#eq and gang

[thislilfecker]

@snap-crackers

[sleepyorchidmonster]

While I'm curious about the other's dreams in Book 7, a part of me is mostly looking forward to overall shenanigans with the Dream Team and their assigned overblot buddies!

Especially since it looks like we're revisiting past twstunes.

-Jamil and Octavinelle is always funny AND a recipe for disaster;

-I can already hear Azul complaining about Savanaclaw's weather, not to mention his overall lack of stamina and how Book 2's twstunes are all either chase sequences or Magift;

-Leona painting the roses. Or helping bake a tart. He can't even escape because then dream Riddle and Sebek will team up and yell at him.

(More rambling under the cut)

Really hoping the Heartslabyul dream sequence is just extra chaotic. Maybe everyone already knows it's a dream, maybe the blot becomes even more dangerous. Maybe Malleus makes an appearance.

Part of me wants Cater to get a new card. I love Trey, but people often forget that Cater is also an important friend of Riddle's, so getting him to be the one to snap Riddle out of the dream would be great!

Maybe we can get cards for Trey AND Cater (maybe Chen'ya too), since both Tweels are getting cards...

Also I need Deuce's sequence to be Rabbit Fest again. We already have outfits for both Silver, Ortho and Grim, so we only need ones for Leona, Sebek and Ace (and even then Sebek and Silver often wear matching outfits,so you really only have to think about Leona and Ace). Idia's tablet also gets a ribbon. There's also a gang fight.

I just need Leona to have the worst time possible in Heartslabyul dreams.

Bonus:

Ortho, after we finish Savanaclaw's dream sequence: Alright, now it's time for our next dream! And you know what that means!

Silver: Only one more dorm before we face Lord Malleus again?

Sebek: We have to deal with Ace now?

Idia: I can't handle Mr. Zero EQ (A.K.A Riddle), Extrovert Extraordinaire (A.K.A Cater) and TREY in the same dream?

Yuu and Grim, holding baseball bats: We can FINALLY punch Riddle's abusive mom in the face?

Everyone: ...

Jack: I'm sure she's not that bad...

Yuu: She is the OG Red Tyrant.

Grim: Who yelled at Trey's parents for 5 HOURS because they gave her kid a SLICE of a strawberry tart! WHO DOES THAT?!?!

Leona: Welp, that explains a LOT...

[eroticwound]

I love your thoughts on The Bear. Particularly the Berzatto siblings. I was wondering if you could talk about Mikey. And possibly his relationship with Richie. Outside of the internet when I talk to peers about the show people are quick to demonize or dislike Mikey. They cite his behavior with Lee and his taking part in ganging up on Carmy with Donna as reasons why. Also, how Richie was so desperate to get away from the beef.

I would love to hear your opinion about how this could be someone’s impression of Mikey. And how you would describe Mikey to someone who maybe isn’t seeing the whole picture? Or just how you would describe Mikey as a person in general.

And do you think his relationship with Richie was very one sided? Do you think it was always Mikey in the lead? I’ve read some fic that truly makes Mikey terrible to Richie.

Hi anon. Thanks for this incredibly thought out ask. Cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy getting questions like this :)

Michael Berzatto is a complicated guy and he’s a guy we don’t get a lot of screen time with. That’s by design. He’s the character haunting this narrative. Mikey is the Laura Palmer of The Bear (I have that disease where I see everything through the prism of Twin Peaks), and as such we get to know him mostly through people’s grief. Through their imperfect memories. We’re left missing him just as much as any other character. And while I would love a feature length movie showing Mikey’s last days a la Fire Walk with Me, I very much doubt we will get that. So we’re left to figure out this complicated character with scraps.

For these reasons, I do get why people don't understand Mikey. As you mention, they are literally not given anything close to a whole picture. In fact the screen time we have most with him is during Fishes, when he is quite literally at his worst. If people only saw scenes where Carmen was yelling at people in the kitchen or where Richie was being sexist to Syd, I'm sure they'd have a poor opinion of them as well (in fact, being in this fandom after the first season, I can confirm that most of tumblr disliked Richie).

The healthiest we see Michael is in the Ceres flashback in season 1. He’s exactly how everyone describes him: loud, brash, funny. Both Carmy and Richie are just having the best time, completely immersed in the story he's telling. Even Nat’s having a great time, though both brothers stop her from adding raisins, which is Donna’s recipe for the dish they're making (side note, I find it so interesting that Nat is the one trying to follow their mom’s recipe. She's still trying to please Donna, to garner favor, whereas the boys, who Donna relies on in the kitchen and emotionally, feel fine deviating from Donna’s recipe). Even beyond the Ceres flashback, we do get flashes of what makes Mikey great in Fishes: the opening is him checking in on Natalie, he's really sweet and engaging with Carmen in the pantry, and even though Carmy doesn't take Mikey and Richie trying to set him up with Claire well, it's still proof that Mikey cares.

The thing is Mikey is mentally ill, like Donna and like Carmen. He’s dealing with some sort of chemical imbalance (depression or bipolar) on top of the severe parentification he got from Donna. I talk about it at length in my unfinished series delving into the partentification of the Berzatto siblings. As I point out in those posts, Mikey is actually the sibling getting the worst of the parentification, which is a form of abuse where there is a role-reversal between parent and child. Nat can't morph herself easily to accommodate Donna's dysfunction (she un-normalizes it), so she gets Donna's ire instead. Carmen was also parentified, especially when Mikey was out of the house growing up (they have such an age gap), but Mikey was the oldest. He has high EQ and can morph himself to accommodate Donna's dysfunction. It has in fact shaped him into the person he is. Which is someone who is trying to avoid all of the bad: bad outbursts from Donna, bad feelings from his siblings, bad reactions from outsiders to their family dynamic. He's also trying very hard to avoid the bad emotions he's feeling. Michael is looking to avoid all of this through any means necessary, which includes using alcohol and drugs. As I mention in that parentification meta series, using substances is quite literally the only way he's managing his distress.

I want to talk about each point you mention people citing as to why they don't like Michael. But first, I want to preface it by pointing out that Michael has been forced to move back in with Donna. His failed business ventures and poor mental health have forced him back into this scenario that is NOT GOOD FOR HIM. That scene where Cousin Michelle says to Carm that it's not good for him to be in this environment? Well, it's not good for any of the Berzatto siblings. And throughout the episode, you can tell how exhausted Mikey is by it. By having to fulfill his role as Donna's pseudo-partner.

So let's start with Michael and Donna ganging up on Carmen in the kitchen. When Donna and Mikey do this they are functioning as a parental unit. This is the perfect example of Mikey's parentification at work, of Michael acting as Donna's partner. It's what he's been trained to do to maintain the delicate ecosystem of that house. Donna's emotional state is given top priority. Everyone else's emotions fall to the wayside in light of what she's feeling, otherwise you get fallout like her crashing her car into the house. Mikey talks to Nat about this at the start of the episode:

What do you think she's at right now? A 4? A 5? She's not at a 6.

The siblings literally have a rating system for Donna's moods. They're all trying to avoid escalation above all else. Michael in particular. So in that scene with Carm in the kitchen, Mikey is trying to keep things from escalating. This is something Carmen knows too—hell, it's the first thing Carmen asks Mikey to do in Fishes:

Hey Mikey can you come inside and be you for a little bit, I don't know how to deal with these people.

Carmy needs Michael to come fill his role of buffer between guests and their family. Carmy, notably, gets Donna duty—a role I'm sure Mikey filled before Carmen came along. I say this based on Donna calling Carmen "Michael" when he's trying to coax her to the dinner table at the end of the episode. She's implying talking to her like this is what Michael does. When the people you know irl cite this moment, unfortunately this is the rebuttal: this is Mikey's role. Donna needs his emotional support. Otherwise she'd be more abusive towards Nat and Carm. Michael is doing it for the greater good.

As for Lee, that's another great example of soooo much being implied. Lee, along with Cicero, were best friends with their father, and it is heavily implied that Lee and Donna had a fling or two after their dad fucks off (whether Mr. Berzatto is dead or a deadbeat, who’s to say?). When Lee is helping Donna clean shit off the floor, Mikey grabs a beer from the fridge and asks if they are "doing this again." Basically, Lee and Donna have been romantic before. This means Lee would have been around erratically growing up. And it's clear Michael and Lee have a historic antagonism because of this. Lee's first interaction with Michael in the episode has him threatening to "lay [Michael] out." This screams to me that Lee stepped into the man of the house role, and that Mikey and him had altercations that got physically violent. That's why Mikey says at the dinner table, "I can throw forks cuz this is my father's house." That feels very much like something a kid would say to a man who is trying to replace a missing father. And it's especially heated, because it is Michael who has had to consistently step into the man of the house role for Donna and for his siblings! Michael couldn't leave like Lee when Donna and him broke up. Living with Donna and keeping his siblings ok is daily life for Michael.

So all through the episode, Lee is poking a bear (Mikey Bear to be exact). Lee calls him out about telling the same old stories, embarrasses him in front of everyone by revealing he's borrowed money from Cicero and had to move back in with Donna. Lee has been explicitly disrespecting him. And maybe if Mikey was in a better place, he would have been able to roll with it, but as I mentioned before, Mikey is not in a good place. He's depressed, he's been drinking and taking something (pain pills?) to manage the stress he's under. Him throwing forks is not a lucid reaction. Frankly, if people don't also blame Lee for that outburst, then they really weren't paying attention during the episode.

Finally, onto the Richie portion of your question. Richie’s family is something I would *love* to get more canon info about. All we know is that he's not Italian but Polish, his home life wasn’t great, his dad sucked, and Donna allowed him over so often that he’s practically her fourth child.

Richie and Michael grew up together. They're best friends, practically family. It's why Richie is "cousin." Michael's relationship with Richie is his closest relationship. Everyone says Mikey was their best friend, but Mikey's actual best friend was Richie. Period. And there's some complicated jealousy between Carmen and Richie because of what each is to Michael: Carmy's jealous of Richie and Michael's genuine closeness, and Richie is jealous that Mikey has special regard for Carmen as his actual brother. You see this jealousy in the very first episode of the show during that first walk-in fight: Richie was there for Mikey, buried Mikey and took care of Donna, and yet Mikey left the restaurant to Carmen. Left the money in cans for Carmen, so he could fulfill their dream restaurant together. There's honestly some great fic out there that goes into this jealousy. I'll come back to link it if I can find it.

Bottom line is that Richie was the closest person in Mikey's life. They have the same humor, the same life experiences. They had each other's backs. So when you ask if Richie and Michael's relationship was one-sided, I'm going to answer with a resounding no. They're literally besties. It's just by Fishes, Michael has deteriorated. His depression and drug abuse and failures have shrunk his life. Just compare where they're both at: Michael's moved back in with his mom, is single, and is telling the same old stories from their youth. Richie, on the other hand, might have anxiety (the xanax from Dogs <3), but he's in a stable and loving relationship and has a child on the way. That's why Richie asks Cicero for a job—not to get away from Mikey, but to make more money for his expanding family. And yes, he wants to amount to something more than working at a sandwich shop, but hell, so does Mikey. Neither of them want that for the rest of their lives. It's why Michael tried other business ventures. They fail, so he's stuck at The Beef. But it's a weight around his neck bringing him down. He says as much to Carmen when they're in the pantry:

Yeah but the place is no good, Carmy. It's a fucking nightmare. Like trust me I'm doing you a favor.

He even tries to set it on fire for the insurance money! Only Carmen sees the potential.

As for whether it was always Mikey taking the lead, I do think there's some merit to that. Mikey is talked about as more charming than Richie. You see it in Ceres when the edit compares Mikey telling the Bill Murray story to Richie telling the Bill Murray story to his date. Mikey is loud and funny and can "dial a room." Richie can too, but I think Mikey has more finesse. Still, they rely on each other. They back each other up. Michael would hook people with the stories, and Richie would embellish and inject at the right points or reel Mikey in when needed. They supported each other and worked together. I think any fic you might be reading that's demonizing Michael isn't accurate to his character and is actually falling into a pretty common fic trope: if the focus is Character A, then a fic author will cast Character B as the villain in order to serve whatever they're writing, twisting and embellishing the traits of Character B until they’re barely recognizable. Could Mikey be dismissive and hard to contain? Sure, but I don't think that means he didn't love Richie, or was undemonstrative with his affections. Even when Michael was out of it on drugs, they still had a very close relationship—Richie says so. In fact, everything Richie says about Michael supports this. I see zero support in canon for their relationship being one-sided. I'll say it again, they loved each other.

So this is how I would describe Mikey: loud, funny, obnoxious. He could dial a room. He cared deeply for his family, friends, and employees. He suffered parentification and has some sort of chemical imbalance. In fact, because he was charming and loud and funny, people could ignore his deterioration. Even Richie says, "he was Mikey Bear! I thought he'd come out of it," because he was able to come out of it up to that point. But after decades of not treating the problem, the only solution Michael could see was killing himself. He's a complicated character. He's a tragic character. He's the Laura Palmer of The Bear.

[lsleofthelost]

Do you have any descendants headcanons? I’m new to your blog.

ugh like so many….

if u want me to do something about a certain character or relationship just send me another ask but since it’s like a general question i’m gonna take it as an opportunity to talk about the Isle of the Lost because i genuinely spend so much time thinking about what it’s like, i think it’s such a cool setting

it’s actually pretty big, you know, to be able to house all the villains, their supporters and other criminals from all these different kingdoms + it’s big enough that Maleficent can effectively banish someone

i began trying to describe where i think everything is but i realised it would be easier to draw a map, so here’s hoping i’ll actually do it, but the important point here is that there’s a residential area that clusters around the bridge and the dock where the barges come in and then deeper into the island, it’s a dark forest

and on the other side of that forest is where the Evil Queen was banished to

i always thought it was weird that EQ is banished but Cruella is her neighbour, so i hc that Cruella was also banished for a time and that’s why she also lives on that side of the island

she probably tried to saw off Maleficents horns, or pluck her wings or something like that

(but Carlos can move freely because he isn’t included in the banishment)

i think there’s a layer of Isle population that doesn’t lean into villainy, like they weren’t anyone famous or didn’t commit huge crimes, so they just try to stay under the radar and live as well as the conditions allow it, it’s easier and safer to affiliate with a gang but they try not to get too involved

the Isle was not just bare when they started sending criminals over, Auradon built the bridge are, the docks for their barges, a few roads and those two story buildings we see, with the intention that they would be like apartments for the incarcerated

what they didn’t account for was that there would be more people than apartments and that the big villains would take more territory than what was assigned to them

so that’s how we get people who’s beds are behind their stalls at the market, or those who sleep in a row of beds in one room

there’s no set currency on the Isle, it’s barter or contracted labour (but mostly it’s stealing)

when the Isle was first established, the barrier was focused on not letting things out, not so much on not letting things in

so far a while, the barrier would let magic in, but if they tried to cast a spell on someone outside the barrier it would just fizzle out

but doing magic under the barrier was extremely difficult and slow going, felt like trying to run in your sleep

the big magic users were able to transform their residences, which is why, for example, Maleficent’s place is reminiscent of her old keep

they could also summon some smaller objects from their old lives, like EQ’s mirror shard

those who couldn’t do magic, like Cruella, made contracts with the magic users, and they were able to transform an apartment into Hell Hall to the Isle and she was able to bring some of her fur coats over

it was pretty short lived, when Auradon realised what’s been happening, they tightened the barrier to be impenetrable, allowing the absolute minimum of magic in

this minimum is how we get Mal’s glowing eyes, or poisons being able to work

there’s a crazy mixture of accents in that place, since it’s people from all these different kingdoms now forced to live on one island

Isle slang is just a hodgepodge of different languages’ slang and borrowed words

each big faction probably has their own way of speaking, since that’s who they interact with daily, like those who surround the Queen of Hearts and her Cards all speak with a slight british accent and use Wonderland nonsense words

[thislilfecker]

@snap-crackers

When the player character dialogue options in a game all suck:

[digitaldoeslmk]

So what would be your eq 1 the start of the magic adventures after DBK attack……. It’s a mk get an eaten, isn’t it? Sooooo how the crew react to that? 

yes and no, i imagine the events of the first three eps occurs pretty similarly and before The Incident, except for ep1 cus Red Son doesn't try to take the weather tower and MK doesn't have invincibility. He does accidentally wrecks the tower's antenna with the staff and him and Wukong decide to seal off some of his powers until he can get a handle on them. The clone fiasco and the Mei sleepover though happens as in canon.

It's at that time that MK gets into another shady delivery location and well, he's the one on the menu. He's missing for about four days total, its late in the second day that Red Son hears about the rumor about a human feast from his parents (he has dinner with them once in a while, it's awkward as all hell but he can't bear to say no to spending time with his parents), and he goes to investigate, which leads him to a lot of geographical damage and a fight or flight mode monkey MK. after calming him down he takes him back to the Flaming Mountains to clean up and bounce off the shock somewhere safe.

he finds the carnage MK left behind and all the signs of the culprits of said feast and well, time to find out if the looters took any um, souvenirs, and of course get MK's own version of the story. MK does reach out to Pigsy once his phone is fixed (he can't remember his phone number for the life of him) and reassures everyone he's okay.

by the third day Wukong hears about what happened and makes An Entrance about it, hole on the roof and everything. him and Red Son talk over the details, and MK and Wukong have a serious talk about well, the occupational hazards. after bouncing off the worst ofit, Red Son drives MK back to Megapolis and the gang sits down to talk and hear why MK was MIA all this time.

Pigsy almost pops a vessel and a heart chamber, Tang faints, Mei sits down by Red Son to ask very calmly if there are any missing culprits she needs to find. Sandy is pretty much on damage control mode with MK's dads cus they do be highkey losing it. Pigsy rounds up on Red Son but he lets the demon vent his worries, he can handle a badmouthed concerned parent.

needless to say MK is benched for a good while there, Pigsy and Mei almost like two guard dogs around him. Tang and Sandy try their best to support everyone and each other though cus, really, it's A Lot. Luckily they got Red Son on the team now, and he's quite adept at crisis control and emotional support training.

[gradienta]

Step by Step EP2

I'm so mad. Be accountable for your own actions, you evil witch! I can't even watch 1/4 of the episode because I'm not consuming this content. Nope, no, thank you. She and her gang are so toxic.

You give Pat Nun and you're taking her back, telling him to keep his distance? Nooooo...

Handsome!

NOW FIGHT

I like this type of work.

Handsome!

Jeng is quite professional and his comments are valid, but his EQ is LACKING. He's not flexible enough. Has he addressed the problem with that toxic woman? Is he even aware of the harassment in the office?

I'm so invested in this mess.

[thislilfecker]

@snap-crackers

I have mixed thoughts on sex work. I love sex, but I hate work!

[aworldforastage]

魂兵之戈/"Jiang Chao Ge and the Spirit Weapon" by Shui Qian Cheng

I can't believe this is my 10th SQC novel!

I always thought of SQC as the queen of dogblood scum gong crematoriums novels angsty urban romantic drama, but her action-adventure stuff is surprisingly fun and engaging!

Synopsis

Ruthless businessman Jiang Chaoge accidentally gets transported to an alternate universe that is built around Spirit Weapons. In this universe, the spirits of everything from mice to mythical beasts can be sealed into items made from their remains, and then summoned in their full form to perform the bidding of compatible humans who have special spirit powers.

(Someone on Weibo called it "Shaman King but with monsters from Chinese Mythology" and I can't stop about the story any other way now.)

Jiang Chaoge unwittingly proves himself to be compatible with a highly-coveted spirit weapon. He must figure out how to cultivate spirit powers, survive in this new world, defend against others who also want his spirit weapon, all while looking after an ill-tempered mythical spirit in the body of the most unruly toddler, whose real identity is his gong seems to be much more troubling that he already seems.

Hoping to return to his own world, Jiang Chaoge embarks on a dangerous mission with a gang of new friends, and eventually discovers the terrible secrets that may seal the fates of both worlds.

What I like about the story

Complex (and a little sue-ish) protagonist. Jiang Chaoge is a machiavellian business man, always analyzing the situation and trying to find the best deals for himself. He is an orphan street rat who had to learn to be ruthless to survive, and continues to be cynical, suspicious, manipulative, and unapologetically self-centered. He uses his street-smarts, business skills, and high EQ to cultivate useful friendships and quickly build a comfortable life for himself in this new and dangerous world. He also becomes the brain and emotional core among his companions, whom he chose carefully for their talent and usefulness. However, over the course of the story, his band of mutually-beneficial acquaintances become real friends. I don't always like it when a character who is alleged flawed (e.g. calculating and self-centered) but never demonstrate for face any negative consequences for it (e.g. betray or lose the trust of his friends.) However, Jiang Chaoge manages that balance that keeps him both interesting and sympathetic.

Intriguing plot. We start with Jiang Chaoge exploring an alternate world as a transmigrator, learning its rules while trying to make a living and return home. However, only the most powerful beings in this universe have the power to send him back home, and Jiang Chaoge must find and bargain with increasingly powerful and dangerous entities -- from the High Priest of the land to the most powerful of beast spirits. All of them have their own secrets and agendas, which involves finding god-like powers that are only known to the mystical beast spirits, and discovering the terrible truths and bitters betrayals from the ancient battles that killed all the mythical beasts millennia ago.

A dynamic supporting cast. A heroic prince a bit too idealistic for his own good. A teenage trafficked slave-turned-bounty hunter who wants to return home. A feudal lord's illegitimate daughter who wants a free life on her own terms. An introverted genius who, ironically, got tricked into joining the most dangerous journey due to his anxiety and OCD. And a curious local explorer who final leaves home. Each one of them has (or eventually gets) a spirit beast, who are their most important allies in battle, and are also simultaneously their most complicated and most important relationship.

Friendships! The main gang initially only came together due to a web of mutually-beneficial incentives weaved together by Jiang Chaoge. Most of them are loners who do not easily trust people, but the friendship between them develops gradually and organically as they help each other through life-and-death situations. I especially love this development in Jiang Chaoge, who gets to feel missed, loved, and taken care of despite his harsh upbringing, and learns to feel this way for others. We also see the interesting friendships and frenemy-ships between the legendary mythical beasts, who have known each other since the literal dawn of time so their relationships can't be not-complicated.

The implications of spirit weapons and spirits beasts. The high-level spirit weapons wielded by the main cast are made from the souls of mythical beasts who have cultivated human-level sentience. Naturally, they have *feelings* about being killed and made into a weapon for perpetuity. Even if the spirit and wielder can get along, the relationship is inherently unequal on every front: a living human vs a dead beast, a mortal human vs a immortal spirit, the fragile source of power vs the fierce creature who can maximize the power's potential. The more energy a spirit receive from their human wielder, the more powerful they become in battle, and the greater their chance of reversing the relationship -- using the human's spirit energy to return to life and turn the human into a spirit weapon instead.

Further complicating this dynamic is the fact that a spirit weapon can formally bond with its wielder. No one else can use this weapon while the current wielder lives, and the spirit becomes one of the most important relationships that will last for the rest of that human's life. A bonding can be achieved through an exchange of blood or sexual intercourse, and of course the second option is very relevant to the plot and the main couple.

On the other hand

The main relationship is not boring or unpleasant, but it's just not to my taste. The gong is fierce and protective in his love, but also has the temper, maturity, and sometimes the intelligence of a petulant child despite having lived for millennia. This makes for a lot of great comedy and fun interactions with the protagonist, and I really like seeing them gradually becoming friends, but the romantic component didn't feel too compelling to me. However, I love the conflict this couple get into later on in the novel, which is a bit cheesy and cliched but also plays perfectly off the character flaws they already exhibited in the story.

The rushed ending left many loose ends in the plot. I read that the author originally planned for a much longer story, but a host of problems with the platform and censorship hampered her writing. Some characters and couples are left in awkward or unsatisfying places in the narrative, if not downright forgotten, so it feels like their story has not been in explored in full. The climactic battle itself is one shocking reveal after another; and it feels a bit like an info-dump that has dragged on for too long. The ending is technically happy, but I think it's a bit silly and leaves a lot of problems open in the future.

Finally, while SQC is incredibly skilled at crafting emotionally complex stories and character, and the action feels very tight from scene to scene, I feel like the story is still missing several important pieces that keeps it from being super-amazing. So many interesting story elements are left under-explored, like the powerful anti-monarchist secret society, the complicated power dynamics between spirit weapons and their wielders, the other nations/continents in the alternate world, the pseudo-immortality of spirit beasts, and what do you mean we don't have another 50K of extras picking apart Yin Chuan's tragic relationship with Di Jiang and Yuren Shu's complicated dynamic with Tian Rong?!

P.S. This story has no explicit smut scenes, kind of a real shock considering this is SQC's work ...

Overall

This is a story with a refreshing concept/premise, good writing, fun characters, deep relationships, and very creative plot and use of Chinese mythology. However, it leaves me with a "4/5" kind of feeling, because even though there are so many good things about it, I feel like it just left so much unexplored.

It's like looking at a really interesting painting, but with areas that are incomplete and some patches done very roughly compared to the rest. I have high expectations because the artist created such a wonderful sketch and did so well on most of it -- but it's still one of the most best works I have seen recently.

Finally,

I discovered this story through its audiodrama, which is surprisingly very good and unsurprisingly not reaching that many people. Season 1 covered half the novel, and I hope the word spreads so we get a second season to complete the story.

The theme song -- a rock song with Chinese instrumentals -- has also been stuck in my head on and off for weeks now ~~

[mitigatedchaos]

The thing about Affirmation Action - most people are actually just ok at their jobs, and aren't Einsteins or Ramanujans or whatever. If they meet the minimum requirements to be a surgeon you're not in particularly worse hands than you really otherwise would be, because the bulk are always going to be first standard deviation. It's just now you have a tool to prevent communities in your society from self segregating (because people get jobs through connections) into unstable subclasses and can collect data to actively monitor for things like the name disciminatory effect. You don't even cut off the upper deviations with this, either, it's just about your mixing of the middle 95 in attempt to prevent things like gangs other issues with insular ethnic or income based subclasses.

Allow me to introduce you to The O-Ring Theory of Economic Development.

The basic gist of that article is that a long, high-value production chain, where that high value doesn't kick in until the end, requires a high probability of success at each node in the chain.

What you just said is fine for an insurance salesman. It is not fine for semiconductor design and manufacturing, which is an input into the production of the entire rest of the economy.

The amount of disruption will depend on 1) the discrepancy of the input labor pool from the ideal equality politically demanded, 2) the magnitude of the imposed ethnic quotas, and 3) the degree to which the job requires abilities far from the average.

If we have a dial labeled 'ETHNIC QUOTAS' and we turn it to 1 or 2, people might not notice, and we may have disrupted hiring network effects. There's a natural amount of noise in hiring.

The problem is that the political economy of the EQ dial is not really based on liberal ethnic conflict management by light-touch reduction of hiring network effects. That was something that was more reasonable for a young liberal to believe in 2010, or might be more reasonable to believe in a small state under a firm hand, like Singapore.

The jobs which require the highest and most reliable capability will be among the best-compensated and the most prestigious.

The political economy of the EQ dial is based more on compensation and prestige. The most prestigious and well-compensated jobs will tend to be both the most unequally distributed, and the ones that suffer the most - for O-Ring reasons.

Political entrepreneurs (rhymes with "norm entrepreneurs") can see this and bring those discrepancies into high visibility to emotionally motivate voters, build consensus within their coalition to go after firms of this class, etc.

Now at this point, you might say, "Well, can't the firm just hire a bunch of underperforming personnel in order to meet the quota? And if it turns out that the firm underestimated their performance, then great, or if it turns out that wealth and social connections cause performance, then maybe their kids do very well, and the problem is solved in the next generation."

The problem is that this is a multiple-round game and the political entrepreneurs can change their actions on the next round.

If you officially hire someone to do aerospace engineering and then sideline him because you're actually just using him to fill a quota, this can be detected from other metrics, which political entrepreneurs can then use to argue that you're still "cheating," and demand more resources and concessions. They have you over a barrel.

If your production system depends on Einsteins, well, you can't just make someone into an Einstein. The social technology for that doesn't exist at this time, so political entrepreneurs can make as high of a demand as they want, because they've locked you into a contradiction.

The political entrepreneurs will always try to turn up the dial, because the amount of difference forms a gradient that they can use to gain power (like exploiting a difference in temperature, a thermal gradient, to drive a geothermal power plant), and you are depending on the other members of their coalition to not cooperate, to shut them up and make them go home.

If the mismatch is bad enough, and you turn the dial high enough, you can crash the production system as a shortage of some bottleneck resource causes a cascading failure.

At that point, you'll probably be replaced by someone who was less willing to turn the dial, and then you'll no longer be in control of the situation.

Liberals have been indulging the political entrepreneurs since 2014, but this is a mistake - their programs are not connected to real life success, which means they'll end up promoting conflict and poverty regardless of whatever they say their intentions are. Liberals should care about good things happening, which requires they be rooted in real reality, even if it's a bit uncomfortable.

[barbatusart]

10 & 11 for all the sadsack guys?

DAMN THE WHOLE GANG OK LOL LETS SEE

10. What is your favorite trait regarding your oc? 11. What is your least favorite trait regarding your oc? JAKE: i really liked doing his completely bone dry sense of humor, jake's a riot to me. the joke he made in book 4 about garv & mal looked at him like HE REALLY LIKES A COLD ONE and hes just like "yeah" cracked me up while writing it LOL. (also admittedly i love writing like 8 simultaneous jokes happening at once) least favorite was actually i dont like his haircut at all LOL it's just very bland & plain, it fits his milquetoast appearance perfectly but im like eh about it SAL: my favorite is his hair i Adore his long flowing hair & drawing his hair & all the movement we could get with his hair. i cant fucking stand his personality lmao he's like the most obnoxious stubborn motherfucker ive ever written, he's like the most stereotypical malignant taurus in existence like if you looked up Can't Help Being A Taurus in a dictionary his photo would be right there. zero EQ zero self awareness zero concept of his own inner world it's awful MAL: mal is just beautiful i Love his look & notorously gave him my dream wardrobe lol, i love how he carries himself & how put together & gorgeous he is. i also love his self confidence & how he prefers people with similar levels of self confidence so they can both go out on a date & look hot together LOL i love that. least favorite aspect of his is his whole M.O. which he's deliberately never explicitly touched on regarding white knight syndrome + needing to be around people he considers Lesser Than or Broken, his whole Deal is so disgusting to me that it legitimately makes my skin crawl STONE: stone uhhhhhhhhh i think actually he may be my least favorite out of all of them so favorite trait is difficult LOL just because the negatives so wildly overpower anything nice. I GUESS I LIKE HIS CAT, HIS CAT IS WONDERFUL. least favorite trait is also His Whole Deal he's such a mess from top to bottom that it's like, man GARV: my favorite traits are also my least favorite traits garv is such a fucking loser & is also my favorite favorite favorite character LOL

[thislilfecker]

@snap-crackers

looking for shirt braces online and I saw this and thought tumblr would appreciate it

[chialattea]

Lol, my Hawke is also the bottom in her relationship with Bela (it just makes sense to me) and they do commit crimes together but she tends to be more blue/diplomatic. Is yours sarcastic? And what exactly is their dynamic like?

OH MY GOD I JUST SAW THISN HFGVFYU

I forgot tumblr asks were a thing,, thank god i started fucking around and clicked the correct button.

Bottom Hawke enjoyers unite!!!! I just think it's especially funny considering theyre quote unquote the leader of the group, so thinking of them as actually losers who are just winging it makes me so happy.

My Hawke is mostly a purple/sarcastic hawke. She's mostly quite laid back and easygoing because she's allergic to taking things seriously and/or confronting her issues, which bites her in the ass as the story progresses. She'd rather die than let people know she has feelings other than funny one-liners. She's loud and rash, but somehow things keep working out for her... Until they dont. They really come crashing down. Behind her chronic class clown facade is someone with a very set personal moral code. She genuinely cares for her friends and has a surprisingly high EQ, which is why the kirkwall gang hasnt devolved into beating each other senseless. At first glance she seems flaky and unreliable, but she's relentless when it comes to that she thinks as her responsibilities: her family, her friends, and for some fucking reason the city of Kirkwall (she really, really wishes she hadnt gotten attached god fucking damnit, its a dumpster but its HER dumpster). Those are the only three subjects you'll see her getting serious about. Other than that she values freedom quite highly and doesn't really care about the big picture or politics. She's more of a small-scale, act local kind of gal.

At first Isabela and her get along like a house on fire; they love partying, they love drinking, Isabela finds Hawke's smartass attitude hilarious and Hawke finds really attractive how Isabela can steal shit without being found out. The problems start when Hawke's sense of responsibility and morals start to show up. It's not like Hawke has any issue with Isabela doing whatever she wants, she's a "live and let live" kind of person, but,,, even if Hawke presents herself as an unrepentant clown, she's anything but. She wants to help to a self-sacrificing degree, refuses to engage with her own needs and has little sense of self-preservation. She's careless yet also keeps prioritizing everyone else before herself, which infuriates Isabela. They begin a situationship which is supposed to be purely physical, but Hawke gets attached yet refuses to admit it, even to herself; Isabela finds Hawke's newfound moral righteousness grating and makes her feel judged for her choices. Basically miscommunications galore. They have a big fight where neither of them actually listen to each other and refuse to be emotionally vulnerable.

And yet both of them come back for the other in their time of need, regardless and even in spite of their positions because no matter what they actively choose to love each other,, does that make sense? After the second act both of them decide their relationship is worth the trouble of,, working through their issues together and trying to better themselves. As everything around Hawke and Kirkwall start crashing down their relationship becomes their solace. It's hard, and they fuck up a lot, but they choose to make it work and actively care for their relationship.

Yeah but anyways, my Hawke is also a bumbling idiot with enough charisma to compensate it. She has fucked before but blushes like a maiden the second she sees Isabela's ankle. She's the "me and the bad bitch i pulled with my whimsical rizz" meme. Isabela is like hawke no and shes like hawke YESSSSS she's a golden retriever. if i had to choose a character she's most similar to it'd be gideon i guess.

TLDR; hawke: "isabela i taped myself to the ceiling but now i cant get down can you handfeed me some hot pockets" isabela: "why do i find this attractive"

[yokohamabeans]

What do you think of each of the Tokyo revengers girls? I want to hear some opinions on them (if anyone is seeing this and wants to say something about them please do! I want to hear as many opinions as i can)

Ahhhh, this was asked like months ago.... I'm so sorry to take so long to get to it....! I hope you've been well since!!

In general, I think Wakui has tried his best to portray the TR girls as strong and in the best light he can, but of course if you are to compare it against other works with really good, strong and driven female characters, it may seem to fall short. I personally like all of the female characters in TR though, and think that Wakui could have done a lot more with them! (well, this actually goes for a lot of his other male characters too...)

Hina: Shows her strength by being Takemichi's anchor, voice of reason and unwavering source of courage, imo! I like her, but in a pretty neutral way. I just think her relationship with Takemichi is really unfair against her... If you think about it, she spends most of her time with the 'other Takemichi' who we all know is not the Takemichi she fell for. That's.... rough..... And when the 'real Takemichi' finally time-leaped back to her, he straight up left her right before their wedding to die...... (I'm talking about the Bonten Timeline, of course). IMO: GIRL YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER!!

Yuzuha: She's actually WAY WAY WAY stronger than most of the male characters!!! She's a bad boss bitch that's what she is!! This is a girl who has endured years of abuse from her brother so that she can be strong for her other brother..... She was even prepared to kill and go to jail for him!!! The fandom doesn't appreciate you enough, Yuzuha.....

Senju: A physical representation of strength for the TR girls!! I think she has a lot more potential and could have received soooooooo much more development as a character. She's a high school kid, traumatised by a childhood incident which she has been struggling with every day of her life, and leading an actual gang of older men. Boss bitch behaviour, but Wakui should've shown us more of it!! I also WISH Wakui had drawn her beefier and more muscular.... as she should be...........

Emma: Hina has heart, Yuzuha has strength and Senju has power, and even though it doesn't seem to be directly portrayed as such, I think Emma has the brains. Hear me out: this girl is really perceptive and emotionally in tune with others. A girl of high EQ. I'm sure Draken looks towards her for advice (Mikey too, though it may be harder for him to admit)

I must say that Wakui's portrayal of girls is a little 'traditional' and kinda 'black and white', and 'good or bad', in the sense that they don't really have many moral and psychological grey zones. Yuzuha comes the closest to it, though. Then again, his manga has always been about the fellas, so I guess that's why he doesn't focus on them much?

[petorahs]

☀️ anon

Thank you for pointing out that ryuji has the highest EQ, he really is super perceptive even if he is incredibly book dumb and impulsive. PROTECT THIS BOY

(He is a loud teenager tho so he gets often just stamoed as being "annoying" which i dont get because he feels so vital to the whole gang)

exactly! you get me sunshine anon

ryuji being "annoying" and loud are just his core personality traits yeah like you said he is a fairly real depiction of a modern teen guy. HES JUST A FRIEND MAN i cant hate him sure he messes up (like constantly yell out "we're the phantom thieves!" in public and the somewhat forced imo mean comments to morgana) he just feels like those homies you have irl like. a light slap to the head is needed sometimes and thats ok

with his EQ though i especially feel this cause i recently rewatched futaba arc and theres this part where a confused-skeptical-but-well-meaning ann asks futaba outright if she "murdered her mother?" and ryuji was immediately like "ann wtf you moron??!!" cause ofc thats a loaded ass question towards a stranger who's also a depressed sewerslidal child. yusuke simply said "ann." in getting her to stop but this scene highlights the EQ hierarchy of PT i feel. ryuji is so very outwardly empathetic and we see this a lot in futaba arc

in JP, his quiet and awkwardness in the beginning shows way more like he's actually really self-conscious about how he's perceived by others at school before he opens up..... you know that moment when someone talks about their passion and they light up like fireworks? start talking all animatedly? that's ryuji with the PT! he gets so pumped talking about it cause it essentially is a passion for a once-lost teen like him. cant really blame him for being loud sometimes

finally i believe the EQ in the phantom thieves goes like. ann = ryuji = joker > haru > yusuke > mako = futaba > morgana maybe this needs more work lol but i do think haru's pretty high up there just that she's offset by being more sheltered than the rest so some casual social cues are lost on her. yusuke is more emotional despite his calm demeanor and mako and futaba are strictly numbers and data gals etc etc

[thislilfecker]

@snap-crackers