#r29

[b66clematis]

P5 opinions people usually gonna jump at

royal trio has a potential. it's a trio with funny dynamic and acts as the closest phantom thieves opposition (because it literally has joker in it). unfortunately, the devs decided that royal trio is "akeshuake (i don't like this ship, but that's unrelated to this reasoning) and sumire the third wheeler". it's not a trio when they don't have equal standing spotlights, and don't really bother to build the akechi-sumire connections deeper. so much joker-sumire and joker-akechi, so little akechi-sumire to actually form the triangle in the trio. the forced part is also an issue, but that's because of the formula and how they're built, IMO. so i'm not exactly a hater either, just a mourner.

tactica writes the phantom thieves way better than strikers. poor futaba (reduced too much to the geeky quirky girl, they forgot about her emotional qualities), ryuji (stop talking about ramen, doesn't konoe's dad trigger you for once? and no, the F-word scene was saved because EN dub has the F-word running joke. otherwise, he doesn't have any big-talked moments), and maybe morgana (i dunno, i just wish okinawa jail did more with that sophia-morgana paralels). see my write-up about what strikers can learn from tactica.

i like akeshuake platonically, but i can't enjoy them romantically at all. i vastly prefer the non-akechi 2/2 event, mainly because it puts an equal emphasis between joker-akechi and joker-phantom thieves (+ sumire). i dunno, but i just... can't really see joker to prioritize akechi above his friends? it's actually kinda contradictory the more i think about it (other PT also sacrificed their PT bond for their wish, so why would joker sacrificing the PT for akechi be wrong? it could work as best friend, as i don't like them only romantically), but i just really can't buy it at all... maybe because they don't explore deeper about futaba-haru-akechi other than subtexts and small convos (they don't hate akechi either, i just want more about that grey moral debates)? yes, i don't think joker hates akechi (morgana literally said this to you). yes, i know the devs mentioned a few times that akechi-joker feels romantic. yes, akechi is not a perfect victim. but romantic akeshuake is just not digestable at all to me, i hate it even at this point because there's too much of this. "your NotP is the most popular ship, good luck avoiding them" moment.

i don't want persona 5 arena at all. not because i don't like fighting games (i don't really like them, but i can digest it still), but because it's trapped as a visual novel - gameplay loop format. it's boring!!! see my tactica write-up about why i like strikers more (also yes, if atlus can somehow put the city walking element and maybe daily life sim into it, i would be 100% board with it).

that's all i could think of at the moment, see you in the next part because i'm sure i have more! time to browse phantomAnons to dig that up!!!

[firelise]

Alfre Woodard on Crooklyn (1994) for R29:

“To my knowledge, we hadn’t seen a Black family that was just presented as we are in life, as human beings,” Woodard said. “I get told in Belgium by white Belgians ‘I love Crooklyn, it reminds me of growing up.’ Which is what happens when you tell a story from a specific point of view, you don’t have to mention race. You didn’t get up this morning like ‘I’m a black woman that wants a cup of coffee.’ You just want a cup of coffee. It was us as we are. Just us being fabulous, complex, funny, delightful, and making ends meet. And seeing, even within that story, that we’re not monolithic...The specificity is what makes it universal. Diversity is not the point; showing reality is the point.”

[ineffable-xenanigans]

Fruit Omens: Crowlemon and Azirapear

It is my pride and honor to introduce my silly little produce-based AU:

The idea came to me after answering this ask from @abiiii-ineffable, wherein I talked about how the song Lemon Boy by Cavetown reminds me so much of them. So here we go:

🍋 Crowlemon is such because of the aforementioned song. He's a Meyer lemon specifically because he's secretly sweeter than he looks.

🍐 Azirapear is such because original!Azi canonically loves pears. He's a Bosc pear specifically because he's buttery soft yet firm.

I don't know yet what I'm gonna do with these fruity idiots. Maybe some comics...? Gosh, I haven't done that in years 😅

Bonus content: the sketch that started it all

As you can see below, the initial concept was much less human-like. I might do something with those character designs too, who knows, we shall see!

Materials

Paper: Royal Talens (Art Creation sketchbook)

Pen: Pilot (G-Tec-C4)

Markers: Copic Sketch (Azirapear: YR30, YG91, BG72, E70, B000, E42, BG71*, Y11, Y28, E23, E97; Crowlemon: YR18, Y15, Y11, C1, T4, T6, 110, R29)

* Please note: BG71 is not an actual Copic color, it's a custom blend I made from BG70 and BG72 ink)

[crochetedblorbos]

"I am not now, nor have I ever been, adorable."

Character Name: Jonathan Sims, a/k/a The Archivist, a/k/a The Ceaseless Watcher’s Special Little Boy, a/k/a Snoop God’s Favorite Kid

Fandom: The Magnus Archives [Podcast]

Voiced/Written By: Jonathan Sims

Yarn Used: Shoes: CraftSmart Value - Dark Almond Trousers: CraftSmart Value - Taupe Cardigan: CraftSmart Value - Olive Shirt: CraftSmart Value - White Skin: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Hair: CraftSmart Value - Dark Chocolate, CraftSmart value - Grey Glasses: Ashland Decorative Wire - Black, 12 gauge

Basic pattern here.

Look. How can you NOT love this pathetic wet cat of a man. (And like most cats, he is also a bastard at times.) He really went through the wringer over the course of the podcast, both physically and emotionally. Thank God he had Martin there for him.

Jon differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: I actually remembered to do the soles in a different color this time! Other than the color, they were done the same way as Joseph’s.

Trousers: I accidentally shortened them. I did not mean to shorten them, but frankly, I miscounted on the first leg and only realized it halfway up the second, so I stopped them at R27 instead of R29, so he’s just a tad bit shorter than normal. (Which is fine, and fits my headcanon for Jon.) I also…well, I’ve finally thrown my lot in on the Great Archival Ass Debate on the side of the Assless, so in R32 (what would normally be R34, but again, everything is two rows lower than normal), I put the decrease in the very back, rather than on either side of R41 as usual. Other than that, they’re the same as Joseph’s.

Cardigan and Shirt: I more or less used the same technique I used for Hux, except that I started a round lower (I think) to make the V deeper. I switched fully to the white for R50 (R52 in the base pattern), then did three stitches on either side of the center stitch of R51 in back loops only to give myself something to hook onto. I then went back later and stitched a collar by making a simple triangle in the front loops of those stitches. I also skipped what would have been R54 in the base pattern and, when I switched to the skin color, I went straight for the decrease to 12 sc around. I was hoping this would make his head less floppy.

Head: I used the loop method again. It’s just easier at this point, especially since Jon canonically has enough grey in his hair that he looks older than thirty. I gave him long hair and left it loose, but at least I got it the right length this time (sorry again, Hux). I was going to give him ears, but honestly, I made his glasses small enough that I didn’t need to. I didn't necessarily plan on giving him buck teeth, but I was in the middle of a D&D session while I was working on his face and white yarn was the only thing I had to hand, so rather than run back to my room for black or dark brown I just went with it.

Arms: When you’re crocheting a character who canonically has a very nasty burn scar on one hand, you have three choices. You can ignore it, you can attempt to replicate it in variegated yarn, or you can crochet a hand and set it on fire. And, well...

...I have a lighter and very poor impulse control. [Side note: I mentioned this to an IRL friend who also listens to TMA, and they said brightly, “Just like the Archivist!] (For the record, burning acrylic yarn doesn’t actually smell as terrible as you might think.) I also decided to cut out the final increase in his hands to make them long and thin. This also means I didn’t decrease for his wrists, which was fine, because I gave him shirt cuffs folded over the end of his cardigan as follows: R9: Join shirt yarn, ch 2, dc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first dc (10 dc). R10: Ch 1, sc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (10 sc). R11: Join cardigan yarn, ch 2, hdc in back loop of each stitch in R9 around, sl st in first hdc (10 hdc). Continue rest of arm as normal.

Glasses: These definitely did not turn out like I expected, but eh, they work. I bent the wire into square spectacles and stuck them on. As mentioned, I did them tight enough (accidentally) that I didn’t even need the ears.

Bonus: I deliberately did Jon’s hands so he can hold hands with Martin, or tried to anyway. I realized only after he was complete that I matched the magnet in Jon’s right hand to the one in Martin’s right hand, and there’s not really room to turn them around. I might try pulling Martin’s arms off later and switching them around, but for now…well, at least they can hold hands the other way around.

[unplaces]

R29, Johannesburg.

[protabat]

I finished my own Vessel amigurumi design! He's cute, he's huggable, he's full of the love you want (and polyfill).

I also included my notes if anyone wanted to make their own. If you do, please credit me and show me, I'd love to see! If you find errors or need help, just ask.

Worsted weight yarn (weight 4) - black, dark grey, light grey, white, red, gold 3.5mm hook US terms sc - single crochet hdc - half double crochet dc - double crochet tr - treble crochet dtr - double treble crochet inc - increase dec - decrease ch - chain sl - slip sk - skip mr - magic ring bo - make bobble

Legs (Make 2) - black R1. MR 6, join (6) R2. (sc 1, inc.) repeat (9) R3. sc around. (9) R4. (sc 2, inc.) repeat (12) R5-6. sc around. (12) R7. (sc 2, inc.) repeat (16) R8-9. sc around. (16) R10. (sc 3, inc.) repeat (20) Fasten off first leg. Make second leg & continue onto body. Body & head (stuff as you go) R11. Ch3, 20sc in first leg, 3 sc in chain, 20sc in second leg, 3 sc in chain. (46) R12-18. sc around. (46) Switch to dark grey R19. sc 11, dec, sc 21, dec, sc 10. (44) R20. sc 10, dec, sc 20, dec, sc 10. (42) R21. sc 11, dec, sc 19, dec, sc 8. (40) R22. sc 10, dec, sc 18, dec, sc 8. (38) R23. sc 11, dec, sc 17, dec, sc 6. (36) R24. sc around. (36) R25. sc 10, dec, sc 17, dec, sc 5. (34) R26. sc around. (34) R27. sc 11, dec, sc 15, dec, sc 4. (32) R28. sc 10, dec, sc 14, dec, sc 4. (30) R29. sc 11, dec, sc 13, dec, sc 2. (28) R30. sc 10, dec, sc 12, dec, sc 2. (26) R31. sc 11, dec, sc 11, dec. (24) Body ends head begins R32. (3 sc, inc.) Repeat. (30) R33. 2 sc, inc. (4sc, inc.) Repeat, 2 sc. (36) R34. (5 sc, inc) Repeat. (42) R35. 3 sc, inc, (6 sc, inc.) Repeat, 3 sc. (48) R36. (7 sc, inc) Repeat. (54) R37-45. sc around. (54) R46. (7 sc, dec) Repeat. (48) R47. 3 sc, dec, (6 sc, dec) Repeat, 3 sc. (42) R48. (5 dc, dec) Repeat. (36) R49. 2 sc, dec,(4 sc, dec) Repeat, 2 sc. (30) R50. (3 sc, dec) Repeat. (24) R51. 1 sc, dec, (2 sc, dec) Repeat, 1 sc. (18) R52. (sc, dec) Repeat. (12) R53. dec. Repeat (6) Pull through loops and fasten off. Embroider leg wraps to legs in white.

Thumbs (Make 2) - dark grey MR5. Fasten off.

Arms (Make 2) - dark grey R1. Ch 5, sc 3, inc, sc 3 in other side of chain, inc. (10) R2. sc around. (10) R3. inc, sc 4, inc, sc 4. (12) R4. sc 6, sc 5 sts in thumb, sc 6. (17) There'll be a small hole between the thumb and hand. With the way it rests it will not be noticable. I'm not sure how to fix this yet and still have the thumb sit properly. R5. sc 4, dec, sc 5, dec, sc 4. (15) R6. sc around. (15) R7. sc 7, dec, sc 6. (14) R8-9. sc around. (14) R10. sc 7, dec, sc 5. (13) R11. sc around. (13) R12. sc 7, dec, sc 4. (12) R13. sc around. (12) R14. sc 7, dec, sc 3. (11) R15. sc around. (11) R16. sc 7, dec, sc 2. (10) R17. sc around. (10) R18. dec 5. (5) Fasten off. Leave long tail for sewing. Sew arms to body.

Cloak - black R1. Ch 41, sc across, ch 1, turn. (40) R2-11. sc across, ch 1, turn. (40) R12. sc 5, dec, sc 26, dec, sc 5, ch 1, turn. (38) R13. sc 6, dec, sc 22, dec, sc 6, ch 1, turn. (36) R14. sc 5, dec, sc 22, dec, sc 5, ch 1, turn. (34) R15. sc 6, dec, sc 18, dec, sc 6, ch 1, turn. (32) R16-21. sc across, ch 1, turn. (32) R22. sc 3, ch 5, sk 5, sc 15, ch 5, sk 5, sc 3, ch 1, turn. (32) R23. sc 3, sc 5 into loops of chain, sc 15, sc 5 into loops of chain, sc 3, ch 1, turn. (32) R24. sc across, ch 1, turn. (32) R25. sc 5, inc, sc 5, inc, sc 8, inc, sc 5, inc, sc 5, ch 1, turn. (36) R26. sc 10, inc, sc 14, inc, sc 10, ch 1, turn. (38) R27. sc 5, inc, sc 26, inc, sc 5, ch 1, turn. (40) R28. sc 10, inc, sc 18, inc, sc 10, ch 1, turn. (42) R29. sc 5, inc, sc 30, inc, sc 5, ch 1, turn. (44) R30-37. sc across, ch 1, turn. (44) R38. sc 20, dec 2, sc 20, ch 1, turn. (42) R39. sc across, ch 1, turn. (42) R40. sc 19, dec 2, sc 19, ch 1, turn. (40) R41. sc across, ch 1, turn. (40) R42. sc 18, dec 2, sc 18, ch 1, turn. (38) R43. sc across, ch 1, turn. (38) R44. sc 17, dec 2, sc 17, ch 1, turn. (36) R45. sc 14, dec 4, sc 14, ch 1, turn. (32) R46. sc 10, dec 6, sc 10, ch 1, turn. (26) R47. sc 9, dec 4, sc 9, ch 1, turn. (22) R48. sc 7, dec 4, sc 7. (18) Fasten off. Leave long tail and sew top of hood together. Starting from bottom corner of cloak sc around front edge, around the hood and down the other front edge.

Sleeves (Make 2) - black R1. sc 5 into armhole, inc into side of next stitch, sc 5, inc into side of next stitch. (14) R2. sc around. (14) R3. sc 2, inc, sc 6, inc, sc 4. (16) R4. sc around. (16) R5. sc 3, inc 2, sc 11. (18) R6. sc around. (18) R7. sc 4, inc 2, sc 12. (20) R8. sc around. (20) R9. sc 5, inc 2, sc 13. (22) R10. sc around. (22) Fasten off.

Mask body - white R1-4. chain 21, sc across, turn. (20) R5. sc 1, dec, sc 14, dec, sc 1, turn. (18) R6-7. sc across, turn. (18) R8. sc 1, dec, sc 12, dec, sc 1, turn. (16) R9. sc 1, dec, sc 10, dec, sc 1, turn. (14) R10. sl 3, dec, sc 4, dec, sl 2, turn. (11) R11. sl 2, sc 6, sl 2. (10) Fasten off. Mask filigree - red Work across the bottom of the mask body. R1. ch 5, sk 5, sc 1, (ch 3, sk 1, sc 1) x 3, ch 5, sc 1. R2. sc into space, hdc 1, dc 1, tr 1, dtr 1, ch 4, sk 1 in chain, sc 3 in chain, tr 1 in space, dc 1, sc 1 in next space, (ch 3, sc in next space) x 3, dc 1 in next space, tr 1, ch 4, sk 1 in chain, sc 3 in chain, dtr 1 in space, tr 1, dc 1, hdc 1, sc 1. Fasten off. Embroider logo to mask in red. Embroider eye holes to mask in black. Sew mask to head.

Fur cape - light grey R1. ch 11, sc across, ch 1, turn. (10) R2. sc 1, dec, sc 6, dec, sc 1, ch 1, turn. (8) R3. sc 1, dec, sc 4, dec, sc 1, ch 1, turn. (6) R4. sk 1, sc 4, sl 1, turn. (5) R5. sk 1, sc 3, sl 1. (4) Fasten off. Cut 7 cm lengths of yarn and attach to fur cape with larkshead knots. Two strands per stitch along the long edge (this is the top). One strand per stitch for the other rows. Brush out fur with a slicker brush. Sew fur cape to back of cloak.

Pauldron - white R1. ch 12, sc across, ch 1, turn. (11) R2. sc 3, switch to gold, bo, sc 1, bo, sc 1, bo, switch to white, sc 3, ch 1, turn. (11) R3. sc 1, dec, sc 5, dec, sc 1, ch 1, turn. (9) R4. sc 1, dec, sc 3, dec, sc 1, ch 1, turn. (7) R5. ch 1, sk 2, sc 1, ch 1, sk 1, sc 1, ch 1, sk 1, sc 1, switch to red, ch 1, turn. R6. sc 1 in space, ch 2, dc in next space, ch 2, sc in next space. Fasten off. Backstitch line across pauldron in red. Sew to left shoulder of cloak.

Necklace 1 - gold ch 45 Tie ends together

Necklace 2 - gold ch 55 Tie ends together

[season39]

Sorry guys, but R29’s conclusion will have to be late, Im being rushed a lot at the moment and wont be able to do it, Im so sorry : (

[alcnek]

══✿══╡check in╞══✿══

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ apr 24 2024

SOTD

.•° ✿ °•.

checklist

❀ made my bed

❀ brushed teeth

❀ skin care (2x)

❀ brushed teeth (2x)

❀ body shower

❀ tracked macros

❀ 60/20/20 diet

❀ strength training

❀ cardio

❀ discussion 11

❀ finished exam 3 study guide

❀ studied for exam 3

❀ lab report 9

❀ R29

reflection

today's physics lab was quite easy!! and it was very short. only took my group an hour to gather all the data.

ALSO, i'm going back on my diet. i want to be more "strict" about it so i can actually reach my goal quicker

°•. ✿ .•°

[discluded]

Congrats on getting Mileapo bingo! 🎉 I was just wondering - what does ‘boyfriend soft/hard launch’ mean? Thanks! 😅

OH THIS IS FUN

I think I posted about it a while back, but I never quite tagged for it, but this R29 article probably has the most succinct definition:

Soft launches are great if you’re not totally ready to shout about your new romance from the rooftops. "They’re a subtle way to show the world that you are no longer single or that you’re currently immersed in the dating process with someone," she says. "It’s almost a way to test the waters with that person too, about how you both would like to manage the snapshot of your relationship that shows up on social media." [src]

The term soft launch originates from marketing, wherein: "A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public." The marketing part is about the fact that it's there, but you have to stumble upon it more than a direct push to make people know about it. It's there but not actively being advertised.

Here's some more details about how people online typically "soft launch" their relationship:

Evie soft-launched her situationship by posting photos of her food and drinks while on dates with him. "I didn’t tag him or show his face," she says. Soft-launching also mirrors the excitement of these early stages of a relationship – because although soft launches appear nonchalant, there’s an air of mystery about them which makes them exhilarating, too.

This one is funny too.

The term “soft launch” initially went viral thanks to a since-deleted tweet from Bottoms actor Rachel Sennott. In 2020, she aptly described the social media trend when she wrote: “Congrats on the Instagram soft launch of ur boyfriend (pic on story, elbow and side profile only).” [src]

(ps - watch Bottoms, a high school comedy you've seen before, but this time gay!!!)

Apo originally led with these on his IGS from the Vogue Gala last year:

it's even more obvious in context here lol:

okay yeah yeah obviously we know this is Mile, but let's not take the fun out of it for them :P

But let's not forget this is a part of it too -- if they are. :) but part of the fun of the soft launch is that they don't have to commit to it.

Fear of public backlash is especially prevalent in queer relationships, according to Madeleine Ciano, a television program coordinator who identifies as bisexual. It’s hard enough with societal pressures, but the added layer of homophobia and bigotry raises the stakes, according to Ciano, especially when it calls your safety into question. Ciano explained that she didn’t hard launch her girlfriend, knowing that she would “open [herself] up to a lot of vitriol” on social media.

But these are more of the "hard launches" where they show up straight up with the entire face and looking so boyfie on social:

[lover-girl-estxx]

Happy birthday

(N39 R29) Smut

| Nate's POV |

"hey! perfect timing birthday boy!" Y/n said coming in with that beautiful smile on her face and a tray with food. I sat up she put the tray in my lap to see coffee and pancakes "thank you baby" she kissed me "of course" she said getting in bed next to me. "here's your gift" she moved the tray since I was done and handed me a card "you didn't have to my love" "I wanted to" she smiled looking up at me with her big y/c/e eyes wanting for me to open it. I opened it and open the card a piece of paper fell out, I let it and read the card

Happy Birthday My Love!

I love you more than Life and I can't wait to spend mine with you.

Hope you like your gift!!

I suck at writing so I love you, have a great day !

"thank you!" I said kissing her head as she laid her head on my shoulder "open your real gift" I open the piece of paper I read it and it was tickets for Mexico. I guess I was quiet for to long "you said you had never been so I thought I would be fun it go together-" she said "I love it!! I can't wait!" I kissed her rolling over so I was on top of her.

I moved to kissing her neck "today's about you" she said she pushed me to lay down straddling me, she kissed me moving to my neck grinding down hard on me my hands on her hips. She pulled my shirt over my head then moving to kiss my tattoos, she got down to my lower stomach kissing me there . She ran her hands over the top of my boxers then she moved back up to my face kissing my cheek then to my neck. She pulled my boxers down my dick hitting my stomach "your as hard as a rock" she said in my ear stroking me up and down "fuck Y/n" I groaned "you like that?" she kissed under my ear, I just closed my eyes and nodded "would you like it better if I had my lips wrapped around you?" I thrust up into her hand "please baby" I begged "fine..".

I sat up my back to the head broad, she sucked on the tip her hand pumping what she didn't have in her mouth "oh my god babe! Fuck!" I grabbed her hair thrusting into her mouth hitting the back of her throat making her moan around my cock. "fuck babe! fuck! fuck! fuck! i'm gonna cum!" I came down her throat, "you taste so fucking good Nate" she sat up taking her shirt and shorts off leaving her in a red lingerie and with black x pasties over her nipples "shit happy birthday to me" she sat on my lap she moved her thong to the side sliding down on my cock "it feels like you get bigger every time" she moaned moving up and down "your so fuck sexy" I groaned grabbing her neck rubbing her clit "babe holy fuck!". "Mamas I'm so close" I said as she wrapped her arms around my neck digging her head into my shoulder "me too Nate! Cum with me please" I squeezed her tight thrusting up "fuck" we both let out as we came.

"love you happy birthday!" She said pulling back her hair a mess and out of breath "love you too baby thank you!" She pecked my lips and went to get up "no no still here for a bit" she smiled laying her head on my chest. It was a very long day after that...

[fleurywiththesave]

6, 7 and 14 for the fic thingy :))

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

AbsoLUTEly. I have always been a chronic rereader of books, fics, articles, ultra-messy R29 Money Diaries, everything. Some of my constant favorites are:

Looking Through You by nordalanche (MattDrai)

so is the longing by dogjuice (MattDrai)

Serenity in Those Deep Waters by angry-geno-is-score (Larsdunn)

settle down in the Sunshine State by puckthisshift (MattDrai)

playing for keeps by nationalhorribleleague (Marner/Matthews)

Down by the Brazos by ionthesparrow (Carter/Richards)

And I could keep going for, like, a LOT longer.

7. How many ideas for fics do you have right now?

So right now I have two WIPs that I’m either in process with or getting to next, and I have five other ideas that I’m not too sure about. There’s at least one that I’m fairly sure I’ll get to at some point, but the rest are kind of up in the air. I’ve written at least a few paragraphs for all of them, but the larger plot isn’t very well-formed for most of them and I don’t know whether or not I’ll get more inspiration there. After new vet/rookie fic and new kidfic, it’s anyone's guess!

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fan fic would you pick?

Oooh, that’s a hard one! I think I’d probably say either anything I have is yours now to borrow or Pick It Up, Pick It All Up. But once I’m done with new vet/rookie fic, that’ll probably become my top choice.

[b66clematis]

those 2 P5 spinoffs (and its old men faceoff), pt 3: "what strikers can learn from tactica (spoiler: it's writing)"

last part of this series of writings between strikers VS tactica. see part 1 about which i like more here, and part 2 on between zenkichi and toshiro here. this one will be long though, and i don't intend to cut it again into 2 parts, as this series is long already.

now, while i did end up liking strikers more by overall, upon playing tactica, something btiters me about strikers. something that made me think of "damn man, strikers kinda sucked here badly, not gonna lie".

the first one is minor and not will be the focus here, but still gripped me: the UI. i liked how tactica has its a more distinguishable identity to their UI aesthetic. strikers meanwhile, feels really trying to follow what the base game has. my least favorite thing is the metaverse animation transition. the one strikers had is like a bad knock-off of the base game (the circles should have different weight and size!!!), it made me wish that strikers would just do a totally new animation, like what tactica did with its lava-bubbly effect. it's not mementos' metaverse anymore, anyway. even maruki's metaverse has its own effect.

the second, and my main point here, is the writing. the first thing that bugged me is, of course, how tactica's plot structure is not a P5 basegame rehash. even the first boss, which people thought is going to be "a sexual assaulter because they're pink skinned and has revealing/suggesstive outfit", doesn't feel like a kamoshida rehash. alice is definitely better and have a very different motive to harrass the powerless, but i always thought her BDSM-related writing always feel forced, as if they just want to make her pattern reminiscent of kamoshida. marie's real life counterpart at least isn't shown to be that kind of "horrible dominant" woman to toshiro. she's more like okumura with only a sprinkle of alice, if anything. which, hey, at least it breaks the mold more than what alice did.

although, i personally still loved with what we got for strikers. i think their approach, while fell in some aspects, also feels like "what can we appraoch differently, or maybe improve from the base game?". i just wish that they... maybe, avoid the 7 deadly sins pattern? make the first boss not another pink sexual assaulter? i think they can tread P5's water less. they already have a good concept by making the bosses sympathetic and using that as the game's angle, so i think they can be bolder in making their own story beats.

the second point of the second point (LOL) here is... i think there's a jarring quality between how koei tecmo and atlus writes the base game's characters (i don't know who are the writers for tactica - i think i read somewhere that at least one of them is outsourced, but at least it's picked and the game is mainly made by atlus themselves, so i assume more control). the two characters that i find to glow up the most from strikers to tactica are lavenza and futaba.

for lavenza... man, strikers lavenza is SO BORING. she's literally doing nothing but to guide you. and it doesn't help that she's guiding you with vague wordings, which kind of irks me. she's just there. i'm also irritated at how they wrote joker to always keep secret about talking to lavenza in the velvet room in strikers, when the entire party member already knew about the velvet room, igor, and lavenza in the base game! and i think, he should have introduced lavenza to sophia and zenkichi too.

in tactica, at least you see her having a bit more fun by trying to keep up with human lingo, remodifying her velvet room, and.. trains. i like trains [gets crashed by a train]. and joker doesn't gatekeep the velvet room from the team. erina and toshiro are also permitted to the velvet room (although to be fair, the plot kind of forces them to, otherwise there's no way they'll reach salmael). although in terms of lavenza's character, i can probably forgive them due to the lack of materials during strikers' development. you didn't get much time with lavenza, and you only get more of that in royal's 3rd semester expansion (which, she also gets to be silly there). probably the strikers writers are also as confused on what to do with her.

now, for futaba... wow. i think she really becomes BETTER here. i don't get people who whined how annoying futaba is for speaking in geeky references, beause like... she does the same in the base game, come on. she likened the real life like a game. her geeky lingo does not flanderize her at all, she's been like that since her arc in the base game. in strikers, i think she's the one that gets the least treatment (there's also another one, but we'll talk about it in the end).

she got her moment during the capture of the phantom thieves in kyoto jail and having to get zenkichi to them safely, but i thought 1) it was too brief, and 2) her talk pre-zenkichi's awakening about her mother feels... tacked. it's as if the writers go "oh shoot, we forget futaba's mother also died by a politican via car crash, quick put it in". i suppose it's due to how the writing have conditioned that each arc will be meant for a character, and while kyoto arc is about zenkichi, akane's circumstance made us think that this arc is about makoto, because the sapporo-okinawa trip mini arc looks it's dedicated for her. she also talks on a similar amount to zenkichi here. i think this could be fixed if futaba talks a bit more about it during the sapporo-okinawa trip mini arc. besides, i found her suddenly talking about her mother to zenkichi is weird, because we have never seen futaba saying anything about her mother. unless zenkichi does some detective work behind the camera (which seems to be the case, as zenkichi just connects like that), zenkichi won't know that futaba's mother died from car crashed planned by the government.

i actually think that futaba may do this due to her inability to communicate properly to others, so she may be holding off from saying things that... who knows how the other party will react. makoto thought explaining that she also went through a similar thing to akane would comfort her, but turns out it triggers akane a little bit, instead (due to lacking context of the case's behind the scenes). however, tactica gets this and still does the job right.

to recall kingdom 2, we got a geist on toshiro's mother, how she died, and how toshiro was blamed for her death. futaba definitely wanted to say something when she sees this memory. she talks about it, but she ends up holding it off. you get the intention that she wants to say something, but she couldn't. she looks frustated and has something to say. i think futaba has this moment too in strikers - she teared up when she heard akane's story during the study session with makoto. but she says nothing at all, so it comes off like she's just touched by it. she doesn't try to say anything to akane nor zenkichi.

and later on in kingdom 3, when toshiro finally unlocks all of his traumatic past and ends up thinking that he's a horrible person who doesn't deserve to be saved, futaba's emotion bottled up. it's full, and it has to be spilled. so she did - she slapped toshiro. with anger. she's done with holding it off and seeing toshiro falling down this easily. and what's great from this moment isn't just about how it shows the writers know what to do with futaba - it also has a good build up. it's not just a brief moment of "this character relates to the current plot". it's one done in a long run. it's so good that i have to put the snippet here.

these two really made me think that, goddamn. no matter how good is your third-party writer, the ones hired by atlus themselves and worked with the actual atlus writers will always get the characters better. like, koei tecmo did a good job in expanding characters that they intend to focus on to give them more spotlight, but the expense was a bit too much. the ones who don't get any are really left out. it kind of comes off as if the writers only know futaba the most for being a geeky girl, when IMO she has one of the most emotional arc in the base game. i also liked how all the characters got a roughly similar amount of spotlight in tactica, but i think this is just about preferences on how they approach the character focus. once again, strikers focuses more on giving spotlight for characters that are less-hyped by the fans, and they did it well. tactica just picks a more balanced approach by dunking all the kids' traumas to one old man. so yeah. i really wish for the next game, at least to have a more direct or strict overseeing from atlus.

now, the only issue both games have is... i think both games kind of forget that ryuji has an abusive dad, i think? surprised that ryuji still talks more about his school's bad enviroment more than his own family. this glaringly happens in strikers though, in which... i don't know man, i think ryuji should spat out his words more for konoe's dad. that guy literally murdered his own wife, man. but that F-word moment really saved him from falling into the same trap futaba has - although, that also only happens in the EN localization, who are familiar with that running joke. who knows what will happen, if we got a localization that are not familiar with it. i hope atlus gives him more spotlight too, at least for the international fans (i get that he's not popular in japan, and i think it's understandable. not a big issue to me). here's to hoping!

[renrapp]

if you don't mind, would you please infodump crashgate to me? i keep seeing it being referred to but i don't actually understand it :/ you can just ignore this ask if you don't want to tho!

OH MY GODDDDDD 🫨🫨🫨 SIT DOWN. I’M ABOUT TO TELL U THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY CHAOTIC AND CHAOTICALLY BEAUTIFUL FORMULA 1 CONTROVERSY OF ALL TIME

SO THE YEAR IS 2008. our key main players are as follows— fernando alonso, 2x world champion and also my skrunkly, his teammate nelson piquet jr, a rookie in this szn and also the son of known garbage can nelson piquet, pat symonds, renault’s director of engineering, and flavio briatore, renault’s managing director and TP at the time.

renault is literally not even in contention for the championship this year, so why they did this? who the fuck knows honestly. but we’re headed into the singapore gp. fernando has a very unfortunate qualifying, getting knocked out in Q2 after a mechanical failure and starting 15th, next to piquet jr who starts 16th. the race is seemingly normal. fernando pits on lap 12 for tyres and fuel (bc yes, back then u could refuel) and then 2 laps later, piquet jr fucking bins it into turn 17. like the flop that he is. and bc this specific turn makes it difficult to retrieve cars, they had to deploy the safety car.

2008 regs meant that the pitlane would be closed while the safety car was deployed until all the cards bunched up behind it. this gave fernando a significant advantage because remember, he already pitted 2 laps earlier, which meant that by the time the pit lane opened, the rest of the grid would have needed to pit for tyres or for fuel while he didn’t, giving him the clean air to put himself in front of the order. shenanigans ensue (massa’s fuel hose nightmare etc etc) that give him more of an advantage, and he goes on to eventually win the race.

NOW. to anyone else, this seems very, very normal. wow ! congrats to nando and renault for scoring their very first win of the season ! #underdogtingz ! and yes for literally a year, that’s what everyone thought .. until the next season.

in 2009, renault were flopping saurrr bad. they kept the same lineup and while fernando was doing his absolute best dragging the tractor that is the r29 (and slaying bc the fucker actually managed to put it on pole once), piquet jr was unsurprisingly a total disappointment, amassing a whopping ZERO POINTS !!!! renault was like wtf stop embarrassing us, and then dropped him over halfway thru the szn for romain grosjean.

piquet jr was PISSED. and he is his father’s son, so obv he decided to stir up some drama. he came onto national tv and was like um . ackshually . singapore 2008 was a LIE bc symonds and briatore asked me to crash ON PURPOSE. they had a masterplan all alongggg and everyone was like wtf !!! and briatore was like fuck you i’m suing u AND ur fuckass dad !

im not even gonna lie idk what came of that but in the end renault was like aight we’re not even gonna fight, also symonds and briatore are both resigning byeeee. eventually the FIA was like yeahhh y’all did this shit on purpose and symonds at least confessed, but briatore was STILL denying involvement even tho he clearly had enough evidence against him. symonds ended up being banned from any FIA events for 5 years (he’s working for the FIA now btw. christ!) and briatore was banned indefinitely but u just cant take the sport outta him cos u see him around sometimes lmaooo

fernando denied involvement and the FIA was like we believe u princess 🥰 whether he actually knew or not .. we don’t know .. but be was literally caught up in spygate the year before that so honestly who the fuck knows. this would honestly be nothing to him he took part in corporate espionage what’s a lil cheating gon do to his wibbly wobbly morals

ANYWAY THAT’S IT ⁉️ i might’ve missed some details but this is all coming straight from the noggin so .. def not perfect. if there is some misinformation in there someone else notices pls point it out lol

[ineffable-xenanigans]

Fated

There once was a demon named Crowley and the angel Aziraphale loved him. You could say they were fated, forever connected by the unbreakable line that conjoined them.

My contribution to week 3 of the Ineffable Prompt-A-Thon by @ineffablyruined is a double whammy: a lil' limerick and a two-page illustration.

Speaking of the illustration, this was my first time ever drawing Aziraphale, and I think it turned out quite well!

Reference image

Source: quiteunlikely.net/screencaps/displayimage.php?album=654&pid=414540

Materials

Paper: Royal Talens (Art Creation sketchbook)

Pen: Pilot (G-Tec-C4)

Markers: Copic Sketch (BG70, BG71*, BG72, BG75, Y11, Y15, Y26, R00, R22, R24, R29)

* Please note: BG71 is not an actual Copic color, it's a custom blend I made from BG70 and BG72 ink)

[crochetedblorbos]

"Well, hearts are what I do."

Character Name: Azu

Fandom: Rusty Quill Gaming [Podcast]

Played By: Helen Gould

Yarn Used: Skin: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool - Chocolate Shoes/Trousers/Armor: Loops & Threads Cozy Wool - Petal Pink Armor Contrast: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick - Rouge Eyes - CraftSmart Value - Coffee Mouth - CraftSmart Value - White Cloak - Loops & Threads Facets - Coastal

Basic pattern here.

Canonically, I know Azu isn’t actually that much bigger than a human - her height is given as 6’6” in the finale before she activates her armor and doubles in height - but she’s got a big personality, so I wanted her to be bigger. Hence why I used a much thicker yarn for her. That being said, I actually went down a couple hook sizes from what the label said to use (it claims I should be using a 10mm/US 15 hook, but I did the foundation chain with a 9mm hook and then started crocheting with an 8mm, and it worked a lot better). Other ways Azu alters from the base pattern are as follows:

Shoes: The most fashionable of pink boots! Like most of the other blorbos, I made Azu’s shoes all one color, but in my defense, this yarn was only available in one shade of pink. To give her boots, I worked the pattern as normal up until row 11, then: R12: Ch 2, hdc in back loops of each sc around, sl st in first hdc (15 hdc). R13: Ch 1, dc in front loops of R11 around, sl st in first dc (15 dc). R14: Ch 1, hdc in each hdc from R12 around, sl st in first hdc (15 hdc).

Trousers: I didn’t really do anything special with Azu’s pants/leggings/whatever the heck she wears between her boots and her agile half-plate, but I did stop a row earlier than in the basic pattern because reasons, so the body starts at R29 instead of R28. Basically, take away R29 and the pattern is the same as the base from R15-34.

Armor: I wanted to give Azu a little bit of a waist, and also put a kind of decoration at the bottom of the armor (not exactly a skirt or kilt, but something like that), but also kind of emphasize that she had broad shoulders. I probably made this a bit more complicated than I needed to, but: R35: Ch 1, sc in front loops of each sc around, sl st in first sc. Without doing a chain st for height, sc in back loops of each sc in R34 around, sl st in first sc in back row (38 sc). R36: Ch 2, hdc in back loop of front sc and front loop of back sc around, sl st in first hdc (38hdc). R37-40: Continue as in base pattern. R41: Ch 1, inv dec five times, sc in next 8 st, inv dec 6 times, sc in next 8 st, sl st in first st (27 sc). R42: Ch 1, [sc in first 2 st, 2sc in next st] 9 times around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R43-50: Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st in first sc (36 sc). R51: Switch to skin color. Ch 1, [sc in first 2 st, inv dec] 9 times around, sl st in first sc (27 sc). Continue remainder of pattern as in base pattern. After completing her body (actually after completing literally everything else), I added on the decoration by joining the armor contrast color (Wool-Ease Thick & Quick - Rouge) to the loops standing out from R35, and then: R1: Ch 3, dc in front loop of each st around, sl st in first dc (38 dc). R2: Ch 1, [sc in next st, ch 3, skip next st, tc in next st, ch 3, skip next st, sc in next st] around, sl st into first sc.

Head: I embroidered Azu’s eyes with some of the regular yarn, partly because I didn’t have safety eyes big enough and partly because I forgot to put them on before I finished. For her mouth, I crocheted the single fang (she broke the other one in the battle with the Lads and Blokes) by ch 3, turn, sc in second ch from hook, sc in next st, ch 1, turn, inv dec, and then sewed it in place and embroidered the rest of the mouth. The ears were made as follows: R1: Leaving long tail, ch 7, turn, sc in second ch from hook, sc in each ch, turn (6 sc). R2: Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, turn (4 sc). R3: Ch 1, sc, sc2tog, sc, turn (3 sc). R4: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn (3 sc). R5: Ch 1, sc2tog, insert hook into same sc, sc2tog, turn (2 sc). R6: Ch 1, sc2tog, turn (1 sc). R7: Ch 1, sc, bind off (1 sc). Stitch ears to either side of head using long tail. (I ended up getting them uneven, but I think it works for her.)

Arms: Pro tip for any yarncrafters starting or plotting a project: If the yarn you’re buying is on clearance, buy all of the yarn that is available. I realized when I got to her arms that I only had a little bit of the pink yarn left over, not enough for full sleeves, and I thought I had another ball but I didn’t…and Loops & Threads Cozy Wool was discontinued before I ever started Azu, let alone before I finished her. Thank God for yarnconverter.com, which helpfully provided me with the knowledge that Wool-Ease Thick & Quick had the exact same gauge. I used the Cozy Wool for Azu’s gauntlets. Pattern worked as normal up through R7, and then: R8: Ch 1, sc in first 9 st. Join armor yarn, fpdc around next 6 st in R6, join with sl st (9 sc, 6 fpdc). R9: Ch 1 using skin yarn, (sc in next 2 st, inv dec) 3 times, switch to armor yarn, (sc in next 2 st, inv dec) 2 times, join with sl st (12 sc). R10: Ch 1, sc in back loops of first 6 st, sc in next 6 st, join with sl st (12sc). R11-13: Continue as normal. R14: Switch to skin yarn. Ch 1, sc in front loops of each st around, join with sl st (12 sc). R15-18: Continue as normal. R19: Switch to armor contrast color. Ch 1, sc in back loop of each st around, join with sl st (12 sc). R20-25: Continue as normal.

Cloak: The official art on the shirts has Azu with a cloak, so I made her one. (Admittedly, I also did it because I saw the yarn at Michael’s, thought it was pretty, and wanted an excuse to make it.) I really didn’t do anything particularly exciting with it, just made more or less a square with a fairly basic wave stitch pattern. When I decided it was long enough, I finished off with a row of sc and stitched three of them on either side directly to her shoulders so the cloak is part of her half-plate. I also edged the entire thing in a slip stitch, less for aesthetic reasons and more because I hadn’t realized how close I was to being done with it when I got to church and needed something to keep my hands occupied during the sermon. I do think it looks nice, though, and I’m going to have to start doing it more often…

[transmutationisms]

Ahh I still can't stop thinking about how crazy the CGKU Roman/Shiv dynamic would be, with her being brought on as his number two but determined to get ahead. What do you imagine Shiv's ambitions for Waystar might've been like had she gotten inside earlier? I'm sure her political inclinations would stay, playing like Kendall's desires to "clean up" and reform but with a more defined agenda and ideological backing and utilizing Logan's tactics.

well i don't think kendall presents himself as doing any 'cleaning up' in or out of canon. like, he wants validation from his underlings and sycophants and to be considered cool and competent. shiv is very different in this respect because she does actually have a concept of re-aligning waystar ideologically. essentially she'd like to be pgn-lite, although given her background in dc i like to rotate the idea of her going full beltway insider, like emulating washpo's relationship with the cia and capitol hill lol. waystar royco also has an entire global brand and logan canonically has meddled in foreign politics; i think shiv would do the same thing but with a stronger veneer of Sharing Democracy With The World :) also she'd probably pull a kendall vaulter but with the in-universe jezebel or r29 type publication. partly because yeah, capitalist-feminist complex, but also because it would be really fucking funny if she owned the outlet publishing the money diaries