#sorry for the incoherent rambling lol

[chiricat]

ryomina demons are winning

[assassin-artist]

So now I have to ask, how does Marcy handle the events of the latest episode?

Hrm.... lots to ponder.

Firstly, I think we're still just dealing with evil Invincibles, no evil Mercy's to be found.

You know how it's stated that Mark is good in one universe (our universe in the show) but is almost always evil in every other universe? I think it would be the opposite for Ellie - she's bad in one universe (bad end au), but in every other universe she would have opposed Viltrum/evil Mark. Which means, most likely, that in every other universe... she would have to be dead.

She always stood against her father when he tried to take over earth, she always stood against Mark when he decided to join him. Fighting against her father the first time was enough to nearly kill her, but add Mark into the mix? She's gone.

When the Mark variants talked about missing people from their lives (such as mom and William), I think they'd have mentioned missing Ellie too. Maybe a couple of the variants wouldn't want to fight her because they were glad to see her alive again or something? Like how Masked Mark wanted to take this universe's Debbie back home with him because he missed her? Of course, not all of them, there are a few (cough cough, sinister, mohawk, and viltrum marks) who either don't care about seeing her again or probably killed her in their own worlds and would gladly do it again.

But anyway. All of that to say, I think both the evil Marks and good Ellie would pause at the idea of fighting each other. Mark can fight himself no biggie because that's his face doing those bad things - but Ellie? That's her brother. He may be evil and he may be from an alternate dimension, but that's still her brother. It's his voice taunting her, his face twisted into an expression of pain, his eyes looking up at her in rage, and his blood spilling through his fingers when she kills him.

Donald stated that the copies weren't as strong as main universe Mark, and I stated before that I think Ellie would be stronger than Mark because she spends a lot more time in training than he does. So I think she could still beat one or two of them, and she would. She's a loyal GDA agent, she's out there as soon as Cecil heard about something going down at the penitentiary prison. She's following orders and going where she's told to go.

I think she could kill one or two of the variants (and leave herself with nightmares and guilt that will last a lifetime) before they all regroup back at the family home. It's a tough battle and she needs the help of other heroes for it, but it can be done. She does everything in her power to protect the people around her.

And then Conquest showing up at the end.... woof.

[cnl0400]

If you're really attached to the original (especially to the ship of Betty x Armando) you're not going to enjoy tbh. I watched It with Zero expectations and while I think It has fun moments, it's a disservice to it's original counterpart.

They killed a lot of important characters (one who I'm still mad about. Idk If you have seen spoilers but If you know, you'll understand) and most new characters aren't that memorable tbh. The new villain (Ignacio, Daniel's replacement basically) it's so boring, the most lame antagonist they could came up by, I'm sorry but he hasn't the threatening aura Daniel had. Esteban (Armando "love" rival) has no chemistry with Betty, generic nice guy but doesn't have a lot going on. I hate Mila, I didn't enjoy her character at all and tbh I think this character was the worst addition to the series.

The series it's more comedic and the tension of the original isn't there (so don't expect scenes like Betty handing over the real balance sheet, or Betty writting in her diary... Oh, that infamous diary). Personally, the comedy isn't that bad, I think Patricia storyline was funny, also Hugo Is still kind of funny. Ep 7 & 8 were good but the rest was eh.

Despite it's faults, I don't think it's that bad, but tbh it's a real downgrade from the original and I wouldn' rewatch It... But It ends in a cliffhanger and a S2 Is already confirmed... So I Guess I'll be watching that, just to see what happens next

Finished the S2 of YSBLF2, I think it's sad that there's not even a mention of Catalina Angel, a character that was so important to Betty's development in the original... The Cataluña throwback feels shallow just for that reason

[1ndigoaway]

Is it just me who sees a parallel between Jame Eagan and powerful men like Elon Musk? Since in the finale Jame told Helly that he’s sired multiple children to try and find one with the same soul as Kier, he could have potentially dozens of children in the world all in the name of ideology.

Elon is similar, just replace Kier with fascism and white supremacy, him choosing ivf so he can select the sex of the foetus, despite pushing the idea of the importance of the nuclear family, his ‘family’ can’t be described as ‘traditional’.

Despite this, under patriarchy it was and is expected for powerful men to go out and sow their wild oats, it was expected and normalised for Kings to have bastards, and particularly these ideas do transcend to the modern day, to cishet men in particular regardless of class. How many times do we see men wanting to have children purely to carry on the family name (even if it’s a common last name like Smith) or legacy, these reasons are selfish but only furthers the idea of being important=continuing your genetic legacy. There’s a reason why the fact that Genghis Khan has over 16 million living descendants is seen as a ‘fun fact’ and not a consequence of the death, rape and destruction that he caused.

Going back to Jame, I’m assuming that in season 3 there’s the potential for Jame’s bastards to be further discussed, surely it’s not a coincidence that Gemma was scouted from the fertility clinic? Based on his age I’d assume that he’s also using IVF/surrogacy, there is also the possibility of him unconsenually using eggs from the clinic or even using innies as surrogates even if their outies are unaware, like how in season 1 the news report discusses a woman finding out that her innie got pregnant without her knowledge, the theme of pregnancy is too present for it to not go anywhere.

Although the Eagan family tree seems quite linear, it’s clear that it’s a lot messier than what appearances would suggest. What if ‘we’re all children of Kier’ isn’t corporate speak but is more literal than we think?

[lockandkeyhyena]

i stand by the hate for mspec gays/lesbians being at least partially respectability politics. i’ve seen the argument so many times that ‘oh its giving the cishets the excuse that gays/lesbians can be attracted to the men/women and so is going to make it so that lesbians/gays who would never be attracted to them are forced to have sex with them’ and like… no is a full sentence. you can say that you personally are a gay who would never be attracted to a certain gender. and that’s extremely valid. no lgbt person is forcing you to be attracted to a gender you don’t want to be. they’re just saying they they personally identify a certain way

[monodramatic-cannibal]

I LOVE DOG CODED CROSS TOO! I always see him as that dog that survived so much and now that he can rest and receive affection, he doesn't know how to let his guard down, how to know which hand will be gentle and which will be aggressive. I like his silly side too, but THIS side, he's just very special to me.

PLEASE TALK MORE ABOU HIM

Losing my mind rn. Cross to me has neglected shelter dog rizz, he just wants to sit on the couch and watch tv with someone. Is that too much for him to ask. (Also this is going to be all over the place, me just throwing thoughts out there to see what sticks. Also me talking about this can be taken romantic or platonic routes, I don't mind how anyone sees it. Also throwing in a bit of weapon coded Cross in there as a treat.)

I love the concept of feral dog coded turning into guard dog coded. Like Cross has been through so much, I think he deserves to bite people. As a treat.

I know Cross has canon fangs, but I also like to imagine he has claws too. Just I want him to be sharp. Also this is OOC, but I don't care I'm having fun.

____

I imagine Cross has a very specific type of fear he shows, it's the equivalent of a cornered pray animal that has nowhere to go and nothing to do but fight for his life.

Given all that has happened to him, especially later on into his life, him becoming like a fighting dog to protect himself. Being alert and lashing, snarling, clawing at anything that moves too quickly or is too loud. Not even trusting those who approach slowly and quietly, seeing them as people who want something from him or assuming they only want to get close to him to hurt him. Which leads him to especially snap at those people, wanting to hurt those that get too close.

He's basically become a walking weapon, something sharp that stabs and slashes, tears and scratches. Now wondering around without anyone to wield him as a weapon. Now having no use, no purpose.

____

(me talking about a build up of someone trying to get to know Cross)

Him not knowing why someone would approach him, being so confused when they don't make an effort to come too close, the other quietly sitting down a bit away from him trying to show they're not a threat, while also giving Cross his space. Cross not liking this and walking away every time, but this other person is persistent.

The other slowly starting to talk after the first few times in a soft tone, telling Cross about themselves, not worrying if Cross is even listening. Just wanting him to get used to their voice and company.

After a while the other starts to give Cross little offerings, such as food or ways to entertain him, trying to inch Cross closer with each coming day. Cross would lash out at these gifts at first, thinking they'd expect something in return, or seeing these gifts as a threat, like what happens if the food is poisoned, he wasn't about to take that chance. Him lashing out throwing things back, snarling and hissing. Him even daring to get close enough to try to take a swipe at the other. But after the other offers him chocolate he just can't resist but have it. Slowly opening up to the idea of their gifts.

Asking the other what the point of all this is. And the other just smiling at him. Looking at him like he means something to the world again. And he wants to cry, he wants to scream and lash out. But all he can do is stare back for a few seconds before fleeing away. The look scaring him half to death. How can someone look at him like that. With so much kindness, no malice, don't they know the things he's done, he's tried to hurt them. And yet they still looked at him like that.

After a while of this back and forth of spending time with Cross and giving him things now and then Cross will start to sit closer, just over an arm's length away, shooting the other unsure glances always having his body angled in such a way he can defend himself if needed.

The other person one day lifting and offering their hand to Cross. Doing a little bit too quickly for Cross's taste leading to him lashing out at the hand, digging his claws into their wrist and latching his teeth onto the hand.

Which 100% would lead into the story you wrote of Cross biting. (I love that short story sm, once I found it I couldn't stop going back and reading it over and over again).

____

Him now realizing he may have someone he can trust, he's hurt them a lot and yet they've continued to work with him. Him now realizing he can at least trust their touch, even if its only for short periods of time. Them always offering up their hand and him always reluctantly shoving his head into their palm, closing his eyes tight and nuzzling, sometimes a light whine coming from him. Always nuzzling the hand, the hand that now has a permanent mark of his worry and anger. But the other always uses their thumb to softly rub his cheek to comfort him.

It would take him a while to get closer than the arm's length, only being able to do it minutes at a time any longer, and he'd start to panic, still being unsure on letting himself fully trust the other.

Just him not being able to process any of the kindness given to him. It's something now foreign to him, he still has his moments where he gets too anxiety ridden and lashes, but he's quick to back himself up to shoot the other sympathetic glances and whines.

Then one day it's like a switch got flipped in his head, he's quick to approach the other on their next visit to him, waiting for them to sit before he sits next to them then suddenly leans his head on them, shoving himself into them in an effort to get any sort of attention, either it be positive or negative, he didn't care at that moment in time.

He doesn't know what to think of this feeling, but also doesn't want it to go. Unsure if all of it will be taken away from him. But then quickly realizing he doesn't want this feeling to go, so clings and claws at the other in a desperate attempt to get them to stay.

A sort of 'bite the hand that feeds' sort of situation as he is still unsure on what any of it means so cannot process the kindness given to him as kindness. He's still partly stuck in the mindset that the other must want something. But all the other does is softly pet the back of his skull, quietly talking to him, trying to comfort him. Something in him breaks, and he becomes a sobbing mess. shuddering and whining. Being physically unable to control his emotions, now understanding the other is here for him not for anything else.

____

The other has dedicated so much time to befriending Cross that they now have a very loyal guard dog that wants to go everywhere with them, always at their side like a thorn in skin.

He's devoted to them, and craves any sort of praise or physical affection from them. Despite all the work put into him, there's still such a long way to go with him. He will still sometimes go on edge when the other moves too quickly. Or he's too nervous to get attention most of the time out of fear of upsetting them or coming across as too needy.

Seems like the type of guy to shake/shiver if the other was to touch him, either it be out of anticipation of waiting for the other to hurt him in some way, or finally getting the softness and validation he craves. Him quietly hanging out in the same room as the other person, giving them side glaces. Wanting to approach but being unsure, but deciding a possible reward outweighs the risk and just walking over looking like a kicked puppy. Settling himself down next to the other and resting his head on them eyes closes, praying that he will receive a soft touch rather than a hit.

I'd also like to think, despite all the trust and work, he will always still bite and scratch, but it won't nearly be as bad, more so a warning nip of his teeth, a light warning telling the other how fragile this trust is.

Cross now finding a purpose with this person, even if he sees his purpose in an unhealthy light, seeing himself as a weapon for this person to use as they please. He will always need work and praise, he will always need someone to tell him he isn't a weapon.

____

oh whoops wrote a bit there.

I don't know if any of this can be seen as dog coded, but I did attempt to write it as such. Also I'm not much of a writer so forgive my style of writing.

[rysnscommand]

How was kaladin your asexual awakening?

Fun story!!

I was in college and one of my only guy friends started dating this girl. And they were super mushy and disgusting and I hated it because we would hang out all the time and then after they started dating I had to deal with them flirting constantly. And not realizing that I was romance/sex repulsed I was like. Ok am I jealous?? Do I like this guy?? No he smells like feet. Ew. Ok why am I so mad. And well maybe that wasn't directly related to being asexual but STILL when Oathbringer came out and Kaladin reacted Like That to Adolin and Shallan dating and was like "wait. Shallan is like a brother to me" at the end. And I read a post about how Kaladin was so aro for that. and i was like WAIT. WAIT A SECOND--

I knew about aro and ace people for like eight years prior to that. But that was the first time it registered that oh thats ME. So thank you Kaladin Stormblessed aroace icon of all time.

[kohubohu]

About Minthara's break up dialogue

(TLDR at the end)

My biggest fantasy would be Larian bringing it back reworked in patch 7 because it actively gave her the best reaction to rejecting Bhaal out of the entire party and it's such a good moment to give her more character development.

Tbh, I was never really mad at the dialogue existing in itself. It's just that it felt poorly executed and very incomplete, and it's annoying to think that they just removed it (it was bugged anyway, but you know), when there are multiple ways in which it could have been fixed, depending on if you consider the break up out of character or not.

Take 1: Her reason for breaking up is not OOC.

It's less that I'm mad about the dialogue itself, and more that I'm mad that you, as the player, are forced to stay kinda silent and powerless about it.

You know, I personally see rejecting Bhaal as a matter of regaining agency over your own person and your destiny rather than choosing the "good" path. My durge personally isn't good, and she'd still reject Bhaal to get her freedom back. When you think about it, it should resonate with Minthara due to her backstory with Lolth and the Absolute, but you know, we're all at risk of being hypocritical sometimes, especially in high pressure situation like these, so I don't necessarily see her reaction as being automatically OOC.

But if Larian were/are 100% set on going down that path for her, please at least give the player choices other than downplaying her anger or begging her to stay with you.

Downplaying her anger just feels shitty to me. She's absolutely right about being angry over the situation (for multiple reasons I'll explain in the alternative take). I've seen a few people commenting on my video about the break up on how she should be relieved instead of angry, and like... it's not a Karlach situation, you got resuscitated in front of her eyes by Withers. She would at least be fucking mad at you for doing that whole stunt lol.

Alternatively, begging her to stay with you just doesn't sit right with me. Like, idk, if my SO got mad and broke up with me for wanting to be free from a parent's toxic influence and control over the vague promise of maybe earning something from them but probably not, I'd 100% not want to be with them anymore lol.

Let's not even take her hypocrisy into account, it's not as if something bad would have happened to her if you rejected Bhaal (whereas accepting Bhaal just makes her a convenient breeding machine in his plan, and just sets her up into another abusive relationship where she's always at risk of being discarded anyway) (and you really don't want my opinion on that)

Her anger, when laid out and explained that way, just gives me the impression Durge is getting used to gain status and power, which is even worse considering you get her alurlssrin dialogue 10-15 minutes before the break up, which in turn kinda goes against the fact that her devotion/tenderness/love is a good chunk of her character development and cheapens literally everything surrounding her romance. It basically goes back to "minthara is a drow and therefore evil" and just goes back to unidimensional evil woman concept.

But you know, if they really wanted to punish you for rejecting Bhaal, the least they could do is to let the player call her out on that, or give them the opportunity to say the break up is mutual because what she just said is pretty fucking shitty, especially coming from her. Like, I personally wouldn't want to be with someone who want me to stay stuck in a toxic relationship, and being forced to make that choice is infuriating.

Take 2: Her reason for breaking up is OOC.

Or more accurately, there is more to the dialogue/situation than meets the eyes but Larian just kinda started something without finishing it.

Lots of people consider the dialogue as being OOC because she keeps touting Durge as being the heir of such a powerful god and is mad over the fact that they gave up the power Bhaal promised them, when she is vocally critical about gods and cults many times over the course of the game.

She clearly hates Lolth and the Absolute, calls Lolth's and Bhaal's followers victims. She disapproves of you praying to any god in act 3 (especially Lolth, which gives you -5 approval instead of -1) and will criticize you/your worship if you're a cleric. She encourages Gale to free himself of Mystra (or go against her orders) and assures him he doesn't need her, that gods need you to think you need them, just like the absolute. She says that Shadowheart freeing herself of Shar's influence is at least a bit of comfort after killing her parents, and encourages Shadowheart to get vengeance from Shar when she learns the truth from Aylin. She's outright ectastic when defeating Gortash, because they're "defying divinity" by killing the gods' chosen, and seems kinda, idk, smug? over the fact that so many gods seek the one thing they are in possession of.

However, there are a few moments (other than rejecting Bhaal) where she'll be pissed at you for going against the gods. She chastises Lae'zel if she rejects Vlaakith and calls it a "childish rebellion", and approves of her if she kills Voss instead, because she should know better than to anger a god. She criticize the player/the party (if you play as Shadowheart) for holding Shadowheart back from her destiny directly after sparing Aylin, and will tell Shadowheart that Shar was right for punishing her for it. That's basically the closest equivalent we have to Durge rejecting Bhaal. So like.... It could be because of power after all...?

But when you look into it: Minthara doesn't even hold it that hard against you when Shadowheart gives up power, hell, in every case she never even holds it against Shadowheart at all, going as far as blaming herself for holding Shadowheart back, when playing as her origin. And she just let go of the matter after Shadowheart learns the truth from Aylin, and switches to advising her to seek vengeance.

With the exception of Durge's and Shart's situation, it really boils down to really not wanting to be on some god's bad side. Why would Lae'zel want to screw up their plan when she could just.... shut up and follow the rules? Better tip-toeing around all powerful beings than pissing them off because you heard a *maybe* very real rumor about them.

And that's the thing about Minthara: we're talking about a character who just started their religious deconversion, after spending their whole life, not only as a member, but as a high ranking figure of the cult. And considering Lolth is very real in the setting and is very proactive when it comes to testing and punishing her followers, it's only natural for Minthara to still default to trying not piss off a god. She literally spent 200+ years with no choice BUT to hold herself to Lolth's standard, dedicating her whole being to her, while having to witness other people being punished for crossing Lolth more than a few times. Deconverting is already a hard thing to do, taking years, if not decades, but when you live in a world were divine retribution is a very real thing, I assume it's an even harder thing to do.

You can even add more layers to the situation, or like, go for different interpretations, cause you didn't just piss off a god and gave up the power and status that he promised (even if the bargain is shit and won't end well and will doom everyone, like Minthara isn't planning that far ahead, and she's still convinced it's just something you can just... take control of if you make the effort lol). Add to that the stress of facing Orin and dealing against a big ass cult. The fact that you're romancing her, like, girly already had to kill her first girlfriend against her will, this time she's not even the cause of it but she still can't even do anything against it, and that death looks real fucking painful and she can't even try to make Durge feel better by whispering words of comfort or anything, and she's surrounded by other people, and idk, due to how things are in Menzoberranzan, I don't think she'd let herself be sad in the moment anyway, no matter how deep it cuts. Also, you know, she seems to be pretty preoccupied about her death and mortality in general (due to the fact that her soul will either go back to Lolth, or end up wandering in the fugue plane, I assume), so seeing you not only escape death that easily, but being resuscitated by a fucking god, when she's pretty sure no gods would extend the same grace to her, would probably be pretty upsetting. I know I'd be seething lol

So, to me, having her blowing a fuse because of any of those things would make the whole scolding feel a lot less hard to swallow without dumbing her character down? Hell, even in that case she would still yell at you about how you turned down power. Girly wouldn't let herself be that vulnerable in front of the whole party, so of course she'd blow up over the shallowest reason. You could literally have a follow up dialogue, explaining her reaction and resolving the whole situation. Larian gets to keep the first dialogue, Minthara gets to have character development, and you get more Minthara content and balm for the scolding you got as the player.

TLDR

It's less that it's OOC, and more that the dialogue feels like the start of an unfinished idea.

Minthara is the representation of an emotionally constipated boomer dad who just randomly drops traumatizing lore about themselves while trying to make a joke without even realizing what they went through was trauma. Of course it's gonna sound like angry hot garbage when she's trying to explain herself the first time. Let her think about it for a while and she'll get back to you.

Literally, due to her personal backstory and ongoing deconversion, it wouldn't be that far fetched to say that you telling Bhaal (a god) to go fuck himself (which makes him real angry) because you (his child) don't want to become his chosen (with the powers that comes with it), even if he's the only reason you've been born and becoming his chosen was basically the plan from the start (so it's basically your life's duty), which results in you (Minthara's only person of trust and SO) dying a pretty painful death (it's not the first time she's had to see a lover dying in front of her) just after having killed orin (the whole ordeal being very stressful to Minthara), before being resuscitated (look at you, you're putting her on the worst emotional rollercoaster of her life right now) by Withers (a god, basically) like it was nothing (when no gods would come to her help), would get her at least a little bit angry.

But since there's no follow up on it, it just... sours an event that could lead to great character development if it had been completed and fully implemented.

[sp-growingpains]

4, 12 and 23 !!! 🫶🫶🫶 I’m curious

Y'all get ready now, I'm going through these while I'm dead at work!

4) Most overrated character in your opinion?

I just answered this one actually [Here], but there is a tie for first place. And it's fucking Towlie.

Fuck that used cum rag. I am so tired of his ass too. He's gotten a little bit better over the years, but TFBW is the only time I've ever laughed at anything he said. When he pops up and is like,

"Don't trust the government, kid."

That made me giggle a little.

But his merch is ugly, and I am never a fan of the "stoner" type character. I get it, you like weed. Most people like weed. Coming from someone who made South Park their personality, pull it back a little.

12) An episode so horrifying that it has forever haunted your psyche?

I misunderstood the assignment with the last question for least favorite episode. It's still Human-Centipad, but in the good sport of the game, I'll name a different episode.

A Million Little Fibers fucked me up a little not gonna lie. To be honest, I don't remember a lot of that episode that in itself is telling.

23) If a new game is in the works, what theme would you like to see? Such as fantasy, superhero, futuristic or so on.

YESSSS! Oh I was hoping someone would ask me this!

Okay! Hear me out, lock in with me.

Most of you who listen to me ramble know I love Cowboys. That old western era owns my heart! So when Phone Destroyers came out the gate with that, I was immediately in love.

If you've ever played XCOM, my dream game is very related to that. Turn based, top down, strategy game set in the wild west. Kinda like Hard West/Hard West 2! It's super fun and I would adore it!

I would want it to have the mechanics like Hard West where there's a friendship/affection level the New Kid could raise given their choices in the game! It would unlock perks and maybe make their specials better! You'd slowly unlock the characters like in the other game and maybe - like Dragon Age - bring two or three party members! Besides shootouts, there would be little mini events or situations where bringing a certain party member could help or hinder the situation!

Like, for example:

You come across a lonely cactus sitting in the baren sands. The deep green of the plants reflects slightly off the harsh sunlight. The strange thing about it is that all the needles are painted west. You've never seen a cactus so oddly shaped.

If you had like Kenny, an Outlaw, in the party, he could tell you about some old superstition and tell you not to touch it.

But if you had Stan Of Many Moon, he'd tell you that a cactus like that is a sign amongst his tribe of good fortune. That walking that direction will put you on a safe path.

Cartman, the Sheriff, on the other hand would he pissed for even considering taking a plants opinion on anything. It's a waste of time.

Kyle, the bounty hunter, wouldn't be paying attention to the cactus. More worried about finding tracks to the next target, so he wouldn't be much help.

Like some characters would be super good in a fight together but get pissy at one another. You'd have to find that balance and it would be so much fun!

[arvoze]

[3/3] HHNFLARTAS - what's done is done

hell hath no fury like a rescue team association scorned not a fic or anything, i just ramble a lot about my pmd ocs in a digestible format that's more or less that kind of content. random yearly event for rescue teams. covers no more than like, one week of VV content

[ 1 / 2 / X ]

the rescue team association #1, again

there comes a point where it gets complicated. the RTA can't let you pass just because you completed their challenges -- you could cheat to win, and that wouldn't be reliable, after all. there's a million and one technicalities to consider.

yes, keith's team saved the rescue, who came back safe and unharmed. they also secured the item at the end of the dungeon. so what gives?

you never split the team. the rescue takes priority.

but they did the rescue. does it really matter? you can't just go off of stuff like this. there's specifics to it. it's a case-by-case basis.

both parties are right, in their own way. it's not a black and white case.

..

in the RTA's defense, they aren't wrong. you've got to consider how their actions would come across out of context.

a rescue has been secured. a member has split from their team, taking the rescue with them.

they split from the team. this puts them in immediate danger. they also have the rescue with them, so they're endangering the rescue as well.

if the solo member is incapacitated, the rescue is at incredible risk. the member is also at risk.

team splits can cause multiple problems to arise at once. it may also be seen as a disagreement.

extreme measures had to be taken to ensure the remaining members completed their goal.

the usage of a flood orb is not commonplace. team inventory will not always have this item available. it cannot be considered a reliable solution to a problem.

relying entirely on one item makes you a liability. it can be considered an easy way out.

the monster house was not fully defeated, simply temporarily disposed of. if the orb failed to work, the team would not have survived.

if the rescue was there, they could have been swept up in the confusion.

their general behaviour may be seen as too immature and unreliable.

this only checks out if they're monitored during their dungeon run. the three have a lot of chemistry with eachother, and have a lot of banter together. when you're unaware of how they talk to eachother, it can be seen as constant bickering and arguing.

regardless of how seriously they take the job when it's required (since they don't really like to be tense the whole way through), they have lapses of silliness and tomfoolery. this is because the RTA is incredibly boring and hate fun.

they barely even survived. let's be honest.

this is self-explanatory.

the rescue team association #2

in the defence of keith's team, you'd have to consider the following:

a rescue has been secured. mike has split from the team, taking the rescue with him.

he split from the team, a mutual agreement between all three members. they decided that this was the best way to get the rescue to safety. mike is strong and fast enough to get the rescue out of the dungeon with his remaining energy.

mike didn't become incapacitated. and if he was close to such, he can take matters into his own hands to really save his skin, and, more importantly, the rescue.

there was no disagreement, and mike was going backwards. he wasn't taking any new paths and discovering new things/triggering events. he was simply backtracking, taking the safest routes.

the rescue plant, an undetermined pokemon of undetermined rescue knowledge, agrees that this was the best decision to make given the circumstances.

extreme measures had to be taken to ensure keith's team could complete their goal.

this is because luwel prepared for the worst. when you plan for a rescue, you already know what kind of environment to expect, so you prepare thusly; this is no different. if it were a real job, and keith's team were the only pokemon available, it would be the exact same -- luwel would prepare the very same items as he did for this adventure.

they had the flood orb, which meant it was available to them at the time. a problem was predicted, planned for, and then solved. this is how it should be.

keith's team did not rely on a singular item. instead, luwel took the time into planning out the right items to carry with them, getting a rough estimate on the dungeon size and how difficult the job would be. to say the item is the sole reason they survived is to completely undermine luwel's ability to plan ahead.

a monster house does not have to be defeated in order for either goal to be met. if a third task was to defeat a monster house, then this would apply. but this was not the case, so it does not.

the rescue would have been accounted for. keith's team will make quick decisions, but they will never forgo the rescue to make them. the rescue, had they been present in the room at the time of the orb's use, would have been given a heads-up, and the team would take the initiative to keep the rescue safe before using the orb. additionally, the rescue was not even there at the time.

keith's team communicate with eachother frequently, including having light conversation, as well as constructive discussions about eachother.

sorry that you're too unfamiliar with a good relationship to understand their dynamic. the rescue would state that despite the circumstances, they did feel that keith's team had great communication. this is a non-issue, and exists just to make the cause for failure bigger than it actually was.

there's a lot of back-and-forths. guildmaster rime is not happy with the results.

the rescue team association #3

truth be told, there's… really not a lot that the team can do about the situation. what's done is done. they can fight their case if they really wanted to, but it's just resources wasted. as far as they're aware, at least.

guildmaster rime has always been in keith's team's ballpark. hell, keith is like a son to him, he is a son to him -- keith's going to inherit his guild, for goodness sakes! how can rime be succeeded by someone who failed the master trials for no real good reason? it won't do. it just won't do. the guildmaster is typically in agreement with the RTA when it comes to grading, as a seasoned explorer himself -- but to not consider keith's case? to fault them on technicalities alone? it's not right. it isn't fucking right. he'll do something about it. or at least, try to.

as a guildmaster, rime has some form of contact with the RTA. it's a required system in order to have a guild be truly recognised in the world, and additionally mandatory for any teams to earn ranking points. he drops a line of inquiry into the guild's connection orb, but there's been no response for several days. despite his grievances with the system, rime knows better than to push.

..

the boys have already forgotten about it, for the most part. they're discouraged, but they know in their hearts what they truly are: a good team who did the right thing. keith tries to distract himself by ranting and raving about the process of getting another flood orb. luwel's been trying to distract himself by writing up varying arguments to plead their case, which isn't really a distraction at all. mike is… unbothered. he cares, but doesn't have enough faith in the system, and settles more on the idea of "we know our truth and that's that, if they can't see it that's on them". every time luwel brings up a possible counter-point, mike gives him a thwap on the head. "best to keep it to yourself," mike says. "i dunno if keith can take it".

they cross paths with team PB&J occasionally, who, against all odds, ranked in the top 100. keith would say it was a total fluke that they did, and truthfully, he's right. it pisses him off further.

..

it's been about a week. the RTA responded to rime, after sending a rotom drone or two out to survey the boys. none of them noticed. nothing really fun or exciting to report on. the drones were simply just monitoring their day-to-day, to see how they've decided to take the results. it's invasive, and certainly not something they consented to, but the RTA can do whatever they want if you more or less work for them. thankfully, they do not find luwel's musings, as he gave up before the first surveillance.

rime's call is short-lived. there's not much to say, according to the RTA. the final findings were, essentially, "agree to disagree". they'd argued that because the case wasn't black and white, a true, rightful verdict couldn't be settled on; this uncertainty meant it was safer to fail keith's team than it was to pass them.

nobody had the desire to combat the RTA of all people about the decision any further. failing due to just barely missing the mark was better than failing due to sheer ineptitude, which lead to some sort of small victory for the team in the end. at least we aren't total failures, i guess, keith would think to himself.

not that they'd expected things to go their way. they knew that by now.

..

end.

[cripplepunkbarbarian]

Thinking too hard about Doorman-Isaac-Nin dynamic and spirit ethics.

Doorman-Isaac were the first spectral-spirit friendship that we were introduced to that wasn’t built with the foundation of energy compatibility. (and are still one of the only ones in canon)

Nin considers mediumship unethical and has gotten front row seats to Francisco taking tooled up spirits as prisoners.

She doesn’t understand why Doorman lets Isaac stick around. They’re not compatible. Isaac can’t “use” them and they can’t “use” him so what’s the point of any of this.

But then when Isaac ends up having “a use” to their cause, Doorman tells her they CAN’T use him. So not only does she think he’s not useful, she thinks he’s making everything WORSE for them and she just doesn’t understand.

[bismuthburnsblue]

I still feel like i have a lot more research to do before i set plans in motion... but i think my Lady Stede costume is a toss up between a robe a la francaise or a robe a l'anglaise. (the design comes down to whether im wanting watteau pleats, essentially)

from what i can see, most the dresses in the show (or the ones im looking to take inspiration from anyway) are francaise- Evelyn's dress & Mary's wedding dress clearly have the back pleats. but. the yellow dress Mary wears when she shows stede the painting (and Stede the boat) sparks the most inspiration in me, and ive watched the clips numerous times, and i dont think? it has pleats.

basically what im saying is the costumes in the show are a little inconsistent and also vary the style up, so im not bound to any one style. historically, im thinking that the people in Barbados would be drawing more of their styles from England, rather than France, but i still dont think that actually limits me, just something to consider in my research.

things i know i want:

engagantes (sleeve ruffles)

a decent amount of trim (though not too much, as none of stedes costumes are that ott)

a contrast stomacher (which means it needs to be open front, i think?)

...and thats as far as ive made it. all superficial things really, but important points to look for when im looking extants, i guess.

(some images from the show to show what im thinking about)

(& a francaise and l'anglaise if youre completely lost on what they are)

this is all day 1 research, so i have a good ways to go before i really start to understand my options, but id love an opinion on what you think?

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

💌 just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who’s left such lovely feedback on my latest chapter of four walls. it’s been a weird and emotionally draining week for me, and getting to come back after a long day and read all your kind words has been such a solace. it’s truly hard to put into words how much it means when people connect with something you’ve created (and i’m far too exhausted to even attempt it tonight), but trust me when i say nothing grounds me and keeps me writing through all the difficult stuff more than knowing that what i’m creating means something to people other than just me. thank you so much for your generosity in sharing that with me via your lovely comments and feedback 💌

[shitposting-account]

regardless the last reblog it made me upset ngl

it seemed as if anon saw bunch of fan interpretations and took it as canon.

the whole serie has diverse interactions, its not only xanvid or charwhit, they just happen to be two famous pairings, thats all

for xanvid, i think its understandable how it seemed "quick" the shift of their dynamics BUT IT ISNT. first of all, we follow teruko as our protagonist to tell the story so we dont know how the other characters interact beside the free time events which is only one episode for now and it didnt include xanvid. you dont know what their relationship has became after some small time and how it shifted. then theres literature insane girl, it was shown already how david saw xander, an idealistic way as if he was the only good there, see also tally 5. there was already hints by then how he viewed xander, it wasnt something that just happened because popularity. about the first interaction, it wasnt only being annoyed with xander as his fan but also because he didnt want to be there, i also recommend watching the entirely of episode 1 because its obvious how david did try to befriend with xander genuinely, he even got upset when teruko brought xanders name when he fucking died

about charwhit, same stuff but more visual about their relation, its so plain obvious watch the whole serie omfg

i think the worst part its that none of their interactions were romantic or any romantic intentions behind. david and xander has a fan and idol worship based relationship while charwhit is just simple trust after how whit got charles back back then in the first trial and befriended afterwards

[tsutsumi-kurose]

WRT how Tsukasa perceives himself (as 'Tsukasa' or the well god) , he introduces himself to Nene in V5 as Tsukasa (Amane's younger brother)... Refers to memories of watching frankenstein as a child in V7 during Hell of Mirrors, and recently has referenced watching Amane attempt to fix the clock during middle school, and talks about having learned Over the Rainbow from his school play. Seems to me like Tsukasa identifies as... Tsukasa? And regularly refers to his past and memories w/o dissonance?

yeah i do love that he is very confident, definitive, and excited about being tsukasa!! and i think the end of the red house arc suggests he has always been tsukasa the whole time, just maybe... tsukasa plus a little more haha, just a little god tagging along!! and ig we can't know at this point what the current situation is there, so i wonder what tsukasa only ever introducing himself as tsukasa indicates about that situation, if anything??

but i agree!! i think it’s really telling that he’s so openly like “hi hello I’m tsukasa” haha, especially in contrast to hanako being so closed lipped about his real name and his past, only referring as tsukasa as his little brother and not naming him for the longest time!

another little interesting thing is that tsukasa doesn't actually introduce himself by name until hanako has said his name out loud… which i'm sure is largely for the narrative/emotional value of the reveal--much more moving if it comes from hanako! but also a fun little detail!

the first time he tells someone who he is, he tells kou that he's a supernatural who grants wishes, so he seems comfortable with the being a supernatural thing, but it's also interesting that he says "i'm a supernatural, i grant wishes for the dead" and not "i'm tsukasa, a supernatural who grants wishes of the dead" etc but then he really excitedly tells nene "i'm tsukasa! i'm amane's twin brother!" like, the tones sound so different to me? the description of himself as a supernatural then saying he grants wishes sounds much more like a description of his job than who he is lol. he's just telling kou his linkedin summary. he's giving him his resume handing him a business card etc meanwhile w nene he smiles so big and gives his name as soon as she refers to him (this of course also relates to the contexts though--kou being w mitsuba, a client you could say, vs nene going on for half an hour about hanako/amane, so, understandable that he would give the answers he does in those contexts)

(also quick side thought... very cute and silly that tsukasa's like, "we're twins!! equals!!" meanwhile hanako's like, "sigh…my younger brother…. so much younger than me... the little baby i murdered…" lol even just that detail i think says a lot about tsukasa's perception of himself and his relation to hanako/amane, what he sees as significant, etc)

i'm really curious about the fact that, while he says he's amane's brother and a supernatural, he never calls himself a yorishiro or refers to the god in any direct way, even after the reveals to the audience, which is really interesting!! but could also mean a lot of different things… maybe he just doesn't want hanako to know that nene knows about the yorishiro thing? maybe he doesn't want nene to know about the god who's potentially just chilling in his chest? or, maybe he doesn't think of those things as himself but rather conditions, things around him, that happened to him?? idk!! we haven't heard any thoughts from him about either of those aspects of his (after)life, so i'm excited to see if he ever comments on either of them!! i'm very curious about what his feelings are about the stuff he doesn’t mention about himself when introducing himself and why it doesn't come up

i mean its gotta come up eventually lol, both things, but i wonder what sort of feelings he has about them… if any?

honestly i do think it would be really funny if the god was still in his chest but tsukasa was just like "i am tsukasa and that's some guy that lives here who i chat with sometimes" and is just super casual about it like "why would i mention them when introducing myself?? they're not me??" and if anyone asks about it it's just sorta like:

lmaooo. but it's also possible there's a different sort of relationship between them, control- and power-wise?? or even just consciousness-wise? idk rn i'm definitely team tsukasa is all there but the god is also there in some sense, the extent of which i can't parse yet… but i agree with you!! i very much think tsukasa is tsukasa and he certainly seems to feel that most strongly, and seems, from what we've seen so far, that it's the only thing he identifies with!! which again i find so interesting considering the characters and audience are so interested in all the ways he is… not not tsukasa, but maybe what he is in addition to being tsukasa? what being tsukasa means? and if he is just like "i'm just tsukasa amane's twin brother who happens to be a supernatural" or in the latest chapter just as "tsukasa" and isn't like, giving himself the title of yorishiro and isn't bringing up the god explicitly in any of his introductions, then does he just view those things as… separate from himself? or more like, fun facts that aren't relevant in introductions lmao… truly i could spiral for hours about this and ultimately i probably won't know until it gets addressed in canon lmao but hey it's fun to spiral about!

[ceeceetumbles]

that freaking stupid summer festival episode of charisma house makes me cry every. time. every time. it squeezes my heart in one fist until the juices run between its fingers.

so like. i have ocd.

ive had ocd for a really, really long time. my parents didnt know what it was. i didnt know what it was. even as i got older and learned more about mental illnesses, i didn't think "oh... that might be me." and part of the reason for that is, um, u know how ocd usually gets portrayed in media? obsessive hand washing, organizing, etc etc etc. i dont have that ocd.

i have scrupulosity.

i have be good. i have be. good. i have down on my knees for hours at a time praying for forgiveness. i have oh mom i dont think i can wear this shirt. it goes down too low. it is immodest. (it sat just below my collarbone). i have i do genuinely believe that it is genuinely morally wrong to throw away anything that is recyclable because that is hurting the planet and i still do it sometimes but like if i think about it im like oh yeah that was a morally bad thing for me to throw away that recyclable plastic cup and it makes me uncomfortable. i have BE. GOOD. BE GOOD. BE GOOD.

that is my ocd. that is my brain.

i have, as one might say, an obsessive need for perfect, law-abiding order.

i am, as one might say, kusanagi rikai.

but im not. not really. i dont yell at other people to follow my brains own rules. i am not as loud as he is. i am not as pushy. i am more of a quiet, anxious, desperate, so burnt-out from so many years of intense moral perfection in my mind that i barely care anymore, type of scrupulosity.

and rikai is loud.

but god. that one episode. number seventy-two.

i pulled it up to reference the dialogue and im already feeling it.

this episode expresses an aspect of my ocd my brain my scrupulosity the thing that has ruined my entire life and stolen my childhood from me it expresses such a deep and gutting aspect of it that i barely knew how to articulate. i dont know how they did this. i dont know if rikai is supposed to actually have ocd like mine. i dont know if they just imagined what it would be like to live as rikai and i do or if someone in that writing room has personal experience with this. i dont know. all i know is rikai in this episode is

me.

because he is looking around at the festival. stunned. how are people doing these things and enjoying it? how are they eating unsanitary food? how are they letting themselves get ripped off at raffles?

and then, quietly, he says,

"this is... normal, huh. yes, this is normal...

i do realize that i'm the crazy one here. right?"

and i start crying.

its so simple. "i do realize that im the crazy one here." his voice soft and resigned.

because my entire life i have been staring around myself with wild eyes. "why is everyone so bad? why are they doing these things? why dont they see what i see? why do i understand what they dont? why dont they understand? why is everyone leaving things half-done and dirty and taking shortcuts and being unsanitary and devious and why am i the only one who understands how to be good? why does no one else see?"

and now i realize oh. i see.

im just crazy. i just have a malfunctioning brain.

everything i see as good, and common sense, and necessary, is actually unusual and uncomfortable and unwelcome levels of. order.

everything i see around me is normal. theyre not the ones who are doing things wrong.

im just crazy.

and its so. so. isolating. and its so. so. frustrating. why is everyone else... normal?

i do realize im the crazy one here.

and its such a simple scene. and its such a simple line.

but when i watched that drama track for the first time i had to set my phone down. i felt so seen. so heard. so understood. i cried. its such a deep, isolating feeling. to look around yourself and see nothing but unlawful chaos and then to know that you are the broken one. that this all is normal. youre just wrong. youre right, objectively - that food is unhygienic, and people would be better off spending their money on things that are not rigged raffles - but no matter how right you are in theory, in practice, that means absolutely nothing.

youre just crazy.

the odd man out forever. you can never be normal.

its okay, rikai. try your best to eat something with unwashed hands.

hopefully it wont make you sick.

hopefully. its worth it, right? to act normal.