#obligatory this is based on my experience and the experiences of others that i've seen on my dash ; your mileage will vary.

[knghtlock]

but also to be. un-silly for a second. the whole "canons are better than ocs discourse" has always existed in some shape or form for the past... twelve years i've been on tumblr? and we do this every three months, where people reblog posts that are supportive of ocs after oc writers are like "hey this thing is happening again, people are being dicks to ocs AGAIN" only for the cycle to repeat again in the next three to four months with no real change.

also, everyone always talks about people outright stating they won't interact with ocs but nobody ever talks about the smaller things in people's rules ( that also affect disabled people and people who can't always be on tumblr ) like activity requirements, limit on ooc chatter, or ic thread requirements, which you can't get when people don't write with you and when people don't write with you, you gotta let people know you aren't dead via starter calls and what-not. and then it becomes a cyclical thing where eventually, oc writers have to post headcanon after headcanon for weeks on end, write drabbles and make aesthetics, and be that first person to reach out on ims, post starter call upon starter call only to , eh, maybe write a few times a week if you're popular and a few times a month if you aren't. and that's before you factor in if your oc is marginalized, by the way. it is not a secret that disabled , queer , poc or god forbid , fem or androgynous ocs get significantly less attention than male-presenting cishet ocs, and it has been this way for longer than anyone will admit, and especially if your muse is intersectionally marginalized. kinda like real life, which i kinda come on here to escape from, dunno about you.

i don't know, man. maybe we need to all remember that people have real lives and tumblr is a collaborative hobby. maybe we need to start reaching out to each other more. i'm not saying there is no hope, but i am saying that we do need to change , lest we be doing the same shit again every three months until the oc writers leave or tumblr implodes.

also, obligatory "if you hate ocs just because they don't have the economic capital to become one of your beloved canon characters, you suck." the difference between a canon and an oc is marginal at best and because of capitalism and popularity at worst. like there are ocs on this website that i am more interested in than some canon characters & i consider to be unofficial canon to me. there are some people who have taken a neglected canon character or a shittily-written canon and turned them into their own oc that i like INFINITELY more than the canon version! imagine not experiencing that kinda love and joy for a friend's creation. wack as hell.

as for... action steps ? i dunno man. follow an oc. like one of their starter calls. ask them about their character. if you don't get something about their backstory, just ask. start a thread with an oc and keep it going. write a starter call for an oc, or send THEM memes! if you're an oc writer, you can write with your FELLOW ocs ! do unto ocs what you would like done unto you.

#ooc.exe #idk man take this as you will #shelly ramble moment Real. #this isn't the most important thing happening right now ( duh ) but it's still.. semi-important you know? #mark my words i'll be reblogging this in three months time like 'don't make me tap the sign' #cmon folks we Can do it. we Can change! #i Believe in us! #obligatory this is based on my experience and the experiences of others that i've seen on my dash ; your mileage will vary. #also other ocs. yeah you . oc writer who doesn't write often because people are dicks. cmere. we gotta start writing with each other too. #gimmie your blorbos IMMEDIATELY.

[cleric4vampire]

hi hello appearing unhinged in your ask box again on main like a young, wide-eyed and willing to learn page asking questions of their philosopher master:

where do you think all the companions align on a submissive/dominant scale (esp with your characters)?

i trust your judgment WITH MY LIFe

LMAOOO you put me on the spot with this one and I love you for it

the way I had to pull out pen and paper just to get my thoughts in order 💀

SO obligatory preface — the only romance I've completed is spawn!Astarion's, so I'm sure my headcanons will change in the future when I've played through the others and don't have to only base my opinion on the snippets I've seen, how their platonic relationships are, their personalities, etc.

overly long explanations continued under cut; nsfw obviously (plus cw for brief discussions of trauma and also story spoilers)

Companions:

Astarion: I personally believe Astarion is a dom, judging by his personality, his history, and his behavior in his romance scenes. I think even without his experience as a vampire spawn, he'd still employ the dominant role; however, after the 200 years of trauma he's suffered, the need for it increases a hundredfold. I don't think he had the freedom to choose pre-tadpole. Astarion did whatever he had to do to ensure he had a victim to take back to Cazador, which is heartbreaking.

Post-tadpole, I think being the one in control when seducing Tav/Durge/one of the companions helps him feel a modicum of safety in a situation that he might not necessarily put himself in if he knew he didn't have to. I absolutely think he'd eventually (like post-game) be comfortable as a switch with the right kind of emotional processing and preparation, done both on his own and as a couple. Shadowheart: Shadowheart is a tried and true switch. She says in Act 1 that she prefers casual sexual relationships over long-term ones; I think in such situations she'd probably prefer the more dominant role (the Sharran coming through). However, in the future (especially in the Selunite path), if she's with someone she loves and feels safe with, she'd enjoy letting someone else take care of her. She comes across as someone who needs the catharsis that letting go of control can bring. Gale: IMO Gale is a switch who is incredibly accommodating to the needs of his partner, so I think he can play both roles with much enjoyment and enthusiasm. He likely has more experience on the submissive side of the scale considering his one serious relationship was with a whole ass goddess, and I doubt Mystra was letting him like. lead her around on a leash or something lmfao The thing is I don't think it would take much for him to feel comfortable being the dom becauseit's clear he has a desire for power; he is resentful about what happened between him and Mystra (though he tries to hide it behind his *genuine* regret), he wants to scurry out from under the thumb of gods, and he wants to become a formidable wizard (again), if not a god himself. Gale has a darker (dark =/= bad) side that would take pleasure in being the one in control. He struggles with his self-worth; knowing that his partner trusts him in such a way would be a huge deal to him. Ultimately I think his natural inclination would be to put his partner first however; he wants to wow and worship them. Lae'zel: I see Lae'zel as a dom; she's clear and transparent and a warrior in both the battlefield and the bedroom. She knows what she wants and she will be aggressive in her taking of it. However, she doesn't want a partner that is constantly bowing their head at her; she wants an equal - someone she can trust at her back, someone she believes is powerful and formidable. That is the mark of a worthy lover to her. So perhaps she's at her happiest when there's a push-and-pull dynamic going on. I think with the right person she would totally be a worshipping sub type (cough cough Shadowheart), and also she would really enjoy being praised and worshipped in turn (she deserves some softness pls). Minthara: Skipping Minthara because I've only had her as a companion in one playthrough that is still on Act 2 😂 (I will know more about you soon my love... one day...) Wyll: I think Wyll would technically be a switch, though because he's more traditional when it comes to sexual matters (and is still young), he'd explore those roles in a much more subtle way. He needs time to figure out what he enjoys and feels comfortable with. Karlach: Karlach is a switch IMO; however, her most important goal is to have fun and feel close to her sexual partner, so whatever facilitates that is what goes. Though I do think she leans a bit more dominant. Despite her being very open with her sexuality, she probably doesn't have much in the way of sexual experience due to her youth (like Wyll) and her particular circumstances. I can't speak for her time before Avernus, but I believe at one point she says she kept everyone at a distance during her ten years in the Hells.

Though she puts up a front in the beginning of the game, I think emotional connection and intimacy is very important to her. Halsin: My headcanon is that Halsin is a switch, but he falls into the extreme of both sides; when he's subbing, he's devoting every little bit of his energy in making sure his partner is has an earth-shattering experience, with little care for his own pleasure; when he's domming, he's in full primal mode and he's going to take what he wants. 💀 (But at the end of the day, even that animalistic desire that drives him is in service to his partner; their enthusiastic consent, safety, and comfort is most important to him.)

My characters:

tav!Aune: In the beginning (pre Act 2 confession), I think her and Astarion would actually butt heads when it comes to vying for control. Aune has a similar background in regards to loss of free will, so she's also reluctant to be in the submissive role. (funnily enough I already took character building notes on this, so this following bit is from that lmao)

By the time she realizes the depth of her feelings for Astarion, all of that fighting falls away for her, and she's completely okay with placing herself in his hands. It actually ends up being very cathartic to give up control; to know she can trust him to respect her sovereignty and keep her safe. It ends up being a lesson about submission by force vs. submission by choice. It's a profound experience for her. So basically both Astarion and Aune start as doms and end up as switches, but the former still prefers the dom role more.

Idk how it worked out this way, but despite tav!Aune being the "most" polyamorous of my characters, she has the least amount of sexual interaction with the other companions adfkljfdl so the only other person I can comment on with her in particular is Shadowheart. They never sleep together but they have that homoerotic besties thing going on 😂 Hypothetically, if they were to have sex... because they're both clerics they come with the complementary worship kink lmao so I think they'd both be switches with each other and take turns being heretical 💀

durge!Aune: She is demisexual and not polyamorous. Her relationship to sex is practically non-existent post-tadpole as a result of losing her memories, as as well as the trauma of dealing with the Urge. Ironically, (and perhaps tragically), it's the Urge's influence & desire for Astarion that brings that part of herself back to life. Still, in the beginning, she actually finds it repulsive to be close to him, much less entertain the idea of sleeping with him. But eventually she does (as a spur of the moment decision) and finds that it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be. One substantial reason for that is that she feels "desire" and "hunger" when she's intimate with him for the first time; two emotions she thought exclusive to the Urge. It's a relief to her that it isn't, and she wants to chase that feeling.

When the pair go through the Act 2 night when she tries to kill him, everything changes. (This is pre-confession.) Aune's disgusted with herself for her actions and is scared it will happen again, but she also realizes that Astarion cares for her; she puts her emotional guard down at last.

Both versions of Aune had the same upbringing up until they were 12 years old, so they have a lot of the same baggage and don't like to give up power. However, weirdly enough, durge!Aune finds it easier to completely and totally release control to Astarion at this point. Exercising TOTAL control over herself is her ~thing~ due to being Durge, and yet, with him, she doesn't feel like she has to. (well she still needs to control the murderous urges but I mean everything else 😂) So, essentially, durge!Aune does not have a dominant bone in her body when it comes to Astarion lmao. She is the subbiest sub to ever live. Which is hilarious because she isn't like that with the only other people she's slept with:

Gale - They slept together once. There wasn't much of a dom/sub dynamic that night, but the actual sex was good for both of them. (The aftermath, however, was not.)

Gortash - 😏 ldfjd;lf Though Aune and Gortash fooled around a LOT much to the disappointment of the three daddies (Bhaal, Bane, and Ketheric), they only had sex a couple of times. Aune would never ever let Gortash be anything but her sub. If he gets a little feisty or bratty (in or out of the bedroom), it's because she's allowing him. 💀 In general I am a sub Gortash truther tbh but I can see him as a dom as well and understand/enjoy the appeal of that!

Lae'zel - The pair don't have a sexual relationship. However!!! Aune is very much a "Whatever I say goes, we're doing what I think is the best idea, and if anyone has any qualms about that, they can meet the end of my blade" kind of person, EXCEPT when it comes to Lae'zel. She will defer to Lae'zel in almost all matters (and it perplexes the other companions endlessly). So if they were to sleep together, Aune would be a sub with her.

Minthara - Aune doesn't have very many approval points with her yet but I totally see them with the same sort of homoeroticism between tav!Aune and Shadowheart 😂 (okay I'm now coming to the realization that even though durge!Aune is technically a dom (minus with Astarion) and prefers men/masc people (but is bi/pan!), in all the hypothetical situations with women she is always a sub. LMAO this says nothing about me at all, nope)

Lethe: Lethe is pan and polyamorous but thinks Gale is the best thing ever invented and will kiss the ground he walks on. So they have no problem whatsoever with Gale being their one and only. Like genuinely Lethe somehow simultaneously has starry-eyes and heart-eyes for the wizard. If you couldn't tell, they would absolutely default to being submissive with Gale, but in truth they are a switch so I think the pair would have fun going back and forth.

BONUS ROUND: My blue tiefling Vir (I still owe you an introduction to him!!!) who romances Lae'zel is a lot like Lethe is with Gale. He fell for Lae'zel within minutes of meeting her. Like head over heels. He will do anything to make her happy as long as it means he can metaphorically put a ring on that finger 😂 Literally the picture that just popped into mind is Vir being Lae'zel's step stool so she can reach something on a high shelf and he just has the biggest dumbest smile on his face because OF COURSE he is happy to be a piece of furniture for his heart's desire 🥰 lmaooo

Soluwae!! She's definitely a dom and that comes entirely from her role as the head of her cult. She's practically revered by the other cultists and has been trained to feel most at home in a position of leadership; taking control, being assertive, and staying calm and cool throughout it all. Giving orders comes naturally to her, and receiving them does not feel "right" in the slightest. She does not take well to being commanded. Soluwae has had a lot of sexual relationships in her years but no romantic ones; she's never fallen in love (specifically, has never allowed herself to). Of course ALL of this changes when she meets one Minthara Baenre.... 😌

#if I am the aged philosophical master in this scenario then I just turned to a puff of dust after writing this #I made it SOOOO NEEDLESSLY LONG lmfao I am so sorry #I don't even know if this is what you were looking for? my brain was just like *happy happy happy type type type* and now we're here #I actually had rearrange and rewrite some stuff because initially I focused too much on the OCs akdfjdfk I am nothing if not predictable #AGAIN there's a lot I don't know so don't take this too seriously #It might be fun to revisit this later in the year to see how my opinions might have changed #oc: aune #oc: durge!aune #oc: lethe #oc: vir #oc: soluwae #bg3

[muninnhuginn]

here we go. please ignore the quality, but these are a few of the media I highly rate that I've sorted into groups based on shared qualities with other media. the idea is along the lines of "if you like this show because of y theme, then you may also like z show which shares said theme".

a few bonus recs that I couldn't fit on this list (because I either didn't want to give stuff away or because they fit into multiple different groups at once):

Link Click (donghua) (time travel, first season much more about individual stories, second season more plot-based. Two seasons out at present.)

Spy x Family (animanga) (yes, I know everyone knows about this one already, but it's one of those shows that strikes such a good balance between the humour and the drama. and the way that the manga arcs start to increasingly weave in social commentary is so well done. Ongoing series.)

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (animanga) (full disclosure, I haven't yet completed this hence not wanting to put it down yet, but so far it's really impressed me. It's a complete series.)

Full list of media (and some more tidbits) below the cut:

Serial Experiments Lain (anime)

Complete

Really fascinating dive into the Internet, identity, and conspiracy theories. Despite being released over two decades ago, it's somehow more relevant nowadays. That said, there is an underlying thread of tension and it's hard to piece together what's happening at times. Very surreal and heavy on the unreality. So, it's probably not for everyone (and it'll be fairly obvious early either way), but if that sounds like your jam, then go for it. (EDIT: Also, I just realised that I entirely forgot that this series also belongs in the ND-coded protag circle because Lain's whole deal has a lot of overlap with schizophrenia/psychosis in general.)

Jibaku Shonen Hanako-kun (animanga)

Ongoing

The anime is an incomplete adaptation for this (though it does have Ogata Megumi) and the manga goes much further. It's a monthly release and the art is gorgeous. It's centred around a school where urban legends come to life as the supernatural. I've seen some people say it's fairly light-hearted a series before, but I can't really say I agree, especially when it comes to the later chapters. It can play into particular anime tropes at times though.

Princess Tutu (anime)

Complete.

There is also a manga, but I've heard it's pretty different and I've not tried it so can't really comment. If you like ballet and European folktales then this is the show for you. It's... probably aimed at the lowest age range of all of my recs and it does show at times, but I'd point to it as an example of how just because a show is aimed at younger ages, that doesn't mean it has to look down on you. Anyway, it's neat seeing the protagonists interact with the concept of the story they themselves are a part of.

Revolutionary Girl Utena (anime)

Complete.

The manga for this is meant to be pretty different so keeping this rec to the anime. Obligatory "look up trigger warnings" if you think you may stumble into something you can't handle, because this show sure covers a lot of fairly dark topics. Still, it's pretty surreal and at times ridiculous so it's not all dark all the time. The premise is around a girl who wants to be a prince, who participates in duels for the hand of the 'rose bride'.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica (animanga)

Complete (og series)

The manga iirc is fairly similar, but the anime is really good in its presentation so would recommend anime over manga for sure. The soundtrack and the way it's directed both elevate the story massively. Anyway, twelve episode season, with a movie afterwards you can decide whether to proceed to or not. It's about what it takes to be a magical girl, and what is taken. I imagine most people nowadays know the big twists already but in case you don't, I'll just say that the foreshadowing in it is one of my favourite things. So much rewatch value.

The Locked Tomb (book series)

Ongoing. Three books out, with fourth expected to be final.

Speaking of foreshadowing, this series has so many levels of foreshadowing going on, I think it would take many rereads to catch it all. The first book in the series is a relatively standard murder mystery, but after that, the author immediately cashes in the good will earnt to become increasingly experimental. Each book therefore is pretty different genre-wise, despite being set in the same universe and progressing the same story. Anyway, I know this one isn't for everyone, but I'd say at the very least give Gideon a shot.

Orphan Black (Canadian drama)

Complete.

This is a co-production between a US and CA company but Wikipedia classes it as Canadian so okay let's do that. Okay. Orphan Black is about discovering you may be a scientific experiment and the questions inherent in that. In this case, it's about clones. The main actor has such range and she plays half the cast and somehow makes it work. I will say it takes her a couple of episodes sometimes to get the accents right (I took psychic damage occasionally), but once she's got it down she keeps it. This one is another genre blender, with different clones progressing different subplots. One of them off doing an investigation whilst another is trying desperately to live in a soap, etc.

Severance (US drama)

Season one complete, season two ambiguously in the works.

More science experimentation. This show is based on a premise wherein people can partition off parts of their brains so that their work selves are entirely independent of their non-work selves. The two selves have no shared memories, but they are in theory the same person. It brings up a lot of questions about nature vs nuture, along with commentary on religious cults and workplace rights.

Oddtaxi (anime)

Complete.

We follow a taxi driver through his daily life, picking up passengers, dropping them off, getting accidentally (or maybe--) involved with the local gang members. It's pretty chill, but as you go on you realise just how thoroughly everyone's lives are intertwined with each other. And there's a mystery or ten to be solved. If our driver guy can be bothered. This and Reset both fit into the incredibly small niche I like to call "character-based mystery show with social commentary set in a vehicle". Very catchy.

Reset (cdrama)

Completed

Time loop scenario where a pair of strangers are caught on a bus that keeps blowing up and have to try and figure out how to escape. I feel like the pace at which the audience figures out stuff is timed really well to whenabouts the characters figure out stuff, but there's a lot of foreshadowing I didn't realise until I rewatched a few episodes. Just, really solid mystery and character drama.

March comes in like a lion (animanga)

Ongoing (manga)

Full disclosure. I have only watched the anime of this and from some of what I've heard about the later parts of the manga it's likely to stay that way, but! The parts covered by the anime are something special. I grouped together this series with Skip and Loafer and Frieren because they're very... they're all about 'moving forwards, despite'. So, at the start of this series, the mc is pretty depressed, but as it goes on you get to see him slowly unfurl out of that. You get to see him make new connections, progress with shogi (aka, what the series is ostensibly about), and just generally let himself live again. It's a very wholesome anime without letting itself forget the darker aspects of life.

Skip and Loafer (animanga)

Ongoing (manga). Season one of anime complete.

This is a definite comfort show and has one of my favourite depictions of developing friendships (I want to say something here about the intersection of platonic and romantic but I'm not sure how to put it). This show/manga follows Mitsumi as she starts at a city school after growing up in a rural village. It has her meet new obstacles and new people and shows how they all influence each other. Overall, it's a fairly gentle story, but I think it pulls off heartwarming so well because it can also do heartwrenching.

Frieren (animanga)

Ongoing.

I may regret putting an ongoing anime here before it's even finished airing (staying anime-only for now personally). So far though, this is a show about grief, and living life beyond that. It's a show that could so easily be a tragedy but chooses to venture beyond instead. It follows Frieren (an elf with a long lifespan) as she realises that she hasn't really allowed herself to know people properly and decides to fix that. It's a fairly standard fantasy setting so it's hard to describe what's so appealing about it, but it's very intentional with its parallels, with putting the words of long dead characters in the mouths of those who never knew them. Very cyclical. The first four episodes released in one go, so if you're thinking of giving it a shot, I'd watch those four before deciding whether to drop.

Stranger (kdrama)

Two seasons out. Can be taken as complete at end of either season though still open for more.

So, it's a drama about prosecutors/corruption, a lot of the standard kdrama jazz. It has one of my favourite pairs of besties though and I love how many threads are woven through all levels. It's a show that's heavily plotty (the number of times you're forced to recalculate as you get more pieces is ridiculous but in a good way), but despite that, doesn't neglect the characters.

Mob Psycho 100 (animanga)

Completed.

An OP protagonist would rather focus on his non-psychic attributes. I tend to struggle with OP protagonists sometimes, but this show/manga deals with it well, because the point isn't actually *about* Mob's powers. It's more about how his powers are linked to his emotions. There are plenty of fights (and they're all incredibly well animated), but the tension isn't usually in "who will win", and I don't mean that in a bad way at all. Anyway, the show is for the most part a comedy (it does have some off-colour jokes at times unfortunately, though they're mostly relegated to specific episodes at least), but my favourite parts are always when you get to see the other side of things. This show also has Reigen, for whatever that's worth. (I hate the fact he's so well-written. Why couldn't he just be the meme and nothing else.)

Arcane (US animated)

Season one complete. Season two in the works.

You don't need League knowledge for this despite it being based off it. This (like a few of the others actually) is a three-act structure following Vi and Jinx as they grow up in the shadows of Piltover. Visually, it's a gorgeous series, and the mix of 3d and 2d works so well. Despite being only nine episodes long, it manages to fully develop scores of characters with their own interweaving subplots, all culminating with the finale. It's another one with social commentary, in this case, it's not particularly subtle, but it doesn't actually need to be. And it does the showing not just the telling so it works in tandem.

Blue Eye Samurai (US animated)

Season one complete.

And now we reach the revenge trio of shows. I will fully admit I started this series because I saw many a pretty gifset across my dash. And the aesthetics absolutely hold up. This is an Edo-era revenge quest by a samurai who has given up on happiness. It starts fairly tropey and by-the-book, but it pulls off the execution solidly and infuses a lot of symbolism into the main trio (especially Mizu, but Akemi gets plenty as Mizu's reflection). There is a decent amount of sex and graphic violence though and, given that the show deliberately conveys various characterisation points through them, they're not really skippable. Try not to wince at the pronunciation of Japanese words either. It's old-style English anime dub level a lot of the time when it comes to names/places, despite a lot of the setting itself being relatively well-researched from what I can tell. I guess it's just a disparity between the voice actors and the writers.

Nirvana in Fire (cdrama)

Complete. There is a season two but it's a next generation deal.

Terminally ill guy returns to the capital to get justice for a betrayal before his time is up. Despite how grim that sounds, the show itself has a much nicer balance between the light-hearted and the serious. It does chuck you right into the depths from the very start (I know a lot of people refer to charts for relationships for the first few episodes until they get the hang of it), but once you start to understand, you can really get the impact. How the previous generation has echoed onto the current generation. Also, the main character is Mei Changsu, one of my favourite schemers. He knows how to troll, even (or maybe especially?) as he's plotting someone's downfall.

The Glory (kdrama)

Complete.

The mc in this show (Moon Dong-eun) was bullied at highschool, to the extent she was suicidal. The show is about her revenge on the bullies, as she sets the pieces for their own flaws to fell them. I will say for this, that the first episode is imo the darkest in tone. The later episodes do still touch on darker topics (sexual assault, suicide again), but for the most part, the first episode is the darkest to help you understand why she's willing to go to the lengths she is. And yet, despite that, a line of hope runs through the show. There's a line early on about the solidarity between victims vs the solidarity between abusers and it's a real thesis statement for the whole show.

#not gonna chuck this in tags just because I don't want to spam them and with the number of series listed here it would definitely be spam #but feel free to reblog #also ha. I didn't even have many timeloops-related media this time. #me: ah yes I will add some little facts about some of the media. #also me: ....ah. #I feel like maybe I should've included trigun given the faith in humanity theme I accidentally stumbled into but I've still only seen 98 #so maybe later idk. if I put sel though I would probably rate trigun above it (tho trigun has more 90s shonen protag moments alas)

[blueeyedrat]

Steam Next Fest, fall 2023. I had time to play a good variety of game demos, and I picked out the ones that stood out the most to me this time around. Detailed thoughts and comments under the cut.

Beacon Patrol, Sky Settlers – The obligatory tile builders. Beacon Patrol plays like a variation on Carcassone; a bit more simplistic than its board game counterpart and I'd like to see more to it, but the idea of working together in multiplayer to set a high score is intriguing. Sky Settlers hews closer to Dorfromantik and ISLANDERS, and of the many games of that sort I've tried, it seems like one of the more fully realized ones. A lot of its ideas I've seen in other games and demos, but the ways they're used here feel pretty natural and fit together well.

Eklips, RETRIS, Oxytone – Arcade puzzle games, each of them putting a spin on an existing style of game: Oxytone places tiles to connect longer and longer winding paths, RETRIS plays like a somewhat warped version of Tetris, and Eklips drops blocks to fill out rows around a central square. There are some interesting ideas in each one, and good potential for them to be fleshed out a bit more.

Plungeroo, Oberty – More puzzle games. Plungeroo is a pinball-themed game about placing tiles and bumpers to make paths for pinballs to follow, with a charming variety of puzzles themed around different pinball tables. Oberty is a minimalist puzzle revolving around patterns and symmetry, and making different patterns out of the same base components. Both seem like the sort of game I might boot up, play a few levels, then a few more, then suddenly it's a day later and I've completed the entire game and am left wanting more.

Promenade, Pecker – A pair of games drawing inspiration from 3D platformers, in opposite directions. Promenade is a 2D platformer with a charming art style, and game mechanics somewhere on the spectrum between Klonoa or Mischief Makers (where the best way to get around is to grab enemies and vault over them) and Super Mario Odyssey (where each level is its own bite-sized collect-a-thon with challenges and objectives scattered throughout). Pecker takes a cue from Odyssey in a much more direct sense, in that it takes a specific power from a specific level and expands the core idea into an entire game based around it. Seems like both games could be refined into something fun.

PixelJunk Eden 2 – A floaty, psychadelic platformer. The gameplay is simple and satisfying, but takes a back seat to the audio-visual experience, which is overflowing with style. I'm not actually familiar with the PixelJunk series; I've seen the name around here and there, but never really looked into it myself. If Eden is anything to go by, I might have to rectify that.

Sandy's Great Escape – One last puzzle game, this one more sokoban-esque. A good pixel-art style, a good variety of mechanics that ramp up in complexity at a fair pace, and an incentive for optimal puzzle-solving (which might be a curse as much as a boon; I can tell that trying to 100% complete this game and get all the coins is the sort of thing that might drive me up a wall). The crab will have his day.

Cobalt Core – A roguelite deckbuilder. Of all the games I tried out this time around, this one was the standout. I was intrigued by the pixel art and music when it was first annouced (which also brought my attention to the devs' previous title, Sunshine Heavy Industries, which shares the same style and is a puzzle game that seems very much up my alley), and the gameplay did not disappoint. It clicked with me immediately, and puzzling my way through each different encounter was very satisfying. There's a lot of potential for different decks and encounters, so there should be a lot to dive into when the game releases. I'm looking forward to it.

#cobalt core #pixeljunk eden #beacon patrol game #plungeroo game #oberty game #eklips game #bryan writes about games

[dahyeltal]

💫🕯️

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

First off, I love each and every type of comment, and I keep them in a special folder in my email! (Though I'm really bad at responding to them. T_T) I think my favorite kinds of comments are ones where folks bring up specific quotes or scenes that they particularly love, especially when you can tell that they've been building their comment as they read. It is so fun to watch the roller coaster of emotions from folks who comment as they go. But again, all comments are appreciated!!

As for feedback, my favorite feedback tells me ways I can improve in the future. Feedback which helps me grow as a writer rather than leaving me stressed about the fic I just posted. "I don't like the pacing of this fic" is not good feedback, but changing it to "(Compliment)! If you write something like this again, I would love to see more content in (parts that are lacking) so that (reason)!" gives me something to improve on in the future. Heck even an "I would love to know more about what happened during (lacking section) if you ever feel like writing more!" is great feedback to me!

(Obligatory note that not all writers appreciate or want feedback. I don't mind it, though I may not engage with it.)

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

I'm going to give two since one references sexual assault (that one's at the bottom) and you or others might not want to read that.

First up: To Build a Home

This fic is one of my favorites, and I'm always bummed I can't just make everyone read it. It is based on a beautiful, tragic song called "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra. I've always loved this song, and watching this particular video made me think the melancholy thought of Spock outliving McCoy. While McCoy may be tough to kill, and he will undoubtedly have lived many years longer than expected, he will likely die before Spock. How does McCoy reconcile that fact? How does Spock? How do they live knowing how different their life spans are? How does McCoy leave his mark in Spock's world? And how to Spock go on living after McCoy is gone? It was difficult to write but extremely meaningful for me, and I added a happy ending to make everyone feel better after the sob fest.

Next: Bully

CW/TW for Sexual assault and discussions around it, including personal anecdotes.

This fic was supposed to be a fun little, slightly angsty oneshot where Spock finds out that McCoy's friend with benefits is Spock's childhood bully. McCoy was supposed to get caught, find out his FWB's past, yell at him, defend Spock, and then Spones were supposed to run off into the sunset and be happy. Then my brain was like, "MAKE IT SAD!"

Now I don't take this topic lightly, and I have my own experiences I'm working out while I'm working through this fic. But I wanted to explore this topic and how different the ideal Trek future I have in my head deals with sexual assault. I also wanted to explore the complicated feelings of McCoy being abused in ways he'd previously consented to in wildly different circumstances.

This is a conversation that I haven't seen discussed openly in many kink circles (I've actually only ever seen it in my ace kink circles) and since I work out my thoughts through my fics, well. Sorry, McCoy.

#spones #spock/mccoy #fanfic ask meme #writer thoughts

[robin-hood-for-freedom]

I now present to you, my followers, the single worst article I have ever read.

TLDR: A supposed 'libertarian' is actually defending vaccine mandates.

This is actually so bad, I think its worth a full response:

If the vaccine causes no appreciable injury, can you still refuse to be injected, notwithstanding that you might be visiting significant risks on others?

For starters, thats a BIG 'if.' In fact, we know for a fact that there is a (yes very small, but not nonexistent) risk of serious harm from the vaccine in the short run, and we have no way of knowing if there will be harm 5 years from now.

But beyond that: The idea that not taking the COVID vaccine is 'visiting significant risks on others' is just...not true. Its pretty well accepted at this point that the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, it just reduces your chance of having serious problems from it.

And that to me, is why vaccine mandates are dead on arrival. Even if we knew the vaccine was 100% safe(which is isnt), and guaranteed you wouldnt get sick from COVID(which it doesnt), it only protects you, meaning theres no 'externality' to not taking it.

Occasionally, however, advocates of limited government will condone directives to engage in benign activities (even when not cost-free) if failure to do so might cause injury to innocent bystanders. Safety requirements for nuclear power plants would be one example

This is actually a very high-level libertarian question that I dont think I should unpack here(maybe another post). But Its also not really relevant, since not taking a vaccine even if it did reduce the spread of COVID(which again it doesnt) isnt nearly as potentially harmful, nor as clearly intentional as, say building an unshielded nuclear reactor in the middle of a crowded city.

Punishing aggressive acts that have already caused damage is a routine government function. But it’s more complicated when government compels conduct that might minimize or alleviate future harm. That’s an area of the law — endangerment — where rights theory is difficult to apply. How much increased risk do I have to endure before your potentially malign failure to act can be redressed? When rights theory doesn’t provide adequate guidance, defenders of liberty often look to utilitarian, cost-benefit tradeoffs

I'm not sure I actually agree with this. But even if I did, it would have to be in the most cartoonishly extreme cases. Abandoning rights theory in favor of utilitarian cost-benefit analysis in anything less can lead to justifying all kinds of horrific shit. And applied too broadly can justify almost anything.

And, no I dont think refusing to take a vaccine(that doesnt even prevent the spread of COVID) comes anywhere near that level. To quote Jules from Pulp Fiction it ain't the same fuckin' ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fuckin' sport

vaccine mandates are nothing new. Wyoming, an indisputably conservative state, requires vaccines for 12 diseases if a child wants to attend either public or private school or a care facility, or participate in school-sanctioned activities.

A lot to unpack here:

First I'm against every single aspect of this, not just the vaccine mandates, but all the way down to the very existence of public schools. So this probably isnt the best example.

But even if you want to set that aside: Do you seriously not see a difference between a kid needing a vaccine to go to public school, and an adult needing one to go to the grocery store?

Also, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that every single one of the diseases kids need to be vaccinated for are more dangerous to them than COVID-19.

Oh and obligatory mention that the COVID vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus.

More vaccinations would have slowed transmission and thereby afforded fewer opportunities for the virus to mutate.

The vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus. So this is just straight up bullshit.

And even if it were true: the delta variant originated in a country(India) that hadnt had access to vaccines due to fuckery by the US government and pharma companies. So maybe you should be going after them instead of people who are understandably skeptical of a new medical treatment that we cant know the long term effects of.

Significantly, based on data from 40 states, persons fully vaccinated accounted for as little as 0.2 to 6 percent of COVID deaths, and 0.1 to 5 percent of hospitalizations.

While this might be argument for getting vaccinated(assuming those numbers are accurate, which I kinda doubt), its not an argument for forcing the vaccine on people. Since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, you arent reducing the risk to anybody but yourself.

Third, can we be sure that a vaccine mandate will remedy the problem? Put differently, haven’t we seen numerous breakthrough cases in which vaccinated persons have nonetheless been infected? Yes, but the key reason breakthrough cases are a growing part of the total is that we’ve vaccinated a higher percentage of the population. Most important, as noted above, people who are fully vaccinated experience far fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

All of this is completely irrelevant since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID

Yes I'm getting tired of repeating myself, but this point cannot be emphasized enough: If you're argument for vaccine mandates is that not getting vaccinated poses a threat to others, then the fact that the vaccine dosnt prevent the spread kills your argument before it even begins.

Perhaps we should just wear masks and maintain social distancing. But the consensus is that the vaccine would still be necessary, and far more effective.

Funny thing, the CDC is saying masks and social distancing are necessary even with the vaccine because(say it with me now) the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps natural immunity from contracting the disease is stronger than vaccine-induced immunity. But most studies say otherwise.

I feel like I should point out here that I've seen a lot of arguments from people on both sides of this question. And I dont have enough knowldge of immunology to be able to judge which is the correct position.

Although it wouldnt really matter if the vaccine were more effective than natural immunity, since it doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps a vaccine mandate can be geographically or demographically constrained. That’s an obvious consideration, which suggests that local officials be given substantial discretion in establishing the scope of any mandate.

I suppose that would be better than a national mandate. But even that much would be unjustified since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Or perhaps vaccinations could remain optional, but with restricted access to selected activities by the unvaccinated. That notion — a vaccine “passport” — has the support of nearly 82 percent of Americans, according to a recent survey.

In other news: 82% of Americans are morons who dont realize the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

(okay but seriously, given that almost half of all Americans arent vaccinated, I have to question the methodology of this survey).

 we are in the midst of a health emergency, which means that suitably modified, narrowly-tailored, time-limited rules may be justified.

This is a one-time thing because we are in the middle of an emergency is the justification for nearly every tyrannical act ever undertaken by governments. And to hear it coming from a supposed 'libertarian' is equal parts terrifying and nauseating.

Oh and the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Hello Internet, welcome to GAME THEORY, where instead of putting a joke here I want to ask you a question. It's time to talk UNDERTALE.

Now I don't think I've ever gotten this many requests to cover a theory, (no requests times no requests is still no requests.) Anyway, across my tumblr dashboard, NO ONE has asked for this. And honestly, I'm disappointed. True loyal theorists will know that Undertale is my favorite game of all time.

Undertale is a game where every character, from goat mom to grind fodder has a sympathetic design and a unique personality, motivations, goals, fears. Whether you're saving or slaughtering them, the game makes you feel something every time you enter an encounter. But to me, one character stood out amongst all the rest. SANS. A skeleton named after the font, Comic Sans. ANYWAYS, Sans is, well, there's a lot of mystery around this guy. And before we get into it, let me put up a very special spoiler warning: UNDERTALE is a game best experienced blind. So if you haven't played it, pause your reading of this and come back after you've finished. I PROMISE YOU, I PROMISE you won't regret it. Alright, so everyone out of the pool and ready for the adult swim? Good. Because I'm feeling pretty determined to get to the bottom of Sans' mystery. So just to recap for those of you who haven't played the game and ignored the SPOILER WARNING, or just need a refresher, Sans is one of the two skeletal brothers who appears in the game. His partner is Papyrus, a loud, goofy trap lover also named after a font. But in the world of Undertale their origins are a big question mark. All you really know is what's given to us by a shopkeeper in Snowdin, who explains that Sans and Papyrus, quote, “just showed up one day and asserted themselves.” Weird, right? What's more is that, well, Papyrus is just kinda the goofy sidekick. Sans is much more complex.

He likes fart jokes, but he's also incredibly powerful and deadly serious. Not only is his boss battle the hardest in the game, he's one of the only characters who has knowledge and power over space and time. He can take shortcuts around the world through ridiculous routes. Even is walking through walls. He also acknowledges that he's only one of infinite versions of himself, making self-aware commentary of the various timelines that you've played through in the game. He can even count the number of times he's killed you. He acts like an arbiter of this world, passing out judgements on the player's actions in the game, even explaining the secrets of EXP and LOVE, or EXECUTION POINTS and LEVELS OF VIOLENCE, just to clarify. In short, he just doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the world of monsters. But then, what, or who, is he? Well, the idea that he doesn't belong in the underworld seems to be correct.

The evidence seems to point to the fact that he WAS, in fact, formerly a surface dweller. In the true pacifist ending of the game, as the group looks out onto the horizon, Papyrus asks Sans about the giant ball in the sky. Sans says, quote, “we call that the sun.” This is important because A, the usage of the word WE, and knowledge of the sun shows that Sans has a kinship or knowledge with other humans, and B, that despite he and Papyrus both being skeletons, or, supposedly, brothers, and apparently appeared in underworld at the same time, they CLEARLY have two very different histories. Why would Papyrus not know the name of the sun but Sans would?

We get further clues to Sans' origins as we hear him say multiple times he wants to "go home" or "go back." He says as much during his dinner date scene at the Mettaton hotel. He notices that the player wants to go home and says, quote, "I know the feeling." He then continues, "maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." As though he ended up in the underworld by accident. AND in a genocide run during his boss fight he says, quote, "look, I gave up trying to go back a long time ago." End quote. And before you say he means going back to the surface world, that's clearly not the full story. His very next line of dialogue is, "and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore either." Key word here is “EITHER.” Yes, he seems to hail from the surface and wants to go back, but based on his dialogue he no longer considers it his home. It's as though the surface world he once knew is gone, as though he's from a different time. It's pretty intriguing. So we're left with a being that appeared out of nowhere, presumably from being from the human surface, but from a different time period, who seemingly has the power to teleport. That's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers.

But here's where things get REALLY interesting. Sans has a hidden workshop that takes a fair amount of searching to find. You could say it takes a lot of DETERMINATION to unlock. Anyways, obligatory determination references aside, as you start to look for this easter egg Sans gives you a key to his room and says "it's time you learn the truth." After some searching you find the workshop which contains items that leave even more questions. A photo album featuring Sans and a bunch of smiling people you don't recognize, a badge, blueprints with illegible handwriting, and a broken machine hidden behind a curtain. In the latest update, one more detail was added. A hand-drawn picture of 3 smiling faces with the words “don't forget.”

So, what does it all mean? Well a lot of Undertale theorists have been linking these details to a feature to a character named W.D Gaster. A ghostly character who never truly appears in the game. Honestly, covering him is a theory all unto itself, and probably one best saved for another day. Even still, none of the Gaster theories I've seen have been able to explain all the details. In particular, the photo album, and the badge. And that's what kept nagging me as I researched Undertale. A badge? That one in particular really stuck out to me. Why would such an oddly specific item to be hidden in the huge easter egg of a room? Something that supposedly reveals the truth about Sans? Badges just aren't important in Undertale. Then it hit me. What if this badge isn't from Undertale? What if this badge is from a completely different series? And was, in fact, the most important badge in the history of gaming? One of the Iskall patreon badges.

Now, for those of you wondering what I'm talking about, the Iskall Patreon Badges are a pivotal item from Iskall’s patreon. You know, the one on Hermitcraft. Anyway, the Iskall Patreon Badges are a really important part of Iskall’s character. So I asked myself; what if the badge in Sans' drawer was ONE OF THOSE EXACT badges? Well first off, it made Undertale connected to my favorite youtuber, thereby making it even COOLER, but that's still a pretty big logical leap. I needed more. Let me tell you, as I started looking, more and more pieces started to fit into place.

In Hermitcraft Season 6, there are three Architechs. (This was before Stress joined in season 7.) These 3 were Iskall, Grian and MumboJumbo. And what does Sans happen to have in his other drawer? A photo album with pictures of Sans with people you don't recognize. Of course you don't know them, they're not characters present in Undertale. And note the word that's used here, PEOPLE you don't recognize. Not underworld monsters. So that's 2 items oddly linked to the Hermitcraft series.

But then, how do the blueprints and broken machine fit in? Well, in the final stretch of Hermitcraft, Iskall is the only one who hasn’t died since the Demise game, so he sells his own body to the highest bidder. Except, it comes with a cost. Everyone is poor. As a result, and with the help of ImpulseSV, the Architechs (minus Mumbo,) are forced to finally kill Iskall, ending his streak since the beginning of demise. I watched this episode in 2020 and I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first saw this scene, I cried. It's DEVASTATING.

Iskall says goodbye to his friends, his co-workers, this character you've grown to love and care about is suddenly promising to sacrifice his life. For all he knows, there is no possibility of him being able to come back after his Demise. It's this incredibly dark departure in the final moments of what was otherwise a fun, quirky, and colorful Season 6.

So what does all of this have to do with Undertale? A LOT, actually. But the first thing you need to know is that the hermits are known for their, let's say, unique written linguistic style.

That would explain the illegible handwriting on the blueprints. And the machine? I think a broken infinity portal is behind that curtain. Now that may seem like a stretch, but it actually explains a lot.

If Sans wound up in Undertale via whacky infinity portal hyjinx, it could provide a reason for why he's a skeleton. He used the machine as organic matter and suffered the consequences. Not killing him, but turning at least a part of him into a pile of bones. That could also explain why Sans has given up hope for going home. Remember the infinity portal is a time machine. By being in the underworld, he's not only in a different place, but based on how he talks, he's also in a different time, with no hope of travelling back to the time he came from. This could theoretically happen. It turned Scar into a wizard and completely disintegrated Welsknight, so the rules are… Flimsy at best.

But the crossovers between Hermitcraft and Undertale continue. In Grian’s episode, (EDIT IN TIMESTAMP) he mentions he’s amazed that Iskall only escaped his demise with a lost arm. He says Iskall had “a lot of determination to not die for real,” and that he’s going to continue to study this. Seems awfully similar to the same experiments happening in Undertale around the trait of determination, no? Especially since so much has shown that Sans was a key player in those experiments.

But I'm sure you also want physical evidence right? Well don't worry, because I have plenty. Take a look at Iskall and Sans side by side. Iskall’s left eye is replaced with a diamond loupe. Sans’ left eye glows blue when he’s mad. Both have extremely chill yet are known for their jokes and, dare I say, laugh.

In short, we have some incredibly strong proof that the Hermitcraft Cinematic Universe, (HCU) is somehow connected to the Undertale world, which brings us back to our initial question, WHO IS SANS?

Well, what if we took it one final step and said that Sans happened to be Iskall from Hermitcraft? Sent through the Infinity Portal at the end of season 6 to go to Season 7, carrying an Iskall Patreon Badge and his photo album. Not only do all the items in the workshop suddenly fit, but so does Sans’ behavior.

Remember, Sans can seemingly travel extremely quickly. And Iskall just happens to have an elytra, a device that allows people to travel hundreds of metres extremely quickly. This even explains why Sans bleeds when you finally hit him. He is, or at least, WAS, a human.

Oh and finally, Sans shares two out of five letters with the name Iskall. That's just a fun one. I thought it was worth mentioning.

But if there was any doubt, we have to look no further than the creator's previous work. Toby Fox, the man behind Undertale is actually DocM77, the creator of every hermit (besides Scar.) Now, if Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, is also DocM77, creator of Iskall, we know they will most definitely share a universe. Which brings us back to Undertale. 2 faces, with “don't forget” written on it? It's Iskall, trying to remember his 2 friends. In short, Undertale is a continuation of Toby’s version of Hermitcraft Season 6, with Iskall never being able to get home, adopting the name Sans. The pieces all just seem to fit. Now all we need is an appearance from Ethoslab and we’ve got ourselves a true sequel.

But hey, that's just a theory. A GAME THEORY! THANKS FOR WATCHING!

#hcraft #hermitcraftheadcanons #iskall85 #iskall #TheScience! #posted 11.05.20 #long post #please note this is literally a copy paste of the actual script #with some changes #but yeah actual cred to Matt on this one