#They are coming to my city too but I can't go to the preview that day 😓

[uselessbard1031]

Snowflakes & Sunshine -- Sevika X Chem Baron! Reader (C1 Preview -- AO3 link at end)

You can hear your captive before you can see her. Three of your largest men drag her into your hideout, yet still she is grunting and growling as she tries to fight them off. All the theatrics. Sevika really did live up to her reputation, now didn't she?

You tuck the book you were reading away into the built-in wood shelves of your basement hovel just in time for the twins (Ratchet and Clank) to shove her forward and remove the blindfold from her grey eyes. Your captive stops fighting, instead glaring at every shadow and corner, daring it to attack. As she takes in the room, you pour yourself a cup of tea from the kettle on your single burner stove. It sits between your cot of a bed and the entrance to your bathroom. After that, it's your desk and the bookshelf along with an old five time hand-me-down loveseat in desperate need of a reupholster. The buttons on the tufts don't match and two have popped straight off. But it was here when you got here and was comfortable enough for a seat.

“What is this dump?” Sevika scoffs. Some of the hair from her half-back ponytail falls in front of her eyes. She blows it back the way a bull does before it charges. 

“My office,” you respond simply, leaning against the front of your old wooden desk. “It's where you'll be staying until your boss pays up. You're free to explore the other rooms too, once you cool off a little.”

“No locks?” She half scoffs half laughs. “No chains?”

“Unless you try to leave or attack me, I don't find them necessary.”

With a disbelieving -- no, challenging -- grin the woman turns for the door instantly.

“Do you want locks and chains?” You sip your tea. “Kinky.”

“You can't stop me,” she says it like a fact. Which it is. She's easily twice your size. A fight is unlikely to go in your favour. Good thing you don't plan to fight.

“No,” you agree. “But Brutus can. Brutus?” The burly man comes in from the hallway to block the door. To block her path. If he were to enter your room, he'd have to duck. And bend his knees. And maybe squeeze his shoulders together too. Good thing he's not entering yet. “If she tries to leave, chain her up. I think she likes it.”

Sevika turns. She can't face him. But she can more than face you. 

“You don't know who you're messing with here,” she warns. How cliche. “Silco has a lot on his plate right now. The last thing he needs is to be wasting time with some nobodies so cowardly they had to jump me to get me here.”

Silco needs her. Hopefully more than he needs is attention to be elsewhere. He won't fight you. No. Like she said, you're nobodies. Fringe at best in the chem baron game. So he won't waste the men or the time. He wants Sevika back? He'll just pay you off. Deal with you later. If he feels like he can crush your forces without trying, then he'll leave you in the palm of his hand for now -- if only not to strain his wrist with the fist he'd need to make to end you. Besides, he's focused on Jinx. You had it on good authority that the girl's favourite holiday was the one coming up. Even better authority said that your gift to her was about to arrive. 

You crack a smirk. “You’re just a ray of optimism, Sunshine.” 

She growls at the nickname. You laugh, pushing yourself off of the desk.

“Get cozy,” you say, patting her cheek. She jerks her head away, a threat in the way she bares her teeth. “I think there's going to be snow for Christmas.”

There is indeed snow for Christmas. Of course there is. And it's all thanks to you. 

You see, Zaun hasn't seen snow for the last decade and a half due to this obnoxious Piltovian factory built right above the promenade level. It's wide and flat and pumps all of its smog and runoff down to your city. Between it and the bridge, about three quarters of Zaun has had only the rain of pollutants in all this time. Someone had to blow it up. With the workers on a union strike far away and safe from the crossfire? That someone became you.

The explosion is enough to rattle down the valley walls of the city and wake every alleycat and drunkard left out on the streets. Snow falls at first in a big white sheet that covers everything from the ground to the rooftops. Then it doesn't stop; a flurry of soft white dots like horizontal stars in the window. Outside the main door of your hideout (a bookstore and cafe offering both free books and coffee on most days when your heart strings are pulled by someone hopeful but broke), it's like a small white step has appeared; one stair up closer to the opulence of those who live above. A few people leave their homes. At first, they're curious, then, rather swiftly, curiosity turns to wonder and awe and snowball fights and snow angels. For once, it'll be a white Chsirmas in Zaun. 

You notice Sevika looking out the window and have to chuckle. Though her tough girl mask attempts to cover it, there's this sparkle like a snowflake in her steel eyes. That childlike magic of a snow day beckons her the same as everyone else only, she fights it off with a stick.

“Brutus!” You call over your shoulder. The giant appears between two tall oak bookshelves. “Get the cocoa barrels from the basement. Make sure everyone's got a scarf and mittens. I'm taking our new pet outside.”

...Continued on Ao3

[magical-regical]

Continuing my L&DS hyperfixation but also because Owl City just released a new single, here are some owl city songs that remind me of each LI and Caleb

Go under the cut if you want some extremely long commentary on why I picked the songs I did. If you don't care what I have to say, please peruse this TLDR;

Xavier: If My Heart Was a House

Zayne: Car Trouble

Rafayel: My Muse, Rainbow Veins

Caleb: Hot Air Balloon, The Bird and The Worm

Ah you're still here. A few disclaimers before you continue:

Whenever I mention MC in this, I will be using she/her pronouns.

I haven't listened to every owl city song in existence and some songs didn't stick with me the way the songs listed here did so if you think my takes are garbage and I'm a big dumb stupid idiot for not considering the song you're thinking of, uh, feel free to make your own post abt it.

I know sweet f a abt music theory so I'm just going based off vibes and lyrics not composition.

I haven't read Xavier's or Zayne's myth stories to completion and haven't read Rafayel's at all.

Anyway, without further ado, enjoy my lukewarm takes.

Xavier

This song makes me so soft and it's way too easy to imagine Xavier and MC dancing to this. The first lines sound like he's reminiscing of the time he had with MC in her past lives,

You're the sky that I fell through, and I remember the view whenever I'm holding you

The sun hung from a string, looking down on the world as it warmed over everything.

Chills run down my spine as our fingers entwine and your sighs harmonize with mine.

Unmistakably, I can still feel your heart beat fast when you dance with me.

He pulls her in closer as the first pre-chorus plays. And the two pre-chorus' in this song sound like a conversation between him and his memory of past!MC.

The first one:

We got older and I should've known,

Do you feel alive?

That I'd feel colder when I walk alone

Oh, but you'll survive

The second one:

I walk slowly when I'm on my own

Do you feel alive?

Yea but frankly, I still feel alone.

Oh, but you'll survive

And then the chorus hits and the vibes are immaculate. It feels like you're floating on air and imagine how Xavier looks at MC when the last few lines play,

Risk it all 'cuz I'll catch you if you fall,

Wherever you go,

If my heart was a house, you'd be home.

Because she is the celestial body that orbits around him, his north, his guiding star, and his heart will always be her home.

Zayne

And you can't convince me this isn't one of the songs that plays at their wedding.

This is the catalyst of this post's creation. As of writing this, it's the newest single and I am obsessed with it. So strap in folks, I have a lot to say.

First of all, the first thirty seconds of this song was released as a preview titled 'Floppy Fish' that came out ten years ago and we didn't hear anything else about it until suddenly we get a tweet about it four days ago (as of writing this part) and then this masterpiece. I think it reflects Zayne and MCs relationship quite well, they were childhood friends, lost contact for a while, and now they're reunited to build another beautiful relationship.

On to the song itself, the overall song is about going back to see the person you love even through all sorts of car troubles. The car theme immediately screamed 'Zayne' to me because out of all the boys we see him drive MC around the most.

It's a very upbeat song which contrasts Zayne's stoic personality but the whole song is something I can imagine actually happening to him.

I see the first verse as Zayne trying his damndest to finish up work instead of having actual car troubles,

I've been driving all afternoon, but I hate to say it, I won't be there soon = him working all afternoon and still having to do overtime

And though I'm late you know I just can't wait to come home to my slice of heaven on toast.

But my GrandPrix broke down without fail, another flat tire and another nail = the 'tire' being the hearts he has to operate on and 'another nail' referring to his surgeon's tools (even though the nail in the song is the thing that broke the tire in the first place not the thing fixing the flat)

I miss your smile but this could take a while 'cause this 'road closed' sign says there's no way around. = he can't just ditch work, obviously.

The second verse and chorus is him actually running out of gas on his way back from Akso and just describes his situation. Walking through the rain, only stopping to buy flowers for her.

Hey, it's kinda crazy what daisies jasmines can do.

And then these lines from the third verse,

I'd hand you a coffee right when you woke up

and

... all I find is all these highways wind and lead back to my slice of heaven on toast.

are so cute. Especially the 'slice of heaven on toast' thing since I imagine a slice of heaven on toast would taste sweet.

But wait, it gets better. Because the chorus that comes after goes,

Oh would your heart kind of glow if I held your hand and I promised to stay home?

Hey, when I blow in that's the first thing I'll do

It might take me forever

It might take me forever

But I love you forever and I can't wait to see you.

I'm dead. I'm deceased. I am a puddle of goo on the ground.

The bridge is the most upbeat part of the song and I imagine that's when he gets a call from MC because she's worried about him. Because honestly the line, 'Am I unavoidably detained or extremely fashionably late?' sounds like the kind of dry humor he'd enjoy.

And the song ends as he hangs up and continues his long journey on public transport to come home to her.

Rafayel

Now, fish boy gets two songs because I associate each one with what I like to call 'light mode' and 'dark mode' Rafayel.

I chose both songs because they had like, a lot of imagery involved in them and lean heavily into his whole artist job. So this isn't going to be as in depth as Zayne's lol.

Anyway,

This is light mode Rafayel. The whole song is him talking to MC. He's all happy-go-lucky and filled with inspiration. With how important color is to his current career the song just felt perfect.

The chorus also adds a few nice tidbits of his character,

Cheer up and dry your damp eyes, and tell me when it rains

And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins

'Cause your heart has a lack of color and we should've known

That we'd grow up sooner or later, 'cause we wasted all our free time alone

The first two lines sound like something he'd actually say when he's trying to comfort MC.

The line 'we wasted all our free time alone' sticks out to me because you ever notice this guy doesn't have any friends? Like, Xavier has Jeremiah and the countless old people he's made friends with when they're in their youth and Zayne has his coworkers at the hospital and his old profs. Raffy doesn't really have anyone like that? Sure he has Thomas and his Aunt Talia but judging by how fast they hung up on him after barely wishing him a happy birthday, I can't in good conscience call them his friends.

So yea maybe our boy was so focused on finding MC again he wasted all his free time alone.

Then we have dark mode Rafayel. And no I don't mean dark as in Rafayel when he's in revenge plot mode (whatever that is I don't have enough brain cells to comprehend what his plan could possibly be). I mean dark mode as in it's quite literally night time and he is left with nothing but his own thoughts. MC fell asleep at his place again and he's wistfully staring at her sleeping figure. This is the song in those moments.

Like Xavier, he's reminiscing about the past lives and past MCs. He's remembering the first time he met and the moment he decided she was the one. She was his bride. He's listing all the things he loves about her (which basically boils down to 'everything!'). She is his muse, now and forever.

And then the song ends with:

So I'll say it now before we're at the door that someday we'll walk through,

And if I'm the only one left in the room...

There's nowhere else I'd rather be than home with you.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of my heart cracking in two. He will sing you this last line as he pulls you closer, pressing your forehead against his before giving you a nice, long kiss.

Honorable mention goes to the song 'Sunburn' because it's about meeting someone, falling in love, and having to separate in the end (hence, 'she got a tan and I got a sunburn' and 'as we parted ways, she held my gaze and left an imprint on my mind'). I could go deeper and analyze each line like I did w/ Zayne but I've kept the Caleb girlies waiting long enough so we'll stop Raffy's part here.

Caleb

Caleb also gets two songs I chose two songs that have heavy 'childhood friends to lovers' vibes and fitting imagery and I told myself this one was gonna be short and sweet because we don't have as much depth abt his relationship w/ the MC compared to the current LIs but welp, I lied.

'Hot Air Balloon' is the most childhood friends song ever. Every single lyric is just every adventure these two went on when they were children. Writing their own fairy tales, making a racetrack around the kitchen chairs, going on a picnic to a nearby lake and getting a stomachache because you drank lake water even though Grandma Josephine told you specifically not to do that, the list just goes on and on.

It's them. It's little MC and Caleb with lightning in their veins and stars in their eyes as they explore the world around them, not a care in the world because the possibilities are quite literally endless when they have the other person by their side.

And then if 'Hot Air Balloon' was 'childhood friends—', 'The Bird And The Worm' adds on the '—to lovers' part of the trope.

I mean the entire first verse reads like the two kids playing pretend (because let's face it you've had one or two weirdly morbid play pretend sessions when you were a kid) with little Caleb saying he's the bird because of his evol and then little MC's like "then what does that make me?" And little Caleb's like "you're the worm ofc!"

Esp the part about throwing a party and greeting undersea friends (hi Raffy). I could imagine little MC telling little Caleb how she's going to invite the mermaid she made friends with at the beach to their 'party' and Caleb just not having any of it.

I'll throw a party and greet my undersea friends

(it depends)

As they arrive,

(if they arrive)

Then the chorus reads like a time skip. They're adults reminiscing about their childhood at one of the rare moments their schedules align,

You and I left our troubles far behind,

But I still have just one more question on my mind

For all my pals who live in the oceans and the seas

With friends like these well, who needs enemies?

In that moment they're back to being just MC and Caleb, not a hunter and a fighter pilot. And the last two lines sound like they're trading workplace gossip. Caleb tells her about the shenanigans his colleagues get up to and MC telling him about all the...'quirky' people she's been running into (hi Xav) and then being cheeky and going 'with friends like these, who needs enemies?'

And then you move to the second verse and it's them on a date. It's them on the most damn wholesome date you can imagine, I'm sorry I don't make the rules.

Like first they go apple picking,

If I'm your boy, we'll take a short cut we remember and we'll enjoy—

—picking apples in late September like we've done for years.

We'll take a long walk through the cornfield and I'll kiss you between the ears.

Then they come home and cook together (maybe make a pie with the apples they just picked or some other apple based dish?),

And as we twirl, the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling will shine for us

If you're my girl, swirl me around your room with feeling

As love sweeps over the room cuz' we tend to make, each other blush

(you make me blush)

They're so used to each other's presence even in a kitchen that can be considered a little cramped, they can perfectly navigate around each other.

After the two had eaten a delicious dinner, they are now cuddled on the couch with a blanket over the two of them, some movie playing on the TV. MC starts nodding off so Caleb picks her up and moves her to the bedroom, letting her snuggle against him. He brushes some loose strands of hair away so he can kiss her forehead,

"Love ya pipsqueak, sleep well."

And before drifting off he hears MC mumble a sleepy "I love you too..."

And that's how their perfect day ends.

You're the bird, I'm the worm and it's plain to see,

That we were meant to be.

----------------------------------------------------------

Author's rambling

Haaaa, I finally finished it yay! If you're reading this, thanks for reading this far! (or if you're a Caleb stan and just decided to read his part only, hello!)

I hope you enjoyed my takes. This was fun, I loved breaking down each song and just rambling my heart out over why each song gives me vibes for which character.

[waitmyturtles]

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 7 ("YOU GOT TO KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM / KNOW WHEN TO FOLD 'EM") EDITION

Whew, baby. Well, I found this episode particularly brutal.

I've been noodling this week on the following theme: the mundanity of toxicity. The everyday-ness of bad in people. I think this episode captured this well (cc @lurkingshan, @neuroticbookworm, and @bengiyo, who all got a little preview of this thinking).

But I caught some other themes in this episode, too, which I'll quickly hit and list:

2) The elements of life, and 3) Gambling.

As a devoted meta writer, writing about Only Friends is hard. Because: I want to think that there's a lot more to what I'm seeing. I am certainly missing cinematic references that Jojo and team are making (I haven't watched Queer As Folk, for instance). Mew's face popping out of the bathtub? That has me wondering if I'm missing a cinematic reference there.

But at the same time, I wonder if by just observing the Only Friends crew, that I'm picking up on enough. When I was in my twenties, living in New York City, going to college...I was still trying to figure people out. I was absolutely SURROUNDED by people, and I couldn't help but think, everyday -- what is it that makes these people tick?

And I found myself regularly shocked at how mean people were. Very often, I'd just be like -- what the actual fuck, why are you trying so hard to be a massive dick? And, who knows -- maybe people were thinking the same thing about me.

That was when I was young. I just -- I didn't know that much about people. Really, what I didn't know -- and what I really NEEDED to know, and what I learned about myself in that decade and the next -- was how to manage myself around anybody, so as to preserve myself from any unpredictable pain that might come from someone else. In other words... I needed to fucking grow up.

Part of that self-management was trying on identities. Could I fake being a stronger person? Sure, I definitely tried. I tried with clothes, with new slang, with trying new activities, with drinking. That's just normal for a lass in their twenties.

The Only Friends crew -- they are assholes. Many of them were trying on change a couple of weeks ago. Mew experienced a HUGE identity shift during this episode.

But what they all embody to me, in this moment in their lives, is a kind of everyday toxicity -- a self-absorbed perspective, so tunneled internally into each and every one of them, that none of them are realizing that the energy they put out is colliding and having effects on others.

Like -- it's kind of shocking and twisted to watch. But when I think about it, when I remember what it was like to be in a huge city and to be in college and post-college: there's a part of me that remembers being CONSTANTLY surprised that people were just massive jerks, everyday, and again, who knows -- I think people likely thought that I was a jerk, too, for thinking of myself and leading myself with my life.

People, most people, grow out of these stages, as they get older, get more experienced in their years, maybe get more political in their dealings with others. I can't condemn this group of university students fully, as I hold hope (I'm a mom, damn it) that they'll grow into more fully robust and empathic people. But they ain't there yet. I'm not sure my turning stones gives me more insight to them than in relating to my own experiences as a former twentysomething. It has me thinking, as someone who loves turning those stones in my beloved dramas.

That all being said. Those two other themes in this episode have me thinking -- the elements of life and gambling.

We saw Mew play with fire (fucking finally, my man). And we saw lots of water -- water in the pool, water in the tub with Sand and Ray.

Water puts out fire. Mew tries to fake-drown (lol) Boston in the pool. Later on, Mew lets Boston know that he (Mew) can take Boston down, but won't. Mew is trying to control the fires that he's lit, and the ones that have already been burning.

My question to Mew is: do you know how to do what you are doing, or what you want to do?

I don't quite think so, and I think that "Welcome to Las Vegas" shirt he was wearing at Boston's house indicated as much.

(Uh, first of all, chain life, Book! MORE, MORE!)

Mew has decided to become a gambler. Let's think of all the metaphors! Mew has decided to roll the dice and possibly move past the pass line. He's decided to play his odds. He even STACKED his odds -- going to a new gay bar, enticing Drake Gap, going back to Gap's place, stealing the sex tape from Gap's computer, threatening Gap with reporting him for a crime, going to BOSTON'S HOUSE, TALKING TO BOSTON'S DAD, showing Boston the copy of the sex tape, THREATENING BOSTON, MAKING BOSTON BEG, showing MORAL SUPERIORITY OVER BOSTON, throwing the flash drive at Boston, and walking away. Like, if that were a metaphor for actually playing craps, first of all, lol, the pit guy would check Mew's ID, get him a players' card, and encourage him to move to the high limits room, being like, WHAT is this motherfucker DOING, but we want him doing more of it, he'll make us more money -- once he starts fucking things up.

Mew's trying on a new identity. He already was on the road to it, getting that LASIK for Top. He's just continuing to move forward with it. He's going to play with nastiness, but still try to come out on Top.

Trying on new identities. It is so normal when you're young -- I did that. Trying on what fits for whatever reason you are feeling at that moment -- if you're rebounding, if you're healing, if you're bored. Mew is embarrassed, maybe even ashamed, maybe even regretful that his first relationship ended up as a failure.

And now he's figuring out how to recover -- by taking a gamble, and playing with the exact same mundane, everyday nastiness that he's seen in everyone around him.

P.S. Ephemerality and permanence? That fire burned the memory that Top tried to create with Mew (cc @twig-tea and @lurkingshan here). And, gambling? SO ephemeral. Buh-bye, money and pride. Ray switching back and forth between Mew and Sand? Ephemeral crushitude. (SAND. SMDH. I KNOW RAY'S DAD SAID SOMETHING TO YOU, BUT STILL, SMDH.) Nick turning on Boston. Boston begging Mew to hold back on the permanent impact of the sex tape on Boston's dad's career.

And the ephemerality of movement: the clothes in this episode said it all. Las Vegas, NYC, Stanford. These young folks can just... disappear if they want to. And they just might.

(G'DAY, EPHEMERALITY SQUAD! @ranchthoughts @slayerkitty @distant-screaming @twig-tea @neuroticbookworm @lurkingshan @clara-maybe-ontheroad @thatgirl4815 @chickenstrangers @wen-kexing-apologist)

[cheesy09]

[CN] Kiro's Sight-Seeing Date Preview

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for content that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

Translator: @cheesy09

🌟 Sight-Seeing Date Preview:

On my way back to Loveland City, my plane temporarily lands in another city due to weather conditions. However, I unexpectedly run into Kiro who has also landed there. I come to know that he secretly wishes to go on a "*sight-seeing tour" in this city. We decide to join forces and...

The voice messages play one after the other, like the slowly setting sun in winter. A smile shows itself on the corner of my mouth, and a feeling of sweetness overwhelms my chest.

Despite the heavy snowfall outside the airport window, the annoyance I felt when we first landed is long gone. Unable to wait any longer, I take out my cell phone and dial that familiar number. His energetic voice soon sounds through my earphones.

"Miss Chips? Are you almost home?"

"FYI, I just snuck out while Savin wasn't paying attention and am about to start my sight-seeing."

"It would've been nice if you were here too..."

Listening to his still cautious voice, I can't help but laugh out loud. "If I said I was in the same place as you right now, would you believe me?"

"Could it be...?"

"Uh-huh. This is our special connection, right? We've even temporarily landed in the same city."

Taking note of my somewhat dramatic tone, his laughter resounds from the other end of the phone.

"At first I was praying with all my heart that the snow would stop as soon as possible."

"But now I'm grateful for it."

"Should I come to you now then?"

"Yes - with this the Holy Land's Excursion Team is officially setting off!"

*The exact term used in the date is "巡礼" which directly translates into pilgrimage / sight-seeing trip. Depending on how the date is written, I might change the wording when the date comes out.

[chloecherrysip]

teeny, tiny mario & luigi post-movie fic snippet!

I want people to believe me that I really am working on this!! I'm just slow and busy and also this fic is going to be really long because that's just the way it goes with me!! So here is a little preview. BUT FIRST, SOME CONTEXT.

I think it's really fascinating to consider how the star power works and what exactly it can fix or not fix when used in the context of the movie universe. I really like all interpretations! My personal interpretation is that even after the invincibility wears off, it still gives the user(s) one heck of an adrenaline rush for several hours. Rest? Food? Water? Don't need it! Honestly, you don't even think about it! You feel ecstatic and on top of the world and ready to run a marathon. There's just boundless energy for whatever needs doing (which may include helping clean up a completely ravaged city block).

But at the end of the day, the star's permanent effects are not absolute. It WILL heal major injuries, but it can't erase the strain of dehydration, lack of food, lack of sleep, etc - it can only delay all that for a while with its surplus of extra energy. And when the rush finally, finally wears off for good? All of that hits HARD.

Anyway, snippet time under the cut. :)

+

+

Mario's loud, gasping breaths seemed like the only sound in the world, echoes bouncing wildly all around.

"Luigi," he finally managed to wheeze — very quiet at first, then again, much louder. As gently and carefully as he could manage, he scooted up into a sitting position and turned his brother over onto his back, cradling him. He was still out cold. Mario patted his face.

"Hey, Luigi. Wake up for me, all right? I'm here, Lu. I've gotcha." He patted a little harder, steadfastly ignoring the way his hands were shaking at that point. Every second passing with no change stretched on like an eternity and then some. "You're all right, everything's all right. Come on, Luigi, snap out of it..."

Up close, Luigi looked very pale, sweat beaded all along the line of his cap. How had Mario not noticed that before? He'd been too caught up in the rebuilding efforts, too distracted by Peach and Toad and the thought of that hypothetical house. How could he not see that Luigi was starting to struggle? What kind of brother was he?

The kind that does something really, REALLY stupid because of pride or "destiny" or whatever you wanna call it. The kind that not only drags his brother down with him to do the stupid thing, but almost gets him killed because of it. 

Mario's shoulders sagged. He gripped Luigi tighter, pressing his little brother's face close to the crook of his neck, if only to try and desperately ground himself in the knowledge that he could feel him breathing still, at least. Their injuries were gone, it was true, but for Mario, it was like the star had just shifted the pain around instead. He could feel it pressing up from under his skin, a deep well that was ready to split him open all the way through if he let it.

It no longer seemed like he'd just been in a magical world on a whirlwind adventure, or that he'd defeated a spiked turtle monster with anger issues and saved Brooklyn in a glorious, technicolor blur. Now, he was just a small, ordinary man in a dark sewer room underground, exhausted and terrified and unable to help the person he loved most.

[sparklywaistcoat]

Foreshadowing in The Stepford Wives (1975)

Foreshadowing is an important storytelling technique that plants breadcrumbs that the audience can follow as a story unfolds. In horror films such as The Stepford Wives (1975), foreshadowing helps to create suspense in addition to creating a sense of retrospective inevitability that gives the film coherence as a whole once we reach the end of the story. Foreshadowing in The Stepford Wives, particularly, is pretty heavy-handed, although it is weirdly effective even so. It's possible that this heavy-handedness is just a convention of the horror genre, but I can't speak to that as a general rule because horror isn't something I watch very much.

I'm not going to go through and make a complete catalogue of all the incidences of foreshadowing that happen throughout the film. There are only a few that I really want to discuss in any detail, starting with some more generic foreshadowings and then moving on to the ones that affect the main character, Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross) most directly.

Of Men and Mannequins

One of the early foreshadowing incidents happens within the first few minutes of the film. The Eberharts are getting ready to leave New York City for Stepford, and while Joanna is waiting for Walter, she looks across the street and sees a young man carrying a naked store mannequin across the street. Joanna, an aspiring photographer, is intrigued by this, and so she gets out her camera and starts snapping pictures.

The foreshadowing here is very obvious: although she doesn't know it, Joanna is getting a preview of what she is to become—a very sophisticated, very expensive mannequin.

[The rest is below the cut, or you can read it on my WordPress site]

Digging a Grave

In act II, Joanna makes friends with Charmaine Wimperis (Tina Louise), an avid tennis player who convinced her husband Ed (Franklin Cover) to buy their house because it came with a tennis court. When Charmaine gets Stepfordized, Ed hires a bulldozer crew to come and dig up the tennis court, ostensibly so that he can put in a pool instead. Joanna and her friend Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss) are shocked that not only is Charmaine letting Ed dig up her beloved tennis court, she actually adores him for it.

Of course Charmaine's behavior telegraphs something of what will eventually happen to Bobbie and Joanna once they have been turned into robots, in that they will no longer have any will of their own except to meet their husbands' needs and stroke their husbands' egos. But more chilling is the last shot in this scene, which is taken from the point of view of someone who is inside the hole being dug by the bulldozer as the bulldozer pushes in a pile of earth. The Stepford women don't voluntarily leave their feminist ways behind: they are killed and buried and replaced with robots.

The Yellow Wallpaper

The very first thing we see at fade in is the wallpaper in the bathroom of the Eberharts' New York apartment. The wallpaper is a lively print of yellow leopards in a flowering tree. Joanna opens the medicine cabinet and regards herself in the cabinet's mirror. As she does so, the focus of the camera changes such that the wallpaper reflected by the mirror in the background blurs out a little bit. When Joanna steps out of frame, the focus of the camera remains unchanged: the yellow leopards are still blurry. Then Joanna closes the medicine cabinet door. Neither Joanna nor the leopards are visible any longer; the camera is too close to the mirror to show us a clear image, so all we get is a pattern of vertical lighter and darker stripes, also in soft focus.

This seems to be creating the leopards as a metaphor for Joanna herself. In New York, she is a living being, an elegant, intelligent woman with goals and a good life. Her transition from New York to Stepford is the beginning of the end for her, and just as the leopard wallpaper blurs out and shifts to greyscale stripes as Joanna steps away from and closes the mirror, so too will Joanna's identity and life become a blur until nothing is left of the living being at all. The door of her life will close, and it won't reflect either herself or the richness that life has to offer any longer.

The Empty House

The scene in the bathroom cuts to a shot of Joanna sitting on a windowseat alone in her empty New York City apartment. She is pensive and sad. She doesn't want to leave the city to move to Stepford.

We then follow the travels of the family as they drive out of New York and into Connecticut. The kids rush into the house when the family arrives, excited to see their new home. Joanna follows more slowly. She walks into the empty house and looks around, still pensive and sad. The initial shot is taken from the top of the stairs, making Joanna seem very small and lorn, while the second shot, taken from Joanna's POV as she stands near the front door, makes the house seems cavernous, with its bare hardwood floors, high ceilings, and pristine white walls and doors.

Joanna has a rich inner life as a woman and an aspiring photographer who is passionate about her art, but both the New York City apartment in the very first scene and our first look at the inside of the Stepford house show us how empty and barren Joanna's life is about to become. Her body will become a shell intended for the service of the actual humans who live with it, and nothing of the human woman will remain.

Windows of the Soul

The focus on Joanna's face and eyes in the very opening scene of the film wasn't chosen at random. This foreshadowing moment especially comes full circle through the end of act III and into the denouement.

We can see that Joanna has grey (or maybe hazel) eyes in the cap where she's looking in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes and their color become significant at the end of the film, when Joanna has been tricked into going to the Men's Association building, where Dale "Diz" Coba (Patrick O'Neal) is waiting for her, along with a partially activated android-Joanna. The android-Joanna's eyes are completely black; real-Joanna got there earlier than expected, and so the android isn't quite finished yet.

In the denouement that follows, we meet the fully complete android-Joanna. The camera moves closer and closer until Joanna's face blurs, mirroring the blurring of the leopards in the bathroom scene, and then finally focuses in on her eyes, which are now brown instead of grey.

The transformation is complete: not only is Joanna's mind gone, but her body has been irrevocably changed as well to meet Walter's own personal tastes (including bigger boobs), and the story has come full circle.

[maristelina]

Milgram Novel #2 Preview Translation

So the MILGRAM Novel Preview released. Here's a very rough TL. It seems that Dark Triad / Justice Alliance is mentioned in it. I haven't finished translating it yet because I'm not used to reading this kind of orientation.

プロローグ Prologue

青空がどこまでも、どこまでも広がっていた。 The endless blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see.

背の高いビル群が立ち並ぶ街並みの中から見上げても、その空だけは全く窮屈さを感じさせず、深い青色で穏やかに世界を包み込む。 Even when gazing up from amidst the cityscape lined with tall buildings, the sky imparted no sense of confinement and peacefully enveloped the world with its deep blue hue.

天気予報では、明日も同じ空が見られるという。 The weather forecast predicted the same sky to be seen tomorrow as well.

けんそう ボクはゆっくりと視線を落とす。繁華街は日々の喧騒であふれていた。 Amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, I slowly lower my gaze.

往来する人々はそれぞれの目的のためにどこかへと向かっていく。 People were heading somewhere, each with their own purpose.

複数人で笑い合っている学生たち。疲れた表情をしたスーツ姿の中年男性。髪色の明るい若い女性がスマホで通話をしながら、ボクの目の前を通りすぎていく。 Students laughed together in groups, a middle-aged man in a tired suit and a young woman with bright hair walked past me while talking on her smartphone.

この街には多くの人がいる。多すぎるほどの人がいる。きっと、ボクたちが置かれている境遇なんて生ぬるいと感じるような、想像もできない過酷な現実を生きている人もいるだろう。 There were so many people in this city. Too many people. Surely, there were those who were living in unimaginably harsh realities, making our own circumstances seem lukewarm in comparison.

それでも。 Nevertheless.

他の人に比べたらまだマシだなんて、ボクは思うことができない。 I can't bring myself to think that I have it better than others.

つら この世界のどこかで、知らない誰かがもっと辛い思いをしていたとしても、彼女が今感じている痛みは確かに本物だから。 Even if somewhere in this world, someone unknown is going through even more difficult experiences, the pain she is feeling right now is undeniably real.

学校では見せない笑顔を浮かべて、ボクの少し前を歩いていく彼女の背中を視界に入れると胸がかすかに痛む。他人の痛みに共感するなんて、少し前までなら考えられなかったのに。 As she walks ahead of me, donning a smile she wouldn't show at school, I catch a glimpse of her back, and my chest twinges faintly. Empathizing with someone else's pain is something I couldn't have imagined just a little while ago.

また明日。平日が始まれば、彼女は吐き気がするような、悪意の連鎖の中に戻っていボクにはそれを止められない。学校の屋上を彼女の心の支えにすることしかできない。 Tomorrow will come again. Once the weekdays begin, she will return to the chain of malice that makes her nauseous. I can't stop that. All I can do is be her pillar of support on the rooftop of our school. ふっと自嘲気味な笑みが自然と漏れた。 A wry smile involuntarily escapes my lips.

ボクは人間の命の尊さを理解できない人間だ。その辺に転がった無機物も、繁華街を埋め尽くす人間たちも、その価値は本質的に同じだと思っている。 I am a person who can't comprehend the value of human life. Be it the inanimate objects scattered around or the humans flooding the bustling streets, I believe their worth is inherently the same.

冷たい人間だ。……そのはず、だった。 I am a cold person. …Or so I thought.

自覚している。彼女と出会い、多くの時間を共にしたことで、ボクの価値観は少しずつ変わっていった。戸惑いがないわけじゃない。でも、それでいい。 I'm aware that meeting her and spending time together has gradually changed my perspective. It's not without confusion, but that's okay.

お�� 今のボクは彼女のことを大事に思っている。その想いに気づかないフリをしても仕方がない。ボクはすでに深入りしすぎた。 Right now, I care deeply about her. There's no point in pretending not to notice those feelings. I've already gone too deep.

なら最後まで突き通すしかない。 If that's the case, I have no choice but to see it through until the end.

―彼女がどんな結末を迎えようとも、ボクは最後まで彼女のことを守ろう。 No matter what fate awaits her, I will protect her until the very end.

大きな商業ビルが目に入った。そのビルの壁面には巨大なディスプレイが埋め込まれており、ニュースの映像が流れていた。 I caught sight of a large commercial building. Its walls embedded with massive displays were broadcasting news footage.

画面に映ったキャスターが原稿を読み上げる。 The caster on the screen reads the script.

「現在、インターネット上にアップロードされた動画群が物議を醸しています。その発信元アカウントは『正義同盟』と呼称されており――」 "Currently, a group of uploaded videos on the internet is causing controversy. The originating account is referred to as the 'Justice Alliance'—"

ひもり 「氷森くん」 Himori 「Himori-kun」

不意に名字を呼ばれて視線を戻すと、彼女が立ち止まってこちらを振り返っていた。ボクがニュースに気を取られていたことが不満だったようで、彼女は頬を膨らませている。 Suddenly called by my last name, I turn my gaze back and she stops, looking back at me. She seems displeased that I was preoccupied with the news, and she puffs up her cheeks.

「何見てたの?」 "What were you looking at?"

「あそこの、街頭ニュース」 "The street-side news over there."

いちべつ She glances at it briefly, and her expression darkens ever so slightly.

7月が始める。 July begins.

そうだ。この世界のどこでどんな事件が起きたとしても、悲惨な出来事が誰かを苦しめても、ボクは目の前の彼女のことだけ考えていればいい。日までは。 That's right. No matter where or what kind of incidents occur in this world, no matter how tragic they may be, as long as I keep thinking about her in front of me, it will be enough. Until the day…

少なくとも、一緒に高校を卒業して、彼女が悪意の呪縛から解放されるその… At least until we graduate from high school together, and she is freed from the curse of malice…

「『正義同盟』、か」 "'Justice Alliance,' huh?"

正義のヒーローみたいな名前。 A name like that of a hero of justice.

だけど、この世界に救いの手を差し���べてくれるヒーローなんていない。純粋な正義な ゆが んてものも存在せず、どんな行動の裏にも歪んだ欲望と打算が隠されている。 But in this world, there are no heroes extending a helping hand. There is no pure notion of justice. Behind every action, there are hidden desires and calculations.

もし本当に正義の味方がいるのなら、彼女はとっくに助けられている。その後、ボクがそのニュースを思い出すことはなかった。 If there were truly allies of justice, she would have been saved long ago. After that, I never recalled that news.

翌日に起こった悪夢が全てを吹き飛ばしたからだ。血塗れの彼女の姿が脳を満たしたからだ。「正義同盟」が本格的に世間の話題の中心になっていっても、放心状態のボクは全く興味を持たなかった。 The nightmare that occurred the next day wiped away everything. It filled my mind with the image of her covered in blood. Even as "Justice Alliance" became the talk of the town, I, in a dazed state, had no interest at all.

だけど、それで良かったのだ。 But that was for the best.

もしあの時、「正義同盟」の思想に触れていたら、のめり込んでいた可能性がある。女を死に追いやったクラスメイトたちにその歪んだ思想を突きつけていた可能性がある。結局、ボクは「正義同盟」の思想に取り込まれることはなかった。 If I had been exposed to the ideology of "Justice Alliance" at that time, there's a possibility I would have been drawn into it. There's a possibility that I would have confronted the classmates who drove the girl to her death with their twisted beliefs. In the end, I never became consumed by the ideology of the "Justice Alliance."

そして今、ここにいる。 And now, I'm here.

囚人を裁き、粛清を与える監獄。 A prison to judge prisoners and administer purges.

その中にあるメインルーム「パノプティコン」。 Within it lies the main room, the "Panopticon."

何度も見てきた。 I've seen it many times.

粛清が執行され、囚人たちが鮮血に浸る姿を。 The purges being carried out, the sight of prisoners drenched in fresh blood.

命と存在が消える瞬間を。 The moment life and existence disappear.

だが、目の前で繰り広げられている光景はその性質が根本から違った。塔のように縦に長いパノプティコン、その上層から高速で落下してくる人影が一つ。 But the scene unfolding before me is fundamentally different in nature. The Panopticon, tall and elongated like a tower, with a figure descending rapidly from its upper level.

周囲は無音だった。その信じられない光景を目にしている囚人たち���、落下する人影も、そしてボクも声を出さなかった。 The surroundings were silent. The prisoners witnessing this unbelievable scene, the descending figure, and even I, none of us uttered a word.

いや、出せなかった。 No, we couldn't.

だって。こんなことが起こるなんて、いったい誰が予想できる? Because who could have predicted that something like this would happen?

[wrestlingisfake]

Forbidden Door preview

Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay - Swerve is defending the AEW men's world championship. Ospreay earned this title shot just three days after capturing the AEW international championship, which is not on the line in this match. In fact, Will has already promised an international title shot to Daniel Garcia on July 3, and that he'll also put up the world title if he wins it here.

After all the effort and hype to coronate Swerve in April, I think it's too soon for him to drop the belt. On the other hand, Ospreay is red-hot, and you can make a strong case for giving him the world title. Thing is, if I wanted to make Ospreay world champion in 2024, I would 1) put the belt on a hot heel, 2) keep Will out of the international title picture, 3) book Will to win the Owen Hart tournament and 4) position him as the challenger heading into Wembley Stadium on August 25. AEW hasn't done any of these things, which leads me to believe this isn't his time to win the big one.

The match itself should be epic. Ospreay has all the cool moves, and Strickland can tell great stories in the ring. Swerve insists Will doesn't have the killer instinct to be the world champion. So it will probably come up that Ospreay refuses to use the double underhook piledriver that caused Bryan Danielson to have (fake) convulsions back in March. It will probably also come up that Ospreay, despite being a huge babyface, is still aligned with the evil Don Callis, who is clearly frustrated by Ospreay's tendency to show mercy.

A possible wild card in this match is Adam Page, who seems to be setting up a big return with a video about how he's still mad at Strickland. There's no guarantee he'll be on the show tonight. But if Strickland is going to lose the belt tonight, I'd definitely do a Hangman Page run-in to make it happen.

I'm torn on this one, because I like both guys and I don't want either of them to lose right now. I can see where Ospreay may be more over, and therefore better for business on top. But I can't shake the feeling it would be terrible PR for AEW's first Black champion to fall so early into his reign. I also can't help noticing how pointless it would be to put the international belt on Ospreay right before setting him up to win the world belt. None of that proves that Swerve has to retain. But deep down I think the right move is for him to retain, and I'm going with my gut on this.

Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito - Moxley won the IWGP world title from Naito on April 12 in beautiful Chicago, so this is the rematch in that dump of a town, New York City. Naito has suggested that if he loses tonight, he will offer to let Moxley take his spot in the G1 Climax tournament. That doesn't mean Mox will accept the offer, but I don't see why he'd turn it down.

Ever since Moxley captured the gold, the big question has been how long New Japan will keep it on him, at the risk of disrupting their normal routine. Some fans (and some wrestlers) have bellyached about Mox taking the belt to AEW instead of working full-time on the Japanese tours. If he drops the belt here, everything pretty much returns to normal. But if Mox retains tonight, it's anyone's guess what will happen next, and whether New Japan fans will tolerate it.

My preferred scenario is for Mox to keep the title all the way to January, while New Japan spends the next six months building up a guy to dethrone him at the Tokyo Dome. But New Japan doesn't book for me, they book for the domestic audience, which is probably going to get sick of having a champion that only comes to Japan maybe once a month. Then again, the Japanese fans are sick to death of House of Torture matches, and that doesn't stop New Japan from booking them.

Moxley is 2-0 in singles matches against Naito, and it's real hard for me to imagine him going up to 3-0. More to the point, I think Naito tipped his hand by talking about giving up his G1 spot. I cannot believe they'd actually pull a top guy like him from the tournament with only two week's notice. I'd love to see the chaos if Moxley retains, but my better judgement says new champ.

Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa - Storm is putting the AEW women's world title on the line. But the title isn't quite as important here as Mariah May, who was closely aligned with Shirakawa in STARDOM, and is currently closely aligned with Storm in AEW. The champion and the challenger each resent May's divided loyalties, and it's pretty clear she's going to have to pick a side. Mariah keeps trying to get everybody on the same page, but it's just not happening.

I'm not really conveying the intense homoerotic subtext in this story, but you're already on Tumblr so you shouldn't have any problem finding someone else to catch you up on that.

Ever since Mariah showed up in AEW I've had the feeling that she's coming for Storm's spot, and at this point doing the match at Wembley Stadium seems like a logical move. So I've been assuming Toni has to retain here. However...Mina has had oodles of charisma in this program, to the point that I think many AEW fans would like to see her stick around. Besides, Mariah could just as easily do the "mentor vs. protege" world title bout against Storm or Shirakawa. I can't quite rule out a title change here. Still, I'm leaning 70/30 towards Toni keeping the belt.

Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer - Mone is defending the AEW TBS title, and Vaquer is defending the STRONG women's title. Stephanie currently holds an assortment of other championships, most notably the CMLL women's world title, but none of those are on the line here.

This is a rematch from March 21, 2023 when both women were in a tournament to crown the first STRONG women's champion. Mone was heavily favored to win the whole thing, and she beat Vaquer to advance to the final. But then she fell and injured her ankle, paving the way for Willow Nightingale to score a big upset. Mercedes avenged that loss to Willow last month, so the only loose end is that she never got hold of the STRONG belt.

I'd have zero problem with Vaquer adding the TBS belt to her collection. But it's just not gonna happen--Mercedes is too big a deal, and too early into her AEW run to start losing now. I'm not sure what Mone is going to do with the STRONG belt, but I'm pretty sure New Japan created it for her to have, and they're finally going to put it on her.

Kazuchika Okada & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Max Caster & Anthony Bowens - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) have been feuding with the Acclaimed (Caster and Bowens), and down the line they should meet two-on-two with the Bucks' AEW tag team title on the line. But the special sauce in this match is an unexpected entry in the long-running rivalry between Okada and Tanahashi. Okada was a dick when the rivalry began, but gradually lightened up until he and Tana became friends and tag partners. This is the first time their paths have crossed since Okada jumped to AEW and turned heel.

As legendary as Tana is, he's 47 years old and pretty vulnerable when it comes to doing the job in big matches. It's weird to say he's the weak link on a team with two guys I never heard of five years ago. But the Acclaimed need to be protected, and so do all three guys from the Elite. So unless Caster or Bowens manages to roll up one of the Bucks, I think Tana is bound to lose this match.

Jack Perry vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo - This match is for the AEW TNT championship, which has been vacant since the last titleholder, Adam Copeland, broke his tibia on May 26. Briscoe is the ROH men's world champion, but that title won't be at stake here. This will be a ladder match, so the TNT belt will be hung above the ring, and ladders will be placed around ringside; the first participant to climb up and retrieve the belt will be the winner and new champion.

I was hoping there would be more New Japan talent in this match. As it is we have Phantasmo, and kindasorta Lio, although Lio mainly appears on NJPW's US shows these days. It'd be easy to mistake Takeshita for a New Japan guy, but I don't think he's ever wrestled for them. In any case, these three guys probably can't win. I think Lio will need to stick around a while before they give him a belt. Takeshita and ELP are headed to the G1 Climax soon, and I don't think Tony Khan wants to send one of his champions to Japan for a month.

Perry seems like the favorite to win here, seeing as the Young Bucks were going to just hand him the belt before this match was announced to overrule them. Briscoe is getting more and more over, but he already has a title, and I don't think he needs another. Dante has the best storyline, since he broke his leg the last time he was in a ladder match. I think it'd be cool to see Dante win the big one. But my gut says he'll get super close and Perry will dick him over at the last minute to take the gold.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy - These two were part of a four-way match at last year's Forbidden Door, but nothing really got settled, so now Sabre is back for more.

I didn't get the story of this until last night, when Sabre said Orange is out of ideas and "I've already won." Cassidy is supposed to be super-chill and able to bait his opponent into making mistakes. But for months every Orange Cassidy promo is about how tired or beat up he is, and his mental state is even worse since Trent Beretta and Kris Statlander turned against him. A year ago I'd have said Sabre is a hothead who will flip his lid at the first sign of Orange Cassidy tomfoolery, but now he's the one maintaining his composure.

The match should be loads of fun, but the outcome isn't in doubt. Sabre's clearly being set up for big things in New Japan sooner or later, and I'm pretty confident he's not going to lose tonight.

MJF vs. Hechicero - Hechicero is one of the CMLL guys they've brought into AEW sporadically this year, and of late he's aligned with AEW's Cage of Agony stable, for some reason. On June 19, Brian Cage randomly issued a challenge to MJF on behalf of Hechicero, so I guess this is happening. The clash of styles could be real interesting, but MJF should not be losing right now.

Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi - This is a quarterfinal match in the men's Owen Hart memorial tournament. The winner will meet PAC in the semifinals on July 3. Whoever wins the whole tournament will earn an AEW men's world title match at Wembley Stadium on August 25.

It feels like they made this match so they can say a top New Japan guy is in the bracket, but he's going to lose right away so he doesn't have to stick around for the whole thing. However, it is feasible for Shingo to go all the way in this tournament, return to Japan for the entire G1, and then do the title match in London. I don't think that will happen, but it's not impossible. It's far more likely, I believe, that Danielson will win the whole tournament, and he just wanted a cool opponent for this show.

Chris Jericho & Big Bill & Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe & HOOK & Katsuyori Shibata - Cobb is the only New Japan guy in what is otherwise a straightforward AEW storyline. (I know Shibata was a New Japan guy for years, but he's been All Elite for a long time now.) Jericho, Bill, and Bryan Keith have been giving Hook and Shibata a hard time, and Joe stepped up to help the good guys out. Then Keith got (pretend?) injured so the heels needed a hand. Joe's team is developing some good chemistry, but Jericho's "learning tree" gimmick is not working for me at all. Minoru Suzuki has challenged Jericho for the FTW title, so I suppose Jericho's team should win so he can come out to build up that match, whenever it happens.

Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano vs. Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe - This is set for the pre-show. Statlander and Nightingale were best buddies up until last month, when Kris turned on Willow. I have completely forgotten anything I have learned about Nakano and Watanabe, but given which sides they're on it's clear who's a face and who's a heel. It's too soon to settle the Statlander-Nightingale feud, so I'd probably have one of them pin one of the STARDOM ladies.

Mariah May vs. Saraya - Another pre-show match. This is a quarterfinal in the women's Owen Hart tournament; the winner here will advance to face Hikaru Shida on July 3. The tournament winner will challenge the AEW women's world champion on August 25. That show is in London, and both of these women are English, so in my mind the winner here will be the natural favorite to go all the way.

May is, as noted above, embroiled in the Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa feud. Saraya is one of those heels who storms out during a big storyline to complain that she's sick of it, which has led to her feuding with May, Storm, and Shirakawa. I suppose Saraya could win but there's far more money in having Mariah advance, so that's who I'm picking.

Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi & Titan vs. Mistico & Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix - This is the most "forbidden" match on the whole show, and they're giving it away free on the pre-show.

When AEW launched, they were shut out of the NJPW/CMLL/ROH alliance. So a lot of the luchadors they brought in, like Penta and Fenix, were top talent from CMLL's rival, AAA. When NJPW-AEW relations thawed, things got awkward, because CMLL was still not going to collaborate with a company that used so many non-CMLL luchadors. To maintain the NJPW-CMLL relationship, New Japan talent wouldn't appear on AEW shows alongside Mexican wrestlers who don't work for CMLL.

It seemed unlikely that CMLL would ever budge on this point, even when they finally started working with AEW earlier this year. So I never expected to see Penta or Fenix in the ring with any of the other four guys in this match. Apparently the new arrangement is that CMLL will co-exist with the Lucha Bros. as long as they don't work for AAA.

I don't expect any of this to affect the action during this match. I'm not even sure the announce team will acknowledge it's an issue. I also can't begin to guess what the finish would be for such a politically-charged matchup. CMLL probably wants Mistico to win, and I'm guessing AEW and New Japan want to keep them happy right now.

Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O'Reilly vs. Malakai Black & Brody King vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong vs. Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen - Geez, that's four matches on the pre-show. That's a lot of matches. I assume each team will be in a corner, and only two men will be legal in the ring at any given time, but they can tag anyone they want. First man to score a fall wins the match for his team. Kidd and Strong are doing an odd-couple thing for some reason. Ishii and O'Reilly don't seem to have much in common except they've both been helping out Orange Cassidy lately. Black and King are waiting for Buddy Matthews to get back from his honeymoon so they can chase the trios belts. Private Party (Kassidy & Quen) haven't had much direction lately, and I don't expect that to change here. Unless the bookers want to put over Ishii or Kidd, I figure Black and King will win.

[thelordofgifs]

For the Writer Ask Game: 👀- favorite response to one of your works

(writer ask game)

I worked so hard on part 20 of tfs (which wraps up the second arc) and it really paid off. I can't even pick one set of tags, have them all:

#fuck i'm in tears now...#he asked him to stay! and he stayed!#i'm too emotional...

#screaming crying punching the air

#fuck! none of them have every thought anything through ever! none of them value their own lives!

#third time reading it today. still not over it. goddAMNIT CURUFIN

#HE ASKED HIM TO STAY#to say I was WEEPING#WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT#oh this part was such a ride#I can't believe himring fell! The fact mae built in a switch to destroy it!#ahhhhhhhhhh#And CURVO WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING#WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU UP TO#OH NO OH NO OH NO#WHY ARE FEANORIANS SO STUPIDLY SELF SACRIFICIAL AND DRAMATIC

#ahhhhhhh#they all need therapy!#this is an excellent arc ending it's very dramatic#where has curufin gone?#will he ever come back?#personally I'm betting he has gone to doriath#because I don't think thingol will kill him#if he sees how sad and pathetic he is in person

#HAVE WE CONSIDERED THAT MAYBE THE PLOT OF THE SILMARILLION IS DRIVEN BY LOVE#LOVE FOR A MOTHER LOST AND A FATHER SLAIN#LOVE FOR BROTHERS AND COUSINS UNDER SIEGE#LOVE FOR A DAUGHTER TO PRECIOUS TO LOSE; LOVE FOR A WOMAN TO BEAUTIFUL NOT TO TRY FOR;#LOVE FOR A FRIEND AND A FRIEND’S SON TOO GOOD TO GIVE UP ON NOW#LOVE TO CLIMB A MOUNTAIN FOR AND LOVE TO CALL AN EAGLE FOR AND LOVE TO RIDE OUT INTO FLAME AND DEATH#LOVE TO DOOM A CITY FOR AND LOVE TO SAIL A SEA TO SAVE AND LOVE TO STAY AND SAIL THE SKIES FOREVER#/HAVE WE CONSIDERED/#I’m having. feelings. about this installment and the prior one.

#your preview cranked my expectations so high i was honestly a little worried#turns out the actual chapter clears the bar with miles to spare#(now i'm just worried about the alarmingly heroic-sacrifice-shaped dent in the narrative next to curufin's last known position)

#AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH#op that was a fucking ride#my heart is gonna leap out of my chest i loved it#the dialogue the feels the emotions the fact that no horses were harmed in the making of this fic#that entire last scene#CURVO WTF ARE YOU DOING#i'm sure its for (possibly) good reasons but still#bravo bravo bravo#this is gonna be all i think about for the rest of the week

I mean. look at these!! People are so so nice about this fic it makes me tear up. Sometimes you write something and you know it's genuinely very good and that people are going to love it, and then they do, and it still makes you beam to think about several months later <3 (also cackle. more rollercoasters ahead!)

[grayintogreen]

WIP WEDNESDAY

So how about that last chapter, huh? Still reeling?

WELL, HERE'S A PREVIEW OF THE NEXT ONE, which is proceeding well on schedule to be dropped next Friday.

In this scene, the Nein return to Vasselheim to seek out information about their enemies and enlist some old allies. In case you haven't realized that this arc serves as a bookend to the very first arc yet.

-

Months had gone by since the Nein first walked through the grid of houses set against the backdrop of the Vesper Timberlands. There was no Cobalt Soul monk or supervised criminal to guide them this time, but the only thing that had changed was the season and Caleb remembered the way to the house with the dragon skull in the front yard.

Beau, recalling how hard it had been for the man's own daughter to get him to answer the door, started out big and loud with her knocks, but the person who answered after only three was not the cleric, but a red-skinned tiefling woman with dark horns that curved back from her forehead like a crown and silver eyes, dressed in a black silk robe.

It revealed one fundamental fact to Caleb- Tasya Hydris looked like her mother.

”It's awfully late for knocking like that,“ she drawled.

Bright and early in Bazzoxan translated to 'too late for visitors' in Vasselheim, but the Nein had been so determined that no one had thought to consider the time difference. Caleb was aware of it- of course- but it hadn't seemed important and remained that way even now.

”We're sorry to disturb you, but my friend here is a co-worker of your daughter- of sorts- and-“

The woman looked at Beau's garb that did everything in its power to say 'I am not a member of the Cobalt Soul' with a raised eyebrow that cut Caleb off at the pass, and Beau quickly produced her Expositor's badge from a secret pocket inside of her coat. ”Your, um… Husband? Did us a favor. We need to talk to him again.“

Her eyes lit up. ”Oh! You're the ones with the horrible flesh city.“

”So much for knowing us by our cool titles,” Veth sighed, drearily. “We're the flesh city people.”

“Come in. I'll get Kash up. He's going to be grumpy, but I have to admit we both found the entire thing worrying with how little the Soul seems to know about any of this.“ She stepped out of the doorway and continued speaking over her shoulder. ”The Vault prides itself in keeping as many records from Pre-Calamity as possible, but there's next to nothing on this Cognouza.“

”I'll have a full report to file for them, eventually,“ Beau said, puffing herself up, only to immediately deflate again, as if it was too cruel of her to take pride in a potential victory so minuscule while Molly and Yasha were suffering.

They made themselves at home in the overwhelmingly kitschy and cluttered living room again while the lady of the house- who introduced herself as Zahra- busied herself with the unpleasant task of rousing her husband. Moments later, the man in question, hair unbound, mismatched eyes lined in dark circles, and holding a mug of coffee was glowering at them from the doorway.

”I was hoping I'd never have to see you again.“ He looked to Zahra. ”You can't do things like this. It’s like feeding strays- they'll just keep coming around. Haven't you learned anything from Allura and Kima?”

“I've learned that Allura and sometimes Kima like helping the younger generation, darling.” Zahra flicked some of his hair out of his face with a long, well-manicured talon. “But if they didn't come here themselves, I was considering having Tasya get in contact with them, so this is kismet. It saves you being grumpy at me.”

Kash made a gruff noise and then kicked Veth out of what was most definitely his chair so he could sit down. Fjord didn't even wait for him to get comfortable before voicing a concern all of them were nursing.

”Sorry. You said that this has been troubling you since we left you? Badly enough you almost called us back?“

Lucien leaned forward, scanning every bit of visible skin on Kash's body- searching for eyes supplied a helpful little voice in the back of Caleb's mind. He must not have found any, judging by how he leaned back in disinterest almost immediately after.

An urge tapped Caleb on the shoulder and the copper pieces in his pockets felt as if they were made of lead, begging to be acknowledged. You know what you could do.

Detect Thoughts had been written into the grimoire infinitus when it awakened at his touch. He’d stared at that spell for so long, aching to use it and knowing what a slippery slope it was. It was Trent’s favorite spell, one used with impunity to the point of it being one of his signatures. Despite knowing how much easier it would have made his life, he never took the opportunity to learn it and now it was easily accessed, burned into his brain from the moment he read it. Keen minds have their disadvantages.

He saw Jester shift and watched her twist her ring enchanted with that same spell, free of baggage and any desires beyond curiosity, and relaxed a bit at having the desire taken out of his hands for the time being.

”Sometimes you look into something you shouldn't've seen and it looks back, it stays with you. Z and I are well-versed in that kind of shit. I've dreamt of that place every other night since I saw it.“ As Kash spoke, Caleb looked to Jester to gauge her reaction and found her only staring at the man with a look of deepest sorrow.

”Did anyone speak to you?“ Cree asked, unaware of what Jester was doing or in what way Caleb was taking cues from her.

”Nope.” Kash popped the 'p' on the end and sipped at his coffee. “I'd just see it, floating there, and it would get worse every time I looked at it, like an infected wound that just keeps rotting.”

The image of Cognouza wreathed in black chains and bleeding ichor from Vokodo's dying moments flashed into Caleb's head. The collective tension of the entire group said he wasn't the only one so plagued. No spell needed for that one. “And what did you make of it?”

“A nuisance mostly. I nearly broke a vow and contacted someone to ask about it, but Z talked me out of it.”

“Someone?” Veth prodded. “Like who? Your god?”

Come to think of it, they never did figure out what god Kash worshiped. It was usually one of the first questions he, in particular, asked of a cleric out of a habit he’d never shaken.

Zahra smiled with too-sharp teeth, proving that inviting that question now would ruin her sense of hospitality. “We don't talk about her.“

So definitely his god, whatever she may be. Jester, Caduceus, and Cree exchanged looks- clearly stricken by the idea that a cleric could be completely out of contact with their deity like that. It would have been worth prodding at on any other day, but not this one. Not when they needed Kash's cooperation more than they needed to test how much Jester could annoy him and still make him like them enough to want to commit to their cause.

Besides Jester had more context thanks to her ring and that fact alone had her biting her tongue now to avoid blurting out secrets and ruining everything.

”I will be frank, then,“ Caleb said, voice stern, eager to derail Jester’s need for impulsive action with forward motion. “Two of our friends were taken by a cult whose primary ambition at this stage is to bring that city back to this plane. One of them is possessed by the beings who control that city. We have no idea what that means for him yet, but we do know what it means for Exandria.”

Lucien slid in and surprised Kash with everything from how he spoke to the way he leaned forwards down to the look in his eyes that said he did know better than anyone what he was talking about, rather than simply behaving like he did- everything that said he very much wasn’t Molly. “What you saw is a cancer that will consume everything until we are all nothing but minds in a hive controlled by the most mad wizards from an age of mad wizards.”

“And we know what all of this means for the Soul right this second,” Beau joined in before Kash could ask the obvious question- who the fuck is he, which no one had any time or desire to answer now even in simple terms. “To bring the city back, they need the threshold crests. Now I don't know what High Curator Kerthis did with the ones I gave her in the end, but the last memory Molly has of them is bringing them here and that cult is here now, probably looking for them.”

The implications didn't need to be spoken- their daughter and her entire organization was in immediate danger. In warning them of what could happen, they had given them the opportunity to do something about it before it became untenable as if in penance for their part in bringing it to their doorstep.

Kash wasn't grateful and clearly would have preferred to have been left out of it at all, but he had helped them once and by and large this was merely finishing off what had been started and left to hang. The look in his eyes said very clearly that 'no' wasn't on the table, but he was running through a dozen caveats before he agreed.

“What's your plan here?” He finally asked. “You want your buddies back first, yeah? Cool. How are you gonna do it?”

The silence spoke volumes. Kash handed his coffee to Zahra, perched on the armrest of his chair, so she could put it on the end table for him. The entire motion was so fluid and required neither of them to look away from them that it must have been a dance practiced many times in front of their children.

“I don't get involved in shit without a plan in place. You want our help? Do your godsdamned research, figure out how to approach these people, because what you're telling me without saying fuck-all is you got your shit rocked and now you want payback right now. That kind of thinking gets people killed.”

“We planned on stopping by the Vault too,” Beau grimaced, tightly. “We just wanted you two to be aware of the situation as it stands.“

”Consider us aware.“

Zahra laid a hand on her husband's knee in a gesture that soothed the ravages of his barely controlled temper. ”We do appreciate it and we want to help you, but we're not as young as we used to be and…“ She smiled warmly. ”We've seen what becomes of adventuring parties who don't think things through before they act. They might survive, but there is usually a cost.”

And we have already paid too much. Kashaw wasn't wrong even if it wasn't what the Nein wanted to hear. It would be unreasonable to assume a practical stranger would leap out of bed, determined to go and meet their enemies in the woods right this second just because he had helped them once.

If anything, he might have spared them all some grief by being logical, rather than a man of immediate, dramatic action.

“They keep weird hours at the Vault,” Kash said. “Get to it. 'Cause even if we throw our hands into this mess, this is all on you. As of right now, you're the only fucking experts on something that could destroy Exandria and the only people equipped to deal with it because of that. You need to be sharp and you need to be ready.“

All facts they all knew full well, but hearing them laid out so bluntly still made Caleb wince. The gods themselves could not have made it plainer and they were certainly trying to.

This was their fight, no matter who they asked to back them up at the gates of Hell, and if they failed, there would be nothing left to grieve how foolish a decision it was to place all of this on a group of fuck-ups from Wildemount.

So we won't fail.

He looked to Beau who gave him a tight, pained nod, a reminder of their vow from last night. Whatever it takes.

Sometimes what it took had nothing to do with blood and rage and everything to do with patience and careful planning.

Sometimes you had to grit your teeth and wait.

[tsuki-sennin]

Wow, Adventure Heaven! What a good movie I totally just saw! I liked the part where Moffun showed up and ate an entire box of Milk Duds, cardboard and all~! And the part where Racules spelled his name out in Romaji on a blackboard and it wasn't "Rcules" because goddammit that is fucking bullshit~!

Anyways, time for Episodes 24-26~!

Spoilers, I guess...

-I don't know why you seem so surprised about Dezzy blowing up the planet, Jimmy. I mean, have you met him?

-Gerojim! I missed you, yo!

-Ahhhh, so Tikyuu's already got its core science down.

-Oh!

-Okay, apparently bedrock just doesn't exist in this universe.

-"I will be king! And none will challenge me!"

-Spiders Jeremy comes to play the game!

-Grandpa putting you to bed.

-Jeremy hijacked the intro entirely for himself this time, okay!

-The king is boiling alive, and he hasn't even been coronated for a few days!

-Holy shit, 90%???

-Damn Yanma, do you not have liquid nitrogen lying around?

-...Rita, is there some secret stash of Moffun and Me merch hidden somehwere in this castle that Racules had? Are there Moffun Chunkopops?

-Three cities! For three baskets of crops!

-Oh, Gira...

-Boone...

-"How can you people party when we're all melting?"

-Matsuri, matsuri da~!

-...Tarou-san...

-"I know all about your stupid planetary genocide plan~!"

-Goddamn, Jeremy looks great in that torchlight.

-One of the best staples of any JRPG~! The festival sequence~!

-Gira-sama~!

-Have fun, my beloved peons~!

-Oh my god, the plushie's got his own Akracing (TM) Gaming Chair.

-

-AN ENTIRE SKYSCRAPER

-Oh you motherfuckers hjlkh

-Stupid carnies!

-Lunch time~! Lay it on us, K-Man.

-Utage ja Ohger Jumpscare

-Rita's so adorable in that outfit, holy crap

-"Get out there, boy."

-Dezzy's insight is rather surprising. Forced to answer for crimes he had no hand in while those who put his people there party above them...

-Ohhhh, those are simply lovely parallel effects...

-"I will be the pen that writes my tyrannical legend."

-"Ehh... idk, maybe this whole tyranny thing isn't working out for me."

-Th

-Awww, Douga :)

-Man, looking at the green screen for long is fuckin' with my sense of perspective.

-It's like if George Lucas directed a season of Power Rangers.

-"Oh, hey Jeremy :)"

-Jeremy...

-All this time...

-Big crawfish!

-Po boys for everyone!

-That boy can dig.

-"Anyone got any bright ideas?"

-Fishing!

-Okay, that is smart writing.

-Can't burn somebody already boiling alive.

-Now to plug all these holes.

-Oh Dezzy...

-Oh, goin' full King already.

-Holy shit, he tanked that.

-Idomonarak??

-Ohhhhhhhh

-Family...

-He's just shuffling on...

-And yet he hears nothing.

-OHHHH?

-Everybody!

-"The man who done fucked up."

-Go even further beyond.

-Oh

-Okay, that simple.

-Twenty guys.

-Ah don't worry, I saw the preview, you guys'll find 'em.

-GEROJIM

-DUDE

-"I'll handle this one."

-OHHHHH

-That is devious.

-:O

-Holy shit

-Testing a man's resolve so hard.

-"Serve your king. As the first of the Bugnarok."

-Chosen by the gods.

-Kofuki's unprepared.

-"...I'm starting to regret this idea now."

-King Nerd and his posse ride on!

-I see Himeno's retinue are quite resolute.

-Last meal.

-"My nasty-ass hands ask to be taken! Kuroda! Suzume! I beg of you!"

-Hello, Morphonia~!

-Kabedon

-Ohhhhhh the hug!!!

-"The will to succeed."

-Kuwagon...

-Thump!

-No more sacrifice plays! Only the finest perfect run here!

-Damn

-Boone didn't hesitate for a second.

-It's time for your advent, God King-Ohger!

-That is one huge son of a bitch.

-Long-ass jingle too.

-God descends, and they are a chimeric arthropod!

-Removed.

-Ikuzo!

-This is simply marvelous.

-"On your call, Ant Boy!"

-Ohsama Sentai! King-Ohger!

-Goodbye, Emperor Dethnarak.

-We saved the world~!

-...kinda!

-One last episode for this arc, of course.

-Ah yes, the best solution for racism. Genocide.

-"All the Bugnarok will die too, you moron."

-"Let's meet somewhere nicer. You can even borrow this if you want."

-Sweet prince Jeremy...

-Oh?

-"Hey, Arbiter! Can't arbit with goosebumps?"

-Ohhhhh

-I see...

-Oh crap, Himeno.

-OHHHHHH

-Those're the locusts!

-A pile of dead flies.

-Jesus Christ...

-Oh, already revolting.

-That is messed up, man.

-Emperor Dezzy's got a stummyache.

-Gerojim's a force ghost.

-Oh!

-It's a little guy!

-"Can you help him?"

-Dethnarak...

-I never expected much from him, and yet...

-Goddamn, this is some tragic-ass theming.

-"Get out of here! You stupid dumb animal!"

-They fightin'!

-"Look at how bright and beautiful the sun is!"

-Gira...

-Yep. We would've done the same goddamn thing.

-And we would've kept doing that same goddamn thing over and over again.

-Let it fall, buddy.

-We're doing it good!

-Oh

-Oh fuck you Kamejim.

-"Two thousand years of planning! Stoking the fires of prejudice, killing, stealing, lying, destroying. All down the drain!"

-What the hell is that

-"Be king. Let our people see the beautiful shining sun!"

-Dethnarak...

-Returned to nothing but cinders.

-Jeremy's fucking pissed.

-Time for everybody to play their part once more.

-"Now, what to do with you kids~?"

-Clocked

-Even at his last breath, Kamejim refused to get it.

-Goodbye, stinkbug man.

-The Bugnarok are heretofore recognized as their own domain.

-There's no need for hatred any more. Never there was.

-Man and bug. Hand in pincer, hand in wing, hand in leg.

-No cheer or joy. Just a message made clear.

-"Now, let's make a beautiful new story~!"

-Ohhhhhhhhh

-Ah, yep. Planet.

-I forgot.

-Alienses~!

-Galactinsects, they're called.

-Oh wow, a timeskip.

-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH FINALLY!

-I'M CAUGHT UP!

-THE CURSE HAS BEEN LIFTED!

[blackgirlsuperherorants]

I asked ChatGPT to write a short scene between Bucky and Sam just to see what it would do.

My thoughts are that it's a very generic, passable scene, but also not really in character for either. Like other writers have said, this tool might be useful for coming up with ideas, but this scene would require a lot of work for anyone to actually see this as Bucky and Sam. Right now, this could be any two characters. Still, it was a fun experiment. Read the AI scene below.

"Can you write a short scene between Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson within the MCU that takes place during a nationwide blackout in the US?

Sure, here's a short scene:

Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson are walking down a darkened street, the city in complete blackout. Bucky is carrying a flashlight, while Sam is holding a map of the city.

Sam: "This is crazy, man. A nationwide blackout? Who would've thought?"

Bucky: "Yeah, it's a mess. But we've been through worse, right?"

Sam: "Yeah, I guess you're right. But we still need to find a way to get to the airport. We can't miss that flight to Wakanda."

Bucky: "I know. But the subway's down, and the streets are jammed with cars. We're gonna have to find another way."

As they walk, they hear screams in the distance.

Sam: "What was that?"

Bucky shines the flashlight in the direction of the sound and sees a group of people running towards them, panic in their eyes.

Bucky: "We need to get out of here, Sam. Something's not right."

Sam: "Agreed."

They start to jog in the opposite direction, trying to avoid the panicked crowd. Suddenly, they hear a loud explosion and turn to see a building collapse in the distance.

Bucky: "We need to move, now."

Sam: "But where do we go?"

Bucky: "Follow me."

Bucky leads them down an alleyway and through a maze of buildings, eventually arriving at a small park on the outskirts of the city.

Sam: "What's the plan now?"

Bucky: "We wait. We wait for the chaos to die down, and then we make our move. But until then, we stay put and stay safe."

Sam nods in agreement as they settle down on a bench, looking out at the darkened city. The only sounds are distant screams and sirens in the distance.

Bucky: "You know, Sam, sometimes I wonder if the world will ever be truly peaceful."

Sam: "Yeah, me too. But until then, we do what we can to protect it."

They sit in silence for a moment, lost in thought, as the city around them remains in darkness.

ChatGPT Mar 23 Version. Free Research Preview. ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts."

[thestorywewrite]

I love stories.

After a few false starts, I got into magic properly around 7 years ago now. I'd abandoned the TCGs Id played before a few years before, but there had been some online buzz about the commander format, and I'd been itching to do some deckbuilding.

And I fell in love with magic. The characters, the lore. Years and years of it! Every card told a story, no matter how small. I built decks around characters, or decks around weird cards. Sometimes there were stories about the stories! The real life lore that had gathered around strange sets like P3K and homelands.

Some of my commander decks are just built around cool mechanics. Its a game first, afterall. And it's casual, so I didn't have to splash out on the best cards, just cards I liked.

But even then, being able to make jokes about Urza or link weatherlight charachters as they come up... Magics more than just any of the 50+ boardgames in my cupboard. It's alive with its own living, breathing tales. And everyone has their favourites.

I've let magic take up a lot of my board gaming. I play at least once a week with my wife, if not more. Commander or Jumpstart or a 2-player draft. I upgrade all these things regularly with each new set. Even favourite weird draft chaff I try to find a home for if it resonates.

I attend every prerelease, I try draft each set in my LGS at least a few times (I'd like to do more, but there's only so many Fridays I can spare and the sets go by so quickly these days. My old LGS used to draft mondays too, but it shutdown.)

When I see some friends who live a city away a few times a year, we play massive commander games to show off what we've changed or built. Or draft all evening long.

In summary, Wotc can definitely afford to lose me.

My problem with UB is it just fails to resonate as a magic card to me. Or a lot do. I dont play enough DnD to notice some of those cards as off. The Clue lands looked fun.

But seeing something I know from LotR next to something from Kamigawa or Dominaria fails to emotionally resonate with me. It's not part of this story, this rich lore.

It's just another game piece. And if I *just* wanted to play a game, I could play another boardgame.

And don't get me wrong, there have been UB cards of some of my favourite stories already. But they did nothing for me in magic. They werent magic cards. Just a game piece for a Princess Bride game using magic rules. Weird. Disconnected

But it's fine. I curate my experience pretty heavily already. My friends can continue to fail to get me into modern, I can shelve the pauper lists I was looking at. I've got cube, I've got commander, I've got draft.

As much as SL does nothing for me, it's not the end of magic for me. Not even close. Clearly a lot of people like it. I know people who do.

Then the 3 UB set announcement came and I've not been mad, just... deflated?

Like, I'm hype for Foundations, I'm excited for my corner of magic. I've been blowing up groupchats with previews and speculation and...

And I'm not going to get that soon. 3 spoiler seasons I'll feel nothing for. And it's not like I get longer with those sets I do like. I can't get my drafting friends together on a random Friday just because we're knee deep in Final Fantasy at my LGS.

Do I go anyway and give away the cards after? The draft will still be good I'm sure. But driving all that way after work, buying something greasy at 11pm after the draft, heck, the fact I could be doing something else with my wife or friends... it's a lot of effort for something thats *just* a game. That doesnt feel like magic.

It's not the end of magic for me, and magic can afford me for sure, it's just sad that something I've put a lot of love into will be less so.

Magic stands by itself, and I worry that UB won't be another leg for magic to stand strong on, but a crutch thats going to atrophy those legs the more its leaned on.

Or it won't magic will live strong and I'll just have half as much to play this year than in the last, because I can't conceptualize Captain America as part of the same game whose unique selling point to me all those years ago was that every card was part of a grand story told over years.

The game is allowed to change and evolve but a very core part of the appeal of magic, what makes it different from every other TCG has tangibly been lessened. While Im' not stopping now, I wouldn't have come here if this is where we were when I started.

And maybe I'll come round.

But as a closer: when my FiL, having heard my wifes and I's love for the game, wanted to dip his toe in, it wasnt his lifelong love of LotR that suckered him in. He was indifferent to that. He saw Vivien Reid in a boardgame shop and started looking up all her cards and bought a bunch from ebay.

I’ve always felt the core role of this blog has been one of information. We make a lot of choices in design, and I try to use my various communications, including Blogatog, to walk the players through what we were thinking when we made key decisions.

The challenge with this approach is that it’s very logic-focused. It uses intellectual justifications to explain actions. But the problems I’m often responding to are emotional in origin. I have a good friend who’s a psychologist. He refers to this (using the words of author Robyn Gobbel) as an owl brain solution to a watchdog brain problem.

When someone is hurting, hearing about why the thing that is causing them pain is the result of intellectual decisions falls flat. That’s what has been causing some tension lately here on Blogatog.

It’s clear that for some Question Marks changes over the last few years represent the loss of something key to what makes Magic special to them. To them, the game is losing its heart.

While I can’t necessarily do anything about that, I want to better understand what you’re going through. So I’m using this post to ask players who are concerned with the recent changes to help me understand their feelings. Let me hear your stories about how your lives have been affected by these changes.

[the-firebird69]

World's First Porsche Hypercar - The Mission X

We are going to make this kit and we are going to have it start out in foreign countries and it works for us very well it is the best idea I've heard so far he's been trying to do it in a bunch of different ways and finally tonight he said Africa needs heat we're in trouble and Shaquille O'Neal agreed this is terrible he's going to get a bunch of it and it's going to see these Yahoo's and these things and he's going to see the other guys in the real thing and they're going to probably break out some Bradley GT the old ones and new ones to be made and it's going to happen there there's a few cities that are very huge and cosmopolitan the brand new buildings and they're going through them and find out that half the buildings have to come down so they're going to go out there in their styling cars and they're going to design civilization and all this other crap they say and it's really the max and they're going to be hit and it's going to be a fight and these guys need cars now and Shaquille O'Neal said it we need fast cars right now and the Vader it's going to be huge and stuff that fits in in a Porsche is going to be gigantic this is one of the supercars we produce and some model we picked to send over there and she's previewing it and said no way these people are hotter than hell and they're doing the right thing and we get it and we're going to do it and they're in trouble because they're Max and they're not really and they can't hide then stuff on them and they people know who they are and it's working but what's going to happen now is we're sending those over there and they're going to fight using these kits that are very fast in this kit is for a particular vehicle made in Africa and it's very popular it's a nice car it's like A lexis it's got the same kind of look. Can we see the connection and it's to the desert too and we're going to make a lot of Tumblr kids and the go-kart version. And Hera is go-kart Mozart and she's going to ask him if he needs a ride and he's going to say sure and she's going to be surprised because he wants to see her so we're going to go ahead now

Black God and black goddess

Olympus

And itchy I need you to exercise please and his back was itching like crazy so he said that he's going to get in the car and say where have you been all my life I'm going to tell you something it makes a lot of sense now it's a mini car and he's going to have trouble getting in there's all these small girls who are excited who want to go over there to Africa and get these cars and the Tumblr and the stealth car and get going I'm going to tell you something this is more fun than you imagine because finally people are seemingly human they they like it and they think they have a chance and they will and by the way that batmobile the last one that's real long in the front is the number one seller and it's my favorite kind he likes it too and he's making a Rolls-Royce like it he thinks my nose is huge it's not really I did the Carol barnhart thing and that was me and there were two of us

Hera

He's singing a song double vision

[blackdaisies]

I would literally be drawing more art, but all of my free leisure time is now spent on playing Baldur's Gate 3.

I love this game so much and I want to keep going. It's so weird how a couple of months ago, this game was definitely not on my radar. Even after the previews I had zero interest in it. But then someone said "it was the closest video game experience to DnD" and only then was I intrigued.

It's been a month since this game came out and I still maybe in the middle of Act 3, so I have not yet finished the game. After all the spoilers that I've accidentally seen, this game is *still* surprising me . I'm posting some highlights below, so don't keep reading if you don't want to be spoiled.

Spoilery list of highlights so far below (you've been warned):

I started with playing a druid, but I fell in love with my Bard, and I can't imagine playing the game now without his vicious mockery insults. Randomly playing in synch with other bards you come across was a delight too.

All of the Shadow Cursed lands. Especially the Thorms. I took a lot of satisfaction out of talking my way out of most of the encounters. And holy crap, the Sisters in the House of Healing were beautiful. I cannot WAIT to see cosplay of them.

That intellect devourer you rescue at the beginning of the game, I had assumed was killed in the crash, but you get to rescue it again at the end of Act 2!!!

In Baldur's Gate (Act 3) after you meet a widow in an apothecary shop, outside there is a cat, that if you have speaks with animals on, you can convince to meet the shopkeeper and help her out

in exploring the lower city, I came across the graves of Karlach's parents, with Karlach in the group. It was such as sweet moment.

busting Duke Ravenguard out of that prison, holy jesus, that entire scenario was beautiful and amazing. I did two attempts to try to rescue all the prisoners (I didn't succeed, and even got my Tav killed because I tried to RP him waiting until everyone got back onto the sub). The rest of the group found Tav on a beach and rezzed him.

Wyll's proposal. Wow. I know some people say that Wyll's romance is boring, but I loved how wholesome and beautiful it was.

There were a few things that also surprised me in sort of negative way:

I wasn't keen on Halsin. I thought I'd love having him as part of the main crew, but he had old hippy professor energy that wasn't appealing to me at all. I was so happy that I was able to recruit Jaheira for all my druiding needs.

I figured out on my own that our Guardian was a mindflayer, but the Emperor went into flirt mode almost immediately. Actually, all the companions did, which I understand was a bug, but there was so much second hand embarassment watching everyone profess their deep desires even after no 'romantic' interactions from my bard. My Tav had to attempt to gently turn them down but cringing the hole time.

I spent so much time trying to rescue Minsc, but please dude, do more damage!! I get that he's a classic character, but it's so late in the game to introduce a ranger, why did it have to be so difficult to get him as a companion? And because it's so late in the game, I didn't have much gear for him, and I'm still trying to figure out how to play him so that he does useful damage.

[chaoticbard]

Alaara laughed at Karlach's description of Upper City music. It was exactly that, too prim and proper and devoid of anything but decorum and elegance. Her sister Tiri drowned herself in that world... But like Karlach, it was not to Alaara's tastes at all.

"Never try to seek out a show my sister's putting on then. If she exuded any more of high society's energies she'd surely turn into a pile of useless gemstones. Or something." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I'd be more than happy to give you a preview. I won't spoil what I've written for you though. I'll let you hear that one live."

Again she laughed, the corners of her mouth unable to rest. Wyll falling asleep while listening! "Give Wyll a medal for trying to stay awake," she replied. "I'm sure he tries very hard for your sake. And when you see him next, tell him to stop by. We've missed seeing him.

"But to the point at present... I love the idea. But! You can't go into this looking like you do. No... You need lighting. Drama! A new outfit. Something that makes you look dark and mysterious, that doesn't immediately give you away until you spin around..."

Oh yes. She was starting to get a picture. She'd cast light spells that lit Karlach from above, obscuring her. And then, when she made her reveal they would sweep around, lighting her face from underneath to make her look like a proper villain!

"And! Ohhhh, you'll need a stunning dress to go under it. Come! I've got lots of things to choose from in my wardrobe. For the record I think Tara will get a kick out of this."

Karlach made mental notes about each talent and concluded that she would bring it up to the leader of the Waterdeep faction when she returned. She couldn't guarantee anything but it was worth a shot. Especially if she added that the famed Alaara was watching over them, charges belonging to a hero known across the Swords Coast by now was bound to turn a few heads.

"Oooh, you'll have to give me a preview! I've missed listening to you play. The music they play in the Higher City events are way too stuffy for my liking." She paused, thinking about how she was always on the move. Always planning the next adventure, next trip, next job that needed doing.

What would happen if it all stopped? She tried not to think about it, but perhaps that was part of the problem.

"Really?!" Karlach sparked back up at the mention of Tara. Oh, good old Tara. Karlach remembered fondly their little chats while Tara helped herself to her tent, absorbing the heat that naturally built up under the canvas. "I miss her too, and Gale obviously. No one can chat all night like we could. Poor Wyll ends up falling asleep eventually mid-tale."

"What do you think I should do?" Karlach slid herself on the stool so her back was to Alaara. "Should I try the whole-" Then spun herself back around with a false annoyance on her face. "'I've been waiting for you, Mr Dekarios'-" Her tone and face brightened back up. "Oooh, maybe with Tara on my lap! If she allowed it."