#i don't think this is spoilers? and i suspect anyone who follows me has already finished so

[robo-dino-puppies]

eyyyy look who tried to do some modding in veilguard :D

I love that Rook gets to wear this coat with the feathers but I hated the leather high-collared studded whatever-the-hell shirt thing that was going on underneath. so I tried to swap it with the "civilian" version but keep the feathers :D

the coat and pants clip like hell on my shortass elf, but still! (actually I checked and it clips on the civilians who wear it too... so that's not a me problem lmao)

anyway to elaborate: initially I tried to edit the textures to get rid of the weird shirt thing BUT the chevron stitched pieces are part of the model (BOOOOO) so despite changing their color/texture I couldn't get rid of them entirely. then I saw that swapping armor/character parts was a thing? …that I don't really understand, honestly, but there's a tutorial and I can follow steps. anyway, some civilians in Treviso wear the same coat with this low-cut shirt underneath except no feathers, and I wanted that BUT WITH THE FEATHERS. so. I did it! YAY GO ME!!! not super thrilled with the pants but I like the civilians' boots better too.

here was my initial check to see what it did to npcs that share the outfit:

and checking the color-changed version next to a civilian npc

coat and feather colors achieved! now to do the shirt and pants.

to elaborate more: so in the Rook and Ivenci versions, there are three meshes (? correct term idk?) that combine to make the whole ensemble: feathers, coat, and undershirt-belt-arms-pants-boots. can't just make the undershirt invisible bc there's no torso under there lol and it would also get rid of the arms and legs. in the civilian outfit there are two meshes: coat-and-belt and undershirt-torso-arms-pants-boots.

but like. they're basically the same? so I thought I should just be able to leave the feathers in place and replace the coat and undershirt! which worked! (after uhhhhhh several fails. yes I can follow a tutorial; that doesn't mean I can follow it on the first try because using the frosty editor feels approximately like me walking blindfolded through a convenience store knocking things off shelves. or something. idk what the hell I'm doing lol)

I hate wearing the same outfit as Ivenci tho. seriously considering putting Ivenci in something else and giving the random civilian npcs Ivenci's fit lmao. or just dress the civilians in some other civilian outfit? I wonder if I can do that...

[megamuscle885-blog]

Severed - Worm Fanfiction Review

CW: Suicide and canon typical gore.

I don't think I've so eagerly anticipated an imaginary and, likely unwritten at the time of this post, scene in fanfiction than @heyitschartic's Severed. I've been following this series since it was posted three years ago. I'll avoid spoilers and the scene I'm imagining in question will be under the cut, but the basic premise is that Jack Slash chooses Skitter as his nominee during the Slaughterhouse 9 arc, rather than Oni Lee, who was disappointing, and Golem, who he later contrived the entire S9k arc for.

I will say that this work is a beautiful plunge into What Ifs which look all the more horrifying if you compare them against canon. You get flashback snippets of the S9 arc retold from a few perspectives before being thrust into post-GM, maybe pre-Ward? era with modern Skitter. I can certainly say that Severed blows all other S9!Taylors out of the water, Taylor is authentic in ways I haven't seen with anyone else. 10/10, each chapter is at it's absolute peak and it has 11 chapters as of this post. Each gut-punch has me anticipating the next chapter, only for the next chapter to explain why Taylor's friends and enemies hate her so much. I gasped when Tattletale said that to her. I strongly recommend Severed to anyone and everyone who hasn't already read it yet. Here's the link:

Oh wait does this count as the first of my Worm fanfic reviews--

So, I've read chapter 11 and I've been having Taylor and her clone rotating in my head endlessly, but the scene I'm anticipating is the one hinted at in Chapter where Defiant wants Taylor to go under the knife with Bonesaw again so Riley can fix all of Taylor's everything that is physically wrong with her, because her body is practically bio-tinkertech, even after they ripped almost everything else out.

I can only imagine Taylor reiterating that she refuses to be put under for the procedure, and using every moment to vent her anger and frustration on a Riley that is likely seeing marked improvement in her therapy (maybe). But Taylor keeps hitting her with blow after blow. "They'll never let you work on anyone else ever again, so you had better not kill me." and "Nobody will ever let you willingly touch them, I'm the only one who you can use your tinker abilities on, and that can change if I don't need you anymore." "If you ever find someone you can trick into letting you touch them, hold them, or even work on them, I'll kill them. It'd be better than the fate worse than death that letting you touch someone inflicts, and I should know, I'm living through it."

Maybe Chartic has something else planned, but I would like to see this Bonesaw cry. An unshakable, unmoved Taylor just heaps on the abuse through her own tears of pain, holding Riley hostage even as she roots through her guts to put her back together. It's very Taylor to fight through pain to force people to help her. The last time they saw each-other, Riley was doing well. I don't think she'll be doing very well after they meet again.

Maybe an overseeing team of surgeons and Capes become increasingly uncomfortable as Riley is tormented. They find themselves defending Bonesaw of all people, from one of her former victims too.

I'm sorry if this is unsolicited Chartic, but I can't wait to see their reunion, whatever form it takes. Severed's way of making Taylor suffer the consequences of her own actions, while invoking sympathy simultaneously with disgust at Taylor's betrayals; the depths she's sunken to, and then to finally wrap it up with shame and admonishment of her friends, turned victims, is masterful. How dare either they or I judge her for what she had to do to survive. Each chapter reveals that it got worse and worse. At some point, I suspect that (one of) the reasons that Taylor is being given such little leeway by the rest of the cast and remains constantly under the threat of harsh re-imprisonment or execution by vengeful kill-teams is because she somehow became the worst member of the Slaughterhouse Nine or even surpassed them in notoriety.

Tattletale telling Skitter to kill herself was such an insane scene that I stood up and covered my mouth. I was in disbelief. But knowing now that Skitter had betrayed the Undersiders to a slaughter by Mannequin (after having sacrificed her own father and, essentially, her own pre-cape life and innocence with him. The Taylor that she did not want to be, embracing the Skitter she chose to become) and then at some point caused the remainder of the Livsey family to kill themselves the same way Reggie did, with gunshot wounds, really clarifies that Taylor did something unforgivable. She exploited her friendship with Lisa to injure her in a way that can never be repaired. Lisa in canon never really had much to do with her parents ever again, but she probably didn't want them dead for neglecting Reggie.

I may edit this later, or reblog it, as new thoughts on the work come to me.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x1

And here is the very spoiler-filled follow-up to my earlier post!

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers, it will also have book spoilers through book 11: The Gathering Storm.

Thinking of the Darkfriend Social in terms of spoilers -- the x-ray notes that the 'location' for the scene is Tel'aran'rhoid. What does that mean for the little girl? Hmm.

2. I also wonder if this scene isn't set a little earlier than the rest of the episodes are set. We know that by the end of this episode, it's been a full year since 1x1, because Bel Tine has rolled around again. Other things that this being in TAR could mean: that the fallen seal is symbolic rather than reflecting reality and is a representation of the fact that Ishamael has been released from his prison.

3. Darkfriend roll call! We've got Fain, who is still a member in good standing (has not yet killed a Fade); we've got Lord Ingtar; we've got High Lady Suroth; we've got at least two Black Ajah sisters (Sheriam and Liandrin? One of them is wearing a black dress and one is wearing a red one, I think); we've got Unnamed Tuatha'an Mom; we've got a Whitecloak (probably Carridin). I'm not 100% on anyone else at the table. I'm pretty sure our main characters are basically surrounded by Darkfriends right now in their various storylines!

4. The storyline of Moirine fighting her depression over not being able to touch the One Power by forcing herself to have a sense of purpose each day and not give up to the despair... it really does show how poorly served the male channelers are by the Tower. After they get gentled, they get shoved into prison, basically, but the White Tower knows that a sense of purpose is what makes severed (or, in Moiraine's case, probably shielded) channelers have the will to keep living. And that gets denied to the men who are gentled.

5. Verin being merged with Vandene feels like a perfect example of a merged character -- the much more important character is plucking bits and pieces from the minor character and folding them into her characterization. It does really make me wonder how the future is going to go down, though! Will Verin be ordered to kill her own sister and feel like she has to do it in order to maintain her cover? Also: I wonder how much of the reason why Tomas 'picked' Verin over Adeleas had to do with him being a repentant Darkfriend and Verin finding out about it. Also, in our first major storyline, we have two Darkfriends interacting with main characters. Total count so far: 2.

Both the Verin/Vandene merger and the Elyas/Hurin merger should be, I think, our hints as to how the show is handling mergers and it's roughly what I would expect: the more important character swallows up the more minor character. This is why I don't think Liandrin & Elaida would be merged, because Elaida is a more important character than Liandrin, so 'Elaida' is what the merged character would have been named imo.

6. Haha I can't believe that I got so caught up in everything else that I didn't even mention Doman in my first impressions post! I loved his scenes. I think they did a good job giving him a purpose that suited what he does in the books, and he also delivers key plot info to Moiraine. Given that he calls the broken piece part of a 'moondial', I'm guessing he found part of Lanfear's seal (and he's being chased by the Shadow to recover the prophecy that he sells here to Moiraine, maybe?). I suspect that the poem is the Dark Prophecy, which means that we've already got a way for Rand to find out that he needs to go to Falme/Toman Head and he may even go there having zero idea that his friends are in trouble there (which makes sense since he's already in 'stay away from them to protect them' mode; either way would make sense to me, so I'm just curious what road the show takes).

But if Doman takes Moiraine's advice, he might be sailing right into the Seanchan's arms.

7. Egwene taking a moment to look at the official Amrylin outfit. I See You, foreshadowing. I See You. And as much as it pained me not to get my girl Elayne in the first episode, I do think it was a good idea for us to focus on Elayne and Nynaeve as they are before we get our third Wondergirl added to the mix.

8. Given that both Nynaeve and Egwene have learned about The Wonders of Poly (That Are Not For Them, Personally), I wonder if that means that we're going to get them finding out about Rand's polycule situation over the course of the series (maybe as someone for Elayne to talk to?) but in a more gradual and natural way. Also, I noticed a handful of novices watching the sparring down there, but we don't get to see the faces of the people sparring -- could one of them be a Certain Someone?

9. Haha, it's kinda weird seeing Nynaeve as a novice given that she spent zero time as one in the books. But this scene with her was a perfect illustration of why she makes a terrible novice, lol. She's perfect, but she's also a terrible novice. But also, the show is continuing to build up the characters' toolkits for the future - last season, Rand watched Moiraine pull the corruption of Shadar Logoth from Rand and this season, Nynaeve is learning how to purify water (and the Power is often compared to water/rivers). It does also point to the cleansing being more of an actual team-up instead of just Nynaeve being Rand's battery.

10. Poor Alanna is surrounded by Darkfriends in this next scene. We have Liandrin, Sheriam, and Joiya (literally every speaking character apart from Alanna is a Darkfriend in this scene, lol RIP). Total Darkfriends hanging out in main character plotlines: 5. If the show has preserved the 'heart' format from the books, it's entirely possible that none of them actually know that they're hanging out with other Black Ajah Sisters right now, too. Were Liandrin and Sheriam working together or are they both working under their own interpretations of their orders but don't know the other one is also Black Ajah? Given the way Joiya backed up Liandrin in this scene, I suspect that they may know about each other.

The show has done such a good job making Alanna understandable, empathetic, and charming. But she also has already shown herself not to be great at... appropriate boundaries.

11. We don't get much time with Uno before, well, Future Events, but the show did a good job painting his character very vividly, and using him to show the comradery that has built up between Perrin and Loial.

12. So I did a little post mentioning it but the girl who runs away while Fain is killing the other girl! I think that's the girl from the Darkfriend social scene! She looks like she's wearing the right outfit and is the right age with the right color hair. "There was a child who made it out." Her entire family (except her Darkfriend mom?) was slaughtered by Fain and his Trollocs. I wonder if we'll see her again. Hmm, actually, if Fain attacked a Tuatha'an caravan that he knew had a Darkfriend in it, was this his first move of going against the Dark One's/Ishamael's wishes?

13. Now that we're in Perrin's plotline, time to mention that Lord Ingtar, who doesn't want to hear Uno go on about how evil the traitor soldier was, is also a Darkfriend. Total Darkfriends surrounding our main characters: 6.

14. They did a good job in hitting all the main points of the actual Hunt for the Horn, tbh. In the first two episodes, we've got Perrin using his heightened senses, we've got the abandoned village and the room of flies, we've got the Fade nailed up that imo shows the moment when Fain stopped taking orders from the Dark One/Ishamael, and we've got Ingtar bonding with one of the main characters. And Rand's 'pushing people away' arc was pretty well covered with him faking his death. And Mat Suffering Terribly is also covered, lol.

15. I do feel like what Alanna tells Egwene here about poly relationships is probably something the show is going to lean into once Rand's situation starts rolling. "things are messy before they are perfect; nothing worthwhile is neat and tidy". Them leaning so much into Alanna's relationship is definitely giving me some good reassurances about poly plans for the future, because they're investing a relatively large amount of time into showing that this is a valid type of relationship to have, and explaining it to the audience.

16. Per Fain, the Darkfriends do know that 'all five' ta'veren will be important and will matter to how things go down with the Last Battle, so I feel like Liandrin trying to cultivate Nynaeve makes a lot of sense in that case. She wants to take Nynaeve under her wing to turn her to her point of view and her side. It's actually interesting to compare and contrast what Moiraine knew vs the Dark One, because they were actually pretty close in their timelines of figuring out when the Two Rivers was the hot spot.

17. I feel like it really works to give Siuan's scene to Liandrin here, in training Nynaeve. The Two Rivers folk are more vulnerable and more 'exposed' in the show than in the books. So it makes a lot of sense to me. It also feels like they are leaning into the idea that not all Aes Sedai have to 'surrender' in order to channel (so women don't always need to submit and men don't always need to dominate, per Jordan's canon), which is a change that I like.

18. And the Perrin and Ingtar stuff is also working really well for me. I think it helps his character a lot to have him be the one who is going through this with Ingtar instead of Rand (who has plenty going on already). And Ingtar! "Perhaps Padan Fain had a reason for doing what he did."

19. Moiraine's platonic breakup with Lan feels a lot more grounded in the show than it was in the books imo.

20. The letter! Oh, gosh it's so beautiful. It does feel like a little promise from the show that they aren't going to forget about the EF5 bond, and I'm hoping that we'll get more moments of reconnection than we got from the books.

21. So, what are everyone's thoughts on if what Liandrin tells Mat about the letters ("not a single mention of Mat Cauthon") counts as a lie and our confirmation that she's already Black Ajah or was it a wiggle around the truth (either going by the logic of there being multiple mentions of Mat and/or SHE didn't mention Mat and or well it doesn't ever say Cauthon)? I mean, she also seems to be keeping him as her completely isolated little secret. I feel like it's a Black Ajah clue but maybe there's wiggle room.

22. Mat also seems VERY aware that Moiraine is partly responsible for his current circumstances (he notes her along with Liandrin when he's saying he's not a danger to anyone). Liandrin probably read him the note that Lady Amalisa sent from Fal Dara. The show is doing such a better job of actually establishing Mat's motives for various ways he behaves than the books did -- in the books, he seemed to take against Aes Sedai for the terrible crime of... healing him? But selling him out to someone who has kept him locked up for six months and who spent that time psychologically torturing him is an EXCELLENT reason for him to feel wary about being around Aes Sedai. He's seen the worst of them! Because it's not just Liandrin and the Reds. It's Moiraine too!

And they did this in s1 too, giving Mat actual reasons for his canon-typical behavior by changing his background to one more fraught with tension.

[scarabjewels]

Films I Watched Recently

Lately, I have watched a number of movies, which is a hobby. I was able to come back to after a long time. I was writing so many detailed opinion essays, so how about a brief short ones in a list.

(SPOILERS)

1) Immaculate

I watched this twice, with different sets of friends as well.

On my first watch, me and my best friend and we watched it without subtitles. Literally in Sydney Sweeney's character's perspective.

The story follows an American nun, Sister Cecilia, moving into a convent in Italy. In a miracle, she concieved a child as a virgin. The convent practically treasured her as they believed she bore the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

As we watched the movie, and my best friend questioning everything that is happening, Cecilia's experience in the convent gradually becomes creepier and extreme.

Just before the immaculate conception, Cecilia was shown the nail that the convent believed to be one of the nails that pinned Christ to the cross and "fainted". Cecelia then always felt like she was being watched, and in during her pregnancy, she was worshipped by the convent, all except her friend and another nun.

She was almost killed by a nun and we did not know why because we were lacking subtitles, so on the second watch with our other close friends, I learned that the nun was jealous and enraged, saying that it should've been her.

Cecilia's friend and a fellow nun, Sister Gwen, grew concerned as the convent refused to let Cecilia go to a hospital, and I think she was suspecting the cultist ways of the convent. When she spoke up, she was taken away, and we found out she was silenced to death.

Cecilia tried to escape on her own, which was almost successful. But she was caught and was locked up and watched closely in the last days of her trimester.

In the end, she was able to escape just in time to birth the child and well I don't think anyone who experienced a cult negatively will ever keep a reminder of it.

The film had A24 vibes, as it reminded me of Robert Egert's " The Witch" and Midsommar. The pacing was good, the build up, characters, horror elements, practically very decent.

Yet, somehow it's a 5.8 in IMDb but scored decent in Rotten tomatoes, 71% in Tomato meters and 60% in audience score.

It's not a horror but much more a good thriller, it can be triggering for pro-life and r**** victims, as the ending is subtlety but strongly graphic.

Personally, I liked it, it is a decent cult thriller. I think it is best to watch with friends, as admittedly the movie came of as mid, so watching it alone may not be as exciting.

2. Helter Skelter

Now this, this was A BLAST.

Please be warned of how much pornesque sex scenes it has (not quick regular movie sex scenes, trust me).

I already wrote about it and gave my thoughts so here's a summary.

Helter Skelter is a campy psychological thriller centering Lilico, a rising star in Japan and a plastic surgery addict. She is a protagonist but her story shows how much of an asshole she is, as she suffers from the extreme side effects of her extensive surgeries, her obsession with beauty, manic episodes, and how may people around her suffers from her actions.

I took the liberty to read the original manga of the same name, and the movie had many creative liberties with visuals and honestly the its visuals in the movie is beyond the manga, while the manga is campy and slightly mod, the movie was CAMP. The content was very much the same, that it was very impressive.

There are some things in the manga I wished occured in the movie: Hada being around the same age as Lilico, instead Hada was a pushover in her late 20s in the movie, and the detective's bubbly but calculative personality which became just weird and creepy in the movie.

It was a great watch with friends, I kind of preferred it.

3. Midsommar

This movie is the last one on this list that I watched with friends, and I hated it, and I was not alone.

The plot involves a depressed (yes it is actually relevant that she is depressed during this time) Dani tagging along with her boyfriend and his friends' trip to Sweden in their research of a cult, in the midsummer where nightfall was pretty non existent during this time in that country.

It pissed me off, but it was very entertaining. I hated the roofie consummation so much. JUST WHY.

I can handle the gore, the bear being gutted, skinned people, but that one just...no.

Anyway, it's a good thing I watched it with people because I don't think I could handle that alone.

4. The Help

Youtube shorts made me watch it, and it was WORTH IT.

The Help is the adaptation of the book of the same name, according to IMDb "An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis."

Skeeter, the aspiring author, is borne in an above average working class white family herself but was raised by her maid all her life. Her friends, members of the city's socialite group, were borderline participating in racist activities.

The first two maids Skeeter interviewed were the maids of her friends in the group. Aibileen, the narrator of the movie and a major contributer to the book (honestly, CO WRITER) , worked for Elizabeth, who started working as a maid at age 14. The second was Minny who worked for the incredibly mean socialite leader, Hilly.

While the project was risky enough for the time, as in the movie shows the dangers of speaking up in the 1960s, the hate crime was just as violent, and the culture was discriminated unjustly. However, it was pushed through.

The film was somehow a feel good movie, or maybe it just was. I just loved everything about it, Hilly getting her just desserts...ooohhh boy she did, Minny and Celia's friendship, and the scenes after the book was published, it was perfection.

I do feel like movies like this are almost nowhere to be found nowadays, everything is just so dramatic, complex, edgy or just trying hard. The simplicity of the film with just good acting (the star studded cast worked so well here) and a great story. I am so glad that Jessica Chastain and Bruce Dallas Howard actually stared in a movie together, it is so hilarious and just soo right, just watching them interact in a movie made it so worth while already.

5. ReLIFE : Live Action

More of a rewatch, Relife is the tale of a 27 year old man ,who is dissatisfied with his life, offered by an experimental company for a chance to relive his life. He finds himself turning younger and living a full year as a 3rd year high schooler with a group of friends and finding love in the process.

Another feel good movie. I never watched the anime and honestly I think I'm content not watching it. I liked the journey of Arata, he did not relive like a teenager, but as an adult trying to find purpose in a different environment. When he was rejected, he took it like an adult, which he is (I just like that maturity actually was portrayed in the story realistically). The twist was so simple yet sad at the same time, Hishiro, Arata's crush and first friend during his relife, is also partaking in the same experiment (she doesn'tknow he is in Relife tho). The sad part is that she also likes him and rejected him because she knew it is impossible for them to get together, as the experiment would erase any memories of other people of them after it ends. They are both in the experiment, meaning they will not be able to remember each other after. Yoake, the overseer of their experiments, sympathizes with their situation and at least in the live action, made subtle moves for them beyond his job as an observer.

Overall, it's a sweet story about living with intention with some love stories here and there.

6. Legally Blonde

After rewatching 'The Devil Wears Prada' so much, I decided to watch a couple of old chic flicks.

Legally Blonde is THAT GIRL.

(Google did not exactly provide me the source of this synopsis, just know it came up top)

"Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) has it all. She wants nothing more than to be Mrs. Warner Huntington III. But there is one thing stopping him (Matthew Davis) from proposing: She is too blond. Elle rallies all of her resources and gets into Harvard, determined to win him back."

This is everything. Just a good time. Warner is shit. Elle conquered and made a friend: Warner's (ex)fiance, Jennifer Coolidge and her future hubby, Emmett. Callahan should eat a brick. Tye bend and snap was nonsense but well, It's there.

10/10

Feel good. Great message: As Barbie once said, you can be anything (imo). Also just really sweet.

7. Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio

This was heartbreaking and themes are very touchy.

Fascism, loss, grief and immortality.

This pinnochio story is much more grimm that the last 3 movies I watched. I did not expect so much of the Nazi influence in the setting of the movie, or the amount of melancholic realities it was going to give. Geppeto's grief at the loss of his sons was devastating to watch, but when Pinnochio became an actual boy soldier, I couldn't help but just remember Jojo Rabbit, I never watched it in full but I saw glimpses of it so much in YouTube, that it does relate to this story in some way. Jojo Rabbit was history in the eyes of a child, so was this version of Pinnochio, that you would be so engrossed with its wonder but then it snaps you back to the reality of it, in Pinnochio, he witnesses and experiences physical abuse and exploitation, experiences death too many times, becomes a boy soldier in training and gets to see his loved ones die as he outlives them all.

A scene stuck to me in this movie, more like a question. Pinnochio becomes friends with a boy from his town, Candlewick, when they were reunited in a training camp for boy soldiers. Candlewick stood up to his father just before a bomb lands in the camp , literally in between his father and Pinnochio. Pinnochio's body blows out of the camp and he dies, only to come back a little bit after. Candlewick survived the bomb, but couldn't find Pinnochio. Candle wick did not appear again after that. I really wondered if he even lived or went home or something. Literally nothing. The cliffhanger was not disappointing but man, I really wanted to see Pinnochio and Candlewick reuniting.

As for the movie, it's a good watch. I had watched a lot of Guillermo's projects, and I think this is the second time his movie featured war themes mingled with child wonder. Just a thought.

8. Five Nights at Freddie's

Apparently, I have one more movie I watched with a friend and it's this one.

It started off good then just gets cheesy in the end. It's quality reminds me a lot of mid to late 2010s comedy films like "Happy Death Day" or " Ready or Not", but the overall premise is more similar to the Scooby Doo live action films, ironically they starred Matthew Lillard here too.

It's too cheesy, it's not bad or good either. I wish it had more horror to it like the game. I did not play it but I did have the pleasure to enjoy the commentary of it by the King of Five Nights at Freddie's himself: Markiplier and I was dissappointed that he did not appear in the film.

Needless to say, I was not entirely sure if it was trying too hard or not trying at all. But it did came off unfulfilled to the namesake.

That's about it and here's some more rewatches I felt like I do not have to make a semi detailed review on it:

• Julie & Julia ♡♡

• Emma (2019) ♡♡♡

• Chef ♡♡♡

• Swallow (2019) ♡

• Memoirs of a Geisha ♡♡

[inspector-irratino]

Murdle Website Update! - Carousel's Thoughts

Poking around the website data right now, and finding a lot of information! it doesn't seem like the new suspects (Miss Ruby; Agent Fuscia & Major Red) are fully ready, but the new suspect gallery and what we do know looks to be a real delight!

The new headers also look a right treat, and Pacifico is a soft spot font of mine (the font used for the subtitle). The new gallery entries are also very pretty, if not pointing to the wrong image sometimes. I've already put a bug report in, and it's a very easy fix. I also really love the new buttons, they're incredibly stylish.

The automatic Xs is a feature I'm on the fence about. I love the inclusion, but I'm so used to doing murdles a specific way that it disrupts my workflow a little. I love it for the minis, and I think it'll really help new people get into it.

The marot seems to be broken for the foreseeable, which is always a loss. There also seems to be a new M currency, but it doesn't persist nor is it stored in your streak data. It also is not impacted by your solving time whatsoever, which is interesting to me!

The Moriarty Console and crossover murdles are also fully open to the public, permanently. Let's solve some cryptics! As well as that, Escape The Crypt is fully open, and seems to be repeating the same story on a week by week basis for anyone that missed it over halloween.

My plan for updating the spreadsheet is including ALL art listed, saying who it was done by, and doing it by character. In the cases of repeat images (sirrulean.png & sirrulean.webp and the issues with Président Amaranth, I'll include each image, not each file.)

Murdle Volume 3 is out in the US, and comes out in the UK in one week (9th May), so keep an eye on your bookstores! Very excited for the release personally.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT FOR OTHER FINDINGS !!

EVERYTHING BEYOND THIS POINT HAS BEEN FOUND THROUGH WEB CRAWLING!

The new suspects' fingerprints aren't listed correctly, and their birthdays aren't listed yet. Major Red's fingerprint is Silverton the Legend's, and Agent Fuscia and Miss Ruby has theirs listed as "X".

Their specific sentences are as follows:

AGENT FUSCIA 🕵: - Confession : Don't worry. I have a license to kill! - Statement : Officially, - Marot Interpretation : Learning a new skill

MISS RUBY 🤵🏻‍♀️: - Confession : I don't mind going to jail. It's a challenge to escape. - Statement : Well, well, well - Marot Interpretation : Taking something you desire

MAJOR RED 🪖: - Confession : I am not guilty: society is! - Statement : By the revolution - Marot Interpretation : Making a break with the past

We've also gone from update pisces to update crab! I think Karber just really likes his sea critters. ( Might be because it sounds like "secrets" /silly )

NEW CLUE FORMAT. YOU HEARD ME.

The page number seems to be automatically generated every time you open the clue.

Very excited to play murdle with these changes, and very much looking forward to the hammering out of major bugs with update crab!

EDIT : I found art for Cosmonaut Bluski, though he isn't on the website yet officially! Let's see what the future holds!

[butt-watch]

Deltarune Chapter 2 Theory

DELTARUNE SPOILERS AHEAD

I'll put under a read more, but just in case it doesn't work. Here's your warning to block "#delatrune spoilers" or scroll really fast.

Spoilers for end game and bonus boss, and a long ass dump of all the ideas I have in my head before I forget them. So, sorry if I got anything wrong or it's a mess.

I've seen a lot of theories flying around, but haven't seen this one yet. (Sorry if it is already out there and I just haven't seen it, I'm sure somebody will already have put it together better than me.) This is just some funky ideas I've been throwing around, because I'll be honest here, I love the main 3 so much, and would be sad to see any of them turn out to be evil like so many theories are suggesting.

Maybe I'm just trying to be optimistic, maybe it's the weird nb kid deep inside me latching onto a kindred spirit, maybe I'm on to something.

So here's the thing. I don't believe Kris is the knight.

I know, I know, but stay with me here.

There's no denying that at the end of the chapter, Kris created a new fountain, and with it, likely a new dark world. But I'd like to argue, this is the first one they've created. My evidence is shaky, but I think there's something there that could blossom.

I'll start off with the simple fact that multiple characters who have met the knight, Spades King especially, didn't recognise Kris at all, and you would have thought they'd recognise the person who's been feeding them so much information. You do also have a couple of dialogue options with the king this time, and definitely with the Queen, so it seems strange that neither of them recognise the voice of their Knight in shining armour.

This is where stuff starts to get a bit flaky, but also, a lot more intriguing.

At the end of the chapter Kris opened a fountain, and the night before, we saw Kris remove the soul inside them and brandish their knife. Assuming that Kris spent that time without the soul creating a fountain is a fair assumption to make, and I think it's possible that was Kris's intention, perhaps they have some connection to the knight, and knew how the fountains could be opened. But, they were missing one important ingredient.

In Chapter 2 we get an explanation from the Queen about how dark fountains are created, and with it a word that has largely been missing from Deltarune.

That's right, good old Determination.

Fountains are created when a determined Lightner plunges a sharp object into the ground. And here's where the theory comes in. I believe prior to the end of chapter 2, Kris didn't have Determination. Throughout the game, they've been filled with various sources of power, from Fluffy Boys and Mean Girls, to Cat signs. But at every save point we've been missing the signature Determination.

The closest we get is at the end of Chapter 2, just before the fight against the queen, when "a certain power" is alluded to.

And that lack of Determination, would have made opening the fountain impossible for them, after all, Queen spent the whole game building Noelle's determination high enough to open a new fountain. A smidge of determination doesn't seem to cut it.

So how did Kris get the determination?

Through the good old power of Friendship. Through the trials with their new friends, Kris has gained determination, even without the soul inhabiting them. And even though that started as half a joke (only half), whilst writing this post and trying to find screencaps, for the next section, I realised it's actually more likely than I suspected.

And that brings me to everyone's new favourite:

Spamton. During his dialogue and initial boss fight he offers a deal, rewarding Kris with [[Hyperlink Blocked]] if they accept. As far as I'm aware you're forced to accept the deal. (If anyone else tolerated more than a few minutes of smashing no deal like I did and managed to get a different outcome, kudos to your perseverance.)

What is [[Hyperlink Blocked]]? Well I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this. I believe it may well be Determination or something similar.

During the initial confrontation, Spamton refers to the players Soul as [[HeartShapedObject]].

But prior to the boss fight against Spamton NEO, he has no qualms about saying SOUL.

I've seen a lot of people theorising Spamton is being censored, and I agree that definitely seems to be the case. From a meta standpoint though I think it's interesting that the [[Hyperlink Blocked]] he mentioned so much in his first encounter doesn't seem to be mentioned at all, now the he has slightly more freedom of speech. I personally believe it's because revealing whatever Spamton was offering would have given too much away.

So how does this come back to the power of friendship? Well, upon defeating Spamton, whether through ACTing or beating the crap out of him, he realises the real treasure was the friends we made along the way.

He suggests that together, the three of them could "break their own strings"

Following the fight, there's a moment, where Susie notices that Kris is acting out of sorts. Whichever option you choose, it's obvious that Kris is shaken by the event, even going as far as to yell the answer if you let them admit how they're feeling.

The similarity to Kris's own situation, being puppeted by the player is a valid reason for the response. Whatever shook them did so with enough effect that the fear showed despite the players control. Either that, or Kris has something they didn't have, more control. More... Determination to overcome the soul.

That last part is reaching a little, which is saying something, given the amount of shaky evidence presented in this post, so I want to wrap this up mostly with something slightly unrelated, but still a Kris theory.

Why do they open the fountain?

There are a lot of theories, about being a pawn for Gaster, being an asshole, etc.

I'd like to think Kris is just a weird kid who's gotten caught up in a mess they don't really understand. They created a scenario where Susie would be forced to stay the night, and opened up a new dark world, that Susie, their friend, expressed a want for before they left the dark world.

A place where they could get away from their lives for a little while and have more adventures together. And I can understand the reasoning, opening a new fountain isn't bad, I mean, as long as they close it at the end, nobody gets hurt and they have more memories. Where's the harm in that? Right?

As much as Kris obviously wishes to be free of the soul's control, that very soul has helped them make real friends. It's taken them on adventures and well.

Somebody had to let it out before the morning.

So to summarise, the strongest power known to man is a group of lonely teenagers, if you run through a peaceful game murdering everything and then blame a video game character for the decision you made, I'll kick your ass, and I guess I'm a Kris stan now, oh god.

[gillianthecat]

The Devil Judge: Episode 3

I just finished The Devil Judge and something about this show compelled me to take copious notes - it had emotional intensity and layers of mystery. These are long and rambling, so they're likely not of interest to anyone else, but since I spent all that time writing it I decided, why not post it. Perhaps someone will find it interesting.

Below are my moment-to-moment reactions, predictions and analysis as I watched episode 3.

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9 ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16

This contains SPOILERS up through ep. 5

This is cleaned up only slightly. I followed the spelling given in the Viki subtitles. I mostly don't explain what I'm reacting to, so this will probably only make sense if you've seen the episode recently. Occasionally I give timestamps. I took these notes while re-watching the beginning after writing this post and this. I had watched up through episode 5, so some notes reference things that happen later.  

Why does he so pointedly ask Yun Su-Hyeon if she's G's girlfriend? (It's because  he's already interested in and becoming possessive of him. Romance or at minimum corruption through sexual tension). 

Leave Judge Kim to me! A battle over his soul between the cop and the judge? Corruption thriller, but it also fits a gothic romance to have a second potential love interest who is supposedly kinder and better than our hero (St. John Rivers from Jane Eyre)

So many things in this house are under dust covers. The wallpaper. Dark wood and the way the light comes in from the windows. Isolated dark gray stone English(?) style mansion on a cliff over a lake. Strange girls appearing out of nowhere. Gothic vibes! 

Sort of scary, but the music is also kind of romantic. 

Does Y suspect Jeong Seon Ah (JSA) of being behind the bomb? He's certainly implying it (13:30). Was she? She also seems to be implying that she was in this conversation. 

On the other hand, he's won a lot of public sympathy from the bomb. So maybe it backfired on her, or she has a more complicated plot. Or maybe it was Y. Of course it could be someone else entirely. 

Oh interesting! Elijah asks Y if he's dating her (judge Oh) and he answers "what are you talking about. They're my associate judges, so-"  (emphasis mine). Could be just the translation, but ...

This is immediately after he changed the bandages of a half naked Ga-On. And this is when he gets cute and pouty. 

And the way he taunts E is very sibling-like, not at all how he delivers threats in the political realm. 

Finding excuses to keep G at his house! (19:30)

The cop also floats the idea of an inside job

So based on the hoodie scene with furniture guy (starting 25:45), Y was not behind the bomb. And he says he doesn't have any questions, does that mean he knows who's behind it? so I guess he's just out for revenge? Is he so angry because he almost died or because G almost died? 

Furniture guys says "someone from the foundation ordered me too"

He almost kills furniture guy but Mysterious Assistant stops him. His expression is... hmm. (27:10)

(It does seem implausible that this one guy in this warehouse is responsible for all the furniture but I think that's a suspension of disbelief thing, not a plot point)

"Go tell your owner that he should come talk to me directly."  So does he think the Chairman is in control? Who is "he?" Or is it a translation issue? (A brief google implies that this is the likely the case - there are no third person pronouns.)

Oh! (27:34) Mysterious Assistant outright asks "is this because of Judge Kim Ga-On?"  And Y looks shifty and walks away without answering. Gothic romance signals!!! Protecting the ingenue. 

Immediately returns home and heads for G's bedroom. Gives him back (tosses him) his phone (It seems you behaved. A present for behaving.) and then lounges (somewhat sexily) on the  chaise-lounge. 

I feel like there's no reason for Y to be there. He just wanted to see G. And he's pretending to be aloof. 

(29:19) What a coy flirtatious pose. Looking up through his lashes indeed!

The way he flirts with G is different than how he flirts as part of power games with everyone else. More vulnerable maybe?

It's not all flirtation. Y is still trying to keep G from finding his secrets and G is still investigating. 

Next political intrigue gathering (32:15) includes 6 people. All the same as the first except the president's wife replaces Minister Cha. 

President Heo is speaking in opposition to the Dream Village. The Two Representative Businessmen are laughing at him.

Prez Heo  is really portrayed as a buffoon. 

Oh yeah JSA comes in and threatens him during this massage. I can't tell if he's actually too stupid to realize he's being threatened. Does he just notice the bribe?

Somehow the depiction of how she uses sex to gain power doesn't feel misogynistic to me like it often does. Is it because there's a wide variety of female characters? Is it because Judge Kang also uses his sexuality, albeit in a very different way? Is it because it's a little more subdued than usually done in American films? 

Who is the prosecutor that calls the cook?  (42:35). We never get a good look at his face. 

And who is the walking woman intercut with this? Who is she running from? 

Oh, she must be the "female part-timer"

(1:03:36) housekeeper to G: "what a curious princess you are". Gothic! 

Housekeeper says basement room is Y's

His origin flashback starts at ep 3, (1:04:35)

Isaac gives adolescent Y: Eichmann in Jerusalem, Crime and Punishment and The Moon and Sixpence.

The Moon and Sixpence: unreliable narrator and multiple povs, Wikipedia describes main character as "a solitary, sociopathic and destructive genius"

Oh. In this first flashback ep 3 at min. 1:09, Isaac stops the father from beating Y. In the memory in episode five, Y fantasizes his adult self doing the same thing. Hmmm. 

Also Isaac is seen wearing the cross pendant around his wrist here. I think the implication is it was their mother's. 

In the church story, Y has it on his wrist, even while Isaac is still alive. Hmm. 

Housekeeper: Why do you hate Y so much? Father: "Because he resembles me. That boy resembles me so much.  But Isaac, Isaac is different. Yo-Han will someday devour his older brother."

Housekeeper: "But before all that, Young Master Yo-Han was already someone who was capable of anything."  "He made the maid who liked him jump off the second floor and fed weed killer to the hunting dog the chairman cherished." 

(1:11:10) - hoodie time. Vengeance on the firefighter who we later see stole dead Isaac's watch. Y chases him and he falls off the roof. Y never touches him. Y remains expressionless. Takes the watch from the dying firefighter/beggar and walks away. 

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9 ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16

[makeste]

Open for movie speculation? :) The new key visual was released today and if you don't want miniscule spoilers then I'll gladly spend the time asking how you're doing in these times and how you light up my saturday with your posts that never cease to make me laugh haha. I do hope you're doing well :) So here's the wee spoiler (or should I call it a spoiler?) the antagonist(?) is called "Flect Turn", hope you have a nice week :)

so as usual, I'm late in responding to this, but I just wanted to clarify that my "no spoilers, please" policy pretty much only applies to the new BnHA manga chapters, and that's specifically because of the weekly reaction posts. I know part of the appeal of a liveblog is watching someone else's reactions to all of the surprises and twists and wtf moments, and so I try to preserve those each week. if I wasn't liveblogging the series I would probably be reading the leaks along with everybody else to tell the truth lol.

so that said, feel free to send me spoilers about the upcoming movie! out of respect for those who do want to avoid being spoiled, I'll tag those posts (and this one) with "bnha world heroes' mission spoilers" and "bnha movie 3 spoilers" so people can blacklist those tags if desired. but I personally have no objection to them; back when Heroes Rising came out I already knew all of the plot points and had read detailed spoiler summaries well before I finally got the chance to watch it myself. it definitely did not take away from the experience at all, and in fact I'm kind of glad I knew about the end twist ahead of time because I was able to devote more mental energy to analyzing and appreciating it rather than still being all "!!!!" from the shock lol.

so yeah, I've been trying to stay up to date with the news about WHM as well. here's everything I think we know so far:

the movie will take place during the Endeavor Agency internship, as expected.

the bad guys are a terrorist organization called "Humanize", who believe in the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory we first learned about during the Remedial arc. as a refresher, basically the idea is that as quirks continue to evolve with each new generation, they'll eventually grow too powerful for humans to control and will destroy the world or something lol.

anyway so Humanize hears about this, and they're either like, "man that sucks, we should just kill everyone with a quirk so it doesn't happen", OR they're like "man that sounds awesome, we should totally expedite that." like, I'm really not clear on this part lol. but either way, they apparently come up with a plan to cleanse the world of quirk users by planting magical plot bombs called Ideo Trigger Bombs, which make people lose control of their quirks.

as mentioned, the bad guys' leader is named Flect Turn for god knows what reason lmao. I'm guessing it's some kind of weird play on the word "reflect" (especially given his character design), and based on that, as well as the Ideo Triggers, I suspect this guy has the ability to somehow turn people's own quirks against them. you can see him at the bottom of the key visual anon mentioned, here.

anyway so the heroes are all "hmm, pretty sure the end of world = bad" and so they all decide to band together under this "W.H.A." umbrella (which I'm still assuming stands for either World Hero Agency or World Hero Association or something like that) to deal with the bombs.

as shown on the key visual, in addition to the Endeavor Agency trio, the movie will also feature the kids from Ryuukyuu, Fat Gum, Gang Orca (who has Jirou and Shouji interning under him for anyone who lost track), and Hawks's agencies.

the movie will also feature a new character named Rody Soul, who's this weird steampunk Dickensian urchin-looking guy with a ponytail lol. he apparently teams up with the trio following one of the bomb incidents.

most of the movie will apparently take place in a fictional country called Oceon (this is why nobody could quite place where that bridge in the trailer was from lol).

at some point Deku gets framed for murder idk. just Deku things.

and last but not least, as usual there will be a special manga tie-in release, in this case titled "Volume W(orld Heroes)". looks like the initial release will be exclusive to theater-goers in Japan, but I'm sure someone will get their hands on it and post it online, and Viz will eventually release it in English as well (they did the same with the previous two tie-ins). it'll include behind-the-scenes sketches, a new Horikoshi interview (probably the part I'm most looking forward to), and of course, the new movie tie-in chapter. as with the previous tie-ins (Volume Origin and Volume Rising), this will be written and drawn by Horikoshi himself. I'm hoping that it will feature the trio, but the other movie tie-ins featured All Might and Nine, respectively, so it's probably more realistic to assume this one will focus on Rody. ah well.

I think that's it. I haven't really done much speculating about the plot either tbh, though what we've learned seems pretty straightforward. Deku probably either gets framed for one of the bombs, or gets caught up in one of the blasts and loses control of OFA. or maybe they'll save that part for his fight with Flect at the end. god, if we get a scene where he goes on a Blackwhip rampage with a big screen budget I will lose my whole damn mind. especially if Kacchan and Shouto have to work together to stop him. can you imagine omg. but I should really rein myself in before I start getting way too hyped up over a bunch of wild hypotheticals. this is why I try not to speculate lol.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

I don't really think Touya found the other inferior ones, maybe it was me but I would rather say that since he couldn't be in the hero world because of his father, he felt left out of the group since even in college, many students want to become heroes and therefore they could not understand Touya because they all still had this light, this hope to become the heroes of the next generation.

Well, that's another really valid take!

Let me see if I can explain what I mean with Touya finding other people inferior. I often try to put my thoughts into words the best way I can, but it's a little hard sometimes.

What I take to support my point of view is Endeavor's behavior. He acts like something different is something not as good as what he wants or has. For example, every kid he has that doesn't reach his expectations is different, and even if he doesn't say it out loud, he treats them like they did something wrong, so in this case you can say that different equals inferiority because you're lacking something.

Touya was really close to his father. Closer than anyone, because he as a kid was really smart and mature, so he could read his father's intentions. Enji was trying to treat Touya like an ignorant child, but that was not efficient because Touya knew. Maybe he didn't know enough to read the whole picture, but he knew enough to know there was something really wrong with the way his parents treated him.

Because he was closer to his father and because Enji had put in Touya that he was the one, probably already mistreating Rei and dismissing Fuyumi, Touya started thinking that girls were not able to understand what he was going through. He was following his father's steps as much as he could. When Fuyumi tried to tell him to stop and when his mothers do the same, Touya dismissed them both. Why? Well, in his head Fuyumi was not part of his world, she wouldn't get it. With Rei it was different. Touya saw her as a victim of Endeavor but also like someone who was part of the pressure on his shoulders. If Enji was destroying him, Rei was letting it happen.

And 'til the very accident, Touya still wanted to be a hero and held tight into that hope. Touya was obsessed with his father, obsessed with finding a way to his father's heart, to win his approval again. Every time Endeavor (and Rei) told him to be "a normal child", Touya probably felt he was not good enough so he had to resigned. And he refuses to. Imagine filling a kid's head with dreams of being the number one and then telling him he can't do it, so he has to keep what he can and stop worrying others. There were good intentions in there, but Touya wouldn't get it because the problem was deeper. Touya needed someone to support his dream and teach him how to use his quirk without getting hurt. Instead, Endeavor shut him down at once. That was too extreme to fast. He didn't have the patience or time to sit with his son and explain him everything, he didn't listen to Touya, he was not even seeing him.

When Touya refuses to play with other kids, he does it because they can't also get what he's going through. How would they know what it's like to be the son of Endeavor? I'm reading it as Touya thinking "I'm closer to the hero world than them, I'm on another level, and since they can't understand this, they must be lacking something. Maybe they are inferior". And don't get me wrong, he knew that was bullshit, and pardon me for the expression. Touya suspected many things he believed in and many things his father did were bullshit. Once more, he was a kid, closer to his father. Good or bad, he just wanted to be accepted by him because that's all he know, training and working hard to gain a compliment.

As far as we know, he was a good student, just not very social because he was busy trying to prove his worth to Endeavor. Even while playing with his siblings, he's focus was not in the game. The trauma took his childhood right in front of him and turned him into something more. He was living a child's life while his mind was trying to keep an adult mentality.

I agree with you that all of this can be read as Touya finding people different but not inferior. But *please be careful because from this point on I'm giving some spoilers when it comes to Touya's future*:

While reading Dabi's character, it's interesting to see where all those thoughts took him. It's like he thought "well, if I can't be the chosen one to the hero side, I'm gonna be the chosen one to the anti-hero side".

Before Stain, Dabi hardly had a criminal record. He was probably lost, living how he can. Let's please remember that Dabi joined the League following Stan's steps. He obsessed over him. Same story, a little different.

Stain can't give him his approval either, so once more we have Dabi reading into things without having all the information he needs. I think it's in the war arc when Dabi dismissed Tomura's intentions of creating a new world. Dabi says he's the "ultimate manifestation of Stain's will" or something like that. Can you see how, just like with Endeavor, Dabi decides his taking the place of a greater figure? How he takes their words and sees himself or builds himself around them? He doesn't believe in heroes, no even a single one. For him, there's no person that can be a hero.

And once more, you can either read it as Dabi finding others different or inferior. I think it's a little in his actitud and the way he treats or talks about people. It reminds me of real life examples where they talk about others like they don't have what it takes or can't reach their level. It's like a "you guys can't do the job and you guys can't even dream to be me or do like I do" behavior.

Still, this is just my take on things! I'm wrong many times and I really appreciate when people share with me their points of view or corrects me. I read into stuff for fun, you know, which means sometimes I don't pay that much attention to my theories. Well, they are not even theories??? It's just like, my thoughts while reading.

Anyway, thanks for sending this asks! Please remember to drink water, take some breaks from working so hard or stretch a little if you can. Be gentle to yourself. I hope you're having a nice day. 🥺💞

[shyrose57]

2: Upon first glance, no. Though they do tend to avoid the subjects of parents or siblings, and also try their best to avoid conversations that lead into sharing their past. Their also not so pushing about knowing the brothers past relationships and their childhood. Ranya and Seth are the brothers parents! Ranya is their mom who is 20% enderman, and Seth is their dad who's fully human.

3: But is there any proof of it being bad for you? That's exactly what it is, its just Team Rocket but switched if that makes sense. Raq's trying so hard to capture Ran and now Ranbob, he's planning so many plans and coming up with so many unique ways to capture them. But the groups dumb shenanigans and the fact most of them just kinda flop around half the time SOMEHOW manage to foil every plan he has and its pissing him off. But now I also have a angst idea that features Raq getting his hands on a potion of blinding and using it. 

4: He was screaming because he was trying to escape the others and resorted to trying to make himself seem big and stronger than them, like a animal sometimes does to escape a predator. And also he was screaming because Cletus grabbed his arm and was trying to keep him from moving, and Ranbob's brain sadly registered the touch as painful. 

6: Benjamin does actually just carry around blankets, mostly just in case someone gets cold or someone gets wet and need to be dried off. But he also does carry a special blanket only for Ranbob, its a very fluffy blanket, is a bit heavy (which helps ground and reassure Ranbob), and is big enough to cover the top half of his body. But they don't carry around tea or anything for Ranbob to drink when he gets sad, mostly cause the times they tried to do that either it got spilt or Isaac drank it. 

10: I have developed the town a bit further. The town has a population of only 300 (may change though, but no matter what it's going to be a small town), and is situated in the Crater, where homes and business are built into the side of the Crater, with overlapping bridges, stairs, overhangings littering all around the Crater (if anyone is having problems imagining it tell me, I have some pictures I found that fit what I'm trying to describe pretty well). Wilburs decendent shall be called Lucia, and some residents of the town are Siren-the towns only blacksmith and armourer, also one of the most knowledgeable people in the town due to their great fascination with history, Adler-one of the only remaining Clerics that actually make all possible potions and even new ones at times, and almost freely gives them out, Atlas-the towns trouble maker, and the one who goes adventuring, but he also has a great interest in astrology, and can read the stars to figure out locations of things or upcoming events, Josh-He's just Josh, no one's quite sure what he does, Atlas suspects he has a secret mob grinder since he has so many mob parts and seems to have whatever someone needs, and Lucia insists that he's the one that does the communication and trading with big cities but no one believes him (spoiler, he's the redstone expert but since redstone isn't used a lot in the town he hasn't actually told anyone), Asidi-town guard, mostly just checks on the residents, though is also greatly defensive of his home, and Mripat-the towns mayor/leader, though she mostly lets people do what they want to do, its only when people want to build new things or have suggestions, or break a law does she actually act like a mayor/leader. The town itself doesn't have a set name yet but im thinking maybe Kelalen Kepungkur (Forgotten Past), but just Kelalen for short. And its mostly forgotten by other kingdoms and towns, because it doesn't belong to any certain kingdom, and due to them being forgotten, their incredibly nice and tight knit, but also suspicious of new comers. Infact Ran and Ranbobs groups where going to be chased out of the towns property until Lucia stepped in, saying how he recognizes the black and white skin. 

11: It is! He figured, hey the memory book seemed to help Ranboo, who says it won't help him? Though it only slightly helped him at first. Eventually he'll get hugs without pain, I promise you.

12: IN MY DEFENSE, you never told me not too.

13: Ok so this is the additional fluff, this is not canon to the story at all, as it just simply seems to out there to actually fit in the story. But anyway, I was thinking that upon returning to Mizu, Ranbob finds a hidden room. And in one of the rooms there's a sort of ghost box type thing, where people can hear and even see nearby ghosts (that is what immediately got it out of the story). So Ranbob manages to get the box to work, and when it finally starts up, the ghosts of his family is actually behind him cause they've been following him the whole time. At first Ranbob is horrified and quickly backs away from them, borderline breaking down crying at seeing them again, cause he's gotten overwhelmed with grief. At first the ghosts don't follow him, but suddenly Memi runs out after him, and Ranbob has to fight the instinct to protect himself, and instead leaves himself vulnerable to whatever they want to do to him (which he imagines is degradation and even hitting). But instead Memi just hugs him tightly and cries into him, saying how she missed Big Brother so much. And Ranbob can feel this, and this wasn't what he was expecting, so he's left shocked and frozen. Until Lias also approaches and hugs him too, saying how he's so sorry and how he missed him too. Then Seth and Ranya both join in on the hug, saying how their so sorry Ranbob had to suffer alone and how they failed him because they didn't protect them. Meanwhile Ranbob is shocked, but he soon gets over it and hugs them back just as tightly. Repeatedly saying how he's sorry and he didn't mean too, all while his family comforts him. In the end, they manage to convince Ranbob they have no harsh feelings towards him, comfort him, talk to him about what to do with Ran not trusting him, say how their so proud of Ranbob for growing so strong and breaking Dreams hold on him, and listen to Ranbob share stories of his haunting. 

2: First glance, huh? How about further glances? Also, how did Ran get so much Enderman blood in him if he had a human father and a mother with only 20% in her?

3: Yeah, actually, I think they have medical studies on it? Something about blood loss, or infection, maybe? Idk the specifics, anon.

Okay, so I’m not sure I read this right. The group’s shenanigans accidentally defeat his plans? Is that right? Or do his plans just flop on their own? Also, oof. Can’t wait to see how bad that goes. Which poor Ender boy is subjected to blindness?

4: Hahaha, ouch, ouch, ouch. So, like Endermen screaming? Also, he registers touch as painful? That’s...not good. Is that something that happens often, or just during his relapses?

6: Benjamin just carries around blankets. He’s a fluffy blanket dealer. You come to him looking even slightly in need of a hug, and he burritos you in blankets. Payment is self-care. 

Also, Isaac drinks it? Is he like a tea gremlin? Locates tea and drinks it no matter what?

10: Sounds like a lively little place! And quite frankly, I already love Lucia. For what reason do the townsfolk have towards being suspicious and chasing people off though? Have they had trouble before? Also, Lucia recognizes Ranbob as Ranboo’s descendant? Or just that he looks similar? How does everyone react to the sudden hostility, and then being allowed in?

12: EVERYONE KNOWS YOU DON’T ADMIT TO A CRIME, ANON, GOODNESS! Also, fair. Mean, cruel, and sadistic, but ultimately fair. I did not say not to. That is true.

(Still mean, how dare-)

13: Anon, how dare you call this fluff, just. This is so bittersweet, I’m literally crying. I can’t believe you’ve done this. 

[silver-wield]

If you don't yet have an analysis of when Cloud saves Tifa from the collapsing staircase, I'd like to hear it!

Sorry this one took awhile, Nonny, I was gonna do it yesterday, but I got super tired and then I was gonna do it earlier but I got pissed off and had to walk away from the internet before I threw my computer through a window.

So, the collapsing staircase aka the cloti hand grab. Bring it!

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven’t played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it’s gonna be long and awesome! Because I saw things and I have suspicions!

Also, this is one person’s interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that’s cool and we’ll agree to disagree.

You’re also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I’m grabbing them from Youtube and it’s frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Please check my master post to see if I've already covered your question, thanx

Let's mosey!

Recap time!

Let's backtrack a tiny bit first. Cloud's making his way up the pillar, had his bro moment with Biggs – damn you Square – and he's heading up to where Barret is on the top level.

Reno and Rude are in their chopper, throwing shade at Shinra while doing their jobs. I love how idgaf Reno is during this bit. Like, honey, you not even trying.

As Cloud comes into view on the staircase, Reno spots him and it's time for revenge! Nothing personal, bitch!

Ok, nothing very special here. SOLDIER!Cloud taking a look about for whatever resources he has to hand – none – and we've got Reno in the background waiting for him to get in range. (Yall also almost ended up with my gif of Nyx Ulric loool he pretty but Cloud’s prettier)

Reno's impatient. He fusses with the joy stick, drums his fingers, then puts his arms behind his head. The fact he's done this last move suggests he has no doubt he'll be gunning Cloud down sooner or later. We can see Rude keeping his eyes front – you can just catch the direction of his gaze behind the left lens of his sunglasses.

HOLY SHIT! Rude blinked! Like several times in quick succession! (gotta slow the frames down to 0.25 to catch it btw) Now, this could be nothing since Rude is very hard to read and has even smaller micro-expressions than Cloud does, but when someone blinks like that it usually means they recognise the person they're looking at. He's seen Tifa running up the stairs. I don't know why he might recognise her, aside from having a headcanon about it, but I'm telling you, I saw him do several rapid blinks when he caught sight of her, then draw Reno's attention to her. His eyes behind those sunglasses are ever so slightly wider than usual btw. It's really hard to see, but there seems to be a definite look of “I know you” about him.

Reno shooting at her might have been a mistake on Rude’s part. He could have forgotten himself in that moment of recognition and didn't mean to direct Reno to a new target. That would explain why he pulled away from the attack and made up an excuse about his hand slipping.

This makes me excited to find out if Rude knows her and what the deal is with that OG crush. My headcanon? He's a former student of Zangan too and helped get Tifa to Midgar when she was injured. She doesn't remember it since she was at death's door for most of the trip. I saw a bit saying Zangan had to use a lot of healing materia on her and she stayed in the hospital too, so it's reasonable she wouldn't recall Rude. But, we don't know for sure yet, which is why headcanon.

Still exciting though!

Cloud's heard footsteps on the stairwell, so turns to see who it is and you can just catch a glimpse of Tifa appearing through the metal slats. This is the first time Cloud spots her. The camera then pans up to the helicopter again where Reno prepares to shoot Tifa.

I don't wanna say for sure that Rude's jaw clenched here. The lighting is suspect because of the angle it strikes his face. He did something. I noticed something, but it's so utterly subtle I can't tell what. He either clenched his jaw for a brief second or his lips firmed, again for a brief second. It's probably easier to catch if you slow the frames down then don't look at Rude and rely on your peripheral vision to see it. That's how I end up replaying things a million times because I saw something and then have to spend half an hour trying to find it again lol

Reno definitely smirked, I caught that no problem.

So yeah, moving on from Rude's super micro-expressions, before Reno's even finished speaking he's pulling the helicopter away from Tifa. Like, Reno's still saying “bullets” when it happens. That's a very snap decision, especially with how fast Reno talks usually. And the entire time Reno's speaking Rude is looking at Tifa. I mean, he's expressionless – he could give Cloud lessons – but there's also emotion coming from him. I kinda feel a bit sad looking at him in this screen.  

Guess we'll get more Rude backstory in part 2!

Reno bangs his head and I always laugh at that part. Get rekt!

Cloud's all da fuq? since it's so very obvious Reno was lined up to shoot and then suddenly not. But there's no time to think about why because Tifa's still running up the stairs.

Omg I'm so good I even impress myself sometimes! Check either side of the screen. Tifa at one edge and Cloud at the other, already in motion to save her as the first bullets from Reno's miss start destroying the staircase. You could not get closer to the start of this catch!

Tifa's foot is on the second step here. That's not even a second after the last screen. Her sub isn't even fully solid that's how soon she yelled for Cloud. Going by common sense, the staircase is collapsing to her right and she needs to get up another 12 steps? In a couple of seconds? Yeah, she knew that wasn't happening. She needed him. I question how she knew he was there. She couldn't see him from where she was. Maybe she guessed the chopper was shooting at him, but it could've been anyone from Avalanche. She's not looking up the stairs, her eyes are at her feet.

I think she yelled for Cloud because that's who she wanted. Like Aerith said to follow her heart, Tifa's heart cried out for Cloud when she was in danger.

Well, if that isn't a look of surprise right there. She really didn't expect him to be right there at that moment. She was screaming for him, hoping he'd save her and there he was. Her face goes from this tense “I'm about to die” look, to this wide eyed shock that there he is, right in front of her, reaching for her. Right when she needed him most. If he wasn't there she'd have been shot and the last thing she said would've been his name. That's how important it is that she screamed for him there. It wasn't that she knew he was waiting for her. She didn't know he was there at all. She just wanted him to be the one to save her so desperately and he came through.

So I bet a lot of people have looked at this so romantically that he's reaching for her. Hell yeah in a way, but what makes it even better is when you remember you're looking at Cloud through Tifa's eyes. This is how she sees Cloud looking at her in this moment, all heroic and brave and just right there for her. That confident stance, totally out from behind any kind of cover, just waiting and reaching for her. It's funny she never calls him a hero in the game, except as a motivator at the end when he's dangling off a building, because he absolutely is pulling off the hero moment here. She called his name and he appeared to save her. It's exactly how she said during their promise.

He is taking her hand. That's his fingers wrapping around hers, while hers lay open against his palm. She is the passive party in this hold, while Cloud is the active one. She could've mutually grabbed him, but she didn't. This is him saving her. This is not an equal grab. This is Cloud grabbing Tifa. Only after his fingers close over her hand do hers do the same back.

Cloud backs up, dragging Tifa up the last of the stairs to safety, while keeping himself safe as well. There, he spins her around and puts his free hand on her back, while keeping hold of her other hand in his. He doesn't let her go at all during that move. In fact, you can also see that Tifa now has both hands on Cloud. The one he took is still holding his and she's put her other hand on his arm. She was likely very scared during that moment he saved her and she's holding onto him as an anchor to feel safe. Cloud saved her and she feels safe with him.

Cloud's expression is wary and alert, since he's focused on the danger, while Tifa's is scared. Just because she can fight, doesn't make her a fighter.

Cloud lets got of Tifa's hand so he can lean out from behind their safe spot and check on the danger, but he's left his other hand on her back. During this moment, Tifa actually leans back which would increase that contact.

Her face is quite blurred since we're focusing on Cloud in the foreground, but her expression seems to hint at a “thank god I have you” look.

Oh look, the camera refocused. Definitely a “thank god I have you” look, not to mention the tears in her eyes. She was terrified.

Also, that hand is still on her back.

But, she can't be weak in front of Cloud. She wants to prove she's his equal, that she doesn't need a hero. She just wants him. I mean, before he turns to look at her, she's staring at him like he set the stars in the sky for her.

As he takes his hand off her back and pulls out his “what the hell?” line, which is clearly him mad at her for being so reckless and almost dying on him, she gives him a brave smile and puts on her own persona as someone who can totally handle all this chaos. Scared? Tifa? Noooo.

She says “nice catch” all casual like she wasn't petrified and screaming his name less than thirty seconds ago and he is not impressed by this one bit. He's unconvinced Tifa's as blasé about this as she's acting, which is why he continues to challenge her. Which isn’t the first time he’s done it. He doesn’t let her bullshit him.

Basically, she's trying to be brave and support him, but he doesn't want her to put herself in danger because he wants to protect her. They're both trying to prove they're worthy of each other and doing stupid shit in the process.

This is actually a very good moment for them because we know Cloud pretty much does whatever Tifa wants because he wants to make her happy, but this shows he's not above arguing with her or challenging her when she's being reckless and endangering herself. He's not got her on a pedestal. She's not some unobtainable dream woman. She's real to him and he feels comfortable getting mad and showing negative emotions to her. That's why he can call her crazy without worrying it'll sour her opinion of him.

Remember, Tifa is non-confrontational by nature. She doesn't like fighting and will usually agree or let things go for the sake of an easy life. But, she disagrees with Cloud or tells him off several times throughout the game. This shows she's comfortable having confrontations with him. She's not worried about upsetting him and being rejected during a typical interaction. She worries about scaring him away when she’s unsure he’ll stay, but once he’s said he’ll stick around she relaxes and doesn’t seem as worried about him leaving her. It was only when she tried to move their relationship from friendship to more during alone at last that she worried about rejection. 

Tifa accepts Cloud's feelings, even the negative ones and deals with them in a mature way. She doesn't dismiss him or ignore how he feels. She just relates her feelings to his and points out that he's still going up the pillar, so she will too. She wants to stay by his side. Her heart led her to him. If he's going, then so is she. Her expression is earnest here. There's nothing more than what she says. She's not leaving. Nothing can change her mind.

OK WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, RUDE?! DO YOU KNOW TIFA?!

He swallowed! His mouth tensed and he swallowed! Lips pulled down. Behind those sunglasses I caught movement. There's definitely something going on with Rude here and it's something that Reno doesn't know about since he doesn't recognise Tifa and he has no idea why Rude did that.

Ok, one last quick shot of yet more unnecessary touching between Cloud and Tifa. Why is he doing that? Literally to keep her within arm's reach. She said she's not leaving, so he's gonna keep her safe no matter what. To do that, he needs to know exactly how far away from him she is. Also, he wants to touch her lol

Conclusion

Well, there was lots of good stuff hidden in there and I'm even more convinced that Rude knows Tifa after I caught some of his micro-expressions. I'm excited to see if it's true in part 2, but more so the fact that we're gonna get the Turks characters' fleshed out compared to OG. We've already learned that Reno while not giving a fuck, also actually really gives a fuck. I love him. He's such a snarky butt.

But, this was about Cloud and Tifa, not Rude.

Yeah, she literally couldn't see him at any point when she was running up that staircase. She screamed his name because that's who she wanted in that moment to appear and save her. The surprise on her face is genuine. She didn't know he was there. Cloud's in full “I must save Tifa” mode, so it's real!Cloud motivating SOLDIER!Cloud to do what he doesn't think he's capable of. They then have a lover's spat about Tifa being reckless and show the healthy disagreement side to their relationship by not screaming and shouting at each other or being sarcastic – like Cloud is with someone else. While Cloud might not like Tifa going with, he understands her need to. She's also put it in terms that he can understand, but part of him is very unhappy about it, which is why in that last shot we see him with his hand on her arm ready to protect her at a moment's notice. He's not letting her out of sight or arm's reach.

It's some damn good solid relationship building from them during a tense moment.

[latterdaysasuke]

Arslan x Estelle Novel Summary (Book 8)

(Estelle does not appear in 8, which picks up 3 years later, but was briefly mentioned in Chapter 4 by Narsus and Daryun when discussing Arslan's prospective marriage partners.)

Background: Arslan's Prime Minister Lushan had repeatedly brought up the matter of finding a queen for Arslan.

(In case you don't remember, Lushan, or Lucian, was this old guy.)

Below is a conversation between Arslan and Elam:

" 'Lord Lushan seems rather perplexed.'

'He was likely to have such reaction. He is constantly urging me to find a wife. But if I rush to get married, wouldn't life become quite meaningless?'

'Your Majesty don't need to consider it, just let Lord Narsus take care of everything. Shouldn't that be the case?' Elam had once heard from Narsus that the king's marriage is a political matter, not solely based on one's personal preference. If the marriage was to serve a political purpose, it ought to be with someone from among the previous royal family

....

At the same time, Narsus and Daryun are walking along the corridors of the palace, speaking softly regarding this matter.

'Narsus, in my opinion, His Majesty Arslan already has someone in his heart.'

'Are you referring to the Lusitanian squire?'

'What? You've noticed as well?'

The Lusitanian squire Etoile, or Estelle, the girl who is the same age as Arslan, met then-prince Arslan during the siege of St. Emmanuel, and left in him a lasting impression. Estelle took the remains of Lusitanian king Innocentis VII and returned to her homeland. In the three years since, Arslan has never mentioned anything regarding Estelle. What Daryun fears is that Arslan has hidden this matter in his heart. However, Narsus has a different outlook.

'It's like the hives, not yet love.'

'Is that so?'

'If that degree of affection was enough for two people to get married, Gieve would have gotten married over 500 times already.'

'Isn't your example a bit too extreme?'

'Because the most extreme example is the easiest to understand!'”

In a follow-up conversation, Narsus discusses with Arslan regarding the search for the former Queen's daughter (Since, spoiler alert, Arslan was adopted by Andragoras due to a lack of male heir):

" 'If Your Majesty finds the queen's daughter, what do you intend to do?'

'Of course I would plan to meet with the queen mother herself.'

'And then?'

'Technically speaking, she is my younger sister. So I should treat her according to the royal customs and find suitable lodging for her.'

'What of your marriage partner?'

'Narsus, you concern yourself with this way too much!'

Sensing Arslan's annoyance, Daryun steps in to explain Narsus's thinking: to have Arslan marry with the daughter of King Andragoras and Queen Tahamine so that the bloodline of the old and new royalty can be merged.

'I haven't thought of that!'

Arslan was startled. He knows nothing about Tahamine's daughter, so his response was natural. Narsus had no intention to force his will upon Arslan. Even if Arslan shares this idea, the other side may not agree, or if her appearance... or if she had an unfavorable desposition, it will be even more troublesome. On the one hand Arslan wouldn't like it, on the other hand the people would have difficulty accepting her as their queen.

'Everything we've mentioned is from a political perspective. Even if it is correct politically, but may not be so personally.'

'What do you mean by personally?'

'The will of Your Majesty is an issue. If there is someone you like, you should marry that person, that is what I meant by personally.'

'There is no such person.' (At this point I'm inclined to believe that Arslan meant there is no such person IN PARS, since he was not expecting to see Estelle again.)

'I know, but what about in the future? Your Majesty is not the kind of man who would accept a political marriage and then take the woman you love as concubine.'

'Of course, Your Majesty remaining single would serve as a diplomatic advantage. Since we can use Your Majesty's marriage to leverage other nations.' Pars will become more prosperous, and if the king remains single, what will the other nations think? If they cannot win in battle, they may seek an alliance. And marriage politics is the best way. All the kingdoms will undoubtedly make marriage proposals. In that case, Pars will have the princess from many nations to choose from.

'This is indeed a hot commodity.'

Arslan forces a smile.

'However, when it comes to that it will be difficult to choose one. The other nations will surely hold a grudge and make diplomacy more difficult.'

'Your Majesty, it seems as if we are discussing the color of a flower that has yet to blossom. We can discuss this matter at a later time.' 

Arslan nods in agreement.

'Certainly, I will consider this matter more seriously after Daryun and Narsus have both married! Isn't that the correct order? You are both older than me by more than 10 years!' "

This response draws a laughter from Elam and effectively ends the discussion.

(In a nutshell: Lushan wants Arslan to marry because why not. Narsus wants Arslan to get married for political reasons. Daryun suspects Arslan doesn't want to marry anyone who isn't Estelle. Arslan deflects the question of marriage altogether.)

(Personal sidenote: Narsus seems reluctant to buy into Arslan x Estelle as a thing, since from a tactician's point of view the King's marriage should serve political or diplomatic interest for Arslan himself and for Pars, and Arslan marrying a foreign woman of no noble status would have wasted such opportunity.)

[lokaneiscanon]

Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder rant

Seeing Natalie Portman returning to reprise her role as Jane Foster, nevertheless wielding Mjolnir, finally getting the treatment this character deserves, was surreal to say the least. I had just started reading Lords of Midgard, the 8th issue of Mighty Thor (2015 - 2018), and had fallen in love already. But I didn't suspect at all that Taika Waititi would pull this card in Thor: Love and Thunder, considering Jane was barely mentioned in Ragnarok. The news about my favorite actress portraying one of my favorite characters coming out of the blue - you can imagine the excitement. Alas, I quickly remembered what the fandom thought of that comic (at least on tumblr) and imagined it now growing tenfold, cuz not everyone in the MCU fandom reads comics but pretty much everyone wants to watch another Thor movie. And yes, many fans weren't ready for this step, still recovering from Sam Wilson getting the shield in Endgame. Which is completely fine. We're not obligated to like everything Marvel throws in our faces, we're allowed to criticize and express our opinion on the internet or wherever. What is not okay is mindlessly hating, and even worse - using false facts to support said opinion.

I have seen some people using the argument that it is one of Marvel's worst selling comics. Which has already been proven wrong by multiple sites, including Comichron, just Google it, as I did myself. I read multiple posts, ones saying how good Jane is doing as Thor in sales, others disproving this, so I checked for myself the numbers at the site mentioned above month by month to be sure. The comic truly had its downfalls as the story progressed but in my opinion it's normal for the 1st issue to have more sales than the 21st. If we compare it to Unworthy Thor, which started running a bit later and followed the now unworthy Odinson, the data shows the latter had more sales. But then again, while Might Thor was at its 17th issue, Unworthy Thor was at its 2nd. Also, they later crossed paths, shared comic issues, it's fair to say they go hand in hand and Jason Aaron, the author, probably doesn't want us to compare them, as they complete and compliment each other's stories. Still I decided to check the comic that made Thor unworthy in the first place - Thor: God of Thunder (2012 - 2014), which seemed to me more "comparable" to Might Thor (2015 - 2018). *I keep putting the years it was being released so as to not be confused with previous Mighty Thor issues, whole Odinson was still Thor, please bear with me* So yes, the numbers were pretty close, but from what I saw, Mighty Thor had the upper hand if we compare first issue to first issue and so on. (In defense of Odinson, we have to take into account that this data is only from the US and does not include digital sales. Also, he's been around since the 50s. We could argue Jane was a breath of fresh air that some Marvel fans were indeed ready for. As a non-American, and also a person without a hint of knowledge in economics I cannot take into account inflation and whatever else has prevented or enabled Americans to get their hands on the comics or has affected prizes through the years. Bear that in mind.) Moreover, from what I saw on Comichron, both comics had much competition - God of thunder was released along with Avengers vs the X-men, the Uncanny X-men, pretty popular at the time, and the Goddess of Thunder faced Civil War 2 and DC Universe Rebirth (yes, DC is in the game too), also dominating with tremendous sales for the longest time. Yet I stick with my original statement - both Thors are valid and shouldn't be put against one another regardless of profit. Because at the end of the day what will matter the most is the story. And boy, what a story it is.

Now, I haven't read the Thor: God of Thunder, but as I was doing research I found one very well written summary and explanation of Thor's arc and his becoming unworthy and I will post a link below, because I honestly feel I wouldn't be doing this comic a favor by describing it without having read it. Which I plan to do in the future, tbh. It's a fantastic prelude to the Mighty Thor (2015 - 2018) that I've come to love. First, I'd like to ask you all to stop hating on the comic without having read it first. It doesn't make any sense and being petty for the sake of being petty won't benefit neither you, nor anyone, really. Now, about the comic itself - the art is magnificent. It's just gorgeous. Mighty Thor isn't , thank all the gods, sexualized, she is pretty buffed and generally looks like a warrior. As it is with the other characters, I dare say. The background truly captures the essence of every world Jane finds herself on. Action scenes are just the right amount and balanced with dialogue well. On a side note, it's pretty funny to read/listen to in your head the Shakespearean English cursive in which Jane talks as Thor. The plot line branches beyond this comic, starting from Thor: God of Thunder and leading to the War of Realms. And it is elaborately built in every issue. You don't know what to expect, yet it makes sense when it happens. Which leads me to the characterizations. My God, what a treat Loki is in this. Clearly, my opinion is kinda biased, since he's my favorite character, but you never know which side he's on. What his motivations are. And it just feels so... Loki. His writing is brilliant. Almost makes me forget what the MCU did to him. Also, he gets some daddy time with Laufey (not as kinky as I make it sound). Frigga/Freyja is just as awesome as in the MCU, even more, at least in the comics she calls Odin out on his shit, who btw is I guess an asshole in every version and universe. Malekith, the main villain, is unbearably despicable, I want to tear every page he is on. He really was mishandled in the Dark World, if you want some true action with the dark elves, you are welcome to enjoy. I saved the best for the end - Jane Foster/ Might Thor. Now, if you think Dr. Foster spends her time boasting about her worthiness and how Odinson is just called Thor, but she is Mighty Thor, you are horribly wrong. She just... does her job. Because the hammer chose her. Because there's no one else to do so. That's it. If you think there's some feminism involved, yes, there sure is, but it certainly isn't the reason Jane became Thor in the first place. It was not the creators going SJW because it's trendy, as such a mindset is honestly offensive to any descent creator with any self respect, but a well thought out story arc, which, I repeat, you have to read the comic to understand. Jane is not at all whiny about the hate she gets in-universe, not only from foes like Odin and who-not, but from Shield and generally people whose asses she's saving. Her having cancer is not something they pulled to provoke sympathy and make her look like a victim - on the contrary, she is a damn hero and a victor. I don't want to give out spoilers, but her being Thor is actually a giant sacrifice that no one really appreciates (both in-universe and in the fandom). She is not Thor to prove she can be, or just to prove "women can be heroes" - she doesn't have to. She is simply needed by the realms and so she does her job, even though she is called a thief, persecuted and generally hated. All that matters is that the hammer finds her worthy - the beauty and simplicity of that fact you will find out, for the last time, if you read the comic.

I'm not making you read the comic or watch Thor: Love and Thunder. I myself don't know what to make of this film yet because there's barely any information about it. I only know it will be based on the comic so that's a reason for my hopes to be up already. On the other hand, since I didn't like Loki's characterization in Ragnarok, I'm not sure what to expect from Taika. There are valid reasons to not like the idea of Jane returning to the MCU as Thor, which you are entitled to. However, reasons such as "why does everything have to be political these days" are not. Because if I had to make a list of everything politically related in the MCU, it would take forever. Steve Rogers kills nazis is the most blatant example. Make of it what you want. But I think we're far enough into the 21st century to realize art and real life are not that separable. It's undeniable that art affects people and that is to say, people everywhere. And they all have different opinions and aren't gonna like everything media is offering to them. And I wish I could simply tell you not to watch the movie but I'm a Marvel fan too and I understand that I can't just take away Thor from you because I want Mighty Thor as well. But none of us can stop Marvel from producing it. So, to quote an image I saw recently, I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people. Let the rest of the fandom enjoy what they want to enjoy. Yes, ik I can play around with the tags and avoid posts that unnerve me but, for example, I'm looking up Mighty Thor fanart, which obviously isn't anti-Mighty Thor, yet I get attacked in the comics for anticipating a movie that doesn't even have a full cast yet. Ik I'm not asking for too much when I wish to get the same internet experience (not only tumblr, but also insta, YouTube, Twitter, any site) as the Thor Odison fans, for example. I'm aware I cannot stop all the toxic fans and the trolls but I hope this post has inspired those of you who simply can't envision Jane as Thor, or don't like Natalie Portman in the role, or whatever eles personal preference that doesn't involve political issues and isn't harmful to the community, not to attack every post on your dash with hate. The movie is called LOVE and Thunder, for God's sake. (on a side note, is a franchise that is too afraid to show LGBT characters for more than 1 minute so as to not lose profit from China, THAT politically correct)

Anyway, that was a veeeery long rant, sorry to whoever reads this but, like, please, I put effort into this, hoping this time around I won't be the only positive reviewer of a movie, like I was with Solo: a Star Wars story (yes, I'm still bitter about this), which was boycotted for no apparent reason but was a decent film in reality, and I'm only bringing it up because it has a similar experience to Love and Thunder for getting hate before even being released. I'm not defending a billion dollar company that flopped in box office once, I'm defending the viewer's right to media they are interested in. If you don't like the character, remember - that's your opinion, not a fact that the character sucks. Kudos.

Not very easy to navigate, I advice you to do the research month by month individually for comics you'd like to compare. Also, if you happen to find more reliable data, pls say so in the comments.

Here you have the summary and explanation of the greatness of Thor: God of Thunder, Jesus, I'll go bankrupt if I buy this one too.

Yes, I want to end the sales dispute once and for all, I'm tired of seeing it on my dash. This guy probably explains it better than I did.

@awesomejenlawrence you said you'd like to read this and I delivered

[locustheologicus]

Being Liberal

The following post was being past around in social media and at the time it was incorrectly being attributed to Ron Howard. The actual author is Lori Gallagher Witt. I post it because her well thought out words well describe the values attributed to American liberals. This political orientation has been run through the muck since the Regan era and the unfortunate consequence of this is that a core fundamental tradition of the American identity has been vilified and considered anathema. I post this letter in my blog because Ms. Witt's words should be shared (as she intended it) so we don't continue compromising our value system. Below is Ms. Witt's letter.

An open letter to friends and family who are/were shocked to discover I'm a liberal...

This is going to be VERY long, so: TL;DR: I'm a liberal, I've always been a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does.

Some of you suspected. Some of you were shocked. Many of you have known me for years, even the majority of my life. We either steadfastly avoided political topics, or I carefully steered conversations away from the more incendiary subjects in the name of keeping the peace. "I'm a liberal" isn't really something you broadcast in social circles where "the liberals" can't be said without wrinkling one's nose.

But then the 2016 election happened, and staying quiet wasn't an option anymore. Since then, I've received no shortage of emails and comments from people who were shocked, horrified, disappointed, disgusted, or otherwise displeased to realize I am *wrinkles nose* a liberal. Yep. I'm one of those bleeding heart commies who hates anyone who's white, straight, or conservative, and who wants the government to dictate everything you do while taking your money and giving it to people who don't work.

Or am I?

Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines.

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm self-employed, so I already pay a shitload of taxes. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, that means increasing my already eye-watering tax bill. I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal) All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe we should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally.). I'm not opposed to deporting people who are here illegally, but I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I believe we should take in refugees, or at the very least not turn them away without due consideration. Turning thousands of people away because a terrorist might slip through is inhumane, especially when we consider what has happened historically to refugees who were turned away (see: MS St. Louis). If we're so opposed to taking in refugees, maybe we should consider not causing them to become refugees in the first place. Because we're fooling ourselves if we think that somewhere in the chain of events leading to these people becoming refugees, there isn't a line describing something the US did.

11. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

12. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I'm butthurt over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

13. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person? Your refusal to adjust your vocabulary in the name of not being an asshole kind of makes YOU the snowflake.

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

So, I'm a liberal.

(c) 2018 Lori Gallagher Witt. Feel free to share, but please give me credit, and if you add or change anything, please note accordingly.

As a personal opinion I will go on record to say that I agree with all 15 points that Ms. Witt makes. And finally allow me to also affirm that yes, I too am a liberal... and proud of it.