#like there's a fine line between the two

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12

[lightgamble]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN | 1.09

You know, back at his place, I heard your heartbeats.

[userjiminie]

those hips working like rent is due

[m4gp13]

Why did Rick do this to us?

Seriously, he went, "Yeah I'm gonna establish a history between two important characters on opposing sides of a conflict in which one of them clearly has negative feelings about the other. and then never bring it up again 🤪" BITCH COME BACK HERE!!!

There was so much that could have been going on between these two! I was talking to @nakamurastorrington about this on twt the other day.

Like, Annabeth's fatal flaw is hubris and Ethan's mother is the physical embodiment of the punishment for hubris, they are diametrically opposed! They have their shared history at camp but very different experiences with the system where Annabeth was pretty much immediately claimed and became the head councillor of her own cabin from a very young age, establishing her as a respected veteran at camp. Meanwhile, Ethan was shoved into a corner of someone else's cabin because he wasn't worth his own cabin, and so he just faded into the background. Also, Their relationship with Luke! They both had Luke as a big brother figure. Annabeth saw him as genuine family and Ethan would have looked up to him as his brother while in the Hermes cabin. Then Luke left and Annabeth still held out hope for him and refused to believe he'd ever truly passed the point of no return even while everyone constantly told her she was wrong, and Ethan, despite spending a year working for Kronos and seeing the worst of the results of Luke's actions, still believed he was in there fighting Kronos. Not to mention, THEIR MOTHERS??!?!!?!

There could have been such interesting conflict between them! Annabeth should have gotten to talk to Ethan during the parley. If anyone should have gotten to snap at Ethan about his mother, it should have been her because he would have snapped back so hard!

[xxplastic-cubexx]

king magnus skin real cute and lovely but it loses points on the account that i cant see his ass anymore

[torchickentacos]

i will always shout praises of bi4bi but given recent discourse I feel the need to say that I love bi4het too! I just love bisexuality in general in its many forms, and anyone who only likes it when it's 'queer enough' for them is biphobic. Bisexuals should be able to bring their LaMe CiShEt BoYfRiEnD to pride without being made to feel like spectators and outsiders to their own event.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

journeys end in lovers meeting

[eggcats]

I know it's common for, in radiostatic fics that get rid of Valentino, to get rid of the pornography empire they have, and I GET why, but in my own personal opinion I don't think it's always the best move

In my Housewife Vox AU, I've kept that part of the media empire Vox owns and simply changed ownership of being the overlord in charge of that to be Angel Dust (owned by Alastor) - (in the original deal, Val and Vox's agreement was a lot more equal, but to exert control, prevent a power grab, and make sure Angel can't do anything to hurt Vox or his empire, Alastor took Angel's soul)

(I also hate Val, so I did have him killed in the 80/90s and Angel taking over THEN, but even still, in my AU, Vox did decide to partner with Valentino to add control over hell's pornography into his empire because it'd be foolish not to, considering the power that would add)

Because, like, IMO the issue with that section of visual media was because of HOW Valentino was doing it (abusing his staff, using his venom to coerce people into it, creating the date rape drugs, etc) - but if you take that part out, it makes more sense for a media mogul who owns as much of the media and technology in the Pride Ring he can TO also have a monopoly on the pornography available - it's not like simply not owning it would mean it doesn't exist, so you might as well be the one to do it, do it right, and get the money from it, yeah?

I do think, though, that once Angel took over, he and Vox DID go over all of Val's previous contracts to make sure their employees still wanted the job they had signed their souls over for - the ones who didn't want to do pornography anymore were simply moved to other jobs; and Angel doesn't have issues signing new people on (even/especially without the drugging) because the contracts are relatively fair and the staff treatment at the studio is fine, so for many freshly fallen it's a good way to not be begging on the streets and to have a steady income

ALSO, because Alastor would go ballistic if any of Angel's employees hit on Vox or tried to get him to sleep with them, ALASTOR is usually the one visiting Angel at the studio when the need arises (he's not particularly bothered by sex work, he just has no interest in partaking in any part of it and generally doesn't want to think about it)

Alastor is aware of himself enough to know that if Vox came home smelling like the sinners and sex of the studio, he wouldn't be able to control the rampage he'd go on and would unintentionally clear out half of Angel's employees - which would be bad for Vox

Angel agrees, because no matter HOW many times he warns his employees not to, some will inevitably still hit on Alastor - who just ignores it and doesn't see it as anything relevant (so Vox never finds out to be the one murdering them) - but if Alastor saw/heard/smelled even a hint of them flirting with Vox it'd be a bloodbath worse than when he killed Val

Also, ironically, Angel can flirt with them both with no repercussions because somehow neither of them see him as a threat, and other than very close to his rut, Alastor considers Angel's scent on Vox not something to be alarmed about - like he's fine with Rosie and Niffty's scents as well

(Angel will never admit even under threat of death, but if Alastor and Vox ever did seriously take up his offer to be their third in the bedroom he's jumping at the chance - but he knows the only reason he's alive is because they think it's a joke. It's not. He knows it'll almost definitely never happen, but if the offer ever comes up, he's saying yes, immediately, lol).

[mewkwota]

He's my favorite Mega and yet I draw his hair rather inconsistently, so I'm putting these here for my own reference as the shapes here came out Just Right. And there's some additional doodles from a while back of Hub demonstrating his built-in cord.

(Next to it is the Jack-Out switch and a port for Lan's PET cord.)

[fortune-maiden]

The Hundred Line: S.F. Route

And your reward for looping through the game over and over in search of the perfect Happy Ending...

I still like Box of Blessings' endings more

(Open spoilers for the entirety of 100L, and also some grumblings about Zero Escape)

Okay more accurately, I like Box of Calamity's Ending 39 best, but most of BoB's Good Endings still fit the "satisfying ending" criteria.

The Overall Thoughts

I think one of the big questions in this game on a meta level is what makes a "Good Ending". In this game of 100 endings, where the creators claim that you can stop at any time once you find the ending that satisfies you, how does the player decide what's satisfying? Why is an ending like 2nd Scenario's phenomenal despite everyone dead, and the Comedy Route endings just whatever, despite everyone sans Eito alive? What is the stopping point?

SF is a route that promises you that golden Everybody Lives ending, that no doubt most people want after 2nd Scenario, but what does it mean for the SDU that reach this ending to be different from the SDU that reached 2nd Scenario, and is that okay? Fundamentally they're still all the same people aren't they?

Time Loop stories tend to be popular and beloved, but whether intentionally or not (I suspect not), The Hundred Line seems to kind of deconstruct what makes them click, and what makes their endings click

While SF was the final route for me, it's never actually built up as an Grand Finale and only really has 3 prerequisite (although a 4th one is also critical to its events). You can actually play this route before 2nd Scenario if you wanted. Despite the work you have to put into getting this route, once you finally get it, it's not treated any differently from any of the other non-2nd Scenario routes in the game. And that's... interesting?

Also more hilariously, it's not even the only route where we reach Day 100 without any deaths.

The Good

Despite a lot of headaches, this route does actually do some things well, and is a reminder that Uchikoshi does know how to write some fun story beats and twists.

The first 10 Days of this route are excellent! The mysterious parallel world leap, the conversation with Hiruko & Sirei, the mystery of Eito escaping his cage, the calico cat gift... everything here that leads to the first plot lock sets the foundation for an excellent story!

This Route primarily serves as an answer mode to several other routes in the game, especially Slasher. The moments where Hiruko & Takumi leap to the other timelines and fill in the gaps that existed there were great! We even got an answer to the Nozomi path of Slasher and it was one of my favorite parts of the route! Easily elevated Slasher to a Top 5 route for me

The Livor Mortis stuff is still beyond stupid, but it did at least provide for some interesting plot events. I loved Hiruko creating a route split so she could having an additional Takumi & Hiruko to help them gather Livor Mortis codes, and how the Livor Mortis stuff eventually plays a role in the finale, providing an alternate method for stopping the missiles that does not require going up against the Intercept system. Despite everything, it was a cool finale.

Hiruko's penchant for abbreviations is cute

Hiruko's Terminal-Bad-Decision-Itis has a plot explanation now (in my opinion). I'm choosing to believe that between all the looping and leaping, the bloodspace did erode her ability to make rational decisions and these are the consequences.

I mean what else do you call BoC!Hiruko unleashing Kako-G onto three timelines and fucking them all over irreparably?

I've seen others call out that Hiruko deliberately refusing to fix the Serial Killer timeline because of Day 98 is a plot hole when she says that meddling in other timelines doesn't actually erase the original branch, but I'm willing to defend this one. For one, this is her theory and not something we have any evidence for. In fact, we have counter evidence for it given that Takumi can only ever remember versions of the other timelines with SF interference, and there's not much on Hiruko's part to suggest she can remember other variants. But for the main reason, whenever we leap to other timelines, we only seem to be able to leap to the specific versions we meddled in. So while I do think that Hiruko does believe in her theory that SF interference creates a distinct timeline from no-SF interference, I don't think she can remember those versions nor leap to them. And I think because Serial Killer Day 98 is so fundamental and important to her, she can't bear to risk losing access to it, whether physically or in her memories. It's tragic and hypocritical of her and I think that's why it works so well for her character. Your memories and experiences are what make you you. It's one of the pain points of time loop stories where the versions of the characters we grow to love and root for are erased when the loop resets and the versions that escape the loop may not end up facing and overcoming those same struggles. Hiruko bears the curse of remembering everything and (maybe) has the ability to erase those memories - that she would be hesitant to do so is understandable imo.

Weird pivot, but Eito eating the book was hilarious.

Also after everything Slasher put me through, getting to be the one to chase Takumi with the power saw was very cathartic. I don't even care that it caused a bad ending. It was the best bad ending of the bunch anyway and the final mystery to the Slasher Route.

The relationship between Hiruko and Takumi had it's issues but it's also the highlight of the route. The isolation, the fears, the two of them determined to end the loop and protect everyone once and for all... the way they really care about each other for better or worse is beautiful

Coming-of-Age got to be plot relevant! :D

I do also appreciate that the best ending is still one where we stop the missiles. Because it's not a good ending if we don't save Futurum!

Overall this is a route I enjoyed more than I didn't (probably). BUT...

The Bad

Sigh... let's rip the bandaid off. This is very much a Takumi interacts with one other person and everyone else is background fluff route. Despite what the first 10 days set up, the rest of the SDU really doesn't do anything in this route. Hiruko fixes the Tsukumo twins' tensions offscreen, Eito is cured of his cognitive disorder and proceeds to become the Route 0 Eito without any hangups, Nozomi's regression symptoms don't exist, Sirei never questions her presence on the team. Everything is fine and dandy, and the closest thing we have to a conflict in this route is the particle bacteria, and everyone just becoming snappish with each other for no reason besides cabin fever after 60 days together.

I feel like there is some narrative purpose to this - Hiruko has entered a fragment where she's rolled all sixes and thinks she finally has a chance so she is determined to keep things as conflict free as possible. Which does mean stamping out all sources of conflict immediately such as the Tsukumo twins and the dangers of an imperfectly brainwashed (or killed) Eva. After 40 years in the loop, Hiruko has already seen and learned enough and just wants to escape the loop with everyone whatever it takes. The conflict between humanity & the futurans is completely beyond her now. And that's fine for her, but it also means that the versions of the SDU that get the happy ending and a future, are a version of the SDU that never engage with the game's core plot or mysteries, that never get to struggle and grow as people. They just need to fight their battles and survive, just as Sirei wants. And I'm not sure how to feel about this?

In fact - all other routes with no casualties, Romance & Comedy - also do not involve the SDU ever going against Sirei or trying to learn more about their situations

Hiruko at least seems to remember 2nd Scenario so probably knows the truth but she's at the point where it's not her problem anymore - escaping the loop is - but this version of Takumi never learns it either since he only remembers Slasher, certain branches of BoC, and KG...

This is also the version of the SDU that has a really annoying post-battle cheer. You people really don't feel like you've earned this closeness...

But I think that's often the problem with time loop stories. Where the versions of the characters who struggle and grow aren't always the versions who escape the loop, and the idea of having to befriend everyone again and go through the same conflicts.... It just feels extra frustrating with this version of the cast because of how much we've seen them grow in other routes...

Eito gets cured. Funnily enough I'm not too annoyed with this since there's more than enough evidence in other routes that Eito wants to be able to understand humanity and form genuine connections but the cure for his cognitive disorder ends up being a program that Sirei had all along (which is also the cure for G'ie data). What. Why wasn't this ever considered before? We tried to brainwash Eito in CoA but all along we had the ability to just fix this cognitive disorder???

We also brainwash him again though because sure. Why not.

And despite being built up as a major character in SF as the only other person to know about the time travel, Eito becomes the same background fluff as the rest once he's cured. Sigh... Eito plot relevance used to mean something...

POOR EVA! I get why Hiruko thinks she needed to be super extra brainwashed even if I despise it, but can we just. talk about that extremely off kilter "joke" on Day 21 where the entire SDU is all for killing her then turning around and going "SIKE! Silly Takumi, we got you good!" Setting aside how NOT FUNNY that is, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS IN FRONT OF POOR EVA???? Even Shouma & Nozomi had no problems behaving this way. It's really gross.

There are just so many diabolus ex machinas at play in this route... several routes dead-ended by Kako-G. Kako-G massacring the Tails branch. Kako-G conveniently only killing the characters who survived Mystery so the rest could escape to Mystery for that terrible ending. Hiruko, despite knowing how particle bacteria works, never checking the escape pod in SF. The Artificial Satellite having a SPARE BABY to power up the missiles in the Hunt route. (Sure it made for a cooler finale but REALLY?)

Kako-G in general being so unsatisfying as a villain. She wreaked havoc upon FOUR Routes. And we never really got a satisfying showdown with her (though SF resolution for her was still better than Mystery's!)

The G'ie in general felt like they would be so much more important to SF, but they weren't.

We also never get an explanation for them in Slasher route

Killing Game makes even less sense after SF.

But I sure hope for Eva's sake that Kamyuhn did survive that particular branch of it

But also that finale.... that was literally Zero Time Dilemma's finale only without the moral quandary. And still feeling less earned.

Also I am still mad that apparently Darumi's completely black mummified cryptoglobin-drained corpse still had a neatly visible Livor Mortis code. There was a perfectly usable Darumi corpse in Slasher guys!!!

The Who Needs Setup of Payoff

Despite being a required ending, and revealing a secret weakness of the G'ie, Ending 36 plays no role in the plot at all. No one is angrier about this than me.

It makes me wonder though if it's actually Ending 86 that was meant to be required because that one is actually super important and it's just generally weird how Killing Game isn't required despite how important it ends up being.

We're really not getting an explanation for the particle bacteria? You can't just call it "bad luck" Uchikoshi, this needs elaboration! Why are only Hunt-Mystery & SF affected by this? Why is the bacteria only an actual threat to the rest of the school in SF?

The mystery researcher. This super convenient researcher who takes Kako-G away and also gives Hiruko a program that allows for horizontal movement as well as vertical. You can't just conveniently introduce this person and this program at the last minute without any explanation! My personal theory is that she's a future Hiruko from Ending 55 who finishes the PLM to allow for full time & parallel world travel and who makes it possible for Takumi/Hiruko/whoever to eventually go back to Slasher and cure Takumi-G before he murders anyone and open the way towards Comedy Route, the sole Dead Eito route that has happy endings.

(Let's not think about how opening the door to this route actually results in the death of SF Takumi. Maybe that's another reason Hiruko refused to do it.)

But you still can't just do that Uchikoshi! Actually with how Uchikoshi is generally great at gameplay/story integration, I'm surprised that the parallel/vertical time travel didn't have a bigger role in the story considering that the player does have the ability to travel to any day in any timeline at any time.

(I still say this should have been another dead end ending for SF - you do fix Slasher Takumi-G, and pave the way for a happy ending in the Dead Eito verse, but at the cost of your life.)

Also we just... don't get an explanation for the other Hiruko & Takumi in the CoA timeline. Sure.

The ARE YOU KIDDING ME UCHIKOSHI???

A METEORITE????

A Meteorite.

I can't even call it plot convenient because WHAT PLOT?

It appears for no reason in a single branch and when it's no longer needed, it's gone without any explanation or side-effects.

It's almost like he forgot there was already a built-in plot convenient reason to have that specific character out of commission.

Oh wait, he did forget. That plot convenience never comes up here at all.

Conveniently.

I am never getting over this freaking meteorite.

[sonic-adventure-3]

it is kinda funny to me when ppl say things in the vein of “jazz is perfect to represent rouge because of it’s chaotic nature”, cause like sure, okay, i can understand why you’d say that, but that’s the kinda thing you say when you have not listened to any jazz at all.

jazz can seem chaotic, sure, but it seems odd to me to define the whole umbrella of jazz as chaotic when you absolutely have not listened to actually chaotic sounding jazz subgenres like bebop. i just generally extremely dislike the descriptor of “chaotic” for jazz because i think it’s fundamentally untrue, there is absolutely logic and order in jazz, it’s built upon a rich tradition. jazz can be complex, frantic, energetic, and is often improvisational, but i don’t think it’s chaotic.

also i think that suits rouge far better than actual chaos, cause rouge is absolutely a complex and logical person, she just acts first and foremost on her desires

[freebooter4ever]

whatever the fuck the new meds are doing its working but that means my side effect POTS increase is really illnessing and i feel half dead from doing anything ;_; this weekend is going to be another lying around uselessly weekend.

[nyxi-pixie]

finished s3 and stand firm in shauna defense EASY WORK!!!!!!!!!!!

[cogentranting]

Suits LA is a little rough around the edges, but I think given half a chance it will even out and be a good show.

Already, on episode 2, you can see them finding their footing and working out what distinguishes these characters (from each other and from the original show). Even little things, like changing Ted's style in the secone episode to make it more visually distinct from Harvey's.

[chartreuxcatz]

I feel like part of being an activist is understanding that there’s a difference between someone with a huge platform spreading bigotry and using their money to further a hate campaign, and a teenager with a thousand followers who is misinformed, going through an “edgy phase,” and using their money to buy food and plushies.

[white-weasel]

Bhanu saying that God is blessing him when Randen got medevaced vs Josh straight up clapping when Matthew pulled himself from the game for his fucked up shoulder, fight!