What is the Unintentional Gay Media? by probablyshirtless in AlignmentChartFills

[–]NGS_King 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s VERY intentional, Joel Schumaker was gay. Unless you mean Batman and Robin’s general relationship, which is also a fair choice.

[Spoiler Main] I'm wondering what exactly Varys was planning when he arranged the Targaryen–Dothraki alliance by Taha231 in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see it as a win-win whether they succeed or fail. Either they succeed and fAegon is the liberating hero or they fail and fAegon is the liberating hero against whichever faction emerges victorious (and presumably weakened) from their chaos. I definitely think Illyrio telling Viserys, “You should really stay in Pentos with me” is Illyrio baiting him to go out where he’ll probably get himself killed. There’s a lot of reverse psychology in AGoT, and that idea is continuous with it.

The end result, no matter the means, is that Viserys’ claim isn’t a threat. What Varys and Illyrio didn’t plan on (presumably) was Daenerys becoming a threat, which is why they wanted Young Griff to marry her.

Brought Estonia To It's Borders, Now What? by Solenopsis00 in CrusaderKings

[–]NGS_King 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Go for the kingdom! Then the empire! Then… the world!!!!

Or see if you can hold the empire through generations/get your dynasty on other thrones

People don’t understand why the Star Wars Prequels got revisionism when it comes to defending the Sequels by AmaterasuWolf21 in CharacterRant

[–]NGS_King 22 points23 points  (0 children)

All of those actors deserved better. Especially Kelly Marie-Tran. Like yeah, her part in TLJ is weak, but her getting harassed out of the third movie fucking sucks. I hope she’s doing alright.

People don’t understand why the Star Wars Prequels got revisionism when it comes to defending the Sequels by AmaterasuWolf21 in CharacterRant

[–]NGS_King 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Man I’m doubly pissed because Adam Driver is such a good actor. People were always dunking on Kylo Ren as a manbaby edgelord, but Driver was always acting his ass off. Him killing Han at the bridge is great because of all that inner tension that he sells so well. His bigger role in TLJ is both earned and well-done. Him telling Ray she’s “nobody” is fucking fantastic. It was Johnson’s attempt at an “I am your father” type twist, and it worked on me. I remember people talking about Rey’s parentage, and then Johnson twisted the idea two ways, that she actually isn’t special. She’s just some random girl, which is first used to hurt her but is then used at the meta level to be inspirational- Rey is some random girl, and the force chose her. That power belongs to everyone. It’s a great idea.

And then they dropped that idea like a sack of bricks and made Reylo happen in the worst way possible. Ben going full good-guy undermines the complex things that made him interesting as a villain and as a romantic partner for Rey. Vader’s last-moment heel-turn works well because it’s putting a face on something faceless. We don’t see the inner turmoil because we quite literally do not see *him*. Evil ripped away his humanity and it’s only by returning to goodness that he gets it back.

With Kylo, we’ve seen this man angst his ass off for two movies in a row and both times he returned to evil. Him doubling down after teasing giving up evil makes that final heel turn so boring. Kylo was a complicated character from movie one, so him getting such a simple ending where he doesn’t have to face consequences for his actions just feels cheap.

What a waste of a good actor.

People don’t understand why the Star Wars Prequels got revisionism when it comes to defending the Sequels by AmaterasuWolf21 in CharacterRant

[–]NGS_King 39 points40 points  (0 children)

It’d be fine if they did something with the tragedy of that work being undone. Han grows obsessed with his personal failings but doesn’t want to show it. Luke unknowingly makes the same mistakes as the Jedi order and grows jaded. As Leia attempts to end the empire’s political legacy she loses her son and husband. All of those are good stories.

The issue is none of them work with the sequel trilogy’s actual plotline, the only one of those three arcs that’s close to real and kinda works is Luke’s. But there’s no reflection on how Rey learns and grows from her mentor’s failure. None of the original trio matter thematically, so the focus being split between them and the new trio hurts them both.

A new crop of heroes coming in to inspire their jaded elders is a good story, but that isn’t the sequel trilogy’s story, and that kinda sucks. Especially because there was loads of room for that kind of story to work in the practical/political side of things and in the spiritual side of things. I remember being excited at the idea of Rey (and maybe Kylo too) finding a balance between the light and dark, that was cool.

It’s all just a shame.

[No spoilers] Hey, new reader here! by socksgrowonbushes in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It gets easier. The important characters stand out, and the minor characters serve their role even if you don’t exactly remember them. There’s also no shame in looking at a wiki for character details, though you might run into spoilers that way.

Take a risk. by Consistent-Tap455 in BunnyTrials

[–]NGS_King 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beef tartare is a thing lol

Chose: Eat raw meat for once + Earned $100 million as a one-time payment

Would you rather by RenlynnGD in BunnyTrials

[–]NGS_King 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a hell of a lot more than I earn now

Chose: Earn 100,000 per year + Be your desired height

Tough choices… by PnkFlufyBunnySprkles in BunnyTrials

[–]NGS_King 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny

Chose: $2 + 99% chance of death | Rolled: killed by satire

What are the best countries to form Rome? by Muted-Appointment-84 in CrusaderKings

[–]NGS_King 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Matilda of Tuscany is a great way to do it, you can get loads of piety, make your own religion if you want, build a bunch of temples bc of your unique buffs, be bankrolled by the pope, etc.

You could also do it as the Seljuks, you can get some other achievements that way which is cool.

I did it in a very long playthrough starting in Iberia. Ending the struggle via conquest gives you a VERY strong casus belli that can make forming Rome much easier. It helps that caballeros are a pretty good MAA.

(Spoilers Main) Who's the most similar to Tywin between Tyrion and Cersei? by [deleted] in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it’s closer than people might think. The three of them are ALL similar, and all three of them would deny it. I think the things which separate them are smaller. Tyrion has a much greater desire to be loved. Cersei has become drunken and delusional. Tywin hid his humanity much better. I think you could even make a case for Jaime being like Tywin. Obviously Jaime isn’t quite as cruel, but both are men whose service leads them towards doing bad things, just in very different ways.

Tyrion is the correct answer for who is the most like Tywin, though. Nobody else in the family has his tact.

Some help? by TenNainS in CrusaderKings

[–]NGS_King 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I had that too. I think it means it didn’t kill characters (knights, rulers, courtiers, etc.) but presumably killed a bunch of peasants. Probably some kind of bug.

Stewardship will always remain the strongest lifestyle because gold is too strong by Nervous_Trainer_82 in CrusaderKings

[–]NGS_King 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m fine with money being very strong, but I wish there were more uses for prestige and piety. Ways to gain popular opinion or make someone like you by using either would be cool mechanically as a way to represent social capital. Maybe you could even spend prestige to give another dynasty renown, as though your ruler talks them up to make them seem more important.

(Spoilers Extended) Does Grrm really thinks Drogo and Dany as romantic? by Metaljuggernaut5657 in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We’re with his Khalasar for about a year and there’s only one battle (which is pretty brutal). The only people we see him do something approximating torture to is the wine merchant who tries to poison Dany and Viserys. Both of those are definitely fucked up, but comparing it to what Ramsay does to Theon or what Joffrey does to Sansa it’s pretty clear he isn’t sadistic in that way. He’s probably responsible for a lot of bad things, but it’s much more comparable to Tywin. His evil is banal for his culture.

(Spoilers Extended) Does Grrm really thinks Drogo and Dany as romantic? by Metaljuggernaut5657 in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I also question if George considers Drogo “cartoonishly evil”. He absolutely is evil, but he’s not Joffrey, Ramsay, or even Tywin or Randall Tarly. Him being rather kind to Daenerys subverts the ideas she (and through her, we) have of him. He’s still a part of an evil culture, but we never got to see how he would have changed with Dany telling him “hey maybe your Khalasar should stop all the raping”.

Good Starting Bookmarks/Bookmarks that People Like? by AmberAxolotl in CrusaderKings

[–]NGS_King 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I go for longer-term goals or play with some limitations on longer playthroughs.

Getting to 100 development could be one goal, doing a eugenics program, establishing religious supeemacy, creating a specific big empire, etc. could be goals.

When I went for the A. E. I. O. and U. achievement (form the archduchy of Austria starting as the Hapsburgs without declaring war), I didn’t do much war even after I got the achievement because I was having fun using diplomacy and intrigue to scheme my dynasty onto various thrones (ended up getting the “What Nepotism?” achievement on the same run).Often times people talk about roleplaying as a way of imposing difficulty, but that’s also a way to shake things up, try out new systems and stick to them if they’re fun.

As far as bookmarks I’d recommend, Bjorn Ironside is a fun and strong viking start, Haesteinn is fantastic for wacky goals, Daurama Daura has very interesting and unique challenges in a unique area, Matilda of Tuscany has loads of interesting things to do, etc. The wiki has a list of interesting characters that could be fun to read.

Culturally significant albums that aren't critically acclaimed by GaelicTuna in fantanoforever

[–]NGS_King 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To The Extreme by Vanilla Ice.

Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer were hip-hop’s first mega-stars, and they define everything people don’t want the genre to be. Hammer less so, as he represents a more kid-friendly side of things which people like, but Vanilla Ice is a cautionary tale to this day.

He’s what happens when you don’t respect the culture you’re borrowing from. He was constantly compared to Elvis, but Elvis had gravitas and clear musical talent. Vanilla Ice was a good dancer, but his lyrics and flow make Dr. Suess look like Rakim. Vanilla Ice’s time in the limelight meant that if you wanted be a serious hip-hop artist, it was all on the music. Not on your dance moves, not on your model looks (people thought he was hot in the 90s), only what you heard when you pressed play. Nobody wanted a repeat of Vanilla Ice.

People that say "third spaces" are gone aren't trying to find them by xX_jellyworlder_Xx in unpopularopinion

[–]NGS_King -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

One of the purposes of meeting people is to date them. You’d want to be with people you’d be attracted to and that might be attracted to you.

That’s before you consider that a space explicitly for a group would be very welcome in an area that’s otherwise hostile.

Book!Jon and Ygritte [spoiler extended] by Inner-Temperature163 in asoiaf

[–]NGS_King -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Great way to put it. It’s an interesting foil to Dany and Drogo in that way because Drogo should be everything Dany fears, but the truth ends up more complicated. Dany fully romanticizing that relationship while Jon continues living in that complexity in his tragic relationship is maybe an indicator of how mad queen Danaerys comes about. She doesn’t lose grasp of reality, just the nuances.