#might obscure does play out in interesting ways a lot of the time. like i do think it can be a flaw sometimes bc things just shift so fast

[tvxcue]

like theres inevitably going to be comparisons between tgcf and mdzs bc they were written by the same author and mdzs feeds into tgcf and they do have a lot of points of similarity but they’re also so different. and it makes for interesting stories in conversation with each other bc they’re basically inverted.

like they both have the same focus on the main relationship that makes the story revolve around them but the thing abt mdzs is that even though it’s abt wangxian, it’s also not abt them. tgcf is explicitly abt xie lian, the whole story and plot revolves around him not just bc he’s the main character but bc he’s the focal point of the antagonist which is what makes him the main character in the first place. like xie lian isn’t a passive character but he’s not very active in moving the story along, he’s kind of just floating through it while other characters bring him into it. and it culminates with bwx and that entire confrontation but even from xie lian’s first ascension it was all something that was orchestrated for him to respond to.

but with mdzs, yes wangxian are incredibly active characters making all these choices that move them forward in the story but they’re just a footnotes in the novels action. wei wuxian and lan wangji’s story is abt them and their relationship and the bigger plot serves as a backdrop for that. in the drama it is a little different bc the bigger story kind of “clears” wwx’s name and kind of changes things for him in that regard but in the novel, it doesn’t even really do that, it offers questions about morality and righteousness that do change how certain characters feel abt wei wuxian and challenge the structure of the world they live in. in the end, the big confrontation is abt other characters finally revealing themselves while wangxian basically make out in the corner like they don’t give a fuck who killed whose brother! yeah wwx still saves the day but it’s not abt him even though it is quite literally abt him as the main character.

#like they're both abt love and devotion and righteousness and hierarchies and status so they have similar themes but the structures of them #are almost entirely opposite. which is really interesting especially within their genre bc it is all abt the main couple and what that #might obscure does play out in interesting ways a lot of the time. like i do think it can be a flaw sometimes bc things just shift so fast #so you have someone being murdered in the most horrifying way you could imagine one scene and the next is the main couple making out. #a transition that happened in both of the books. but also with mdzs i think it's more effective bc wx aren't the main characters the Plot #even while they're the main characters of the story. so you get all these things going on around them that they're also picking up on and #reacting to and trying to figure out right until the very end. and then they don't really care all that much bc they're being the most #annoying couple you know while they and everyone they know is being held hostage. and in tgcf the bigness of the story is kind of.....too #much sometimes and i do get it's part of the story too bc xie lian is however many years old and hes lived such a long and complicated life #that of course there's going to be so many characters that form a part of it but also. let's calm down a little. but also that just really #works for him as a character! bc it is abt stuff just happening to him and him just kind of. dealing. like the thing with the revenant is #such a good encapsulation of that bc it follows him for like a year i think and he just. doesn't care. he just floats around until it leaves #bc xie lian has just become someone who deals with shit when it comes his way! #speaking #i feel like ive said this before but it's just interesting to me!

[shinobicyrus]

I've seen a lot of posts about Batman using his Bruce Wayne alter ego for the good of Gotham: job programs for felons released from prison, orphanages, charities, high wages for his employees, ethical business practices...the legendary post where Bruce Wayne goes to Wal-Mart.

Thus far I've never personally seen anybody really dig into the persona of Bruce Wayne the Billionaire Playboy. A handsome, rich, powerful man who always is seen at fancy galas, art openings, charity dinners, and wild parties with at least one beautiful woman on his arm.

We know Bruce Wayne is the mask, and its Batman who has a...complex love life, depending on the iteration we're talking about. Talia, Catwoman, sometimes Wonder Woman.

Bruce Wayne's dates, on the other hand, are all "normal" people. Maybe they're an aspiring actress, a supermodel, a prima ballerina, the occasional reporter...and every time there's that bit of nervousness at the start.

Sure everyone knows Bruce Wayne. Everyone knows the story with him. Sometimes his wilder parties make the news, but there's never really been anything nasty reported about him. Never...allegations. But he's a billionaire. He's one of the most powerful people in the whole city, nevermind the country. If he did have some skeletons in his closet. Well. Men with power have a way of making those kinds of stories go away, don't they?

As time goes on the Date's fears dissipate pretty quickly. Bruce Wayne is nothing but polite, kind, and at times charmingly awkward in an 'raised by his butler in a mansion' kind of way with his dates. Some of them can tell he's holding back, of course. Maybe the more perceptive Dates notice he's smarter than he lets on - playing the himbo or hamming up the "know-nothing rich boy" act to the cameras or some of his wealthy peers.

He also listens, is the thing. He's always listening to what they're saying, is interested in hearing about their careers, their hobbies, their lives. Really listens, too. Might refer to something a Date said weeks later off-hand. Buy out the whole museum for a private dinner date with a famous painting from an obscure artist they like, or a private performance with another's favorite band.

He has anecdotes and funny stories for days that somehow says very little about his personal life. The Dates know he has kids (it's practically a running gag in the news that Bruce Wayne has adopted yet another orphan) and maybe she might spot one of them at the mansion, but Bruce seems very keen to shelter them from any intense spotlight and scrutiny, and they all seem happy if a bit weird like him.

Eventually, there's drifting. He's a very busy man, with a very busy schedule. On more than on occasion his nice old butler will call and extend apologies that Mr. Wayne will not be able to make it this evening. Sometimes it's virtually impossible to get a hold of him over the phone. After a while they stop trying. None of them feel quite surprised by that. In the end, it just doesn't work. Sure, he's a little distant and doesn't make himself emotionally available...but he's not a bad person.

Especially when the so-called "exes" of Bruce Wayne start networking. Gotham isn't a small city, but the social circles Bruce Wayne travels in aren't as big. They don't quite gossip or complain about him. More like...who else would get it?

(I touched his side once and he winced...like he'd been hurt real bad there. He laughed and said it was tackle polo. How does that even-?)

(Somehow, after two dates, he saw right through me and listened while I told him what that casting director tried to do. He nodded, gave me the contact details of a law firm, and said not to worry about the legal fees.)

(I don't know for sure it was him, but it can't be a coincidence that my building got bought out from under my shitty landlord and we were all able to buy our apartments under market value.)

(He got my brother in the best rehab program in the city after his relapse. It probably saved his life. We'd stopped dating months ago, I still don't know how he found out.)

(He gave me a card with a phone number and told me that if I was ever in trouble to call it. Said one of his cars would come to pick me up, any time, any place, no questions asked. The one time I did have to use it after a bad party, it was Alfred.)

I think any tabloid reporter digging around for salacious stories or dirt about Bruce Wayne's love life would be completely and politely stonewalled when they try asking his former Dates. Even when money is offered. Every single one of them.

#I like to think Alfred is like...a mythological creature #to all of Bruce Wayne's exes #though lets be honest the kids too #Damien just feels like an intimidatingly intense kid who would ignore if outright avoid them #but would immediately talk to any of Bruce's dates if he spotted cat hair on their clothes #''I would like to see pictures of your American shorthair'' #''Uh...hi. How did you know-?" #Bruce Wayne #Batman #Secret Identities #Headcanons

[allyricas]

I love gay Eddie and bisexual awakening Steve. It's solid and popular for a reason. It works, makes a lot of sense.

But...I also love flirty-cluelessly-queer Eddie and comfortable-with-his sexuality Steve.

Eddie does flirt. With everyone. It was pretty clear he was flirting with Chrissy. He was flirting with Steve. Calling him big boy and getting up in his personal space, being all cutesy.

So, imagine Eddie just casually flirting with Steve and it doesn't mean anything to him. He's just being Eddie. He isn't even aware that it's flirting. He really considers it teasing. The man is dramatic and silly. He loves to make a scene. So "teasing" people is fun for him.

Eddie who is a super senior running a DnD club for outcasts, loves Lord of the Rings, plays in a metal band. I think Eddie is always into some sort of hyperfixation to be trying to bang chicks or dudes.

There was totally a phase were he was obsessed with folk and old country music (Woody Guthrie much). There was the Jane Austen phase (It fits, c'mon). The time he tried to learn to crochet. His lasting phase with fantasy novels. His intense love of metal music. He knows a lot about music in general. Obscure shit. Oh, those handcuffs-definitely from his magic phase. Tell me, 12 year old Eddie didn't want to be a magician. He probably did card tricks, the whole deal.

Eddie would be the kind of guy who'd spout all sorts of random knowledge. He probably has one specific time period in history he could rant about for hours.

The man has raging ADHD (takes one to know one). He's a self-professed nerd and outcast. The only thing that might be considered "cool" is that he plays in his band. But even then, he's a total nerd about it.

Eddie is hot as hell. That is undeniable. But Eddie has been too damn busy being a fucking nerd to date or hook up. I think he's so focused on his interests, it could easily not have been on his radar. Same way he's failed senior year twice in a row despite being smart as hell. The shit they are trying to teach doesn't interest him and that makes Eddie fucking struggle.

He's bouncy and hyperactive. He probably has terrible tunnel vision when he gets into a book or movie or campaign. Dating has thus far not been interesting enough especially combined with how he's treated by the people in Hawkins.

So, yeah- he flirts and teases. He thinks it's harmless fun. With Chrissy, it was a way to make her feel safe and lighten the mood. With Steve, it's a way to disarm him. It's King Steve afterall. Why not play up the metalhead freak persona. Let him think he's weird.

It isn't until Steve starts flirting back and gives Eddie butterflies that Eddie realizes this is not heterosexual behavior. And he knows a lot about that because he was accidentally flagging for a whole goddamn year. Because he wanted to look metal as fuck and thought the bandana was badass.

Steve calls Eddie princess. Calls him pretty boy. Throws in a babe. Everytime Eddie refers to him as big boy or Stevie, Steve just smirks and comes up with a new pet name that wrecks Eddie (who has no idea what is fucking going on). Throw in the boys getting high together with no inhibitions and Steve actively trying to romance him and Eddie's in a full blown sexuality crisis.

best part: Steve thinks Eddie is gay because of the bandana that he wore all year. Add in all the flirting and then Steve's really putting the moves on totally clueless Eddie. And say what you want about Steve, but he has game. I can just imagine Eddie trying to frantically figure out why all of the sudden he wants to make out with Steve "the hair" Harrington and Steve's like...aren't you gay?

(if anyone knows of steddie fics anything like this, please rec them!)

#clueless eddie #steddie #i love eddie having the crisis/awakening and steve being the one already aware #it's a nice flip of the usual narrative

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

This question is based on a reblog I saw of one of your posts. In the reblog they suggested that if Malleus was a normal human them lurking at an abandoned building at night would be viewed as just as creepy as Rook’s behavior and that if someone who had normal creepy behavior like Rook was fae or nonhuman then he would be viewed as less creepy. Do you have any thoughts on this? I’m not sure how to feel one way or another.

[Referencing this post!]

No worries, I think I know what you meant!! ^^ But thank you anyway for clarifying, it's definitely appreciated! asdhlbyioyqiqhubq I didn't mean for my reply to that original ask to be taken that seriously, but this does open up an interesting topic of discussion!

I do feel like this is really an issue of the perception of humans versus non-humans (fae, merfolk, beastmen, monsters, direbeasts, ghosts, Phantoms, etc.). We can excuse a lot of things that creatures of fictional races do because the "standards" for what is and is not acceptable shifts to adapt to the concept that these races are otherworldly and thus play by different rules, have different cultures, or operate under different expectations. Meanwhile, if it's a regular human, we can easily compare them to our real-life standards and expectations for human behavior (even if it is not done at a conscious level). Because of this, it is more "palatable" to hear "oh, this fairy killed someone" compared to "oh, this human killed someone" or “oh, a vampire drank blood” compared to “oh, a human drank blood”. It's also more likely that we attribute what is normally perceived as odd or, as this anon puts it, "creepy" behaviors as something else entirely when done by a non-human race. (Conversely, things considered normal for a non-human race to do may be strange if a human did the same.) Suddenly it's no longer "creepy", and the atypical behavior is attributed to being a characteristic that "makes sense" for that non-human race trying to adapt to life among humans.

As an example, let's consider some merfolk. Jade and Floyd have the hobby of collecting objects from along the seafloor. If you walked into their rooms and saw a chest full of miscellaneous things (combs, forks, pendants, shards of sea glass, etc.), you'd probably go, "they might not have these items under the sea, maybe they're curious about them!" If you found the same thing in like... Trey's room... You might be more confused and put off by it. "Why does he have all this stuff? He doesn't seem to be using any of it, they're just sitting here and taking up space."

Going back to the Malleus vs Rook scenario, let's now consider the original (with fae Malleus and human Rook). We will assume that you have zero prior knowledge of these characters, their backstories, or personalities, so treat it as though you're seeing them for the very first time ever. Think about the circumstances. You're alone in this new world, at the mercy of a headmaster who provides your (precarious) housing and food, and you JUST witnessed the horrors of what magic can do when pushed to its brink (since Malleus first shows up in book 2, not 1). You're in your rickety housing and, in the middle of the night, you cannot sleep. You decide to go on a walk to clear your head, knowing that it should be fine to be out even though the surroundings are dark because no one frequents this part of campus. But then you see a figure that shouldn't be there... lingering. Discomfort would be a perfectly acceptable emotion to have here. In the situation where it's Rook, you might be apprehensive. What's this guy doing here and what does he want from you? His big old hat does not help because the brim of it might obscure his face and make him appear like he's purposefully trying to hide his face. You might not be so eager to confront this guy and instead might look the other way or not engage at all in a conversation. In the situation where it's Malleus, you may also be apprehensive, but you'd also be significantly more curious. Because of his horns (a trait of being a dragon fae), he casts a very unique silhouette unlike any other student at NRC. You might be so surprised or curious that you approach him and try to learn more about the weird horned guy. I'd also like to again point out that the horns are the basis for Yuu's nickname for Malleus, so one of his fae traits ends up being a means of connection and socialization for the two. This would not be so for a human character that shows up on your front lawn late into the day.

Now let's reverse it. Let's say that Rook is the fae and Malleus is the human. Even if we assume that Rook maintains his hat but lacks the horns (since that's a trait of dragon fae specifically), he would still have the pointed ears of a fae and perhaps unique eyes. That alone could draw others in. Malleus would have no discerning physical traits to dismiss his behavior. He would most likely be seen as a weird human who likes to wander the campus at night. Rook would meanwhile be granted the benefit of the doubt, something like "oh, he's not human; is it normal for creatures like him to be active at night?"

In both cases, Malleus and Rook are "trespassers" (Yuu even gets the option to call Malleus that in 2-14). Your perspective would shift considerably based on whether you think of the "trespasser" as human or non-human.

Of course, this is not taking personality, social status, or other behaviors (like Rook's stalking or uncanny ability to collect details about his peers with but a glance, which Malleus does not engage in) into consideration. I'm only giving my thoughts on the first encounter with Yuu. However, I do believe that the change in one's perception due to human/non-human labels does extend into other interactions. For example, maybe fae!Rook's fascination with beauty and even him being invasive toward other students would be dismissed because this would be attributed to "oh, he's a fairy; he's curious about humans and wants to explore the world because his race is usually so sheltered and isolated from it all". Regular ol' human!Rook doing the same things is viewed as stalkerish and unsettling. Human!Malleus might be seen as more of an awkward loner that doesn't know how to interact with his peers as opposed to fae!Malleus, who has these same characteristics chalked up to him being a long-lived fae who hasn't had the chance to engage with people outside of his country.

I think that about sums up all my thoughts on this topic. Please let me know if you think I overlooked anything ^^

#twisted wonderland #twst #Rook Hunt #Malleus Draconia #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #notes from the writing raven #question #Jade Leech #Tweels #Floyd Leech #Trey Clover #book 2 spoilers #Yuu

[uchihaharlot]

I didn't mean to break their hearts, I was just curious, srry!😭😭 (but Itachi's one was kinda funny-)

But anyway, now I'm wondering about how they would react if they found out that you can draw really cool and beautiful.

(I'm an artist, so😎)

Nonny 🥹🥹

That put me in an really good mood; lol. That was way too fun to write; maybe I can one day write a super angsty break up (but I love them too much!!!).

I love all artists 😭😭😭 Painters, writers — digital or paper. Anything that expresses the inner workings of someone’s mind and the fact that they can manifest it to reality is so so so beautiful. I hope I’ve secretly seen your art, I’d probably simp over it. Always simp over art. 😂😂🥹🥹

N/SFW; very cute Uchiha men adoring your artwork! 🥹🥹🥹 (ooc Madara??); Simpy Obito; …Scandalous Shisui; abnormally observant Itachi 😂 suggestive themes rolled out the further I got. For some reason, I just had to. (P.s. I should not be allowed to write when tired??? Half of this was done while my eyes rolled shut in bed).

Madara:

It’s not everyday that Madara is blown like a leaf in the wind. When you mentioned being a patron of the arts, he thought maybe the art of battle?? Didn’t expect your weapon to be a paint brush with some acrylic paint. Thought it was some weird jutsu infused shit.

And then you just had to go above and beyond and do a portrait of him for his birthday!!!!! It’s hung on the living room center wall so that it’s the first thing anyone sees! Honestly, this man is a brute, but your art envokes his softer side! A side that he hasn’t been in touch with for…well, a long time.

Makes sure that everyone and I mean, everyone, is aware of your talent! Still, he tries to find the side hussle in it, soliciting customers for you and all. 😭😭 Will trash talk the chalk art children make on the sidewalk, which ‘…that’s not nice, they’re children..’ you say. He shrugs, nobody is as good as you.

Obito:

Finds out and tries to ‘secretly’ commission you lmao. Makes it totally obvious too, his handwriting is shit and eveeeerrryyyyone knows who Tobi really is…. Plus how can you even begin without discussing what he wants done!! Duh, Obito! Unfortunately for him, you are more interested in drawing matters of the flesh. He’ll only show his chest, nothing more.

‘That’s fine.’ You shrug, and get to work. Obito, however, does not have the resolve to sit still! It’s frustrating to no end, but alas, after what seems an eternity— its done. Sort of. Still much to add, but the basics are there and you’ll work better when he’s not asking how does it look every twenty minutes.

Eventually you do finish this beautiful piece of him, and Obito cries. You made his scars tolerable and beautiful with your mind’s creativity, he feels less self conscious about them, only a little.

Shisui:

Is the least normal about it when he discovered your sketchbook — more like snatched and played keep away. Had to fight him for it, literally. Will ask you to paint/draw him naked…many times lol and you respectfully say no... Not that he likes people to see him naked (ok maybe a little?) but he secretly hopes it might happen one day. It would be a private thing for the two of you, cause he wants that ass.

And when you do cave to his whim, just to satiate him. He’s nervous lmao. Had this oh so macho man idea of rocking a hard on but Shisui simply maintains his usual semi. It’s nice though, you make sure it’s extremely detailed..as he asked for.

But, ‘(y/n)… this is chibbi!!!’ Lol, jokes on Shisui!! He didn’t say how to draw his pp.

Itachi:

Is the most normal about it. Though he still will praise you every time you finish a piece and show him, he is still massively impressed. How does your wrist not get tired? …maybe this is why your hand jobs are so good. 😈 Just watching you try a new technique (pointillism, which is my favorite style) makes his wrist hurt. Enjoys when you ask him for ideas! He has lots of them! Mostly…obscure and derelict landscapes though.

Would not be opposed to having his portrait done, but it’s really not his style. He is disciplined enough to sit still but doesn’t see the value in it. Not until the final product is revealed, does he truly understand how important this piece was. You’ve captured his personality in a new light.

#madara headcanons #obito headcanons #shisui headcanons #itachi headcanons #madara x reader #obito x reader #shisui x reader #itachi x reader #madara uchiha #obito uchiha #shisui uchiha #itachi uchiha #uchiha clan #uchiha family #uchiha headcanons

[conflictofthemind]

Not saying this means anything especially since TBSOAS (the book) only came out in 2020, more of a “hey this is weird” post but:

I’ve always thought these two looked / were similar as two wavy blond haired blue eyed men, and it definitely helps that they both premiered (in the case of film Corio) within one year of each other . But there’s like, more than that? And some of it is very strange?

First off, they are two characters who since the start of their chronological stories teeter between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ with a lot of forces in their life, including their evil scientist mentor, pushing them towards the dark side by use of manipulation tactics. Henry is much more of a direct victim to this than Corio is though, and the latter also does have more good influences in his life.

“Fueled with the terror of becoming Prey, see how quickly we become Predator?” - Dr. Gaul

“I could restore balance to a broken world… a predator, but for good” - Henry Creel / 001

Also, can I mention how both TBOSAS and TFS are set in the same exact time period? The Hunger Games uses retro futurism since the entire story is set centuries from now, but the era is clearly inspired by the late 50s to early 60s, especially given that it takes place 60 years before the main series.

Now here’s the actual weird part that had me making this post.

Both of their origin stories center on a romance with a female co-lead that ends with them killing her (heavy question mark). That’s not the weird part. It’s the way that the plots of both of these origin stories and said female characters are based off of old European folk-songs that were popular in Appalachia. TFS is based off of ‘The Tale of Barbara Allen’ and TBOSAS is based off of ‘The Ballad of Lucy Gray’ - Stranger Things just bothered to change her name to Patty Newby. Barbara Allen (Patty) appears as a covey sister of Lucy Gray in TBSOAS. Naturally, both of these characters are singers which plays a role in their respective stories.

I just have to say, it’s a very obscure source of inspiration to happen twice like this. There is a little part of me that thinks Kate Trefry and the writing crew on TFS might have been fans of The Hunger Games. But who knows.

Suzanne Collins wrote the TBOSAS prequel to answer the question of ‘nature vs nurture’ and how much choice villains have in becoming their future selves - which is the exact same question that is actively being posed by Stranger Things in regards to Henry.

And then how I got started on this line of thinking again today - the older adult versions of these characters both kidnap the respective sweet boy love interests and hijack them against the main characters. For strategic reasons and, in the case of Peeta, emotionally torturing the main character so she gives up. Will and Peeta are just both so similar as characters; soft and sensitive, traumatized, painters, both the poor underdogs with (seemingly) unrequited love for the protagonist though Mike isn’t really the protagonist.

I’m not sure if there’s actual inspiration being taken here. I typically assume not on the basis that I’m someone who can find connections between any pieces of media I enjoy. But the whole Appalachian folktale angle of it all is strange to me.

While I don’t think Henry was conceived with this in mind, it’s possible the inspiration sprang up during the further fleshing out of his backstory and into writing The First Shadow. Maybe it will even have an impact on the final season.

One of the things I liked about TBOSAS was the theme of the past coming back to haunt Snow in the future through Katniss and the music Lucy Gray created living on through her. If this was in any way inspiration, I’d love to see Vecna haunted by how similar Will is to him and especially the ways that he is different and able to do better.

#stranger things #henry creel #vecna/henry/001 #will byers #not going to put this shenanigans in the hg tag but uhh go everlark and byler parallels

[glasshalftrue]

i think i fundamentally disagree with the thesis of the latest GMTK video about balatro. mark compares balatro's "cursed design problem" (the fact that the exact score of your hand isn't shown but can technically be calculated if you're determined enough to do it) with the binding of isaac's lack of item descriptions, as a case study of what happens when players "optimize the fun" out of a game and go against a developer's intended design choices. mark acknowledges that the comparison isn't perfect, but i think the comparison is just straight up not applicable. as someone who's played both games and is generally a big roguelite fan, the lack of a score preview in balatro is fundamental to the game's core experience, whereas the lack of item descriptions in isaac can actually be downright frustrating at times. sometimes items' effects can be obscure and very difficult to figure out, and there are so many items in the game at this point that it'd take a lot of time and effort to properly remember them all, and especially since some items can have detrimental effects, not remembering what an item does can actively hamper your ability to play the game well. with item descriptions, the game does not feel fundamentally different or worse; there's still a sense of discovery when you first encounter an item, because you won't know what it does until you pick it up, and there are still surprises to be had even if you know what the item's effect is (e.g. interesting and unexpected ways to use the item, or how it might synergize with another item). apparently, according to the video edmund mcmillen (creator of tboi) did consider the lack of item descriptions an important part of the game, and was dismayed that most players opted to deliberately circumvent it. and as much as i love the guy, unfortunately i think he's just wrong. he's wrong in that most players don't find the mechanic fun, or at least not fun enough to compensate for the downsides. the primary fun of isaac is derived from the moment-to-moment combat, the meta-progression of unlocking new items and characters, the rng of what items and crazy synergies you'll get this run, and the strategic choices you make on, e.g., which deal with the devil items to pick. learning what exactly items do is not on that list; most items are simple enough that their short in-game description (damage up, triple shot, homing shots) make them instantly graspable anyways, and hiding the exact numbers doesn't really enhance anything (i doubt players are experiencing a sense of wonder when trying to deduce exactly how much damage their tears have increased by). it's true that the most optimal way to play balatro is by painstakingly calculating the point value of every possible hand and then choosing the highest one. but it's such a tedious experience that i doubt that any more than a tiny fraction of players will ever start playing the game like that regularly. players will certainly "optimize the fun" out of a game; if you offer players different weapons and one weapon is boring but by far the most powerful, then yeah, players will tend to pick that one. but the vast majority of players will only do it if doing so is the path of least resistance; optimizing balatro to that extent is so time-consuming and obviously anti-fun that most people simply won't ever do it. the players who do opt to do it are like speedrunners - a niche, outlier group of players who are extracting fun out of the game in an entirely different way from most players. but they will never be more than that: a niche, outlier group. anyways balatro is fucking amazing and i highly recommend it unless you value your time for some reason

#game design #balatro #effortpost #long #Youtube

[yamayuandadu]

Do you think Zanmu and Hisami could ever indulge in a proper romantic relationship, as supposed to the one sided crush poor Hisami is trapped in right now? Additionally, do you think Hisami is actually connected to Izanami, or just another member of the youkai species her servants are?

I think this is the first time in ages that I got a shipping ask. I’m pretty happy about this. I actually like talking about shipping a lot even if my blog is dominated by posts like “check out this obscure religious pamphlet, really illuminating on the connection between Matarajin and Iizuna Gongen”. Zanhisa is probably going to end up in my top 3 of Touhou pairings. Might even dethrone Mokoukeine as the #2 (side note - Keine needs more than 1 pairing with some canon backing). So, thanks for asking about it. Due to length the response to your two questions has been placed under the cut.

Realistically? It’s probably not happening in canon because even if ZUN’s intent really is to present Hisami as romantically interested in Zanmu, as we are hoping, this is a heavily status quo dependent series. I’m afraid Hisami is as likely to change her relationship status as Okina is to actually find replacements for Mai and Satono. On top of that, recent “loyal henchman” characters are often struggling with reappearances. I’m pessimistic if Hisami will fare any better in that regard than Mai, Satono or Mayumi, especially with no new print works in sight. Subjectively?  I think what I already said makes the answer obvious - of course I think it can work. It’s the classic henchman ship, the lifeblood of f/f pairings since 1800 BCE (or earlier). The whole game is a boon to people who like that sort of setup when you think of it (unless you like Shou/Nazrin - not much on that front tragically). They clearly have interests  and lifestyle choices in common, too, and that’s basically a solid chunk of what makes a relationship work. I think whether a relationship between Zanmu and Hisami can work is something that depends more on Zanmu than Hisami, though. The fact that we have direct confirmation that Zanmu doesn’t know why Hisami acts the way she does is a plus, since it’s not hard to imagine that Suika’s accusations, which do not seem baseless, have a lot to do with her being seemingly able to figure others out. So, someone who doesn’t really fall in this category already has the benefit of being on more equal terms with her than anyone else. The fact that Hisami’s bio mentions she generally gets involved in Zanmu’s schemes and it’s not a one off thing imo does indicate Zanmu cares about her on some level. I’d imagine she would’ve replaced her with someone else otherwise, given that she presumably messes up on purpose often enough for Zanmu to be aware that’s going to happen. Once again, in the light of Suika’s comments about treating others instrumentally it feels sensible to me to assume that there’s some genuine sympathy at play. A lot depends on how you interpret Hisami’s ending, also - if we’ll learn at some point that Zanmu invites her to parties regularly, it’s probably not very meaningful and just professional courtesy. If it’s a first, which is the impression I got, I would say from a shipping perspective it’s basically like a date. That’s how I plan to use it in a fic (coming soon), fwiw. It’s true Zanmu doesn’t take her to the other party, but perhaps that boils down to it being a political event. Given what sort of blog this is, I think I should point out that a relationship, or at least experiencing some other form of intimacy, would actually fit Zanmu’s whole corrupt slash eccentric monk gimmick. Not following the prescribed rules on celibacy was actually one of the more standard criticisms in the texts where the idea of corrupt monks turning into demons originates in. And on top of that it seems Zanmu’s historical counterpart according to a legend was a student of Ikkyu, a notably anti-celibacy eccentric monk who is famous for, among other things, his relationship with a certain Mori, a biwa hoshi (wandering blind musician) who is mentioned in many of his poems. What I’m saying is, thematically being in a relationship feels as appropriate for Zanmu as not being fond of tengu is for Okina. She should indulge in it.

She even already has the skeleton thing going on, like Ikkyu does in art. She just needs to get a girlfriend and she will truly live up to the Zen eccentric standards. As for the second question: while we do not know how this works in Touhou, there are no “generic” yomotsu-shikome in real myths. They only ever appear in the myth of Izanagi’s escape from Yomi. No source actually explains where they came from, but alongside the yomotsu-ikusa (similarly of unspecified origin) and the thunder gods born from Izanami last minute they chase him on Izanami’s behalf both in Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. The latter clarifies there are only 8 of them, and to my best knowledge there are no additional more obscure sources which would contradict any of this. I personally think it’s fair game to assume Izanami does exist in Touhou, unless ZUN explicitly confirms Keiki and Eika have genealogy incompatible with their origin myths (Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu can in theory exist without Izanami). So, by extension I do not think there’s any reason to assume the yomotsu-shikome have nothing to do with her, at least if you’re the sort of fan who likes digging for backstory material in genuine mythology and folklore. Note that both Tsukasa and Biten directly reference the Izanagi and Izanami myth involving yomotsu-shikome, too. This being said, I do not think there’s much of a reason to have yomi as a separate location in Touhou in the present day, or to have Hisami be disconnected from the Ministry. We do not really know much about the position of yomotsu-shikome in the setting so far - I honestly doubt we ever will - but in AFiEU Hecatia mentions that there were various entities in hell who were there before yamas and oni started organizing it, and that some of them support the yama and oni way of doing things. It seems like a natural spot for Hisami, seeing as “hell” in Touhou seems to encompass multiple types of afterlife, not just the Buddhist-style hell. Specifically when it comes to shipping, this would give Hisami a point of connection with Zanmu, who’s also in hell by choice.

#long post #zanhisa #zanmu nippaku #hisami yomotsu #touhou #spoilers

[anghraine]

A more coherent part of the adaptation+Darcy post I was threatening to release from drafts purgatory:

While I think all adaptations' versions of Darcy are pretty bad at representing Austen's character, though sometimes compelling in their own right, I think the various choices made are all ways of addressing the same problem with the character as written.

It's not a problem in the novel—indeed, I'd say it's a remarkable achievement there—but I think we don't always realize how extremely ambiguous the presentation of Darcy is through the first half of the novel. It's easy to read him as basically hostile because he was when he first appeared and because Elizabeth, our smart, likable POV character, gets stuck in that perception of him for half the book. So it's only on re-reading that most audiences realize Elizabeth drastically misread his real feelings and the original interpretation of his manner is thrown into question, at the very least.

But as I said in the other post, Austen plays fair: it is entirely possible to realize that Elizabeth is mistaken about some things (esp about how he feels towards her), it is possible to realize that particularly observant characters find his expressions and behavior difficult to interpret, it's possible to notice that we are rarely told how he's speaking or smiling, and scenes typically cut off before we can be told. And it's possible to notice the many issues with Wickham's account of him.

But it's also entirely possible to read everything he says and does as Elizabeth does, and the narrative gently encourages us to do so without often committing to actual description that would guide us in those ambiguous scenes. Austen might have, for instance, described his smiles in the Netherfield scenes as contemptuous, polite, or pleasant. But she just repeats that he's smiling while drawing very little attention to the fact and rarely committing to an indication of what his smiles or presentation of dialogue are like. So it's mostly up to us to decide, with the occasional (dubious in some respects) interpretation from Elizabeth.

And we're likely to reach different conclusions on re-reading—the earlier presentation of Darcy rewards re-reading a lot, because a lot of the time, we don't even realize how much we're not being told until the letter or even the Pemberley scenes, where Elizabeth identifies the smile we saw in his earlier scenes as the same one in the painting done during his beloved father's lifetime—making, say, the "contemptuous" reading very unlikely.

Now, getting away with that level of ambiguity and obscuring that the ambiguity is happening in the first place, as Austen manages to do in the novel, is both impressive and a hell of a lot harder in visual form. Not impossible! But if we see and hear him ourselves we're less likely to form judgments shaped by Austen's tricks of narration and Elizabeth's POV, and this typically involves commitment to a particular aspect of his presentation in the novel.

And if you think about it, the four major adaptations of Darcy are essentially committing to some part of his depiction.

Laurence Olivier's Darcy is smiling, witty, and charismatic—which are a part of his personality, but skewed so far out of proportion that he's virtually unrecognizable. And there's no attempt to obscure his place in the narrative as the actual love interest (I assume because duh, it's Laurence Olivier—but it was a pretty unrewarding role for him as written).

David Rintoul's Darcy is (in)famously "robotic"—the 1980 version of him leans into the withdrawn, inexpressive, difficult to read but clearly uncomfortable version of Darcy. The smiles in the earlier part tend to be tight, a matter of form, and/or unconvincing, by contrast to the later Darcy's comportment towards the Gardiners and Elizabeth, esp after the second proposal.

Colin Firth's Darcy is, well—okay, I'm biased because of my intense dislike for the 1995 production, but I do think it's also struggling with the same issue, but responds in the opposite way as the 1980. Where the 1980 tried to replicate the ambiguity in a way that retained Darcy's tendency towards a certain severity and dignity and mostly ended up at expressionless, the 1995 transforms it into visibly intense, sexualized brooding. This is coupled with Elizabeth's perception of Darcy's hostility being much more validated than in the novel; he snaps at her, most of his textual smiles are removed, even his letter is rearranged with an eye to half-dressed angst rather than the subtle charity of the omitted "God bless you", and generally his angst and passion!!! are played up rather than down ("I shall conquer this!!" / the melodramatic pond dive and shift in focus from Elizabeth's shame to Darcy being barely dressed / Darcy being grim in London, etc).

If the 1995 version of Darcy commits to Darcy's behavior being largely how Elizabeth sees it, the 2005 drastically reverses that. Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy is also struggling with passion, but tbh he seems like he's kind of struggling with everything. He's visibly consumed with anxiety, he's obviously shy where Darcy has to explain his discomfort or experience it as a POV character in the novel, he seems sweet despite occasional classism, and at times his arc seems more about learning to relax than anything else. That is, instead of representing Darcy as more or less accurately seen by Elizabeth, it leans into emphasizing the extent of her misunderstanding, with Darcy's behavior both more sympathetic than she sees it and clearly comprehensible if she weren't so biased against him (fwiw, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries also emphasizes Elizabeth's misjudgment to a considerable extent and deals with the ambiguity by keeping him literally offstage).

The point of all this is that there is a core issue of adaptation here—the difficulty of representing subtle novelistic ambiguity while making Darcy emotionally compelling at the same time. Adapted Darcys are often given extra scenes, altered dialogue, or (where described in the novel) altered mannerisms/emotions to try and achieve this. And all lean so hard into the aspect they choose to emphasize that they tend to sacrifice most of the rest of his personality to the interpretation they're committing to, and his feelings for Elizabeth tend to be incredibly obvious to the point that it sometimes strains belief that she wouldn't see them, even with all her investment in not seeing them.

I guess the thing is that I think just stopping with "this is an issue of the different media and can't be represented on film" is boring and underestimates the potential of film as a medium. There are plenty of performances that can only be fully appreciated on re-watching or re-listening to something with a fuller knowledge of what is revealed later. And to some degree, the adapters do have to choose how much they want to incorporate Elizabeth's perception of Darcy vs the bare narrative and what they're willing to give away about him to preserve what seems most important.

These are all active choices with actual significance, IMO. They imply priorities about the production and their production's take on Darcy that are intriguing in a way that gets lost by just giving them a free pass by way of the challenge of the medium.

#see also lotr! #i actually can understand why jackson et al. sacrificed so much of denethor's character #because as written there ARE some major challenges posed to what they were trying to do #it doesn't mean that a) what they were trying to do and b) how they handled the challenge are above criticism though #but yeah. i do think darcy is a difficult character to adapt bc of the deliberate ambiguity surrounding almost everything #throughout the first half of the story #/but/ that this does not place the excesses of the adapted versions beyond criticism #(the alternate draft was even longer and i really wanted to go into more detail about denethor #hence splitting this off into its own thing!) #anghraine babbles #austen fanwank #legendarium fanwank #austen blogging #not going to tag w/ characters to keep them out of the tag #but #lady anne blogging #otp of otps #anghraine's meta #andrew davies critical #pj critical #legendarium blogging #(for the tags) #long post

[yeoldehetalian]

💘 - What's the most obscure pairing you've got a soft spot for?

@hetalia-rarepairweek

Hetalia Rarepair Week 2023

Day 7 – Free day

Cameroon and Macau!

(the above is just a simple edit with canon art by Himaruya, the meat of the post is below:)

So, “Macaroon” eh? – more than just a dessert item, it could also be a delightfully obscure Hetalia rarepair! I've never seen anything with this pair before (maybe I just missed it), so I made them a bit of an introductory post.

There may be controversy over macaroons vs macarons, which word to use for which exact dessert, but here’s what shouldn’t be controversial – how good these two look together!   Aren't they just so handsome? 

But a ship should have more than just looks, right?  Of course! Let’s start off with some things they have in common:

-described as being like a “big brother”

-described as being easy to get along with/easy going

-both seem fairly relaxed, personality-wise

-despite the above, both have serious sides that can come out

-are tall

-wear glasses

-would be close to the same age

-both nations got their current English names via Portuguese traders/explorers in the 1400s-1500s

Other things I would like to bring to your attention:

Due to the Portugal connection, they may have been aware of each other for some time before they actually met in person. Maybe Porgutal introduced them to each other some how. Macau is much more closely tied to Portugal, though, I don’t think Cameroon has much of a tie except the history of his name – but I could be wrong.

I feel that these two would get along well even if they don’t share all the same interests. Some compelling contrasts here could be – Macau is expert at tourism with his economy almost solely dependent on it, and Cameroon is looking to increase tourism, so there could be some collaboration there.  Likewise, Cameroon has much more land, with a diversity of beautiful landscapes, lots of farming, animals, etc, something that Macau lacks (Macau is tiny, land-wise, despite his height!) so he might like to go visit there to relax in nature.

Cameroon seems like he is great with kids – he is seen playing football (soccer) with kids and seems to have a fun-loving side.  He also seems to be good with animals.  Macau was described as doing some toy manufacture (though in reality this seems to be declining) and being very hospitable, and he seems to get along pretty well with his neighboring nations/family. And both seem chill and easy going.  This all adds up to: potential to be a super domestic!  I mean, whatever you do, don’t envision Macau bringing out some delicious treats and drinks for Cameroon and all the random kids he was playing with outside all afternoon. It is just too adorable! Don’t think about Cameroon taking Macau out into his nature for a secluded picnic in the shade of a tree on a sunny day.  Surely you would not want to consider them just having the most chillax relationship ever simply because they are naturally so easy to get along with and have zero reason to interact in kind of antagonistic way as nations.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a huge amount of canon material for either of these two (You can find most of it by going to https://hetarchive.net/ and typing in a name in the search bar).  So I have a lot of unanswered questions, like what does Macau enjoy doing for fun/relaxation?  What are Cameroon’s interactions with his neighbor nations like?  What were they both like as young nations? Do either of them have “human” names?

That’s about all I have for you now, please give Macaroon some consideration!  Maybe you can add some headcanons in the tags.  Or send me some :D  Go for it!

#hetalia rarepairweek #rarepair week 2023 #aph macau #aph cameroon #hetalia macaroon #hetalia #hws macau #hws cameroon

[drifloonz]

Hey bestie✨love your fanfics! May I humbly request a Glitchy Rex x insecure reader? Perhaps autistic too? If not thats cool ✨

im gunna answer this in a bulleted headcanon typa post, which is hopefully fine bc if i write One more fanfic, esp w glitchy i Will explode ( and yes i am still procrastinating on the one i have a draft of. i got two of my back teeth pulled out and am recovering so thats my excuse + its so long and too much writing for me to comprehend rn + I do not have many "new" ideas )

newayz, ofc ofc!! we love our autistic couple

glitchy red x insecure ( and autistic ) reader !

♡ guess who's also autistic. thats right babey its glitchy!!!!!!! he's the ADHDtism creature. along with a lot of other stuff. but rlly whatd u expect. he's a red.

♡ due to this, he'll happily listen in on your rambles or partake in activities that make you happy. you got special interests? he might not understand a word of any of it for some things, but he'll happily listen and intake the info and try to add to the conversation by asking questions. he likes your voice as its an extreme comfort of his, so your rambling is very nice.

♡ i like to imagine before he somehow gets out you twos day to day life when hes still inside of the cartridge is just turning it on and you idly rambling to him while he listens, gives input, and updates you on how he is over there. you are a v comforting presence to him and you give him a reason to want to leave.

♡ he himself would ramble so much abt pokemon to you. my mind is mentally metronoming glitchy hcs between "he would hate a lot of pokemon stuff" or "he would be so autistic abt pokemon" . prob changes depending on the time of day and what he's talking abt specifically, but he does like at least explaining or talking about his whole... living situation in the cartridge, along with pokemon and their stats and whats the best for certain gyms, and strats and stuff like that, along with really obscure facts. he's seen it all and he's seen a bunch of different players playstyles, so it's natural to him to have absorbed that kinda info and be interested in it. competitive mf...

he is literally this image.

♡ if you're ever self-deprecating around him or something of the sort, he's going to verbally attack you with compliments. moreso responding with like "What? That's stupid." and maybe following up with a compliment to the part of yourself you insulted, eg "Your face is the prettiest thing I've set eyes on. It's not ugly." he'll also be sure to kiss around that spot more often and compliment you more often and more casually.

♡ similarly, if anyone insults you intentionally or not he is on their ass, like a fucking rabid guard dog if he was present for when it happened. he'll be yelling at them, or quietly telling them off with like, a simple "Shut up." or something, depending on how bad it is. if you feel bad about it he'll once again try to reassure you that you're perfect the way you are to him and that whoever told you that was scum. he likes to be aggressive and make clever yet insulting quips since he doesn't have much of an outlet for his internal rage, and it also makes him act all cool so he sort of enjoys when somebody is being a dick because it just means he can make you watch him verbally destroy them. and he likes to impress you.

♡ if this happens but its like, prolonged harassment, he is literally going to doxx whoevers being a bitch towards you /hj. moreso, he's going to track them down and try to threaten them so badly that they don't do jack shit to you after that.

♡ i like to think glitchy is constantly moving some part of his body. he's pretty impatient, and will usually resort to thumping his foot quietly or drumming his fingers along a table. stuff like that. he will also often shove his hands in his pockets and play around with the fabric inside of it. give him a stressball, that shit will be popped so quickly. he also likes to idly throw something up in the air and catch it if hes reaallly bored. he usually does this w/ his pokeballs.

♡ this is good in a relationship if you like touch, cuz' glitchy will put his attention on you when hes bored or zoning out, and will instead often touch you or kiss you or talk to you. one of his favorite things is brushing his thumb over your hand, or running his hands through your hair or something.

♡ because you are probably pretty open with your interests to him, finding gifts for you comes pretty easy. he also just has a good natural sense for gift-giving, i'd think. like he subconsciously sees something and goes "oh, maybe you'd like that" in his head. don't ask how he gets these, he probably doesn't have money ( he manipulates his glitchy powers to duplicate the item like missingno, or just straight up teleports it to you/your home or something. likely both. )

♡ he really just thinks your the sweetest thing ever, and also you know a looot of stuff he doesn't. he's new in the real world, so watching you explain very specific things that happen in real life to him fascinates him, genuinely... its another reason why he loves your rambles. he could listen to you explain anything with a lovestruck expression ( ...which is constantly a resting neutral expression with a small smile sometimes, he's not super expressive unless hes mad. )

♡ if you're averse to certain foods or textures, he'll learn that quickly, since he does try to cook for you on occasion... maleeewife.. on first impression to most people that aren't you, he acts like he doesn't really care about you but he really really does - he's just not that expressive a lot of the time and he also is awkward with PDA.

♡ he himself probably gets overwhelmed with or icked out by a lot of food tbh so he eats pretty slowly and also has to gradually get used to certain foods with overwhelming flavors. he's used to literally not eating anything so this makes sense. its also the 'tism tho.

♡ he likes to cuddle while you do any activities you like. its comfy and he gets to see what ur doing. win/win.

♡ he's touchstarved but also hates getting touched suddenly. if you are the same he relates. due to this, early on in the relationship he'll instinctively flinch if you touch him w/o warning probably. but the further u get the more he follows you around like a lovesick puppy yearning for your touch

♡ overall he just loves u soooo sooo much.. you can say literally anything to him and he'll hum and nod and go "Uhhuh." with a small tiny little itty bitty smile on his face... this is where he feels safest. in your arms or holding you in his own while you just talk to him.

#wispy writes #glitchy red x reader

[utilitycaster]

as someone who gave up on c3 I stayed in the fandom mostly for lvom and now waiting for animated nein. I remember you having a lot of doubts about c3. did they get resolved? or did you find other things to appreciate? I would be interested to see your perspective since I tended to agree with a lot of your opinions when I was more active on tumblr.

Hi anon!

Good question. I feel the best answer is that some things have gotten much better, and some things have not been resolved but I am somewhat resigned. I'm putting the rest of my response below a cut because it may get long (might not! I don't plan out responses like this usually) and because some of this gets fairly speculative.

Let's start with the unresolved:

While I'm hopeful that the visit to Whitestone quenched the need for extensive Vox Machina appearances, I still maintain this campaign would have been stronger had the connections been more distant. I actually like Orym as a character, but I think the Keyleth connection does neither him nor Keyleth any favors (not because Matt's depiction is bad, simply because Orym feels overshadowed to me and because it means the party can always consider asking a L20 Druid to help them, even if the end result is a no). I also still don't like how few characters are of Marquet or have significant reason to be there, even as I enjoy the characters.

The plot is still heavily centered around Imogen's powers and her connection to Ruidus. I'll talk more about this below, but I think this could have been handled well, and I place the blame squarely on Matt here, but it's not and as a result Imogen gets little room to breathe or develop. I like her as a character, but she's perpetually overwhelmed; her best moments have been, for me, in the episodes before the main character status was more solidified, or in episodes centering other characters (some of the Bassuras episodes; Chetney's time with the Gorgynei).

Related to the above, this is a heavily railroaded campaign. That is not bad. EXU Calamity was pretty railroaded, as are many Dimension 20 shows. I think the problem is that this didn't have the needs of railroading met. The best way to think about it is that Matt is basically running a looser-than-usual but still extant custom module. There are specific beats to be hit. When you run a module, as a DM, one generally tells people you're doing it and to build characters surrounding it. I still don't feel that was done. I think that had Matt said "hey, this is going to be a Ruidus-centric, lore-heavy campaign; build characters who have reason to be interested or who'd go along" then yes, he'd have spoiled the surprise, but not by much, and I think the characters would be much more suited to the plot (higher int, more tied to institutions in Marquet, etc) and the pacing issues wouldn't exist because it feels like Matt has been trying to obscure the railroading; things have gotten much better following recent episodes because we got the full lore dump and now have an actual task. Some slightly different expectation-setting would have been transformative with not a whole lot of effort.

The good

The characters and their relationships have gotten much better. Getting rid of Delilah has resolved most of my issues with Laudna though I'm unimpressed with her build; Chetney, Ashton, and Fearne were always great; my issues with Imogen stem only from her being Designated Main Character which wasn't an issue with Laura's concept; I discussed Orym above; and FCG in particular has been totally changed. Giving FCG a deity and having them start to question their purpose following a meeting with Dancer fixed most of my issues. They are still pushy, but in a way that feels much more friendly than the initial intrusive way; Sam is finally settling into playing a cleric more capably; and I love every part of the Changebringer arc. I also am a sucker for the Chef feat. As a recent poll on this website indicated, I can put up with a meandering plot if the characters are compelling (*cough* this is why early Mighty Nein, or Vox Machina pre-Briarwoods, are still largely good) so now that the group has meshed it's much more enjoyable. It still took longer than I wish it had, I still would like further deepening of relationships, and I completely respect that people lost patience, but we got to a much better place.

The pacing isn't perfect - we're getting shunted from place to place in a way that feels like late campaign, and giving this group so much power and connections has meant we don't get to see a ton of the continent - but it's much better. The Yios casino episode was a highlight, as were Chetney's episodes, and I'm hoping the upcoming skyship episodes will have some opportunities for conversations. I am not terribly optimistic that we'll get tons of downtime before the apogee solstice, but I am hoping that the plot is this: Bells Hells and their allies thwart the plans of the solstice, everyone has to regroup, and there is time to cover characters other than Imogen in depth for a length of time before we return back. I still suspect this will be a campaign closer to VM's in length than the Nein's, but that's still like 100 episodes so I'm hoping it's like, solstice in the 50s, 30-40 episodes of other stuff, moon plot returneth.

The NPCs and worldbuilding are consistently great; I just wish we could spend more time with them. As I say above, I hope that we put the moon plot on hold after the solstice and can deal with everyone else's stuff. I in particular am fascinated by Ashton and Chetney's stuff; I also think Laudna's hiding a lot that would make her more interesting, and I would love to know the full history of FCG even if he's not terribly curious.

The speculative

I have said this is speculative a few times and I'm saying it once more. I don't know if this is true, but like. This is essentially what I would say to Matt if somehow we crossed paths and he said "hey, as a fan, I was wondering why the response to Campaign 3 seems comparably muted from your perspective."

My guess is that this is the last long-form campaign Critical Role will do. It's understandable; if this runs 100-ish episodes that puts us at the 9-10 year mark of almost-weekly episodes, not counting the covid hiatus, and that is a LOT for a busy group of people working on concurrent animated series and sustaining outside acting careers. This isn't a podcast; it's filmed on a full set and takes a lot of time. I suspect - and hope! - that there will be plenty more content, in the form of EXU seasons, one-shots, and even shorter campaigns with the main cast (a la D20). And if I'm proven wrong and a full-length Campaign 4 is announced in the future, I will be ecstatic to eat my words. I cannot stress how happy I would be if I'm wrong here. But that is my guess.

So what I think has happened is this:

Matt has lore he really wants to reveal and has been seeding through the past two campaigns

Matt does not want to tell the cast not to play a character they've been thinking of, because this is the last time they'll get to do it for 100+ episodes.

And I think those two things together explain everything we're seeing. The Ruidus plot has to happen...but he didn't tell the cast.

Anyway hope this helps! I really appreciate you saying you like what I've had to say in the past, and see you for the Nein series and any future one-shots!

#answered #Anonymous #critical role spoilers #cr tag

[animehouse-moe]

My Happy Marriage Episode 2: About My Husband To Be

So while I did sing praises for the first episode of this series, I did also have my reservations about the longevity of a Cinderella type story that focuses around using Miyo's trauma to elicit an emotional response from viewers. While that is still partially present in this episode, it's greatly outweighed by the fresh direction that the story follows by adding new and interesting elements within. Not a great deal to talk about per se, but more than enough for me to share my thoughts on!

To get started, or really generalize the episode as a whole, Kiyoka and Miyo's relationship gets off to an interesting start. It's what you might expect to a degree, but it doesn't rush into Kiyoka being a "surprisingly good guy". Rather, he sticks very close to being abrasive and distant, even telling Miyo that if he says to die, that she should die, which prompts this reaction.

Right from the start of the episode, it's established that Kiyoka is not at all focused on being a terrible person to his fiancées, but rather someone that rigorously tests them in regards to why it is that they've come to his home.

You'll see a lot of this behavior throughout the episode, with moments like Kiyoka questioning whether or not Miyo poisoned his food, for example. It's very telling that Kiyoka's a very untrusting man, but it runs far deeper than that.

Kiyoka himself puts it into words: he chases out anyone that's after his fortune or position in the world.

I think it paints a very interesting picture. It's not that Kiyoka hates Miyo by any means, but that similar to her, his life has had its challenges and issues that have shaped him into the person that he stands as today. And credit to Kiyoka, he understands that, if only through the efforts of Yurie. To that extent, even if he's already finding ways to "connect" with Miyo, it's well established that these are through regretful fashion as he understands his own mistakes and seeks to correct them. He's not immediately the perfect husband, but he is a well meaning person to those that deserve it.

I think a great example of Kiyoka and Miyo's relationship is that it takes a wall to obscure Kiyoka for him to be able to apologize to Miyo and give her another chance at what it is that she wants: to be useful.

Let's take a look at that last little bit there with Miyo, her desire to be useful. It's well established through the first episode that she was only ever kept around to be useful in the Saimori household. She wasn't blessed with the supernatural abilities of her bloodline, nor was she born from her father's current wife, so her only position in the family was to be of use to them.

Moving to a new household, one that is sufficient and can survive independently of Miyo, it's not that she feels her position as the wife of Kiyoka is threatened, but rather her reason for existence. I think it's nearly perfectly expressed through a very simple scene that leaves Miyo in a room all on her own.

I say almost, because of one key piece. The idea of isolation does exist in the scene, with the two dolls placed upon the cabinet behind her that highlights her separation from Kiyoka, as well as leaving her in the room on her own. I just think that it's the perfect chance to play a little bit with the "truth" of the scene and have the doors to the room close on Miyo, completely isolating her due to her understanding as a person (the wording for what she says is really well done in that regard as well).

Okay, one last character to cover for this episode, and that's Kouji. I really did think he was going to be a one-note character, that he'd say he wants to help Miyo but that he wouldn't do anything and then fall into plenty of character tropes. Refreshingly though, his conviction from the first episode remains through is short screen time in this second, as he reiterates his desire to help Miyo in whatever ways he's able to.

And that's about it for character stuff. A lot of it is well telegraphed to viewers, but personally speaking, I feel like there's a lot of potential left on the table as an adaptation since the supernatural exists within this world. Yeah, did I not mention that earlier? Supernatural abilities, and the group of existences categorized as Grotesqueries, do exist in this world. It's a really interesting twist that fits well and provides quite a few interesting questions. Regardless, having that side of things should really open the doors to all sorts of forms of expression, so I hope that as we explore the idea more we'll move away from this more subdued style of direction.

All in all, it's a second episode that does keep me as engaged and interested as the first. Lifting the curtains on the supernatural, providing a "bombshell" for a mysterious backstory, and even tossing in a few loose plot threads to explore later down the line, it does very well to convert on the interest it garnered through its first episode and find a reason for people to believe that they should stick around for the season. So maybe a bit of a shorter review on my part, but being a character focused series that's rather to the point, there's not a great deal to comment on other than it being good, which it is.

#my happy marriage #watashitachi no shiawase na jikan #watakekkon #わたしの幸せな結婚 #my blissful marriage #kinema citrus #anime recommendation #anime review #anime and manga #anime #romance anime

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I swear I remember seeing your critique/opinion on the Hades game at some point but now I cannot find it. I've scrolled through so many of your posts and tags and I still can't find anything in relation to it. Despite remembering your name attached to the post, I'm starting to convince myself that I saw someone else's post and not yours.

In any case, I would really like to know your thoughts on it. I'm not Greek but I am a casual player of the game, and recently (thanks to a friend of mine who is Greek) I've been interested in how Greek people view the way Greek mythology is being used in western media. So far I've only seen rants on Lore Olympus, which is admittedly a story I've always disliked. Even without the context of it misusing Greek mythology and spreading misinformation about the culture, it is still in general just a bad story with equally bad characters. The fact that it IS bastardising Greek mythos is the cherry on top, but without it it can't stand on its own two feet. It's literally relying on the content of Greek myths, otherwise it would not have gained the positive attention it still has today, yet it still has the audacity to treat the context of Greek myths and culture so poorly. I have a lot of beef with Rachel Smythe because of this. It's why I'm anonymous, I don't want to get harassed by her fanbase if they see this 😅

Hades, on the other hand, is a game I enjoyed a lot, and because of that I want to challenge myself and possibly learn a thing or two from an actual Greek person. I don't want to just agree with someone when it is something I already dislike and then completely ignore them when it has to do with something I do like but possibly has problems.

If you haven't shared your thoughts yet, I'd really love to see them. If you've already made a post or more about it, I would appreciate you directing me to them or to the tags where I can find them, cause I'm genuinely lost (how does Tumblr work???)

I'm sorry for the long ask, I understand you spend a lot of your time answering questions and dealing with ignorant people. It must be tiring. Thank you for your time ❤

Hello! Thank you for the asks and the supportive words 💙 here's the tagged posts :) the tag is #hades game . (Tumblr doesn't make our lives easy, does it?)

TL;DR for those who won't bother to look: Game looks fun and I'm thinking of playing it in the future but it's far from "Greek representation" and "Greek culture". It has some references to Greek mythology; some quite obscure (so they can mess canon things up without being called out xD) and others very superficial, like when someone might think of cowboys when thinking about the USA.

While nobody minds some creativity regarding the Greek myths, and we all enjoy a fun game, it's also good to know when a "Greek myth" product is not what it sells itself to be. To be fair the game itself never said it's going to be accurate, but almost nobody checks for accuracy anymore and they assume that what they see is correct, so the game doesn't have to put a disclaimer "we are inaccurate" to begin with.

#answered #hades game #hades supergiant

[gen-is-gone]

YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYYYYSSS

ok so while I was peeling KT tape off my tits for two agonizing hours, I listened to the first two Earth and Beyond stories from from the Tales From the TARDIS vol 2 CD I impulse bought two weeks ago. (still not actually the most money I've spent on a DW thing. Thanks Short Trips Zodiac)

So I only got about 6 minutes into the last story, The People's Temple, before I finished getting the tape off and jumped in the shower, but as for the first two:

Okay, so Bounty (Peter Anghelides): perfectly serviceable short, nothing to write home about really. Takes place, as far as I can tell, immediately after The Eight Doctors. Some aliens who I can't tell if they're supposed to be ambiguously gay or not die in a rather gruesome way that kind of gets laughed off, Eight and Sam have a lot of cute character moments. The most notable thing about the story, and in fact the reason I bought the damn disc in the first place, is Eight and Sam playing Never Have I Ever and the Doctor (psychically?) noting that Sam 'kissed Annie Watson'. Sam's bisexuality, stated in ways both deeply subtle and deeply obscure, is nevertheless textually explicit in multiple forms. Given this story was originally released I think before Seeing I, this might be the first explicit confirmation. [EDIT: Seeing I came out it June of '98, Bounty in September, so nvmd. But still.] So that's historically significant, and obviously cool for Sam, but the rest of the story is solidly just average.

HOWEVER.

The next story in the Earth and Beyond section, Dead Time is uh. Is super wild and weird and definitely feels like it came from a similar place as Alien Bodies. There are bits of it that superficially feel like Scherzo, but this came out five years earlier. There's a few off-hand mentions of ideas that the War in Heaven Arc uses, and it strangely enough does a similar walk backward through the Doctor's timeline as The Eight Doctors, but for more interesting reasons. (Also it's only a couple lines, rather than literally a whole book, so there's that). It's weird and spooky and atmospheric and I really wasn't expecting anything particularly special in a series of audio-only short prose stories that nobody ever even bothered to fully transcribe, as far as I've seen. There's ten hours' worth of stories on the disc that I have (Earth and Beyond being only one section) and I intend to listen through the rest of them obvs, but Dead Time was so unexpectedly cool I had to mention it now.

If anyone knows of an available transcription of these stories, lmk. I think I'm gonna try to transcribe at least the Earth and Beyond stories and I'm deffs gonna upload the audio, unless someone else has already done it. If these are readily available and I just look like an idiot for never having found them before, uh I guess let me know that too?

#eighth doctor #eighth doctor adventures #big finish #(it's not actually BF but I'm sure BF enjoyers will be interested) #samantha jones #doctor who #megan whines into the empty abyss of cyberspace

[banavalope]

Calling it an ARG isn’t just ‘technically’ incorrect its 100% incorrect. It wasn’t even a fandom thing the creator made it as an art project and it blew up overwhelmingly and now they don’t even want to do it anymore

Look bud, you’ve kind of got me between a rock and a hard place here. The artist has asked people not use his words as artillery against each other, and quoting him directly is the only way I can accurately respond to you, so we've come to an impasse.

Anyway I wanna talk about ARG semantics instead, which is an interesting conversation we can both have together.

It involves analyzing analog horror as a whole to understand how we've arrived at having both a modern, and a traditional, definition of ARG.

To make a long story short, just in the event you're not here in good faith or perhaps don't like reading long essays - also to like. Do everyone a favor rq - the word people are looking for to properly define Welcome Home is ergodic analog horror. This is the umbrella term you're all looking for. Ergodic. We're moving on now.

Might I also recommend two video essays I love if you find this topic interesting: Ergodic Literature: The Weirdest Book Genre by CloudCuckooCountry and History of Analog Horror by Alex Hera

So lets ask: What makes something (not Welcome Home, we're not talking about that anymore, I do literally mean Something in General) "technically" an ARG?

Our modern day definition of an ARG has quite honestly become interchangeable with the term ergodic literature, most likely due to "ergodic literature" being an obscure term; however, the evolution of the analog horror genre subverting what it means to be "a game" is a much more likely cause that I think is important to appreciate.

By traditional definition - perhaps having been lost to time, this was the early 00s after all - an ARG is only a proper ARG when there is a game master orchestrating a game, and the story does not, will not, and can not progress without player participation. There are quite a few famous ARGs our there that went on for years before being finished because the participants got stuck. It's entirely on you to finish the narrative. Think of them like global LARP sessions, a lot of visiting physical locations to get your next clue is involved.

There are lots of traditional ARGs, some famous ones include projects like I Love Bees, Blair Witch Project, and the very infamous "Hey Peabrain, you teleport?" that happened right here on tumblr dot com. These games are my experience with defining what is or isn't an ARG.

Of course, time moves on with or without us, and I've come to accept that ARG is a broader term than it was before.

It's important to note that ARGs are the direct birth parent of modern analog horror. In fact, while analog horror has always existed as a sort of artistic backdrop, it wasn't a named genre until Local58 offhandedly defined itself with the term "analog horror". Many well known analog horror projects such as Mandela Catelogue, Gemini Home Entertainment, or Mystery Flesh Pit National Park, take much of their inspiration from the groundwork Local58 laid, and took to calling themselves analog horror as well, as one might expect.

Now, these influential supergiants are in, what you might call, "read only" format. Audience participation is not needed for the story to progress, which is a necessary component of an ARG.

Until it isn't!

Looking at art projects like This House Has People In It, Liminal Land, Doki Doki Liturature Club, or House of Leaves - just to name a few - they are all alternate reality "games" (one of them is literally a game). AR"G"'s, if you will.

The narrative presents itself as being contained, but very much is asking you to engage with it, if you so choose. They lay out clues to be found that take you to the next Easter Egg, and a deeper story can be ascertained, but only if you want. This is, technically, an ARG.

You can also just choose to play Doki Doki without digging into the sound files and extracting the meta data to get the secret art, or just watch This House Has People In It without finding the related secret website explaining Links Disease, either option is a "correct" way to read the media. You only stand to gain a different perspective by looking into more.

Which again, that's ergodic literature.

But these projects are famously considered ARGs.

These projects were huge, some of them mainstream, and were a lot of people's first time introduction to analog horror and ergodic literature. Some of these self define as an ARG when that's technically incorrect.

Altruistically, what these projects are accomplishing, is creating accessibility to the game space of the ARG genre. Cherrypicking all the self contained, gamelike elements, without committing to orchestrating a game. Traditional ARGs are typically extremely time sensitive, and one might "miss out" for arriving late to an event, or having limited access to necessary tools. Perhaps some people feel unsafe at the prospect of going to an unknown physical location, on the hope it's part of the game. Traditional ARGs were once incredibly niche for that reason. Modern AR"G"s keep this to a minimum, if not outright omit it in favor of telling a good story.

I'm not sure if there's a recent example out there of a traditional ARG, other than Hey Peabrain? Certainly there are some, to be honest with you I've moved on from traditional ARGs in favor of modern ones and other analog horror media subgenres, but my point being that they're becoming less common as they're increasingly replaced by Hunt-A-Killer style story ""games"". Shortly, we'll see some of the same evolutions begin to happen as digital horror outpaces analog horror as the shiny new popular horror genre. With digital horror's inclusion of formats like tiktok, I would expect to see us circle around again to traditional games being explored within the alternate reality space, as it lends itself well to that kind of thing.

In general, people are going to be familiar with this form of ARG, where "game" means "a story asking you to engage with it", and will default to using ARG in that way. In the broader experience of others, ergodic literature is an ARG, even though ARGs are not ergodic literature, technically. Most ARGs calling themself an ARG are not ARGs, mntechnically.

With any luck, this essay was compelling. It's just a thinker, really, I'd be interested to hear what you - or anyone - might think.

I'll reiterate, here, in closing, that by no means is this analysis meant to be seen as being in defence of, or opposition against, how anyone chooses to use the term ARG. I'm making no statements about Welcome Home or the people who took to it as if it were a traditional ARG. Neither am I expressing my opinion on the way fans engage with art projects, or even actual ARGs. That's a whole other conversation we aren't having here.