#he literally just told some truths mixed in with personal experience and bias opinions

[blackerthings]

Telling your truth and telling the truth is not always synonymous

[tumblunni]

Random game idea that came to mind: clockwork man simulator

I dunno, i just got the general image in my head of a soft homey aesthetic equivelant of that terrible game about the androids. Itd be more like just a life-living game, like stuff like animal crossing or harvest moon. Just fully exploring the perspective of these creatures and the world that created them, rather than BOOM ACTION SETPIECES or whatever

I only have some scattered ideas for it tho, and not really any idea of a main plot or gameplay gimmick or 3 act structure or like.. Anything to take this from idea to game, lol.

SO ITS MISC IDEAS TIME

* more of an olden timey fantasy style instead of sci fi. Youre still an artificial person created to run errands for humans, but youre more of a combination of clockwork and magic. There's still an element of being made of inanimate object parts but there's also some glowy energy core or something. Possibly would be interesting if it was something unusual to use as a power source? Like i dunno, a bell or an acorn or a teacup or one of those rocks with the hole in it that sometimes wash up on beaches. Or just a glowy orb of Generically Defined Energy Substance, which flows through you like aesthetically pleasing glowy veins

* you're a service clockwork homunculus thingy, bought by a disabled person who needs help around the house. PERHAPS A SWEET OLD GRANDMA! Whatever i decide on (IT'LL PROBABLY BE THE GRANDMA), your owner is a kind person who sees you as part of the family and feels guilty using an android as they believe you are absolutely a real person and wish they could set you free. Unfortunately theyre kinda one of the people who needs androids the most, as they dont have any family who can help them. At the same time though, they are very old and quite resigned to nobody caring about them, plus theyre just a good person who'd put your life over their own. So i feel like the plot would literally start with this person trying to set you free and you are just like "i do npt understand the concept, that is not in my programming". Its become kind of a morning routine now to hear "youre free! Get out, dammit!" and have a brisk argument over breakfast that inevitably always ends with you refusing. Grandma's prpbably got so desperate they're resorting to tactics like trying to trick you into getting on the bus out of town or "if you dont leave im gonna hold my breath and i wont stop til i pass out". All inevitabley failing! So they just try and help you understand your sentience and become more independant, encouraging you to take free time every day and go around the town to enjoy yourself. Which is kinda a concept you dont understand yet, so its just like MISSION RECEIVED: WALK IN CIRCLE AROUND PERIMETER OF TOWN. And its kind of a hit and miss experience because the people in this town have never seen an android before- this magic is usually a thing for rich people and this proposed scheme of disability assistance androids is still in its test run. Some people are suspicious or hateful, but there are others who welcome you to the village and brighten up your day. Not just a world of 100% everyone assholes to make a melodramatic point delivered awfully through racist stereotypes.

* i think a good subplot with this disabled grandma would be to show her regaining her independance too. Like she starts off quite fatalistic and used to nobody caring about her, all this mobility aid stuff is new and she feels like its too complicated and she'll never get it, or its too expensive and she doesnt deserve it, or all the nonsense that ableist society drills into people. But with the support of her new friend and access to more tools to help take her life into her own hands, she starts regaining hope again! Like ironically she felt like her previous carers were all the kinds of awful things people expect these androids to be. Robotic, emotionless monsters who dont care about the person's feelings and comfort, and certainly not independance. She suffered from a lot of the same nightmares that androids do too: being forced into a rigid schedule, limited in her options, deprived of basic rights, being told how she's supposed to feel, etc. But to an android that all seems like an inefficient way to do things! My function is healing and human healing efficiency is decreased in this circumstance! I am incapable of ignoring data due to personal bias! Basically imagine MAGIC BAYMAX ok. Anyway this plot would progress with grandma regaining her smile and eventually itd be a super happy day when she's able to get her new wheelchair that she can wheel to the shops on her own without needing someone to push her. Itd be really sweet from the player's perspective to get used to saying goodbye to her every morning and then suddenly you see her wandering around the shops with everyone else and she can become a part of the vibrant town too. Im thinking give her more complex AI than all the other villagers even, like give her a more complicated set of actions and move routes and stuff like SHE IS EVERYWHERE and she is LOVING IT! Life is back where it belongs: in the hands of the person living it! And it also intensifies the message of android slavery not being necessary or moral or good. Like i mean here this lady benefitted from getting an android but literally all she needed was a friend, a healthcare professional who gave a shit, and affordable access to mobility aids. Humans could have done that if they werent lazy assholes! And this android deserves the right to the same uplifting independenceifying experience they helped this grandma have!!

* random idea: all the events you encounter on each daily walk are actually stored in your inventory as items. Memories of experiences, good or bad, become literally experience for you! They each affect stats in different ways because of what you learned from that moment. Maybe bad experiences give you combat abilities and good ones help with your daily life skills and development of personality? And its possible to crack or even shatter a memory, if new experiences end up clashing with it. Usually its just 'oh i learned the more advanced version of this skill through better understanding of why humans do it', but also traumatic memories damaging good ones, and good ones helping ease traumatic ones. And maybe you could solve puzzles and make friendships through using these memory items? Youre faced with a challenge and have to make the connections in your mind to figure out which past experience is relevant here. And becoming more talented at something would help narrow down the choices you get given? And being unskilled would do screwy stuff with the interface like putting the correct option far away near the bottom or mixing up the names and icons of each memory. (Dunno how i'd program that though!)

* Maybe character customization similar to Medabots? The games were so cool and ahead of their time, you get to collect hundreds of different robot base frames and then mix and match the parts to make your own cool aesthetic! Shame it was only used for fighting though, that could be cool in a more social game too! Like go out wearing different fashions to help befriend different people, but its more fun cos its ROBOT FASHIONS! 'hey grandma do u think fred will like this arm or this arm?' She fusses over you all excitedly cos you showing an interest in fashion is a good sign of developing free will! Though you still get stuck in logic loops of 'you should wear what you like best, honey' 'HUMAN OPINION IS OF HIGHER PRIORITY' ...god i think i just made this character so i can ramble Relateable Social Anxiety Moments BUT ROBOTS

* possible ideas for Memory Events you can find around town! Meeting a cute neighbour cat- a fascinating creature you were not programmed to deal with, as you're a hospital android who isnt even meant to leave one single room for your whole life. You get absolutely entranced by the confusing small carpet with legs, and spend all morning interrogating it on why it wishes to rub its face on you. Why is your motor overheating, tiny carpet? Human master, how do you troubleshoot this noise?

* Another idea! You get 'mission: count the steps on the stairs to town' popping out of nowhere, and at first you ignore it because this is an illogical directive that does not come from a human. But it keeps happening every time you go here!! You try finding new ways to get to town crossing through fields or forests or walking directly into the path of a horsedrawn carriage, but ALAS it seems the only efficient path is those curious curious steps! Only then do you finally realise the mystery command is coming from yourself! You're not used to this strange concept of just..wanting to do something, all by yourself. You talk to your human and she says that's 'natural curiosity', 'personality', 'free will'...things that seem impossible to understand. You ask her to take you back to the shop to get this fault fixed, but she says its good and you should try acting on it. But it'll serve no purpose!! BUT AAARGH I HAVE TO KEEP SEEING THOSE STEPS EVERYDAY!! Eventually you do count them and you find it makes you satisfied for no logical reason. And that was the end of that small crisis, but you'll forever be confused by the whole thing! The next week you're like "what if i organized all the blue things with the blue things" and youre intensely frustrated at yourself. Human grandma says this is a "taste for fashion" but you remind her that you do not have a tongue. (And then she gets you the robo parts catalog and you unlock customization. Yay!)

* Possible idea for a sad subplot! A new human visits the village and he seems very strange, sometimes seeming kind and other times being angry and standoffish. You think its a simple 'jerk with a heart of gold' story but the truth is a lot stranger! It turns out this stranger is actually an important bishop in disguise, and he has multiple androids acting as body doubles to protect him while he's on the road. Theyre supposed to just be empty husks who only know how to imitate, but they clearly have their own personalities! You're tasked with finding all these runaway androids and returning them to their master for a reward, leading to a goofy lil game of hide and seek with twelve of the same guy. But it starts to get a bit sad because they're all convinced theyre the real one, and whenever they stumble into holes in their memory they freak out. When they all see each other gathered together its an absolute despair explosion and theyre forced to face the truth. And you can help them bond together as brothers and develop their own individual identities, even helping them pick out their own new faces from your set of fashion roboparts. Sadly you cant keep them here for long because itd obviously be suspicious to have exactly twelve new people move into the town right when twelve bots went missing. So you get help from one of grandma's friends to send them off in a stagecoach to another town where they can find employment and start their own life disguised as humans. The asshole bishop obviously doesnt react well to his androids vanishing into the night, but he never thinks of blaming you because after all you're only an android and you could never choose to help others out of all that free will you dont have. He just berates you for being so incompetant as to fail his quest to find them, and you get your reward taken back. Oh no~ i am~ very ashamed~ i will go tell my human that my ocular circuits require recalibrating~ (internally: HAHA YEH FUCK U OLD MAN) Grandma is super proud of you!

And thats all i got so far

[ruffoverthinksthings]

What are some of Claudine's likes and dislikes? I love how you craft her to be spicy and saucy with her tongue, yet accomplished in her studies and quick on her feet (literally and figuratively).

All that reading of the Bible and being secretary to administrative work, listening in to speechs of a very well-spoken and well-read man, and having to defend her faith and later on seduce and manipulate people paid off dividends.

Likes

Books.

After being forced to read and study the Bible and other (verystrictly curated) books about Christianity over and over again, andbeing denied all manner of literature that ends up on thebarges--either overrun copies of cheap/generic adventure/romancestories, or hardcover copies of serious texts like that of history orphilosophy--Claudine finds herself enjoying finally seeing all the“blasphemous and subversive” material that Frollo has so warnedher will corrupt her mind and turn her away from God.

Philosophy interests her primarily, as she’s always been toldthat there is but One Truth, and that is (the Christianinterpretation of) God, and seeing all the many different ways peopleinterpret the meaning of life, what is our purpose, and the manydifferent explanations as to why we do the things we do interest her.

She develops a great interest in Psychology, especially theconcept of “mental gymnastics” whereby people bend overbackwards, go through hoops, and perform all manner of impressivefeats of reasoning and justification just to defend their beliefs,their choices, and their worldviews.

Of particular interest to her is religious extremism and hypocrisyin Religions of all forms, though for obvious reasons she studiesChristianity first and foremost, and second is the way Auradon’s peoplejustify their unfair and inherently skewed social order.

On a leisurely reading note, she really likes romancenovels, adventure stories, and “slice-of-life” works that showher how relationships are supposed to be, protagonists overcomingoverwhelming odds and their own hang-ups through determination,personal growth, and friendship, and how life is supposed to be whenyou’re lucky enough to be born into a (mostly) well-functioningfamily.

Fashion

Because of the limited materials on the Isle, Maleficent having amonopoly on most supplies, and the Evil Queen taking the lion’sshare of good stuff for herself and Evie, a broke and withoutconnections girl like Claudine was forced to rely on just two fashionstyles:

Highly conservative and simple dresses with long sleeves andskirts, and repurposed linens, and of course

Heavily modified and scandalized school uniforms that theiroriginal owners had outgrown and couldn’t find anyone to hand itdown to

She really rather enjoys the expanded choice she has here inAuradon, access to raw materials and fashion from all over the worldas now she can go to all the Well Intentions branch in Auradon Cityand pick-up all the “pre-loved” items for a pittance, planoutfits in advance without fear of it getting stolen, and justgenerally mix-and-match with more styles, designs, and moods than sheever thought possible

It also helps that Esmeralda bonds with her by doing each others’hair and make-up, making outfits for each other that express thesexuality they’re so comfortable with than hide it like mostAuradonians do, along with assisting the drives for collecting goodsand items for the less fortunate

This is both for the ostracized and forgotten of Auradon, and thepeople of the Isle of the Lost. “True, they could just scavenge itfrom the trash, but it feels so much better to open a box that wasmeant for you specifically.”

Confident and Principled Public Figures

Personal bias: Claudine is a VERY big fan of my interpretation ofElsa in the Descendants universe, modeling herself after her assomeone who is not willing to just let awful systems thrive andquestionable decisions be because “that’s just the way thingsare,” be able to ignore her “Pharisees” without even givingthem the time of day, and she also rather enjoys the fact that theIce Queen is a Mistress of Sick Burns.

After living in a congregation of Yes People that just constantlyexcuse and justify everything in their mind so their fragileworldviews are never shattered, Claudine finds great admiration,respect—and if we’re being totally honest, sexual attraction—topeople that are willing to stand by their beliefs in the face offerocious unpopularity, threats and insults, and have unshakablefaith to one thing:

“The Actual Truth”

In her words, “What can I say? I get wet for someone whorises up and doesn’t back down until you give them a damn goodreason.”

Other people she admires for similar reasons include Queen Tiana,Queen Merida, Mulan, Consort Jasmine, Flynn Rider AKA King EugeneFitzhebert, Queen Rapunzel, King Aladdin, Queen Elena, Queen Belle,Maid Marian, Megara, King Ben, and Jordan

Peopleshe respects, but has something of an intense non-romanticlove-hate-but-mostly-hate relationship with include Sebastian, Zazu,Cogsworth, and Rafiki, all of whom have at some point or another beenher mentors in the art of logic, reasoning, politics, publicspeaking, and philosophy

(“Ifyou’re going to curse like a sailor, at least enunciate your fourletter words properly!” - Cogsworth)

Shehas something of an odd inter-generational friendship with Lumiere,as her premiere sparring partner for “swords and slander” alongwith bonding over his checkered, “not entirely legal” past, andthe fact that, true to the stereotype, is her primary source ofromantic advice

Dislikes

RealityTV

Assomeone who dislikes plasticity, hypocrisy, and shallowness as muchas Claudine, Auradon “Reality TV” REALLY gets on her nerves.While nowhere near as trashy or awful as that of Jersey Shorehere, the point still remains that a lot of this shows areshowing carefully planned, scripted, and highly exaggerated versionsof events being pedaled as “the real, unedited thing.”

Claudinecan see right through the bullshit of the adventures of “The GoodSamaritans” with a quick Google search about all the good thingsthe show has actually done, and whether or not their workstuck after the end of the episode, and it gets even worse when shereads about (and sees for herself) the kind of complacency, lack ofcritical thinking, and shallowness excessive TV watching breeds.

Anddon’t get her started with the replies and the messages sentwhenever she criticizes the shows on Social Media…

Alongsideher fellow 3rd Wave VK Anthony Tremaine, she utterlydespises “the boob tube” and how something so good on paperbecame something so horrible in reality.

SocialMedia in General

Claudinedespises Social Media.

Shehates the careful cultivation of personas and outward looks thatdon’t nearly reflect the ugly realities, the careful cutting andpasting of which elements of your life to show off to others tryingto do the same. She hates the constant emphasis on number of friends,likes, and shares, as if that actually meant any sort of meaningfulachievement. She hates the fact that echo chambers, bias, and trollsare a thing there, constantly getting into arguments that she can’tend with her ultimate, never-fail rebuttal:

Kickingsomeone in the crotch, before flipping the bird at them.

Shehates how it just grows all the insecurities she has about beingostracized and left alone by everyone all over again. She hates thefact that it makes her hyper-aware of her appearance, that it bringsup her self-image issues when someone criticizes her for being toorisque, and she hates the fact that she finds herself constantlycomparing to other, prettier girls, with seemingly more perfectlives, and definitely healthy, happy, and not-abusive-nor-crazyparents and family lives.

Butmost of all, she hates that she can’t quit it.

Shehates the fact that “Outcasts” like her all over Auradon tend toconnect with each other on Social Media and the internet for avariety of reasons. She hates the fact that it’s one of her onlyreal platforms to express her opinion, use the voice that has beenconstantly shushed by her father and the congregation for so manyyears. She hates the fact that this very same thing that helpscultivate the “it’s always sunny and happy in Auradon” is alsothe one thing that is rapidly helping dismantle it as the Outcastsare now finding their voices once more, joining in solidarity withthe VKs to finally make Auradon a paradise for everyone.

Inher words, “I know I’m on Storybook like 16 hours a day,everyday—WHY DO YOU THINK I’M SO PISSED OFF ALL THE TIME?!”

Hypocritesand Opportunists

Thisis the reason she does not get along very well with Audrey, Chad, orher fellow 3VK Richard “Rick” Ratcliffe: they’re incrediblyhypocritical, engaging in mean and cruel behaviour despite seeing andthinking themselves as “Good” people; incredibly keen on jumpingon every last opportunity to better themselves and will flag fromtheir principles as soon as it proves more convenient to switch sides when the going gets tough; or both.

Shehas lived ten years of her life praising and loving a man whoespoused himself as the epitome of Goodness and Righteousness in aland of Sinners and Heathens, and from both personal experience andhearing the other side of the story, learned just how much his actiondoesn’t match his rhetoric, the things he will believe and tellhimself and others in order to justify doing the exact opposite ofwhat it is he’s supposed to be doing.

ThatFrollo was also indirectly responsible for Claudine almost dying in afire doesn’t help.

Inher words, “You can’t do anything with someone that’ll get softand back down at the first sign of trouble, and you don’t wantanything to do with someone that’ll do everything and believeanything just to get their way.”

[ibrahim-obadiah-blog]

What happened at EverGreen College? (and any other college like it)

  So I'm pretty liberal as they come, I believe everyone should have fair chances, a fair piece of the pie of life. Even if they are down on their luck and self inflicted. I'm also fairly naive, someone who may suffer from Asperger Disorder and worry over how one would be perceived or treated by that. So i find my self royally confused of the events at the EverGreen College of Washington and similar situations involving the liberal ideal of political correctness. Now mind you, I want to "confess" on how I'm seeing this and how I just don't understand the lack of knowledge and evidence of biases regarding all this, so it may come off view-able as racist and biased all my own, which is not my intent at all, so here we go.   So I do understand the events that have taken place at this college, a day of remembrance of the importance of black people (from a play of some sort) and how they should be appreciated in the culture of the time after slavery was stopped. We wanted this ideal to hit home that despite your racist attitude toward black people, they have 'something' to offer, and we would have not progressed with out them, in mind and physical construct. And the school would always bring this up, every year (as we're told), to always be reminded of the fact. In fact, some students may have been encouraged to make this an actual thing, not come to school. Sure, seems a little strange, miss class because you want to appease this tradition, but to my understanding, people are suckers for tradition.   But this year, the/some students wanted to change this up, have white students leave instead of black student. Seems fine, really drive the tradition of this event to flip flop it so that we can remember the importance. I mean, the values of tradition and expectation always dissolve over time into obscurity. But one teacher felt this was missing the point, felt that the students shouldn't have white students leave because that maybe the black students were being unfair and just wanted white students to leave just because (i.e. being raciest). And this is where all hell broke loose, the students congregated together to really show their upset feeling toward this teacher. Yelling and chanting and this incessant need to be right, to really drive home how one’s opinion can effect another.

   Now most everybody already knows of the videos of these students attitudes and anger that took place, becoming one-sided either for or against the situation. I my self have some reservations for this nonsense, but getting stuck with who I should be siding with. On one hand, the students acted like teenagers, hormones so tight that anything rational would be looked as the devil trying to make the most obvious of requests seem credible. On the other hand, the teacher came off as making a huge assumption that the black students wanted white people to be removed because it was deserving. I just think this whole situation IMMEDIATELY made assumptions from both sides. The teacher thought the students racist and the students thought the teacher/event racist.

   But this is strange to me, trying to weigh in the severity of one form from another. The teacher (as well as every other person against this) made the assumption that the black students (probably not just exclusive to black students) wanted white students to leave because their is this mentality of an eye for an eye situation. Because of all the horrible history that black people have suffered from the hands of “Whitey” that the tables should be turned. It is now the white mans turn to suffer, so some how this event of pushing out white students will  be a decent pay back. But quite honestly, (at least from a lack of evidence) we don’t know the tone of the this request. It could have been a suggestion of changing the tradition or an actual raciest expression, I can only believe that nobody would willingly admit a racist thought to an email, especially if its to address on a school email.

   However, The teacher took great care in presenting his case. He articulated it in a VERY well meaning manner that we should not let our senses escape us. We are adults of education, we can not let assumptions rule us, because it is too easy. (okay, I am playing it up here a little, but that’s the over all feeling that came from his response). But despite that, the students cornered the teacher and faculty with their response, shouting and repeating their concern of what it feels like to be a minority/ black/ mistreated student.

   Okay, so we have students not happy with the teachers response, and a teacher not happy with the students response. Mixed feeling with how one should feel about the over all feelings, should we side with the teacher or the students? I see it as the teacher made a huge impact with his words while the students make ever changing small words that ruin their own reputations as well as the colleges reputation. Okay, prepare your self, because their is some bias gonna be taking place, but I just need to express my own feelings and how I think about all this, please keep an open mind.

   On one hand, (siding with the students) I think the teacher made a huge assumption on the students character. Sure, it is common place that this SJW’ism has taken a strong stance on how people should think and degrading Society as a whole because they believe their feelings should come first. It becomes so easy to cry wolf when it has been shouted so many times before, it becomes a trap to everyone when traps are laid out everywhere. And the situation could have been avoided if we had not been so serious when tradition has been disrupted. What student wouldn’t be hyped to skip a day of class, (ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S VOLUNTARY) One day of this would NOT have made a difference or made major changes. And for basically believing this was a racist thing, and calling the students out for.

   But on the other hand, again, the teacher presented him self so FUCKING well that I can’t see how anybody would argue it. The risk of the racist card being pulled out WAY TO FUCKING OFTEN can cause a lot of damage. And he didn’t want that to happen to a school he attend longer than most of the students have, see it come crashing down. It is also wise to call out people of their bullshit when it becomes very prevalent. Because bullshit is toxic and can not linger, it has to be removed. Even during his time being hung by the students, he was still able to remain calm and collected. Because I’m sure he has years of experience of dealing with students who’s emotions are running wild.

   I’m sorry, but I can not side with the students on this one, their attitude and explanations for the excuse to rally are completely unjust. The history of the past and the issues going on today do not tie into the events with this college and should not be, or any other college.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KEEP AN OPEN MIND, I have hung ups about this as well, but I could never use some these points to justify my actions.

   What the students kept shouting and telling over and over again (not just in this situation) is the racist attitude that the United States have had on black people for ages. Controlling and dictating, how a black people should act, should present, should live and has scared so deeply that the children of children still feel it. (almost quite literally). And when one is reminded of these facts, it because extremely intolerable to listen to. It’s like a collective pain that strikes at any moment, for any reason, for who knows how long.

   Even though slavery ended a long time ago, and the events of Martin Luther King Jr., the sting is still reborn a new. The past does still take hold of black society today because there are those who just won’t let go of the idea of black people having power, rights and freedom of will.

BUT...

   (breaths in)

   I don’t think these can contribute to the events of the EverGreen College tantrum or others before it. When it comes to fairness, inclusion into a group, or equality, one must be open to objection. You must expect the fact that others may not listen or just disagree to your facts or intentions, regardless of where you come from.

   And it’s all based on the search for the truth. Sure, finding others who agree with your ideals is one of the greatest feeling ever, but to know that you are included to be challenged of your thoughts and ideas is far more rewarding than full on inclusion. The challenge to bring your A game to the table is an exciting experience, and will cause others to do the same. So when you have two high stacks players, the challenge goes beyond winning, it becomes something else that I can’t describe. (sorry for the cope out, but I’ve only tasted it once)

   I’ve heard people try to make the argument that slavery and segregation was so long ago that nobody could say they lived it and that kids these days are just acting out what their parents held in for a long time, but bigotry is still a thing in many black communities, so I would only be making my own assumptions. But I just do not agree with the eye for an eye mentality. (which is the over all feeling of the protest of these students) I’m trying to take a high road of self satisfaction. I mean, I very well want revenge on someone who would murder my family. But I can not hold the children or grand children of my murderer responsible for their actions.

      So that’s how I feel about all this, how it comes off as. Students acting like children (or not bringing their A game) and trying to get revenge for something that can not be put on white people of today. I do not see racism coming from the teachers mouth at EverGreen College or most the colleges that have spoken out over this whole issue of racism. Their is just very little evidence that forces me to believe the students point of view if their protest and act for termination of the teacher. (AND ANY OTHER TEACHER CAUGHT IN THE SPIDER WEB OF INTOLERANCE) My own race, knowledge, or feelings do not get to say to others how I should be treated. My actions are the only things that people pay attention to. (though most of the time is confusion because I suck as verbal communication and understanding emotions) And if you want to move on and not give me the time of day. that’s okay to. I’ll just brush it off and try better next time if I really wanted to talk to you.

   (If this post really made you upset or confused or pure hatred toward me, please bring your A game, I some what take things literal and might misunderstand what you mean. Its a fault all my own, but hey, whys shouldn’t you give me your best shot?)