#but also i just re-read the op post and realised that this is nothing like what they wished for so uh. sorry? never trust me with prompts y

[flowercrowngods]

this wouldn't leave me alone, so have my thoughts on a steve-centric "who did this to you?" steddie concept inspired by @imfinereallyy (i hope this is okay, even though it's uhhh nothing like what you mentioned)

When Eddie gets to the boathouse, he immediately notices that something is off. The door is cracked open but he can’t hear anyone talking or moving stuff around. No one ever comes here — it’s been his hideout spot since the ripe age of thirteen when he’d had hist first real fight with Wayne. 

No one comes here. But now the door is cracked open and Eddie stares at it for a good minute as though that would make it come to life and tell him who’s inside so he won’t have to look and deal with whoever decided to steal his spot. He’s really not in the mood to start any shit today, or to be called all sorts of names — most of which aren’t even half as true as people fear. 

His first instinct is to leave, find somewhere else to hide from this miserable world today, when he hears it. The sound of sniffling, followed by wet, heavy breaths. 

Oh. It sounds like someone’s crying. In his spot.

Maybe it’s some girl who got her heart broken, some dude who lost the last bit of faith in his family, or some kid who— 

Ah, fuck it, he’ll just come back later. Not his problem. Definitely not his problem. And it’s definitely not guilt or worry that gnaw at him as he turns on his heel to leave. 

But then there’s a groan. A pained groan. Someone’s in pain, and crying in his spot, and Eddie really shouldn’t make that his problem. He shouldn't. Nopbody cares when he's crying and in pain either! But fuck if he won’t be thinking about it for the rest of his life if he turns his back on whoever it is. Maybe they need help. 

They most certainly sound like they do.

With a heavy sigh, Eddie is already at the door before he can think about it too much. 

“Hello?” he asks the darkness, and immediately the sniffling stops. 

Silence falls, but only for a moment before whoever it is has to draw shaky, wheezing breaths that make Eddie swear under his breath. 

“Listen, I know you’re here.” He’s taking slow, deliberate steps, his eyes roaming he mess of boats, tools and tarp he knows so well.  “And I’m not trying to start anything. Tell me to go away and I will. But I have a first aid kit in my car and, uh, you sound like maybe you need it.” 

There’s no response, but the wheezing breaths turn into whimpers with every second that whoever it is tries very hard not to make any noise, and Eddie’s heart starts to race in his chest. He can feel worry and panic starting to rise. And overshadowing it is an overwhelming sense of dread.

What the fuck is happening? 

He tries to be careful but his mind is racing and his limbs are starting to feel like lead. His wary steps become heavy and clumsy, and then he accidentally boots something that makes a terrible, horrible noise, breaking the eerie silence. Eddie cringes and is about to apologise, when finally there is movement in his peripheral vision. 

And then he sees him. There, hidden in the shadows between a boat and the far wall, his face breaten and bloodied, his eye swelling around a nasty bruise. Wait, do bruises bleed? Should they look black like that? Is it a cut? Something worse?

Even after years of constant bullying and goading in middle school and high school, he has never actually seen someone look like this. With their face completely smashed in. It makes him freeze for a horrible, horrible moment before he saps out of it.

“Fuck,” Eddie breathes, hurrying over as fast as he can, stumbling over tools and tarp as he does. Something falls to the floor with a loud clunk and it makes the boy flinch again. Eddie curses. “Sorry, shit, sorry!” 

He makes it to the boat rather quickly, crouching down in front of the boy a few feet away so as not to spook him, not to crowd him. And then his heart only plummets further, because he knows this one. 

Steve Harrington. The boy who’s come to school with many a black eye over the past two years — but never this bad. The boy who’s been looking like the world might be about to end each time he rounded a corner in school; ever since things started happening around Hawkins. Since the Holland girl died and the Byers boy disappeared. 

It fascinated Eddie, the way Steve fell from grace. The way he turned quiet, and showed up with healing bruises. There are stories woven around it, because teenagers like to gossip and word spreads fast, and Eddie always listened with rapt attention as Harrington turned into a bit of a myth. A legend. A ghost story.

But fascination is not what he feels right now, seeing Steve like this.

His eyes are unfocused and Eddie knows about the danger of head injuries. He knows about the consequences of blood loss, he knows that Steve will be warm to the touch even though he’s shivering already, and… Fuck!

“Shit, Steve,” he rasps, not daring to speak louder lest he spooks the boy. Of all the reasons he’s had to be afraid of talking to Steve Harrington, this one might be the cruellest. "I..."

He takes in his wounds, his bruised and scraped knuckles where his hands are wrapped around the knees he’s pulled to his chest, and his split lip that he keeps biting. 

Eddie swallows before he asks, “Who did this to you?” 

But Steve just shakes his head clumsily. Sniffles again, and then his breath comes in wet heaves, and Eddie worries for a moment that he’s going to throw up now. 

He doesn’t. 

Steve’s just staring. Eddie isn’t even entirely sure he can see him, or maybe he did and then forgot, or maybe he’s fading. Eddie should do something, he should get help, he should— 

“Steve,” he says, and dares to touch him when he doesn’t react. 

A light touch to the knee shouldn’t make anyone flinch like that, but Steve’s whole body jumps, and then the shivers and the wheezing get worse. It almost sounds like a whimper, and Eddie curses again. Feels like crying now, scared and helpless as he is.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay, I— Jesus, okay.” He swallows hard, trying to think, willing for the panic to subside and a plan to form. “You’re okay. I... I’m gonna, I’m gonna grab the first aid kit. I have it in my car. It’s not, it’s not far. And a blanket. So you'll be warm again. I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t move, don’t…" He gestures wildly, caught between reaching out and pulling away. "Don’t move.” 

Eddie takes a wavering breath and moves to stand on numb, tingly legs, nearly missing Steve’s, “Can’t.” It’s barely more than a whisper, hardly even a wheeze. It’s like he’s just breathing out words because everything else is too much effort. 

Right. Right. This is messed up and Eddie’s panicking, but Steve will be okay. Because things like that don’t happen, not here, not today, and not to Steve Harrington. 

Except this is Hawkins. Where Will Byers disappeared and Barb Holland died and many people are missing and weird shit just ends up happening everywhere even though they’re all just kids. They’re just kids. And Steve’s not even conscious enough to realise that right now. 

Eddie all but runs outside, sprinting to his van with a speed that would make the coach swallow his stupid whistle if gym class only mattered right now. It doesn't. Nothing matters, because Steve is... He's hurt. And there's no one else around to help.

Grabbing the first aid kit, a bottle of water and a thick blanket he always keeps spread out in the back of his van, he makes it back to the boathouse in no time. 

He wasn’t even gone for three minutes, but still he sighs in relief when Steve is still awake. He even looks up. Blinks. Frowns in what can only be confusion and makes Eddie's heart fall.

“Munson?” 

Fuck, that’s not a good sign. That’s messed up, it’s fucked up, it’s— Focus, Eddie! 

“The one and only,” he says, voice shaky and his smile not fooling anyone. He wraps the blanket around Steve, whose eyes are unfocused again, though he tries so hard to blink it away. 

Brave boy, stupid boy. Head trauma isn’t blinked away. Though Eddie is inclined to let him try. Maybe he’ll find a way. 

“Here.” He hands the bottle over to Steve, who grabs it with clumsy hands. He can hold it, but he can’t get it open — again, not a good sign. 

Eddie opens it for him, then turns to his first aid kit. It seemed like a great idea five minutes ago, but he’s petrified now. It’s too dark in here and he can’t really see the wounds, he doesn’t know what to use, what’s in there, he doesn’t, he can’t, he— 

The bottle, empty now, is handed back to him, bumping into his hand, tearing him away from his spiralling thoughts. 

“Thanks,” Harrington breathes, and there’s a small smile visible in the darkness. Eddie just nods and takes it with hands that are still shaking.

“I wanna help you,” he says, like it isn’t obvious. “But I don’t know how. You gotta tell me where it hurts, Steve.” 

A beat. “Everywhere.” 

Eddie sags, falling back to sit opposite Steve, frantically rubbing at his face. “Shit.” 

“Yeah.” Steve chuckles, but it sounds so wet with tears and pain, Eddie never wants to hear it again. “Thought I could do it.” 

He’s talking. That’s a good thing, right? He can’t pass out as long as he’s talking. That’s how that works, isn’t it? So, Eddie asks, “Do what?” 

“Doctors told me,” Steve sighs, his voice slow and slurring. “Told me to... to stay out of fights. Stay out of them. Said I had to make sure my head won’t—“ 

He makes a motion with his fist, and Eddie thinks he’s simulating a punch, disoriented as it is. It makes his heart fall. Is that what happened? Someone beat Steve to a pulp? Again? Just like that?

Eddie is so stuck on that thought, trying to piece together the puzzle, that he almost misses Steve’s mumbled speech. 

“Y’know, th— Said I’ll go blind. Or deaf. Or just… die.” He says it to matter-of-factly that Eddie’s heart stops for a second.

What the fuck happened to Steve Harrington? Not just today, no. What happened to him?

What happend to make him look up at Eddie Munson, out of all people, with glistening eyes so endlessly scared, and say, “I don’t wanna die, Munson. I never… I didn’t. With the monsters or the torture. I can't—” A wheeze, a keen, a whimper, and Harringtin pulls at his hair, uncaring that he's making things worse.

Meanwhile, Eddie is stuck on his words. Because what. 

“Can’t, can't die now ‘cause Tommy thinks he’s so… He’s… He’s just sad, man. Griev'n' and confused. But Billy’s gone, an'— And now I’ll…”

Steve looks at him now, his eyes shining with tears and something that Eddie’s written poems about and created characters around. This expression, like the world will end. And inspiring as it is, it fucking breaks his heart now. 

“They said my brain is hurt, Eddie.”

Eddie swallows the hurt and the fear and the complete overwhelm he's feeling. Steve is telling him things that Eddie doesn't know how to handle.

“You won’t die, Steve,” he says in as gentle a voice as he can muster right now, because that's the only thing he knows.

And he won’t, right? People don’t just die. Not from taking a punch, not when they just graduated high school, not when they’re Steve Harrington. Right? 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay,” Steve breathes. “That’s good.” 

Eddie wants to hug him in that moment. He never knew that this was possible, wanting to hug Steve Harrington, wanting to wrap the blanket around him even tighter and keep him safe and convince him that he won’t die. 

And then the rest of what he said catches up with Eddie and leaves anger in its wake. 

“Hagan did that to you?” 

Steve nods. “Started going off about Billy.”

Eddie’s blood freezes at that name. "Hargrove?” 

Another nod, though Steve doesn’t look too happy about moving his head, and he groans quietly. “They were friends. Tommy is angry. Grieving. Con— Confused. He was just saying shit, like it’s my fault. And it is. Kinda. But Tommy’s, he, he’s... Just saying shit. And then he punched me. A lot. And he didn’t stop. And now… is now.” 

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes dumbly, carefully bandaging the glaring wound at his temple, needing to start somewhere. “Now is now.” His blood is still frozen as he tries very hard not to listen to Steve. Nothing that Harrington says has any right to matter anything to him; they live in two different worlds. If Harrington confesses to murder while severely concussed under Eddie’s watch, then there are no witnesses to drag either of them through the mud for it. Eddie is just gonna forget about it. Or try, anyway. “But you’re… Shit , Steve, you’re really hurt.” 

Steve blinks. Pauses. And Eddie thinks he’s lost him. But then, “Yeah. I’m always hurt.” 

And that, in this little voice, is like a gut punch. Because Eddie knows something about always hurt. “What?” 

“What?” 

There is ice in his veins as he asks, “Who’s hurting you, Steve?” 

Steve looks at him, opening his mouth once, twice, like he’s about to say something and Eddie holds his breath. But then Steve’s eyes droop and he shrinks in on himself a bit more. 

“Jus’ everyone, sometimes. God you don’t… You don’t even know.” 

Know what, Harrington? Eddie can barely breathe anymore.

“’M tired, Eddie,” Steve mumbles, closing his eyes. “Don’t wanna hurt anymore.” 

“Hey, hey, no!” Eddie reaches out, catching Steve’s head and preventing it from colliding with the floor as he’s slumping and falling over. 

And just like that, the panic is back, frantic but determined this time. He’s going to get help; there’s nothing he can do with his lousy first aid kit, not when Steve keeps going in and out of consciousness like that. Not when he can barely see anything or clean the wounds properly.

He’s going to get Steve to a hospital and allow them both to forget this ever happened. Because Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson don’t breathe the same air or share traumatic stories in a boathouse like this. 

He’ll get out of Steve’s hair the second the hospital doors close behind him, and get out of whatever trouble someone like Harrington could be in. Eddie doesn’t even want to know. He doesn't want to be part of his ghost story.

But as he’s scooping him up and helping him out of the damned boathouse, clumsily preventing him from stumbling over his own feet or tools or tarp or planks or whatever fucking shit is littering the floor of this godforsaken place, he can hear Steve speaking quietly. 

"Where‘re we going?"

And even though a second ago he was determined to take Steve to a hospital, there is only one place on Eddie's mind right now. Only one place he knows where he won't be scared anymore.

"Somewhere safe," he says, tightening his hold on the boy even though his hands are shaking now, too. He looks over his shoulders the moment they're out of the boathouse, stupidly worried that whoever did this to Steve – Hagan, apparently – would still be around, would follow them and do the same shit to Eddie.

"Safe?"

"Safe."

"Okay," Steve sighs, like he believes him. Like he trusts him. Hell, they've never even spoken before, but something inside Eddie breaks at the little sigh, at the way Steve goes slack in his arms. And even more at the little, "Thanks."

If Eddie's eyes are filled with tears and the hands around the wheel are clenched so tight to hide the way they're shaking, then Steve is not conscious enough to comment on it.

(addendum 7 december) onwards to part 2

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 4x16 Accession thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!) [8 July ‘23]

I love how offended Julian is about how much tidying Miles hasn't done - I guess he offered to help and hadn't realised how much work he'd have to do XD

"You should have seen it before." Mood. That was always my sentence wherever mum came to pick me up from uni XD

Does Julian actually want to help? That was a sudden swing to "it's a shame to pack it all away" xD

Oh, I thought this was the plant killing episode where Keiko gets secretly possessed.

"Daddy, I have a little bother." So cute!

His gaze looking at Keiko is so gentle!

Sisko fiddling with baseball and hiding it :3

Aww, awkward Sisko

"I think I'd like it." Of course you would, Jadzia, you LOVE attention. (And being emissary would make Kira pay more attention to you..? :P)

Why does this man think he's the emissary, even before he knows he's in a future time?

The awe in Kira's voice

Nothing Sisko's quoted from the prophecies is not about him...

"All I have to worry about are the Klingons, the Dominion and the Maquis. I feel like I'm on vacation!" Oh, Sisko

"I remember when my nephew Nog..." Yes, we all know he's your nephew, Quark.

" I used to love reading to him. You know, See Brak acquire. Acquire, Brak, acquire." Hehehe.

"Oh, well I'll be sure and call you when she's ready to deliver. You can lend a hand." Julian's so earnest

"Unfortunately, I will be away from the station at that time. Far away. Visiting my parents. On Earth." Worf making several addtion's just to make sure they get the picture.

"How about a game of darts?" "Don;t you have to get home?" Huh, wasn't expecting Julian to give him up that easily.

"I don't see it as a contradiction." "I don't understand." "That's the thing about faith. If you don't have it, you can't understand it, and if you do, no explanation is necessary." This is really close to my heart as an ex-believer. I really like Kira's attitude to her faith. Idk

"Farmers have become politicians..." Ohhhh.... I'd remembered about Kira's struggle, but not what that would mean for Shakaar and their entire political system.

Kira's shaky breath and hesitation to clap.. Ohhh...

"If Bajor returns to the D'jarra system, I have no doubt that its petition to join the Federation will be rejected." "Kai Winn and I have already discussed it. We're willing to make that sacrifice in order to follow the will of the Prophets." Ugh, of course Winn's involved in this...

"You don't have to get up for me." "You're Ih'valla. I'm Te'nari." Yikes

"Maybe you never realised this, Captain, but we would've tried to do whatever you asked of us when you were Emissary, no matter how difficult it seemed. I'd better get to Ops." She's so subdued. Oh, Kira.

"An excess of neuropeptides. I can give you an inhibitor to make sure it never happens again. [Sisko nods, and Julian goes to get it.] Of course, if I do, you risk never finding out." This is like the reverse of Sisko's vision episode in Season 5

"So, any idea what they might have been trying to tell you?" I think Julian's really, genuinely curious here.

"Sure. That I have too many neuropeptides rolling around in my head." Heh, and that smile

"I suppose Julian has one too." Your wife knows you, O'Brien.

"Wanna try for twins?" "I don't think it works that way." XD

I know looking longingly at his costume shows his wish for his own free time... but it also reads a lot like longing for Julian ngl

"I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is add to your problems, but this is something I have to do." Ohhh, she's blinking back tears as she says this, I hate this so much for her.

"I don't doubt I can find someone to fill your post.. But to replace you?" OH, HE'S CRYING TOO THESE GUYSSSS

Miles looking for Julian :3

"Chief! Excuse me!" As soon as Julian sees Miles he rushes over. It can't have been THAT LONG since you saw him??

"You and I were evenly matched" - wellll, no you weren't. That was a ruse on Julian's part. Sorry.

"Actually, I was hoping maybe-" his awkward hand gestures :3 sweetheart

I can't stop watching Julian's face in this scene. When Quark reminds him "no refunds", he looks hopefully for a second at Miles. And his expression is so sad thereafter, his laugh at Miles' joke so lacklustre. Guys, I just have feelings.

"You killed him because of his D'jarra?" "I had to." My goodness. Fricking hell. I did not remember this getting that awful!

"We have to go to the wormhole and ask the Prophets." Solid plan, actually

"I was the first!" Heh, I knew they wouldn't understand first. Not an argument you're gonna win with them

"Why did you send me into the future?" "For the Sisko." Love how the episode just says yes, this was all for Sisko's character development

"I promised I wouldn't say anything, but it's about Julian." "What about him?" "I ran into him the other day and he seemed depressed. He'd never admit it, but he really misses you." This part is MY FAV

"I'm a lucky man." The way she nods and winks <3 Keiko is a queen and I wish we saw more of her, not her-and-Miles

Julian's little smile when Keiko messages him :3

"I want you to have this. It's an original Kira Nerys. Could be verrrry valuable one day." "I hear she didn't make many." Their laughs <3

"We were wondering if there's any chance you could come and give her your blessing." Kira's glance over to him, not quite sure how he'll respond, but his genuine smile and "I'd be happy to" ❤❤

Aww, Sisko covering up his smile at the end there. I love it.

[venusdebotticelli]

Hello, I'm here to add some honking! :D

Disclaimer: I went replying to your post as I was reading it for the first time, so some of the things I point out here are things I realised later on that you'd already pointed out in your op as well, so the reply is a bit of an out-of-order mess, I will admit. You can see the exact point at which I realised this and despaired further down the post, but I just wanted to apologise preemptively for being an adhd riddled clown, @girlbossblackbeard 😅

-"I also wonder if the shot of roach shooting a canon at something is him shooting a canon at her"

I'm pretty sure Roach is shooting one of the Revenge's cannons here!

That looks very much like her poop deck, and he's wearing the flower necklace from the torture party, so that's either some celebratory cannoning, or maybe they see the torturers' ship approaching during the party itself, but realise too late to have any chance to stop them from boarding? Another possibility might be that the torturers (or at least some of them) are already present at the party from the get go, since the main guy is also dressed all fancy and has that violin bow, they just infiltrated the ship with our pirates none the wiser until it was too late. (And I'm basing this on nothing but vibes, but I think the torturer may be working with/have been sent by No-Nose?)

-re: the wanted posters: "is this in the republic of pirates?"

I think it might be the entrance to Spanish Jackie'z or somewhere nearby, just because of the similar stone arches.

But there's plenty of Blackbeard wanted posters all over apparently, since the one Stede removes from a wall is on a wooden wall. Also hilarious that on this one the only other poster nearby seems to be an ad for a "Portraiter", because oooofff, yeah, the navy sure went for the most racist/least accurate one.

Also yeah, all the shots under the rain on the street and around Susan's food stall give me Republic of Pirates vibes, very much. I also think that first pic I've included up here might be Stede witnessing the Prince Ricky guy they've briefly allied with getting his nose cut off by Jackie, and this is also a good chance for the Swede to ditch them and stay with the love of his life, who won't try to eat him (or at least not in the cannibal way, hopefully :P)

-"where the fuck is ed when he's sitting in the chair smoking???"

I also have a theory about a bunch of stuff that happens while at Anne and Mary's! :D The tl;dr of it being: EdStede are married and divorced and insufferable while crashing at their place, and Anne and Mary don't just put up with it nicely, they dig their finger in for the drama/chaos/shits and giggles/"maybe they'll finally leave our fucking house if they figure their shit out" :P Anne kissing Stede in front of Ed very much serves that purpose ��

-"no more booze, no more drugs, and no more _____" not sure what the end of that sentence could be but we know that the "stede" that was put in there is NOT what he actually says!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ooooohhh, I hadn't noticed that, it does sound like it may be cut from a different scene, now that you pointed it out, although I'm not 100% convinced, idk 😅 Did you have any reason for this theory other than the way it sounds?

-"WHAT IF WE GET THE AITA SCENARIO WHERE ED AND STEDE TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS AND NO ONE REALIZES THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT EACH OTHER UNTIL THAT MOMENT BC THEY'RE BOTH SO BIASED ABOUT ONE ANOTHER"

I WANT THIS DESPERATELY 😂

-"the revenge crew is blowing up SOMETHING on the side of a building. maybe to cause a distraction or gain access inside the building? is it the side of Spanish Jackie's?? also hiiiiiiii lucius &lt;;3"

I think Olu's bar fight, Ed's scenes dressed like "a poor" where he's drinking with Jackie, and Leslie Jones's quotes where she mentioned shooting scenes where she fought side by side with Ed might all be the same scene/sequence of events! I already talked about it a bit on this post's tags, but I think No-Nose Prince Ricky could be the one to blow up Spanish Jackie'z, as revenge, and the crew get caught up in it!

-"you're going through that 'if i was a regular dude' phase"/"why would ed be considered a regular dude now?"

I don't think it's that he's *considered* a regular dude by others, so much as it's part of his healing journey of trying to find himself, he's really really trying to be one, "just trying something different, man". I also cried a bit about it in the tags of this other post and the one I already linked in the previous paragraph, but I think the fact that he's wearing Buttons's jacket during this scene may have come from Ed approaching him as a sort of spiritual mentor or something for advice? I just really want more Ed & Buttons interactions, I crave this ;U; I think we may get an arc where Ed tries a different method of wellness and mindfullness or whatever for each episode, including:

-Cleaning up all the drugs/booze/whatever from the ship with Frenchie's help

-Getting high as a kite and bitching and moaning with Anne and Mary

-Going "back to basics", trying to be just a normal dude, being all zen about worldly matters after a talk with Buttons

-Whatever is going on with Hornigold's ghost in the forest/cliff scenes (although as pointed out in one of the posts I just linked, this could be a dream sequence, some fever hallucinations precipitated by almost drowning during the storm, and paralleling Stede's fiery fever dreams from s1. And the headbutt is during this/right after waking up from this, as he still has the cravat that he had on during the storm.)

But none of his methods of cleansing himself of Stede and trying to figure out who he is as just Ed, on his own, actually work, because Stede is following and pestering him throughout most of these? (which yeah, could point to Ed straight up running away to the forest to have his introspective hallucinations in peace, since Stede won't fucking leave him alone :P and then after that yet another reunion during the fight scene at the beach?)

-"ed has a red ring"

I haven't got many deep thoughts about this, but I've also been trying to keep track of Ed's rings, yeah :P Apart from what you said about the red one (which I think the one from this season actually looks a lot more square and slightly more muted in colour than the round one from last season, so maybe not the exact same ring?), I'm also really charmed by his Kraken ring, and the massive green ring on the ring finger of his left hand, which seems different from the one he had last season

Also really interested to find out when exactly he ditches/loses the gloves, and whether they make a reappearance at some point later on in the season or not (it seems to be around the same time that all the necklaces other than the pearl one disappear as well?).

-"someone is a vampire on the ship."

The mental image of Izzy the gangrenous vampire is absolutely sending me 😂😂😂

-"i'm pretty sure stede in his training scenes with izzy is wearing the clothes he wore in that final shot of s1"

During the ones on the ship, yeah. But then there's these ones with the Steard:

And I'm pretty sure this is Stede's fantasised version of just what a good pirate he is now :P Aside from the extremely piratey beard and the snazzy red sash, he's also wearing leather trousers, because everyone knows the best pirates have those 👀 And during the beach duel Izzy still has both legs, which I think is interesting. Also, the sash is made from the same fabric as the sad little scrap he wears as a necktie:

-"or he puts his jacket on before jumping off the cliff"

To me it looks like he's still barefoot and in short sleeves in the shots of him sinking in the water, so he probably does go in the water a lot this season, just living his Little Mermaid life, as @amuseoffyre has been rightly pointing out :P

-"ed his holding his right side as he slashes that dude on the beach"

I said this on one of your previous posts about it, but now I think none of what I said on that post applies really, because I think the headbutt scene happens way earlier than the beach fight scene, which may happen after the torture party scene (or soon before? is the party to celebrate escaping the navy again? but that wouldn't really explain the lack of an earring during the party, as you pointed out, and Ed *may* be present during the party, but we haven't seen any indication of it, and the beach fight scene does seem like one of the multiple reunions this season [this one maybe after the forest finding himself arc, if it's not a dream sequence?]). And also that bts pic would indicate that the hole is already there as early as him wearing the bun and cleaning the ship, so it might not be anything *shrug*

-"that person is our boy lucius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he's wearing a beret??????"

I really really like this theory, but from what I can make out in the blurriness of the movement, this person seems to have all ten of their fingers? So idk :S I do agree he's likely the one in the Buttons zip-line shot though :D My bet is still on this being the reunion:

-"i think jim is behind stede as he breaks into the weirdly religious room we saw in the teaser when stede punches that guy??"

Yes! And I have many more thoughts about that, I wrote them down further below before I reached this part of your post 😅

-"ed in buttons's shirt looking so PEACEFUL what the HELL."

See, this is what I get for replying to your post as I read it for the first time, instead of reading the whole thing first and then replying, because yes!!!!!! My thoughts exactly!!!! I just put them a bit differently up there without realising you'd already talked about this elsewhere in the post 😅 My sincerest apologies for the way my brain works, I am now realising what a mess of a reply this is, but I'm in too deep to turn around and fix it now :P

-"what i believe is the treasure chest we see jim carrying off the ship"

I agree that the chest in Ed's quarters look like the one they're carrying off that ship, but if I may add even more details:

The guy Stede successfully punches is dressed like the crew from that same ship where Ed is dressed like the vampire clown Blackbeard version, still with the makeup on, and shooting at something¿? (I don't think whatever he's shooting at is actually Stede, because you can see Frenchie and Jim's heads on the bottom left of that shot, and they don't seem all that interested in whatever Blackbeard is currently doing, they're just focused on their loot/corpses/whatever. And idk how I feel about the theory that Izzy loses his leg because Ed shoots it, rather than just gangrene, but if we were to go with that one: what if Izzy and Stede have been collaborating in secret, and this raid is when Ed finds out? I don't want or particularly expect that prediction to actually be right, but just putting it out there *shrug emoji* It could then also lead to Ed's "very rough night" and recruiting Frenchie to help with cleaning up his act the next morning?)

Also, when Stede does his swirly bit with the coat he's very much aboard the Revenge, because that's what the internal doors look like on the ship:

But I have no idea how that fits in the timeline. I think there may be a gap between when he first finds the coat, until the moment he gets to actually put on the whole suit with the matching pants¿? Or maybe not¿? Maybe all of that is happening in eps 1-2, which is an insane amount of information¿?¿??¿¿? 🔥🙌🔥

Also, I just realised this after I wrote all of that, I think this might be Jim going in behind Stede into the "I did a punch!" room¿? What's going on?¿?¿¿?¿?¿?¿? 😭

Tl;dr, I am losing my whole mind trying to piece a timeline with this scene 🔥🙌🔥 The reunion could be as soon as ep1 going by this?¿?¿¿? While Ed is still in Kraken mode?¿¿?¿??

Edit: I figured out a more plausible timeline on its own separate post

-"the fucking hair dye dripping down izzy's forehead in this production still"

And!!!!! the whip tied to his waist too, which we see at some points throughout the trailer too :D

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And yeah, my brain is fried by this point, everything else you added on the reblog I already touched on in different ways throughout this post or on the other posts I linked, so I'm gonna crawl into a hole for a nap now, or something, after I make a separate post for my revelations about that red ship!!! 🔥🙌🔥

S2 TRAILER ANALYSIS WITH 1 BILLION SCREENSHOTS

obligatory warning that this post is gonna be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO foolishly long and rambling with all my silly little theories and thoughts and if you ALSO have silly little theories and thoughts you should ABSOLUTELY share them here please!!!! we can clown so much harder when our cacophonous honking harmonizes!!!!!!!

NOW ONTO THE POST (putting it under a read more so tumblr doesn't literally explode):

-the revenge looks BUSTED AF: i don't know if this is from general disrepair when ed is in his kraken era or if she was in a battle but her sails are all dirty in the opening shot of the trailer, and later we see stede on her deck with tattered sails and ropes everywhere, AND i'm like 99% sure that the shot of buttons ziplining from one ship to another is him going from the Chinese warfleet ship to the revenge, which i'm guessing is essentially stuck bc the sails are so torn they would never be able to catch the wind strongly enough to move her. I also wonder if the shot of roach shooting a canon at something is him shooting a canon at her since we had all those allusions to her exploding from samba, vico, and david on twitter all those months ago

-stede's earring: he DOES NOT HAVE THE EARRING when we see him lying on the deck next to roach and sighing dramatically nor does he have it during his conversation with Olu about stede dumping him, but he DOES have the earring in later shots like the beach english fight and when he's talking about being a failure his whole life which means WE WILL GET TO SEE STEDE GET HIS EAR PIERCED!!!!!!!!!! we'll get to see him make the decision to look even hotter and who knows who does the piercing for him idk!!!!!! @sluterastede had a dastardly beautiful thought in her brain about ed giving stede the piercing and stede making groaning noises and izzy once again thinking they're flapping their jacks right there on the deck in front of god and everybody!!!!!

-stede is spilling his heart out ("i let him down. i should've just told him how i feel") to susan on her ship (you can tell it's her by the long hair)

-interesting that there's a drawing of a donkey next to ed's wanted poster considering s1 had the line "a rich donkey is still a donkey". also i can't really read what the surrounding posters say other than "WANTED 20 GUINEAS". is this in the republic of pirates?

-stede says "i will find him" meaning ed may be actively avoiding stede at the beginning of the season???? (or the basic laws of travel physics have finally caught up to them)

-"look, captain, you know blackbeard's gonna murder you" i just think it's interesting that Olu is referring to him as blackbeard again even though ed told everyone in his pink robe era to call him ed. like it makes sense that he'd say blackbeard considering ed is on a rampage but it just made my brain wheels start spinning

-the Kraken crew are eating cake :)

-ed is holding a torch while letting the storm rain down on him: i don't think the laugh we hear is his because i don't think his mouth is even open during that slow-mo shot

-STEDE with a TEAR in his EYE as he says "i think i hurt him pretty bad"

-ed sobbing on the floor while the little bride cake topper is next to his head

-ed choking on the weed smoke i'm ACTUALLY crying, but also: where the fuck is ed when he's sitting in the chair smoking??? i thought it was on deck at first bc above his head is really dark and it looks like the lanterns we see on the deck of the revenge but there's a chandelier too?? it might be whatever shop Anne Bonny and her friend "you two know each other?" run bc behind ed in that chair is just a bunch of random furniture and a chandelier like we see when ed and stede are at the market. in fact, i think ed is smoking with Anne Bonny because I think that's her hand in the corner of that shot:

-"no more booze, no more drugs, and no more _____" not sure what the end of that sentence could be but we know that the "stede" that was put in there is NOT what he actually says!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-"you two know each other?" now hold on a sec because it kinda sounds like stede met Anne Bonny and Co. separately from Ed/before that market scene (maybe in the teaser clip of Anne on Stede's lap??) WHAT IF WE GET THE AITA SCENARIO WHERE ED AND STEDE TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR VERSION OF EVENTS AND NO ONE REALIZES THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT EACH OTHER UNTIL THAT MOMENT BC THEY'RE BOTH SO BIASED ABOUT ONE ANOTHER

-the evil guy definitely got his nose sliced off by Jackie. good for her :D I also don't think the evil guy is Hornigold, i'm still holding onto my theory that the man in the white rags we saw in the teaser and this trailer are hornigold's "ghost" that ed needs to contend with to find his inner peace or whatever a la stede with nigel's "ghost". but i DO think the evil guy is the rich prince dude from that leaked audition tape from rhys's friend. if memory serves, the guy wants to buy his way into the pirate lifestyle but he's pompous and entitled which makes him reckless. based off the production stills we also got today, he still had a nose when he went into Spanish Jackie's...but i don't think he leaves with one. so because he gets butthurt over invading a space that was NOT meant for him and faces the consequences of purposely disobeying their customs, he defects to the english navy and goes on a rampage against all piracy, very MRA energy :/ also, later izzy says to him "you don't know the first thing about piracy" which would further support that this guy just tried to buy his way in

-izzy gets an honest-to-god pegleg but he doesn't start the season off with it because we see him in several shots with both legs, like the wedding raid and swordfighting stede on the beach. unsure if he loses it due to infection from the toe situation or if he gets shot in the knee like i've seen some posts talk about, but @sluterastede mentioned that one of the leaked audition tapes for archie included dialogue about an amputation so maybe that character has to uh. Get Her Roach On

-as i mentioned before with the teaser analysis, izzy is clearly training stede for something and now im guessing it's the english but like we kinda knew that !

-olu is in a bar fight??

-THE "ED GETS CAUGHT IN A BUCKET ON A ROPE DURING THE STORM AND GOES OVERBOARD" THEORY IS OUT. THE "ED TIES HIMSELF TO A MF BIG ASS ROCK AND JUMPS OFF A GOD DAMN CLIFF TO GO ON SOME SOUL-SEARCHING JOURNEY UNDER THE SEA" THEORY IS IN. and what the FUCK is the rag man doing with ed up on that cliff hello?????? if my theory is correct and that is in fact hornigold's ghost or whatever, what advice or harmful shit is he saying that makes ed do that?????????????????????? but do note the large rock with the rope around it in the first pic

-the revenge crew is blowing up SOMETHING on the side of a building. maybe to cause a distraction or gain access inside the building? is it the side of Spanish Jackie's?? also hiiiiiiii lucius <3

-"our entire escape relies on this" i'm just assuming they're trying to escape from the english bc that seems to be the Big Bad of the season??

-not plot related but during the rope swinging training session izzy slaps stede on the ass and makes this face (sir??????):

>he also has his pegleg here so their mentorship may ramp up after izzy is out of commission for hand-to-hand combat. maybe izzy was supposed to have a larger fighting role alongside ed in defeating the english but once he became incapacitated he realized he would need to train someone else up for the job so ed would be sufficiently protected. but it also had to be someone izzy knew would be willing to die for ed to save his life if it came to that, just like izzy would

-"i've been a failure my whole life. it's not so bad once you get used to it" is stede talking to ed here? is that ed's hair in the corner of the frame??

>side note: as mentioned above, stede also has his earring by this point!!

-"you're going through that 'if i was a regular dude' phase" first of all, SPANISH JACKIE AND EDWARD TEACH BEST FRIENDS TRUTHERS RISE UP. second, why would ed be considered a regular dude now?? how did he lose his reputation? did he willingly give it up or was it taken from him? is this permanent or just temporary? or did he fake his own death with the cliff and the rock thing so he could retire and live a more normal life?? the swede doesn't seem scared of him at all in the final clip from the trailer, straight up asking him if he's poor and going "back to basics". of course, that could just be a power trip from being one of Jackie's newest husbands (or at least her waitstaff)

-possibly totally minor/just a continuity error thing, but: ed has a red ring. we saw it in s1 as he picks up the rather fine cashmere and we see it as ed dramatically drapes himself across the ship's helm with his head on his hand. we do not see it in the scene where he's smoking (see above) or the scene where he's talking to the rabbit. now, if you'll allow me a little bit of clownery for a moment, red has been explicitly coded in this show to be a symbol of love/the heart, especially as it pertains to edward like his red silk scarf as a metaphor for his heart in s1. what if. what if he. gave the red ring (his heart) to. SomeOne. because.....................because his heart belongs to st--[GUNSHOTS]

-olu, jim, and archie with garlic around their necks and making a cross with their fingers - clearly they think someone is a vampire on the ship. @sluterastede proposed it could be izzy, especially if he's on the brink of death due to an infection and frenchie managed to spread his superstitions to other people on the ship!

-THIS FUCKIN GUY. WHO ARE YOU??? it seems like he kidnaps stede and his crew and throws a party on the ship and drugs the drinks which is why everyone is kinda tripping/laughing in some parts. but then everyone gets tied down (stede to the mast, wee john's hands get squished, olu and roach's heads get squished, and jim and archie's feet get secured to the ship's railing i think??). also that wide shot is definitely the rando dude hitting some shrill high note at the same moment the revenge crew cry out in pain from all the squishing (except maybe jim and archie - they might just be laughing at the others bc they're badasses and this pain is nothing). also don't know what the guy is looking at when we first see him but im thinking maybe it's a wanted poster of stede and he's looking at the description of the gentleman pirate to confirm it's the dude right in front of him/that he's captured?? also i think roach is wearing flowers from the drug party in his apron when he fires that canon, so maybe he's tripping too and shoots a canon?? i need a prayer circle for the revenge's safety at this time

-stede has a bullet hole???????????????? did ed fucking shoot him in the heart?????????????????????????? he also notably does NOT have the earring in this scene but he does have the sexy stiddies (blue) shirt like we see in the other shot where he DOES have the earring. maybe this weirdo dude pierces stede's ear bc he thinks stede needs to look more piratey?? or stede gets absolutely sloshed (or drugged) and gets his ear pierced idk !!! maybe jim does it bc they're effortlessly cool and has a bunch of ear piercings!!!

-idk if this is a coincidence or not but i'm pretty sure stede in his training scenes with izzy is wearing the clothes he wore in that final shot of s1 as he rows to find the crew on the island (white linen shirt, dark pants, brown belt and boots). so either costume changes are happening later in the season, they're reusing outfits like normal people do, or the training montage happens extremely early on in the season

-so originally with the teaser trailer i thought ed falling in the water was followed by the shot of ed coming out of the water on the beach. i don't know if i fully believe that anymore because ed is NOT wearing his jacket on the cliff (see above), but he IS wearing it as he comes up out of the water, so either it's two different events and ed just spends a lot of time in the water this season or he puts his jacket on before jumping off the cliff

-ed his holding his right side as he slashes that dude on the beach so he definitely got hurt in battle but i hope it's not him getting stabbed bc ur supposed to cleverly take the sword on the left where all the unimportant bits are :(((

-I VERY STRONGLY BELIEVE that the person in the scene where stede turns around and shoots his gun into the air and everyone else on deck suddenly draws their weapons against that person is our boy lucius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he's wearing a beret?????????? @sluterastede proposed that lucius got picked up by the english navy after getting thrown overboard and that's why we see him in the english navy garb (which we later see frenchie in too?? i believe an infiltration fuckery is afoot). also the fact that the shot immediately after this one is of Black Pete doing a happy little fist pump which i'm choosing to interpret as a cute little easter egg symbolizing Pete gets reunited with his love. i also also also believe lucius is in the shot of buttons about to zipline from one ship to the other. i missed him :')

-okay i know i said in an earlier post that stede running across the beach was romantic but i changed my mind and i think izzy is just making stede do cardio as part of his training lol. his outfit matches the one he's wearing when swordfighting izzy in that earlier wideshot and i think he even still has the scarf belt and the full beard in both scenes (explained at the end of this post via production stills) so maybe they have an honest to god training montage that takes course over several days and we get an incredible 80s powerballad to play on top of it while stede thinks of ed to motivate him or whatever. david jenkins hire me to help write season 3 i have ideas

-i think jim is behind stede as he breaks into the weirdly religious room we saw in the teaser when stede punches that guy??

-ed is pretty bloodied in the shot of stede leaning over him and saying VERY worriedly "ed????" so my theory is that ed got hurt in battle or he was taken captive by the Chinese warfleet and stede was worried he was grievously injured. however, once ed comes to and realizes who's kneeling over him, he gets pissed and headbutts stede because he's still mad at him for breaking his heart, and maybe his hands are restrained/his body is too weak so he can't push stede away. or maybe they had to begrudgingly work together on some mission and stede fucked it up and ed got hurt so he's mad about that idk!! ALSO HE'S WEARING THE CRAVAT HELLO

-ed in buttons's shirt looking so PEACEFUL what the HELL. obviously it's from the same general time as him being in Spanish Jackie's when she's talking to him about being a regular dude and later when the swede asks him if he's poor addkjfajdfhlkefh i fucking love this show and its writing so much. but ed says "no, i'm just trying something different man >:/" so i wonder if this is ed at the end of s2 or if this is more towards the middle as he's still in the thick of his healing journey. maybe buttons teaches ed about meditation and/or the tai chi he practiced with the Chinese warfleet crew??

-the BTS production still of ed with his "trust no one" tattoo also features what i believe is the treasure chest we see jim carrying off the ship in the shot where fang is smashing two dudes' heads together!

-i also think the BTS production still of stede with the beard is early on in ep 1 because he has a full beard (that im hoping someone on the revenge bullies him into shaving off to the scruff we see in the rest of the promo materials) and ALSO because he's wearing a long red scarf around his waist, which we never see again in any of the other promo material - except, however, around his neck as a makeshift cravat:

>it's the same exact material and everything! my guess is he gets his ass handed to him in a fight (maybe against izzy??) and his scarf belt gets destroyed, so he repurposes the shredded fabric into his necktie

-there's literal gold bars in the background of this production still lmao the kraken crew got BUSY during ed's goth era

>speaking of, the fucking hair dye dripping down izzy's forehead in this production still:

*sad clown noises*

in conclusion:

WE'RE BACK BABEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

anyway that's my second dissertation on less than 2 minutes of content that turned out to be quite literally 6 pages long :)

[turnaroundroundround]

Opera References in Musical Yuukoku no Moriarty Op. 2

Some thoughts of mine after re-watching Morimyu Op. 2, regarding Irene's arc A Scandal in British Empire, about all the opera references and some random thoughts that come to mind during this arc. Obviously there's a lot more to Morimyu Op. 2, for instance The Two M's and Mycroft's solo (which I often refer to as "the Mycroft Anthem" lol), the entire Baskerville arc, and the train arc, and so on. And there's a whole lot of other things I'd like to discuss about them as well, but maybe just save it for another time. I don't know if anyone has discussed these references before, and I am not entirely a pro in music either. All I have is some basic knowledge on opera and harmony, so these are just some personal impression that came to mind when I watched this arc, so please keep it in mind.

A SCANDAL IN BRITISH EMPIRE

Okay, so the biggest motivation for this post is, obviously, the music throughout the entire Scandal arc. It is heavily influenced by opera, partly because Irene herself is an opera singer, partly also because the masquerade ball itself is also a perfect stage for an opera to be shown. And the opera was not simply brought in to make the music sound good, but also utilising the plot of the opera itself to create more depth and color to the musical. About Opera during the 19th Century Some side notes. Opera has originated and developed from various different kinds of stage ever since the Greek and Romans. I'm not going into details but anyway, by the 19th Century, it's still somewhat of a luxury that is mostly meant for nobles and people with high status. There are millions of stories about nobles coming to the theatre only to enjoy the music and not the play itself, or not really watching anything but waiting to see their favourite opera singer. Like when the other things in the play are going on, they stay in there box or hang out with other nobles, playing cards and all, and when their favourite singer makes her debut, they come to the front of the box and watch her. Then they return to their games when she exits. All the luxuries. Opera is really something that is meant for nobles and those with nothing but time and money on their hand back then. And another thing is (with an image that I quickly searched on Google just now lol) back them before any stages there is always a pit for the orchestra to be in. They are just below the stage so that the music can still reach the audience as equally, but also low enough that they aren't in the way of the audience's view.

By the way, the role of the conductor and stage director back then was somewhat a blur (if I remember it correctly), as the music writer would very often himself direct the entire stage and become the conductor on the performance day. In case something goes wrong, such as actors need more time to adlib, then he knows how to direct the orchestra to play accordingly. It's quite a small detail, but in Op. 3 Liam also refers to himself (yes this is still about Yuumori lol) as the maestro, somewhat very similar to the role of the conductor himself. This reference, as we can see, shows Liam's role behind the scene conducting all the plots and instructions. It's quite a small detail I think, but also quite interesting

By the way, the leading singer, or Prima Donna (as they call Irene), are always sopranos. And the same goes for Irene Adler, all of her songs were written to highlight her soprano voice, like in 大作戦ーDaisakusen or her song with Ms. Hudson

An example from a song that I was reminded of when listening to Cecile!Irene. Of course there are many other songs we can talk about, this is just one of the examples.

Obviously, Irene's song aren't entirely like classical opera songs. They were all arranged to both highlight the opera feature, but also to suit the form of the musical and all the while showing Irene's elegant and gracious manners of a prima donna, and also showing her playful side especially during her duet with Sherlock.

YAMI NO OPERA - DON GIOVANNI BEHIND THE CURTAIN

To understand Don Giovanni references, it's essential to understand the story behind the original opera by Mozart. That being said, the actual plot of the story is quite long and contains so many details it's almost impossible to fit all of them into one post while also comparing them with the one in Morimyu, so this is a link to a more detailed synopsis of the opera. Or you can also read more on wiki. I'll just give some basic details that are referenced and discussed in this post. Overall impression: This opera revolves around a playboy that flirts with women, but lacking in loyalty and commitment to keep any of his promises to them. By the end of the play, after all the sin he has committed, Don Giovanni is engulfed in hell's fire, and punished for his sin. It is very much similar to the story in Morimyu, nobles relying on their wealth and status and have the freedom to do anything as they want, without having to worry about having to bear the consequence. Because of the difference in power and status, it is almost impossible to punish all of them, therefore having a need of a "demon" to punish them with powers that no human have - the role of Moriarty gang within the play.

In this arc, Liam is "directing" a play that is inspired by Don Giovanni. His audience is Irene Adler (and of course us who is watching the entire thing), and the main character is Lorinson who ends up being punished for his crime. Mozart's Don Giovanni is being performed on stage, but at the same time Liam's "Don Giovanni" happens, in the back stage. What we are watching as the main stage is actually the "back stage" of the real story.

In the original play, Don Giovanni was a playboy that flirts with many women. At the beginning of the play, he flirts with a woman called Donna Anna, and her father tried to defend his daughter. They got involved in a duel and Don Giovanni killed the man. Donna Anna mourns and wish to avenger her father.

In Morimyu, the story of Lord Lorinson (pardon me for not knowing both the translation of his title and his name) is added in spite of the original plot in the manga. As far as my Japanese comprehension goes, the story is that Lord Lorinson is also one that uses his status to abduct other women to his pleasure, and ends up treating them poorly.

At one point, a woman came to the Lord of Crime, saying that her daughter has been murdered by the noble and mourns her. She wishes for revenge, and Liam proceed to do so.

Don Giovanni - Act I Finale

During Moran and Louis' fight with Raymond(?), in the section behind the stage we can see the opera theatre with the Finale song going on. The ensemble is still singing as the fight goes on behind them.

In the Finale of Act 1 here, the section that was insert into Morimyu was rather short, and was meant for a dramatic effect than actually showing what's happening in the original opera anyway. But anyway, we can see that as the fight proceeds, the curtain behind also slowly closes, ending the first Act of the opera.

It's clearer here. We can see that as they are fighting there is an entire opera going on at the back. The fact that the ensemble has their back to the audience emphasises how everything we're seeing are all in the backstage, but at the same time it proceeds alongside with all the events in the "mainstage". It's quite a powerful image.

At one point in the opera, Don Giovanni attends a party where he met one of his previous lovers that he betrayed. Then there's some talking and such and more betrayal, and somehow he then decides that he would also flirt with his ex's maid.

There isn't much that I have to say with this reference in the play, only that it is actually Fred disguising as a maid for the purpose of carrying out the plan and scared the sh*t out of Lorinson lol

I couldn't catch all the details from their conversation, but apparently Fred did some kind of stand-in again as the victim who was murdered by Lorinson, also to provoke him and lead him into Liam's trap?

At the end of the opera, Don Giovanni was cornered by the 'devil', drowning him in the flames of hell. However before that happens, the women that Don Giovanni once flirted with (as well as Donna Anna whose father was murdered by Don Giovanni) gathered, chasing after Leporello - Don Giovanni's servant - who exposed him of his guilts and sins.

The song that the women sung in this scene is "Ah, dov'e il perfido?", and there is a very small section at the end of the song that was kind of re-arranged and added to Morimyu. In Morimyu, this is the scene when Lorinson is exposed of what he is done, after that being "punished" by the devil. There is also a scene in the play when Liam mentions 地獄の炎 - Jigoku no Hono (The Flames of Hell) which is a direct reference from the original Don Giovanni. In fact, what he has been telling Lorinson is the story of Don Giovanni and how he ends up being punished - only that when Lorinson realised that, it's already too late.

(A reference from the song in the original play, the section that is used in Morimyu is actually quite short, only starting from around 5:40 within the song in this video)

In Yami no Opera, the song is arranged with Liam's part of the melody above the entire harmony. So it is indeed a proper opera that "Liam" has based on re-arranged to carry out his plan.

While Don Giovanni is happening on stage, there is also another "Don Giovanni" being punished by the devil - Lorinson. We hear part of the original song from the ensemble in the background, and also Liam's version of the punishment along with Lorinson's struggle. And at the same time the ensemble does seem to be focusing on "Don Giovanni" - all of them looking towards Liam's and Lorinson's position. A really impressive scene.

And after that very short section, the play goes on, returning their focus back to Irene Adler and Albert's conversation. There is no "Flames of Hell" erupting in any ways except for Liam's really strong section of the Yami no Opera song. And there's no need for it, I think, as Lorinson has never been the real protagonist like Don Giovanni. Liam only made him a temporary "protagonist" and not solely for the purpose of exposing him, but only as a mean to show Irene the true identity of the Lord of Crime. So there is no point making it more dramatic than it already is.

So...

That's pretty much all that I have to say about Don Giovanni and opera's reference, I think?

Well another thing, maybe, is how much I love the instrumental arrangement for violin and piano in Morimyu. They don't have the privilege of having an entire orchestra, but instead they did as much as they could for the instruments so that they recreate the original opera vibe as well as they possibly can. And the result is, just, extraordinary.

Anyhow, I've heard many of my friends comparing the songs from Op. 2 and Op. 3, seeing that Op. 3 has more of a "flow" in between the songs as all of them were written with harmony such that they have a certain connection to each other.

Not that Op. 2 doesn't do the same thing. However the second Opus does feel more separated, I think, since the music in the 3 different arcs are much more different. For instance the Baskerville arc has a "hunting" vibe to it, describing Moriarty gang's plan to bring down the nobles' game of hurting children, while the final Scandal arc revolves around an opera singer and mostly happens within a masquerade ball. So there is a big difference between the scenes, and obviously a big difference in the music brought to them as well.

Aaaand, that's pretty much all the details I've picked up (and remembered lol) up to this point.

Anyway, I've been watching and re-watching all 3 Opus of Morimyu many times, each time firguring out something else that I haven't noticed before. So if I end up realising some other details within this arc, maybe I'll come back and add to this post.

Thank you for reading ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

Also, thank you @rikaaki for these beautiful gifs(☆▽☆)

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back! Spoilers below!

I need to clarify that I watch Loki purely as an escape. I've got a biased perspective in that regard because I don’t actively try to find fault with the show, though there are definitely things I’m not so inclined to. This is more of what I noticed and think things mean and it’s something I’m doing for fun. Anyways, here's my thoughts on episode 2 my loves.

Episode 2: THE VARIANT

Pre-title scene

Miss Minutes’ monologue in the recap is different to the one last ep.

1985 Oshkosh, Wisconsin

C-20!

“Today’s guest performances” on a board. Don’t really know if it means anything tho.

The Iconic (TM) I Need A Hero scene.

Pony.

The green tent - the lair of Loki.

I know not everyone’s a fan of the lighting, but it made sense to me. They’re still in the dark about who Sylvie is.

Why does C-20 take off her helmet? For the drama?

I hope Sylvie cleaned her blade. Narnia taught me well.

The Time Samsung (I can’t remember what it’s called right now) says that the date’s 04/12/1985.

Loki’s first mission (?)

‘Volume 26’ - how many of these does Mobius have?? #giveMobiusajetski

“ONLY at your LOCAL AUTHORIZED DEALER” - subtext about the TVA being control freaks? Jet ski safety?

I googled Wake Magazine. They’re up to volume 20 from what I saw, whilst Loki is reading volume 26, so I guess that’s something

Loki and Miss Minutes lmaooo.

Behind Loki’s elbow is the taxidermy something from the last episode. Also confirms that Loki threatened Casey at Mobius’ desk lol.

The thing has an egg?? What the hell is Mobius collecting? (He’s a Harry Hart variant lmao).

There are little twitches in Miss Minnutes’ hands. That’s so cool!

The egg timer’s a nice easter egg (I’m a comedian).

Mobius! B-15! :)

Is it just me or do the minutemen look similar, but not exactly the same. Makes sense if they’re variants.

I just realised the lights are built into the ceiling. Whoops.

What’s Mobius’ favourite?

Couple of things:

The racks full of identical uniforms/ones just hung up on doors.

The music has started to pick up the pace, but not in the way we see later on in the episode.

There’s a sign saying ‘FARE THEE WELL’ on it. Google tells me that it’s ‘used to express good wishes on parting’. Dang that was some good foreshadowing!

The person that looks like Agatha is still present.

I wonder whether it was supposed to be colder or whether the weather was just like that when they filmed.

The pony’s still around.

I think B-15 certainty that “a Loki couldn’t have gotten the jump of C-20” comes from her experience with them. She constantly tries to make it clear that because she’s not a variant, she’d know Loki better than he would, which (personally) makes the revelation that she’s a variant feel more devastating.

Again with the lighting, they’re still in partial darkness, constantly moving in and out of the light. Whilst what Loki says about the variant setting a trap is true, it isn’t in the context that he says it. Sylvie whoops their asses later.

The black and red-orange flags remind me of tomb markers. It’s a stretch, ik.

B-15 only has tally marks on one side of her helmet.

Mobius has fake pockets in his suit jacket. They’re the worst.

The ticking increasing in tempo as they approach red line - great for setting up tension.

I believe that Loki uses personal space like a weapon - slowly approaching them from the front, and then going behind Mobius’ back when he wants his way. It would make anyone uncomfortable, especially on a subconscious level because there’s a threat behind you.

Or maybe it’s that I have different personal space boundaries, not everyone likes being approached from behind. Loki’s movement felt intentional at least.

Getting Mobius to physically turn his way because of that might have been very subtle manipulation?

Loki looking back and forth trying to judge their reactions lol.

I liked the music in this scene, it sets up tension for Loki’s first attempt at betraying Mobius but then doesn’t completely dismiss it when it’s resolved.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

The music here is 18 morceaux, Op. 72, No. 2. Berceuse. 18 morceaux, Op. 72: No. 2, Berceuse (Arr. For Theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore for anyone that’s curious. I found out through Natalie Holt’s Twitter (I think).

The score is, and always will be, perfection.

Mobius’ small talk amuses me.

“Why do you get to keep all the trophies from my cases in here, you don’t think I’d love having that roller skate?” Mobius, what about the thing on the shelf behind your desk????

Ravonna seems like she’s answered these questions before, but she has a fondness for him that makes me think they’re good friends.

Also does Ravonna have multiple complete collections of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in her office? What are those books??

“I hope it’s a double.” Me too Mobius, me too (drink responsibly).

I don’t get how people think Mobius doesn’t remember leaving the stains. It sounded like Ravonna was chiding him for a bad habit and Mobius just made up a remark, not confusion.

Although he does place the cup at a different spot to the rings.

The ship flying past in the windows is a wonderful detail.

“The variant likes to stall for time.” It's very satisfying to me how everything stays relevant. Every detail advances the plot/contributes to it.

“Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things.”

“I don’t think so-”

“Yes you do.”

Both Mobius and Ravonna only look at the middle figure when referring to the time Keepers. Either the other two are side-lined or don’t contribute at all.

“I’ll delete him myself.” At this point in time, I think Mobius is serious. As the episode progresses, his status may have changed, especially after the Jet Ski philosophy session.

Ravonna’s sash on the peg reminds me of the ones the people talking to Casey were wearing in episode 1.

Man those doors are so cool.

Peak sitting outside the principal’s office energy.

Mobius whistles at Loki as opposed to talking to him like he does later.

Any screen shot from the following scene is pristine chaotic disaster bi Loki energy featuring tired-of-your-tomfoolery Mobius.

“Isn’t that precisely why I’m here?” This marked a change in Loki to me. Up until that point, he’d tried to use what he’d known, who he’d been by scheming his way to the Time Keepers. By admitting he wasn’t sure of his purpose, we’re back with the person at the end of the last episode. It’s very Loki to try all avenues to get what he wants, and after having his world turned upside-down a few times in a short period, maybe he just wanted the familiarity of his old tricks, who he thinks he is.

Loki tensing up and then trying to assert control again reaffirms what I just said.

Man, give Mobius a holiday after all of this. Loki really tested him, huh?

Loki definitely likes validation on some level.

TVA archives (a.k.a the Salad Scene)

I can’t believe that place really exists. The looks combined with the music are just *chef kisses*.

I’m not sure if I’m thinking of the right progression, but the music reminds me of a plagal cadence. Google examples and play it side-by-side, you’ll get what I mean, maybe someone knows what it really is?

On either side of the elevators near the Time Keeper statues are the signs TVA archives.

The symmetry pleases my goblin brain.

I believe the entire show was just flexing the skills of the Loki crew and I couldn’t be happier.

“Pretend your life depends on it. I’m gonna get a snack.” This was so funny in the trailers but Mobius is dead serious (delete him myself comment). And he couldn’t even enjoy his salad.

Love that the end of credits takes from some of the scenes in episode 2.

The archivist has neat glasses.

I want some TVA stationary y’all.

It’s that moment fam.

I can’t be the only one curious by the ‘DISPLACED by 000:000:002:162’. Is that in Units? It would explain why the time line looks slightly bendy whenever we see it, especially if Apocalypses are so frequent.

IT’S THE SALAD LADS!

Mobius is reading the magazine that Loki was looking at earlier. Jet skis are Mobius’ comfort character.

“Don’t set fire to the palace.”

Tom Hiddleston has so much energy, he can move so fast.

“Oh God.” - Mobius, Null Time Zone

“YOU.” - Casey, Null Time Zone

Casey!

No thoughts, head empty, the Salad (TM).

But seriously, people only seem to be at their tables with others that work in a similar section. Not hunters and analysts eating in tandem to me, folks.

Oh Casey. Please don’t hurt him.

Aw, Mobius’ little giggle warmed my heart. Owen Wilson’s giving me whiplash with Mobius. My heart can’t take this y’all.

79 AD Pompeii, Italy

They’re both so giddy, Your Honour, I love them.

Mobius snuck them out lol.

“Bird noises?”

“BE FREE MY HORNED FRIENDS, BE FREE!” The post wouldn’t be complete without this.

Loki just throwing food at people and telling them “...enjoy your last meal while you can” is top tier comedy to me.

This is the first time we see Loki openly say nothing matters. I feel like the case file on the destruction of Asgard really pushed him to treat fate as unchangeable.

LXXIX is 79. Nice one Loki crew!

Mobius’ eye twitching as he checks the variance is a nice touch.

Loki throws away the stick that was holding the goat pen closed at the end.

TVA Archives, TVA cafeteria

Mobius picked up those files so smoothly I had to re-watch it.

Their position reflected what they were talking about - when Loki thinks it’s his individual contribution, he’s walking separately to Mobius, but they meet up when working together. I loved the blocking in that little moment.

I seriously thought that Loki was unconscious when I first saw him asleep around Mobius. I’ll admit it, it felt out-of-character for someone with such bad trust issues. Both of them seem pretty tired tho.

It’s the Jet Ski conversation comrades!

I’m beaming. Mobius talking about Jet Skis was the only time I’ve really remembered it’s Owen Wilson talking. It’s such a fun line to think about!

Loki’s smile. Adorable.

Just go watch the scene, it’ll give you good brain juices.

Mobius does it all for the Jet Skis and nothing else. I don’t make the rules, the Time Keepers do.

“My own glorious purpose.” This is a recurring theme in the season. Ultimately, I think that Loki is going to run for as long as it brings in money/until Loki gets killed again. However, I do like to think that in following seasons we’ll move beyond setting up Phase 4 Marvel stuff and just get deep dives into Loki’s character, though it may happen in the later eps or not be as interesting. Part of what made this show so interesting is the new setting in the Marvel universe but it’s hard to make predictions as to whether it will last in a show featuring the God of Mischief. Whatever happens, I’m happy that we got to see Loki’s existential crisis together, lads.

The music picks up, signalling that this quiet moment is about to end.

“No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is every truly good.”

“Scared little boy.”

These lines mean a lot to me. Loki perceives Mobius as an equal, similar to himself but not completely identical. The TVA’s whole aesthetic is Kafkaesque (Disney+ used that word), the imperfections keeping the place from looking mechanical and orderly like what the TVA promotes itself to be. Loki wants Mobius to acknowledge it, but Mobius is in the past, not addressing what’s right in front of him, surrounding him. That’s probably because Mobius doesn’t believe, he accepts what he’s been told though Loki wants to change that. He’s still focused on his job, the variant. I don’t think Mobius will struggle against change in the ‘belief’ part as long as things are rational.

Kate Herron (director) said that the Kablooie scene was improv which makes me wish we had more B roll of Owen and Tom. They seem so professional, invested and fun on set.

“No wonder you’re so bitter.” I’m sorry Mobius you sound as salty as your salad.

‘Artificially flavoured chewing gum’ Has something happened causing artificial flavouring to be preferred?

‘Blue’ has canonically changed to ‘Bloo’ by 2050 in America in the MCU. I blame capitalism.

Why does Mobius look so tiny? I say that like Owen Wilson wouldn’t look like a giant next to me lol.

Owen Wilson is 3.5 inches (9 centimetres) shorter than Tom Hiddleston. Yet he is dwarfed as Mobius. I need to stop talking about this and move on.

There’s no ‘variance energy detected’ line in the report.

“You’re gonna take my job if I’m not careful.” Loki looks so chuffed.

One day, I’ll properly address my thoughts on the shipping. Until then, I just want no one to die.

“Yeah, he’s doing great.” Mobius is so hyped. Good for him.

Owen Wilson has dimples.

Ravonna’s screen doesn’t show the timeline like it does later.

Ravonna is the done mom friend. Sane, undeserving of this, please give her a jet ski moment.

Buckle up folks because the last twenty minutes of this episode are my favourite so far.

At 34 minutes in, we get the music fading in with “Okay. But Mobius...” and a transition to my favourite composition so far. Natalie Holt outdid herself. The soundtrack is nearly constant, there’s no break for a moment of clarity anymore. The progression of events is inevitable, tying the bow on a plot line created in an hour and a half. The little embellishment from the strings (possibly) as Mobius and Loki exit is perfect. Combined with Loki’s raised fist leading to a pan to the ceiling, it prepared the audience for everything being turned upside down.

The changing camera angles and shot lengths (the continuous shot when B-15 takes the knives, the circling behind as the briefing occurs) keep viewers on their toes. The continuous shot is fluid, B-15 doesn’t look at Loki or Mobius, her reaction is natural and that just proves that the timing on that scene was impeccable. The circling behind reminded me of Loki positioning himself behind Mobius as he did earlier, but now he’s on the same side, part of the team though he continues to distinguish between himself and the variant. The building sensation that change is coming is met by the incredible swell in the music as we watch the picturesque Haven Hills get destroyed by modern technology and face the terrifying reality that is the Roxxcart store. There’s a close up on the Roxxcart storefront with school buses with the words ‘Evacuation shuttle’ in the background as we see the TVA’s minutemen come out reinforcing that even when the end is nigh, large corporations will loom over. A storm is raging with worse to come. I can go on and on, but you get the point.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I love that y’all are calling this the Alabama supermarket breakup. Makes me chuckle, that’s for sure.

I too hate when people can hear my footsteps. Someone that gets the struggle.

Sylvie places the TVA Samsung over a Roxxcart Security manual. She’s overridden both and is in control.

The date is 03/15/2050.

I think that the way the Hunters and minutemen hold their baton things is so that they don’t get yeeted. Neat.

As always, the beats are slick yo.

I hope the Azaleas guy gets some Azaleas wherever he ended up.

I love the way Loki says “In this storm.” It’s so satisfying for no real reason.

The wonderful Wunmi Mosaku does not get the recognition she deserves for this scene. She switched from B-15 to Sylvie so effortlessly. They’re two distinct characters, her facial expressions, body language everything changed in that instant. Even from the one line, “No, they usually survive,” her delivery had changed in a way that was noticeable. It’s uncanny, exactly what was needed when facing a foe that remained unseen. And the smile? It’s before we know the variant as Sylvie, so naturally it’s that signature Loki smile with a hint of malice we associate with the variant. Damn y’all, Wunmi’s incredible! I really hope she’s recognised for being so talented in this series, if not in all her other work!

Mobius really cares about those people. I really want his redemption (?) arc.

It’s been pointed out that even in those conditions, Roxxcart were selling blankets and water. I think it means that by 2050, cash would be defunct. If only electronic payment existed, as long as there’s electricity they can run a business. Chew on that.

If the man they speak to is 50 to 60, he was a 90s kid.

There must be a difference in the reprogramming or kind of variant selected to be a hunter as compared to an analyst. The Hunters look after their own, but the analysts (or Mobius) go as far as empathising with variants.

C-20 is sitting in front of safety standards.

“A bit amateurish.” Loki knows that the variant isn’t as skilled with magic as he is.

As Loki and the possessed people walk, the lighting becomes brighter. He’s moving out of the shadows.

Me too Loki, I’m worried about B-15 too.

Sylvie unironically saying bless is hilarious.

Randy must be hella tall.

There’s a low angle shot as Loki and Randy face off with the flickering light above with a sign hanging above them like a sword of Damocles and a physical separation. Terror is nearly constant in Loki's life now, but he responds by letting go of his drive to survive.

The subtle swells in the music just add to my rising blood pressure.

C-20’s voice over is sad lads.

“I wanna go home,” we know she’s not referring to the TVA.

Mobius seems like a caring person.

When B-15 sits up and searches the room, I think it’s her realisation. Her shiver was from fear and shock, the music wasn’t about her not seeing Loki, it was about the TVA and what had happened to her.

The head snap and the score timing matching. So satisfying.

“I would never treat me like this. Hi.” I think that’s Loki realising that his foe is not willing to talk their way through conflict.

This fight scene contradicts all the magic we see later ik, but if he didn’t want to hurt anyone and was trying to draw out the real enemy it made sense.

Some of Sylvie’s powers must come into the people she possesses. The guy punched a glass screen and didn’t even bleed.

“I have shit to do.” Sylvie wasn’t raised with court etiquette (from what we know) and her lexical choice reflects that.

Dell computers survive into 2050 in the MCU. So do those robot dogs and Roombas. I am only happy about the Roombas. Where did the real dogs go? :(

“Mobius.”

“Where is he?”

“I lost him.”

“What happened?”

“I...”

Until now, B-15’s delivery has felt slightly rhythmic, like she was used to having the same arguments, particularly with Mobius. When she trails off however, I think it’s her trying to rationalise what she’s been through with Sylvie’s possession. Her devotion to the TVA was rooted in the fact that she wasn’t a variant, her life had a purpose and it was intentional. This must have rocked her, I’m invested in where she’ll go.

THE CUT TO BLACK OH GOOD GOSH.

Sylvie, my queen. I’d roll off a cliff for her.

The person with the moustache (you know the one) has pure fear on his face.

Ravonna knows what’s up.

And so do you, yes it’s the music, go listen to it.

THE RED LIGHTING

The zoom out to that incredible hallway shot and then stopping behind the time door. It was never about him after all, he was in the background of her plans.

Sylvie’s wave in Roxxcart vs. Loki’s on the train. Discuss.

The blackout, thunder and Loki’s pause under the flickering red and white light, do y’all really want me to talk about the s y m b o l i s m????

He’s conflicted, you know it, I know it, Mobius knows it.

Speaking of Mobius, there he is, we cut back to Loki and see him make his decision, zooming back in on him.

And with that final flourish in the score, we are done with episode 2!

Cue the most amazing end credits score you’ll ever hear.

Do yourself a favour, listen to all of it, including the part after the main credits, both are Works. Of. Art.

Ep 2 review

In case you didn’t notice, this is my favourite episode so far. There are parts I didn’t take to as much, but details from the previous episode being used in the plot as well as others being explained by Sylvie in episode 3. Rewatching it was easier than episode 1 though it left me wanting more. It will get more interesting from here, but until then, that was a fun romp.

See y'all next time. I hope whoever's reading this has a wonderful day!

Part 1, Episode 1 extend review link:

[casijaz]

Xenophobia is not racism part 24,450 - Electric Boogaloo

@angelina-galkina you have so much to say so I’ll just put your argument right here and comment on it.

I am putting this under a read more tag for all my followers. If you’re interested, please read.

Angelina, your English seems to be well enough for you to understand my original posts, so I figure you will be able to understand me now. I am also not a native English speaker, so if there is miscommunication between us do tell me.

angelina-galkinaheeft gereageerd op je bericht “On Xenophobia and Racism”

Actually, the reason Europeans hate Slavs is because they think Slavs are Asians or all mixed with Asians. Slavs were seen as low as blacks people on the Nazi “racial hierarchy” scale. It was because Slavs were not considered white, (which was decided by those white European men you mentioned earlier who classified race.) They think Slavs are “secretly asian” or something like that. To be specific, manyyyyy Russian Slavs are mixed with central asian/ middle eastern at this point.

In Poland and Ukraine, the white nationalists there (like you said, there are a lot) dont consider Russian Slavs white (I am a Siberian Yup’ik, so don’t think I’m getting defensive, I’m not white lol) Russian Slavs experience xenophobia, and that xenophobia is rooted in racism in Europe. In America, the hate of Russians is rooted in dumb political reasons.

When I say that the xenophobia against Slavs in Europe is rooted in racism, I mean to say that they hate Slavs because Slavs aren’t white to them. Again, many Slavs are only partially white (so I guess they are only partly Slav?) This is sort of confusing, apologies.

Also, when you say that the hate of Slavs is geographically based, that is partially true. Because Slavs are so Eastward, they have mixed many times with Central and west Asians. So it is rooted in racism, but the insult is that they are part non-white so it’s not directly racism. I just don’t like misinformation being spread.

Note: {I am from Russia, (English isn’t my first language, sorry) and I know primarily about Russian Slavs, so I am only speaking about them.} Russia is both a multi-racial/multi-ethnic country. 

angelina-galkina heeft gereageerd op je bericht “Okay non-European tumblr”

They were talking about their own issues within Europe. It had nothing to do with people of other races. They were talking about how white people hate other white people, BASED ON racism against other races. It isn’t white racist people hating other white people, it is white racist people hating on other white people who “aren’t white to them” They never said anything bad.

Let’s unpack all of this for a second.

First off all. Who do you refer to when you say Europeans? People of Slavic descent are European. If by European you mean north/west ones I can tell you as one from that area that they are definitely European. These white people do not think they are Asian. Racial discrimination against Asians is something that is experienced by a lot in my country, but not by eastern European immigrants.

“Slavs were seen as low as blacks people on the Nazi “racial hierarchy” scale. ” In my original post I said whiteness was a social construct subject to change. While Nazis have had a hand or two in defining races, the construct of race was not created by them. It was European men in the 1600s. What you are also implying is that Slavic people only experience racism by being related or in proximity to ACTUAL non-whiteness. This is a tactic that has been used a lot in the defining of racism. But let me tell you. The people they’re compared to are always off worse. Also. Don’t ever say blacks again. It’s a racist term.

I have no insight in the genetic background of all Slavic ethnic groups in Russia. However from what I could find from these studies: http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/russians.html and https://bmcgenet.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12863-017-0578-3 is that there’s virtually little to no Asian heritage among Russian and eastern European Slavic peoples. There was almost no middle eastern genetic heritage found among these groups either. This was a study done with a group of 1000 people. You could make an argument that they misrepresented the population, but I actually have a problem with people claiming non-white heritage just for an excuse to absolve themselves of white privilege.

Xenophobia is a complex issue that IS tied to racism but is not racism. Please re-read the post I made. In Europe, xenophobia can be strengthened by racism. For example, in a lot of northern countries the south of Europe is seen as more ‘exotic.’ This is because they are in proximity to non-white countries. In the United States of America, xenophobia is not just all about ‘dumb political reasons.’ The United States of America is a former colony placed on stolen indigenous land by white Europeans from all over the place. They brought their values and systems regarding race along with them. This means Europe and the U.S. have similar systems, simply because it’s the same people who made them.

I think you’re onto something when you say ‘not white to them,’ but you need to realise that they still are white. I don’t know what your experience with racism is if you’re part of a non-white ethnic group in Russia. I can tell you my experience as mixed black person who is not white passing and lives in Europe. Whatever Slavic immigrants face for discrimination, and what I face, are completely different. Their discrimination is not nor ever based on their race. They are white. They don’t get blackface thrown in their faces. They don’t get called racial slurs. They don’t get their bodies or cultural aspects dubbed dirty or inferior on basis of their race. If they do experience discrimination it is based on the geographical history we’ve had in Europe.

What I can definitely agree on with you is that southern and eastern Europeans experience xenophobia on basis of their relation to non-whiteness on a geographical and historical basis. Many countries were colonised by the Ottoman Empire once. In the 1900s they were described as being ‘too close to the east.’ However note that I say ‘too close,’ but not ‘IN’ the east. In the 1800s while northwest European men were defining races they deemed a lot of races not quite white by relating them to races they had definitively deemed not-white. But we no longer live within the racial confines of neither the 1800s nor Nazi Germany. The racial hierarchy scale however is here to stay. It is subject to change, has been, and always will be, but there are certain groups of people whose claim to whiteness can never happen. Among them are black people.

Now to the reaction I made to the non-European Tumblr post going around! I am European! I was talking about my own issues too! These are my issues! White people hate white people because of geographical and cultural differences. They are both white. So they can’t be racist against each other. Both are at the top of the racial hierarchy. They did say something bad. When us ACTUAL non-white Europeans try talking about racism they try and hijack the conversation by stating they can’t possibly be racist because it works differently in Europe. It doesn’t. The U.S. and Europe have the same racial systems. The U.S. even has some of the same xenophobic basis for discriminating groups of people as Europe because the white population of the U.S. consists out of solely (people descended from) European immigrants.

Don’t ever tell a European of colour to not talk about their own issues. These are my issues and I will only stop talking about them when racism and xenophobia cease to exist.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Declines

I think the worst feeling in the whole world is missing something that no longer exists, or has degenerated into something far less ... just less than it used to be.

Reading how TOR is having to do a massive server merge right now is saddening, despite the fact that I would not go back to that game unless you paid me to do so, instead of obliging me to pay to get anything like a full gaming experience. Particularly given the nature of some of the merges, not to mention the language being used in the ‘road map’ thing they’re posting. Merge servers if you have to, Bioware, but don’t say it’s to make it easier to play with friends. Friends are already on the same server. What you’re doing is trying to make PUG queues actually contain enough people to get a decent Op or FP run, and I doubt it’s going to work. The ‘rewards’ on offer are not enough to tempt me back, and I don’t know if that game will see the end of 2018. I kind of hope it doesn’t. It’s kind of sad to see it limping along like this, with the mediocre story with the contrived ‘shock value’ crap and how it seems less and less ‘Star Wars’ every day.

Then there’s SWL, which is also haemorrhaging players. And that’s not even taking into account the people who log in for their dungeon keys and then log out again to play something else, which I know for a fact happens. I’ve been keeping up with this a little less than I have TOR stuff, mostly because it’s depressing (I was in the closed beta and had to stop playing because the reticle targeting system they insisted on throwing in to ‘make combat more exciting’ gives me a rampant migraine), but reading through the patch notes, most of what I’m seeing is, “Fixed this issue, fixed that issue, fixed this problem, whoops here have another bug fix”. I’m all for fixing bugs, but the fact that there are so many bugs that need fixing indicates a distinct lack of time and effort put into coding the things in the first place. Then again, I guess that just follows the current pattern. Whether or not the combat system is something one can deal with (and it’s a dealbreaker for me on health issues alone), the fact remains that they’re still using the same engine and most of the same code, having made just enough tweaks and overlays to the existing game to bend it into a new shape whether or not it fits, and worried about all the shit that might go wrong later. It makes the entire game one continuous open beta, and yet another reason why if they do manage to get new story content out, I’ll be watching it on YouTube.

I’m not saying my current MMO is perfect. Nothing in this world is. I know that. Just ... these things were better, once. I have a distinct mistrust of certain types of language, and in both cases, all of the language they’re using in their promotional material is just a little too ... manic and zealous in their “we’re doing this for YOU!” sentiments to be trusted, particularly when examination of the facts behind the bumph don’t quite add up. Telling us that the server merges are entirely for our benefit because “PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS!” doesn’t ring as true as, “We know you’re having problems finding PUGs so we’re merging the servers”. One indicates that no one is listening to the players but they really want to look like they are. The other indicates that they are actually listening and want to fix the issues.

...The problem is that then there’s a precedent set, and you have to fix the other stuff. Maybe that means you have to re-examine letting people base the entire storyline off an old RP campaign, and thus ending up making the NPCs the stars of the show way more often than the player character gets to be. Maybe that means you have to actually recode your game from the ground up to make it be the ARG you want it to be instead of lazily slapping new code on top of old code and an older graphics engine. Maybe that just means realising that you are never, ever going to make as much money as WoW and you maybe need to stop putting the quest to outdo WoW ahead of the needs of the players you actually have.

Because seriously, nothing is going to outdo WoW at this point. Those who are playing World of Warcraft and have been for any length of time are way too invested to turn back now, because Blizzard has built up to that. Thing is, one of these days, Blizzard is going to write the World of Warcraft into a corner. Some might argue that they already have, from what I’m hearing. One day - not any day soon, I don’t imagine, but one day - World of Warcraft will shut its doors. Probably. Maybe. Nothing lasts forever, anyway.

If / when that day comes, though ... something is going to have to come along to take its place at the top of the heap. I think the ones with the best chance of being that new ruler, so to speak, are the ones who build up their following now, and show their players the respect and entertainment they deserve, instead of microtransacting them to death to no appreciable benefit to the player. It’ll be a game that’s already built trust, respect, and a small but vocally pleased following. It could be ESO, in part because name recognition ... but then again, Skyrim so oversaturated the market that it might be detrimental instead of helpful, particularly given that people aren’t overly happy with Bethesda at this point anyway over the whole deal with the Fallout 4 mod shop thing. It could be Guild Wars 2, which has been quietly ambling along doing its own thing and not completely shafting its player base with micropayments while still having micropayments to offset the supposedly detrimental “buy-to-play” thing. Hell, they’ve had at least two expansions so far; they can’t be doing that badly. I doubt it’ll be FFXIV, or whatever comes after FFXIV - although at least FFXIV has more longevity than its predecessor ever had. Thing is, Final Fantasy MMOs tends to draw a more ... serious-minded crowd, I guess you could say? Yes, there’s scope for faffing about, but mostly it’s dungeons every few levels and those dungeons are serious business with serious mechanics, whereas in most games you can theoretically get by without doing a dungeon, ever.

Not that I’m in any hurry for WoW to go away. I don’t play but I know people who do, and they’re still having fun. Thing is, not everyone does play. I guess I just think other MMOs ought to consider that maybe it would be better to try to entice those who aren’t interested in WoW, or who sometimes need a secondary MMO for then they’re burned out on WoW, than to try to outdo them financially. They’ll never make as much money as WoW is doing right now. Just ... as long as you’re making at least some profit, shouldn’t that be enough? Again, it’s the issue where if a game hasn’t made ALL THE MONEY, it is considered a failure. Apparently this is a prevalent viewpoint in the industry, and it kind of needs to stop. Like with movies, sometimes there’ll be blockbusters, and sometimes there’ll just be popcorn. Not every game can be a blockbuster. People don’t work that way when it comes to their entertainment media. Just ... right now, the strain being placed on game devs to make every game a blockbuster is taking away from their ability to build on the games that actually were blockbusters. Bioware’s particularly bad about this these days, but Ubisoft has its own issues in that regard. In both cases, they’ve crammed in mechanics and modes that no one asked for and just cluttered up an otherwise good game (multiplayer in Mass Effect? Eh, I can take or leave it. Multiplayer in Dragon Age? Four player co-op in Assassin’s Creed? Not so much. And don’t even get me started on the issues with trying to maintain focus and pacing in a linear story when dealing with an open-world sandbox map because ‘everything is sandbox now’ without giving a single thought to how the setting and map should guide and serve the narrative and you can’t exactly maintain a sense of urgency about the end of the fucking world if you can put it off for several weeks to go on a full completionist ‘let’s gather every mosaic piece’ binge).

Basically, everyone needs to accept that video games are art, like books and movies - just a bit more so, because it’s an active intake rather than a passive one, thus more audience investment if that investment is going to happen. Game devs need to focus on the audience’s emotional investment, not their financial one, if they want to produce something that’s actually any good. I’d really rather they prefer that they try to produce something good than something that’s just ‘marketable’.

[artoo-detoos]

loOK WHAT I FOUND ON MY EXPLORE PAGE ON INSTAGRAM

(rant under read more haha, not that i think i need to defend myself just need to rant)

also if u see this person on insta or whatever pls DONT attack them just ignore them pls

so i knew this was probs gonna be bad bcs most fan accts on insta are k/ylo stans and re/ylo shippers (who literally almost never acknowledge the other characters) and lo and behold i caused this person to Discourse

“ky/lo r/en [...] is a main character” uhhh ya, he’s the main fucking villain i know he’s an important character, he’s just not a protagonist!!! thats all this meme is saying!!!!! he’s an antagonist, i literally acknowledged this in my caption on the original post but op conveniently left that out, and honestly even if he redeems himself, he’s done enough to qualify as an antagonist, like v/ader isnt a protagonist even tho he redeemed himself...and we dont even know if he’s getting redemption, like there may be evidence supporting it but theres also evidence against it and tbh its worrisome to see how delusional some ppl are (this is abt both sides of the argument tbh)

“if u dont know about storytelling u shouldnt watch s/tar w/ars then” again i literally show that i understand how antagonist/protagonists work but i guess i know nothing abt storytelling, even if that were tru, i can still watch s/tar w/ars if i fucking wanted 

also how is this “shitting on others who only like villains” 

as for the comment op replied to someone who literally put into words the reason i even made the dumb meme (better than i ever could tbh) and this is their reply.... like did they even look through my blog???tbh i do reblog a bunch of emo kyle ron type posts but like i literally wrote “there isnt rly a character i hate but like the ppl that woobify k/ylo r/en rly put me off from his character im pretty sure i would have liked him more if it werent for his fandom” in reply to an ask abt which character i hate, like these are my own actual words not even a reblog i agree with and theres also fanart of him there too i may have been anti-k/ylo for a while but i realised not wanting him in the saga is stupid and i defs wasnt when i made this meme. i just hated how ppl thought p/oe wasnt part of the trio and it was him instead, how can u say he’s unimportant when he literally has his own ongoing comic book

but anyway the tags on the original post are rly nice and have been making me happy for the past few days like even k/ylo fans are saying its tru so thanks if u left something in the tags 

ps i put a slash through literally every name bcs i dont want re/ylos to come at me for cross tagging or whatever and as we all know tumblrs filter system is shit

pps completely unrelated the comment section somehow lead to them saying this was disneys fault and that disney ruined their properties like ???? disney is literally the most successful film company rn, they literally brought in 1 billion last year from movies alone and the mcu is literally the highest earning film franchise ok sorry i just thought that was so ridiculous

[queerascat]

(Hi, anon from yesterday) So I had another read and "what about the aces who would see themselves portrayed in an asexual Jughead who “has romances” with women and burgers? who also see their own asexuality being erased or called into question by the very same people arguing that Jughead’s has been? not one thought paid to them or the media representation that they also lack, just like the rest of us." While it has nothing to with actual representation, which I now realise wasn't your point PT1

It still sounds a lot like you honestly think romantic aces are the ones being erased. My problem with this is that aro aces and especially allo aros are erased so much of the time in ace communities, yet when aro aces make something about them romantic aces scream erasure while completely ignoring the context. Within the context of the asexual community, it seems like romantic aces don’t realise what they’re doing. PT2

(re: this post and this ask)

i was asking for people to consider an unspecified other group of aces. please note how i did not specify romantic aces as you are doing here because i do not see this as the clear-cut aro ace vs romantic ace thing that people are insisting it is. regardless of the sexuality of Jughead himself, aro aces are not and have never been the only aces to see themselves in Jughead. i was purposefully vague also because “have romances” is also vague itself– we don’t even know what exactly is meant by it right now, whether it be sex, romance or something else. i feel like the possibility of people who may see themself in an asexual Jughead who “has romances” goes beyond the non-existent clear line between romantic aces and aromantic aces.

backtracking now, i do not think that romantic aces are “the ones” being erased. as i’ve said before, i think the way that the media has covered Sprouse’s interview (and in fact things that Sprouse himself have said) is potentially damaging for all aces, be they aromantic or not. on top of that, i think the way that some aces have responded on Twitter was / is also potentially damaging to an unspecified group of aces who may see themself in an asexual Jughead who “has romances” with women. while i focused on aces in my post because the post is about asexuality, even aromantic allosexuals are potentially hurt by the Keep Jughead #Asexual method of advocacy that i spoke of in the OP. i went into that in more detail at the end of this post.

i don’t at all deny the problematic behavior of some asexuals towards aromantic asexuals and i did not mean to play into that tendency myself. apologies if i did. the goal of the OP was to ask people to consider all asexuals in their advocacy for asexual representation, both in general and specifically in regards to Jughead. it was an attempt to point out that 

yes, what CW has decided to do with Jughead is shitty, taking away from the representation that the real Jughead in the comics is for people

yes, the media coverage of Sprouse’s interview in and of itself is also shitty and potentially hurtful to all asexuals, which of course includes aros

yes, people should absolutely fight for the correct portrayal of Jughead 

but also yes, the way that some people are fighting for Jughead leaves others out to dry and can in and of itself also be hurtful

it was an attempt to point that more than one group of asexuals can be hurt by something, that the response to something hurtful can in and of itself also be hurtful to others if we are not careful. it seems like people, yourself included, are of the mindset that only one possible group of asexuals can be hurt at any given time by something and that i’ve decided that the ones hurting are only romantic asexuals, but that was not what i was trying to say at all.

obviously i failed to be clear about that, as you’re not the only one who’s taken what i said in a different way than intended.

[jonboudposts]

The Tyranny of Opinion Part 1: I Demand You Debate Me

There are some people you cannot debate with because quite simply, they do not debate.  They just talk.

Such people have a list of issues they want to talk about and have already formed un-movable opinions on. Like being on a bad date, they will try to steer any conversation toward a subject they know about – or think they do – then try to outdo their ‘opponent’ on the subject.  However, when they can’t, the switch comes in quick to either the next subject or sometimes full-on conspiracy theory.

They also like being offensive, at least to a certain type of person.  They imagine pissing off ‘the Libs’ makes them edgy and rebellious (still don’t get the girl though).  It is of top consideration to be offensive to minorities and those least likely to fight back.  Being offensive is the goal; having good reason to be is irrelevant.

One example in my life was someone I used to see through work.  We would discuss various bits about films or games (his interest, not mine) and occasionally serious stuff like emotions.  After this person moved routes, a few months passed before I saw them again.  The next meeting was quite a shock; they had become preoccupied with alt-right talking points and hating the usual tropes (feminism, Islam) and proclaiming the need for violent action to protect ‘our’ (Christian) values.

In our following meetings, this person displayed classic traits – throwing a ‘point’ at me, shouting with faux-anger, interrupting mid-answer, uncomfortably putting up with my response that completely defeated their argument; then ignoring it and jumping to the next claim. Most of these claims were ludicrous; for instance it was claimed that in the Labour Party manifesto of 2015, there was a proposal that gay males would be forcibly paired up with single fertile women in order to produce the future labour force.  Now, in all seriousness; please tell me how to ‘debate’ with that.

My initial response was to speak to some mutual friends of ours and ask if they could explain this behaviour, before suggesting we should perhaps stage an intervention or call Prevent. I have still not decided.

However, some people make a career out of this kind of bullshit and not just Alex Jones.  A well-know name at the moment is Jordan Petersen, a Hackademic who likes to clothe his woman-hate and disgust with a world not interested in praising the mediocre white man constantly with a sheen of pseudo-intellectualism and big concept waffle.  Plus, as many articles written by far more intelligent and academic people tan me will tell you, his theories are bunk; mostly based on intentional misinterpretation of Marx or Derrida, coupled with the resentment only a rich white man can cultivate toward anyone with alternative ideas that are directly threatening to privilege.

He has decided cultural Marxism is why we are all so miserable and those obnoxious and tiresome young men like my example above are just misunderstood and alienated because of post-modernism and feminism.  Sadly, organisations like the BBC and Channel 4 think him worthy of attention too.  As he does not really have an argument but he does have loads of confidence and is able to speak for long periods, this makes him, in the modern interpretation, a good debater.  For the desperate need within the media for something not overtly murderous or obviously racist from the right, he gets taken seriously.  Some may complain I am only making a personal attack – I am, because there is nothing else there.

There is a big difference between free speech and people who just shout for attention.  At the risk of cutting people out of public life, there is no morale imperative to provide a platform to hate mongers and cranks and we know perfectly well this weakens society rather than strengthens it.

Petersen appeals to my friend because he is one of those figureheads who produces easy answers to complex problems, gives them back their hero narrative and tells them there is not need to change, while also backing up the nation that those who fail at the system should be condemned – so their adulation of him amounts to pure self-hatred really.  What they most strongly have in common is their convenient outrage and complete disinterest in answers or alternative opinions.  They just want someone to notice them.

Also, there is no work done here.  There is simply the expressing of opinion without footnotes.  No research, just feeling.  Those hating immigrants or women or trans people rarely quote from analysis and when such analysis is put to them, with all the facts that contradict their negative opinion of immigrants’ or women or trans people, they often just resort to denying the validity of the research with no evidence to back this up (seeing any themes here?).  Evidence is who Dave had in his cab last week or the ‘fact’ that one midwife at the hospital during the birth of their child was rude – and bloody foreign.

This kind of behaviour is simply not worthy of attention or contemplation (it is also dangerous). The lack of willingness to do any work but imagine you can just elbow into the same sphere is deplorable.  Derrida developed deconstruction; Petersen wrote an opinion book called 12 Rules for Life.  I read about both on the internet.

If anyone thinks I am suggesting ‘excluding some people’ from public life, let me ask you this; have you ever really spend time listening (online, TV or in life) to anyone jabbering conspiracy theories or just re-writing history, all for the sake of free speech?  If you have heard such people, how long did you listen?

If you were sitting at dinner and someone started ranting about 9/11 being an inside job, the moon landing not really happening, or no one dying in the Grenfell Tower, would you really just sit there?  Or would you prefer to see this person given a platform at a university?  Should we all engage for the sake of ‘preserving free speech’?

Well, you can if you want to but I have better things to do.  Plus, I do not think this shows any dedication to ideals of freedom; it shows a society falling apart, with no idea which direction to go.  With a lazy media looking for content and damaged people looking for someone to blame, this just creates a toxic public life filled with broken men and self-hating women screaming at the youth and calling it engagement.  In the absence of any new culture or forward momentum, this is the kind of thing that occurs – a faux sense of pride in your emptiness; a conviction life was better before Group A showed up (even though you were not born before Group A showed up); or more simply, old wives tales gone mad.  It really comes down to resentment toward anyone with the guts and tenacity to not put up with the shit deal given to them and to strive to make things better for everyone; rather than stand back while late-period capitalism implodes and hope they do not get any rain down on their house.

Now more than ever in my lifetime, there is an opportunity to change the present; a time characterised by insecurity and fear.  More working class people are beginning to realise they can stand up for themselves through trade unions or co-ops of various types and in the process, learn real working class history while doing the best thing you can with history – using it to construct a better future for yourself and those around you.  Let’s ditch the snake oil salesman and conspiracy theories and put our shoulder into this; then you will have some real power.

(In future articles I will write about hate speech, attention seeking-verses-argument and why taking the piss out of people is legitimate).

[sylsabastian]

"Writing" Challenge

I came upon a post. Well, "post" is perhaps charitable in the context. This err... let's just say, less-than-positive display, did not relate to the goals of that particular Writers' Group. A long convoluted, interesting, and sometimes even slightly bizarre comment thread developed. Much of the discussion revolving around the lack of relevance to the group purpose.

I agreed with this sentiment, but in the spirit of practising Alternative Perspectives I took upon myself the challenge of seeing how I could *Use* that "post" positively as a writing exercise and challenge. My contrary side added a few more bones challenges:

I would need to use all of the post in a relevant way.

Showing my less-than-positive opinion of the post needed to be a part of it but doing sop in a positive and fun way.

Using writing "Sins" in a way that was appropriate and enhanced the story.

Showing an absurd interpretation of the post but with a logic that is internally consistent.

Slip in some social commentary.

Sneak in some philosophy in a non-obvious subtle way that does not detract from the story and adds to it.

Make the entire challenge fun and amusing, an extended satire of sorts.

Use a gender "other' character that had non-typical motivations and perspectives, but still make then believable.

Ridicule some absurdities in a positive way.

Persist and trust that solutions to some of the problems I foresaw before beginning the detailed writing would resolve themselves, through luck and/or inspiration.

Well, you be the judge. Let me know how much you think I succeeded in these challenges.

"Writing" Challenge

Jones loved mysteries, which was a good, thing, because most of life among the humans was a mystery to them. Ok, to be fair, just posing as a human was a massive mystery, but to be really fair, if they were honest, most of what they liked to call "Mysteries," just plain fcked with their minds, *All* of them.

Jones never had thought they were particularly slow, but was now reconsidering, maybe why they had been given this "Assignment." Jones air-quoted with all thirty-three of their digits, in their minds ofc, the human twenty would otherwise have to do. This was one human affectation they did like and understand.

After Jones' initial reports, and their abject incomprehensibility, never mind extending his "Sentence" to this marvellous "Mystery" planet, Jones had been given the "Suggestion" of being a writer. It seems writers could get away with all sorts of otherwise peculiar, even untoward, or unsocial, behaviour. If they had weird ideas, this was a boon.

Also, Jones could stay safely ensconced in their dwelling, engaging electronically. Through this format they could even tell people they were an alien, and it mattered not a bit. Jones had researched what they were "expected" to do as a writer, thus joining some Writers' Groups on the currently most popular self-aggrandisement platform.

Jones' mystery today was figuring out exactly what a *Fcktard* was. They gathered easily enough it was a counter-self-aggrandising term. Understanding this mystery Jones hoped, would help them in their larger puzzle: Motivations. If they'd heard it once they'd heard it more times than cliche:

"Understand motivations, understand humans." (Then we'll know why we can eat them.) Ok that last part was all Jones, but really!!

The latest mind-fck, err mystery, was a post in one of the writers' groups. Jones re-read the post:

"If the people in this group can't lighten up and not run to admin over an article they believe dosen't have anything to do with writing. Then ill just stay on the Writers Fight Club and leave this pathetic group of sensitive pussies.

Everything has to do with writing. If you can't see the value in both sides of an argument and see past your opinion. Really see past your pre-conceived ideas.

How are you ever going to write a convincing or three dimensional antagonist? Really?

Maybe you could all try turning these threads you dislike into writing threads. Be constructive, and ask the OP a good question?

Or at least don't just be a tattletell. That is one of the worst things someone can be."

"""Mystery""" Ha!! Jones emphasised the extremity of their perception with TRIPLE air quotes!

"When in doubt fall back on your training."

Jones sighed. Something else the humans had gifted him. They sighed, it seemed, more than they breathed.  Thanks water bags. Their training said to go through a "mystery" one step at a time. Dissect each segment individually. (This raised pleasing images in at least seventy percent of Jones' minds.) OK, on to figuring out the fart bit: Jones typoed "First bit," but decided to leave it. His subconscious contribution was more appropriate. Breaking this confoundation into the first seemingly coherant, (yes with and a) portion, Jones analysed:

"If the people in this group can't lighten up [...]"

The obsession with superficial racial characteristics confused Jones. Yes it seemed to be somewhat of an issue for some, but this just did not make particular sense in the context. Jones had low expectations of this particular "Writing Contibution." They had researched "lighten up," and indeed, as they suspected, one *Could* lighten one's colour. They had researched iconic and influential figures as one of his first projects and one such famous individual, a king no less, had done exactly this.

Yes yes, Jones was well aware that "lighten up" also meant to increase levity and or amusement. But that made even less sense. Then nothing else in the sentence made sense. Next:

"And not run to admin [...]"

Jones did not know this was possible. They understood run, and had even managed it themselves. They were quite proud of this accomplishment. But run *TO* admin!!! That was a long way! Jones had researched Admins' whereabouts, and the closest, in their city, would on average be a long long run. For Jones, even if they lived in the next house, it would be an effort. But well, those addressed were assumed to be were human, (Jones assumed) and the few times they had gone out, typically early morning for the reduced stink, they had indeed seen many people running about. This part thus wasn't then such a complete mind-fck, it was the next part,

"over an article [...]"

This Jones had *never* observed. And here the ""Writer"" (Yes, they merited double double quotation marks.) had lost lost them entirely. Jones spasmed with amusement. The incredulosity involved the preceding Not. Not only had Jones Not seen anyone run over an article, but the writer was suggesting that if they did *not* do what they were already doing.... Ugh, Jones' minds started fighting amongst themselves. Leave it, just leave it. Let those higher up the mind-chain pretend they can figure it out. Move on, just move on. Next:

"they believe dosen't [...}"

Jones had to look up dosen't. And NOOO Search Engine, they did *NOT* *mean*... How could they mean a different word to the one they were looking up if they didn't know what it meant in the first place?? Jones had been rigorous in their search protocol, typing: meaning: dosent

Their dis-inflated brains had allowed the error, but when Jones noticed, their brains mostly back in alignment, the omission of the apostrophe made sense. Jones was loving their subtle brains, those were providing otherwise unimaginable help. With the apostrophe it would be: dose not. Short light sleep not. ?? This could not fit in any way Jones could imagine. However, Jones' fortuitous typing had yielded the correct definition. The very first result:

Dosent - definition and meaning - Wordnik

https://www.wordnik.com/words/Dosent

Dosent mean they are ignorant people, just rather different from the rest of America. (Unrelated political advertising followed.) "mean they are ignorant people" - Jones multi-tsked at the grammar, but now this last section made sense. Thus:

"they believe ignorant people (dosen't) [...]"

Jones finally felt they were getting somewhere with their translation. The last part: "have anything to do with writing" was at last obvious. It was easy to have *any* thing to do with writing. Jones felt "included' in this, searching in vain for the warm fuzzy feeling.

Jones rewrote the sentence for his report, with the much needed translation adjustments:

"If the people in this group can't adjust their racial profile, and fail to run over an article on their way to admin, [then] they believe ignorant people have anything to do with writing."

Jones Smirked with satisfaction, an unconscious habit they had already picked up in their short time on planet. Full immersion into the super popular self-promotion addiction site had affected them more than they realised. They expected some madness as a side effect of understanding, but...

Content, Jones' courage returned to undertake the second sentence. Section one:

"Then ill [...] "

Who was ill? (Well all of them evidently.) Jones scolded their minds: Focus!!! Ok, so person or persons were ill at some undermined time. Next:

"Then ill just stay [...] "

A rather uncharitable sentiment, but we'll, humans... At least it was comprehensible, if reprehensible. Jones' optimism peeked shyly out from one of the nether brains...

"Then ill just stay on the Writers Fight Club [...]"

...but promptly fled in terror at the next. Jones didn't need to research Fight Club, it had by chance been one of the pre-mission study videos. Perhaps, Jones trembled, not by chance at all... Higher-Minds had tricked Jones into Combat!!!! They had explicitly put into their contract that any combat was purely voluntary. But, they had *Agreed* to be a Writer. NOOOO!!!  Jones hovered on the edge of brain-melt. Many many years of discipline and sacrifice prevailed. Pressing on, Jones was however, wholly unprepared for the prescient prognostication about to become an ironic reality:

"and leave this pathetic group of sensitive pussies."

Shock, horror, dread, defeat and abject misery enveloped Jones. They knew!!! The little fckturd human had been playing them all this time!!! They knew, they knew everything!!! This was beyond any possible coincidence. Jones' species, in their natural form, closely resembled an ambulatory vagina. Jones had initially been confused by the over-focus on what appeared to be crude children's illustrations of what his kind looked like. They couldn't figure how the humans could possibly know, maybe some intuitive thing, until they realised it was just a species wide maternal fixation. But this, so pointedly directed at them... the combat threat, knowing Jones' fear of violence of any kind, even suggestive violence, and that thus, Jones indeed was a "Sensitive pussy," this was just too accurate!

Jones "training," programming, they realised, activated. Scanning the rest of the "post" to double check and confirm... Especially now they had cracked the code. "Write," "Writing" and "Writer" all were synonyms for *Combat!*

Jones skipped the piece by piece discernments, no time for that now. They simply had to take the dreadful "Writing" and translate it directly for their report, while they still had time. At least the warning...

Report #231564879:

We, Jones, have uncovered a direct threat to our safety encoded in a barely literate "post" in a forum I was an active participant and "member" of. (Jones had enough spare mind to wince at the irony of "member." They were technically mostly male.) See original copy of pre-decoded message above. My exhaustive efforts have yielded the following deeply deeply disturbing communication: (Our expert commentary is added where necessary. Please note our personal commendation for a commendation.)

If the "people" in this group can't adjust their racial profile, [actually be humans] and fail to run (over) away [from] an "article" Combat,  on their way to "admin" [Planet Vaginuus],  [then] they believe ignorant people [us], have anything to do with "writing" [Combat]. Then ill just stay,  on the "Writers" Fight Club and leave this pathetic group [planet] (of) [you] sensitive pussies.

Everything has to do with "writing" [combat]. If you can't see the "value" in both sides of an argument, [combat for sport!!] and see past your opinion [Sensible sensitivity]. Really see past your pre-conceived ideas [Enlightened evolution.].

How are you ever going to "write" [fight against] a convincing or three dimensional antagonist? [Scary humans] Really? [Really!]

Maybe you could all try turning these "threads" [passive aggression] you dislike [like] into "writing threads" [Real actual Combat!!]. Be constructive [destructive], and ask the OP a good question? [unintelligible]

Or at least don't just be a tattletell [A pre-banquet sender of reports to "Admin" ](The confirming damnation of the entire message, the fcktard term "tattletell.") That is one of the worst things someone [us] can be. [Extreme violence redundant confirmation.]

As the implications compounded Jones began to fuse, eventually leaving another puddle of "Spontaneous Combustion" residue for the savages to puzzle over. Whoever thought they could ever had made a good meal was the biggest fcktard fckturd ever!

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