#no one can win everything in this situation

[lesmolghost]

Ok but it would be even more funny if the reveal was in a dire situation and tim is just like 🤷

Imagine that there's a universe ending threat that the JL encounters and everyone is losing their minds. The threat is so big not even all of JL's big guns can take care of it. Everyone is worried,

The JL, JLD, YJ, and the Batfam are in a meeting discussing how to deal with said threat. Some magic users are also in the meeting. Everyone has a worried face or a tired one.

Now they know that Tim is dating Phantom, but they don't know yet that Danny is the Ghost King.

Tim is not in the meeting because he was taking care of stuff and was...busy doing something as important, at least to him that is.

Everyone starts discussing plans on what to do at the threat; on what to do with this and that and all that stuff. Then John Constantine suggests that they need the help of someone powerful because they know what they have is not enough. Everyone agrees.

(now some things to assume in this. (1) The YJ knows tim is RR. (2) when danny gets summoned, everything near danny gets summoned. (3) Danny can only slowly transform in his Ghost King regalia. (4)Danny has to actively refuse a summoning or else he gets summoned, but doesn't work that way when he's unconscious.)

Batman: Okay Constantine, what do you suggest on making sure we win this war?

Constantine: Might wanna rope in someone with a bit of real clout. A god, maybe, if you're desperate or daft enough to owe one.

Batman: Who do you think we should get help from?

Constantine: It’s a bloody long shot, but we’re gonna have to call in the Ghost King.

Zatanna: Hold on, are we really thinking of summoning him? One misstep, one infraction… and Pariah Dark could wipe us off the mat in an instant.

Constantine: Heard there’s some new bloke on the throne. No clue if he’s any better than the last one. So which bloody deity do we haul out of the shadows that might actually stand a chance against this nightmare we’ve got breathing down our necks? Can't even sell my soul to that one.

*more YJ members look at tim. Tim is radiating an aura that says "shut up"*

Batman: We have no choice. Constantine, do it-

*Constantine proceeds to begin summoning the Ghost King after drawing a summoning circle and saying some incantations*

*proceeds to summon, Tim and Danny sitting on chairs, and a table full of food with candles, with Tim feeding danny with a spoon across the table, clearly both on a date*

Tim:

Danny:

Batman:

Batfam:

Everyone else:

Wally: I KNEW IT. BART YOU OWE ME 5 BUCKS

Bart: Damn

Danny: uh-

Tim: now why didn't you say you were being summoned

Danny: I WAS FEELING THE MOMENT OKAY? YOU WERE SO ROMANTIC I COULDN'T FEEL THE TUG OF SOMEONE SUMMONING ME

Constantine, losing his mind: YOU'RE DATING THE GHOST KING?! THE BLOODY GHOST KING?

Batman: *feels lightheaded, about to pass out*

Needless to say, the whole meeting stopped and went disarray because they just found out that Phantom is the ghost king, and tim is dating said ghost king.

So i came up with another dcxdp tim/danny prompt

The young justice and team Phantom meet. Maybe they ran into each other on their missions and became friends. They are both chaos, whether it be time travel or inter galatical space travel. No one outside of these to groups knows this.

The Justice League start to learn how unhinged the yj are. They start to hear about team Phantom. JL come to the conclusion team Phantom is like the jl dark to yj but hey have more connections see as who danny is.

Choas ensues. The batfam learn that tim is dating the leader of team Phantom. Tim rubs it in his siblings' faces that he not only pulled a king but an ancient where as far they know is a god of Gods. Team Phantom is not giving straight answers to anything. Danny is just loving how his obsessive dork is gloating.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to add.

[askoverkill]

OOC: Out of the characters in overkill, who's your favorite one to write? (Like, dialogue-wise).

// eghhh thats tough. i've written a LOT with these characters since i wrote Winning Hats (which is on hiatus cause of this, obvs) so i'm already used to writing everyone and i do enjoy them all in their own ways.

// siffrin... feels like the default voice. they're the eye we see this world through. since i've written so much loop POV, it just feels like i'm writing that again. everything is like... a natural conclusion, of what should happen.

// siffrin takes any situation and subconsciously thinks "how badly can i misinterpret this?" and then does that. siffrin cares so deeply for others, is forgetful, feels so much yet hides so much. here, he's a little more cut open emotionally, he can't hide like he wants to. he's already been through so much

// the director is real fun cause they're layered with intention and double meaning, either by puns or by context

// lupus is always a blast cause i love writing emotional brat characters with no filter.

// loop is emotionally rewarding, odile is... odile. she's more open than in canon to fill up the space isabeau left since hes so avoidant now.

// mirabelle... she hasn't had a lot of time to shine yet. its also a lil tough cause she's MOSTLY the same, just more bold because she's been blessed. hard to highlight that when she's more plot driven? hm. i'll have to think about this.

// and isabeau himself. hehe. i enjoy writing him a lot because hes such a warped version of himself here.

[prapaiwife]

Ssaeng vs fan

It's telling in this episode they showed us two different fans interactions with Kin! One with one fan just basically praising him for being such an amazing actor and even implying that he's going to win the best new actor award! This was just a simple wholesome interaction and most of all kin was happily conversing and comfortable with his fan. And then with the other interaction with the ssaeng it was just so uncomfortable. The way she spoke to him as if she chose her words carefully to literally see if she can get anything out of him any information. She didn't really care nor see that she put him in an uncomfortable situation and position. But kin being so nice he tried to keep the conversation light but she continually made it dark. Kin himself obviously being in the industry he's had both of these interactions on both hands. So he immediately felt the difference he had with the first fan in the store compared to when she came in. Cuz he was already getting these weird signs that something is very off with him hearing cameras flashing. And him also just remembering her face from the beginning that pretty much was ingrained in his mind! So the fact that he could sense from her energy that it was completely off says a lot.

But it also says a lot that they showed us those two different interactions so people can know what is acceptable and whaf isn't at all. Seeing your favorite person your idol in person and letting them know how much they have made such a positive influence in your life is great. There's no harm going up to them to simply just praise him for what they do for what they love. But to have this a very kind of demanding demeanor tourism with just completely turn them off completely from you. And you put them in an uncomfortable position say you love them but you talk to them as if you own them as if they are old to tell you every single part of their life their business. That is not normal and that is not acceptable there's not always going to be people like Kin who was very empathetic and very understanding. Like he was with her till the end to even chop the charges against her! he knew that everything she did was off the rails and not acceptable. But he also heard her out.. and her praying at her heart to him about how she just wanted that one-on-one moment the one that they're having right now. But the lengths that she took to get this moment the way she made her favorite person that she loves so much uncomfortable and traumatized because this behavior is traumatizing.

She recognized that in the last moment when she says that he's not looking at her the way that he would normally look at his fans. And they should click to her in a moment because this is not a normal fan interaction! But because she is his fan that's what sticks to Kin the most that's the only way he could honestly probably look at this. But then again I don't think it's him coddling her behavior. Is that that he had to basically stoop Domino for her to not feel so I guess you can say disconnected from him because he reaches out to her and touches her hand. But when you're handling people like that who are not in the right mind at all mentally you have to be careful.

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

Hey, I don't know if this is already on that ever growing list of cat shorts, or if you feel up to adding to it, but mabye a version of the chapter 54 multi- ford, but with Bill wins Stan and Ford instead?

I was interested in this one for a while because i was interested in how the fords would react to each other, but thought it would probably be similar to the original so didn't ask. But for some reason it kept bugging me.

The reason hit me suddenly earlier today. Sure, how the other ford's reacting to bill wins Ford compared to cat Ford might be interesting, that's not the most interesting part.

It's how Bill wins Ford would react to the situation that's much more interesting and probably different.

I mean, for one, I'm not sure Bill would even try to contact this world in 2012. Ford stabbed him, so many times. If I were Bill I'd pass on that one unless it's revenge related. But he might.

Either way, this is a Ford that probably still walks with a Lazer gun, has unicorn hair sewn into both his and Stan's and probably the kid's clothes now too.

No matter that he has no translator, and that it's probably obvious with just a bit of observation he hasent been through the portal. Even though there are feral and battle scarred fords in the same room.

You can't tell me he wouldn't see something even remotely related to Bill, much less a Bill warlock, and that he wouldn't be the only Ford there to immediately lose all cool and go for the throat.

I can add it on! He'd definitely an interesting Ford.

Although I think the best version of multi Ford with Bill wins ford would not have Stan there at all. If Stan's there he can keep Ford mostly level and stable, as he's his designated emotional support cat. Ford might get snappy and hovery, but mostly just very twitchy and suspicious with everyone. Any Ford who's first reaction to Bill is violence can be explained away as normal if more severe Ford Bill truama.

Bill wins ford who gets shoved into the multiverse with no Stan there to either keep him calm or at least explain the situation would immediate go off the deep end again. He's full on tackling people here, desperately screaming for Stan and looking for awnsers how he got into the multiverse and how to get back to his home dimension. The moment he's left to his own devices he's stripping the walls for parts and restarting his weapons manufacturing, as he keeps emergency unicorn hair on him at all times.

The bill cultists opens the door to give him a translator and Ford is already going for the jugular. Doesn't care about freeing the other Fords he's on a one man quest to kill everything Bill related and find his Stan. Because obviously his Stan must be around here somewhere! Otherwise he's back at home alone and away from ford where Ford can't protect him!

Which is exactly where Stan is.

Cue maniacal laughter as Ford loses it. Again. Only comes back for the other Fords because theyre him and they must know how to get back right? Right? And if they don't then what even is the point of them?

So look forward to Ford loses it part 2: the multiverse.

[silverofthunder]

☆ favor ☆

Copia & Papa V Perpetua

summary: the first meeting between Copia & Perpetua

content: 1k words, brotherly stuff, a lot of emotions i think?

i don't even know what this is. wanted to write something because i haven't written anything for a while. also i've been having a lot of Copia & Perpetua feelings so... yeah. enjoy! ♡

Copia barely registered the knock on the door but then the door was opened and he tore his gaze away from the computer screen.

It was him.

Papa V Perpetua.

Copia let out a sigh, a string of curses going through his mind as he stood up.

"Sorry, I thought..." Perpetua started, vaguely motioning to the door, a look of hesitance on his half-masked face.

"Just come in." The words came out a bit sharper than necessary but it didn't seem to bother Perpetua as he stepped inside and closed the door. He walked slowly closer to Copia's desk and Copia wasn't sure what else to do than stand behind it awkwardly.

This meeting was supposed to happen at some point but it still felt too soon. He wasn't ready.

Perpetua's gaze studied him, curious, and Copia shifted, squeezing the hem of his suit jacket between his fists, the leather of his gloves creaking.

"Nice to finally meet you."

Copia blinked, his mouth twitching. He didn’t know what to say so he just nodded instead and Perpertua seemed to be okay with that. He must have realized that Copia really wasn't prepared for the situation.

Copia watched as he moved, slowly, turning his gaze to take in the office. The bright light made Perpetua's mask glow and Copia was secretly glad he wasn't wearing the rhinestone one - that shit would have blinded him on the spot.

Perpetua stepped over the boxes but one somehow caught him and he tripped and before Copia knew, he was grabbing a hold of him to keep him from falling.

Perpetua let out a little laugh as he staightened himself up, and Copia flashed him a smile, though he wasn't sure if it came out more of a grimace.

"I've been meaning to move those but..." Copia sighed and Perpetua just brushed it off with a wave of a hand. He looked a bit embarrassed, though, lowering his gaze as he was standing securely again.

"So..." Copia said, wanting to start the conversation finally. "Tour is starting soon. How are you... feeling about it?"

Perpetua's eyes found him again, wide with surprise.

"A little nervous, I suppose," he answered. "Excited but also, uhm... like I shouldn't be doing it."

Oh.

Oh.

Copia couldn't deny that he was feeling the same but obviously he wasn't going to say it to Perpetua. He was still mourning the loss of the performing part, to be able to be on stage and give everything he had to the audience. It hurt to not be able to do it again. It hurt to be replaced by someone else, by his own twin, nonetheless.

"Ah, don't worry about it. You'll grow into the role eventually."

It might have been a weak attempt at encouragement but the way Perpetua's eyes lit up told Copia his words weren't a complete miss.

"Perhaps. I know I can never be like you, as great as you, but I'll do my best," Perpetua admitted and Copia felt a sting in his chest.

Damn.

Copia shifted, reaching out his hand and placing it on Perpetua's arm, giving it a slight squeeze. Perpetua's mouth opened and he looked like there was so much he wanted to say but not one word came out. Copia offered him a small smile.

"You don't have to be like me. People already love you from what I've read."

The look in Perpetua's eyes turned softer, almost shiny and a tiny bit in Copia's chest melted.

"Yet some still would rather have you on stage."

"You'll win them over, I'm sure of it," Copia said, not really knowing where all these words were coming from now.

"I don't know..." Perpetua said, his shoulders slugging, the self doubt seeming to get the better of him. Copia sighed, long and deep, knowing the feeling all too well.

He gave Perpetua's arm another squeeze, searching for the right words. Despite his mixed feelings about the man in front of him, he couldn't just ignore the request that lied behind the words.

"Eh, do you maybe need some guidance?"

Perpetua nodded slowly.

"If that's not too much to ask."

It wasn't, really. If Copia thought about it, helping Perpetua would at least give him a fraction of his old life back. Maybe not directly but to some extend anyway.

"Whatever you need," Copia said and the smile he got from Perpetua made his chest sting even more but also a slight ball of warmth blossomed there and it was something he couldn't just brush under the carpet.

"Thank you, brother," Perpetua said, putting more emphasis to the last word and Copia let out a slight, embarrassing noise.

"You know...?"

"Yes, I knew it before I came here."

"Oh..." was all Copia got out and earned a little laugh from Perpetua.

"All my life I've felt like something has been missing and now I know what it was. Who it was."

The words seemed to punch all the air out of Copia's lungs, all the emotions surging to the surface. A part of him wanted to punch a wall while another wanted to just wrap his arms around Perpetua. He did neither, instead standing frozen in place and staring at his brother, eyes burning from unshed tears.

Perpetua looked so genuine, almost child-like, with his soft smile and big, bright eyes, and if that hadn't melted Copia's heart, nothing probably would have. He used all his willpower not to hug Perpetua, patting then his arm before pulling away and turning to face his computer.

"Well, I guess we can continue later," he said, pointing at the screen. "I've got some work to do."

In truth he didn't have that much work, he just needed a moment to himself.

"Oh, of course," Perpetua said, making his way past the boxes on the floor, this time not tripping on any of them. He stopped by the door, hand on the handle.

"I'm looking forward your advice," he added and Copia just nodded, waving his hand. Then Perpetua opened the door and exited the office. As soon as the door closed, Copia sat on the couch and buried his face in his hands with a loud sigh.

The tears ran free soon after.

[threbe]

📏THE RULER MLB SEASON 6 REVIEW

we just keep on winning

Thank god we got new writers this season the way the past episodes have been done should have been getting in season 3-5 not know in season 6

So first I'm glad we finally get to see Nathaniel and Mark's families I didn't know Nathaniel was rich cuz like that is an amazing looking home like I think his mom is an architect not sure what his dad does he looks like he's a shady lawyer to be honest with you or maybe he works at some type of accounting or law firm he could be into art as well I'm not sure

I never paid much attention to Nathaniel I always thought the only thing he and I ever had in common is that we like to draw but I never knew I would end up seeing one of my own parents represented in this episode because my dad was exactly like Nathaniel's mom and never wanted me to draw or be in the anime cartoons and was always disapproving he was even like that towards other people's kids it was so rude and annoying which is why we probably still don't talk to this day 😂

I like Mark's parents it's so cute their relationship seem so wholesome and nice it's not just to actually see a decent family that doesn't seem like they have problems cuz even marinette's family even though she has both her parents and her grandparents seem to be getting along even though they're separated and I know nobody likes Mariners Grand dad and I don't either nothing will change my mind about him but at least he's in there in his life and then you got Adrian over there he doesn't have any real family he can depend on besides Natalie and even something shady's going on

I swear to God I would I wish I could like teleport into a show I would become a therapist because you could make top Bank living in this city considering everybody has issues especially family issues you become a family therapist you'll be rolling in dough you wanted the richest people in Paris even the world 😂

🔴

So later on in the episode we switch and we go to the school Marinette has a cold but doesn't want anyone to know again I don't know who these new writers are but thank God because we're not focusing on Marinette I'm be honest with you it's been five to six seasons I don't even know what marinette's favorite color is I'm just going to assume it's pink cuz she wears pink all the time with Adrian is probably green like I know these sound like the most trivial things like what's Adrian's favorite color or food but that is something you want to know about your favorite characters like their birthdays favorite food and hobbies I like that we see other characters mixed in with the classes with the characters we usually see I'm not sure why Zoe and Mark are there considering they're in a grade below everyone else but I remember my school actually did that where we had mixed grades being taught by different teachers cuz I remember when I was in school we had other grades mixed in with our grade

I keep forgetting that kagami goes to their school it's just so odd seeing her there cuz I never really thought about it I thought she went to another school like maybe a private boarding school that was like real strict and I'll probably all girls but looking at the situation she was probably

homeschooled like Adrian and I never thought that that's why I'm glad we're getting these new writers with these episodes because we're exploring more of the home life these characters had that we should have got seasons ago and building more on their characters I also think that us building up with their characters is going to show that even when everything goes down with ladybug and people learn she lied we're going to see that even though these characters depended on ladybug and trust in her it's not going to change their growth or make them think oh I shouldn't do this past because ladybug help me realize it these characters are going to continue down the path there on with or without ladybugs influence

I'm also glad that the kids in this show are supportive of each other in the class cuz in real life you know you would not have been able to get classmates to be this support of our cooperative with each other

I also like that Marinette and adrians aren't in the spotlight like I said or focusing on the other characters like we need Nathaniel struggling to wonder if he wants to do the comic a certain way without judgment from his mom or dad and that's understandable it's a lot of people who struggle with art and don't really like to show it with to people well I do that with my art I don't think I've shown any one of my family my art since I was probably in Middle School

I do like we seen Nathaniel sit there and think and add more to the story that made it even better actually hope that Zack actually would release this comment because it looks so interesting and the art in it is so beautiful

Later on the the next day Nathaniel shows Mark the comic but then he gets home that night and his mom found the comic and then acts well like a mom I kinda had something like this happen to me when I was in 5th grade so I get how pain this is

Mark and Nathaniel basically break up you know that's what this is basically alluding to it feels like a breakup because Nathaniel's parents don't want him writing certain things or writing with Mark

We also see the class attending to the gardens around the school so that's nice to see they have the kids helping out around the school with the gardening and stuff and not just leaving it to the staff

It's always fun to see the way Lila uses the butterfly miraculous she's usually in a ways Gabriel could never even imagine she's so much more creative and I know we're going to have like 14 season possibly a million more but the fact that we're dealing with Lila and she does things so uniquely and we never know when we're seeing her and when we aren't seeing her or possibly people even working for her it's just crazy and I can't wait till we get to the end of this season because it said that once we get to the end of the season and then go back and watch everything we'll just be so surprised at something that's happening with Lila that some type of hidden secret that's in each episode I can't wait

Later after Nathaniel's mom gets akumatized she has it where she uses her abilities on Mark so he and Nathaniel never talk again and it really pissed Nathaniel off

We see ladybug show up Nathaniel goes in transforms and we finally got his transformation which thank God after all these years we finally got it

Have to say I actually like he is the best but I have yet to see Mark's cuz I've always liked Mark's design out of all of the male characters next to maybe Lukas so I'm excited to see his whenever we get his episode or him being a part of the episode and we get to see his transformation I'm also kind of hyped to see julica's transformation because julica's transformation was basically lady noir's transformation and you cannot tell me otherwise they just made a few changes but the rest of that transformation was lady noirs she needs a more original one

Of course like usual Adrian shows up he gets like 2 minutes of screen time is cat noir and then he either has to go be the distraction or he's getting control I swear we have not seen cat noir do squat this season

I like that they've had it where instead of the akuma fights being like they usually are we actually see more of how the characters are powers are utilized I do miss the fusions of the miraculous cuz I would love to see what ladybug whose power is creation and the goat which can create any object it needs and how that would do combined

I'll be honest after ladybug made it seem like she went off of the school grounds and cat noir left I literally forgot about him for like 2 minutes till he came back up behind the bushes and knocked ladybug into the ruler and then she got

I like that these powers are actually smart that the characters get from Lila cuz having it where you could just control them and have them give the miraculous to whoever's akumatized is actually smart hell instead of having cat noir Chase ladybug she should have just took the ring right then it there she would at least have one of them miraculous but of course we're still in the earlier episodes of the season so that's not going to happen

I've always liked ladybugs Lucky charms I specially love the detail on this one with the red around the circles instead of the usual black it's kind of like when ladybug transforms into lady dragon where you have the gold around the spots instead of just being like just black polka dots you have the gold outlining them I also like this armor design as well

So in the end like usual the parent realizes they're wrong marking the thing you'll go up to his room after they get praised for how good their comic is then they sit on the bed and then

Love this page

They start talking and they revealed their identities to each other and it was just the most wholesome cutest thing and I don't care what type of reveal we get with ladybug and cat noir it's not going to top this for me cuz we've seen them get revealed so many times I think we've all just become numb to it and even if this show was ending and it was like the final minute of the show and there were literally saying it was the end and they revealed their identities to each other I don't think we were still believe it because we will look up in a special will come out or a new movie that's Canon and it would redcon the reveal so we just don't believe the reveal anymore thankfully we have this

This was a great episode I give it a 8/10

A lot of us originally thought this was going to be the episode with Miss bustier because again this is another episode we're not sure what episode order this is supposed to be because a lot of us thought the ruler was going to be about Ms bustier and it was going to be about her getting akumatized

because we believe that's the first episode and we noticed that the school even though it's still doing that kids learn what they want and everything is green stuff there are still some cars around Paris and we do see that there are teachers at the school and I believe the kids are still being graded because we've also seen it where the kids are getting homework so I'm thinking in the first episode when Miss bustier gets akumatized parents aren't happy and people are happy about the no car thing so maybe they switch to different type of cars or something and that could involve Tomo making cars for the City of Paris or something who knows

[kittenscookie]

A.U were Luke leaves camp for Kronos, blah blah, and ya know, camp doesn’t expect much to happen.

But, then camp half blood actually falls apart- almost literally.

Luke, camp mom Luke, keeping everything together, stopping fights between cabins, going with campers when there hurt, helping the financial situation of camp, comforting the campers, cuddling them through nights mares, even singing to them-

So when he leaves, everything just falls apart.

Camp mom Luke! where Percy and Annabeth drag him back to camp and begs him to fix everting

I'mma be honest—in my opinion Annabeth goes to beg him to come back Percy is like "Shits fucked dude, you do you man". Remember, Percy isn't stupid and in this he spends one summer at camp half blood before everything goes to shit he's basically walked in like this—

They aren't gonna get the same amount of loyalty out of him. Especially if like half the Camp Mom duties start falling onto him. He points out a flaw in the camps finances (Candy ring in Yancy and Smelly Gabe's bullshittery have most likely made him really good with money)? Treasury duties are handed to him. He comforts a few tiny child campers? All the tiny child campers flock to him like baby ducklings. His age and temperament mean he can't do everything Luke did by god they're gonna force as much as possible onto him.

Basically he's gonna assess the situation, look at Luke and go "Damn bitch, you did all this? I mean, fuck you for almost killing me but at the same time...shit dude, I get it..." Like one good hard kick in the balls and they're good.

So Kronos should win right? Wrong because fuck Kronos—right as he's about to celebrate his victory Luke strikes him with Zeus master bolt. I'm stealing from an AO3 writer—anything Luke steals he can reclaim/summon whenever he so pleases. GET DUNKED ON YOU GOLD EYED BITCH!

[worrywrite]

Nothing gold can stay.

This is a general principle I remember every time I find something nice. When a writer or an entertainer makes me laugh, I remember that one day, like in the next 5-8 years they won't be there to do that anymore. Maybe they'll die, but usually they'll just dry up and stop or their sponsor will abandon them.

And sometimes it's really easy to see. Very easy when it's a social media driven platform that relies of specific talent. When the talent leaves, for one reason or another, and they can't change the guard (so to speak) and bring in someone else just as good or better and keep the audience there they'll dry up. And I think that happened with Polygon.

Extended ramble/rant under the cut.

I think BDG Unravels and Monster Factory were their golden geese bringing in clicks. They got people to recognize Polygon when everything "shifted to video". But the clear warning sign was, imo, before those series had their talent leave for greener pastures, Polygon as a media company was trying to capitalize on the talent they had as much as possible by putting them in places where they weren't able to benefit from being the version of themselves that people liked. It's harsh to say, but I think putting any kind of actor in a "casual" situation to entertain viewers is a bad idea and a sign of creative stagnation and profit squeezing.

And if you aren't sure what this looks like based on my description, it's generally when a media company has a group of their actors (their "talent") sit around a table and play board games on camera. It might sound fun in theory, and it might be a good way to get sponsor money from the game maker, but it's honestly just... It's really dull entertainment. I'd sooner watch a poker championship on G4 or ESPN extra or whatever channel that's always on (is G4 even a thing anymore? I feel like it's not). The production of a show or series that allows an actor to be funny or interesting in a way that they are creating something is what catches an audience. The actor's real personality doesn't matter, so their approach to playing a board game or general tabletop game (excluding role playing games for obvious reasons) doesn't matter and it doesn't draw people in, because when you break I down it is just 3-6 people sitting at a table and making decisions based on elements decided either randomly or for them. They aren't creating, they're following rules.

And it becomes less interesting than a let's play of a video game as well, because it isn't about experiencing the game or exploring the game, it's about who gets to win the game. Even if the game isn't about winning. For example, when I plan Catan I know I'm not going to win (I'm very bad at Catan, I don't think I've literally ever won a round), so I play the interesting strategy and cause chaos to make it more fun for the other players; but that still isn't fun to watch because you know I won't win and you can generally see who will pretty easily, and the only real entertainment at the table are conversations we players are having--but those conversations are specifically really only entertaining to us. This is the inescapable truth about 99% of tabletop games: they're almost never fun to watch but they can be very fun to play. And if you can't even watch in the same room, so you can also be part of that conversation a little or back a specific player and tease everyone else, there's virtually no entertainment value. After the entertainment value is gone, the sales value is all that remains.

And some media companies actually understand this! There are some productions, like a few that do MtG cubes but focus on the banter at the table or some that play the same thing over and over again like Among Us or Town of Salem or whatever online party game of the week and really only focus on how the players interact with each other, that do this well and successfully. But the big companies almost never get this, and if they do get the same results they get there by accident and still don't understand why.

Another reason I used board game show as a death knell metric, is because I know of a few productions that tried it out and then shut it down pretty quick or very quickly adapted the show to be about the players instead of the games. I know GameGrumps has been through that before, I know CriticalRole has been there, and I know a few smaller productions that were basically extended friend groups have been there. And they all survived (as companies) by pivoting to player focused entertainment.

To bring it back to Polygon. Polygon was always a company first. They hired good talent for a long time, they had good writers. But they were always about the profit, and so they always focused on what they were selling. Sometimes, when they were successful, they were selling opinion and personality as entertainment. But just as often and ever more frequently, they were selling ad space.

As a forewarning, a while ago Dropout rolled a show out that is basically their "cast plays a few board games" show. And I haven't watched it, so I can't be sure what kind of version I this show it is, but the small price hike in subscription fee (which was rolled out perfectly, I have to admit) combined with the increasing cast size and the introduction of their board game show, isn't a good sign for where they're headed. By my metrics, they have 5 more years, max, before they close doors. And it will have been a good run regardless. And that's the important thing, I think. That's the "nothing gold can stay" aspect of it all. When it comes to entertainment, even if it's good and ends it was still good.

Jesus Christ. Polygon's done.

Plante is out as editor. Massive layoffs across the staff, including Nicole Carpenter, Petrana Radulovic, Michael McWhertor, maybe Charlie Hall...

Fucking hell. I wouldn't have even tried to start writing about games without that site. Goddamnit all.

[yangscowlick]

Innie Mark did everything but die for the guy that holds him hostage. What more do people want from him.

[justaz]

semi-dark king merlin au, someone from ealdor tells king cenred about merlin and he is captured and held as a slave in essetir. since merlin despises captivity and servitude, he’d rather be dead and free than alive and in chains so he acts out and pisses people (especially the king) off so they’ll think him too much trouble and kill him. at first they stick to beatings until merlin manages to get his chains around a few necks and now has a body count so they kill him…..only he wakes back up a few hours later and king cenred is Intrigued and keeps him close. merlin keeps acting out but no matter how many times they kill him, he won’t stay dead. merlin has this moment after waking up perfectly fine after his twenty seventh death where he is hopeless and believes there to be no escape, not even thru death. a few other sorcerers in chains come and help him clean up and give him a lil peptalk, realizing him to be emrys, and then they revolt and take over the kingdom and crown merlin as king and now uther is like “wtf” bc his neighboring kingdom who was kinda sorta on his wavelength about sorcery, though uther did not approve of keeping them alive, is now a kingdom ruled by magic. he goes to war with them but with magic running free and fucking emrys on the throne, they don’t make a lot of headway. anyways merthur meet on the battlefield, enemies to lovers, you get it

[dropofsoup]

If Dream was given the BIGGEST. LARGEST. benefit of a doubt of all time, then the truth is:

He isn’t careful with his words or actions.

He CANNOT fathom the consequences of his carelessness.

He can’t be bothered to consider the responsibility of his position before making decisions that inadvertently hurt other people because his fanbase is large, has negative actors, and speak on his behalf. DESPITE whatever he actually intended.

This leads to speculation from those outside of his fan base on his intention, insight to his unconscious motives and exposes his ignorance.

He is impulsive (in his words), prideful, and entitled. It prevents him from understanding the above points.

He is somewhat narrowminded and shortsighted when having to deal with said consequences.

It alludes him why certain topics need to be treated with the seriousness and severity it deserves.

It immensely upsets him that he cannot control his image to the wider public.

For some reason he cannot see that context doesn’t matter as much as the impact does. He focuses SO MUCH on explaining WHY something happened instead of acknowledging YES, it happened. He downplays those consequences in order to emphasize his “rationality”.

Perhaps creators should be taught how to handle an audience before being thrusted into having a sphere of influence.

As Tubbo said, being sexist/racist/etc is technically subjective. I do believe Dream isn’t purposefully racist, sexist, homophobic etc. That is my BOD for him. That’s what he believes for himself also. This is NOT, HOWEVER, how his words and actions come off. It can be interpreted as sexist, racist, transphobic, sinophobic etc to the wider audience. Not to mention the manipulative tactics and weaponized incompetence. He doesn’t realize this, which is why he’s so confused and trying so hard to control the perception of himself.

[imminent-danger-came]

I really do hate when people complain about a character trait/writing choice that isn't instantly gratifying (what they wanted) but contributed to the work's ideas and themes as a whole (what the writers wanted). Like idk get with the program man

[jojo-schmo]

I made myself a personal playlist with the fnaf songs I like (because wow I’ve missed out on like five years of bangers and need to catch up!!). I thought I would make myself a playlist cover with my precious Helpy bear to inspire even more joy from it!! He stole/borrowed DJ Music Man’s headphones. :3

[sylustra]

Sylus saying "...don't run" to MC when they're finally being openly honest about their desire for one another and their trust and shared spaces.

[katyspersonal]

Posting about it like 18 hours late after waking up, but I also had such a strange dream tonight?

In it two of my enemies that worked together against me in reality actually became enemies to one another, and for what reason they did..... One of them crafted some very intricate plan to trick me into thinking I'd get full help for my countless mental troubles, including financial, if I only signed certain papers I got, and the other one disrupted her plan by simply telling me to "trust no one" over a balcony of their.... "house"? Dreams that turn the online into "reality" make little sense but I feel like most people here have them sometimes so you get it probably?

Ironically, I trusted them, and seeing how I clearly was welcomed all of a sudden, went to their place wanting elaboration. (Their house looked exactly like if their blog became a house and it was hysterical) Turned out the other one's plan was to actually not only take all money meant to support my sorry existence away from me forever, but also keep me unemployable since legally I was "helped" or mad shit like that (basically slow, hungry death). And this person turned against their long term "ally" in MY favor because, I quote, "genocide of disabled people is not a joke" gfhtjgugjj We even continued talking a lot about world and people and all other things the other one tried, all while avoiding to as much as address our own grudge.

I really don't know why I'd have a dream like this, it felt so random? It doesn't feel like wishful thinking either. 😕 But it better not be a sign that I've misdiagnosed which one of those two became more malicious in the end, or so help me

[autisticlee]

sometimes people who struggle like to make jokes or find positives about their condition that causes them to struggle so they can escape the constant negative and struggle. sometimes autistic people will say things like "the 'tism" or use the "autism creature" or say their autism helped them have a *positive trait* to feel better about their struggles. because living your life only focusing on the struggles and negatives is depressing and makes it hard to want to live, even if those struggle take up 100% of your life and you can't actually escape them. sometimes any little seemingly positive thing can help a lot.

but there's so many other autistic people that hate when we do that and call it "reducing autism to a cute trendy thing" and say it takes away from *their* struggles and is bad and shouldn't be used. maybe *you* want to only focus on your struggles, but some people can't live in constant negative and need some positive or to find ways to make their condition more positive so they can feel better about living with their struggles. life is hard. I take anything I can get.

I cant get jobs. I can't make and keep friends. I can't get help and support for doing "normal" things so sometimes I go weeks without being able to shower and without eating more than a bowl of cereal a day. most times can't even do things I like. struggle to communicate. have meltdowns. i'll never be able to live independently. I struggle a lot. but instead of sitting here always depressed and having no motivation to live, i'd rather try to joke about "my 'tism is acting up again" when i'm struggling (just an example. don't think I ever actually used the 'tism thing but i saw others use it) or say "i'm just being a creature" when I need to stay in my dark room because everything is too much and I personally find it cute to be a little creature meant in a positive way. i'm not actually downplaying mine or anyone else's struggles. I still acknowledge them and that silly jokes dont make them go away. i'm not trying to be trendy. i'm not doing any of the things people say we do by making silly little jokes. i'm using the silly little jokes to convince myself life can be a little more than pointless, painful garbage all the time.

(continue in tags)