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luxlightly · 1 year

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Thoughts on Astarion and why he's the most compelling character in BG3 to me right now

I've been posting a lot about this boy recently, mostly just about finding him hilarious and adorable but I do genuinely love his character and find him extremely interesting.

The defining thing about his story, especially when comparing it to Wyll or Gale, is just how LONG he has been suffering. Wyll has essentially just realized how tricked he's been and is fuming, Gale is still in denial that he's done anything wrong except for failing at his goal to return the trapped magic. Astarion has been a puppet for an evil vampire lord who tortured him and forced him to lure probably hundreds of people to their deaths for TWO HUNDRED YEARS.

He's past the initial anger. Past the denial. He's gone through every kind of grief a dozen times over until he came around to a terrible, cold acceptance. And to having to see the "funny side" of it. The cruel, twisted humor in everything. For instance, he seems, in some way, truly sorry for Mayrina and her husband's fate, but also finds it funny. He mentions he wishes Mayrina could at least see the "funny side of it". It seems that crucial to his ability to accept the things he's done and have been done to him.

I saw a comment earlier that said they felt Astarion is just "needlessly evil" but honestly I see very clear cut motivations in all of his approval choices. Fear for his life. Fear of being controlled. And finding joy, however twisted, in the horrible things that have befallen him and others.

I honestly think one of the best scenes in exploring his character is the goblin party after siding with the goblins in the grove battle, which is likely a much more rare scene since the game pushes you pretty hard towards helping the teiflings. If you side with the teiflings, he spends the party being boisterous and whiny. He complains loudly about the lack of reward, but seems to be mostly just blowing smoke, enjoying complaining. He'll joke around with you and, while making a fuss about it, does seem to enjoying himself to some extent, even if it's just enjoying the fuss he's making. And he raises a good point. If you tell him "just think of the lives we saved" he'll raise the question: did you really "save" anyone? You killed as many goblins in the camp as there were teiflings in the grove. Goblins who were manipulated and controlled by the cult of the Absolute. At the end of the day, you decided that some lives were worth the loss of others. Whether or not you made the "right" decision is up to your interpretation. It gives a glimpse into the way he's come to rationalize the things he's had to do under Cazador's command.

At the goblin party, he's much more subdued. I saw a video saying he was clearly "having a great time" but I don't see it that way at all. His jokes are dry and dark. His words soft. The way we only really see him in scenes where he feels vulnerable, emotionally. His usual flamboyant nature dulled. If you express regret over what you did, he tells you "You did what you had to. Don't be ashamed you did it well." You can really tell how that's a motto he's had to cling to himself. He's not wracked with guilt the way the others like Gale and Shadowheart are, but you can see exactly why. Not because he wanted this, but because he's completely internalized the idea that one can't get what they want. They can only take it. And accept everything else as inevitable. Right and wrong stopped meaning anything to him a long long time ago. There's just life. Survival. And whatever it takes to keep on going.

Everything Astarion does is, in some way, about protecting himself. His blades protect his body. His harsh words and lies protect his secrets. His humor protects his mind. Which is why each of his important character cutscenes have been about having to lower his guard. To trust you with all three of those things.

I'm very interested in seeing what will happen when he truly is faced with the decision to protect himself or to protect those he cares about. I think that will be the defining moment for him and will vary wildly depending on if you've managed to get him to lower his defenses around you and learn to trust.

#Astarion #Baldur's Gate #Baldur's Gate 3 #Astarion Baldur's Gate #reposting because there was some error with tagging it before

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 2 months

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The Rookie Series Thoughts (Major Spoilers seasons 1-6!)

So due to health reasons I have spent the last couple of weeks bedridden, which has sucked, but to pass the time I decided to watch the entire series of the rookie, I'd seen some gifs here on tumblr and thought it looked interesting and turns out it really was, I love this show, its got it all, action, emotion and sometimes pure goofiness.

So here are some random thoughts I had about the series as a whole I am going to stick the rest under a page break because I had more thoughts than I realised, just be warned there are spoilers from here on out.

I really liked the concept in the first season of Nolan being this older guy starting out as a rookie and how this is unusual, it was interesting to see him navigate being the oldest rookie and seeing in what ways that put him at a disadvantage but also how in many ways it was actually an advantage to him and how his life experience meant he was able to connect with people, he knew how to talk them down. I also thought him becoming a TO was a good move for his character and I love the dynamic between him and Celina.

I also love all of the characters in this show. I've really enjoyed seeing them grow over the seasons and seeing the relationships strengthen and change, they really do seem like a family. The group chats they sometimes have over the radio our always hilarious. I love how Grey is like the dad of the group and is constantly trying to get his kids to behave.

Tim very much has that protective oldest child about him, he might seem gruff but as Lucy always says, underneath he's a big softie who always has his friends backs, I loved the scene when Angela is wedding dress shopping and calls Tim because she's upset that her bridesmaids said she has to hide her baby bump, he gave her the best response and the scene was funny but it also showed a softer side to Tim and he was so supportive of her, show off that baby belly Angela.

Angela, Nyla, Lucy, Tamara, Bailey, Luna and Talia are all badasses, I love the sisterhood between all the ladies, I also love how different they all are but how they are all awesome in their own ways. I think the show does a good job of portraying strong women without falling into the troupe of just giving a woman typically male traits, like yeah she's a good fighter and doesn't like girlie things so that makes her a badass trap, they are still allowed to be women. Hope I am making sense there, there are all allowed to be there own person instead of just a cookie cutter 'tough chick' but are all also 'strong women' in their own right.

Jackson was also a really interesting character. I thought it was interesting how they explored how his father being this well respected cop had an effect on his own journey as a cop. Both the good and the bad sides of it. How he never really had any other dream than being a cop and how he had to explore whether that was really his own dream or whether he just went with that because he comes from a cop family. Also showing how he had to deal with the expectations of everyone knowing his father was this almost legendary cop along with his father's expectations for him. I was so upset when Jackson was killed, like I was so shocked by it and it took me a hot minute to accept that he really was gone.

It was also a shame to see Talia leave the show earlier on but at least she is still alive and just at another station. Still I really liked her character and wished we could have gotten more time with her.

Aaron and Celina are both really great additions to the cast as well. They both have these dark tragic backgrounds, Aaron being falsely charged with the murder of his friend and Celina having to go through her sister being abducted and murdered. It's interesting to see how this effects how they do their jobs and how they see police work. For Aaron I do think it helps him relate to those calls involving people who have been incarcerated in the past because he himself has experienced being in prison, it gives him a special edge. I also really like Celina's intuitiveness and how she is into the psychic stuff, aura's and dreams etc, I also like that although it throws Nolan he doesn't dismiss it, he helps her use it to improve her police work, its an interesting element to add and I think it makes sense for her character. I also really love Celina and Aaron's relationship, I love their friendship but I do wonder if they will eventually become a romantic pairing, they have kind of teased it but it also looks like they might chalk it up to being a result of the trauma they went through together. Honestly I am happy either way, like I said I already love their friendship so if they decide to keep them as friends that's all good, but if they do decide to shift them into something romantic I wouldn't hate it.

What I really love about all the characters is that they aren't perfect, they all have their flaws. You might not always agree with them or like what they are do but they are all growing and these flaws make them seem more real.

I also really enjoyed those special episodes where they are filming a documentary, there have been three so far, the cult one, the one covering Aaron's case and them solving Patrick's murder and the one with Jake and Sava. They are weird but in the best way possible. I don't think I'd like for every episode to be like that but they are fun as occasional one offs, like if they did one a season or every other season going forward I'd be happy. I love how goofy they are but also at the same time they are really engaging and suspenseful, like you are along for the ride just waiting for the next twist in the tale. I also love how they have those interviews with the police officers, those episodes are just really fun.

Ok so we have to talk about the ships, my favourite part of watching a new show is adding to my ship list and I am pleased to announce that there are some really good ships in this show.

I love Angela and Wesley, their dynamic at the start was really funny to watch because it was that kind of enemies to lovers type arc with the whole lawyer vs cop thing, I thought it was really funny when they are both arguing with each other and the criminal Jackson was arresting was like 'man they really dig each other.' They had a very passionate and fun dynamic and I really loved watching that grow into a steady loving marriage. Seeing them navigating marriage and parenthood, Jack is the cutest lil one, I love that they named him after Jackson and I am sure their new daughter is going to be just as adorable, have we been told her name yet, because I don't think we have? Anyway, I also like that it isn't also smooth sailing and that they do hit bumps in the road but that it is clear that they still love each other.

I also really enjoyed Nolan and Bailey's relationship, loved seeing them finally tie the knot in 6x02 and of course their honeymoon turned into a murder mystery type situation because its Nolan the bad luck magnet, but I do love how playful they are with each other and how they have that competitiveness. Similar to the Lawyer vs Cop thing that Angela and Wesley have going on, Nolan and Bailey have the whole Firefighter vs Cop thing which they play off as another fun dynamic between them. I like the whole, she runs into fires and he runs towards bullets line that they had, I also like that while they both worry about the other because they both have dangerous jobs, they both still respect that is part of the other's jobs and understands that they are capable and have been trained to deal with that aspect of their jobs. They have professional respect for each other as well as respect within their romantic relationship. I am excited to see more of them.

Nyla and James are also a really cute couple and their baby girl is the cutest but maybe its just me but I don't think we see this couple as much as the others, I wish we could see more of them. But I do enjoy their scenes together and I love that James' character isn't like a lawyer, cop or firefighter and how he's a community worker, its interesting seeing the perspective of someone who is a community member and is outside of the justice/service if I am making sense there. I just think James adds a new and interesting perspective to the show and I wouldn't say no to seeing more of him and of him and Nyla together.

Ok but now we have to talk about my favourite ship in this show, because they have taken over my heart and I am obsessed with them. Chenford, Tim and Lucy, I loved them from the very beginning and I have loved seeing their dynamic change and grow over the seasons and how they went from TO and Boot to literal soulmates who are deeply in love with each other.

The interesting thing about Tim and Lucy's dynamic in the first couple of seasons is that you could almost see Tim as being a bit of an asshole with all these Tim Tests he does on her, like he's just being mean and messing with her for the sake of it, but when he gets a new rookie and he's being really nice to her so Lucy confronts him and he explains that he trains his rookie's according to what they need. His new rookie had just got out of the military and needed help recognising that not everyone was the enemy and that people could be nice and kind. Lucy on the other hand kind of saw the world as sunshine and rainbows, she sees the best in everyone, she really is the sweetest, which is great in many ways but Tim had to show her that the world wasn't always a nice place and sometimes people do bad things and she should be on her guard sometimes. As much as the Tim Tests weren't fun for Lucy every one of them held an important lesson. The one where he said he's been shot and she had to call for help where was she, showed that it was important for her to always be aware of her surroundings and it pays off when Tim really is shot later and she saves his life, taking her duty belt when she went to the toilet taught how important it was to make sure the toilets were floor to ceiling or the belt wasn't secure and how important it was to make sure her gun was always secure so it doesn't end up on the street, the flour bomb taught her that using a radio near an IED can cause it to go off. So it wasn't just him being an asshole because, he had valuable lessons to teach her.

But I also loved that their relationship wasn't just about what he could teach her but that he learns from her too. I really do think she softens him and helps him heal from the trauma from his abusive father, she helps him to become more open about how he is feeling. Watching them pull pranks on each other is also really fun, like Lucy doesn't just lay down and take it, she gives back as good as she gets. Like when she takes his money clip, or leaves him the bar tap or puts the booties in his locker.

When they do start getting into the romantic era of their relationship their scenes are just so so good, there are so many golden moments like right from their first kiss where they are practising being a couple before going undercover and then realise that it didn't feel all that fake. Got to love the fake dating turns to real feelings troupe. What I really loved about this plotline was how it was actually Tim who was more open about his feelings which was unexpected. Like he was the one that confronted Lucy in the hotel room when undercover and said that it didn't feel like pretend whilst she was still in denial and went with 'its just basic biology' sure Lucy sure. It was also Tim who asks Lucy out first and I love that whole scene, it is definitely one that I rewatched more than a few times. I love how vulnerable but intimate it was. How Lucy is scared to take it further and admits that Tim is the most important relationship in her life. How she says its not worth the risk but Tim says what if it is before taking that deep breath and asking her out. They are both just all smiles and you can see how happy they are with each other. I love how that conversation about it being worth the risk parallels with the conversation they have about how Lucy deserves someone who is worth the effort.

Other stand out scenes are their first dates in 5x10, both of them (though I would still argue that their first date was that double date they went on with Ashley and Chris because lets be real those two might as well not have been there Chenford were so wrapped up in each other), their first time in 5x12, their breakfast scene in 5x20, they are just so domestic, their 'I love you' scenes in 6x02 and the trophy scene in 6x03, but honestly I love every one of their scenes and I can't wait to see more of them.

I love seeing how supportive they are of each other, like how happy Lucy is every time Tim gets a promotion and how she reassured him that he wasn't like his father, how he supports Lucy with her undercover work even though he has issues due to his past with Isabel and how he tells her she could never disappoint her, which I think is really important for Lucy because she has always felt like she has let down her parents so I think its great that she has that support and reassurance from Tim.

Anyway I could talk about Chenford forever but I think I have rambled about them enough so I'll stop now and move on.

If there is one plotline or scene that really stood out to me over the whole series it has to be the one with Rosalind and Lucy's abduction. The show has alot of really great plotlines and covers some really important issues throughout the series but this one really is one that got me in the feels, like it wrecked me. I think Rosalind was a truly terrifying villain not just because of the crimes she committed, which are horrifying in themselves, but because of the way she relishes it, the way she gets enjoyment not just out of committing the murders and inflicting pain on her victims but because of the way she also gets pleasure from seeing her victim's loved ones pain and suffering too, its just so disturbing. Also how she continues to kill even from her jail cell by taking on acolytes to do her bidding like Caleb.

The one scene that always gets me no matter how many times I watch it is the one where Lucy is in the barrel buried alive and is singing dream a little dream, there's no background music or any other sound, its just her voice and they show clips of the team all searching for her. It's just such an intense and emotional scene and it gives me goosebumps and makes me want to cry every time, it just never seems to lose its impact no matter how many times you watch it.

The moment Tim finds her burial site and the whole team are just digging with their hands trying to get her out in time, when they get her out and she isn't breathing and again there is very little sound just a few notes of sorrowful music here and there, then she wakes up and just breaks down crying whilst Tim holds her, its just as heartbreaking and suspenseful and I cry, every time. I just think the whole team did an amazing job with that episode.

That whole plotline is terrifying, suspenseful and heartbreaking. Just the idea of being buried alive is horrifying to me, also the whole idea of her day of death being tattooed on to her is another thing that is psychologically terrifying. I do love what Tim said though about how Lucy can choose to see it as a mark of her biggest failure or what it really is a mark of the first day of the rest of her life and that it shows that she is a survivor. I do wonder whether she kept the tattoo or not because I don't think we are ever told in the show whether she went through with the removal or not.

I would like for the trauma this left on both Lucy and Tim to be brought back up again at some point. Whilst they did explore some of Lucy's trauma over what happened and some of Tim's guilt I do think there is even more to explore there, because it really was so traumatic. Like is that song still a trigger for Lucy, are small dark places? It could be interesting to see her working through some of the lingering trauma. Also I do feel like Tim is traumatised by what happened but in a different way, like during the episode where Lucy was abducted you really did see how it effected Tim in particular, he felt responsible for Lucy and was frantic to find her and I think it effected him more than he realised and that it stayed with him and now that he and Lucy are together and she is exploring undercover work I do wonder if some of his issues are also connected to what happened with Rosalind as much as his past with Isabel, but that is just speculation on my part.

Anyway going to wrap this up now, overall I really did enjoy this show and now that I am all caught up I am looking forward to seeing what's going to happen next with all of our beloved characters. I am also officially declaring myself a huge Chenford shipper and if you follow my blog then fair warning I am going to be reblogging every gif set I come across for the foreseeable future, sorry not sorry.

#the rookie #chenford

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kerubimcrepin · 2 months

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Exploring the dofus-la-serie.com website - Part 1

The website is kind of broken, which makes me quite sad. Though that's life for you.

Character Profiles:

I am not translating this because as fans of this franchise, you probably know all of these words. (Well, except gouvernante. That can mean "housekeeper". He isn't calling her their governor. Though she should be.)

I am not even going to mention that Kerubim is here twice. Sometimes, a second Kerubim appears in a random spot among the characters while going to this page or refreshing it. Just another one fun thing about this being an eleven-year-old website for a series that has been over for years.

I wonder if, in-universe, he's the one who drew on their portraits, or if it was Joris's doing, influenced by Kerubim's stories?

Love how Atcham isn't mentioned, but his pandawa drinking buddy is. Also, that neither of them have commentary by him.

The character pages themselves have unique character art:

As well as short descriptions of the characters.

Because the entire site is saved on web archive, and probably won't go down anytime soon, (despite its buggy state,) and these not offering any new, groundbreaking information — I will not be posting most of them here, save for the main ones:

Joris:

Kerubim:

Also, a note: this calls him a "papa poule", which I decided to google, to hilarious results:

Thank you, dofus-la-serie.com... for everything. I already noticed, in the past posts, that it's actually weird and off-putting that Joris has no friends, and that it might be Kerubim's fault, but we never really see him make parenting decisions (COUGH-COUGH-COUGH besides the decision to constantly endanger and neglect Joris but EHHH I spent 50+ posts talking about that in the show liveblogs) in the series due to its slice of life format.

I'm glad to know that at least one canonical source describes him as overprotective, bearing, and anxious parent, (but not to a helicopter-parent level). That's actually quite valuable!

Simone:

Pupuce:

Multiple notes here:

The description does not seem to use explicitly masculine pronouns for Pupuce, who, as we know from Joris, is a girl. This is just an error on the Google Translate's part.

PUPUCE IS A CAT KIN/CAT FURRY????????????

You know what, actually considering Joris himself is a cat furry, but in a much more subtle, subdued way, her being his pet is a match made in heaven. Two creatures who wish they could be cats, breaking bread and drinking tea together. Love wins.

The broken "find the object" minigame:

One can only be thankful that it's not more broken — because 2013 was prime time for flash games, and yet, this game does not seem to use flash technologies.

When you click anywhere on the screen itself, instead of the UI, the game, and the page itself freezes. It's a shame — I bet the game was fun, back when it worked.

I had taken it upon myself to download and archive the music from the minigame, so, here it is:

Using archive.org I was able to get to the next page, the link to which is usually invisible and also unclickable in the minigame:

Kerubim's Collection (link included so you don't have to suffer like I did)

It's quite a long list, with many items, but I am not Ronik, this show's biggest, and probably, by now, only fan, if I don't read all of this and bring the most interesting parts to you.

Firstly, thankfully, all of these are, for the most part lore-less. Just little blurbs of the episodes those appear in, whether you can find them in-game, and a hint as to where to find this in the broken minigame. But there are some gems:

Kerubim doesn't like Joris's photography hobby (...I sure do wonder why!)

HE'S A SORE LOSER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NOFFOUB EPISODE. LMAO. "Deceitful Osamodas"....

"I'm cautious" "Simone whyyy did you put it here??" How these two people hadn't killed Joris fr is still beyond me.

He's genuinely insane.

#siteexploration #ro liveblogs dofus #dofus #wakfu #krosmoz

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maniacwatchestheworld · 3 months

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Man... I just LOVE watching the DPxDC community do their thing. I like them and just want to examine you all under a microscope because I find you all so very interesting! It's just absolutely TRAGIC that I have yet to find any storyline or AU that tickles my specific fancy, personally...

I acknowledge that this is purely a me problem and not a community problem 120%! The stuff that I just enjoy about Batman and Danny Phantom are just not things that the community are interested in as a whole and that's perfectly fine! But it does make me feel like a pure outsider when I wish that I could actually more earnestly engage with the community itself from within. Just... Siiiiiigh! And I just have not been able to think up anything to make the two verses blend together in a way that would be personally satisfying to me specifically!

Have some of my personal winging under the cut! No hate. Just explaining my tastes and yearning.

Absolutely no shade! All the more power to you for writing stories with these tropes and features! But I personally am not particularly interested in batfamily drama, and I see the kids in the batfamily as the children that they used to be in many ways. So stories about the batfamily don't interest me a whole lot, and I'm just not invested in shipping them with anyone (I'm also ace, so I really don't get pretty much anything out of batfamily romance) as a whole. What I like about Batman is that his stories are largely mysteries. I like the atmosphere and I absolutely ADORE the rogues! I like seeing the crimes and Batman clashing with his rogues, and most of all I LOVE the heart-wrenching DRAMA between Bruce and Harvey as Bruce DESPERATELY does everything he possibly can to save his best friend, while Harvey slips further and further into a hell that he wishes that he could climb out of but is just unable to alone! Harvey is just my absolute favorite and the sheer tragedy of his character has a tight grip around my heart that will not let go! Meanwhile with Danny Phantom, what I like about it... Well... I just think that Vlad is neat! There is also a certain tragedy to him as well, but he's also just a pathetic loser which is hilarious to me! Like, so often he comes off as so slick and cool and threatening... But also he's a loser and a goober. I also just love seeing how much of a simp Jack is for him. And I just like how redemption is always just barely in sight for Vlad... He just has to honestly reach out and grab it, but he just isn't willing to right now. Also ghost powers are neat and unique and I enjoy the unique possibilities and aesthetics of it. But sadly for me, these just aren't things that the DPxDC community is interested in. And that's perfectly fine, but it does make me yearn. Like there are interesting parallels to explore between Harvey and Vlad for sure! But I have no idea how to explore them in any interesting ways at all! Also I am just the kind of person who very much dislikes stories about destiny and stuff like that. So AUs like the twin demons or Ghost King!Danny just have absolutely no appeal to me. I'm just not interested in the inevitability that a lot of storytellers in this space have that Danny WILL join the batfamily. Also it feels disappointing to me whenever a writer just doesn't give the DC the credit that they deserve. It feels like people just want Danny to be super ultra overpowered, even more so than the super ultra overpowered characters that DC already has without exploring how these different things interact. Feels like people are more interested in erasing DC canon to make way for their Danny Phantom fanon instead of letting both things be true as is the usual DC way. Again, there's nothing wrong with doing that, but it just leaves me wanting. Also I really don't particularly like nor care about Ra's or Talia as far a rogues go, so only seeing them getting included in these things is just disappointing.

Lays down. Like, I don't want to sound like I'm hating on the community. I honestly am not. I'm just bellyaching because I am in this enclosure and am not receiving good enough stimulation in this space. It just feels like... It's a hot day, and I am REALLY craving some ice cream right now! But this ice cream shop only has 4 flavors and I quite dislike them all. I'm not angry at people for liking these 4 flavors. And this place is just SO CLOSE to being something I like! I enjoy the decor, the location is really nice and convenient for me. But alls I can do in just stare in the window and watch everyone else enjoying themselves while I bake in the sun. I admit that this is purely a me problem and not a community problem but it's just a bummer, y'know? Flops.

#maniac life #maniac muses #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dc x dp #whinging #maniac rambles about nothing

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rey-jake-therapist · 1 month

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It's kinda hilarious but mostly sad for me that from the moment I muted the JohnLock tag because I was tired of seeing so-called TLJCers "meta posts" from 8 years ago and was looking in vain for Sherlock fans who had other interests than a non canon ship, I just... Don't see Sherlock related posts anymore? Except for a couple of Adlock and Sherlolly posts, but I don't engage with these ships either so 🤷

I took my Sherlock x OC fic off AO3 because I ended up losing interest. Never did I take off a fic from AO3 after only three chapters! And it wasn't even because it wasn't read: I was actually surprised to see it bookmarked, receive several kudos and even a couple of lovely comments. The kudos were anonymous for most of them but so what. It was nice to see the attention anyways. So it's not a case of "woman bitter because her shitty fanfic wasn't successful". Considering I had only three chapters online, it was a promising start.

Yet, I lost interest because my passion for the show wasn't fed by exchanges with other fans. I mean, I had a few very nice discussions, -I don't want to tag anyone but the three of you I have discussed Sherlock with several times should easily recognize themselves 💜-, but before I muted the JL tag I spent more time scrolling down than anything else. I think it's a shame because there was so much to this show than a ship. With my story I wanted to explore Sherlock's past, uncover a potential trauma caused by something else than Victor Trevor's death, open a discussion about this, about his relationship with his brother, his sister and his parents.... And I KNOW that Sherlock's relationship with John, wether it's considered platonic or not, is very important. I just wish I could find something else to discuss than Sherlock's feelings for X or Y, or his sexuality.

Some could say it's pretty much the same thing for the Hannibal's fandom: there's no doubt that if I muted Hannigram I wouldn't find any Hannigram related posts. Or I'd probably find anti Hannigram posts, ew. The big difference to me is that Will and Hannibal's relationship is at the core of the show. The show is called "Hannibal" but it could just as well be called "Hannibal and Will": even if you don't ship them, take the relationship out of the equation and the show has nothing left to say, like... Literally.

Don't get me wrong, Sherlock without the pair Sherlock/John would probably be crap, but it would still have Sherlock's relationship with his family to cover. And boy there's much to say, imho. While Hannibal has no one else than Will. Will has no one else than Hannibal. That's the story. Also Hannigram is canon. So it makes sense to me that most of the fandom's posts are focused on Will and Hannibal. It hasn't stopped me from starting a pre-Hannigram fic because I'm very intrigued by the professor Lecter had an affair/student Alana Bloom storyline they hinted at in season 2, but I know I won't lost interest in this fandom anytime soon, because I feel fed by it. And this weird/toxic/and yet very romantic relationship between these two weirdos keeps fascinating me, even after four rewatchings! Besides, most Hannibal fans are unhinged which is I must say, a quality I appreciate very much 😁

#Fandom rant #i'm sorry #Sherlock bbc #hannibal tv show #Hannibal nbc #anti johnlock #Anti Adlock #Anti Sherlolly #hannigram #Putting the anti tags here only to clarify it's not a pro shipping post. I don't hate the ships! I'm just not interested in them.#Hannibal series

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antianakin · 4 days

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If you got to replace a new trio to lead in the clone wars instead of Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Anakin who would they be?

Personally, I think Depa (before Caleb), Mace and Hondo would be a hilarious trio.

It would depend on what story you wanted to tell with it.

The Clone Wars was intended to be a bridge between AOTC and ROTS in terms of character development, so it did genuinely need to be Obi-Wan, Anakin, and then the character who causes the development. Replacing these characters with anybody else removes the ability to explain how Obi-Wan and Anakin developed into the characters they are in ROTS.

But if that's not the story you're trying to tell, then the options open up significantly.

If you wanted to focus on the impact of the war on the Jedi, then personally I'd have focused on either much more niche Jedi or just come up with original Jedi characters to explore. Using original characters who aren't affiliated with the original story opens up a lot of avenues for stories you can tell. Ahsoka's options ended up a little limited because Anakin CAN'T have a Padawan by ROTS. Anakin and Obi-Wan cannot die and everybody knows it. Any Jedi who dies during Order 66 in ROTS has to live to make it to that moment. But if you introduce completely new Jedi characters to follow and who aren't connected to Obi-Wan or Anakin, you can do whatever you want with them. Maybe they live, maybe they fall, maybe they die. It just opens up a lot of avenues that aren't available otherwise.

The other option you could go for is to focus on the CLONES instead of the Jedi. Pick three clone characters and follow how the war impacts them, explore clone culture through them, explore their relationships with each other and with the Jedi and citizens of the Republic. They could be from any battalion and it might be easier to make them attached to an original or at least niche Jedi character rather than making them from the 212th or 501st, but you could make it work with those too. I feel like this would've been REALLY cool to do honestly, and I really wish we'd gotten more focus on the clones themselves in TCW.

You could have made it a more political show I suppose, though that would likely mean making it more adult-oriented than child-oriented, and followed Padme, Bail, and Mon Mothma or something like that. I remain forever saddened that Padme doesn't have that many political-focused stories that don't end up just becoming an action story by the end.

Lastly, you could focus on the civilians somewhere and tell the story of the war from the perspective of the littlest people. This is sort-of what Andor is doing by focusing on characters like Cassian and Luthen, people whose names will never be remembered and telling the story of the Rebellion through them. But this could be focusing on someone like Cham Syndulla maybe and the rebellion on Ryloth, or people like Trace and Rafa and the impact on citizens of Coruscant, or ANYTHING ELSE. Coruscanti citizens give an interesting perspective on the war since they're sort-of sitting in the middle of it and also somewhat isolated from it at the same time.

So yeah, I think there are tons of really cool options for who you could follow in TCW depending on which story you want to tell, and the canon version of it was trying to tell a very specific story that required Anakin and Obi-Wan to still be the main characters.

#star wars #tcw #the clone wars

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alica-tech · 1 year

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A Crash Course to Design Thinking: Empathy

●~•──────── Introduction ─────────•~●

Hello! Today I wanted to talk about UX design. This post was supposed to be longer but Tumblr deleted my draft and I’m feeling (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ so here is just part one.. We’ll be covering the “Empathy” step which includes:

Exploring the problem space

Conducting User Research

Defining User Personas

I believe that taking time to do design thinking when creating a product avoids bad door knobs and confusing app interfaces. Here’s a handful of hilariously bad UI demos for taste: https://mattw.io/bad-ui/.

Here’s some other common pitfalls:

Too many choices for a user (overcrowded toolbars)

Not enough options for users (accessibility)

Poor feedback (“Did that form actually go through?”)

Inconsistent interfaces (“Do I push or pull on this door…It says push, but has a pull handle!”)

●~•────────What is a prototype? ─────────•~●

A prototype is an early model mock-up of the product you want to build. We’re focusing on digital products in this case, so the product can be an app, website, or any other applications. Prototypes are useful for conceptualizing and visualizing your ideas for the product. It's also meant to showcase the "flow" of using the app from a user's perspective, as well as show the layout and organization of your product.

●~•───────What is the design thinking process? ────────•~●

The design thinking process is an iterative process to approaching designing products. It's not necessarily linear, but we'll walk through what you should consider at each step. In practice, you may find yourself revisiting steps to refine your problem, ideas, and mock-up itself after getting user feedback. Let’s talk about the first step, empathizing!

Part 1: Empathize

●~•─────── Step 1 ────────•~●

⭐ Pick a problem space.

What problem are you trying to find a potential solution for? It could be as simple as "Tumblr’s draft system sucks" or maybe your friend just said "This book tracking app could be better.." Sources of inspiration are everywhere!

Coming up with your own: Think about your own experiences as a user of different products or services. Have you encountered any frustrating issues or pain points that could be addressed with a potential solution? Maybe you struggle with finding parking in your city and wish there was a more efficient way to find available spots. Or perhaps you find it difficult to keep track of all your passwords and would like a more secure and user-friendly password manager. Consider your own needs and experiences as a starting point for identifying potential problem spaces.

Interacting with others: Talk to people in different industries or fields, or attend events or conferences related to areas you're interested in. This can give you exposure to different perspectives and potential problem spaces that you may not have considered before. For example, if you're interested in education technology, attending an education conference could help you identify common challenges and needs in that space. Or even reading through r/professors or talking to your own instructors!

📚 Resources:

https://www.uxchallenge.co/ - List of problems

https://uxtools.co/challenges/ - Walkthroughs on tackling specific problems focused on UX skills

●~•─────── Step 2 ────────•~●

⭐ Understand the users affected by the problem.

Once you have a problem space, don’t jump ahead and start thinking of solutions! First, we must understand the problem from a variety of user perspectives. Why? Because by understanding the users affected by the problem, we can gain insights into their needs, pain points, and behaviors. This understanding can help us develop effective solutions that address their needs and improve their experiences.

There’s a variety of user research methods we can use to collect user perspectives, this is just a handful of them:

Survey: If the product already exists (and it’s yours), you could add a survey in-app for feedback on a specific feature. Otherwise, you can create a survey assessing a user’s impressions on a problem they might have (“Do you encounter this..?”, “Would you be interested in a product that..”, “What kind of features are most important to you?”).

User Interviews: This involves talking to users one-on-one to gain insights into their experiences, needs, and pain points. It's important to ask open-ended questions and actively listen to their responses to understand their perspectives fully.

Online Research: Checkout user impressions on products by looking up existing reviews online. This can be from Amazon, Reddit, the app store, whatever. To make this kind of data useful, you can identify patterns of what is often mentioned or common pain points users express online. It’s going to be better if you can connect more directly with users about your specific problem area, but this is something to start with.

📚 Resources: (I love nngroup…)

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-research-cheat-sheet/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/guide-ux-research-methods/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

●~•─────── Step 3 ────────•~●

⭐ Create User Personas to represent the types of users your product will be addressing the needs of.

The user persona shouldn’t represent a specific (real) person, rather it should represent a realistic archetype of a person. I think of it as like a character sheet. For example, if we’re creating an app for book tracking our user personas might be “Reader Rhea - A college student looking to organize books from her classes” or “Bookworm Bryan - A young adult looking to get book recommendations”. The persona should be based on the research you did prior. Creating user personas will help you better understand and empathize with your users, and make design decisions that align with their needs and goals.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to include in a user persona:

Name: Give your persona a name that reflects their characteristics and needs.

Demographics: Include details like age, gender, occupation, and location.

Goals: What are the persona's primary goals and objectives when using your product?

Pain points: What are the main challenges or problems that the persona faces when using your product?

Behaviors: What are the typical behaviors and habits of the persona when using your product?

Motivations: What motivates the persona to use your product?

Personality: What are the persona's personality traits and characteristics?

Scenario: Describe a scenario in which the persona would use your product or service.

Quote: Include a quote that summarizes the persona's attitude or perspective.

📚 Resources:

https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/persona-creation/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/personas-study-guide/

https://www.justinmind.com/blog/user-persona-templates/ - lots of examples and explanations here

●~•─────── That's All! ────────•~●

Phew, ok that is all for now! In a future post, I will go over the second step in the design process. If you have anything to add to this topic, pls share! :D Thanks for reading

#ux design #user experience #ui ux course #prototyping #design thinking #tech #design #creative #user research #comp sci

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master-of-47-dudes · 1 year

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I think one of the most interesting storytelling decisions in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is that the Ing have no lore files. The Luminoth have a ton of info on them but you really know nothing about the Ing at all besides their being universally hostile, apparently intelligent, and only what the creature scans and Luminoth's point of view of them tells you.

It's actually kind of a weird absence. It's obviously intentional; a way to make the Ing seem too alien and hostile to truly be in any way sympathetic or relatable (as opposed to the Space Pirates whose lores paint them as a mixture of amoral/unfettered by ethics, hilariously incompetent, pathetic, and unlucky, and downright diabolical).

Even Dark Samus, who also leans hard into the light/dark dichotomy that the game themes itself around, has more depth and revealed motivations than the Ing through its/her actions thanks to the Space Pirate lores and the secret ending of the first Metroid Prime.

Of course, Dark Samus is also a subversion of that theme as well, but that's a different rant.

With the Ing, it's simply... they exist, they are intelligent, and they hate everything the light world stands for. Why? There is no known motivation. The game's narrative and the Luminoth lead us to believe Dark Aether is entirely unnatural, an anomaly that sprung into existence when the Phazon meteor struck it.

Exploring Dark Aether does seem to lend itself to that conclusion. The Ing do not seem to build, outside of the immense ingworms and the containers made of smaller, weaker ing. They do not seem to have clear domiciles, simply existing around Dark Aether. They have a hierarchy, and the Ing Hive is said to be their home, but the Ing Hive is also just a very literal Dark reflection of Sanctuary Fortress; architecturally identical to its Light counterpart in most ways, despite the obvious artificial nature of it. The same applies to Lower Torvus!

Any construction that exists in the Dark world and not the Light World is generally something the Luminoth built there during the war, or that the Ing stole.

Any construction that exists in the Light world and not the Dark world is something built after the Luminoth made their last stand: the Space Pirate base in Agon, the desperate attempts of the Galactic Federation troops to secure a site before they were overrun.

But while the Ing do not build or care for their own, they’re not unintelligent. Their greatest asset in the war was not their ability to overrun their enemies with numeric advantages (which they had and used), but their ability to adapt to and appropriate every weapon the Luminoth used against them.

Without that, without strategy and cunning, the Ing would not have been able to turn the tides of the war in their favor; the Luminoth's technical advantage was TOO big; the Luminoth weapons Samus utilizes in Echoes make that obvious, with the Light and Dark Beams offering firepower far in excess of standard Chozo faire and the Annihilator Beam's interaction with the Luminoth's crystals and beacons making it the ultimate weapon against the Ing. The Dark Suit? A near perfect defense against the hostile Dark Aether's atmosphere.

And yet the Ing could possess the Luminoth, the creatures of Light Aether, the defenses the Luminoth made to protect themselves...

The Ing's greatest asset is theft, to the point that even their world is stolen. A copy, all the structures they call home simply copy-pasted into existence by a bizarre cosmic incident and not things they built themselves.

I suppose these weird aliens stand out in the Metroid series by being one of the most alien things Samus encounters, outside of Phazon itself- and them being a unique creation of Phazon lends itself to that bizarre, eldritch nature of the substance as a living thing.

...but God damn do I wish we got to see their perspective.

#metroid #metroid prime 2 #ing #rant #musings

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queen-fenestra · 10 months

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I, a bassoonist, went down the rabbit hole of double reed instruments on wikipedia, and will be rating them out of ten mostly based on looks

a regular bassoon 9/10. i love it very much but there is room for improvement

okay, next up, the tenoroon, which receives the award for dumbest sounding instrument ever 4/10 would be less but it looks kind of cool. lost a lot of points on the name

also, the contrabassoon, something i wish i could play so much. it looks so cool 10/10 no notes

next, the dulcian. I used to think this was cool, until i tried making this post and then every single picture i put in here turned into a blurry upclose shot of a dulcian and i almost went insane. it looks like it'd be fun to play though. its so small. 6/10 lost a lot of marks due to its trying to be every picture

Oh! and let us not forget semi contra, an instrument i only learned about today. it looks so interesting and why is it metal??? 8/10 it seems like it is trying to betray the woodwinds and join the enemy (brass and saxophones)

Alas! my friends, my foray into wikipedia did not end there. I ventured to explore variants of the oboe (the worse of the two best known double reeds).

again, a normal oboe for reference 6/10 is kind of shrill and too hard to play. pretty good in the hands of an expert just not my type

i also found the piccolo oboe, but that looks exactly the same, save smaller, and so i will decline to include a picture

next i saw the english horn. half decent. looks cool. it gets an 7/10 one more point than oboe simply because itslike an oboe but trying to be a bassoon and in my book you get points for trying

after that came the oboe of love. (why it is called that? i dont know but i find it hilarious) pretty much the same as a regular oboe again 7/10 its just an oboe but with a better name

next another instrument i had never heard of the oboe da caccia. its like if an oboe and a french horn had a baby so its like an oboe but worse 5/10 (remember kids, brass are the enemy)

and last but not least, bass oboe. 8/10 only oboe i would play

note: i i offended brass players, oboeists, or saxophonists in this post, then i have acheived my goal

#double reeds #bassoon #tenoroon #contrabass bassoon #semicontra bassoon #dulcian #oboe #piccolo oboe #bass oboe #oboe da caccia #oboe d'amoure #english horn

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mongeese · 7 months

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as a fellow member of the kristen/tracker need to break up club pls speak on it more

Ask and ye shall receive. So first of all like you said in the tags of that post they are extremely messy codependent and not the healthiest relationship in the world. Although to give them credit, they are actually remarkably functional for teenagers in their first relationship, and practice a good amount of effective communication, but they are still teenagers in their first relationship. And they live together. There is very little separation between the two of them, and I think Kristen especially probably ties her identity very heavily to Tracker. If they broke up, she'd have to completely re-evaluate herself.

On the other hand, it seems feasible to me that Tracker has some built up resentment toward Kristen; she was of course being possessed while in the nightmare forest and so we cannot take anything she said as truth, but it's true that Kristen's issues seemed to dominate their relationship and what they talk about. Kristen can often be selfish by accident, which already has caused some tension between them. To me it seems likely that that could build up, especially given their experiences in the nightmare forest and how they both hurt each other in there. (Another thing I wish we'd get out of junior year but doubt we will is the whole gang actually facing the trauma of adventuring, but given the genre it's unlikely and honestly I don't know if they could successfully pull it off even if they tried. But I digress).

Ultimately it comes down to the fact that they are teenagers in their first serious relationship, and they're both emotional disasters. They're also both starting two different religious sects in two different countries. Kristen most definitely will not handle the distance well, and I think Tracker could start to grow suffocated by her overwhelming attachment. Which brings me to my second point: it's the best decision for Kristen's character development, imo. Her arc in the first season was dealing with her sexuality and loss of faith. In the second, it was her finding a new faith, based around uncertainty and mystery. I think it's time for her to learn how to be a person and to embrace these things without Tracker to lean on, especially when it comes to sexuality. Tracker was her gay awakening! I think if they break up, she'll be lost and depressed and as full of doubt as she always has been, which is ofc where the most interesting character stuff happens. Who is she without Tracker? What does it mean to be gay when you aren't dating anyone? How do you navigate heartbreak? These are interesting questions to explore in relation to Kristen, but they're also quintessential to the themes of the whole story. Teen breakups are as much a part of coming of age as teen relationships, and to me it would just ring more honest if they didn't stay together. The whole "starting dating in high school and never break up" gets on my nerves to no end, and I just desperately want more media to explore ending relationships in a way that doesn't always portray it as a tragedy.

And of course, last and most important is that it would be really funny. Ally fucking nails awkward flirty horny-but-angry-about-it characters. They would roleplay that shit so well the post-breakup conversations with inappropriate flirting would be amazing. Just imagine the "inspiring" speeches that would come out of a breakup. Kristen could write angsty teen lesbian poetry. The possibilities are endless and 75% of them are hilarious

#d20 #fh #kristen applebees #tracker o'shaughnessey #thank u for the ask i love talking about my fh headcanons and hopes

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ctommyisnt · 3 months

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I cannot find the original ask game post fam and determine who’s already asked what so let’s just go with 5 or 24

Hi!!! Trust me I could barely find it either (and who knows if this is the one you were talking about) but I’ll answer both because I can’t help it

5. How do you translate the world of Minecraft to fit into your fanfics when you keep the original setting?

THIS is actually one of my favorite things to do; worldbuilding in general is probably one of my favorite hobbies. I once created an au that was about tommyinnit waking up in an alpha world and has to survive. As he explored he slowly helps the world ‘update’ in a sense, either by encouraging or freeing spirits (his friends, this wasn’t fleshed out as much) or just by surviving. It culminated in him going to the end in a later update and talking to Phil (the end) and Kristin (the world) in a very ‘end poem esque’ conversation. The mechanics of Minecraft being thrown into a real life adjacent world is SO INTERESTING!! I have ideas for probably everything. The dragon, enchanting, animal mechanics, everything. The visuals I have of a Minecraft world in my head are magical and I’m really trying to learn how to paint bc I want to put it on paper SO BAD. Trust me I could rant about this forever especially if I had specific questions. I want to write that fic idea (maybe with Tommy, maybe with someone else since that interest has mostly died down) someday if I can, but I think just the idea of being a player, being love, because the world loves you, is such a magical concept that I wish would be explored world. I also have really fun apocalypse theories for Minecraft because wouldn’t that be so cool (THE BONES. THE FUCKING BONES)

Also I highly reccomend reading Minecraft: the island. It was written by the same guy who wrote World War Z and it fantastically explores the idea of a normal person ending up in Minecraft in ways that feel just so realistic. Hilarious read.

24. What work would you like to talk more about

Oooh that’s hard. I only have one ‘real’ wip rn (shoutout @thesentientmango your a real king) bc with real life everything else has taken a back burner, but I have like six main wips from when I was in the dsmp fandom that I hold close to my heart. But also another one based on the song For the Departed by Shayfer James.

It’s about grian who used to be a watcher but ran away to escape that life once he formed connections with people (evo) and has been in hiding in hermitcraft. One day the watchers fine him, but sensing his desperation they offer him a choice. Either he comes with them, back to his family, or he can stay here with these humans, but he must take part in the watchers and their stories that they will do with his friends (which Grian is well aware what the watchers can and will do). He goes with the second, condemning his friends to torture, because he can’t stand to leave them behind and join the watchers. This begins the life series and every winner gets to keep a much clearer memory of the games (the games are like a fever dream during and after). And then scar wins, and finds out what Grian did, and the watchers find out scar knows, and offer him the same choice Grian did. Wonder what scar took huh

Anyways I probably shouldn’t have ranted about that au bc this post is LONG but I can’t help it. The song is revolutionary I highly recommend and let me know what you think of my aus (wow I ranted about two in one post crazy)

#ask game #I have so many aus and worldbuilding ideas you don’t even know #@ducks-and-stuff

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knowlesian · 2 years

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somehow i have not written about lucius and pete at all, which is DOWNRIGHT UNCOOL of me and as such: let’s do this.

it’s easy to let these two fade into the background when it comes to couple content; both our other main ships have conflict seeded somehow into things, either personal conflict or jim's revengequest 17k17 meaning they have to go exist in a plotline that isn't a kissing book for a while.

lucius and pete? lucius and pete meet, they don’t seem all that interested in each other. they don’t hate each other, they just seem more or less indifferent.

then they get to know each other: and then they fall in love, and they stay that way.

like: holy fuck, YES? more of that, please.

to be clear, i’m anything but arguing against the existence of high drama and passion and tragedy, because fiction is the absolute best place to explore dynamics that would not be super fun or healthy in real life. fiction allows a level of thoughtful remove which allows us to explore things we find frightening or exciting or shameful etc into forever without leaving the comforts of home! of course i love that shit.

but what we see so much less of— and what is often devalued or derided as boring and not worth watching or writing about— is what pete and lucius give us.

they're the opposite of dramatic. because when we talk about love as art or love as in passion, we end up slipping a lot into the language of danger and destruction; fires and hurricanes and drowning and wasting diseases. we so often think of passion in apocalyptic terms.

which is why i think it’s interesting that the show makes sure we know: lucius and pete fuck. they caps-f Fuuuuuuck.

and they love an audience! these two have passion for each other, colloquially and otherwise. their captain filled the ship with chintz; to keep it real, they literally fuck on the floor.

and they are still so, so sweet. (have we considered: the swede didn’t have scurvy, but rather was struck by the levels of sucrose emanating off lucius and pete???? who could say.)

jokes aside these two are about both/and, not either/or.

i wrote more about this elsewhere, but i also love that we don't know how they fucked: we can draw assumptions based on the coding and what we expect from that coding, but we don’t actually know. only lucius and pete get to know exactly what they did: we only get to know that it happened, and lucius was on top.

there's a lot happening there, you know? like. a LOT, a lot.

so anyway: pete and lucius love an audience, but they also reach for each other in their sleep and ask solicitous questions and whittle fingers and just generally improve each other’s lives. and since obviously lucius is not dead, not even a little (never, disaster, & etc), now i’m on a countdown to them holding each other again and potentially even pete ignoring the chance to chase ed with a sword to focus on showing open, public affection to the man he loves.

because i do think pete very well could/might/will harbor elaborate (and probably hilarious) fantasies of vengeance, especially if and when he finds out about The Shove, but being with lucius was what allowed him to let go of the idea that hurting somebody is how you prove your manhood.

so here’s my s2 wish for them on that angle: pete dropping his hero worship of ed and some more of his baggage about How To Man Good in one fell swoop as he kisses lucius’ fucking face off and ignores a chance to leave lucius standing there alone, criminally NOT having his face sucked off, in order to fall back into old patterns.

#another longer piece on them coming ...soon? hopefully?#i did edits on this section and pulled it #felt like a day to post about SOMETHING that comes easy #and their love was a good fit

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miikarin · 4 months

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These are the games I played this year and a rough ranking on them. I say rough ranking because even with my cobbled-together categories, it's hard to sometimes rank games against each other because they have different parts that I like and some of these are effectively tied or close rather than a clear higher ranking.

I tried to include in this list just the games that I have either finished or put in a significant amount of time for the more casual ones so that I felt that I had a fair idea in my head of what the game had on offer. Most of these I played and finished on stream though a few, most notably all of the Hidden Object category, were played purely offline. Some games I started on stream with the intent of showcasing them to then take offline and play.

Okay so starting at the top! No, I will not be taking any comments about my category choices, thank you 🙃

Metroidvania/Roguelike/Soulslike

Ranking on image (with links to game page): Grime, Afterimage, Vernal Edge, Pronty, Lone Fungus, Going Under, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Ghost Song, Faerie Afterlight