I’ve gotten to try some of Darkest Dungeon, which has been decently challenging even on Radiant difficulty. The biggest challenges however have been technical, as I’ve had to cope with frequent crashes and graphical glitches even after following the recommendations to disable Steam’s overlay and lower the relevant settings and so forth. It baffles me that my computer apparently has more trouble running a 2D single player game than it does WoW, a game it’s always managed comfortably albeit on slightly below average settings. It’s making DD itself a bit hard to appreciate on its own merits, though so far I’ve been enjoying the strategy and party building and can just manage the dark and gory tone. (I haven’t touched the Courtyard yet, but that’s more due to my assumption that expansion content wouldn’t be a good place to explore when my party is all at low levels.)

ayellowbirds:

gutsygumshoe:

this is in my history book about prohibition in the 1920s and i’m laughing so hard oh my gooooood

i love how popular media makes speakeasies out to be incredibly secretive and impossible to find and this narc unjustly saddled with the best name ever found booze on arrival.

This is, of course, due in large part to the unique cultural makeup of New Orleans. It is generally reported to have been the “wettest” US city during Prohibition, as much due to the religious significance of wine to Catholics as to our love of revelry and fine dining. In fact, the city’s red light district moved from its earlier location in Storyville (now a part of the Faubourg Tremé – colloquially just Treme like the TV series of the same name) to its current, infamous location in the Rue Bourbon in the years following World War I. One may therefore point out that the 20th century history of sex work in New Orleans is inextricably tied to this laughably failed attempt at turning a city of deeply entrenched and formerly wealthy Latins into one of teetotaling Baptists.

paragonred said

To me Keith’s sudden age up seemed as if it was done so that people could ship Sheith without worrying about the age gap

Yeah, that story choice seemed rather deliberate, almost to the point of feeling artificial. Of course it also gave Keith time to bond with his mother (most of it implied/off-screen), but it also dropped a wolf pet on him out of nowhere that I’m still trying to decide if I want it to be relevant to anything. These showrunners have demonstrated a willingness to address fandom controversy directly in canon since back in AtLA, but at the same time I don’t think they wanted to be too definitive when there’s still a few seasons left. The “You’re my brother. I love you!” bit encouraged shippers and antis alike, with the latter now moving on from the age gap to complain even more loudly about alleged incest or pseudo-incest. This only reinforces the belief I’ve held for years that many of the female and other AFAB supporters of M/M ships in online fandom spaces have had little to no interaction with gay/bi male culture. And also, naturally, that ship wars will always rage on in spite of everything.

I decided to open the bottle of Bordeaux given to me by my cousin and start watching Versailles. I’d heard that the first season wasn’t so good, but in all honesty the first episode had me hooked. It seems to be shaping up to a frank homage to the two namesakes of the Créole colonial enterprise, Louis XIV – Louisiana – and his brother Philippe, duc d’Orléans – New Orleans – one that regards the former’s political and social designs in all their beauty and cruelty. Cut off as I largely am from the media of my own country these kinds of projects are a welcome compromise, particularly as this show was produced with considerable French input and includes elements of our culture that are second nature to me and my family but would be a horror in most US media: casual nudity and adultery, overt depictions of Catholicism, and the interplay of sex and piety. It’s almost enough to excuse all the Anglos playing Frenchmen (and if I’m not mistaken the actor who plays Philippe was also on Merlin – a palette cleanser, bien sûr!)

My favorite line of the episode: “Would you consign us all to linger in the swamp?” spoken by Philippe’s lover le chevalier de Lorraine. In context he’s speaking of the château de Versailles as a hunting lodge unsuited for a king’s residence, but given what would happen to the French who were indeed consigned to linger in a much more malignant swamp it takes on a far greater poignancy. 

Kuvira for the ask meme?

Sexuality Headcanon:

Leaning toward ace, though she might have felt something at one point for Bataar, Jr. Maybe.

Gender Headcanon:

Female, and I could see her as either cis or trans.

A ship I have with said character:

No one, since she’s more married to her vision. I’m not even sure if she and Jr. would have worked out in more normal circumstances.

A BROTP I have with said character:

I wonder what her relationship with Suyin was like in better times, or if she and Korra could have gotten along. As it stands in canon she’s pretty much an island unto herself.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Korra. They’re good narrative foils but I don’t see much chemistry there. Also…Wu. No one ships her with Wu, right? Please don’t, for everyone’s sake.

A random headcanon:

Kuvira’s demeanor is very telling about how Zaofu was really run behind the scenes, and she makes you wonder just what the people around her thought of the United Republic. There’s got to be something that explains her desire to reconquer them.

General opinion over said character:

Controversially, she’s probably my favorite major antagonist in LoK, even more than fan favorite Zaheer. Her motivations get a little messy toward the end, but I think they can be patched up with only a bit of headcanon. Wu’s still my favorite character of Book 4, but that would be for entirely different reasons.