#now it's just dai and i have 2 achievements left for the keep itself

[danielnelsen]

hey i FINALLY DID IT

[zzencat]

How To Energetically Get The Most Out Of Your School/Work Life - ⏳

Since we’re getting into the groove of things…let’s gaur!!!! For entertainment purposes.

From left to right. Breathe and choose the one(s) you can't keep your eyes off of.

TO ENHANCE ACCURACY BEFORE CHOOSING: Clear your mind. Time is now patient and still. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, fill your chest up to the fullest, feel the soft air brush up against the ridges of your nose. Breathe out.

Pile 1 | boomer mentality?

• change your ways. Bad habits, weak ways of thinking- sure, it’s uncomfortable. Growth is uncomfortable. Success is uncomfortable (I’m pretty sure someone super famous said that once maybe someone should remind me- 🤔) . You’ll find that if you look at things from a new perspective, a new angle, it’ll be beneficial for you in the long run. Just like looking at stress in a good way- there are studies on it that show that if you look at stress in a more positive way and use it to your advantage, you could really stretch out your life and live longer than those who were pessimistic about it (lol fun fact for you)

if you let go of the old, your luck will change. embrace these new changes, beliefs, environments, and people.

don’t keep your time and resources to yourself. allow for self reflection and transformations to happen!

big focus: don’t let history repeat itself. it’s time for a change! let go and let in.

—————————

Pile 2 | feeling stuck or stagnant

• pile 2, you tend to overthink everything. You let your mind run its course. That ain’t good news. It prevents you from reaching new heights- prevents you from even starting on something, just because of fear or even roots of perfectionism. There’s a huge lack of motivation, confidence, and trust in yourself- so much that even when I was pulling your cards they were hesitant to come out. it feels like russian roulette but it’s firing on its own. some people here might tend to overreact/throw a tantrum as well or be immature in situations that need sensibility (in this case, ya gotta take this time to mature.)

• I feel this group has trouble with balance in general. Nothing wrong with that on occasion but if that’s your default setting and you’re stuck in your mind all day, wondering about this and that—just a crazy clash of thoughts and ideas—ruminating and running around in a vicious cycle full of mental bullshit then it’s gonna stop you. It’s gonna stop you from growth, from achieving things, from getting started, from living life normally. That’s the bare minimum, isn’t it? All we gotta do is breathe and when life makes it hard, the brain works harder. The mind is truly the most dangerous thing and you have to embrace it, marinate in it, and pick at it. find out where the balance is between intuition, logic, and emotion.

you might feel restricted and the need to break free, but what you also need is a breather to calm down and assess yourself before making decisions. rmr, deep breaths.

•Do your own research, form your own opinions, figure out who you are, how you operate, and what you want in life. That’s how you begin to build character. That’s how you can move forward, even if it’s little by little. (A more stable foundation comes outta that too.)

big focus: practice self control. when they say “lead with your head,” they really mean the control center of logic, intuition, and emotion…but who’s doing more of the controlling here, you or your mind?

——————————

Pile 3 | “how could I miss that?”

• What you need to focus on is slowing down. it’s easy to miss things when we’re busy or taking on a lot of responsibilities. give yourself some love and care—tend to those inner callings. It’s good for your mental health as well. Remember: mental becomes physical.

• put yourself first for once. Connect with yourself and loved ones- go on one of them self dates- Yessir those exist 😳

• pile 3, you are easily the most efficient and speedy group- cards were legit being shuffled like they were being handled like a pro- but you know the con of that? You miss all the moments you could’ve had with friends, lovers, family. Yourself. You get to miss all the details because things are going too fast pow pow pow one after the other until it piles up and then you end up beating yourself up for small and simple mistakes…calm down and adjust yourself. You will be okay.

• I’m telling you fam- TAKE BREAKS. Give yourself moments to relax and rejuvenate before you push yourself!! You put too much pressure on yourself as it is

• connect with your inner feminine energy when you have the time—you gotta MAKE that time for yourself

• don’t be so neglectful in your relationships btw! Romantic, platonic, familial, wtv- learn how to manage your time so that you can separate work and assignments with social relations. Keep that communication up!! This includes your inner and outer voice. Reflect and acknowledge how you feel.

big focus: be more open minded to making new connections! spend more time with others. you’ll find emotional happiness and fulfillment in it :)

————————————

Ending Teddy note:

Hello hollywood people 😎 it has been a long minute! thank you for taking the time to read through this—YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Always remember to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t! I’ll cya fam ciao :)

[m-says-hi]

Hello!

I have more sampo thoughts! Surprisingly, not about the recent event but an old event. Or not even the event itself, but something from after it

The memory bubble you get after Aetherium Wars.

Couple of things about memory bubbles before I bring up Sampo or this particular bubble’s contents. After some (admittedly brief) research on bubbles, I’ve learned they’re created by Memokeepers to preserve memories and are usually stolen from the original memory holder. In the game there are 21 memory bubbles. 20 of them belong to Herta and can be found around the Space Station. The last one is the one from after Aetherium Wars and is found on Jarilo VI.

I haven’t interacted with any of the memory bubbles myself, but I have read through all the dialogue and descriptions on the wiki. The 20 belonging to Herta all seem to put you in the pov of the memory holder. It tells it more like a story, kinda similar to Simulated Universe?

But the Aetherium Wars Bubbles only gives dialogue (very similar to Sampo’s character stories) making us more like an observer and not part of the memory. Unless we’re watching the memory of someone who was watching the conversation, but I feel like there’d be more description of the setting if that were the case.

I could go on about the content of the conversation, but I think we’ve all read through it multiple times. What really caught my attention was the beginning and end dialogue of the bubble.

(taken from the wiki. I haven’t done aetherium wars yet ;-;)

Four things stick out to me right away:

The game/The trailblazer’s thoughts notes this feels different

As I mentioned before, there is no description of the scenery showing up before you, but just two figures. My guess as to why is that this bubble wasn’t created by a stolen memory, but was made by the memory holder (or at least the memory holder was involved in the process). The memory holder being Sampo

2. There’s an implication that this bubble was left on purpose

This only adds to the point above. There’s a strong implication that Sampo left this for the Trailblazer to find. You also get an achievement for finding this bubble called Confessions of the Mask which. That kinda says it all.

But now I have two questions, the first being how? It's not said explicitly, but in a conversation with Herta it's implied that Memory Bubbles are only made by Memokeepers. So, if this was left by Sampo, either he got a memokeeper to help him (extremely possible) or he has the power to do it himself (extremely interesting)

My second question is why? 

Why would he tell us? Why is he telling us in this indirect way? My guess is it has something to do with his mask. The conversation in the bubble mentions Penacony and Sparkle. So,this was probably around the time Sampo started planning to go to Penacony to get his mask. I discussed this with a friend, and she suggested it might even be some sort of warning, which is why it’s done with a memory bubble. 

That sort of reminds me of the recent event, where Sampo spills a lot about the Fools and the Tavern, information that you would only really know as a Fool, but said it in a way that implied he wasn’t a fool. That he heard it from somewhere else, someone else, not that he knew it first hand. I wonder if his mask is sort of.. Making him unstable? (He grew increasingly dark every day) And the 7 day event was another warning. Warning of who he might become when the mask fully takes hold and a warning to not become like him

3. The game/the Trailblazer’s thought recognizes that there are multiple mysterious things about Sampo

Maybe this isn’t as important as I’m making it out to be. After all, we all know something is very Off about Sampo. But the Trailblazer recognizing it feels significant to me. It feels like further confirmation that eventually we will unravel these mysteries. Eventually.

4. “When talking to one who wears a mask, always keep your wits about you.”

This. THIS. This statement has been driving me mad since I first saw it. When I read those words I immediately thought of the translated statement from Topaz’s trailer:

“One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions”

(if you have no idea what I’m talking about, it’s one of my first posts)

The statements are not the same. But they feel so strongly similar, like they go hand in hand. Both are warnings. Both tell you to be careful about people who are not how they appear, people with masks and people who are falsely sincere. Both are talking about Sampo. Looking into this made me realize just how many times we've been warned about Sampo. Half of those times being Sampo himself

Something about it just makes my brain light up with possibilities and I feel like I keep pushing the statements together waiting for something to make sense and explain everything else, but I’ve yet to figure it out. So I’m left here just kind of going insane

But that’s all I have for now! Maybe someone else will have something

[bradleyblog]

Bradley’s father speculation part 3.5

Continuing from Part 3 , we discussed how Bradley’s father is probably a businessman of some sort and how his father focused solely on his career.

Now like I mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 , I assessed that Bradley’s dad didn’t have an emotional bond with Bradley, due to Bradley’s reaction when Goofy accused Bradley of not understanding a father’s bond with his son. 

So , with this added knowledge that Bradleys father could be a successful businessman , it would make sense that Bradley wouldn’t understand If he felt like his dad always chose his career over him and focused more on himself than his son.  

Now from this part onward though , everything I'm going to say is more debatable and up to interpretation as Bradley’s backstory is left so much to the imagination that there isn’t really any concrete way of saying if any of this is true. This is more like possibilities , hence why this part is more like a short bonus to part 3 as who really knows. Even I don't know really? But never the less here are just some things to potentially consider ?

Was Bradley’s love from his father conditional ?

As we know, being seen as the best really matters to Bradley. To Bradley, even though he's on the same team , It’s not enough that the Gamma’s win the College X games but it has to be himself who has to be the one to come first in the final race. 

Any person in Bradley’s position would have just let Tank win for the team as at the end of the day , if you want your team to win it shouldn't matter who crosses the finish line first as long as it’s one of your own team members that does so. 

But not to Bradley though. Having and keeping his status as the College X game King is really important to Bradley. It’s what makes Bradley feel like he really is the best , what gives himself more self-worth and keeps people giving him attention. 

Now , putting Bradley’s ego aside. It is possible that when growing up, Bradley has been conditioned to be seen as the best due to his dad giving him unrealistic expectations. 

If his father is a narcissistic parent this wouldn’t be too surprising. 

www.psychologytoday.com

We also have to remember that due to Bradley being born into a family who are descendants of royalty, a high elite family , it is possible that he grew up with high expectations whether it be from within the family or from society itself.  Their mentality would probably be ‘They come from the best so they should of course be the best right?’  

But any good parent regardless of background , would let their child know that it’s okay to fail and that it's okay if somebody else beats you at something and yet Bradley is very competitive and cares alot about his own status. We also have to remember that Bradley’s values on being the best and being successful are probably values that have been passed down onto him.

so it it makes you wonder how his father would react if Bradley didn’t do better than someone else in something. 

As in , did his father only give Bradley positive attention when he was successful and negative attention if he was not? 

Here is a segment from How a Child Can Grow Up to Become a Narcissist | Psychology Today

“the child is raised in a family that is very competitive and only rewards high achievement. One or both of the parents are Exhibitionist Narcissists. The family motto is: If you can’t be the best, why bother?

Love is conditional: When you come in first in the race, win the science fair or star in the school show, you are showered with praise and attention. When you do not, you are a disappointment. Everyone in the family is supposed to be special and prove it over and over again. No matter how much you achieve, the pressure is never off. As one woman said: “When I came home with a report card with all A’s, my father asked me if anyone got an A+.”

Children in these families do not feel stably loved. It is hard for them to enjoy anything for its own sake if it does not confer status. Instead of being supported by their parents to explore what they like and want to do more of, they only receive support for high achievement. Their parents are not interested in their children’s “real selves,” they are mainly interested in how their children can make the family look good. They want to be able to brag to their neighbors: “Look at what my kid did!”

The children who grow up in homes like this only feel secure and worthwhile when they are successful and recognized as the “best.” The conditional love of their childhood and the over-evaluation of high status and success in their home sets in motion a lifelong pattern of chasing success and confusing it with happiness.”

If this is true then Bradley would believe that people only think highly of you when you are successful and that you're not worth anyone’s attention if you fail.

It also might give Bradley more of a reason as to why he likes winning so much as he feels like it's the only way he can get constant positive attention from people if he's a always a winner. 

To me Bradley wanting to win all the time is like an addiction of his. He can’t just win once or twice , he has to keep winning every year even though he could just quit any time and let one of the other gamma’s compete for him instead.  It’s like he doesn't understand that your value doesn't come from your status or from your own achievements.  

This being said , it’s hard to know at what age Bradley started to cheat. His cheats are very child-like after all such as using rockets , marbles , fireworks etc. 

In a upbringing like this , if he felt pressure as a kid to be the best and was worried about receiving negative attention from failing , I could certainly see him cheating and then feeling good from the attention he got when he got away with it. Then continuing to keep cheating into his adult hood. But it's hard to say when he started to cheat really?

Or maybe his dad told him it was okay to cheat, who knows?

Now it's not clear if Bradley is given high expectations when it comes to his studies , but I do think he was influenced to take part in sports and to be good at them. 

From what we see he plays 

snooker 

Volleyball 

skateboarding 

And in the X games we can see that he can cycle and roller skate. You also don't get a body like Bradley’s without being athletically fit and healthy.

Not only would sports elevate Bradley’s success but it would also elevate the family's success, making their family look more superior. 

We also have to remember that with royals in real life ,  it is common for them to attend , host or take part in sport events. 

The Royal Family and Sport | The Royal Family

So sport and royalty go hand in hand really. 

Makes you wonder if his father was also a sports champion too, doesn't it ? or if he invests his business money in sports. 

Well that's all i have for part 3.5 

I don't really have any evidence for any of this hence why it's more of a bonus post but it was still something I wanted to add for the sake of consideration and debate as this series of posts is just speculation at the end of the day.

The only thing we know for sure about Bradley’s backstory is that he grew up super privileged from having a royal title and that’s pretty much it. But in a way it's kind of nice for fans to come up with their own interpretations.

Thanks for reading. 

[soulsdontbreaktheybeeend]

What I need to get off my chest about Joker 2

When I left the movie theater I was incredibly angry and disappointed. Now, a few days later, I still am, but it feels like I shouldn't be.

Todd always wanted a different Joker. Something close to reality. He achieved that in the first movie. And now even more so in the second. As painful as it is, as bitter as it is, because we love Arthur. But it's absolutely realistic. That's what tugs at my heartstrings. I've always sympathized with Arthur because of his story and the messed up society. I still do. But that's also what feels like a huge slap in the face throughout the second part. All the scenes from the first movie where you feel sorry for him are nothing compared to the sequel. It couldn't be tougher. Close to reality.

If I could have wished for it, Lee would have been understanding and loved Arthur and not just Joker. If I could have wished for it, she would have been the classic psychologist who actually falls for him and breaks him out. All that drawn out in one long ass movie. In a psychological depth, like the story in the first movie. They break out at the end. The end. That was my dream ever since I heard that there was going to be a Harley Quinn.

If I put my own ideas to one side, then the plot of Joker 2 itself is admittedly really brilliant. It's always been bad for Arthur. All his life. And Joker 2 just goes one "better" in that respect. Really bad, so that it just hurts and leaves you depressed. Because, unlike the first movie, he doesn't get his moment, he can't show off. He can't "shine". None of that happens and it's just a horrible downward spiral for him. Which is indeed just realistic.

I found some of the movie too modern. Nothing against Lady Gaga, I thought her performance was good, but her botox lips distracted me. She generally seemed too modern for the time. I felt that way about some things in the movie. Even Sophie seemed strangely too modern this time.

In general, the whole movie was so wild, rushed, sometimes mixed up and then somehow without that certain something, something was missing. The depth. Joker 1 had so much depth. There was so much meaning in every scene. I missed that this time. Arthur wasn't very tangible for me. And every time I thought, now it's going to happen, now I'm getting the feeling that I can grasp him, I can feel him, then I was ripped out again. I don't know if that was the general intention, so that you don't sympathize with him as a murderer in a realistic way. And I don't know if it's just because I haven't seen the sequel a hundred times like I did the first.

Also this guy who then stabs him. He has what... 3 short scenes in which he's in, keeps an eye on Arthur and grins slyly? Makes no sense? But then again, that's the "irony" of the movie. He comes out of nowhere, like Arthur himself. Maybe he watched everything Joker did on TV in prison. He idolizes him and his deeds because he too feels neglected and unseen by society, obviously mentally ill. It's fucking my brain.

I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel. This realism of the movie and all the fiction I've experienced with Arthur put me in an incredibly difficult situation. It's like head versus heart. My head understands why they chose the plot and it makes sense, but my heart is angry, disappointed and broken.

I don't know yet if I will watch the movie in a cinema again or not. I kind of want to, to get more details and stuff, but on the other hand I don't know if I can take it.

I hope I will find the muse to make a few edits. I would love to write again. Like that whole thing how I wished it would've happened. Or like idk he survives and y/n and him meet at the hospital. But it just seems stupid rn and I'm still not finished with processing it all.

[hath-e]

Jona Basta and the Gundam Narrative and how the existence of these 2 showcase Gundam NT's main point, or I talk about Gundam NT part 1

Gundam Narrative (the movie) on a both narrative (get it) and meta level approaches the Gundam franchise with a single point, having to live in someone else's shadow sucks.

(Obviously huge Gundam Narrative spoilers ahead)

I will go into every single main character in the movie and the mentioned Meta elements, but first I'll start with the protagonist:

Jona Basta, a war orphan turned a experiment by the Titans, not even good enough to be turned into a Cyber-Newtype, he's a unremarkable soldier for the Federation, more than likely choosing this path as his upbringing left him with no other options and one of the 3 Miracle Children he's the one without anything, while Michele is now working for Luio & Co. and Rita is in the Phenex, Jona is an ensign who's only here because Michele won't trust anyone else with the operation. He however is also set up to live in the shadow of Banagher Links, a young man with no achievements to his name is the next in line to deal with the Psycho frame, and yet he fails, and has to be saved by Banagher. Jona is also still stuck up on Rita which is his main driving point, to the extent that at the end when she leaves for good Jona loses all will to keep moving forward, and if it wasn't for Banagher he would have probably taken off his helmet there in the cold abyss of space, it's very clear that he's depressed with Rita being the only thing in his life being even worth looking forward to, and now that she was gone together with Michele the only thing that could convince him to not end it all just yet was the living embodiment of hope Banagher Links who tells him that even though he's alone now, someday that will change.

Now onto the RX-9 NT Gundam, or Gundam Narrative, the original prototype testbed for Amuro Ray's RX-93 v Gundam, a unit that's not even deserving of it's own armor, a unfinished suit never meant for combat that was brought around only because of it's usage of the Psycho Frame and because Michele managed to install the NT-D system on it. Just like Jona this suit was never much, completely unremarkable forced to exist in the shadow of the Gundam made for the White Devil himself, the hero who stopped Axis from freezing the Earth. The narrative isn't even good enough to have it's own primary weapon with the rifle it wields being a repurposed Beam Rifle taken from a Jegan. The suit itself also doesn't look like much, it's unfinished missing armor and not even featuring a panoramic cockpit pod, instead using a core fighter, it was outdated back when the RX-93 was being made and it most certainly outdated in UC 0097. It doesn't even survive the movie as it's shot to pieces by Zoltans Neo Zeong II and if it wasn't for Rita Jona would have died along with it.

These 2 serve as the perfect setup, they are on a meta level, rejects forced to pick up the slack for the mess made by other rejects, most notably Zoltan Akkanen, or the guy who I'll talk about tomorrow, along with the Taxi scene in Gundam Hathaway, the day after, Michele and Rita and something more about Hathaway.

(Image source undercut)

https://fanart.tv/movie/553610/mobile-suit-gundam-narrative/?section=wallpaper

[not-5-rats]

today I saw a persom with really cool hair but I was too scared to compliment them...so I sent my mother to do it...I need to learn how to talk to cool people omg

Speaking of cool people, Bug army questions time :DD

1) what does your Bug keep in their pockets/ pouches? (if they have any)

2) have they ever had a moment where they didn't feel real? or like they weren't truly there?

3) how do they act around smbdy the have a crush on or smbdy they see as super cool?

4) scenario #1

your Bug needed some time out, the house was so fucking busy today and they hadn't had a second of peace in days. So they went out on a walk, out towards the forest just outside the swamps. They sat against a tree, staring out into the town just a few feet away, until their eyes began to slowly drift shut. Finally...some peaceful sleep

that was until they felt a sharp bonk on their head. They startled awake, sear hung for what hit them when they saw a wooden ball laying on the grass beside them. They picked it up and stared at it...where did that come from?

"...excuse me"

they looked up to see a young boy stood over them...they recognised him, but they couldn't tell where they knew him from. The boy crossed his arms, a mix of embarrassment and irritation on his face as he grumbled

"I hit my ball over here and my meanie brother said I had to come over and apologise for hitting you..."

they held up the wooden ball, making the boy smile, that was what it took for them to recognise him...Milo. A young Milo. He threw the ball up and caught it a few times before throwing himself onto the floor beside Bug

"Thanks! Y'know I think I've got a real good hand, I think I could make it in the pro leagues! My family believes in me, but everyone at school says I'm stupid. They say a gal like me could never be a sports star, I tell them to go fuck themself...Chez told me not to say that word though"

he giggled to himself, as he glanced over at Bug

"my sister tells me that they're all idiots, if I believe in myself then I can achieve whatever I want...do you think I can make it? Like do you think I could be a pro?"

He can't make it Bug...you know he'll never make it...he never gets old enough to make it...you know this

can he make it Bug?

5) scenario #2 [Yandere! AU :DD]

so this is a continuation from the last post so once again there will be 2 separate scenarios, 1 for most of the Bugs and 1 for Duarte and Ulysseus (the ones Chez is obsessed with)

couple cw's for both though; death, blood/ slight injury description & obsession I think that's it

for most of the Bugs

Bug had ignored Chester's warning, I mean of course they did. Bro was probably just trying to be a bit edgy, what's he really going to do if they hang out with their friend? What could he do? Nothing, that what's. So they kept hanging out with Ulysseus/ Duarte...that's how they ended up here

they had woken up on the floor of a...shed? They weren't entierly sure...but it was dark, dusty and smelt a bit odd. There were dark stains all over the floor & walls, and dust covered every surface. They looked around trying to figure out what the fuck was going on...last thing they remembered was settling down to go to sleep and now they're here

as they tried to figure out where they were they suddenly noticed somebody standing behind them. Before they could ask who it was they felt a familiar blade press roughly against their neck and a hand plant itself firmly on their shoulder

"you suck at listening y'know?"

Chester...Bug asked what the fuck he was talking about and what was going on

"I told you to back off, I told you that you weren't good enough for my darling...yet you hung around. I thought we could work this out *Bug*, I thought we could leave this behind us...but you didn't listen and now you've left me no choice"

just as they went to question him they felt the blade drag across their neck...the blood began to pour out. They were thrown to the floor, and as Bug lay there, their blood draining from their neck as they gasped desperately for air Chester knelt beside them and whispered

"you were such a good friend *Bug* and I'm sorry it had to come to this...but they mean so much to me...I can't let you get in the way of that"

what do they do...what are their last acts before they bleed out?

for Duarte/ Ulysseus

Chester stood there, the blade twirling in his hand as he stared over at Bug

"Darling, please listen, I'm not lying...this was for you! They weren't good enough for you...we both know this..."

Bug wasn't listening to his shit, they took another step away from that...creep that stood before them. He stared at them, the weak smile draining from his face.

"please...listen to me!"

he lunged forward to stop Bug from leaving, but they dodged. That's when the fight began. Chester was trying to stop them from leaving, to get them to understand why he did all this whilst Bug was trying to leave, to tell the others what he had done

finally a...victor..? emerged. Bug had gotten ahold of a blade and whilst it wasn't their intent they ended up lodging the blade deep into Chesters chest. He staggered back, his eyes widening as he stared down at the knife handle sticking out of his skin.

he fell to the floor as a small stream of blood began to drip from his chest, he chuckled as he glanced up at Bug, a deranged look spreading over his face as he spoke, his voice ghostly and trembling

"...wow...you really are incredible *Bug*...such an amazing individual...like a gift sent down here to bless us...I can't believe I was lucky enough to know you..."

he tried to move towards them but he couldn't...the life drained from his face as his gaze began to drift. He smiled, a trickle of blood slipping from his mouth. Just before the life left his eyes he grumbled one last thing

"...I love you Darling...always will..."

Bug was left in silence, Chester dead body limped infront of them, the blade still deep in his flesh...what do they do now...

☆---------------☆

Tags -

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[geekgirles]

Unhappy Campers: an Honest Review

I’ve been impatiently waiting for this episode all day. I even spent the last two hours before it premiered constantly refreshing YouTube to see if it had already dropped, so it’s fair to say I was very excited for this episode thanks to the sneak peeks we’ve been getting over the months. On the one hand, because it promised to introduce Barbie Wire into the show at last, and on the other hand, because it promised more Millie screentime as well. 

And while it definitely delivered on both things, I can’t help but feel Unhappy Campers is actually one of the weakest episodes of the show. Or at least of season 2. 

My main problem with the episode is that the conflict feels rather forced to me. Not the Blitzo/Barbie Wire conflict, since at this point Blitzo’s sister hating him despite how much he seems to genuinely love her and care for her is pretty much on brand with this show and his character, but the M&M conflict.

It just feels like it comes completely out of nowhere, you know? Like it just doesn’t add up with the rest of the show. At least, compared to Moxxie and Millie’s characters and interactions in every other episode. 

You could say my main problem is that what goes down during the episode would work if this were a separate episode, completely unrelated to the rest of the season, sort of like Queen Bee. But the thing is, it’s not supposed to be its own thing, it’s supposed to be connected to the rest of the story, so it ends up feeling very incoherent with what we’ve been seeing so far. 

It’s obvious from the very beginning that Moxxie is going through an Acquired Situational Narcissism moment as a result of this being his first case where he gets to lead, meaning he expects everything to go his way just because he gets to be in charge. Everything Moxxie does in this episode is a desperate attempt to reflect how important he is feeling at the moment, instead of taking the best, most practical course of action. 

That is to say, listening to Millie and take care of the murderous teenager who’s clearly very bad at keeping a low profile.

This goes from his Moxxine persona, a typical Alpha Bitch type who would have everyone wrapped around her finger...

...to trying very hard to win everyone at camp...

...especially by presenting himself as better than everyone else in order to become popular.

Only to fail miserably because these kids for once aren’t your stereotypical sheep looking for a mean-spirited leader to follow. No, they aren’t impressed by a fake attitude coupled with a presumptuous confidence and thinly masked condescension, but by actual talent and charisma. 

And who happens to have that? 

Millie, or Millerd, in this case. 

So while Moxxie’s trying desperately to get these kids to like him and become popular, Millie is achieving just that effortlessly, while making her husband increasingly envious of her popularity at the same time. 

Now, this in itself isn’t a bad premise. Most shows have at least one instance where one of the main characters is more well-liked than the other, who becomes frightenly jealous and petty as a result. In fact, this would work if it had happened between Blitzo and Moxxie, for example. 

But it’s the fact that Moxxie is feeling jealous of Millie, his wife, that to me this sort of feels like it comes out of left field. 

Basically because so far Moxxie and Millie’s marriage has been nothing but perfectly harmonious and equally loving and supportive. Moxxie has always been Millie’s #1 fan and supporter, so I find it a bit hard to believe the same guy who stood up to his intimidating in-laws because they were unfairly reprimanding his wife for a mistake on their part would now grow jealous and petty over others appreciating her many talents. 

No matter where you look at it, this is just entirely out of character of Moxxie. Not only because he would never be so resentful of the love of his life, but because Moxxie just isn’t this self-centred. Even when he was struggling to keep up with Striker in The Harvest Moon Festival, it was only because Striker and Millie’s family kept looking down on him and he wanted to prove himself. It was never a matter of stroking his own ego. 

And then, there’s Millie’s side on the matter. 

As I said, it’s great that we had some more Millie screentime and that she expressed needs and wants of her own for once, but the problem is, I personally feel like they come out of nowhere and fail to properly connect with anything that’s already been established. 

Millie says she feels like she’s important and someone to be proud of for once, which hints at some deeper insecurities that are worth being explored. Unfortunately, these insecurities are being introduced now, after a season and a half, so there isn’t really much that would make us understand her outburst here. In my opinion, it almost feels as if Millie’s character has been so perfectly content with her life overall, never showing signs of having any kind of issue of her own, that now that they need some drama, the writers just have no idea what to do with her in order to achive that. It’s like they’re now adding toppings on an already cooked pizza, if you know what I mean.

And the funny part is, this is actualy easily salvageable! 

Literally all it would take to make this more coherent and better woven with the rest of story would be to link Millie’s outburst to her family life. No need to suddenly turn Joe and Lynn into abusive parents, because we have enough of that already, but they could have played with what they already had. 

While the episode itself didn’t dwell on it, as it was a Moxxie episode, Millie’s interactions with her parents and Sallie May hint at some sort of favouritism towards the latter because she is a better assassin--in the sense that Sallie May at least doesn’t seem to get carried away with her killing and is smart enough to hide the bodies of her victims. Also, in their parents’ eyes, her life in the farm is more stable than Millie’s job as a free-lance, which they don’t even understand how it works.

 Joe and Lynn are very set on their ways regarding how people should be killed: with your bare hands or using melee weapons, you can’t be sloppy and let your guard down, be smart about it... Qualities Millie doesn’t follow one way or another: her husband isn’t physically strong and prefers guns, she lets her emotions get in the way and hinder her kills, she forgot to cover up nine deaths in the last Pain Games she participated in...

Really, all it would have taken to fix her feelings on the matter coming practically out of nowhere would have been a little mention to her home life and how she feels she never measured up to her parents’ expectations of her and now she’s finally being validated for being who she is. 

Instead, we’re left with an episode whose premise only makes sense as a stand-alone or with a different set of characters and where the only cohesive thing is another person from Blitzo’s past hating his guts. 

Anyway, this is just my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. I don’t know if I’m alone on this one. Thanks for taking the time to read this nonetheless.

[iammiracl3]

Power of 369 Manifestation Method

What is 369 manifestation method?

The 369 manifestation method is embedded in the belief that the universe operates on the law of attraction, a principle suggesting that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life and their relationship. 

The system itself revolves around the mystical figures 3, 6, and 9. These important figures are frequently cited as the key to unleashing the universe's secrets.

The 369 manifestation is related with the world known scientist Nikola Tesla. Tesla was prominent for his groundbreaking contributions to electricity and magnetism, and Tesla was also known for his attractiveness with figures and their mystical significance. The 369 manifestation method draws alleviation from Tesla’s belief in the profound influence of these figures, particularly the significance of 3, 6, and 9. As Tesla famously said, “ If you only knew the nobility of the 3, 6, and 9, also you would have the key to the universe. ” This system is grounded on the belief that these specific figures( 3, 6, and 9) hold a unique and important significance in the universe and can be exercised to manifest one’s solicitations and intentions.

The 369 method of manifestation is a mix of manifestation and numerology. It requires you to repeat your manifestation three times in the morning, six times in the Noon, and nine times at night for utmost effective results.

The power of number 369 

Before knowing how to practice this method let's find out why these Tesla’s 369 numbers are Known to be so powerful. The number 3 is related to connection and creativity, acts as a reminder of the universe's support in your manifestation journey. The number 6 shows inner strength and the ability to overcome difficulties while the number 9 signifies accomplishment and the achievement of goals. These numbers all together create a formula believed to increase and strengthen your manifesting abilities.

How to practice this method -

For practicing this Tesla 369 method you will need a manifestation journal for writing your goals and a pen .

Before writing your wishes you have to relax your mind and let go of any other thought that is coming to your brain. You need to focus on what you want and put yourself in a comfortable position before starting to write .

You shouldn't be thinking anything else when you're manifesting something.

The most important requirement to make your dreams come to reality is Repetition, Repetition and repetition .Consistent Practice makes things perfect, but the 369 method is pretty easy to DIY. Here's how:

1. Pick anything you want in your life (for example, "I am rich" or "I have a caring partner" or" I am having my dream job" or “I am having a good relationship”.

2. Now you have to write your wish 3 times in the morning.

3. Then, write it again six times in the afternoon.

4.At last you have to write your desires 9 times before going to bed in the night.

For example if you want to grow in your career to achieve wealth you have to visualise and write that "I am happily accepting a new job opportunity that fulfils my passion and increases my wealth."

You need to be consistent and practice this for atleast 45 days to see any changes and you can continue practicing it until your manifestation comes into reality.

Things you have to remember while practicing 369 manifestation method.

1.Set your intention clearly-

You need to find out what you want to attract in your life. You need to be specific about it because this is the most fundamental thing.

2.Stay consistent with your manifestation journey- 

Write your desires everyday as a ritual and try not to miss, but if by any chance you miss it start again where you have left keep you flow steady .

3.Visualise your desires coming true-

While writing just feel that you have already achieved your desires and feel it genuinely. Use your senses and feel it. The more real it feels the more substantial it becomes in reality.

4.Connect yourself emotionally with your desires-

When you feel joy, gratitude love and feelings about relationship while thinking your desires it creates a magnetic effect that directly connects with the universe and when you write your affirmation and feel it in your veins it creates an emotional conviction that attracts your desires with your each heartbeat and turns it into reality.

After doing everything correctly you will see the changes significantly but you have to remain open and observant towards the opportunities and keep working on what you want .

[burningexeter]

The Wildwood Chronicles

I've talked about this for what seems like to me, to death about this so I want to close the book on this and finally sum it all up because I finally have everything to say it about it in just one place.

It's now a full-on passion project that I really want to do, create and make a reality and that's The Wildwood Chronicles, an epic and ambitious adult-animated series that is a grand crossover between over hundreds — and I mean HUNDREDS — of media (movies, TV shows, anime, comics, video games) that retroactively establishes them all in the same shared universe all along.

Here is all the information, all of the notes/trivia/details, everything that I can tell anyone on this without spoiling anything about it because I'm keeping this shit under lock and key pretty much:

• The ambition with this project is anything but small. How I'd best describe it is a mix of Avengers: Infinity War (the last great MCU movie with only two exceptions afterwards) and Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino's greatest achievement since 1994) with the influences being not just those two but also Godzilla Minus One, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Gore Verbinski's Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy and the original Die Hard for many aspects of the series whether it'd the size, scope, scale, balance of characters, action, emotional moments etc.

• As for who's the lead and who'll voice him, the answer is Reese Miller both voiced by and modeled directly after Walton Goggins. When he's introduced, he's a down-on-his-luck, alcoholic, cynical, sarcastic and narcissistic schmuck with a criminal past who after an incident that caused his downfall had no choice but to crawl back to his family that he abandoned years ago and now has to deal with his ex-wife wanting him to do just one good thing in his life now and that's be there for his children. Only thing is it's on a certain day where his daughter is his that the main event that kickstarts everything happens and he's left in and later wakes from a months-long coma while his daughter, for a while, has an unknown fate. It's from then on that he becomes a man who is consumed with guilt and regret and is haunted by his past actions and the dirtbag he was with him wanting to and even becoming a better person in this world that's now falling apart. Unfortunately, all of the events that he's put through ultimately turn him into a tragic anti-hero who wants to see this world burn to the fucking ground and without giving any spoilers away, deals the final blow that seals this fictional universe's fate. Or does it? I seriously can't imagine anyone else in this role but Walton and Walton only.

• As for how it will be a crossover, not only will it be a sequel years later, months later, weeks later depending on which media but also it's a strong balance of differentiations. Some like the three here will be major players and have major roles....

.... while others will be surprise supporting roles or even cameo appearances from supporting characters like these three here....

.... or are objects and items that serve as easter eggs that imply or show they're in the same world as well like these beautiful bastards here.

• As for the actual show itself, it will be a 65 episode limited series event with a clear and more than definitive beginning, middle and end. I want the whole show to feel like one long 65 episode feature film while at the same time giving each episode their own stand-out distinctions enough to make them stand on their own. Top of all that, there will be no commercial breaks and every episode will be a full two-hours long with them being treated as events you can't miss. What makes this more special is that there's only one network I have in mind for this series and that's FX.

• As an added bonus, the show will be incredibly and viscerally violent and even brutal with its gore. Hundreds and hundreds of people, creatures, superheroes, supervillains, zombies etc. will be killed in thousands of different and horrific ways with Rambo (2008), Blade II, aforementioned Inglourious Basterds, The Night Comes For Us and Hard Boiled serving as the main influences for the violence but it's not shock for the sake of shock, it's to show that the world is now somehow more dangerous and visceral than it's ever been before and to show that absolutely no one no matter who they are are safe.

• As for who are the directors, I want there to be several distinct and interesting filmmakers to helm episodes but the main one who'll direct the most episodes for he's the main director of the series will easily be Gore Verbinski.

[nozomijoestar]

Hey. Lili as well

The Lili De Rochefort Case File

The Asuka Essay

My first impression of them

A bitch. Buffoon. Loved the self-assured and calculating vibe; Karin Kanzuki in Tekken but make her overtly fruity and even more commanding. Even if she dangles whether or not she's gonna help someone, she ultimately still helps. GirlBoss attitude you either love or hate. Like Asuka I saw her for the first time in the SFxT trailer and I was so confused as to why she left Asuka behind after she did get serious helping her; I thought she'd be a backstabbing villain. By extension if Lili was a villain maybe Asuka was also since they were a team, or maybe Lili was blackmailing her or something. I wanted to play her for the drama jskdfjak Looking back now that trailer is still gay from her perspective; I love the little smile she throws Asuka's way when they pair up to go 2 v 2.

When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you've sent me a character I don't like)

Like Asuka the SFxT gameplay sealed the deal for me. I had to play them both or pair one with Ibuki whenever I wasn't pairing her with Sakura, cuz I hated that Rolento was Ibuki's official tag partner so I never used him. I saw Lili's super finisher and her Pandora form in YT videos and it made her look even cooler. (For fun here is Asuka's and Ibuki's - Asuka reacts to Lili dying then her receiving uncontrollable power that hijacks your mind like OOOH I Get to go All Out Now! whereas poor Ibuki is like It's no use, I can't control it!) To my surprise Lili wasn't a villain at all in the story mode she was just cunty and silly. She wants the Pandora Box just because its status might benefit her Dad despite having no idea what it does, and her devotion to achieving her goal was magnetic.

I also loved how she was ready to fight Asuka for the Pandora Box but the minute they lose it because of her own nonsense she just cries so pathetically jsfksdjf But unbeknownst to her Pandora would have made them kill each other like the other teams. I went back to Tekken 6 to learn more about her there too, and that's when I saw the extent of her connection to Asuka.

To this day I can't play her well in Tekken itself at all, but I used to have so much fun playing her rushdown style in SFxT. A lot of her new Tekken 8 moves look like they gave her back some SFxT stuff so that she plays faster now; I'm hoping she'll be easier for me to use.

A song that reminds me of them

Amel Bent - Pardonnez-Moi

Clara Luciani - La Grenade

How many people I ship them with

Her lame boyfriend, her equally rock headed "Mon Coeur"

My favorite ship of them

AsuLili Nation Rise!!!

THEY CANONICALLY MET ONLY THREE TIMES LOLLL

I have to start by outlining how I see Lili's arc as a coming out narrative. She has a childhood where she fits into what's expected of her and within her family. Then during the start of adolescence, she has an experience (getting kidnapped for ransom in this case) that awakens a feeling she's never known before but it's thrilling, it feels part of her and it changes her outlook, her desires. This puts her at odds with her family and those old expectations, because this new desire clashes against their principles. She has to hide what she is in order to keep fitting in, because she still loves her family and wants to keep her position. She thinks she can have both if she keeps them separate and secret from each other.

Then she meets someone who can be open about sharing the same desire she does. And this person isn't just open about it, they embrace it and thrive in a way she feels she can't. There is jealousy and shock but also joy and exhilaration. There's finally someone who gets her, who's made of the same core she is in the drive they share. The pull is so strong eventually she leaves what's old and having to hide behind her to be around what allows her to embrace her true nature.

That is Lili's relationship with awakening to violence and martial arts, her relationship to Asuka, and the hiding it all from her father because of his disapproval. It shares the same beats LGBT stories face. She's gone from "in the closet" tip toeing around her father so she can fight, to "on the fence" meeting and having her perceptions shattered by Asuka, to "out" by leaving Dad's influence to fully embrace fighting and Asuka. It's not just about the homoerotic tension from fighting each other, it's also gay by how it aligns the situation into likely an unintentional allegory for LGBT experiences mixed with coming of age. So I don't think it's reading too much into it to say Lili is homosexual if you just go by what is in the Tekken games; to say nothing of how much gay material they put her in for crossovers or spin offs. Whether it was done on purpose or not, her narrative itself is gay.

And going by that it doesn't take much then to view her as being infatuated with Asuka. Not only as a fighter but physical attraction and from clashing against her personality. Asuka is special to her for being the one who finally broke her "perfect" world. By that metric alone Lili is not letting anyone harm or get in Asuka's way because in her eyes that is now someone important- like her Father or Sebastian.

I say this because like I mentioned in the Asuka essay, it feels as if her theatrics moving into Asuka's house and fixing her dojo is in fact a cover. We have prior history showing Lili despises Mishimas. It makes sense from many angles to stay close to someone your enemies can use as to block them off. It would mean they can't make a move on that person without you knowing immediately. It would mean if something does happen you can respond on the spot and at least put up a fight.

Not a single Mishima finger will touch Asuka Kazama nor will anything inconvenience her without Lili having the chance to intervene. She could care deeply for Asuka and her infatuation, or she could be simply saying 'My enemies won't take what she brings away from me'. More than likely it's both. In the worst case scenario which doesn't look like its gonna be canon to be honest, it could even mean 'I will humiliate her before the Mishimas can'. But again I don't think that makes sense and there's no solid indication for it. If she truly viewed Asuka as a "thing" she would discard her the same way she does her father's material gifts.

If she didn't like her on some level she would either ignore her or seek to eliminate her, given what she's done in T5 & T6 as well as her vengeful sadist streak against those she hates in 6. People who think Lili is hating Asuka did not pay attention to how she views Jin, or how she treated Lars. That is her hate at most and her venom at least. Asuka would already be dead or Lili would die trying if it was hate. She wouldn't make such an effort to act generous or playful/teasing at ALL; and as implied in her T8 machine translated bio, (from which I can confirm it does still say she bought the dojo with pocket money in JP) do so without telling her father yet again. Asuka is deathly important to her for one reason or another regardless of how you view her methods. Her "affections" as Sebastian points out are very clear.

Their three meetings so far were like trial runs. Lili gets a feel for Asuka and keeps being drawn to her over and over. She's attached and she attaches easily because she has no non familial company she doesn't pay to be around her. She may not even have entirely admitted it to herself yet (because of the problems recognizing her feelings much less exposing them), which may be controversial to say. But she's pulled by the drive to bond with her. It is still at the border between infatuation and falling in love, in my opinion. Lili views Asuka through the sense of what purpose they have in common, what ways Asuka will thrill her, through excitement and fascination. She hasn't seemed to realize she doesn't properly communicate with or understand Asuka as a full person.

So she chases that high of their similarities and first impressions and invests her strong emotions down that perception for now. I think though, given how loyal she is to loved ones, once she listens to and understands Asuka she will connect fiercely. The passion of the infatuation stage boils over to intense love and devotion. Lili is like a kicked puppy looking for meaning she's never had. To be seen in a way she's never been. I'm not surprised she doesn't know how to handle this situation in a normal way.

At least I hope repair and honesty is the angle the writers take. Otherwise this is all for nothing and wouldn't just waste the character, it'd drag Asuka's arc down further. There'd truly be no justification for Lili's character and why they bothered tying her to Asuka in the first place. There'd also be no way for Lili to redeem herself and the stress she's caused.

Though if I'm being fair to her, she has been remarkably mild actually. As far as canon goes all she's done is show up for one unofficial rematch, which is annoying but understandable. She goes home. Then when the Mishima's terror on the world grows too strong, when her own family is weakened by them, she goads Asuka to meet her through the only outlet they've had so she can announce the world is going to shit, Asuka could be forced into it, and she is here to give aid and stick around just in case. That's it.

The motives don't justify her manipulating Asuka (very poorly anyway) into the 7th Tournament; the methods and desires do have clear boundaries though. She's not trying to live up her ass 24/7 or constantly seeking to humiliate her every waking second. Fans are the ones who made that shit up and don't bother thinking about evidence. It's like talking to a wall and the wall can't fucking read anything other than a toddler shapes book. I can't tell how much is ignorance, stupidity, or actively projecting maliciousness (and their homophobia), but people twist their relationship to reactionary extremes that make little to no fucking sense. Or they interpret it entirely through exaggerated memes and surface impressions. Or some are just pedophiles fixed on porn of them. It's extremely frustrating.

EDIT 11/15/2023: I have been further vindicated on this!!!! Harada revealed Lili's mother is an awful person who treated her like shit and influenced Lili's personality. She modeled love and affection as something to be dangled and twisted.

Of course Lili treats Asuka the way she does and struggles giving her straight answers. Nobody ever did that for her. No one ever showed her love as something more than not being listened to and not doing much listening. She would ask for anything and get vague responses that barely matched what she expressed. Her voice was ignored and turned on her. This still doesn't excuse her!!! But now we can better understand everything she's done. It gives new subtext. This was a big reveal that explains so much and can help predicting what'll happen next.

Anyway AsuLili Gay Tom and Jerry, recognition of the self through the other, the homoeroticism, the repression, the stubborn draw toward one another. They have all that. They're so funny when you put them in a situation but under everything they'd complete each other. I said what I needed to say on that in Asuka's analysis. I hope Lili drops her entire guard around Asuka and leans on her, asks to be leaned on in return. Vive le sex gay etc etc.

The only thing that can match a gorilla is another, equally crazy gorilla. Their enemy is the same. And they'll regret ever fucking with them.

ALSO! DO NOT FORGET THAT LILI'S HIDDEN AFFECTION MECHANIC IN TT2 MEANS SHE'S INSTANTLY PISSED WHENEVER ASUKA TAKES DAMAGE!!!

I love you Netsu System <3

EDIT: I have to add that just as I said the same thing in my Asuka essay, nobody told Lili to do what she does. Nobody ever asks her to attempt looking out for them, her dad never says he wants her to fight to protect, avenge, or honor him. She does the exact same thing Asuka does; gives in to her emotions and uses them as an excuse to do what she wants. They are the same character lmao

My least favorite ship of them

I have seen people take her with Ganryu seriously...people would rather be homophobic and pedophilic just to put a girl with a man for any reason

A quote of them that you remember

"You surely don't believe you can beat me?"

(Tekken 8 has the BEST line read for that yet by far)

Your favorite outfit of them

Walk walk fashion baby

Your least favorite outfit of them

What the actual fuck was this; gross on every level, even Asuka doesn't want to look

Describe the character in one sentence

The Squall.

What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character?

My old friend, that bitch. 💖

Sexuality hc!

D SLUR D SLUR D SLUR D- (Lesbian, have you seen this bitch) QUEEN F*GGOT

If it's not that for whatever reason then it's Oui, avec des hommes...des femmes...avec d' autres...

Your favorite friendship they have

Lili technically has no friends per se. Sebastian works for her so there's always that hierarchy between them. Asuka is the closest thing she has to a friend if only because they keep each other's company among other things, but they don't talk about or do activities the way normal friends do. I do love the way Sebastian supports her no matter how ridiculous she gets, even against her Dad. She's like his child too in a way, that might be part of why he dotes on her aside from fulfilling the loyal butler trope. Lili not having friends despite being a trust fund baby though? What a loser! jdfikajdasj Pathetic little Minou; I'm sure this is contributing wonders to her psyche. The closest other person I can think of is when they paired her with Leo for the non canon online comic. Every time I've seen art with them together its always funny, so there's that lol.

Best storyline they had

It hasn't happened yet in my opinion, Tekken 8 feels like she's finally gonna get a proper plot and I'm hoping they give her something to shine in. I say that because like Asuka she doesn't really have a storyline, she's a character who makes one off appearances to serve as a convenience (giving Lars his SUV in 6) or is the one off rich girl trope. This is of course whenever she's not involved with Asuka- I find it so funny they've canonically only met three times??? Three times! Once when Asuka first beat her, again at Asuka's school to fight her then run home, and again at the 7th Iron Fist tourney. Outside of that she's twice tried to stop Mishimas from stressing her dad out but when it doesn't work she immediately gives up. That's pretty much it. She has a handful of events that happen to her worse than Asuka's track record for the same thing.

Worst storyline they had

Nothing applies because I feel like everything she's gotten has either built implications about her relationship to her father or her relationship to Asuka, or both. Or it builds on her disdain for Jin and Mishimas. The only possible exception is that comic where she moved in with Asuka, but that's moreso her poor characterization rather than the gag plotline itself. Speaking though of bad canon characterization, whatever hardcore sadist shit they were going for in T6 makes me uncomfortable whenever I see things from Scenario Campaign. It's very one note, too edgy, and she's 16 in that game so trying to make her sound like a violent killer crossed with a dominatrix who is practically **cumming** mid threatening dialogue is especially gross. It was her first game after T5 so they probably were testing what direction to take her character. I'm glad they moved away from that angle to be honest, but we can keep her hate for Jin, it's understandable and adds to her. A lot of that T6 dialogue makes her seem shallow and its hard to sift for what's insightful.

A childhood headcanon

Did not eat worms or take risks and tussle outside all day long. Wished she could though beneath conforming to normalcy, and that subconscious desire for something daring became her drive for battle when it awakened.

What do you think their first word was?

Money, unironically, because she'd heard her dad use that word enough times coming home from meetings. Everyone looked at her and went Oh look she's truly his little heiress already thinking of business! sjfkjfksjf

How do you think they were as a kid? (Like, were they shy, noisy, wild, etc)

Spoiled little shit getting lots of material things, having her way as long as she could still look perfect for her family, and being doted on in the sense of a show dog. Also already proud of what her family is supposed to represent with their status even if she's too young to understand it, because adults keep telling her how successful the De Rocheforts are. More than likely acted out often for attention whenever trying to be perfect didn't get her affection she wanted.

I imagine her parents were busy with the business, especially her Dad since she's constantly trying to do things that he'll praise and notice her for. Rather than spend much quality time he tries buying her off with expensive things she doesn't care about. He probably does love her for her to have that attachment at all (or she thinks being given the slightest of his attention is enough to make him great in her eyes because that attention is so rare), but because he's busy and strict about what values she should have, he's distant and can't connect to who she is as a person due to his own morals.

As a kid she wouldn't understand all this, so it created this crisis of trying to please others while being herself, thinking she has to do something great or extraordinary to have value. It's not enough for her to exist and be loved, love has to be earned by increasingly drastic acts. If she proves herself over and over then finally she'll be worth accepting and staying around for.

The isolation, expectations, and perfectionism that fuck her up later would start early. Sebastian would've been the only adult she could count on for unconditional familial-like love; but because she internalized not expressing care directly she doesn't always know how to express that back to him the way he does for her.

The most random ship you've seen people have with them

JIN? HELLO? JIN? THE GROWN MAN SHE HATES FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS? THAT JIN? JIN?

A weird headcanon

Collecting dolls and plushies itself is not weird, but she arranges her collection in dioramas and protection circles around her room and bed. Every day and night. Walking into her room is like having an army stare you down; she's overly attached to them in this sense because she has no human friends. When she initially moved in with Asuka in my fic, Asuka had her sleep in a futon on the floor; the plushies guard that thing 24/7. She's still quite childish and lonely like that.

When do you think they were at their happiest?

Every time she sees Asuka; every time she thinks about Asuka the longer they know each other. Briefly whenever she succeeds in getting her father's positive attention. Every time Sebastian has looked out for her before she realized she needed the support. She appreciates him enough to have taught him some of her fighting style for Tag 2 if I remember right. I'm sure even if she doesn't always say it, she's happy when she feels he understands her. 

When do you think they were at their lowest?

Also Tekken 6 like Asuka, but I want to extend this to include the short time gap before T7. She has already failed at winning any glory for her father in a pathetically short lived attempt during T5. Asuka is fixed in her mind not just for revenge but because failing to advance thanks to her, meant failing the father she loves when she wanted to do good by him. Then suddenly the Mishima Zaibatsu takes everything from them. Effectively holds them hostage to use their oil for their global wars over utter bullshit they can't resolve between themselves. Lili is rendered powerless once again at helping her father, even his health fails. Consumed with rage she runs off to stop at nothing to kill Jin if he will not relinquish what he's stolen. Again she fails.

There's no hope left and no way out, except for one last bet. If she can't yet save her father she can still do something for Asuka Kazama. Thus starts Tekken 7 with a Lili who's probably holding back all that rage and fear to look cool in front of the one person she thinks she has left to impress.

If T6 Lili sounds familiar to Asuka's arc, I really think they did that on purpose. Make them lose everything over and over; render them powerless despite their might. Drain all happiness save for the will to meet tomorrow.

Future headcanon

Does not succeed the Rochefort empire but passes that role on to someone else so she can stay with/around Asuka and help her. She still technically has access to the family money but she uses it to fund whatever Asuka needs, for philanthropy, and invests that further into supporting martial arts which is her true calling. Succeeding her father's position is never something she actually seems to care about as opposed to maintaining his health and honor. If she fights for the company it's only because she cares about him not the business itself. And because their morals and philosophies are at odds, Lili would probably think it better for her father's legacy if someone else who could do the job right took on his burdens. As opposed to her, who loves him but doesn't see eye to eye with him including professionally. Despite their differences she'd want him to be comfortable in retirement.

I think eventually she expands her fighting style moving from jetting to street fights and tourneys into formal training. She hops around from school to school devoting years to different styles- Feng Wei but without the need to conquer other dojos and become the most powerful ever. Sebastian of course is there serving and helping until whenever he would pass on, because he cares for her personally. If she and Asuka aren't married or a couple then they still remain in touch, still rivals but out of mutual affection and testing each other's skill this time. She loves pop music too so maybe using her nepo baby status to snag a recording gig and see if that fits her lol.

What do you think is a secret they have that they never told anyone?

Like Asuka, any time she doubts or is afraid because she's just as proud and will rebuke anyone coming close to guessing her true feelings. Also secrets like how much she loves those close to her, the full details of her feelings on them.

When do you think they acted the most ooc

That entire online comic where they originally had her move in with Asuka. Horrid. Completely tipped her character over to the creepy irredeemable controlling stalker who sexually harasses Asuka and gropes her because Haha She's Gay And Lesbians Prey On Women! They don't know what No means! Everything about her was stripped back for the sake of a homophobic stereotype as a punchline. And the assault "gags" weren't even attempting to be darkly funny gags they were just creepy; then on top of all that they still found a way to sexualize Lili with things like explicit crotch shots and shit. When I see people like it just because Lili does overtly gay things I throw up in my mouth a little, how do you not think when looking at it eugh. Lili is not in the right for pestering Asuka but she still has her limits and straightforward reasons for it, rather than being a complete caricature.

When do you think they were being "themselves" the most?

The short conversation about her "affections", Asuka's T7 ending, complimenting Sebastian, all of her T8 trailer interactions counting her intro (it was cute seeing her try to dismiss caring for Salt when she faces her opponent, as well as her little smile and the subtle shift in her eyes when taunting Asuka- it feels affectionate rather than intimidating), threatening to kill Lars if he doesn't kill Jin, being sad she couldn't fight Asuka in T6, and demanding Jin restore De Rochefort Enterprises. All of these involve her guard being lowered and her emotions coming out away from her Cool Sassy Bitch demeanor. The front has been fun but I want to see more of this heart on her sleeve Lili in the future, at least around those she cares about.

The look I give girls when I "hate" them and don't want to tongue them silly and am NOT in love with everything about them and I would HATE if I showed them La Petit Mort because I don't want her carnally and I'm NOT thinking about taking her last name in sickness and health:

Side note do you think one of Lili's moments in T8 is gonna be asking Lars why the fuck Jin isn't dead yet, when she EXPLICITLY asked that twunk be obliterated. I want to see it.

If they could meet a character from another show/movie/etc, who

would be the most fun for them to meet?

Ok I feel bad but I can't think of anyone I may edit this answer

The most unnecessary thing they ever did?

BLOWING UP A LIMO TO REJOICE IN THE GLORY OF COMBAT

How do you think they would be as a parent? (and if they are a parent, how do you think they would be if they weren't?)

That child is getting spoiled their entire life; even long after they're an adult what Lili sees first is her cute little baby. She buys them things but emotionally she's also got a pretty overbearing streak with wanting them safe and happy. She doesn't read it as this or see the problem it can be though until it makes her kid lash out and feel suffocated. I feel like even with Asuka if you were to point out to Lili her overbearing side when it comes to caring for others, she takes it as a personal attack/failure because to her it's like, "Well would you rather I not care about you? I care so it justifies most of my behavior." She doesn't quite understand yet that's not how that works. People need independence and are allowed their own responses to your actions. That you can hurt people by not allowing them control over themselves.

It's difficult for her to remember moderation. It would be easy to see where this comes from because on one hand she grew up at odds with her father so she doesn't want to repeat that. On the other hand she also grew up wanting his affection and approval for many things, so she thinks she'll receive that same loyalty by being so dedicated on her end. She's doting in a very lofty sense and her child's honest perspective would need to bring her back down to earth when she gets to be too much. They'd be closer once she accepts not smothering them.

But also I think Lili would be perfectly fine raising a cat or two with Asuka, rather than them having a baby necessarily so it can go either way lol Realistically they probably do just stick to pampered pets, like Salt. Lili's attitude then would be something like "Why do we need children when we have sweet angels right here!" *hugging the life out of all their pets*

She tries to convince Asuka they can take care of a bear once; Asuka nearly has a heart attack. They do not get a bear.

The funniest scene they had?

All of it. She's a professional clown. BUT my favorite is her T5 ending. "I have protected Daddy's earnings by destroying his competition!" *triggers an economic collapse bankrupting her family*

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2023- Day 30- Slimeperson/Symbiote Part 2

Acceptance Or Rejection?

@borealwrites almost there. This has five parts and then I'll just have one left. I can do this. Thank you everyone for your patience.

Part 2 

Acceptance or Rejection? 

The next morning Allison woke up and found herself holding her husband’s hand. 

“Corey?” She whispered but he didn’t move. 

“Astral?” She whispered and Corey’s form opened their eyes to reveal the same eyes she had seen in her dream world and Astral smiled happily that she would and could call to him and he would always answer her. 

“Good morning my Amazing Alleviator Allison.” Astral greeted back as Allison watched as Corey’s eyes had changed to show Astral’s eyes which caused her to scream and push him away and fall out of bed but Astral’s self in her kept her from hurting herself as she was at first, quite startled and had a flight response. 

“What the fuck?! That was real?! You’re real?! You really are an alien, from outer space, that took over Corey’s body?!” She shrieked as she backed herself up into a corner. 

“Ah, sorry, I thought it would be better to meet in the dream world before meeting in the waking one.” Astral sheepishly offered as he moved to get out of the bed and slowly approach her. 

“I promise and swear to you, I’m not here to hurt you or your children or anyone else you love and care about.” Astral calmly reassured her in the most calming and soothing tone he could as he tried to keep her from physically having an allergic reaction to his physical presence within her. 

“Where’s Corey? The real Cornealious?” She asked him. 

“He’s…he’s still sleeping and still dreaming.” Astral answered. 

“And you’re just…borrowing his body?” She asked as she gestured to his form.  

“Yes.” Astral confirmed before he took another step towards her and instead of backing away further, she simply stared harder at him with a confused frown deeply set into her beautiful face. 

“But it’s me, Astral. I just need to borrow this form for a very small time. There are things I need to do in this form right now before I can fully move to you or any other form you desire that is compatible.” Astral reassured her as he used this form’s hands to pat at his chest. 

“You said, I was your….alleviator? What’s the deal with that?” She asked. 

“Alleviator like Aleve, the pain killer?” Allison shook her head as she tried to wrap her head around it. 

“Yes, exactly, but a it’s a bit more complicated than that. An alleviator is a term in my world and culture that means, someone, who not only is genetically, physiologically, mentally, emotionally and physically perfectly compatible to achieve perfect symbiosis when paired with a being of my kind. Think of it, like, moving from hotel room to hotel room to finally moving into your permanent home. But the home itself is sentient and it is one that is just a house until you make it your home and that together, the house and the person both choose to make that house the home for them both. You’re my home, my forever home because you have the physical form that can withstand your world’s conditions and, frankly, you’d never survive my homeworld without me and if we were reversed, it would be you residing with me.” Astral tried to explain as he tried his best to change this fom’s voice to reflect his own. 

“Oh.” Allison simply blinked a few times rapidly as she tried to understand that, and appreciated the illustration, even as…abstract as it was. 

“I’ve traveled so far and I’ve been searching for so long. But I found you and I couldn’t be more happy and relieved and thrilled to finally meet you and to know that you’re so much more than I ever could have wanted or asked for.” He offered as genuine tears came to his form’s eyes as his voice almost choked completely out with emotion as Allison just looked at Astral’s form in shock. 

Because she had never seen her husband cry. Not when they found out they were expecting, not at the birth of their children, or the death of his friends or other family members- nothing. 

“Normally, I would not take a form so close to you, but the person in this form was a threat to you and to your beloved children, and I couldn’t allow that threat to continue, not without an answer and recourse. I can also promise and swear to you, that this form’s hands will never touch you without your permission, and neither will this voice, never again will Corey ever insult you or demean you or harm you with anything they say or even yell and scream. I promise and swear to you that I am in enough control over this form that it will never do anything that would ever cause you hurt or harm or cause hurt or harm to your children, or anyone else that you love and care about.” Astral vowed before Allison’s labored and panicked breathing started to slow and her flight response was lessoned as the reality of the situation began to sink in to her consciousness as Astral did his best to make sure she wouldn’t reject him in any other sense either because right now, the bridge between them was still new enough and delicate enough, one firm wave of refusal would destroy it all and it would take who knows how long to rebuild it. 

“Allison, look at me. Corey will never hurt you again. He will never see or speak to you without you wanting him to. And I know that you know, deep down, that your children deserve a better father. And I know for a fact that you deserve a better husband and partner in life. Don’t feel guilty about the reasons you married Cornealious. You had your reasons, just like I had mine as a means to get to you. But what is important, is that we’re together now and that from now on, you don’t have to worry about anything other than deciding what you want for yourself and for your children and your benefit and their benefit first. Please, do not let an unrequited sense of loyalty that Corey was never worthy of, or a fear of what he could ever try to do to you or the kids in response or retaliation ever keep you from gaining your own freedom of him and his awful family. This is your chance to choose for yourself instead of responding to other’s chances for you. If you really do not want me and refuse me and reject me, as much as that would hurt me, I would respect it, because it’s still your decision and your permission that needs to be had and respected, whether you choose to give it to me or not. But please, don’t choose Corey over me, I will find you someone else, anyone else in the world. But Corey was on his way to kill you in your sleep and hold your own children hostage should you even breathe wrong in another man’s direction. And yes, he was about to divorce you over the stupid fact that you were busy cleaning and caring for your children over getting him a beer from the fridge and he had counted the steps it took for him to get to the fridge, and using each step as a marker for how many mistresses he was going to take while he got a divorce from you and stole your children from you and dumped you into the street and dump you into the worst depression of your life and one that you would never recover from and one that he would have lied to your children about for the rest of their lives because he didn’t want to get up off that damn couch to get himself a beer. He’s the worst kind of monster. And I love you and I love your children too much to ever have him be a threat to you or them ever again.” Astral urged her as he took a few more steps with his hands up in surrender. 

“I want to speak to Corey, the real Corey, and I want some answers from him.” Allison immediately demanded angrily as hot tears welled and fell from her eyes. 

“He will lie to you, I know what you want to ask, and I can tell you, without my interference, he will lie to you, he will deny everything he’s guilty of and blame you for everything you’re innocent of.” Astral warned her. 

“Then is there a way you can ask him the questions and get the truthful answers and tell me?” Allison asked. 

“Yes.” Astral offered. 

“Is Corey cheating on me?” Allison asked. 

“Yes, he has never once been faithful to you. Not even on your wedding day.” Astral readily answered. 

“Who has he been cheating on me with?” She asked before Astral listed them all off for her.

“I knew it! But the second I look at any other man Corey is accusing me of throwing myself at them.” Allison practically growled as she simply sat on the floor and held her head in her hands as she rested her elbows on her knees before Astral eased down onto the floor opposite of her with his back against the bed as close as he dared without invading her personal space any more than she would tolerate at the moment. 

“And he’s also the one responsible for…” Astral began to list off all the sexually transmitted diseases he’s picked up from all the other lovers he’s had and had passed them onto her, which she treated with the utmost secrecy, for fear of his wrath and speedy divorce because that was one of the things listed in the prenup as being grounds for divorce and her losing her children to him. 

“Oh God, I need to get another round of medicine to…” Allison started to say. 

“No you don’t. I’ve already cured all of that from and last night, when you gave me permission to partially enter you, I cured you and the kids as well, you and the children as well as this form are now in perfect health, until I need to vacate this form. Then I will return them to the condition I found them in.” Astral was quick to reassure her again. 

“And Corey will just…sleep through it all? Won’t he realize he’s lost a day?” She asked. 

“No, the dream sequence I’ve put him in is a simulation of his reality. So to him, he closed his eyes for a short nap, and then woke up and continued on with his day as if nothing is any different than before he took a nap and that nothing is the matter at all, in fact, to him, he’s still sleeping and you’ve already awoken to get the kids up and dressed and breakfast started and dreaming about all the lovers he’s taken on so far and probably meeting a new one if he could get away from you for only a few minutes at a time.” Astral offered before Allison scuffed in disgust. 

“He really is a pig.” Allison groaned. 

“Yes, I apologize I couldn’t get to his form sooner and save you from it’s previous occupant” Astral offered as Allison cracked a crooked grin. 

“Corey couldn’t even spell occupant. He liked to use fancy words tin business meetings and because of his connections, no one ever corrected him when he misused them and then he would come home and try them on me. I used to try to correct him so he wouldn’t sound like an idiot. He slapped me for making him look and sound like an idiot.” Allison admitted. 

“And it could only get worse from there, so you stopped.” Astral recalled with a deep sense of sorrow. 

“Yeah, then I got verbally beat up for being a ‘dumb bitch’. Total catch 22- damned if you do, damned if you don’t kind of thing. That’s why once the kids came along, I was grateful I could retreat into them and make them my whole world and keep my head down and just try to be perfect, not make any mistakes he would be upset with me and try to find a way to “punish” me for, like I too was a child.” Allison rubbed the last of her sleep from her eyes and just held her head in her hands, wondering how she lived and managed to survive three kids with Corey and feared a fourth would break her completely. 

“I guess I should count my blessings that you found him now. And at least from now on I don’t have to worry about…” Allison trailed off with a tired sigh. 

“No, not at all. Don’t worry about this form or the person you’ve come to know in it. Think of me as an alter personality for him. And what you’ve dealt with is the horrible manchild Corey, and I’m…” 

“The Corey I thought I was marrying but a million times better because you’re not Corey at all? Just…someone who looks exactly like him and is impersonating him?” Allison guessed as the smallest of smiles threatened to bloom on her face. 

“Yes, he did the ‘bait and switch’ on you and so I’ve simply done my best to switch him back for you. And from now on, this form will serve you and your family the way it was always meant to, until I can find a replacement because even being this close to you, this form causes you unease and discomfort.” Astral reassured her before he watched with a smallest bit of relief when her body and spirit relaxed and came out of the shock and came right to acceptance, which was, for Astral another great relief. 

“Thank you.” Allison thanked him. 

“Wait, why aren’t the kids awake? I would have thought my screaming would have woken them up?” Allison answered. 

“Oh, I um, well I put a little…think of it like a pet’s GPS tracker, into them to keep them asleep so we could talk in peace and undisturbed. They will wake up when you’re ready for them to wake up.” Astral said. 

“Wait, you’re not using them the way you are using Corey are you?” She asked as her guard went right back up. 

“No, never. Think of what I’ve done as them taking a sleepy gummy. That’s all and other than keeping asleep right now, I’m not controlling them in any sense that I am of Corey, it was just a matter of sound proofing their ears so they could sleep undisturbed until you calmed down, you could call for them now though and they will wake up and answer you. They are your children. They are practically sacred and are to be protected and cared for to the same extent you are to be, and it would be my honor and privilege to do so. I will kill to protect them, same as you, no matter who it might be that would mean them harm. I understand that all children need instruction and loving discipline, but Corey used “discipline” to be abusive. And no such abuse will ever be repeated or tolerated.” Astral assured her as her guard dropped back down again and Astral felt like he could breathe just a bit easier now that Allison knew herself and her children were well and would be cared for. 

“Oh, ok, thank you.” She blew out a breath of relief. 

“Would you like to get up off the floor?” Corey asked as she seemed to relax a little more, at least physically.

“Yes.” She said before he offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. 

“Thank you.” Allison smiled gratefully. 

“Could I give you this?” Astral asked as he used part of himself to make the ultimate credit card and handed it to her. It looked like one of those fancy credit cards that looked like it had a real diamonds and other jewels set right into the gold and platinum of the card itself before he gave her a second one that looked more simple and if anything, a bit ordinary but because it was clear and the clear part had an iridescence and a shimmering sheen to it so that while it was more discrete looking, it would still be aesthetically pleasing. 

“What is it?” She asked as she tentatively took them and looked at them. 

“Think of them as credit cards with unlimited limits and ones that you never have to pay the bill on. One of them is obviously for discretion and one is obviously meant to be shown off. Because in my time on Earth, I’ve learned that ‘money talks, but that wealth whispers’ one is for talking, one is for whispering. Use them as you wish and how you see fit. I know Cornealious did his best to control you in every aspect possible, including financially. But no longer, you are now fully independent and free of him in every sense, especially financially. Use it to buy for yourself and your children or even your not so immediate family members, whatever you want or need. My treat, literally.” He smiled. 

“Really?” She asked in delight. 

“Yes. And all I need is contact with Cornealious’ devices and electronics and I’ll see to it that all of your personal finances are taken care of and that you are now fully in control of yourself, your life and your family’s well being without Cornelius' interference or undercutting.” Astral offered. 

“Maybe I’m the one who got taken over by an alien and I’m in a dream world. Because this is too surreal, and practically too good to be true.” She couldn’t help but laugh as she held them as if they were the most precious things she ever held in her hands, besides her own children. 

“Thank you so much.” She couldn’t help but hug him. 

“You’re welcome Allie.” He offered as he hugged her back and didn’t know what was better, to be in his alleviator or to be in a separate form to hug her and offer her physical affection and to have that affection mirrored. 

“Wait, you really are an alien, because never in his life did the old Corey smell this good.” She laughed as she could literally smell just how different the Corey she married now was- even on a pheromonal level. 

“Good, I’m glad you approve, here, is this better?” Astral changed Corey’s appearance to better suit Allison’s tastes as well as her children. 

“Now people are going to think he got plastic surgery.” Allie laughed. 

“Well, how about a little at a time, let people get used to it.” He offered as he dialed it back just a little. 

“Ok, now only if I could do that.” Allison teased. 

“Of course you can Allie. Just tell me what you don’t like about yourself and I can fix it and help you to become your ideal version of yourself so you feel more authentically you.” He offered. 

“Really? Oh, yeah, last night, my permission, when you asked if you could…inhabit me?” She tried to think of what she could remember from her dream.

“No, not inhabit, cohabit, but yes, if you still give your permission we could cohabit the same physical form as much or as little as you are comfortable with, the small bit of myself I put into you, is helping to sustain the rest of me that is in Corey.” Astral explained. 

“Oh, I see. Ok.” She giggled before she went into the bathroom with him to start changing herself how she always wished she could look and be like as Astral was practically drunk off of her own happiness and delight, like it was the best drug ever. Because the happier she was with herself, the happier he was that she fully accepting herself with him. 

“Happy?” Astral asked once she was done and while Astral was still learning why and how humans found themselves and each other “sexy” to them, Allison was already perfect in every way, before and after her small physical alterations. But if this is the way Allison liked her physical form, he was happy and content to love it how she wanted it. 

“Yes, very.” She beamed happily. 

“Good. And please know that, from now on, eat whatever you want, your metabolism will always keep this body how you want it and your own senescence has been halted for now. And of course, your own strength, stamina, endurance and other functions have been enhanced.” Astral informed her. 

“Thank you. Talk about the find of a lifetime. I’m so happy right now I could cry. Finally, I get the husband I always wished I had held out for to marry.” Allison offered as she began to get dressed, tickled with how good she looked and how free she finally felt in her own body and in her own skin, like she was finally healed and whole in a sense. She could already feel and sense the symbiosis and it’s mutually beneficial benefits before Astral let himself form a diamond necklace around her neck. Something small, but something timelessly beautiful and something she could always wear and wear with anything and everything and feel just as beautiful, cared for and cherished now as she had ever felt in her life. All because it was Astral, literally a being made of stardust that knew and felt she was someone special. Someone worth protecting, worth making sacrifices for, worth working hard for, worth everything they had to care for properly and rightly and never use or abuse. 

“Oh just wait, hopefully this is just the beginning and things will only get better from here.” He smiled happily before he helped her finish getting dressed, customizing her clothing to fit her just the way she wanted it to before he dressed his form and then helped her cook breakfast for her family while also cleaning as he went so that the condo was beautiful and clean for Allison and her family. 

“Oh, I’m in trouble.” Allison giggled. 

“No? How are you in trouble? How is this a joke?” Astral asked. 

“Because you haven’t been with me for a whole day and already you’re spoiling me rotten.” Allison explained. 

“Oh, I haven’t even begun the spoiling, all of this is simply correction. Once everything in your current circumstances is changed to suit you best and to sustain you, then I really get to spoil you as rotten as you can stand.” Astral promised as Allison felt a sense of relief that she could take Astral at their word and trust and believe every word. 

Once breakfast was done and the place was much cleaner, he let the children wake up and come to eat breakfast as Astral used his form to tenderly care for his family. 

He apologized to each child for not being the father they deserved, but that from that moment on, he was going to do everything he could to be the best father to them that he could be and the best husband to their mother. And that they were a team and needed to work together. As once again, the children accepted Astral in front of their mother and were happy to not have their own relief that last night’s events were not a dream. 

And while Allison was, at first a little surprised that her children realized that their Daddy wasn’t their real Daddy, she was happy that she really hadn’t left her children with their true sire. And that Astral had begun his transition in Corey’s form to them last night since they were younger and could sense the change sooner than she could and therefore accept the change sooner than Allison got to. 

But the whole experience got Allison to cry tears of relief and happiness to finally see Astral do and say what she always wished the father to her children- could do and say. But with the relief of not having to deal with Corey ever again. Allie kissed him gratefully and sweetly as he kissed her back sweetly before he helped get them ready for the day and helped clean up the dishes after breakfast so that it wasn’t all on Allie and if anything, teaching her children to be responsible and how to help care for the family as a whole and teach them important life and self sufficiency and responsibility skills in such a sweet and kind way too. 

Allison had the best day yet. Everything was perfect. Her husband? Practically perfect in every way. Her kids? Little angels and so well behaved. And because of those little “GPS” trackers, Astral could immediately tell her what they were really feeling and help them communicate their needs and wants and help them take the gentle ‘no’s’ she needed to tell them so they wouldn’t be the spoiled brats Corey really was. And Allison could literally buy anything she wanted and needed without worrying about “Corey” getting mad or challenging her or punishing her for “wasting money”.  And to do so especially when that was all Corey seemed to do anyway before getting “bailed out” by his parents. The whole time, preferring the more simple and discrete card to do so. Because she was much more of the ‘wealth whispers’ kind of person. And she also didn’t want to risk anyone seeing the more fancy one and steal it for it’s precious components, even though it had been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life, as she ran her fingertips over the designs in the card itself. 

And Astral, using Corey’s form, was able to start to undo all the horrible things Corey had done so far. As well as tell his parents exactly what he was guilty of and what he had done and put Allison in the clear and they called it a ‘coming to Jesus’ thing. Which, Astral understood was a human nature- religious thing and excused that the reason for his slightly changed looks- was him getting on the best diet ever and that his eye color change was a new  set of eye contacts he was trying out. And once Astral got on Corey’s phone and especially his laptop, he was able to do so much more for Allison’s benefit, including destroying all those prenups, as well as getting himself the best life insurance policies for the eventual death of this form. 

Because Allison, just looking at this form, even as changed as he tried to be in private, Astral could tell she was still fighting seeds of doubts that at any moment Corey was going to come out and take control of his body again and reverse everything and make her pay oh so dearly for everything. 

So he needed to set Allison up for success now and be on the lookout for a better host, one that Allison and her children would accept into their family because Astral loved and adored the “Allie” in Allison’s kids as he did his best to slowly repress and replace the “Corey” in them, slow and steady, steady and slow to keep them from rejecting the process, but still keeping “enough” of Corey in them that once their friends and family would see them again, they would still be recognized and still pass any “DNA” test anyone would try to perform as he and Allison put the kids to sleep together, watching on fondly as they all happily went to sleep in their beds, even the crib that the youngest one had to be in before they could relax and unwind as a couple for the evening. 

“So, I know your current home isn’t exactly what you wanted, so I wanted to know if you wanted to sell your current home to buy a new one? Or did you want to build one, perfect for us?” Astral asked that evening after he finished undoing everything he could from where he was on vacation and finished working on Corey’s laptop. 

“Ooh, don’t tempt me beyond what I can bear.” Allison giggled as she slipped onto the couch beside him with a bottle of wine in one hand and two wineglasses in the other and set them down on the coffee table. Allison wanted to get to know the real Astral, not just the “Corey” Astral had to play in public. But those eyes, it was the eyes that let her know that it was Astral and not Corey and those eyes seemed to be little universes themselves but, oh how brightly they glowed for her as Astral gave her that same confused frown he did that morning when she had teased him at breakfast. 

“It’s ok, it’s a joke, obviously. Ok, um, I would love to build my real dream house. And I know exactly where I want to have it too.” She began. 

“Yes, I already know. That’s what I’ve been working on, it’s already all here. I just wanted your permission for the building to begin.” Astral began as they moved the screen to show Allison what they had been working on once Allison washed the makeup off her face and got changed in a comfy nightgown she had bought and laundered that day. 

“Oh my goodness, it’s even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Ok, I know most people would be so weirded out that someone else was in their heads and able to read their minds, but this is amazing and perfect. Yes, do it. Wait, can we afford it?” Allison asked. 

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it.” Astral waived off as he was able to let Allison hear his real voice through Corey’s mouth, he had been slowly shifting into it all day but Allison had heard and picked up on it. Especially his thoughtful, sweet and intelligent conversation with her as the whole day was practically one big first date for them in a sense. 

“Oh, are you using the same technology that’s powering the credit card?” Allison realized. 

“Yes, and as of now, all of your debts and Corey’s debts are paid off because you just had very, very wealthy, very, very distant relatives die and you’re an heiress to their massive fortunes. Really, for as advanced that your civilization is on Earth, you’ve done remarkably well for making your technology so easy to hack and manipulate. And with just a few key strokes, I can see to it that a person has everything they would ever want or need, or that ones that have oppressed my alleviator, or ones she hates- are devastated.” Astral grinned as he officially put in the order for it, just where she wanted it too. 

“Oh no, what did you do to Corey’s parents?” Allison gasped. 

“Nothing, nothing, well, not yet anyway, I won’t do anything to them without your permission, since they are, after all, your children’s grandparents.” He offered. 

“Oh, good.” Allison nodded. 

“Well I know they certainly deserve hell for what they’ve put you through, when they should be grateful that you’re the reason your kids are even half as good as they are. And not the little hellions they paid their undervalued foreign nanny to raise on their behalf.” Astral shrugged. 

“I don’t think they’re all bad, it’s just, they’ve always been privileged and don’t know any other life than the one they’ve always had. And…I just wish they treated me like I was a member of the family, and not some outsider who just happened to win a “free” ticket into the family. Honestly, it’s been the most expensive thing in the world to me…” Allison began as she looked into the dark red liquid in her wine glass. 

“Because it cost you, your dignity and self respect, your confidence, your sanity, your peace of heart and mind and wellbeing. And such things are priceless and to put a price on the priceless, only cheapens it and I will do everything I can to restore all of that for you.” Astral sagely insisted. 

“God I wish I could have the real Corey realize that.” Allison said as her eyes watered with grateful tears.

“He will, but probably, unfortunately, too late. Not unless you’re ok with me changing, or in some cases deleting and then recreating all new memories of times where Corey has hurt you instead of loving you so that every time you look at this vessel, your gut doesn’t lurch and you don’t feel dread in your bones.” Astral offered. 

“No, if anything, I’m looking forward to you leaving Corey’s body, for dead- for all I really care. I just, I’m worried with how the kids will react once you leave Corey’s body and take on another. The kids love you as if you really are their true father, more than they love Corey, and more than he’s ever said or shown that he’s loved them, especially if every day after today is just as wonderful as today has been.” Allison worried before she began to bite at her thumb nail before Astral reached out to hold her hand to keep her from unintentionally hurting herself by doing that. 

“Don’t worry. As long as you accept me, they’ll accept who you accept. Whatever form or vessel I have to take so we’re both happy and we can both accept each other as we are.” Astral began. 

“But..how?” Allison asked. 

“Well, I just took out very, very large life insurance policies. And once this vessel can do all that they can for you and the kids, then, when you’re ready, this form will come down with an incurable illness, like brain cancer and slip into a coma and die. You’ll be a widow, and I can meet you in a new vessel that, hopefully we’ll both like and then close this chapter in your life and open a new one.” Astral explained.

“Oh, good, so something I can’t be blamed for.” Allison nodded in agreement. 

“Nope, not in the least.” Astral shook his head no. 

“Will…will the original Corey, ever wake up? From the dream you put him into?” Allison asked. 

“Do you want him to?” Astral asked. 

“Yes and no?” Allison grimaced. 

“Why yes?” Astral asked. 

“Oh, just so that I can tell him what I really think of him and how he didn’t win. I thought I had practically given up all hope of ever finding myself again, because of how much of myself I thought and felt he took from me, or bought off of me. I felt like he…he broke me and I was just barely hanging onto all the pieces for the sake of the kids. And that I’ll finally, really, win and come out on top and that, I’ll finally get that happily ever after he convinced me, he could give me but never did, or gave me a version of it that I ended up paying too dearly for.” Allison offered.

“Consider such things already communicated to him. I’ll tell him at the right time, when he would be most devastated by that. Don’t worry, for every bit of hurt he’s inflicted on you, I’ll hurt him ten, if not a full hundred or thousand fold if you so desire.” Astral offered. 

“Thank you.” Allison thanked and leaned her head onto his shoulder and smiled when he pressed a kiss into the crown of her head before he took a sip of the wine they had bought when they had gone wine tasting earlier that day before she lifted her head to kiss him, much deeper and with more love, care, affection and desire than she had ever done with Corey. 

Allison was relieved when Astral didn’t even taste anything like Corey did either, thank goodness. And before she knew it, he had laid her down on the sofa, abandoned the laptop and fully transitioned into a person she had only known in her dreams so that the aversion she felt towards Corey and his body, both consciously and subconsciously was no longer felt. 

“There you are.” She cooed as she held his face in her hands and looked up in awed adoration. 

“Here I am, all the way across galaxies, just to come here to meet you. My one and only alleviator, my forever.” He cooed back before he kissed her deeper as he slowly, but reverently removed her clothing and finally got to enjoy the pure perfection she was, inside and out. 

Allison moaned when the best and most perfect cock entered her. It was the perfect size, shape and even had extra features no human cock could achieve. 

“Oh fuck that’s good.” Allison keened as her legs opened as wide as the couch would allow before he moved them to the room, his form easily and flawlessly moving them from the couch to the master bedroom to lay her down in the soft bed and under the covers so she could feel safe and comfortable as Astral’s mouth kissed up her jaw, gently nipped and nibbled at her ears after putting a set of perfect diamond earrings through her piercings in her ears before his mouth licked and sucked down her neck, zeroing in all of her erogenous zones, all over and all at once so that she was delightfully on the verge of being overwhelmed. 

And now, he could have as many hands as he needed to- to hold and caress her and scratch at her back- just right while his hips stroked his cock into her, while he let her hands grab as much or as little of himself as she wanted as she was happy to do just that, run her fingers through his hair and scratch down his own back and kiss and nip and lick at him as his form mirrored hers as far as erogenous zones went so that she was able to give him just as much pleasure as he was giving her in this form. 

“Astral!” Allie whimpered as the first orgasm bloomed in her body as Astral helped her have the greatest and most profound orgasm in her life. 

“Wow, talk about an out of this world orgasm.” Allison laughed once she enjoyed the entire orgasm to completion and he paused to let her recover to a degree because her pleasure was only amplified in himself as he was quite proud of himself for getting her to that impressive peak. 

“Want to see if I can do better?” Astral asked. 

“How? That was..beyond perfect, how could it get better?” She asked. 

“Want to find out?” Astral asked as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively as his smile was almost blinding and so beautiful to Allison. 

“You know, I kinda do. Show me better, My Love.” Allison invited as she never thought she’d ever be so adventurous, especially with another being. But Astral was clearly, completely different and she felt as sure as the sun rose in the east, and set in the west, that Astral would be the one person to never let her down, or disappoint her, or hurt her, either accidentally or unintentionally. And would never dream of betraying her or being unfaithful to her either. Because Astral already knew her as well as he did himself and everything she knew and grown to love, even in such a short time, she, for once- had every confidence and faith in another being. Because she sensed how Astral only ever had her best interests in his big, beautiful heart. 

And now sex with Astral was suddenly like having the best sex of her life while getting a full body massage to relax every tension and practically every fiber in her being too. 

Astral however, knew he was over expending himself trying to please her so well and once she was fully sated and relaxed, he spooned her and cuddled her into bed and gently let her drift off to sleep before he had no choice but to slip out of the room and slip into the other rooms in the condo complex and consumed a whole group of college kids down the hall who were here on a vacation and who had been playing their loud music all week and kept the kids awake, even when Corey himself had had a “talk” with them, aka, joining them to party and blow money on the girls in exchange for sexual favors for the thrill of it. 

But Astral had no choice but to practically consume them whole in an attempt to regain strength and stamina and had to move to nearly every other room on the floor before moving to another floor and doing the same thing to them too. And once he was good and full and fully restored to full strength and stamina, he slipped back into the condo his vessel was in with his alleviator as he kept the mind controller in Cory’s body and took refuge to fully rest in Allison.

[maguro13-2]

War of Shadow ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 4 Pt.13 (2/3) ~

Moirai Albarn : Phew! I think that's the last one of them.

Waddle Dee : No doubt about it! Hopefully we just destroyed every single one of them being kicked in the d*ck! Not surprising that an army of Inky people were trying to take us down! But it's a good thing that we managed to take the army. But they will rise up again and I bet it's no surprise!

Inky Albarn : (growls angrily) You! You'll regret this one day! You may have beaten my army of lost ones, they would handle the power of Inky Darkness that will make Soul World in Nevada of becoming the new world of Bendy! But I'll be back and there will be no victory for you, but a victory for your demise and despair. But in this case, I'll let you go this time for a while.

Moirai Albarn : You have my word, and for the reason? That'll be this cause of your actions!

Inky Albarn : Quite certainly! Cause I will be having the last laugh when I fix my love's mistake and see how will they like it!

Rosalina : (broadcasting) So you're the one responsible for all the outcomes on earth, huh?Shame on you, Inky Albarn!

Moirai Albarn : Rosalina!

[Scenario : Navigation - Fumie Kumatani]

Inky Albarn : Well, if it ain't the b*tch of the stars! I see that you knew about my movements that you monitored every situation on the planet, you knew this exactly from the beginning and I knew that I was going to overthrow the Kusakabe legacy! So what if I did, after all, both you and the stars will be falling down to Earth, along with that Obversatory of yours, it'll be the hands of me that are red with all of your blood!

Rosalina : (broadcasting) So what's you're deal of taking down the grandson of the Kusakabe? Why do you think that he is the one that brought outcomes on the the planet? Why do you want him to be destroyed with all that power he got? More importantly, What do you intended to do bringing your courage to Bendy?

Inky Albarn : It's simple for me to Ask, the answer is that is about bringing order and balance to the real world, and the insane world that Bendy has left for me! I could bring a major conquest on taking over America, Japan, and the rest of the planet itself! Inky Darkness will be the blood of everything!

Rosalina : (polishing her nails while broadcasting) Oh, really? Let me tell ya something, Inky. When it comes to the insanity of your mind, a demon psycho like you couldn't bring order or balance, but others will. They will succeed in achieving of protecting this planet they live on and I will not let you going to destroy it, by your hands!

Inky Albarn : (chuckles) Oh, the irony! You really are too kind that will be the last of your hero's world and every inhabitant will make me their's! So long as you have courage of watching over the planet to not let it be destroyed, I could savor you a fact that you wanted everyone to stop me. So how about I make those stars a little taste like starburst? (Hears a warping sound)

Maka Albarn : Hey, sister! Sorry for the delays!

(the group turns and sees Maka carrying the unconscious Spartoi counterpart of her)

[Jaden Yuuki's Theme by Yutaka Minobe plays]

Moirai Albarn : Sister! Right on time!

Inky Albarn : Maka?! You? It can't be you! I framed you for good, I put the blame on you, I even made you the traitor that world would made a good riddance to you! But I...

Maka Albarn : Let me go? The Mobian Death God knew it all along. I knew that you were responsible for outcome on earth by the likes of you! You have no rights to frame the hero you're looking at! That's right, I'm Maka Albarn, the "real" Maka Albarn!

Inky Albarn : I see. Both you and Moirai are the daughters of that alien race, the Phantonians! Hardly to keeping your secret identity as the sworn protectors of earth, the Phanto sisters! But I guranteed that you are willing to risks your lives, fighting for your ideals! Humph! Doesn't matter now. But this time, it will be something different. You'll be part of the extinction event when I plunge the planet into darkness. Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen! By the way, there's one more thing to tell you this. Demon Vibe got his eyes on you, Maka. (Teleports away)

Waddle Dee : Drats! She got away.

Meta Knignt : As long we keep this up, we might get her chance another day to rule the world for herself.

King Dedede : Hope the queen will might wait to acclaim her Victory when the Grandson of the Kusakabe will be destroyed. (hears Phone ringing)

Waddle Dee : Phone call, Mrs. Albarn.

Moirai Albarn : (answers the phone) Hello? Oh hello. Say aren't you the guy that is responsible for the creation of Soul World? Oh yeah, I see. Hey, sis. May I recognize the phone that I am currently talking to, I believe it's for you.

Maka Albarn : (talks into the phone) Hello?

Shinra Kusakabe (via phone) : So, I heard that the hero of Soul World has been an imposter and the real one I'm looking for is on the phone.

Maka Albarn : Is this the creator of Soul World?

Shinra Kusakabe (via phone) : Yes, you are correct. I am the one responsible for your world's creation, or perhaps is the same world that I once lived for about 1000 years before my death. I was the one who created my man-made son, Death. And took the profounding body that proclaims to be the kid named Shotaro, the dokeshi that is responsible for the demon weapons' creation.

Maka Albarn : So I finally recognized who you really are? You're the person who really created Soul World? So where are you at?

Shinra Kusakabe (via phone) : Oh yes, I know exactly where I am currently at, right now.

Maka Albarn : Really? like what?

Shinra Kusakabe (via phone) : Like I'm currently looking at you, straightly face to face! (Maka turns and sees the Devil Chaos Chao piloting the Dark Chao Walker)

Moirai Albarn : Oh no, it's him!

[Advice - Yutaka Minobe]

Maka Albarn : What!? A Chao in a machine?

Shinra (Devil Chaos Chao) : Maka Albarn! We finally meet at last after my 1000 years of death. So, what did you agree on saving Real World AU, after you were framed for your actions against humanity?

Maka Albarn : No way...You're Shinra Kusakabe?

~ Sixty-Fifth Scene : The Creator's Return ~

[denble]

[ARCHIVED - TLTTNW] Which Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is canon?

Of all the optional scenes and choices dialogues, the Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is one that get much debated as to which of the four choices is the canon one. Yes, objectively, it's four, not two. Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Yuffie. And in this post, I'm doing best to find the most plausible answer that question.

1. How to decide which option is canon

Now, when a scene has options, how to concretely decide which of the options is the canon? In my opinion, it's gonna be either or all of the below:

The chosen option itself is later acknowledged in a NON-OPTIONAL scene.

The chosen option is NOTICABLLY LONGER and provide USEFUL information to the plot as a whole

The chosen option is the MOST LIKELY to happen.

And as said in my opening post, I won't count any remarks outside the game itself. Some core personnel could go on an interview and said "this is the canon" and it's still an invalid statement. In case we still haven't noticed, up until the release of Remake trilogy, Square Enix has never made a conscious effort to clear up the Love Triangle Debate. If anything, they are actually encouraging it, keeping it flaming by having contradicting details spread throughout the side materials.

2. Case study: Shadow Hearts and Chrono Cross endings

Shadow Hearts

Let's move a bit from FFVII and turn to Shadow Hearts (if you don't know the game, please just google). Basically at the end of Shadow Hearts, if you go with the flow of the event, Alice will die. If you do a bit of extra fighting, she will live. Both ending gets its own FMV. So far, I would say both endings are canonical. Because while the good ending requires a bit more work, it's reasonable enough, and it still has its own FMV where Alice open her eyes (she lives!).

But then Shadow Hearts II came out, on the premise that Alice died in the previous game. Bam! Now we know of the two endings of Shadow Hearts, which one is canon... And Shadow Hearts II is neither side material nor spin-off game. It's the second installment, with Yuri remains the main character. So we can't invalidate its presence as to what really happened, canonically, in Shadow Hearts.

Chrono Cross

Another game from Square. Like Shadow Hearts, you can do a Good Ending or Bad Ending, all depending on how you tackle the final boss. Bad Ending is easier to achieve since you only have to attack randomly, whereas Good Ending requires a bit more planning.

Anyway, who to decide which one is canon? Unlike Shadow Hearts, there is no sequel to decide that for you.

By my definition, the Good Ending is probably canon, because you get a lengthy cut-scene, and after-credit FMVs, whereas you get nothing (just credit roll) with Bad Ending (that's more like a Game Over if you ask me...).

Now, back to FFVII

3. Barret or Yuffie is certainly not canon

None of the four dates get mentioned later in the game. So by my definition, point (1) can't be used.

Coming to point (2), Barret's and Yuffie's date are short compared to Aerith's and Tifa's, and add little value to the plot (except for a bit of character development on their sides).

Coming to point (3), then Barret and Yuffie are out of the picture. Because to get to date either of them would require you making very specific choices right from the beginning. Which means the chance that you get to date either of them is rather slim, under normal circumstances (ie. without a guide).

So we are left with just Aerith and Tifa.

4. Aerith or Tifa?

There are two points people present to argue that Aerith's date is canon.

It's because Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work.

It's because Aerith started off with more affection points (50 vs 30 to be exact)

Let's discuss further.

The Date payment

Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work. And the Gold Saucer date is THAT day. But during the scene, Aerith just asked Cloud to go on a date, without ever mentioning about the "date" payment (and it's Aerith who has to "pay" the date, she owes him that, not the other way around). And no matter what, THE date can still be missed altogether, because it's not non-optional. If it's so important, they would have made it non-optional.

The Affection Point Mechanism

Aerith starts off with more affection points than Tifa does (50 vs 30 to be exact), meaning it's easier to date her (or so they say). What people fail to mention is that, Tifa appears in the game earlier than Aerith does, and you can score points with her right from the beginning. Meaning if you start to favor Tifa from the beginning, by the time you meet Tifa again, the point gap might not exist at all. So from a gameplay perspective, I could argue that Aerith's higher point of affection compared to Tifa's is not because the game wanted to give her a head start with Cloud, but to give her a fair start instead. You can try to see how exactly the date mechanism work here.

It's also worth noting that:

It's easy to score big points with Tifa from the early chapters.

You don't score many with Aerith when you spend time alone with her in Sector 5 (suprised?!).

If Tifa was chosen as Don Corneo's bride, telling Aerith to help Tifa will upset Aerith (points deduced). If it was Aerith that got chosen, Tifa would prefer Cloud to go help Aerith instead of asking if her (Tifa) is alright (points added). Interesting eh? (only if it wasn't a coding mistake...)

I don't have a suitable explanation as to how the all points addition and deduction the works the way it does. The way I see it, the game just tries to make the chance equal to both girls. And through my experience of playing the game, it's most likely the case. You just have to make the obvious choices favoring your girl, and then keep her in your party once you leave Midgar and bam, you get a date!

The game code

Another piece of information that I MUST mention: in the game code (according to the internet), in case Aerith and Tifa gets equal points, Aerith's date will play out.

If that's the kind of proof that you need to prove that Aerith's date is canon, I won't argue with you. It's clear that Aerith's date does take a higher priority (albeit only ever slightly) than Tifa's date, according how the game is coded.

WHY is it, is another matter. We can only guess. You can say it's because the game wants us to see Aerith's date (well yeah..., the game totally doesn't want us to see Tifa's date, sure). My explanation? It's because Aerith's screen time is limited in the game, so the game prioritizes her, when there's a chance. Still, that doesn't make Aerith's date canon, because despite all the apparent "favor" the game has for her date, it can still easily be missable, as it's never hard to get Tifa's date.

5. Which date is the most appropriate to the flow of the story THUS FAR?

This part is purely my (a player's) opinion, and actually doesn't hold any weight to the issue.

Well, Barret's and Yuffie's are certainly just there for the laugh, and for THEIR character development, not Cloud's.

Aerith's shreds some light on her back story (she knows somebody whom Cloud resembles), her awareness of Cloud not being himself, and her desire to meet the "real" Cloud. That much is clear.

Tifa's date, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated to interpret. On the surface, it's easy to see that she was about to confess but failed. But with the knowledge of how the game story eventually unfolds, was that really the case? Or could it be that Tifa was actually trying to talk to Cloud about his mental state?

I don't know, honestly, but my thought on Tifa's date is:

The atmosphere clearly gears towards a romantic confession than to a therapy session. The game certainly wants you to think that it's a confession (whether or not it's true is another story; it's not exactly a new thing for FFVII narrative to be misleading).

It's a bit out of place at that point of the story for Tifa to try confess her feeling to Cloud. She has better concerns on hand (particularly, his mental state) than to get Cloud realize her feeling. Not totally implausible, but definitely not well handled in my opinion.

In FFVII Rebirth, Tifa really did confess in that Gold Saucer scene though (provided that you get to date her). Just saying. Not that what happens in the Remake Trilogy, stritcly speaking, matters to what happens in the OG though. BUT, I do feel that a confession in Rebirth is appropriate, because Cloud and Tifa's relationship has been developed steadily ever since Remake (that's not the case in the OG though).

So yah, all things considered, I think Aerith's date adds more value to the plot AT THAT POINT than Tifa's because it provides players more apparent information (Zack, Cloud not being himself, Aerith being aware of the situation and her wish to meet the "real" Cloud).

Tifa's scene is not bad, but if it was EVER the game's intention to mislead us that it's a therapy session instead of a confession, they overdid it to effectively convince me that it could actually be about her trying to talk about Cloud's mental state.

6. Conclusion

So, in my conclusion, either of the dates can be canon. Normally I would say it can also be that neither is canon. But then, the Gold Saucer date scene ought to happen (because you know, Cait Sith's betrayal came next). The Gold Saucer date scene is actually non-optional, only whom you go on a date with is.

In any case, having no clear answer to that means whom Cloud dated during the Gold Saucer scene adds no value to the love triangle debate (for all we know, he could just have had some bro time with Barret, or got pecked on the cheek by Yuffie). And even if one particular date is canon, it still doesn't say much or even anything about Cloud's feelings, with the way the scenes played out.

On a side note, the whole date mechanism is NOT to determine which one Cloud himself preferred to take on a date, but to determine which one would to drag Cloud on a date :))))))))))) Ie. it's about THEIR affection towards Cloud, based on how he behaves around them (based on HOW THE GAME WANTS to add or deduce points). Asking Tifa if she was okay in Don Corneo's mansion certainly showed care and concern to her, but will get your points deduced.

You see, you think you have choices in the game, but do you really though?

7. Extra: Cloud's reaction to the dates

I'm not including Barret's and Yuffie's here because we can all agree that their dates are just pure comedy.

Aerith's date

At the end of the date with, Aerith asked Cloud:

“Don’t you like being with me?”

To which Cloud can reply either “No, I don’t.” or “That’s not it.”

Tifa's date

At the end of the date, Cloud asked Tifa:

“By the way, what did you want to say a minute ago?”

I honestly can't get much from the dialogues. As far as I'm concerned, Cloud is pretty neutral and doesn't show much to both girls. If anything, you actually have the choice to be rude to Aerith by choosing to say you don't like being with her, whereas you're quite okay with Tifa. But as you know I don't do choice dialogues, we can skip that one.

[contemplatingnight]

Blooming Season

Hey Tumblr,

So I'm gonna tell you something that I have not been feeling in a while..

Yeah it's still going to be a rambling post, but now there's a light by the end of a tunnel.

Yesterday, I just got "slapped" by myself, to myself, and for the sake of myself. It was kind of an epiphany moment where after a very very veryyyy long time, I just realized what should I've done, how I'm feeling about everything, about my past, my current moment, and my future, and the things I should and should've been done.

Fast forward and recap, within these past 2 years in my current role, I've launched 5 projects with the total of ~30ish SKU in which it all generated >20mEur. Sounds a very busy life and tiring right?:) On top of that, all of the projects marked with all achieved green KPI. Also, in every year, there'll be awarding night session for those who are "perceived" as remarkable employees. So it's like "employee of the year". And guess what? To put the cherry on top, in both years..... I. didn't. even. get. one. :)

So last year when I didn't get the award, I was very very very angry, in despair, and even cried so hard to my boyf because after all the struggles that I've encountered, the sleepless nights, the silent bullying, the negative sentiments, critics, deadlines, and everything in between, I still didn't get the award.

I can say that it critically damaged me in a way I'm evaluating how I see myself as a person. For so long, I've seen myself with what I've accomplished in life. A reward, a target, a rank, whatever you can accomplish that's where I see myself. So, after all of the hard work that I've done, and I still didn't get the reward, I was seeing myself as a failure and an estrange. Because at that time, I was thinking, "Why people won't nominate me? Why people keep rejecting me? What have I done wrong?" and it's very very damaging to myself. Being the kid who always see themself in that way is very damaging and excruciating.

After that, I promised to myself that when next year came, which was this year awarding session, that thing won't impact me as much as I felt that night.

Fast forward to this year awarding session, I still didn't get it.. Even though the only "senior" player left is me in the category. :) To be honest, at that time, that negative self talk comes again.. But this time, it felt more like a betrayal. I was betrayed and cheated from the game that I didn't even get a chance to begin with. The game has been corrupted by the ones who handles the power that I was not on the same level to begin with. Where I had no one at that level to defend me. I was feeling very sad, angry, but this time feel more on the betrayal.

Buttt because of that, I realized that the game has been unfair from the start, so why do I keep playing and pushing the losing game? It's not me who's wrong, who's uncapable, who's bad enough, who's weird, and who's not achieving. But the game itself. A bit of relieved arise me from that thought.

Hence a couple days ago, after I gave myself a slap-talk, I know what I'll be doing and how I'm feeling about it.

I'm no longer want to feel like I'm drowning. I won't let myself be drowned, where I know there are things around me that can save me and help me grow where I wanna be. I won't let myself be foolish to thinking by staying in the same drowning river, I'll get to the pot of gold, not knowing if the pot of gold even existed from the start or am I be the one who get more damaged by staying still in a drowning river for the gold "chips" that I've collected along the way. I won't let myself to not take actions about my life.

I have to start taking actions. I will start taking actions for myself. I will step out from the drowning river and seek for my destiny.

Whatever life throws at me, at least I'll keep moving and not staying stuck and still in a drowning river, not having a clue, lifeless, and handleless about my life.

I don't know if I'll encounter another pot of gold, a tiger, or else, but my life is short and I won't look back at my life, seeing I was just like a still log floating in the river.

I have to take actions for myself.

This is my blooming season. I will take care of myself and I will achieve what I want in life. I won't be fear of losing something to uncertainty.

More trusting on God and the universe is how it feels like, but with confidence that this is my time to shine and I got what it takes!

Bismillah.

Love,

-A :)

[orphancookie69]

Now Experiencing: Family Trust Dispute Mediation

Honestly, there is so much I learned from doing this. It is crazy to me, that before this, when someone would rather sell their home and split the money for their kids instead of giving the kids a house-an asset that would increase in value or be usable-it seemed crazy to me. However, had that been done in my own family-it would of been better in most regards.

So, I was lucky enough to know both of my great grandparents. I love them, and parts of them inspire me to this day. I still hold myself as someone I would hope they would be proud of. I lost my great grandpa when I was little, he is the reason I am a reader today. My great grandma outlived him and is one of the strongest people I know. She passed just before I got married.

Of their kids, my grandpa, is the middle child. His older sister, was a smart but kind of useless person. Really, a shame for that intelligence to go to waste when the world could of really used it. The youngest, I was never really close to. It does not help that he was in and out of jail. But this story goes so much before and beyond that time frame.

The story is that my great grandmother dies, and to this day I can still remember the funeral. While I was really close to my grandma/grandpa growing up, as adults we had a falling out. While I am out of the picture, my grandparents pay rent for 40 years for a house they should have owned based on a gentleman's agreement made in the 80's. My great grandmother put everything into a trust after my great grandfather died and named the youngest the Successor Trustee. The estate itself has value in stocks, items, and properties.

My grandparents never received anything from the trust. They paid their rent, up until the end of 2023. Which, now looking back with my current occupational experience, is extremely absurd. I end up reconnecting with my grandparents and they ask me to help them with their situation. I read the trust and advise them on a couple of steps. Eventually I offer to be a mediator.

My first meeting as Mediator was a disaster. I have never felt so uncomfortable in a house that used to be filled with love. A couple of days later, I get a letter via my grandparents, from my great uncle asking me to mediate. I speak to him on the phone and agree to meet him alone in person. While I was not comfortable with it, based on how last meeting almost ended up in a screaming physical brawl, I put safe guards in place. Once I took a step back and took my feelings out of it-I had offered the same thing (unknown to my great uncle) to my grandparents. So I strove for fair.

I met with my great uncle and he let me know details on his end that helped to clear things up. So, after my great grandma passes in 2017-my great aunt and great uncle make trusts deeding their 1/3 of the estate to one another. Then they live off of their social security income, my grandparents rent, and the trust. My great aunt dies in 2021. So catching back up to 2024, where my grandpa was looking for a 50/50 split, the most that could be achieved is 1/3 and 2/3.

But then that assumes that the estate had anything left. There was less than $1,000 in the trust account and much had been sold over the years to keep everything above water. The biggest things to save at this point, was the houses. Each brother wanted the house they lived in. So I informed my grandpa about the state of affairs and honestly, it hurt to see him so damn heart broken. He is almost 70 years old and has been working his entire life to just be screwed over by his family.

I drafted a settlement agreement, and my lack of experience in this process starts to show. But I made the mistake of putting the small stuff with the large stuff. I ended up separating it and we got some traction back on this whole process. I got the settlement signed and picked a lawyer to do the final steps. Between the mishandling of the trust and nuances of the case, I was more worried about not doing these steps right. Like, me offering to do this from the goodness of my heart and making small mistakes is ok. But messing up the grant deeds? Nope.

So we ended up getting a quote for $1,450 as my great uncle did not even do the first step to be the Successor Trustee after my great grandmother died, means we needed affidavits and grant deeds. The other gray area is the parent child exclusion, which we may or may not be able to get. I got 2 copies of her death certificate to file with the grant deeds from Norwalk, did you know they now have an appointment system? It was pretty easy. My great uncle did not have the funds, and the lawyer wanted them upfront. So I set up a note to be paid back in 6 months.

I dropped off the paperwork to the lawyer and she got to work on the documents.

Moral of the Story: Money changes people. Blood needs to be nicer to one another. Bad parenting is so much worse than you would think it is. Legacy is what you make of it.

I was not a bad wannabe lawyer, for what essentially was my time, resources, and less than $2,000-we kept a little over 1 million dollars in assets in the family. This case though, made me question right and wrong, and how can family be so bad to one another? Where does this situation even begin at? Who, or how many people, need to mess up to have us end up here? Like, I know I can live with myself at the end of the day, as I was trying to honor my great grandparents/family legacy as best as I could-but did I even know the full legacy? Do I like knowing more now? This truly was an eye opening experience that I have no regrets doing. My advice to you reader, is avoid this with good parenting and estate planning.