#like... I can find Reasons behind Specific Situations but that doesn't stop this from being a pattern across my entire life

[blujayonthewing]

I don't mind being treated like a weirdo when I'm being weird but is there anything worse than spending your whole life constantly running into moments where you thought you were being perfectly normal, you thought you were acting like everyone else, maybe you even were objectively acting just like everyone else, but whatever you said or did makes everyone stop and stare at you exactly like this

[sunderwight]

Headcanon that Shen Yuan was hotter than Shen Qingqiu, actually.

Like yeah SQQ being a cultivator gave him a boost to enough attributes + being in a stallion novel where everyone is either unrealistic hot or dog's butt ugly got the Shen Qingqiu body extra points, and he wasn't bad looking to begin with. Plus not being ill is vastly more important to the new Shen Qingqiu than those extra hotness points (Without a Cure notwithstanding). But part of the reason why he's kind of like, meh, at least I'm not hideous or anything, is because Shen Yuan's original body was a knock out.

I also like him as chronically ill, and, as many people know, beauty standards and sustained suffering are not as incompatible as they should be. Shen Yuan was conventionally attractive in part because conventional beauty standards seem to want everyone slowly dying all the time. But even setting that aside, the man had flawless bone structure, an appealing figure, captivating eyes, and the kind of voice that stopped people in their tracks.

All of which was a contributing factor to his antisocial lifestyle, actually. Despite the fact that Shen Yuan does enjoy company and requires a certain baseline of social enrichment for his enclosure, his internalized homophobia and closeting did not play well with overtures from interested parties (regardless of gender). The only way to minimize the odds of him being asked out on dates was to essentially become a shut-in, especially since even Shen Yuan can only make so many excuses before he himself starts to notice that he's going to a lot of effort to avoid specifically that avenue of socialization. Far better to just remove himself from any risk of it, and then vocally lament that oh no he's just too much of a nerd to get anywhere with women!

Anyway this largely doesn't matter much outside of sheer comedy potential for any situation where SY gets his old body/life back. Like imagine a reveal scenario where the System is going to transport them back to their old lives.

Shang Qinghua: well bro I guess this is gonna be the ultimate test of love, right?

Shen Yuan: what do you mean?

Shang Qinghua: our husbands are gonna see what we looked like back before we were glorious cultivators! they're going to have to track us down in our mundane, kinda shitty pre-transmigration lives! it's gonna be at least a little embarrassing, right?

Shen Yuan: *gets his old body back*

Shang Qinghua, normal human with average looks: ...

Shen Yuan, exemplary 11/10: ?

Shang Qinghua: what. the fuck?? bro what the fuck why are you hot???

Shen Yuan: don't make it weird

Shang Qinghua: make it weird??? why were you sitting at home reading my shitty novel when you could have been out there building your own harem???

Shen Yuan: stop exaggerating

Shang Qinghua: oh my god you've always been like this. this is it, isn't it? it wasn't even brain damage from the transmigration or something--

Shen Yuan: hey

Shang Qinghua: --you've just always been completely unaware, haven't you? every time I wrote a beautiful woman who didn't know her own appeal you'd be jumping down my throat--

Shen Yuan: because that's a stupid trope--!

Shang Qinghua: --JUMPING DOWN MY THROAT EXACTLY LIKE THAT but this whole time THIS WHOLE TIME it wasn't even a glow-up issue, you've just been that, personified, yourself--

Shen Yuan: look I know I'm not ugly but I'm not I'm hardly that good-looking

Shang Qinghua: YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE THAT TROPE AGAIN! oh my god. how many broken hearts did you leave behind when you died?!

Shen Yuan: none, I wasn't even seeing anyone--

Shang Qinghua: yeah full offense but I am nottt taking your word for that. I bet you had a harem you didn't know about in this lifetime too. I bet you had a fan club, like an anime prince

Shen Yuan: *mumbling*

Shang Qinghua: what was that?

Shen Yuan: I said... only in high school...

Shang Qinghua: oh my god

Shen Yuan: it wasn't a big deal!

Shang Qinghua: *frantically trying to see if he can find any trace of it on the internet now*

[amethystfairy1]

Regarding the Iskall Situation...

I've received a lot of asks wondering about what my take is on it, and since I'd prefer to have it all taken care of in one swoop so we don't have to continue to focus on it, here's my stance on the subject.

A: Yes, I have seen the credible evidence from Kasszki, I read the doc they posted, and I feel awful for them and the other victims that they had to deal with this. I'm glad to hear that the Hermits and others were supportive of them and helped them handle this situation in as professional a manner as possible. I have also seen the credible information from False that Stress left for her own separate reasons.

B: I strongly denounce Iskall's behavior, and I have absolutely zero intention of supporting him as a creator ever again.

C: Please don't pester the creators or the victims. I said it in my initial response to this situation before we knew what had happened, but my opinion remains the same here. Any information we get from the Hermits is a privilege, not a right. Hermitcraft and it's associated fandoms are well known for being healthy, good spaces, and I'm proud to be a member of this community. Now our money is where our mouths are. Please don't feed into the rumor mill, please continue to support the Hermits as you always would and don't pry or demand more details from them. This is a very difficult situation for all of us, and I'm certain it's even worse for all of them. Please keep in mind the Hermits are all grown adults, many of them had professional careers before they joined Hermitcraft, and they are handling this in as professional a manner as they are able. I applaud them for that. As their fans, we need to do the same.

What are my plans for Iskall and Stress in TTSBC?

Understandably, I've received several asks about what I plan to do about Iskall and Stress's characters in TTSBC. I've answered them individually, but I just want to put this here as a one-stop spot for what my stance is so it's clear.

I've always been a 'character not content creator' author. My characters are just that, characters. Does that mean I can completely remove them from the creators upon which they are based? No, of course not. That's not how this works, either. So here's my plan moving forward.

The two stories that heavily feature Iskall in TTSBC, "Run with It' and "Carry me Home Tonight" will remain up. They are timestamped with their dates of posting which was long before any of this came out, and again, they are very clearly meant to be characters, not the creators.

Iskall will be removed from the TTSBC: Wiki, and I will not be writing any new content for his character.

Does that affect the plot of TTSBC? Yes, it does. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't, and those of you who have followed the series at length can likely see where the issues arise...but I'm an author, and I can pivot. I also have an awesome little team behind me of @silver-sunray, @boo-the-ahh, and @khoirkid who are helping me to make sure TTSBC carries on smoothly despite this unforeseen struggle.

Stress will not be removed from the TTSBC: Wiki. As I mentioned in an ask earlier, her role in the story is very minor, and I hadn't planned for her to have any other pieces to herself outside of Hermit-a-Day May anyway...so aside from specific instances where it might be necessary to mention her, she will not be making any more major appearances. This is mainly because I'm a Hermit/Traffic/Empires writer, and I plan to stick to that notion unless future events cause me to pivot otherwise.

Lastly, I would appreciate if we could avoid anymore asks about the situation. If there are any further updates I'm sure I'll find that out on my own, I'm very active in this fandom and I see things pretty quickly when they spread, so if any new things related to this situation spring up, while I greatly appreciate your concern for me and my work, please don't send it to my inbox or in DM.

I'm very saddened by this, as I'm sure many of you are. Hermitcraft and it's associated fandoms have been my safe space for many years, through some of the hardest moments of my life, and with the mess that MCYT has proven itself to be at times, it felt like we were untouchable here. But like Doc said, the Hermits are good, and they are strong. And as their fans and supporters, we need to be the same.

Be good, be strong, and let's make sure our lovely community continues to be the positive space it always has been.

-Amethyst

[furiousgoldfish]

Abusers gaslighting you will most often be about a situation where they did something wrong, cruel, hurtful and abusive, very much intentionally, and then their version of the story switches the blame on you, it depicts you as being the one who is cruel, hurtful and abusive, or alternatively, you're cruel hurtful and abusive for remembering the situation or calling them out for their behaviour, when they claim none of this even happened. If the abusers often gaslight you and try to make you second-guess your own memories and senses, eventually you will struggle with trusting your senses and feel like you can't trust your own memory and have to take on their version. But here's some reasons why gaslighting can be caught onto and confirmed that it doesn't make any logical sense.

If this person/people are claiming that I am the one who is continually hurtful, cruel and abusive, why are they insisting on keeping me in their life? Why do they keep taking measures to make sure I can't get away or am dependant on them, if they truly find me selfish, hurtful, insane, and abusive? Wouldn't they want to make way for me to get away from them, instead of endlessly convincing me that I'm the one who is in the wrong in every single situation?

If I am remembering things wrong, how come it's only the memories where my abuser/s look bad? All memories where they look good are somehow correct, that can't be right? If I remember things wrong, it would be both good and bad, not only situations that make them feel bad about themselves.

If these people seriously believe I'm someone who invents crazy stories of abuse, cruelty and torture, how do they still feel safe interacting with me? Aren't they worried I'll suddenly come up with an imaginary scenario telling everyone they did something horrible to me that they didn't do? Why don't they keep away from me if they truly believe me to be such a freak?

If I am truly someone who is doing awful and abusive things to these people/this person, how come it's never called out until I come out calling them out first? Why is my behaviour only addressed after I speak out first? How come it's never a problem all the other time when I'm not actively trying to figure out what the truth is? How come it's only relevant when they'd like me to shut up and stop asking questions and asking them to acknowledge reality? And then suddenly I am a problem. If I am a problem, I'd be a problem the entire time, not only in specific situations that they want to get out of.

If these people truly believe that I am losing my memories, inventing new memories, can't be counted on to remember the past correctly, or to comprehend and understand what is going on around me, why wouldn't they be concerned about this, and try to get me help? If they truly believe I have memory distortions and reality distortions, wouldn't they want to make sure I'm getting some kind of help, that I'm being supported to get a better grip on reality? How come this is only an issue for them, but no concern for me, other than me being condescendingly told to 'get help' or that I need to be 'institutionalized', in order to scare me, is that how loving people react to their loved one losing grip on reality? People are deadly worried for their loved ones who are losing the sense of reality, this usually happens due to a serious brain disease and people struggling with it can no longer safely take care of themselves; it's a cause for concern and extra care. Yet they show no inclination to want to care or help at all for this perceived 'problem' they claim I'm having, and use it to scare me into believing that this is my own fault. Does It make sense for them to react with such relish and condescension if they believe that this problem is real? Wouldn't they only act like this if they invented this idea in order to hide their abusive behaviour behind the lie that I remember things wrong, and need to shut up about it?

If I remembered things wrong, that would be a discussion, we could sit and talk about how I remembered things and why, instead of my version being shut down and me being told off for even voicing it, that is not a normal reaction. In what situation is a person who 'remembers things wrong' not even allowed to speak their own memories? Why would it be bad that these 'wrongly remembered' events ever come to light? Wouldn't it be interesting to know, if someone remembered something completely wrong, to hear their version? Rather than being dead-set on shutting that down, like those memories are an active threat for their well being.

It doesn't make sense. If abusers truly believe that you're a person disconnected from reality, who is also cruel, selfish, abusive and unreliable in every way, then they would react very differently to you than they do. If they had a truly bad opinion of you, and you were a harmful person to their well being, they would not want to keep you around, they would not dare to take their shit out on you, they would  not dare to tell you what to do, how to think, what to believe, they'd be scared. But they're not. They're instead acting like they're right to control your every movement and thought, and right to tell you which of your memories you're allowed to remember and voice.

Their behaviour suggests there's something in your memories they're dead set on suppressing and hiding, even at the cost of your own sanity. That is not a behaviour of loving, concerned, innocent people.

[kradogsrats]

I've been kind of hesitant to voice this analysis/theory because honestly even I find it hella depressing, but... here goes.

At the end of s6e5: "Moonless Night," we have this kind of cryptic sequence with Viren:

Now, this isn't exactly subtle. It starts with a callback to Aaravos's "the human mage, already tainted by darkness and destined to play right into my hands," line (and a nice Callum > fake pearl > real pearl > Viren cut sequence) and ends with the kind of spider-and-fly imagery you bust out when you want the audience to really get the point. This sequence tells us in no uncertain terms, Aaravos will inevitably use Viren again... at least one more time.

I say it's cryptic because the eventual payoff is a lot more subtle, particularly since everything escalates so rapidly and is actually presented as a crazy, unexpected twist. Basically, there's no follow-up until s6e8: "We All Fall Down," where we have a highly specific series of events:

Sol Regem, under Phaaravos's direction, attacks Katolis

Viren decides to make the sacrifice of both doing dark magic again and losing his own life to protect the people from Sol Regem's fire

Viren successfully casts the spell and the people are protected

Phaaravos does this:

Once Viren has cast the spell (and is probably dying), Aaravos is pleased and ends Sol Regem's attack.

Aaravos needs three things to free himself: the pearl, the staff, and a sympathetic mage. He can't just possess Callum and free himself at the start of the season, because—whether that would work or not—he doesn't have the staff. He knows, however, that Viren is going back to Katolis, so he can influence Callum to switch the real and fake pearls. Then, when Viren arrives, the pearl and the staff are lined up... but Viren is no longer sympathetic (and possessing him wouldn't really do any good because like, come on... he's in prison).

The way that the attack on Katolis plays out gives him everything: the pearl and staff are abandoned in the chaos, leaving them free for Claudia. Viren, being dead, is also now unable to influence Claudia directly—not to mention that, despite what he told her in s6e1, he chose to do dark magic again.

There are several reasons that could be behind Phaaravos's smarmy little smirk there—either he's satisfied that the staff is in play and will be easily accessible to Claudia instead of buried under a castle's worth of rubble, or he's satisfied that Viren is going to die and that removes what could actually have been a very serious obstacle to Claudia's persistence, or... he's pleased that Viren has caved and done dark magic again, whether because that's leverage he can use with Claudia, or for a more insidious reason.

We can stop here, because "Aaravos uses Viren's loyalty to his family and Katolis to manipulate him to his death and to set up his daughter for digging herself deeper in aiding his own return" is honestly plenty of payoff as far as Aaravos "using" Viren a final time. BUT just to get a little tinfoil-hat, here:

How exactly are we supposed to understand the pearl got from the subterranean secret dark magic workspace to outside in the ground-level courtyard... except by Aaravos walking the dying Viren down there to bring it back out, then neatly arranging pearl, staff, and Dad's dead body in close proximity for Claudia's homecoming? Which is pretty fucking grim.

As a counterpoint, the one thing this series sometimes plays extremely fast and loose with is the space-time continuum: like, working out travel times? Good fucking luck—it takes exactly as long to get somewhere as the plot demands, regardless of distance, terrain, or mode of transportation. So "how did the pearl get into the courtyard" could just be one of those "how did Soren and Claudia get up the Cursed Caldera without Lujanne knowing"-situations where the answer is "it's fine, don't think about it."

Sure, the staff, pearl, and Viren's body are all suspiciously accessible, but we also don't have screentime for Terry and Claudia to do an extensive search of the rubble overlaid with sad music and intercut with flashbacks. Sometimes shit just has to be convenient so we can move along... but I'll probably still always kind of wonder.

[derangedanomaly]

Wait since we're asking about kinks now- what are all of the guys and the stars kinks? Do they have any lol? I'm genuinely curious

*rubs my hands together* This one's gonna be a ride. 😈🙏🏻

Nah- without jokes now lol. I need to cleanse myself after this lmao. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE ANYTHING REGARDING SEX.

TW: NSFW CONTENT, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Chaos

I can imagine Chaos being a family kinda guy. Like, family probably means A LOT to him, so I can definitely see Chaos having a breeding kink. Something about his partner's belly being full, because he got them pregnant does a lot of things to him.

Chaos is never the type that chases for his own pleasure, I really think that he'd prioritize what you want, when it comes to having fun in the sheets. So I can see him doing fingering/blow job to his partner. He's the type of guy that loves to praise the shit out of you, but also playfully kinda degrade you. Like- he'd probably say something like, "Oh...your doing such a good job for me...what do you think would happen if the others found you drooling all over my cock? What would they think of you?" Followed by, "....Would you like to find out?"

Since Chaos is into having a family, I can see him also having a daddy kink. And along with this all, I can for some reason, also see him being into Katoptronphilia, which is a fascination with mirrors, or more specifically, watching yourself in a sexual situation. So I think that Chaos would make you watch yourself in the mirror, while fucking you from behind.

Nightmare

I've established before that Nightmare's into master kink, just calling him anything that gives him a sense of power is enough to get him hot. (Master, King, Sir,...)

But between all this, I can also see him being into Impact play, this involves hitting or being hit with an object in a safe and consensual way. Nightmare wants to feel that he's always in control. So he'd 100% whip you with a whip or just slap you anyhow. He'd probably also be pretty rough, just to show you that he's the one in control. Speaking of control... Orgasm control is also a thing he'd be SUPER into. But he's a giant asshole too, he'd be SO unfair when he'd use a vibrator or anything else on you. He WON'T let you taste that sweet sweet release at all. The only thing I'll say...is dirty talk. And he's really good at it too.. He could probably make you come just from his words alone.

Ace

Ace is pretty much a sub. It's pretty easy to drive him into submission, because he doesn't NEED to be the dominant one in a relationship. He's just happy he even has a partner to be honest. But I can see Ace being a sadist. Just you hurting him anyhow drives him nuts probably. Because he's the stronger one, he's the one that holds more power than you, so the feeling of you actually landing a hit on him has him weak.

Cuckolding is also a thing that he IMMENSLY gets off of. This a kink or a fetish is the act of being turned on by watching your partner get it on with someone else. He feels a little guilty about actually liking this, but he can't deny it.

Blade

Is anyone really surprised when I say that Blade's into knife play? Blade enjoys the thought of running his sharp, bloody knife along the curves of your glistening body. He also pretty much gets off of seeing you covered in blood. Really anything that's connected with blood or knives, he likes it. I do not recommend telling him that you're on your period. He'd eat you out if you did. Never probably stopping until you'd pass out. Even if someone would barge into the room, he WOULDN'T stop. Not at all.

Blade also degrades you VERY MUCH, he LOVES to tell you stuff that makes you embarrassed while he's pumping you from behind. He's also into Voyeurism, which is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. He 100% hides somewhere in your room just to watch you get undressed. The thought of you not knowing he's there only makes him more and more hot.

Ted

Ted promised himself that he'd never engage in sexual intercourse ever again after the accident where he lost his virginity, so you would have to build a LOT of trust with him for him to do that with you. He's like- "Sex...?....Ew....."

But I can see Ted being very careful with you, treating you almost as if you were made from glass. After all, the last time he did go....rough.... VERY rough... he killed the woman. Shockingly. And he cares about you, he doesn't want to kill you with his ginormous size. :(

I think that Ted's the type of person to be VERY gentle and kind when having sex. As for the kinks, I don't really think he cares that much when it comes to it, because he'd do anything you ask him to do, except for the things that would hurt you in any way. He truly does NOT want to hurt you.

NOTE: I wanted to write the Star Sanses too- but It was SO much that I lost motivation to write any more. I'm so sorry!

[rikeijo]

Hi, I'd like to ask how fans in Japan have reacted to the movie cancellation and if you have any theories about the reasons behind the decision. I saw fans speculating that it was cancelled because of geopolitics (main character is Russian -> war, doping, anti-lgbtq laws etc.) and I think that would be really tone-deaf. A mostly finished movie doesn't get shelved without very good reasons.

Thank you so much for your translations. Hope you're okay over there!

Hi, thank you for your ask!

Yeah, that's right! Most people assume it's because of politics. It would make sense if IceAdo problems haven't started loong before the War. Japanese fandom is very hostile to any controversies (as an example, YoI still has the reputation of being 'copyright infringement anime', because of background of that one scene that was aired almost 10 years ago), so the idea of anime that may be interpreted as praising the country, that attacked another country and in addition to that, their skaters are cheaters and were banned from competitions is just not something that sits well with a lot of otakus. Not even necessarily because they are so noble etc., but because it means that their beloved anime is an easy target for (difficult to dispute) hate from antis.

The movie, however, I'm 99% sure, was cancelled because of money. Not because of MAPPA, of course, they don't have the rights to cancel it - Otsuka CEO was whining about not having enough power in production committees in relatively recent interviews (funny how he even mentioned specifically YoI's situation, isn't it? here). The rights to YoI are owned by Avex Pictures, it's their trademark.

It's really very simple - in January of 2019, the teaser was released in Jp cinemas together with the TV series split into 3 parts. Even though they had merch with new illustration as a free gift for every person that bought the ticket, most screening were like 90% empty. VicYuu fujos celebrated that the teaser without their uke, Yuuri, flopped and feminine Victor movie will likely flop now (I'm not going to post a link to their online archive because it's cursed, but it's easy to find) - I mean literally, they celebrated. After the teaser, the production committee just stopped caring about the IP. It's possible that after that they still tired behind the scene to make it work somehow, but I've also seen rumors recently that Sayo run away from the production (with a nuance of 'she had enough and just disappeared on them').

Here you can read a Jp anime journalist's analysis of the possible reasons behind cancelling of shows like YoI, and he also points out that it's mainly just about saying goodbye to unprofitable IPs.

[the-blossica-fan]

Regulus, Kakania, Pavia, J, Kanjira, and Matilda are an unexpected group of people suspiciously good at evading capture. They might not run the fastest, but the instant you set someone on their tail, they are GONE. They could be enjoying an extremely rare moment of "outside the suitcase time," and someone says "shoot it's the cops," and they scatter, just completely book it. Doesn't matter that they've done nothing wrong.

Matilda specifically only runs because she's spent so much time with J and Kanjira that it's a learned instinct now, and she finds it extremely embarrassing.

Which means that during a game of tag in the suitcase, they manage to avoid getting caught the longest. Kakania gets caught when Isolde calls out to her and then gently lays her hand upon her face and whispers, "Tag, Doktor..." Regulus and Pavia get caught by the children, and they complain the entire time (they got cornered). J and Kanjira are the only reason Matilda lasts as long as she does because they prevent her crushes from distracting her. Mercuria does tag J, though, for his efforts. Kanjira gets tagged by Shamane and Matilda by either Anjo or Kaalaa (depending on which one she literally runs into as she looks back to Kanjira).

The flyers may have avoided ground tag, but air tag got fiercely competitive, and no one's sure who tagged who because they quickly devolved into doing air swoops, dives, and spins.

Sonetto: Matilda, why every time I say "the foundation security staff is coming", you disappear so suddenly?

Matilda: ...It's nothing

I love the idea that every time they go outside as a group and they catch a glimpse of a police officer they book it. Nobody knows where they went they just disappeared.

Especially Matilda, because she'd realize mid-run she's running with a bunch of other dumbasses when none have done something criminal or illegal. Yet.

"Uhm, why are we hiding behind the bushes?"

"Because... Well, isn't that a good question, small fry?"

"Gosh, I ran out of instinct! I have to go back before Ms Marcus gets too anxious"

"Ah? You mean all this running was for nothing?!"

"Bloody hell, couldn't we be more stupid!?"

"Well, I mean, I did take this necklace from a beautiful lady. But you not worry, It's nothing!"

"YOU WHAT"

They have found themselves in situations where they ended up in the same hideout just squished together, or sometimes they smartly go their separate ways. Vertin always has to go look for them with the help of some others. For her mental sanity, she prefers they hide together like sardines in a can.

As for the Tag game, it is utter chaos that should not be repeated

That Isolkania part though...

Isolde calls out for Kakania, who stops for a second in surprise and is greeted by the affectionate face belonging to that soothing voice. In an almost flirtatious way, Isolde places a hand on Kakania's cheek and runs it down to her shoulder, getting a little too close just to whisper "Tag, Doktor." And then continue walking to search for the next participant.

Meanwhile Kakania goes through the wildest gay panic ever as well as the 5 stages of grief at the same time.

J's sacrifice will never be forgotten. My boy got tagged by Mercuria just so that Matilda could stop being gay and run away, and Matilda ended up running directly into Anjo's waiting arms. Losers.

We're not going to talk about air tag because Lilya is such a competitive freak with her beloved. I'm talking about the broom.

[beardedmrbean]

Hey Grunkle Nunya, I was wondering if you could explain to me how people are seeing Israel as the good guys in the Gaza situation, because I can only ever find Palestinian civilian body counts and blown up hospitals and stuff, and it honestly does look like a genocide from the standpoint of someone who generally doesn't research politics and conflict. I know the way I worded this looks like I'm being inflammatory but I mean it genuinely. What am I missing?

Asking anonymously because currently, asking questions about the Gaza conflict makes me either pro-genocide or anti-jew to the people with no critical thinking skills. I can't physically handle the toll of being accused of supporting genocide (Israeli or Palestinians) because of a mental disability I possess.

I apologize if this still sounds like bait, I am just poor with words and you are rich with knowledge.

It's war so everything gets muddy, especially with the body counts the gaza health ministry puts out.

I do not believe those at all, they put them out faster than should be possible even at the best of times, they also make no distinction between hamass militants and civilians so that's another issue with them.

We're going to make up a scenario here.

If you're looking for why Israel went in, imagine if New Jersey were another country, one that regularly sends people into the surrounding US states in order to kill Americans and generally sow chaos, and they've been doing it for 15-20 years with no sign of stopping at all ever or even dialing it back.

No real rhyme or reason to most of their attacks, occasionally they'll get pissed off about something or other and fire off a few thousand unguided rockets, just point the at the surrounding states light the fuse and hope they land somewhere where they kill people, no specific targets just anything they can hit and cause damage with and blaming the US when their own rockets fall back down on them.

Again doing this continually with no indication that it's ever going to stop or anything will convince them to tone it down.

Instead they do a coordinated invasion and just start killing everyone they see, which they went to Sesame Place right near the border with them and Pennsylvania instead of anywhere with any military value because the plan was to kill the most people they could while encountering the least possible resistance.

The US finally says, ok we're done with you and all of this and the organization behind most of the previous attacks and this current one which happens to also be the elected government of NJ is now in the crosshairs and we're going to keep shooting till they're gone one way or the other.

That would also be where Israel said we're done with you, hamass is going to cease to exist after we're done one way or the other.

So then it's full scale invasion time.

24 hour notice was given, saying this is where we are hitting, get out, 24 hours turned into several days, couple weeks I think, there were some air raids and strategic bombing and what not, a hamass rocket hit a hospital and Israel got blamed, the usual.

Obviously mistakes were made at times on both sides at the start and continue to be made, incredibly fluid thing wars are, things change on a dime.

And then we run into issues with the fact that hamass uses civilian buildings as weapons caches, staging grounds, command centers, pretty much anything you can thing a building would be useful for if you're fighting a war, which is a massive violation of international law as well as a war crime because they're hiding behind civilians.

From 2014

Great line toward the end

There is no indication that Israel deliberately targets civilians, as Hamas does. But

The argument is brought out that this kills civilians too, which yes it does, it shouldn't unless there's a misfire from one of the guided munitions in use by Israel, for one simple reason

Which they don't need to do, not if hamass has made the place into a valid military target by keeping rockets in the school.

They try at least.

In the first couple weeks before the ground invasion started there were reports coming out of gaza where the residents were saying that hamass had either taken the keys to their vehicles or disabled them making civilian evacuation that much more difficult, on foot and such kinda screws things up.

Allegedly threats were made to civilians as well.

As for the numbers, the side that's getting invaded is going to have more of those, as for the accuracy of those numbers, there's a reason why every news agency that cares even slightly about credibility includes 'according to the gaza health ministry' to the number.

As to the genocide question, there is no genocide, mass casualty attacks =/= as genocide and someone saying they'd like to wipe gaza off the map does not indicate a official government stance regardless of if the work for the government or not.

It's a war, innocent people die in war, it's a unfortunate reality of a even more unfortunate situation, especially if your on the side that's on the defensive folks in Israel have less to be worried about it's a lot harder for hamass to get to them, true at the best of times for hamass anyhow since it's not like they have a air force of any sort.

This whole thing did not need to happen, if it weren't for the fact that there's a group that has refused any reasonable offer and some that were incredibly slanted in their direction as well people at a music festival would have gone home when it was over and had great stories to tell.

Neither side is innocent, but at least for the one Israel complete and utter annihilation of everyone in Gaza isn't the goal, they just want hamass gone.

Not to say there aren't shitheads that want everyone in gaza gone in Israel and in the IDF, but that's not the stated goal of their mission.

If it was gaza city would look more like stalingrad after the nazis were done with it.

Choice of location is made purely because 99% of the area was razed, that is all so.

As for all the ceasefire stuff, the one they had going ended because hamass couldn't manage to keep their end of the deal up even though they were given several do overs, they just had to keep launching rockets and shooting civilians at bus stops.

No reason to think they would do anything different if another one were declared, they tend to be the ones that start off the shooting when it happens.

I don't know if I've made anything clearer for you or not, jumble of information and I've tried to leave politics and religion out of the whole thing setting it up as just 2 groups of people, and it's late so my brain is going a bit slow so I likely missed stuff.

When it's all over there's probably going to be enough war crimes to nitpick over on both sides.

I just hope there's also a lasting peace

[batsplat]

You cannot imagine how giddy I get when I see you've posted a nice long thesis on the riders. And the timezones work as such that I see it during breakfast and it MAKES MY ENTIRE DAY. The content just keeps tumbling around in my brain the whole day. Thank you!!!💛💛💛

this is so incredibly kind that I really don't know what to say... so I'm going to fire off a random undercooked take that is very very far away from thesis territory. featuring the 2015 season

in 2022, jorge gave one of his own regularly scheduled takes on the 2015 season. he offered up a bit of an unusual opinion by focusing on the argentina clash that year - which he that "crucial" in the collapse of the marc/valentino relationship:

(god, can you imagine having a workplace falling out so bad that seven years later it's still an active topic of speculation what exactly the precipitating event was, and several of your coworkers enjoy regularly weighing in with their thoughts? like man they'll never be allowed to rest)

I find this really interesting coming from jorge. one of the fun things about that season is the degree of genuine ambiguity that exists about all of the major on-track flashpoints. was one of valentino or marc responsible for the argentina crash? was the cutting of the chicane at assen premeditated by valentino? and, of course, did valentino really kick marc at sepang? that being said... the argentina one has always been the one where it just seemed... unfortunate timing, shit happens. it's more on marc, he made a misjudgement and also just took a bit too much risk in the context of the title fight, but complete racing incident. that's the reason why this is a slightly odd take from jorge. it's the one incident nobody really has pinned on valentino, certainly not the commentators or the commentariat or otherwise or anyone

to be clear - this post isn't about figuring out what 'really happened' at argentina 2015, it's more about... well, how it was perceived at the time, and what that tells us. but, just to quickly get this out of the way: from the outside (and with the obvious caveat of 'what do I know'), it's a little tricky to see how you'd solely blame valentino for the collision. valentino is by this point clearly ahead of marc, he's literally just been bumped into by marc so may also not have been 100% in control of the bike, and he's taking a regular line into the next turn... when marc essentially rides so closely to him that valentino turning the bike takes out marc's front wheel. even if vale's deliberately trying to ride defensively against marc, he's perfectly entitled to do so. I know jorge doesn't actually specify valentino crashed marc out deliberately, but given the specific situation, I feel like that's what you're implying when you're saying he's "responsible". you're suggesting valentino knew where marc was and essentially purposefully moved the bike across to wipe out marc's front wheel and... look. I suppose it's possible, though valentino's also allowed to some extent to deliberately make the life of the guy behind him harder. more likely, this is just what happens when two hard racers race each other and insist on practically sitting on each other's bikes when they're on track together - sometimes it'll go wrong. except, of course, that won't stop controversy from breaking out... especially not when it's these two. here, from one of the write ups of the race, is a description of the two of them I've always been fond of:

which is very them, yes. same type of guy, slightly different flavour, both with carefully cultivated reputations. but look, the main takeaway is this: we don't know their actual intentions. I don't know if valentino deliberately made contact with marc. let's be honest, marc doesn't know if valentino deliberately made contact. only valentino knows that. jorge lorenzo certainly doesn't know that. so why is this the incident he brought up?

in part, I'm curious how jorge even got that impression that marc was mad, and also why he thinks valentino was to blame. the latter, okay, jorge isn't naturally inclined to be generous towards valentino's particular style of racing, not least because he's fallen foul of it a fair few times over the years (though I'd say valentino on occasion was rather less subtle than that against jorge lol). but why is this the thing jorge brings up? I mean, you'd think he'd point to assen as the turning point, given he was literally sitting in that extremely awkward post-race presser and clearly very much enjoyed the whole thing. does he know marc was mad at valentino for argentina? that marc "didn't like it"? was this some kind of paddock rumour at the time? would there have been any basis for that rumour?

so, marc himself was quick to publicly deny that he was angry at valentino, something he reiterated at the next race in jerez. immediately post-race, he said the following:

and the official statement:

it's still far from the snarky digs of the post-assen presser, but to me this is a little open to interpretation. I always find 'learn' a very interesting verb. casey over the years was particularly keen on using that word, typically in relation to valentino, to the point where when you see that his tweet commemorating valentino's retirement includes the phrase "I learnt a lot from you".... well, that can be read in lots of ways, not all of them positive. it kind of depends on what you're learning, right? when casey uses it, the implication is basically that valentino was an asshole and casey had to learn to play his games and be more selfish fighting vale. marc uses the word four times in the interview, plus again in the statement. valentino has a certain reputation, a reputation marc is of course more than aware of. he is known for... not being a cheat, necessarily, but being a little underhanded in his tactics, a little devious. yes, valentino did a good job in managing the race, but also in the "melee". "you learn different things and different strategies". what kind of different strategies, marc? are we sure he's talking about tyre preservation here?

(speaking of tyre preservation, one of the reasons why marc was probably feeling particularly disinclined to let valentino go without a fight was the fuckery with the tyre choices. long story short, tyre choice was a big talking point due to the extreme wear they'd had the year before and the extra compound bridgestone had developed. marc made a bit of a show of faffing about with a late switch that he kept concealed until basically the last moment, presumably to fuck with his competitors who were tensely waiting to see what he'd pick. valentino, who had opted for the hardest option, said after the race that he'd ignored what marc was doing because he knew there was only one choice for the yamaha anyway. so in the end it didn't really work to unsettled his key rival and also... well, I mean, marc was two laps away from the tyre choice working in the race, but not quite! just couldn't build up the lead he needed to prevent valentino from reeling him in)

also, "in the end you can see perfectly what happens" is not technically the same thing as saying valentino was not to blame for the incident. it's a phrasing that shies carefully away from actually giving marc's own take on the incident. basically telling the viewer to draw their own conclusions from what they've seen on tv - even though of course marc does make clear he sees it as a racing incident. it's the kind of vague statement that marc has occasionally popped out over the years, at times perhaps implying more than outright stating he has a problem with a certain incident, which does make you maybe raise an eyebrow or two at how he words it here. it's just... listen, it could be 100% innocent and the whole thing isn't flirting with disaster as much as assen is, far from it, but it's the kind of thing where with 20/20 hindsight you do kinda go. hm.

there is a little more evidence that marc was indeed mad at valentino for what happened at argentina... if valentino is to believed and marc's manager told him so directly after sepang:

(why, if you are marc marquez's manager, do you go to valentino rossi after sepang 2015 to tell valentino you think marc was angry at him for losing him the title. why would you do this. what are you trying to accomplish here)

do I believe this conversation happened? yeah, kinda, because it feels like an odd and very specific thing to make up. that's just a gut feeling thing - I have zero evidence either way obviously. I think at most it's plausible valentino misinterpreted what alzamora was saying. of course, the words "as much" do set off an alarm bell or two, maybe suggesting alzamora didn't directly tell him the bits about argentina and assen. but, y'know, it's also entirely possible marc did think valentino had deliberately taken him out in argentina, especially in the heat of the moment - and his team would very much have been aware of his feelings on the matter. not fun to crash out of the penultimate lap. not when clashing with the championship leader, who is also your hero and who you've generally gotten the better of... not easy not easy

anyway, again, this is definitely a bit of an undercooked take, but it's always nice to get a little bit of insight into what the paddock vibes were at the time. if there are many people - and if there were many people back then - who think that valentino had deliberately taken out marc, that he should have apologised to marc, that marc was mad at valentino.... if it got back to valentino through alzamora, did he hear it from other people too? to what extent was this kind of thing common wisdom within the paddock, or are these takes literally nobody but jorge believes in? we don't know, but it's interesting! argentina is kinda the unloved child of 2015 divorce incidents. partly because it does look so innocuous, partly because it's harder to ascribe ill intent, partly because the two parties are far more pleasant to each other in the aftermath. that's why jorge coming back to this specific incident has stuck with me... in all honesty, I don't really trust jorge to be a particularly good judge of marc and valentino's interpersonal chemistry at any given moment in time, but did he see the cracks beginning to emerge so early in the season? to what extent did argentina already make things visibly less comfortable between the pair of them? why does jorge think marc wanted an apology?

if marc really was particularly angry, then it does go to show how quickly he flipped the switch himself when it came to valentino, swiftly reappraising him as a serious rival who should be treated as such. also, let's put aside a minute what valentino's actual intentions were... it's revealing if marc did think valentino was deliberately fucking him over here. (which, given he's repeatedly using the word "learn" - if he does think valentino's responsible as jorge suggests, then he also doesn't think it was just an innocent lil mistake. you don't 'learn' from your hero making an error, you learn from them riding in a way that wins them the race by crashing you out.) like, y'know how in this post I was saying marc obviously was perfectly aware of valentino's past history, including the feuding and controversy of it all? I mean, if you want proof of how aware he was, look at assen 2015! he's clearly immediately suspicious of valentino and his motives... because he knows what valentino's like, because he knows that 'planning to exploit a grey area in the rules by deliberately allowing marc to make contact before cutting the chicane' is absolutely the kind of sneaky shit valentino is renowned for. what if marc does share jorge's belief that valentino is responsible for the argentina crash? if marc thinks valentino did so deliberately, then that tells you something about how marc sees valentino, no?

obviously they both massively over-correct when they arrive at jerez, which is how we get 'in bed remains the same' and lingering hugs feat. hip-stroking in parc fermé, all that stuff. if it did plant a little seed of suspicion, a little seed of doubt, then that maybe helps explain why they were focused on each other more than they were on the guy who won the next four races - even when it became increasingly clear jorge was the championship favourite. which is what it comes back to for me - the fact that such a seemingly innocuous incident was allowed to blossom into so much more shows there was already something there between the pair of them. the championship might be one thing... but somehow, if given half a chance, they were always going to see each other as their number one rival

[melanieryssel]

Genshin's characters as your tour guide | P1

Character: Scaramouche, Venti, Alhaitham

Setting: Basically, now you're in Teyvat. It doesn't matter how you got here, it's totally up to your imagination. You could be a Vision wielder, born in Teyvat, or you could be a God!Creator who got shifted to this land. Anh on your journey to seven nations, you will meet up with other characters who will be your traveling companion.

A/n: I'm a new writer so I would love it if you guys leave me comments on how I can improve my writing. Also, this is a series so I plan on doing a lot of other characters too, let me know who you want me to do next. Finally, sorry in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Scaramouche/Wanderer

He somewhat reluctantly agreed to go with you. He thinks this whole situation is just so annoying. In fact, it's only because of the God of Wisdom who had actively and persistently encouraged him to make new friends that Scaramouche is now tagging along with you.

Your travel doesn't have a specific destination. He just takes you anywhere you want to and if you don't have a list of places you want to visit, you guys would probably end up wandering around Sumeru.

Your relationship gradually improves as he finds your presence comforting and calming. He would introduce the scenery to you with such a sarcastic voice like pointing out the landscape flaws or assuming you're boring or weird to enjoy what you see. However, you only laugh it off when Scaramouche is being Scaramouche because you know he secretly likes the scenery as well.

Would intentionally use his skill and makes you struggle to catch up with him. Especially when you have to move from mountain to mountain, he would definitely pretend to forget you and fly off alone until you loudly call his name out of frustration. He might shame you a bit or maybe a lot for being slow but he would still come back and pick you up then carry you in bridal style while flying.

Let's hope it's not going to rain because your intention to touch his hat is clear on your face on the whole journey from the beginning, so Scaramouche won't lend you his hat if it rains. Maybe he will find a leaf for you to use instead. 

Venti

Unlike Scaramouche, Venti seems immensely enthusiastic about the idea right when you ask him to be your tour guide. This man loves Mondstat to his bones and can't wait any more minutes to show you all the beauty of his nation and people.

You and Venti would ride on the strongest yet calming wind to travel on the sky of Mondstat. He would randomly speed up or make you guys freely fall for a moment only to tease you. Venti will give you a bunch of Celilia as an apology after.

Venti will definitely bring you to Starnatch Cliff. 

Then, he walks you to Mondstat City and eagerly introduces you to his acquaintances. Venti takes his responsibility as your tour guide very seriously. He would tell you the history of this land, the folktale behind a flower, and recite a poet to you. He would also take you to Good Hunter shop when it's time to eat something. You guys enjoy the food thoroughly, ordering a variety of dishes, and only stop when you find out he doesn't have any mora...

"I thought you treat me?" You say

"Ehe" 

Unfortunately, you have no mora as well. You feel deeply guilty but Venti is way faster than you so he just grabs your hand and escapes. Before you can say anything, Venti already comes up with a plan that could help you have enough mora to pay for the meal.

And that's the reason why you two end up performing on the street right now. Luckily, Master Diluc passes by so he did offer to help pay for you, you only, and not Venti.

Alhaitham

Alhaitham is not the type to easily display his feelings so you are not sure what he thinks of this idea. He asks you where you want to visit and because you don't have any specific places in your mind so you say he can decide where to go. Hardly did you know, this won't lead to anything good.

Undoubtedly, he will take you to Sumeru Akademia. First, you really enjoy visiting such a majestic building. However, he starts to talk about different Darshans in the Akademia, the history of Sumeru, the well-known or impactful research in the library... As much as you love how passionate he looks while talking, it slowly becomes too much for you.

So you think you should ask him to bring you somewhere else. Surprisingly to Alhaitham, you say you want to visit his house. He doesn't get why you want to go there but doesn't oppose the idea at all since he finds you actually charming and kind. When you guys arrive, you see Kaveh there working on his thesis. Kaveh takes your visiting as a sign from the Universe to have a break from his work, but right after when Kaveh and you greet each other, Alhaitham says "It's enough, let's go somewhere else."

For the rest of the day, you two go to many gorgeous locations. Before saying good night, as he walks you to your hostel in Sumeru city, he says to you: "You aren't interested in what I talked in the Akademia right? Maybe Kaveh could be a more suitable tour guide since you guys' personalities share similarities." You freak out for real and then try to reassure him that it's not true and you actually really like the academic research he introduced.

"Really? Okay, then let's come back to Akademia library tomorrow, I can explain that research to you."

[cum-villain]

What's Takatenn?

🤭Okay, so. It's two characters from Idolish7, Kujou Takamasa and Kujou Tenn. Shared surname is due to adoption, but it's important to recognize they don't actually consider each other father and son. It's a facade, they're business partners. Kinky, but not in an incest way. Except legally ofc.

See, Kujou Takamasa used to be the manager of this one extremely popular idol, "Zero". But due to reasons not yet revealed in the plot, not known to us nor Kujou Takamasa himself, Zero disappeared. After this, Kujou kind of became... insane. He's obsessed with Zero, he wants to create an idol to replace Zero, he hates Zero for leaving him behind.

In order to create an idol, he's attempted to find and use other musicians, but after failures (including sending a guy to the hospital with a head injury in order to attempt to acquire the guy's partner), he's started a new method: Adopt children, and raise them to be idols since youth. There are 3 children we know of he's in some way acquired, one of whom he discarded. Another of those children is Kujou Tenn, formerly Nanase Tenn, who he acquired at age 14.

How he acquired Tenn was itself a business deal. Tenn's parents club was losing money, and his twin little brother was chronically ill, requiring hospital fees being payed. All in all, it was a sticky situation. It's honestly unclear right now whether the money situation was intentionally set up by Kujou Takamasa, but regardless of if it was purposeful or coincidence, Tenn agreed to be acquired by Kujou in exchange for his little brother's hospital fees being payed. From the very start, they've known full well they're using each other for their own ends. Purely business, nothing emotional, right?

Except, at some point in the 5 years of being business partners (Tenn is 19 when the show starts), it stopped being pure business for them. Kujou doesn't just want Tenn to be like Zero, he's terrified of Tenn specifically leaving him, and has expressed that multiple times in the show. He isn't just using Tenn coldly, he has a strong emotional dependency on him.

And it's similar for Tenn. He isn't just using Kujou, he genuinely wants to make his dreams come true. His brother's health came first at the start, but now, he's determined to overtake Riku and make Kujou's dreams come true. When Kujou has his breakdowns, Tenn is there to tuck him to bed, reassure him that his nightmare was just a nightmare. Of course, he recognizes that the person he's comforting is something of a monster, whose hurt several people around him, hurt him as well. But still, he wants to make that monster's dreams come true.

So, we have a relationship of two people who, in the beginning, were using to fulfill their dreams while thinking of other people they cared about, but now genuinely have a sort of... I wouldn't say they care for each other, that sounds more sweet than it is. But they have an odd codependency that they get some sort of happiness from.

Also. Let me just share one twitter screenshot before the next part.

There is??? An odd amount of sexual tension??? Like, its mostly in the third season, but, wow, their solo scenes are oddly steamy??? To be entirely honest those scenes were what opened my eyes, because how you can watch those scenes and think they aren't fucking boggles the mind. I need to rewatch to really explain it properly, but, gosh. The sexual tension was something.

Anyway. When I first saw the ship there was only one page on ao3, and theres no tag for it on tumblr. Except the one I'm about to make with this manifesto. One of these days I'm going to need to write for the ship myself, with how much I think about them.

I leave you with one more thing: A song that fits them well.

(Eng lyrics here)

[sokkastyles]

Hi,

Hope you are doing well.

Thank you for the answer to the previous query regarding TSR.

I saw some of the asks Azula stans sent you, and they made me laugh. Azula is not a good sister to Zuko. She has manipulated him. Heck, I feel that in the first half of book 3 when she warns Zuko about consequences of interacting with Iroh in prison, it feels manipulative to me, like she was reminding him she has power to stop him.

I feel that Zuko was living in fear till "Day of Black Sun", when he decides to leave and join the Gaang.

I would like your thoughts on this.

I think you already explained it pretty well, but what gets me when Azula stans to try to argue that she was a good sister, and that conversely Zuko was not a good brother, is that Azula absolutely wants Zuko to think he isn't a good brother. Something I said before that I see a lot in Azula and Zuko's relationship that is a telltale sign of an abusive relationship is that although Azula constantly acts like Zuko is so annoying or a burden on her, she absolutely enjoys reminding him of it, and will take every opportunity to tell him how stupid he is, but she absolutely enjoys proving she's smarter. In fact, she needs to reaffirm that she's smarter to maintain her worldview. She needs Zuko to be the failure for her to be the golden child, and is invested in making sure things stay that way. She's not a good sister and she doesn't want a good brother, she wants a scapegoat.

Also the thing about her warning him to stay away from Iroh is that not only is she the reason that Iroh is in prison, not only did she purposefully seperate Zuko from Iroh specifically because she could not get to Zuko as long as Iroh was protecting him, but remember that she went behind Zuko's back to lie to Ozai about him killing the Avatar and left Zuko to find that out from Ozai. This means that she is having conversations with Ozai that do not include Zuko, and she has her father's ear in a way Zuko does not.

When she warns him about talking to Iroh, she is subtly reminding him that she knows things that Ozai does not that might call his loyalty into question. She is reminding him that she controls the narrative that gets filtered back to Ozai, and that the goodwill of Zuko's existence in the Fire Nation is something she has the power to take away if she were to tell Ozai the truth. Just like how her lie is not intended to keep Zuko safe, but to set him up for a fall, she is letting Zuko know that his position is not safe and that one wrong move could result in something bad for him, so he better watch himself. And she does this because it increases the power she has over him, it benefits her that Zuko is confused and fearful because it means she can reaffirm that she is the superior sibling. It also means that she can keep Zuko dependent on her while insulting him for being dependent on her. It's hard to say she's looking out for her brother when she's calling him stupid all the time for a situation she had a hand in engineering.

[marcusrobertobaq]

There's a variation in Connor's orders logic that is quite funny.

Deal with the leader (Crossroads)

If Connor remain a machine and the leader escapes, the HUD gonna say the mission failed, but for some reason...

2. Neutralize the leader (Night of the Soul)

If Connor dies in HPR the mission doesn't fail, it stays "open" in a way even tho CL will have to send another Connor (same situation from Crossroads). Also still "open" if the scope is broken anyways.

I really don't get the logic here. Either both failed or neither of 'em really failed but there's something interesting in the logic that could be relevant...

Deal with the leader -> but he's supposed to TAKE THE LEADER ALIVE FROM THE SHIP.

This is an specification much like Amanda updating Connor's new mission and trapping him into the yes/no situation in the Bridge scene. Although she doesn't say anything besides taking the leader alive, Connor's mission switches to "Stop/Neutralize" the leader the moment they resist - and that's what he does (killing Markus).

Which is IN PRACTICE the same exact mission in Connor's Last Mission. Following this logic, for it to really fail in Crossroads would be "Stop/Neutralize" the leader BEFORE THEY ESCAPE FROM THE SHIP - and that's why it would fail instead of remain open cuz...

Neutralize the leader -> but BEFORE THE UPRISING IS A SUCCESS

This is the logic behind Connor being able to fail/die in HPR and come back to kill Markus or North in the revolution. But there's something funny in all this:

Connor can face North and Markus only if it' REVOLUTION path (failed/Markus fighting);

In the DEMONSTRATION we don't play as Connor, he arrives later and what determines if he's successful or not is if Markus got killed by soldiers or not.

If Markus is ALIVE the mission gonna remain open during the speech, meaning the ghost specification BEFORE THE UPRISING IS A SUCCESS ain't relevant in Connor's mission

But there are another 2 points that could explain why one remains open and the other not even if they're the exact same thing with no ghost specifications being relevant:

There's a 1 day timeskip from Crossroads to Battle for Detroit.

In HPR, Connor knows the leader location and the % of where to find 'em, meaning he DIDN'T LOSE THE LEADER FROM SIGHT

In Crossroads the moment the leader escapes Connor DOESN'T KNOW WHERE THE LEADER IS and they could just dissapear forever and never be seen again but =! dead - being impossible for him to kill 'em. Would take days of tracking and that's why the mission gets closed as failed.

After the leader is found (declaration of war or declaration of protests) Amanda gives him the mission to neutralize the leader. But there's an inconsistency (in my head):

If u don't die in Crossroads (meaning Markus died) North becomes the leader. Amanda must have telepathy powers cuz she says North gonna take Detroit by force (revolution) to Connor in nov 10th 7:31PM. North only declares war PUBLICLY somewhere on nov 11th.

U can argue both the Church and Amanda Garden happens at the same time (nov 10th 7:31PM) which should be true in this timeline - but how tf does Amanda know about it the moment North make the speech (like we see if we play as deviant Connor)? Or her speech happens later and it's like viral content on internet? i thought deviants were more private

There's another point - if u died in Crossroads (meaning Markus is alive and can take DEMONSTRATION or REVOLUTION route if he wasn't outcast) Amanda NEVER mentions anything about what the androids are organizing, she only gives Connor the order to "Neutralize" the leader.

I'm missing something...

[aetherspoon]

A not-so-simple relocation, day -1.

TW: Suicidal thoughts, under the cut.

I'm currently taking a forced break from packing and thought to write down some of my thoughts.

For those that don't know, I'm moving from the United States to Norway. Specifically flying out tomorrow, arriving the day after, bringing all sorts of things with me including three friends (who will return in a week) and two cats (who will not be returning within a week).

Unfortunately for me, this move has been anything but normal, even given the fact that I'm relocating to a different hemisphere. I had plans to have a friend here a few days in advance (that fell through; no one is arriving until tonight), I had plans for an organizer to help me settle things (she caught Covid and had to cancel), I even had plans for having a day off before the movers arrived... but the movers arrived at the absolute earliest time possible.

My computers are all packed at this point save the laptop I'm typing this on, although my main desktop is sitting in a giant box that I'm crossing my fingers the bag check person will look over the size on rather than shipping her like I had planned. I'm currently up to seven checked bags and likely need a few more. I already asked my existing roommate (who is buying my house from me) if it was okay to leave some things behind for when I return in September, so it isn't THAT big of a deal if not everything comes with me this time.

So, why the trigger warning? Well, today in particular has been pretty bad for me - lots of things going wrong, expecting some things to be available for me that were packed by the movers (which goes on a slow boat), other things that were supposed to be packed that weren't. Nothing against the movers, they were awesome - this was entirely on me for being so disorganized.

But one thing came up this afternoon that kind of broke me - my headphones were missing. I have a pair of really nice noise cancelling headphones that I bought after losing my old pair (which in of itself triggered a mental breakdown when I realized it had happened). They're supposed to be extra nice for the airplane so I can try and relax with some degree of success. They were missing.

I looked everywhere for them, couldn't find them. Even found their case, but not the headphones. I gave up looking and even looked at buying another pair at a local store before leaving because all of them were overpriced and didn't meet my needs. But I found them! They were buried between two of my bags for some reason.

That's good news, right?

Brain, immediate thought: "Ah good, you're not a complete fuck-up apparently. You'd still be better off dead given all of the hassle you made your friends deal with though. Better to just end it now."

I am technically classified as in remission from my depression at this point. I've been doing a lot better lately, reframing various negative thoughts. My anxiety has been utterly ridiculous (see this whole move business), but depression hasn't really been as present. It has been a while since my last major suicidal thought, even if my depression has been rather nasty this past week - but that's temporary, not a longer lasting depression, hence the "remission" part of my official diagnosis.

Upon that thought, I stopped packing, told my partner (who I was on a video call with) about it, then stopped to take a break. I've watched a couple of short videos, typed up this post, and just sat here focusing on anything but my current situation. And yes, typing up a blog talking about said situation doesn't count for me; my brain makes the rules, not me.

Tomorrow morning, I leave my house. I leave behind various bits of furniture, random odds and ends that need to be donated or recycled, my former life, my friends, the place I've lived the longest by a large margin, and most importantly one of my cats (we decided that Boo would be happier by herself and she's known my housemate just as long as me).

I really hope this is the right decision.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

This is what 12 layers of stupid looks like-

So

What's this about? This "person", used loosely here to point at the fact that the profile states "using AI to fact check people" despite a known history of machine learning (commonly incorrectly known as AI) is frequently incorrect as it uses human models to "fact check" and or find information. Like CNN, NYT, TYT, Reddit, etc. Or worse, Snopes. All of which publications and websites are leftist echo chambers and flat out liars.

I've expressly told this person because they are bad faith I will no longer respond to them. That and also because I'm not going to debate a chat bot. Except this person doesn't know me. At all. I CURRENTLY work corrections but it doesn't define me as a person. I'm also not a moron bleeding heart. But let me explain something specific here. There's 3 paragraphs of obtuse language here, trying to frame me as a person incapable of changing their mind.

What they don't know is that I studied psychology for 7 years. I've taken part in sit in sessions where I signed NDAs to not give identifiable info about people I listened to while they were in session with a trained psychologist. Meaning the informational take away, I can still discuss. People like "Evil Fact Checker" get off on appearing smart, except only really coming off as pedantic and pretentious.

I'm not, "Ridgid" as a rule. It's situation. Meaning, it's when needed. I've worked a lot of jobs, but here's something you SHOULD know. There are actually evil people in this world who are beyond redemption. People who honestly don't want to change. Who get a thrill from being awful. EFC here tries to liberal his way into a point as if I'm completely unmoving when fact is you don't understand the system until you see the inside of it. You don't understand the system and the people in it until you run in to save someone from bleeding out because they "looked at someone wrong". I've some tech jobs. I've done military. I've done security. I've some customer service and retail.

You don't know me. And you can be as arrogant as you like but if you think you can save everyone your a liar at worst and a ignorant idealist at best. Neither of which are good things. What's even funnier, is the fact you don't know WHERE I'm working. Nor how this place operates. And that's even made funnier still by the fact that not all prisons/jails operate the same.

Stop riding my stick. Seriously. You don't know me, and just because your leftists sources say shit doesn't mean they are correct. Often it's not. I change my mind all the time. But often it's based on fundamentally understanding a logic behind something. If it doesn't seem reasonable, I often won't take it to heart. Because why would I? Doesn't mean I don't consider other things at all. I always do.

But people like you don't consider that. You never do.