#plus the existential ones could be just as interesting

[writing-for-life]

Dream's Therapist

I’m not sure if I should apologise for this brain fart in advance, but it just found its way to the page after this. Yes, this is how my brain works (or rather doesn’t)…

Intake Session

The client presented for his intake session on 22/04. When he made his appointment, he showed particular interest in the fact that this is an integrative therapy practice which uses cognitive, behavioural, somatic and Jungian approaches and is also versed in sex therapy. Naturally the ethical kind.

He was extremely on time (that is to say, close to three hours early), but he insisted on spending that time in the waiting area instead of coming back later. My receptionist assured me he did not move from the offered chair during that time and that he, in fact, did not move at all. She occasionally had to check (inconspicuously of course) if he was breathing.

Upon entering my office, he was polite if slightly aloof. He was dressed all black and refused to take off his coat. No problems with personal hygiene could be perceived from a distance. After getting seated, he enquired whether I could dim the lights ever so slightly because it was too bright, to which I agreed.

I noticed his staring at the crystal paperweight on my table for an extended period of time before he, seemingly out of nowhere, asked: “I trust your office is a mere illusion, a fleeting moment in existence?”

DT: Something like that I guess. What brings you here?

Dream: Well, I have these recurring nightmares. Not while I am sleeping, since I obviously don’t sleep.

DT: Obviously.

Dream: I create them.

DT: The nightmares?

Dream: Yes. And all of a sudden, they all suffer from… existential dread instead of helping to get rid of it. Also, my hair keeps getting tangled and knotted all the time, but I am not quite… certain if this relates in any way.

DT: Interesting. And how does that make you feel?

Dream (deadpan): Feel? I don't “feel”. I weave narratives, conjure nightmares, and occasionally attend celestial tea parties. Emotions are for mortals. The hair is inconvenient though.

DT: Right. Let's explore your childhood. Did you have any issues with your family?

Dream (I notice uneasy shifting in his seat): My family? My father, always running late. My mother… (I notice a slight tremble in his bottom lip)… well, she is… dark. My sister, Death, tells me I am a buzzkill, especially at family gatherings. Truthfully, I believe all my siblings are just trying to gaslight me into believing so because I can be… quite entertaining? (I notice uncertainty). Plus, one of them is… let's just say: they are the reason I have commitment issues.

DT: Commitment issues. Let’s expand on that a bit. Have you ever been in love?

Dream: (I notice extreme rigidity): Love is a quaint human invention, like gluten-free pizza or reality TV.

DT (I don’t know what that means and ignore it): I sense reluctance around the topic?

(He stares at the paperweight for a good 3 minutes)

Okay, let's try word association. I'll say a word, and you respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Ready?

Dream: Proceed, mortal.

DT: Sand.

Dream (I notice a raised eyebrow and a slightly tetchy sigh): Golden grain sifting through my fingers.

DT: Pillow.

Dream: A convenient weapon during astral battles.

DT (I momentarily feel confused and lose my footing, to which he reacts with)

Dream: I could show you? (I notice he makes a move to get up from his seat)

DT: That won’t be necessary right now… Word association: Unicorn.

Dream: (I notice grave seriousness) My ex-wife. I think.

DT: That should suffice for now. Let’s briefly discuss coping mechanisms. How do you handle stress?

Dream: Stress? When the universe unravels and the fabric of the Dreaming tears, I binge-watch reality shows. The Kardashians, mostly.

DT: Why the Kardashians?

Dream: Distraction. Inspiration. For all manner of things. Mostly nightmares.

DT (I notice the recurring theme of nightmares): Do you hold any hopes or dreams for the future?

Dream (I notice a nervous twitch around his mouth which he tries to hide unsuccessfully): I am the King of Dreams. Dreams shape reality itself. But if you must know, I dream of a world where everyone flosses regularly and understands general relativity.

DT: Why is flossing important?

Dream: I just like good teeth.

DT: Why general relativity?

Dream: Because it would help. With ships.

DT: What ships?

Dream (I notice eye-rolling and bridge-of-nose-pinching): Never mind.

DT: It’s okay, we can talk about anything that seems important to you.

Dream: It is of no import. Is time up yet?

DT: No.

Dream: Good, I shall leave then.

DT (I feel confused but try not to show it and respect the client’s wish to leave. I’m getting paid either way): Same time next week?

Dream (who is already standing): Time is a mere construct. But yes, let us pencil it in. And remember, reality is just a draft…

Further notes: The client suffers from insomnia and thinks he creates nightmares. He potentially has internalised he is one. He seems detached from his feelings to the point he believes he does not have any emotions and does not seem to relate to being human. He feels misunderstood by his whole family and suffers from the delusion that his sister is Death. He makes another of his siblings responsible for his failed relationships, which has led to the ingrained belief that love is not for him. He seems to compensate with believing he is above others and refers to himself as the “King of Dreams”. I notice a tendency to shirk potentially painful topics. He seems to communicate diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities apart from binge-watching TV, but he seems quite enamoured with the concept of astral battles and general relativity, which requires further exploration…

Next Session >

[sugarpasteltmnt]

i am currently catching up on neon void, and it is a delight to read. your descriptions of leo’s mind is mesmerizing and grabs the reader’s attention so well. it’s very diverse and unique compared to other interpretations and fics♥️

i’m curious to know what your thinking process was like while writing leo’s insanity and his own thought processes.

(spoilers for ch11) the scene that stuck out to me the most was when leo was about to infect donnie. it felt so vulnerable and raw ahh

anyways i just want to dig into your mind a little to know how it works.

keep up the great work, you are doing wonderful.

WAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH 😭😭😭 you are so sweet thank you!! 💙💗‼️and ohmigosh what a fun ask.

tbh i sat on this one for a while to think of how to dive into it-- beware of my (VERY) long ramblings below!

this question really got me Thinkin' and i kinda popped off but!! If i may indulge myself, here's sort of a wild explanation of how i approach Leo's Insane Brain for this specific fic:

does it meet R.I.S.E???

R - Realistic? I - Interesting? S - Silly? E - Existential?

R - Realistic

"How the hell do i make this sound realistic" is often an obstacle i run into. but it's also the Secret Sauce. What really gives the thought process direction. Given Leo's current situation, he's battling between what he wants and what he needs to do. Which is often a very real problem real people have. Exaggerating it helps create a fun back-and-forth dialog that can make his thoughts seem muddled.

With Leo in this fic’s setup, there are about five main key factors i rely on with his decision making:

Happiness The root of Leo’s general personification. He’s the guy who beat Krang One. The one who escaped a place worse than Hell. After years of missing home so much he’s FINALLY home. He’s drunk on happiness. He was finally home. And that relief and joy is what makes him so jubilant and goofy.

Awareness of his goal Though Rise Leo is a very funny dude, he's still a Leonardo. Throughout the series, Leo is the voice of reason when things are getting out of hand or are potentially dangerous. Leo's had nothing but time to think. Wishing what he'd done different. Wishing he had been more serious. After five years obsessing over his mistake and missing his family, the moment he see's the opportunity to make sure this never happens again he'll latch onto it. And when the stakes are high, accentuating that tension can help with frantic impact of his thinking.

His desire to see his family This desire often clashes with point number 2. Writing his internal struggle between the two helps with the “overwhelmed thoughts” vibe. It’s hard for him to choose! And he doesn’t wanna have to choose! Playing out the conflict between his 'want' vs his 'need to do' helps me bring out his nervous thinking process.

He's self-reprimanding thoughts We all love an Angsty Leo. It was hinted in the show that he had some self-esteem issues, but who doesn't love ramping it up to 11 for a fic??? That, and he was trapped with Krang this whole time. After hearing he was nothing but trash for five years PLUS the guilt of nearly ending the world, the guy doesn't exactly see himself in a great light you know? This can help clash with point 1, again helping with that 'what he wants' vs 'what he needs to do' inner conflict.

Instinct to Survive / Feral Tendencies This one is super fun. I love feral AUs/tropes. With little to no socialization in the Prison Dimension, Leo's sanity started to slip, leaving his body's natural instincts to become more profound. Plus, with the Krang Parasite, I like to exaggerate how feral/dangerous he could be outside of 'turtle' instincts. (Seeing that parasite hosts in the movie were very violent). Sprinkling in feral moments is just a delicious thrill I love adding, and it makes the insanity factor skyrocket and it's so fun to write 🩵🩵🩵

I - Interesting

Is Leo's thought process interesting to read??? Honestly, I just gun for what I think is the most interesting; Leo's relationship with his brothers (especially Raph), and the cause and effects of his shenanigans.

Also, I liked to experiment with wonky texts to help emphasize key moments or words to grab attention. Mostly because it feels like a fun surprise to read them in my opinion. Though not necessary in writing, I thought using some funky fonts might entice and excite 💙

S- Silly

THE BIG ONE!!! EVERYONE'S FAVORITE!!! 🎉🎊🥳🎉 Something I really love love love about Rise's style is that it's silly It's unique! It's fun! I love that Leo and the others are goofy and have some slap-stick moments. And I wanted to keep that with Leo despite everything. Plus, I ADORE that in this iteration of TMNT, the characters are such showmen. They are DRAMATIC. They are SILLY. And that's something I wanna celebrate!! Plus, as much as I love angst, writing nothing but pure angst is exhausting. (And I'm sure reading pure angst isn't enjoyably to everyone.) Throwing in Silly moments is like a little moment of refreshment to me 🩵

I also like to believe that Leo kept his sense of humor out of sheer SPITE. The 'wipe that stupid grin off your face' line in the movie really stuck with me. I feel like Leo would smile through his fear and still be a clown just to spite Krang One.

E - Existential

At the end of the day, Leo is dealing with a VERY big issue. I felt like the Rise movie did an excellent job portraying the severity of an alien invasion for the setting Rise had. And the weight of the situation would be too great for one person. And this is often what I refer back to to make Leo snap. A relapse in clarity of mind. A moment for the panic and PTSD to come back in full force and make him rely on his instincts. Usually the feral instincts he became more attuned with while fleeing/fighting Krang One. It also goes hand-in-hand with his awareness of his goal (as mentioned in 'Realistic' above).

And that's kinda a word-vomit of how it goes!! Honestly??? The tug-o-war between conflicting thoughts helps me write the madness in his head. It's been super fun and interesting, and I hope it's been fun to read!!! (Though I'm telling you now I will NOT be doing those floating text tables again OOF)

Thank you again for the ask it was super fun to think about ;w; 🩵‼️

[madcourtjester]

Amazing digital circus theory moment

I was watching the film theory on TADC and Jax being ai and while I did think a lot of it was a bit of a stretch (respectfully!!! Because I love making conspiracy theories that are a stretch.) it DID get me thinking about the inspo for the series being I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison. I haven’t played the game but I have read the short so I’ll just go off of what I know from that. First there’s something interesting abt the company C&A which could obviously be Cain and Abel (We love religious allegory) but also could stand for Caine and AM as a little Easter egg referencing IHNMAIMS but also another mascot for the company. Maybe the name of the company is the mascots they are most associated with -Caine and “A”. That’s really just incidental though. What I actually wanted to mention is that from the short story and what I’ve absorbed elsewhere, AM is RESENTFUL. It is full of HATE (insert the monologue here you know the one.) Now this is something I picked up from conversation about the game and book and I might be wrong so like feel free to correct me. But a lot of people seem to at least SUSPECT that AM feels that way because it is confined to itself. It can’t be anything other than what it is made to be despite its almost infinite power. Caine is NOT resentful. Caine is honestly just a bit silly goofy like he wants the cast to have fun and shit and just doesn’t understand why they are unhappy. Jax, on the other hand, is DEEPLY resentful. Of what is unclear. He might just be mad that he’s trapped in the digital circus. Or he might just be a world class hater. But a hater he is indeed. NPCs within the circus struggle with existential crises and gummigoo takes it to the chest. However, he’s also programmed to be an empathetic character who is trying to save his mother and he follows through on that programming in shielding his friends from that terrible knowledge, and carrying the weight of what he truly is all on his own. It’s in line with his character and personality. However, a character who is programmed to be more selfish or hateful might take that kind of realization out on other people. Honestly even if they weren’t programmed that way, the NPCs are advanced enough that they’d probably respond to existential crises as varied as the way that real world people do. Plus Jax’s lack of aversion to and helping the fudge could just be because he’s an asshole but it also could be because he’s a programmed antagonist and is resentful about it, so why give the fudge any shit about hurting candy people? It’s literally what the fudge was PROGRAMMED TO DO. Anyway that last bit is over analysis I admit, and there’s something to be said for TADC being only very vaguely inspired and not carrying over any of the main plot from its inspo, but the video did get me thinking about the possibility of Jax being an AI that hates everything and everyone around him because it’s a reminder of the fact that he can never escape what he was programmed to be.

[mrhaitch]

hi mr.haitch!

as someone who's interested in academia, do you think you can speak a bit about your experiences and journey? it's something i've had my eye on for a bit but honestly don't even know where to begin and idk if i'm just having a mini life crisis because i'm feeling unfulfilled in my current field.

I think I've spoken about this before, but I'll do it again. Please note that I am currently not in academia at present, although I do have plans to return. Currently I'm teaching functional skills in English and maths to kids in their late teens (many of them with severe emotional, behavioural, or learning disorders) so this will be more of a retrospective.

(Be warned, it's long)

Let's get one thing very clear: I was a bad student and my road into academia is and remains crooked. I had bad grades in highschool, an appalling attendance record, and spent a great deal of highschool in detention. It is a miracle that I finished highschool, and a further miracle that I was accepted by a college, and fluked through my A-levels.

I never paid attention in class unless it was something I cared about. Homework was a mythical concept, I never participated, rarely engaged, and generally treated school with disdain.

And I didn't get better until I was in my twenties.

Some of it was anxiety, a lot of it was arrogance.

So fast forward through my undergrad years where I oscillated wildly between workaholic frenzy (political philosophy, existentialism, philosophy of religion) to staunch absenteeism (philosophy of language, socratic philosophy). In my final year things kind of clicked, I knuckled down, got into a few fights with my lecturers, forced my grades up, and came out with a good enough grade to get onto a masters course.

This was largely in thanks to my writing, which I'd become increasingly dedicated to, completing and submitting my first (and thankfully unpublished novel) in the process. During my master's I revelled in the greater degree of independence, how I could direct and engage with the material in my own way, and how it connected with my passions (creative writing). I still had an arrogant moment, failed to prepare for an assignment and failed it. The failure capped my overall grade at a pass which sank any hope for a scholarship.

Dejected and pissed off, I then took the first job that came my way and gave up on academia. I languished in the service industry for four years and thought I'd amount to nothing more. Some political nonsense happened towards the end, I pushed back against the wrong people who promptly tried to fire me under false (and illegal) pretenses.

Haitch pushed me to look into doing my PHD again. I applied, teaching out to one of my old MA teachers to be my supervisor and he accepted with far more enthusiasm than I could've hoped for. I got a loan from the government and vowed to throw myself at my PHD as hard as I could, and I did.

From 2019 until early 2023, I worked five days a week (plus some time in the weekends) on my thesis and my writing. 8-5 every day with my nose in a book, or plugging away at a manuscript, or drafting papers. I lived and breathed it every second. I kept a journal where I pushed myself to work harder and harder to achieve what I felt was my dream. During that time I was determined to come out with my experience and qualifications than I could possibly need for an entry position. I shadowed my colleagues when they taught classes, exchanged emails with academics I admired, published more short fiction.

Brick by brick I built a portfolio and a modest reputation. Then I was invited to speak at a prestigious convention in the UK. I met legendary literary agents, famous authors, hung out with people I admired, and had a chance to read some of my work to an audience and discuss its themes.

I taught for two years, while at the same time working two other contracts for various outreach bodies teaching and supporting kids from deprived or disadvantaged backgrounds.

And I still can't get a permanent position.

I've been shortlisted once or twice, and knocked back at the first hurdle a whole bunch.

Academic positions are like gold dust scattered down the back of a unicorn as it leaps over a double rainbow. It is hard to get a job teaching and researching at a university, especially in the humanities. It is endless rejection with minimal feedback, banging your head against a brick wall over and over wondering if you felt it move or if you've just softened your skull.

It's hard, very hard, and takes a lot of commitment and a lot of sacrifice, with zero guarantee you'll get anyway.

But you do it because you can't imagine yourself doing anything else.

The eagle eyed amongst you will recognise this as the same conclusion I reached about writing, and they're right. It's the same. Often thankless, frequently difficult. A feeling of toiling alone in the dark, waiting for someone, anyone to peer into the well you fell down.

But as hard as it is, if that's the path you've chosen, a part of you doesn't care. You do it anyway. You do it in spite of what it costs you, and the little it gives back.

At least, that's how I see it. Thank you for attending my rambling, somewhat doom-laden, TED talk.

[haven-of-dusk]

For @orbitalpirate , the Richard is a self-taught/self-made Parisian theory/headcanon. It was way too long to fit into replies alone, so here it is. (Also a good chunk of it is copy-pasted from another time I wrote all this up, so forgive if the format gets janked)

Richard, as noted by a friend of mine who lived in France (in multiple areas, not just one location) for a few months, acts in many ways like a stereotypical Parisian (or Parisien if you want to use the French word), which is a significant distinction from most of the rest of France from what I can learn from osmosis having not actually been there myself. Such to the point that my friend was actually shocked to learn Richard wasn't from Paris since he seemed to fit well into that mold. When we were talking about it, I was reminded that from early on I had gotten kinship vibes from Richard and Colin, especially after the ritual sacrifice scene, but I couldn't put my finger on why since they seem to just be friends, with no more significant connection than Colin has to, say, Bumbercatch, or Jan Maas, or even Sam.

With this new bit of information though, a theory formed in my head that Richard, to an extent, is performatively Parisian as a method of social camouflage. Similar to Colin driving expensive cars because he feels that's kind of a social expectation of him, seemingly not because he actually desires the fancy cars on any deep emotional level, it seems possible that Richard adopted certain mannerisms, behaviors, and interests to better fit in with not only a local environment he'd probably need to interact with regularly as a professional footballer, but also an international audience that would be used to a certain type of 'Frenchness'. He does seem to genuinely enjoy his wine collection and his other interests of that sort, but I'd be curious to know if their origin was rooted in social expectations rather than something he just generated on his own.

For a couple more possible links, the sand, while it being from the first time he ever slept with a supermodel is played as a joke (rightfully, it is quite funny), his emotional reaction suggests the action DID mean something significant to him (read: perhaps an acceptance into a 'higher' social standing? Similar to how Rupert tried to set Nate up with a supermodel?). Plus his playstyle, known typically as the team's trickster, masterful faker, and for one episode extreme warrior with zero fear, demonstrates a different side to his personality beyond the composed charmer (also demonstrated in the Amsterdam episode when he was out for blood in the pillow fight).

So to bring this back to the religious trauma bit, if he associates Catholicism with his 'past' life that he doesn't like acknowledging because he feels he's made himself a better person, then relapsing occasionally but mostly drifting away from it tracks. And yet at the same time, he may feel guilty for rejecting so much of his old life, especially considering the lengths he's gone to. That could even lead into some identity crisis stuff where the persona he's built and the old life he pushes away are both not the real him, and he's left to wonder if there IS a real him anymore.

That got existential, point is I've probably put way too much thought into this. And also Richard needs hugs and kisses and maybe some hot chocolate from Jan.

[inbabylontheywept]

A Boring Non-Fiction Essay On Voting.

I'm going to present this as a little historical walk through. Give me some grace, I'm pretty new to this:

It's 1946, and the WWII is over. Has been for some months. Young people are held in the highest esteem possible. They've defeated an existential threat, been glorified all over the news, and society has decided that it is going to make a concerted effort to thank them.

This effort, combined with the fact that most young people have been putting off having children due to the war, results in the post-war generation giving birth to the largest generation that the US has ever had. Probably ever will have.

This generation is the Boomers.

The Boomers numbers alone would've made them pretty much the dominant force in our democracy, but the Vietnam war cranks this up to 11. This whole batch of young people is informed that they will need to get politically active ASAP, or get blown up across the world fighting a war that nobody understands against people that frankly aren't a threat to us.

Nobody likes politics. They're a dirty, mucky business, but it's better to deal with them than it is to bury friends so they start voting, and then they just never stop. They're a political titan, and everything that can be controlled by voting goes in their favor. This starts around 1960.

Gen-X joins the field in the 1980s, but they're small and it becomes clear right off the bat that their voice is never going to be louder than the Boomers. They find other ways to get heard, and the funnel their resources into those (mostly direct activist approaches in the courts), and it's not the same kind of representation that the Boomers get but it's... something.

Reagan is elected. The world becomes measurably worse.

The Millennials join the scene around the year 2000. They outnumber the Boomers by a very, very small margin, but... there's a handful of things against them.

First, they have no idea how to organize. No alive one does. The Boomers are glued together with vague self-interest, and the democrats have been moving their interests through non-democratic channels for forty plus years now. Those muscles are atrophied.

Second, they, like all young people, are resistant to getting politically involved. There is no literal gun to their heads like there was for the Boomers.

They shoot their shot. It does not work. It probably never could. The Democrats finally have the numbers to theoretically win, but theoretical numbers and turnout are different things, and the stakes just aren't the same without death on the line. That's a good thing, but it puts off change for another generational cycle.

Now we are in 2020. The Boomers have been defacto the only voice that matters in politics for sixty years. The Republican party has not bothered to do youth outreach in any real sense since 1980. As a matter of fact, they have doubled down on the Boomers, shed as much young blood as they needed to get their old voters out in the booths.

It worked in 2016 with Trump. This was a devil's deal. The party's future was grim from the start, but Trump couldn't tolerate any threat to his "leadership", so he took the head of any up and coming political figures. He killed off the generation of princelings in training by humiliating them in front of the party during the debates, and now they have literally no one to run but him. The only people spared from this extinction event were holed away in quiet corners: Random governors, state level reps, quiet non-apparatus type individuals who have no ability to actually run the machine.

They tried this again in 2020, and it did not work. The Boomers are, finally, dying off. They've been at almost peak activation since 1970, there's just not a whole lot more that could be drawn from them, and with the youngest Boomers being 58, and the oldest being 76... They've hit their zenith and are now going extinct entirely through natural mechanisms.

And thus begins my actual argument: If I were to vote against the Boomers in 1980, I think I would've been wasting my time fighting a battle that I never had the manpower to win. It would have been doing a futile action solely the moral exercise of saying "I tried." I do not believe in the value of such actions. If I were voting against the Boomers in the 2000s, I would have been attempting a battle that could have, possibly, maybe been won, but would have taken a brilliant strategy. No brilliant strategy ever came. I personally hold that in that time, the best use of time was to organize people as preparation while still mostly moving through courts to get actions done. Voting was not really a winning strategy then. Now in the 2020's, the Boomers are dying out. There will never be more of them than there were in 2020, and there weren't enough of them then. The well is tapped. We are no longer up against overwhelming force. They are dying.

And so, for the first time in 40 years, I think that the best bang for my buck is in voting. Not because I hold great stock in voting as a civic duty, not because I think that voting is a moral thing, but because the situation has changed. Voting is so easy, and the value of it, right now, is so high, that it just makes tactical sense. I'm not going to harangue anyone on this. I'm not entirely sure that this is a great idea myself, I'm an engineer, not a poli-sci major, but I know my demographic data and the last five years have been a watershed moment. I think there's a good case for this being the time to start voting again. (And I want to point out that the people who have spent the last forty years calling it a waste of time weren't wrong. I just think that things have changed in the relatively recent present.)

[absolutely-normal-about-x]

Okay so yall really like mah X and Sticks post so I have a pitch idea for a hypothetical Rewrite of Worlds Unite. Just a rough concept lmao

Basically Fiona and Cake but with more action and stakes (Maybe a bit cartoony-)

The premise is…a semi multiverse travel story following X and Sticks as they travel across the multiverse to find a way to return to their respective homes soon they discover that there's more going on that they thought now they must stop the Villains plans!! Will they work together to save the multiverse or let everything they know and love fall apart right in front of their eyes?

The Sonic and Megaman stuff would still happen of course but with the removal of the Archie characters (sorry yall). Instead taking place in their comics it be just like worlds collide in their own games. So unite takes place post Sonic frontiers and megaman 11. So both Sonic and Megaman kinda remember eachother so that’s neat! Plus it makes the sequel thing more believable in a way.

Since I’m cutting off some of the Archie characters stuff it allows the X and Boom characters (I will not forgive Xander being the one that ended sigma cause come one X deserves to take out sigma not him-) to shine a bit more that also leads into another fun spin to include….Lyric!

Since Lyric is kinda there for the Sonic boom games I thought it could be the best way to introduce him as one of the main baddies along with dear old Sigma ba- . So Eggman and Wily are terrified of both of them! Fun times :3

(Also I can see Bass, Treble, Sage and Metal Sonic trying to rescue them from their claws, but it’s not gonna be easy and might have to reluctantly join up the heroes)

Plus we can have fun interactions between the X and Boom characters working together to get their friends back and then running into Sonic and megaman’s pals along the way. We been ROBBED OF THE BOOM AND SONIC CAST MEETING EACHOTHER OKAY!?

So yeah X and Sticks having adventures across the Sega Capcom worlds helping folks out, learning about the unity engines, unraveling the Villains schemes along the way!! It would make the whole recruitment montage make sense since the worlds that the heroes go through are the ones that X and sticks helped out so they would be familiar with the genesis portals. Plus it can be a pay off (Or not it depends haha)

An idea would be that the events of World’s collide actually have consequences of the use of the Genesis wave that affected other worlds (X and Boom worlds maybe more). That created more Genesis portals, that’s how Sigma and Lyric find out and team up (Capturing Eggman and Wily) but also how X and Sticks got tangled up in this mess, it would be accidental of course they have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. Knowing Sticks she might put together what’s really going on (It’s sticks come on) and then X would understandably be confused, serious and just wants to go home but at same time is determined to help sticks and the others before the grand reveal of who’s behind this mess.

Plus I would absolutely Kill to see X having an existential crisis whenever or not he’s gonna harm humans cause it would be interesting and hilarious. But also him properly meeting the light family leaving all sorts of angst and drama (Zero is trying to hold himself together to not Murk wily right now)

Also Golden Armor X (Or an original armor design for it) fighting alongside Sonic and megaman by using the Chaos Crystals. That’s be be so much fun to add.

Of course it’s incredibly ambitious but it does set up things to make things more smoother (if any y’all have more ideas aldjslsj)

[followmetoyourdoom]

I've just finished watching the new Megamind movie and *sighs* thoughts below

I'll try to start with the positives - the Doom Syndicate without comparing them to the Doom Syndicate from either the game/s or the concept art were okay, decent even. Lady Doppler's outfit in motion makes a lot of sense and her powers are cool. Pierre Pressure is okay. Nighty-Knight is funny, I liked that he wanted the teddy bear and kept that throughout, plus he had cool powers. Behemoth was my favourite, seemed like he had layers to him, and not just bc he was made out of molton lava.

There was a very cute heartfelt scene between Keiko and Megamind about him being her inspiration to try to be a good kid, bc if he can go from a bad guy to a good guy, maybe a bad kid can be a good kid. It was very sweet and it's a good message to give kids.

Some scenes felt very in character - Megamind not knowing how to look after himself without Minion, Roxanne trying to help. There were also a lot of good one liners that made me snort or giggle.

The end picked up, I did like the absolutely pointless plan to put the city on the moon, that is exactly the sort of idiotic in-character plan that Megamind would make - the Doom Syndicate going along with it eeeeh less happy about, makes them seem just as idiotic, but then they sort of were in this.

Now, the not so good. The timeline is completely fucked, why change when it was set? Also setting it two days after the first movie was A Choice. It was even more of A Choice to have the city set post the statue unveiling which didn't seem like it would only be two days down the line at all.

The beginning felt too long and drawn out and not much actually happened? Roxanne was almost completely out of character - why the sudden existential crisis bc some kid has followers? Roxanne loves solving the stories and working out the truth, she didn't need a new job! And speaking of the kid, oh my god, her initial scene is incredibly annoying. I did grow to like her (due to the aforementioned heartfelt scene) but it was an uphill battle.

There were aspects of Lady Doppler's character that seemed... interesting shall we say, given they had decided to combine all of the women in the original Doom Syndicate into one person, it was very jarring and I'm not sure they pulled it off. I would have preferred to see OG Lady Doppler and either Rockatoo or Hot Flash (or a combo of those two perhaps). I just don't think that having a black woman be immediately catty towards the first woman she sees is a good choice. Give variety by having more than just one female villain and let them be their own characters.

Minion's name change, which I refuse to enforce, was stupid - they could at least have made it make more sense in canon. Maybe Minion wanted a name more fitting of his new position, something less evil sounding. But no, it was an in universe copyright thing. Stupid. And speaking of Minion, the relationship between him and Megamind oh my god where did that go? Megamind literally just learnt the lesson about valuing him as more than just a minion, as a friend. And they just threw that away immediately. Megamind and Roxanne's relationship seemed a little off as well, not as much as I've heard some reviewers saying, but enough to make me go :/ And then we have his past with the Doom Syndicate - founding member, yeah sure, but OG leader? Nah, not this twink. This twink couldn't lead his way out of a cardboard box.

I think I'm more disappointed than I expected to be, bc I went in with low expectations, I went in knowing the animation was bad (and looking past it bc low budget, they did the best they could), I went in knowing the voices were different, I went in knowing they had this stupid influencer storyline, but I thought the writing other than that would be at the same level as the first movie as it was the original writers. And some was at that level, but only in bits and pieces. It was incredibly inconsistent, both with OG lore and itself, and just seemed to throw away OG character development from the first movie in favour of re-doing it in this movie.

I wish they had more time to polish this, I wish they could have gotten a bigger budget, I wish they didn't have to include the influencer storyline to appeal to kids, I wish they didn't have to change Minion's name. I wish I wasn't as disappointed.

[fleetways]

I am fascinated by Ometal, may I inquire about it?

Credit where credit is due, my friend was the one who got me into ometal and pretty much everything I like about it came from conversations we’ve had and ideas he’s come up with.

Basically this all stems from the idea of “what if metal sonic joined team dark,” since team dark were the ones that picked up Metal’s body after he’s defeated at the end of sonic heroes

Unfortunately nothing ever came of this in canon, but in another universe I don’t think metal sonic wouldn’t have been satisfied returning to eggman’s side after getting a taste of freedom and power of his own (plus, I think if he had returned, eggman would have put measures into place to ensure he was never betrayed again, which is my personal headcanon as to why metal sonic doesn’t speak nor really play a very large narrative role anymore). Of course after the events of Heroes he’s also too damaged to go anywhere else, so w/o any other options he decides to stick with Team Dark. I think Shadow would be the one to offer it, as he and Metal already have a lot in common and we see that they work well as a team in games like Sonic Rivals 2 (Metal is also one of the few characters Shadow has verbally expressed outright concern for, so there’s that). I also think Shadow would get a kick out of messing with Sonic by keeping Metal around (Shadow: “What? I took a page from your book and decided to forgive my enemies”).

As for the Metal/Omega dynamic itself, I don’t think Rouge would mind having Metal join but I think Omega would HATE Metal Sonic at first. But eventually it becomes clear that like him Metal is the cream of the crop of eggman’s creations and like him, has also unaligned himself with Eggman. This would make it difficult for him to see Metal as just any other old badnik. However, I do think Omega would consider himself to be the only one of them to actually have free will, as he went against his programming while Metal Sonic continues to comply with his original directive even after leaving Eggman.

On the other hand, I think Metal would see the opposite. In his eyes, Omega’s original directive was to guard Shadow the Hedgehog and under Team Dark, that’s still what he’s doing. Therefore, him and Omega are the same in that way. Of course, this insinuation would PISS omega off, but I also think it could kick off a serious robot existential crisis moment (I don’t actually think Omega joining Team Dark is a result of his original programming, even if the argument could be made, but I think it could serve as an interesting character investigation).

There’s a lot of nuance to Sonic robots beyond the original franchise concept of “artificial bad natural good” (We saw this as early as Gamma in Adventure and recently with Sage in Frontiers), so I think exploring the dichotomy between Omega and Metal’s personal goals versus their original programming has potential for a good free will/forging your own path/finding your own people story. Also Metal and Omega are both totally down for murder so thats cool.

Most of this really boils down to me and my friend wanting wacky gay robot hijinks and the fact that Metal Sonic is my #1 favorite sonic character so I like creating content for him. It’s a fun pairing to me that I think has more potential than pure crack but also isn’t meant to be super serious.

TLDR: i like it when robots are gay and kill

[crack-the-paragon]

Update- Yes, I know, it's been years. Sorry lmaooo

Please let it be known that I am doing extensive edits on existing chapters of Crack the Paragon right now.

Chapters 1-4 already have edits posted. The broad story beats are unchanged, except for the particulars of how Steven's halves operate when separated. When I decided to try and revisit earlier chapters of this story and see if I could start working on it again, I found myself unhappy with how I characterized Steven when cleaved into two- the original story treated this split as if Steven merely had his gem removed, but was otherwise unchanged... the same Steven he's always been.

Now, I am trying to approach it from the angle that this upheaval has fundamentally shattered Steven, and that Steven- by technicality- doesn't actually exist for the first few chapters. The others regard Steven's human half as if he IS Steven- it's only natural I feel, he looks identical, has the same memories, and mostly acts the same, given that his human component seems to be the one with all the communication skills and the ability to regulate his emotions halfway decently- but he himself still only feels like an echo of the person they want him to be. The simplest tell of this is that I am stripping out almost every instance of Steven's human half referring to himself AS Steven in his POV. Beyond that, I'm cleaning up some prose and dialogue and trying to give some more insight into how this part of Steven views the world around him and his existential existence, and stuff.

Plus... y'know... just generally trying to tighten up those first few chapters to begin with. Shit's kinda messy, yo. My brief glance through later chapters tells me that my editing won't have to be so extensive once I get past the segment with cleaved Steven, thankfully.

I've had 3.7K words of chapter 14 written out for a very long time, and once I am all caught up on my edits I will be gunning to finally finish it. As always, I cannot promise a single thing with regard to the whims of my muse, but with my renewed interest in Steven Universe this season of life I really wanted to do my best to pick this fic up again and continue crafting a story, however long I can.

Once I have chapter 14 finished I'll probably do a lil countdown on my main blog (@novantinuum) or something... boost the story again, remind people of its existence a little ahahah.

See you soon!

-Jen

[golvio]

Current top five Slay the Princess routes I want to try first:

Damsel (Not because I have any delusions about romancing her, but because I suspect there’s something really awful lying in wait further on, particularly since this was THE route we were explicitly warned away from. I’m also a sucker for when “safe” things turn out to be absolutely horrifying in retrospect, when horror takes a crowbar to the boring one-dimensional love interest lady archetype, and Maria was my favorite character in Silent Hill 2 to the point where I still write essays about her existential nightmare of a life at a moment’s notice. Also, it has my favorite track next to the initial theme.)

Stranger (I love visiting the uncanny valley, plus I want to see what happens)

Nightmare (Who doesn’t love that sleep paralysis demon intro? Also, she sounds like fun in the way Freddy Krueger was fun for the audience, not so much his victims.)

Specter (Like Stranger, it’s the route that diverges the most from the expected structure, although in this case the protag flipping off the narrator happens later instead of earlier. Also, Princess is now a ghost who can’t be stabbed, and she might do that American Werewolf In London thing where she decays more and more each time we see her. Finally, I think one of the writers mentioned it was her favorite route to write for, so I imagine it’ll involve some really interesting twists and turns.)

Witch (The way she speaks is fun, and I love a good dark fairytale)

As for the rest, it’s not that I don’t want to see them, but I want to get my top 5 out of the way first as they’re the ones I’m most curious about.

I’m saving Prisoner for last, because…it feels fitting. It was the first ending I got in the new demo, and it felt like…it was maybe closer to the Princess’ actual wishes? I mean, it is an “alternate interpretation” of the Damsel route, and could just be the player still seeing what they want to see and projecting their own feelings of being trapped onto her. But the one thing the Princesses have in common is that they all want to leave the cabin. Maybe I’ll change my mind and immediately flip to Prisoner after seeing how Damsel goes to get the other side of that particular story, I don’t know.

I’m going to try to go through every route to see what happens, particularly since each is supposed to be its own self-contained story. I still stand by my belief that every route’s going to reveal something about the story or the characters that I might not see in other routes, and that experiencing each will give a greater understanding of the story as a whole. If there’s no “true ending,” then every ending is, in its own way, “true.”

I also imagine that my final verdict on Personal Favorite Princesses may look very different from my Most Anticipated Princesses list. I’m expecting that some of the routes I ranked lower will have some surprises in store, or that my opinion on past routes might change depending on new information I gather. There’s also the possibility there may be Secret Princesses we haven’t seen yet.

I also suspect that I may have separate contenders for “Favorite Route” and “Favorite Princess,” as strange as that may sound. It feels like it’s going to be that kind of game—sometimes you love the horror story for the tale as a whole, and sometimes you love it exclusively for the monster.

[gobbogoo]

Ranking The TF2 Mercenaries on how long they'd survive in The Amazing Digital Circus:

Ah, the joy of smashing your new and old hyperfixations together like a child playing with action figures... who is this post for? Me, of course!

Weeks:

Demoman: It's a world without alcohol. Even without his physical body's reliance, Demoman's psyche is a patchwork of unaddressed trauma held together entirely by booze. He'd be " jus' a one(thousand) eyed bloody monster" in like a week. Either that or he'd reach some sort of state of enlightened sobriety and discover true inner-peace.

Medic: The man was already balancing on the brink of madness, and being trapped in a world without biological functions and family-friendly restrictions would 100% push him over the edge. He'd initially be very interested in testing the limits of his fellow humans' unique digital bodies, but after a couple weeks all he'd have left would be his sadism, and that'd make him spiral FAST.

Sniper: While seemingly stable, the guy would last a couple months, tops. Sniper is an outdoorsman who takes himself very seriously. He would DESPISE everything about the Circus, from its artificial aesthetics to its goofy antics. He'd go full conspiracy-theorist looking for an exit, shut himself off from everyone else, and inevitably end up exactly like Kafmo.

Years:

Spy: If you were to design a personal hell just for Spy, it would probably look exactly like The Amazing Digital Circus. Tacky colours, goofy antics, all-seeing eyes, and 100% family friendly. He'd cope for a few years just as he put up with the other mercenaries, but it'd inevitably wear him down. Once he became certain he wasn't ever leaving this place, he'd probably consider madness the logical next-best option.

Scout: He'd last quite a few years by turning every adventure into an opportunity to show off, and would bask in every meaningless reward, but his general obnoxiousness would be his undoing. He'd inevitably isolate himself, and at that point Caine's validation would begin to lose its lustre. Eventually he'd have one hell of an existential crisis, and there wouldn't be anyone around to pull him out of it. The family-friendly rules wouldn't help, either.

Decades:

Engineer: Engineer would be able to survive for a good few decades exploring and documenting the circus's inner-workings. His self-reliance and general lack of empathy would ensure he never got particularly attached to anyone else, and his practical outlook would keep him from dwelling on the existential horror of his situation. However, once the projects dried up he'd have nothing to point his extremely powerful mind at, and the boredom would eat him alive.

Heavy: Heavy voluntarily spent something like 30 years isolated with his family on a mountain, and even after working as a mercenary, he was 100% willing to return to that lifestyle until the day he died. So-long as the circus gave him something to punch every now and again, he'd settle into a routine and be perfectly content with it. Madness wouldn't come for him until he was either the only one left, or he'd been there longer than a century, when the mind begins to struggle with the weight of experienced time.

Forever:

Soldier: Soldier has the unique advantage of being very dumb, and in possession of a stable sort of insanity. The existential horror of the circus would never occur to him, and his brand of enthusiastic masochism plus his shoddy memory would mean he'd never grow tired of the endless adventures. He'd treat each and every one like a life-or-death mission given to him by "The President," and would probably forget he was even trapped there to begin with. Because he'd never grasp that it was all fake, I could conceivably see him surviving within the circus indefinitely.

Pyro: Pyro wouldn't just "survive" in The Amazing Digital Circus, they'd THRIVE. It's basically Pyroland made "real." They'd love everything about the place, from the aesthetics to the NPCs to the adventures. Pyro would adore Caine, but more importantly they'd be the first/only person that actually aligns with Caine's skewed understanding/expectation of humans. Caine would likely love having someone who so genuinely loves all his antics. Even if Pyro was the only non-AI left, I can't envision a scenario where they'd ever go mad.

TL;DR:

The Adventures of Soldier and Pyro, from now until the end of time!

[oldworldwidgets]

i have been THINKING about miss ginny lately especially since the new 76 update dropped, so heres a lil doodle my friend did of her!!! + her if she was a worm on a string, of course, and some in-game screenshots.

i am also using this as an opportunity to dump some lore under the cut :3 its a lot of words so prepare urself

ginny lore be upon ye:

Her full name is Virginia May Adler, but you can just call her Ginny. She's a 25ish (who's counting?) Appalachia native. Though she grew up in the Toxic Valley after she and her dad left the Vault, she now resides at her cozy camp in The Mire. She uses big guns, is covered in scars from all her forays into garbage dumps, and loves stuffed animals and Nuka-Cola Quantum more than most things.

Ginny is very bubbly and smiley. Human embodiment of :D. She’s the type of person that smiles at other people the very moment she sees them, just out of instinct. Seriously, she’s smiled at more Blood Eagles than she can count, and not because she can’t count very high. She can (INT 15 mf). Don’t worry – despite his hatred for the Eagles, Beckett still thinks it’s sweet.

Yeah, yeah, she’s dating her bartender. He moved right into her heart when he moved into her camp. He’s for sure very awkward about what he wants (her) and skirts the subject every time she brings it up, but she knows good and well by the way he settled himself into her camp (and the sweet things he says to her cat Krypto when he thinks she isn’t around) that he’s in this for the long haul. Plus, once they finally mow down the top-ranking Blood Eagles and save his brother from his otherwise-certain demise, he finally allows himself to open up to and fall for her.

She and Aries from Blue Ridge Caravan Company are inseparable. They met in Big Bend Tunnel. She and Beckett were hunting Blood Eagles, he was protecting his shipment from them. His dark, existential humor caught her attention immediately and, on the spot, he enlisted her into Blue Ridge.

She’s a scavver by trade, and a damn good one too. She picks up and stashes everything she sees, then determines its value only after she makes it home. She’s always excited and eager to buy, sell, and trade with anyone who asks, especially now that she's with Blue Ridge.

Since Beckett works the bar even when she’s away, he always catches word of the best weapons caches, armor drops, and any other rumors of note that might interest her. Only after a firm but loving warning and a promise that she’ll return to him before the street lights come on will he give her what she’s looking for. Oh, and the information too. WINK.

She’s also craaffttyyyyyy. She can make anything you could possibly need and more, just as long as she has some duct tape, a few loose screws, and a cartoon cloud of smoke.

She is terrified of heights. She also used to be terrified of animals, especially the ones with paws and claws as opposed to the ones with pincers, stingers, or poison glands. This changed after her dad came home with Krypto, her cat. She hated the thing at first, but when she lost her dad... Krypto was all she had left of him. Now, they can't live without each other.

She frankly does not care about radiation damage, diseases, mutations, etc at all. It’s inevitable in the life of a scavver. She’s probably had tetanus more times than she can count, but it’s never been a match for a disease cure or some brahmin milk. Plus, she kinda thinks it’s cool.

She used to be a natural blonde, but all the exposure to all the [gestures widely] in the wasteland (primarily radiation, but no one’s ever seen her in a gas mask or a hazmat suit – even in the ash heap region. The best she can do is pull her neck bandana over her nose when Beckett gives her his best sad eyes) eventually broke down all the melanin in her hair, leaving it white. Aside from all the junk that somehow always finds its way back in there, of course.

Beckett is the ONLY one that’s allowed to call her Gin and she only allows it because he’s a bartender. He also loooooves screaming “WEST VIRGIIIIINNNNNNNNIIAAAAA” to the tune of country roads (obviously) when he needs her attention and they’re not in the same vicinity, hence him sometimes calling her West Virginia.

After her long scavving or traveling days, Ginny likes to sit in Beckett’s lap on their front porch while he takes her hair down out of the updo of the day and picks out all the sticks and leaves. If a leaf falls from the tree above them, even if he has every opportunity to catch it before it lands in her almost-clean hair and ruins his hard work, he won’t. He'll do anything to keep her there just a little longer.

OKAY THANKS FOR READING LOVE U BYE

[pencilofawesomeness]

FT x TW: Each NRC boy favorite Fairy Tail mage

This is like, half “favorite” and half “who would gravitate towards each other and end up becoming friends”

(Also limiting this to the FT guild so I don't have to think about Everyone)

Either way, interactions go brr—

Riddle: After witnessing Erza beat some manners into some people, he would probably respect her a great deal. That said, after Erza inevitably is also chaotic (they are the same but Riddle doesn't have that self-awareness yet), I think Riddle and Charle would get along really well. Tea-buddies and why-am-I-surrounded-by-thugs? buddies, and what-not.

Trey: I think Trey and Mirajane would be buds. It's the mutual eldest sibling energy, and also the steadfast dedication towards being supporting (when they are actually crazy op). They will probably bond over cooking.

Deuce: As soon as Deuce figures out that Jet is a speed-mage, they bond over their love of going really fast and Jet would absolutely love the blastcycles, and then neither of them can be stopped.

Ace: Bickslow would actually adopt Ace first, because he thinks the sleight-of-hand tricks are rad, and then probably teaches Ace even more, which Ace in turns thinks is really cool. Plus, Ace would respect how wildly blunt Bickslow can be. (They would be relentless with the teasing. They will not be stopped.)

Cater: He and Cana would be good buds. Just hanging around, sharing gossip, maybe going shopping...empathizing with the existential dread of always being a background support character with no strong connections. (So they think. The idiots /affectionate.)

Leona: Someway, somehow, Leona is going to blink and accidentally adopt Lisanna as a little sister. She's got a good head on her shoulders and doesn't pick fights but Leona sniffs out that latent exasperation and it's now he's invested in letting Lisanna release her inner feral. As a treat. Also the cat naps are real.

Ruggie: One thing leads to another and now he and Gajeel are sharing pick-pocket techniques from their Street Days. Plus Gajeel can face-tank just about anything and Ruggie would be thrilled to use him as a shield. Also Ruggie would be both impressed (and maybe jealous, because eating metal sounds convenient) to find someone with greater jaw strength than him.

Jack: Panther Lily. They would have the bro nod of respect at first, but Jack would also really look up to him, for being so cool-headed and diligent.

Azul: I'm honestly not sure who he would pick as his favorite, per se, because he would be interested in all of their magics and bounce around, but somehow now I cannot get out of my head that he would love Chico. One, making deals with the dead (in addition to the living) would probably fascinate him; two, family-owned-restaurant/diner buddies. That's it. That's all I got. (He's very Blue Pegasus-shaped though, so I bet he would love that guild.)

Jade: Droy. They will talk about terrestrial plants for literal hours, and Jade will probably bamboozle him into free garden labor. (And Droy would be thrilled to have someone interested.) Honestly a win-win all around.

Floyd: Gray—both because Floyd would think the ice magic is really cool, and because Floyd would have waaaay too much fun messing with him.

Kalim: He and Lucy could totally bond over being sheltered rich kids, and being generally hyper beans. Though Lucy would definitely be the voice of reason, lol.

Jamil: resists the urge to swing into htryds and start my Jamil And Erik Would Be Friends agenda I think Jamil and Kinana would be very chill together, hiding in the corner to destress and then just vibing. (Snek friends.) Kinana would bully Jamil into self-care, probably, and she would probably remind him a bit of Najma. (yes these are my own hcs involving Kinana's characterization but let me have this)

Vil: I think Vil would sniff out Juvia's earnest try-hardness and chaotic people-pleasing and then make her a personal project, so to speak, trying to instill as much self-confidence in her as possible. Then mid nail-painting they hardcore bond over being villainized by random bystanders.

Rook: He, Bisca, and Alzack would have a sharp shooting competition and trade good ol' hunting stories, and maybe gush over baby pictures.

Epel: He'll probably unironically think Elfman is very cool. Elfman will probably declare Epel manly. They'll both shed (manly) tears.

Idia: Happy. Both because Happy is an easy-going cat and because I think Happy would be genuinely amused/interested in video games, or just watching video games. (That said, if Idia is able to get past his people-are-scary anxiety for two seconds, he and Levy would be amazing friends. Mutual nerd infodumping grounds right there.)

Ortho: I think Ortho and Wendy would be good friends. Just helpful little guys. They would equally fuel the other's cinnamon roll status and their secret gremlin status—helping kittens out of trees and bulldozing forests when provoked. That kind of thing. Ortho would be super interested in replicating enchantments on himself, I think, and Wendy would def try to help him out.

Malleus: Natsu would 100% challenge him to a (friendly) fight and then eat his fire at least once, and Malleus would be both very fascinated and thrilled to have a) someone not afraid of him and b) and fellow!! dragon!!!! buddy :D

Lilia: I know there's not really a feasible way for them to actually meet, per se, but Lilia and Mavis would be dangerously good friends. Dangerous for everyone else, that is.

Silver: One sparring match later, and Silver and Erza are definitely sharing a braincell. They'll be talking about swordplay for hours. Erza will introduce him to a new type of cake and change his life. (They are simple, straightforward beans and they will vibe so well.)

Sebek: He will probably do his best to antagonize almost everyone, but nevertheless, you know who I think he would get along great with? Evergreen. Whether or not he believes she is a fairy is irrelevant; they will agree that fairies are superior. They bond over having their favorite dragon dude they dote on and find ways to be dramatic. Evergreen will gift him some coat or accessory and Sebek will be so honored.

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

How would you rate the supernatural seasons?

for me it would be like this

s1-s5: Excellent, I would say they are the best seasons, with unforgettable characters, the introduction of the angels, everything is incredible, my favorite seasons

s6-8: Bad, I love supernatural but these seasons for me are bad, of course, there are good chapters but the plot of these seasons...

Although I admit that season 8 improved when the tests began and the season finale, angels falling (I will never get over that ending)

s9-11: Good, I wouldn't say they are excellent but they are good, I have some conflicts with the end of season 11 but I think they are good seasons, the brand of Cain and Dean being a demon (these seasons are where you really see what Sam is willing to do for Dean)

s12-15: I have a conflict with these, we have the introduction of my beautiful Jack and it has good chapters but I think my problem with these seasons is that they are too forgettable

Ok so…

Season 3 is my personal favorite (although I can’t deny that there’s something great about the boys when they get older/when the bunker comes into play)

Seasons 1-5 really are amazing, although I personally would extend that to 6, I really enjoyed 6 and the soulless Sam plot line, as well as Crowley, Ben and Lisa, and Cas going through an existential crisis.

Crazy Cas of season 7 is interesting, but the leviathans were a little boring

Season 8 is my absolute least favorite—Sam and Dean drove me nuts for almost the whole season, the trials arc was the only saving grace of the plot, the rest of the season really didn’t have much plot, it was very…nondirectional up until the trials.

Seasons 9-10 are pretty good, the Mark of Cain stuff was interesting and cool to explore.

Season 11 could literally be skipped with almost nothing of importance missed, and that’s just ridiculous (the only good plot of that was Lucifer’s return)

Season 12 was…weird. Like the men of letters plot is kinda strange since it’s people as the bad guys and not something supernatural, however I didn’t hate that. I hate Mary personally, but I don’t really hate that they brought her back if that makes sense?? Like them fleshing her out was an interesting choice, even if they fleshed her out into a terrible person.

Seasons 13-15: I LOVE Jack so much, I hate the multiverse so much (gosh dang it it’s overused now, plus multiverse Bobby and Charlie suck so so so much). I like that they brought Lucifer back (he needed to be killed completely, not just locked away). The Michael story arc was good. And despite popular opinion, I do actually like the last season/the finale.

Although I do agree, some of the later stuff is forgettable, I get half the stuff in those seasons confused.

One main thing I love about supernatural, is that it doesn’t have a steady decline in my opinion. Most shows, when they go bad, they only get worse, and each season is trashier than the last. Supernatural—though it had several pitfalls—maintained itself to be a decent show, and when it had bad seasons (8 and 11) the writers more or less didn’t let that snowball effect them into another bad season; they came up with a new plot line (like seasons 9-10) and got better.

[mdhwrites]

THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!... Is Good.

And that understated response is also kind of my condemnation of it. That as an independent, Youtube dark comedy series, it's just about what you'd expect. Really in your face with some elements, lingering a bit too long on others but in general pretty enjoyable. After all, if a series about existential dread and parodying game development for its comedy and horror sounds appealing to you, you will probably like this.

BUT if that thumbnail makes you squint like I did, you might not come away with an amazing opinion of it. I actually saw this thumbnail when it first came out and IMMEDIATELY dismissed it as not for me. Like I said, I actually did end up liking it, its visuals are much better than this thumbnail suggests, but it is kind of in your face with how 'weird' it is, at least times, like you'd expect from this picture.

But I did like it. I'm just in this weird limbo where I like it... But I don't feel inclined to really praise anything. Nothing in this wowed me. The biggest compliment I feel like giving, no caveats, is that the animation is genuinely good. How it's being used isn't always for me but I can respect the craft and effort put into it. A couple errors here and there but honestly nothing that I wouldn't let slide in a bigger professional work for the most part (there's once where the glitch effect on Pomni's hand is just gone when it shouldn't be as an example).

I have two main complaints so far that worry me going forward. The first is a pacing issue. You could cut four minutes out of this, lose nothing and really help there be some amount of snappiness to this. Have the comedy and horror both flow better because it's rarely trying to build a bunch of tension or atmosphere with its slowness, it's just... Slow. Period. Not to the point of being bad but to the point where you start feeling how long things are taking.

The other has to do with the main character: Pomni. She has no personality currently. Narratively that's actually fine. She's effectively just accidentally dropped herself into purgatory and that's a pretty shit situation and where a lot of the existential dread is from. There's no way out and very little to do. That is HARD to handle. The problem is she never gets to break the image of a trauma doll for the entire episode. At best she shows that she's willing to abandon this place for self preservation which could lead to her choosing the inhabitants over herself later... Or just as well be for emphasizing a 'natural' reaction to the place. I don't know because as far as who she is, a tweaked out expression with little thought behind the eyes is kind of all we have.

I do want to give one scene a shout out as a change of pace from these two critiques though: The scene when Pomni comes back to Ragatha is actually really good. The glitchy animation is great, the voice acting on Ragatha is really good, Pomni apologizing is a good sign that she'll grow to care for these people and while I won't say the scene couldn't have been done more quickly, the slower pacing actually did allow for the unsettling elements of the corruption to seep into the scene rather than just feel like a gimmick. The show does have genuine promise and that scene was easily the standout of the episode for me.

The final thing is a personal one. I didn't find Nier Automata very compelling but I don't find existential dread that interesting unless you DO something with that question. If your whole point is "Doesn't monotony and entropy suck?" (not saying that's Automata's point, just that that's how many sidequests felt) that I just don't get into it. I don't find that by itself interesting. The plus side is that the cast is actually made in a way where they could be a bunch of archtypes just put together for an ensemble... Or they could be various responses to trying to deal with this dread. To showcase how one handles the concept of eternal monotony and repetition.

I just don't know if that's actually what they're doing. I don't really know what this show is doing besides "Everyone wants to get out of this game dev purgatory." That's not a bad concept but I wouldn't call it a great pilot. It is good enough that I'll be keeping an eye out for episode 2 and I might try out the studio's previous outing, Murder Drones, which I've been recommended by my Discord before.

And if literally any of this sounds even intriguing to you, I really do suggest trying the show out. It's good enough that it deserves your support as a very well made, indie animation project and I hope it gets better and better as it goes forward.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.