#which is also kinda sad because I've noticed that a lot of the fights that make me tired and frustrated when run solo

[eyebrowpunk]

oh and one thing I forgot to mention in my prior ER post is the result of this feeling of the game being weighted so heavily against you, and that’s the demoralisation. when you feel the game is not giving you a fair shake, you just kinda stop engaging with it, which can cause people to stop appreciating even the parts that are actually good, and well designed! a certain Warrior spent a grand total of about 30 seconds on my screen, because after several attempts I got tired of being exploded by an AoE every time the first phase so much as scratched his beard, and summoned Tiche to help me out, and this meant that the second phase (which looks cool as shit) ending up melting almost before I could see anything he did, which I actually regretted.

it’s the difference between a player attempting a fight for the 20th time going “man this is tough, but I think I’m getting close! I just need to keep it together long enough to take the win” and a player walking into a fight for the 5th time going “this looks like it’s going to be as difficult and frustrating as the other fights up to now, so I’m just going to save myself the agony and use the most overpowered tools I have just so I can get it out of the way.”

[shorlinesorrows]

okay, a couple things on alien stage/ivantill that I think some folks maybe need to consider and internalize.

Till does not "need" to return Ivan's feelings in the slightest if he doesn't feel that way. It's heart wrenching to see Ivan love him and have those feelings unreturned, but please remember that no one is required to return romantic feelings for someone else. You can't make yourself love someone, and you shouldn't. Especially out of guilt or obligation. That's Unhealthy 101, and would only set a relationship up for failure. (I do think Till cared about Ivan, and that he's going to have a Guilt Complex based on the fact that he didn't fully notice Ivan's feelings/care toward him until the guy died, but I've seen a couple of people tear into Till for not noticing/reciprocating Ivan's feelings??? Don't do that??? their situation is shitty, the fact that they didn't get to talk is shitty, but please don't blame Till for things he Can't Control.)

The kiss was not consensual. It wasn't meant to be portrayed as such. It wasn't even really romantic, it was a desperate, selfish act that Ivan used to get Till's attention (in more ways than one) and to give himself some sense of closure before he died. It was him saying everything that he felt at once, with no chance for Till to reciprocate or deny the affection. In a perfect world, they could have talked instead of this, maybe kissed knowing both wanted it, or given Till a chance to refuse. But they're both in the middle of an essential death tournament and one of them is going to be murdered sometime in the next few minutes. Neither of them really wants to live, but Ivan feels he has unfinished business before his sacrifice, so he finishes it. Their situation sucks. That doesn't mean the kiss was consensual. (especially considering the theory/implication that Till was/is being sexually assaulted by aliens, I wouldn't be surprised if this affects him badly in the future, for multiple reasons. Everyone should always get the chance to say "no" and have that fully respected. This also extends to the fact that Ivan died for Till without giving him a chance to stop it, which is probably going to mess with Till's head a lot. Then again, Ivan likely didn't think it would affect Till much because as far as he/we know, the feelings aren't reciprocated in this moment in canon, or are extremely repressed. Ivan might believe that Till simply hates him, or the kiss/subsequent "choking" may have been a way of trying to make Till hate him so that his death wouldn't hurt as much. Of course that thinking is flawed, because it would hurt Till no matter what, but still, it makes me sad)

Ivan... is kinda messed up. I adore him, but we've got to acknowledge that he has little to no emotional and relationship maturity due to the fact that he was quite literally raised as a pet and learned at a young age to do whatever his masters said to keep himself safe and pain-free. His fascination with Till appears to largely stem from Till's sense of rebellion. Ivan's examples of relationship dynamics and what constitutes as "love" is dangerously unbalanced, and he does not know how to build a healthy relationship. (Neither of them do.) This is also built onto the fact that the person he became dependent on only paid attention to him when they were fighting or Ivan was annoying him. Ivan cares about Till desperately, but he is also dangerously reliant on him to the point of self-detriment. Again, in an ideal world, they would be able to get out of this situation and gradually make a healthy relationship/friendship (depending on Till's feelings) over time while starting to undo the dangerous relationship patterns that they fell into when they didn't have any way to know better. But they're in a terrible situation, and Ivan really just doesn't get the chance to grow as a person and realize that his sense of possessiveness and reliance on Till's attention isn't healthy.

Basically, their situation makes me want to sob and its heart wrenching. Their circumstances have set them up for failure. Both of them are in the midst of attempting to survive an abusive situation and massive amounts of dehumanization. I beg, please try not to sanitize their complicated relationship or blame either of them for the pain the other is going through. I've seen some of that going around, and it's making me sad :(

[deadlysoupy]

i can't.... stop... thinking about 2003!Don and Mikey dynamic.... pb&j.... it's such a fitting name and they make my head explode

they're two peas in a pod. they fit so well with each other, so naturally, it makes me want to cry. they're yin and yang. right brain left brain. invention and ingenuity. not exactly complimentary colours (orange goes better with blue but i don't know a lot about colour theory) but they have a very nice colour mash

i will go on for hours about how they just get each other without communication. their banter is always so funny, they care about each other deeply. do you get me

how when mikey's adhd kicks in too heavily (i've been there bud) donnie knows how to occupy him. how don actually listens to mikey and answers his reasonable questions about, well, any given topic, how he trusted him with a microscope THAT HE PROBABLY TAUGHT HIM HOW TO USE DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME

and then there's an unspoken truth that don and mike don't fight a lot because they just don't have much to fight over. the only fight that comes up in my head is the "name game" when they were debating what to call their new lair in like episode 2 or 3. they can't even fight properly because they care about each other too much, and also donnie is kinda way too nice and will feel bad if he speaks rudely (love him for that tho he's a sweetheart). i've noticed moments when mikey wants to bail out of an uncomfortable and stressful situation but don being don makes him go through with it. i can't even think of an argument they could get into (but i also kinda do i'm trying very hard to write a fic with their conflict because AHGAHRARGARH brain goes crazy)

which is why sainw makes me so so sad. mikey's fear being clearly betrayal (shown in episode the darkness within in season 3 don't remember the number of it), and how donnie betrayed him by leaving his best friend (TO ME THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS - TO ME). how nothing was the same after that, not only did his family collapse but i suspect it was so much harder for mikey to stay positive because his support is gone now, he's alone in the middle of a hurricane... and when other don comes to the messed up future, mikey isn't happy to see him, he's angry, and 2003 mikey is rarely seriously angry, but when he is it's usually a very big deal (and shouldn't be taken lightly but that's another topic)

actually now that i think about it it's usually don who's comforting mikey in the show, and i kinda wish that it was the other way around too. yea, mikey's the Panicker, but where's my mikey pep talk huh? a little off-topic, just something to chew on

(shout out to the 2007 movie for giving me cute banter between them i actually have their lines memorised because there's not a lot and they just be vibing GIVE ME MIKEY AND DONNIE DYNAMIC ANY DAY AND I WILL SCREAM)

[rainytypology]

A view of each MBTI type by an INTJ:

Saw a few of these lately so why not? Lol

___

INTJ: My type and the best type obviously. Kidding. Not really. Healthy/mature ones are interesting and helpful, nice and easy to talk to. I've noticed immature ones try a little too hard to seem edgy and cool to fit into the "cold" INTJ stereotype when that's not a flex at all. I think a lot of us are impatient and stubborn too.

ENTJ: Often driven and motivated individuals who put in a lot of effort into what they do. I admire their hardworking nature. I've unfortunately come across a very unhealthy one before who was quite possessive and narcissistic. I did not have to deal with them personally, but a few of my friends did and their horror stories of that ENTJ will probably be stuck with me forever.

INTP: Their minds are...unique. I wonder what goes on in there. Such weird yet interesting individuals. Sometimes a bit rude, unintentional or not. My younger sister is one and I have to resist the urge to fight with her a lot lmao, but maybe that's just us being siblings.

ENTP: Love them. ENxPs in general 🤌🤌. I've never come across a boring ENTP. Often so chaotic. Never fail to make me laugh. I can have the funnest conversations with them. So witty.

INFJ: One of my best friends is one and it's kinda funny how similar yet different we both are. Ni dom things I guess. Other INFJs I've observed seem to have a lot of patience and kindness. Genuinely have a good heart and want the best for others.

ENFJ: I've only met two personally. Can be funny and witty, really approachable people. Both are very loyal and care a lot about their families, they carry a lot of responsibilities for others. Do not like to show their struggles, will probably mention it briefly before changing the subject.

INFP: Probably my least favorite type due to having bad experiences with them. Unhealthy ones can be so whiney and pathetic. Always want to cry and complain but never actually do anything about it. Can burst emotionally without warning. They can be so exhausting to deal with. I'm not gonna automatically hate you if you're an INFP though, that's just stupid lol, but I will be wary. I only have one INFP friend for now and likely because she's a lot older than me, she's much calmer and more considerate compared to the previous INFPs I've encountered.

ENFP: Some weirdos fr but I love it. Always so talkative and excited. Why are you guys lowkey kinda sad though 😭

ISTJ: I haven't come across any irl yet, but a few of my favorite fictional characters are ISTJs. One of my fav kpop idols as well. Not really sure where the boring stereotype comes from as I think ISTJs are quite nice.

ESTJ: I don't think I've met any yet and have typed a few idols as an ESTJ. I know they get a bad rep, but I honestly just think it stems from ESTJ's tendency to be direct, no bs, which can be intimidating/overwhelming for people. They can be really weird and silly only if they're comfortable.

ISFJ: I don't know any ISFJs irl, but seeing ISFJ idols/celebrities, they're just usually nice and kind people. Quiet but do enjoy being with others.

ESFJ: Honestly think my other best friend may be one 🤔 I do think she has a high Fe for sure. They seem to care the most about their presentation and other's opinions of them.

ISTP: I've only met one and they were okay. Pretty chill and had immense "idgaf" energy. But that attitude was also what made them a bit unlikeable as it extended to having a disregard for feelings and morals. Nobody's perfect, but I don't think it's that difficult to have common human decency. I do like a few ISTP characters and celebrities though.

ESTP: One of my older siblings is one and we get along fine. She has a good eye for aesthetics. Her and other ESTPs I've seen don't really seem to be super serious people, they're just trying their best to enjoy life. Adventurous and open minded. Can't seem to stay still.

ISFP: Have only met a few irl and I've also typed several kpop idols as one. From what I've seen, they are a lot calmer compared to INFPs. They're quite passionate but more realistic individuals though, always going for what they want (likely due to aux Se). Also quite blunt lol but it does not top IxTP's honesty.

ESFP: Have not met any irl yet, but from observing an ESFP I follow and ESFP celebrities, I like their straightforwardness. Passionate and expressive. Funny.

[salemoleander]

I think what you osserved about Cleo and Lizzie is a result of many factors.

Gender is of course one and a major one at that but it cannot be the only one as both Pearl and Gem have much more fandom characterization. Pearls characterisation especially can be attribuited almost entirely to Double Life.

There is also the factor there are a lot less females then males in the mcyt scene and that has always been a problem. But this means that there will always be way more discussion over man because there are so much more.

We should also consider that Lizzie did have a lot of characterisation back in the Empires s1 days that has been swept under the rug as she became inactive for long periods of time, she had a characterisation but this characterisation didn't even apply to the life series because she was never in it like the others, she missed 3rd life, Double life and Limited life which definitely didn't do her any favours. Mumbos characterization on the other hand still existed because he was much more active and when he was in hiatus his fellow Hermits kept reminding us about him... But Lizzie kinda dips for a while and then comes back and is never really mentioned.

Cleo always had the problem of being simplified as either chaotic arsonist, doting mother figure or talented artigian with dark humor... It's been since the 2020 that I have seen people discussing about her characterisation being basically cut down to one of these 3 personality instead of actually giving her actual personality. This was because newbies at characterization back in season 6 usually put either her or Stress as the nurturing mom friend in fanfiction who then other newbies took as inspiration and it kinda stuck around in a loop.

In a way one would need to analyze this problem at the olden days of minecraft content but then we would be here for days.

Putting most of my response under a cut because it got LONG.

To start, I will point out that "this is the result of many factors" and "in a way you'd need to analyze the origins of this, but we don't have time for that" are extremely common & toothless reasons to derail talking about misogyny (or any other -ism).

I do not think you are intentionally replicating that, but anytime an immediate response is "well it's not really ____-ism, and it's so complicated we could never hope to unpack it," that maybe isn't a useful addition to the discussion.

"[Gender] cannot be the only [factor] as both Pearl and Gem have much more fandom characterization"

I agree that gender is not the only factor, but I think going "well SOME women aren't as affected by misogyny so clearly it can't just be misogyny" is inaccurate. Also, if you look at Pearl and Gem's characterization - Gem is pigeonholed to a very particular type of cutesy fighting-princess role, akin to many YA protagonists of late.

Pearl does have more complex characterization from specifically Double Life, but the majority of analysis & attention only started going to Pearl after she won. As DL was airing, much more attention was paid to Desert Duo Redux and Team Rancher and Impdubs etc. I also think the fandom has taken to holding up Pearl as a token and going 'but look, we can write women! Look how many emotions she has. She's sad and likes murder and dogs."

There is also the factor there are a lot less females then males in the mcyt scene and that has always been a problem. But this means that there will always be way more discussion over man because there are so much more.

I agree, it has been a problem forever (I've been watching MCYT since 2012. I watched Cleo & then False join HC. Believe Me, I Know.) But you'll notice my critique wasn't [All Life Series Dudes] are talked about more than [The Much Smaller Number of Life Series Women]. My critique in my post was 'if Lizzie's death happened to a man I would see more posts about that other hypothetical person" - comparing 1 person to 1 person.

We should also consider that Lizzie did have a lot of characterisation back in the Empires s1 days that has been swept under the rug as she became inactive for long periods of time, she had a characterisation but this characterisation didn't even apply to the life series because she was never in it like the others, she missed 3rd life, Double life and Limited life which definitely didn't do her any favours. Mumbos characterization on the other hand still existed because he was much more active and when he was in hiatus his fellow Hermits kept reminding us about him… But Lizzie kinda dips for a while and then comes back and is never really mentioned.

So this paragraph is definitely where you lost me. Your point seems to be 'Lizzie had characterization in S1 of Empires, and we're forced to borrow it because she's so inactive since then, there's nothing to pull from'. Allow me to share a screenshot of her series playlists here.

Let's leave aside the question of why people would pull from Empires S1 characterization when Last Life happened in the middle of it, and would evidently be a more logical place to pull from for Life Series characterization.

She had a whole Afterlife series, and she wasn't inactive after that! She had only 6 fewer episodes in S2 of Empires than in S1. It is patently ridiculous to claim that Lizzie is just so inactive and absent her Empires S1 characterization is necessary to fall back on, when Mumbo has better characterization despite vanishing for an entire calendar year to go biking. That is sexism.

Cleo always had the problem of being simplified as either chaotic arsonist, doting mother figure or talented artigian with dark humor… It's been since the 2020 that I have seen people discussing about her characterisation being basically cut down to one of these 3 personality instead of actually giving her actual personality. This was because newbies at characterization back in season 6 usually put either her or Stress as the nurturing mom friend in fanfiction who then other newbies took as inspiration and it kinda stuck around in a loop.

I'm glad you agree it's a problem! I can definitely see how that problem originated, but I've seen new fandom members for the Life Series - who don't watch HC or read HC fic- duplicate the same problems. I think at some point it's less a fandom-specific issue than a replication of the social division of women into Virgin, Whore, Bitch, or Mother categories, with no ability to imagine women complexly outside of those boxes or continuums.

This fandom seems to think moving the women in and out of the 'Bitch' box is the same as complex characterization*, and we've all just kind of gone 'okay' because the other option is nothing about any women at all. But we can and must do better, because I have to believe we're capable of writing and paying fandom attention to women as people.

*This is where DL Pearl generally falls to me, and why I am dubious of claims that she's well characterized. I think much of the fandom equates cruelty or sadness with good writing/interesting characters. But she's still fundamentally defined by the questions "How nice or mean are you? Are you in a relationship or alone?"

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 168

I'M GONNA. I'M GOING TO.

Oh thank goodness Frederick has a cat-like flexibility. No but fr tho. The fact that he can fit in small places and just, fold his body??? He's a cat.

OH I AM SO DOWN TO GWEN, AURELIA, THE POSSUM, AND THE RAT PROTECTING FREDERICK LET'S GOOOOO. Also The possum and Gwen's sharp teeth and Aurelia's spit? Heck yeah. AND THEN AURELIA PROTECTING GWEN!! I'm so glad she had a redemption arc :')

OH. OH. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS. Do you understand the amount of time I've been thinking about Frederick throwing a book at his bullies and Leland to the point I want to draw it but give up midway due to unable to draw anatomy of a person throwing a book? Yeah. And Frederick calling Leland a doofus LOLLLL.

Curtis not being able to see shit but still defending the aid kit station pretty well? That's what I call true skill. I mean he's really fighting multiple soldiers with armor and spear, and he's winning. But man his hand tho. I'm guessing those are from splinter and maybe some sorta swelling from holding the broom too long (idk how to describe it) or smth? Those has got to hurt...

HAHAHAHHAHAH I can't believe I didn't expect she would say that LMAO. Also she looks so goofy in the second image HAHA.

Nah the commander really went for Laverne too... Did Leland even agree on that?

Omg....Lorena catching Suzie....Lorzanna....

Leland's strength continues to terrify me. He just broke stair railing that seems to be made from marble, WITH HIS BARE HAND. I swear the Pastel palace is gonna need LOTS of renovation after all of these end.

"You don't decide what you want" oh bull I say, bull. Boooo Leland rotten tomatoes rotten tomatoes boooo nobody likes you go home boooo rotten tomatoes.

Eugh I'm surprised Frederick hasn't broken AT LEAST a bone with how much he got slammed and thrown hardly. The door broke bro the door broke. His spine...

Now that I think about it never have i ever with syrah would probably be wild XD

Okay at this point I am the most glad that frederick told cpc because otherwise many bad things would happen...

Wait a minute. What happened to spider Prez? I can't seem to remember...Did she pass out after breaking the door?

Wait so the Plaidypus isn't the royal plaid army?? Wait cause I'm kinda confused now :') if someone can explain it to me that would be great.

OH CRAP OH NO.

Shit, Frederick fr need a doctor asap. All those tossing around, the dusts, nah...

Okay this is sad and all but Syrah with the long nose made me giggle.

THANK YOU PRINCEL-WHOSE-NAME-HASN'T-BEEN-REVEALD!! Blaine really missed like ¾ of the war lmao.

I swear cpc is responsible for me learning new vocabularies daily.

OH??? BLAINE?? BLAINE??? I don't, I really don't know how to start.

First of all, there's a new meaning to this. So what I'm getting here, Blaine wants to be at the top because if he gets all the attention, Lance and Frederick won't be in trouble because he thought Leland wouldn't notice him much then. I suppose what's in Blaine's mind is, it's better to be neglected by your shitty parents rather than being noticed and verbally/physically abused by them?

Okay, I'm starting to get it. I'm the youngest sibling so I don't know if I'm getting it correctly, but this is what I get: "I will take all the abuse from our father so you, my younger brothers, can live a happy life without being notices by him."

Older siblings, amirite?

So, Blaine has been trying to protect his brothers but because Frederick keeps upsetting Leland and then making him proud, Blaine's plan keeps on being in shambles?

One thing I'm confused about though. Hear me out, Blaine most likely has golden child syndrome right? So how do we draw a line between which act is because wanting to succeed due to believing that's all his worth, and which act is from protecting his brothers?

Oh but he still owes Frederick and Lance lots of apologies though. Don't think I can forget what you said to Frederick in the dungeon, Blaine. That chapter broke me. To Lance, well, to be honest I don't exactly know what he should apologize about, but I feel like Blaine still has to? Sorry, I'm not making sense. Maybe apologize due to not talking to Lance and Frederick about his plan?? Oh man someone help me–

Imagine this tho: Blaine apologizing to Lance and Frederick for letting them get hurt by father, but then Isolde came and assured him that what Leland do isn't his fault. Haha I love to analyze this guy's mental health.

I hope he goes to therapy after this is all over. The plaid princes really need a lot of therapy. Actually the whole plaid family need therapy.

Okay say goodbye to my professionalism for awhile.

OABDUANSUAKSBW BLAINE??? PROTECTING FREDERICK?? THIS IS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE. LAMBCATTTT THANK YOU LAMBCATTT!!!!

Frederick looks so amazed and I won't blame him cause I WOULD TO. IF I WAS ABOUT TO DIE, And someone suddenly came to save me, then proceed to throw the bad guy and himself out of the window by breaking the window and letting the damn sun rise view come in. I. I would look like that.

Blaine looking at the sunrise and realizing the true meaning of life and contemplating what he has done. I love him so much you got this bro.

Also Blaine turns out to be strong! I remember headcanons of him being the weakest out of the three. I mean that could still happen, but the fact that he carried Leland in which who knows how much he weights, and threw him out of the window. Damn.

But they're still falling though, that's not good. I doubt Blaine will die for that matter. It would be wasteful. He barely had his redemption arc. I'm thinking either he uses Leland to break his fall, or Nell's premonition about the tent save him. But the forest is a little far though... Oh! Or maybe, because the pastel kingdom is full of hills, they would fall and roll down towards the tent! That's a possibility!

SHE'S WEARING RED. I REPEAT, SHE'S WEARING RED!!!! YOOOO I WONDER WHAT SHE DID?? I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER...which is in 20 minutes lmao

That's it for now. See ya next chapter!

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts. Please actually tell me your thought on this because I NEED answers and theories. Also psychology analization will actually make me go insanely happy)

[comickergirl]

Hey, fellow supergirl fan here! I was curious, I've seen lots of your posts, really love em, and we seem to share a similar aesthetic for Kara! I noticed you really like woman of tomorrow, and after seeing it get announced for the adaptation, I just kinda got confused. See, I read it, but it felt really cynical to me? I don't mean it is, and I definitely don't mean to diss a book you like! I just wanted to know , well, if you could explain to me why you liked it, maybe I'm missing something! I think a fresh perspective would help me try and get into it again!

Hello!

Oh, hey, no worries! While it is true that I love Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, I also recongize that it's not going to work for everyone.

Personally, I really dig it for several reasons, first and foremost being that I love Bilquis Evely's art (which I first discovered via Sugar & Spike: Metahuman Investigations—definitely recommend checking that comic out!) and Mat Lopes' colors. Evely drew a Silver Age Kara in Sugar & Spike and I was like, 'you know what? She'd absolutely crush it on a Supergirl book.' And she did! From the gorgeous space dragon splash pages in issue two to the lovely expression work throughout, all rendered in her incredibly precise inks and expertly colored by Lopes, it's just. So. So good. (I couldn't find a pic of the space dragon saved on my phone but here's one of Kara and Comet outrunning the Mordru Globe, equally stunning.)

And I dig the writing as well! The way I read it, this is Kara on like. The absolute worst day(s). She's seeing the worst the universe has to offer with Krem and the Brigands and it's dredging up all these reminders of her own trauma, and yet! She endures, and even more than that, all that darkness and sadness doesn't ever snuff out her kindness and compassion.

Apologies but I'm gonna spoil one of the pages from the end of the run because 1.) it conveniently highlights a lot of the panels/points I'd share anyways, so it's very efficient XD and 2.) I think it just...it perfectly sums up Kara's true heroism? Which is not just in the big superhero fights and the cool powers but also in those smaller moments, of just helping people and being there for them, when they need it:

(Like my absolute favorite line? In the whole book? Is Ruthye telling Kara: Or in that town where I saw true evil. And I felt eternally lost, and you let me lean on your shoulder and you put an arm around me, pulling me back until I was found. That's just. Some top-tier Supergirl writing, IMO.)

Tl; dr: Woman of Tomorrow is definitely not for everyone BUT, I think King really does understand the core of who Kara is and as such! Those character moments really shine in this book.

...Also, like. That art! THAT ART!!!! XD

[spicyraeman]

I usually don't send two asks in a row because I don't want to overwhelm you. But you just posted about phonology and I was curious and then bam hyperfocus. I found a pretty cool table of gith sounds :

https://conworkshop.com/view_language.php?l=GITH

It looks like there are a few main differences to english:

No W

-Like in french from France. She probably would say "Oo-il" for Wyll. They usually replace the W by a Oo or a V, depending on the sound after it. A "wagon" -> a vagon, but "when" -> ooän. In German you would have the W as a V, because it's already pronounced like that.

There is a type of Th, like in "thin", but not "this".

- I kinda hear the difference but I can't do it. The first one is closer to an s or an f and the second one to a z , I guess? A native english speaker may understand the nuance better.

There is a Zh

- It's the same as the French "j", like in the name Jacques (which could be your frenchsona btw. It's the equivalent of James). In English you add some kind of "d" in your "j". As an example, we visualise Djordan for Jordan. You take that D off, you got the sound. (Insert respectful trans joke here)

The Tl like in Nahuatl

- I can explain this one in english because I can't find the right translation, but you can find how it's pronounced on Wikipedia.

Gh is not silent

- Kind of a guttural G, like in dutch or the scottish gh.

The glottal stop '

- It marks a pause between syllables, while still linking them. Uh'Oh in English, "bu'er" for butter in cockney. It depends of the dialects/accent/language.

Everything is my understanding of this, obv, linguists please don't hate me. I'm just an audhd girly with a multi-lingual environnement and too much time.

Sooooooo Frog'zel is not completely off the table, but I'm sad the R's not an uvular one. It would make it a more "brutal" language. I think she would have some difficulties we see in frenglish. Especially when a letter has several ways to be pronounced, like cat / face or breath/breathe because it's straightforward in gith.

Ergo, she wouldn't have a stroke trying to say "library" like I do. But she would struggle with "throughout", I guess.

I couldn't find anything on tones and accentuations stuff though. I still want her to fight for her life like I do. I shouldn't be the only one suffering here.

I guess it can still change with context and stuff. Like the s in german becomes a sh when it's in front of a t.

I hope I was clear enough. Sorry for any spelling or formatting mistakes, cat fell asleep on my arms in the middle of this. But she's cute so forgive her please.

🫀🚑

You are always allowed to overwhelm me with worldbuilding shit like conlangs (even if this isn’t really a conlang) I live and breathe this stuff and I'm constantly rotating it around in the back of my brain

I cannot express the sheer joy I felt looking at these charts and comparing them to my own and seeing that I've got pretty much the same result! The only strange thing I found was the addition of a b sound, maybe I missed it but I haven’t found a single word that uses that sound (despite Lae’zel’s “bah’s”) Their chart is also missing a p sound but I believe that's due to when the charts were made bc there's only one Gith word that uses it and it was in bg3. Honestly tho, it makes a lot more sense for Gith to have a b sound and no p sound instead of the other way around, there are wayyyy more examples of languages with no p instead of no b (although a language with neither would be fun lol)

The lack of a W was the first thing that I noticed! But there's a fuck ton of languages without it so it makes sense, It doesn’t really fit the feel of the Gith language either. Also, I know in my heart that you’re probably very much right on the Wyll pronunciation but I was joking around with my friends while I was looking through all this stuff and one of them made a German comparison and the thought of the fascist space frogs having a german accent was just too funny to me to pass up

I personally find the Gith language having θ but not ð very fun for their accent! It's kind of a subtle difference but also not? I went through and pronounced a bunch of words with a ð sound with a θ instead and they sound harsher? I guess? It really did give them a more Gith feel honestly

(a little aside but the thought of a “frenchsona” is so fucking funny to me and you’re respectful trans joke got a legit laugh outta me lmao)

Fun fact! English does have a ʒ (zh) sound it's just not associated with a specific letter, it just kinda.. happens in words. All in all, it seems that Gith is relatively comparable in terms of sounds with English. The lack of a w and p/b (debatable) seems like they’d be the biggest ones to come up in everyday speech as far as phonetics goes

Also can I let you in on a little pet peeve of mine? I usually hate when “fantasy languages” use ‘ in their words bc most of the time it's just a cheap way to make it look more fantasy-esc or alien. BUT in Gith, it honestly works? Mostly because it actually is a glottal stop and not just a random “make this word look fantasy” addition

I'm also nowhere near a linguist, just insane about worldbuilding stuff (i have notebooks full of phonetic charts and mathematics on creating solar systems) It's really insightful and interesting to see the perspective of someone with a multi-lingual background tho as someone who only speaks English

I've always seen the Gith language as less brutal and more.. Sharp? I dunno how to describe it really, kinda harsh and pointed rather than guttural or brutal if that makes sense. But yeah if common is English then all the long and short sounds and strange exceptions would be supremely rough especially if you only ever really read it and never truly spoke it

I couldn’t even blame Lae’zel for not being able to pronounce throughout correctly cuz I can’t say that shit right either unless I'm really trying

If you want tones and accentuations you’re just gonna have to have fun and make em up, cuz sadly most fantasy “languages” are just a bunch of made up words with no real rhyme or reason. If I had the brain power to spare it’d be fun to flesh out a real Gith conlang

At least with a full phonetic chart, you can see what sounds the Gith wouldn’t be used to using and find out what words would cause trouble

Also I can forgive any and all misspelling or weird formatting, cute cats aside, cuz I have no clue how anyone could read this jumbled rambling mess lol gratz if you got this far and understood any of this

[girlfromthecrypt]

i don't mind the rambles, don't worry. but yeah, honestly trans people even when we're not shown in media as specifically unattractive, we're not like. depicted as attractive either. we don't get to be like objects of attraction if that makes sense? we get to be like side characters and shit. and top surgery or any surgical scars are generally pretty damn taboo because ooOOOOoooo we're mutilating something or other or whatever the fuck it is. even irl, we're generally considered a stereotypically unattractive group. when trans people are rarely represented, we don't get to be like objects of attraction. we're usually "and here's the lesson! don't be mean!" one off characters or best friend characters (assuming we're not horrible stereotypes). plus a lot of medias arent eager to add us in in general in fear of losing their more conservative audiences.

it's totally fine when you rant, I do it too (as demonstrated by the above), I've had quite a few VN/IF creators apologize to me about like rambling about their games and like, I'm asking questions because i love the media. I get the feeling, cause I get that about other stuff. but seriously, info-dumping about something you've created that people love is awesome for fans (not to speak for all of us, but generally it seems to be)

Ngl I'm blind to a lot of that media portrayal bc I'm not entrenched in a lot of media anymore. I "conceived" Basil as trans from the start (he was a LI/supporting character in a nosleep story [horror writing subreddit over on Reddit] I never ended up posting), and in my mind, he was just always "him" and always pretty cute. I was comfortable enough writing a trans character bc one of my oldest friends is a trans man, and he let me ask him just about anything I wanted to know. Ofc I researched most of the necessary info on my own, but having him around was still helpful and very reassuring. (In hindsight, this is also making me kinda sad bc that friend and I have kinda drifted apart since...)

I was kinda hesitant about sharing though bc I was afraid of getting things wrong, but hey, if what you're saying about the mainstream portrayal of trans folk is anything to go off of, I'm probably doing okay (nervous laughter).

Actually, have an excerpt from the original story Basil appeared in! [Note: he's WAYYY dorkier and socially awkward in this than in Such Happy Campers. He's also a landlord in this, so the vanlife stuff and spiritualism is part of his overhaul for SHC. But original Basil makes the same amount of horrible jokes.] [more below]

I was prepared to camp outside that house. That turned out not to be necessary, as right at that moment, a peculiar-looking youngish man appeared in the doorway. Pieces of striped tapestry clung to his threadbare tracksuit and glue coated a good portion of his hair.

I asked him if he’d just been in a fight, and he assured me he’d merely been putting up new wallpapers in one of the apartments. When I asked whether he had something for me to rent on short notice, he was surprisingly cooperative. He introduced himself to me as Basil, and enthusiastically welcomed me to the house and the neighborhood. When we shook hands, our palms stuck together. 

“Sorry… I had an accident with the glue,” he explained, grimacing awkwardly. “Don’t worry, I got something to wash it off. You’d best come in.”

With a glance at our entwined fingers, I told him I obviously had nowhere else to go, to which he replied that one could say my hands were tied.

Been meaning to share this snippet for a while and this seems a good opportunity. This was how he "looked" at the time/how the main character describes him:

I admittedly always considered him very attractive, albeit goofy-looking with his fluffy blond mustache and mullet. Something about his appearance inspired trust and openness, and the warmth he exuded was more than welcome.

So yeah, that's some of Basil's history. In this old version, he was actually kind of insecure about his surgery scars (which were fresher at the time, and he hated a lot of his looks in general), which I ended up discarding because I much prefer him with astronomic levels of smugness. Like, I want him to be fully aware of how good he looks.

I'm very happy with the current version of Basil, and I'm glad I "saved" his character for this IF project instead of posting his story back then. I just realized (while I was writing the nosleep story at the time) that I LOVED writing him and wanted to have him there in a bigger project, which ended up being SHC.

Okay yeah I'm about to be one of those IF authors you mentioned bc now I need to apologize as well. I went on a huge tangent here. Hope this particular infodump was at least somewhat interesting to you! Either way, thanks so much for the talk.

[retrobr]

Lazytown Shenanigans Pt. 4

This time I've watched "The Blue Knight," and I don't really know why but I didn't find this episode interesting. Maybe that's because I want to sleep, but whatever 🥱

"The Blue Knight"

I want to start with the scene in the very beginning: I'm not completely sure why, but the fact that Sportacus had to play chess all by himself made me feel somewhat... sad? Not completely sad, but I hope you know what I mean. He seemed very happy, but that scene kinda gave me a feeling of loneliness. But enough of the sad things out of nothing..

Thanks to this episode I was convinced that Ziggy is literally the best kid in the gang. He treats everyone very kindly, no matter if someone is bad or good; he even suggested Robbie listen to the story about the Blue Knight together. Isn't that sweet?? 🥺 Also kinda felt bad for Ziggy when kids left him (accidentally, I should point out, but still), and he was sad that he couldn't join them. Why do they keep upsetting my boy :(

Oh and well. Meanswell's Scottish accent killed me; the way he read the story about the Blue Knight made me feel kinda odd. That was something fr 😭

And speaking of the Blue Knight, this is literally the very first episode in which I've seen Sportacus wearing something different from his usual outfit. It was kinda refreshing to see him like that; even though his face was shown only at the end of the episode, I was happy to see him in other clothing even despite the fact that it was only the knight's armor and it was difficult for him to move in it (it was quite a sad sight to me.) My bbg-

And since we're talking about the outfits in this episode, Robbie's disguise as a Purple Knight WAS A FIRE. LIKE OMG HELLO HANDSOME?? His outfit kinda reminded me of Crowley (probably because of the hair and its color, idk). I think from now on it's one of my favorite disguises of his :]

And the fact that he made a GODDAMN DRAGON ALL BY HIMSELF. Guys I mean isn't he a genius?? He makes such wonderful things using only what he has – in other words his knowledge, various pieces of metal and other stuff

Oh and also, a small thing that made me feel somewhat confused: I heard that Robbie called Sportacus a "sports elf" or something like that. So is it a canon fact that Sportacus is an actual elf? I mean I thought that it was just a fanon thing, but now I'm not really sure about it 😭

Some "nice" words about my "beloved" Stingy :]]]. I didn't expect to hear something nice from him, but him calling his friends "peasants" made me choke on the air. And yes, I know that was a part of his role as a king and the game in general, but confidence in his voice made it sound pretty... legit. As if he had a good opportunity to call them that and not get any words of objection in return. Damn I hate this kid indeed-

And finally, a paragraph about some ship stuff (my favorite part 😏). Not that I noticed too many things, but the fact that Stephanie called Pixel a "young and handsome prince" made me smile warmly. Idk they seem pretty cute to me, I think it's a shame that there are no more hints at their relationship. And I quite liked Robbie's and Sportacus' "fighting" scene. They are just goofing around, god bless them 🥺💜

In general, the episode was pretty good, I like the theme of the Middle Ages and the outfits based on this historical era. But still, unfortunately, I can't say that it's my favorite; I felt like there was something missing, u know...

As always, thank you for your guys attention. Please know that it makes me genuinely happy that some of you actually read and even like it, it means a whole lot to me 💜

[x-amanda]

Hi, this is my first post ever on here, I don't use this app a lot, mostly to download stuff for TS4 lol but I thought, since I have an account and the app downloaded, why not post something?

I am a 15 soon 16 year old girl, my life has been kinda chaotic, lots of family issues like fighting and verbal abuse, even alcohol abuse. Growing up in that environment wasn't fun and it did fuck me up mentally I'd say, it made me feel unsure about myself which then led to me finding out about things 8 year olds shouldn't know, like NSFW sites, drugs etc, younger me didn't understand that stuff, whenever I'd ask someone about it they'd laugh or yell at me or ask "How do you know what that is?!". I don't remember how I found those sites because like I said, I was very young and my memory is pretty bad hahah.

I did eventually stop asking people about that stuff and just keep it to myself while also over-sexualizing myself, making myself look more "sexy" and "cute" the older I got, mostly for male validation, I wanted men to notice me, I didn't care if they were a lot older or not, it was attention from them that I was after and it did kinda work but I did also end up getting groomed numerous times because of it, but before all of that stuff happened, I would get bullied, people would make fun of the way I dressed, my at home problems, how I was always sick and worst of all my teeth, they were never perfectly straight or pearly white, they still aren't and it's my biggest insecurity along with other things we'll talk about later.

I decided to stop caring about what others thought of me, sure I still do take some things to heart and they make me sad but not as much as before, but I guess that depends on what is said, and I think we all know that a lot of toxic stuff is said online. I firstly got Instagram at around 8, not a lot happened there, I would post every now and then, and then there was Snapchat.. oh what a mistake that was, I'm pretty sure 99% of people who have snapchap have been sent a dickpic atleast once if not more, and I am part of those 99%, it usually starts when a random guy adds you, he doesn't even say hi and goes STRAIGHT to the point and sends you a fucking picture of a shrimp, it's so disgusting but also so fun to make fun of them, I know that's wrong but sending random people (including KIDS) pictures of your manhood without consent isn't any better and you deserve to be punched in the face atleast 5 times a day.

Moving onto the era of Tiktok, I've had it since musically, I do miss those times, funny/cringey clips and dancing videos? Fucking amazing but now it's just toxicity, you can't have an opinion anymore without getting death threats or in a worst case scenario, doxxed but luckily, that has never happened to me, just mild death threats which I don't really mind, I find it funny as fuck ngl because it will most likely not happen, people just try to come off as scary when they're probably on the other side of the screen drooling and thinking "Oh yeah I got them with this one!!".. buddy you didn't get anyone with that, and no job either because of your digital footprint and especially if you talk like that to a bunch of other people, good luck in the future pal!!

--This is all for now, I still have a lot on my mind, there was one thing that happened tonight that made me want to write all of this but I'll save that for next time, (It's about me Feeling dumb (sped) so I don't forget!!!!!)

Cya next time!

// Amanda - Aug 24th 3:45 am

[saucebou]

One thing I've noticed amongst the Omori cast is that they all have pretty crappy parents

Like I know that parents are brought up in every character analysis but I just want to specifically talk about the main friend group parents.

Now in this aspect Kel and Hero seem to have had the most mercy when it comes to parents, but they aren't exactly saints. It's implied that Hero was pressured by his parents to pursue an education in becoming a doctor and while we don't exactly hear him complain about it and in the end he chose to go into it due to him loosing his passion in cooking because of Mari's death, he still seemed unsure about becoming a doctor in the memory lane scene.

As for Kel's relationship with his parents, it's not really stated outright but it seems implied that his parents were more involved with Hero's life than they we're his. Like they aren't neglectful of him obviously but it's clear that they we're more focused on Hero being the prodigy child. The most obvious example being their parents rushing to comfort Hero over Kel during Hero's emotional burst, but also we don't hear Kel getting any pressure to pursue any kind of education like they did with Hero even though Kel is at the same age as Hero was when they suggested him to go into medical school. However most of this is speculating on y part but still there is evident favoritism within the family.

Both Sunny and Aubrey are in the same boat with both having a dad that left and a mom that's neglectful. But to be fair Sunny's mom does actually care about him, it's just that she doesn't know how to help Sunny. Instead of encouraging him to go outside she just lets him rot in his room for 4 years. As for his father... well we know that he disowned Sunny and left but other that we don't really know why. Its theorized that he know about the Truth and that's the reason why, or maybe he just was more involved in Mari's life rather than Sunny's and he just disowned him out of grief. One of Basil's pictures showing Hero and Mari sleeping together on the couch states that "MARI's dad might be kind of mad if he saw it" showing that he was fairly invested in Mari's life but it could also just be him being a protective dad. Either way he left the family, leaving a son who hides away from society and a mother who doesn't know how to help.

As for Aubrey, well it's pretty explicit what's wrong with her mom. She's completely checked out, not even noticing that you just walked into their home. Speaking of which, their whole home is a wreck and judging by the scene of Aubrey being able to fix Gruff guy's pipe she's also has had to fight for herself without any support from her mother. For her dad, all we know is that he was strict and that he also left but we don't really know why. It is stated by Kel that they've never been to Aubrey's home so maybe her parents had a failing marriage before the events of the game. So perhaps she hung out at her friend's places to escape from the turmoil but that's mainly my theroy.

And last but not least everyone's favorite sad boi Basil. Whose parents couldn't even be fucked enough to be there for him during the game. It is stated that they travel a lot, presumably for business reasons but still it's very clear that he is left with his grandmother and more recently Polly most of the time. @mafu-omo did a really good analysis on Basil in general (which inspired me to go on this rant), including the affect that his lack of parents had on him and I recommend you check it out here if you're more interested beyond just what I've said.

But yeah overall these parents kinda suck. These issues (except for Sunny) don't even happen because of Mari's death, they've just always been and probably would still had happened regardless if Mari had died or not.

Anyway that was my long rant about how another aspect of Omori is soul crushingly depressing. Again I know a lot of these issues are in other character analyses but I just wanted to compile all of the info I gathered. If you want to poke holes or point out things I got wrong or even add your own points feel free to I'm not some master class analyzer, I'm just some guy who wanted to shout into the void about one of my favorite games because hey that's what tumblr is for.

[greatsealed]

have you played fes or portable? it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on how they differ from reload to you!

oh i grew up playing FES & p3p!!!! i would love to go off

i won't lie, persona 3 is an extremely nostalgic and comforting game for me, so i was honestly terrified about a lot of p3r's changes. i remember reading articles months before the game came out about how all of the voice actors for SEES were new and how all of the tracks were gonna be remixed and i was legitimately terrified. i grew up with the original cast and got so attached to them/their careers that i looked up other media that they were in. to this day they are voice actors i can recognize and name right away!

the original soundtrack for p3 is so iconic too and i thought it'd lose its charm when it got remixed, but boy, was i wrong. the new battle theme (it's going down now), the lyrical changes to burn my dread - last battle, even the exam music and changing seasons. UGH, changing seasons has to be my absolute favorite of all of them... adding lyrics to the most catchy part is the best thing they could have done.

i will say (and this might be nostalgia talking), i am still really sad that yumi kawamura got replaced as the singer for nearly every song. i think the main songs that mess with me are the ones where her iconic vocals are replaced ("deep mentality" Specifically doesn't sound right with the new vocals imo), but on the whole, i like a ton of the new songs and the remixes.

onto things that aren't surface-level changes, lmao-

i absolutely adore the screentime they added for strega. they played a part in persona 3, but they were always in the background. chidori got 90% of the screentime. seeing takaya have a crisis over his feelings for the protag & jin being super codependent with takaya was SO good. hearing more about their reasoning and their backstory being more fleshed out ugh;;; the bit with the prototype evoker fucked me up especially. and seeing takaya eventually resort to using an evoker in his boss fight? HURTS

(aigis vc) RYOJI RYOJI RYOJI, DEATH DEATH DEATH. the original game (while playing as the male protagonist, at least) did not focus on the relationship between him and the protag, like...at all. which is so funny because they made it a highlight in the manga AND the movie! i've always loved ryoji to bits, but i've also had to rely a lot on the femc's route and the movie to think about how they could have bonded in the original :( thank god reload gave my boy more content because he NEEDED it. ryoji's connection to the protagonist should really be emphasized in every piece of media, and they FINALLY did it. also just about every day before i reached november, i would rant to my husband about how "there needs to be more ryoji/protag content. it doesn't HAVE to be on the level of "i'd love you even if you were a boy" but i need SOMETHING." and then atlus smacked me with "i want to be something more" and i LOST IT. THEY DID THE THING. atlus embracing the romantic tension between them MY BELOVED. (in case it isn't obvious, ryomina is my favorite ship)

SHINJIRO. the first time i played persona 3, i really didn't care for him (i've never liked characters who are stand-offish and constantly push people away without apparent reason). it was only after i realized the greater backstory that i learned to appreciate and sympathize with his character, and imo, one of p3r's greatest additions was the ability to interact with shinjiro and ken before shit goes down. shinjiro's plotline where you try to convince him to go back to school is devastating, especially when (spoilers) you find a re-enrollment form filled out in his room. absolutely fucking HEARTBREAKING. i already cried during his death (way more than i did in the original game, which is kinda crazy), but damn, they got tears out of me AGAIN with that one. i also noticed that there's a lot more foreshadowing and it is SO effective. i already went off about this on my shinjiro blog, but damn, they fucking nailed it with him.

FRIENDSHIP ROUTES!!! i can't tell you how frustrating it was trying to balance social links between all of the girls. it made me lean more into focusing on yukari (best girl) and nobody else lmao. one of the points of persona 3 was that social links were near-impossible to complete, and they really realized that goal with the girls imo. however!! getting to see the protagonist opt for friendships is really sweet. i love seeing a good rejection where neither party holds a grudge or feels humiliated. it's a really nice touch, especially because i've always wanted to see how friendships would pan out between the mc and the Gorls.

general quality of life changes & the addition of theurgy. i love that theurgy had more depth to it than just a "super move;" looking at the personality conditions is so nice and adds more to the characters than they already had. seeing that shinjiro's resolve deepens when his hp is less than half made me so :'))))

those are big things i love about p3r's changes. aside from the protag not being able to change weapons (my favorite part of original p3), i think the biggest complaint i have is that they left out the answer (p3p has been ported to modern consoles, so you can still experience the femc's route, but the answer is ONLY on ps2 to this day), and even then, i've read that they're planning to add it as dlc.

i've said this before and i'll say it again: i know people have gripes with the answer, but i absolutely adore it. it's the most realistic portrayal of grief among the dorm, which hits differently for EVERYONE. every single change to their personalities makes sense, especially taking their reliance on the protagonist into account. it's made so much more obvious in p3r (which i love), but everyone cares deeply about the protagonist. losing him is a devastating blow. and then aigis gaining his power? yukari is SO justified for being distraught and jealous. that's the realest shit i've ever seen.

also the fights between them because they can't decide whether to go to the past or look to the future...the entirety of the answer is heartbreaking because it hits so hard. yukari, who (aside from aigis) was hit the hardest by losing the protag, obviously wants to go to the past, back to a time when he was alive. the others either want to compromise or move on. the answer is about accepting life's hardships and finding a way to move on and that's beautiful. it's always hit so hard for me.

that's not even delving into metis and aigis UGH... i could go off about the answer forever.

as for p3p-

i played p3p nearly every day when i was in middle / high school. i'd bring my psp to school and play it religiously. i still remember blasting "heartful cry" on my ipod and playing p3p on the bus, lmao.

it's not my favorite iteration of persona 3 now (p3p was good for travel + when i was in school and needed something to get me through the day), but i do have a soft spot for how much effort was put into the femc's route. i will say that i'm not as devastated as a good chunk of the fandom that the femc isn't in p3r or even p3d, but i do love her character and i hope she's also eventually added as dlc (if they're gonna add the answer, then why not add femc again?). i'm really glad she was included in pq2 though, ESPECIALLY because there were so many validating twin moments between her and the male protagonist :')))

i will say, as a final note, that p3r REALLY nailed the feeling of original p3, but i think it made me way more emotional with how it was executed. i've PLAYED the game a million times! i knew every plot detail, i knew exactly how the game would play out (aside from the new additions), and i STILL sobbed several times by the end of the game. i've said this to my husband, but p3r was so well-executed that i felt like i was playing the original game for the first time!! and as someone who has experienced the game MANY times, that's such an incredible feat. i adore the remake. i'm so glad that none of my initial fears were warranted.

for once: thank you, atlus.

[zmeu-ra]

A deep-dive on the design of a Mega Man X boss who dies after two scenes

Does anyone remember Incentas? He dies wrestling a sexy gambler in Mega Man X: Command Mission. Whatever.

Most Mega Man X bosses are anthropomorphic animals or plants or mythical creatures, but wtf is Incentas supposed to be? He's got six hands and three faces, and his body is made of energy. What even.

Well, I recently deduced an answer! (I've already updated the wiki, of course).

First of all: in his boss fight, Incentas has three different elemental forms. They're called Burning Genie, Lightning Genie, and Dancing Genie. So I guess he's a genie, but there's a lot more to him than that.

See, Incentas' three forms each use different parts of his body: one face and one pair of hands. These faces and hands are all given unique names in his concept art, translated by Udon for the Complete Works book.

Burning Genie form uses the Ra Head and Egypt Hands.

Lightning Genie form uses the Jade Head and Barenke Hands.

Dancing Genie form uses the Baron Head and Bali Hands.

You may immediately notice that there's a theme in Burning Genie's limbs: Ra is an Egyptian god of the sun, connecting this form to ancient Egypt. He even has big calm eyes, a beard, and an uraeus (the cobra headpiece) like the famous Mask of Tutankhamun.

That's neat. But what about his other two forms?

Lightning Genie has the Jade Head and Barenke Hands... Hm. The reference here is not immediately apparent. Let's look at the original Japanese concept art:

The word Barenke is written (パレンケハンド) in Japanese. You know what else can be written that way? Palenque, an ancient Maya city-state located in modern-day Mexico. This reference was totally lost in translation.

It's compounded by the Jade Head, since one of the most famous ancient Mayan relics is the Death Mask of Pacal the Great, which was discovered in Palenque. Said death mask is made of jade, perfectly aligning the head and hand inspiration. His Jade Head has the same green color and kinda sad-looking eyes. Also, it's a royal funerary mask like the previous one.

Now for the last one: the Dancing Genie with its Baron Head and Bali Hands. We get a big hint with the word Bali, a province of modern-day Indonesia. That's a third ancient kingdom for Incentas. But what is the Baron Head supposed to be?

Again, it was lost in translation. Baron is written (バロン) in the Japanese concept art, which is also the same way that the Balinese Barong is spelled. The Barong is a panther-like character, a king of good spirits which is included in the traditional Barong dance with a huge mask. Hence this form's Dancing Genie title, and the round vacant eyes and tusks of its Baron Head.

These three inspirations - Egypt, Maya, and Bali - show that Incentas is really based on royal masks from ancient civilizations. All three were once powerful kingdoms with long-lasting relics, architecture, and customs. He really doesn't have much to do with genies at all, as djinn are from pre-Islamic Arabian cultures.

For this reason, I find that the alternative translation of Incentas - "Ancientus" - is a much more fitting name. That's what he was called in the game's E3 demo, so why was his name was changed? Possibly because it's a bit difficult to pronounce in English.

Speaking of his name, in the Japanese concept art he's called "Rouid Ancientus" (ルイード・エンシェンタス). This is likely a draft name, since his fellow bosses have some leftover draft names in their concept art too. But still, what could that first word mean? Could it be a corruption of the English word ruined, reflecting his ancient inspirations? I'm still so curious.

Anyway, Incentas Ancientus has an underrated design, and I hope his designer knows that we acknowledge and appreciate all their hard work and research.

[magg0tkid]

One more day

Nay one more hour til I fall asleep

And then it's Day.

The morning could be terrible. There was a terrible today and I almost lost it! I really really did. I almost got into my car to just start driving but I didn't because! My things! Are also in the truck! And I need my dad! To bring them! And if I just left! I don't know what would happen to them! Maybe my mom would set them on fire like she's threatened before :) <3 so I just didn't want to leave them my ex sister in law gave me this desk when I was 10 and Adam was a very new thing and I was so very alone and mom was gone :) and no one paid attention to me which doesn't make me special many people were ignored by their mothers and had fathers who worked constantly but it still hurt :) but then maggie paid attention to me and took me to her house and put on the fellowship of the ring and then gave me this old desk and also a bookshelf and the desk is small and the bookshelf is falling apart but I felt so incredibly loved and cared for and she was like so nonchalant about it like I'm not using them anymore it's really not a big deal and I was like literally no adult has paid me attention in like a year you have no idea how amazing this feels I love you thank you :) and then later after they got married and moved I spent so much time at their house bc they lived a block away and my brother was never around much but maggie and fyo were and he was such a cute chubby baby and he used to get so happy when I danced and I'd put on my brother's Coldplay cd bc it was the only cd he had that I liked and I'd put fyo in the high chair and dance and dance and he'd laugh and laugh and it was so nice!!!!!!!!!!!! And then they moved and Maggie attempted suicide and they got divorced and I felt like I lost a whole fucking ass sister and we just never talked about it lol she's not my blood relative but super cute super fun suicide attempt trend for the ladies in the fam I used to think about her lots and worry about her but I think she's ok ish now she has the kids on the weekends

Anyway literally not even the point

I didn't leave I stayed and she evened out and maybe tomorrow will be fine!!!! Maybe it will just be fucking fine. Maybe she will just get in the truck and her and dad will drive and I'll drive and we'll get to my aunties and I will refuse to unpack my car until my mom leaves and I'll call my auntie on the way and say if you mention anything about the amount of stuff I've brought I will throttle you and your bird in your sleep but I'll say it in a nicer way but I am so very like. I don't think I can deal with mom getting triggered by anything else it ironically is the most triggering thing I've ever experienced, I was truly physically paralyzed today in a deep, deep state of terror shaking from head to toe and I really feel like I almost died. And dad barely even noticed she was being insane which is actually great, like not sarcastically kinda great, because that means he can survive this. I cannot. And soon I will be gone. So soon. It couldn't have just been nice for me before I left. Did you know that some people just get to go to school and it's like normal for them? They just pack and then they like go? And their parents are sad to see them go but happy for their future? They don't have to fight for their fucking lives just to get through to the day they leave with hopefully all their things intact even after they've already gotten rid of so many of their things just for the sake of you?

This post is so self pitying, whatever. Soon I'll be happy and and I won't self pity no more. Insert that fucking transcendental quote from hill house the one I've been screaming in my head for weeks you know the one

[chim-chim1310]

there are so many questions i want to ask the members of bts. unfortunately, we'll never know their real thoughts on the matter/whole solo era.

jimin and jk situation is the most interesting (though very sad). and we haven's seen taehyung's debut yet, so much to look forward to.

from the beginning of 2020 jimin looked really depressed, there was no happy bubbly jimin we knew. some fans believe he likes performing so much that their hiatus made him so miserable. some fans think smth happened, probably some kind of a quarrel (with soulmates - vmin - distancing from each other and it was clear that suga and jimin were also not on the best of terms and they had quite a strong friendship before that).

as for now, jimin and tae are still ignoring each other. jimin and suga seem friendly but i guess its connected with their overlapping promo. what is more, suga and jimin were talking about how relationships between people are hard during suchwita and jimin looked unhappy during that conversation.

i wonder how their internal relationships will change? smth already is not right - well, it looks not right for me, i may be wrong. now it's clear that jimin has outrun his bandmates in terms of success based solely on his vast talents. we witness how jk does the same, but in contrast to jimin, thanks to lots of money and hybe's pr department. some members have expressed their jealousy towards jimin when he had #1 hot100 (some didnt even congratulate him at all, some sounded bitter/heartless), though i doubt they will do the same with jk (some of them probably knew how jk was going to be pushed/promoted).

what do you think about their future relationships? do you believe smth did actually happened in the past (between jimin and other members)?

See I never thought yoongi and jimin were the type of friends to go out and hang out or whatever. They seemed more like brothers you know you don't usually hang out but they're there when you need advice and all. So I've never really questioned them because they never seemed weird when they interacted together. They seem the same.

What I did notice was jimin trying to do everything to avoid performing Tony Montana. I wonder why. Maybe because the song didn't speak to him anymore. Or maybe jimin thought he couldn't perform it after so many years. But yeah that was something I noticed.

Then taehyung and jimin well....... What can I say. Their relationship have always been weird. Sometimes they're like the bestest of friends sometimes they're so passive aggressive with each other. But then again they've always been like that.

However in chapter 2 I do think that jimin is pissed at taehyung for some reason. Or maybe he had just created a distance between him and taehyung. Reason? We would never know. But Idk if they had a big fight. If we look at yoongi's concert they seemed okay, no big fight. Also jimin said there's no reason for both of them to fight anymore. But it felt like there were some boundaries between them that weren't there before. And to me it seems like jimin's the one who drew the boundaries between them. Idk why though. Maybe they just drifted apart. It's not out of the ordinary. It happens a lot and tae anyway seems closer to wooga squad than to bts so.

Namjoon was weird during jimin's promotion. When jimin's album songs were announced rm posted it on his story and instead of congratulating jimin, he just circled his name in the credits and said "I wrote some lyrics". Like dude you didn't have to tell us army notice the smallest, most useless things. They would've noticed this too obviously. But idk Rm looked kinda desperate for people to know that he contributed a little to jimin's album which kinda made me side eye him a bit. He didn't even congratulate jimin properly.

And when jimin started winning shows then rm came live and said things which kinda hinted that he was jealous that he didn't get such things. If he wanted it he would've gone that route then why blame others? But yeah he did seem jealous. For billboard hot100 he did post it on his story though. So yeah that's that.

What I think though is that rm and yoongi were kinda jealous during face promotion. And I think the major reason for that is, they feel kinda threatened and insecure because of jimin. Like of course they're talented but they and everyone knows that jimin is the only one that has the IT factor. Another reason for them to feel insecure is because jimin have a stronger and bigger fanbase then rm and yoongi so I think that bothers them too.

I don't know but I never see them jealous of taehyung even if he's the most biased one. But that could be because they didn't see tae as a threat. I too believe that tae is not that passionate about music, he just wanna be popular without doing the actual idol thing iykwim.

I think they're not threatened by jungkook either. I don't think it's because jk is the maknae. Rm seemed more fond of jimin than of jk sometimes. And they're grown up adults I don't think anyone babies anyone in the group. So I don't think that's the reason.

I think Rm and yoongi are not threatened by jungkook because well.....they're seeing that jungkook's achievement are all by the company push, so it's not threatening to them.

But jimin on the other hand is different.......He's the king you know. I think Rm and yoongi noticed how jimin was sabotaged so much, how much less time he got for his promotions but still he managed to get that #1 without anyone's help. They saw how they themselves had a smooth sailing but still they didn't reach at jimin's level.

That's what threatens them. In jungkook's case they settle with the fact that his achievement is because of the scooter. But in jimin's case they can't comfort themselves with that. Because jimin has both talent and a dedicated fanbase and you know the fire inside him to achieve it. Also outside of armies kpop stans mostly talk about jimin. Whether it's positive or negative jimin still is relevant to them. While I don't think they care enough about other members to even hate on them lol. kpop stans hate comes from jealousy and jealousy comes because they're threatened by jimin's talent.

That's why armies too feel threatened. Remember how they started hating on jimin accusing him of sleeping with bangpd when face was doing good. They accused him he was given the preferential treatment. It was because they could see jimin getting bigger than the group. Because negative or positive, jimin gets people talking. They can't ignore him.

And for jungkook and jimin. Dude......I'm extremely confused. From all the stories and all they both seemed to have fun in NY. I don't understand how. Maybe jimin is not blaming jk? Maybe their friendship is that strong that they don't care about such superficial things. Or keeping personal and work life separate though that seem impossible. But idk according to me they seem fine even with everything going around. So ig we just have to wait and see.

And for the future I really don't know what's gonna happen. Maybe members don't care about jk getting all this now. But if it continues even during jk's album then maybe they'll have a problem. But by then ig rm and yoongi will be in military so idk.

But I really can't see them coming together as a group again. Even before the drama, the moment hiatus was announced I knew they would not come together as a group again. Because come on......there's no way people won't change after 2 years. They might want different things from their life after military and maybe they would just not be able to adjust together as a group again.

Honestly I was sad at that time thinking we won't get group together anymore but after chapter 2 i wish that it stays like that. Because i don't want it to be jk and 6 friends lol. And I prefer jimin solo. I'm just over the whole group thing ig. Maybe because I'm a solo stan now.