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miraculouscontent · 3 years

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Didn’t Need Burrow (April 17th-23rd)

Anonymous said:

Didn't need Burrow: "Gabriel Agreste" will be all about how he's not really evil just misunderstood. He had a lonely childhood or some garbage and we should feel totally sad for him you guys.

Just throw the man in jail and move on, PLEASE.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloé will be jealous of Zoe and throws a temper tantrum. Bonus points if the show blames Maribug for giving Chloé the Bee Miraculous in the first place.

[flashbacks to “Malediktator” where Adrien “the perfect high road boy” made the comment about Chloe that encouraged Marinette to give her the bee in the first place, something they will very likely never address]

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Gabriel and Nathalie will have last-minute redemptions because "fAmiLy".

Aaaaand now I’m having Voltron flashbacks...

and Steven Universe flashbacks...

You know what, just most recent shows that have a villain related by family ties in some way.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe and other new characters are Romantic Rhombus shippers/stans. (love square synonyms anon here; glad to know you liked them.)

I HATE IT

SOMEONE HAVE A UNIQUE OPINION, I’M BEGGING.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Luka and Kagami get new love interests. Bonus points if this is used to make their exes jealous.

Double bonus if the one paired with Luka is either terrible person/isn’t like Marinette at all, or is just “objectively better” than Marinette.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow to know that there'll be an episode where Alya tries to help Marinette out with all the Ladybug things and Marinette is gonna get pissed because she's helping to much and possibly the kwamis like Alya more than her. Alya won't be akumatized, but Marinette's gonna learn a lesson about trusting her friends and not being so controlling because Marinette will have to trust Alya to give a miraculous to someone.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow: that Alya knowing Marinette is Ladybug and thus Lila being a liar isn't going to come up except for one episode and then never be mentioned again.

If they don’t address it in the very next episode I s2g--

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: The season's finale will feature Shadow Moth empowered by Catalyst. He will have the most ridiculous name and outfit. Bonus: His grand plan fails mostly due to his owns stupidity

I’m only looking forward to the stupidity and nothing else.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will ultimately betray Marinette's confidence in order to prove that Marinette was wrong to trust her with her secret identity instead of Chat Noir.

The building blocks are already there, let’s be honest.

Bonus if Astruc acts as if Alya was “the best choice” and then cut to Alya’s betrayal (whether accidental or intentional) and he’ll act as if the writing is so clever.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Since Hawkmoth already knows Alya is Rena Rouge, Marinette will try giving her a different Miraculous to try throwing him off. This only serves to make Trixx jealous and cause friction between the kwami which is all blamed on Marinette.

Okay, the idea would be plausible if it weren’t for the fact that this would mean making new models.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The writers will steal another common fan concept by having Marinette entrust Nino with the Miracle Box. Su-Han will be upset at first, but accept Nino as a suitable candidate (possibly implying that he's better at it because, as a guy, he's not 'ruled by his emotions' like Marinette and proves better at keeping the kwami in line. Somehow).

It’s genius! His parents and other relatives don’t even exists outside of Chris, who only exists when it’s to torment Marinette when she has to babysit him!

There’s no one to find the box!! (except Alya, who Su-Han will be fine with knowing because he trusts Nino’s judgment)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will continue to push the pro-Adrien agenda down Marinette's throat, over any and all protests that she can't have a romantic relationship with ANYONE right now due to her various responsibilities. Alya will give lip-service to the idea that she'll help her with everything else, but in practice, her only real priority is shoving her towards Adrien every chance she gets and continuing her scheming to get them together.

The illusion of caring.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will wind up STEALING the Fox Miraculous from Marinette in order to become Rena Rouge again. This will be presented as entirely Marinette's fault, with Mari forced to apologize to HER for not 'trusting her more', despite Alya's actions throwing her trustworthiness into question.

“Bonus” if Marinette had trusted Alya with the code to open the Miracle Box’s compartment, yet sure, she needs to trust Alya “more,” okay.

differenttriumphdragon said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will still believe Lila at some point even though she now knows Marinette has a good reason not to trust her.

And this will not be portrayed as Alya’s fault but rather “Lila’s.” She’s just “too clever,” you guys!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will continue trusting Lila, accusing Marinette of lying about not being friends with her as Ladybug and insisting that she needs to 'give her a chance' as Marinette rather than letting jealousy get the better of her.

The thought alone makes my blood boil sjgnjdfjgnfdg

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The matter of how Alya refused to listen to any of Marinette's warnings about Lila will be glossed over with Alya making some lightly teasing remark about how 'You could have cleared this all up sooner if you'd just been honest with me, girl~'

Thus furthering the narrative that Marinette telling someone about her being Ladybug was “a choice.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will make a 'triumphant callback' to her remark in "Chameleon" about how journalists always check their sources. Referring, naturally, to how she now knows the truth from Ladybug herself... while completely ignoring how she dismissed all of Marinette's warnings before and refused to do any of her own research. Somebody will add this to ML's 'Crowning Moment of Awesome' page, praising it as an incredibly cool and well-earned moment of catharsis.

ugh

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Now that she knows Marinette = Ladybug, Alya will accuse her of two-timing Adrien with Chat Noir. She will refuse to believe any of Mari's insistence that she's NOT 'stringing Chat along'. Meanwhile we'll get more Sadrien as he mopes over LB continuing to deny their love.

“Bonus” if the fandom praises Alya for finally “calling Marinette out” because “Ladybug has never properly denied Chat Noir.” (but they’ll also deny that she should’ve done it more bluntly because “that would’ve hurt his feelings”)

[meanwhile, “Prime Queen” was a thing that happened and was publicly recorded]

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Upon realizing Lila deceived her, Alya will get PISSED. ...Not over anything she did to Marinette, but because she tricked her into posting false information on the Ladyblog. Other than snapping at Mari for 'not warning me', or scolding her if she starts complaining and 'trying to make it all about you', she won't acknowledge what her bEsT fRiEnD went through at all.

I--

...oh my gosh, I hate how plausible this sounds.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Hawkmoth will inexplicitly delay going after the families of the exposed superheroes until the writers can frame it as Marinette's fault. This likely involves Mari being forced to babysit Chris and/or the twins, and having to take them on an outing since she can't have them at the bakery due to the kwami. Cue akumatized kids/hostage situation, Nino/Alya angst and Mari being lambasted for her failures.

Kids, Marinette babysitting, and Marinette being blamed??

Wow, it’s like all the things I hate rolled into one convenient little package!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will use the fact that she knows Marinette's biggest secret to justify being even more invasive, insisting that she already knows Mari better than she knows herself.

“wE cAn tAlk wHerE aNd wHeN yOu wAnT”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Despite how their secret identities were exposed, Marinette will be pressured by both Alya and the kwamis to give her friends 'their' Miraculi back and give new Miraculi to other classmates. Her fears about this will be presented as unreasonable... until they come to pass in later episodes, at which point she'll be blamed for 'letting this happen'.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will pressure Marinette to trust the rest of the girl squad with Miraculi, with Mari taking the blame for anything and everything that goes wrong in the process.

*long, deep sigh*

Alternatively, Alya will pressure Marinette into giving miraculouses to already-revealed heroes (Rena I could at least see being excused due to being a long-distance fighter who can create illusions from a distance, but Carapace? lol no).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The exposed superheroes will get magical makeovers to let them 'start fresh' and throw Hawkmoth off their trail. These new designs will be HEAVILY whitewashed, using the weak 'justification' that this will help hide their identities. Think Shanghai Special levels of appearance-shifting. Bonus points if Chat Noir tells the transformed Alya and Kagami they look prettier now.

I already hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya is against Lila because she knows Marinette is Ladybug (not because she [Alya] trusts her).

Yyyyyup.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The Ladybug reveal to Alya is used for shipping purposes.

Well obviously!! Who else was going to comment on the oh-so-coveted LadyNoir???

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow to know that Alya will still believe Lila's lies, despite her knowing that Marinette is Ladybug now

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Alya is still gonna be on Lila’s side despite now knowing Marinette is Ladybug.

Part of me wants to say, “No, they wouldn’t be that stupid,” but...

yeah...

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be an episode where Marinette has to learn to respect the privacy and boundaries of others. Likely candidates for the recipient of her pesky prying are Juleka (because 'Friends don't keep secrets!' only applies to Mari), Adrien (because haha stalker) or another guy-'friend' like Nino (because guys are entitled to their privacy in ways girls are not). Alya will lecture Mari on being 'too nosy' and insist that SHE would NEVER go so far and knows to give others space.

THE HYPOCRISY!!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya doesn't believe Marinette, assuming that she's lying to her about being Ladybug. The scene of the kwami surrounding them was an end-of-episode fake-out and didn't actually happen/she didn't see them. Marinette is berated for spilling her secrets so 'easily'.

fdjkgdfjkgdfg okay but would we roll with that or nah considering at least that’d mean that Alya doesn’t technically know then??

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Jagged Stone's relationship with Marinette will sour since she broke his son's heart. Never mind that he's been a deadbeat dad for years; clearly HER slight against Luka is far worse, and he has every right to condemn and judge her for it.

Jagged, I swear, I want to keep liking you, don’t do this.

Especially because then it’s gonna seem like they made Jagged the dad just so he’d have some reason to be against Marinette, taking away yet another person who was on Marinette’s side.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien's antics will escalate to the point where he is openly and brazenly sacrificing others for the sake of his 'hilarious antics', such as getting them hit by akuma powers to pun off their plight. Ladybug gets blamed for failing to protect them.

Ladybug and Chat Noir are “equals” until Chat needs to be blamed for something, in which case Ladybug will take the heat.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a moment of jealousy, Adrien will sacrifice somebody else in the name of his own ego. Such as outing another hero, bringing an already outed heroes' loved ones to Shadow Moth's attention, getting more kwami caught by the villains... Naturally, Marinette gets all the blame and all the guilt from the fallout.

Of course!! Who else could possibly be blamed???

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a cliffhanger, Chat Noir needlessly sacrifices himself only for Shadowmoth to recall the akuma before Ladybug can purify it/do something else that leaves Chat Noir in limbo. Much angst and drama is mined from Ladybug's failure to save him; the fact he effectively did this to himself is never acknowledged.

Okay, that IS sad for Ladybug but would we honestly complain about Chat being stuck in limbo?

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a 'Shocking Twist', Hawkmoth's connection to *Chat Noir* will be revealed, causing Ladybug to flash back through all their interactions and question whether Chat Noir was ever TRULY on their side. Her moment of doubt will be treated as completely unreasonable and unfair, with Adrien stung deeply by her 'betrayal' and failure to 'trust in their love'.

all of my hate--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette's anxiety will be depicted as the *cause* of said anxiety -- in other words, she'll be told that she's making mountains out of molehills and 'worrying over nothing'. Most likely by the very ones responsible for making her so anxious in the first place, treating problems *they caused* as a 'you problem'.

Don’t you guys know? Anxiety is always caused by the person having anxiety!

Trauma?? Root causes? What are those?

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be forced to pass Guardianship to somebody else, but will NOT have to wipe her memories in the process. This is treated as a 'learning experience' with Marinette having to live with the knowledge that she simply wasn't up to snuff, with somebody else having to 'pick up her slack' and take over the responsibilities that she 'just couldn't handle'.

I still say the worst part of all this is that I - someone who hates memory loss plots - am half-hoping for her memories to be wiped just to free her from this hellscape.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Somebody else will take over as Guardian, and Tikki will guilt-trip Marinette for not being able to handle the responsibility on her own. Sighing about how nice and lively it was with the other kwamis around, and how quiet it is now that they're staying elsewhere, wistful about the 'good times' they had while failing to acknowledge how much of their excitement and enjoyment came at Mari's expense.

And just casually forgetting that Marinette’s own privacy was invaded by the kwami being around, but sure, their comfort was so much more important.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: During a battle, Marinette/Ladybug will have to sacrifice herself/APPEAR to sacrifice herself in a way reminiscent of Chat Noir's usual self-sacrifices. This will be absolutely necessary to create the opening they needed to win, but will be treated as senseless and unneeded. Everyone will berate her for it, especially Chat - and if she points out his own tendencies, he'll accuse her of pulling that stunt just to 'teach him a lesson' and punish him for being heroic.

*screams from a distance*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Juleka doesn't get any dialogue outside of mumbling in her hero debut episode.

I’m half-expecting Juleka to be totally mumbly until a future Couffaine-centric episode where they’ll treat her talking as if it’s a huge deal.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show would end on a vague note. We don't know if the Love Square got together (they had a finale kiss and a confession.) We don't know what will happen to the rest of the plotlines, characters, and miraculouses.

We also don’t know when we’ll get the time we lost back.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien switches sides after learning his father's motives, and is treated as 100% in the right for doing so. Marinette keeps fighting, and is blamed for everything Hawk/Shadowmoth does in his efforts to win.

“See, Marinette??? You didn’t aPpReCiAtE Chat enough!!!”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a 'Very Special Episode' of ML, somebody else gets to learn a lesson. It's Luka, who starts a new relationship with somebody else. It's shown that he learned from his mistakes with Marinette, and is more assertive and straightforward about his desires, and much happier for it. Meanwhile, Marinette's latest mistake is either being reluctant to let him move on... or letting him go because she foolishly 'wants him to be happy'.

(╯ಠ□ಠ)╯

The worst part is that they definitely won’t give a reason why Adrien > Luka outside of possibly “they have history” (fun fact that Hannah Montana back in the day - another show about a girl who led a double life - did this, except the guy she “had history with” - blond, famous, and rich - ended up cheating on her and she later pursued the other option properly - black-haired guitar boy who was way more flawed than Luka but was still endgame)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Mylene will be treated as a better Multimouse than Marinette. Not because of any of her personality traits, but because she has more mass to draw from. This is trumpeted as 'body positivity'. (Bonus points if her design is still inexplicitly slimmed down by her transformation.)

I feel nothing but disgust from reading this, please apologize.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Juleka and Luka being twins/her being held back is confirmed by her getting bullied/mocked for her anxiety issues keeping her from completing assignments (flunking verbal reports, presentations). Alternately/in addition, it's revealed by Bustier while asking Marinette to help Juleka/fretting that she'll fail for similar reasons. Somehow, Bustier is still presented as a 'good teacher' despite being the one who held her back in the first place.

This will also be a reverse-”Gang of Secrets” where Luka doesn’t appear or has no input on the matter whatsoever.

“Bonus” if this ends up being used as the reason why Juleka has been mumbling for this whole season: they didn’t want her to be considered “stupid” so they retconned her to be more mumbly than before, which caused her to get held back.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that guys are normally incompatible with the Bee Comb because Pollen treats men like worker drones while all women are queens. Adrien is either an exception to this or gets to be Sadrien after he's briefly given the Bee and has to deal with Pollen going Full Sass on him, with her severe critiques being presented as totally wrong no matter how dead-on her analysis of his character actually is. Jokes are made about her 'poor judgement'.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Flashbacks will reveal that Gabriel had a similar personality to Marinette when he was younger. Unlike her, HIS anxieties will be treated as more serious/endearing, rather than something to be mocked and belittled -- think his own version of Sadrien. The parallels drawn between them may also be used to cast Marinette in a worse light/imply that she could go down the same path as him.

I hate how plausible “male character has anxiety but is treated properly” is.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be the next Chloe; trusting her despite her clear personality flaws is ultimately shown to be another of Marinette's mistakes. Just like Chloe is an unrepentant bully, Alya is an 'aspiring journalist' first and foremost, and this will override whatever faith her BFF put in her.

THE PARALLELS CONTINUE.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After Alya's eventual but inevitable betrayal, Trixx will defend her by reminding Marinette that 'She's a Fox. Foxes lie.' He's not even particularly *surprised* by Alya breaking her promises, treating it as proof that she's one of *his*. And it's not on him for not warning Mari, but entirely her fault for failing to recognize what being a Fox truly means.

You can’t trust foxes, Marinette, and that’s what makes them great.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will constantly veto Marinette's ideas, ESPECIALLY ones that would have prevented problems that arise later on... which she then gets blamed for not averting. If she actually calls Su-Han out on this, he will insist that the fault falls upon her for not convincing him... if he even acknowledges that he was wrong/she actually suggested things that could have averted disaster.

“But--”

“No.”

“It makes so much se--”

“No.”

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN LISTEN TO WHAT I HAD TO SAY--”

“No.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: An episode will LITERALLY get on Marinette's case for breathing -- while hiding from an akuma with super-sensitive hearing, her needing air causes problems. Bonus points if she's breathing heavily after getting injured saving Chat Noir from being hurt due to his messing about; cue Drama and Sadrien without acknowledging his true culpability in the matter. (I.E. "It's all my fault! D:" "No, no, *cough* I should have dodged better..." "Fear not, my lady, I'll protect you!")

Miraculous: Tales of Marinette Not Even Being Allowed to Breathe

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: We'll see more in-universe merch and marketing of the heroes, their images stolen and sold without permission. Ladybug is dismayed and disturbed, while Chat dismisses it; he's financially secure and doesn't care how his image is (mis)used, while Marinette's concern is treated as 'silly'. Why is she so bothered by dolls with unrealistic proportions and painted-on suits, or ones that gussy her up to make her more overtly girly and marketable?

Bonus if this is also an episode where Marinette is strapped for cash due to possible gifts for friends or all the things she used to make for Adrien (i.e: more proof that her Adrien crush just makes her life worse), and she will be treated as greedy/selfish for wanting something out of her hero work.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya declares the LadyBlog to be officially endorsed by Ladybug herself, and that all of her information is verified by the heroine. This is a blatant lie, as she continues not to do any fact-checking or run anything by Marinette, and acts as though MARI is wrong for trying to call her out on this.

Alya will also be treated as in the right for taking advantage of the opportunity because “she deserved to know” and “should be getting extra rights” as Marinette’s best friend.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Gabriel is shown monitoring the LadyBlog and using information he gleans from it more and more. If Marinette expresses any concern about this to Alya, she gets dismissed as 'paranoid' and 'jumping at shadows'.

And, similarly to “Feast,” Alya will never be called out because the narrative will conveniently never make the connection to Alya or force Alya to realize that this was a mistake.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be responsible for exposing Ladybug's secret identity to Chat Noir. Chat then gets *furious* at Marinette for telling her and not HIM, using this as an excuse to not reveal his *own* identity, sarcastically parroting back all her warnings about how 'It's just not safe' for them to know.

Totally ignoring the fact that Marinette was on verge of a breakdown in “Gang of Secrets.”

Sorry, Marinette, guess you should’ve let yourself plummet.

#Didn't Need Burrow

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monkey-network · 4 years

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World Building w/ Monkey

There can be many series in general where the world it takes place in struggles to leave a lasting impact on you (pic above unrelated). That perfect balance between immersion and comprehension.

Ideally, you want to land right in the middle, next to Donkey Kong, where you’re given a world to think about but you aren’t loaded with questions the product purposefully won’t answer. But where this can get muddled up is with the addition of consistency, memorability, logic, whether it all mattered. It no doubt gets messy when you start examining what made sense, what didn’t add up, why were certain things in certain places, what importance does the world have. There can be so many variables, and it’s largely subjective to each viewer’s critical and investment levels that I don’t even know where to begin with this rant. How about...

Steven Universe. I of course didn’t go into this series expecting a lot of exploration, but at the same time I visibly cannot give a rat’s ass about the settings for this show. Beach City is a white noise backdrop that can leave you begging for a change in scenery. I can see the personal influence that came with this, it can look beautiful, but it doesn’t help that very little actually happens in Beach City to where things would’ve probably been a whole lot cooler if the show took place in a metropolis or somewhere busier. You can casually remember certain locations, sure, but there is little to no overall memorable history and it makes the beach location feel mostly interchangeable rather than a place Steven genuinely calls his home. This is a problem for a lot of shows, ones I love included. You can have locations that in the back of your mind go, “Hey I know that place,” but unless it’s a location that actually has some weight on your mind, you’ll remember it but you won’t probably care as much.

I hardly believe Beach City is for Steven what literal Hell is for Doomguy

And one might say, “Monkey, SU is mostly character focused, the world is supposed to be secondary.” To this, I gotta ask, what makes the town important to Steven? Exploring Steven’s character crisis among everything else is fine, but where SU staggers internally is that it could’ve given us better insight as to why Steven bothers to stay in this one place when he has the option to freely explore the world beyond having the dangers come to him at supposedly inconvenient times but doesn’t. It's like Beach City is this isolated trouble magnet that never shares why problems only happen in this one place or random, equally isolated and forgettable locations. This is where I gotta bring Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Diamond is Unbreakable’s Morioh-cho is more than just Josuke’s hometown, it’s a place where impromptu phenomena happen and gives the town that adventurous livelihood while giving us a simple explanation as to why we’re staying here instead of traveling the globe like its predecessors. Every place, from Tonio’s restaurant, the docks, the ghost alley, to the transmission tower Superfly, adds to both the town’s history and the overall Jojo universe, even when this story is isolated in it of itself. Additionally, even when you could change the location to a metropolis or whatever, the anime especially gives Morioh that memorable style to where it can be difficult imagining the story taking place anywhere else. The biggest factor is the main villain Yoshikage Kira, a man whose entire existence is to live among the small town citizens as a stand wielding serial killer. He is that looming threat, killing and evading exposure, and adds to the value of Josuke and his squad being the protectors of the place they call home. Diamond is Unbreakable is a character focused story like Steven Universe, but JOJO does a better job making its fixed location matter in the long run. Good world building shouldn’t just be about what a place looks like, but what do the characters make in them.

This isn’t to say Beach City is a terrible world, it’s far better than what games like Destiny, Anthem, World of Warcraft, and such have to where you honestly have to read a bunch of wikis and in game logs to understand why you should give a fuck. This is where lore comes in and lore does not and should not equal world building. A golden rule for me when it comes to media is that the best media is easily accessible media, and lore complicates that accessibility; lore should be complimentary and not obligatory or important to understanding things. It’s like seeing a desk covered with school supplies, if world building is expressing the details of said supplies like whether the owner has a habit of biting his pencils or folding his books a certain way, lore is unnecessarily explaining why the pencils and books were made. That isn’t to say that the rules of what exists shouldn’t matter, but lore is that extra step that you shouldn’t try to worry about when it comes to expressing/understanding your rules organically.

Take Beastars, a definitive series where the rules of society are highly beneficial to the story. It never feels like Paru skimmed through how the animal characters function, and any questions that come up either are or can be fairly explainable. Like, why aren’t insects considered citizens when even fish get privileges? You can look at the series and go, “Maybe since insects are tiny and can live on their own, Itagaki considers them the wild animals of this society,” without feeling like you’re pretentiously speaking for the author. The universe of carnivores and herbivores not only are what pushes our protagonists to essentially break the known expectations and limits of their birth right, but you can have an entire chapter where Legosi or the others are barely in it, & the story details with the character you’re reading about, say Sebun, Yafya, or Legom, are so captivating that it feels just as organic when we see the MCs again. The city itself is much a character in this story and like the titular Abyss from Made in Abyss, Far Far Away from Shrek 2, or the Land of Ooo from Adventure Time, you can probably imagine wanting to be in that world yourself or seeing yourself comfortably in that world without even thinking about it. Good rules adds depth to a world that can keep your focus but makes you think. Too little trivializes your investment because there’s no stakes, too many feels like a college course and fuck that.

Like Minecraft, the main character isn’t really Steve or whoever you control, but the world that you’re able to create and warp to your hearts’ content. You are grounded to the aesthetic and format of the game, but what you do in the game adds unique character to the experience each and every time. Once you jump on, sometimes it all just clicks to you and that can be the best feeling. To close this rant out, I wanted to express my two favorite worlds that to this day stuck with me.

These places are generally opposites, but they do an amazing job in showing you everything without hardly telling you anything. Treasure Town is this busy and complex theme park looking place and you’re essentially with the characters as we roam the notable sites filled with details that can clue you in on what’s what. Does it all at a good, brisk pace and the colorful environment plays a major part in the story where the city is a symbolic extension of our main duo Black & White and the main struggle they go through in the film.

Yokohama does this but in a more subdued way. The whole story is centered around living in what you could imagine a generally realistic post apocalyptic earth. Not a whole deserted wasteland like what you’ve seen from Mad Max and the like, but one where it’s says civilization has begun anew; a vast landscape that means the world to our lead. And as life reset, we take things easy as relationships grow and seemingly one off moments can reappear as significant turns later on. The mangaka of Y2K leaves you mysteries, but you never feel lost as the main character Alpha is a compelling protagonist to journey with and it kinda makes you wish you were in her shoes, enjoying life in a world pretty barren but full of tranquil hope and easy adventuring.

In the end, I find these to be the best because they 110% commit to the main idea that makes world building such a meaningful concept to think about and invest in:

Escapism

#world building #writing #steven universe #su #jjba #diamond is unbreakable #Beastars #minecraft #tekkonkinkreet #yokohama shopping log #yokohama kaidashi kikou #dumb #Good Stuff

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junker-town · 6 years

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NFL Dad, Week 15: Always expect the worst, and you’ll never be disappointed

What’s it like to watch seven hours of football while parenting two young children? It’s not so bad, as long as you’ve given up any hope of things going smoothly.

The key to happiness in parenthood and sports fandom is the same: Get rid of any positive expectations. Prepare for disaster at all times, and always fear that the thing you love will turn on you and attempt to destroy your day in the blink of an eye.

Does the unending hyper-awareness dampen your joy when something genuinely good happens? Absolutely, but it’s insurance against the devastation of the unexpected. I was rooting for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX against the Patriots, and I expected them to lose the entire game — I even predicted a narrow Pats victory — until Jermaine Kearse made that juggling catch to set up first and goal. That’s when I let my guard down and believed in Seattle.

Yadda yadda yadda, I couldn’t sleep for like six weeks. And that’s my fault for believing good things could happen to me. Take it from an expert: You can’t be disappointed if you don’t have expectations.

EARLY GAMES, FIRST HALF

— I’m late to the games today. I don’t turn the TV on until 1:50 p.m. Eastern time because we’re late getting back from a friend’s house, where we ate bagels and helped our kids decorate gingerbread houses. I hate to say it was “brunch,” because I always want to remember brunch fondly. What I had was parenting and lox.

— After I put my son down for his nap, I click on the TV and get a trio of scores, right in a row: Bilal Powell niftily evades a tackler for a 2-yard touchdown that narrows the Saints’ lead to 10-7; someone named “Bibbs” takes a short pass from Kirk Cousins and turns it into a 36-yard touchdown against Arizona; and Sterling Shepard takes the Eagles to the woodshed on a 67-yard score that puts the Giants up, 20-7.

WE SEE YOU, @sterl_shep3! He gone. #GiantsPride http://pic.twitter.com/xUpUIE99km

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

— We got back late from not-brunch because my daughter threw a fit as we were trying to leave. So my wife left with our son, and I stayed back with the possessed one until the demons were exorcised. Mostly, this meant sitting in the living room and waiting for her to finish screaming through her timeout.

Two- and three-year-old kids have moods like the weather: Sometimes a thunderstorm hits, and there’s not much you can do but hole up and wait for it to pass. Eventually, the sun breaks through like nothing happened. As a parent, you feel your child owes you an explanation or apology for the 30 minutes you just lost, but you’ll get none. The weather has changed. You may as well shout at the sky, demand an explanation from the passing clouds.

— I’ve got two fantasy teams in money leagues that are in the semifinals this week, so I’m guilty of keeping an eye on the ol’ Yahoo scoreboards. After I beat a team with Alvin Kamara last week, I’m facing him in another league this week, so of course he scores on a short TD pass. Right after that, LeSean McCoy — who I’m also facing — scores his second touchdown of the day to put Bills up 14-6.

It's @CutOnDime25. AGAIN. #GoBills http://pic.twitter.com/K88Xqr08SA

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

I close the window with the fantasy scores.

— Stefon Diggs catches a touchdown pass from Case Keenum to put the Vikings up 24-0 over the Bengals, so I can safely ignore this game the rest of the day.

Somewhat related: Matt Hasselbeck made an interesting point to my podcast partner Nick Stevens last week: The top three seeds in the NFC are quarterbacked by Nick Foles*, Case Keenum, and Jared Goff, and people who follow the NFL are generally shocked that these three guys don’t suck the way that they used to.

What do they have in common? They all last sucked for Jeff Fisher. WORST. COACH. EVER. That guy ought to be sued for malpractice.

*Yes, the Eagles have made it this far thanks to Carson Wentz, not Foles, but Foles is in the middle of throwing four touchdowns to zero interceptions against the Giants.

— Eli Manning throws an ugly pick on 3rd and 10 that gives the Eagles life. A nifty return by Ronald Darby gives Philly great field position that leads to a Zach Ertz touchdown. The Giants’ lead is down to 20-14.

— Aaron Rodgers escapes pressure and flips the ball to Randall Cobb, who dances through the defense for a touchdown at the end of the half. The Packers take a 14-10 lead.

Oh, ok @aaronrodgers12. OH, OK @rcobb18. Wow. Touchdown, @Packers! #GoPackGo http://pic.twitter.com/WtlBRp4rKp

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

— Tyrod Taylor scores on a quarterback keeper, and I love this play design: Trips right, with tight end Nick O’Leary split out to the left. Travaris Cadet motions out to the right to draw the defense to the wide side of the field, and Taylor runs to the left with O’Leary blocking near the goal line.

.@TyrodTaylor will do it himself! #GoBills http://pic.twitter.com/X4UIx10aAc

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

Still, this play doesn’t work without a quarterback as shifty as Taylor; a less mobile player would have been taken down at the line of scrimmage. This seems to suggest that Sean McDermott, despite his “Nathan Peterman should make his pro debut against the NFL’s most fearsome pass-rushing tandem” position, may actually understand the abilities of his signal-caller.

— On 3rd and 22, Duke Johnson coughs up the ball well short of the first down marker, and the Ravens recover. They score three plays later, when Joe Flacco finds Ben Watson in acres of space for a 35-yard touchdown. The Ravens lead 17-7 just before halftime, and I can’t help but marvel how insanely bad this Browns team is, week after week after week, at the most basic aspects of pro football. It’s remarkable.

— Trey Burton scores a touchdown for Eagles, and he follows with my favorite celebration of the week:

.@TreyBurton8 hauls in the TD pass... Then the @Eagles gather around the #FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/NVSJpSWtZD

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

It’s not that spinning the ball and warming your hands by the fire is so wildly creative, it’s that Burton spun it long enough for two teammates to join him. Look, I’m impressed by anything that isn’t a children’s game repurposed in the end zone.

EARLY GAMES, SECOND HALF

— As I close my eyes for a little catnap, the Packers leave Greg Olsen wide open on a blitz, and Cam Newton hits him for an easy touchdown.

I’m not really all that tired, but with the kids napping, my wife lies down on the couch to close her eyes, so I mute the TV and pull the shades. But then the apartment is so dark and quiet that it would be wasteful to be awake.

— When I open my eyes, the first play I see is another Panthers touchdown. But it Damiere Byrd falls out of bounds, so the refs rule it incomplete. Ron Rivera foolishly challenges the call, and ... gets it reversed?

STILL have no idea what a catch is, this was ruled a TD after review when called incomplete http://pic.twitter.com/YYccOsBcp0

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 17, 2017

Apparently, the refs contend that one butt cheek landed inbounds a split second before the rest of his back hit the end line, which ... Man, I’m too tired to get mad about catches any more. It is EXHAUSTING to follow the twists and turns of the catch rule every week. Anyway, the Panthers are up 24-14, and Aaron Rodgers needs to do that thing where he miraculously rips the guts out of his opponents if the Packers want to have any chance of making the playoffs.

— DeShone Kizer gets sacked in his own end zone and fumbles, and the Ravens recover for a touchdown and a 24-10 lead. Am I facing the Ravens D in fantasy? YOU KNOW IT.

— On 3rd and 10, one play after taking a vicious hit from Panthers defenders, Aaron Rodgers scrambles away from pressure, sees Jordy Nelson downfield, and throws a laser … to James Bradberry. It’s his third interception of the day, and his first three-interception game since 2009. I’ve seen Rodgers hit Nelson for a long completion in that scenario so many times over the years that it’s clear No. 12 isn’t 100 percent yet.

— Someone named Tavarres King scores a long touchdown for the Giants, but the offense fails on the 2-point attempt. The Giants trail 31-29. It’s a beautiful-looking cover (+7) right now, though. I wish I’d taken the home team +7.

— Newton hits Byrd for another TD, this one legitimate, to put the Panthers up by two touchdowns with 12 minutes to play in the game. That’s enough time for some Aaron Rodgers magic, but he hasn’t exactly been magical today. Better than Brett Hundley, sure, but not the fearsome demigod the Packers usually rely on.

— With the Vikings up 34-0, HERE COMES TEDDY BRIDGEWATER!!! It’s his first action in almost two years, and the Minnesota crowd is deafening in its welcome for him. On the sideline, Case Keenum joins in, clapping enthusiastically.

Bridgewater’s first pass is an interception. But it was an EMOTIONALLY RESONANT interception! It leads to a Gio Bernard TD that ruins the perfect day that my fantasy def— er, the Vikings defense was having.

— With the Browns driving to get back into the game, DeShone Kizer throws his weekly red zone interception. He now has turnovers in both end zones, which HAS to be redeemable for, like, a free burger and fries somewhere. The Ravens are gonna wrap this one up comfortably.

— Rodgers gets sacked on 4th and 14 with about five minutes to play, and that’ll do it for the Packers’ playoff hopes. Womp-womp.

— My son wakes up from his nap, comes into the living room, and says “Fot-paw!” when he sees the TV. RedZone is really pushing the Washington-Arizona game right now, but I refuse to take notes on it. Sorry, I’m allergic to mediocrity.

— I go into the kids’ room to get my daughter up from her nap, and my son comes along. A few minutes later, I exit the room singing “Jingle Bells” while the kids shake sleigh bells and maracas. After the song, I ask my son what color his shaker is.

“Bee.”

“What color?”

“Bee,” he says again.

“Green?”

“Yeah!”

So, we have some work to do on pronunciation.

— Now wait just a damn minute. When I last saw Green Bay-Carolina, the Panthers had taken over in Green Bay territory and were up by two touchdowns with five minutes left. Now it’s 31-24 Panthers, AND the Packers have the ball with two minutes remaining. I MISSED RODGERS MAGIC.

— Lucy screaming in kitchen while wife makes soup. Owen screams too.

— Trailing 34-29, Eli Manning expertly leads a two-minute drill into the red zone, but it stalls just short of paydirt. On 4th and goal with just a few seconds left, Manning — stop me if you’ve heard this one — overthrows a covered receiver, and the game ends.

— The Packers’ Geronimo Allison fumbles as he picks up a first down, and the Panthers recover, thus denying us precious Rodgers Magic, and ending the Run The Table narrative before it had a chance to begin. Stupid broken clavicles.

— Results from the early games: The Eagles clinch a bye with their win, the Vikings clinch an NFC North title, and the Jags clinch a playoff berth by dominating the Texans.

LATE GAMES, FIRST HALF

— Before the late games kick off, I will not be taking any notes about Rams-Seahawks and have no plans to write about it whatsoever. I’ve gone over some of the previous NFL Dad, and I don’t like the way the late games often read like a Livejournal for my fanboy neuroses. So, no Seahawks today. I feel better already.

(UPDATE: For those of you who know how Rams-Seahawks went, this may look like a convenient development for a Seattle fan. I swear that I went into the afternoon with an iron determination not to write about the game, regardless of result.)

— The other late afternoon options are Titans-49ers and Patriots-Steelers, which is criminally being held out of a primetime slot so NBC can air Cowboys-Raiders. PUKE.

— It’s starting to rain in Pittsburgh, which should do wonders for the historically tidy grass at Heinz Field. Up in a luxury box, Ryan Shazier fires up the crowd by waving a yellow dish towel, and it’s good to see him well enough to make an appearance.

The next play is a bomb to Brandin Cooks from midfield down inside the Steelers’ 10-yard line. The Pats punch it in with Rex Burkhead to take a 7-0 lead.

— I am not even looking at Seahawks Twitter, and it is helping greatly with my mental well-being.

— Facing 3rd and five, Big Roethlisberger throws a jump pass to Antonio Brown, who snags it and makes a nice run after the catch to move the Steelers into field goal range.

The movement of @AB84... #HereWeGo http://pic.twitter.com/0HCIY1AAlf

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

A few plays later, Roethlisberger hits Eli Rogers for a TD to even game.

— My daughter asks, “Mommy, do we have a menorah?” On the way to the subway this morning, she had pointed out a large menorah in a public square, so I explained to her what a menorah was.

My wife replies, “We do not, because menorahs are for Jewish people, and we’re Catholic. So we have a Christmas tree instead.” My wife’s answer is perfectly straightforward, but at the same time, there are probably some conceptual hurdles for a three-year-old who’s familiar with the Nativity and going to church (sorry: Mass) but not so much terms like “Catholic” and “Jewish.” But to my relief, my daughter asks no further questions.

— The Titans intercept Jimmy Garoppolo, and refs rule it a catch — for the Niners. I dunno about that one; it looked awfully Golden Tate-y.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The catch rule stays undefeated.

— After the kids finish their dinner, I have tell my son AGAIN not to touch the Christmas tree. He has pulled it down while playing with it twice over the last eight days. The first time, he suffered only a glancing blow, and the second time I was sitting nearby and screamed “OH NOOO!” before catching the top of the tree just before it fell on him.

Fun note about your Christmas tree falling over multiple times: It sucks to redecorate! We put a ton of care and effort into getting every ornament in exactly the right place when we first put the tree up, and that kind of scrutiny is only enjoyable once. Now there are a dozen ornaments on the windowsill that we just don’t have the will to put back on the tree. Hard to believe we’re not enthusiastic about putting all the glass orbs back onto our holiday safety hazard.

— My daughter eats some candy off of her gingerbread house, so my wife moves it out of reach. Ear-splitting screeches of “MOM-MEEEEEEE!!!” fill the house and drown out the Sesame Street playlist we were listening to. Three-year-olds are delightful.

— Let’s take a look around the league at halftime of the late games! Pittsburgh leads New England 17-10 after a Martavis Bryant TD caps a 15-play drive. Here’s the newsworthy part of that:

Yes this is JuJu Smith-Schuster re-enacting his own taunting penalty. @btsteelcurtain #Steelers http://pic.twitter.com/qV3TUQBmwC

— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) December 17, 2017

Elsewhere, a Delainie Walker TD late in the half gives the Titans a six-point advantage in Santa Clara at halftime. And in Seattle ... (squints) ... Ah, it would appear that Todd Gurley has 144 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams lead 34-0.

I go over to the iPad, which is playing “I Love Trash” by Oscar the Grouch, and press pause. The song keeps going. Yes, this is a metaphor.

LATE GAMES, SECOND HALF

— Good news and bad news about Antonio Brown’s injury: X-rays were negative, which means nothing is broken, but he’s headed to the hospital, which is not where you go when everything’s A-OK.

— I click over to CBS for the second half of Pats-Steelers because (A) I don’t care about Titans-Niners, and (B) it will prevent me from seeing any more Rams-Seahawks than absolutely necessary. Also, Tony Romo! Love that guy.

— The kids have tied scarves around their necks to wear as capes. They play “Ring Around the Rosie,” and after they fall down, my daughter starts crawling around and meowing, so my son does the same. “We’re being cats,” my daughter clarifies.

— Pats keep a drive going with a completion to Gronk on 4th and 1. 3rd and goal, Brady steps up in pocket and finds Cooks for the TD, but the PAT hooks left. It’s 17-16 Steelers.

— One of the best/worst things about watching a game on CBS is seeing ads for all the CBS shows that look like parodies of CBS shows. Even the movie trailers seem targeted to the dumbest, oldest audience: Father Figures looks like a CBS sitcom and a FOX sitcom had sex and gave birth to a movie.

youtube

Warning: Only click play on that button above if you want to see Terry Bradshaw talk about sex. HARD PASS.

— I give my son his bath, then hand him off to my wife so I can try to convince my daughter to get in the bath. Every goddamn day, man. It takes forever to get her in the bath, then she has the time of her life and won’t get out of the bath. Hardest aspects of bathing my kids, ranked:

Getting them in the bath.

Getting them out of the bath.

Trying to stop them from drinking the bathwater. WHY DO THEY LIKE IT? IT’S SO GROSS.

Anyway, while I’m try to reason with the weather, I get to watch a nice interception by the Pittsburgh defense.

Tom Brady's pass is PICKED. #NEvsPIT http://pic.twitter.com/HfvxbjUdb6

— NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017

That sets up a Steelers touchdown that puts them up by eight, which I don’t see because I’m giving my daughter her bath.

— While I’m watching the game, my son approached the couch and says, “Moo!” to our dog. He wants her to move. This is a frequent source of confusion for my wife and me, because he relies on a cow lovey for soothing (“Moo!”) and will point out the moon in any book we read (“Moo!”). So a lot of times we’ll hear “Moo!” and come rushing into the room with a lovey, only to see the dog laying at his feet, barricading his progress.

— While the kids brush their teeth, Brady gets sacked on 3rd and 10, and the Pats kick a field goal to go down 24-19 with about four minutes left. Grim scenario for New England.

— While my wife reads to our daughter, I take my son into the other room for Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa. It’s no Llama Llama Red Pajama, but that’s no surprise. If you think movie sequels are bad, just wait until you enter the world of children’s book franchises. Once you think the well is dry, the author comes back with an 8-page book for each holiday.

— It’s bedtime for the kids, and my daughter requests “The Little Mermaid Song” (sic). My wife sings “Part of Your World,” and they go down without a fight. When I come back to the TV, the Pats have 1st and goal with a minute left, and the next play is an eight-yard touchdown run by Dion Lewis. Gronk gets the 2-point conversion for maximum drama. Pats lead, 27-24.

— The Steelers have 52 seconds and one timeout to answer. The first play is this:

JUJU! #HereWeGo http://pic.twitter.com/qKnP38lKGk

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2017

The play goes for 69 yards, and Jim Nantz carefully calls it a “nearly 70-yard play,” because Jim Nantz can’t even accidentally make an oblique reference to oral sex. He’s like one of the robots in Westworld, unable to see evidence of his own machinery. Except, y’know, for sex.

— Before we get to the ending of Patriots-Steelers, let’s take a look at the other late games:

In Santa Clara, a Ryan Succop 50-yarder gives Titans 23-22 lead with a little over a minute left. Garoppolo counters with a drive into field goal range. Robbie Gould drills the 45-yarder straight down the middle for the Niners’ third straight win.

In Seattle, the Rams coasted to a 42-7 win. I believe it was 40-7 at one point, so I think the Rams got a safety. I already know more than I’d like to.

— The Steelers’ next play is a touchdown to Jesse James. 30-27, with a PAT pending. The Pats will have 28 seconds to answer.

No! It’s called incomplete! Once again: Everything you know is wrong, and the catch rule stays undefeated.

They showed the replay 10x before anyone could figure out why it was a replay. Probably a sign that it should be a catch.

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 18, 2017

— Oh no. Oh no no no. Speaking as someone without a horse in the race: Lord, no.

PICKED! #NEvsPIT http://pic.twitter.com/4OerTkMB5c

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2017

Coupla questions here:

Did you really think the Patriots, of all teams, would fall for a fake spike?

Will NFL teams PLEASE stop running goal-line slants against the Patriots? Don’t let the Seahawks death be in vain.

Speaking of the Seahawks, I would one THOUSAND percent take that ass-kicking from the Rams over the anger and heartbreak of a close loss like this. “But the Steelers should have won!” you say. Yes, they should have. That’s what makes it worse. That’s what causes the misery. I’ll sleep much better knowing that my team deserved to lose.

-- When the game ends, I leave to go work out. When I return, my daughter is on the toilet, trying to poop. My wife is sitting on a footstool next to her. “We’ve been sitting here since just after you left,” she says.

I take over poop duty while my wife stretches her legs. I read a book to her. I sing to her. I encourage her to push. No poop.

“It’s time to shit or get off the pot” is a cliché we live a couple times a week. When we eventually pull our daughter off the toilet with no product, she freaks out. She screams and won’t lie in her bed. We leave the bedroom and she yells, “MOMMY COME GET ME!” repeatedly, for so loud and so long that she starts coughing.

Her brother, who sleeps in the same room with her, tries to roll over and ignore it, but eventually he starts crying, too. My wife and I are FURIOUS at our daughter. And do you know why?

Because we thought we could relax for the night. And really, that’s our fault.

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