#or do I just say fuck it and ignore stats entirely?

[espithewarlock]

I don't understand stats on AO3 sometimes.

These fics have the exact same number of kudos, but Saying Vows has like a third of the hits and was published two days ago? (Give It To Me was published mid-January.)

I could drive myself insane and try to figure out why one fic is more popular than the other (or what constitutes popularity, honestly) but I think I'm just going to continue writing what makes me happy and hope that sometimes other people enjoy it too.

[hawnks]

Takami Keigo doesn't want to see you.

Of course, he's too well trained to say it in so many words, but when he 'forgets' his session this afternoon, you get the message.

Unfortunately for him, you're stubborn. You show up at his apartment in the dormitories, ring his bell until your fingers numb.

Only then does he crack open the door, just enough for you to catch his forbidding smile, a caustic gleam to his eyes. "What can I help you with, this fine evening?"

"You missed our appointment," you say pleasantly. "This is the third time."

"Oh, must have just slipped my mind," he says with a dismissive little wave. "I'll catch you next time."

The door slams in your face.

Being so curtly dismissed by a top ranking officer should probably send you into a panic, but the stats you pulled up for him after his no-show are even more concerning. This is quickly turning into an emergency, and unfortunately it's your job on the line if he succumbs to corruption.

Who would blame the second most powerful Sentinel alive, when there's a feckless guide as a scapegoat.

"I'm going to ring the bell again," you say, loudly.

After a moment of silence, you think he must not have heard you.

Then the door swings open. "Fine," he snaps.

You follow him to the living room, watch as he drops himself on the couch with a sigh, eyes squeezed shut.

You'd never known guiding to be this much of a chore for Sentinels. Most of your roster is rather clingy and covetous of your time. None of them has ever been late to an appointment with you.

"Well?" he prods. "Get on with it."

You hesitate. The tension he seems to be holding will make this a lot more difficult, strenuous for you both. "Do you maybe want to talk for a bit? Or I could put on some white noise."

He opens his eyes just enough to give you a cutting look. "No."

You surrender with a sigh, coming to sit next to him on the couch. Every Sentinel prefers contact a different way; some want you to hug them, pet their hair, a few have even asked you to kiss them, fuck them, though you've never fulfilled that type of request, your boundaries in this job too firm for it.

You want to ask him what would make this easier for him, but you're sure waiting any longer will only set him off. So, delicately, you take his hand.

The first draw is always the hardest, the corrupt energy being nullified by your own. Some outside force reaching in, invasive despite the relief.

Takami flinches.

You go slower, a soft steady ebb, pulling the poison from him in silken thread.

His hand relaxes in yours.

You reach deeper, welcoming the full flood between you, warmth and light suffusing you both. And it feels how it's supposed to -- natural.

When your watch chimes, signaling the sessions end, Takami blinks out of his stupor. He'd melted during the thirty minutes you worked on him, body curled toward yours, face falling onto your shoulder.

He pulls away swiftly, shocked by his own willingness to lean on you.

You rise, marking off the details of your appointment on your tablet. "I can come back tomorrow, to finish up. You haven't been guided in a long time, so I couldn't get it all in one session. Does 2pm work for you?"

He's not prepared for the question. "Um. Yeah?"

You mark that down as well, then see yourself out.

It takes three more sessions for you to fully clear the corrupted energy from his body. In his haze he admits to you the reason he's so standoffish to Guides, why he dodges his sessions with such fervor.

"It's never felt good. Always felt like I'm being held down, trapped. Made me feel antsy, nervous." He buries his face against your throat, inhaling deeply. You'd started off just holding his hand again, but now he hugs your entire arm against his chest, your fingers twined. "It's not like that with you."

"I'm glad, Mr. Takami," you return. "Please don't ignore my emails from now on."

As you make your notes, you ask him his availability for next month.

He blinks at you. "You're not coming back tomorrow?"

You check your calendar. You'd had to push back several of your regular appointments to make room for the past few days. "I'm booked solid for the next two weeks, at least."

You glance at him, taking in his appearance, his general well being. You reach a hand out to cup his cheek, urging him to meet your eyes. He startles, first, before leaning into your touch.

"You seem fine," you decide, pulling away, already heading for the door. "I'll contact you later about our next session."

He trails after you, linger at the precipice as you take the elevator back down to your floor.

...

He never ignores you emails, after that.

In fact, he sends many of his own. He gets your phone number, somehow. Some days he shows up with coffee, or snacks, sits with you on the couch while you eat.

He's always touching you during those times, brushing hair behind your ears or straightening your shirt collar. Mostly he just holds your hand, playing with your fingers or clutching it in his own lap.

You don't guide him during any of these impromptu visits, too weary from the rest of your overfull schedule -- but you've heard of this type of attachment from other Guides.

Sentinels tend to imprint on guides they have a decent connection with. Part survival instinct, part status seeking. A Sentinel without a guide is doomed. A Sentinel with a high match-rate is likely to be stronger than their peers.

But that's the thing about un-bonded Sentinels, they're always on the lookout for a better Guide, their perfect mate.

Takami is overly attached to you now, but it will pass.

...

Or so you thought.

You're sent out into the aftermath of a battle that rocks the city. Dozens of Sentinels pushed themselves to the breaking point, on the brink of corruption, about to turn into the very monsters they fight to suppress.

You spot Takami in the midst of the wreckage. Exhausted, but giving you a shakey smile when your eyes meet. He limps toward you, so glad to see you, so ready for the safety and warmth of your arms--

Someone calls your name. Urgent, an emergency. Another Sentinel with no one to take care of them.

You turn away from Takami, and you go.

He'd fought hard, but his body has grown used to the abuse over the years. He's in bad shape, but it's not life-threatening like some of the others you help today.

It's hours before you can see him.

Slumped on a curb, hands folded neatly in his lap. Like he's been waiting so patiently for you this whole time.

You come to your knees before him, letting him take your hands, draw you closer. "Why didn't you go to another Guide?"

Surely he could have found someone else, despite the chaos of the scene. If not you, one of the high ranking Guides, slotted exclusively for S-rank Sentinels.

He looks at you, trembling, confused. "I don't want another Guide."

When he asks if you'll hold him, you do. You take him in your arms, let his weight settle on you. Feel his warmth all around you, his breath against your shoulder.

"And I don't want you to guide anyone else," he murmurs.

You stroke his nape. "I know. I'm sorry. You'll find your Guide soon enough, and then you can have each other all to yourselves."

His grip tightens. He braces you against him -- instead of a heady tightness, you're constricted.

"I already found my Guide," he whispers into your throat.

Then he bites.

[scrollonso]

On The Carpet — Pedroscar

“No.” 

Oscar's voice was firm as he said it, shaking his head side to side, but the pink that disappeared under the collar of his shirt felt like it was burning him alive. 

“Why?” Pedro whined, throwing his head back against the arm of the couch with a pout. His arms were crossed and Oscae scoffed at the display from his place on the carpeted floor. 

“Because you’ll die .” 

“I will not die ,” Pedro huffed, moving to meet Oscar's eyes all over again, “And even if I do, it’s quite literally the best way to go.” 

“You’re not instilling me with confidence.” 

“Okay look,” Pedro uncrossed his arms as he sat up properly and Oscar felt his spine automatically straighten at the suddenly serious tone in the other man’s voice, “If you're saying no because you actually don’t want to do it, I’d never pressure you into it,” He started, his eyes analysing Oscar's face as he spoke, “But if you're saying no because you're embarrassed or because you think you’ll hurt me, I feel inclined to tell you that you won't and also that I literally wake up hard dreaming about it so you have no reason to be embarrassed about it.” 

Oscar's shoulders dropped as he let out a groan, “I don't… it not that I don't want to-” 

“Then let's do it!” 

“I just…” He continued, ignoring Pedro's interruption, “It’s my thighs.” 

“I love your thighs,” Pedro shrugged 

“It's not about that,” He huffed, dropping backwards to lay on the ground, staring up at the ceiling, “It’s… they’re big .” 

“I know,” Pedro grinned, his tongue tracing his bottom lip almost like a reflex, “They're really strong. It’s hot.”  

Oscar kicked at his leg from where it was hanging off the sofa and relished in the pained hiss the brunette let out, “What I mean is that… they’ll…" 

“They’ll?” Pedro urged, quirking an eyebrow as Oscar groaned, throwing an arm over his face. 

“They’ll crush your big stupid head.” 

Pedro let out a laugh, tilting his head to the side and pinning Oscar with his eyes, “Baby, if you think that isn't exactly what I’m looking for you’re fucking insane.” 

Oscar looked back up at the ceiling and felt himself squeeze his legs together entirely without his consent, his body moving to indulge, even minimally, in the pressure that was building there. Pedro noticed, because of course he fucking did . 

“Please amor,” Pedro murmured, sliding off the couch until he was kneeling on the floor before crawling towards Oscar. He moved closer, placing his hands on the Aussie's knees and spreading them slowly. When Oscar relented and dropped them apart Pedro leaned close and pressed a soft kiss to where he knew from memory exactly where Oscar's dick was. His lips lingered against the spot, gentle and barely there, but as he spoke Oscar still felt the rumble of his words directly against him, “Want you to sit on my face.” 

He was begging, which was something Oscar didn't have the pleasure to indulge in usually, as Pedro was normally the one making him plead to just touch him , but now, Pedro was here, quite literally on his knees, asking Oscar to just let him make the Spaniard feel good. Who was he to deny him? 

“Okay.”

Pedro's head shot up, eyes meeting his as a grin pulled at his lips, “Seriously?”

“If that’s what you want.” 

“Now.” 

Oscar rolled his eyes, “I’ve got to be in the sim in like thirty minutes.” 

“Skip it. Text Lando and ask him to send you his stats,” He whispered, moving forward to blanket his body over Oscar's and the older man's legs moving to automatically wrap around his waist. Pedro's lips brushed against his and he had to fight the urge to grind up against him, “Want you so bad, baby. Please let me make you feel good.” 

Oscar groaned, his eyes falling shut as Pedro's hand moved to pull him closer, pressing Pedro's erection against where Oscar was steadily dampening in his pyjama shorts. 

“Please let me taste you.”

Oscar's head dropped back against the carpet and sighed, “Get me my phone.”

Oscar didn't think he’d ever seen Pedro move so fast, — not even on his bike — barely gone ten seconds before he was back kneeling between Oscar's thighs and passing him his phone. 

He called Lando, listened to the ringing through the phone as Pedro moved to start pressing kisses and bite lightly at his neck, grinding down against Oscar and watching as the blonde squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Hi!” He said brightly through the phone, but Pedro could see the way his hand was clenched into a fist and he was trying to keep his hips still, “Yeah, no I’m not gonna be in today. I was wondering if you’d be able to send your results over after- ah! ”

Oscar cut himself off with a loud whine as Pexro bit down against his shoulder and pressed his thumb, that Oscar hadn't even noticed had moved, directly against his hole through his shorts.

“Sorry, no I just…” Oscar trailed off and choked out a laugh, “Fuck off, I’m sorry! Can you just… Yeah, okay, thanks.” 

He hung up and essentially threw his phone across the room, sinking his fingers into Pedro's hair and pulling him away from his neck, relishing in the pained yelp it drew.  

“You’re an asshole. He’s gonna bully me about this for months,” He gritted out, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth as Pedro pressed his thumb down again.

“But you sound so pretty, mi amor,” He murmured, kissing down Oscar's chest as the blonde let out small gasped breaths, “Can we do it now? Please?”  

“Here?” 

“What?” Pedro scoffed, “Like we’ve never fucked in the living room?” 

“We have two perfectly comfortable beds down the hall,” He grumbled, sighing as Pedro reached between his legs again, this time not holding back as he pressed his tongue and his mouth against Oscar through the fabric. 

“Sure,” Pedro murmured, and Oscar's breath caught in his throat at the vibrations, “But you're dripping, baby. Can taste you through your shorts.” 

Oscar went to reply but was cut off as Pedro flipped them, moving to catch himself with his hands against the carpet and letting out a loud yelp. Oscar could feel Pedro grinning from where his mouth was directly under his crotch, arms hooked over his thighs and biceps pressing into the flesh. 

As Oscar found balance, he let out a loud moan, lifting himself slightly and letting out a breath, “I hate that that was really hot.” 

Pedro laughed and Oscar tried to get his breathing back to normal, “Should've waited till you got your shorts off for that, would've been so much hotter.” 

Oscar nodded, but suddenly he had no more fight left in him as he let Pedro tilt him backwards till he was sat on the other man’s chest, sliding his shorts from his hips and grinning as Oscar's breath caught in his throat when he pulled him back up to straddle Pedro's face. 

“Demon,” Oscar breathed, his chest heaving at being manhandled and Pedro's firm grip on his thighs, “Utter plague." 

“C'mon baby,” Pedro murmured, lifting his head up to press a kiss to Oscar's dick before dragging his tongue through the wetness that was gathering, “Take it. Make yourself feel good. Use me.” 

Oscar slid a hand into Pedro's hair, gripping it tight and shuddering at the moan Pedro let escape.  

“Okay just… If it’s too much you can… Make sure you push me off, okay?” 

Pedro nodded eagerly, his eyes shining as they took in Oscar's face. His tongue dragged across his bottom lip and Oscar finally relented, slowly lowering himself until Pedro pulled him the rest of the way down, the pair of them moaning at the contact.

It was like a switch had flipped, like all of a sudden if he didn't get this he would die , and Oscar was using his grip on Pedro's hair to grind against his mouth, letting out choked-off curses as the brunette’s tongue flattened and Oscar's dick smoothed across it. It was like Pedro was fucking starving for it, the way he was pulling Oscar down harder, lips moving and groaning out as the blonde’s hips moved faster.  

“Jesus Christ,” Oscar hissed, his eyes rolling back as Pedro let out a loud noise of agreement and his fingers dug into his hips harder, “That, do that again-”

Pedro curled his tongue, pressing it up against Oscar's dick and grinned at the whine the boy let out. Oscar was close almost embarrassingly quickly, just riding Pedro's face and letting out pathetic sounds, it was enough to ruin him.

He’d never thought about how good this would feel, just being allowed to take his pleasure, take what Pedro was willingly offering, and melt into it. That’s what he was doing. He was taking, and Pedro was letting him, was practically begging him to use him. He felt powerful, and simultaneously like Pedro was using him right back. This was what Pedro had wanted, for Oscar to let loose, for him to stop thinking about it and just take it , so okay… he would. He’d take it, just like Pedro asked. He could be good for Pedro. He wanted to be good for Pedro. Really, it's all he ever wanted to be.

The Spaniard moaned again, pressing up against Oscar where the older man was pressing down, and relishing in the way his thighs began to tremble.  

“Pedro, god- fuck ,” Oscar choked, pulling at the other man’s hair harder and letting his eyes roll back, “ 'M gonna come.”

Pedro moaned, egging him on as he pressed his tongue inside Oscar, letting out further muffled but equally pleased noises at the taste.  

That was enough, apparently, because all of a sudden the trembling of Oscar's thighs turned to full-on shaking and he was curling forward and- oh. 

Oscar tried to pull up slightly to not fucking waterboard Pedro entirely, but his orgasm was still racking his body so Pedro used his hands, just his hands, to pull the larger man up slightly, swallow whatever cum was left in his mouth, and gasp for air.

He was still letting out small sounds, hips moving against his will as Pedro stared up at him with wide eyes. 

“Sorry,” Oscar managed to choke, eyes unfocused and hand loosening in Pedro's hair as the other man kept holding him up.  

“Holy shit,” Pedro gasped, and Oscar finally looked down and winced. The carpet was stained, cum having landed around Pedro's head and, humiliatingly, even further. Pedro's face was covered in wetness, — whether it was his own spit or Oscar's cum — his chin glistening in the mid-morning light, and the collar of his shirt was sodden. Pedro, however, looked like he’d just met God, “Fucking… fuck .” 

“I’m really sorry,” Oscar murmured again, moving to dismount his face but being held in place by Pedro's hands, still keeping him up on his knees. 

In less than a second, Oscar was sprawled out on his back, Pedro's hand under his head to ensure he didn't hit it on the floor and his legs splayed open, now around Pedro's waist. 

“Can you go again?” Pedro asked immediately, voice rough and his tongue poking out to taste the wetness that covered his lips. He looked hungry. 

“I don't-” Oscar's mind was still foggy, but he was catching up enough to realise the extent of what had happened, "We've never done it this quick.” The we to it made Pedro throb, Oscar was right. This was a thing they'd never done together and asside from being intimate with Pedro, Oscar had never done anything.

“Fuck, that was…” He trailed off, and Oscar would feel totally self-conscious about the way Pedro was eyeing his dick if he had the brain capacity for it, “I wanna make you do it again.”  

“The carpet-”

“Fuck the carpet,” Pedro growled, and the tone made Oscar's eyes fall shut, “I’ll pay for it. I don't care. I need you to do that again. Please .” 

Oscar nodded, grimacing as Pedro shook his head violently and his, now damp, hair flicked droplets of sweat, cum, and saliva across the room. He pushed it back from his face and smirked, tongue peaking out over his lip again. Any words Oscar wanted to say died in his throat when Pedro shuffled down his body, led on his front as he pressed his middle and ring finger into where Oscar was wet and loose from Pedro's tongue. 

“Take me so well, baby,” Pedro murmured, pressing kisses to where Oscar's thighs were still shaking, “Are you sensitive?” 

Oscar nodded, his eyes squeezing shut as his fingers curved up and he used his thumb to press up against his dick, smoothing over the hot skin in small circles. Pedro began to suck bruises into the porcelain skin, relishing in the quiet noises Oscar let out and full-on grinning as they grew louder. When his mouth moved from Oscar's thighs to smooth his tongue over Oscar's dick, the boys thighs snapped closed around his head. 

“C’mon baby,” Pedro murmured, his fingers picking up speed as he pulled away for just a second, “You can do it for me, hmm? You can make a mess?” 

“I can!” Oscar yelped, his back arching slightly as he tried to push back against Pedro's fingers, “I promise, I can be good!” 

“I know,” Pedro whispered, pressing his tongue back against Oscar's dick and grinning as he cried out, “So close, hmm?”  

“Yeah-” Oscar panted, nodding violently as Pedro pressed into him harder, faster, and murmured praise, “Love your hands.” 

Pedro's laugh was strained, and Oscar looked down to see him grinding against the carpet, still fully clothed, and pressing his tongue against where Oscar was stretched around his fingers, “I know baby.”

“Your fingers are so big ,” He whined, back to grinding against Pedro's tongue as he flicked it over Oscar's dick, “Need another.” 

“You sure?” Pedro asked, his own voice breathless as he pressed his hips into the carpet. It was true that Oscar never really asked for more than two fingers, two was more than enough given the fact they were Pedro's fingers and they were ridiculously big, but he needed… he needed to be full. 

“More,” He whined, pressing back and letting his hands move back to Pedro's hair, gripping the strands and pulling his face back to his pulsing hole, “ Please!  'm so close just- gimme another! Need it!” 

Pedro hummed, increasing his pace with his mouth as he slowly eased in another finger, grinning with his lips wrapped around Oscar as his heels scrabbled across the floor and his back arched. He was a sight to behold and Pedro had meant it when he said that if there was any place he was most willing to die, it was between Oscar's thighs. 

“Jesus, okay- fuck,”  Oscar could feel it, could feel the pressure building and his dick twitching and Pedro was everywhere , “Just need-” 

Pedro crooked his fingers up and sucked lightly on Oscar's dick, and then he was pulling his fingers out and rubbing all four of them over Oscar's dick as he came, side to side, extending his orgasm as his sounds pitched up into an almost-scream. 

When Oscar could breathe again, his legs were trying to shake, pinned apart by Pedro's bruising grip as his eyes tried to refocus. When they finally, finally, did, he watched as Pedro — beautiful, dirty, lewd Pedro — let his lips fall apart. It was just barely, but more than enough to let the fluid, Oscar's cum, his brain clarified, slip from between his lips and drip back down against the Aussie's dick with a horrifically lewd noise. What didn't make it to his tip dribbled down Pedro's chin, sliding down his neck and further wetting the collar of his t-shirt. Oscar let out a loud whine at the feeling, his legs trying to close but hissing at even that contact.

“Sensitive?” Pedro murmured as he pressed his lips to the inside of Oscar's knee, entirely comforting, all of the previous sexual energy drained from the room.  

“Very,” Oscar said shakily as he sighed, “Do you need…” 

“Already finished,” Pedro grinned, his eyes looking down at his crotch as he moved to kneel, “You make the prettiest sounds. Couldn't help it.”

“I actually can't get up,” Oscar gasped, his legs still shaking as Pedro stood and stretched out his back, groaning at the loud ‘pop’ it let out, “You're gonna have to let me rot on the carpet for a bit, love.”

“I’ll get a wash cloth and clean you down then we’ll see if we can get you into bed,” Pedro murmured, vanishing for a second and coming back with a damp cloth, a freshly washed face and in a change of clothes.

He began cleaning Oscar down, pressing light kisses to the skin in his wake and murmuring quiet apologies as he tried to clean down his dick when Oscar hissed and his legs shook slightly. 

“Doing so well for me baby,” He mumbled, finally tossing the cloth to the side, “We can shower later, hmm? Let's get to bed.” 

Oscar nodded, letting Pedro bear the majority of his weight as he struggled on shaky legs, “Jesus, I think you broke me.” 

“I literally came in my pants like a fucking teenager,” Pedro scoffed — as if he hadn't just turned twenty — as he helped Oscar down onto the bed, “I think you broke me.” 

“One of us can use their legs,” He deadpanned, watching as Pedro crawled in next to him and dragged the covers over them both, “And it's not me.” 

“We should do that more often. Was a big fan,” He grinned, pulling the older man in close and pressing their lips together for the first time in what felt like hours , “Can't believe you were holding out on me.”

“I didn't even know I could cum like that ,” Oscar huffed, but pressed another kiss to Pedro's lips and smiled at the content hum he let out at the action, “But yes , it was very nice.” 

“Nice, he says, like I didn't nut in my underwear just getting to make you do it.”  

“Piss off,” He huffed, but pulled him closer anyway, “I'm fucking exhausted.” 

“Mmm,” Pedro murmured in agreement, “Bedtime me thinks.”

Oscar snorted but snuggled down, “Shower sex when we wake up?” 

“Like it's even a question,” Pedro replied, and as Oscar felt himself pulled to sleep with a wide grin on his face and a pair of arms tight around his waist, he didn't think he’d ever been happier.

[mickstart]

Hi! I don’t know if you still take Formula 1 asks but I was wondering after watching the Senna documentary, WHY ON EARTH everyone deems Senna better than Schumacher?!

Everyone always talks about Senna as the greatest, but he can’t be better than Michael Schumacher right? Or better than Fangio or Vettel, and definitely Hamilton.

Which I know Verstappen always says you can’t compare different eras but I can’t understand the hype around Senna,

I mean, personally, I prefer Prost because of how Jenson Button describes his driving style.

But I would like to understand though. I always like your input, so that’s why I’m asking. Thank you!

Have a lovely week!

Hey! yeah F1 will always be a part of my life so I'm always down for F1 asks. Fdfsjfdsghjds as for this it's a... complicated question. There's a lot of stuff going on.

So fair warning, this is going to be a long fucking answer.

For me personally, I totally agree with the argument that you really cannot compare different eras. Like, Max for example having more wins per season means Nothing when there are statistically more races per season. But then does this mean Fangio's statistic of winning the highest percentage of races per season is the real meaningful record, and it means he's better? Well, not in a way you can meaningfully prove, because fewer races per season means fewer chances to lose, or to have a mechanical problem, or a freak accident.

So you see really quickly how comparing different eras is like. Almost meaningless, because the skills needed in each era varied so much. It's not like a lot of other sports where the rules and structure were already consistent more than a hundred years ago and so it's easier to compare across a few decades. The physical demand an F1 race places on the body today would have been absolutely unthinkable to those drivers in the mid 20th century, even in the late 80s. They'd think it was a different sport entirely.

Like to me, The Greatest in F1 is about how they impact you personally. Michael is The Greatest and I don't feel any need to justify that by comparing his stats to others. It's about what he makes me feel in my chest, not his numbers.

And I think that's the crux of the issue w/ Senna. LOTS has been written about his driving style, his accomplishments, his determination. When Michael was peaking people were doing NASA level calculations to explain why Senna would actually always be better than Michael in numbers still. But I think some of that is people's personal attachment to both of them. Michael is a godlike figure to the tifosi and in German motorsport, and Senna is arguably an even more religious figure to Brazilians. Like I don't even feel right explaining here how much Senna means to some Brazilians because I know it is that deep of an emotion he brings out. He was a big donator to charities, he was a public figure representing Brazil on a global stage at a time the country was recovering from various crises. His funeral was enormous because he was arguably the biggest celebrity in the country.

And that mythical status spreads into motorsport as a whole. First of all because of his success, then because of how he himself weaved his religion into his racing - allegedly talking to god during the race and claiming God chose him to be a racer - then because of his rivalry with Prost, and then, finally, because of the impact a champion dying in an F1 race had on safety in F1 and across motorsport as a whole. Today we don't really appreciate how insane it was that F1 went from the death toll it had before Senna's death, to immediately going 20 years without a grand prix race killing a driver.

(Sidenote but I wish Ratzenberger's death didn't go ignored so often in this legacy and I can't talk about it without mentioning him for the sake of not letting his name go unsaid. Imola as a whole sparked change, not just Senna. It was too much tragedy in too short a timeframe for them to ignore it.)

Senna being "the last death" for such a long time only made his mythical status bigger. The religious wording he'd used about his own career, the way F1 (Brundle) tends to 'valorize' risk and danger, his popularity in Brazil, the mourning his death produced, it all pulled together to create something that's more legend than man. It became less a historical record of a real racer with numbers to his name and more a story about a doomed hero who died too young. When I was watching F1 as a kid - before Jules' death - Senna to me had this image of a martyr now guarding the racers in death and protecting them. That was sort of the 'vibe', I guess, that F1 liked to push.

(There's really something to be said about how Ferrari and Brazil and Italy and Catholicism shaped F1 into a religion with saints of its own I guess.)

Like, I wasn't alive when Senna was racing. I don't consider myself a spiritual person. I don't really even care about Senna, and frankly I know his personal life includes essentially an arranged marriage to an underage girl. But still, I hate it when we go racing at Imola. The whole track feels eerie to me, like it should be left alone, like we're disturbing something. I know that IS superstitious and I never let that feeling out, but it's in the back of my head. That's how strongly F1 has pushed Senna on the fans as a legend beyond questioning, and how it effects even someone who doesn't consider him the greatest and never has.

This ties back into people comparing him to Michael, I promise. I think a lot of the reason people do that, is actually that they're mourning that they never got a definitive answer to the question "Which one is better?" because Senna was killed before the championship could be settled. They try to find other ways to give an answer, to prove it, so they can feel satisfied, so they feel there WAS some sort of resolution to the question and it was just hidden.

But death isn't neat and tidy like hypothetical answers. It just happens. That's natural, and so is resisting the truth of it and the questions it leaves unanswered, or the gaps it leaves in our lives. Senna is framed like a story - F1 is framed like a story - and human nature is to give a story a conclusion with meaning that answers all of our questions - Senna was the best, Michael was the best, Lewis is the best, Fangio is the best, etc - not... nothingness. Not a sudden and abrupt ending to a young life that had nothing to do with the story he was carving out. So Senna's death becomes the turning point for safety in F1, the answer to the question of 'the greatest' becomes something that has already been given, and we create whatever proof we needed to simplify these things down.

In reality, F1 went 20 years without a death from a grand prix because of luck, swift action, and the tireless work of many, many individuals. Stewart, Watkins, Lauda, the drivers who reformed the GPDA after Senna's death and had it up and running by the next race, the people who redesigned Imola to be safer, the FIA circuit grading system, the track marshalls, the medical staff, and hundreds more.

In reality, there is no definitive greatest, and if there is, if we can somehow prove it via mathematics, very few statistics are on Senna's side.

But like. For all that we live in reality, that doesn't inform how we perceive it. When Michael equalled one of Senna's records he broke down crying, and for the rest of his career he always said Senna was the greatest without pause. I'm pretty sure Lewis himself still holds Senna up as the greatest. Because at the end of the day that title isn't something that can be 'proven' to some people, me included. It's not actually about records or statistics or proof. It's about who makes you feel like an awed little kid watching a very brave man in a very fast car.

People don't like to admit that though. People like to be right, and they like it even more when the thing they're right about makes them part of a group. (Senna Fans, Schumi Fans, Hamilton Fans.)

For me personally though, I never like to argue or debate about who is the 'best'. I know nobody will ever change my mind about Schumi, and frankly I don't want to change anyone else's mind about who the 'best' is, and as soon as the conversation starts it always ends up becoming about doing one of those things. I don't see the appeal of it. If someone out there is convinced Maldonado would be a 10 time WDC if he had been in a good car then fine, fuck, sure. You keep believing that.

Sorry. I've rambled a lot and this became more a general treatise on What It Means To Be The Greatest and How Sport Becomes Folklore than an answer to your question. I just didn't feel I could answer without Getting Into It. I hope I've kept this respectful to the drivers of the sport, and it hasn't felt like me lecturing you when I just got super carried away with my theories sfdghfsdhg

TL;DR - I don't think Senna is the greatest, but I think it's purely because of his legacy and myth.

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

(how to resume the second half of this episode: *Captain Holt's voice* paiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin)

Season 1 episode 5 [A Vile Hunger For Your Hammering Heart] - part 2/2

- The way Louis' face is still as a statue as Loustat make their plans. The way you can feel the resentment covering the entire house.

- Lestat immediately shutting down going to Paris.

- And now welcome to the portion I'd like to call "Claudia Suffered More Than [insert your favourite martyr figure here]". Oof, Bruce immediately gives off a bad vibe, more than that white student who is after all only reproducing classic patterns of racism and classism.

- [Louis] "As the depression set in on the nation, I barricaded myself within the dilapidating walls of 1132 Rue Royale, educating myself from Lestat's library, ignoring all other duties of the role Claudia once mocked me for - the unhappy housewife." - was the raccoon really necessary? It is a nice touch, I won't lie, but really hammering in the point: the depression Louis talks about isn't just the Great Depression, it's his own (I like hammering points too, sorry). But you know what, I WISH I could lock myself wherever my books are and just ignore the whole fucking world and everyone in it for 3 or 4 years.

- [Louis] "Flaubert's style is so dense." - L'éducation sentimentale is, I'll admit it, a horror to read (but less than Le Rouge et le Noir, Stendhal really gave it his whole to make that one unbearable). Madame Bovary on the other hand is a gem.

[Lestat] "Louis Armstrong is in town tonight, playing at the Pelican" - when a bookworm introvert dates a music addict extrovert - beware the conflicting schedules and discordant ambiances. (In which I am Louis and the perfect day is a quiet day with classic music playing lowly in the background and a pile of books)

[Lestat] "You sound like every pompous Sorbonne student I've ever eaten." - ... As a former Sorbonne student, I have absolutely nothing to say in my defence (I studied French and English literature and linguistics for a year with a minor in audio-visual media, fyi). I am sadly very self-aware of how pompous I sound whenever I start talking literature. Sorry not sorry. (would absolutely not protest if Lestat decides to give me a visit. Ahem. Who said that.)

- [Lestat] "'You draw me into your gloom.' [Louis] 'It's your fault she's gone. If you hadn't pushed her... ' [Lestat] 'Claudia.' [Louis] 'If you hadn't done your...' [Lestat] 'Claudia, Claudia. I cannot listen to this insanity about Claudia one more time, bordel de merde.'"

I know we justifiably talk about Armand's "Lestat, Lestat, Lestat" litany, but Lestat's "Claudia" is quite good too.

Also, can't quite decipher what Lestat says in French there. English accent too thick. I think it's "ils me chient dans la main [gibberish]" ("they" or maybe "he shits in my hand") but don't quote me on that.

- Bruce's been stalking Claudia for a while, huh. And interesting to note that it's partly Louis' fault, his repetitive calls to Claudia that attracted his attention.

- Louis's destroying that table. I'm going to focus on that instead of whatever happened to Claudia or what Louis's doing to Daniel, no thanks. Just like how Armand immediately calms Louis down, and gonna cheer for that slap, good one, Daniel, well deserved, about time.

- [Lestat] "It could be her, but I am the one who is currently standing in front of you, and unlike Claudia, I am a full-blooded adult... with all the right appendages. So if all my considerable considerables continue to be squandered..."

'Stat... Yeah, I have nothing to say.

- [Grace] "Whoever you are that took my Louis" - yeaaah, if one of my sibling would say that to me, I think I'd just crumble and shut down. But at the same time, kudos to Grace for having the strength to bury her brother while he's standing in front of her and keeping whatever secrets he's guarding.

- [Claudia] "I spent time following Louis and Lestat now that I am my own woman, with no obvious sense of why I follow them, other than meaning slowly disintegrates without them... my companions in immortality. But today at the cemetery, I finally understood something so obvious, which I pondered for a decade... why they made me. To be Louis' sister."

*silently sobbing* It's the way Louis knows that passage by heart, and the way Claudia's prose keeps on being heartbreaking.

It's how Louis curls around his pain, and how Claudia makes herself taller in the face of this pain. It's how they don't even need more than an embrace and a word to make it better. It's how siblings who have gone through the same shit know each other so intimately. It's how that's the moment Claudia goes from daughter to sister.

- [Lestat] "The vampires out there are vicious. Oh. But you knew that already. Who did you meet out there in the American hinterland?" - oh, you are being especially awful, Lestat. I love you but you are being unfair. Even if you fear loneliness and abandonment, even if you've just went through seven years of not getting a single kind word or affectionate gesture from Louis... Lashing out, refusing to tell Claudia the truth about European vampires, the cruelty, the violence... No, that's not a good reason for it. But then again you wouldn't be Lestat if you didn't lash out when terrified and angry.

- Ouch. Contrasting that fight seen through Claudia's perspective with the s2 scene seen through Louis and Lestat's... Shivering. This is baaaaad.

Oh, no, no, no, no, I don't wanna see that part. I don't want to have to think about it and analyse it.

Man, I had forgotten how much that episode fucking hurts.

No, but the way Louis won't even say "I don't love you" not just because he won't give Lestat that satisfaction, because he lives to be stubborn and contrary, but maybe also because after all, after everything, that would still be a lie, and Louis doesn't lie; he forgets, he obfuscates, he redirects, he refashions his memories, but he doesn't lie... Even when his own life depends on it.

Episode insider:

Rolin Jones saying for Claudia "why was I the thing to make up for your mistakes". Yeah.

"This is where we start building the Anne Rice universe. As Lestat rightfully warned her there are wolves around the corner."

"It's the kid that goes 'My parents weren't all that bad. I have gone out and seen life. It is not all easy and conquerable'. And she comes back with hat half in hand, but with a mission - to take the good vampire and continue on with her life, and that is at odds with the other vampire in the house."

"It is about the fight of Louis, the fight for Louis's soul. I mean, in the end, it's 'Everbody Loves Louis', isn't it?" - Louis is catnip for vampires. And honestly I can relate. Did I say lately he's my favourite too...

That shot of Lestat hovering in the air all dressed in black with his hair floating around him while Claudia covers Louis's broken body with hers... Enraged Angel. Oh, that's worthy of a full oil on canvas painting.

Alright. That was harsh. And we're so not done. We love angst and tragedy, yey! *sobbing*

episode 1 | episode 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | part 1 | episode 6 | episode 7

[puckpocketed]

29/06/2023 - the Montreal Canadiens select Jacob Fowler 69th overall | y // 1/09/2023 - Inside the Canadiens Draft Meetings, 2023

Jacob Fowler — an introduction, a collection of media

I’ll give you three shooters, and you can tell me if they’re righty, lefty, passer, or shooter. Perfect. Okay. Harvey, Chicago? He’s a passer. He’s a lefty. Lefty. (pause) Perron? Perron’s a shooter and he’s a righty. He’s got a really good shot. Fine? Fine’s a righty. Didn’t see too much of him this year. I’d say he’s a — he’s probably more of a passer, yeah. So you know your stuff. I do. You could probably go up and down the whole USHL and I could name… righty, lefty… Okay, now, how did you… When did you start studying it like that? I don’t think it was ever a ‘study’ as much as just — not even a photo memory — just; you play against those guys and if you want to stop those guys, you’re going to figure out real quick if he’s a righty or a lefty if you want to stop the puck. I mean you can’t… You can’t play your short side wrong if it’s a righty on his one side or a lefty on the other side, so… I think if you don’t know what hands they are, or if they’re a shooter or a passer, you’re not going to be very successful.

[Fowler at the scouting combine, speaking to a Canadiens psychologist] But I’m more interested in the guy who’s really inside, right? Yeah. Tell me about him. Tell me what makes him friggin’ tick. I’ve been, y’know, doubted and… Yeah! Here we go! I’ve had to prove people wrong my entire career. Of course you have, yeah! I sat in my living room in a shirt and tie with my whole family and watched, y’know, five or six hours of the entire OHL [Ontario Hockey League] Draft, the entire USHL [United States Hockey League] Draft and — to never see your name pop up on that screen is… It’s a pretty crappy feeling. To know that you played in the National Championship, you played in the national tournament twice; you’ve won just about every youth championship you could win in North America… To never be talked to, or to never see your name pop up is — it’s terrible. I don’t read too much into the different awards, but… To win the award of Goalie of the Year in this league that I was undrafted [in] — nobody wanted me. There were 16 teams and not a single one of them wanted me. I had to go out and prove that, every single night, that you messed with the wrong guy and Youngstown was just fortunate enough that I ended up in their corner. That feeling sticks with me every day, and… The last thing I want is any organisation to look back and wish they would’ve taken a chance on me because all I’ve done is prove people wrong.

Where do I even begin with Jacob Fowler? Scouts and pundits and fans have taken note — the Canadiens have had a distinct vision with their past few drafts under the Kent Hughes regime: culture and character. Jacob Fowler is yet another piece. In what I figure is typical Montreal media fashion, he's being hailed as the next goalie-of-the-future, as Carey Price come again. Big hair, big expectations, and a big fucking chip on his shoulder — that's Jacob Fowler. Also Jacob Fowler: a goalie who has always performed, always been at the bleeding edge of every leader board, a goalie who makes every net his.

The stats are the least notable thing about Fowler. Plenty of young goalies have put up good stats. It's not about his sv%, for me. It's about all the rest of it. It's the candidness with which he tells his story. It's the intensity of his complexes — borne from years of being overlooked.

Jacob Fowler rattles off skaters and their tendencies and thinks of it as a given that you should know these things by rote if you want to make saves. Jacob Fowler knows how good he is, he remembers every single instance where he'd been ignored when it came time to pick, and he's seemingly simmered this anger for just as long as he's understood it. That's what makes me care.

There's love of the game, and there's this. He's a fascinating case study: undeniably elite, yet somehow passed over again and again; confident and on the verge of cocky; calm, but only in the way the surface of a rip current hides it's pull. He's picking a fight with everyone who doubted him each time he gets in net. He's looking at the yawning chasm of where Carey Price used to be and he's going to jump. Against the searing lights of playing in Montreal? He says, "I don't think I could write the script any better. I want to be a Montreal Canadien, and I want to win a Stanley Cup for them. As a competitor, I don't want it to be easy. I think — I want the bright lights, I want the big stage, and y'know I said earlier pressure is a privilege."

It might all be bluster. It might be a media-trained, canned response. I was convinced.

x | y // x | y

[Exchange between the Canadiens' scouting team] Martin Lapointe: So, Billy, you're saying you would put Fowler ahead of [redacted]? Bobby Ryan: Yes, 100%. Fowler shows up every time and wins. It's, it's like almost — it's crazy. No one's saying Fowler was 'good' growing up. He was the best growing up. He's (redacted goalie) not better than Fowler. Like if we're playing a game right now and I said, "Alright, I'm gonna — you pick your team, we all got..." Vincent Riendeau: We're talking about the NHL today? They're not facing the NHL today. These guys will face them at 24, 25. BR: I know, but what I'm saying... He's ready — he already mastered... He's mastered his position. The other guys haven't. They have the tools. They haven't figured out in their head how to fuckin' win games. This kid does it. He's been doing it since he was like 10 years old. And he wants to do it. [...] We're all working towards the same goal. We're trying to win a Stanley Cup and... I'd want the kid who wins the most. Never been not the top goalie, ever. Ever. Look at the numbers. He's never not been the top goalie in the entire league. Not like — not the starter. He's never not been the highest save percentage in every league he's ever been in. VR: I can't deny it... I can't — but... BR: I just think we're going to regret not taking this kid.

I'm cheering for Jacob Fowler not because I think it's a sure-fire bet — he might never make it, and more promising prospects have fizzled out before — I'm cheering for him because I'm unbelievably excited to see him try.

[missingexaltation]

Eddie has now 'gifted' Hellfire to Will as he's not returning to high school, graduating on a technicality. However, he suggests to the new DM that they play a one off over the summer (to get Will used to the group's dynamics, and so he can say goodbye to his little sheepies in style).

But he gets to play with them too, at Will's insistence, as Eddie's DM'd for so long he never really gets a chance to be a PC. Eddie's character is a bard that the group meet, playing in a tavern and magically enslaved by the innkeeper. Because of the spell, he has no memory of who he is, except that he's a bard.

(Which works meta wise too, as Eddie might have knowledge on the DM side...but he's a bit shaky as an actual player. it's been a while after all)

The Party take pity on him, breaking his bondage by brutally killing the innkeeper and bringing him along. He's lower than everyone else in most stats, except for charisma, which he's insanely high for. And since as they're off to find a hidden God to convince him to come back to his people...that high charisma would come in handy.

At the end of the one shot, it seems like the God they face, concentrates damage on the person physically closest to him, which is Eddie's character. Eddie gets brutally taken down until the team drag him away, and revive him. (Eddie makes some snarky comments about the new DM staking his claim by annihilating the old DM and the party finds it hilarious)

But the God keeps aiming for the bard, until Eddie is at zero, then he goes after Dustin...the mage...who is technically the most powerful on the team and nowhere near the God in comparison to the others. Then when Dustin goes down, it's their paladin next...and the group start to freak out.

Eddie passes his death save roll, heals himself and is almost immediately taken down again. The party realise pretty quickly that it's not proximity that is the issue, and that the God is taking out the most powerful first. But Eddie's bard is one of the weaker characters, so that doesn't make ANY sense.

It's Gareth that makes the connection, a split second before Jeff does. He sits back in his chair, stares thoughtfully at Eddie and uses his own turn to grapple the God's weapon from his hands.

It's surprisingly easy, and The God immediately shrinks into a gnarled, grizzly looking goblin, who screeches until Mike cuts his head off with a nat 20 he hadn't been able to roll all night.

It was the weapon. The weapon that contained a God's power.

Gareth and Jeff are still looking at Eddie.

"No memory, huh?" Gareth asks.

Eddie shrugs. "Nothing at all."

"Just pick up the fucking sword, dude." Jeff sighs, and Eddie does.

The instant his character's hands touch the sword, it changes into a golden, glowing lute, the power flows into him, and their bard ascends back into godhood, agreeing to go back to his people.

The whole table descends into chaos, while Eddie and Will high five each other. Of course they were in on it together.

"Fucking DM's" Gareth complains, but he's not angry, not really.

"Ah, ah, ah, G Bear, no swearing in front of the kiddies." Eddie reminds him, gleefully.

The 'kids' didn't even hear him, too busy crowding around Will to congratulate him on his grand return. He'd written the entire thing, and collaborated with Eddie just to make sure it was a good fit for the Hellfire gang.

"Well, I saw it coming hours ago." Steve says, from his spot on the sofa, surprising the older teens. "You don't give up control easily, Eds."

"Ugh...way too much info, Harrington." Jeff groans, wrinkling his nose, and laughing with Gareth at the violent flush to Steve's cheeks.

"Aww you did kinda walk into that one with open arms, baby boy." Eddie coos, swooping down to press kisses against Steve's embarrassed cheek.

He scoops Steve into an embrace, ignoring his grumbles, and looks up at his bandmates, "So what do you think, did baby Byers pass the little test that you thought I didn't know about?"

"Hell yeah." They both agree, enthusiastic and immediate.

"This year's gonna be awesome, Eddie." Gareth adds, grinning.

They all look over to where the younger kids are, still crowding together and excitedly discussing the last few hours. Will is glowing with pride and happiness. It's a good look on him. Jeff and Gareth slap Eddie on the back and wander off to join them.

Eddie sighs, curling into Steve as much as he can. He knows he's clingy, but he needs this right now. It's bittersweet. While he's not in school anymore, he has a part time job and an apprenticeship that's going to take up far more time than he'd realised. And he's lost all of his D&D shit too. It all makes sense to hand over permanently, but it still hurts.

"You ok babe?" Steve asks. He's so nice and lovely and sweet that Eddie melts on the inside at the concern in his voice.

"It's like my kids are leaving home." He admits. "Even though technically I guess I'm the one doing the leaving."

"Growing up sucks." Steve agrees. He rubs his fingers down Eddie's arm, reassuringly. "Don't worry babe, they're not gonna forget you."

"Better fucking not." Eddie grumbled, pressing his face into Steve's neck.

He looked over. The kids had already forgotten that they were both there, too busy packing up and trying in vain to get details from Will about the next campaign.

It was a good thing though, Eddie tried convincing himself. They were all so enthusiastic and in good spirits, they didn't need him for that. It's why he'd started Hellfire in the first place, to inspire this kind of camaraderie for the outcasts. Something that would outlast him (even if the rest of the town had their own legacy instead).

"It's not forever, Eds." Steve reminded him. "Once we've got our place we'll host every week if you want."

It wasn't soon enough to soothe him.

But they were ok, and happy, and alive.

So it would have to be enough...for now.

[toraawa]

ive been a fan of yours for a while and i gotta say, i think you have the best grasp of yurisere/predatorshipping in the fandom. you actually take their characters into consideration and acknowledge their complexity as two stunted individuals who are very different but similar instead of diminishing them to memey single-trait characters. its amazing how many other other fans reduce serena to only "edgey mean girlboss" and yuri to only "nasty psycho" and then call any other version of the ship than constant hate fucking, backhanded affection and beating each other to a pulp "wrong". very tiring how only a handful of us dont like that to be the only thing they ever do

btw, your fics on ao3 are a godsend. judging by your stats im definitely not alone in loving how you write yurisere. thank you for doing the lords work. cant wait to see more updates

First of all, thank you for the high praise! It's the second time this week I've been told something similar, lol!

Though I will say anon, the rest sounds pretty charged towards something or someone particular in the fandom, so at the risk of aggravating some current stuff I don't know about...

Yeah. I agree. A lot. You pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

"Edgy mean girlboss" and "nasty psycho" for Serena and Yuri respectively is... extremely accurate, lol, to the point where I kinda have to laugh bitterly for how pervasive it is. Like, I know they both got shafted hard by canon, but it's a bit annoying when so many people override Serena's multifacetedness to fit the girlboss mold and accuse Yuri of being one-dimensional. I'vs seen some even get strangely angry at the prospect of him not just being the sadistic plant guy. I just don't think him only being that is true. Then again, I'm a staunch defender of the assessment that most of Yuri's character is shown, not told.

Unfortunately, the fanon interpretation of characters overriding canon is something that happens in pretty much any fandom, so there's not much we can do but ignore it and find like-minded people. It's super annoying, but it can't be helped. There's also a broader phenomenon of prioritizing tropes and meme-y dynamics over actually appealing characters, so there's that too.

Since we're all waiting for more canon interaction, I'm definitely in the minority in that I don't think Yuri and Serena's interactions in Duel Links will be a pure hostility fest the entire time. I've also gotten accusations over the years that my Yurisere writing is objectively "wrong" for a plethora of reasons, many of which you stated above, so... there's THAT, too.

At the same time though, that isn't to say Yuri and Serena would never fight or bicker or even be mean to each other — I never expect them to be completely nice and friendly to each other right off the bat. And people are free to write and draw whatever they want — I want to express my disagreement and only that here — so if I don't like it, I ignore it. The people who don't fall into fanon have a much more appealing, deep, and romance-forgiving interpretation of yurisere to me, so I just focus on that!

Anyway, thank you once again for being a fan of my writing! I'm honestly surprised at the following for my current fics on ao3. The Arc-V tag doesn't get much engagement despite being updated every day. It's always great to know there are others who enjoy and share my idea of Yurisere, so to anyone lurking: don't be afraid to reach out!

[roguegona]

Some thoughts about last night's Ahsoka episode:

SPOILERS BELOW

Everything about this show is so well done. The casting, the music, the cinematography, the callbacks, the writing, the direction...all of it is incredible. Brilliantly executed in a way that leaves me speechless for hours afterward.

THRAWN. I mean...what can I say? Lars Mikkelson NAILED it in live action. The mannerisms, the way Thrawn commands a room, the way he's two or three steps ahead of everyone else...and of course HIS VOICE. It's all just so perfect. I don't even care that they're going a different direction than I hoped to see with his character (from the books). He's a mad evil genius and I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.

THE MOTHA FUCKING CHIMAERA. Holy shit y'all. We got the Chimaera in live action. And I love that they Kintsugi-fied it, along with the Stormtrooper armor. It really fits right into Thrawn's love of art. Also, I dunno who this Enoch is but I need to know more about him, stat. That's gotta be the most badass Stormtroooper helmet I've ever seen.

Oh Shin. Oh you sweet summer child. You're feeling some type of way about Sabine and you have no idea what to do about it. It's giving "baby gay first crush" vibes and I do hope you realize that 😂 The looks you were serving Sabine this entire episode were far too many and too pointed to ignore. What in the worlds are we gonna do with you?

Not sure I'm on board with whatever Baylan has planned. He's been more of an antagonist than villain so far, but whatever he's seeking on Peridea CAN'T be good.

EZRA. Never change my man. Befriending a local indigenous group is so on brand for you. Your own band of rebels, indeed. However, I am looking forward to seeing you have an absolute meltdown once you realize that Sabine found you but had no plan as to how the two of you were going to leave 😂 Oh and she also sold out the entire galaxy to find you, so there's also that 😬

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." Listen, I didn't know I needed to hear David Tenant say that famous line in live action, but I did. Oh I did. That whole scene was meta as fuck, Dave. I loved it.

I'm sure I'll come up with more thoughts/analysis as the days drag on before Part 7, but for now, I think it's safe to say this has easily become my favorite of the live action series. Even over Andor. Yeah I said it.

[floatiesmx]

jude is the rightful winner but i need yall to realize that bdor is not even about the stats anymore, your race def applies which is fucking horrible but what are we expecting from france football. also its more of like a thing that has been coming... vini had a great season (not better than judes) and hes been having more moments and hes been in the club longer which is why the club backed him up the most.

the problem is they just entirely ignore jude. wdym theyre supporting carvajal before him? like if u want to bring carvajal to the conversation ok whatever but why wouldn't u mention ur player who got u the league and ended up as an euro runner up? his g/a was higher than vini as well ijbol. i blame rma for the massive amnesia everyone had ab judes season. and now i have to deal with ppl pretending they didnt expect jude to get nubbed when they were the same ones rting jude hate ever since the euros

forget rodri i understand him more even though I do think he doesn’t deserve based off that euros but CARVAJAL is who the club thought deserved after vini like do you know how disrespectful that is to jude. Carvajal had no shame saying himself but i thought it was a joke😭😭😭😭

madrid and the fans both ignored jude because they are so far up hierarchy they don’t even understand how much he did for them last season vini i understand more but dani over jude is genuinely unforgivable from the club Jude should jump them all and he can’t even show out in matches because ancelotti have him on bum shifts😔

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

Omg just watched episode 2 of Distant Lands & I'm screaming.

Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely shipped Bubbleline before, but this episode had me INVESTED!!!!

Ahhr, I don't even know where to start?

The glass kingdom is so beautiful. I don't care how impractical it'd be, I wanna live there.

Marceline's old look was so awesome!!!!!! like, don't get me wrong, she always looks good, but I know WLW were being fed this episode, lol. As for me, I want Bubblegum's wardrobe STAT as not only is it a pastel lover's dream come true, but all the clothes look so soft (which I don't know how they manage to convey in 2D but they did).

Domestic Bubbleline has my entire heart forever, bye!!!!

Am I correct in seeing the friendship between glass boy & See Through princess as a parallel to Finn & Bubblegum's early friendship? Like tall, beautiful royal that's bogged down by her duty vs small, younger(?), disabled (which Finn later ends up becoming), blue boy who starts feeling dismissed/not taken seriously by his older(?) friend & wants to help/be a hero despite not having any powers (ok, so Finn has lightning amuinty, but that didn't come till much later)? Plus, there's the whole fire monster trying to kill him only for it to turn out to not be so bad, like when flame princess was introduced, & turning into (what looks to me like) some kind of a butterfly at the end, which we know was one of the things Finn was reincarnated as in a past life.

Those royal helpers (or whatever they're called) suck ass.

Simon, I love you!!!! Also, Ignore those monsters. Wear that moomoo & crown if it helps you cope.

They bubble wrapped him!!!! I'm crying, that's the sweetest, funniest & most practical way to go about it though like dude, you're litrually made of glass & already have a cracked face. You need to be way more careful about your obvious fragility.

I'm sorry, Bonnie, but the song does slap.

This is the major Bubblegum betrayal that I've been hearing about? Omg you have to be kidding. Like, I'm not saying you HAVE to love her as a character, but you really had me scared she was gonna do something absolutely twisted & it turned out to be.....this? Like, don't get me wrong, her reasoning wasn't the best & it was definitely bad of her to keep it from Marcleline, but do we really want characters without flaws & why are some fans seemingly convinced that Bubblegum is the sole AT character (especially out of her & Marcleline) that has any? Like the episode litrually gives us serval scenes from both of their POV's to show us that they each have good & bad qualities, streaths & weaknesses, baggage/insecurities & don't always handle everything the best way (especially in the past) but that they clearly love each other & are now in a much better place. Where they are willing to learn & grow & be vunrable by actually talking things out & apologising if they do something that hurts the other. Also wasn't, overcoming past hurts that are impacting your current, hard earned happiness by realising that you can't always be right/win all the time & that it's not always worth it if it means loosing what really matters to you, a huge part of the theme of the episode?

Mama Marcleline, we finally get more of your backstory & god dose it hurt. RIP queen, you did the best you could (am still scared to find out how you ended up pregnant though coz like, Hunson's a freak LMFAO!). Also, baby Marcy, I wanna hug you so bad 💔😭.

Ok, that song is so fucking cute that it makes me wanna bite my own cheeks off & eat them, and no, I don't care that that doesn't make sense.

That's how she got the band shirt? Omg, shoot me dead!

Oh, Simon, you know those banana guards can't do shit lol.

Omg Finn!!!!! Ok, so I kind of already saw that visual (being online, you can only avoid spoilers for so long), but still. My man, looking good. No prostetic? That's probably nice for amputees to see. The Jake Tattoo makes me both happy & sad because, on the one hand, it shows how much they love each other, but on the other, he probably got it because Jake is dead in this time period (I'm assuming).

Omg, grown-up Bronwyn is so cute 🥰!!!!!!!!

All the other cracks being revealed in others was a lovely touch. Thinking about the cracks as flaws or imperfections (or truma like the "damage" people accuire through being alive) & how society demonises that to the point where people feel like they have to hide them & then lash out at others who can't or refuse to hide theirs. Also, love the princess getting pants, lol. The angry monster secretly having a cracked face the whole time got me ok . Like, no wonder it hated the palace for how they acted towards glass boy. When it first saw him, it was probably so happy to know that someone like it existed & then was so hurt that Glass Boy was trying to change himself to be like everyone else.

Yes, Glass boy, kill those assholes!!!!! I hate hypocrites. It's sadly realistic, though. Sometimes, it really is the people with the most flaws who wanna condemn people the most.

[i-make-fun-of-spn-characters]

hope this is ok to ask but if you’re willing to spill would you mind talking about some of your spn fic opinions 👀👀

DISCLAIMER: Everyone who writes fic is awesome for doing it and should do what they want and my opinion doesn't matter because who gives a fuck what I think??? Write what makes you happy!!! It doesn't matter!!! If someone doesn't like it they can read something else or write their own fic!!!! I will jump to the defense of an author whose work I don’t even like if they get a bitchy entitled comment from some jerkweed who thinks every fic should be written exactly how THEY want.

That said, in MY opinion *breathes*:

Need more of Cas being a bitch. Cas can be cool sometimes yes and sometimes he can be awkward yes but also he doesn't answer the phone, and when you call him out for ghosting you he just shrugs and says he was busy. He rolls his eyes because you're exasperating and your voice is grating. He ate his own siblings a few times and also said he wanted them all to die because they were so annoying about free will in season 6. Like yes he does little puppy dog eyes and says “sorry” but then he does that same shit again for the 12 billionth time to everyone around him. 

Need more of Dean being that guy. The "I was right about the thing and you didn't listen to me and it blew up in your face, idiot" guy. Like a lot of fics that are Dean centric seem to focus on Dean's self worth issues and his belief that no one loves him and he doesn't deserve happiness because he is a Loser and Stupid and a Weapon and is parentified which is a thing that Dean deals with feeling, but he is also THEEE most annoying hoe when he is right about something and he will NOT shut the fuck up about it. There is a lot of "Nobody will ever love me I am not smart like Sammy ;_;" and I would love to read more "I am literally the actual psychic in this family and I can sniff out how this stupid plan you came up with will fail with the accuracy of a bloodhound looking for a corpse that is just 2 feet away and I will tell you exactly how dumb you are then the universe will prove me right after you go behind my back and I WILL remind you about it at least 5 times." Yes Dean has self-worth issues but also yes Dean will endlessly shit on beings who could kill him in the blink of an eye and will tell everyone they are fucking stupid. 

Nobody can write Sam. Not you, not me, not his fans, not his haters. If, by some miracle, a person CAN write Sam accurately, then they write the best Sam ever written in the entire universe and there are galaxies exploding in your brain as you read his inner monologue... until you get to the part where Dean or Cas becomes relevant and then you immediately have to click out of the fic because this author put every single stat they have into Sam Understanding and apparently there’s are Cas Understander and Dean Understander penalties for doing that of like negative 5 trillion. Worst takes you have ever seen in your entire life. It is too painful to continue reading. Horrible crimes are being committed.

If Kevin appears in a Sam-centric fic there is a good chance the author is mean about him. 

Now that we can exclude things from search results on AO3, I need a tag called: #Everyone gets an A+ on their Mental Health Report Card after the decades of torture and/or lobotomies except Dean who is the Only Fucked Up One Because He Just Can't Manage Like Everyone Else Can And He Is Explicitly Treated As A Burden For Having Trauma Instead Of The Idea Of Him Being A Burden Being Subverted. 

Fics where Cas shows up in the fic to randomly bring dues ex machina from randomcountry and then disappear again as unobtrusively and robotically as possible "You're welcome my friends Sam and Dean Winchester beep boop" *flies away on wings ignoring canon wing loss timeline* are just????  

I notice many authors don’t care/remember when Cas does and doesn’t have certain powers in canon and he flies everywhere and it leaves me very disoriented. Like who even IS a Cas who never lost his wings? That is a different guy.

Every time someone writes "Dean finally pulls his head out of his ass" in the summary of their destiel fic a cute baby animal gets swallowed up by quicksand. 

Making Benny evil is a self-report that you don’t know how to write a friend or love interest for Dean that is better than him and that fact lives rent free in your head. 

[dedtoot]

watched the jsrf documentary recently and i am so unbelievably dissapointed

moved my rant from the tags to here. Spitted too much. Not like it matters to anyone except me cuz post is irrelevant now

Ok ik that i should not have expected something actually accurate from this video, considering how the fandom is and considering that from the very start i've seen the red flags so to say

One of these red flags is that jsrf is "literally LITERALLY just tony hawk games but roller skates". The first actually concerning thing i heard from others about it. It's my go-to way to determine that the person I'm listening to probably has no idea what they're talking about or a really missinformed. Never failed me so far

But oh man, even keeping that in mind, i did not expect whatever i got

Not only there were just no actual game analysis, which is wild, since you're like SAYING why this game is worth being played, but everything actually game related is a straight up lie

YEAH WE'RE GETTING TO LYING ABOUT GAME MECHANICS HERE

First, saying that grind combos areva rhythm game element. It could be just some weird wording, but it's just. Not true at all. Also calling this mechanic "silent". Whatever that supposed to mean. Not only it's not silent because Roboy tutorials exist and this mechanic is there, and nowhere us it said to be rhythm based, only timing based. And the tutorials ARE useful, since the controls were really expended here(using pretty much every button on the controller), but also that's not a silent mechanic purely for the fact that the character itself isn't silent during the entire thing.

Second. Saying that all characters got unique stats and that is showing off their personality. And uhh. What does that say about the love shockers and the immortals, with their stats. Or hell, clutch and jazz, who are literally right next to each other in the character select screen. It's dumb what I'm trying to say.

And not to mention the general overhyping of the game, by saying it's so so deep and thought-provoking oohhh(but then also never mention that one of jsr inspirations was movie fight club.why). And then just. Ignore that this is a game with not much dialogue. And then ignore every character aside dj k?????????

Like I'm not asking about talking about every single character, but at least like. Mention the plot relevant one's ??? Just the ones you can't possibly avoid. I know that dj k is the main man here but he alone does not move the story.

This kind of overhyping genuinely ruined my experience. Like i was under the impression that I'm gonna experience something out of this world and fun. But i came out of it disappointed. Mind you, i still have a lot to like about the game, but it's just. Not this. This is literally the the worst thing you can do when recommending the game. You will disappoint people. It's not this big grand thing because it wasn't allowed to become one. It's a sad but inspiring story about how even despite this, game is still liked. You don't need to pretty it up, lay out the truth.

Next thing about the video is that this is not a game documentary, but some random hot takes with some lies and long history lessons.

History lessons were a good part of it, but the fact that they put the us culture stuff before talking about the japanese culture is umm. This is a game made to portray a japanese culture from the time?? Like specifically. It's confirmed. To the point that one dev did not like the inclusion of grind city levels in jsr, because, in his mind, it was watering down its identity. Not to mention that this practice specifically existed just to make overseas audiences more comfortable, which is real fucking problematic if it's about something culture related imo. Anyway, he has a point.

Absolutely not denying the influences from other cultures here, because that's just stupid and wrong, but get a clue jeez.

And related to getting clues. This video used videos of actual protest while dj k's monologue was playing in the background. YOU JUST DON'T DO THIS. It's gross. It's weird to do even IF the game gets that real. And this game sure as hell doesn't.

Also do not understand who was this vid even made for, since fans will get nothing new out of it and newcomers wont understand what's the game is about and will be thrown into a sudden history lesson

So yeah highly don't reccomend watching

(update. i spitted out most of my problems with it and my comment was removed. so much for that free speech topic present and indorsed in the vid. also i made a vid that explains my points better)

[zannolin]

9, 11, 42

9. Do you comment on stories you read?

as many as i can, yes. i pride myself in doing my best to be the kind of commenter i'd love to have on my own fics. a lot of the time i don't leave as extensive comments as i would like because i'm really tired and low-energy by the time i have a moment to read fic but dammit i'm going to leave a nice comment! the author deserves to know their work was good and i enjoyed it!!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

this is evil because i hate choosing. um. okay.

there's daggers in men's smiles by pinkgrapefloyd continues to haunt me. it's a lawrusso fencing au spanning the movies to cobra kai timeline and it's SOOOO. like it's everything to me. please read this fic. how is this not the most talked about fic in the world.

autostereogram by marycontraire. talked about this one before on my blog. will continue to do so. forever. set like nebulously post ck canon, it's about robby finding out lawrusso were briefly involved in '85 and it's so....like okay it's part of a series about them getting their lives together and getting themselves together and the whole messy history of it all and the entire series is good i cannot stress that enough. but this one. it's so devastating and perfect and the choice to tell it via robby's pov is fucking genius and i keep thinking about it. please read this fic. please hold my hand and talk to me about it. it haunts me.

love me on purpose by smoosnoom. oh. my fucking god. this fic. look me in the eyes. IGNORE the fact that it isn't finished. it doesn't fucking matter this fic is ART. i saw the summary and was bewitched body and soul. it's stranger things, post-canon, post-college. mike and will haven't talked for four years and everyone's back in hawkins for christmas and it's the most poignant, devastating, heartfelt story about depression and self-worth and losing touch and reconnecting and growing up and leaving home and coming back and GOD the byler writers have me by the throat and the heart and the soul also because they understand the assignment (estranged childhood best friends) (knowing someone better than you know yourself and then losing them and trying to find yourself again and maybe them too) (the inherent tragedy of growing up and growing apart) (the love was there and it mattered and what if it isn't anymore? what if it is?) this fic rly just made me lose my mind more over mike wheeler than i do normally which is saying something. if you know me at all.

honorable mentions go to compunction also by smoosnoom (ohhhh mike wheeler) & what kind of man doesn't by menocchio (lawrusso roadtrip fic of all time)

42. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

i believe it was sleepless nights, losing ground, i'm reaching for you by andiwriteordie just this morning. i've been waiting all day to have time to comment lol. it's basically what if mike and will were both being vecna'd in season 4 and i really enjoyed it! the end is so cruel to me personally (in a fun way i would love another 10k words stat pls) but yeah i'd recommend it. it's definitely one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've found so far.

get to know your fic writer!

[foxtriestobiteandmaimandkilland]

ok so like despite spending years being constantly online and looking at the words Dungeons and Dragons, i am at a loss as to understanding what d&d is 😭😭😭 and i like ik you love jrwi so like... care to explain maybe??? i really wanna know fhdgdfkgk 😭😭

OH MY GID HM YMG SO MHYH GMYMDOG HI SAPPHO THANK YOU SI MCUH FOR ASKING ME HJS I AM GOING TO EXPLODE OKAY SO.

As a premise i have played dnd but with a group of my friends for like 3 oneshots where i had no idea what was going on really and the dm was pretty inexperienced SO i am going 2 go off of all ive picked up from jrwi mostly since thats where ive learnt like. Everythin abt dnd. SO I MAY BE WRONG ABT SOME STUFF BUT IM EXPLAINING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEONE WHO HAS LEARNT EVERYRHING LIKE THIRD HAND.

BUT. so dnd is. Fuck iidk what term u use to explain it but its basically exactly like playing pretend as an 8 year old except with more rules and its fantasy instead of like lego ninjago or whatever The Council of 8 year olds has decided 2 play today.

Im gonna relate EVERYTHING back 2 riptide btw forrrr ease of access SO YEAH OKAY.

In dnd, there r basically 2 roles u can be. Either the dm (the dungeon master) or a player. Simply these r basically like the narrator and the characters sorta. The players each have their own player characters (pc) that they play and they very rarely change who they play in a campaign. They might get a new pc if their old one dies or smth happens to them where they arent around for a while. The dm however, plays pretty much every single other npc in the campaign (and grizzly, the dm of riptide jrwi, does it so fucking well and he has a unique voice for like 80 different characters or smth hes insane). The dm also tells the story and presents the players w the situations they need to get past. The players then decide what they do. The entire thing however is a LOT of yes anding. For example, the dm might be like "so you step into this tavern and around you you see [description of tavern bla bla bla] and sitting at the tables r groups of people, many of them bald, [bla bla bla more description of everything happening round them]. And then with that the players might decide their characters talk to each other a bit and then slap each bald man, resulting in the dm then later creating a combat with the players fighting against a group of bald men. For example. But yea thats the dm n the players basically n yea

However beyond just usual roleplay of like characters interacting and chilling, theres the whole thing w ROLLING. Bc like. Just ROLL with it. Bc like any rpg every character, pc or npc or enemy or anything. Has stats in a few different skills. Since i barely remember playing dnd myself bc that was like almost 2 years ago or smth fuck if i remember, im just gonna list of what i do remember from hearin shit in riptide. So these skills r shit like charisma and strength and wisdom n acrobatics n whatever yknow and i dont actuallyyy remember but ITS FINE. and then there r 2 ways ppl can roll these things. Either checks, or saves. Its sorta difficult to explain the difference between a check and a save because in terms of technicality i dont actually know the difference. But usually checks are for if youve decided to just do an action, but saves are for if youre trying to negate a negative effect or. Whatever. For example, if youre trying to pick up something very heavy, youd make a strength check. But if you were like trying to. Fuck wait i cant think of an example of a strength save. Errr. Ok fuck it im switching 2 charisma examples. A charisma check would be if ur tryna like idk win someone over, but usually ud make a persuasion check or a deception check fuck wait er idk the difference. OKAY IGNORE ME HERE BC IDK THE TECHNICALITIES OF DND THAT WELL BC I HAVENT PLAYED IT IN A WHILE AND I ONLY DID A COUPLE VERY MESSY ONESHOTS. but a saving throw would be for smth likeee lets say someones tryna possess u and u dont want em to. U would make a wisdom saving throw to try to like Resist the possession. If u win the save, u dont get possessed. If u fail it, u get possessed. And the way u determine if something fails or wins, is with dcs. I do not know what dc stands for but its basically whatever number u have to roll higher than to pass.

ANYWAYS. With rolling n shit, with checks n saves, u roll on a d20 (a dice with 20 sides) and then add or subtract ur modifier in that ability. For example, gillion in jrwi has like a -4 to dexterity or smth absurd bc hes not dexterous at all. This means that if he rolls like a 15 on the d20, thatd become an 11 instead. If it is actually a -4 idk the exact number. Altho, chip jrwi has like a +11 to persuasion because hes fucking insane. So then if he rolls a 15 persuasion check thst becomes a fucking 26. Also, rolling a natural 20 or a natural 1 r like. Sorta big things as they r the highest and lowest u can roll. So like, rolling a nat20 is almost always an immediate success UNLESS whatever ur trying to beat has an insanely high dc. For example, at one point gillion had to make a constitution save with like a dc 35 because he had done some crazy shit. He rolled a natural 18, and with all his spells and all his modifiers to give him some kinda buff, he only made it to like a 32 USING ALMOST ALL HIS AND HIS FRIENDS SPELLS. So in this case he wouldve had to roll a nat20, but without the spells and buffs, that wouldnt have succeeded because it wouldve still been below the 35. Anyways.

Theres also a thing called rolling w advantage or disadvantage which is from whst ive seen, just rolling twice and taking whichevwr roll is best. So if u have like an advantage to a perception check bc like lets sayyy someones also looking with you so theyve given you advantage, you could roll twice and keep whichever roll ends up higher. And then vice versa w disadvantage.

Anyways theres a lotta mechanics i cant rlly fully explain bc i dont fully understand lol BUT smth i can explain to the best of my ability is COMBAT. so with combat, you begin with everything that is going to be fighting rolling initiative. This means player characters who r in the fight, enemies in the fight, and anyone who is going to join the fight later. The initiative rolls the decide the turn order, with the highest initiative going first, then down the turn order to the lowest initiative. Each turn, the character can do a buncha shit which i dont fully know BUT. I do know that everyone gets an action for their turn, so with that they could likee go to attack whatever theyre fighting, or use their movement to get away, or cast a spell to help themselves or their friends out or WHATEVER it can literally be like idk fuckin anything. Ur action could b shootin the bad guy in the face or it could b pullin down the pants of ur enemies. But then, some ppl also get a bonus action or maybe everyone or maybe idk i dont know the logistics but theres a number of Things u can do on ur turn until u decide that ur done doing things or if ur out of actions. Also tho bc its still very roleplayed, anyone can like talk to each other, regardless of turn. So like a character during their turn might shout to their ally, who can talk back instead of being locked in a stasis of Not Their Turn. However the person replying cant act on anything until it is their turn. Which leads 4 some kinds funny dialogue ig. Like 4 example it might be like. "Hey, ally, throw the Object over here !!" "I cant !" "Why not ????" "Its not my turn im stuck in my idle animation for the next 6 seconds !" Or whatevwr the fuck. But then they could throw The Object their next turn. Ummm and yeah. Also w combat p much most attacks have to pass the victims AC which is their armour class. So like, if one person wants to stab someone else, the dm will b like okay roll 2 hit. N if the other persons ac is sayyy a 15 (if they remember 2 put on their leather armour and dont forget to equip it for like 50 episodes) then that roll to hit has to end up above a 15, or itll miss. Or however thwy want to flavour it. Sometimes the miss will be flavoured as hitting armour and just clinking off of it, sometimes itll be the victim dodging, sometimes itll be just a complete fuck up, whatever rlly. And then yeah also in combat, if someones hp is reduced to 0, they do not automatically die unless theyre reduced to under double their max hp i think ? Idk the exact thing but no hit so far in riptide has instakilled i dont think other than one that was like crazy insane but that one was like crazy insane dc104 strength save holy fuck kinda blow. Actually i think its different when it comes 2 enemies bc the pcs have plot armour or smth idk man. But if someones hp is reduced to 0 they dont die, theyre knocked unconscious. And then, they remain unconscious until somebody heals them to above 1 hp, and for each round or smth they arent bsck, they make death saves. Idk if the dcs always the same or if its different for different ppl, it seems to just be a dc10 but idk. But if in total the character fails 3 death saves, they r just straight up dead. But if a character succeeds the death saves, theyre still unconscious, but not dead. If theu roll a nat1, thats automatically 2 failed saves in one. But if they roll a nat20, they recover a singular hitpoint and come back up.

Anyways thats all the mechanics shit out the way i do not understand it that well and a lot of it involves maths that im too scared to find out more abt BUT. in dnd as well there r races and classes. The race is like. Ur species. For example in riptide bc i love my examples, chip and jay r just humans, whereas gillion id a triton, so like. A fish guyyy. But with legs hes not a merman. And he is amphibious. Other races in dnd tho include tieflings and orcs and genasi and dragonborne and goliaths and That One Thing My Friend Was In Our Oneshot I Forgor and tabaxis and halflings and elves and a fuckkk ton of different races dude theres a lot. All of them r fantasy tho other than like. Humans. And also pets if there r any. Sometimes the pets r fantasy too. Like on the crew there was a bluebird called apple and she was just a normal bluebird. Well she had some shit going on but tbat wasnt important bc what was important was that her race was at that time just a normal bluebird. Altho theres also the most specialist girl in the whole wide world called pretzel and shes a frogtopus and she has the head of a frog and rhe body of an octopus but frogtopi dont exist irl but yea.

anyways, classes r different to races in that theyre less to do w genetics n more 2 do w abilities. For example, in riptide once again, chip is a rogue (i think hes taken like 2 levels in sorcery ? But hes primarily a rogue), jay is a hunter/ranger i forgot which one and an artificer, and gillion is a paladin and a sorcerer. These classes affect the abilities these ppl r good at and the things they can do, and if theyre magic, the spells they have and also the beliefs they hold. I thinkkk paladins r known 4 bein v like religious n shit bc a lot of the time the other players have been like Yeah Trust A Paladin To Thank God For Us Saving His Life or smth like that. But other classes include things likeee fighters and bards and warlocks and barbarians andddd i forgot any others becauseeeee yeahhhhhh awesomeeee but yeah!

Andddd yea honestly i think thats all the dnd stuff explained theres a few like other stuff ive probably missed out and ive probably got a buncha this shit wrong BUT this is enough 2 understand riptide atleast. I think. Basically, tldr, dnd is roleplay with more rules and fighting and fantasy and the dm is like god to ur players but like also god of the gods. The end.

[your-local-grubdog]

Guess Who Beat TotK Today!

I just beat Tears of the Kingdom's main story today! And so I wanted to scream about my thoughts here really quickly with a spoiler-free review. Maybe I'll come back some day to give some more thoughts on spoilers.

Overall, the game is really fun and even amazing. Ultrahand is such a fun mechanic to mess around with, I've built a lot of fun stuff using it. Others have really pushed the mechanic to its limits and it genuinely feels a bit like engineering with how much testing and re testing and making updated versions of things you've designed in the past. I genuinely mean it when I say it feels like it teaches players the core skills of engineering. No, most of what you build isn't realistic, but you are learning how to be patient, how to carefully examine problems, how to work with limited resources (in the cases of shrines and when you realize "fuck I'm out of [thing] what else can I use"), and how to accommodate for other limitations like space, material properties, and gravity. None of it is 100% realistic, but it's more about the fact that you get used to such things which can be applied to the real world albeit with different limitations. Think like how working with redstone in Minecraft is sometimes refereed to as redstone engineering. That being said, I think my only issue with Ultrahand is that the furthest distance from which you can grab objects and the furthest distance you can move objects to feels like it's just barely too short. I understand this was a balancing choice, but I can't count the number of times I thought to myself "how can I not reach that" or "how can I not put it there".

Fuse alleviated the issue of monster fights in BotW not being worth it after a certain point. Monsters don't just drop weapons and potion ingredients, but also weapon parts -  meaning that, in general, you'll be getting more resources from fights than you put into them so long as you didn't get in over your head or otherwise messed something up. Granted, as you progress through the game fighting lower-tired enemies will eventually become pointless, but to a far more acceptable degree than in BotW. In that game, I eventually avoided all monster fights unless I really needed a specific drop or they had a weapon I wanted. In TotK, I just ignored weaker monsters with worse drops in favor of stronger monsters with better drops. This system also made the durability mechanic much more bearable, as you could more reliably get good weapons.

The game also tried to make rain less annoying which it... mostly succeeded at. There's now a "slip resistance" stat you can get from armor, food, and potions. By and large, this works, even with the inclusion of surfaces that are always slippery to climb no matter what. But there's one floating sky island that's always slippery due to rain, has really sheer cliffs, and if you fall chances are you're falling out of the sky entirely, and I hate it with every fiber of my being </3

Both the skies and the depths were fun to explore, each providing their own challenges and mechanics. All three "levels" of the map felt super different and expansive, effectively meaning that - even though they did re-use BotW's surface - the map size has been more than doubled, meaning there is so much to explore. I will say that most places in he depths feel very samey and that, besides a few major land marks, I probably couldn't locate where any specific clip or screenshot was taken without the mini map present. Sky islands also suffer from sameness but to a lesser degree. The skies could have also benefited from one or two more islands the same size as the starting one that are also unrelated to story progress. Both for sake of variety and for more places to explore. Regarding the depths again, I understand the desire to make the depths climate-controlled except for the lava area, but I do wish they let the Gerudo Depths be sweltering hot as well and mountain depth be freezing cold, each with their own aesthetic. Still, the extra spaces to explore with their unique challenges and loot are welcome, and I just adore how progressing in your exploration of one aids in the exploration of the others; exploring the surface grants you resources to get through the other two while also granting ways to get to the depths and skies, the skies have resources unique to them that make travel faster for all layers and depths travel safer, and the depths have resources useful for fights in all layers as well as upgrades that make travel faster in all layers. Exploring the depths also helps you find land marks on the surface (and vise-versa).

WE ALSO GOT NEW ENEMIES!!! The enemy variety in BotW was severely lacking, which has been largely rectified. Some enemies are unique to the depths and one enemy type is only found in one area on the surface prior to making story progress (after which it is depths only), but the increase is still greatly welcomed. Excluding color/skeletal/elemental/other variants, we went from 11 basic enemies and 3 "mini boss" enemies to 19 basic enemies and 7 mini boss enemies if I am counting right. More variety is always more fun!

Dungeons were also MASSIVELY improved from BotW! They all have unique themes and unique bosses rather than using the same theme/similar bosses. All of them were pretty good as well, still being completely nonlinear. That being said, there are some bosses that I didn't care for. I won't go into detail until the spoilers section, but the TL:DR for them are as follows:

One boss you have to fight using a brand new mechanic that I don't think we were given enough time to really figure out, not helped by the fact that the second phase does that annoying "you must wait a random amount of time for the boss to finally do the one thing that will let you attack" thing. Not a hard fight in the grand scheme of things, but an annoying one

The second phase of one of the Zora temple boss (which is what I'll call it to be as light on spoilers as possible) is so goddamn annoying. It moves faster than you and you have a narrow window of opportunity from which to attack. Not helped by the fact that... the way I'll phrase it here is that you need to be physically close to the thing that makes the boss vulnerable to attack to, well, make the boss vulnerable, but sometimes you're just. Not close! And can't get close enough in time! Just the second phase is bad, though, first is fine.

Two phases of the final boss really rely on you being able to execute flurry rushes with tighter timing than usual or just tank the hits. Prepare to either practice perfect dodges or - if you're like me and just suck ass at timing - get a lot of gloom defense and gloom heals ready. Like a lot a lot of heals, the road to the final boss is designed to drain your resources. Maybe put a travel medallion down occasionally so you can leave, restock, and return while maintaining progress.

All that being said, the Gerudo temple boss is my favorite in the game and maybe even my favorite across the few Zelda games I've played! It's just a lot of fun, there's so much to keep track of yet it never feels completely overwhelming or annoying (though the very final phase of the final boss is very kickass and I love it too). In fact, the Gerudo questline in general was my favorite of them all.

I also liked how the first town (at least, the first one the game tells you to go to) will change over time to reflect story progress. Just a nice touch. And while I won't say a peep about the story I will say that it was fantastic. Nothing ground breaking, of course, but a good time for sure.

Very low context spoilers, you won't know what I'm talking about until you see it yourself, but the Gloom Spawn enemies absolutely should have been named either Dead Hands, Red Hands, or Wall Masters. Just saying.

My over all thoughts is that the game is good, really damn good. Solid 9/10 for me. There's so much to do and see and much fun to be had. It is absolutely worth your time. Your money, however... This is a $70 game instead of a $60 and, honestly, as much as I love it and want to recommend it whole heartedly, I find that it struggles to justify the increased price tag. The world is massive, yes, and the physics engine is still amazing, but it was built using BotW as a base. Had it not done that and still be just as bug and dense, yes, easily worth the extra money. But as a product based on a separate game that was $60, I don't find the extra stuff added to be enough to justify the higher price point. Either snag a used copy or use that voucher thing Nintendo has on offer. Just don't pay the full $70 if you can avoid it.