLK is solid ground after the incredibly shaky mystery in CUR, and it’s a lot of fun to play through.

The Suspects:

Emily Crandall is our protagonist and resident watering pot of CLK who spends the game moping and being Generally Unhelpful. Her mom’s death notwithstanding, Emily’s stressors are the Inn, her lack of money, and her fake-guardian making her think that she’s crazy.

So maybe her total lack of common sense in wanting to call in Nancy because Nancy’s bound to have a safe at home is a result of copious amounts of mental stress. One can only hope so, as by her next birthday she’s the legal owner of the Inn.

Emily actually would have been interesting as a villain, but she, like Jim, just isn’t enough of a presence in the game — which stands out since she’s the closest we’ve got to a main character! She cries a lot, she sits a lot, and that’s about it. She would have had to be a misguided villain, convinced that her guardian (who would have had to actually be Jane Willoughby) is after her fortune…but HER still isn’t up to that level yet, and it’s probably better that they went with a story they can tell wholly and mostly convincingly.

Honestly speaking, Emily, being as she is, is a more successful Linda Penvellyn, which I don’t actually think is unintentional. She’s being harassed and abused by someone who’s basically a family member but is still largely unfamiliar to her, the tie to her remaining family is gone (though Emily’s mother is dead, unlike Hugh Penvellyn), and she is being gaslighted to believe that she’s crazy.

Emily was allowed more agency, more screen time, and more pity by the writers and creators, and because of that, her situation with her Evil Jane is far more obvious to the average player, and she’s treated with far more sympathy than Linda historically has been by the fandom (though recent fan discussion has begun trending in Linda’s favor, which I think is wonderful and fantastic).

Jane Willoughby is, of course, not Jane Willoughby after all, but actually Marion Aborn, proving that identity theft in the 30s was as easy as…well, saying that your name was someone else’s name.

An acquaintance of the actual Jane Willoughby and a petty thief, Marion intercepted the letter about Gloria’s death and Jane’s status as Emily’s guardian and decided to try to cash in on potential cash by tormenting Emily until she signed over the Inn. Exploding the kitchen, stealing Emily’s jewels, and attempting to make the girl think that she was crazy to make her sell the Inn before her 18th birthday (after which Marion would receive no profits).

As one of two culprits, Marion is the more “subtle” culprit and has the more complicated background, but is also the one you have to deal with the most, and thus suffers slightly from being in the spotlight (and thus showing the obviously evil side of her) a little too much. As this game isn’t really concerned with its culprits as a centerpiece, however, Marion’s antics fit right in.

Marion also gets points for being a much more intelligent abusive culprit (contrasting Jane), working hard to make Emily think she’s crazy with a clear goal in mind and even going as far as stealing, then partially replacing, Emily’s jewels to really hammer home the idea that the girl wasn’t mentally well to others — and to Emily herself.

Richard Topham is a self-proclaimed ESP expert and everyone-else-proclaimed dick who ended up somehow being the beneficiary of Josiah Crowley’s will, despite his spoken intentions to leave it to the Crandalls and Jim Archer. He also has a very obnoxious cat named Uri, voiced by a lovely cat named Carl (though I bet you were expecting me to say Jonah Von Spreecken — never fear, he shows up as the Tubby Telegram guy!)

Richard is our other culprit, guilty of falsifying Josiah Crowley’s will when no one could find the original, leaving most everything to himself rather than to the Crandalls or Jim Archer as Josiah wanted. A slight throwback to the 1920s obsession with spiritualism that itself was a post-war reaction to massive death, Richard is as sleazy as they come, testing Nancy for an “inferior mind” and taking advantage of every situation in order to come out on top.

As a culprit, Richard’s technically the one with the bigger crime, but is overshadowed by the plotline with Emily and Marion and is thus a little forgettable, even though it was his actions that started this whole mess in the first place.

Finally, Jim Archer is the local banker who’s not having too good of a time during, well, the Great Depression, where hundreds of banks (and dozens of bankers’ hearts) failed. Promised a boon by Josiah Crowley, he, like Emily, is left in the lurch after the false will was presented. Jim was also a fellow student with Carson Drew at law school, but turned to banking as a career instead.

Despite his office being the location where Nancy finally figures out the mystery of the titular Old Clock and where she discovers that “Jane” is actually Marion, Jim really doesn’t have much to do in this game. He gives Nancy the dreaded sewing minigame and reminds the player that the stock market crash was a recent event, but other than that has very little impact.

Jim would have been a poor choice for a villain — he just doesn’t have the personality or impact necessary — as the only storyline readily available would have been him doing Dirty Deeds to keep his bank afloat…except for the fact that if he were a villain, his bank would have been doing fine, with no need for the will anyway.

The Favorite:

My favorite moment in the game, odd as it might seem, is the CB radio conversation-slash-puzzle. It’s so rare in these pre-Nik games that we actually get to see the lives of those not really related to the case/mystery and get a sense for the world spinning on despite the incident, and this is a great example of that done right.

Like the “freezer moment” mentioned in my Danger on Deception Island meta, this moment where Nancy can see how Josiah Crowley’s life has impacted people for the better, rather than the main game where so far his death has made everything worse. It’s a wonderful moment, and honestly the game is worth replaying on the merit of that alone (though there are many wonderful things about it).

My favorite puzzle is getting down into the secret passage (and all of the puzzles within the passage). It’s a ton of fun to find hidden passages that aren’t full of Deadly Traps or human remains, and the whole Creepy’s Corner puzzle is delightfully campy and awesome.

The best location in the game by far is the carriage house, where the aforementioned conversation takes place. Beautifully lit, nicely hidden away in stages, and the only place that doesn’t feel like a 1960s set of a 30s period piece.

I love this game as homage to the original Nancy Drew titles; though they’re changed somewhat to suit both a video game style and the take on the original canon that the video game universe took (such as making Nancy’s mother’s death at 10 as it was originally, which was the smartest move they’ve ever done).

Video-Game-Style Nancy’s far more like her original 30s version than the sanitized, “fashion-ized” version in the 60’s rewrites — a fact that becomes more and more clear as the series goes on — and it really does show here, as cowboy-cop Nancy wrangles not one but two crooks.

Speaking of, the last thing that I’ll mention in this section is the fact that there are two different culprits, each uncaring of the other. In a game series that was originally only supposed to be 12 games long (meaning CLK would be the last one), this is a delightfully fresh take and it makes untangling who did what a lot of fun and makes CLK different from most games before it.

I’ll talk more about this in later Nancy metas, but the shift from “one crime, one culprit” to a more “spread the guilt” approach really makes the games go up a level or two in enjoyability and in complexity, and CLK is a great example of how just having two culprits really makes the game much more fun to play around with.

The Un-Favorite:

All of that being said, there are some things in CLK that I really don’t love.

The sewing puzzle is honestly the worst; it’s hard with a mouse and nearly impossible with a trackpad, it’s tedious, and it doesn’t matter for the rest of the game, which is probably the worst part given how much effort it takes. It’s a puzzle for a puzzles’ sake, and doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know (we know Jim’s not doing well; we know it’s the Great Depression, etc.), not to mention not rewarding the player nor Nancy for the effort.

My least favorite moment in the game would have to be Nancy’s first encounter with Richard Topham. Nancy’s autonomy is usually respected in both the 30s original drafts (less so in the 60s re-writes) and in the games, and Richard’s comments about lesser minds and his little test are, even with Nancy’s snarky comment about him in her diary, frankly out of place.

They don’t serve as a “relic of the times”, they don’t make us hate Richard more than we would have for stealing money from people who are literally drowning in bills and debt…and as much as the Nancy Drew books and character are feminist rather than Feminist, it’s honestly not great to have both his ‘clients’ during the course of the game be women that he treats the way he does.

It wasn’t necessary to have him behave the way he does, it contradicts the Spiritualist movement (which was most popular among women to a startling degree, and male Spiritualists tended to treat their female clients very well because that was the bulk of their clientele), and it doesn’t tell us anything new about him, because Nancy and the players already know he’s a fake and a blowhard.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Secret of the Old Clock?

The first and biggest fix I’d make is to include a strong storyline about Spiritualism. As noted several times above, Spiritualism was a huge force in the 1920s, and a period piece set in the year 1930 should necessarily reflect that. Quite frankly, all the nonsense about Jim Archer’s wife should just be cut and replaced with a big Spiritualism puzzle of some sorts.

I’m not saying a séance — no need to retread MHM — but an actual nod to Spiritualism (and through it, the first World War, which given Nancy’s age of 18, would have happened when she was a child) more than just “and this character is a psychic of sorts, don’t really think about it” would improve the game and ground it in its time period. Other than the references to money troubles and the ease of identity theft, there’s not much to ground CLK in its period, and I really think a Spiritualism storyline would aid that.

And if Spiritualism is involved, Richard becomes a more present, more serious character — and a more serious threat. It also opens the opportunity for the two plotlines to intersect — is Emily being driven crazy by stress, an enemy, or a malevolent spirit (which could even be supposed to be her mom, should they want a slightly darker turn)? Richard might visit the house to ensure there are no ��malevolent presences’ around — and ensure that Crowley didn’t hide his will there.

It wouldn’t become a ‘haunting’ game; it would instead work on the aesthetic of familiar spirits — something that would be explored more fully in the next game.

I know this has been said, but I can’t emphasize enough that the sewing puzzle should be cut, even if there’s nothing to take its place. It’s a perfect example of the wrong puzzle, the wrong controls, and the wrong side-quest at the wrong time. I’m also not sure why they made Jim Archer a middle-aged banker rather than Helen Corning’s fiancée, but that’s too small a change to really bother with.

The other important change I would make is to change CLK from a weak whodunit — our culprits are already clearly the culprits — to a strong howdunit, which is what it really wants to be.

The beginning can stay the same — Nancy’s journey, Emily’s mother’s death, Richard’s faking of the will, Josiah Crowley’s death and promises, etc. — but introducing Richard Topham at the Inn, there to ‘visit’ and offer condolences and because he sensed Heavy Psychic Energy and wondered if it was coming from the house or from Emily. Have Emily tell Nancy in confidence that the other reason she called her in was because she’s either going crazy or being attacked on all sides, and the game can proceed on from that point.

Because the villains aren’t secret or even quasi-hidden in plain sight — save for Marion’s identity theft — it’s a much more natural shift to a howdunit than other games. Emily’s living in fear of Marion, running the Inn, and the possible Malevolent Spirit that may or may not be her mother haunting her through the Secret, Secret Passageway in the Inn, and Nancy’s suspicious of Richard Topham who inherited all of Crowley’s wealth, of the ‘hauntings’ of the Inn, and of the missing will and the gifts Josiah left behind.

Those two plotlines alone are enough to carry the game, especially including the Edutainment section on Spiritualism that would tie in with Richard Topham (and possibly include Emily’s mother having an interest due to her husband dying in the war), and so Jim Archer just isn’t needed as much. Whether he stays in the game in an even more reduced role or whether he’s replaced by a ninth-hour character in the form of Emily’s actual guardian, the real Jane Willoughby, is up to personal preference (though I personally like the second option).

Like all the Jetsetting games, CLK begins with a small problem that snowballs into larger and larger consequences. By emphasizing a Spiritualist plotline (culminating with the technology-based ‘encounters’ Josiah had with his CB radio friends), trimming down the fat with Jim Archer, and selling CLK from the beginning as more of a howdunit than a whodunit, CLK would improve enough to be more than just a good game, and become a standout of its era — as befitting the start of the titular teen detective.

[nordic-breeze]

I was going through my files and I came over this document I sent to my friend @distant-rain pretty much the same day I realized I had fallen in love with Arthur, after weeks of being in denial or shrugging off my daydreaming of this cowboy as nbd or thought experiments and boy was I confused. 

I knew next to nothing about RDR1 when I wrote this December last year and I didn’t know much about RDR2 post chapter 2 either except for Arthur’s fate, which I had just learned of, and oml was I upset and confused. Though also scaringly accurate about certain things.

Now over six months later, I love this cowboy even more. And I kept true to my word. If anyone wanna read the rambings of a fangirl who had just found her new obsession be my guest.

I was blown away by how massive this game is. The level of detail is incredible and I greatly appreciate the effort put into creating this world. Yeah, we’ve all heard about the horse testicles shrinking in cold weather but it’s not like it’s just one bizarre detail being essentially a dick joke in an otherwise average game. No, RDR2 is detailed enough that it actually makes sense to add in peculiarities like that. The amount of wildlife alone, I mean, ever since the PS2 era I’ve been used to seeing animals in games but R* created whole-ass ecosystems in RDR2, several of’em, from snowy mountains to marshlands, with animals that act so much like actual animals. Just listening to the birds singing, it’s like being out in an actual forest!

Characterization is another thing that amazed me, in particular the protagonist. I knew nothing about the first RDR when started playing RDR2, nor did I know anything about RDR in general other than it was western-themed and made by the GTA-guys. I expected somewhat of a similar characterization as GTA where every character is a stereotype or a caricature. I genuinely liked GTAV’s story for what it was and even though every character was more or less an asshole, some of them were also weirdly likeable and even earned my sympathy (and hint of affection) occasionally.

But it never really went deeper than that nor was it particularly long-lasting (still way more than I expected tho). I bonded with one of the characters more than I thought I would but not nearly as much as I would had the characters felt more like actual humans and not like the epitome of stereotypes. But it is what R* wanted and it worked. I expected the RDR2 characters to be the same but to my surprise the characters, especially Arthur, are fleshed out, complex, even relatable (depending on your actions I guess). Unlike GTAV, they act and react like actual human beings. Well, human beings that have lived their entire life (more or less) as outlaws. In a country and time period foreign to me. But still they felt human. Ofc I’ve not gotten to know any of the NPC’s as well as Arthur but from various missions and eavesdropping on their conversation I’ve gotten to know them a bit. Hosea is my favorite. He seems like a good man despite being an outlaw and I love how everyone goes to him for advice and how supportive he is. I also wish more people (esp a certain Dutch man) could listen to him more. I also really like Charles. He definitely got morals and could be a good influence on Arthur and the others. I haven’t seen much of Sadie yet, but think I’ll like her too. Lenny seems nice. That one scene when he and Arthur went out drinking together was absolutely brilliant! And lil Jack’s adorable ofc. Only one I don’t like is Micha or Miach or whathisname. I know no one in the van der Linde gang are saints but that guy is a total psychopath. I kinda wish Arthur had gotten his way there when he said they should just leave him in jail as he was nothing but trouble and it annoys me how Dutch is sticking up for him. Yeah, speaking of, not too fond of Dutch or that German guy either atm.

But all in all very impressed by the large open world, the level of details to well, everything and the characterization. Soundtrack is great, graphics are stunning, animations smooth, the horse-riding simulation is just extraordinary and you never know what’s gonna happen as you ride through the map. The amount and variety of random events and encounters are truly impressive. Often comical, like that wildlife photographer who keeps getting almost eaten up by the wildlife he’s trying to document, sometimes eerie like the serial killer side story, or sad like when Arthur met with his former love. Or a combination of said elements like the pig farmers I ran into. With no pigs. But were still veeery well fed. You know, when people are just a liiitle bit too friendly? That eerie feeling you get when you just know something’s wrong but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Until you can. I thought they were husband and wife I really did. You shoulda seen my face when I realized they were in fact brother and sister. Me and Arthur had the exact same face. They were living as husband and wife tho. Well, up until I killed them.

I also love the contrast between the more ‘modern’ world and the simpler life. I could go into town, buy food at the saloon and rent a room or take a bath at the hotel. Or I could ride a few mins out into the wilderness, hunt and gather my own food, cook it over a bonfire and sleep under the stars. Electricity exists, but people are still completely dependent on oil lamps and open flame. Trains and trams exist, cars have been invented, but people still mainly travel on horseback. This contrast between old and new as an era is ending and the modern era is about to begin has been an amazing experience considering the level of detail the game has. The colonization of the new land, which has been largely unknown to me, the contrast between this and modern-day America we see on TV. So many people did not even speak English, I often find abandoned buildings, or burnt-down buildings, some with bodies inside, leaving me wondering what happened to them, I found a ghost town whose inhabitants had been wiped out by a plague. It was tough for many I reckon.

In fact, I find the exploration of this foreign but also somewhat familiar, beautiful but harsh world and its many random events and encounters waaay more interesting than the actual main story itself, which is why it took me forever to reach chapter 3. In fact, the story is probably my least favorite part about RDR2, as backwards as it may sound. I’ve never been into western stories or aesthetics, and I’m certainly NOT into the whole ‘outlaws till the end’ stuff ugh. I fail to sympathize with the whole ‘boo-hoo the world no want outlaws like us no more it’s unfair’. Ugh, go cry me a fucking river. And then go get a job. A real job. Yeah, I get it that adapting to society is tough, life’s tough deal with it and stop preying on others. Wow, robbing two trains in short time and staying in the same fucking area actually has consequences, I’m so shook!

So yeah, story-wise I don’t quite ‘get it’ and Dutch is really starting to get on my nerves, which is probably why I prefer to just ride off alone and experience the world. I guess RDR2 story will rely heavily on being torn between gang loyalty and your own morality and principles but since I have virtually no concept of group loyalty that is all lost on me. My own morals and principles all the way. I’m like, ‘these people suck, take Hosea, Charles, Sadie, Tilly (maybe John Marston and his family) and leave these bitches behind’.

At the beginning, I did kinda liked Dutch. He seemed genuinely sorry for Sadie, took her in and saved her life, even if it meant another mouth to feed in dire times. And he showed Kiran mercy despite hating the O’Driscol’s. But as I’ve progressed thought the game, his grand speeches about sticking together, sticking with him, slowly but surely has turned from pep-talk to keep people’s spirit up to sounding like a cult leader desperate to keep his following no matter the cost. Yesterday when I was playing, I overheard him quote some quasi-philosophy book to Lenny and used the words to twist them into his own convictions to support his decisions. And when Lenny objected, Dutch literally said ‘you’re breaking my heart, kid’. Wow Dutch, talk about manipulating your protégé.

It was the mission when those lawmen approached Arthur as he was fishing with Jack that really made me consciously see Dutch in a new light. Up until then, RDR2 had mostly been fun and games but that conversation left me feeling a bit uneasy. But I just figured it was the main story finally picking up pace and also, I figured I was near the end of the chapter. I carried on, suddenly eager to see what would happen and was thoroughly surprised by how the chapter ended. In a bad way.

While both chapter 2 and chapter 3 begins with a ‘new start’ vibe, chapter 3 felt very different from chapter 2. Mostly it was that feeling that Dutch’s obsession with ‘sticking to this life’ is going to get people killed. Idk, it’s this eerie feeling something’s wrong but can’t quite put my finger on it-feel again. But thanks to internet being internet I already knew some spoilers so I couldn’t help but to look up something and… well, let me put it this way. I’m never going to finish this game. Ever. It breaks my heart because in so many ways it’s truly an amazing game and a fantastic experience. But I’m just not that into the story, I don’t like where it’s heading and I don’t want to see what’s coming to character(s) I’ve come to care deeply about.

I still want to explore the world more, see what unfolds, do more challenges, add stuff to my compendium, maybe get some trophies… but I doubt I’ll ever progress much story-wise. Quite the contrary, I might reload an earlier save and just stay in chapter 2 forever.

(wrtten a couple of days later)

Seems my instincts was right on the money, esp concerning Dutch. Sad thing, I do believe he is sincere. In the first few chapters at least. He is manipulative but I also believe he’s convinced himself that he’s doing the right thing. And then his obsession will eventually get the better of him and when people and the lifestyle is slipping away from him, he doesn’t handle it well at all. Ugh, it’s so frustrating, I just wanna gather all my favs and yell: “leave nooow, before it’s too late!

It’s not for the sake of spacing it out or making it last. I just don’t want to progress in the story at all. I hated losing Horseshoe Overlook. HATED IT HATED IT HATED IT!!!! Yes the new place is beautiful, yes I know it’s the life of the outlaws and RDR2 does show that life for better and for worse whereas most stories tend to romanticize the whole thing, yes as outlaws they can’t stay for too long in one place. But as mentioned I have a hard time sympathize with and immerse myself into that lifestyle. Yes, I got all my upgrades and a whole new area to explore, a bigger nearby town, and closer to that big city. Still hated it. Horseshoe Overlook was my place. The Heartlands was home. And the view was stunning! And I liked Valentine. It was small and dirty but I had good memories from there. Until I had to shoot up half the town. My motivation for continuing the main story is at absolute zero.

It was more what the transition represented, I guess. You never know what will happen in RDR2. And it’s true, for random encounters, and many of the individual missions. But when it comes to the story as a whole, I feel like I already now can predict how it’ll play out. Every chapter begins with the gang on the move, finding a place to settle down and have a fresh start, even chapter 1 (as they were on the run bc a heist gone wrong or something). Then they settle down, go into town to get to know the area and establish connections and looking for easy money, often at the expenses of others. X random events later, they get too overconfident or careless, screws up or get hunted down, it ends with a shootout, then they are on the run again, finds a new place to settle down where Dutch promises that THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT until they’re wanted on the entire map and can’t go anywhere cos the wild west is ending. I really liked it at Horseshoe Overlook and whenever Im in that area again I’ll just get sad.

I had no idea I’d gotten so emotionally invested so I was really surprised at how much I disliked moving camps and all. I’ve also gotten so fond of Arthur. I was so busy with exploring, doing challenges, learning to hunt etc I didn’t even realize it happening. Until one scene had me almost tearing up! I think because, we as the player really have to look out for him. Even though I make sure that he eats regularly, he’s still underweight. When out riding I usually set up camp when night falls so that Arthur can get some rest. Something I’d never think about in any other game. And I always give him coffee in the morning. Then it’s his journal that gives such valuable insight into who he truly is as a person. There’s no doubt he’s so much more than just a mere outlaw. He writes surprisingly well and is open and is surprisingly honest about his thoughts and feelings. How torn he is between the life of an outlaw and wanting to be a better man, a better person. How he admired Charles because, for him it was ‘so easy to just be good’ whereas he himself always feel torn between good and evil. And his journal entries when he meets his long-lost love Mary and saves her brother from the cultists. The expression on his face as he said goodbye to her on the train station… how utterly heartbroken he was… how she still loved him too… man, that one tore at my heart. Still does when thinking about it.

I wish I could take Hosea, Charles, Sadie, Tilly, John’s family and maybe Lenny too with me, run off and start anew. Charles would have good influence on Arthur and encourage him to turn his life around and find his place in society and encourage John to be a better father and role model for Jack and they could all learn how to live as free men and women without robbing or hurting anyone (unless they deserve it). Like, Charles is an excellent hunter and tracker. He’d totally get enough food for the gang and maybe even enough to sell. He could train Jack too. Hosea was always more of a conman/grifter than a brute/robber. He could con bad guys or rich assholes Robin Hood style. If anyone gave him grief, John and Arthur would settle the score. Arthur could sell animal pelts and John could take up carpeting. They’d be such a happy lil family. But, RDR1 is yet to happen so it’s all just wishful thinking *sigh*

[elichatterarchive]

yt/td au for my muses bc levi and i are iconic keep scrolling

1. leon: hes probably just a commoner in the main games but he also knows full well he’s not all that useful in puzzles that don’t require just pure brute strength... he’s also kind of a coward so he’d definitely see if he can strike up a partnership w a stronger player? i dont mind if he gets killed off but he isnt particularly abrasive just kind of dumb and defensive thus suspicious. he can partake in russian roulette just to establish that he cant handle stress and i kind of want him to have a motive to get tf out in kanon. he’s not fantastic at switching tokens but he’s okay... middle-ish

2. santa: on the other hand he IS abrasive. santa is loud and defensive and smart, which can’t always be good mixes yk?he gets genuinely angry in main games when things seem obvious to him but other people don’t just agree with him. there’s also the small matter of him being able to send information to snake via morphonogenic fields, so if he’s ever the sage, snake would also know who the keymaster is. santa is super useful thanks to him already having done a death game -- he’s good at this. he’s basically counting on his usefulness to keep him alive, in contrast to leon. hes gotta get back to akane at the end of the day he cares NOUGHT abt all these ppl. probably finds the 200 vending machine and the switch in his character (from him being all irritable to wanting to trade tokens w everyone) is cause for concern 

3. byakuya: is an asshole!!! he has to survive bc thats the entire point of his character -- he’s supposed to be the kind of hatesink that just keeps weaselling his way through -- but i’m not opposed to having him in some really sticky situations, because, well, he’s suspicious!! he’s also a really good barterer, so i can’t see the token game being a trouble for him at all. byakuya’s biggest issue is probably going to be people voting for him bc they hate him and ESP w ch2 having the card swapping dynamic he might be in danger there. he also has the impostor to argue with which is just delicious... he also can lie all he likes. i really want both a ‘i see. so now the suspicion falls on me’ moment AND a ‘how can you know what i don’t know?’ moment...

4 & 5. the twins: they cause a massive stir in the first main game, as kaoru is the sacrifice and hikaru is the sage, but they basically impersonate each other, trying to make everyone vote for kaoru-as-hikaru (whom they think is the sage) when he’s actually the sacrifice so they can escape together. this plan falls through obviously and kaoru is killed, but not before he tells hikaru to exist independently and not just as a ~twin~. hikaru basically has a meltdown and becomes unresponsive for a long while, going off by himself and ignoring the group, but he’s smart, kind of devilish, and he might just find something. not gonna lie he’s drawn to kokichi after kaoru dies which makes him very dangerous

6. peko: basically fucks up another main game in a valiant effort to save fuyuhiko and herself. i assume their relationship follows the same misunderstanding as it does in-game, and she takes this to mean that she must act like she doesnt know him but still continue her duties as a ‘tool’ -- she either is the sacrifice or convinces everyone else that fuyuhiko is the keymaster or something, putting herself on the chopping block to keep him alive. it appears she’s aloof, but friendly to everyone else -- nope! she’s faking it to get them all to trust her so she can betray them for fuyuhiko.

7. keebo: is a doll!! the entire time!! it takes some huge reveal to sell him out to everyone but even he doesnt know hes a doll until he’s told!! has a proper meltdown because of it and basically asks to be voted to be killed because ‘i know that my will is my own.’ he wants to save his friends... he loves them real human love and thats all he needed!! hes so cute geez. he doesnt get tokens unless theyre given to him and he never ever lies in a trial thats just how he is 

8. rantaro: a whole freak. hes ~mysterious~ and ~not a bad guy~ (read: someone from HIS previous death game was his partner in the first trial and he let them die bc they were nasty and evil and bad and he doesnt want that energy)... he’s just trying to keep as much of what he knows a secret as possible and he doesn’t really trust easy but he wants everyone to get out alive!! it’s very rare he loses his temper but when he does it’s over something REALLY big he PROPER loses his mind at the twins when they’re pulling their guessing game and later we find out it’s bc he knows exactly what wanting to save your siblings is like (s/o his sisters i love you)

9. gundham: oh he’s like VOCAL abt how much he doesnt trust everybody? obviously he has his dark lord persona and he’s talking abt how he’ll get out of here alive... he goes head to head with togami a lot... his first trial was that one that you can see on the victim videos where the woman has two guns one loaded one not and he has to shoot himself? he’s very very lucky but that keeps in with his russian roulette in the final dead room... he also is VERY good at the puzzles and will step in to help under the guise of ‘you people are all stupid and this is taking too long’. he gets the least amount of tokens in ch2 bc he makes absolutely no effort.

10. masaru: he’s the hero, obviously. he’s just a babey but he’s really good at like... spacial stuff? obviously he’s not all that bright but bc he’s sporty he’s super good at taking one look at a space and knowing the logistics of the room, where people need to be... it also makes him FANTASTIC at attractions if we look at it from a gameplay standpoint masaru is like a walking easy ticket yknow?? i also think he’s good at trading tokens bc he’s more mature than he seems and can and will catch you off guard in order to trade with you. masaru looooooves toko but he also loves leon and souda and gundham. he also wants to try quark’s hat on id love for him to tell me abt the actual game but yknow

[rosencrypt]

I saw Doctor Who! Semi-liveblog under the cut:

- Ah, here are the descendants of that expedition upship they mentioned last episode. How did the Cyber patients get here?

- OK, so why don't the farm people chain up the Cyber patients further from the house? Or lock them in a vault, or chuck them underwater or smth

- you can't have a cyberman story without a good ol' base under siege

- John Simm is SO MUCH BETTER when he's not having to shout about drums and be Wacky or Manic every 5 minutes. Just shows what a wasted opportunity those RTD Master episodes were :/

- Oh huh, I didn't think we were going to get an explanation for Simm being around. Raises a few more questions about just why Gallifrey's reappearance was so badly handled, tho

- does the Conscience of Marinus REALLY count as an instance of the Cybermen, Moffat? Actually, I just did some research into this - apparently there are some comics and novels that suggest two or more out of Mondas, Planet 14, and Marinus are actually the same place. The Doctor lists them separately here, though, so presumably that’s not what Moffat���s talking about. He’s probably just making something up. Which, to be fair, is what they did with Planet 14 in The Invasion

- Burning? Is that a Planet of Fire reference? I don't remember the Master being drowned or stabbed tho

- oh no, call back to Last of the Time Lords. Why would you do that :(

- I'm loving Missy's chaotic nature here. She’s so Red

- being rescued from Cybermen via rope ladder from a tall building? Yay, Invasion reference! :)

- noo, why is Bill back now. I have nothing against her, but does cyber conversion mean ANYTHING these days? Also,if she’s grabbed the ladder, shouldn’t that just have torn it off rather than holding back the whole shuttle

- Awww, Nardole did a cute thing

- 2-week time skip? why??? Stop doing that Moffat. I know you love randomly skipping over things, but in this case would there be any difference at all if you didn’t? as far as I can see the only thing this accomplishes is that you don’t have to show the Doctor explaining anything to the locals and you can have Nardole ordering people around with no explanation, at the cost of killing any sense of urgency. I don’t think that’s a fair trade, tbh, and I’d have enjoyed seeing the Masters maybe try to take command of the farms or smth

- Right, so Bill is still perfectly cogent and cyber conversion actually DOES mean less than nothing. great. way to completely defang the Cybermen, Moffat

- It’s been 2 weeks and the Doctor STILL hasn’t been to see Bill? she's just spent 10 years waiting for you, the least you could do is say hi

- oh right, so Cyberbill HASN'T actually been de-cybertised. That’s something at least. Nice callback to Dalek Clara there too

- oh, jelly babies again. Where did he get them? What purpose does this bit serve? It’s just a reference for reference’s sake, and it’s not even a clever subtle reference, since 4′s taste for jelly babies is so extremely well-known

- I feel this scene would be a lot more effective if we were actually seeing Cyberbill. Also, why hasn't the conversion brainwashing thing worked on her, anyway? If she hasn’t been de-cybertised, why is she being all independent and emotion-feeling?

- "You are..so strong" well even more so now, Doctor

- srsly?? she's just resisting through force of will? that's...disappointing. it was bullshit in the monk episodes and it doesn’t make any more senes here

- "You can't be angry any more" - like, you literally are incapable of anger. or should be. how are you doing that? maybe these ones just haven't got around to removing their emotions yet

- yay, Simm is still a horrible misogynist. What a useful and necessary character trait

- "They come after the children" oh, are we going to be seeing Cyberbabies? that's grim

- "less to throw away" - so what, they're putting doing the Davies thing of putting the brains into ready-made cyber bodies? That's very disappointing, and also at odds with the gradual transformation body-horror we saw in the last episode.

- OK, Simm, we know you hate women, you can find some other characteristics now. For a species/civilisation supposedly above petty gender concerns, he seems remarkably not

- how fast does time move on the farm floor relative to the city one? it should take days/weeks/etc. for the Cybermen to travel from the city, which if nothing else gives the defenders plenty of time between waves to prepare

- Right, so the Doctor is defending a settlement from technologically-advanced invaders. This is. A bit similar to Time of the Doctor, tbh

- if the Cybermen have 'evolved', why do they have both old and new Cybermen forms?

- oh the child has a name. Good to know.

- Cybermen with rocket-boots is still a stupid idea, but I'll concede that in this one shot it looks OK

- What do you mean, you don't know what you see in him?? Don’t lie, you've always been just as interested, Simm.

- Eh, are you SURE the Master's going to die, Doctor? For all the times they've done it so far, I wouldn't expect it to stick

- Oh obviously she leaves, so she can come back later and save him

- Urgh, back to 'upgrading' :P what happened to “we will survive”?

- So what, the Doctor doesn't like guns, but he's fine with explosives? Bit of a mixed message there, eh?

- are the Cybermen going to actually do anything here? It’s difficult to be afraid of them when we see them being constantly blown up

- Why is it the Masters so scared of a few Cybermen, anyway? They're smart enough to have taken control of the whole ship in minutes.

- Oh, the other woman has a name too

- "Down to the cellar", you mean, closer to the Cybermen? Somebody didn't think this through. For that matter, why are the Cybermen emerging so far from the house? They can arrive literally wherever, so shouldn’t they be coming up through the floorboards?

- Isn't looking after a load of humans pretty much what you've been doing since, like, forever, Doctor?

- "Oh great, so SHE's allowed to explode!" Nardole continues to be the best, especially since the Masters were sidelined

- Speaking of whom...she's going to force his regeneration, isn't she? Bye bye, Simm. We hardly knew you (in an actual decent story that DIDN'T require you to go ON and ON about those goDdAMN dRUUmMms)

- Oh, they're not going to...GOOD, I was so worried Bill was going to profess her love for the Doctor

- More of this 'oh welcome to being a woman' stuff. You know, the more you harp on about gender, Moffat, the more your insistence that it's no big thing is POINTEDLY BELIED.

- "I will never stand with the Doctor!" -what?? you do that all the time. Hell, you stood with 10 in End of Time

- "Don't try to regenerate!" I'm very much not a fan of the New Series (and esp. Moffat) take on regeneration as a voluntary thing/special attack/etc. I'll concede it's a nice thematic story point, tho - even when the Master isn't just literally shot in the back by themself, they're always sabotaging themself with reckless ambition. Oh, it makes an interesting contrast to the Master's previous obsession with survival (...except when the plot dictated otherwise, as in the fantastically OOC 'regeneration suppression' thing in Last of the Time Lords), tho. A characteristic they share with the Cybermen, in fact. Someone should maybe write a story featuring both of them, with that as one of the themes.

- Actually, come to think of it, that's a central conflict of Doctor Who - most of the villainous/antagonistic factions are fundamentally scared of death and obsessed with their own survival and superiority (the Master, Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians/Sea Devils), in contrast with the Doctor, who accepts his mortality and acts in the spirit of cooperation rather than competition

- Why is the Doctor crowing about his previous victories over the Cybermen here? This lot have nothing to do with them. Is he just trying to confuse them by talking about planets they’ve never heard of?

- Shouldn't that helmet blast have bypassed regeneration? Being shot like 3 times should have killed him outright.

- Aww, does that mean Missy is dead too? Eh, they've survived worse

- 10 minutes left. Wonder where they'll go from here

- What even happened to Bill? She's going to come and carry him to the TARDIS, I assume

- Oh, Bill's girlfriend came back! That's nice. Now she gets to go to space lesbian heaven. Sort of like Clara and whatshername. Is that the series' first on-screen wlw kiss?

- This whole tears thing doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but sure, let's go with it. How did Heather and Bill get into the TARDIS, tho

- if Heather is the ur-pilot, she should go and crew that Silence ship from The Lodger. NO I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN, MOFFAT

- So how does this tie into the bookends in the snow? If he's already unconscious, is he going to get his second wind?

- ah, so he is.

- What do you mean, you don't want to change again?? Like, sure Capaldi, stick around as long as you can, please, but I do think the Doctor is making a bit much of this. It’s like 10 and 11 all over again :P

- Oh, hello David Bradley! Nice to see you again. No idea how this fits into your timeline, tho. This scene doesn’t match up with any of your stories, especially not The 10th Planet.

[thattopsecret-blog]

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Put simply, if it rated abnormally high in 1 area but not so well in others, you must know whether that horse really deserves to be considered a fantastic bet and the sole means to understand is from previous performances below the exact same conditions. There was not any injury, there was not any electrocution.'' What you're likely to adopt is dependent on your ground and company, Anthony stated.

Naturally, at first glance, it appears this is a golden chance to generate a profit. Once more the weather will have a large impact so far as I'm concerned. Assuming you're outside Australia (or in), it can be hard to start looking for eligible approach to see the huge event.

Smart household systems are excellent for all living situations whether your home is in a home, condo, apartment or mobile house. Explain the trouble in the dishwasher and see whether the technician has the capability to let you know concerning the repair it needs. You could rent an extra unit if you happen to fill the very first, nevertheless this will come at an additional cost so that it's much better to rent the appropriate size the 1st moment.

The entertainment business and the horseracing business often go together. Repair costs are low enough in contrast to winnings that you ought to not be concerned about car damage whatsoever, esp. It is necessary to employ a knowledgeable and trustworthy appliance repair firm to make certain that the professionals fix your house appliance properly.