#if we're including animated then that's an entirely different story

[narujenreacts]

Will Murder Drones get a Season 2?

Alrighty. So, after GLITCH's post yesterday of Digital Circus that also mentioned "We're also working hard on Murder Drones & will be releasing final episodes soon!", which sent a lot of the fandom (including yours truly) into a panic that this meant these are the final episodes for the SERIES and not the 1st season. However, that felt off to me since GLITCH has been promoting MD as Season 1 and not a short series, which, if it had always intended to be only 8 episodes, it would've been. That's just how it goes in the industry for online series. And I believe GLITCH wouldn't make that kind of mistake in marketing. It'd be different too if it was only promoted as Season 1 for the teaser, but it's been that way up until that Digital Circus post. Hell, here are some of the things Kevin and Liam said during GlitchX:

"I remember when we were coming up with the, uh, this is like way before when, you know, Murder Drones was really, like we were really going for a smaller, smaller show-" - Kevin

"The whole oil thing that was getting set up in the pilot, that was gonna be like a MASSIVE sort of plot thread throughout the season." - Kevin

"Because in terms of importance to kind of where I want the story to go, it just ended up being less relevant." - Liam

"We, um, did the opposite of that. I think the series as it progressed, which I think is - it is intentional, I would say. We have gone from, I think, supremely silly to supremely kind of self-serious." - Liam

"There's so many dog easter eggs if you go and watch through the entire season." - Kevin

"We are announcing the finale of the season." - Kevin

With everything they said, none of it sounds like Murder Drones was intended to be a single season series. Now, this leaves two questions myself and I'm sure some of you have, "Why haven't they announced a S2 yet then and why are they barely posting MD?" I decided to enter analyzation mode and went digging through GLITCH's Twitter and YouTube. What I found was that this isn't GLITCH's first time handling their series like this.

Meta Runner Season 1 (Animated Movie Cut) was released on Aug 28, 2020 and in the description Season 2 was immediately announced since they already had it done.

Meta Runner Season 2 - EP 1: Hard Reset released Oct 16, 2020. The final episode for S2, "EP 10: Fatal Error" was released Dec 18, 2020 and there was no mention of the 3rd and final season.

Want to know when they announced it? Not until Nov 29, 2021. Over a YEAR later.

And before that they barely posted anything of MR. At first it was Sunset Paradise, and then once that series was about to conclude they started posting about MD. A lot. Way more than they have for DC. And when they announced S3 for MR they didn't even mention it was the series finale! That wasn't announced until May 6, 2022, 6 months after S3 was even announced.

However, once they did they made it VERY clear it was the final season. 99% of their posts of MR after that mentioned it was the final season.

So, to conclude my thoughts. I don't think we should be worried. I wouldn't suggest getting our hopes up TOO high, because despite GLITCH handling MD the same way they did MR, there's always the chance MD doesn't get a second season. That way we're not deeply disappointed if it doesn't, but after looking into it I personally feel a lot more confident MD will get a S2. Just be prepared that if GLITCH doesn't say anything, it could be up to a year before they do, but if MR fans could hold out for as long as they did, we can too. Don't forget either GLITCH isn't only working on the first season of DC. They're also working on the pilot for Gaslight District.

#murder drones #murder drones uzi #murder drones n #murder drones season 2 #glitch productions

[flufftober]

Hello and welcome to our second annual Flufftober 🥳

We’re so excited to be back and to once again have you here!

Let’s fill the month of October with as much fluff as possible 🥰

You’ll find the entire prompt list - as well as a list of prompt substitutes! - at the end of this post so you can easily copy/paste it all. But first:

Rules & FAQ

No inc*st or p*dophilia - we can’t keep you from writing it or creating art for it but it won’t be reblogged.

No hate or ship bashing - we’re all different and we all love different things. As long as it doesn’t go against rule #1, it’s allowed.

Tag correctly! Trigger warnings (including cheating!), ships, ratings, (pure) smut, etc - it’s all fine as long as you tag it.

There’s absolutely no word count restriction, write as little or as much as you like.

In regards to art, anything goes: drawings, paintings, collages, mood boards, gifsets, videos, playlists… the sky’s the limit (though not really…)

While we can’t force you to write fluff or create fluffy art, please try to keep in mind that this is a fluff event 😉

You can start writing and/or arting as soon as you see this - but please refrain from posting before the respective day.

You can participate on as many days as you like, even if it’s just one; you can also create multiple entries for the same day.

NEW this year are our prompt substitutes! These are the five most loved prompts from the previous year, and you can use as many of them as you like instead of five prompts from the original list - or even in addition, that's completely up to you.

It’s okay to write one story/a series for all the prompts as long as it’s separated into chapters and the respective chapter/work is posted on the given day.

You do not have to stick to one ship or even one fandom - switch as often as you like to or even write for multiple ships for one day.

The ship does not have to be a romantic one! Friendship and family feels are more than welcome (but this is not a way to get around rule #1!)

This event can be combined with other events as long as the other event allows it.

Late entries are always welcome, even if it is months later.

All fandoms and ships are welcome - fanon and canon - as long as they’re of age (in case you want to add smut) and not related.

Posting

Posting to tumblr

Please use the tag #flufftober2022

Since tags are sometimes wonky, make sure to also add @flufftober in your post

We will try to catch them all, but please don't be mad if we miss a post or if it gets reblogged a bit late

If you're absolutely certain a post has slipped past us, feel free to send an ask with the link to your post

To make reblogging easier for us, make sure to add the following tags: #flufftober2022 #day [xy] #[fandom] #[ship and/or main character(s)]

If you're using a prompt substitute, instead of #day [xy] tag it as #alt 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5

Posting to ao3

You can add your creation to the collection flufftober2022 or flufftober_2022 (yes, we've claimed both because so many people added to the wrong collection last year 😅)

Late entries are always welcome, on tumblr as well as the ao3 collection! Neither will close - but like last year, reblogs will become less and less and further apart the more months pass...

Prompts

1. Wearing Each Other’s Clothes

2. “You’ve told your parents?”

3. Thick as Thieves

4. Supporting Silly Quirks/Hobbies

5. “Oh no, you’re a Morning Person!”

6. Candles, Lanterns, Fairy Lights

7. Movie Marathon

8. Shooting Stars

9. Game Day (Sports)

10. Love Language

11. Poetry, Art, Music, Craft

12. “You kept this?”

13. Secret Family Recipe

14. Truth or Dare/20 Questions

15. Accidents don't just happen accidentally

16. “I hate you” – “I love you too”

17. Animal Shelter

18. Soulmate AU

19. Hot Chocolate

20. Bedtime Stories

21. Kiss for Good Luck

22. “Have you heard?”

23. POV Outsider

24. All the Hugs

25. First Dance

26. Blankets

27. Reunion

28. Picnic

29. Leaves

30. Dear Diary

31. A Sweet Treat

Prompt Substitutes

Last year, many of you asked for it, this year we're delivering 😊 introducing: Prompts Substitutes!

As explained in the rules, these can be used if there are prompts in the original list that you don't like for whatever reason. No need to explain or apologize for it, simply switch them with one of the five most loved prompts from last year. Or... you know... just add these five to your list of 31 prompts that want to be written 😉

Alt 1: Slow Dancing

Alt 2: Caught in the Rain

Alt 3: Falling Asleep Together

Alt 4: Up Against the Wall Kiss

Alt 5: Winning a Teddy for the Other

We hope you like these lists, and now

Happy Creating 🥳

#flufftober2022 #flufftober #event #prompt event #prompts #prompt challenge #fluff prompts #writing event #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #art #arting #open to all fandoms #open to anyone #open to all content creators #open to crossovers #writing challenge #art challenge #art event #feel free to spread the word #feel free to reblog

[eruhamster]

hours have past and i now have a full belly and my nap meter has been fulfilled and so i am no longer angry but i will still insist that people thinking thistle is a child are, in fact, bitches

There is not a single suggestion he is a child through that entire manga. the most we get is a fan translation of a piece of that adventurer's bible that says it's "ok" if he wears elf earmuffs but "just ok" if pattadol or marcille wear elf earmuffs. but the same fan-translated blurb also says "children and young people" wear them, and specifies that young women often do not - implying that the difference in "ok" and "just ok" could be that Thistle's more fine to wear it as a man, versus Pattadol and Marcille.

We do not actually know the ages of any of the people from the Golden Country. We have nothing we can go on beyond estimations from the Tall-men aging. People saying "Thistle is short he must be a child" are full of it, because elves ARE short - he is the same height as another adult elf, Otta.

We physically see Thistle age through his backstory. We know he is fully grown.

He had to have been at least around the human equivalent of 10 when Delgal was born. We do not know a pureblood elf's equivalent to this, but it is going to be older than a dwarf's since elves live longer. To put it in perspective, Senshi, at 13, was the human equivalent to a 6yo:

Able to do simple chores. About 6 or so. So dwarves likely age at about half the rate of humans. Elves live even longer than dwarves, and likely age even slower. So a human 10yo would be a dwarf 20yo or so, and for an elf, that is likely 40 years old since they live 400 vs dwarf 200 years - So when we're looking at Thistle at Delgal's birth, what looks like a 10yo tall-man child would be a 40yo elf. It is highly likely around there unless it's said otherwise anywhere.

At 40 at the time of Delgal's birth, we could just add how old Delgal is. We don't know his exact age, but this man looks at least 40. He already has a son.

So going by this, Thistle is probably about 80 at the time he officially becomes Dungeon Lord. This is the elf age of maturity according to the Adventurer's Bible.

And you need to remember, while immortality exists in the Golden Country, it does not mean aging is ground to a halt.

Delgal's son continues to grow, and has a child who grows into adulthood all within the dungeon. Delgal continues to age:

Absolutely nobody is stunted in aging since the start of the dungeon. There has never been a suggestion of that. At some point it appears he made sure to lock everyone in the age of their prime, but Thistle continued to physically age at least through Delgal seeming to be at least a 70yo man.

So Thistle is solidly an adult, in body and mind, ESPECIALLY at the time of the story but including when he became Lord of the Dungeon. At absolute best, if you shave off years, possibly initially he could have been maybe the elf equivalent to late teens, but that's really pushing it.

Not a single time in the entire series, even when the Canaries see Thistle, does anyone remark that he is a child, or even exceedingly young. He is treated like an adult by absolutely everyone.

Every single person that says he is a child is working on pure headcanon or are overly distracted about his size and cute face, which is ironic since that's an ongoing issue elves deal with with with non-elves. He is not any shorter or any less babyfaced than other adult elves we know.

EDIT: Had one person point out a single part of Thistle's first proper introduction, where Marcille thinks "a child?" - A possible misunderstanding on Marcille's part, or a later retcon by Kui by the time we see his whole backstory. Regardless, I wasn't aware of it, and now that the episode that would have it is out - it's worth noting that the anime removed that.

He is not a child.

#thistle #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #worst part of manga getting an anime is having to deal with animes getting mad abt spoilers tbh

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Fossil Novembirb 8: The Raptors Are Back

Palaeohierax by @quetzalpali-art!

Alright we're back with a look at the raptors of the Paleogene!

Raptor meaning, of course, bird of prey. Which I wouldn't have to say, except this is a dinosaur blog, and a lot of the time people in dinosaur circles use "raptor" to mean "Dromaeosaur" exclusively. Ironic, given that birds of prey used the word first!

Pulchrapollia by @drawingwithdinosaurs

We've already talked about some of the birds of prey that appeared right after the extinction, such as all the early owls, Qianshanornis, and Danielsraptor. Truth is, being a carnivore is a useful ecology, and birds - having evolved from Paravians like Dromaeosaurs - already have a lot of the tools for chowing down! So, carnivorous birds just keep re-evolving all the time - corvids are sometimes considered raptors, and they're deeply nested within Passerines! And of course, modern roadrunners are essentially mini Velociraptors, but they're cuckoos!

In fact, it seems that most birds alive today evolved from a carnivorous ancestor! All the early-branching members of Telluraves, aka "Core Land Birds" (which includes all passerines and many more besides) are raptorial - owls, hawks, eagles, kites, seriemas, even falcons. And the early ancestors of Passerines and Parrots - things like Halcyornis - were birds of prey as well!

Dynamopterus by @thewoodparable

As we saw with Danielsraptor and Qianshanornis, fast running predatory birds have been a thing since the ash started clearing up from the asteroid. There are just so many small animals to eat and so little time to catch them! Relatives of falcons and seriemas continued to pursue (heh) this lifestyle, and were quite common in the Paleogene fossil record.

In fact, Seriemas - today limited to just a handful of species in South America - had a very successful time of it during the Paleogene and Neogene, with species spread all across the globe. Dynamopterus (sometimes called Idiornis) was from the later Eocene of Europe, and it lived very similarly to living seriemas in its ecosystem! Itaboravis was present in the early Eocene in South America, and we also have Bathornis in North America!

Bathornis by @drawingwithdinosaurs

Bathornis was a very terror-bird-like seriema relative that lived in North America from the Eocene through the Miocene, found in many different environments and at many sizes throughout its existence, including plains and wetlands. Flightless like its terror bird cousins, it had a strong beak to help in catching food and powerful legs for moving quickly across the landscape to catch it!

Ogygoptynx by Apokryltaros/Avancna

Of course, I cannot ignore flighted predatory birds entirely. Though modern ones don't have a lot of fossil relatives (they start appearing in the Oligocene with forms like Palaeohierax), it seems that volant raptors were simply found in other clades - many owls were diurnal, and the relatives of modern parrots and passerines were small carnivores as I mentioned above. With ridges over their eyes to help with glare, these animals could find prey over long distances and fly to them rapidly from their perches - something quite terrifying for the little mammals they ate!

From grasping talons to sickle claws to powerful beaks and eyes, these animals - though small - had major impacts on their environments. Some grew to be so large they would hunt humans - but that's a story for another article.

Sources:

Mayr, 2022. Paleogene Fossil Birds, 2nd Edition. Springer Cham.

Mayr, 2017. Avian Evolution: The Fossil Record of Birds and its Paleobiological Significance (TOPA Topics in Paleobiology). Wiley Blackwell.

#Fossil Novembirb #Novembirb #Dinovember #Dinosaurs #Birds

[dualumina]

Actual thoughts straight from the shower (spoilers for the entire SotO story):

Okay so Peitha is great, but many agree (including us) that she's EXCEPTIONALLY small and "classically" pretty in comparison to her brother.

Now, as someone who's done video game design classes, we get it. Anet wants to have a character that's easy to animate and so they went with a modeling skeleton (it's an actual animation term we're not calling Peitha thin) based on the majority of the existing player races for the sake of having the most amount of pre-existing animations to work off of (you can see her emoting during the last chapter). Sylvari, human, and norn all have a few different emote variations, like dance for example (can y'all imagine if Peitha started dancing...?).

Making a video game is freaking stressful and taxing, and you generally want to avoid making something that will be used for only one instance and one instance only UNLESS it will dramatically improve the game's feel. Take djinn and Isgarren for example. They're both four-armed races with the same body shape. There's already several animations the djinn have that are reused for Isgarren, with, as far as we can tell, one exception. Isgarren has a talking animation that has him moving all four of his arms. Djinn don't have this animation (unless it's going to be retroactively added) and Anet likely never intended to give them this animation to keep to the idea that djinn are very reserved and guarded around others. One animation loop is not going to break the bank, but more than that? Ehh...

So as cool as it would have been to make Peitha a unique and incredibly monstrous skeleton, any animations they would have given her might NEVER get used again, and that's a LOT of time used for such a rare scenario. Ergo, give her a design with the most animation reuse potential.

Now that's the technical/logical hypothesis for why Peitha looks the way she does. But here's our lore-based theories which are frankly more interesting.

There's a book you can find in Dagda's room that reveals that all of the taller wizards (Dagda, Isgarren, and Mabon) have gone out of their way to disguise themselves to look more normal and less threatening. Isgarren went out of his way to look like a djinn by making his skin blue (and probably hiding his legs and giving himself extra fingers because CANONICALLY GW1 seers have like 3 fingers and very obvious legs), Mabon chose to hide his wings (the black tentacle things you see other mursaat have? yeah that) and Dagda... we actually don't know WHAT she did to herself. The book avoids mentioning it.

With that said, this could be foreshadowing to the fact that maybe Peitha realized that the shorter mortal races are very distrustful in general, and chose to look as close to a more "conventional" mortal appearance when she began keeping her eye on the Commander (she WAS surprised the first time she's seen but she might have been playing things cautiously from the start in case the wizards noticed her).

Alright so that's the first theory. The second one has less evidence to back it up but its A way to explain the dichotomy between her appearance and her brother and keeping to the idea that Peitha legitimately does look the way we see her.

The only demons encountered to date have basically all been enemies. Peitha is one of the few or potentially only demons who has not tried to kill the player character on sight.

Perhaps Peitha is legitimately that unique due to the fact that she's not normal for her race. Perhaps she's considered a runt of the litter when compared to the other high class Kryptis. Maybe that led to her being acutely aware of how unjust the system in her world is, and the moment she realized that you, the legendary dragon/god slayer that you are, fell into her realm, Peitha had a moment and realized that maybe maybe this was the opportunity she needed to change things for the better.

In any case, we'll have to wait and see what other female Kryptis look like to figure out if the sexual dimorphism is simply.. well, that extreme for demons or if Peitha is the exception not the rule.

In any case, Peitha is wife who's loved regardless <3

#gw2 spoilers #gw2 soto spoilers #soto spoilers #gw2 soto #peitha #gw2 peitha #gw2

[fullscoreshenanigans]

unpopular opinion that each arc should have changed POV based on who it was centered around (aka escape arc was ray, goldy pond was emma, imperial was norman etc.) cuz it would have balanced out all of their development more than just focusing on emma

ty for carrying this fandom on ur back :D

If we're narrowing it down to a single person carrying the fandom, it's definitely @1000sunnygo for not only compiling the most comprehensive masterlist of materials for the English-speaking fandom, but also translating countless fanworks purely out of love for the series. The thought is very sweet, though! 💖💝

I don't entirely disagree with what I think is the underlying sentiment behind this ask of wanting more insight into the characters because switching the main POV for different arcs of a story can shake things up and be engaging, but assuming we're working under the same chapter/time constraints, I'm not sure what new development could be gained and balanced by this with how much POV swapping we already do between chapters and within single chapters? Other than potentially more insight into the specifics of Norman's time at Lambda and post-Lambda escape, including the Ayshe-Norman conflict branch that Shirai consciously cut to streamline the story.

Would swapping POVs mean we're firmly locked out of any other character's internal monologues? Or would we see monologues like Emma's feelings toward Isabella, Emma saying she wants to be like Norman and Ray, Norman saying he wants to be more like Emma, Norman's incensed vow that he won't lose to Isabella, and Emma's reflection on how Norman's apparent death hurt her retooled later on in their respective POV sections?

(Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 31)

Granted, the anime cut all of those too, but that's one of the main criticisms I've seen lobbied against it, even with how it reflects some of the essence of them in other ways. Still, I feel like the escape arc is balanced near perfectly in the amount of focus each member of the trio is given and at what point insight into each of their psyche's is explored. That balance is what I would have liked to see replicated in subsequent arcs, specifically during the imperial capital battle arc.

A criticism I've seen toward this portion of the story, and one that I assume is one of the main inspirations for this ask, is how Ray comparatively fades into the background/feels like he's on unequal billing with Emma and Norman despite his prominence in the beginning. The series' Japanese logo even features three parallel lines that represent each member of the trio (minus chapters 30 and 31 when Norman's line was removed to fake out Japanese readers)

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | TPNManga Tweet)

So for a lot of people to see him not be as engaged with his own agenda feels kind of jarring.

I don't mind him aligning with Emma's position at this point despite his personal reservations given the conclusion of the escape arc has his entire worldview being thoroughly reconstructed, but I would have liked more reflection and insight that we see crop up in the bonus pages since we have small moments like Emma taking some time to speculate if a person losing their memories constitutes death in the story proper.

(Chapter 159 Bonus Scene | Chapter 169 Bonus Scene; I'm very happy both of these scenes are included at all, but they're unfortunately among the casualties of Shirai trimming branches that don't feel as integrated into the narrative in the last few arcs due to the accelerated pacing.)

I also feel the story would lose some cohesion by displacing Emma as the main character given she's the main driving force behind the idealism that permeates the series and thus serves as the strongest unifier to keep that theme front and center. Similarly, I'd hate to lose out on how beautifully foiled she and Isabella are during the escape arc and having such a powerful and heartbreaking mother-daughter dynamic as a focal point of a shounen jump series.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)

That said, this is another topic where I'm at odds with Sugita as I would have very much been up for more time spent developing the secondary cast.

#FSS Asks #FSS Chatter #The Promised Neverland #Yakusoku no Neverland #TPN #Full Score Trio #TPN Emma #TPN Norman #TPN Ray #TPN Isabella #Escape Arc #Ray #Goldy Pond Battle Arc #Emma #King of Paradise Arc #Imperial Capital Battle Arc #Norman #Isabella #Mystic Code Book #Suguru Sugita #TPN 003 #TPN 005 #TPN 010 #TPN 014 #TPN 031 #TPN 159 #TPN 169 #Introduction Arc #Return to Grace Field Arc

[betweengenesisfrogs]

Desynced

So I really like Desynced.

Strictly speaking, it doesn't 100% fit what I was talking about in my Homestuck manifesto, since it's technically a Homestuck fan adventure rather than a brand new work.

However…for a fanwork, it feels more like a new piece of Homestuckian art than many others I've seen?

I'm reminded of an old Hussie formspring response, where the question was about what would happen if siblings living in the same house played SBURB. Hussie's response was that one shouldn't try to solve this with the rules of Homestuck, but instead imagine the kind of story and plot that would suit such a scenario.

Desynced is like that - playing by its own rules. A lot of other fan adventures feel too stuck (ha) in adhering to the rules of SBURB and Paradox Space. Desynced is quite literally playing an entirely different game. It lets go of so much about the way a fan story is traditionally conceived, and brings in its own set of laws and ideas that fit its own story better.

Some things I like, in no particular order:

-The depiction of parents and children - Desynced knocks this out of the park by splitting the difference between faceless authority figures and relatable kids by playing with perception and letting the parents talk to each other as adults, even when they're faceless to their kids. There is some really phenomenal parent-child content here. The relationship between Kate and her father, for instance, is fraught and filled with missed conversations that break my heart

-That in 2024, everybody in the main group gets to be queer and trans from the very start

-That the protagonist kids are Zoomers, and we see that their interests tend not toward 80s movies but things like Minecraft and Discord chats

-That we seem to be building towards a "war in heaven" theme, where different members of the future gods and Carapacians will take different sides in a cosmic struggle

-The music, which is full of bangers and feels like the sequel to the Homestuck bandcamp page that I never knew I needed

-The total reimagining of Jack Noir, which seems like it shouldn't work, but totally does

-The genius way that the game's equivalent of Denizens tie into weird cosmic mysteries

-Alien kids who appear at first glance to be trolls but are quickly revealed to not be trolls at all (maybe they're tieflings)

-The way in this universe, Trollsonas only exist in connection to an obscure game called Hiveswap

-The fact that the fantasy land inhabitants, the equivalent of consorts, are more fleshed out and have their own lives going on instead of just being silly animals - which hints that we're taking 'their existence more seriously and sincerely.

-That when Desynced does "play the Homestuck hits," it reminds you of how good those narrative structures are. Examples include:

Ordinary internet friend group discovers they are all interconnected and inveigled in a vast conspiracy

Making sense of the rules of a confusing alternate gamey-reality that suggests a sense of purpose but doesn't give you instructions for achieving it

Oh, and also, you have to do this while the world is ending and you're about to die

Villain narrator makes fun of you, the reader

Alien kids interrupt your game session to ramble at you about how they know much more about the game than you do, but it turns out they're just a tiny bit ahead and they're as confused about most things as you are

Ascending to godhood helps you redefine your identity but also causes as many problems as it solves

It's like, woah, Homestuck was really cooking, wasn't it?

We're all so used to the Homestuck plot structures and conventions that I think it's very easy to lose sight of why we fell in love with it in the first place. Reading Desynced made me remember how much I love the premise of Homestuck. Desynced achieves this by detaching from convention and focusing on Homestuck's themes: parent-child relationships, the limitations of one's ideology, the double-edged sword of finding identity in fantasy, and more.

So yes, Desynced is a Homestuck fanwork. But if we're asking where a Homestuck literary movement might go in the future, Desynched offers us a really neat glimpse of part of the answer.

I highly recommend checking it out, if you're interested.

-Ari

#desynced #homestuck #homestuck fanworks #homestuckian art #there's much i didn't even talk about here

[sistervirtue]

YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS

welcome to sistervirtue dot tumblr dot com. those of you who have read my url...seen my icon...may be wondering: who is this woman? who is Sister Virtue?

as the @original-character-championship bracket begins, I would like to take the time to introduce you to her. go on. take a seat.

[art credit: @/omusubigender, @/citrus-sours, @/kkbardd, @/pcktknife, @/celebiis, @/citrus-sours]

Sister Virtue is a not-quite woman not-quite of the cloth with a bit of a scowl and an unholy attitude problem. Formerly a cherub known as Theophania serving in the appellate choirs of heaven, she judged human souls and debated the dogma of heaven day in and day out.

Although a perfect machine of heaven, Theophania was not heartless. Through her friendship with the Archangel Gabriel, whom represents human souls and their interests in the courts of heaven, she learned about those she judged.

And I am going to let you in on a secret. Angels and demons are both creatures of passion, just their passion turns in different ways. Demons experience passion for the self. Angels turn their passion towards God. And for Theophania, her passion turned in a different way-- towards those silly little animals whom she watched day in and day out. (Even you!)

So when Gabriel came lamenting of the Seraphim's decision to bring forth the end of humanity, she may have done something a bit drastic. Drastic like stealing the Eye of God, an important artifact containing the summation of all knowledge, and then slamming it into her own skull in order to hold it hostage and kick up enough of a fuss that the angels acquiesced and agreed to come to some sort of truce. The ultimate blasphemy.

She would be felled. If she cared so much about those silly, stupid animals, she could spend the rest of eternity proving they were worth it. Shoved into a body made of flesh and her powers largely sealed behind seven penances, Sister Virtue is tasked with protecting humanity from all threats divine or diabolic. She cannot die; [officially banned to prevent any loopholes or complicated litigation later] but she can give up... but doing so would mean damning all of humanity in the entire process.

After crash-landing into a convent and taking the administrative lead of the attached school (now known as Eschaton Academy) Sister Virtue is establishing a network of those both blessed and possessed to aid her in the arduous process of keeping people safe, all while trying to figure out what it means to be human herself.

So Why should you vote for her?

Let's face it, we're not in high school any more.

Coming of age stories for teens are fun, but sometimes... you don't really start coming of age until your 20's, 30's, 40's... Virtue, 37 human years old, is here to show the journey of growing into your skin even if that comes after high school.

2. She's hot as hell.

A nun in her work uniform, Sister Virtue at heart is a truckin', smokin', wrestlin' uncle of a woman, and her casual attitude and casual attire reflect this. And let's face it. A woman who hates wearing shirts and has a happy trail is a god-sent gift for all of us.

[art credit @ koiiluvz]

3. She's just a bit weird.

She named her car (a self-"upgraded" hearse) the Popemobile. She smokes cigarettes because she likes the taste. She doesn't mind nudity, but gets shy eating in public because digestion is just a little too intimate for an angel. She loves paperwork. Sometimes she regurgitates the angel equivalent of a hairball.

4. Don't know about all this original universe lore? She's got a D&D Iteration.

You can find her character sheet here-- She;s a tanky fallen aasimar paladin with 3 different ways to intimidate. Because you don't even need a gun with an attitude like hers.

5. She'd vote for you

At the end of the day, Sister Virtue is someone who runs on love. Love for all of humanity. Including you. Even if you don't believe in Virtue, virtue believes in you, and you should believe in you too.

Questions? Concerns? Comments? Check out my eschaton academy tag. Or pop into my inbox or dms.

(she even has emotes. art credit @/pcktknife, @/citrus-sours, and @/GR4FF1T1 [on toyhouse] )

#eschaton academy #sister virtue #VIRTUESWEEP2023

[room-surprise]

Delicious in Dungeon Anime Season 1, Episode 2 Review

Spoilers for season 1, episode 2 below the cut! There may also be mild manga spoilers so proceed with caution.

This episode was great! I think it was a big improvement on the first. Honestly no real complaints... I do kind of wish both Marcille and Chilchuck could have had stand-alone episodes dedicated to their character development, to allow for a deeper focus, but I understand why they didn't do it, and the pacing was still excellent. I do still sometimes feel like the show is in fast-forward at times, because with 3 meals in one episode, it feels like the characters finish eating, and we jump cut to them saying that they're hungry again, without anything to help really impress upon viewers that time has passed. Makes it feel a bit like we're reading a collection of short 4-panel gag comics instead of a continuing story… which, early Dungeon Meshi DOES have that as part of it's format, but it changes with time, as we get into longer individual stories.

During the Basilisk/Doni and FIonil section, I really do miss some of the dry humor from the manga. ("Hurry, he's getting cold!" "Move him closer to the fire!") The hilarity of slowly preparing a meal while someone is dying of poison has unfortunately been lost, which makes Doni and Fionil much less memorable characters…. But it benefits the other 2 stories in the ep to have more time so I think it was the right choice to make. It also gives people something to go back and read the manga for, since it's a little different! If you're reading this and you're an anime only, consider reading the manga while you watch the anime! I promise it's worth it. I'm excited about next week because I think they'll devote the entire episode to Laios and the living armors, which is me and my spouse's favorite early DM storyline, and the part where we both said "Oh, I LOVE this manga..." and got really invested. It's 2 chapters in the manga so it could be an entire episode…. which also would make sense, if that's why they needed to crunch 3 chapters into episode 2. Just like the first episode, animation was fantastic, and as usual the weakest points are when characters are just walking or talking and not doing much. Everything more dynamic is just bouncy and adorable and full of life. Very rarely is anything animated in a dull or flat way. They're doing their best to use "move a drawing around" or "zoom on a drawing" for comic effect and I think it's working well so far. There's some great animal animation in this episode, the bat flying around and the basilisk chasing Marcille in particular. Translation was better this time around, no dumb modern or game references in the dub ("newbs" "as if" etc.) … But there are differences between the subtitles and the dub script that change how easy it is to understand what's happening. When Senshi tells Chilchuck to cut up the giant bat, the subtitles make it hard to understand what he's telling him to do, and the dub makes it a lot clearer. In the subs when Senshi calls Chilchuck a half-foot child, the subtitles say "I'm not a child" and the dub says "I hate it when people call me 'kid'"… The latter is more interesting for keeping the mystery going for things that happen later in the story. If the show continues like this, I think the English dub may be the more satisfying way to watch it (even though the Japanese performances are great), mostly because the subs are very literal and sometimes miss things that the English dub somehow manages to include. And for some reason Netflix isn't including translation of Japanese signs on-screen during the subtitles, but they DO provide them when you watch the English dub. A lot of Dungeon Meshi's humor is sometimes in those background signs so completely missing out on them sucks. Anyway those are my thoughts for this episode! See you next week Meshiheads.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #my stuff #chilchuck #chilchuck tims #marcille donato #marcille #dungeon meshi spoilers #spoilers #anime #anime review #review

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Kraegrat

Allow me to start with a disclaimer: I woke up sick this morning, so if it seems like I'm doing a worse job than usual stringing words together, let's all agree to blame fatigue & cold medicine.

Now, on to our beast for the week. The entry people are working from can be found here:

This is kind of an interesting one: not only is there no physical description, but the entry consists entirely of describing a single behavior that has at best a tenuous connection to reality. Nevertheless, a number of people indicated that they recognized it, because this is one of those "bestiary fun facts" that tends to stick in folks' heads.

As usual, we're going to go through the depictions in roughly chronological order -- let me know if I missed yours. This week, for some reason, my original post doesn't appear under the #Kraegrat tag, so who even knows what's going on there and I'm fully willing to believe yours is hidden for some kind of absurd Tumblr reason. (Maybe it got flagged under the "don't go nuts don't show nuts" policy -- I kind of suspect that's what happened with the entry post.)

Images below the cut, because (1) aforementioned nuts, though i'm pretty sure this is within Tumblr guidelines, and (2) i really should be doing a cut for all of these but i keep forgetting.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) has gone all in on the pathos, making the Kraegrat small, fuzzy, and sad. They describe it as "beleaguered and persecuted" and "a poor guy" which honestly I think is pretty fair for anyone in a situation where you're constantly being hunted for your testicles. They also cite "tanuki inspo" for obvious testicle-related reasons, and yeah, I see it. Very good Sad Gentle Beast here.

@embervoices (link to post here) has done a few different species of Kraegrat, all of which have kind of a lemur look. (They also provided their own alt text, which I really appreciate, thank you.) The linked post has an explanation of design decisions, and also references that Anansi story about tiger balls. (I googled it just now, and all the results reference American Gods -- did Neil Gaiman make that one up?) Anyway, excellent whimsical lemur thing, love the depiction of it throwing the testicles.

@mayhaps-magical (link to post here) notes their "appropriate medieval disregard for standardized spelling" and explains that they reinterpreted it as "Kragen-rat". My German is almost nonexistent, so I had to do a quick check...

... okay, yeah, I see how that comes into play. I also like the idea of playing around a bit with the spelling and etymology, because gods know the medieval authors did the same with no regard for accuracy. (The vastly-encyclopedic, frequently-inaccurate work that has led Isidore of Seville to be put forth as a potential Patron Saint of the Internet is ostensibly a book of etymologies.) Anyway, I like this guy here. It kind of looks like one of those big dogs that are always kind of shy and nervous around new people, which I think fits with the description as "gentle". Also like that it apparently has both claws and I think thumbs for the throwing of testicles.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) acknowledges that they're pretty sure they know what this animal is supposed to be, but they're trying to put it out of their heads. I think they've done a very good job of that: this is a pretty naturalistic drawing of a ground-dwelling mammal that doesn't quite look like any real animals, including the one that this entry was based on. The post linked above contains a description of the design decisions behind this critter, which I of course recommend checking out.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has, as usual, done a beautifully stylized rendition of this one. She cites the famous unicorn tapestries as inspiration, and I can absolutely see it. I think it's an interesting artistic choice to focus on the hunter rather than the beast in this drawing, but one that absolutely makes sense: the entry doesn't tell us anything about the Kraegrat except how it interacts with hunters. Enjoy your bounty of severed testicles, Sir Hunter... and, um, keep an eye on your dog if you want to make sure you still have all of them when you get home. I think it's contemplating something there. The linked post contains a brief description of design decisions, and also this line, which I enjoyed:

I'd also like to state for the record that when I started this challenge, I was not expecting to draw a field of severed testicles, but here we are. It was more fun than I expected.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has again taken an unusual direction with this one. They describe their interpretation as:

Medicinal plant-like lizard that loses its tail when scared off.

Considering this and the drawing, I think I can see the path of creative interpretation. The animal as presented in the bestiary entry is obviously ridiculous: a mammal that self-castrates to save its life is not an evolutionary success. So what could it be other than that? Well, lizards detach their tails to escape predators; what if there was a lizard with nodules on its tail that medieval people interpreted as testicles?

I can't swear that that is rautavaara's thought process, of course, but it makes sense to me as an interpretation of the material provided, and if that is what they're going for, I think it's quite clever. Also, as usual, the art style here is excellent.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) explains that her design process consisted of blending together various animal features and then giving it sparkly magic balls, because that's all the entry really provides. Which, fair. Also I appreciate the taste in choosing what I think is "tapir + deer" as the animals to blend here. Those tusks kind of remind me of musk deer, which is actually pretty appropriate, as we'll see later. The facial expression plus the sparkly balls strike me as very funny, I have to say. Good beast.

@karthara (link to post here) was apparently also skeptical about the idea of a self-castrating animal, and if you check out the linked post, you'll see a brief explanation of how they resolved that as well as some other thoughts on design decisions. The gist is that the Kraegrat has decoy testicles, which I love as an interpretation. Fantastic. No further notes.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has done another ink drawing that is, frankly, delightful. Love the Kraegrat escaping into the Nonspecific Medieval Trees. Love, love, love the hunter getting smacked in the face with a set of thrown testicles while his dog watches. The above linked post also provides an explanation of design decisions which I think is worth reading, go check that out.

@treesurface (link to post here) has drawn us a rat-kangaroo thing (not to be confused with a kangaroo rat) calmly displaying its lack of testicles. Looks fairly good-natured about the situation, really. They provide a brief discussion of their design decisions in the linked post, and also express a desire for more "weird scary beasts" in the future -- so I checked, and while I can't really define what is or isn't a weird scary beast, I think we should get at least one qualifying entry in January.

@pomrania (link to post here) has made the understandable decision that they aren't going to draw animal genitalia today. Fair enough. I also think this is a pretty good depiction of a Mammal that is clearly not any animal we're familiar with -- I'm impressed by how many of the drawings we're getting for this are Plausible Yet Unfamiliar Beasts. Anyway, pomrania provides early sketches and an explanation of design decisions in the linked post. They also express relief that this is not "Yet Another Bird", and I regret to inform you all that there is a small cluster of Bird entries coming our way.

Anyhow, let's take a look at the Aberdeen Bestiary depiction for this one.

I have to say I find this illustration very funny. That bizarre pose where it's wrapped around a tree is good, but what really makes it is the hunters. Look at those two. Spear Guy looks like his eyes are about to bug out of his head, while Axe Guy seems like he's going "hey, is that normal? should we be doing something about that?"

Anyway, as some of you guessed (and as I'm sure more of you picked up from that very accurate Aberdeen illustration above), this is a Beaver.

Yeah, the whole testicle thing is probably a misunderstanding of the castor sacs that beavers use to scent-mark their territory. Castoreum is still used today, mostly in the perfume industry I think, but apparently the medievals had some kind of medicinal use in mind. So the people who surmised that this isn't actually talking about testicles but rather some other anatomical feature that looks like testicles were correct. I have no idea where the idea came from that the beaver would rip them off voluntarily, though.

So! There's this week's bestiaryposting. I will now Retreat to My Chamber and Lay As One Dead (scroll Tumblr in bed until I fall asleep).

#maniculum bestiaryposting #kraegrat

[twosentencereviews]

Joker 2 will (probably) also be bad

I've gone on record saying Joker (2019) was a badly-conceived film, with ideas that are, at best, inconsistent and muddled.

And now they're making another one. With Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Maybe it will be better this time?

...no, probably not. Let me break it down.

So, the entire design philosophy of Joker (2019) from writer/director Todd Phillips was, quote, "we're gonna sneak in a real movie in the guise of a comic book movie". That is, Phillips wanted to make Taxi Driver...but he's only a talented enough filmmaker to make The Hangover at best, and The Hangover Part III at worst, and so Warner Bros only trusted him with an IP that was guaranteed to succeed regardless of quality.

This sucks on two levels. If we judge Joker as a "real film"...it fails utterly, because it's using the visual language of the 1970s to whine about 21st century woes, and even then doesn't have anything to say. The "failed standup act goes viral" plot beat doesn't fit with the media landscape of the 1970s, while the clown rioters echo the "eat the rich, defund the police" sentiment that was brewing in 2019 and would explode with George Floyd's murder in 2020. These things are included because Phillips is the kind of jerk who complains about "woke culture" on Twitter. The only reason Phillips sets the film in the 1970s...is because he's cheating off Scorsese's homework.

But if we judge Joker as a comic book movie, it also sucks, because it completely fails to live up to what makes The Joker so fascinating. See, The Joker is a Batman villain; a standout antagonist against the rogues gallery. You cannot understand The Joker except as a literary foil, as a dark reflection of the Dark Knight. Batman is a solemn, incorruptible force for justice. The Joker is a manic, incorruptible force of destruction. While many of Batman's villains are sympathetic (e.g. Mr Freeze), and others are garden-variety thugs with powers (e.g. Clayface), The Joker is pure. He cannot be reasoned with or negotiated with, he has no agenda beyond causing mayhem, and he has no better nature to appeal to. That charisma, that certainty of purpose, is what makes the Joker such a fun villain. Phillips throws all of that in the garbage--Arthur Fleck is weak-willed, cowardly, and just needs a friend.

And now, in Folie a deux...he's getting one, in the form of Gaga's Harley Quinn.

Now, Harley Quinn is different from the Joker. Harley was introduced in Batman: the Animated Series, voiced by Arleen Sorkin, as a counterpart to Mark Hamill's Joker. Her origin story is that she was Dr. Harlene Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, who tried to fix The Joker...only to be pulled in by his madness, taking a new name, costume, and falling head-over-heels for "Mista J", her "puddin'".

This is interesting because while The Joker only really makes sense as a Batman antagonist, Harley only really makes sense in the context of the Joker. Harley's story is one of domestic abuse; she is The Joker's greatest victim, and yet his staunchest ally. She sometimes realizes this and tries to get away, but can't escape his manipulative gravity. This obsessive love, however, is not returned; The Joker's soulmate is Batman, the yin to his yang, his equal and opposite. Nowhere is this more clear than in the iconic Mad Love, where Harley almost kills Batman as a gift to her puddin', only for The Joker to furiously lash out in a "no one kills Batman but me" kind of way.

So while the Joker is fun because he's so unsympathetic, Harley is fun because she is sympathetic. The Joker is fully evil, but Harley is only evil because of her exposure to The Joker; without him in the picture, she's just a manic antihero.

And that's exactly what's happened to her character over time; fan and authorial desire to see Harley achieve independence and escape the cycle of abuse led directly to her more modern portrayals, such as Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey, and The Suicide Squad (2021). But even then, she was introduced in Suicide Squad against Jared Leto's Joker, and the start of Birds of Prey is her mourning her breakup with him. Her animated series starts the same way, seeking autonomy and an independent self-identity.

Folie a deux...isn't going to be doing that. It can't. It doesn't work with Arthur Fleck. The whole point of Joker (2019) is that Arthur Fleck is a loser, he's a failed nobody, he is the dregs of society that everyone ignores. His sexual frustration and loneliness form the basis of a major (and idiotic) plot beat with Zazie Beetz. He is a million miles from the "charismaniac" of Hamill or Ledger--there is zero possibility that he could "infect" a brilliant psychiatrist.

To his credit, Phillips realizes this, and is taking a different angle. From the trailer, it looks like Gaga's Harley is going to be a fellow Arkham resident, and she's going to be the one who initiates flirtation with Arthur, in a sort of "love letter to a serial killer" kind of admiration. The trailer leans heavily on the refrain of "what the world needs now is love, sweet love", and overall seems to be framing itself as an honest-to-god romance. Instead of the Joker/Harley relationship being abuser/victim, it looks instead to be toxic enabling, where Harley encourages Arthur to embrace his worst, most destructive instincts.

And...that's probably going to be framed as a good thing. See, if Folie a deux is going to be a romance, then plot constraints demand that there needs to be an obstacle dividing the lovers and preventing their happy union. What obstacle could exist between Arthur and Harley? Why, the entire legal system, of course--we see in the teaser multiple shots of them going up courthouse steps. It's likely that the pair fall in love in Arkham, escape ("let's get out of here", Harley says), are recaptured, and then have to defend themselves in court. This might have a "happy ending" where they win and leave together, affirming that enabling a violent criminal is a good thing. Or it might have a "sad ending" where the court outcome separates them, affirming Arthur's nihilism and anger at a system he perceives as unjust only when it inconveniences him. Either way, Harley is going to be framed as good for Arthur, making him better while making him worse.

Could this be done well? Maybe. It's certainly possible. Canon is already so broken that it's no longer a limitation. A talented director might realize the moral complexity in the relationship between two violent, mentally unstable murderers. One could frame the entire thing as a tragedy, where "boy gets girl back again" is shown to be disastrous (as in The Graduate). Or, it could even be something of an inversion of the more canonical Joker/Harley romance; instead of Harley realizing that she's better off without Mista J, it might be Arthur realizing he is better off without Harley.

But it almost certainly won't be any of that. Because Phillips thinks that Arthur Fleck is relatable. He thinks he's a martyr, a victim of targeted injustice, a doomed hero refusing to bow to societal norms. But he isn't. Arthur Fleck is an entitled white boy who simultaneously sees his suffering as a systemic failing, while also refusing to see how the system harms others, and refusing to see how his own choices make things worse for everyone. Arthur Fleck is an embodiment of denied privilege, where cishet white men expect to be lavished with unearned success, and are butthurt when they don't get it.

And above all, the thing that media has always told men is that a manic pixie dream girl is going to find you and fall madly in love with you despite your obvious failings. That is the heterosexual male romantic fantasy; love without effort, acceptance without labor, companionship without obligation. Todd Phillips might play this straight. Or he might set this up for Arthur, only to deny it as an act of authorial cruelty. But the first film demonstrates that he lacks the self-awareness necessary to actually deconstruct it, to criticize the expectation itself.

So no. I don't think Folie a deux will be better than its prequel. Because for Todd Phillips to make a better movie, he'd have to be a better person. And he's not.

#joker #joker folie a deux #folie a deux #prediction #harley quinn #romance

[doomdoomofdoom]

Since it keeps getting brought up together with Nimona (which is currently free on YouTube and you should watch it a thousand times), I decided to watch Disneys Wish and,,,

I mean it's not an awful movie. I'm on the fence whether I'd call it bad, but it definitely is inadequate.

The movie refuses to commit to anything. The animation style is caught between storybook and refusal to let go of their 3D formula. The story has several beats it could play off really strongly, but refuses to engage with: The kingdom can't decide if it's a fascist state or a free land under a kinda wack dude. It can't even decide if the people there are happy or not. The dissonance in language is ridiculous, especially within the songs. Your villain song by the medieval king sorcerer should not start with "Peep the name" or randomly talk about genetics?? (I'm pretty sure they only included this so they could make a vague joke about his ass, since the line is "I got these genes from outer space", with "genes" sounding the same as "jeans" - which also have no place in the setting.) I don't think anything could have prepared me for the sucker punch that is a bunch of woodland creatures singing about being shareholders.

I also feel like the audio mixing during the songs is off, I think it's because it doesn't account for atmosphere and the acoustics of its locations, but I do not have a good audio brain. Someone else is more qualified for that.

There's a bunch of cinema sins level criticisms I could make about the story, like "why doesnt anyone outisde the kingdom learn magic" or "mathematically it makes no sense to assume every wish would be granted", but I think that goes against good faith criticism.

The movie also has a huge problem with showing vs telling. We have two characters dedicated to hyping up how much Asha cares for everyone, and within the movie she acts pretty much opposite to that claim. Similarly, we're told that the king clearly rose to this power and status by being so cool and charismatic, but every time he opens his mouth he sounds like a pseudo-intellectual twitter thread.

And don't get me started on the whole self-references thing. I'm normally fond of easter eggs like that, but these just shatter immersion into little pieces. There's a scene where the villain just describes the plots of three different Disney movies. Instead of giving the protagonist a distinct outfit, she spends half the movie wearing the Fairy Godmother's cloak. The entire movie's premise is just "When You Wish Upon A Star".

I do like the attempt at diversity, Asha's best friend using a crutch to get around is never pointed out as unusual and her friend group is presumably diverse in character and race. Unfortunately, I can only name two of them. I can't even tell you how many people the group consists of, that's how undefined they are.

I don't like shitting on a piece of media/art because even if it was created by a shitty greedy garbage studio to hit their ridiculous release schedule, there are always genuinely passionate artists involved in the production. It's a shame they didn't get to shine in this mediocre disappointment.

Anyway, go watch Nimona.

#ramble #wish #disney #disney wish #nimona #go watch nimona #animated movies #movie critique #also yes you can make this movie about being trans and i will prove it

[still-a-morosexual-help]

I really really hope you're right, this just killed my motivation for everything. What happened with Solomare's story jar already left a bad taste in my mouth too.

I know I'll feel better in a few days, but I felt lied to when they said they'd continue the story and the app. And it's going to be even lighter and fluffier and a replacement for the main story line? One that new players will perfectly fit into? I was so looking forward to learning more about what would happen to Simeon.

Also not announcing it until last minute? For once I'm really glad I can barely afford food, because I'd be devastated if I had spent even a dollar. But maybe that's just me being poor.

I'm mostly likely going to stop writing for a while until I've archived everything important from the app, which is gonna take ages just in case anyway.

But anyway, are there any recent events you thought were better than usual? I've been too sick to grind lately so I haven't unlocked them. I want to know which ones to archive as soon as possible once the six months are up.

Sorry for bringing the mood down and the rant, but you seem to be the only positive one I follow that isn't outright calling people stupid or pathetic for being upset so I'm really hoping your positivity rubs off on me.

I do hope you keep posting for Nightbringer too! I have several issues with my hands so I don't think I'll ever be able to see the end of the og story line, and I especially love your analyses out of anyone else's.

Okay okay so they are continuing the og app and continuing the story, the only difference is they'll be continuing the mainstory in nightbringer and the og app will just be getting events. So the og app will continue the way it has since the end of s4 and new main story content will be uploaded to nightbringer (the devs did says this)

Not sure what happened with story jar but Obey Me! is solmare's most popular game. Objectively, nothing solmare has created has ever come near to reaching om! And I'm talking purely in the money making side of it - the anime? mangas? songs? merch? cons? VAs getting heavily involved in everything? Solmare's a business. As long as there's a fandom and a demand for it they're not gonna kill the og app.

Plus the majority of om's content is on the og app, with new content and old events still being released. If they wanted to kill the og app they'd stop releasing new content and updating lonely devil.

Since nightbringer will be continuing the mainstory from where they left off, they'd also need to move all of S1-4 the chats, call & devilgrams to nightbringer if they were gonna kill the og - and I'd imagine that's more hassle than it's worth

I do think we'd learn more about what happened to simeon;

• devs said they'd be continuing the main story in nightbringer so that'd include simeon

• nightbringer's current plot is about time travel and mc trying to find a way back home - so they will end up back in the current time at some point, where simeon's whole thing can be addressed

• s3 established that luke wasn't alive when the brothers were angels. If they intended to keep mc in the past they'd either have to scrap luke's entire character (?????) or retcon s3 which so far dropped the most lore

• thirteen (who's supposed to turn into a LI)'s first visit to the devildom happens in s4 and in nightbringer's op we see her in Diavolo's castle. Which means we're seeing the present timeline as well

....i think you're maybe panicking a bit too much? You definitely don't need to archive anything anytime soon. For well all of the reasons I mentioned above.... Maybe someday you'd have to but definitely not right now

Honestly I liked all the events🤷

No worries! And Yeah I think the thing people are forgetting is that Nightbringer is STILL Obey Me! I'm definitely going to be still talking about it

Ok so I have an exam in 2 days and I think I've answered every possible question about Nightbringer you could possibly have so I'm calling it here.

Won't be answering new asks until sunday. Everything posted will be from queue.

If you want to see my others asks/answers regarding Nighbringer just hit the tag on this post

#obey me nightbringer #asks #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me! #shall we date? obey me! #swd obey me #swd obey me! #shall we date obey me #obey me simeon #om simeon #obey me! simeon #om! simeon #swd simeon #shall we date simeon

[utilitycaster]

oh PLEASE tell us your thoughts about the Daggerheart speculations

So with the caveat that this is somewhat secondhand because I do not deign to go to the CR Reddit, from what I understand and from what I've seen reposted/expounded upon elsewhere, there's been a theory that the Campaign 3 plot is building to the destruction of the gods and a radical change in the magic system so as to support a switch to Daggerheart. Now: while I have my thoughts on where things are going narratively, this is mostly irrelevant, actually, because the logic behind this theory is so fucking stupid.

Critical Role does not, in fact, pay royalties or owe anything to WoTC (and in fact get money from WoTC for the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount; Call of the Netherdeep; and D&D Beyond ads). The reason the gods are referred to so often by epithets (eg: Wildmother rather than Melora) is explicitly to skirt WoTC IP in non-WoTC materials (such as in The Nine Eyes of Lucien or the Tal'Dorei settings). They do not have to kill off the gods to split off from WoTC and it would not be the gods that would be an issue had (for example) the OGL gone through as originally planned. The concept of "this is a fantasy world with gods" is, obviously, not a copyrightable thing. So this has nothing to do with avoiding WoTC fees. Any choice to move to a different system would be motivated by the cast's personal preferences (and, frankly, a desire to make their own money off Daggerheart).

There are reasons to stay in Exandria but it isn't necessary. I think switching systems or worlds will both come with a potential loss of an audience, but also the potential gain of a new one. You could just be like "we're doing Daggerheart in a whole new setting"; d20 and TAZ do this and there's no reason Critical Role couldn't.

It's entirely possible to switch systems within Exandria without killing off the gods; you're simply telling a different story. A Familiar Problem and the first two Honey Heist one-shots are, hilariously, essentially consistent with main campaign canon; they're just about a bunch of wacky animals from the perspective of said animals. What's more, not only have magic systems been indicated to have changed for various other reasons (including the gods introducing them, or just through research by wizards); in real life, the cast switched from Pathfinder 1e to D&D 5e in preparation for the stream, with no in-world reason given. They could just. switch.

Here's where I will admit I may be missing something based on my Reddit ignorance: from what I understand the reason this theory has recently collapsed is because Daggerheart is a 2d12 system, and for reasons I truly do not know, the proponents of this idea believed that for it to work, Daggerheart did still need to be a d20 system. Again: I have no fucking clue why this is; if it's a radically different magical system and a fundamentally altered world I don't see why the dice you use to tell the story can't be different (also the rolls you get with 2d12 are not in fact radically different from the spread of a d20 in the first place, so. bad at math as well as logic.)

Anyway: I think it's entirely possible that CR will, if they have a future long-form campaign (not a guarantee in and of itself), switch to Daggerheart. But if so: no guarantee or inherent need for it to be in Exandria, no guarantee or inherent need to change the fundamental cosmology of Exandria to support a system switch, and absolutely no reason that to support this hypothetical upon a hypothetical upon a hypothetical you would specifically need a d20 ttrpg system.

Anyway. I dislike wild speculation when it's portrayed as theory but if people are like "total bonkers guess based on nothing in particular" at least they're showing some self-awareness, even though I'm not personally interested in that kind of speculation. But a lot of "theories" are structured as an argument while relying on assumptions constructed from thin air (if that) and I think it's valuable to point that out; unfortunately people get really mad when you do because you are, kind of, calling them stupid. Which they are, but people don't like to be told that.

#answered #Anonymous #cr tag

[nomsnax]

Color Symbolism and Character Design

I may be the absolute last person to see this, but I just realized that the predominant color in each of the grumpuses designs reflects aspects of their character! So naturally, I organized a list of those grumpuses, colors, what they symbolize, and how it relates to the character. I couldn't say much about Shelda, so sorry. Feel free to add on with examples or other things you've noticed related to this!

Cromdo is red, symbolizing passion, anger, and warning. Cromdo's character is full of passion, as he is determined to meet his goals at any hefty price, including stealing, scamming, and generally manipulating. He is also agressive in game, annoyed whenever talking to another grumpus. When approached, he has a short temper and will respond in such a way to the player and the other Snaxburg citizens. He also has a bad reputation with stealing and lying, which implies 'warning', as he isn't to be trusted easy.

Wiggle is orange, symbolizing flamboyance and success. Wiggle's character is very animated, always swaying and singing to speak. She is also a popular musician who was top of the charts, hence 'success.'

Clumby is also orange, symbolizing impatience, being over the top, and adventure. During the beginning of the game when we meet Clumby, we can tell from her dramatic reactions to the film we're shown and our conversation with her, that she is an impatient and 'over the top' character, as she slams her fists into the desk and has a short temper when dealing with the journalist, and their previous failure. The 'adventureous' aspect of her character comes from after the DLC, when it is revealed that she has connection with Snaktooth island and the conspiracy behind it and the Snakolytes. From this information, we can assume she had a similar experience to the journalist, when trying to find a good story on the mysterious island.

Snorpy is yellow, symbolizing caution and fear. Snorpy's character suffers from paranoia about government conspiracies, and takes extreme caution to protect himself and his lover from the imagined threats, going to lengths such as [using the player to] capture different bugsnax he suspects to be related to the Grumpinati, keeping tracking devices on his loved ones, and having machines made in preparation for future bad events. This is the part of Snorpy's personality that is cautious and fearful.

Triffany is green, symbolizing acceptance and earth. Triffany is very calm, instantly jumping back to a normal tone after discussing a heavy topic, as well that she is content with the fact that life ends. She is very accepting of death and other issues within life. She is an archeologist and explores old history. This aspect, obviously, relates to 'earth'.

Chandlo is light green, symbolizing productivity and peacefulness. Every morning, Chandlo's character goes on a run, and a huge aspect of his character is exercise and taking care of himself. He's never not doing something, showing his character to value productivity. Another big part of his personality is how peaceful he is. Every time he speaks, it is very mellow and cool, and he shows that he is a peacemaker when characters break into a fight, and he breaks it up.

Wambus is blue, symbolizing honesty, responsibility and stubborness. Wambus's character isn't afraid to voice his honest opinions, especially when they conflict other's. He is a hard worker when it comes to his farming, which is an occupation that requires a lot of responsibility and accountability, which Wambus has no lack of. Similarly, when he had to chose between his farm and wife, he stuck with his farm, believing in himself over everything else, showing his quality of being stubborn and unwilling to adapt and change.

Filbo is light blue, symbolizing harmony. Filbo's character is fairly neutral. He tries his best to bring everyone together, doing all he can to help out and make friends. The way Filbo strives to being people together throughout the entire story in the game shows his ability to bring harmony.

Floofty is purple, symbolizing ambition and uniqueness. Floofty's character is full of determination when it comes to their work. They will push limits, moral and physical, to acomplish their goals. These aspects show that Floofty is ambitious. Floofty is also quite different from the other citizens. They stand out from the crowd, from their autistic traits, to gender identity and expression, to their rudeness to all persons. This aspect of their character represents their uniqueness.

Beffica is also purple, symbolizing royalty. While Beffica isn't actual royalty, her personality can be described as such, in the way that she acts better than everyone. Beffica's character holds a position of justice above everyone, as she collects slander and secrets against the other grumpuses, exposing them against better judgement.

Gramble is pink, symbolizing sympathy, sensitivity, and love. Gramble, from the moment we meet him, is shown to be a sympathetic and emotional character. He cares deeply for his pets, putting himself in their place when he makes his stance on eating bugsnax clear. This represents his sympathetic personality. Gramble is not afraid to show emotion or cry, and he does get emotionally involved a lot, especially when it comes to the bugsnax and how he precieves they feel. This, of course, shows his sensitivity. Lastly, love is symbolized through his focus on caring for the snax and towards Wiggle. He happily opens his arms to new members to join his found family.

Shelda is brown, symbolizing nature. Shelda's character is very connected to a religion that is based around the ideas of nature and earth. Her whole character is around the way she values the earth and its creations, denying bugsnax, as they are a parasite and in her eyes, not natural.

Eggabell is white, symbolizng virtue and delicacy. Eggabell has high moral standards when it comes to other's health. She will give up things, such as when she demands the player and Filbo go back to Snaxburg after they try to get through the endgame door, to protect other people and their well being. She believes in helping others with their health, and will strive to keep her loved ones safe, healthy, and protected. Eggabell is also a delicate character, because so much of her self worth is dependent on her ability to doctor others and prove herself as someone worthy. One event, such as when she failed to help the grumpuses and they proceeded to yell at her, can cause her mental wellbeing to shatter, and she feels worthless afterwards.

Lizbert is gray, symbolizing compromise and control. Lizbert's character is the leader, and with that role, comes the ability as a person to bring compromise. Although we know very little about Lizbert's character through gameplay, we can assume things about her. For one, when she went missing, Snaxburg fell apart. While she was still there and the active leader of Snaxburg, she must have had the ability to compromise and bring such different types of grumpuses together under the idea of a singular goal. The 'control' is related to her role of being a leader, and how she knows how to change a situation or fix it.

Alegander is black, symbolizing mystery. At the end of the game, we hear Alegander's voice speaking to Clumby. Before the DLC, we had no idea who this character was, only that he had some part in the bugsnax, and the conspiracy behind it. After the DLC, we know a bit more relating to his character and the Snakolytes, but we only ever meet him through his recordings, and for the most part, he is still a mystery.

#is there a way to make the text other colors like gray and brown? lmk ty #bugsnax #sunnys text posts

[onepiece-oc-archives]

what's something you would not recommend when writing one piece ocs?

Hi, thanks for your question!

At first I thought it was a duplicate of the question I answered here but then I looked a little closer. So: In this post, I'll be focusing on the actual writing of OCs, as in fanfic stuff. If you're still in the creating phase, go here for my tips on what to avoid for that.

Alright, writing! My favourite activity on the world earth - I could literally write for entire weeks straight if I wasn't bound by the limits of my human body and mind lol

This list is probably going to be even shorter than the one for OC creation because I'm not about to mess with other people's writing style. Do what feels right for you. You should always be writing for yourself first and foremost because writing should be fun! That being said, there's one One Piece-specific tip I have for you:

Don't translate everything you see in the anime and/or manga directly into your writing. It won't work. Animation/manga and written stories are two very different mediums. I think the best way to explain this would be to look at the changes made between the animanga and the live action:

Changes had to be made because certain things just don't translate well into a live-action format.

For example, most characters don't yell out their attacks in the live action, because it comes off as very silly outside of the animanga format. They're real people after all. The characters who still shout out their attacks are either very silly (i.e. Luffy and Buggy) or... well... Sanji. He's very serious about it. I saw someone theorize once that shouting your finisher attacks is probably a pirate thing and Zeff taught Sanji that - so of course he'd take it seriously because he respects Zeff and takes his word as truth because Zeff used to be a pirate and he should know. Anyways, other example:

Sanji's heart eyes. We're sticking with my boy Sanji, simply because he works really well for tackling changes made to the live action made for genre/format/medium reasons. Why? Because Sanji, in the animanga, is a character who's very reliant on physical comedy. Don't know what I mean, maybe because you're an OPLA only fan (in which case: Welcome, glad to have you here <3)? Here, I'll show you:

That's animanga Sanji. Full-on heart eyes goof and noodle arms. As you can probably guess, this wouldn't work in a live action format. So, we went from literal heart eyes...

... to figurative heart eyes. Still very much head over heels for the ladies, still a hopeless romantic, still an idiot, but not so much of an idiot that it comes across as over-the-top and wildly unnatural.

I would highly recommend that you do something similar for writing One Piece fics, including OC fics. If you want to keep the over-the-top, physical comedy, cartoon logic elements from the animanga for your fic, I won't stop you. I've just noticed that, in my opinion, it's hard to pull off, because describing the absolute tomfoolery of the animanga can be very difficult, and I'm personally not too much of a fan of it. It works in specific situations (caught-up animanga fans might know what I'm hinting at), but I personally prefer my fics to feel more natural - like OPLA. Still silly, but silly in a way that works for a live action and/or written format. That might also have to do with my writing style as a whole, so, like I said, keep the animanga elements if you want or tone them down if you like.

One thing I love to do though is to drop hints to animanga tropes and elements without implimenting them fully. Best example? Sanji's heart eyes. Because look at him! Figurative heart eyes are a thing. Use metaphors and figures of speech, figurative words that imply something cartoony but don't have to be. It's really fun! I really don't know how to explain it better, but I hope you know what I mean.

So, now that I've talked about general things and canon characters and whatnot: What does that mean for OCs specifically?

Maybe try to make a rough separation between their drawn form and their written form - or between their animanga and live action version. This works especially well if you can draw (even just a little bit) but it's also just plain fun to think about without drawing anything. Think about what gags and animanga tropes your OC could have in that format and think about how those things translate to a live action or written format. Do they translate seamlessly? Do they have to be cut because they don't work at all? Would they be changed? Experiment with what works for your own writing style. How does your OC interact with your interpretation of canon characters? Generally: Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. The only way to start writing is to start writing and to try out what works for you and what doesn't.

And in case you don't know where you want to start with writing or want to try a few things out: Take a scene in canon that your OC would be participating in and write down your version of it. See what changes, try out the dynamics, get a feel for what works and what doesn't...

So yeah, I hope this helped! This feels pretty disorganized (I'm so sorry) but I hope I got my point across.

Hope you're having a lovely day!

#ask the archivist #topic: basics #topic: oc help #topic: writing #no spoilers