#not sure if/when they'll come to global

[nyansequitur]

let the doggo go home please.

[orchres]

Hey friends! Sharing a pretty urgent fundraiser for myself. I have been invited to some really cool residency in Europe and have been raising funds all week to cover the costs of the residency and visa fees. So far I'm up to 178 dollars out of 300 yay! which may seem like nothing but I live in a country in East Africa and at present we are under economic assault in the name of IMF "structural adjustments" and my community has still rallied around me to support. It honestly is so heartwarming 😭💗 Anyway I would love any assistance at all to raise the remaining 122. I need to pay the first deposit on or before September 1st this coming Sunday (and they sent my invitation letter w this info on Monday btw!!) or they'll give away my place so time is not on my side. I have many complaints about this whole state of affairs and all the assumptions made but this is also just the reality of being an artist from the global south lol I'll be mad about it when I know for sure I can attend. Thank you so much!

0/122

[seat-safety-switch]

Have you ever thought about how weird it is that you can buy pineapples at the grocery store? Someone pulled this shit off a tree tens of thousands of kilometers away, and then sent it to me. If I don't buy it, they'll just throw it in the trash.

Global trade is a really remarkable invention of our species. My neighbour's Hyundai was born in South Korea, shipped here on a boat, and will never see its mother or most of its siblings again. Even so, it was only slightly more expensive than a locally-made Ford. Sorry, did I say "locally-made?" That was also made in a different country and shipped here under duress. We don't even notice such a miracle unless we check the registration.

My Volare was sent here from The America, a country which has been going through some rough times lately. I figured that maybe it would want to go back and see Missouri, its land of creation, at least once. That Hyundai would never get the opportunity: who would bundle an Elantra into a steamer ship? Driving there, though, was basically feasible. Well, feasible for anyone who wasn't operating a badly-maintained, 47-year-old example of one of Mopar's shittiest cars.

You guessed it: I broke down at the end of my block. There is good news, though. A couple months ago, I found a bicycle clogging the sewage drain near my office, and I was able to bang it mostly straight with a hammer. Ever since then, I've been throwing it in the trunk, and using it to ride home whenever one of my cars leave me stranded. It's been great for my cardio, but more importantly, it was built here. Plans changed. Volare out, whatever this bicycle is "in." I rode it to the bike shop that assembled it, stopping periodically to ingest fried food, craft beer, and ice cream so as not to unnecessarily improve my health from over-exercise.

Unfortunately for everyone, when I got to the bike store, the snooty repair-shop crew considered my quest incomplete. They didn't make the bikes there, just threw them together. The frame and wheels had come from China, they explained, a big integrated factory that punches out the parts, spitting out thousands of proto-bikes per second without any form of human involvement. You'd have to get on a plane and take it to go visit the mothership in Guangdong.

Confronted with the choice to either abandon my quest or willingly board a Boeing product, I decided to take the safer route and return home. Perhaps it was foolish to try and figure out the maternal bonds of soulless, inanimate methods of transportation. Or perhaps I just picked the wrong kind of product, I decided, picking up an apple at the grocery store on my way home. Surely, this thing came from here, I thought right before I read the label.

As soon as I figure out where "Northern Spy" is, you'll be the first to know.

[studentbyday]

week 1. a stuttering start.

i can't believe autumn is already approaching. i feel like i haven't done much to truly live on my own terms this year... (the majority of my time was spent either chained to my desk, living the studying hermit life as usual, or...and this is a new one for this era of my life, feeling like a child following the real adults around on my travels which @zzzzzestforlife documents way better tbh. the travels, that is...)

in addition i've been feeling very unmotivated and numb this school year. even more so than usual. i've never been as zesty as...well, Zesty when it comes to new school years, but it has slowly been getting worse since i started uni and i think i'm getting dangerously close to falling off some cliff i'll later realize was an important cliff to not fall off of. do you get what i mean? i'm only speaking vaguely because i myself do not quite know.

i oscillate between wanting to be extraordinary and extra ordinary. i have fallen back into bad habits, which do not set a good precedent. and overall i feel lost. so so lost that i started reading designing your life. and dulled by the isolation of school i can hardly focus. it's not a new problem, i've just finally been able to put words to it after all these years. engaging and/or cathartic verbal conversation brings me back to life, whether i'm listening or speaking, but i don't get enough of that in my daily life...this is just a very weird mundane state to be in. don't get me wrong, i was relieved to get back to this life with a very predictable pattern after the hectic-ness of travel, but something about it always felt off and i almost can't believe that only now i've realized why.

anyway, feelings pass. and i have overcome the jet lag, so i am that much more energized (and perhaps a little more desperate) to bulldoze through this problem.

Study:

Read/skimmed all the syllabi for anything new (much of it is the same year-to-year as they're all courses in the same faculty and i am resigned to the fact that there will be weighty group work in at least one course out of every year)

Caught up on course announcements

Finished microbiology module for this week (hmmm i read like half of this module last year when i attempted and then dropped this course so it wasn't the most interesting the second time around but i think it'll get better as i get to the new stuff and the nitty-gritty details 🔬 mwahahaha 🦠 i also decided last minute to make flashcards for these and had to transfer my notes to anki. i wish there weren't so many isolated facts or similar but distinct processes i need to remember.)

Made flashcards for half of this week's immunology content (seems to be a memorization-heavy course and i think i really need the active recall since i barely remember the pre-req info 😅 luckily they review it in the module... 🤭)

Reviewed some of the flashcards made this week

Worked on (but didn't finish) global health slides for this week (i'm...not entirely sure what i should be taking notes on or how because...this all seems either very common sense or kind of..."woo-woo" based on my way of understanding the world...but ig that's my own biases talking? i hope they'll just test us on the common sense stuff. that will be easier for my brain 🥴)

Around half of pathology slides are left from this week (probably the most work intensive course i'm taking rn based on the timeline 😵 but also it's shaping up to be my favorite subject this semester because the modules are so well designed AND it's large processes or, even if it's smaller concepts, they're all connected to each other so i don't need flashcards!...i think! i can just pull on the thread of memory and it all unspools (...ideally...)!)

Wrote down due dates for all assessments this semester

Other life things: (yeah idk what to call this section)

I became a 6AM girlie!!! 🥰🥰🥰

Unpacked

Washed my water bottle

Caught up with a friend 💗

Health:

Yoga x2

Journalled x2

Early morning walk in nature x1 (the air smelled so so fresh i was so glad i went out...and even gladder that i went out when i did because after that the air quality got super bad from wildfire smoke 🥺)

Pilates x1 (i made it! in 2 split sessions, but still! and i feel great!!! 😃 i'm so glad i found this channel because she explains the moves in a way that i can get it even with my bad coordination 😅 she also goes slowly and there is no annoying workout music so i can completely focus on the movements and how they feel, it's perfect. 😊)

Music in My Head:

Blue Danube Waltz (OG piano version)

Treat People With Kindness

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Hikaru Nara (the perfect song for my current ambivalent mood because the whole theme of the anime, which is reflected in the sound of this arrangement, is the need to reignite your spark for the things that mean something to you and make the absolute most of it because life is short)

a few dark academia playlists that i put on loop to study to (links under the cut) (somehow the ones with new age music are the only ones i can listen to...light/quiet enough that it doesn't interrupt my thoughts but intense and melodic enough that it puts me in the mood to focus 😅)

[miguel-manbemel]

There's one thought that came to me today about Sanders Sides, and specifically the nature of the Sides. So many people have missed one important, crucial point about the Sides. They're not human, and I don't mean that they can shapeshift, appear and disappear and all that stuff. I mean that each of the Sides represents just one limited zone of c!Thomas' psyche, and therefore they're only confined to that zone of Thomas.

What does it mean to judge them as humans? It means many people demand of them the complexity of action humans have, the same capacity to grow and evolve as if they were a fully fledged human, and that, my friends, just cannot happen, because it's not in their nature. I'll try to explain my point. We've seen the Sides learn and grow from different situations they went through in the past, and I say "have we?"

Don't mean they didn't go through the situations, I mean, did they really get a long term growth? In some cases they did, in others, the growth was incomplete or null, because the Sides are only able to grow in their own area of action in Thomas' psyche, and will remain, not oblivious, but, like that student that simply doesn't get how to solve a problem at school, and tries and tries to solve it right, but it just doesn't stick in their head. They will only learn the part of the solution in their area of expertise, and the rest will simply not stick at all.

For instance, Virgil knows if he causes a panic attack, Thomas will suffer and that will help no one, but he just can't help it, it's in his nature to cause panic attacks if the conditions are met. Other example, Roman knows that too much fantasy can be harmful, it can disconnect you from reality and that can break Thomas' heart. He knows, he's been told, but he can't help it. He's literally Thomas' dreams. Same way, Patton cannot escape the morality he was created with during Thomas' growth, Janus can't help making Thomas deceitful, Remus will show his creative thoughts at all cost no matter how it makes Thomas suffer, and Logan will always have problems to put feelings in the equation when trying to find solutions to an issue.

Does that mean that the whole show is a lie and the Sides are hopeless beings that can't learn from their mistakes? Not entirely, because when they face issues, they all face them together as a team, they go through them together and find a global solution that can help Thomas grow.

Then why do they revert back after learning so much about Thomas in the past? As I said, any item the Sides are not capable to learn according to their nature will not fully stick and they'll be prone to repeat problematic attitudes, even if they try not to.

What can be done then? The solution comes from Thomas. The Sides are Thomas and Thomas is all of them, and most important, he knows, or is learning, how to combine the different aspects of himself. In another analogy, the Sides and Thomas are like an orchestra and the orchestra conductor. Each instrument has only access to their partiture and can only play their own sound, even if they know how they're all supposed to sound together, only Thomas has the full information of the song, and only he can tell any of the Sides when to play and when to stand back.

To be fair, Thomas still doesn't have the full partiture ready, he's still writing on the fly, that's why the song is incomplete and both the Sides and Thomas are still struggling, but as the series goes on, the song keeps writing itself, slowly but surely and when it's complete, Thomas will have the full song and will learn how to make their Sides sound perfect in harmony...

Well, most probably, the song will never be fully complete or perfect, but eventually it will reach a grade of completion enough to make Thomas and his Side harmonious enough to make good, melodious songs. That is, eventually, Thomas will know how to be the best of a person he can be, because no one is perfect, but he will learn how to feel good enough, and how to be happy with himself and get as best as he can be.

That means the Sides will learn how each can help the other Sides in the areas they lack expertise so they don't repeat the same mistakes from the past. But they must learn to work together to reach that goal, they can't do it each on their own. When they learn this ultimate lesson, everything will get better for Thomas and the Sides.

[creature-wizard]

Something that the folks into New Age beliefs (ascension, starseeds, etc) need to understand is that conspiratorial worldviews (like the idea that there's an ancient global conspiracy manipulating everything behind the scenes) are inherently divisive. It doesn't matter how much you like the idea of peace, harmony, and unity consciousness, and it doesn't matter how much you personally try to keep your vibrations up; if you believe that everyone who disagrees with you is secretly controlled by the shadow government or whatever, you're never going to be able to maintain any kind of long-term relationship with most people, including the ones who generally share in your beliefs and values, because at some point you're going to disagree with each other on something, and when that happens, you're going to suspect each other of being government plants, controlled opposition, disinfo agents, or whatever. Conspiracy theorists are constantly accusing each other of being agents of the conspiracy.

Now like, there's a bunch of scammers in New Age communities, sure. And said scammers just make up whatever to make money. And that's bad, but that's not the same thing as being a government plant, ya know? Also, conspiratorial narratives actually benefit the scammers, because whenever anyone tries to call them out on their shit, they'll just say the government is out to get them and people will believe them.

But most of you? Most of you are just incredibly passionate people with firm convictions. You're not disagreeing because one of you is a double agent; you're disagreeing because you're people and people always have different points of view because no two people live the exact same life experience. Now sure, some of you are real dicks sometimes, and some of you get carried away by your own egos, but none of you are part of an ancient global conspiracy.

You need to understand, this conspiracy narrative does not come from good people. It comes from some of the worst, in fact. It's made from the same tropes used to justify the witch hunts and the Holocaust. Now, I know conspiracy theorists often believe that these people were actually part of the conspiracy and put this information out there in this form to throw people off the scent, but you gotta understand, there's no evidence of this, because there's no actual evidence of the conspiracy in the first place. Literally it's always been a bunch of assholes thinking of the most heinous actions they can imagine to slander those they hate and want to oppress, it's just that simple. When you adopt a conspiratorial worldview, you are internalizing this hatred and making it part of your inner matrix. Even if you're experiencing a high vibrational state 99% of the time, these beliefs - this programming - is going to affect how you perceive and respond to those who don't believe the same way as you in a very, very negative way.

[mezzy303]

HI IN LIGHT OF CHAPTER 1114 OF ONE PIECE I AM COMBINING SOME THEORIES A BIT

It might be safe to say that I can axe my theory (here) that the world is sinking due to natural phenomena lol. BUT I'm gonna keep the idea that the people of the Great Kingdom knew the event would happen sometime in the future, and add on the one that connects Lulusia and Enies Lobby (here).

To summarize the latter, the One Piece Wikia has a trivia note on the Lulusia page that points out that the crater formed after Lulusia was destroyed is similar to the circular falls that surround Enies Lobby. This had got me thinking that 800 years ago, the same or similar weapon was used on an island (possibly the Great Kingdom itself) and the World Govt placed their judicial island over the subsequent crater as a monument to their victory and an example of the lengths they'd go for their "justice."

And now from the new chapter, Vegapunk has directly connected the rising sea levels from the Mother Flame weapon to the Void Century. “In order to understand where the world is heading, we must first address the past, specifically what happened 900 to 800 years ago.” This likely means that the weapon Imu and the Five Elders used existed 800 years ago, if one would need to know the past to understand what's currently going on. A threat from the past is also threatening the future. And I feel like with every chapter, there are more hints that suggest this weapon could be Uranus, the final Ancient Weapon. We know next to nothing about Uranus, except that it's one of the three Ancient Weapons mentioned in the Poneglyphs. Since the other two relate to the gods they're named after, many fans have theorized that Uranus will relate to the sky somehow. And as the lasers that annihilated Lulusia came from the sky, it's likely that the weapon is somewhere above the clouds, which would fit in the theorized theme for Uranus. Also the amount of destruction it caused aligns with what we've been told about the Ancient Weapons' potential. An island-sized crater in the earth that causes global earthquakes and rising sea levels certainly counts as mass destruction!

I've been mulling in my head since the last chapter that the Elders have had this weapon at least since the end of the Void Century, but that it could only be used with the Ancient Energy (the same energy the Iron Giant had run on) of the Great Kingdom and that technology was lost after its fall. And then comes Vegapunk who was researching this energy to create his own everlasting energy source to better the world, thus developing the Mother Flame. On a side note, I wonder if the Elders were using Vegapunk this whole time in order to create something that Uranus could run on. Idk I get that York tipped them off, but it seems too coincidental that the Elders would get a sample of the Flame and a guaranteed loyalist that can create it, and then order Vegapunk's death soon after. Vegapunk just seems like too much of a wild card to have been kept alive for so long.

But back on topic!! When the Elders were "testing the Mother Flame" on Lulusia, what I think they were really doing was seeing if that energy would work with Uranus. And because it did, they are desperate to make sure the Flame stays intact on Egghead, as it's they're only way to use Uranus. They've already shown the extent they'll go to in order to keep the world under their feet, it would be just a minor inconvenience for the world's land to sink if it means they can continuously subjugate entire islands in an instant (they live on the Red Line, what does it matter to them if sea levels rise?)

And if the Elders, likely some of the original 20 allied monarchs, had similar views 800 years ago as they do now, then it probably wasn't hard to conclude how they would use Uranus when they got their hands on it. And that could be the reason why Noah was built. Those of the Great Kingdom, a highly advanced civilization, knew the ramifications of using Uranus and thus were preparing for the inevitability of a world with little land. As Doflamingo mentioned, just 5 more meters of rising sea level would swallow up most urban spaces, so it would only take at least 5 more times of using Uranus to sink the majority of land globally (if each use causes sea levels to rise 1 meter). The World Govt then erased records of the Ancient Weapons to make sure no one else could threaten them with the other two, but also to hide the fact they already had one in their possession. And as a counter, the shipwrights of Water 7 passed down Pluton’s blueprints in case the World Govt got hold of that weapon too, which I had brought up in one of my posts.

I feel like with every chapter I'm reforming and rerouting theories lmao. Let's see how this holds up in two weeks 😂

[12pt-times-new-roman]

IT'S MIGHTY NEIN DAY LET'S GOOOO

god, the SET, the COSTUMES, travis in full half-orc makeup — fucking gorgeous. but I do have the sneaking feeling that Matt is dressed as young Ludinus.......

The time: seven years after the peace treaty that ended the War of Ash and Light, immediately after the ignition of the Malleus Key. The level: 20. The setting: the Encanter's Rest, Blightshore, where Caleb and Beauregard have landed.

In the midst of this, Caleb has a terrifying realization: if his own collar has been disenchanted, what others have been, too? But Beau's priority is to get to Yasha, who was with Caduceus, and Caleb teleports them there with a chipped piece of gravestone.

The Blooming Grove is healthier than they've ever seen it, and the curse of the Savalirwood has been driven away slightly. Caduceus' hair is a vibrant pink again.

"We made it to the Malleus Key like we planned, but nothing ended as we planned. Da'leth brought down a champion of the Matron, into the heart of the dig site, and he did something — our vision went white, we woke up in a different part of the world —" "Long story short, everything's fucked. I think we need to rally the troupe."

Next stop: the deck of the Nein Heroez, docked in Nicodranas.

Fjord update: his level 20 multiclass is warlock 14/paladin 6, and holy fuck his new art—

Stone's Throw has acquired multiple new ships, including the Rumblecusp Express and the Sapphire of the Sea.

As they travel through Nicodranas toward Veth, they catch wind of something having spooked sea-beasts into the streets.

"I'm sorry, the place is a mess, the world has been turned upside down—" "Wait, something happened here too? What's wrong?" "I have a teenager!"

They sit down to have a conversation, alongside Yeza.

"Uh... Cerberus Assembly, global fuckery, the moon is not where it's supposed to be, Trent may not be imprisoned anymore — and we're getting the Nein back together to deal with it."

Jester update: she took flash recall as her 19th level feat.

Jester attempts to scry on Trent and it doesn't work. They immediately assume that he's broken out and has an amulet, but it could still be that the entire prison is warded against scrying.

"Caleb, do you need an amulet so he can't look in on you?" "Let him come." that's what we call character development!

The Nein, in true Nein fashion, decide to tackle the immediate problem first, rather than trying to push the moon back into space when they don't really know anything about it. Trent joined with Ludinus is far more dangerous than Ludinus on his own, so they'll take down Trent first and play whack-a-mole with the rest of the Assembly later.

Veth isn't sure if she should go with them, but Luc slams his door open — "mom, don't be a coward! You do this every time! You have to be an adventurer for everyone, that's our calling! You can ground me all you want, but I learned it from you!"

Caleb cuts in. "Young man, you do not take your mother's love for granted. Do you understand me?"

They start to leave, but Veth doesn't want to. Caleb draws the circle to the Cobalt Soul archive in Rexxentrum, he steps through, the last to go — and Luc, rogue 5/wizard 3, dashes through at the last second!!

The way the entirety of the Mighty Nein turns on Luc the second they realize he's there and are so protective of him is fucking adorable. Beau challenges him to hit her with a spell, but ol' uncle Caleb counters it and puts him in a wall of force. "We are dealing with people who could kill you with a blink. You are not ready. You are talented, and I'm proud of you, but you're not ready." Luc is out here using Sam's 22 charisma to convince everyone — including Caduecus — to let him stay. Caleb agrees, too, on one condition: that Luc will stay under his eye at every moment, and that he reserves the right to teleport Luc back home the second it becomes too dangerous.

On the upside, it appears that the teleportation circles in the Cobalt Soul are still working.

Since the solstice, the Cobalt Soul has closed its archive doors. They discovered that the master vault has had its wards interfered with and has actually been infiltrated and trapped from within — with Yudala Fon meeting with the king, they ask the Nein to investigate.

Caleb update: Fortune's Favor is his second-level spell mastery choice.

The hallway to the vault leads to a massive adamantine door covered in runes — though it would usually glow blue upon approach, the runes are cold and lifeless. It creaks open without issue.

Inside is a storage room filled with various chained crates, tomes, display cases, and other such things.

In the middle of the floor is a toothy mouth. "Welcome, Bren. You are nothing if not reliable. It feels good to be free — have had so much time to ponder. I can now see how solitude forged you, I now know the greatness that can come from endless quiet and conjecture. At the edges of my mind, many seek me in silence. I wonder If any partnership would meet my standards. I have much to thank you for, my exemplary pupil. It is only fitting you have now taught me, and I return renewed. I must confirm my theories, for they keep many secrets beneath this library. You are welcome to learn what I have, Bren." The magic mouth spell vanishes.

At the far end of the room is a figure, crouched — Aggy, a dwarvish monk (way of the drunken fist, presumably), level 5, played by Wembly Arena's announcer Daniel! The monk was sent into the archive ahead of them, but got caught in some kind of explosion. "Without being too rude, who the living fuck are you?"

Beau update: She got promoted to High Monk!

Fjord uses see invisibility, revealing a handle on the wall that was previously hidden. Aggy goes and headbutts it, inadvertently turning the lever and opening a secret door in the wall.

Through this new door, another mouth appears. "We have all done terrible things, Bren, and we all must be punished for them. I still pay the price, and so too shall he. The Shadowhand must step into his own might. I will tell the Bright Queen of his betrayal, and in this, he shall be made free to follow your path of pain. Only in suffering are we made paragon, and I will make you better; you will be my proudest achievement."

The passage leads to a series of terraced platforms that then lead to a room covered in lockboxes. Each is hidden with invisibility, and protected by various wards.

Aggy, brazenly running down the passageway and sticking his hand on one of the lockboxes, gets instantly killed by a disintegrate.

One of the lockboxes is slightly ajar, and no longer has a trap on it; the inside is empty except for a piece of paper, and another magic mouth appears. "To bleed is to scab, to break is to mend stronger, to hurt is to learn; but recklessness will only leave you dead and forgotten. I was called here to take of its blessing and release one of its forgotten nightmares; arrogance thinks it can use me, but I am the master here. I am he who feeds on ambition, he who drinks of promise and leaves nothing unearned." He tells Caleb to meet him at the ruins of his childhood home — "dinner will be waiting."

Beau comforts Caleb in the way that she does. "You've worked really hard to overcome this. You are above this." "You are right. I don't care that he taunts me. But he doesn't need to be breathing anymore."

With at nat20 plus true seeing, Beau can see the name of what each lockbox contains. The two that were ajar read "adrenus sap," a rare unholy ichor distilled for use in abyssal rituals to bind servants of the abyss or undeath to their domains, or to ensnare such creatures; and "afterimentahl," an arcane binding stone used to capture powerful beings for study, syphoning, or experimentation. The ones known typically contain an entity from the Calamity or before, but the process of creating them has been lost.

back from break and so ready to watch them finally kill this motherfucker—

They put up the tower to sleep for the night, and cast a heroes' feast preemptively.

Caleb uses wish to cast simulacrum on himself to create a copy. He then gives Luc his luck stone, re-attunes his ring of evasion, and casts mind blank on himself before going to bed.

And with a night's rest, Caleb can prepare another 9th level spell or can keep wish — he didn't even have to roll for it because he duplicated a spell! 20th level wizards are a hell of a thing.

With potions drank, fog clouds created, and a heroes' feast had, the Nein plus Luc teleport to Blumenthal.

As they approach, Caleb feels the ghost of his grief, but he has come to terms with it. The house that stands here looks exactly like his childhood home. "I have done what I have needed to do in this world. If I don't walk from this, I need you to get that boy to safety."

Inside, there is laughter — Una's, followed by Leofric's, mingled with Trent's. Caleb walks in, followed by Jester and Fjord. With divine sense, Fjord reads both Una and Leofric as undead. Caleb's simulacrum is polymorphed into a sabertooth to protect Luc. The rest flank the house and watch through the windows.

Breakfast is set at the table. There are seven empty chairs.

"Mother, don't you think it's strange, you haven't changed one iota?" "Not at all. He has given us a second chance." With an insight check, Caleb sees them for what they are: just bodies, reanimated.

Jester leans, says "I'm sorry" to Caleb — and casts turn undead. Both parents fail their saves, fall back. Trent's face falls. "Wery well, then. Perhaps the lesson should start with me." The entire house explodes, but their preparation reduces the damage significantly, and before them is Trent Ikithon, floating up in the air — and where Una and Leofric were are two ghoulish corpses.

time for initiative and combat updates!

Trent's spell save DC is 22. That's just about on-par for a 20th-level wizard with money; a 22 INT plus a robe of the archmagi gets him there, and an arcane grimoire can compensate for no robe or a 20 INT.

Trent can use 2 legendary actions to cast a spell.

Caleb Prime: *downed* Caleb 2: immediately turns into a fucking t-rex

Luc casts see invisibility and reveals that Trent's avatar is an illusory duplicate, and the real Trent is crouched behind a tree like a little fucking creep.

After a chain lightning, a meteor swarm that did higher-than-average damage, and a massive house explosion, everyone's back to full with a mass heal! So with two clerics in the party with a 9th level each, plus a guaranteed divine intervention that can duplicate a mass heal, these fuckers have a latent health pool of 2800 hit points.

Beau update: Her 19th level feat is mobile.

In an antimagic field, Trent is cowering — "but this is why the intelligent prepare. Omentis, be unleashed." The field doesn't suppress artifacts, and he breaks the afterimentahl against his chest. From where he stands, an orb of pitch darkness grows, and a 40-foot entity made of purplish and black shadow, with four arms and glowing purple orbs begins to stalk toward Blumenthal itself.

Seeing that, Caleb plants one palm, two palms on the ground — and uses shapechange to transform into Gelidon, the Nightmare in Ivory.

KAIJU FIGHT!!

and then, just to top it all off, Luc casts enlarge on the fucking t-rex!

"Arty, if there's ever a time we needed you—" Jester uses gate to pull Artagan out of the feywild and right into this fucking kaiju fight. "Don't worry, Jester, I've got y—oh, what have you brought me into?! Really?!"

An archfey, an ancient dragon, a giant t-rex, and the avatar of an abyssal archfiend tethered to the soul of a 20th-level archmage walk into a bar...

With holy weapon active, Yasha does 168 damage in a turn without a crit.

Its full name is Omentis, Scion of Ruin. Everyone within 60 feet gets hit with its "void hunger," automatically takes necrotic damage at the top of its turn. It also has "aura of oblivion," a beam that emits from its face and deals massive (as in, 150 points on a failed save) force damage. Its AC is 24, and it is considered undead.

With his passive perception, Caleb notices that the crystal that Trent shattered is still visible in its chest.

Luc notices and targets the artifact, which causes the shadow holding the creature together to flicker.

Caduceus uses divine intervention (which automatically succeeds) to cause the creature's shadow to become translucent, so that they can see the artifact clearly within it. In the center, with the crystal at his heart, is the shadowy echo of Trent, hanging like a puppet.

what is it with live shows and nat20s at crucial story moments???

With a nat20 strength check, Beau rips the heart from the creature. All the shadows swirl around it and get pulled back into the egg, and as it reforms, Trent himself gets pulled, screaming, into it — Beau tosses it up, Gelidon catches it and smashes it into the ground.

As the dust settles, the people of Blumenthal gather, and the sun begins to rise.

The heart remains intact, but sealed forever with Trent inside it.

Caleb uses demiplane — which opens into a familiar nine-sided tower — to seal the heart away for..... future use.

They decide that after all this, Luc deserves a party — not least of all to celebrate Fjord and Jester's engagement!

At the end of it all, Caleb uses the tower to cook a feast for all of Blumenthal.

"While this was a singular victory, it is still the beginning of much work to be done."

[claraameliapond]

How is this real!? How is this real. Melissa Jane Kronfeld literally saying she wants to see Al-Asqa Mosque demolished to build a Jewish temple. Immediately before this saying: "It's not about the destruction of Islamic holy sites, it's about preserving this place and being guardians over the house of God for all people."

"So you're happy with it where it is?"

"NO it's going to go 100%. But I believe... "

"It's going to go?"

"Yeah 100% yeah. The whole thing is going to go we have to build a temple."

"When you say that Dome of the Rock has to go MJ, it's hard for me to imagine something more incendiary"

"Let me ask you something. The middle east seems pretty destabilised right now. And the war, if I'm not mistaken, is already here..."

And who do you think is destabilising it? - Spoiler alert! It's the US and Israel.

So she's saying "must be preserved for all people" and that "it's not about demolishing Islamic holy sites" , and then immediately literally then saying it must only be for Zionist Israel, demolishing Al-Asqa Mosque "100%" for a Jewish temple to be built in its place. "For all people", sure.

What more obviously hypocritical, genocidal psychopathic thing is there to say? This is like a comedy skit. How can she say all of those directly opposing things while keeping a straight face, not seeing her own fault here? It's so insane it's laughable and terrifying and absolutely horrifying all at once. SO casually genocidal.

For anyone who hasn't studied history, this is what colonisers do. This is what imperialist colonisers do - they destroy any evidence of a culture that preexists theirs in an attempt to legitimize their claim to the land.

They commit genocide. Cultural genocide. To claim land that isn't theirs as theirs. The pattern is the same throughout history. Israel is following the exact plan used by the British against Ireland, for example.

British imperialist colonisers have done this everywhere, including referring to Australia as 'Terra nullius', aka a land with no people, which was the legal concept used by the British government to justify the settlement, aka brutal Colonisation of Australia. Zionism is no different.

The difference now, culturally, globally is that we can see it coming. Identify it and stop it. We have a connected global community. We have a world court, a UN that can now take measures to stop these things ever happening again. These things didn't exist when the others were happening. We have the power to stop them. Don't let your governments forget that.

#Decolonise Palestine - it's the only way they'll ever be safe and free

[juni-ravenhall]

when i was on sso doing champs those past days i overheard a convo in global between some ppl. one said they had spent 9000kr (~900$€) on sso in the past year (but did regret doing so). the other replied that theyd prob spent 15-20k kr (~1.500-2000$€) on their sso acc throughout the years

these things just baffle me so much and i cant rly see it any other way than that ppl get emotionally manipulated by game companies to do these things. the things poor ppl could do with this money vs what these middle class ppl spend it on... while not even making them happy. while regretting spending it. i seriously plea with middle class ppl to consider commissioning artists or giving to ppl in ur fandoms' ko-fi and whatnot instead of all this shit.

during the convo one of them mentions feeling like they had to buy every horse that sse was retiring, since they'll never be able to get them again. and buy every magic horse, since they're not always for sale. FOMO capitalist manipulation. as an adult, its ur responsibility to be able to recognise FOMO and to seek help (in the same vein as gambling addiction) if u cant stop yourself from spending on things that are irrational (as in: youre not even happy to spend it, and its not a necessity, you feel pressured to spend it).

however, kids cant be expected to recognise and withstand FOMO and other marketing tactics. which is why its so important that sso and other games (and their companies) get investigated and regulated by consumer protection agencies.

its also a fact that many of these ppl who have spent 100s of $€ on sso are ppl who have likely been playing since they were minors, which means their developing brains were affected by things like sso FOMO when they were at an age where they still didnt rly understand the value of money, what reasonable costs are, what theyre getting for their money, long term consequences, etc. even if theyre adults now, and responsible for their own choices (and for getting help with FOMO spending). its hard to fight back against brainwash for anyone, even if you have to try.

anyway u dont like to hear it but again if ur middleclass pls fucking think about how you spend money. 500+ $€ for sso in your lifetime is batshit insane. nothing in sso has ever been worth that and the company is not good enough to support in that way (yes, im sure x staff member works very hard and is a poor meow meow, but thats not relevant when the company itself is unethical in manipulation of children + doesnt respect its paying players + is questionable in treatment of staff and contract workers + has rarely made any sense in its entire history as a game developer)

aside from supporting struggling creatives (commissions, ko-fi, patreon, small businesses, etc) u can also opt for games that dont feature subscriptions or microtransactions (or, if they do, look for ones with fair pricing for the quality). there are tons of great games that dont come with unethical microtransactions or with subs, you pay once and then you have it. ofc the horse game market is still really lacking and thats just how it is right now.

[leighlew3]

Hey I'm interested in how the industry works and how it's slowing down atm, could you give some insights?

Welp. Buckle up...

Between tech bros and tech bro appeasers taking over the industry, the streaming model (an initially positive thing that's been twisted into something obviously not always so great), the pandemic, and the strike, plus the ever present political and global upheaval which has investors/banks biting nails -- Hollywood is not in a good place, and it's being run further and further into the ground by people afraid to take any risks or spend any money -- worse than ever.

That means less specs being bought, less movies being made, less shows being greenlit, and so on. Productions in LA have fallen to historic lows (because what IS being made is increasingly being taken elsewhere for tax credits and lower cost). Output and employment is just not great. And of course fans have become more selective and most studios and executives are simply not remotely on the same page with audiences and viewers anymore and relying too much on algorithms and skewed data (and allowing hateful anti-“woke” mobs to review bomb and doom anything fresh) and then wondering why even their big blockbusters are flopping now as well.

This was supposed to be the year the industry started to bounce back after the pandemic and strike, and while it's gotten better than it was when it was completely at a standstill, and yes movies and tv are still being made, it's just not good. It's not remotely where it should be, let alone anywhere near the level it was pre-pandemic. And even pre-pandemic, we were already seeing a lot of these problems starting to rear their heads...

I mean in the 90s and early 2000s a straight white guy could give a one line pitch to a studio and be handed a million bucks to write it. Or write the most basic ass spec and make a cool couple million for the sale. But now, even the straight white guys have to have a project locked and loaded already with attachments (talent, director, producers) already on board. No one want to develop anything. Everyone wants everyone else to do all the work (aka spend all the time and money) first and then maybe they'll buy the package and make the movie, or distribute a finished product. Imagine what that means for mid to lower level projects entirely. And imagine what that especially means for women/POC/LGBTQ creatives.

Anyway, agencies and reps all thought things would start to really get back on track this year, but it hasn't, really. The town-wide motto being said to writers, actors, directors, etc by Spring/Summer was "survive 'til 25". Now, the new motto is "survive through 25". Now everyone is hoping, somehow 2025 will be a solid recovery year and 2026 might be a genuinely good year again. But it just keeps getting pushed back and looking more and more bleak. A lot of writers, showrunners, etc -- successful ones and newbies alike, are just flat out leaving or preparing to leave the industry entirely, if they haven't already.

And people who are considering making writing, acting, or crew work a career are being flat out told "now is not the time, don't come to Hollywood, don't try to make this a career because there's just not enough work right now, and the career might not exist at all soon". And that's... pretty yikes.

Look, Hollywood has ALWAYS endured. It survived the Great Depression, global wars, technological revolutions -- and I actually believe it will survive this era as well.

I'm just not sure what comes out the other side of it...

And that's not even taking into account the role AI will play.

[tartrat]

"I Look In People's Windows"

a headcanon with an explanation under the cut (this will be a bit long).

So i started to think about what these three's relationship could be, since both versions take place in the same place. Then i was like "what if Kapyy isn't actually friends with the two, and instead he actually has no friends and just feels alone whilst Hoku and Bo'blu notice that he's not okay and do nothing to help?".

And so another headcanon formed in my head, some things in this come from my Sway twins headcanon as well (mainly the part about kapyy being kidnapped at birth):

Kapyy is a people pleaser, but it never works out no matter how hard he tries. He sees Hoku and Bo'Blu excelling and keeps wondering "Why can't i be like that?". No matter how hard he tries he always fails. He always feels the need to please others and doesn't notice how it affects himself for how little he gets in return, barely even a thank you sometimes.

He feels the pressure of being a performer, due to his boss and parental figure, who kidnapped him at birth, forcing him into this role only to get back at his father due to him leaving her because she attempted to control him, so she's using Kapyy in order to show his father that this is what he could've been. This doesn't help with his loneliness as he barely has free time and struggles to connect with others, as he's constantly being overworked and others find him weird.

As for Hoku and Bo'blu, I've started seeing them as the "popular kids" in the sense that they are quite popular performers in comparison to Kapyy. This is mainly because the classic actually has had more players globally than the extreme. Unlike Kapyy, They work at the same place willingly.

Hoku's a bit mean, and she doesn't really care much those who she thinks are weird. Bo'blu's the one who actually notices signs that Kapyy might actually be struggling, but like Hoku he ends up ignoring him. Hoku barely knows Kapyy's name and just refers to him as "The Sunglasses guy" or some variation on it, whilst Bo'blu does know his name and has made small talk with him if they happened to be in the elevator at the same time, but nothing more than "Hello" or "How's your day?".

This leads to Kapyy out walking one night, he got a bit of free time, and even though its raining quite heavily, he just wanted fresh air. He walks past a window and sees Hoku and Bo'blu inside talking and having a good time, and he gets upset. He feels like he's doing something wrong as he sees others get along so easily when he can't. He quickly leaves before getting noticed.

-

I hated drawing Hoku and Bo'blu for this, they just felt like they took forever to do for some reason and don't ask what's going on with her face and his hand, I don't know either, but it's my first time drawing them so it was just mainly figuring them out. Next time i draw one of them (who knows when that'll be) they'll look better.

This is long enough as it is and i'm not sure if any of it makes sense, i'm just getting things out of my head. If you want to know how this ties into the sway twins headcanon i have, I have ideas (this fanfic i've created in my mind is keeping me sane), i'm trying to write it out on a document. Anyway i have something funny planned next. I'm also tempted to draw Talia Sway and Hoku fighting like that one scene from glee, but thats not what i'm doing next.

I guess i can leave this post off by telling you that the classic version of I'm good freaks me out. Like it sorta scares me and i don't know why, i think its that bit just before their holograms appear that just fills me with a sense of dread for some reason.

[ateez-himari]

SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE 231024

NEW TWITTER UPDATE

[NEW UPLOAD FROM HIMARI]

ATEEZ(에이티즈) @ATEEZofficial

[#히마리] Five years ago we made our debut with hearts full of anxiety, wondering if anyone would even bother showing up, and now we've just ended a world tour. At first they were strangers to me, people I was too shy to approach but now whenever someone asks about them I simply say 'my second family'. They've scolded me, cared for me, held my hand, showered me with love, dried my tears, created my smiles and played a part in raising me. We're much more than friends, we're soulmates...because in every life I would choose them, no matter where or who we are. I know Chuseok has passed but I want to make a wish. I wish for the nine of us to keep standing by each other for a very long time...so that we can get old together. Let's continue our journey okay? ATEEZ HWAITING! ㅋㅋㅋ Happy 5 years to us, to my home.❤️9 MAKES 1 TEAM! (I can't ever get them in a picture together sorry ㅠㅠ...) #ATEEZ #애이티즈

Translated from Korean by Google

10:45am. · 23 Oct 23 · 2.5M Views 41K Reposts 1,267 Quotes 1.3M Likes

mikah @himaswife Replying to @ATEEZofficial We always joke about Joong and Hwa being the parents of the group but think about it...Hima was around 14 when she came to KQ and hadn't been with her family much for about a year cuz she was at JYPE. So they basically finished raising her🥹

koala koala @koalazia Replying to @himaswife omg yes she even has similar habits to each of the members😭idk who else knows this but in an interview Yeo said he saw her copy her older brothers' actions a lot and he noticed she was doing the same with them

cheongdam pepper @33khj Replying to @ATEEZofficial new pre-debut photos yes omg! i've been an atiny since the beginning and i can't believe they've already grown so much- hima went from hiding behind the members bc of all the hate and social anxiety to being a global ambassador for versace and 4th gen's little social butterfly

nabi @jigeumfly Replying to @ATEEZofficial happy 5 years our ateez 🥂we're so proud of you! you went from performing in small theaters to your first ever stadium, becoming the most successful 4th generation group not from a big company. you truly deserve all the happiness that comes your way (also the way she talks about them...my heart can't take this i'm crying)

TOQTOK UPDATE

CHECK OUT THIS NEW COMMENT FROM 히마리

🐯: I didn't think they'd remember either but my brothers all sent me congratulation messages this morning ㅋㅋㅋ My parents called me instead and my mom was really emotional so it made me cry a little bit but it's okay because it was tears of love. I'll go see my birth parents soon! I haven't brought them flowers in a while so they must miss me a lot. It's okay though I'm sure they've been watching over our shows and ATINY as well so they'll understand!

CHECK OUT THIS NEW COMMENT FROM 히마리

🐯: I guess it's true that sometimes I act like the members ㅋㅋㅋ I've always had a habit of copying people who taught me so since they raised me for a while I copy them a lot. Hongjoong oppa says I started biting people only after meeting Wooyoung oppa...so I guess some of them are bad influences ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

5TH YEAR INTERVIEW

'As we're filming this it's ATEEZ's 4th debut anniversary already which means we've pushed through a lot of bad times, a lot of physical and mental struggles. My hope for you is that when thinking of the past you're able to see the happy memories more than the negativity, that you can see everything you accomplished over the years. I also hope you've gotten strong enough to let go of the members' hands sometimes and that you can help them as much as they've cared for us. Learn to take a break sometimes so we can go back to painting okay? Hwaiting!'

Q: Do you feel you've become stronger since last year and that you've learned to rest?

When looking back it simply feels as though I've become more free in the past year, not putting as many harsh restrictions on myself which makes me a lot happier...and I guess it's a form of strength so yes. It's still a bit hard to get into the mindset of taking a moment to rest so the process is slow but I'm getting there at my own pace. I think past me would be proud to know that I've started to paint again...actually my room is filled with messy tools a lot nowadays.

Q: How would you describe your relationship with ATEEZ?

In very short terms...a group of eight chaotic big brothers who would be willing to steal the moon if I asked. They've shown me so much love that it feels as though I can't refer to them simply as friends anymore so...family.

Q: What modifier do you want ATEEZ to have in 2024?

Growth has always been very important to us so even if there's nothing I would wish to change within our team, I want us to keep growing. Whether it be as people, musicians, dancers, performers or even our career, I want us to have come a farther way next year than where we are now. Not only for us but also for ATINY to be able to grow with us without thinking that it is something much too intimidating or unachievable.

Q: A word for ATINY who's been with ATEEZ for 5th anniversary in 2023.

It might seem like something we say very often...but thank you. ATINY have been our biggest motivators from the moment we made our debut and they've always laughed with us, cheered us on, given us words of motivation and during hard times they continued to support us no matter what. They make ATEEZ whole. So ATINY make sure to stay healthy and know that we're behind you too no matter what. We'll make sure to work hard so you can always be proud of us. I love you!

Q: A letter to myself a year from now.

I'm sure that there are still a few mental struggles you need to face but remember that with the members behind you, you won't ever fall far so please don't be afraid of anything. Continue to give as much love as you can to our parents, our brothers, our members, our friends and ATINY so that they can also find the same hope we have. I know you'll be a lot stronger by the time you see this and I promise that I'll keep working hard okay? I can't wait to meet you next year!

[kustas]

Seeing the current US protests as well as the current state of the French animation industry and musing about it all. US workers are protesting working conditions, outsourcing and general poor treatment, and the french industry is at a halt from a lack of productions and way too many students entering a small world.

I honestly don't see a way out of the outsourcing thing. People outsource because it's cheap. There are rare cases where foreign money supports animation in another country (Illumination is a good example) but usually it's because of money. Why it's cheaper? Because rich countries find it easy to pay poor country wages than rich country wages. They get workers in places where their local currency is worth a fraction of their native's and subsequently pay them a fraction of what they'd pay a native. This has been the case forever and it's just resulting in the target countries getting better and better at their craft while still getting shit pay, meanwhile outsourcing countries like the US continue and their own workers get less opportunities because of it. I don't see a way to fix this beyond "change entire global economy" (sure) or "legally ban outsourcing" (slippery ass slope there). I'm not an expert but the lack of non commercial studio animation might be why it's such a problem in the US - small teams here don't tend to outsource, but most US animation is made in massive teams comparatively

Lack of productions I don't know if solvable either. You cannot protest for a client to buy you more stuff. I'm not sure where it's coming from given how profitable animation has been as of late but whatever. Ironically, the latest massively watched commissioned animation I've seen on TV, the Olympics opening ceremony, was... made by unpaid students. Having worked on something similar before you don't really have a choice and get treated like magical disposable little hands you can give adult expectations to in a limited time. Students, as we know, are one of the richest demographics in the country, making them the best choice for unpaid labor. Haha...

Poor treatment is very real and worth fighting for, especially in the US where unions have real, tangible power. The wages of workers in this industry are already bad and dip into the ridiculous when you consider outsourcing. There's so many problems in the industry im not gonna list them all but having had a peek in the world of video games and how it's gradually changing there I feel getting loud about it will lead to a better world.

Where I'm worried is that. If you successfully negotiate better pay and better conditions to a boss that just wants to make more money. They'll just outsource shit innit. Why bother working with difficult people who won't cooperate when you can underpay poor asian workers who don't protest your deadlines. Fun world

[solradguy]

Still one dlc char to be announced in 2023, when do you think it'll happen?

According to the timestamp on this ask, you sent this like literal hours before the new Developer Backyard dropped and answered your question haha December!

Link to the post: https://www.guiltygear.com/ggst/en/news/post-2013/

Relevant text from the DB:

The next update is coming up in December 2023. In addition to a new character, this update will introduce the second round of new special moves, this time for 2 characters. There's also a small-scale balance update in store, focused on adjustments to the new mechanics Wild Assault and Deflect Shield. This will include the aforementioned changes to input options for some characters' new moves such as Giovanna's Chave as well as fixes for issues.

In the Q&A section they teased the possibility of a future artbook that collects all the works between Xrd to now. Fingers crossed it happens!!

The other Q&A responses said that they would consider putting in a way to toggle things like Jack-O's mask and Sin's eyepatch (?!) like how you can toggle Johnny's beard or between the two Asukas, though they said they can't promise anything. They also said that they would like to hold a character palette contest OR survey some day and that they're looking into refining the input for Deflect Shield

The upcoming qualifier tournaments for Arc World Tour are: FIGHTERS SPIRIT (November 18 to 19) in Korea; Battle Coliseum (November 24 to 26) in Brazil; Ultimate Fighting Arena (November 24 to 26) in France; Frosty Faustings (January 25 to 28) in the USA.

So far they've only done big character announcements at events either in the USA or Japan so I'm not sure they'll announce who's next at any of these. There might be another big event going on that I don't know about though. Guess we'll find out soon!!

They also covered the survey results in this entry, which are always interesting. These results stretch this post a bit so I'm gonna slip them behind a readmore.

Lots of young players!! No wonder I get Dadguy'd on here so much lol

Bridget is also the current most favorite character globally, followed by Sol and then Ramlethal in 3rd:

Regional favorite character poll for just Strive's cast. These votes were limited to just one character and the DB entry suggests they may allow two votes for this part in future polls:

I've posted this one on here before when it was shown at Tokyo Game Show earlier this year, but here's the overall favorite character rankings by region. A.B.A., Elphelt, Slayer, and Dizzy are the highest:

[cosmicjoke]

Ever noticed that there seems to be a huge crossover between people who spend all day yelling into the night about how Levi is actually """"objectively"""" a crass, cruel POS - who only ever does what he does in the series because he wants to and not because he's following any sort of moral code or philosophy - and people who unironically think Kenny did the best he could for Levi? I'll see posts that borderline feel like they are trying to shame you for not viewing Levi in such a black and white way and then the same person will also say that Kenny gets undue hate and isn't as bad as people make him out to be.

As if morality isn't inherently grey to begin with. Or that Levi picking Historia up by the collar of her shirt (the context of which is almost always completely ignored, btw) somehow puts him on par with Eren committing genocide on a global scale, or Kenny abandoning a 10 year old in the most dangerous place inside of the walls. I'd love to see where those people would place Eren and Historia on the scale of morality because both were more self-serving than Levi, and not for some greater purpose either 🤷🏻‍♀️

I like what Kenny brings to the story, but he was a POS for doing what he did to his sister's kid.

Yeah, I have noticed that, 100%. That's actually what's been pissing me off the most lately. People that will condemn Levi for his violence and accuse him, or imply that he's a bad person because of said violence, but then in the same breath make excuses for Kenny and come up with all sorts of reasons for why he mistreated Levi the way he did, other than just acknowledging the real reason, which is that Kenny was a bad person who was also one of the most selfish and self-absorbed people in the story. It's like they want people to give him a gold medal for doing literally the bare minimum in not letting Levi starve to death and occasionally stepping in and stopping him from being flat-out murdered (you know, for those times Kenny could be bothered to be around for it). I'm sorry, but Kenny doesn't get any points for doing what any adult in his position should be obligated to do. Like I said, the people defending Kenny are also the same people who have made it their agenda to criticize and, as you said, almost shame anyone for daring to understand the complexity of Levi's character and, in turn, the complexity of morality, and his morality in particular. They want to paint this picture of Levi as if he's morally "grey" or like he's someone willing to "compromise" his morality, when as you rightly point out, is a ridiculous statement to make, because morality is a concept that's on a sliding scale anyway. There's no such thing as black and white morality. But they're so hellbent on telling anyone who calls Levi a good person that they're wrong, or that it's somehow indicative of some sort of fanaticism to acknowledge Levi's goodness, that they'll ironically turn around and try to then make Levi's suffering at Kenny's hands seem less than what it was, or try to paint Kenny in a more positive light, just to undermine the extraordinary nature of Levi's goodness.

Like I said, it's all agenda driven. People being butthurt on the internet over being called out on their bullshit, or having their takes challenged. So they set themselves in total opposition to Levi fans that like to focus on the actual, canonical qualities of his character, and can see him for who he actually, objectively is. Not some love-sick puppy pining after Erwin, or some morally compromised fool who has no beliefs or convictions, but actually the most kind, caring, compassionate and empathetic character in the entire series.

And oh, I'm sure these same people would make any and all excuses for Eren and Historia, too. I've seen some of these same people do just that. And again, it's all in support of some bizarre agenda, rooted in bitterness, over having their takes challenged in the first place. So many of these people are shippers, and they're so angry at having their ship called into question, or not acknowledged as canon, or as the sole motivation behind all of Levi's actions, that they decide to just fully oppose the actual, canonical reality of who Levi is and try to make him out to be some, as you said "objectively" bad person because, oh nooo, he was mean to poor, little Historia, or oh nooo, he used violence to discipline soldiers under his direct command. Context apparently doesn't matter. Mitigating circumstances are irrelevant. Because all violence is wrong and killing is never justified, don't ya know. At least, when it comes to Levi, it is.

When it comes to Kenny, though, suddenly the rules change, and violence is good and understandable and Kenny was just doing the best he could and he really loved Levi and protected him, and everything good about Levi is all owed to Kenny's benevolent selflessness and kindness toward him, teaching him the "value of life" by showing him that murder is fun. Yup, yup, yup, Kenny was just such a positive role model for Levi. Levi should be grateful that Kenny was there for him and made him learn to kill full-grown men as a young child before abandoning his candy-ass in the cesspit of the Underground. Levi's got no right to complain, obviously. I mean, sure, Kenny could have spared Levi untold amounts of trauma and horror if he'd just used his connections to the royal family to get him adopted out to a good family on the surface. Of course it wouldn't have been hard for Kenny to do any of that. But that's not the point, you see. Kenny wanted to give Levi that special attention, all so he could later brag to people about what an efficient little midget killer Levi is. Don't you see how selfless that was? Levi should bow down and kiss Kenny's feet for deigning to spend his precious time and knowledge on learning some worthless brat. It's all out of love for Levi, not because Kenny saw Levi as some sort of experiment for his own twisted philosophy of might makes right, or anything like that. He kept Levi in the Underground and taught him how to kill out of the goodness of his heart, to teach Levi to survive because obviously, Levi being given a good and easy life would have resulted in him being worthless as a human being, according to Kenny's scientific philosophy of Social Darwinism. Kenny just had such brilliant understanding of what altruism and selflessness look like, after all, and it looks like murdering everyone who's weaker than you for the shits and giggles and being so powerful that nothing can ever challenge your authority. Wowzers, Levi sure did learn how to care about other people from Kenny, didn't he? He sure did get all his compassion and kindness from his amazing and selfless uncle.

Insert massive sarcasm here.

Ugh, anyway, yeah, this crap pisses me off more than words, man, lol. I think everyone probably knows exactly which group of people we're talking about at this point, too. It's not like they hide their stupidity. They shit it all over their blogs on the daily.