#so the formatting might be choppy

[startstatic]

Okay I can't stop thinking of the cat style courtship presents tdyfhvvj

Do either of them have a favorite 'gift' from the other?

What were the first 'gifts' they gave/received?

Do they contact one another like "hey I have something for u" or do they just....show up at random and go like "here" and hand over whatever loot and/or corpse/body part they have?

What's the loot to dead things gift ratio like?

Dear god I hope these are understandable there's a couple where I feel like I could articulate it better but for the life of me I can't figure out H O W

Also love the new art thank you for sharing it

their evil courtship is all that matters really

Do either of them have a favorite 'gift' from the other? - hmmm zer0 probably once got a really nice sniper rifle from fl4k that they really cherish. and for fl4k i don’t think they have a specific favorite but i think whenever zer0 finds a new trinket for them they add it to their bag

What were the first 'gifts' they gave/ received? - i think the first gift fl4k gave zer0 was a trophy from a target of opportunity kill they left in his room. and then the first gift zer0 gave fl4k was probably a decent quality pistol or a sniper (he has no idea what fl4k wants) (On a semi related note can we talk about how fuckig homosexual the targets of opportunity are. ok that might just be me)

Do they contact one another like "hey I have something for u" or do they just...show up at random and go like "here" and hand over whatever loot and/or corpse/body part they have? - i think it’s a lot of just handing it over without another word but sometimes they’ll just go to their respective rooms to find a gun/shield/piece of a guy they wanted dead and be like wow:)my beloved partner left me a gift

What's the loot to dead things gift ratio like? - probably an even split but i think it leaned more towards dead things when they first met. fl4k was trying sooooo hard to impress zer0 with the targets of opportunity

also THANK YOUUU for the compliment about my art … i got the idea to draw that days ago when i was out of town without my tablet and just lived with that idea for like a week…it felt so good to finally draw it

[pforestsims]

Why I started using DXT1 texture format for TS2 CC again (sometimes)

In the past I discouraged ppl from using it. But it has one benefit, which TS2 CC creators shouldn't ignore: DXT1 textures are about half the size of DXT3. In TS2 DXT1 is only used for textures without transparency.

There are two facts about textures that some ts2 cc creators and cc hoarders are probably unaware of:

Lossless compression (compressorizer etc) significantly reduces file sizes, but it does NOT help texture memory, because texture files get uncompressed before being stored in GPU texture memory cache

Byte size does NOT equal resolution. For example: Raw32Bit texture takes up around four times more space in texture memory cache than DXT5

DXT3 2048*2048 px takes up ~4MB, but DXT1 2048*2048, thanks to its harsh 8:1 compression, takes up only ~2MB of texture memory cache, which is an equivalent of two makeup textures 512*512 px Raw32Bit format (TS2 makeup creators' favourite :S ).

@episims posted a comparison of DXT formats here - but please note Epi compared texture sizes after those were compressorized. Also, I believe the DXT1 preview actually shows glitches that are not visible in the game.

To change texture format in SimPe you need to install Nvidia DDS utilities, which can be downloaded here (SFS). Also, Yape package editor is much faster and easy to use.

*This is about GPU texture memory. As far as I know, it's unclear how internal TS2 texture memory works - does it benefit from lossless file compression or not? No idea. But IMO we don't have a reason to be optimistic about it :/ What we know for sure is - the easiest way to summon pink soup in TS2 on modern systems, is to make the game load large amounts of texture data (large for TS2 standards anyway) in a short amount of time.

DXT1 built in SimPe with Nvidia DDS Tools tend to look bad - but as I had learned very recently, SimPe DXT1 preview (and export) is broken! It displays some artifacts that are not actually visible in game!

The only way to correctly view DXT1 created in SimPe outside of the game is the new YaPe package editor. You need to switch the texture format preview to AltRGB24 (Raw24Bit).

DXT formats use lossy compression which affects texture quality - this compression matters for texture memory.

DXT1 512*512*4 (4 bytes per pixel) / 8 (divided by 8, because of 8:1 compression ratio) = ~131 KB

DXT3 512x512 px (4:1 compression) = ~262 KB

Raw32Bit 512x512 px = ~1MB

2048x1024 px DXT1 texture takes up around as much texture memory as 1024x1024 px DXT3 or DXT5 (non transparent*) = ~1 MB

*Flat (non transparent) DXT3 size is the same as DXT5.

Fun fact: flat DXT1 and DXT5 built in GIMP look identical, and also not much better than SimPe DXT1 (in game!).

DXT5 has 4:1 compression just like DXT3 but it can store more data in alpha channel, and that allows for much better looking transparency (if smooth alpha is present, size is increased). As I already mentioned, DXT1 does not support alpha transparency.

I don't want my game to look like crap, but if texture looks OK as DXT1, then why not use it. Aside from hood decor, I've been reconverting some wall and floor textures for myself to DXT1 recently, instead of resizing.

Some ppl might cringe on seeing 2048x2048 skybox textures but to me large texture is justified for such a giant object. I cringe at Raw32Bit makeup.

I'm slowly turning all Raw32 makeup content in my game to DXT5 (no mipmaps). I've edited enough of those to know, that quite often the actual texture quality is not great. If a texture has been converted to DXT3 at some point, alpha channel is a bit choppy. "Upgrading" such texture to Raw32 doesn't do anything, other than multiplying texture size by four. I don't know how 'bout you, but I only use one or two skyboxes at a time, while my sims walk around with tons of face masks on them, so it's a real concern to me. And don't make me start on mip maps in CAS CC. My game certainly doesn't need 33% larger hair texture files :S

*note - another thing I've "discovered" after writing this post, SimPe DDS Builder can actually make crisp mipmaps as long as you set Sharpen to "None".

Note2: Raw8Bit (bump maps) / ExtRaw8Bit (shadows etc) are also uncompressed formats, but don't contain color data and weight around as much as DXT3.

/I've taken out this part from a long post I'm writing RN /

[stuffnonsenseandotherthings]

CityBoy_Log: Blurring the Lines Between Fiction and Reality.

I was doing my daily scroll through YouTube one day when a thumbnail (this thumbnail) caught my eye:

Now, at first glance I'll admit there's nothing exceptional about it. In fact, it's so perfectly run of the mill that I actually thought it was a vlog from a new K-pop band that I hadn't heard of before at first. The name, the picture they chose, the title.... all of it checked out and I had no reason to be suspicious that it was anything other than it seemed.

Anyway, I was bored, it had been a while since YouTube had recommended me anything K-pop that wasn't a group I was already subscribed to and I was feeling nostalgic for a good K-pop vlog.

It was only 5 minutes

What harm could it possibly do?

So I clicked on it.

And then I feel down a rabbit hole.

CityBoy_Log: The Drama

So it turns out that "CityBoy_Log" is not, in fact, a K-pop group's travel vlog series, nor is it a vlog series at all...

Well, it is...

But not really.

It's actually an 11 episode BL drama.

Summary:

Idol Lee Jae Jun, model/actor Lee Ji Han, actor Seo Byuk Joon, and rookie model Ahn Hyo Sang start a vlog channel about their trip to Okinawa, Japan for a photoshoot. The four meet for the first time (aside from JaeJun and Byuk Joon, who are longtime friends) when they learn they will be sharing a home during the trip. Though Ji Han's introduction caused some tension within the circle, the group's feelings towards each other start to change and grow as they keep vlogging. The vlogs show how their individual friendships develop by the end of their stay and after coming back to Seoul, some even beyond just platonic. (Mydramalist)

On the face of things, "CityBoy_Log" is a pretty straight forward drama (some might even call it mundane). Four friends navigating their relationships with each other on a trip. There's a main couple and a side couple and plenty of pining and love squares to keep the audience and the characters on their toes. Really nothing standout in a world where Semantic Error, Love for Love's Sake, and Eighth Sense exist, right?

Except the format.... the format is something else.

Because when the summary says "the vlogs", it really means the vlogs.

"CityBoy_Log" is a BL drama told entirely in character.

Like your typical k-vlog, the majority of the content comes from hand-held cameras carried about by the characters, only occasionally interspersed with aesthetic shots from their "camera crew". The characters talk openly to the audience, updating them on what's going on and what they're thinking and feeling; transitions between scenes are choppy and periods of time are missed due to "unfilmable" moments that we either only catch glimpses of or are told about later (or in some cases, have to fill in the blanks ourselves); dialogue is choppy and sometimes even awkward (especially as they're still getting to know each other) and voice cracks, nonsensical lines, and awkward pauses are all over the place.

It is feels messy, lightly edited, unscripted, and, for the most part, very very real.

Blurring the Boundaries Between Fiction and Reality.

Seeing how far the creators of the show have gone to make this drama feel realistic is fascinating. All the episodes are posted as vlog episodes on the show's YouTube Channel, they post additional shorts that follow the latest trends, and even have celebratory lives where they talk to fans. And all of this is done in character.

They also have an Instagram page and on MDL there is very little information about the actors (who use their real names for their characters) and no information about the team behind the scenes (although I suspect they're linked to whoever made Semantic Error because that show gets name dropped a lot and they even "audition" for the upcoming drama made by it's creators) .

Given how much effort has gone into making "CityBoy_Log" pass as real it shouldn't be surprising that there are quite a few people who believed it was real for a time.

Now personally I am a huge fan of innovative storytelling techniques and "CityBoy_Log" has really hit it out of the part creatively (it reminds me a little of SKAM in that respect). I applaud the actors for just how realistic their characters feel (I actually can think of anything harder than having to pull off "act like you're not acting" and they do it flawlessly at least 90% of the time) and whoever came up with and executed the show really did something special too. It's an incredibly compelling watch (I binged it) and I immediately felt connected to all the characters in a way it normally takes a drama a few episodes to set up.

Do I have my doubts about how wise it is to blur the lines between fiction and reality so much? I won't lie, yes, especially as this show is rooted so heavily in 2 fandoms where those boundaries are already heavily blurred but for now I'll trust that they know what they're doing (perhaps more so than many other shows that draw heavily on fan service). It does seem like, at least for now, while everything feels real and in character, that it does exist in its own little bubble and that the actors involved are able to leave it behind when they get off work.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how it progresses, given that a second season has been confirmed and there was.... a very interesting reveal at the end of the last episode. I'm looking forward to how they continue to play with the format and getting to spend more time with Jae Jun, Ji Han, Byeok Jun, and Hyo Sang

🔗Here's a link to the channel if anyone wants to check it out:

https://youtube.com/@CITYBOY_LOG?si=CKqz8QdfzySCqRyL

CityBoy_Log: The Vlog

Team Hyo Sang all the way. All this puppy wants is for his hyung to notice him and he is adorable about it.

Tagging @lurkingshan @twig-tea @respectthepetty and @rocketturtle4 because I don't know if you guys have seen the show yet!

[missexiled]

I AM confused

Or… when they figure out how far back her programming is

There was a series of chirps and beeps as the glowing died down. Then… a bit of music played before a speaker turned on, “Welcome to your Interactive Redefined Intelligence System, or, IRIS. Please state-”

Static.

They all looked at each other, save for Zane, who was searching his database for any ‘IRIS’ robots.

Kai turned to Zane, “Iris? What’s that?”

“I- I do not know.”

“Who made it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, why-“

“Is there anything you do know?” Nya sighed, already annoyed at Kai’s questions.

“No,” Zane mumbled.

There was a shift in the metal as IRIS sat up. Sorta. It was still partially covered in scrap.

The speaker started again, still choppy, “Please- -name.”

Kai chimed in again, “Is it broken?”

“Of course it is,” Jay rolled his eyes.

“Zane Julien.”

Cole raised an eyebrow, “What?”

It turned to look at him, “Zane Ju- -meeting you.” Its joints seemed stiff, almost rusted.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too,” Zane hummed, looking it over, “Your name is Iris?”

The machine creaked as its head turned to look at him and smiled, “Yes. My- -IRIS.”

“I think it’s broken,” Kai mumbled, only for Nya to elbow him.

“Broken?” The gears creaked as the head tilted, “My shell is fully intact.”

Cole peaked over Zane’s shoulder, “What do you do?”

…

The eyes blinked, “I… do not recall.”

Nya paused, “Excuse me?”

The head turned to smile at her, “Excuse you from what?” Kai rolled his eyes and left.

Zane scanned it again, “Is your programming alright?”

“My programming is-” static cut off the voice.

IRIS: Interactive Redefined Intelligence System USE: Unknown MAKE: Unknown CREATOR: Unknown MATERIAL: Chronosteel and Steel

Real helpful.

The eyes flickered red, “Improper startup. Please rest- Booting.” They all looked at each other in confusion, especially when it stood up, “Welcome to your Interactive Redefined Intelligence System, or, IRIS, ZANE JULIEN. What is my directive?”

“We were hoping you could tell us,” Jay sighed.

“Improper formatting. Please restate.”

Zane gently pushed Jay behind him, “What is your purpose?”

“My purpose is-” it paused. “My purpose-”

Jay softened, “Do… you not have one?”

“I- am unaware,” the eyes flickered the same white. It blinked, its body loosening from its stiff stature. Then she looked at them, “Who… are you? Where am I?” Her voice was quieter.

“I’m Zane Julien,” he held out a hand, “And you’re Iris.”

She turned to face him, looking at his hand with confusion. She held out her hand, but didn’t shake his, only copying him.

“This… is going to be an issue,” Nya pinched her brow.

A.N. - I had a free class period so I got to finish this!! I’m actually really excited to do a full multi fic thing and I think it’ll be a good challenge for me. I might do some projects on the side, but this will be my main focus ♥️

Taglist: @ubesam

(DM if you want to be added)

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

dynasty

pairing: jake sully x neytiri x female omatikaya!reader

WC: 2.3K

warnings: pure heartbreak. not sure on the rules for the funeral process so i of course just made stuff up.

summary: it all fell down

A/N: fic inspired by this heartbreaking edit and also the deleted scene of jake and neytiri cleaning neteyam and jake starts to shed tears. my own gif (why does it change the format to a small square to the side?)

will do a part2 of mom!reader and neteyam in the spirit tree (if anyone wants one of course..,might still do one. we’ll just wait and see)

@alecmores my editor💗

been in the drafts since april 20

masterlist / jake sully

It was like your world was just thrown off its axis, everything became off balance.

The waters were choppy, crashing and biting at your boulder, another thing trying to knock you off your feet and drown you in pain. Eclipse was high in the sky, and everything was shadowed in darkness as if the whole world disappeared after his death. His last breath took the last shine of light from Pandora, took the calm, and brought the storm.

Your heaving cries drowned out the noise around you, they mixed with Neytiri’s wails of eternal heartbreak. Your hands clutched Neteyam’s limp hand beside you, his knuckles cutting into your cheek as you waited with bated breath for just a simple squeeze, just a sign to show he was still breathing and holding on. But it never came, his touch was cold and lifeless, and his soul had left the physical plane.

Your blurred eyes flitted around at your company. Lo’ak beside you with his head down and staring at his bloody hands, he probably felt Neteyam’s heart slowing down and stopping. Tsireya at Neteyam’s legs, her hands holding his calf and she rocked her body as she silently cried at the loss of a new friend, Spider standing behind her. Neytiri was on the other side of Neteyam as she thrashed and roared, her wet pleas to the Great Mother, asking her why, why her son. And Jake, Jake who stared into the open space, body motionless and eyes numbed before they squinted in the distance and his head looked away to the lone demon ship.

“Lo’ak… where’re your sisters.” His hoarse voice caused a shiver down your spine. Your time of grieving stopped as you looked for Kiri and Tuk, neither sat anywhere on the giant rock with your family.

“Lo’ak,” your voice wobbled as you turned to him and touched his cheek, needing his undivided attention, “where are Kiri and Tuk?”

“They-” “Where are your sisters!” Lo’ak flinched at Jake’s raised voice, his eyes watering.

“They were on the ship.” Tsireya hiccuped.

You and Jake looked at the vessel, its stability looked off as it tilted in the thrashing waves. The both of you shared a look, you knew what needed to be done and quickly. Jake moved to Neytiri and wrapped her shaking body into his arms, his chest solid against her shaking back. You walked to your two loves, one who was in visible distress while the other was walled off at the moment. You had to shut your emotions down seeing as your girls were in danger and you weren’t losing another child tonight.

“‘Tiri, oeyä yawnetu (my loved one). Our ‘ites (daughters) are in danger, we must save them. They will not meet the same fate as our Neteyam.” Your hands cupped her cheeks, her hazed eyes staring into yours. You gave a kiss to her forehead before turning to the children, giving Jake a moment to break her daze.

As you did with Neytiri, you knelt before Lo’ak and held his face in your grasp. You looked into the eyes of your youngest son, the one who held the most qualities with Jake physically and his reckless behavior when he was younger. Tears slipped down your cheeks, you couldn’t bear to part ways from him, but he would be safe away from the remaining sky people.

“I need you to stay here with Tsireya. Do not come to the ship, it is dangerous and I- I- we could not bear it if something happened to you or your tsmukes (sisters). Wait for us to return.”

“But I-” “No!” You leaned your foreheads together, shutting your eyes closed and holding back the tears, “Please, Lo’ak. Just- just listen this once.” Your voice cracked at the end, and the thought of something happening to him fashed over your mind. “Please, do it for us, for Neteyam.”

You felt his head nodding at your pleading words. A ragged breath was released at the simple action. “Oel ngati kameie, ma ‘evi (I see you, my child)” A lingering kiss to his forehead before you pulled away and joined Neytiri on her ikran.

-

The sun shone high in the sky.

A new day has risen, but you weren’t awakened to shouts and cheers of childish glee. You weren’t held in the warm embrace of your lovers, their scents and gentleness didn’t invade your five senses. You weren’t being bombarded with tickles or bodies jumping atop you, pushing the air from your lungs.

No. You were back on the boulder with your whole family, Tsireya and Spider included. Kiri and Tuk were safe, Lo’ak was safe, Neytiri and Jake were safe and you were safe. The adrenaline of the situation has worn off, you weren’t in a life-or-death moment anymore, and the water has stilled. So with shaky legs, you walked back to the lifeless body of your eldest son, not by blood, but by love- by family. His chest was cleaned of his dried blood, a courtesy done presumably by Tsireya, the poor girl was probably traumatized from the pain and bloodshed that her tribe never had to experience before. You collapsed on his left side, watching as Neytiri held his head to her chest, her lips speaking into his hair or leaving kisses on his temple. Tuk sat beside her, her smaller hands holding Neteyam’s right one to her cheek. Her tiny cries break your heart, cracks forming with each hitch to her breathing.

Your own hands reached for his free left hand, it just lay lifelessly on the rocky ground. You touched each finger individually, and felt his palm, before bringing it to your lips and leaving ghostly kisses on the skin. You lay his knuckles against your chest, right where your heart beats. Needing to bite hard into your lip to hold back the cries and pleas, only silent tears show your physical pain. Bringing his hand back to your lips you whispered words wishing he could hear them.

“I love you, oeyä fkew tsamsiyu (my mighty warrior). You were our first blessing as a family and we could not be more proud.”

“Paskalin (honey).” Jake’s touch and voice pulled you away from slipping. You looked over your shoulder and into his solemn eyes, his face covered in cuts and scars. “Jake…” your lips wobbled into a frown, vision blurring with fresh tears, “I- I-” He shushed you, hands gently pushing your face into his neck, his lips caressing your skin.

“We have to get back to the village.” He muttered in your downturned ear. All you could do was nod and hold Neteyam’s hand tighter.

-

“We must begin preparations for his funeral. Jake and Neytiri will cleanse his body.”

You stepped up, “I am his mother as well, I will help.” Ronal kept her back to the three of you for a second before turning on her heels, a sharp look pointed your way, “he is not your biological child, he did not grow in you. This is-” “He was my son! I do not care about blood! If you will not allow me to join my mates as they- as we bid our goodbyes to Neteyam in the Cove of Ancestors, I should be allowed to help prepare his body before we part ways.”

You always held respect for the leaders of tribes, but will not let something as simple as different blood be the reason you aren’t given proper treatment within your family. You were with Neytiri as she announced her news to Jake, you were with her as she went into labor and you had been with Neteyam since he took his first breath of air in the world. He was your child and you lost him when you were still getting to know him.

“Please Ronal. Let us have this one piece if she can’t guide him to the Great Mother.” Jake’s voice was firm but held a begging tone that was obvious.

Her sharp eyes darted between the three of you, her tight shoulders sagging just a bit. You knew the three of you looked disheveled, with puffy eyes and tear streaks over your cheeks. Body ready to cave in from an invisible weight held on your shoulders. Eyes staring into an empty void.

“Fine. Now come, there is much to do.” Her walking resumed, the three of you just behind.

She walked into a mauri pod, bowls of water and woven twine were set to the side. You stopped when your breathing faltered once again at the sight of Neteyam, just lying peacefully on the floor with his eyes closed and arms beside his torso. He looked like he was just sleeping, enjoying dreams of whatever he wanted most from his life. If you didn’t look close enough you could imagine his chest moving with every breath he took, but you did stare and his chest sat still, not a twitch of his fingers or a tickle of his nose.

With jagged steps you stalked further in the pod, knees bending under the weight of your grief and you toppled to a stop beside his legs. Hands touching his lower leg and knee, his skin was cold to the touch causing a sob from your lips. You bent your head and curled in on yourself, letting the tears flow and the weeps free.

Your son was dead.

Arms pulled your back into a solid chest and a second pair of hands tenderly caressed your face and lips leaving sweeps of kisses over your trembling form. The hands holding your face turned you towards them, your eyes meeting the hollowed look of Neytiri. Her face was devoid of emotions, with no scowl or smile on her lips that you loved to indulge in, no furrow to her brows, or crinkles to her eyes. She was just empty and tired, heartbroken.

“Ma tìyawn (my love), we must begin. We need to clean him.” Her thumbs swiped over your wet cheeks. You could only stare back into her eyes and swallow your cries before you nodded your head. Jake’s arms slipped from your shaking body and you walked away to grab a bowl of water and a rag.

You sat on your hunches and soaked the cloth. With a shuddering breath, you closed your eyes for a moment to collect yourself and when you opened them you shut down. You rang the cloth to dispel the excess water and when you were satisfied, the material touched his shoulder and you wiped the dirt off his skin. Neytiri soon joined the process, sat on the other side of Neteyam’s shoulder and she tipped a bowl over his skin, her eyes following the liquid.

From the corner of your eye, you saw Jake sitting next to Neteyam’s legs on your side. He ran his cloth gently over his skin, it reminded you of when he was a child and Jake would wash his body in the pond near your mauri. You dipped the rag into the water again and rung it out, the water starting to get muddy with grime. You moved your work to his face.

You leaned your body at an angle with your right arm holding you up as you used your left hand to swipe the rag over his stilled features. He looked so much like Neytiri, he was so much like Neytiri. Fierce and protective, a strong warrior. Gentle and friendly, reserved mostly but will pounce when intimidated. He would have made a glorious Olo’eyktan if he chose the path. You wish he could have been given more time to live as a child, not have to worry about battlefields or have a constant eye on his roaming siblings.

With a final swipe to his brow, you gave a teary smile at your boy.

You looked up at Neytiri. Her eyes were closed as her head was tilted to the ceiling, hands resting on her thighs. There was a crinkle between her brows that you wanted to smooth over with your finger or a kiss, but before you could do either, choked whimpers drifted into your ears.

Jake was hunched over Neteyam’s legs, his locs hiding his face, but you saw the shake to his shoulders. He was crying.

Without a second thought, you joined his side, arms wrapping over his shoulders as you pushed his head into your chest with your chin sitting on his head. His arms circled your waist and held you tight as his tears fell to your skin. You shut your eyes as a fresh wave came upon you, the salty drops splashing your cheeks.

“Oh, ma Jake.”

“I‘ve failed him. I’ve failed my job as a father.” His lips grazed your skin as he spoke harshly of himself.

A deep furrow to your brows at his self-derivation, “No, no. You have done no such thing. It is those sky demons who have forced this fighting onto us. You have been doing your best at keeping us, our family safe.” You burrowed your noses into his hair and gave quick kisses in succession, “Do not let our son's death be in vain. He would not want you to use his passing as an excuse for harshness on yourself.”

Your hand caressed the back of his head with the other settled between his shoulder blades, the muscles moving with each hitch to his breath. You squeezed your eyes closed once again and just breathed, focused on your breathing and Jake’s. One the silent crashing of the water surrounding the mauri and picking up what quiet hiccups of Neytiri.

You weren’t sure how long you were frozen in that position, the scene not changing. All you know is eventually Jake’s cries were subdued and then Ronal entered the space in a different outfit. All your eyes were on her as her head was held high, but her eyes were gentle.

“It is time.”

...

tags: @singular-itae

[anmechokola]

Timeline of Events

(SPOILERS FOR UP TO CURRENT MANGA CHAPTERS)

This might not be interesting to anyone else, but we learn things in such a choppy manner and there is so much happening in such a long time period that I thought it would help me keep track of everything and hopefully notice possible connections in events.

I'll edit this as we learn new things.

...

Happened more than 1100 years ago, but unspecified when

People of the Moon (Skypeans, Shandians and Birkans) descend from the Moon to the Blue Planet (Enel's Cover Story)

Skypeans and Birkans stay on Sky Islands

Shandias found Shandora

Possibly happened more than 1100 years ago, unspecified when

Appearance of Devil Fruits

Creation of Ancient Weapons

5000 years - age of Ohara's Tree of Knowledge

4000 years ago - construction of Alabasta's palace

3000 years - age of the science facility in Elbaf

1000 years ago - Minks settled on Zou

900 years ago - Tontatta Tribe settled in Dressrosa, used as slaves by the Don Quixote nobles

900 to 800 years ago - Void Century

Great War between Ancient Kingdom and 20 Nations

Poneglyphs created by Kozuki Family (unsure if all were created at this time, but at least one was - Joyboy's apology at Fishman Island)

Shandora fell

At least one of the Ancient Weapons used (sea levels rising)

Joyboy died

20 nations became the World Government

Kozuki Toki first travels to the future

19 of the 20 nations founded Mary Geoise on top of the Red Line

Disappearance of Nefertari D. Lili

800 years ago - Riku family became rulers of Dressrosa and freed the Tontatta

700 years ago - World Nobles begin construction of the great structures Tequila Wolf, Vodka Wolf, Rum Wolf and Bourbon Wolf

500 years ago - Oars the Continent Puller created his Nation of Villains

400 years ago - Noland visited Jaya, Shandora ascended to Sky Island

300 years ago - Germa Empire conquers the North Blue for 66 days

100 years ago - beginning of the White Amber trade

63 years ago - Charlotte Linlin rampages on Elbaf, death of Jorul

52 years ago - Brook and the Rumbar Pirates leave Laboon with Crocus at Reverse Mountain

(By 49 years ago Brook was already alone and revived in the Florian Triangle)

44 years ago - Kaido joins the Rocks Pirates

42 years ago - Shakky leaves the Kuja Pirates

41 years ago - Mountain God Incident in Wano

39 years ago - formation of MADS (Laboratory for Peace) led by Vegapunk and including Ceasar Clown, Vinsmoke Judge and Queen the Plague

38 years ago - Rocks Pirates defeated by Roger pirates and Garp on God Valley

36 years ago - creation of Stussy, the first human clone, by MADS

34 years ago - Kaido is taken to Punk Hazard and later escapes with King

26 years ago

dissolution of MADS by the World Government

Vegapunk denies Clou D. Clover assistance in researching the Void Century

25 years ago - Roger pirates arrive at Laugh Tale

24 years ago - execution of Gol D. Roger at Loguetown; beginning of the Great Age of Piracy

22 years ago

destruction of the island of Ohara

formation of the Revolutionary Army by Monkey D. Dragon, Bartholomew Kuma and Emporio Ivankov

20 years ago

execution of Kozuki Oden

Saul founded Walrus School in Elbaf

16 years ago - Law escapes Flevance and joins the Don Quixote Family

15 years ago - Fisher Tiger frees slaves in Mary Geoise

14 years ago - Loki (supposedly) killed King Harald of Elbaf

13 years ago

Boa Hancock becomes Empress of Amazon Lily and a Warlord of the Sea

Luffy eats the Gomu Gomu Fruit

Law eats the Ope Ope Fruit (possibly, unspecified exactly when)

12 years ago - death of Fisher Tiger

10 years ago

execution of shipwright Tom, builder of the Oro Jackson

death of Queen Otohime of the Ryugu Kingdom

Doflamingo takes over Dressrosa from King Riku

6 years ago - Loki imprisoned in Realm of the Dead by Shanks

4 years ago - Punk Hazard is shut down after Ceaser Clown releases his toxic gas on the island

[dullyn]

Arthurian Retelling Book Review I

Dark Sorceress by Clara Ann Simons

There will be spoilers.

This review might be a bit harsh as there are lots of things that I personally think the book did poorly/are just bad. From formatting, to editing, to plot and characters, there was always something that seemed out of place.

Technical Stuff

Why are the margins two inches and why is the book doubled spaced? It’s giving: wanted to make the book seem longer but didn’t want to write more words. (Which the book could’ve used because everything at the end was rushed and a lot of stuff made no sense because there were no explanations).

There were also so many typos? It seemed like there was no editing done. Along this line there are also several times that there are lines referencing a series of dialogue or action that did not happen. So it seems like the author wrote something and then went back and deleted it and then never reread and edited the parts referencing these deleted chunks. There are also whole paragraphs and pages repeated at various points in the book, such as every time the MC eats soup she describes it the exact same way.

Here are various examples:

Spacing typo; the worst justified line spacing I’ve ever seen; another typo. (Lol wizaard).

This is the way the entire book is formatted. Insanely large margins and spaces between lines.

Plot/Characters

Never in my life have I seen such a self insert main character in my whole life. Ana, she comes into Camelot via a magic portal and then everyone around her is completely on board with the idea of time travel and like don’t really hold any hostility towards her. Guys that is a random person who just showed up in Uther’s room out of the blue?? Along with that Igraine is portrayed initially as being a hysterical pregnant woman that all the men dismiss, but then in the middle of the book she has a weird half of a chapter that’s her POV and it’s revealed that she’s actually evil and in cahoots with Arthur (who is Uther’s brother in this) and that the baby she’s pregnant with is actually Arthur’s. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS? Of all characters you’re going to put ones that are traditionally mother and son together???? Ew.

Throughout all of this Ana is in a love/situationship thing with Nimue (who is Uther’s court sorceress) and they keep randomly having sex throughout the book. All fade to black but it always is just randomly there and choppy af. There’s also an entire plot of: There’s a Dark Sorceress Who Has Been Missing For Years.

Gee I wonder who it is :/

Merlin, Mordred, and the evil sorceress (called Kaeth Adú) are all non human wizards by the way. Several times Mordred looks at Ana and Nimue and goes “you’re not even the same species.” Like why??? Mordred isn’t related to anyone in this universe. He also is super weird and cryptic and sides with Uther on the grounds of controlling magic while Merlin is with Arthur wanting to free all magic (it’s kind of a side plot). Mordred refuses to tell anyone anything about the dark sorceress though but then Ana ends up going exactly to where the dark sorceress’ lair was and Wow We Were All So Surprised What Happened Next. (Heavy on the sarcasm).

So Ana finds out she’s the dark sorceress and the like magic possesses her body and turns her evil? She kills all of Arthur’s troops in one swoop with a giant fireball and then goes off and Nimue finds her and through the power of love like turns her back to normal. It must be noted the entire book is resolved in like 5 pages.

Conclusion

I hated this book. The concept was there but it’s like the author wanted to put no time into it, watched BBC Merlin, and called it a day (the MC even references the show IN THE BOOK). It reminds me of something I would find on teenager Wattpad in 2015. Therefore:

0.25/5 ⭐️

[redbone135]

Heyyy, Red!!! I have a writing question. How do you revamp scenes that aren’t transitioning well? My current WIP is SO choppy and I don’t know what to do! If you have any writer/English teacher advice to give id be ever so grateful😭🙏🏻

Oh boy, are you ready for a writing info dump?

So, when writing a piece that is transitioning with scenes instead of chapters, there are a lot of steps that go into it. You are probably already doing a lot of these steps instinctively, but if it feels choppy, one of these steps is usually off: 1. A scene is lacking purpose 2. A scene has not completed its purpose 3. A scene is in the wrong place 4. You need stronger transition sentences.

So the first part is the hardest. Every scene must have a purpose for existing. "It's just fun and fluffy," you might say, but even fluff serves a greater point when creating a finished piece of writing. Below is an example from the chapter I'm currently working on, I've got what happens in plain text - so you can see how random and fluffy it sounds - and then in parenthesis below, the literary purpose of its inclusion. (For an alternative tone, replace the word fluff in my advice with angst/whump)

Scene 1: Main Character and a friend are helping each other get ready for a Rehearsal Dinner (This scene establishes the relationship and personalities of these two characters in an exposition format. Later in the story, the friend will die, and so by adding a scene of her interacting with characters now, it will make their grief feel more authentic later) Scene 2: Main Character has a romantic moment with his love interest, makes her a promise that the wedding tomorrow will go smoothly (Establishes the main conflict of this piece - the promise serves as our motivation, everything challenging it will then be considered rising action) Scene 3 - 8: Shenanigans ensue. The bride's father is late to the wedding. The priest goes missing. One of the bridesmaids breaks up with her boyfriend. A wild animal gets loose in the church. The groom gets cold feet and leaves. Shenanigans are also solved at the end of each respective scene. (This is my rising action - each scene serves to make the problem of keeping his promise more difficult. It shows that at several points along the way the character could quit, but builds both his arc and the emotional stakes of the story when he does not). Scene 9: Character A shares a dance with his love interest at the end of a successful wedding (Provides an explanation for how the characters and their relationship has grown after this experience.) Scene 10: A fluffy scene where Character A and his love interest discuss their relationships future and commit to avoiding issues through honesty (Resolution of the story, sets goals for upcoming chapters, and provides the key to resolving future conflicts.)

The good news is, once you have the first part done, the second part becomes easy. Did it complete its purpose? Did you end on a sentence that really highlights why the scene is there? If it's establishing a relationship, how can you make sure the audience got that? If it's creating a conflict, how are you underscoring the consequences of letting this conflict go unresolved? If it's resolving a conflict, how have you made sure this issue is dealt with and not going to bother anyone again later? If it's providing resolution to a piece's theme, how can you point out that theme one last time through reflection or looking to the future?

Once you've made sure all scenes are complete, they are serving the purpose you meant them to, you've met all their goals, you have to ask, is it in the right place? You'll notice my example above maps onto the plot diagram: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. We tend to think of our stories linearly - remember my post it note advice? - but that doesn't always make for a smooth flow when writing it out. So, the next thing is to match the scene's purpose to it's place - if it's purpose is to provide exposition, it probably belongs earlier in the plot, if it's resolving conflicts, you want it closer to the end. You can achieve this through turning things into flashbacks or cutting out time relevant details in order to move things around.

Lastly, once everything is doing what it should and in the correct place, you want to make sure each new scene starts with a small tie-in to the old scene. This can be a sentence relating to time, it can be a bit of a joke by maybe contradicting how the last scene ended, it can be repetition of an important line, just to name a few. Nothing gets rid of a choppy feeling like a smooth transition in your opening sentence. Good news, this is normally the problem and it's definitely the easiest to solve.

Obviously, writing is super subjective, so if this advice doesn't work for you, feel free to throw it out. But hopefully it helps with the writers block a little? And as always, I love asks, so feel free to follow up if something was unclear or if you have a more specific question!

[halfadoginatank]

Simon and his father take a trip to the Scottish highlands for the summer, he knows only one of them will leave.

Johnny is a boy obsessed with filming explosions from fireworks he's not supposed to have.

Los Vaqueros are a group of Mexican teens derailed from their field trip waiting for teachers that might not come back.

Huge lore and plot dump below.

Mild tw for Simons father

Simons father has always taken him on hunting trips, sometimes he hated them, some times he liked them. But he'd never taken him this far from manchester. There are weapons in the cabin they rent, his father is eerily sober, one of them is going to die out here. Simon can only hope that Tommy won't be next.

Johnny meets him when he strays too far from his father. Part of it on purpose, he would never be on equal footing, more so when his father had the rifle and not him. He's in the tree's, at first simon thinks its prey, but there's a camera lense staring right at his scope.

Los Vaqueros come later, the leader arguing with a girl with choppy hair, Valeria and Alejandro trade glares while Rodolfo tries to mediate. Their bus broke down, leaving them stuck in town desperately renting a cabin near but far from the one simon is in.

It's the most interesting thing thats happened to johnny, and in the makeshift bonfire Valeria corners him and Simon. Her gaze is snakelike and a ring clinks on the bottle she's holding

"You say that he's an asshole yes? Your padre. Mine was the same, en mi opinión? It is kill or be killed."

Valeria nods at Alejandro, she tells them of a faceless force where she's from. The person sponsoring the trip for them, 'good will'. The five of them band together, the rest of the Vaqueros utterly ignorant.

Simon will save his family, Alejandro will get them home, and johnny? He's going to make the best home video.

-

Yeah so thats the whole plot, originally it was just going to be ghoap but somehow the Vaqueros fell into place. It kind of made more sense to have Valeria give them the idea? She doesnt have a whole bunch of canon lore so I figured she'd have an in with the cartel via her father, who was awful. And when Valeria killed him the nameless helped her cover it up and she got her own little spot.

Alejandro broke off their relationship after that, it's why they're on bad terms. He formed the Vaqueros as a funny joke that he started to take seriously when kids around Las Almas genuinely needed help that wasnt someway connected to the cartel, adults had that with rudys mother, so Ale and his childhood friend Rudy decided to help people their age in a way that doesn't rely on adults too much.

Everyone here is about 16-18. Soap is 17, ghost is as well but a few months older. Rudy Alejandro and Valeria are 18. And the youngest cowboy is 16.

Im trying to fit Gaz and Alex in? Im thinking that they both live in Texas, Gazs parents had a falling out since mum was from Texas hes there. Their school is on the same trip in the same bus a sort of cross trip to help the shitty american public school get a better name, as well as the cartels big PR move with having a class from one of Las Almas' schools.

Johnny is a bit weird here, but his motivation is he's suffering from extreme middle kid issues. Loves his family but since he's almost invisible is able to just kinda run off as long as hes back home eventually. He has a camera he uses to film any of his mishaps with, its essentially just jackass. As well as a video diary. Dont be fooled, its also an excuse for me to write some of it in script like format.

Simon is almost exactly the same as he is in the 09 comics, obviously a bit different. But childhood is the same.

I wanted farah to be here so bad but her childhood is literally a warzone and theres no way I can get her and her brother in Scotland. Because im trying so hard to make this somewhat believable, like yes its is a summer mystery horror au. But god I just really need things to make a little sense otherwise I cant do it. Same with Price Nik and Laswell. Like I could group Laswell in with Alex and gaz, and maybe I could pair her with Valeria for funsies. However Nikolai is in russia so... oopsie, and price? Like... how do you turn price into a teenager, he'd be what 19 or 20? Theres no reason he'd be in school, I dont think he'd be held back.

Also you may wonder, why is graves not here? Uh.... because I dont care, he wouldn't have a place here. The antagonist is Simons father, and honestly man? I just dont care that much for his character.

Man theres... theres so much I have here dude, I want to throw roach in there, and I THINK I could squeeze him in as one of ghosts school mates but the point is the first act has Simon completely isolated.

Anyway thats it. Bye.

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: it stays there until you die

Rottmnt Oneshot Summary: Casey goes to sleep surrounded by his family. He wakes up in the future, with his mentor shaking him awake.

it stays there until you die : Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is a oneshot, and is completed. This fanfic is written by @skitter-kitter, so go ahead, go show them some love and support!!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot:💛💛💛💛💛

"Plot is five out of five!! The plot for this oneshot is intense, and does not have a happy ending! The plot is full of plot twists, and many little sad moments."

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Suspense/Mystery four out of five!! In the beginning of the story, the mystery level is the more prominent factor, as you really won't know what's happening, though as the plot progresses, the suspense takes right on over!!"

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛💛💛💛

"Angst/Hurt is five out of five!! Oh gosh, the angst in this one-shot is a five!! Its just emotional whiplash after emotional whiplash!! Not to mention, that it doesn't have a happy ending."

Fluff/Comfort: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is zero out of five!! In any moments that there might be comfort, its overshadowed by the angst, and by what's going on. No fluff at all in this oneshot!!"

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Emotions Conveyed is three out of five!! The plot is just intense and immersive enough to be influential to one's emotions!!"

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Drama/Tension Level is two out of five!! This fic actually has minimal amounts of drama and tension. The plot is fairly straightforward, and gets to the point."

Triggers: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Triggers are three out of five!! This oneshot has a lot of emotional whiplash, and an unhappy ending, along with some descriptions of blood, and lots of mentions of death. None of it is graphic, nor gory. But still, check the tags, just to be safe ^^"

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Legibility (Reading) is four out of five!! This oneshot was quite an enjoyable read!! the text was well formatted, with no strange fonts, nor images either. The sections were also well divided."

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Legibility (Audio) is three out of five!! This oneshot, while it was wonderful to listen to, is for sure a better read instead. The way the sections are divided up, aren't listened to well, and it makes the story feel a little choppy. For a better experience, I would recommended reading it instead of listening! ^^"

Length: 💛🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Length is one out of five!! The listening length for this fic is about 47-48 minutes long, and it has a word count of 9.5k words!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Personal thoughts on chapter below cut (Contains Spoilers)

Tears poured down his face in a rush. Casey choked on a sob. “Master Leonardo.” He lifted his hands to grip his mentor’s wrist, grinning with relief. “You’re here! You’re alive!” Master Leonardo snorted, rolling his eyes. “Well, of course I’m alive! It takes a lot to take me out, you know!” Then, in a gentler tone. “Did you have a nightmare? I’ve had them before, too. It’s, um…” He looked away from Casey, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. “They’re hard to deal with.”

Oh this is so interesting. I love the changes in scenes, where it went from Casey cataloging everyone's snores, to suddenly this confusion of Future Leo being alive.

“You told Mikey to open a portal through time. You— you threw me back into time.” Casey gripped his scarf like a lifeline. “And… I fixed everything.” Tears ran down his face. “I met Raph, Master Leonardo. He was…” Master Leonardo looked at him with horrified eyes. “He was protective and kind… just like you.” “You met Raph?” His voice was odd. “And… Mikey… I wouldn’t…” 

The only thing to make Leo believe that it isn't just a dream, is Casey talking about Raph. And its not just because Raph is dead in the future. Its much more complicated than that. I'm assuming Casey would have usually avoided talking about Raph as he saw it was a sore spot for his Sensei, and often made him cry. Casey being Casey, hates it when his Sensei cries, of course. So naturally, he just avoids the topic of Raph all together.

Master Leonardo smiled, rolling his eyes. “Well, we’re not doing an all-out attack anytime soon. We’re gonna try and get to their Technodrome and—” “Close the portal on it?” Casey finished. Master Leonardo scoffed, raising his hands dramatically. “Aw, c’mon, how’d you know? This is a brand new idea! Never even thought of doing it before!”

Oh my gosh, the parallels!!

Casey blinked up at him, wiping the blurriness from his eyes. Why weren’t they at the base? Why didn’t he have Master Leonardo’s scarf around him? “Master Leonardo?” Casey groaned. “What’s going on?” The turtle patted him on the shoulder, grinning. “Well, first of all, it’s your turn to be awake. Then, in a few hours we’ll be meeting the rest of the resistance for a big attack against the Kraang. You must be really tired if you forgot. You were so anxious about it earlier!” Casey stared up at his mentor. How was he here? Why did he keep waking up here? Why couldn’t his happiness last? “Okay, sensei.” Casey agreed easily, stepping out of the bed to allow him to slip into the spot he had been laying just moments ago. “I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

Poor Casey... Having that happiness with his newfound family, then having it transition to feeling like he can save his original family, only to have it yanked out from under his feet. What a shame, poor boy. A bolt of energy went straight through his stomach. It hit the ground behind him, exploded, and sent the two of them flying. Originally, it had hit Master Leonardo. Originally, it had killed Master Leonardo. Now, the world had hope. Now, Casey Jones II was going to bleed out on the battlefield.

My jaw just DROPPED when I read this!!! Oh my gosh, I never would have expected this to happen!! Casey really is a lot more like Leo than anyone would like to admit.

Master Leonardo stared at the blood on his hand for a long moment before shaking his head. “I’m going to pick you up. This is going to hurt. Probably a lot…” His eyes lit up for a moment. “Oh! I’m going to wrap my scarf around your wound. That’ll” — Master Leonardo took a shaky breath — “that’ll keep you alive till I can get help.”

Ohmygosh, the pure amount of emotion in this scene is just, augh!! Its so good!!

History liked to repeat itself, Casey realized.  Master Michelangelo died creating a portal through time. Master Leonardo threw him into said portal. Only, this time his mentor jumped in alongside him. After all, a corpse couldn’t save the world.

Just, what??? What??? What the heck, this is crazy!!! Though, Casey is right, after all, Leo would never do something so rash, unless it meant saving someone he loved. Before, he was able to throw Casey through, and then stay behind to help out the remaining people. This time, he went with Casey. Also, before he stayed behind to ensure that the Krang wouldn't follow them through the portal, and he had already been shot. This time, he's in full(ish) health, and he's no longer thinking clearly.

(Raph had jumped in front of an attack meant for his mentor, after all. It was no surprise why that wound in particular may be hurting right now.)

Auuugh not the parallels again!!! Oh gosh, its so good!!

As he was dragged away, he heard the younger version of Leonardo speak up.  “He calls you master?” Casey fell asleep not long after.

Oh man, this is so interesting!! Did he travel back again? Is this an alternate timeline? I'm so curious as to what caused this!! Will this keep happening, with more and more Casey's and Leo's showing up?

It was the familiar presence in the room. It was the soft squelching of something inhuman walking toward him. It was hissing laughter. “They left you behind?” The Kraang taunted, body contorting as she spoke. “Ha! Easy prey.” Casey’s last thought before her tentacles wrapped around his wounded stomach was of Master Leonardo. I know he can save the world without me.

*Dies again from emotional whiplash* What??? Oh shoot, I hadn't thought of that.

“A trade, then. The human for the key.” Casey blinked his eyes open, looking through the odd, clear liquid. Below him stood five green shapes.  All of the turtles were here. Casey smiled. That was nice. His sacrifice had allowed his mentor to connect with the younger versions of his family. “Yes,” Master Leonardo’s voice echoed through the room. Casey watched him step forward, key held in his hand.

Nooooo this is even worse!!! Nooooo not all the horrible decisions!!! Oh gosh, everything just keeps getting worse the longer it goes on!!

“I wanted to fix things, but I think I just made it worse. Just, um, just know.” Casey met the eyes of the greatest ninja the world had ever seen and smiled as tears ran down his face. “I love you.” The monster burning under his skin flared up at the words, jumping out of his skin and consuming his limbs. Casey took a step away from his mentor, screaming louder than he thought was possible. It burned, it ached, it hurt.

I wonder, does the krang react to the words themselves, or the emotions caused by the words? Because all emotions cause different reactions in the body. If the krang are fueled by power, I wonder, what hormone, or emotion the krang are triggered by? Just some thoughts.

“Casey! It’s your turn to take watch.” Casey blinked up at his mentor, his memory oddly… blank. It was like there was a fog covering his mind. Something had happened… (“Casey! Casey, please!”) Something bad had happened, but he couldn’t remember it.  Why couldn’t he remember it?  He remembered Leo begging him to close the portal with him inside, he remembered waiting for his mentor for hours, he remembered being shot by the laser, but what had happened after?

I think he's stuck in a time loop of sorts. Man, poor Case.

“Casey! It’s your turn to take watch.” Casey lurched up, grabbing onto Master Leonardo’s shoulders. “I’m about to tell you something insane. You have to believe me.” His mentor laughed. “Uh, sure?” “I’m from the future. The attack today is going to lead to the death of the entire rebellion. April, you, Mikey— everyone.” Master Leonardo gave him a considering look, nodding along. “You’re going to ask Mikey to open a time portal to send me back in time to stop the invasion.”

Y'know, this is really sad. He gets yanked back, regardless or not if he succeeds. I can imagine, that after failing, this would feel like a second chance. But after succeeding? I can't imagine how much that would hurt!! To have victory, the thing you've dreamed about your whole life, given to you, then snatched away. I wonder, how long until he becomes numb?

Casey met his mentor’s gaze. “Can you think of any way I can get out of this?” “Do you mean a time loop?”  “A what?”

Called it!!

“Who are you?!” Leo demanded. “Why do you have my markings? Why’d you steal that thing? Why do you have my markings?!”

I find it hilarious that out of all the things to worry about, Leo is most worried about Casey wearing his trademark markings on his mask. Not where he came from, not what he's doing, none of that. Only, the markings.

Master Leonardo… A spark of blue energy traveled from the sword to his hand. Casey opened his eyes, grinning as Leo’s swords recognized him. Inches from the pavement, Casey opened a portal to the only place he could call home.  In another world, it was a warzone.  In another world, Master Michelangelo had sacrificed himself to open a portal through time here. In another world, Master Leonardo had died here. But, in this one, it was a meadow.

I'm crying!!! This is so precious!!! Oh my gosh, all of Casey's hard work!! Please let it be worth something!!

“Hey, my biggest fan,” Leo said, sounding oddly unnerved by Casey’s tears. “Are you— are you alright?” And, Casey— Casey had never felt worse. “I’m so tired.” Casey took the key from his satchel and placed it on the grass, surrounded by blue lilies.  “Do whatever you want with it. I don’t care anymore.“ Casey walked away, holding the blue lily close to his heart. “Casey! It’s your turn to take watch.” As always, Master Leonardo threw him into the portal.  As always, Master Leonardo died in a red pulse. Only, this time, Casey didn’t shed a single tear.

.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I'm crying, what the heck??? Nooooooo this is so sad!!! oh my gosh, the poor boy!!! Augh, my heart!!! T^T

[tainbocuailnge]

the rise in popularity of memes that use datamoshing (like the mom manifesting ketchup in a fridge out of the ether, or a lol player being taken back to their computer when they reach for a shower handle) and making my girlfriend read stay night has made me wonder if that might be a good way of representing gae bolg moving in an impossible direction when striking the heart, and that made me wonder if the number one cú liker has any thoughts about how they would represent that sort of thing in animation. tldr what does it look like in your head when gae bolg is used?

the way this ask started really made me wonder how this was gonna relate to me lol. i think the canon visualisation of a red line suddenly changing angle is probably the best way to do it in a visual novel format where you need to linger on the image a bit while the text is displayed over it and i think ufotable doing a kind of rewind effect over it is not a bad attempt to adapt that particular visual but i think if i were to take a crack at it i'd go for like, you blink and suddenly the spear is already in your chest. like in a manga for example i'd shuffle the panel order so that the "final" panel of getting stabbed in the chest is placed before the panels showing the movement of thrusting, maybe even overlapping those previous panels like it was pasted in there. anime doesn't quite have that kind of framing possibility but i'd do like choppy shaft editing that split second inserts the result before the action or something maybe. actually its tempting to want to show the movement but i think to really represent the feeling of getting hit with gae bolg you have to lean more on how that movement isnt really possible to comprehend because it by design turns the logical progression of causality on its head so maybe i would just not show the movement at all and have a weird choppy skip to the moment where the spear is already in the chest. or you animate him thrusting towards the ground but have a weird jump to him suddenly thrusting perfectly into the heart while saber maintains the same fluid motion throughout to highlight that dissonance. this is a cool question thanks

[dw-flagler]

Eureka! Investigative Urban Fantasy... spoilers? (can you spoil a ttrpg?) below? basically if you haven't read the eureka rulebook yet don't read this. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

okay? okay.

I think you could make spider-man into a Eureka! vampire. I think you could do it and it would work really well. It came to me in a dream.

I'm serious. don't look at me like that. I'm serious!

Okay, so last night i had a dream about spider-man fighting benito mussolini, who was a vampire for some reason and also had an army of gargoyles. Not... totally sure what the, uh, point of that dream was. but that's not the important part. the important part is that partway through the dream i realized that there's a weird amount of similarities between spider-man and vampires according to the Eureka! Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook.

These can't have been intentional. Seriously, think about it! Spider man:

can stick to walls and ceilings, that's like his #1 super power.

is far stronger than a human should be, but still not, like. the hulk. (it varies a lot writer-to-writer, but usually his limit is a car, or if it's not he has to strain a lot to lift more)

Is highly resilient to physical injury, able to take incredible amounts of punishment before finally giving up the ghost. (there's some wiggly bits but it mostly works)

One time he did canonically die, after... a lot. I won't get into it but he was, like, the Wound Man by the end of it. But most importantly, he came back to life after a while and showed up a year later (I guess he was out of eureka points). That particular issue wasn't actually good but let me have this okay

can be sneaky if he so chooses to be, despite the bright red onesie. Like weirdly common that spider-man is very good at moving around undetected.

"appears animated," "choppy framerate" SPIDERVERSE!?

Vampires don't have spider-sense, but neither do several iterations of spider-man! The first one that comes to mind is spider-man 2099, who just has "enhanced senses!" He also had sharp teeth and people thought he was a vampire.

you might think "oh but he wouldn't have webs" but no! usually the webs are a thing he invented irrespective of the super powers! so that's not a point against it!

Okay there's not actually a lot here but i have to make this work. please. it's destroying me

But the biggest thing for me was that basically everyone around him seems to suffer horribly all the time, sometimes specifically because he's spider-man and sometimes randomly, what is seemingly just cosmic happenstance punishing them for their mere proximity to him! There must always be a wound!!!

i sent the devs at a.n.i.m. an ask about this but they ignored it. possibly because i sound like a raving lunatic grasping at straws.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] possibly because i am a raving lunatic grasping at straws...

Something else you have to consider is that the backstory fits, too. Literally the only thing you have to change about the standard spider-man backstory is that the spider wasn't radioactive or genetically engineered or part of a super soldier program, it was just a normal-ass venomous spider and it just like. kilt him! or her--there's spider-women! (personally my favorite is silk, but. ... well she's a problematic fave) but anyway the point is that most of those backstories involve being Bitten by a Somehow Special Spider, or injected with Special Spider Venom, or, like, Spiderified(?) So just have it kill them! Which is what should happen in real life if a strange spider bites you. Anyway we have a religious* kid from new yawk, dying tragically at a young age.

Also, at least with the (original) ultimate spider-man series (my favorite spider-man comic series), you could totally read norman osborn** as being an older more advanced vampire and his green goblin transformation as being the vampire beast form! It even "drives him insane" or in the terms of the game it does a bunch of composure damage! The point being that being in that form is a huge drain on his stability and makes him prone to delusions of grandeur, perhaps like he was given a mission from god to kill spider-man! (which did actually happen, he did think that if i remember correctly)

Honestly there's only really one big problem with this. It is pretty big though: spider-man goes out in the sun literally all the time. Like all the time. Sure, he wears a spandex onesie that covers his entire body, which would mitigate the effects a lot, but like. The book explicitly says "only a full body radiation suit can completely negate the effects" and it's not a full body radiation suit. well some of the suits he's used are, but like the most popular one is not, it's just lycra. So if you wanted to make spider-man a vampire you'd have to work around that I think, by either making him wear a more protective suit (which has its own problems) or just not having him go out during the day unless he absolutely had to, which doesn't really work super well thematically at first glance... I mean you could do a 2099 and make the story take place in, like, gotham, or something. Maybe the sun went out? Shut up there's ways around it! You can make it work!!!

Look you can make spider-man a vampire okay. it can work. It's not a pepe silvia okay this can work okay? don't look at me like that! This is reasonable! there's a chain of logic! You can totally do it!

[cantsayidont]

The INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE show is enormously frustrating because there's some really good drama, but it keeps being buried in stupidly and unnecessarily cumbersome story construction. It's perhaps the most high-profile example I've seen to date of fannish storytelling weaknesses: the fixation on constructing elaborate alternate takes on the characters (some interesting, some decidedly half-baked) at the expense of narrative coherency, punctuated by a constant stream of neurotic, self-referential metatextual asides that are sometimes amusing, but almost always throw you out of whatever mood or momentum the story might otherwise generate. This has been a common problem in comics for decades, but seeing it in a glossy high-profile Quality Teevee project like this is somewhat jarring.

The tragedy of it is that there are some parts of IWTV that are pretty compelling and that could have been great if the writers could have just stopped fucking around and told the damned story. The incendiary revenge sequence in the season 2 finale is a case in point: It has some cool action concepts, and I was certainly keen to see the awful vampire theater geeks finally get their comeuppance, but the climax is completely undermined by sloppy construction, choppy editing, and the exasperating insistence on talking over the whole thing, which prevents any of it from being either exciting or dramatically satisfying. It felt less like a season finale than an irritating podcast about the season finale; I half-expected Louis or Daniel to break in with a plug for Blue Apron. I hate podcasts and I loathe that kind of chatty video essay format, so this is a bug, not a feature.

[animehouse-moe]

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 8: Shibuya Incident 3

This is what I was worried about, what I thought was arguably the worst case scenario for what we'd get for season 2. Thankfully, only a single battle falls to this effort, but we have no telling what the future may hold. Not entirely devoid of good, the episode is overwhelmingly still, but also oddly flashy. A brutal balance to strike, worsened by the ghosting and dimming imposed on it, I don't think it'll take long for me to explain what's going on with this episode.

So, first things first, the praise. This episode takes Geto's explanation of Domain Amplification and how to handle Gojo, and shapes it into something rather appealing compared to the manga. I think it's a good change, but one that I'm still curious about. The real fight between Gojo, and Hanami, Jogo, and Choso starts next episode. I'm unsure of the reasoning behind splitting up the explanation into parts that are stippled throughout. It would work equally well as a closer to prep the tension for the ensuing fight.

Gojo, the all powerful sorcerer, has a "weakness" that's being exploited, and so he rises to the challenge. Now, I'll state once more that it's not a critique of the anime's exposition, but just a question of why they chose to split it up instead of keeping it in line with the manga.

Anyways, here's Hanami, Dagon, and Mahito playing with the kids while Geto explains things.

Similarly, I think them condensing the respective fights was a good decision. With the pacing of them, consolidating them works much better to preserve pace and engagement.

Also, there's a good few ambitious scenes in the episode, that are arguably well done. I think disappointingly though, very few have to do with actual combat, and arguably fewer that are specifically animated.

Let's start with Yuji's reaction to Mahito being in Shibuya. Not quite the manga, but it's pretty comparable to his reactions from season 1. Because of the lack of animation though, you don't really feel that oomph like you did with S1 Yuji, which is somewhat saddening. Still, far from the worst.

You know, I think I might just speed things along. The very core of this episode is good layouts. Animation doesn't really follow, nor does it keep up with said LOs. Here's a few examples though, like Yuji's running cycle paired with his character acting. Solid and smooth, it's well done even though it's different from the first season.

Similarly, but arguably worse, is Choso's Slicing Exorcism. Solid idea, good boards, surprisingly good animation. Terrible composition and art. Which is a shame, it's a really solid approach to Choso's style of combat, and it's squandered by negative effort in its surroundings. Better than a blurred background, but still far from good.

But that's really as far as my praise can go. As I said to open, the episode is painfully still, but attempts to be incredibly flashy. Some boards work well, but they're largely limited to stills and non-combat sequences.

Grasshopper vs Yuji was nearly a complete letdown in that regard. Drawing out the comical/silly moments, quickening its pace while completely changing its scale, and offer a total lack of impact and weight. By all means, its a flunking score that even makes you doubt if what transpired in the previous episode was at all associated to the execution of today's.

And that doesn't even mention the weirdness of trying to mimic a JJK 0 fight scene of Yuta & Rika vs Geto. Choppy, sluggish, and the animation/choreography makes no sense. Completely changes the scale of Grasshopper as well as the limit of their abilities, as well as Yuji. Essentially what I said with the prior episode, the scale of combat has grown to an unreasonable scale that misrepresents their ability.

And then there's the whole rapid fire punching that takes place. Bad choreography in the first place (though a bit more forgivable in manga format) that's made completely unwatchable thanks to ghosting and dimming. No real words, so just watch this clip from an account on Twitter.

And I think that pretty well sums it up. Not a good episode, not a good fight. Praying for better times, and for that matter pacing. With the Kyoto Exchange Event as the benchmark for group battling as well as exposition, Shibuya is already struggle to keep on reasonable pacing. I think Shibuya moves fast in the first place, but I still believe that said pace has been quickened with the anime. For reference, this episode adapts "about" 5 chapters (some contents are piecemealed from other chapters and re-organized, so tough to perfectly gauge), while Kyoto Exchange averaged about 3 chapters an episode.

I refuse to say I'm ringing alarm bells, as I'd already done that before this season, let alone this part of it, began. This is just stating the facts of what unfolds in front of viewers now. I'm just disappointed that following the impressive work of the previous episode that we fall so far. Hopefully the following episode of next week can pick up the pieces once more.

[bindupthesebrokenbones]

Today's Thankful Thursday exercise is to write a letter of gratitude. You don't have to send it if you don't want to - you don't even have to address it to a single person, or a real person.

For example, I regularly write letters to an angel, who I tell about all the things that are going on in my life. It's not quite prayer, and there's no structure to it, but having a solid entity that I address helps a lot with getting out the thoughts.

So, let's get started!

Step 1: Identify your target

As you may know, all letters start with a salutation. If you're writing your gratitude letter to a specific person, you would write "Dear Aunt Sally," for example, or "Dear mom". If you would prefer to write your letter to an entity, you can try "Dear God," or "Dear Frodo Baggins," or any other being of religious, cultural, or fandom/hobby significance to you.

You can also go with "Dear Diary," or "Dear Journal," if you'd like to keep this letter in your private journal. The idea here is to have a target that you're addressing, whether you intend to pass this letter along or not.

Step 2: Determine your format

If you're writing this letter to a specific person, then the format of your letter is going to center on what you're grateful to that person for.

"Dear mom,

Thank you for always being there for me. I'm so grateful for the way that you have my back in difficult situations, and how you stand up for me when I struggle to hold my own."

If you're writing in more of a diary/journal format, the letter will look a little different. It will be more general and broad, rather than focusing on a single person.

"Dear Diary,

I'm thankful for the bright sun today. The good weather made it easy for me to go out and spend some time with my friends at the park. I had a lot of fun that I might have skipped if it had been cloudy or raining."

And if you're addressing your letter to an entity, a higher being that you don't necessarily interact with one on one, or even a fictional character, you could pick either of these formats, or combine them.

"Dear Mr. Baggins,

Thank you for being the sort of character that I can admire and draw inspiration from. Today I went out with some of my friends, and while we didn't go on a long journey across the continent to save the world, we still had a lot of fun, and being so familiar with your story made me appreciate what I get to have and experience even more."

Just remember, a gratitude letter is different from a gratitude log - you don't have to write the letter like a list of things you're grateful for. Just talk about things that went well, that you appreciate, and that you want to call attention to as being positive.

Step 3: Write the Letter

Now that you've decided who you're writing to and how you're addressing them, all that's left is to write the letter. Try to narrow the focus in to a single incident or event if you can. Even if you're writing to someone and you feel that you have a lot to thank them for, or that your thanks are long overdue, you don't want to go on too much of a tangent - that way lies choppy waters. My recommendation is to write 1-2 pages. Less than that and you're not getting the full benefit of the exercise, and more than that and you might get overwhelmed or stress yourself out.

You can do this! And I'll see you all tomorrow for Finance Friday~

[fyx-ation]

A Meandering Ramble on FFXVI

Firstly, if you haven't played the game yet or haven't finished the game yet, I suggest scrolling on. If you want a recommendation to play it, the best I can give you is a 7/10. Worth playing. Not the best thing on the market in the same territory but refreshing (I might use that word a lot going forward) and holds interest very well. Like a page-turner of a book.

That said, the rest of my ramble will be behind the cut to spare spoiling others.

Huh. What a strange little game. I actually just finished it, though I do need to go finish the chronolith things at some point. But I wanted to strike while the iron is hot, so this might be all over the place. I usually try to provide some essay-like structure when I write about a game... But I'm not really feelin' it since I've been working 5am shifts for a while and my brain is fried.

I have not read or watched any other reviews or summaries or impressions of the game. I didn't want my opinion to be tainted by bias because some creator or another loved or hated it.

It is Very Pretty. But perhaps not in a PS5 sort-of rock your eyeballs way. It handles like the Witcher III and Final Fantasy had an off-putting love-child. By that, I mean just the walking around and interacting with things reminds me of Witcher. Casual conversations are overheard from NPCs, and occasionally one that will actually speak to you (Clive) even if they aren't offering a quest or incentive. Facial animations, weather/landscape animations. Very Pretty but maybe a smidge outdated? How is that possible? Everything is lovely! But a little stiff if it's not an important, scripted, you-can't control your character here, sort of scene. The ones that aren't separately rendered cutscenes but still have extra polish? Yeah, not those.

You know what else this game reminds me of? Mass Effect (or Dragon Age). There's no open world to explore. There are pocket maps that you can return to from your Normandy Hideaway, but usually you're just sent there to do a mission quest or hunt or something.

So, let's deconstruct that a little. I think and hope that the producers of this game looked at what has been working and what has landed with the fan-base like a sopping wet diaper. Open world fatigue? Absolutely real. Stamina bars? Fuck right off. Pacing the game out with enormous, unskippable BS like a car ride because the plot is paper thin? Nope!

Does it work for a Final Fantasy game, though? See, this is where the conversation gets choppy. (While I didn't interact with reviews, I did see some plumes of smoke on the horizon in the form of thumbnails and the like). Some people are ride or die "this ain't MY final fantasy." Worse, some are like "this isn't a JRPG q_q."

Personally, I let that ship sail years ago. I loved the old turn-based games, don't get me wrong. I lament there aren't that many on the market anymore. But I've moved on. 16 is probably the biggest departure so far from that. Excluding the online games, they've been moving away from that format since 12. 13 was the last to have party members who you can actually control. (I'm not counting the 7 remake here, either) 16 doesn't have a party system. You can't swap Thane Krios (my space boyfriend) in when you fast travel from your hideaway to the next story beat. It's just the protag and whatever side piece is relevant at the moment, and that side character just does their own thing.

Do I like it? Ehh.... yes and no. Clive doesn't talk to himself or them much, so I feel like a lot more banter was needed. I could see why they left it out on the battle maps ("Hey, Clive, remember when were playing checkers and mom kicked the board because oh hello Mr. Behemoth."). But in city hubs? More banter, please. Even more conversations like the newer God of War games have would be most welcome.

And controlling just Clive? It's fine. I am A-okay with it. Combat's really fun, even when I'm not playing at my best and half-dozing on the couch. It's better than holding down the circle button (15 shaming is my kink). It's all amazingly refreshing in comparison to SE's other departures from turn-based battles. It's the first one so far (again excluding ff7r) to actually succeed at doing something different.

But I would not recommend the game to anyone on that alone. If they were looking for a hack n' slash pew pew magic pew game, I'd suggest the newer God of Wars first.

This is where I'm on the fence about how to judge the game as a whole because it isn't SPECTACULAR. It's good. Combat's good. Story is decent. Side characters are interesting (though some are woefully under-cooked, including Jill, whom I often compared to a piece of cardboard while talking to friends). Pacing a HUGE improvement from previous installments, though the last few hours of the game are weirdly smooshed into sidequests which aren't really sidequests because they are invaluable to the story and the game expects you to do them.

However. The world-building, which is very nice, is padded with lore directories just to clarify shit to people who have no idea what the fuck is going on or who have maybe missed or forgotten details that flesh out the motivations of everyone on the two continents. Did you forget who was fighting who while Clive was was off kicking boxes? Boy, do we have the right solution for that: it's LORE DUMP MAN and his faithful sidekick MAP TIMELINE WOMAN. I'm not saying they are bad things... just... odd. Heavy-handed? I love it when games offer some sort of journal to keep me on track or remind me of things, and yet they feel like they were put in this game because things are a bit blurry for the first third. They throw a lot of names at you, a lot of factions, and a lot of talk of different battles that you don't even witness so the only way to clarify all that is to be given Baby's First Overview. I think that might be indicative of a small failing on the game's part. Lots of telling with little showing often leads to lore dumps in RPGs, because it's critical that you understand for the sake of the story. Weirdly, there actually aren't a lot of exposition dumps in the actual gameplay. I guess they couldn't find a happy medium.

It's late. Gotta get up at 4, so I'll bring this ramble to a close for now. I'll talk about tone and themes later, probably.

Is it worth $70 and satisfying? Mostly. If you like button mashing combat and fantasy, sure. If you're a die-hard FF person, sure, but bolster your expectations as it doesn't really fit that mold. Anyone else that's curious, I'd say wait for a sale or promotion.

TBC