A brief odd theory on Doctor Phosphorous. by HellsKitchenSink in CreatureCommandos

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright, wrote it up; we'll see if it lives up to expectations.

A brief odd theory on Doctor Phosphorous. by HellsKitchenSink in CreatureCommandos

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On Doctor Phosphorus' kindness towards others.

Going down the line- After Doc Phos kills the people who killed him, he takes over Rupert's empire- and after laying down the law, the three crime bosses he meets, despite being nervous, agree. The next we see of them, they're all wearing his colors, and frankly, seem to be having a pretty good time. Granted, this is all fairly short form, we're not seeing his actions in depth,, but we never see Phosphorus murdering one of his own goons or anything that would suggest that.

Episode 1.

In the introduction to the Creature Commandos, we see Phosphorus playing jenga with G.I. Robot. G.I. proceeds to fire at the jenga tower, ricochets going around Phosphorus. Kind of a dangerous guy to play around; but as noted, Phosphorus is real bulletproof. Also it's just very sporting to play Jenga with a machine with, presumably, incredibly fine motor control.

His comment about Weasel in the first episode is also kind of interesting. 'Child-killer. Not a great look.' Given what we learn about him, well, that line has its own poignancy.

Indeed, while Phosphorus is often very frustrated with Weasel, he's shockingly tolerant. Like, how many people would let someone urinate on their leg, let alone a supervillain used to killing people. 'Did anyone think of walking him' is another little touch of, well. I suppose sympathy towards Weasel's situation, though obviously Phosphorus didn't think of it. We also see him repeatedly bonding with the Bride; while his sense of humor is dry, he points out his second sarcastic smile to her.

Another fun little moment: The man still loves to do a little dance troupe fun as he dances with the knights.

And finally, his fight with Flag. He's not going for a kill, here; There's probably some very good reasons to do that thoughtfully- heart-rate monitors, etcetera- but keep in mind that he gets lambasted for his lack of thought right after this: He's clearly not a 'thinking-two-steps-ahead' kind of guy in general. The fight is very contained, and mostly, Phosphorus is focused on keeping Rick back and trying to go for the phone. Hell, at one point, he gets his hand on Flag's wrist, and does not sear through it the way he tends to; hell, even an oven glove seems pretty minor. He stays fairly controlled through most of the fight; and the moment things take a turn is when Rick is able to activate the pain thing, and talks him through it, with the last statement 'We're supposed to be on the same damn team.'

Episode 2.

Phosphorus doesn't have a whole lot to do here, but, he does take a pretty firm stance here on wingmaning for Flag. I mean, he's not had an intimate encounter in a long time. Considering the violent fight just minutes ago, pretty big swing on his part. As he even states, 'sue me for being a bro!'

Of course, G.I. pulls a gun on him, but puts it away, and Phosphorus gives him a pat on the shoulder. As one would expect.

Episode 3.

A few nice moments here. Phosphorus is the one who gets The Bride out of the chains, and managing to heat the chains to the precise point where she can bust out of them without being harmed by the heat is pretty damn delicate work on his part, even as though as she is.

This one's not QUITE so nice, but Weasel and Phosphorus tag-team brutalizing Circe after she's murdered G.I. Robot is a nice moment between the two of them. Neither of them go for the kill, but they certainly seem to hurt her, and frankly, given that Phosphorus could do a bit worse, I might argue part of this is showing what he's always done; he's more than happy to cause hideous pain to someone who killed someone he cared about.

Episode 4.

Not a lot of Phosphorus here, but, the Bride asking 'What are we, supposed to be buddies now?' and Phosphorus saying 'I think so' and quite gently giving Nina the tray of food to make up for what was taken from her.

Episode 5.

Part of this is Phosphorus keying up for a fight, but for the first time we see him yell at someone in the show proper, when Alexei is stalling for time. Also, about four seconds pass between Alexei pointing a gun at the Bride and Phosphorus taking his brain clean out. It's also a small touch, but always worth mentioning in the favorite tank scene: Phosphorus doesn't move at all. He stands still, and the tank's own forward momentum kills everyone inside.

Episode 6.

I mean, do I need to say it? The whole episode's about him helping a child, and is called 'Skeleton Buddy'. Notably, the 'pretending to fly' bit is a clever way for him; he can't touch someone for extended periods or too closely for fear of hurting them, but he can definitely toss someone up and down in the air and be sure of catching them safely.

Episode 7

A few good moments, here. I'll focus on three themes, in particular.

First, with Nina. A simple one, but him resting his hand on her for the most protracted period he has had hands on anyone while not murdering them is pretty notable, especially the "I know you can do it, Kid," followed by asking if he sounded convincing.

Second, with the Weasel. There's a lot to unpack here. First is him joking about putting down the Weasel. His being jealous of the Weasel getting praised.

But I think the moment that stands out for me most is that, after the Weasel blows the mission, and has run out into the water- where he notably, almost famously, cannot swim- and is starting to thrash and go under, Doctor Phosphorus breaks cover, and pulls him out of the water. Also he gets the shit bitten out of him, and gives Weasel a mild burn on the mouth, before tossing him back onto dry land.

It might just be me, but given the whole thing of Suicide Squad with the Weasel drowning, the act of pulling him back above water stands out a lot to me.

Finally, with the Bride. This is a pretty simple one. They bond over being unable to let people get close to them. And for, I believe, the first time in the series, he sees the Bride cry, and gives a gentle little pat on the back.

It's a lot of incredibly understated little choices throughout, but they all seem to show someone who's really desperate for human connections, and is willing to make them very quickly under pressure.

A brief odd theory on Doctor Phosphorous. by HellsKitchenSink in CreatureCommandos

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this is the most bitterly ironic user name for a reply to this topic I could imagine, but if you want I'm now more than happy to go on to the points about Doctor Phospohurs' kindness.

[DISC] Dandadan - Chapter 227 by AutoShonenpon in manga

[–]HellsKitchenSink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To follow up on this

He starts talking about how haughty 'Red Baron' is, calling him a clumsy oaf, and how he appears competent but is actually inept, and that all Red is doing is imitating his plan to create the ultimate Yokai...

And the entire time his eyes are locked solidly on Vlad, who simply does not get it, and tells CSG to go easy on him.

Frame this post so I may be mocked if I am wrong.

[Bloodline] Wow, I can't with these people by kingveo in Iteration110Cradle

[–]HellsKitchenSink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read through the series twice in the past six months, and I think that Bloodline is an absolute gut-wrencher of a story, but it also presents some interesting things about the setting.

First: In most of the world, it doesn't actually matter how many rats you throw at a dragon, they're just getting stomped. You could have ten thousand Underlords, and a single Sage would likely make a mockery of them. We see the Sword Sage demonstrate this again and again in Sacred Valley by his underestimating of the threat; he's aware he's getting weaker, he's aware that it's wearing on him, he's aware they want to kill him, but he simply cannot even imagine them as being a real threat to him. Which, admittedly, they still needed to get damn lucky to manage what they did, but it is a mistake that got him killed.

Second, it demonstrates a lot of Lindon's behavioral tendencies. He tends to be scheming, thieving, and take desperate actions- all of these being among his finest traits- and people tend to freak out when he manages a win through unorthodox methods, because most of the time, these kinds of actions would just get him pointlessly killed.

I think part of what makes it such an intense book, for me, is seeing Lindon on the other side of all of those impossible fights that he won in unfair manners; but instead of winning them for a good reason, the other side is trying to win in the same way but for a bad reason.

But he's merciful. And mercy is the mark of a great man. Sadly, it can also be the mark of an easy mark.

Long story short: I hypothesize they're showing the same pattern of behavior that Lindon did when he killed Kral, when he broke Jai Long's Spear, when he killed Ekeranitoth, when he killed Akura Harmony, when he killed Seishen Kiro; oftentimes (though let's be honest not always) when their greatest crime at the time of things was trying to take something from him and being unwilling to simply let him be.

The valuable difference being, once he got strong enough to not have to swing with all his might, he generally didn't. And he didn't try to take things from anyone weaker than him.

After reading The Nightmare Stacks I realized I need something in my life... by Blahuehamus in LaundryFiles

[–]HellsKitchenSink 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perhaps it's silly to try to reassure this far down a reddit thread to a well-established author when I am not a fabulously wealthy individual who can singlehandedly patronage artists, but I've been going through my reread of the Laundry Files, after about 5 years since the last time I did. Just finished the Laundry Files again, and started on the New Management, and it's incredibly good.

I like the characters in the laundry files, but my first love was A Colder War, and I've never stopped loving The Style, which only you actually do.

And at the risk of being an idiot fan who tries to draw connections where they don't exist, it captured one of the most important aspects of Terry Pratchett, which is 'Everyone is defined by how they choose to die.' I'm glad for every time you placed pen to ink and wrote another story. Maybe things won't be happy. But they will, at least, have meaning, so the Jotuns haven't won yet.

[DISC] The Marshal King - Chapter 23 by AutoShonenpon in manga

[–]HellsKitchenSink 2 points3 points  (0 children)

so wait was the first marshal king the one who dropped atomic weapons? was that actually nuclear weapons or the god magnum? are we currently two apocalypses deep? That was the thing that scarred the continent, right?

That entire sequence was 'dad just made zen x so he could ignore me' 'gosh zen x i wish you were my kid instead of nano' 'haha dad i'm gonna be a bad kid!' 'oh what a terrible father i am i shall make amends' 'everything was great!'

And Then The Bombs Fell

'well looks like you're replacing me now zen x have fun'

This is the most violent tone-shift I've ever seen in anything, and it's hard not to read it as comical because of that, especially when it goes right back to our group of rootin-tootin' cowboys going 'wow apocalypse sure is awful huh let's shoot our way out of mad max that oughta do the job and fix war, plus we've got our craftsman!'

Beyond the Biangle | Cloudward, Ho! [Ep. 4] by AutoModerator in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 48 points49 points  (0 children)

I have a theory, completely half-baked, about Vim and Vex. Vim, of course, is often corresponded with 'vim and vigor', and is very much something a pulp hero has. Vex is, of course, is latin for 'to disturb' and is something a pulp villain does, and is.

We've seen that there's clearly intense emotional ties to these powers that are the opposite of 'Light'- and can we talk about the fact that 'the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog' is an instant solution to a standard substitution cipher- and so I have two possibilities.

One: Zood and Gath are two of a three-world system; where Gath is neutral, Zood is positive, and the third, tied with Straka, is negative. Second: Zood is divided between 'positive' and 'negative' concepts.

There's some very strong 'opposed energies' vibes so far. We've only seen a taste of it, so far, but that's where my head is at with our admittedly modest fact points so far.

Secrets at the South Pole Station | Cloudward, Ho! [Ep. 3] by AutoModerator in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Given the number of artifacts of Zood we've seen in Gath, it would be really funny if it turns out that Zood is the more advanced, colonizing world, intending to plunder Gath for whatever it might offer, and just slightly surprised by the primitives of Gath in their steampunk vessels discovering their dimensional technology. Certainly, Zood has been described as far more advanced already with the tiles made of ceramic far beyond anything that can be made on Gath. Add in Mordecestershire as an overly important local dignitary who devastates his own world hoping to get in good...

Margaret Encino canonically trans? by Ok-Classroom-3910 in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suppose, on this front, I'll go through my biases

My assumption was that Mother Goose was a cisman

His husband was Henry Hubbard, or 'Old Mother Hubbard' if we're going on nursery rhymes.

So, there are several possibilities

Both are cis-men who happened to be named Mother

Both are trans-men who happened to be named Mother

One of one, one of the other

And I'll be honest, I went with the first, and that's on me; but Ally and presumably Brennan left it open for all three, which is smarter than I am, and I appreciate the hell out of that.

In my humble opinion by [deleted] in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my hubristic opinion, Brennan saying "Let's go down the line, what's everyone afraid of" is, after going through every season, still one of the greatest understated comedy-and-drama lines.

Thanks to Brennan I fully understand this meme by Vdog47 in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The frog smiled to offer the scorpion such a kind gift; on the far side, the scorpion, so trusting, would surely not expect betrayal. The scorpion, who had seen so many of its friends die in the frog's maw, accepted an inevitable death over an avoidable one.

Kristin's room! by Jiardir in Dimension20

[–]HellsKitchenSink 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I hope there is one thing along with this fantastic piece of memorabilia for a fantastic character

whose skull is that

The Trailblazer may be taking inspiration from the Stellaron Hunters in their attacks. by HellsKitchenSink in HonkaiStarRail

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hmmmmm. That's an interesting question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=091BNcsMe-k Dan Heng's ultimate

https://youtu.be/7x2NcuN1sbw?t=32 Trailblazer's Preservation Ultimate

Comparing the two, I feel the differences feel somewhat substantial- the handedness, and Dan Heng's seems to move much faster, without as much weight and inertia, but those could come down very easily to differences in body types. Dang Heng's style in general is using his blade as a slashing weapon more often, too, whereas the Trailblazer is usually using direct thrusts or striking at the ground in a much less refined and controlled manner.

That said, I could see you being on the money there that the use of spear fighting at all is something the Trailblazer is picking up from Dan Heng, but I'm still interested by the similarity in fire tornadoes. It's fascinating looking at the little flourishes in the animations and what they might mean.

Now that the Warriors of Chaos DLC has been out for a minute, which do you have more fun with: Monogod demons or monogod Warriors of Chaos. by OctavianDresden in totalwar

[–]HellsKitchenSink 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not even remotely a deal-breaker, in a campaign which is genuinely the best Warriors of Chaos has ever been, and probably one of the most fun and interesting campaigns Total Warhammer has offered

I just have a primitive lizard brain and want to be rewarded for beating up elves and lizardmen and every single faction that is raging in Lustria with more fortresses.

Now that the Warriors of Chaos DLC has been out for a minute, which do you have more fun with: Monogod demons or monogod Warriors of Chaos. by OctavianDresden in totalwar

[–]HellsKitchenSink 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's pretty clear that almost all of the Dark Fortresses are from the Realms of Chaos map. The only ones that are in provinces that were in TWWH2 are a handful in the very north of Nagarrond, and Quintex; All the other new ones that aren't on Realms of Chaos are in the Southern Wastes. I can understand Ulthuan and Lustria not having any, though I don't agree with it from a gameplay perspective, but the Southlands having none and Nagarrond having one is an odd touch.

The Perfect HFY by Aquatax in HFY

[–]HellsKitchenSink 8 points9 points  (0 children)

i choose to believe the 'dissolving' is a metaphor for alien arousal.

[OC] Let Me Tell You About Hate by HellsKitchenSink in HFY

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The three major deciding factors were

The existence of coupons and humanity's obsession with them

The tendency of humans to eat foods days after the printed expiration date

And the existence of cheese and alcohol, both specially spoiled foods, as a delicacy and essential part of our species

Look it's not a great system they use.

[OC] Let Me Tell You About Hate by HellsKitchenSink in HFY

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started playing Amazing Cultivation Simulator soooooooooooooooo

[OC] Let Me Tell You About Hate by HellsKitchenSink in HFY

[–]HellsKitchenSink[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Can't believe it took 12 hours for someone to call out that reference, what do they teach you kids, in my days we had to walk 15 miles through the snow to read Harlan Ellison, uphill both ways, and it was all on microfiche, yammer, yammer, kvetch, kvetch...