#ec meta

[57sfinest]

What do you think about Evrart Claire? You mentioned you think about him in one of your tags I think.

okay i will first direct to you to trusted mutual @sydmarch for the most in-depth evrart thoughts with the appropriate warning for nsfw lmfaoo

but like. evrart is one of those characters where you have an initial knee-jerk reaction to them and then you kinda have to reevaluate after all is said and done because you get a LOT more context on them as you go.

most shallowly, you're meant to see evrart as the slimy "fantastically corrupt" union (mob) boss who sits in his office embezzling and making others do his dirty work (the hardies as his enforcement, you as his little errand dog, you get the point). however, a first point i want to make is that comparing a justified labor or civil rights advocate group to a "mob" is such a ubiquitous piece of capitalist/bigot rhetoric that it should automatically clue you in to the fact that something else is going on here. also taken in context with the fact that kortenaer poses as a scab to break the strike, further framing the union as a lazy, entitled, unreasonable splinter faction of stupid socialists-- obviously we know that the people who made this game are leftists, so it's not just Ough Unions Bad. there is Something Else Going On! because we are seeing this union strike filtered primarily through the lens of someone who is, consciously or not, a moralintern lackey! even at his most self-aware, calling himself the moralintern's bitch, harry does not have enough awareness of the world and his role in it to recognize how he is being manipulated by the various agendas at play here, and that affects our perception of it.

i think evrart presents as corrupt and weaselly on purpose! again syd has said a lot of this already & i've added some stuff in their tags, but i'll reiterate here for convenience. he is aware of the rhetoric people can use against him and he uses that to his advantage. he's using his personal reputation as misdirection. we see in dialogue that even joyce, an ultraliberal diehard capitalist who obviously dislikes the union, concedes that it was respectable in and of itself before the claires came in:

and we can infer that a lot of that might be because the union was *less effective before the claires took charge*. of course a capitalist will respect an ineffective labor union! but on top of this, the claires' open "corruption" give anti-union people an easy target for criticisms that serve to legitimize the union itself. oh, they say, well, the union is alright, it's just the claires that are ruining it. it's misdirection and it's genius. evrart's reputation isn't a concern if the union is doing its job, right? and here's another thing: i think people will trust open corruption more than they'll trust altruism that seems to good to be true. especially in a world with something like moralism, where this organization has killed millions and will kill *millions more* for a "greater good" that is literally just the status quo. if evrart's corruption is an open secret, as joyce puts it, people feel they can trust him *because* he's transparent about the bad things he supposedly does or supports or whatever. at least he's honest, right?

this makes the juxtaposition of evrart with joyce SUPER interesting, too. i think they both have that 'honest about their bad traits' way of going at people- joyce with her self-aware but relentless ultraliberalism, evrart with his intentionally misrepresented agendas. of the two, i think people tend to like joyce a lot more, despite her and evrart using pretty much the *same exact tactics*, and i think that tendency is largely explained by the intersection of gender and fatphobia and ingrained capitalist rhetoric, but i digress.

yes, the way evrart's little tasks are presented makes them *feel* slimy- you're evrart's peone, you're a little bitch dog running his errands to get a gun you never should have lost to begin with, he knows how to help and he's toying with you- but it's on purpose!! you can be joyce's little bitch dog too and it's not framed anywhere near as scummy. It Is On Purpose. because if evrart pretends to be the "socialist" mob boss, maybe it really does get martinaise the youth center, or enough money to, you know, fix the crumbling buildings that could kill the tenants at any moment. there are genuinely good things he is sincerely trying to accomplish. he is curating his image exactly as he needs it to be to get things done and that's partly why joyce hates him *so much*.

and of course this isn't to say that the claires never do anything wrong. contracting dros to kill the previous union head, for example. if i had to pin evrart's major sin, i think he's an "end justifies the means" type of guy. the other union head candidate needed to die for progress to be made. the fishing village will have to go so we can build martinaise up properly. some people, if not willingly cooperative- like harry- need to be used for their status regardless. we see the union at the opposite end of "for the greater good" as moralism: where moralism wants to stall the world, the union represents ruthless progression. why else the red-vs-blue juxtaposition of the union vs the moralintern and its financial interests? the red banners draped over shipping containers?

[piperslovebot]

Tell us why despite being 'problematic', you love eclare and think they belong together. I can't help it - I get why many don't like them, but when I see them onscreen they just scream "soulmates" to me :)

Putting under read more.

Eclare, to me, has such great chemistry and from their first scene, there was obviously a connection there. And their story being the Romeo and Juliet esque type, except they are alive and are both at consenting ages haha.

Eli, for all flaws, absolutely loves Clare and she is his #1 woman (ignoring s13-14). He genuinely wants her to be happy, which is shown when he gets Clare and Jake back together and backs off for the most part (I say most part because the two share a kiss, but even the, he's still so respectful of her boundaries).

And Clare loves Eli a lot too, but doesn't want to be his only good thing or have the weight on all his shoulders. She WANTS him to have other interest and have a healthy life. ANd she's able to confide in him and just cry it out. Even though it took a while, she was able to tell him about Asher and Eli was by her side from start to finish. Same way he was there when Clare had cancer. Which is why it's even more ridiculous that the writers had Eli cheat but that's for another day haha.

Short answer: Chemistry, development, & unconditional love and support.

[whenmemorydies]

I wonder if Carmy would have gone as hard as he did in season 3 if his ass hadn’t gotten stuck in that fridge at the end of season 2.

[tiny-evillious]

The full canvas!

Calling this "the electric kettle fucking broke so i got so mad i drew 20 characters while waiting for us to get a new kettle, until then we're boiling water in a pot" but since i'm queueing these the kettle should be here a week ago from posting this (update the new kettle is good. i can make tea 2-4 times a day now again!!!!!). In other news I'm posting these on twitter now too! tiny_evillious on twitter. cheers!

[yannaryartside]

Shapiro’s angle

I don't think this guy is bad news, or a bad guy per se.

I think he is just an opportunist. And I think he is doing this mostly for himself.

I may be wrong, but for me, the most on-the-nose foreshadowing about Shapiro was Luca telling him:

"Are you getting your sticky fingers on everything again?"

This was right before he asked to talk to Sydney (about the partnership) at Ever's funeral. It was definitely a sign.

Now, it could be a warning about his bad intentions; sticky fingers could be related to wanting to trap someone and never let them go. Maybe Syd should have Pete revise that new partnership agreement.

Mostly, I have a hard time thinking Andrea Terry would have a CDC that was actually toxic or damaging; his true colors would have shown at some point, and she would have known. Maybe that's me being optimistic. Maybe he would show his actual colors when he doesn't have to answer to anybody. Luca hasn't seemed to get awful vibes from him, either.

FINGERPRINTS OF LEGACY

But I associate the sticky fingers comment more with Shapiro wanting to get a "fingerprint" on Sydney. The way a fingerprint may alter the presentation of a fine ceramic plate. Is about marking it as yours, it was in your hands.

Shapiro may think that he has gotten as good as he can get on his own merit, he said he would have stayed with Andrea forever if she hadn't closed Ever, which is a remark on his lack of ambition as a cdc. I think he may be a chef who (also, as he said) is tired of the all-day cooking job, but he still wants to get some glory under his name without all the work. Proteges are a good way to do that.

The only thing about Sydney he knows that could indicate her potential (besides her cooking, which he only tested once) is that she works for Carmen. Carmen has been awarded the best in the world, and the fact that he sees something in Sydney may be enough for Shapiro to bet on her (and a huge bet, considering how much freedom he promised her). Now, what kind of mentor would he be? I would like to think he will try to be Andrea and see where it gets him.

He may have seen the bear's kitchen's obvious lack of functionality and seen it as an opportunity to steal Carmy's best asset from him while she is still unknown by the industry. She could become more expensive to get in the future if she gets a name under Carmen. Shapiro has better chances to get her now. He may even say in the future that he was the only one capable of forming her like a chef while Carmy didn't.

So yeah, he is making a bet on an unknown asset with the hope that it will pay off later since Carmys is not looking. We don't know much about his character besides the fact that at Ever, everyone was cool with him.

I DON'T WANT SYDNEY TO FAIL OR GET SCREWED

Besides how much I care for her—I know it sounds obvious—I don't think it would be a good narrative for the show either way.

Because she has survived Carmy, that has been horrible, but in terms of women in the workplace, at least she doesn't have to worry about being exploited (or other horrible things that we know could happen in these spaces) because Carmy cares about her well-being, the same as the rest of the family.

So, if she hypothetically goes with Shapiro because her voice is being drowned under Carmy's madness, and then Shapiro screws her over, and Carmy has to rescue her.

I am sorry, fuck that.

Because what is the lesson on that? Women should stick around toxic behavior, being grateful that at least they are not taken advantage of? Better the devil you know than the one you don't? Sydney is very capable, and you will punish her for believing in herself?

image by @gingergofastboatsmojito

[depression-napping]

Hi ❤️ I’ve uploaded FFVII Ever Crisis - Vincent’s Weapon Comparisons in English and Japanese 🔫

I’m almost done translating his weapon info from the original game, from FFVII Ultimania Omega (pgs 330-331).

I think only 3 of his original weapons have made it into the FFVII EC so far, namely:

- Quicksilver (obligatory starter weapon)

- 銀玉鉄砲/Silver Rifle (“Joke weapon” from Temple of the Ancients)

- Randall/Shortbarrel (Found out some fun trivia about this one!)

Enjoy!

[stick-ball]

pspspspsp Kevin's trauma and his choice to stay with Thea, why her why not someone else? How does it work considering his characters as whole books/ec , does it make sense or just feel "random"

<Picks you up like a little cat and smooches your head.>

This responce has been sped up by the people who asked Nora on twitter to break Kevin and Thea up, making me see red KillBill style, so:

For me, Kevin's and Thea's relationship makes perfect sense. Maybe it's the realist in me, maybe its the idealist in me, I don't care. When it comes to Kevin's traumas, I think that since most people can't really relate to a majority of them, they get all hung up on the one they most definately can, as in, his mommy issues. When we relate to something, it becomes a really big deal. And here we go! Thea/Kevin suddenly is feared to be toxic instead of being seen for what I think it is: finding love in a hopeless place.

The main issue i see discussed is the disproportion of power at the beginning of the relationship. The main concern is the age difference. I personally don't really get the hate about the age gap between them, because if you read the extra content you will know that while they met when Kevin was 14 and Thea 18, it's not like anything happened between them at that age? First, Kevin saw her as an impressive player, when he did actually see her. That wasn't all that often bcs from what I understand from the EC, Kevin and Riko trained with the Ravens sometimes before they joined the team but a big part of their training happened without them, as well as their life growing up was more detached from the Uni students than people seem to think. And honestly, do you think Tetsuji would just let all the freshmen know they signed into the Yakuza sportsTM? Methinks not, but be delulu if you want I guess. 💋

So anyway, from the EC, it seems like Kevin had a crush slowly build up for Thea over the years, growing from his appreciation of her skill and athletism. Considering how cold that guy is, it probably took him some time to realise, after his irritation at her romances (yeah hello she was dating people her age when Kevin was mooning for here as a pathetic teenage boy, bye bye Thea haters) with other teammates started having nothing to do with the fact it could result in the teams distraction during the game, bcs of their hormones and feelings, and turned to conscious jelousy. And here I have to applaud young Kevin because he did not even realise he was distracted from the game by being jealous. Knowing how oblivious Kevin can be about non exy issues, it likely took quite a while.

So what's next? The "getting together"? Kevin and Thea only started having a sort of physical relationship when Kevin and Riko were already freshmen for Edgar Allan, at 18/19.

Whoever wants to fight me on this being a toxic age gap, what exactly is your angle?

Anyway, Kevin was the one to initiate their relationship, after Riko was done with his distraction from the game and his focus on picking fights with Thea, and told him to sleep with her and get it out of his system. (And that's how i met your mother.) It wasn't much more than that for a long time, because having a relationship on a 12 hrs day/night full of training and uni and juggling two other teams on top of that as well as celebrity status literally sounds like the most insane schedule ever, so it's insane they even managed to talk privately at all.

Now, we circle back to the question, why Thea? Why not someone else? Well, first and fucking foremost, because Nora Sakavic said so. Second of all, because Jung and Freud weren't as stupid as imternet memes would have you believe. (Read their books, read all the books please, i can rec you like a 100 psychology texts, dont be shy)

To keep it short, we do base our attraction on the role models we have, one way or another. I saw enough of my friends pick partners that have the exact character quirks that make them just slightly like an after image of their guardians. Kevin doesn't really have a father model, but his mother? She's always going to be a huge part of his life, is it really so weird and dangerous, that he got infautated with a strong, driven, 4 years older woman, who's incredibly talented and just as determined as him? I don't think so. Is it unhealthy? Is it unsafe? As much as life is, I guess, no one is perfect, but I think he could've done much much worse for himself.

Why did Kevin decide to stay with Thea? I would find it pretty obvious, because she doesn't actually need him. She built herself, but she wants him. Even if she will never have the same fame and recognition in her career that he does. Being wanted this way must be really new for Kevin, who was always a trophy to show off because of his legacy, always a property. But Thea is not competing with him, she doesnt want to own him either. I believe his mother is as much of a role model to her, as to him. So, they have sex, when they want to, they talk - when they feel like it. They don't, well fucking fine, so they don't, they fall in love anyway. It's okay if exy comes first in the beginning, considering both spent a lot of time in cult mentality, I think neither is all that bothered as long as its not obsessive (we could discuss how reasonable it was of Kevin to ghost her for over a year and not tell her about how he broke his hand but thats a whole other essay).

What's really wild to me, is that I think the power imbalance in this relationship is the opposite of what many may think.

Kevin holds all the cards. Thea joined the Ravens as a 18 years old talented athlete, she was one of the only girls on the team, and the Nest was not a place to make friends, on top of that it was a mafia cult. She had everything to prove there, and no way of being prepared for all the grooming. On top of that, she knew nothing of the Moriyamas or even of what actually went down with the whole Perfect Court thing. Kevin knew everything, on top of that, up until he left, he had nothing to prove. He ghosted her, is it so hard to believe she accepted his cold shoulder in this dynamic, in which she obviously is not at the top of the foodchain? He kept secrets from her, is it really so hard to believe she was angry? I think neither of them was ready for neither what life at the nest was like, or for a relationship when it happened, but I also think they are incredibly lucky that they have eachother, their shared passion for exy, their daughter, their dog and friends from the dog park who can't talk about exy to save their lives.

I think Kevin was incredibly lucky for finding Thea, because maybe she did not know everything, maybe it wasn't easy for them, but they understood that Rikos death wasn't a one dimensional victory, that it was just as much of a tragedy for them, for Kevin. I'm happy with the canon and I wish more people appreciated this ship, as its very soothing.

As an ending fun fact, did you know I am the only person to make a playlist for Thea Muldani in all of spotify? Pretty insane if you ask me.

[foxstens]

does anyone remember where it says what the perfect court is

[isabeauladyhawke]

Part of me feels like Jean Auel’s Earths Children series is a cautionary tale- directed at those in power in modern human society, mainly men. Yes the clan were “backwards” in a sense, but they also were closer to the earth and “die” with the Earth Mother bc they don’t receive the “gift of knowledge” as AMH do. But that gift that Ayla receives also leads to the subjugation of women, coming full circle back to the “backwardness” that the clan displayed. The clan is a reflection of the bad direction modern humanity has taken. It’s stated that at one point in the distant past the clan acknowledged women’s spiritual power, but that time had passed and now men subjugated women to keep their spiritual power in check. In a way, the clan used their knowledge to go backward, which humans today are also in danger of doing. Ayla is the messenger that there are two paths humanity can take. One of enlightenment and one of ignorance. But we are given the tools to choose while the clan were not, and they die out. The clan die out bc they refuse to change. Humanity today will die out the same way unless we become more enlightened.

@fan-of-the-cave-bear I would love to know your thoughts on this!

[dazzlingfeelingz]

Also I realized yesterday that I've been in love with Meta for over a year- not sure when exactly but it'z def been over a year (I found a year old comment abt me being v lovey w meta that'z from last year)

Funny I say lovey it'z literally my nickname for her lol (which meanz I started selfshipping with her since b4 lavie (the song that made me start using that nickname) came out WTF 😭😭😭😭😭)

[avandelay20]

"

Meta launched a “pay or consent” model last year in an effort to comply with the bloc’s data privacy rules, under which users pay a monthly fee for an ad-free version of Facebook or Instagram that does not use their personal data for advertising purposes. If users do not pay, their data is used to tailor personalised adverts that appear in their social media feeds.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said the model did not comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is designed to rein in big tech companies. The commission issued preliminary findings from an investigation into “pay or consent” on Monday and found the model “forces users to consent” to their data being collected from multiple platforms if they don’t want to pay. Meta also does not allow users to choose a service that uses less of their data but is broadly similar to the “with adverts” versions of Facebook and Instagram, the commission said.

"

[chthontoya]

70 pulls: zero golden weapon, except for guaranteed, and lagging when I finally got costume.

That's why I'm adding to my wish list only weapons to get wallpapers... It would hit much harder if I'd been trying to perfect my characters in a sense of power.

[depression-napping]

I’ve been thinking about this post for daysss. After seeing 3 new alternate attires for Vincent, and noticing that they all have the gauntlet but *not* the sabatons... That really does lend a lot to the theory that his left arm has to stay covered somehow, whether it is a prosthetic or a monster limb.

Also, notably, we have not seen him without his bandana yet…

Hey, let's talk accessibility for a minute.

All of Vincent's costumes have a metal hand. Maybe later ones won't, but right now they do. Stray Dog in particular has very thin metal digits, too small to squeeze a finger into. I think at this point it's safe to say it's a prosthetic, not just a decoration.

I noticed that with his new costumes, while the shirts are worn tight, they're held that way by zippers, buckles, and buttons. All of his clothes are designed to open wide, or in the case of Bouncer Suit, come completely apart.

Not easily - buckles and buttons are difficult to work with, and the zippers are in hard-to-reach places like his back. Vincent either needs help to get in and out of them or he enjoys sufferi... who am I kidding, it's Vincent. He enjoys suffering.

But the thing is, the clothing works with his body. It takes the size of his arm, specifically the large elbow joint, into consideration. It's so subtle you could easily miss it (a lot like the leg braces in FF15).

Care went into these designs, and I love it.

[tiny-evillious]

Meta. for the 12th birthday of Escape of Salmhofer the Witch

[7i74]

I know what it means to be a machine. On my knees in the temple of code

[alwaysrunningoutoftime]

carmy was really frustrating this season but he has never been intentionally verbally abusive. he is just a man hurting, with unprocessed grief and trauma. he is so stuck in the past, keeping his head down and so focused on just working. he bottles things up and hopes they go away, he severely isolates himself and feels unworthy of love. he has many issues that he needs to deal with.

but we've also seen carmy care for his staff, he had a hand in helping everyone's growth in season 2, he had strong relationships with richie, nat, sydney and marcus (to name a few). the staff are his family and syd is his friend. she is meant to be his partner, they are tied together by an invisible string, she was the one who had his hamachi heart when he rebelled. when they are in sync it is magical, it is inspired, passionate and collaborative. completely different to david who saw carmy as nothing.

"i think about you too much" "i don't think about you at all" I feel like that conversation with David was a turning point for him, a realization that the conclusion of all this anger he held onto for years from EMP meant nothing to his abuser. There was no satisfying outcome to that meeting, he was merely one of the many under david's abuse.

And then he has his conversation with terry (terry who i feel is the trajectory for sydney) and she says: "i got to do all the things i wanted to do the way i wanted to do with the people i wanted to do it with." carmy fostered this toxic culture that david created, but hopefully this advice speaks to him, to do things the way he wants. as he says in legacy what he wants to leave behind is something 'panic-less and anxiety free and in order to do that he has to be square with everything, to filter out the bad'. which my good sir is the complete opposite of the environment you've created, but this is indicative of him having to process his past and his trauma and michael's death in order to have the legacy he strives for. and part of that is him forming connections to the bear family again.

I'm hoping this is his first step to break the pattern, lift his head and as jimmy says: there's "only one way to make it go away, run right through it." resolve his issues with claire, GO TO THERAPY! process mikeys death and his childhood and his years of cptsd.

LIKE HE HAS TO! WE'VE BEEN DRAGGING FOR SO LONG!

And what's worse (exciting) is he's on the clock now, the world doesn't wait for no one. The Bear is suffering, Jimmy may pull the plug, Sydney has been presented with an opportunity, he'll have to deal with his issues before it's too late. every second counts.

Sydney and Carmy parallels : mirrors to understand or to heal?

Season 3 spoilers under cut:

There are so so many parallels with Sydney and Carmy across the seasons

Cooking 'family' on their first day staging : Sydney at the Beef, and Carmy doing the chicken at The French Laundry

Sending out food they were proud of as an act of rebellion: Sydney with her short rib and Carmy with the hamachi with the blood orange (to Syd)

There was a shot of Syd bandaging her index finger and then looking in the mirror in S3 which was the same as Carmy in S1

Scrubbing the floors

Eating Marcus' doughnut off the floor

Throwing up after a stressful service

Panic attacks - they repeated the sped up zoom down from a crane for Carmy's panic attack in S2 in S3 for Syd

There was also all that talk about the legacies you leave behind in a restaurant in S3.

The conversation that Carmy has with Claire on their initial meeting also stands out to me where she talk about being drawn to medicine as a way of tryinh to understand pain/illness/injury rather than to necessary heal.

This struck me as v cynical at the time, and an obvious foil to Syd who is shown as wanting to take care of people.

But what if the show is about understanding cycle of trauma and grief and how we repeat it rather than showing people healing from those cycles?

Season 3 Carmy is a direct parallel to the New York EC/Joel McHale, and Sydney is being pushed into that New York Carmy box.

I hope we get a 2nd half of S3 or S4 that has Carmy acknowledge that what he's becoming, whether that's through a direct confrontation with Syd or him just working it out when she leaves.

I just want to be convinced they're showing a "two sides of the same coin" situation, and not a study of how cycles of abuse perpetuate even when individuals have the best of intentions.