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utilitycaster · 2 months

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Do you think part of the D20 journalistic bias comes from D20 being edited? It gives the appearance of much more effortless play and lets them control the pacing in a way unedited play like CR simply can't do. They get to (potentially) hide a lot of stuff people would jump on as flaws while CR has no choice but to let it all play out. I greatly prefer CR's approach, despite it biting them in the ass a bit through no fault of their own.

Answering these both together to group cause and my opinions, and I do want to note this is specifically about journalism/press coverage, not their respective fandoms even though there's obviously some overlap.

I think there's a couple things, but I do want to note this was actually prompted by Daggerheart, not Critical Role. The response from several prominent voices in the Actual Play journalism community, whom I will not name here but whom I do not respect intellectually, really was, within hours of the open beta (which as far as I know they didn't have early access to - more on that later) "um it could be better, I don't like xyz and also it's sooooooo important to have criticism" and again, it is important to have criticism, but also you act like D20 has never had a mediocre moment and that Kollok is brilliant, so.

This...got away from me a bit. I'd say I'm sorry but actually I adore writing thousands of words about actual play and it will happen again but I'm putting the detailed answer below a cut. The short answer is I think a lot of Actual Play journalists actually sort of fell into their jobs through being vaguely involved in nerd spaces and aren't actually equipped to talk intelligently about TTRPGs and actual play as a medium that should, at its best, be a perfect fusion of narrative and mechanics. So instead they're distracted by flashy edits and bright lights and cool noises and some abstract concept of "novelty" and write only about that. Also Critical Role is the 700 lb gorilla in the AP space (though not, actually, the TTRPG space) and doesn't give them early access and that's meaaaaaan. Indeed, for all I think a lot of their coverage of D20 and Worlds Beyond Number is obsessively fawning, I also think it's extremely surface level, frequently factually wrong, and fails to get at what's truly excellent about those shows either.

I think, honestly, the biggest one is that I don't actually think a lot of Actual Play journalists watch series in full. I was looking for Polygon coverage of Fantasy High Junior Year and they have one glowing article but it's more about Fantasy High as setting and institution and D20 "changing the game" (also more on this later) to the point of outright contradicting the pull quotes they used from interviewing Brennan Lee Mulligan (also more on this later). So I started looking through their coverage and actually, quite a number of their write-ups are based on only one episode, or half a season. Clearly, they haven't read the full open beta (nor have I, but I think their complaints about the character build process belie a profound misunderstanding of what TTRPGs are, also more on this later). So editing is certainly part of it because it's really easy to see cool special effects and sound design within one episode and shit out a hacky article about it, whereas actually getting to the substance - character relationships, cohesive narrative, storytelling - requires work that I do not think they're doing. And on the one hand I do kind of get it, because yeah, if journalism is your livelihood then you perhaps do not have the time to watch 4 hours of D&D a week for 2-3 years if you're only going to get one article every six months out of it. But I don't think the answer is "focus intently on Microsoft Powerpoint-esque scene transition tricks while ignoring that nothing occurring at the table is actually fun to watch." For more on this, see this post.

The second, which is very relevant to Daggerheart but also is actually a big gap in D20 and WBN coverage in my opinion, and which I put in the tags, is that I actually don't think a lot of journalists have a solid understanding of TTRPGs nor of most genres. And I think Critical Role has a particularly good understanding of both these things, actually, if one skewed towards collaborative storytelling that is not rules-light. I think one really big example is that one person within the space is mad at the Daggerheart questions for the character archetypes because what if your character doesn't fit these. I think this is dumb as shit. I actually think that a common criticism of D&D - that you can't play ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING - is not valid, or rather, it's a valid opinion to hold but if you want to play a character who doesn't fit into the available archetypes perhaps you need to find another game. We all inherently understand that Blades in the Dark characters will be members of a criminal organization in a relatively low-magic setting, correct? That you can't show up to BitD and play a lawful good wizard prince because that's not the story being told? Or like, how in Honey Heist, you are a bear and you are trying to get honey, and you cannot play a human child investigating the old abandoned house at the edge of town, but there's a cool game called Kids on Bikes that will let you do that? Great! Why is this suddenly so hard to understand in the realm of heroic fantasy, that you will fit into specific archetypes? Why do people's brains, if they have them to begin with, vanish suddenly? I know I just did a big old rant that included this within it but genuinely I think a lot of people are deeply ignorant of heroic fantasy, or don't like it, and either is fine, but then they get mad at the heroic fantasy game for having heroic fantasy archetypes when the answer is "maybe this will never make you happy because it's not for you." (Frankly, I think this is also why they love D20, because it doesn't really do straight-up heroic fantasy, and that's fine, but they do keep acting like doing a Game of Thrones pastiche is equivalent to the invention of the wheel.) Like...I remember in the Midst Q&A that Xen said they tend to not like playing typical D&D classes, but their solution was to, you know, create Midst instead of sitting around going "actually, because D&D doesn't support cyberpunk narrative and the character archetypes within very well it is an utter failure." (I could go on forever about how actually TTRPGs are not a showcase for your already extant OCs to prance around but that's a totally separate post).

Mechanics and story are inherently intertwined, is what I'm trying to get at (sorry I'm really tired and have a lot to do but I'm passionate about this answer, it will be rambly, she says like 3 pages in) and I really don't think most actual play journalists get this. At all. And I do think that CR, and Daggerheart, and the people working for it, and especially Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall, Matt Mercer, and Travis Willingham, get this more than almost anyone else in the field. I also think Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar get this, and the thing is, for all the praise showered upon them, much of which I think is deserved and most of what I think is undeserved is not because they are lacking but because the person writing about them is an idiot crediting them for things they (Brennan and Aabria) would never claim to have invented, their mechanical prowess is rarely if ever written about well. Fantasy High Junior Year's downtime mechanics actually fill in a famous gap in D&D, namely, downtime, and provide an excellent marriage of story and mechanics in my opinion, and I haven't really seen any discussion, because that would require watching the part of the TTRPG show where they play the TTRPG, and knowing the vague word on the street about D&D criticism that isn't just "*nods sagely* capitalism is the BBEG."

And finally: related a bit to the edit but Critical Role used to not be able to provide any early access to press, because it was literally a live show, and I suspect they never broke the habit, and I think that is for the best. As discussed a lot of D20 coverage actually feels like they watched the press screener and then never returned to the show. And I do not know the politics about them, but given that several of these publications (notably Polygon, but some others) have been shitting on Critical Role for several years, and just generally given the way CR's leadership vs. how D20's leadership respond to fandom pressure, I suspect Critical Role does not give these journalists a ton of early or increased, if any. Honestly, why should you, if you're getting interviewed in Variety? And I think the journalists are mad, because they think they're special and should get treated as such.

I do want to wrap something up, and I want to thank @captainofthetidesbreath for talking a little about this in game design/ttrpgs and giving me the idea, but in story, you should be challenging your audience, expanding their horizons, and being new and interesting. In the actual playing of TTRPGs, especially a new one, it is vital to be inclusive and easy to understand and patient and provide points of reference. I really feel like many Actual Play journalists and some TTRPG ones as well have this equation flipped and are looking for challenging concepts that most people will never be able to get a group to be willing to play, and bells and whistles in production, but leave story as an afterthought. Critical Role designs games to actually be played and to be used specifically to tell good stories, and puts story before production, and I think that undercuts those journalists' whole deal.

#answered #Anonymous #long post #cr tag #anyway though i am going to go lie down and try to take a nap bc the daylight savings got me but good.

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dreamsy990 · 5 months

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so, re:chain of memories, huh?

warning! its been a little while since i played through recom, so the game isnt as fresh in my mind as some others. sorry for any innacuracies!

spoiler alert, this is my second favorite kingdom hearts game. at least of the ones i've played so far. i get that this isn't like. a POPULAR opinion but fuck you i have almost nothing but positives to say about it.

let's start with the easy stuff first. recom introduced a new card-based combat system. i cant compare it to the gba version, since i didn't play that, but i can say that for what its worth i DID enjoy the combat. recom is by far the hardest game so far (at least for me) and almost every boss took multiple days for me to beat, even with my hp maxed out. it took me a while to get the combat system, but id honestly love to replay the game now that i have a better understanding of how it works. the card system requires a lot of quick thinking and i get that it isnt everyones taste but its CERTAINLY mine. every fight is difficult and feels genuinely rewarding when you win. the movement, like kh1, can use a lot of work, but i wouldnt call it terrible. just kinda sluggish. i think my favorite boss fight was larxene. shes a pain in the ass but i love her.

i think riku's side dropping the deck building mechanic isnt terrible, but i wish i could reorder his deck at the very least. and the lack of healing cards is. not fun. basically any damage you take is permanent unless you HAPPEN to get mickey and its simply Not a fun time. im not very good at games okay.

i have a lot less to say about the worlds than the combat. they're definitely the worst aspect of the game, though. the idea of making worlds with cards is fine! it just leads to kind of repetitive world design. the stories are forgettable, so forgettable that i literally forgot them. and i could make a point about how thats the idea its a game all about forgetting things!! but honestly that just making excuses for it. the worlds couldve kept the idea of forgetting things without literally making them forgettable. i say this about every world, except for one. because DESTINY ISLANDS

destiny islands is just. so fucking good in recom. its the climax of both sora and rikus stories and i think theyre both amazing. id have to say i prefer rikus, soley because of the visual storytelling you get from his side of it, and thats not to say soras is bad at all. but something about zexion telling riku that its his fault his home was destroyed, as riku sees a version of himself turning into a literal monster? thats just good okay. its really good.

i ADORE the characters in this game too. everything we get from them is sooo good. it's the introduction to the organization and all of them (except lexaeus who did literally nothing) are a treat. axels my favorite ofc, but larxene is such a fun villain, you love to hate her. shes really the star of the org cast in this game. sure, axels may have said its his show now, but larxene stole the spotlight.

its namines introduction, too, and i love her. on one hand, shes just really kind. she wants a friend, she wants someone to talk to, she wants to meet sora. on the other, shes just a little bit fucked up actually. sure, shes honest with sora, but shes the tiniest little bit guilt trippy and i LOVE THAT. her response to sora saying he wants to get back his own memories and forget her is "oh okay. you want to remember your REAL friends, huh? theyre the ones who REALLY matter to you? yeah anyone would want that. no friends for namine i guess." like shes just a bit salty and we love that for her. i want slightly guilt tripping and salty namine back nomura.

but ofc one of my favorite new characters in this game HAS to be repliku. god i ADORE repliku. his hatred for riku is sooo fun and the way he fights with sora is great too. like in soras side i thought he was a neat villain but rikus side? hes amazing omfg. one of the only villains i liked in rikus story (sorry lexaeus, you werent good until days)

over all, this game certainly isnt everyones cup of tea, but its DEFINITELY mine. it's the game im most excited to replay at some point, mostly because of the amazing boss fights. 9/10. its got issues, but the story and characters are so good that i genuinely could not care less about like. most of them.

#doodles #i just really like the boss fights okay #kingdom hearts #chain of memories #riku #scene i drew is a redraw of rikus side of destiny islands #since its one of my favorite scenes from recom #kh review #<- making a new tag #gonna go back and tag all the other ones

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snek-panini · 20 days

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Very belated Binderary books, uh...I've lost track actually. I think they are #6 and #7. And it's another two-volume split! This is (Slow) Burn, Baby, Burn by orchidlocked, an extremely long Good Omens fic set in the 1970s. It's about our favorite angel/demon pair navigating the disco scene, and it's not an AU, which is sort of usual in a fic this long and with such a specific premise. There are a fair few real people featured here, some as major characters, and a lot of music history and an excellent playlist alongside all the fun and angsty relationship stuff that so many of us are here for. I learned a lot about disco reading this fic and it was fascinating and also way more queer than I ever realized.

For the cover up there we have a white Allure book cloth on the spine, and white HTV over homemade book cloth for the main cover. The cloth pieces both come from the same sheet but I oriented the stripes this way so they'd be coordinated-but-not-matched and I really love the effect. They're also cotton and really nice to hold. It's funny, I was thinking of binding this fic when I found the fabric while digging through the Joann's remnant bin, and as soon as I saw it this fic not only came to mind but moved up to the top of the to-bind list. It was fate, clearly.

More photos under the cut!

Both spines and a top view. That's orange HTV for the titles. This it the first time I've worked with matte HTV (I usually use metallic or foil) and I was surprised at how much thinner it is, and how easy it was to stick. And I like the color inverse here in counterpoint to the front cover. The top view shows off the handmade endbands and bookmark, and also the rounding job. I'm still working on rounded spines, and the turn-in over the spine didn't come out as smooth as I'd have liked, but I think it's a good result. The ribbon bookmark was supposed to be blue to match the endbands, but every blue ribbon I could find clashed horribly with the cover so it's this nice leafy sage green. Which actually works really well with...

The endpapers! I got these as Joann's too. All four are cut from the same print, but I shifted and rotated them when I trimmed them so the patterns wouldn't all be in the same place. I had desperately wanted this other paper I found on Etsy with little vinyl records all over it, but the pieces weren't the right shape and I'd have had to ship them from overseas ($$), but I like the mood these ones set. And they're thick and nicely textured and look awesome with the cover, so really I think things worked out very well.

Couple of pics of the interior. I kept it fairly simple but I feel like it fits the story.

The scene break line is orange, to match the covers. I usually use gray but wanted something more fun. I recently bought some off-white paper that I used for most of my binderary projects this year because I've heard it's easier on the eyes, and it is, but I used the older bright white for this so the color contrast would be sharper. No complaints; I think it looks amazing. The second image above is the appendix I put together for the volume. Being so centered in the music industry, this fic has a really long playlist that the author put together with their preferred recordings. It's linked in the story and I did include the link text in the book, but I had my mind on preservation and the challenges of digital archiving while I was making this one, so I also took all the title/artist/album info and just listed it here. It was too much to do all by hand, so I learned how to export a Spotify playlist into an Excel doc, then moved that into the Word doc to print. A lot of steps, but not nearly as hard as I'd thought, and way less tedious.

I have to say this book is aesthetically really different than all my previous ones. I ran into so many design hurdles but I honestly couldn't be more pleased with the end result. I'll have to push my comfort zone like this more often, I guess.

#bookbinding #fanbinding #snek makes books #good omens #it's disco so it needed to be appropriately funky #and i think i nailed it actually #look at them they're awesome

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paracosmicessence · 5 months

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Hey! I love your art so much 💖 I wanted to ask what program you use for 3D modelling?

aw thank you!! :3

and to answer your question i’m going to warn you this is going to be kinda long because i’m gonna use this post as an excuse to show my 3D models that aren’t awful (sorry lol).

i actually use two different programs, both for different purposes, but you don’t need to get both, it really depends on which kind of modeling you want to do.

1) the first is called Nomad Sculpt on the iPad, you do have to pay for it unfortunately but it’s definitely one of the best modeling apps for the iPad. i know Blender is free but my computer is really old and doesn’t run the program very well, and at this point i’ve already gotten used to nomad sculpt.

anyway tho, i use it for art-related things like the obvious 3D models, but recently i’ve been playing around with just making scenes to use as references for my drawings. they’re not anything impressive, most of the time i actually use it to make little figurines to print and turn into earrings/little friends that sit in my room just for fun.

i’m gonna show this first bc they look cooler once they’re printed and colored (also you can tell i printed mini crowley and aziraphale when my sonadow hyperfixation started bc i never actually painted crowley) (he’s just kinda sitting there oops).

the little red guys are actually my favorite bugs (goliath beetles), i made them about a year ago but i still wear them like every day.

and here’s what they look like in the app, it’s a little intimidating but once you get used to it it’s actually kinda fun just playing around and seeing what you can do.

2) the second program i use is Shapr3D (also for the iPad, but i think they made an update where you can run it on windows/mac). you also have to pay for this as a subscription which sucks, i’m only able to use it since the engineering program i’m in pays for it.

Shapr3D is one of the many CAD software programs out there, but it’s nice bc it’s very beginner friendly and very easy to use. CAD is mainly for architecture/engineering but i honestly think more 3D artists should give it a try. it’s really nice once you get the hang of it and (i’m probably biased bc i’m a student) i honestly prefer it over just normal modeling software because i feel like you can be a lot more creative with it.

right now for my engineering class, our semester final is to design and present something that’s functional, and we can either explain the math behind it or just 3D print it and demonstrate how it works, and i’m making a functional mini model of “the rack” trap from Saw III (i’m not psychotic i swear i’ve just had a Saw hyperfixation for 5 years).

i’m definitely gonna post it when it’s finished just bc i’m already excited with how it’s turning out, but for now here’s a couple at-home projects i’ve done:

(above) i have a bunch of wet liners and i designed a stackable holder thingy with bolts between the shelves and a little cute star screw to fasten it at the top.

(above) i also made a few rotating brush holders at home (bc the ones that actually rotate are like $40 for some reason) by buying a set of small sphere bearings at home depot for like $5 (that’s what those little metal things are inside the third one, i took it apart bc i don’t know how to put a video and a picture in the same post) (just pretend they’re spinning rn).

anyway that’s all!! if you actually read this whole thing i love you so much bc engineering and design is one of my special interests so thanks for letting me tell you about the silly things i’ve made :3

#asks #3d art #3d model #engineering #infodump #special interest #ermmmmm not sure what else to tag #this was just a really long post lol #bugs #good omens #autism creature

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emotionallychargedtowel · 7 months

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10 comfort shows

I was tagged by @imlivingformyselfdontmindme for this thing. Thanks! The instructions are simple: "List 10 comfort shows and then tag 10 people." But I'm not a big tagger, and a lot of folks I know have done this already. If you haven't, though, and you're interested, please do!

The instructions said "10 comfort shows" not your favorite 10 comfort shows or the ones you watch the most often. So I made a list and I picked the ten that I immediately thought of something to say about. i'm all about comfort viewing and watching things repeatedly so I had to leave quite a few things off of this list.

Future Boy Conan

I've lost count of how many times I've seen this series. It really is one of the most life-affirming, wholesome (in the real way) pieces of media I've ever encountered. The first time I saw it, I went into it expecting to see a fairly run-of-the-mill anime series with some early glimmers of Miyazaki's aesthetic and themes. But it's a frickin' masterpiece. Themes and visual mannerisms you see throughout Miyazaki's career are already here, full-blown, but it's also distinct from his other work in a way that makes it feel really fresh even if you've gone through his whole movie oeuvre. Mostly it just always has its heart impeccably in the right place.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Don't talk to me about that movie. This is the adaptation against which all others must be measured. Faithful as heck to the book in most respects (we won't talk about Wet Darcy either), with an incredible cast, not to mention the costumes, set design, and locations. Watching this miniseries as a teenager could be the reason I'm still obsessed with shows and movies where half of the story is told through meaningful glances.

To My Star (1&2)

I really lucked out having this show as one of my first BLs, except that I nearly squandered the opportunity because I wasn't paying close attention and missed a lot of the subtle details. And this is a show that is full of really subtle details! Talk about telling a story through meaningful glances. There's a lot going on on a nonverbal level in this one. It helps that the leads have such a great, nuanced kind of chemistry together and both just seemed to show up for these roles ready to dig deep and be present. Thank goodness I went back and rewatched this one after that first attempt! I know for some folks the second season premise was really painful, but I found it to be completely worth it in the end. I'd happily watch a third season if they made one. In the meantime, I continue to rewatch both series (sometimes in movie form) regularly and I notice different things each time.

Spaced

This show was there for me at a time in my life when I needed comfort shows the most, when I was rebuilding my life after the abusive relationship that consumed most of my 20s. It's usually described in terms of the various pop culture references it uses, the movies the director and one of the co-writer/co-stars went on to make, or in some kind of generational terms as representing a demographic.

But I don't think those things are what make it interesting and rewarding. I guess the thing it boils down to at the end of the day is that it's very much a found family story. And an unconventional love story in which the two leads may or may not get together--after the series--but no matter what type of relationship theirs turns out to be, it will have changed them both for the better. In the meantime they’re facing their fears, honestly fixing their mistakes, and broadening their horizons, and they’re always lovable while being riddled with personal flaws.

Also, after having been raised on Coen Brothers movies and coming of age during the heyday of The Simpsons, I'm a sucker for a really quotable piece of media.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979)

When it comes to adaptations, I usually have a strong preference for one while writing off the others. In this case, there are things I appreciate about the Tomas Alfredson film that this adaptation doesn't do as well, but this version has a great deal to say for itself too. The adaptation really captures Le Carré's voice, the cast is incredible, and the whole miniseries just has this wonderful pervasive tone to it that's not like anything else. (The soundtrack is unobtrusive but very effective, and it has a lot to do with that.)

I don't know if it's the fact that this series came out when I was a toddler and has the look and feel of a lot of shows my parents would watch on PBS when I was a child (heck, I bet they watched this very show on PBS), but this suspenseful spy thriller makes me feel relaxed as hell. Having seen it a ton of times helps, too. There's never anything resembling a surprise. But even if this type of series doesn't feel like your childhood and even if you're going to be surprised right and left by the plot, I think it's an incredibly well-constructed piece of work that almost anyone could enjoy.

Emma (2009)

I'm very picky about my Austen adaptations. Emma has been adapted quite a bit, and I've found at least something to like about every version I've seen. But this is the best one by a good margin. I always love Romola Garai in anything, and she's lovely here--assertive, vulnerable, annoying when she should be and charming the rest of the time. She does a wonderful job portraying all of the subtle gradations of self-awareness that build in Emma throughout the story.

But I think the decisive factor has to be the screenplay and direction (not to mention other behind-the-scenes aspects). The folks behind this version just seem to have prioritized capturing the subtleties of the novel more than others. There are a few points where this is particularly apparent. One example is how this adaptation treats Frank Churchill. The 2009 version of Frank shows what a capricious, moody, immature person he is, but it also shows his good nature and the ways he tries to be open (in the novel, he attempts to tell Emma about his engagement to Jane Fairfax on multiple occasions and mistakenly believes she understands him). Hewing to the novel makes for a more complex, engaging character than the two-dimensional cad most other adaptations make out of Frank. The portrayal of the Box Hill incident is another example. This version of Emma has the most uncomfortable, unsparing rendering of Emma's insulting comment to Miss Bates that I've seen, but it also tempts us to laugh along with Emma. The scene in the novel is exactly the same way--it's complicated and makes us acknowledge our ambivalence. This adaptation keeps all of these strands alive in the story and the miniseries is better for it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It's weird looking back now on how BtVS seemed back when it was new. Our standards were different for a reason. TV really wasn't as interesting or as progressive as it is now, and the range of both was narrower. Having a cishet white dude showrunner who would willingly utter the word "feminism" seemed like a remarkable piece of good fortune. And of course, we didn't know what was going on behind the scenes.

I imprinted on this show like a baby chick back then. It's not really possible for me to be objective about it. If I think it's good, how much of that is its actual quality and how much is the fact that it seemed like such a gift back then compared to what we were all used to? Well, some of it at least was actual quality, but I can't tell how much. So this show is special to me partly because it's grandfathered in due to circumstances and partly because it's actually good.

I remember when it seemed wild to me that there were people who could talk about a TV show and discuss episodes by title. BtVS was the first show I did that with myself. Eventually, it didn't seem that remarkable. Basically, this was the show that made me into a fan.

This is another show that was there for me after my abusive relationship ended. I remember at times when I was lonely (which happened a lot; not only was I newly single, I also had to start almost entirely from scratch when it came to friendships) I would look at my little dvd binder thingy with my pile of Buffy discs and tell myself, "If all else fails, I have all these shows to watch until things improve."

She-Ra

There’s that found family theme again! How could you go wrong with a story that starts with foundlings raised by a witch and a clone soldier to fight in their evil army, then follows them as they slowly get their consciousnesses raised and find their own identities and meaningful connections? It's a remarkably subversive and deeply queer show. We were in a miniature golden age for high-quality, politically progressive, LGBTQ+ friendly American animated series for a while there, and this show was not only a part of it but a particular highlight. It's been tapering off for a while now and it's sad to see it come to an end, but at least we got shows like this one and we can keep watching them and introducing people to them.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

I don’t know why a series that’s so steeped in existential dread feels so cozy to me, but it does. Well, I guess it’s because the show is about finding your people, your coping strategies, and the unapologetically weird little hobbies that will help you to muddle through war, loss, spiritual crises, and the challenges of long-term love.

That, and it reminds me of my mom.

A lot of ink has been spilled over this series so I won't try to explain beyond that why it's so special. But I will say that it is absolutely the best Star Trek series. It's unpopular with a certain type of fan, but those philistines dislike it for exactly the same qualities that make it so great.

Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

I'm indecisive and bad at picking favorites, so I'm not sure what I'd consider my favorite tokusatsu series or even just my favorite sentai series. Zenkaiger would rank pretty high up there in both at the very least. But this is a list of comfort shows, not favorite shows or the best shows, and that's a category in which Zenkaiger is completely unbeatable. It's hopeful, funny, idealistic, and more than anything, definitely the sweetest toku show I've ever seen. It's also easy to pick a random episode and watch it out of context because of the villain-of-the-week thing (not that the larger-scale arc of the series wasn't also compelling).

This is yet another found family show. Families of origin are still very important in the series. The central characters are all trying to find, help, or learn about one or more of their family members. But it's also about blending your found family and your family of origin into a group so inclusive that it includes aliens and robots.

I'm only picking one gif for each show on this list except for this one. I couldn't pass up having one for Kaito, one for Stacy, and one for Zox.

(Edited to add: I switched out the three gifs here for a single replacement because I realized two of the ones I originally used were made by someone who requests that others not repost them.)

#future boy conan #pride and prejudice #pride and prejudice 1995 #to my star #spaced #tinker tailor soldier spy #emma 2009 #buffy the vampire slayer #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #deep space nine #deep space 9 #star trek deep space nine #star trek deep space 9 #zenkaiger #kikai sentai zenkaiger #comfort shows #found family

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lopsicle · 1 year

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Ahh, it’s been like months since I’ve posted anything! I am acc working on three fics rn, I only expect one of them to be finished soon though, so I figured I should write some quick headcanons to at least put something into my blog, and I decided on The Owl House as I’m pretty fixated on it at the moment!! These may also be a bit rambly! Also

There are Major Watching and Dreaming spoilers below, you have been warned!

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Luz Noceda:

•Practically a 50/50 switch. She loves getting tickled, but also doesn’t mind dishing it back out. I also feel like she’d try to deny the times when she’s in a lee mood and try to focus on tickling others to keep them happy, but the others can definitely help her with that!

•Her worst spot is her ribs, no doubt, she goes mad with laughter if they’re even touched. Other bad spots are her knees and stomach.

•Her favourite kind of tickles are cheer up tickles, she thinks it’s fun to give them, and desperately needs to receive them sometimes.

•It’s easy for her to catch onto if someone wants tickles, but if they’re being difficult, she’ll still make them ask!

•Speaking of, she cannot ask for tickles in the slightest, she gets too flustered and worries about being needy!

•Even though Amity and Eda have told her it’s okay

•Her main was of asking is initiating a tickle fight but giving up half way through

•Her tickling style is really random, she can go from scribbling, to squeezing, anything to keep her lees on their toes really!

•She can also be very attentive of a Lee’s needs and even switches up teases depending on who she’s tickling!

•Also let’s talk about Titan Luz? Calamity Luz? Whatever people are calling that form of her!

•TICKLISH HOOVES! I absolutely live for ticklish hooves, I honestly think she has my favourite character design ever!

•She has fangs which is amazing for raspberries or tummy noms, she can be such a vicious ler in this form, I wish it stayed!

Amity Blight

•A switch but definitely a whole lot more lee then ler! Being the youngest she was obviously the victim of tickle attacks from the twins, but once she got better with abomination magic, she was sure to get revenge!

•Speaking of, if she’s in a lee mood and doesn’t want to ask, she will use her abominations to tickle herself, though she doesn’t have to do that much anymore because Luz always makes sure she has tickles!

•Her worst spot is by far her neck, a second being her ears! Soft, fluffy tickles work really well her, like she will scream!

•In addition, if she’s being tickled anywhere else, she’s generally prefers more sharp tickles, like nails tracing or poking against her, the kind of tickling you’d see in a tickle fight!

•Also she wins those, period, even if she’s mostly a lee, she can be an absolutely cruel ler, only stopping when her lee is completely out of breath!

•And she uses abominations to hold people down if they got too squirmy

•Also when Luz found out Amity was ticklish, the witch never had peace from that moment on, she was constantly trying to tickle her!

•She gets very flustered from baby talk and coddling in general, though that’s not to say she doesn’t like it

•Also teases about her blush will kill her on the spot

•She can be so sweet during aftercare, both a lee and a ler! If she’s a lee, she’ll be mumbling a whole lot of giggly ‘thank you’s’ and sometimes cuddling up to the ler depending on who it is, and when she’s the ler, she’ll always tell the lee that they did amazing and took a lot of tickles!

•Unless she’s being a mean ler, which she can be a lot of time! Soft ler Amity is for Luz and Luz only! And sometimes Willow, okay definitely for Willow!

•Also her laughter is either the most bubbly soft thing you’ve ever heard, or full of screaming, no inbetween

Willow Park

•Definitely more of a ler in the group, but struggles with meeting her needs when she’s in a Lee mood, she can ask just fine, but she never wants to bother anyone with asking for tickles

•That being said, she is such a sweet ler, she uses such playful teases, and generally prefers using softer tickles unless a lee asks otherwise!

•Always checks up on a lee when tickling them, and she’s so nice to them afterwards, she’ll offer lees water and always give them whatever they need after a tickle session!

• Occasionally uses her vines or plants to help her, but only if a lee is being difficult

•Her teasing style is really praise-y, calling a lee adorable and cute and generally just showering them with compliments

•Even though she can’t handle it back

•Speaking of, her armpits are her worst spot, followed by her back and feet, she’s probably the least ticklish out of the Hexsquad but that still means she’s very ticklish!

•Her laughter is fairly normal, though she does try to quiet herself down to snickering whenever she’s laughing as to try and not be annoying, though her lers normally coax her out of things like that, either through soft reassurances or just jabbing their fingers into her armpit to really get that laughter outta her

•Constantly gets into tickle fights with Gus, but when the two team up to wreck someone, it’s practically over for them

•Night tickles are the best for her, just the thought of trying to keep her giggling quiet while being tickled to not wake anyone up is too flustered for her to take!

•Also her dads constantly tickled when she was younger, I don’t make the rules

Gus Porter

•He’s pretty open about tickling, though is cautious not to ask too much as to not come across as needy

•When he thinks he’s asked too much, he’ll use illusions or just tickle the other person to provoke them into getting him back

•Has no trouble saying the tword and constantly uses it to fluster the others

•If someone is having a hard time asking someone for tickles, Gus will just pop up and ask for them, even if the other person didn’t ask

•He sees tickling as a helpful thing, to either destress or torment whoever was unlucky enough to catch him in a ler mood

•Yeah, this child is EVIL when it comes to being a ler! The lee could be in the middle of trying to actually ask for tickles and he’ll just go straight for their death spot!

•Will constantly tease the lee with ‘What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this!’ Or ‘Don’t lie, we both know you love this!’

•Would cast illusions of the lee getting wrecked in front of them casually

•The type of ler where he could just wiggle his fingers and the lee is already in anticipation

•But he’s also an absolute baby when he’s a lee

•Curling up, kicking her legs around, clinging onto the ler, he’s the cutest Lee, it makes you forget about how vicious he can be!

•Also ticklish stomach, like a death spot for him, he will scream and kick you if it’s even touches

Hunter Noceda/Deamonne

•He thinks he’s this big bad ler, but everyone knows he’s just this total lee who’d probably fluster himself with his own teases

•His ears are a melt spot, he calls it a ‘weak spot’ though, melting is too childish for him! Though he will always thank a ler who tickles him there!

•He’s the definition of a walking tickle spot, he could barely handle Flapjack nuzzling against his neck

•He didn’t even know what tickling was for most of his life until Luz tried to tickle him one time, and he was hit with the worst lee mood ever!

•He also never ever asks, he’s far too flustered for things like that, however occasionally, Luz or Darius give him a mask to use while he’s trying to ask for tickles so it’s not as flustering for him!

•Also he shut down the first time Willow tickled him, and that only encouraged her to do it even more! Like I mentioned, it’s one of her favourite ways to destress, and Hunter just likes the feeling!

•Any tease can get to him well enough, compliments and nicknames are his favourites though!

•Has this crackly laugh that’s he pretty insecure about, but Willow thinks it’s absolutely adorable!

•The squirmiest lee on the planet, this boy can’t sit still for the life of him, it’s impossible!

•He is the reason Willie has to hold lees down with vines sometimes

•When he is a ler, he can be sort of awkward with teasing, but when it comes to actual tickling, he is a menace! He’s actually made notes on the different tickles people prefer and makes sure to use them!

•The first one to lose in a tickle fight, it’s not even a competition!

——

Well, there’s my first list of headcanons for this show! I’ll be sure to make more for different characters, and maybe even expand on these because I feel it’s a little short, but I’d prefer to get some content out!

#sfw tickling community #tickle headcanons #tickle content #the owl house tickle #toh tickle #owl house tickle #lee! luz #lee luz #ler luz #ler amity #lee amity #ler willow #lee willow #lee gus #ler gus #ler hunter #lee hunter

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cursedalthoughts · 1 month

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Priority Research 7 Predictions - Ironblood

Screw it. Time to speculate who the mandatory Ironblood PR is going to be.

As always, these are just the possible options, alongside speculation about their rarity - either PR (Priority Research/SSR) or DR (Decivise Research/UR), and maybe some vague idea about what their skills could be in Azur Lane.

The Ironblood have, perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of options; just like the Northern Parliament.

KMS Mecklenburg

Fuck it. Let's start strong.

Mecklenburg is, essentially, a battlecruiser. She shares her hull with both Preussen and Großer Kurfürst, however, the main difference with both of those ships (Preussen having eight 457mm guns and G.K having twelve 406mm or 420mm guns (depending on your setup)), is that Mecklenburg has sixteen 305mm guns. With a 26 second reload. And an anomalously high (for a German battleship) main gun accuracy.

This thing is a ludicrously effective cruiser hunter. She has fast shells with an almost pin-point accuracy.

Mecklenburg also has two quadruple torpedo launchers, one per side, on top of the standard highly efficient secondary gun layout comprising of 128mm gun turrets that enjoy German 1/4 HE penetration rules. Oh, also, she's faster than both Preussen and G.K (both doing 30 knots), at a top speed of 32.5 knots.

Yeah, Mecklenburg is easy DR material.

KMS Schröder

Schröder is a personal favorite of mine. You can think of her as a "mini-Prinz Rupprecht".

As a supercruiser, Schröder has eight 305mm main guns in dual turrets. She has no torpedo armament to speak of. Her gimmick(s) lay on the fact that Schröder is one of the best secondary gun cruisers in the game, rivaling both Napoli and Michelangelo (which We'll Get To in the Sardegnan post). A total of 5 dual 128mm gun turrets per side as well as a total of 3 triple 150mm gun turrets (the same ones Nürnberg has in total), and a maximum range of 12km; Schröder has very fun secondary guns.

On top of that, she gets access to a very high base speed of 32.5 knots and a speed boost consumable that boosts her speed by 15% for 3 minutes. Schröder is great at flanking as she can relocate from one side of the map to the other in a relatively short time.

Honestly, she works as either a PR or a DR; but I would prefer her being a DR.

KMS Manfred von Richthofen and KMS Max Immelmann

I'm putting them together as equally likely DR candidates for a simple reason: the only thing that differs is their air complement.

To simplify Richthofen; she's a bigger August von Parseval. Both are carrier conversions of the H-39 battleship design (so, Friederich der Große sisterships).

Max Immelmann only has access to torpedo bombers and skip bombers - the same kind of bombers found on the Soviet aircraft carrier line (so, Chkalov).

Richthofen is a standard research ship and Immelmann is a premium ship. Immelmann was over-hyped by the community as a much superior carrier to Richthofen (the entire tech tree line of German CVs is impressively bad), but she's mediocre at best. Honestly, the funniest thing you can do with both carriers is a full secondary gun build; but Graf Zeppelin is much better at that at Tier 8 than these two at Tier 10.

However, Azur Lane has a track record of taking mediocre-at-best warships and turning them into very good PRs; so if any of the two gets chosen, I have hopes.

KMS Z42

From my cursory two-minute-long Google search, it seems Z42 in this configuration was never planned - or that there was never a Z42 to begin with, I can't find concrete info on that (again, after looking at it for two minutes. I'm sure there is actual info somewhere).

Z42 is a surprisingly good little ship. Her torpedoes are rubbish, but they're not the star of the show. Z42 utilizes German 105mm secondary guns as her main guns - here they are on the sides of Bismarck:

These funny little guns share the standard German 1/4 penetration rules for their HE, meaning that despite the smaller caliber they deal a considerable amount of damage. On top of that, they get access to AP; a thing that doesn't exist when they're in secondary gun form, and this AP does very funny damage against anything broadside.

She's PR material, just like Felix Schultz, but she could be a very good mini-Roon in terms of gameplay and abilities in Azur Lane.

KMS Wiesbaden

To me, this is the 'fuck it we ball' option. Wiesbaden is still in testing, she isn't in the game yet; but I believe she might release very soon.

Wiesbaden is a T8 light cruiser equipped with 6 dual 128mm gun turrets. That's right, she's a German Atlanta!

While Atlanta and Flint have a 4.8 second and 5.1 second reload respectively, Wiesbaden "enjoys" a 6 second reload on her main guns. However, that is compensated greatly by the fact that as all other HE guns from Germany, she has - you guessed it - 1/4 pen on HE shells, as well as six torpedo tubes per side with an 8.5km range. Oh, and a smoke screen generator. Like a destroyer.

Undoubtedly, Wiesbaden would be a PR in rarity.

KMS Preussen

Finally, the Roon-to-Hindenburg analogue of Friederich der Große. Preussen is an enlarged Friederich der Große, a made-up modification of the H-42 design with 457mm main guns. The real H-42 design isn't present in World of Warships; however, H-43 is the Superbattleship Hannover. But that's besides the point.

Preussen is a bigger FdG, so why her? We already have FdG and she's already a DR. This option is more based on vibes than anything else, as Hindenburg is a bigger, better Roon. Preussen could be the same: imagine a battleship that can equip two main guns instead of just one. Also, it's been a few years since PR2. PR7 is as far away from PR2 as PR6 was from PR1, and Roon was a PR1 shipgirl.

I don't know. She's more of a random guess. G.K is more likely, but I'd prefer Mecklenburg over G.K personally.

#azur lane #gacha #gacha game #priority research #world of warships #ironblood #azur lane speculation

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hiccupbutpurple · 7 months

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I’m trying to settle on a design for a new au and auuggg it’s so AAAAA

anyways the au does have some of the Trio so I thought I’d share:) (details aren’t final. Perhaps some brainstorming and thoughts could get the juices working.)

Viggo’ and Hiccup are both marine biologists that study wild magical folk that live in the ocean (kinda hinted by the name) and as such, Viggo’s other close friend (Krogan) Who is usually the one that brings them out to the area that helps them study the merfolk via boat is occasionally tardy (no one knows why, Viggo just assumes Krogan has other things he is doing and gets caught up in doing them, typical nonsense that Krogan does like paint and whatever; He’s not going to dock Krogan’s pay because he usually just shows up anyways a bit later than expected; often a bit damp, but it doesn’t matter since they’re going out to sea anyways and Krogan has mentioned he likes swimming offhandedly.)

Admittedly, the three are kind of in a relationship? Hiccup and Viggo are confirmed together, Krogan on the other hand is *technically* part of it in a polyamorous sense but he’s very shy around Hiccup romantically since he’s more used to Viggo.

It is on one day that they go out towards nightfall because Krogan wanted to come clean to them about some secret, and it’s that he’s actually like 75% siren… since his parents were hybrids as well, though he was abandoned on land and actually prefers it on land. Viggo and Hiccup are intrigued, of course; but they figure this should be kept quiet because again, Krogan might have a good reason to keep it from them. (And a bit of self consciousness surrounding it… one’s that they could potentially alleviate a little for him.)

Ooooo yeah that’s so cool!! Also his hairrrrr eidnsisjsisj yeysysysysysyssy!!!

Okay okay okay so merfolk are one of those things I’ve loved for so long (despite doing very little research into them) one of my first httyd AU’s when I was like a little kid was Ruffnut being a mermaid lol!

Usually I’m someone that loves a little forced reveal but I think in this context Krogan telling them is the best option because it shows he trusts them which is powerful when it comes to him! I’m thinking about both Viggo and Hiccup rushing around trying to research (and having little study sessions together trying to find out more) before giving up and just bombarding him with questions (alternatively Krogan walks in on them surrounded by books and many devices with a bunch of tabs open). They didn’t want to be overly invasive (well Hiccup didn’t, Viggo is probably okay with just asking but Hiccup tries to force him into a more delicate route). The drama of their employers (if they have any, or other wider research teams/those safety check people/etc) finding out and them having to work to protect him (maybe Drago is like the guy in charge of a certain operation they’ve been hired to do) could also be cool.

I can see him being a bit of the mix between seductive and terrifying siren which I honestly think ur art perfectly captures - with stuff like the graceful fins and the sharp claws! I like in the second design how the little front fin things (idk what they are actually called) are a bit shorter cause I think it carries that subtle danger while still being quite elegant but the longer ones are still cool and a bit more - weaponised isn’t the exact word but I’m not sure what other word fits better lol.

Also lol now I’m thinking about him serenading the others, especially Viggo joining in since Alfred Molina has done singing in theatre before! Maybe he would have some fears about luring in the others by accident, or even some worries that they only like him because of some unconscious luring and if he is to reveal the real him (both in being part siren and opening if up in other ways) to them, then it would be like sirens unveiling their disguises to sailors (and telling Hiccup and Viggo about himself technically could also put them in actual danger like those sailors or he thinks would drag them down with him- to the metaphorical bottom of the sea lol) - which of course Viggo and Hiccup know is ridiculous!

I feel like Hiccup especially would probably try to make an invention or try and find magic that lets him adventure the seas to see the world Krogan does, which Viggo would definitely encourage and help with. (Lol Hiccup just gets one of those fake mermaid tail things, a snorkeling set and rocks up to their meeting like ‘hey guess what, now we can match’ and Krogan and Viggo just stare blankly at him dhejsisj - nah Viggo would join in after some encouragement I think - I think it would also be funny if it’s just the most fake looking thing ever too cause that’s all Hiccup could find and afford, Krogan is just downright disgusted by it)

Also the painting thing, I’m just seeing him painting little rocks and stuff and them turning up in their shared spaces or bags - Hiccup doing the sketches and line art and Krogan painting them later!

Okay I think that’s about all the ideas I’ve got, hopefully it’s a little helpful or gives your brain a boost lol!!

#krogan httyd #krogan rtte #Siren Krogan AU #Kroggo #Krogan/Hiccup #vigcup #httyd #rtte #hiccup haddock #viggo grimborn

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alister312 · 1 year

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hi alister. can we have some date headcanons for your ships <3

HI DANI YES U CAN <3 I’ll do the ships that have been the most on my mind lately bc if I did every single ship I shipped this would be impossibly long

Gregstophe: Honestly I don’t imagine them going on legit dates all that often! I think they’re the sort of couple that just… comes together. Gregory certainly loves the idea of a date, the ceremony of it all. It’s a good excuse to dress up and go somewhere nice, but Christophe doesn’t much see the point in it. He prefers privacy. So I think they often go out but they don’t really call it a “date”.

Style: I think Kyle really likes scheduling couples classes for the two of them. Like cooking classes or learning certain ballroom dances… stuff like that. For one, I think they both love learning new stuff. Second, Kyle can show off himself and Stan to other couples in the class. He got himself the perfect guy and wants everyone to know it.

Crenny: I know it’s not super big these days but MAN do I love me some Classic Crenny™️, with the two of them being little delinquents skipping school or just hanging out at like… the in-between hours, if that makes sense. Late at night, on breaks at work, times like that. As such a lot of their dates are just about spending time around each other but I think one of their favorite things to do is having debates about pointless stuff. They’re silly, they can go as long or as short as either one wants, and it helps them get a better idea of each other’s perspective and worldview without being too upsetting.

Clybevin: My new favorite polycule to bounce around in my head <3 Honestly I think they love going to movie premieres and cons together in cosplay! It’s a perfect blend of all their interests. Bebe loves being able to design and coordinate their outfits, Clyde loves being able to look cool and show off, and Kevin loves being able to geek out about stuff. Outside of that, I think they do like just watching movies and shows together as a date activity. Since their houses are all next to one another, it’s a quick walk to whoever is hosting and they cuddle up in the basement and turn something on.

Twole: I don’t talk about it often but I do think Twole is interesting!! I think both Tweek and Christophe would need total destressers, what with both of their general paranoia and demanding jobs. They probably do relaxing but also physical stuff like yoga… maybe not in a class (Tweek’s afraid to mess up in front of everyone and Christophe want a teacher maybe coming and touching him to correct his position) so they have an instructor on YouTube they like and they follow their videos together.

Dip: I’m such a sucker for Damien trying to be a normal human so bad and Pip has SUCH enthusiastic peppy tour guide energy that I think their dates mainly consist of Pip showing Damien around regular places. It’s a little weird to have someone talk about, say, a mall as if they’re in either an advertisement for or documentary all about the concept of malls, but Pip’s quirky like that and Damien enjoys that.

#THANK U DANI I LOVE U <3 if there’s any other specific ships u were wondering about lemme know 👀#south park #sp ships #sp headcanons #gregstophe #sp style #sp crenny #sp clybevin #sp clybe #sp stolovan #sp twole #sp dip

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runwayrunway · 9 months

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No. 31 - Croatia Airlines (and other shapes)

I'll be honest, anon - I'm with you. I like the squares. I don't love the entire package, but I love the squares. I feel like that's just not a shape you see often when it comes to liveries. You see a lot of lines and rectangles but it's so rare you even see a rhombus or something. The world of parallelograms is so much wider! (Or in this case equilateral.) Croatia Airlines is working with something pretty nice here, and I just wish they'd lean even further into it.

I think it's very nice that they didn't stop at the tail, either. They recognized that this pattern of staggered squares can and should extend off the tail to the main body, and I appreciate that. I just wish they'd committed to the bit a little more, which is sort of the running theme - they are working with a fantastic base idea that could really stand out if they just pushed it a little farther.

Now, in their most recent deliveries (this plane, 9A-CTN "Osijek", was delivered 2020 and is their second newest plane with the actual newest being in a [clenches fist] Star Alliance livery) they've stopped painting the belly blue and in a slightly uncharacteristic moment I actually prefer this. I like the sleekness of the white engines and I like that the squares get more room to spread out and breathe.

Plus, now there are more squares visible from below! Honestly, I think my main criticism is that this needs more squares! Bigger squares and more of them! It creates this lovely unusual dithering effect and making it cover more of the fuselage, adding some to the nacelles...I think you'd have a solid livery!

I'm going to contrast two liveries I think are kind of conceptually similar but ultimately succeed and fail in different places. Rossiya's 2016 livery, Brussels Airlines' 2021 livery, and Croatia Airlines are sort of a shape trifecta. Croatia is of course squares.

Brussels gets off easy, because they use circles, and polka-dots are a relatively easy shape to work with. Though admittedly they contrast with angular airframes, the color-blocking Brussels uses is pretty intuitive to pull off while creating a nice bit of excitement. Any airline which uses circles ends up looking a bit pop-art (and I will say I like the Brussels Airlines wordmark in this sense as well) but this is where the white body really hinders this livery and prevents it from quite hitting home. Just look at it next to Flair Airlines, which also uses circles - the difference is extremely clear. Plus, the red being limited to the tail does make the airframe look asymmetrical despite there being a fairly equal distribution of Stuff. This is mitigated on stubbier airframes, but I don't really factor that in for this or other liveries - you have to alter your design for other airframes, otherwise you're judged for your weakest links.

So Brussels gets a C. It is completely adequate.

Rossiya (a very strangely named airline) is triangles. I really like the approach here, where everything clusters in and then spreads out, and I like the amount of the fuselage it covers. Unfortunately, I feel like the way they've chosen to handle the spreading-out is just worse than how Croatia Airlines does it. The dismantling of the triangles leads to a sort of pockmarked appearance and I think just making them smaller and smaller, like Croatia's squares, could be far more elegant. Liveries that only use white and one other color, even if it's this super vivid shade of red, also tend to look a little flat to me - both Brussels and Croatia use a combination of secondary blues and reds and that suits them both very nicely. It's, I don't know...it's flat and crowded at the same time. It's bizarre.

Look, even a tiny bit of blue and white really adds a nice pop! Imagine what could happen if it was used for, say, shading. After all, Russian carriers are working with the same flag colors as Croatia is.

(I just want to put out there that this plane - the as-of-yet-undelivered-and-probably-won't-be-for-a-while Irkut MC-21 launch airframe - is named Дед Мороз, which could be considered the Russian equivalent to something like Saint Nicholas.)

This looks a lot better on the 747 due to the extra space balancing it a little. A lot of liveries do. I feel like this blog makes me seem like a massive humphead (new term for 747 fans) when I actually am not a huge 747 fan, but the extra vertical space and inherent balance against the height of the tailfin just makes a lot of liveries sit nicer on them.

I do like the wordmark, though R is probably the easiest letter to work with for logos (and I do think it's strange that the Latin R is used in place of the Cyrillic Р given that this airline is...Russian. I mean, its name is literally 'Russia', in Russian. Also, Riyadh Air does it better).

Rossiya gets a C, though a far more conflicted one than Brussels.

I like the concept way more, but there are a few major stumbles in implementation which make me unable to fully like it. They probably have time to design a better livery before they actually get their MC-21, though.

Now back to our actual subject, Croatia. I don't even mind the shiny white the way I do most of the time because it gives the squares room to play and matches the flag of Croatia. As do, as it were, the squares.

To be honest, though, I think the current iteration of the livery is saved by the fact that Croatia Airlines operates a relatively small fleet of 13 aircraft, with the jet portion exclusively comprised of lovely stubby A319s (and one Star Alliance A320). The limited coverage of the squares would be...a lot more apparent on a longer plane (see: Brussels Airlines).

A super long-looking turboprop like the Q400, for example.

Now, props (heh) to them: the blue underbelly really saves this on a plane where the square pattern, when projected exactly as on an A319, doesn't even reach the main fuselage underside. I think the squares look better on a triangular tail for contrast too, and the t-tail does it no favors. (This is why you should adjust your livery for different models of airplane! Barely any modern carriers do it and it's a real shame, because square-on-triangle can create such a nice staccato effect, especially on an already-stubby airframe!) On the other hand, the shorter airframe makes the drop-off in square size a little less dramatic, which I like.

Not a fan of just the website on the nacelles, either. You're a flag carrier! Take yourself a little more seriously!

I like what Croatia Airlines is starting with. They're sitting on something really admittedly neat that could really be a showstopper if they leaned into it more. I think Croatia, if they tried harder, could easily get a B+ at least from me, just for how cool and unique the squares are. They're a hard shape to work with, but they're already off to a good start here - if they follow this path onwards they could make something really special.

Like I mentioned earlier, Croatia Airlines has a very small fleet. It began with very questionable economic prospects given its emergence from the turbulent mire that was late Yugoslav SFR, and it's basically never turned a profit given it's a government-owned full-service airline that only flies small planes (and, from what I've heard, provides pretty solid service on par with other European flag carriers). That said, it's been able to grow pretty consistently, and this has included new airplanes, with the most recent development being plans to acquire several (between 6 and 15) A220 models. I think the small A220 will suit the squares well, and they'll certainly have time to refine the design while they rework their fleet.

Croatia Airlines...gets a C.

That said, I think this is the best of the Shapes Trifecta and I think it has a lot of room to grow. Unlike Rossiya and Brussels, which feel like they need to rethink their implementation, Croatia just needs to do more with it - they've made the back half of a good livery and just need to add the front half. But I think, if they take my advice (and I do know the government of Croatia reads my blog), they could make a really fantastic livery that punches above their fleet's weight class. As is, I'm already very endeared to their planes, and they just need to do what they're already doing but commit to it even more, because they've got something really nice going.

I'm excited to see their A220s arrive!

#tarmac fashion week #grade: c #era: 2010s #era: 2020s #croatia airlines #rossiya #brussels airlines #region: europe #region: southeast europe #region: eastern europe #region: west/central europe #region: croatia #region: russia #region: belgium #flag carriers #compilations #requests

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rimeiii · 8 months

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Using What in "Hell" is Bad as an excuse to talk about video game mechanics (pt. 1)

And honestly, not just as an excuse - but also as a way to voice out my concerns for the gameplay.

Because I've been thinking about the game mechanics in What in "Hell" is Bad, specifically the damage instance miss as shown in the gameplay trailer of WHB and how it's something that I personally am not a fan of (as the bitch who cares more about the gameplay than anything else), and I think it all boils down to game design. There's several points to it that I hope I can get through eloquently, but it all does boil down to one key issue:

Consistency.

Now, what do I mean by that?

(more under the cut!)

Also, a disclaimer: ALL of the situations below are based on my thought processes, as someone who likes a challenge in gaming. I play Nuzlockes, I like mainline SMT, I do high Surging in IS3 (currently attempting 11), I play hard Pokémon romhacks, and more. Not everyone will think like I do, and that's fine.

And even though the opening statement is for WHB, at the end of the day I end up talking extensively about my thought processes in building a team for hard Pokémon romhacks, specifically Radical Red, so. Just a heads-up!

Consistency, in this case, is basically a measure of how often a skill/strategy is able to have an effect. The less RNG is required for a skill/strategy to work, the more consistent it is. It's the usual Fire Blast vs Flamethrower debate - would you risk the 85% accuracy for a 120 (gen 1-5)/110 (gen 6 onward) base power attack in Fire Blast, or take the guaranteed hit with a lower base power of 95 (gen 1-5)/90 (gen 6 onward) in Flamethrower? Some would take the Fire Blast, others would prefer the Flamethrower.

Consistency issues usually don't tend to be a thing in most tower defense games, in my experience. Most if not all damage instances are sure hits (unless the enemy has some sort of immunity), and RNG factors are minimal when it comes to inflicting damage. That isn't to say RNG is completely gone from tower defense games - the easiest examples being the butter from Kernelpults in Plants vs Zombies and certain Operator Talents like Mountain's 15% physical dodge or Lin's 50% chance of SP recovery on hit in Arknights. These RNG factors are balanced in a sense that they either have a decent chance for a completely broken effect (butter stopping a zombie completely for several seconds), are ultimately nice bonuses for an already strong base kit (how I feel the dodge on Mountain's Talent is), or works well in accordance to their archetype (how I feel Lin's Talent is, which is boosted heavily and turns her into a stellar unit with her Module, increasing the SP regen chance from 50% to a more consistent 75%).

As a result, having an attack from a ranged unit miss in WHB's trailer, while understandable due to attacking from a distance, is another source of RNG - and while it may be a breath of fresh air in tower defense, as a mechanic I can see it inciting rage. In what way, however?

For me, it's easiest to explain in a Pokémon setting. As a side note, all the screenshots used are from the Radical Red romhack, a romhack of FireRed that has all Pokémon and moves introduced in Generation 9 while including all of the updated game mechanics (minus Terastalization) and being a generally hard game - even with both minimal grinding and Easy mode on.

(OP is trying to catch and evolve all possible Pokémon while leaving all the mind-bending team building in Run & Bun, so she chose those settings)

This is Regieleki's moveset upon capture within the Power Plant Raid Den in Radical Red. Zap Cannon is a supremely strong move that guarantees Paralysis on the opposing Pokémon if it hits, but it only hits 50% of the time. Yet in most situations, you never see this thing run Zap Cannon - despite its side effect and damage. You want to know why?

Its ability, Transistor.

Transistor plus the same type attack bonus (STAB) makes Regieleki deal absolutely ludicrous amounts of damage with its Electric type attacks. A weaker but more accurate Thunderbolt (95/90 base power depending on the generation with a chance to paralyze, but has 100 accuracy) is more than enough for damage because of its damage multipliers, without the chance of it missing. Of course, you could always use a move like Lock On or other ways to boost your Zap Cannon's accuracy, but you're putting yourself in danger because you'll be wasting a turn you can use to potentially pick up a KO while leaving it susceptible to getting KO'd itself.

So, it all comes down to risk vs reward: do you take the risk of a miss/KO to deal insane amounts of damage AND a status effect, or do you take the weaker guaranteed hit that might not inflict the status effect?

Back to WHB - it would seem like ranged units are the ones with a chance to miss, while the melee units all have guaranteed hits. And judging from the footage, it would seem that Paimon is the unit that did most if not all of the missed attacks, which leads me to hypothesize:

The miss might be due to Paimon's passive skill.

Miss chance might be based on unit rarity - because I don't recall seeing Gabriel and Satan miss anything, and they both are of higher rarity than Paimon.

The miss chance is necessary to balance the subclass Paimon is part of.

On paper, this sounds fine - a fresh way to implement a risk vs reward mechanic in team-building, encouraging varied team compositions to maximize damage. However, there's a reason why I placed emphasis on the fact it's on paper, because the implementations as seen in the preview itself is...less than ideal.

See, when someone thinks of risk vs reward, the risk you're taking must be directly proportional to the perceived reward for it to be a viable choice for the player. Otherwise, what is intended to be a high-risk-high-reward move that has some viability will be perceived as high-risk-mediocre-reward without any viability. In other words, if the reward obtained is not worth the risk taken, then the player most likely won't take the risk, and you're not doing this entire "risk vs reward" thing right.

As an example, let's take a look at Unburden Sneasler in Radical Red, in the context of building a team to go against Lorelei of the Elite Four.

Unburden Sneasler by principle is a relatively frail physical sweeper. With Unburden it becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the entire game provided it loses its held item as its already high base speed is doubled with Unburden. There are several ways it can lose a held item - consuming a one-time use item (so stuff like Berries, Focus Sash, Herbs, and Gems) or using Fling.

So, the question becomes this:

Would you take the chance of Sneasler taking huge damage and/or dying on turn one to be able to strike first and deal immense damage on the enemy in the following turns?

Because Sneasler, despite its weaker defensive stats, has a typing that gives it 6 resistances with only 3 weaknesses (with only one of them being a quad weakness - Psychic). And you're definitely looking for ways to lose your item ASAP to activate Unburden. If you can, for example, knock out Lorelei's Alolan Ninetales on her Hail team before it can set up Aurora Veil (increases the party's defensive stats for 8 turns, as it's holding the Light Clay, increasing the length of these buffs), then you're in a much better position for the rest of the fight, right?

For context, let's theorycraft and look at these Pokémon in a vacuum for a bit. Lorelei's Hail team leads with Alolan Ninetales and Glaceon. Ninetales starts up Hail with its ability Snow Warning, allowing it to use Aurora Veil (which only works in Hail). Her Glaceon has Slush Rush, doubling its Speed in Hail - and outspeeding Sneasler. Sneasler will still outspeed Ninetales, but the Glaceon will likely aim to Earth Power the Sneasler, seeing as it'll deal more damage - especially with the Choice Specs (increases special attack by 50% but locks the Pokemon into the first move it used).

If Sneasler is holding the Shuca Berry (reduces the first Ground damage instance by 50%), there's a chance it's going to survive, while Unburden is activated. You take out the Ninetales turn one with both of your Pokemon (this means you'll also need a Pokemon faster than Ninetales as your other lead), and you can then Close Combat the next turn to deal immense damage and hopefully pick up another KO with your speedy Sneasler. Hell, if the Calyrex-Ice comes in, you might want to double into that slot to get rid of it before it can start stacking boosts!

However, there is still a source of inconsistency in the form of a critical hit. Critical hits deal 50% more damage and happens at a 1/24 chance (starting generation 7). Assuming Shuca Berry with a critical? Even the Sneasler might not be strong enough to tank the Earth Power, with both the Choice Specs boost and Glaceon's high base Special Attack.

But back again to WHB. So, what about this risk vs reward concept in terms of Paimon? Well, based on what we're seeing in the trailer, I don't think the risk of his attacks missing is worth the reward of his utility.

Several things to note. First of all, his regular attacks don't seem to inflict any sort of ailment. His slow seems to be only on skill proc, and unless my eyes deceived me then the damage instance on the skill also missed. Thankfully, the slow is still inflicted on the opponent, but...man. Too many of Paimon's attacks missed (misses were a majority!) - and those that hit aren't even as strong as other units like Eligos (192 damage/hit) and Satan (166 damage/hit). The Pokémon equivalent of this is having Hustle (increases Attack by 50% for a 20% drop in accuracy for Physical attacks), but even then Paimon's accuracy is arguably much worse.

Why would you use Paimon if you have much more consistent DPS options, and if you don't find his slow particularly useful or impactful? As far as DPS goes, he's outpaced by everyone else, at 115 damage/hit. A slot that you could've used for another, more impactful unit, is used on a unit that doesn't seem to be bringing that much value into the team.

Perhaps there may be fringe cases where his kit is useful. Or there's a chance his current level as shown on the trailer presents him not at his full potential. Maybe down the line Paimon's archetype might be more usable as the game evolves, too! But as we see him right now, he isn't quite worth the opportunity cost of having another, more impactful unit on the squad, assuming you have alternatives.

Actually, let's talk about opportunity cost. It's a concept that talks about what opportunities are lost when not taking a specific option. Any character, any build, any strategy - basically anything I don't use represents an opportunity cost.

As an example, let's take a look at my current Regieleki build.

With Regieleki's stat spread and moveset, there are several main "modes" this Pokémon can run. It can utilize its speed for a full support build, with the ability to set up Reflect (increases party Defense for 5 turns) and Light Screen (increases party Special Defense for 5 turns) before its opponents while still having a speed control option with Electroweb (hits both enemies in a double battle, weak damage while dropping enemy speed). It can also utilize its Transistor ability to function as a speedy special sweeper, running stronger Electric moves like Thunderbolt (base power 95 with 100 accuracy) or Thunder (base power 110 with 85 accuracy, 100 accuracy in rain). The held items and specific stat builds will differ depending on the mode - support Regieleki would run an HP boosting nature to help with its bulk somewhat, while the special sweeper build would run a Special Attack boosting nature, for example.

Both builds are good, but we're playing a hard romhack here. Realistically I can only bring one Regieleki, because having more than one means I'll be gimping my team in terms of type coverage and resistances. And even then there are other support units that might be worth looking into - an example being the standard Grimmsnarl support build with the Prankster ability (status moves gain +1 priority, helping them proc first, but doesn't affect Dark type Pokémon) and the aforementioned Light Clay, running Reflect and Light Screen (both moves increasing the duration to 8 turns as well due to the Light Clay and are also affected by Prankster) but also bringing additional utility in Spirit Break (damage on a single enemy while reducing their Special Attack) and Parting Shot (reduces a foe's attacking stats and makes Grimmsnarl switch out, also affected by Prankster). Me bringing a support Regieleki as my choice of support means I'll be losing out on both the utility of the special sweeper Regieleki build and the Prankster Grimmsnarl, among other things. They become the opportunity cost of bringing the support Regieleki.

My train of thought, therefore, boils down to this: which option would lead to more consistency and a much easier time in the Elite Four, considering the fact that all the Elite Four members in Radical Red have two potential teams? This will require more theorycrafting, as well as building a team suited for both situations to not get blindsided by any team. I personally am thinking of bringing the support Regieleki build, and I will have to build the rest of my team to capitalize off that - including potentially changing that Volt Switch to Protect.

The same concept applies when selecting your team for a tower defense stage. WHB places a limit of 6 units on the field, and your team composition must be good enough to deal with the enemies with your limited deployment slots. If you let a unit go down, you'll be down one member for the entirety of the stage. In the same vein, if a member doesn't seem to be doing much in your composition, then you'd more than likely consider changing them for another member who can support your current composition better.

All so you can have a consistent composition to clear a stage.

So, I guess why the miss indication in particular is so much of a dealbreaker for me is the utter inconsistency it brings to the table. As much as possible, I don't want to rely on a coin flip to determine if my party lives or dies. Some challenge due to inconsistency is fine - the entire concept of critical hits in Pokemon makes things just that more challenging and thrilling, especially because you can play around the critical hits due to it not having such a large chance overall (and those that do are usually guaranteed critical hits anyways, so you're already looking for contingency plans for those).

This is why I feel having a miss chance as large as Paimon for a character like him is such a bad idea. It doesn't capitalize on risk vs reward well, and in the long run he might just end up being not that good of a character.

And, well...

A challenge based solely on inconsistencies and such huge RNG factors simply isn't a fun or fair challenge at all.

#what in hell is bad #whb #pokemon #radical red #this is just an excuse for me to theorycraft for the elite four in radical red #but to be fair the miss chance in the trailer is such a dealbreaker for me it isn't even funny #i hope it doesn't become the norm for the game #anyways #support regieleki and unburden sneasler leads for lorelei do we see the vision #probably a bad idea but i want to play with my faves #gameplay analysis?????#also considering bringing a kingambit for dps idk #or protean meowscarada #ahh so many choices!!!#using whb as an excuse to talk about other games #i might go back to this post to talk about what makes a unit overpowered/balanced/underpowered #rimei talks gaming

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inkblot22 · 1 year

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I Need A Little Sympathy.

Hi, hello. The formatting and possibly masterlist link for this one is going to be absolute garbage. I'm working from mobile, so uh. Please forgive me, I'll fix it as soon as I have time and resources. This is part 3 of Pants On Fire.

Anyway, TW for yandere, abuse, use of a shock collar, kidnapping, captivity, use of the nickname "kitten," and a general misunderstanding of how electronics work.

It’s very easy to forget that Idia is pretty tall and a tad intimidating. You find yourself forgetting on a near regular basis.

Perhaps it’s just the way he feels, the way that, despite his looming presence, he just feels that much more small and timid. Perhaps it’s all just the way he slouches. And then he stands up and you remember. You remember how he really is that looming presence in the corner, lanky and watching your every move.

Besides that, ever since he kissed you, he’s been a lot more… clingy? If you can call a grown man constantly begging you to sit with him as he games or watches anime or whatever the hell else, if you can call that “clingy,” then yes. Idia is clingy. And you’ve given in, a few times, although it should be noted that the content of the anime he watches with you is usually somewhat… Risque. The gaming is innocent enough, some sort of MOBA or MMO usually, something like League or FFXIV. you can live through some questionable design choices and jiggle physics in his games without thinking it was on purpose, but if you had to watch one more episode of whatever long title he rattled off last time where the heroine mysteriously both loses her clothing every episode and has a temperament similar to yours, you’d lose it.

Unfortunately for you, the devil affords you no rest, and seeing as Ortho was out today, you can’t hide behind his presence like a shield.

Idia spins in his seat, face and the tips of his hair taking on a pink peachy tone as he watches you laying on the floor. Idia’s room had a few places to sit, but since he has you crowd into the bed with him, you prefer to not sit there or be anywhere near it until bedtime comes and that steady roll of electricity hits your neck until you crawl in next to him. Besides, the only other place was the chair he is sitting in.

“Hey…” He begins.

“No thanks.” Honestly, you are bored, but not bored enough to constitute plopping yourself in his lap so he can watch creepy anime and place his hands on your knees awkwardly. You had been enjoying your little contemplation of your current predicament.

Usually by now, Idia would have sighed, mumbled something about normies never wanting to interact with him anyway because they were just so much better than a shut-in like him, and turned back to do whatever it was without you. That is not what happened. This time, he stands up and walks over to where you are sprawled out.

You sit up a touch, not expecting that in the least. You’re even less prepared for him to pick you up and toss you butt first onto the bed. You yelp and look up, through your arms.

Idia has never struck you but with him looming over you like this, you feel scared. Idia is so tall, and you are being given an intense reminder.

"What are you doing?" Your voice comes out shaky, soft and confused.

Idia just shrugs, "Spending time with my partner."

"Idia, I don't-"

"Yeah, I know. You don't even want to be here." He lays down over you, arms encasing you, keeping you stuck on the bed, "You don't exactly have a say."

"Of course I do." You retort.

Idia looks down at you, eyes devoid of any type of care. He grabs your wrist and presses your pulse against the one in his throat.

The shock collar worked a little funny. You have a sneaking suspicion that Idia messes around with it while you're sleeping, because it works differently than it did before. Before, it would just zap you, no warning. Now it gives you a quick, three tap warning.

Zap zap zap!

Then it stops and you have three seconds to stop doing whatever it was. Depending on the severity of what you're doing, the incoming jolt of rolling electricity is either so intense that you have to fight to stay conscious, or low enough for you to know it left a mark.

Idia knows his machines. When he placed the collar on you, you saw a bunch of exposed wires and circuits. It looked like an amateur's work, but now that you've been around Idia for a long while, you can't help but notice that literally nothing else he makes has exposed parts. The collar was made to shock, so it shocks.

You grit your teeth and let out a noise as the shock begins to work. It ramps up in intensity, not too slowly, but not too quickly either. By the time it reaches its peak, you're screaming, howling as you thrash and writhe.

"You know, I read something about focusing on one point when you're in pain," Idia says, somewhat boredly. "I think if you just focused on me, kitten, you'd be a bit better off. Don't you think?"

Despite being actively liquefied, your brain manages to focus for a second on the spot where your wrist is pressed against Idia's neck. You feel his pulse throb once, then twice.

It's your standard heartbeat. You can't focus any more than you already have, though, since Idia's grip on your arm is keeping your hand in the one place you're never allowed to touch on Idia.

As you pass out, you hear him say, "I'll tell you the plot of this episode when you wake up, okay, kitten?"

#twisted wonderland #tw: dark content #disney twst #tw: yandere #tw: dark themes #yandere #tw captivity #twst #yandere idia x reader #yandere idia shroud #tw. abuse #tw.dark content #tw. electric shock #tw. shock collar #tw: shock collar #tw kidnapping #Idia calls you kitten

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samobservessonic · 1 month

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It’s another Stringer Sonic story this time and another one-shot to boot. I feel like after doing an intense six-part story arc, they’re winding down with these one-shots for a while. Also, I forgot to mention it last time, but in both this issue and the last one, Kitching didn’t write either of the Sonic stories. But we’ll be back to his stories soon enough

I’m not sure if that squirrel in the bottom left counts for a “Hey look, it’s Sally Acorn”, but I’ve called squirrel background characters in StC Sally over less

Oh hey, it’s this guy! I remember seeing him at least one fake Sonic tournament here on tumblr. If you don’t know this guy’s deal, then stick around to the end of the story and you’ll find out

Admittedly, I always thought he had a black crescent moon on his head, but looking at it now, I think it’s a black tuft of hair? Regardless, I love how Concerned ™ Johnny looks lol

Johnny’s concern doesn’t last very long and now he’s just being straight up blasphemous. And I guess the mystery hedgehog’s hair tuft is blonde now?

Our phoney introduces himself as Cosmic the Hedgehog and is open in his attempts to knock Sonic off the top hero position. Which, as is natural in the action comics aimed at kids genre, results in a race between the two

“Gosh! This pretender has really got under Sonic’s skin!”

Tails. Buddy. I love you and I am an avid defender of StC Sonic, but that’s kinda just how he talks to you on a normal day. I’m sorry

Bye, guys!

Okay, I’m going to be honest - I thought this would go the route of the usual Fake-Sonic-of-the-Week plots and have Cosmic seem faster than Sonic at first, only for it to turn out to be some sort of trick. But honestly, for all the bragging, they do just straight up show that Cosmic can’t keep up with Sonic and quickly tires out during the race

Also, Cosmic is actually Metamorphia I’d like to play the smug card and be all “But we guessed that already, right?” and some of you probably did, but I’m going to be honest here - I didn’t. I remembered Cosmic’s design, but either forgot or didn’t know that he turned out to be Metamorphia. In the last issue, I said we’d be seeing more of her, but I didn’t expect it’d be so soon

She’s a lot less dead than Sonic remembers her being. And it turns out that she never intended to out-run Sonic, she just knew that she could use his pride to lure him away from his friends

The two fight for a brief while, but Metamorphia’s gas form that I was so impressed with last issue isn’t going to work again, with Sonic learning from his mistakes and rushing away to rescue his friends

I’m also not sure why Metamorphia’s Sonic is green, when she could perfectly mimic Tails last time, but oh well. I like the eyelashes tho

The badniks are like “I see no difference, Sonic is Sonic”

Wait, Porker was here the whole time? Okay then!

Metamorphia escapes, but now that Sonic knows she’s alive, he’ll know to expect her again in future. I’m not sure when that’ll be, honestly. For all I know, it might be the very next issue again lol My takeaway is that I enjoyed this story fine, but feel like it could’ve happened at a different point in the timeline. Like, maybe they could’ve sandwiched Kitching’s Sentinel story between these two stories just to break it up a bit? Nitpicking, I know, but as much as I like Metamorphia, I just think breaking up her appearances might’ve been more effective But a fun story nonetheless. This is the second time we’ve seen StC do a fake Sonic story, with the first being the Extra Life story from earlier. I’m not sure which of the two I prefer, but this one definitely left me with less questions than Extra Life did. Hm. I wonder how that guy's getting on, floating out there in space…

#sam observes sonic #sonic the comic #stc issue 31 #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #metamophia #johnny lightfoot #porker lewis

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whetstonefires · 1 month

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Hi, I like your mdzs meta (and am interested in the hopefully forthcoming yzy meta) but even that of fandoms I’m not in (your final fantasy meta about the differences in canonical vs fanonical sartorial choices due to coding was enlightening, and I didn’t even know it was dark.) For the ask game: 🦷🐇 🦴 P.S. if you haven’t found it the eldest sibling cinematic universe is all tagged naruto?

thank you! :DDD i do meta posts primarily because i Have Thought that wants to be heard, but it's delightful for it to actually be wanted lmao.

i have filtered my blog for 'naruto' through three different methods without finding the ask where i was asked to crosscast mdzs and naruto. it is a Hidden Value for some reason. if someone finds it, please send me the link through dm or something.

haha only white things! three white items! tooth-bunny-bone.

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

So when you own a lot of stuff it is so so important to store it in the most organized way you can manage, because the [task burden] of finding the desired item needs to be low enough to keep you from giving up on finding your own things when you want them, because that makes them useless to you.

This is especially important for things like craft supplies and hardware. Put the same kinds of things together, in a closed, clearly labeled container, with some kind of internal partitioning by sub-category, as much as you possibly can.

Take as much of the burden of locating your possessions off Future You as you can; I know it feels like a tiresome outlay of effort in the present keeping you from dedicating the time to actual [activity], but once you make a habit of it it's very much a stitch-in-time-saves-nine that will make [activity] more accessible to you.

This doesn't mean you need to Buy Product, although some of the stuff that's sold for organizing can be very useful. I keep all my embroidery floss in a small wooden chest I bought at a tag sale, sorted by color family into little plastic baggies. So it's fairly trivial now to go in and see 'what reds do I have?' choose one.

Then I transfer the hanks I'm using for my current project into the transparent plastic box with a snap-on lid I got for one dollar from Michaels Crafts, where the embroidery needles live fulltime, and bundle just that into a basket or bag with the hoop and fabric, while the rest of the chest can go back in the closet until it's time to put the remainder away again. Maneuvering the box physically in and out of the closet becomes the hardest part of accessing the materials.

The ability to pick up and move a whole project at once is also very valuable for anyone without like, a whole designated Crafting Area in their space. And for people who do have that, but are always being impeded by their own clutter.

If you have a basket or tray or something you can stack all of a given project onto and whisk away to clear your worksurface at need, you'll be much more likely to actually commit to working on that project when you want to, without feeling burdened by the future opportunity cost of having to completely finish and/or abort progress on it if something else comes up.

Probably not everyone gets stuck on that, especially people who only work on one thing at a time, but I think there are enough people like me that giving yourself permission to use the 'sewing basket hack' is valuable. There are big downsides to burying yourself in stuff in the effort to keep it all near to hand and accessible, but there are also definite, meaningful costs to having to put everything away in its Own Place every time you're interrupted, especially if you have trouble with any part of executive function.

🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both?

Egad I have never attempted a reader-insert in the contemporary style. Honestly, I can't stand them.

Writing in the second person is all well and good for textural reasons, but as a way to 1) compensate for the evidently dreadful imagination skills of the audience and 2) shield the writer from responsibility for their own writing choices, I consider the 'reader insert' to be an overall cowardly and limiting construct.

I would much rather see a fic that instructs me to understand myself as a four-foot-tall electric blue parrot than one that attempts to narrate a 'me' generic enough to be plausible to any potential reader; when the 'you' is a giant parrot with discernible preferences and goals it is, of course, an original character.

In fact, so is every reader insert, they're just usually terrible ones. Attempting to write an OC with no traits is so sad.

Anyway I'm fully capable of projecting myself onto a parrot if I want. Otoh I'm not shameless enough to publish old-fashioned self-insert fic, which is a different less craven stylistic approach to the same goal, which is only partly because I was trained on anti-OC backlash and mostly because my standards are such that the few attempts are either 1) plotless exercises in self-gratification which aren't worth finishing once the fun part of drafting the entertaining scene is done or 2) agonizingly honest. I don't feel like being quite that honest with the internet, ty.

I love character creation though so OCs good yes.

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

Like. Besides the obvious, given this is a fanfic ask game afaik? Uhm. Diana Wynne Jones' body of work; the way she structured the narratives of her children's novels so the inherent unreliability of any narrator was maximized and played a vital role in mediating between the story and the reader.

I am not naturally good at playing keep-away with information, but I recognize it as a vital writing skill because context is so vital to the experience of media, so I pay close attention to how this sort of sleight of hand is accomplished. I also really appreciated Jones' relative lack of talking down to her child audience.

#ask #hoc est meum #glitterypenguintyphoon #ask game #organization #oc versus reader insert #dwj #people say nice things

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localplaguenurse · 10 months

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What’s the whole gingko family doing in the modern era besides losing a piece of their sanity every they go into the museum

Okay it’s raw brain mode since I woke up not too long ago and I gotta get ready for work. Also for simplicity we’re gonna call it “lived to the modern era” because I have different ideas for an AU specifically set in the modern day. (Will I write it out? Depends on if prompted because otherwise it’s just gonna float around in my brain soup.) Also, wifey and Zhongli are keeping a low profile since he’s supposed to be dead, but the kids can be open about their identities.

Zhongli and wifey: Wifey is still doing art, but they have to be very careful about it. They have to pretend that instead of doing art for thousands of years that they actually come from a family of artists. I feel like Zhongli isn’t too picky what his job would be, my brain says historian, teacher, or maybe still funeral consultant. One thing’s for sure: they’re still married.

Yánjiāng: His love of cats has paid off and he now has a cat cafe. Is this a goofy idea? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. But people kept asking about him and cats so I gotta make a reference lmao. I’ve got a cold and am still tired, forgive me. The cats like to snuggle his tail after hours.

Lihua: A lot of modelling/fashion. I always imagine her wearing traditional and very ornately designed hanfu, so I also see her being one of those tiktokers/youtubers that critiques how period accurate costume designs in movies are.

Zhusha: A lot of pottery (better than whatever that thing in the museum is...). But like honestly I can see her doing a lot of art things and following in her mother’s footprints. Her preferred medium is sculpting. When she’s not designing/making statues, she’s running one of those pottery stores where you go in, pick a premade cup or bowl or whatever, and paint it. (I wanna go to one of those again soon...)

Yaling: So beta gave me the idea that she finds good high quality ore for mining. I think she still does that, however she’s become fascinated by those lab grown gems I hear about every once in a while. I feel like in the modern age she would also start looking into that. Granted she can literally just make crystals on her own but the people can’t, so y’know. Also hates Musk for all that shit about the emerald mine so it’s both “this is better for the environment/safety of the people plus oooo modern science” and “fuck that guy.”

Feng: Still does blacksmithing obviously but I feel like he’s also become like... this big himbo nerd. He makes regular blades and jewellery but sometimes he makes functional replicas of weapons and costume pieces from books and shows he likes. Yaling gives him shit for it whenever he asks for highly specific stones. “Nerd.” “Oh come on! So we can’t make fun of Yánjiāng for the cat cafe but we can pick on Feng for making a functional hat with hidden blades?” “First off, we do. Second, you stole that from that one jojo guy that kinda sounds like dad.” “... Shut up.”

#ask #as gold as the ginkgo trees #ivy!#i literally came up with most of these on the spot #yes I’m talking about speedwagon at the end #he’s best waifu #museum au

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