#spoilers ahoy if you haven't watched it.

[wxnheart]

I finally got around to watching Cyberpunk Edgerunner and, uh... it's funny, really, because Adam Smasher did absolutely nothing for me in the game.

In the anime, well...

Anywho, in the meantime in-between time, I'll be chillin' like a villain for a bit. As always, that ask box is open!

[crabbytrolls]

Branches Backstory in order????

I don't even have this account fully set up, but I'm truly trying to figure out the timeline of the trolls movies, for myself as well as somewhat rant, about mostly branches backstory and his brothers. This might come out as late night mad scrawling on a wall in a dark cave.

Is this important? To me at 2:34 am with only a few hours before I need to be up? right now? it is.

I will be assuming a lot, but whoops. a Lot of rambling under here. Spoilers ahoy for those who haven't watched Trolls Band Together.

So From what we know, Branch and his brothers were raised by Their Grandmother, we can assume that their parents got eaten by Bergens.

Now seeing as how their Grandmothers house was still in the old tree the Bergens had imprisoned them all in before they became buddy buddy, we can assume then that the Brozone stuff happens when they are all still stuck in the tree.

How did they get out?? Did they all wait until The day that everyone escaped? If so. shitty of them all Did they each manage to sneak away from the tree and go their own ways? For this I'm going to assume that most of them snuck away in single pairings, which would probably make sneaking away from the Bergens easier.

However I'm going to assume Clay stuck around for a bit seeing as he knew the whole situation with Viva, and her backstory. Probably stuck around for his sad book club.

(Which if that is what happened that makes me angry as can be, because that would mean not once did he check up on Branch or Their Grandmother, seeing as how he didn't even know she had been EATEN. unless she got snacked on the day right before trollstice. Even then that's shitty. Now, could he have thought Floyd was with them still? yes. But still You would think that he would try to find his siblings and Grandmother if they were going to be escaping.)

Now more assuming on my part, seeing as in the first Trolls movie Branch isn't in diapers, and in the beginning of Band Together, he is, I'm going to assume that the difference between the break up and the grandmother being eaten thing is maybe at the most 2 if not 3 years. (which also damn troll minds must be as strong as can be if Branch can actually remember all of his siblings after 20 years of not seeing them.) Anyways I'm setting Branch to be at the most 5 if not 6 around the time Grandma Rosiepuff gets eaten. Which leads to Branch loosing his colors.

Now we don't know how far from Grandma Rosiepuff the Escape on Trollstice, but for this We'll say it was rather close, if not the day before because Chef wanted to taste just one troll before the king to continue to feel like they were important.

Then King Peppy manages to take the trolls, and loose Viva and some other trolls, and Branch goes through those tunnels without any family (which probably didn't help his Paranoia at all.) Then John Dory Went to the tree, and found it empty. (does this make me forgive him any? no.) But seeing as he he might have seen the tree gone and thought the entire kingdom and all of his siblings, maybe, if he hadn't watched them leave, had been eaten and traumatized by that so he gets a pass small pass. For Now.

That means for almost all his life so far, Branch has not seen hide nor hair, of his sibling, and only has been able to hear their music to hear their voices.

it's late but I think that's everything that happens before the movies pretty much right? Anyways. Branch makes me sad and I will fight his brothers. Including Floyd thought not as much seeing as he's probably one solid punch away from turning back to a crystalized state.

I think John Dory was probably the only one that came back to the tree because he was the oldest, and he had 4 siblings he was taking care of, and did care for them in some form. Clay was busy being stuck with Viva, Floyd was doing whatever Floyd was doing before getting trapped, Maybe he came back but can't be certain, and Bruce was busy getting his life going. Anyways rant done.

[dynmghts]

ykw caps ahead so spoilers ahoy for the new ep bc i cannot go without talking through my feelings on the matter even tho i just spent the past few hrs going through one of the most frustrating dungeons in destiny

AGAIN: anime spoilers!! if you haven't watched the ep and don't want to get spoiled, don't look!!!!

first of all SOMEBODY SAVE HIM ????????

i also forgot that shigafo just kinda. threw it in his face. "you'll be a great present for him" SHUT UPPPP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP KILLING KATSUKI FOR HIM TO BE A "GIFT" FOR IZUKU WHEN HE'S BACK DON'T EVEN

and obviously this is not showing the animation but my guy was struggling to fucking breathe there too. and shigafo being smth like "aren't you just so glad my quirks are erased :)" bro would've legit disintegrated him on the spot. my god. and i think this is also such a brutal contrast to the way tomura tried to approach katsuki during the whole kamino kidnapping thing like...

understated development of "i'm offering you to join us bc i think you get what it's like to be shunned by society for who you are" -> "you as a person don't interest me anymore, i just want to use you to achieve my end goal" (influenced by afo)

these shots tho... i wasn't sure how well they were gonna adapt this bc i thought that the arm being mangled was def censored, but this shit was pretty fucking crazy for me to see.

the tears. the fierce determination in his gaze. the fact that he looks like he's struggling and in pain but he's watching shigafo's every move and examining it and muttering it under his breath, emulating midoriya izuku in this moment, channelling the one person that believes him to be the symbol of victory.

"i have to win... right, izuku?" THE CALLBACK TO DK + BKG VS. ALL MIGHT. THE WAY NOBUHIKO VOICED HIM IN THIS MOMENT.

like. yes, the anime is not one-for-one with the manga. i get that. i understand that. and their choices regarding the adaptation are not everyone's cup of tea - but as someone who has consumed both forms, i view them very separately in their chosen art medium, bc let's be real, horikoshi's art is EXTREMELY hard to replicate. so with what bones is achieving here, i think it's pretty damn impressive. especially during the brief fight scene with shigafo, like...

the animation felt fluid, concise, and each frame had meaning to it. they demonstrated katsuki's quirk in action through his whole body true to the manga, and you could FEEL katsuki's struggle through the entire sequence. like? his arm was shattered. he was IN PAIN. you can tell he's out of breath because he's trying so hard to focus on moving out of shigafo's attacks to land his own, and of course one of his last thoughts are about izuku...

also the contrast of a high-risk and high-danger battle to the gentle, quiet, genuine thoughts in his mind - the way nobuhiko as katsuki speaks so softly, expressing his understanding for what izuku had to do to get where he is with ofa now. the way he reflects on the past year in that instance like "you had to endure pain and predict your opponents too, right? this is what you went through?" almost this sort of... "i finally understand what you had to experience, and there's a deep-seated respect that comes with it". yknow what i mean?

ALSO THIS: HE'S SO FUCKING SOFT HERE. FUCK. END ME RIGHT NOWWWWW I CAN'T DO THIS TODAY

and he's so honest to the vestige all might here too like "i was such a fucking brat back at the start of ua huh"... then him admitting that even when he WAS acting that way, all he truly wanted was that autograph on his card. his CARD. the SAME CARD he got when he AND IZUKU won the cards together. the same one he's taken with him onto that battlefield - and in my humble opinion, the one he keeps on his person as a sort of "good luck" token.

i absolutely adored the contrast of the battlefield darkening and becoming more gloomy (weather change, grass all kicked up and is instead dirt, the dimming of the typical lighting) vs. this brief moment where katsuki was face-to-face with all might. in this quiet and absent white space with nothing but himself and the man in front of him. when i say he knew he was going to die and he walked into death anyway................

and of course, for the final cap i got, which is arguably the most painful one for me to look at:

the dull eyes, discoloured skin, messy hair, the blood all over his face and chest... the fact that jeanist actually went to immediately treat him for the wound, not thinking he was dead, only to look back in shock and horror at this boy on the ground.

bakugou katsuki, the boy who swore he'd win the sports festival.

bakugou katsuki, the boy who visited jeanist's agency for the sake of him being in the top ten, who took away valuable lessons enough to consider interning there again in the winter.

bakugou katsuki, the boy who was kidnapped and thought would turn tail, only to prove everyone wrong by sticking to his morals.

the boy who learned to save, who learned to combat his own weakness, who followed izuku into the fray when he knew something wasn't right during the paranormal liberation war, who fought tooth and nail to find and bring izuku home with a genuine and honest apology, who spent his week leading up to the war strategising and improving and bolstering camaraderie among the class in his own unique way...

everyone on that battlefield knew katsuki had ambitions to be the next number one hero, and to exceed all might. everyone saw this freshly 17 year-old boy walk right into death and knew they wouldn't have been able to stop him, but they all wished they could.

the mood shift in the episode was very well captured to me. i felt that the anime did a great job showcasing how the hope they had before, from shouto's win against touya, had bolstered the confidence in the heroes - and how quickly that hope turned to despair when the team at the floating ua watched a young and hopeful hero-to-be throw his life down, all for the chance of victory.

and then i get to do this all again when the dub drops. :(

[msviolacea]

So yeah, I watched this week's Critical Role. And wow, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings.

To start with, I've also been watching a series on YouTube by supergeekmike where he's gone through the Vox Machina episodes one at at time and talks about what we can learn about GMing and playing TTRPGs from how the CR cast does it. Which is very interesting overall, but the most recent episode has a surprising amount of synergy with this week's CR. He reached the Umbrasyl fight, and talks about how some of the awkward tension in this fight stems from the fact that the players, at this point, tended to keep Matt in the dark about big battle plans they wanted to implement, presumably because they didn't want him to plan a counter for them. This is partly seeing it at least a little as an us vs them, players vs GM sort of game, which can be a valid way of playing if everyone's on board, but doesn't super work for something like CR. But it's also a way players try to exert what little control they have over the situation, especially in very tense situations in which their characters are in serious danger.

Anyway, that sense of control is something I thought about again while watching this most recent episode. Spoilers ahoy!

99% of the time, I'm on team Marisha does nothing wrong fuck you Reddit, but in this one I think that, in her panic and desire to control the situation, she overstepped a couple of times. First with the scryball thing - yes, she mentioned it earlier in the episode, but if you want to assume you have it up and are staring at it 100% of the time you have to say so. Also, knowing Otohan was that close wasn't going to give them any kind of real advantage - there wasn't time or space to create an ambush or do much of anything that would improve their position when she arrived. Looking at the scryball earlier told them that Otohan was there and getting closer - realistically, that was about as much warning as they needed or were going to get. I think the thing to take away here is that sometimes, you can't make plans for everything as a player. Sometimes, the best you're going to do is "big shit's coming, at least you're aware." If you want more than that, especially in a very high-stress situation, you have be specific. "I have the scryball in my hand and will look at it every minute or so." "I am keeping very, very aware as we run so can we just use my passive perception against anything in the area as we move forward?" "I have specifically taken X weapon out of the bag so I don't have to spend an action when we inevitably get ambushed." The more info you can give your GM, the more control you can have, however little it may be. But at the same time, sometimes you're just going to be surprised or get caught in a suboptimal situation, and sometimes that's what the story needs.

As an aside, it did feel like Otohan was a little overtuned - 4 attacks PLUS two action surges PLUS legendary actions? And that's without her crazy shadow backpack? But there's also the fact that the party had used so many of their spells for the infiltration. But still. I wonder if Otohan was meant to be an even later boss fight, and they were meant to flee again, maybe with the teleport back to Exandria. But that wasn't clear, so maybe this really was just supposed to be a brutal deadly fight. It just didn't feel like fun for the players for a good chunk of time.

(I struggle a lot figuring out how to make a fight hard for a large group of fairly overpowered players myself. I haven't figured out how to make it work. But it's a little comforting to realize that Matt might not even quite know how to do it all the time even after all these years.)

But anyway. The second time I started to get irritated with Marisha was when she started trying to bargain/beg after they all realized what Sam/FCG was doing. Thankfully Travis brought out the dad voice to shut her down - I get it, I understand the impulse to want to find something, anything that will change this inevitable outcome, but at the same time, this show is as much a piece of improv theater as it is a D&D game, and there comes a time when you have to just let your fellow actor have their moment. And while Sam will make ridiculous snap decisions to commit to the bit, when it comes to the serious, important stuff, he's clearly a player who knows exactly what he's doing and why he wants to do it.

Ultimately, I think this is why I continue to appreciate CR's no-editing approach to their episodes, even though finding 5 hours to watch one episode can be a pain sometimes. I like seeing these awkward moments, these missteps, the times when it becomes clear that even veteran players and GMs, even professional improv actors don't get it right all the time. It's validating, as a GM and player who feels like she sucks at both things, even after playing for like 7-ish years.

[eternalglitch]

You watched across the Spiderverse? Awesome! What parts did you like? I'm honestly also planning to rewatch it as soon as I can!

Spiderverse spoilers ahoy please keep scrolling if you haven't seen it yet!

Yeah, I've definitely seen it!! Into the Spiderverse is one of only two movies I have downloaded onto my laptop, and I was very excited that the sequel was coming out.

The creators, Lord and Miller, just have some of my favorite writing of any movies. They're also responsible for the Lego Movies! All of their dialogue just is really natural and funny, the characters always are really full of life. And the animation!! I feel like as a superhero movie, anyone who enjoyed Rise of the TMNT should almost automatically like Spiderverse movies lol.

My favorite part of the new movie is absolutely The Spot, I LOVE funny to terrifying villain arcs. The entire time I was trying to figure out where I had heard his voice before and he was in Klaus as the main character lol.

"This is my first time robbing someone, please don't make this a bad experience for me :(" to a visual of him looming over thirty dead spidermen and it being believable was so fun, I can't wait to see his big fight in Beyond the Spiderverse.

I was also really excited to see Miles 42 and Aaron 42. The second I saw what number popped up onto the Go Home machine I knew what was about to happen, but since I don't read many marvel comics, the specifics of that dimension still threw me for a complete loop. I had guessed Miles was helping his uncle, but not that he was the villain. VERY fun, I hope that in the next movie this has significance on our Miles' arc.

Overall I think I prefer the first movie SLIGHTLY more, but that's because it tells a complete story whereas Across the Spiderverse was only a part 1 and was a lot of setup for the third one. There were just a couple emotional beats in itsv- when Peter died, the Leap of Faith scene- that are almost impossible to follow for me, haha. But it did an incredible job of being a sequel to the first movie, and I'm very excited to see the next one, too!

[aprillikesthings]

YOOOOO IT'S MY WEEKEND and I have eaten dinner and it is time for MORE SHE-RA

yayyyy

OH GOD we're getting into the really good shit btw

if I manage not to do a marathon of these it'll be a gd miracle

Usual reminder: this is a REwatch and there's spoilers ahoy, I make a lot of bad jokes, I reference other cartoons

s4 ep10 fractures

okay before we get started

ahahah

I've given in. I'm gonna cosplay Catra. >_< wish me luck, I'm aiming for some kinda loosely post-canon thing, in part because there's no hiding my age at this point, except via like, photoshop pfft

side note the place I was looking at that makes custom fangs based on dental impressions is usually a month and change out, and the con I want to wear this to is in mid-April. *GROAN*

I have tried the cheap ones they don't stay on D:

OKAY

Dialogue is Double Trouble. Why are you even in the room??

oh it's a truth-telling spell lol

(it didn't work)

LOLOL the disbelief in Double Trouble's voice. "Can she do that?"

oh my GOD (yes it's Double Trouble)

but their Adora looks like Johnny Bravo aaahaha

Double Trouble does blow a raspberry at Shadow Weaver, tho, so they're forgiven

Adora explains the Heart of Etheria Project

Shadow Weaver: oooh we can use this to our advantage Me: okay Boromir but NO

nO

Adora's about to blow a fuse, but I would be, too! Like what part of "the planet could explode" is fucking difficult

Meanwhile, Catra is watching porn video feeds of places the Horde has taken

and thinks she spots someone!!!

(she hasn't, and she makes a sad little face when she realizes)

yeah she's being a bitch but also her deranged little face is great

OR EVERYONE COULD DIE. THERE'S ALSO THAT.

YAYYYY

does anyone else remember the old video "what your fave she-ra ship says about you"? this was made just after s4 actually. anyway I'm remembering it because it includes the line "you just want good things for Scorpia. and really, who wouldn't?"

Daci and I, for a while, couldn't stop quoting the ContraPoints clip used early on to reference "The inherent eroticism of the sea."

"MMmmm yeah. Don't you wanna just...get in there?"

It's a really funny video (I am called out SEVERAL TIMES) and the channel did a bunch of similar videos for other shows.

(also looking at the home page of the channel, she's a she now!!!! HELL YEAH)

Anyway everyone is surprised to see Scorpia :D

And their initial reaction is Not Good D:

the poor thing accidentally stuns Perfuma (...oh god that'S HILARIOUS knowing later stuff)

well that stops Adora in her tracks

back in the Fright Zone, Catra thinks she hears Scorpia's laugh and again is visibly relieved before realizing she's wrong

babygirl you need some rest (and so do your soldiers), you are getting paranoid and hearing things

so what, you're going to torture the rest of the soldiers who haven't left????

(I understand why she does the things she does but I still want to shake some sense into her)

JUST GET SOME GD SLEEP

she tries to call Double Trouble, but they don't answer

I want to give her a hug. But also shake some sense into her.

Another one to add to my "cartoon bondage" collection, as one does. But Perfuma is clearly a little smitten, though: she smiles as she walks away and makes a flower grow in the vines, awwwww

okay oh my GOD okay Scorpia's dialogue is KILLING ME i am CACKLING

"Wow...Yeah, but just-- Shadow Weaver. And at Bright Moon. Everything is making so much sense about why Catra's been acting the way she has."

Adora goes wide-eyed at Catra's name, Shadow Weaver looks at her, and then Adora looks away, pissed off.

like I was saying: SMITTEN

Anyway Scorpia explains why she wants to go find/save Entrapta, who's on Beast Island, and:

bahaha

they relate various stories about the horrors of Beast Island and Shadow Weaver insists they're nicer than the actual place, it's starting to sound like some bad joke about Etheria's version of Australia

I mean also you should go get her because she shouldn't be stuck there but okay

They all decide to go to Beast Island to rescue Entrapta but Glimmer is having NONE of it

Glimmer: "Adora, have you ever heard of anyone coming back from Beast Island? Do you even know where it is?"

I mean, good points, but

aaaugh

Bow: "There's an unstable mass of magic in the middle of the planet. Everyone's at risk unless we can get Entrapta to shut it down."

OKay I'm not typing up the whole damn episode you can read the transcript if you really want to, lol they argue about this for a bit longer, Glimmer even recommends they ask Light Hope how to use it even though that's a terrible idea, Glimmer tries to appeal to Bow but Bow is on Adora's side on this one

oh honey, no

She tries to order Bow and Adora to stay in the castle and not leave

Scorpia's "prison cell" is a very nice spare room. Perfuma brings her a salad and Scorpia doesn't recognize it as food immediately, the poor thing has only ever had ration bars.

Frosta: "It's not a sleepover!!! Perfuma: ":D I'll get pillows, brb!"

But then Frosta asks about her pincers with genuine interest and makes ones for herself out of ice...and Scorpia starts to cry

;_;

;_;

GO. TO. BED. oh my god

I RAN OUT OF IMAGES fhghgh okay gonna reblog

[anna-neko]

ahoy hoy @misterdadguy. I figure we could start Discworld bookclub next week?

And remember, if u see something that sounds like a pop-culture reference - I promise it absolutely is. Probably at least 3 references in a pun overcoat

ok! Here comes a few notes before we dive into it! I do have some notes for like… when we stop at certain bits, because there's some jokes or references too good to just walk past!

so, Discworld! a series of a loooooot of books by the late great Sir Pratchett. The only thing to remember, really, is that he does break them down into sub-series (City Watch, Witches, Rincewind, Death, and miscalleny) and the world is always moving forward!

The biggest fandom meme is if u so much as breathe "which book to staaa..." at least 5 diff fans will pop up with flowcharts and PowerPoint presentations outlining which series is superior, and why you should start there I am NOT one of those (too lazy to make charts) buuuut will concede on the "never start at book 1" point (Sir pTerry himself have mentioned it a few times as well)

but here is why we are going with MORT (book 4 in the series)

It is the first book to read closest to what this world will become, but easiest to dive into as all you really need to know is "flat world on back of turtle floats thru space. Magic is real. footnotes full of puns" Humor and characterization - sure a few things are still a bit off ... but gettin there

It is the first of the DEATH sub-series (even if he still doesn't always act as himself just yet), but also works very well as a stand-alone. The previous books do technically set up a few world-building things, but they might as well be an entirely different universe (hell, Colour of Magic is 4 diff genres in a parody skit) Nobody in prev books acts in-character (Rincewind is always Rincewind, but Death and a certain Witch were completely different people)

really, next book - Sourcery - is 70% in-character for the universe, but only in book 6 - Wyrd Sisters - does everyone finally act like themselves and thats a freakin Witches sub-series. Thats kinda too far in for a starting point, ya know?

ALSO, and this is a personal thing more than anything, Mort is from the late 80s. Pop-culture refs closer to 'our' time as it were, so can understand them! Yes a well-written scene or joke should still work if one hasn't years of relevant memes.... but it hits that sweet spot when can point and go "this is hilarious, but extra so because i remember that show!"

_______________

The book hasn't proper chapter breaks, we gotta pick stop-points. It's only 300 pages, shouldn't take too long anyway.

on Kindle - how about the 23% mark! In actual physical book - you want the paragraph break (it should be end of page as well) that reads: "Why so soon, O hardworking son of the desert?" "because," said the man, "I have just sold the Patrician's champion racehorse."

ALSO it isn't really a spoiler, because haven't proper context to place it in. This is a good punchline, show goes to commercial break on the good cliffhanger kind of break

If you're doing audiobook…. ooof … we can try and see what the file formatting is and how they break it down? Then you can just tell me where to stop (can search for specific quotes and mark them for myself)

[shadowmaat]

picking up the crumbs

Spoilers for the Mandalorian S3 finale ahoy:

I haven't watched the third season of the show because I could tell it was heading in a direction I didn't want to follow. And I'm not here to shame anyone who loved the season, I just want to play around with some of the elements.

The Force-sensitive clone "army." Experiments with cloning Force-sensitives or trying to induce Force sensitivity have, historically, not amounted to much. Still, if you're gonna introduce the idea you might as well use it.

However, just because you manage to grow a Force sensitive doesn't mean you'll be able to make them obey. Have someone who hides their ability or masks how strong they are. They bide their time, going along with things while they try and figure out what the hell is going on, but the vibes here are rancid and eventually they make their escape or- better yet- stage a breakout in order to rescue all their sibs, whether they're Force-sensitive or not. That'll give you a nice little faction that plays by their own rules and has an agenda that doesn't always line up with what the "good" guys want. If you're bored, you could even have Snoke be one of the rescues, except he decides he LIKES all that evil shit and heads off on his own to plot the sequels.

The remaining faction could stay secluded and remain an unknown factor. Or maybe they decide to join Grogu on Mandalore; that'd give you an interesting dynamic and also provide a basis for more Force-sensitive Mandos in the future. Which could be a nice way to finally move past Mandalore's bloody violent history of conquest or it could spell trouble somewhere down the line. Personally I'm in favor of the former just because I'm tired of the collective brain cell of Mandalorians being cued to "violence."

I still think Bo-Katan is a terrible choice as Mand'alor, especially since her story thus far has done nothing to reconcile her past and future. Good writers would acknowledge the abhorrent shit she was involved with in Death Watch and would have her proving that she's changed. We didn't get that, though, so perhaps a little ambiguity about her motives would keep it interesting. She says she wants to unite Mandalore and bring "her" people home, but is it as altruistic as that? Does she have hidden motives? Is she planning to make Mandalore a planet of conquerors again?

Din being sent out on bounty hunting missions again makes sense in a "we're struggling to rebuild and need all the money we can get" kind of way. It's a nice callback to S1, but far more expansive; it isn't just one small covert he's trying to support, it's a whole planet. And he isn't in it alone. Other Mandos are out there in the universe; some are also bounty hunters while others are traders, crafters, or just hardworking at whatever job they have. He can also call upon this support network if he needs help or resources. He may be working on his own but it doesn't mean he's alone, y'know?

Plus, if you go with the idea of Bo-Katan having Ulterior Motives then her sending Din out as much as possible makes sense in a "he's the most likely to figure out what she's doing" kind of way. All jokes of his obliviousness aside, he can still have a sharp mind and if he thought the Mando'ade were in danger, you can be damn sure he'd act on it.

As for the Darksaber, I'd say this would be a good place to inject a little Weird Shit. Don't have the Darksaber get destroyed, have it disappear. In a blink. One minute it's there, the next it's gone. WAS it destroyed? Did someone somehow steal it? Where is it now?

The story potential of it just disappearing could be fun. You have the whole question of if the Darksaber was the only reason people followed Bo-Katan or if the symbol of ages past is no longer as important as survival. And DID she really lose it or did the Darksaber decide she was unworthy and remove itself from the picture? (If she WAS planning dastardly things that would certainly be another interesting point.) Where did it go? If it wasn't destroyed it could potentially turn up again anywhere at any time. Past or future. Maybe it went back to Tarre. Maybe Finn's gonna find it at some point. Or maybe it's stuffed in the back of Din's junk drawer, waiting for Grogu to get old enough to use it.

I do understand that the Darksaber is, in a way, the Mandalorian equivalent of the "Sacred Texts" and that sometimes it's necessary to move beyond a symbol, I just think there are more interesting ways to move on.

Anyway, yeah. Mando is a fun sandbox and canon doesn't matter. lol

[syrupspinner]

I completed 2064 Read Only Memories

yes that's still impressive if it's a visual novel

so, this genre is inherently more plot than gameplay. that's not to say the gameplay isnt enjoyable, it's solid point-and-click. but when I discuss it, it's gonna be like, mostly about the story, so watch for spoilers. if you haven't played the game yet, I totally recommend it if you dig detective stories and/or point-and-click visual novels. the characters are great and the gameplay is solid (nothing too gimmicky, does everything right) and you can beat it in a weekend if you lock in. alright, spoilers ahoy

first, I gotta talk about the protagonist. something I always, always dislike are boring indistinct faceless self-inserts. I understand that you kinda have to avoid having too much disconnect in a narrative written in the 2nd person (lest you get the same reaction that would be had to a bad roleplayer godmoding)... but I think most stories have to live an die by their protagonist, just because like... that's who we're following the whole time. like, say what you want about Alex Eggleston, but he's memorable and directed. it's actually possible to write him out of character, unlike whoever was the protagonist in 2064. even Lady Love Dies, a VN protagonist who shares the same limitation of having dialogue trees with varying tones, still has character traits that she does and doesn't have, she still has distinct mannerisms and presentation. this didn't ruin the game or anything, I just thought it was kinda annoying

I really liked how the game presented hybrids and how everything tied into the world being presented. it always kinda makes me sigh when sci-fi shows try to depict analogies to specific types of oppression. don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good metaphor, I just think it's really easy to backfire. for example, I think Zootopia would've been fine if they presented the predator/prey social dichotomy in a way that wasn't a direct analogue to antiblack racism (instead of oppression in general) because you can summarize it as "the predators are black people" y'know what I mean? like, in real life, foxes eat rabbits, and that's literally the natural order of the world with the food chain and stuff, so trying to say "this is just like how black people work" isn't. great. 

anyway, I think hybridism as it's presented in 2064 is a great example of applicability. basically, instead of being a direct analogue, it can be applied to multiple dimensions of oppression without being limited to a single one. obviously the closest comparison is ableism, especially with the whole medical involvement and legally enforced sterilization, but in-universe a lot of people just treat it as an advanced body mod like ear stretching or something.   also, it's just something that's probably gonna be a thing in the future. it's a great way to explore the avenues and outcomes of social stigma without accidentally implying that black people have the innate urge to eat white people or whatever. 

also, detail I appreciate, I like how Jess is unfriendly and abrasive while James Stephanie Sterling's character (the anti-hybrid activist) is calm and soft-spoken. despite this, the games narrative is totally supportive and sympathetic to hybrids. it's an easy trap to fall in to just make the bigots incorrectness directly correlate with having an unpleasant personality, but this implies that people who are quiet are right, which is an implication on the same level as always drawing the correct characters to be conventionally attractive

speaking of the characters, that's a huge strength of this game. everyone you interact with is likeable and memorable. when I say likeable, I don't mean "I would be friends with them" (even if that does apply to a lot of them, shout out to my bros tomcat and starfucker)  I mean "I like seeing this character depicted onscreen". even bit characters like that bunny girl receptionist and that retired football guy stick out in my mind, and it's been a while since I played the game 

I think it was a bit of a misstep to let the player chose what order to play chapter 3/4 in. I got lucky on my first playthrough, but I can't imagine the deflation of tension from watching a vehicular manslaughter and then going on a fetch quest for a magical girl. I'm really not sure why they let you do that when it seems to me that it flows way better if that's right before the climax

the climax was so great though. I love it when characters all come together and chip in their talents, and I love how deus-ex-y the multiple endings are (in how heavy the rammys are). my favorite part though has gotta be the gameplay, hoo boy. narratively, dealing with the threat of this villain is unlike anything else [char_name] and Turing have deal with, so I adore the ludonarrative cohesion of making the ending such a change in gameplay. you can't just look around and click on things, you've gotta cut of doorways and sneak around. the sincere "oh crap" when I realized he could just kool-aid through the wall was priceless. 

and getting all of the achievements was a breeze. full disclosure, I died in the final boss and had to reload, but the game gave me the iron rom achievement anyway. as we say in the business, we take those. the real hardest achievement was the one with that stupid plant I had to play the game like 3 times to finally get it. turns out you have to mosey your ass to your apartment at every opertunity just to yap at that spoiled deadbeat. also I didn't like making Turing mad at me, because =[

anyway, you know that ya girls pumped for neurodiver. the somniums were my favorite parts of AI (as in, the uchikoshi joint) and in general I always dig abstract representations of someone's psyche. 

[titaniumpsychologist]

✨

👋 ahoy

I guess I can share a favorite segment I haven't shared publicly yet of my longfic. Snippet is from Duality of Light (please heed the ao3 warnings) also huuuuuuuge spoiler alert

~~~

Sighing, Gavin turned for his apartment building, already thinking about the mess he made before leaving for work earlier today. Fuck it, cleaning up the disaster he made with his journal was for tomorrow-Gavin. Tonight-Gavin just needed one good night's sleep, and maybe he could start making sense of everything again.

His hand was about to push the button on the security box to get inside when he heard the crunch of ice and asphalt from another car making its way down his road. Instincts made him look up to watch the car.

Recognition made him freeze in place.

Was that…?

No, it was probably a coincidence. He'd been too emotionally spent that his mind must be playing tricks on him.

But then the car passed by so slowly, giving him full view of the vehicle that there was no mistaking it.

Shit.

Slamming one hand against the security button granting him access to his apartment building, his other ready to draw his pistol, Gavin scrambled into the foyer just as the driver rolled down the car window and fired a few shots at him.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

Glass exploded. Gavin hardly felt his feet pound against the linoleum as he ran for cover, firing a round of bullets back at the driver.

A peal of tires tearing down the roadway and around a bend. Heartbeats pulsing in his ears, a ringing whine droned as his hearing slowly returned. Joints slowly loosened around gunmetal as he peeked from his cover position to take in the damage. His phone buzzed a few times, and he pulled it out to glance at it briefly to see that he had gotten a few messages.

Before he checked them, he dialed 9-1-1 to report the shooting. After being assured by dispatch that police were on the way, he opened the first message.

He had to fight the urge to drop his phone and shoot out the screen.

Attached was an image of Elijah, held by the neck of his shirt by a hand made of dark plastic. There was a dark red mark on his cheek where it looked like someone had punched him.

if you know what's good for you]

stay away from kamski]

[legobiwan]

Hey, I actually went to see the new Spiderman movie the other night! (Masked and boostered, I am a responsible Lego). Spoilers ahoy, exit now if you would prefer to remain uninformed.

The first part of the movie went fast, like the Roadrunner on a cocaine binge fast. And I've seen some interpretations that the turbo slideshow running from Peter's identity being revealed to the trial to the court of public opinion to the whole school/MIT situation could be a mirroring of how the events both felt and unfolded for Peter in real-time, especially as a teenager.

This being said, I think that's a generous interpretation. Admittedly, I haven't actually watched the other MCU Spiderman films, but I know enough through internet osmosis to be familiar with the backstory. And even with that, the first act felt like a roller coaster about to careen off the tracks.

Charlie Cox is awesome. His inclusion in the film was 110% fan service plus introducing him into the greater, non-Netflix MCU. I'm curious if Feige and co. will "sanitize" the Netflix characters, as Disney seems afraid of going as gritty as Netflix.

I need to think about Stephen Strange's characterization in terms of casting the memory spell. (And yes, the spell was 100% hand-waving and Strange's presence in this movie was also 100% as a plot device). While I know he is kind of flippant, in general, he seemed to be casting aside any form of responsibility here. Maybe because he doesn't have the Time Stone anymore? Or he's just burnt out from the whole Thanos thing?

Speaking of Strange, I LOVED that he got his Loki, "I've been falling for 30 minutes!" moment with the Grand Canyon. If Loki ever met this universe's Peter Parker, I'm sure he'd be thrilled, hahahaaha.

Honest to gods, I would have been happy with an entire movie of just the villains talking and fighting and negotiating. Especially Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe. The sequence where they were all zapped into Strange's chambers was easily my favorite. (Something tells me I will go feral if some form of Thunderbolts movie/show ever manifests as there is nothing better than a bunch of complicated villains trying to work together).

My theater freaked when Andrew Garfield came on screen. Far more so than Tobey.

Out of the three, I have to say Andrew's version was by far the most charming and my personal favorite. It has been a very long time since I've seen those movies (if I even saw all of them, which I honestly don't remember), but I really enjoyed his particular iteration.

I thought the detail with the Statue of Liberty carrying The Shield was fascinating. Apparently, this movie takes place after Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I'm thinking the symbolism of the shield falling might have to do with John Walker's fall from grace? But maybe not.

(Also, I'm just picturing Bucky having a shit-fit about the fact they are retrofitting the bloody Statue of Liberty with the shield. Also, as an in-universe thing, just...wow. This movie also apparently takes place just before the Hawkeye series, meaning Rogers: The Musical! is in previews. Meaning a lot of people are pushing the Steve Rogers narrative even after John Walker crapped things up and Sam came out as the new Captain America. Which I find interesting in that you have to think certain factions are desperate to recapture the past (Steve), ready to steamroll over the unpleasant, recent present (John), and not willing to accept the future (Sam). And, you know, looking at our real-world political climate...)

(Yeah, if this timeline holds, then the surge in Steve Rogers imagery can't be a fluke. Forget John Walker and yeah, we're not "sure" about Sam Wilson *ahem*, let's just venerate Steve Rogers and his crew and our glorious past and attach the shield to the fucking Statue of Liberty which sends all kinds of weird-ass messages in this context and I want that conversation between Sam, Bucky and whoever else about that because wow.)

Anyway, I'm a little obsessed with the whole shield/Statue of Liberty thing and I'm glad the Spidermen plus Green Goblin took that out. And hopefully, it stays out.

Getting back to the movie...was it just me, or was the soundtrack a little overdramatic for the action? Lots of full-on choral music, high symphonic, Strauss-ian stuff and it felt really overblown for what this movie was.

I will say the humor was pretty well-balanced for an MCU flick. And Jonah Jameson 1000% channeling Alex Jones by not only emulating his speech style, but hawking supplements at the end of his piece made me cackle.

Honestly, Tom Holland and Zendaya and all of the "nu-crew" are good actors, but Molina, Dafoe, and Garfield (and Foxx, too) stole the show for me.

Like many recent MCU movies, there was just so much packed into this film that it barely had any time to breathe and really explore the issues it set forth. The second act, for me, was by far the best, as we at least touched briefly on the villain characterizations and their interactions with their alternate universe nemeses.

Rushed, but entertaining. The action scenes were what they were, but there was potential in there for so much more. Added points for fan service although I would have swapped that for some more character development. 7/10

[lqtraintracks]

This isn't for the ask game, so feel free to answer whenever (or not at all) but! What was your favorite scene of Bolts to write? Was there any scene you KNEW would be in there when you started writing, or any that surprised you when you began to write them?

Okay I'm going to finally learn how to put text under a cut, because SPOILERS AHOY! If you haven't read Bolts yet but plan to, please don't read this post? I'm sorry! It's just... it's better if you don't know some stuff going in. <3

So here we go, spoilers under the cut:

It's really hard to pick a favorite scene. I do have a favorite moment, which is sort of weird because it's the angstiest one in my opinion, but that's why it's my favorite. I don't think I do angst all that well, or I didn't before learning how to in this story. And so I'm sort of desperately proud of this moment in chapter 13:

Harry sighs, his own gaze wandering over the surface of Draco’s desk. He hears a shout from outside the window, half startled from a tired reverie, and he walks to the sill, peers out—and sees what had Draco transfixed.

The gasp he makes when he realises is small enough to nearly be inaudible. It’s a new cut… to only be thinking of this now. When did it occur to Draco? Right away? A few days into it? Harry watches them out the window, whooping and diving on their brooms and thinks, When was it that Draco realised he could no longer fly?

I wrote that bit and then just sat here and sobbed. I just cried and cried and cried.

And there WAS a scene I knew would be in it when I started practically! I worked this story for ten chapters to get to, I'm not kidding, ONE LINE. I spent so long getting it in just the place for the scene in the Prefect's bathroom (though the actual location was a late stroke of inspiration) and Harry's line, when Draco had been about to jack him off, or get close to it, and then felt ashamed that he'd gotten so close to doing something that might have a life-altering affect on him, so that he joked it off, or tried to-- "I only wanted to toy with you a bit, Potter," to then have Harry meet him in that dangerous space of yearning and say: "Toy with me then." GOD, I had that moment in my head forever and I was just rabid to get there, you know?

But then all the stuff after that scene... sort of shaped itself after I'd written it, so a lot of it was a surprise to me too. Not the resolution of Sam's and Draco's magic; I knew where I was going with that. But I had to figure out Harry's. And all the small details of their relationship after that... I only got to those in the writing itself. When Harry comes to Draco's and they have that shower? Man, that was news to me! But Draco began undressing, and he said, "I like you wet," and I was like holy shit, yes, let's escalate this! And it gave me the in I needed to see how Draco's curse went into effect, because I hadn't seen how it was going to go up to that point, only that it had to happen. How they were together, emotionally bare, because of the almost-sex, gave me the answer, and I was like, OH. Oh, it's the love, isn't it? Which was a wonderful thing to realize. And then the next piece came after that. I did know it was going to happen after the indoor forest. I had that forest in mind from the beginning as well. But I didn't know why it happened then until I was in that part of their relationship with them.

Gosh, thank you SO MUCH for this Ask, Starry! It is a complete joy to get to finally talk about this story. <3

[orbmanson7]

So I just jotted down some notes since I'm at work and watched it on my phone, but here's what things I said while watching:

(spoilers ahoy, obviously)

-so Varian can play piano?? Since when?

-oh so we're finally getting to that plot point about Quirin being in the brotherhood too

-very National Treasure all of a sudden...

-ohh making jokes about their proposal again, these two 😍

-hmmmmm Quirin? Buddy?

-ah, so they decided to fuck up ruddiger again, make him a big ol bandersnatch because he can fight better that way

-well that or he can be ridden better that way... Hm

-oohhhhh MY ECLIPSE THEORY! Hell yES

-oh shit, oh shit

-oh dip, good on Cass, thank God she's done with Zhan Tiri's lying ass

-Ah, good call on the Zhan tiri & Demanitus flashbacks, better mark my bingo card

-oh dang the whole brotherhood, I don't know why there weren't more people hopping on how obviously Edmund would be just as likely a sleeper agent....hmmm

-omg Cass please. This girl NEVER knew what she wanted, raps

-oh hell yes, finally a good fucking action sequence

-aww she called Varian "V" that's so cute why haven't they been doing that all along, they really are like siblings now

-ayyy they gave the whole "father, please, I know you're still in there" bit to Eugene instead of Varian. I am SO HERE for that

-had to do it three times though huh

-oh shit it's A:TLA up in this bitch

-fuck yeah MAX!! GET 'EM

-ayy buddy song is back

-JESUS FUCK Zhan Tiri pulling the creepiest shit DAMN (ah well now I Know that fucking face she made was courtesy of Tom caulfield, fucking hell)

-oh. Yellow rocks?

-VARIAN oh god

-😍 Rapunzel's brown hair, it's absolutely beautiful

-you know, for someone who literally just insulted someone about their ego being their downfall, Zhan tiri sure is taking their sweet time when they obviously could just kill everyone instantly, like... Is she just trying to savor the moment or what

-oh my god, her hair blinking in and out from blonde to brunette like that? Oh that is SO COOL but also fucking weird??

-oh. oh no.

-hell yeah, get her, girls!

-i fucKIN KNEW CASS WOULD DIE. SON OF A BITCH, I CALLED IT. I CALLED IT IN SEASON TWO

-oh. I did NOT call her being brought back to life, though. That's...uhm

-you know, the way raps cut her hair again? Fucking amazing. I was So into that

-omg that finale was absolutely incredible. Amazing. Spectacular!

-AND LANCE ADOPTED THE GIRLS!!! THATS THE BEST CANON EVER

-aww Varian became a royal engineer!! He got to do exactly what he wanted to accomplish from all the way back in season 1, episode 1! That's so cute omg

-😍 the final proposal. And she finally said Yes. So beautiful

Oh man, y'all. The best I could have asked for, this was an absolute masterpiece of a series. I loved it so, so much.

I can't wait to rewatch it and share it with so many people so they can experience how amazing it is, as well.

Just....wow.