#first one makes me think of gambit although i'm not sure why- might be the music genre

[blackberry-gingham]

Two God tier, niche character songs for wolverine, for those interested:

Stranger to Myself by Gravedancer

In Your Likeness by Woodkid

[andthekitchensinkao3]

Fic tag game :3

Fic tag game!

tagged by @sweeteatercat Thank you <3<3<3<3 :3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

27

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

669,998 words o_O Yeah. Lots of words for my own entertainment.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Detroit become human (mainly HankCon, but some Sirkus too); Person of Interest (Reese/Finch, the ultimate disaster gays of emotionally repressed middle age, I wub them so much. Must write more!)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Silent Treatment (254)

Great Pretenders (176)

Metamorph (162)

Being Alive (128)

More than Words (121)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I never know what to say (except THANK YOU), but I do try to break out of my shell and respond to everyone.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I tend to write happy endings, but the road to get there can be Hella bumpy. In that sense, I think Gambit takes the angst-flavored cake. It’s a spinoff off my first ever DBH fic, Metamorph. Long story short, Gambit takes place after a peaceful revolution, Hank and Connor are partners (and now established as lovers, officially speaking), and Gavin decides to shoot Connor in the face, essentially blowing his face off. And then, just a little while later, Connor-52 arrives on the scene, expecting to investigate a crime involving a deviant…

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

As I said, about my fics having happy endings 🙂 But if I can choose one I love, it’d be Great Pretenders - an undercover fake couple, friends to lovers, only one bed type fic (although no sex in this one, they do share a steamy kiss for purposes of maintaining their cover. mwarharhar).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Feels like I’m jinxing myself on this one, but I have been blissfully spared of hateful comments. At times weird comments, sure, but nothing outright negative. Maybe I haven’t been popular enough in the fandom to attract the attention of haters. I don’t know, but I’m glad for it.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I never used to write outright smut, out of a fear of getting hate (weird, I know), but since my comeback from fandom hiatus, I’ve been writing smut to the high heavens. M/m smut, customizable android genitalia smut, transmasc!Hank smut, genderfluid robo smut, dom Connor/sub Hank smut. I’m up for almost anything, really.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not so much crossovers, but I do a lot of AUs, some of them inspired by other franchises and/or movies.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. Not that I know of.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope. But it might be fun. Maybe?

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Not counting DBH or PoI, one of my longest standing OTPs have to be Kirk/Spock, very closely followed by Garak/Bashir, of Star Trek TOS and DS9, respectively.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh, I will finish them all. Just you wait. 😀

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have come to appreciate that my funny bone isn’t so weird after all, and I should embrace the quirk. So, my ability to weave in humour into my fics. Sure helps when almost all my fics are angst-riddled monstrosities ;)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am a chronic over-writer, imho. I can’t ever keep things brief and to the point, but I’m trying!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm multilingual. English isn’t my first language, but neither is German, French, Spanish or Latin, and I frequently use those as well if/when it fits a story.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

FAKE, closely followed by Star Trek DS9 and The Sentinel

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE XD But I am very fond of How to Create a Monster :3

Tag yourselves, my darlings. All of you! <3<3<3<3<3

[lizacstuff]

Your thoughts on the epi? And the trailers? I'm loving the in love Edser! We've waited so long for this!!!

This episode was so fun and fluffy! I don't know about you, but I am enjoying the tone during this second season. A lot. I don't care how stupid the audition process was for the spot in the school, it gave us some very good comedy and a lot of USTy, sexy, flirty goodness.

And like you, I also love in love Edser!

Thankfully this episode was dominated by Edser, and with Kiraz at Granny's house we even got some alone time. The supporting characters were used to good effect this episode, Engin and Piril were the funniest they've ever been, Kerem and Pina served to poke Serkan about his mentoring style, and it was actually nice to have an excuse for Ayfer and Aydan to share a storyline again.

(more under the cut)

However, we'll start with Burak and Melo. UGH. I mean I love Melo and Elcin has done a really good job of showing Melo's heartbreak and trying to hide her melancholy behind her usual bubbly personality, but I really can't stand that it's over such a dud of a character. I know I'm a broken record here but Melo deserves better than this fool. Honestly, he's such a bland sad sack I don't really get why Melo loves him, Eda wants to be friends with him and Ayfer thinks he's so great she wants him for a nephew-in-law. Well, for Ayfer the only qualification is that he's not Serkan, so never mind that question.

However, maybe there's some hope? Before this episode it seemed certain they were heading in a romance direction, but the way he told her she was like a sister to him? Is there really any coming back from him saying that after he remembered kissing her? On the other hand we're barreling towards the end here and there's not really enough time to introduce anyone new for Melo (and no indication from spoilers that they have) and I'm pretty sure Ayse and the writers want to give her a romantic happy ending (although I'd be fine if they didn't and instead had her go off and do something entirely for herself like go back to school or travel or open a shop). So we'll see, because even with the sister line they left some room open because Kerem was the one who suggested he say that (it wasn't necessarily his own idea) and with Melo he seemed to be coming from a place where he assumed he had forced himself on her and she was angry because she didn't want it. Which we know is not true, so might be a misunderstanding that leads to something more. Anyway, I guess we'll just have to endure whichever way they go.

Personally, I like the Serkan-Kemal father storyline. I think it's a good way to add a bit of drama in the waning episodes, gives Serkan a bit of an identity crisis, interestingly mirrors his own situation with Kiraz, and it just makes sense with everything we know of the characters. Because were we seriously supposed to believe that someone as sniveling as Alptelkin sired Serkan? I mean Serkan is the epitome of BDE, he has an inherent charismatic and commanding presence. Sorry to the actor who played Alptekin, but he didn't really have any kind of presence, however Sinan who plays Kemal, does. They've done a great job of casting, because it just feels true. I believe Kemal and Serkan share genetics.

However, even before that storyline starts in earnest, it's interesting that Serkan was being a big baby, not wanting his mom with a man she clearly loves. I wish Eda would have pushed back at him a little more when he was going off that Aydan shouldn't pursue love at her age! Does he think he'll be out of love with Eda by the time he's in his 50s and 60s? Of course not! I'm guessing Eda, though, is just letting him blow off some steam and come to accept the relationship on his own terms. Don't get me wrong, though, after all the meddling Aydan's done with Edser, she more than deserves to have Serkan's opinion of Kemal negatively impact her!

Loved that Kiraz and Can found out first that Kemal is Serkan's father! Cat is out of the bag, Aydan, you can't make a deal with a 5 year old, lmao. It put a nice ticking clock on the whole thing and gave us some good comedic moments where Kiraz is speaking the truth and everyone thinks she's just really fond of the dude. Hee.

Also I enjoyed the Aydan and Ayfer moments. To be honest, I also used to enjoy their true friendship moments when we got them, like when Kemal first appeared and Aydan was freaking out and needed Ayfer and Seyfi around her, and when they were trying to hunt down Deniz after the fake wedding turned real. After so much animosity, it was nice that Ayfer recognized that Aydan was truly in distress and needed a friend and they were able to actually talk. Also we got some (mildly) funny comedy with the two of them and the school lady. Speaking of Ayfer, thankfully she finally realized some consequences to her actions in pushing Burak at Eda. She hurt Melo! Glad she finally opened her eyes to see what should have been obvious to her (Eda never saw him that way, and Melo obviously did) and apologized to Melo. I'd like it if she would apologize to Eda as well, (and Burak deserves an apology as well because she most definitely gave him false hope) but since Eda wasn't influenced by her we probably won't see that.

Switching to Eda and Serkan this episode gave us lots of good stuff. This was a great episode for showing us where each of them stood. Eda is terrified of getting hurt and trying to hold him at arm's length even while he clearly is inching back into her heart, and Serkan is dreaming of their future together, and taking every opportunity to tie them together. How much did I love Serkan admitting he was poking at Eda, and doig things to make her angry, just so she would talk to him? Interesting that he's doing it and love that he's being honest and admitting it to her. One of my favorite relationship dynamics between them is around "talking." In the very beginning Serkan did a lot of complaining about how much Eda talked and how she never shut up, but starting around episode 18 all he wanted was for Eda to talk to him. And this is just more of that. The thing he wants most is to talk to her.

Plus watching domestic Edser is just so much fun, I could watch their full grocery shopping trip in real time and be perfectly happy, lol. At the age of 35 it's time that Serkan learn how to do a few things for himself, I don't care how rich he is, so it's nice that we see him evolving a bit as he embraces the dad role.

The jealousy gambits, even as mild as they are, are getting pretty eye roll worthy since Eda and Serkan are living together, care so much, and obviously are still so hot for one another. It's a bit more understandable from Serkan since Eda is the one creating the barrier between them, but are we really supposed to believe that Eda is jealous of Deniz when Serkan is so obviously in love with Eda and planning their future together? Especially when he clearly can't stand Deniz and tries so hard to avoid her? I suppose it's to show us that Eda is in a jumbled state, her head is trying to keep space with Serkan, while her heart wants him badly and is scared he's going to take her rejections seriously. Even so it was quite irrational for her to get angry at Serkan for having lunch with Deniz when she ordered him to leave with her. Poor Eda is in emotional turmoil.

It was hard to tell with shaky translations, but I guess Serkan claimed to have been injured while rescuing Eda and that's how he talked his way into her bed? Impressively done, Serkan. Love it because it meant we all got to wake up to snuggly family, snuggling together. This gave us another glimpse into Eda's psyche, she wakes up first, and is clearly enjoying it and feeling at home in his arms, until the sleep clears enough and her head realizes she's not supposed to be enjoying it. But once again Kiraz knows how to handle her parents and their complicated relationship beautifully and fixes everything with a pillow fight. That is one smart cookie.

One of my favorite moments of the episode is when Eda is trying to convince Serkan to go to Aydan about the school. Eda knows that her big eyes still work on him, and they did. He still can't say no to her, another one of my favorite relationship dynamics of theirs. I'm super glad some things never change. Speaking of their visit to Aydan's, how great that they went to meet the horse without a name as a family, and then Serkan finally came up with the perfect name. Definitely a star.

Love, love, love that Serkan and Eda beat Engin and Piril when it came to the 'how well do you know your spouse' game. They may have been separated for 5 years, but they both have a genuine interest in the other, so they remember things, and they always made a much more compatible couple than Engin/Piril who have absolutely nothing in common. Of course I adored all the fake married hijinx this gave us, not to mention all the opportunities for Serkan to touch, kiss, and hold her. SO MUCH UST!

The heart-to-heart on the bench was well done and it finally gave us Eda opening up and telling him what's been holding her back. She's scared. Of course she is, the poor thing. Serkan might have thought he was doing it for her own good both times, but he ripped her heart out twice (not even counting all the heart ripping he did during amnesia) how could she not have fears? Of course she's afraid! Whenever she lets herself love him and be loved by him, it's ripped away horribly, and often in ways that feels like it's him doing the ripping. She can take into consideration the circumstances, which she has or else he wouldn't be anywhere near her, and still need time to be sure she's not just setting herself up to get emotionally demolished again.

For Serkan's part all he can do is keep being there, being honest with her, and showing he's in it for the long haul, which I think he's doing and which is why they are where they are at the end of this episode.

Engin and Piril's dance practice is probably the first Engin/Piril alone scene that I thought was genuinely funny and fully enjoyable. I can't think of another... message me if you think there is one, lol. Elsewhere, I saw some folks saying that Engin and Piril should have won the dance competition, because they actually danced, and Eda and Serkan didn't. LOL, you think? I'm pretty sure that was the point. That Eda and Serkan didn't really dance, all they did was get up there and turn their sexual tension and intense smoldering towards one another up to eleventy and won because it's that powerful.

It's sort of a metaphor for this whole series. Sen Cal Kapimi is 100% powered by their chemistry. Of course they can win any competition by just pressing their bodies against one another! They can turn a ditzy Turkish summer romcom that probably should have gone 13 eps into an international hit that's going on 50 episodes, just by looking at one another.

I'm glad that the school officials overheard their conversations and dismissed them, any organization that requires this of the parents, is going to be a lifelong pain-in-the ass, lmao. Also it was good to see Edser and EnPir make up by the end.

Now, on to that ending. I'm glad the subject of the tatoos was brought up, interesting that Eda kept hers until a few months ago. Also interesting that she moved it... can't blame Serkan for wanting to see it. Was that one great seduction line, or what?

I join with everyone who thinks it was a slightly awkward place to leave the episode. We only have 13 (probably) episodes this season, and we've only had one kiss so far. That was definitely a moment for a kiss. Part of me thinks they were going for the cliffhanger, what will Eda do? Will she kiss him or slam the door in his face? Tune in next week to find out! Except that audiences have to wait no time at all for the fragman and that makes any such cliffhanger moot. So what's the point? Have her pull him in, kiss him, and the show can end with them passionately making out and the door slamming with the camera outside the house.

Oh well, it is what it is, and we can only hope they pick up next week right where they left off. As for the fragman, obviously they are fully back together for this episode which means she lets him in to hunt for her tattoo. (please oh please give us that internet ozel because I don't think I can stand being online in this fandom if they don't. Thankfully I'm traveling next week and will be too busy to spend much time on twitter.)

As I said in another ask, I'm not surprised Serkan is barreling them straight towards marriage. When you know, you know, so why wait? Once they emotionally commit to one another, they need to just get married. No waiting for psychos to interfere, family to meddle, or tragedy to strike!

Seriously can't wait for a full episode of them together and Serkan figuring out how to propose. I'm also looking forward to the Kemal/Serkan stuff, it will be interesting to see how he reacts once the news sets in... should be a great episode!

[fluffmugger]

I haven't read Good Omens but I just got done watching the show and I'm confused on one point: what was behind Aziraphale's decision to not tell Crowley he knew where the antichrist was? I thought it was because he didn't want Crowley to kill him but he later petitions heaven to do just that. What did I miss? Why did he keep that information to himself when before they were trying to find the antichrist together?

He does try to tell Crowley, as in the book. However, at the time Crowley’s dealing with Hastur and Ligur  (well more accurately mexican standoffing against Hastur). So:  1) he tries to be a Good Angel, then fucks that shit off and 2) calls Crowley and that phone convo goes nowhere, then 3) Aziraphale runs face first into Shadwell, tries to stop him from stepping into the communication circle, accidently does so himself, utters the best fuck in the history of mankind and discorporates. The sequence from the book: 

Aziraphale was dithering. He’ d been dithering for some twelve hours. His nerves, he would have said, were all over the place. He walked around the shop, picking up bits of paper and dropping them again, fiddling with pens. He ought to tell Crowley. No, he didn’t. He wanted to tell Crowley. He ought to tell Heaven. He was an angel, after all. You had to do the right thing. It was built-in. You see a wile, you thwart. Crowley had put his finger on it, right enough. He ought to have told Heaven right from the start. But he’d known him for thousands of years. They got along. They nearly understood one another. He sometimes suspected they had far more in common with one another than with their respective superiors. They both liked the world, for one thing, rather than viewing it simply as the board on which the cosmic game of chess was being played. Well, of course, that was it. That was the answer, staring him in the face. It’d be true to the spirit of his pact with Crowley if he tipped Heaven the wink, and then they could quietly do something about the child, although nothing too bad of course because we were all God’s creatures when you got down to it, even people like Crowley and the Antichrist, and the world would be saved and there wouldn’t have to be all that Armageddon business, which would do nobody any good anyway, because everyone knew Heaven would win in the end, and Crowley would be bound to understand. Yes. And then everything would be all right. There was a knock at the shop door, despite the CLOSED sign. He ignored it.Getting in touch with Heaven for two-way communications was far more difficult for Aziraphale than it is for humans, who don’t expect an answer and in nearly all cases would be rather surprised to get one. He pushed aside the paper-laden desk and rolled up the threadbare bookshop carpet. There was a small circle chalked on the floorboards underneath, surrounded by suitable passages from the Cabala. The angel lit seven candles, which he placed ritually at certain points around the circle. Then he lit some incense, which was not necessary but did make the place smell nice.And then he stood in the circle and said the Words. Nothing happened. He said the Words again. Eventually a bright blue shaft of light shot down from the ceiling and filled the circle. A well-educated voice said, “Well?” “It’s me, Aziraphale.” “We know,” said the voice. “I’ve got great news! I’ve located the Antichrist! I can give you his address and everything!” There was a pause. The blue light flickered. “Well?” it said again. “But, d'you see, you can ki—can stop it all happening! In the nick of time! You’ve only got a few hours! You can stop it all and there needn’t be the war and everyone will be saved!” He beamed madly into the light. “Yes?” said the voice. “Yes, he’s in a place called Lower Tadfield, and the address—” “Well done,” said the voice, in flat, dead tones. “There doesn’t have to be any of that business with one third of the seas turning to blood or anything,” said Aziraphale happily. When it came, the voice sounded slightly annoyed. “Why not?” it said. Aziraphale felt an icy pit opening under his enthusiasm, and tried to pretend it wasn’t happening. He plunged on: “Well, you can simply make sure that—” “We will win, Aziraphale.” “Yes, but-” “The forces of darkness must be beaten. You seem to be under a misapprehension. The point is not to avoid the war, it is to win it. We have been waiting a long time, Aziraphale.” Aziraphale felt the coldness envelop his mind. He opened his mouth to say, “Do you think perhaps it would be a good idea not to hold the war on Earth?” and changed his mind. “I see,” he said grimly. There was a scraping near the door, and if Aziraphale had been looking in that direction he would have seen a battered felt hat trying to peer over the fanlight. “This is not to say you have not performed well,” said the voice. “You will receive a commendation. Well done.” “Thank you,” said Aziraphale. The bitterness in his voice would have soured milk. “I’d forgotten about ineffability, obviously.” “We thought you had.” “May I ask,” said the angel, “to whom have I been speaking?” The voice said, “We are the Metatron.”* “Oh, yes. Of course. Oh. Well. Thank you very much. Thank you.” Behind him the letterbox tilted open, revealing a pair of eyes. “One other thing,” said the voice. “You will of course be joining us, won’t you?” “Well, er, of course it has been simply ages since I’ve held a flaming sword—” Aziraphale began. “Yes, we recall,” said the voice. “You will have a lot of opportunity to relearn.” “Ah. Hmm. What sort of initiating event will precipitate the war?” said Aziraphale. “We thought a multi-nation nuclear exchange would be a nice start.” “Oh. Yes. Very imaginative.” Aziraphale’s voice was flat and hopeless. “Good. We will expect you directly, then,” said the voice. “Ah. Well. I’ll just clear up a few business matters, shall I?” said Aziraphale desperately. “There hardly seems to be any necessity,” said the Metatron. Aziraphale drew himself up. “I really feel that probity, not to say morality, demands that as a reputable businessman I should-” “Yes, yes,” said the Metatron, a shade testily. “Point taken. We shall await you, then.”The light faded, but did not quite vanish. They’re leaving the line open, Aziraphale thought. I’m not getting out of this one. “Hallo?” he said softly, “Anyone still there?” There was silence. Very carefully, he stepped over the circle and crept to the telephone. He opened his notebook and dialed another number. After four rings it gave a little cough, followed by a pause, and then a voice which sounded so laid back you could put a carpet on it said, “Hi. This is Anthony Crowley. Uh. I—” “Crowley!” Aziraphale tried to hiss and shout at the same time, “Listen! I haven’t got much time! The—” “—probably not in right now, or asleep, and busy, or something, but—” “Shutup! Listen! It was in Tadfield! It’s all in that book! You’ve got to stop—” “—after the tone and I’ll get right back to you. Chow.” “I want to talk to you now—” BeeeEEeeeEEeee “Stop making noises! It’s in Tadfield! That was what I was sensing! You must go there and—” He took the phone away from his mouth. “Bugger!” he said. It was the first time he’d sworn in more than four thousand years. Hold on. The demon had another line, didn’t he? He was that kind of person. Aziraphale fumbled in the book, nearly dropping it on the floor. They would be getting impatient soon. He found the other number. He dialed it. It was answered almost immediately, at the same time as the shop’s bell tingled gently. Crowley’s voice, getting louder as it neared the mouthpiece, said, “ — really mean it. Hallo?” “Crowley, it’s me!” “Ngh.” The voice was horribly noncommittal. Even in his present state, Aziraphale sensed trouble. “Are you alone?” he said cautiously. “Nuh. Got an old friend here.” “Listen-!” “Awa’ we ye, ye spawn o’ hell!” Very slowly, Aziraphale turned around.

Shadwell was trembling with excitement. He’d seen it all. He’d heard it all. He hadn’t understood any of it, but he knew what people did with circles and candlesticks and incense. He knew that all right. He’d seen The Devil Rides Out fifteen times, sixteen times if you included the time he’ d been thrown out of the cinema for shouting his unflattering opinions of amateur witchfinder Christopher Lee. The buggers were using him. They’ d been making fools out o’ the glorious traditions o’ the Army. “I’ll have ye, ye evil bastard!” he shouted, advancing like a moth-eaten avenging angel. “I ken what ye be about, comin’ up here and seducin’ wimmen to do yer evil will!” “I think perhaps you’ve got the wrong shop,” said Aziraphale. “I’ll call back later,” he told the receiver, and hung up. “I could see what yer were aboot,” snarled Shadwell. There were flecks of foam around his mouth. He was more angry than he could ever remember. “Er, things are not what they seem—” Aziraphale began, aware even as he said it that as conversational gambits went it lacked a certain polish. “I bet they ain’t!” said Shadwell triumphantly. “No, I mean-” Without taking his eyes off the angel, Shadwell shuffled backwards and grabbed the shop door, slamming it hard so that the bell jangled. “Bell,” he said. He grabbed The Nice and Accurate Prophecies and thumped it down heavily on the table. “Book” he snarled. He fumbled in his pocket and produced his trusty Ronson. “Practically candle!” he shouted, and began to advance. In his path, the circle glowed with a faint blue light. “Er,” said Aziraphale, “I think it might not be a very good idea to—” Shadwell wasn’t listening. “By the powers invested in me by virtue o’ my office o’ Witchfinder,” he intoned, “I charge ye to quit from this place—” “You see, the circle—” “—and return henceforth to the place from which ye came, pausin’ not to—” “—it would really be unwise for a human to set foot in it without—” “—and deliver us frae evil—” “Keep out of the circle, you stupid man!” “—never to come again to vex—” “Yes, yes, but please keep out of—” Aziraphale ran toward Shadwell, waving his hands urgently. “- returning NAE MORE!” Shadwell finished. He pointed a vengeful, black-nailed finger. Aziraphale looked down at his feet, and swore for the second time in five minutes. He’d stepped into the circle. “Oh, fuck,” he said.There was a melodious twang, and the blue glow vanished. So did Aziraphale.

* The Voice of God. But not the voice of God. A entity in its own right. Rather like a Presidential spokesman.

[tinyphantomsoul]

Dude, you forgot!

By the way, why did you mention the Warren Commission in relation to Allan Dulles?

You mean I didn't mention that Dulles was on the Warren Commission?

No. I don't think so. I don't see it in my notes.

What notes?

You idiot! What do you think I've been doing this whole time?

I thought were goofing around on that Smart Phone Galaxy of yours.

No. I'm taking notes. Sort of. But even without looking through my notes I can say with almost surety that you didn't mention Dulles was on the Warren Commission.

I didn't say that he was Warren's righthand man?

No.

That Earl Warren relied heavily on Dulles. That Earl wasn't present at most of the Testimonies and that much of it was devolved to Dulles summations.

No.

Hmmm. My bag. He was on the Warren Commission.

So, Warren could also take the fall.

No. He would be considered the victim. He was too naive for this responsibility. He was from a different generation. He had no idea about CIA's propensity toward staging coups.

Which is probably total bullshit, right?

Yes. I think so. We'd like to think of Warren as somebody who was just an aloof old fool, but that's just for show. He's the warm and fuzzy component in the Warren Commission. He probably taught Dulles a few things.

Like what?

Oh, I don't know. I'm just exaggerating. Probably. Heck, all one has to do is read his first appearance in the 'Executive Session'. This is a brilliant opening gambit on his part.

What does he say?

You have to read it. Or do you want me to read it to you?

Sure. Although, I suppose I would have to find it myself unless you've memorized it or put it piece of paper inside your jacket pocket just in case you feel the need to disabuse every one of the false lives, they live in.

Ha! No, I didn't memorize it - though that would be most impressive - and I don't have a piece of paper in my jacket pocket. Although I do have a laminated reproduction of Oswald's Alias that appears to be a legitimate ID.

No?!

No, I'm just kidding. I, for a briefly time, contemplated having Oswald's Time Sheet on one side and his Money Order on the back, but thought better of it.

Or did it require more energy than you could afford?

That too. Also, as I might have mentioned - or insinuated - the Money Order isn't actually as ironclad as I made it sound like it was. After all, the only thing that verifies that the Oswald sent this before 10:30 is the envelope itself, something that we have wondered why Klein's would have bothered keeping.

Ahh, yes.

It doesn't really need it. But, yes, Oswald COULD have sent this out any time on March 12th.

Ignoring the envelope.

Yes. But there was just the whole idea of him going to this great big hassle to send out the Money Order when he could have simply had it as a to do thingy on Saturday. There wasn't a big rush, I don't think. Well, except for the attempted murder of an Air Force General named Walker.

Oswald was involved in an assassination - attempted assassination - of a General?

Yes. So, the story goes. Ridiculously enough.

Silliness?

Yes. I think this plan was hatched while they were stoned out of their minds. But for some reason they felt the need to have Oswald attempt to kill some government official. It was supposed to speak to his peace-loving side, I think.

Sort of like the Antifa?

An Antifascist killer. Yeah, something completely contradictory as that.

In the end, the general public completely dismissed this bit of foolishness. It exists, but you really have to believe, you practically have to be obsessed with... I don't know, actually. Either nobody knows about what to make of it or they claim they just don't know what to make of it. Something only the devote and scholarly - ironically, I suppose - who believe such baloney.

Ironically?

Well, I suppose I could cynically attack the scholarly who must adhere to all the baloney they are supposed to eat, but I think I'll mention the other scholars.

Yes...

Like the Noam Chomsky's of the world who claim everything conspiratorial, but when it comes to JFK they are devote in their belief in the government. What does Chomsky have to say about the attempted murder of General Walker and laying it at the hands - and feet - of Oswald. Which way does he bend on this one?

Ha! Clever, me thinks.

Yes, to be really obnoxious, I could ask the same thing to everyone that believes - or says they believe - that Oswald was the lone nut when it came to General Walker. If they really believe what the government is telling and the government is saying Oswald was responsible, what on earth kind of posture are they willing to take?

Easiest to claim Oswald responsible. I mean, if that's what the government is telling them.

Yes, but the government is up in the air about this. But to admit that one is up in the air is sort of saying that things are more complicated about the assassination in general than we are led to believe, which is something we are distinctly NOT told about the Assassination.

Or, maybe, it was the mafia...

Ha! Yes! The Mafia. Or the angry Cubans getting General Walker back for fouling up the whole Bay of Pigs fiasco.

What is it the Bay of Pigs is always followed up with the word "fiasco".

Ha! The easy answer is that it was a fiasco. But then I suppose you could claim who was it - on the American side - that considered it a fiasco. I would think some in the CIA thought it a wonderful success.

I guess my point was why people find it necessary to call it a fiasco.

To perhaps sound conspiratorial to the extreme, I'd say that the government WANTS you to think it a fiasco. But I can hear someone calling to me - and it's an angry call - and they say, "because it was a fiasco". But then, if I were of a cooler head, I could shoot back with a "well, please inform me as to why you are so angry about it that it NEEDS to be called a fiasco. Is it your conformity loving self that wants such a tagline?

[irisbleufic]

Big time hugs. FWIW, I also suffer from that kind of ideation a lot, and it frustrates me no end that it's very difficult to talk about to people who don't have it. Although I've never attempted, I've been very close several times. I wish I knew a good solution. For me, medication has saved my life. And though talking therapy has done me damage too, having a room where someone was being paid to listen kept me limping along at my lowest. But that might not help you. I'm here, tho. We can make it.

Most people who don’t have it automatically react with anger or dismay.  It’s as if most people can’t wrap their minds around sustained, worsening, regular ideation, as if they expect anyone whose problem were actually serious wouldn’t still be alive by now?  I don’t know.  I’ve been living with this particular feature of my cumulative neurotype/mental illness for 9 years, and recognizing that it’s gotten worse, not better, in spite of all the therapy and medication gambits?  Frightening.  I’ve had regular therapists (a sequence of them, granted, due to moving around a lot, or therapists moving, and having to find new ones) since 2012, and have been on some medication or another since 2009.  I’m in a gap right now, unmedicated since February, because I had to wean myself off one that made the ideation worse.  It’s the first time I’ve had that side effect.  The others I’ve been on have done next to nothing, not at any dose, or have made me feel constantly sick to my stomach while taking them.  One instance included being a zombie for most intents and purposes, but having my hearing cranked up to 11.  Every tiny, sudden sound made me jump while I was on one of these drugs.  I can’t even explain why I’m this difficult to medicate, above and beyond ASD.  Being autistic can account for traditional talking therapies not helping, but I haven’t heard about ASD thwarting the efficacy of certain drugs.  It’s the mutant problem again, because I don’t know what else to call it; if I have freakish resistance to painkillers, local anesthetics, and general anesthesia, then why not antidepressants?

I’m just…really tired of not talking about it because of the people who get angry and/or don’t believe it’s a real problem if it keeps happening and you survive it.  The issue is becoming how long I can actually survive it, and I can tell you that 9 years of this and a failed overdose smack in the middle of that period of time leaves me thinking I have no sure way of knowing I wouldn’t try again at some point.  The people I was living with, supposedly people who loved me, didn’t even know that’s what happened.  Anyway, those people (ex-spouse and ex-in-laws) showed their true colors in the end.  Any family that mistrusts mental health treatment as much as they did…I should’ve run, but I was trapped.

calicovirus said: this will seem really really trivial given the seriousness of the situation, but there is a link between being a ginger and having unusual reactions to painkillers so maybe look into that?

Oh, I should’ve clarified: I know the painkiller and anesthesia resistance is due to the fact I’m a ginger, but as for the resistance/weird reactions to antidepressants?  I don’t know if that correlates.  No data.  “Mutant problem” is my shorthand for the ginger-and-painkiller-resistant issue, but it’s also shorthand for every other whack-job feature of this body I have.

[the-apocryphal-one]

I don’t know if the last one ever submitted since I got an error message so just to be safe, I’ll send it again.  You can delete this if you got it anyway.

For the “Leon thing being written upside-down”, it was the same in the Japanese version?  That definitely works more there, but couldn’t the localizers have changed it or something?  Make it so part of the blood was wiped away, or smeared, and it would be harder to tell?  That might have been able to fix up the problem easily enough.  Ah, well.  There are definitely some people who hadn’t picked up on it.  Not because they’re dumb or anything of course, but because they think differently.

I’m going to kind of skim through the second, third, and fourth case because they’re not very interesting to talk about.  It was mostly the mid-game stuff so it would probably be the most boring part of the game if I ever decided to replay DR for whatever reason that might be.  I'm not saying it was bad–in fact, I was very invested in what happened to Chihiro, and the double-murders was a really fun aspect to everything.  

Sakura’s death had the most emotional investment–especially since I had been talking to her a little more on my free time periods, and I like how the ideas for the culprits were flying all over the place, complete with three different confessions.  I thought what happened was kind of obvious but it was still pretty neat, and I liked it.  Hina wanting to kill everyone as punishment for “killing” her best friend was an interesting take too.  I could definitely see where she was coming from.  When Hina confessed, my first thought was that Sakura had gotten Hina to poison her protein drink so Hina’d have “murdered” her, Sakura would write a suicide note, everyone would think it was a suicide, vote Sakura, and Hina would be able to escape the school.  Hina confessed because she wouldn’t be able to handle herself with the knowledge that she’d helped Sakura to kill herself, then killed everyone else in the school in the process.  It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as that, but that would have flown, right?

The gameplay for the trials was as fun, as always.  I like being able to use other people’s statements as truth bullets.  That always manages to spice up the gameplay.  The rhythm mini-game is probably the most fun.  Whenever I’m firing the truth bullets, I usually end up applying Ace Attorney logic to things and that sometimes screws me up.  The Hangman’s Gambit is kind of lame.  I still haven’t forgiven it for calling DID “schizo”.  I get why they couldn’t make the player spell out the entire thing, or DID, but why did they use Hangman’s Gambit for it at all?  I’m going to just say this is something that was really hard to localize/translate and it worked at least a little better in the Japanese version of the game.

I just don’t have much else to say about this portion of the game, except Celeste’s execution was so suiting to her character; it was very elegant, but just as brutal as I expected from this game.  The creators have done such a great job on putting together these creative executions which is…worrying, but I’ll just not think about it and just enjoy them for what they are.

Anyway, I’ve gotten to the first free time period after the fourth trial and I’m pretty sure this is where the game’s story starts to pick up.  Things are moving a lot faster, and there’s a lot more stuff being introduced.  Like the sixteenth student, Sakura hinting that the Mastermind probably did something to us, sneaking into locked areas with Kyoko, etc..  

The sixteenth student was pretty easy to guess (an extra stand in the courtroom “just for decoration”?  Yeah, okay, game) but it’s a neat idea and I really want to know were the game’s going with it.  I don’t have any idea what they might do, but I’m thinking the sixteenth student was the same person who attacked Makoto in the secret room?  On the other hand I’m not sure, because they apparently get killed in chapter five.  I don’t think they’d kill off a character that quickly, would they?  Sayaka and Leon were kind of necessary, and Junko was to demonstrate that anyone could die so don’t mess around with us.  Unless, of course, chapter six is actually the final chapter and “chapter seven” is just an epilogue or something.

Something that was introduced in in between the second and third trials was “The Tragedy”, I think it was?  Talked about something horrible that happened a year ago, and the school had to shut down about it.  It was dropped until we were able to find that nightmare fuel bloody classroom, complete with body outlines.  Interestingly, the blood is red and not pink.  I’ve thought up until now that the artists did the pink blood for artsy reasons, but now that I’ve seen actual red blood, I’m starting to think that’s not the case.  Byakuya brought up how the blood changed color but since it’s been hinting at that the Mastermind might have done something to the students’ memories/bodies, that could just be one of the things he/she did.  Is the students’ blood somehow different than normal blood?  Are these characters already dead or something and stuck in purgatory?  Cyborgs?  Is that why their blood doesn’t look red like blood’s supposed to?  Questions, questions.  If they are in fact altered in some way, the body outlines might be the characters that we’ve seen thus far.  Someone cracked, then went on a rampage, killing what could possibly be some of the characters in the game.  Most specifically, Kyoko, Makoto, and possibly the mystery sixteenth student.  Whatever her name was.  That is, of course, if Kyoko isn’t the sixteenth student herself and is acting in as one of the students that didn’t miraculously survive the slaughter.

That’s all I can remember what I wanted to speculate about, so I’ll talk about the characters next.

I like Makoto a fudge more.  I don’t dislike him, but I don’t really like him, either.  He’s not as dense as he was in the first trial so that’s probably the main reason.  I remember he said that neither of the killers in trial three were entirely innocent, which is a good change of pace from last time.  I can’t really tell if it’s inconsistent writing, or him growing as a character because he hasn’t really changed all that much.  He’s still a little personality-less, but like I said before, I don’t dislike him at all.  The player’s mostly here to experience the ride with him and that’s fine.  The other characters are zany enough to keep me interested so everything won’t get stale.

Kyoko’s interesting, and probably my favorite of the students so far.  She seems to be the female lead next to Makoto.  I don’t have much to say about her.  I’m glad she’s not giving me the answers to everything anymore but still helpful.  I have a star next to her name in my character profile thing so I guess that means I’ve talked to her to the maximum amount?

Genocide Jill’s…fun, I guess?  Seeing her murder victims and how brutal she was to them really makes her a little too psychotic to entirely enjoy the brand of humor she’s supposed to be bringing to the table.  She can still be pretty funny sometimes though.  Her random spouting of a website during a “testimony” was really funny.  Still, though, she’s still pretty entertaining a lot of the time.

Byakuya’s a Grade A Asshole although I’d rather him not die soon because we’re running low on students.  The potential murderer will always have him to kill and not me.

I like Hina.  She has a fun personality.

Hiro’s dumb.  There’s nothing I have to say on him.  He’s just so useless and pointless to the plot.  …But he’s also another person that someone can kill that isn’t me.  I take back what I said about him being pointless.  He still has his uses.

And Monokuma is still the most entertaining character in the game.  I liked the advertisement he shoved in my face during the theater thing.  His emoticons, fourth wall leaning, and sometimes outright fourth wall breaking make him that much more entertaining.  Yeah, I just said it was hard for me to swallow Genocide Jill’s brand of humor because of how psychotic she was, but her brand of psycho is very different than Monokuma’s.  Also, he pulled the Censored for Comedy trope.  How can I not love him forever?

This is as long as I want to go.  I probably made a bunch of typos and run-on sentences so I apologize.  In my defense, it’s late and I want to be able to write all this down before I forget.  Yeesh,  I can only imagine how much I’ll want to talk about everything once I finish the game. XD

Meanwhile… must…resist…from…going…to…TV…Tropes…

----

It was the exact same. I’m not sure why they didn’t change it, maybe censorship laws or something...but then again it is the first case, so it’s probably not all too bad to have it easy for the audience. The real mystery comes from figuring out Sayaka’s role in it, in my opinion.

Personally I found case 2 the hardest, and cases 3 and 4 easy to guess the culprit--though Aoi claiming to have killed Sakura did throw me off, and I started wondering whether she had or why. I like the idea you came up with, though, my best was “maybe she was way more gutted over her being the mole than anyone else? and killed her for ‘betraying’ her?” Either way it was still very emotional. Chihiro’s trial still sticks as my favorite though, the little guy was so fascinating and important and had some real depth.

Hangman’s Gambit is a bane on all players, haha. Like I guess they did “schizo” for convenience (since DID would be really easy), but from what I hear it was more accurate in the original Japanese version.

I liked Celeste’s execution a lot, too. Monokuma setting it up to be the grand death she’d love, only to switch out by having her die a common death she’d hate, is very trollish and clever of him. Not to mention the visuals are probably my favorite.

Yep, this is the part of the story where everything really starts rolling towards the climax!

Chapter six is the last chapter. As for the sixteenth student and the masked attacker...that’s one of the grand mysteries of the school!

No, the blood being pink is just a stylistic choice--I think the blood there is red there to signify that it’s dried. They were going to go with all red blood originally, but had to change it to avoid a higher rating. That said...there is something wrong with the students, that Monokuma has done. You’ll find out what eventually :)

Makoto is kind of vanilla, but I like him because genuinely nice, male characters are kind of rare. He is a bit static, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a problem since it lets him be a “normal” point for the audience.

Yep, that’s what it means. And yes, Kyoko’s one of my favs too. I really liked her argument with Makoto in Chapter 4, it was petty and hypocritical and really humanized her. Her mentor/friend relationship with him works really well, and they play off each other’s weakness.

Toko and Jill are also favorites of mine, for reasons I can’t say. But they are a set of the most interesting characters in the game.

Byakuya’s still a giant dick, but I was actually kinda warming up to him at the end, if only because Toko/Jill’s stalking brought some needed levity.

I never took that much of a liking to Aoi, for some reason. She’s sweet, but just didn’t interest me as much as everyone else around her, I guess.

LOL, you’re not alone in your thoughts on Hiro. I was sick to death of him by the time Chapter 5 rolled around, like “YOU’RE alive but Kiyotaka and Chihiro aren’t?!” At least Byakuya contributes to trials.

Monokuma will always be one of the best characters in the franchise. Always.

Again, it’s no problem, and I still love hearing people’s thoughts on it! Seeing everyone’s speculations and guesses is a lot of fun, and it makes me happy to know you’re enjoying this great game so much :)

Resist! It’s worth it! (Especially since TvTropes doesn’t hide spoilers for any of the DR entries except the newest one)