#something about that is very funny to me. a spoiler so out of context that it almost ceases to be a spoiler entirely

[theneighborhoodwatch]

i love franklydear as much as the next guy, but i have to admit i’m always a little thrown off by how much fanwork portrays them as married from the get-go, because part of the appeal of franklydear for me is the prospect of someone having their gay awakening while also experiencing the muppets’ adaptation of silent hill.

[chloecherrysip]

Every time Mario is visibly concerned/worried about Luigi in the trailers/TV spots/sneak peeks/etc shown so far.

[beansprean]

WHAT WE CLUE IN THE SHADOWS: A FINALE CONSPIRACY BOARD

So. WWDITS may have the actual balls to do this to us. and I for one am INCREDIBLY excited for the possibility. If you're a WWDITS fan and haven't seen Clue (1985), I highly recommend taking 95 minutes to do so before the finale. Just in case.

Clue is my favorite movie, I have probably seen it upwards of 100 times for real, and I can recite it from memory with 90% accuracy. I also have the pleasure of owning and playing the WWDITS-themed Clue game, which is centered around finding out who stole the witch's skin hat and where in the house they hid it. I don't know if that will play into the finale at all, but it's something to think about.

The thing about Clue (the film), if you aren't aware, is that there are three different endings. On the vhs/dvd, you see all three in a row between 'that's how it could have happened, but what about this?' title cards. In theaters, there were three versions of the movie (labeled A, B, and C) that were dispersed to different theaters, so depending on where and when you went to see it you would see one of 3 endings. (It's kinda unclear which letter corresponded to which originally, so my labels will be assuming a 1:1 comparison between the order of the home version of Clue and the airing order of the WWDITS episodes.) The Clue endings are not all made equal, and on the home version, the final ending is announced as 'what really happened.'

So allow me to take a moment to talk about how the different endings work in context to each other and the film, and how that could translate to three different endings for WWDITS.

CLUE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT (for real, go watch it)

(last chance to watch Clue go)

Ending#1: "Communism is just a red herring"

In this ending, the first one that plays in the home version, Miss Scarlet is revealed to be the murderer. She is a snarky, sarcastic madam who runs a "hotel and telephone service to provide men with the company of a young lady for a short while" and has policemen on her payroll. This is what I would consider the expected ending, the one that makes sense for most viewers. It's not shocking, but it's funny and well acted and it makes the most sense. Miss Scarlet has the right personality for murder, was in the most convenient area of the house to commit them, and had Yvette (the maid, formerly one of Miss Scarlet's call girls) committing some of the murders at her direction, so she had enough alibis to not make her too obvious. Many people watching this movie for the first time will have her high on their suspect list.

This ending also dismisses the idea of 'dangerous communism' that had been a thread throughout the film (as it is set in 1953 during the second Red Scare) as a misdirection. Miss Scarlet isn't stealing government secrets to betray the US; she's doing it to make money. The real danger all along was capitalism, something that s6 of WWDITS has said repeatedly.

So, to recap, this is the Standard Ending. The Second Best ending. Version B.

Ending #2: "Mrs. Peacock did it all."

This one, played second in the home version, is in my opinion the weakest ending. It reveals Mrs. Peacock, the neurotic, hysterical, and allegedly politically corrupt wife of a senator, as the murderer. She's hilarious and fantastic to watch throughout the whole film and I love her, but this charm drops after the reveal and she becomes cold and drab as she threatens her way to safety. She committed all the murders herself, which would be very difficult to achieve with the tight timing and her position in the basement during the search.

She ends up being caught outside the house by a police inspector, who had earlier shown up disguised as an evangelist telling her to "repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Interestingly, they originally filmed him immediately shooting her dead without provocation, but they thought that was too dark and edited it into an arrest instead (which is why there is such a quick cut after he pulls his gun, and we only hear her rather than see her after that). This is the 'repent for your sins' ending. You do bad things, bad things happen to you.

The obligatory "it's always who you least expect" ending. The Still-Good-But-Not-The-Best Ending. Version C.

Ending #3: "You're Mr. Boddy!"

This is "how it really happened" - the twist ending! The hero was the villain, the villain was just a pawn, and everyone committed a murder in the house to cover their own asses. Prof Plum killed the fake Mr. Boddy, Miss Scarlet killed the cop, Mrs. Peacock killed Mrs. Ho (the cook), Mrs. White killed Yvette, Colonel Mustard killed the motorist, and Wadsworth/Mr. Boddy killed the singing telegram girl.

Mr. Green, who reveals he works for the FBI, kills Wadsworth/Mr. Boddy and arrests the rest of the cast. Understandably the best and most exciting ending (though not without some plot holes) that everyone loves. We get a surprising reveal from two of our main characters that not only changes the context with how you view them, but informs aspects of their character that have been there throughout the film! Now we understand why Wadsworth retained control of the house and the timeline of events, why he was so familiar with the house, and why this entire thing was orchestrated in the first place. We also understand why the cowardly and clumsy Mr. Green was consistently the first to jump to help and defend the other characters, even when it meant putting himself if physical danger. Unfortunately this ending also suggests that he was only pretending to be gay (wouldn't that be a twist for Guillermo lol), but he could also just be in a lavender marriage which is what I choose to believe.

This ending also has the iconic 'flames on the side of my face' scene and repeats 'communism is a red herring', this time in the context of Mr. Boddy's intention to continue blackmailing them all now that they have taken care of anyone who could have pointed the finger at him.

This is the True Ending. The twist you didn't expect but are delighted to find. The 'nothing was as it seemed' endng. The ending that is the most intentional and complete, where everyone gets to shine. Version A.

So what will we be doing in those shadows?

We can assume that e11 will not revolve around finding a murderer, but it does, from what we've seen in the trailer, revolve around making a wife for the monster. Do we get three different wives? Three different actors to play her? Three different superhero identities for Nandor and Guillermo? Three different levels of nandermo: one with a handshake, one with a hug, one with a kiss? Three different explanations for the origin and/or purpose of the documentary? (this is my personal favorite) Or is each ending entirely divorced from the other? Only time will tell.

What I'm leaning toward is that each episode will come up to the same turning point - a decision, a reveal, etc. The first two versions will have reasonable possibilities, the first less surprising but more enjoyable than the second, and the third... The third will be what really happened, and pull a twist no one saw coming. Perhaps even a character will reveal a hidden identity. Maybe, just maybe...we get Simon the Devious.

I only hope the order of the episodes doesn't change between channels or time zones because that will make things very confusing when liveblogging it in the group chat lmao.

[judesmoonbeauty]

My Thoughts & Spoilers On Jude's Route

This will contain detailed major route spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, please move on because I will not be filtering my review. Also, not all spoilers and details are being shared. This is intentional. Bear in mind this is written prior to my thoroughly translating his route, so the translation may have some adjustments to this information.

So, I really LOVED it!! It's a very good storyline. Am I biased? Yes. However, whether you're romantically interested in Jude or not, I feel like you'll like in route in general. I do highly recommend reading his and Ellis' Past Records before his route if you can. His route does bring up clips from PR, but it's very minimal and there's a lot of context and extra details in PR that you don't get in this MS. I did my best with this, but my thoughts are still every where, so if it doesn't make sense. My bad.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers....of sorts?, Slow-burn. Key Side Villain Characters: Ellis, Nica, Victor New Side Characters For His Route: Theodore Walker, Gilbert Murphy, Oswald Simmons Love Language: Physical Touch (I'd just like to say that I called this.) Who Falls in Love First: Kate First Kiss: Kate Kisses Jude First Full Snu-Snu: Chapter 24 Both Premium ends Jude's Fate Tragic End: He will die bearing a grudge against/hating the world. Route CW: Violence, Smoking, CA, Neglect, Mentions of a child's death. Jude's Age: 28-30. Jude's Heritage: Irish-British Jude's Curse: 13th Fairy (An endless cycle of hatred) Jude's Fated End: To die with a hatred/resentment against the world.

Plot: In a nutshell, Kate is trying to find one good thing to like about Jude prior to her term of FTK (fairytale keeper) ending, as per their first promise made together. If she finds one, Jude must fulfill any one request she has. Amidst working for both Crown and Raven, Kate tries to come into her own in terms of standing as Jude's equal, seeing the world as he does, and essentially saving him from not only own his death wish, but from being framed for treason against their country.

My thoughts: Jude's route is very lively, it's got a healthy amount of funny moments, action packed moments, and it's quite wholesome overall. However, it still retains some darkness in the sense of his past, and the fact that he's literally on this tightrope of life and death.

Kate: She is not afraid of voicing her thoughts and feelings, or speaking sarcastically to Jude. I almost died when I read that she stuck her tongue out at him LOL. There's this scene where Ellis tells her she's thinking out loud when she doesn't realize it, so she apologizes. A few minutes later after she greets Theodore, she sees Jude behind him:

Kate: ....And thanks for your hard work too, Jude. Jude: Can ya please stop greet me so sourly? Makes me wanna vomit my mornin' tea. Kate: I wonder if I'm under a curse that'll kill me if I don't say something sarcastically...

So, she is very courageous and gutsy, but she also thinks things through. There are times where she wants to act because she loves Jude and wants to be there for him, but she also knows not to act rashly because her movements can hurt him and Crown, so she opts to bide her time instead.

Out of all of her versions, I think she is the one who gets the most frustrated, the most angry, and laughs the most at certain situations such as getting locked in the office with Jude. She is very optimistic and kind, but not saintly kind.

She is a fighter. She learns self-defense and how to use a gun, a lot this takes place off screen, but she does develop this over time. Which is nice because it's more realistic.

Jude & Kate Relationship: Starts off very rough, and I say it's an enemies to lovers trope, but no one actually hates the other person, they simply don't get a long and it has that vibe. Jude is trying to kick her out of Crown, and Kate is trying to find something she likes about him.

Overall, they bicker and banter a lot. It's cute because in MLE Kate says, "If I say one thing, he has 10 things to say", and in BLE Jude says, "If I say one thing, she's got 10 things to say." They're adorable together.

One scene I loved was when Jude is being attacked by a group of thugs in his office after closing hours, and Kate barges in with her gun. She yells at the men to stop what they're doing, and then she tells Jude to step away from them. And so, Jude and Kate are having this full blown conversation as they're surrounded by these thugs as to why she is at his office, who's fault it is, etc, etc. And when the head thug starts to complain, both Jude and Kate say, "Shut up!" at the same time. This seems like it actually becomes a thing for them, they say it in MLE as well.

Were they childhood friends? No. That was an AU thing only, and a clever misdirection from Cybird. I think key take aways from Dark IF and Prison IF are that they made promises to each other, and that Kate tries to return to little Jude in Prison IF. Additionally, it does hint that two children were involved in Jude's past, just the other wasn't Kate, it's his sister. While some may be disappointed by this, I loved that it turned out this way, it surprised me.

Love Language: Physical. Touch. Lemme say it again. Physical Touch. While their relationship is a slow burn, it's not without it's tension along the way, and the pay off is hella worth in my opinion. I just knew that Jude was going to tear into her, and he does.

But more importantly, Jude touches Kate a lot especially before missions. For example, in BLE just before Kate goes undercover at a criminal organization that is using Raven products, she and Jude are in his office reviewing the plans, and while he does this, he touches her bare skin, kiss or bite her, and then after the mission he'll make love to her. Why? Because Kate made another promise to Jude earlier in the route that she would never die before him, so he doesn't have to suffering loss ever again. So, prior to any missions, he'll touch her up to a certain point like a promise she won't die, and then finish once she returns safely. I can't...he's so damn precious.

They love each other very very much, but Jude doesn't like saying the words. "I love you." Not because he's a tsun, but because they're easily said. So, he'll convey his love to Kate with words like, "I'm taking you to hell with me." If you read his side stories, he'll tell you just how much he loves her, and he admits that there is no other woman in the world that he could ever love like her.

Important Side Characters: Theodore Walker: 21 y/o and he works in the sales department at Raven. Every one calls him Theo, even Kate. It seems that he's worked for Jude for a long time as well. He's very personable, and chatty, and he gets nervous about things like when the president forgets his custom fountain pen as he's on his way to business meetings. He even says to Kate and Jude that Kate is his type, and everyone is like.....um what? I'm really happy that Theodore isn't a traitor. I like him. I thought Cybird would use him the way that contract worker in Jude's first story event would be used. But no, he's just a loyal young man who cares about his job. I hope to see him again.

Oswald Simmons: He is the doctor who treated Jude and his sister after Jude memorized an entire medical textbook in a week. After Jude's sister was sold off, Jude ran to Oswald and asked that if he put Jude through school, let him lodge with him and provide him food, then Jude would pay him back with interest. Oswald agrees and in time, Jude does pay him back with interest. Oswald treats everyone equally, and he finds Jude's intelligence and ability to memorize things amusing. While he does not offer to take Jude in of his own initiative, Oswald does have a soft spot for Jude, as he tries to gift Jude a new pocket watch upon graduation and the success of his new company. He even tries to dissuade Jude from seeking revenge that will only force Jude into be lonely. In the route, he tells Kate to relay a message to Jude, that if he ever gets into a pinch to comeback and he'll give Jude a run for his money. To this day, Oswald still has the watch that Jude refused to take.

I honestly, hope that they reunite one day. Jude doesn't wish Oswald any ill-will (though he calls him a weirdo), and he wished Oswald a long life when he said goodbye.

Gilbert Murphy: He is a high-ranking officer of the British military who colludes with the Privy Council and a criminal organization to frame Jude treason and building military weapons. However, Gilbert truly does think that Jude is going to the moon for monetary purposes. While he is being an asshole for framing my beloved, his motives are to protect the people from potential weapons that can be created with Jude's research. Still, it's sullying Jude's innocent and pure motives. Still, he testifies in Jude's favor and takes the blame of the dead privy council member, as his own form of justice for trying to frame Jude due to his becoming blinded by his obsession to protect his country.

The other villains: Ellis: Ellis is Jude's right hand so he is heavily involved with the plot, especially in MLE. We know about Ellis.

Nica: Darius asks him to investigate Jude, so he does. Twice, he offers information to Jude that he's gathered after he lets him know he's aware of what he's building.. The first time, he tells him that a part from the criminal organization Jude has already been dealing with, the British military want his plans too. And wouldn't it be something if they teamed up to get Jude's research. He asks if he can snatch the robin away from Jude, but Jude says she doesn't belong to him, and no matter whom she dated she belongs to herself.

Nica leaves the bar after getting scolded by Jude, but prior to that, he tells Jude that the robin is in the most danger because she's around him. A few chapters later, Nica appears again and tells Jude that his assumptions based on the previous information given have come true, and because he didn't let go (of Kate), he's letting her know the facts. After he explains the situation to her, he tries to whisk her away on a date, but Kate declines. While Nica is a "playboy", it seems that he does care for Kate's well-being.....I am letting my current knowledge of his past events, and bond stories influence me by saying this.

At any rate, at the end of BLE, Darius asks Nica why he follows his orders so complicitly, and Nica says it's because he's on the winning side, and to him, Darius will be or is the winner. Darius is satisfied with this, and when he leaves Nica looks at his palm and says that he will be the happiest someday. It's already been established that becoming the happiest person is important to him, but this has now been reinforced.

Victor: Lore crumbs are very little, but what we do know is that when Kate asks him if he is angry, he tells her that he's forgotten loneliness a long time ago.

Further, when he approaches Jude and asks if Jude is hiding something from him and Crown, he tells Jude he has the means to help him. Jude asks if Victor isn't the one hiding something, and remarks that's why Harrison hates him so much because he knows he is lying. Victor simply smiles and stays silent. Upon leaving his study, Victor does tell Jude no matter what, he doesn't want their freedom disturbed and those are his true feelings.

Further, Victor later tells Kate in the BLE that when Jude says he abuses his power, Jude wasn't lying about that. Later in chapter 24, all of Crown are gathered together in front of her Majesty the Queen for a very important meeting. Victor speaks saying that they wish to grant Kate the position of fairytale keeper permanently, and when Jude finds out, he leaves angrily. In the middle of all this, the Queen never utters a word.

I don't think we learn anything new that we weren't aware of before with Victor to be honest, unless I missed something while reading. But, it's nice to know that we should see something big for his route. We better for how under wraps his lore is kept.

Jude's age: He can't be any older than 30 because in his Past Records he definitively says that he is five years old. In the MS, Oswald states the events he recounted to Roger and Kate took place over 20 years ago. Kate reason's that if it was 20 years ago then Jude had to be under the age of 10. I think he's 28-30.

Jude's Curse: Jude's curse was born when his heart was completely broken, and he vowed to get revenge on those who made him and his sister suffer. It's manifestation was described as a black flame of hatred in his heart. Essentially, Jude has entered a vicious cycle of hatred that never really ceases. Jude fuels this cycle by acting in a way where people want to get revenge on him, and a part of that is because he want's to die.

Jude's Fated End: Jude is fated to die bearing a grudge/resentment/hatred against the world. Jude himself says that his death will not be an honest one. Some have made comments that his fated end is a bit underwhelming, but I am pleased that Cybird left Disney alone, and stuck with Grimm's ending for the 13th fairy. I love it because no one knows what the fairy was thinking or what happened to it, it just simply disappears. This is something that is mentioned quite a bit in Jude's route.

In the MS there is a beautiful chapter with all of Crown gathered for a fireworks beach day, and while Jude is looking at the fireworks, Kate is looking at him. She thinks he is like a firework, beautiful, dangerous if you get too close, and then simply gone.

In BLE, Kate watches a Sleeping Beauty play hosted by local town children where she is staying and even though she knows that the outcome of the fairy is unknown, she is hoping for a different outcome. When the kids stick to the fairytale, it's then she realizes that Jude too - while still stuck in his cycle of hatred - will die. He will never know happiness, and disappear like the burnt body of cigarette smoke, like a firework in the sky.

In chapter 18ish, while Jude is being held captive and being tortured by the British military for information on Crown, he laughs self-mockingly and says that this is the perfect fit for him to die bearing resentment/grudge against the world.

Is Kate Trying to find a way to break the curse? No. Unlike Alfons and Roger's route, Kate is willing to accept Jude's fate, stay by him, make him happy and be his reason to live. That is her sole purpose, to make sure he doesn't die. Kate is obsessed with keeping him anchored to the world no matter the cost, and she even mentions to Victor that even though no fated ends have ever been avoided, that doesn't necessarily mean they are tragic.

Is Jude happy by the end of the route: Yes. Though he won't admit it out loud being the tsun tsun that he is, Jude's first glimpse of happiness occured when he told Kate about his dream and she didn't laugh at him. By the time he puts her to sleep and leaves her behind, he tells her that being genuinely liked wasn't so bad. And of course, Ellis asks if he can kill Jude in his BLE epilogue because it's obvious that he's happy......Jude tells him he can go die, and Ellis is like okay okay. FR though E, I need you to calm TF down.

The depth of his love for her is so great that he tells her that if she ever tries to run from him, she should just kill him. The reason is because she is his only happiness - she is the moon that he's been trying to reach for so long. He'd have no reason to live if she left him.....

Hmmm, here are some of my favorite parts in his route:

He tries so hard to protect Kate, from throwing her out of a window when a house is on fire and telling her she died in that fire so she wouldn't have to return to Crown, to lying to her and accusing her of making a 10,000 £ mistake and firing her from Raven, and other things.

I love that he even assigned people to watch her secretly after he's left her behind in a seaside town, with the intention of doing so for a long time since she is known throughout London for said involvement with Jude. He says things like, if she can live a calm, normal life, then that's enough for me. So, he's resigned to love her from afar.

He does everything in his power to protect even Crown from getting involved with his research so they aren’t crushed and hated by the privy council or others, even undergoing brutal torture.

Jude promises to make Kate the happiest he can before they go to hell, and there are many, many more things he does to endear me even more to him. I nearly cried when he introduced Kate to his sister at her grave he had made for her, saying she (his unnamed sister), was the only family he had left.

Even though he knows his dream of going to the moon is going to be difficult, he is more determined than ever to achieve it, because he's got two promises to keep.

Ultimately, we have our teasing Jude and Kate kicking ass together, and loving each other until their ends come.

Ugh, I'm gonna make myself cry. Well, this is it in a nutshell. Sorry for rambling!

[rei-ismyname]

Uncanny X-Men #6 From The Ashes

We're starting to see Raid on Graymalkin come together with each team having a member in custody, but first we get to know these kids a little better. Spoilers, naturally.

Yeah they're a mystery to us too.

Calico/Becca has been in pretty serious denial about being a mutant and is easily the least worldly of the four. Context clues told us she grew up wealthy, sheltered, and that her mother did a number on her. It's good to make that explicit but I think something is lost by doing it in third person flashback. This is information she doesn't know and considering what happens next it'd be more effective to have her tell her own story. The flashbacks feel jarring to me too, knocking me out of the present. Her having Ember kick Logan was pretty funny though.

And she's cured! 🙄

Calico has a breakthrough after a minute talking to Gambit, completely accepting her mutanthood. I think this would be the place to hear her speak - just a little back and forth instead of Gambit getting through instantly. She basically drops out of the story at this point, repeating that she's a mutant to anyone who'll listen. Yeah, she's been going on about goblins and her mother the entire time, and she was clearly in denial, but the sudden acceptance feels unearned.

We're not done with Harvey X, it seems. He's died at least once on page and said his powers would move on when he did. Does that mean he's not dead or was he just wrong? The thing with fakeouts is that the more you do it the less readers trust what you tell them. Logan brings up the old guy whose death bed he visited in issue #1 and shares the story behind the Tequila. He asks them to drink it with him and Rogue realises he's heartbroken. This feels unearned too, frankly. We'd never seen this army buddy before and while it's sad, there's so much trauma in all these people's very recent history. Krakoa, The School, Chuck, a genocidal war, Beast, hundreds of thousands of slaughtered mutants. The narrative doesn't really need new trauma when so much is already set up.

It sucks to lose an old friend, but the reader doesn't know the guy at all so it comes out of nowhere. A lot of page space was dedicated to the Sarah Gaunt/Chuck relationship and both aren't present in the story right now. Imagine if that space was spent on, say, Sarah/Logan instead. Very little needs to be changed and being blinded/nearly killed by his now monstrous ex would be a payoff that was setup.

I have complex PTSD myself and I would love to see it handled well in this book, but it's off to a weird start that centres Rogue more than Logan. He's in the middle of sharing his trauma and reaching out when she does this. It's really fucking odd, and I have an uncomfortable feeling it's not meant to be. I'll reserve judgement and see how this plays out.

Is the spit take because of what she said or because she's acting strange? You all have PTSD

Uhhm, what? Is this meant to be Harvey X's influence on Rogue? Her narration seems to suggest that, though she's still using her accent. I don't know, but it feels off. It's great to see the letters PTSD in an X-Men comic, because no shit Logan has PTSD. However, once you pathologise it instead of just referring to trauma, you need to pay that off. I'll believe that when I see it. Also, she just cut him off and told him. Logan says she's not qualified to diagnose that and he's right.

The kids are off to school! I think this is an interesting way to keep the education element of X-Men books separate from the mutant part, and naturally the kids run into bullies straight away. We're shown the other kids listening to Jitter though her confidence is attacked by jerks making fun of her stutter. Ransom has her back but Deathdream is really committed to the bit. This scene shows us what class dynamics are at play too. Showing and not telling might seem like faint praise, but I appreciate it when it's done elegantly. It's something this title has struggled with and I'm happy to see Simone lifting her game with the kids. That said, the bullies are extremely generic. Total cutouts that could be from 1950 or 2024. That's probably intentional but high school drama is a trope that's been beaten to death. If you're going to do it you want to do it well.

More bullying happens and Deathdream seems to take Ransom's words to heart, scaring the bullies with Eldritch horrors. Deathdream really doesn't seem bothered he's about to catch hands, but Ransom rolls his sleeves up and lays them out. I think the Olympics business was overegging the pudding, we can tell from his stance and form that he's trained in boxing. Or maybe this could have come up when they fought the X-Men. Everyone would notice an Olympics hopeful boxer. It could have been in Rogue's narration and wouldn't need to be vocalised as the skill is being used. Chekhov's Skill - it's narratively satisfying.

Unfortunately, while this is going down five heavily armoured dudes corner Calico and tase TF out of her. They call it in to Graymalkin and the Raid is set up. I wonder how they got into the school or knew they were here at all. Cerebro explains the latter. Why are they so obsessed with these kids anyway? Dr Ellis was concerned for their lives 2 issues ago and now she's encouraging brutality. Whatever, big ding for the Uncanny team's record of caring for children.

Kurt and Jubilee head to the store to do shopping and Kurt BAMFs away to save a little girl from being hit by a bus. For once he gets some gratitude, though while he's doing this Jubes is being cornered by Siryn, Blob and maybe Wild Child in full Hound mode. She gets snatched up too and Kurt returns to blood and mess everywhere. He calls Rogue and she tells him to get back quickly. The ending leads straight into 2 issues of Raid on Graymalkin (with 2 over in X-Men) and both teams have their motivation. I'm not looking forward to the contrived conflict but maybe we'll get some answers. We saw Siryn and Blob being tortured in earlier issues, but I'm surprised they're here unsupervised. Perhaps those collars are responsible.

Pound for pound I'd say this is the best issue of Uncanny yet. It had some super odd moments but most of them were relics of the first arc. I do wish we got more time to know all the characters, especially the Outliers, before moving into a mini crossover but this is what we have. Still skippable but seems to be getting better. I'm interested to see how the PTSD thing plays out though my expectations are low. I know that sounds quite negative for what was an improvement, but the first arc left a bad taste in my mouth and trust is earned. Also there's NINE main characters which is really not especially sustainable in a book like this. There's just not enough space, and you end up in situations like heading into an event without a solid grasp of where most of the cast is at.

Don't stand behind a horse, Logan. Lucky you have a healing factor.

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[anderscim]

✦ a really old minitheory about jax that had been left in my drafts for nearly a year

title is pretty self-explanatory.

// spoilers for the pilot episode of TADC

so, this is actually an old theory that i had created back when the pilot first came out—but i decided that it’s worth sharing now. basically, it summarizes what i think could possibly be a reason behind our favorite rabbitoid’s behavior.

take everything with a grain of salt. (^^)

this might sound like a weird place to start from, but i swear there’s a line of thinking behind it—what could be some of the reasons that a character abstracts?

at the very least, we know for sure that abstraction occurs if a character’s mental state entirely collapses—which could happen for a myriad of reasons. mental breakdown, existential crisis, you name it.

however, the most important effect that comes with abstraction is that they completely lose their sense of identity—which is also shown externally with the abstracted character’s appearance.

this led me to think that a possible reason for abstraction could also play into identity—whether that’s losing it, somehow messing with it one way or another, or, in a crazy scenario, doing something (aka recovering original memories, for example) that would cause them to clash with their current identity. things like that. obviously there’s some very strong theories out there as to what could also be other reasons for abstracting, but for now i’ll stick with the simpler explanations.

okay, but what does this have to do with jax?

basically, i needed to set up the previous context in order to be able to explain a possible reason for jax’s… jacka$$ery. yeah. that works.

as far as i can tell, it looks like he’s essentially being mean to everyone else just for the sake of it. from (allegedly) placing a centipede in ragatha’s room, to constantly bullying gangle, to pretty much every snide comment in general—it seems that he’s completely cemented his role as the “mean guy” of the series. but what if that was his goal?

the reason why i partly discussed identity in the abstraction section is because, to me, it seems like jax is setting up his own identity as the rudest and most chaotic character in the cast as a way to ensure his survival in this digital world for as long as possible. or in other words, this identity of his is something he can consistently fall back onto no matter what happens, which allows him to keep his mental stability a bit better than others. it’s a simple role that was developed only within the context of the digital circus, and he seems completely comfortable with staying in it.

additionally, here are some other circumstances where he could just fall back on his “identity”— - something bad happens to him? sure, let’s call it karma. - in the event that he does something that causes a bit too much destruction? it’s fine, he’s supposed to be the guy that would do something like that anyways. (edit: he did exactly this in episode 2. just my luck. help me.) - hurts someone on accident? wouldn’t be out of the question. maybe even intentionally if the time calls for it.

overall, it feels like his current place as the “rude character” makes it a lot easier for him to stay consistent and keep things less complicated. being nice is difficult and nuanced, you may unintentionally hurt someone by saying the wrong thing—but if you’re already known to harm people one way or another, there’s absolutely no mistakes you can make.

and for jax, it’s a way to keep himself grounded while causing a ton of chaos on the side—which he seems to like doing, so it works. this is pretty much a foolproof method of survival for him; at least, until something happens which he doesn’t expect.

but this is all just speculation. feel free to chime in with some of your own insights (´∀｀*)

———

edit: yes, this is pretty old haha. but i think it still somewhat holds true for episode 2, so i’m posting it for now. would be kinda funny if i was entirely wrong about this though (￣ ￣)

[candysweetposts]

Episode 8 review (long af)

I want to start this by saying that I will include some talk-points I saw in other posts and that I don't hate the people who made them just the opinions and that we shouldn't fight each other but try to reach the company for improvements. Let's go! This includes spoilers btw.

The episode itself was pretty bad just because the premise was... I guess childish. From the moment I finished Ep 7 and saw the preview for Ep 8 I thought about a moment from HSL, specifically Ep 12 where Candy (Lynn) spies on Lysander to see his back tattoo. When I played that episode I was a teen and I thought it was exciting. Our Candy was also a teen so we can say that what she did was more justifiable since teenagers do crazy stuff all the time. Plus, Lynn's intention was pretty innocent, she just was curious about this boy's tattoo that happened to be on his back. Here is completely different. I am not a teen anymore, and neither are Ysaline or her co-workers. They're probably in their late 20s (at least some). I find this scenario a bit too much for a bunch of adults. I don't care that they're friends, friends should respect each other's boundaries. A good friend wouldn't pull this kind of shit. They all acted as if they were going so see a magic trick or a concert or a famous person, not their friend naked. Why would you want to see that? Just because he "implied" that he's fine with it? What did they expect would happen? Did they though he would laugh out and be like "Haha, you got me" fully naked? This feels like what a bunch of bullies would plan to do with someone. The rest of the episode was ok-ish but having all around this weird stuff it makes me hard to like anything about it. I must admit that there were moments when we would talk about other stuff and it was truly ok and nice, but this is like finding the needle in the haystack.

This goes back to what BV originally planned for this season, to be set in high school. I bet this was a concept for an episode when that was still going. Would be more ok if these people were teens? Maybe... or maybe not. Do you know why? Because most of us are adults and that's why BV made a game with mostly adults having adult life with jobs and stuff and let's not forget... NSFW. And as an adult, I know better than spying on a naked man is creepy and illegal.

Now let's talk about the characters.

Let's start with Roy. He was very nice in the whole episode. He tried to play along but it really looked like he was uncomfortable at some point. And I bet if he could, he would tell others more firmly to stop but he's just such a sweet guy and probably endures for the sake of his friends. He's always sweet and even when he pulled the prank on everyone he even had the idea for all to play with water guns. He acted so nice. We love you, Roy! <3

Speaking of his BFF Devon who just disappointed me. I really thought he would be the first to speak up against this, not the one who started it. I get you're like bros and stuff but AGAIN, do you want to see your bro naked? And if yes, why? Do you have something to confess? What's so funny about embarrassing someone? I didn't get a good look at this route so I can't tell how he is with Candy, but this is not ok. Please, make this better BV.

Thomas. He was an absolute menace. Going from childish remarks to planning all of this to acting like he's in a spy movie (I didn't mind that part but CONTEXT). As I get to know him more and more I realize that he's more of a villain. Knows stuff about people and uses that against them. I get that he's like Mr Robot, but at least in his case, he did what he did because he thought he was doing something good. Thomas just likes to fuck with people. I get it, his moment was pretty cute and moments with him and Candy are cute generally, but let's not sweep this thing under the rug. He likes to lie, remember? I really hope this was a one-time thing. Pls BV. Like he has based moments and this runs it.

Amanda did really grow on me in this episode. Like if before I couldn't stand her now I'm on her side. Whatever you need girl, I'm here for you. She was the first one to step in and say no which was nice. She also said some other nice stuff to us proving she's a girl's girl. I hope this is not a one-time thing because if she goes back to her bad attitude the next episode I'll just hate her again. Sorry!

Jason was very himself this episode. Nothing to note. I liked his moment but I hate how Candy went overboard and basically imagined them making out. What? Is this how you develop feelings for a person? By fantasizing about kissing them? That came out of nowhere. I mean yeah, she could talk about how he makes her feel and stuff but straight up imagining a fanfic on the spot? And I hate the direction his route goes. Candy always being in distress and vulnerable, and this gentleman shows up to save her. Cool, but when do we have a mature moment... and not that kind of mature. I guess we have to wait and I hope it's worth it. I want to know about him more. What's with his dad and mom, his family in general, his past, you know. So let's stop doing weird shit and start exploring these characters BV.

Girl 1 and 2 were very not nice. They just went along with the plan, especially Elenda, who... let's just say I don't like how she's presented most of the time. I get she's s fun bubbly girl, but idk... it's just the situation that makes it worse not her as a person. Brune... You're asking what's wrong with Roy? What's wrong with you?

The illustrations were fire. I must admit, I love them. I see a lot of improvements. The lighting and colors blend very well. Props to the artist/(s?). My favorite is, you guessed, Thomas'. Yeah, he always has nice illustrations. Although, I don't get the whole going naked with him on the beach. Like, we barely know the guy. Same for the others, except Amanda, because she's a girl.

Now, let's talk about the community response. I feel like, at first, everyone was pretty upset, and rightfully and some were just "We're not that upset because it's just a game guys, shut up. You're just hating". Well, of course, some are going to exaggerate but most of us have valid reasons to be upset. Saying that this is just a game and we should leave if we don't like it it's just straight up BS arguments. I've seen this argument everywhere and I am sick and tired of that. I won't leave no matter what because not only do I love this game, but I also love the community and everything that makes it. It's not just a game, it's something I invested time and money and I won't let that go to waste. Also, I can use the same arguments against those people. Most of us here want to just enjoy this game and chat about it. Stuff like this will appear all the time. Let's just say what we have to see and hope the game gets better. And you're lucky I don't remember every single one of these people's arguments because I would said more. Also, WE KNOW that MCL is not representative of reality or that is has some sort of educational purpose. We're not asking for realism, we're asking for a decent plot. It's that so hard to do?

Lastly, BV made a pr response on the forum where they said that they saw the backlash and that they can't do anything about the episode or the other episodes but that will improve in the future. I.. I want to believe them. Truly. So, please, for the love of God, don't pull this sort of stuff again. Ok? Please.

That being said, Thank you for reading this. It was quite long, but I like writing long ass texts. Sorry!

[legoliomanikas]

Brief Thoughts About Aventurine, Religion, and Colonialism

This isn't a comprehensive summary, just things I started thinking about. It's kinda funny how things just completely fly past you when you don't think about them regularly, cuz I'm a very not-religious person so it took reading someone offhandedly refer to aspects of Aventurine's backstory as his "religious beliefs" for me to realize how important those actually are.

(2.1 Story Spoilers + reading the Sigonia relic set description will help for some context)

Despite his employment in the IPC calling for Aventurine to help amass capital in the name of Qlipoth the Preservation, we don't really hear him talk about Qlipoth often and his backstory basically omits mention of his relationship to THEM; the focus is entirely about his relationship with Gaiathra Triclops and HER blessing of luck.

The present Aventurine has changed a lot from his young self due to the influence of the IPC, in direct ways such as his newfound wealth and ruthless business practices, and in indirect manners such as how the IPCs involvement in the inter-tribal relationships of Sigonia resulted in higher tensions between the Avgins, Katicans, and other tribes.

However, his belief in Gaiathra Triclops has remained intact into his adulthood. It has soured as he begun to view HER blessing of good luck to be more akin to a curse, but it feels like a very deliberate writing decision to have him still hold onto the belief system of the Avgin. It would have been reasonable if he had later turned to the protection of Qlipoth, as joining the IPC had resulted in the wealth and status he has now, but he doesn't really do this.

Even if the colonialism took much away from him, he still wishes to retain his culture. (The value he places in the items his parents left for him and sister: the charm, the necklace, and the shirt, is further testament to this, as examples outside of his religious beliefs.)

Prayer is also something that we rarely see depicted often in Star Rail, which makes the segments of Aventurine praying with his younger self and sister stand out a lot more. The only character I can recall off the top of my head with an extended prayer sequence is Sunday at the end of 2.0, which is also notable.

One thing that I was wishing the Penacony plot would at least lampshade is the irony of sending Aventurine, a slave working for the IPC, to retake a planet that had led a slave rebellion to escape the IPC's control. While I'm now uncertain if they will address that directly, I do wonder that as we learn more about Sunday, if his relationship with Xipe the Harmony will end up being used as a way to foil him to Aventurine and/or serve as indirect commentary on the situation between the IPC and Penacony. (This is pure speculation)

But yea anyways, it's pretty interesting seeing mihoyo try to incorporate other aspects of racism and colonialism that extend beyond displays of outright hatred, such as how Aventurine's retainment of his culture's religious practices is depicted in a positive light. (Another thing that stuck out to me is how they depicted the fetishization of racial traits negatively, with the way some characters remark on his eyes, how the Avgin's untrustworthy reputation partially lies within their physical attractiveness, and how his relationship with his own appearance has changed as a result, as this is something I rarely see fictionalized but I won't elaborate on this here bc its off-topic.)

Obviously, mihoyo doesn't have the best track record when writing minorities and there's still a fucktonnnnn to be criticized about their decisions in Aventurine's lore as well (the most egregious of which being deriving the name for his planet from an actual slur), but it does seem like they are at least trying to add more depth to their depictions.

[gregorovitch-adler]

He gave us a heads up saying no cases until January. Now we know how long to wait for him to come back to his usual self. (We'll be waiting).

Lol, the moment Mariana says, "Gary Lineker is gonna be there," the scene cuts to him getting ready and talking about the dress code. 😂

And now Mariana is acting like John by lying about switching off the mic.

John giggling and getting excited over Mariana's "dumb phone" is cute.

Really like the banter among these three even though I can just hear the deafening grieving tone in this one.

Mariana is imitating the sound of an ejector seat. 😂 Cute.

I appreciate the "code word" (safe word) use. He might need it.

They all really have come a long way in just a year. So much has happened.

Sherlock and Mariana pretending not to know about the arson. 🤭 Bad acting, both of you. And John just bought it...

So much breaking the fourth wall in this one.

And so much Christmassy vibes too.

The way Sherlock and Mariana are trying to get that guy to eat those prawns is so funny. The two of them have great chemistry too.

The episode ends with Sherlock tackling that guy.

How fitting.

He really is a badass in this adaptation (just like in canon).

Edit: I also appreciate that John brings up how he didn't know Mary for that long, but he still feels so sad.

A nice nod to Canon.

John not being there in the part 1 of The Three Gables makes me sad. :(

I know he needs time to grieve for Mary, but still. I miss him a lot.

That being said, I don't mind Mariana being the narrator this time. I love her voice too.

And I like the fact that Mariana and Sherlock are getting some alone time together (after loads of episodes of Mariana - John's alone time and John - Sherlock's alone time). Quite intriguing.

[viquipo]

No bc I'm so mad rn I usually post my rants on ig stories but I need the tumblrites to tell me if I'm crazy or what. Jwcc/ct spoilers WHATEVER

First of all I want to preface this by saying that this is just my opinion on the matter, I'm not saying your headcanons are "wrong" or whatever tf, it's a kids cartoon where they unironically use terms like "fam". You can play with the characters however you'd like.

That being said, this is why TO ME it does not makes sense for Ben to be anything other than gay. Again, if you think he's bi or straight or anything else that's cool. I'm also leaning towards the opinion that he does actually have a girlfriend. I don't think the shows gonna pull a 180 on it because, realistically, 2 queer characters is already a lot for a DreamWorks kids show. As much as I'd like it not to be.

But, since the beginning, Ben has been very clearly coded as exclusively into men to me. Before finally going into it, I remind everyone on here that I'm a lesbian. I have felt an affinity with his character specifically for the experience of only liking the same gender. I might be totally projecting.

Ok, so.

1. The arc Ben goes through during the show is yes, one of self discovery, but also one of self acceptance. He changes a lot from the start of s1, but he also comes to terms with stuff himself or other people didn't like about him. He doesn't throw the dork pouch away or tells Kenji to keep it, the first thing he does when he takes it back from Kenji is put on hand sanitizer. He is covered in dirt, he's not afraid of filth anymore, but he still does that action because it's part of who he is as a person. He also becomes very unashamed at the things he does. He went from being embarrassed of his carob bars to eating grubs in front of people who he knows think it's gross. He knows himself as he is and he accepts it. To me (and to lots of other people) this works very well as a gay metaphor, and pairs up pretty nicely with the whole "jungle boy? Jungle MAN" arc being a trans metaphor. But how does this make Ben uniquely into men?

Well, it doesn't. But I think this next one does.

2. Enter Yasmina. She's pretty, she's smart, athletic, funny, all that good stuff. I'm not saying that means every wlm character should automatically be into her, but it certainly helps. Now forgive me if I don't remember specific episodes/seasons, but we all remember that episode where Ben convinces himself that Yaz is in love with him for some reason. When he "rejects" her, he says : "I'm just now starting to find myself". That's cool, cause I'm pretty sure Ben's " finding himself " personality wise was over and done a couple of seasons ago. To me, that is a really good hint at him dealing with his gayness.

3. He's also the first person Yasmina talks to about her feelings for Sammy. Now, in this particular context, the options for Yaz to talk to were Darius, Brooklynn, or Ben. It would initially seem to make more sense for her to confide in Brooklynn, since the two of them are far closer than her and Ben, and it also wouldn't be the first time she brings up Sammy as a romantic interest for Yaz (see: everyone tweaking abt that one line back in like s2). So why does Yasmina, a very private and reserved person, choose Ben to talk to about her same sex crush? She has probably gathered from the previous conversation that Ben relates to her struggle in a unique way in which Brooklynn just can't. Ben seems very receptive of what Yaz is saying ("feelings, am I right?") and it seems like he REALLY gets where she's coming from.

4. This is one I don't see talked about a lot, and maybe it's just cause I'm too out of the loop with the fandom, but I want to examine it as well. It's when Ben decides to not actually stay on the island. Everyone (except Sammy) already knew he wasn't going to stay in the end, but still didn't force him out. I think this is especially clear in a line Darius says when they reunite on the boat that goes something like "you needed to figure it out on your own" *smile hand on shoulder combo*. No explanation needed I think

I am diagnosed with autism did you guys know what

[amelie-sama-blog]

gentle reminder: going by anti logic, all male love interests in most otome games are "pedophiles".

let me preface by saying, i know it sounds crazy. but hear me out.

let me take the new shining star in the otome gacha genre as an example: love and deepspace. the male love interests in it are aged 24, 27 and 28, with one being of unknown age. (!!!spoilers ahead: current lore even suggests that they all may be way, waaay older!!!). the mc has no canonical age, but is assumed to be an adult.

this is the important part: antis always prioritise the age of the actual person playing the game over the fictional character they self-insert into, as easily demonstrated by their disapproval or outright hate of romantic or sexual fanfictions/games/media providing self insertion into an underage group (such as high schoolers) being played/read by adults. in short, an adult self inserting into a high schooler dating high schoolers is still "being a pedophile" to them.

and this gets especially funny and ridiculous if you turn the tables on them. love and deepspace and tears of themis all have very much adult male love interests, with a through context assumed adult mc. but that doesn't matter, what matters is the person behind the screen playing. plenty of minors play love and deepspace and tears of themis.

and thus, adding that to the anti mindset that fictional beings can "consent", can pass the whatever the fuck test to prove they can consent, can be "violated" or "disrespected", fictional beings can also decide to be "pedophiles". which every single adult male love interest in both of these games and many many more are "deciding", when they "decide" to court a minor player, and even bed a minor player in a tasteful fade to black manner.

so, wake up call everyone, get out all your pitchforks, because we bouta take all the handsome anime men in otome games to fiction court in fiction land for their fiction crimes!

all these beloved boyfriends, *fiancées* even in tears of themis, arrested and put in fiction jail for daring to lay a hand on a minor.

similar hypocrisy can also be seen when antis criticise the persona franchise and its fandom: for quick context, persona is a series of games with a self insert high school protag about you and your clique saving the world with your jojo stand. while doing so the game allows you to forge bonds and romance available partners, most of them being fellow high schoolers.

on one end, there's "b-but you're an adult playing the game and dating minors, so gross, so problematic, so disgusting, you're such a pedophile!!!", and on the other, there is "yeah but the fact that romancing your teacher is an option is so messed up, like, so problematic, like, wtf that's unacceptable, mc is her minor student, the fact that you like that is so wrong!!!".

no need to have a PhD in mathematics to see that something doesn't add up lol. antis always prioritise the person behind the screen, until you can make it problematic by not prioritising that, and that obviously leads to some funky "you can never win" arguments.

whether i choose to romance the teacher or choose to romance my 15 year old friend, antis are gonna have to say something about it. (and of course, all otome husbandos need jail NOW😡)

[ghostfire]

I finished Veilguard about a day ago, and I have some *thoughts*. I'm coming at this as someone who first played Dragon Age: Origins in 2009 and has loved the series since then. I've got the novels, the artbooks, and I've got two nugs and a mabari plushie guarding my desk right now. It's safe to say that I am a long time fan. I did a full replay of Inquisition immediately before playing Veilguard, so I would have the comparison back to back instead of colored by a decade of shifting memories.

If parts of this are somewhat disorganized, I'll blame covid brain, and hope I at least mostly make sense. There are spoilers for the full game below the cut.

I'll start with some things that I genuinely enjoyed. The number of animals you can pet: A++, no notes. The voice acting, with a few exceptions that I think were simply due to working with the dialogue and timing the actors were given, was excellent. Gareth David-Lloyd (Solas) and Joseph Capp (Elgar'nan) both notably went above and beyond there. The majority of the environmental design - especially Arlathan and the Grand Necropolis - was solid. The stability of the game itself was perfect. In just over 100 hours of gameplay I experienced zero crashes, which is amazing in itself. Unfortunately, this is not a long list for a game of this magnitude.

About the gameplay - I didn't really see it as modernized, just changed. Every time an RPG franchise becomes more of an action RPG I'm saddened. It's not the play style I want. Not what I'm looking for. I think it was an okay example of the play style they went with, but I found myself completely neglecting certain aspects of it, and I think some of it might be that they would feel more natural played with a controller, while I use mouse and keyboard. If this were a different game, in a different series, I wouldn't be disappointed by the gameplay, however, so I guess I have to rate this as neutral.

The music, except for a few tracks that were more clearly playing into themes from previous games, felt somewhat more generic than I'm expecting from Dragon Age. Again, not bad, but still disappointing. Tracks like "Leaving Earth" from Mass Effect 3 or the Dragon Age: Origins theme will bring out the goosebumps and instantly plunge me back into memories with just a few notes. I don't think I got hit hard with that in Veilguard until the Solavellan ending began.

As for the character and creature style - even by the end of the game, I never got used to or liked it. The cartoon tinge to the characters that just doesn't fit Dragon Age world felt distinctly uncomfortable. The new darkspawn and most demon and spirit designs were awful in context and would have ben better in something from Blizzard.

The quality of the writing of various companions varied *wildly* - often toeing the line between character and caricature - just as often falling short as overreaching. One that fell especially flat when it could have been so interesting was the Lucanis/Spite duo. None of Spite's appearances had the emotional impact of Justice, crackling with power when confronted with injustice and becoming part of a greater whole with Anders, riding the line between Justice and Vengeance. While some of that could be put down to Spite simply being a less powerful demon than Vengeance, or Lucanis somehow having a better hold over a demon that was forced into him than Anders had with a spirit that he invited in willingly, neither of those explanations feels satisfying. Spite taking over Lucanis and sleepwalking to the Eluvian felt mildly irritating, not terribly alarming.

Picking still at the writing, I got the impression that this was a young adult game grafted on top of the bones of deep and dark and yawning lore. The out of place tone to the language chosen made some parts feel very "Guardians of the Galaxy" style whacky, with far too many modern colloquialisms. Characters don't have to be serious all the time, but whether they're acting funny or acting stern, the way they do it should fit the world and feel genuine.

Emmrich, whose whole story line is rooted in existential dread of mortality, did not seem like he was sacrificing anything to save Manfred in the way that he reacted. There should have been a real opportunity for him to break down, either in the moment as the decision is made, and an opportunity for Rook's decisions up to that point to influence him, or afterward, in private, and to need real comfort from his friend or partner.

No one should have ever described Veilguard as being Bioware's "most romantic" game. My experience with romance was, at best, "okay". Many of the "flirt" options felt like they were the only way to acknowledge that certain things were happening. Either choose the heart, or feel like you're ignoring something important. After flirting hard with Davrin, Bellara, and Emmrich, I chose Emmrich. His romance is supposedly one of best, but the romance specific scenes there were felt shallow and brief. I liked that characters got together as couples outside of Rook, but can see why people drawn to Lucanis or Neve are complaining.

Plenty has been said about whitewashing some of the darker and more uncomfortable aspects of the Dragon Age world, and I agree to varying levels. The Crows, for instance. I'm well aware of Zevran's efforts over the previous twenty or so years, and maybe this is the best of the houses, and you don't see much of other houses or fledglings, but *someone* on your team should express misgivings over working with brutal, child abusing assassins, even if Rook is unaware. There was plenty of opportunity for Lucanis (or Teia and Viago) to explain the change over time or between houses if asked. Not acknowledging this more obviously feels wrong.

Slavery in Tevinter - it's not true that it's completely glossed over - you see a few among the Venatori, and you rescue one in the Grand Necropolis, again brought in by the Venatori. But where the slavery common in Tevinter, practiced by citizens and normalized, could have been used as a parallel with the slavery perpetuated by the Evanuris, it was instead largely downplayed as an issue. The few lines talking about Dorian and Maevaris's failed political movement is such a tantalizing glimpse at acknowledging this tremendous injustice, but it's easily lost, and if you didn't already know the background, wouldn't have much of an impact.

Lords of Fortune - absolute shit. My Isabela ran away with artifact and learned nothing, but it's not like other past decisions you've made in the games made any difference either, so... The whole way it's presented reeks of out of place modern sensibilities. Could it have been explained in a different way somehow? Maybe. But still, shit.

Diving deeper still, the "Elven Gods" are cartoon villains with no subtlety. While some degree of this has been a common thing with Dragon Age villains, it's usually easy to see their side or at least how they got there. Corypheus wanted to raise himself to fill what he thought was an empty godhood and restore the "glory" of Tevinter. Meredith's experience with her mage sister lead her to see magic as a dangerous threat, justifying her cruel measures in the name of safety for all.

Ghilan'nain felt somewhat understandable because at least she was teetering on the edge of satisfying madness. She genuinely believed her creations and blighted nature were beautiful - so much so she altered herself accordingly.

Elgar'nan had real opportunity to be a deep complex villain, but instead he is wishy washy, confused, watered down. Where was his rage at modern peoples over the loss of his other fellow gods? He seemed to genuinely care about Ghilan'nain, but they aren't really mentioned, and it's not as if the passage of time soothed any of his other perceived slights. He could have been a persuasive Satan figure. The times he was in Rook's head were some of the most interesting in the game. Rook was becoming powerful, and that's one of the few things Elgar'nan respected, because that is an aspect of himself. More persuasively tempting Rook would have been nice. There should have been some way to give in, to fail. A chance to fall to corruption if you're not strong enough, maybe. A bad end if you've been an asshole, but you can't be an asshole because this is a young adult game.

As presented, Rook is the blandest hero in the Dragon Age series. Either that, or the most railroaded. Even though I came to like my Rook, a lot of that was pure, behind the scenes, headcanon character building. Often, all of the dialogue options felt the same - like I was being forced to play her one way. After a certain point, I had to imagine that she was lying her way through a number of scenes, because I had no options that felt even remotely close to what I was looking for. When pulled into the prison of regret, it was like the writers couldn't imagine a Rook who did not regret their part in the loss of their companions - who was proud of them for their sacrifice, and who, if they have rage and sorrow, direct it at the gods who caused the harm. This lack of agency was especially egregious when it came to Solas. I wanted the option to say I understood and agreed with a lot of what he did and wanted, even if I couldn't let him go all the way tear down Veil. Nearly every option came across as some degree of antagonistic. Once it came down to some of the endgame lines, talking directly to him, any amount of judgement on Rook's part felt wholly unearned and inappropriate for the way I was playing.

If I hadn't played the previous games for context, I don't think Veilguard would have given me a fraction of the perception I needed to see how things have changed, including the awful conditions of elves and mages, and despite directly seeing his memories, Solas would seem so much less sympathetic in his desire to fix his mistakes.

I could write this much again, just on Solas, but there was clearly a deep and compelling story there, a promise that was imprisoned just as surely as the character. It's painful to see hints of what could have been.

[clairebishop6226]

Trolls 3: Band Together Spoiler!

Warning: I watched the film so this spoiler has context

Jonh Dory: "We're here for Floyd. Let's just get this done and we can go our separate ways."

"Fine by me," Clay said.

"Same here," Bruce said.

Branch: "Wait, what?"

"What? The mission's the mission," John Dory said. Then he laughed. "You didn't think we'd all live together when this was over, did you? Singing songs and roasting marshmallows

_"

Poppy gave Branch a worried look. She could tell John Dory's words were hurting him. And making him mad.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is that funny to you?" Branch snapped at John Dory. "That I might want us to actually be a family again?"

This is where Branch's heart broke, he thought everyone was happy to be together again but they were going back to the same fights and the same arguments, he felt small and voiceless like when he was a baby and his brothers also saw this, Jonh Dory's mockery about returning to the illusory idea of ​​a family was what ended Branch's hopes.

he finally explodes and confesses everything that saddens him, about the separation, the abandonment, the death of his grandmother and reveals that this time it is not him who will be abandoned but he who will abandon the team.

The brothers find out about the bunker he created with specific rooms for each brother, they feel bad and Jonh Dory says: I didn't know about any of this

And Poppy responds: I guess you never wanted to know

Poppy goes after Branch and tells him that she will accompany him to save Floyd

Branch despairs and says that she doesn't need to do this and asks: Forget it, won't you abandon me too? just like everyone else did

The pain of abandonment is something so serious in Branch's life that he even thinks that Poppy, the girl he loves most in life, will get tired of him and abandon him.

Poppy doesn't let herself be shaken and confesses: I've been on your side since the day we met, and you're on mine, I'm not leaving, give us both a little credit

This was the most important film for Branch's journey, he and Poppy love each other very much and although she knows her boyfriend better than she knows herself, she knows that there is still a part of him that still needs to be healed, she wanted there to be no obstacles for a sincere relationship with Branch, that's why they only kiss in the third movie, there are no more secrets, he confirms this and she accepts, when Poppy sees that she finally knows Branch completely she doesn't wait a single minute and kiss him, because she already knew that she loved him and that he loved her.

[sid-the-sandwich]

Love For Love's Sake - Differences in the Kdrama and Novel: Spoiler Warning (Pt 1)

as the title says, i just wanted to spread information because I love this series and them soo much u cant pull me away from the grasp they have on me

the show is pretty faithful to the original, although there were some parts that were swapped for one reason or another - mostly due to time.

the way i'll do this is, i'll first say what happens in the Kdrama (since more people are familiar with it) and then what happens in the Novel - small changes like added dialogue / continuation of dialogue or simple swapped backgrounds wont be noted (unless I find it interesting, funny or of importance)

OR if the scene wasnt added to the drama at all, I'll note that down (and vice versa if the scene is not in the novel)

if something isnt explained - its because its exactly the same / similar enough to the Kdrama. also keep in mind that myungha has A LOT of internal dialogue in the novel - so some may be reference, some wont.

as usual im reading with a fan translation, so it may not be 100% accurate, but I'm trusting the fan who took the time out their day to translate - thank u to them

here we go <3

[EP1] INTRO ====>

KDRAMA:

The very first scene is of Yeowoon's empty desk with Myungha in the background blurred out -

then shots of Myungha running to Yeowoon and finally reaching his house

he calls for Yeowoon -

then the first title screen and cut to the bar

NOVEL:

the very first thing is actually the scene of Yeowoon crying at his match asking why Myungha is so nice to him

this scene is very short and ends here after this question as Myungha pauses and thinks for an answer.

Myungha then explains mentally (basically providing context for the reader) that he is 29 and has about a year left to live if he cant make his fav happy

then cut to myungha in the bar

[EP 1] WAKING UP IN THE GAME ====>

KDRAMA:

Myungha is asleep at his desk - he wakes up startled

he jumps to his feet and is shocked by his surroundings

he is subsequently scholded and sent outside by the teacher

Myungha then laments for a bit until class is over where he meets Kyunghoon for the first time

myungha asks kyunghoon many questions about the world

myungha gets a flashback to the bar,

myungha then asks about yeowoon

he then rushes to find his fav

NOVEL:

the very first time myungha wakes up in this game world is not written down in the novel - instead it is mentioned he just woke up in the game (it was very casual - Myungha doesnt really panic)

its clear that at least a day had passed since he had come into this world (but that day isnt written)

myungha is in the faculty room - being scolded by a teacher

the teacher shouts at him for cheating on a quiz given previously (one he had done after he entered the game)

some insight over myungha being a 'dumb delinquent' is expressed here for the first time - with the teacher saying this random high score is unbelievable (Myungha usually has one of the lowest scores in the school)

after some shouting and a few slaps with a folder, the teacher lets him go, telling him not to cheat again but he has no real proof to keep him

Myungha bows before going back to his class, noting the strange environment he was thrown into (essentially giving context to his surrounds and the world)

myungha enters his class and gets his first ever message to make Yeowoon happy - he is dumbfounded by it and is scolded by the teacher to sit down.

myungha does as told and does a quiz until the bell rings

after class, Myungha roams the halls - other students avoid him (with even more context on myungha being a delinquent), he then meets Kyunghoon for the first time.

they talk about yeowoon (myungha doesnt get any flashbacks to the bar) he is about to go find his fav...

but he stops when Kyunghoon mentions the next class is about to start

myungha sighs and goes to class first - (he doesn't rush off immediately) this scene is to show Myungha's responsibility and his older 29 age - he's been worn down to be complacent by years of jobs - he's not like his 19 year-old self

he explains his surrounding a bit more and then gets a splinter telling him this isn't a dream - he needs to change yeowoon's 18

after class, myungha rushes to yeowoon's class

[EP 1] FIRST MEETING / SAVING YEOWOON ====>

(TW : Suicide)

KDRAMA:

Myungha is outside yeowoon's class asking a student who has no clue where yeowoon is or lives - just that he never turned up

the student leaves

myungha pieces together the time and date to yeowoon's grandma's death and therefor knows whats next (yeowoon's broken leg)

myungha gets a pop-up and agrees to find yeowoon - following the map

he rushes to yeowoon

myungha complains about not having money and then decides to run

myungha runs to yeowoon and reaches his house

myungha sees him standing ontop the brick fence - about to jump

myungha pulls him off without a word (besides calling out his name)

myungha gets the 'the world has now changed cuz of your actions' message

NOVEL:

the student myungha grabbed actually knows that yeowoon's grandma passed but doesnt know anything else before he leaves becuz he's scared of myungha

Myungha gets the pop-up and the map and begins running to yeowoon, lost in thought.

he thinks about Yeowoon's entire life - about his mother passing when he was young (only mentioned here but more on that in a later chapter) and father being a deadbeat - how his grandma is the only person who he loved before she passed of a chronic illness

and how after the passing, yeowoon got into a car accident (also mentioned later) and broke his leg - making him lose his scholarship and money - making his life as dark as myungha's

myungha jumps over the school gates and rushes to yeowoon's location (once more complaining about having no money and repeating his original age)

myungha reaches his house

yeowoon is standing on the OTHER SIDE of the fence, on the very edge (the fence here is a short, thin iron one so yeowoon doesnt stand ontop of it)

myungha realises that yeowoon's 'car accident' was actually him jumping off the roof

when myungha comes on the roof, he stratles yeowoon and yeowoon loses balance, letting go of the fence and falling off.

myungha rushes over and barely manages to grab yeowoon's hand (yeowoon had actually fallen off the roof)

the fence digs into myungha's stomach as yeowoon hits the side wall with a thud (luckily myungha caught him before he had fallen too far)

myungha sees his reflection in yeowoon's eyes and gets his 'Cha Yeowoon recoginses you' message.

myungha digs his heels into the ground asking yeowoon to 'please not die'

at first it was straining and difficult, but eventually myungha manages to pull yeowoon over the fence.

yeowoon lands ON TOP of myungha - back safely onto the roof

myungha takes a few moments to think about how beautiful yeowoon is

yeowoon gets up -

myungha gets the 'the world has changed cuz of your actions' message

[EP 1] FIRST ICECREAM ====>

KDRAMA:

outside the store

Myungha and yeowoon choosing icecreams

they choose and myungha goes to pay - he doesnt have enough so he borrows some from yeowoon

yeowoon doesn't even question it and hands over 300 won

they get the icecream and leave

they talk about how myungha is 1 year older but acts like he's 11 years older - yeowoon then says myungha is just like the sports club (cuz of his annoyance/ego)

yeowoon tries to leave but myungha gets a debuff and drags yeowoon to his house to stay the night

as they reach the busstop, the bus already arrived so they rush on - myungha makes yeowoon pay for his ticket

myungha sits in the back with yeowoon in the front

myungha searches up 'love supremacy zone'

the bus arrives at their stop and the pair get off.

myungha tellls yeowoon its going to be a walk to his house

NOVEL:

outside the store

Myungha holds out two coins, telling yeowoon to get whatever he wants (within reason)

myungha complains about the prices in his mind - and about inflation

yeowoon says he'll buy his own but myungha stops him.

then yeowoon suggests buying it for each other - but myungha is embarrassed by an 18 year old buying him icecream

yeowoon groans and drags myungha to a store with 50% off. they get their icecream from there (myungha pays for both)

with icreams in hand, yeowoon sighs loudly while he eats - he asks why icecreams, but myungha says kids like it (they talk about age and if myungha is in the sports club just like the Kdrama)

myungha calls yeowoon rude and yeowoon shrugs and says he hears that a lot. myungha realises yeowoon is much ruder than in his friend's novel - all his puppy-dog tailwagging is reserved for the female protagonist. (this part makes me giggle)

myungha asks if this is yeowoon's personality always or if he is just being bitchy right now - yeowoon says all the time. myungha says he isn't shocked yeowoon has no friends - yeowoon then tells myungha to name his own friends then. myungha cant. (i giggle x2)

myungha asks exactly why yeowoon cant make any friends, is it because his personality is so bad? (no joke he actually asks this - i giggle x3)

at this point yeowoon is somewhat annoyed and just agrees, telling myungha to go home. myungha doesn't, and they continue walking while eating icecream

when they reach a near yeowoon's house, yeowoon tells him to go away.

Myungha doesnt leave and asks to stay the night at yeowoon's place - yeowoon is visibly shocked so myungha backtracks and instead takes yeowoon to his house.

myungha gets the debuff and his resolve strengthens - myungha grabs his arm and drags him away

Yeowoon complains on the way to the busstop about getting bruises from myungha's grip while myungha acts like nothing is wrong and shrugs saying he should have given in

they wait at the busstop for a few minutes

yeowoon says he wont go, but myungha jokes and says he has no money to get himself home then - yeowoon says this is extortion.

the bus arrives

myungha drags him to the doors, yeowoon tries to leave but the driver shuts the doors immediatly as they enter

yeowoon swipes his card and tells the driver he's paying for both (myungha really thought yeowoon wouldnt pay for him)

myungha then gushes mentally over how yeowoon is still a good guy inside despite his exterior

myungha jokes "wow you paid for me" - yeowoon tells him not to talk to him.

yeowoon takes a seat at the front, myungha grumbles, telling him to sit together at the back but yeowoon doesnt even pretend to listen

myungha contemplates standing, but doesnt want fondess to low even more - and instead goes to the back

myungha searchs up about 'love supremacy' (same as kdrama)

myungha deosnt even realise when the bus stopped until driver tells him to get off - myungha apologises and does -

Myungha tells yeowoon its going to be a walk to the house

=========================================

i've decided to only do four in this post - i'll do more later - perhaps tommorow or the day after

also Yeowoon is so much more bratty in the novel and i love it

i want to do as many as possible in one post, but not make it overwhelmingly too much for one post

if you have any questions or just wanna talk about LFLS, please do <3

=========================================

|| Masterlist || Differences pt2

=========================================

[tobiasdrake]

Dragon Ball Daima S01E10 - Ocean

The titles for Daima episodes crack me up. Like. We've been making jokes at Toei's expense for how spoiler-filled Dragon Ball episode titles are for forty years. Now they're just like, "Fine! You know what? Every title is just a context-free noun and NOTHING ELSE."

Lightning. Thieves. Ocean.

Good luck gleaning any major plot reveals from that!

Honestly, I'm kinda rooting for the Tamagami.

They had two Saibaman seeds left and only used one, which leaves the other one hanging as a plot point whose function remains to be determined. The probable purpose for the other seed is so they'll have resources to create another Majin.

Kuu isn't literally the prototype for a bigger, nastier villain. But he might end up being exactly that.

So with the possibility that Kuu gets defeated and has to be replaced at some point in mind, I just think it'd be so funny if it happened right now. Following his dramatic reveal last episode, Kuu mouths off to Tamagami One and just gets fucking splattered, and Dr. Arinsu has to go back to the drawing board. XD

I mean. Yeah. There are benefits to being magically cursed to become a child again. I certainly wouldn't mind a dramatically increased lifespan, personally.

There are drawbacks too but you'd be surprised what you can circumvent when you're a billionaire.

This conversation took a really weird turn. And also, there are other reasons that Vegeta might not be comfortable with returning to adulthood while his wife remains a child.

Very. Very good reasons.

I have no idea what Kuu is doing in this fight and I'm not sure he does either. One is handing him his golden Saiba-ass.

It's like they're trying to channel Pure Buu's unpredictable and frantic fighting style. But Buu was an eldritch creature that no longer communicated in words and fought like a feral blob of gum. Kuu's intelligence and... non-goopiness... just makes him look like a weird doof.

I wonder if Kuu can absorb the Tamagami and gain their power?

Which should also mean that we can get out and fly for long periods of time without requiring the aid of a vehicle. Planes are now optional.

Kaioshin: (thinking) I hope we can get in and out without encountering one. Goku: (thinking) I wonder how they taste....

Goku: (thinking) Not bad for a first course....

Yeah, flying is no longer nerfed. This attack squadron made mistakes. The guy who beat the Tamagami is in even more top form now, and these idiots couldn't handle him when he was holding back.

Daimakai is basically a fun vacation for Goku.

XD There is no way a creature that size is sustaining itself on the occasional plane that inadvisably flies too low to the ocean. They're definitely hunting planes out of spite, not hunger.

Ahhh. Goku can teleport, so it doesn't actually matter that the plane is now in the creature's gullet. This is a good setup. Gives the others enough time to look shocked before Goku and Panzy suddenly pop into existe--

...or I guess the gap between its teeth is wide enough that anyone capable of Bukujutsu can just leave, no problem. Being crushed in the plane was the only danger that being eaten by the kraken posed.

Mm. I'm disappointed, but this still works fine.

And now the kraken's done. Yeah, it does not care one bit about the flying people. It just wanted the plane.

Krakens just... hate planes for some reason. I wonder if the Gendarmerie are poaching them?

Bit of a mixed bag here. I said early on after we met her that I really don't want Panzy to turn into the new GT Pan. GT Pan is worse-case scenario for how she could end up being utilized by the show.

I was nervous when they all evacuated the plane, but then Panzy put herself in peril anyway so we could have a scene of Goku dramatically rescuing her. I was like, "Okay, whatever they made her go back for, it better be something good."

It was the Dragon Ball. All of these fuckers forgot the Dragon Ball when they were bailing out of the plane.

...

Yeah! Okay, fair enough. Panzy MVP and these boys better appreciate her.

Oh, the Namekians had their own world within Makai #2. I bet it's more Namek-like than this region.

Yep, I'd know those Ajissa anywhere.

You know, this does actually make sense, now that I think about it. It's a retcon, but not one that breaks continuity.

The main job that the Namekians have is to cultivate Ajissa. It's what they spend their days farming. Their crop fields are full of the Ajissa they're growing.

When we first meet the Namekians, it's in the aftermath of a climate crisis that ravaged their ecosystem and left them near extinction. They're cultivating Ajissa to try and restore Namek to the beauty it once had.

But it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from there to "Namekians terraform planets they occupy to resemble their ancestral home, and filling those planets with Ajissa is part of that terraforming."

Did Piccolo just indicate that Katattsu came from Makai #2? All we know about him was that he was among the Namekians killed in Namek's climate catastrophe. How would Piccolo even know this? We've been given no timeframe on when Namekians left Makai #2.

Well, would it surprise you to know that he didn't actually say that? Yeah, at no point did he say it was his "father" who lived here.

...

Because the word he used is 親 oya, which gender-neutrally just means "parent". It's the root kanji used in such words as 母親 hahaoya for mother and 父親 chichioya for father.

...

My "Were Namekians supposed to be gender-neutral this whole time? Should we be using they/them for Namekians?" pondering intensifies.

But yeah, he did indicate that Katattsu used to live here.

Three, actually. But Hybis is not ready for that conversation. Even other Earthlings find it weird.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But at least for right now, I like him. Kuu is adorable and I want good things for him.

I've been back and forth on whether this is supposed to be in-continuity with Super but I think this backstory, despite sort of contradicting what we know about Zenou, confirms it.

The reason I say that is because that's Gowasu in the top left corner. He was the mentor that tried to teach Zamasu.

How exactly Rymus is supposed to coexist as a concept with Zenou, I have no idea. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're, like, Zenou's parent or something.

I mean. I thought the plan was that you guys were going to go handle things with Gomah while Team Goku faces the Tamagami.

I guess we really did ditch Team Bulma in Makai #3 just to be rude. Oh well. Gang's all together now.