#lw meta

[waitmyturtles]

OMFG CHEEWIN IS IN THIS AS A PRESS CONFERENCE HOST OF A BL SERIES

I AM DYING

[softlyapocalytpic]

@persephotea are just thinking about the Girls(TM) this week and it’s both so much fun and allows Amy to have a character arc that doesn’t end in tragedy in an AU

But also just… hammers home why her story is a tragedy. There is no Lainey in Steelheart canon, no person who is stubbornly by her side for everything, and Butch gets there too late.

She’s already cracked. Already broken in a way he doesn’t know how- and doesn’t really should know how- to fix. And then it gets worse.

She doesn’t get a lot of gentle buffers, but with Lainey she does.

Sunshine will always be the heart of my soul, but the more I developed Amy the longer it hurt my heart she never really got to Get Healthy. To be her entirely own realized person.

But for the first time I’m actually starting to wonder, who is that person? What does is she like? What does true happiness look like for her?

[spaceorphan18]

Okay, something I noticed while doing the meta -- Penelope kept an entire issue of LW and a coin purse in her bosom. And, I mean, sure, those dresses have zero pockets and handbags didn't seem to be a thing, so where else was she going to keep it?

But now I want a scenario where she gets caught up in the moment with Colin and he inadvertently discovers the amount of stuff she keeps hidden there.

[witherby]

Hi! I have an idea was LW Au older or pre-teen meta-reader who is going through a superpower puberty. Since they have shadow power maybe they have sensitive hearing now and are getting used to it and their eyesight is better in the dark now? Also love your work!!

-📝

You're on the right track!!! I alluded to it briefly in Uncertain Home, but Flittermouse can see better in the dark!

I like to think they operate kind of the opposite of Superman — where he derives strength and energy from sunlight, you get the same effect from dark spaces. Fortunately, in Gotham, there is no shortage of that.

As they age, the area of effect will expand. At 4, you could manipulate shadows up to a hundred feet away. By the time you hit puberty, you'll be able to reach across most of the city. Flittermouse still won't adopt the Robin mantle, but if any of the family are in serious peril and need an extraction, you'll have the ability to suck them up and bring them home. Emergency-use only, though.

[maevelin]

Colin Bridgerton needs to suffer meta.

Wait...wait...hear me out first!

I am one of those fans that want to see Colin Bridgerton SUFFER for Penelope yes. BUT with good reason I promise.

Because aside from the book material here in the show Colin had a different path in some stories. He believed himself to be in love and got heartbroken because of it.

He actually needs to feel that burn, that suffering to realize what being truly in love actually means. To actually feel there is no comparison to the real thing. To feel that what he believed being in love meant was not actually real or comparable in any form or way with what he is capable of feeling...for Penelope. (Book reference: This was Penelope...and this was love.)

No one can blame him for seeing Penelope as a friend so far. I think that is understandable but he also is a man who has had privilege in all his life, he has traveled the world from his secure place and is oblivious when it comes to certain things. He is a great guy, loving, devoted, honorable, a flirt and whatnot, but in order to mature he needs to go through some serious introspection. He does need to find his purpose and I would like to see that too in this season (himself as -book spoiler- an aspiring writer too).

I also want him to feel the pain and the struggle that comes with the LW reveal for him to realize that when we speak about a love of the magnitude he feels for Penelope not even what he deems as betrayal can make him give her up. It just does not matter. He will defend her no matter what, he will love her no matter what.

Let me quote Doctor Who for you (yes again):

"You betrayed me. You betrayed my trust, you betrayed our friendship, you betrayed everything I ever stood for. You let me down!.... Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?”

THIS is what and who Colin Bridgerton is for Penelope but to get there he first has to realize it and for that he needs a shock. HE NEEDS THE DRAMA. He is a Bridgerton guys if he is not a messy drama queen who suffers then what is the point? lol... Colin needs to have that maelstrom of emotion. The whirlwind. The pain, the jealousy, the YEARNING, the realization. He needs to be brought down on his knees (I do not oppose to the literal thing btw lol) before he rises again. Stronger than ever. And on the ready to protect his WIFE.

There is just no other way. And I will sure enjoy this because this...is what falling in love is and this season is about romance and Mr. Colin Bridgerton is our MALE LEAD HERO and as SUCH I want him to earn his position which means: HE IS OUR BELOVED IDIOT! YES HE IS GONNA SUFFER. YES I WILL CHEER FOR IT. YES I WILL BE HAPPY FOR MY GIRL PENELOPE AS THIS HAPPENS. YES TO ALL!

IT IS TIME!

I waited long enough! Now bring me season 3!

[somedayillbepeterpan]

on today's rewatch: S3E7 [Joining of hands]

I haven't done a good job in putting out original content for the past few months and I blame my new job entirely 😂 It's so intense, it turns my brain into mush most days.

I'm 68% functional right now so if my ramblings don't make sense, I apologise.

Today, I am thinking of Colin's retreating back after he discovered the Pen was LW.

(Colouring this gif is so hard. It's so dark 😭 I wish I was better at this.)

I don't know why I'm locked in on Colin's back.

On him walking away.

On his coat billowing as it matches the force of his steps. I have a thing for people's footsteps or way of walking because I often think about how I walk and how it represents what I'm feeling at the moment. My many, many rewatches offered me the realisation that there isn't a lot of full body shots of Luke Newton for S1 and S2 nor are walking shots. If there are full body shots, he's with Nicola so your attention is split.

I read a meta somewhere that book!Colin canonically loves walking so much so that he would endure the rain to help clear his thoughts.

I always thought that this walk was more heartbroken than angry. He walked away because his heart was breaking into pieces. But I also think that he walked away because of his love for her.

I know that the last thing he says to Pen in this scene is that he will never forgive her but I also think that he was talking more to Lady Whistledown than to Pen because at this point, they are still separate in his mind.

Clearly, this walk is the hardest to understand and has been part of heated debates of what canonically would Colin really do (this being compared to the source material aka book!Colin). I don't want to broach that debate too much because I would've done the same as Colin (as someone who is an introverted demisexual empath who value the words that come out of my mouth and actions to take but often overthinks them). And these are mere ramblings of a Polin brainrotter.

Now, there are three significant full body walking shots of Colin in S3: Colin's entrance in E1 (the faux swagger), this retreating walk in the early part of E7 (the heartbreak), and the him trying to clear his thoughts in the latter part of the same episode (the drunk, angry yet pensive one).

This walk represents the war that Colin has fought so many times. When his emotions overtake him, he finds himself walking away. I say find because I don't think Colin was self-aware nor mature enough to understand why he walked away. It's why he traveled around, it's what happened to him with Marina, and what he almost did to Penelope. In my head, this very distinctly represents Colin's trauma about his dad's death. His emotions always get the better of him.

This is another thing that I appreciate about Colin and Penelope's relationship-- they helped each other grow. If Penelope didn't have the courage or honestly, the love, to confront Colin when he was about to walk away in the modiste scene, we wouldn't have known the root of Colin's emotional trauma. Of him feeling inadequate and abandoned/betrayed by the people he loves.

On a different side of this debate, this is what separates this relationship to all other relationships that Colin has in his life-- the depth of love and understanding that him and Pen have shared gave them the the power to get out of this situation much, much stronger.

(on a side note, writing this is making me so excited for s4 even though I want to tamper my expectations)

In conclusion, I didn't appreciate the words that came out of Colin's mouth. But on the other hand, I appreciated that he walked away and he didn't do what book!Colin did. While this scene was devastating to watch, I really really appreciate how Colin spent time understanding his emotions about the whole LW situation. I know we all wanted to tear his hair out by the end but love doesn't put a timeline on forgiveness. Nor does it paint a pretty picture.

But time does help in growing yourself better.

[beevean]

Hot Take: As much as people love to pretend the franchise started getting more tongue-in-cheek when the 2010's came and went, the franchise was always tongue-in-cheek.

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

I think people, in their quest to demonize the "Meta" era, lost track of the meaning of "meta".

Originally, it was meant to be a reference to the more substantial references to past games. The Meta era started with Sonic 4, whose very appeal was, in theory, "going back to the series' roots". Since then, nearly every game tried to go back to its roots (with the notable exception of LW, which wasn't even well received) in some way, mostly by referencing the Classics, with a sprinkle of Adventure in the case of Forces. The name referred to how much the games banked on the fans' nostalgia for the '90s! It has nothing to do with the writing itself, which was never meta in the first place unless you count like a couple of lines such as "Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows" and "We defeat Eggman like it's our job or something"! Which, conceptually, are no different than things like Sonic looking at the camera and asking if he fell on Chip in Unleashed.

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Colin and the brothel

So I've seen leaks or speculations circling around about season 3 episode 7, about how Colin would find out Penelope is Lady Whistledown. Specifically, how he would react to this reveal, apparently: they would have a big fight, and after that, he would go to a brothel in anger. The reaction to this possibilty, as far as I've seen, has ranged from at best, skeptical, and at worst, absolutely furious. Even as the leak also assured that Colin would not seal the deal with adultery, the mere implication that he would even consider it, as what I've seen, was either unimaginable or so beyond the pail that it was sufficient evidence to villify him.

For now, everything still remains speculations. If it turns out he would not go to the brothel after LW reveal, it's fine. Otherwise, if it turns out that he would go the brothel after a fruitless argument with Penelope...? ALSO FINE.

Like, is it cheap drama? Yes. Is it a valid response considering the situation? Also yes. Intrusive thoughts can be one hell of a drug. But aside from that, considering his circumstances, I would think it a pretty solid development for his character.

Let's get the meta reason out of the way: the writers need knock him off his pedestal, according to what they claimed, in order to get him and Penelope to the same (somewhat) level. So far he has been a perfect gentleman, perfectly accomodating, helpful, honest and emotionally honest with Penelope. Forgiving and compassionate. The same arguably cannot be said about her. Going to the brothels is Colin's Chekhov's gun of a crutch, a toxic, "empowering" coping mechanism for him the same way LW is for Penelope. The narrative frames his experience with the two sex workers in similar way with Pen writing a gossip column: temporary reprieves from emotional distress. Achievements that according to society they should be proud of. It would not be surprising to me that Colin would briefly retreat back behind this familiar shield after the Whistledown bomb drops on him. And what a bomb that would be.

And with his current state of mind, and the stage of their relationship, I'm not sure how else he could have reacted, beside dissociating the hell out of the situation for awhile. He could not break off their engagement, because (according to the leaks), their engagement or marriage was already public and could not be annulled or postponed without causing a huge scandal, and because he loves her, he does not want to do this. He could not tell his family, they would probably be very angry and for good reason. Because he loves Penelope and would not want to rob her of the joy of with his family at Bridgerton House, especially not after she told him how much it meant to her. Telling his family she's LW would be a pretty surefire way to end that refuge for good. He would be furious, and rightfully so. He would feel tricked. Manipulated. His opinions ignored. That his affections were taken for granted. He would feel like he trusted and confided in the wrong person. He would feel like the Marina story was repeating itself before him, made worse by the person who condemned her, the person who he thought was his best friend, who after listening to him asking her to trust him, didn't, and behind his back made decision about his future for him. Plus his own moral opinions against Whistledown's ethics and her subject matters, Colin has some pretty good, compounding reasons to be angry. That anger has to go somewhere. And there's not many places it could go.

So yeah, going to the brothel, to me, for Colin, in the moment, would feel like one of the few ways he has left to assert some sort of agency in his life. In a reductive, possibly destructive way, yes, and on surface level, strictly carnal, the two prostitutes heard him and respected his wishes. And at the moment of distress, that would feel like a lifeline. And if he can't go through with that, if he manages to rein himself in, it would speak volumns of his emotional maturity and how much he loves Penelope. That self-control of your worst impulses is also what Pen could learn from him and guess what, it helps them grow.

[edgelordhoard]

I'm back to yell at y'all to BUY MY STUFF!!!

Prices listed are my offer but I am willing to haggle. Know that I won't drop them super low and I have checked on other websites what the average price is for the items that I'm selling for their quality.

The base cost for the laptop I want is $1,182 with the specs I need, ports, and ofc the power adapter. I want to try aiming for $1,250 if possible in case prices go up, shipping, etc. and anything extra would ofc be appreciated. I will also accept donations but would prefer if you instead gave them to those in more need than me.

I'd also like to say that I wish I didn't have to do this during a time where people are suffering for their existance. If you have money to spare please send it to families in need or trusted organizations who can help them. If I reach my goal and get employed I will be donating whatever I can afford to the families in need and organizations that can help them. This doesn't just apply to Palestinians but anyone affected by any sort of genocide.

Current Goal Progress: $81.88/$1,250

This post will update regularly with new items and prices. If you find something you like send me a message with an offer and we'll discuss. I may add a bit more to the price for shipping depending on how much it is. You will have to pay first before I send it out.

If you're not happy with the item and want a refund message me and send it back. I'll return the money once I have the item back.

Oculus Rift S - $150

Full set including the headset, controllers, wire, and box. Condition is well used, poor even, but can be repaired. Still functions but is worn out so boot up is slow and can have issues at times.

Has duct tape residue cause the lil bit that holds the wire fell off. It's been cleaned off after I took these photos I just need to update them.

Recommended for tech geeks looking for VR parts or that can repair it, or those who aren't picky.

Do not buy if you're looking for a first time headset, just get a Meta Quest or Steam VR headset.

Wacom One - $100

Perfectly fine condition on the outside with the only issue being that the display doesn't work. Other than that, it functions perfectly fine.

Comes with tons of pen tips, two pens, the wire, etc. I recommend this if you're looking for a Wacom that isn't overpriced and if you're looking to not support the company but want one of their tablets.

Recommended for fellow artists needing a cheap tablet with all the fixins but doesn't need a display. I tried to get it fixed but they were charging almost the same price as when we bought it.

Xp-Pen Wireless Deco LW Black - $50

Theres actually nothing wrong with it. It's just old and I don't really use it anymore since I got my newest tablet.

It'll come with a carrying bag, pen, case for the pen and extra nibs, cleaning cloth, and even the manual.

Recommend for beginners needing a cheap starting tablet or those in need of a cheap replacement or backup, like myself when I got it.

Advice: If she starts losing calibration and recalibrating isn't working check to make sure the program/drivers are up to date. Still works like brand new even years later!

Pokemon Cards - Prices Vary

I have a massive collection and 90% of those are doubles. Need that ONE card to complete a set? Looking for something fancy for your binder? Wanting a couple of random cards to get into the TCG? Hit me up! I have so many cards I need to trade away or sell it's ridiculous.

More details on this post.

[yomeritoo2]

GUIA PARA NUEVOS EDTUMBLRS

Sw = starting weight (tu peso inicial)

Cw = current weight (tu peso actual)

Ugw = ultimate goal weight (tu meta de peso más extrema)

Gw = goal weight (pequeñas metas de peso, por ejemplo, gw1 50kg, gw2 45kg, ugw 40kg)

Lw = lowest weight (tu peso más bajo)

Hw = highest weight (tu peso más alto)

Binge = atracon

Fast = NF ("no Food", ninguna comida, Ayuno)

Liquid Fast / lq fast (es masomenos como el ayuno, pero se puede consumir calorías liquidas)

Omad (one meal a day) = alimentarse solo una vez al día y ayunar durante las demás horas del día.

Mono = comer solo un tipo de comida, por ejemplo: comer solo manzanas o lechuga durante un día o más.

(El mérito de esa publicación no es mío. Una chica brasileña la encontró en polonês y hizo la traducción para el portugués. Lo único que hice fue traducir del portugués al español. Infelizmente no pude etiquetar a la chava, pero eso no significa que no esté agradecida con ella. Obrigada, pelas informações, meu bem! 🦋)

Les dejo el enlace de la publicación original ⬇️

[polinated]

ok so i need to get stuff out of my chest regarding part 2. tldr; it's a frustrated but optimistic rant lol. hid it below in case you don't wanna read it, which is totally fine!

i know part 2 has left many people (including myself) a bit jaded, and understandably so! lol if you've been following me for the past few months you know how much i've been chronically obssessing over polin on here. they were the matter that made up my brain lol. were there stuff i didn't like and wish they'd done differently? a few things, yes, and the feeling fucking sucked. like, for one, if it were up to me i would drag out more the resolution part between colin and pen. give us a bit more to balance the angst and make that happy ending feel a bit more earned. because i felt empty after watching that. i thought, hmm, this isn't working for me.

but the thing is, if i really tried i can justify some of these choices textually, and honestly it's helped me understand some things better in retrospect, like when colin was so incessant about pen dropping LW, which bothered me at first. why tf would he circle back to not forgiving her when he already kinda did before the wedding? then i realized, because he still had issues with the idea of LW herself, and not penelope, and it's making it difficult for him to reconcile those two parts of her. also that entrapping statement he said to pen. that was fucking harsh, but i've come to think that angry people say stuff they don't mean just to hurt the person that has first hurt them. i just wished he said sorry for that statement at some point.

anyways, this isn't to say i'm kissing the show's boot or giving it a pass or whatever. i'm ready to say that the writing is not very good in parts. but i'm just seeing the story for what it is and making my way from there. i think certain expectations i've been subconsciously nursing also had something to do with it. i tried my best to limit speculations, but alas, i could not help it lmao. i just wanted the best for polin.

but yeah, i still wanna have fun about part 2. will still make gifs, shitposts, and the occasional meta if i feel like it. but also i won't hesitate to say negative stuff about it if it's begging to be said, and that's okay!

[nahualnextdoor]

BRAINROT TIME: NOTHING IS REAL

I'm drawing weird symbols at my walls and can't hold back the instincts of biting someone, so bear with me:

I was watching Vivat Veritas' Heat Death theory video, about how time and story progression work in each facet of Deltarune (our world, the light world/Hometown, and the dark worlds). And while it's definetively a good watch, it did have some points that didn't sit entirely right with me, but that did make me consinder some darker implications, so here we go.

Firstistly, a point made on the video that I think we can all agree on: "To those whithin Hometown, their world has always existed - well, as far back as anything can exist." Not only to them, but to the canon. I think we can all agree that booting up the Survey program is only canon regarding us connecting to the world of Hometown, but that the world of Hometown itself, it's history, and the memories of it's inhabitants, have canonically existed before. Despiete all the videogame self-awereness, Deltarune isn't as meta as to treat it's main world as just a game, right? It has to value our suspension of diesbelief and telling us that the world didn't exist and that all memories are fabricated until we installed the game would break the inmersion, right?

Well, here's the thing. The video makes a great point on connecting the way the lightners interact with the dark world, and the way we interact with the light world, and opens up the can of worms that is the story of the dark worlds; we know that the DW we have played in have only been recently created, but their residents remember things that would've happened before their fountain was even created, how? Vivat claims that, like the LW, they have always existed, and just aren't physically present for the lightners until the fountain is opened. In this way, opening a fountain is similar to us opening the Survey program.

Me personally, don't really agree with this take, specifically the "they have always existed" bit. I don't really have a good reason to be against it, it just doesn't really sit right with me, as I'm more of a "last thursday" person (it just makes more sense to me).

However, that doesn't mean I disagree with everything else presented in this section of the video; quite the contrary, I think we can apply it all to this scenario. My personal belief is that the darkners didn't exist until their personal fountain was opened, but that their memories and the history of their DW did exist, back when they were objects. I also think that Hometown has existed since forever, and us opening Deltarune just means us joining into the world, not creating it. And for the longest time I didn't thought anything about the logic not applying the same way to both worlds, but after watching this video, it got me curious: what if it did?

Vivat goes under the assumption that the DW functions the same way the LW does (the same way I described in the paragraph above), but what if it was the opposite? What if both the DW and the LW not exist until something was oppened?

As I explained, the dark world gets created created when the fountain is opened, bringing life darkners, who get their memories from their life as objects.

If we apply this logic to the light world too, then the world, Hometown itself, would get created when we opened the Survey program, bringing life to lightners, our main cast, along with everyone else. And all of their memories, all the entries in Noelle's blog, all the mentions of times before we connected, all of that, is the memories they had from their life as objects. But they weren't just any regular objects, they were objects in our world. They were drawings and dialogues and scripts and dreams that Toby and Co have had for years, and that they are bringing to life by creating the DELTARUNE, just like a lightner who brings life to objects by creating a fountain. (In universe I don't really know how this would translate to, giving that we're assuming Gaster created the Deltarune program. Is this just his fangame all along and we're beta testing it? More on that later).

This ties in to the interpretation of Determination as the means to create fiction; it fuels the lightners to create dark worlds, the same way it fuels humans to create stories and worlds.

And while it does break a bit the connection of disbelief created by having us roleplay as Gaster's lab mates who are participating on a live experiment with him, I think it may also enhance it. Think One Shot, for example; the game wants you to know at all times that Niko is a videogame character, that they exists on a world separe from yours, and yet, all it does is make your bond even stronger, as you willingly sispend your disbelief by playing along with Niko, treating them like a person, because that's the end goal of the game. I think something similar could happen here, once the veil is thrown away, we will be tasked with keeping our disbelief suspended, to keep the world alive, as, without us, it cannot keep going.

Now, what about the plot? OH BOY. The possibilities. I know I said that it's not very popular to think of Deltarune on this level of meta, but honestly? what if it did. Just think. About it. Noelle, our favorite gaster-coded-glitch-hunting-doomed-by-the-narrative girl, isn't she just begging to have her world view destroyed even more? I have little to no solid evidence (other than maybe thematic elemts), but I'm putting my money on her being the first (unless kris already knows) to find out her world didn't exist until we started playing (from her perspective, until we started controlling Kris). Like, she's probably the character with the most fleshed out backstory, we know way more about ther past than anyone else; her childhood, her old hoobies, specific anecdotes. Isn't it perfect for her to be the one to realise none of her memories have actually occured until yesterday? Again, she has existed before, as an idea, as many drawings, but her physical, real existence, didn't exist until DELTARUNE began.

Going borderline prediction/fanfic, I think she will find out whilst looking for Dess. And maybe that's the way to find her, who knows. What if this leads to her becoming mad like jevil? desperate like spamton? burdened like sans? apathetic like flowey? a secret option?

Going back to the in-universe stuff: I don't think anyone's going to realize they are the product of Toby Fox's dream; I think that's just the metatextual narrative we're going to see. I do think that in-universe, Gaster built whatever Deltarune is, and that's the thing that we are connecting to. But then again, would that imply that Gaster made this world? I don't really agree with that, and I know it's definetively not a popular belief in the fanbase.

So, shooting at the wall, what else could it be? Maybe the Deltarune we're playing is just a copy of the "original" deltarune world. Like, there's this parallel universe to Undertale that gaster found, and he wants to do experiments on it, but since there's only one, he created a device that could make copies of it, that he can mess around with as much as he wants. Maybe there's no saving and loading on the original deltarune, and so he made his version with it, and connected us to see if we can achieve... whatever he wants to achieve, without risking fucking it up on the real deal.

This version would have all of the stories that we know Hometown has, existing since forever, or as far back as things can exist, but with no dark worlds. This would be in-universe object lives that the lightners have lived and remember (and thus, the in-universe representation of Toby's dream). Gaster then creates the survey program, akin to creating a dark fountain, giving life to all the objects into the lightners, basically creating the Star Trek teleporter paradox, just with the original bodies untouched. So now, this clone univers(es) can be copied and destroyed and messed up as many times as it needs to be, and it won't matter, because the original timeline will be untouched.

So these new lightners are created, and they have all their memories, but they and their world haven't existed until a few seconds ago, similar to the darkners and their worlds.

Here's is where the mysteryous chapter 0 could come in. Maybe to reach the true ending or something similar, we would have to rebell against the machine, against gaster (or maybe with his permission bc that's what he wants? idk), we go into the original timeline. Again, no solid evidence here, only fanction vibes: maybe we'll get only one ending, but we'll have to choose between doing it on the timeline we've played with so far, or doing it on the original timeline, making us decide to suspend or not our disbelief.

Aaaand I think that's it! I spent like thirty to forty minutes just walking around my room and sending voice messages to a friend reggarding my ramblings and trying to piece this train of thought into something cohesive. It really made me go insane.

Now, do I believe this? Eh, not really. Like I said, I just saw a theory video and went "what everything is correct but this one thing is the other way around, what would the implications of that scenario be?", but this isn't really my theory, or something I absolutely believe in. Either way it was really fun to think about it, and who knows, maybe I am right on one way or another.

[neoaya]

Hot take!!! (Nuclear tbh)

People are way too shitty to the LW devs, especially Yumeno Rote.

This guy is responsible for every single piece of non-story card character art in the game, that includes units, costumes, alts, expressions, Music Video CGs, etc. Seeing as a new unit is released per week, along with 2/4 event costumes and 2/3 rebirth costumes at the end of the month, this guy is at MINIMUM drawing 8 fully detailed illustrations and backgrounds per month, for three and a half years straight.

The only other gacha to my knowledge that has one artist doing all the character art like this is Limbus Company, which even then has a significantly longer period between new art being added to the game. (I'm aware there are likely a lot more, but most to my knowledge have multiple artists)

So when I see a post criticising Lost Word, what do you think is being criticised 90% of the time?

Is it:

The fact it's a gacha game

Genuine criticism of the game itself and its mechanics or story

Hell, even criticism of the questionable work practice of having one guy do all the game's art

If you guessed 4, "near insignificant nitpick of Rote's art, AUs shown, or a VA (in a game where you can pick from 3 for every character) because it doesn't fit within their headcanon in a game about multiple different universes" you'd be correct!

Don't get me wrong, I have seen the first two plenty of times, but they're always either fair critiques or people who just don't want anything to do with gacha games and don't care which is understandable.

But for 4? The sheer amount of hatred and seething vitriol people express for details most people wouldn't think twice about is insane to me. It never seems to come from a sincere place of disappointment but rather fear to fit in, like "Oh this relates to me, I better lay in to it as much as possible since everyone else shits on it, wouldn't want to give people the impression I'm weird for liking it after all". It just seems depressing to me that people feel the need to act miserable out of peer pressure and not wanting to stray from the popular opinion.

As someone's who played the game since launch at this point I feel more than qualified to tell you it's FAR from perfect, hell I wouldn't even call it all that good. Gameplay fluctuates from playing the game for you to forcing you to have a full understanding of the meta, grinding is a chore, drop rates are far too low, the nature of the game forcing normally evil aligned characters to act more reasonably, and I unironically think the lack of representation and downright bad writing for Aya until now is singlehandedly responsible for making her drop by one place 3 years in a row in the THVote popularity poll.

So why do I still play it after all this time? Because I genuinely just want to see what they do next. I like seeing what new takes on characters they come up with, I like seeing where the story goes, what the next event will be and I love Rote's art and all the other art contributed by the JP community, I even think the Hifuu and RoM section of the story is genuinely good. It's nice to have a constant and reliable stream of Touhou media to read through in-between the wait for actual new games.

Somehow I don't feel that guy in the middle would want to come on livestreams 3 and a half years after launch if he didn't find it fun, same goes for all the artists and doujin circles that have contributed their art and music, especially those with more than one card or song.

If you want anyone to blame, blame GoodSmile for publishing this game and making this the complete extent they're willing to promote it and Touhou as a whole. (Last new character from them was a Reisen nendo from six years ago btw!)

In conclusion, I think LW has objectively done more good for the series than harm. You can not understate the fact that this game is responsible for introducing Touhou to so many new people and giving the spotlight to characters that are otherwise overlooked. Inaccurate character portrayals are rarely an issue when the series embraces differentiating itself from the source material, that's the nature of doujin culture. That and it seems silly to try and gatekeep people who got into the series through Lost Word, telling them they're experincing it wrong only serves to turn them away and I don't blame newcomers when official touhou media is still hard to come across in the west and the three most popular games in the series still don't have a digital release.

As a tangent, I used to have a problem with how Aya was depicted in a lot of fan media, even from people here, but a friend taught me I shouldn't let those alternate interpretations ruin my enjoyment of her and that I shouldn't fault them for seeing her that way. I feel others should be able to learn from that.

(I definitely forgot some stuff but this is ranty enough as is, I just wanted to get it out of my system)

[lover-of-mine]

I'm sorry I'm just angry for you at that passive aggressive anon "are you alright". We actually are super fine especially when we now know how the other side is spiraling. Thank you GG LW. Even in that message they admit if he doesn't come back. But here's the thing we didn't start this. For weeks they abused the tags. I had to block so many people here. Anna hosts nice discussions. And really the Tommy stuff she allows in is just critical stuff and usually always centers around Buddie some times too. Critical of cameos and how his character never really had a redemption arc. There is no hate on petty things.

But PS... yeah we are pretty much over Tommy once he's gone. I think the answer is in the question. Also I'm so sorry you get hate mail. People are assholes behind a computer.

It's okay, I appreciate you guys for having my back more than you know. And like, I'm a nerd, dude, I like data and facts, you guys have no idea the amount of research that goes behind my metas because I like it and I want to make sure everything I'm saying is actually supported by the show, yk? And I'm not trying to hate on Tommy just to hate on him, you will catch me defending the guy if it comes to it, like the discussion I had on whether he was justified for walking out on Buck because Buck dragged him to the closet with him. I try my hardest to stay objective and not to add on hate just for the sake of hate. And it's funny because when I post something that makes sense, it's when they start coming at me, like the parallel sets between Tommy and the rest of Buck's love interests, that created some chaos. And I'm just... Stating a pattern that exists on the show. They were taking it poorly because they don't like the women Buck dates. I had these discussions about Taylor or Natalia or Marisol in the past. No one ever saw an issue with it because they agreed with me that they weren't here to stay. I don't know why my opinion matters so much for them, but, well, not much I can do about besides keep doing what I'm doing.

[nitew8]

just wanted to find pics of my lw and had an actual physical pain in my chest on realizing theyre mostly gone forever thanks to fuckass meta. and my stupid self not having backups after my old phone broke.

[waitmyturtles]

I actually literally cackled

Lovely Writer: STRONG START.