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youghvaudough · 4 years

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Here’s a list of random things that tickle my funny bone for no reason in the Kyoshi novels

(as a Mandarin speaker)

am working through the novels currently so light spoilers?

will continue to update as I go

click 4 sum fun rambles

Horse stance. THIS BITCH DESERVES THE TOP SPOT SO HERE GOES. I somehow did not make this connection until like I’m almost all the way through the book, but 扎马步 (zhā mǎ bù) or if you take the literal meaning of characters “poke horse step” is literally so well known it’s insane. I’m talking one of the first training/fighting stance that comes to a Chinese person’s mind when u mention kung fu/combat training in general well known so I rly dunno how it slipped my mind for an entire book

this particular stance is always a lil funny to me bc of the way it’s phrased in Chinese; with the 扎 “poke”, the intention is to convey a planting & sinking, steadying of the stance that’s just also funny af to me

so imagine sth u find a lil silly & funny fully becoming a flirtatious & romantic code specific to the main characters of the story? hilarity ensued; rip my friend who had to listen to my scream-laughing

Jianzhu, the architect, his name is literally pinyin for building (建筑 jiàn zhù); imagine naming ur kid Building Smith. No wonder he’s such an uptight type A

the name of Jesa’s (Kyoshi’s mom) sky bison, Longyan / 龙眼 (lóng yǎn), while directly translates to “dragon eye”, also happens to be the Chinese word for Longan fruit (which like Lychee, has cloudy, white/clear-ish flesh surrounding a dark, round pit)

Rangi’s name in the Chinese translation of the book is 燃姬 (rán jī), which itself is a basic sound translation, but these characters mean “lady on fire” or “burning lady” this is kinda cute as heck 4 me for some reason????? lil furnace lady Rangi makes me soft

…that brings us to Rangi’s mom Hei-Ran, someone who we know can be cold and calloused in getting sh*t done with some shady days in the academy, & her name may reflect that. her name could be these two characters 黑燃 (hēi rán), which translates to “black burn” or “dark burn”. talk abt obvious characteristic here; nothing more obvious than ur name amirite???

…then again it could also be 黑兰 (hēi lán, “Black Orchid”) which tbh I kinda like better bc it’s more likely to be used as a name; AGAIN, no one wants to name their kid “black burn” it really doesn’t sound as cool as you’d think

SO! After clues from the comments (thank u @taare-writes!) and help I outsourced from TikTok — Hei-Ran’s name actually could be 혜란 in Korean !! also when I put this in the translator I used, the corresponding Mandarin it gave me was 蕙兰 (hùi lán), which is a specific type of orchid (boat orchid I believe?) and SUCH A PRETTY NAME oh my

the term used for the outlaws daofei, is literally just 盗匪 (dào fěi) “thieves/bandits”; this especially tickles my friend (who’s also reading these novels) so I gotta include it for her ;))))

the daofei’s secret gathering spot next to a lake in the mountains, Hujiang, could be 湖江 (hú jiāng) “lake river” or 湖将 (hú jiāng) which if u squint at it could mean “just by the lake”. this is fun bc it’s possible the author just flipped the saying 江湖 (jiāng hú), which while directly translates to “river lake”, has a much broader & meaningful use often in 武侠 (wǔ xiá, if u know u know, but if u don’t you can think of it as samurai or traveling knight but CHINESE) lore: it is used to refer to the world of action, thrills, and adventure walked by these warriors. It’s p cool to me lmao

oh and the Lei Tai the daofei’s fight on? Just 擂台 (lèi tái) “fighting stage”, same thing as the ring in boxing but doesn’t only reference one specific type of fight

Yun’s name is p simple & straight forward, probably just 云 (yún, “cloud”); it’s also an actual last name and I know someone from Highschool with this last name :)))

While Kyoshi obviously has Japanese origins, the kanji corresponding to きょし is 虚子. Japanese kanji have their origins in Chinese characters, and in this case these two kanji can mean “child of the void” (虚 xū “the void / the lack of something” 子 zǐ “child / kid”); pretty fucking metal name if u ask me

Lao Ge, the human alias of the bloodthirsty spirit in Kyoshi’s gang, could just be 老哥 (lǎo gē) “old brother” which is equivalent of just bro

… it’s real name, Tieguai, could be 铁怪 (tiě guài) “iron monster” or 铁拐 (tiě guǎi) “iron crutch”, which both kinda make sense??? given its monstrous tendencies and ancient origins

the green emerald burial sword Tagaka carried with her, jian, literally is just 剑 (jiàn) “sword”. Yes they really went you know what? we gon call it a sword sword

speaking of weapons, the dao broadsword? same thing. 刀 (dāo) literally means “broadsword”. broadsword broadsword hehe

what I find interesting abt this whole weapons naming is that technically when u picture a broadsword, it falls under the umbrella classification of sword (can someone who’s first culture ain’t Chinese confirm this??? thanks); though for Chinese ppl, 剑 (jiàn, “sword”) and 刀 (dāo, “broadsword”) are completely different beasts

basically dao & jian to us r like tigers and wolves when broadswords & swords r like tigers and lions (both in the felidae family)

where this info kinda becomes relevant is bc knives are also translated as 刀 (yeah the one for “broadsword”), and the way ppl know which type of sharp instrument you mean depends on the context. if ur carrying ur dao on ur back (like in the novels) it’s broadsword; if ur looking for a dao to prep dinner with it’s probably a knife unless u really have the urge to chop spinach with a broadsword

the Yellow Scarf’s imprisoned (later freed then dropped) leader, Xu Ping An, has a weirdly ironic name; his name is likely 许平安 (xǔ píng ān), “wish for peace”. 许 (xǔ) can mean “making a wish” & is an actual Chinese last name; 平安 (píng ān) “peace” on the other hand can be & have been used as a name

slight tangent: there’s this Chinese tradition of including undesired characteristics in ur child’s name so they could avoid those things in life I know it’s probably not the tradition mom&dad Xu had in mind when they named him but it did kinda take effect

the design of Govener Te’s mansion complex, the traditional earth kingdom siheyuan design that Rangi mentioned? It’s an actual traditional courtyard’d household design. I’m not the expert on this but if ur interested u can just search siheyuan and read more abt it ! v fascinating

四合院 (sì hé yuàn) roughly translates to “four enclosing yard”, referring to how the structure of this type of housing consists of four sections of single floor housing (each a specific functional space) enclosing an exposed courtyard in the middle. You can still find some of these in Beijing; also these houses go for SO MUCH MONEY on the housing market bc 1. it’s p much a suburb home but in the city 2. CITY LAND 3. homes r just insanely expensive in a city like Beijing. so there’s a running joke that you’d say someone’s well-off by saying their family has a siheyuan

(alright that’s the end of the Rise of Kyoshi!!! Will prolly make another one for the Shadow of Kyoshi; see y’all then)

#Kyoshi #avatar kyoshi #rangi #hei ran #jianzhu #jesa #kyoshi novels #the rise of kyoshi #chinese #mandarin #pinyin #avatar #the rise of kyoshi spoilers #wuxia #weapon #language discourse #rangshi #text wall #original

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just-castlevania-imagines · 4 years

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My Thoughts on Castlevania S3

So I cant sleep, I've binged this series twice now & I really need to get this out. For context on me as a person, I am an LGBT+ WOC (specifically Asian & bisexual). Castlevania is my favourite game series + the reason why I pursued Game Design as my career. The show means the world to me & I thoroughly enjoyed s3 for the most part. I acknowledge the flaws & these r just MY opinions, they do not reflect the other mods intentionally in anyway.

The art + animation was so CLEAN. There was not one scene that did not take my breath away. The attention to detail was phenomenal I have no words to describe it.

Some of the best fight scenes ever just ridiculous, it's like john wick. The action is upped every installment + its just so CLEAN

The entire team puts so much time + effort Into making Sypha such an enjoyable badass it's so amazing. I am never disappointed with her, never ever.

The lesbians. Striga & Morana, god I wish that were me.

Isaacs character arc was so good. Like the budget really went to Sypha + Issac this season LOL

Sumi + Takka, they meant so much to me. I love them, I really do. I cant say I'm not hurt seeing them at the end. I'm actually very hurt, my heart aches. I never thought I'd get to see representation like that in a series that I loved but felt idk invisible to. LGBT Asians in a historical setting outside of Asia, it was just...a dream for me. I fell in love w/ them instantly & I think that's why I tend to over look their faults a lot.

But when you see yourself on screen in something you've dedicated years to & you're just finally seen its...its so hard. The last time I felt this full was Shiro from V*ltr*n and we know how that shit went down. Idk I'm happy for what I recieved, grateful even, for however short it was. I loved their characters, i love sumi + takka i just wish they got a better ending. They all deserved better

More info on Cho I really oof I could not have asked for more. This bitch was so extra & I love her

That music score, the sound design. Bruh I can't even with all this TALENT

I call episode 9 the Fuckening

The Portals to different worlds really confuses me but I am here for it, I hope it's just like an Easter egg to their future projects or that the writers were all high around then

I see u w/ that jojo reference, I bet you think ur all so slick

Hector's entire story arc, wtf was that? My guy you can't be like "Oh humanity is evil and stupid and eats shit" and then be that gullible I-ooof u frustrate me u beautiful boy. Like s2 implies he burns his family alive & I'm sitting here deadass like how the fuck did u even pull that off

The forgemasters being called pretty + their reactions were priceless

I want Richter Armitage to read me a bed time story

Trevor, Isaac & Sypha r just so well done this season

THE. HORSES. ARE. HEALTHIER.

Isaac rode a demonic purple unicorn around the world, he's my fucking hero

Alucard a confirmed bottom + bisexual thank u

The sex scenes were juxtaposed to the intense fighting but it felt awkward to watch but it was also very fitting in an odd way????

The dolls were hilarious

I learned a lot about toilet paper

The Judge being like "no kids run around in my village" is the equivalent to Mr. Mosby from Suit Life of Zack & Cpdy being like "dont u run in my lobby" AND I CALLED IT OUT AND AND WAS RIGHT

This show has taught me to never trust bald, old white men w/ interesting voices

Carmilla was just a hot ball of anger for the most Part & got annoying real fast, but that night robe tho. That was everything

I liked Lenore's character trope. Being that sweet innocent looking one, but shes really just this cruel evil bitch. Like everyone complains about Carmilla but at least shes evil to ur face until this fake bitch over here

Takka doesn't do mornings? Niether do I

Alucards wardrobe upgraded from deep Vs to fluffy Victorian Lestat cosplay

I really really want an empire run by 4 vampire sisters. Like I know they're all evil, cruel bitches but the sisterhood they showed for each other is such a goal. Women supporting women is amazing I just wish they weren't the fucking villains

A lot of my gripe is that all the rep I want & thirst for all falls into a negative category in some way/shape/form

This whole season feels more like a bridge to season 4. Kinda like a season full of fillers.

The ending hurts me I'm several ways, but objectively it is a haunting image and it really invokes so much on it's own w/o context backing it. W/ it tho, even more mindblowing and heartbreaking

Thank you so much for pronouncing Kolkata properly

I'm always blown away by character designs ur doing great sweety

The angel has the juiciest ass

Where the fuck is Cezar?

Aight I think that's all for now. If you got issues then come to me about it, not the other mods. But I'll let u know I will not tolerate racist shit (which I've gotten on IG already). I really needed to dump these feelings out. I stan Sumi & Takka, I love them and I'll carry all that on my own if I have to.

- Sincerely Mod Wall Chicken

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v14-sewers · 3 years

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choujin x ch1

OOF cant believe im doing these again but here we go! so many memories lol if you're not a fan of unfunny, meaningless bullet point reviews of a chapter, maybe you should unfollow me now bc that's all i did back in tokyo ghoul's heyday lol though now i have slightly better english

that dude in the plane is peak character design. it doesnt get any more targeted at me than a skinny black-haired creep. if u look like that please hmu. i am now officially a that guy apologist. hope he's a big threat later on

love the gore in this chapter!!! the burnt ppl, the stretchy johnny guy, they look great! definitely screamed when i saw flexi choujin lol, what is that!!!! the art is beautiful, incredible work from ishida with johnny and his friends flying in the night sky. reminded me of junji ito's rock ppl

tokio's teacher... is named... bazonkas... and she does have some big bazonkas, huge badonkadonkers

azuma is so cute!!! looking forward to seeing more of him. so he's playing the role of the reliable best friend, but he's still rly impulsive. his relationship with tokio seems adorable! them turning into choujin together was awesome. i want to see their shortcomings and how they'll work around them

tokio seems like a lovable protagonist, i REALLY like the vulture thing + lol looks like ishida is v proud of kaneki's design mid to end :re. can't blame him, it's super rad. you can't go wrong with a bird-inspired design imo and personally i find ishida's work with scales to be breathtaking. we've already had the roly poly comparison, so i assume we'll have some grotesque insect-inspired designs later on (hell yea!!!!!!)

so there are ppl with superpowers. i thought at least some of them might be hero adjacent, but for now i think at least most of them are criminals? so our boys are gonna strike back now that they've become choujin too.

that person with the syringe can give ppl superpowers! they're most probably permanent, but the possibility of them being temporary is also interesting. imagine losing your powers mid-battle? oof

absolutely love ishida's humor, tokio's family seems fun and i love love love vultures!

also, could the praying mantises line be referring to the parasites that drive them to water and make them drown? i dont wanna read too much into ishidas work to the point it makes me look like im reaching but that would be an interesting self-image, assuming the praying mantis (wise) is azuma and the parasite is tokio himself. ah, ishida protagonists and their self-worth :'D

#choujin x #choujin x spoilers #choujin x ch1

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night-triumphantt · 3 years

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The way u draw.. I am simping in the chat! Seriously tho, you draw so well! I've been practicing drawing for a while but still can't find my groove/style. How did you find yours?

Hey! Thank you so much for sending this first of all v sweet! Also, buckle up this might get a bit long :D

Finding my style was a process and is a mixture of MANY different things, Style definitely comes naturally as you progress as an artist. You will start to gain it as you learn how to draw better technically as well as from absorbing it from the artists that inspire you as you are learning.

For me, animation, in its many forms, is a large part of the style that I go for, and then also a lot of baroque period art (Think Caravaggio, w the intense lighting, which admittedly I do not get to emulate often but it is honestly something that does inform my more rendered artworks and also the level of *dramaaaa* i like to go for sometimes :D. It is also one I am STILL learning and working on as its a more recent undertaking). And then just concept art in general (again often for animation).

Style as an artist is something we can effect in that we can choose the things that inspire us and lean that direction as well as add our own inclinations to to end up w something unique!

That said,I am gonna try and recount my journey for u, w some pictures to show u if I can of my many many inspirations (also some comparisons to my very old art :P)

Aight, so, I wont repost any individual artists art but Caleb Thomas (Ctchrystler on twitter) was a HUGE inspiration on my art as I was learning. As was Ravietta (She is here on tumblr as well as on Deviantart).

Caleb uses some amazing angles and I loved his character designs as well as how he would create an environment for his characters (def spurred my love of faux screen cap style) I liked how his characters felt like they were interacting w eachother. He also did animations which I still absolutely adore! (You should def check out his work, I believe he works on the dragon prince now as a storyboard artist, he also has an insta).

Ravietta also has some stunning character animation work. I also highly recommend looking at her work! I also love her coloring style she has a great grasp on mood and color!

Both are extremely skilled, a lot of my style formation came from emmulating them! (I still truly love their art!)

As for other things that influenced my style, Avatar the last air bender and ESPECIALLY Legend of Korra were heavy influencers on how I drew (actually, that drawing up there on the right was my own LOK inspired OC lolllll) I realllly enjoyed looking through character sheets and especially the facial expression references and animation key frames! I spent a lot of time looking those up and trying to copy them.

I was also hella inspired by many Disney animators, Specifically their concept art, especially Glen Keene, I tried for a while to emulate that style as well :P

I def suggest looking at the concept art for movies or shows you love, that was a lot of what I tried (and try) to do! They are some of my favorite things ever and definitely heavily inform my art. Animators are very good at giving characters ‘weight’ and dimension, also helped me practice getting better at expressions :P (I still like to look them up for reference/inspiration now)

I also used to practice a lot of realistic portrait drawing as well as gesture drawings which helped A LOT with just understanding the general anatomy of people & its something I think we can always practice (I still do now :P)

So to bring it full circle, my art style is just a mixture of all of those things that I learned from as well as just,, the way my brain interprets the world i guess would be the best way to describe it? (art is interesting that way, you can always tell which artist did something cuz theres always just a lil ‘fingerprint’ that we all leave, :P)

And to round it off, here are some drawings from 2014 that I could dig up as well as one where I had been watching videos done by sycra and did a sorta before/after watching (Sycra is a YouTuber, who’s videos I also recommend, he did some critique videos where he would p much just, help artists make their drawings better and I used to watch those all the time, I also still use his foreshortening technique!)

I Reaalllly hope this helped and was what you were looking for, pls, do not hesitate to send more questions, I would love to answer them! (And to the person who was asking for anatomy tips, I saw ur ask! I’m workin on it :P)

#Long post #triumphant asks #art asks #night talks #I really really hope this helped #I feel like I just rambled

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astrologista · 4 years

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jason stop dying

ooooook i just watched ditf. it was PRETTY GOOD.... i only wish there was MOOORE! watching this REALLY brought me back to 2011 times to see it and i think they did a good job with most of the character design and animations insofar as matching it to the original. (maybe i’m totally wrong but i thought it looked good for the most part... also i just really love these character designs in particular). obviously the budget is not what it would be on a feature, so there are a LOT of places where animation gets recycled and many still frames. some parts are basically a slideshow lol. but i only sort of came to that realization awhile after watching, so i think they did a fairly good job of masking this... ymmv

so let’s get into it!!!

SPOILERS a-head! do not read until you’ve watched it because i’ll spoil everything

now obviously the thing to be aware of if you are not is the fact that this adaptation is not a panel-by-panel adaptation of the original death in the family comic. all references to jason’s mother (save one mention of her dying of illness) are completely removed, they go to bosnia instead of africa, and the circumstances around jason leaving are also heavily altered to fit the new narrative. this adaptation does slot perfectly into the universe established by the under the red hood animated movie from 2011 though, without which one would be pretty confused when watching this. it’s kind of a mystery as to why they didn’t just package this with utrh and release the entire thing as a collectors edition. instead they package it with like 4 or 5 unrelated dc showcase shorts which makes absolutely 0 sense but go off i guess. anyway

i liked that they took the time to adapt the scene from the original ditf where bruce is talking to alfred about jason! (i do not like that alfred didn’t get any lines. bad choice). tbh i can’t understand why they bothered showing us alfred, barbara and dick if they weren’t gonna give them any lines..... like come on........??

HOW INTENSE BRUCE LOOKS WHEN HE FINDS JASON IN SARAJEVO and just. grabs him lol. hes smad :)

ok so one two skip a few and we get to the first branch. instead of calling 1-900 we now get to choose whether jason lives or dies. there are 7 possible endings i think i got em all so let’s see what we got here.

“Hush” Route - Robin cheats death

hgrgdggr. i definitely think this is one of the more interesting endings, if not the most interesting one. this is also the only ending in which both bruce and jason survive the bombing. bruce is still too late, but this time jason barely clings to life and survives. as a hurt/comfort fan i was 100% on this shit from the word go but then jason? runs away from home lmao lmao i thought that was SO funny because 1) hes super messed up, how is he able to just literally run out the house that is SO funny to me and 2) implying that bruce would ever not be keeping an eye on him after that is just, lmao. it’s so zany. i call this the “hush” route because of the bandages but there are no other references to hush so ok. that’s fair. so anyway jason is now angsty for loosely explained reasons but the most fun part is yet to come.

when talia showed up, i really thought / was terrified for a second that they were gonna bring up certain “events” regarding damian’s parentage / who damian’s father is but then she mentioned bruce and i was like OH THANK GOD WE CAN STILL GO TO HEAVEN. i am so so grateful to the writers for NOT going there. cuz it was damn close ok. im not sure what the implication of this route is in terms of talia, jason and damian being a family unit but i want to believe talia sees jason as a son and damian’s brother (which is how she refers to him, damian’s brother) and not... yknow. i mean. jason raising a baby is kind of like a baby raising a baby...

no actually the reality of this scene is really dfuckin interesting like. they actually go with the “birth of the demon” (forget if it was birth of the demon or bride of the demon. one of those.) explanation for damian and that is something i’ve NEVER seen adapted so whoever wrote this can have a cookie and i kNOW this is something a certain someone will appreciate :)

not only that but the implications? are interesting? so talia’s claim is she miscarried so bruce won’t have to “choose” between damian and jason and idk if she’s supposed to be all on the-up-and-up in this universe but. i’m sitting here like GIRL YOU DON’T GOTTA DO THIS HE HAS A PRIVATE JET HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF SHARED CUSTODY and BETTER YET HE HAS A MANSION JUST GO ON MAURY AND GET THIS SORTED OUT RIGHT NOWwwww

i’m also LAUGHING at the implications of jason thinking theres anywhere on earth that he’s going to go and hide damian’s existence from bruce. because you already know he’s just going to be tearing the planet apart looking for jason so this is actually hilarious. imagine he finds jason in one piece and also a baby. his baby. he’d be like (@ talia) “OMG WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WOULDN’T WANT THEM BOTH u are tearing me apart talia......” BUT THEN HE WOULD BE SO FREAKING HAPPY BECAUSE HE HAS TWO ALIVE SONS AND HE THOUGHT THEY WERE BOTH DEAD / (lost to crime)!!!

please lord imagine all of jason’s angst probably just originating from the fact that he has a brain injury that hasn’t fully healed and the trauma of going through all those surgeries probably gave him a lot of fear / paranoia about bruce and associating him with the joker because his neural pathways are all messed up but after he leaves he starts slowly healing back and regaining some of his lost sanity and thats when he realizes he misses bruce so much... but hes also raising his child... and every day it gets more difficult for him not to just take damian and bring him home and i ;v;

anyway i thought this route, while it had a few inconsistencies in it, was really freaking interesting and it gave me feels and plot bunnies and is probably the one i want to write about the MOST despite the fact that baby damian looks like a character from one of those web flash games in this lol

“True” End - Jason Dies

now if you select that jason dies the route basically defaults to the canon of under the red hood and the fact that utrh does not come packaged with this movie is a rather mystifying choice to me as i don’t think this adaptation would stand on its own very well. like you need quite a bit of background to really get anything out of watching this on its own, which is probably why it’s classified as a “short” and not as its own movie.

instead of showing all of utrh, it seems they took the opportunity to give a ~30 minute recap of utrh with basically entirely reused animation but they allow bruce to sort of. give his dvd commentary over it.

the biggest feeling i have on this is that it’s sad that they had to waste 30 minutes like this that could’ve been used to do something new and much more interesting, but honestly i’m not mad. it seems kind of obvious that this choice was probably made for budget and/or runtime reasons because a short does not get the same budget set aside as a full length feature film does. so they basically took the option of recycling 30 minutes of animation from the movie and dubbing new audio over it.

in evangelion they ran out of budget and that’s why the last two episodes consist of nothing more than still pencil drawings and frames while the characters engage in philosophical debates concerning the nature of reality and human connection. and i really enjoyed that. and for the same reasons, i also really enjoyed this.

i enjoyed seeing the clark kent of this universe. i enjoyed that he was basically out on a date with bruce. i enjoyed that bruce was willing to open up for once and tell clark all of what happened with jason. but what really makes this segment shine bright are bruce greenwood’s line reads. there are SO MANY good line reads in here. and i LOVED how many times he said the word “son”. very wholesome. the way he describes how he felt during the final fight with jason? probs my favorite FUCKING part.

and then him and clark joking together about contingency plans and then they’re going to work together to find jason and i ;_; this is probably the closest thing to a “good” ending but as a continuation of utrh i thought it worked really well. i really want to believe that bruce and clark did find jason in this route and that there was some closure in the end even though we didn’t get to see it.

including clark in this was DEFINITELY the right move as well, considering that he played a rather large role in the original ditf so it’s a welcome nod.

The rest of the branches exist under a separate option where Bruce makes it in time to save Jason from the warehouse... but Bruce dies......... :O

let me tell you bout it... bruce’s fucking DEATH SCENE i don’t know WHAT my man bruce greenwood is on, but the freaking LINE READS in this dialogue had me making INHUMAN NOISES. LIKE NOT ONLY WAS THE DIALOGUE GOOD, NOT ONLY DID HE SAY “I LOVE YOU, SON”, but this man is just an amazing actor. not just voice actor, but actor. he really really really really gave it the most i don’t know how else to say it....... it was very very well done and punched me sideways in the heart and i haven’t recovered and i’m not going to recover. and

ok so once we get past that.... scene.... u have to choose whether you’re going to catch the joker or kill the joker. bruce asks jason to promise not to kill the joker but technically jason doesn’t promise so........

Let’s start by choosing to kill the Joker. Jason attends Bruce’s funeral and various members of the Justice League show up to talk with him and just generally hang out. He has Alfred, Dick and Barbara as his support system, but Jason has some other plans.

This leads to a scene in a cafe where Jason meets with a man who... something something Killing Joke, flashlight, more Barbara being used as a plot device when she deserves better, Jason kills the Joker with a butter knife.

Once you do this you can choose to surrender to the police, or retaliate and escape.

Jailbird Ending

basically if you surrender to the police jason ends up in prison where he can actually attack even more criminals so.... ya

If you retaliate and escape instead you go to the Red Robin route where Jason becomes a vigilante who kills people much like the Red Hood and you get a further choice in a fight with Two Face where you can control how Harvey’s coin lands.

Tim Ending!

If you choose the coin to land clean face up, the thing rewards you by having Tim show up and I forgot what happened (wasn’t really paying attention lol) because i was so focused on TIM!

Prolly they felt sorry for him what with Jason stealing what is essentially his outfit (ok I know it was Jason’s first, but Tim made it cool) so they let a little baby tim have an appearance :) he’s very smol

I guess in this ending Jason gets reintegrated with the family somehow and Tim becomes “Bat-kid” which is hilarious to me but you know what it’s cute. CUTE.

The one ending where the coin lands scarred side up

i honestly forget what happens if you choose to have the coin land scarred side up but let me just say this is a FUCKED route to take, not only have you had jason survive and bruce die, you’ve now chosen to kill the joker against bruce’s dying wish, you’ve chosen to attack the police, and at the end of that you really are gonna choose harvey’s coin to be scarred face up???? choosing this made me feel like a DICK because here i am supporting jason’s whole fall to madness and villainy thing the way it wants me to and now he’s gonna die HERE? i hate it here.

interestingly enough he doesn’t actually die in this route. he ends up at home with barbara and dick while dealing with the fact that he killed the joker but the route ends with jason saying “i promise” so i guess this is supposed to be kinda sad. im so confused lol ok

So that is all the options if you choose to kill the joker, I believe. You can also make the choice to just catch him instead of killing him but amazingly enough, those routes are even more FUCKED up.

If you do this option Jason goes home, mourns Bruce with Dick, Barbara and Alfred, and becomes Red Hood BUT with a twist, he’s entirely on a bloodless operation in line with Bruce’s wishes. OR.... IS HE?

Things then follow the events of UTRH until the scene on the bridge with the van and the guys. Jason finally confronts Joker, who reveals the truth.

Apparently in this route Jason has actually been killing and decapitating his victims just like in the original movie, but he’s repressed it so as to not even realize to himself that he’s doing it.

that is FUCKED. also. i wanna cry because jason doing all of that stuff but not even realizing it ;------; jason blocking it out, because he wanted to honor bruce’s wishes for him not to kill anyone ;______; but he’s doing it anyway ;_____; he’s actually hearing voices telling him to kill ;____; like it’s a very cheap twist in a sense and also really quite cruel but.... damn, son.

There is a branch here where you can choose to spare or kill the Joker at this point (UNDERTALE???) but from what I can tell it seems to be totally meaningless what choice you pick because you end up at the exact same point either way, I think there’s a small variation in what happens after you make the choice but after that they just coalesce back together into the following two endings. Which seems incredibly cheap to me, I mean making a choice like that should alter Jason’s path completely but, it doesn’t! So... ooook....

Either way Jason ends up on the Wayne building and Talia shows up with a re-animated Bruce from the pit. Here’s another fun blast from the 2011 past with more gratuitous Grant Morrison dreck, remember that shit? Well, they’re gonna jam it down your throat here, too.

The reanimated Bruce is the Zur En Arrh Bruce and he’s already dead so this is all meaningless but basically Jason fights him and you get to choose whether everybody lives or dies.

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Lives!

if you pick this, jason actually gets the re-animated bruce back to the batcave and they lock him up down there because he’s still pit-mad and the prognosis is not great. but i’m not sure what they expected, he is the zur-en-arrh guy so I don’t think he’s getting better.

Zur En Arrh - Everyone Dies!

pretty much there’s an explosion and all three of them die and that’s it

I think that should be all the possible endings there are.

By the way the different ways in which black mask dies in this was actually a fairly clever running gag lollll. let that mf burn we don’t need no water.

overall there are a couple of things i would have done to SIGNIFICANTLY improve this adaptation beyond some of the obvious ones.

- the fact that all of the branching options are branched exclusively under the “jason lives and bruce dies” branch is a huge wasted opportunity. imo this is the most egregious problem with this, i was really looking for a more balanced tree / explanation of different things. i am probably super biased though being a fic writer and used to fic, we’re the ones making huge ass trees every day lol.

- the fact that there is no “good” ending here is something i kind of expected but given the context of this is lackluster. i sort of get it though because granted, the original ditf ends in an unresolved manner but it’s distinctly unsatisfying here. i secretly wanted an ending where bruce, like, figures out about the different endings and hacks reality to try to find a good ending where jason lives and everything is fine lmao. like a bat mite ending.

- i was disappointed in a sense that the narrative given in here is so basically simplistic? maybe i’ve been spoiled by games like 999 and undertale where shit gets messy and that’s not what this is supposed to be but when i play something with multiple endings in this day and age, at least play with the concept a little bit and connect some of the branches together narratively. use different devices. i was also hoping some of the choices would be a little bit meatier like you could choose to “forgive bruce” or something cool like that lol. but it looks like the majority of choices have to do with who lives or dies. and i felt like they couldve been a bit more creative with that ya know? being able to control harvey’s coin was a GREAT example of having some more fun with this.

- it is a huge missed opportunity not to have a “secret ending” on something like this. like where. the fuck. is my secret ending for completing everything. come on. and in a similar vein there should’ve been at least something in terms of bruce and jason interacting in a “true ending”. even if very brief. the closest thing to an ending this has is the “jason died” route and then the ending where he’s talking to clark which i feel like was a REALLY nice good optimistic ending as far as this goes, but it comes off as kind of disappointing i guess

there were SO many interesting nuggets locked into this thing though. i can’t deny it bugs me how many wasted opportunities there were with how they chose to structure things but i guess it’s the best you can do with limited runtime. i thought it was really well done though, makes an interesting companion piece to the original utrh, and is definitely something that i will be re-watching again soon!! overall i give it a 7/10 and some parts an 8/10+!

#a death in the family #death in the family #ditf #it was cool to see the different ideas they had to offer finally?#for what it was #it was kind of a collection of shorts and half spun ideas #plus i think about this shit like every day #so i cant help but be interested #someone come and talk to me about this #i really want to know #what ppl thought #spoilers #ditf spoilers #death in the family spoilers

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alphabees-writes · 4 years

Text

Glee - S1 E1 (Pilot)

Is it a smart idea to rewatch glee again? No.

Am I going to do it anyway? You bet your sweet bippy I am!

Am I going to liveblog my garbage monkey brain thoughts along the way even though nobody asked for it? Hell yeah.

Here goes!

Wow. The first frame of this entire show is literally of a woman who looks like she’s about 10 years above the natural lifespan of a Cheerio. Then again, I’m sure Sue’s not above holding back her best recruits for multiple years because Ohio high schools are apparently just Like That™

I also never notice this opening song was a remix of Keep Me Hangin On, wow. That’s actually kind of interesting foreshadowing of sorts, like, kind of smart. I’m glad I’m watching the part of Glee that was kind of smart.

This scene also doesn’t feature any of the Unholy Trinity as far as I can see. Are they a JV squad? Am I putting too much thought into this?

Sign #1 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Really, my guy? Driving around with your muffler dragging on the ground so bad it’s making sparks? That’s not very Road Safety of you. Fuck off.

Sign #2 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Wow, there’s going to be a lot of these, huh? Anyway, anybody with working eyes would clearly see how scared Kurt is right now. “Making some new friends Kurt?” Fuck off.

KURT. FIRST SIGHTING OF THE BOY. What a delight. But also, not a delight, because he’s being bullied and he deserves better. Look at his outfit. Iconic from day fucking one.

Finn, you’re a himbo. What’re you doing with these assholes?

Puck’s first line in the whole series is “It’s hammer time!” What a fucking dork? Who made this boy popular.

DO MORE THAN TAKE HIS COAT, FINN. LET HIM GOOOOO!!!

I paused while they were tossing Kurt in the dumpster and, wow, got the most hilarious frame where the guy who isn’t Puck is getting a meticulously polished boot to the face. Netflix let me take screenshots, you coward.

The first shot of Quinn... My wlw bones are shaking.

Why would they use that photo for Lillian Adler...? WHO WAS BORN IN 1937, MIGHT I ADD. THAT’S NOT A REAL YEAR.

It’s weird to see Mr Schue actually speaking competent Spanish. Why did they veto that later? The ONE likeable thing about him was his competence as a school teacher, and they really threw it out the window huh?

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE MEMBERS OF SANDY RYERSON’S GLEE CLUB??? This kid seems to really like singing. Also, welcome to the beginning of Ryerson being annoying as all hell.

Oh my gosh, the background choir stuff. This show really had style back in the day!!!

R A C H E L B E R R Y Y O U R M A K E U P ! ! !

Ken Tanaka walked so incels could run.

Jane Lynch you beauty. You absolutely impeccable beauty.

“Since when are cheerleaders performers?” Uh... Emma...? I get that Sue’s going ham on her budget but, like, be nice to the students? They perform their butts off!

Sue really just BRAGGED about having an iPhone. I was 9 when this came out. Why do I feel old...

Sign #3 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: He hears his coworker, presumably of several years, just got fired and doesn’t even ask why. He just jumps on the glee club like a frog on hot asphalt.

He really wants to Make The Glee Club Great Again, huh?

MySpace was really a thing, huh? And why does this grown-ass male teacher know so much about the students having them?

I know nothing about actual American schools, but I do know that they sure as shit don’t work like this. Why does a club have to win EVERY competition to be considered an asset?

Mr Shoe really lying awake at night half-naked next to his wife thinking about the glee club already? Yeah sounds about right. Also, of course you’d think up Nude Erections for a name, you asshole. Put some clothes on.

R E S P E C T MERCEDES YES!!!

Brad the piano player was really here from day ONE... Icon.

Cellophane, Mr Cellophane... Yes Kurt bby you killed it.

Chris Colfer looks so YOUNG here!!!

The hair fix... I C O N I C !

Tina really wrote her stutter down, huh? And nobody ever saw through it? Amazing.

The goth Tina look, too... Perfect... Never change...

Say what you want about Rachel Berry being generally insufferable, but I really fucking feel it when she sings On My Own. The monologue kind of kills The Drama of it, but they really solidly established her character by layering them. She really is a gold star right now.

The first-ever on-screen slushie!

The way she walks down that hall. My God you can just see how terrible she is to be around.

Never forget Rachel staring at photos of her with two men who turned out to not be her dads. Who are they? What are their stories? We’ll never know.

God, I love this stupid scene of Quinn, Santana, and a bunch of Cheerios cartoonishly typing hate comments on Rachel’s MySpace video and laughing like knock-off Disney villains.

I like watching season 1 Artie because season 1 Artie was a good character. Mostly. And he KILLED Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat. Rachel wasn’t asking for a male lead who could keep up with her vocally, she was being straight up ableist and that’s a fact. I love Cory, but Kevin McHale was always a better singer.

Mercedes picking up and spinning Rachel for this little routine is something I never really appreciated before, it’s cute even though they don’t like each other yet!

I really don’t get why Rachel says they suck. Yeah, sure, she’s gunning for a solo, but the vocals were solid there. The choreo was just a little janky, possibly because it’s their first EVER rehearsal?

“There is NOTHING ironic about show choir!” Incredible.

How long did it take Mr Shoe to find Rachel out on the bleachers? Did he search the whole school first?

ARTIE! CAN! KEEP! UP! WITH! YOU! VOCALLY!

I never understood Rachel quitting so soon. How long was she in the old glee club for? Surely they were never popular either?

Ah, the first “My hands are tied” for the series. Mr Figgins is a garbage principal.

Not going to advise the principal against referring to Artie as a cripple, William Shoestir? Alright.

How did the Schuester marriage last as long as it has? Do Will and Terri’s insufferable personalities just cancel one another out?

Sandy Ryerson really just openly brags about cheating the system for medical marijuana and dealing it?

Matt Morrison 100% has lip fillers. Nobody’s smile curls like that naturally.

“Terri and I are trying to get pregnant” What a weird way to phrase it. What is it, a race? Who’s going to get knocked up first!

A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN, HOW I’VE MISSED YOU... The sound design of this show at this point is just... *Chef hand kiss*

“What you’re doing right now is called blurring the lines” Oh just wait until season 4, Sue... Just you wait.

WHY is Mr Schuester so ridiculously sweaty? I didn’t need to think about that?

EVERYONE on the football team is 30.

William Schuester you can’t just watCH TEENAGE STUDENTS SING IN THE SHOWER YOU ARE A TEACHER WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR LICENSE?!

Hearing Cory sing this always makes me emotional. What a talent!

Sign #4 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: I don’t think I need to say why using the weed to blackmail Finn is a shitty thing to do, do I?

“I’ll pee in a cup! ...I’ll pee...” I love Cory’s delivery.

PRIORITY #1: HELP THE KIDS Oh season 1... I love you so.

Mr Schue you WISH you were anything like Finn Hudson. You never will be.

Ah... Finn’s first monologue. He’s such a sweetheart. AND SO IS CAROLE. Carole is a queen I will stan forever. YOU THROW THAT MILK BB!!!

All Finn wants to do is make his mom proud. What a sweetheart. Mr Schue you do NOT deserve him.

These POV shots really enhance things, why the fuck did they stop using them?

Subtly having Kurt look at Finn in the same shot as Rachel was a nice touch indeed!

RACHEL WAS REALLY DOWN WITH ROLLING ARTIE RIGHT OFF THE STAGE HUH?

Terri’s a straight up hoarder, huh? Like a raccoon but instead of collecting edible garbage, it’s monogrammed garbage.

Surely you can’t just... BECOME an accountant, right? You need some serious qualifications for that right?

Also say what you want about how insufferable Terri is but her actress is ridiculously talented and absolutely steals every scene she’s in.

Now the background choir is doing Soul Bossa Nova and I am L I V I N G why didn’t they keep that motif!!! It was so ICONIC!

I don’t need my prostate removed. RIP Carole Hudson but I’m different :/

NO MEANS NO, KEN! TAKE THE L AND MOVE ON! Way to take out the fact that a girl won’t date you on everybody else around you! Toxic bastard. The absolute stench of melodrama on this bastard is noxious.

I was going to ask why Rachel didn’t know about Finn and Quinn if they’d already been together for 4 months, but then I remembered gossiping requires friends...

“Terri rides me. Hard. And I’ve always appreciated it!” Why don’t we talk about how this line sounds more. Why doesn’t Emma bat an eye at it oh my god

HERE COMES VOCAL ADRENALINE!!! And Jesse St. James is nowhere to be seen. How convenient. Also, they’re all 30. I’m sensing a pattern.

Sorry VA, all songs popularised my Amy Winehouse legally belong to Santana Lopez

Puck, if you were stupid enough to fall for the prostate excuse, that’s on you. Or maybe it’s on the education system...

You can do better that Mr Schue, kids. Don’t mourn him.

Ok, what the fuck is this scene where he’s filling out the job app to become an accountant? There’s a dude in the row in front off him just throwing crisps around? What is this place?? Why are you here sir???

“Accounting is sexy” shut up you horrible married man

The Cheerios sure did have straight ponytails for like, one episode, huh?

Finn is such a good boy. He doesn’t know it yet, but he is, and saving Artie from that portapotty is his first step to figuring it out.

This shot of Finn just wheeling Artie out of there... Ugh. My HEART.

KURT WHAT ARE THOSE LAYERS? SWEATER SHIRT SWEATER? HELLO???

Pee balloons. Nailing the lawn furniture to the roof. Finn, you’re better than that!!! Stop your dudebros.

They really had Artie be a guitar player, and a pretty good one at that, but they never mentioned it again? Artie had such potential SMH. (Also, Netflix subtitles are telling me it’s Arty, but I categorically refuse to spell it that way.)

Whyyyyy didn’t he go to KURT for the costumes as well? Look at his outfit, Finn. He clearly wants in on that job.

Will Schuester really is just desperately clinging to his glory days in high school. I’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t such a creep about it.

Emma, meaningfully: Do you know who that is? That’s you, Will... [FRANTIC DISCO MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND]

I find it hilarious how the audio of Don’t Stop Believin’ just DOES NOT match the characters except for the solos... Also wow, autotune city. Am I awful for genuinely not liking this cover?

I like watching them perform it though. Kurt’s adorable little shimmy... Rachel and Tina smiling at each other like that... Everybody having a blast... I’m here for it

LOOK AT MY BABIES TILTING THOSE MIC STANDS...

Ok the way Rachel and Finn look at each other here is making me FEEL

I know Puck’s about to join anyway but WHY is he there watching... Just to have a mysterious bad boy moment? Lol you dramatic bastard

Please let them win nationals without you, Will.

So, yeah! There’s that! Those are my thoughts and feelings, basic though they may be. Episode one is fantastic, the kids are fantastic, and William Schuester can suck a toe.

#Glee #Glee seasson 1 #Rosie watches things and then says things about the thing

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kae-karo · 5 years

Note

Hi Katie! I just want you to know that I want your analysis of this new sims video more than anything and I'll just patiently wait for it... Have a nice day!

hi dear!! new sims vid, did u mean dnp simulator?

dorks spending the first ten seconds dancing in fake snow

why virtual friends???? ??

my daddies gave to me y’all,,,,,,there’s knowing your branding and then there’s acting on that knowledge and i think this may have been one time where acting on your knowledge maybe was not a good call like ily and u do u and all but

i love phil loving his branding it’s cute also shoutout to @dnpscloset thanks for finding it (x) bc i want one now if anyone needs a last minute xmas idea i’m lookin at u mom u always wait til the last minute

same dan, same

‘we all have new faces and new lives and everything’s changed, this is gonna be hella dramatic’ *inhale* *exhale*

‘when u imagine the howlter family’ god they’re such adorable n sentimental nerds i love them

phil’s actual default is bein a leany boye

dnp arguing about what ‘desperate’ actually is as if the entirety of their first year after meeting they weren’t talking as often as they could five hour skype calls amirite

get away from me stalker lmao bold of u to say that danny

phil sweetie i love you with my entire heart he’s so so excited abt the virtual snow i love him

tiny zoom in jumpcut at 2:08 overlapping audio interesting

a mood and a half

phil immediately going ‘yeahhhhh thin walls family hearing things they gotta get out’ abt dab and evan like m8 we get it all u think abt is sex we get it god u and ur husband really are made for each other aren’t u (dnp = devan reference #1)

‘i presume evan is also jobless’ ‘i hope so!’ phil is it really,,,,,,smth to be excited about,,,,,,,

dan’s doin a lot of the hand phone lately u cute boy

we should have a redbull what is wrong with them phil can barely handle having too much sugar y’all thought it was a good idea to have a redbull also we should have a redbull they share literally everything which tbh is probs for the best lbr phil on a whole can of redbull hmmmmm yes ik it’s v possible and in fact probable that phil had his own can let me live

‘it’s a sensible lightweight jacket’ in the fucking snow wow dan u really did just set urself up for phil to drag u about not dressing for the weather

dan’s fucking laugh at 4:39 gives me life literally there is no purer and more adorable sound like that’s up there with kittens purring

‘i think he’s gonna be a bit of a diva in this relationship’ did you mean: dan howell (dnp = devan reference #2)

[slight bit of ankle is showing] dan: ‘and now you’re wearing shorts’

where’s the lie tho honestly that lil pause before he said mate

this clip will live in infamy bc i want this in every fucking phan edit for the rest of time like i can’t even think of the right out-of-context clip right now but anything that can be answered with phil saying ‘it’s dan’ i need it

youtube

mandatory phil covering his mouth and bein a cutie

yes destroy gender roles in the snow universe (although seriously dan’s ‘life is just about uncon-doing the horrible conditioning of all these gender stereotypes, phil’ is so important also i stan phil recognizing that before dan i think it’s really easy to forget that just bc up til recently he’s not been as expressive as dan of his opinions on how stupid gender roles are doesn’t mean he doesn’t have just as if not more progressive a mindset than dan)

‘it’s like a dan vs phil’ dnp = devan #3

dan has such a lovely singing voice i miss him singing

dude phil’s eyebrows are making a Solid appearance v expressive

i s2g this is a different moment from the one above he’s just so fricken cute???

‘but they’ve got each other’s backs, phil, just like dab and evan’ yeeeeaaaa i’m gonna go ahead and go with dnp = devan reference #4 here i think that’s fair

snow angels are the least fun thing to do and yet (x - it literally won’t let me put it in bc it’s a privated vid rip)

amazing they just started having a snowball fight how cute n domestic am i talking abt dnp or dab and evan hmmmm - dnp = devan #5

i get that infinity war was a meme but lads it’s time to let it go

‘and they’re called the howlters’ lmao as if u ain’t an honorary lester daniel (dnp = devan #6)

i’m living for phil’s excitement i mean if that’s what redbull does to him i’m here for it i guess?

hi they’re dumb this was cute

‘we don’t want to be those people, but for us personally, we very much found that you just need to just move into a big city of some kind and just jump into life with both feet’ this is not only adorable advice but also where dnp simulator comes into play aka we did this so uhh dab n evan should do it (dnp = devan #7) also dan speaking for them both singular pronouns are quaking

‘don’t trust that’ what on earth are u on abt phil what don’t u trust the fuckin desert or?????

scalyburg phil stop pls we know we get it dan’s a furry ur a scaly we got it

why does dan spend an entire 7 seconds (8:40) adjusting is he moving closer to phil? switching which leg he’s sat on? idk but it lead to me pausing at this moment which was a gift in and of itself

‘the deposit on that one, plus the weekly went would make us instantly broke, so that’s fun, us when we moved to london’ bih do u hear me crying

does dan remember phil’s first manchester apartment what kind of question is that phil have u met dan he probably remembers every bloody inch of that place i mean he did remember that there wasn’t a bedside table so

stop that

middle of the city, romance festival, geekcon, pretty views and cherry blossom trees sounds like dnp’s ideal location do u get why i’m calling it dnp simulator yet also dnp = devan #8

we don’t want to move next to the karaoke legends wow dan bold of u to say after belting helena at 2am real bold

phil having flashbacks to the apt they toured where they found out people died there

hi phil just looks so excited by everything

look i’m not saying anything except they’re managing to find a lot of similarities b.w their lives and what they’re doing for dab and evan okay like this apartment is great for people-watching? which is what phil did in his manchester apt?

context whomst? idk her

shoutout to the wardrobe

big bold life-changing steps

anon spitting truth up in this house (but like,,,,,my thoughts exactly lmao i was like they’re such introverts they would’ve avoided meeting their neighbors at any cost including apparently smacking into a locked door trying to avoid small talk phil we love u bab)

casually mentioning dan saying ‘we are dil-’ was he gonna say dil’s son, maybe but i like to remember the bloops of dan repeatedly calling dab dil so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

omg okay so from like. this point on, when dan’s like ‘here is my vision’, i’m absolutely getting queer eye vibes like amateur queer eye tho like two gay nerds trying to embody queer eye in their lives a bit oh wait

okay okay okay dan u said an ensuite bathroom and then failed to add a door to the bedroom do u understand how frustrating that is???????? do u understand how stressful it was for me to watch that whole damn vid and know that u forgot the door????

a space for hobbies what hobbies who has hobbies

they learned nothing from building their house before: phil should take the mouse away from dan immediately look at him he is such a sugar baby in this jfc

god dan is so cute get these idiots a penthouse apartment super high up so he can have his bath next to a window okay he deserves that in life

stop it they’re literally agreeing on almost every single thing god they literally share a single brain

amazing

leany boye

‘they are young adults moving into their first apartment, you don’t have art!’ okay first of all don’t even go there daniel second of all i’m sorry you’re the one arguing for spending literally all their money but u don’t want to get some art bc it’s unrealistic????

dan saying lovely

phil’s mr carpet

navy??? navy? when did they? why?

i would get involved in a criminal plot to have that / i’m gonna throw you out of one

wow pro tips makin a comeback

phil is Losing Steam

oh my god okay so i was joking but literally phil is losing steam lmao 18:35 he says ‘ayy’ and it’s so tired-sounding

leany leany boyes

okay look ik dan’s going into ‘aww poor philly’ mode but also he knew that very quickly like honestly that’s not a Thing i would ever notice about someone tbh i’m not saying it’s like Significant but damn danny was really into phil to know that shiz man

the high-fashion gigantic rug of our dreams

okay look i can’t make this up phil literally leans away for a bit and then

hello daniel’s Curl

i stan phil getting excited over plants

dab and evan will be having a mario kart fest will they (dnp = devan #9)

mirroringggggggg

dude big mood god they’re so fond and full of memories

honestly dnp made it that way like u cannot convince me they didn’t purposely decide to do that mmkay

‘see they are ready to have their romantic dinners. and then they can pretend they have another friend and it’s fine!’ am i talking abt dnp or dab and evan who knows :) (dnp = devan #10)

cold in the middle what on earth i literally have no memory of that i mean it could just be my shit memory but jfc they just remember that stuff goddamn

scrunchy boyes also phil where’s ur arm at hm

like i’m not fuckin joking where is it

you can’t exist without a computer i mean

what is important in life / the internet

they don’t even have fucking doors and dan’s like ‘uhm they need a terrarium’ dan i’m stressed

oh my god i’m sorry phil is so done with this now it’s actually comical

hi they didn’t add a door for the ensuite

give dnp an interior design series honestly give them any series

phil reached for dan’s hand u cannot convince me otherwise

‘not my personal taste’ really,,,,,really

when dab n evan hug dan looks at the screen n phil looks at the camera things u didn’t need to know but now u do

lmao jumpscared by the kiss

‘i feel like i’ve never nailed anything more in my entire life’ hmmmm hmmmmmmmmmm hm

the fuck was dan’s ‘getting a job’ that’s his fnaf voice u stop that

doon doon doon doon

tongue

hi uhm what the Fuck was that jumpcut at 28:30 i hate Obvious Jumpcuts with a burning passion specifically bc of dnp

#dnp #dan and phil #dapg #phan #danandphilgames #sims #devan #vid analysis #anon #ask #kt

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svbcritic · 5 years

Text

ok wow don’t mind this being late of an intro bc i was out w my friend and have poor time management skills jdfks . i’m stuck at work rn so hopefully this intro has smth of substance in it for my boy hobgoblin boy charlie .. but yes !! hello all i’m cherrie and under the read more will be some info on my boy so sorry in advance if there’s any ramblings .. i just have a tendency to never shut up dsjfnk . but feel free 2 tap the lil heart if u wanna plot and i’ll pop over into ur im’s !!

brindle bay welcomes charles “charlie” kim the twenty-one year old podcaster. i kind of think he looks a lot like wong yukhei. they have been living in east bay suburbs for 5 years and i heard they are known to be amiable but also impetuous. when i think of them i think of unapologetic laughter, headphones hung around the neck, and a collection of pastel denim jackets.

STATS

full chinese name: jin ximen / americanized name: charles kim / nicknames: charlie / ethnicity: chinese & thai / sexuality: bisexual / occupation: true crime podcaster / spoken languages: mandarin, thai, english, korean & spanish / hogwarts house: slytherin

BIOGRAPHY

okie dokie so charlie ( born ximen ) is the youngest of the four kids between his parents born and riased in shanghai and their wedding was some big event bc both families were heavily affluent and prominent in their home countries

charlie’s dad hailed from shanghai, china where his family had a long lineage of old money and a 5 star international hotel chain that’s comparable to the four seasons .. meanwhile charlie’s mom is from thailand where her family has ties to the oil industry which is how they built their wealth .. their marriage was more political than anything and wanting to combine their wealth in industries the other was lacking in

as the youngest kid and the only boy with three older sisters, charlie never lacked a caregiver bc he was an adorable little boy who charmed whoever he met and though he was a little shit, his sisters loved him and helped raise him alongside a clan of nannies that his parents hired when they were busy off on different continents running their respective businesses

charlie definitely was more of a mommy’s boy in the sense that his mom made more of an effort to spend time with him bc as her only son, she held him on a pedestal and since she was a well known fashion designer, she often brought charlie to her studio and let him run wild in some of the garments and clothing that was in storage and whatnot

from this charlie had a lil mini modeling career ( lmao not really ) where he would do mock photoshoots with some of the models in his mom’s bridal collections and eventually bc he was adorable and everyone loved him, they dressed him in some mini tuxes and he appeared in some campaigns for his mom’s bridal collection

generally though charlie was an exuberant kid who often had more energy than he knew what to do with and that often had him getting in trouble at the expensive prep school his parents had him enrolled in . which he frequently was scolded by his dad for his hellion behavior jdsklafjd

so it was a constant push and pull between charlie and his dad in trying to calm down his son .. which wyd he;s just a happy go lucky boy hsalkjf but anyway charlie was eventually enrolled in a soccer club so he could wear himself out by running all the time and tbh it kinda worked .. but also charlie actually enjoyed soccer so it worked out

his dad really thought he did something by keeping his teenage son out of trouble and letting him build teamwork skills ig ... mainly bc he wanted his only son to take over the jin empire of their hotel chain even though charlie was like :/ .. and his mom was a bit :/ bc she knew charlie wasn’t the type who would want the weight of this empire on his shoulders even though his oldest sister was more experienced

but fun times for dad bc lit it’s w his soccer friends that charlie realizes that whatever heterosexuality is .. that ain’t him sdjldkjs but yeah he finds out that he’s into guys just as much as he’s into girls and he has a crush on one of his best friends on the soccer team w him

charlie was able to disguise his crush as a solid bro friendship around his dad meanwhile him and his friend were leaning on the scale of more than friends and 10/10 were making out whenever they were alone so yeah ... things were swaggy for the first three months until charlie’s dad came home early from his trip from new york and walked into charlie’s room to see him fooling around with his friend

so yeah ... things didn’t go great after that and the jin household was so painfully tense where his dad refused to go on any international trips and kept a strong grip on charlie and pulled him out of his school’s soccer team .. it was a tough time and definitely miserable for charlie despite his mom’s best efforts to help soothe him

nearly a month following The Incident ( as he dad refers to it as ) he announced that 16 year old charlie was going to live with his aunt over in america and it was an absolute shit show at the house when his dad broke the news but the next day charlie found himself on a direct flight from shanghai to brindle bay where his aunt lives with her american husband and son

the move was a big adjustment for charlie and it was here that he started going by charlie bc the kids at his new school couldn’t pronounce ximen . originally he was a bit standoffish and reclusive bc his english was still shaky and he had an accent so this combination of things made him a target of some shitty xenophobic bullies and it put him down for a bit

it was a dark period that charlie doesn’t like to think back on and relied on the friendship he established with his cousin and it was through him that charlie began to blossom in brindle bay and make his own connections and realized that his dad is a dumbass bc he essentially sent him away for being into men but lmao !! sike dad !! bc now he gets to kiss boys if he wants without the rope around his neck from his dad

it’s been five years since charlie has been shipped to brindle bay and he keeps in contact with his sisters and mother and has visited shanghai a few times for some holidays and lets his dad think him being in america has helped him become more sensible and learn responsibility

when he graduated high school his mom offered to have him come home but charlie decided he wanted to stay more away from his dad for the time beginning and enrolled in college and got his degree in communication studies

it’s when he’s in school that he starts up his own podcast where he just discusses true crime and paranormal stories and such just bc it’s always been an interest of his .. he started it with his close friend that was his first Official friend in brindle bay and they’re two years into and it’s growing a strong listening base on spotify and apple music .. for comparison sake it’s a mix of buzzfeed unsolved and my favorite murder

but yeah overall charlie is an easy going guy who is usually seen with a smile on his face and just v fun loving , charismatic and loves talking to ppl ?? comes off v flirty but that’s just who he is bc he has that kinda vibe .. sometimes he doesn’t even realize he’s flirting bc it comes like breathing . he means well and is a soft boy who misses his family but is scared to go back home to china officially

WANTED CONNECTIONS

someone who helped show charlie around when he first came to brindle bay and maybe they built a friendship from it

someone who maybe helped him improve on his english when he first came to town and charlie is forever grateful to them and feels indebted to them for being there for him when he was self conscious and needed help

his first relationship .. p self explanatory but charlie and your muse dated for a bit and it was nice and sweet but things ended amicably between the two and they still remain friends

maybe one or two fwb’s that charlie respects their friendship and somehow their arrangement happened and things are going good and having someone on call when he’s feeling needy is a+ .. whether or not smth angsty can stem from this can be debated

his first friend that he made when coming to town and charlie’s podcast buddy !!

maybe someone who has a crush on charlie but he’s stupid and oblivious and his flirting that comes as easy as breathing doesn’t help the situation

a good influence

a bad influence who is helping charlie embrace more of his hellion ways hfskd

or even someone who knows of his family’s wealth back in china and is trying to finagle their way into charlie’s good graces and hopefully try to get a cut of it

#bb;intro #this is just me rambling off so uHH sorry for that #if u read all this i luv u

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nocvil · 5 years

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* ‐ ․ ↺ 𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙍𝙊𝘿𝙐𝘾𝙄𝙉𝙂 . . . ｓｏｏｂｏｇｕｍ . hitman . caretaker . the heel . a masked hell .

❝ my love , my love , my love , won't you stay a while ? ❞

possible tw’s below: parental death mention, illness mentions, murder for hire mentions, and uh m,,, i think that’s it rlly. just warning ok.

GENERAL INFO

full name: soo bogum ( 수 보검 ). nickname(s): bo, sweetie pie to his mother (: gender & pronouns: cismale, he/him. sexual & romantic orientation: aromantic, demisexual. age & dob: twenty-five, november 8th, 19-- birthplace/hometown: seoul, sk. parents/siblings: only child, deceased father, living mother. pet(s): absolutely not LOL. astrological sign: scorpio. >:-) dominant hand: both! handwriting style: mostly writes in very slanted cursive. i feel like when you see things like royal documents signed or very important letters written back in the day with that vintage cursive ... that would be bogum. language(s) known/spoken: spanish, english, korean. religion: LOL. ok. current living arrangements: a two-bedroom, two bath apartment complex with his older, npc mother. it is pretty spacious given they both have their own room, a kitchen, dining space, their own bathrooms, and a patio. bo has the money if you kno what i mean ... (: occupation/major: hitman.

PHYSICAL

picture reference: uhh... this? this look rlly gives off bogum vibes so (: blood type: type O. nationality: korean. skin tone/color: lighter tanned. birthmarks & scars: heheh wouldn’t u like to kno ??? height: five-foot ten inches. 5′10″. build: pretty average, more on the lean/athletic side though. hair color: red. hair length: uhm ,, look at reference photo? eye color: brown. diet: uhm ... bo has a pretty average diet probably. he would eat just about anything, not very picky. i think he probably has his favorites when it comes to chips and candy but he doesn’t have a special diet. exercise & level of fitness: LOOOL. let me not make a bad joke here ): how’s their posture ( or lack thereof )?: bogum probably has really good posture! i think standing tall with a straight back probably adds to his uh... authoritative look? typical style of dress: ( from his stats page ) dresses a bit old school, vintage?, almost plain. likes wearing tucked in and cuffed shirts, rolled up pants, boots, baseball caps, at least three rings on one hand, gold bracelets. the following outfits aren’t specific to him but they are probably kinda similar. it’s hard to rlly find exact examples ): ( 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 ) body modifications: none, surprisingly. probably pierced ears that he never puts earrings in. that’s really it though. he would prob like a tattoos but wouldn’t do it for the sake of his career ( because tattoos are distinguishing features ).

MANNERISMS

how does your muse walk?: def with a bit of power in his step. very protective when he is with his mother. mostly, he would walk like he calculates every single step he takes. how does your muse talk?: HAHA i just talked about this with myungok’s mun ,, he would talk very plain and probably without a lot of emotion. this would make things that are usually out of pocket probably sound kinda weird. what accent/dialect does your muse talk with?: he is from seoul and according to google, they speak with a gyeonggi dialect there (: how would you describe the tone of their voice? are they loud or quiet?: QUIET... shh... if you speak too loud you won’t hear bogum speaking with such monotoned you could probably fall asleep. bogum asmr when? what does their laugh sound like?: bogum? LAUGHING? i feel like bogum chuckles. so he would have like a short, quiet laugh. how does your muse typically smell?: either like smoke from a cigarette or like his mom’s perfume. what kind of air do they carry?: well jinae’s mun said he would have a dark and heavy presence and honestly that rlly fits the bill. do they have a(ny) catchphrase(s)?: time to die. what are their nervous ticks?: um.. not sure. probably knuckle cracking and finger tapping.

PSYCHOLOGY

what makes your muse happiest?: his mommy! seeing his mom thrive and gain her confidence back, even momentarily, makes him so happy. what upsets them the most?: ugh. listen. i talked abt this with some of y’all but the thought that if he ever got exposed or arrested ... how everyone in his life, including his mother, would just abandon him ... CRIES. was this supposed to be a general question? does your muse have any quirks?: i think his tendency to just be way too lax in certain situations would be his infamous quirk. what are their hobbies? how frequent do/can they do them?: bogum is definitely a simple man. he would totally like puzzles, word searches, watching the news, scrapbooking ( YES, SCRAPBOOKING ), taking walks, shopping with his mom, writing, idk, he doesn’t do anything OD or over the top. shrug. do they have any guilty pleasures?: is your muse an extrovert or an introvert? neither?: 10000% introverted otl. do they have high or low self-esteem? what about confidence?: uhm... bogum probably has an average amount of confidence/self-esteem. he’s a realist, definitely. if he look ugly he look ugly. if he look good he look good. ‘nuff said. are they easily stressed and how do they normally respond to it?: stressed? bogum could be in the midst of a bank robbery and be sitting there like ok, y’all done yet? what is your muses worst fear?: his mother finding out about his job. what is your muses biggest dream?: to either escape his job for good or to be able to heal his mother of all her injuries and illnesses. but of course, neither of those will ever happen! is your muse a morning person or a night dragon?: a night dragon? ok. anyway he is probably both. i can see bogum getting like four hours of sleep and waking up like (: let’s fuckin go! how intelligent is your muse? do they acknowledge it?: OH BOGUM has street smarts but definitely probably not book smarts. at least, not a great amount of book smarts. how can he be a hitman if he’s DUMM?! describe their sense of humor: LMAO. the real question is how can someone as funny as ME play someone as BORING as bogum?

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES

are they currently in any sexual or romantic relationships?: HELL NO. luuuul. what is their experience with relationships?: to really think about it, bo probably had feelings for people here and there and most likely dated short term in high school but after he moved and began doing that he kind of lost all his effort to pursue romance. how does your muse view the idea of friends with benefits? have they ever had one? would they ever?: another hell naw to that sis. how important is sex to your muse?: not important at all. bogum could care less. what are their biggest turn on and turn offs?: see above pls. does your muse find it easy to make friends?: i say yes, only because most of his friends are through his mother. how important is friendship to them?: veRY IMPORTANT if bogum didn’t have the friends he has today, he probably would be a lot more sad and maybe more than just a hitman ): quantity or quality of friends?: quality! how important is family?: VERY IMPORTANT AGAIN bogum would give his life for his mother and to have his father back. are they close to their family? why or why not ?: YES. obviously asdfasdf everyone probably knows why. although bogum is now the one who runs the house, he still really values his mother because she ultimately has nobody but him in the end if she gets worse. his parents were always really good to him and when his father died, he knew that he and his mother had to stick together through it. he also knew that that he had to step up to provide for his mother because of her injuries and dementia. she is his life, really.

FAVORITES

activity: haha. you really wanna kno?... he likes word searches a lot. animal: idk. probably like. idk. beverage: mmmm some piping hot tea. book: - color: is red cliche to say? designer: - food: flower: water lilies, pansies, lilies, peonies, idk, he would love all kinds of flowers. gem: i googled these. if he had a favorite it would be garnet, smoked topaz, and morion. holiday: christmas! his mother’s favorite too, probably. mode of transportation: walking, usually. movie: - musical artist: oh boy, uhm,, i bet bogum likes indie kpop. like dean, suran, hyukoh, but i dont rlly know a lot to give you more details. quote / saying: - scenery: hm. probably night time in the living room, mom is put to bed already, he’s watching a rerun episode of a crime drama on television and thinking about how it’s so unrealistic. he’s got a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other though he puts it out halfway through because he loses interest. (: scent: i think he’d like the smell of cleaning products, flower scents ( bc it would remind him of his mom ), and metal (: obviously. weather: cloudy or rainy weather. anything that let’s him stay inside for the day. vacation destination: UM. i bet bogum would like to travel out of country to places like europe.

ATTITUDES

greatest dream: to finally have a peaceful life with his mother by his side, healthy or not. he wants to stop being a hitman, really, but it’s kind of like an addiction, plus he’s good at it, and it brings in the bacon. greatest fear: being caught and leaving his mother by herself -- it would be like the ultimate let down since he doesn’t trust anyone with her. most at east when: pls see scenery in section above. least as ease when: out in public by himself. he doesn’t have his mom as his cover. worst possible thing that could happen: PLS SEE GREATEST FEAR. ajdfkjasdfskf biggest achievement: moving to seoul safely with his mom! biggest regret: falling back into the crime life. most embarrassing moment: idk i feel like bogum isn’t embarrassing. he’s too ,, plain. biggest secret: LMAO well ... i think we all know. top priorities: keeping his mom safe, alive, healthy, and her bills paid for. also keeping himself undercover for the most part and making sure neither him or his mother are overwhelmed.

EXTRA TIDBITS

001. bogum is an unhealthy smoker but a social drinker. he never smokes around his mother though.

002. whenever bogum’s mother is around, he is on his own best behavior. he always does his best to be nice and keep up an image of her sweet son although by himself he can be different.

003. so far the only person who knows about his job is sangwoo because he sort of saw him in the act during his first hit. the two joke about it but bogum would take him out in a heartbeat if he spills.

004. i think it’s funny because i always pictured bogum as that person would give the shirt off of his back for you if you were in trouble. but he also wouldn’t hesitate to threaten to make you disappear.

005. his mom doesn’t know how he gets the money to pay for everything but bogum has her believing he “has his ways” and to “just trust him” although she asks about it every now and then.

006. though he stays inside a lot, some of the places you might see bogum outside of his apartment, are grocery stores close to his place, bars around town, museums, little cafes picking up things for his mother, dawon’s flower shop, and very occasionally places where there are a lot of drug activity.

007. here is smth: bogum is a hitman because his father was killed in a hit!

008. despite his mom questioning where he earns his money, his family has always been pretty well off but that was because of his father. so now that his father isn’t alive, it’s kind of ... fishy.

009. lmao probably your very typical scorpio minus the s*xual stuff.

010. my brain stopped working.

AESTHETICS

a card hand full of royals. empty, dark hospital hallways. dirty hands under black leather gloves. an empty, lonely wheelchair. old black and white photographs. an ashtray full of half smoked cigarettes. ripped up diary pages. rolled up fifty dollar bills. two expensive rings on each finger. responding “k” to a paragraph long text message. tri-folded letters written in the upmost calligraphy. roman numeral clocks.

#daegu:task #⸢ 。‧ * ‧﹒、i think it’s time to pack it in . 𝒹𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓅𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 . ⸥#I ADDED my own section at the bottom bc why not (:#ok i see u all later

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fantroll-purgatory · 5 years

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hi heres a thing.

(She sure is! This profile is frankly pretty sparse, so most of my comments are going to be vision-focused as opposed to character-focused.) -SA (Design-wise I think she’s pretty solid, though I would recommend making her scheme a bit darker. Alternian trolls reallllllly like using Black for everything, but otherwise she’s totally in line with the Indigos we’ve met via Troll Call, especially the white accents.)

Alternia or Beforus or some type of AU?: Alternia Name: Vikter Physus Vikter is the troll version of “Victor” (reference to Victor Frankenstein) (also yeah i was that one anon) and Physus because…science (i didn’t have any other ideas)

(I talk about over-commitment to gimmick a lot, which is the source of a lot of the problems I find with fantrolls. However, with Vikter, I think your main conceptual problem right off the bat is a lack of a focus. You have a stock character here: Zany Scientist, that you’ve converted into a troll, but you haven’t done a ton with it to expand her as a character.) (I think this starts in the name: Maybe it’s my own background speaking, but people don’t really do all science. “Science” is so broad that you can’t do it all. You claim to base her off of Victor Frankenstein, but very rarely allude to the things that Sir Frankenstein was into- Alchemy, Immortality, Playing God, and the Creation Of Life Ex Nihilo.) (I think you should focus a bit more on the Chemist Motif you have playing through her character- focus a bit more on alchemy (and later in SGRUB, Alchemization maybe?) to help keep her together.) Age: 6 Sweeps Fetch Modus: Chem. Modus You have to combine the right elements to get your items

(This but with some classic Adventure Game Moon Logic. She’s got like, the tears of a clown, solid mercury, and a screaming duck. Good luck.) Strife Specibus: Not sure

(An easy option is to have her make concoctions and throw ‘em at people! Helps keep her chemistry focus relevant.) Symbol and Meaning: Sagipia (Indigo + Derse + Light)

(Since this character has so little meat to her, I’m not going to suggest alternates to this: I’m going to give you guidelines to make her fit this.) (Indigos have a habit of being a bit job-obsessed, theming themselves around a particular occupation. Vikter’s got this in spades. However, they’re also known for being a bit full of themselves and self-important, coupled with an unfortunate lack of tact. While ordinarily I’d recommend straying a little from this to make your character more unique- Vikter’s Mad Scientist shtick wants all of these traits. A little powermad, more than a little pride...) (Derse Players are tumultous. They can’t sit still and let things pass them by. For Vikter, she’d need a bit more dissatisfaction, a bit more rebellion boiling in her blood. Victor Frankenstein was a Derse player, probably. He was constantly trying to push the envelope, trying to defy God and create life without divine intervention from the bodies of the dead. The fact that he succeeded should probably tell you a little about the drives of most Derse players. Derse players also don’t like revealing their true selves- perhaps there’s an element of artifice or pretension to her Mad Scientist self? Maybe she puts it on as a way of getting attention, of stealing the spotlight from other researchers?) (This leads me into my next point: Light players. Light player want the spotlight, even in passive classes. Sometimes it just kind of happens to them, but more often than not they seek it out and revel in it. Vikter’s going to need a bit more megalomania, I feel. She’s a Noble Blood AND a Light player? You know who was ALSO both of these things? Vriska. Vriska is the prototypical light player for good reason. She does it all, and with style. But if you want other Dersites, look no further than Rose Lalonde, Derse Seer of Light, who’d rather throw herself to the Void than give up her spot on the center stage.) Pesterchum: superciliousTechnologist (ST)

(Here’s where I come back to a lack of focus: Technologist? When? Where? Nowhere in this profile does it hint at Vikter being into tech of any sort, even if it’s been seen in Indigos before. “Supercillious” draws a point I made before: a need for this character to be a bit haughty and self-important.) Quirk: Letters are separated into squares like elements on the periodic table. [T][h][e] [Q][u][i][c][k] [r][e][d] [F][o][x] [J][u][m][p][e][d] [O][v][e][r] [T][h][e] [L][a][z][y] [D][o][g] (While this is thematic, I worry this would be a NIGHTMARE to type, and it doesn’t scan super well. Perhaps we could change her surname to a specific element, and have her bracket those? Like “Ferous” for Iron and [Fe] for the letters?) Lusus: A Bear, because they represent knowledge n all. (...Do... do they? Where is this coming from? I have never heard this in my life: Bears are often culturally symbols of strength and guardianship. You say this offhand like it’s obvious but? I have zero idea where this comes from.) (From what we’ve seen as well, Indigo lusii tend to be ungulates, things like Horses and Zebras and Goats.) Personality: She’s eccentric, but a bit self centered. She only really acts violent when it’ll benefit her (ex. experimenting on trolls). She’s only close too a few trolls, and cares deeply for those said few. (Bluebloods don’t usually have that kind of self-control. Aradia became violent just from having blue blood running through her robot body, remember. Is there a reason her self-control is so good? You could build a story here instead of discarding it.) Interests: Science of course!, and debating. (This NEEDS to be separated into Chemistry, first of all. What other parts of Science intrigue her? Ethics? Transhumanism? Biology? Athletic Science?) (I like the idea of her liking to debate people as a method to shout them down and prove her superiority. I bet she loves yelling at people on Troll!Twitter.) (What else is she interested in? Remember that Equius also was a blueblood with a love of science, and yet that wasn’t his entire thing. He liked robotics, and converting people to his view of the hemospectrum, and bodybuilding, and archery...) Title: Maid of Light (Maid. Interesting. Maid forces you to write her as someone who CREATES the spotlight around herself who provides and is self sufficient. I don’t have enough here to tell you that it’s a good or bad idea, but if you flesh her out more, I think she could grow into it. Inversing to a Bard of Void, passively destroying doubt and mystery by relentless SCIENCE! seems like a solid game plan.) Land: Land of Sparks and Theories Dream Planet: Derse (Check my Sign Comments for this.) (By the way, I would love to see an expanded form of Vikter in the future! Hopefully my comments here and there will give you a springboard to broaden her and make her a more cohesive, fully realized character!) -SA

#indigoblood #submission #Vikter Physus

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outofoxygen · 5 years

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NEW - A nice game for cute children.

Before I begin: This review is more professional than my last (Elsewhere) as I feel NEW deserves my respect and consideration more than Elsewhere ever has. Now then, I shall review NEW.

By the way, yes, I am back. I will work on more reviews. But I won’t follow a schedule that is easy to understand in any vague sense, and I’ll just write reviews about what interests me at the minute. (Quick after-post edit to add tags here.)

[ S P O I L E R S F O R N E W ]

[ P L A Y N E W I F Y O U H A V E N ‘ T ]

Part One: Foreword

Oh boy, a new form of padding. Now then, to preface this, I will warn you that I do enjoy NEW, and that I don’t wish its creator ill will, I afford them all proper respect, and I’m not going to talk about Mr. Evan Vasejeff (The creator of NEW).

Part Two: Plot Synopsis

The Batter is back, this time as a Prophet instead of a savior. This time, he has the goal of rendering all the Zones ‘safe’ instead of ‘pure’.

Zone 0 introduces us to Valerie, who is written better than HOME. I’ll write further about him in the Characters section. After a few puzzles, we head off to Zone 1.

Zone 1 is mostly similar to OFF, except Dedan is missing and replaced by a overweight idiotic chef. This chef (named Gabriel) is introduced to be malevolent and idiotic from his first appearance, all the way to his last, where you render him into a bloody corpse.

Zone 2 turned into a more pathetic hellscape than usual, with the nice aesthetic addition of a Japhet corpse on the roof. By the way, the Mall looks beautiful awful now. The game introduces a red herring (Oedipus, a little girl whom The Batter ends up beating to hell and back) before you meet the final villain, Angela, an insane spirit infesting a mannequin that The Batter summarily destroys.

Zone 3 is this time played backwards, with The Batter going from Area 4 to a mythical Area 0. All the while, you are pestered by Sonovan, an odd-talking priest and general narcissist, who eventually fights The Batter, is beaten, quickly jacks up Valerie (just play the game if you want to understand this better), then gets killed by The Batter, who mercy-kills Valerie at his own request. You then go and defeat Gazmel, who is, in his own words, Satan.

Zone 4 (or, The Echelon) is a miserable hellscape that is actually just a part of The Room, maybe. You meet ‘Vincent “Ivius” Corsacoff the 2nd’, who I shall permanently refer to as ‘Ivius’, as his actual name is incredibly long and annoying. So you head onto a roof, where you talk to Ivius, going on to fight him, before inevitably winning, and going to The Room itself.

Of course, The Room is a strange mindnumb I won’t be going into too much, as I feel like getting this poor-quality plot synopsis over with.

Part 3: Characters

The Batter - As I mentioned, he’s a prophet instead of purifier. His goal is to make the zones ‘safe’ instead of ‘pure’, and he seems to be more mellowed out now. On occasion, he interrupts himself before carrying on with a thought (ie. he comments upon Oedipus’ mention of comics named ‘Batteur and Boxxer’ by stating “What kind of trite do you read? "Panic in Ballvile" is obviously-” before cutting himself short and carrying on the dialogue.) and generally, The Batter seems altogether more.. human than before. Other than that, he is mostly the same character as before, and still a bat-wielding protagonist.

Valerie - The cat we (don’t really) know from OFF. I can state something about NEW’s characterization of Valerie: It was executed very well! Mortis Ghost has stated that Valerie was more soft-spoken and shy than The Judge, and NEW does indeed follow through with Mortis Ghost’s stated character of Valerie. He comes across as a shy, introverted, socially awkward cat, and that altogether works very well for him. He’s also the new Guardian of Zone 0.

Zacharie - I’ll say more in the Merchants category.

The Judge - Our favorite, eloquent cat! .. except, he’s taken Hugo’s place. Also, unlike Hugo, he’s not that nice. Or innocent, really. He’s become corrupt with absolute power over the world, and as such, has used his raw powers of creation to muck about, creating demonic feline entities known as Jury, which replace Secretaries in NEW. Of course, the implications of this are quite large in scope, and will take up a portion of the Lore section.

Part 4: Music

I will state this immediately: This fangame has some incredible tracks. These include: My personal favorite, Awesome Miniboss, Crying Girls Part 1-2 (which are actually samples of Is Dancing Till Her Head Explodes, from Alias Conrad Coldwood’s album Crying Girls), Dented Helmets on TV, Stay in in Stay (A remix of Stay In Your Coma), and Funky Bucket of Nasty Noises, among plenty others. Its soundtrack complements the game, and it’d be an incredible mistake to play it without listening to its excellent tracks. One warning for headphone users though: the miss sound is awful, and it’s rather loud in comparison to the other sounds.

Part 5: Basic Enemies

The enemies in this game are well-designed, with inventive competence names and lovely art. They’re well-made, and this fangame clearly had a lot of care put into it. However, I have never had to grind so much in my life. The enemies are rather harsh, and you will suffer. Before anyone tosses an ‘git gud’ in my face, I did. After a while, The Batter will be so high-leveled that bosses fall in a heartbeat against his bat’s blows and his add-on’s.. cuts(?). Now then, on to the next section.

Part 6: Merchants

I think everyone reading this knows of my distaste, my violent hatred of fangames using Zacharie as a merchant? So, who is the merchant of NEW?

.. this guy. Zacharie. But, just look at his face. Look at that face. I.. I can’t be mad. To be honest, I found this incredibly amusing. I simply cannot be mad. His face.. It’s absolutely hilarious. Zacharie is absolutely ridiculous in this fangame, and I cannot be as vitriolic as usual. Sorry.

Carrying on, I almost feel like NEW mocks Zacharie in a way; outside the mall, there are two statues of Zacharie with his mask as how it originally looked. What does The Batter have to say about this? “A statue of Zacharie when he looked less pathetic.” All throughout the game, The Batter insults Zacharie. Here’s another line of this, as an example: “I'm tired of this wild goose chase. I've went through one too many things. One of those horrific things being friends with Zacharie.” Finally, Zacharie repainted the mall an awful pink color, which The Batter is clearly disgusted by, including making a comment about Zacharie having poor taste.

Altogether, I feel like NEW uses Zacharie in a way that I can’t be mad at.

Part 7: Lore

NEW takes place after the events of OFF. The Batter returns, and fights 4 Purifiers instead of 4 Guardians, and it seems the original 3 are dead. The world is a corrupted shade of a corrupted world; it is broken to the point of being unable to be fixed. One actually gets the sense that The Batter is righting wrongs, and fixing the world.

But, let’s talk about the position Hugo filled, and that The Judge fills. In the events of NEW, The Batter is looking for The Judge as he makes the Zones ‘safe’. It turns out The Judge has taken up the mantle of Creator and God, and has become corrupted by his new-found power. Which implies quite a few.. unpleasant ideas. If the power Hugo had can corrupt someone with as pure intentions as The Judge, was Hugo also corrupt? If NEW’s idea of how the next Creator takes power (basically, how The Judge offs The Batter) is correct, does that mean any number of individuals could become Creators in their own right, merely by killing The Batter at the apex of his quest?

But let us leave behind these thoughts, and carry on; we are nearly at the end, and I have more reviews to do.

Part 8: Does This Game Fit In With OFF?

Yes. I hold NEW as my personal pick for an unofficial OFF sequel, and I am proud in that. Its lore doesn’t contradict OFF’s; in fact, it follows the lore as closely as possible, and its lore, whilst small, is worthwhile to notice and consider. I believe that it adds on to OFF’s weird world.

Part 9: Conclusion

I hold this fangame in high esteem. I view it as an example of what one person, with naught but a computer and a dream, can achieve. In the end, though, I suppose NEW asks us a question. A very important one, and one I’ll state directly.

Would you like to start a new game?

#NEW #off fangame #off #a review

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smuttbunnie · 6 years

Text

The Devil wears glasses

Member: V

Genre: Smut / Angst

Series: The Moon Child

Theme: Halloween

Part: 5 / {pt.1} {pt.2} {pt.3} {pt.4} {pt.6} {pt.7}

"You moronic ass" Jin scolded, Taehyung sharply drawing a breath through his teeth as his advisor tightly pressed a cloth against his bleeding wrist.

"Your brilliant plan was to take the dagger - the royal dagger designed to protect the royal bloodline at all costs, which was specifically forged to overpower and fatally wound a vampire - and slice your wrist open with it."

"Good plan no?"

Teahyung hissed in pain as Jin pressed unnecessarily (and passive aggressively) hard on the wound. You winced with second-hand pain, instructing your master to keep pressure on the cut. The King wasn’t doing well. He had lost too much blood, and Jin could already see a fever setting in from the poison. The advisor cursed, angry and frustrated with his own ineptness.

How could he let this happen to his sire?

"I'm getting the royal Physician."

Taehyung groaned loudly and tried to get up, but Jin quickly pushed him back onto the bed.

"I'll be fine, you don't have to get that deprecating prick," he grumbled.

"You've lost too much blood, and the knife was laced with poison. You are most certainly not 'fine'."

"That's an exaggeration, it was just a scrath."

"You almost bled out!"

“When you put it that way it sounds so dramatic."

The advisor bristled. "Insufferable bastard" he mumbled under his breath before urgently turning to you.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I'll lock the door whilst I'm out getting the royal physician so no one can get in. Do you understand?"

You quickly gave him a nod and the man hurried to the door. He paused for a second, worriedly looking towards your master, before exiting the room and locking the door behind him.

You stood for a moment in the middle of the room, cluttered and overwhelmed. It felt like a gravitational force was pulling you to the floor, and no matter how much you told your legs to move, they wouldn’t. Your body was numb, and your head scrambled for something to do.

Taehyung's groan willed you out of your stupor, and with a shaky breath you forced yourself move. The prince's brow was covered with sweat, and his breathing was haggard. He looked awful...

You quickly ran to the bathroom, grabbing one of the cloths and dipping it into one of the basins with cold water in it. Moving back into the bedroom, Taehyung was trying to stand up, but was too disoriented to find his balance.

Almost falling over, you rushed over in a nick of time, catching him and helping him back onto the bed. The King tried to resist, but finally lied down in defeat. It surprised you how weak he had become.

"You're seeing me in quite an unseemly matter," he grunted. "But then again you always see when I'm unseemly."

"…Are-are there times when you're seemly?"

The king laughed, hoarsely replying through his chuckles;

"Are there times when I'm seemly? Haha, aaaah maybe not huh?"

You flushed, embarrassed. Not knowing what to say, you said the wrong thing again. You tightly pressed the cloth to your chest, and a fluttery nervousness trilled through you.

"C-can I sit? Sit-sit next to you I mean."

He blinked a few times, uncertainly glancing at you. Giving you a weak smile, he nodded and you carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. Figgeting with the damp cloth for another second, you ignored the loud thumping in your chest and moved closer to your master.

You raised the cloth, hesitating to glance at Taehyung before gently dabbing his forehead. He sighed with relief, the fabric cool against his burning skin. Blurrily looking up at you, your brows were furrowed in focus as you wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“You’re having a sudden change of heart” he meekly mused.

You froze, your grip on the cloth tightening. Sudden….it was sudden. All of it, all of this. Your feelings had gotten all mixed up along the way, and you needed something to straighten them out. You looked up with a sense of need, words urgently falling past your lips;

“Why? Why did you…why would you do that for me?”

He held your gaze tensely for a moment, before reaching up to tug you closer by your wrist. You were caught off gaurd, but didn’t pull away from the King’s grasp. His eyes searched for something in yours, desperately trying to find familiarity in their depths.

You felt breathless. It was a profound and vulnerable moment, where in a second you felt you knew the prince more than you did the entirety of you stay here. There was a sense of understanding you felt, that maybe you were more alike then you realized.

Who are you Prince Taehyung?

Just as his majesty opened his mouth to say something, a key turned in the lock and a man with greenish hair in a black coat burst through the door. He glared down at the King over the rim of his glasses, an arrogant smirk settling across his lips.

"Well well well, don't you look like shit."

***

The dress was loose and comfortable on your body. You wiped the last of the dry blood from your neck, looking at yourself in the mirror. Jin had thankfully allowed you to change after the physician saw your bloodstained dress and thought the blood was because of Taehyung.

Then he learnt the blood was Taehyung's, and the situation got even worse.

"You know I always say, if you want to get into a woman's undergarments, just bleed all over her. That ought to get her all hot and bothered."

"I did it to protect her you arrogant bastard."

"Right, my apologies mister knight-in-shining-armor. You're protecting her just swell now that you’re bed-ridden and wounded."

"Why you incolent, little f- Ouch!” Taehyung cried out as Yoongi stuck the needle in his skin. He looked up in mock surprise, a very unapologetic and smug smile slipping onto his lips.

"Oh sorry, did that hurt? My hand must have slipped."

"I'll personally see to it that you're beheaded" The prince hissed, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Yoongi skillfully stitched up the cut, and if you didn’t know better you’d say he was enjoying it.

After bandaging your master's wrist, he rummaged through the black, leather bag he had brought with him. Removing a small, wooden bowl he mixed various liquids from oddly shaped vials, adding crushed herbs and strange powders to the concoction. Seemingly satisfied, he handed it over to the King.

"Drink up buttercup."

Taheyung threw the doctor a hateful glare, raising the bowl to his lips. He had barely taken a sip when his eyes widened and he spat it out again.

"This is revolting!"

"You didn't ask for sugar."

"I didn't know it was bitter you sadistic prick!"

You nervously stood there, wondering if you should offer to get the King something to make it taste better. He must've seen the look on your face, because he awkwardly cleared his throat before reluctantly gulping down the foul-smelling medicine without another complaint.

The doctor grinned, thinking to himself that things might have become much more interesting in the castle since the last time he was here.

“You drank it all, good boy! You deserve a gold star~” the physician sarcastically cooed.

“I despise you with every fibre in my being.”

“As affectionate as always your ‘majesty’.”

Jin had brought you a new dress, and told you it was alright to go clean yourself up. You hadn’t taken too long but you assumed your master would be asleep by now because of the exhaustion. Jin and the physician seemed to be discussing something when you entered the room but stopped when they noticed you.

They were probably talking about you.

“So, I hear you’re a moonchild. We haven’t been properly introduced yet.”

Introduced? You looked to Jin for help. You weren’t usually “introduced” to others. Your previous masters used to show you off like a collectable, or refer to you as a pet. You never had the luxury of speaking for yourself.

“Are you mute or what?”

The advisor’s eyes widened, but before he could say anything you quickly spoke up. “U-um, please excuse me, I’m Y/N,” you said bowing before the man.

“Finally, a proper greeting! Why does no one ever bow before me?”

You could see Jin rolling his eyes out of the corner of your vision.

“Min Yoongi, Royal Phycian and apparantly the royal ass-kisser of his majes- oof! ”

The advisor elbowed him hard in the side, cutting his comment short and giving him a warning glare. Yoongi coughedt and readjusted his glasses.

“Pleasure to meet you Y/N.”

You could feel your face flush with heat. A pleasure? Did he just say it was a pleasure to have met you?

“Y-you don’t have to say that Doctor, please I couldn’t possibly, um-” you stammered, feeling the need to apologize to him.

Jin placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, giving you a sympathetic smile. “It’s alright” he whispered, the physician giving both of you a confused look. For a moment it seemed like he would say something about it, but something more important caught his attention.

Swiftly removing and checking a pocketwatch from his jacket, he swore before rushing to pack up his bag.

“Sorry, I’d love to stay and gossip some more about our spoiled princess, but I’m late for an appointment.”

“You mean prince.”

“Do I really though?” With a flourish of his coat and a flash of his smug grin he was gone. The poor advisor sighed, turning to you apologetically.

“Please excuse him, he’s a bit much to handle. You must have been quite flustered.”

You shook your head, wondering if you could speak your mind, or if that would be a bit presumptuous of you. Jin picked up on your thoughts and smiled encouragingly. “Go ahead.”

You were very grateful for his words.

“M.. More than that, I was shocked. I didn’t know the King could be so, well… Childish.”

Surprise flitted across his face, and you hastily interjected;

“Ah I didn’t mean to insult the King I just meant that-”

“No it’s alright,” he chuckled. “I’d prefer it if you could speak frankly with me.”

Jin looked at your master, a sorrowful look glazing his eyes.

“The royal physician knows how to push the prince’s buttons. Whenever Doctor Min is around, he acts more like he used to…”

“Used to?”

The advisor glanced at you, smiling. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. It was the sort of smile you put on your face when you thought about better, happier days that were long gone. You knew it well, because you wore it a lot.

“I met him when I was young. At the time he was only a child, but his skill to rule had been cultivated from the moment he was born.”

He walked to the side of the bed, fixing the covers and removing the strands of hair that clung to your master’s face.

“The King was a very different person back then.”

Prince Taehyung as a child… You had never imagined it, but suddenly you were very curious to know what he looked like when he was younger. Did he have that stony face back then? Or did he have the round, shining face that all children seemed to have when they were innocent and carefree.

“Was it a good different?”

Jin smiled fondly. “I’m not sure. He did some stupid things, and had a knack for causing trouble.”

His smile fell and you felt your heart fall a bit along with it. Such a tearful look did not suit the busy-body advisor.

“But… He knew how to laugh back then. Not the laugh he uses today. The type of laughter that made his belly ache and tears gather in his eyes. He used to find the stupidest things humorous.”

You clutched at the material of your dress, your vocabulary frustrating useless when required to provide comfort. What do you say? Does the King know how sadly Jin gazes at him when he’s asleep? How he worries?

What kind of a person were you to cause the uptight and respectable Jin to make a face like this?

“Y/N… It’s not a very exciting story - of how I came to be the King’s right hand man but…”

He turned to you, and it was the first time Jin didn’t look composed. Not even in the slightest.

“Would you like to hear it?”

~To be continued

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the-captains-on-shore-leave · 6 years

Note

I've seen a lot of tf2 stuff here and I'm wondering if I should get into it? I know OF the game, but that's pretty much it. What's it about? Where do I start?

buddy Y E S. it’s like this weird unlikely ~timeless masterpiece~ that has sooo many different facets to it. it’s silly and ridiculous and saturated with lots of interesting lore and characters, as well as fun and INCREDIBLY versatile gameplay- it can be played like a serious shooter with a serious objective, or it can become a block party where everything’s silly taunts and hats and the points don’t matter and oh boy just wait until you see the halloween events. tf2′s given me some of the best friends i’ve ever had, has gotten me through some of my darkest times, and has just generally brought me so much joy (directly and indirectly) throughout the years, that it will probably be one of my favorite video games for the rest of my life. so YES i highly recommend you give it a shot lol.

AND OK, SO…I ENDED UP WRITING A LOT. LIKE BASICALLY A BRIEF CRASH COURSE ON TF2. but c’mon man you’re asking me about one of my favorite games..i can’t help myself lol. i mean…objectively it’s very short for covering 10+ years of content, riiiight

but foreal it’ll just take a few minutes to read and it will give you some useful insight into tf2, what it is, and everything else you need to start your ✧・ﾟ:* magical *:・ﾟ✧ hat-based journey (btw almost all italics are links jsyk, i know my blog is dumb and doesn’t make that obvious)

TL;DR:gaem is about shoot and silly hat with 9 boyes. is v fun 2 play, start with am watch meet the team videoz on tf yootoob.

And now for a more detailed explanation:

i’ll start by telling you how it began: “team fortress” was the first team fortress series game ever made. this game was a quake mod, made in the mid-90s, not developed by valve, and based in another engine. it got reeeally popular, so, eventually, valve saw it, liked it, and put a ring on it, hiring the team to make a team fortress half-life mod, and later, a standalone version, known as “team fortress classic” (essentially, in regards to modern lore, tf1). valve eventually started developing a standalone sequel to tfc, “team fortress 2: brotherhood of arms.” this game was, stylistically, VERY different from the tf2 we know today- it was a super-realistic military game (kinda like counter strike?). but for some reason (thank you god) they ended up doing a 180 and went for something more cartoony (if they’d gone with that original design, tf2 probably would’ve outdated and died off years ago). this more cartoony style is what you see today.

so now we’ve covered tf2′s history, let’s talk about what it is: team fortress 2 is an online team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game that features a variety of gamemodes. here’s the basic in-game menu layout when you fire it up:

these different gamemodes include a casual mode, a competitive mode, and a player vs bot mode (which is super fuuuunn). here’s what the menu looks like when you click the “find a game” tab:

i’m mostly familiar with casual mode (formally known as “pubs” for “public servers”), which is the main part of the game anyway, so i’ll list what type of objectives you have to choose from in casual mode: (CORE GAME MODES) attack/defense, capture the flag, control points, king of the hill, and payload; (VALVE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING ALTERNATIVE GAME MODES) payload race, mannpower, pass time, and miscellaneous game modes.

but tf2 doesn’t only appear in game form! i remember i was hella confused about what exactly tf2 was for the longest time because of this, so next, let’s break down what it manifests as: a video game, a comic series, and animated shorts (both official and fan-made). source filmmaker (sfm) is the animation program valve developed and uses to animate their shorts. a few years ago, this program was made free to the public, so there have been maaaaany many fan animations and posters made over the years about tf2 using the program. so many, in fact, that valve decided to start holding an annual tf2 film festival, called “the saxxy awards” (”saxxy” coming from “saxton hale,” a dude we’ll touch on ina bit). the festival is an opportunity for animators to showcase their skills, and SO many seriously amazing projects have come out of them. i recommend checking out winglet, uberchain, mag magnet, krunkidile (specifically his “TSA” series), py-bun, and nonamesleft, they are all very skilled animators who are also quite active in the community! there are so many more amazing sfm animators, but my brain is just about fried (it’s almost 4am), so i can’t think of them right now, but keep an ear open for whenever this year’s saxxies roll around and you’ll discover more no problem!

let’s move onto what it’s about: the story takes place in the 1970s, and centers around 9 mercenaries who have been hired to fight in a “war.” the “war” was started by 2 bitch ass rich ass brothers who got their wealthy father to buy an enormous expanse of land in new mexico and move their family there. the brothers hated each other with a petty fury, and their father hated them both because the land they convinced him to buy….was absolutely worthless! so when he died, he gave their family munitions company “mann co.” to his closest aide (barnabus hale), and left them both nothing but that enormous plot of worthless gravel-filled land (hence the name “the gravel wars”) to fight over. and they’ve been fighting over it ever since. the bros got played, but they are so single-minded in their sibling rivalry that they don’t care.

it’s on this land where most of the in-game maps are located. the brothers’ names are redmond mann and blutarch mann (hence the team names red and blu). in-game, you play on either red or blu. on both sides, you can play as any of the 9 mercenaries, scout/soldier/pyro (offense), heavy/demoman/engineer (defense), or sniper/medic/spy (support). it’s never really touched upon in lore how both brothers managed to hire the same mercenaries to fight, and it probably never will be, since it is just an in-game mechanic. but it does still beg the question. in the shorts, it’s shown that they literally fight clones of themselves (like in the game). in the comics, certain mercenaries are shown on blu team, while others are on red. there are a lot of fan theories, but generally it’s just said that “they fight each other” (interpret as you will). the world may never know.

each of the mercs are referred to by their job title (i.e. heavy weapons guy, sniper, medic, etc.), but they have their own real names oc (except maybe pyro). however, we don’t know all their names yet. they each have really unique personalities and skills that have built them to be these memorable characters. which leads me to where you should start:

i would say go to the team fortress youtube channel and just start working your way through the videos. Start with the “meet the ____” videos, cause those will give you a sense of who the 9 mercenaries are personality-wise (and sort of lore- and gameplay-wise, too). on that channel, you’ll also find some shorts that don’t have to do with any particular mercenary. these shorts were made to coincide with the various in-game updates that have happened throughout the years (the most recent short being “jungle inferno,” released just a few months ago).

once you’ve gone through all of that, and if you find you wanna dive deeper into the lore of tf2, you could start reading the tf2 comics. i highly recommend them, they’re all written very well, have a great sense of humor, and have a surprisingly extensive and intriguing storyline. you can find them all here. the comics are broken up into sections: tf comics, update comics, and the saxton series. the saxton series are some silly vintage comic book covers that feat. ya boi saxton hale (current owner of mann co. and grandson of barnabus hale. also i didn’t mention this before but mann co. supplies the gravel war effort. jsyk). the saxton series isn’t really lore relevant. but the update and tf comics are. i highly recommend starting from the bottom of the page and working your way up. pay attention to the date the comic was uploaded (beneath the comic icon and title), and just read them in chronological order from oldest to newest. that way you won’t get confused or not know who’s who, what’s happening, etc. it’ll basically be like you were along for the updates without having to put up with the wait! speaking of which…

currently we’re all on the edge of our seats waiting for the next and final tf2 comic. been waiting for over a year and counting…

the last comic came two years after it’s predecessor, so….let’s just say you’ve got time. and plenty of it.

OKAY SO I THINK THAT JUST ABOUT BRIEFLY TOUCHES ON EVERYTHING U GOTTA KNOW. the rest of the story is lore stuff that you really should read in the comics. it’s worth it, trust me. and you just gotta experience the game for yourself. you can add me if you want (send me your steam profile) and we can play some. i’m always down for a few rounds :)

anyway, i hope this was helpful and not too tedious to get through. most importantly, i hope it encouraged you to get into tf2! it might seem daunting or a lot of stuff to take in at first, but it gets easier once you get a foothold. and you might decide that you don’t really care for the lore, only the game. or vice versa. but however you choose to enjoy it, it’s a great thing to experience, and i hope you choose to. i hope i helped at least a bit!

#asks #tf2 #tf2 crash course

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pokemaniacal · 6 years

Text

Wishiwashi

One of my favourite sequences in the whole of the original Sun and Moon was Lana’s Water trial on Akala Island, which introduces Wishiwashi: a small, very weak and actually rather pathetic-looking fish Pokémon with apparently no special powers. Before you actually enter the trial grounds, Lana leads you through Brooklet Hill to investigate several commotions taking place in the area’s many pools. Each is apparently caused by a group of Wishiwashi, most of which flee at your approach, leaving one behind to take the rap, but if you catch one, you’ll get some hint of what’s going on by reading the text of its Schooling ability. The further you go, the larger the splashes in the pools become, slowly building a sense of menace around whatever it is you’re following, and Lana starts dropping hints about a powerful Pokémon that must be causing everything, even telling you at one point that Kyogre is said to live in Brooklet Hill. Only when you reach the shore does Lana reveal that this has all been the lead up to her trial, and tell you that you’re about to confront something she calls “the lord of the ocean” – a creature that, when it appears, bears a striking similarity to Kyogre’s monstrous whale-like form. It’s a dramatic reveal that introduces Wishiwashi’s powers through the player character’s own process of discovery and ties them in beautifully with the plot, to an extent that is unprecedented for a non-legendary Pokémon. Let’s take a closer look at the origins and capabilities of the Pokémon behind it all.

Wishiwashi’s inspiration could easily have been almost any of the small forage fish in the herring or anchovy families. Like Wishiwashi, individuals of these species are fairly bland and unexciting creatures. They tend to bear the standard open ocean “camouflage” colours of silver-blue on the back, to blend in with the deep sea below, and white on the belly, to blend in with the sunlit sky above. This combination is favoured by a wide variety of pelagic fish, including both small fish like herrings that use it to evade attackers and large predators like sailfish that use it to approach prey unnoticed, as well as on the Pokémon Sharpedo, Gyarados, Wailord, and Wishiwashi himself. Herrings and anchovies look about as generic as a fish can look, they generally have fairly boring diets based on several varieties of microscopic zooplankton, they possess few outstanding special abilities, and they are most important for being eaten by the millions, both by humans and by just about every other larger sea creature, to the point that it seems legitimately puzzling they could ever have become some of the most populous and successful types of fish on Earth. As with Wishiwashi, things start to get interesting when you have a lot of them.

Herrings and anchovies are some of the most social fish, and spend practically all their time in large groups which can, at a moment’s notice, form a school: a mass of fish moving in unison, creating the illusion that they are all part of a larger organism. Fish in schools show an almost supernatural awareness of all the other fish around them, and appear to use a combination of senses that is still not fully understood by scientists to track and follow their neighbours’ movements instantly and precisely. Wishiwashi communicate and coordinate by a method appropriate to their wimpish nature – using the light that shines from their eyes as a distress signal to summon their allies. Some of Wishiwashi’s Pokédex data seems to imply that it’s solely the glistening of their moist, tear-filled eyes that produces this effect. Other sources suggest that they can actually make their eyes glow, possibly taking inspiration from deep sea fishes like the lanternfish, which also communicate by flashing bioluminescent glands around their eyes. Whatever the mechanism, the result is a very large cloud of fish, often in the form of a swirling ball or tornado, that looks eerily like it has a mind of its own, greater than the sum of its parts. Fish in a school are harder for predators to catch, because it’s difficult to focus on just one. They can more effectively search out food sources of their own by working together, and chase off competitors for those food sources from their territory. It’s even been hypothesised that fish somehow use less energy while swimming in a school, like geese flying in a V formation to reduce wind resistance. Of course, real anchovies have never been observed schooling in a formation that mimics the body of a gigantic sea monster to destroy much larger predators, and have certainly never earned a nickname like “demon of the sea” (conceivably a reference to the biblical Leviathan)… but hey, artistic license, right? Pokémon has always loved the idea of small, unassuming creatures that secretly have incredible powers – just look at Magikarp. Wishiwashi takes that theme in a unique new direction by drawing on an awe-inspiring real world phenomenon.

There’s just one problem: I’m almost certain it has to be deeply and flagrantly illegal. Pokémon battles are normally supposed to be one-on-one. Well… except doubles, or triples… or trials… or horde battles… but, look, you get the point. Seventy-six-on-one is definitely a significant departure from normal practice. Most trainers, I suspect, would feel justly aggrieved if their current opponent requested a brief time out for their Pidgey to get help from several dozen of its friends to form an unstoppable squawking mass of feathery death. There has to be a story behind how it ever became legal to use an entire school of Wishiwashi at once – maybe it’s okay because all the other Wishiwashi in the school are technically wild Pokémon participating on their own initiative? That sounds like a dubious and easily exploitable loophole, especially in a region like Alola, which is famous for wild Pokémon randomly jumping into each other’s battles just to help out. Maybe it’s rationalised as essentially the same as using a Pokémon like Dugtrio, Magneton or Slowbro that’s made up of two or more smaller Pokémon? Or the Beat Up attack, where all your Pokémon briefly emerge from their Pokéballs and attack together? Ash has had his ridiculous herd of Tauros trample people on occasion but I don’t know if that counts as a “battle.” I think the closest parallel is probably with Vespiquen’s Order techniques, which I think summon a bunch of Combee to do her bidding, but I’m not sure that’s ever been made explicit. Or maybe the Alolans have never thought about it because they’ve never had a Pokémon League before and it’s simply never been anyone’s job to discuss what the actual rules of Pokémon battling should be? I could believe that – but then what happens when we eventually bring Wishiwashi to other regions that aren’t familiar with how this Pokémon works? For that matter, how would the Schooling ability even work in a region with no wild Wishiwashi? None of this is to say that Wishiwashi is a badly designed Pokémon – on the contrary, I think it would have been a shame to throw the design out just because it throws up a bunch of practical difficulties like these, and they actually open some interesting worldbuilding avenues. There are just some weird unanswered questions implied here.

Wishiwashi actually manages, almost impressively in his own way, to beat out Sunkern as the Pokémon with the lowest base stat total in the entire game. But as we’ve seen, Wishiwashi has a secret: the Schooling ability. As soon as any Wishiwashi of at least level 20 enters battle, this ability will immediately summon the school, which has stats worthy of a legendary Pokémon or mega evolution. Its poor HP stays, and its speed actually drops, but its attack, special attack, defence and special defence stats all skyrocket, so that its special stats are nearly as high as Kyogre’s, and its physical stats are comparable to Mega Swampert’s. There’s a catch, though: if its HP drops below 25%, the school will disintegrate, leaving a lone Wishiwashi behind. It’s hard to express quantitatively the impact that this has on Wishiwashi’s tanking potential – you could just count him as having 25% less HP than he actually does, since he basically becomes useless after dropping below that threshold, in which case he’s comparable defensively to Pokémon like Golduck, Lumineon and Phione, hardly classic tanks. That’s not a fair comparison, though, because when those other Pokémon have been knocked out, Wishiwashi can still form a new school if healed above 25% – Leftovers, a Sitrus Berry, Rest, Aqua Ring or an ally’s Wish all come to mind. Because Wishiwashi is too slow for his speed to matter much anyway, you’re also free to invest training in his HP instead. Finally, Water is a reasonably solid defensive type. It all works out to a Pokémon that’s likely to have above-average bulk, regrettable speed, and some incredibly powerful attacks, both physical and special. Remember that, although Wishiwashi will summon the school immediately upon entering battle for the first time, the school will subsequently be dismissed or re-summoned only at the end of a turn – you can’t have an attack be interrupted by dropping below 25% HP, and you can’t heal yourself to put your defences back up in time to absorb an attack the same turn.

Wishiwashi’s offensive movepool isn’t great on either the physical or the special side, and you’d be hard pressed to put together a moveset that focused completely on one or the other. The good news is that you don’t need to, because Wishiwashi’s attack and special attack are easily high enough to pull off a mixed set, using a Water attack, Ice Beam, and Earthquake. Your fourth move is… a little bit more open, largely because of the aforementioned shallow offensive movepool. U-Turn is nice for flexibility, though it’s a little bit wasted on a slow and powerful Pokémon like Wishiwashi; this is a shame, as access to U-Turn is fairly unusual for a Water-type and might be the most interesting thing about his movepool. Hidden Power could be useful if you can think of a specific Pokémon with a double-weakness that you want to hit (Fire for Scizor, Ferrothorn and Forretress is probably the best pick). Other than that, there’s… I guess Iron Tail and Double Edge? I almost have to mention Beat Up because it’s quite a rare move and thematically a great fit for Wishiwashi, but it’s so bad I can’t sincerely recommend it. Beat Up essentially works by having every Pokémon in your party make a weak attack – which means you basically have to run a team full of Pokémon with high base attack, the move becomes weaker as your other Pokémon faint or suffer status conditions, and it’s downright useless in any format where you don’t have a full team of six… but if you can deal with all that, you can give Wishiwashi a decent physical Dark-type attack. Yay. For your main Water attack, you have a couple of choices depending on exactly what you’re after: Hydro Pump for maximum power, Surf for balance, Scald for a chance to burn and win Wishiwashi some extra durability against physical attackers, or Aqua Tail for a physical option. This is probably what Wishiwashi is best at (and it should go without saying that he’s much better at it on a Trick Room team, perhaps to the point of being able to pull off a sweep), but notwithstanding some minor variation in your fourth move and which Water attack you pick, it’s pretty predictable, purely because there are so few other options.

Although his stats don’t support a tanking or stalling approach so well, Wishiwashi does have a few techniques that can help him move in that direction. Aqua Ring gives you a trickle of healing every turn; combined with Leftovers in place of the Life Orb or Choice Specs that you might use on a purely offensive set, it will help Wishiwashi stay healthy for a while longer and maybe even give him chances to come back from the brink by re-summoning his school after being injured. There’s actually an argument for equipping a Shell Bell over Leftovers, because Wishiwashi’s low base HP and very high damage output mean that he’ll often get a better deal out of healing for 1/8 of the damage he does rather than a flat 1/16 of his HP, but there is a lot to be said for the consistency of Leftovers. A Rest/Sleep Talk move set is plausible, I suppose, although the only thing Wishiwashi really has to recommend him over other Water-types for that strategy is an extremely high special attack score that doesn’t require any boosts from Calm Mind or the like to be useful. Whirlpool, Toxic and perhaps Dive or Aqua Ring could go into a stalling moveset, though to be honest I have trouble seeing a Pokémon of Wishiwashi’s merely average constitution as the next great stall Pokémon, and Toxic with a trapping move is not exactly such an exclusive combination that it would be hard to find someone better at it than Wishiwashi.

It’s really kind of a shame that a Pokémon as cool and awe-inspiring as Wishiwashi (well, in school form, anyway) ends up being a bit inflexible. There’s really only one thing Wishiwashi is good at – namely, unceremoniously dropping most of the Pacific onto your enemies’ unsuspecting heads. He looks like he ought to be a better support tank than he is, but I’m honestly just not seeing the movepool to justify it, and for a Pokémon who seems so hard-core dedicated to offence, he’s painfully slow and doesn’t have a lot of choice there either (in fairness, Water/Ground/Ice is a solid enough combination of attacks that you don’t really need a whole lot else). Having said all that, I find it impossible not to love Wishiwashi for his design and flavour, the way he personifies the Alolan ideal of wild Pokémon helping each other in battle, and the evocative integration of his introduction into the games’ story. Now if only we could give him a couple more attacks…

#pokemon #alola #alola pokedex #wishiwashi #watertypes

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