#and I monitor their interactions blah blah.

[lunaartgallery]

It's my 27th birthday, I got new birb! Old birb is not happy about that. Baby doesn't have a name yet, I'm still working on it : Huni, Bunny, Millie, I can't decide!

☆★Anywho, here's to another year of surviving☆★

[ca-suffit]

Decided to check on Maven. It's been some months since the S2 premiere where she tried to prove what a great ally she was to black fans or w/e and made all these promises to start doing better monitoring her comment section and whatever else she said.

I went thru her tumblr, twt, and youtube accounts back for months and this was the most I found of any "evidence" for her "allyship"

her and gorrei and whoever else with bigger platforms who are followed by the show never mention anything from this (ca-suffit) account, don't interact with this account (except to vague like this), don't do *shit* for any effort on a day to day level. I make it *rly* fucking easy to do too and they still don't do anything. I'm not being paid to do this either or getting any kind of promotional reward for this and yet somehow they can't ever do any of this themselves, as ppl who fucking *are.* it's so easy to see their real motivations tbh.

anyway, I decided to look at the comment section for 2x7 especially. look what I found.

that's literally the top comment / thread and has had no interaction from her as a comment moderator (obviously this comment itself isn't the issue, look at the full thread for why there is a problem at a point). and I'm sure she'll have six hundred reasons why she hasn't had time to look at these yet, she never saw it in the first place, blah blah. girl. u have been made aware of this shit and this episode was *thee* episode to monitor tf out of. u can see this has been there for a *month* now.

here's the full comments

but look at the comments she *does* have time to interact on!! do u see the theme of the topic they're all referencing?? (answer: they're all comments praising her)

so what's fucking changed and who is not surprised 🤡

[whentherewerebicycles]

they gave me kind of a scary talk about being at increased risk of an ectopic pregnancy in the future which I know was just their way of trying to impress upon me the importance of paying close attention to whether I might be pregnant and not dismissing early symptoms of potential rupture. I get that and appreciate it! but also the two OB-GYNs ran me through what future pregnancies would look like in terms of even more monitoring and scanning and labwork than I was already doing and I just started getting really sad. idk I am sure if I do get pregnant again it will be reassuring to know if things are going ok but there’s also this small but real sense of loss there. like I just won’t ever get to experience that period as one of joy or excitement, and I’ll have to put myself and my emotional experience of pregnancy (and potential future loss) even more in the hands of these fucking doctors, whose skill I appreciate but who I could also just throttle sometimes. like today they asked how I’d been doing since the surgery and I said “well honestly physically I’m fine but emotionally I’ve been having a pretty rough time” and I think that made the resident uncomfortable and she just like messed around with my chart for a while and then changed the subject. like ok I’m not asking you to be my therapist I’d settle for just the most basic acknowledgment of my human emotions. and then later the attending came in and looked at my surgical incisions and said “you look great! this is just about a perfect outcome” and I obviously get what she meant, like patient did not die of internal hemorrhage and has no signs of post-op infection, but also like while that would clearly have been the worst case outcome, for me personally losing a pregnancy was easily the second worst case outcome, and so while I am grateful to be alive and not have suffered lasting internal damage or whatever I am also still very much in the grip of some pretty big painful feelings and I wish, again, that they could take a step back from studying the immediate medical issue at hand to look at the person whose body houses that issue. or whatever. like of all the medical professionals I’ve interacted with over the past month the doctors at this facility are definitely the most competent and caring, but even with them I’m just sitting in my car outside the office feeling a sense of muted dread just thinking like great… when I start trying to get pregnant again these are the people I’m going to have to repeatedly subject myself to. blah it’s fine and I think the way I am going to handle it is by trying to just calmly reiterate my humanity, even if it is mostly for myself. like I am proud of myself for saying that I hadn’t been doing that well emotionally, even if it got ignored because the person didn’t know how to respond to it. I get to be a full person with a full, rich, multifaceted emotional life and not just a medical case. you just feel like you have no power because they know everything and they make all the decisions. but I have the power to ask questions and to l express calmly how I am feeling and to spend time after each encounter reflecting on how I felt in that moment, because my human experience matters even if no one is interested in making space for it in a medical context. I get to say that it matters. I get to have feelings about it and I get to compassionately explore those feelings and I get to use those insights to inform how I engage with the slight awfulness of this hypermedicalized experience in the future. blah! blah. on, on, on.

[kineenpt2]

Small little interaction between two OCs.

Warnings. Implications of Self Harm, NSFW

Peter huffed out a sigh, and ran his left hand through his hair, mixing the split red dye with his natural, dusty blonde. He leaned back in his gamer chair, the hinges screaming in protest at the sudden weight. His bare back stuck to the plastic in sweat, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling and stretched his aching back.

He'd been playing this stupid video game for a while now. He lowered his deep green eyes to an LED clock to the right of his monitor. 2:34 am. He moves his eyes to his monitor, the LED keyboard flashes rainbow, his tower softly humming and also flashing rainbow.

He turned the game off, and opened a new browser, unsure of what to do now.

The game had pissed him off too much to play a different one. His friends were asleep. He stared at his Google opened for a few moments before leaning his back off the chair with a *sstck*. He sucks in a breath and adjusts himself in his chair, leaning forward on his elbows, his head in his palms.

Peter moved his mouse over to the Discord icon on his bookmark bar and waited for it to load. A new message from Dae. He scrunches his nose and purses his lips, knowing what was about to happen. He opened the message, reading through the rant his friend sent him. He read occasional words aloud, in his light voice. "Blah blah...Art is hard ..Lizz won't help...Check ou-" The image shocked him, that's for sure. He stopped reading the words and stared at the image.

Dae is sitting on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black lace panties, his shoulder length black hair pulled into a ponytail. He's on his knees, leaning forward and putting his hands in between his thighs.

Peter's eyes widen, and he scoffs out a "Hm." before continuing to read the rant, trying his best to focus. Spoiler alert, he doesn't. He receives a new message from Dae.

"Oh...yeah I forgot about that, mb bro... Lol"

Peter slowly typed out a response, constantly having to go back and fix his mistakes.

It's cool, u up this late, why? also why do u have that?

"Idk, got it at a hot topic. oh hold on I also got something at Spencer's lol"

Peter chuckles and stretches his arms above his head, yawning and glancing at his clock again. 2:45am. He pushes his chair backwards, rolling it silently across the worn hardwood floor. He pulls his dark grey sweatpants up over his waist band and walks away from his computer, avoiding obstacles in his dark room. He flipped a lamp on as he walked by, and opened his door, twisting the handle slowly.

He yawned into his palm, stepping out into the dark hallway. He felt his way along the wall, until he reached the bathroom. He flicks the overhead light on, the room filled with a soft yellow light, a buzzing sound ricochets across the walls. Peter closes the door behind him, and leans forward over the sink, his face a foot away from the dusty mirror. His face is pale, but still blushed from his previous interaction. His cheeks have a small bit of acne, lining his cheekbones. His eyes have light bags under them, and a beauty mark under his right eye. His lips are soft and pink, cracked with constant abuse. He looks down at his sweatpants, a bulge still pressing through his pants. He clenches his teeth and uncomfortably fixes his boxers.

Peter opens the medicine cabinet and unwraps his left arm, wincing at the bandage sticking to his damp arm, the fresh pink slits on his arm widening at his flexing. He tosses the dirty bandages in the trash bin, and grabs the Hydrogen Peroxide. He sucks in a breath and pours the liquid over his cuts, clutching the edge of the sink. He sighs, wipes away the foam and wraps his arm with fresh bandage, tightening it at the wrist.

He opens the door, flipping the light off as he slides out of the bathroom. He walks toward the dim lighting coming from his room. He shuts the door, turns off the lamp, and returns to his desk. When he situates himself, he sees 4 new messages from Dae.

Warning, lol. open alone ;)

*3 attachments, marked in spoiler*

Peter raises an eyebrow, and clicks on the first image. Dae, bent over the bed with a large blue dildo beside him. The panties he was wearing before slid down to his knees now.

Peter's mouth drops and he clicks off the tab. He puts a hand on his mouth and chuckles, breathing in giggly breathes. Finally he returns to click the other images. Admittedly, ignoring the boner in his pants.

Disclaimer. This is just a work in progress, and is from a larger story.

[cazort]

I think part of the phenomenon above is a result of discourse happening on the internet where it is divorced from face-to-face contact, close personal relationships, and the interpersonal warmth and trust that happens in these things.

Like, even with people I don't even really know, like random neighbors in my apartment complex, I don't know their names, I might interact with them once every 3 weeks maybe when they hold a door for me in the mailroom or something like that.

It creates a sense of interpersonal warmth and trust though, that is often missing in online interactions. Like, oh yeah, this person is a human, they are a real person and they actually care about me because they held a door for me. Yay.

So like online we just see this random text and it's easier to like, get sucked into some sort of narrative of like, oh wow this person is so out of touch they don't know what the hell they're talking about, they're being really unreasonable, blah blah blah.

The thing is, most people are being reasonable most of the time. And if they're not, they might not even mean everything they are saying, at least not literally. Like I know when I'm really worked up about something, the logic in my arguments is less than 100% impeccable. And I would hope people give me the benefit of the doubt and assume that if I said something less than fully truthful, or that could be interpreted in a bad way, that it was unintentional and I didn't want it to be interpreted that way.

So like, maybe it would be useful for us to monitor our levels of interpersonal warmth and trust, or lack thereof, that we feel towards random strangers on the internet. When we start feeling like that level has declined to where it is lower than the level we would treat a random friendly stranger in public, maybe it is time to take a break from the computer, or at least from discourse. Maybe it would be good to focus on something that reinforces a sense of interpersonal warmth and trust again, like reaching out to a friend or reading or reblogging positive posts that emphasize positive aspects of humanity.

It's a type of self-care that I think is often neglected in our society.

me: exclusionism is all lies because queer identity without rules isn't dangerous. if someone identifies as queer, it doesn't matter if their reason for it is strange because its their identity

these people, for some fucking reason: hmm, you used the term "cishet ace" and included people who are queer for a reason i don't understand. clearly the most important takeaways from this post are that straight aces don't exist and comparing both asexuals and neuroqueers is acephobic. i have good reading comprehension

[silly-mouse]

okay i will now be giving you a long description of dream dating a baseball player that i had in a dream once 😎 (after writing its not that long lolol) okay so, basically, we were dating but like long distance kinda (it was only like 2 hours but still) and i was telling him about this upcoming game i had blah blah blah and basically anyways he like came to my game but acted like he wouldn’t be able to come (cause like distance yk) AND IT WAS LIKE SO CUTE CAUSE ??? anyways he/him if thats okay !! 🤗 also 2 things id like to say 1. i love you writing!! it inspires me to actually work on my own requests 2. sorry the last request was just like short and basic :[ sometimes people dont wanna write things so i just ask first !! :) anywas i hope this isnt to long haha !!

I think this came out pretty cute and yes I did have to google every baseball term here including if the players have numbers, shut up /j and its not too long but I kinda struggled figuring out what you wanted me to write? Like im reading like alright dream description, cool... aw, cute... alright he/him, got it... aw, thanks, that's really sweet... and thats the end. Like I didn't know if you wanted me to just write what I thought your dream was like but that didnt seem right so I just did a little snippet of seeing Dream in the stands.

Romantic CC!Dream x he/him!reader, baseball player!reader, ~450 words, random youtubers were chosen as your teammates, PDA, mention of eating meat

“Ayo,” one of your teammates muttered, elbowing you.

“Fuck off,” you muttered right back, eyes glued to your teammates on the field. “I got five bucks saying Charlie’s gonna make it home this pitch.”

“Who the hell made that stupid bet with you?”

“Who do you think,” you grumbled, glaring at Schlatt’s back as he collected a Gatorade and a candy bar from his last successful bet.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s your boyfriend on the monitor.”

“What the fuck?” You followed his gaze, seeing your beautiful, sweet, dumbass of a boyfriend showing off his poster with your number outlined in green glitter. You realized he should be right behind you and leaned out of the dugout to check. He lit up like a golden retriever, waving excitedly and blowing you a kiss. “Oh my god,” you laughed, blowing one back. “He said he had a gaming competition thing and wouldn’t be able to come.”

Ted looked between the two of you making googly eyes at each other. “... You wanna go say hi?”

“I can’t,” you scoffed, “we’re kinda in the middle of an inning.”

“We all know Mark’s going up next,” Sean interjected, clapping a hand on your shoulder as he and Ted brought you over to the stands. “We’ll be quick.” They each let you step on their hands, lifting you up the wall keeping the fans safe.

“Hey, stranger,” Dream chuckled, wagging his eyebrows at you.

“What the hell are you doing here,” you laughed, grabbing the railing for dear life since you didn’t trust your teammates in the least.

“Well, you know I love seeing you in uniform, you look so handsome-”

“You know what I mean,” you scoffed. “What happened to your championship?”

“I told Scott to sub someone in for me,” he said with a shrug. “Couldn’t let you play without your good luck kiss, could I?”

You smiled at that, leaning up with your elbows on the rail. “Oh, well, that’s very kind of you-”

“Hey, you’re on-screen!”

You looked over your shoulder at Sean’s excited yell, seeing, sure enough, you and your boyfriend were displayed for all to see. You could hear the announcers commenting on how you were ‘taking the chance to interact with a lucky fan.’

“Let me just…” Dream moved his poster behind your head, shielding you from the camera’s view as you shared a soft kiss. He gently brushed your noses together as you pulled away, smiling sweetly as he pulled his poster back. “Win this for me and I’ll make you Wagyu tonight.”

You threw your hands in the air. “LET’S GO!”

“HE’S TIPPING, HE’S TIPPING! TIMBERRR!”

[sneakyguest]

Software Instability:

I’ve been thinking a lot about Connor’s software instability lately. What exactly is it? Is he consciously aware that it is occurring? Does CyberLife know that it’s occurring?

“Adapting to human unpredictability is one of my features” *winky face* - Connor

My favorite lil headcanon is that what makes Connor so state-of-the-art is this software. A “learning” software. His processors are undergoing a constant evaluation of every action, inaction, emotion, and language (body and spoken-word) from the humans he interacts with or even just observes passively.

He is constantly learning how to tailor his own responses to those around him. And the information this software compiles will allow him to more accurately predict the behaviors and best approach with even strangers.

This is why he goes from a clunky, socially awkward, little robot, to seeming emotional and human. (Connor sitting in the chair vs Connor sitting on the desk is such a beautiful example of this!) This software is why he seems so different and human compared to every other (non-deviant) android we see.

But what about the software instability?

This instability is obviously being triggered by Connor committing or experiencing an act of empathy. (Not going to really touch on the utter falsehood that empathy is a human emotion. Blah, blah, blah. We can’t rewrite the canon, I guess.) So canon is that: empathy = human. Empathy = deviancy.

I’ve come up with a little idea that the software instability is a little string of errors in the coding of this ‘socially adaptive’ software program. Connor is completing actions (or experiencing emotions) that he functionally should not be able to do. Even something as small as putting a fish back in its tank. Androids are only so autonomous, and Connor is essentially deviating a little bit from the concrete perimeters and limitations of his software.

Is he aware of these instabilities? No. He self-tests regularly and he knows what he is and what he is not, remember! He is aware of his actions of course. He is confused by his actions. (Why did you let the Tracis live? Why didn’t you shoot Chloe? etc) But I don’t think he is aware that these actions are creating the errors in his software. If he knew, I don’t think (up until he deviates for realsies) that he wouldn’t alert CyberLife immediately about this issue in an attempt to get himself “repaired”. He is a good boy after all!

Is CyberLife aware of it? Yes and no. Connor is a prototype and he’s the most advanced functional android CyberLife has ever created. If his social software is new and untested they’re going to want to monitor it/him closely. Gotta fix all of those dangerous little bugs before they roll out the mass-produced final product. (Baby Nines!)

This is where I deviate into a little bit of crack:

I think these errors in his code are being made unreadable to both Connor the techs at CyberLife. That it is little strings of error code that is encrypting itself. Hiding the action (or emotion) behind a cipher, essentially. So the action: Connor picks up the fish and puts it back in the tank, will become an encrypted error in his script. Like a virus; it hides itself to protect itself.

You can read on paper that there was a script error at X moment, but you’re unable learn what it was. And any subsequent tests performed on his software will ping as functioning normally. Like when you have a little benign growth. It’s there but it seemingly isn’t disturbing the function of any part of you.

So:

Chalk it up to user error or maybe the limitations of the technology. Plenty of horrible things have ended up happening because people ignored the red flags... If Connor is behaving normally and his program isn’t reading any critical error codes then why bother digging too deep into these little innocuous script errors? Stopping the spread of deviancy is urgent and Connor is the only tool at their disposal right now.

Idk how readable this really is. The nauseous anxiety over going to work tomorrow is really kicking in! I’m just having a lot of fun speculating. :)

[kokokulto]

hi ! long time fan of your work Koko :) i wanted to ask you what your experience has been like delving into each social media platform, trying to get a feel for each, and now settling on tumblr ? how would you compare each of them, and why do you feel that tumblr has been your best experience so far? thank you for your time <3

[really long post lol]

There are so many things going on in my mind that I want to be able to articulate into words as I read this question lmaooo.

To have a fuller understanding I've talked about quality over quantity of social media interaction here and here. To summarize, I did some reflecting after attempting to 'reboot my art accounts' earlier this year. I realized that attempting to spread myself thin doesn't make me happy and I should only focus on a platform that encourages meaningful feedback and thoughts from other people. To me, Twitter and Instagram was not a place for it due to the nature of its design and algorithm.

I prefer comments over numbers. Something that in my experience isn't super common on Twitter or Insta (unless you're a really big account, or your post blown up to a massive audience). Most interactions there start and end with a like, and perhaps if they are generous enough, maybe a Insta Story share or retweet. The stories are just plain, and it's not often one get's a quote retweet (if you have more qrts, then you are being ratio'd LOL). It's a numbers game. The only parameters you base your "success" on these platforms is through the amount of likes or retweets you have. I am not saying it is impossible to have a good experience on these platforms, nor saying it's impossible to get mutuals there. However, I personally did not feel that people are actively encouraged to actually say something about the artwork if the person isn't a mutual or someone they already know. One experience that put it into perspective was when an old FNAF painting I did got around 1,500 likes despite the account being new and bare. Flopped on Insta but blew up on twitter; it dawned on me how meaningless and based on luck these large numbers were.

Now, here is where tumblr kicked in! Tumblr was part of the social media 'i tried to reboot'. I know that the growth here can be long (the ban, and people left blah blah yeah), and honestly did not expect much from it. But, I channeled my familiarity with tumblr from 2014 and remembered: "hey! In the tags, guys". Posting and reblogging made me enjoy the "tag culture" of this hellsite—even WAY more than before! The "comments via tags" thing is almost a way to give your thoughts and prayers remarks without the expectation for direct social interaction. Some people prefer this over the actual comment section, and it makes them more comfortable to say something about the work! I value every reblog that has comments and tags. Being able to hear your thoughts about the piece, why you like it is 1000% better than tons of likes. I get to actually see why people interact with the post; I'd describe it as having a touch of humanity in the interaction. Actual quality!

This is inherent to Tumblr's design from the beginning. There were no likes on this site before. At its core, people must reblog. And with the whole craze back then on this site with fandoms and such, people just started blurting out comments via tags. Even when likes were first introduced, the number reblogs often out weighed the likes. Because tapping a singular button and ending it there doesn't actually show much appreciation! Being on a platform where the community is encourage to use the tags beyond blog organization is amazing. Input and thoughts, are valued here and I think that's pretty cool. I look at the type of interaction the platform can give, not its quantity. I had fun time here at 40 followers, am still having that same fun at 200+. Probably will be the same throughout! (hopefully)

At the end, this place is still social media and one's relationship with it should be monitored. All comments (good and bad) shouldn't go to your head too much. But, at the very least, Tumblr's design and community allows a bit more of a humane touch when interacting with someone's work.

In terms of design though, I like that tumblr allows for different types of media (videos, audio, image sizes, long posts, asks + answers). Its archival system and the ability to open different blogs is also cool. Customization and markups are really nice! I love how personalized this place can be.

Hopefully this answers your question, and is comprehensive enough LOL . Again, this is my experience, and my journey. It may be different from yours. Just remember to go where you grow while having fun!

[lilly-onthevalley]

Not to scare anyone but I find the whole concept of a man chasing you with extreme tenacity, a bit odd. I do believe men should pursue women but have you ever been chased so much that it's scary.

Thank God this guy is harmless but me and my best friend used to be in contact with this guy. It was ok at first till my friend gave an address to drop off some gifts.

This man proceeds to take pictures of the front yard of the place every time he passes. Thankfully it wasn't her real address cause I'm sure him and his guy friends searched for her at that residence when she made it explicitly clear she didn't want anything to do with them.

After that I made sure not to tell him anything personal and I played as 'one of the guys' and got added to his social interactions with other men. He's in tech by the way, but tell me why this guy plays games with his friends to see who can track down a girls location fastest and while I was in the group I heard the most messed up porta potty level conversations.

I left obviously as soon as I could because I have a very weak stomach when it comes to some of the topics they were talking about. He proceeded to tell me he wasn't like them blah blah blah and I went out of contact with him.

I don't know what type of messed up logic he uses but he somehow finds out what time I wake up every morning and sends elaborate good morning texts and was monitoring me from my phone or atleast one of my gadgets, I don't know which.

I got a VPN so he couldn't find my location just yet. This is what I mean by chasing with tenacity, which I guess could literally be called stalking. It stopped though, I think it's because I know his family, his sisters, the whole unit so he doesn't have the casualty of being funny anymore especially since I told him I'm not interested in anything.

I think the thing that saved me was the fact I don't mince my words. I'm really pleasant and perhaps a bit ditzy normally, maybe a bit too much for my own good but I like that because when I turn stern and sharp people take me very seriously and know they messed up and should tread carefully.

It's important to know when you need to switch up. I could care less about fitting into the negative black woman stereotypes when I'm in a time of urgency (keep in mind while I am indeed serious, I don't begin raising my voice or anything cause that ruins the whole thing). A lot of femininity content pisses me off cause some of the stuff they recommend can seriously put people in danger.

It is stupid for a sheep to mindlessly walk up to a hungry lion expecting nice things or that they will be treated kindly by the lion because they have more attractive qualities compared to the rest of the sheep.

Especially with guys who tend to be wealthy. This is my opinion but they are rarely ever normal, most of the men who have wealth that I have met always have a little (a BIG) quirk. Some aren't bothersome at all and are quite endearing plus I have my quirks as well and that mainly brings an instant point of connection but when a guys' quirk is like the man I'm talking about - stalking, monitoring, being absolutely unhinged and razor focused when it comes to his pursuit of women, I have no time to be nice and friendly.

That's my take 🤸🏽‍♀️

It is what it is, this is just my personal experience.

[blueknightdg]

Drop In

----

MLB: Pegasus, Ladybug, Cat Noir, Queen Bee, Ryuko, Viperion

DC: Robin, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman

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

Although it was a normal day with noticeable about it, the lives people live are not always so.

Like for instance, a group of super hero teens falling into a pile during a Justice League meeting.

There were only five members in the room and two were actually from the Young Justice League.

They got in position as the portal closed. The dizzy teens started sitting.

"Owe.... What happen?"

"Ugh, whoever is sitting on me, get off! So heavy..."

The young lady hero in pigtails cleared her head enough to see the room and saw the window. She panicked and rushed to the window, screaming.

"Guys, get up! We're in space!"

The rest widened their eyes and scrambled to the window as well.

"What!?"

"Impossible!"

One of the young Justice members got annoyed that they weren't notice and called the groups attention.

"Hey trespassers! I don't know how or why you're here, but it doesn't matter! Now put your hands where I can see them!"

blah blah blah They have a confrontation and the Miraculous crew goes to fight in Paris. The Justice leaguers try to find them again.

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

Eventually they do see them again when a portal opens up and the see sleep deprived, crying teen heroes at night with a giant baby.

Ladybug unable to speak properly ask a giant woman to feed the baby a warm bottle of milk they have. She throws them a bone and feeds the baby as Cat Noir Cataclysms the bracelet. Ladybug takes the now smaller baby to the worried mom. Ladybug thanks the giant woman.

Ryuko tried to get Ladybug to drink some coffee Viperion brought. Ladybug cried as she tried to move her head a way. Ryuko sighs and reminded her that they have to drink coffee.

“No! No want coffee, no want coffee!”

Cat Noir is crying and rocking back and forth.

“I want to sleep, I want to sleep, I want to sleep”, he murmurs out loud.

Queen Bee rubbing his should in comfort. Ryuko and Viperion have a dead look on their faces as they try to keep everyone awake.

The portal starts closing as they watch the teens break down. They get worried.

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

“Those are the trespassers I told you about, they look even worst than last time.”

“They speak in French, so logically, we monitor France and see if they pop up.”

Batman sends an invitation for them to come to a meeting in Mount Justice. When they show up, they still look terrible. They are nervous, scared, and seriously needs sleep.

Batman and a few others approach them gently with warm food and blankets.

“Oh, no! No! I’m fine.”

“My Lady, when was the last time you ate?”

“It was.....uh....I don’t remember...Oh! I know! It’s been two weeks! Oh, it’s been two weeks.”

Queen Bee looks at the soup in front of her and true to her self, refuses to eat it.

“Queen Bee, you haven’t eaten long than I have. I might not have the right to say anything, but that doesn’t mean I won’t use the last bit of my strength to feed you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

They glare at each other. Before a fight broke out, Viperion got between them.

“Girls, now is not the time-”

Viperion dodged a well aimed yo-yo to the gut. He glares at Ladybug.

“That wasn’t very nice, Leader.”

“Co-leader.”

“Leader.”

“Team mate.”

“You make the plans.”

“You are older.”

“You tell me what to do.”

“We work together.”

They glare. Ladybug looks at Queen Bee.

“If you don’t want to soup, ask for something else.”

“Fine.”

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

They talk about how the Villain has been keeping them up with night Akumas for the past two months. 

“How would you like us to help?”

“Well... I would love it if you helped us find Hawkmoth.”

“And take turns patrolling.”

“We can’t ask that! They have cities of their own!”

“I haven’t had proper beauty sleep in two month, I am not budging.”

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

The two teams eventually came to the conclusion Ladybug had a long time ago.

“No! No way, he can’t be it’s impossible!”

“But Cat-”

“No! I refuse to believe! He is not Hawkmoth!”

“Why do you keep denying this!?”

“BECAUSE HE’S MY DAD! He might not be there for me most of the time, but I don’t think he would to do that! He’s been Akumatized before! Doesn’t that count for something?”

“...Adrian?”

Cat Noir holds still and starts to panic. He curls in on himself and cries.

“....He’s all I have left, My Lady. I can’t lose him too. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“You’re not alone Chat, you have us. Are we not enough?”, Queen Bee asks.

“No, you are. You are more than enough, I’m sorry. It just... When my mom disappeared, I only had my dad in that big old house. He didn’t show up or let me do things most of the time, but that’s because he wants to protect me. I don’t want to be stuck in a room again. I don’t want to be caged.”

“Chat...”

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

They find out that under the Agreste Mansion was an unidentified space with a series of tubing as well as a vital signature.

“Cat Noir... it comes to our attention that....your mother may still be alive.”

“W-What? You mean... she was there the whole time? She was near by? But... But I thought....”

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

During all this, Robin and Ladybug get a long with each other. It’s mostly silence as doing sperate things in the same room. Tolerating each other like that is really good considering Damian doesn’t like to talk to people. 

He would comment once in a while about the clothes she sews up for the American heroes.

“They can just make new ones.”

“I know....but I want to help while not being in the way. I love sewing so this is the only thing I could think of.”

He looks at her for a moment.

“Tt. It’s a pain to translate my third or so language, I will teach you English.”

He said it in an annoyed manner, but Ladybug felt that he was being nice for his personality. She wouldn’t normally interact with a stoic person like him, but it’s nice not having to talk sometimes. Though, they do end up having little problems that boil over or resolve. Mostly because Ladybug is forgiving enough and patient.

--------

Ladybug finds Robin attractive, but liking three guys is overwhelming. So she has to choose one guy to stop liking romantically. However, since you can’t just stop liking someone like that way, she has to reinforce who has been pushed to the back of her mind as only a friend that she cares about. 

“They are people, not objects. But feelings are hard to control. It might seem mean, but it’s best for me in the long run.”

“What are you murmuring about?”

“Oh! Hi, Robin. Uh... I uh....well...it’s not something you would be interested in.”

“Likely, but I am superior to in critical thinking, therefore, my input would be invaluable.” (Does this come off as arrogant yet a clear attempt to help?)

“Well....”, Knowing that he would get mad if she stuttered to much, she tried to think a little before speaking.

“I am...it’s about my feelings. Romantic feelings.”

“Tt. And?”

“I like three guys. But uh... they aren’t options and I can’t pick one like they are, because it would be demeaning or something like that...so...well...wavering feeling for three guys is a little...”

“Then obviously your ‘feelings’ aren’t as strong as you thought they were.”

“...That might be true...”

“Of course! I’m always right.”

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

Something like that! There’s more but I forgot while writing and might remember later.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Miraculous World: New York - United HeroeZ

So... with the recent announcement that Seasons 4 and 5 of Miraculous Ladybug will air on Disney+, with one episode set to air around March 27th (and it's out of order because of course it is), I figured I would try something new with this blog.

While I'm sure Astruc will be more active while the new season is airing, I figured I'd take a stab at reviewing new episodes of Miraculous Ladybug when they come out, as I already have a Disney+ account that I only really use to watch Star Wars and other Disney Channel cartoons I've never seen before. Well, that and the gloriousness that is Mech-X4.

And I was thinking that since a certain special is already available on Disney+, I'll review it now. Consider it my, uh...

279 Follower Special. Yeah, that’s it.

Miraculous World: New York – United Heroez is the first in a series of Miraculous Ladybug specials with the premise of having our heroes travel around the world. Because I guess that's what you do with your show when you run out of ideas for things your characters can do. Just ask Ash Ketchum and Thomas the Tank Engine.

The special is somewhat polarizing among the fandom, with some loving it, and some hating it. If you've seen some of my earlier posts, you probably already know how I feel about this.

Anyway, let's take a look at Miraculous World: New York – United Heroez

We start off with a logo letting us know this is going to be the start of a series of specials called Miraculous World.

Yeah, I'm sure that'll be remembered among other great cinematic universes like the Dark Universe and Ghost Corps.

In all seriousness, this is actually a pretty decent opening. It has some nice visuals that inform the audience of the globetrotting gimmick seen in the special, and the orchestral cover of the Miraculous Ladybug theme sounds pretty badass.

The special truly starts off in the middle of an Akuma fight, where we see that Mr. Pigeon is taking inspiration from Startrain's plan to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... SPACE! Apparently, this is the 51st time that Ladybug and Cat Noir have fought him, which makes you wonder if Hawkmoth is either running out of ideas, or if he just wants to see how insane Mr. Pigeon's plans can get for the hell of it.

Ladybug and Cat Noir transform into their new space forms that they've obviously had for a while, given Alya's familiarity with their names... even though those forms probably would have been useful when they were fighting Startrain. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of things this special retcons.

We get a few interactions between Ladybug and Cat Noir to give new viewers an idea of what the Love Square dynamic is like, with Cat Noir fawning over Ladybug after she leaves, and Marinette gushing over a new poster Adrien is in. I'll get back to this later,

After that, we see a brief clip from a student film teaching the audience about the real life friendship between George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette (the latter actually becoming one of Washington's close advisors during the Revolutionary War), and how it lead to the completely made up, “French American Friendship week”, which is basically an excuse for Marinette and Adrien's class to go to New York for a week.

Their teacher, Ms. Bustier isn't going with them because she's having a baby (God help us if the writers resort to pregnancy jokes next season), so the only other teacher in the school, Ms. Mendeleiev, will be supervising the class instead.

Adrien isn't able to go to New York because his father won't let him, and even he lampshades how predictable this is. But as soon as Lila suggests spending time with Adrien, Marinette immediately declares she will try to get Adrien to come on the trip with everyone, because he's her friend... and then Alya mocks her for saying that in the very next scene.

And here is the first problem with this special: The way Marinette's crush on Adrien is portrayed.

We're supposed to see Marinette as being in denial about her feelings for Adrien, but when you think about how Season 3 ended with Marinette realizing Adrien and Kagami (who will make an appearance in this special later on) are happy together, it makes sense that she wants to do this. She wants to move on from her crush on Adrien and try to be friends with him.

Unfortunately, her “best friend” Alya isn't willing to let her move on, which is extremely hypocritical when you remember how often she teased her for her behavior around Adrien, to the point where her other “friends” made bets about Marinette's hesitance to confess to him (Cat Blanc). Does she even know about Adrien and Kagami?

And throughout this special, rather than acknowledge Marinette's decision to move on, she constantly teases Marinette about how she still has feelings for Adrien, instead of simply leaving her alone. She reaches salt fic levels of unlikable in this special.

It doesn't help that Marinette's anxiety around Adrien is cranked up to twelve in this special, with her constantly stammering, or fidgeting around to the point where she struggles to get through a door. Twice. And as always, this behavior is only going to be played for laughs, because the showrunners are running out of ways to make Marinette suffer for comedy. And it only gets worse from here.

While watching a news report about a necklace and sabre George Washington had given to him by Lafyette, Nathalie, bedridden from the events of the season finale, tells Gabriel that the necklace in question is actually a lost Miraculous.

And as soon as Marinette arrives, Gabriel tells her that he's going to let Adrien go on the trip. His reason?

Gabriel: Letting Adrien go to New York will be simpler than hiding my absence here from him. Besides, this will allow me to continue keeping an eye on him.

Yeah, he seriously thinks it's a good idea to send his son to the same place he's planning to attack as part of one of his plans. At least you could make the argument that whenever Adrien is endangered during an Akuma attack, he's simply caught in the crossfire because he's in the wrong place at the wrong time, like with “Style Queen”. Here, Gabriel is intentionally letting Adrien go to New York, while claiming that he will be able to monitor him while he plots to attack the city. This is like if Grand Moff Tarkin let his son go to Alderaan for vacation. And again, it only gets worse from here.

Though Gabriel waits a day to tell Adrien he's going to New York, because of he did, we wouldn't get any scenes of Adrien moping around about how much his life sucks. Well, that and a scene of him and Kagami, where the latter kisses him. This is Kagami's only scene in the special, and she isn't mentioned again after this.

As Ladybug, Marinette tells Cat Noir she's going away for a few days and trusts him to guard Paris as long as he alerts her of an Akuma or Sentimonster. What will happen to the Miracle Box Marinette inherited from Former Master In Name Only Fu is never explained.

To Adrien's credit, it's Plagg that convinces him to go on the trip even though Ladybug trusted him, and even then, it takes a little bit to convince Adrien, showing he still takes his job seriously, with him coming up with a plan in case an Akuma attacks. It's not perfect, but it's something. That all goes to hell later on, though.

We then see Gabriel once again talking to Emilie's corpse about his plan.

Gabriel: Blah, blah, blah, Emilie. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I'll get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous this time for sure. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I'm such a good father and sympathetic villain.

Oh, sorry. That's how I hear most of his monologues to Emilie these days. My bad.

The next scene features something I bet you've never seen before, Marinette being late for something. Thankfully, Luka gives her a ride to help her catch up, hoping that the trip will “give her some clarity”, most likely referring to her conflicting emotions. Marinette then kisses Luka goodbye and gets on the bus. This is Luka's only scene in the special, and he isn't mentioned again after this.

On the plane, it turns out that Adrien is conveniently sitting next to Marinette, prompting Alya to tease Marinette yet again while making this face.

Alya: (smirking and talking in a very smug tone of voice) Awesome, Marinette! Go and sit next to your “friend”! So you two can enjoy a nice flight together! A very long flight.

Alya continues to relentlessly tease Marinette and makes fun of her crush for no real reason, suggesting Marinette get off the plane because “New York is the most romantic city in the world after Paris”. And this gives her a goddamn panic attack where she frantically tries to run off the plane. Remember kids, if someone has some kind of anxiety or social awkwardness, it's perfectly fine to tease and make fun of their behavior, and even exploit it for your own amusement.

And after some unfunny hilarious slapstick involving Marinette on the plane, Alya continues her streak of treating Marinette like her plaything.

Nino: If only this trip could help Adrien finally come out of his shell.

Alya: And if only it could help Marinette be more honest with herself and clearer about her feelings!

Nino: Operation New York?

Alya: Operation New York!

Nino: Let's help them loosen up!

Alya: After all, isn't the United States the land of the free?

Well, the only thing you actually got right about America is forcing others to do things they don't want to do. Just ask the Native Americans.

It's scenes like this why Alya is portrayed so negatively in salt fics. And this happens throughout the special. Now, while I'm not really a drinker, I'm guessing there's at least one person reading this post right now who is. So I have a little idea for a game. Every time Alya acts like a terrible friend to Marinette, take a shot. I'd just have a donor ready in case one of your kidneys gives up on you.

After an admittedly nice scene of Adrien thanking Marinette for convincing his father to let him come (undercut by Marinette creepily commenting on Adrien's cologne as they hug), another problem with this special rears its ugly head, as a man with oddly-colored skin arrives on one of the plane's wings.

Alya: Oh, no! That's Techno-Pirate, the supervillain who steals technology!

Yeah. This is happening. The special is just casually introducing this new supervillain, Techno-Pirate as well as some other superheroes, neither of which had any buildup before, not even a throwaway line They're just here now.

So some of the American superheroes are to save the day, now, I guess. Majestia, the Superman knockoff, helps steer the plane back into position, her robotic daughter, Uncanny Valley, helps fix the plane's broken wing, while Knightowl and Sparrow, the Batman and Robin knockoffs, deal with Techno-Pirate. And everyone just treats this like a regular occurrence.

Marinette: Wow! That all happened so fast! I didn't have time to transform or help out!

Adrien: Good thing the American superheroes were here. I couldn't have transformed here. I'm supposed to be in Paris!

Plagg: Relax, Adrien! Let the local superheroes handle their own problems.

I have so many problems with this plot development. Just how common is the knowledge that there are other superheroes besides Ladybug and Cat Noir in other countries? How have they never been mentioned until now? Why is everyone just accepting the fact that there are other superheroes?

I get that these characters weren't conceived around the time the show started, but the way they're just thrown into the story is just so confusing and does so many things to hurt the narrative instead of helping it. In other episodes, Majestia and Knightowl were only seen in comic books, and Ladybug and Cat Noir were seen as the only heroes in the world because the world itself was fairly down to earth, barring some more advanced technology (the police's weapons in “Origins”, Hawkmoth's lair, Max's robot, Markov, the space dumpsters in “Reverser”, and the AI in Startrain).

The fact that New York is apparently filled with all kinds of superheroes for very mundane things like directing traffic and selling hot dogs just makes the Miraculous seem less important. If there was more work done to better integrate them into the story, like maybe making them an American secret or something, it could have worked. To quote a character voiced by Jason Lee...

And the sad thing was that Power Rangers was able to pull something like this off far better in 1995. During the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Master Vile had successfully reversed the Earth's rotation, turning the Power Rangers into children (yes, it runs on Superman logic, just go with it). Because of this, the Rangers are unable to morph, with the villains free to attack the city. In response, Zordon sends out a distress call to another team of Power Rangers from the planet Aquitar.

Now I know what you're thinking. If Zordon had the ability to contact another team of Power Rangers for help, why did it take him so long to do so? The episode immediately answers the question by pointing out that Aquitar is a planet made entirely of water, so it's incredibly dangerous for them to head to a planet like Earth, making their intervention a last resort. And even after they come, a major plot thread is finding ways to keep the Alien Rangers hydrated, which only gets worse when the Alien Rangers' enemy, Hydro Hog, arrives to drain Earth's water while teaming up with the main villains.

The integration of the Alien Rangers into the story generally feels natural, and there is a clear explanation as to why they haven't joined the battle until now, and even then, still place some hurdles for them to overcome. Here, the special just wants the audience to immediately accept the fact that there are hundreds of superheroes in New York.

So as Marinette and Adrien's class arrives in New York, we see Sparrow watching over them, referring to them as “the little croissants”. That's another thing the special gets right about America: casually making racist comments.

Uncanny Valley's civilian form, Aeon, sees Marinette and Adrien, and, of course, she says that they're “made for each other”. If only the writers actually bothered to give us evidence of that fact that everyone loves to say for some reason. Though we do get the only instance of sanity regarding the Love Square in this special, where Sparrow's civilian form, Jess, calls out Aeon for thinking of getting them together.

Aeon: Those two are made for each other.

Jess: Seriously, Aeon? Not again!

Aeon: But I am programmed to help people, Jess!

Jess: Just stop meddling with people's private lives!

Also, I had already mentioned the unfortunate implications of Aeon being programmed to “help people” in an earlier post, but I still want to reiterate that I don't think any of that was intentional at all, and I definitely don't think a single writer on this show is actually racist. Everyone got that? Okay, moving on.

Jess and Aeon are assigned to watch over the Parisian students while they sneak out to a party on the rooftop of the hotel they're staying at, where they meet another superhero, Hot Dog Dan. He gives random people magical hot dogs that give them temporary superpowers. Marinette and Adrien share one, and they both start flying before Adrien offers to slow dance with Marinette.

Okay... It's clear they they're trying to reference an earlier episode, “Despair Bear”, by having Marinette and Adrien dance to the same song they danced to in that episode. The problem is that the context isn't right.

Adrien is dating Kagami, and he's offering to do this... why? What makes him so interested in Marinette all of a sudden? I get that he doesn't realize Marinette has feelings for him, but if someone says they only see you as a friend, do you offer to slow dance with them? Especially if their reaction to your offer is recoiling in fear?

I'm sorry, writers, but you can't try to recreate some of the magic you had in earlier episodes with Adrienette when you have clearly established Lukanette and Adrigami as official relationships at the moment. And don't give me any of that “that's not the point of the special” crap. The season finale showed Marinette and Adrien getting together with Luka and Kagami respectively, so it's natural that a lot of people were looking forward to seeing how they worked as couples. I'll get back to this point later on.

Meanwhile, Gabriel has made his way to New York, and decides to akumatize the arrested Techno-Pirate into Technolizer, asking him to steal Lafyette's sabre from the museum instead of the necklace.

Back to the museum, Alya and Nino decide to send Marinette and Adrien into a room alone where they're locked in and attacked by the supervillain Solutide...'s hologram, which was all part of Jess and Aeon's plan. In a city where there is a superhero and supervillain on every street. They seriously planned on giving Marinette and Adrien a near-death experience to get them to realize their love for each other.

That's... pretty fucking demented.

What if Marinette and Adrien did something reckless in their attempt to escape? They could have seriously gotten hurt. Hell, what if the scare gave either of them a heart attack? And let's say either of them found out what the plan was (which would be pretty easy, given “Solitude” is a hologram). Do you think either of them would be happy with Alya and Nino, even if they confessed their love for each other? And none of them even think to apologize for what they did, and this scene is never mentioned again. To quote a certain internet reviewer. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?

Though to be fair, the scene before was the only scene where Alya gets to use a brain cell in this special by pointing how wrong that plan is... for a second before she goes along with it. So close, Alya. So close...

So after Adrien gets a news report revealing that Robustus is attacking Paris (even though Markov is with them in New York), while Marinette isn't contacted by Cat Noir. The situation only gets worse when Technolizer attacks, getting the sabre in the process.

Sparrow and Uncanny Valley try to fight him off, but are quickly overwhelmed, with some of the latter's technology getting stolen by Technolizer. Marinette and Adrien transform and help out the two heroes, naturally being confused by the other's presence.

But while the four heroes chase after Technolizer, Hawkmoth shows competence for once and steals the necklace in the process, while revealing that the Robustus attacking Paris was actually a Sentimonster created by Mayura.

During the fight, rather than focusing on stopping the already dangerous supervillain powered up by Hawkmoth, Ladybug decides to trash talk Cat Noir instead. I get that she's angry at him for not following through on his promise, but can't she wait until after the fight?

Ladybug: (mockigly) “Just go and rest easy! Yeah, leave Paris with me!”

Cat Noir: I-I didn't know I was going to leave! It was a last-minute decision, that's all!

Ladybug: Do you realize that because of you, there's no one in Paris to protect the city?! Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving?!

Cat Noir: I was afraid you'd get angry!

Ladybug: And you were right, because as you can see, I AM angry!

To quote our recently inaugurated president, will you shut up, man? People say I'm too harsh on Cat Noir for the way he acted during episodes like “Syren”, but this is basically the same thing. Ladybug is prioritizing her own feelings over stopping Technolizer. Yes, she has a right to be angry at Cat Noir, but all she has to do is wait until after the battle to chew him out.

And during the battle, Ladybug outright says she can't trust Cat Noir anymore, making the latter flinch, so Technolizer throws him into Uncanny Valley with his Cataclysm activated, killing her.

In her anger, Majestia punches Technolizer through several buildings before Hawkmoth recalls the Akuma inside him before helping the villain get away. Ladybug casts her Miraculous Ladybug, fixing Uncanny Valley, but that's not enough. Knightowl is pissed, and orders Ladybug and Cat Noir to hand over their Miraculous, not listening to why they're so important, so the two run away.

To make things worse, the two find out about Hawkmoth's plan, and Ladybug explains she can only use Miraculous Ladybug to fix damage caused by a specific villain, and since the Sentimonster is gone, she can't do anything.

In his grief, Cat Noir admits that everything that happened is his fault, so he renounces Plagg and hands over his Miraculous to Ladybug before running away.

So... this scene.

This. Scene.

Where. Do I. Begin?

First of all, this is what causes Ladybug to lose trust in Cat Noir? Not the multiple times he disobeyed her orders because of his own personal feelings? Not the constant flirting and unwanted advances even though she's made it clear she doesn't see him that way? Not the time he trusted an evil doppelganger of Ladybug over the real one? It's this? Cat Noir leaving Paris alone while a Sentimonster attacked?

Okay, let's say that Cat Noir decided to stay in Paris after all. What was he supposed to do when Robustus attacked around the same time as Technolizer? What was Ladybug supposed to do when she found out about Robustus in Paris? Was she supposed to abandon New York and head back there or focus on helping the American heroes?

Second, who does Knightowl think she (yeah, she's a woman, I'll get to that in a bit) is ordering Ladybug and Cat Noir to hand over their Miraculous? What authority does she hold over them? Why should they listen to her? Why can't they simply explain why their Miraculous are so important, and that they can't give them up? Why doesn't Ladybug just explain that she's now the Guardian of the Miraculous? In fact, why does Majestia go along with the order? Ladybug still saved her daughter's life! If anything, she should be sticking up for the two.

There's actually a Superman comic where Captain Marvel storms a police station to interrogate a criminal who killed his best friend so he can find out who hired him. Though he comes close to doing it, Captain Marvel ultimately doesn't kill the criminal's boss, but still flies over to Mount Everest to grieve his friend's death.

Enter Superman, planning to call out Captain Marvel, but instead, he sees him crying. He explains that the boy killed was his best friend before revealing his identity as Billy Batson. Superman's response?

He goes to the wizard Shazam and demands to know why he did this to Billy, furious that a child was forced to go through stuff like that. While Shazam can't take back the powers he gave Billy, he encourages Superman to reach out to Billy, leading to him revealing his identity as Clark Kent to the kid.

I'm not saying that Majestia or Knightowl should have called out Master Fu or ask who made Ladybug the Guardian (as awesome as that would have been), but the point I am trying to make is in that comic, Superman made the effort to understand what Billy had been through, and understood what happened. Majestia and Knightowl made no effort to do anything like that. In fact, they never even knew Hawkmoth existed, which I call bullcrap on, given that he once MOVED THE PLANET AWAY FROM ITS ORBIT. Were you all asleep that day? Why didn't you do anything to help Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Hawkmoth? Were you expecting them to just fight this magical terrorist on their own? They don't have the same support system the American heroes have, and they could really use the help.

And third, Cat Noir. Yeah, just because I'm calling out Ladybug doesn't mean Cat Noir isn't taking any heat either. Again, I have to ask, this is what makes him give up? Keep in mind, when he was Aspik in “Desperada” and saw Ladybug get captured by an Akuma, he reversed time 25,913 times to try and save her before he threw in the towel. At the same time, he was willing to quit in “Syren” because he claimed Ladybug didn't trust him. The level of Adrien's willingness to keep going is incredibly inconsistent, and this doesn't really help his reputation as a character.

And then there's the fact that he's bailing on Ladybug when things are at their absolute worst. Yes, Marinette also briefly gave up in “Origins”, but that was after her first battle, and she was overwhelmed by her screw-up endangering countless lives in Paris in addition to being a nervous wreck even before she got her Miraculous. But here's the difference: She took responsibility. She realized people were in danger, so she jumped into action to save Alya and Cat Noir. Even then, she acknowledged her failure and felt unsure of herself, with Cat Noir helping to reassure her, showing the emotional support their partnership has.

Adrien, who has been a superhero for months, and has faced some pretty stressful situations, as soon as things head south, he immediately gives up and leaves Ladybug to fend for herself while two separate cities are in danger. And he knows that she has no other allies, because Master Fu ran away at the end of the last season, and Miracle Queen exposed the identities of the other temporary heroes. She has nobody to go to for help. He doesn't even show Ladybug her civilian form to apologize, just so he can't get any flak in his regular life. He just gives Ladybug his ring, and literally runs away.

A wise man once said “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Adrien has shown no responsibility at ALL in this special, barring the one moment I mentioned earlier.

It's nothing more than a forced emotional moment that has no buildup. This is basically the same with basically every time Miraculous Ladybug tries to be emotional. The writers think that despite never really having any tension or character arcs in their story, they can just have their characters cry out of nowhere, and suddenly, it's a deep moment? That's not how writing works, idiots!

Back at the hotel, Jess and Aeon are getting chewed out by their mothers (Who are the civilian identities of Majestia and Knightowl), and have a conversation about being superheroes... less than a few feet away from the French students. Though at least Barbara, the civilian form of Knightowl (again, I'll get to that later) calls out Aeon and Jess for their stupid “fake supervillain plan”, so there's that I guess.

So we cut to a press conference where the President of the United States, Camilla Hombee (An anagram of Michelle Obama's name, because Astruc has made it clear what his political views are) advises everyone to stay inside while Techno-Pirate is still an active threat. Why does this seem so familiar? And then she... transforms into a superhero too.

Oh, for the love of-- THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS A SUPERHERO?! The person in charge of the country and relations with foreign nations is a superhero too?! If she's the president, why didn't she do anything to stop Hawkmoth?! I get that America doesn't really care about news from other countries outside of America, but you would think that the frickin president, WHO IS A SUPERHERO, would at least acknowledge the existence of a supervillain in Paris as a threat!

GOD, this is stupid! And it only gets worse...

Gabriel sends a car to pick up Adrien, realizing the city was too dangerous (I still don't get the point of sending him here in the first place), causing him to tearfully say that he “wouldn't have minded being stuck here a little longer with a friend like her” before leaving. And then Alya...

Alya: What is wrong with you, Marinette?! Couldn't you see that he was just waiting for you to tell him to stay?!

Marinette: What-? But I...? He...? He made his choice. What did you expect me to do?

Alya: It doesn't matter what I expected you to do! Who's Adrien to you?! A friend or more than a friend?! There will never be a better time to be clear with yourself, Marinette! Do you want him to leave or do you want him to stay?!

NO. You do not have the right to say ANY of that! It doesn't matter what YOU expected Marinette to do? This whole special, you've been teasing her about her feelings for Adrien, and forcing her into uncomfortable situations with him all because you want your OTP to be a thing. And now you're saying Marinette had a choice the whole time? Marinette expected herself to get over Adrien and start to see him as a friend, AND YOU WOULDN'T LET HER DO THAT! For three seasons, Alya has made fun of Marinette's crush on Adrien, while at the same time, has constantly pushed her into situations where she was clearly uncomfortable around him to the point where she discouraged Marinette for trying to move on in a previous episode (Frozer). And then in this special, she trapped them in a room with a fake supervillain (which is this world's equivalent to pretending to be a terrorist) just to get them to confess their feelings for each other. AND THE WHOLE TIME, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MARINETTE'S CHOICE???

If Obilvio didn't make me stop caring about Alya, this was the moment that actually me despise her.

And the worst part? The narrative frames her as being right. This is somehow enough for Marinette to run out in the pouring rain while a supervillain is lose in New York, with nobody even trying to stop her, to chase after Adrien's car, where she tearfully confesses that she still loves him after the car gets away.

What is the point of this exactly? We already knew Marinette liked Adrien last season, her nonexistent character arc was learning to get over him, and now she's supposed to learn she's still interested in him? What about Luka? Are we just going to ignore Luka? What about the fact that Kagami is already in a relationship with Adrien? None of these questions are never explained.

Gabriel finds the lost Miraculous, the Eagle Miraculous, which represents Freedom, and gives it to Techno-Pirate, turning him into Miraclonizer. Using the Eagle Miraculous' power, Liberation, he can undo any mental boundaries someone has, but since he's using it for evil, it basically drives several heroes crazy without their own moral codes. And while I claimed it was an original power in one of my earlier posts, the more I think about it, Liberation is really just a different version of Reverser's airplanes. All they did was just phrase the explanation a different way.

So despite being a city full of superheroes, Miraclonizer manages to drive every hero crazy in a matter of minutes, with the exception of Jess and Aeon. So do none of the other heroes have sidekicks? Is there not even a Young Justice or Teen Titans-esque team in this city? I'm just saying, if they have a hot dog superhero, there should be at least more than two sidekicks in New York.

Aeon goes to search out Ladybug and Cat Noir, and because of some technobabble stuff, Aeon can easily figure out their identities. Again, this was something I already talked about in an earlier post, so I won't harp on this scene. It's a dumb retcon in a special full of dumb retcons, what else can I say?

So Aeon goes to find Adrien on his private plane to give him back his Miraculous... even though wouldn't it make more sense for Aeon to use it instead to save time? I didn't mention this, but right before this scene, Majestia was pushing the moon towards the Earth. Time is kind of the essence here. It also would have saved us more of Adrien's whining.

Uncanny Valley: Cat Noir, New York and Ladybug need you!

Adrien: (looks at where his ring used to be) I'm no longer Cat Noir.

Uncanny Valley: To err is human, apparently!

Adrien: My mistakes are unforgivable. I couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes.

“i'M sO tOrTuReD. fEeL bAd FoR mE, dAmNiT!”

Cut it out with Angstdrien Depreste already, writers. It's gotten old.

And despite making a big deal about how much he failed Ladybug, he immediately jumps back into action as soon as he hears a recording of Ladybug saying she needs him. I know it's supposed to be a heartwarming thing by showing him wanting to support his lady, but to me, it just comes off more like he needed an ego boost. He was fulling willing to let Ladybug save the day on her own, but as soon as he heard how important he is to Ladybug, he's more than willing to become Cat Noir again. Because it's not like he could regret his decision to abandon his partner, and realize it isn't too late to make up for his mistake, right? That would imply Adrien is motivated by anything other than his feelings for Ladybug. Then there's the fact that as soon as Cat Noir returns, Ladybug instantly forgives him, despite saying earlier that she didn't trust him. It's almost like that whole debacle was only there to eat up about fifteen minutes of the special's runtime.

Hawkmoth issues an ultimatum to Ladybug and Cat Noir. Miraclonizer is ready to fire a nuclear missile (though the dub calls it a rocket, let's be honest, it's not), fully intending to start World War III unless Ladybug and Cat Noir give up. He's seriously willing to risk making The Day After a reality all for his wife. But remember, you're still supposed to feel bad for this literal war criminal.

Ladybug, Cat Noir, Aeon, and Sparrow manage to get to Miraclonizer's hideout, the Statue of Liberty, and take back the Eagle Miraculous, with Sparrow taking it and transforming into Eagle.

And then there's the design of the new hero's suit. While I'm glad it isn't another skintight jumpsuit, and the wings are a nice touch, people have raised some questions regarding Eagle's design, and how it feels like the animators really want to remind the audience that Jess is Native American. I mean, it looks like what Zack Morris wore in that one episode of Saved by the Bell barring the headdress.

And this might be because I'm a history major, and I just brushed up on this subject in class last semester, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that someone actually thought it was a good idea to give the Native American girl the Miraculous of the Eagle, the symbol of America which represents Freedom. I don't want to go too into detail about this, but, uh... let's just say if you know about the history of the relationship between the Native Americans and the colonists, you'll get why this raises a couple of red flags.

Does this mean I think the showrunners are racist? No, it was an honest, albeit questionable mistake. Do I think this is the worst Native American representation on TV. Oh, hell no. Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager was a walking amalgam of every Native American stereotype in the book, and was featured in an episode that said, with a straight face, mind you, that Native Americans used to be backwards savages, so a group of white aliens genetically altered them so not only could they survive the Earth's harsh weather, but so they would become more creative, leading to the birth of Native American culture. I apologize to any Native American human being who had the misfortune of learning about that for the first time. But over all, Jess is far from the bottom of the barrel of poor Native American representation.

So Jess uses her powers to calm every superhero down, while Ladybug and Cat Noir de-evilize Technolizer. And of course, Hawkmoth assumes that since there are other lost Miraculous, “they will be his”. Maybe focus on getting the two Miraculous you originally set out to get first, buddy.

So Knightowl and Majestia apologize for their behavior, and we learn that apparently Knightowl and Sparrow have been around for at least since the Wild West, and that the Knighowl and Majestia we've been following have been keeping up the illusion that the original duo are still alive for several generations.

Was this special written in the 1950's? Why make a big deal out of this? Why is it so important that Knightowl and Sparrow both have a Y chromosome? The president is a woman and a superhero, the strongest superhero on Earth is a woman, and you were just saved by a female superhero all the way from Paris. I don't think people will be afraid of getting cooties from this Knightowl. Hell, we live in a world where if you don't like a female superhero, people automatically hate you. Just ask the people who didn't like Captain Marvel.

We see that Alya still learned nothing, as she continues to tease Marinete for daring to call Adrien her “friend”, as our special mercifully ends with the class sending a picture of a banner to Adrien to show their support... but not before a brief scene where a Guardian tries to take Eagle's Miraculous, before she makes him instantly pull a 180 as soon as she suggests he help to “create a new generation of heroes together”.

I'm guessing this is meant to be yet another tie-in to yet another Miraculous side project that will go absolutely nowhere. You might as well have had Nick Fury, oh, I'm sorry, Mick Flurry, recruit Eagle and Uncanny Valley for the ZAG Initiative.

But it doesn't matter, because the special's over, and once again, I never have to think about it ever again.

So... what else can I say that I haven't already said. This special sucks.

While the animation is honestly some of the best to come out of ZAG, and the action can get pretty good at times, it honestly doesn't really mean much when the story surrounding it is just so abysmal. Basically the only thing I liked about the Season 3 finale was the idea that the status quo was shifting in terms of Marinette's feelings for Adrien, and this special just ruined this interesting idea by the end faster than you can say “the series finale of Quantum Leap”.

Alya is at her most unlikable here with everything she does in this special. Almost everything she says to Marinette is either some catty comment or making fun of her trying to get over Adrien. Because God forbid she actually try to grow as a person and not let her life revolve around a cute boy. It's stuff like this that I genuinely wonder why Marinette even bothers to stay friends with her when all she does is tease her and force her out of her comfort zone. And according to co-director Wilfried “Winny” Pain, Alya is meant to be like Jiminy Cricket to Marinette's Pinocchio. I don't know which version of Pinocchio he read as a kid, but clearly, it's not the version we're mostly familiar with.

I'm still glad they didn't have Cat Noir revert back into his Ladybug-simping self we all knew and loathed in Season 3, but that doesn't mean he's still enjoyable in this special. The angsting about how sad Adrien's life is stopped being interesting years ago, and it's only done as a way to get the audience to care about him, but it comes off more like the writers are holding the audience at gunpoint and demanding they sympathize with him for bailing on the world when they need him the most.

I thought Aeon was a pretty likable character. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for socially awkward robot characters like Data or Penny. I just wish we got to know her more, and why exactly her mother felt the need to play God by create her instead of just adopting like what Olympia and Barbara presumably did with Jess.

As a matter of fact, despite being played up as a big deal, there's still a lot about the American heroes that we don't really know about. How were the “United Heroes” formed in the first place? How did Majestia get her powers? What exactly is the origin of Knightowl and Sparrow? Why are all the American heroes so open about their identities to the point where the President's identity as a superhero is so well-known she can casually transform on TV? Hell, Ladybug and Cat Noir barely even interact with any of the heroes, and that includes Uncanny Valley and Sparrow/Eagle.

Generally, the special feels very rushed at times, with a lot of ideas not really being utilized. According to Astruc, there was actually a lot of things cut from the special, including a deleted subplot with Chloe and Ms. Mendeleiev. Although, given Astruc's track record, I don't think it would have been a good one given Chloe is involved.

This leads into a personal theory I have regarding this special, that I want everyone reading this to take it with a huge grain of salt. As much as he claims that he can't change anything he's already written, I personally believe that Thomas Astruc rewrote part of this special so Adrienette could get more focus to renew interest in the ship.

Hear me out on this. During Season 3, there were a lot more shipping debates between Adrienette shippers and Lukanette shippers, with the latter gaining more traction that season. It was also the season where other ships like Felinette, Kagaminette, and even Maribat became more prominent. And all of these ships were featured in post-Chameleon salt fics bashing Astruc's sunshine child, Adrien.

So, given how Astruc already dedicated an entire episode to bashing Felix fans, why wouldn't he use something like the New York special to convince the shippers to have more faith in the Love Square? After all, aren't Adrien and Marinette made for each other? Astruc has already said so on his Twitter.

Unfortunately, right now, I like to describe the Love Square as “Shrodinger's Relationship”. While the show can claim that Adrien and Marinette would make a great couple, they simultaneously show no real chemestry happening between the two in favor of Love Square shenanigans. And yes, I'm actually thinking of talking about the Love Square in a future analysis post.

And then there's the fact that Astruc himself said that everything that happened in this special is going to lead into the events of Season 4. What do I have to say about that?

Bring it.

I already talk about Miraculous Ladybug itself on this blog almost as much as I talk about its creator, and since I have a Disney+ account, I might as well subject myself to everything Season 4 has to offer. I've already seen one of my favorite shows go to hell, so why don't I chronicle another one of my favorite shows going to hell as well?

So yeah, as soon as a new episode is officially released on Disney+, expect a review from your boy IOTA.

I survived Season 3, so let's see if the number 4 is as unlucky as some countries say it is.

[athenagc94]

Delving Beneath the Surface

Hello! Here is the first chapter of my new Stardew Valley fanfic - Delving Beneath the Surface. Follow my farmer, Verona, as she searches for dwarven artifacts to learn their language, lost to the ages. If you’re interested in following along, I’ll be updating it here on AO3 and here on Wattpad. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~

The Stardrop Saloon was the place to be on a Friday night.

More accurately, it was the only place to be in Pelican Town on a Friday night.

Verona chatted amicably with Emily as she fixed her a drink behind the bar. She asked Haley to join her, but she chose to spend the night with Alex instead. She mentioned something about not wanting to interact with her sister more than she thought was necessary, but Verona struggled to understand why. Sure, Emily had her quirks, but in the end, she was sweeter than Robin’s strawberry crumble.

And she always gave her a discount on drinks when Gus had his back turned.

Emily slid her drink across the beaten counter. “You should really stop by more often. You brighten up the room with that aura of yours.” She motioned to her, the crystal beads on her wrists catching the light like a disco ball. “It has this shimmer I don’t often see around here. Maybe because you’re from out of town.”

“Thanks,” she heard the doubt in her voice, “I think?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s a compliment.” She sighed dreamily. “I think you’re rubbing off on Haley. Her aura used to be so blah, but now it’s much brighter. I suspect you have something to do with it.”

She merely smiled as she took a sip of her drink. The orange juice and grenadine barely masked the burn of liquor. Emily was also very generous with her alcohol. One of her mixed drinks left the room spinning if she drank it too quickly. And she never needed more than one. It was a mistake she only made once after she woke up, half-naked and covered in hay, with Shane. The pair agreed never to speak of it again. They had taken to avoiding each other ever since.

Even now, he refused to meet her eye from across the bar.

Clearing her throat, she set her drink aside and said, “We both know she’s a lot nicer than people give her credit for. She just needs to warm up to someone first.”

Emily leaned against the bar, cradling her cheek in her palm. “Oh, I know how sweet she can be, but I like to see her hanging out with someone who isn’t Alex. I love that boy, I really do, but he’s a bit bland for my tastes.”

Verona shrugged. “Alex is fine.”

“No one wants to be described as fine,” Emily said with a knowing smile, “Unless they’re being called fine.” Verona shook her head, earning an airy laugh. “You know I’m right.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny such things.”

Emily pouted. “Boo. You’re no fun.”

At the end of the bar, a harried-looking Elliott plopped down in a seat and waved Emily over. She eyed him warily, then turned back to Verona. “He must have finished another long writing session,” she whispered so only she could hear, “he always comes here for a celebratory glass of wine, but if you ask me, his first order of business should be the bathhouse.”

Verona hid her smile in her drink.

With a smirk, she added, “I got to keep working, but let me know when you need a refill. It’s on the house. Just don’t tell Gus.”

“You spoil me.”

“Anything for my sister’s best friend.”

Like she said, sweeter than strawberry crumble.

Drink in hand, Verona wandered over to the game room on the far side of the saloon. Abigail and the boys normally laid claim to it before she arrived. The enduring smell of cigarette smoke and old pizza proved that much. To her surprise, the trio was absent that evening and the game room abandoned. She stepped inside, studying the games consoles on the long wall. 

She lingered on one – Journey of the Prairie King. The monitor transitioned between the trial and the high scores.

The coveted first place belonged to someone with the initials SQM.

She glanced back at the bar. No one paid her any mind. The chatter was loud enough to drown out the jaunty music coming from the console. Surely, no one would miss her if she played a game or two.

Fishing a coin from her pocket, she shoved it into the machine. The monitor transitioned away from the high scores and straight into the game. The goal was simple enough. Shoot enemies and avoid getting touched. She could manage that.

Her fingers flew across the control pad. Dodge, shoot, collect. She enjoyed the thrill that came with these games. No strategy needed. Something to kill time and sweep her away. That was exactly what she needed after a long week of farm work. Ten minutes came and went in the blink of any eye. The LED lights on the marquee lit up followed by the crawl of the ‘high score’ animation across the screen.

She threw her hands up and whooped triumphantly. “Take that SQM.” She replaced their initials with her own – VDS. The screen popped up and she took a moment to revel in her victory. Pulling a coin from her pocket, she started another game. At the very least, she could knock SQM to third place before she called it a night.

“What are you doing?”

Verona whipped around. Sebastian leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed tight over his chest. She shifted in front of the console and sputtered, “Me? I was just killing time, or whatever.” It beeped and flashed, signaling her loss. “And I’m not very good.”

“Whatever.”

He made a beeline for the pool cues on the far wall. She watched as he reached for one, then seemed to reconsider, grabbing the one beside it. He weighed it in his hand with a satisfied hum and turned to the table.

“Playing pool by yourself?”

He ignored her as he organized the balls in the triangle rack. She stood opposite him, watching quietly. The soft clack of plastic filled the empty air between them as she waited for him to acknowledge her. A minute passed before she sighed and took the cue ball, rolling it idly between her hands. “Not much of a talker, eh?”

Silence.

“Haley mentioned that you like to keep to yourself.” A muscle in his jaw tightened. “And that you don’t get out much, which seems kind of mean if you ask me. One could argue that I don’t get out very much because I—”

“Look,” Sebastian cut her with a glare, “I’m not interested in…”

He trailed off, zeroing in on her chest. Her blood coated her veins like a thin sheet of ice. She should have been used to the stares by now. It happened all the time in Zuzu City. On the street, the subways, around the Joja office. Eyes followed her wherever she went. She hoped Pelican Town would be different, but evidently not.

“Where did you get that?”

Her brow pitched. “Where did I get what?”

He took a step towards her. She matched it with a step back. Surprise colored his features as he studied her. The full brunt of his gaze unnerved her, but it felt far from predatory in the way that she was used to. The fear that swelled in her gut must have translated on her face because he stepped back, giving her the space that she needed. The pressure that weighed on her chest lightened until she could breathe again.

“That.” He motioned to her chest. She followed the line of his gaze to the pendant hanging off her neck. A pale blue gemstone on a simple chain. “Do you know what that is?”

She found the gemstone while exploring the mines earlier that week. Amongst the snow and ice coating the lower levels, she almost missed it, but it caught the light of her flashlight just right. When she got home, she decided it would make a lovely necklace and threw it on a chain.

“It’s a necklace.”

He gave her a long look. “That’s a frozen tear.”

She stared at him. Was that supposed to resonate with her or something? He scratched irritably at the nape of his neck. The shaved underside of his head had grown out and curled around his ears. She noted the reddish hue at his roots and bit back a smile.

“Legend says those are the tears of yetis that inhabited the mines thousands of years ago. The museum used to have one, but it was stolen with the rest of the collection.” He gave her a once over – like he suspected her of stealing it. She had a killer alibi considering that happened years before she arrived in town – and they both knew it. “How did you manage to find one?”

“I found it while gathering ore the other day.” She brushed her fingers over the gemstone, marveling at how it still felt cold to the touch. Maybe there was some truth to the legend after all. “I had no idea these were so rare.”

“Wait. You went down to the mines by yourself?” She braced herself, already anticipating the direction this conversation was about to go. “Why? Wouldn’t that ruin your manicure or something?”

She threw her whole body into the eye roll she gave him. He had no idea. With all the work she did on the farm, there was no hope of salvaging her cuticles. The closest nail tech was two hours away. She had neither the money nor the time to do anything about it.

“Well, yeah, it does,” she deadpanned, “but I also want to commission some tappers for trees to make a little extra money, but Clint’s ore prices are ridiculous.”

“You’re telling me that little miss pageant princess went down to the mine alone?”

Verona resisted the urge to groan. If she had known that rumor would spread like wildfire, then she would have kept that chapter of her life to herself. Granted, she never expected a polite conversation with Jodi to end with half the town knowing about her history with frilly gowns and tiaras. She came here for a fresh start, but she couldn’t escape her past that easily.

Sebastian sized her up. “And you came back unscathed? I call bullshit.”

“I wouldn’t say unscathed.” She teased the sleeve of her sweater. “I had to buy a drugstore worth of bandages and antiseptic from Harvey when I got back. Those bats are merciless.”

She pushed up her sleeves and showed him the bandages wrapped around her forearms. The cuts had stopped bleeding, but a few gashes still looked nasty, so she kept them wrapped until they healed a little more. Harvey warned her that a few would probably scar, so there went her flawless skin. Her mother would have a meltdown if she ever found out, but she could cross that proverbial bridge later.

“Okay,” Sebastian grimaced, “but why go down?”

“The prices here are ridiculous,” she reiterated, “Pierre already bleeds me dry at the turn of the season when I buy seeds. I can’t afford Clint’s ore prices on top of it. If I can gather it myself, then I will.”

“Fair enough.” He turned back to the pool balls, signaling the end of their conversation.

Verona was never one to pay attention to those signals. “So, are you playing pool alone?”

He sighed. “Sam got stuck re-stocking shelves at work and Abigail is helping her dad with inventory. They’ll stop by later, but I decided to come ahead and set things up for us.” He swiped the cue ball from her hands and set it on the table. “So, no, I’m not playing alone.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who plays pool.”

He snorted. “Yeah, well, I would have never pegged you as a gamer.” He nodded to the consoler. “I was ranked number one, but I guess I’ll have to settle for second place.”

Her blink betrayed her surprise. “SQM?”

“Sebastian Quincy McCarthy. What? You thought Sam had the high score?” He rolled his eyes and turned back to the pool table. “I love the guy, but the guitar is the only thing he has going for him. You de-throned me, so thanks for that.”

With a shrug, she said, “In my family, second place is unacceptable.”

“I’m used to second place, so whatever.”

A frown toyed on her lips. What was that supposed to mean? Before she could press, her phone vibrated in her back pocket. A text from Haley greeted her, followed quickly by three more. She skimmed the messages and cursed. Alex ditched her for a last minute gridball game and she wasn’t taking it well. She tucked her phone away. That meant her night and this conversation was officially over.

“I gotta go.”

Sebastian hummed in response, which was better than being ignored, so she took it. Turning to leave, she stopped short. Her gaze fell back to the necklace. Genuine awe like his was hard to come by. It’s not like she needed this frozen tear. She had plenty of gems to make jewelry at home. This obviously meant something to him.

“But before I go,” she pulled the chain over her head, “I want you to have this.”

She offered it to him. He made a face, caught somewhere between surprise and his usual jaded indifference. The two emotions fought for control until he ducked his head. The crown of his head burned crimson. “What? Why?”

“Consider it a gift.” She kept her hand outstretched towards him.

Sebastian shook his head. “No. You’re the one who found it. It’s your prize for surviving the bats. I’ll find one eventually.” He hid his hands in the pockets of his oversized hoodie. Verona sucked irritably on a tooth. As if that would save him.

“I find plenty of cool things in the mines,” she countered, “I can make necklaces from a jade or ruby. This means something to you. I want you to have it.” She took another step towards him, nearly flush with his chest. His breath hitched as she peered up at him through her lashes. It might have been a cute moment if not for the fierce determination coloring her features.

“I insist.” Standing on her tiptoes, she managed to drape the necklace over his head.

His fingers wrapped instinctively around the gem. The corner of his mouth twitched up into the faintest hint of a smile. “It’s still cold,” he breathed in disbelief, “but how? It’s the middle of the…” His eyes fluttered as he refocused on her face. Sawdust and cigarette smoke clung to him, barely masked by the smell of peppermint on his breath.

“Thanks, I,” he swallowed hard, “I appreciate it.”

She beamed at him as she stepped away, breaking whatever that moment might have become. “I’m glad I could give you something you really wanted.” If possible, his blush darkened. “And if you ever want to play pool and the others aren’t around. I’d be more than happy to—”

The bubbly beat of Haley’s ringtone cut her off. Verona swore under her breath and brought it to her ear. “I’m on my way. You can tell me everything over a glass of wine.” She threw a wave over her shoulder as she hurried out of the saloon, not bothering to look back and see if he returned it.

[onf-headcanons]

ONF IN PSYCHO PASS AU (PART 3)

Setting : angst, murder (influenced mass murder), futuristic society, you can read the introduction post prior reading this AU headcanon (for a better understanding cos some keywords will be slightly difficult for non anime audiences)

And warning long post and shipping hinting (I wont write it over explicit but if you are anime audience you can get the hint of which character I based so its suggestive should you integrated anime counterpart to ONF couterpart) if you are uncomfortable with that just kindly ignore it. Only adding it not just because to follow original series but also for the AU/headcanon storyline conflict purposes

Below is the known situation when the story starts in Yuto's POV

Yuto - Inspector

Changyoon - Inspector

Hyojin - Enforcer former Inspector

Jaeyoung - Enforcer

Minkyun - Analyst

Seungjun & Minseok - dead

And again sorry if its messy (Cos mainly I just want this AU to exist and making it to a birthday gift for myself XD)

The whole structure is followed the anime,but I will skip filler/solo case episodes and fast paced-ify to focus on main storyline. Also I will tweak my words/wordings to a more simpler format so that I wont cause you all headache.

1-6

(loosely based on episode 9)

Due to recent events, Hyojin felt that Yuto need to get an upgrade on his skills of being an Inspector. He has good hunch but he still needs a proper profiling skills. Yuto mentioned that he did get to learn profiling skills on his training but both his seniors felt it is not enough because of his inexperience.

Even though a bit apologetic, Changyoon agrees with Hyojin that Yuto need to catch up to obtain veteran skills as soon as possible. (He only joined 8 months ago) . They both have the same person in mind who could help.

It is off day for Yuto, so Hyojin arranged them two to go visit a former professor of training academy.

The former professor is nice enough to agree on giving Yuto a crash course in profiling and extra tips for observant skills. Back in office, Changyoon advises Yuto that he better be careful and Yuto has to keep his own stance when approaching with people like their professor.

"One must have their own clarity so that their hue does not get clouded by others easily." Changyoon says to Yuto with a stern look. Yuto understands Changyoon's points.

And since they got their young culprit for previous case, CID tries to interrogate her. Changyoon and Jaeyoung tried to talk with the young girl during Hyojin and Yuto's absence but fruitless.

But when Yuto goes into the room to give it a try, the girl starts to open her mouth but not confessing or revealing details. Instead she made a request while looking at the one way mirror behind Yuto.

"That man with red hair, he is your dog isn't it?" the girl's choice of word made Yuto uncomfortable. "I will only speak to him alone if you allow me to, no cameras, no writings and no one behind the mirror."

That request was bizarre, the whole CID understands the risk of doing that as well. Jaeyoung also offers to step up and increase the interrogation with a bit of violence, but being rejected by Yuto. "She has kept quiet for that long and you think suddenly change interrogation tactic after request was made will let her mouth loose? I don't think so." Yuto tries to convinceJaeyoung.

Minkyun is worried, not about Hyojin's interrogation skills, but should there is something deeper, he is worried that Hyojin might get caught up into it. The only thing that can save CID and Hyojin from trouble was digital record of what happen in the room, be it video or audio.

Hyojin only pats Minkyun's shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile. And then gives Changyoon and Yuto both a nod before heading out the monitor room.

"Don't get clouded and played by the criminal, Hyojin." Changyoon blurts out his concern before Hyojin's presence exits entirely from the space the team was in.

Hyojin unplugs the surveillance camera and to let the young criminal feels assured, Hyojin brought in a few piece of papers and tape to tape up the one way mirror so that those who are behind it could not see what is happening inside.

Outside/behind the one way mirror, Changyoon is letting out sighs of regret of letting Hyojin going in alone and without any record to be left. Is not that he does not trust him, but since the system views Hyojin as delusional, how much of Hyojin they can trust without going against the system? He is worried to the extent he is rubbing his stomach due to gastric. Yuto notices that but Changyoon brushes him off and endure it alone.

Meanwhile Jaeyoung and Minkyun agreed that tech department should come up with a mini audio recorder that wont gain suspicions

Back in the interrogation room, Hyojin finally sits in front of the girl who is smiling eerily towards him. Hyojin did not back off, but he is not with his bright persona and his tone is cold as he speaks, "So, I heard you wish to talk to me? "

The girl leans forward, still smiling while contemplating at Hyojin's face. "Yes, I have been dying to see you in person." she whispers. "If I remembers precisely, Hyojin? Am I right?"

Hyojin's hunch starts to alert him, he does not like this. He clearly understood immediately that the girl is trying to get on the upper hand for the interaction. But he persuaded himself that his name might have been leaked during the process of catching their culprit, could be his colleague or Changyoon calling him and the girl heard it, happens occasionally.

But he quickly adjusted his mentality. He raises an eyebrow and leans closer towards the girl, "So you go through all the length just to get caught and meet me? I don't think I have that kind of charisma though..."

The girl lifts her hand and rest a side of her cheek on her knuckles/back of her hand, her eyes were still locked with Hyojin's. " You underestimated yourself, mister." she hisses. "And no, I let myself got caught because I still wanted to live."

Hyojin is not a fool and by that phrase, he can tell there is someone behind the young criminal from her words. And this smart minor, is trying to seek refuge from CID/Bureau. What kind of existence behind her, so frightening that even a murderer with a grotesque MO felt intimidated? Or was it because she is still a kid?

"Now that is rude," the girl breaks of the silence, "To go off into your own train of thoughts while ignoring a young lady in front of you."

Hyojin knew he is busted but he still kept his cool and poker face. He was an Inspector/detective before though. "My bad." Hyojin apologies while mirroring her posture and smiles at her fondly. "So why do you even wanted to see me anyways? "

"That's because I heard a lot about you. To the extent that my ears are going to bleed." she replies. "It was boring listening to it, while I do hope he talk about himself more."

Hyojin raises a corner of his lip and mutters. "Are you sure it's fine for you to drop hints like that?"

The girl only laughs and pushes her upper body backwards, her back comes contact to the back rest of the chair she is sitting. "That is to make sure you are paying attention."

"So how is he like?" Hyojin asks with a interested expression.

The young girl's smiles broaden as she thinks of the said person. "Brilliant. smart and handsome. " Her smile vanishes as she continues, "But my instincts tells me that you definitely wouldn't want to get to his bad side."

"Is he your partner in crime? " Hyojin asks and the girl shakes her head.

"More like a consultant or a middle person. "

"How did you come in contact with such dangerous existence?" Hyojin tries to sound as concerned as possible. "Is it group?"

The girl shakes her head again and starts to tell her story how she met her consultant for crime at school. He approached her during her own free time drawing in the art classroom. (This part you can follow anime where Makishima interacts with the young girl)

"Why are you betraying him now?" Hyojin asks after he listened.

"I put all the pieces together and I figured out that, you, could be his weakness." She smiles at Hyojin again. "Its a woman's instinct and I am pretty accurate for most of the times." She winks at Hyojin while at it.

"How so? Was it something he said about me?" Hyojin tries to sound that he is intrigued.

"The context since its vague. For most of the times, he goes Hyojin once said blah blah blah... or Hyojin once did blah blah.." the girl mentions " But I can tell that he cares about you a whole lot."

"He tried to tell me some stories in one go everytime he monitors me doing my work but I could not focus to all of it because I was busy cutting up my artwork, I only remembered how he laughed when he said you are a red-hair maniac." the girl recalls. "And that is how I recognized you."

"Did he showed you a picture of me?" Hyojin chuckles

"No, " she retorts, "He said you will never lost your love towards dying your hair red. Never once he met someone in his whole life has such obsession with dying their hair red. Should the two of meet again, he is confident to recognise you instantly."

Hyojin could not help feeling confused, his circle was not large and once he has turned into Enforcer, his ties were all cut and he is living in seclusion/under confinement by the system. So who is this someone who seems to know about him in a personal level?

Noticed that Hyojin is perplexed, the girl suddenly laughs.

"Oh dear, could it be you don't even know who he is???" She laughs while hitting the table lightly with her fist. "Oh my, what drama is this!"

"Looks like you got a fan, mister! An obsessed one." She exclaims while giggling at her thoughts. "Awwww....I feel very much sorry for him now. I was being slightly jealous but now...hahahahah"

This does not make any sense to Hyojin at all. There are so many criminals out there but this criminal mastermind admires a plain Enforcer like him with 0 notable committed crime, to the extent of executing a psycho hazard?

Hyojin decided to drop the act and asks the girl in a straight face who the hell is the person who told the girl about himself

The girl still finds the whole situation amusing , nearly laugh her heart out. She catches her breath while Hyojin patiently waits for his answer.

"I will tell you his name, he calls himself J-US." She wipes the tears rolling from her eyes due to laughing too much. "Does it ring any bell?" the girl questions Hyojin.

No it doesn't. But Hyojin regains his cool.

"I met a lot of people in my life, it will take some time eventually." Hyojin shrugs his shoulder.

"You'd better," the girl inhales before she tells Hyojin. "Poor him if you never remembers."

The girl then ends the topic by telling Hyojin that she will cooperate about her MO/crime. But what she told Hyojin in that room, is only for him exclusively.

"I don't think anyone will believe you if you told them that you got a fan." The girl's smile is back to the eerie vibe just like the moment when Hyojin comes into the room.

Hyojin leaves the room, closes the door and frowns as he goes into his train of thoughts again...

Who is this J-US?

Is the girl even telling the truth?? They never talked about the possibility of a mastermind in front of her so why did she and why can she see through CID's concern, found a perfect timing to prove the existence of a criminal mastermind?

And why she deliberately shared about this J-US to Hyojin only and purposely does not want it to be recorded?

Did she and the criminal mastermind behind wanted CID to break and having distrust amongst themselves? (If so its a smart move considering Changyoon's attitude towards Hyojin)

And should Hyojin told Changyoon about this J-US, will Changyon believe in him? Hyojin's hunch told him no.

And the most important point of all,

DOES THIS J-US ACTUALLY HAVE ANY THING TO DO WITH THE TERROR ATTACK FROM 2 YEARS AGO??

To be continued at part 4

[unabashedrebel]

What part, if any, did your character play in the most recent war? How does he feel about the side he chose, or does he regret not taking a side in the conflict?

That’s a good question! I actually wrote a whole series (<---master post, all links below are also there) but I’ll give a summary too. 

Actually Kirollis was pretty well removed from the events of BfA, however, that doesn’t mean it didn’t effect him. It ended up weighing on him pretty heavily from the one intense event that I sort of wrote about.

So for a brief recap he’s a fairly high up intelligence officer in the military, more so hooked in through Quel’thalas’ blah blah blah. So when the War of the Thorns started he was tapped in as the leader of an advanced scouting party that was sent to Darkshore! I think we all know how that story goes so I’ll skip, but essentially he was actually in Darnassus when it went up in flames. Watched it all with a front row seat. Now, on the way the team of six, minus his one, also died in the conflict on the way there. Like lets be real they came to THEIR forest, the Night Elves were fierce. So he was already pretty emotionally charged. But yeah he was actually up in the tree monitoring the city when the order was given to burn it down.

To be fair here it’s a bit tropey- but the bleeding heart he is?- he realized what was going on, the clear and present full on assault of civilians, went to actually help out with the evacuation. After his last remaining squad member died (A reoccurring thing for him is squads dying under his command and the weight he feels as a leader about that specifically) he was just sort of done with it all. He literally just tried to save people until eventually he collapsed due to smoke inhalation. It was a decision he lived to regret, as a druid he had interacted with during the chaos saw him passed out but alive, and because he was helping? Dragged him out of the fire. 

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE

So obviously the Alliance was like ‘okay kudos dude you helped the city your people just burned down. Cool motive still a war crime’ and they threw him in the stockade (Instead of outright executing him) along with a number of other prisoners they had secured from Darkshore.

Kirollis spent 6 months in the Stocks where he got to face the fact that he was incredibly reckless with his life despite the fact he promised his daughter he would be around for a while. He literally couldn’t face her. That was the biggest thing on his mind but, but, in no small part was his faith rocked in the Horde. Joining the military was legit one of the few times he felt he made a good decision. It’s easy to feel like a hero when you’re fighting invading Orcs from Draenor, or Garrosh, or Old Gods, or skirmishing over land disputes decades old. Whatever, he felt like an actual good guy being a soldier. Teldrassil? What happened? It was also a very harsh reminder that concepts like good and bad aren’t actually a thing, and that he should have trusted his gut in thinking bum rushing the tree was a good idea in the first place (From a tactical and moral standpoint). So he literally had a crisis of faith about that.

After that 6 months and no small amount of self-pity, the rogue did what he does best- he busted out of jail.

I’m not gonna link them but there’s some pretty good Kiro & Sori posts in the master one if you’re interested in the aspect of the plot.

It ended with Kirollis still unsure of what he wanted to do. He was put on administrative leave thanks to being a POW for half a year, and when they started telling him he needed to go back he started ducking out on the mandatory therapy (Which he abhors anyways). They gave him some sympathy because of the POW situation and well... the leadership shake ups with the Horde made his small administrative thing not really a... you know, thing.

Long story short? Those crisis’ of faith, both about himself as a father and as himself as a good person who fights for good things? Those were kind of shattered and haven’t fully recovered. He hasn’t gone to therapy -still-, and he’s no longer listed in active duty. He may also have played a part in why those documents of his pointing to these things have mysteriously been misplaced.

So yeah, my boi got some new trauma!

Thanks @lymeinanovara !

[belliameedacci]

Mental Health Month Post!

Woot woot! It’s mental health month and I’m here to talk some seriousness about schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Over the past year I have seen some troubling things. Not new things mind you but annoying all the same.

Schizophrenia DOES NOT equate to violence! Being schizophrenic does not make someone a violent person.

Being schizophrenic does not mean the person is hallucinating 100% of the time. God damn, if I had a dollar for every time some fuckhead said “were you really talking to so and so or were you hallucinating?” I’d be rich enough to afford my medication lmao (sad cries)

Another very annoying thing is being excluded from mental health help groups. Yes, this happens. You would think that a group advertising mental illness solidarity would be welcoming but no, even they are afraid of these illnesses and I’ve even been told “this group is for more NORMAL mental illnesses like anxiety and depression” (emphasis mine) like yeah great thanks for the stigma check. Don’t do that. Don’t stigmatize schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. It makes you an asshole.

Don’t use the word “schizophrenic” in place of the word “crazy.” Just don’t do it. It stigmatizes the illness which I’ve already covered but I’ll reiterate: It makes you an asshole. Anecdote time, someone posted a screenshot of an alarm app they use and noticed that one of the modes was labeled “schizophrenic” and they described the alarm as going off at odd intervals and getting louder with each alarm as they hit snooze. If you’re an app developer, don’t make schizophrenic a mode on your app when it has absolutely no relation to the illness.

Don’t suggest yoga to someone with schizophrenia or symptoms of schizophrenia. Don’t say “it’s about your mindset.” Don’t say “you don’t need medication.” Don’t think or call someone weak for being on medication. I know a lot of my fellow sz diagnoses will just roll their eyes and be like “yeah thanks” politely. But they’ll think you’re an asshole. They may even tell others that you’re an asshole. And they’d be right.

Now a part of this post for people with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder or people who think they may have schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder.

Take. Your. Meds. Take your meds. Just do it. If you don’t like the medication you’re on keep trying to find the one that helps you function the best. In my experience, I compromised a little bit. I still have minor hallucinations but I can function, I’m not paranoid, I’m not delusional. Those were my more debilitating symptoms and I found a medication with minimal side effects that treats those more debilitating symptoms. If your medication treats your symptoms but makes you a zombie and unable to function, try something else but never give up. Never give up on trying to find a medication that helps you function.

If your doctor doesn’t listen to you, try to find a new doctor. Now I know this can be difficult. Literally every doctor in a 50 mile radius to me was not taking new patients. And yes I do mean literally because I called every. single. one. The only way I got to see a doctor was to go back to a doctor I had already seen years prior. So I get that it’s not easy. But a doctor who listens to you will benefit you so much.

Be your own advocate. Track your symptoms, track your side effects. I keep a log of things I want to bring up to my doctor. Keep a counter of how many times you experience a symptom or side effect, log how long an episode lasts if possible. Just take as many notes as you can about your mental health because when you talk to your doctor about it they will be more willing to listen to you and TRUST YOU. This is important because we’ve all been there when we really want to get off a medication or get on a specific one and they just don’t want to write you the prescription for whatever reason. If your doctor trusts that you will monitor your mental health they’ll trust your judgement more. And keeping logs and notes helps you remember certain things you want to talk about with your doctor.

Along with that. Do your research on medications. There’s a helpful website called drugs.com that will let you look at all the noted side effects of a medication so if you know you’re prone to a specific side effect you can weed out certain medications. It will also let you know drug interactions if you are on multiple medications. This will help your process of finding a good med mix move faster. And again, it shows your doctor that you’re taking an active role in your mental health. Which is always a good thing.

You are not god. You are not the center of the universe. You are not being followed by the CIA or the FBI or any government agency. You are not being followed by any agency or person or whatever at all. People cannot hear your thoughts. You are not a shaman. You are not a bridge to other realms. You are not a psychic. You are not telepathic.

Don’t fan the flames of other people’s delusions. If someone talks about a delusion they’re struggling with, do not feed into it. I see this so many times and it really pisses me off because people post about their delusions looking for HELP most of the time. They don’t need someone else coming in saying “yeah I truly believe we’re the chosen people because we can see blah blah blah and others can’t.” Don’t. If you’re gonna comment or tell someone something like that just don’t fucking do it. They don’t need that and truthfully neither do you. If they’re talking about it they are most likely looking for help and validation that it’s not real and they really don’t need someone telling them that it is.

If you are not diagnosed but you experience odd things that are happening, google it. One of the first signs that my illness was getting worse was not actually hallucinations but the delusions. I googled “I feel like people can hear my thoughts” and I got taken to a schizophrenia forum where they were talking about that. I googled “feeling really paranoid and anxious” and again more stuff on schizophrenia came up. I told my boyfriend about what I was thinking and feeling and he said “that’s not normal, that’s not healthy brain function you need to see a doctor.” So definitely try to find a doctor right away.

Okay I think that wraps this up. Thanks for reading!

[askpetethelibrarian]

ALA is so Square

ALA made the announcement about their Free Speech Zone to attendees in the last week or so. A couple tweets capturing most of the basics:

Credit where due, the long text was posted by @flexlibris on Twitter.

We’ll talk about it as “the square” from here on out, just for brevity. Ish.

Also, it should be noted that ALA has rolled this back, most likely based on the backlash from librarian Twitter.

As an aside, librarian twitter is possibly the worst twitter. It’s the worst I’ve been a part of. Because...well, it’s a very sensitive version of twitter, and...oof, I hate to say this, but it’s heavily trafficked by librarians who have nothing better to do than get outraged about shit on twitter. I don’t think ALL librarians have nothing better to do, but some of ya’ll, based on your timelines, need a little more workload. Just sayin’.

~

The Intent?

In tent? Eh?

I like to start with intent. Because while I know the popular vote right now swings towards impact over intent, I think it matters, and because it’s not talked about so much, I think we’ll have a period of time where intent might be lost. Once things are more balanced, I think we’ll want to talk intent again. So I’m ahead of the game and a goddamn genius is what I’m saying.

The intent is difficult to parse here. A lot of the arguments were along the lines of ALA continuing to prop up the white patriarchy or something, which I didn’t totally understand because, to be perfectly honest, I thought that this was sort of the naughty jail for people sharing views that, well, to reuse a phrase, prop up the white patriarchy. I thought the intent of the square was to put people in there who were sharing views that are viewed as racist/sexist as opposed to putting in people who are sharing views that are seen as progressive. But that’s how you know you fucked up: nobody likes it. People sharing views that go against the progressive grain (who I don’t think are huge ALA midwinter attendees, but whatever, that’s a whole ‘nother topic) think they’re going to bad boy jail. People sharing progressive views think they’re being restricted, continuing a path of blah blah blah.

I don’t mean to be disrespectful to either group. I’m just not really arguing either side in this debate because BOTH sides have the same problem with ALA’s idea, and BOTH sides feel attacked by it (in theory, at least. I didn’t actually see anyone willing to say “I wanted to say some anti-diversity stuff” at a library conference). 

I make it a habit to assume best intent. That’s a fraught idea, but I think about it like this:  #1 it’s up to me if that’s how I want to live life, not you. I’m not prescribing it for everyone.  #2 if doing this is a result of privilege...then I’ll take it. Assuming best intent seems like a good use of privilege to me.

So, if I assume best intent, I think ALA probably wasn’t trying to make a free speech jail. I think they, like many institutions, were trying to figure out a way to have legitimate discussions about topics without people just sitting in sessions tweeting about how horrible they are. 

For example, if I were to present at a conference, I might present on the topic of men in libraries. Which is going to touch some nerves. I might also present my personal feeling, which is that it’s unreasonable to expect that male representation in libraries will resemble male representation in the community. That view is based in a much longer discussion, which is that the majority of men, who cluster in spots on the gender spectrum, just aren’t as interest in books, reading, and librarianship. Now, this is not a progressive viewpoint. The progressive viewpoint is that we’re all indoctrinated from a young age to like what we like. I don’t tend to believe that so much, but in a session, I would tend to agree to disagree and move on with the fact of male librarianship being abysmally low, and that masculinity being redefined, if possible, will only lead to better representation in, say, 30 years. 

I think the square was designed as a space where people could have those discussions without those discussions derailing sessions. Not that I think these discussions aren’t valuable, but I think there are plenty of options to attend sessions based around those topics. I think it was also a way to silo those discussions in a place where all who enter are more in the “assuming best intent” mindset. That’s my guess. Heavy emphasis on “guess” because I really don’t know.

I also think that because ALA includes academic libraries and because librarians are an academically-inclined bunch, this is probably libraries following a model that has been used on college campuses. Several campuses use almost this exact model for protest and free speech, including the need to reserve time slots, and we’ll get into that shortly.

SEE, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS

I’m not so quick to blame ALA for making a boneheaded move. I think that librarians have brought this on ourselves. 

I don’t think we’re great at having the hard discussions about sensitive topics. Librarians tend to get very defensive about their work products and their professions, and it’s a problem on both the micro (single library) and macro (ALA) scale. 

I’ve mentioned this many times, but I can’t really talk about the lack of dudes in libraries without someone getting pissed off at me.

I don’t know, but I suspect that as a librarian of color, you’d probably wander into similar defensiveness if you talked about the whiteness of the profession. 

We can’t even talk about the square without basically accusing ALA of being a racist, nazi-esque mess. Our own organization, we can’t approach it with a question or even a “Can we talk about why this isn’t a good idea?”

CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHY THIS ISN’T A GOOD IDEA?

There’s an agnostic way of talking about this without getting into how or why it benefits one group or another. Because truly, it’s to no one’s benefit. 

The ACLU is against this concept. In short, speech that’s confined to a specific area is in no way free. But, more importantly, the purpose of attending a conference should be about learning and discussing, and rather than promoting learning and discussion, things like the square reduce discussion. They reduce opportunities for people to talk openly.

To take it further, a free speech zone indicates that the rest of the conference is NOT a free speech zone. 

If we can’t have civil discourse about our profession and views at a professional conference, then were ARE we able to have it? If librarians need referees to monitor and control conversations among colleagues, how will we interact with the public when there is no referee? If we can’t politely disagree, ask questions or make statements because we’re hurting someone’s feelings, then how are we ever going to address anything that actually matters?

SUGGESTION 1: ABANDON SAFETY-ISM

I think ALA is engaging in a bit of safety-ism, which is counter-productive.

Safety-ism isn’t the same as safety. Safety is making sure people are, well, safe. Safety-ism is prioritizing safety over all other things, and it coincides with the idea creep of safety including emotional comfort. 

People should not be harassed at a conference. If they are, the issues should be immediately dealt with by whoever’s throwing the conference. 

But, emotional discomfort shouldn’t be something that take priority. 

The ALA site says that attendees should vote with their feet, meaning that if they don’t like what’s going on in a session, they should leave. I 100% agree with this. If you don’t like what’s happening, if you’re feeling emotionally unsafe, leave. This applies to boredom or uselessness as well, but I digress.

There’s a famous saying I’ll paraphrase: If you walk into a library and can’t find anything that offends you, that’s a sucky library. Likewise, if you go to a conference and can’t find anything that offends you, it’s probably a sucky conference.

Safety is a priority. Physical safety. Safety from harassment. But emotional discomfort isn’t top dog. 

SUGGESTION 2: SET GROUND RULES

I think simple attendance ground rules really do solve this problem.

1. Speakers have the floor Please don’t interrupt speakers. You may have disagreements with a speaker, however the purpose of speakers is for them to express a point of view or explain a project. Different speakers have different styles, and they need to be given the room and space to express themselves completely. 

2. Attendees always vote with their feet This is always within your rights. At any time, stand up and leave.

3. The Protest Veto is a No-Go Please don’t try to silence any speakers or events via protesting or other methods. It’s not just about the speaker’s right to express themselves, it’s about the rights and needs of others to hear what that person is saying.

4. We value diversity of viewpoint We’re a very homogeneous group of people in a lot of ways. In trying to disrupt that, we will need to make room for people who don’t look like us, and we’ll need to make room for people who don’t think like us. 

5. Best intent It’s very unlikely someone spent the time and money to come here and be a jerk. If we can’t assume best intent, we can’t open ourselves up to new ideas and ways of thinking. If we can’t do that, we may as well not have a conference and everyone can continue doing what they’re doing, believing what they believe, and working the way they’re working currently.