#they're always having adults play teens this would be no different
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#britin#queer as folk#cinematv#filmtvcentral#userthing#smallscreensource#userrlaura#lgbtedit#mlmsource#usergay#michael novotny#brian kinney#a rare bit of appreciation from michael for the ways brian has always cared for him#he has literally been taking care of people since he was a CHILD → mother father best friend then justin & everyone else#yet the words 'selfish & asshole' are always directed at him#this just fuels my constant need to know more about young!brian and to have gale play him in a prequel pls and ty#they're always having adults play teens this would be no different#1x08
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ive been a halfhearted dnd defender for a minute, bc i was really involved in indie ttrpg twitter for a while and I Am Not Anymore because frankly. it just got too hostile and crab bucket-y. a lot of people acting like critical role or dimension 20 were opposing them by playing a game that had widespread brand recognition (and also getting mad whenever critrole played something OTHER than dnd. i haven't forgotten how hostile everyone i knew in that scene was when critrole played monster hearts. like what do you want??) or like people who play dnd are popular jocks and people who play indie games are bullied nerds. when actually we're all nerds. nobody is cool here.
and i would especially get frustrated when people would recommend games to play instead of dnd that are not at all a comparable experience, or didnt have the same things people liked in dnd. sure, you could play Masks if you want to play a superhero game instead of just reskinning DnD, but Masks is about teens, and the fact that you're playing as teens is core to the mechanics, so it's not a good suggestion for someone who wants to play as adult superheroes. sure you can suggest someone play Blades in the Dark if they want to play a heist team, but BitD is incredibly punishing! every time ive played it, it felt almost impossible to get a full success at anything. that can be fun, if that's the kind of game you want, but if i want to play a game where i feel cool and like im good at things, then BitD is not a good replacement! I cant tell you how many times I've seen people say that you don't need to just reskin dnd when there are games that are more specifically tailored to the experience you want, and then in the same breath act like the games they're suggesting ARENT specific actually and can be used to craft any kind of experience you want. Is the genre baked into the mechanics, or isnt it? because it cant be both!
and thats not even getting into when people would suggest replacements that aren't even close. a lot of "dnd sucks nobody should ever play dnd. instead of dnd, why don't you play MY game, where youre a couple thats getting married in 2 months and you're still planning your wedding?" like... why would i play that instead of dnd, if i want to play dnd? those have nothing in common, beyond the fact that theyre both tabletop games. it's like saying "Instead of watching Star Wars, you should watch Get Out!" sure, they're both MOVIES, and Get Out is GOOD, but i think to suggest that someone who wants to watch Star Wars would have an equal if not better experience watching Get Out instead devalues both. They're not interchangeable because they're trying to do entirely different things
So I would get incredibly frustrated when people acted like people who were choosing to play DnD were just making a mistake, and that they couldn't possibly be getting anything out of playing that game specifically
ALL THAT BEING SAID wizards of the coast sucks ass and they can clean my balls. they should get put in the stocks and i should get to pelt them with tomatoes. i like playing in the sword and sorcery fantasy setting, and dnd was always my go-to game for that because Dungeon World is the worst game I've ever played (i can think of one or two other games in the same sort of setting, but i haven't tried them or met anyone willing to run them) but ah well. WotC can eat shit for this copyright bullshit
#anime life#anyway idk if this post was interesting or meaningful at all#i just wanted to get some of my thoughts written down and organized
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can i please hear your thoughts about franema. blease. i know they have something going on between them
oh yes yes.... franema happy to talk about it. for starters just everything about how ema behaves herself in aa4 makes me believe that would be some excellent yuri because bitch4bitch femslash is always so important.
in general though i think they're two people whose lives are very centered around their work (as much of the main ace attorney cast is) but they center their work extremely differently in a way i think would cause the other person to question a lot about their own perspective. I think a situation where two characters can really ruffle each others feathers just by existing in proximity has a lot of good ship fodder.
i think in many ways franziska is what ema wanted to be. she's a child prodigy, competent and excelling in her field and earning respect from a very young age. meanwhile when she's several years older than fran was passing the bar ema is still just a high school student just dipping her nose into forensic science for the first time. by the time she's in her mid 20s ema still isn't at the level of career success fran reached in her teen years, being stuck as a detective after failures to pass the forensics exams. and i think it's really worth paying attention to the fact that Detective was specifically the job that lead to her sister's life turning to shit, so i think the longer and longer she stays trapped in that position the more she's gonna start feeling like the walls of her life are closing in on her. i know we don't know where fran is at career wise during this point in the timeline but my personal headcanon is that she ends up doing a lot of work with interprol and primarily specializing in prosecuting cases that take place across various countries' jurisdictions, and has had good success doing so.
Then on the flipside I think Fran see's ema's fully self-motivated passion for forensics as something enviable and admirable. Fran is i think someone who has spent her entire life running through a treadmill of carrots and sticks that dictated what her life was going to be like since she was born. Obviously prosecuting is the family trade and she was started extremely young, then pitted against someone much older for the majority of her childhood. I think the ebb and flow of validation or disinterest from her peers and family was such an overwhelming motivator that she never had the chance to even consider whether or not there's anything she's passionate about. As an adult, i think she does come to find an honest passion in her career but it's nothing like what ema has, it can't be decoupled from external validation, and that's something she's come to understand as a bit of a weakness.
Then interpersonally i feel like since ema is much more personable and socially adjusted than fran, i could feel that being something she instinctively kind of leverages against fran to try and level their playing field. like, okay, franziska may be this bigshot famous prosecutor (just like edgeworth, who ema wants sooo bad to impress) but ema can find ways to embarrass, frustrate, or otherwise fluster her in social settings so that's totally the same as being intellectual equals right. right. right. (<- thoughts of a girl who is definitely being normal about the situation). but i feel like fran could kind of learn to be grateful for the lack of deference ema treats her with and it could be a real first step to them actually getting to know each other better.
i feel like they'd have a lot of similar opinions on the broader aspects of life. i think they'd both be fine with a more casual relationship that involves a lot of traveling for work and isn't particularly romantic by a lot of people's standards. and i think it would be fun for them to fuck each other. overall it just works imo. thank you for coming to my ted talk.
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New Vegas companions react to a teenage courier?
Another super late post from me (I'm so sorry lmao) but better late than never! I've already said this but I love reading/writing for Teen!Sole/Courier - my courier oc is actually nineteen during the events on New Vegas so stuff like this helps with developing her too! <33
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Companions React to Teen!Courier
(Includes: Arcade, Boone, Cass, Lily, Raul and Veronica)
Arcade
Straight off the bat, he's gonna have a lot more patience for a younger courier than he would an adult. He doesn't exactly have fond memories of being a teenager - but then again, who does anymore? - so he can't even begin to imagine what it must be like after what the courier had gone through. Although Arcade often prefers to avoid violence when he can, he's more than willing to resort to it when it comes to protecting the courier. However, this means he's all the more disappointed if the courier sides with the Legion, he understands they're far more impressionable and that only makes him harbour more anger towards the faction, but he'd still expected better from them.
Boone
Instantly goes into dad/big brother mode. Boone doesn't anticipate it happening, but he finds himself being much more protective over the courier than he'd like to be. He'd been so excited to be a father before Carla's death and in a strange way, the courier feels like a second chance. He won't mention it, of course, especially not at first, but he'll show that he cares in little ways like making sure Six has a larger portion of the rations than he does or by protecting them from danger before he even considers himself. Boone doesn't want to overstep, nor does he really feel comfortable talking about it, so he'll never bring up how much he cares, he just hopes the courier knows he'll protect them no matter what happens.
Cass
It doesn't make a complete difference to Cass. Of course, she's even more outraged over what Benny did to Six, finding their attempted murder horrific in general, but even more so when it's apparent the courier isn't even eighteen. While Boone takes on a paternal role, Cass quickly becomes an older sister and terrible influence all rolled into one. She'll offer Six whiskey to try, although she knows chances are they've already drank alcohol before - God knows she'd sampled enough as a teenager. She's always willing to give them advice, granted she knows it's not always the best and most moral advice, but she's doing her best regardless.
Lily
Honestly, not much about Lily's relationship with Six would change, even if they were a teenager. She takes her role as their grandma as seriously as ever, refusing to see any harm come to the courier. With Six being even closer in age to her Jimmy and Becky, it sometimes makes it even harder than it usually would for her to remember she's not actually talking to her grandchildren. She's just grateful that the courier is patient with her, even if she isn't the perfect grandma sometimes.
Raul
It's hard for Raul to not be reminded of Rafaela and Claudia when he first meets the courier - regardless of their gender. Almost similarly to Boone, he sees them as a chance to do better and actually protect someone for once (third times the charm, right?) He manages to play it off with sarcasm and quick wit, but he truly does care for Six and he wants what's best for them. Perhaps he won't always agree with their choices and he makes a point to voice that when it's the case, but there's never a day he won't stand by them. He refuses to lose someone a third time.
Veronica
She's actually really excited to meet the teenaged courier. When with the Brotherhood of Steel, Veronica would love spending time with the squires, constantly being reprimanded for distracting them from their work - sure, Six is a little bit older, but she doesn't mind. But now? She doesn't have to worry about her commanding officers telling her to buzz off, she can spend all the time with them that she wants, if they're willing to put up with her. She's definitely a better influence than Cass, or at least she tries to be, but she knows showing Six how to cheat at poker probably wasn't the best idea. Veronica will also insist that she'll deal with Benny herself, but she knows better than to get in the way of the courier and their revenge.
#this one feels kinda short#but its okay im just glad to be back#better late than never LMAO#fallout#fallout new vegas#fallout x reader#fallout courier six#fallout headcanons#craig boone#arcade gannon#rose of sharon cassidy#lily bowen#raul tejada#veronica santangelo#courier 6#fallout imagines
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Transfem buggy anon-
I was listening to music on YouTube, like broke birches do, ya know? And Heather On The Hill played and I was hit with three fold ideas.
Roger had an accent. Like. A very cliché piratey accent, one who few if any others have on One Piece that we know of. And Buggy and Shanks were raised by this man. The likelihood of them not picking up some sort of accent or specific pronunciation of a word or phrase seems impossible to me.
Shanks and Buggy with very very VERY slight accents. They get thicker when they get highly emotional, tired or drunk.
As children, Buggy's was a bit more noticeable bc she ran on a cocktail of Rage, Greed, and Stolen Coffee, so she was always keyed up to about 11.
As adults, Shanks is tipsy more often than not, so his twang is a little more notable but difficult to place due to his general demeanor and timbre.
When the two are together, the first hour or so is fairly normal. Then it's like a switch flips and they feed off of each other until it's a completely different accent, word choice and slang is being thrown without thought. It leaves the rest a bit confused but also so happy that their captains feel safe.
Shanks sing Heather on The Hill for Buggy. It was her favorite song when Roger sang them to sleep after nightmares, it was the song she learned her first dance to, it was the song he learned specifically to ask her to be his - it has meaning to them both and it's a comfort song. ((Yes, it plays at the wedding))
Buggy uses it as a lullaby or a self soothing song ad well. She'll sing to the animals in the evenings as she helps look after them, when she feels a bit down, as a comfort to her friends and crew, etc.
Crocodile and Mihawk are a little embarrassed by how much they love how her accent thickens a bit during and after the song. They'll never admit it.
Just... aaaaaaaaaa them having pieces of Roger with them even decades after his death, adoring them and each other and absolutely being in love because That Person Is Theirs and they're just... so grateful
AAAAAA ♡♡♡
Well, your asks are getting better every day. This is beautiful. I absolutely adore it. Shanks and Buggy both carry that piece of Roger with them and are so comfortable and safe with each other that their accents are most noticeable when they're together,,, Shanks singing for Buggy,,, The thought of these two dancing together for the first time when they were teens makes me blush and giggle and kick my feet because they're the cutest thing on earth. Shanks is head over heels for her and he just loves listening to Buggy talking because whenever they're together, her accent is more obvious, and it brings back memories for both of them. And Buggy doesn't like that Shanks is tipsy most of the time but when they get drunk and have fun together? Listening to this guy's voice makes her heart do backflips. Embarrassingly so. Sometimes, when they've had too much to drink, they're the only ones who can understand each other and it doesn't even matter because they're in their own bubble of happiness anyway. Not to mention Mihawk and Crocodile, they're... They won't say it out loud but sometimes they make Buggy angry just to hear her accent slip. Sometimes they watch her sing only because they like her voice. At first, they don't even know why they do it, but it makes them want to stop making her life a living hell for a while and let her enjoy this.
It's just beautiful to see them having traits their captain had. I imagine Shanks using the same expressions or gestures. Attacks, too, of course. And Buggy is always rolling her eyes like "You wanna be him soooo bad" but she actually is fond of that. While Buggy actually does the same thing and she often eats the same food Roger liked or wears the same jewelry and listens to the same songs. Honestly, I think this happens with Rayleigh too and these two end up getting some of his traits also. And it would be so cute to see them reunite and see Rayleigh realizing how much of them these two have.
ALSO THE SONG IS PERFECT FOR THEM I AM SOBBING-
#THIS IS SO DAMN CUTE#crying and sobbing and shaking and-#this little family is always making me emotional#one piece#red haired shanks#buggy the clown#gol d. roger#cross guild#shuggy
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I see a lot of debate on this fandoms found family obsession and I want to add my two cents and headcannons that no one reaaaallllyyyyy cares about.
I think there's a balance of it that's good. For example, I think interpreting Maya and Phoenix as siblings is just as valid as best friends. Siblings can be best friends, my own sister is literally my best friend. It works with the dynamic of them both feeling like they're taking each other in after Mia's death, and I see their banter and can relate it to how my sister and I treat each other.
On the other hand, I don't like it when people give Phoenix and Apollo the father-son dynamic. I think there is a level of protectiveness from Phoenix, coming from seeing some of himself when he was younger in Apollo, as well as knowing he's Trucy's brother. But Apollo is an adult who looked up to Phoenix when he was younger, just his trust betrayed. At first it's a case of never meet your idols for Apollo. He also finds him irritating. I think there is a point where those two can get on good terms and Apollo forgives Phoenix, but they aren't family. It's a different type of love and care. They are mentor and mentee. Apollo will always find Phoenix annoying too, he just gets used to it and that irritation no longer is from a place of resentment, just Phoenix pushing his buttons.
As far as Athena goes, I haven't played much of DD yet because I started as the new trilogy got announced and decided to wait, but I think it's another case of Phoenix being protective but not quite in an adopted kid sense. He sees a young girl who needs some love, care, and guidance. You can love and care for someone a bit like a daughter without going all the way into they are my daughter territory. Trucy and Athena? Best friends. You know how so many of us have best friends that are basically like a sibling but we don't literally feel like siblings? That's them. They are an unstoppable duo.
As far as Edgeworth and Kay goes, I haven't finished AAI but I do see a little bit of adopted father-daughter dynamic, but not as intense. Kay is very self sufficient and made it through her teen years without her own dad or Edgeworth in her life. They are bonded over the shared trauma of losing a parent at the courthouse and Edgeworth is protective of her and his door is always open for her in the good and the bad. The paternal instinct is there and he would help her through anything. I feel like Kay called him Dad by accident one time and that did make them more like family, but apart from emotional times or jokes, he is Mr Edgeworth.
On the note of Edgeworth, I'm not keen on the adopting basically the entire prosecutor's office. I just don't feel like that's Edgeworth. I do think he softens yes. I do think he cares about his employees, but it's the vibe of a good boss being on professionally friendly terms. They can go to him for help, sometimes not work related. He can be a mentor. But he's their boss first and foremost, and in a more Edgeworth sense than Phoenix. More by the book. So yes he cares about them and can sometimes be protective, but not in a family way.
I do like Edgeworth eventually becoming Trucy's other Dad, but it takes time. For a long time he's Uncle Edgeworth and it takes him a long time to adjust to that even. Eventually he starts treating Trucy like a daughter, Phoenix pulls him up on it, he has a bit of a crisis. This is after the 7yg when Phoenix no longer has to live in the shell he did before getting his name cleared, therefore being able to officially be with Miles. Point being it's not immediate. He does immediately live Trucy but his instinct isn't familial for a while.
Honestly me explaining this hasn't completely gotten what's in my head across about I hope you get what I mean.
Also, at the end of the day everyone can have their own interpretation of the game. People will make it what they need it to be and that's okay. As long as what you are going with isn't illegal or straight up gross, go ahead. These are my own conclusions I've come to and it's these interpretations I look for in the media I consume, but whatever fuels your love for this series is what matters ✨
#the characters and the ability for each of them to be interpreted in multiple ways is what makes this series so loveable#i love them all so much#ace attorney#phoenix wright#miles edgeworth#narumitsu#apollo justice#trucy wright#mia fey#maya fey#kay faraday#athena cykes
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okay, here's a long post talking about my thoughts on dungeons and daddies, s2ep45, hell or high father. obvious spoiler warning, im gonna be talking about the events of the episode, but this is going to be more outside the fourth wall focused/thinking about what the pacing says about the narrative, rather than actually talking about what happened in this episode!! also ive only listened to the episode once so if i missed anything, feel free to say so
to start immediately: i loved this episode, but i was also disappointed that ron, terry, and scary didn't get a full episode. but i was thinking about why that would be the case, and that lead me to the two reasons im speculating:
Beth felt that Scary's arc didn't necessitate a big ending and that it came to a clean closing with that scene
This episode shows the narrative divide between the Stampler family and the Close family
the first reason is mostly a timing thing. they included taylor in this episode as well because scary's conclusion didn't need the full run time, or maybe even lincoln's episode was longer than they wanted it to be and scary was supposed to be in that arc as well. the pacing was just a result of the past few episodes: scary has already confronted that she regrets how she treated terry, we've seen that a million times. ever since his death, she's confronted that fact again and again, and i think it makes sense that this episode would resolve that in a much quieter way than it could've. the stamplers have always been the family to resolve things 'the right way' - they show up for each other, they love each other unconditionally, they finish their arcs by holding one another in forgiveness. even if i wouldve loved a longer memory (though holy shit, WE SAW THE BETRAYAL ON SCREEN-- sorry not the point of this post), and i really hope we get some more with them in upcoming episodes, i did like how it was so sweetly resolved!!
and that sweetness leads into the bulk of my thoughts here: scary and taylor shared an episode because of how differently their memories went.
as soon as nicky went "i have a memory you weren't around for", i knew we were in for a fucking ROLLERCOASTER, and holy shit. the entire played out montage of glenn failing to be there for nicky, failing to be there for taylor, and in turn, taylor finally tells nicky to his face that he wasn't there for taylor either. taylor's fixation on the idea of redoing it all with time travel, because there is no other way, in his mind, to solve the rift in their relationship. "there's no fixing this." there's too much baggage, there's too much thats already been fucked up, and theres no way for them to come back from that. nicky is a grown adult. taylor is already in his teen years. they can form a relationship with their dad now, but no matter how well that goes, its never going to fix the childhood behind them that was already ruined. they do love each other, they're friends, but being friends doesnt equal a true good relationship. being friends doesnt mean you succeeded in parenting.
and now we contrast that with the stamplers. both terry junior and scary go into their relationship with their stepdads seeing him as an inferior replacement, as someone who could never truly be their dad. terry junior loved his biological dad, is literally named after him. scary's dad was so absent in her life that she doesnt know how to handle someone actually being there. they both refuse to take the replacement, until eventually, they learn that their stepdad's strength is that hes a new man. not a replacement, but his own full person, a person who loves them. ron put his life on the line for terry, time and time again, because he didnt want to be his own dad. terry showed up to all of scarys soccer matches, even when she refused to even acknowledge him, because he didnt want to be her bio dad. "you showed up." even though terry's memory is literally him using ron, it ends with ron forgiving him without a second thought. when scary apologizes to terry, terry takes her into his arms with a moment's hesitation.
the stamplers have a happy ending because even with how badly they've fucked up, they always showed up for their kids. the closes don't have a happy ending because they weren't in their kids' lives and they think being friends now fixes that. and that's why scary and taylor shared their episode, really. because it drives home the crucial difference between the two families
#dungeons and daddies#dndads#dndads spoilers#mine#in conclusion: STREAM CHILD SUPPORT BY WOZ 💥‼️ <- sorry this is like the fourth time ive made that joke
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Do you think having to model would have been damaging to Adrien when his mother was still with him?
Potentially controversial take here, but no, I don't think child acting is a terrible thing that should be illegal and child models are just a variant of child actors. Acting in commercials or movies is arguably more serious than something like community theater or local ads, but the risks aren't actually all that different. No matter the level of the production, the risk for abuse is there. It's not something limited to Hollywood. So I have no issue with child stars as a general concept. I think I've only ever hinted at this in my stuff, but I can actually picture a scenario in which Adrien got into modeling as an act of love.
His mother was a professional actress and Adrien very clearly enjoys acting. I could absolutely see Emilie recognizing his talents and getting him involved in commercials and modeling shoots for the company so that he can try acting in an environment that she can fully control (which is not concerning given that Adrien has clearly been modeling for several years, so he started young.)
I think most "good" parents would be super hesitant to let a little kid work with people they don't know, but with Emilie's connections and the success of Gabriel's company? Adrien going into an acting career actually makes a lot of sense. Especially if Emilie acted as his agent and was always on set to make sure he was okay.
Adrien being a model only becomes concerning when we get things like the super creepy Alliance AI-Adrien. Stuff that Adrien clearly isn't okay with and that should never have been considered to begin with (you literally see the model in his underwear when Soquline is showing off the fact that you can dress him up in Jubilation.) If Adrien was actually enjoying the work and the work was all ethical? Then it wouldn't be a problem.
Creative fields are rife with abuse and poor working conditions, but they're also a source of joy for many. Minors working in these types of fields is an incredibly complex topic, but I can't view it as inherently bad. I've known too many kids who legitimately loved acting or playing sports or whatever creative thing they were into.
Oh, and random side note, but it's super weird how the show plays Adrien's fame. He's fashion model, not a movie star. He would not be as famous as the show tries to make him. I actually researched this a while back to make sure France didn't have some sort of model-obsession and I couldn't find anything (btw, please let me know if I missed something and this is wrong).
I mention all of this because I think fashion modeling is potentially a much safer way to let a kid do some acting. Commercials and one-off fashion shoots are much smaller commitments than movies and TV shows and they carry way less risk of super star fame. I actually get distracted when fanfics have Gabriel constantly pulling Adrien out of school for fashion shoots for two reasons: first, that appears to be highly illegal in France. Second, how much marketing material is the Gabriel brand supposedly producing??? Especially since Adrien seems to just be a teen model and not model for the adult line, which would be standard for the industry. You don't really become a full fledged model doing things like runways until you're at least 16. (Btw, guess what age I often scale Adrien up to? There's a reason for that.)
As far as I can tell, most models have to work with multiple brands and companies to make good money. An exclusive deal with a single company should mean that your schedule is pretty relaxed, which is another reason I could buy a loving parent letting Adrien model. Modeling, commercials, and voice acting are actually a fantastic set of options for someone who wanted to do some acting work while still going to school. It is incredibly easy to take the setup the show gave us and use it to make Adrien a child star who wasn't exploited.
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release your takesssss
(spoilers for tonight's episode)
personally kinda upset alongside emily that everything she did regarding ruben had no real impact despite all the threads around his regret, and how that seems to communicate that there's no point in talking things out with maryann. holding out hope that after defeating porter and jace they can revivify the ratgrinders in the finale and find some kind of peace. also if lucy and yolanda aren't rezzed i riot
what were your thoughts?
My answer will also have spoilers for FHJY so avert your eyes, all ye who have not watched the penultimate episode yet!
I'm hesitant to answer because I truly think people will not like my take on this, but I think this is my first ever anon ask and I've had time to think more on my opinion and solidify it. This is all with the caveat that of course the final episode isn't out yet, so anything I say about what I think of the narrative of the show is incomplete information.
The first thing is that some people are really upset about the Rat Grinders getting killed in combat when there's a lot we don't know about them, and to some degree they may be acting under duress from Porter and Ankarna. Some people are really mad that the Bad Kids are just rushing into battle to kill them off without taking the time to try to understand them. I have a couple of reasons why (although I understand the frustration) I don't agree with this criticism. The first is an in-world reason, and the second is a TTRPG reason.
The in-world reason I don't think a "redemption" arc would be satisfying for the Rat Grinders is because these are the last two episodes. None of the Rat Grinders have done anything to show that they desire or are working toward redemption. Yes, they're teens. We don't know how completely they're acting under their own volition. BUT they are actively trying to kill not only the Bad Kids, but everyone who was at Fabian's party (essentially the entire school) and everyone in Elmville. If the Rat Grinders are doing this because of Ankarna/Porter, The Bad Kids don't know of a way other than killing everyone to stop this from happening. Maybe if the Bad Kids had spent more time trying to get to know the Rat Grinders I would feel differently.
There have also been criticisms that The Bad Kids are bullies and taking pleasure in killing off the Rat Grinders, and that it feels fucked up. I think The Bad Kids are bullies! I think they've been little assholes since the beginning of the show. They frequently bully each other. They're literally called The Bad Kids. I think something fun about playing a game in a high school setting is that high schoolers aren't mature and have less impulse control than adults do, so they make bad decisions. Sometimes they do really fucked up things. Fig sending Reuben to hell is pretty fucked up, but it's also pretty funny, and it's also what a teenage devil of rebellion would do to somebody they're mad at. (I could also get into a whole thing about how Dimension 20 is a comedy show and that hyperbole is funny, but then I have to give my hot take about other moments of Dimension 20 that people generally don't like and I can only do so much here.)
So that's the in-narrative reason why I don't think a redemption arc would be satisfying. But there's also TTRPG/medium reasons I think it wouldn't be satisfying! Dimension 20 is, for better or worse, primarily a D&D show. (They've also played Kids on Bikes which they have generally ran in the same way they run D&D but I have a whole other blog post about my irritations with that. Also obligatory Shriek Week mention.) D&D is primarily a combat game. You can do other things in it, but the majority of people's spells and abilities come down to fighting. That's why the finales are always combat episodes. In D&D, you solve problems with violence. That's the game. Having played 50+ other game systems at this point, I have a lot of critiques of D&D! I would LOVE if Dimension 20 played other things. That being said...
If they ARE playing D&D, I find myself much less frustrated when they play D&D as D&D, and not trying to get it to be something it isn't. So if one of the Bad Kids in the finale decides "I want to spend my turn trying to reason with Kipperlily," and it comes down to a roll because the situation is tense and combat is happening, that would make more sense to me than a two part finale where every member of the party tries to reason with the Rat Grinders and if they fail the roll they just have another person say the same sentiment worded differently so they can spam Persuasion checks.
There are other games where a dialogue works as a final confrontation. Good Society (my beloved) has all kinds of rules to navigate social intrigue, use people's reputations against them, or appeal to their good qualities. Justicar is a courtroom drama game where people have moves that let them introduce evidence or find a flaw in someone's testimony. Vampire The Masquerade has rules for "social combat." D&D doesn't really have that. The best approximation it has is the DM deciding on a number that needs to be rolled on a die to convince someone of something. That's it. It's not even an opposed check, because what do you roll against Persuasion? Mayyyyybe Insight in some circumstances. Maybe a Saving throw of some kind? But there isn't much support in the rules for that kind of finale.
The last thing I'll say is that MOST seasons of Dimension 20, people say the ending was anti-climactic or not narratively interesting. That's a fair critique, and I honestly agree! That being said, Dimension 20 is essentially long form improv. That's not the medium I personally go to for a satisfying narrative conclusion. If I want a story with a solid, satisfying ending, I read a book or watch a movie: finite works that are planned out, edited many times, and that have a carefully crafted narrative structure.
Sorry, anon, for such a long and probably uninteresting answer! Also for the record, I think if the Rat Grinders are rezzed after the fight and released from their rage stars that would be a good end, and I too want Lucy and Yolanda brought back. So I agree with you on that!
The take has been released!
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What are the dynamics between Luigi and each of the Koopalings?
Luigi acts as their nanny/guardian so overall he is pretty close to them and they view him as a second parent (although he doesn't realize this). He is going to be very insecure in his relationship with the koopalings, because he was trained in many things and parenting was not one of them.
The breakdown for each koopaling will be below the Keep Reading as it gets a bit long.
Ludwig: He and Luigi used to be very close when Ludwig was younger. Luigi is the main reason he looks towards negotiating with his enemies before fighting. During the comic however, their relationship is going to be very strained. Ludwig is frustrated that Luigi keeps treating him as a child when he wants to get more involved in fighting and running the kingdom. Due to how Luigi grew up he refuses to let any child (or teen) get involved in bigger issues, he wants them to enjoy their childhood and not feel like they have to solve problems adults have created. This obviously creates quite a bit of arguments between the two, with neither willing to budge.
Morton: Also affectionately known as "Little Guy" by Luigi. These two have the most simplistic relationship. Luigi feels a lot of kinship with Morton as he's also a very emotional and sensitive person. Luigi is one of the few who knows that Morton can be quite cunning, but he worries that people will use his big heart against him. Due to this he unintentionally spoils/babies Morton the most. Morton also likes to help Luigi with his gardening.
Roy and Wendy: I'm including these two together, because from what I recall these two were typically conspiring together (especially in Inside Story). These three are thick as thieves, and often times these two will assist Luigi in some of his ploys. Luigi will often confide in these two if things are going wrong, and they need to prepare as he knows they will keep a level head.
For Roy, Luigi will often have to remind Roy that his younger siblings (especially Junior) aren't trying to annoy him on purpose. They're just young, and to appreciate the time he has with them as they could be gone sooner than expected. The two do butt heads on how to respond to situations as Roy just wants to brute force his way while Luigi wants to find a route of least resistance whether this is through negotiating or stealth.
For Wendy, they both share a love/appreciation for fashion and the dramatics. When Luigi is traveling he will often collect jewels to give to Wendy (of course he will get other gifts for the koopalings if he sees anything he thinks they will like). Wendy is the one he asks to watch over the rest of the koopalings when he knows both he and Bowser are going to be out of the picture for a while.
Iggy: Luigi will never understand Iggy's humor, but he does understand Iggy's machines. Luigi is very impressed by his inventions and planning. Although they both share this interest, Luigi struggles to connect with Iggy overall as he often doesn't understand what he is saying or his jokes, but Luigi will always support him unconditionally and tries his best to do just that. Oftentimes Iggy will join Luigi when he is visiting E. Gadd. Originally, Luigi was hesitant about letting Iggy join in his visits as E. Gadd can sometimes be more focused on testing his inventions than the safety of said testers. But once he realized Iggy would sneak along no matter what he figured better supervised than unsupervised.
Larry: Larry really likes to play against Luigi in different sports and competitions and it is very much a struggle for Luigi. Larry doesn't know just how competitive Luigi can get when playing games. Luigi really has to focus on trying to just have fun and relax instead of solely trying to win. They also enjoy cooking together, although a majority of the time it is just Larry burning down the kitchen while Luigi frantically tries to put out the flames. He is very much a troublemaker, but he is Luigi's trouble maker so he can get away with quite a bit.
Lemmy: Lemmy regularly gives Luigi heart attacks with his magic stunts. He is probably the most mischievous out of the group and enjoys playing pranks on Luigi. Luigi enjoys going to Lemmy's circus shows although when a volunteer is needed he will often suggest someone else take the place of the magician's assistant. There have been many times when Bowser, Kamek, or Kammy suddenly finds themselves signed up for Lemmy's circus act instead of Luigi. He loves watching the shows, but not participating as his heart can only take so much.
Junior: Junior is the other koopaling whose relationship with Luigi will also become quite strained during the comic. The other koopalings know Luigi is just their guardian and that one day he won't be there and as much as they don't like it they're old enough to know that is just how it is. Junior on the other hand very much sees Luigi as his second parent and doesn't understand why he can't stay with them. It causes a lot of friction between the two as Luigi knows that he owes it to his family in Brooklyn to go back, but Junior doesn't understand why he can't leave them in the past. In this, Junior is going to be against Bowser's plan to marry Peach as it means if she becomes his mom, then in his eyes Luigi will finally be able to leave them and that is the last thing he wants. In contrast, Luigi wants Junior to have a different parent other than him, not because he doesn't like Junior, or any of the koopalings, he is just worried that he isn't the best for them and he wants to ensure that they get the best even if that means he isn't in the picture.
#asks#out of all the cast these guys make me the most nervous to write#theres just so many of them#and i want to ensure they feel unique enough while also ensuring they feel like they stick to their general personalities presented in game
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So I know that the coffin of andy and leyley really like, builds up to their incestuous *sex* only happening when they're adults (and after you make specific choices)
But since there were obviously incest vibes from start...
do u have any headcanons/ideas for incest/sexual things between them as kids? :3
Just a few because I do NOT want to get murdered by this fandom but
They absolutely practiced kissing with each other, 100%. Neither of them will acknowledge that their first kisses were each other, because Andrew is in denial 24/7 and Ashley doesn't count them because they weren't real kisses, but they were. Ashley convinces Andrew by threatening to kiss a different boy at school lmao
Ashley made sims of their characters to be together, creating her idealized version of a perfect future for them. Apparently TCOAAL is supposed to be set in the early 2000s but if she'd had access to incest mods, she would've been ALL OVER THAT SHIT.
A lot of playing house together, with Andrew as the working husband and Ashley as his housewife, in the way that only kids can conceptualize that sort of thing. It went on a lot longer than it typically does for kids their age and their mom HATED it, but her trying to stop them just made both of them cling onto it even more.
Ashley declaring to literally everyone that she would marry Andrew when they grew up. Not uncommon, a lot of kids do that, but that continued into their early teens and he never agreed but he didn't argue either.
The sleeping together absolutely did not start with Andrew's "nightmares" about the quarantine and murders. They've been secretly sharing a bed for most of their lives.
They've also always been generally very clingy and touchy, Andrew always keeping his arm around Ashley or pulling her against his side, Ashley always pressing against Andrew or sitting on his lap at any opportunity. That scene on the couch is NOT the first time their mom has walked in on them with Ashley on her knees and her head in Andrew's lap.
Puberty for both of them involved a lot of overhead mumblings in their sleep and muffled moans of each other's names from across the room, things they never dared to even mention to each other.
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hi im putting all my asks in one post again. these are from like the past month and a half approx? some digimon thoughts some tmnt thoughts some art musings u know the usual
@waywardistics YAYY thank you so much for ordering! I'm glad it got to you & that you are enjoying it!
this is kind of a missive to everyone who ordered but: I am very nervous about pre-orders whenever I do them... nervous that not very many people will order, nervous that there will be supply chain or production dilemmas and I won't be able to get copies out to people in a timely fashion, nervous about having people's money but having an indeterminate amt of time where i have not yet "held up my part of the bargain" etc etc SO. THANK U GUYS...FOR ORDERING and being patient and im so glad it got to y'all
@seanonthemoon (idk why i cant tag u BUT) interesting... i gotta be honest I don't think abt the crests that much. i agree that they're very much like heres the "girl" crest heres the "nerd boy" crest etc to the point that it becomes almost meaningless. but i think what makes them even more meaningless to me, and is probably the reason they kind of designated girl/boy crests etc is that i think like the digivices they're toys and merchandise more than they are actual narrative tools LOL. I wouldve loved something with cody and mimi! theyre both so deeply empathetic and sensitive.. theres a lot they share but i think because they look so different on the surface it would make it difficult to market that merch...booo capitalism boooo toy marketing its all sexist bullshit at least here in the u.s. idk if japan is that different though.
I'm actually a little frustrated with how often 02 and 02 related media squanders cody in general lol. he feels like a parallel of izzy, joe, and TK(season 1 tk) while also being kind of none of those and suffering through lackluster characterization as a result... and then once ken joins the team it feels a little redundant. there's a couple cody-centric eps of 02 I remember really liking but then i think abt how he's been used since in like post-series content and 02:the beginning where they made him type on the computer even though obviously that's yoleis thing but because he had nothing else to do and aghh... my blood boils. i feel like the youngest but most serious anime achetype even at its bare bones is actually rly interesting idk why they don't play it up. UM. Once again my opinion is that he should be taller LOL and maybe they should play up his kendo martial arts honorable training stuff more idk. tallest + youngest + most serious just seems like a recipe for success for me. well. theres still time. and theres always fanfic.
THIS IS SO NICE TO SAY and not the first time someone has said it but i appreciate it everytime because i really admire the mm art style so much. It's like part of why I got really into the movie because I really recognized my own artistic sensibilities and aspirations in the way they stylized everything.
UM And i feel like since watching the movie and looking at all the concept art and making my own art i do feel like its only become more obvious how much my own art is lacking LOL LIKE when you see something that feels so similar I think the differences only become more stark. those artists are definitely on a different level than me. But it's nice to hear people say it doesn't look so different from their pov. thank u ^^
thank u!!!!!!! i love mundanity and naturalism... there's something so beautiful abt it to me lol... I feel like my anatomy needs work actually but ive been feeling better abt it this year so it's good to hear! thank you!
DLKGDSGDLALSNDF WAS IT TOO FAR..?? firstly, yeah I was thinking late teen/young adult ages for both of them ie 18-19ish, definitely not the age the kids are in the movie lol.
but also they arent DOING anything in that pic it is literally just a confrontation + some innuendo... I think teens should be allowed some less than subtle innuendo.. its like one of the top 3 classically teen pastimes...
this is such a funny ask to get because i feel like i haven't been able to do thin lineart until like. this past year or two maybe LOL. UM having a line-centric art job helped I think. I started on craig of the creek back in 2022 and thats a show where we spend a lot of time inking so I had a job where I was constantly moderating my line weight 40 hours a week every week for over a year. disappointingly, much of improvement is simply horrendous amounts of practice.
Here's a tip though: I think a lot of thin lineart boils down to confidence. I think instinctively we read thick, bold, fast lines as confident but theres actually a lot of obscuring you can do with a thick line. if you're not sure whether the nose on the face or a browline should be a little more left or a little more down you can hide that with a thick line and pretend its a shadow. or hide it with a bunch of quick lines and the eye can kind of approximate where looks best among the mass.. whereas a thin line is rly singular and stark and hides nothing, it needs to be precise. so anytime i know i want thin lineart i spend a LOT of time sketching, making sure i know exactly where i want my lines to go. so im not second guessing by the time im inking...
ok thats kind of a broad tip lol... here's one thats more applicable: IF POSSIBLE, lower your pressure sensitivity on your device. most devices have some way to edit your pressure sensitivity curve. I use a surface pro at home and this is what my pressure curve looks like most of the time.
When I work on a wacom it looks even more like a reverse L shape LOL. I'm naturally a really heavy-handed artist and I use a "light" or "hard" pressure curve to compensate for how hard I'm always pressing on the pen lol. if you're like me and you struggle with going too hard with the ink too fast... this will probably help a lot!
SFHASLDFH I LOVE THIS ASK this is like the type of question a person gets asked when chalk drawing on the sidewalk at recess LOL. but i understand because I've been struggling also for like. months. I think I'm finally starting to nail it down though so here's some of my observations.
[feel free to save this img but **please do not re-post it or share broadly**. my biggest fear in the world is to spend 30 min on some notes and become a widely proliferated art tutorial im not even kidding. i made it low contrast and difficult to read on purpose.]
my other tip is to just look at and study a lot of reference because that's all ive been doing. the tmnt are really cartoony so its difficult to use like actual anatomical reference unless ur going for that look BUT theres been so many adaptions in so many different styles that there's a real treasure trove of stuff to look at for how to simplify, stylize, and dissect these characters while keeping the recognizable essence. so theres lots to pull from.
If you want to expand further, it's also good to have 5) something sci-fi 6)something fantasy 7)something mundane/slice of life. a bedroom is a really good go-to. And of course some bgs can be two or more of these things at once.
I've definitely answered asks abt bg tips before but here's one specifically for if you want to do bg design for a job:
Your portfolio should probably have at least one of each of the following 1) an interior 2) an exterior 3) a cityscape 4) a nature scene. Just to cover kind of the basics of what you'd be asked to draw on any given project.
I actually feel like I don't have that many cityscrapes in my portfolio... this is something I'm gonna try to work on in the coming year LOL. OH ALSO. This is a very basic tip and people will tell you it all the time but its worth repeating: look up portfolio websites of artists who have the job you want. An easy way to do this is to go onto imdb for any cartoon or movie you like and to find the names listed as "bg/background designer" or whatever then just google that name +"art" or "animation" most artists have some public facing internet presence so it's not hard. spend time studying their work and hold those images in your head! it's a good way to get a good idea of what "industry standard" looks like and comparing ur own art to it... I know people sometimes get bummed comparing their art to others but if you can keep your head up lol.. it'll help you figure out what you need to work on!
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ok thats all i have to say sorry for typing so much. happy new year everybody who read this far LMAO!!!!!
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things I consider canon to my flashlight duo universe:
gregory and Evan move in together when they're adults. evan runs to live with the fazbears as soon as he turns 18 and they go from there. whether it's college or just an apartment
gregory is what introduces Evan to drawing and he loves it. they both keep up with the hobby when they're older as well. gregory likes drawing comics and maybe becomes a graphic novelist and I think Evan would like painting
Evan eventually meets vanessa when hes about 14 and she becomes the older sibling he always wanted. he always felt intimidated by her idea because shes Gregory's actual biological sibling and Evan holds that to a high honor because he wants to be. but they get along and vanessa being there for Evan makes him feel like part of the family even more
Roxy and evan are close. roxy kinda takes Evan under her wing because although its not the same experience because roxy had a support system her whole life, she wants to help him through what she also went through. she helps him learn an outlet to control his emotions more to be more manageable and is a calm shoulder to lean on for evan.
in the event that the bite happens (it doesnt usually), I think after Evan heals and recovers he and bonnie would bond over their scars and bonnie would make him feel better about them
evan meets cassidy later on when hes mellowed out some. I dont think she would have liked him a lot before but when hes healed more and gotten better with his sensitivity they get along pretty good. I think cassidy wouldnt have many friends and probably be considered a troublemaker because of her anger issues and her lashing out and Evan uses what hes learned with his emotions to help her. I'll say they're both teens here
freddy and the other adults wanted nothing more than to march over to the Aftons and declare that they're taking Evan forever but they couldnt. I think that they wanted to actually go through a process of adoption and taking custody but that would have affected Michael too and I'm not sure if they thought it was worth it. especially when Evan says hes alright with the fact that things arent perfect and that he already practically spends his whole life there anyway with how he spends the night.
I imagine william isnt the best cook and Michael probably has other means of getting food on top of not minding eating frozen dinners. but I imagine Evan probably didn't like a lot of foods (hes a kid and also. neurodivergent) and didnt have many things he enjoyed. so I think chica saw this and introduced evan to different foods and tried to help him figure out what he likes so he can eat better and enjoy it at the same time
Gregory and Evan are avid claw machine players
off screen when they're not having a moment with eachother every 5 seconds they play games like roblox and minecraft since they're in the modern day. I think Gregory gave Evan one of his older phones that still worked since he didnt have his own (theres nothing wrong with it, just an older model and maybe a little slow) and he plays on that.
gregory will draw during sleepovers and then give it to Evan to color in. gregory always keeps them and hangs them up or puts them somewhere for safe keeping because Evan doesnt want something to happen to them at his house
gregory hates pickles and Evan loves them
evan is an avid sweater wearer and the Fazbears buy him more when he only has like 1 or 2 and his other clothes are starting to get too small. he keeps sweaters at Gregory's house because he basically lives there already
theres a movie night every saturday while everyone is available at the Fazbears
michael starts to lay off a bit after a little while (think a couple years) just because Evan isnt even around as much for him to terrorize. Michael doesn't like being at home either and since they dont see eachother as much bullying Evan isnt in his minds eye as often. it just doesnt come to mind to do as much at that point
because of genes and chica helping him eat good, evan grows to be taller than Michael
evan experiments with gender later in life as a young adult and is lowkey surprised to learn that Gregory has been transgender this whole time
evan develops huge holiday spirit and for the rest of his days loves to decorate and do holiday-ey things for the season
#i need to make a tag for all these things im saying about the au lol#pandas.txt#pandas talks#flashlight duo#flashlight duo modern au#gregory and evan#evan#gregory#the fazbears#the aftons#evan and cassidy#golden duo#flashlight duo au thoughts#<- there
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Would like to add my 2 cents onto the topic of Tallulah and Richarlyson's argument. I didn't live blog anything during that bc I realized fairly quickly that this argument they had was something that hit me very personally bc I've lived through it. It hit even harder due to me being an older sister with a younger brother
I can only speak about Bads stream bc that's who I was watching during this whole thing going on, so I dont know how it truly started besides Richas saw the painting Phil got from Cellbit and rightfully got upset about.
Just wanted to say how I loved Bad's handling of the situation with Tallulah. Reasoning with her while also validating her feelings bc it's so easy for parents to go "you're older, YOU have to apologize first" which... I have so many feelings about, but I could see that the conversation happening between BBH and Tallulah would be one of understanding and cooling down from an emotional moment. Also how Bad gave examples of his own experiences. How he's had fights with siblings or friends and understanding that SOMEONE has to apologize first bc you realize you both are in the wrong (which they were)
But chats refusal to see it like that truly got on my nerves. How no matter how many times Bad explained that they're kids and they'll overreact it just went through people's heads and they'd get upset about the situation again.
I can understand the reasoning some chatters had, but everyone NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND that this is roleplay. Yes the eggs are most likely played by people in their late teens to early 20's, but they're playing little kids, who don't have the emotional maturity of an adult, so that's how they're going to act: childish.
I thought Bad handled everything pretty well with the information he had, so I was very surprised to see that people were upset about it. I think there was no one on the server that could've handled that situation perfectly, and quite frankly I don't think there wasn't even a way to handle it perfectly at all considering you're dealing with two little kids and one way or another they'll get upset in which decision you make. Bad was great.
Forever's side for me was also completely understandable. I agree that he should have handled it better, but I also could see why he acted the way he did. A lot of people forget that Forever felt way more responsible for Tallulah because she's not his kid, Philza gave permission to take care of her after rejecting it once and he doesn't want to mess up. He will always be able to take care of Richarlyson after all this, but if he does something wrong with Tallulah, Philza will not let him take her again. It was a different type of responsibility. It was someone else's kid in his care!
And both Forever and Bad are also justifiable in thinking Richas was the immature one in that situation, because in their POV he put a material object over his relationship to his sister. That material might have a deeper meaning, but his sister would always be more important. Of course we, the audience, are very aware of Richarlyson's lore and that painting can't be compared to a normal real life painting, it's something much creepy and deeper than that, but their reaction over a situation like that for me was completely normal. If you're a parent of two kids, the last thing you want to see is one consider the other dead just because of a painting.
Also Richas never truly speaks about them besides saying he hates it, and that was the first time he actually expressed himself better about the whole Montelyson situation. So I hope he can communicate better in the future and their parents can get rid of that creepy thing once and for all.
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Okay, this may come off sounding overly Buffypilled, but I think the fatal flaw that keeps preventing the pieces from coming together in SyFy's The Magicians (a show that is often good in its elements but Does Not Cohere) is that it can't figure out the nature of its core metaphor around magic.
But Milo, you say, maybe not everything has to be like, a metaphor? Maybe it can just be a fantasy show where people cast spells and bop around between dimensions because it's fun and entertaining? And to that I say, yeah, theoretically it can be that, but stuff that wants to be emotionally resonant is usually not that.
So there's typically an operative metaphor to these things, an idea that gives structure to the supernatural elements and helps us understand what's going on thematically. So like in Buffy and Supernatural, the structuring metaphor is The Pleasant-Seeming World Vs The Monsters Below Us. You understand the story by locating various characters in terms of their role in the conflict -- predators, protectors, prey -- and there's an ongoing tension around whether or not it's okay for protectors to dabble too much in Monstrosity, if the powers and tactics of the Monstrous can ever be repurposed for good.
That's not the structure of all stories, even in that genre! Teen Wolf and Harry Potter both have "secret occult world parallel to the familiar one" premises, as does The Magicians, but none of those stories impose the predator/prey metaphor onto their worlds. Teen Wolf structures its metaphors around the opposite assumption: that the supernatural element (The Wolf) is inherently neutral, and that accessing it makes characters simultaneously more dangerous and more capable of good. Hunters are bad guys in that universe, but good guys in Buffy and SPN, because the audience understands that "magic" is carrying a different set of meanings in the different stories, right?
The novels that The Magicians is based on has an extremely clear and pointed perspective on the meaning that magic carries metaphorically, and it's a positive meaning. Magic stands in for the power to make sense and meaning out of your own life, which is why the books follow Quentin's process from being a frustrated child using escapist child-stories to distract himself to playing an active role within those stories to assuming authority as a Magician King to ultimately killing the god of his childhood fantasy stories and creating his own Magician's Land to explore. Gaining more magic is always good in the books; it makes Quentin more sure of himself and the world, and it makes him more able to change it. It's an obvious metaphor for evolving over his 20s from a child who consumes stories to an adult who tells his own story.
But that's not the case in the show. A significant percentage of the show is an argument with itself about what magic even is -- does it solve problems or create them? If it's the reason lives across the multiverse are constantly at risk, is that bad? It sounds bad! But it's also power, and the show is highly sympathetic to the desire to Have More Power -- often completely divorced from the purpose or use of power. Gods seem mostly terrible, except Persephone, who's right to give Julia divine power, which we want Julia to be able to keep? But why do we want Julia to be a god? They're terrible! It's not clear. The nature of the power isn't clear, but the show has a general bias toward more power being a good thing -- except that the Library clearly has too much power, and so probably does Brakebills, both of which withhold magic for purposes that are protective or elitist or both? The show advocates for fewer restrictions on magic, but it also shows total carnage resulting from minor fuckups with magic, so -- does it really want the Library to just throw open to the floodgates? Doesn't it pretty strongly imply that a bloodbath would ensue if people had unfettered access to magic?
I realize it kind of sounds like I'm saying complicated stories with conflicting perspectives are bad, but I'm not. I just think it's difficult to know how to feel about anything that happens in the show because of this extremely loose approach to its use of themes. Alice is presented as wrong and bad when she tries to stifle magic, because the other characters like magic, but is she wrong? Why is she wrong? Why do the other characters like magic so much? It's presented as something that provides -- meaning or joy or some quasi-spiritual sense of identity ("the secret heart of who you always were"), but the show doesn't actually make that case, it doesn't demonstrate that the characters are better or happier because they're Magicians -- not in the same clear way that Scott McCall or book!Quentin are demonstrably more confident and comfortable and wiser at the end of their stories than they were at the beginning. As many times as I've watched The Magicians, I have to say I get less convinced every time that any of them benefit much from being Magicians -- and yet the story itself seems sure that they do, that magic has inherent value of some kind.
That's a weird combination, and it leaves me with the uncomfortable sense that the addiction metaphor is the one the show is fleshing out most fully. Fogg offers Quentin magic in exchange for his pills. Julia can't access magic legally and immediately behaves exactly like a junkie. If you do too much you'll be consumed, leaving an angry ghost. Kady's literal substance abuse, like Fogg's, is entwined at every step with the struggle to cope with the traumas of magic. Eliot is possessed by a creature of enormous magical power who is enthralled by the sensation of being high and has no perception of limits or consequence. They go back and back again to this entangling of magic and intoxication and addiction and self-destruction, but they never seem either aware of or willing to admit that they've created a world where magic itself is an addictive intoxicant, unable to provide real solutions to anyone's problems, but just pleasurable enough compared to the pain of sobriety to keep people chasing the sensation right over the cliff.
It's not intentional enough to be a metaphor that carries through consistently and explains everything, but it returns so frequently as a subtext that it ends up seeping into all the gaps where they've refused to show up with any other clear thematic agenda.
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sso and "its just a kids game!", "its not that deep!"
ive been thinking a lot about how there are things you really can and should excuse sso for "because its a kids game". those are things like the silly tone in serious situations, when carl and a DC goon just want to eat ice cream instead of doing villain things, or when mr anwir says "so anyway back to my evil speech", or when avalon/druid says :O, or when katja puts on an evil playlist and we change it to a less-evil playlist during a not-really-canon event quest. the goofy tone of the game makes it less scary despite having some dark and scary elements in the story.
(the goofiness shouldnt mess up the logic of the story, though, which i think the dark riders and DC really have an issue with, but thats a bit too much of a tangent.)
or things like making sure you know that nobody died when you and the soul riders did a thing, or seeing someone blast off in a goofy way after being struck, so you dont feel bad about it, or take away the lesson that killing bad guys is fine. making sure to spell it out to you if theres a lesson to be learnt sometimes, or shoving the magic of friendship in your face (although in a shallow way).
or having non-punishing and laidback gameplay (except economically) to suit the youngest players, like not having to lose anything if you fail, or giving the player very clear instructions for quests, or having NPCs not be very hard to defeat compared to games targeted to older teens and adults. (but accommodating young players that barely read and have never played a game before, or players with disabilities that can't always play in the most hardcore gaming manner, and so on - accessibility - shouldnt in any way relate to having bad or clunky gameplay or game design. sso doesn't actually do a good job of being accommodating, it would be much better if there was genuinely fun, well-designed, challenging gameplay for those who seek it, while allowing those who dont to take their time and play the same thing at their own pace without failing - having properly designed races and champs and overhauling the scoreboard system and testing every race until they're at the quality they should be; having rewards like more js for reaching higher scores while still allowing players to earn okay js if they aren't aiming for the gold medal times or highscore boards. having fun and challenging gameplay mechanics with different difficulties. etc. the concept of "adaptive difficulty" is also interesting.)
theres things that are very reasonable to excuse in kids media. theres just also parts that i dont excuse and dont think its appropriate to excuse. when ppl do the "its a kids game!" thing, its not always about what i described above.
should you excuse low-quality game design and gameplay functionality just because its a kids game? no, not at this price point, anyway - there are kids games for free or for a couple $€ out there that might be validly priced. however, this is also *especially* bad in "girl games" (fuck gender and sexism, but society exists). girl games are notorious for being low quality and not comparable in quality to "boy games" at the same price points. perpetuating this - trying to get girl game audiences' money without providing quality girl games - is a problem of misogyny and exploitation. not excusable.
should you excuse bad writing just because its a kids game? i certainly dont. i dont like badly written kids books, or picture books, or cartoons, and i didnt prefer low quality content over high quality content when i was a kid, either (but quality means different things in different circumstances and to different people). your ability to tell if something is crappy or great improves as you age, but even if its definitely possible for a kid to enjoy the hell out of an objectively low quality piece of media, there are problems that often arise from bad writing and bad design... because where low quality writing comes from, there is often also a lack of care for important issues and topics, and a lack of respect for the target audience.
should you excuse racial or sexist stereotypes, or fatphobia and harmful beauty standards in general, or ableism, or cishet normativity, lack of diversity, just because its a kids game? isnt it *even more important* in a kids game, since kids are still learning so much about the world and starting to form perspectives and opinions and feelings about it for the first time?
if you think "but sso doesn't have much of that!", i think you might have played the game with a very different perspective than i did. what about how courtney, the summers sister, is framed as a joke because of how she looks - you're supposed to find it funny (and sweet though!) that carl franz thinks she's beautiful and perfect, because that's not how the game assumes you reacted to her. the brothers obviously also are meant to be seen as goofy looking but i don't remember if it was handled in such a direct way as with courtney. the game also assumes that you find xin scary or strange-looking when you see him without his mask (it's in ydris' dialogue); which is especially fucked up since he's a person of short stature (and also part of the "circus freak" stereotype!), but also always fucked up regardless - people just exist, man. we are born looking some kind of way. it's fucked up to think xin or courtney are ugly. it's fucked up that we were supposed to find a disabled little girl scary during an old halloween event (i think her back was hunched and she walked differently?). it's fucked up to think pi is ugly, or mrs holdsworth, or the GED workers. i want the world to stop thinking of normal human traits as "ugly" no matter how unusual or usual those traits are, or how symmetrical or not, or how popular or not, how old or young you look, how sick or healthy you look, or whatever the fuck. its all ridiculous and should be stopped. we should think of people in terms of kindness, in terms of shared interests and shared joy, in terms of healthy relationships, in terms of caring and loving and making the world a good place to live in for everyone.
and thats just the aspect of beauty standards and shit. i havent even gotten started on the shallow idea of diversity they executed in the production of this game. on how there were lots of random npcs of colour suddenly, but without bringing poc in as important key characters with interesting and engaging continuous presence in the story. how the dark riders feature the most buff and masculine female character, a physically threatening and masculine woman of colour. how they were going to have 3/4 poc in the dark riders while the soul riders are 1.5/4, and the remaining dark rider appears to have albinism which makes it another harmful ableist stereotype. how so many of the important characters were designed as white - yes, its a swedish game, but the game is not from the 1950s, is it? when sso was released, sweden's population was more than 10% foreign-born. today it's even higher. can you guess if there is a class issue and if rich white game studio owners and directors didn't really think about people who weren't blond and light eyed and white?
or the lack of body diversity in anyone else than 40+ year old characters. sure, it's good there was anyone fat or beefy or differently shaped at all. and it's understandable that they didn't have the resources at the time of release to make the player character more customisable (doesn't excuse the lack of diversity in skintones though) and went with their typical fatphobic misogynist 2000's cartoon look they'd already created before sso (dont get me wrong, i love the old art, we can enjoy aspects of things while also criticising them). but they already *did* create npcs with different bodies and faces on and off - especially the 40+ yos - and there was nothing stopping them from spending a little more time on creating a fat young adult npc, or one with an androgynous body, or a beefy female npc, or other diverse bodies and faces, rather than spending it on putting together 10 more generic skinny background npcs (have you ever thought about just how fucking many random unnecessary npcs are in this game?).
those are a lot of things that are pretty serious and that you have to kind of be woke and analytical to think about in the first place (most players - esp if they themselves dont feel especially oppressed irl - arent ever going to really think about these issues, or might actively be *for* some of the issues, such as in the case of fatphobia directed towards the player model update). other things like the game design and quality of the gameplay, inconsistent writing and design and graphics and so on, are things more players might notice since it can make the game just feel more boring or frustrating compared to other games you play, even if you dont think too hard about the whys and hows.
but the fact that kids might not realise that theres ableism or racism or fatphobia or misogyny or that theyre being pushed into spending money on something that isnt really up to the standard - thats not really a reason to excuse those things. and if someone says "the writing is really bad" or "this makes no sense" or "why did they design these characters this way" or "this horse game sucks and is boring and inconsistent", rather than just saying "its just a kids game", "why do you take it so seriously", "its not that deep", maybe its worth considering this, that there are things you absolutely should excuse kids media for, and other things you really, really shouldnt.
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