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come-chaos · 1 year

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I ended up liveblogging my entire rewatch of TBB S1 on Discord and the result was somewhat extensive, so I figured: why not stick it on my tumblr as well? Not because I expect anyone to read it, but because I’m very excited that having a week entirely to myself (I got covid for Christmas) resulted in me actually having the brainpower to form coherent thoughts about what I was watching. So here we go:

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Ep 1) This is my favourite episode. I love the opening setting with the snowy wilderness, especially as so much of the series takes place in more urban settings or indoors. Having seen the entire season, I also really like how the conflict between Hunter and Crosshair is established here already.

– Tech has so many great lines in the first half of this episode. He clearly has strong opinions and feelings about everything that's going on. I really like the way he's written.

– The mess hall scene still cracks me up. Poor Echo and Crosshair. 🤣

– The combat simulation is also so much fun. Like [friend] said, it's great to see all of them working as a team. I especially like the way Tech and Wrecker work together here, and how Tech translates the hand signals to Wrecker into a reference that he can understand ("what we did on Felucia").

– "Every choice you've made since Kaller has been wrong." I would love to know exactly what's going on in Crosshair's mind. Is he dealing with any dissonance at all, or is this the only truth he knows?

– I'm still disappointed and confused by Echo's lack of robo legs in the prison scene, but that's the only negative I find worth mentioning.

– The soundtrack from just after the prison break and until they run into Crosshair is very minimalist and cool.

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Ep 2) Omega finding dirt amazing is still so heart-warming and heart-breaking and hilarious all at the same time.

– This episode has some nice Echo moments. I like his expression when Tech points out that they've become deserters and how strongly he reacts when Cut mentions Rex.

– "Clones wanted names instead of numbers, but now people are signing up to be given numbers." This is definitely the line I remember the most clearly from this episode. It says so much about where the Empire is heading, but it also hits extra hard because Echo is most certainly thinking of one very specific clone when he says that first part. 😭

– Echo and Tech is another duo I really like seeing work together! Something that stood out to me this time around is how naturally Tech covers Echo while Echo is working, even though Tech is usually profiled as someone who would typically be on the other side of that arrangement.

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Ep 3) In which Echo and Tech continue to be a moderately successful team with limited interpersonal patience and trust. 😂

– I'd forgotten how Hunter, Tech, and Echo just keep shrugging at each other when Omega wants to go with Hunter to track down the dragon. They were raised as soldiers, so of course it's hard for them to think of a reason not to let her do the same things that they do.

– This episode is better than I remembered! I originally got a bit stuck on the 'Omega saves the day' plotline, but there's a lot more going more going on here.

– Crosshair's Kallus moment is so sad. 😭

– Wrecker is so sweet in this episode. 🥺 I like that being a good caretaker doesn't come naturally to him just because he has more emotional awareness, but that we get to see him put conscious effort into it.

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[Here comes a side note I added:]

Something I've thought about repeatedly during this rewatch so far is how deeply I disagree with the notion that Tech is a stereotype. He's usually less emotionally expressive than the others, but he clearly has strong feelings about Order 66 and the Empire. He frequently talks over people's heads, but he's also able to facilitate communication between his team members ("what we did on Felucia"). He's the brains of the group, but he dual wields 17's like an ARC and has never been shown as anything less than proficient in combat. He's a little awkward with Omega, but is clearly shown looking out for her.

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Ep 4) In which Tech has to remind his team that they live in a capitalist society.

– Echo and Omega inspecting the clone trooper doll always kills me. 😭

– Hunter selling Echo is still way funnier than it should be. "Fine, but not at that price. I'm worth more than 2000." 🤣

– "You got me for a bargain." 🤣 🤣🤣

– It makes me weirdly happy to see Echo command his little squad of droid mechanics. He's taking control over a situation that must have been very uncomfortable for him. 🥺

– (What I really want to know is why Echo had a droid costume in the first place. There has got to be a story there.)

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Ep 5) In which Tech gets to berate Echo for leaving out information (about not having met Cid).

– "Or he was arrested for violating countless health code regulations." 🤣

– I love Echo's little smirk when he's stopping Omega from touching things.

– ... and how Wrecker holds out his hand for Omega to high five when Cid says that she's the brains.

– Returning to the opening of the episode, I like that we see the boys taking steps to ensure Omega's safety. They're learning from their mistakes!

– I know that the conversation about slavery seems like a missed opportunity to address the Republic's ownership of the clones, but I feel like Omega holding the clone trooper doll still kind of addresses it in a very subtle way. The clones clearly don't think of themselves as slaves, so it's not something they can talk about, but an observant viewer might notice the clone as an object in Omega's hands and put two and two together. Unless it's a coincidence and I'm giving the producers way too much credit, but I'd really like to think it was intentional. 😶

– Wrecker references a previous mission to communicate with the others - check!

– After mainly getting bonked in the head in the previous ep, it's nice to see Wrecker save the day.

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Ep 6) In which absolutely no one thinks it's a bad idea to let Omega shoot space arrows towards the door opening where anyone can enter at any moment. 🤣

– Echo is so sweet with Omega even though he has no idea how to train a child that isn't a clone cadet.

– Ah, yes, it's time for "is there an echo in here"! It's so silly and easily one of my favourite moments in the show.

– I like Trace and Rafa, and I think they have a fun dynamic with the BB. I wouldn't mind seeing them again in S2.

– Hunter is pretty cool in this episode.

– Actually, they all look cooler (and weirder 💕) when juxtaposed with some normal people. I love it when a show makes me shift to an outsider POV for a moment and lets me have a fresh look at the protagonists. (The upcoming Ryloth plotline would be the main example of this.)

– [Here I tagged a friend whom I had been talking about Tech with], another emotional Tech moment: Tech is clearly disturbed by the news that their attempt to retrieve the tactical droid came close to sabotaging Trace's and Rafa's mission for the rebellion.

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Ep 7)

– Rex is so good with Omega. 🥺

– There's a very satisfying hissing sound when Echo's helmet fits itself around his cybernetics.

– The Fives mention! I so hope that Echo and Rex will have another little chat about Fives in S2.

– The sound effects and music when Wrecker's chip kicks in are so good. Again, the soundtrack turns minimalist and industrial when the BB is in danger from one of their own. The result is super cool and I appreciate being able to enjoy the scene without having to lower the volume.

– As much as I think Wrecker gets hit too hard with the comic relief tropes (though it's perfectly understandable given that it's a family show), it probably serves to make him even more terrifying in these scenes. That, and the fact that the camera spends so much time at Omega's eye level.

– Ugh, this is such a good episode. Such an emotional rollercoaster.

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Ep 8) In which Echo takes a very sexy shot.

– Can anyone else make sense of the scene where they're heading back into the Venator and Echo looks like he's reaching out for Omega, but Wrecker notices and slaps him? It's so weird to me. 😂

– Poor Echo really wanted to go with Rex. 😔

– I like the scene with Tech and Omega, and I think a lot of other autistic people would agree that "What was the war like?" is a rather hopeless question to answer. 😅

– I think this episode shows that Tech's optimism, rather than overconfidence, is one of his main weaknesses.

– "I've never been inside an ion engine before" / "It'd be weirder if you had" 🤣

– The old Venator was such a cool choice of location. I love the visuals of the engine.

– The scene with Cad Bane and Hunter is pretty good and I like the soundtrack, but I do feel that it fits poorly in the episode, especially in the middle of all that Crosshair whump (which is glorious), though I suppose Hunter getting injured at the same time as Crosshair makes for a good way to continue to connect them in the narrative. Then comes the FPS view, which makes me claustrophobic and nauseated, so I'm probably biased against it, but I don't think it fits either. Opening the next episode with it might have worked a lot better! I do think it's fun that the producers dared to experiment with style and genre, and I certainly don't hate the result, but I wish it would have been put together more smoothly (though it's very possible that this would have required additional minutes that the budget didn't allow for).

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Ep 10) In which we are reminded that Echo's moral compass is actually biased, and Echo meets a Separatist who challenges that bias, resulting in ✨ character development ✨

– Echo sniffing the Mantell Mix is still so funny.

– "You and Omega loop back around" / "That would be impossible seeing as Omega is not on this mission" 😭

– I don't think I'm supposed to find the AT-TE's cute, but they look like big, friendly animals.

– "I never much cared for that vase" 😂

– Wrecker has some really nice badass moments in this episode.

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Ep 11) It's Ryloth time! I watched TBB before Rebels, so it's really fun to watch this again now that I know who everyone is and where they end up.

– I don't imagine Crosshair ever got to voice his opinions like he does on Ryloth when he was still a member of the GAR. Crosshair has so many reasons to stay loyal to the Empire, which is something I really like about the show.

– And here we go! The outsider perspective on the protagonists. The Marauder landing and the BB disembarking still gives me goosebumps. I'm such a dork. 😅

– Omega's and Hera's friendship is so adorable. I don't know much about children, but I feel like their scenes together are really well written.

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Ep 12) I still have an hour to go before this year ends (or I did when I started typing this), so let's finish the Ryloth arc before my parents call me and the fireworks start. 😆

– "Don't worry, we're defective too" 🥺

– Tech's optimism again! "Children often overreact."

– Meanwhile, Omega has finally got Hunter wrapped completely around her finger. ❤️

– Hunter senses the probe droid! We really don't get to see him use his abilities enough.

– Ahh, the staring contest between Crosshair and Howzer. It's the kind of scene that feels like it exists to inspire fanfiction. 😂

– I like Howzer just fine, but I have the weirdest case of jealousy when it comes to his imitation of Fives. I just don't like it when people act as if he's more amazing than Fives, because he isn't. He isn't. 😡 (🤣)

– Hera flying the shuttle is so funny, both the general chaos and Tech's reactions. "Yes, your dangerous and uncontrolled maneuvering is as confusing to them as it is to us." 🤣

– Also, I've been wanting to mention this for just about every episode, but I love how good of a pilot Tech is.

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Ep 13) Seeing as I'm now very much awake, I'll watch one more episode tonight.

– I love that the Weequay and the Ithorian apparently just follow Cid wherever she goes. I have no idea what their relationship with Cid is, but the three of them are clearly some sort of package deal.

– Echo's "the what?" when Cid mentions the hive is so funny.

– When Hunter keeps shielding Omega from the Pykes and the Pyke says they're going to keep her as a hostage and all the boys draw their blasters. 🥺😭

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Ep 14) I'm having too much fun. Just one more episode.

– Omega watching Hunter twirl his knife and trying it with her hyperspanner is the cutest thing EVER.

– The face Echo makes at Hunter when they're debating whether to help Gregor is amazing. Like the angriest puppy dog eyes. I'd love to think that he picked it up from Omega, who clearly has great success when using it on Hunter.

– "You did that on Skako Minor when you rescued me" still makes me emotional. 🥺

– "That's Captain Traitor" is still so funny.

– I really enjoy Tech's piloting in this episode, and the way he takes over from Omega is so sweet.

– Seeing Hunter all alone in the forest, ordering the others to leave him behind, still hurts.

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Ep 15) In which Crosshair steals the entire show.

– Echo is so sweet when he kneels down to check on Omega. 🥺

– The scenes with Hunter and Crosshair are so intense. "We didn't have a choice." / "And I did?" 😭

– Tech's "How could I possibly know that?" is so funny, and the way Wrecker just assumes that Tech knows everything is so sweet.

– I've been trying to figure out what the chain of command looks like when Hunter is gone, but I still haven't reached a conclusion. I would assume that Tech is in command, but he and Echo seem like they share the job?

– "You weren't loyal to me. [insert full speech here]" 😭 I just love Crosshair's entire thing in the training room. Just everything he says and does. The sequence where Tech sees the reflection in the knife is also amazing.

– I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Crosshair is right about Omega. If the point is to protect her from danger, then Hunter is doing it wrong. (And Crosshair knows this first hand. On Bracca, when he still had his chip, he ordered his troopers to aim for Omega. That wouldn't have happened if Hunter hadn't brought her there in the first place.)

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Ep 16)

– Ah yes, the poor clone who has to report on the destruction of Kamino.

– Ah yes, let's almost drown Crosshair. His life is the worst. And the way he rips his arm away from Omega the second he's free. 😭

– ... only to slide on his back across the floor and look super pathetic at Hunter's feet. Oh how the stickly have fallen. 😔

– The dialogue in the underwater tunnel is one of the best in all of SW imo. It just makes me really happy that these characters are allowed to be complicated and have complicated relationships with each other. And what Tech says to Crosshair is something a lot of people in this fandom need to get tattooed on the inside of their eyelids. You can understand someone without agreeing with them.

– Seeing Crosshair and Hunter stuffed into that pod together makes me feel a thousand emotions on top of the ones I was already drowning in. (Tech and Echo sharing one is also pretty cute.)

– "I can't see anything. / "That is a good thing." 😅

– The music when Omega goes after AZI is so damn good.

– Crosshair's reaction to all the others aiming at him after he takes that shot absolutely murders me. He's so resigned when he sits back down. No one even says thank you.

– Crosshair always seems to be the last to get up in this episode. It's not just that he actively keeps his distance to the others. He moves more slowly. Not to mention the way he almost falls apart in the lab before Omega approaches and he has to act functional again. He's not doing well at all. And with that, my fanboy batteries are fully charged and I'm vibrating at top speed in anticipation of S2. ✨

#star wars #the bad batch #come chaos watches star wars

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icharchivist · 3 years

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ok i’m out of my liveblog tag now so lmao, highlights! sorry for the small gbf spam before it’s time for it

but yeah so i feel strongly for the Lamorak’s storyline. Like i go more in depth there about why i really love the Wales brothers storyline for personal reasons (......... which ironically if you follow me for a3, is the same reason i love Gekka so much)

but one of the thing that blew my mind with it is that like, I love doing theories and meta right? but the fandoms that get me the most worked up for that are.... generally frozen? like if we don’t count characters studies like i do for a3, i’m talking, actual theories like i do for dgm, or, hxh, which are all saga i made extensive Meta for, are all stuck in hiatus and we have little advancement on the stuff i can meta about. There’s DA that’s a bit different because there was at least one book that made my brain goes brrr and all but aside from that, i rarely get new content for the sagas i theorize about and so i get used to it, and i even less get direct answers that proves or disproves my theories.

but the fact gbf is always getting out some content meant that ultimately i had to face my expectations and metas in the eyes

.... and the Lamorak’s storyline was basically telling me “hey you were right to expect me and also you were right about everything bestie”

and like. The absolute VALIDATION of it all???

For the year i was into gbf about i was talking all the time about Lamorak to whoever would hear me. A character we only had seen in flashbacks at this point, before and during the incident that caused the major trauma both of his brothers went through and had to overcome as adult. And for a year, i would talk about everything we know about this kid, how he was before his mother’s death and how he would have coped with it, and how he would realistically appear again in the plot again.

i also remember theorizing something totally unrelated, knowing that Gawain was linked to the Wales storyline because he “blackmailed his influence into it” and back then i theorized that it could be something linked to Lamorak and “wouldn’t it be wild if Gawain and Lamorak knew each other actually” and it was totally a crack theory that was having very little foundation for it.

And then Lamorak was namedropped into the newest Percival FE and i kept thinking “okay next event Lamorak will happen. he’ll be there. I know it.”

......... and turns out. I was right. I was trying so hard to manage my expectation but here he was introducing himself in the Gawain centric event (at the time the Gawain involvement in the Dragon Knight saga was a secret kept in his 5* FE!! it was his first time into the Dragon Knights event!!), while also dropping in that indeed him and Gawain knew each other. And all of that while filling a fate i did expect of him and theorize about.

It was like. so wild to me. More than just seeing Lamorak again which i had wanted for a lONG TIME, it was that the way i interpreted and read Lamorak made so much sense that it was the plan. That ended up being the plan.

even for stuff like DA where i still get content to examine, i don’t have answers yet, just more clues and more questions.

but GBF told me “hey you were right about those things”

And it’s so validating??? to think that all of my overreading, all of my theorizing, all this time i spent rambling on and on.... was because i caught the right clues, or, if they hadn’t planned this far, that i understood the character enough to be able to reach the same conclusions as the writers when it came to deciding how he will join the story.

Like i always think i read too far into it, that i’m getting my expectations high, that i’m wrong and i’ll be disappointed. and since i am not in sagas that get answers, i am constantly pushing down my expectations. (which is also why a3 is soothing bc characters analysis don’t come with the crushing expectation of theories lmao). So Being told that actually this is exactly how it was meant to be? for once i have an answer to my overthinking and it rewarded me for it. Unparalleled.

So yeah the high from the Savior of Dalmore event is unmatched. I will never forget it. Also the fact i managed to go in totally unspoiled and not knowing Lamorak was in it.

So that’s basically “10 times i overanalysed pieces of media (and One Time they told me i was right)” the event story. Forever vindicated.

#ichablogging gbf #ichablogging 4kishi #anyway. what a day. Was already one year ago huh...#eDIT: WITH ALL OF THAT #I FORGOT I HAD THEORIES FOR H//Y///PMI///C #THAT GOT CONFIRMED AFTER I STOPPED FOLLOWING IT CLOSELY #my power actually #gbf is the only one in which i was still involved when it was confirmed i guess???#man i completely forgot about how much i used to overthhink h//y//p///mi///c #and the fact it got enough content to confirm everything i thought #well... on the band i was focusing on lmao but well #one day maybe i'll get back....#i was just too exhausted with the hunting for translations stuff #anyhoo

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journeysintowebcomics · 5 years

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Homestuck Liveblog #181

UPDATE 181: Meat

A long time ago, I finished reading Homestuck. It was quite the long tale, and it was rather enjoyable! At the time I thought there ‘d be nothing else, because Act 7 seemed like quite the final chapter – or if there was anything, it’d be bits and pieces that wouldn’t warrant a liveblog. Yet here we are! Turns out, after this long, there’s epilogues. In plural, as you can see. Somehow, there are now epilogues and they’re said to be quite long, too. After taking a cursory read that made me read more than I thought I would, here I am, reopening this liveblog to explore the epilogues.

What I have read so far...is not particularly enticing or even likable, at least in terms of enjoyment, really, but there’s something about the writing that makes me want to continue. Credit where it’s due, yeah. Still, I’m interested in seeing where this is going, and now, I’m posting my thoughts here for everyone to see. Here we go! So, let’s start with the epilogue liveblog!

You know, before that, I should note that now the story has its own URL instead of being into the old mspaintadventures website. Kind of late in the game for this change, Mr. Hussie. I mean, the story is over, and although there’s a whooole lot of new content, it seems a bit senseless to have this in its own domain. Then again, the rest of the mspaintadventures stories were kind of...hidden away in the website? I don’t remember links to them, when I used to read Homestuck. Maybe Homestuck getting its own domain is for the better. I do wonder if this is a hint more stuff will come in the future. The extra-epilogue. The postscript-extra-content. The seriously-guys-this-is-the-end chapter.

There are two epilogues, it seems. One is meat, the other is candy. I immediately notice this is related to the cherubs’ food. I wonder if it means one epilogue will be...bloodier? Crueler? More chaotic and violent? I mean more like something Caliborn will like, while the other will be more to Calliope’s tastes. I’ll start with the meat epilogue, simply because it’s to the left.

From what I can tell at a glance, there are no images, but there are colored words, most likely from conversations between characters. That should be fine, although Homestuck was pretty visual at times, its strength was the writing and characterization.

Well then! The very first paragraph already beats most of Homestuck in terms of extremely descriptive stuff. Heck, this reminds me of Worm, with its extensive paragraphs about bugs and how they crawl on people and cause all sorts of nasty effects. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Meat was definitely the right choice, you think, as grease drips down your chin. The meat is cold and undercooked, so you have to grab it with both hands while you rend it apart with your incisors. It bursts in chunks, filling your mouth with blood and your throat with mangled knots of gristle and long strings of muscle fiber. You take big bites, almost too big to swallow, so big that you choke on the meaty mulch and hock some of it up into your nasal cavity. You sneeze out a gooey rope of phlegm and flesh. You stop for a moment to wipe your face, but your chin is still slippery after you swipe the mess away. Slivers of meat catch between your teeth as you masticate with bestial enthusiasm. You use your thumbnail to fish them out.

...am I eating this meat straight from the cow.

Apparently the person who is eating meat that’s almost raw is John, who I guess gained a taste for raw meat at some point. Maybe he’s trying to emulate Jade’s canine half, for all I know. He’s with Roxy and Calliope, the later providing the meat. I suppose cherubs wouldn’t know about cooking meat. Speaking of cherubs, eating meat reminds John of Lord English, and he gets so sick thinking of Lord English he decides he knows what he must do. Alright! Didn’t waste any time dilly-dallying around!

JOHN: i have to go back and kill lord english.

ROXY: u sure?

JOHN: i think so. it will probably be hard. but i think it’s the right thing to do.

JOHN: everyone is counting on me.

When is this epilogue set? Before Act 7? I thought by now Lord English was dead and gone, not that it still was something that needed to be done. Then again, it’s not like Lord English’s death was shown on screen, if I remember correctly. Maybe this is after Act 7 and he’s going back in time with his retcon powers. I suppose he’d still have them.

Roxy seems disappointed, so I suppose she knew this had to be done at some point. Given John’s retcon powers, it’s not impossible this is the last time she sees John if things go wrong. Calliope is more accepting, saying it’s John’s decision. Time to leave?

Seriously, things have gotten quite more descriptive now. Still unsure if that’s good or not.

The farewell is quite unsatisfying, and the moment passes without John being able to make it better, so he goes to prepare himself and write a note for Roxy as a farewell and/or apology. Not only to her, to all of his friends. It’s like he’s aware the chances he’ll return here aren’t that high. I wonder if John would die here at the end. It’d be quite...something!

In this epilogue, there’s a Troll Kingdom, which I imagine is ruled by the trolls who survived Homestuck, raising the grubs created by ectobiology. Dave and Karkaroni are there, Dave lives with the trolls, I suppose because his relationship with Karkaroni now includes living in his hive.

KARKAT: NOT NOW DAVE. JAKE’S ASS IS ON TV AGAIN.

DAVE: stop ogling jakes ass this is important

KARKAT: WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHOSE ASS I SHOULD STOP OGLING.

Apparently the reason why Jake’s ass is on TV again is because he and Dirk have a show involving rap battles and robot wrestling, which I suppose is the natural progression from when Jake used to get said ass kicked by a robot. People like the show, and I’m already convinced it’s partly because of the schadenfreude of seeing Jake losing against robots – because no way Dirk is losing, hah

Karkaroni has a few choice words for the fake gladiatorial show, and points out this show is all about zooming onto Jake’s ass. Maybe ‘pumpkin patch’ is an euphemism. Either way, the relevance of the TV show is eclipsed by the announcement Jane is running for president of the entire Earth. Aha, truly the wretched pastry baroness’ descendant.

DAVE: i dunno crocker is just an ambitious woman i guess

KARKAT: THIS SOUNDS FUCKING AWFUL.

DAVE: oh it is

DAVE: it absolutely is

DAVE: also like

DAVE: dont tell her i said this but

DAVE: i think shes basically a fascist

...well then. Oh all things that could have been used to describe Jane from what I remember of her, ‘fascist’ didn’t come not even close. Then again, it’s not like Karkaroni had any meaningful contact with Jane, and all Dave did was call her hot, which isn’t really the epitome of camaraderie and intimidate knowledge. They both even admit to that.

DAVE: oh also shes a fucking xenophobe

KARKAT: OF COURSE SHE’S A XENOPHOBE!

...ah.

...

Did I miss something? Was there something between Act 7 and these epilogues that revealed Jane harbors xenophobic inclinations? Why am I having to ask aloud ‘hey is Jane a xenophobe’

KARKAT: DAVE, I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE NOTICED, BUT

KARKAT: A LOT OF HUMANS ARE???

DAVE: yeah ive noticed

Well, that part isn’t really surprising. Humanity just has a knack for looking down on other people, I can only imagine how it’d be when it’s about other sapient species. If aliens ever make contact with humanity it’ll be a social mess.

Since letting Jane claim the spot of president of Earth is not good, apparently, Dave wants to stop her, eliciting laughter from Karkaroni who is already imagining Dave running against her. No, Dave couldn’t handle that responsibility, no way.

DAVE: anyway no

DAVE: im not running

DAVE: you are

Hm...unless Karkaroni got over the many issues he had from his leadership attempt during Sgrub this can’t end well. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t like the idea, precisely because he doesn’t feel like he has what’s needed to be a leader. It’s not that he would lose horribly – Karkaroni actually is rather popular. I suppose all of the Homestuck survivors are popular – it’s that he doesn’t feel ready and he seems to hate the attention. Understandable.

KARKAT: MAYBE I DON’T ACTUALLY LIKE BEING FAMOUS?

KARKAT: AND MAYBE THAT’S AS GOOD A FUCKING REASON AS ANY *NOT TO RUN FOR THE FUCKING PRESIDENCY OF EARTH*?????

KARKAT: NOT TO MENTION THE IDEA OF AN ELECTION IS KIND OF A FUCKED UP AND WEIRD THING TO ME CULTURALLY ANYWAY, AND I’M STILL KIND OF GETTING USED TO THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN JUST... “CHOOSE” THEIR FUCKING LEADERS AND NOT HAVE THE SAME OLD MERCILESS BITCH IN POWER FOR SEVERAL MILLION YEARS.

Perfectly valid reason. I mean, it’s not something kind of inconsequential as being the class president of sophomore year in school or whatever it’s like up there in America. It’s president of the entire planet. If Karkaroni wins there will be consequences, even if he steps away immediately. Either he commits to this fully, or he simply shouldn’t run.

DAVE: ok ill just be the one to come out and say it

DAVE: shes going to be a fucking disaster for the economy

So Jane’s a republican. Haha! Ah, I shouldn’t touch this not even with a ten-foot pole. Nevermind that.

DAVE: i guess i have to admit

DAVE: part of this

DAVE: for me personally

DAVE: its

KARKAT: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING DAVE

DAVE: its about obama

Somehow, I didn’t even bat an eye with Dave described part of the reason why this is personal for him is because Obama didn’t get to be president due to, you know, the end of the world. I find it in-character, somehow. This isn’t the first time Dave extols Obama’s virtues, and after quite an extensive diatribe, he says maybe Obama reincarnated in Karkaroni. Thaaaat has to be the most Dave-y encouraging thing he could have ever thought. It’s for things like these that I like Dave, haha

Apparently only humans have tried to get to high offices, because no other species has even tried. They lack ambition, and given what I remember from Sburb, that’s believable. The only species that could come close to taking part in this are the trolls, and they’re not used to elections. No wonder humans have the high spots of politics.

DAVE: karkat dont stereotype

DAVE: remember the mayor

DAVE: remember how at one point a long time ago he raised an army and rebelled against an evil king

KARKAT: OH YEAH

KARKAT: SOMEHOW I ALWAYS FORGET HE DID THAT.

KARKAT: KIND OF MIND BOGGLING, REALLY.

KARKAT: HOLY SHIT, I MISS THE MAYOR.

DAVE: me too

Ah, yeah...I miss him too. I wonder what happened to him.

The government is in charge of troll reproduction through cloning, I suppose because the mother grub isn’t ready yet. In the meantime, the balance of power will get entrenched to the point where even when there’s a functional mother grub, humans will restrict troll population so they don’t take over the planet and make the horrors of Alternia happen. No lie, that’d be pretty bleak for humanity. Last time the horrors of Alternia were forced onto Earth everyone died. No troll right now would try, buuuut yeah, that’s not going to be forgotten...for a while.

Somehow, Dave’s arguments about how Jane has zero business acumen, is sinister, and trolls are getting the raw end of the deal are actually getting Karkaroni to pay attention, until he finally caves, simply because it’d make Dave happy. That’s sweet. But yeah, this is...not what I expected what would happen in the epilogue. Well then!

DAVE: aw yeah

DAVE: you wont regret it this is gonna be dope

DAVE: i think we have a great shot too

DAVE: with my political savvy and economic genius and outrageous flair for subversive anti establishment messaging and propaganda, and your big loud fucking mouth...

KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK

DAVE: um i guess also your charisma and likability and shit

KARKAT: YEAH.

KARKAT: YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT...

KARKAT: I’M PRETTY SURE I CAN FAKE THOSE THINGS WELL ENOUGH.

DAVE: oh also

DAVE: your weirdly sincere humility

KARKAT: I PREFER THE TERM “SELF LOATHING” ACTUALLY.

DAVE: ok lets try to avoid that phrase on the campaign trail too

KARKAT: THIS ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE A PAIN IN THE ASS.

I’m not a political strategist, but if Karkaroni is going to run on a platform about how Jane sucks and there’s inequality towards the trolls, I’m not entirely certain it’s good there’s a shadowy human pulling the strings in the campaign. Kind of seems like bad optics to me. Then again, can’t say I know where this is going so let’s just wait and see.

Yup, Dave definitely will be the brains behind this presidency. They already agreed he’ll write what Karkaroni will say, even though he should improvise and speak from the heart, like he tends to do. Not a bad idea, it’s part of what makes him endearing.

DAVE: time to talk some strategy

DAVE: we need to rally as much high profile support to our cause as we can

DAVE: but there are some uh

DAVE: “lines of loyalty” to figure out

KARKAT: WHAT?

DAVE: i mean which of our friends are going to side with us and which ones will side with jane

It’s a safe bet to think the New Wonderteam will side with Jane and the Original Flavor Wonderteam with Dave and Karkaroni. Calliope likely will stick with Roxy, so she’d be on Jane’s side. All the living trolls would go with Karkaroni, so...overall? It seems to me the advantage is clear. Dave is slightly less optimistic than me, but he does think they can get many on their side.

...okay, what happened to Jade? What kind of twisted scenario involved her to the point where neither Dave nor Karkaroni want to talk about her? I’m almost afraid of finding out.

So there are four kingdoms, if I understand this correctly: one for humans, one for trolls, one for...carapaces, I guess, and one for the consorts, which would be aaaaaall the silly reptiles and amphibians from Sburb.

Jake’s support will be pivotal, and since I’m already betting he’ll be on Jane’s side out of, you know, being friends with her for quite some time, it seems like she’ll have the edge there. Then again, it’s true Jake is fairly timid, so there’s also a chance he’ll refuse to take a side. I’m starting to think any sane person would stay the heck away from any side in this mess, honestly. These two haven’t even announced Karkaroni as a candidate yet I already kind of dread what’s coming. I don’t know, it’s just this...constant atmosphere that something’s pretty wrong. I don’t really like it.

During all this, Dave receives a call from Dirk, so he calls back to ask what’s going on. This page ends with Dirk abut to insinuate he needs Dave to cut his head off again. I see these two’s weird pseudofamilial relationship is as messed up as ever. Charming.

So, back to the more Homestuck-y stuff. John zaps back to the story, apparently he agreed with Rose what needed to be done. First he makes sure Aranea won’t be up to shenanigans, taking off that ring of life from her finger. Good! Then he stashes Gamzee into the fridge again. Good! Everything’s fine over here. John zaps to the next plot point.

Ah, I have to read just two paragraphs to know what moment is this. The conversation below confirms my thoughts. Wait, I have to get the image for this moment:

There we go. Boy was it a pain to find it now that the long outline list is gone.

I think in Homestuck they had noticed John hanging out above them, and this time they see three of them, one of the Johns being an adult version. That’s going to be difficult to explain. Questions are asked, and evil Jade is zapped away to maybe get ready for the fight against Lord English, hopefully she won’t still be evil when the time comes, even if she technically is against Lord English and wants him dead. John is here to talk with Dave, anyway. If I recall correctly, Dave was supposed to give the final blow with that sword with the Welsh name, so my guess is that John is here for that. Get ready, Dave, you’re going to fulfill the fate you didn’t want in the first place! But at least I’m fairly certain John will be more successful at this than evil Jade was.

Turns out I’m not wrong about why John is here. In fact, the narration even says this:

Dave’s eyebrows descend beneath his sunglasses. You feel pretty bad because you’re about to completely circumvent the life-changing epiphany he’s just had that you know for a fact will make him a happier, chiller, and altogether more well-balanced human being.

Pretty unfortunate, really. It sucks to be Dave.

As I said before, Jade is zapped away to parts unknown, and Dave is informed of how everyone was spending their lives as normal adults with no big problems and a fairly peaceful life. Clearly John left the present before Dave and Karkaroni started their political war against Jane. Oh well. Off you go, Dave, get ready for a fight with Lord English. In the meantime, John will gather the rest of the team.

You know, I’m starting to realize I had a lot more to say about Dave and Karkaroni’s new political adventures than about the more familiar Homestuck-y messing around John is doing with the plot. I guess it’s because, as strange as the other plotline is, it just has...a lot other stuff to comment about that hasn’t been present in Homestuck before? Hm.

Yup, Dirk immediately asks for his decapitation as a solution for the tremendous defeat he has suffered at Jake’s hands, defeat that shouldn’t have happened because, as Dave states, Jake is pretty awful at everything. Either the show is rigged or Dirk must have quite a lot in mind for him to not even make an effort.

Yep, it’s rigged. I hope Jake knows. That guy never had a break during the game, hopefully he’ll get a break now. Speaking of Jake, he has to take the brunt of entertaining everyone while Dirk takes the call in the middle of the show. Whatever he has to talk about must be somewhat urgent, if he felt like calling Dave in the middle of it.

This narration sure is calling attention to Jake’s ass a lot, I lost count of how many paragraphs include something about it. Hussie, is there something you’d like to share with the class? Last time I checked the story he didn’t seem particularly interested in Jake’s ass, or in...Jake in general, really.

It seems what Dirk is doing here is intentionally making himself the villain of this show, but it’s not because he’s throwing Jake a bone or anything. No, it turns out there are more sinister goals here, or at least they’re sinister for Dave and Karkaroni’s newfound political ambitions.

DIRK: The point is, this is much less about me, and more about providing a foil for Jake’s heroism and charisma.

DIRK: It’s very important that his popularity continues to be cultivated, to maximize his political capital.

Sounds like they were planning Jane’s campaign for quite a while, if they went so far as to make Jake the hero of their show just for political capital. I bet that was the plan all along, right from the very first time this was broadcasted. How long ago was that, I wonder? But yeah, as Dave predicted, Dirk is fully on the Jane corner of this mess. He’s fully aware of Jane’s flaws and theoretical fascist/xenophobic tendencies, I presume, and he believes Jane’s the best for the current situation of the world. Whether he’s right or not...well...until proven otherwise I believe that too, yeah.

DIRK: We’ve all had our fun here, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that civilization on Earth C is hardly a sustainable proposition.

DIRK: Just beneath the surface, it’s quite a dangerous and unstable place.

Won’t lie, that never crossed my mind at all. From the way Act 7 ended, and how happy the ending was supposed to be, I simply thought things were going to be just peachy. I’m interested in knowing just how exactly it’s a quite a dangerous and unstable place. Care to explain, Dirk?

Guess not. I hope he explains how he knew what Dave and Karkaroni are planning, then. They took this decision like ten minutes ago.

DIRK: I think your heart is in the right place, but the dude is a complete amateur.

DIRK: He’ll get eaten alive. I also have a hard time imagining he even wants the job.

DIRK: Really, it’s an awful idea for him to even run. Think about how much it’s going to inflame the interspecies tensions on this planet. Is that what you want?

DIRK: I’m happy for both of you, really. It’s nice that you encourage and support each other in this way. But you’re sending him on a fool’s errand which can only end badly.

To be perfectly honest, other than the part about inflaming interspecies tensions on the planet, that was more or less what I thought. So far I agree. Even the part about inflaming interspecies tensions sounds plausible.

You know, it’s kind of fun both sides have a savvy Strider political operative. These two are more alike than Dave would like to admit, really.

The reason why Dirk is calling is because he wants to dissuade Karkaroni from running, even if he doesn’t say it. He admits Jake is not under Dirk’s beck and call, though. Does that really change anything? Dirk may not be on Jake’s good graces, but perhaps Jane is? Either way, this is a call to subtly dissuade and it’s not going to work because Karkat is stubborn as hell once he gets his head into something and he did. Tough luck.

The call is over, Dirk is back into the staged fray, so Jake thinks about Dirk’s capricious nature.

DIRK: Sorry for the momentary diversion, Jake. Now where were we?

JAKE: Momentary??? Gadzooks man you were on the phone for half a friggin hour!

JAKE: I know you like to get the crowd all hot and bothered but we are supposed to be professionals here!

...no wonder the crowd was starting to get so upset. Half an hour?! Just how slowly were the Striders talking?

Jake pulls out rhymes that honestly reminds me of Dave’s old rapping convos from like Act 1 or 2, peppered with old-timey sayings. It’s the kind of thing that makes me wonder how Jake is popular all over the planet. It’s said it’s out of pity, but goodness, that must be a metric ton of pity. The rap fight ends with Dirk sedating Jake to take another call. Geez, no wonder you’re not on his good graces anymore, Dirk.

Aaaanyway, back to John. He has gathered everyone back at his childhood home, ready to start the discussion on how to get rid of Lord English once and for all.

Jake is sort of ruining the mood anyway by bouncing away on your old Green Slime pogo. Doesn’t he realize how dangerous that thing is? Of course not. The fool.

To be frank that thing looked fun to me, even though I wouldn’t ride it without a helmet. John needs to appreciate more the painful playground elements in his life.

It’s nostalgic to read a convo with the kids. I hadn’t realized until now I missed Jade’s goofy mannerisms. Jade was always someone I was so fond of. Heck, all of the kids are people I’m fond of, although I’m less fond of Dirk and Jake than the rest. My opinion of Homestuck may not be as high as it once was, but the characters are something I still appreciate.

John answers a question: what happens to the people from the timelines they all left? Who knows. They may have stopped existing, which I’m sure is something they’d have liked to know before, but there’s nothing that can be done about that. Better start planning so they don’t die horribly and make nothing matter, alright.

The planning is mostly disorganized and structureless, although some common themes that often recur involve you and your original three friends leading the charge, since you are the oldest and wisest, and therefore the strongest, with the exception of Jade, whose gaudy array of powers make her the most formidable of the group, bar none. Aside from that, it appears the consensus is that the melee will likely devolve into an absolute free-for-all—at least going by the general patterns of incoherent banter, shit-talking, and points of pedantic tactical disagreement plaguing the jam session.

Sounds about right. I still think Jade would be very useful in the fight as long as she’s actually there and not...getting knocked out by mailwomen-turned-winged-dog. Maybe this time there’ll actually be something about the kids getting into a fight with Lord English. I’m not really going to hope for that too much, given how Hussie is not into catering to orderly narratives, but eh. No harm in dreaming.

The reunion ends when Jake eats dirt when he falls from the pogo, and in all this there wasn’t even a word about the plan. Not a good omen for the ‘show everyone fighting Lord English’ dream, really. The kids all talk together, some of them meeting each other for the first time, while John wistfully stares at Dad Egbert who is visible through the window.

The sun is hitting the glass in such a way that you can’t see his face.

Ah, yes, how could I forget the eternal sun that was in Dad’s vicinity all the time, that’s why his face always appeared mostly blank. That’s why the sun was right beside the Homestuck letter logo, it’s always there. Besides, if it’s a bad idea to go talk with Dad Hebert, may I ask why they’re all gathered in this yard, one week before the meteors strike? I know I’d be alarmed if I looked out of the window and saw seven hooligans and one adult hanging out in my yard.

There are other things to be wondering about, anyway, like the fact John may not be seeing these as real versions of his friends. Then again, in my opinion, he’s thinking a bit too hard about this. Of course he’d feel kind of detached, simply because of the age difference. That’s hard to overcome. Is it time to leave and go possibly die? Grab hands and hope it’ll go okay!

No, seriously, why am I taking like a page for John’s retconning and like three and half for Dave and Karkaroni’s Elect-a-Troll 20XX? Oh well. Dirk is still in the stadium, apparently their shows always ends in a riot, making me wonder how are they popular with people. Public disorder doesn’t really paint a good image of you. The caller is Rose, and she’s not feeling happy.

ROSE: The bottom line is this.

ROSE: I am ascending, and it is terrible.

Is Rose reaching Nirvana? How else am I supposed to interpret ‘ascending’? It’s not like she’s not a higher existence already, what with godhood and all.

What’s going on is that Rose is being plagued from visions and a higher awareness of her alternate selves’ lives and tribulations, giving her something close to omniscience when it’s about the universe, and Dirk is going through that too, which I suppose helps explain how he knew what Dave wanted to do. That’s what Dave will have to go against? Good luck to him.

I have to wonder if Dirk being such a stalwart Jane supporter is fueled by his recent omniscience. Maybe he knows something Dave and Karkaroni don’t, maybe the warning he gave them was something he foresaw. That aside, then he also must have known how useless it was to call Dave and that it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Having omniscience must seriously suck. At least Dirk has a way to work with his omniscience in a way that won’t wreck him apart, and I’m curious what it’s going to be. That said, though, a story about Dirk and Rose having foreseen a nasty future and working to stop it even at the cost of a few valuable friendships would be interesting. I’d read that.

Any conversation that will come from this will be at the studio later. I for one am looking forward to it, I admit. It’s an interesting topic, rich with possibilities and potential for development. It’s a shame these are epilogues, though. In the end, this will go nowhere, I imagine. Isn’t it a pity when you come across an idea or a plot that could span an entire story, but you know it’s not likely to come to fruition? Real shame, that.

I think I’ll stop for now. I have read only seven pages out of forty-three or so, but this should be enough for now. I can’t say I have been...enjoying this. I’m interested, but not really happy so far. Maybe it’s because a couple rather questionable things have come out of the blue and for the life of me I can’t make them fit with the characters or the story. Strange.

Also, something about the writing style is...off. It’s far more descriptive than Homestuck usually was. Most of the time it’s nice, other times I wonder if it was necessary. Still, I wonder where this will go, so at least the epilogues have that on its favor. Just for that, I think liveblogging it will be worth it.

Still, these epilogues are non-canon, aren’t they? If they’re canon can you please tell me that? Thanks, readers! So, for the time being, this update ends here.

Next update: next time

#homestuck #homestuck liveblog #webcomics #liveblog #webcomic liveblog

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dragonbadgerbooks · 6 years

Photo

About Ready Player One

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Goodreads | Amazon

At this point, who hasn’t heard of Ready Player One? I remember seeing the book in stores and being intrigued by the premise, but never picking it up just because I had other books to read. Then, the movie was announced and it was suddenly all over Booklr, and not for good reasons. I finally borrowed it from the library as an ebook to decide for myself what it was about.

I’ll be honest, I did not go into this book with an open mind. I was absolutely prepared to hate it and wasn’t disappointed, although I did find the world building and idea of an interactive internet escape interesting. I probably would have enjoyed the book if it weren’t for the main character and if I didn’t feel like I was being talked down to.

Warning, spoilers to follow. You can check out my liveblog of the book over on my Instagram, geminidragonbadger

Wade Watts is insufferable.

He tries to be modest, but really just comes across as an unbearable know-it-all who thinks he’s better than everyone else while also thinking he’s unattractive. In the first quarter of the book, he laments that he wasn’t alive for the 80s, goes on and on about how much he knows about pop culture, talks about how his crush is “not like other girls,” and says that he can’t make friends because he’s a nerd. I almost stopped reading during the exposition just because of how terrible he is. (As an aside, every generation seems to think that its childhood was a simpler time, something we should strive to go back to, but whether you were born in the 80s or the 50s, as a child, you were immune to all the bullshit going on in the world that didn’t effect you. We see our childhoods through rose colored glasses, but that doesn’t mean the 80s was this perfect, sin-free decade. ANYWAY.)

News flash, Wade, people don’t like you because you’re an asshole, not because you’re a nerd.

He has perhaps the bleakest outlook on life I have ever experienced in a work of fiction, blasts organized religion, but worships nerd culture. He also goes from being a newb in OASIS to being god-tier in the span of what seems like a few days (admittedly, he gets a lot of XP from finding first clue, but still. Gary Stu much?). And just all the references. The author does a terrible job of showing rather than telling, because he just compares everything to an 80s reference. Also, just the amount of time he gives to all these pop culture icons. He references having read certain books dozens of times, or watched certain movies hundreds of times, or played certain games hundreds of times and like. Who has the time? I need someone to have gone through and documented exactly how much time Wade spent watching Monty Python or reading the dozens of authors he name drops, which, I should mention, he has only picked up in the last five years since the game was announced. I mean, maybe that’s why he doesn’t have a girlfriend, not because he’s too awkward to actually talk to girls. And don’t get me started on the section about sex and masturbation. Entirely unnecessary and does nothing for the plot except tell certain types of fanboys that they’re right, that girls don’t have sex with them because they’re nerds, not because of their glaring personality flaws.

Also his Japanese characters. Oh man. Cringe-worthy and written like white people who know about Japanese culture through anime and manga. I was waiting for the reveal that the characters were not really Japanese, but no. They continued to say “honor” every other sentence and referenced suicide as “seppuku.” Y i k e s.

Again, though. I enjoyed the world. I loved the idea of going through video games and movies and everything in order to win the contest, especially with IOI on his tail trying to LITERALLY KILL PEOPLE. Some of the other characters were really interesting and I think the story could have been amazing if it was told through any other character’s POV *cough AECH cough* The action was on point, the villains were the perfect level of evil, and when Wade wasn’t allowed to be alone with his thoughts (or Art3mis), it was even fun to read. I can’t tell you the number of times I rolled my eyes though, or felt like Wade/the author were talking down to me with his gratuitous references. That tended to pull me out of the action and make it harder to read. It made me mad when that happened, too, because there were times that I was really into it, only to have Wade become awkward and painful to read.

I probably would never buy this book, but I can’t say that I totally regret reading it. I might even pick up Ready Player Two, which I’ve heard might be a thing.

Rating: ★★✩✩✩

#review #ready player one

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a-panda-reads-act-omega · 7 years

Text

ACT OMEGA PART 1

THE 10/09/16 UPDATE

Alright, considering this update is nothing more than a curtain, I guess I’ll just try to do a bit of a re-cap for everything that’s going on at the end of Homestuck. I’ve already read up to the most recent update (12/05/17), so nothing here will be blind yet. ANYWAYS, I guess I’ll make a cut.

THE END

Ok! So, exactly where we left off at the end of Homestuck. Nothing new to liveblog about, other than the fact that the narration is a filthy liar. Like I said, this will just serve as a re-cap of everybody’s positions.

JOHN:

So, John is currently at the lilypad end-game thingy. Perfectly alive and not injured. He had his reunion with DAD after defeating The Condesce. Not much to say on him otherwise.

ROSE:

Rose is also on the lilypad thingy after defeating The Condesce. Again, not much to re-cap.

DAVE:

Dave is on the lilypad, after pulling off this HUGE SHOCKING 3x DECAPITATION COMBO! And killed off Dirky Dirk in the process. BUUT, Dirk’s alive due to Jane. That was probably a really emotional moment for Dave, which he will most likely just not speak of due to him being a butt who always puts on this cool ironic guy facade. Though I’m curious if it’s gonna have a positive effect on him or a negative one.

JADE:

Not too much to recap for her! She’s on the lilypad with everybody else after her big battle with Jack Noir and PM. In which she was punched in the face, and didn’t exactly finish it. She has the new earth I believe. OH! And the green sun was destroyed by the other Calliope, who I will now be calling DeadTier!Calliope out of convenience, and I’m curious as to how this is gonna affect Jade’s first guardian powers. Or just her in general! The effects could end up being horrible on her. Or maybe she’ll just lose them first guardian powers. OR MAYBE she’ll just end up keeping them for some strange unexplained reason. We’ll see.

KARKAT:

So the crab boy is on the lilypad after his underwhelming fight with Clover. There’s a lot I’m curious about after that fight. More specifically, how Karkat feels after that fight. Is he going to be disappointed or proud of himself? It’s possible he won’t care, but Karkat usually takes his performance very seriously when it comes to his self-value. He’s also in a pretty familiar situation. At the lilypad after a massive fight, just waiting for the door to be opened. He’s probably gonna let this stress the fuck out of him.

ARADIA:

Aradia seemed to be helping out somewhat with the big Lord English fight! She did say something about not participating in it, but it seems she decided fUCK that, and went off to freeze him in time anyways. Though I’m guessing she went off afterwards, as in the ACT 7 animation, it showed her flying around to watch the Green Sun get destroyed or something like that. Aradia’s kinda emotionally broken at this point, so I hardly doubt she’s gonna have any angst about anything that’s happened. She’ll most likely stay indifferently optimistic as always.

TAVROS:

As far as I know, he’s alive on the battlefield after dealing some massive damage (Or just light pummeling) to the big man Lord English. Not much to say on this matter, other than that’s gotta be a real confidence booster for him. I mean, if he even needs any more confidence boosts at this point.

SOLLUX:

I forget honestly. Oops. He might’ve been in the fight, but I don’t think he was? Oh well, I guess we’ll see if he’s still relevant.

NEPETA:

Forgot again. She was probably somewhere in the midst of the fight. I don’t know if there is a single relevant Nepeta anymore.

[EDIT]OH I FORGOT SHE FUZED WITH DAVESPRITE. ok thats all though. They’re on the battlefield with Lord English too I guess.

KANAYA:

She’s on the good ol’ lilypad after an epic encounter with the condesce. I believe she’s got the matriorb from Roxy at this point, so that’s gotta be really exciting for her. I’d imagine that she is really in a good mood. There’s no more trouble, and the coast is finally clear for bringing back their race.

TEREZI:

I can imagine Terezi being excited about this. I think I remember her having some confidence issues, as if she wasn’t living up to the pre-retcon Terezi. But I think there’s a possibility she’s gotten over that? I’m like 90% sure she remembers that entire timeline at this point due to her time powers. And possibly even merged her memories with them? If that’s the case, I can imagine she’s very glad all this shit is over with. She doesn’t even seem to be in this for the new universe at this point, it’s like all she wants is to be with her friends and not deal with all of these greater threats.

VRISKA:

#1 troll is on the battlefield with Lord English. She used the Juju on him, but it’s result is unknown. I’d say she’s probably looking forward to taking this big hero moment. If she does manage to take him out, her pride meter is gonna SKYROCKET. I’m sure she’d be more than happy than to have her friends regard her as a hero. But I’m sure she’s ALSO happy that the threat is gone as well. But like I said, we still don’t know what the Juju did to Lord English.

EQUIUS:

Again, no real iteration of him that matters. Other than I guess ARquiusprite. God, making a stable list of characters is difficult in Homestuck. Either way, not much to say.

GAMZEE:

In the fridge. That’s all. In this new retconned timeline, it’s hard to say how dangerous he is. So I guess we’ll see? Gamzee’s timeline is one of the harder ones to keep track of.

ERIDAN:

none that matter

FEFERI:

none that matter again. i think.

JANE:

This isn’t a character I’m too familiar with. I’m currently rereading Homestuck, so I should be able to get a better grasp on her character during that. But other than that, I’d say she’ll be happy. She’s on the lilypad, and sees her DAD. That’s all, really.

ROXY:

The batterbitch is dead, in the most symbolic way possible. With a great ol’ symbolism sword. She’s on the lilypad, probably being super badass or super happy, and possibly still having the hots for John.

DIRK:

lilypad. he died, and got revived by jane. And thats all there is to say on the matter..? Again, dirk is one of those characters i had trouble wrapping my head around on the first read. so ill probably have more thoughts later.

JAKE:

He’s on the lilypad after fighting the felt. Not sure what to say on that. moving on.

MEENAH:

Also on the battlefield. not much to say. shes probably still feeling down about leaving (vriska) behind, but who knows?

DAVEPETASPRITE^2:

A fairly new character! Hard to say how they feel in the midst of all this. they make a pretty badass sprite though, with a cool/perky personality that i love. so we’ll see more on them later. They’re on the battlefield though!

JASPROSESPRITE^2:

HMm. I dont remember if I saw them on the lilypad, so im not sure where theyre at right now. Again a fairly new character, who I dont know enough about to predict how they feel.

CALLIOPE:

FUckin adorable as always. SHe’s on the lilypad. I dont know how she’s feeling. I believe she was only supposed to protect herself instead of contributing to the fight, but I dont know how shes gonna feel about that. Having to do nothing but stay safe while all your friends throw themselves into danger, and then being told that you can just TAKE the reward with them cant feel good. we’ll see though.

CALIBORN:

Idfk his timeline confuses me at the moment so moving on

(VRISKA):

I dont know. probably being gay or something with (Terezi). She’s probably still recovering from that betrayal on Meenahs end. But this is. kinda hard to comment about.

(TEREZI):

She’s with vriska, finally having found SOME happiness after the fuckfest that was her doomed timeline. Who knows how long she’ll be ok with JUST Vriska, but I guess we’ll see.

ALRIGHT! I probably missed a ton of characters, but it’s so hard to keep track of them all. That’s all I have to say for now.

#Homestuck #ACT OMEGA #homestuck liveblog #act omega liveblog #hs act omega #hs act omega liveblog

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thearmada4231 · 7 years

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The 100 4x06 thoughts

Incoming: Bellarke, Sea Mechanic, Anti-Octavia stuff ahead

This episode gave me so much to think about that I don’t think I could properly express my thoughts through my trash liveblogging so I’m taking it to a meta post. Oops.

First of all, I wasn’t expecting Niylarke again but I can’t say that I’m surprised. Niylah was there for Clarke when she was at her darkest; when she was Wanheda. It might not seem like it, but they really do understand each other. Eliza mentions their relationship in an interview, saying “They’re really good friends. They’ve been through a lot, and they find comfort in one another. I think it’s as simple as that and it’s kind of beautiful.” It makes sense to me that Clarke would want to be with someone casually while she’s under so much stress. It shocked me, but I can’t say I dislike it, at least not for the time being. It’s not something I see them building upon. Although I do really like Niylah, I have a fear that they’re going to kill her off and that will be another love lost for Clarke. Not looking forward to that.

Speaking of lady love, the thing that really blew me away in this episode was the abundance of Sea Mechanic interactions. My dudes. I have been sea mechanic trash since we first met Luna and lemme tell ya, I was a crying MESS during this episode hOOoOo boy. I talk all about how I feel about these two in this post so for now I’ll just say Luna cradling a freaking out Raven is something straight out of a fanfiction and I am so alive.

Along the same lines, Luna is doing something that no other grounder since Lincoln has had the chance (or desire) to do and that is get acquainted with every sky person she has been exposed to. Back in season 3, she spent time talking to Octavia and Clarke and Bellamy, knowing them and understanding them. Now she’s, not only spending time with Murphy and Raven, but actually figuring them out. She’s pushing their comfort zones and invading their safe spaces and infecting them with some real truth tea and tbh I live for that. Luna kom Floukrew could save the world.

And look, I know I talk about how much Clarke and Bellamy care about each other but like can we please talk more about how much Clarke and Bellamy care about each other? From Clarke looking after him in concern when she knows something is wrong to Bellamy straight up bOOKING it to the rover when he realizes that she is in trouble. I don’t think that this show could be any MORE clear that these two would go to the ends of the earth for each other. And not to be extra, but remember when L/exa told Titus that Clarke was special? And then here we have Clarke telling Bellamy how special he is?? Can you say parallel???

Finally, if you’ve managed to read through all of this and have stuck around until now, firstly I wanna say congrats and secondly y’all knew this was coming. I am so disappointed and even a bit enraged at this point with Octavia Blake. I had always loved her as a character and I rooted for her, even back in seasons one and two when she could be problematic at times but for the most part wasn’t terrible. But now, I can’t even begin to tell you guys how little I care for her at this point. After she beat Bellamy in s3 I was so done with her (that rant already happened so whatever I won’t bring it up again). So NOW, after Bellamy saved her life AGAIN, carried her to safety, cradled her in his arms, and went to check on her in medical, she has the guts to be a piss baby again and act like he’s the worst person in the world? To tell him that he’s the reason why she’s like this? To blame him AGAIINNNN for something he literally had no control over? Bellamy Blake has every right to be angry with his sister. He has every right to leave her behind in the midst of this craziness and worry about the people who need him and yet, he loves her still. Everything he has ever done, the whole reason why he is on the ground in the first place, was to protect and care for Octavia and she has done a swell job of spitting it all back in his face every chance she gets. And then, for her to run away from the mess she made in Arkadia because she remembered Lincoln makes me a little mad too. Lincoln taught her that violence isn’t always the right way. He showed her how to love and he gave her a home and she only chooses to call on his memory when it benefits her? That’s some bullshit and I hope she either fricken repents hardcore or gets the boot cuz I’m sick of watching her emo phase pain for twenty five minutes straight.

Overall, I enjoyed a good chunk of the episode and can’t wait to scream about it more with y’all next week.

#Long post #armada makes posts #armada rants #the 100 #bellarke #anti octavia blake #sea mechanic #bellamy blake #niylarke

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journeysintowebcomics · 5 years

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Girl Genius Liveblog #200

UPDATE 200: Monster Train

Last time Tweedle and Agatha had an encounter, and Tweedle says he’d willingly help Agatha get to Paris. Agatha doesn’t get much time to ponder why Tweedle would offer this, because there are urgent matters at hand. Namely the crazy train trying to eat everything. So let’s deal with that.

Apparently Tweedle’s first move is to manhandle Agatha.

I imagine knowing he had made the whole chemical thing happen is like half of the reason she immediately went for the knee to the groin strategy instead of just pushing him away or something. The other half must be the rather obvious ‘geez, Tweedle, don’t be a creep, don’t grab anyone like that’. Luckily for him, he can still make himself useful even while he’s presumably rolling around in pain. He can contribute theories and ideas.

Because that’s what’s going on right now, they’re actually thinking of some potential ideas to trap the train and force it to stop. Magnetic fields! Given the train is, you know, a mobile chunk of steel and other magnetic materials, immobilizing it with magnetism is a good idea. That has to be easier said than done, I bet they will need some potent magnets and I don’t think there are a lot of those around here.

Looks like the preparations are done offscreen and some time passed, because the very next page is them getting lifted towards the yards, weapons in hand. Maybe they did have very potent magnets here! Okay then! It’s going to be dangerous, though, there’s molten metal raining on them, and that can’t be good at all. I wonder if that’s some sort of weapon the train has, or if the monks trying to keep it under control are using molten metal to do it.

Agatha has different plans, apparently.

Well, her track record so far is decent. I’m not certain it will work, but it’s worth a try, if only because it’s her family’s horrible train and therefore maybe she’ll have a measure of control over it. Still, if it’s anything like what happened with the Castle, it’s going to be very complicated and will require some sort of test. I doubt everyone else will just stand around while such thing is done, so a test will go badly, and they’ll have to fight the Beast.

I wonder if I got any of that right. Won’t lie, I’ll be disappointed if I managed to guess what will happen!

The plot is stopped by a rather adorable image.

I love this, I absolutely love this. I really missed Girl Genius during the time I was busy and writing a Worm update every moment I got a bit of free time. I’m excited to be reading this story again, seriously!

Speaking of fun images, what comes next is the first glimpse to the evil train in its entirety. Bask your eyes in this!

Look at that! Pretty cool, eh? I really like this train. And wow, it definitely looks like something the Heterodynes would make. This is great! This is the last page of the volume, I think, so that’s one volume more finished! Like six more are left.

I wonder how many volumes will be needed for this storyline. The last one filled several volumes, so there’s a possibility this one will as well. The earlier storylines covered like two or three volumes, but that was so long ago and the storylines have gotten so filled with stuff and details I don’t think the Foglios will manage to cram everything in two or three volumes. Part of me is kind of expecting all the volumes that are left to be about the train in some manner, really.

Well, if it’s not due to length, it will be due to intermissions. Since the volume is over it’s high time for some extra stuff! Such as paper dolls. I wonder how popular the paper dolls are? They must be decently popular, if more are made every once in a while!

It seems these are a reward for a Patreon goal, and they will be all about the Cinderella interlude from ages ago. Ah, I still remember that faintly. Fun times, those were. One day I should reread it, just for fun.

I see all the outfits I remember are here. The tattered clothing when inventing, the rather yellow dress that had like eleven clocks on it...yup, they definitely are aiming to bring back ever outfit from back then. I don’t think there was any other.

Ahaha, there’s that thing! The wind-up moon! I love that thing. Anyway, there’s Gil and Tarvek, both of them with their gaudy golden costumes and crowns, as well as small references to some moments of that interlude. Zeetha is in the page that comes next. Fairy ensemble, and also this:

‘Does thou even lift?’ Okay then! She certainly does, I say.

There are the three ugly stepsisters – or more like the two ugly ones and the one that wasn’t so ugly, because that one was the only one to get decent clothing and also a ridiculous hat. Kind of disappointingly, those are the only new elements for Da Boyz. Oh well.

Also, I’m convinced the costuming department ran out of money when it was time to give Oggie a wig. I didn’t remember that was a mop, haha.

...I have so many question, Foglios. What’s up with this. While part of me is tempted to crank up the Photoshop and overlay this over the Krosp paper doll, I won’t bow down to my curiosity.

I surrendered to my curiosity and I have banished the results from my sight. I feel both puzzled and oddly pleased. But really, what was up with that, Foglios, haha

Niiice. I think it’s no secret I like hats, so I’m enjoying what I’m seeing here, hah! Excellent.

That was the end of the paper doll intermission. Back to the story. That was a fun one!

As Agatha proclaimed he would do, he tries to talk to the train, immediately informing she’s the Heterodyne and that she wants to know what the train wants. Well I sure can imagine what the train wants. I mean, it’s a Heterodyne creation, so I’m pretty sure it will involve the widespread destruction of something. Given it’s a vehicle that can go wherever it pleases, said destruction will certainly be widespread. I don’t think the train believes her, anyway.

While Agatha talks, it seems to me the rest of the group is getting ready for the catch-the-train-with-magnetism plan for when/if Agatha’s conversation attempt fails. Given how the train thinks her question was colossally stupid, the odds of this ending without a fight are almost zero. At least it answers what it wants, and given it’s a train, the answer is more or less what you expect, I suppose.

Also there’s the widespread destruction. Of course it is.

Not only it wants to consume everything in its path, it hates what the monks would like it to do if they had their way: stops every once in a while, follow the rails, don’t consume everything. This train was made to go against everything the monks want. Truly, this is a Heterodyne creation.

I mean, the other trains don’t have sentience or will of any kind. Makes me wonder if they would reject the monks too, if they did. At least one can take solace in the knowledge they won’t ever dare to do such a thing because the Beast is a tremendous cautionary tale on why not to do it!

Discussion over, time to trap it. The monks use their rods and turn on the magnetic field, trapping the train. That went smoothly! More than I expected, at least. While it’s in disbelief about this, Agatha tells it it can’t go around destroying and eating everything in its path. While that’s true, the Beast begs to differ, and decides to show just how useful eating everything is. Well! That sounds dangerous! And something for next time, given how likely it is this will lead to further developments. I shall stop for now!

Next time: in four updates

#girl genius #girl genius liveblog #webcomics #liveblog #webcomic liveblog

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