#the show version is.. interesting in diff ways

[alphacommander]

Quick warm up sketch. trying to figure how I wanna draw em :D

[slaygentford]

the diff between the 98 cabaret revival and the current cabaret revival really simply is the positioning of the emcee in relation to the rise of fascism, like yeah alan cumming's emcee is raunchy and has a real personality and eddie redmayne's emcee is essentially "just" a clown... those are just symptoms of the bigger actual shift which is that alan cumming's emcee is a victim of the holocaust by the end, representing the queer cabaret-goers, whereas eddie redmayne's emcee is more of a representation of the trajectory of the city itself... right like he starts as a clown and then as the political situation worsens he turns into an increasingly freaky clown until he takes off all of his makeup and costumes and even his wig and thats when we find out hes been blond-haired and blue-eyed all along. and then by the end of course he's in a perfect brown suit and so is everyone else who stays in the city, including sally. so in a lot of ways the 98 revival focuses on the tragedy of the oppressed whereas eddie redmayneret is about the complicity of those who, unlike cliff, make the choice to stay. which is extra interesting bc cliff in this new production is Black, which makes so many of sally's decisions esp staying in berlin very starkly about her whiteness. she has a choice and she makes it. the emcee and sally are always one creature more or less, but I've never seen a production of it before where sally is such an active character and so actively like the emcee. the Kit Kat club is of course hotel california but she is also literally handed a ticket to leave to paris with no strings and yet… the emcee is a malevolent force trapping her but he’s also a reflection of her and they are two heads of the same creature, aligned as they always are in all productions but this time in a very evil way — Sally takes off her wig and is blonde too. the emcee is ALWAYS a cosmic force and not a human and this is the most uncharacter nonhuman version of him yet, and it’s so fucking freaky when sally accesses that/mimics his movements/makes the active choice to remain “apolitical.” and I think that’s why this show is getting such a response is because it’s saying very starkly if you are white then which side are you on? anyway. Stream Eddie redmayneret

[inkareds]

Heyoo quick question to my Modern HOTD fans!

How do you see Aegon modern ver?

Tw for drugs and alcohol

Cus one hand I can see him as a classic frat boy who fucks around, gets bitches, loves partying, lowkey misogynistic, and hates responsibilites

BUT I feel like modern him could also be the rebelious alternative troublemaker. NOW HEAR ME OUT!!!!

I know some people think Aemond would be the baddie w a motorcycle and edgy taste. While I do think he'd have edginess to him, I feel like he's more performative emo than like actually rebelious punk/alternative. Mainly bcs canon him is like someone who is ambitious, reads a lot, extremely smart, and strong. I feel like modern Aemond would reflect that, someone who only ACTS and DRESSES edgy bcs of teenage angst that was never resolved. In reality? The moment he needs to look even slightly professional, he's ditching the chain necklaces and the edgelord vibe and fully lean into the future CEO/Academic vibes. He seems like the person who at first glance seemed to know underground bands, indie as fuck, probably rebels and hates everything, then you get to know him and he's a rule follower who's is just extremely resourceful and knows when he can bend the rules.

Aegon on the otherhand, canon him has friends (who I feel like he doesn't really like), is fucking PATHETIC, can't get BITCHES AND HAS TO FORCE WOMEN, and like his younger version is a tormentor!!! Who's lazy as shit!

So I can imagine him being the actual alternative family member, who actually hates his family and the money and the status. So I really want to know ya'll's take on this. Cus I feel like Aegon would be the alcoholic, drug-user, smoker, guy in the back of your class who not only has the vibe Aemond has but with the added of authenticity. Bcs Aegon's angst and anger comes from an actual hatred of his current situation and him like giving up.

Whilst Aemond is still fighting his way up (and it's working so he's 100% more snobby than Aegon)

Altho I do think KING Aegon is a bit diff

Anyw thankq for listening to my long ass text, I might re explain this on laptop cus I'm writing this in a very messy manner on my phone while walking LMAO.

I'm very VERY interested to how you guys think Aegon, Aemond, or any of the of house of the dragon characters are like modern version. Or how would you modernise the Dance of Dragons

Ps I am currently a show only while I do know the book roughly, my take comes from mainly show knowledge

Also I'd like to add I also like the emo/edgy/rebelious Aemond modern aesthetic and the frat boy trash Aegon aesthetic LMAO

[ca-suffit]

sorry to drop my takes on your inbox, i have an irrational anxiety about posting by myself lol. also i like your perspective on the show, so i like it when you comment on things i send. anyway, on lestat being "mother" to claudia. i personally think louis and lestat are both mother and father in different ways. lestat is claudia's mother in a mommie dearest type of way, he's the stepmother to claudia's cinderella. louis is mom, mom who loves his daughter, mom who couldn't protect his daughter from his abusive partner, mom who feels desesperately guilty over that. and lestat is also father, father the patriarch, father who controls the household, "my father is the worst man alive and i'm his favourite daughter" kind of deal. but louis is also father, daddy lou, daddy who dots on her, daddy who tries to keep his daughter safe

that's what the inbox is for tbh, cuz it's not rly an "irrational anxiety" here. ppl rly will come for u over anything. this topic is a sensitive one too.

I don't have much to add to this tho (although it's nice to hear u like when I do). I think the most interesting thing about all of this is how much it reveals about ppl's own lives. a lot of these stories, between whatever versions, will say a lot about ppl by which character is their fav and then how they interpret motivations, relationships, whatever. the show puts in what it does to give its own canon and then a lot of ppl's personal trauma jumps out otherwise. the length to which fans will defend whichever gender roles says a lot by itself. there's a *lot* to study about this fandom in so many diff ways.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP, am really really interested to read your thoughts on Seven!

*

Ask 2: Hey bpp, can i be honest?? Ive been checked out of the fandom but still keep track of any music releases. So i didnt know abt any rumors abt 7. Imagine me being kind of disappointed that it’s another english song from jk when i watched the mv😅 it feels like his most promoted songs since last year has been all eng song… idk i wanted & expted something diff… i didnt like l&r, dreamers and now 7… it’s back to back lol. Tbf i didnt like My You too and thats in korean. At least not enough to listen!again after the first listen.

Im happy that still with you is finally on spotify tho. I’ll still be waiting excited for his album whenever it comes out. Hopefully ill find something i like in it!!

**

[BPP Note: Both asks above were sent before my "I don't like it..." post. The asks posted below were sent afterwards.]

**

Ask 3:

Same here

All the hype didn't matched with the song

1. rest members songs had so much depth and substance to it while this was the cliche boy chasing a girl song. Like we always dont need deep songs but the quality could be so much better. This was like just another pop song.

I think I'll put this on same level as BAD DECISIONS. But for bad decisions, atleast the chorus was staying on my mind while for this nothing was catchy enough for us to humm. Just because it's JK it will get hype but otherwise it's so generic. I think I liked LEFT and RIGHT way better than Seven. Even the rap portion felt so unnecessary and boring.

2. MV was kinda nice because of the production but concept was too shallow, the stalking and chasing was so outdated. In my country we have like 9293928843837 MVs in this same concept that not many make the same theme songs again.

3. The choreography. We haven't seen the full version. But for tiktok they do the highlight portions if that's so mediocre idk how rest will be. It was again giving the same mediocre showing off choreography and for me backdancers ruined it with their awkward moves.

4. they wanted this song to be played everywhere around the world. But there was nothing catchy enough to attract gp or go viral on tiktok, even if we sped it up. The only way to make everyone listen is to shove it down their throat but doing payola. But idk if investing in payola is worthy for the song. I also doubt the longietivity, as for me it was boring after 2 listens. I'll rather listen Like Crazy or wildflower or closer 20 times than listening this once.

5. I HOPE he'll bring something fresh to the table for his album and don't involve this mediocre producers who uses the same formula and same superstar persona to make a song successful. He is so much talented to sing a song which is so rich in melody and lyrics. And he can produce way better songs by himself.

Prolly a 4/10 for me

*

Ask 4: troye sivan's rush (which also came out last night) is exactly what I wish Seven was. I don't mean that in a 'I expect the things JK to make to be gay' way just in the way it's a fun, very danceable, sexy summer song that doesn't pull its punches. Something about seven feels too run through a commercial sanitizer a few times, even with the explicit lyrics.

***

Hi Anon(s),

Jungkook likes to fuck.

Rather, Andrew Watt likes to fuck and thinks Jungkook can relate.

JK has been talking about wanting to show more mature and explicit sides of himself for a good long while now. So I’m glad he’s finally gotten to do that, confirming for us why he keeps getting noise complaints from his neighbours since the mattresses all over his apartment don't help.

BTS has made songs explicitly referring to sex before (though it's been mostly the rapline doing so). So it's nothing new but I guess it's cool JK gets to share with us that he too has sex.

The question I posed to my friends immediately after watching the MV is, “Do you know who's been doing A&R for BigHit since 2020? I really need to know who is doing A&R for BigHit in America because they’ve been doing an appalling job lately. I'm starting to wonder if it's an inside job cause this song is kinda ass.”

That was me ~11 hours ago.

I didn’t like the song.

I’ve streamed Seven about 20 times since then I think, took a break from the song for a few hours, watched his GMA performance, caught a few minutes of the Wlive, then listened to it again just before writing this post and…

I still don’t like it.

Jungkook did a good job on the song, Latto's verse wasn't terrible, and while the song itself isn’t bad… the song isn’t good either.

It’s painfully, and at this point it’s a pattern so I have to add, predictably, mediocre.

Reserving judgement for the album, but Anons, I agree with you for the most part. The suits at BigHit are trying but they are woefully out of touch with the reasons BTS blew up in the West in the first place. I don't even feel like spending any energy doing a review or even trying to explain what I mean. So I'll just ramble on for a bit but try to keep it brief.

---

I have to give BigHit some credit because I can see what they're going for here. Andrew Watt is a very celebrated producer in the US, he won the Grammy award for Producer of the Year in 2021, he's got A listers in his portfolio. So, he's not a cheap name to book and I can see why the suits at BigHit thought he's the genius to gift them a song clinically designed for American radio.

But that pandejo phoned it in. There isn't a lick of creativity to be found anywhere in all 3 minutes and five seconds.

It reminds me of VIBE by Jimin and Taeyang, as the closest analog to the vague dissatisfaction morphing into annoyance and then pragmatic rationalization I experienced in that same sequence when listening to it the first few times.

The song is disappointing because we've all heard it before. Too many times, and we're bored of it. We've heard JK sing this sort of song for years, as covers mostly. So on one hand, while I guess it's nice JK gets to have an American summer JB-reject pop tune of his own, it's not good enough to be the track that introduces him to the world as a solo artist.

It's fine for any white, blonde, blue-eyed heartthrob that can ride on a pretty face and implicit bias to rack up accolades, it's not good enough for Jungkook.

And BigHit needs to start using whatever leverage a US$10.6 billion market capitalization buys you in Hollywood, to insist for songs that are at least as good as the songs made by BTS members and produced by their in-house team. It's a waste of money and everybody's time to fly a battalion to LA just to record 2014's summer hit in 2023.

In my opinion.

Still With You > Stay Alive > My Time > Stay > Left & Right > My You > Dreamers > Seven

*

All that said, I can't ignore JK has a taste for songs like this, and it's not his fault the song is shit (he didn't write, compose or produce it), so technically he shouldn't be punished for it. And the song is made for radio, while it's not my personal taste a lot of people really like the song (one of my friends likes Seven the most out of all the BTS releases so far), and it will catch on with some support. So, ARMY will support it including me, just to a lesser degree than I've done so far. Fingers crossed JJK1 has something solid on it.

[jack-kellys]

i said i'd do this today so here you all go. disclaimer this is not every single question, just the ones i cared about (so the fun ones)

notes from the most recent uk fansie night q&a:

i was not there but i was sent a video lmao

FOR DAVEY: how much free range have you been able to build on with your character?

answer: ryan said they all basically started with a blank canvas, but davey has rly grown since december. specifically davey's gotten “weirder”, and he hopes that “he will get even more strange.”

LONDON CAST RECORDING?

nothing is confirmed but the whole cast really wants one lmao

dance class from ireland came :) asked abt dance tips and industry ins

fav dance moves/moments in the show 

box jump for ross <3

sam demonstrated the leg pats as his fav

matthew loves the role call triangle lmao

michael demonstrated a front kick they do holding a rolled paper

have you ever hit anyone w something thrown into the audience?

archie tells on jack bromage (who isn't there to defend himself) and how he kicked a paper ball into a kid’s FACE LMFAO

jacob called out matthew for his slingshot hits into the audience 

biggest malfunction during a show?

ryan and michael acted out waiting for bronte and a les to enter during WWH reprise’s scene- “and that is what you call a beginning! ………….chill out, man!” “…you got a problem?” HELLO??

box jump update

if you could put your character into another musical what would it be

davey for mean girls 2023

splasher for matilda

OSCAR FOR B+C???

jack for wicked lmao “him and fiyero might fight”

specs as one of the annoying kids in charlie and the chocolate factory 

kath for sylvia!

ritz for young frankenstein (bc putting on the ritz heh)

CRUTCHIE FOR MOULIN ROUGHEJH PLS matthew ily

mush for annie

ike for something rotten

elmer for WSS

al for a rocky musical (fights.)

romeo for grease!! “kinicky vibe”

how do ur jumps get so high

ross: "i’ve been jumping for.. a long time"

what are the hidden personal gems that audience members might miss during the show?

albert pickpockets one of the theatergoers in medda’s theater. holy shit. and sometimes the actor leaves jacob and actual object to steal in his pocket PLSLOKFSF

crutchie sees snyder from his perch by the soundboard and reacts in fear

how long is fight call and do you call every stunt

this is interesting to me so. depends on the day bc of swings so they do the big fight and child actor stunts every day.

EVERYONES FAV GAGA SONG

ryans is bad romance

poker face ross

applause for sam

matthew is not a gaga person oops

“thank you for that question <3”

how do you approach making roles individual?

“determined early that its a diff version of jack and kath” (bronté)

purposefully ignore things that have come before!!!!

bronte and michael talked a LOT abt their jath 

“can only do the best version of your version” <3 (michael)

doing what you think is the right way, “offering your voice into the discussion” of a character’s legacy/existence. MICHAEL ONCE AGAIN FCUVKING GETS IT THIS IS !! WHAT I WAS FUCKING SAYING. fyi. we understand each other

fav character and why!

ryans is kath heheh

ross’s IS FINCH!! he loves damon and thinks he’s made finch special <3

owen (oscar) rly likes racer!

michael rly likes davey, “unsung hero”

sam likes kath <3

bronte likes the brooklyn newsiessssss, especially stray and mentioned the art piece of stray with a stray :) @chimeofthecomet YOURS BRO SHE MENTIONED YOURS !!!

lucy likes specs

matthew thinks pulitzer is cool to find nuance in

kai’s fav is lillie’s spot!

archie thinks finch is best bc he’s mysterious

damn bradley likes finch too! “always trying to come up with a solution” OKAYYYYY GO DAMON!! gets an a+ in characterization

jacob on his pulitzer villain moment stuff again

spencer likes davey’s contrast!! “one of the strongest characters in the group”

fastest quick change you’ve done

the oscar immediately laments his changes lmfaoooo

michael was morgrim??? in lion witch wardrobe??? a wolf??

preshow rituals

RYAN WATCHES STREISANDS IM THE GREATEST STAR LMAOOO??

interesting he was given her as a reference for a fast talking new yorker so heavy city accented davey jacobs truthers rise up we won (its just me) we won! 

the new kids dressing room does the wolf of wall street chest hitting thing lol

michael listens to two diff revolution speeches i think?

bronte’s is seeing ryan :)

THE GIRLSIES PLAY HIDE AND SEEK BACKSTAGE DURING THEIR BREAKS PLS

matthew talks abt what alex hatton used to do, look at a pic of his gf and grandparent pls aw

archie used to jump on a chair at the five before he. hit his head. bro

jacob does a diff riddle for each mic check!!

that’s all the best ones i could catch!!

[good-realtor-bad-realtor-dynamic]

First thoughts from just one watch under shitty circumstances with bad internet and worse sound:

RAMBLING FRANK vs RUSSIA THOUGHTS

I was very worried about this episode with how sacred the S5 DENNIS System episode is to us all. Didn't want a Thunder Gun 4 situation on our hands and thankfully they avoided it so hard! I think having the plot with Charlie, Frank, the mums, Uncle Jack and chess really helped out to make it feel more than a direct sequel.

SINNED -> DENNIS -> SINNED -> DENNIS — I'm so impressed with this. How did I, a wholeass Sunny fan, miss this for so long?! Three cheers to whoever came up with that inversion, really! Definitely something that happened in the writer's room and made everyone lose their shit for sure. I wonder who it was, could be Meg or another writer too, given how collaborative they all are!

And can I just say, Dennis the Restaurant Manager... oh how I love you so much! The Waitress is Getting Married is a personal favourite of mine and I wasn't expecting a bit of a redux of that whole situation.

I was so worried about all the "Mac getting a boyfriend and it being Ryan Reynolds" theories and I absolutely wanted none of that. Everyone had speculated it to death and it wouldn't have been fun anymore (not to mention I do not care for RR in my Sunny, I'm sure he's fine, but I don't need his and Rob's PR relationship filtering through into my dickandball show no I don't "find them cute" and I won't elaborate here anymore).

I know we'd guessed that Johnny could've been Dennis catfishing Mac, but it definitely felt like we were doing an Insane Fan Speculation more than anything — and for it to turn out to be correct! And in the best way, because we never could've seen the vibrating anal beads coming!! That's the best kind of "called it but it's still unpredictable".

It really broke my mind, this episode did. And don't even get me started on the Macdennis and queer Dennis of it all! As a longtime believer in Bisexual Dennis, I won so hard! All of us Queer Dennis Truthers won so fucking hard!

[Unpopular Take incoming] This is the first Sunny episode credited to Meg for writing that has felt so wholly "Classic Sunny" and super fuckin hilarious to me. I always appreciated her understanding of the characters and she's always a very solid writer, but this is the first time where I felt myself thinking ok, you she write RCG/Hornsby/Marder-Rosell/Chernins-level of an insane chaotic Sunny episode with multiple belly laughs and not just slightly Community-fied versions of the gang.

The closest her writing has felt like true Sunny to me before this was Dee Day, so I'm glad to see her grow and improve too, and I wonder if the podcast rewatch has helped in that regard! Must also help to have a classic S5 structure to play off in The D.E.N.N.I.S. System! (And ofc writing is collaborative, so well done to RCG and all the writers who pitched ideas and rewrites that ended up shaping this episode!)

I knew Heath Cullens directing meant a good chance of some interesting camerawork (and I've gotta say that even The Gang Inflates had some more dynamic shots than we've been getting in some of the later years and it's got to be the Cullens directing), but I wasn't expecting a whole visual callback to Being Frank! Loved it.

And the editing! The DENNIS System has always been great for cutaway gags and fun little inserts, so I loved seeing that carried out here with the cuts to Mac and Dee fucking up their dates and then finally pulling out the Magic Tissue of Mummy Issues (oh the potential for meta especially with the twins!). The pacing was so good!

Sunny pacing needs to feel like Mac crashing Dee's car into a wall while we are all Charlie watching it in real time and screaming when it's over.

Random strings of words because I'm too excited to be coherent:

Glenn's acting. His faces. His eyes. His range in this episode. Glacting. Juilliard. All the hits. All the big ones.

Mac and Dennis have canonically had sex in two different ways now, and yes, I'm including their sex tape/porn viewing sessions where they both masturbate together

Did Dennis pull out Mac's anal beads when he was asleep?

Vibrating fucking anal beads what the ACTUAL FUCK!

How many people did the gang drug again?

Danny DeVito with a vibrating asshole comedy acting 12/10 he's an international treasure for a reason

Dee stealing people's phones she's so stupid and bad at men. Never change Dee.

Uncle Jack though, pls change plz, I'm an IASIP loving degenerate so I laughed in horror at his creepiness ofc as I have since 1x7 but fucking hell man, can he be in his jail era already! Poor Charlie!

Hey, Charlie's got new America's just as we were promised on the pod

Oh I should make a post about everything we saw in this episode and that episode of the pod where they gave us all those hints, especially Meg talking about struggling with this cold open — added to the never-ending list of drafts and posts that will hopefully one day make it onto the blog yeah I'm lying to myself now

Parental issues everywhere this season, especially with the mums. Reynolds kids, I can't wait to lovingly put you under my microscope. Once I've rewatched this episode with good sound.

Also just in general, the SINNED system just says SO much about our babygirl's psychology, does it not? Why did so much of it sound like self-insert speeches, like he's been doing this to Mac or smt? Don't even talk to me about The Gang Chokes!

What does r/iasip have to say about— no, I'm in my happy place, I'm not even gonna go there.

Mrs Mac and Mrs Kelly watching TV together like that, they really are lesbian life partners.

Dennis blue shirt with top-stick between those buttons, my beloved. I am looking, respectfully.

And can we talk about the "opening the ketchup bottle" scene? We have to take about that scene! Dennis... he's ruining me... need to gnaw on him and suck on his fingers wait I'm browning out...

Sidenote: I love whenever the show references news stories which were super fucking big at a very specific time in a very specific niche, especially with my whole family being so chess-obsessed. The cheating scandals and anal bead… never thought I'd see a Sunny crossover but can't say I'm not loving the shit out of it!

[iapetusneume]

Wing Tier List - Primarch Version

So, because my partners encouraged me to write this and there seems to be a few mutuals who are interested, I’ve compiled my Wing Tier List for the Primarchs. This is inspired by this post about an exchange between Jaghatai Khan and Mortarion shortly after Mortarion ascended to be a Daemon Primarch. I am in no way an expert in 40k tabletop rules or lore - these rulings were made mostly off of Vibes with a dash of the lore that I know - or of wings on fictional characters. I’m just someone who has spent way too much time thinking about this.

I should also mention that, while it is impossible for me to be Normal about liking Sanguinius, this did not influence the actual rankings.

(I’m going to try to use official art as best I can.)

So, let’s get to it!

Contender: Sanguinius of the Blood Angels

Because to start off with anyone else would be heresy. His wings are so well-known that he carries the nickname “the Angel” among his brothers as well as the other Legions. Jokingly and lovingly called Hawk-Boy by fandom. Commonly-known in canon as one of the two most prettiest primarchs. Wings so significant that when I went to google “which primarchs have wings” to make sure I wasn’t missing someone Obvious, I got this:

Yeah, I didn’t even say Sanguinius in my search, but Google just Knew. (And also, thank you so much to @plagueplanethq​ for helping me fact-check how many Primarchs actually have wings.)

Anyways. Sanguinius is first to be evaluated because he’s the OG winged-primarch. He’s also happens to be the only Loyalist on this list.

Analysis: When setting out to do the look for Sanguinius, the original artists leaned in super hard to the “Angel” keyword and not so much the “vampire” part. If you showed me a picture of Sanguinius before I was into 40k and asked me what he is, I would have never guessed “vampire.” I have seen these sorts of wings hundreds of times. Are they nicely done? Oh definitely. Does he make it look good? Absolutely. How unique is it? ...not really? He’s an angel, and has white wings. The artists understood the assignment and did a great job, but this isn’t exactly new:

7 / 10

++

Contender: Angron of the World Eaters

Analysis: When a dude has a nickname like “the Red Angel,” well, of course he’ll eventually get wings. I was a little worried at first that this was going to be too much “traditional demon or devil” wings, but I do like some of the detail on the model! Doing skin and/or scales for the wings also feels more practical for someone pledged to Khorne, because it feels like a chance of less maintenance than if feathers get all messy. (IRL birds will go take baths and such when they need it, but is Angron going to bother? That’s up for debate.) The spikes are very nice, and the few holes in the wings add some personality. It’s also a good reminder that they’re flying because magic and because the Warp laughs in the face of science. Consider me pleasantly surprised:

7 / 10

++

Contender: Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons

Analysis: Feathers make sense for the guy pledged to a god who has birb motifs going on. I really appreciate the fact that these feathers are distinct, and have a bit of character. Also, honorable mention to hexygoblin‘s paint job here, which is stunning. He’s definitely got the best feathers on wings. I also feel like Tzeentch would appreciate a bit of style:

8 / 10

++

Contender: Fulgrim of the Emperor’s Children

Analysis: It is truly a shame that we don’t have a more current model for Daemon Primarch Fulgrim. I am forced to go off of the vibe of the model and that first image of him screaming to try to make a wing assessment. This looks fairly standard for what one might think of demons or devils, and I gotta say, I’m not impressed? The second drawing suggests feathers, which would make sense for the Phoenix. Mostly, I would expect the primarch who pledged themself to the Lord of Excess to be more... excessive? I’ve seen some cool fanart for different wing interpretations for Fulgrim, but I’m trying to go off of ‘canon’ as much as I can here:

5 / 10

(I will have to reassess one day when he gets a new Daemon Primarch model. Maybe we don'thave one yet because it isn't perfect.)

++

Contender: Mortarion of the Death Guard

Analysis: I’m definitely getting moth vibes from the way the wings are done on the model. This model was also designed a bit more naturally to look like he’s flying. Artist took the prompt of “decay, so probably flies” and gave him flies on the model, which means bonus wings. But this isn’t a “how many wings” contest, this is for “coolest wings.” (Mortarion would win for sheer quantity of wings because of all of the flies.) There’s no way he’s flying with those wings without Warp Shenanigans. I feel like these are the most unique out of all of them. The paint job and also how the wings looks like they’re trying to be tatters also suggests the futile fight against entropy, which is the Lord of Decay’s bag:

9 / 10

++

Honorable mention (since he’s not a primarch) is Vashtorr, because I wanted a 10 / 10 on this list:

Coolest wings, for sure. Should they be able to fly? Absolutely not. But Chaos Gods don’t care what you think is logical.

10 / 10

.

.

.

*drumroll* WINNER OF THE [PRIMARCH] TIER LIST IS...........

MORTARION!

[ge]

sumt about chung myung having a (relatively) softer heart than tang bo makes me melt... u can see tang bo doesn't reach out to things that he feels doesn't need it, but chung myung actively takes things into his heart... man i love how they're so diff from how they're presented as. usually the smiley, touchy one would be the self sacrificial one

(idk where this is from but is tang bo actually cold to others when not in front of chung myung...? this is such a popular thing i see in works lol)

yall genuinely have no idea how often im thinking about tangchung character studies theyre so interesting to pick and prod at.. chung myung keeping his softness under so many many layers of rock hard defense and even when u get close enough to him to break those walls down, hes so unused to being unprotected that gentleness feels like something that has to be coerced, gripped, and dragged out of him, affection making his chest feel clogged and cumbersome, and love felt so heavily it feels like it could bring down the sky.. he feels with such an overwhelming excessiveness that displaying it freely in any way other than casual familiarity feels like humiliation, and asking for it in return even more shameful.. he is a empty house hungry to be lived in and yearning for a flame but he would much rather let his terse and concise and seemingly brutish actions speak louder than his softness, no matter how it may end up being interpreted....my long winded way of saying i think chung myung has an extreme hedgehog dilemma and is a tsundere about it

tang bo is a little trickier for me to get a read on maybe bc i hvnt read much about him yet and most of my knowledge of him comes from fics & twt users LOL (which im aware are mostly extremely ooc..it kinda grates on me knowing most or all of my knowledge of him is secondhand and distorted) but i must agree with you.. the tang bo in my head is predominately headcanon ive built up myself so whatever i say about him might be extremely off the mark but idgaf..i like the version of him i have in my head currently..

compared to chung myung, tang bo feels hrmmm..more sociable but impersonal.. im not sure if he can be called cold exactly, but he doesnt seem to show much care or affection to anyone he isnt particularly close with.. he seems to have an almost impassive business type relationship with most people, including his family though it should be mentioned aside from chung myung, he is also friendly towards chung mun and chung jin, having been said to drink w the three of them often.. from what ive seen he seems to treat them like a second family in a sort of way? i attribute tang bos dispassionate demeanor to his family, the way he was raised formed a sort of crust around not, not so much a wall but a poker face..and chung myung was the first person who directly challenged the monotony of his life

smth about the dichotomy of their natures is sooo interesting urhg.. tang bo, a young master of a reputable rich family given everything he could ever want for, taught to be upright and gallant since birth, wearing the seemingly permanent mask of impersonality and tranquility that was hammered into him since young, meeting someone who brought back colour into his dull world for the first time in his life and suddenly that mask starts crumbling and tang bo finds himself happy in a way he was never allowed to be under the watchful eye of his familys strict elders

compared to chung myung whos life was nearly the complete opposite, an orphan taken in and raised in a sect by people who showered him w as much uninhibited familial love as he could want for, taught him to be honourable and respectable, grows up w a penchant for keeping his true emotions hidden deep underneath his surface, not out of malice or obligation but because, unlike tang bo, it was simply how he was..meeting and befriending tang bo made him begin to WANT, for the very first time..to actually show someone how deeply he can care, to peel back the veil and show someone the desperation for intimacy he desires so profoundly that buzzes underneath his skin in a way he couldnt, wouldnt, speak of out of the sheer indignity of it all...yeah so basically what im saying again is that hes tsundere and tang bo saw that and was like i need that gay boy

[2af-afterdark]

What are your opinions on all the Nu:Carnival characters? Eiden, the familiars, the clan members and Rin

This is not a coherent list. Mostly just my rambling thoughts on them. In introduction order!

Eiden: How could you not love our sweet little switch? He's such a joy to experience the story thorough and his pure and honest care for everyone makes it easy to see how they've all fallen for him. Kinky and caring, rolls with the punches, gets passionate on his loved one's behalf, easy to empathize with; I adore him (which is why I bothered to pull for him enough times to have his only unit be at 3*)

Aster: I love a dominate twink. I do find it hilarious that he got kinks people usually balk at in his few sex scenes (foot job and sounding). I love how he is the businessman of the team. What I learned about his past when Huey was still around made me want to cry. Support his desire to collect and spoil cute monsters. Hate that the devs refuse to give him more cards because he isn't a clan member. WHY GIVE HIM ANY CARDS IF YOU WILL NEVER RELEASE NEW ONES???? HE HAS FANS TOO!!!

Morvay: I love this big idiot (affectionate). He is always trying his best, even if he thinks with his stomach/asshole. I only want good things for him and am upset at the current story making me wait to see if he is alright! Give my succubus back! Same critique as with Aster: HE HAS FANS! WHY REFUSE TO GIVE HIM NEW CARDS??? It's such a dumb rule.

Yakumo: Someone please get this boy some confidence and self-worth. I cannot stand to watch him be so insecure when all I want to do is kiss his adorable face and tell him he is wonderful and perfect. His protective nature despite his belief he is not good enough moves me to fucking tears. Someone... This boy needs way more love.

Edmond: Cannot comment. I have no interest in him. He's just not my thing. He is very pretty though.

Olivine: Slutty priest makes brain go brrrrrr. I am just... the way his parents pushed him but he honestly tries so hard for everyone! I love him! He's not my favorite, but every time I read his cards I feel like I fall in love with him for the first time all over again and I do not know how to explain it.

Quincy: Okay, stop. Listen. I just... He's old. He's so old that he has seen people be born and die and leave him behind and he's tired physically, emotionally, and mentally. He has this barrier set up to protect himself, but to see Eiden break down that barrier and get Quincy wanting to be close to another person with a finite lifespan again? FUCK ME! Plus, you know, big and buff and hot. Size diff kink go brrrr.

Topper: Clearly the best character in the game. All power to Master Twilight Star-Show Max Lucifer Topper III!!!! I love how he gets his own outfit to match Quincy's during events.

Kuya: Much the same I said about Quincy, but in a more spicy flavor. He has the added bonus of being a yokai, creatures that have... questionable relationships with humans. He has lived so long that life has lost it's appeal to him as there is nothing worth living for; not knowledge, not power, not people. He's reached ennui and literally cannot see the point of his own life (we see a past version of him debating killing himself in one card). Eiden though? Eiden has brought that small spark of joy back into his life. He fucks with Eiden and can often take it in a direction that seems too far from a human perspective, but he never genuinely allows Eiden to come to harm. He is genuinely excited (in a subtle way) when he learns something new, and seems to be happy when his cynical view of the world is disproven (though he tries not to show it). Eiden has allowed him to open up to the world again, especially because Eiden doesn't forcibly bash his lived experience but also doesn't roll over and accept Kuya's bad traits. I love Kuya. He is my favorite. Also, he somehow got a shit ton of my kinks and I... yeah...

Garu: Cute puppy boy. He gets head scratches and wags his tail. I love how genuine he is. Garu is exactly who he says he is in every way and it is very refreshing. I just want to love and spoil him.

Karu: I admit... Karu is not my cup of tea. It may be because I'm not actually a fan of bratty tsunderes. It can be cute sometimes, but most of the time I find myself rolling my eyes and missing Garu. A shame because I usually like characters that have two conflicting personalities.

Blade: SOMEONE GET HIM A HUG!!!! He was alone for so long in that forest and he deserves better. I'm so glad he found Eiden and came out of there, away from that loneliness and waiting. Every time he defaults back into droid mode I get sad because I want him to enjoy being alive and being in love. Every time he says "Darling" my brain turns off and I wake up hours later with no memories.

Dante: It is hilarious how he innocent he really is while trying to act like the king. Eiden plays him like a fiddle. Hearing his past can make me sad though. I mean... Why does this game keep hurting our boys like this????

Rin: Why hot if evil? He has an eye mask and a tongue piercing... I am a weak person. I have things I like and he has them. I also want to slap him though because he hurt the boys I love! Also... yeah... I need the story here...

Rei: POWER BOTTOM! WE FINALLY GOT A POWER BOTTOM!!! And I love that he's not immediately all over Eiden but treats their relationship more casually. It's a refreshing dynamic. Also, he's a scientist doing questionable research in his house which is just 😳😳😳 Go on, Sir.

Father: Why is he named that? Is there secret lore or..??? Another animal companion to get cute event outfits. And apparently he's an animal that people have entire legends/wives tales about? I NEED THE LORE!!!

Huey: Fuck that guy.

[jay-marti]

FAQ for this Blog and Power scaling in general

I realize the audience that makes up the Epithet Erased Fandom and people who are interested in Power Scaling is a small overlap(I’m the overlap) so I’m making this to explain the purpose behind this blog and to help those in the Epithet Fandom better understand what I’m talking about.

Q: What is Power scaling?

A: Power Scaling is the practice of measuring the power of fictional characters, especially in relation to one another and usually under the basis of a “who would win a fight scenario”.

Q: How does Power Scaling Work?

A: Power Scaling is primarily predicated on the concept of the transitive property, or simply if A>B and B>C then A>C, this translates practically to saying that if character A beat a character B who beat Character C, then character A beats Character, this also extends to feats, another important aspect of Power scaling and essentially just things the character has done that are relevant in a fight scenario. The third and final relevant aspect of power scaling is statements, In-world and official creator statements that comment on the potential power of a character, even when not shown (ex. Zora proclaiming she wasn’t even using a “tenth” of her power during the Western Arc)

Q: What does “Diff” mean?

A: Diffing is a term used by many Power Scalers including myself, it is a short version of the word “Difficulty” and refers to how hard it is for the victor of a specific fight to win, this gives the matchup a greater context and shows that not every win or loss is on the same level. The range of Difficulty ranges from Neg, or Negative Difficulty, where it takes more effort for the winner to not beat their opponent, to Extreme Difficulty, where the winner barely won out using everything they possibly had and could’ve gone the other way under slightly different circumstances, with no, low, mid, and high difficulty between the two.

Q: What is Prep Time?

A: Prep time is a condition occasionally added to fights in where one or both combatants are aware they are going to fight, this is usually applied to characters with high intelligence and resources who would normally lose without access to those resources or the time to formulate a victory strategy, the most common example being Batman. It applies particularly to Epithet Erased given the fact that 80% of the world don’t have superpowers and would normally be outmatched in a fight can have the time to plan out against an opponent.

Q: Why Scale Epithet Erased?

A: Epithet Erased is my favorite piece of media of all time, The Characters are phenomenal, The Story is intriguing, The world is vast and full of mystery, The emotion is enough to bring a grown man to a bawling mess, but what I’ve seen fall to wayside quite a bit in fandom discussions is the namesake of the series itself, the Epithets. The Power System is one of the many reasons I love the series and while I love all other aspects, this one is criminally under discussed, and so I’ve made this blog to be a conversation starter and a place where I can share my love of Epithets through Scaling, It’s going to be a fun little ride this blog, so I would really appreciate a follow so that I can share my thoughts and love for this series with as many people as I can, who knows maybe I’ll get some people who are more interested in fighting and power systems hooked onto the series, that’d be cool.

[ovwechoes]

Can I just say how much I like how you write Widowmaker so far? Focusing more on how she feels with her partner and how much those feelings mean to her is very interesting. It's more unique than the "frigid, professional, and unfeeling 24/7" version people tend to write her, especially in relationships. This isn't to bash people who do write her like that. It makes perfect sense for Widowmaker, but you have a refreshing take on her.

I appreciate that anon! I like to write her as someone who keeps that façade up because it's easier to guard herself and maintain that public image of a natural killer, and explore her emotions as a result of the trauma she went through with Moira's experiments and Blackwatch as a whole. It's better than only looking at her as though she's only one thing, when everyone has multiple sides to themselves.

Honestly, I love Widowmaker and exploring her emotions as though she's regaining them all over again with hesitance. She's still an organic human with a human mind, so I don't think she's ever had her emotions removed completely - just been too scared to show them because of what Blackwatch/Moira did to her and what they might do if she were to drop the mask she wears. She's the perfect example of PTSD/trauma being shown in a diff way, I guess in an avoidance attachment style yaknow? It makes sense for her to be written that way but I genuinely think she's much deeper than those traits alone

IDK i just love her and thank you for the compliments! I rly appreciate them c:

[quibbs126]

I’ve been drawing more of my North and South Dragons these past couple days

I tell you, for some reason it’s been really hard for me to make a full sketch page like I used to. I think it’s because my brain now thinks it needs every sketch to be connected with one another in terms of characters and things I’m going for, when before that wasn’t really the case. But whatever, I’ll figure that out

So first up I had some normal Cookie disguises for Choco and Milk Creme, in which they go by their actual names, just omitting the Dragon bit, mostly because most Cookies don’t actually know their real names and it’s just easier. I based Choco off the physicians and Milk the warriors just because I wanted to base them off other NPCs in the kingdom, and doing different roles seemed more interesting. Another design idea was making them look more like some of the villagers we see, like Milk Creme looking like one of the Milk Tribe, but I just went with this instead. Maybe those are other disguises they use when they feel like it

With their colors, I wanted to make them look more like Dark Cacao, giving them purplish eyes (though they’re more of a pink), and I gave them somewhat similar dough colors, with Choco Creme’s being darker and Milk Creme’s being lighter. They’re also supposed to have long hair (though probably not as long as his), they just keep it tied up

So since I based them on Cookies in the Citadel, I decided that these guys actually show up in the Citadel. Every couple decades, they disguise themselves as members of the Citadel, Choco Creme a physician and Milk Creme a soldier, and spend a few days there, just to see how things are going with Dark Cacao and his kingdom. The other people of the Citadel know they’re odd, as they mysteriously show up one day and mysteriously leave shortly after, and no one has seen them outside of those days, not to mention there are those who have been there long enough to see them more than once and know they haven’t aged since last time, but at this point they’ve been showing up for longer than anyone but Dark Cacao knows, and he seems to be fine with them, so they’re just something people accept. Many suspect that they’re the Twin Dragons, but no one knows for sure. During one of these, they’ve met Dark Choco Cookie (though they likely first met him as a freshly baked Cookie), when he was a child. They probably told him who they are, but he’s meant to keep it a secret, which he does. Not sure if they know what happened to him though

Anyways, then I wanted to draw the two and Dark Cacao as smalls, with younger versions of their designs. To be honest, not sure I’m satisfied with these designs; I know I had a lot of trouble with the hair and I ended up just giving up, and it was a similar story with their outfits. I tried to base them off of Dark Cacao’s new flashback outfit, because I’m imagining that he would have gotten it from them. I also wanted to give them identical outfits, since they were a lot more attached to each other when younger. Over time they grew to individualize themselves more rather than just being a pair, but this was before then. For Dark Cacao I redesigned that young look I gave him before, making it have darker colors. I think I like this one better, I feel like it looks more like him? Also I’m aware that the fabric is facing the wrong way on his outfit, that was supposed to be intentional

To be honest, now that I’ve finished Episode 14, I feel like changing my personal headcanon for Dark Cacao’s backstory, but I was already making this before doing that, so I’ll just do that later. But some things I plan on keeping is that as a young child he ended up lost and alone in the mountains, the dragons find him and take him in, he grows up essentially a loner of the wilds, who goes around helping other Cookies, he meets the Ancient Cookies and we know the rest from there. Which I now realize is essentially the backstory I already gave him, but in my head there are more differences, like the dragons’ age when they meet him and stuff like that. And I might just throw it all out and start fresh. I dunno I’ll work on it

And the last one I did mostly just to fill up space, but it’s supposed to be one of them finding him and bringing him back with them. I like to imagine they’re big enough to hold him in one hand. Also it’s supposed to be like that ferret thing, but maybe I’ll draw that more clearly later. But they do pick him up in one hand and throw him around like a rag doll.

Also the dialogue is in parentheses because they’re supposed to be talking in the Dragon language, but I don’t know what that would look like, so just assume it’s in another language but being translated

Anyways yeah, dragons

[ca-suffit]

i'm sorry your blog has turned into a forum to discuss lestat's queerness lol ppl could at least try to keep it on topic, this blog is about racism. the point is that louis gets treated differently by fandom because ppl are centering white queerness, idk if this is the right space to try to qualify how that white queerness is presented, or if it's even worth it to try and determine if the way lestat is presented is queer enough. let's bring the conversation back to louis and claduia pls!! one anon said that the show does not try to set a line for what is or isn't queer enough and that's so true and such a fucking fantastic thing, but then most conversations about queerness (whether positive or negative) are about lestat or fucking santiago of all characters! and i'm already getting annoyed at the amount of posts i see about nicki. luckily i have somehow managed to curate my tumblr and twitter so i see stuff about louis and claudia too but content like that is hard to find

there's a new topic every day tbh so it's fine lol. I'm trying to clear my inbox today and there's like 6 diff topics. it p much always ties back to racism tho, no matter what it is, ppl just need help connecting the dots. I find it rly interesting watching the things ppl pick up from each anon and the topics ppl come to talk about here in the first place.

tbh all of these conversations have had me thinking about claudia and her queerness but I don't have full notes yet. I keep thinking of her interest in emily dickinson, someone who was isolated a lot in her life and also known thru her writing after death. I feel like claudia is talked about the least of all in these conversations and has the most to explore tbh?? she got to see queerness "growing up" but not exactly always in a healthy way or a way she'd relate to for various reasons. her line to louis in S2 "tell me what a woman is, I'll tell u what a woman is." she's influenced by both louis and lestat, succeeds where they fail, then is killed bcuz she's never allowed to be her own person outside of them anyway. and it's insane how everyone was literally saying "happy pride" cos lestat shouted down the homophobe when claudia and madeleine later died. the audience disconnect in some ppl jfc.

there's also been some talk of gabrielle and claudia meeting (in fan theories, not like it does happen or will happen). I think that's interesting to explore too bcuz gabrielle also has vaguely canon queer vibes at times but is also uncomfortable with what "woman" means, however ppl wanna interpret that. claudia has to create a version of "woman" for herself and defend it constantly. they're both trapped in their bodies in ways and I think a lot could be said in many ways surrounding queerness, gender, and privilege between an older white woman and a young black girl, especially from the same family. I don't think they'd rly get along but I do wonder what claudia would think about seeing a version of lestat as a woman instead. I also think putting lestat in a room with both of them would make him want to kill himself lol.

[coldflasher]

Joe flr character bingo? 👀

sorry anon i was outside in the garden planting raspberry bushes. anyway this is SUCH a good one and I am kinda mad there are so few squares I can tick off for Joe bc i genuinely love him but not like That

Joe is such a comfort character for me in a very diff way. he makes my daddy issues go brrrrr cos THIS is a dad. THE dad of all time. if i could pick any dad ever to have instead of mine i think i'd pick him.

I think he's so fucking funny first of all. it's my fave thing to put him in a fic and just. mess with him. im poking him with a stick. im watching his blood pressure go up. i'm making him deal with leonard snart and he's about to explode every time they're in a room together. i just. have so many affectionate feelings for him and his seething hatred of this man. and the earth 2 version where he's exactly like that but to BARRY? iconic. no notes. rip earth 2 joe you were a bitch and i miss you sm

THAT BEING SAID there are things about him that make me go "you should have faced more consequences for that. go sit in a corner and think about what you've done." namely bullying iris out of being a cop (acab etc. etc. but still shitty of him), the whole thing where he was like BARRY, WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK MY PERMISSION TO MARRY IRIS (and iris AGREED 🤮🤮🤮 who the fuck was in charge of the writers' room that day, i just wanna talk), the fact that he can be overbearing and controlling of his kids and very jaded in a lot of ways... idk he's a flawed character and every character needs some negative aspects so none of these things affect my love for him but sometimes i am shaking my head in disapproval...

as for canon. this is true of everything but MAN did they drop the ball with him towards the end... i get why they had joe quit ccpd given the political situation at the time and i support that 100% but first of all, having a Black character go "hey the police force in my city is inherently corrupt and i can no longer be complicit in its enforcement" (true and correct) while their white hero just does not acknowledge that corruption and continues to work for the same establishment completely uncritically was... perhaps not sending the message they intended... i mean it's honestly almost funny cos that is very much a reflection of the actual systems but. maybe they could have thought about that one a bit more...

and they really should have given joe something else to do cos he ended up sorta directionless after that. in fairness i know jesse l martin has back problems so i think them having him sitting down chilling at home as a stay at home dad was perhaps borne of necessity in a lot of ways but they defo could have done more interesting things with the character. im not OPPOSED to sahd joe but it does seem like a bit of a waste cos it would just be like. every episode joe shows up for a pep talk then goes back to being the full-time stay at home parent for a child we literally never see except one time when a window explodes in her face, which brings me to my NEXT point---

writing joe out with LITERALLY like 8 eps to go? stupid. again i respect that jesse l martin had HAD it with this show (tbf who hadnt by this point) and he wanted out, of course he had every right to do that, but purely based on the context of the show, i hate that they had him leave central city like that and move so far away when we were so close to the finish line. HAAATE it. the show was basically on life support from that point on. it was possibly worse than when we lost cisco. joe was the heart of it, man. it just wasn't the same :(

but yes I LOVE JOE, he is the only fictional dad i respect and i love ruining his life

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Loved loved the cabinet maker. Was going to send it to you when I saw you mentioned in your top 10 fic post that you liked stories set in earlier time periods.

On a slightly different note, because you also mentioned Bridgerton as a guilty/not so guilty pleasure - there's this whole array of tropey fanfics (especially for M/M pairings) where there's a lack of realism or historical accuracy . For ex - arranged marriage in historical times for 2 men . I've never been able to read any of these because it requires me to get over the realities of how many women in diff cultures/time periods were forced into marriage very young for bearing children. Reading a ff which suggests a similar background for 2 male characters just for the sake of romance requires me to move past all the historical reasons why this happened and take the story just at its face value.

Similar to what Bridgerton requires me to do - accept that British colonial history didn't happen as we know it. So I guess the question is - to what extend are you yourself comfortable doing so while reading.

Well, it's suspension of disbelief, isn't it? We have to in situations like the ones you described. Or at least we're willing to for whatever our reasons are.

I think we can take a lot from fiction because it offers so much. I'm going to use your examples to explain the way I see it. With Bridgerton, it's the historical inaccuracy. But is the show/book trying to be accurate? Is that an essential part of it? Based on what I've seen, it's not. It's a rewrite of a period in time which acts like some alternative version of history. That is made very clear and I as the audience, I can either choose to accept that or not. Nonetheless, I'm being made aware of and not mislead. Once that's clear and I decide to watch it, I have the opportunity to find what works for me. Is it the story or the plot and the characters? The production? The chemistry between the actors? I watched all 2 seasons of Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte for reasons that have nothing to do with accuracy. I like period dramas, even when they're part of an alternative universe. I was also not a big fan of the first season because the love story and the protagonists did nothing for me, as opposed to season 2 which had far more interesting couple, enemies to lovers trope, much better chemistry and made me realize I like Jonathan Bailey which made little impression on me in the first season.

So you see, I don't think it's a great piece of television. It's a bit more elevated that the usual day time tv like in the old days, but it doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Sometimes that's all I need.

It's the same with fanfiction and m/m stories. Of course arranged marriages in real life had a strategic purpose because of all the reasons we know and those reasons don't really apply to these stories. But I allow myself to move past that because it's fiction and if I can get something out of it that could be to my liking. The characters are written well, I like their dynamic and so on. Oh, and if the smut is good and not boring and predictable, it gets some extra points!