#every version of me is interested in people & I think that’s neat even if other people don’t understand that concept | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

splatsvilles-fashionista · 4 months

Text

Splatoon 3 Version 6.1 Patch Notes Breakdown

That time of the month again! Let's take a quick look at these together, and that part is actually important, because people have cross-referenced the Japanese and English patch notes and confirmed that there are several mistranslations in the latter, so stick with me as we roll through these!

This patch is heavily focused on balance changes, and outside of those, the only thing that isn't a bugfix is of course the Mincemeat Metalworks renovation. With that out of the way, let's look at the Main Weapon changes:

N-Zap gets two more damage, which makes it combo better with other sources of damage like the splash damage from the '85's Suction Bomb. There seems to always be a completely unnecessary Shooter buff in every patch nowadays, and this is the one this time, but it's at least balanced out by the fact that this weapon is also getting nerfed further down the notes, but we'll get there.

Dynamo Roller will now deal lethal damage in a wider spread than it did previously. Splat Roller got this buff a while ago and it was pretty good for it, so this is a definitive W for Dynamo mains everywhere.

Flingza Roller gets the exact same buff, plus a buff that cuts 5 white ink frames off its' vertical flick. Some nice quality of life for sure.

Inkbrush now moves faster, cheaper. Three percent doesn't sound like a lot, but I promise you that even such a small change is going to throw your aim off quite a bit, so get ready to get circles run around you in Clam Blitz even more than you already do.

The Brella gets 13% better ink efficiency off its shots, and that's quite a lot! Brella likes to play the long game and draw out fights, and most builds for it run a lot of Ink Saver Main as a result, so this should give it some more ability flexibility.

Undercover Brella can now... do full jumps while firing? I don't think this is a very impactful change, but it is neat, and I think if used properly could be a way to get more mileage out of your shield and avoid damage.

This is a mistranslation!

The first change is actually the complete opposite of what it says in the patch notes. They did not reduce Squeezer's ink consumption when tap-firing, but increase it, making the cost tap-shots 9% more. It'll also paint slightly worse when holding down the firing button, and considering how this weapon has been utterly dominant at all levels of play both of these changes are fair.

Ballpoint gets a small accuracy decrease in long-range mode, which frankly seems a bit uncalled for, because this weapon hasn't been on top of the metagame for a long time. At least it's also kind of a paint buff?

And finally for Main Weapon changes, Stamper gets its charge slash paint cut by 10%. Compared to the changes this weapon has been getting in the past it's a bit of a slap on the wrist, but it does in fairness paint really well, and Neo Splatana Stamper does put out a lot of Crab Tanks, so this isn't an unjust change.

After that comes two Special changes, and these are very interesting:

Wave Breaker will now immediately locate enemies upon being placed for a short while. They don't specify the range or time of the effect, but I have to imagine it'll be within the same area of effect as the Wave Breaker's Waves. Giving it an immediate effect is really cool to me, it makes me think of Splatoon 1's Echolocator, which Wave Breaker already kind of felt like a rework of to begin with.

THIS IS A MISTRANSLATION TOO AND IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN THE LAST ONE

Again, this change is the complete opposite, reading the text you'd think this was a nerf to Ink Storm, but it's actually a buff, because it makes you heal faster in Kid Form when inside your own team's Ink Storms. This is essentially completely unprecedented, as we've never had anything that messes with the health regeneration system like this before, and I'm very curious to see how it shakes out.

And finally we have the Points-For-Special changes:

Neo Sploosh, Forge Pro, Luna, Bamboozler, and Zink Mini all get their Points-For-Special cut by 10 (a change Forge has been begging for since it released, seriously starting it at 210p was completely unreasonable) while Slattershot, N-Zap '85 (here's that nerf I mentioned at the very top of the list), Tri-Slosher nouveau, and Heavy Edit Splatling get another 10p added to their Special charge.

Overall I think this is a pretty good patch that has some really interesting ideas in it, but there is also a very notable omission. They went after all of the most popular Tacticooler weapons, and increased their Special charge, except for Snipewriter 5H. Snipewriter has been skyrocketing in popularity in competitive player for its' ability to serve as paint support, long-range damage, and Tacticooler spammer, all at once, and it got completely overlooked here. I suspect that nanowrimo is coming early in the world of competitive Splatoon 3, because everyone is getting their pencils ready.

#splatoon 3

54 notes · View notes

ixiot-ghostrebel · 1 year

Note

(ummm hello. you don’t actually have to respond/answer these i’m just rambling)

but!!! irminsul in an imposter au is a really neat idea. ummm assuming (correct me if i’m wrong???) that reader can access the information like kusanali, that’s actually a really useful tool

even if it’s only after they desperately think of a way to get out of danger, thinking of places and thinking of irminsul by chance, if they figure it out, that’s such a good escape??? especially at the beginning when whoever’s hunting them just sees them disappear and nobody has a clue where they are (unless kusanali comes to look at some point??? but i’d assume at that point reader would’ve found those hiding places you mentioned)

and depending on how much time reader is willing to spend in irminsul collecting information, weaknesses that they might’ve not known before could be used and leave their pursuers wondering how did they know?

(and maybe, just maybe, leave them questioning if they’re really an imposter)

but i’m really curious if irminsul would have records of the reader.

because? technically, reader, as “creator”, would not be from teyvat, right?

in some versions of sagau imposter au, i’ve seen kusanali as the only archon (that’s out rn) who knows that the reader is actually the creator, but without records in irminsul, she would have no way of telling, so it could go either way probably depending on the severity of worship you decide on

irminsul branches are connected to the leylines (which are in every nation) which could be used as a method to get around maybe? if reader can’t use the teleport waypoints/if traveler is also against them

ooooh dainslief. because he’s the bough keeper, and he’s always talking about knowing what he should or whatever, how would he react to someone he knows nothing about? (traveler’s sibling is recorded, and some people think that the player’s username is traveler’s alias in teyvat, but uhh that’s a little complicated.)

but yeah, if he knew you were the imposter, he was probably subconsciously (or however he gets the information) look for it, and if he found nothing???

eee idk my thoughts are not being coherent right now but this was just a very cool idea :D

Thank you, Anon! I love your ramble tbh lol- I legit could not have thought of this myself :')

Yes, technically, Reader wouldn't exactly be recorded into irminsul. They are the Creator of Teyvat, yes, but that doesn't mean they're rooted into the vast, on-going archive that is the big ol' tree we see. Even though some AUs like to have Kusanali as the only archon that knows who they truly are, I honestly don't see how it's possible. Reader's basically a "descender" that hasn't exactly interacted with the people of Teyvat face to face for them to really know how the Reader is like and all that. In Imposter!Sagau, however, the Imposter would most likely be written down in the vast ley lines.

I would personally believe that Reader should be able to gain access to the knowledge stored within the ley line energy, considering who they are to this very world.

In some Sagau Aus that I've read, Teyvat favors the Reader a lot and would side with them even if the characters wouldn't. If this is the case to these AUs, then irminsul could also give Kusanali herself false signals whenever Reader visits or teleports to the tree. They don't want anyone knowing their present location. It's the least Teyvat could do to let the Reader rest for a bit.

Reader being able to get around the place by using the ley lines would be a very awesome concept! Imagine if Reader basically just becomes the ley line energy and travels throughout Teyvat to get to places. That would be so cool.

It would also be very interesting to see what the Reader would do if the ley line energy were to spill out—like, would other people think that the Reader was a part of the memory the ley lines are showing or something? Or would they attack the Reader on sight and wonder how the heck they managed to pop out of nowhere?

Meeting Dainslief would be so awkward lol—the Reader, branded as the imposter, somehow has no information existent in the ley line energy, but the supposed "Creator" does?

I honestly think that, from the moment the Reader was deemed as the Imposter, Dainsleif would see take this chance to see what information there is to the Reader. In other words, I suspect even before we met the dude, the guy's already know we were the actual creator.

But still let's be honest—it'd still be awkward to just pop out of the ley lines and just run into the dude who supposedly tried to research everything there is to know about you, only to result in nothing but the current, existing rumors that go about the place.

And, let's be honest, I don't think Dainslief would join us to travel the world or protect us from the world. The Reader might solely be on their own until they prove themselves as the actual Creator.

Well, that's all I got! Thanks for brainroting in my mailbox, Anon—it was fun to add on to your ideas!

See you around! :D

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: Feel free to come by into my mailbox again when it's free, anon :) And holy cow—this was longer than I suspected it would be LOL

Check The Ghost Rebel's Blog Description to See if Their Mailbox is Open!

#sagau #genshin sagau #yandere sagau #sagau genshin #genshin impact sagau #sagau brainrot #sagau angst #sagau impostor au #sagau cult au #genshin cult au #self aware genshin #sagau nahida #genshin self aware

186 notes · View notes

oh-shtars · 2 months

Note

Hello flick’s cool alternative blog! Can I christen it with a prompt? Give any random thing you’re excited to explore in your AU

Heeeyy!!!!! ✨✨

You know, I was planning to accompany this ask with doodles but I’m going to have a busy week and most likely won’t get the time. But then I didn’t want to keep you waiting for a while so. DAMMIT-

For now, I’ll answer this with words. But keep an eye out for the RFTS!Drawing Dump I’d be posting here on @oh-shtars. (Friendly reminder to follow this RFTS!Blog if you haven’t already.)

But yeah, some random things I’m excited to explore in the Reach for the Stars!AU! :)

1. Valentino

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “wtf Flicker-?” Hear me out first.

I did attempt to make Valentino (or ‘Tino’ for short) a lot more endearing than his canon version. And honestly, I grew to like the little guy.

He’s just a 1 month old kid who views Asha as his parent after his actual mother rejected him. (Some animal moms tend to do that.) Once he was bottle-fed and grew stronger, he’s ready to face the world head-first.

No really, he would headbutt anything that bothers him or Asha, regardless of who they are. She even adorably dubbed him her “loyal protector.” Don’t worry, the headbutts don’t hurt as much and the worst they can be is annoying. Tino is impulsive and brave but cares a whole lot about Asha.

He didn’t like Star at first, even when the latter tried to ensure him he’s no threat. Tino disliked him for scaring Asha at their first meeting and over the story, gets a little jealous and bratty that he’s getting a lot closer to her. Like a lot… Idk, I find it funny that their first interaction is something like:

But eventually, Tino grows to like him and comes to become protective and endearing to BOTH of them now. Just imagine this scene, but instead of Canon!Star, Tino was more than ready to charge at Magnifico while RFTS!Asha and Star lunged to stop him:

So yeah. I, Flicker, had gotten to love RFTS!Valentino more than I expected. Not only would he be a little comedic animal sidekick, but he’s going to play a neat role in the final battle and have Asha’s back the entire time, while not letting his size stop him.

Tino’s going to be fun to write :))

………

2. Magnifico’s Character

Remember when I said RFTS!Magnifico is just brimming with unresolved trauma/issues? Well, then he projects all that towards people that don’t deserve it. He’s sour and furious on how the universe turned its back on him as a little kid when he watched his village get destroyed.

And under being raised by his adoptive father, who just never seems to listen to him, Magnifico thirsts for revenge and thinks he deserves to get the world that he and Amaya were denied from. So he would step on other people to get his way.

Another thing about him, is that the moment Magnifico discovered Wishing Stars exist, he genuinely thought they ignored his pleas for help and downright hates it. He unleashes that frustration onto Star and his whole kind.

Frustrations like how people only really care about you for your potential and the things you can offer. Mag had a belief that King Oliver had only took him in just so that he would have an heir for the throne, but didn’t actually loved or cared for him like a son. (Which wasn’t true.) So Magnifico projected that onto Star for the past decade he was caged, stating that:

“You know people only value you for what you could offer…. In your case, it’s your ability to grant wishes. For mine, it’s being a sorcerer AND an heir... But without all that..Well, you can really only imagine…”

So guess where Star’s insecurities came from:

RFTS!Magnifico is going to be an interesting villain, that’s for sure.

……..

3. Asha’s Wish

Asha, before and through the story, has a little habit she does every night before going to sleep. She whispers to the sky her wishes and desires and some of her concerns.

It’s a little thing her father used to do with her before he passed away, and she holds onto it as a memory of him. Tomás used to say that if she does this every night, then she wakes up the next day feeling refreshed and start the morning new. Maybe, just maybe, the stars above would be listening and would try to help.

Present Asha now believes that all those stories were just fairytales but she still hung onto them dearly since it’s one of the remaining things left of her dad. She also has this one wish:

“For everything to go back to the way it was. When dad is still here and that I never drifted away from my 7 friends. To wake up and see that the incident was just a mere dream.”

Welp….I sure hope that one wish doesn’t come back to bite her in the arse anytime soon-

…….

4. The 7 Teens

Somehow, I found a way I could make each of them have a part to play. Each friend that Asha had gotten estranged from ever since the “incident with her dad,” share a bit about themselves and rekindle their relationship with Asha. These short plots would be scattered at certain times throughout the story as Asha and Star encounter them on their journey.

And at the same time, each teen presents a positive trait of theirs that shows a very cautious Star, how not all humans are terrible people. Each show an example of an admirable trait:

Safi - Selflessness and integrity. Helping others even if it inconveniences him (Allergies)

Simon - Protectiveness. He means well but it doesn’t always show up right.

Bazeema - Consideration and kindness for others. (Doing small things to make them comfortable)

Dahlia - Determination + Loyalty

Dario - Patience + Forgiveness (Especially since he’s hard of hearing)

Gabo - Justice and hatred towards prejudice (it’s why he’s grumpy)

Hal - Helpfulness and the happiness received from doing so

Asha - Empathy and Love for others

Basically, these group of friends revive Star’s wonder and slowly help him become more trusting and open. In Star’s eyes, it’s amazing how they do all these incredible things for others even without the need for magic!

Idk, I think all this would be a very sweet thing to brainstorm. Haven’t finished developing this idea yet but I’m loving it so far 💖

17 notes · View notes

girlsgoneplague · 5 months

Text

Spock headcannons, don't judge me i just think he's neat

He will NEVER ask you to neglect your duties but he will often apologize for putting you in harms way, even if its not his fault

Anytime you want to watch a movie he indulges you because he can get work done while you're leaning against him (but it is hard to watch dramas they infuriate him)

If you're an Ensign your relationship is quite secret but to be honest only people close to him will notice anything is different

Once you become a lieutenant he takes you out to dinner in the mess hall, and MANY people realize you're together but its still just a rumor since no one can read his facial expressions

You don't often get in harms way, but he almost broke a PADD whenever he found out your ankle got broken while running away, he doesn't recall any other details of rhe mission only that you were nearly left behind

Theres no kissing him in public, you respect his privacy and he has never had the urge to kiss you in front of anyone because he knows that what you share is for each other to enjoy.

There have been quite a few times (after a close call) where he did hold his hand out for a vulcan kiss, and somehow it makes you blush more than when he asks you in private to kiss like humans

There have been only a few times where Kirk has attempted to tease you both, but when you got hurt and spock nearly broke multiple pieces of equipment he realized that he wouldn't get a rise out of either of you unless he did something crazy

Kirk regularly gives him advice about dates because they're in fact the bestest of friends

His dates mostly consist of legitimate quality time, playing games together, eating dinner and discussing your day, or even just reviewing particularly interesting mission logs you've went on without each other

Bones had to physically restrain Spock more than once from leaving the med bay (so he could see you) and you're the only one that can convince him to take Bones adivice

Before you dated Kirk and Bones bet on every aspect of your relationship and once Spock found out he waited 2 weeks to tell them you were together

Spock never thinks about retiring but anytime you're allowed shore leave he imagines life with you to be enough. after he's gotten too old to be with starfleet of course

And if anyone is wondering, no he will never do public sex, this is Spock and in my opinion he only does it every once in awhile because he doesn't find it as satisfying as spending time with you and making conversation.

Side note even though this is x reader Spock is for sure in love with Kirk thats just a fact

I also couldn't decide which version to use so here's both!

#spock #x reader #headcanon #non-sexual intimacy

32 notes · View notes

twig-tea · 8 months

Text

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Thank you for the game, @clara-maybe-ontheroad! And thanks for tagging me @clara-maybe-ontheroad and @lurkingshan! I started out by saying to myself that I'm going to do my best to ignore my urges and just answer the first thing that comes to me rather than treating this like a quiz. And then I went into a fugue and worked on this for >5 hours. WHOOPS.

Original version here for anyone else who wants to play!

Also quick warning, this is asking about the worsts, so TW for mentions of horrific plot points below.

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

Ohhhhh man, ok so the first thought that came to mind was Never Let Me Go, which mostly had fantastic background music, and that's maybe why when it didn't hit it stood out so badly (sorry to my man Pond, not all BL actors should be singers! And having his OST play over their kiss in Part 7 4/4 was just mean). For the record I love this show (actually maybe it should go in one of the below categories because so many tumblr folks dislike it) but this was rough.

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)

These don't tend to stick with me...there are so many, and I am allergic to sincerity so everything earnest is various levels of cringe to me. So with that in mind, basically everything Gavreel ever said in Gameboys counts.

Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

Anytime someone said "Once I start I won't be able to stop" or some variation.

Most stupid decision made by a character

Jun Ho deciding to die rather than bite Min Hyun in Kissable Lips. Min Hyun was offering. it would have made Jun Ho human. He could have had his friends around to make sure he didn't go too far and kill him. Instead he decides to fade away in his arms like a dick. WHY.

Special mention to NuengDiao going back to his hotel where his murderous uncle is waiting with no plan other than to walk in wearing a suit and a cocky expression in Never Let Me Go.

[@bengiyo and @wen-kexing-apologist are correct about Teh giving up his spot to Oh Aew in I Told Sunset About You as the actual correct answer, btw]

Worst plot line

Every penultimate episode crises resulting in the leads splitting up so that they can reunite in the finale that are not earned and significantly detract from my enjoyment of a series [this list is not comprehensive]: 2Gether, Minato's Laundromat S2, Enchanté, Love Class, Plus & Minus.

The most problematic show you've watched

I've seen literally all of them so this feels like an unfair question lol there are layers of problematic; like, is it even worth considering all of the problems with A Round Trip to Love, or The Shortest Distance is Round, or What the Duck s2? I wrote out summaries for these and then decided no thanks. If anyone wants to know they can DM me.

In terms of series that are problematic but not often considered problematic, I'm calling out Love Area the series. It hits two of my pet peeves: shitty treatment of a poor character by an oblivious rich love interest that directly affects their sources of income, and an ableist subplot. I think it also has an unearned separation in the penultimate episode but honestly I remember thinking they should stay split up so maybe it was earned.

A show people love but you find bad

Vice Versa. Sorry to all who love that show. I wanted to like it; the colouring and cinematography are beautiful and the alternate universe was neat worldbuilding. But the plot makes me so, so angry.

Ditto Cutie Pie the series. I just can't enjoy it.

A show people find bad but you will defend

Honestly there are several, but the one that is most disliked that I will ride hardest for is probably Secret Crush On You (which I argued ended with one of the most healthy relationships in a BL here LMAO). I get why people find this show hard to watch, the cringe is real. But the gender expression! The found family! The "he's a weirdo and that's why I love him" dynamic! The mutual lusting! The body dysphoria! The fact that both start by playing into BL tropes and it's only by throwing those out that they can actually have a meaningful relationship! The way both characters have real growth! And like yes Toh is a fanboy stalker but that is problematized in the show! It gave us the growth from fanboy to faen that Be Mine Superstar didn't. I have a lot of emotions about this show.

ALSO because I cannot stop, I will forever to my dying breath defend Color Rush. I don't care what you say about dead fish kisses I can't hear you over the incredibly powerful metaphor about the queer experience!

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it

Bahahhaha. Um. So many, my friends. OH I'm going to take this chance to shout out the lesser-known webseries Discipline Z: Vampire (Korean, YouTube, 2020). It's ostensibly a sequel to Discipline, but the only thing they share is a single character so you don't need to watch it to understand what's happening in Discipline Z (they are entirely different shows in every way; Discipline is more youth slice of life with a queer story as part of the ensemble). Listen, I'm talking about this show in this category for a reason; it's about a vampire who falls for a street dancer, whose motley crew of hacker friends help rescue the vampire from an evil corporation that wants to experiment on him to understand his immortality. It is BAD.

But. BUT! I love it. Everyone is so pretty. There is a cute hacker girlie. There is scifi nonsense to explain immortality. There is a good kiss. There are characters willing to sacrifice to do the right thing. I am a simple woman. [Fair warning to my happy ending only pals: this ending is ambiguous at best; there was supposed to be a follow-up epilogue for the couple, but it never got filmed.]

Bonus, En of Love was absolutely trash and it has a very special place in my heart. It's not good (like, at all), but it's great.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Let's go with Physical Therapy the series. At some point I just kept watching like a car wreck to see how bad it could get. Also shout-out to Dinosaur Love, which was...similarly bewildering.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

@lurkingshan already stole my first answer for this, but oh man I stay a Why R U apologist for the Fighter/Tutor chemistry. I actually think somewhere in there is a really interesting show, if the pandemic hadn't made it impossible for them to film the ending that they wanted to, but based on the Korean version and the parts that we were told had to be cut, maybe it would have actually made it worse. But just to get on my soapbox for half a sec, Tutor was in debt, working himself to exhaustion, and Fighter (after he got over himself) protected him at his one job, joined him to help him meet his sales targets at another, hired him for a third, paid off his debt collector to take the pressure off, and then took him on vacation to help him relax--twice. I have issues with depictions of poverty in BL but at least my man secured the bag while also pursuing love or whatever. Also he whispers "get inside me" while they're making out, sorry, Tutor will forever be a fave of mine.

Since that's taken, I'm going to use this as an excuse to shout out the hotness of My Day the Series. It was predominantly not great but the heat moments....

A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

I'm giving this to Noey Watplu from I Will Knock You. I was obsessed with him. I want his confidence so badly. I love how he's essentially a dork in cosplay but gets away with it because of his rizz. Truly iconic. This man decided he was being seduced and said "bet". I really enjoyed this show because of him and him alone.

A bad show that you would still recommend

I'm going to put Ghost Host Ghost House here. It's "bad" in the sense that it had low production values (like, really bad, so bad the time of day changes at random because they lost the light while filming). But the romance was cute, the story around the romance was interesting, the worldbuilding around the merit credits was fascinating, the side mystery was so heartbreaking, the various characters actually had a lot of difficult emotions to portray, and overall I think this show is underrated.

I also already have and will again recommend YYY as a fun and fascinating watch to anyone who asks about it, @waitmyturtles is correct on that call.

The character that ruined a show the most

There are several annoying sides in BL, but I'm giving this to the side hets in My Oxygen. A fujoshi who records people without their consent for online clout is bad. A doctor using his role as a doctor to get closer to his patient is really bad. Pretending to be interested in his friend because the girl he likes is a fujoshi is worse; then using her brother as his friend's stand-in when his friend won't put up with it anymore is the WORST.

Most awful character that you hated

I mean, Lhong in TharnType takes it for not only arranging the gang rape of Tar, but being forgiven for it in the series. Neung in Tonhon Chonlatee comes a close second for attempting to rape Chonlatee and then claiming the moral high ground against his homophobic "friend". Tony in History 5: Love in the Future doesn't get enough hate for trying to murder someone just because he was his love rival. Namning in La Cuisine had her love rival bullied, beaten and who knows what she was going to do with that gun. Also shoutout to @wen-kexing-apologist's answer of Korn, in KinnPorsche, he was so insidiously evil, it was so well done.

Most awful character that you loved

I'm going with "awful" as not necessarily (just) morally bad but that people didn't like: Jaime from Win Jaime's Heart. Objectively he's a fuckboi of the worst calibre. He agrees to go on a webshow in which he dates Heart so that he can seduce the creator of the show Winston. And Jaime is so charming that I don't care about his bi wrongs (partially, to be fair, because the premise is ridiculous so it's hard to take too seriously).

Special mention (because it's not a series) to Wine in Red Wine in the Dark Night. I love a murder twink (speaking of, things are looking really good for me to stay in love with Ai Di from Kiseki if it keeps on this track).

If we're interpreting "awful" as characters that other people don't like, it'll probably go to Toh from Secret Crush on You or Gus in Diary of Tootsies. They're flawed, they're femme, they're fantastic.

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Can in Love By Chance and the sequels. Tinn is an asshole and knows it; Can is an asshole but is also self-righteous, but in all honesty his biggest flaw for me is that he's not competent and I have little patience for that.

A hero that should have been a villain

Tempted to give this to Ko from Love Poison for essentially trying to love spell date rape his love interest--this is only not that bad because magic isn't real so of course it doesn't do anything.

Possibly Athit (Boun's character) from Even Sun? I put a question mark there because this was so convoluted and hard to follow I'm not even 100% sure I remember it right, but from what I remember, this was not a romantic story at all.

Taking a totally different approach to the question, Joke from Hidden Agenda should have been a secret villain (in the sense that he should have been scheming and sociopathic but hiding it, ineffectually, from Zo) in order to make the series make sense, but apparently I can't have nice things.

And finally, special mention to Phu in The Promise for being the villain for so many of us already.

A morally bad character you're into

Zhu Zi Shu, canon war criminal and child murderer from Word of Honor. He thought he was doing bad things for good reasons (protecting the people he loves), realized he was just doing bad things and the people he loves were all dead anyway, and crafted a convoluted plot to get out of the secret society rules that he created to prevent anyone from leaving. And then he wanders aimless until he meets Wen Ke Xing and becomes as loyal to this equally morally dubious man as he was to his secret society. I love him (and them) so much.

Same type of deal, different scale of crime: Akk from The Eclipse. I have a soft spot for this trope.

A morally bad character you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

Xue Yang from The Untamed. Also a mass murderer, but doing it just for the vibes/to avenge his finger, so he gets zero love from me. People woobify him just because he's sassy it's...rough.

The show that disappointed you the most

From hype to execution? So Much in Love / Ni Yam Ruk. I slogged through such awful subs TWICE (because they claimed they redid them, but they are still terrible) to try to give this show a chance, because the premise sounded right up my alley. I still think there's a show in there that I would have liked, but it is literally unwatchable.

Most disappointed from what the show seemed like it was doing at the start to what it delivered in full is a tie between The Shipper and Step By Step.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

That's My Candy. I've only ever dropped/not finished I think 3 or so shows? And this was the most painful and the one I am least likely to ever finish. The pairing was overplayed, the comedy was heavy handed, and the plot was absolutely cringe inducing. It was literally torture trying to watch this.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

Tagging @visualtaehyun @nothingsbetterthancoffee @lurkingteapot @snidgetwrites @formayhem @slayerkitty @respectthepetty @ginnymoonbeam no pressure as always! And if you play and I didn't tag you but you're reading this, tag me anyway! I love reading everyone's answers.

#worst bl shows the ask game #ask game #tag game #thanks for the tag!#this was a fun mental exercise #multi bl

36 notes · View notes

thatswhatsushesaid · 5 months

Text

just some pointless and petty ship salt i can’t contain because i slept badly last night, please read at your own risk

romantic n!elan’s most unforgivable crime against me, personally, is that it’s the boring version of the relationship. it’s boring to me. it is the least interesting way to lean into the mess of 3zun dynamics in both cql and mdzs because slapping the trappings of romance onto the relationship between nmj and lxc makes it easier to ignore how little these two men have in common with each other anymore.

(“but ray, couldn’t you say the same things about xiyao?” i suppose someone else could, but it won’t be me, because xiyao for me becomes more interesting with the introduction of romance given all the textual parallels that exist between what goes down between lxc’s parents, and the ultimate, tragic end that befalls lxc and jgy. but just to be clear: no arrangement of 3zun is explicitly romantic in the novel, and i’m not asserting that novel xiyao is canon. cql xiyao real tho)

part of platonic n!elan’s canon tragedy for me is this shadow of fading intimacy that looms over the interactions we do see between them. imo the book does such a good job of conveying the feeling of two people who were once good friends who have been drifting apart from each other for a long time; xiyao-feels did a really thorough examination of every in-text interaction between them on their blog, i just can’t find the post right now to share the link (a tragedy, it is SUCH a good post), and i can’t credit their analysis enough for informing how i feel about these characters’ relationships now.

i don’t have a neat way of wrapping up this post with a little bow on it or anything but, like. aside from my personal preference for not enjoying ships that include powerful, violent, angry men as one of their unavoidable components (even when i can appreciate that power and violence and anger is core to that character’s particular tragedy), i just find the romance angle to this specific dynamic way less interesting. sort of like my feelings on the three tumours and the blackwater arc in tgcf come to think of it.

#n!elan salt contained within #i have not tagged it. this is not intended to @ anyone specifically #as always please know that i am mainly frustrated by trends rather than specifics #salty peak sect 🧂

28 notes · View notes

genericpuff · 1 year

Note

What’s your opinion on the titans designs in lo

i swear to christ i was watching attack on titan when i read this question and did a double take like holy shit am i gonna get to gush about AOT????

okay but to answer the ACTUAL question, I actually have um... some interesting takes on them.

First off, for starters. Helios. Pretty neat. I know he's just yellow Zeus but he's big and he's sassy and I wish we could see more of him.

Kronos was cool until RS turned him into an MCU villain.

Gaia I'm sort of indifferent on... she really doesn't have any sort of real role in the story beyond being some Avatar McGuffin. Her original design was badass but then ofc, as all things go in LO, RS dumbed her design down and now she looks just like another Persephone clone.

Rhea was great when she first appeared but, again, Persephone clone. I don't like the recent retcon/establishment that the fertility goddesses need to experience love to have their powers used because it casts some fucked up implications (beyond the obvious) when she begged Zeus to find Metis and "use her powers no matter the cost". If I had known at the time that was gonna turn into "Zeus had a relationship with Metis" I would have been a bit more like... yikes, Rhea.

And then there's Metis... oh boy, do I have some takes about Metis. Very personal ones.

So here's the thing. Metis is the name of the Greek god, yes. But it's... it's not what comes up when you search "Metis" on its own. Because there ALSO exists an Indigenous group of people in Canada called 'Métis'. And LO Metis' design is-

sigh yeah.

Now I know I'm gonna get people who are saying I'm "reading too much into it" but y'all. I'm Mi'kmaq. The Métis people come from the same regions my own ancestors do, my own family pretty much shares blood and land with them. I promise you, I'm not pulling any of this out of my ass, Metis' design stood out to me as soon as I saw it because her outfit really resembles the fringe that you find EVERYWHERE in Indigenous clothing, like we fucking LOVE FRINGE LOL (I've got a cape/poncho thing with loads of fringe that I whip out for special occasions) And the wings resemble a lot of the 'finger feathers' you see in Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Cree, and yes, Métis art.

phew sorry I know Hephaestus is also drawn with a similar skin tone and Metis starts to veer off into flanderized colors with the bright orange like every other character in this comic, but it's just like... not a great combination.)

(*edit because I forgot to add: it also REALLY REALLY REALLY DOESN'T HELP that Metis is the ONLY TITAN designed with non-neon colors. Like, she's been explicitly drawn with darker orange/reddish tones that are OFTEN AFFILIATED WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. THE SLUR 'REDSKIN' EXISTS FOR A REASON-

So... yeah. Take that with what you will. I'm not necessarily accusing RS of anything (because Metis being drawn like a Métis woman is like, the least of LO's problems) but at BEST she's just got some REAL shit Googling skills or like... didn't think anyone would notice? 😂

Either way that's... that's my (*probably biased) take on Metis. At the very least it does result in her having a way more interesting design than the others (who are basically just big color-swapped versions of Hades and Persephone) but IDK if that's a good thing when that design is in the hands of RS. She ruined Metis in the most recent episodes which is kinda lowkey even more insulting LMAO

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #antiloreolympus #anti lore olympus #ama #ask me anything #anon ama #anon ask me anything

102 notes · View notes

chronotsr · 2 months

Text

Pre-G1 Modules, part 4B - The Judge's Guild Roundup Completed

Oh. Oh we're still doing this? It won't end? Gods. At least we made it to 1978. Anyway, happy eclipse to every. Reminder: the people who run Judge's Guild now are full-on nazis, do not buy their books. Go hug your loved ones instead.

The Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor (1978)

Maybe I was too hard on the Prince Valiant-ass artstyle. It looks very proud for a bandit fortress, don't you think? The full color version that comes out later is even nicer -- it's the one you find on google images first. Anyway. Fort Badboybaskaur was founded by ''The Emperor of Glorious Doomfire''. It truly was the era of so-bad-its-good naming! The fort was built so that if raiding happened, the many small villages could congregate there for safety. Only, it turns out there was a red dragon underneath. And then that got resealed. And then an evil demigod took over. And then bandits took that over.

I read this section like five times and for the life of me I cannot find a prophesy here. They just kind of say it because it sounds cool. The prose in this hand out is, really really rough, it's a lot of proper nouns and moral history tropes -- empire becoming successful and spawning evil religion yada yada yada. The proper noun addiction is strong with this one, we get quite a few undefined proper nouns here. He's another classic: "Zanaaphic the All-King of the Spirit Universe". I have so many questions! None of which will be answered. "Angall of the Perpetual Void" Wow! Those are some neat nouns! The net effect, however, is there was a really skilled evil wizard who got confronted by a god, beat him, and by defeating him became a four-armed dragon-skinned bat-winged magical null. He does up to 16 pips of damage with his silly flails!

So the cover image is lying a little bit about the fortress. In both of the presented maps, there is no cool rampart that you have to slowly siege, there are mountains both in front and behind the fortress, and there are way more than three turrets. I am actually a little fond of this keep layout-wise, it's less cramped than the Keep on the Borderlands is. Naturally, it sits at the foot of Mount Deception.

It's a nice little fortress, no? I would recommend getting a modern copy of the map if it wasn't for the ownership sucking ass in an extreme way. Plus, having dungeons under your keep on the borderlands seems like a great idea, actually. Or, shit, having a rival keep on a rival borderlands sounds kinda rad. Anyway, the room by room is pretty rote. The exterior rooms are mostly just services you'd give to anyone walking in, but the real juicy stuff is all kept inside the mountain walls. We've got your usual suspects. Guard captain, bossman, bossman's terrible wife (and the wife is legally required to be evil because male writers), pawnbroker, human trafficker, tavernsssssss, gemcutter, blacksmith, et c. Some of the names are okay, "Hole in the Hill Inn" run by ogres was really funny to me, I would change them to hill giants to complete the joke.

The dungeon has an interesting conceit where there are some generic "alternate rooms" in the back of the book that come with a blank room number that you can swap if you dislike the default room contents. I'm really in favor of this mindset. I have thought for a while that it'd be kind of nice for adventure books to be shipped in some sort of editable capacity? Like if I wanna do open heart surgery on a floor of a dungeon, but I like the other 4 floors, it'd be nice to keep it in the original format instead of having the adventure book and then some loose-leaf with the changes penciled in. Tragically, the alt rooms are overwhelmingly just monsters in a room, with the outlier being a wererats with a little kidnapping scheme.

Underneath the fortress there are five levels, one is actually above ground level and in the cliff face behind the keep, and the third level leads to the surface via caves. Neat! I'm kind of imagining Gerudo Fortress here on a lot of levels. Here's a quick skim of the best contents:

There appears to be a little rat treasure hoard where the rats have to pay their dues to their little rat kings? What's going on here is kind of unclear to me, but I can't help but imagine one of the guards trained the rats to hide money in the walls for him and the ten rats with silver formation are a kind of animal-passcode.

A chest trapped with some sort of reverse truth serum -- it removes your ability to speak, see, or hear for a week if you open it without permission. Naturally, the chest is decorated with the three wise monkeys 🙈🙉🙊 (and a mysterious fourth monkey the text implies nothing about, maybe it's Sezaru? Curse of erectile dysfunction!)

The alarm system seems to be gong-based

Oh, I don't like this beholder at all. Ewwww! But also, why is this drawing here? There's no beholders in here? Is this some kind of silly trap for snooping players? In fact, most of the monster illustrations are…kind of just random monsters.

The treasury is booby-trapped to hell and back. We have a standard guillotine trap disarmed with a tile puzzle on the wall, a hell-hound guard dog, and the most prominent magical item is a necklace of strangulation. Rough break! Just go ahead and put all of the treasure on pressure plates with flame jets at that point.

A reverse gravity pit-trap -- you pull a book, you fall through a hole in the ceiling and then it traps you in the ceiling. It's just a pit trap at the end of the day, but way vivid!

A chair made of a dragon's arms and horn that will animate and attack you if you try to pry gems off it or attack anyone

Two wizards are having a battle over who gets to own a trained lizard that can sing and carry heavy loads. I understand guys. That lizard is worth it.

Under a sarcophagus is written "If you can read this, you're too close", as well as some explosive runes

The treasure hoard of a lost king, if you attempt to steal it, will turn into a treasure construct shaped like the king. Awesome!

"A similar cabinet on the north wall is labeled "For Future Imperialists". In the top drawer is a Gem of Brightness, the second is a pair of Bracers of Defenselessness, and in the bottom drawer is a pouch of Dust of Sneezing and Choking." I would fully lean in, make it a Cursed Gem of Brightness that you can't turn off, and put the Bracers in the top drawer if the goal is to prank an evil character into hurting themselves.

A reverse-vampire giant lizardfolk that consumes the unlife from undead. So, Tomb of the Lizard King got beat to the vampire-lizardfolk punch, I guess?

Large swaths of this dungeon genuinely feel randomly generated. The worst parts are about half of floor 2, 3, and about half of floors 4 and 5. It just feels like padding to me. And in true Judge's Guild fashion, there are treasure stores in the temple that are "instantly max your character" amounts of loot. Now I get that shares are a thing and you gotta pay your hirelings, but still, 1.5M gold represents like, even if you're a party of 10 you're still looking at instantly maxing a thief, shooting a fighter to level 8, and shooting a wizard to level 9. And there's no way you were at 0xp when you smuggled that statue out, that's going to be an instant max for just about anyone. The big reveal that I…guess you could conceivably puzzle out? Is that the dragons were nearby because they were minions of a dragon-king entombed under this fortress before it was built. A cool idea, that desperately needs more foreshadowing. The love clearly went into making those tombs cool, so if I was going to rip anything off from this module that'd probably be my second port of call.

Gen Con IX Dungeons (1978)

What a name, right? How come Tsojconth got a name and these dungeons didn't? Blatant favoritism. Well actually one of the two dungeons may as well be called the Halls of Grsk. And, wow, everything about the design notes are ominous. "Simplicity would be the prime requisite". So….does that mean this adventure is boring on purpose, Bob?

The adventure is split into two bits, the player-side info and the gm-side info, which…okay. Sure. The titular dungeon is set in the "Celtic mythos", whatever the fuck that means (Bob, the Celtic cultures covered almost all of Europe and parts of Asia. That phrase is meaningless!). TL;DR the old king's wizard went evil and killed the king, left no one to rule, and then went nuts and much later summoned a bunch of demons to protect his loot now that he's old and dying. The local wizard, Framschamsnaggle (seriously?) bullies you into raiding his tomb to get a staff back. There's a dragon in there and you were handed a teleportation amulet that will zip you out as soon as you get your hands on the staff.

Oh. Oh that's not good. That's a very not good dungeon layout. That's a very bad dungeon layout. And the contents are, as bad. I wonder if it was considered bad at the con itself? I couldn't find a single remarkable thing in this whole dungeon. It is neither weird, nor funny, nor clever, nor interesting. It's 30 random dungeon rooms in a row, with a rare trap that is practically randomized also.

The sole joy I can find in this module is this illustration, which looks like a shitpost.

The second round of the tournament (1st round eliminates) is set in a completely different place, which is more properly called the Halls of Grsk. Almost all of this area is also just, save or suck traps and monsters. There is one trap that's kind of classic and okay -- picking up the giant ruby locks all exits, many red herrings, room starts heating up like an oven. The solution is to smash the ruby, which instantly kills the heating element. It's not amazing (how are you supposed to guess it's a ruby? It behaves like a pressure plate trap but the ruby itself is contact-activated) but it's the least bad thing in here. The portal-that-eats-you prank in particular grinds my gears, the game communicates every possible thing to say it kills you, and by blind faith you go through and is the best solution. Picking up the fake secret item instantly kills you, because fuck you. The fakeout trap's sole hint is "why are there two normal doors on the north wall?" which, it's a points-based dungeon, they're going to assume it's for extra points. Also, the whole dungeon is a massive straight line in disguise. It's a wreck.

Actually, the whole scenario feels like a worse "Tomb of the Lizard King" in a lot of ways, down to the silly rhyme on the last page that gives you a critical clue about how to kill the undead baddie. In a sense it's also like Tomb of Horrors in that way, I guess, but the vibes are a lot more like Tomb of the Lizard King.

Damn it Bob, you made it boring on purpose.

Citadel of Fire (1978)

This is truly one of the dungeon covers of all time.

Is… is that The Golem? I hope Rabbi Loew is available. Or, maybe it's good that he's not in the module, because obviously this construct's creator is going to be evil in this module.

This is the least least imaginative of the Judge's Guild modules in this series. It is, simply a wizard's tower. If you have ever in your life read a wizard's tower module, you've read this one. The JG staples of constant slavery mentions continues with slave girls being in every single damn room of the towers. There's, not really much plot to go on either. There are wizards, the hill is good for magic, they are aligned with the goblins, go chop 'em up.

Sigh. Here's the memorable bits.

Nearly out the gate, we get one of those paragraphs that you would hope would be so obviously bad to the writers that they would second guess the decision. Why the actual hell did you stat out some 200 nearly identical goblins manually?

What is that and when do I get a bestiary entry for them? That's not a joke, the module never mentions what this is and now I want this Weresalazzle in my adventures.

The vague allusion to "Shabast", which are apparently a species of people who are intelligent clouds? But only sometimes.

A variety of pens for animals the wizards are working on, which include an Irish deer, a jackalwere, a baby lammasu, a giant slug named Skippy, some orcs, man-eating apes, an elephant, and a hydra

For…some reason there's a tavern on the 2nd floor of a dungeon. In the lightest defense of the module, at least the 2F has a surface access and no pre-programmed encounters between here and the tavern (random monsters thoooo). The owner sleeps with a new person every night, highly critical detail.

?????????????????????

OK so many rooms later there's a pyrohydra with a toothache. Mystery solved, that's why there's a magical dentist!

I hesitate to complain, but after multiple dungeons with 100k+ gold rewards, this dungeon's treasury having roughly 11,000 gold in it feels like an anticlimax. The fact that it's protected by that pyrohydra and electrified locks adds insult to injury.

This is a joke, right? That's your final floor? Anyway, this is just The Demon Floor. There is more treasure here than upstairs, which is a little strange given that the demon serves the wizard and not the other way around.

So on the whole, deeply shit. In conclusion, Early Judge's Guild leaves a lot to be desired. Next time we will -- wait, am I free? There's no more pre-G1 modules? I get to finally do TSR shit and leave this mire?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (edit: I was half-right -- there was one more pre-G1 module, but it was TSR!)

#0e #chronotsr #dnd #dungeons and dragons #tsr #ttrpg

7 notes · View notes

ophelliate · 10 months

Text

even MORE turtle thoughts (just watched the movie again)

here's the last post and ofc, spoilers under the cut –

god where do i even begin

okay i forgot to shout her out last time but april was great !! i find it super interesting that her locker being fixed is the final shot of the movie before the mid-credits. i feel like that shot confirms this idea that april is kind of part of the turtle family and their theme of acceptance. they were both rejected by the people around them but through bonding and helping each other out, they were able to be viewed in a newer light, together

i think the theme/act of helping people is actually super crucial to the story, april revived her reputation because the turtles helped give her a story, the turtles are helped by humans to save the day because april saved their image, the turtles were saved by splinter because he cares about his boys and the mutants helped them with the mutagen ray because they realized there was more to family and belonging than any sort of violence, the entire pattern is super neat to me since well...

i feel like a lot of turtle iterations end up with the turtles thinking "we're the only ones who can do this" and it always weighs a heavy and isolating burden on them, so to see them actually receive this support and have them realize that they aren't alone in this, it seems like these guys are gonna have a much healthier upbringing than in the past!

speaking of support though, all of the mutants are in the sewers now??? they just have one big-ass cousin family?!?! bro i know at least one person will make some sort of The Family Madrigal-like parody with them, i don't know why that was the first thing i thought of but the potential is there

oh yeah and mondo had at least one rainbow bracelet i think, all of his bracelets are probably multicolored but i saw a pattern and just giggled with it

something else kinda funny was that aside from the shell-cracking, almost every turtle had a near death moment but was saved by family

like, mikey was about to be ran over TWICE (one during the Splinter flashback and again at the car mechanic fight, forgot who saved him after splinter), raph about about to get shot in the same fight before i think donnie intercepted it, and donnie was about to get completely crushed by a car before raph caught him

the only one who didn't almost fucking die (at least that i didn't notice) is leo and honestly considering past iterations, that's somehow scarier for him

during the movie, the boy i ended up focusing on the most was raph to my surprise (since tbh he was my least fav beforehand) but really i was able to grasp a lot more into each of the four this time around (which i'm sectioning because god these bullet points are long)

Mikey

my gut's telling me that mikey has a lot of potential conflict when it comes to a human life, since i think he's sort of shown as the most vulnerable of the turtles, he's always the one who wants to interact with the human world, to have a real connection to it and the people

but he's also the one who gets hurt the most often, from almost being run over, being the first one drained of blood by cynthia, and getting those black eyes. we see very clearly that he keeps getting hurt despite his goal and ideals being– basically the exact opposite.

even with that though, he's the one who perseveres and ends up being the kind of hope in the team, even if he presents himself as the silly guy, and i feel like that strength will carry throughout the series in the process

Donnie

donnie is a bit different this time around. people have already noted that he was considered the friendliest one by his brothers, which most versions of the team would give that role to mikey. i imagine that it comes from his fandom background where he may or may not have online friends (his phone had app icon colors that looked similar to twitter, snapchat and line or whatsapp).

though, it's been pointed out that donnie's interest in the human world contrasts to mikey, where he's more interested in the general culture and what is created out of them which is a bit more distant than mikey's interests.

side note but i genuinely thought donnie isn't really a stem kid at first with the problem solving he was giving in the movie, which in my head i thought would be the writer's attempts to avoid any savant syndrome qualities with him. though after thinking about it/looking through some articles, i imagine that his tech-qualities will be explored later and/or after he gets some public education.

Raph

raph was pretty interesting now that i really focused on him this time around. where, 1.) he might be the second nerdiest of the group, and 2.) he still might be a foil to leo's character.

when it comes to raph, he ends up being blocked as "anger issues" though it seems like very showmanship kind of aggression, like what you'd see on television than any sort of malice. and then it hit me: these kids were raised on martial arts/actions films. raph's favorite movie was legit confirmed to be bloodsport. i don't think raph is a violent warhammer more-so is he trying to be like the people he may look up to, which are action stars.

he also just views a lot of fiction as fact more than his brothers, like when he's the one to bring up that you're supposed to like school like in the movies. in a way, he's like a jeff winger nerd to donnie's abed.

the second thing to this is that raph seems to be the one who wants to distance himself from his family the most, though he admits to still loving them at the end of the day. he wants to differ himself from his brothers and splinter, so he does that by attempting to rebel and act like only type of "cool guy" he really knows, which luckily it seems like he enjoys doing it at least. this desire to distance himself is also likely what charges his need to be with humans, unlike mikey and donnie.

oh yeah, and something interesting is that raph was actually the first one to go to splinter when scared in the flashback, and it makes me think that something may have happened to change that dynamic to make him act the way he is now, that or its pure teenage rebellion

Leo

leo was kind of hard to grasp, maybe it was because i didn't relate to him as much, or he's just starting out, but what i got out of him now is still something that's hard to articulate.

at the start, leo was very distant from his brothers, staying in the shadow and following splinter's rules to a T. it made me wonder why exactly it was april to trigger his rebellious side and start being more in the group thereafter, but it seems like what connects leo to really anything is his own tangible relationships, or things he can really connect to in a non-conceptual way

yeah, he thinks humans are cool and wants to be with them as much as his brothers, but he puts his priorities on his family because he thinks that is all he can realistically have and doesn't strive for more. he looks up to his father since he thinks his wisdom is the best solution for his family's safety and happiness.

BUT, when he meets april, he goes "oh, pretty girl, i'll help her out" (which like, completely fair), and likely the plan was for nothing else in return. But it's when april befriends them does it really click to him that this impossible dream life is actually possible. and THAT'S the moment leo starts rebelling, going behind splinter's back, and getting closer with his brothers.

he acts on what he thinks is best for the people he loves and cares about, and his desires are more based on the people around him than himself or anything conceptual. it contrasts with raph since his desires center more around individuality than anything, so i feel like there's something that might happen between that. that or leo figures himself out before any conflict erupts in the process.

oh yeah and one last thing

in the mid-credits, when the boys are highlighted in cynthia's recordings, the boys end up being numbered out of order, where mikey is 1, leo is 2, donnie 3 and raph 4. this may not mean anything in the end but it feels a bit odd to be something non-important.

aside from that, i'd love to hear y'alls thoughts! i just had a lot in my mind and needed to put it somewhere (and apparently a lot is an understatement holy shi–)

#warning: this is a long post #mutant mayhem #tmnt #tmnt mutant mayhem #mutant mayhem spoilers

20 notes · View notes

kryptonian-bat-thing · 4 months

Text

My Beef With Barbara Gordon

I'll start off by saying this isn't any hate post to the character, merely an analysis because although she's never really stood out to me, i believe she's an interesting character and I'd like to share my point of view and if possible hear others' takes on her too

the basics, babs is the daughter of commissioner gordon and the first batgirl, later taking on the mantle of oracle (usually because of the killing joke thing, which I'll address later on)

usually the reason i don't get along with most representations of babs is because she's mostly written to be "the girl bat" instead of "the bat girl". I've only seen some clips from btas but i can mostly tell that's the case. it's a smurfette syndrome classic. i apologize if I'm getting the wrong idea out of it, though, as i said, I didn't watch the series.

when she's not written as such, she can be a good character. i love her version of the harley quinn show, i think it fits what I'd usually expect out of batgirl//oracle, a computer nerd who wants to help people and might be a little impulsive, but means well. though there's not much media of her where she's like that.

and although she's not exactly like that in the lego batman movie, i think that version is also pretty good (not when she's introduced, i think she gets better when she shows bruce that she's batgirl and yk, badass and such). not a computer nerd and also a bit older, but i think she's pretty neat.

I'll admit the fact she gets with bruce in the timmverse (specifically in the timmverse) pisses me off... age gap things are not my thing and it feels like grooming, i believe that's why it's not a very popular ship for either but the fact it's official in at least one dc media makes me sweat (cough cough and they say superbat is a stretch cough cough /j)

like i just mentioned with the lego batman movie, i have no problem with it when they're about the same age or, idk, at least he doesn't meet her as a teen or whatever. I'm not crazy for finding this weird, right?

and there's the fact she dated dick on the timmverse as well, which makes me even MORE uncomfortable. if it was me dating my father's previous lover, for example, I'd probably take that as a weird thing. dick is already traumatized enough, thank you very much.

and also she's bruce's friend's daughter? that's not so weird, i myself have friends who are way older or way younger, but it be creepy af to see one of them dating someone my age, specially if it was someone close to me, I'd be very concerned and it'd take a while for me to get used to it.

but yeah, if it's an au or multiverse shenanigans, it can be alright.

and then comes the killing joke thing... honestly, I don't know what to do out of it. I'm a new dc fan, I've been for nearly six months now, and I can't really decide how to feel about it.

on one hand, oracle is badass and shows that it doesn't take superpowers or immense dexterity or inhuman strength to be a hero. i respect her a lot, and when she's written well like in wfa, i appreciate her character as is.

but the killing joke itself... it doesn't make much out of barbara, and focuses more on her father and personally i think that sucks. i know it must hurt for a dad to see his daughter paralyzed, but joker using it as a means to make him snap doesn't seem, idk, very jokery. even with the picture things, i think babs in that situation is used more as a plot device than as a character and it makes me uncomfortable idk.

and then they made her able to walk again...? honestly that's where i lost it. there are too many versions of batgirl//oracle in my head already and that just made me more confused??

so the reason I don't like her as much is because she lacks consistency, every time I'm reading about her i gotta guess which version is it and every single piece feels more like au fanfiction of itself. like, okay, i do enjoy those, but if I'm seeking something official it's hard to understand where it's at.

but i still love her with every cell in my body when she's written like the true sarcastic girlboss that she is <3

#barbara gordon #oracle #batgirl #rant #dc #character analysis

8 notes · View notes

chuplayswithfire · 2 years

Text

okay here it is my true toxic ofmd opinion:

i just think calico jack is neat. i don't love him (have you seen him????) but he is narratively just so fucking neat, and also as a character so fucking neat, because every time you look at him after watching episode eight you have to wonder: how much of this is an act? how much of this is calico jack, performer, in much the same way that edward teach is a natural performer?

because in episode eight we see ed performing the role of 'blackie', wild young pirate extraordinaire, and i've talked about his social chameleoning and how ed plays the roles that he needs to play at any given time, this is a man who is almost never being his most genuine self at any one time but the thing is: we meet calico jack when he is *also* performing a role. he is performing the role of calico jack, wild young pirate extraordinaire. he is very explicitly not being his most genuine self, because he is being the version of himself that can most aggravate stede AND most reassure ed that absolutely nothing about him has changed since the last time they saw each other.

so in much the same way that we don't really ever get to meet edward teach, whole person (though we see a very honest version of him for like a minute in episode 10 before everything goes horribly wrong), we never actually meet calico jack being just calico jack.

and this fascinates me, because the man that we see in calico jack is the wildest version of a pirate frat boy, hazing and laughing and all testosterone and rum fueled wild antics, all the while cleverly manipulating his old shipmate/good friend buddy pal person who he would risk his life for but who he absolutely doesn't have an emotional attachment to because those are gross and weak and weird (aka a fucking friend jack) as well as stede and the entire crew, all the for the explicit sake of saving ed's life.

the entire reason calico jack is out there on that ship causing havoc and being a big dick is because izzy hands got in touch with him to say that ed teach is out there in the direct path of the british fucking navy and he's going to go down if calico jack can't lure him away. and calico jack, a famous pirate in his own right, wanted by the british navy in his own right, goes. we don't ever hear that izzy offered up payment, so for all we know calico jack went out in a dinghy to pull ed from the line of danger for nothing more than the reward of his old shipmate not getting killed by the english.

and he calls izzy sentimental. izzy is at least going to get something out of this - izzy is going to get the revenge, and izzy is going to get stede dead. calico jack, as far as we can tell, is getting absolutely nothing out of this aside from ed's safety...

it's just fucking fascinating. he's such a dick. he's such a fucking dick, passive aggressive, callous with people's feelings and safety, manipulative, and literally dying because he's mad about his friend risking his life for some guy he thinks is a hack.

like, i genuinely think there's a chance he'll come back, just because there's so much potential for him to shed light on ed's past (and he has connections to other pirates that they might want to bring in, like anne bonny and mary read) but even if he doesn't, what we see in him shows is a man who's very much like ed - calculating, working the angles, performative, but the heart in him is hidden by the fact that he's a dick to characters we care about, particularly stede and killing karl - and yet, he's being a dick because he wants to make sure they get the hell out of there, him and blackbeard both, before the english come down on stede and his crew like the fist of god.

and its so interesting. it's fascinating. i don't like jack, but i see in him so much potential, and i'm not like. saying i think fandom needs to obsess over yet another white man, but i do think he's so interestingly twisted, in a way that's at once super toxic and yet utterly distinct from the other toxic mess of piracy in this show, whatever is going on with izzy hands.

#ofmd #our flag means death #calico jack ofmd #ofmd meta #i am SO fascinated by this fucked up funky white man like izzy is one level but izzy is so fucking brutal about it #while calico jack is is such a dick and yet he's obfuscating so hard #the entire time #a complete mystery of a man

303 notes · View notes

martianbugsbunny · 8 months

Text

Let's talk about Loki! Under the cut for the sake of those who have not yet seen Episode 2.

OKay so to start with, overall this episode of Loki was a pleasant surprise. Loki himself got to be serious and powerful and I enjoyed that. He's finally had a chance to shine in his own series. The way he played with magic, especially with the shadows at the beginning, was absolutely stunning, and I'm glad we're finally diving into his magical abilities more. He had just the right amount of menace in his interactions with Brad, and the way he was softer and rather understanding when Mobius flipped out was a wonderful counterbalance. So far I'm liking this version of Loki where he's threatening to his opponents but genuinely caring towards his people, and I think whoever was in charge of writing him in this episode did an excellent job reinjecting some nuance and some authority into his character.

Mobius was a little weird at certain points; he's been an analyst for like a bajillion years or something so I think in-character he should've been able to handle reading the guidebook, but honestly he had a decent showing too. Using him as the levity...it's not a horrible decision if it's not going to become a recurring theme, because I don't want him to get dumbed-down, which he's not so far; his deducing that there was set-up was quite clever and I didn't see it coming. It worked in this episode partially because he was also doing some smart stuff, but also because it was offset by the bits of temper and vulnerability he displayed, which were both very well done in my opinion. It actually added another dimension to his character that I really like, and I think addressing that he's more afraid of "what if the life I was supposed to have is good?" than if it was bad is an interesting take, especially considering he seems to be in the camp of "it may be the life I was supposed to have, but it's not my life," because it's good for the show to be exploring those different avenues for the TVA workers, and because it makes Mobius a more unique person himself. I'm also kind of enjoying his little ruthless streak, ngl.

I like the dynamic Mobius and Loki have together right now. Them eating pie together and talking about Mobius's feelings was a lovely scene, and probably one of the most authentic we're going to see out of the entire season if I had to guess. They're working together very nicely; Mobius sort of letting Loki go off his leash with the magic at the beginning was neat, and I just adore the way their less-heroic tendencies are playing off of each other (such as in the Brad-in-the-box scene). I think that makes sense for them, and I'm not looking for these guys to be heroes of pristine reputation, or even heroes at all, just guys who are trying to hold what little they have left together, so it's really hitting the spot for what I expect of their personalities melding together.

(Also, I'm now pronouncing Casey and Ouroboros a ship, although I doubt I'm the first one. The idea of OB being a celebrity to this one guy, and only this one guy, is pure gold.)

I will say, there's still a little much of the MCU-brand hokeyness in the show for my taste. There doesn't need to be something to laugh at every couple of minutes (not that I'm really laughing, because I'm tired of that style of writing by this point). The story can stand on its own without the forced comedy, and if it can't, then the comedy is only going to annoy people further. This is kind of serious stuff, and although I'm not against having some lighter moments or some comedic relief, I could live with Loki actually taking itself more seriously. But, like I said, this episode did feel more genuine to me, so it's not all jokes and quipping.

I'm still not a fan of Sylvie. Her existence annoys me because the female-Loki premise is obnoxious, and she feels so much like every other female character out there she doesn't really have the personal qualities to redeem the premise. Also, I find Loki's obsession with her strange, as she's mostly only been a total bitch to him and clearly wants nothing to do with him. (Which in itself is weird; her acting all butthurt at him in this episode like he was the one who pushed her through a time-door or something was like...what the heck? If somebody can explain that to me, please do, because I feel like I've either missed or forgotten something that would make it make sense.) I find her "normal life" as an 80s McDonald's employee strange, also, because that's...that's not the kind of normal she would envision. Her "normal" should be something regular on Asgard, because she's not a human dreaming of a normal life, she's an Asgardian dreaming of a normal life, although I do understand that according to the rules of the game there's probably not an Asgard where a Loki is welcome...yet Lokis are shapeshifters, so she could sneak in one anyway. That's probably a little nitpicky, I can recognize that.

So, yeah. There we go. This episode of Loki actually raised my expectations for the rest of the season, which is a nice surprise for me. I didn't think I would enjoy any part of this show so much, because the first season really didn't have a moment like this where I went huh. this is pretty good. I hope this episode being so good isn't an anomaly, because I was a huge fan of Loki in Thor, Avengers, Dark World, Infinity War, and I want to be a fan of him again in this show. If the writing stays this good (or gets even better, perchance?) I may end up considering myself a convert.

19 notes · View notes

ace-robot-has-matcha · 4 months

Text

Things I like and didn’t like about hazbin hotel

I watched it last night with my friends. My basic thoughts are that it’s pretty good.

!!THIS IS ALL 100% MY SUBJECTIVE OPINION ON ASPECTS OF THIS SHOW!!

Stuff I liked:

Most of the songs were pretty good, and of course the singing as well. The visuals for the songs are also very cool a lot of the time as well. Visual standouts included the vox song and the husk song

I’m still sad about the loss of the original cast, but I will admit that the new cast is also good. RIP Michael though. I still miss him in this show but he’s In everything now so whatever.

Vaggie was cool. She really felt expanded from the pilot version, even though I kinnnda miss her old design. The other new designs I got used to, but hers still strikes me as weird.

Niffty was epic. Honestly just like me fr.

This show made me come around to Alastor. Liked him in the pilot, but he was never my favorite (probably overexposure). But he ended up being a very goofy character, which I liked. The mystery element of what he was doing for seven years is also interesting.

I actually ended up liking the Vees. I didn't expect to like them lol. Vox is funny and has a cool voice, Val is cartoonishly evil (and scary at times so that's neat), and I never cared about Velvette before, but she turned out to be my favorite of the three.

One thing I really like about vivziepop shows is that she puts all those hidden text stuff in that you can actually pause to read. She does this in helluva boss, and she keeps up the tradition here. I like when shows do that.

So for years I've been calling him Anthony as a joke to lovingly bully him, and then it ended up being shown in canon lol. For some reason this made me lose my shit. Oh and also the angel dust stuff was really good too yeah yeah

My absolute favorite part was unironically Sir Pentious. This is mostly due to the surprise that he actually ended up in the main cast. I had no idea that was going to happen. I thought he'd be a sort of villain-of-the-week guy who sort of joins the party, but nope this goofy idiot hangs out at the hotel for the rest of the show lol. That was awesome. I never knew how much of his character I needed until now.

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to television. I'm willing to excuse a lot of things, which is probably why I'm one of the like ten people who still thinks Helluva Boss S2 is okay. Therefore, there were only a few problems with these episodes that I actually didn't like enough to put here.

I really really didn't like Adam. His voice is good, his song is good but that's pretty much it. I don't even really like his design. He was just so irritating and unfunny. I know he was supposed to be annoying and unlikeable, but usually I still find enjoyment in those characters, and I just couldn't here. Case in point: Mammon is basically the same character but actually funny.

This is the only nitpick that really bothered me. Zestial is a cool character. BUT HOLY SHIT THEY COMPLETELY FUCKED UP HIS DIALECT. It happens a lot and it's so irritating because it does not take very long to look up the difference between thee, thou and thy. They didn't even change it to make it rhyme, it's just legitimately fucked up. This annoyed me way too much admittedly but it made me cringe in like every scene he was in, even though I liked everything else about him.

Yeah episode one isn't great. It's not very focused. This is kind of par for the course for vivzie shows though.

Spoilers I guess? I did not like the reveal of who killed the angel. It turned out to be some lady we just met five minutes ago?? It felt very underwhelming and made me angry. However, this one I'm willing to make my peace with because it's episode three, there will probably be a better payoff later. Hopium.

Write me an essay in the comments about why I'm wrong about everything or whatever. I'll read it and maybe adopt it into my perspective. There's probably other things I wanted to talk about that I forgot, but I don't care. Anyway I like this show give it like a 7.6 out of 10.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel hbo #vivziepop #hellaverse #my thoughts #tv review #long post

8 notes · View notes

retphienix · 11 months

Text

Whoa, okay, so let me get some thoughts out.

This game is just... extremely interesting.

So the short gist of how this all closed for my character.

We confront the infinite everfall, gather some wakestones, and it sends us to a realm in between the looping eternity we got to see through the everfall.

Here, we find god, basically. I mean, the dialogue itself confronts this and says that's a fair enough term but not one used by those aware of the truth etc etc

IE I'm using layman's terms.

But we find god, he's a past arisen, and he explains that all things are in a perpetual loop, one he oversees.

Basically, all of history happens, then a dragon is released to seek out those with sufficient will- sufficient desire to live and to experience or something along those lines. The implication being that most of life simply persist- they don't strive, a bit of a downer view but key to my understanding of this text- it's coming from someone who demonstrably has worn themselves down through eternity- they have burned through their own will and interest in life and have become an emotionless pawn (heh!) in the overarching game of eternity- he's become just a signpost keeping things moving forward, so he's lost that spark of empathy though also demonstrably not everyone with or without the immortality of an arisen has the correct drive to become a hero which is fair.

Anyways- dragon, arisen appear, they are tested continuously through god's various challenges, and the end goal is for one arisen to succeed and meet god and defeat god- thus taking their position.

The entire story is just a loop of fate. Already, that's neat, that's got plenty to talk on, but there's some more interesting bits I wanna point at too, so let's move on.

Upon taking the throne you're granted the position which is more or less overseer of all life- and you get to do what might be the most interesting, though, not fun, version of the post game world tour I've ever seen tbh.

I've said many times that I LOVE when a game does an Earthbound victory lap at the end and just lets you talk to all your old friends and really emotionally relive the entire journey before closing the door as you enter the starting home or something like that.

It's an ending that isn't "common" but it happens enough for people to know it when they see it.

It's an ending usually saved for games with lots of characters and an emphasis on said characters- it's not a universally good ending format lol

Well, in my opinion, Dragon's Dogma does not really make itself in a way that facilitates that kind of ending. To be frank, I don't care about a single character I met this entire game lol I love this game but it's not because I'm dwelling on the expertly crafted characters and my relationships with them- it's just not that game for me.

I don't hate em, barring characters that were made easy to hate. I even find one or two of them kind of neat like the Duke for being a failed Arisen who only made it to the dragon part, or that weird witch- most other characters with multiple quests kinda became less interesting the more I got to know them.

So you'd THINK an earthbound of undertale style "roam the world" ending would be poorly placed, except, no, because these crazy mother fuckers were using that format to continue the story and to help align the character and player's experiences for this final segment.

The entire time you're wandering YOU are thinking, or are expected to be thinking.

It's not the most philosophical ending or anything, it's also not some expertly crafted segment built to fully expect your every move or what not-

but it's a great level of forced inflection.

Instead of transferring directly from taking the throne to a cutscene of your character holding the blade and having some big context action on screen, they put in this free roam segment where you can't DO anything- no loot- no fighting (though you can kill innocents I guess) no GAME- you're just "there", and honestly- that's really neat to me.

Because the segment is usually used to emphasize the characters and journey you've taken in other games, but here it's used to emphasize the tone of this doomed loop and encourage you to reflect on if this is the ending you want, all while having the godsbane blade freshly tucked into your mind by the previous scene.

It's just neat, because I've never seen the "victory lap" ending format used for anything other than it's expected purpose I guess?

Like that's what I rambled too much on to try to convey- Dragon's Dogman ends with a victory lap ending that is NOT a victory lap- that's not it's purpose- that's not the feeling you feel while doing it- that's not why it's there- it's a victory lap meant to encourage you to challenge fate.

I really think that's cool, I don't think I can stress that point enough- taking a relatively uncommon trope and twisting it entirely to fit this narratives purpose is COOL!!!!!

Anyways, game's good, I loved seeing my best boy Beardypants collapse all his iterations in on themselves and becoming Vyse so he gets to live, like, truly live.

Also laughed at that guy I have no connection to at all but the game assigned as my love interest showing up, like, oh boy is that gonna be a weird one.

Good fuckin' game. I can definitely see myself messing around in it more, doing more loops, tackling more of the dark arisen place that I got some of my good loot from, just playin' more. But for my first playthrough where I sought out the dumbest solutions and just enjoyed myself a lot- this game surpassed my already optimistic expectations.

Dragon's Dogma is sick as hell man!

Not that I've posted enough about it to express that lol

But hey, I posted about the cool trope-expectation-shattering ending so I said somethin' lol

#Dragon's Dogma #DDDA #Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen #RetPlays

24 notes · View notes

onaperduamedee · 1 year

Text

Notes on Crossroads of twilight

Gabrelle has some neat insights on bonding that show how different the warder bond is from every other bond forced on AS at this point. Also her relationship with Logain and the language used to talk about it are interesting: it’s an abusive relationship

For all the shit Logain did, I am fairly sure he is not a DF (and he saved Siuan), so I am rooting for him to catch onto Taim and rule the Black Tower in his place.

Oh shit, I didn't even think how the madness could affect Alanna, Elayne, Aviendha and Min. They dodged a bullet here

Still Iove RJ's thought experiment of the female fear of all men having the potential to kill and women just not knowing pushed to the extreme, resulting in male channelers destroying everything and needing gentling: A Concept

I say this completely unironically btw: I have reservations about the way gender is depicted in this universe and how power dynamics along the lines of gender works, but the concept truly is mesmerising and he clearly wove it into so many dynamics

“without the law, there was nothing” - I do appreciate the Tower's approach to accountability and sentencing, I really do. Also, I am still loving the BA hunters even if I am stressed as hell for all of them

Yukiri recalling Elaida had molested Siuan when Siuan was Elaida’s favourite, and then praising Siuan's skills... I LOVE SIUAN SO MUCH AND YEAH YOU BETTER FEEL A PANG OF SADNESS FOR HER

“Yukiri stopped and used both hands to turn the other woman to face her.” - I cackled. I have grumbled about the excessive use of gesture descriptions in the past but it can be used to the greatest comedic effect, truly

"Still, Captain-General was a ridiculous title, Battle Ajah or no Battle Ajah. At least Head Clerk really described what Serancha did, in a manner of speaking." - LOVE the AS's "workplace comedy set in an administration" energy

Seaine is onto the same thing about the Sitters as Siuan in Salidar... This is so exciting. One of the reasons I dig this plot is that it's fundamentally spy stuff. It's a conspiracy investigation wrapped in murder mystery

"Who thought about where cheese came from?" - Gawyn has many flaws but insulting me to my face about cheese is by far the greatest slight

Samitsu quickly suspects that being stilled breaks the Oaths unlike the Salidar sisters... It's very interesting to be in the POV of some of the more independent AS - if one could travel with Cadsuane and truly be independent

Loial trying to sneak out past the Aes Sedai with an Asha'man and landing in the middle of murder attempts left and right was pretty funny. I knew it was him and am so happy to see him again. I missed him

I was holding my breath during Dobraine's healing. I thought he was done, ooof. Well done, Samitsu

Outside of the Ituralde long day's journey into the snow, it honestly was one of the better prologues. It's promising!

On the Mat chapters:

-The Seanchan are beyond despicable. Of course they slaughtered the Sea Folk on top of slavery

-I would like to see Luca help kidnap the DO actually. For money, he would do it

-Egeanin is getting on my nerves and Mat should not trust her

-Noal is sneaking around and now I am suspicious

-The scene with Selucia taking the pot away from Tuon and Setalle handing her a cup they have in several versions to throw was pure screwball comedy

-it's so hazardous to have the former damane and sul'dam shacking up together, wth. Someone is bound to be killed

-Mat... Sensing Rand... That's gay

-I enjoy Mat and Tuon's dynamic, oddly. As relationship building goes, it works miles better than the others

- The white supremacy talking points and buzzwords in the Seanchan's mouths: to say I expect a lot from their depiction in the show is putting it mildly

- Tuon's doll with Karede echoes Mat's Birgitte scene from the show... Clever

I just really enjoy Mat's parts. He's tremendously entertaining, always having a scheme up his sleeve and his sense of loyalty, even to people he despises, makes him so sympathetic, even when he's being a jerk.

I gotta give it to Perrin, it takes a special kind of misogyny to go on paragraphs about not trusting Wise Ones and Aes Sedai, and then turning around and trusting Bawler who spent the entirety of the scene manipulating him. He acknowledges Bawler’s manipulation but it doesn’t make the double standard any more palatable.

“Moiraine had had to finish that pack, with balefire.” - hell yeah, I’ll take any mention of this unbreakable soul. I miss her. I am delighted the Darkhounds are back too. They are probably my favourite Shadowspawns.

Berelain is so smart. I love her and her relationship with Perrin is truly fascinating. Now that Faile is out of the picture, she has no reason to pursue Perrin as payback and she is genuinely invested in helping Perrin find her. In a queerer world, they are in a ménage à trois.

The Perrin chapters are whatever. I've made my peace with a moody description of the same spot in the woods every two pages; at least I get more Berelain to counter the moodiness and trying to figure out Masema is fun. It’s a promenade.

Faile's plot is actually quite gripping even if it's happening in the midst of some disturbing choices made in the depiction of servitude. Whether damane, gai'shain or even prisoners, I think it has something to do with the way slaves who aren’t main characters are presented in an oddly deterministic way, as if some temperament, always main characters’, will more naturally “resist” enslavement. It is obviously tied to the filtered POV, of Faile, of Mat, but I wish we got another perspective.

I am absolutely loving the delayed reactions to Rand and Nyn's cleansing. Everyone either wants to investigate or scram. Kudos to the Rebel AS for going “Time to be nerds.”

please tell me Nynaeve comes back from the war against an arc of her own soon. I am starving. It has been more than three books. Give her a plot of her own that’s not tacked to Elayne or Rand, come on!

Nynaeve healing saidin with Rand should have been the culmination of her arc about healing the incurable. From the start, her evolution has been rooted in learning to be able to heal, despite her hatred for the Aes Sedai, despite her lack of control in her own power, and yet she was little more than a conduit here and wasn't even consulted about the process. It feels like such a waste of an arc: I truly hope the show depicts Rand actively discussing the minutiae of the healing with Nynaeve prior to the cleansing and involve her more in the actual operation.

The thing about Elayne's mildness compared to other political animals like Egwene, Berelain and Siuan is that it kinda comes out as authorial unwillingness to depict her as unappealing, specifically to a male audience: it’s very iron fist in a velvet glove through a male gaze, and I don’t like that.

Elayne and Aviendha are very cute and gay together and not even the constant reminder that they are SISTERS together can erase that. I am daydreaming about Dyelin and Birgitte having hate sex too.

Between her manœuvring to have Rand's children and comparing Rand to a horse needing to be reigned in, Elayne is losing most of the sympathy I had for her faster than Lan and Moiraine lost ta'veren on their journey. But her chapters have Birgitte and I like their dynamic.

I do love the tragedy of Birgitte and Gaidal's love story, especially as life is what is drawing them apart. She is losing his memory and her ability to find him again.

Also, I need to go cry again about Vandene and Adeleas. I hope the show keeps how affected Vandene is. In general, there’s a glaring lack of empathy for Aes Sedai or women in power from the other characters, so it’s nice to have Elayne show solicitude to a grieving AS.

As satisfying as the BA hunt is to me, the DF and spy search in Caemlyn is just landing flat: if they cannot see Mellar is a Darkfriend, no way they are right about who killed Adeleas as well, and if they are, the lack of overall precautions is infuriating.

Essande frowning at Aviendha's choice of brooch because it clashes with the gown is deeply comical given the very garish colour combination RJ sometimes describes

As fun as the reveal is that Elayne's supporters are all children practically kidnapped by Dyelin, this only reinforces the impression that hereditary monarchies are impractical and nefarious, and that Elayne is herself little more than a child. Except it’s mostly okay because they are all of royal blood? It’s very interesting to see the difference in treatment between Egwene and Elayne.

I get it's the point of the scene: they are all very young but, the only ones willing to stand up for what's right, and will prove tougher and smarter than one suspects, but you know, it's still a fantasy nepo baby basket.

‘If you have any problems, I’ll lend you a pair of breeches and some boots, and you can walk for him.’ - I cackled. I adore Birgitte. And Dyelin. Also the books insistence that breeches are scandalous and too seductive makes the show’s decision to put Moiraine in pants all the more hilarious. Ah, yes, that slutty, slutty Moiraine Sedai.

Aviendha's view on spying is understandable: she did start as a spy for the Wise Ones against Rand. Light, they were also trying to push her in Rand’s bed to gain an edge on Rand too. Poor Avi.

Merillie rebelling and noping out with probably a Windfinder is the only thing that grabbed me these chapters.

Tbf, I am not opposed to a Princesse de Clèves-like approach to fantasy: it is fun! But I don't think it tonally fits here with the rest of the book.

A great deal of Elayne's intelligence is social baggage and knowing the norms & dynamics in a specific class. It doesn't mean she isn't smart, but it means part of her sharpness is social reproduction, and comes from social and symbolic capital. Not a criticism, but it’s another interesting contrast to Egwene, who went from AS training, to fucking around unsupervised, to Aiel training, to basically spy training with Siuan.

Between Myrdaal punishing women with rape, DF coercing disgraced BA members into sex and Shaido not respecting gai’shain immunity, I am getting tired.

Man, do I love Egwene’s chapters. I get so excited when I read about her and the Rebels that I actually need to pace myself. The reflections on reform in an institution are just so good and Egwene is such a layered character: her thinking of Tar Valon as her home despite everything that happened, recognizing the prime fuel for the military is poverty but depending on them, ever reminding herself she is the innkeeper's daughter. She has grown into such a keen-eyed and strong leader.

And speaking of incredible leaders, Siuan and Egwene's desire to let Elaida win if it means preserving the Tower makes me feral. Their devotion to the Tower and their fierce protectiveness of sometimes infuriating people with no sense at all are stunning.

So, the weather is turning, meat and grain are rotting, and pests proliferating. Nothing to see here.

Egwene's reflections on the difficulties to change the White Tower are one of my favourite aspects of her chapters - along with Siuan: it's such a modern subject that echoes many tensions in current society across institutions and governments.

Egwene rediscovering how to make cuendillar and selling it to feed the army and plot ahead??? This woman? Her mind? Siuan must be proud.

"A pity she had not allowed Siuan to arrange for two quiet deaths." - Oh Light, I love their relationship so much. It's delicious. They are the pillars of the White Tower at this point.

Egwene’s tolerance for Halima's behaviour, because she cannot help how she looks, is all the more frustrating that Berelain is right here, getting slut-shamed left and right. Halima must be using some sort of compulsion to influence Egwene. Come on Egwene, you're smarter than this.

"'Is that all you want?’ Siuan said dryly. ‘Before supper, or after?'" - As with Rand and Moiraine, their mentor/student/ruler/advisor relationship is one of the best in the books. It's layers upon layers of personal and societal baggage.

Egwene believes Rand uses compulsion on sisters and takes advice from DF: as wrong as the assumptions are, Rand hasn't done anything to discourage them. In his paranoia, he isn't planning with the people who could help the most, it's frustrating. He doesn’t have to trust them, just use them wisely.

It's also incredibly realistic: Egwene’s failure to assess the depth of his distrust makes a possible alliance even more delicate. She knows the boy he was 2 years ago, not the man he is now, although she has enough sense to see the difference. And Rand is following Moiraine’s advice, who probably would have changed her stance, as she often did in the past, had she been alive to watch this unfold.

The Hall scene was just INCREDIBLE:

Morvrin isn't wrong to point out you all need to know what happened before panicking

Sheriam's distress is darkly hilarious

Absolutely none of that mess in the Hall would have happened if Rand had informed Egwene of his plans, none

I am with Moria on this one: work with the Asha'man gdi

The Hall is basically a Roman Senate. I am howling with excitement. I cannot wait for the "quousque tandem abutere, Romanda" and the "Elaida delenda est" masterfully delivered on-screen.

I was on the edge of my seat during the whole chapter and ready to sick up from excitement. I LOVE TOWER POLITICS. Enough of this "AS are twisting the truth" nonsense, I see an occasion to engage in a battle of rhetorics. I need to dig out if fans have written meta on the rhetoric and literary devices used by AS when they talk.

Honestly, I am cross with Aviendha: she was Egwene's friend too and knows what happened with Rand. One word could have helped Egwene greatly, but no, it's hoes before bros apparently.

"make love to him until he cried for mercy." - I'm sorry, what. This is about Gawyn btw.

Egwene dreaming herself as Sisyphus, not Altas: I need a moment to scream.

And now Halima has killed Anaiya and her warder. Egwene wake up!

So there have been Darkfriends in the White Tower from the start: an interesting parallel to the Black Tower.

Alviarin bemoaning the absence of a lift in the White Tower had me cackling.

The Forsaken: we had machines that carried people in the sky!

BA: can you tell me more about those elevators?

So we have First Weaver, First Selector, Captain-General, First Reasoner, Head Clerk as heads of the Ajahs. Who am I missing?

Light, the Alviarin chapter. Between Elaida agreeing to talks with the Rebels, Elaida stripping her of the stole, Mesaana caught and Alviarin marked, Alviarin wanting to use Talene although Talene has been discovered, it was bloody intense. So good.

Although I am relieved the White Tower is seeing the sense in not gentling the Asha'man at last, bonding them is a little unwise? To their knowledge, the Asha’man are still losing their mind and are doomed to die.

I adore Cadsuane's description of Nynaeve in all her spontaneousness, but I am again extremely vexed by this Nynaeveless book and her overall lack of arc across these last 3 books. Is she being punished? What is going on?

Between the warders mourning and the talk of taint sliding down one's throat, it's clear the writers' room is paying attention.

Poor Loial: just because he loves Erith, doesn't mean he must marry her now. Leave him alone, Min!

You're telling me that not only Rand is still sick despite cleansing saidin, but no Asha'man or Aes Sedai is thanking him?!? And no one besides a couple of sisters knows what he did? That's a hollow victory.

I mean, it's Cadsuane: of course she sees bonding as basically compulsion. When it is consensual, it isn't, unless one suggests Elayne, Avi and Min are abusing Rand, and Nyn is actively working to coerce Lan. Like sex, it's all about consent.

Naturally, some characters do see bonding as a tool for dominance, Cadsuane included, but such use is frowned upon: it tells us what the norm is within this universe's frame of reference and is one of the thorny elements RJ is less ambiguous about.

Fascinating insight into what Rand sees as a disinterested Creator who abandoned their creations to move on to the next. The books don't dwell on religions and beliefs in general so getting Rand's view on this sheds a light on some of his choices.

If the conversation about the Seanchan adapting for hundreds of years to their enemies' tactics to the point that the sum of Bashere, Byrne, Ituralde and co. are not enough to defeat them doesn't foreshadow Mat crushing them I am going to eat his hat.

So Harbor, uh? It's the most curious I have been about a mystery in a while. The atmosphere is so creepy and unsettling and the choice not to get involved or investigate now adds to the tension. I really hope we learn at some point what happened.

Seonid offering to stay behind to help though ❤️

And Perrin refusing to intervene is a nice callback to Moiraine not staying to help in Baerlon and the kids being so shocked. He has responsibilities and people under his care now.

WTH Perrin. The interrogation scene was brutal but necessary to push Perrin to a breaking point. At last, he leaves his axe behind: his violence was far more the expression of anger and frustration than it was a tactical choice and he knew that.

I love Mat, but his inability to recognise that what happened to the Aes Sedai was traumatic and that he's letting their captors behave as if they were still in charge is making me more than a little bit queasy.

Did Noal suggest they should kill a former slave to keep her from talking? Oh now I am really suspicious of him.

Also Mat feeling more sympathy and trust for a slaver who enjoys training slaves in her spare time than for her actual victims is phew, A Lot. I do still greatly enjoy Mat and his ragtag company, but yeah.

And I still enjoy his weird courtship of Tuon? I'm not a fan of yet another viewing/telling/prophecy smushing together characters, but the oddness of their dynamic kinda works? Actually seeing them spending time together helps.

Mat bumping into people that aren't there, so soon after So Harbor... Yeah, something is very wrong with the fabric of the universe. I wonder if this has something to do with all the balefire that has been going on.

Oh right, Tuon can channel too. I do hope she changes her ways.

Renna stabbed Egeanin? I was betting on Teslyn gutting the sul'dam, but yep, this was bound to happen. The urgency to hunt Renna was excellent too, I didn’t even mind Mat’s fixation on not killing a woman.

Halima taking down people left and right under Egwene's nose. Were they DF? Too nosy? It's nerve-wracking.

Light, Leane and Siuan being the only ones Egwene trusts. She really is in a nest of vipers. Their relationship gives me such joy though, so much joy.

I wonder if the tale the Yellows investigate is that men can heal stilling in women completely instead of partially. This is going to upset Siuan and I don't want this.

So many things are shifting between the AS, their factions and rules, I am so excited to see this unfold.

The Egwene chapter is one of my favourite psychology-wise. The way it echoes Siuan as Amyrlin and how Egwene differs from her. And oh, the capture, the betrayal!

I am v disappointed Rand is working with the Seanchan though. I get it but if the slavery wasn’t enough, they have a male a’dam, which Rand doesn’t know but could suspect they possess. Nope, don't want.

That one was actually quite fun! Apart from Perrin and Elayne competing for the snailest chapters, it was enjoyable. I do like that the finale was less bombastic and more psychological. The arcs hinted at have me salivating ngl. It was very much a transitionary book though and will be condensed with Winter’s Heart for sure, maybe a third, so little happened in terms of plot. As such, I’ll see how the different plots evolve before casting judgment. I was expecting much worse, but the slower parts were no slower that others in TEotW or LoC, and it does some nice work with introspection in Egwene’s and Perrin’s chapters, even Elayne’s. You just have to accept this is fantasy Reveries of the Solitary Walker. Mat and Egwene’s chapters remain my favourite.

#wot book spoilers #crossroads of twilight #The wheel of time #wot book review #first time reader #wot book journéy #so pumped for the next #Wot review

19 notes · View notes