#glad to see their dynamic playing out in this poll as well

[klaissance]

LANCE AND KEITH NECK AND NECK

“who fell first” this “who fell harder” that

[fullscoreshenanigans]

No other option for this poll since it's based on the options that won a top 2 spot in the previous rounds.

Grace Field Kids Edition Goldy Pond Edition Lambda 7214/Paradise Hideout Edition Free-For-All Edition Other Platonic Duo Polls Suggestions Post

Copypasta'd propaganda from my other posts under the cut:

Grace Field Poll: I was glad to see how well Don & Emma and Gilda & Ray were doing on the Grace Field poll. ;w; Both feel the most criminal to me given how big of a role Don and Gilda play in the series, but ultimately I went with Gilda & Ray because I couldn't think of any moment for them that was equivalent to Don being the first of the larger group of kids to voice his support for Emma's plan:

(Chapter 130)

Except for maybe this brief exchange they added to the anime:

(S1 Episode 12)

Episode 10 also nixes the scene of Don and Gilda privately conversing in the woods in chapter 31 and instead has Ray apologizing to Don and Gilda directly rather than just Emma, which is made even more poignant when you consider how strongly he reacted to Emma and Norman giving them false hope about still being able to save Conny in chapter 11/episode 4.

He's not even trying to feign the distance he self-imposed between them in his mind at this point. He's genuinely sorry for failing them for their own sakes, not as extra able bodies who could assist Emma and Norman outside the wall. And it's a genuinely distressing sight for the two of them, seeing him at his lowest point after everything he sacrificed for this plan.

To have her then knowingly hum and hold that look of fondness for him when she sees how shocked is, after years of believing a better outcome was impossible, and how worried he is, because try as he might to keep the other children at arm's length mentally there's a way Ray frets over and looks after them that is reminiscent of Gilda's own (they are united in being the Mom Friends™ of the escapees 🤝), is such a sweet, gentle kindness that they didn't have to include but I'm very glad they did.

Goldy Pond Poll: Emma & Oliver has always felt like one of the most pertinent dynamics to come out of Goldy Pond alongside Emma & Violet with the amount of focus each are given individually as effectively the leaders of the Grace Field escapees and Goldy Pond kids, respectively, and together. The latter is significantly less, unfortunately, but Oliver usually acts as Emma's point person when she needs to confer information/plans and Norman and Ray won't work for the situation because symbolically the scene calls for a representation of larger group cohesion with the kids she didn't grow up with.

Also, after losing so many older siblings at Grace Field and becoming the big sister/leader of them, it's nice to have her regain that kind of relationship with any of the Goldy Pond group; Oliver just happens to have more panels dedicated to it lol

(Chapter 69)

(Chapter 110 & 111)

(Chapter 122; this moment is so minuscule, but again we have Oliver acting in a leader role and Emma using him as a point of reference to confirm that taking it easy in this new place is wise and safe for everyone. If even Oliver thinks it's okay to act like this—to say nothing of the way he tells her so gently and in so few words—then she can rest a little more soundly.)

(Chapter 161)

(Chapter 179; he's not the only one given focus here, but I like that he's the one this bit ends on to drive the point home to Norman and Ray about Emma.)

And then this piece by @nagaikei-ajin is my favorite of the two of them for the intensity and parallels.

i want to believe emma and oliver are carrying on yugo and lucas’ will and even got a pair of gloves for remembrance... 

Free-For-All Poll: I'm glad other people are also fucked up by this panel of Ayshe & Mujika:

(Chapter 144)

The way she's staring at Mujika in rapt attention, left hand grabbing for hers while she holds her right in front of her chest to show how animated she is in the conversation, either because she's gesturing to herself or is at a loss for words in the the excitement of the moment or because the adrenaline from the skirmish with Hayato and Jin is wearing off and trying to will the words to spill forth.

It's been months since she's been able to hold a conversation with anyone in the language her father passed down to her because he believed it was something worth preserving of his culture from a millennia ago, so to be able to have that back with someone as kind and graciously loving as Mujika is something special.

[best-type-moon-couple]

The Winner of the “Best Type-Moon Couple” Tournament is…

Gilgamesh and Enkidu (52% of the Vote)

[Congratulations for the Runner-ups, Mr. Sakamoto Ryouma and Mrs. Sakamoto Oryou, who came close with 48% of the Vote]

Thank you so much to the 502 people who voted in the final poll, as well as everyone else who participated/nominated/followed this tournament. I appreciate every single one of you and hope to see you next time I do something like this again. Until then, thanks for voting, see you whenever there’s a next time!

Letter from the Mod (Under the Cut):

Introduction:

So… uh… been a while since we talked like this, completely nervous, unprepared tournament mod to the hundreds of thousands of potential listeners and followers of the poll. Well, now that it’s over, I want to introduce myself.

Hi, you can call me Snow. I’ve been a Type-Moon fan for about a year now. I got into this series when my cousin introduced me to “Fate” and from there I started to grow on this series at an… large… unnormal… potentially problematic and unhealthy way.

“Where’d the inspiration come from?”:

When I got into Fate, the one thing that reached out to me were the characters themselves and their relationship with one another, and the more I looked into the nasuverse, the more characters that I found that I feel in love with, the more I started to hate, the more I started to have convoluted and mixed feelings towards, but the one thing I loved about most was how characters interacted with each other and how well, or unwell, they get along and nothing else can show my love and appreciation for character dynamics than the couples of Type-Moon.

The couples of Type-Moon range anywhere from being weird to comical to sad to disgusting to wholesome and even genuinely life changing, with the characters themselves having dynamic that either showed how much they pine for love, how love broke them, how love managed to fix them, or by simply how wholesome they are. When Samurai Remnant released and featured a character who loves their spouse very much that they make it their main focus in game, juxtaposed by their spouse still showing their love and devotion for them, it was the thing that eventually caused me to make this tournament in the first place (they weren’t in the tournament though, but it’s the thought that counts).

Running the Tournament:

I was completely sure that I wanted to run this tournament, but the main caveat was the fact that I never ran a tournament like this before and it became very clear, very quickly that I had no idea what I was doing (the potentially weird rules for the tournament and the delayed start times were a big red flag of this, so I’m glad we had so many people stuck around despite that).

Still, I wanted to do my best for this tournament, so I created everything myself (with my sister helping to find a tournament bracket website). And when I mean everything I mean I edited together the main banner of the blog and edited together most of the couple portraits (I got lazy and used official art for some of them, guess which ones)

What’s next?:

Honestly, I want to do another tournament sometime. Obviously not immediately since I also want time off, but I’d also want to do something else and see more people come together to vote on something we all may or may not enjoy. And while I have no ideas at the moment (if you want to give any ideas then feel free to share then through the askbox or through the submission box) but maybe this blog will go through a renovation when I figured something out, hm?

Want to see what I do?:

Well, in case you wanna follow me specifically, then you can follow my personal blog (@player-blandon) for more of my personal things or things I post about games I like sometimes. I don’t post there consistently, and when I do it’s probably, mostly, shitposts unless I’m live-blogging a game I’m playing through or (in the most recent post’s case) doodled something I wanted to share. It’s the place where I share things sometimes and hopefully it’s a place where I can talk to all of you about some stuff as well (chances are I’m going to be posting more fate and type-moon things after this tournament).

Closing Thoughts:

Honestly, this tournament was a bigger undertaking than what I originally thought, but I’m glad I did this. I consider it a learning experience.

Thank you all once again for participating in this tournament. Congratulations to the King of Heroes and his only friend for winning and good job Ryouma and Oryou for putting on a good fight. We all put in a lot in this tournament and I hope to see you all again when I do something like this again…

…until then, I’ll see you whenever I can. Goodbye everyone. See you later!

[sixosix]

ok hi im BACK. i may have been procrastinating reading ur thawed series (like a total loser?? how did i procrastinate that) but now that i finally did it i am so infatuated ?!?!?!? i fucking love how badass the reader is and i loved her silly little friendship with lynette and fremi (and lyney too, no matter how much they denied its existence (('its' like the friendship. not lyney. love him)). ever since i started genshining (crowd boos) ive been obsessed with polearms .. theyre just so ??? aghmakdmf ?? ? they feel like water. flowey. like. yk. rivers (woah high class poet here watch out). i think theyre not as restricting as swords, bows, etc. honestly, a polearm is like .. a sword and bow in one. a sword bc. swoosh, kachow, yk? but a bow if you're bold. like, imagine throwing ur polearm like its some fucking arrow. sick as FUCK!! it would just be embarrassing to walk to ur (hopefully) dead enemy to pick it back up like 'ooh. that may have been dramatic u guys. mb.' also i. im wondering if i missed something while reading bc the knave just let the reader go?? like that?? nuh uh. i dont believe that. shes definitely keeping an eye out on her, making sure no fatui secrets get out .. i think im more excited abt the probability of an encounter between reader and arlecchino than one with the siblings fdjfidj. readers fight or flight goes crazy, and i dont think neither of those are really an option against a fatui harbringer, especially one that watched you train for most of your life.. probably knows everything about you, too ... yeuugh. i love the thawed series, and im really looking forward to seeing more of it!!! its really well done, i was giggling and kicking my feet while reading. im probably gonna reread it a couple times so if u see any of my crazy ass asks rambling, theorizing, and whatnot (just like this one), dont mind them ^__^

TAKE CARE!!!!

hi oh my gosh it was such a joy to wake up to a long ask THIS MADE MY DAY WAAHH AND ITS JUST STARTED TOO

THANK YOU reader’s personality was one of my favorite parts to write in the series especially after a lightbulb moment where i was like. I’m going to make reader have a cryo vision.

LMFAOO yes I LOVE THE SIBLINGS SO MUCH i knew i was eventually going to make sure you guys know how much i love their dynamic. (you implying i wouldve thought of lyney as an ‘it’ LMFAOO HELPP)

I KNOW WHAT U MEAN!!!! polearms are just the COOLEST weapon. i made a poll a while back asking my readers to see what kind of weapon they want and catalyst won. but at the time i was playing xiao (duh) and i watched this cool fan animation from the genshin anniversary (i dont know if you know it; it had a part two. it was basically about albedo? and the part two had albedo, klee, scara, and raiden. AND RAIDEN!! did this very cool fight scene with a polearm and it BLEW MY MIND! it looked exactly as you described it. water flowey. Rivers. AND SHE ALSO THREW IT!!! i was like. Okay. i have to make this the weapon.)

hehe i dont want to say anything about the arlecchino’s stance on reader leaving but i will say i’m glad to know that you know her well.

im so so glad that u like my series!!! honestly i say it a lot but i didnt expect it to get this much support so each ask like this really makes me feel so blessed T__T and of course i dont mind!!! are you kidding!! it was really really fun to go through your thought process

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

Can you talk a little more about Kira and Two is Company? I really like how you’re giving an outsider’s perspective of mystery things while also diving into dynamics we don’t get to see on the show. (Also I think Eddie being a little brother is adorable)

Oh my god I’m so glad you asked! Thank you so much by the way! I really think the non-mystery side of HOA is rarely explored in longer fic, and while I do plan to focus on the mystery as we eventually move into Season 3, getting to rewatch Season 2 and play with the dynamics there is fun, especially when the OC being used is one that many other people in the fandom got to help me create through Instagram polls! Kira is just as much the fandom’s as she is mine, and that to me makes her special.

Two is Company started out as just writing practice, because I personally don’t really like OC fics, but I ended up having fun! I’m pleased you, Anon, and other people give it a chance along with my other fics as well! Exploring a sibling dynamic is a lot of fun, and delving deeper into Eddie’s backstory and motivations alongside writing Kira is a lot of fun! I’m hoping to get more into Mr. Sweet soon as well.

As for Kira herself, here’s the character profile I have on her that helps me keep all her info straight in my head:

Character Chart

Character’s full name: Kira Miller

Reason or meaning of name: “Mistress, ruler”, "leader of the people", "one the people look to", "beloved"

Character’s nickname: “Kir”, “Chicken Nugget” (by Eddie)

Birth date: November 19, 1994

Physical appearance

Age: 16-17 (S2) ; 17-18 (S3)

Weight: 110 lbs

Height: 5’5”

Eye color: Brown/Hazel

Skin tone: Pale

Hair color: Light brown

Hairstyle: Mostly in a low ponytail, but she wears it many different ways

Reference:

(commissioned art of Kira Miller by enchi-ladas)

Past & Present

Home: New Jersey

Current location: Anubis House

Currently living with: The residents of Anubis House

Family

Mother: Cathy Miller

Relationship with her: Good, but Cathy works very hard to keep their family financially stable, even with the money that Eric send, so she’s not home a lot. When she is home, though, things are nice between them.

Father: Eric Sweet

Relationship with him: Estranged, but slowly getting better. She’d always wanted to reconnect with her father, and is more than willing to put in that effort.

Siblings: Eddie Miller

Relationship with him: Tight knit, but there are several chasms between them that will take a lot of figuring out to solve. They helped raise each other, but they both hold a certain amount of resentment towards each other for not being quite what the other needed. They really do love each other, though.

Personality

Good personality traits: Witty, good listener, intelligent, observant, independent

Bad personality traits: Reserved, simp, passive, uninterested in intervening in other people’s problems that do not affect her or those she cares about

Mood character is most often in: Bemused

Character’s greatest joy in life: The people she loves all together, happy, and healthy

Character’s greatest fear: Being unable to keep her family from crumbling.

Why? - Kira has spent as long as she can recall trying to hold everything together, trying to reconnect with her estranged father, trying to keep Eddie from getting himself into trouble; if she were to fail, it would be a childhood wasted.

What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? - An unexpected loss of someone she has invested her time and love into.

Character is most at ease when: Curled up in bed with a classic Russian novel

Most ill at ease when: Caught in between a fight between friends, or when Eddie does something that reflects badly on not only himself but her as well.

Enraged when: She is told to back down from something that actually is her business

Depressed or sad when: She finds out her faith in a person or herself was misplaced.

Priorities: Her family and friends

Life philosophy: “If it doesn’t involve you, it shouldn’t concern you.”

If granted one wish, it would be: A family unit that’s fully whole.

Character’s soft spot: Her loved ones, particularly the object of her affections.

Is this soft spot obvious to others? - Yes

Greatest strength: Her observation skills and ability to get a good read on people.

Greatest vulnerability or weakness: People she finds attractive, and anyone threatening her family/loved ones

Regrets: Not trusting her gut about certain things, falling for the wrong people, getting involved in things bigger than her

(There’s more, but you get the gist. If you want more info, lmk! Or just keep reading to find out 😘)

Thank you so much for your ask, Anon! Much love to you!

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - 2019 Long Shows

Dear Lord. This is where all the good shows went.

2019 was absolutely awful on a season-by-season basis (except for Summer, anyway), but that’s mostly because most of the best shows ran longer than what has become the industry norm of a single season. And indeed, heading into the new decade, we seem to be seeing a major renaissance for two- or split-cour shows, given the massive success seen by shows like My Hero Academia, Food Wars, and Haikyuu!!..particularly in comparison to the new perpetual-runners Black Clover (which, despite running for over two straight years now, is still not the most popular show of Fall 2017 by viewer count on MAL, and sits at a ‘meh’ 7.2), and even worse, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is faring even worse on both counts even though it premiered two whole seasons earlier and the fact that it is the sequel to Naruto.

As a reminder of my rules, the shows on this list may or may not have premiered in 2019, but they finished airing this year. The split-cour rule (stating that I judge any show that “finishes” and then premieres a “new season” within six months) didn’t come into play for any 2018 shows, but it will for Ascendance of a Bookworm and Food Wars this year, at the very least.

With that being said! 25 shows running longer than thirteen episodes finished airing this year after being simulcast, and of those…

I skipped 6:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part V: Golden Wind, Fairy Tail Final Series, A Certain Magical Index III, Ace Attorney Season 2 and Cardfight Vanguard (2018) because I either dropped or have not finished their previous (also long-running) seasons.

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS because the simulcast started late and also it was bad.

I Dropped 8:

Worst Long Show of 2019: The Rising of the Shield Hero

It’s always fun to see that a show you hated from its first episode only gets more and more distasteful afterwards, but it’s less fun when a service you have to promote because they’re the legal option is forced to shove it down your throat because they had a hand in making it and it became a massive hit that your friends don’t see any issue with because the author wrote a story that justifies its hero’s patronage of the slave industry. This is my punishment for watching the whole first season of The Asterisk War before I knew better.

YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world

A confusing mess from the word go, this ill-fated adaptation of a visual novel from the nineties seems like it was mostly made to cash in on the popularity of the Science Adventure series, but failed to present itself in a way that made an ounce of sense or looked remotely interesting.

Fairy Gone

Am I really the only one that saw potential here? I mean yes, it ended up a boring slog that didn’t care to move its plot in a meaningful direction, but the first episode was at least cool. I guess Izetta: The Last Witch should have taught me better.

We Never Learn

I know that I’m in the minority in terms of the male demographic for shows like this, but honestly, how are bland harem shows still this easy to market? A copy-pasted protagonist with copy-pasted waifus drag down what could be an interesting setup for a story. 

Karakuri Circus

The first episode of this one had me excited, the second and third left me bored to tears and wondering if it would continue to look uglier by the minute. I haven’t seen a three-cour show look this janky since Knight in the Area.

Radiant

Having heard good things about this show from my cohorts, I do feel bad for saying I’ll probably never return to Radiant, but when you have a show that’s notably written by a European author...and it turns out to be a frustratingly standard shounen affair with middling production values, well, you can see my earlier annoyance with Cannon Busters.

Ensemble Stars

This one still gets to me. It almost looked like a male-idol show I would finally be able to get behind, what with its rebellious attitude and oddball setting...that is, until the setting got to be too unbelievable and the show began drowning its audience in side-characters because they had to squeeze every husbando from the mobile game into the story, and it all began to resemble UtaPri a little too much...but without the production value.

Boogiepop and Others

This was a hard drop, honestly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I felt four episodes in, before concluding that I was bored and not particularly invested, two things that should never describe the experience of watching a Madhouse show. The fact that this was the project responsible for ruining One Punch Man only made it worse. There’s a slow burn, and then there’s walking away without turning the stove on.

And I Finished 11 (holy crap that’s like three hundred episodes just on their own).

That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime (5/10 & 1/10)

I’ll be honest, I had forgotten just how livid I was with the ending (and especially the sad excuse of a recap episode) of Slimesekai, and reading back through my write-up of it, it’s certainly coming back to me. While this year had bigger demons to fight (Shield Hero), the bad taste that Slime left me with hasn’t really faded, and the wasted premise bugs me to this day.

Hinomaru Sumo (7/10)

What Hinomaru lacked in production value, it happily made up for in good execution and earnest heart. I can’t believe this came from the same studio as Conception, Try Knights and 7Seeds, but if they can only get out one good show a year, I’m glad that we got one bringing attention to a sport that many will joke about but few understand, respect and appreciate.

Kono Oto Tomare (7/10)

Speaking of giving love to traditional Japanese culture, here’s a decent-if-unoriginal show about a local high school koto club down on their luck, and the troubled teens coming together under a scrappy protagonist to bring it back to life. Kono Oto Tomare doesn’t have much that you haven’t seen before, but a decently-executed club drama with Your Lie In April-inspired musical performances is more than enough to keep me interested, and since Forest of Piano kinda crashed and burned under the weight of its own self-importance this year, it was nice to have an alternative.

MIX: Meisei Story (8/10)

It’s hard to judge MIX next to the other shows on this list because it’s almost too old-school for its own good, revelling in an eighties storytelling style that didn’t end up jiving with a wide audience this year. But at the same time, its fun character dynamics (and a very good dub from Funimation, despite them saying they’d never touch sports anime again) were very entertaining to watch, even if it didn’t focus as much on the sport it was supposedly about as much as I’d have liked.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (8/10)

I fully admit that I’m very salty about the fact that this won Show of the Decade in Funimation’s poll while it was still on and I thought there were hundreds of more deserving shows, but I can’t deny that Demon Slayer was a very enjoyable experience, albeit one that I had notable problems with. That’s not gonna stop me from getting mad when it sweeps the Anime Awards in a few weeks, though.

Fire Force (8/10)

I was very afraid that David Productions wouldn’t be able to match the energy of Studio Bones’ adaptation of Ohkubo’s previous work, Soul Eater, but I was happy to be proven wrong. Even if the last few episodes contained a bit too much infodumping, it was all sandwiched between jaw-dropping fight scenes that proved that the people who make Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can still handle the reins of a more traditional action show.

Fruits Basket 1st Season (8/10)

I know that my score for this one is a bit lower than others, but I think that Fruits Basket did pretty well in its first season, considering that it was largely spent setting up future storylines and adapting the part of the manga we’d all seen before, but with much higher production value. I’ve been familiar with this part of the story for over a decade, and the scene with Tohru and Kyo (you know the one) still made me cry. Now, we get the real plot going.

Dr Stone (9/10)

A great start to a totally new spin on shounen, Dr Stone gives me hope for survival in the post-Shokugeki world in which we’ll soon live, as a show that wears its research on its sleeve. A complex plot weaving interesting characters in and out of a narrative surrounding a philosophical battle where both sides actually do have fair points (even if one of them is going about it in a pretty cruel manner). More please.

Vinland Saga (9/10)

Once again, a great start to what will hopefully be years of quality storytelling, Vinland Saga made it seem like it was dragging in the middle only to reveal just what its slow burn had been leading up to, with twist-heavy storytelling and a fantastic cast to match the high visual quality of its brutal battles.

Run With the Wind (9/10)

It’s not often that Production I.G. gets to make a complete, fully-realized show anymore, and this one was a glorious reminder of the potential of the studio in the TV space, and a great rebound for the director of Joker Game. It’s gorgeous to look at, the cast is wonderful, and the story is both realistic and idealistic in a satisfying balance. It’s a miserable process to get to the finish line in real life, but sitting back and watching this was nothing but a treat. At least, until a minor fumble at the end.

Best Long Show of 2019: Dororo (9/10)

Speaking of complete stories, Tezuka Productions and MAPPA teamed up for a breathtaking adaptation of an underappreciated Tezuka classic that expands upon the story in exactly the right way to create a thrilling, savage, beautiful masterpiece that focuses a laser-sharp eye into the relationship between two characters in their journey to, literally and figuratively, become complete people. Also, that opening was killer.

And that’s it! That’s the fun list. Next comes the painful one. Stay tuned for the trash heap.

[eorzeasntm]

ENTM Tumblr Cycle 11

Round 7:  Action Movie

Hi everyone!  I’m busy preparing the new ENTM website, but that kind of work doesn’t stop a cycle in progress!  

Last week, I asked our models to go out and film a scene from an Action Movie - to get me a visible opponent and give me the coolest, most epic pose they could come up with to match it.  Our models set things on fire, got revenge on their foes from Boss Monster, and even re-enacted an old samurai drama.  But the model who put together the best action movie last week was:

Kota Tumet

Congratulations!  The decision to use the cinema frame was a smart choice, and by narrowing it down you gave this shot an excellent panoramic feel.  The judges liked the colors and lighting effects, as if you are seconds from everything behind you exploding.  Great job!

Our judges this week was the original host and founder of ENTM, Rongi Pongi.  

There is ONE MORE ROUND to go in ENTM Tumblr Cycle 11.  For those not on our Discord, next week will be our final cycle that uses Tumblr as a platform.  Tumblr Cycle will instead return next fall on our website, rebranded as ENTM Classic Cycle, with an integrated blog post, image galleries, and polls instead of using third party platforms.  ENTM Instagram Cycle will continue to be hosted on IG, of course, and YouTube cycle isn’t going anywhere either.  But the decision to move to a bigger blog means More Cycles!  More models!  More hosts!  Overall, much more ENTM!

Stay tuned for an announcement regarding our launch party in May!

For the models (and everyone else), please continue along for critiques from our judges.

Judge Terrini

Luma: You have managed to capture yourself beautifully here. Your colors pop, your pose is fun, and the lighting makes things exciting. The explosion zeroing in on your opponent makes this shot seem tense and it's captured at a delicate time where it's still prominent and doesn't completely obscure your opponent. The framing and pose makes it hard to tell if you are attacking or running away in shear terror. A wonderful shot, but a bit more cause and effect in the posing would enhance the scene. 

Ni'ko: It doesn't really come as a surprise that you love the pink and purple Mindflayer, Ni'ko, and the framing here his brilliant with the opposing sides in direct opposition and the action frozen with dynamic interaction. The only annoying factor is that the bowstring is running through your chest. 

Peaceful: A lovely dynamic action pose you have here, and the setting and costume choices are all appropriately thematic. However, the biggest trouble is the light of your skill turns much too bright against your outfit and it matters all the more with the black and white filter not allowing color to shine through at all. It might have been a bit more bearable if the shot was in color, but I think the color of your robe being so bright and white would still be an issue. Also, with the framing, I feel the upper left corner of the picture feels empty since the angle promotes looking between the bottom right and lower left. Adjusting the angle to be less from the ground and more even might help frame the buildings better, or using the cinematic movie strips would help contain the empty corners more. 

Yomu: This shot really grips me and makes me think of a simple shepherd picking up a spear to defend his flock from a giant predator. The fact that all the sheep are grazing peacefully in the bottom third, the threatening beast is in the middle third and you are aiming to strike in the top third makes this lovely pecking order that just adds to the intesity of this picture. My only disappointment is the black sheep's snout is cut off, but that's a nitpick for the sake of nitpicking, I honestly think you couldn't have arranged a better shot.

Judge Wulf

Adam! That’s a lot of fire! And it doesn’t look like you have much on, I hope you don’t get burned! I very much love the initial reaction I get from this picture: it’s very out of the box and surprised me! After that though, I find myself a bit...confused. Everything is pretty muddled, honestly, and I feel the fire is a major culprit due to this. I must admit, I am having a hard time seeing your enemy and even you to an extent. I’m very proud of you for taking a risk, but I’m not quite sure how well it paid off here. As a takeaway for this week, make sure your visibility is Priority Number 1! Even if this week didn’t do it for me, I know you’ve got some serious creativity, keep going!

Haila: I really love the shine that this shot gives, it almost has a sort of dreamlike feel to it! My eyes follow to the staff-crossing between you and Shiva, and that’s a really nice touch! Here are my notes for this week: while the opinion on back shots is mixed, I don’t think it was the best option for you this week. Since I can’t really see your face, and there’s only mostly the side of your body visible, a majority of my attention goes straight to Shiva.

Yojimbo: Ifrit is always a classic when it comes to fight scenes, I’ve noticed, and I think you’ve really taken the trope and made it your own! My favorite part of the picture is the cut line across Ifrit’s face, that has to hurt! It provides a nice line of sight to see both where you are and where the line of action is going. Here’s my note this week: you are very far away from us! I’ll admit being this far zoomed out from the action makes me as a viewer feel a little left out. It also doesn’t allow us to see you: who should be the star of the shot! I can tell you’re starting to explore outside of your comfort zone, though, so keep it up!

Yomu: PROTECT THE SHEEP! Seriously though I’d like to start off my saying that including the flock in this picture adds a level of story that for sure wouldn’t have been there without it, and for that I’m very proud of you for adding in that little detail. You’ve got a nice line of action here with each of your key players all looking in the right direction: Ratholos is looking at the sheep, and you’re looking at Ratholos.  My eyes can either go up or down the picture and it feels nice to look at and tells a cohesive story. As is the nature with jump actions and some back shots, though; you are very hard to see. Yes, you are fighting a big dragon here but remember: you are the star, and how can you be if the viewer can’t even see your head? I feel like this picture in profile would have added that level of visibility to get around this, but from this angle I lose a bit of you in that regard. Awesome job this week, though, and keep your storytelling skills up!

Kota: This is the kind of shot I expect to see either right before and explosion, or before the logo flashes across the screen. I get a sense of punctuation here, this is either a major beat or straight up the end of something big, and the black bars really accent that with a widescreen view. This is a nitpick, for sure, but my eye keeps being drawn to the light behind the boss on the left side; it’s very bright. This is probably due to the filter used and also a necessary sacrifice for the image as a whole, but just something to watch out for. Good job this week!

Judge Nadede

Bria Rirsa:  This is pretty nice shot from you this week. The expression that I see with your eyes are what one would expect to see when two swords are clashing together.The lighting within your image is nicely done. What I do find myself wishing is that you had chosen a background that perhaps felt more menacing or went with the outfits that are being worn. If/when you are trying to tell a story through the use of images, just ask yourself “do my surroundings work well with the story I’m portraying?” Another thing that does detract from your image is we have a furry little friend photobombing the lower right part of your image and what looks like might be a slight tear/clipping in the back of the other person’s outfit. It is sometimes the smallest of details that can detract from image, especially if it appears out of place. Overall good work.

Haila Wetyios:  While I feel that this is a pretty shot from you, for some reason I feel as if though you are playing it safe. The image itself is done nicely with the lighting and the composition. You even managed to get a nice image of Shiva as well. To me, though,  it does not say “action movie” much at all. I find myself wishing that there was more going on within your shot. To me, this appears as if you’re having a conversation someone and perhaps making some form of pact with them. I want to challenge you to play with your shots more. I’d like to see more of a variety from you than what you tend to go for… where your back is facing the viewer or giving us a ¾ back shot and an image that is vertical. There has been a very few times where it has been the opposite but I’d rather be surprised at what is different than seeing something the same, if that makes any sense to you. Like I said, this is a nice shot but it is too safe for me. I do look forward to seeing what you come up with for next week.

Ni’ko Shae:  The scared little kitty isn’t so scared of the mean old monsters anymore! Heck it even appears that the monsters are not too thrilled with the blinding light the tip of your arrow is making. The angle of the bow and arrow and the direction of your face helps lead the eye to the monsters and how the monsters are looking back up and you brings the viewer’s eye back around. The lighting in your image is also nice done and I am glad that neither you nor the mobs blend into the background. It was kind of bold for you to use the same dungeon from an earlier shot for a different theme, but put the two together and they tell a story that works. Overall I think you’re doing a fairly good job and looking to see what you will do next week.

Peaceful Ursa: Out of all the images I have see from you this cycle, this one I really do like and has become a favorite of mine this week. It appears that you are taking feedback and putting what is said to use, and it shows in this image. I am happy that you paid tribute to the old black and white samurai movies. I do wish that you had used the cinematic border. I think it would have made an even bigger impact with your image. The lighting in your image is almost spot on even though just a bit more on your face could have helped. The fog in the background also helps with the mood of the scene and helps separate the mountains in the background with what is in the foreground. Having your image at an angle helps give your shot a more dramatic scene as well as help helping guide the viewer’s eyes around. Overall nicely done and good job on improving each week.

Judge Ona

Adam: If “epic fire battle scene” was a thing, Adam, this image would be the definition.  There’s smoke and flames and a two people battling it out right in the middle of it all. But where all those things are epic, I don’t really understand what is going on. Are you being shot? Are you dodging the fire? Also, I am finding it very hard to see which enemy you are fighting. I hate to say it, but the effect is too strong, and I feel that I have lost Adam in the mix.

Things that I would work on, changing the viewpoint of the image. If you brought the enemy closer to the front, or yourself, and created a depth of field from the placement of yourself and the enemy it would have created a more dynamic image overall. Additionally, if you placed yourself farther from the camera point, we could have seen your face more.

Things that I love about this image, the glamour fits and I love the feeling of movement from you Adam. I wish I knew what was causing that movement though. I also love your use of the same effect through image, just be careful in the future that the effect doesn’t overtake the shot, and leave the viewer seeing more flame than Adam.

Bria: I don’t know how you managed to get the swords to stop so they were notched like this, but its an awesome screenie! I definitely feel the battle that is happening and the struggle that you and this unnamed assailant are having!

I am left wondering why you chose this location? To me, it doesn’t feel like it was chosen on purpose, and it doesn’t do much to add to the story. Likewise, it feels very constricted with the object in the background. With so much cut off I can’t tell if it is a ship, a landing platform, or something else. Finally, your minion is just chilling in the tall grass by your feet. I have a feeling they would have ran away if a fight were happening.

Things I love about this image: Your glam is beautiful. You kept two main colors, the black and dark red brown. I also love the use of this sword to create the notched effect with the other blade. I also like how you positioned the image so that you are facing the camera, but engaged with the enemy. I would make sure that you are paying attention to the entire scene and positioning of your weapon so that it doesn’t restrict so much of your face.

Luma: What a strong image this week Luma! That explosion is so powerful and definitely fits the definition of epic! I really love how you have put the judge’s critiques to use and grown. This week definitely shows that!

While this image is your strongest yet, please continue to be mindful of things such as cutting off limbs and other body parts, and the physics of your clothing. I know it’s a lapel on your jacket, but this angle puts it directly across your face, and it detracts from your expression.

Things I love about this image: Your glam. You are so very steam-punk-esque and it works with battling a big robot! I also love the lack of saturation in the colors of the image. The yellows and reds of the explosion are bright enough to make the viewer take notice, but that single whiteish flare brings the viewers eye back to yourself. I also love the use of the depth of field here, creating more focus on yourself and blurring the enemy in the back just enough to keep the focus on yourself. Just make sure your WHOLE self can be appreciated and include all limbs.

Kota: By the Twelve this is a gorgeous image! This long frame, and the use of purple tones throughout has created an epic steam-punk image for this round. It is a strong and well-crafted shot!

In looking over the image, I struggle to find much that could be improved upon. Even though everything shines with that beautiful purple sheen, your character has movement and sharpness to her that brings the eye back to her. I do wish I could see your whole body, and possibly a mask that we could see your eyes may have played to this stance more.

Things I love about this image: The color palette, especially since it creates a feel for the whole image. The glam goes perfectly with this type of boss and definitely plays into an epic movie battle. The lighting is spot on and is perfectly placed. The position of your body to the screen and the use of this frame are also very strong for this week’s theme. Overall, there really isn’t much I can say other than, Well done this week!!!

Judge Rongi

Haila: I knew this was Haila’s image before evening scrolling down enough to see her. Very signature Haila. Shiva is looking down at you, and the crossing of the staves shows some interesting interaction, so the viewer is looking back and forth and in between. The balance between you two is done really well, and the fade from white to dark blue not only in the background but also the two characters is beautiful. 

 Peaceful Ursa: I love the black and white old movie style of this shot. And this famous battle scene that everyone knows is really done well. I love the wisps of smoke we can still see that seem to be rising from the ground after you slid across it. The weakest part of this image is that I can barely see any faces, but everything is else is great. 

Adam: I am not really sure what I am looking at in this image. I can’t tell if the fire is coming from you or the monster, what monster that is, or what your pose is. I think having everything a little bit more defined in the image through use of a different angle maybe would have been a stronger choice for this image.

Bria: I would have loved for this image to be twisted back behind the male model just a few inches more so we were looking over his shoulder and into your snarling face. The look between you all and the crossing of the swords is great. My only question is why this background choice? This shot would have been perfect in a fiery or purple-aether area. 

Luma: I love how your character is riding the explosion and saying Yea!! As the boss explodes. Very movie scene feel to this shot. The straight lines coming out of the boss do make my eyes go back to him each time instead of you, but its still a strong enough image. 

Ni’ko: This is a strong image. Great balance for all creatures involved. The lines bring my eyes all over the image, and since everyone is looking at you I am still brought back to you at the end of the day. The only part of the image that needed the tiniest tweak is that your character is looking perfectly right instead of inward, so while all the mobs are looking at you, you are looking past them. Still, very strong.

Kota: A Scene straight from a movie. It looks more like you and Alexander are a team then battling though, and that little explosion on his leg doesn’t scream action packed like the other shots do this week, but you do look awesome firing a shot and then looking back at us like “I’m gonna need a bigger gun” haha. I’d have gone all out with explosions to make this an even stronger image. Great colors. 

Yojimbo: We’ve had Ifrit rounds in the past, so not only are you competing with all your fellow Cycle 11 models but also the memories of 2 past cycles. I really like that you have the camera in position so that we see the outer ring of fire and then the rest in the background, but I wish you had been closer to the camera because you are too small and far away. The right half of the image is entirely dead space. I’d have cut all that out and zoomed in more on you. 

 Yomu: Those little innocent sheep don’t even look scared as the dragon swoop in from above. Haha. Your shot this week has a great story with it, and is balanced well. Some judges don’t lie back shots, and others do, and I am one that does – but in this case not only is this a backshot, but we can’t even see your head! So I do wonder if there had been another way to at least the back of your head some how.

[grapehyasynth]

AOS Rewatch, Part 9

2x03

JEMMA WE HAVE JEMMA

The cheery little opening with Jemma’s morning routine is a fun little tidbit but also does not seem to match her reality at all? Like yes it’s meant to fool the audience into thinking she left SHIELD and is super happy but she’s alone in this sequence, not putting on a good face for Hydra, so it’s actually quite disingenuous

Hunter in his tiny tanktop. lol I wonder how much the men volunteer to show off their arms and how much is Ann Foley doing God’s work

Jemma carries a gun in her purse and the Hydra security guards were okay with it? Also, our baby Jemma carries a gun in her purse now!

She has a bunch of fancy hats hanging in the hallway of her apartment -- I want to know more

Jemma: “it’s been a tad lonely”

Coulson says Jemma is “very likeable” (thx dad)

I want to know if Fitz knew already/this early where Jemma was -- did he suspect?

Fitz calls Jemma “Jemma”, not “Simmons,” in an official briefing

Jemma likes happy hour and karaoke

Hydra’s black lab coats (in contrast to SHIELD’s white ones) are a  bit on the nose

Jemma may be becoming a better liar, but she does the not-breaking-eye-contact thing that Ward called Skye out for as a tell

Fitz is really sensitive to people keeping things from him (a natural human reaction, I think, but made that much worse by many events from last season)

imaginary Jemma speaks for Fitz’s rational side

Omg. The Fitz scenes with Ward. I can’t. Iain’s acting. I die. We all die.

Does anyone actually believe Ward was trying to save Fitzsimmons?

Jemma: “Fitz is very hard to impress”

Just hearing “nice work Fitz” from Coulson probably did so much good for our boy

Skye claims SHIELD is different from Hydra because they wouldn’t take an asset out, but that’s exactly what they do with Donnie, on Coulson’s orders...

There’s no way Donnie would’ve fallen overboard from that show -- the angle (his height, the height of the side of the ship) is all wrong

May believes in Simmons -- “She can handle it. She’s good” (love the contrast to beginning of S1 when May/everyone was like damn these two kids didn’t even pass their field test)

Fitz: “I’m not a killer” -- REMEMBER THIS IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS MMKAY?

I love that Fitzsimmons both asked about each other and were not at all subtle with their emotions even as they tried to be slick

2x04

First of all, solid ep all around

I love watching Hunter be the smooth man undercover. His flirting, his kissing, his little wink to Skye!

I think we *all* love this undercover ep with Philinda

I always think of the BTS picture of Ming and Clark practicing the dance on the deck of a ship

Coulson isn’t wearing a tie and went for a few buttons undone -- bold!

Hunter first met Bobbi on a spring night on a pier

Fitz at May flirting: “That’s alarming”

“Maybe Talbot is still pissed because we kidnapped him that one time”

I also always think of the gag reel portion of Ming and Clark pretending to make out in the elevator

So much messy tuck going on in this episode

Hunter with the soccer ball on the plane -- I want scenes of him and Fitz playing and getting yelled at. I want BTS of Nick and Iain fooling around with it between scenes.

Mack: “All my exes are awesome”

Hunter, Mack, and Trip all know each other’s past a bit (Hunter knows Mack’s romantic history, the ex with quinoa) so it’s strange to me that they never mention Bobbi by name. Obviously, again it’s meant to keep the audience in the dark, but it rings false

“You hate being alone” imaginary Jemma says -- this is SO IMPORTANT to Fitz’s characterization, how we as an audience see and understand him, how we write him -- Fitz is often written (including by me) as a recluse, but that’s more something that shows up in him after the pod, and still seemingly against his will. He likes people, he wants to be with them. He just struggles.

Fitz calling the lab “our place” <3

“Where are you based?” “Currently? About five feet away from kicking your ass.” May. Just -- what a queen.

Coulson would tap May as the next director

Fitz looks so earnest and desperate as he wishes to join in on socializing

I love Coulson outing fake May. “May hates coffee.”

May frees herself and kicks multiple asses- I repeat, what a queen.

I love the team helping Fitz fill in the blanks as they try to fix the plane. They’re eager to help him, to include him -- or maybe they’re just aware of their dangerous situation

Coulson about the 2 Mays: “I can’t believe I’m the only one seeing this right now”

You can see in one shot that it’s Ming’s stunt double, but on the whole it’s impressively seamless

Hunter does one thing and then says “Is that it? Is the plane fixed now?”

I would watch a whole hour (or a whole series) of just Nick and Iain, in character or not.

God their adorable high-five.

Hunter reaching out to Fitz with the beer <3

I love the codependence in Fitzsimmons’s relationship but I also think it’s very healthy for them to have other friends so I love the scenes with Fitz and his bros

“Moving on” -- Fitz clearly doesn’t believe himself

I can’t help thinking of the outtake of Nick salaciously licking his overflowing bottle

May has a cabin in the Australian Outback and Coulson likes kangaroos. Noted.

2x05

Another solid ep all around.

Hunter’s look of delight when Skye challenges Coulson

Poll: Do you say oh-belisk or ah-belisk? (for obelisk)

Kyle Maclachlan’s delivery of “I’m a man trying to put my family back together” is excellent

I love Fitz acknowledging that Mack is quite a man -- whether it’s him projecting what he imagines Jemma would think or thinking it for himself, it’s a nice intricacy

The whole “I still miss her” convo <3

“Shut up Ward” -- why don’t more people say that?

So the writing, essentially, is a way for the obelisk/terrigenesis/Inhuman gene/whatever to propagate? When it doesn’t succeed in a host (like people who aren’t Inhuman, like Coulson and Garrett), it needs to find a viable host and uses the writing to guide candidates there?

I’m curious what city Jemma’s supposed to be in

QUEEEEEENNNN BOBBBBIIIIIIIIIII

Did Jemma move the secret communique or did Bobbi? Either way, v slick

The first time I watched this, I definitely didn’t think Bobbi would be SHIELD. One of my favorite surprise reveals

I wonder if Jemma’s new, darker wardrobe was meant to be a reflection of her emotional state or of her trying to go under the radar at Hydra

lol that they sent at least four men in full TAC gear and helmets to grab Jemma

BOBBI AND HER FREAKING BATONS AND HAIRFLIP

And Jemma’s reaction to the aforementioned is perfect

Hunter: “So is this a group hug type situation?”

I feel like Hunter’s drinking is emphasized too heavily with no follow-through

I love Jemma rambling

OH GOD MY CHILDREN REUNITING

HE CALLS HER SIMMONS AND SHE LOOKS DEVASTATED BY THAT AND HIS SLIGHTLY TERRIFIED RESPONSE AND HER CLENCHED HANDS I DIE

I love the Bobbi/Mack friendship

I love Hunter but I really really love him being flummoxed by Bobbi

Trip knew Bobbi but not that she was Hunter’s ex?

I’m still amazed they got Kyle Maclachlan for this. He’s such a powerhouse.

2x06

I enjoy Scarlotti (the mohawked fake-SHIELD guy) -- he always reminded me of an evil Hunter

lol at the Grumpy Cat mug. There’s gotta be a backstory to why they included that. That was like a full ten or twenty second bit. Why?

The backdrop for the Belgian ambassador or whatever is a quaint little town -- he’d probably be in a city

Jemma’s trying so hard to act normal. Fitz’s adoration for her is so blatant. It’s so hard to know what to feel for these two, to know what they need. To be fair, if someone looked at me that openly worshiping, I’d probably be terrified, especially if I felt like they also hated me for leaving them

Ugh their dynamics are so complex. He accepts Mack helping him/finishing his sentences, but he gets upset when Jemma does it, even though they used to for years. Jemma, meanwhile, is overcompensating, walking on eggshells, not sure where they stand.

Hunter is so thrown off by Bobbi I LOVE IT

The Huntingbird “Don’t die out there” ritual <3

Hunter: “excuse me for doing my job thoroughly. and with style.”

Huntingbird is such a power couple

Poor May having to babysit Huntingbird; Mack has to babysit Fitzsimmons

Fitz says SO MUCH to her it’s amazing. “You gave up on me”, “You think i’m useless”, “I needed you”, “For all I know you could’ve--” -- I wish they’d had a chance/been forced to really talk

I still don’t know the truth of the Ward brothers/the well, but maybe that’s the point

Jemma brings 2 mugs, trying to reach out to Fitz, willing to accept that it’ll take work. And the way he looks when he sees her, the way he says hi -- there’s still hope

“I thought we were rebuilding trust, Coulson” -- lol you’re delusional, Ward

Hunter stalling at the safe house and May and Bobbi crashing in is so amazing

Bobbi and Hunter with the simultaneous leg sweep

Scarlotti’s knife rope seems really inefficient

Adrianne Palicki was born to be a superhero -- with her casual baton twirls and her suit, she’s so set

Jemma is trying so hard, in her own way -- giving Fitz the space she thinks he needs, going instead to Mack to thank him for being Fitz’s friend

The tears in Jemma’s eyes when she says “I know, why do you think I left?”

I’m so glad Mack and Jemma eventually get a resolution to this tension and have that lovely conversation in 3B, but UGH my heart.

Christian Ward says “At first I was ashamed” and I fully expect him to continue “...I WAS PETRIFIED”

“Tell Skye this doesn’t change anything” you’re such a gross man Ward

[lettersofsky]

Streaming Shenanigans

@chaoscheebs gave me “I really like a man who’s good with his hands,” for Strifesodos and I immediately went to Streamer Friends Dynamics and it’s not NSFW in the slightest. Just fun cracky nonsense in this one! To help balance out the last one.

Tip Jar

“Chetchi says you’re terrible.”

“Chetchi doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Malborowaifu doesn’t think you’ll do it either.”

“Why don’t you ever read out the nice comments,” Cloud complained, gaze focused on the screen in front of him. He flicked his gaze to Genesis’ form, registering the other man’s teasing smile before returning his attention to the game.”Boost my confidence, or something like that.”

“They’re so hard to find though,” Genesis whined, burrowing further into his warm jacket and focusing on the chat he had opened in front of him. “Everyone’s complaining that you’re butchering their favourite songs.”

“I’m not butchering them!” Cloud said, amusement colouring his tone as he selected the next piece of music for the night. “I’m barely missing the notes!”

“Whatever helps you get through the day,” Genesis responded, leaning back against the couch. He brought up the poll for the next song selection and groaned when he saw what the next few songs would be. “They’re going through my music library again,” he whined, gazing at the titles of four songs by one of his favourite bands.

“I’ll make sure to butcher those,” Cloud promised, flexing his hand around his controller as he started the song. “Find something nice to say while I do this.”

“Alright,” Genesis said, switching back to the chat and reading what the comments that crawled across his screen. It was just a small stream tonight, late and easy-going for the subscribers, usually the second Friday night of the month was reserved for the four of them a fighting game of some kind but both Aerith and Sephiroth were own of town and they’d decided to just relax with a rhythm game.

They’d started with a few songs that Cloud liked before opening up to viewer requests, when things got fun. They’d sent in the most amusing requests; troll songs, opening themes, actual requests and he even thought he’d recognized the Chocobo Warriors theme song amongst the pieces Cloud had already played through, then they’d starting sending in some of his and Cloud’s favourite artists. Watching Cloud become frustrated over his inability to play his favourite pieces of music was amusing to say the least.

With Cloud’s request for him to find something nice to say to him, the chat was flooded with questions, queries and encouragement. He snorted at a few of the more amusing messages from Cloud’s more amusing subscribers, shifting to a comfortable position as he responded to the ones that had caught his eyes.

“Aerith and Seph are away, Drago,” Genesis answered one of the questions in the chat, skimming the crawling words for compliments to give Cloud once he was done with his current track. “They’re searching for replacements.”

“They won’t have to work hard for that,” Cloud muttered, pulling a laugh from Genesis’ throat. The chat erupted with amused responses to the man’s words and a few people that didn’t quite grasp their particular brand of humour needing to have the joke explained to them.

The track finished in the next minute, showing off Cloud’s score and his overall ranking. It was a decent score, much better than the scores he had gotten little more than an hour before, Cloud was definitely getting better as he went. The chat had noticed as well, if the flood of congratulatory messages was any indication.

Cloud set down his controller on the table in front of him, reaching out towards where Genesis was sitting. “Come here,” Cloud urged, patting the space next to him before holding his hand to him again. “I wanna see the trash they’re saying about me.”

Genesis snorted but grasped Cloud’s hand and allowed him to tug him from his comfy seat and next to him, burrowing into his side to soak up as much of the other’s warmth as he could. He handed the man the device he had been reading the chat on, leaving him to interact with the viewers as he got himself comfortable again.

“Shut up guys,” Cloud grumbled, rolling his eyes at the camera for the audience. “We’re not being ‘sweetly domestic’, Gen’s just being a heat sponge again.”

“I’m stealing that term for later,” he informed the other man, stretching his legs out along the couch until he was tucked against Cloud’s side. “It’s perfect for us.”

“Don’t encourage them,” Cloud said, words coloured with an exaggerated sigh. His hand lifted from where it had been resting and started to run through his hair with absent-minded movements, pulling a pleased noise from Genesis’ noise as he relaxed against him completely. “Chetchi’s threatening us with fanart, again.”

“I love Chetchi’s art,” Genesis said, teasing smile in place as he looked up at Cloud. “The one they did of you and Seph as Air Pirates is the most adorable thing ever.”

Cloud flushed slightly but ignored him, focusing on interacting with the chat for a bit. “Thank you for the compliments Gravedigger,” he said, eyes moving over the chat quickly. “And thank you, Breezy, for the grievous insult to my skills.”

Genesis smiled, content to listen to Cloud talk to the chat as he remained pressed to his side and enjoyed his warmth and the relaxed feeling of the stream. It wasn’t that uncommon for them to end up curled up together during the streams, despite how flustered Cloud always got, and the viewers were well aware of that fact; Chetchi’s wouldn’t be the first piece of them curled up together, nor did he think it would be the last. A lot of them were incredibly cute and he loved embarrassing Cloud with them.

He focused back on Cloud when a particular comment caught his attention, turning towards him and speaking without a second thought.

“- not just dating me for my looks, Ravencloak! There’s other reasons!

“I really like a man who’s good with his hands.”

Cloud paused, looking down at him with flushed cheeks and an expression that told him how foolish he was being. He blinked after a few moments, turning away from him as he responded. “I’m glad you said ‘man’ instead of ‘person’ there.”

“Oh?”

“Yup,” Cloud answered, gaze purposely trained on the chat. “If you had said ‘person’ then you’d probably dump me for Aerith at least once every month.”

Genesis opened his mouth to say something in response but froze, considering what Cloud had said. “Point,” he said, reaching out and taking his device back from Cloud. “The things that woman can do with her hands are positively sinful.”

He felt no qualms in labelling Aerith that way; she was a champion at fighters and ensured that they remembered it. During one of their previous streams together he’d turned the video onto her hands so the viewers could see the exact precision and speed of her hands during the matches; to say it was impressive was putting it lightly. It was one of their highest viewed clips, aside from the one where Seph and Cloud got jumpscared by a RPG-maker game.

“Yup,” Cloud agreed with a soft laugh, reaching out and picking his controller up again. “Now, which of your favourite songs am I destroying first?”

[brianhandy]

Soon to Release, & Publish...?

Wow! What a wild couple of weeks! The new UI is just, like, in. The core of it is all done. It’s a little intense, and needs some memory management, but it looks just gorgeous. I’m so thankful for the Tubik team and their hard work on it. They’ve been great to work with the whole time. Now we have one big question to solve: get funding to keep improving, or finish this up and push it out the door. And we might even be able to do one, and then the other.

Ok... a couple spacing/placement bugs left. But still!

New UI

I’m so happy with the work of this studio. It’s hard to see often how good something looks when the pieces aren’t all together, but it’s really come together wonderfully and my only regret is that I wish I had given the team more credit during the points when I had trouble communicating. Even if I am glad about the issues I got stuck on, I wish I had been more forgiving here. When all the pieces come together, the whole is so much stronger, and any flaws with individual parts are barely noticeable. The issues now are more with UX and my control over what buttons are active and when, instead of any art concerns.  

Testflight builds are going out! Feedback is coming in!

Releasing

I still can’t believe we are this on track to the finish line. Apple approval could delay this, but that’s about it. There is still memory management to do for low end devices (the assets are only JUST in last week, unoptimized yet) and that name, logo, and app icon need revising. There are a couple UX tweaks, and it would be great to get categories dynamically revised so we could add categories like “race” and “politics” later if we wanted remotely - but we could release the game at its core right now, and that’s a blast. 

The search is... lots of lists, lots of spreadsheets, lots of emails and research.

Publishing

Now I am suddenly looking at long term options, what comes after this release, and the future of this game. After doing, and redoing, and tripple redoing the numbers - it looks like we could stretch this out another month or two depending on tax returns, and that actually gives time to try and find a publisher to pay for a spiritual successor to this game. The conversation starter genre has barely been touched, and I know that there is a wide market for this stuff now given that the more time I spend on this game, the more people talk about it and react more positively towards it (polish and art really do help). Most of all, folks keep saying more and more “I want to play this with X group of friends” or “I know exactly who I want to play this with” which is wild. It has the chance to spread by word of mouth. Then the question is either how to market this one so it can self fund a sequel, or to get a publisher to go even bigger and release a sequel sooner with less investment in this title. We’ll see which direction we go with that.

Either way, it looks like a great opportunity to make more games in this genre and direction, and I’m really excited that this might not be the last game I work on that face to face tries to bring people closer together.

(Can you tell I’m running out of ideas for blogpost graphics on this one...?)

Names

The final name is the biggest sticking point now. I have plans to run it by at least one old contact with expertise on this, have run it by another, and am hoping  for a third opinion too. But Cute Animals & Tough Questions might be the final name after all. It conveys a lot of the core concepts, and there’s a reason it’s not disappeared yet (even if “Wild Honesty” has done well in friend polls).

This terrifies me! It’s an 11k word long document about taxes!!

Tax Forms

Gee willikers! Did you know filing out your W-9 is what later leads to your 1099-MISC/NEC and 1096? I wish I had known that! I’ve got a meeting scheduled with my accountant for the former, but didn’t realize that included the filing of the latter, and tried to fill them out on my own. Needing to order those forms 10 biz days in advance, get them to contractors by the end of the month, etc are all terrifying with deadlines and how busy accountants are this time of year.

My advice? Be very, very clear with your accountant before tax season starts on what is and is not your responsibility. And better yet: if you do have to contact your accountant, make the email as efficient as possible. I asked one confirmation ‘y/n’ question via email, with the question in the headline, and was able to get a quick and useful response (”You’re handling my 1099s in our upcoming call, right?”) and that less-than-15sec-investment is one someone that busy can handle. I’m thankful for my accountant, but it will always be hard  to balance communicating someone in crunch with trying to handle a problem on your own. So be efficient about it and respect their time!

“Placeholder confetti. Revised confetti pending.”

Conclusion

This week has been wild productive and wild feeling in the project’s redirection! We weren’t planning any kind of publisher ten days ago, and now that’s my second goal after release (previously it was “find work”). I’m not sure what happens next, but that’s game development for you! Hopefully the next update will be “game is submitted to Apple” with maybe some publishers or a marketing opportunity reached out to. But first I will probably find some numbers on potential audience to invest in. I want people to think real money could come back out of this  investment, and I want the proof to back up my aspirations on this.

1/17/20

[survivor-kuwait]

Episode 8 - “These bitches really do be getting on my nerves” - Chloe

rip stevie :( in the aftermath of that tribal that legit just felt like one massive personal attack i decided to go do some homework bc something felt off to me!! madison was out there whining about OMG BEING IN THE WARZONE THE WHOLE TIME BOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO and yet lmao she's either been "excused" or gotten a strike for deadass just not doing the challenges. the jig is uP! i think it's fairly obvious people are just using the warzone as a way to build relationships and i mean who can blame them, but her whole pity party at these tribals needs to stop. my mood towards her has definitely soured in the last hour lol i'm over it  fam. also i've been talking to ian since the tribal to get some tea since tommy is legitimately useless. i'll like ask him what happened at tribal and he literally just goes "oh i just heard his name from everyone" shrug emoi LIKE!! WOULD IT KILL YOU TO FIND SOME MORE TEA OUT... anyways i find out from ian that cullan apparently brought up that they should target timmy for challenge prowess, to which ian said he shot down due to that being a slippery slope which soon leads to him. if that's true i'm v glad that that got shot down bc that's, in my mind, a shot fired at me. GIRRRRRL, like just leave me alone i shouldn't be fucking persecuted bc half of you guys are throwing challenges and i've actually been doing them. that doesn't mean shit. 

I was able to get 217 seconds on the slide puzzle. Would I get any better? 🤷‍♂️ I dont think so. I have my graduation today so hopefully this score is enough.

not gonna lie I compleeeeetely COMPLETELY forgot about the chall until this morning when I was walking to class and my dumbass is at class and work and class again until 10 pm today so I don’t rlly have a MOUSE on me..... cut to me desperately and embarrassingly texting my classmates asking them to bring a mouse to class for me nnnn this is not gonna go well. maybe it’ll be good for me to go to war zone anyways I guess 

Hi sisters! Last vote was super easy. It was like “Stevie k?” “K.” But also even though I feel like I’m a big part of the decision making process for every vote, I never get less nervous that everyone is lying to me! Strategic playing, or crippling trust issues? You decide.

These bitches really do be getting on my nerves

Its almost graduation time and im sooo nervous and excited. It would be nice to not be in warzone tonight. Please survivor gods help me.

Well this is a crucial immunity. After being out of the war zone for 2 in a row I feel at this point I am a little outside the people who have been there so many times. I think I have some strong bonds with some players but I do not that a couple have it out for me. Namely Madison and Jacob, which at this point I fed they should be over the whole Renee vote but that’s their prerogative. 

Sooooo Final 15 baby! Honestly Im so proud of this time around on my TS journey cause Im actually liking the individual competition portion of this game. Its like the merge part of any Survivor game but with a "tribal competition" aspect. Meaning that I only have to worry about me, myself, and I and I love that. I just need to show that Im the bad bitch that is in control and take this game by the fucking reins and show it who's boss. Aint no way Im gonna get 15th, 14th or 12th again madam. No way. 

Reinke

---

I survived, yeet. Kait survived, yeet. Ian went in, f*ck. Maynor went in, f*ck. Chloe went in, f*ck. Adrian went in...yeet.

Hello! I am safe again, 2nd time in a row? Idk. I do like Kait but I don't entirely trust her. I think I can use her for a bit as she'll believe she's using me. If I have the chance to get her out before or early merge, I will. Thomas is the most boring person in this game. I have yet to meet Timmy but I doubt anyone can beat Thomas in this feat. Talking to him is like talking to a wall. A white wall too. Also, he has no manners, demands favours and doesn't say please or thank you... The second I have the chance, he's gone. Nehe should've stayed, not him. Otherwise, Ian and I are working on some kind of power together for battleship. I really do like Ian. I hope we can make it far together, he's my number 2 after Owen. Together, we have the Topaz Idol and a potential save vote and a potential new power. Maynor and I have been socializing and friendly, I want him gone sooner than later but he's not a priority. He isn't great in comps generally. Still love Trace and I do trust him to an extent. I dislike Stephen, would like to see him leave relatively soon. I don't trust him at all. On the other side, Matt is going to tribal and him and I have built quite a bit of trust previously, I hope he makes it. I'm happy Cullan and Owen and Adrian are safe as I trust all 3 to certain extents. I would like Timmy to go due to his comp prowess and due to the fact we have yet to interact, but he's immune, again. I hope Chloe makes it out okay. I also hope Devon makes it out alive. I love that guy. I think Devon, Chloe, Trace and Ian can work together though! Matt could join with them as him and Devon were big parts of the Renee vote. Madison and Maynor, who were both left out of that vote, could see their way out which is A-okay by me. Jacob was also left out of this vote but I think Ian won't target him, just my two cents. I see Jacob as a better ally for me down the road compared to Madison or Maynor. That being said, I like many people in this game. I think my social game is strong. I do need to be careful with my words as some may catch on. And I may find myself at tribal with 7 ppl I like. I have my hierarchy of allies in my mind and I know who's at the bottom of my totem poll, I just hope I can get those who aren't even on it out first. I'm also a comp threat. Usually, I can lurk in the shadows more easily but with the dynamic and my low level of comfort with risk, competition prowess combined with my social game, though flashy, is what I'm betting on to keep myself safe. Owen and Kait and Timmy's competition prowess outshines mine and people peg Madison as the socialite who throws/does not complete comps to be in warzone. As long as there are some who play flashier than me, I'll be okay. Until next time!

I found a Rock Saver with the help of Corey, chill but I'm more than happy to send that over to him the second I'm back from warzone.  That is such a situational power and there aren't really alliances yet to risk rocks for, but when there are it will be within Corey and I's power to use.  Again, I'll play the idol to survive if I need to, but I'll do everything I can to prevent having to play it at f16, the jury doesn't care about what happens in the premerge portion of the game.

---

It's going to be Jacob or Madison this round. Idol or bust, Cancer will take a hit, because fuck cancer.  I'm done with the waiting for someone to take out players who have been just chilling in the Warzone, I'm done with the throwing challenges, I'm done with the deceit.  The Warzone is not redemption island, you can't feed me a fish and send me on my way to build your jury presence.  Madison is sans her warzone buddies, she's vulnerable besides Jacob.  Let's go!

I may be in the war zone rn but Ian is here and I have fuckin missed that boi so yanno pros and cons 

I so so so do not want to be here at Warzone again. This vote is probably the most complicated thus far because at this point I need a lot of things to go a very specific way in order for people to not realize I’m in the middle. Devon trusts me and wants to go with Ian’s plan to vote our Madison or Jacob and Madison and Maynor want to vote Ian which I would also like. However at this point I need to make everyone happy and the odds of doing that are so slim. I just have to convince Maynor wnd Madison to vote Jacob or Devon to vote Ian and neither one is the path of least resistance. I’m on the path of MOST resistance and by path I mean 1 inch wide tightrope suspended over hungry sharks.

I was not that surprised when I got voted out. I did not expect it because voting out Stephen did in fact seem like a plausible option and i felt that between him and myself it was kinda similar. It was believable that he would be voted off, but I totally understand why I was voted off. The interesting part about it to me is I think I was the least connected person in the game and I can see how that can get dangerous in merge because those people can flip a lot, but right now I thought it might've been a good opportunity to gain me as a number. I think this tribal was my first interaction with Trace and Ian. I did like them and I liked talking to them and I think I had potential to work with them if the plan of voting me out wasn't already in place. There were a few people I did not talk to that round because i didn't think I should've had to reach out to EVERYONE in order to talk to them. I just think there are alliances that have formed that i am not a part of because the decision-making for these votes is kinda weird and I don't always understand the motives. So to me an alliance i am not a part of makes the most sense. I was very excited about the lagoon though. I am hoping I get a chance to come back because that would be lit. I just need to stick it out through these votes and I am hoping Renee is connected to at least one of the other three so we can stay. Kinda glad Nehe is gone. I think he was bad for my game

Devon has been a godsend so far today, I talked to him last night about wanting Jacob or Madison out and he has up and ran with it.  Devon being the face on this vote? Yes please, I don't want to blow back on me if it flips.

I actually have people working with me and talking to me this round? 😮😮😮 crazy that maybe these people have finally stopped trying to get me fucking out 

Trying to talk to cullan rn and I can’t decide if it’s more or less difficult than talking to Thomas. He’s sent like three one word answers now.... Me: you doing anything exciting this weekend!? Cullan: Graduating. Ummmm ok hoe sounds real exciting hskshdjd like elaborate? Oh well I’m not answering. I tried to reach out bc my social game is ass rn but I’m not putting myself thru that today!!!! I miss Kait :( and I want to talk to corey :(((( grrrr they the real ones. And matt. Have yet to have a stimulating conversation with literally anyone else in this game. Wait ok actually I do like Timmy and madison SJSU’s je but madison busy too and Timmy sends LONG messages. Why can’t I have an in BETWEEN!!

I'm definitely going to see at least one vote tonight, I'm nervous about it because if people flip on me instead of voting Jacob I'll be dead to rights because I will not play my idol unless another idol is played. My thought process is that if I need my idol to save myself from a majority vote tonight then I wasn't bound to go far in this game anyway. I'll take my ball(advantages) and go home. 5 people told me they are voting Jacob, Matt told me Jacob is voting for me, if I'm being fed bullshit by everyone then that's just how the cookie crumbles.

Today has been quiet but people have brought up that Jacob and Madison are a strong duo. Matt was able to put the target on Jacob. It could be a 4-4 tie but Matt Madison n I might just go with majority and vote Jacob.

As per usual, I have no idea if I made a confessional about this or not. I can’t believe I won immunity, like I didn’t even have computer access. And i got 3rd so i had some margin to be safe (granted Adrian got 4th with one second more than me but still). That was the first time I did the puzzle because my other times were worse. If I was doing it on a computer my time would’ve been so much better so idk what happened with everyone else. And today Owen messaged me saying he feels kind of fucked because he hasn’t been to tribal in ages, which might be true but also he can probably win a lot of immunities come merge and people like him. I’m happy to work with him right now because we both have a lot of challenge wins but honestly I want him to go earlier on in merge because he is good at getting quick social connections.

oof mama, what a round this is panning out to be. First of all, I felt personally victimized by that challenge. The Ard tribe is full of some SERIOUS competitors, and that's the reason that I will most likely continue to show up at these stupid war zones until we merge. Fucking Kait has made it this far without going to the war zone at all, which is putting SUCH A LARGE target on her back. bUt whatever, it's just frustrating being on a tribe of people that probably do online puzzles for fun. So this round is interesting. After last round's unanimous vote, I feel a lot more comfortable working with certain people in the game. Ian has kind of solidified his spot as my number one in this game (more to come about that too). He came to me and was like we NEED to make a move against Madison/Jacob. He said he knows that Madison is a challenge threat, but is purposely trying to lose the challenges so that she can make connections with people in the war zone. Though he had made some points, I really don't think Madison is that smart to figure out how to do that. I really just think she is busy/not prioritizing and keeps showing up here. She seems pretty innocuous. That being said, she has become a bit of a social threat, slipping by all of these rounds without having to really do much. BUT, I do trust her and don't want her to be sent packing quite yet. Jacob, her star sign partner, on the other hand, can go. He doesn't talk at all, and when he doesn't they're boring one word answers. So I had pretty much set my heart on Jacob even though he is on our tribe, making my chances higher of showing up here if we keep doing the war zone format. To make matters more interesting, I talked a bit more to Matt this round and he told me that Madison and Jacob were gunning for Ian this round. Madison claims she is good with voting for Jacob, but everyone else says they seem to be a strong pair. I went straight to Ian with this and then he TOLD ME HE HAD AN IDOL. Honestly I am so happy to know he has it and not someone against me, because that's going to be some great information to have later on down the road. I think he is really paranoid, but at this point I just really cannot tell who is lying and telling the truth. I am hoping that people are being truthful and going to actually vote for Jacob, but I am trying to figure out who exactly has been saying Ian's name. It's ultimately going to be up to him whether he wants to play the idol this round but oof, if I were him, I'd be sweating. SO we shall see, but lord knows I'm shaking in my loafers!

[lovelyfantasticfart]

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[thisdaynews]

Hickenlooper faces buzzsaw if he drops out to run for Senate

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/hickenlooper-faces-buzzsaw-if-he-drops-out-to-run-for-senate/

Hickenlooper faces buzzsaw if he drops out to run for Senate

“I’m not cut out to be a senator,” Demcoratic candidate John Hickenlooper said in February. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

2020 elections

Colorado Democrats currently running for Senate are signaling Hickenlooper wouldn’t clear the field.

John Hickenlooper cracked the door open to a potential Senate bid last week — but it looks like many Democrats back home in Colorado have moved on.

The former two-term governor would have scared off potential rivals earlier this year, but it’s doubtful now that he could clear the field of Democratic challengers who’ve been in the trenches for months already.

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Nearly a dozen Democrats are running in Colorado, which is seen as the party’s best opportunity to flip a GOP-held seat, and there is a top tier of roughly five candidates. They’ve spent months courting supporters and raising money, and few wouldimmediatelystep aside for Hickenlooper, according to conversations with several candidates, aides and a half-dozen Democratic operatives in the state.

“I don’t think that he is thinking about getting into this race,” said John Walsh, a former U.S. attorney and one of the Democratic candidates, who said he’s spoken to Hickenlooper recently. “I think his focus is on Iowa.”

Hickenlooper has consistently said he’s focused on the presidential race and has no interest in challenging vulnerable Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, a stance he has reiterated multiple times this week. Peter Cunningham, a Hickenlooper spokesperson, declined to comment on the Senate race. “He’s running for president,” Cunningham said.

But several recent moves have stoked speculation that he’s eyeing a run for Senate. Hickenlooper met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last week, CNN reported and an aide to Hickenlooper confirmed. A Democratic operative last week purchased web domains related to a Hickenlooper Senate bid. And over the weekend, Hickenlooper said in a radio interview that he’d “never ruled out anything,” a comment that sparked buzz back home.

“I’m not sure people necessarily get out of the race if he decides to run,” said Doug Friednash, a former chief of staff to Hickenlooper. “But he’s got a favorable matchup with Sen. Gardner, and I think that’s what catches the attention of national Democrats. … They see him as an incredibly strong candidate who can raise money and instantly be a formidable opponent.”

Still, while many Democrats see him as a formidable opponent against Gardner, his success in the primary is not guaranteed. Former state Sen. Mike Johnston already has $2.6 million in cash on hand, and former ambassador Dan Baer has more than $1 million. Two other candidates — Walsh and former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff — have war chests in the high-six figures. They’ve already carved out endorsements and strategies to guide them over the coming months, whether Hickenlooper runs or not.

“We’re scaling up,” said an aide to one of the campaigns, requesting anonymity to speak frankly. “We’re not playing wait-and-see here.”

“He’d have to prove his mettle,” said an adviser to another Democrat in the race.

In each case, the candidates already running are aiming to fill different lanes and find arguments to separate from the crowded field — and potentially from Hickenlooper.

“At every level in the campaign there is real momentum for us,” said Johnston, who not only outraised his rivals last quarter �� he also outraised Hickenlooper’s presidential campaign. Johnston said he plans to roll out new policies in the coming months to continue to separate himself from the field. He brushed off questions about Hickenlooper as “distractions.”

Walsh, the former U.S. attorney, said the questions about Hickenlooper are divorced from the reality of his presidential aspirations and his executive mindset. Walsh has promoted himself as a political outsider and pragmatic problem-solver in the race, and added that it would be a “great honor” to earn the former governor’s endorsement.

Several Democrats in the state point out that while Hickenlooper remains popular, he has never faced a Democratic primary challenge, and the base of the party in the state has moved to the left since he was last on the ballot. Hickenlooper, a bipartisan, business-friendly governor, has run as a pragmatic moderate in the presidential race, decrying socialism and some liberal priorities such as the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.” Some Democrats say that opens him up to trouble in a primary contest.

“I think there is certainly room to the left of him,” said one veteran Colorado Democrat, who requested anonymity to speak frankly.

Romanoff has most aggressively filled that lane in the primary so far, touting his position as the only candidate supporting both the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, as well as endorsements from several hundred local officials.

“I’d be glad to earn Gov. Hickenlooper’s endorsement as well,” Romanoff said in a statement.

Hickenlooper has panned the idea of dropping out to run for Senate in the past. He’s even said publicly that being in the Senate was a poor fit with his interests and experience.

“I’m not cut out to be a senator,” Hickenlooper said in February. “Senators don’t build teams. Senators sit and debate in small groups, which is important, right? But I’m not sure that’s my — I’m a doer. That’s what gives me joy.”

Another complicating factor for Hickenlooper: Colorado has never elected a woman to the Senate, and many Democrats are eager to rectify that next year. Alice Madden, a former state House leader, and Angela Williams, a state senator, are both running. Jena Griswold, the secretary of state, formed an exploratory committee recently as she mulls a campaign.

“Ultimately it’s up to John to decide what job he wants to run for, but I am putting 100 percent of my efforts toward becoming Colorado’s first female senator and true clean energy champion,” Madden said in a statement.

A larger field of competitors could benefit Hickenlooper, splintering any progressive animosity or opposition to him and giving him a clear path as a frontrunner. Many Democrats expect the field to naturally winnow in the coming months, and the difficult process for getting on the ballot in Colorado will likely limit the eventual primary field.

Several Democrats believe a decision from Hickenlooper could happen in the coming weeks. He is a long shot to make the stage for the next presidential primary debate, though the polling and fundraising qualifying period doesn’t end until Aug. 28.

If he were to enter the Senaterace, according to multiple Democrats, the initial fundraising quarters would be a key test for whether he would be able to run ahead of the rest of the field. Democrats in the state expect other candidates to push in the third and fourth quarter of this year to increase their fundraising to keep pace with the former governor. If he significantly outraises the field through the end of the year, it could change the dynamics quickly in his favor.

Some Democrats argue Hickenlooper has damaged his standing back home during his presidential run, with one strategist likening a possible Senate bid to a “consolation prize.” Others say the governor remains as popular as ever.

“I think progressives will never like him, but I think the people that are not on Twitter and on Facebook do like him a lot,” said one Democratic strategist in Colorado. “I think he would handily win a primary.”

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