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risualto · 5 years ago

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OC Fears

I was tagged by @rebelfatebinder (as well as a heck ton of open tags) a while back to do this OC fears meme with my characters, but the format didn’t really work for many of my characters for a number of reasons. So, I thought I would instead list a few of my OCs and the fears that I know they do have.

Open tag--if you would like to do this or the original OC fears meme (found here), consider yourself tagged and tag me back so I can read about your characters, too!

Basically, I’m going to list things that each character has a notable fear regarding, meaning that this is something that affects their decisions in ways that are significant for their narrative. I’m trying not to overlap with characters who I did the Negative Traits tag game for just to keep things interesting.

Nickolai (original fiction)

Responsibility (Failure) - Nickolai has a really difficult time accepting it when other people rely on him because he’s terrified to fail and incur their anger or lose them as a result. Therefore, he pushes people away by making himself seem unreliable and flighty. This fear stems from a subconscious knowledge that Nickolai carries the weight of an entire civilization, even when he wasn’t consciously aware of this duty. Small spaces - Nickolai is claustrophobic. This stems from the fact that he is, essentially, a wind spirit stuck in a human body, and being stuck inside boundaries goes against his nature. ...but the human part of him is also just irrationally scared of small spaces.

Iruka (original fiction)

Isolation - The fastest way to compromise Iruka’s mental state is to isolate her both physically and psychologically--she can do okay if she’s physically by herself but knows there are people coming to her/people she can return to. But if she feels like she can’t connect to anyone and is isolated, she panics. Suffocation - I know this one seems obvious, but as someone who can breathe both air and water and has a pretty immense lung capacity, Iruka is really scared of not being able to breathe. Suffocation triggers a pretty vicious fight or flight response.

Ayumo (original fiction)

Restraint (powerlessness) - Ayumo cannot stand to be, for any reason, restrained. Being immobilized in a fight or, for example, having his hands cuffed, is deeply frightening for him; but this extends to being manipulated as well. Ayumo defines himself through defiance, so being blackmailed (or pseudo-magically controlled) into doing something frightens him as badly as being paralyzed. This fear comes from the fact that Ayumo’s early life was a clusterfluff that was completely out of his control, so maintaining control is important to him. Public speaking - Stealthy boi hates having a lot of attention on himself. He survived most of his life by avoiding all attention, so that’s not fun for him. But also, he’s generally a very intimidating person and not exactly eloquent, so talking isn’t his favorite thing either.

Tai Lon (Pillars of Eternity)

Freezing to death - Despite being a pale elf, Tai Lon really hates the cold. Freezing to death is like the worst way she could go in her opinion. She’d trade places with Iovara to avoid it. That’s how scared she is of dying from hypothermia. Small (confined) spaces - Tai Lon is also claustrophobic, though for her, the fear only really kicks in if she is trapped. For example, being in a small room with a door that’s unlocked doesn’t bother her, but a collapsed cellar will freak her out, even if there’s enough room to move around. This fear comes from what happened to her when Caed Nua collapsed. Thunder (sudden, loud noises) - Also stemming from the collapse of Caed Nua, loud, resonant noises with no discernible source scare Tai Lon. She can get through thunderstorms if she’s with her friends, but it still sets her on edge.

#risuresponds #pillars stuff #tps stuff #this got long #i was going to do elex too but the post was already too long #idk reply to this if y'all want more/other characters #oc: pillars tai lon #oc: tps nick #oc: tps iruka #oc: tps ayumo

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dappersheep · 4 years ago

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Food Fantasy: An Analysis on what killed a Golden Goose (1/3)

So first things first, disclaimers! I do not claim nor pretend to know every nook and cranny, ins and outs of the history of FooFan's conception, existence and uncertain future. I do not own the game nor its characters, only the opinions and thoughts stated hereon out.

This was born to vent out my frustrations with how a game like this was abused poorly by its own developer and publisher instead of being nurtured to become its full potential that could have overshadowed and remained better than the likes of Tencent's Tales of Food --I could dream, but it honestly had the potential to be.

Out of respect for the main tag, I personally will not be tagging this post and the following two with the main tag. If you want to tag it yourself with it, that's your choice. Only followers of my blog will see this.

This analysis is divided into three parts: Funtoy, Elex, and the Community. It starts under the cut. Well let's get started.

Funtoy

Ah yes, the creator. The developer. You'd think that with their sudden rise to fame during their global launch, they'd have used the massive profits they earned within the first quarter of 2018 to improve certain things about the game and then trickled it down as quickly as possible towards Global, right? Yeah, I thought so too.

After playing the game since launch, I've seen and experienced way too many things that just hammer in the fact that this is one of the most unfair gacha I've played in years. Some reasons being the following:

(Note: These are experiences ONLY on Global's version, it may also apply to CN being the original server)

⦁ The game's gacha model is aimed towards maximum predation on its players. F2p are forced to either spend some money (and thus tempt them to keep spending after getting a taste of it), or risk not even getting a good ascension of the unit to be useful at all. Paying for the event packs also doesn't guarantee that you would be able to secure a spot in the ranks. In fact, if you can't comprehend how the battle mechanics work, you could even de-rank. Fun way to burn that 800$, huh? At least you have the skin from rebates.

⦁ A little less known thing and probably theoretical at worst, the long joked about spaghetti coding of the game along with an outdated spine technology for the sprites could very well be the reason why a 2D game like this experiences the shittiest lags. Also how easy it is to hack this game with the right know-how.

⦁ Speaking of bad gameplay mechanics, did you know you could spend over fifty Mirrors and not get that final enhancement from +9 to +10 simply because there's absolutely no tangible safety net before +10?

⦁ If you're F2P, this game is terrible in giving you resources to stockpile. Because Funtoy certainly doesn't have a lot of weekly/monthly or even friendly events wherein you can get resources without spending another kind of resource. The Hawthorne event's rewards are lackluster at best, Bingo is severely limited in what it gives, and Recall also doesn't give much for a big event that only happens (supposedly) every 6 months. Did I also mention that daily resource rewards also kinda suck compared to how much you burn in just one event?

⦁ Monthly subs are a scam. Yes, you heard that right. My point of comparison here is Arknights. A monthly in AK allows you to have enough to 10-pull after 30 days, on top of a bit of stamina to help you. In FooFan? You have two monthly subs that do different things and even then, you won't have enough to 10-pull by the end of 30 days, nor is the stamina you get enough to even stockpile and ease the pressure of your need to save for the Gates or that stamina event that suddenly popped up.

⦁ A conga line of 'Must procure this unit at a high ascension to do well in the following events!'. You missed the first Pizza event? Missed the first Turkey event? God forbid, you weren't able to 5* your Beer on his debut? Well sorry, that 5* Black Tea of yours isn't gonna do squat to give you good damage. No, your 2* B-52 also isn't going to do much of anything with his lackluster damage capabilities. If you want a chance to get those event URs again, you have to wait for their pool with laughably limited pulls... and a bloated price to even pull.

⦁ The events starting after the first iteration of Turkey event get even more paywalled. As far as I remember, by the time Minestrone rolled around, an F2P with ample crystal resources can only get 2* at best. 3* and above are paywalled.

⦁ The game has incompetent balancing. The devs themselves likely have little experience in gameplay design and balancing, especially for a game with a growing roster of characters . A prime example of them launching a character not knowing it would pretty much unbalance the game? Look no further than Beer. The guy had to have a couple of nerfs done to him because he was just too meta. You know what's sadder? Before the 'switch' to Brave meta, almost all meta units was built to benefit off the Beer meta.

⦁ Artifacts. Do I even have to explain how the introduction of such a game feature so early into the lifespan of this game essentially fucked over the balance even more? Not to mention, all the more reason you'd be crying with the Gates of Trials demanding so much out of your stamina and crystal resources. F2Ps are again, the ones that suffer in this part. What's their reason? Profit, of course.

⦁ The nerf of resto chests. This was the primary source for people who were saving up stamina for the Gates... until Funtoy decided they were being too generous to their playerbase and dropped the stamina probability rate to 1% or less.

⦁ Terrible UI layout and design. Come on, be honest now, you've lost several thousand of your hard earned crystals buying screws in the fishing shop because you didn't notice that shiny warning in small text and a green button with the crystal image slapped on it, didn't you?

⦁ Look at all these SRs! All of them! Wow, they even outnumber the Rs by at least 80! What's that? There's more URs now too compared to Rs and Ms combined? That can't be real. But seriously, you'd think Funtoy could make some of these SRs into Rs and add them to the perm pool/shard fusion so people aren't stuck pulling Macaron or Dorayaki every time. They could have also populated the Team Up rewards with SRs instead of Rs. But you know... that won't bring them profit. Haha... haha.... Oh and I haven't even told you about the SP class...!

⦁ Lore. Yes, I'm sure by now you're aware that the in-game lore is different from the ones in the non-SP Food Soul bios, in the SP Food Soul bios that sort of ties in with the New World story (that global will never be getting btw). At this point, Funtoy handwaves the confusion away by saying, 'they're all different timelines'. Yes yes, an easy and cliche move to explain how shitty the writing direction went after a while. I don't know what happened, all I know is that lore got weird(er) when they introduced SP Rice.

⦁ They. Keep. Adding. More. Characters! They fail to see that a lot of their earlier players have imprinted on the first few waves of Food Souls and they sadly also fail to properly give some of them more story expansion... or skins. At the moment, they're shelling out so many JP-centric Food Souls because... as I see it? They're pandering to the last bastion of whales they have.

⦁ Merchandise. And I mean a variety of merchandise that isn't using the same official art every time. Like they couldn't afford to commission a couple of artists one or two times to make unique merchandise that would sell. They started too late on that train, and they even made it too hard for anyone not in CN or JP to even procure what already exists. Not to mention, they keep using the same 'popular' set of characters for their merchandise and never really expanding out to making merch for other characters.

These are all the things I can list off at the top of my head why Funtoy as a developer sucks ass. They could sweeten their words all they want, it won't change the fact that they've certainly made way too many bad decisions and found out about it too late, and now they're desperate to keep Food Fantasy alive to keep their profits coming in to make whatever that cat girl game they have and that supposedly 'side-game' FF2 they announced.

There may have been problems out of their control that I or you do not see, but one thing is for sure, they were blinded by greed for the money they were raking in on all their servers at the start, and never actually bothered to invest in more manpower in the right places to improve the game, both gameplay-wise and worldbuilding wise. It's actually saddening that this game could have been so much more with several QoLs and a more fleshed out lore, perhaps even spacing out the number of new units they keep introducing while going back to giving their old units more attention.

That's it for Funtoy. We're moving onto Elex in the next part and boy is that also a trip.

#ravings of a madman #food fantasy but not tagged right

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wedreamedlove · 4 years ago

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Xu Mo and Loneliness [Character Study]

Surprise! It's essay time again ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ! Disclaimer: I use CN translations because Elex...

One (of the many) things I love about Xu Mo's character is his juxtapositions [Character Study]. He is one of the loneliest men in the world due to his archetype and nature [Into Your World] but also the most susceptible to loneliness.

Throughout the game, he's dropped hints about his fear of being left behind:

"... But the sensitive artist was also afraid the butterfly would one day grow tired of being beside him, and so he thought about catching the butterfly and putting it in a glass jar. Like this, the butterfly would never be able to leave him." [Drowning in Love SSR - Artist and Butterfly Call]

"... But if I really did encounter the one and only color in my life, then I certainly wouldn't let them go." [Drowning in Love SSR - The Only Color Call]

"... No matter what the truth may be, I'll always be with you. Until the very moment it arrives... I just hope that, at that time, you won't want to push me away." [CH12 - Truth and False Call]

MC: Don't worry, I'll be alright on my own. Xu Mo: But I'm not alright alone. [CH13.4]

But, at the same time, he's accepted the adage that "'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all":

"The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat." [CH9.14]

Just to expand on this for those who are unfamiliar with The Little Prince story, when the Little Prince is going to leave the fox, the fox says that it is going to cry. The Little Prince feels that his taming of the fox has done it no good at all, because now it's hurt, but the fox denies this because now it has the color of the wheat fields.

"Since she was willing to gently embrace all that he was, then why not accept this pain in his heart that was caused by her alone." [Overseas Date]

"Forget it, he'll just be foolish once more with this foolish girl." [True Love Date]

One other aspect of his juxtapositions is how his wants and needs are in conflict and I think people are naturally picking up on this, which is why he's viewed as having a really intense relationship with the MC.

I'm just going to define my words in this context to make things clearer but a "want" is your desire in life, while a "need" is your raison d'etre, essentially your reason for living and your goal in life. It's not necessary for all stories or characters to have this, but they're certainly more captivating with this. (As an aside, Zhou Qiluo has this going for him too while Li Zeyan and Bai Qi do not... and maybe why Bai Qi keeps getting hit with the vanilla and boring label LOL).

So, what does Xu Mo want? To love the MC and, as a byproduct, never be alone again. What does he need? The continuing survival (and evolution) of humankind, even if that means walking a path that will leave people behind him and end with him being alone.

This internal conflict is something we see again and again in the game:

[CH13] He reveals his identity to her as Ares, but lets her go. He even sacrifices his eye and the ability to see her color.

[CH16] They're "enemies" and they draw a clear line between them at the news conference, but he then saves her and returns her home. He sacrifices their experience together in the dream world and his answer to her question about whether or not he'd even offer up the person important to him for his goals.

”Before I met you, I would be annoyed at the pace of the people with me. Everyone has their own destination and a person walking by themselves would be quicker. Mm, this isn't a good custom. But on my path, whenever I turn my head back, I would always find that you had already caught up to my side. This time as well. Perhaps, in this world, you're the only person who can make me unable to resist looking back. Or perhaps you're the only person who can reach my side again and again. So, in the future, I won't let go anymore. On this day, next year, you'll be at my side too.“ [2019 (2nd) Birthday Call]

Now, the entire reason I wrote up this post—LOL. I'm actually half-serious because his [Endless Path Date] is amazing in how they distilled his character to one of his core themes and represented that facet entirely in this AU date.

I'm going to be jumping around chronologically in the date to show how he was in the past, to the present before MC regained her memories, to after she regained her memories.

PAST

Xu Mo: I hope you don't regret the choice you made this day.

MC: ... I admit I hate them, but I don't wish to be the same as them because of this.

MC: I don't want to become a murderous demon.

Xu Mo seemed to be a bit surprised and then, after a few seconds, the crimson in his eyes faded and became a calm purple, scrutinizing me.

Xu Mo: A murderous demon... Do you believe that I am one as well?

His voice carried a smile, but I felt a formless pressure and sense of terror surround me and I shuddered.

MC: You aren't. You saved me.

Although the way was to turn me into a vampire... in a sense, he gave me a "new life".

Xu Mo: Save? It appears that, in your understanding, when vampires are hunting for food they are saving people.

MC: I'm just being factual. Also, the word "hunting"...

The corner of Xu Mo's lips pulled up.

Xu Mo: There's no rush. In the future, you will experience for yourself whether or not the word I used is accurate.

I was stunned and suddenly remembered the thirst towards fresh blood in that hut earlier which had dominated me.

Xu Mo seemed to have no intention of bothering himself with me again and turned around, preparing to leave.

MC: Um... please wait a moment.

He silently looked back, his expression indifferent and cold under the moonlight.

I summoned up my courage and looked straight at Xu Mo.

MC: Can... can you give me your blood?

MC: I heard that this was the only way to become a true vampire; they won't have to drink blood and they won't lose their reasoning, so...

Xu Mo: So I have to answer your request?

Xu Mo interrupted me, as if he heard something laughable.

Xu Mo: Vampires are not gods who never refuse a request. Or is it that all humans are such selfish creatures?

MC: N-not at all! In exchange, I can...

The wind blew through, rustling the leaves of the trees. Xu Mo calmly listened to my words and was silent for a long while before he lightly sighed, but it also seemed like a laugh.

Xu Mo: Alright, I agree.

Under the moonlight, the hand that was held out to me was pale and slender. I took a step forward and also stretched out my hand—

PRESENT

Xu Mo blinked, slowly without hurry, and swept his eyes over in my direction.

He saw me and didn't appear to be surprised at all; instead, it was like he knew I was there all along, witnessing everything.

His smile wasn't anything different from usual and even the way he set down his glass and held out his hand to me was like that day, two years ago.

Xu Mo: [MC], you came.

The color of crimson blurred my vision and the smell of blood was like a wave threatening to engulf me.

I felt like breathing was difficult and my legs were unsteady; I could only lean against the wall.

Xu Mo saw that I didn't move and walked directly over to me. It was as if everything around him had no effect on him and those two crimson eyes reflected only my figure.

He came to me like this, step by step, and the strange thing was... that I actually didn't feel any fear.

He raised a hand to support me and this let me see his eyes clearly. There seemed to be a faint worry in them.

FUTURE

Xu Mo: Do you remember everything?

A gentle voice landed beside my ear and, as I recalled the scenes of that night, I looked at Xu Mo and mumbled.

MC: I promised you that, no matter how long, I would always...

He blinked and those crimson eyes crumbled into purple, a faint smile appearing in them.

Xu Mo: Mm, you said you would be at my side forever.

The reason I transcribed these three scenes is because they're so good at showing his assumed indifference, to how fast he caved into the temptation of not being alone, to how he continues to hold this hope despite MC having "broken their promise", to the future where they get to walk in an endless night together forever.

IT'S SO GOOD. I'm a sucker for immortality concepts and PG nailed this vampire version so well; his ancientness in the past, the longing for companionship, and then the sharing of a life.

Anyway, I was actually going to post this essay after I read his newest Halloween card because, after seeing he was an exiled prince with Snow White themes, my guess was that it was going to have a heavy and explicit theme about loneliness again.

But I got impatient seeing as how I have to wait until the end of the event to redeem him. So, I guess I'm throwing it out there that this is my prediction??? For those who have read that date, you can tell me if I'm hot or cold LOL. I'm going to look like a fool yelling about loneliness themes if that isn't the case this time though.

MIMICRY

Semi-switching gears and bringing back my [Into Your World] post, I just want to add that in addition to being so intensely curious about the MC's world and trying to understand her, I've noticed that MC and Xu Mo share something pretty unique to them that's less obvious with the others.

This is the mimicry that they do to each other.

There's been psychological studies that looked into the social aspects of mimicry (Baaren et al 2009) and mimicry and attraction in romantic relationships (Nicolas Gueguen 2009). In short, mimicking someone appears to promote social harmony, comfort, and trust in the other person; it can also make you more attractive to them LOL.

I really don't think Xu Mo is doing this intentionally and that, instead, this supports his (alienated) scholar archetype, his hobby of people watching, and trying to understand the MC's world. The same goes for MC, she wants to understand his world and a part of that is experiencing things in his way.

The reason I believe this is less obvious (if at all apparent) with the others is because, when I compare Xu Mo's dates to Bai Qi dates, all of Bai Qi’s dates are more like experiencing activities together, which Xu Mo has as well, ex. [Winery Date], [Sunrise Date], [Hot Spring Date], etc.

But Xu Mo has dates where they specifically mimic each other, such as:

[Blossom Date] He covers her eyes, she then covers his eyes.

[Archery Date] Technically, he teaches her but after he gets bull's-eye, she copies the form he taught her and also gets bull's-eye.

[New Year's Eve] He gets taught and mimics the way she makes dumplings.

[Qixi 2018 Mini Story] He and the kids ended up copying the MC's flying fish.

[Rainy Night Date] The flashback about how she folded origami cranes and then taught him and they make strings of them.

They also—and this I swear is unique solely to Xu Mo—mimic each other's words or sentence structures and phrases:

[Blossom Date] Tao Yao poem and how they quoted it back at each other, essentially finishing each other's stanza.

[Endless Path Date] The beginning of the dates shows an inside joke between them where MC tries to ask Xu Mo difficult questions to stump him, because he can see through her. But he guesses the herbs she bought by the smell on her fingers. Later on, she guesses that he's going to a party based on his use of the cologne she made him and which he only uses for parties. She explicitly brings up the beginning and how she can deduce things about him too via scent.

[CH13.15] Xu Mo quotes 1 Corinthians 13:12 at MC and [CH16.12] MC quotes 1 Corinthians 13:2 at him.

[CH16.12] During the conference, MC literally quotes the words he said to her [CH13.17] back at him to go against him.

[Dumbstruck Date] Heck, this whole date was MC repeating words that the original Xu Mo said to her and making Winter!Xu Mo jealous as heck LOL.

Throughout the story, where MC draws her strength from how the other men are as people (Li Zeyan's stability and permanence, Bai Qi’s core of justice, etc.), she seems to draw extensively on the words Xu Mo has said to her, or references to the same body of literature.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, but IMO this is why he reacts the worst out of all the men to MC’s disappearance in Chapter 25+.

#love and producer #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #mlqc lucien #mlqc xu mo #love and produc(ing) meta

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otonymous · 5 years ago

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Lucien and The Lure of Forbidden Fruit (MLQC Character Analysis)

Hello dear readers!

I’m sure that everyone knows by now that Lucien is my favourite MLQC boy (even after the events of chapter 13), and I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why. Needless to say, this analysis will be lengthy and include lots of spoilers (for certain Lucien-related dates and the main story, up to and including chapter 14), so the rest will be posted after the break!

Please keep in mind that I know next to nothing about what’s happened in the story beyond the new chapters released in the English server, so apologies if my theories prove incorrect to those who know better 😆

In response to the lovely Anon, on a superficial level, Lucien is exactly my type: tall, dark and handsome, and a genius to boot. I love my men intelligent with a side of suave, someone who isn’t afraid of wearing his feelings on his sleeve — and this sexy professor delivers. But I swear my reasons for loving Lucien extend beyond this paragraph 😂 Please do me the favour of reading on!

@blueanimewriting, I see Lucien’s character as being quite complex, and labels such as “yandere” alone are not enough to encapsulate him as a whole. Let us consider what we know of Lucien (in the English server) so far.

Lucien, aka Ares, is a high-ranking agent of the Black Swan Collective (BSC) — a super shady secret society with equally shady ambitions for the world, whose plans seem to hinge on MC’s cooperation. In Chapter 13, it is revealed that Lucien’s kindness and attentiveness to the MC was all part of his plan to lure her into a trap on behalf of the BSC. On the surface, everything about this screams betrayal. But is it really? More on this later.

Going back to @blueanimewriting’s question, a yandere is typically seen as a character with a sweet exterior who is capable of engaging in extremely violent and deranged behaviour when it comes to anything/anyone who challenges their relationship with the love interest. In my understanding of this archetype, the aggressive behaviour typically doesn’t reveal itself until love has been established, in that either the yandere realizes they are in love or are already in a relationship.

As we’ve seen in Chapter 13, Lucien is already highly respected and feared within the BSC, where he is known especially for his ruthlessness. The man won’t hesitate to dispatch Black Swan minions with little more than a flick of his hand, teleporting them to god knows where (we just know that the thought alone is enough to make them shake — remember Josie after her little illusory arson trick in Chap 13-1?). The man even smiled when his eye got split open as punishment for dragging his feet on his mission and not capturing MC. There is little doubt that Lucien is no stranger to violence, whether he’s the source of it, or at its mercy - a fact that most definitely precedes his relationship with MC.

The professor’s villainous behaviour does not come as a result of him falling in love, as is typical with a yandere. He is a man tasked with a goal, and his actions must be interpreted through that lens. Did he stalk MC by moving in right next door? Absolutely. Was it out of love? Probably not from the outset; he likely needed to monitor her as part of his mission. Did Lucien ever direct violent behaviour towards other potential suitors for MC’s affections? I don’t recall him ever behaving aggressively towards Victor, Gavin, or Kiro. Lucien’s deception and manipulation seems to stem solely from his mission, not from love.

Is Lucien innately evil, simply “born to be bad” so to speak? It’s hard to be certain at this point with the information we have. What we DO know is that the boy grew up without both parents at a young age, and may have been deprived of the opportunity to learn about proper human interaction — love, in particular. Hence, Lucien learns about affection by watching old Hollywood films in the cinema until the early morning hours, and reads books on how to be a good boyfriend. He asks MC to teach him how to love in his New Light Date. Perhaps it was just a bit of shameless flirting. Or perhaps, he was being completely sincere.

Of the sincerity of his affection for MC, however, there can be no doubt. Scattered throughout various dates and the story itself, we find instances of Lucien fighting his growing feelings for her. In his Aquarium Date, he admits that he has become too involved with the girl, despite knowing he should have kept his distance. In his Midnight Date, we witness Lucien ordering himself not to think of MC whilst clutching his chest in pain, the moment clearly illustrating that love had “taken root in his heart.” We also catch a glimpse of the professor’s true feelings in his aptly named True Love Date, in which Lucien tries his hardest to avoid MC (likely to prevent himself from falling even more in love with her), and fails spectacularly, displaying some extremely jealous behaviour when he mistakenly thinks she has feelings for someone else.

And while I could be wrong (depending on Ares’ ultimate agenda), the strongest evidence of Lucien’s love for MC would be the fact that he dragged his feet for so long on his mission, and still let her go in the end. If he was a total villain through and through, would it have been likely that MC would’ve escaped simply by saying that Lucien owed her a thank-you gift? I think not. Her ass would’ve been teleported back to BSC headquarters so fast.

So, we get to the crux of the matter, the reason why MC’s romance with Lucien/Ares will prove to be one of, if not the most, heart-wrenching ones in the game. Their relationship is star-crossed: Romeo and Juliet, Evolver-style. Lucien knows full well he was not to fall in love with her but couldn’t help himself and did it anyway. MC obviously had feelings for Lucien, and even in the face of his betrayal, still initially refused to accept it (“...you are not Lucien. He would never harm me. Ares and Lucien have nothing to do with each other!”).

The very image of the blood-red Lycoris blooming in MC’s dream at the beginning of Chapter 9 can be interpreted as referencing this ill-fated romance: when the flower blooms, the leaves have already fallen, and when the leaves grow, the flower has already wilted — the two can never be together. In the same vein, Lucien and MC are desperately in love with each other, but are standing on very different sides of a war that is gradually brewing. This is the stuff of angst-filled romantic dreams, for everyone knows forbidden fruit is the sweetest. It is also one of my favourite romantic tropes.

Yes, Lucien manipulated MC’s feelings in order to advance his own goals. But the professor never anticipated that he would fall victim to his own feelings for her. And that was the moment when his world was no longer black and white, cut and dried. He let his emotions get in the way of his mission, and was sorely punished for it. But perhaps his greatest punishment came when he had to watch his own confession of betrayal crush MC’s heart (let us not forget that look of sorrow that flashed in his eyes during Chapter 13’s showdown).

Yes, Lucien hurt us. But in doing so, he also hurt himself.

If you’re still reading at this point, 1) thank you for sticking around as I prance atop my soapbox, and 2) if you’re still not convinced, consider this: would Elex really make you fall in love with a main character only to make you hate him to pieces? Who in their right minds would blow tons of cold, hard cash on those gorgeous Lucien karmas, such as…

…if he didn’t have a way of ultimately redeeming himself in the end, however far away that is? I am a firm believer that Lucien/Ares will have a redemption arc, and that it will be absolutely fantastic when it happens. 💕

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Thanks for reading! Check out more of my work here! 📚

#q&a #anonymous #ihavenotfallenyet #blueanimewriting #mlqc lucien #my writing #mlqc character analysis #lucien character analysis #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer

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sharinluna · 5 years ago

Text

Lucien Firefly Date Analysis

One of Lucien’s charms is that many literature works are quoted or mentioned in his story and dates. He is like an onion with layers of complicated allusions and foreshadows. Sadly, Elex excluded one of them in the Firefly date.

Many people tend to gloss over the Firefly date since it’s kind of a tutorial date. But it’s one of the dates you must read if you want to understand what Lucien thinks about humankind and evolution. And how his moral values are challenged by Yōurán(MC)’s.

In Lucien’s firefly date Yōurán and Lucien free some fireflies in the woods, but one firefly is weak and is unable to fly. I’ll provide an exact quote of this part.

The firefly, wings fluttering, leapt from my palm to Lucien’s fingertip. A sudden breeze from the depths of the thicket sent the fireflies scattering. The one in our hands, though, continued struggling to fly. Hair and shirt whipping in the wind, Lucien gazed at it with soft, kind eyes.

Lucien: It’s getting windy…

To struggle is the only to survive.

Maybe it’s not exactly wrong, but it’s still incorrect translation, especially the two lines in italics. Since those two lines are actually supposed to be quotes from the French poem “The Graveyard by the Sea” by Paul Valery.

I won’t post the whole poem since it’s too long, but the last part of the poem goes like this:

The wind is rising! … We must try to live!

The huge air opens and shuts my book: the wave

Dares to explode out of the rocks in reeking

Spray. Fly away, my sun-bewildered pages!

Break, waves! Break up with your rejoicing surges

This quiet roof where sails like doves were pecking

Lucien is actually quoting “The wind is rising!” and Yōurán is quoting along in her monologue: “We must try to live!” So the correct translation should be like this:

Lucien: The wind is rising…

We must try to live.

Elex managed to erase Lucien and Yōurán having an intellectual moment, and left out a foreshadowing about how the future stories are going to be. From the tutorial date it’s already hinting that this is not a fluffy dating game that many people were fooled to believe. This game is about the storm that is coming, about having to struggle just to survive, and how the characters have different values of what is right and wrong.

Lucien is a firm believer of ‘survival of the fittest’ and 'the weak are the prey of the strong.’ This is also the belief of Black Swan that Lucien/Ares is part of.

Yōurán: Perhaps small acts of kindness can bring some warmth to the cruel world.

Yōurán thinks differently however, she thinks even the weakest ones are doing their best to survive and gently encourages the little firefly to keep trying. And she feels sad that no matter what, some life are sacrificed to keep the world going, a notion that to Lucien was the law of life and felt indifferent about it.

Already this is more than a date. This is a clash of different values between Lucien/Black Swan and Yōurán.

They think non-evolvers are weak and not fit to survive. They also think that 'the strong’ victimizing/manipulating/preying on 'the weak’ is justified. Black Swan’s values are similar to Social Darwinism. Instead of discriminating people. with race or gender they are doing it with evolver/non-evolver and 'weak’ evol/'strong’ evol.

But Yōurán has a different opinion. She knows how to cry for the little firefly. She encourages the little one to keep trying.

“It’s getting windy. We must try to survive.“ Same line from the poem, but Lucien and Yōurán are interpreting it in an opposite way. Lucien thinks that the weak fireflies are not going to live long, Yōurán encourages and helps the weak ones to fly. She tells Lucien: “Perhaps small acts of kindness can bring some warmth to the cruel world.” Lucien was thinking of individual struggle and competition, while Yōurán thought of mutual help and coexistence.

Did Lucien think her too naive and idealistic? Do you?

#mlqc #mlqc analysis #mlqc lucien

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takadasaiko · 7 years ago

Note

Do you have any tips for working toward writing longer stories?

Hey there, anon! I’m so sorry this is delayed. Life’s been a bit crazy and I’ve been doing a lot of writing when I’m not working. I promised myself I’d get to some asks this evening, though, because you guys are awesome.

If you’re looking for stories that lend to longer plots, you may consider working with multiple characters. I’ve found that my longer stories tend to be a full cast for whatever series I’m writing on at the time. One shots can have one or two, maybe three in them, but rarely do I write a multi-chapter story from just one point of view. If you’re not used to expanding out past one or two characters, it’s super daunting at first, I’ll be honest. I still freak out when I start writing for a new character, but just working with them is the best way I’ve found to get more comfortable with them.

Once you find a plot that you think will lend a little longer, I think my biggest tip is something that I picked up from @toseehowthestoryends: plot points.

This is funny, because I hate outlines. I remember writing classes at university and professors that would try to get me to outline and how irritated I’d get. I just wanted to let it flow. That works great for short stories, but the problem with 20, 30, 40K+ stories (especially if you’re not writing it all in one long binge writing weekend or something) is that you forget things. You forget the amazing idea you had, but wouldn’t fit until later on in the story, and you forget that Elex and Georges had the damn dogs with them and that if the room explodes, you’ve gotta save the dogs, not just the guys (

That being said, I still hate the idea of an outline. It’s just too structured for my writing style (some people love them, and if a super structured outline works for you, go for it!), so I started talking to @toseehowthestoryends because her Once stories are epic and twisty and layered and I didn’t know how she kept all the facts in them straighter than the show runners for the show could ever dream to. She introduced me to plot points where you just sort of jot down the highlights of what you need to happen and what order it needs to happen in. It keeps you focused, helps you to know where things are going, and you can always make them as detailed or vague as you need to work through those ideas. For me, once I started doing that, I found that I abandoned much fewer stories. I knew where I was going so I didn’t reach the end of a chapter, stare at it like it had betrayed me by keeping its secrets, and then bail on it for something new and shiny with ideas. They also help when I do take a break from a story (I swear I’m going back to Howl Until it Hurts, I swear! as soon as Such Great Heights is done!) so that I can go back to my plot points and look over them so that I don’t miss any major happenings in the story and either repeat or ignore things that have already been dealt with.

Another personal favourite of mine, and this may just be me being a nut, is keeping a running timeline. I don’t do that for every story I write, but for stories like Howl Until it Hurts where they span over years, it’s super helpful to keep the pacing right.

Evernotes has been my saving grace these last few years. I keep files and files just for fan fiction. Some have more detailed notes than others. Stories over multiple years, like I said, and plot divergent AU’s tend to have a lot of varied notes. As I was plotting for Such Great Heights I knew I needed to go in and figure out not only what responsibilities everyone had in this new world, but also why the dream world had given them those specific jobs, those specific connections. Why those things kept them happy and kept them from asking questions. It helps to keep everything straight for me.

So, short answer long: notes. Planning. However much or little fits your style, and it may change with each story. I hope that helps. Thank you so much for this question :D

#writing #writing tips #this was really fun #plot pointing #totally calling out Robin's epic writing in this as well #just assume that it's queued #Anonymous

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scottmapess · 5 years ago

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✅ BITCOIN HALVING 2020 DONE ✅ Bitcoins Next Move?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

The big coin haul thing, 2020 is done. It’s over and it will only take one thousand four hundred and fifty-seven days until the next Bitcoin morphing in two thousand and twenty-four. In today’s episode, we’re going to have a look at some YouTube burse and how they freaked out completely because of this event. We’re going to look at some fundamentals and what effectively changed between the block number six hundred and twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and six hundred and thirty thousand. We’re going to do some technical analysis on the daily chart. And last but not least, probably the most important question of today, what’s bitcoins next move? All that and more in this episode. And now let’s jump right into it. And with that said, what is going on? Number one, sunny decree here. And welcome back to the channel. First of all, I want to say thank you very, very much for all the viewers. We peaked at approximately five thousand eight hundred viewers. The people were very happy. It was a very nice guy. And once again, I figured how much I love my community. And if you guys like this kind of content, please make sure you leave like below this video and also subscribe to the channel and activate the post notification bell. Once again. Thank you guys very, very much for this amazing support. Now let’s see how some other YouTube’s reacted and maybe freaked out a little bit about this Bitcoin morphing with Harvey. It’s absolutely insane. And we’re having a life that’s even more amazing. So, well, as you can see, I’m an on tech was full of energy, completely hype like we were, too. Also, there was the tone Vaisse Lifestream with temporarily fourteen thousand viewers, many, many big hitters right there. But some people were not really that happy about the Bitcoin boffing. So here is a kinda weird clip. Taylor, a.k.a. Chico, do the best scraping the bottom of the barrel there. Oh, yes, fine. And anyway, you fat fuck. Shut the fuck up, guys. They’re trying to introduce me. Be quiet. It’s an important moment. You invited me. Make it a good one. Okay. And the last one on the list. Producer and journalist Anami Brockwell. Thanks for joining us. Guys. How many in here show by bit links? The leverage trade to their subs. Correct them and then say twenty thousand. Gee, what about Chile prime? Yeah, actually prime MBT in the deleted off your channel in the between. Like, you never did it without pay. I said I’m sorry about that. I’m just telling you guys you’re going to be a big problem trying to get anything done which you go in this channel. You invited me. So it doesn’t seem that everyone saw this event as something positive. And here once again, I’m so thankful for the community that we have. Thank you guys a lot. So what exactly happened yesterday? And what’s the difference between blockade six hundred twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and six hundred thirty thousand? Well, it is actually quite simple. Here we’re looking at block number six to nine nine nine nine. And as you can see, the block reward right here was still on twelve point five Bitcoin. If we compared that to blockade or block number six hundred and thirty thousand. You can see that here. It actually changed. So the whole thing went down. And the block reward is only six-point to five Bitcoin. Now, some people out there were asking yesterday, also on the Lifestream. But, Sunny, if the whole thing is gonna go down every four years, what are miners going to do if there is no Blocher reward anymore or almost no Blocher work anymore? Why should they still be mining? Well, quite simple. Miners are not just getting the block reward. The freshman Bitcoin, they’re also getting all the transaction fees here. Of all the transactions in one block in this book, for example, there were three thousand one hundred thirty-four transactions, one block before two thousand four hundred eighty-one transactions. And all the fees are also going to the miner, which is mining that block. So the block reward getting reduced is not really that a big problem, because the more people that want to use Bitcoin, the higher transaction fees, we’ve already seen that back in 2017. So the miners can definitely be sustainable. Now, for those people who are saying, well, the big transaction fees. Well, that is bad, right? Well, it’s not. It’s protecting the network. If you have a network which costs nothing to send transactions, why would people not just spam it? Why would people not just abuse it to store their data for free on it? That is exactly what we’re seeing on some of this cryptocurrency, is that people are just using it as a data storage pretty much. Right. And Bitcoin is protecting itself with the transaction fee that it’s not getting spammed and that it’s only getting used for actual transactions. Of course, right now, because it’s cheap, we maybe have some spammers, we maybe have some transactions which are not necessary. But the higher the transaction fee goes to, more people are competing to use the Bitcoin network, the better the protection gets. So there’s absolutely no problem with that. Not a question that people were asking or another concern they raised was the hash rate, but the hash rate so far still perfectly fine. In fact, we’ve seen a new all-time high in hash rate yesterday. It depends a little bit what chart you’re actually looking at. But people were scared that no new blocks are getting get found. But what we can see right now is even offered a half. And you can see here two blocks were found and within one minute, then two minutes before that, then three minutes before that and so on and so on. Here in this one hour, one, two, three, four, five, six blocks were actually found. So, no, it’s not that miners instantly capitulated. Would definitely going to see how this will play out. But the hash rate numbers that we have, they aren’t based on blocks. So they’re always a little bit delayed. And also multiple charts are showing multiple results. But we will definitely have an eye on that. But so far, what we can say is, no, it does not look that miners are capitulating word. The miners are just withdrawing their hash power and bitcoin comes to a halt or anything like that. OK, so that was a lot of conspiracy theory. And we have seen whole things already in 2012 and in 2016. And it didn’t happen there. So why should it happen right now? OK. So everything is still perfectly fine. The whole thing worked as intended. And one thing which is very important is for those people are saying, well, it was kind of uneventful. There was nothing really happening. Right, with the price and everything. But once again, and we saw that tweet yesterday on Bitcoin, if the whole thing seems to be uneventful, then it works exactly as it is designed. Think about that for a second. That is actually quite a smart quote from the Twitter account at Bitcoin. And as you can see on this timer right here, one thousand, seven days left until the next Bitcoin Harpham, which is probably going to go down in 2024 on the 9th of May. Maybe we’re all going to be still around. That would be very cool. And I’m really wondering how many people we will have them on our Livestream yesterday, five thousand eight hundred. So that really looks like that the Bitcoin community to the crypto community is growing. What do you think is going to go down in four years from now? You can let me know down below in the comment section. All right. But now let’s talk about the Bitcoin price. First of all, we’re going to have a look at the Bitcoin daily chart. What we have seen yesterday was a little bit of a dump during the Lifestream, but. All too significant and what I like personally, and that’s something I already said on yesterday, Lifestream, is that yesterday and also the day before yesterday, we tested the range of the 200 daily moving average. And as long as we’re not breaking below the 200 daily moving average, technically speaking, we’re still in a bull market. So as long as we’re not falling below that level, which is pretty much exactly at eight thousand U.S. dollars. So as long as we’re not falling below eight thousand U.S. dollars, I’m not concerned. The correction that we have seen right now with all the formal pre having before that. I mean, we had like seven weeks in the Greens. I mean, of course, at some point there is a correction. And so far the correction is only at approximately 20 percent from peak to peak. And we have seen plenty of 20 percent corrections. So this is still perfectly fine. But what’s interesting right now is the Bitcoin weekly chart on that B Elex ticker. So here we are. And once again, we’re going to discuss what is next for Bitcoin. What is Bitcoin next move? I personally do not expect a massive pump tomorrow or interest one week. Why? Because history has shown us already that that never happened. So why should it happen right now? So the bitcoin morphing went down right here. Could there be a lot of sideways action? Sure, absolutely. But let’s go back in time and see what happened. And most importantly, and I’m pretty sure that is the most important question for most of the people out there. How long does it take for Bitcoin to reach an all-time high for Bitcoin to go to twenty thousand? And once again, for that, we’re going back in here in time and we’re going here back to 2016. And here you can actually see that a couple of weeks after the whole thing or Bitcoin was actually dumping for multiple weeks, offered to Hafen in here and to reach new all-time highs after the whole thing. It took Bitcoin just to peak it. Twenty-six weeks. Then after 33 weeks, once again, it peaked Buffett. And then finally it broke it and never came back. Forty-one weeks after the last Bitcoin whole thing. So it took Bitcoin almost a year to establish the new all-time highs. Well, as you can see, offer to Halfan in 2012 into 2013. Bitcoin went to new all-time highs faster as in 2016. Here we’re only talking about 13 weeks in here until Bitcoin reached new all-time highs. This is actually quite amazing. But as you guys can see, most probably we’re not going to see new all-time highs tomorrow or after that. In fact, what I’m personally expecting right now is maybe we’re cooling off a little bit. We could see some volatility, but maybe we’re cooling off a little bit. So many people were hype for the bitcoin morphing. But at the end of the day, well, nothing really happened to the price yesterday, right? I mean, a 20 percent drop over the last couple days. Perfectly normal still. OK. So it could be that people are losing interest right now again. It could be that fewer people are talking about Bitcoin because this event will once again be not really that eventful. So interest will maybe go down a little bit. Maybe this all has to cool off a little bit and then we can build up again from a solid base. But that is it all ready for today’s episode. I really hope you guys enjoyed it. If so, please make sure you’re not forgetting to hit the like button. That is very much appreciated and helps this YouTube channel. Thank you guys very much for watching. And hopefully still a few tomorrow in the next one by.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-next-move/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/05/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-bitcoins-next.html

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jeffrmayhugh · 5 years ago

Text

✅ BITCOIN HALVING 2020 DONE ✅ Bitcoins Next Move?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-next-move/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/618111630553890816

0 notes

heatherrdavis1 · 5 years ago

Text

BITCOIN HALVING 2020 DONE Bitcoins Next Move?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Via https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-next-move/

source https://cryptosharks.weebly.com/blog/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-bitcoins-next-move

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cryptosharks1 · 5 years ago

Text

✅ BITCOIN HALVING 2020 DONE ✅ Bitcoins Next Move?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-done-next-move/

0 notes

kidsviral-blog · 7 years ago

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Lapdogs swoon, Obama holds presser; ‘Knows nothing,’ pats Rice on head

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/lapdogs-swoon-obama-holds-presser-knows-nothing-pats-rice-on-head/

Lapdogs swoon, Obama holds presser; ‘Knows nothing,’ pats Rice on head

http://twitter.com/#!/AprilDRyan/status/268781587678765056

Classic empty podium!

As Twitchy reported, President Obama is finally gracing the press with his presence today. It’s been far too long; Unrequited love hurts!

Obama presser will be like Paula Broadwell panting after Gen Patreus at a staff meeting.

— Kelly Marie(@flyoverangel) November 14, 2012

President Obama was way too “exhausted” from campaigning to hold the traditional post-election presser. Priorities!

The last time Obama had a presser he said “the private sector is doing fine.” Can’t wait for what he’ll say this time

— Matt Sauvage (@mattsauvage) November 14, 2012

I’ve got my popcorn and hip waders — ready to commence live-tweeting of Obama’s presser 1:30 OST (Obama Standard Time)

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) November 14, 2012

Pres. Obama sure to face questions about the handling of the attack in Benghazi that killed 4 Americans including his Amb Chris Stevens.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 14, 2012

Are you sure about that Mr. Knoller? Or will the presser be filled with typical softball questions?

#ObamaPresserQuestions Are racist Republicans obstructing your clear mandate already?

— American Attitude (@marklindesr) November 14, 2012

Twitter users prepare with some predicted questions.

How are planning to blame Bush for the looming hyper inflation crisis? #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Sam Valley (@SamValley) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresserQuestions Was the use of Greek columns because you always intended for the USA to crumble like Greece?

— Matthew Daniel Green (@solo_sonata) November 14, 2012

Can you tell us just how mean those Republicans are? #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Kevin B Snyder (@Kevinbsnyder) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresserQuestions Are racist Republicans obstructing your clear mandate already?

— American Attitude (@marklindesr) November 14, 2012

Will you autograph my ballot?? *swoon* #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Sam Valley (@SamValley) November 14, 2012

There may not be time for all those, though.

Ready for Obama presser. Word is he will take only 8 questions.

— Bill Press (@bpshow) November 14, 2012

OF course.

I think the first question at the Obama presser will go to Pimp with the Limp.

— Jon G. (@ExJon) November 14, 2012

Heh. Can we spot him in the crowd?

Reporters prepare for Obama presser twitter.com/AlexanderTrow/…

— Alexander Trowbridge (@AlexanderTrow) November 14, 2012

Let’s start with this question:

If you wanted to balance the budget, why didn’t you do it in your first 4 years? Like you promised. #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

And, away we go.

Popcorn time! Nothing beats following an Obama presser by reading tweets. Of course they’re rare enough that the novelty hasn’t worn off.

— Cobalt Blue (@rightchemistry) November 14, 2012

AP gets first question

— Stefan Becket (@stefanjbecket) November 14, 2012

He’s calling reporters from a preprinted list of approved reporters. Bet FOX is not on that list. Obama Presser

— Charlie ‘Tuna’ (@TunaCharlie) November 14, 2012

Obama says he got letter from an in Tennessee who didn’t vote for him but will give president his support

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

Letters. And stuff.

And, drink! Here comes the “middle class being held hostage” by those mean, old Rethuglicans. Post-partisan!

RT @grahamdavida: All together now. twitter.com/GrahamDavidA/s…

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) November 14, 2012

Come on, everyone had to tweet that. It’s classic drinking game fodder.

Reporter to Obama: How do we know you are not going to cave on Bush tax cuts again?

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

Great question for Obama at presser: “Why should the American people believe you won’t cave again (on Bush tax cuts)?”

— whodoes (@whodoesblog) November 14, 2012

Rut-roh. Who asked that? They may not be invited back.

Bush! Drink again.

POTUS:We cannot afford to extend Bush tax cuts “for the wealthy” – but we can make sure middle class taxes don’t go up

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 14, 2012

O in his 2nd term and still blaming Bush #obamapresser #bushtaxcuts

— Oliver M. Barie (@OliverBarie) November 14, 2012

No pesky Petraeus questions, y’all. Buck passing, as always.

Asked if he should have been told of Petraeys affair before elex Obama says ask FBI b/c they followed internal protocols

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

“Ask Herb in Human Resources. Or something.”

Actually, ask Herb everything.

Shorter Obama: “I know Nuthink!” ~ #BenghaziGate

— Adam Baldwin (@adamsbaldwin) November 14, 2012

Finally, he admits that he knows nothing. No, really. He said it.

Obama: “Ask the FBI about the investigation.I know nothing … nothing … nothing …”

— T.J. Conwell (@RevConwell) November 14, 2012

Obama: I know nothing.

— KRenner (@KRenner2) November 14, 2012

Twitter users agree that he’s clueless.

Since #obama knew nothing about anything having to do with our natl security, who is leading our country as commander-in-chief?

— cupcake4120 (@cupcake4120) November 14, 2012

Obama hussein. I KNOW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING I KNEW NOTHING I KNEW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING WE SHOULD TAX THE RICH

— twotoms (@twotoms1) November 14, 2012

He evidently still knows how to pander, though. Pander like the wind.

Next question from Telemundo. Immigration question.

— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) November 14, 2012

Obama giving maybe the most pandering response of all time on question about whether he’ll send immigration reform bill to Congress.

— Geoff Holtzman (@Geoff_Holtzman) November 14, 2012

On immigration reform Obama says he’s very confident Washington can get it done after big Latino turnout at pools: “we need to seize moment”

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

Wait, what?

MT @buzzfeedandrew: Obama says undocumented workers should be able to earn citizenship, earlier in presser just said “legal status.”

— Vince Coglianese (@TheDCVince) November 14, 2012

Oh no.

POTUS is Pock-e-ston-ing “Latino”

— Daniel Foster (@DanFosterNRO) November 14, 2012

For his aggravating pronunciations, he must pay.

Math, so hard!

Obama can’t keep his answers straight. How do you believe anything he says? Because math is hard and being a sheep is easy. #ObamaPresser

— Andrew (@Serginov) November 14, 2012

MT @lachlan: Obama: “Two years ago, the economy was in a different situation.” Q3 2010 GDP growth: 2%. Q3 2012: 2%.

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) November 14, 2012

Oh, dear. So is compromise.

POTUS:”Compromise is hard.”

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 14, 2012

Greatest Orator Ever: Compromise is hard.

For those playing at home, President Obama is currently averaging 47 UPMs, or “Uhhhs Per Minute”. #ObamaPresser

— Michael Deppisch (@deppisch) November 14, 2012

#Obama stuttering a lot at this presser without pre-written answers & no teleprompter

— Joey Sanders (@Jsanders10) November 14, 2012

Translation: “Working together” means giving up everything you want and submitting to what the Dems want #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

“I will examine how better to work with everybody, so long as it’s exactly what I want and need, for me.” ~ @barackobama #ObamaPresser

— Rick Canton (@rumblindurango) November 14, 2012

Oh, softballs!

Another softball: How will you communicate better with Congress in your 2nd term? … Uh? Email/Txt/Twitter? Give me a break! #ObamaPresser

— Heath Mayo (@HeathMayo) November 14, 2012

#Obama Presser: Is this really happening?? What a bunch of weak-kneed, cowardly alleged journalists.Nothing but softball BS. Wow.

— David Wohl (@DavidWohl) November 14, 2012

Oh, my! A Benghazi question actually enters the pathetic mix.

6th Question up about Susan Rice and Benghazi. #obamapresser

— Kris (@MissKristilyn) November 14, 2012

Ambassador Rice blamed the video. The. Freaking. Youtube. Video #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

Obama defends her. Unbelievable. Well, totally believable, but still.

Obama does NOT like the Rice attacks:twitpic.com/bd7wck

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) November 14, 2012

@ambassadorrice – “has done exemplary work..ppl besmirching her reputation is outrageous” – #Obama on Amb Rice #POTUS #ObamaPresser

— Michael Bociurkiw (@mikeybbq) November 14, 2012

Obama puts out a full throated defense on Susan Rice and her comments on Benghazi. Calls attacks on her “outrageous”. #obamapresser

— Curtis Kalin (@CurtisKalin) November 14, 2012

Obama scolds Sens. McCain, Graham, saying if they “want to go after somebody, they should go after me,” not Rice.

— Rebecca Kaplan (@Rebecca_CBSNJ) November 14, 2012

“@huffpostpol: Obama: “When they go after the UN ambassador, because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me””

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) November 14, 2012

Big, strong man will protect the poor dear! Is he finally admitting the buck stops with him? Doubtful. He’s just trying to get people to shut up about the buck.

Obama is more concerned about protecting Ambassador Rice than Ambassador Stevens. #Benghazi

— Razor (@hale_razor) November 14, 2012

If Pres Obama would rather focus be on him than Ambassador Rice, good. He should visit the Senate and testify if he is a man of his word.

— Brad Dayspring (@BDayspring) November 14, 2012

Bingo.

Sen. Graham lets Obama know that he does hold him totally accountable.

RT @grahamblog Mr. President, don’t think for one minute I don’t hold you ultimately responsible for #Benghazi.

— WhiteHousePressCorps (@whpresscorps) November 14, 2012

Heh. Campbell Brown notices Obama’s pitiful “big, strong man” Rice-defending behavior, too.

Yes. We girls need to have men defend our honor @clarajeffery: defending Susan Rice’s honor is going to play well with women. Watch out GOP

— Campbell Brown (@campbell_brown) November 14, 2012

As does Kirsten Powers:

Why does Obama think GOP sees rice as “easy target”?Is she somehelpless damsel in distress? His defense was a little paternalistic

— kirsten powers (@kirstenpowers10) November 14, 2012

Wow! Ed Henry with an awesome question.

Ed Henry gets 7th q — asks Obama whether he issued any orders on Sept 11 to protect lives of Americans that were killed in Benghazi.

— Geoff Holtzman (@Geoff_Holtzman) November 14, 2012

Obama is not pleased. How dare he ask a pertinent and probing question about something important?

Obama not happy with that Ed Henry Benghazi question. . .

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

Obama claims Middle Class mandate in response to Benghazi question.

— WhiteHousePressCorps (@whpresscorps) November 14, 2012

@michellemalkinWOW!!Obama showing how INDIGNANT he is when asked about Benghazi!!Then turned it into middle class mandate!Wow!

— Janie (@JanieBeachGirl) November 14, 2012

Obama pivots off Benghazi to “middle class families.” Clearly very uncomfortable answering Benghazi questions. No doubt.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Now he admits that America deserves far better than HIM.

Obama: People “deserve a better government than they’ve been getting.”

— Roger Simon (@politicoroger) November 14, 2012

Sigh.

YES! We’re talking about climate change! Finally!

— Current TV (@current) November 14, 2012

4 Americans dead in Benghazi and we get a question about climate change.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Obama is a science denier?!!!111eleventy

Obama: “We can’t attribute any particular weather event to climate change.” DENIER!!!!11

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) November 14, 2012

Wait, no.

“The temperature around the globe is increasing, faster than it was predicted even 10 years ago,” says Obama.

— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) November 14, 2012

Lapdogs swoon madly.

One reporter just treated Obama as if she was a Beatles fan girl and he was Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in 1965. WTF, media…wtf?

— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) November 14, 2012

If you’re still wondering why Obama won reelection, the media questions so far should help you figure that out.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

First press conference in 8 months and I learned absolutely nothing new. Especially on Benghazi.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Lappy McLapdog. RT @toddstarnes: Reporter: “Thank you, Mr. President — and congratulations.” “I’ve never seen you lose.”

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 14, 2012

These Obama lapdogs put the sick in sycophant.

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 14, 2012

*Video* Reporter congratulates Obama for winning re-election: “I’ve never seen you lose” washingtonexaminer.com/article/251346…

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

And now it’s time for all MSM reporters to go to their mikes and thump their chests and say what a great leader Obama is.#ObamaPresser

— Karen Braun (@SpunkyBraun) November 14, 2012

WH Press Corp all giggles after NON presser? #ObamaPresser

— Occupy Bawl Street (@OccupyBawlStree) November 14, 2012

Jimmy Olson from the Daily Planet would have the balls to ask better questions. #ObamaPresser

— John ☣⚠ (@MetalMeza) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresser “Mr President, a follow-up. Can I get your autograph on my 8×10 glossy?” #IrreleventQuestion

— Lisa Kemp (@Lautergeist) November 14, 2012

know why that was called the #ObamaPresser? because the media were invited to press their lips….

— Prudence Paine (@PruPaine) November 14, 2012

Can they even function without having drool buckets at the ready?

Must now write “I will not shout out questions at the president” 100 times on the chalkboard.

— Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) November 14, 2012

Aww, poor baby won’t answer a “shouted” question. Poor precedent and stuff.

Pres Obama declines to answer shouted question on kicking fiscal cliff down the road. Says it be a “horrible precedent” and walks off.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 14, 2012

And, in a nutshell:

Shorter Obama press conference: I don’t know what my gov’t is doing; I just know you need to pay more for it.

— John Hayward (@Doc_0) November 14, 2012

When answers are so long. That you’ve forgotten what the question was, you know the answer is mostly deflection and lies. #ObamaPresser

— WENDY(@TXCupCake) November 14, 2012

You voted for incompetence, America. You got it!

— John Hayward (@Doc_0) November 14, 2012

4 more years of this…ugh #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2012/11/14/live-updates-obama-graces-press-with-his-presence-today-will-allegedly-take-questions/

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wedreamedlove · 5 years ago

Text

Li Zeyan In Love - Character Study

I sat on this because I wanted to get more dates done but, after seeing people bring up this one poem that is the epitome of Li Zeyan in the aftermath of 34, I decided to finish this. This essay has been brought to you from my occasional bursts of frustration at Elex LOL.

First, I need to acknowledge that I'll be pulling comments from others who have made their own amazing discussions about Li Zeyan's charcter. PS. Thanks for inspiring me and giving me points to think about!

SPOILERS to Chapter 21. Plus CN card lines up to Chapter 34.

THE ENDLESS SEARCH

(Sorry, Luoluo, I still have no good essay thoughts on you yet.)

It's amusing that if Bai Qi's love is in the form of "all roads lead to you". He can see where MC is standing and he is moving towards that point, struggling through all the obstacles in the way.

And Xu Mo's love is in the form of the red string of fate. No matter how much they hurt each other, walk in opposite directions, or try to tangle it up, they are forever connected to each other.

Then Li Zeyan's love is in the form of searching for a needle in the haystack. The needle being MC and the haystack being all possible worlds and universes in space-time.

Li Zeyan has tons of quotes about time, staying beside each other, and searching:

[Winter Infatuation SSR] "No matter the distance or time, nothing can prevent me from keeping you by my side."

[Time's End SSR] "I'll find and bring back the past you."

[Tour to Deep Space SSR] "No matter where you are, I will always find you."

[CN Silent Twilight SSR] "You are the only predestined ending I believe in." and "I will cross countless spaces of time to look for an ending which has you."

[Main Story 18-16] "I will definitely find and bring back the past you."

[Main Story 18-23] "Don't make it hard for me to find you, understand?"

This is reflected so painfully in [Dim Light SR] where MC takes Li Zeyan to light lanterns and he writes a poem on it. Elex didn't translate the poem and, at the time, I was somewhat lenient. But after seeing references made to it... ELEX, COME OVER HERE. I JUST WANNA TALK.

So, Li Zeyan wrote:

The last line about his wish having come true already is the same in both CN and ENG.

He wrote the last line of this poem by Xin Qiji, one of many great poets in Chinese history. Here I have provided Irving Y. Lo's translation of the poem from "Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand Years of Chinese Poetry".

The Night of the Lantern Festival, to the Tune of ‘Green Jade Table’ - Xin Qiji [1140–1207]

One night’s wind made a thousand trees burst into flower, And breath down still more Showers of fallen stars. Splendid horses, carved carriages, fragrance filled the road. Music resounded from paired flutes, Light swirled on water-clock towers. All night long, the fabled fish-dragons danced. Gold-threaded jacket, moth- or willow-shaped hair ornaments Melted into the throng, giggling, a trail of scents. In the crowd I looked for her a thousand and one times, And all at once, as I turned my head, I was startled to find her Among the lanterns where the candles were growing dim.

The bold is Li Zeyan's lines in Chinese.

@love-p typed up an amazing post about the context of this poem:

Regarding Xin Qiji, and the political context of this poem—he was a military general during the Southern Song dynasty, sidelined due to the policy of appeasement against the Jurchen.

The poem reflects his unfortunate political circumstances by contrasting the brilliance and liveliness of the Lantern Festival and the single-minded search of the narrator for just one, special, woman, ultimately finding her in the darkness with the dimming lights.

To the writer, the brilliance and beauty of the festival pale in comparison to his goal. He is not swayed by all this finery, and in fact is willing to reject the light, for what he has held in his heart all along.

Xin Qiji was a deeply passionate patriot, which ultimately led to his discharge and suppression in the changing political tides of the era. He spent decades in seclusion pretending to be indifferent to the world, but he never lost his love for his country, and held fast to his beliefs, even when they could (and did) cost him heavily.

There's other romantic interpretations of this poem, such as the woman deciding to stop and wait when she realized this man was looking for her. She is willing to be with him.

Another interpretation is that, these two are already lovers, and when he turns his head and sees her it reflects how your happiness was right beside you all along and you just needed to turn your head, instead of searching ahead desperately.

So, back to Li Zeyan and MC. He is quoting a poem from someone who suffered for holding fast to their beliefs and who can still ignore everything around him, even the light, to find what he's held in his heart all this time. HM.

@unluckysatellite also pointed out something great, which I bolded for emphasis:

I realized this just now, but MC and Victor have this narrative theme where they keep losing and finding each other, both in the main story and in their dates. The main story plays this out pretty seriously: Victor and MC meet as kids, and then Victor loses MC because of Black Swan, which causes him to search for her the next 17 years. Victor and MC meet in chapter 1 and then Victor loses MC in chapter 18 and he vows to find her again. Victor finding MC in that HBS trap during chapter 10 and nearly losing her at the end of the chapter (with the added irony of him realizing that she was the girl he was looking for all this time). YMMV if you consider MC losing Victor in chapter 14 since a black hole sent Victor traveling into the future, but both managed to keep contact with each other in the time he was away.

BTW the reference is that his [Dim Light SR] was released in 2018 for the real lantern festival holiday. Then in 2019 all the men send gems as gifts during the holiday. Li Zeyan sends mail with the title of "Turning My Head" and the body of the message is him promising to go to the lantern festival with MC this year too, but he reminds her to stay beside him and don't make it so that when he turns his head he can't find her.

THE CONSTANT

Now another common theme that appears over and over again in Li Zeyan's character arc is him being a constant amongst all the change.

[Main Story 11-19] MC confronts Li Zeyan about his overprotectiveness: "It doesn't matter if it's the previous me, or the me in the present, all of them are [a single] me. Do you understand?"

[Winter Infatuation SSR Sinful Late-Night Snack Call] "Of course I'm me. No matter when, the person at your side is always the same me."

@sharinluna wrote a great section about Li Zeyan in Chapters 19-21 and IMO these chapters just hammer in this theme more. Even in a world where none of the men remember MC, Li Zeyan still cruises along (mostly) the same as usual. He really is a steady constant when everything's gone topsy-turvy for the poor MC.

I commented about this in my post on Chapter 19's use of horror but hilariously Li Zeyan is the most normal out of the rest of the men. If the MC weren't around, it's likely he wouldn't be involved in so much craziness. This is reflected in how the MC thinks about how he'd be better off without her in [Main Story 20-4] and her dream version of him in [Main Story 19-6].

However, I always end up thinking about Alfred Lord Tennyson's quote on this topic: "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

I honestly think this is one of the themes of the game too, shown at the end of Chapter 19 where MC doesn't regret holding onto her memories and experiences with everyone, even if that means going back to the cruel real world.

Because the game (hopefully) isn't going to invalidate our experiences with everyone that means that Li Zeyan is not better off for not meeting the MC.

IMO love doesn't have to do something monumental like change your world but I think it adds something to our experience as humans (no matter its form: platonic, romantic, compassionate, selfless, etc). This is why I love this game so much because it's all about love in its entirety.

So, even if Li Zeyan's character isn't changed in any earth-shattering way from meeting or not meeting the MC the fact that he chooses MC again and again over everything else means something. He is willing to sacrifice everything to find her, no matter how long it takes him or how many worlds and times he has to traverse. His constant state is choosing MC.

I'm so scared about the Banquet of the Fallen Moon. Why did he turn into a demon lord SOBS when he promised his father he wouldn't go down that path? If it's connected to MC... OOF.

THE LOVE AND SUPPORT

Here we reach the relationship the two do have! Uh, I swear I wasn't intentionally picking the sad quotes...

[Main Story 6-16] "In your eyes? Am I that unapproachable?" He says this but then grabs her hand and holds it through his company, not caring who sees them.

[Main Story 10-25] "I'm sorry, I came late. I won't lose you a second time. Nothing will be able to hurt you again. In the future, let me fight your battles for you, just like how you protected me that year, alright?"

[Main Story 11-14] "I won't hesitate to pay any price in order to let you avoid all dangers and affairs... The things you wish to do, I will release you and let you do them. However, now isn't the time. That's why, you need to be a bit more obedient."

[Chapter 11] in general shows his protectiveness over MC and consideration for her. From caring for her in the hospital, to sending her between work and home, and even the SP detail (even though it became overwhelming).

[Main Story 18-3] "... Every time I call you dumb isn't to insult you. [...] It's acknowledgement."

IMO these are all more examples of how Li Zeyan is like a steady mountain or a tree that provides a canopy and safe harbor for the MC to take her time growing up under. He wants her to better herself because he cares for her (like a quintessential Capricorn) but at the same time he knows when to back off and let her go at her own speed.

Li Zeyan will be there every step of the way with MC, just a little bit ahead of her so she has a direction but always ready to catch her should she fall. Unlike a certain BS liar COUGHS.

@sharinluna also wrote this great post on Reddit about how the dates reflect Li Zeyan's patience and awareness of the imbalance in his and MC's relationship. Chapter 11 shows this too where he realizes he was overwhelming her and brings back the "old" Li Zeyan to wait for her to make a decision on her own feelings.

Finishing off this essay with some quotes:

[Instant Moment SSR] "There is no such thing as eternity, only every single moment together with you."

This is so cute since it's said by the man who can traverse time. It's the little snapshot moments he can get with MC that mean the most to him.

There's actually another related quote which comes from [Winter Infatuation SSR Sinful Late-Night Snack Call]. This happens when they're talking about the meaning of the Ephemere shop and Li Zeyan quotes a poem about mayflies.

The Chinese line is from the poem "Former Ode on the Red Cliffs" by Su Shi:

"We are like mayflies enjoying a flicker of life in this world, and as infinitesimal as a grain in the sea."

Ironically, Li Zeyan is not asking much at all of the world. He is someone who has everything but all he wants is just a peaceful life with the love of his life and he has shown again and again that he's willing to give up everything for her...

But the universe spits in his face (because tragic Chinese archetype of Crown Prince/Emperor LOL) and makes him suffer so much just for wanting some fleeting moments of joy in this flickering human life they both have.

#mlqc #mr love queen's choice #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #love and producer #love and produc(ing) meta #ELEX I WILL BURN YOUR COMPANY DOWN ONE DAY!!

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