#people really used to commit to themes on here and twitter

[blossoms-phan]

tell me honestly besties are we rockin with the new theme or no

[linalavender]

[Spoilers] (One Piece Chapter 1120)

The Sins of the Father

I feel like Oda has been wanting to bring this theme into the story for quite some time. The D. intentionally being systematically eradicated from this world has always been a present theme in One Piece, But Clover outright saying this brings it to the forefront. And this is something he tried todo recently with someone who isnt a D. clan descendant but for one reason or another sort of Subtly cut out of the story

Man I just sat with this panel for a good 3 minutes or so, really impactful.

The Kurozumi clan commited a grave sin to the People of Wano, they sold out the country to Kaido for the price of the clan becoming the Shogunate. And for the most part the Kurozumi Descendants are horrible people exploiting all others of personal gain and complete disregard for the people of Wano. But theres an expection to this, While its never explictly said in the Manga (aside from a later SBS) and Tamas parents grave, Tamas full name is Kurozumi Tama. As far as we know in the story she is the sole survivor of the Kurozumi clan. Odas reveal of this is Volume 105's SBS goes further.

"Should we hate her, then? In the final scenes of the arc, Hiyori clearly said, "Kurozumi was born to burn." Does that mean she's including O-Tama? No, of course not. It's clear from the story that Hiyori is referring specifically to Orochi. How would people react if they found out that O-Tama was from the Kurozumi Family? Please use your imagination. This has been a problem throughout human history that continues to this day."

I feel like we would still be in Wano and not even close to finishing if he included every little detail like this but I wish we got to see this tidbit, Will people be calling for Tamas death? We readers know Tama, shes the sweetest little dumpllng and has suffered much like everyone else. Her name did not grant her any of the special privleges it "should" have Could she possible redeem her clan? Is the Sins of the Father so grave every generation after it is stained forever?

I do think the D. Clan actually truly did something horrific. The World goverment and its actions after the fact has made them absolute villians but I think he is playing with this narrative that Luffy and all other D. clan descendants ancestors did something that makes the Founding members heroic for stopping. Does that make it so people like Luffy, Law, Vivi etc should be killed? For something their great ancestors did 9 centuries ago? BUT does it also justify the World goverments opression and founding? absolutly not. Dont get me twisted here. The attrocities and genocides of the World goverment has commited over the last centuries is far, far graver than what Joyboy and the D. Clan could have ever done,

This is sort of riffing of a very old twitter post of mine after Tamas full name so if youve somehow read this before sorry lol

ALSO I hope this serves as proof you should read the manga ur missing so much if you dont :)

[bambiesfics]

Hi, this is just to spring off of another TLOU blog’s post, which I thought was aptly worded: Please find that post here! and please find the original twitter thread on Pro-Palestinian resources here!

I just wanted touch on how inappropriate it is to use a genocide as an excuse to morally posture over other people in our community because you’re itching to play an own ego-stroking game of ‘whose a better activist than who.’

Outside of the strikes, and days dedicated to raising awareness coming here to say asinine, innapropriate comments such as “Y’all can’t stop posting about pixel pussy?!” Is extremely unhelpful and is just something that sows undue resentment in our community. When you do things like that, we know what you’re really saying, and it’s not nice. What you’re really saying is “You guys are shitty people for still having any remaining vested interested in this community, unlike me, someone whose an enlightened online activist. I’m above caring about that childish little 2D lesbian and the sapphic community it brought forth, despite the fact that my initial interest in her is why I was ever even apart of this community I’m mocking to begin with. I’ll pretend my corrosive virtual-signalling insults and jabs are coming from a ‘good place,’ and aren’t rooted in being self-serving at all! I’ll pretend that I’m not using this genocide as a vehicle to stroke my own ego for rising above ‘petty, immature things’ like sapphic media, sexuality and community. I’m highkey so much better than you all, I’ll just refuse to admit that outright. Instead I’ll continue to subtly mock your intelligence and distract away from helpful posts about this genocide, and hope you won’t see what I’m doing for what it is. My favourite activity during genocide is not to educate people and commit myself to Palestinian liberation, but rather throw stones, hide my hands and demean well-intentioned posts just because it makes me feel good. Realistically, not one person in Gaza was tangibly helped by the insults I left in the TLOU tags for people to see, but I won’t stop because I’m just a girl….obviously.”

Hey, listen: I’ve been to protests where the organizers, MY PEERS, were other university students who were 18-22, who have had the diligence to remind everyone in the crowd to NOT ENGAGE WITH ZIONISTS. Why? Because it wasn’t safe, because their goal was to inspire a conflict in what is intended to be a united camaraderie in support of PALESTINE 🇵🇸. If those young adults can keep steadfast to their goal of mobilizing for Palestine, then I believe these bad faith actors on TLOU tumblr should learn not to sow shame in people for simply posting a drabble (when not striking) in a community whose fiction they lavished the fruits of, not too long ago. Why? Because it’s not helpful. Because instead of posting helpful resources to aid Palestinians and educating your followers on the zionist Neil Druckman, and to remain mindful of the Zionist themes in the game, you’re using that voice, the tlou tags and it’s reach, just to demean people. It’s such a wasted opportunity to speak up. Hey, if you’re going to say anything in regards to Palestine, then say something helpful to them! That’s an easy enough ask. The yellow jacket community on twitter figured out what pro-revolutionary activism looked like as a community, and I’m proud of them.

I’ll put this in the Ellie x reader tags because I know people who say things like that, either tend to frequent the tags or the tumblr algorithm will push it because of their interests.

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

I fucking love Shadowlands and I am tired of being silent

This is probably gonna be long. TL;DR at the end.

Look, Shadowlands is the second worst expansion this game has ever shipped, besides WoD. I know this is a WILD opening sentence for a defense argument, but I am a romantic, not fucking delusional. This is a fact. Point blank period. The content drought was absurd, the legendary system was completely fucked, the maw in general, the lore reduced Arthas and Garrosh quite literally to dust, The Jailer as the main villain and FUCKING THORGAST, the overall alt unfriendliness, borrowed power cranked to a million, and I have expressed how much of a fucking joke I think putting Pelagos as the new Arbriter was.

It was bad.

This has been stablished, not just by me, but by the entirety of the wow community.

But even though I agree, all these things made the game worse, I still enjoyed my experience, and I have a positive outlook on the expansion overall, which seems to be the greatest sin a World of Warcraft player can commit: I liked Shadowlands. I dare to say I liked it more than I did Dragonflight, if I think really hard about it.

You simply cannot say you liked Shadowlands in the any circle of the WoW community online, from what I have seen. I remember Kraken Latte put it in first place in a rank she made of all expansions and got shit on for days on twitter, with people failing to see what she saw in the game.

Now, I feel like I have pointlessly yapping till now, so without further ado, here are some of the Shadowlands features i like the most:

1 - THREADS OF FATE

I am a simple man, who likes to do 2 things in wow: Mythic+ and leveling. That is pretty much it. I don't PvP, I rarely raid and I occasionally indulge in RPing as a Tidesage on Moonguard. And let me tell you, this baby right here was lifechanging.

Threads of Fate is by far, the single best feature (before Warbands, lol) in my entire World of Warcraft experience. I loved it. I loved it dearly. I don't think I have ever had so much fun leveling 60-70 through Revendreth and Ardenweald with ToF. I still have the route I took memorized, it was SO good. So many bonus objectives back to back to back, world quests and that goddamn gorgeous blue forest had the FATTEST questing hubs in the game.

I was so excited to play this combined with Chromie Time, like IT WAS ON BETA, until it was ruthlessly taken away from me for no goddamn reason AT ALL. Like, what the actual fuck blizzard. Y'all don't understand how delightful it would have been to level like that in ardenweald in the mid thirty levels, right after clearing Loch Modan (or the Silverspine and Hillsbrad, for horde). I barely touched SL since it got removed.

BRING IT BACK BLIZZARD, I AM BEGGING YOU, JUST DO THIS ONE SOLID FOR ME.

2 - COVENANT CALLINGS

Speaking of features I thoroughly enjoyed that were pried from my hands, we have the best iteration of daily quests this game has ever had. They actually worked as good dailies that gave actual gold, was a good reliable source of reputation and was amazing for anima and cosmetics.

This + the recent nerfs to the Dragonracing WQs make me feel like blizzard doesn't like when players make their gold independently, like, jesus christ not all of us have time to be profession moguls.

3 - THE 4 ZONES

What inspired this post was the fact that SL raids are now on legacy loot (if you didn't know, now you do) and I had to go to Bastion to buy the weapons with the thingy that drops from Nathria and...look at this. Just look at this.

This place is one of the most beautiful things this game has to offer. Like, the entire zone is gorgeous byt seeing this for the first time since DF came out legit moved me bro, LOOK AT IT.

And while the covenants were kind of a shit show gameplay-wise, in EVERY SINGLE OTHER ASPECT, it was a 10/10 feature, argue with your mom. Aesthetics, themes, everything, simply gorgeous. Also, it got bonus points from me bcs i really do not like to use training dummies in current expansions because of the sheer amount of people blasting them at any given time, so each covenant having their own Dummy Room, was a ++++ for me.

4 - THE NECROLORDS OF MALDRAXXUS

The Necrolords were the best covenant, their campaign was the best and their characters were the best. Like, come on now.

Draka? Mother. Vashj? Mother. Emeni? Mother. Sin'dane? Mother Stradama? Grandmother. Like, are you kidding me? I know lore was one of the Weakest points of SL overall, but you are insane if you include anything involving these guys. Even the Korthia campaign was enjoyable when they had the spotlight. And I only listed the female characters lmao, don't forget The Primus, Krexus's meme death, the five houses, Morgraine, Grahmal, Marileth, like C'MON!

5 - THE DUNGEONS

Except for the Theater of Pain, and arguably the De Other Side (I personaly love it), Shadowlands has the best overall roster of dungeons in the entire game.

Sanguine Dephts is, in my opinion the second best dungeon in WoW, period, behind only Freehold, Tazavesh is the best Mega Dungeon they ever made. Mists is a banger, Plaguefall is a banger except for the tentacles, Halls of Atonement, Spires (controversial take, ik), Necrotic Wake is amazing, like, you can say whatever you want about SL, but you cannot talk shit about its dungeon design.

Except ToP.

Fuck ToP.

Now, it's getting late so imma speedrun the rest of the items:

6 - COSMETICS

SL changed the transmog game, and all cosmetics from it (all the mounts and sets from all sources) look phenomenal, and if you disagree you are simply lying to yourself.

7 - ZERETH MORTIS

The zone was good and had tons of stuff to do and collect, plus, the introduction to the Catalysts was a plus.

also, nothing will be funnier than Taelia fucking Fordragon being the talking quest bubble for WQs in THE REALM OF ULTRA DEATH

8 - RAIDS

CN: Vibes? Immaculate. SoD: Horrible systems, cool mechanics SoFO: Cool systems, mid mechanics overall a positive for me

9 - CHARACTERS

Already mentioned a lot of characters from Maldraxxus, here are my other faves: Lady Moonberry, the gay unicorm, Denathrius, Theothar, basically ever steward, The Accuser, Kael'thas, General Draven, Remornia and many more.

There are probably more reasons to list to justify my love for SL despite all the bad it has in it, but I simply do not have the mental fuel to keep going rn, i need sleep.

TL;DR: I like Shadowlands despite it being bad and would appreciate it if ppl didn't throw a fit everytime someone talks about it in any sort of positive light. I then listed Threads of Fate, Callings, the first 4 zones, dungeon design, the fuckton of collectibles, characters and the beginning of the shift in game philosophy as positive and valid reasons to be a SL enjoyer.

[notfreetoday]

MPW Ep 3 Subtitle Corrections

EP 1 || EP 2 Cultural/Language Tidbits: EP 2

Same translation disclaimer applies. Thanks again for indulging my crazy long t/n, please keep geeking out with me in the notes!

We've got a change of director this episode - to Funabiki Shinju (twitter linked here) who was the scriptwriter for Jack Frost. This date is also a drama-only episode and does not appear in the manga. So, we have quite a few ad-libs here! I'll point out these out, as well as any interesting comments by the director and the producer from the Ep 3 twitter space as we go on. (Due to tumblr's image space limitations, some of these scenes will have no pics, just a description)

Ep 3, let's go! (If you read nothing in this post, please just read Yoh's monologue)

Since this is the theme of this episode, and Yoh's favourite word, let's talk a little more about it. I've mentioned it previously, but both "嫌い (kirai)" and "大嫌い (dai kirai)" are often translated as "hate/really hate", when they really function more as the opposite of "(suki)", ie "to like". That said, the amount of emotional weight this word carries depends on the context. It can accurately convey the pain/anger of hating someone, but it can also be used very mildly. For eg, it's often used by kids in the "I hate homework/vegetables/the rain/etc" form, or by teens/young adults in the "I don't want everyone to hate me" form, as opposed to other synonyms. When introducing yourself/getting to know someone, it's not uncommon to be asked "what are your suki/kirai?"

In other words, overuse of this word can actually come off as slightly childish, because kids/young people are usually the ones using this word to reject small things/express themselves. Yoh's constant insistence that he hates Segasaki pretty much sounds like this - which is why Man-san expresses doubt about it, and why when Segasaki repeats this line back to Yoh, Yoh understands that Segasaki is teasing him. (The word "love" is considered too heavy and precious of a concept to be thrown around easily, so "suki" is the default go to even in committed relationships.)

Y: 相変わらずすごいよ、この人の外面モード。 Y: As always, this person's "public mode" is amazing.

"外面 (soto zura)" literally refers to the "outside face", and when used to describe a person means someone who puts up a certain personality/attitude depending on who they're speaking to/the situation.

The reason Yoh's saying this is because Segasaki is speaking to him in a much nicer way than he usually does at home 🤣He's using plain forms yes, but he's also praising him and smiling at him and actually saying a whole, proper sentence as opposed to the one-word sickness he has at home🤣 This is most obvious right before Segasaki leaves, when he warns Yoh to be careful when drawing other people - he says "気をつけてね~ (ki o tsukete ne~)", ending with a ne~ which is sweet and cute and which he almost never does with Yoh at home 🤣🤣

Twitter Space Note (TSN): They decided that since they finally got to shoot an "outdoor scene" for Yoh, they'd try to make him look a little more fashionable with a shirt instead of a hoodie 🤣

Y: いってらっしゃい Y: Itterasshai - this is a standard greeting that you say when someone is leaving the house (or the office, if they're going out on a business errand). Basically, the one leaving says "ittekimasu" and the one staying behind says "itterasshai". They mean "(I'll) go and come back/Go safely and return well" When returning, you say "tadaima" and the one welcoming you back says "okaerinasai" meaning: "(I have) just now (returned)/ (you have) returned safely". Unlike Yoh, Segasaki does none of these standard greetings (which Yoh complained about in Ep 1 whilst chopping onions).

Y: だからね、気持ちが通じ合った*っていう描写が必要だと思うんだよおれは Y: だからこそ、体が盛り上がる**、的な？ M: はーん。中高生処女みたいなこといってろ Original: Y: That's why I think it's necessary to depict the feeling of "mutual understanding" Y: That's how the physical aspect also gets exciting... or something like that? M: Hmm.. talking about it like a high school virgin, huh? Mine: Y: So that's why, I think it's important - showing that (the characters') have this unspoken understanding* of each other's feelings. Y: It's precisely because of that, that you get physically excited** - something like that? M: Mm.... you're saying things a high-school virgin would say **体が盛り上がる - literally, "the body gets excited/heated up/lively etc" - given that they are talking about erotica, he probably means physically aroused here, but this term also works to explain the feeling of excitement or emotion just swelling in your chest for eg *通じ合った - is not just "mutual understanding" - it specifically refers to a situation in which both parties understand each other without having to say a word - like when you look at someone and just get them, or like in sports, you just look at your team mate and you know.

This is an important distinction because in this line, Yoh again emphasizes "I" - at the end of the sentence he ends off with the pronoun "俺 (ore)" marked by the subject particle "は (wa)" - which means that in this sentence Yoh is emphasizing that this is his opinion - that he himself thinks it's important to show that 2 people simply get each other, because that's exactly what translates to that sensation you feel in your body. This is what Yoh wants - he wants to understand Segasaki, and he wants Segasaki to understand him, without them having to actually say anything. Which at the moment, only Segasaki is achieving, ironically.

[ Man-san's dialogue, where she says "a sex scene follows]

TSN: Man-san actually only says “se-“ here, and then mutes herself (because they’re in public). In the script, it was supposed to be the full “sex” word, but they weren't sure whether it would be ok (it's not clear whether they mean ok for the actress to say this or ok for the show in general) so in the end it became "se-". Yes it's an odd place to be concerned about given the whole Ep2 but #Japan

Again, the word here used is “kirai” but translated as “dislike” instead of hate 😉

TSN: Between this scene and the start of the next scene, they praised how Acchan uses his eyes to convey Yoh's dejection and how he expresses Yoh's emotions very sensitively through his gaze (and I agree!)

TSN: The director mentioned that she had thought it would look good if Segasaki to put his hand up like this on the ceiling partition, but the moment Kouhei walked in, he just did it naturally without her having to say anything, and so she was really amazed.

S: じゃ、出かけるぞ (Jya, dekakeru zo) S: Then, we’re going out.

“Let’s go out” would be more of "じゃ、でかけましょう (Jya, dekakemashou)" – by using the ending form “(-ma)shou”, the listener is included in the action of going out as an equal to the speaker, the same way “let’s” is used in English. It is by far the most common way Japanese people make a statement without trying to sound too overbearing. But here, Segasaki once again demonstrates his habit of simply stating what they’re going to do, and speaking for Yoh. The sentence-final particle “zo” at the end of his sentence is an assertive one that doesn’t leave much room for argument.

TSN: Again they talked about how they emphasised to Acchan to do the housework improperly, since Yoh isn't supposed to be good at it. Also, when Yoh thinks, "what's with this, all of a sudden?", the director asked that he move his hands "more" as he folded the clothes, like he was still happy to be asked out.

Y: デート自体ないんだよ Y: I’ve never even been on a date.

Y: 俺、いま一体何してんだろう Y: What am I even doing right now?

Yoh’s not wondering what they’re doing, he’s questioning his own actions, like "why am I even here, doing this, what am I supposed to do" etc, because you know, he's never even been on a date before and he has no clue whether this actually is one.

[The scene with the 2 of them on the bench, and Segasaki asks Yoh what he'd like to eat]

TSN: The script only went up to Yoh answering that he wanted to eat “Chinese food”, and this whole bit afterward just happened naturally when they let the camera run.

Yoh says “たっか(taka)!” which is short for “高い(takai)” aka “expensive!” but his voice is so cute here I’m dying. (It really is bloody expensive, these things are usually anywhere between 180 yen – 300 yen pre-pandemic. Even with the big one they have here, I don’t think anyone would sell this above 500 yen)

TSN: They said they searched for a 1200 yen steamed pork bun but couldn’t find one, and in actuality the store sells them at a really reasonable price, so to please go give it a try 🤣🤣

[The scene of them walking and sharing the chicken cutlet]

TSN: This scene, as well as them walking along they alley way looking at the shops, was mostly ad-libbed (which is probably why we see Acchan smiling so much here hahaha I’m guessing the question about which he liked better was probably an adlib, which surprised Acchan). For the alleyway, they were told that their conversation was not going to be used, so they were quite relaxed (and that explains the audio fade out lol)

[The scene of them drinking Boba/Bubble Tea]

About Gyaru - when Boba/Bubble Tea first came to Japan, it became pretty popular amongst Gyaru, and quickly became associated with Gyaru culture - hence why they both felt it was something only Gyaru drank. It's similar to the idea that only ladies eat sweets/desserts that was briefly mentioned in OFC (which makes Nozue feel awkward about 2 men eating cake in a dessert cafe) - here they mean they both felt too embarrassed to try Boba out before due to the idea that it's a "Gyaru" drink (and I love how Yoh looks at Segasaki then, like he only just realises that even Segasaki might get embarrassed/feel awkward sometimes).

S: 乗るぞ (noru zo)

Again, this is “we’re riding it” instead of “let’s”.

Y: 思ったよりすごく透明で Y: (The cabin) is more transparent than I thought

The floor of the cabin is actually clear, so you can see right down through to the bottom, which is why Yoh is a little freaked out here. Not because he thought glass wasn’t transparent.

TSN: Acchan is also afraid of heights, so the stiffness you see here is real, he really didn’t like it, but they went 4 rounds in total to finish this scene. (Kouhei apparently was fine and enjoyed looking right through the glass, though I can’t remember which interview this was mentioned in, sorry!)

S: ほら S: See?

ほら (hora) is commonly used to draw the listener’s attention to something, so here Segasaki really just means “look (I was right)”

TSN: They apparently redid the scene where Segasaki dismisses the store attendant many times so they could make sure it was done in a way that looked natural and wouldn’t be off-putting.

We’re back to one of Segasaki’s humming sounds – the “hmm…?” here again conveys the “oh, really/is that so?” sort of lazy drawl that can easily be mistaken as Segasaki being bored – which is why Yoh immediately suggests they go do their own thing.

Y: そっちも、好きなところいっていいから Y: You too, it’s okay (if you go) to the places you like so…

Yoh uses “そっち” here to refer to Segasaki - which literally means “your/that side” and is another way in which Yoh avoids addressing Segasaki directly (remember, in Japan we don’t like being direct, and “you” is sometimes too direct).

Fun fact: Depending on which part of Japan you’re in, this can either be seen as a totally normal way of speaking, or it might annoy you a little to be referred to as if you were an object/place, or you might feel like the speaker was treating you a little like an “outsider”. The divide in opinion seems to be somewhere between the northeast regions, and the western regions. Tokyo and the rest of the Kantou region (where the show is based, judging by the lack of an obvious accent) are sort of 50-50.

Y: もしあれ*だったら、あ、あの、こっちはこっちで、好きにやってるし Original: Y: Ah, if you want to. Well… we’re both doing our own things… Mine: Y: If (you feel) that way*, then, ah, umm, I can… do as I like, by myself too...

*that way - this refers to that sort of awkward, uncomfortable feeling you get that is hard to describe when you’ve been put on the spot. So, this makes it clear that Yoh is offering Segasaki an “out” from this uncomfortable, weird position he thinks Segasaki is in.

Similar to his earlier sentence, Yoh refers to himself as “こっち (this side)”, and the phrase he uses pretty much means “I can entertain myself”. This is an example of kizukai – or at least, what Yoh thinks is kizukai - which is a concept where you do your best to think of the other person’s needs and wants, so you can anticipate what help they might need and so you don’t inadvertently inconvenience them. Ok, now get ready for some mental gymnastics:

From Yoh's POV, Segasaki wants to buy clothes, and has brought Yoh along to carry the bags. Therefore, Segasaki’s offer to buy him a shirt, and asking him if he is having fun, is Segasaki’s kizukai – Segasaki is going out of his way to make sure Yoh is taken care of. But! Yoh doesn’t want Segasaki to feel inconvenienced (similar to how in EP 2, Yoh said he doesn’t want Segasaki to dislike him), so he instead almost reflexively rejects Segasaki’s offer, then encourages Segasaki to go enjoy himself, and in response to Segasaki’s “Ha!?”, doubles down and says he’s totally ok by himself - This is Yoh’s kizukai.

Tired yet? This is a normal consideration in daily interactions! You can see why the phrase “yokei na kizukai (excessive/unwanted kizukai)” also exists in Japanese lolol 🤣

S: ああ。せっかくの休日に、大嫌いな俺*と一緒にいてのはたのしくない？ Original: S: Ah. So spending a day with someone you hate on your precious day off isn’t enjoyable? Mine: S: Ah. On your precious day off, being together with me – who you hate* – isn’t fun?

*“大嫌いな俺 (dai kirai na ore)” is literally “the ‘me’ that you hate”, or “me who is hated by you” - emphasis on "me", the person standing right in front of you.

Y: いや、それは…違。。。あ、その。。。 Y: No, that’s…not-…- ah.. um…

“A, so” again.

S: 五時にここ集合*な (goji ni koko shuugou *na) S: We’ll meet here at 5, *yea?

*Ending with “na” is softer than “zo” – this statement is still pretty much an order, as with his other statements that ended with “zo”, but it’s gentler, and softens the fact that he’s walking away from Yoh here.

TSN: Pretty much everyone was just going on and on about “oh, poor thing!” in response to Segasaki getting rejected and chased away, and how even though he’s sad here he’s still sweet and gentle with Yoh. Yes, that’s right, everyone loves Segasaki.

[The scene of Yoh spilling water on his shirt]

TSN: This was apparently pretty difficult to shoot in a way the camera could see the water spilling, but the wardrobe team came to the rescue with hairdryers so they could keep reshooting 🤣🤣

S: じゃ、帰んぞ  (Jya, kaen zo) S: Then, we’re going back

“zo” is back! Sorry for being so pedantic about tiny things like this, but I do think it gives us insight into Segasaki's character and how he may be feeling.

This line is the most important correction in this post.

Y: 本当はさ、ずっと、ささいな表情とか、しぐさとか、 俺が言うこと聞くとちょっと嬉しそうにするのとか、 晴れの予報を告げる優しい声とか、 全部バカみたいに俺ばっかり。 毎日俺ばっかり心臓大暴れさせてるみたいで　 嫌だった Y: むかつくとこ拾い集めて　大嫌いだって思ってないと　 その気持ちの不釣り合いに　息ができなくなってしまいそうで 嫌だった Y: 嫌いじゃない　嫌いじゃないよ Original: Y: Actually, all these times, your expressions, gestures, the way you look kind of happy when you listen to me, and your gentle voice forecasting good weather. All of them, make my heart beat as if it’s coming out. I don’t like it. Y: I gathered everything that annoyed me, thinking that if I didn’t, the imbalance of my feelings would suffocate me. I don’t like it. Y: I don’t hate you. I really don’t. Mine: Y: In truth, all this while, the little expressions you make, the gestures you do, the way you seem just that little bit happier when I listen to you, and the gentle voice with which you announce the sunny weather… All of that - like an idiot, it's just me who… It feels like it's just me whose heart has been made to pound and race wildly and - I didn't like that. Y: If I didn't gather up all the things that frustrated me and told myself "I hate this" then, the disparity (between us) in those feelings would suffocate me, making me feel like I could hardly breathe and - I didn't like that. Y: I don't hate you. I really don't hate you.

TSN: This was ad-libbed too. It just happened that the metal post was coming up in between them as they walked, and Acchan saw it and planned to go around it, because he felt that emotionally there was a gap forming between Yoh and Segasaki at this point. But right as he was about to do that, Kouhei grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him over, which Acchan was really surprised by, because they both had the same thought to ad-lib something about that post, and they both did it as their characters would do it, but it was the exact opposite action. The director said that when the 2 were walking back towards the start point they were both smiling a little, and then asked the director “how was that?” to which she replied “It’s really great!”, and then Acchan looked a little frustrated (in a sorta arrgh I got it wrong sort of way) whereas Kouhei was all “I was definitely right” (Acchan mentioned he was abit worried about the ad-lib, so I’m guessing they both were discussing as they walked back and finally decided to settle it by asking the director hahaha)

Y: すいません S: なにが Y: その。。。いろいろ S: だからなにが Original: Y: I’m sorry S: For what? Y: Well, for everything S: What do you mean? Mine: Y: I’m sorry S: About what? Y: That… for many things S: And (I said,), about what?

Yoh uses the formal "すいません (suimasen)" here, as opposed to his usual and more casual "gomen" or "gomen nasai", because this line is important to him, and he means it. "Sorry" in Japanese does not always carry the meaning of regret/remorse - it can be used to express gratitude as well. You''ll often here people say "Sorry that you had to (go through the trouble)" after they've accepted a gift, or "Sorry, I've caused you much trouble" as a way of thanking someone for their care. So, Yoh says "sorry" here after accepting Segasaki's gift, which could be seen as a thank you, but he also means he's sorry that he's like this, that he can't be honest/straightforward about his feelings (a theme that is brought up in Ep 4), that Segasaki has to care for him like this etc. "For many things" is a common way to encompass all of these mixed feelings, and yet not say them out directly.

Y: どうせ口じゃ、うまく言えないから Original: No matter what, I don’t dare say it Mine: Since I can't get the words out of my mouth properly anyway

S: よくできました (yoku dekimashita)

This is a formal way of saying “well done”, and if you did well in your work/test in elementary school you’d get a stamp that says just this, or your teacher would draw you a flower. The more elaborate the flower, the better you did. This is the only time thus far that Segasaki has said anything formal to Yoh at all. The sudden shift, and the imagery this phrase evokes – a literal stamp of approval – emphasises not just Segasaki’s approval, but also his role in Yoh’s life (ie, his role as Yoh’s provider, or well, maybe keeper is more accurate. Honestly Dom makes the most sense, but I’m not qualified to talk about that so see @lutawolf posts for more!). We’ll talk more about how both Segasaki and Yoh acknowledge the power dynamic between them in the way the speak in the language analysis post (that will come after this, before Ep 4's).

Y: この人、もしかして本当はめっちゃ俺のこと。。。？ Y: This person… could it be that he actually…really is… …me?

Y: 信じていい？ Y: Is it ok if I believe? sue me, I think believe and trust carry different nuances.

S: よかったな* (yokatta *na) S: シーツ買ったからいっぱいできんじゃん、大好きなセックス S: まあ　残念ながら　相手は大嫌いな俺**ですけど Original: S: Great, S: with more sheets, we can do it more often. Your beloved sex S: Well, unfortunately the other person is someone you hate Mine: S: Isn't this nice* S: Since you bought more sheets, we can do it a lot - the sex that you love so much S: Well, unfortunately, your partner is me - who you hate **so much

*The use of "na" here is slightly different from the one earlier - here it is used more for emphasis, and the downward tone carries a hint of mockery.

Again, Segasaki uses the same "the me who you hate" phrasing as he did earlier, emphasizing to Yoh once again that Segasaki is the one Yoh hates. Except here, he also ends off the sentence with "ですけど (desukedo)", and the whole phrasing of this line too, from the word "unfortunately" onwards, just feels business-like. As before, the shift in style gives the statement more weight- Segasaki is really not letting Yoh get away with this line here, and Yoh feels this acutely. The sharpness of the line makes him turn away abruptly in shock and even some anger.

S: お前が好きにしていいって言うんだから S: 好きにさせてもらうけど　*な (na)？ S: お前　本当バーカ Original: S: You told me to do as I like, S: then I’ll do what I want. Okay? S: You really are… an idiot Mine: S: You said I could do as I wish so, S: I'll gratefully do as I please... *yea? S: You're...really an idiot

*The "na" used here is similar to the one Segasaki used when telling Yoh to meet back at 5, in that it assumes the listener will agree with the speaker. This time it's not so much used to soften an imperative, but rather, to soften the teasing of the preceeding line - "I'll gratefully do as I please".

The phrase used here is "~させてもらう (~sasete morau)". "Sasete" means "to do" something, with the permission of the other person, and "morau" means "to receive (with thanks/gratefulness)" so together this phrase means that you're going to "do something (with the permission of the other person)", and you are thankful to have received that permission. It's usually used for things like asking your boss "May I please go home early with your kind permission" sorta thing, or telling someone that you "ate a meal someone provided for you that you are grateful for".

So here, Segasaki is pretty much saying "I'll do as I please since you so kindly told me I could, didn't you?" which is why he smirks as he says it.

/////

And we're finally done with EP 3!! Finally! Now I can finally talk about their general speech styles and what it means when they choose to switch between them. Thanks for joining me! Also, shout out to @eralkfang for tagging me in their meta post - I'm really glad these posts are helpful that way!!

[thewayofthetrashcompactor]

Hello Reylo writers! Are you interested in signing up for this year's RFFA exchange but not sure what prompts to include? Here's a quick list with some places to look for inspiration:

First place to look is of course prompt accounts! @reyloprompts on bluesky and Twitter has lots of backlog with prompts from all sorts of sources, & I've found it helpful to make a list of ones that I'd like to read but not necessarily write. There are general prompts accounts out there for inspo too

You can also look at prompts already submitted for this year's exchange & for all our previous years' exchanges! Our requests are always open for people to write treats, & they're great for inspo. Here's this year's so far. And here's last year's. And the year before's. (and if you're not sure you can commit to signing up for the exchange this year, writing treats is always an option! you can do those on your own time without signing up (and we'll open pinch hitter sign ups later))

Speaking of exchanges, there's a bunch of multifandom ones throughout the year that use tagsets with tons of tropes for their specific theme. You can scroll down to the "Additional Tags" section of these sets to look at specific scenarios to remember some you'd really like to read. Short list of exchanges with their tag sets linked off the top of my head: Hurt/comfort, Alternate Universe, Pine4Pine, Smut4Smut, Enemies to Lovers, Just Married, First Time

I've also searched "winter/holiday/valentine's writing prompts" on tumblr to see if any of those spark joy.

Remember to keep the deadline in mind when writing your prompts! They can be detailed or vague; there's a huge range every year. Feel free to add any other suggestions!

[hexhomos]

hey I’m here from ur Twitter, saw some of your posts about gale/astarion mystra stuff because I haven’t played the game yet and wanted to know about TWs/if it’s handled well/etc. I don’t really mind spoilers if they’re necessary! thank you

Id say as pretty traditional DnD adaptation game there is a lot of bloody battles and i guess... disturbing implications? when it comes to things such as kidnapping/murdering/cannibalizing people and general eldritch assassin blood cult stuff that has to do with the BG series.

If your particular concern are depictions of SA/CSA the game is written in such a way that they all took place quite some time in the past, and those discussions exist mostly in the realm offhand mentions or between-the-lines presence in the dialogues of companions -- as all of the core companions in this game are in some way abused and not quite cognizant of that abuse all of the time, and the player has the option to help them.

MILD EARLY SPOILERS FOR BG3 WARNING

Gale and Astarion are the only companions where that theme of abuse/agency crosses into sexual territory; Astarion explicitly speaks about being tortured in non-sexual ways as part of being a thrall/vamp spawn (basically an eternal servant for a Real Vampire) and his romance route includes multiple discussions of those things & the atrocities he's committed under that household. The game writers do not include sexual abuse in those infodumps- that i know of- but Astarion seduced people to their doom and has a weird relationship with sex as a result. Gale is not aware that he was being groomed at all and actually believes that he's the one who did badly towards his abuser, but the other companions Will question this interpretation of events and as the story goes on if you romance/befriend Gale he is able to look back on his situation and realize the 'love' he was used to was frankly sort of rotten in comparison. idk how deep it goes if you're doing friendship only but i can attest at least in romance mode that happens.

There are other situations in game (particularly at a brothel) where allusions to their abuse are made and they seem very uncomfortable being peer pressured or propositioned to. I think for a game of this size and mainstream appeal it's handled fairly well, mostly kept offscreen, and has thematic relevance to the story as a whole and the storylines of the other companions. Multiple parts of these storylines are also incredibly optional: you have to seek out these characters to learn more about them, and some of the more telling interactions aren't *given* to the player so much as found if you pay attention, if you get what I mean. I think BG3 as a whole is very entertaining and well written but you should go in knowing a measure of gritty dark themes are a central part of this setting, and while not all of it is perfect, it's one of the Best for its genre.

as a postscript: characters in this game can literally break up with you if you cross or don't care for their boundaries.

[kanghyeokk]

my observations of this MR series:

• the individual CGs are sourced from NiTsundere on weibo! reposting is allowed as long as the source is stated as per their terms of use, i’m including them in this post as a supplemental visual :)

• translations for this MR series are up! please read them before delving into this thread :)

*this is a (belated) cross post from twitter. if you prefer to read it there, here’s the link!

—

i’ll mainly be talking about the second message here! went back and watched the prologue thinking there would be some intersections between the prologue and the MR messages but i’m thinking that there are more similarities to this poster:

-

starting with vyn: in his message, he muses about the possibility of someone undoing themis’ blindfold and henceforth leading to themis bringing a new judgement upon the people. in the MR’s cg, the blindfold is undone but not off the statue’s eyes, but it is completely undone in the poster. the MR message indicates that “a new judgement would be brought upon the people” when the blindfold is undone by themis herself, but in the first poster vyn is the one who undoes it. so what does this change ., ?. ??

also noteworthy; vyn’s part in the prologue states that themis’s blind justice that went against your heart was all for naught, then asked if you would stand for your values (justice) even if the world was against you (MR message: even if themis wielded justice, evil and injustice still broods amongst the people)

later on in the MR message he also asks about what keeps themis wielding justice: because she wants to stay true to her values, or because she cannot stand to look at people suffering from hardships around her?”

then comes the question; does standing true for her values help the people in overcoming injustice, or is it all for naught because injustice will always exist? which leads back to the first question raised: maybe lady themis’s blind justice was all for naught.

artem’s message talks about him wanting to help themis balance a wobbly scale. you can see the scale in the MR cg and the poster ^^ the difference is that in the poster, artem is indeed helping themis balance the scale (holding the scale itself), but from what i can see in the MR, he’s only supporting themis’s hand that is holding the scale, i.e. he isn’t actually supporting the scale itself

in the MR message, he mentions that in the moment he held themis’s wrist, memories came flooding back to him. notably ones that have to do with the protagonist (you), +1 supporting point that “you” are (my) themis (ost reference hahaha get it 😭)

i remember there being a lot of discussion around luke’s cg, namely about how his gaze has softened and how his hand is no longer bleeding despite still holding the blade of the sword. imo this difference is also depicted in the MR message; the expression in the poster was luke being a loyal knight who has pledged his allegiance to the goddess themis (also note that in the poster themis is holding the handle of the sword, hence being the “master”) but in the MR he has a sorrowful expression almost. he is holding both the handle and the blade of the sword, which matches up with the part in the message where he dreamt of being a knight who lost his allegiance

my personal speculation for the bleeding / not bleeding depiction was that maybe luke staying by themis’s side and pledging allegiance to her caused physical wounds to luke despite making him feel like he is fulfilling his duty, but when he lost his allegiance, he is not physically hurting anymore, however internally he feels very lost.

i can’t really tell if the lilies are more withered in the poster compared to the MR (resolution LOL) but it’s nice to see them add the lilies to his attire , signalling that he has waited so long for the possibility of themis coming back that the white lilies started blooming again.

interestingly, white lilies signal purity, commitment and rebirth. all of these are themes that are present in luke’s relationship with themis.

the only similarity i can notice between marius’s MR cg and the poster is that in his hand is still the same necklace/chain with a snake on it. historically, snakes represent “immortality, a creative life force” etc. which are themes also kind of related to their story as well .. ??

most notably, the MR story talks about a painting marius made in which a man dances with a god, which looks like what is depicted in the cg. themis’s face is also hidden behind marius’s, their intertwined hands (that seem to be holding back from something), and marius looks like he’s whispering something in themis’s ear (an oracle, or a sacrilegious love story?)

-

all in all, i think this MR series was quite enjoyable! especially for those who stayed for the themis lore, this feels like new official “closure” we’re getting about this. i also love how they tied some of the ideas in their musings / dreams to their relationship in real life… i’m curious to know if they’ll continue developing on this!

[unma]

Thoughts of The Coffin of Andy and Leyley?

idk why it took me so long to answer this, but I remembered that this was sitting in my inbox just now so I might as well. I'm going to assume you came here because you wanted to hear my actual thoughts on the game in good faith and not so you could find someone new to harass.

I like the game and really want to see what happens next. I love how dysfunctional both characters are, and it's fun to see awful people be put in awful situations and do awful things to survive. Especially when they're surrounded by equally awful people (and demons too I guess).

The hate over the game was stupid and was basically just people going "I can accept cannibalism, murder and demon summoning, but I draw the line at incest," which is frankly hilarious and one more reason I simply don't touch twitter anymore. Incidentally, you could probably dig through my posts and find an old one of mine where I opined that the game wasn't going down the incest route after chapter 1... That aged like milk, lol.

All in all, I wish the dev well. Nemlei didn't deserve being harassed off the internet, and I wish I could play the rest of their games. I actually had their itch.io page open at the time, so it was a shame to suddenly see it go blank. Oh well, that's on me for procrastinating so much.

I'd ramble on more about how I love the game's deep exploration of themes, and- actually, scrap that. I'm coming back in 5 minutes and I'll write my thoughts over both of the characters under the cut.

Ashley is pure evil. Is what I would say if I was someone who believed any person could be distilled down to those two words. No, she is very clearly a product of her downright terrible upbringing, and her downright obsessive love for Andrew is shown time and time again to be a product of her emotionally isolated childhood in which Andrew was the only one who ever gave her love. He was the only person who actually treated her like a person. Anyone with that kind of childhood is bound to end up at least a little maladjusted, so Ashley as a person is not unrealistic in the slightest. Her sabotage of Andrew is also rather clearly a method to ensure he will never leave her, even if he reassures her time and time again that he would never do so. Ironically, as her visions show, it may be her own obsessive actions that cause him to finally abandon her, which is just the most delicious flavour of ironic tragedy indeed.

Andrew is a coward. Through and through. I feel for him constantly, but he truly, truly, needs to learn to say no to Ashley. Or, well, he should've learnt to do that before she forced him into their current position. And yet, he's not malicious or actively evil. He's passively evil, in fact, though using the word 'evil' feels like hyperbole. He's consistently trying to never make a choice, and hoping he can simply pass on all responsibility to Ashley. And while I get where he's coming from, given everything they do and go through, he doesn't realize that not making a choice is still a choice, and he still did commit many of those deeds even if at Ashley's behest. At first, I wanted to pretend like he was completely innocent in the games, but it really doesn't take a genius to realize he's completely wrong about how responsibility works.

I'd say more, but it's been a while since I've watched Manly's playthrough of the games. My memory is rather fuzzy now. But feel free to ask more questions if you'd like.

[keystone8379]

keystone you should talk about something in regards to kirby fighters 2 community edition

Oh you're right I haven't done that yet! Regarding Kirby Fighters 2: Community Edition, there is a metric TON of stuff to talk about here. The dev team is some of the closest friends I've ever had. Smash Tactics is a thing because I was able to test the game over and over again with the members of the dev team. We've spent many hours sharing progressively crazier character ideas. We have created some warcrime moves. (or, well, more warcrime moves. KF2 already has plenty of those) I think, however, the best place to start for CE on the KF2 lore account is probably just a development history.

So it's late September, the year is 2020. Kirby Fighters 2 was leaked, got a trailer, and released all within the span of 24 hours. Soon after that, firubii (you might have seen her before) shows her findings from a Twitter datamine, that being evidence of a 3D Kirby game. "Wow! Awesome! I sure hope it's nothing like Battle Royale!" I say at the time. But I digress.

A few months pass and eventually fish gets in touch with Firubii for I believe checking hitboxes and frame data? We get a few things for some of the weirder moves from characters like Ninja, but the fact that a modder was among us got people excited. The prospect of a balance patch mod was an undeniably appealing one and could breathe new life (and a time) into the game. And one that Firubii was interested in.

March 16th, 2021 rolls around and Fish pings everyone saying that they had set up a poll for balance suggested for Firubii to implement. They also got an all star cast of top players and fighting game expects and colgate and me. because I "have lots of opinions." We're all put into a dev chat and poll responses start flowing in.

This poll was crazy. You had Ninja downplaying Mag like crazy. You had Celica Trying His Best. You had nonsense adjustment suggestions like "Not really that effective." But my favourite would have to be probably Qwertz saying to EVERY balance suggestion box "The game needs no balance changes, only quality of life changes."

So we all in the chat start throwing around ideas while not really getting anything done. This will be a running theme. About a month later I was like enough is enough and starting pinging people for proper balance discussions and locking in changes. There's a few notable things we did for v0.1, including making Sword a LOT faster, giving Hammer Palutena's Lightweight, (the s4 custom move) making Bandana Dee's spears stick into the ground for a few seconds, and making Cutter's boomerangs bounce off walls. That last one was our first real criminal change, as Cutter could effortlessly lock down the entire screen. I spent hours labbing counterplay only to find none and grew to despise the character and suggested massive overcorrections for v0.2. Oops.

Overall v0.1 was pretty good! It had some iffy stuff and launched with a Whip desync in game but other than that it was a success I think. It came out during July of 2021, a little under 4 months from the initial announcement. There's a few public tourneys with good turnouts but run via Parsec and Parsec makes me want to commit violent crimes. Progress on 0.2 also goes fairly well. There's some bad ideas in there like making MK not very fun but overall it's not so bad.

Until development just HALTS. To my understanding, I believe it was something personal Firubii was going through but I don't have all the info. Then again, I didn't ask. Like sure, I'd like to have the new CE versions as soon as possible, but ultimately the well being of the people actually making the mod is the top priority, it's why it's so irritating when people are jerks about CE's slow development. Obviously I want the new versions out. But we all have lives outside of this and sometimes other things need doing.

Eventually 0.2 gets out, at the start of Febuary 2022. It's solid but still has some things that irk me. After a few months, we ask for player feedback on overall balance and specific changes and get not many results. Granted, CE doesn't have much players so balance discussion is somewhat meaningless for a game this unexplored. I think 1.0 fixes all of the glaring flaws though.

At some point, once again, development freezes, and this one was rough. No communication from Firubii led to a lot of dooming, especially with how close we got to actually launching 1.0. We DO actually know why she vanished for so long this time, it's because her house caught fire. It didn't burn down don't worry! But this still caught us all SUPER off guard.

Anyway, CE resumed development and went for a little while, but hit a brick wall when trying to add training mode. I'm not an expert on the inner workings of KF2 but I know Firubii talked to Ryn (yes, the goku in strive Ryn) about it a little bit. I actually posted about this to my Threads account but who gives a shit about threads. That's more or less where we are now. It's been a while since the last tester build but what can you do.

There's also a few other things but there wasn't really a good place for them. Colgate thought it was a good idea to make a tierlist video for a game no one could play. It wasn't. I had to spend the days after that video doing damage control. There was a playlist where people could suggest songs to add to CE, but tbh it was more just an excuse to listen to music in VC while we could still do that. We were gonna move off Gamebanana because the site is run by N*zis but this was during the fire arc so didn't happen. AV also thought it'd be a good idea to shittalk CE and ask to join the dev team in the same day. There was also the time we had to rush out a trailer for Savi's Dream Display but I have a few criticisms about that which I'll share with him one day.

I think that's it? If you wanna download the mod I'll link it right here: https://gamebanana.com/mods/303920

[northadawn]

NorthaDawn's October 2024 Update

Hello everyone, NorthaDawn here, and it's now October! 2024 is almost over, and it's been ages since you last heard of a comprehensive update from me, so I think it's important to let you all know how I've been doing, and what I've been up to.

1) LONG TIME NO SEA

I've been very in-and-out of the community for a while, and only came back to post Crown Jewel, mainly because I've wanted to take time to really think on what I want to give you guys and what direction I want to be going with my art. I've had many nights where I doubted if I still can continue to improve the quality of my art while trying to bring full commitment to my game design degree in university (relevant later), alongside giving you guys more content that you've all waited ages for from me. In addition, I was beginning to have severe panic attacks while trying to get over my social anxiety and the personal weight of wanting to give you all better content than before.

After a few conflicts here and there on top of meeting several new people that I've come to grow close with, I decided that it's about high time that I come back to being active around here again.

Why did I decide that I come back to being active after all that happened? Something funny happened; I did indeed get better, so much better that I thought I can do this again. I'll be sure to comment around on stuff I missed, reply, and make new stuff again!

[ // ]

2) GIJINKACORD TURNS 1! + APOLOGIES FOR THE MESS

Gijinkacord (fka RMS Ship Nerds), my community Discord server, has just celebrated its first anniversary! Over the course of the year, we have had 100+ people come join along with the plethora of activities held in the place such as roleplaying and game nights. I want to thank you all for being a part of my little community within the Titanic space. If you're not a part of the Discord server yet, why not join? There's plenty of us who enjoy a plethora of different things in the community, on top of our favourite ships and gijinkas, of course!

In other news, because I plan on coming back to being active around art communities again, I decided to refresh my theme a little bit. The changes aren't too drastic, only intended to freshen up things. Besides, I was kind of proud of what I got going initially, just sad that I couldn't make the most out of it then.

Alongside that, I'll also update the look of my other socials in the coming future, so don't mind me while I'm still rearranging the house decor a little :)

To give you all a quick refresher on all of my official social media handles, you can view my Linktree or this list below:

DeviantArt: NorthaDawn

Instagram: northadawn

Twitter: northadawn

Cara: northadawn

Tumblr: northadawn (you're in it right now!)

Gumroad Shop: northadawn

[ // ]

3) I'M MAKING A GAME!

I've just announced recently that I'm making a game based around my ship gijinkas known as Waking The Distant Sea! You can check the announcement journal for more information, but basically, Waking The Distant Sea is a game where you form relationships with the shipgirls before your luxury ship reaches its destination. You can have casual and deep conversations with the girls, give them gifts, and even go out with them! It's my homage to the dating sims of the past, and my love letter/stark warning towards everything I've come to know through my years in the Titanic community.

There will be more information in the coming future, and I'll put up a more detailed page about the game soon, including FAQ.

Just one thing to remember though: this isn't a game about ships.

[ // ]

FINAL REMARKS

Thanks for your continued support, and I hope to see and speak with you all frequently once more! I also hope that you can enjoy my new art once they come out. See you soon!

-Northa

THERE IS STILL A VOYAGE TO EMBARK ON

[lizzxrd]

I've said pretty much this exact thing on Twitter several times already when that site was still usable (as in it functioned and at least didn't give you constant error messages) but goddamn Amalthus is such an amazing villain !!!

(now u guys here have to deal with my repetitive rambles bc I can't fucking regulate my emotions and properly process how much I like Xenoblade so I must scream about it somewhere or else I Will Explode <3)

He's such a great antithesis to Xenoblade's overarching themes/message of the power in friendship, trust, compassion and hope and the perseverance of the human spirit. And on a smaller scale he's also a fantastic antithesis to Rex. They both lost their parents at a young age, they both saw people commit some truly awful things. Rex's believe in a better future - in a literal mystical utopia - and his unfaltering kindness got strengthened; Amalthus succumbed to his despair entirely.

Also I absolutely love how he isn't just like that because he's weak spirited or whatever. His beliefs are a direct result of the Indoline political and religious doctrine. He's more or less a personification of the extreme conclusions to it (and also to some extent Judicium's general beliefs abt the world but unfortunately the info xbc2 and tgct give us about Judicium is just crumbs). I'm probably treading into some speculation/headcanon territory here. Indol's general social structure seems to be far more atomized/individualistic than that of other places in xbc2 probably due to its wealth while Indol is also posing as this beacon of virtue - a nation that must help others because it is better than them. Like, of course he doesn't believe in compassion and kindness. He probably never really experienced those personally and all of his most lasting impressions of the outside world were of people doing horrible things. And of course he doesn't treat Blades as people; that's just how things are. He's thoroughly adopted Indol's views of the world. Even his delusions of grandeur were a direct result of this.

I know that as a character he is a person with his own agency and he failed to ever question these views and I absolutely understand why people in the fandom don't like him; he's not supposed to be a likeable character. But as a narrative tool he's fantastic. He's a personification of a logical extreme to a fascistic theocratic nation which makes him such a good villain in the setting of xbc2 and just generally xbc as a series

I have so many more detailed thoughts abt this tbh but I'm neither eloquent nor smart enough to untangle that mess and express them in a way they make sense outside of my head but, like, you get what I mean. I love Amalthus so much and I also hate him. I want to tear him apart limb by limb but I also think he's fantastic

[sshbpodcast]

Top 3 Star Trek Deep Space Nine characters

By Ames

A Star to Steer Her By is continuing our trend of spotlighting minor and one-off characters from all the series. We did it with The Original Series. We did it with The Next Generation. And after having a lot of nostalgic vibes from this week’s podcast episode, we’re ready to give some glory to our favorite characters from Deep Space Nine!

There are just a TON of great characters throughout a series known for its amazing character work, and we did a pretty good job limiting ourselves to those who we didn’t see that much of since so many folks become familiar faces over the course of the show. So spin the wheel with us as you see all our picks below and listen to our very difficult decisions over on the podcast (discussion starts at 1:03:03). These characters will have you yelling “Dabo!”

[images © CBS/Paramount] 

Jake – Honorable fights

Aamin Marritza

Tekeny Ghemor

Grilka

Walk a mile in the shoes of any of Jake’s picks and you’ll be exhausted by the hardships you have to endure just to do the right thing. From a pair of Cardassian men whom we’ve discussed in our Cardassians blogpost, one who is trying to atone for the wrongs committed by an entire people and one who is secretly leading a dissident movement on Cardassia, we move on to one of our favorite Klingon lasses who just wants to bring honor to her house in defiance of some of the more sexist laws on Q’onos. Qapla’!

—

Ames – Voices of a generation

Tosk

Pel

Lisa Cusak

I am Tosk! The three one-off characters that I’m highlighting all make us not only look differently at how we treat people, but also in how we tell our stories. Let’s start with the first species we meet from the Gamma Quadrant who relates the complicated history of his hunted people with simplicity and humility. Next is the first female Ferengi in Star Trek, who starts us on a journey of change on Ferenginar that becomes a theme throughout the series. And finally, here’s a character who is downright fascinating despite the fact we never even see her on screen, but the sound of her voice is all we really need.

—

Caitlin – Found family

Lwaxana Troi

Liam Bilby and Chester

Tekeny Ghemor

Caitlin’s choices for DS9 characters are all complicated parental figures in their own ways, but like good mothers and fathers, they care for their flock and lead by example. We see a repeat from one of Caitlin’s faves from TNG, who has returned to show Odo a new side of herself. We also have a new sorta father figure for O’Brien when he temporarily infiltrates the Orion Syndicate just to have his heart broken a bit, and also Kira’s Cardassian sorta dad who treats her as he would his own daughter… who happens to have her face.

—

Chris – One day more to revolution

Michael Eddington

Aamin Marritza

Leck the Eliminator

“Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men?” Okay, that’s enough Les Misérables quoting for this post. Chris’s picks are all ready to fight for their beliefs, whether they be as leaders within the Maquis, resisting that Federation-Cardassian treaty that boned so many people; as a martyr making a statement about how his people need to be brought to justice for their cruel occupation of Bajor; or just as a normal guy who really loves killing for whatever reason you throw at him!

— We’re going to keep chilling here on the promenade, having a jumja stick, maybe dangling our legs over the second floor landing. There’s more in store for our Deep Space Nine friends next week when we’ll try to thwart our favorite villains of the series. So definitely keep your eyes here for that, keep up with all of our coverage over on SoundCloud or wherever you listen to podcasts, and hop in a roundabout to join us on Facebook and Twitter. There will be no running on the promenade!

[qnewsau]

From self-defence to self-empowerment with Melbourne Dragons

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/from-self-defence-to-self-empowerment-with-melbourne-dragons/

From self-defence to self-empowerment with Melbourne Dragons

Strength comes in all shapes, sizes and abilities, and no one knows that more than the Melbourne Dragons.

Melbourne’s first inclusive LGBTQIA+ martial arts club, the Melbourne Dragons, was born from a community need for self-defence classes.

When we think martial arts, I know the first thing many of us think of is Mr Miyagi saying, ‘Wax on. Wax Off’ in Karate Kid.

But the skill and training you learn through martial arts means so much more for members of our communities looking for connection.

“For me, seeking out the Melbourne Dragons was more than health and fitness.”Dragons President Lilith told us.

“I was looking to find some extra confidence, to learn self-defence, as well as find a bit of community.”

Everyone’s personal goals are different.

“When I started a year ago, it was about fitness and confidence, and then I built up to a few tournaments.”

“Even though there is a lot of individualism because martial arts are about improving oneself, you’re still part of the community.”

“Imparting knowledge to others is a really big thing for me, and helps build great connections as well.” Lilith said.

Supplied

It’s never too late to start

Melbourne Dragons offer martial Arts and self-defence classes in a queer-friendly dojo.

They also run weekly Karate and Muay Thai/Kickboxing sessions in a supportive and inclusive environment.

“The original idea was about starting self-defence classes for the LGBTQ+ community.” Sensei and founding member Damien told us.

“After the six-week course, it grew from there.”

Nine years on, the club continues to help the community grow in ability, confidence and fitness.

“We are very open and welcome, and people can train at their own pace.”

“Everyone knows what it’s like to walk in on that first day and how nervous it can be.”

The Melbourne Dragons offer one free trial class to come along to the dojo and see what it’s like before you commit.

“As an instructor, it is great for me to watch when a person first comes in and see their progress build as their body starts to build on technique,” Damien said.

“To see people who can’t throw a punch on day way progress to kicking head height and see the confidence grow in them is great.”

Supplied

More than defence

When talking about why members wanted to try martial arts, bullying when young is a theme that kept coming up.

But you learn more about yourself as your defence training grows.

“For me, as I learned more, it became a source of resilience within me,” Damien said,

“I realised that if I wanted to, I could hurt someone, but knowing you’re making a choice not to do that is very powerful.”

“A message I want everyone who walks through our door to know is that what we do is about empowerment.”

“Joining dragons and embracing a bunch of things through martial arts has changed my life, fitness and confidence overall,” Lilith told us.

“It’s made me a better person in ways both emotionally, physically and socially.”

“I even embraced a bit of athleticism by competing above my belt in a competition where I have medals now.” they said

Lillith recently placed 1st in a few categories at a state championship.

“Not bad for a 34-year-old queer woman who used to get picked last in sports and bullied in school.”

You can find out more about Melbourne Dragons here.

Supplied

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[spaceorphan18]

Thoughts on the upcoming Price of Glee documentary?

Yes - I think it's sensationalist bullshit.

I did watch the trailer on twitter - because it was trending, and I wanted to be aware of what it was going for.

One of the literal tag lines is -- in 2010 ten kids become famous, by 2020 three are dead.

And I... just found myself incredibly angry. Like, so angry.

The "documentary" is exploiting the deaths of three young people to claim that somehow a) there's a curse and b) that it was the cause of the three deaths. It's all sensationalist -- meaning purposefully edited to create the most shock value. And wants to capitalize on tragedy.

Cory's death was tragic - but he had already struggled with drug issues before he was even on the show, and tying his death to his fame feels like it's stretching truth to fit the narrative the doc is going for.

Naya's death had zero to do with the show - it happened five years after the show was long done. And it was an extremely tragic accident. There's nothing going on here - and, again, to fit it into the theme feels hollow and reductive.

Here's what I'll say about Mark - who is just in a different category all together. I get the feeling that the doc really wanted to talk about how terrible Mark was and how his fame and misgivings drove him to suicide. And - I'm not going to sit here and say he was a good guy -- he wasn't. He did terrible things, and should be held accountable for that. However, I hate the fact that his family has to endure the exploitation of it all. (I have no idea if his family is involved - but if I was a family member, I'd be furious that my family is being used for cheap entertainment.)

I also really, really hate (in general) backhanded narratives that frame bad people committing suicide as a good thing. It's reductive on a level that just makes me incredibly angry.

And overall, yes, three young people dying who are connected to a teen show does seem disproportionally high. But you know what? It's coincidental. It really, really is. There is no freaking curse. Just a lot of tragedy.

I didn't recognize any of the people who were giving interviews - however one of them I believe is Naya's dad (who has been apparently exploiting his daughter's death for a while now) and I've heard that others are people who have vendettas against Glee (though - I can't say who or why because I literally do not know.)

The trailer only focused on the deaths - so I assume this is all they'll be focusing on. And yes - it plays as if it some huge crime drama when... c'mon, it wasn't.

Also - I'm sure it's going to clearly ignore all the wonderful things Glee brought to the world, and how it had a profoundly positive impact on people, especially the LGBT+ community.

(Also - anyone else feel like it's suspicious that the trailer dropped the night Kevin and Jenna held Snixxmas?)

If you want honest insight into Glee - I recommend Kevin and Jenna's podcast. They're open about its ups and downs, but they're also celebratory of the good things as they also critical of the bad. And they are able to frame it as such as real people living a real thing -- and not sensational garbage trying to shock people into believing that Glee (and fame) was so terrible it killed people.

[onewingedangel3]

so, hangman changed his spotify playlist and as far as i know he has changed everything (except for "that funny feeling", which is still there). so, obviously, i have to analyze this. enjoy!

The spotify list:

if anyone is unaware, our anxious millenial cowboy has a public spotify playlist, "anxious millenial cowboy". however, these songs are often ones that you can can connect to his character. i think it's a great and creative way to let the fans know what his headspace is at the moment! (check it out!!).

so, what do i think hangman is trying to convey with his new songs?

well, i think he is hinting a lot at an elite reformation. "the good old days" is a theme referenced in multiple songs throughout this playlist, which i take as him thinking back about his days in the elite, just him, kenny, and the bucks.

a hangman and bucks reconciliation is further supported by songs like "Heavy crown", a song about hardships within a friendship, and "Sooner than later", where a lyric that really hammers this theme home is:

"So tell me how should I say "I'm sorry." I swear by this time next year we're gonna have more money"

i believe that in with this song hangman is trying to convey that he wants to make up with the bucks, but is having a hard time doing so. much like how after the FTR-manipulated betrayal hangman tried to say sorry to them but failed or was unable to.

the song "send the moon" on the playlist also hints at a him wanting to reunite with the bucks, and there is a lyric i think is interesting here;

"Well, it’s hard to be apart, so many miles in between. Laying here in the dark, are you thinking of me?"

obviously hangman is not literally miles apart from the bucks, but within aew and their stables/factions, they are as far apart as they can be. hangman is with the dorkiest heel-turned-face faction, who just want the best for eachother, while the bucks are in the most assholey face-turned-heels stable in aew, currently being led by adam cole, the man who is very clearly trying to manipulate everyone else to hate hangman to not have his power within the group trivialized. hangman is also afraid that the bucks are not open to reconciliation at all (which is clearly not true, since the bucks have repeatedly refused to fight hangman with cole, and changed their header image on twitter recently to just the three of them).

several songs on this playlist are connected with the theme of running away. i do not believe this is about him literally running away from fights or otherwise, but rather from who he is. a lot of the songs are about running away to, yet again, "the good old days". a song showing this is the nina simone version of "Stars", used in the bojack horseman episode "Well that went well". if you aren't familiar with this episode (or bojack horseman in general), in the end of the episode where this is playing bojack almost commits suicide, but stops his car and looks out to see other horses (he is a horse) running free in the plains. he then decides to escape from LA, leaving behind his life that, to others, seemed so great and that he seemed so happy in.

i fully connect this to hangmans character, him having the pressure of the championship on his shoulders and needing to escape, to be with people who make him happy. (this is something that is said outright in the latest BTE episode).

several songs also show hangman feeling a lot of remorse of how he treated his friends during his title reign. this lyric from "worried, unhappy, lonesome and sorry" illustrates this perfectly:

"I turned off a love that was mine. And the misery that followed was my fault completely"

i think this perfectly shows how him drifting away from the dark order during his title reign effected him. he started neglecting and pushing the dark order away, and he places that and the consequences that followed completely on himself. this could also be seen as him thinking back at his fallout with the bucks, saying that he grew coldhearted and distant towards them and that everything that happened afterwards was his fault.

so, summary:

while this is not a complete analysis by any means (there are a lot of songs i have skipped), i think it's clear the see the core message hangman is wanting to show us. he wants reconciliation with his friends, both the dark order and the elite, after all the misery and shit they have gone through (which he blames on himself), and wanting the escape how he was living his life when he was champ (unhappy, lonely) and wants to get a new start, connected to "the good old days".