#long rambly review

[yukipri]

Some thoughts on Cara

So some of you may have heard about Cara, the new platform that a lot of artists are trying out. It's been around for a while, but there's been a recent huge surge of new users, myself among them. Thought I'd type up a lil thing on my initial thoughts.

First, what is Cara?

From their About Cara page:

Cara is a social media and portfolio platform for artists. With the widespread use of generative AI, we decided to build a place that filters out generative AI images so that people who want to find authentic creatives and artwork can do so easily. Many platforms currently accept AI art when it���s not ethical, while others have promised “no AI forever” policies without consideration for the scenario where adoption of such technologies may happen at the workplace in the coming years. The future of creative industries requires nuanced understanding and support to help artists and companies connect and work together. We want to bridge the gap and build a platform that we would enjoy using as creatives ourselves. Our stance on AI: ・We do not agree with generative AI tools in their current unethical form, and we won’t host AI-generated portfolios unless the rampant ethical and data privacy issues around datasets are resolved via regulation. ・In the event that legislation is passed to clearly protect artists, we believe that AI-generated content should always be clearly labeled, because the public should always be able to search for human-made art and media easily.

Should note that Cara is independently funded, and is made by a core group of artists and engineers and is even collaborating with the Glaze project. It's very much a platform by artists, for artists!

Should also mention that in being a platform for artists, it's more a gallery first, with social media functionalities on the side. The info below will hopefully explain how that works.

Next, my actual initial thoughts using it, and things that set it apart from other platforms I've used:

1) When you post, you can choose to check the portfolio option, or to NOT check it. This is fantastic because it means I can have just my art organized in my gallery, but I can still post random stuff like photos of my cats and it won't clutter things. You can also just ramble/text post and it won't affect the gallery view!

2) You can adjust your crop preview for your images. Such a simple thing, yet so darn nice.

3) When you check that "Add to portfolio," you get a bunch of additional optional fields: Title, Field/Medium, Project Type, Category Tags, and Software Used. It's nice that you can put all this info into organized fields that don't take up text space.

4) Speaking of text, 5000 character limit is niiiiice. If you want to talk, you can.

5) Two separate feeds, a "For You" algorithmic one, and "Following." The "Following" actually appears to be full chronological timeline of just folks you follow (like Tumblr). Amazing.

6) Now usually, "For You" being set to home/default kinda pisses me off because generally I like curating my own experience, but not here, for this handy reason: if you tap the gear symbol, you can ADJUST your algorithm feed!

So you can choose what you see still!!! AMAZING. And, again, you still have your Following timeline too.

7) To repeat the stuff at the top of this post, its creation and intent as a place by artists, for artists. Hopefully you can also see from the points above that it's been designed with artists in mind.

8) No GenAI images!!!! There's a pop up that says it's not allowed, and apparently there's some sort of detector thing too. Not sure how reliable the latter is, but so far, it's just been a breath of fresh air, being able to scroll and see human art art and art!

To be clear, Cara's not perfect and is currently pretty laggy, and you can get errors while posting (so far, I've had more success on desktop than the mobile app), but that's understandable, given the small team. They'll need time to scale. For me though, it's a fair tradeoff for a platform that actually cares about artists.

Currently it also doesn't allow NSFW, not sure if that'll change given app store rules.

As mentioned above, they're independently funded, which means the team is currently paying for Cara itself. They have a kofi set up for folks who want to chip in, but it's optional. Here's the link to the tweet from one of the founders:

And a reminder that no matter that the platform itself isn't selling our data to GenAI, it can still be scraped by third parties. Protect your work with Glaze and Nightshade!

Anyway, I'm still figuring stuff out and have only been on Cara a few days, but I feel hopeful, and I think they're off to a good start.

I hope this post has been informative!

Lastly, here's my own Cara if you want to come say hi! Not sure at all if I'll be active on there, but if you're an artist like me who is keeping an eye out for hopefully nice communities, check it out!

[turquoisemagpie]

Appreciate the little things.

Not to ignorantly deny all of the big bad things in the world, but to survive them.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[seeker-ophelia]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Ophelia’s Review, Part 1: The Emotion

Like most people on tumblr, I went into Veilguard for Solavellan. I needed a happy ending for them. I had obsessed and freaked and theorized for years. But before I delve into VG I need to explain some backstory. This is going to be as much a biography of me as it is a tale of my rook. And its going to be long, so you know, heads up. And Veilguard Spoilers.

I have been really struggling to get my thoughts into a coherent string after act 2 of VG. I feel like I can’t even review the game because I’m so emotionally wrecked, all I can do is tell a story. If you want to read this, be forewarned, its long, also, obviously spoilers, Veilguard. But… holy god my Rook. 

[Part 2 is here]

My first Dragon Age game was Origins, in 2009. I torrented it off Pirate Bay and played on my aging laptop that could barely handle it. And I loved it. I had never played a game like this before and loved the emotional and story-telling aspects of the game. I played as a Dalish rogue, Lelianna and Zevran were my best friends. Morrigan was the awe-inspiring yet traumatized goth-girl, and I fell for the golden-retriever bastard king of Ferelden.

I did not only watch on in broken-hearted horror as he ascended to his throne beside Anora without me, but I had him lie with Morrigan, the weirdo-turned-friend, because I trusted her, and frankly, I didn’t want to die.

And it broke me in a way the fantasy books I inhaled like oxygen as a child never did.

Because I chose to do those things. I made the choice. For right or for wrong, I was the one who decided their fate, even if those choices came back to bite me in the ass later.

I played Origins three more times over the next 5 years, through what I now call my University Years. I was broke, stressed, and overworked, and Origins became a comfort to me. I even properly bought the game with the DLCs the last time, because I had a little more money, and I figured a game that I had played and loved so much deserved it. (Never played 2, and that was my own fault). I discovered Fan Fiction because of Origins.

Then… I did some life things that I’m not going to air into the internet, but I kind of got my life together around 2016/17. I had a good job, a career even, and while I was by no means wealthy, I was okay.

And I heard about Dragon Age Inquisition, and remembered my old love for Origins, and gave it a go. I’ve always been a fantasy stan (I grew up with LotR), if you give me the option to play as a mage or an elf I’m going to do it. I wanted to romance Leliana, especially after her bad-assery in Redcliffe, but that turned out to be impossible. Because I never played 2, I didn’t know who Cullen was, and I romanced him (my love letter to Alistair). And while I liked the game, loved it even, I didn’t feel that emotional pull that Origins made me feel, and I put it aside. I’ve played some other games I’ve liked throughout the years, Fable, Skyrim, The Witcher, and I liked them all, but none of them really gut-punched me like that first fated Origins playthrough.

Cut to 2020, covid, and fuck if I didn’t have anything better to do, so I played DA2.

Oh man, I laughed at the graphics, oh it was so bad after Inquisition, how did anyone play this? And then I walked Darktown with Anders, walked slaver dens with Fenris, helped my Merrill with her Eluvian, and Isabela with her relic. And I helped my friend Varric in the deep roads. And I began to feel a tendril again of what I had in Origins. Who cared about the graphics, the gameplay, the locations, these people’s stories were what was driving this tale, and that was amazing and rare.

And I went into Inquisition with new eyes. I could not touch Cullen again, not after how he acted in Kirkwall. I knew Solas left, so I wanted to try and romance Bull (I’ve seen the youtube videos; ‘So you want to ride The Bull’). But I slowed down my playthrough this time, talked to everyone, actually spoke to Solas over and over in Haven. Indominatable focus indeed, hahren. What a curiosity you are. And I fell for fucking Solas.

A bald fucking hobo apostate, are you for real? Brain, get your head in the game. And my heart said, wait.

But he leaves! You know he leaves!  

Well, maybe I’m just destined to fall in love with emotionally unavailable fictional people.

And I played Descent and Hakkon for the first time, which were fantastic. And then I played Trespasser.

And Trespasser broke me. Just like Origins did.

And my Casual Dragon Age Days were done. I was feral.

But I also had a very demanding job. I could not just play video games for large chunks of time. I worked. A lot. I mean a lot. And in the fall of this year, I burnt out. I quit. I’ve got Real Shit going on in my life right now, and I’ve worked so much I can afford to take some time off.

And Dragon Age was there to welcome me, arms open wide, with Escapism 4.0, AKA The Veilguard. I spent hours crafting theories, making connections, playing Inquisition again, playing DA2 again, writing, actually writing Fics again. I read the comics, read TN, watched Awakening (twice).

I joined tumblr to stop being a lurker and actually participate. Joined Caitie and Kala’s patreons, just loving the hype and the theory crafting and the love for Veilguard. I love the Dragon Age world. It has helped me through so many tough times in my life, and its going to get me through this one, too.

I found community online. In tumblr, in reddit, in discord.

And I breathed Dragon Age for almost 2 months before Halloween. Solas this and Lavellan that and Fade and Magic and Titans and Gods and Love. Remember this, don’t forget about that, did you hear this theory, well what about the connection between…

To quote myself, Like most people on tumblr, I went into Veilguard for Solavellan. The companions came out, and I didn’t feel super strongly about any of them. I didn’t even feel strongly about my Rook. I had a general idea, especially because of Trick’s IGN interview, Rook/Mirror/Solas, but nothing really concrete.

And then Nadas-Dirthalen asked me about my Rook a few days before Halloween, and I had to think about it. I had to put down Solas and Lavellan, I had to put down my theories, put down the lore, and pick up this new thing. This Rook.

And I looked at it.

What did I want her to act like? What did I want her to look like? How did I want her to be? What drives her? Where is she from? What are her goals? What does she like? What does she hate?

And I weaved a new friend. Danivas (Dani, for short). Escaped rabbit slave out of Minrathous, her magic the only thing that saved her from hard labor in Dock Town or the mines, and then it was the only thing that saved her from the unwanted advances of the Tevinter Nobility. Rescued by the Dragons in her teens, she sought connection to her elvhen heritage with the Veil Jumpers, falling hard (platonically) for her mentor, her sister, Bellara. Everything she hated about herself, Bellara loved, and Bellara was flighty enough to need protecting, especially after Cyrian, so that’s what she became. Bellara’s protector. Arlathan’s protector. Protector of the small, and defender of the powerless. She will never apologize for saving Varric and the others at the cost of some stupid magic map, she would pay that price a hundred times over to save living beings.

And I made her in CC, I walked her through the streets of Minrathous, through Solas’ ritual, through Arlathan forest. My heart sang when I saw Harding again, and knew that Rook and Harding would be best friends. And I began to fall for the characters.

My Veil Jumper sister Bellara, poised but wickedly intelligent Neve, violent and troubled Lucanis, steadfast and resolved Davrin with playful Assan, towering yet growing Taash, and mystifying, immortalizing Emmerich, with his weird but I guess acceptable Manfred.

I helped Harding, Paragon of her time, discover her new mystifying magic, to find peace through pain, just as Bellara had done for Dani.

I learned all their stories. Their loves. How to interact with them, what they liked and didn’t like. And I fell, for Assan. That fucking griffon. Is so cute. How can you not love him? He’s just like Dani. Forced through circumstance to fight terrible evil, not necessarily against their nature, but certainly not what they would prefer to be doing. They are powerful and special and fierce and playful.

And, like any child, rebellious.

Dani helped Davrin through parenthood. He was a soldier, a commander, not a father, or a teacher, and though she was brash and sarcastic, she had been Bellara’s protector, she knew honey over vinegar, and pushed him to be gentler with Assan. Watched them grow together and felt such unhinged joy through their path to tulum. And then she looked up from digging her fingers into the feathers in Assan’s neck one day to see Davrin staring down at her, and thought, oh.

Her heart stuttered. And they flitted about each other for a long time. Teasing and testing, flirting and ribbing.

As she walked the steps of the Cobbled Swan to meet Morrigan, she told herself she would bring Davrin to Arlathan again, without Assan, and without any gingerwort tea. Just the two of them, and she would tell him what he meant to her.

But the Gods had different plans.  

And they had to move, NOW.

Davrin, the Grey Warden constantly surrounded by death and destruction, tried to warn me.

What if one of us doesn’t come back?

I actually let myself imagine the future.

Our future.

With our half-bird, half-cat kid.

And Dani, who had never had much hope for anything before, brought her hand to Davrins face with a soft smile, and soothed her Griffon Daddy, Var Lath Vir Suledin, Davrin.

When we win, when we beat this thing, we will come back here, and I will show you how much I love you.

Every Solas fresco I uncovered, I cried. Every memory, every revenant, even the ones I saw coming. I felt so much emotion for Solas, even as my love for Rooks Companions grew. Dani’s love for Davrin grew, in a very real, fast, surprising way.

But the Gods Eclipsed the Sun, and we had to move, NOW.

Of course I chose the Grey Warden to lead the charge against the Antaam. I needed Taash and Harding with me, and he was better suited to the roll. Harding is a scout, not a commander, and Davrin would have Lucanis for any sneaky mischief he would need, with Emmerich for any quick heals.

Imagine my relief when we met up again. I made a choice and he didn’t die, thank you, BioWare.

No, Neve, Bellara is better suited to deal with old Elvhen Magic.

And then Elgar’nan took her from me. Dani’s sister. Her home.

And she blasted through darkspawn and Blight to get to Elgar’nan, to get to Bellara.

But they had to get through Ghilan’nain first.

Fuck you Ghilan’nain if you think I’m fighting alone, my strength is my team, and I will move Fade and Titan to get to them. And Dani frees them, only to have Lucanis foiled, again. How do we get out of this? What do we do?

Upside down, she watches Davrin scale a crumbling tower, and their eyes meet.

No.

Whatever it takes.

Davrin, No.

His voice is deep and commanding, resolute and resolved.

“Assan!”

And Dani’s scream tangles with Assans as her son smashes into Ghillan’nain’s back.

The Blighted Goddess stumbles, and Lucanis and Dani fall to the ground, but Ghilan’nain’s blight is lightening, and when Dani looks up at Davrin two tentacles have speared him, his eyes wide and unseeing into the dark sky.

She screams again, Ghilan’nain forgotten, and as she watches Assan dive to the aid of his fallen partner, Dani is knocked back by a concussive blue blast; the Crow has fulfilled his contract.

The air is charged, the veil tearing here, Emmerich is yelling something at her, she must remove the dagger or this world will be torn asunder.

And then there’s overpowering, pressured silence. Grey and fog and stone and loneliness surround her, and all she can see or hear is Solas.

You were never ready to make the sacrifices that leadership requires.

Davrin. Assan. Bellara. My family. Is GONE. Because of ME.

Well, shit, kid. Haven’t you learned anything from this place? I made the choice, even knowing the risks. My decision, my sacrifice, and you don’t get to take that from me.

And Emmerich and Lucanis pull her from her prison of regret, and she knows she can’t blame herself, that would be taking away Davrin and Bellara’s agency, but you know who she can blame?

Solas.

The man my Lavellan loves. The man I swore to save. The one I started this game for. The one who made me feral for Dragon Age.

He did this to me.

Solas took away my love. By not being able to face his regrets.

And Dani became Hardened.

“Are you certain you’re alright, Rook?”

“We’ve still got work to do. I can collapse when this is over.”

“You needn’t carry this burden on your own. The rest of us will send word to our allies. You must take care of yourself in the meantime. We’ll speak again soon.”

But she was fine. She would be fine. Had to be fine. They had a job to do. Gods to kill. People to save.

It was walking past Assan’s spot in the courtyard that broke her.

Mourn Davrin?

To the Void with that.

I will avenge him.

I will kill the Elf who started all of this, forget Mythal, forget Lavellan, forget the Blight.

Mirror.

Solas cannot blame himself, that would be taking away the agency of his friends, but you know what he can blame?

The Veil.

I will end the curse that started all of this, forget Mythal, forget Lavellan, forget the Blight.

Mirror.

I will defend the small.

Mirror.

I will free the enslaved.

Mirror. 

You were never ready to make the sacrifices that leadership requires.

Mirror.

Its easier to play the villain, because that means you didn’t fail, all the damage you’ve done, all the people you’ve hurt…

Mirror.

It becomes a choice.

Mirror.

Remind yourself who you really are.

Mirror.

But will you listen?

Mirror.

Rook lays on the cold cobblestone, eyes wide, fist white-knuckled around the lyrium dagger, a battered and bruised Solas standing behind her. Her anger got her through her battle with Elgar’nan, but it will not help her here.

Rook will have to live with the choices she made. The successes and the failures. She can’t blame Solas. It's easier to blame Solas. But that’s exactly what Solas did, place blame where it did not belong, and it destroyed the world.

And her anger and hate and grief and despair swallow and consume itself into the tiniest, smallest fleck of a wisp.

Of hope.

She rose slowly, meeting Solas’ gaze, and places the dagger in his outstretched, bloody hand.

I don’t want to see any more pain on top of what Elgar’nan has done.

(Hope)

Your prison is made of regrets, and you are trapped in yours.

(I’ll not be trapped in mine)

Destroying everything won’t erase your mistakes.

(Killing Solas won’t bring Davrin and Assan back)

You have the chance, right now, to save the world. Bind yourself to the veil and stop it from failing.

And it takes the Mother, the Maiden, and the Mirror, for Solas to accept his past.

As Lavellan walked the din’an shiral after Solas, Rook walked it for Davrin.

As Varric released Dani from her regret, Mythal released Solas from his.

As Solas turns to the Eluvian, the Magic Mirror named Rook, he is forced to see his faults, and how to fix them.

His corrupted purpose is repairable. And he passes his torch to the Mirror, vowing to seek atonement for the sins of his past, sins grown and amplified because he refused to face the truth of them.

And that will probably hit everyone, because I’d wager good coin that if you’re playing video games, or reading fantasy, you’ve used escapism before, but it hits especially hard for me. Right now. At this point in my life. When my own personal veil I’ve constructed to hold back my own evils is crumbling around me because I have not faced the truth of my own past sins, my memories as demons grown and amplified and slipping through cracks because I refused them for so long. My choice.

And when Solas and Ellana walked into the sunset, I cried. And cried. And cried. Because this whole time I thought I was my Inquisitor, bare your blade and raise it high, look to the sky, for one day soon, the dawn will come, var lath vir suledin. Bellanaris. Perseverance, endurance, outlive, outlast, that is what you need.

When in reality I am my Rook. Let go of your regret. You don’t need to hold on to this, you need to let it go.

We all have to face our regrets. Accept them, and then let them go. Running from them only makes them worse.   

And I leave with the lyrics of the Veilguard Credits song, “Roll The Credits,” by Danielle Ponder:

I could feel it, I won't come down I could see it, oh, with all eyes Hold my head and saw the whole sky I never felt so damn alive And if there's smoke, then I'll be water If there's fire, I'll be rain

We were lost, but we weren't stranded We were dreamers on the run I gave my all, it was commanding And we just did this shit for fun I could feel it, I won't come down Found myself above the sky Tell my mama, tell my daddy That love is falling from the sky

Good God Almighty, I done opened my mind These holy waters left a chill down my spine

[phantastus]

Headcannon scenario of Silent Hill protags with a s/o who likes to annoy em plz? Not bc it's out of maliciousness but it's rather mildly amusing according to s/o

Oop, sorry it took me a bit to answer this, anon!

-TRAVIS: He's a guy who under good circumstances likes having someone he can joke around with, so although he takes awhile to trust other peoples' intentions, he'd be all about having a partner who's playful. He can even put on the tough-guy "all right c'mere you little shit" scowl and chase 'em if that's what they're hoping for. Only hard rule is NO annoying him while driving-- he takes road safety very seriously!

-HARRY: I see him as someone who comes off as very serious, to the point that he almost seems like a square, but as soon as he's in a good mood the sense of humor comes out. The seriousness might make him look like an easy target to annoy, but you must remember: he raised Heather Mason. He has a straight face made of steel and underneath it, something even more terrifying: the capability to be so much more annoying than you. He will put up with prodding until it almost stops being fun and then he will turn around and deliver a dad joke so targeted that you get vaporized on the spot.

-JAMES: It depends a lot on where he is in the timeline, but he probably wouldn't like it lmao. He has a hard time reading social cues and, especially post-SH2, is both withdrawn, easily-irritated, and wary of others' intentions. So he'd spend a lot of time sitting there baffled and annoyed, wondering what the hell your problem is. THAT SAID, I think that at his core underneath all the baggage and misery, a happy and trusting James is a James that enjoys being gently and affectionately bothered. Prior to her illness, I think Mary brought out his sense of humor and they regularly annoyed one another on purpose. The trust is key though-- if he doesn't realize someone's trying to be affectionate, he just assumes they're being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.

-HEATHER: Short answer: Heather is the s/o who is being annoying. Less-short answer: If Heather likes you, she goofs on you. That's just how she is. This is true whether you're a grouch or a fellow goof. In a scenario where Heather's got a partner with similar gremlin vibes to her own, they become completely imparsable to all those around them because they're just constantly doing weird shit to each other. If you needle her, she'll needle right back, and it will only escalate.

-HENRY: He doesn't do a lot of verbal banter, and like James, he takes a long time to really open up. In his case, he's shy and skittish and probably too worried about accidentally crossing a line to do much bothering in return. However, once he knows it's okay to "fight back", his unique brand of silent Henry retaliation kicks in. It will be quiet in the house and then you'll hear the first three notes of a song you hate play on his phone from somewhere in another room. This is your life now.

-ALEX: Alex is a big brother. He puts his s/o in a headlock and noogies them until they say uncle.

[3gremlins]

feel like im having a DA2 experience again where I really liked it and was in my little "this is good" cocoon where i played it many times only to emerge from underground and find everyone else hated it (i mean ive found the other da2 cicadas since but at the time it got really slammed). i've been really enjoying DA:TV so far ( lol tho obvs have notes) here's an early thoughts review, may be a bit spoilery, def rambley, trying to stay vague on stuff still (i think i'm about half way maybe? im trying to not look things up and doing it blind on my first run through. it's hard to tell b/c i went hard on all the side quests and am now way over level for the msq)

the combat system is a little jarring at first and i still miss at least being able to switch to and play as party members if your character dies (instead of the god of war style of full wipe), but i've gotten used to it (it's more annoying for boss fights, regular combat it's very zippy and fun). the targeting at least on controller is kind of annoying sometimes- i'll think i'm pointing at one enemy only to have rook turn and fire at nothing or companions to hit an add instead of a boss. I wish we at least had more control over how it queued who it was hitting. some of the arenas are obnoxious design wise - there's bosses that teleport to you and they give you like a tiny little box to dodge around, not the most fun. i do like that you can punch way above of your weight class sometimes which reminds me of DAO a little bit (like how you'd just wander into a fight or hit a gong and be like oh no, those enemies have skulls over their heads, oh well YOLO). sometimes it doesn't work out but when it does it's very satisfying. It's nice to be able to conquer something mechanically even underleveled (smol fromsoft vibes) Having always been a big fan of the strange composition parties (i.e not just war/rogue/mage), i like that this is now even more viable (and not just me being cheeky "we're having a leather party!" of all squishy rogues). but like the main thing about bioware games is the companions/interpersonal shit and i'm enjoying the heck out of that .i only do main quests to get more side quests from companions (or more side quests in general so we can troll around for more banter). i like petting griffons (and cats and dogs) and playing games with manfred*. I wish the gift system was more interesting like DAO or DA2- i was so excited to see it again and then it was a little disappointing to have them barely react when you get them stuff.

my current fave party are rook and the poison boys (emmerich and lucanis) since they're a rogue too and we just stack necrosis, bleeds and other elemental effects on things till they disintegrate. i like the lighthouse, it feels much cozier than skyhold. I love that you can just wander up to companions having convos and awkwardly eavesdrop. I do miss the little interactions/quests you could get with cole esp*** i think the animations are a little lack lustery? Idk there's something with the face model morphs that sometimes feels weird but the voice acting is strong enough that I don't notice too much. i do miss some of the more bioware-y cheeky things like item descriptions or weird notes near random silly environmental tableaus (there's a little but i just want to read all the notes! there's some in the grey warden areas where i was just like WAIT I HAVE QUESTIONS but there was no plaque about them T.T). where are the stacks of cheese (i do appreciate the fereldens love cheese jokes tho and harding getting so excited when someone says something nice about ferelden) i was esp bummed that there were no random things to read in the black emporium and it's all codex entries instead (that's my favorite tiny bit in DA2 where there's junk you can click on and xenon says weird shit to you). i also wish more had been done with accents of npcs- like i wish all the antivans had similar accents or your crow rook had an antivan accent, stuff like that (having a lot of "ferelden" generic british accents everywhere is disappointing. takes you out of the immersion a lot) My biggest gripe is probably the pacing - I wish it had more horror/mystery pacing like dao and da2 had- the reason we're all scarred by the brood mother is b/c the build up to that was so so creepy (also the necromancer bit w/hawke's mum in DA2). They gave us time to be unnerved or afraid and I do feel the evanuris reveals have been a little rushed so you can't really feel that worried about them (some of the side quests get close to this but still not quite there**). I wish they'd let them breathe a bit more instead of rushing from one giant world changing event to the next. Some of the reveals have been not so great- like lore that the fandom has poured over for 15ish years explained in one line?? i wish there'd been more build up of rook as a character too, maybe even a time skip from a prologue to finding solas kind of thing. the first trailer made it seem like that's what was going to happen but then it in media res'd us in a strange way. the first 10 hours of the game are probably the weakest imho, it took it a bit to get rolling and feel more natural. I appreciate that the first major decision doesn't really let you scum save for it (bit of a jump scare for me lol).

I also don't really need this much varric anymore, i kinda wish we had a different narrator if we have to have one. He feels really awkward to just have there and not doing anything(and not just kill off or have something happen to him? he got stabbed by the dagger and harding only touched it is what i'm saying). at least let him get better pjs and slippers or something Idk it does feel like bits of previous iterations they were working on are still there and they don't completely serve the plot well. And ofc there's the decisions not meaningfully carrying over thing- which is a huge bummer. But in reality they've never been good at that- the characters from previous games we see in new games don't really carry through their plots/arcs that much (it's more like cameos or they're a new person now) and the world states are usually effectively the same just with aesthetic faction swaps. I was sort of hoping we'd get some solavellan SOMETHING but it doesn't look like we will get much at all past the stuff in minrathous. i feel like if they were going to only include the one choice it really should have had more impact on the story. (i am also still a clown and want to talk to solas constantly still even tho he has no reason to talk to my rook at all, i do not care, i love a sad woof. i wish we could just casually visit him in the fade. i wish we could switch to lavellan and visit him in the fade, idk something. need more gareth david-lloyd pls) the interpersonal character decisions have been the only ones that mattered much and then only within the constrains of their own games- the bigger world changing stuff is usually the illusion of choice. It would have been nice if they let us have one protagonist carry through but i can also see why they liked changing it up and felt stuck in that format. tl;dr: i'm really like it for what it is but it's def got flaws. Parts of it feel super polished while other bits do not- i think knowing how game dev works that they had to make decisions on what was going to get prioritized and some of it works while others not so much. I wish the pacing was better for sure but i love the characters/companions which is generally what bioware is best at. sad it won't get meaningful dlc, i don't really care about mass effect 5 tbqh. So far I like it better than inquisition for the most part- it feels like a bigger/more polished DA2 in a lot of ways if that makes any sense (with similar budget/pacing issues, but the environments are more fun). as i mentioned in my other post, i really appreciated the trans/non binary inclusion into the story/cc tho. like that can't be discounted, even if the rest of the game has issues. (all the holes in the narrative make me want to do fan art and fan fiction tho so idk, maybe that's an okay thing. maybe dragon age is best at inspiring us to sandbox around in it)

*side note, i am surprised at how much i like emmerich like holy shit what a lovely soft nerd of a man! going to have to play through a few times and romance him and also bellara for sure (romancing lucanis this time round) i find myself shipping my companions with each other more than i normally do too. I just want them to be happy! I wish they'd let us have polyamory, like i could see little polycules in this squad so easily. i need to give bellara hugs and lucanis head pats. taash deserves head pats too, but my rook will need a ladder.

**i am going to cry if they do with the griffons what i think they're doing with the griffons. like straight up, feeling like it was a cursed wish to have them now T.T *** do we think the caretaker is cole? the character design makes me wonder (like the hat/silhouette is very cole like but maybe not. maybe i just want it to be cole lol) there's def characters i want to see show up that aren't going to and then bioware is like "what about this fan favorite??" and i'm like "eh".

[edwinisms]

love seeing that the tag is trending. as if it means anything

[invisiblegarters]

(Absolutely not) Micro BL and GL Reviews

I spent the last couple of weeks being ill in bed with very little energy. Not great, but also it meant that my limited ability to get up and move around much gave me endless time to catch up on a bunch of shows that I'd let fall by the wayside (or never even started in the first place), and now I have thoughts to share!

Joy? Joy! Welcome to yet another set of my talks about shows that is supposed to be small but never actually is.

Completed

Wandee Goodday: This wound up being way sweeter than I expected from the promo material, but I'm not complaining. I genuinely love shows where most of the people are just trying to get alone while being decent, and that was certainly the vibe here. I was happy with the sex positivity and the introduction of Kao being ace, although I will admit that I felt like it was a little too "let me educate you" about that bit at certain points. That said, it's a topic that maybe needs that kind of thing in this context? I also really really loved that Dr. Dee and Yak got it together and spent a bunch of episodes just being adorable and dealing with struggles that had nothing to do with their relationship. It's so refreshing to see adults being in an adult relationship and actually acting like it. There were several times when the show could have just manufactured drama for drama's sake and chose not to and I really respect and love that. It was also fun to see Title appear in a role that wasn't to cause problems. And Char and Yei were fucking adorable my god. 8/10

We Are: Way better than I expected, if I'm honest. It got a little draggy for me at the end, but Pond and Phuwin always give solid chemistry and I finally got to see what everyone likes so much about Winny and Satang paired together. I never watched MSP and I never will because it's just a little too young for me, but Toey and Q were fucking cute so I get it now, guys. I especially adored Toey - Satang plays endearing brat very well. I also really liked Tan and Fang - their teasing dynamic worked for me. Also Boom is so pretty my goodness. I do think that it was trying to juggle too many couples but as I already said it dragged a little for me at the end so I think they could have done it with better pacing. It seems to me that New has a thing for dramas driven by internal conflicts, and that was We Are all over. The plot advanced as the characters did, which I can understand might be frustrating but I find that if I'm in the right mood I eat it right up. Especially ones like this, with mostly sweet people just living their lives and trying to do right by themselves and each other. Cute, earnest, a really good friend group. It probably won't be something that I revisit much or that sticks in my mind for a long time, but I had a good time. Giving it a 7/10, mostly for the pacing stuff I already mentioned. It kinda lost me towards the end.

My Marvelous Dream is You: idolfactory's second GL and I think I wanted to like it more than I wound up liking it. The chemistry was good and I love the cast (even if I think my girl Silvy was way underutilized), but the plot was a little...not great. I'm still not entirely sure what it was going for, or why the shared dreams were important. I really liked Ae (Kim's mom). And Wan was my favorite. Girl was messy and brash but my kind of messy and brash if I'm honest, and I cheered aloud when she went off on Mawin's family. They were awful. Awful, too, was Mawin in the end. I get being hurt but I always get a little (a lot) irritated when people mess with someone's livelihood out of pettiness, so him fucking with Kim's business because she broke up with him (and yes, in a really shitty way but also lbr here he knew she wasn't into him in some ways he did that to himself) was never gonna do anything but piss me off. It does amuse me that Heng has now played 2 dudes in idolfactory GLs who very nearly marry one of our heroines when she really really doesn't want him and he's very aware, though. I find myself wondering if he's gonna go for the third in The Loyal Pin (I hope he does). 7/10

Love Sea: I loved this one. I knew I would. The premise had me from moment one, lol. And frankly, Fort and Peat deliver on chemistry so it was kind of a no brainer for me. I knew that Trongrak was gonna wind up being really messy the second love came into the picture, and I was absolutely right. I love how he was perfectly fine with Mahasamut holding him and defending him against his shitty dad and following him around and getting all jealous when he implies he's going out to fuck other people (and whether or not he'd have done it is up for debate - I think he would have forced himself to try and failed miserably because that's my favorite lol) and take care of his niece like family, etc...but the second the word "love" actually makes its way out of the dude's mouth he can't handle it. My only quibbles were Prin - why was she so awful for no reason, MAME? The dad - he was not an effective villain to me. I wish that he'd been a little more menacing but I guess it works that he just let Tongrak think that he'd done a lot of things that he hadn't, and I do like that he was basically squeezing money out of both Tongrak and his mom just by showing up on occasion and assuming that they wouldn't talk to each other (which they weren't, both trying too hard to protect their family from his sliminess). I also like that it was finding that out that made both of them snap out of it. And last but not least - what the FUCK, MAME. How dare you give me that lesbian side couple and make it SO COMPELLING and actually get me invested than then not actually offer a resolution because oops, we're on episode 10 now and it's time for the love issue between Tongrak and Mahasamut to rear its head? How very very DARE you. Genuinely this made me the angriest and dropped my personal enjoyment a lot. I haven't seen the special yet so maybe that gets addressed (it SHOULD I was INVESTED), but while I would probably have given it a 9 (I really liked it a lot okay) I am dropping it to a 8/10 for that. Tempted to drop it to a 7 because I am petty.

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans: Another one I really liked! The chemistry between Sailub and Pon is absolutely scorching and while I have noticed that actors are getting a lot better about it in general, I always take notice when they are so entirely comfortable with not just the steamier scenes but the emotionally intimate ones as well. I love when I am watching a show and I can believe that the characters want each other and like each other, and not like a part of them isn't flinching at the very idea of it (unless that's the character, but just go with me when I say that there's just a very specific vibe you get when one (or both) of the actors isn't comfortable and I think it actually happens more with the sweet, couply stuff than it does the steamy stuff. But I digress). Chemistry like that can help me forgive quite a bit.

I liked how obnoxious Wan was in the beginning - I did not expect that and it was annoying but also kind of delightful. He grew on me despite my initial annoyance. Oab was a little different - he annoyed me right out of the gate by not calling Kao Suay and telling her about her dad. I get the respect thing, I do, but also what if he died and she was abroad, none the wiser? How would everyone have felt then? Keeping it from her was NUTS, and I don't even care that Kluer called her and told her for nefarious reasons. Someone had to. Oab's wishy washiness with her when she came back annoyed me too - a personal failing of mine has always been that I don't have time for that kind of waffling. I just wanted him to make a choice and stick with it (and was doubly annoyed as it became clearer and clearer what his choice was and he still couldn't just say it). Thank goodness he had Nubnueng there to gently prod him into finally doing the thing.

I wish Kluer's turn to villainy had been more evil, but I guess that wouldn't have made sense for this show, since no one really was, not even Enemy No. 1 Methas. Speaking of which, I wanted to like him and JJ more than I did in the end. I did like them, but I guess I just wanted more development there than I got in the end. They were cute though JJ was hands down my favorite character. I understood Methas so much. I also really enjoyed his relationship with Wan.

One thing that I thought was utterly hilarious was Oab's pettiness. As a petty person myself I can't help but find opening a new restaurant to steal all of your ex's customers because he wouldn't just apologize for, you know, deceiving you for most of your relationship and initially planning to sell your restaurant to the one man in the world you emphatically never wanted to own it absolutely hilarious. No notes Oab you keep rocking on. 8/10

Currently Watching

The Loyal Pin: Everything in this show is so damn pretty it's hard for me to think about much else. Especially Freen, and it seems like all the show wants to do is remind us of her beauty at every moment. Which, well. I am not complaining the woman makes my breath catch.

But this week I finally started paying a bit of attention to something more than oooh pretty, and I am genuinely wondering if this show isn't going to be all pretty dresses and gorgeous women falling in love and carving mangoes and if maybe there aren't some extremely serious things swimming in the waters.

Watching Anin wield her power this week hit me way way harder than all the ways that she'd been doing it before, and in a way that made me think a lot harder about how she'd done it before as well. I think it's because usually she sticks to manipulation to get what she wants - she's charming, she smiles, she talks people around - but last ep she dropped all pretense a couple of times, and we watched it cut more than once. Anin is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and she has the means to get it, she is spoiled and she will do whatever it takes. Other people have talked about it better, but I will say I am absolutely fascinated, and am genuinely curious to see if this is going to be addressed or if it's just the way it is. I also want to see if there's something that will butt up against Anin's frankly terrifying amount of power. Something she can't either manipulate or brute force her way through (although in the end I bet she manages to do one or the other anyway).

Also, kisses. Teach Pin more things Anin! She's a good student.

The Trainee: This show was not really on my radar at all, and I'm genuinely not sure why I decided to pick it up. Maybe because I was finishing up another GMMTV show and it was next in the youtube queue?

Whatever the reason, I'm so glad I did because I fucking LOVE this show. it's my favorite thing airing right now and that I never would have expected or believed.

It really is so good though. I think for me it's that it feels realistic - maybe in a way that can be uncomfortable for some but I love it. No one here is perfect, it's not just the mentors constantly schooling the kids because even though they are older, they are still growing too, and still have things to learn. Especially when it comes to Jane, who is my favorite character in the show I think and is hands down the best Off character I have personally seen. I am so iffy with Off normally that my adoration for Jane is confusing me, but he's so good. He's an adult and he handles most of his problems like an adult (which frankly I think is sometimes missing from these shows), but still has moments where he fumbles because he's still human. And I like that when he does fumble, he apologizes. I'm also really in to the whole deal that happens in the workplace where people think he's a certain way and judge him for it, but he's really just...dedicated. Strict, yes, but not entirely uncompromising. I dunno he's just a great character.

I also really like how this feels like an ensemble show with the romance not at the forefront. I don't always want that but this is so well done that I'm happy for it. I like that we have gotten to showcase each intern, their struggles and their achievements and just...growing up and learning to handle that scary point in life where you're really starting to enter the adult sphere, with all it's responsibilities, but still not ones that are entirely on your shoulders. If you do things the more traditional way, that is - I know a lot of us were in that world well before college. Still, it does resonate with me.

I am also enjoying the insight we're getting into the background of production. Such as how much work and effort goes into even the smallest change in filming even something that seems as simple and straightforward as an ad. Imagine how hard it would be to reshoot scenes from something like a TV show, especially considering the stuff like location, OT, cast and crew...I had already guessed a lot of it, but it's always nice to be proven correct. I like being right, what can I say? And the Ryan's awkwardly trying to draw people out without directly asking them how they are After Work Corner is very charming. I like that it gives insight into the business but also Ryan, who I do sometimes feel is the weakest of the interns. Which is insane because he's played by Gun Atthaphan, but there you go. I did like that he was brave enough to ask Jane about his feelings last ep, and I'm looking forward to seeing him more in his element (or at least what he's used to) next ep.

I really hope this show continues to impress.

1000 Stars - This is a rewatch for me as I roped a friend into watching for the first time. I warm up to this one more each time I watch it. The first time I was annoyed with Phupha's everything but I feel like I get him more and more as I go on. I also love a show that has heart (heh, this show has heart ror sure (and this is why we can't take me anywhere)) and this has a ton of it. It also amuses me whenever Phupha and Tian start doing their intense staring thing and there are other people around. I bet they're all just like "welp there they go again we've lost them, best go about our business" and leave them to it.

I also always forget Khaotung is in this one. Every time I watch I'm like "oh yeah" when he shows up. It's so funny to me.

Looking Forward To:

Peaceful Property (28 Aug) - Is it BL? Is it bromance? Who knows. Do I care? I...don't think so. Whatever the romance situation it looks like a ton of fun, and I am excited to see Tay back in glasses and to see this cast, especially doing comedy.

Kidnap (06 Sep) - This one also looks like fun. I love Ohm, Leng looks like he's doing a good job matching him, they seem to have good chemistry from the trailer. And pettily I'd watch this anyway because some of the shenanigans of certain fans have made me that annoyed. Good for me that it looks like something I'll like regardless, I guess.

Pluto (???) - GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME. It has been 84 years I am DYING here. If it doesn't get released this year I might actually cry, but I am hoping that it will.

There are others I am looking forward to (honorable mentions if you will): My Golden Blood, The Heart Killers, ReVamp (still a stupid title), Friendshit Forever, Hide & Sis, Us - but all of these are either not filming yet or so early into their schedule that I'm not letting myself get too excited for them. And for The Heart Killers especially I don't want this to be an Only Friends situation where I got really hyped and then was inevitably kind of disappointed (at first - I shook it off and came back around eventually lol). I just wanna go in there and have a good time - I'm excited to see that entire cast do a romcom, I think it'll be fun, and that's about all I want to expect out of it. I'll get excited when we get an air date.

Also thinking of picking up 4Minutes since it's on Gaga now, apparently. And maybe trying to find My Stand In since it's over and I can inhale those deliciously toxic fumes all in one (or two) sitting(s). And maybe, just maybe, poke around for BL and GLs outside Thailand, lol. I feel like it's been all Thailand all year for me when I used to watch JBLs and KBLs too.

Any recs?

[redlettermediathings]

[crispycreambacon]

🎉 I FINISHED FRAGGLE ROCK SEASON 1 EVERYONE LET'S GO LET'S GO 🎉

What a fantastic season all around!! I'm so happy that I got recommended this show by my lovely friend Gem 'cause it was such a delight and a perfect treat to give myself after graduating high school :D

Where do I even begin with this show? Let's get the obvious out of the way: everything regarding the art direction and the puppetry was stunning from the character designs to the colour direction to the sets they built. They built such an immersive, creative world and blended vibrant and naturalistic colours so well.

Shout out to the voice actors! Every very single one of them gave it their all and brought their own character to life. Not to mention how they double as their puppeteers. I really do believe that puppeteers are magicians since they made the puppets so expressive with their acting even though they don't really change their faces.

Howevet, the heart of it all is the story, especially the character writing. The Fraggle Five—love the nickname btw—are all so charming with their unique personalities that compliment each other so well, so no matter who's the star of the episode or who's paired with who, you're in for a ride of well-thought out character development and fun banter. Each of them bring something new to the table like Gobo's levelheadedness, Mokey's gentleness, Red's boldness, Boober's neuroticism and Wembley's... wembling :P (I'm jesting, but I can't resist that ehe)

I adore how the power of friendship is such a dominant theme as presented by how much they care for each other. I love even more that sometimes, they suck! They can be quite mean to each other at times, and while they don't mean to be malicious, they still hurt each other, and they have to remedy that. It's very realistic to how friend groups actually work, and it enhances the sweetness of the times where they do support each other. Moreover, it's a really good lesson for kids to learn. In general, Fraggle Rock has great ideas and delivers them very well, so not only kids but also older audiences will greatly benefit from watching this show and taking in its themes.

Overall, I cannot wait to see what the rest of this show has to offer, and I'm so happy to have hopped on the ride. My only problem with it is that I got a fCKUING CRUSH ON UNCLE TRAVELING MATT WHAT THE F. FRAGGLE-

[sparkly-caroline]

Okay, so basically, I've been revisiting the older FNF mods (from around 2020-2021), for nostalgia's sake. So I started rewatching the FNF HD mod. I knew it was 90% a reskin mod, so I did not have my expectations TOO high.

But for the most part, I don't dislike it as much as other people do, the artstyle's neat and it was one of the first few mods that tried to give FNF a story. Even if it's not as cool as it used to be back then, it was fine for its time.

But I do have ONE pet peeve with it. The part I remember disliking the most, even back in 2021:

Pico. Yeah, I'm gonna be real, I did not like Pico in FNF HD. They just made him into the biggest dickhead imaginable in that mod.

I know Pico from FNF or even the Pico's School series isn't exactly a saint, I know that, but bruh, in FNF HD the guy was just insuferable.

So it's true that GF's dad hired Pico to kill BF, that part is accurate.

But in vanilla FNF, Pico CHOSE to spare BF due to their past relationship. In HD, nah he's cool killing BF, he's just "playing with his food" before he does.

My dude, you have the gun, you want to kill BF, he's right there infront of you, why are you wasting your time doing this?? (Even if GF can just shoo him away with her demon powers anyway)

Oh wait, he just does that anyway. He said "imma spare you if I jam to the beat". Nah, that was all one big lie.

Screw you too.

And then there's the memey screenshot that's been flodding Twitter recently:

No notes, 10 outta 10 /j

And then Pico loses again and GF sends him to the Shadow Realm. GGs, my boi, GGs.

That's about the only big peeve I have with the mod right now, the rest of it is fine... mostly. I mean, the dialogue is mostly some really sus stuff, a ton of innuendos, and then the Mommy Mearest week. That entire week was, uh... a little TOO much for me.

(rip the monetization of the let's play youtubers who uploaded videos when Week 4 HD came out lol).

And I like the new remixes of the songs for the most part. And as far as 2021 mods go, it didn't age THAT badly. I've been an FNF fan (ugh cringe) since Week 5 came out, I've seen WAY worse mods than HD.

But yeah... fuck Pico HD, don't like that guy. They did my fav character dirty... and that is the post. Follow for more ramblings/opinions of random stuff I find online, and hope y'all were as freaked out by this portrait as I was when I first saw it, peace-

[kittymewmyu]

Feeling intense urge to watch The Brave Little Toaster again,…

Hyperfixation returning….

[spinaroos-47]

Honestly, I think that Moonstone Island having very little fan content is mostly because of the biggest weak point of the game: The social aspect and the story are very surface level

That's not to say that the characters aren't lovable, they are, they really are, but theres not a lot to work with. Yes, you can find out more about them through dates, but kinda sucks that its exclusive to that kind of interaction + in my case it feels bad, as Ive been dating Paolo and i feel bad doing that while dating them.

Sure, the dates could be read as platonic but theres a lot of implications of them having romantic undertones in a lot of them.

Point is, theres not a lot of stuff, especially if you dont go on 4 dates in all 4 places with everyone to know everything (which also would mean youd need to break up with them to be able to date someone else and get their home dates, but THEN the character you broke up with just will not talk to you again, which i really don't want to do). Honestly, the only other ways to really know stuff is obviously talking to them (which, yes is good but their dialogue isnt infinite and i keep stumbling on repeats. I dont mind some repetition but in general they dont have a lot lot to say) or by the letters you get.

Theres a big lack in change of the status quo, too. I dont need them to have a full 180 on routine and such, but nothing really changes. Theres no cutscenes, no character development, no change besides everyone getting a spirit, which they aren't really mentioned again after you give them their spirit.

I really didn't want to bring up stardew in comparison but i do think that stardew does the social aspect really nicely. The characters have cutscenes, stuff changes, you can get stuff in the mail randomly, they dont feel static. So its something i really wish was in Moonstone Island, especially with how smaller the cast is, and the theme of it being a small small town, a village even, which in theory would make it easier to give some attention to everyone.

And for the story, its not as much of a glaring issue and im fine with the main story of spending a year away and such is left vague, that one is fine. But i wish there was more about why the spirits are being hostile, why the dungeons are like this now, why and how the rift happened, how did Waldo lose his sense of self, etc.

I know that theres stuff there, but its kinda delivered as if we already knew about it, so its not too in depth or waiting much to explain, and kinda easy to miss, i genuinely missed bits of lore due to half paying attention due to the issue of repeating dialogue happening a lot.

So, yeah, a really good game but its lacking a lot on the social aspect.

[mindvice]

Now that I’ve had a good chance to listen through the album multiple times, here are my thoughts, in a random messy order similar to the album itself 🙃

Overall it’s okay. It’s not a horrible album but it’s definitely one of my least favorites.

Half of the songs could be cut. A lot of the good songs could be even better with some more polishing. In a way it feels like a first draft?

It’s hard to get past this being a Matty album. I’m not a fan of his and I really don’t get why she seems more into him than the guy she was with for 6 years.

Speaking of Joe, I hope this album isn’t the first time he’s hearing about Taylor’s Matty fantasies. Guilty as sin? Yeah, maybe. Emotional cheating is still cheating.

That said, the masturbation song is really catchy

If I were Matty, I’d be a little weirded out by how obsessed Taylor is with him. But maybe that’s something he’s into. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get together again at some point.

She’s kind of saying she’d leave Travis for Matty if given the chance huh 🤔 Wonder if Travis has really listened to the full album and what he thinks of it.

Post Malone is so underutilized in Fortnight. I was hoping for something more like exile/coney island

Most of the songs I like are from The Anthology, probably because of Aaron Dessner

I feel like if Joe is going to only get a few songs, they better be amazing. So Long, London lacks the emotion I wanted.

Clara Bow is decent but feels so out of place. It reminds me of Olivia Rodrigo (as well as imgonnagetyouback obviously)

My top 3 (for now): I Hate It Here, I Look In People’s Windows, imgonnagetyouback

But if you had asked me earlier I really liked these too: Down Bad, Guilty As Sin?, The Black Dog

I hate the emphasis on Joe’s mental health. Looking back on her older songs, it seems like it was always an issue for her

Is it possible Joe didn’t want to marry Taylor partly because he knew she loved Matty? I don’t want to ruin the previous albums for myself but pretty sure there have been more songs about him than I realized

I wish I didn’t know so much of the Taylor lore. I think casual fans who know nothing about her personal life might enjoy the album more.

The Kim K song was unnecessary

The Alchemy and So High School are so cringe. But even though I don’t like Travis, I prefer him to Matty

I’ve been called out in But Daddy I Love Him. I didn’t sign that petition or anything but yeah I have no regrets about disapproving of someone who’s made racist and misogynistic comments.

I know a lot of people are comparing this album to Midnights. I haven’t been able to decide which one I prefer yet

I do agree that this is one of Taylor’s most honest and vulnerable albums.

“Lights, camera, bitch smile” is going to be my new affirmation

As parasocial as it is, I really do hope Taylor finds whatever she’s looking for, which I guess now seems to be marriage and children. But I think she has too much baggage from these past relationships that only time and therapy can fix

This photo is STUNNING. Why wasn’t this the album cover? Why don’t the other photos and the music match this aesthetic more?

Also here’s what I’d pick for the album (tracklist in this order):

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

Guilty As Sin?

But Daddy I Love Him

Down Bad

loml

The Black Dog

I Look In People’s Windows

I Hate It Here

The Albatross

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

imgonnagetyouback

Peter

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

The Prophecy

How Did It End?

Also I love the chorus of Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me. As a big MCU/Scarlet Witch fan it instantly made me think of this part of WandaVision:

[fumifooms]

Thinking about Mithrun angst unfailingly gets me like

[cachamata]

Kinda curious: who's your fav yan? personally btw. Pls don't feel pressured to answer this! u can ignore it if u want to 🤗 hope u have a good day oreeve!

Oho? Hello, there. I see you on my pixiv as well 👀. Thanks for dropping by here, too :).

To answer your question, the yandere characters that i draw -or had drawn- are usually the ones i like. I've stated in my pinned post back then that i only draw characters or things i like the most, after all. And i'm gonna be honest with you; i could never finish things i'm not interested in :'). Seriously. Not that i hate those who i didn't draw, no. It's just, i can't bring myself to 'feel' if i draw something i don't have strong feelings about.

But, if we're talking about yandere characters that i really like -very personally. Like, very, very personally-, i choose these five yan:

Alexander Danzel from Project infatuation by aspenglen (Original Char is by maskcover, by the way).

Klein from Klein V.0.1 by himeiro.

Ciel from Yandere Love: CoF/Apple for Teacher by ataraxicgames/A.K Fagan.

Double from Binary Star Hero by Concrete Parasite. and,

Unknown Caller from, well, Unknown by bondagebunny. (Let's just call the char like that here).

You might be frowning and questioning my sanity the moment you see three very-morally-deprived yandere there, i know xD. Especially since i put Ciel, Alex, and well, the Unknown Caller in my top 5 fav yandere.

But i specifically and primarily like those five because they have one thing in common: They have a certain Cryptic vibes that draw me in -bruh, what on earth i'm talking about-. Ciel and 'The Unknwon Caller' are even more so. And also, i'm always weak for 'a walking contradictive' kind of a character.

Let's talk about it one by one why i like them five personally, my pal :). -I actually have 10, but that would be too long to read-.

First, Klein;

He's soft, but he could get out of that zone and did that murderous thing if MC acted in the way he… didn't like or couldn't predicted (?). So cute, but so, so dangerous; i like it. A lot. I actually didn't expect it when i got that scary jumpscare and horror revelation. And when he hurt Yael that bad? And killed Sera? I'm shook. My cutie is so unexpected, like, what on earth.

I like how the developer manage to pull the horror element so smoothly and make Klein so scary. And the thing i like the most about Klein is even though he's a soft cutie, he's so confident -'of course, he's a bot', said you. But that's not my point here xD-. My second point liking Klein so much is because i have this weakness when it comes to machine engineering and yandere theme. A Bot who can be obsessed over you and could be that scary? Klein win my heart at the first sight. I mean, look at him. So adorable and could flip into something so dangerous real quick.

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Second, Alex;

He's stoic and so calm. When i first played Project Infatuation, i was actually interested in Kaito - because he's smart. I have a thing for smart character too xD. But, like Saki and Lala said, "We're weak with stoic type, MC", Alex manage to caught my whole interest from the first half of gameplay until the end. He may seem the type who wouldn't hurt MC at all -since Ryo and Kaito have the look for it, gyahaha-, but he was the one who could. Stabbing MC? Check. Hitting MC's head against a cabinet? My wig fell off, friend.

Actually, Jin is more dangerous than Alex, but i personally don't like yandere characters who could be very easily manipulated.

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Third, Ciel;

Pal, don't get me started on this one. In my whole visual-novel-gaming phase, especially when playing Yandere-themed games, the yandere usually try to catch MC's interest; by being kind, nice, polite, easy-going - overall approachable and a good shoulder for MC to lean on. But Ciel built different. This guy is obsessed with the MC but also always say things it is the way it is to MC. He's honest from hair to toe and never sugar-coat things even with the MC - no matter how brutal or hurtful it is.

And all i can say is this: If you're looking for a Yandere who could be a potential sugar papa -haha, what-, definitely would bully you 24/7 with cutting-tongue, smart to boot, a bit Tsun-Tsun, and if you're also weak for enemies-to-lovers trope -though this is in a very wrong context with him-, Ciel is your man. I actually have played his chapters and the other side stories, so… i would say Ciel is actually, indeed, a little bit Tsundere with MC. Just a little bit, which means no blushing and more of like, dodging things. I personally like him because he's a walking contradictive; a yandere who bullied you instead of trying to make you feel welcomed or wanted since the start? I love it.

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Fourth, Double;

Similar to Ciel but more doting and… crazier. I like it when my darling yan is a criminal too -bro, my moral plunged too deep into valhalla at this point-.

Double also has this resilient and persistent personality that i like a lot. And i love a yan who knows what they want, how they want, and when to get it; Double has those traits coupled with his ability to use whatever resource available up his sleeve. Efficient yan and straight-to-the-point, it win me over smoothly -chef's kiss-.

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And last, 'The Unknown Caller';

The thing i like about this guy is he doesn't hesitate to be rough, but, when MC is accidentally injured, he would switch to panic mode. Kinda funny to watch, but i feel pity for him :'). But what really win me over is his dynamic with mc. Half of the game filled with, like, their strange but comedic dynamic. And this scene in particular is my favorite:

.

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And thanks for the ask! :). Sorry for the rambling, though.