#not a criticism necessarily

[reliquiaenfr]

the two types of dragons: Tundras™ and Noodles™

choose your fighter

#flight rising #since we have noodles 3.0 now #nonsense #not a criticism necessarily #but it is funny #like we got so many dragons #and i still find it funny #tundras gaolers obelisks #vs #spirals undertides auraboas #go

[nellasbookplanet]

In the wake of FCG' fate I've been thinking about death in ttrpgs, and how it kind of exists on three levels:

There’s the gameplay level, where it only makes sense for a combat-heavy, pc-based game to have a tool for resurrection because the characters are going to die a lot and players get attached to them and their plotlines.

Then there’s the narrative level, where you sort of need permanent death on occasion so as not to lose all tension and realism. On this level, sometimes the player will let their character remain dead because they find it more interesting despite there being options of resurrection, or maybe the dice simply won’t allow the resurrection to succeed.

Then, of course, there’s the in-universe level, which is the one that really twists my mind. This is a world where actual resurrection of the actual dead is entirely obtainable, often without any ill effects (I mean, they'll be traumatized, but unless you ask a necromancer to do the resurrection they won’t come back as a zombie or vampire or otherwise wrong). It’s so normal that many adventurers will have gone through it multiple times. Like, imagine actually living in a world where all that keeps you from getting a missing loved one back is the funds to buy a diamond and hire a cleric. As viewers we felt that of course Pike should bring Laudna, a complete stranger, back when asked, but how often does she get this question? How many parents have come and begged her to return their child to them? How many lovers lost but still within reach? When and how does she decide who she saves and who she doesn’t?

From this perspective, I feel like every other adventurer should have the motive/backstory of 'I lost a loved one and am working to obtain the level of power/wealth to get them back'. But of course this is a game, and resurrection is just a game mechanic meant to be practically useful.

Anyway. A story-based actual play kind of has to find a way to balance these three levels. From a narrative perspective letting FCG remain dead makes sense, respects their sacrifice, and ends their arc on a highlight. From a gameplay level it is possible to bring them back but a lot more complicated than a simple revivify. But on an in-universe level, when do you decide if you should let someone remain dead or not? Is the party selfish if they don’t choose to pursue his resurrection the way they did for Laudna? Do they even know, as characters, that it’s technically possible to save someone who's been blown to smithereens? Back in campaign 2, the moment the m9 gained access to higher level resurrection they went to get Molly back (and only failed because his body had been taken back by Lucien). At the end of c1, half the party were in denial about Vax and still looking for ways to save him, because they had always been able to before (and had the game continued longer it wouldn’t have surprised me had they found a way). Deanna was brought back decades after her death (and was kind of fucked up because of it). Bringing someone back could be saving them, showing them just how loved and appreciated they are. Or it could be saving you, forcing someone back from rest and peace into a world that's kept moving without them because you can’t handle the guilt of knowing you let them stay gone when you didn’t have to. How do you know? How would you ever know?

#cr spoilers #sometimes i think about how oryms backstory has it baked in that will was magically impossible to bring back #while yasha was simply not powerful enough in either magic or connections to bring zuala back #and by the time she was years had gone by and yasha had moved on and bringing zuala back would've been cruel and selfish #similar to how deanna was brought back but now she was left behind and alone #speaking of could you ever truly move on from grief in a world like that? #how do you accept the inevitability of death when it isn’t necessarily permanent? #no wonder delilah and sylas went evil to keep each other alive #no wonder laerryn accidentally caused the calamity in trying to break through the planes #the hubris of a world like this would be UNREAL #as would the bitter feelings from everyone who knows this power exists but can’t access it bc they’re like. a farmer #critical role #long post #nella talks cr #cr3 spoilers

[c-kiddo]

loev the idea of caduceus being home for a bit and being able to actually rest and recover and have good meals cooked with his family and perhaps gain a bit of weight finally and be healthier ,but likewith a grandpa body-type and then he just has this floppy stomach and twig arms and no ass still (tone tag compliment and affectionate and full of so much love). example:

[id in alt text]

#this was in my draft s . i forgot abt his primordial pouch.... #i think abt this often i think its funny and nice #in depth body type headcanons . i just think its fun. and caduceus is my favourite 24yr old grandpa #kiddo say #myart #caduceus clay #critical role #described #(reason i say abt this is because of taliesin repeatedly saying that no cad is still 'not necessarily healthily thin' so . i use powers to #help cad get rest and take care of himself)

[demenior]

Been thinking abt the "girl gets boyfriend jealous on purpose" trope but it's FjordJester and it's Fjord who lets people flirt with him, warns them he has the most beautiful girlfriend with a mean right hook, and if they don't take the hint Jester gets to start a bar brawl.

They've been arrested twice for public indecency on their way home after getting kicked out of the bar.

#FjordJester being the scourge of Nicodranas my beloved #is jealousy a good trait? yeah not necessarily #but i also love that jester is a jealous person #and that she likes being in bar fights (i think she has been in/started the most of everyone in the m9) #and i think fjord likes being wanted and telling everyone #thats MY bad bitch!!!!! #critical role #fjordjester

[communistkenobi]

not sure if this was intentional or not but nemik saying in his manifesto “Remember this: Try.” is an interesting sentiment given that “do or do not, there is no try” is like one of the more famous lines from the original trilogy

#sw.txt #andor spoilers #andor #VERY INTERESTING IF THAT IS INTENTIONAL #maybe speaks to the disconnect between the jedi and the rebellion even after the order fell #the OT was written without the PT in mind but like the PT establishes yoda as a figurehead of the order #so like you could read that line as one being informed by a long familiarity with institutional power #and all the privileges that grants #there’s a similarly ‘heretical’ line from obiwan in uhhh wtf was that book called. planet something #the one by Greg bear #whatever it’s legends now but obiwan tells anakin that the force is not a nurse maid it will not protect you #which is a fairly radical thing for a Jedi to say #it’s understandable since it was shortly after he lost quigon #but I especially like when other sw media responds to established canon in a critical way #not necessarily to say it’s wrong but to present a perspective that frames the established canon as something you can contest

[inthetemporalzone]

#well deserved rest #this was an assignment for class so its not necessarily my best work lol but still wanted to post these two under the shade of a tree #imodna #cr3 #critical role fanart #cr #imogen temult #laudna #bells hells

[blueskittlesart]

deeply refreshing to see someone critical of Swift who also like, genuinely likes her. Like i'm neutral to positive on her, but the online discourse has been absolutely rancid. flipping between "Taylor Swift has never done anything wrong ever and she's a fucking genius" and "Taylor Swift is the worst lyricist of all time and also a bad person" is exhausting, so thank you for like. nuance or something lmao

not to make it serious for a sec but i genuinely think that being able to like things that are bad is really important. like I think that it's an important skill to be able to look at something and see what you personally enjoy about it and then take a step back and acknowledge that objectively it's flawed. and to also be able to acknowledge that liking something isn't necessarily an identity or a moral stance. and i think that fandom space in general could really benefit from more people taking the time to learn how to do that. it's okay to like things that are bad

#people ask me sometimes why ill occasionally talk about something i like and then go 'but it's bad' and the answer is usually because it is #i love teen wolf. i love genshin impact. i love detective conan. and i fucking LOVE taylor swift. that doesnt mean theyre good #it just means i like them. and recognizing their flaws actually helps me better identify what i like about them! #it's like. in my mind bad > good is the x axis and i like it > i dont like it is the y axis yk. they're not mutually exclusive #tldr it's not that serious. we can all relax a little #irt taylor swift i do also think she has done some real harm to her fans in enabling them to deflect all criticism of her as misogyny #and i don't think it's fully the fault of these people who are parroting that response bc so much of her marketing has deliberately #reinforced this idea that to be a swiftie is to be a part of a sisterhood and that any attack on taylor is an attack on all of those women #who are in that in-group. when that's obviously not the case. but she's marketed herself as. for lack of a better term. 'girl music' #to the point where it makes her fans feel as though any criticism of the music or the woman responsible for it is an attack on their #personal experience of womanhood/girlhood/sisterhood/etc. and that's how you get all of thess bad-faith accusations of misogyny #i don't necessarily think this was her deliberate goal with her marketing tho because like. on first glance such a strong sense of communit #among fans sounds like a great thing. the friendship bracelets i got at the eras tour movie are really genuinely special to me. #but it does present a problem when your fans are unable to separate how they feel about the community and experience your music has fostere #from how they feel about you as a person. especially when you are a billionaire who absolutely CANNOT be above criticism in this economy #anyway. tldr i love taylor's music and i don't think swiftie hivemind is as deliberately malicious as it may seem #but it's obviously necessary to be able to take a step back and look objectively at what you're participating in. #anyway stream ttpd or don't idc <3 #taylor swift

[criticalbeauregard]

i’m not saying liliana doesn’t care for imogen but i don’t care for the “you only get one mom” thing and the implication that family inherently has a base level of love and care possible for you, as if it’s impossible for someone’s mom to just fucking suck!

#not necessarily the case for imogen but talking like that’s not a possibility is grating #critical role #cr spoilers #c3e89 #imogen temult #liliana temult #cr discourse

[utilitycaster]

Something I wish got explored more with Laudna is the way she pushes people in a way that feels very much about living vicariously through them. That's always been one of the most interesting things about her and Imogen to me - this idea that perhaps Imogen could live a better life than she did, the constant insistence that Imogen is capable, the fact that she is at her most passionate when telling Imogen to live on. It feels like that's the more generous way to understand how she responds to Fearne not taking the shard and how she pushes both Fearne and Ashton to enter a relationship with each other as well; a desire for Fearne and Ashton to live well, misguided though it might be at times. It's one of her more interesting and consistent traits and I wish we saw more of it.

#i'm holding off on some other thoughts until this week's episode but #in retrospect? especially based on the confessions in the honesty portion? they don't so much need a group conversation #as like. a few individual ashton shard-level shake ups #like i don't think this group is ever going to say the like. 3 things they need to to the individuals who need to hear them #nor would it stick necessarily bc the trust isn't there; i think it has to unfortunately be experience that most brutal of teachers etc etc #anyway #critical role #laudna #cr spoilers

[densitywell]

sketched out the size difference between ashton and orym when ash is in demititan form bc i was curious. and also am always thinking abt how the fuck a halfling would actually be proportioned

#cr spoilers #critical role #ashrym #yeah i'll go ahead and tag that i'm sure some of y'all would appreciate the reference for. reasons #mainly what i've concluded re: halflings is that i find 'human but shrunk' boring and tend to make them a little stouter #and their extremities a little bigger if not necessarily as big as they would be on a human body. #which is not necessarily conveyed in this image bc i also did those things to ashton for their demititan form. so! #my art #crposting #it's good pain

[zukosdualdao]

something that gets to me a lot when people suggest iroh was wrong for not intervening during the agni kai is like... can we just think through what would have happened if he'd tried?

before i say this, i want to also say that intervening in abuse in real life is also a difficult, complicated, and often inaccessible process. that doesn't mean people shouldn't try or that i think it's right things are that way - but there are legal parameters to what one is allowed to do in a situation where they witness or suspect abuse, particularly for things that are not universally recognized as inappropriate and abusive behaviors.

with that in mind:

the agni kai is a culturally sanctioned, violent, ritualistic duel. that doesn't make what ozai does right, of course, but it does make intervening that much harder. ozai was pretty obviously breaking the acceptable terms of an agni kai (because we may not know all the rules, but even if it's not an official standard, attacking a surrendering opponent is pretty much universally recognized as bad form. evidence that this is also true in-universe is that azula deliberately uses this cultural value to her advantage by faking her surrender when fighting iroh, zuko, and the gaang so that they'll stop attacking and she can strike iroh in bitter work. edit: i misspoke, this was the chase. whoops!) therefore, one could argue that someone (such as iroh) would have been in the bounds of their rights to step in during the agni kai. and i agree! he absolutely would have been, at least morally. but legally, he is living under the imperalist rule of his brother, so... acting like it's so simple ignores the power imbalance not just between zuko and ozai, but iroh and ozai at this stage of their lives.

sure, iroh was once next in line to be firelord, but that hasn't been true in a few years by this point, and ozai is now the absolute monarch of their nation. iroh can't appeal to a higher authority or report the danger zuko is in because ozai is the highest authority in their nation, and he's the one posing a danger to zuko.

some might argue, then, that iroh should have physically intervened, but again, i think it's important we consider context. because again - ozai is the absolute authority of the fire nation at this point. defying him in this way would be treason, and ozai has plenty of guards and other military officers under his rule that could fight iroh for him, even if ozai didn't deign to do it himself.

iroh is a powerful bender and a good fighter, but he's one man and unlikely to be able to gain the upper hand in a fight where he's so clearly outnumbered by people loyal to the regime, which ozai currently leads. the most likely results of iroh's potential intervention, in my opinion, would have been his getting arrested or killed, and zuko still getting burned and banished, only now without iroh coming along to look out for him. if he had tried to physically intervene, it would have been on the frankly very slim chance that he could have somehow managed to fight off ozai/guards/military officers, remove zuko from the situation, and safely get himself and zuko out of the palace...

and, in the wise words of iroh himself, then what? they wouldn't have the (already somewhat meager, compared to zhao's or azula's) resources they have in book one, yet they absolutely could not stay on fire nation soil at that point. maybe they could have figured something out??? like, i don't know how. (the part of my brain that likes thinking up aus and then never writing them imagines maybe he contacted the white lotus and hid out until they came, but i digress.)

but again, there's nothing iroh could have done in this situation that wouldn't have been risking not only his own, but zuko's safety. zuko's safety was already compromised in the agni kai, of course, but iroh maintaining his own safety meant he would be available to try and protect zuko in the long-term.

none of this means that i don't think iroh felt ashamed and guilty about his inaction (he quite obviously did, based on the way he recounts the story and how he "looked away" in the storm.) and i also don't think it would be totally unsympathetic or wrong for zuko to have some amount of resentment for it, either (i think this is less based in canon, but i've seen it in fics - where they otherwise clearly have a largely positive relationship - and i think it can be done well and add to the dynamic in an interesting and meaningful way.) it's obviously awful that this was done to zuko. but the nature of abuse is that it can often leave people, both the victims and the witnesses, with very few, if any, good choices. and that's tragic, but the onus of that tragedy will always be on the abuser - in this case, on ozai.

#abuse // #fandom critical #ig #ask to tag // #zuko & iroh #zuko #iroh #ozai #atla meta #my meta #also a note that i'm not saying iroh necessarily thought it through so deeply. i'm not Not saying it like i think he would obviously be #aware of the risks #but just. i think acting like it's simple does a disservice to the story

[antianakin]

It's really depressing that the only real Jedi centric and Jedi positive show in existence is written for preschoolers, while many of the more "adult" shows are edgy and about morally ambiguous or straight-up evil characters. As if lessons about being kind and selfless are somehow not important or relevant to adults just as much if not more than they are to children.

It feels like characters who are unambiguously good are seen as only enjoyable by the very young and adult viewers will only actually appreciate characters who are cruel and selfish (and the requisite "tragic backstory" that always goes with it to help excuse their cruel and selfish choices).

It's just really sad and disappointing.

#star wars #listen i love andor #i really do #but i'm seeing a pattern of shows aimed at older audiences always always ALWAYS having moral ambiguity as a central theme #the good ones like andor always keep in mind that these people are doing awful things #they're not necessarily heroes even tho they're on the right side #the bad ones like ahsoka and acolyte find ways to send the message that being selfish is actually the right thing to do sometimes #i'm just so tired of the jedi getting relegated to the side because no one can see nuance in unambiguously good people #like at best they are just not there at all #at worst they are turned into the villains specifically for refusing to stop practicing their culture even in the face of persecution #give me my adult jedi show #GIVE ME THE REVA SPIN-OFF I DESERVE #STOP GIVING ME THIS JEDI CRITICAL BULLSHIT #IT'S ALL HORRIFICALLY BAD #I DON'T CARE HOW GOOD YOUR CGI IS THE STORY IS NO LONGER STAR WARS IF YOU HATE THE JEDI #GO MAKE YOUR OWN SCI FI IF YOU CAN'T RESPECT THE JEDI

[nellasbookplanet]

Much as it would’ve been interesting to see Ashton carry both shards, I think that there could’ve been no harder wake up call for them than to try to absorb it, survive, and still be rejected. Had he died obviously he would’ve learned nothing because he would be busy being dead (and his ghost would probably dig deeper into a 'that’s typical nothing good ever happens to me' mentality). Had he lived and successfully absorbed the shard, he would’ve felt validated and correct in his decision, no matter how angry everyone was or how close he came to dying.

But surviving and failing? He can’t claim the universe is uniquely out to get him and revel in a justified anger and resentment, because he survived against impossible odds. But he also can’t feel like he was in the right. Lately he's been bouncing between 'I'm not owed anything and the gods hate me specifically' and 'this is my fate and birth right and what I'm owed', but this result supports neither of those extremes. The gods don’t hate him and aren’t uniquely out to get him. He isn’t special and chosen and meant to carry all the power that he wants. He's just a guy, and he fucked up. I feel like this is forcing him to see the role he himself has played in his own misery, and is setting him up to grow beyond the arrogance, entitlement and resentment that led him to try and take the shard to begin with and has given rise to his vocal dislike of the gods. Maybe it’s even setting him up for a Luxon arc, as that would let him embrace the chaos that has saved him instead of the past and blood ties he went looking for, and to work through his feelings regarding the gods without having to work with the main pantheon (that may be too much for his pride).

#critical role #cr3 #cr3 spoilers #ashton greymoore #listen OF COURSE I hope and beg for a luxon arc #but that’s bc the luxon fascinate me. i don’t necessarily think it’s needed i just think it’s a cool possible route for ashton #critical role meta #nella talks cr

[penguinofspades]

I'll never not find it funny that Jellystone's Doggie Daddy of all characters is a better father and person in general than Stolas.

#jellystone #jellystone! #Doggie Daddy #anti stolas #stolas critical #anti helluva boss #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critical #anti vivziepop #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #I mean last time I checked Doggie Daddy never neglected his daughter so he could go sexually harass the guy she views as ruining the family #And he sure as hell worries for his daughter if she goes missing if Grocery Store is any indication #Granted he's not necessarily a GOOD parent or person #In fact it's pretty obvious that Doggie Daddy is a textbook helicopter parent that doesn't let Augie have any individuality #and they are weirdly codependent with each other #which makes it even sadder that the “love interest” in a show for adults that's supposed to handle mature topics is worse

[un-pearable]

as true as the jokes about “everyone wants to rewrite ninjago” are i feel like smthn people forget when complaining about the inconsistencies of the show is that…. it wasn’t planned? it’s not like most other animated shows lately - it didn’t start with a deeply fleshed out world or a meticulously designed pitch bible with grandiose plans for a long-term story or character arcs. the ninja don’t originally get their powers from heredity because they weren’t hereditary powers yet. the magic system doesn’t make sense bc they literally just made it up as they went! they go back and forth on stuff like whether non-elementals can learn spinjitzu bc it’s a collaborative piece of media made by people with vastly different levels of control over the story, the animation, the sets, etc. that varied over the course of the series. it’s totally understandable and exciting to see so many people reworking the early stuff with the lore and logic later seasons introduced but i personally feel that… if you’re doing that. you need to understand why the show is like that instead of writing it off as being bad and shitty. it was working with what it had. it’s only what it is now because of that awkward troubleshooting phase, not in spite of it

#ninjago #text✨ #you’re 100% allowed to criticize the show but i keep seeing people complain about the inconsistencies about like. their parents giving them #their powers especially. like yeah cool that wasn’t a thing yet? they have different origins than the non-core elementals #because in the real world that idea hadn’t even crossed their minds yet! the original story was a more traditional fantasy narrative of #normal people rising to the occasion and *gaining* powers through their own feats. the fact that they changed it later doesn’t mean #it was necessarily bad to begin with or that it’s something that should be mocked #idk just. there’s a lot of hostility in some circles about this stuff and it makes me kinda sad. enjoy the complexity of production and how #series adapt over time. it’s part of why the show is so interesting to me #that essay i wrote had a whole bit juxtaposing the attitudes about technology in rebooted and prime empire and how they reflect greater #cultural trends between 2013 and 2021. it’s SUPER interesting and yet a lot of people only talk about it to make fun of how ‘bad’ it was :( #this isnt to say i don’t enjoy some of the retcons. the changes to their meetings with wu in s8 are genuinely really interesting! i love the #changes to cole’s backstory. i think his mom makes him in the early seasons even better! i’m just saying.. be respectful? nobody *tries* to #make a bad show. ages and ages of time and dedication were put into what ends up on your screens. it’s all human love and creation. #as goofy as it is #okay sry got all anthropology there but hm. been thinking about this for a while. apologies for being the local annoying early seasons fan

[drabbles-of-writing]

Golden Guard ghost memes but this time I’m aware they’ve been perceived by my friends

Look I’m just saying that the methods in which generations dealt with trauma over four hundred years roughly went from “whats a trauma” to “shove it under the bed no one will notice” to “make memes” so. No matter how old the Guards are biologically, there has gotta be some MAJOR boomer vs gen z class divides in the ghosts like c’mon

1, 2, 3, 5, 6

#the owl house #toh #memes #toh memes #golden guards #previous golden guards #emperor belos #philip wittebane #caleb wittebane #golden guard ghosts #ghost caleb wittebane #puritan names #for the future #grimwalkers #also logically speaking at least ONE of the guards had to have always been loyal to belos #'it always hurts when they betray me' doesnt necessarily mean they all rebelled #its belos. 'betrayal' could probably just mean they had a small complaint at the wrong time #or a critic. or were just in the way. or werent enough like caleb so clearly how dare they not be a replica of his brother #so there has GOT to be at least 1 guard who does NOT get along with any of the others #theres gotta be at least 1 dude who is loyal to belos to the bitter end #and that guy is the feral dog of the group that the reckless ones will occasionally poke with a stick just for fun and run away #and caleb is just yelling like 'HEY! LEAVE IT ALONE' as the guard is just hissing and spitting like with rabies