#of which there are only implications here

[thewertsearch]

You produce your most spirited LAD SCRAMBLE yet, and hop up to the next GOD TIER, achieving the illustrious REVENGE OF DOCTOR RAGNAROK. All of your vitals go completely bonkers. Your MAN GRIT is off the charts. You're embarrassed for us to even know what it is. It's that gaudy.

Remember when I described the God Tiers as 'less silly' than the Echeladder's levels?

...yeah. I should have known that wasn't going to last long.

You put forth your best LASS SCAMPER of all time, and clear another sweet GOD TIER, the nigh-unattainable SAYONARA KANSAS.

For Jade, these tiers are essentially meaningless now. She's the First Guardian of Earth, and wields powers far greater than the paltry parlor tricks of an ascended Sburb Player.

Jade's not a God Tier - She's a god.

Nobody should ever mess with you. Not even me.

And Hussie knows it.

You don't get boondollars anymore. That shit is for babies now. Instead, you are finally ready to have your first ACHIEVEMENT BADGE sewn on to your KIDDIE CAMPER HANDYSASH! You each receive the badge GIFT OF GAB, enabling you to engage in simple, direct dialogue with others, without requiring any gimmicks to facilitate communication. You don't need to type through a chat client, or talk to a sprite, or traverse through a memory in a dream bubble, or wander around in an interactive game environment, or any of that stuff. You seriously never thought you would live to see this achievement unlocked. It almost feels like cheating.

Getting a little sick of that restriction, eh, Hussie?

Sufficiently advanced Players are allowed to break the rules of the comic, a concept which is brimming with potential. Next thing you know, they'll be picking up objects without a Sylladex, naming their children before they're thirteen, or violating the sanctity of the alpha timeline wait what was that last one

A verbal conversation, with no Pesterchum handles in sight. This really does feel like a milestone, and it's incredibly funny (and on-brand) that we needed a Prestige Class to unlock it.

Also... this is decidedly not a three-millisecond journey. Just how long are they stuck here?

JADE: im not sure! JADE: some sort of limbo dimension between the two walls i guess JADE: like a realm with unusual spatial properties we have to cross through

Jade, for her part, is not aware of the metacanonical implications of this little trip. I think it was Scratch who first told her about the Fourth Wall, and it's clear he made a few tactical omissions concerning its true nature.

JOHN: we escaped the scratch? JOHN: like, we still exist and everything? JADE: yes! JADE: we still totally exist john JOHN: ok, just making sure. JOHN: i still felt pretty existy, but you never know.

A pertinent question, considering where they are.

Technically, they might be more real than they were before, since they've left the fictional medium(!) of their reality.

JOHN: i mean, we crashed through that giant window you magically made with witch powers to escape the scratch, so we can keep existing, right? JADE: yes JADE: i didnt make it with witch powers though, i captchalogued it hours ago because karkat told me to…

Wait, but wasn't it Future Jade who told Karkat to do that?

It certainly sounds like it was - and the current, post-session Jade should already be older than any 'future' Jade who talked to Karkat during the session.

By now, Jade should know why she arranged for herself to grab the Wall - but she's acting like she only did it because Karkat told her to. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting what she's saying.

JOHN: did you at least make it huge with witch powers? JADE: i did make it huge with witch powers! JOHN: so i guess that's what witch powers do, is make things huge? JADE: they also make things small JOHN: right, like you did with all those planets. JADE: yup JADE: also JADE: witch powers can teleport things, and fling things around through space at very high velocities JADE: all sorts of stuff! JADE: but to be honest, im not sure how much of that is attributable to inheriting becs abilities…

All of it, actually.

The only thing Bec didn't do was fling an object around at a high velocity...

...until you remember he did this, which absolutely counts.

So far, nothing Jade's done has been through her God Tier abilities. She's so powerful that her status as the Witch of Space is completely, utterly superfluous.

[duchess-of-mandalore]

"The Lawless" and its Darker Implications

This is a dark and heavy post, so most of it will be hidden beneath the read-more link. I'll also note that what I say is not canon, so you're under no obligation to hold to this interpretation I'm presenting.

This subject came up on Twitter because of the attempted sexual assault scene in Andor 2.03. A certain well-known fanboy with 3 million YouTube followers put out a post saying that "SA has no place in Star Wars."

While there are legitimate reasons to want such triggering content in Star Wars, I was annoyed by this person's ignorance and failure to recognize that SA and its effects have been in Star Wars for a very long time. I made a post detailing the many instances in which sexual assault has been present in Star Wars. In response to the original statement, "SA has no place in Star Wars," I captioned my post thread, "Maybe it was just easier for you to ignore before."

I included examples you'd expect, like Leia and Oola in RotJ, Arla Fett, Twi'lek women in general who are often trafficked as sex slaves...

... but another example I included (knowing I'd get some confusion and pushback) is Satine in "The Lawless."

If you're still here, you consent to listening to my detailed reasoning for why I hold this interpretation. Got it? Okay, good.

At the start of the episode, Satine has been in prison for quite some time (multiple weeks, according to the Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy novelization). Her outfit is slightly different from what it looked like in the episode before: she's lost her long skirt, her collar's double ruff, her belt, her mantle necklace, and her diadem.

My guess is that during her time in prison, Death Watch stole those items off of her, but the point is, a month into her captivity, she still looks put together. Her remaining clothes look fine, and she keeps her hair in a neat bun.

Bo-Katan and Korkie break her out of prison, they race out of the city, Satine gets a message off to Obi-Wan, and then she's recaptured. By the time Obi-Wan gets to her (hours or days later, who can tell?), she looks considerably worse for wear. And the changes are concerning.

Her hair is not just down but disheveled.

Her tunic and trousers are ripped in numerous places.

Most disturbingly, when a lone male Mandalorian commando enters her cell without notice or permission, Satine greets him by saying, "Here to do more of your master's bidding?" There's a lot to unpack about what exactly Maul's "bidding" is, but Satine's words clearly imply that she has already endured a man coming to her cell at least once before, and it seems like if Maul had previously been restraining Death Watch from treating Satine poorly, he removed that protection after her escape attempt.

There's a reason the episode is called "The Lawless."

As I said before, I'm not saying that Satine being sexually assaulted is canon ... though her being at least physically assaulted by Death Watch after she's recaptured essentially is.

But when those puzzle pieces are assembled, I do think that the implication is darker, especially when you consider the episode "A Friend in Need," in which Death Watch is explicitly shown engaging in ongoing kidnapping, slavery, and sexual objectification of the local Ming Po women with the implication of SA for the purposes of terror, intimidation, and their own comfort ...

... and the fact that Death Watch has a very particular vendetta against Satine, the heretic pacifist who has left them feeling marginalized in what was previously a warrior society.

It's dark, I know. But I think it's the only end that really makes sense.

There's a reason why Satine clings so desperately to Obi-Wan when he finally comes to rescue her: she's grateful he's there to take her away, and she's grateful that he's not who she originally thought he was.

[autisticexpression2]

You're going to have to provide some extraordinary evidence to back up the extraordinary claims you're making here.

There is absolutely no fucking way she "recently" called herself "high-functioning" unironically. Functioning labels are her biggest sticking point with the popular narrative about autism. She's so against functioning labels that she doesn't even like the concept of autism levels. This is the whole premise of her slogan "different, not less."

The grossest thing about this post is the implication that she doesn't know what "nonverbal" means. For those who don't know, Chloe Hayden was nonverbal for much of her childhood, which made her a target for sexual abuse when she was only seven years old. She has every right to make dumb nonverbal jokes after going through that hell. Shame on you, OP.

If she ever said she was the "only correct autism representation ever" it would obviously have been a joke. No one talks like that. She may have unironically said her character on Heartbreak High was the best fictional autism representation, but she would be absolutely correct in saying that. Sorry, but the bar is on the floor. I love Abed Nadir and Entrapta but thosd are not realistic characters.

You are either misunderstanding her sense of humour or straight-up lying about this shit. Either way, it's very embarrassing.

Chloe hayden spreads so much misinformation.

She is not a good advocate regularly she is harmful recently she said she is high functioning- and so validated functioning labels existed, to make it worse she said she will "go nonverbal" the next day.

Lots of other things she has done, and its a really weird phenomenon of people who seem to support higher support needs people, do listen to us and yadayada all the good actual learning about all autistic people supporting the most marginalised.

But when it comes to chloe hayden they are her biggest advocate and they never want to accept she ever does anything wrong or they do get proof of her doing something wrong and they go "wow!! I am so disappointed she has done this i have loved her for ages"

No she has always been like this and always been a bad advocate. It is right infront of your eyes, and it is just so strange to me how she gets people to simply ignore the bad things she does.

And it is important, shes not just anyone she is in the centre of autism advocacy she once said she is the only correct autism representation ever!

She thinks she is the best autism representation and so do thousands of other people, she influences people heavily. She is a big deal and her "advocacy" is bad and it is very bad for very many people.this is an issue worth talking about. Stop supporting her.

[deadtoes666]

Can we talk about Laura Lee? Like, REALLY talk?

(This is super long and not perfect)

I'm going to start with the Summer camp scene here. The scene itself is a sweltering day at a pool, busy with kids at play. We see a sign above the pool reading ‘Mary Magdalene Summer Camp’ and a faint ‘bible study’ poster behind Laura Lee, both insisting that this is run by a christian organisation. We then pan to a younger Laura, at least a year before the plane crash, sitting by the pool with her legs in the water. She then gets up and hovers over the edge of the pool for a moment, before diving in head first. Once she hits the water, she outstretches her palms, grazing them against the bottom of the pool, but making no attempt to stop herself from hurling into a concussion. As a result, she passes out from the impact of bashing her head against the bottom of the pool, floating at the stop with blood flowing from her forehead. In the lingering moment before she dives, I think she's hesitating. She’s thinking ‘should I really do this?’ because she's about to take her own life. After the jump, she is so unafraid to die, that I think it proves that she is really trying to hurt herself, because she doesn't seem to get a last rush of fear. I think she knew very well where she was and what would happen to her.

But, why would Laura Lee want to attempt suicide? Well, let’s see: Laura Lee was raised into religion, implied to have the ‘big christian poster family’; she is hinted to have mental health problems in the second episode where she says “This is all my fault”, blaming herself for the plane crash; and she could very well be feeling disconnected to her religion or even God itself. This disconnect is interesting when you look at Laura Lee’s not-so-goody-two-shoes acts like: going to parties, playing defence in sport, and having a close relationship with both Lottie and Van. Although it was scrapped, Laura Lee and Van were best friends in the original Yellowjackets script, and this is a very interesting choice, because we know that Van is lesbian. Sadly, we never get to learn if Laura Lee knows this, but we do get some implications of what both Van and Tai assumed of her. The very episode after Laura’s death, Van and Taissa stop hiding their relationship from the other girls, and kiss at the ‘dooms-coming’ party. Earlier in the show, Van says that ‘we can’t hide it forever’ and Tai responds with ‘I just don’t want to deal with the drama’. It’s possible that the ‘drama’ Tai refers to could be Laura Lee’s reaction, fuelled by her bible worship. However, considering that the original script was going to make Van and Laura very close friends, I tend to doubt that Laura was really as homophobic as Tai (rightfully) assumes. She played on a girl’s football team, for christ’ sake– Laura knew damn well about the queer connotations of that, it was the 90s. And this isn’t the only thing Laura Lee could be going against her religion with. Referring back: she attends high school parties in the woods; Even though she preaches about god, she’s in a woman’s soccer team– which isn’t condemnable, but very unusual for an aspiring christian housewife; She also has quite the temper, even if she doesn't show it most of the time. We do get to see this in her scene with Ben in episode ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, when she asks “What are you going to do to stop me?” after he tries to stop her from leaving. In this scene, she’s not afraid to curse and admit reality. She says she has to go, “Or else we’re all going to fucking starve.” She's ambitious and determined - which are well or ill qualities in their own right, but may be not what's expected from a ‘good Christian girl’.

All to say, Laura Lee feeling disconnected from her religion because she doesn't agree with major preaching points is very much plausible. The summer camp scene itself is there to show how and why Laura Lee is so devout in the current day, and this could hint that Laura wasn’t nearly as nun-like before her suicide attempt. Perhaps she tries to take her own life as a way to test her dwindling faith. She's young and developing, and her close relationship with Lottie can definitely be read as something more than a simple friendship, meaning she could very well be read as queer herself. This could also explain her friendship and kinship with Van. Maybe because Laura Lee was growing apart from many christian beliefs, she was desperate to be proved wrong, because she loved her family and knew that she wouldn’t be accepted if she lived her truth. 

I take Laura’s act of jumping into the pool as a dare. A test to God. ‘If I live, I've been saved. if I die, God is false.’ It’s a very risky bet, but not one that Laura Lee isn't scared to try. If God is false, she doesn’t see herself having anything to live for. No community, no family. She is so ingrained into christianity that she would die if it wasn’t true. She was yearning for a close connection to god. She can’t consider anything else; it’s her way of following religion. If God ‘allows’ Laura Lee to keep living, it means she has a purpose to fill. A mission, something, anything – she's not lost. It allows her to ignore (or deny) other parts of her identity. After she is saved by the lifeguard, she tries to thank him, but even he refuses to take any credit, and tells Laura Lee to thank God. This is why she is so incredibly devout. Even in her last moment of clarity, the person who saved her redirected her back to God.

This scene creates such a strong impression because of the amount of small details and little things that allude to Laura Lee’s mental illness, and why she repeatedly tries to hurt herself. This young girl has been forced into an incredibly restrictive and toxic environment, and she struggles to find herself amongst priests who tell her right from wrong. And it isn’t just when she tries to kill herself in the pool that’s impactful, but also when she tries to fly a plane that has been abandoned in the woods upwards of decades. She's completely untrained, and would be flying through a complex area filled with mountains and valleys, where even highly experienced pilots have struggled. She had no idea how far she had to fly, and in what direction, let alone how to land, or what conditions would be like. Not only is this incredibly insane, but it’s just dumb. Yes, Laura says it’s for the good of the group. Yes, she says it’s to save Van and Shauna– but it’s impossible. Her grandfather was a pilot, so it’s not like she was uneducated. She does it for god. She tests him yet again. Laura Lee uses her faith as an excuse to put herself in harm's way again. 

Expanding on her “This is all my fault” comment, we also know that Laura Lee can’t imagine God wanting to punish the other yellowjackets. She knows all too well that none of them are saints: getting drunk, having physical relations before marriage, and being queer (If we assume that Laura knows). She thinks so lowly of herself that she immediately takes the blame for an uncontrollable plane crash, blaming herself just because she called her piano teacher ‘a cunt’ in her own mind, sobbing “But god heard me. And now he's punishing all of us (because of her actions).” While this is also meant to serve as a comedic scene, with all the characters laughing at Laura Lee, it has some deeper implications into Laura Lee’s harmful mindset. This really shows how her upbringing negatively impacts her, with this ‘it’s all my fault’ mindset linking back to divine punishment. 

Despite her low self-worth, Laura Lee still manages to be a good character with strong morals. She is continuously understanding of Lottie and so sweet and gentle with her when she shows interest in Laura’s religion. Not only that, but she isn’t incredibly pushy about God, despite being so pious. She doesn't bring up God especially often in the wilderness, where everyone is scared and vulnerable. She keeps her religion mostly to herself. This contrasts most preachers, as so many major (mainly christian) religions rely on preying on the needy to collect followers. Preachers often see moments of vulnerability as an opportunity for people to ‘let god into their heart’, but Laura Lee doesn't do such things. In fact, I'd say she discusses God less now that she's in the wilderness. Before the crash, it seemed like every line of dialogue linked back to God. When considering Laura Lee’s own moment of ‘saviour’ (being resuscitated from a suicide attempt), one may dare to say that she was one of the vulnerable people who the church trapped herself. Despite being raised into christianity, I don’t think she truly believed when she was old enough to know that Santa Claus wasn’t real either. Maybe she had a tweenage rebellion, but we know painfully little about Laura Lee’s past.

All of these things have such an impact because it directly tackles the power that ‘God’, as an idea, can give to mentally ill people. Laura Lee puts herself in harm's way ‘for the sake of god’ when she really just wants to die. This is why she doesn't get the help she needs. Everyone sees her acts as devotion, when they are harmful. Flying the plane follows the same path as the pool scene: God lets Laura Lee live, and she saves the day; or God isn't here, and Laura Lee dies. She's provoking both God and the Wilderness, if they exist. If they do not, Laura Lee is just following her suicidal tendencies by risking her life with an excuse: potentially saving the others. And, as we know, nothing can save Laura Lee from her violent plane explosion. In the moments before her death, she is so glad to have the chance to save everyone, and panics when the fire lights. She looks around frantically, repeating “No, no…”, but knows that she can’t stop the inevitable. Laura Lee doesn't even look particularly afraid after realising that she is about to die, and there’s nothing she can do. There's a fire lit beside her, but she just keeps looking forward, inhaling the smoke. She clutches her necklace, calm and serene, and the plane implodes. It’s a bittersweet feeling to see the death of a character who was trying to die, but, as Lottie had written on her chalkboard in Shana, Van, and Akilah’s hallucination in episode three of season three: ‘Of all the ways to lose a person, death is the kindest.’ It was a mercy to Laura Lee, so that she didn't need to endure the horrors of winter and thereafter.

It's fascinating to compare Laura Lee with Jackie on their shared suicidal ideologies, because they're both trying to kill themselves in their own way. Laura Lee hides it (to others, but I think also to herself) behind her faith and her desire to save everyone, whereas Jackie stops eating and begins to self-isolate. They're both trying to be subtle about it, but they both want to die.

One of the few characters that respond to Laura’s small signs of instability is Lottie. When everyone laughs at Laura for her piano teacher confession, Lottie jumps in to reveal her own plane-crashing secret: She steals from T.J. Max, only to return the clothes and collect ‘T.J. bucks’ in the hundreds. So, in a way, it was Lottie who started the round of team confessions to show that Laura Lee wasn't alone, helping to turn a silly moment into team bonding. It’s fascinating because this is the first time we get to see Lottie's observation skills and empathy as leadership qualities, even if she still has the quiet girl status at the time. Throughout Lottie’s metamorphosis into who she is in season two, Laura Lee is there to encourage her into speaking up, and giving Lottie the confidence she needed to be able to grow into herself. When Lottie is unmedicated, Laura Lee is one of her few pillars of support and understanding. Even though it may not be good for Lott, Laura listens to and considers the things that Lottie is seeing in an honest and slightly delusional manner. Laura Lee sees Lottie as a prophet of God. During their time in the wilderness, Laura Lee and Lottie grow much closer. Laura Lee supports Lottie and believes in her visions even when there is no reason to. She believed Lottie was a prophet and her visions were messages from god, and this may not have been the best for either of them, but it made them happy, at least. Laura takes these dark parts of Lottie that have been repressed for years as a blessing. Laura Lee embraces Lottie for who she is, and that’s something not even Lott’s parents could do. 

And Lottie helps Laura Lee believe in God, despite the setting of the wilderness and the lack of societal barriers that Laura grew up with. Lottie upholds the divinity of a priest for Laura Lee, resulting in her throwing herself deeper into christianity instead of allowing herself to start doubting her faith again. Laura Lee and Lottie both build up off of each other: Laura shrouds herself in her faith like a shield or suit of armour because Lottie reinforces her beliefs; and Lottie begins to be more and more outspoken as Laura Lee brings her out of her shell, resulting in her eventual leadership. Laura is such a major part of Lottie’s ascent to the throne that it’s hard to talk about one without talking about the other. Their relationship isn’t crystal clear before the crash, but we know that they chose to sit close to each other (Lottie behind Laura) on the plane. When it began its descent, they reached out to each other for support, gripping one another’s hand. They may not have been best friends ever before the crash, but there's an undeniable sense of familiarity between the two of them. They’ve definitely known each other a while, with being on the same sports team. And they seem to like each other’s company too, especially since we know that Laura Lee and Van were meant to be best friends in the pilot, and still Laura chose to sit with Lottie. 

In episode 6 ‘Saints’, Laura Lee takes it upon herself to baptize Lottie in the lake. There's a lot of symbo- lism in this scene, specifically in Lottie’s vision where she is transported to a basement where she sees a male deer. The stag can represent many things here, but on the surface, the stag can simply symbolize the spiritual cleanse (baptism). But, in christianity, a stag represents Christ's crucifixion as well as a spiritual guide. So, Lottie follows the stag into a passageway in the basement, and there’s several candles burning. She lights one of the unlit candles. In terms of religious symbolism, the candlelight often represents the light of christ. Because of this scene, i think that While underwater, Lottie opens her eyes back up only to see Laura Lee’s face above, with a halo around her head akin to the ones seen around saint’s heads in religious paintings. Due to the similarly named episode, the symbolism of Laura Lee being like a saint is highlighted, and this could absolutely allude to Laura Lee’s tragic end, much like the saints of catholicism. This scene is so impactful to me because it creates such a strong impression on the viewer. We see two characters who are shown to be mentally ill feeding into each other's delusions, while simultaneously building up their characters and setting up Lottie’s character arc as the leader. We can see the way that the story is going, especially with the knowledge that everyone will devolve into cannibal cultists hunting each other for survival from the pilot episode. 

[emblemxeno]

Hey, thanks for accepting my anonymous ask and fixing that on your dashboard. Posting this here to publicize:

Why do you think so many people misunderstand Fates as a story and just dismiss the whole thing as trash without looking into what it's actually saying? Because it has much of his context only made apparent to people who dig into it and actually interact with the game, or that it somehow gives too bad of a first impression for most people? I'm really trying to figure it out, but it reminds me of how the entire internet wanted to convince you Dragon Age: The Veilguard is badly written; works that are actually quite competently written but the entire gaming sphere has just written off as schlock irrespective to its merits, because I cannot really think of another game aside from that which had the same level of bad PR as Fates did that is frankly unjustified.

In our DMs, your reply was:

Fundamentally, I don’t know what people are on when criticizing Fates story. A flaw in the game’s narrative is that important details are hidden in subtext and implication, or are only given few lines of dialogue, which isn’t the most typical of a JRPG. So they majorly resent that for some reason, instead of just seeing that as something that can easily be addressed.

Do you mind elaborating with examples? Both because I want to publicize what was intended to be anonymous and because I want to hear if you have any examples of what you mean by this. Because I very much agree, I just want to confirm if we're on the same page.

Off the top of my head, not really, lots of stuff is swimming around. But I'll try.

-Implicit stuff, like Iago highlighting how Elise and Xander are the most upset by Corrin defecting to Hoshido, for example, is foreshadowing how those two specifcally are the Nohriran royals most prominent in Birthright.

-Mikoto's pacifying barrier is the same as Azura's pacifying song, because they're both Vallite royalty, which descends from Anankos who has the power to influence people's hearts

-Mikoto can forsee the future because that's a power Anankos has, and he passed his blood to Vallite royalty.

-It makes sense that Leo can pull a random magic warp book out of thin air, because it's been established he's the most fearsome mage in Nohr, and Iago has done similar stuff already

-Iago is the one who made Takumi and Elise sick, having had contact with both of them after the former fell into the bottomless canyon (afterwards, Anankos made Takumi a spy through Garon, hence leading to Iago) and the latter after Iago appeared in the Rainbow Sage chapter before directing Corrin's party and Ryoma's ambush in Macarath.

-The divine weapons choose their wielders since they're inhabited by spirits, but they're also handed down and competed for through the royal lines. Sumeragi wielded Raijinto, Mikoto passed down Fujin Yumi, Garon used Siegfried and possibly also Brynhildr in the past.

-As a result of their upbringing, the Nohrian royals are extremely hesitant to defy Garon. Elise's mother never properly loved her, Leo and his mother had a bad relationship, and Camilla says she was used as a tool. Even Xander, didn't have a proper relationship with Garon, due to the burdens of being crown prince (and the fact that Xander had to work really hard to get where he is) and the chaos that the concubines caused. They want stability, and when someone threatens that, be it Corrin leaving or Garon being targeted, they react badly.

-Nohrians value utility, being a military based country. Their classes often wield mutliple weapons, as there's no time or resources to specialize, and they have more mounts and proper heavy armor. Hoshido has the resources to be more daring, to specialize, or have more whacky classes like Blacksmith and Basara.

Nohr can't be picky, so they use thieves for their archery force, while Hoshido trains actual archers. Hoshido is more spiritual, so they have priesteses and monks as their healers, while Nohr has servants and mounted healers for utility.

Hoshidan retainers are groomed for their roles, and often get them through bloodlines or connections. Nohrian retainers are gutter trash, literal nobodies, and former criminals, and all they have to do is prove themselves in a fight.

Further on, the other recruits. Hayato is renowned tribal spellcaster, Benny is a feared commoner knight. Charlotte is a nobody who wants to be popular, Rinkah is a princess who values solitude. Nyx and Orochi both suffered from bad reputations, but Nyx is a mature woman trapped in a young body, while Orochi is outwardly mature but internally mischievous. Kaden is a cleanly, magnanimous fox with a secret vicious side, Keaton is outwardly rough and grimey, but has a soft, puppy dog side.

These parallels, intricacies, and tidbits are all implications that you can reach after just an hour thinking about it. This is the exact same kind of stuff that people write/post/blog about for other games' casts, especially Three Houses. It's just that Fates isn't afforded that because of a rough localization and infamous controversy.

[nightsunecilpse]

My personal issue with Mars's character isn't how pretentious he is... but how BORING he is! Like I'm not exaggerating here, I'm one of the folks who's trying to keep the Solarballs TvTropes page up to date and looking nice. So one time I updated the rocky planets character pages because before I fixed it up they each only had four tropes.

Mars... was the hardest to update! Like, I could barely find any tropes that pertain to his character! He's just so flat and uninteresting to me. I had an easier time with Mercury, and at the time I despised his character for that "stunt" comment.

-🌟 Anon

My main issue with Mars is, yes, he's pretentious. He has a jokey and lax tone, yet whatever he says, has this double meaning. An example of this is in "Is Earth Special?" Mars is giving Earth the silent treatment after what Earth said about moons. That seemed to be a responsible response to Earth’s behavior, though listening closely to what Mars said has other implications. Mars rhetorically asks if Earth thinks he's better than the moons, but before Earth can respond, he asks if he thinks he is better than the rest of them. Mars had broadened the question to include the whole solar system when the ones who were hurt were specifically the moons in that scenario. Then, when Earth answered genuinely, Mars and Luna talked over each other, but it could be heard what Mars said. "... All you had to say was no. Is that so hard?" my thoughts on that was Earth wasn't going to lie about his success in sustaining life because it's probably the only thing he's been praised for, but also because Earth doesn't hide his feelings well. So yes it would be hard for Earth to say that he didn't think he was better than everyone because he doesn't have that filter. Mars, on the other hand, does.

When Mars asked Earth if he thought he was better than all of them, I thought Mars mistook the significance of Earth’s offensive comment. The moons are clearly supposed to represent the marginalized of the solar system, or else saying "moon should know the place" would have less of an impact. So Mars is saying, "... You probably think you're better than the rest of us?" he took Earth’s insult personally and, generalized himself in the problem. Turning the issue to somehow include him, which, in a way, makes him kinda selfish because he's not a moon. As a matter of fact, when he's addressed with the Moon's problems like Luna asking Mars to help him save Astrodude, he rejects him. He is also not a very attentive planet to his very tiny moons. He claims that he was willing to listen to Ganymede and Europa's problems. Then when they said their plans, instead of trying to talk them out of killing Earth like the reasonable character he tries to present himself, he became defensive. Mars was upset on behalf of the moons after what Earth said but he's no better than Earth. It's worse because Mars is hiding his superiority under this facade.

Overall, Mars is probably just as self-centered, egotistical, and arrogant as Earth. The difference is Mars is hiding this side of him with a self-righteous and know-it-all attitude.

Sorry for not responding sooner but writing about Mars bores me.

[whumpisgoodwhumpislife]

LULLABY 3/3

Again, mention/implication of SA. Nothing graphic, as usual. Last episode! Hope you like it.

The day he was brought in, he made the whole block go silent for a minute. A murderer– that was what he was in for. Which he quietly but sternly denied every time someone questioned him. It was hard to believe him though, as he looked built to kill. Six feet tall, at least, a mountain of muscle, and a look that silenced even the worst convicts. He never needed to use his fists to gain respect from all. And fear.

For Lull, it was the latter. A dull, resigned fear. It was just another shoe in his ribs, another hand fisting his hair, another voice laughing at him.

His name was Garrett. Not that it mattered. But the name stuck with the dreamwalker, after one particular day.

Lull was limping back from to the cellblock, his hair damp from the shower. Cold water, as always, since he had found that inmates would leave him alone if he was late enough. The water left was freezing, but the situation was still much better than the alternative. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, desperately staggering forward. He had to reach his bunk before the lockdown bell, or else the guards would kill him. Not literally, that would be too merciful. But he could feel his muscles turning to cotton, his head pounding with the overwhelming need to sleep. Before he knew it, he was falling.

Hands grabbed his shoulders, his head hitting a soft surface instead of the floor. Lull flinched away, his movements sluggish, but someone held him back. He froze, meeting the other man's eyes, and immediately abandoned the fight. It was that new inmate, Garrett, towering three feet over him.

Lull sagged in his grip, going limp in anticipation. He knew how to be away, when it would happen. Hurt less this way.

But this time, the man held him up instead of letting him crumple. The former villain risked an eye contact, and met a frowning face. Bad. Bad. It was always worse when they were in a bad mood.

"Hey. You can't stand or what ?"

Lull's face did something complicated, before settling on confusion. What ? His knees were weak, but he managed to stay on his feet. Garrett's hands were still tight on his arms.

"Are you gonna collapse again? Coz the late shift guards are gonna kill you if you don't make it to the block."

As if he didn't already knew that. Still trying to catch his breath, and to keep his eyes from closing, he reluctantly accepted Garrett's help, leaning on his shoulder for balance. The corridor seemed to be moving, even though he was the one swaying unsteadily on his feet. It was only after a few steps, when the bigger man's hands stayed where they were supposed to be, that Lull started to relax. For some reason, it seemed that the other inmate was genuinely helping. However, the dreamwalker knew better than to hope. Eventually, everything always had a price.

With Garrett's help, he stumbled and collapsed on his bunk bed. The other man didn't comment, taking a few steps away, toward his own cell. Through the bars, Lull could see a group of familiar faces, hovering nearby. Their gazes were aimed right at him, their smiles sharp. Full of unwanted promises. But he was already slipping, unable to resist the tug of sleep. Once again, he would be helpless. Once again, he would wake up covered in bruises. Humiliated, broken.

The mattress bent under someone else's weight. Garrett, still there. He had noticed the other inmates too.

"Hope you don't mind, I think I'll sit here for a little while. The mattress is comfortable."

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Lull's sleep deprived brain. But when it did, his eyes widened slightly in surprise –and wariness. But in his state, there wasn't much he could do but pray, and he quickly fell into oblivion.

It was his first peaceful night in months.

When he woke up, he was alone. As usual, he checked himself up, his surprise growing. No new bruises, no sore points or body aches. Garrett had... Had actually protected him. But why ?

Throughout the day, Lull noticed that Garrett was watching him. Not the creepy kind, when someone would follow him until he couldn't stay awake anymore. Just... Watching. The others must've noticed as well, since no one made a move to approach him. That man was not someone you'd want to cross.

Lull fell asleep during unlock time, in the courtyard. One second he was awake, swaying on his feet, and the second, he was collapsing to the concrete floor. Before anyone could take advantage of it, Garrett sat down on the bench nearby. The others took the hint. Although a lot of them glared at him, muttering curses. Hovering. Waiting. They wouldn't let go of their favourite toy so easily.

It happened during work detail; Lull was sorting clothes for laundry, and Garrett was working in the workshop. Too far. Three men pushed him in a corner. They didn't bother with gentleness. When they finally left, Lull was barely conscious, his breathing hoarse and painful from the new bruises etched on his chest. He was surprised to find that's he was crying. He couldn't feel anything, numb to the world, but tears ran down his face nonetheless. His body remembered what his mind refused to.

The guards found him like this, and didn't bother with questions. They hauled him up, his legs too weak to hold him. And when they dropped him on the floor of his cell, Garrett was there. Waiting. His arms were crossed and his expression blank, but Lull could see the anger in his eyes. As soon as they were alone, he approached, and let out a sigh.

"How did you survive that long in here ?"

Lull eyed him warily, pushing himself up on shaky hands. His vision was going in and out, as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Why did you help me? What do you want from me ?"

"Nothing."

The former villain didn't believe him. But it didn't mattered. What did were the hands pulling him up with surprising gentleness, and taking him to the bunk bed. It was the last thing he felt before passing out cold.

Things changed quietly. None of them was very talkative, and it was often in silence that Lull would fall asleep without fear. Garrett didn't need any warning to catch him before the fall. At night, they'd huddle together. Then, they could speak. Just a few words, whispered.

"I'm innocent. Never killed that guy."

Lull had sleepily hummed, and nodded.

"I know."

It was all they needed. And if the former villain sometimes flinched away from his touch, Garrett never commented on it.

They knew their relationship was fragile, and could shatter at any moment. But for the moment, they were together. And that was the closest thing to happiness Lull had ever experienced. He would never dream again, but maybe he could live.

Taglist : @sausages-things @jumpywhumpywriter @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @thataquaticwhumper @alyscat

@whatamidoingherehelpme @fleur-a-whump @ratsupremacy88 @whatiswhump @scoundrelwithboba

@phoenixpromptsandstuff @bacillusinfection @artfulbok @melpomenelamusa

[lottiesnotebook]

Happy Friday! "the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste" for whoever you feel.

Back to my old and wicked ways of spirit romance, yearning, and Florence references! I hope this was what you were both looking for! :3

Lucanis Dellamorte/Spite/Cara Hawke-Laidir, unrequited love, yearning, spirits experiencing bodies

@lasatfat | @adainesjacket | @dadrunkwriting

the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste

Spite had thought, in the Ossuary, that pain would be the cruellest lesson this world had teach him. He was wrong. Want, unfulfilled desire, is a far crueller master, and one Lucanis is so accustomed to living beneath that he resists every effort to lift the yoke that is breaking the spine they now share.

Lucanis wants the way the way Despair yearns for Hope to devour, the way Hunger aches for Satiation, the way Justice longs for mercy — like he is an open wound, a gaping hole in the surface of the Fade. He wants Caterina’s approval, Illario’s friendship the way he recalls it in boyhood, Viago’s close-guarded affection, Treviso’s domes and canals safe beneath his eye, but those were easy longings, out of reach, out of his mind, most of the time, compared to Rook.

Rook-called-Cara is almost always within reach, the sway of her hips, the curling fronds of her dark hair, her glittering smile, the bright, loud birdsong of her voice. She is always inches away, close enough to slip an arm around her waist, to feel the soft skin and firm muscle of her always-bare stomach, to feel the heat of her. Sometimes she even touches them, as nobody has touched them since they have been as they are, and the sensation of her sings in their nerves, her pulse in their veins, her magic sparking bright and sweet and ice-bright against Spite’s own, and Spite can feel Lucanis’ endless, hungry want echoing and magnifying their own, and it is a sensation close to madness.

Want her, he urges, as she spins between market stalls in Treviso, in Rivain, as she brings back small clay pots of her favourite street foods and feeds them with her own fingers, soft, uncallused tips barely brushing their oversensitive lips. Spite wants to lick them clean, to bite down until she lets out a delicious squeal, until she cannot escape them, and Lucanis surrenders to the want that makes an open wound of them both. Sweet Rook, pretty Rook, touch her, taste her-

No. The denial is always the same: a monosyllabic, low growl, however gentle Spite tries to be in their urging (and gentleness does not come easily to them, has never been in their nature). He speaks to him as Taash speaks to him: like a child, or a disobedient dog, and he bridles at such treatment, loathes it, because Spite is an emotion as ancient as any mortal, far older than the Justice that flickers in Rook’s veins.

But Spite tries to be gentle, tries to understand, because Rook asked it of him, and few mortals yet have acknowledged they are even there to be asked.

Why no? he urges later, when they are alone. You want. We want. I feel it, here- He brushes spectral fingers to the centre of their ribs, here, lower, the pit of their belly, where sorrow and heartache sit, and lower still: here-

“That is the problem!” Lucanis retorts, aloud, because they are alone. Spite loves and hates it when they are alone in equal measure. Loves it because it is the only time Lucanis will acknowledge him. Hates it because it is too easy, when it is only them, for him to retreat into the Ossuary, and lock the door behind them, and Spite hates few things more than that locked door, behind which Lucanis suffers, and tells nobody, not even pretty Rook with her bright smile and healers’ hands she hates for reasons beyond Spite’s understanding.

“Things like us- like you aren’t meant to want this way!” he continues, and Spite near growls at the implication, because what does he know about their nature, beyond what he has learned from his Chantry, or their torturer. “Demons desire, spirits-”

Spirits desire our purpose. You are my purpose. You desire her. She desires you. Why deny what we all want? Mortal language is so limited. It has no word for what they are besides abomination, which makes sick guilt twist in their stomach, and anger curl Rook’s pretty face into a snarl. She does not think they are an abomination, Spite knows. She thinks they are beautiful. She wants.

“Because I love her!” Lucanis snaps, and opens the door to a cell he keeps locked, and lets Spite drown in this secret he has kept even from his own mind, because the revelation is not so much a secret as a terrible, infinite mirror.

Because this thing Lucanis calls love, this hungry, seething, overwhelming tide that devours itself and them along with it, this need that locks its own fulfilment behind a door and swallows the key, this endless urge to protect and preserve and cosset and keep from harm — this is how Spite has felt for Lucanis, since the first moments he was drawn to the brightest fire of determination and rage burning in the black of the Ossuary.

In the secret chambers of Lucanis’ heart, Cara Hawke-Laidir burns as brightly as sunlight beneath the ocean, as the last, desperate hope in a broken world, as bright as he himself has always burned to Spite. Spite wants Cara, yes, but Spite loves Lucanis. And in this most secret chamber of his heart, he finds none of Lucanis’ love reflected back to him, and the word that, in the Fade, was sweet as honey, is bitter as ash in their mouth now.

[docholligay]

I love the Mustang and Hawkeye fic! You captured them so well...I can't imagine them in a cutesy domestic scenario. Battle born.

Thank you so much!

I could see them in a 'domestic scenario' in a very specific definition of the word 'domestic' ETA: WOW SORRY YOU DID NOT ASK FOR THIS I AM SPINNING INTO OBLIVION THESE LAST FEW DAYS

So like

Roy walked through the door without knocking, trusting his footfall to tell her who it was. He took off his coat, the weight of it suddenly unbearably heavy, and went to slough it off his shoulders.

"Hang that up." She said, her back still turned to him from her place on the couch.

He chuckled, but obeyed, next to the neatly-pressed lapels and shined medals of hers. He tore off his gloves, unsure why he was even wearing them so long after the demonstration--maybe every time he talked to his superiors, it seemed like a fight--and balled them into his pocket. The process of becoming a human again continued with a long sigh, and rolling his sleeves up his forearm, unbuttoning his shirt at the neck. He took a step forward, remembered himself, and slipped off his boots.

It was an unremarkable barrack room, private based on Lieutenant Hawkeye's extraordinary skill and discipline, according to official paperwork, and based on Roy's great loyalty to and affection for her, according to anyone who knew anything.

Roy sank into the couch next to her, tipping his head to the ceiling and closing his eyes. He felt her rise from the place next to him, heard the low clank of a pot and the high ting of a bowl, the fork tapping against the side as it was sat on the small table beside him. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the side, where a hot bowl of stew and rice waited.

"You saved me some."

"Of course." She rummaged around in a cabinet.

"I didn't eat."

"I know." She looked back from her low crouch, insulted at the implication she might need to be told anything at all.

Roy spent all day talking. He liked talking. Talking was the only thing he was better at than setting things on fire. But then there was this room, when the sun when down. Sometimes, he talked here. Sometimes he gave involved monologues about the affairs of the day, about the motions of military life and his feelings on such. Sometimes he could even make her smile at his stories, to which he would immediately break in a smile of his own and claim it proved that she thought he was funny after all. Sometimes, he said things soft and low, that he didn't tell anyone else. Sometimes his hands shook while he talked.

But he never had to say anything at all. Hawkeye was a woman of few words, which most people found intimidating, but Roy found comforting. She was honest and direct when she did speak, and Roy had learned very well over the years that everything she thought was in the things she did. She communicated clearly, he thought. Her silence was safe, and comfortable, for him. The silence of a down pillow against the ear.

Hawkeye set down a brandy next to him, and moved over to the other side of the couch, her own drink in hand, more water than whiskey in it.

He picked up the heavy crystal next to him. She'd had it for years, those two glasses.

"Eat first, Colonel."

SO LIKE THAT. THIS IS AS DOMESTIC AS IT GETS.

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ANYTHING THAT COULD EVEN REMOTELY LEAD TO ME REALIZING SOMETHING OR KNOWING SOMETHING NEW. Do not confirm, deny, draw attention to something I missed EVEN IF I SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT, contextualize in a cultural or historical way, anything. I hate that I have to be so specific but I am trying to experience this show totally clean. IF YOU SPOIL ME I WILL BLOCK YOU.

QUICK LINK TO THE SPOILER-FILLED FUNTIMES DISCORD HERE. THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THE THINGS YOU KNOW AND YELL ABOUT ME

[writing-for-life]

How Do Writers Get Compensated by Streamers?

(And Libraries, but That’s an Afterthought)

Across several platforms, I see a lot of discussions about whether it is ethical to stream shows by problematic creators because it might give them direct revenue.

I think some of this is down to the fact that many people don’t know how remuneration of writers by streaming services works. It’s not a “they get paid per view”-thing. Or even a, “If I stream this, the writer will definitely get more money”-thing. (All of this obviously excludes other considerations, like giving people exposure/promotion etc).

The moment a show hits the screen, credited writers have basically already been paid. Whether you watch or not makes no material difference to that fact whatsoever—with one caveat:

For the big streamers, this usually only applies to the first 90 days. Because this is the time period that’s covered by what’s called the initial compensation period (for really small streamers, that period is usually a year).

After this, you enter the stage of residuals and exhibition years. So for every year the show stays on a streaming platform, credited writers will receive residuals. These usually drop year after year (so the longer your show airs, the fewer residuals you will get in terms of percentage).

What Does This Mean?

Watching a big budget show within the first 90 days doesn’t make a difference to a credited writer’s bank balance (I’ll get to the exception in a sec). Watching thereafter is also not tied to a “payment per view”, but simply to a formula per year the show gets streamed. You can find this more neatly explained on the WGA website:

Streamers usually also don’t take a show/old episodes off their platform after 90 days or a year just because viewer numbers naturally fall with time, although that sometimes happens (if you have a look through Amazon’s and Netflix’s catalogue, you’ll find lots of older shows on there that probably hardly anyone watches).

So whether people stream or not usually matters most when it comes to renewals and cancellations, because that’s where a streamer makes or loses money (production costs vs overall new subscriptions etc).

For a show that’s finishing or already cancelled, the implications are far less material. And the first 90 days do not matter at all in this context (they only matter for a renewal, but in terms of residuals, they’re basically out of the equation).

This obviously doesn’t mean that a boycott can’t be a consideration for many other reasons. But if it is financial compensation via residuals that’s the main ick, it really doesn’t matter as much as people think.

This isn’t to tell people to do one thing over the other, but I see so much misinformation about the basic nuts and bolts of this on a daily basis that I think it’s maybe worth looking into it a bit more closely for many people.

What About Libraries?

As a little addendum (because that’s also something people frequently misunderstand): Not every country has a PLR scheme that remunerates writers for library loans. And the ones that do have a cap. So if you are worried about giving a writer royalties if you borrow their books from a library, first have a look if your country actually has a PLR scheme, and how it operates (you can do this here). As examples:

The UK has a PLR scheme, so secondhand is generally preferable over libraries because authors get royalties up to a cap (which, generally speaking, is a good thing, but it’s obviously worth considering if the author is a vile human being). It also needs to be said though that they, or their estate, need to be a resident or have a principal home in the EEA to qualify, but that just as an aside.

The US don’t have a PLR scheme, so the author gets diddly squat per loan.

Again, there are other, legitimate considerations as to why secondhand is preferable over borrowing (or vice versa), but if we are talking about royalties, that’s how it works…

[allgoldenelite]

Ibushi as a guest on Aoki Shinya's channel translation/summary

Another day, another YouTube video with the Golden Star. Like the Nagata one, this is a written summary of the two videos he appeared in recently on Aoki's channel. The videos bring across a carefree mood and there's lots of laughing from all parties involved, which was nice to see.

Consider checking out the videos here and here and leave a like.

Part 1

(Some parts may be trunctuated or moved around in the chronology in the interest of readability)

The videos were filmed on 4/1. Ibushi says he is in the middle of getting his visa, and when he has it he will wrestle in AEW in May if everything goes well. Aoki is like "Oh really?" and from there it goes into talks about how Ibushi, after quitting New Japan, has done all these unexpected things, so the implication is it's difficult to determine what he's doing next. But he says he has his proper reasons for everything he's done so far.

Aoki mentions Ibushi appearing in GLEAT and DDT as examples, and Ibushi says something that's all censored (I assume this is about the DDT drama). Aoki is like "We can't air that" and Ibushi is like "I don't know what goes and what doesn't go. I'm a pro wrestler, I don't know what goes or not." Aoki mentions that lately, whenever wrestlers say something that they probably didn't put that much thought into, the people listening to that (fans etc) read too much into it. Ibushi says he's the straightforward/blunt type who mostly says what he thinks/feels at that moment.

Aoki says compared when he met him at GLEAT, Ibushi seems to be in really good form, and Ibushi says he feels very good. They talk about his prior addiction to a type of takoyaki dish that helped bring him up to 106 kg (the other factor being his ankles being in bad shape), and he says he even ate it so much he got sick at one point cause it was all he was eating. Imanari (behind the camera) mentions Ibushi isn't picky when it comes to food, and Ibushi goes on to explain that whenever he finds something tasty he just eats that ad nauseum. Eventually he stopped because he was like, "If I don't, my life is over" (Imanari laughs loudly at that). Jokes around that he was suffering "from the side effects of the tako dish" when him and Aoki met at GLEAT, so he wasn't really himself. But he did feel really out of shape, short of breath and like he wanted to lie down after every move (mind you, he also had a fever at the time).

(I'm leaving out some stuff about the IPWRI and the various people associated with it here, it's mostly things people would already know about from other videos and appearances)

They talk about how other people will say Ibushi is beat up as hell and weird in the head because of (all the crazy bumps he's taken), but he personally doesn't feel like he's beat up at all. "I'm completely fine" (cue laughter from Imanari and Aoki). Aoki: "You're not punch drunk*?" Ibushi: "I don't think so. Do you think I am?" Imanari: "I think so." Ibushi: "No, I'm not, not all!" (laughter from Imanari and Aoki).

Aoki mentions that he's not sure where the performance of being punch drunk ends and where the real "punch drunkenness" begins, and asks if Ibushi ever forgets stuff. Ibushi says he does, but he thinks it's from ADHD, and that he has "some developmental disorder-ish things going on". I'm not sure how much of this is tongue-in-cheek because of the reactions of Aoki and Imanari and the general joking around atmosphere of the whole video. Take it with a huge grain of salt (this goes to the content scrapers who like to go through my work and reprint it verbatim).

They next talk about how they first met, which was in 2016 at a IGF show. Aoki asks what a match or promotion or whatever is that really made an impression on Ibushi, and he mentions FU★CK, which is a super tiny indie where fans could tell the wrestlers what moves to do (there would only be about 15 fans present).

After some talk about Sawada vs Fujita, Ibushi mentions how he kind of went wild after matches in the locker rooms in Japan America, like when he was at GCW (like play-wrestling around in the locker rooms so much that the other guy was like "Okay, hold on a sec").

Ibushi meant to say this as soon as he met up with Aoki, but he congratulates him for winning at ONE 172 (a combat sports event), and they talk a bit about how when you're older, the exhaustion/wear and tear just never goes away (they're about the same age). Aoki says that goes for both wrestling and MMA, but after a hard match you just continue feeling it for weeks, and Ibushi agrees, that you keep feeling the sore muscles and such from when you take bumps. Ibushi wonders how Takagi Shingo is still so spry, then. Says he never stops talking, not even in the locker room (after a match). From his experience, Takagi's so lively that even younger wrestlers will be like, "Little less, please" (again, the atmosphere is jovial, so how much of this is earnest or not, who knows).

They talk about how when wrestlers or MMA fighters put normal people in moves, they get flamed online from time to time, and how Aoki thinks that in the wrestling business it seems really easy to get caught in a shitstorm, which he also attributes to the current idol culture trend. Imanari mentions that Ibushi once did a senton on a really young girl and she ended up breaking a rib from it. At first it sounds like it's something that happened a long time ago, but then he says he was 38 at the time, so fairly recently. Even Imanari thought it was something that happened in Ibushi's 20s. Cue laughter from everyone.

*aka CTE

Part 2

At the beginning of the second video, they talk about how Ibushi has never injured somebody else in a match. When it's him getting injured, he says that for the most part, he has a vague feeling before the match that something's out of place, like he can't visualize this move or that, and that's where the anxiety comes from and eventually the injury if things go badly.

They talk about how scary injuries are and that Ibushi (understandably) doesn't want to get injured anymore. He says there's not a place in his body anymore that wasn't at some point injured. Aoki mentions how crazy his matches in DDT and elsewhere were in the past, like the kind of moves he did such as the high-flying and the Phoenix Plex and such. Ibushi says he thinks he's only done the Phoenix Plex about 4 times (stopped doing it because it's too crazy).

The scariest match for Ibushi was vs Kenny at Budokan in 2012. He did the infamous balcony moonsault because he was told that he shouldn't, but he overthought it to where he thought he almost had to do it. He knew he shouldn't do it but Takagi had said that DDT wouldn't ever be able to come back to Budokan anyway, so he was like, "Might as well do it, it's the end anyway." But it was really incredibly high up. Aoki mentions the recklessness of wrestlers, and Ibushi says that for him at the time, he wanted to leave behind a legacy, so that motivated some of what he did. "It's ego."

Aoki says that to him, it seems like the kind of crazy wrestling Ibushi and co did for 10, 20 years inspired lots of people all around the world and then it kept getting too extreme. As he's mentioned in other places before, Ibushi says that after Budokan he sealed that dangerous style away. He felt like him and others had brought back the (dangerous) wrestling from the 90s and that it couldn't keep going like this so he stopped, but that Kenny kept doing it (I assume he means also in NJPW). Ibushi switched away from the Phoenix Splash to the Kamigoe as his main finisher, and through individual spots here or there kept up the illusion of being the crazy high-flyer from back in the day, but he had actually scaled it down dramatically.

They continue talking about the lasting influence of that old style, with Aoki mentioning that even nowadays people still wrestle like that, and that maybe people like Ibushi should say once more that it's really no good. Ibushi agrees and goes on to explain that he did show people in his matches that his style had changed, but the past is too strong of a presence in peoples' minds. They want that style from him. People say he's changed or washed and they don't understand him in the way that he thinks is good. Aoki says people say Ibushi is done, and Ibushi says "Yeah, they say I can't go anymore, I'm done. [...] But I've never really been swayed by other people." Aoki: "Even if people say you're done, as a creator, as a wrestler, you've still no doubt raised the quality, like, the degree of perfection of what you create, the matches and such. You can say that you have confidence in that yourself, right?" Ibushi: "Yes, I can. I'm confident that I can [still] win the Best Bout."

Aoki strongly relates and says that he's also been told his performance has fallen off and such, but in total he still has absolute confidence in what he creates. Ibushi: "I feel like now I'm wrestling by making full use of all the emotions [i.e. the story]."

Next, they talk about the news surrounding Ibushi's various injuries. Aoki mentions the ankle one from when he wrestled at NOAH, and how he thought that was cleverly crafted. He doubted for a while whether Ibushi had even really gotten the surgery for his ankle and just kayfabed it to stay in the news (needless to say, he did get surgery, but they're also lightly joking around here, so don't take Aoki's "accusations" too seriously). They agree being in the news is an advantage, and Ibushi says after that (NOAH show) he got the surgery and he started getting better and now the quality of his wrestling is higher, so it turned out for the better.

Ibushi says that people say they don't know what's real and what's fake (in regards to his character and wrestling and his real self and all that), but that he doesn't know either. He doesn't know where exactly the real Ibushi ends and the character begins, so it's more like he doesn't put on a performance in either role. Aoki can relate because the two also get mixed together for him. "You tend to think about what could be fun/interesting [for the fans] first and foremost."

Next, they talk a bit about AEW. Aoki: "Do you know yet who you're gonna wrestle in AEW?" Ibushi: "No. Depends on what Kenny is doing then. That'll be where I come in. But, it's crazy I'm not watching AEW. It's my where I work, you know? And yet I don't watch it." Imanari mentions that Ibushi doesn't really watch pro wrestling in general, though, and that he mostly watches MMA. Aoki asks what he finds so fascinating about MMA, and Ibushi says he finds everything interesting, the matches, what happens outside the matches, the commentary, etc. He loves it all.

They keep talking about MMA here which I will spare you from. It's not terribly interesting in the first place aside for combat sports freaks. Ibushi also talks once more about how the IPWRI is more like a loose group that anyone can join once he gives them the OK, rather than a concrete group or place or promotion, but he has already talked about that elsewhere so you're not missing much here either.

But yes, technically Imanari is "signed" to two promotions since he's part of the IPWRI (he is signed to Ganbare). Which brings Ibushi to talk about his experience with his double contract with DDT and NJPW. He thinks that being signed to more than one promotion will always end badly. It's what broke him apart back then.

It seems he went missing once (with the connotation that overworking himself for the two promotions caused him to flee). Most of it is censored and they "fast-forward" through them talking about 99% of it, but he ended up somewhere where he hadn't planned to go, and he doesn't remember most of it either. So then he became a freelancer and 3 days after the news broke he was contacted by WWE, he did his stint there in 2016 and then came back to NJPW (as Tiger Mask W for a time), eventually signing with them because his goal was to become IWGP Heavyweight champ. Once he got that, he broke down. And now he's signed with AEW.

They talk more about karma and how Ibushi, even though he enjoys his life and thinks it's fun, feels like he always breaks down if he gets away from wrestling. Imanari mentions that other people are sometimes incredulous why he has attached himself to a guy like Ibushi, but Imanari doesn't see it that way at all. Ibushi continues saying that it's weird how he wanted to quit everything and retire at one point, but somehow wrestling doesn't let him. Aoki can relate. He says whether it's MMA or pro wrestling, somehow you can never get away from it. Ibushi tells Aoki that he doesn't want him to quit. He also says that he takes wrestling seriously when he does it, but it's not something he (pursues) to the degree of a personal hobby anymore (like he did when he was younger).

Lastly, they talk about Aoki going to Bloodsport and he asks for tips for wrestling in the States, and Ibushi compliments Aoki on his style and thinks he'll be well received by the fans over there. They talk some more about MMA and GLEAT (they both like the latter a lot), and say both they want the other to keep going wild in wrestling/MMA, and then the video ends.

(As a sidenote, it seems the two videos were very well received by Aoki's subscribers, who were greatly amused by what he talked about and how he talked about it, and that Ibushi made himself some new fans)

[chancedarling]

"I mean, yeah... I guess..."

Absolutely not. Even though he's sure that the secret he recieved was not about him - in that he doesn't lie about 'everything' - he lies about enough. Fuck these people. His life isn't for them to peruse.

"...I haven't heard anything so far that might sound like it's about me. And what would be gained by hiding stuff. I don't think there's anything that I would need to keep secret that badly. Like, sure I've done some embarassing stuff... But I doubt that would bother people here. So - yeah - I'd be okay about admitting it."

LOL. Liar liar pants on fire.

He does, however take the chance to look between the little strip of paper between Darcy's slender fingers and back to her face. Those puppy-eyes quite evident blinking in wide-eyed innocence before asking very, very quietly...

"Wouldn't you?"

Oh, the implication was clear from the moment the words left Darcy's mouth. That perhaps she might not be so open and honest about her secret. Whether it be this one or something else. Which also implied that the little astronaut here might really have something worth hiding. Ditzy Darcy really did just get more interesting by the minute.

But then Darcy is pulled back by his question 'why'? Of course, he doesn't correct her or let her know that - yeah - he's already worked it out, he just lets her continue until the end, spelling out his own suspicions with her words. At least, that one thing they can agree on, the sowing of discord among the ragtag populace. Just a few little pieces of paper and everyone was squinting, judging and suspicious. It really hadn't been hard to do at all - well played Flowr. One hand raises to his mouth as though to cover a mild shock about Darcy's revelation. That the idea would never have occured - though she does add a tidbit to the theory that hadn't occured to Chance yet - mix in the mundane secrets with the spicy ones. Validate a few and the rest had to be real, right? Nice work, little astronaut.

But then she laughs, as though she's brushing it off. As though the problem of secrets is hers and her's alone to solve. Spitballing about names of people who she might rule out. And he listens as she runs through them obviously dismissing each ons of her theories... it's not like couples didn't have secrets from each other - or siblings for that matter (not Chance and Cala though. One of the things that kept them strong and solid was the shared joy in each others - darker - delights). She finally mentions Lokni, and Chance just pulls a slight face.

"I dunno. The only time we talked, he was outside of Selin's hut when I showed up. Seemed to get real mad at me for just being there and then left without even knocking. Seemed a bit... Uh.... Weird."

Which - for a change, was actually the absolute truth. Of course, Chance had rather enjoyed the attempt at posturing, rather taking advantage of Lokni's clear defensiveness over the whole situation. That had been a fun little interlude.

And while he's not outwardly accusing him of anything, Chance does like to sow those little seeds of doubt here and there. And now seemed like the perfect opportunity.

However, when Darcy asks what he thinks, Chance decides it's time for curveball number two-o.

He doesn't waste his time procrastinating over who might be the owner of said secret.

"What if... Some of the secrets... aren't secrets at all?"

"I mean, like you said, if some of them turn out to be true, then people will assume they all are. So... Maybe some people had secrets shared that they wouldn't mind admitting to... To... Y'know... Validate or something. And the rest are just bits of paper with awful things written on them - but they don't actually belong to anyone?"

"What if people aren't owning up to a secret because... Well... There isn't one about them. And the... uh... meaner ones are just there to throw more shade and rile folks up, get them all suspicious over nothing? Like... We can't prove or disprove that they are ALL real... Y'know?"

Darcy tilted her head, watching Chance curiously for a few moments. "So what you're saying is that if it is a secret about you that you'd actually not want getting out - not saying that there is such a thing, but if there is one -, and yet it's on one of these little pieces of tape and the person who got it flat out asks if it's about you, you'd be totally okay about just admitting it's about you?"

Maybe the little bit of disbelief in her voice said more about Darcy than it did about anything else, really - cause she certainly wouldn't admit to a lot of things in her past, even if it was just in a simulation, while not every single person's immediate reaction would be to deny a secret. But the question was out there already, no taking it back, and really, people weren't openly coming forward left and right about what their secret was, so other people were thinking along the same line as she did to some degree at least.

And once she saw the tiny piece of tape that Chance got, her stomach dropped, annoyed at herself for insinuating that she'd lie about her own secret if it came down to it. Cause this little piece of paper in her hand... if it was about her, there was no way she would admit to it.

This was one of the worst ones, somewhere close below the one about murdering people. Then again, it could be about other people, too? It didn't have her name plastered onto it - and that was the fucking point.

Chance's words about missing the point was what shook her out of the spiral she was slowly going down and she reacted instinctively, without even really thinking about it as she looked up to him finally, "Oh, you haven't figured that one out yet? It's exactly that - to turn us against each other. To sow distrust. That's why there are different levels of secrets. Cause it's that much more easier to admit to an affair that doesn't even affect people around here or to something smaller and more embarrassing than anything. And once there's that confirmation that all the secrets are real, everyone else starts looking at each other about the shitty ones. About the ones that contain secrets where you don't want to be on the same beach with the person it's about."

Her mind was spinning, really - maybe she really shouldn't have spelled it out like that. Something she's been thinking about since she realized she wasn't the only one who got a piece of tape and especially since Selin told her what her tape said. About somebody being a murderer among them. Cause really, who cared about a little affair when a killer walked among them. But then again, if she didn't start theorizing, if she didn't solve something so clear and simple while she was holding that fucking piece of paper Chance gave her, wouldn't that make her more suspicious. Whether it was about her or not, if she just tried to bury it, he'd immediately suspect her, right.

Which also meant, after a small glance down at the tape in her hands, she glanced back at Chance, raising it up. "This is one of those people would absolutely not want to admit to and others wouldn't want to be on the same beach with. Somebody sees this and suddenly, it's that much easier to admit to an affair at work, right?"

And the big question, really - who it could be about. "God, all of these secrets really just make me feel like I am the worst at getting to know people cause I keep having no clue," Darcy chuckled, scratching her forehead. "Like, I figured out this entire beach, I should be able to figure some of them out at least, right? But nope. I have no clue and I feel bad for my first thought wondering if it's Adarsh cause the amnesia would be a really easy lie to hide basically anything." Okay, not first thought, but that she would keep to herself.

"I think it would be easier to say who I would rule out - you, for one. Nobody would actually get their own secret and if you did and this was yours, you just wouldn't show it around. Calamity is also out - there's no way to keep lying about literally everything when you have a sibling on the island and your stories would have to match. Too many chances for slipping up. Based on the same logic, probably Tej and Zaid are also out. Alex we all know really was a tv show host, so we know for a fact he is not lying about everything. And Akhila has to have an actual medical degree, otherwise somebody would have already lost a limb and we'd be in much worse of a case, so she cannot be lying about everything either. But the rest... well, most of them I'd still say that I cannot possibly imagine them either, like can you imagine somebody like, say, Lokni, lying through his teeth? Cause I really can't, but then we're back to square one on who it actually can be."

She overdid it, she suddenly got worried, but really, if she just didn't say anything, if she ignored totally logical things and didn't point them out, it would be a lot weirder. And it wasn't about her anyway, it was different. Her situation was different. (She tried to convince herself anyway.) "What do you think?"

[k-wame]

POIROT 2.02 | The Veiled Lady

[howlingday]

Oh, I can't ignore a tag from a friend... Unless it's something I'm already tagged for. Anywho, I recall @novankenn doing a piece on this ship a few times, and I came up with the name he used for his posts; BALLISTARC. Now, as for my opinion on this ship, I'd like to preface that my limit to Jinx's character is... Well, her video "Get Jinx'd" and her Death Battle with Harley Quinn. That's it. I've never played League, and I've never seen Arcane. All that said, let's see if I can work something out here...

Let's start with what I know about Jaune Arc, which I'll keep fast and easy. Jaune is a human who attended Beacon Academy using false transcripts and managed to luck his way into unlocking his aura and become the team leader of Team JNPR. While attending, he trains with the help of Pyrrha Nikos, who has a crush on him, and failed to keep her safe when Beacon was attacked and spends the next couple volumes wallowing in self-loathing misery until he finds closure in a statue dedicated to her. He then breaks into the Kingdom of Atlas using an airship he aided and planned for stealing, then became a licensed huntsman at Atlas Academy. When Atlas was attacked, he played a vital role in protecting civilians but was unable to escape to Vacuo and fell into the Ever After, where he becomes the Rusted Knight of fairytale legend. Additional facts include his seven sisters, him having motion sickness, his semblance of aura recovery, Aura Amp, his use of a family heirloom sword and shield, Crocea Mors, and his overall affectionate dog-like personality, like a Golden Retriever or a Shiba Inu.

Was that short enough? Prolly not... Now, AS FOR JINX...

So, from the Death Battle info provided for Jinx, she's something of a rebel/revolutionary fighting for the downtrodden and oppressed of Zaun. She commits MASSIVE destruction of public property, including blimps, zoo gates, and switching street signs. She uses bombs, guns, and has a teleportation device. Also, she can survive toxic gases. Also, she has family issues with her sister and adoptive father, Silco.

Now, from this information, could I see this relationship working? Well... Yes, but I also have ship-rot. That said...

(+) Beneficial (=) (Equivalent) (-) (Toxic)

Morality (-): Jaune, while having a bit of a mischievous streak with his breaking of a lot of laws, nothing Jaune does is ever with malicious intent. Jinx, however, commits violence and destruction so intense, actual lives are at risk. Granted, it's much less so since she's teamed up with Ziggs, but I dunno if Jaune and Jinx can really hit it off when she's actively volatile with her explosives.

Family (=): Jinx has a tense relationship with her sister, Vi, though at the end of the day, they're still sisters. As for Silco, well, I can't imagine it's going well without looking deeper. Jaune's family situation is much more tame, but also very vague. From his interaction with his sister, Saphron, we can see there's a familial love between them, but there's also not much beyond "we grew up together". Add in the implication that Jaune feels like his parents don't believe in him and his VA, Miles Luna, describing Jaune's father as a well-meaning traditionalist, we can see that Jaune has clear self-esteem issues from the way he grew up. I think Jaune could help Jinx with reconnecting with her sister, while she could help him grow out of his limitations. I feel like there's definitely a way for them to connect through their families.

Overall, from the information I'm seeing for them both, it might be able to work, but only in the same way that I and other people can see Silent Knight with Neopolitan work. Thinking on it, Jinx seems a lot like a fusion between Neo and Nora, which is an idea there in itself.

But, then again, like I said, I don't know League of Legends/Arcane well enough to really get a blip on it.

Do you think these two will be able to a couple. Yes or no?

Jaune Arc of RWBY:

X

Jinx the Loose Cannon of League of Legends/Arcane

[chirpsythismorning]

Nick himself said that his knowledge is confined to the leaks prior to s4, the s4 scripts from his verified source (likely within a source) and basic knowledge most fans paying attention have been able to formulate about s5 based on what has been released officially/unofficially, trends from Netflix and common sense.

He is saying based on all that, he doesn’t think byler is happening. 

And if we think back to what the Duffers themselves shared in the 4x09 script, it literally implies Mike’s monologue worked, and that it was entirely genuine. This tells me that the script the Duffers released for Emmy consideration, is not that far off from what Nick saw for himself. 

I think it’s likely Nick got something that the average below the line worker might manage to get their hands on if they tried hard enough. A copy they know they have to water-down to prevent these very situations from happening.

Unfortunately for the Duffers, it just so happens that they didn’t scrub their watered down copy hard enough.

Unfortunately for Nick, he admitted that it’s possible and even likely that the production will release things that aren’t exactly accurate with the sole purpose to lead fans sleuthing astray, without realizing it may have ironically already happened to him. 

[daily-hanamura]