#parallel testing

[reunitedinterlude]

supportive friend

[pippuns]

you ever think about how fucked up it is that shen qingqiu's first mission out of sect was him subduing the skinner, a demon who targeted and replaced people no one would really miss?

very fun how the skinner ended up getting killed and destroyed by someone else who took the place of a person no one really missed

[the-apocalypse-is-upon-us]

are you guys seeing this shit

[bleue-flora]

What's often interesting to me, is Dream spells it out in the finale and people often still don't get it, so I thought it'd be interesting to see what he was actually referencing here. To see where it all started.

[24:27] Tommy: “That first war, me and Tubbo versus you–how it should have ended–why’d you take it?” Dream: “Tommy, you ambushed me and killed me. You stole all my shit! You tried ambushing me in a little cave–you don’t remember that? I feel like you just–your memory is just–gone.”

So here is the ambush Dream is talking about, where Sapnap and Tommy basically decide to just kill Dream and then kept all of his shit. [Death 1]

He gets killed again when he tries to take back his stuff. [Death 2]

Tommy kills him for fun right after he respawns with nothing. [Death 3]

Then after Dream gets his stuff back (via our boy Punz) and he takes the discs to get Tommy to stop, he gives Tommy back his items. But unsatisfied, Tommy goes after Dream, gets one of his discs back and hides it in the little cave. Dream tries to find it, while Sapnap and Tommy try to stop him. They are unsuccessful until, Tubbo brings them axes and they sneak up and corner Dream in the little cave, ambushing and killing him. Once again, taking all of his shit, (including, yes, the other disc.) [Death 4]

[27:58] Tommy: “Think about that, we could’ve been friends but no because you have to figure out the reason you have to get–”  Dream: “Yeah we could’ve but you–you ruined the chance of that long ago. It was you.” Tommy: “I ruined it?” Dream: “You ruined it!”

And I don’t think it’s unfair for Dream to say that in the finale, because for Dream it’s this stream early on, these moments that started it all. It’s these instances of Dream getting murdered and robbed and made fun of over and over. Him, trying to not just make peace for everyone, but also reclaim respect and peace for himself. It’s Tommy chasing after Dream when he has nothing to kill him and rub it in his face. It’s Dream, even after all of that, giving back their items. It’s these instances of violence taken too far to the point they clearly pissed Dream off and didn’t care or follow his very simple request of just giving an apology and his belongings back that shape my distaste for Tommy and sympathy for Dream. It’s these moments that I feel like are gone from Tommy’s and our memory that highlight a different story.

[28:34] Dream: “Yeah, we could have been friends if you weren’t a little shit.”

[travelling-hydaelyn]

Lahabrea possessed Thancred before this questline even started which means these are back to back Laha interactions. Here is how he greets the WoL in the Waking Sands immediately after his Disney villain introduction.

Meanwhile in Minfilia's solar:

presumably he took a brief break from running Alphinaud's errands to go dramatically laugh at the WoL

[raayllum]

4x09 / 6x01

[slutforpringles]

Daniel Ricciardo 2013/2023 parallels

2013: Daniel drove the Red Bull RB7 for the Young Drivers Test at Silverstone in July

Definitely the test went the way I wanted. My little off - I didn't plan on going off but it probably showed that I was on the edge, on the limit and that's what they want to see at the end of the day. So, I was really pleased with basically hopping out of the Toro Rosso coming straight into the Red Bull and I think already my first timed lap or my second timed lap was on the money. That's what they wanted to see and then the long runs were good. I think I did all I could in that half a day.

2023: Daniel drove the Red Bull RB19 for a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone in July

Did the first run with those couple of spins, came back in, so I did maybe, I don’t know, eight laps or something, maybe 10. Came back in, we put some new tyres on, we put FP2 fuel in the car. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, the first timed lap I did was on the money … like on the money. Like, you take the fuel out to put it to quali fuel, and it was a few hundredths off Max [Verstappen]’s pole time.

via: F1 Beyond the Grid: Daniel Ricciardo: Dreaming of a ‘Perfect’ Red Bull Return / Sky Sports: Toro Rosso - Ricciardo on the Rise

[clockcower]

Hey is anyone else getting increasingly worried about sampos ties/mentions of HI3? Like he's appearing in the crossover event and as far as I can tell at least 3 of the curios from his pop-up shop event are herrscher references - herrscher of wind can "create the ideal fluid", which day 1s curio claims to let you control. herrscher of sentience's core was turned into a feather that could do a ton of mental manipulation stuff, which day 5s curio looks so, so similar to. The first herrscher of reason, before our welt yang, was welt Joyce. And joyce had a scarf that looked suspiciously like the weird infinity representing the 7th days curio. And his hair was that deep blue.

Combined with that one trailer featuring welt yang in front of the mech, all the belobog characters that are references to HI3 characters, and the really weird dialogue from the pop up shop? I have a lot of half baked theories, and if any of them are true then mr yangs gonna have a real bad time in 2.7

[jojo-schmo]

The 24 Character Strengths are awesome references when writing characters!!

I've found this website to be extremely helpful and cool while fleshing out my characters' personalities and motivations.

Even if I only have basic personality traits for a character, exploring strengths that I feel fits them and reading their descriptions is fantastic for inspiration!! It really helps narrow down the basic ideals I imagine a character would believe in, and then I can get more specific from there. It's a great guide to springboard off of!

Each strength is sorted into one of six virtues. Starting with a broad virtue, for example "justice," and honing that down into the strengths of "fairness," "leadership," or "teamwork" makes writing them really fun!

Here's an example of the "fairness" strength description! Lots of detail and tangible qualities describing it!

Of course there are infinite ways to interpret a character strength, just like in real life. And people aren't always black and white and follow a strength 100% of the time. But it's been extremely helpful to see specific traits being described in so much detail, and imagining different scenarios that a character would react in. It's like I can understand them a bit more and think a little like them, especially if their trait isn't one of my personal strengths. :3

But I also recommend taking the actual personality test for yourself! I took it years ago and it was really cool to put a name to some of my strengths and see how detailed this descriptions were. And when my friends and I shared our results, I felt like we understood each other just a little more. :)

Just thought I'd share this reference that's been helping me lately :D

[nenoname]

I'm a broken record about this but after so many years of being left with the Axolotl poem about Bill, it'd be so lame if Bill never did reincarnate, and it'd be just as disappointing if it ended up being something minor like a cicada (although it'd be hilarious if he reincarnated, immediately died and then reincarnated into something else).

And to me, the wording of the original Axolotl poem really does make it seem like the reincarnation itself is the 'redemption' and the deal is that Bill is basically passing responsibility to someone else, after he's done with therapy and like.... doesn't pass down all of his many issues.

(Plus I dunno if it's my understanding of reincarnation that's wrong but it feels that when Bill is like 'yeah let me use the reset button!!!', he's forgetting that its way different from using a continue and he's just gonna end up with the equivalent of a shoddy new game plus made for a wrong character/setting at best)

Meanwhile, we're left with Bill poem about Stan that's the same in execution (a cryptic message between space and time and by that I mean hidden on the internet lol), with the same purpose (an opening/lingering mystery for Alex to use when he wants to return to the series) with the same elements (fire, lies, redemption, home) and numerous comparisons to Bill's own philosophy on lies that's repeated again in the same website.

(Also been thinking about how amnesiac!Stan could sorta be thought of as a reincarnation of himself in terms of mind only. The same soul being hit with that reset gun button, a chance of a new self unburdened by the past, but via the power of love and family they went nope!!! we want you back!!!)

Either way, with the poem and the book's ending there's the obvious Bill+Stan connection that we're supposed to acknowledge!!!

[mostly-natm]

I did not pass my driving test today!

[reunitedinterlude]

slaps (1, 2, 3)

[ceaselessims]

okay this may be an unpopular opinion but i really don't care bc im just very annoyed lmao

the one huge criticism of malevolent that i have is tied to the reason the show is so impressive and that's the fact that harlan does all the voices.. because he does all the voices, the female characters that aren't elderly or monstrous can only be alluded to

but there are still female characters that hold significant importance that can only be mentioned of in passing , and one of them is, of course, nurse Lilly who was the first person to show john human compassion while arthur was in a coma

john consistently references how Lilly's kindness was so transformative for him that it was the start of how he genuinely changes his perspective and identity once arthur awakens,, BUT WE DONT GET TO SEE HER OR HEAR HER and it's a little annoying for john to constantly mention this time period and this nurse as something So Important, but everything happened off screen in season one

and like ?! idk !! from an audience (read: my) perspective he has been through more important and difficult things with Arthur and other characters... to keep coming back to Lilly, whom we never saw as like THEEEEE moment he learned humanity is starting to really drive me a little crazy

i GET that narratively john needs something other than arthur as exposure to the kindness of humans. as a character he needs more motivation than just one very flawed person that he cannot be separated from. but to hear john say he loves lilly in today's episode was so jarring to me !!

and maybe i'm at a disadvantage here. maybe because i started like a few weeks ago and i haven't been here from the jump, im missing some greater context for her character and what she represents in the overall story that can only come from knowing a story front-to-back for a couple years but fuck

[ihaveforgortoomany]

The quote at the very beginning of Reverse 1999 (spoilers for the Great Gatsby by Scot Fitzgerald i guess)

Speculation

I haven't seen anyone talk about this quote, I don't blame anyone since the text appears very briefly in which Vertin starts speaking, but I think the quote should be taken into consideration for the game to introduced by this quote + the fact that Fitzgerald's novels are referenced twice in game (the fore mentioned quote and Chapter Two)

The quote:

"It eluded us the but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster stretch our arms out farther .... And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past"

This is the final line in the Great Gatsby published in 1925 as the penultimate novel by Fitzgerald, the final being Tender is the Night (I haven't read yet but probably should later heh).

This describes the tragedy of Gatsby's dream, an effort to reclaim the past and his love Daisy Buchanan that ultimately ends in his death. The line can be interpreted as either the inevitability of the past coming back or the futility of obtaining your dreams because of obstacles or the "current" (for Gatsby this is his social class and the hedonism of the Jazz Age/ 1920s).

So... Reverse 1999 introduces us with this quote and notably we hear Vertin say "No, it is not, the storm is coming" almost as a response to the quote.

This is again speculation but it sounds like the quote here sets up the narrative themes of the game, the concept of being trapped or doomed by your own past is made into a literal (physical?) entity of the storm - actively stealing away the future away from 1999. It sets up how Vertin stands in opposition to the Storm and seeks to find the truth and return to the year 1999.

I may explore this further but the game narratively deals with themes of being defined the trapped by your past (Forget Me Not, Manus Vindicate) vs moving forward to the future (Druvis, Vertin, etc) which can be seen in very chapter and event story so far.

It should be noted that the Great Gatsby is tragedy, if this is implying that Vertin's goal is ultimately doomed to fail it is too early to make concrete answers (but 100% we all on the pain train with no breaks and orange snacks).

In short the quote could be establishing Reverse 1999's theme of attempting to reclaim/ go back to the past vs moving forward to the future.

(Wow this is long)

[perfec11on]

[raayllum]

It's like you said