#on a show that has had it's intro as a relevant thing

[nrmtenjoyer]

Y'know what? Fuck you.

*Cheers your Cheers*

#there's no way the episode named CHEERS #on a show that has had it's intro as a relevant thing #has absolutely no mention of cheers in it #adventure Time spoilers #fionna and cake spoilers #adventure Time edit #cheers #is cheers a tag #how old is even that show #anyway im getting sidetracked #fionna and cake edit #fionna campbell #cake the cat #simon petrikov #adventure time tv #marshall lee #gary prince #and all the other ones #im too lazy to write them all down #also fuck lsp

[eriexplosion]

Tech Lives: An Ungodly Long Essay

(AKA: Turns out that my Tech Lives compilation post comment was actually a threat.)

There have been hundreds if not thousands of posts since Plan 99 aired wondering if Tech might have made it after his fall - it's probably been brought up more than any other hanging plot point, even after season 2 scooped up Omega and left us on a massive cliffhanger. Now that season 3 has started, though, Omega and Crosshair are home (for now) but we have received an almost aggressive lack of Tech info. So, I've gathered up some of the stronger Evidence for why Tech might be fashionably late but still on his way back from The Void!

THE LEAD UP

So to start, let's go back to what came before the whole Incident. This will focus mostly on season 2, seeing as that was definitely Tech's season to shine, but with bits about plotlines in season 1. Which brings us to our first bit, that's not really evidence so much as some gentle push-back on a common argument.

Doomed By Character Development?

We've all seen this particular situation before - a character is slated for a tragic death, so just before it happens the writers gives them a little extra relevance to the plot to make sure the audience really feels it when the time comes. The Clone Wars was especially good at this, giving characters like Fives an arc of his own that ended in his tragic death. Season 7 gave us a better look at Jesse, first in the Bad Batch's intro arc and then again through the Siege of Mandalore, all to bring us to the chip activation that led to his ultimate death.

When season 2 started off with one of the two intro episodes spotlighting Tech and our first breather episode of the season also spotlighting him, people started to get worried. So is it fair to say that his spotlight in season 2 was setting him up for a permadeath?

Looking at it, I don't think so, for multiple reasons. For one, Tech didn't just get a spotlight episode, his development dominated a good chunk of the whole damned season, often taking priority over the other characters that wouldn't be dropped into the mists. While giving a little bit of character development to a doomed character can be a good move, giving ALL your development to a doomed character ends up feeling like a good portion of your season was actively pointless.

The Bad Batch is not an open ended show. It seems to have been planned for the three seasons it got, and they would have gone into it knowing they had a set amount of time to work with. Dedicating so much time to developing Tech in preparation for a character death takes away all of their opportunity to develop, well, anything else.

But, along with the amount of time that was dedicated to Tech as a character through season 2, they also didn't develop him in the ways that most often get used for a doomed character. Namely...

That Sure Is A Lot Of Open Plot Lines

And not one of them got tied up. Currently, Tech has two open plot lines to himself, both started in season 2, as well as a key place in the overall show narrative arc. As the overall show narrative arc takes precedence, we'll start with that.

The Bad Batch sets up a few different narrative arcs very early. One is if clones can be more than soldiers - this is the central thing that we see them struggling against from the start, they've been created to be soldiers and don't know much else about how to function in the world. Theoretically this arc can be fulfilled with one or two of them still dying as soldiers, as long as a few of them make it to find a new life for themselves.

The arc that can't be fulfilled without everyone though is the ongoing thread of reuniting the batch. Much of the show is geared towards making the viewer want this specific end result, as soon as they talk about Crosshair, Omega says they'll just have to get him back and complete their family. The end of season 1 teases us with this only to pull it away at the last moment, then season 2 teases us with it again only to yet again pull it away, this time seemingly permanently.

Ending one of your key narrative threads you've been using to draw audiences in only 2/3rds of the way into the show and without ever resolving it... well it would be a choice. If Tech is gone for good then the last time we saw everyone together would be the end of season 1. Rewatches would lack impact because something that was made to seem so vital ended up going nowhere, and the series finale would never quite reach the height that hearing the full batch theme kick in over the team fighting droids together did. It absolutely destroys the central narrative to leave him gone without ever having reunited the family.

And then there's his personal plots.

Let's start with the obvious one. Tech got a whole potential love interest this season and they absolutely did not resolve a damn thing about it.

Again, this takes a trope that we all know - the young army man that's going to go home and finally marry his girl, who has his whole life ahead of him, but dies tragically in his final mission - and seemingly intentionally subverts the beats. Because what makes the trope work is that the plot line is resolved as soon as that young man decides how he's going to move forward. He can't die uncertain of if he's going to marry his girl, he has to make a decision, and the longer we spend on the relationship to his girl the stronger the decision has to be to consider the narrative line resolved and free him up for some tragedy.

Tech/Phee is a tentative little 'will they or won't they' romance. They're flirting, they're feeling each other out, they're seeing if they're compatible. To tie up this narrative line we would have to find out if they are or not, get a yes or a no on the question. Will they or won't they? We simply don't know because the writers didn't put a resolution in.

We do get the traditional pre-mission scene with them, which would normally be when we get the first kiss or perhaps the promise of a date, either of which would have had me digging Tech's grave for him to fall into from the second it happened. Or even a 'we can't do this right now, but maybe some day it will be the right time' which would have been a kind of lukewarm resolution but would have at least represented a decision.

Instead we get a scene that almost aggressively refuses to resolve anything. They have an awkward interaction, but not one that says they won't get together, no promises are made for the future, no decision point is reached, and the plot line is still dangling wide open when Tech falls to his supposed death. If we truly leave it off here, well, what was the Tech/Phee subplot for? Why did we spend precious time on it when it could have been spent on something else, if it was meant to make Tech's death hit harder why did it not go further?

A second subplot with Tech is that he certainly made the most progress on seeing options outside of the Empire - it starts early on in Ruins of War when he meets Romar and gets his eyes opened to the idea of cultures that existed unconnected to the war. Serenno existed before the war and before the separatists, and Romar introduces Tech to that idea of an ongoing culture. He gets a taste of racing in front of a cheering crowd, leans further into his teaching of Omega and gets new insights from her regarding their lives as soldiers, his relationship with Phee picks up right when he finds out that she is interested in the preservation of cultures. It's a quiet little subplot, but Tech was seeing the full scope of what the galaxy contained beyond being a soldier in a war.

But, like the Tech/Phee, it never resolves. He never decides to settle down, he never chooses to stop being a soldier or even openly discusses the idea of what life will look like after. Rescuing Crosshair isn't positioned as a final mission that they have to complete in order to give up their lives as soldiers. Without that decision point being reached, the plot stays open, we never find out what he Would Have Done so we don't get a sense of the future that he would lose by dying, which is what the purpose of these types of plots is for a planned permadeath.

The Kaminoans don't create without purpose and writers working on a three season timeline don't typically write without it either. So if we spent the time on Tech/Phee but Tech is dead before it ever went anywhere, if we spent time on Tech's relationship with being something other than a soldier but he never really pursues it, what is the payoff?

Too Much of a Survivor To Die?

There's also the matter of how they chose to build Tech's character this season. Namely they beefed that man's skills up incredibly high making it intensely unbelievable that he's dead without seeing some sort of concrete proof. Things we know about Tech as of the end of season 2 include:

Incredible pain tolerance - Tech fractures his femur in Ruins of War and seems shockingly unbothered by it. The femur is frequently listed as one of the most painful bones to break. This is not a broken toe the man is hobbling around on, he fractured the strongest bone in the body and kept going through the woods. He physically fought and killed a man with that busted femur.

Lightning fast mental processing - this is of course on display nowhere so much as Faster where he's put up against droids and wins by taking calculated risks that no one else is willing to try.

A cool head in stressful circumstances - this one is hilarious because he outright says it, but Tech does demonstrate time and time again that when it comes down to it, he's able to keep calm no matter the circumstances.

Essentially, we spend the entirety of season 2 setting up why Tech is the perfect person to drop out of the sky and have him survive. He has the ability to keep calm and come up with a plan in seconds and he has the grit to keep moving even if he's grievously injured once he hits the ground. When you set a character up like this, you can still kill them, but you have to work harder to do it convincingly. Leaving Tech not at the moment of death but with probably at least a minute to act in and then not showing us the body is the exact opposite.

We have a moment in The Crossing showing us Tech's precise aim, and it comes up again to brutal effect when he shoots out the connection on the rail car. If moments through the season were used to set up that particular instant of the finale, then we can't discount the numerous scenes demonstrating his survival skills as being irrelevant to his chances.

Plus, looking back at Ruins of War - one of the big moments in the episode is towards the end, where Romar tells Tech, "I'm a survivor. Remember?" The camera then lingers on Tech for a long moment. It's not the kind of action that demonstrates his capabilities as above, but it works to associate the words with Tech in the viewers mind. Romar is a survivor, and Tech is a survivor too. And when you intend to kill someone off, it's kind of an odd choice to spend that whole season setting them up as a survivor.

THE FALL

Which brings us to the scene itself. Plan 99, implied to be one of the last ditch plans that they have. It's absolutely a heartbreaking scene, and one that can be tough to analyze when it's so well done, because it's rough to watch repeatedly. But, it's worth doing, because the scene itself is FULL of questions, some structural others more based in the visual presentation.

What is Plan 99?

Well, that's just it, we don't actually know.

We know what it's implied to be, a self sacrifice plan where one of the batch gives their life for the others to get away. But in show it's never actually defined, leaving the full meaning of Plan 99 up to interpretation. It could be as simple as what it's implied to be, but that brings up questions like 'why not provide any lead up or foreshadowing for it?' and 'does killing yourself actually count as a plan?'

Removing the assumptions from it gives us room to speculate. Is the plan actually that they leave him behind, dead or alive? Hunter ordered them to do so without a plan number in season 1, but he is the sergeant, so plan 99 could easily be something that bypasses his authority - if a batcher calls a plan 99, you go and you don't question his decision. It's certainly closer to a plan if there's something they are supposed to be doing from their end rather than just an announcement of intent.

It's not strictly evidence one way or another, but it is something of note when Tech's entire sacrifice is based around a plan that we're not privy to the details of. TBB has hidden its twists in ambiguity before, so it would not be the first time that it let us assume something only to pull the rug out later. But ambiguity is not the only thing that makes this scene stand out in the raising questions department.

Pacing Goes Out The Window

Generally speaking, a self sacrifice is the climax of an episode. Think Kanan, Hardcase, Gregor, Hevy, etc - Even a minor character sacrificing their life tends to make up the most climactic portion of any given episode, let alone one of the characters from the title squad. It gets to be the big central moment, the big rush of music and feeling, the pinnacle of the viewers attention.

Tech's sacrifice is not. It happens around 5 minutes into the episode, is rapidly moved past with barely a moment to think, and then the actual climax is Omega's capture on Ord Mantell. They even repeat the music when Omega is captured, except much stronger this time, making it clear that this is the emotional crux of the episode, this is the scene that is supposed to stick with you.

The opportunity to make it the climax of an episode was certainly there. The storyline could have been adjusted to put Tech's fall at the end of The Summit, allowing more time in Plan 99 for processing his loss and making it feel final. The pacing choice is one that doesn't allow the viewer to process the loss, only giving us maybe a couple minutes of time with actual emotional reactions before we're barreling off to the next plot point. Why was Tech's death de-emphasized within the episode if it is indeed our last moment with this central character?

Tarkin, Eriadu, & Saw Gerrera

A lot goes into the set-up for Plan 99. We have Tarkin's base on Eriadu as the setting they're working within, going up against Tarkin for the first time since early season 1. This is the big leagues, and something that's come up in multiple interviews is that when going into the den of one of the franchise's big bads we have to have consequences, something to demonstrate that Tarkin is not to be trifled with.

Sounds reasonable enough. Except Tarkin doesn't actually do anything in either of these episodes. The thing that actually threw them off was Saw's planning mixing in with their own.

All Tarkin does upon finding out that the batch is stuck on the rail is order an air strike and ignore that this would kill many of his own men. This is certainly evil, but it's standard Imperial evil. Rampart would have given that order. Hemlock would have given that order. The guy in Tipping Point that we know for 5 minutes before he fried himself would have given that order.

So if the point of this finale was to demonstrate Tarkin's power, then bringing Saw in both complicates the plot and devalues what they're claiming they are trying to show. So is the point to get them to Tantiss? No, because they fail in that. They don't plant the tracker, they're no closer to finding Crosshair than they were before.

By all accounts the point of the whole endeavor is in fact just to drop Tech off a sky rail for reasons unknown and injure Omega to force them to go back to Ord Mantell. These two things could have happened anywhere in any way of course, so why choose Eriadu and why choose to complicate the plot by introducing Saw rather than letting Tarkin handle the job?

They're questions we don't have answers to yet, but they're very hard to get answers to if Tech is dead and completely out of the picture. Having a dead body on Eriadu is fairly useless to the plot, having a living Tech on Eriadu though? That has potential to move them huge leaps forward in a very short amount of time once we bring him back in. Especially given his conversation with Saw prior to everything going downhill - Tech was in favor of gathering intel from the facility rather than destroying it.

And what about Saw, anyway? If he was genuinely there to cause problems and fly away, again, that's a plot wrinkle that isn't needed and took time away from everything else. If he's there because they needed someone to pick Tech up though? There's potential there.

Did Tech's Sacrifice Mean Anything?

In universe, Tech's sacrifice means everything, of course. It's a decision made in the moment to risk everything to save his family. It's a noble deed and one he does without hesitation. But pulling away from that narrow scope of an in universe perspective, what did we accomplish narratively with his fall?

Well... not much actually! They got over the bump in the road that they encountered all of five seconds ago and promptly crashed headfirst into another, different bump in the road. Tech's dramatic sacrifice didn't allow them to escape unharmed, it didn't allow them to find Crosshair, it just allowed them to move a few steps forward, after which Omega is almost killed and then captured, which is a fairly weak reason to sacrifice a whole major character.

But not every character death is exclusively about narrative, sometimes it's about the character arc itself. So does this close out anything for Tech's character development? Again, not really. Tech has always been completely loyal to the squad and would have risked anything for his family. He never had a choice not to fall, it was either just him or the whole team, and he is an endlessly logical actor. The action would have played out the same had it happened in the series premier or the season 1 finale, or any other time in the show. If anything it's a backtrack on his character by putting him solidly back into the soldier box that the show is trying to let the clones grow out of.

Maybe it's not about Tech's character though, maybe it's about everyone else's! Does his death change anyone's trajectory? Again... no, not really. We'll get into season 3's lack of mentioning Tech later, but in the immediate aftermath of his fall, no one's course or actions is majorly changed because of his loss. Hunter wants to go back to Pabu where it's safe, the same thing he wanted to do before they ever left for this mission. Omega puts herself in danger to save her brothers, which has been one of her defining traits since season one. Wrecker is following Hunter's lead, same as he always did. (We get very little of what Echo hopes to do, but the opening of season 3 reveals that they went back to work with Rex, exactly like they were doing before.)

So narratively nothing required him to die, the character's arc isn't completed, and the other characters aren't motivated to change. If Tech dies here, it's the picture of a shock value death. It doesn't complete or inform his character, it doesn't need to narratively happen in order to put Omega on the path to being captured, and thematically it exists just to give the viewer an unnecessary gut-punch when just the failure to rescue Crosshair and the loss of Omega would have been enough.

Framing is Everything

In a death scene there's nothing more powerful than our final shot of a character. The very last we'll ever see of them, the image that will linger in our minds when we think of that character from then on. This is especially important in animation where everything has to go through several iterations before deciding on what that final look will be. You want it to be impactful, you want the audience to have one final connection to the character before they're gone for good.

So why does Tech die with his helmet on?

If there's one thing TBB is good at, it's their expression work, and a death scene is a perfect place to show off their full range, which is why most deaths meant to have a heavy impact occur with faces unobscured. Crosshair loses his helmet and takes Mayday's off so we can see both of their faces as Mayday dies, Slip, Cade, even Clone X and Wilco, all die helmetless. Looking into older series you have Kanan dying without his mask, Fives, Hardcase, Waxer all dying helmetless with one last good look at their faces and expressions.

And while Tech's helmet gives us a good look at his eyes, the rest of his face goes unseen, and Wrecker's face as he watches this happen is completely obscured. We're denied a look at a lot of their expressions as the decision is made and Plan 99 is executed, rendering it less personal than it otherwise could have been. Tech could have lost his helmet in the blast that knocked him from the rail, Wrecker could have had his helmet knocked off at some point to give us a good look at his expression. TBB isn't known for pulling its punches, so why leave our final look at Tech's face back in The Summit and not here?

Then there's the framing choices. We get some absolutely amazing shots of Tech during the fall, from taking the shot to falling backwards towards the cloudy cover - but here's where some interesting choices are made. Rather than letting our last shot of him be a face up shot that keeps eye contact with the camera as he falls, they make the choice to have him flip over, and we hold the shot as the rail car goes down after him, partially obscuring him.

Which means instead of our last glimpse of Tech being something like this.

We end up with something closer to this.

Which, while we all love those Tech crotch shots is somewhat less impactful emotionally. These frames go through multiple departments and get multiple eyes on them before going through final animation, and no one thought that leaving him face up and unobscured until he disappears into the fog would stick more firmly in the viewer's memory?

The Flip Might be Intentional

And I don't just mean out of universe, as every detail of animation is often intentional, but in universe as well. If you look closely at Tech as he falls, he seems to roll his shoulders back in order to begin flipping over. It was a specific enough detail to send me searching for a reason and I found it in instructions on how to survive a long fall - the first thing that you're supposed to do? Get into the arch position like a skydiver to slow and control your fall.

The flip was important enough to not only include but to include the small detail of Tech intentionally flipping himself over into said position. It's not a confirmation but it's an interesting detail, and one that has very few other reasons to exist.

THE AFTERMATH

Image chosen because even thinking he's alive I didn't want to pull from Omega reacting to the fall on Ord Mantell. Looking at her makes me Sad. So the fall has happened, the rail car has rushed forward and crashed, and Omega fades in and out of consciousness until finally waking up on Ord Mantell to the bad news.

"What if he's hurt?"

Omega is our POV character for the show. We may sometimes see things she doesn't, but emotionally she remains the center of the narrative, the character that the target audience will see themselves in. Her ultimate thoughts on a situation are the closest we have to a clear indicator of our intended takeaway.

So it's interesting that the first thing we hear out of her, having heard that Tech 'didn't make it,' is a firm denial. He can't be gone, he might be hurt, he needs them and they need to go back for him. And, despite Hunter continuing to talk with her about it for a bit, we never actually hear Omega explicitly take it back or verbally acknowledge Tech as dead. The closest we get is 'lost' which she also uses for Echo in The Crossing.

Now, here's where the interpretation between the adult and child audience will likely differ. From an adult perspective, this is a reasonable reaction for a child her age. It comes off as very natural that she doesn't want to accept it and that she doesn't have time to really process that it's true before the scene moves on. It makes sense from an in universe perspective.

However, the main audience is still children who actually are Omega's age and who are being presented with her as their window into this world. And their takeaway, seeing that same scene, is likely to be that Omega is correct. They don't know that Tech's dead, just because an adult says it doesn't make it true and just because Hemlock says it DEFINITELY doesn't mean it's true, they have to go back and check.

If they wanted the main audience to think that Tech is dead for sure, they could have had Omega be the one to say that he's gone, with Hunter simply confirming it for her. Alternatively, Omega accepting it when Hunter tells her would also function in the same way - ultimately, as the POV character, if Omega doesn't accept it there's a strong possibility much of the audience won't accept it either, especially without other evidence.

No Body?

And, as we all know, we simply don't have other concrete evidence. Not only are the batch given no time to look for Tech's body or any confirmation that he died, but we get a whole scene with Hemlock and the goggles where he also confirms verbally that he doesn't have a body either. There's very little reason to have him say this outside of putting a bug in the viewer's ear that he might not be gone for good.

Not only do we have that verbal confirmation, but we have multiple places where a body could have been included or implied without adding much to the runtime.

Easiest place would probably be when Omega passes out - there's a trooper's corpse right there in front of her, and it would have been very easy to make that identifiable as Tech. Have one of the boys check his pulse like Crosshair did with Mayday and then be forced to leave after confirming he's dead. Would it require a little bit of fudging the details of how he landed so close to them, sure, but it would have been narratively streamlined and easy.

Have Hemlock bring his helmet rather than his goggles (and damage it in a way clearly incompatible with survival) or confirm that he did find a body but has no use for the goggles.

Put the body in Hemlock's lab when Omega is brought there at the end of the episode. Have a sheet covering him even if you want and just one of his hands hanging out, especially the one with the distinctive light on the back of it. Give us her reaction to that.

These are just the ones that don't involve adding scenes or making major changes - instead, in a franchise known for bringing back everyone and their grandmother especially if there's no body, they chose to leave it extremely vague.

Reused Score

The soundtrack for Tech's sacrifice is fantastic, I don't think anyone can argue that. In fact it's so good that it's used occasionally used as a reason for why he's dead for real. If it's a fakeout, why go so hard on the music?

It almost sounds like a reasonable argument, except that the music isn't even unique to Tech's fall. We get the same motif later in the episode with Omega's capture, and it actually comes in even harder and more impactful there than it did with Tech falling.

Reusing bits of the music has two results. It lessens the impact of hearing it with Tech if it is in fact his Death music, because it makes it clear that he is not the central feeling of the episode but rather, Omega's capture is. As mentioned before, deaths are usually the climax of their own episodes partially to avoid them being upstaged by any other plot points, but here Omega's capture is fully prioritized over the loss of one of our central characters.

The second result is that it changes the meaning of the music. It's no longer meant specifically to underscore a tragic death, but rather a more general one of loss and separation. And if it's simply about that separation, then it no longer requires Tech to be dead to have that same impact. They're apart from each other, and that's painful enough.

SEASON 3 SO FAR

Which of course finally brings us to season 3! We're five episodes in as of the posting of this, so a full 1/3rd of the season down, which gives us a good idea of how they're handling the whole grief aspect of this scenario.

They Aren't!

That's right, we simply have not directly acknowledged or dealt with the whole 'watching your squadmate fall to a presumed horrible death' thing even once in five episodes. Tech has been mentioned by name twice, we've seen his goggles once, and Wrecker makes one sideways reference to him having not made it back.

In universe, there is a several month timeskip and it seems to be implied that the majority of the grief milestones happened in that gap. For example, we don't see Crosshair finding out from Omega, we don't see Omega grieving her brother, we don't see Phee finding out (more on her in a bit) despite her fledgling romance. Months of grieving and processing skipped over and what comes out the other side is single line mentions that go by in seconds.

This is especially apparent after episode 5, where we got something to compare it to. Crosshair has a long, painful moment of grieving with Mayday's helmet when they return to Barton IV. It's deep, personal, and intimate and we take a minute with him gathering up the helmets of Mayday and his men to set them up on the crates the same way that Mayday had honored them.

Mayday is a one episode character that was important to only a single character, Crosshair - Tech is a core member of the team present through two full seasons and shown as close to every member of the squad. Yet the single scene grieving Mayday is longer and more emotionally gripping than every short mention of Tech so far in season 3.

Narrative Grief

Seeing characters grieve their loved ones onscreen is about more than just the characters themselves. It's also part of the viewer experience - through the characters' grief, we're able to process our own grief at the loss. It makes it feel real, it makes it feel personal, and the amount of grieving needs to be proportionate to the character's importance in the story.

This is especially true in a show written for children like The Bad Batch. Kids don't typically have the same experience with death as adults, and a well written main character death within a children's show will need more time and energy spent towards making the loss feel real. We see this with deaths like Kanan's; it wasn't Jedi Night that told the viewer that Kanan was really, truly dead, it was Dume, where the characters mourned him and dealt with the aftermath.

Currently, with Tech, we do see holes in the team that make us miss Tech but they remain completely unaddressed by the characters. We see Tech's goggles, but Hunter isn't looking at them, he's looking at Lula. Omega mentions Tech having taught her all the plans, but without any real sadness on her or Crosshair's part. The closest we get to actually bringing it up are Wrecker saying 'not everyone came back' and Echo mentioning the datapad would be difficult without Tech, and both of those are only seconds long before moving on. They don't serve as any kind of catharsis for the viewer, relying more on gut punch impact and keeping the wound open rather than allowing it to heal. The difference between the treatment of Tech's death and Mayday's just makes it more stark.

How Do You Like Yearning?

Interestingly, though, it strongly resembles the writing team's handling of another situation: Crosshair's departure from the team in season 1 vs Echo's in season 2. The show even drew a lot of flack for the lack of discussion on Crosshair's betrayal, as outside of a couple conversations the matter often went unremarked on. Echo leaving, on the other hand, got a whole episode dedicated to processing the loss immediately after it happened.

So what was the difference? Crosshair's departure is part of a long term plot point. We're supposed to want him back, we're supposed to want the team to talk about him, anything that would ease the tension. The writers on the other hand want that tension to remain until it's time to actually resolve the plot. So we get those slow drips in between bigger encounters, we get opportunities for Crosshair to come home that he doesn't take, and we don't get the catharsis of the team actually talking about any of it. We're left to want and imagine it, using the yearning to keep it on people's minds more than anything.

If Crosshair had been discussed on screen long enough for the characters to actually come to terms with his absence, though, that would have made the plot feel more settled and resolved early on. It might be conversations we want to see, but it doesn't keep the viewer on edge and craving a resolution. Best case scenario we're just not as desperate for Crosshair to come home - worst case scenario we accept that he won't be returning and find the fact that he eventually does to be unrealistic.

Echo on the other hand gets their absence processed immediately, because their absence from the team is not meant to be a huge plot point. It's something the team has to deal with, yes, and the viewer wants to see them again just like Omega does, but Echo returning isn't meant to be a maybe, and it's not supposed to keep the viewer wondering and worrying. It's a when, not an if.

Similarly to Crosshair, Tech has never felt like a resolved plot point. We don't get confirmation on his death, we don't get any long term grieving, and we get drip fed acknowledgements that pry the wound back open. If we actually see the team discuss and come to terms with their grief and loss, the plot point closes, the wound closes and we begin to fully accept a team without Tech in it, which makes it harder to reinsert him into the storyline if he is in fact alive.

If he's truly gone for good, what is the point of denying closure to the audience? We know that they are capable of writing an intense mourning moment that feels completely in character for otherwise emotionally repressed men such as Crosshair, so why not give us that with the team mourning for Tech? A memorial, an intimate moment with the goggles, a short scene of Crosshair finding out about the loss, or anything at all really? Once again it's something that makes sense if he's alive and we're simply not being shown yet, but makes very little sense to not capitalize on if he's dead.

What's to Come

We have ten episodes of season 3 to go, and a lot to cover. Reviews have indicated that Tech is not explicitly brought up in the first eight, so the earliest we could possibly have a survival reveal is in episode 9. Will it actually happen? Maybe, maybe not. Though interestingly episode 9, The Harbinger, is almost exactly one year after Plan 99, just like The Return aired almost one year after The Outpost. Could mean nothing, but they do enjoy their anniversary dates.

One thing we do know for sure is coming up is Phee's inclusion - she's seen in the official trailer, as well as briefly in a recent twitter spot. This is interesting as Phee is, of course, Tech's teased love interest, and her connection to Tech has been emphasized multiple times, including on her Databank entry and the official 'what you need to know about season 3' guide. When she comes onto the scene, it's very likely that more information about Tech will too.

MARKETING, INTERVIEWS, & SOCIAL MEDIA

I wanted to keep this mostly focused on what can be seen within the show itself, but it's impossible to talk about whether or not Tech is alive without pointing to the absolutely bizarre messaging from the cast and crew, as well as the marketing choices surrounding his sacrifice. (Example: the Instagram Mourning Filter they layered over him in the official trailer, as seen above) I won't get quite as detailed here as in the above, but it does have to be mentioned.

Constant Focus

In between the end of season 2 and the posting of the season 3 trailer in late January, there were several posts on various official Star Wars media. The majority of them were about Tech and Plan 99. In fact, I don't think I ever saw anything mentioning the giant 'Omega's been captured' cliffhanger, just Tech. Over and over again.

Once a character is dead, marketing generally stops caring about them. They're forward focused after all, they want you coming back for what's to come not lingering on what won't be relevant again. So why the constant focus on Tech?

And it wasn't just the social media either - a huge portion of the trailers and reels included old footage of him too. For the most part this was from Plan 99 and bringing up his fall again to rip open those old wounds, but in one case they included action footage from The Summit. This was an interesting case, because the majority of people watching wouldn't have recognized it immediately. Fittingly, the entire comment section was full of nothing but 'Was that Tech?' style comments, which they would have known was going to be the case to start with.

So why are we so focused on a man that's supposedly dead? If he's genuinely never going to show up again why keep putting him in? Everything? While not even bringing him up all that often in the show? If he's dead, this is a truly bizarre marketing decision.

Never Say Die

In interviews or in official material. For several months the word 'dead' was never used for Tech anywhere, not in interviews, not in official material, nowhere. It took until January 23rd for all of the databank entries to be updated, and among all of the main cast he's only referred to as 'killed' once, and it's on Hunter's page not even his own. Then, the Friday before the premier, an interview came out referring to him as dead - on the part of the interviewer, not the creators themselves.

Everything else seems to use a variety of euphemisms. His sacrifice, his absence, his loss, he 'plummeted out of sight', he 'fell from a tram car', he did absolutely anything it's possible to do except outright die apparently.

It's an odd choice when there's known controversy over if he's dead or not. The standard operating protocol of course, in a planned comeback, is to refer to them as dead anyway and allow fandom to fuel its own speculation, but with a fandom as devastated as TBB's was, it's quite possible that the odd behavior had to be introduced just to keep speculation going. The only interviews that sound remotely final came out right before the episodes started coming out - if they had done that from the beginning, the chances of people outright refusing to come back to the show likely would have been higher.

Much like the marketing, this is not necessarily proof of anything - but in combination with the multiple odd things in the show itself, it's certainly suspicious. Speaking of suspicious...

What an Odd Thing to Say

The cast and crew themselves have not been skimping on making strange comments when it comes to the Tech situation.

There is of course the well known Joel Aron (lighting director for the series) tweet that came out the day of the Celebrations panel (AKA when the Tech trauma was at an all time high) and in direct reply to a fan that was having a hard time with Tech's death. It's hard to take it as anything but a reference to Tech given the timing, and it was certainly taken as being about Tech in the quote tweets. If it's not about Tech, why tease the fandom with it? And the specification for it being a mid s3 episode as well...

Also from the day of Celebrations, and from the panel itself, we have Michelle Ang saying in front of God and everybody, that Tech "doesn't come back... in this episode, at least." At the time there was a possibility she didn't know and was just leaving it open, but with that only being ten months ago and the extremely long timeframe of animation, it's almost certain that she would have been done with all primary recording by that point. If you know he's not coming back, how do you accidentally imply that he is with no one correcting it?

Dee Bradley Baker, when asked for a farewell message from Tech at a con, came out with "the life of a soldier is fulfilled by fulfilling his mission and supporting his brothers. And this was the end of mine. And that's a good thing." Which was a perfectly serviceable goodbye right up until he said that the end of Tech's (life? soldier's life? mission?) was a good thing.

During an instagram interview we have Deana Kiner, one of the composers, in response to the interviewer talking about the final episode containing a major loss, saying, "It's kind of a loss... It's complicated." The claim on twitter was that this was about Omega, because everyone knows that when someone mentions the major loss in Plan 99 they're definitely talking about Omega.

So is Tech alive? Is Tech dead? We still don't know. But while one or two of the above might be a coincidence, having all of them at once coalesce around this single character death is a lot to chew over. The Bad Batch team has shown willingness to address grief and loss prior, as well as a willingness to show us death onscreen and front and center. So why, with such an important character, sidestep it all in order to keep it vague? Why keep it from sounding final for so long, if the intent the entire time was for him to be dead for good?

We won't know until he either shows back up or the show ends. If Tech's alive, all of the above starts to make sense. If he's dead... well a lot of things will just never quite add up. I feel that this team has shown enough willingness to follow up on their trailing plotlines that they've earned my trust. Fingers crossed for a satisfying resolution for all of us, and for our boy Tech, whatever that resolution may be.

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb tech #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch speculation #this thing is some 7500 words i might have an obsession problem

[tzuu-died]

braven and superbia theory :]

so my discord server allowed me to be stupid on main and rant about bravern at 11:30pm my time, so here’s just.. everything copy and pasted LMAO

also, posting this before ep4 drops, i can’t wait to see if any of my ramblings made sense

theory under the cut, spoilers for bang brave bang bravern ep. 1-3 and ep. 4 preview

the theory is this: bravern and superbia are the same species, possibly related to the deathdrives

firstly, in episode 1 and episode 3 we see bravern with a mask thing covering his face. and when you look at superbia, it seems as though they have something similar

i wouldn’t say that part is superbia’s actual face, due to the purple highlights/crystal looking things on their body. bravern’s eyes are green, and he does have a green crystal or piece of glass on that gold part of his face

and also, bravern has a green background in his transformation sequences and when we first meet him.

there’s also a green trail left by him when he flies in the intro + uses his blade.

the show’s logo briefly flashes green in the op

and the green in bravern’s cockpit + the weird green liquid from ep3

and superbia’s eyes do flash purple in the op, so i’m willing to bet superbia wears a mask much like bravern when we first meet him

and now when you look at bravern and superbia, they do seem very much alike

plus, the opening hints at superbia being somewhat relevant at least, due to the fact that in most anime openings, the fight featured in it is at least somewhat relevant to the story

and also, bravern knows superbia

the “you never change” implies that bravern’s fought against superbia before, or known them in the past

plus, the opening and show kind of confirmed lulu pilots superbia

1. lulu and isami have very similar outfits when piloting

2. this scene in the opening. the character does resemble lulu and the necklace looks like it was made to resemble superbia

3. again, the weird liquid in the mechs’ cockpits

so in other words, bravern and superbia are definitely very similar

plus, we saw that bravern was losing to superbia without isami

without a pilot

and lulu magically appeared on a beach after superbia was defeated. and coincidentally, superbia was in the deep waters when we first see a hint of them.

and i just wanna point out that smith had no idea what lulu meant when she said her name, but bravern understood.

and he didn’t look too happy about that

and in the preview for episode 4, we see a few scenes of bravern essentially being in a shitty mood. kind of looks like he’s lashing out here?

and then at the end we see a scene of lulu looking confused, and we immediately cut to this?

so to just tldr the point that bravern and superbia are part of the same species:

1. they share similar traits and visuals in the show (mainly the colours i talked about)

2. they both have pilots

3. they have a history together (we see superbia scoffing at bravern a few times, and bravern’s quote: “you never change”)

4. bravern shows a clear dislike for superbia and isn’t all too happy about lulu

and now, the other thing: bravern and superbia are some advanced form of the deathdrives, or are related to them

so first off, when the deathdrives are defeated, they go kaboom and explode into this weird cube shaped stuff

and what happened to superbia after bravern and isami’s attack?

additionally, when battling superbia, bravern attacked them with a punch, which they stopped with a purple shield

and what else uses a purple shield?

yup. the deathdrives

and in episode 2, bravern explains that they’re inorganic, metallic organisms that gained something like a conscience. and both bravern and superbia show to have that

bravern’s can be sean very clearly. he talks a lot.

superbia? all we hear from them are shrieky noises and scoffing. and what do we hear from lulu? also that

so to just tldr this entire rant/rambling:

bravern and superbia show signs of being from the same species. they both needing a pilot to achieve their true strength, without them they’re not as strong.

the deathdrives also show similarities to them; that being the similar way they “die” (we’re not sure if superbia actually died in ep3, so i’m putting the word in these “ ”guys), similar abilities (barriers/shields, flight, weaponry?).

so basically, to put all of this short: bravern and superbia are some advanced form of the deathdrives, probably existing to be something like commanders in an army, seeing how superbia kind of teamed up with the deathdrives?

anyway, hope this makes sense LMAO 😭

#bang brave bang bravern #yuuki bakuhatsu bang bravern #bang bravern #bravern #superbia #isami ao #lewis smith #lulu #bravern theory #bbbb #brave series #brave #tzuu’s writing

[emmettkane]

Fallout New Vegas represented a subtle evolution from FO1 and 2, from a world where people did whatever they needed to do to survive, to one where they tried to rebuild according to their resources and needs. It explored how, under the gun, people would hold onto their traditions, how the old ways that destroyed the world would attempt to insidiously weave their way into the new one.

It also explored how, despite that insidious instinct, things would change for the better, or that, at the very least, they could change for the better. New traditions would arise, new practices, and eventually, the old ways would either fade or mutate into something unrecognizably different.

The fallout show chose to erase those ideas, set things back to zero, undo the growth that had already happened and replace it with a civilization that was neither stuck in their traditions nor willing to advance, a hopeless tale justified by a shadow-government of hyper-competent, hyper-intelligent billionaires who cannot be reasoned with or overcome, and who apparently do not make meaningful mistakes.

---

The intense narrative regression that takes place between Fallout: New Vegas and the show is frustrating, but what's even more frustrating are the people who so gladly embrace it.

In a recent interview, Todd Howard asserted that Fallout games would never be set outside of America, and noted that "It’s okay to leave mystery or questions..." and that 'Americana naivete' was core to the identity of the game franchise.

I'll try to ignore the fact that they felt the need to 'answer the mystery' of 'who dropped the bombs' in the show, a mystery that, given the miserable, myopic answer (evil billionaires oh nooooooo) would have been better left unanswered.

The more egregious idea is that Americana has a deep relevance to the themes of any of the official stories in the setting. Even in Bethesda produced titles, it is, at most an aesthetic element.

Anticommunism, consumer culture, American exceptionalism, rugged individualism, western chauvinism, and other ideas that could be explored through the lenses of retrofuturism and Americana are roundly ignored in Bethesda titles, where those lenses are used entirely to generate advertising and nostalgia-bating appeal instead.

In earlier titles, those subjects are expressed, but are either not the main focus of the games or are simplified. The intro cinematic to the original Fallout includes a shot of an American soldier executing a soldier of annexed Canadian and then waving to the camera, followed by a power-armored head placed proudly before an American flag. The opinion here is not clarified further because it doesn't need to be: American imperialism is bad, and was likely a contributing factor to the apocalypse.

---

Some people think that Liberty Prime from fallout 3 and 4 constitutes a commentary on something, or espouses some value or philosophical ideal.

If it does, and if you agree with it, congratulations, you are the commentary.

#emmett's mind #fallout tv series #fallout #fallout new vegas #opinion #essay #criticism #fallout tv series critical

[binniesunderworld]

*future hotd spoilers*

so i believe that helaena IS pregnant with maelor, but im really worried about how the show will integrate cause she didn't look visibly pregnant in s1 so she might be at most 3-4 months along? and s2 starts 10 days after the s1 finale. so will she be pregnant when rhaenyra takes KL? is she gonna give birth while hostage or will she unalive herself while pregnant, adding to the tragedy?

sorry for the wall of the text, but the timeline of this show is soooo confusing and i have zero idea where they're taking it!

Well, I'll take this part of the book as a basis:

Well, it's no secret that Maelor was born the same year that Helaena danced with Jacaerys. It's pretty obvious that Maelor was conceived that same night, we had a jealous Aegon who probably found this as a good excuse to hang out with his wife and have a good hardcore sex session. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers take that as an example and put episode 8 as the time of conception, what terrifies me is if they put Helaena as a victim who was abused by her "possessive psycho" husband and this resulted in a pregnancy (and having TB whispering in my ear "rapegon" for the next 2 years).

Assuming episode 8 is Maelor's conception, this occurs only a few days before episode nine, hence three weeks or less before the start of season 2. So Helaena wouldn't even be two months pregnant before b&c, which would explain her lack of a belly in the previews we've had of her.

I honestly don't know what they will do with Maelor. In the intro you can see how Aegon and Helaena have three children, but I don't know if this has any relevance (I hope it does).

Considering that the writers like cliché, I wouldn't be surprised if Helaena has a miscarriage (as a parallel to Rhaenyra's). Of course this would be a big mistake, since Maelor is the reason Daeron commits so many war crimes, but then again the writers don't seem to care much about the latter. Another thing I consider likely they will do is Helaena giving birth as a hostage and, in an attempt to whitewash TB, Rhaenyra sparing the baby's life (just as Aegon II spared Aegon III's life).

#house of the dragon #hotd season 2 #helaena targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #helaegon #maelor targaryen #pro team green #blood and cheese

[lover-of-mine]

ngl it makes me nervous that in episode ONE after only TWO MONTHS of dating, our first intro to eddie and marisol together is them in his house being domestic and smiling at his son as if they’re both his parents….. i know ryan said their relationship would be up and down and later on eddie is considering how she fits in his life, but they seem to be serious and settled real quick. like not only has she met chris already but she’s hanging at their house with them?? hmm what are your initial thoughts post-premiere?

Okay, imma start this off by saying I only watched the episode once and I usually type my metas and theories out after at least 2 watches (I do one for the plot and one for details) so I might come back to this later. Also, my first reaction to this was actually "Shannon's ghost had more screentime, we're fine". But one, we didn't actually see the date, we saw Eddie telling Buck about the date, even Ana had multiple dates we saw as they happened not as flashbacks, and Eddie was having panic attacks about her. Two, the show made a big show of how Chris is being supportive this time around and Eddie has this whole no secrets thing with Chris policy so Marisol being at the house makes some sense when you look at it that way. Three, this one is less about the episode and more about Eddie's character as a whole, Eddie overcorrects with everything that went wrong once. From telling Chris he can do anything and being ready to crush that because Chris fell off a skateboard to quitting without a second thought because Chris was scared. Tia Pepa said he's gonna die alone, so he went golfing and hiking to meet people when we never saw him golfing or hiking. His automatic reaction to doing something wrong is to do the opposite. And that reflects on his relationships too. He barged into the loft because Buck was mopping after almost dying and that ended with Buck and Chris getting caught in the tsunami, so the next time Buck died, he stayed off Maddie's list and waited for Buck to come to him. He held Shannon at arm's length for months and then she died so he lost months he could've had with her, so when Buck apologizes he forgives him with no hesitation. Shannon kept accusing him of not actually being present in their relationship with him joining the army, so he's all with Ana way too fast. And that could be the case with Marisol too. I stand by the fact we still don't have enough information on Marisol to get anything definitive, which in itself is proof they are not trying to make us care about her or the relationship, but the thing it's the couples episode, the characters reintroduction episode, the show of dynamics episode, and Marisol's introduction as Eddie's girlfriend episode, and it has more of Eddie's dead wife than his girlfriend (which is exactly what I needed, justice for Shannon Diaz and the way she was written to be fridged). Sure, Marisol is chaperoning with Eddie, but Eddie is talking to Buck about the date, not in the date, so the date is not even relevant enough for us to actually see it, and sure she's existing in the same space as Chris but when Eddie needs actual help with the situation, he goes to Buck. We also don't know how she met Chris, and we didn't see them interact, so we don't know how she exists in Chris' life yet. So, like, we're fine.

And also, Buck and Eddie have some personal growth to do before they can get together in a satisfying way and that could absolutely come from low-stakes relationships with other people, like Eddie learning to have fun and Buck learning how to ask for things.

#im not worried in the slightlest #clown makeup is still very on #911 spoilers #911 #i really need a tag for asks #anon 😌 #Natalia got the Ali treatment and Marisol exists for us less than Ana did. we're fine.

[marley-manson]

Xena Episode Guide

Xena is an episodic show with a few ongoing arcs, both plot and character, so some episodes are very standalone, others are part of ongoing continuity. This guide will have four categories, denoted by symbol: * must-watch for plot or character development reasons + not essential but very good and/or gay, I recommend these ^ average non-essential episode, not notably amazing or awful, watch if you want more xena, skip if you want to get to the good parts faster # episodes I actively recommend skipping, not too many of these because I'm easy for this show lol.

I'm also going to link this site which has a lot of info and resources, including very thorough episode synopses under "episode guide," if you want more info before deciding whether or not to watch an episode.

It's also worth noting that it's a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a show I've seen exactly one episode of. You don't need to watch it to watch Xena, but occasionally it can add some context, and it's worth knowing that some plot elements are developed in Hercules rather than Xena, particularly parts of the Dahak arc in season 3. They'll have the characters explain the plot relevant stuff briefly, eg why Callisto is a goddess now, but yeah if you feel like you're missing things, that's why, and it's not a big deal.

So without further ado, here we go, starting with Xena's introductory episodes in Hercules.

Hercules: 1x09 The Warrior Princess, 1x12 The Gauntlet, 1x13 Unchained Heart# I haven't seen these, it's not necessary, and afaik some of the characterization and general vibes are incompatible with the Xena we know and love in her own show. But feel free to watch them if you want to see her introduction as a character.

1x01 Sins of the Past* 1x02 Chariots of War^ One minor highlight of this episode is that Xena and Gabrielle's respective flirtations with a man of the week each mirror their new relationship with each other - Xena and some peaceful village dude, Gabrielle and a wannabe warlord. Otherwise basic and uninteresting. 1x03 Dreamworker* 1x04 Cradle of Hope^ 1x05 The Path Not Taken* 1x06 The Reckoning* 1x07 The Titans^ 1x08 Prometheus^ Hercules and Iolaus appear if you skipped Xena's Hercules intro and want to meet them, but there's not much to recommend it 1x09 Death In Chains^ 1x10 Hooves and Harlots* 1x11 The Black Wolf+ I don't remember it too well but I remember enjoying it, and there's some cute baby les Gab stuff 1x12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts* Idk if it's quite essential, but a character in this ep recurs later and this episode is referenced. And it's pretty solid anyway iirc. 1x13 Athens City Academy of Performing Bards^ It's a clipshow so not much of substance, but this episode is referenced in a lot of fic as a path not taken for Gabrielle 1x14 A Fistful of Dinars^ Apparently Xena's former fiance is in it but frankly I had no memory of that so I don't think it's important enough to be considered essential 1x15 Warrior... Princess^ It introduces a recurring character (and trope) so worth watching for continuity purposes but p inconsequential otherwise iirc. 1x16 Mortal Beloved+ Controversial categorization because it's het, but what can I say, I like it 1x17 The Royal Couple of Thieves^ Pretty fun and introduces another recurring character, but otherwise not especially important 1x18 The Prodigal^ Not really a fan of this one personally but I wouldn't say it's bad 1x19 Altared States+ Gets a plus sign for blatantly gay Gabrielle <3 1x20 Ties that Bind# I personally hate this ep, but it does have somewhat significant character exploration, and I wouldn't necessarily say it's bad so much as not to my taste. Up to you whether you watch. 1x21 The Greater Good* Most of the ep isn't essential but it leads directly into the next one which is, plus it's pretty good. 1x22 Callisto* 1x23 Death Mask^ Gets into Xena's past and surviving brother, but not in a way that really has much of an impact? Might be worth watching for that, but I don't think skipping it will affect much 1x24 Is There a Doctor in the House+ Gay, good, and establishes one detail that recurs later on but not a particularly important detail.

2x01 Orphan of War* 2x02 Remember Nothing+ Arguably essential viewing for character stuff, but I don't think skipping it would hurt your understanding of anything. Solid episode though. 2x03 The Giant Killer^ Referenced in a later episode so worth watching for thoroughness, not bad but not stand-out. 2x04 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun+ Gay 2x05 Return of Callisto* 2x06 Warrior... Princess... Tramp^ Introduces another occasionally recurring character, fun, not essential otherwise 2x07 Intimate Stranger+ 2x08 Ten Little Warlords+ These are direct sequel episodes and I really enjoy both, but they're not immediately relevant. The latter is arguably somewhat essential for Ares character stuff, but ymmv on how important that is to you. 2x09 A Solstice Carol# 2x10 The Xena Scrolls+ Clipshow, not essential, but please watch it bc it's an absolute delight. Basically a canon role reversal AU, and it's one of the episodes that spawned a thousand lesbian romance novels in the form of published Xena AU fic. 2x11 Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis^ 2x12 Destiny* 2x13 The Quest* 2x14 A Necessary Evil* 2x15 A Day In The Life+ Not technically essential but widely considered one of the best episodes of the show, wildly gay, don't skip it. 2x16 For Him The Bell Tolls^ Joxer heavy, Xena light. Most would probably categorize it as # but I'm easy for the comedy episodes 2x17 The Execution^ 2x18 Blind Faith+ 2x19 Ulysses^ Warning for dumb het, skip if your tolerance is low. After this though it's pretty clear sailing in terms of male love interests of the week, thankfully. 2x20 The Price* Amazing episode overall, imo essential for character exploration, but warning for v prominent racist tribal stereotypes 2x21 Lost Mariner+ 2x22 Comedy of Eros* It's not really essential for the most part, but it establishes a certain character beat that lasts for the next 3 seasons, and imo it's fun. Skippable if you're not in the mood for a mostly het comedy ep tho.

3x01 The Furies* Explores some of Xena's family history and introduces us to how the Furies work, since they show up in a few other episodes, but not huuugely important? Waffled between * and ^ for the record. 3x02 Been There, Done That+ One of my personal faves, not stand-out gay, but incredibly fun imo 3x03 The Dirty Half Dozen^ Basically the show's lone aware statement on feminism and it sucks lmao. Aside from that it can be fun, so I didn't mark it as a recommended skip, but it's on the cusp. 3x04 The Deliverer* 3x05 Gabrielle's Hope* 3x06/7 The Debt* 3x08 The King of Assassins# Very dude-centric and forgettable imo, but has Gina Torres as Cleopatra and introduces Joxer's siblings as a thing, so ymmv 3x09 Warrior... Priestess... Tramp^ 3x10 The Quill Is Mightier^ Fun episode for Ares and/or Aphrodite fans, not important and not notably good or gay tho (though at this point we have a relative base level of gay established so yk, p much every episode is gonna have some vibes) 3x11 Maternal Instincts* 3x12 The Bitter Suite* 3x13 One Against an Army+ 3x14 Forgiven# I skipped it my first watch and didn't regret that after watching it this time around, but fyi it does implicitly touch on the emotional fall-out of the last few episodes a little bit 3x15 King Con# 3x16 When In Rome...* 3x17 Forget Me Not* It's a clipshow, but the framing device establishes some surprisingly significant character and plot stuff 3x18 Fins, Femmes, and Gems+ A fan favourite for a lot of people, it's silly and fun with some great gay moments. 3x19 Tsunami^ 3x20 Vanishing Act^ 3x21/22 The Sacrifice*

BONUS: Hercules 4x13/14 Armageddon Now This is the sole episode of Hercules I watched, because Part 2 features the inspiration for an entire subgenre of Xena fic that I love - Conqueror fic. An AU where Hercules was never born, featuring a subplot in which Xena never turned good and went on to conquer Greece. You don't need to watch it to understand the conceit, and most fics don't follow the strict events of the episode but rather the general premise of Xena ruling a nation, but it is fun, and it has some bonus Callisto character stuff too. I've put it here because it aired alongside Xena season 3 and broadly fits into it continuity-wise.

4x01/2 Adventures in the Sin Trade* 4x03 A Family Affair* 4x04 In Sickness and In Hell# I'm at the point I haven't gotten to in my rewatch, and I skipped this one the first time around, so I assume it's not important. I think it's divisive, some fans find it funny, some find it obnoxious 4x05 A Good Day* 4x06 A Tale of Two Muses^ Haven't seen myself, haven't heard many bad things though 4x07 Locked Up and Tied Down^ Has some character backstory and thematically relevant stuff, but nothing super significant. 4x08 Crusader+ Features the ongoing arc of Xena's future vision and good character stuff, so somewhat relevant, but not quite enough to be essential imo. But it's extremely gay and one of my faves. 4x09 Past Imperfect* Okay my memory's getting spotty at this point, but it's a flashback episode and those are generally important character-wise. 4x10 Key to the Kingdom# I have no memory of this one, probably skipped it, not a standout. Meg, Autolycus, Joxer heavy comedy. 4x11 Daughter of Pomira^ Sort of a sequel to The Price 4x12 If the Shoe Fits^ 4x13 Paradise Found* We're getting to the India episodes which come with their very own apology/disclaimer even in the 90s lol, so yeah, you know they get racist. But they're important episodes plot-wise. 4x14 Devi* 4x15 Between The Lines* The other episode that launched a thousand lesbian romance novels. 4x16 The Way* 4x17 The Play's The Thing^ 4x18 The Convert^ Najara's return, a downgrade from Crusader though imo. 4x19 Takes One to Know One^ 4x20 Endgame* 4x21 The Ides of March* 4x22 Deja Vu All Over Again+ Canonizes Xena/Gab in a censored, network-friendly way that may have you cheering or booing depending on your perspective, but it's worth noting that it was the best the crew could get away with. The characters return in a s6 episode but one I haven't seen lol so I can't say it's essential.

A note on season 5: widely considered the worst season, esp for Xena/Gab shippers, but if you're a fan of Xena/Ares at all you might enjoy it more. Focuses a lot on the unrequited het with Xena and Gabrielle's relationship somewhat sidelined in terms of dramatic focus. But it's very arc-heavy so many episodes are relevant, and tbf Xena and Gab still have a v strong married couple vibe. My advice is to either power through, or skip freely while reading a synopsis.

5x01 Fallen Angel* Silly but v important plot-wise, also pretty gay. 5x02 Chakram* Categorized as essential for some character-statement and thematic stuff, and some minor continuity re chakram, buuuut you could probably get away with skipping it. 5x03 Succession^ 5x04 Animal Attraction* 5x05 Them Bones, Them Bones+ Silly, but v gay. Also notable for being an episode wholly devoid of men, from named characters, to background extras, to mentions in dialogue, in a way that feels like the show itself didn't even notice, it just happened to work out that way. Gotta love a show that can just casually do that without it even being a Thing. 5x06/7 Purity/Back in the Bottle^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super important here, and it's not super amazing, but it's a bit of a sequel to The Debt if that interests you. 5x08 Little Problems^ 5x09 Seeds of Faith* 5x10 Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire^ Haven't watched this one, but some find it fun 5x11 Punch Lines^ Haven't seen this one either but it has some Gab+Dite interaction 5x12 God Fearing Child* 5x13 Eternal Bonds* 5x14 Amphipolis Under Siege* 5x15 Married with Fishsticks# Widely considered the worst episode, I haven't watched it myself 5x16/17 Life Blood/Kindred Spirits+ Stealth pilot for an attempted Amazon-centric spin-off so largely focused on random new characters, but apparently a very Xena/Gab married episode otherwise. Haven't watched myself. 5x18 Antony and Cleopatra^ I don't thiiiink there's anything super necessary here, skip to avoid het in the form of plot-induced manipulative seduction 5x19 Looking Death in the Eye* 5x20 Livia* 5x21 Eve* 5x22 Motherhood*

6x01 Coming Home* 6x02 The Haunting of Amphipolis* 6x03 Heart of Darkness* 6x04 Who's Gurkhan?* I actually haven't seen this one bc I wasn't in the mood and I never went back to it, but it's relevant to Gab's family the way Haunting of Amphipolis is relevant to Xena's. 6x05 Legacy*6x06 The Abyss+ Racist stereotype cannibals unforch, but v gay. 6x07/8/9 The Rheingold/The Ring/Return of the Valkyrie+ Gay romance straight up. 6x10 Old Ares Had a Farm+ This was originally a ^ because I figured my fondness for this ep was biased bc I love mortal Ares episodes, but I have since seen it talked about a few times as a standout so maybe it is objectively pretty great. 6x11 Dangerous Prey^ 6x12 The God You Know* Only mildly essential in that it explains why Aphrodite is mortal now, but while I think it's somewhat divisive, it's an episode I enjoy personally so I'd recommend it. 6x13 You Are There*6x14 Path of Vengeance* 6x15 To Helicon and Back* 6x16 Send in the Clones+ I actually haven't seen it yet but I have it on good authority that it's v gay 6x17 The Last of the Centaurs* This, Path of Vengenace, and Who's Gurkhan are starred because they kind of cap off some secondary/tertiary character threads, but fyi they're not super essential to any ongoing plot stuff 6x18 When Fates Collide+ Not essential but unskippable, iconic gay romance 6x19 Many Happy Returns+ GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY 6x20 Soul Possession+ I haven't actually seen it because it has elements I don't like, but it's another one that I know is very gay 6x21/22 A Friend in Need* Very controversial finale, many hate it, but it is the finale so it's essential. Even if I myself haven't technically watched it yet lmao.

#marley on xena #text post #xena #for anon who asked <3 #fought for my life in html to get the bolding correct btw because the fucking new post editor is so incredibly glitchy >:( #buuut then it fucks up again when you just re-open the post to edit anything else so i give up lol fix ur shit tumblr

[vidavalor]

Hey! Sorry if I'm missing something, but I've had the phrase "unexpected quarter" rolling around in my head for a while and I was thinking about "quarter" as a term for "shelter" or "mercy," and how Aziraphale wasn't at all expecting to be out here giving Gabriel shelter and mercy, but he is, and wondering whether that could be foreshadowing - maybe Gabriel will wind up returning the favor somehow. Do you think there's anything to that, or do you think I'm looking at the wrong definition of the word?

Hi @chaoticlivi! Hot chocolate for your Gabriel-themed Ask. *adds marshmallows* 💕 You and me are on the same page with this one and I'll add to your thoughts. (*does happy dance over other people looking at the words* lol)

Quarter is actually the word that The Voice of God uses as an example in Her opening monologue to teach us to do exactly what you're doing-- to look for multiple definitions of words being used. You're doing exactly what the show is suggesting we do, imo.

When The Voice of God opens up the series, She first discusses theories on when the universe was created, which is both for language benefit and also just to help establish that the Earth is only a little over 6,000 years old in the GO universe. When She gets to the bit about the almost-correct theory, She says that it was off by "almost a quarter of an hour," right? Within the same monologue, She then later reads from the horoscope about help coming from "an unexpected quarter." We now have, in a monologue full of language instruction, the same word used twice, in two different ways, and there are a lot of other examples of things like this. It foreshadows that we will see this a lot and tells us to be on the lookout for it.

I wrote a thing about other ways quarter has been used and about how it's pointing towards Gabriel that I'll link down below if you want to check it out but I want to add this into your thoughts because I totally think that Gabriel will be lending shelter and understanding in S3 to Aziraphale.

If Crowley can walk into Heaven and still open up highly classified files and if, as we've seen in the story, he and Aziraphale discovered long ago that angels can do what the demons can and that that the fallen angels still have their old powers and Heaven is lying to them, then they are now, as of the end of S2, in a position to tell other angels and demons this. Crowley already basically told Muriel when he opened the file in front of them. This would then mean that Ol' Purple Eyes is still, in terms of power, The Supreme Archangel of Heaven. Overthrow The Metatron and the being with the most individual power is Gabriel (who also, honestly, seems like a being about ready to democratize the fuck out of that situation lol.)

In 1.01, The Voice of God re-introduces us to Crowley & Aziraphale together with a four-sentence intro to the park scene that is full of language details, some of which have actually gotten more meaning since S2. Just like how Crowley's joke in the scene of "not delivered-delivered-- just handed it over" about delivering Adam got even funnier after S2 gave us Bildad the Shuite, there are a couple of things in God's monologue in the same scene that make more sense after S2 and much of it has multiple meanings that worked before S2 and still work after it. The first sentence has a line that is very relevant to S1 and overall but has another, new layer after S2, and which goes with our ideas for S3:

"Everyone knows that the best place for a clandestine meeting in London is-- and always has been-- St. James' Park."

One of the many meanings of clandestine in the sentence is what you get when you break the word up: clan destined. A clan isn't just an extended family-- though, it can be-- but it can also just describe a group of people with specific things in common. One definition of park is also just an area devoted to a specific purpose (like an industrial park.) With that in mind, a line that sets up understanding of plot in S1 is also then prophetic for the end of the series as well because the best place for a clan destined meeting in London is-- and always has been-- St. James Park and, well...

#ineffable husbands #aziracrow #good omens #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #good omens 2 #good omens theory #jimbriel #the archangel fucking gabriel #ineffable husbands speak #etymology

[transpersian]

Doc 3 is about PZ's kid

And yes, that means what you think it means. We've been talking. A lot.

From my Twitter thread:

Needed some time to think.

I've been trying too hard to make too many people happy, even with contradictory needs. I've been letting people jerk me back and forth on what they think is right. I've been trying REALLY hard to be nice.

Biding my time. No more.

PZ’s kid is okay.

Back in October, after months of worrying about optics, we decided that it was too important: we had to see if Poppy’s kid was okay. They’d literally ESCAPED, ffs. They’re 23, but still.

And before anyone says anything, I WAS RIGHT. This is the first thing they said to me:

Yes, I understand the delicacy of the situation. Yes, I understand how this looks. But please understand: I’m not just some internet rando who’s in way over her head. I’ve been supporting abuse survivors in deep and intense ways for decades, and I’m damned good at it.

I’d fuck off if they had a negative response. I’d push for them not to be involved in any efforts against their mom. In the end, what ended up being our priority was making sure that The Kid (no real name plz) was okay and knew we were there if they needed help.

Fuck the optics.

I helped them clean up the tracks that led to them, then we started talking. Initially, I insisted on this being strictly for support. They wanted to get involved and I pushed back. Said if they really wanted to, they could send me screenshots, not thinking they’d apply.

Oh boy.

First they sent them to me to illustrate their points, but they insisted that I was free to use any of them. That first batch of 12 was jarring enough.

Then, unprompted, they sent me 70 more.

They want me to tell their story. They want me to show you how PZ lie.

And they’re not in a rush. They want me to be thorough.

So in a move I was barely okay with, they gave me access to their 3200-message Signal chat log so I could figure out where relevant screenshots are and have them take them.

I’m taking my time because they’re hard to read.

My mother left when I was 3. My father remarried 4 years later and she was abusive to me for the following 16 years.

I felt unwelcome in my own home, incapable of doing anything right, constantly eggshelling.

Zena makes my experiences with my stepmom look like Sesame Street.

There are little things you notice when you have texts in DB format.

Like how Poppy said “I love you” to her kid eight times from July ’21 to June ’22.

Only twice from July ’22 to June ’23.

Watching them be believed less and less over Zena, who started blatantly lying.

For the past couple of months, when I’ve been able to, I’ve been studying a way-too-intimate look at the death of a mother’s empathy for her child. I’d chat with them sometimes and give them what support I could. Figure out how to respond to ones like this:

I know I’ll only get one shot at this, so here’s what the doc will consist of:

A more complete intro about the above

Transcripts of when PZ have cited The Kid’s abuse on stream

A tally of claims to track

The screenshots

Examples of the “assignments” they were given

A 3.5-page long, single-spaced list of what they deemed unacceptable treatment, which PZ promptly wrote off as bullshit and complained to their friends about

Screenshots from those friends

Direct rebuttals against PZ’s on-stream claims

Additional context from my conversations with TK

Somehow forgot to mention a major chunk: dozens of screenshots from TK’s personal discord with a few close friends, serving essentially as a diary of their experiences. Purely testimonial on that front, I know, but…

I feel like maybe it's worth seeing what a young adult in their early 20s says to their close friends in private about in what's essentially a group chat.

See, PZ’s 23-year-old kid has POTS, a circulatory disorder that affects your body’s regulatory systems, including respiratory. Things that negatively affect POTS:

Skipping meals

Excessive physical labor

Heat

What if I told you PZ would punish them with food restriction?

What if I told you of at least three separate mentions of TK being worked to collapse or illness? That they ignored TK’s symptoms and scolded them for not just eating better? That they worked TK for 8+ hrs some days?

What if I told you that TK is 5’1” and 80 lbs (unrelated)?

What if I showed you when, on-stream, Poppy accused TK of intentionally crying so intensely that she dissociated? Or of abusing Zena?

Can you imagine being pushed so far by your parents that you're in wailing tears, and they don't stop until it reaches that point? And then they accuse you of manipulation?

If you're like me (and what I'd imagine is many members of The Foundation), you don't have to imagine it.

What if I told you that what PZ called “intentionally faking forgetting instructions” when TK was really just having a hard time?

What if I told you I knew what the mysterious psych test Poppy trotted out as proof on stream actually says? What if I told you that Poppy harassed the kid until they gave it up, even though she’s not legally entitled to any of it? Even though she’s abusing the authority of her license?

Remember how Poppy talked about having to rush to the bank to make changes to her accounts because TK withdrew all of their own trust money? What if I told you I have proof that she was talking to them as early as the next morning and TK was completely cooperating?

I’ve heard a lot of horrific testimonies about the things that Poppy has done, but this… This radicalized me.

And it’s radicalized anyone I’ve shown it to.

TK has asked me to use everything I can from them to expose @ZenaandPoppy for what they are:

Abusive Hypocrites

So ultimately, how does this incredibly personal violation of privacy factor into the big picture? Yes, I know what this is. I know what it looks like.

But these are abusive parents who have been using their platform to use their own victim for pity points. That’s how they win.

What I’ve been trying to prove is abusiveness. PZ are recklessly abusive people who hide behind victimhood (and what they used to disdainfully refer to as “idpol”).

This is extensive proof not just THAT they’re abusive liars, but also HOW.

This is what Zena is like with power.

This is a ways off. Still lots to do. But I just want everyone to finally know why I’m still in this.

I know what Poppy and Zena are. Intimately. Not because I’m a “stalker.” Because I’ve had people come to me about how PZ hurt them. 20+ of them with claims from the past year.

I can’t share all of their claims because they only have so much proof. But I believe victims. And this? This I can prove, extensively.

This is why it’s funny when people accuse me of clout-chasing: I have no online brand to care about, and if I did, this would be insane.

People have asked me what the end goal is.

My goal is COMPLETE deplatforming.

For nobody in this community to trust them with their mental health ever again.

They are justifying their abuse with therapy speak and TEACHING THEIR FANS TO DO THE SAME.

They’re dangerous.

Oh, and Zena! Zena! Yeah, right here. I know you were really sad about being left out of the abuse allegations, but trust me, there will be #noZZerasure on this one. You’re a solid 80% of this one, sweetie! How’s that monkey’s paw working out for you?

And in closing, I’m just going to give myself this one additional… treat.

If you’ve been following for a while, you know this reference.

But this one’s for the abuse mob:

You still don’t take us seriously, do you?

Or rather…

Are you taking me seriously yet?

Because you will. I promise you, you fucking will. Because you’re about to understand that this has never been for me. It’s never been about me.

It’s about making sure you two have as few avenues as possible to prey on this community ever again.

See you in school.

#zenaandpoppy #poppy and zena #I told you I was being nice #nozzerasure #“you have no idea what you're actually getting into” right zena

[robintherobiner]

Thoughts, explanations, and all that shit i had while writing my latest oneshot

Stand up comedians do NOT make good kidnappers - Robin_The_Robiner - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

SO first up the name. Where did it come from? God knows. I started this fic like ages ago, wrote Steph's first section, and then promptly forgot about it for three months only to come back and scribble the rest out. I dont remember how i came up with the name, but i still think its hilarious so,,

Who is Cassowary? This universes Robin, duh! Since Damian was the first, i thought he'd go for a more intimidating bird. These birds have really sharp claws, and leave wounds similar to those of a blade. Huh. Who do we know who is really good with a sword? Exactly 😎

Writing Steph was hard because I don't know her very well, so I may have projected onto her a little bit (hence the excessive death jokes 😅). I hope it came across that Steph is a detective, like Bruce, but that she's doesn't lazer-focus on that stuff like him. Thats why she focuses on describing Junior at first, not the room she's in or the fact she's chained up. She knows these things, but she only brings them up when relevant. What good is wallowing over being chained up when you could be making fun of your kidnapper, huh?

I'm a bit worried that i didn't make it obvious enough that there is time between Steph's and Bruce's sections. Thats why when we finish Steph's third bit, she's shitting on Junior for dressing like the Joker, but then in the final bit, she's aware that it's Tim. The parts aren't happening at the same time, or right after the other. I hope that was obvious, but im not sure.

BRUCE'S BIT!!! I saw a post once saying that Bruce separates his personas very hard, and i really liked that. When he's talking about Batman, it's only referred to as Batman. When he's having more emotional thoughts, it's Bruce. And, of course, when he's dealing with Crystal (who i don't know very well so probably wasn't well written MY BAD YALL), he's Brucie. The guilt is in all of them, though. Fun stuff!

A big part of Stephanie and Bruce's relationship in canon is, from what i can tell, tense because of the way he treated her when he first met her. BUT in this fic, it's a bit lessened because Steph chalks his shittyness to the fact that he recently lost a son. Also, i think in canon a big part of why Bruce refused to get close to Steph was because of how she reminded him of Jason, which obviously isn't a problem in this universe. Bruce and Steph are still tense, but this time she has the eldest kid on her side pretty easily, cuz Damian feels guilt over Tim LOL

The death!! It's not overly explained, but I do have Tim's death all planned out and shit. It's a mix of the Joker Junior scene from Batman Beyond : Return of The Joker, and then also a little bit of canon. Instead of Bruce being out of Gotham, like in the film, it's that they have an argument. Similar to Jason and Garzonas situation, in how Bruce is angry at the thought of his partner killing, but more so using the Boomerang arc from canon (Tim wanting to kill his Dad's murderer)

Junior's mental state is wild. I'm not writing him with any particular mental illness, mostly because I'm not at all knowledgeable enough to portray something correctly. Instead I'm basing him off of Joker Junior's intro scene, and also me during some of my darkest moments! It's not Pit Rage (i don't lie how much the fandom pushes that onto Jason, similar to the Tim-Doesn't-Sleep idea in which it wasn't canon but then it got popular and was made so, i think) and instead just a extremely traumatised 17 year old!

The teaparty scene was put in there because I wanted Tim to have a hobby that he could share with his mom (because god knows everyone hates Janet because they mess up her character and only look at fanon) and that also can be used to show his mental state. Hence, collecting figurines, and playing with them! Yippee! Thanks to my pal Leo over on discord for suggesting this hobby!! (it was originally stuffed animals but I thought Batburger toys would work better)

Damian and Duke both were the first kids, instead of Dick and Barbara. Instead of Batgirl, we have Batkid, and then instead of Oracle, we have Signal. Damian is Shrike, because that is the most common hero name I see for him and I couldn't think of another. I may go back and change it to Nightwing, because I like the meaning of the name, but it would come from Superboy (Jon) instead of Superman in this universe, so maybe it comes later on? Not sure. need to think on that!!

Drake Manor was, in canon, only bought after Jack woke up from the coma. But, i decided to take the fandom route in which the Drakes always lived there, simply because timeline wise it works better for me. Also in canon, Jack doesn't need the wheelchair by the end, but for my fic, he's not out of the coma long enough for that. I also added a fun basement which defo doesn't exist in canon, so just turn a blind eye to that!

If you saw the original post, you'd know that Bruce was supposed to find Steph through a series of taunting clues. I changed my mind though, because I'm not good at clues, mysteries, or cases. So, a gift with the address is sort of dissapointing, but who cares?

Steph's feelings about Tim are sort of iffy. A really popular headcanon is that Jason was Tim's robin, and thats not true. I'm pretty sure Tim just,, didn't care about Jason? Idk exactly how he felt, but whatever. Steph doesn't hate Tim, in this fic, she just sort of hates how he was as Cassowary. Bruce is full of guilt and won't say a bad word about him, but has plenty of criticism for Steph, which leads to a sort of resentment. He was Cassowary though, so there is also some adoration in her heart. Basically, she switches how she feels about him depending on the situation.

Jack and Robin. In this universe, Jack doesn't know Tim is a superhero. Tim does still take a break, but it's to spend time with his dad after he awakens, not because he's threatened. Dana also (unfortunately) isn't around in this fic, so Jack has more time to spend with Tim. It's sort of a win-lose situation though. More time with Tim so they get closer, but without Dana to calm him, Jack's little bouts of fury are stronger (remember how he fucking ripped out a TV??) so their relationship is more strained, which is why Tim does go back to being Cassowary, just for a bit, before his dad dies.

Hints are sprinkled in Steph's bits that tell on Tim's identity. Not many, because I'm really bad at hints and subtlety, but there are a few. Mentions of shock burns (the electrocution duh), Zesti instead of tea (which is Tim's canon favourite drink, not coffee!!), and his wish that Steph stops being a hero.

Tims motivations are a reverse of Jasons canon ones. Jason forgives Bruce for not saving him, but is mad he wasn't avenged. Tim forgives Bruce for not avenging him, but is mad he wasn't saved. Aint that fun? Thats why instead of beating her up, Tim kidnaps Steph for three days to resemble the three weeks he was held captive before he died. Yippee, allegories! (i think that word isn't right, but i can't think of the right one??!! english is HARD)

WOW i had a lot of thoughts and explanations and shit for that oneshot, huh? 🤭

#reverse robins au #reverse robins #cassowary #stephanie brown #tim drake #bruce wayne #jack drake #joker junior #thought process #how do i tag this #RAMBLES!! THOUGHTS!! AAAAH!! #dc universe #batman comics #batman fanfiction #batfamily fanfic

[straw-beret]

what's up with the pacman machine in the link click opening?

well friends, I'm about to cobble together some information that is so irrelevant to the main plot!!

(also: i came up with this theory prior to episode 11 coming out, but when it did, it only really solidified it for me).

more under the cut :) and spoilers for the most recent episode of link click (episode 11 season 2)

if you know me from my most recent link click post, you'll know i am unnaturally obsessed with the claw machines of the season 2 opening.

But wait, what's that third machine in the middle? The yellow-ish one that's sort of dimly lit?

it's a fucking pacman arcade machine.

a pacman arcade machine that doesn't appear in the show itself.

being me, i had to go on the most unnecessary deep dive into what the hell the relevancy of this pacman machine could be. it's jammed between two of the claw machines in the intro but mysteriously absent in the episode itself. and while i don't have an explanation for THAT (if anyone has an idea, pls lmk!!), i do have some info on the game.

when you start up a game of pacman, this is the general visual you're going to get:

In my opinion, the most important thing to note is the colours of the ghosts. Notice we've got three in that box: blue, pink, and orange. And outside we have red. Do these colours happen to remind you of anything— or rather, anyone?

that's right. the link clickers are the ghosts in Pacman.

All jokes aside, I do think there's at least a bit of merit in this observation. Because red— i.e. qiao ling, is isolated from the power users.

(pink could be either of the Li twins, for convenience's sake i'm just going to assume it's Tianxi for one bit of speculation i'll explain later).

Why isolate one of the three original mains from the other two, and instead have a new character take her place?

Because, as I speculated before in my claw machine theory, qiao ling is not safe!!! in both the claw machines and Pacman, the symbol/motif associated with Qiao Ling has been positioned on the outside of the box.

Now, a character being in the box doesn't guarantee safety, you'll know this especially if you've seen the most recent ep (s2e11) and the trailer for ep12. However, it does provide something of a line of defence— i.e. the box is sort of a symbol for the fact that CXS, LG and LTX are power users.

Qiao Ling was the very first person to get possessed by red eyes, she is the most 'vulnerable' of the OG 3 in that sense. aside from her martial arts realness, she can't defend herself on a supernatural level. she no way of teleporting out of a fight like CXS or seeing into the future to predict her opponent's moves like LG could.

qiao ling, as a normie, is isolated from the power users and thus more at risk to being harmed by the enemy. For the ghosts, it's Pacman, and for the link clickers, it's this motherfucker:

crustlord of the century Qian Jin.

I think pacman is supposed to symbolise him on account of 1. the yellow eyes and 2. the fact that he's out to get basically every single one of the ghosts:

QL

CXS

LG

LTX

Hence why this theory works a lot better with LTX as the pink ghost instead of LTC— Tianxi betrayed QJ, and the one thing he hates most is betrayal.

I feel as though the AI patterns of the Pacman ghosts sort of align with this too:

"Each of the four ghosts has their own unique artificial intelligence (A.I.), or "personality": Blinky (Red) gives direct chase to Pac-Man; Pinky (pink) and Inky (blue) try to position themselves in front of Pac-Man, usually by cornering him; and Clyde (orange) will switch between chasing Pac-Man and fleeing from him"

"Each ghost's name gives a hint to its strategy for tracking down Pac-Man: Blinky always chases Pac-Man, Pinky tries to get ahead of him, Inky uses a more complicated strategy to zero in on him, and Clyde alternates between chasing him and running away."

^^ those two quotes are from the Pacman wikipedia page, a robust source indeed. in the first quote I put the colours of the ghosts in bold and by their proper names for reference.

If we assume Pacman is QJ and Red ghost is QL, and we remember how she bitch slapped QJ in episode 3 season 2:

I'd say that at the very least the AI behaviour + QL's actions are somewhat correlated. And i'd say that the AI behaviour of the other ghosts lines up with their respective characters, LG being strategic and CXS being a bit more chaotic in his approach. As for Xixi, well, we kind of haven't seen enough of her to say.

but "via," i hear you say, "Li Tianxi got fucking murk'd in episode 11, AND she's the one with red eyes! why isn't she the red ghost, and not qiao ling?"

I see you and I hear you. Both QL and LTX have associations with both red and pink, and in fact upon first coming up with this theory i thought LTX was the red ghost as well. But considering the placement of the Pacman machine (between the claw machines+around the rabbits, see my previous post for details on the stuffed rabbits and their relevancy) as well as official art and in-show costuming, I figured that it made more narrative sense (and theory sense) for QL to be the red ghost. Plus she's just more heavily associated with red than either of the Li twins, who are costumed in more light pastels

for reference, I put TC both in and out of drag above^^ and in his xixi cosplay, he wears almost entirely pink.

back to the theory. Qiao Ling's ghost is on the outside; and the stuffed rabbits that I'm almost positive symbolise her are piled on the outside of the claw machines. Surely this isn't a coincidence, right?

this all comes back to my theory that Qiao Ling, as the outsider of the group, the only one without powers, and the last to be informed of all the supernatural happenings, is going to meet a certain fate either by the end of s2 or around the start of s3. And I think the show has tried to set it up from the start.

Although Qiao Ling didn't become incredibly plot significant until I'd say about halfway through S1, we saw a few glimpses of her that were framed to highlight her vulnerability. Off the top of my head, I can definitely think of the horror-movie esque way s1e3 opened, where a strange man, later revealed to be Chen Xiao, approaches her from behind after appearing in a dark alley. Plus there is of course, her possession by LTC in s1e11. So from the get-go, she is framed as the odd one out of the main 3, and the most at risk.

then we get to the intro of s2, with the stuffed rabbits and the pacman machine, and it starts to come together, as stupid as that may sound. the writers are foreshadowing that something is gonna happen to Qiao Ling, and given the way everything connects, I'm of the opinion it could be death, or possibly grave injury.

that's all i've really got to say! curious as to what others might think of this, because it's all founded on the colours of a fckin Pacman game lol.

_

having seen the e12 trailer for s2 and qiao ling looking like she was gaining a power, I wonder how the finale is going to play out and if it will fit with the visuals and symbolism in the intro. oh well, we'll see!

also good LORD these posts take a long time to make!! let me know what you think, and also if you've got any clue as to why the Pacman machine appears in the intro but not the episode. Maybe IP reasons, although i don't see why they'd end up including it at all in the intro if copyright or IP was a concern. anyways, that's all!

#link click #shiguang dailiren #shiguang daili ren #link click season 2 #link click theory #link click s2 #qiao ling #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #时光代理人 #link click spoilers #sgdlr spoilers #theory #speculation

[teeth--thief]

I would be interested in so called “hater diaries”.

- Rodka

[Referencing this post] Of course you would, you absolute angel... Imma tag you now that you have a blog @atomshchik ☆

The channel I was talking about is Chernobylite (yes, as in the Chernobylite - the game one). Listen... if anyone should be able able to criticise this guy, I think it should be me. Pole on Pole violence 👊💥👊💥

Let's get cracking... under the cut.

One thing you have to keep in mind when watching anything on the internet about Chernobyl: if they bring up HBO's show as a credible source, quote it, use mostly stills or photos of the scenery or actors instead of of the real stuff etc etc - that is a flag more red than that of the Soviet Union, okay? HBO in thumbnails? Unless it's a "this show is extremely inaccurate" kind of video, that's most likely due to a) the lack of knowledge about actual credible sources or b) need for profit (monkey sees, monkey does clicks - the show is incredibly popular, putting imagery related to it means a higher chance people will choose your video).

To keep it short and (not at all) sweet: this guy is like the evil brother of That Chernobyl Guy. This is That Bare Minimum Chernobyl Man, though. He uploads a video at least once a week and they always JUST BARELY hit the 10 minute mark. But they always do. Hm... I wonder why... I sure do wonder what the number 10 and YouTube have in common... oh. Oh yeah. It starts with MONETI and ends with SATION Need a hint? Mhm, I didn't think so. Speaking of time, the intro is usually almost 2 minutes long, the outro a minute and, there you go, suddenly there's actually even less content than expected.

He has some genuinely bad takes sometimes, too. I don't know if I'm just sensitive about Toptunov specifically (I very clearly am) or if his video on him is just especially offensive to me... and it's 12 minutes 😍😍 two more than usual! And so, I'll use this video as an example. (edit during drafting: he had just released a video on N.M. Fomin which... I'll watch once I'll have some time to waste and we'll see how bad that one is...)

>Not even 20 seconds in and he just HAD TO hit us with that ThAt Is ThE cOsT oF lIeS, of course, you know it brother 💯🔥‼️ Oh get over yourself. Find another quote. And stop putting pictures of my favourite operator next to his blonde twink counterpart from the show. I'm offended on his behalf.

>I like how he just takes random pics off of Google Images or something. The photo he uses at 2:00 is from a Reddit post on r/chernobyl, and it's a picture of a picture - didn't feel like looking for a better one, huh? Someone's a little lazy?

>The video ACTUALLY starts at 2:30. Girlllll (gn) you are so slowwwww, pick up the peace, we're all getting old waiting for you to start.

>The picture slideshow we're getting is almost never relevant to what he's saying. He's saying where Toptunov was born and all we see is the reactor after explosion. Like, okay brother, I didn't know that's how SuMY, in BuRYN, as he says, looked like then. A map from Wikipedia wasn't available? That's the best you can do? Not to mention a few of his videos literally have the same b-roll. It feels like the same video over and over again.

>He claims that "his father's connection probably were useful" when it came to him pursing a career in science... would you like to show me when exactly they could have been useful? When he was taking an entrance exam for uni just like everybody else? Or was it when he had to work his way up from the very bottom of the NPP food work chain? Unless you were a child of someone real high up and wanted to pursue a career of doing fuckall then your nepo baby status wouldn't help you all that much. Your party connections would help you move up faster, sure, but you wouldn't be able to not pass the necessary training and/or exams.

"(...) no good scientist could dream of a good job in a nuclear programme without being somewhat involved in local politics." We don't even know if Toptunov himself was in the party. We know that Akimov was quite the dedicated party man, sure. But Stolyarchuk wasn't in the party at all and Dyatlov wasn't cool with the party and the party wasn't cool with him. How many more times can I say party? Too many parties. I hate parties. He also goes on to say that, after graduation he could only get an entry level position because "He would need really good connections to acquire higher ranking job without any previous experience" I am very sorry to inform you but that's just not how real life works. Maybe if you have a good degree, you can immediately become the CEO of all the janitors in the building but that's about that when it comes to the seriousness of the job.

>Now, the part that made me audibly GASP starts at 6:30:

(...) many power plant staff were dismissed, including those from the night shift at unit 4. Including Toptunov, many were labelled non-essential personnel and sent home. That was probably a part of managing the disaster from a propaganda perspective. Fewer people on site, fewer witnesses.

This is an actually DERANGED take. This was my breaking point... like, you cannot be serious right now. Not the evil Soviet scientists and their evil propaganda...! The evil propaganda of safety...! I'm sorry to inform you but ever single person in charge there wasn't immediately thinking "By Lenin, how can we ensure these horrible bottom feeders, also known as our colleagues, we're employing at our power plant don't say a word to anyone outside?" They were most likely thinking "If this part of the personnel is literally useless, why would they stay in this potentially dangerous zone? Let's get them out - for their safety and liquidation organisation's sake."

>"As he later stated (...)" We don't know what he stated. We don't have a single word that came out of his mouth recorded anywhere. It's all they said that he said. Or the authors of books want to show how much they think they know (look no further than Medvedev's "acording to Toptunov..." yes, I'm sure you know exactly what he thought about everything. Surely. You must have spoken to him. Through a Ouija Board, clearly). We'd need the statements from the KGB and whatnot to actually determine what any of them said or thought.

>"(...) During that time when he felt better, he had spoken multiple times to both Akimov and Dyatlov (...)" Acording to some book, I'm sorry, I don't remember which one, he was one of the few people that actually didn't get up from his bed to participate in the discussions, probably because his legs were already in a bad shape. Take this with a grain of salt, though. Nobody explicitly said he NEVER hang out with anyone at the hospital. It's just that worth noting that there's a possibility he at least didn't do that as much as the rest of the guys.

Overall grade: read a book. Change the boring ass b-roll shots. Change the stock sounding "creepy" music. Put some effort into everything. Stop relying on HBO's Chernobyl.

Conclusion: you'll never be That Chernobyl Guy xoxo That Chernobyl Guy for the president

#half baked commentary for a half baked video - it's only fair #file: special interest: chernobyl #chernobyl #file: misc hunter #file: ask! #asker: @atomshchik

[foxofninetales]

Liu Sang: the unchanging character

It’s been a while since I screamed about my blorbo, but I have been Having Thoughts lately about Liu Sang.  Specifically about how one of the things I love best about his character arc over the course of Reunion is that Liu Sang doesn’t change; what changes is his and others’ perception of who he is.  

I know I’ve said this before, but Liu Sang’s character introduction is an absolute masterclass in communicating SO MUCH INFORMATION about a new character in such a very short amount of time. In the course of less than 5 minutes, we learn that Liu Sang:

Is pretty (oh come on, like I wasn’t gonna lead with that)

Has a difficult reputation

Has a superpower

Is vulnerable/whumpable

Shows different private and professional faces

Will choose to intervene to save others

Will do so with no regard to his own safety

Is a bitch

Knows all the bad things that are said about him and chooses to lean into them

Has hints of a dark backstory

Has obsessive hero-worship tendencies

Did we mention Is a bitch?

Is very confident of his skills

Demands respect

Like, the only thing that could make this intro better would be if he got naked.

Oh, wait.

So, what makes that character introduction so relevant to my word-barf today?  It tells us exactly who Liu Sang is.  Everything that makes him up is laid out for the viewer in the first five minutes, but only for the viewer.  It rapidly becomes clear that the characters in the story – including Liu Sang himself – have a very one-sided view of him.  And we maintain that one-sided POV throughout what immediately follows; we see him being hyper-competent, we get further glimpses of his backstory, but he's also fan-creepy to Zhang QIling, a total jerk to Wu Xie about his illness, and revenge-pranks Pangzi in a way that nearly leads to his and Wu Xie’s death.

And what is so pleasing about Liu Sang’s story is that the tipping-point in this unreliable internal narrative occurs without any change from Liu Sang, before there is any change in perceptions.  It occurs when Wu Xie dives back down to save Liu Sang.

Up to this point, despite what we as viewers know, for the other characters – and honestly for himself - Liu Sang has been a jerk.  A competent jerk, but absolutely a jerk, and one whose actions nearly had deadly consequences.  And that is who Wu Xie saves.  Wu Xie – the boy who lost his innocence, the man who destroyed himself to tear down the Jiumen and the Wang and who has just learned how total that self-destruction will be, the man who has spent his life being betrayed and saved in equal measure – Wu Xie looks at this person who has been at best unkind to him and at worst tried to kill him and says, You’re a jerk, but you are still worth saving.

And then, over the course of the rest of the series, it is revealed to the other characters – and, importantly, to Liu Sang himself first – just how right Wu Xie was.  In the end, by saving Liu Sang, Wu Xie saved himself, saved the world - but he saved him first without knowing any of that. And though Liu Sang’s nobler qualities shine more and more as the story progresses, Wu Xie chose to save him before he ever saw them.

And that’s what I love about Liu Sang’s journey.  He doesn’t change. In the end, Liu Sang is still a bitch – but he’s also still a man who will do everything he can to save people who don’t deserve their fate.  He’s someone who knows the value of his skills and will force you to respect him for that - but he’s also someone who is kind to people with less power than himself.  Everything that makes Liu Sang Liu Sang was there from the very start.  The change is that now everyone can see it.

Even Liu Sang himself.  

#dmbj #the lost tomb reboot #liu sang #it's sobbing about blorbos day in these parts

[fandomgremlinlover]

My opinions on the ATLA Live action series (just from the first episode):

….I fucking hate it.

No, the visuals are not the problem. And no, the cast is not the problem. It’s the fucking dialogue and delivery. As well at the changes they’ve made.

I can tell you right now, as a hard core atla fan, LA katara is not the katara I know. Why the FUCK is this girl not RAGEFUL AND SASSY!!! There is literally nothing to work with, her personality is dry, and her dialogue and delivery is so fucking blaaaannnd. It literally makes me want gouge my eyeballs out. My girl has been RUINED!!! THIS IS MUTINY!?!? Not only that, but aang’s lines and dialogue make me want to cringe and cry and throw up. His delivery is NOT done well (I blame the fuckin directors for this) and his lines make absolutely NOOOO sense for his character. Wheres the goofy little boy I know!?! Wheres the kid who RAN AWAY bc he was scared to be the Avatar!?! WHERES AANG!?!?

His reactions to his people being dead and gone are NOT it👁️👄👁️ also that reaction for Gyasto came out of fucking nowhere. He ALREADY knew about his peoples death, and how the fire nation had something to do with it!? He literally went from, “IM GONNA FUCKING KILL EVERYONE WITH MY AVATAR POWERS!!” to literally, “sorry guys,😢😢 I don’t know what got into me, I guess I overreacted a bit😰😔”…..NO YOU DIDNT AND WHY ARE YOU SO MATURE FOR 12 YEARS OLD!?!? ALSO WHY DID THEY CHANGE HIM FROM RUNNING AWAY!?! TO “I think I need some time to think guys😕😕😔😔” LIKE—NOOOOOOOO YOUR SUPPOSED FO FEEL AFRIAD OF BEING THE AVATAR AND BEING SENT AWAY AND YOU DONT WANT FO BE DIFFERENT AND SO YOU RUN AWAY FROM YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES BC YOUR IN DENIALLLLLLL😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Not only that, but media literacy is dead. Bc wtf do you mean you have to explain ALLLL the lore and info dump in the first episode😀 What happened to show not tell, hmm??? What happened to people having to use their fucking BRAINS to figure out themselves!?!? WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUT THE ORIGINAL INTRO INTO GRANNY’S DIALOGUE!?!?

AND WHY, do pray tell, DID YOU TELL AANG ABOUT THE GENOCIDE TO HIS PEOPLE IN THE FIRST FUCKING EPISODE!?!??! AND LITERALLY HAVE HIM REACT “man we lose people, but we gotta move forward😔” NOOOOOO WHYYY, AGAIN, DO YOU HAVE TO PUT IN BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE DIALOGUE💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

Iroh is a whole other can of worms that I will open later, but right now what you need to know is, I’m fucking pissed.

Now onto another issue, Zuko’s scar…Why the hell is it pretty-fied!?! Like, that is NOT Zuko’s fucking scar and anyone who wants to argue me about that can suck a lemon. Bc I’ve seen WAYYYY better makeup done by cheap ass makeup for cosplays. Let me say that again, COSPLAYS. Zuko’s scar is supposed to cover at LEAST half his face, and reach his ear. It’s supposed to be ugly and unsatisfying to look at. Because it’s a fucking fire burn. Also he can barely lift his fucking eyelid in the canon show, so what the fuck is that about!?! Like I don’t WANT a nice, aesthetically pleasing scar, I want an ACTUAL FUCKING BURN THAT DOESNT LOOK LIKE IT WAS DRAWN ON BY EYELINER!!!!!🤬🤬🤬

Sokka, my poor sweet funny Sokka…what have they done to you!!😭😭 They removed his most IMPORTANT character arc bc it was “iffy” and “was not relevant to the plot”…..it was fucking relevant you sick sacks of shit, he’s supposed to be iffy and then later grow threw Suki. He’s SUPPOSED TO BE SEXIST AND GROW AS A CHARACTER BC EVERYONE HAS FLAWS!?! IT WAS MEANT TO PROGRESS HIM BECOMING A BETTER LEADER AND MAKE HIM LEARN THAT UNDERESTIMATING HIS ENEMIES IS A NO GO!?!? LIKE, EVEN 9 YEAR OLD FUCKING ME SAW THAT SHIT!?!? BUT YOU CANT????? 💀

The only thing I enjoyed about this episode was the visuals, and admittedly, the air temple battle scene. It got to me, and it goes to show that the fire benders were brutal when they committed a genocide against the Air nomads. That was it….i…I don’t know how I sat through the rest of the episode….bc it makes me SOO angry. Like, as soon as the ending credits came, I started sobbing. They had the ability and the tools to make a great live action of ATLA, but they blew it. Because this show isn’t for the fans or for anyone who likes to sit down and discuss the meanings and implications of each scene and its significance for the show. No, this show is for people who only want noise in the background. I don’t care for it, and I’m not happy with what they’ve done. When I heard the original creators stepped away from it bc they were promised this show would be exactly like the original series, but instead they chose what they wanted to do and change. I knew we were doomed. I understand there are people who live the live action, and I understand. But I simply cannot tolerate the show when I know they could do better. I hate to compare shows and medias, but One Piece set my expectations really high. Bc the creator had full control or say over any and every decision that was made in the LA. The Live action ATLA disappointed me and I’m very sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy it. But I had a hunch, and for me, I was right.

#atla #atla live action #atla netflix #atla rant #live action atla #opinion #rant/vent

[manonamora-if]

Retrospective 2023 (3)

Haven't looked at numbers in a minute, and since my presence online has been super inconsistent (especially here) recently, I have no idea how this will end up looking. I've updated this sheet a couple of time during the year, but not in a way it tracks old numbers... Because Tumblr has a limit of 20 images per post, I won't include the graphs here, like I did last year, but in this doc (for those interested). Also, I realised I didn't even do celebration posts for milestones this year... And there were quite a few ;-; sorry

For the relevant projects, I've also included a more detailed recap of what's been done this year. All of it is under the cut.

The projects are ordered in date of release.

Forewarning, those stats are not a good representation of IF/Tumblr popularity. The numbers should not be taken as a baseline for comparison. There are many different factors that resulted in those, most of them being out of everyone’s control. I am only comparing myself to Past-Me.

2021 Releases

Status: Complete.

No major updates, since the game is complete. Only some maintenance fixes. The source code of older versions is also available on my GitHub.

Stats:

5.475 total plays (+1.7k-ish)

30 ratings (+5), with an average of 4.4/5 (+0.1)

Inside 316 collections (+108)

Almost 2.3 views/play (+0.1)

Unsurprisingly, the interest for MtP is going down. The game is complete, has not and will not have new updates. It would surprise me if it would gain any traction at this point. I expect the additional plays not to pass 600 by the end of 2024.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

30 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

I wanted to have an update for this project in 2023. It didn't happen. There is actually quite a bit of work to do in the code, which I had started but didn't complete.

Stats:

40.326 total plays (+12k-ish)

97 (+28), with an average of 4.6/5 (-0.1)

Inside 2.679 collections (+913)

About 2.0 view/play (+0.1)

For a year without any update, I am honestly surprised so many people still played the game this year (average of 30 plays/day). I'm very grateful about it, nonetheless. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for this year!

2023 Milestones:

30k + 40k plays

75 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

This was another project I had planned to complete this year and... didn't. I managed to write a bit for the game, but nothing that would warrant an update.

Stats:

2.203 total plays (+760)

13 ratings (+2), with an average of 4.3/5 (+0.1)

Inside 126 collections (+38)

Went to 2.9 view/play (+0.2)

There were a few jumps in interest in Exquisite Cadaver this year, especially considering there were, once again, no updates (especially at the start of April). But nothing very substantial... I'm honestly pretty happy peeps still enjoy the game, because the whole thing is a bit strange xD

2023 Milestones:

2k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

2022 Releases

Status: Completed

Absolutely nothing has been happening with this game, not even a bug fix or anything. When I get back to this project, it will be for a complete re-haul. Which won't happen in a long while.

Stats:

3.205 total plays (+790-ish)

19 ratings (+4), with an average of 4.3/5 (=)

Inside 293 collections (+90)

About to 2.2 view/play (+0.1)

2023 Milestones:

3k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed

There was a plan to fix the issues in the game AND add new content. But, if you've followed me this year, you've seen... nothing happened! Honestly, a whole re-code of the game is needed at this point.

Stats:

1.458 total plays (+785)

16 ratings (+6), with an average of 4.5/5 (+0.3)

Inside 103 collections (+59)

About 2.1 view/play (=)

The lack of blowing up stands on two things: the game is not that good... and I don't really have an intro post peeps can share...

2023 Milestones:

1k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

Out of all the WIPs I have, this one got the most progress. It got two major updates during the first half of the year (one of which included a maze!). The second had been spent working especially on Chapter 5 (it's a chunker) and starting Chapter 6 (for MelS). We are trying to wrap up the project for 2024.

Stats:

9.379 total plays (+6.4k-ish) (so close…)

56 (+28) ratings, with an average of 4.8/5 (=)

Inside 783 collections (+444)

About 1.9 view/play (+0.1)

A pretty decent growth for the game, though it is not always consistent. Most interest in the project happens during updates (duh), with some dozen returning players weekly. I don't think it will ever reach the level of CRWL, but it is doing pretty well considering the genre.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

50 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed(-ish)

Until the first anniversary of this project (coinciding with the EctoComp once more) this game was in French only. Since last October, it was re-written to include more rooms inside the house, and a proper ending beat. It was then translated into English, and the whole thing was recoded. There are still a few kinks I need to handle, but it is essentially complete.

Stats:

252 total plays (+181)

1 rating with 5 stars (=)

Inside 13 collections (+7)

About 4.9 view/play (-0.7)

Unsurprisingly, there was little to no interest in the game. The page was visited a bunch of times, but few people clicked (probably because it was in French. Since the translation, more users have checked out the game and played it. I don't really expect much more interest from players, unfortunately...

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW Oh... it doesn't have a page... omg.. stpid me.

Status: Completed

This year, the game was re-edited, translated to French, and recoded - a proper remaster including sound! And another game I can call complete and shelved!

Stats:

605 total plays (+270-ish)

10 ratings (+3), with an average of 4.8/5 (+0.1)

Inside 31 collections (+17)

About 3.2 view/play (+0.1)

I am not shocked to see this, honestly. It's a short meme game around a gimmick mechanic that gets old pretty quickly. Still, some interest made in late last June (somehow???) and when I published the remaster in autumn.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays

10 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

At the start of the year, I updated this game to add a tiny bit of content (a few passages) and ensured it could be played on mobile. And published a template from this UI.

There was more content written for the game, as well as mechanics coded, but nothing is coherent enough (or devoid of bugs) to be playable.

Stats:

500 total plays (+333 !!!)

4 ratings (+4), with an average of 5.0

Inside 39 collections (+28)

About 3.0 view/play (+0.5)

Combined a tiny demo with a pre-set character, a not super popular genre, not much to do or little replayability... and you get this. I'll just check back when the game is actually complete :P Honestly, I'm just glad some peeps caught the inspiration for P-RIX.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays !!!!

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW (oh and it has both an intro post and an IFDB page now!)

2023 Releases

Now that we are going into the new releases, there is less comparing, and more putting down the base.

Status: Completed

Biggest high of this year! Released the game in January, won the comp in March, was interviewed shortly after, remastered the whole thing during the summer break (which included a total re-haul of the UI, an English translation, and increased content). Hands down my best game of the year.

Stats

967 total plays

7 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 68 collections

About 3.1 view/play

Lots of views on the game page without plays for the longest time, because, up until the remaster, the game was only available in French. Things picked up then the remaster was uploaded (though it coincided with the IFComp). The game is also not available for mobile play due to its interface...

2023 Milestones:

Won the French Comp!

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

The first Act of the story was created for the SeedComp! (which didn't win anything because I organised it, and it would have been unfair :P ). There was a plan to complete the game after the SeedComp! was over, but that didn't pan out. I have notes for it, though a re-write of Act 1 may be necessary...

Stats:

633 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 3.6

Inside 46 collections

About 2.6 view/plays

While bummed by the average, Not surprised. The game is incomplete and plays on the noir codes, which are... something (also the twist is silly). I'll pay a bit more attention to it when the game is actually complete :P Also... It never got an intro post....

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete

Released for the SpringThing in the Main Garden, this game was supposed to be updated by the end of last year and... it ended up needed a lot more work than expected. I am still working on it. This was my attempt in experimenting with Twine, creating a parser with a non-parser program. It... didn't work all that well as a conventional parser, but it worked pretty well for other peeps.

Stats:

650 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 56 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

Honestly, not bad considering this is a weird parser, that worked eh and still has some issues. I won't ever expect it to blow up, honestly, but it's nice to see a play or two popup on my screen sometimes.

2023 Milestones

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete-ish

Created for a French Jam where I could not choose the program, the game was then upgraded and translated into English for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam a few weeks later. It was my first proper parser game (and made with Adventuron). I still need to fix some issues and typos with the English version, and retranslate back into French...

Stats: The game has currently two pages: French and English

160 (58+88) total plays

4 ratings, with an average of 5.0 and 4.0

Inside 4 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

No surprise here. Parsers are not popular on itch. (I should maybe add it to the textadventure.co.uk website....)

PLAY FR - EN | INTRO POST | RATE FR - EN | REVIEW

Assets and Other Tiny Games

Loads happened with this sections this year, with the addition of 5 new templates, and a whole Guide for SugarCube.

In January, the Setting Template was added - with the Space-Tech UI one following at the end of March, the VN-lite UI one in July, the Character Creator in November, and the Title Page UI in December.

The Guide was released in two periods, with a pre-release before the summer, and a complete one mid-december (which included a download point).

As of last month, all templates are also available on Github, and the Guides are all "playable" on itch.

CScript to SugarCube Guide/Folder

105 downloads (114 plays)

4 rating at 5 stars

Inside 36 collections

Get it here.

Tweego Ready to Use Guide

425 downloads (51 plays)

1 rating at 5 stars

Inside 6 collections

Get it here

Note: this guide got its own page in November of this year, despite being available since 2022

SugarCube Guide

1.300 "plays" (76 download)

11 ratings at 5 stars

Inside 102 collections

Get it here

Templates

2105 downloads

25 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 274 collections

Get them here

After the release of Le Jeu de la Dévotion in late December 2022, I've been participating in other game jams with tiny entries. While one did get a bit more interaction than even my larger piece (Collision, wtf), little really happened to warrant a proper section (they are really tiny!).

And so these were released:

April 2023: À la Campagne [English]

June 2023: Clarence Street, 14, Collision, Intersigne [English + French]

Aug 2023: Le Diner [English]

Oct 2023: In the Blink of an Eye [English + French]

Nov 2023: Tower of Sleep [English] <- BINKSI :D

Dec 2023: Dévoiement [French]

2023 Overall Graph

Ok I lied, one graph:

Compared to last year, the graph is less very high peaks and very low down time (with a slow increase), but a more consistent base (higher than last year) with some moderate peaks for releases (namely Harcourt's and DOL-OS). The downloads have boomed, but that's because of the templates...

The increase of overall small releases (with jam/comp entries) probably helped in this staying a bit consistent (though I could do a better job at hyping up releases before and after they happen here and in other places). It would probably have looked much different if my release focus was somewhere else (like CRWL).

And that's it for stats (I'm skipping the follower/note counts)! The 2024-plan is next!

#manonamora #retrospective #2023 #year in review #games #indie dev #assets #twine #interactive fiction #interactive games #I can't tag all the projects anymore #because Tumblr has a limit of 20... #milestones #stats

[djeterg19]

I'm back and reading chapter 9 of the Sign book. Much more focus on the investigation this chapter.

We start with Tharn making breakfast. Same as the show but he's alone eating a fried egg, hotdog, and toast. He is not a very good cook so he sticks with simple foods. He gets a text from P'Mhor which is the doctor(I'm far too proud that I realized Prem was using this for Ten in Cooking Crush today) asking to meet for lunch but Tharn tells him he'll probably be busy with the case. Chalotorn insists on taking him out to celebrate if he does have time later. This makes Tharn smile because he likes free food.

The DSI dress code is a black or dark suit with white shirt and...yeah I wish we got that in the show. Billy and Babe would look so good in suits. Or that may just me having a thing for men in suits. Tharn thinks he's 5 minutes early but everyone is already there when he gets to the meeting room and the captain tells him he's late.

There are a bunch of different forensic officers in the room being introduced. The head of forensic medicine went to high school with the captain. They have several different teams but they are missing toxicology as they won't be joining for several days. After all the intros, Tharn noticed a forensic scientist standing by himself so Tharn introduced himself. The man says his name is Vito and they are called back to their separate teams.

As Tharn heads back, he suddenly feels an icy cold sensation at the base of his neck causing his hair to stand on end and makes him feel like he's being touched. Phaya notices and tries to get him to move back to the conference room but Tharn can hear something. A whisper or buzzing that he shouldn't be able to hear but does. Something no one should be able to hear but somehow Tharn is able to.

Tharn is finally snapped out of his daze by the captain who is very unhappy with him. He goes to sit but she makes him come over to her instead. She smacks him with a folder and says he embarrassed her and that he's acting like he's not ready to work. He apologizes and she tells him to go back to his seat. Phaya asks if he's ok and he nods.

They divvy up the work of who is going to interview all of the victims of the murdered men. They have a tablet thing with all of the relevant info for each victim. They call them Kinds because they are like modified Kindles. Everyone leaves and Tharn thinks Yai follows to check that he's ok but no he lectures him about being late and tells Phaya to take care of him.

Tharn hears the voice again but this time he can make out what's being said: help him. Please help him. And Phaya is thinking of his dream the night before.

They get to their victims house and she is less than cooperative. She doesn't want to answer their questions as it brings up too many bad memories of the past. She has a daughter from the assault. They ask to speak with the daughter but she starts yelling at them and slams the door in their faces. So they go visit the daughter at school instead. She also doesn't want to talk but something about her makes Tharn suspicious that she's hiding something. Phaya agrees but they don't have enough to do more now.

They get back to the office and report everything to Singh and Thongthai. Yai brought in one of the victims he talked to because they were acting suspicious. As they are all discussing things, the captain brings in a woman draped in a red dress. It's a woman from one of the photos in Phaya's wallet. Phaya is not thrilled to see her and asks for Tharn's help.

They go into the visitor room and the woman bumps Tharn out of the way to get to Phaya. She wants to have lunch with Phaya but Phaya puts his arm around Tharn's shoulder and winks at him. The woman starts whining and begging. Phaya insists he can't go to lunch with her and that she promised she would stop bothering him after they broke up. Some grossness about how they had sex when he was drugged and of course he couldn't resist a woman that served herself up when under the influence.

Phaya and Tharn go out to lunch and Tharn calls Phaya daddy again. Anyways Tharn can't undo his seatbelt so Phaya has to help him. Phaya realizes how much Tharn looks like Vanvisa close up. He puts his hands on Tharn's cheeks and then under his chin saying. Tharn asks what the hell he's doing and Phaya says that he looks so much like her. Tharn asks like who but they are of course interrupted by Chalotorn. He asks if they are ok because they stayed in the car for so long. They say no they were just talking. Chalotorn takes Tharn's hand and Phaya watches as they walk into the restaurant. Phaya wonders why the doctor doesn't like him.

#the sign the series #the sign book #the sign book spoilers