#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.

[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.

[playstation-dreamcast]

Okay, okay please I love your hc's! Especially about our little (autistic) bioterrorist Wesker! Could you....maybe.... Do some hc's on dating him? Because all I do imagine from your flirting hcs the video on how the confession would happen (IT WAS SO FUCKIN FUNNY FOR NO REASON LMAO) that he's dating someone whose just as straight forward and blunt as he is. Though maybe some contrast on the fact Wesker's dating someone who's very honest. Maybe even TOO honest (fellow autistic LMAO) Like TMI level of honesty?

OKAY SO LIKE, This got like, the teeniest tiniest bit angsty at the end there in the last like two points, that's my bad. I had no control over it, the muses took over my body, there is comfort though!!!

Couple: Wesker x GN, incredibly straight forward Reader

TW: slight hurt/comfort themes, but it's mostly just awkward fluff lmao. Oh, and one passing mention of a praise kink

Okay, so for context we’re talking S.T.A.R.S era Wesker, okay? Okay cool

Wesker is extremely practical in a relationship, he doesn’t really have the time nor the mental capacity to play mind games- not when he’s already playing them with everyone else as his literal job. So when he asks you out, he’s very straightforward about it. Just on a random Wednesday in the S.T.A.R.S break room he hits you with the “I’ve grown quite fond of you. Would you care to join me for dinner?” 

You took, like, a troubling amount of time to answer. A solid ten seconds of just you contemplating, or possibly just enjoying the way he squirmed? He was maintaining his cool despite the sweat forming along his hairline. Finally, you respond. “I’m not sure how ethical it is, and I’m very sure it’s against protocol for you to ask your employee out on a date.” He nodded, getting ready to apologize for being so forward, but you continued. “That being said, you’re incredibly attractive. I accept.” He’s not, quite sure how to feel about that, but a win is a win. And you did in fact agree, so this is a win!

Your relationship is honestly really lowkey. To the point that your fellow S.T.A.R.S members are not, totally sure if it’s a joke or not. Chris made a jab about how Wesker gives you so much “special treatment” that you might as well be his partner, and you simply reply “Oh, that’s because I am.” and that sent the entirety of both Alpha and Bravo team into a tizzy. You and Wesker both thought it was funnier to refuse to elaborate any further

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “I’m a S.T.A.R.S member? What’s he going to do about the whole Spencer Mansion situation?” And don’t worry dear reader, I am here to assure you he is also trying to figure out what he’s going to do about you and the Spencer Mansion. He’s not quite sure what he was thinking, getting attached to a member of a team he designed to be disposable. But, he’s here now, he’s dug his grave and now he intends to lie in it. He’s confident he’ll figure out a way to protect you though. (Spoiler alert: Yeah, no.)

Besides that slight snag, your relationship is incredibly uncomplicated. Mostly because when a problem or issue comes up, you’re very quick to bring it up. “Hey, I’m not a fan of your tone right now.” “You said something earlier I didn’t appreciate, can we talk about that?” “I don’t like it when you do that, will you stop?” Easy! Simple! He honestly really appreciates your straightforward nature, and that you’ve never expected him to be a mind reader. He spends so much time trying to read into everyone, and predict their every move and angle, and act accordingly and be what they wanted him to be. It’s a relief to come home and have someone just tell him what they want.

It’s not just criticisms of course. You’re always telling him how handsome he is, how smart he is, how well he handled that situation. You tell him when you like something he does, you thank him when he picks up extra chores, you believe it’s just as important to praise someone as it is to correct them. 

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked his praise kink!

Even when you’re maybe a little bit too honest. Be it about medical/body issues, your intrusive thoughts, your past, or even something related to him- He’d rather be overly informed than under informed. He can act accordingly if he has all the information, so please, overshare with him.  

I think when the two of you are alone you kinda just spend hours taking turns info dumping to each other. You know the vibe. When you’re talking with someone who matches your freak and it’s just a cycle of “OH! That actually reminds me of/That’s just like-” insert thing that has absolutely nothing to do with the original topic. It’s a beautiful display of love, the traditional neurodivergent courting ritual

Look, I stand by the fact that Wesker is actually a really good cook. He’s not like, a Michelin star chef or anything, but he’s spent a lot of time teaching himself basic life skills after turning 18 (Umbrellas boy’s home was more concerned with book smarts rather than teaching them how to care for themselves) and was determined to figure out how to cook and feed himself well. All of this is context to explain that Wesker learns how to cook some of your favorite meals to show you how capable he is of taking care of you. Again, displaying desirable traits, he’s such a good mate, you made the right call, he is obviously the most optimal choice. 

After almost exactly a year and three weeks of dating, your lease was up for renewal. The two of you sat down and very matter-of-factly laid out the logistics of you moving in with him. How the bills would be paid (You both decided the most fair way was to pay a percentage based on income as he did make more than you as Captain) distribution of chores (He’d cook, you’d do the dishes, and you’d both work on general cleaning,) and which drawers in his dresser would be yours (The top two.) It was very much like a business deal, sealed with a handshake. A powerpoint presentation was involved

He’s not against taking you out on the town for date nights, in fact, he quite enjoys it. He’s proud to show you off, who wouldn’t want to go out with such a gorgeous partner on their arm? That being said, his favorite types of dates are the ones where you stay home. The quiet intimacy that comes from just cuddling on the couch is- quite literally- something that he’s never experienced before. He thought he was pretty touch averse, and in a way he is- PDA will never be his thing- but it turns out it’s not that he just hates touch that much. It’s that no one had ever touched him without the intent to hurt him before. And, actually, he’s kinda clingy.

This realization left him in a two day long internal spiral that you definitely picked up on and called him out for, asking him to just tell you what’s wrong. He gave you the softball, highly revised story of his childhood and his…currently evolving relationship with human touch. You were quiet for a moment, before asking if you could hug him. Of course he agreed, and when you pulled away you simply said “I’m sorry. No child deserves to be abused.”

Okay, so, that was the first time anyone ever assigned the A word to his childhood, and while a part of him knew, it’s different to hear it vocalized. He’d always appreciated your honesty, and now’s no different, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him internally spiral for a bit longer. It was okay though. You let him cry in your arms for as long as he needed

Man, that was really heavy. Angsty even. Comfort speed round, GO!

It doesn’t matter how you guys pass out, if you went to bed well before him or if you go to sleep on opposite sides of the bed cause it’s way too hot to cuddle, you always wake up tangled in each others arms

While Wesker tends to be really good at communicating generally, he tends to fall short when it comes to his emotional needs as he tends not to put them in the “Important” category. Thus, much like a cat, whenever he wants your affection he just kinda puts himself in your space and tries to “subtly” get your attention. He does this by straight up putting his head in your lap and waitting for you to run your fingers through his hair. Works every time

On the occasion where he wakes up before you, he gently wakes you up with coffee made to your exact specifications, and sits with you in bed while you both try to fully wake up

The S.T.A.R.S Team still isn’t sure if you’re actually together or not. It’s not until Brad catches you guys going home in the same car that it’s confirmed. You don’t understand why everyone is treating this like a big deal, you literally told them you were in fact his partner

After that though, you did start to let yourself come to work in his hoodies/jackets. It's the rule of romance: Your partner’s hoodie is always far more cozy than yours is. He’s always quick to give you his jacket whenever he even suspects you’re getting cold. Both to keep you comfortable, and because he genuinely love the way his leather looks on you

[chronicdelusionistsart]

No, he is not a Completely Different Character from when he was in high school - The Continuity of Bernard Dowd

SO I often see the argument that Bernard my man has changed into a completely different guy since high school. Me too, bestie. And much like Bernard, if you had met me in high school, you probably would have wanted to throw me into a lake.

People grow and change from high school to young adulthood, of course, but the nature of this criticism tends to be the idea that there's no continuity - that Bernard was completely retconned and there's very little to nothing recognizable of his personality and characterhood at the time. The common argument I see is that there's no way to reconcile the differences, even taking into account that people naturally age out of being obnoxious teens.

This just isn't the case. I got into it a little at the tail end of my previous post about Bernard and the art of Recontextualization, but it's really astounding just how much effort seems to have been put into respecting the continuity of the character. I'm gonna go through the 1993 Robin run and go character trait by character trait and see how these scenes read as foundational information for the continuity of the Bernard we have today.

Yeah you heard me. It's basically a fucking listicle. come at me

(SPOILERS for Tim Drake: Robin, Urban Legends, and the 1993 Robin run under the cut!)

1) "They just randomly made him gay" - yeah but it was really funny and based did you ever think of that

I already posted this one last time but let's take a minute to really sit with this one because it's soooooooo

It's absolutely undeniable that the original author of the Robin run almost certainly intended Bernard to be a pointedly heterosexual teenage boy. No arguments there. I actually think based on my experience living in that era and being bi that if you'd suggested the idea of an explicitly deeply closeted best friend for Tim Drake in the early 2000s at DC they would have laughed in your face and then possibly fired you and/or called you a slur or something. There are probably standout queer comics from the time, but mainstream Batman? We're making this for boys that want to ogle Steph's tits, I say, grinding up a rock into dust in my bare hand as I look over this storyline again for panels

My point here is that a lot of comics at the time come off as overly exaggerated about how cool and manly and heteronormative their guy characters are, which is of course also the ultimate refuge of the closeted gay guy. If they'd been normal about it it wouldn't have been so easy to read closeting into it, but as it is...

Yeah this is believable from a teenager but becomes a zillion times funnier as just covering a panic attack over going over to meet the cute boy's paren- wait why does he have elf ears. Why does he look 40 five panels ago

the two genders etc etc.

ANYWAY this was obviously a purposeful choice when rehauling the character. We're going to see a pattern of using things from the 2000s that were baffling or weird in retrospect and expanding on them to bring some consistency and intrigue to his character. "Now Pika," I hear you saying, having divined my nickname from some other source, "you're showing panels out of context to create a false narrative. Five panels ago when Bernard was 40 he was notably accused of staring at Tim's stepmom ALL DINNER. That sounds just, just SLIGHTLY heterosexual and there's really no other explanation f

2) He was always smarter than he looked actually

ah.

ah.

I said before that a lot of Bernard is hidden behind layers.

While he appears to be a dumbass in the 2000s, he manages to notice something is Wrong with Tim. Like, consistently. A lot of what we see on panel is Bernard questioning Tim and probing into his personal life - he notices something is unusual about Tim on literally their first meeting, and no shit, Bernard is only in a grand total of five scenes with Tim in the entire run and he spends four of them asking inconvenient personal questions at Tim.

"Tim, is your dad secretly an asshole? Blink twice for yes" "How about we stop talking for a little while"

Obviously in the context of the 2000s this is just like forced drama. But there's a sort of elegance in how seamless it is to look back at this with the context that he's been someone who downplays his own intelligence the whole time. Like "actually, he tends to hit on or adjacent to the truth a LOT, doesn't he?" Even without the new stuff, it's a pertinent observation.

3) "I like Robin a normal amount" - guy who pirates modded Robin games

This feels free. Is this free? I feel like this is free. I don't need to explain this one. Celebrity crushes on Superheroes are literally always funny

See Mario dies every time and it's like not the same guy. There's actually 3 Marios and then every time you make a certain amount of money (points) they get enough to clone a new one. Wait Tim come back I hadn't gotten to the shadow Koopa government. Bowser isn't actually in charge it's Big Goomba -

4) Alienation and the sincere desire to seek meaning in this life

The cult thing might seem to come out of nowhere if you were focused on his goofy persona and the specifics of Bernard's hilarious theories, but it's interesting to me that we get told that Bernard doesn't feel like he fits in like literally right away. One of his very first panels:

yeah okay i sure buy that dude

Bernard is textually, before adding any of the new stuff into the mix, an outsider. He has weird conspiracy theories, he's initially dressed like a douche who's trying to impress everyone and actually impressing no one, and he's obviously putting on airs here.

A lot of people who are depressed are just... you'd never know. Sincerely, the person you know who laughs the loudest and surrounds themselves with the most people might be the most depressed, the most isolated.

In the future, we see that he's similarly got a lot of people that know him, but not a lot of people that know him.

Having him get caught up in a cult after this setup is a very logical progression. He was already the type of personality to turn to conspiracies to feel some degree of fulfillment as a teen. Why the fuck wouldn't he become a Gotham cult statistic. Cults love intelligent people who are susceptible to isolation and emotionally not in a good place.

There's actually a really clever set of panels in the Urban legends run where Tim and Bernard are fighting against the chaos cult and they're mirrored. And Tim is the one "speaking", but the way the comic is framed, you can tell that they were both kind of having the same struggle from different angles and it doesn't snap into place until they fight together.

God, I love the medium of comics. I didn't actually notice this until I was writing this up and staring at panels. This is so subtle, but when you stop to look, the visual language clicks. They're both searching for something. The same thing. But it's not explicit. You gotta be paying close attention.

I think part of the reason people accuse Bernard of being bland or too different from before or whatever is that so much of this requires you to read. No, come back, hold on -

Like, the fundamental writing sleight of hand on this guy is that they earnestly set up the premise that he's so convincing that he managed to fool Tim, and by extension the distracted reader. To this end, Fitzmarten, and I can't believe I'm saying this, successfully weaponized the shittiness of early 2000s writing.

The idea that they went with is that sometimes you think you know people, but you don't have the full story until you really look and actively put the pieces together. He's someone, that very real kind of person, that flies under the radar both in and out of the fiction. And when the whammy hits -

- you end up wondering if you ever knew them at all.

This is very real. I mentioned earlier that you might not know someone is depressed until you know them very, very well or they tell you. And it's true. Be on the lookout for people like Bernard in your own life - from personal experience, they could use someone on their side.

Bonus: No he was legit always that insane. I think this is some A to B shit

"well if my friend won't hire me as a super-manager maybe I'll just prepare for the next time I see a superhero by learning martial arts!" - extremely normal thing to do thank you bernard. that's all folks

[flickering-nightfall]

Watcher Thoughts

Spoilers for everything!

This is a shortened version of a much longer essay where I jotted down all my thoughts about the campaign. This is still pretty long, but hopefully it’s digestible enough.

Gameplay

Loved the initial twist. Was disappointed that we'd have another repeat with the siblings for a second. I love them but after eight campaigns, I was ready for something new. I'm not put off about not having another iterator (yet? I’m not counting Prince) either. It would have been neat, but exploring different stuff instead is good.

Got stuck a couple times, as I didn't understand what I was supposed to do to progress. I had fun exploring the regions, but exploring the majority of the first three with no idea of what to do next was frustrating. It wasn't even about story progression either - I just wanted to see more regions! But region and creature discovery felt very rewarding at least.

Portal placements were pretty wack and regions felt disconnected - you've probably heard it all already at this point. Some improvements like portal markers on the map will help (I'm certain that they'll either add it officially, or someone will make a mod). I avoided playing any region mods before this to keep things fresh, so I have zero context for any of these places. They're certainly very pretty at least.

Story

Droplets forming ripples in the water…? Yes there's a stray pixel in one frame. I made this from a spritesheet, it's not my fault, I swear

Although I would have preferred something different, I respect that the devs wanted to explore new and frankly wild routes. If it were me, I probably would have done a rare working transit system or something. Keep things grounded, group the new regions by theming so that you can at least connect them to each other. (Like Badlands + Rusted Wrecks + Torrid Desert.) I would have liked exploring ideas like scavenger societies or new biome lore instead of... rift walking through time and space madness. But I can't deny it was fun!

I really enjoyed Spinning Top (the echo), I think they’re very funny. I’m not bothered by them being able to move around - Two Sprouts, Twelve Brackets kinda imply they can too, at least enough to watch the tunnels of Subterranean. Maybe it depends on the echo too.

The decision to make a proper, repeated character out of an echo was interesting. Though I’m on the fence about the demystification of echoes and ascension. I do like Spinny’s arc and their story, and it gave me strong feelings to see them finally choose to move forward. I liked what they had to say, in terms of more lore for the ancients, their own character, and also in their final scene. 

Being tethered to the world by the sorrow of realizing you weren't loved in the way you should have been loved. Craving a warmth you can see but never feel again. The concept of peace after long-lived suffering. Able to move on because you had someone at your side, someone who cared enough to keep coming back to you, even if it was just a silent, peeping little creature. It resonated with me.

The purpose of the ending confused me at first. I thought Watcher playing with the toys was an example of their personality, maybe - distant, relatively unaffected by the events that just unfolded. And maybe that’s still true, but the emphasis on the spinning top in the campaign select screen… I’m not sure what yet, but playing with the echo’s namesake, their former beloved toys… there was something there.

I feel weird about Watcher being able to influence the world physically. I thought the point of echoes was that they were ghosts unable to interact with the physical plane. Only able to provide a bit of enlightenment for slugcat with their presence - stuck between one world and the next. Unless it’s all a dream (a trope I dislike and partially assign to Saint anyways), or Watcher is not quite an echo, in which case… hm.

Personally I'm tired of the rot, and I preferred it as a relatable and contained disease, rather than a sentient force that can corrupt worlds across time (and dimensions/timelines?). What they did with it was interesting, at least. You can explain it being Like That™ as a different strain of rot from Pebbles’, or it being because Watcher is a separate continuity. But it’s not about the explanation for me - it’s about the themes.

I enjoyed Prince as a character - I like the way they look, move and speak. But I didn’t get as attached as I could have due to my lukewarm feelings about rot stuff and Watcher’s rift powers in this DLC. Though, due to this campaign, I don’t know if I’ll keep headcanoning voidspawn as a lesser consequence (than echoes) of not being ready for ascension. The "stinging idiots" seem very intent on getting Watcher/echoes to finish crossing over into the next realm.

It seems like they want to portray the void as a force, to which the rot is the antithesis of. Prince spoke of wanting all life to go on forever, never lost - and then a force opposing its own. And it seems like that force may have won. I suppose all things must return to the cycle, or come to an end, eventually…

You can hear a single whispering iterator voice as you walk up to Prince’s puppet for the last time. That voice disappears after the karma flowers take over. Patches of them now bloom across all the regions. But the rot continues to spread! So hm I dunno what’s up with that.

Since they're adding more content later, I feel like they'll probably be character-centric threads too. Spinning Top and the Prince are probably two chapters in a broader anthology. I wonder where they’ll go from here. (Maybe a way I can unrot my save file? Haha.)

Regions

The art direction is great in my opinion. Some regions that stuck out to me:

Badlands (minus the locusts, they should really not see you while you’re invisible). The vibes are immaculate.

Torrid Desert. I usually find desert maps boring, but the sand dunes were a refreshing break from geometric tiling. In general, I really like breaks from the tile-based geometry. The first time I saw a scavenger templar/disciple (don’t remember which one) was a neat moment. I find the implications of those guys existing quite interesting.

Shrouded/Stormy Coast. Something about the warehouse crates and hanging platforms really tickled my fancy. I think the scale of it all, as well as the color provided from the crates, contributed to it feeling so good to me.

Desolate Tract: Conversely to the wavy desert dunes, this place being so flat, not boring due to the uniqueness of that, and backdropped by the wind tunnel really made me curious about this place. I hope they fix the bug that makes your FPS tank here though.

Outer Rim: Rife with secrets, both left and right. The desert portion reminded me of Kingdom Hearts' Keyblade Graveyard. Against all odds the scavengers continue to survive, and like in Torrid Desert they have strange, powered garb. Void-infused clothing? It’s interesting.

Ancient Urban: Even if I'll argue about ancient scaling forever, the actual presentation of this place was amazing. I was eating it all up and now I really want to get around designing my ancient OCs. You think it was named this as a nod to the popularized fandom term? Haha. 

Unfortunate Development: The dead coral corpse of Pebbles 2 electric boogaloo. The void worm is weird and all (is it rot-corrupted or just a faceless facsimile the rot created?), but I enjoyed the environment more. The background was a tesseract-like frame that stretched on seemingly forever. That was what really spooked me.

Brightness and contrast adjusted for viewing ease. Where is your head?

What are Starcatchers? They look iterator-like. Maybe it’s an alternate dimension thing, just as Signal Spires has the pyramid concept art iterators in the background? They could be structures that aren’t iterators, a different build type of them, or an alternate timeline, I guess. Starcatchers probably perform a function related to their name, regardless.

I remember before this DLC, some people interpreted iterator bricks as cylinders instead.

In the files Outer Rim also has a curving sky and a placeholder background where the earth is crumbling at the edge. And it’s literally called Outer Rim. Could also be a floating landmass, or sinking into the void sea, if you wanted to try out some other explanation. But I think that flat planet Rain World theory has some more evidence with this one. (I don’t think I can use flat planet RW for my space-involved AU but it is still interesting)

At the edge of the world...?

Someone (I think it was a reddit comment, I've been brain blasted with so much Watcher stuff that it's all starting to mix together) pointed out that spreading rot in the past doesn’t influence their future versions, so alternate dimensions aren’t out of the question. (Unless all regions are separate places - I wasn’t sure if places like Stormy Coast vs. Shrouded Coast were supposed to be the same or not. Or if the karma flowers kill the rot in the past, only for it to crop up again in the future and die again, but that seems overly convoluted.)

Time and space riftwalking shenanigans were already a lot - timelines/alt dimensions feel like quite a step further. In this case you are not following just the one “thread,” as Spinny puts it.

Final Thoughts

Initially I had a poorer reaction to Watcher's story, but some of it was defensiveness over the tone and headcanons I had come to like about RW and DP. After a few days of it settling in, I find myself warming up to Watcher more. I may have liked something different more, but I can enjoy and appreciate Watcher for what it is. 

If people can differentiate the canons of the DLCs (...it might be a little easier than vanilla vs. DP, because Watcher is so fantastical), I think I can have a fun time with both. 

Speaking of headcanons, giant ancients are pretty inconsistent with a lot of the environmental clues about ancient size, even the new regions within the DLC itself. I’ll post some stuff about it with screenshots and drawings later. 

Here's a couple of them...

I think literal hand puppet iterators are a good reminder that an iterator is more than its puppet. I can really imagine them as a giant machine waving a cute toy on a stick, a form more palatable for their audience. (Although that does make Moon being stuck in the PoV of one feel a little weirder too.) It emphasizes the way ancients likely thought of them as well. The concept is just neat.

However, I don't know if I would have fixated on iterators so hard without seeing puppets as more of a proper body. The superstructure is fantastic - but the puppet avatar makes it easier to identify with them as people and characters. The puppet being completely toylike rather than closer to a body-like vessel makes that a little more difficult. 

For a lot of stuff I’ve already written, especially interactions between ancient and iterator OCs, the size discrepancy is too much. So I just won’t adhere to giant ancients or tiny everything else hahaha

In general I mostly see myself using the snippets of ancient lore, region stuff, new creatures. If possible, I'd like to see what secrets can be uncovered about the new regions. 

I’m not interested in using stuff like the sentient rot when it comes to the continuities I more deeply engage with. My opinions may continue to evolve over time, we’ll see. But these are my thoughts after a few days of processing.

[outofpocketonepiecethoughts]

I love the transfem sanji headcanons and fanarts and fanfictions to pieces, but I think there is something so so important about him being a man who has personally suffered because of patriarchy.

Spoilers for whole cake island, and 3D2Y/marineford, under the cut

I’m sure it’s been said before, but Germa as a culture is patriarchy incarnate. The men of germa are expected to be emotionless killing machines, to the point where the king robbed his son’s of their emotions through genetic experimentation. And it’s not lost on me that Reiju still had her emotions in tact, because in Judge’s eyes women are supposed to be emotional. And Reiju had to spend her life suppressing her emotions in order to be seen as competent, for fear of being seen as just an emotional woman.

And then there’s Sanji. He’s everything Germa culture believes a man couldn’t be. He’s emotional, weak (by their standards), and soft (kind). To Judge, and Germa as a whole, those are very feminine traits, and that’s considered a bad thing. To them, being a man with feminine traits is worse than being a woman, and that’s why Sanji is abused so horribly.

It’s important to me that despite later developing a rough exterior and bad attitude, he retains these traditionally feminine qualities while still being a man.

Now I wanna talk about Kamabakka kingdom. I don’t know if the okama’s are supposed to be trans or if their drag queens or a combination of both, so forgive me if I get something wrong, but the important thing to note is that the second they meet Sanji, they essentially try to forcefem him. I think to them, his natural personality is like the ideal of femininity. Like in germa, Kamabakka kingdom sees Sanji’s emotionality and kindness as feminine traits, but unlike Germa, they see it as a good thing. Germa tried to force Sanji to give up those traits and beat the femininity out of him. Kamabakka kingdom wanted Sanji to embrace those traits but tried to force Sanji to become a woman because of them. And it works for a couple of weeks (until he sees what happened to Luffy in that one funny scene where the makeup literally melts off his face), but he’s not like them. He is not a woman, doesn’t want to be a woman, and doesn’t want to be perceived as a woman. He can love women and know he is not one.

Sanji isn’t a trans woman (canonically, but I absolutely love all the fanart and fics. This little analysis has no bearing on my love of non canon depictions of Sanji as trans). He is however, gender nonconforming in the context of the culture he was born into. I think in that brief time he went along with the okama’s ideas of him being trans, possibly had a lot to do with the doubts germa’s ideals cast on him about his gender identity. Germa taught him being emotional and kind were woman things, so with the Okama’s trying to convince him that he did feel that way, he might start to think, ‘well maybe I am a woman’, but the second he sees something that reminds him of Luffy, all that confusion goes away and he immediately goes, ‘no I am a man’.

Because Luffy doesn’t try to force Sanji into any kind of gendered box because of the traits that so many people he’s known have seen as feminine. Luffy doesn’t try to force him into traditional masculinity or try to force him to become a woman. To Luffy, Sanji’s kindness and emotionality are his best traits, and those traits are not connected to gender at all. Within the strawhats, Sanji has a freedom of gender expression that he didn’t have anywhere else (the baratie didn’t force anything on him but they were all kind of macho men so I don’t think Sanji would have felt super comfortable expressing his full range of emotions).

I think Sanji as a gender nonconforming man, fits better with his character narratively than sanji being transfem. Everything with Germa is a demonstration of how patriarchy is damaging to both men and women and nonbinary people. I think him being a man is very important to his relationship with the strawhats, and how he found acceptance with them as a man with a lot of traditionally feminine traits (in addition to him being emotional and kind, there’s also the fact that he’s a cook and is the only man on the crew to bathe everyday, specifically, he bathes as often as the girls). With the strawhats he is able to express himself fully without fear of judgment or of a label being forced onto him.

I guess my main point is, Sanji is an example of how patriarchy can hurt men, and how deconstructing traditional ideas of gender norms allows people to live more honest and fulfilling lives.

Sidenote 1: Luffy giving Sanji a space for freedom of expression is perfectly in line with his ideals of freedom.

Sidenote 2: Sanji’s sees woman as naturally emotional (a good thing to him) and kind because the only people he knew with thise characteristics besides himself were his mother and sister.

Sidenote 3: I sometimes see transmasc Sanji headcannons, which I love because they fit so well into his story.

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 179 spoilers and thoughts that are like okay i can see where this is going and more below the cut

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i'll get the first thought out of the way rn. i think i do see what they were trying to do now! this ep feels better than the last one!! i'll talk more about that below

right now though i am mostly entertained by HOW MUCH LLOYD LOOKS LIKE A SALESMAN IN THIS EP IN SO MANY PANELS HAHAHAHA

he looks like the

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

the panels in this ep genuinely are really great they're not terribly over the top besides a few and i think thats a good balance,,, i especially like the focus on the chief's reaction to all the changes that are going on in his life now that they have the choice of an alternative method (well,,, choice is said loosely LMFAO)

coming from last episode of lloyd going "oh yeah i love peace im a pacifist :)" to telling the demon kids "hey sometimes. theres people u need to beat up a bit. and people u need to beat up a LOT" and IT MAKES ME SMILE THAT THE KIDS TOOK THAT TO HEART HAHAHA

powerful ass kids. lloyd is teaching the younger generation to Take No Shit and i really like that,,, esp considering all the shit suho had to take in korea asldkjflajskdf

AND THEN WHEN THE VENETOS TRIED TO RAID THE CARRIAGE. HELP

obsessed w the composition of this panel. its nothing like new or clever per se i just really like how it looks , the light that pulls down from lloyd, to javier, to demon guy (I DONT KNOW IF HE HAS A NAME) i just,,, really like. they look like thugs. like bosses u have to fight in a row. ITS FUNNY I LIKE IT. this sequence as a whole was really fun,,,

javier and demon guy explaining that they either piss off or fight, AND THEN LLOYD GOING FROM THE MOST OMINOUS THING YOUVE EVER SEEN TO THE FRIENDLIEST LITTLE SMILE IN THE WORLD. AND OOOH,,, IT'S THE ROUTINE AGAIN,,, HAHAHAHA

like seriously he looks like a fucking car salesman. he's basically selling this whole financing thing he's got planned w the venetos,,,

like when he did the money exchange for goods thing i was like oh,,, he's scheming something with like finances and banking or something like that isn't he,,,,,,, salesman looking ass

ALSO THE NUH UH PANEL FUCKING SENT ME I HAD TO INCLUDE IT HERE

AND WHEN PPODONG KICKS THEM ABOUT AND HE JUST WALKS ON SCREEN AND STANDS THERE IM. the POSE HAHAHAHA you know i had to do it to em lookin ass. GOOFY

genuinely his poses in this ep are so stupid funny i love them sm . recently we've been seeing a lot of his face being Totally Evil Exaggeration or Seriously Going Through It but these goofy ass salesman poses and expressions are SOMETHING ELSE HAHA GOOD CHANGE OF PACE

and it's not like he's forcing their hand he's just stopping their usual avenues, bc he juuust so happens to be working in the area now for magentano,,,, honestly i think he would have put the chief into a corner at some point eventually, but it also seems like lloyd's efforts had also affected other aspects of the chief's life, like his relationship w his family and the other veneto hunters,,, which may have put the chief in the corner early,,, a matter of time, i suppose,,,?

like the chief had a lot of very like remorseful / realization type expressions in this ep, i really liked this one in particular,

and (okay i guess we're diving into the main thoughts now) i think now that i have the context of this ep for the previous week's ep, it kind of paints a picture of what exactly it was the adaptation team was going for. the venetos are prideful and rooted in inconvenient traditional ways, and lloyd's plan is a type of interference that twists that pride one way or another (though i dont think the chief feeling remorse after seeing his wife and child finally being okay with him was a part of lloyds plans LOL)

it,,, makes sense! and while yes it's due to lloyd's interference, it also feels like the chief is making a decision himself here, (in,,, in a way?) (not sure how to explain what i mean by that) like the chief absolutely sees how bad things had gotten under his original policies and outlook, and then saw the immediate change from just... changing the way they acquire goods. i really liked watching that happen, and it helps characterize him as someone who is so incredibly stubborn but really wants the best for his people, and the best he had known at that point was what they had done all this time.

this does makes me wish that ep 178 was handled with a lot more tact and awareness of what they are setting up for. i think if ep 178 had a similar tone as ep 179, it would have been received a bit better, maybe,,, of course i wouldn't know for sure, and i'm not sure how i'd rewrite it myself, but i think 179 handles the line between moments of thought and moments of gags a lot better than 178 (if that makes any sense). because of this, the chief in 179 feels different than the chief in 178,,, i would feel better about 179 showing his redemption process if 178 had been handled with just a bit more care. i don't think we needed to see a man bully/verbally abuse his family to show that the venetos are traditional in a detrimental way,,, while also nearly presenting everyone as a gag at that? man idk,,,

i'm not entirely sure still, maybe i'm just being sensitive or something, but regardless (and again), 179 feels a lot better than 178 so i'm really hoping this arc finishes strong,,,

anyway serious thoughts aside! WHEN LLOYD PULLED OUT THE CONTRACT I KNEW IT WAS OVER LLOYD HAD WON ALDKFJSDFHHAHAAAAA

ohhhh the signing,,, it's binding~ you're stuck now!! HAHA

AND THE REVEAL OF IT BEING LIKE. A FINANCING BANKING THING AFTER ALL I AM BOTH APALLED IN A /LH WAY AND HAPPY BC I FIGURED IT OUT BASED ON WHAT LLOYD WAS DOING HAHAHAHA

like wow. lloyd u r about to toss these people into the throes of capitalism . good job, i think,,,??? honestly it makes sense that lloyd would know how this works or how to do this considering all the financial trouble he faced in korea

NO WONDER HE LOOKED LIKE A SALESMAN IN ALL THESE PANELS TOO. HE'S A BANKER GUY IN THIS EP LAKDJFLSKJDFH god i hate him /aff wonder what his next step in the plan is,,, cause. how will this possibly get the venetos to do the job of keeping charge of the mountain railroad stuff??? like will they be more inclined to work to like pay off the bank stuff? <- does not know how banks and loans work

that's all for now,,, i am excited and hoping the next ep will keep going back up!!!

[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!

[ongreenergrasses]

SOTR SPOILERS BELOW

While I found the scene with Snow sick as a dog and begging for milk absurdly funny to read, it was also very unrealistic for him to just openly tell a 16 year old tribute he poisoned someone? Idk maybe benefit of the doubt he was intimidating Haymitch to make it clear he wasn't going to survive the arena.

HOWEVER, I thought the poisoning his enemies and taking an antidote that gets less effective each time (leading to the mouth sores) was something Finnick found out for the rebellion while he was being trafficked? Like it was the main thing he shared he had learned from clients when he did that propo. But Finnick didn't even win until 15 years after sotr so the timeline is just kind of fucked now 🤷‍♀️

EXCELLENT point anon and one I have not seen discussed…

I guess maybe one could argue that Haymitch and some of the other rebels knew about Snow poisoning his enemies before, as well as the Capitol people Finnick got the information from, but it wasn’t general knowledge, and that’s why Finnick disclosed it in that context? to show the ugliness of Snow and the Capitol and how he’s actually held power for so long to the general population? but that also doesn’t really hold up so well, because if the rebels already knew that, I feel like they’d redirect Finnick and try and get him to obtain information they didn’t already have, and then he would’ve shared that instead. that would just be more useful to them.

it also weakens the trilogy in another way because like. if Snow’s that sick at the 50th Games from all the poisoning, how on earth is he going to make it another 25 years? things only become more tumultuous over that time period, he’s most likely poisoning even more people, how is he going to survive that? the whole thing is just a very surface nod to the trilogy that ends up fucking with the overall timeline and is another point that makes me just see sotr as rushed and ill conceived.

[the-necromancer-wife]

John Doe: Nothing scarier than the detriment of mental health.

TW: Adressing mental health issues and awareness, Spoilers for John Doe game, very long rant.

As the title suggests, I'm sharing my take on this horromance visual novel called John Doe. This was supposed to be only one of those super deep analysis i usually make, looking for symbolisms and deep diving into this game but it quickly turned out to be something slightly different. I will try to adress it with all the respect it deserves.

Origin of the name:

I started thinking about this game for a while now. I was curious on what the name "John Doe" meant in this context. As the guy doesn't really seems able to pronounce his own name in a way we can comprehend or it's kinda infohazardous to hear. So he just asks you to call him "John Doe".

But where did we heard that before?

Funnily enough, John Doe is what we known as a placeholder name used (i think only) in the UK. The feminine equivalent being "Jane Doe", it is a name commonly used for referring to people which name is unknown or intentionally concealed. Of course there are many variations of this placeholder name and in the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often used to refer to a corpse whose identity is unknown or cannot be confirmed.

A "John Doe" is what in some countries is called an everyman. A John Doe could be me, you, or whatever person we can think about, it comprehends any age or gender. It's the idea of "everyone can be anything". Of course, the everyman archetype is often used in media to portray a character we can all relate to.

Although the usage became obsolete in the UK in 1852, in the UK usage of "John Doe" survives mainly in the form of John Doe injunction or John Doe order.

8.02 If an unknown person has possession of the confidential personal information and is threatening to disclose it, a 'John Doe' injunction may be sought against that person. The first time this form of injunction was used since 1852 in the United Kingdom was in 2005 when lawyers acting for JK Rowling and her publishers obtained an interim order against an unidentified person who had offered to sell chapters of a stolen copy of an unpublished Harry Potter novel to the media.

("The Law of Professional-Client Confidentiality: Regulating the Disclosure of Confidential Personal Information, Update")

There's something we can keep from all this and is the fact that John Doe didn't chose a random nickname, he chose THE nickname, the name that would place him as any of us since, at some point, we could all end up being "John Doe"s and "Jane Doe"s or unfortunately, "Baby Doe"s (yes, this one is for children). And i think this right here delivers a strong message. But more on that later.

We begin this game with really weird imagery. The "backgrounds" are not what we would expect on a visual novel. It kinda reminds me of this viral "name a thing in this picture" image.

Like...you know these are stuff you know and see everyday, yet you cannot name any of them. It's like your perception is altered when you look at it and suddenly everything looks...familiar...but you cannot really identify anything. You feel...disconnected. You know your brain should be doing its job and placing everything together to help you recognize the full picture...but it just fails in doing so. So you just stay there, scratching your head and wondering what happened.

And this exact vibe is transmited by the backgrounds in this game.

And here in the second image we get a glimpse on the MC: Wakes up late, hasn't showered in three days and overall has this distorted vision of the world around her. And she is, oh so forgetful, according to John Doe. As she "forgets" she invited him to her home in the first place.

There is clearly something wrong with the MC, or at least something is not working for her. And i don't mean it in a quirky or funny way, i mean it as in "mental health related issues". The game doesn't tell us why, but I'm pretty sure MC suffers from depression.

Everything listed earlier are things that happen when your brain functions with depression: Cognitive detriment (You aren't quite aware of your surroundings as you know what you see but your brain cannot really "decode" what are those things), waking up late (as this could indicate an irregular sleep schedule, another very common thing for depressed people), poor personal hygiene (i think this one is the most known) and memory related issues.

But every single one of those symptoms by itself is really not an indicator of a depressed state. In fact, as it also happens with anxiety, you need to make a distinction between a depressed state due to a specific event and long term depression, the later caused by stacks of unsolved issues, non-adressed trauma and lack of skills to ensure mental wellbeing. I believe the MC suffers from this long term depression, as she feels life passes by as an endless loop.

Same day, same routine. And this right here is the premise of John Doe (the game). The day repeating itself over and over. The "wake up, go to work, I'm not hungry, go home, sleep (or don't)". She doesn't laments her situation directly, but this also happens a lot with depression. You don't "feel it", it "makes you feel".

And there is someone else in this loop, stuck with the MC. That is, John Doe himself. I think John Doe encapsules pretty well the concept of "what if".

What if i behaved in certain way, what if i did this, what if i didn't do that. He never loses interest in you. As i heard someone mention somewhere, his "Lost interest" ending is just him leaving you be just beacuse he knows things can be different in the next playthrough. Doe begings thinking that there's a combination of choices that will lead you two to be toghether in a way that pleases him.

As it happens with depression, none of them are focusing on "breaking the loop". And as a fun fact, usually a person doesn't see an exit to their problems not because there is no solution, but because they keep trying the same old solutions over and over.

John Doe does his best. At some point he passes the question "what if everything was normal?"

And this is what we begin to see:

"What if everything was normal"

"What if everything was fine"

This time, the MC has a decent schedule, she seems to be able to see her enviroment clearly and the way she perceives John Doe is not altered. I think this also reflects something among the lines of "When you feel like shit and the world doesn't makes sense, it's hard to focus on any kind of relationship" Often the social isolation becomes something usual in the context of depression and interacting with the people around starts to feel...scary, very much like John Doe and the faces he makes and the way he approaches us. But MC is not depressed this time and he is a "nice guy" this time. He should be accepted, he should be "loved".

I'm getting out of the analysis for a moment to involve a personal experience, to share a piece of myself.

Some years ago i was really in love with this person. I lacked the confidence and hated myself too much and that made me think this person wouldn't remotely like me back if i didn't craft myself carefully like his ideal type. What i believed he would like based on what i knew about him. So i changed. And it felt good at first, because the love i felt for this person was so big that everything else was literally a small price to pay to be by his side. We became a couple and lasted for a long time, but one day i woke up and i didn't recognize myself as a person. I hated myself for being myself.

The truth is, John Doe's story could be anyone's story at some point. That's why his name is literally a placeholder name. The MC's story could also be anyone's story, our story, since we are the MCs after all.

The idea that stuck with me was "Anyone could be this person".

We don't know who lives in a metaphorical endless loop, who lives in a constant depressed state, who is struggling with self-esteem. We don't know. And seeing it from this perspective, it seems like everything that happens is out of our control. That when we're depressed we have nothing more than this. There's nothing else we can do.

But that's when we're wrong.

There's a single thing in the game that seemingly has no effect but personally i like to interpret it as life giving us the ability to choose. Whe can choose to get a bath or not, meaning the personal hygiene is something we do have under control. It is not everything, but it's a start. From all the things listed before that made me think MC was depressed, "getting a bath or not" was the only instance in which we had a choice. If you don't choose it today (as sometimes depressed people don't have the strength to care about that), there is always a tomorrow. But if you do choose it today, that's something meaningful by its own.

And also, we have the fact that our words and actions matter a lot to others.

We matter a lot to others. We make a difference, at least for one person. And anyone could be this person.

...

Soooo if you notice this analysis is a bit more unorganized than others, that's because i didn't have a structure for it. It is more of a personal rant than an essay. But i like to keep it that way. Remember this is just my personal interpretation of the game.

Oh and also I'm planning to make a tag list in case there's people that want to be notified when i post this kind of stuff? Just let me know if there's anyone interested.

[hug-them-trees]

My incomplete thoughts on the DDBA premiere (and spoilers so do not read if you haven’t seen it)

First, the obvious CGI of the bullseye fight scene made me feel a little icky and I felt like it took away from the gravity of the situation almost? Like I know Matt swings around and shit in the comics but it doesn’t feel *real* the way the Daredevil I know and love does. I hope they go back to a bit more of the practical effects over CGI in the future or at least make the CGI feel more real lmao.

Second, Foggy’s death felt soooo sudden. Also not real. I think I was just in shock the entire time, no tears or nothing which is not very typical of me. The score is usually what sells these kinds of scenes and I didn’t feel that here. I don’t know if this was intentional or not, and I’ve seen several people here pointing out that Foggy faked his death in the comics, which I’m hoping is the case here because if it’s not they’re kind of doing him dirty.

Third, Fisk felt a lot less Fisky? Like it seems like he’s a different person almost even though Vincent is still playing him. Some of his mannerisms are the same but a lot feels like it’s changed and I feel like that HAS to be intentional, I just don’t know where it’s going just yet.

Fourth, it absolutely makes sense to me that Matt stopped being daredevil after foggy dies. Foggy has never liked Matt’s so called other life, so part of it is to honor him in that sense. But Matt also definitely feels at fault for foggy getting killed, because if he hadn’t gone chasing after bullseye blindly he would have been there with foggy when bullseye showed up. So yeah, combo of those two things means in his grief Matt is absolutely going to hang up the mantle, and every time he thinks about doing it again another wave of grief washes over him and stops him.

Fifth, they never explain how Fisk got out of prison. Idk if this is coming later or what, but in Hawkeye and echo he just shows up and here all that’s mentioned is the fact that Maya shot him and that he remembers the deal from s3. That deal also involved Fisk staying in prison for the rest of his life so someone has to explain what happened or I am Losing it.

Sixth, Karen looked gooood like goddamn those curtain bangs really suit her. Also her leaving to go to San Francisco makes sense in the context that Matt basically shut her out in the weeks after foggys death and she still hasn’t forgiven him for that. And if the tumblr girlies are right and foggy is faking his death then it also makes sense that she would know and is avoiding Matt bc of it.

Seventh, idk how to feel about the BB report interludes, like her as a character and the media with which she operates makes a lot of sense to me but the way they so suddenly put them in there feels a little weird but also it feels like it has to be leading up to something. Also that boy never gave BB her phone back did anyone else notice this???

Eighth, the END of episode 2 had to be my favorite part because we are so back babey. The sass with which mans says “I’m visually impaired id love to help” is so funny to me. I’m also so curious to see what happens when these cops see him in court again because the blind lawyer just beat their asses but can they say anything about it cuz then they’d have to admit they were trying to kill Nicky and Matt and also nobody would believe them lmao

I did like the second episode quite a lot more than the first, and I do think overall the show has potential and I will definitely be watching the rest of the episodes. I’m excited to see Muse (who may or may not be that one dude at the book signing? Anyone?) and also see Matt beat up more people hehe

[sleeping-archivist]

my reactions to tmagp ep 36 (w/ spoilers) below the cut:

episode:

y’all i am so tired this morning. i feel like that one lady from the insomnia spiral ep. “sleep is overrated” fr

as much as i dislike celia and her secret keeping nonsense, i do feel bad for her :(

“you look enif” alice i love you sm <3

ooh magic shop perfume. i love alice and the crumbs of characterization we get every episode

“it’s about time i did” well yes!! correct!!

ok so alice thinks the other dimension is causing all the cases in this dimension?

i’m gonna have to do research on alchemy aren’t i… i desperately need context

“we know it’s evil and anything it spits out is the same” so… celia? that’s not something you want to hear lol

hi norris!!

the real horror of the episode. generative AI

have we heard the name Elric Capital before?

lonely 👀 ☁️ being read by norris, no less

oh this is very cool. “glitchy, surreal, and isolating”… i see you

this is giving like. the lonely and the stranger. it’s obviously not the same fears as the tma universe but for lack of a different classification system, that’s what it’s reminding me of

a peach??

oh!! so this is fucked up. me when my computer eats my door

interesting sequence of episodes… last week the guy worshipped bonzo and this week the guy prays to the booth mk2

if this is what’s happened to colin 😭

ok but randall made it through. that’s the most important part

“quick delivery and solid packaging” is really funny to me

gwen!! love u

i also have no clue what she’s saying, i fear… gwen and i are the same

an ep about isolation and then gwen asks for help <3 love it

hoping someone has explained this DPHW by the time i’m done with this ep… i do not understand

more bonzo. i’m tired of bonzo, i do not want to play

georgie!!!!

oh so they were at the netflix profile stage :(

he has NOT moved on to somewhere better

“blame an ex” crazy take from georgie, ex of the archivist…

“it’s just a job, right?” oh girl, if only

thoughts:

really liked this week’s case, big fan of the isolation themes in both the case and in the office

still waiting for needles’s triumphant return…

i think we’re getting closer to a classification system for these cases tho, with the DPHW stuff. very interesting

ok wait i checked ep 35’s transcript and the rehabilitation initiative was Elric as well?? so that’s definitely a Thing happening. Elric Rehabilitation Initiative taking an interest in the bondo butcher as a “perfect candidate” and then Elric Capital Ltd. funding Booth. connecting some dots here…

[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.