#i apologise for the long post

[askchuuyanakahara]

poor dazai he's just worried

Dazai: "Just stick with your old man speech."

Chuuya: "Old man- oi! I'm not that much older than you!"

Chuuya: "I assume you're not gonna eat before coming over, right?"

Chuuya: "You're already freeloading off me, so you're gonna eat what I give you!"

Dazai: "Why didn't Chuuya let me know he wanted me over this morning?"

Dazai: "I've never been to Chuuya's with an invitation before."

Chuuya: "And I'm a bit too busy to do that right now."

Dazai: "I guess we can't say no, huh?"

[iwillstabyou]

TMAGP 31 - A Computer Nerd’s Breakdown Of The Error Logs

It’s round 3, bitches! (tumblr crashed twice when I was writing this so I’ve had to start again multiple times. I do in fact see the irony, considering the subject matter)

I was listening to TMAGP 31 and as a computer nerd, oh my god those error messages just HIT DIFFERENT. There are so many subtle details hiding in those lines that a typical non-computery person would probably miss, so I feel it is my duty to explain them and their possible implications. So that’s why I’ve decided to fully break down each part of the error report, complete with what they could potentially suggest — think of this as “the TMAGP theorist’s guide to deciphering Chester’s yapping”

So without further ado, let’s get this party started…

(NOTE: lines from the transcript are in red, ‘translations’ are in purple, jmj specific stuff is is green, explanations are in black)

Starting off with Category: fatal programmer error, notice it says programmer, not program. There is nothing wrong with the code - the user has truly fucked up. Uh oh, Colin has made a big mistake…

Also, clever double meaning here with the word fatal. Obviously we know it was fatal to Colin (RIP king 🥲), but error logs also typically have a criticality level describing if immediate action needs to be taken. There are 6 commonly used levels, with the most critical being, yep you guessed it, ‘fatal’ - this means that whatever Colin was doing was a critical threat to the system. In other words, Colin had figured out the problem and was dangerously close to fixing it so Freddie just went “oh shit, we need to deal with this guy quickly or we are in serious trouble.”

Then we’ve got the next line, attempted host compromise (the Errno611 isn’t significant - error codes vary from system to system). When it comes to network terminology, a host is basically just any device on the network, so in full this line basically means “somebody’s tried to damage part of the network.” Importantly, “host” seems to suggest that the computers aren’t the source of this evil but merely a vessel for it. Freddie is just the mouthpiece for these supernatural forces - a bit like a non-sentient (as far as we know…) avatar. Whatever these forces are, they didn’t come from within/they weren’t created by Freddie.

(NOTE: I will come back to jmj=null in a bit)

The program traceback, Traceback <module> by extension BECHER, is rather interesting. A network extension is a way of providing network access to remote users (think along the lines of a VPN) by creating a personal direct ‘route’ to the network. Therefore if it’s the subject of an error report, it means there’s been an issue with data transmission along that path. So this bit means “there’s a problem with this specific network route that’s allocated to Colin.” However, the darker implication here is that Colin is an extension of Freddie. Although he wasn’t initially a part of all of this, he’s become tangled in the web (no pun intended) to the point that he and Freddie are inseparably intertwined. The OIAR employees may be able to quit their jobs, but they’ll still be a part of Freddie…

There isn’t much to say about Host=self.host in this context. It’s just convention when it comes to object oriented programming. Not important here.

Extension BECHER compromised isn’t just saying “there’s an issue here.” It’s saying “there’s an issue here that is a serious threat to network operation.” In other words, Freddie’s going “uh oh. Colin needs to be dealt with.”

The next bit is pretty self explanatory. I really don’t think I need to explain what <hardware damage_crowbar> means for you guys to understand. This bit made me laugh so hard. One thing that’s interesting though is that it gave it a DPHW, so Freddie processed this like it was an incident… Perhaps this fully confirms that the ‘thing’ controlling Freddie is of the same origin as the cases - it’s not something else entirely?

And now onto Administrator privilege revoked. This was the moment when I fully realised “oh no. Colin is fucked,” because any control that Colin may have had over the situation is now gone for good. Freddie’s basically just said “fuck you Colin. You’re not in charge anymore. I am.”

As you can probably guess, Unexpected data isolated/resolved just means that the crowbar’s been dealt with and the program can run as usual. Similarly, the Colin threat is fixed now he’s not an administrator i.e. he can no longer control the system. However, it then gets weird with Independent operation permissions revoked… It’s not saying Colin can’t use the network independently, it’s saying that Colin can’t be used independently of the network. Remember what I was saying earlier about Colin being a part of Freddie? Yeah, well now he purely is a part of Freddie. They’re turning our boy into data!

NOTE: I know in the audio it said everything was discarded but I’m going by the transcript. Idk why they’re different

You know it’s a bad sign when you hear Re config: self.host - Freddie’s evolving. The network is literally reconfiguring itself to now include Colin. And then Freddie goes through each of his alchemical elements one by one and fucking deletes them! How rude. You go and eat this man only to spit everything out!? I guess he’s feeling generous though, because he decides to keep the sulphur, which in alchemy, refers to the soul… If this isn’t just a coincidence, then that means Colin’s actual soul has been uploaded to Freddie. That could be really cool. And messed up. But mostly cool.

Starting with the final line, everyone knows what New administrator permissions assigned means, but we don’t know yet who they’ve been assigned to. Maybe it’s Gwen? Maybe it’s a new character? Maybe there is no system administrator anymore? It’s a mystery.

Now that’s out the way, let’s get on to the real juicy stuff…

The top few lines are pretty simple - it’s Freddie’s way of saying “Colin was a problem. We ate him. Now he’s not a problem anymore.” The next line, however, is a reminder that none of this is simple” - .jmj error not resolved. There it is again. The infamous jmj error. What does it mean? Jon? Martin? Jonah? Is that you???? Nobody knows. One thing we do know though is that jmj=null (from the start of the error log). Now when it comes to interpreting values, null is weird. It’s not zero, it’s not empty, it’s sort of nothing but it’s not nothing. It’s just null. It means no value, but it doesn’t mean that the variable doesn’t have a value (if that makes any sense to you guys???). Ooh I think I know how to explain it?? Imagine you’re Jonathan Sims, head archivist of the Magnus Institute and you’re digitising some archived ID photos when you find one without a name. The recorded name in the database would be null - you can’t put anything in particular, but that doesn’t mean the person in the photo doesn’t have a name. I guess null means unknown or missing here. So basically, what jmj=null means is that the jmj is unknown and that is a problem because it can’t get ignored/it is important. So what it’s basically saying is that jmj is a mystery not only to us, but also to Freddie.

Take a look at Data integration cycle ongoing <0.02%> - Data integration is the process of combining data from multiple sources into a single source of truth. There are 4 stages: data ingestion, cleaning, transformation, and unification. Thanks to the whole Colin ordeal, I’m sure you are all quite familiar with these stages by now (and that, students, is what we call a case study!). The peculiar thing here though is that we’ve just witnessed most of the data integration cycle - surely it should be higher than 0.02%? Yes, that’s correct. It should be far higher than that. It makes no sense. UNLESS this isn’t about Colin. Most of Colin’s data has probably already integrated. This is something else entirely - something so much bigger and foreign than these computers were designed for (the only comparison I can think of is trying to run the sims 4 with all expansion packs on a 15 year old laptop. It really shouldn’t work, and it probably won’t, but it’s gonna try regardless). This seems to follow on nicely from the jmj=null comments above, because Freddie is clearly struggling to integrate something (hence System function margins down to 82%), and when you try to read data that hasn’t been fully integrated with the system, you end up with a lot of missing & unknown values. Sound familiar? Yep, that’s right - until more data is synchronised, many values will be null, like our good friend jmj. Why is it taking so long to integrate jmj? We don’t know. Perhaps its origins are so supernatural and otherworldly that it’s simply not tangible enough for Freddie to process it? That’s what I think at the moment, at least.

So yeah, that’s my line by line analysis done! Hope you found that helpful/interesting. This podcast is so well written I’m actually going insane! Jonny and Alex, you are the guys of all time! As I’ve already said, feel free to expand on any of this - I’d love to hear your theories

Signed, your friendly neighbourhood computer nerd who is very autistic about TMAGP :)

[tennant]

David Tennant as Fourteenth Doctor DOCTOR WHO (2005-) 60th Anniversary Specials: "Wild Blue Yonder" (2023)

[roxirinart]

Aventurine... You've Gotta Hand It To Him

An in-depth analysis of Aventurine's hands and why they're critical to his character.

Was asked if I could post this (VERY LONG) analysis I made all about Aventurine's hands - niche, perhaps, but I love him very much and he has a LOT of focus placed on his hands in almost every aspect of his story/design! I think it makes for a really neat insight into his character. Let’s go! 2K words or so so we're under a 'read more', folks :P Hope someone finds it interesting :)

Content warning for (very brief mentions of) sexual theming and violence.

I MIGHT be reaching with some of this but I tried to make sure everything was in order, so if there are any inaccuracies lmk! I'm Always on the lookout for more valuable Avencheem lore 😋

The Avgin - Culture and Symbolism

Kakavasha was born 'blessed' with unnaturally good luck by the Avgin goddess, Gaiathra Triclops, who is often depicted as a left palm with three eyes upon it. If we assume that therefore, someone’s left hand is representative of Gaiathra, then we can draw some interesting conclusions! 

When reciting Gaiathra’s prayer, the typical accompanying gesture is for two participants to put their left palms together while saying it, which - by ‘covering’ Gaiathra’s eyes with each other’s palms, they are (as per the words of the prayer) ‘keeping their schemes forever concealed’.

In the version of Aventurine’s boss form that was removed from the Divergent Universe, he has an attack that changes name for each phase of the fight, as follows:

Phase 1: “Eyes Once Closed for Lies”, 

Phase 2: “Eyes Twice Closed for Trickery”

Phase 3: “Eyes Thrice Closed for Schemes”. 

This suggests that the symbolic act of Gaiathra closing her eyes is blessing the person in question not to have their lies, trickery, or schemes revealed - “I do not perceive it, nor shall anyone else.” This is important to the Avgin, as they seem to have a cultural focus on underhanded methods of achieving their goals, although this was blown greatly out of proportion by prejudice from other Sigonians, and (later) the wider cosmos. The game’s loading screen description of the Avgin is as follows:

“‘Avgin’ means ‘honey’ in the Sigonian language, yet those who irrationally fear Avgins unjustifiably distort the word's meaning to perpetuate Avgin stereotypes that portray them as crafty, smooth-talking, and capricious.”

Sparkle, when talking to Aventurine, also describes the Avgin as “...notorious throughout the entire universe! Liars, thieves, social manipulators, wolves in sheep's clothing... You're really living up to the reputation.”

The Avgin’s reputation as essentially ‘evil’ people, and the clear cultural and religious importance they place upon one’s left hand specifically, can reveal some interesting things about them (and therefore about Kakavasha):

In the real world, the left hand is very commonly considered to be the ‘wrong’ or ‘evil’ hand across many religions and cultures. The word ‘sinister’ (which may be a good descriptor for Aventurine’s behavior, or at least peoples' perception of him given how other characters react to him during the main questline) comes from a Latin word that means ‘on the left side’.

The French word for left, ‘gauche’ was borrowed back into english to mean ‘lacking social grace’ - and with Aventurine’s way of getting all up in peoples’ faces, grandstanding, being provocative, etc., it seems that ‘gauche’ isn’t a bad descriptor for him, either.

In the early 20th century, left-handedness was identified as ‘a biological anomaly, associated with deviancy but something that could be corrected away with behavioral reinforcement’.

Likewise, in the middle ages in England, left-handed people were more likely to be accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Sounds familiar when compared to the way Sigonia treated the Avgin - as evildoers, tricksters, backstabbers, etc.,

If the Avgin were so ‘left-handed’ in all senses of the phrase, then… perhaps the ‘behavioral correction’ they received could be justified...?

It is reinforced several times throughout both written lore and during gameplay that the Avgin’s beautiful appearances and high emotional intelligence were a source of jealousy to other clans and races, hence the perpetuation of the Avgin’s negative reputation - one that Aventurine ends up playing into, often intentionally.

Why bother trying to change the stereotype if he can use it to his advantage? Besides, it’s not like getting rid of the Avgins’ negative rep will help them now, anyway.

All this is to say that the concept of hiding your true intentions with your left hand - ‘keeping your cards close to your chest’, ‘bluffing’, ‘having an ace up your sleeve’, knowing when to ‘show your hand’ - is a huge overarching theme for the Avgin, and therefore for Aventurine.

Notice that a LOT of sayings to do with hiding things from others or manipulating people’s impressions of you and what they think you might do come from poker or other card games! I can’t think of any universe where the devs did that by accident. Nice work, devs!

The Left Hand

‘Sleight of hand’ is the name of Aventurine’s game, and he sure knows how to play it. ‘Sleight’ means “the use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive”, so naturally the suffix ‘- of hand’ brings Aventurine’s hands to the forefront as one of his main tools of the trade!

However, the devs once again outdid themselves - each of Aventurine’s hands is representative of parts of his character in very different ways.

Everything about Aventurine is designed to cleverly divert attention away from his real thoughts and feelings.

I’ll get the obvious out of the way: Aventurine’s left hand (as previously discussed) is critically important to his character. It represents so many things for him both visually and otherwise.

If you’re a regular Aventurine enjoyer it’s likely you know about his habit of hiding his left hand behind his back when he’s nervous or making a big (or life-threatening) gamble - but why?

He’s specifically hiding Gaiathra’s hand. I don’t think it’s a coincidence; Aventurine - by hiding away what is essentially a physical representation of his goddess - is ‘closing her eyes’, so he cannot be seen through (even if it’s purely subconscious).

He wants people locked onto his gaze and away from the hand he’s clutching Gaiathra’s ‘blessing’ of good luck so tightly with. (Note: the ironic nature of Aventurine’s relationship with his cursed blessing isn’t lost on me, but that’s another day’s essay. :))

This habit of hiding his left hand behind his back is (once you’re looking for it) very common in the majority of his animations, art, cinematics, and other various media, like in his character trailer when he’s about to reveal the result of his big dice roll; in a specific animation during his bossfight, where he’s actively banking on losing so he can carry out his ‘grand death’ (‘clutching his chips for dear life’, as his future self put it…); the idle animation where he’s fidgeting with one of his poker chips; or in the ‘Final Victor’ light cone, where he is playing russian roulette with his own life just to prove a point to Dr. Ratio (which was a little excessive, perhaps…).

Usually, having a hand behind your back is considered to be suspicious: you’re hiding something, perhaps a weapon.

And for Kakavasha, out of fear and knowing it’ll give him the upper hand, he hides his own weapon behind his back: the physical representation of all his schemes, strategies, lies, trickery, and tactics - and the last Avgin palm to touch another’s.

Perhaps in relation to his particularly strong connection with Gaiathra, Aventurine is also left-handed! Evidence? Sure!

As a general ‘fashion rule’ (and for practicality), wristwatches are worn on the non-dominant hand, and someone as fashion-conscious as Aventurine would very likely be aware of this. His watch is on his right wrist.

Additionally, he wears no rings on his left hand because writing or similar activities would be a pain to do with that much jewelry on. Further evidence can be found in this phone wallpaper of him released by Hoyoverse: he’s holding his phone with his left hand, and people usually operate their phones with their dominant hand. Similarly, in one of the many videos on the Hoyoverse YouTube channel (I’m sorry I don’t know which one it’s from), he goes to grab his tablet off the bedside table with his left hand, too.

The Right Hand

Aventurine’s character is, at its core, is all about defense. Protecting himself from harm, shielding his thoughts and feelings from others, creating an impenetrable barrier of flashy clothing and fake smiles to conceal his true self - this all presents in his moveset in battle, too.

He’s a preservation-class, shield-providing character. The critical thing to note is this: his defense all happens on the right hand. This includes his skill (throwing out chips with his right hand to shield his teammates), and his technique, which generates an additional shield for the team before the start of battle. 

His right hand ‘shields’ him both literally and metaphorically in this sense. He wears all his rings on his right hand, because that’s the hand he wants you to focus on, the pretty, sparkly one with all the flashy jewelry and expensive wristwatch, the one that’s extended for you to shake (he shakes with his right hand), the only part of him most people get to touch. A part of the body furthest away from his heart, dazzling and defensive.

The outermost, superficial layer.

It’s the hand that more often performs captivating little coin tricks out in the open to catch people’s attention, keeping them focused on something that’s within his control, because so much of his life isn't.

On The Attack

Here’s the kicker though - this makes his left hand the attacking hand. When push comes to shove (or when he feels he needs to strike first), Aventurine lashes out with Gaiathra’s hand.

As mentioned before, his weapons are his schemes, his secrets, his tricks, his lies - and the hand holding all those chips so tightly is his left, the lucky hand, the one that has brought him success and saved his life time and time again.

Ultimately, it all comes down to relying on his raw luck to push him through (whether he's happy about that or not) when all his other methods of attack have been stripped away - and his hand trembles, because having to make a blind bet that his goddess (who did nothing to stop his family being massacred, yet is both cruel and benevolent enough to keep him alive) will save him yet again must be really fucking terrifying.

When Your Hands Are Tied...

Looking at both hands together, a design choice which I believe to be deliberate is the way he has bracelets of some variety over both his wrists. It’s a subtle imitation of manacles; he may have escaped his iron ones, but Aventurine now lives in golden handcuffs instead, bound by social shackles instead of physical ones.

He’s still a slave - just not in the traditional sense.

To my understanding (someone please correct me if I'm wrong, his timeline has some annoying gaps in it even though I tried very hard to figure it out ;-;), technically Aventurine legally belongs to the IPC.

He killed his most recent owner and so escaped his that particular ownership, sure, but when he barters with Jade, he asks her to pay him the ‘remainder of his market value’, which insinuates that it would therefore give him ownership of himself.

However, Jade doesn’t simply hand over the money: she pulls him into a job contract - a new form of imprisonment - without ever giving him real legal autonomy, never officially declaring him a free man. His hands are invisibly tied - bound by corporate and social 'manacles' to his job.

"Out, Damned Spot!"

Speaking of manacles, let’s talk about the ‘Hunger Games’, shall we?

Kakavasha is, at some indeterminate point, entered into a spectator sport where he is forced to fight thirty-four other slaves to the death.

It is mentioned that he has no other weapon than the bindings on his wrists and the chain between them - and he emerges ‘victorious’ (physically the victor... perhaps not mentally or emotionally, though).

In the quest notes during Aventurine’s (literal) trip through the maze while he’s making his way to the stage for his grand finale, he describes himself with the word ‘murderer’, showing that he’s clearly distraught by what happened and resents himself for it. 

Following on from this, a possible interpretation of the design choice to have Aventurine wear gloves is for him to (figuratively) hide the blood on his hands.

Aventurine’s gloves simultaneously create a literal barrier between himself and the world, and work as another piece of fancy clothing to add to his impenetrable, sparking defense. The closest match I could find to the style of Aventurine’s gloves are short dress gloves or wrist gloves, which are specifically fashion items as opposed to practical ones.

(As a cheeky little aside, the absolute closest style match I could find for his gloves are latex or leather womens’ gloves most commonly used in BDSM, which is fun! Maybe I’m reaching, but I like to think it’s a subtle way of making him more effeminate - and in Aventurine’s case, therefore a subtle call to his sexuality imo - and also another little detail to help push his ‘provocative’ appearance and demeanor.)

Conclusion

Our hands are how we interact with the world. In Aventurine’s case, they’re how he keeps the world pushed as far away from himself as possible, all the while gripping onto his ‘good luck’ for dear life.

Aventurine’s hands are his weapons, his shield, his faith, his fear, and his guilt, decorated with jeweled rings and bound in golden handcuffs.

Ultimately, when Aventurine offers to lend a hand to the Trailblazer, when he shows Sunday his hand (and a bit more besides) during their meeting, and when he forces Acheron’s hand during his bossfight, it's so that his own hands are free to do whatever he needs to orchestrate his greatest scheme yet...

...for better or worse.

[feelo-fick]

WHY has no one talked about these panels. fuck it its 12 am (at the time of me "finishing" (<- not even close) writing this, its nearly 2 am) im going to talk about them

ahem.

before i get to the Main Point i wanna discuss chils tendency to spiral into his thoughts

like, sure, yeah, he's a reasonable guy. real logical-- but he tends to rush through so many possibilities and in this scene even berates himself for his tiny mistake. every thought in this scene goes so fast to me here, just "snap snap snap, call for help, no thatll attract too much attention- wait is there a switch? crap its too far away- nevermind lets just wait for marcille- but can i trust her with that?? god im so stupid, am i just gonna be trapped here until morning???" and it takes a moment for him to stabilise and snap out of it

like... he even has a little pep talk about it

i guess you could take this as him merely being a quick thinker? but i highly doubt it -- look at this fucking guy.

anyways. hes always got to be eased out of it one way or another, whether that be complainerism (self-explanatory), strategising with another person (that way all the insecure thoughts get pushed to the back in favour of working together), reassuring himself (discussed above) or...

you. could.

distract him.

place a brick wall in front of that zooming train of thought and watch it crash and burn :)

he doesnt even respond in that first pic, by the way. in fact, he doesnt say anything for another 3 (and a bit) pages, and by then the topic has been safely switched (granted those three pages are just marcille and laios making the familiars, but i feel it still stands that there was no response at all, not even visually)

secondly, in that other instance -- see how his eyes go wide as saucers when contact is made? and how they turn into pinpricks once he looks back**? god. and. like.

oh. fuck. ive gottta continue this in a reblog since ive reached the picture limit on mobile -- i am not even a THIRD of a way through all my thoughts on this- we didnt even get to my footnote!! sit tight everyone :)

[lav3nder-bees]

adeuce art compilation in honour of heartslabyul’s dreams and because quite frankly i miss them ❤️💙

[jiyuu-zou]

fratboy!gojo

--pov: u take a candid polaroid of ur occasional campus booty call.... (he's actually in love with you)

✧ // please do not use/edit or trace my work. do not post my work anywhere outside of tumblr without my permission.

[half-an-hour-hence]

As a relatively new fan of the show, one of my favourite things about Ghosts is the range of relationships there are. Media nowadays is so obsessed with romantic relationships and forcing romantic tension between characters where it just doesn’t exist. Ghosts doesn’t do that. Yes, there are canon romantic relationships, but they are either a) pre-established, or b) are set up in a way that feels completely natural. But there are so many more friendships and so much platonic love between the ghosts that is honestly very refreshing to see. Each connection has different unique qualities, whether that be between Julian and Robin, or Fanny and the Captain, or Thomas and Pat - just to name a few. You can really believe that they’re good friends, despite them being from different eras and have completely different world views and personalities. Another relationship I absolutely love is the father-daughter relationship between Kitty and the Captain. They make me cry. The Captain is always there to provide comfort and warmth to Kitty when she doubts herself or is upset, and Kitty in turn teaches the Captain many valuable lessons about learning to appreciate the time he has. They’re such a heartwarming duo and I’ll probably never stop talking about how much I love them.

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

okay so i finally finished it... allow me to present a comprehensive, chronological compilation of miles and alex singing *THAT* moment in standing next to me for the whole eycte tour 🌟

this video took me the better part of two months to make, and cost me a not insignificant part of my sanity (related: i may never want to hear this song again), so yeah... i hope you enjoy 😅

[captain-ghost]

Unfriendly reminder that the kindest thing Owen's mother had done for him in his memory was help him pack his bags so he could move out at 16.

[sillygoofyqueer]

I'm doing a second post of the mad scientist AU today because I have a headache and I'm certain that thinking too hard about the lore will help it!! Okay so now that they're finally OUT of the cave, I think I can finally talk about how Wen Qing and Wen Ning fit into this AU. YAAAYYY YIPPEE YAY!!! Okay anyway, obviously Wei Ying is dropped into the Wen ranks pretty early on in his life (six years old) and both of Wen Ruohan's sons are both older than him - as much as Wen Chao acts like a younger sibling, he is around one to two years older than Wei Ying. While that would usually classify as good playmate age, this is Wen Chao before he's realised that Wen Ruohan gives attention to Wei Ying - he's going to be a dick. But it's fine, Wen Ruohan has a nephew who is just the right age to hang out with Wei Ying!! Cue six year old Wen Ning being placed down in front of him and looking like he's going to burst into tears at the slightest hint of anything bad happening.

Wei Ying may be six years old but he still has memories of his papa telling him how to approach wild animals so he ignores all of that and goes "hi!!! I'm Wei Ying!! Let's go exploring," not giving Wen Ning a chance to even react before he's being dragged along through the palace. Wen Ning is just staring at this kid as he's handed different rocks when they get into the gardens, unsure of how to react to someone who doesn't mock and laugh at his timidness. Of course, they have a few more of these meetings with Wen Ning being hesitant and skittish, Wei Ying completely crashing through the air of tension to yapper on about whatever catches his fancy in the moment, not requiring Wen Ning to speak but still waiting patiently and nodding along if he does so happen to feel comfortable enough to try and stutter through a quiet response to a question.

During one of these meetings, they bump into other Wen juniors, who of course take the opportunity to try and assert dominance over the newbie picked up by Wen-Zongzhu by mocking the weak link, Wen Ning. Unlike Wen Ning, who curls in on himself naturally and avoids eye contact, Wei Ying fucking lunges at the closest junior. His mama and baba always told him to stick up for the ones he cares about (and also how to fight dirty because nobody expects a child to be able to fight, let alone fight dirty), and he cares about the timid, quiet kid that he hangs out with all the time! Later on, after he has been torn off the juniors with a busted lip, a broken nose and a black eye - holding his ground quite well considering it was like five against one - he meets Wen Qing, a stern twelve year old (yes six years age difference because if I'm not being given an estimated age I'll do what I WANT) who attacks him with medical supplies and a flurry of questions.

Now, Wen Qing was not told about Wei Ying and Wen Ning hanging out, Wen Ruohan not saying anything because he didn't find it necessary and Wen Ning because he thought that Wen Qing already knew anyway. So, when she asks this tiny child why he attacked children older than him and he says "well they were bullying my friend because he's shy so I had to stop them!" There's only one kid that's bullied a lot for being shy, and Wen Qing is now far more interested in what Wei Ying has to say, letting him start yapping about Wen Ning and how silly but kind he is without even speaking all that much (or, ever really). She asks if he's bothered about that, and he goes "nuh uh, mama and baba always said that some people just have different word limits every day, and they like to save their words for important things!" It is possible that Wen Qing has gained a new little brother as she rubs ointment into his skin, telling him not to brawl with the other kids again and just to tell her if they bother him and Wen Ning. She'll deal with them.

So, Wei Ying grows up with the Wen siblings as companions. While Wen Ning and Wen Qing are well aware of the outside world and how the clans really are, they are being threatened into silence by Wen Ruohan because obviously he's going to threaten these kids, they're not ruining his pet project. Every time Wei Ying starts to talk about the other clans, they divert the topic instead of straight up lying to him because they don't want to lie to him if they can avoid it! With a bright, social boy leading him around, it only makes sense for Wen Ning to get at least a little more social and confident as they grow up together. Plus, when Wei Ying starts his experiments, Wen Qing sort of has to be around both to 'assist with the biology of it all' and to make sure that Wei Ying isn't being too negatively impacted by the resentful energy (this is a secret venture, and not one that goes very well when he starts secreting himself away after the first death by his hands).

When Xue Yang comes into the equation, the Wen siblings are wary. This kid is definitely strange and almost immediately starts enabling Wei Ying's terrible self care habits and is the only one allowed to be in the boy's experiment space/personal quarters anymore, which is frustrating when all one is trying to do is make him sleep. However, they've also seen how he devours food quickly, as though trying to eat it before it is snatched away from him (and how he throws it all up later and stubbornly refuses help). They've been in the room when he takes short naps like a cat, jolting himself awake with the first sudden sound in his vicinity. They've seen how desperately loyal he is to Wei Ying, how he bristles at anything negative said about the boy and clings to him for comfort in rare moments of vulnerability. It's possible to feel sympathetic and wary at the same time, even if it becomes harder to be wary with every subtle bit of trust they hand over to each other whenever it needs to be given. He soon becomes part of the group, even helping with Wen Ning's confidence (even if it's just to ward off against his strange insults/teasing).

[flordemurta]

Falling in love with the statues at the Vatican Museum is truly beyond words. That said, I’ll do my best not to flood everyone with endless photos from my trip to Italy — specifically Rome and the Vatican — though I must admit, I did take an overwhelming number of pictures.

[askchuuyanakahara]

is the dazai plush ur puppy's new chew toy now

Chuuya: "I'm gonna buy her some actual toys to play with later."

@vinntea

Chuuya: "I don't think Ane-san would dogsit and my boy Akutagawa doesn't like dogs."

Chuuya: "I'm just gonna keep Yoshiko to myself for now."

Chuuya: "Sorry, but I don't think I will. It doesn't feel right to have Yoshiko running around someone's wedding like that."

Chuuya: "I want her to relax and have fun! And setting her up with a job doesn't really sound like the best plan."

Chuuya: "Really."

Dazai: "Seriously! Why would I want to steal your stinky mail anyway? I have no use for it."

Chuuya: "Hey- where do you think you're going so suddenly?!"

Chuuya: "I think you have something she wants in your pocket."

Dazai: "Just keep your mutt away from me!"

Chuuya: "Was Dazai eating dog treats again..?"

Chuuya: "...."

[essycogany]

Hot Take! Nine’s Redemption Arc Was Rushed

I’m usually positive on this blog, but I believe it’s important to have a balance. This’ll be my longest post yet, so buckle your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Quick Positive Points

I like the idea of an antagonistic Tails. Nine’s amazingly voiced by a VA I recognize. His design is awesome. His attitude and sarcasm can be entertaining. Nine saving Sonic’s skin when dealing with the Chaos Council was nice. The scene with Nine and Mr.Doctor Eggman talking about Sonic is one of my favorite moments. The thought of creating robots who look like the other characters as if Nine still wanted friends was neat. (even if he tried to kill with them) And despite my grievances, I thought Nine’s hug with Sonic at the end was adorable. The animation is what helped with that.

Introduction

While I do like Nine, I’m going to talk about my glaring issues with his character development. I can see both sides of the argument, but let me tell you why there’s more proof of Nine not being well written. I will implore you to think for yourselves regardless of what I have to say. We all have our opinions and I’m only here to share mine.

Nine’s Characterization

This is how the fox carry himself throughout the show and why most of it isn’t written well. I’ll state my issues with Sonic in certain moments too.

Season One

Nine’s reasonably defensive at first when Sonic came to his home out of nowhere. He became annoyed by Sonic’s immaturity yet concerned for him once they’re captured. After they meet the Rebels, his sassiness begins to show. Replying “You’re welcome,” after saving Sonic by taking control of Rusty. Having a direct and harsh tone when advising others to take the Chaos Council’s shard. And not seeming to care about the rest of the group who gets trapped with Mr. Doctor Eggman.

Nine: “Sonic we have to get to the core!” “You heard her come on!” This I understand because Nine doesn’t know them, so they don’t really matter to him. But then Nine dismisses Sonic’s feelings even after he asked “are you okay?” Because he noticed the hedgehog was a little off.

-Because Sonic started remembering the events that happened to him before he broke the Paradox Prism.

After Sonic realized the prism shattering was his fault Nine says, “Snap back to reality! Grab that shard and we’ll sort the rest out later!” Then when Sonic stated the original Tails told him not to touch it Nine states, “Well, I’m telling you the opposite! Now grab it and let’s go!” Not realizing if Sonic is the reason for the prism being small, his original variant might’ve known touching it was a bad idea. I also can’t forget about these lines.

Sonic: “If there’s anyone who’s got the brains to put it all back together, it’s you.” Nine: “That’s the first thing you’ve said that I agree with.” Nice ego for a person who ends up getting Sonic sucked up by the prism after being warned. Back to what I was saying before, Nine seems to only care about stealing the shard away from the Eggmen here. Which is proven later on in season one. His care for Sonic has progressed, but Sonic learns from the Rebels that Nine abandoned them. And it’s never addressed by Sonic.

-Sonic also insist Nine’s “not a traitor” without any proof. Sonic hasn’t known Nine that long. The last time Sonic saw the fox, he ended up getting the hedgehog sucked into another shatterspace. Unless Sonic’s talking about Nine working with the group. But I’d argue it was more for Sonic and his own sake. Especially since Nine left the Rebels and Rusty at the drop of a hat.

When Nine comes to help Sonic, he shows off the Grim and discuss how it’s “Their bright new future.” Wanting to live in the Grim with Sonic. Even after the last time he saw Sonic, Nine knew how distraught Sonic felt about losing his home. Again, Sonic stated he believed Nine could put the prism back together. Meaning his original friends and world would come back. But Nine immediately assumes Sonic would be happy living with him for the rest of his life. Which is sweet on paper but very messed up in execution. I’ll get into why later. To be fair, Nine’s never had a friend before and was bullied for most of his life. His social skills aren’t the best and he isn’t use to caring about others. But even if Nine didn’t understand empathy, he has no reason to believe Sonic would forget about his home just because Nine didn’t care about his.

Nine: “That city hasn’t brought me anything but misery. I owe it nothing.” He hasn’t been around Sonic for long either, but Sonic’s demonstrated his loyalty before. By worrying about the Rebels instead of the shard while Nine did vise versa. Anyways, Sonic explains he needs to save the Rebels. Nine being Nine didn’t care about them, but came to help anyways because he “cared about Sonic.” I’d say Nine only helped because he thought Sonic would join him after getting the other shards, but that’s my opinion.

Nine: “With enough fortifications and enough shard energy, this could be home.” Because of this line, I believe he already knew about the other shards before Sonic. Which is also why he knew what Sonic was doing in season two. He also says, “When this is over, I’m going home and never looking back. Whether I go it alone is entirely up to you.” Still assuming things.

-Sonic doesn’t give Nine an answer for some reason. Only responding with “I knew you’d come back, buddy.” Projecting how he’d expect Tails to act. Which becomes a serious problem later.

Season Two

Throughout this season, Nine helped Sonic collect the shards. Which was a bonus to keep developing the Grim.

-Sonic and the Rebels have another debate on trusting Nine. At least this time when Sonic says “He saved you,” it’s true. Nine took down the Doctors before Sonic and co got killed. I’d still argue it was for Sonic, but Nine still saved their lives despite his intentions.

I’ll also admit when Mr.Doc used Nine, it was reasonable for him to feel as if he had no choice. He even apologizes to Sonic. We even learn how Nine first fount the Grim and see him make a hammock for Sonic. But the positives goes down hill once we get into the shard chase between Nine, Sonic, and the villains. Once away from the Docs Sonic stated, “Oh, things are finally coming together. We’ve got the shards! We can finally fix everything!” He’s still obviously talking about Green Hill and his friends. But Nine doesn’t notice this. Instead he says, “It’s going to be perfect.” Very specific you two. Nine seems to suddenly believe Sonic changed his mind and Sonic still thinks Nine and Tails are one and the same.

Dude even calls the fox “Tails Nine,” while introducing him to another character. What are the odds? Later on Nine says, “If you like surprises, wait until you see what I’ve got going on in the Grim.” Sonic responds with, “Grim? Cool. Can’t wait to here more. But right now, we’ve gotta get to Ghost Hill.” Talking as if if the Grim was an afterthought. Then the two talk about bringing the prism back together without knowing what the other’s thoughts were behind it.

Even if they didn’t have time to discuss things, I think they should’ve explained something to each other during the chase or before Sonic left to help the Rebels in S1. That way the unfortunate occurrence could’ve been avoided later on, but we’ll cross that bridge soon enough. Anyways, after the goose chase, they meet up with Shadow, who reasonably doesn’t trust Nine.

-The Blue blur defended the fox again with his projecting his friends onto strangers self. It’s also weird how often this dude doesn’t listen to anyone while also wondering why no one won’t listen to him.

After Nine put one of the shards back together and it brought everything back for a split second. Sonic: “Reality was flipping out over here.” “Green Hill was back and so were my friends.” Which must’ve went in and out of Nine’s ears because this show has no time for the characters to communicate properly. Instead of listening, Nine interrupts the hedgehog and shenanigans ensues.

After said shenanigans, another argument scene happens. Except somehow, it’s worsts then the last. I’ll criticize both characters. I want to address the “Sonic projecting” discussion first. I know people think Sonic’s wrong for doing it (he is) but I believe he’s doing it as a coping mechanism. Since his friends are replaced by ghost who repeat themselves and a bunch strangers who look like them, he might not be able to help it. I give him a bit of slack because we all know what he’s been through. Prime!Sonic is also a very sincere version of Sonic who instantly feels guilt. Even if he doesn’t completely understand what he did wrong.

For example, in the first episode, Tails didn’t tell Sonic why he was upset with him. He just said, “It’s cool really.” Tails brushes things off instead of discussing them. I can see where Sonic is coming from. What I won’t excuse is Sonic having a terrible amount of trust in Nine. I’ll discuss this in S3’s issues. And the rest I’ll summon up to Sonic never addressing problems which might’ve needed to be addressed. Like Green Hill almost coming back and other stuff I’ve already mentioned. Onto the fox. This argument might be a great time for Nine to explain what his plans are instead of saying, “We’re not making your old world. We’re building a better one.” Implying Sonic’s original world is inferior and he should deal with it being gone.

When Sonic says, “I think we can get it back.” Nine responds with, “You’re wrong about that.” Despite Sonic in the same episode said minutes before, “Green Hill was back and so were my friends.” Did the fox forget? Is he lying? Or does he not care? I’ll go with the writers forgetting about this line since it never gets mentioned again. Which seems to be a trope in this show. I understand Sonic’s done plenty of wrong when it comes to Nine as well, but I don’t see how Sonic wanting to fix the problem he made in the first place as selfish. Especially since Sonic’s not the only one who wants Green Hill back. Shadow’s dealing with the consequences too.

The “what’ll happen to me when you bring your friends back,” issue is never explored. There’s no confirmation on what happens, so this comment basically means nothing. Also, Sonic living with Nine forever is messed up. It implies Sonic and Shadow never going home. And their friends would stay ghost forever. Dead to be specific. Not to mention Nine’s home would be a copy of what Sonic use to have. You’re telling me Sonic The Hedgehog would allow his freedom to end because of a self centered fox who wouldn’t care if he wanted to go home? I could continue, but I’ll stop here. In the end, Sonic and Nine were both wrong. You could argue Sonic never said “no” to staying with Nine, but Sonic saying in S1 “It’s not going anywhere” was all Nine needed to hear. Sonic thinking Nine would love Tails and discussing Green Hill was prominent when talking to Nine before getting to Ghost Hill too. Dude was completely set on getting home and he wasn’t subtle about it.

To be fair again, Nine hasn’t been in enough good relationships to know who to trust. Then finds someone he thinks he can trust. Then gets treated like a reflection of someone else instead of a different person entirely. This goes to show I actually don’t hate the idea of the miscommunication. I only feel the show doesn’t give them enough time to breathe and only focuses on rushing the plot. Therefore having contradictions and forced conflicts.

Season 3

Nine’s first statement in this season is, “This could’ve been everything he ever wanted.” I wish Sonic had a moment to explain why creating a new world is a nice but bad idea. That way Nine could get a better understanding of how close Sonic is to his home and friends. Giving it a sense of importance. He could choose to stay selfish or to be reasonable. Nine tries to capture Sonic in order to get his shard energy throughout S3. In the next scene Shadow says, “So, it was all about power?” (Shadow is the MVP of this entire show) Then Sonic defends Nine for the millionth time.

Sonic: “No, that’s not…” Nine: “Exactly!” Wonderful.

Moving on. Sonic tries to reason with Nine again. Nine: “You were only using me to get what you wanted.” Sonic: “That’s not true.” The hedgehog doesn’t elaborate before or after this conversation. I love how the two barely have a coherent conversation. It’s honestly my favorite thing in the world.

-Sonic tells Shadow if reasoning with Nine doesn’t work, he’ll be “theirs .” Probably implying they’ll have to hurt or kill Nine if necessary. Then Sonic never follows through with it and doesn’t actually fight Nine. Sonic only uses his shield powers or tries to convince others not to hurt the fox.

After that Nine tries to attack both hedgehogs with a robot copy of Sonic and states, “This time, you’re on your own.” Shadow: “He’s not on his own” Nine: “We’re all on our own.” Describing his perception on loyalty is a detail I actually like.

Later in the season Nine tries to disrupt the bystanders worlds to get Sonic, so they disrupt their agreement. Nine attempts to kill them again and wonders why they wanted to protect Sonic. Almost as if Sonic has been helping them since the fox met him or something.

After constant fighting and begging on Sonic’s part, he tells Nine to, “LOOK OUTSIDE!” And that’s when Nine at last sees the shatterverse breaking and realizes what he’s done. All of this mess lasted 7 episodes by the way. The big fight took up 6 of them. Nine knew beforehand the shatterverse was ending and it didn’t phase him as long as his world was safe. Now he suddenly he feels guilty?

Sonic apologizes because he didn’t listen to what Nine wanted. Or appreciate what he was trying to do. This is Sonic’s words not mine. Nine doesn’t apologize for trying to kill everyone, but to Sonic instead. Sonic asked everyone to leave Nine alone. And asked Nine to not cause anymore trouble. Knucks: “How can we trust him?” Nine: “You can trust me.” Outstanding dialogue. Plot needs to occur, so we’ll skip the part where Nine and everyone else gains trust in a none forced way. Great.

Nine finally helps Sonic even if those problems could’ve been avoided a few episodes earlier and say their goodbyes. The End.

I hate how Sonic had to apologize to Nine about wanting to go home. It’s absolutely unfair. Then Nine doesn’t apologize to everyone else for the havoc he’s caused. What I believe Sonic should’ve apologized for was treating Nine like Tails, but it never gets brought up. But my biggest issue is the only way Sonic called out Nine on his actions was by saying, “This isn’t you!” “Don’t do this!” “I care about all of this. You, the shatterverse, and everyone inside of it. I know you do too.” The last bit being a huge lie.

I don’t make these kind of comparisons often, but Game!Sonic would have everything nipped in the bud. I’d assume by telling Nine, “What you’re doing is wrong. This is why it’s wrong. If you don’t quit, I’ll do everything in my power to make you quit.” He’d understand Nine needed to be stoped and act accordingly. I’d assume everyone would have to make him surrender and he’d be forced to fix everything. No, it doesn’t reform him, but I wouldn’t have minded if he didn’t get reformed because sometimes you can’t change people. This might not have been the perfect solution, but I tried. Yes, Nine is a child who was treated terribly, but it shouldn’t excuse his actions.

What’s hilarious is during his last talk with Sonic, he unreasonably guilts the hedgehog and called him selfish. Saying Sonic didn’t save everyone because he actually cared about them. But because Sonic feels guilty about breaking everything from the start. Except Sonic actually admits to messing up which was shown in the third episode of Prime. And took the time to right his wrongs. It’s the most hypocritical and short sided statement in the entire show. And if that wasn’t enough, Nine gets upset when everyone came to attack him. It admittedly was a dumb idea, but Nine made himself the enemy. He didn’t give the gang a reason to trust him before or after his deal with Sonic. Yes, including the end of the show. It made no sense.

Why Nine’s Reformation Was Rushed

First of all, I’m not saying I don’t like Nine because of his negative traits. That’s the main reason he exists. He’s a antagonistic or I’d even say evil version of Tails. Nine is suppose to be distant, selfish, and such. I simply don’t believe after all he’s done and how his character was established that he suddenly changed into a good guy.

Nine’s focus was on his own pain while he ignored everyone else’s. Including the one person who saved his life on multiple occasions and who (even if it’s wrong) still tried to stick up for him. Giving off the, “I suffered so everyone else should suffer,” mentality. Then blames Sonic by saying he, “Put him into this position.” As if Nine didn’t already make terrible choices before going evil. Sure, the shards could’ve been corrupting him, but it’s never explored and can only be assumed. Which are too different things.

-Also other characters like Thorn and Dread made bad decisions before they had the shards. So, there’s zero proof regarding that theory.

These are obvious toxic/red flag behavior and it never gets properly called out. Things are only fixed because the plot demanded it. Not because there was a natural progression. The only thing that progressed was Nine’s uncaring attitude until it magically fixed itself…at the last minute. And I hate that for him because he deserved better. Sonic deserved better. All of the Sonic Prime characters deserved better. But they all fell into the pit of unsatisfying conclusions.

Side Note: What also bothers me is how Sonic is almost the only character Nine interacts with. No wonder he doesn’t care about anyone else. Nine barely talks to anyone. Like Shadow, the blue blur is the main center of Nine’s attention. At least most of the other characters don’t have the same problem, but it’s still ridiculous.

How The Show Is Flawed In General

I have more glaring issues with this show. Sonic Prime’s plot almost never stops to breathe. The repetition is unreal. None of the characters (especially the OGs) get enough attention. Some things are both over and under explained simultaneously. There’s reused animations.

Reused conversations and dialogue are especially prevalent. “This isn’t you, Nine!” “It’s over, Nine.” “Gotta go fast!” “Game over.” “We’re gonna end/fix this together.” “We’re friends.” “Me Beauty.” “We have to take the fight to them.” “You’re even dumber then you look.”

This isn’t half of the repeated lines unfortunately. Some of them aren’t only said by Sonic either. It’s almost as if they ran out of dialogue. I am only scratching the surface of problems, but I won’t go any further. At this point “the show’s writing” is the main issue of Nine’s arc. It’s also why other parts of Prime feels rushed.

Conclusion

Yeah, I have a love hate relationship with this show. It’s seriously hard to watch sometimes. I know this has been a bummer, but here’s what Sonic Prime does right. I adore Sonic Prime in terms of how it looks and sounds. With the outstanding animation, voice acting, music, editing, and sound design. I’ll even say it’s one of the best looking 3D animated kids TV shows I’ve seen. There’s so much attention to detail and quality of the character facial expressions and movements. Furthermore, when the lighting is really good, it looks near movie levels of quality. Not to mention great writing still exists. All in all, Sonic Prime may not be the best written Sonic show, but it does have the most polished animation. Even with its plethora of flaws and lost potential, I’m glad Prime exists to prove 3D TV shows can look fantastic when given enough care.

Stay Creative! 💜

[idontknowreallywhy]

Estera Ch 37 - Warmup

Oh hi! We’re back 🤪

Story so far

Previous chapter - 36 - Lost

(and if you’re new to this, might be worth starting from a couple earlier to figure out what on earth is going on 34 - Anniversary 35 - Ten)

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

The mid-May sun radiated its cheerful warmth at the trio as they contained their journey towards the shore. Estera was oblivious, noticing only the bite of salt in the light breeze that could make your eyes water if you weren’t careful.

She led them away from the main road and its friendly ice cream coloured houses and took a winding route through a series of more generic residential streets. Less direct but space to breathe. Space to run… she’d have suggested it by now but Scott was moving unusually slowly, seemingly lost in thought and it seemed best not to interrupt for the moment.

How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly?

She’d intended a fun, stress free day - a lighthearted day to distract the both of them from darker memories and yet in the short time since he’d arrived she’d somehow led him from one disaster to another.

The prickle of cold sweat at her hairline intensified as her mind replayed the image of him leaning back so heavily over the bannister and focussed in on the magnitude of the drop behind him should it have broken or he’d overbalanced… it sent another little shockwave of horror roiling through her gut. Did she even get that right? In the moment she’d felt she’d known exactly what he needed… but… what if? What if she shouldn’t have left him. No, she shouldn’t have. Even for a second. What if? Should she have grabbed him? Pulled him away from there? No… no, shocking him would probably have made it worse. He was far stronger than she was.

She’d been foolish to let Bez go ahead though. Foolish to think that after one brief meeting she’d magically fixed that issue for him. She knew full well that wasn’t how it went and should have been far more careful.

It had taken several long moments for him to recognise her. His pupils so dilated his eyes were more black holes than blue pools. Not like the very first moment she’d looked into them, when the blue burned so brightly, more like the second when his face was strained with terror and he’d screamed at her to…

No. She had to stop this train of thought before it made her even more useless to him than she’d been already.

At least she’d got him out of range before the little voice of her pupil piped a cheery “byeee Mr Scott”. Hopefully it was unlikely they’d run after him even if the connection was belatedly made, but it was another reason to steer clear of the main road.

She hadn’t known what the younger sister’s name was. Would never have guessed his mother was one of those fans. Though the knowledge did throw a couple of the stranger remarks little Jeff had come out with into a new light.

Scott didn’t seem to be struggling with a flashback or anything now, thankfully, just walking quietly, a slight frown on his face, his gazed fixed a little above the rooftops. The only clue he was even aware of her presence was the way her elbow, looped through his own was clamped lightly but firmly to his side. Bez trotted at his other side, glancing up at his new two-legged friend almost as often as his mistress was.

“I’m so sorry, Scott.”

He seemed to shake himself. “Don’t be silly, not your fault.”

“I didn’t know…”

“Even if you had, Estera, we couldn’t have done anything different. Tracy needed help, so we helped. And it’s ok! Really. It is.”

He looked down at her and… well she wanted to believe him but… a little groan escaped her and she found herself gripping his arm slightly tighter. He patted her hand.

“It was just a little… strange! I’m glad she didn’t realise that I… well. It would have been a shame to disappoint her, you know?”

“I hardly think you’d prove a disappointment.”

Yes, there it was - the slight twitch of his jaw that somehow she knew was coming as soon as the words left her mouth. Estera felt rather the same way she did when she saw one of the children berated by a stressed-out parent for breaking or losing something again…

“I meant she’d want to know if she was right about… about Dad, wouldn’t she? I mean it’s kinda amusing to imagine him going all vigilante… but if he is… well he’s taking his sweet time about bringing the World Government down and getting home.”

“Mmm… maybe they are more robust than people think.”

He snorted derisively. Interesting, maybe she’d probe that one some other time.

“Well if he does manage it and then makes a grand reappearance, I’ll give him a hug first, then congratulate him…” the corner of his mouth quirked and his eyes glinted a little “… and then I’d kick his ass for leaving me with all the paperwork.”

She burst out laughing, partly out of surprise, partly relief. He grinned and gave her arm a squeeze. They followed a path through the last row of houses and emerged into an open field, to be greeted at last by the vast sweep of the sea in front of them. Scott took a deep breath:

“Thanks for the rescue though, you think you’ve heard them all, think you’ve got all the lines ready but…” he waved a hand in lieu of finishing the sentence.

“She was really quite keen wasn’t she? I mean do you think her husband deliberately…” Estera caught herself just in time. The distinct downside of how easy Scott was to talk to was that she sometimes really REALLY needed to stop talking.

“Deliberately what?”

“Nothing. Inappropriate thought.”

He smirked “Well now I really want to know!”

“No! Not…” Estera blushed and whacked him on the arm “… not like that!”

“Then…?”

Their pace had increased without her realising and she was needing to take three steps for every two of his. She huffed, realising that if she held out he’d be assuming even worse. “I just meant… well…” she dropped her voice in case anyone was listening out of a window “did you notice the husband’s hair? Just like… your Dad always wore his in the old documentaries.”

He looked at her for a moment before letting out a single explosive “Ha!” and shaking his head.

“The sweep and flick! I’d forgotten that. He used to say it was the most dashing style you could maintain in a space suit… kind of controlled helmet hair I guess. He wore it a lot simpler, more formal once Mom… once he started all the TI stuff, you know?”

She rather thought she did know but before she could think of how to respond he continued:

“I reckon it must be deliberate, he seemed like a smart man and whatever works… Anyway, before I think any more about people finding my dad sexy…” he pulled a revolted face “How did it go?”

“What?”

“The lunch! How did it go?”

Scott Tracy could change topic as fast as his beloved rocket could U-turn. Estera felt slightly as though she had whiplash but hastily endeavoured to catch up. She’d spent most of the previous day looking forward to sharing the details with him but given everything so far this morning they had all slithered out of her mind.

“Oh! Of course. Ok, I think?”

“Only think?”

“Well, if I don’t think about any of the awkward things I said or the names I immediately forgot after Lady Penelope introduced people… I’m usually good with names but apparently as soon as you add titles as well it seems I get scrambled. I mean I didn’t even know there WAS an Earl of Devonshire? He was alright, if a little old fashioned but some of them were so strange and rude. Others were pleasant though. I hope I didn’t show Penelope up too badly, she was very kind to invite me. And I enjoyed it! I did. Except the more I think about it in retrospect then more I am sure they all knew I didn’t belong there… and… ah, I probably got carried away going on and on when I should have just smiled and nodded, you know?”

She tailed off and cleared her throat, embarrassed at the sudden flood of badly ordered thoughts. She tried to summarise but it came out like a generic answer to an interview question:

“It was a good learning experience.”

Scott was smiling in an irritatingly knowing fashion as he slipped his arm out of hers and started fiddling with his wrist comm. Bez, apparently content that he was no longer required to prop anyone up, bounded away in hot pursuit of something small and fluffy.

“What are you looking so smug about?”

“I had a message from Penny last night.”

The sun was suddenly far too hot. “Oh. Oh no. What did I do? I upset people by ranting about controversial things didn’t I? Ah. Aaaah I knew it! I really SHOULD have smiled and nodded and just been normal I’ve always been awful at that. I just… I sometimes forget to slow down and how I’m supposed to act! I’m so sorry Scott, I messed it up! Don’t look like that! It’s not funny!”

“Shall I read it to you?”

“I don’t know that you should.”

“I do.” He cleared his throat importantly and tapped his comm before reading aloud as they walked.

“Scott darling I’m afraid you will have to spend less time with your new friend…”

Estera suddenly felt incredibly nauseous and slowed her pace. She couldn’t work out why he found this so amusing. She knew he valued Lady Penelope’s opinion and, well, in honesty Estera had begun to do so too. It was disappointing to think she had managed to lose favour so quickly.

Scott paused and waited for her to catch up. “There’s more!”

“You will have to spend less time with your new friend because I would very much like to claim a little more of hers myself. Lady Smythe-Gibbons was entirely charmed by the manner in which she set Sir Fancypants in his place on the new immigration bill. As you know, the two of them have never seen eye to eye and once she saw how put out he was about it I believe I can now count on the good Lady as an ally in that particular campaign. I do hope Estera enjoyed herself and wasn’t too put out by my commandeering her Saturday afternoon.”

“Oh.” Estera took a moment to process. “I’m fairly sure it wasn’t Smythe-Gibbons…”

“I may have taken poetic licence with some of the names she mentions here.”

“I really should remember the names…”

“You’re missing the point a little here, E. You did good! Y’are officially PCW-approved!”

Ordinarily she’d have been delighted to point out how his accent slipped when he was excited, but the satisfaction of it was tainted by the thought that this seemed to have been some kind of test and she’d only passed it on a fluke.

“Well it’s a relief but it’s also entirely by chance! I could have as easily upset the wrong dignitary and ruined all Lady Penelope’s plans.”

Scott shook his head vigorously.

“Naw, I’ve found that one of Penny’s greatest tricks is unleashing the right person on the right person at the right time.”

“How do you mean?”

“If you upset Lord Fluffington-McDoodieface it’s because she intended you to do so. She wouldn’t have let you loose anywhere you could have done any real damage. Well, any damage she doesn’t want to occur anyway.”

Once again Estera found herself not knowing quite how to feel about Lady Penelope.

“But… what if I’d…”

“The best thing is to go with it and enjoy the ride. At least you got an interesting political debate and a decent lunch. Usually I just end up distracting some oblivious executive’s wife with mindless chitchat while she extracts information from the husband and I starve to death on tiny food.”

“Don’t you feel a bit… used?”

“Nah. She does so much for us and for International Rescue. If my buying a drink for a pretty girl or… well… if I’m being entirely honest it’s more usually a septuagenerian millionaire with a terrifying glint in her eye…” Scott clutched a fist to his chest, all virtuous melodrama. “If that helps her uncover a nefarious plot or raise a ton of cash for charity, I’ll do it. Occasionally.” He chuckled and then added with a grin “When I can’t find an excuse to be elsewhere.”

“A terrifying glint, huh?” Estera couldn’t quite hide the smirk.

Scott turned to her with wide, mock horrified eyes.

“So terrifying. Honestly. Occasionally if they are standing between me and the door, leaping out the window seems the safest option. But I stand my ground for the greater good.”

“You are sooo brave.”

“I really am.”

She shoved him lightly into the hedge.

“Tell me though, which is the more terrifying - the predatory pensioners or the tiny food?”

“I think we both know the answer to that.”

“Well luckily my plans for later involve very decent portion sizes. But first, you have to earn it.”

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