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warwickroyals · 3 months

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Sunderland's Royal Jewel Vault (16/∞) ♛

↬ The Boucheron Lattice Tiara

Another giant in the royal family's treasure trove, the Lattice Tiara, also known as the Gordon Tiara, takes some serious experience to pull off. Made by Boucheron in the early 20th century, the tiara wasn't originally of royal origin, passing from jewelry box to jewelry box for the better part of forty years. Eventually, in 1941, it was scooped up by the Hon. Mrs. Martha Gordon, a society hostess who was a friend of King James II and Queen Katherine, then the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Woodbine. The Gordons were spectacular hosts, but by the early 60s the couple had racked up a significant amount of debt, fuelled by Mrs. Gordon's expensive taste in clothes and her husband's gambling addiction. These debts eventually caused the couple to be evicted from their West Warwick penthouse, with several of their belongings being sold or repossessed. To alleviate their friends' hardships, James and Katherine purchased several pieces of expensive jewelry from the couple. The idiocy of Mrs and Mr Gordon is something to behold. Dowager Queen Anne wrote in her diary around the time of purchase. I warned Jimmmie against such an outrageous purchase, but he was adamant. Kitten and I look after our friends, he said. One wonders what those two have that's worth such a pretty penny! It's better not to indebt yourself to your inferiors, but I suppose I'm close-minded in my old age. Jim said that, too. To this day the full extent of the purchase is unknown, but it is said to have included a diamond necklace, a pair of diamond chandelier earrings, a sapphire necklace, a gaudy fringe necklace, and at least two tiaras. It was the Boucheron tiara, with its delicate lattice patterning that became a favourite of Queen Katherine. I admit, I've coveted this [tiara] for years [. . .] It never suited Martha's head, anyway. — Queen Katherine in a private letter, spring circa 1962 For the remainder of her life, Katherine wore the lattice tiara consistently. Even after her husband died in 1970, she continued to sport the tiara at high-profile events. The tiara was an interesting part of Katherine's tiara evolution, showcasing how the Queen graduated from small, light-weight tiaras, to heftier, more dramatic pieces. When Katherine died in 2018, it was inherited by her son, King Louis V, and in 2026, it was worn by Tatiana, Princess of Danforth for the first time. The upgrade in jewelry, despite the princess's widowhood, was viewed as a reformation of her status and role as the mother of the future sovereign.

HM Queen Katherine wears the Gordon tiara at the George League Gala concert on April 25, 1970. She pairs the tiara with teardrop earrings also acquired in the 1962 Gordon Purchase and Queen Matilda Mary's Wedding Necklace

HRH Tatiana, Princess of Danforth wears the Gordon tiara at a banquet for international heads of government on May 23, 2027. She also wears the Gordon fringe necklace. The banquet was attended by over 5000 delegates.

#warwick.jewels #✨#ch: tatiana #ch: katherine #ts4 #ts4 story #ts4 royal #ts4 storytelling #ts4 edit #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 legacy #ts4 royalty #ts4 monarchy #ts4 screenshots

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hashtag-xolo · 2 months

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I’m sure you’ve been asked this before, but what’s it like having a dog who needs to wear clothes all/a lot of the time? Do breeders usually train puppies to be good about that—or rescues work with the dogs about it? Or is it more of an as needed thing where some dogs don’t need to wear clothes so much? And I remember hearing that there’s a lot of maintenance for their skin, but what about the fur they do have (the little patches, not necessarily the coated dogs); I’d guess it's not much different than a fully-coated dog just because there isn’t much of it?

Also, I think Nico has the same--but much smaller--harness as one of my family’s dogs. This isn’t relevant, but it is pretty fun seeing a tiny version of it (or something very similar) in the wild.

Honestly the needing to wear clothes frequently is my biggest complaint about hairless xolos 😂 Don't get me wrong, it's fun to have a dog whose look you can so easily customize so drastically! But also, having to swap clothes, make sure your dog is in the right level of clothing for the weather, and whatnot before going out can be a hassle for me and for the dog. Clothing also collects dirt and oil at different rates so the fabric choice you make is really important. For instance, fleece collects dirt like mad so even though it's soft it's really not ideal for xolo clothing because it can cause pimples to form really quickly. Other fabrics aren't as comfortable on the skin and so speaking of that harness, it has a mesh interior that doesn't feel very nice so I prefer he has a shirt between it and his skin to prevent irritation from any chafing. (Keeping it snug helps that but can't prevent it entirely either...) Aside from protecting them from the cold, you also need to make sure that xolos with unpigmented skin have sun protection. That means clothing or sunblock. Plus the expenses of buying said clothes which can be a pretty penny when it comes to quality brands.

But on the flip side, I don't have to worry about a matted coat or spending thirty minutes getting mud off my dog either because bathing him takes five minutes from start to finish (unless the shampoo needs to sit). Nor do I need to spend a lot of money on grooming either. So in the end it's really just picking where you want your time, energy, and money spent.

As far as skin and coat care, the skin care regimen will truly differ from dog to dog. Some xolos have basically no skin problems. Some have really bad skin issues their whole life. Others just get hormonal acne as adolescents and then they clear up. And others still have skin issues caused by diet or environmental factors that will get cleared up by changing whatever is causing them. Tzapo has basically no skin issues and just needed the occasional blackhead or pimple resolved. Nico has more skin problems but he was neglected as a puppy, doesn't have a stellar breeding line like Tzapo did, and he's an adolescent so it's hard to predict if these issues will be a constant problem or if he'll wind up with low maintenance skin. I'm hopeful that he will have less skin issues in time but if not, there are medications and special shampoos to help with dog acne, including some made with salicylic acid just like human acne products 😅 but their hair is really low maintenance especially in the (mostly) hairless variety. I occasionally detangled Tzapo's tail plume but that was it.

I am unsure of the extent that breeders go to desensitizing puppies to clothes but it's definitely something they should do considering many xolos will benefit from it. I think hairless xolos probably are easier to acclimate to clothing if only because it does make them more comfortable. I know that if it's cold Nico is way more thrilled to put his clothes on that when it's warmer. Tzapo was the same.

#dogblr #xoloitzcuintli #xolodog #xoloitzcuintle #mexican hairless dog #thank you for the ask! i really appreciate the distraction 🩵

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multifan2022 · 2 years

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How could you pt2

PART 1

Masterlist

To say the group was shocked was an understatement. Not only had they learned that Rooster was married, Ice had an adopted daughter, but now they were finding out that that daughter/wife was also Mavericks biological daughter?!? Their minds were racing round and round in circles trying to keep up. Who were these guys? Really who were you? Why did Rooster not tell them the truth? Why did Mav not know about his own daughter?!

You pulled away from Bradley as Mavs mouth dropped in shock, what did you mean how could he?? What had he ever done!? You could see the questions on his face, but could also see the crowd gathering to see what scene was being caused. Turning to look at Bradley you sighed, “Is there somewhere else we could do this? I refuse to disrespect Ice by fighting at his funeral..” Bradley nodded, pulling his phone out and calling Penny, who agreed to open Hard Deck to just them so this could be settled.

A few hours later, everyone was in normal clothes and standing in different spots around the bar. Bob, Phoenix, Hangman, Coyote and Payback sat awkwardly around a table, their gaze bouncing between the group of Raiders including Rooster and Maverick who was standing with Penny. Phoenix, who had met you briefly on face-time once filled in what she could. You and Bradley had grown up together to a certain extent. You lost contact for a while but reconnected at a friend's wedding. You talked as much as possible and started spending all of your time home with each other. Eventually you got married, but Bradley started taking more missions and you went into the Raiders. So while you didn't see each other often, you were still very much in love.

That much was evident by the kisses you kept pressing into Bradley's jaw, or the ones he laid in your hair or on your temple as your group talked. Your hands hadn't left each other a single time. It shocked Hangman that it wasn't in an overly sexual way, it was far more affectionate than he thought it would be. A hand on the back, rubbing gently circles. Fingers interlaced, or Bradley's running threw your now down hair. It forced him to see a side of physical touch he normally didn't see. One that gave comfort, and real love not just pleasure.

Soon though, Mav stepped towards the middle of the bar, clearly having had enough of the silence. “What did you mean by how could I? What have I done?” The tension in the bar shot up by 100 notches as Steel turned and sneered at Mav. As his mouth opened to tell him again to watch himself, your hand caught his arm. His teeth snapped together audible as you stepped around him. He didn't want you to do this, he had made that much clear. Steel, Fuse and Dagger wanted you to just go home and relax. While Dagger was newest to your group, and the least close to you he had a respect for you that he didn't have for many.

None of them liked how Maverick talked to you, or even looked at you. Fuse as your best friend, he liked to rank himself right under Bradley, wanted to rip your bio fathers face off and present it to you as a gift. While Steel just wanted to break a few of his bones and get out of this god forsaken Navy town. Your voice brought all of them out of their thoughts though, proving once again why you were the strong one of the group when you spoke steadily.

“It's more about what you didn't do, but I guess I can name the things you did do too.. Starting with leaving my mom. Which in the grand scheme of things didn't really matter right? You guys weren't going to work out anyways, but you left her and never looked back knowing that she was pregnant. The mission you were ASKED to do, not even told to do was more important than being there for the birth of your daughter. She was 8 months along when you left and you never even called to check on me.”

Penny's head snapped around to look at Mav who studiously looked anywhere else. He took a deep breath and found his voice as he looked at the wall just behind you “Goose died a few months after that.. I couldn't bring myself to be in anyone's life.” He would've kept going but your sharp laughter cut him off.

“Are you really about to spew some bullshit story to me like I don't know how involved in my husband's life you were? How you basically raised him for years until he walked away from you? Even if thats the reason you still had months between when I was born and when he passed. But sure lets move on.. How about to when my mom died when I was 14, or the year I spent watching her suffer threw chemo as she tried to heal enough to finish raising me?”

“Or how about when you didn't show up after she died and I was about to be taken in my CPS and put into a home when Ice showed up. He said they tried to get a hold of you but as soon as they said my mom's name you said you weren't interested in an update about her life and hung up! You KNEW she had given birth to your child and when the hospital called you FUCKING HUNG UP!” You were screaming now, as everyone stood shocked, well everyone besides Bradley, Steel and Fuse. Those three knew everything about you, even things the two Raiders didn't really want to know, like when your period was.

“Ice raised me as his own, then Sarah came in and helped. Do you know how many times I asked myself how can I do this? You're asking Roost how could he? But how could I Maverick?? How could I grow up for 14 years without a father? How could I get through high school, college, boot camp without you? How could I know if a guy was treating me right? Or how could I stay with someone knowing that someone who is fundamentally supposed to want and love me didn't??!!?”

You had tears streaming down your face now, as did Phoenix, Penny and Rooster. He always hated seeing you this worked up, it tore his heart to pieces when you were upset and he couldn't fix it. Nix just hated seeing anyone upset, she was a sympathetic crier. Penny was heartbroken for you, she could see and hear your pain but she was also pissed. How could Pete do this to his own child and go about his day every day for 30 years like he wasn't hurting someone.

Pete could feel the guilt starting to claw up his throat with every word you spoke, but he had no excuse. The Navy was his life, the clouds were his life, he had never made room for anything else. Bradley was an extension of Goose, who was part of his Navy life. His face must've said something you didn't like because you scoffed before wiping your face.

“I think the last time I asked myself how I could do something was on my wedding day.. Really that was the last time I ever remember thinking I needed or wanted you.. The day I outgrew thinking I needed you..” You took a deep breath releasing it and looking towards the ceiling. A hand landed on your shoulder and you knew it was Steel but the band tattooed around his ring finger. He knew this was something you had never told your husband, so he was trying to lend you some strength. Everyone could tell by Rooster's face that he was confused, listening just as hard as everyone else as you tried to calm yourself down enough to speak.

A water bottle smacked into your hand as you turned and looked at Dagger. He looked uncomfortable at the sight of your tears, but clearly wanted to help. You smiled softly at him before taking a long drink. Turning to look at Bradley, you gave him the saddest smile he swore he'd ever seen on you. Stepping forward you grabbed his left hand and spun his wedding ring around to distract yourself from looking at him. Again everyone was shocked and wondered if they had never noticed the ring before or if he had put it back on today.

“I almost left.. I was going to leave you at the altar.. In your spify black suit with that ridiculous Hawaiian tie you insisted on wearing.” You heard him suck in a breath and looked up to see matching tears in his eyes. “I was alone back in the dressing room.. Wondering how in the hell I was supposed to walk myself down the aisle to you.. How I was supposed to be good enough..” Your voice broke off as a sob tried to escape, “How was I supposed to be good enough for someone as amazing as Bradley Bradshaw, when my own father didn't love me.. How was I supposed to be good enough for you when I wasn't even good enough for him before birth.”

This time a sob did escape and Bradley took you in his arms, his lips at your ear whispering. But in the silent room everyone could hear him, “Baby, you never have to worry about not being enough. You're more than enough, in fact sometimes you're too much. Can't handle ya.” He joked and you chuckled threw your tears, “I've loved you since I was a kid Y/n, and I'll love you until I die. His opinion has never and will never change that.” He gripped the back of your neck and pulled you back so he could kiss your forehead. Mumbling that he loved you again while you kept talking, his lips still pressed against your head.

“Icy must've known that something was wrong, because he knocked and came in just as I was pulling my heels off and my converse on. He joked and said ‘hope you're planning on wearing those down the aisle and not trying to run’. My face must've given away my panic because he sat me down and talked me through it. Told me I never had to worry about you not loving me.. Or about you not loving our kids one day if we had them.. Because he had never seen a love so pure and full since Goose and Carol.”

Bradley and Pete both gasped at the sound of their names. Bradley closing his eyes and picturing his parents, thinking about how much they would've loved the two of you together. While his mother had met you as a child, it was as Ices adopted daughter. She still loved you, but she would've loved you more now, as who you really are. Goose never got to meet you, in fact Pete had never even told him. Bradley knows that his father would've tried to knock some sense into his friend. And if that didn't work he would have tracked down your mother and been part of your life either way.

You were always destined to end up as Bradley's wife.

You pulled away and looked into Rooster's eyes, your favorite shade of brown looking back. “He told me that if I wanted he would walk me. He had never said anything because he didn't want me to feel forced. And I didnt say anything because I figured if he ever had a real daughter that he would want to walk her first. Of course he told me how ridiculous I was being and that I was his real daughter. I'm sorry I never told you..” You whisper the last sentence, shame and guilt filling your mouth and words and you lean into his chest.

Everyone was silent, stunned by everything that had been said. It was really a roller coaster but Rooster was about to up the ante. Because he was pissed that his wife, the love of his life, was feeling any type of pain. That she had almost left him because she didn't feel like she was enough. And that was all on the man standing in front of him.

“Ya know Mav.. You can be pissed at me all you want. But honestly how could I not right? How could I not keep it from you when you never once wanted to be part of her life. It's not like she's lived with you and I've been sneaking in her bedroom window. Not like I snuck around behind her dad's back and married her or knocked her up or something. Because i asked her DAD for permission not only to marry her but to date her. Ice knew every time I took her out, where we were going, when we were coming back. The coordinates of our house every time we went on vacation.”

Bradley released you as Fuse put his arm around your shoulders. Stepping forward so he was a few paces in front of you and squared off with Pete. “How could I not love her.. She's everything I've ever wanted, and needed. Every time I've been deployed she's been there, every phone call, letter or text she has made sure to tell me how proud she is. How proud my parents would be. She has never tried to hold me back or talk me down, only encouraged me to do what I need to do safely. When I told her a few weeks ago that you were the leader for my mission, she didn't talk down about you. She actually told me that if I wanted, I should try and work things out between us.”

Rooster scoffed and put his hands in his pockets, “Can you believe that.. She encouraged me to have a relationship with the man who helped raise me, but left her. The man who cared enough about me to follow my dying mothers wish and pull my papers, but didnt even know if she was still alive or not. You want to know how I could keep it from you? I would've never told you, never spoken to you again if it made her happy.. Because unlike you.. I will never leave her, there will never be anyone or anything above her.”

Turning around Rooster nodded to his friends, then pulled you away from Fuse and into his arms. As he led you to the door he turned back and spoke once more before he led you to the bronco. “There's more to life than the clouds Pete.. Sometimes your angel is on the ground.. Think about that..”

@theforevermorereject @luckyladycreator2 @laura-naruto-fan1998

#bradley bradshaw x female reader #Bradley Bradshaw x you #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw imagine #rooster top gun #rooster x reader #rooster x y/n #rooster x you #rooster x oc #bradley bradshaw x y/n #rooster x wife!reader #rooster x mitchell!daughter #Rooster x Maverick daughter

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alternativesaga · 4 months

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Penny for ur brainthoughts on elemental? 👀🤲

I opened my laptop for this *cracks knuckles* oKAY I am so sorry for the ramble for what's about to come but honestly the reading is unnecessary I just need to ramble on what I can currently think of atm

I'm ngl, I was really initially hesitant to watch the movie. I didn't even plan to, but a friend suggested it while hanging out and watching a movie sounded nice to pass the time.

And I'm glad I did! The advertisement for it was truly atrocious.

I'm not gonna go into the worldbuilding aspect of Elemental City. It's nice, but honestly it's not what intrigues me about the movie. However, I do enjoy their color schemes especially at night with vivid dark blues and contrasting eccentric warm yellows and reds in Firetown!

My biggest love for this movie is the relationships between family (the dynamic with Ember and her father especially), and love (Ember and Wade). Which--cheesy, yes, but it was more than that! It had aspects of being a descendant of immigrant parents and what that means to the child, and the potential for culture clashes in everyday life, including relationships.

With Ember and her father, all throughout her life she's had this desire to prove herself to her family that she will be what makes them proud. To her, it's taking over her dad's store. It's not about being perfect, she understands her temper, but she needs to be better. And knowing that feeling all her life, that pressure never goes away. She wants to show that she's grateful to whatever they have sacrificed for her. She has to be a good daughter. Or else it'll seem as though everything she and her parents have done will have been for nothing. A failure. And because the pressure has always been there, it's understandable as to why she never fully questioned going out and doing her own thing because she figured there isn't a point in looking for more than what she has now. Growing up in a family with more traditional views, sometimes its encouraged to keep within the limits of what someone is already capable of. Or sometimes its just saying, oh, yes, you can dream, but don't dream too big! Ember didn't even let herself do that because she already sees how tired her father is. Therefore, it's practically the idea of sacrificing her own life to protect what she currently has--her family.

Culture in itself is a huge aspect of the movie. Peter Sohn, the creator of Elemental also supported this as he provided examples of his own life being first-gen from an immigrant family and what his parents had to go through while moving into a new country. And while its different elements of characters between water, fire, earth, and air demonstrates those distinctions to an extent, it's deeper than that. It can affect a person's way of life and their relationships. (I lied I'm going into the worldbuilding a bit) Element City is a great aspect of showing the accessibility available to the fire people. Each element is provided their own accessibilities throughout the city, but there is minimal for fire. So instead, they essentially have their own Firetown in the outskirts of the city. But also, you know, the topics of racism. It's there and apparent in the most simple way that the movie can make it. But ngl the think with what Wade's step-dad/uncle(?) says to Ember about speaking clear? I laughed because that does happen. It shouldn't! But it does! Without getting into too much detail irl I've been in similar situations and I like how the movie just addresses it so randomly.

As for Wade and Ember, upon watching it the first time, the relationship was cute, but wasn't entirely something I really cared about. It was mainly due to how Wade was so--Idk, bubbly that I was initially thinking like--"damn, really? We're sticking with this?" It's honestly not that deep. It bugged me at first, with how he pushed Ember about telling her father about everything. And to encourage her to leave her current life at her job just to follow an internship she just learned about! He, who moves from job to job just because he can, and her, who has worked her whole life--it wasn't just about culture as elements, it's even social class. I understood the apprehension and fear Ember felt and the anger of explaining that that doesn't just happen. It's not something that can be done on a whim. It's not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. It's a damn privilege. At the time, it was like "leaving" meant leaving everything behind and essentially betraying her family to do something completely different to what she believed meant going against their dreams. And man, does that hurt. But Wade doesn't understand it. Which--unfortunately/fortunately, it's understandable. It's not something that just comes to be understood, it's just something someone can bear and grow with. Wade was one of the first things outside of Ember's life at home in which she wanted. She wanted the relationship. All her life, she has put up this front to be strong, show resilience, don't let anything hurt you. She's protective of her home, her mother, her father, her life. She's always happy and fiery in her personality until she just blows up because of all that stress and anger that's left to build up and explode! But then here's Wade, some fool, who the first thing he says after she explains her experience at the museum with her father, "You must have been so scared." Not even knowing her, or her life at the time to an extent, does he still manage to try to connect with her. And even after everything and the rejection, he STILL tries to prove to her that he's willing to try to understand. And they made it work even with all the apprehension!

In all honesty, a lot of the movie was something really relatable to me, and I see a lot of myself within Ember. Even with the temperament at times haha. I'm also glad to have watched Peter Sohn's explanation of the inspiration for it and his connections to it because he just brings in that perspective and representation of being a person from a family of immigrants and how it event affected his own relationship. I know I could probably say more but I'm just going to leave it as this haha Thanks for coming to my ted talk

#aaaaa #hi chaireem!!#thanks for the ask lol #chaireem #saga shush #the ramble is strong for this #whoops

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valriety · 2 years

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SDV: Bachelor Baking HCs <3

Post Type: SFW, Fluff, Platonic/Romantic x Reader, Mentions of Family in Alex and Shane.

Characters: Sam, Elliot, Harvey, Alex, Shane, and Sebastian.

GN Reader (You/Yours) - slight baker!reader.

The first installment of my baking headcanons for the romance-ables! Assumes a baker!reader, but you can also just read these as general headcanons. Enjoy!

'SDV: Bacherlorette Baking HCs <3' can be found here.

AO3 | Masterlist | Next |

Sam:

Lowkey probably has never even baked before. Just never had any interest in it. He really likes eating baked goods though! Especially the sweet stuff - total sweet tooth. Penny probably shares what she bakes for him sometimes.

He helps out sometimes in the kitchen at home, but nothing crazy.

If you like baking, and you invite him to come join, he is so down. He's not the best at it, and you'll need to guide him through a lot of the process, but he is so eager about it. Will request that you bake specific things together depending on what he's craving.

If he has a crush on you, he'll become more bold about his recipe requests, and will try to intitiate baking hangouts more often. The entire time he'll be sneaking glances at you with this cute slight blush on his face :)

He is no stranger to pretending to not know how to do something so you'll come over and help him too <3

If things get more serious, i can see him getting more into it, but it'll always be more your thing, and while he does get better, his skills are still pretty average. Your number one supporter though, brags about you and what you baked all the time.

Would love if you made pizza from scratch one night.

Overall Baking Skill: 2.5/5 - Please bake for this guy.

Harvey:

Actual closet baker. Has a cute apron and matching utensils. Wears it all the time.

He actually really enjoys baking, just not really the sweet stuff, instead he's really good at baking bread! He'll make it all from scratch, and even has a few starters setup - uses it for his lunches. Awkward whenever he tries to gift one of his loaves.

If you ever ask to bake with him, he'd accept, but only if you're at least good friends by this point. And he'd be a little hesitant about it too. Might pretend like he needs your direction at first, but he's pretty obvious, and you'll work out pretty quickly that he absolutely knows what he's doing.

If he has a crush on you, and you get past that initial shyness, will invite you to bake with him all the time. He's pretty dependable too! If there's anything you're unsure about, he'd be willing to teach you. May even put on the apron for you <3

If you're in a romantic relationship, will bake things for you all the time. Totally the type to put pretty designs into the bread as well, using herbs and wildflowers to experiment with flavour and color.

Overall Baking Skill: 5/5! Total kitchen wizard.

Elliot:

Another one to not really be seen baking unless someone invites him to do it. Except unlike Alex, who can make do, he's terrible at it. It's just not one of his fortes! He can cook... to an extent.... but his baking is on a whole 'nother level.

He does really enjoy it though, just... mostly aesthetically? The process of creating something from scratch, assembling the ingredients, kneading them together, and watching them become something beautiful - it's all very soothing to him. Loves the smell too.

Regardless of if you're in a platonic or romantic relationship, he would never decline an invitation to come bake with you. Though he would definitely stay on the sidelines, prefering to instead keep you company and hand you what you ask for. Forages with Leah sometimes, so may have some fresh ingredients on hand too!

Will send you recipes that remind him of you in the mail and include a short handwritten poem with every one <3

If he has a crush on you, or if you are in a romantic relationship with him, you might notice him making every excuse on earth to spend more time with you in the kitchen. And he'll do everything he can to help out too! Passing you tools, giving you praise, cleaning up after you, brushing the flour from your cheek... he's so sweet about it.

Will offer to feed you, and never fails to have the biggest grin on his face when you agree :,)

Also I feel like he'd really like pumpkin pie?

Overall Baking Skill: 0/5. Recipe for disaster.

Alex:

When he's not out training, or hanging with friends, Alex would definitely enjoy baking with Evelyn from time to time. He's a bit messy with the technique, and requires a lot of direction, but he really enjoys the process, and is fond of the bond created during.

He especially loves his grandmother's cookies, and will sometimes request flavours he's craving.

He doesn't bake frequently though, and he definitely doesn't attempt it often alone. Even when he follows a recipe, or tries to recall how his grandmother did it, he just can't get it right. So he usually prefers helping, it's the bonding he cares more about anyways.

If you enjoy baking, and you ask him to bake with you, he might be a little reluctant at first, worried that he'll mess up or won't be helpful. But be patient and keep asking! Once he sees that you're excited about it, he'll give it a go, so long as it's something simple :)

So flustered if he has a crush on you. When you try to feed him one, his cool exterior completely crumbles, cheeks flushing and unable to make eye contact.

If you guys move past friendship, and onto a romantic relationship baking dates may actually become more frequent! Acts of services is definitely a love language of his, so if baking was something you enjoyed, he'd try his best to become helpful to you, even going as far to trying a few recipes out alone for you try <3

Would absolutely invite you to come help bake with Evelyn.

Overall Baking Skill: 3/5. Doing the best he can.

Shane:

Listen, he CAN bake, he's actually not too bad at it even, he just never does. Honestly Shane never enjoyed cooking, he'd much prefer microwave meals, or grabbing a feed from the saloon. He just doesn't like it. In fact, the only reason he's any good at it at all is because of Jas.

Shane struggles a bit with Jas. He worries alot that he's not present enough for her, or that he can't be the father figure she needs, so every now and again he'll try to put in a little extra effort, just to show her he cares.

The first time he tried baking was for one of Jas' birthdays. It was a simple cake, something easy for his first time, but he had a lot of trouble following the recipe, and the kitchen was a mess after it. He almost swore never to do it again. But seeing her reaction made it all worth it. So if he does bake, it'll be with Jas.

Occasionally, he'll participate in a tea party with her too :,)

Honestly, if you wanted to bake with him, I don't see him doing it? At least not for a long time, and not until you were really good friends. If you do manage to rope him into it, he's more inclined to keep you company or pass you things, but will carry out tasks you ask him to do.

If he has a crush on you, he may very subtly hint towards certain recipes he'd like to try. And if you invite him to make these recipes with you, he'll probably ask if you'd like to share a drink with him as well, so he has something to blame his blush on lol <3

If things get a bit more serious, I'd also see him roping you into baking with him and Jas - smile on his face the entire time.

Overall Baking Skill: 2/5. Pretty average, pretty messy.

Sebastian:

Local basement dweller probably does not bake. Probably pretty impartial to sweet things as well, I reckon he's more of a savory guy. He's just not really interested in it, seeing more value in doing other things. Nothing wrong with it.

No one in his immediate friend group really does it all that much either, so he's also just never been roped into it.

If you liked baking, and you ever decided to invite him along for the ride, he'd actually be down for it. It's not his thing, but it's yours, and if it'd make you happy to spend time with him like that, he sees no reason to say no. Just... make sure to guide him along and give him tasks, otherwise he's completely lost :,)

If he has a crush on you, I could see him taking interest in your favourites - shyly requesting to cook those together next time. He'd try to appear nonchalant about the final product, but inside he's actually pretty happy he did it, especially after seeing your reaction. He's honestly inclined to do it again.

And if you guys do end up getting more serious, and he keeps up with baking together with you, he may actually even end up getting pretty good at it. Even going so far as to learn a few recipes by himself - like your favourites, or some bread for whenever you have pumpkin soup for dinner <3

Overall Baking Score: 3.5/5. A true skill leveler.

A/N: And that's all! Lemme know if you liked these, or if you'd like something similar :)

AO3 | Masterlist | Next |

Remember to support creators by liking + reblogging!

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floof-writes · 5 months

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WARNING: this post includes some negativity about something you might love: D20’s The Seven, specifically choices made by Sephie about Sam Nightingale’s actions and backstory

TL;DR- (Disclaimer, I'm only to episode 5) The way Sephie chose to play Sam makes her seem aloof, toxic, disingenuous, and attention-seeking compared to the rich found-family themes of past Fantasy High seasons and to her fellow characters in this season. Less importantly but still frustrating, she doesn't follow the 'one leveled spell a round' rule. If she had all these flaws and was also funny, I might forgive her. But, alas.

Watching The Seven right now for FHJY and while I have countless good things to say about it, forgive me for instead ranting about the fan beloved Sam Nightingale. While I understand that many people love it, Sam/Sephie’s stage mom backstory gets on my fucking nerves. Especially the viral video thing in episode 5. Sephie blows up a bit (a bit in a comedy show! They're always doing bits!) into something big and then chooses to duck out instead of committing and resolving. I LIVE for emotional moments in D20, I seriously do, but whatever Sephie has been doing just doesn’t work for me. It feels cheap. D20 emotional moments have a ton of build-up through comedy/resistance, and I hate to say it, but Sam is not a funny character. I’m not saying she’s not realistic- she’s traumatized and is going through a lot, but Sephie is playing her in the wrong genre. D20 is a comedy.

Here's the thing: Ally also gets criticism for playing Kristen in a really explicit and overt way, trampling over other roleplay with her trauma, and that is true (sorry Kristen, ily!), but at least what Ally did is funny. Sam isn't. Sephie almost nailed it when Rebecca revealed she was getting divorced- her reaction was both real and comedic, but later when she called Penelope it felt forced/spotlighty/too soon, especially considering she didn't even have a mirror charge left. And that attention-seeky vibe isn’t helped by the fact that Sephie chose to play an ex-child actor: a real-life tragedy that almost always comes off as cheap when fictionalized.

But the parallels between Ally’s Kristen and Sephie’s Sam don’t end there! One of the biggest reasons people were annoyed by Kristen was Ally’s (and to an extent, Brennan/fellow player's), absolute ignorance of the rules about concentration spells, which made her really overpowered in season one. My argument against this as a newbie dnd player was always ‘rule of cool, it was fun to watch and fun to play so it doesn’t matter!', but as a more experienced player I finally understand that frustration even though I tried not to feel it. The same thing happened with Sam in ep 4- she casts two leveled spells in a single turn with Quicken Spell (Lightning Bolt and Fly, and again later with Enthrall and Suggestion), which makes her seem crazily overpowered despite the fact that she’s a 3/6 multi-class among a 9th level druid and a 9th level cleric. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good multi-class, but she shouldn’t be outstripping them so handily (Yielle also fucking slayed this fight though).

[A proposed alternate turn for her second mistake: Quicken spell to Enthrall and then use her winged boots and second action to attack the harpy and catch Penny (a ranged cantrip (LIGHTNING LURE) or a weapon attack if the DM allowed that to cause her to drop Penny, opposed strength with Danielle’s Bear Totem advantage if not). It would have been just as cool and displayed better teamwork, plus it was an opportunity to roleplay bonding and show gratitude for the Feather Fall that saved her fucking life.]

In fact, for me, there’s only three rather subjective reasons why I adore Kristen so much and find Sam super annoying: 1. As we've been over before, Kristen is funny. Sam is not. 2. I personally really relate to Kristen’s Overpowering Trauma (tm) and as an amateur actress, find bitter child actress plots absolutely inconceivable (Disclaimer:Jeanette McCurdy’s ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ made me fucking lose it). And 3. Kristen's story is about finding love (of herself through romantic but most importantly platonic relationships), supporting others, and understanding the world. Caring so much she self-destructs. Even her famous rule-breaking was usually caused by a conflict with Bless, a spell she cast every time to protect her friends. But Sam has thus far rarely displayed unselfishness, despite knowing the Maidens for nearly twice as long as Kristen knew the Bad Kids by the end of Season One. Kristen was self-centered in that Ally often drew the focus of roleplay towards their character's own issues and sub-plot, (or by being the purest form of the new player paradox and asking to do something crazy.) Sam is self-centered in that same way, and also in that she is literally selfish. Antiope says 'I have an opportunity' and instead of saying 'I get it, the pressure of having a parent who doesn't understand you changes everything, but even then a part of you still wants what they want for you' she says 'so you won't be there for me? How could you?'. Penny saves her life before being snatched into the air like a mouse to a hawk, and Sam is the only one who can fly but she plays the harp instead of helping her in return.

ALL the maidens lost months to more than a year of their lives. All the maidens are grappling with generational expectations, trauma, and pressure just like Sam. The big what-if at the end of highschool. I was only going to point out Antiope and Penny, but this actually seems to be a major theme of the season, since Ostentatia and Zelda also have overt themes of this.

Look, if you’re gonna play angsty, there’s a trick to it. There's this highschool level acting advice I've heard so many times: The worst choice you can make on stage is to be bored, because what is the audience to do except be bored as well? Similarly, if you choose to play disconnected, then how is an audience supposed to connect? In a group of people who have vocalized endless support for you, ‘I’m fine, I'm fine' (as shown in episode 5's viral video scene) is just dishonest, and it's honestly a betrayal of Sephie’s fellow actors who are working to improvise a history of openness and support with Sephie’s character, just so Sam can seem aloof and angsty. Break down in their arms, Sephie! Get flustered and run away! Either ‘I Kiss Her And Skateboard Away/I Burn Two Luck Points To Stop Riz From Finding Out’ OR ‘I Need Everyone To Dogpile On Me Right Now/I Kiss Everyone On The Mouth’ levels of teen angst are needed for this to be actually funny. Sam could've had something unique and iconic up there with Kristen and Fig's struggles with being known, but she isn’t cringefail enough. She's not relatable, and she claims to be bitter but really she's just mean. And again, I never said she isn’t realistic- real life people do the ‘I’m fine’ thing. Real life teenagers make a big deal out of something to tease out sympathy/curiosity over a Hidden Trauma and then duck out of an explanation for the attention of it all. But it isn’t funny and it feels OOC for a maiden who had a year and a half to become fucking codependent (/pos) with these other six girls.

Rant over, something positive to end the post: TaleSpire is so fucking cool! Physical battlemaps are awesome but you couldn't do a 700ft+ chase battle on the dome's tabletop. They really took advantage of using a virtual tool this season and did something they couldn't do otherwise. (Plus the fact that TaleSpire is treated like video game software and has a one time purchase fee instead of a subscription based model is fucking awesome!)

#d20 #the seven d20 #sam nightingale #if you follow her tag I wouldn't read this I love you and I'm not trying to spread negativity #fantasy high #dimension 20 #long post #writing about a character who uses different pronouns than their actor is a real exercise in grammar

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arcane-abomination · 11 months

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I recommend reading my piece on Eldritch Witchcraft before this blog.

Its hard to find resources on this practice yet quite a few pagans seem to flock to it like a hidden gem. Getting started on this path can be a little difficult for some, as there are some books out there that have been published but they can be somewhat obscure, and let’s be honest, cost a pretty penny. I remember seeing one for $52 online and that’s not including shipping.

In this blog I have compiled some basics of the practice just to get those who fancy this craft started on their journey. For the most part, this path isn’t set in stone, and can be manipulated to the casters will as they see fit. Most of the modern witches that delve into it are chaos practitioners or already practice Eldritch witchcraft. So this information is very basic but will serve as the foundation for one to build and discover their connection with the gods.

What is it?

A branch of Eldritch Witchcraft, It’s the practice of worship generally centered around the creatures created by the author HP Lovecraft. Originally he wanted to go with the term Yog Sothothary, however others would dub the mythos after Cthulhu, and later after the late author himself. As such, It isn’t uncommon to hear the practice referred to as Cthulhuism or Lovecraftian Paganism as well.

Are The God’s Real?

Well, technically yes but it also depends on how you look at things. Most people fall into one of 3 main categories on the subject.

⚜️ Egragores - This is a type thoughtform creation, a being of pure energy given life and sentience by the belief of multiple individuals. Those of Yog Sothothary can sometimes believe that the gods were created in this way, and it’s the belief and worship in them that satiates and feeds them. They are sentient, and have developed over the years into powerful gods.

⚜️ Alien-like Deities - This system is a little different from the first. It generally holds the belief that Lovecraft had a connection through his subconscious to the astral realm. In some retellings he didn’t even know it. When he slept he unconsciously connected with other worlds and dimensions, but didn’t understand them for what they were and so wrote them the way he did.

⚜️ Real Forms Of Historic Gods - This theory states that the beings Lovecraft saw and created were actually the real forms of other well known deity. The forms we see them as are either epithets or avatars. (An example would be Pan being an extent of Shub Niggurath) This makes it easier to work with us since our mortal minds can’t completely comprehend what lies on the other side and can go mad when seeing a god in its true form.

How to work with them

They work very much like other deity would. They command some sort of respect, and offerings. Typically they will tell you what kinds of things they prefer from you, this is not limited to offerings alone but also other correspondence as well. One thing to make note of though is that it is very common for them to greet you with an avatar of some sort. That way they can choose a form that best connects with you. These avatars can look like animals, humans, or other monstrous creatures. The possibilities are limitless. Sometimes they may even choose one that resembles their true form although not entirely because mortal minds can’t fathom it.

The last thing I have to stress is that while Lovecraft was a racist nihilist, those qualities did NOT pass into the deity of his mythos. Racism is a human trait, concocted through human concepts of bigotry. Deity don’t have the same concepts. They do not view race the way we do. To them, a human is a human. Their skin color doesn’t matter. This practice will never be one that works in a racist manner.

Types of Magick

For the most part people tend to gravitate a lot towards ceremonial magick. This is in part due to the fact that most of the stories involved with summoning the gods have a ceremony motif to them. However, if you’re not into this type of Magick you needn’t worry. Calling a deity can be worth more casual Magick. Personally this is the way I do it for the most part. It’s the intention the gods really care about not whether it’s a whole lengthy ceremony or not.

Symbolism

Each deity’s Symbolism can be derived from their respected texts. It’s important to remember that while the bigotry isn’t apart of their actual makeup some of the symbolism in the writing is. It’s not as cut and dry as the story presents though. Which has lead to many processing the information in various ways. For the sake of this blog I will list some of the more favored gods as well as what’s typically associated with them. However, you are free to draw your own conclusions, as much of this practice operates this way.

⚜️ Azathoth ⚜️

Known as the blind idiot god, he is said to be in an internal slumber dreaming up our universe. While the last part is often seen as just apart of the story for lots of practitioners the slumber of the great god isn’t always. Those who work with Azathoth work with dream magick. Believing it’s one of the only ways he can communicate with his followers. The other by using the messenger god to relay information.

⚜️ Yog Sothoth ⚜️

Son of Azathoth, he is typically regarded as the main god of the mythos by most of his followers. It is said he is called the key and the gate, the keeper of dimensions. Existing outside space and time. Because of this he knows all and is often called upon as a god of knowledge, divination, and dimensional travel. In the mythos he’s also associated with bringing back the dead, thus many practitioners view him as a god of necromancy as well.

⚜️ Shub Niggurath ⚜️

The wife of Yog Sothoth she’s a motherly deity that is said to appear deep in forestry areas, almost constantly creating life from opening mouths on her body. She’s seen as a benevolent goddess, one that stands mainly for fertility. In the story she creates milk to feed her followers. Those that drink it become known as Dark Young. From a realistic stand point, the dark young can simply represent her followers, some even view it as a title like priest or priestess. A lesser known association, however, is the belief that the dark young are the dead souls of those that worshipped her in life. They are said to appear on her behalf when she can not be present. Regardless of which one you hold to be true, milk is often used as an offering. She’s called to bless it with protection and fruitfulness, before it’s drank my the witch.

⚜️ Nyarlathotep ⚜️

Known as one of the most malevolent gods of the mythos, he’s said to wander the earth causing havoc. It’s also stated that he’s the messenger of the gods, talking word back to even Azathoth himself. Now, in reality he’s not seen as evil but rather a trickster god. Trickster gods often walk a grey area between light and dark, and can be known to teach in very unconventional ways. This matches what Nyarlathotep is about. Those that work with him can describe him as protective or even stern one minute then care free the next.

⚜️ Cthulhu ⚜️

Arguably the most popular of the mythos, this deity is another dream worker. The story says that the great one slumbers and reaches out to his followers through their dreams. Cthulhu is described by practitioners to be very knowledgeable and protective of those who follow him dutifully. He’s often seen to give gifts to those he feels worthy.

⚜️ Hastur ⚜️

Hastur isn’t always considered part of the pantheon because his creation is a little different from the others. He was only mentioned briefly in one of Lovecraft’s stories. He was later reimagined by Ambrose Bierce, in his short story “Haïta the Shepherd” in which Hastur was described as a the god of shepherds. He was later fleshed out again as a malicious god called the yellow king. Like Nyarlathotep, he isn’t seen as actually evil but rather a chaos or darkness deity. In practice he’s seen as a king, but this doesn’t mean he’s no longer a shepherd. On the contrary. A fair king is seen as both a ruler and a shepherd. He governs and lays down rules, while also protecting and guiding his people. That being said, those who have worked with Hastur often mention that he can be strict, and demanding of offering more profusely then any other deity. But when the castor complies he will be very protective and loyal.

Resources

I will add to this list as more become available, so feel free to link yours in the bottom so I can create a nice Hub. Also please remember that any symbol, regardless of whether it’s words, numbers, or sigils, has power when put down with intention. Even if it’s a symbol taken from a game. It may not have been created with real spirituality in mind but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t use it that way. Everything is just lines, squiggles, and circles until meaning is given to them.

⚜️ R’lyehian Text ⚜️

This is a text said to be given by Cthulhu in the story. While, in the story it’s only vaguely described, there are many people who have created their own versions. These ones I feel the most accurate to me. These are a free download that also comes with a free translator on site for those who just want to try it. The text comes in 2 variations.

• Dark R’lyehain Font Translator & Download

• Minor R’lyehain Font Translator & Download

⚜️ Magick Circles ⚜️

These are in no way meant to be the only circles you use. You can most definitely make your own. These are just some of the more popular ones people have uploaded online that are currently in circulation.

• Generic Magick Circle

• Chaos Star Magick Circle

• Azathoth Magick Circle

• Hastur Magick Circle

• Cthulhu Magick Circle

• Nyarlathotep Magick Circle

⚜️ Bestiary ⚜️

This was originally a tabletop game but it showcases seals & symbols for each deity and creature from the entire mythos along with where their placement is on the hierarchy. It’s a good starting point.

• Lovecraftian Bestiary

⚜️ The Elder Sign ⚜️

The sign is said to protect one against the outer gods. Although it’s not always used for this purpose in the modern craft. Sometimes it’s used as protection, not against the deity but bad energies as a whole. Again it all depends on the witch. Now there are technically 3 variations on this. One created by Lovecraft, another created by August Derleth, and a third depicted as a combination of the two.

• Lovecraft’s Sign

• August Derleth Sign

• Combination Sign

⚜️ Yog Sothothary Sefirot ⚜️

Originally the Sefirot, also called a Sephiroth, was a diagram in the Jewish Kabbala, that showcased the 10 powers, by which God would manifest. Since then their have been multiple variations created by practices, and this practice is no different.

• Lovecraftian Sefirot

⚜️ Links For Further Reading ⚜️

These are links that can help with further reading and understanding of this mythos. Remember though, each one of us works with the mythos in our own unique way. Take from the sources what calls to you and leave what doesn’t.

• Deep Cuts In A Lovecraftian Vein

• Cults Of Lovecraft

• The Influence Of HP Lovecraft On Occultism

• A Practical Guide To Lovecraft’s Lore

• Egragores & The Cthulhu Mythos

• Egragore Wiki

• Excerpts From Liber Yog Sothoth

• The Azatu Gate

• Rite To Call Yogge Sothoth

• Black Book of Azathoth

• Necronomicon Gnosis

• Chthon

• Working Worth The Cthulhu Mythos

#paganism #witchcraft #pagans of tumblr #chaos magician #chaos magick #eldritch magic #witches of tumblr #chaos witch #eldritch witch #chaos witchcraft #eldritch witchcraft #yog sothoth #Yog Sothothery #lovecrafian #lovecraft

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chaikachi · 5 months

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I'm also someone who's sick of seeing the beacon era of Rwby I think the only reason we don't see an adaptation of the other volumes past volume 1-3 is people don't want to really adapt all the characters because

there are so many it was in an interview the writers did back when volume 9 was airing in March they even admitted they had too many characters

Miles even say it on a cameo that they have too many characters and he kind of regrets that now

And I now well maybe get more in volume 10 at best I think we'll get 6-8 new characters

I think it's more that Beacon Era sells. This got a bit long so...

There is an entire subgroup of fans that cling to the show despite hating where it went after V3, but they'll swarm to stuff that still plays with that setting. It's lower stakes and easier to use for filler content. And even for fans that do like the series, characters like Oscar are largely left to the side and forgotten while those like Penny, Pyrrha, Roman, Neo, CFVY, etc. will often get entire dedicated books or merch lines simply because it makes more money than the alternative.

Also, for a story that's gone on as long as RWBY has, it's "easier" to pull new fans in by either a) putting them back at the start of the journey in any new material so there's less of a learning curve; or b) putting the cast in crossovers with other characters people are already familiar with (like the JL movies). An unfortunate example of how unpopular other arcs are in spinoff content is the Arrowfell game. Despite being by a well known developer for a beloved, long running series, it is currently cruising at a mere 166 reviews on the Steam store a year after it's release.

For spinoff content which is really just designed to make them more money, I understand it to an extent. But as a long time fan it is frustrating; especially from a merch standpoint. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but there is very little I wouldn't do to get a scale figure of Ruby in her Atlas outfit. Or literally any Oscar merch that isn't just a poster or where he's actually included with the rest of his team. Maybe one day.

#ask #asks #anon #anono #negativity #tagging just to be safe #cause i'm complaining LOL

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dnallohleoj · 5 months

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After clearing Indigo Disk and getting the Blueberry Academy diploma, I'm... really, really, disappointed.

Crown Tundra is the best comparison for scale, and it breathed new life into the fairly stale Sword/Shield games. Not only did they include several hours of story content, add a massive open-world map (in comparison to the original Wild Area at least), they added a new way to do Raid battles, with great rewards for participating. I played Sword for a frankly ridiculous amount of time, and it was almost all spent on Dynamax Adventure.

By comparison, Indigo Disk is pretty bland. Don't get me wrong, there's still a massive new open-world area with 4 new gym challenges, as well as an even bigger legendary Pokemon hunt than the one you did in Crown Tundra (ignoring Dynamax Adventure) added to the Paldea map, but that's... really it. The only new activity that's worth anything after completing the story mode is doing the Blueberry Quests (BBQs) which are essentially an eternal cycle of daily missions that you're gonna want to do with your friends for a few days before you run out of new rewards to unlock and then it sets in just how simple, repetitive, and tedious they are, and then that loses its charm.

Tera Raids not getting some equivalent of Dynamax Adventure is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the core gameplay is still incredibly busted, possibly never to be fully fixed, and we didn't need an even longer unpolished mess. But also a curse in that Dynamax Adventure was literally the most fun thing to do in Sword/Shield. And back before Shinies were easier to obtain in common encounters, the rewards for completion INCLUDING shiny Pokemon was wild.

All around Blueberry Academy I see wasted potential.

The Synchronize feature is fun for a few minutes, but there's nothing special to find by playing that way. It's just Auto Battle with more control, except it's actually possible to knockout a shiny Pokemon while doing it.

The massive map is populated by only a handful of Pokemon per area. Despite there being 240 Pokedex entries, the amount of Pokemon available to catch in each individual biome quickly feels repetitive. For instance, the Polar biome has Seel, Solosis, Lapras, Vulpix, and Milcery. Wherever you go in the Polar Biome, that's what you'll find. Even when you climb the one and only mountain in the biome where Steel-types like Duraludon and Metang hang out, you're gonna find those Pokemon there. Go to a lake, you'll likely find some Qwilfish. Once you have enough BP, you can get most of the fire-type Starter pokemon to spawn there as well, but that is really and truly the extent of it. It's a large space for such a small yield. Kitakami was a smaller map with fewer new Pokemon and it feels more biodiverse.

But nothing had more wasted potential than this expansion's namesake, the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. So far, every Expansion has had one new Pokemon at its core, and Terapagos is the only one of these pokemon we spend no time with before we battle and capture it. And I'd be okay with that, except there's just too much of the Scarlet Book that is just... untouched now, and we're likely not going to see come into play. Why mention the cave with the strange floor markings where Roaring Moon and Iron Valiant can be found if that's not gonna come up? Why mention the unbreakable steel plates?

And narratively, it just feels wrong for Arven, Penny, and Nemona to not be part of this at all. There is so much more exploration of Area Zero's mysteries I'd like to do - mentions from the Scarlet Book, actually answering the question of how Paradox Pokemon appeared hundreds of years before the existence of a supposedly functional time machine, avenging Arven's Mabosstif, but it's all pointless without them anyway.

And FINALLY.

DESPITE HAVING A CLUB DEDICATED TO POKEMON BATTLES

DESPITE INDIGO DISK'S STORY REVOLVING AROUND SAID CLUB

DESPITE THE SCHOOL ENTRANCE BEING THE PERFECT VENUE

DESPITE HAVING AN INCREDIBLE ROTATING CAST OF POTENTIAL BOSS TRAINERS INTRODUCED IN JUST THIS PART OF THE EXPANSION

AND DESPITE THEM WORKING ON DOUBLE BATTLE STRATEGIES FOR TERRARIUM TRAINERS ANYWAY

THERE IS STILL NO BATTLE TOWER!

I could have forgiven everything this game was lacking, if only they added that.

#pokemon #gen 9 #pokemon scarlet violet #scarlet #violet #gaming #indigo disk #the indigo disk #hidden treasure of area zero

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rwbyrarepairexchange · 12 days

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2024 Guidelines & Schedule

1. Under no circumstances are you permitted violate the Do Not Want list of your recipient. This rule is the most enforced, and breaking this will get you banned from the subsequent exchange or exchanges depending on the extent of the violation.

2. Fics must be at least 1500 words, and artwork must be complete.

"Complete" means completed to your ability; every artist has a different style, and thus this just means finished to the artist's ability. Black/white pieces are allowed if they meet standards of polish.

3. Life comes up, and you may need to drop out. Please let me know before the drop-out deadline if this winds up applying to you.

4. NSFW content is allowed. However, NSFW of characters that are minors is not allowed (e.g. Beacon arc RWBY + JNPR) and incest/pseudo-incest (e.g. Ruby/Yang & Ruby/Qrow) are not allowed. Relationships where one character is a minor and one character is a significantly older adult are also not allowed (e.g. Ruby/Ozpin). However, aging up characters is okay.

5. The following ships are not allowed due to being too common to be considered rarepairs: Whiterose (Ruby/Weiss), Bumbleby (Blake/Yang), Renora (Ren/Nora), Arkos (Jaune/Pyrrha), Fair Game (Qrow/Clover), Nuts and Dolts (Ruby/Penny), Rosegarden (Ruby/Oscar), Blacksun (Blake/Sun), Lancaster (Jaune/Ruby), and Emercury (Emerald/Mercury).

Polyamorous relationships including these are permitted, however (e.g. Blake/Yang/Sun or Jaune/Weiss/Ruby).

6. Most importantly, have fun! This is meant to unite the rarepair shipping communties and feed each of our individual desires for more content of our rarepairs.

SCHEDULE:

May 15th: Sign-ups open

June 15th: Sign-ups close

June 20th: Matches sent out

July 20th: Drop-out deadline

August 2nd: Posting day!

#rwby #rwby rarepairs #rwbyrarepairexchange2024

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spongek-squidge · 8 months

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I feel like Harvey would be that one friend that everyone would ask their weirdest questions to.

Like Alex has definitely asked Harvey what would happen if he like took shots from multiple epi-pens before working out or something like that and Harvey ‘s just had to be like ‘no- please don’t- Alex I’m begging you 😢’ (because Alex is a himbo and we all know it, that’s the initial appeal for people xD)

Also the townsfolk definitely expect him to just know a bunch of non-medical stuff (which he definitely does, he seems like the type of guy to watch channels like national geographic and miniminuteman whenever he isn’t researching planes (projecting a little there))

Emily has also definitely asked him for weed. She just has. I don’t believe Emily knows the controversy around those types of drugs because she’s too high all the time to be paying attention 🤷‍♀️

Maru would definitely also have the same thing happen to her but to a lesser extent simply because Harvey’s a good decade (or at least around a decade) older then her, so the only people who would ask her this stuff would be Sebastian because he’s lived with her long enough to know she be like that.

Most of Maru and penny’s convos are definitely just them swapping random facts that are both questionable and so obscure the fact they know them is low key concerning.

Idk I just love the idea of the nerdy/higher educated bachelor/ettes just knowing a bunch of random facts because from my experience that’s just how people like that be (me included I love a good weird and random fact)

#I can back up the Alex thing cause that was meee in my first playthrough #that and the fact he was the most accessible becuase his house opened first 🤷‍♀️#sdv #stardew valley #sdv bachelors #sdv bachelorettes #Sdv Maru #sdv harvey #Sdv penny #Sdv Alex #sdv emily #sdv sebastian

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honuofhawaii · 1 year

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So I have a major angst fic idea but it has some holes in it that I will take suggestions on if anyone is interested in making them…

Explicitly IceMav retelling of Top Gun: Maverick set in 2009.

2009 bc extra devastation of Mav having to conceal the extent of his grief as DADT is not yet repealed, it’s before there were even discussions of the possibility of an appeal.

(This idea spawned out of another short fic idea of the Daggers (or a group of them) celebrating the appeal, and them wanting the invite Mav and Bradley or Penny telling them that Mav isn’t in a celebratory mood bc he’s mourning the fact that his partner didn’t live to see the appeal)

Okay so like I said SO MUCH ANGST!

but here’s some of the problems and the not problems with shifting the timeline:

Okay Mav was a Captain by 2006 so 2009 he’s still a Captain everything is good. Less snide remarks about him “only being a Captain” (but like seriously those were pretty ridiculous in the movie, it is really really difficult to rise to captain and being promoted to admiral is like winning an election)

The problem is Ice. By 2009 he at most might have two stars. Probably only one. He even could still be a Captain. But he’s definitely not the COMPACFLT. I don’t plan on creating new characters to fill Cyclone and Warlock’s shoes, but those characters would also be lower rank, but they need to be high enough that they outrank Mav but not so high they dont outrank Ice. (But like is this even important? Can I just have everyone at the ranks they are in the movie and Ice just had a extremely rapid ascent?)

I fully intend to ignore the fact that Penny only bought the Hard Deck three years prior.

My initial plan has been for Sarah to be Ice’s sister, and she’s there with her kids to help take care of him since Mav can’t actually take leave very often to help. I am open to the idea of a lavender marriage, Sarah being aro, or a lesbian. What do you prefer? And if you prefer the lavender marriage idea I’d love to hear your thoughts on why Sarah wants entered it?

Okay back to a real timeline problem. The Sukhoi Su-57 aka the 5th generation fighters that an F-18 Superhornet does not have the technological advantage over (it’s actually at a disadvantage) didn’t have its first flight until 2010. (And I’m guessing first flight, means test flight, not in production or service yet) so what do I use?! MiG-29’s? Or do I say fuck it again this is Top Gun fanfiction the enemy can have jets that were barely even built yet.

I mean I am letting Mav have Darkstar she’s too pretty not to include! Grant I have less qualms about that bc SR-72 does not officially exist in the real world.

I am worrying a lot about the logistics of a fic that I might never even write. But I’m a nerd, apparently a secret aviation nerd (secret as in I didn’t realize it until I started waxing poetically about how pretty Darkstar and the P-51 were and how I love aviation movies and that people should definitely read and watch the Right Stuff and my friend said “wow I didn’t you you were such a slut for planes”)

Hey if any of this rant struck a cord an you want to write it go right ahead, just let me know I want to read it.

#top gun #top gun maverick #icemav #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #sarah kazansky #fic ideas #angst fic

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yvonneloveposting · 7 months

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Hi. I read your meta about Emily x Yvone and I was wondering...what about an au where Emily is the third wheel of Yvone X Penny?

Not sure if you ship them. But I do like the appeal of Yvonne, the noble and loving daughter of Eckarts...fall for Penny, who in this au, a seamistress.

Emily, for her part, lived since day 1 in the mansion and knew her feelings for the noble and loving duaghter...in a world where nobles can take gay lovers as long is not messing up with the heir lineage (many details here for one au)

And sees her maater taking a lover who is a commoner as Emily but...Yvone loves her. So much.

Emily is the third wheel. Would she behave well?

Ooh, this is a cool au! I'm not the biggest fan of Yvonne and Penny as a couple, but I'm definitely not opposed to it either! As for this au, I think Emily would at first try to like Penelope, because surely if Yvonne likes her, she can't be too bad. But no matter what, Emily absolutely despises Penelope. Part of it is her insecurity, and she's worried that Yvonne will completely ditch her for Penelope the second she can, and she also has a very fun, very deeply ingrained belief that commoners (including herself but to a lesser extent) are inherently beneath nobles.

She wouldn't start off doing anything that bad, but she'd definitely escalate the more time past. At first Emily would give her dirty looks, and then she'd escalate to the stuff in canon, if given enough time. She'd also try to convince Yvonne that Penelope was using or manipulating her, because she herself believes that.

TLDR: Emily would, given enough time, lash out at Penelope due to her own insecurities and trauma.

#vadd #asks #death is the only ending for the villainess #yvonne eckart #emily vadd #penelope eckart

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traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors · 5 days

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Tw, Parental abuse, threats of murder, threatened violence against women, sexism, A boy being told to toughen up deal, being called names

Looking for support and validation (💛📼 sorry for the emojis i want to be able to find this post once it gets answered, don't know if this counts as symbols and is against the rules, im so sorry)

My dad (45) talks about how to could kill me at any moment anytime i (15M) am annoying to him. He's been doing it since i was a child, getting in my face and screaming about how he would brutally kill me if he could. Now that i'm a little older i try to make jokes like "you wouldn't i'm just so cool and awesome, i can't be killed" but he goes on about how "i could. i could. i can. i will kill you."

I feel like this is pennies compared to other people and their parents but i can't take it anymore. I'm tired of threats and hands on me and him getting in my face and the yelling and blowing up over little things like my nails or clothes or whatever. There's a stigma for boys and abuse, and it feels really isolating... I've heard all the "toughen up" and "man up" and "be stronger" and "you're being weak" and i'm really lonely

I know so many more women are victimized and oppressed and scrutinized and abused and hurt than men and i really don't want to take away from that, but i don't know what to do. I'm so tired and stressed and scared and lonely. Like i'm the only boy out here who is being yelled at and crying about it, i can't help but feel like im being weak for crying. He keeps talking about how men are so much better than women and can take them down and hurt them and i hate it.

he wont let me have a heater in my room, winter is coming soon and my room has shitty ventilation and insulation because i'm above the garage. He said no to the heater because my room is messy (bits of laundry and wrappers here and there, i think it's pretty clean and stuff) and therefore i'm a disgusting pig and going to burn the house down and should have thought about that before i asked. I'm so cold, my body is freezing, i can feel the coldness of my hands as i type this. Every winter is colder and colder these days. I'm thinking if buying a heater secretly tho! maybe i'll feel a little less sad if i can sleep warm and cozy...

thanks for reading, sorry this went into a tangent, i tried to tw everything at the top but i don't know if i did it all right, i'm sorry. Thank you again, thank you so much. I feel a little better now that i typed all this out. I should go to bed now, nightnight, have a good day, thank you.

Hi anon,

It sounds like you've experienced these threats so many times that you've become desensitized to them and have normalized them to the extent that you feel this experience is equivalent to "pennies" compared to others. But threats on your life should be taken seriously, regardless of who says it, how many times it's been said, or even your gender identity. You're right that the culture around boys and men is to be "tough" but that shouldn't mean tolerating abuse. You're not decentering misogynistic abuse by highlighting toxic masculinity. Your dad sounds like an incel.

Hearing about the heater situation is even more concerning because it's starting to sound like neglect as well as child endangerment. I recommend that you reach out to a crisis resource such as 741741 or 988. You can also take a look at this spreadsheet with other crisis resources, as some of those include crisis resources specifically for men or minors. If anyone has any additional suggestions or comments, please feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

#mod bun #trauma talks #tw abuse #tw child abuse #tw emotional abuse #tw neglect #tw child neglect

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variousqueerthings · 5 months

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I know I'm going to die. I have to say it, the truth. Without hope. Without witness. Without reward. I am your friend.

I'm sick, so I can just sit around and talk about Doctor Who. today, "Extremis," aka the gameification of alien invasions feat. M*ffat using the Vatican church as an excuse to write dialogue that he thinks sounds clever (fun facts for everyone who wants to morosely shake their heads, M*ffat is writing a show about cancellation and has plans to make a British West Wing...)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 7/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 4/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 4/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 7/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 6/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 7/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 5/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 55/100 (if I can count….)

We're back into more of a standard M*ffat era rating with this one. makes sense, seeing as this was written by M*ffat

OBJECTIFICATION: I rate this one down purely for Nardole calling Bill "babydoll" -- yes, yes it's a joke, but I don't like Nardole's character, I don't think the joke works, and I think it's patronising rather than charming/silly/whatever they were going for:

BILL: Nardole, are you secretly a badass? NARDOLE: Nothing secret about it, baby doll. (Then he stops suddenly and whimpers)

there's also the way M*ffat writes lesbians... unsure whether to put this here or under hamfisted sexiness, so I put it under both. I don't think this is the worst in the way M*ffat has written women on this show, and in many ways I still think Bill is far more well-written than, say, the relationship between Jenny and Vastra, and I think that may in large part be due to Pearl Mackie not playing it as sultry in the way I know is so common in M*ffat era. the script runs like this:

BILL: Are you okay? PENNY: Yeah. Sorry, I'm just not quite used to all of this. BILL: Well, whatever this is, and actually it's not anything yet, it is absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Okay? PENNY: Okay.

this is, to be clear, pretty much the extent of the date that Bill and Penny are on that we see, this is the main gist of conversation they get to have, alone at Bill's apartment. whether they were out before that, or whatever else they've talked about in the past is unknown (and then they get interrupted by the main plot starting)

it's got the air of forbidden lesbian pulp leading into a steamy sex scene, and it's a shame it just hovers in the middle of nothing like this (what do they have in common, how was the rest of their date, have they spoken about this before, etc), so yeah, I am rating it down, but not too far down, because I think Pearl Mackie and the other actress manage to deliver the lines without them sounding completely stupid. still, M*ffat, you've managed to write lesbians who don't talk like a porn-intro simulator. they could have been chatting about literally anything that gave us an insight into why Bill likes this girl!

PLOT-POINT: Bill is revealed to be a simulacra in this one -- not like when Amy was revealed to be flesh, and her apparent involvement in the first half of s6 completely irrelevant, it's just this one episode

still, it means Bill's actions in this episode are somewhat pointless.

Simulacra!Bill on the other hand, goes through all the stages of horror upon finding out she isn't Bill. I think it would have been cool if this had been more the core of the episode, and not only at the end, after all a lot of Doctor Who is "who is a person (everyone)," but this Bill is in the end not there to explore that, she's mainly there to reveal the plottwist

COMPLEXITY: IIIII wasn't a fan of the execution of this episode. I kind of like the idea (aliens simulate invasion plans and people within them at some point come to the realisation that they're not real and it drives them crazy), but the execution is so overblown and ridiculous, I don't take any of it seriously, and frankly several times wondered if I'd missed something as I was going through it

I think M*ffat does this a lot while I'm watching, and while it isn't technically his fault that I feel stupid watching his plots, it does make me resent him whenever it happens -- I'll watch a plot, lose the thread for a bit, go "wait, am I understanding this right?" look it up, discover I am understanding it right, and M*ffat just put in several pointless set-pieces that got me distracted, and it's not that complicated

there's just no need for it to function in the way it does. I also think it's such a missed opportunity to really lean into a Matrix-like world -- not to say Matrix itself, but the ways the Matrix makes the audience notice the oddness/inconsistencies of "reality," puts you on the scent, vs this episode which is designed to make you confused, but not because you think anything's amiss, M*ffat just confuses people constantly without reason

there's this bit as well were a bunch of CERN scientists blow themselves up, and I think it's a shame that this didn't take place purely at CERN in a way that introduced it properly to a younger audience -- I think you'd be forgiven for coming out of this episode knowing exactly as much or little about CERN as you did coming in, except now you associate it with crazy German guy blowing up a cafeteria full of people all spouting the same numbers (because they're simulatioooons, which we don't know yet)

all the Vatican stuff is sooo... ok I'm biased on that. I find the Vatican intensely boring as concept, and I think it's because everytime I see something about the Vatican (barring idk. the young pope or the exorcist) is always about making it this mystical fascinating place, more or less completely devoid of anything that delves into its humanity, never mind its horrible no good chokehold on millions of people and historical cover up of a whole buncha crimes. I get the latter, this is Doctor Who, but what was the purpose of the Vatican, other than to be like oooh cool mysterious Italians. Dull dull dull

OH AND THE FUCKING!!! COMPUTER CHARACTERS FEEL WHEN YOU SHOOT THEM THING!!!! STUPID! WAIT I'M GONNA PUT THAT ONTO POLITICS JUST YOU WAIT M*FFAT! I'M NOT LETTING THIS ONE GO!

the ending is neat, I like the ending. everything getting there is soooo peak M*ffat, minus a woman being sexually assaulted or harassed

oh and there's a simultaneous little narrative of the Master being sentenced to execution and the Doctor has to be the executioner. I always like the Doctor and the Master interacting, of course, and technically this could be cool. To be honest, I think there could have been a great whole episode about this concept, but unfortunately this is not going to happen, and this is one of those excuses to make the Doctor seem soooo cooooool. I'm actually not sure why it's there other than to reveal that the Master is in the vault

thematically I don't think the two plots have much to do with one another, but then I watched it about 2 weeks ago so maybe I've forgotten something important

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: at the end of this, the Doctor doesn't kill the Master, and there's an invasion coming, the Doctor is still blind, and Bill decides to shoot her shot with an attractive woman that the Doctor saw her simulacra self go on a date with

I like once again how the Doctor takes an interest in Bill's life, and in this case urges her to give it a go, and I'm always a fan of seeing the Master, but it's of course the invasion that will be followed up on in the next two episodes, and again, I like the idea of aliens running invasion simulations

just noticed nothing that happens in this episode is actually the way the invasion goes... that's next episode's business though

COMPANIONS MATTER: in this one, they do not really. it's interesting because simulacra!Bill and simulacra!Nardole actually spend a significant amount of the episode away from the Doctor, doing their part of plot, but there's nothing really that they discover that the Doctor doesn't also figure out, so.....

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the rating in this part is, I confess, almost purely because of the whole execution bit. because at the end of that we have another M*ffat classic. the Doctor essentially says "hey, I can do what I want" the alien says "lol no" and the Doctor counters "I'm the Doctor actually and I've killed sooo many people" and the alien is cowed and awed into letting the Doctor do whatever they want

actually I wonder now, in the grand scheme of the universe in Doctor Who, has the Doctor killed more people than others? not discounting that there aren't a lot of fatalities, but even including the ones the Doctor elected just... not to save... even including the Time War (which we've partially undone so the count is back down again), you telling me there aren't whole galaxies destroyed in other wars or ruled by tyrants or idk. buncha weird species out there who enjoy doin a violence

like yeah, he's killed a lot of people, but surely these "we specialise in execution" guys have seen worse, considering they must execute the worst of the worst (or whatever, they're not well-developed). perhaps I'm being pedantic, but eh

remembers that M*ffat did this aaalll the way back in silence of the libary and then never stopped doing this. it's one of his get out of jail freecards that I hate the most

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there aren't really any callbacks or tie-ins. the closest would be that fuckn killcount machine moment

“SEXINESS”: I rated this down for the lesbians writing, because despite how it was played, that script was dumb as hell

INTERNAL WORLD: see, technically M*ffat could get away with not being a particularly good world-builder in this one, because it's not real, but I'm not letting go of him casually tossing in the Vatican and CERN just cos in the way he did, and the space executioners are just there to give flavour

you'd think this would have been a dream come true for M*ffat, he could have done anything, and instead it was indistinguishable from his usual world-building

POLITICS: okok, let's talk about simulacra and computer games. this episode is actually completely devoid of politics, something I pointed out was kind of odd considering they're giving us the Vatican and CERN (not to mention the beginnings of an invasion plot), but then the Doctor has to throw out there just for flavour that apparently computer game characters feel it when you shoot them

I think that's the thing with M*ffat and politics. either they don't exist where they probably should, or they're just for flavour. but let us consider this concept for a bit, from the perspective of the simulacra -- the Doctor has acknowledged, on some level, that they are alive. alive enough to feel pain, to go crazy upon discovering they're not the people they think they are, to (in simulacra!Bill's case) plead to be saved

is he saying then, that every character in a computer game is alive? or has the potential to come alive (when sophisticated enough). what does this mean for the rights of computer games in the world that they inhabit? and within that idea, what does it all thematically, metaphorically mean for real life rights, because scifi politics is really always about real life politics

I mean, we're never going to explore that in this era, because it wasn't about that. I think there's a wider question that Doctor Who has to ask in its "everyone is people" conceit, because as we all know not everyone is really people in Doctor Who. it's one of my favourite parts of Doctor Who, but it's enforced loosely, which is a shame

I'd be curious about a "everyone is people" ranking (possibly starting with nu!who, I'm too early in my classic watch for my brain to do much more than simply go brrrrrrr), and when this matters and when it doesn't -- there's a biiit of leeway, because sometimes villains are people, and sometimes they're not, but also sometimes the Doctor's in too much of a hurry to explore the personhood of a villain, so... it's not a hard and fast ranking, I'd just be curious

anyway, this episode fails the "everyone is people" criteria sooo badly

FULL RATING: 55/100 (if I can count….)

this one has many of the M*ffat hallmarks: overblown plot with a ton of stupid dialogue that's meant to sound deep (the flipping way they use the word extremis in the plot itself is soooooo *rolls eyes forever*), a lack of thematic relevance overall, and an inability to give the companions something important to do or mean in the plot

it's not the worst of M*ffat plots, but it's kind of a disappointment for having a pretty cool core idea that feels like it needed way more drafts to cut out the dead weight and shift some of the flightier notions into something workable

it does however set up the next two plots, which I've cautiously decided to do together, even though they're quite tonally different. we'll see how that goes. and gomez!master is great as always

#im watching nu!who #im watching capaldi who #episode extremis #the measurement

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