#a lot of translation channels also died

[taonpest]

Holy shit PinocchioP's Anonymous M..........

[renshengs]

Hi!! I see you post occasionally about cdramas. I went to China this summer and I learned a little Mandarin (like enough to say, “I don’t speak good Mandarin.”) Would I be able to muddle through cdramas with captions? (Also any suggestions on which ones to watch and where to watch them?). Thanks so much <3

ooh i hope you had lots of fun there! with subtitles i think you could absolutely make it through most cdramas; it depends on how good the subs are, honestly, because alas translating mandarin chinese to english (or any latin-based language, for that matter) is i think one of the most difficult language translations possible because the chinese language is just so rife with chengyu (idioms).

as for recs, i do have a handful i watched recently enough that i feel more confident in trusting my own taste LOL. i almost exclusively watch historical dramas, so these are definitely going to be very skewed to my personal preferences.

also, this will be long because i love my cdramas. bear with me!

word of honor/山河令 (2021)

episodes: 36

genre: wuxia (chinese martial arts fantasy; think of crouching tiger hidden dragon), dangai (cdrama adapted from a chinese gay romance novel), adventure, political intrigue

arguably the most explicitly gay cdrama that's come out in the last decade despite censorship issues in chinese tv broadcasting

a lonely ex-assassin retires and begins a slow 1-year suicide by poison, but his death plan is interrupted by a flirtatious (& dangerous) man with a mysterious background + a newly orphaned kid he accidentally becomes responsible for. cue politics and drama!

if you don't mind dealing with low-budget CGI—though the show is so immersive it hardly makes a difference—the story features: fascinating & subversive themes about life & morality, a well-written cast of bloodthirsty women, an incredibly charming found family, and an absolutely fantastic, dramatic, devoted slow burn between the two male leads

if you prefer more mature romance—lots of flirting & sexual tension between two highly intelligent & capable men who are 1) attracted to each other from the get-go 2) constantly trying to outmaneuver each other & figure each other out... this is the one!

if it means anything, i am recommending this one first because it's my all-time favorite cdrama! especially if you are queer like me :)

you can watch it subtitled on netflix or fully free & subtitled in HD on the official youku youtube channel

the double/墨雨云间 (2024)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, political intrigue

if you too are tired of stories about shallow, badly-written girlbosses with no dimension... this is the show for you!

protagonist is a happy woman who gets framed for adultery & buried alive by her husband—she survives and returns to enact revenge upon those who hurt her & her loved ones by assuming the identity of the young woman who died saving her. she makes many enemies and allies along the way + catches the attention of the emperor's notoriously cold & keen-eyed right hand man, duke su, who eventually becomes her very supportive love interest <3

high stakes & a plot that makes you hold your breath, GORGEOUS cinematography

a long list of complex and important female characters, most of them nasty and corrupt, all of them sympathetic and interesting. the show is good at making you assume at first that their characters won't be done justice, but just wait :)

from your resident het romance skeptic: excellent dynamic! protagonist and her duke are both confident, calculating schemers always trying to outsmart each other, but eventually join hands against common enemies. extremely slow burn with lots of tension and a refreshing lack of miscommunication

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, youku, and definitely some p/racy sites for east asian dramas

mysterious lotus casebook/莲花楼 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: wuxia, adventure, mystery

a heroic & famous swordsman suffers a defeat at the hands of his nemesis and vanishes and is widely presumed dead. timeskip a decade, he's been living in disguise as a doctor to escape the burden of his identity when the past he's been hiding from starts to catch up to him when he scams a talented & stubborn young swordsman whose past is connected to his

if you like sly 30 yr old protagonists, identity shenanigans, & mystery-solving with gay polycule undertones, this is the one for you!

as for potential shipping: if you like age gap stuff and/or devoted puppyboys and/or "A has idolized B (adult) since they were a child; now A is grown-up and wants to protect B" trope. OR if you like 30 yr old nemeses who act divorced. the 3 main guys all have chemistry; pick and choose your ship at will!

to save text, last year i made a passionate powerpoint post explaining the whole show, spoiler-free, in more detail!

you can watch it with subtitles on iqiyi for free or on aforementioned [redacted] sites

love between fairy and devil/苍兰诀 (2022)

episodes: 36

genre: romance, xianxia (chinese high fantasy), adventure

high budget CGI? in MY cdrama? it's more likely than you think!

please ignore the horrendous english title. a translation of the original chinese would be "the parting/goodbye of canglan", canglan being the main characters. the story is tragic but ends happily!

on the surface appears like an old-fashioned good girl x bad boy love story, but is far more emotionally interesting & 100% deserving of its sheer popularity

brave & kindhearted low-ranking 1,500 yr old orchid fairy spirit accidentally soulbonds with a 30,000 yr old demon lord war prisoner who just happens to be the nemesis of her realm, except she reaps all the benefits and he just suffers (hilariously)

very star-crossed, VERY funny bodyswapping, & with far more heart and consistency than many people assume. the romance is difficult in ways that make sense! genuinely thought my picky ass would not be charmed by this show and found myself fully crying by episode 8

oh, and gloriously stunning costuming. everyone looks good, all the time, even when they're covered in blood <3

if you're interested, here is the powerpoint post that convinced me!

you can watch with subtitles on netflix, or iqiyi & viki for free!

a journey to love/一念关山 (2023)

episodes: 40

genre: historical, romance, adventure, political intrigue

also female-centric! an infamous and deeply complex assassin protagonist hellbent on revenge against the people who framed her finds herself making a deal to train a timid princess into becoming a political force of nature, ft. her supportive and equally capable male love interest, his group of incredibly lovable and memorable best bros, a gorgeous cutthroat young marquis with an oedipus complex & a complicated backstory (who absolutely steals the show whenever he shows up), & a headstrong tomboy princess with a sweet and loyal heart

a fast-paced plot that never drags + excellent soundtrack + incredible action scenes + a genuinely convincing crossdressing plot where the female character actually passes as a man

unreasonably funny considering the political drama. i truly cannot understate how Fun this was to watch, especially if you like deadly domineering women who are badly socialized and hilarious, and female characters establishing positive and meaningful bonds with each other.

if you've never watched a cdrama, i will warn that most of them Do Not Pull Their Punches when it comes to making viewers cry. this one has shakespearian tragedy levels of death, including of major characters

you can watch with subtitles on iqiyi, and i'm sure some [redacted] sites also

hoping this list can be of help to you, anon! i cannot state how happy it makes me to see anyone express an interest in watching cdramas. i grew up on them, their long dramatic storylines and star-crossed romances, and they shaped my taste in fiction in more ways than i can say. if at any point you get around to watching any of these, feel free to yell in my inbox about it, and most importantly have fun and enjoy! <3

[thesmpisonfire]

Okay so, I wanna talk about my sonboy Richas, my guy Felps, their relationship, and everything about yesterday as well

So, lets go :D

First thing, Felps actually really don't like taking care of Richas when he's without his armor

Felps has the terrible memory of being the one (together with Cellbit) to watch Richas first death. The three were at a cave and Felps and Cellbit were taken down first and had to watch Richas getting swarmed and die far from their grasp

The death was reverted, but still, when Felps logged in next time, Richas had JUST died to the bull again, so he already had 1 life. It was the very same day, just a couple hours after. Felps always reinforced about the armor, to the point he didn't let Richas take it off even when safe at Foolishs place when he could see Leo didn't wear it

Felps fucking loves that kid, he's just the quieter dad. He won't scream that much, when he panics, he shuts down and focus on the problem. He's the best dad to talk about feelings and often is the one who talks Richas out of his spiraling self deprecating thoughts, while other dads don't have the same touch

Felps has the patience to talk with Richas and hear Richas points. He always is the one talking him into a shower even if it takes a whole trip beforehand so Richas can have fun before it. He sings a lil song to get him through a shower. Ever since he came back from the lab, he trusts Richas a lot with his own strength, he knows Richas can defend himself even better than Felps can defend himself

It means a lot that Felps is the only dad Richas will listen to more easily, even if sometimes it takes a lot of talk and bargain to do so. Richas is a difficult kid, he channels all his sadness and pain into being silly and overly courageous, which means he will be a disobedient kid, he will put himself in danger, he won't listen to his dads if he can make a joke about it and it has been getting worse lately

Richas is Not doing okay, he's constantly scared of losing the ones he love, he feels easily replaceable which makes him panic and act out in 'jealousy'. He has said before he fears his siblings don't really like him and it's why he always wants to have family around, he knows he's a problem and has even apologized to Bad about it once. He thinks he can't express his love through words when he has written so many beautiful things, he paints bc its how he thinks he can better translate his care

Yesterday, after Bad took him and Felps to the graveyard and out of it, Richas went back with Felps and put some flowers around their graves. A small talk started when Felps wondered if the dead eggs were looking down at them, but also couldn't really believe it because they'd be too far up there to actually see anything. Richas then said how people used to tell him Bobby was up in between the stars, but they stopped telling him that 'story'. Then, this talk happened

"Do you think they'd [Dead eggs Richas never met] like me?"

"Ofc they would! Everyone loves you! They'd love you, Richas"

"If I had died today, would I meet them?"

Felps goes quiet for a couple seconds here, then goes back to talking

"Maybe, maybe not. We can never be sure, Richas. What if you died and it's just nothing after, huh? It's a big bet. You can't keep thinking like that and then go throw yourself in front of a zombie horse to find out if they're at the other side"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be able to annoy all the dads, it wouldn't be worth it... I'd miss you all so much" (He used the word saudade)

"Awwn... But you would be dead, Richas. We would be the ones missing you, we would be the ones staying behind"

And to me this is a very telling moment. Because Richas didn't realize people would miss him as well, he just thought about how he'd miss being with the others. He also says how he'd be in hell, missing his family but also laughing at tragedy. When Felps asks why hell, Richas goes "You really think I'd end up in heaven? With the way I am?"

Felps spends the rest of the stream hyping Richas up, telling him how much he's loved and how much everyone cares for him. Felps manages to get through Richas after a while, and they have a nice moment together. Richas already arrived to the square without armor, after having recently argued with Forever about it, and Felps didn't mind bc that area was all lightened up so less mobs were spawning, plus the aforementioned trusts he has on Richas

No one expected the horse because it came from outside the square, right out the border, and literally fell on top of them. Felps was quick to go after it, and Richas was caught out of surprise and got height damage as well, eating through 2 totems (and also having to switch out the other ones from his hand due to the rule)

Felps was smart about the horse, he always hit up high so there wouldn't be any risk of a misclick, he hit crit after crit pushing the horse away so he could better kill it without risking Richas, and he did it! I understand BBHs scare but everything was already solved and Richas was halfway being revived already

If anything, the trip to the cemetery scared Felps more than it did Richas. Richas is well used to the threat of death, he plays with it by jumping into mines and purposefully walking without armor around Forever. But Felps isn't. He wants his kid safe, he wants him alive. Felps was willing to never come back if it meant Richas could have an extra life, he would die over and over for that kid

After everything, he talked with Richas, and the kid didn't rlly need to be convinced to wear his armor now that he knew how the square can be tricky. Felps didn't need to yell, or compare Richas to anyone, or play lil games. Just a talk, and Felps' trust that Richa would now do his part, and he did!

Each mob they encountered next, Richas and Felps stayed side by side. Felps let Richas kill them first bc he knows Richas likes it, but always helping and telling him how he was doing it well. When they were rowing around later in the boat, music playing, Felps went on about how it was all that mattered

Richas was alive, Felps was alive, they got a scare but they were okay now. And it was all worth it for these calm, happy moments. These were the ones that should be remembered, the ones that made it all worth it

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

Some books and stories that I think are worth reading in conversation with Yellowjackets

Shirley Jackson, all works but especially The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Jackson might or might not need any introduction in this fandom. The Sundial is her take on doomsday preppers, Hill House is of course her haunted house novel (one of the classics of that genre), and Castle has a female protagonist who makes Shauna look like a plaster saint.

Flannery O'Connor, The Violent Bear It Away. O'Connor's work has some of the most pervasive darkness and brutality of any major American writer (maybe Ambrose Bierce comes close), and the second of two novels that she completed before her death is no exception. (The first, Wise Blood, is also very good; the intended third, Why Do the Heathen Rage?, only exists as a fragmentary short story.) Francis Marion Tarwater is kidnapped and raised in the woods by his great-uncle, who is convinced that Francis is destined to be a prophet. The great-uncle's death commences a bizarre adventure involving auditory hallucinations, sinister truckers, an evil social worker, arson, developmental disabilities, and baptizing and drowning someone at the same time. Content warnings for all of the above plus rape. O'Connor is also a fairly racist author by today's standards--she was a white Southerner who died in 1964--so keep that in mind as well.

Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness. Teenage protagonist is schizophrenic and also a channel for a genuinely supernatural force; well-intentioned but poorly-considered efforts to treat one of these issues make the other worse. Sound familiar? There are supporting characters who are affectionate parodies of Slavoj Zizek and Marie Kondo. A minor character is a middle-aged lesbian who cruises dating apps for hookups with much younger women. Some people find this book preachy and overwritten, but I really like it and would plug it even if I didn't because the author is someone whom I've met and who has been supportive of my own writing.

Yukio Mishima, The Decay of the Angel. Can be read in translation or in the original Japanese. This is the fourth and last book in a series called The Sea of Fertility but I wouldn't necessarily recommend the first three as particularly YJ-ish; Decay is because it deals at great length with issues of doubt and ambiguity about whether or not a genuinely held, but personally damaging, spiritual and religious belief is true. There's also more (as Randy Walsh would put it) lezzy stuff than is usual for Mishima, a gay man. Content warnings for elder abuse, sexual abuse of both children and vulnerable adults in previous books in the series, forced abortion in the first book if you decide to read the whole thing from the beginning, and the fact that in addition to being a great novelist the author was also a far-right political personality.

Howard Frank Mosher, Where the Rivers Flow North. An elderly Vermont lumberjack and his Native American common-law wife refuse to sell their land to a development company that wants to build a hydroelectric power plant. Tragedy ensues. I haven't read this one in a long time but some images from the movie stick in my mind as YJ-y. Lots of fire, water, and trees.

Leonard Cohen, Beautiful Losers. Yes, this is the same Leonard Cohen who later transitioned into songwriting and became a household name in that art form. Beautiful Losers is a very weird, very horny novel that he wrote as a young man; it deals with the submerged darkness and internal tension within Canadian and specifically Quebecois society. One of the main characters is Kateri Tekakwitha, a seventeenth-century Iroquois convert to Catholicism who was probably a lesbian in real life (although Cohen unfortunately seems unaware of this). This one actually shows up YJ directly; the song "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" that plays in the season 2 finale takes its lyrics from a particularly strange passage.

Monica Ojeda, Jawbone. Can be read in translation or in the original Spanish. Extremely-online teenage girls at a posh bilingual Catholic high school in Ecuador start their own cult based on such time-honored fodder as Herman Melville novels, internet creepypasta (no, this book does not look or feel anything like Otherside Picnic), and their repressed but increasingly obvious desire for one another. The last part in particular gets the attention of their English teacher, whose own obsessive internalized homophobia grows into one of the most horrifying monstrous versions of itself I've ever read. Content warning for just about everything that could possibly imply, but especially involuntary confinement, religious and medical abuse, and a final chapter that I don't even know how to describe. Many thanks to @maryblackwood for introducing me to this one.

Jorge Luis Borges, lots of his works but especially "The Aleph," "The Cult of the Phoenix," and "The South." Can be read in translation or in the original Spanish. The three works I list are all short stories. The first deals with mystical experiences and the comprehensibility (or lack thereof) of the universe, the second with coded and submerged references to sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular, the third with leaving your well-appointed city home for a ranch in the middle of nowhere and almost immediately dying in a knife fight, which is surely a very YJ series of things to do.

H.P. Lovecraft, "The Colour out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," "The Dreams in the Witch House," and "The Thing on the Doorstep." Lovecraft in general needs no introduction--the creepiness, the moroseness, the New Englandness, the purple heliotrope prose, his intense racism (recanted late in life but not in time to make any difference in his reception history) and the way his work reflects his fear of the Other. These short stories are noteworthy for having settings that are more woodsy and less maritime than is usual for Lovecraft's New England, for overtones of the supernatural rather than merely the alien, for featuring some of his few interesting female characters, and for their relative lack of obvious racial nastiness. Caveat lector nevertheless.

Herman Melville, Moby-Dick. It's Moby-Dick. Once you realize that Captain Ahab is forming a cult around the whale and his obsession with it you can't unrealize it.

[fairuzfan]

My country has only been independent for 39 years now. Generally, it is known to be a very boring and strict country, since there is not much to do here in terms of typical entertainment - no concerts, extravagant malls, and so on. Some want to move out once they can find a job overseas. There are also concerns that the youth are more fluent in English than our native language. It bothers me a lot and I am afraid we will lose our identity and culture.

However, ever since the recent surge in support of Palestine, my perspective has since changed on the matter. I have found myself deeply affected by how strongly Palestinians are fighting for their home. Rather than feeling pessimistic about a future possibility, I now feel I should channel all that emotion into appreciating our traditions and further understanding our language. And if I think about it, compared to those who want to leave, plenty of people are living happy and peaceful lives here, and so much of the youth if working toward the development of the country. Many of us will continue to be here like we always have.

We have an idiom - “hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri, lebih baik di negeri sendiri”, which roughly translates to “raining gold in a foreign country, raining rocks in your own country, it is better to stay in your own country”. It is our home after all and we belong here, and we must appreciate and protect what we have. Whatever happens in our land we will stay. It is only recently that I felt the meaning behind this idiom in my bones, and it is the Palestinians I must thank for it. Many of my people will agree with this sentiment.

I am still young. I’m still looking for a university to go to, and I have a whole life ahead of me. But I hope I can carry the conviction I found in these past few months with me for the rest of my life.

Insya Allah we will see a free Palestine in our lifetimes.

I hope truly, truly, that you have a wonderful life in your country as you flourish to do all the things you want to do while celebrating your heritage. InshaAllah we will all live in a world that is free and filled with self love. Thank you for sending this.

[twistedblunderhand]

Overblotters watching disney/pixar movies

this might be a series but idrk, it depends how lazy we are or not lol ((also spoilers for the movies obviously)) Riddle: Tangled - would probably have to watch it with someone else or in a group, since hes not used to watching movies for fun, especially on his own - listened to "mother knows best" and understands it so hard - scoffs at when Flynn and Rapunzel run from the law/break the law - cries or almost cries when Flynn gets really hurt - cheers when the mom dies - afterwards gets into the stars a bit and studies some star charts Leona: Encanto - like riddle, would probably have to be shown it. that or it came on and he was too lazy to change the channel - will probably need to be convinced not to fall asleep tbh - assuming he does pay attention, he wont mention it, but he feels seen by Mirabel - probably would have a black/white view of the abuela till someone talks about the nuance - you might hear him humming some of the songs under his breath afterwards, but he'd deny it - probably would show it to Cheka when babysitting Azul: Luca - would watch it to somehow profit off of it or cuz someone showed it to him - he'd love Giulia both for standing up for herself and others and also making a profit, being both impressed and wished he knew someone like her growing up - if hes alone, would cry so hard at the ending tbh. if he was with others, he'd probably step out for a sec or hide it - he'd probably put pasta on the menu of the lounge afterwards - "so.. theyre gay right?" Jamil: Soul - either watched it because kalim showed it to him, or he was forced to take a break ((could be alone or with someone else)) - loves the music in the movie and that the character has such a passion for it - probably thinks 22 is annoying at first tbh - That one part where Joe realizes its the little things worth living and is playing the piano thinking about all of the things 22 picked up, he cries so hard. he dosent realize why at first, but it just kind of comes out all at once - would probably try to take things a bit slower for a day or two afterwards Vil: Ratatouille - watched it either because he just wanted to or as a group activity - probably knows a bit of french and so translates parts he can in the song when watching with someone else - hed love the theme about passions - knows a lot of movie trivia so would point it out if watching with someone else Idia: Turning Red - probably just bored and turned it on at random - Relates so hard to Mei, especially with all of the "I grew up in Y2K" stuff - that scene where she was drawing her crush? he audibly screamed because he KNOWS. he UNDERSTANDS - He'd probably relate with the "generational curse and trying to adapt" but its not a 1:1 parallel obviously - would for sure listen to 4 town on his own afterwards Malleus: Wall-E - had to be shown it, which also makes it much more special to him so he would be extra attentive to the movie - Loves the animation so much. Im going to assume hes never seen a movie before, so its really beautiful - would feel so much connection to Wall-E, especially with the "being alone and wanting connection really badly" thing - Afterwards would probably thank whoever showed it to him, and the next few days he'd go star gazing - also hed ask to see more movies lol

[asha-mage]

Lesbian Rand AU?

[Send me a potential AU and I'll answer with five things from that story!]

Oh boy, here we go-

A lot depends on the setup. A big part of Rand's character is reckoning with the failures of his past life and the foundation of a lot the interesting ways Jordan interrogates the gender binary is built on the idea that those mistakes are a remix of Paradise Lost/The Fall. LTT is at both at once Eve and Lucifer. Eve in that he acts without the consent or permission of his other half (Latra Posae Decume- the Adam of this version) and runs of on his own in defiance of her will. Lucifier in that in his pride, he believes he can match or surpass the Creator, by attempting to Seal the Bore with only saidin. As a result, paradise is lost- the AoL is destroyed in the breaking by LTT's sin, an entire Age results where all men take the blame to a greater or lesser extent, for the original sin of one man. Of course, Jordan isn't just running with this premise as simple fact- he's interrogating the idea of original sin, salvation, and redemption and raising inherent and complicating questions. Does it make a difference that LTT's intentions where pure and genuine? That he didn't know and couldn't have predicted the consequences of his actions? How does Rand suffering for LTT's do any justice to those who suffered and died in the Breaking? Is chasing the splendor of an Age that could shatter so easily even a worthwhile endeavor, or should the focus be on letting go of the past and building something new? Does that mean forgetting and forgiving and is that fair?

All this to say is that, I think for a Lesbian Rand AU to work the story would probably need a reversed gender dynamic to the one that is present in the books- which I don't know that I could ever write both because it would veer very uncomfortably close to the most misogynistic elements of our own historical societies, and probably have to exceed them in brutality to work (something I'm not very good at, since a lot of my world building energy is usually directed at reshaping and re interpenetrating those historical societies through more queer and equitable lenses), and because a lot of what I connect to in Rand's story has a lot to do with the specifically queer male reading of it. That said if I could or would do that, I think it could also work very effectively as a queer female reading in the same thematic ways.

Rand and male channelers in general in the WoT verse already fulfill a lot of the tropes commonly associated with medieval witches- individuals tainted by an otherworldly power that is poorly understood and inherently transgressive to the gender roles of their society, as well as threat to the established social order (to put it mildly). It's not hard to translate that to a theoretically tainted saidar and the feelings of a resulting broken world onto a theoretical female Dragon. Rand in this context fulfills a pretty familiar role- Joan of Arc, Himiko of Yamatai, Elizabeth Woodvile, etc- savior and hero to some, witch and monster to others.

My brain of course goes to female Mat to be Rand's love interest in this AU- trickster and guile heroine. Mat's specific brand is easy to imagine transcending into a female character in a strict patriarchy, both because Mat's role in the series is already pretty gender transgressive (as befits a trickster shapeshifting archetype), and because it's easy to imagine again that simmering homoerotic temptation Mat and Rand's relationship inherently invokes, but gender flipped: Mat representing a liberation a refusal of the traditional gender roles that Rand can't quite decide if she truly wants or only wants because she was raised to want them. Rand specifically being homosexual rather then my bisexual head canon means that, I would probably air on the side of it being compulsory heterosexuality/heteronormativity- and genuinely wanting the life of adventure and liberty offered by Mat's promises of running away together.

I could also see Min (again as her Gender Weird makes her surprisingly easy to translate into a traditional patriarchy without loosing core elements of her character) as Rand's love interest- again in largely the same role as the series. Someone who Rand could just be....herself around, who couldn't overawed or terrified or brow beaten into seeing a monster, but rather just a person- a woman sacred and overwhelmed and being crushed by the expectations of a savior, and all the fears of being a monster. Conversely I don't know that either Avihenda or Elayne's relationships would still function the same- not without flipping their genders as well which defeats the idea of the premise. A few extra thoughts (since 1 and 2 are basically just big disclaimers)-

While I find the idea of Lesbian Rand having to learn from Short Gay Ball of Anger Uncle Moiraine very funny conceptually (Moiraine is already a pretty strong riff of mentor characters like Obi Wan and Gandfalf, but genderflipped, and I find the idea flipping that back but keeping the more unique aspects of Moiraine's character to be interesting), I also can't help but find the idea of Moiraine as an older, slightly rattled/mad, female wilder Moiraine with the same motivation as in the series just as intriguing as a mentor figure to Lesbian Rand. It would give the entire series a very different vibe, but that's just a natural outcome of the premise as well. I once said Moiraine is a woman who, if she had be born into a patriarchy would have easily been burned as a witch- but the truth is, the idea of Moiraine as a witch to clever to burn, a witch who is surviving the curse of her power, and struggling to see the savior who may yet be able to reverse that curse and save their world...their is an Appeal There.

It's scary conversely, how easy it is to fit the Aes Sedai in general into a gender flipped Randland, and I think speaks to how effectively Jordan wrote them and their institutional flaws. Mired in traditions, secure in their power, comfortable in ordering the world to their will- a mix between the Catholic Church and an order of magi, angry and resistant to reform and change that alters the base of their power, presided over by ancient and yet ageless cabals of entrenched elders. The scene, easily one of my favorites, in the series, in Fal Dara, is almost sickeningly easy to imagine with the genders flipped- a young woman still bright eyed and scarred of what she is and what she is capable of, with three thousand years of tales of women going mad from power, declaring themselves the Dragon falsely in greed and lust for power and leaving the world to suffer for it, walking into a a room with three ancient wizards who tell her that this is her fate, to be this messiah and destroyer both, it hits sharply and exactly the right way.

Again, I don't know that I would do it, and I find what Jordan is doing with gender and sexuality already in the Wot Books inherently more interesting and....less....I don't know sticky? But it's a fun thought exercise.

[chernobog13]

SUPERARGO vs. DIABOLICUS (1966)

What do you get when you mix masked wrestlers, spies, superheroes, and a total disregard for logic and common sense?

This crazy flick, featuring a hero who is equal parts Santo, James Bond, and Batman. I first discovered this bizarre Italian/Spanish co-production on New York City's Channel 5 Saturday movies at noon (where I first encountered the Starman series of films) when I was a wee lad. So many, many, many years ago.

German lobby card for Superargo Versus Diabolicus. The German title translates to The Red Phantom Strikes.

Superargo is a masked wrestler, like Mexico's Santo. In fact, he's the World Champion, having one 123 matches in a row. Also like Santo, he never removes his mask. However, where Santo will wear suits and regular clothes with his mask, Superargo NEVER takes his costume off.

Superargo's girlfriend, Lydia, encouraging her sweetie to mow down some bad guys.

In the opening of the film Superargo is in the wrestling ring defending his title from the vicious El Tigre. Superargo defeats El Tigre by throwing him out of the ring. However, El Tigre lands on his head and dies. Wracked with guilt, Superargo quits and spends the next several days moping about his house - still in his mask and costume!

Diabolicus preparing to torture Superargo.

His girlfriend, Lydia, can't stand to see him in such a state. She puts Superargo in touch with an old friend, who is now in charge of the Secret Service. Seems there's a problem with some villain named Diabolicus that the Service needs help with, and Superargo is just the man they need.

It's then that we learn that Superargo is not just any masked wrestler. He has greater-than-normal strength; super stamina; his blood coagulates super fast, so wounds heal almost instantaneously; he can hold his breath for longer than 7 minutes; he is immune to extreme hot and cold; and he can regulate his blood pressure to stay normal even under great exertion. He is vulnerable to electricity (aren't we all?) but, while it can hurt him, it can't kill him.

He is also allergic to bullets. So the Secret Service outfits him with a new, bulletproof costume, as well as several gadgets typical of the spy movies of the day, including a Geiger counter disguised as a cocktail olive! To sweeten the deal, they also throw in a nifty new sports car. Then Superargo is sent on his way to track down and stop Diabolicus' mad plan for world domination.

"What is that plan?" you ask.

Well, in a nutshell, Diabolicus had discovered a way to turn base metals into gold. He then wants to flood the markets with the gold, destroying the world economy and bringing civilization to its knees.

There is just one problem: in order to make the fake gold Diabolicus needs plutonium. Lots and lots of plutonium. Hence the martini olive.

No, Superargo's not trippin' on LSD. This is part of the bizarre credit sequence at the beginning of the film.

After that, the film follows the typical Eurospy movie formula: car chases, fights, beautiful dames, fights, the hero confronting the villain on his secret island base, the hero fights the hordes of villainous minions, and the secret villain headquarters getting blowed up.

Let's be clear about one thing: this ain't no cinematic masterpiece. But it is an amusing, entertaining little flick. And it contains two things things that give it extra panache: a totally whacked-out opening credit sequence that is kinds disturbing to watch, and the absolute worst secret island headquarters miniature you'll probably ever see. I think the director's kid made it in an afternoon and filmed it in the family pool.

It's worth checking out if you're in the mood for some superhero silliness. Last time I checked it was streaming on Amazon, and there's a blurry version of Youtube.

[goldenpinof]

I wonder if the promoters (and dan) relied on his view numbers to plan those many shows. His video count up until wiqy had millions, and his collabs with phil also had those number of views when otherwise phil hasn’t had any million viewed solo video after dml2 (devastated to report this). Maybe they thought “the anticipation of seeing dan after a while and see what he’s doing” that worked in his youtube uploads will translate to a paying live audience as well? Combined that with AEG not used to working with a youtuber and its audience? Idk im just saying speculations out loud since at the end of the day we don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes

wait, all true and AEG sucks. but i forgot something in all my answers. Europe's promoter is mainly A Comic Soul + locals. Iceland show's promoter was Sena (as was written on the venue's website). i don't know if AEG delegated Europe to A Comic Soul and the locals, Dan never mentioned anyone other than AEG. and looks like they are responsible for the site that died after they added shows. i wonder if Dan has a contract not only with AEG but also with A Comic Soul and etc. wouldn't that be too much considering that he didn't want to search for local promoters and book venues himself? a lot to think about. it would be so much easier if we knew what was happening behind the scenes, at least related to public information.

you mentioned Dan's views numbers and i wanted to bring dd into conversation. what was before dd is very inaccurate and i don't think people thought about it as much as they should have. Dan disappeared for 4 years. BIG doesn't count, WIQY also doesn't count – coming outs and call outs get views. it's not about Dan, it's about the importance of topics, of course it gets views (BIG is bigger than just a topic, but you know what i mean, shut up y'all). dystopia daily on the other hand shows how many of us remained and how interested in Dan's content we are. and the stats are very sad. 500k, that's the maximum he can get now without any extra help from the algorithm. and with 500k views you can't book venues of 3k capacity and expect them to sell out like they used to when there were Dan AND Phil on stage.

"seeing Dan after a while" damn, it could work if this tour wasn't so out of nowhere and after such a long period of silence. people stopped caring after 2020. he uploaded BIG, then was something Pride related and he disappeared again. why bother waiting for him, you know? (that's why i think Rihanna's new album may flop, it's been too long, people let go. all hopes are on super bowl, unfortunately) even i don't remember when and what he did between 2019 and 2022, and i was here all this time :( a book, pride thing, hometown showdown that was never on his channel – but i can't name you years when each of these happened because there's no associations with other things. we saw, we nodded, we forgot in 2 weeks. it's not a foundation for a tour, it's dust in the middle of nowhere. and wad didn't have a proper foundation/base.

but tour is a huge thing. mid 2022 – mid 2023 will be remembered as wad, dystopia daily will be on the side. dd is good for promo but the timing of this comeback wasn't ideal for it to be the foundation. and look, he will most likely disappear again after the tour ends. and who knows for how long.

so how the fuck is he gonna sell the next tour and what audience is he expecting?

[abdulraveman]

Nishikido Ryo × Cookie!

Hitotoki Kyuukei-Shitsu 2023.12.15 part 1

Nishikido Ryo & comedian Cookie! sat down for a casual chat for "Hitotoki kyuukei-shitsu" on Japan Tobacco's official YouTube where they talked about SNS, hobbies, opinions on work etc.

link to part 2 —

Translation below:

Ryo immediately recognise cookie’s jacket is from Lewis as he used to go there often.

Ryo is a regular viewer of Cookies channel, because they have similar interests & hobbies.

Ryo owns 2 Harley Davidson motorcycles (one of which is an old Knucklehead bike which was his first bike he ever bought) & one vespa.

Ryo’s father loves motorcycles. He bought his dad a Harley for his 50th birthday. He wanted to ride motorbikes with his dad, so he got himself a heavy motorcycle license.

When asked if he achieved his dream to ride alongside his dad, Ryo said he did! And he done it several times already. ·Cookie is asked if his dad still rides motorbikes, ryo said yes & he's still healthy. cookie joked it would be awkward if ryo said his dad had died lol · Cookie wants to exchange contacts with Ryo and Ryo said he would love to.

When Ryo first opened his Instagram, Cookie was one of his first followers. When Ryo asked why, cookie said there’s no way he wouldn’t follow Ryo. Ryo in the beginning cookie used to like all his photos but hasn’t done so recently. Cookie said it’s because Ryo doesn’t update his Instagram much anymore LOL. He also asked Ryo if the reason he doesn’t update is because he’s bored of ig. Ryo said no, it was because he didn’t know what to post, so there were fewer updates. Ryo said he regularly watches cookie’s ig reels despite rarely updating his ig. Cookie said he because of his daughter he mostly posts videos bc that's the only thing she will watch. Ryo said he watches all his ig reels and thought cookie must be really energetic & free to edit all his videos. Cookie got embarrassed lol 

Ryo's hobbies. Ryo said "I think I do more work (vs. time spent on hobbies). My hobbies are also things that lead to work. I was very into golf for a while & played it a lot. I also surf, snowboard... I dabble in skateboarding & occasionally do kickboxing." Ryo added that both golf & surfing are similar in regards to waking up early. Cookie said he should take up golf, but he doesn't have the "sticks," lol. Ryo then invited him to golf & he will also provide the "clubs"

[midnightpillsnacking]

[Loulou*di S3V4 L 3-17] Hana-Doll 3rd Season THINK OF ME:DEJA VU Translation

Translation below the cut. Google Drive link | Listen to the album on Spotify

Rui: Toki-bou.

Toki: Ageha-san, Rui-san, good morning.

Ageha: Ah, good morning, Toki. Did you hear from the medical team?

Toki: Yes. The medical staff will be coming along just in case.But I think it’s a bit much, since we’re only gonna promote one song for the music program. … Rui-san, is there something on my face?

Rui: No, you look fine. Are you sure that you’ll be alright?

Toki: I’m in tip-top condition! I apologize for being an inconvenience while I was taking a break.

Ageha: Toki. When you return, give a performance befitting of Loulou*di. As long as you can do that, then there’s no inconvenience at all.

Toki: Ageha-san…! Yes, I will. I’ll give a perfect performance!

-

(Audience cheering.)

Host: Presenting the ones who gave us that outstanding performance, Loulou*di! Please give them all a warm welcome!

Ageha: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and to Loumiels.

Host: That was a flawless performance, backed with such incredible vocals and choreography. It was amazing!

Ageha: Thank you very much. It would be an honor for us to leave an impression on everyone’s hearts, even if it’s just for a short moment.

Host: The positions of the cameras to the compositions were all Loulou*di’s ideas, right?

Ageha: Yes. We worked closely with the staff to ensure that we would be able to effectively convey our appeal.

Host: After the replay, you’ll be announcing the track list, right? As well as your new music channel.

Ageha: We wish to bring our voices and performances to the many people who have been waiting for Loulou*di, and we also want to broaden the scope of our activities.

Toki: And as a new member, I would love to have more chances to show off my charm!

Host: So what you mean is that the new Loulou*di cherishes their fans and wants to continue to maintain the high quality for them?

Ageha: We are not ‘maintaining’ the quality. Our goal is somewhere higher, above the unshakeable heavens. Right now, we are still working towards it.

Host: This level is still a work-in-progress? If that’s the case, then your junior unit Anthos* has got their work cut out for them!

Ageha: !! Anthos*, you say?

Host: If they see their senior Loulou*di as a goal, then they would surely be able to reach their full potential, don’t you think? Not just with the Dream Jam Festa, but they would also be able to challenge themselves with various genres as they try to keep up. Ah, but with the new release rankings, Anthos* is more–

Ageha: The production of the performance earlier has been synced with many parts of the new music video that has just recently been released. We hope that with it, you would be able to experience Loulou*di’s worldview.

Host: Eh? A-ah, yes, you’re right! Could you share with us your intentions of doing so?

Ageha: Gladly. For example, right before the hook, that is, the lead-up to it, there is a part in question…

-

Toki: It’s been a while since I last worked with both of you, doing work for Loulou*di. It was super fun!

Rui: I see.

Toki: Ageha-san, Rui-san, did you see? The costars and the staff and the audience were all taken in by our performance. Their mouths were wide open the whole time! (giggles) Gaping just like fish!

Ageha: (sighs)

Toki: Huh? Ageha-san, the green room isn't that way.

Ageha: Head back first.

Rui: Ageha, where are you going?

Ageha: That’s none of your concern.

Rui: …

Ageha: Take Toki and return to the green room. Now.

Rui: Understood.

-

Ageha: (winces in pain) Shit… what a disappointment… just this much and already…

Rui: Ageha.

Ageha: Rui. You ended up coming with.

Rui: If anything, I didn’t feel like calling out to you.

Ageha: Damned mongrel that can’t even heed its owner’s orders. I told you… to take Toki back to the green room.

Rui: Toki-bou is in the green room. There’s no need to worry.

Ageha: ‘Worry’?

Rui: You don’t look well. You’re sweating a lot.

Ageha: Don’t touch me! Since the start, I believe I’ve been telling you… to stop concerning yourself over me…

Rui: I’m not concerned about you. I’m simply being realistic. (opens the interface on his ring)

Ageha: Hey, what do you think you’re doing?

Rui: I’m calling the medical staff over.

Ageha: What?

Rui: The staff that came with Toki-bou are in the green room. They will surely rush over if we contact them.

Ageha: Stop that! (groans in pain)

Rui: Ageha.

Ageha: … Quit doing things that are unnecessary.

Rui: Calm down. I’ll make you feel better soon–

Ageha: I told you not to touch me!

Rui: Breathe slowly. It will be more painful if you struggle.

Ageha: Shut up… Just leave me alone…!

Rui: …

Ageha: Hey!

Rui: I can’t undo your buttons if you keep moving. 

Ageha: (struggles)

Rui: Ageha.

Ageha: Do you have any idea… how humiliated I am to let you see me like this?!

Rui: Ageha. What do you wish for?

Ageha: What?

Rui: If you would let me, I will grant whatever wish you have. I’ve always watched you, so if it were up to me…

Ageha: Don’t fuck with me. That’s a horrible sick joke!

Rui: Ageha…

Ageha: I–urgh…

Rui: Earlier, you said that you were disappointed in yourself. You put your utmost faith in yourself and carry on despite being bogged by pain. Ageha, you cling so desperately onto life. And to be as such, you are more beautiful than anyone else in the world.

Ageha: Rui, let go of me…!

Rui: Save your pity. You’re putting more unnecessary strain on yourself.

Ageha: Stop talking nonsense! Like I’d ever want your help!

Rui: You won’t know when that will change. Trust me, and try to catch your breath. You’ll feel better soon.

Ageha: …

Rui: Even as Ageha suffers, he’s still a noble, unyielding man in my eyes. However, he’s ardent, and the driving force that keeps him going is… It’s not me. It’s always Yuuki Mahiro, Chihiro, or… President Amagiri. No matter if there’s no other that’s the most like Ageha like myself, no matter how much I understand him, no matter if I give myself to Loulou*di as fodder to scale to the top, I can’t become the reason for Ageha’s will. It’s not me. Not now, not ever. Just what am I… thinking about now?

-

Ageha: Rui… hey, Rui!

Rui: … Ageha.

Ageha: What are you spacing out for? That’s enough. Let go of me.

Rui: But you’re still–

Ageha: Try adding displeasure and discomfort and see what you get!

Rui: Your resolve doesn’t waver even as you tremble.

Ageha: What did you say…?

Rui: No, it’s nothing.

Ageha: … Let’s get moving. We can’t leave Toki alone.

-

Ageha: Seems like the green room is plenty lively.

Rui: The medical staff… What are they doing?

Staff Member A: Ah, you two. Thank you for your hard work today.

Ageha: Is Toki asleep? It looks like he’s not conscious.

Staff Member A: It’s been some time since he’s been at work. All the medical staff are planning an examination for him.

Rui: Toki-bou said that he felt that his condition was perfect.

Staff Member A: There’s nothing to worry about. He’d probably return to the dorm in two to three days. You there, quickly take Sakurai Toki to the car.

(The staff members carry Toki out of the room.)

Staff Member A: With that, we’ll excuse ourselves. Once both of you are ready, please return to the dorm. We’ll prepare for a car to pick you up at the exit.

Rui: Understood.

Ageha: Doctor, I believe I’ve said this before. If you do something to Toki, to Loulou*di… you understand what will happen, right?

Staff Member A: …

Ageha: Please… take good care of Toki.

-

Rui: Ageha. Is there something on your mind?

Ageha: Rui. Not a word from you.

Rui: But–

Ageha: I said keep your trap shut. It’s annoying.

Rui: Alright. I won’t say anything until we reach the dorm. I don’t wish to agitate you.

Ageha: We’re not going back to the dorm yet.

Rui: Where are we headed to?

Ageha: To somewhere where I have something I must do. (enters something in the interface)

Rui: Amagiri Production?

Ageha: That’s right. We’re headed to where he is.

[callipraxia]

oh, ALSO--📓. tell away, friend.

Ooh, don’t mind if I do…Though I’m unsure how much sense 2/3 of this will make, as while there are some GF daydream fics, the ultimate daydream fics are for completely different fandoms.

One would be to pick up where the S2 (and, ultimately, series) finale of Marvel’s Agent Carter left off, and write season 3 through Whatever Season Ended Up Getting Us To Whatever I Decided Felt Like A Good Stopping Point. I don’t know enough Marvel lore to even attempt such a thing, but…a dream’s a dream, I suppose. First I’d have to decide if <character who gets shot in the last few seconds of the last episode> died or not, and S3 would presumably involve a lot of investigation into that; overall, it would probably serve the plot best to kill the guy, alas, and then you get the opportunity for a murder investigation, meddling feds now that one of their main means of controlling the SSR is dead, an excuse to get the survivors back to New York…then, if we run with the theory that the “M. Carter” file Jack tried to blackmail Peggy with in S2 was actually about Michael Carter instead of Margaret, we get to throw in some epic family drama plus more angst for Peggy now that her love life is mostly resolved…except for how a sort of prototype of Black Widow is still on the loose and certainly feels…some kind of way about Peggy, anyway. Plus the mob may be after her as well for the outcome of the whole Whitney Frost thing, and…etc etc.

If anything, the other two absolute daydreams would be even harder to pull off. One is a War and Peace-style epic about the first Voldemort war from the Potterverse - politics and violence and angst and motive decay and moral ambiguity and good and indifferent people slowly going different flavors of bad and betrayals and an excuse to show off that I used to study Russian and all that kind of good stuff. So, War and Peace with more pretentiousness, less humor, and pseudo-Dostoyevskian themes. Plus I’d soft retcon various stupid bits of canon, fix up bits that were handled in the most boneheaded fashion possible, etc.

As for the third…this requires some backstory to make any sense, I’m afraid, so I shall write some here. Once upon a time, the Harry Potter executives tried to make a knockoff of Pokémon Go. Never played it (I’ve never been much of one for games), but I read the guidebook in the grocery store one day and the framing device story *fascinated* me. A group of witches and wizards, apparently completely unconnected, all vanished into thin air one day in London. The trouble came in because one of them was a *very* well-connected sort of person: she was an Auror herself, and her mentors had been Harry and this other guy high up in the Department of Mysteries. Her husband was also an employee of the DoM, a guy whose speciality was in translating ancient languages and studying unregulated, unstable forms of magic. Said husband had also been orphaned during the Battle of Hogwarts in book 7, when he was about 12, and while he had seemed to take that pretty much in stride, he went off the deep end when a) his wife vanished, with the supposed best investigators in the world unable to find anything but her cracked wand lying on the ground without explanation and b) he realized there was a government conspiracy afoot to sweep the whole matter under the rug, as the unexplained disappearances had become politically…inconvenient for certain high-ranking persons. So the guy tried to press things through more or less legitimate channels for a while, but when he was told he was losing his mind, that it was time to move on, etc…that went poorly. Instead, he disappeared, just about the time magical sites in Prague and Japan started complaining about thefts and something went catastrophically wrong with the Stuff Wizards Use To Prevent Detection, leaving magical sites exposed, magical creatures wandering around the mundane world, and, oddest of all, people’s memories just sort of cropping up, completely free of context, in inexplicable places all over Britain. And then they went through the guy’s things and find out he had gotten it into his head that he could combine some ancient magics, one of them possibly connected to the infamous Love Room in the DoM and one of them said to help you find what you want most regardless of the impossibility of it being found….

Alas, the game apparently flopped in every respect besides backstory and the story was never finished, and so I would love to novelize the heck out of it. Only trouble is the same as with Agent Carter: I do not feel capable of coming up with a good enough ending with the amount of information to lead in with that I have. With Gravity Falls, there is already a good ending, and for some reason, this makes me feel much freer somehow? Like, I didn’t have to come up with Bill’s plan to write FWJB, I just had to think through how a diversion of the timeline would affect its implementation/everyone else’s efforts to thwart it. I’d be plunging into dramatically uncharted waters with any of these daydream-projects, and the fact I happen to know a fair bit about magic in the ancient world on top of knowing the Potter magic system (such as it is) inside and out would…probably actually hinder things further, as very few people other than me would be likely to find the research-heavy bits remotely interesting.

In Gravity Falls ideas that will never happen, though…y’know how we all agree s2 is full of absolute brilliance that suffers in places from the storyline being too tightly compressed? I wanna decompress it. By that, I mean “write the episodes between the bits we saw” - go back into s2a and flesh out…I dunno. Definitely our government boys’ plot line, anyways. McGucket’s plot line. What-have-you. Then, once I had enough extra episodes to fill out s2, treat either NWHS or ATOTS as the s2 Finale, then take s2b, fit in the two Lost Legends stories that seem to fall in that part of the timeline as two more episodes, and then…write more episodes, until I have a hypothetical s3/August of twenty episodes to go with s1 and the filled-out s2a, which would now just be s2. Flesh out Pacifica’s redemption, and whatever the heck Gideon was up to, and Stan’s psychological spiraling, etc, all leading up the canon final quartet of episodes. It’s possible some of these ideas could make it to one-shots someday, but the overarching project seems, much like my ideas for doing unholy things to the premise of Relativity Falls, too ambitious to pull off. Ditto, actually, for full-blown sequels to FWJB set in either of the two ‘good’ timelines - and, for that matter, the ‘mundane’ variants of the ‘bad’ timeline, though a direct sequel to the ‘chapter 26’ timeline is…not out of the question. It keeps trying to develop in my mind, lately, to the point of writing those scenes the other week where Ford got killed and adult!Mabel unexpectedly entered the plot….

But first I gotta finish Tracey’s Journal. And the saga of Ford, who is definitely not a wizard, teaching at Hogwarts in 1989 or thereabouts. And I’m several books deep in research for the mother of all essay projects…as in, I might end up writing a nonfiction book about GF at this rate. And etc etc etc.

[velvet-vox]

My first pipeline of future ideas.

I'm currently working on a part 2 to my "The complete and utter alienation of Tai Lung" post, and at this point in time, I've come up with various ideas for what I want to write in the future and wanted to share those ideas with you all to get a feedback on what do you want me to focus first.

Here's the list:

The dark side of Steampunk: Nox. (Made Qilby, made Oropo, so of course the mummy grandpa had to come out at some point. This one in particular is inspired by a Schnee video where he talks about the deeper meaning of Steampunk and why it is the way it is.)

My Murder Drones rewrite. (I've separated the show into three seasons and made season 1 self conclusive, thus fixing the rushed feeling of the current season.)

My top 10 favourite female villains of all time. (The counterpart to my male tier list, this one is even spicier as it contains some truly unusual picks.)

La mia top 10 migliori cattivi maschi di tutti i tempi. (The Italian translation of the aforementioned tier list, for Italian readers and learners.)

Oropo; the ideology of power behind being god: part 3 (I don't even know if this is going to be the final part, I actually have more to say about Oropo than I've ever expected.)

Also, while these are all of the ideas I'll be working on in the immediate future, I also have some more concepts that I'm not motivated about but could still tackle if I see there's some interest in the comments:

The paradoxical nature of Qilby: Part 3 (While I love Qilby, I don't have a lot of things to say about him when compared to Oropo; part of the appeal of Qilby, at least for me, is how much my interpretation of his character varies from that of other people. I could still gush about him if you all want me to.)

Theory+Analysis, is Cyn going to be redeemed? (I gave up on this idea when I realised I don't have the necessary understanding or interest of Cyn to pull it off, plus, I prefer to analyse what's already there rather than what might happen in the future.)

Why I think Doll prefers to kill children. (Wanted to write this before episode 7, I'm less motivated now but I could never say no to Doll content when it drops, even if I'm the one dropping it. It's about that scene where Doll thanks Khan for raising Uzi.)

More DuckTales 2017 content: despite being one of the highlighted interests of the channel, the only thing I've ever talked about was that shout-out to Lunaris fans. I could fix that if someone gives me any ideas.

[adolshadow]

[Costume Contextualization] Watch me Traveler, you will be Full of my Wisdom (Nahida Trilogy – Costume)

Hello everyone, I am AdolShadow. I am a religious studies scholar currently studying at NYU who loves Genshin and writes content on Genshin's digital historiography.

This is my first time posting on Tumblr. I am hoping to translate some of my work from other platforms here. As a scholar, I am not only into studying Genshin. I also do research on Sekiro: Shadow Dies Twice, Detroit: Become Human, and many other video games. I am hoping to know other game historians and anyone who is into researching games. I want to befriend all of you and talk about games happily! Thank you all very much in advance.

In this article, I will talk about Nahida. Of course, she has a lot of information in Genshin. Therefore, I will break the sections into the costume’s contextualization, Nahida’s context as a Dendro God in the historical writings, and how Nahida fits the historical background of Sumeru.

Whether it's Raiden, Venti, or Zhongli, Hoyoverse has put a lot of effort into designing Archons. Without further ado, let's take a look at what historical background and culture were referenced in the design of Nahida's costume.

If you like the content, please like and leave a comment below. I actually have a lot of similar content on my Hoyolab channel. Please take a look. I will soon translate more content here.

Hoyolab: https://www.hoyolab.com/accountCenter/postList?id=102330380

========================= Section Break ========================

Physic of Purity

With pure white clothes and green embellishments, the appearance of Nahida reveals its freshness and purity. In the past 500 years, she has neither experienced the pain of World Tree rot nor witnessed the cruelty of the war in Khaenri'ah. Nahida is undoubtedly happy by her “ignorance” of the world. However, being imprisoned since birth also means that she has never been in contact with the real world and has never used her body to touch or feel it. Therefore, the newly born green and pure white can just reflect Nahida's pure heart and newborn vitality.

Let’s take a look at the picture in detail to find out what is worthy to discuss on Nahida’s costume:

The first thing to notice is the pattern on Nahida's cloth. This dense and characteristic pattern is derived from Persian stained glass. The decoration on Nahida's head comes from the artifacts – Deepwood Memories, but the flower of life part, Labyrinth Wayfarer has a special meaning for Nahida. Additionally, I subjectively think that the material of the Nahida bracelet is brass. The Persian craftsmanship can also be seen in the decorations of the brass on the body and feet. Last but not least, the overall green color comes from the characters of the Persian New Year – Amu Nowruz, [1].

========================= Section Break ========================

Persian Stained Glass

(Stained Glass [2])

Stained glass is the procedure of adding metallic oxides in the glass making, which gives the glass colors. Different oxides will give the glass different colors, making an appealing visual effect. The earliest stained glass can be traced back to the craftsmen in ancient Rome, but what I want to talk about here is the stained glass technology introduced to Persia in the 8th century.

In his book The Book of the Hidden Pearl, Persian craftsman Jābir ibn Ḥayyān explained the processes and materials required for making various colored glass [3]. Through this book, the stained glass of Persia is slowly shown to the public. In Sumeru, we can see its displays in various ways. Under the context of Nahida, stained glass is used to portray the beautiful space of the ult, Illusionary Heart.

In fact, the clothes of another Genshin character also displays Persian stained glass craftsmanship. She is the "young" and “beautiful” scholar, Faruzan.

========================= Section Break ========================

Heart of the Labyrinth

(Labyrinth/ Maze [4])

Labyrinth was mentioned in one of my previous articles LINK (It is in Chinese). In that article, I roughly talked about the etymology of Labyrinth, which is originally built by the early Greek, Daedalus, as a gift to the King Minos of Crete. Labyrinth is designed to constantly change, and the entrance traveler enters does not necessarily become the exit when the traveler wants to come out. Labyrinth, indeed, is an ever-changing object.

I mention the labyrinth in this article because of the artifact, Deepwood Memories. Among them, the name of the flower of life is Labyrinth Wayfarer. Through the story of the flower of life, we understand that it belonged to the first maiden to follow in the footsteps of the King of trees through the forest labyrinth. In order to guard the king's labyrinth, she must hunt and defend it all the time. In this process, she protected many children who got strayed into this labyrinth. She passed down this tale of herself and the hunt to the children when they left the labyrinth. The story of her then reached to people's ears.

Although I don't think the maiden here refers to the Goddess of Flowers, the story of the flower of life plus the maiden who follows the King of the forest do have a little too much connection at here. Well, not to discuss that, what needs to be pointed out here is that in addition to the above-mentioned characteristics of the “maze,” where people get in and get lost, “Labyrinth” beyond the sense of a maze also guides you into its center.

Lauren Artress said, "A maze is designed to make you lose your way, while a labyrinth is designed to help you find your way" [5]. Therefore, in the labyrinth of Kind of forest, visitors who enter even by accident should not be afraid. The Labyrinth designed by the King will lead visitors to the center and increase their knowledge, rather than make things difficult for them. Doesn't this coincide with the theme of the Lord of Wisdom, Nahida?

========================= Section Break ========================

Brass Artifacts

(Persian brass bowl [6])

Persia is not only superb in stained glass craftsmanship, but also in the production of metal utensils, especially silver ones. However, it should be noted here that the historical background of Sumeru is likely to be referred to the Sasanian Empire from the 3rd to the 7th centuries, in which glass craftsmanship talked above is included. However, most of the Persian brass crafts that I can find came from Ilkhanate around the 13th century, which is Persia under Mongolian control. Because the time is not lining up, I don't want to be absolute here. I think the bracelet and anklet on Nahida are brass work, but I'm not sure. (But if it is a silver craft, then it for sure aligns with Sasanian Empire)

In addition to the obvious brass-colored products on Nahida's body in Sumeru, Nilu also has some brass-colored decorations. However, it can be seen from the comparison that Nahida's bracelets obviously have more textures, which shows its exquisite craftsmanship.

Due to the invasion of Islam around the 7th century, the great Sasanian dynasty ended. The use of silverware and goldware in the Arab Empire was particularly regulated, so the Persians had to give up the use of large numbers of silverware as daily necessities. At this time, a method to replace silverware appeared, which is using the base of copperware with silver inlaid [7]. Such silver-inlaid products have many applications in Persian life, such as kettles, clocks, bowls, teapots, and bracelets [8].

========================= Section Break ========================

Nowruz

(Nowruz [9])

Persians’ New Year's day, Nowruz, falls on March 21st every year. This holiday belongs to the vast majority of Middle Eastern countries and cultures [10]. For example, my girlfriend will light candles, set up tributes, and celebrate the New Year at this time of year.

In this festival, there is a special person, his name is Baba Nowruz or Amu Nowruz. He is like Santa Claus, coming into the crowd, bringing gifts to children, and welcoming the New Year with them.

(Grandpa Nowruz [11])

Looking at his green coat, it is similar to Nahida's color pattern. Although this does not mean that there is a direct connection between them, if we bring in the concept of the "Sabzeruz Festival", it will the connection clearer.

Sabzeruz Festival, in fact, is related to the Persian New Year in multiple meanings. Sabzeh Nowruz, sprouted wheat, is one of the seven items that need to be prepared on Nowruz [12]. “Sabze” in its meaning is “green,” and “ruz” refers to “day.” Therefore, Sabzeruz Festival actually means Green Day, not really the birthday of the goddess of flowers. However, considering the birthday of the Nahida and the meaning of green as new life, the birthday of Nahida should actually refer to Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Therefore, the green color pattern of Nahida probably has a good connection with Baba Nowruz.

========================= Section Break ========================

What’s Next

After talking about the costume of Nahida, I should probably give you a teaser about what is coming next. The second part of the trilogy will be the background and textual research of Nahida, this name and its meaning.

Have you ever thought about the etymology of “Kusanali”? In fact, it comes from the Kusanali Jataka of Buddhism. What about the name, Nahida? It is actually derived from the Persian goddess “Anahita.” Hmm, what about “Rukkhadevata”? Well, that one is basically given in English, because in Hinduism, Rukkhadevata means tree spirit. Finally, “Beur,” the archon name, is our dear friend, Lesser Key of Solomon’s 72 Demon God, Beur. Wow, the name Nahida is so complicated and interesting. Don't you want to know more about the secrets inside Nahida? Stay tuned then!

PS : Thanks to my girlfriend Shah for some of the info here. She gave me a lot of inspiration and information on many art designs of Sumeru (the part with Persian culture).

========================= Section Break ========================

Reference :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amu_Nowruz

https://mymodernmet.com/stained-glass-history/

Resources are the same as 2

https://earthandaltarmag.com/posts/qs6pevk77i0lhpqlvv8w0u23f1sbwk

The resource is the same as 4

https://elizabethappraisals.com/brass-bowl-in-style-of-ancient-metalworkers/

https://persianhandicrafts.com/blog-posts/?journal_blog_post_id=19

Resources are the same as 6

https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-nowruz-day

Resources are the same as 9

Resources are the same as 1

http://www.mypersiankitchen.com/sofreh-haft-seen-the-7-s-of-norouz-spread/

Extra : Sabze ruz Festival, Genshin Wiki, https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Sabzeruz_Festival

[kxlinthesky]

EPISODE 6 PART 2 LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 5-10 English Translation

The next day:

“Come on, please?”

“No way.”

“....”

“You’re not getting out of this one, Owl.”

Owl groaned, long and loud and despairing. How many hundreds of times had they had this conversation already?

“C’mon, Owl, give it up. Ralph’s outside, and so’s Hannah – she looks furious, by the way. There’s no way you can escape.”

“No way.”

“So this is how you betray me, Nick... Ellie....”

“It’s not like we want to, y’know.”

“No way.”

Nick plopped down on one of the wooden chairs with a heaving sigh... and rested his chin on the edge of the bed in front of him. Ellie did the same next to him.

Owl was sleeping in that bed. Or, more accurately, someone was forcing him to sleep in the bed.

It had been a full day since the tumultuous events that had plagued the city.

Owl had been admitted to a medical facility that Tristan ran. He’d sworn up and down that he didn’t need it, of course, but every other person around him strongly disagreed, and he wasn’t going to win against their combined might. He’d looked so worn out and shabby after the dust settled, with his golden hair caked in dried blood, and it had taken every ounce of effort he had just to stand after he’d completely drained his magic reserves... so of course he’d been summarily bundled into the hospital. He’d actually been pretty docile at first, but as soon as he got word that neither he nor Ellie had been infected with the Black Rose Disease, he’d immediately demanded he be discharged so he could “look into ‘those guys’ as soon as possible.”

He’d only been hospitalized for four hours.

Naturally, his discharge request had been quite firmly denied.

When official channels didn’t work, Owl decided to take matters into his own hands. It didn’t matter how many times he tried to sneak out, though; Ralph and Hannah had set traps, and they kept catching him and marching him back to his room after every single escape attempt.

Which led to their current conversation.

“On top of that nasty blow to the head, you’re also suffering from some broken ribs and magic exhaustion. You really should be taking it easy.” Jack slipped a thermometer out of Owl’s armpit.  “And look, you’ve even got a bit of a fever, too. I prescribe complete bed rest. You really shouldn’t have been moving around so much with a head injury in the first place.”

He made a show of waving a pair of bloodied gloves around – the very gloves he’d lent to Owl, the white ones with the healing technique embroidered on them that Owl had used for first aid during the battle against Krinos. They weren’t really “white” anymore, though, not with the extensive bloodstains marring the fabric.

Owl’s face pulled into an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry I got them so dirty,” he said. “I know they mean a lot to you.”

Jack’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face. “I’m not mad about that!” He lightly ground his knuckles into Owl’s bandaged forehead. “You can use them all you want, I know Eliza doesn’t mind! What I’m mad about is you not taking good care of yourself!”

“... I take care of –”

“You rushed your treatment as soon as you were brought in and then you went right back out there to help the people who were infected with the Black Rose Disease! And you were going around left and right shooting your disassembling bullets to treat everyone who was Demonized! Did you really think you could use that much alchemy in a single day without resting properly?! Of course you used up all your magic! If you had messed up at all you would have died!”

Owl’s eyes widened. He’d never seen kind, gentle Jack so angry before. The furious fire in his friend’s narrowed eyes looked almost foreign on his face, in fact, for just how much it clashed with the Jack he’d come to know. “Even you’re mad...” he mumbled.

“Of course I am! My friend was out being unbelievably reckless with his health! I’m furious!”

“... Sorry.”

“Yeah, you’d better apologize. A lot.” Jack glared for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped in a sigh. “But I know you probably had to be a little reckless, given everything.” He reached out and took Owl’s hand in a handshake. “On behalf of everyone you saved, thank you. Thanks to you, most of the people who caught the Disease were saved. They’re carriers now, of course, and they’ll need to get follow-up exams, but they’ll be able to get back to their normal daily lives soon.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that. Honestly, I don’t really remember much of what happened.”

“That’d be because of the head injury.”

“Besides, you and Tristan took care of the important stuff, right?”

A complicated expression flitted across Jack’s face. “Sir Tristan and his state alchemist friends, yes,” he replied. “They were also the ones to study why Miss Maud... no, sorry, Miss Matilda’s body remained after she died.”

“Wait, what? They did?”

“Yes... as it turns out, she’d been clutching a certain stone fragment in her hand when she passed. The power of the stone preserved her body, apparently.”

“A stone... I didn’t realize she was holding one.”

“It makes sense you didn’t, its power in and of itself was extremely weak. But it was a healing power, we think.”

“A healing power?”

“Or rather... maybe not a ‘power,’ per se, but a powerful wish stored inside. The stone had been stolen from Miss Matilda’s mother’s body, actually, so maybe she was drawing on her mother’s love?” A faintly bitter smile rose to Jack’s face. He was well aware how strange it sounded coming from a doctor like himself.

“How could you tell it was her mother’s?” Owl asked.

“She told us herself. Quote, ‘my father stole this stone from my mother,’ unquote.”

“What?”

Jack sighed. “Put a bunch of state alchemists in one room and you get to see some absurd power being thrown around. Sir Tristan used that stone as a base to reconstruct what we would call her soul. It was a stroke of luck that they found her own azoth in the ruins of the salon. She... wasn’t really resuscitated, though. It was more... he combined the last bits of magic in her body with the ‘soul’ of her mother in the stone she’d been carrying, or something like that?” He shrugged with a thoughtful hum. “Well, there’s no real precedent for what he did, so I don’t exactly know how to describe it.... It was so high-level, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it.... But in any event, Miss Matilda’s magic was strong enough that he was able to restore her soul, though half of it is actually her mother’s soul sort of stitched together with hers.”

“So... what you’re saying is...?”

“She’s alive and well. She’s got no relatives, so once she’s all healed up we thought she might work here at this facility. It seems she has quite the gift of foresight.”

“No relatives? What about Duke Fitz?”

“You could say he incurred Sir Tristan’s wrath, I guess? From what I hear, his title was revoked. He’s not a duke anymore.”

“Ahh... I see....” Something in Owl uncoiled at that, all the tension he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying finally slipping away. His voice lowered to a relieved, almost trembling whisper. “I’m glad.... Thank you, Jack, really, thank you....”

Jack’s face did that complicated little dance again. “Like I said, it wasn’t me, it was all Sir Tristan. I couldn’t even give you the proper support you needed, and I won’t lie, that’s been weighing on me a fair bit.”

“That’s not true. You were working your hardest to help. I’m guessing Tristan was keeping your nose to the grindstone? Making all these unreasonable demands?”

“Well... things were busy?” Jack hedged. “But it was all a learning experience. I’ll study up so that next time I can help you properly.”

“I thought you were plenty help as it was. If anything, I feel like I should apologize for you having to look after both me and Tristan.”

“No, there’s no need for that. But if you’re feeling a little guilty, maybe you can at least promise that you won’t do anything rash from now on?”

Owl went rather tellingly silent.

“Otherwise, I might just suggest that Sir Tristan build a hospital right next door to your agency.”

“... Mmgh.”

“Well?”

“... If a case crops up, I’m going to pursue it. So....”

“So?”

“... I can’t make any promises.”

“You –” Jack blew out a sigh, then jabbed Owl in the shoulder. “Are the worst. Then at least no more escape attempts for the next week, got it? You can be discharged next week! No sooner! Understood?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“And if you try, I’ll have you tied to the bed until the week after that with Eliza’s special restraints.”

“... Yeah, heard you loud and clear.”

Jack nodded with a cheery smile after that final threat and finally left. Nick snickered as the doctor walked out. “Yeah, I really like him. It’s a good thing he’s your friend, Owl.”

Owl nodded. “He’s a good guy, right?”

“Oh, yeah, the best!” Nick flashed him a thumbs-up, Ellie copying him not a second later. “Which is why I completely agree with him about you resting. At least stay here until your injuries are all closed up and your ribs aren’t snapped like twigs anymore.”

“Don’t call people’s bones twigs. They’re just a little cracked.”

“Says the guy who can’t even hug Ellie.”

Owl twisted a little in his bed, expression darkening mutinously. “... I’m bored. Too much free time and nothing to do. And I can’t sit still with Tristan hovering over me.” Mostly because he could never tell when exactly his adoptive father was going to show up for a visit.

“Aww, but Papa Tristan’s so sweet!” Nick leaned back a little, completely relaxed. “And he’s the reason you’re staying here and getting treatment are free. Right, Ellie?”

Ellie nodded along. “Papa... gives me sweets.”

Owl jolted and leaned forward without thinking, suppressing a wince as the movement twinged his ribs. “‘Papa?’” he repeated incredulously. “Since when did you guys call him Papa? Do not tell me he won you over.”

“Who, me?” Nick pressed a hand to his chest in mock affront. “Come on, Owl, don’t be silly. He’s not gonna get me on his side just because he treated me to one measly, very delicious steak dinner.”

“Steak? You had steak? When?!”

“... Man, it was so good...” Nick mumbled.

“So tender and so yummy...” Ellie agreed.

The two giggled to themselves. Owl stared in horror. “He absolutely won you over!”

“Nuh-uh, no he didn’t.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“I don’t believe you! How do I know he didn’t turn you into his spies?”

“He didn’t, we swear.~”

“We swear.~”

A knock at the door interrupted the trio’s back and forth, followed by a head poking in – Ritz. “May I come in?” she inquired.

Owl turned to the newcomer. “Hey, Ritz,” he greeted.

“You feeling okay since you woke up?” checked Nick. “All your tests and stuff done?”

The two were treating her like normal. Ritz relaxed... but there was still a shadow of embarrassment lingering about her as she shuffled into the room, her head slightly bowed. Once she was at their sides, she bowed even lower. “I, er, wanted to... apologize, for all the trouble I caused.... I know that what I did can’t be fixed with a simple apology, of course, but still, please allow me to properly express just how truly sorry I am for what happened.”

Owl and Nick silently traded glances as she continued to spout apology after apology. When she finally paused for breath, they shrugged in unison. “What’re you talking about, Ritz?” Nick said.

“Huh?”

“You kind of always bring us trouble,” he pointed out matter-of-factly. “Why’s this time any different?”

Ritz opened her mouth to argue, but upon reflection closed it again. “... That... I suppose that’s true,” she admitted. In fact, it was altogether too common. “But this time was truly embarrassing. Because I was so immature and inexperienced... you all suffered so horribly....” Her eyes flicked up for a brief second to the bandages wrapped around Owl’s skull before flicking away again. “You were even hurt....”

Nick rolled his eyes. “No, really, why’re you saying this now? We knew from the start you were an untrained, incompetent cop.~~~”

A growl rumbled from Ritz’s chest. Normally she’d snap back with something like, “And just who are you calling incompetent?!” But today, she couldn’t muster up the energy for her usual retorts. She curled in on herself with a pained grimace, her feet tapping anxiously against the floor.

Yes, her feet. Attached to her completely normal human legs.

Ritz had reverted back to a human form, no trace of the Leviathan she’d been to be seen. That stark-white, mermaid-esque Demon she’d been almost seemed like a dream... but no, it had been real. She had become Leviathan. It was an indelible, inescapable fact.

“Don’t worry about me,” said Owl. “I’ll heal up soon enough. I’m more worried about you – you’re a carrier now of the Black Rose Disease, that has to be a big shock.” Mental and emotional scars wouldn’t heal as easily as his physical wounds and could open up again at the drop of a hat.

“It is a shock, but....” Ritz placed a hand over her heart and gave a single nod. “I’ve decided to see this as an opportunity. There are certain things that only a concerned party could understand when trying to relate to those who struggle under unfair oppression.”

“Ritz....”

“Besides, I can’t stay depressed forever. I was lucky to be highly compatible with the disease, but even so, there’s a chance the Demon will manifest again someday, and I require practice. If I pretend it never happened, everyone around me may be placed in danger again.” Ritz straightened up, eyes blazing. “I need to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen!”

Owl’s eyebrows shot up. “... You’re so strong,” he murmured. She’d been so flustered at first, but she’d bounced back remarkably fast. Was it the unshaking, unwavering belief in her core that refused to bend or break? Or....

“That’s a police officer for you!” cheered Nick, completely oblivious to Owl’s contemplation.

Ritz pouted. “Even though I’m ‘incompetent’ and ‘untrained,’” she grumbled.

Nick side-eyed her, his eyes narrowed like a cat’s. “Well, I mean, yeah? But you’re the most honest, hardworking cop of them all. You’re the coolest.” He sounded like he was just stating another fact of life. The sky was blue, the grass was green, Ritz was amazing...

... and her face instantly flamed red. “I-I know – I know that I’m ‘cool!’” she hissed as she turned away to hide her blush.

Nick twisted to try and peer at her face with a leer. “Oh-ho, what’s this? Are you feeling shy? Are you all red?”

“I – I am not shy! You’re just mean!!”

“Aww~~, and here I was thinking I distinctly remembered you calling me ‘clever!’”

“I never said that!”

Ritz continued to twist away from Nick’s prying eyes, even as he continued to twist to try and get a better look. Owl watched the two with the distinct sense that he was intruding on something again, despite the fact that this was his hospital room. Nick noticed his partner being quiet and glanced over. “What’s with that grin on your face, Owl? You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”

“No, just reflecting. Looks like I made the right call.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Just, you’ve always called Ritz a police officer.”

“I mean... yeah? ‘Cause she is. ‘Course I did.”

“Right. Of course you did.”

To Nick, it was a given, and that warmed Ritz’s heart more than anything else. Nick didn’t see her as a “woman,” a “li’l miss,” or a “girly” – she was a “police officer,” and that was that. At some point his simple acceptance of who she was had become something that always brought her joy, and he’d become someone she could trust wholeheartedly.

It was for that exact reason that she’d reacted so strongly to his voice back then.

With a sarcastic little chuckle, Owl muttered, “Well, it looked like the chocolate cake also had a hand in bringing you back to your senses.”

As if in response, Nick sniffed the air. “Hey, d’you smell something sweet?”

“Sweet?”

“Yeah, sweet and... savory? Hm? Where’s it coming from?” Nick prowled the room like a bloodhound, his nose twitching in the air as his meandering path slowly took him toward the door.

Owl’s eyes tracked him in turn. “Oi, Nick?”

Ritz sniffed the air as well. “You’re right...” she murmured. “Something does smell sweet.”

“Me, too...” added Ellie.

What were they all picking up? Owl’s head rose, nostrils twitching –

Knock knock. Jack poked his head in. “Hey, Owl, you’ve got a package,” he announced, holding out the sizable basket in his arms. “Someone left if at the entrance, addressed to ‘the people of the Owl Detective Agency.’”

“Really?” Nick bounced on the balls of his feet. “What is it? Who’s it from?”

“I’m not sure... the card only says ‘B.’”

“‘B’...?” Nick accepted the basket from Jack and sniffed it. His face lit up. “The smell’s coming from this!~” he crowed and yanked the top open.

“Oi, be gentle,” Owl admonished, brows furrowed a touch anxiously.

As Nick opened the basket, a delectable scent filled the room. Nick peeked inside, as did Ritz and Ellie. “Ah!” he gasped.

“Chocolate cake!” cried Ritz.

“And a meat pie, too!~~”

“Freshly made...!”

They stared starry-eyed at the glossy cake and crisp meat pie stacked inside the basket. All three of them started hopping up and down in their excitement.

“It looks so yummy....”

“Yes! Awesome! Let’s all dig in!~~”

“Hold on, you two, let’s not be hasty. This is a gift for Owl, so we can’t just grab whatever we like ourselves,” reasoned Ritz.

“Ritz, you’re drooling.”

“I – I am not!”

Owl watched their lively discussion from his bed with raised eyebrows. “Wait, are you guys really going to eat something from someone who we don’t know sent it?”

“But we do know!” Nick shot back. “This has to be from Byron! We’d know his cakes anywhere!”

“He’s absolutely right! These are Byron’s cakes without a doubt!”

“It has to be.” They were completely confident that they were right.

“... ‘B,’ huh.” Owl took the card from Jack and squinted at the “B” scribbled on the little square. The tenseness in his shoulders eased a little. It was, admittedly, vexing that Byron would send a care package without actually showing his face, but Owl simply sunk back into bed told the others, “One slice each,” before turning his head to stare out the window.

The sky outside was still the color of lead.

“It’s still not back,” he muttered to himself. “... Can it come back?”

As memories from the previous day flooded his mind, his eyes slipped shut. Two figures flashed through his mind’s eye – one vampire, and one....

“What were they doing...? What are they hiding?”

After they’d defeated Krinos, they’d both left again without explaining anything. He still had no idea what they were up to or why.

“Am I not strong enough to help them...?” A strange sense of alienation, of powerlessness, swept over Owl. “Will they ever tell us what they’re up to?”

And then there was what that young man had shouted at the light back then. He’d been barely conscious, so he hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy, but he did hear what he’d muttered as Byron flew off into the sky:

“I feel so awful for you... Byron.”

Owl slowly opened his eyes again to the ever-overcast sky and a plate in front of him bearing a meat pie and a slice of the cake. “Let’s eat together, Owl,” said Ellie.

“Yeah, thanks.” Owl took the plate.

“There’s seven slices each of the pie and the cake,” she told him. “Can we give some to Doctor Jack and Ralph and Hannah?”

“Of course.” Owl reached for his food, ready to take a bite... but then he paused with a blink. “Wait. You said seven slices?”

“Hm?”

“There’s seven slices each? Of the cake and the pie?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“....”

“What is it?”

“There’s not enough.”

“Huh?”

Owl traced a circle in the air with his finger, then sliced up, down, and diagonally both ways. “Usually when you’re cutting a whole cake, you’d make four cuts to make eight pieces, right?”

“Oh... you’re right. They were both missing one....” Ellie peered into the basket. “Where do you think it went?”

It was easy to cut a cake into eight pieces. It was much harder to cut one into only seven. That meant either one slice had been removed from the start... or....

Owl stared down at the pie and cake on his plate, then glanced over to Nick. His partner noticed his gaze and turned, his cheeks bulging already. “What?” he said thickly, head tilted.

The detective’s mouth twisted in a pensive frown. “... Are you cheating on me, Nick?” he asked.

“Cheating?~~” Nick stared at Owl. What was he talking about? Yeah, he’d accused Owl of cheating before, but never in a million years did he expect him to flip the script like that.

“I was wondering... if maybe you’d made some other friends besides me,” the detective muttered.

“Other friends? You mean like Brat?”

“No, I mean the person who gave you those weird things.”

“What weird things?”

“Those cards you had?” Owl traced a rectangle in midair and leaned toward Nick. “With the alchemy infused in them?”

“Ehh?~~” Nick’s shoulders slumped almost comically, very obviously not meeting Owl’s eyes. “Those were... what were they, huh?~~”

“Uh-huh?”

“....”

Owl stared at him doubtfully. “Just so we’re clear, I’m grilling you about that later,” he told his partner, then took a big bite of pie. The savory batter crunched and squished as delicious, juicy meat flooded his mouth. A groan unconsciously bubbled out of his throat at the superb, nostalgic flavor.

He ate silently, bite by bite, until in the blink of an eye the slice of pie had vanished down his gullet.

And as he wiped the last traces of sauce from his lips with his finger, a bubbly voice gasped and said:

“Ah, Louis! Looks like you’ve got something good there!~~”

“Pipe down while we’re in the labs, Tino.”

“What’cha got? And where’s mine?~~”

“There’s none for you. I only had the one slice of each.”

In a lab at the Royal College, a young man eating his lunch in a corner of the room shoved a young lady away as she came running at him and swept away the pie crumbs scattered across his textbook. The slice of cake by his elbow, however, remained untouched.

“What about the cake?” she asked.

“No, that’s mine.”

“Cheapskaaate!~ C’mon, just one bite....”

“Not a chance.” And to keep the greedy girl from claiming his prize, the young man stuffed the whole slice of cake into his mouth in one go. Once he swallowed, he told her, “Can’t go to battle on an empty stomach, right?”

“What’re you talking about? You gonna go fight someone, Louis?”

“... Not really a fight, but....”

He licked his lips and stood up, shutting his textbook as he went.

“I’m going to go make a declaration of war, I guess.”

He gathered his things and left the lab. Tino stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. “What a weirdo!”

END

original written by Nagaya Kawaji here

[coffinsister]

Jokes on you I literally love being invested in the drama of random YouTubers I don’t know - spill 👀👀👀

Anon you don't know what you just freaking unleashed onto the world

I gotta spill the freaking tea, but under read more, cuz this got hella long.

But okay, for context, this is about Minecraft Content Creators:: Dream and Tommyinnit mostly, but it's also about another Mexican YouTuber called Quackity

Basically, a super long time ago already actually, Dream announced he was making a new Minecraft server, after the DSMP tragically passed away o7 that was gonna be called the USMP (I'm pretty sure it standed for United SMP but no clue honestly.)

And the exciting new feature about this USMP was going to be this real time translator, so content creators from all over the world could play together (Side thought: I don't think the translations were actually that good either way lol they were machine translated lol)

But literally like that Same night, Quackity announced that actually he was making his own server, the QSMP that had that exact same feature

So they basically kinda fought back and forth over who actually had ownership over the idea or who ripped off who, and while the YouTubers themselves didn't really do much, beyond being way too public about it, but like honestly, what's the Minecraft sphere without incredibly levels of parasociality involved.)

The fanbase was completely deranged over it tho, because you know, Stans gotta be Stans.

A lot of people got doxed, and stalked, literally putting trackers on people's cars, a lot of racism (Hi, hello, that happened to me) just a shitshow overall.

I wanna say that even though I stopped liking Dream ages ago Dream Stans get the worst possible treatment from everybody, just idk, people feel very entitled to mistreating anybody with a ":)" on their bio.

At the end, it finally died down, and then, Tommyinnit, most annoying man on Earth.

Made an ohhh politically incorrect video that was just fake edgy and kinda boring, where at the end he called Dream, basically a crybaby manchild who was gonna get killed by Tommy's LARP Dad Philza Minecraft.

Dream found out, got passive aggressive on Twitter, Tommy doubled down, and then like a stream later, he was being whiny and sighing ,and apparently watching DNF edits of Dream's, new at the time, LP.

Which kinda gave off the message that he really sacrificed a years long friendship to try to get into an SMP that his bestie Tubbo made it into before him

And which he never will, because the QSMP is a very deeply controlled space, with almost no super young content creators, and Tommy's first DSMP video was him literally breaking the only rules of that the server had, so yeah, that's never happening.

(And then, his mom went online to defend him, like boy the way I'm immediately killing myself if that ever happens to me, plus the dream stans discussing with this woman over her son, literally most annoying people in the world.)

And today, Dream made a (In my opinion, super boring) stream just showing the USMP, and talking a bit about Tommy and Quackity.

He kinda implies that the reason the USMP will never see the light of day is because of that drama, but like, that man has never once pushed through on any of his proyects, that SMP was doomed to fail from the very beginning.

I must clarify tho, that my annoyance with Tommy isn't the fact that he dissed Dream. I just freaking don't like the guy, he literally built his entire career on being a mysoginistic lowkey lesbophobic annoying brat.

Kinda sucks that Tommy is the one making the biggest mcyt related videos at the current time, solely because he's got the resources and the connections for it, literally the best part of his channel is being a host for other content creators to be funny and shine.

I still love Quackity tho, he can hit it for free any day of the week, and that's on God