#team leader vs operations lets go

[cyanocoraxx]

don't you LOVE getting into Trouble at work because the new operations managers go running and crying to your manager instead of talking to you like a professional...... girl sit down I'm a team leader now too 😑 learn it and speak 2 me w respect

[positivelybeastly]

Hi, new here, but very interested in what you've got going on-- I don't know a lot of active X-Men readers I can discuss things with, let alone any who are actually interested in Beast, so I wanted to ask, how do you feel about the writing for him over the last decade, taking into account the awkward situation X-Men as a whole has been in over that time (Schism+) but particularly, I suppose, how his character's been treated from then through Krakoa, and this "fresh start" we've got with From the Ashes not having memory of... really this entire time period highlighted?

Hello there, welcome! Hope you enjoy the experience, because it's liable to be a rambly one.

So . . . man, this is gonna be a long one, because I actually have to dial it back a little further and talk about Beast on Utopia if I'm going to talk about Schism and everything that came after.

I don't like Matt Fraction's X-Men run. Aside from the Greg Land art, which is an obvious problem, I'm not massively in love with what I kind of end up reading as a justification for black ops kill teams and militant, isolationist statehood, to say nothing of just. Poor pacing and messy storytelling and a lot of really confused storylines that just feel weird and jarring and full of really strange character choices.

I think that Fraction did mean for his run to be more critical, that when you read Hank and Scott arguing about preserving the soul of the X-Men vs. saving mutant lives, you're meant to come away conflicted, but I think that Fraction's Hank just kinda sucks and that he comes across as very whiney and self-centred.

Like, in the end, I don't think that a lot of what Cyclops did in this era, a lot of morally repugnant shit, actually really cost him anything, because history validated him and he was elevated to whatever the big general position was on Krakoa.

It wasn't a great feeling to see the guy who literally, textually abandoned members of his teams to torture, used bioweapons as a first resort, and basically told a kid to just kill people to solve the problem, have all of his actions be whitewashed and ignored post-Schism.

Like, Bendis' Uncanny and All-New act like the only bad thing Scott ever did was kill Charles Xavier while under the influence of the Phoenix, and I'm just over here like, nnnnnno he did a lot of bad things before that, very much in his right mind, and he never paid for any of that. He got to be the black ops kill team leader and the saintly revolutionary, and I don't think that the narrative really interrogated that contradiction all that much, it was just #CyclopsWasRight.

With that context . . .

I don't have a problem with Hank being a conscientious objector and leaving the X-Men. He's done it before, and I think he was right to do it, and it fits his character.

That being said, he was then pushed straight on to the Secret Avengers, which was, while not a kill team, very much a black ops, deniable operations organisation with team members who did kill people, and while I like some of the stories from his time with the Secret Avengers, overall, I think it was an intensely stupid move that made him look like a massive hypocrite and damaged his credibility, making it look less like he was taking a moral stand and more like he just didn't like Scott.

Which is a bad thing!!! Hank loves Scott! They've been best friends since fucking forever! Not only do you damage Hank's character by doing that, but you also reduce what was a moral conflict with nuance and dimension down to petty bullshit! It's a disservice to both characters! God!! It frustrates me SO MUCH when this conflict is boiled down to that!

God forbid that these characters actually stand for something and have actual intellectual, moral problems with one another that they can have compelling conversations about, why not let's just make them petty assholes who snipe at each other for drama?

You can do this conflict and make it good! It's possible! I promise!

This is what Schism should have really been about! And Hank was, at least before the dumb move to push him to the Secret Avengers, a character with moral legitimacy who could have made Schism work! I think there's a lot of mileage to the idea that Wolverine has progressed to the point where he wants to protect people from violence, where he wants to save kids from being turned into weapons like he was, but that's a personal motivation, and it's really, really, really hard for him to have the moral high ground.

But, in the end, Wolverine sells comics, not Beast, so Wolverine became the figurehead of the less militant side of the X-Men comics. Fine. Okay, we'll deal with it.

Wolverine and the X-Men is . . . good. It has problems, but on the whole, I like it more than a lot of what came after. I especially like Jason Aaron's moves to keep Hank and Abigail together, as well as fold Broo into a growing family unit. That's a good progression for his character, and it makes sense.

Then there's Avengers vs. X-Men, and it's. Like. Garbage, but. Whatever. I do appreciate that Hank is at least occasionally in character during it.

But then we come to All-New X-Men, and I just . . . ughhhhh.

UGHHHHHHH.

I hate it, man. I hate it. I hate Bendis' bullshit garbage characterisation of Hank McCoy, and I hold it directly responsible for everything that came after it, because it functionally replaced his prior characterisation.

Hank is a character obsessed with consequences in the 00s, he's obsessed with making the right choice, he's already learned that there's only so much that he can do to fix the world. Endangered Species (which I think is an amazing Hank story) shows us that Hank will only go so far, and that, honestly, in the grand scheme of things, he will stop himself.

And then Bendis was just like, well, fuck all that bullshit, Hank blew up the space-time continuum because he doesn't like Scott Summers.

And I hate it.

It would be one thing, if Bendis were actually interested in Hank as a character, if he was willing to examine his character and his choices and his reasons and his personality, but he isn't. He flits in and out of All-New as and when required, to be castigated for a decision made while he was dying, depressed, and dealing with multiple brain aneurysms. Ostensibly, we're meant to buy that Xavier's death was the tipping point, but we don't even see Hank react to it. It's not considered important.

Hank's grief, Hank's isolation, Hank's horror, all of it is just ignored.

There's no real emotional dimension here, there's no 'what is Beast thinking, why is he doing this, let's have him talk with characters that are his friends and try to work out where he's at mentally,' because Bendis doesn't care. "Why is Beast like this? He just is. He's just a morally hypocritical asshole who judges other people and does things without thinking." He just makes Hank look like a goddamn lunatic, and it all culminates in this.

I just. I fucking hate this issue, man. It's a long, excruciating character assassination that casually wrecks Hank's long running relationship with Abigail Brand, torches his legitimacy as an intellectual or moral individual, and portrays him as a sad, lonely old man who might as well just leave because no-one actually wants him around. It's fucking galling.

Hank just straight up would not wreck the space-time continuum to teach Scott Summers a lesson. He just wouldn't. I fundamentally reject the premise. I reject it just as much as I reject the shitty attempts to make Hank/Jean Grey a pairing.

I reject the idea that Hank is a loose cannon with no regard for rules or others, who just believes in his own moral authority and says fuck everyone else, I do what I want. That is NOT who he is, and I really do just have to wonder what everyone was smoking that no-one looked at this and went, wait, when did Hank change into this? Everyone just accepted it.

It really does just feel like people got tired of Hank complaining on Utopia, so when it came time to pile on the blame for all the problems that happened after it, no-one really cared when it all became Hank's fault. No-one was willing to point out that Bendis' characterisation of Hank doesn't make sense.

Does Hank hate Scott? Why? "He's going to cause a mutant genocide" = based on what? "He killed Charles Xavier" = under the influence of a cosmic force. I don't understand these characterisation choices. Hank knows Scott better than this.

Bendis just. Does not like Hank McCoy. I really can't come up with another explanation for why he went out of his way to do two bumper issues, All-New X-Men #25 and Uncanny X-Men #600, that are just a round robin of everyone telling him that they hate him and that he sucks and he should go die.

There are glimmers of better characterisation during this period.

Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers is - complex, and you'll often hear people gesture to that as the point at which Hank became full on amoral, but I reject that hypothesis entirely. It's a conclusion come to by people who haven't actually read it.

Hank spends most of that series being wracked with guilt, trying desperately to find another way to solve the problem that doesn't involve blowing up planets, and refusing to take a life. Which tracks with Hickman's characterisation of Beast.

"Broken him." Implying that it's not his natural state, and that there are other factors are at play. This is important to keep in mind.

For most of this time period, Hank is in a very rocky state. He's not quite with the X-Men, he's not quite with the Avengers, he's got a reputation for being a chronic screw-up, people regard him as unstable, and yet they'll still call on him to fix their problems for them.

Like, the amount of times that the X-Men call on him to help them, despite the fact that he left after their failed, garbage intervention, and he still goes back to them, is just so very tiring. Either the X-Men should stop relying on someone that they seem not to like or trust, or Hank should stop going back to a 'family' that seems not to value him or have his best intentions in mind. The halfway house they settle into is just weird and inconsistent.

Like, which is it? Do you guys actually want him around or not? Because you're kind of being massive assholes to a guy who primarily wants to help. And we're meant to be knee deep in his turn towards moral ambiguity by now, but he's still just kinda being a good dude!

Anyone who tells you that Beast's moral downfall has been a consistent slide since Threnody is a fraud, because there is nothing consistent about this period of history for Beast.

If these panels show you anything, it's that there are two Beasts running around - a guy who makes problems for other people to solve because he's an idiot, and actual Beast, who occasionally makes mistakes, but who has pure intentions, a good heart, a joke at the ready, and he's fundamentally a nice person. It's getting to be impossible to tell which one is going to turn up to your story.

The only really good writing comes in fits and spurts, and usually when he's under the care of a writer who seems to have some affection for him. Especially if Simon Williams is around.

Whenever I write this version of Hank, his tag is getting by, because it feels like his life is just perpetually on the skids and there's no real rhyme or reason as to why. He just oscillates between two extremes as and when the story wants him to be an asshole or not. Even he seems confused as to what's going on.

And then we get to Krakoa, and . . .

It's just fundamentally not the same character. It's not even the same as Dark Beast, it's just Mr. Sinister in blue fur with less jokes. Benjamin Percy just expects you to accept that Hank woke up one day and was like, y'know what? I think killing countries is fine, actually. I want to head up an intelligence agency. I should cut off Wolverine's head. Maybe torture some innocent aliens for fun.

Why?

Eh, he's just evil.

Why are you bothering to question it?

And people don't question it, because Hank is a horrible hypocrite who will do anything that falls within his narrow view of morally acceptable actions, and he's an awful person who people barely tolerate being around.

Except. He isn't that. Or is he? Because Bendis said he was like that. And as everyone knows, Bendis is the true arbiter of characterisation and continuity. Just ask a fan of Wanda Maximoff, and they'll tell you how happy they are with his definitive version of the character.

Like, I just don't buy it. Not for one bit. You can't make this character this and pass a spot check. The only reason people are fine with it is because they never particularly cared for Beast to begin with, and so this new, more 'interesting' characterisation is better. It's 'truer.' Meanwhile, people who actually have been following the character for years remember when other X-Men were saying stuff like this.

Which is it? Has every single nice thing an X-Man said about Hank McCoy been a horrible, hilariously off base misjudgement, or is Benjamin Percy a hack who can't write? Iunno, man. Jury's out.

And then we come to From the Ashes, which is . . . a little too early, to make a judgement? I'm tentatively optimistic, now that we have a Beast who isn't just. The worst. I don't love the fact that he's missing 40 years of memories, even if the storytelling opportunities of such a character beat are interesting.

I'm also on the fence about this.

Idk, I'm hoping that it'll be born out by the rest of the issue, and that Hank's characterisation here makes more sense with context, but I don't love the idea of bringing back the single most heroic version of Hank McCoy that ever existed, then side-jumping him straight into a redux of the Legacy Virus 'I can't leave the lab/I have to make moral compromises' storyline from the 90s.

I have faith in Jed MacKay, and I'm willing to give it a shot, but I'm just so used to being disappointed by Marvel and X-Men by this point.

To come back to how I feel about it all? This isn't what I would have wanted for Hank. Not even close. Bendis threw out everything I liked about Hank back in 2013, and it set us down a path that has even a hint of Hank being anything less than perfect seeing comments sections explode, saying that he's well on his way to becoming evil again.

His name is dirt in the fandom, and the reason it isn't considered more of a problem is because he never had that big of a fan base to begin with, which is mostly a result of the fact that he's not a character who gets big flashy 'I'm so cool' moments - he's a character whose storylines are often sad, morose, dark, and unhappy. People like Beast, but they won't generally go to bat for him.

The revisionist history bugs me, a lot. No, he wasn't always evil, and no, it's not been a consistent slide to villainy ever since 1993. He's just as liable to be written badly as any other character, and frankly, I think he's been a victim of it a lot more than a lot of other characters during the same time period, but whereas other characters will have that bad writing forgiven by both fandom and the writers (Emma Frost), it just. Hangs, over Hank's head, like Damocles' sword.

It's been disheartening, honestly. I left the fandom in 2015, after Bendis' runs, because I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, and when I came back a year ago, I found out it had only gotten worse. Everyone else got to enjoy Krakoa, with its big mutant pride storylines and their stories of redemption and deepening bonds and political machinations, and my character got stuck in the shitty black ops corner, acting like a James Bond villain with none of the charm. It really didn't make me feel welcome.

If it hadn't been for a good few other fans who have stuck by me since then, I probably would have left the fandom again, and while things are looking up a bit more now, I don't know if I'm ever quite going to be at a point where I'm not jaded, expecting another heel turn from Marvel.

It sucks, because Hank has always meant a lot to me. He's a character about ethical science, about body dysmorphia, about mental illness, about triumph through adversity, about second chances, about maturity, about nuance and conflict and complexity, and he just got bulldozed into being the war crimes guy.

I got invited to join an O5 X-Men Reddit the other day, and the only posts that even mentioned him both were like 'lol war crimes lol Beast killed someone,' and it just made me think, why in god's name would I want to be part of that?

Like, I have stuff to contribute. I have a lot of thoughts about Hank, and his friendships and relationships and his meaning as a character, stuff that people often haven't considered because they don't think about Beast as deeply as I do, stuff that could elevate and deepen people's enjoyment of stories they've read a hundred times before - and I just.

Why would I share it? Why would I go into a space where I don't feel welcome? Why would I share my thoughts on the deeper meaning of Hank's tendency towards performance and how it changes over 60 years of comic books, when I know that the first comment is gonna be some variation of 'lol war crimes'?

It'd be one thing if the story we got was any good, then I could at least say it was worth it, but it wasn't. That's the thing that bugs me the most. The story of Hank's heel turn could have been amazing, but the lack of care and thought to consistency extended so far that even his villain turn was bad. We sacrificed this

for this.

And it's just a straight up downgrade. There's none of what Hickman or Morrison talked about being the point or the appeal of Beast. There's no sweet man, there's no heart, there's no humanity. It's just edgy. It's just the ends justifies the means, and that's it. That's the final thesis. There's nothing more to it than that. It's just so. Simple. Undercooked, really. It feels like a disservice to the complex character that Hank McCoy is meant to be.

Final thoughts? Uh. It mostly all kinda sucks, go buy a copy of S.W.O.R.D volume 1 instead, it's really good.

[allwormdiet]

Insinuation 2.5

Let's go ahead and put that nightmare behind us, Christ

As leery as I've been of the way Brockton Bay gets described, this is actually a lot less aggravating than 1.3

It feels like there's a lot you could make out of the sharp delineations in the city's layout, the neighborhoods that stand next to each other but are night and day.

God, yes, please and thank you. Tattletale vs Winslow and Emma is a 10-0 matchup. I've known her for like five paragraphs and I'd kill for her.

So that's interesting, actually. Taylor actually doesn't need much time to puzzle out that there's something weird about the way the Undersiders operate. Two small-timers who act independently suddenly teaming up with two unknowns and dramatically changing their MOs. That and the hint that there isn't one single leader suggests an alliance of convenience or, the secret correct answer, another player pulling the strings.

I don't think Taylor's gonna arrive at that idea just yet though, we'll see.

Fantastic mental image, actually, no notes 10/10

And so a plot is formulated. I know a fair bit of how this goes.

Also "monumental betrayal" probably doesn't even cover the half of it, Taylor's flip to the Protectorate devastates the others if I remember what I've learned offhandedly.

This is cool honestly. Smart of Taylor to find a location with public internet and reach out anonymously, and then immediately thrown back in her face with a flex of Tattletale's power. And the oblique references to the cape stuff that they keep vague is fun in its own way.

I like how that sign off can either be read as Tattletale signing off with her cape name or else saying "ta ta for now"

God, I didn't even think about that escalation. Did Tattletale do that on purpose? Because if so that's clever as all hell.

"Mucho cred?" That's a real line? That's an actual phrase written in hit web serial Worm? I'm like, actually staggered from this. Mucho cred.

Fucked up that she's not even that afraid of dying in an abstract sense. Like obviously she doesn't want to die, but that urge to be a hero is clearly pushing her forward in a way that... hmm. I don't know it's going to be healthy for her.

Speaking of unhealthy, yeah, the status quo is eating her alive. She has to make a move, it's unsustainable to let the bullies continue dominating her life.

Current Thoughts

I'm with Taylor on this actually, civilian life blows let's go do cape shit

[longeyelashedtragedy]

For the send a character ask: Granit Xhaka XD

@perfectpiety here you go!!!

favorite thing about them: HOW to even answer this??? i think granit might be as close to "perfect" as a human can get. first of all let's get out of the way how stupid gorgeous he is and has been for basically his entire adult life--my personal favorite granit aesthetic era is his early bratty twink time at arsenal (if he's wearing 29, you know he's extra fine) but he's stunning in any era. his cheekbones should probably be arrested. the side dish to this is how fucking awful he looks in his selfies 😂 he's way too young to take such bad photos of himself. there's some legend that quilters would purposely make a mistake in their quilt to show humility--that only god can be perfect--while i don't know if this is a true story, maybe granit's selfies are the contemporary version of this 😂

as for the REST of it...

who the fuck is this man? he's so strong and solid while not being an asshole, toxic man with no emotions. he operates on a value system that feels almost archaic sometimes, but in a good way, like he'd probably lie his nice coat over a puddle for mikel to step on in the rain. he truly seems to have the most golden heart. But he has a heart of molten gold—more lethal than the hard form.  More alive.  Overtaking everything it touches. His natural leadership and charisma are truly insane. My sister is a little like him in this way, and it's always truly fascinating to watch--someone who just naturally commands the attention, leads a conversation, even the most experienced and hardened team captain seems to defer to granit for the team talks. while "taking over everything and commanding the attention" is often a really annoying and unlikeable quality, for people for whom it comes that naturally you can't even hate them for it because they're not trying to be pushy or an asshole. they're just a born leader.

i also used to think he was kind of a himbo, but i feel like i owe him an apology because he actually seems quite intelligent and serious. he's one of those footballers who can give an actual academic subject answer for "what was your favorite subject in school" (math lol)

least favorite thing about them: that he DOESN'T PLAY FOR ARSENAL ANYMORE

favorite line: anytime he calls mikel a "freak, in a positive way"? in his open mic video during covid season, where someone scores and he goes "FUCK ME! THAT'S FOOTBALL GUYS!" uhhh...his entire "if you don't have the balls to play, stay home" speech in 2022? when he told alex iwobi "i only listen albanian music" in his #29 days cause that was such a lie lmao. in terms of international duty: when he was hyping up the team before the penalties vs france in euro 2020 and yelled "WE ARE CLEARLY THE BETTER TEAM HERE". or...most iconically...looking at the serbian bench and mouthing "Ta qifsha nonen ne pidh"...thanks to my scholarly pursuits of albanian i did not need a translator for that ;). or wait...in colney carpool...whatever the fuck that weird thing he said about giraffes was 😂

brotp: well...granit and his actual brother taulant? hahaha. i love him with anyone he was friends with at arsenal (gabby j modelling his clothing line, anyone?) with carlos cuesta, with ricci rodriguez, xherdan shaqiri, and breel embolo (always ready to throw down with vs the serbian nt). his history with yann sommer...i love granit's Friendships

notp: ok...please don't hate me. i don't mean "notp" as in like, eww, i hate this, i'd never read about it, i'd block the tags, etc. i just don't personally ship granit and martin. i think they were a great influence on each other as like...captain and vice-captain, and i loved seeing their interactions there. i just didn't really see sexual chemistry between them, if that makes sense. i certainly have read some granit and martin fics and enjoyed them! i just don't ship it really.

otp: i mean...

X H A K A R T E T A

do i need to stay more? two hearts that beat as one. one's heart is the other's home. mikel saving granit, shaping and transforming him, understanding him...sometimes it makes me think of the story in plato's symposium (don't worry everyone--i got a C+ in classical philosophy this is the only thing i remember or understood) from aristophanes where he talks about how zeus cut ppl in two and they have to roam around looking to find their "other half" so they could be complete...Xhakarteta be like that.

and also. how they both own each other, dominate each other, submit to the other. granit in charge in bed yet all in service of mikel. granit's utter, wide-eyed devotion to mikel in interviews. the way mikel saw the beast and the angel within, and loved the beast and showed the world the angel. UGHGHGGHGGHGGHG

random headcanon: i don't think granit would like, label his sexuality as anything? i think he just does what feels right.

unpopular opinion: i've definitely expressed this before but i do not--sincerely do not--agree with the popular view that granit would "lose control" when he got physical. for example (sorry veronika hahaha) when he chokes ashley westwood. if you look at his body language there--or even in like november 2022 vs chelsea where he kind of flung chalobah around--it's honestly a body that is very IN control of itself. he just came at these games from a very different mindset. he's naturally aggressive, goal-oriented, here to both win but also defend the honor of both himself and the team, so-- confident in his value system, he didn't care what he had to do to make it happen.

i've genuinely never seen granit appear "out of control," and i've watched a lot of aggressive granit compilations hahaha. i think mikel did help him find maturity about this, and i think putting him in a less defensive role really helped. granit defending = license to Murder

(frivolous bonus: i think he looked hot with the bleached hair! like he looked kind of deranged and so it grew on me...it definitely doesn't suit him hahaha)

song i associate with them: i don't really have one...maybe kangë e shahirav by mc kresha/lyrical son, and/or future lovers by madonna, but only bc i've listened to these songs a lot when writing fics about him lol

favorite picture of them: hOW do u expect me to do the impossible!!!!! how about these 2, the first with granit in my two favorite colors of course (and i love the 2nd one because he looks like he just woke up lol)

[meggannn]

i saw another "Garrus accepts Shepard in ME2 when they come back, why can't Ashley/Kaidan" post the other day and was gonna reply, then i realized my response was less about discussion and more about info-dumping/being right, so i decided to just make my own post. so here is the long explanation of why I don't and never will hold it against Kaidan/Ash for reacting as they did on Horizon just so I can point to it for later

I'm not gonna go too far into Garrus’s POV to Shepard's resurrection, just the VS's (Virmire Survivor's). I want to add crucial context for the VS's Horizon POV that is rarely mentioned in these sorts of comparisons, which is: TIM has been spreading rumors about Shepard being alive and with Cerberus that the VS is fully aware of by the time Shepard's boots hit Horizon. if you accept the comics as canon, then TIM's actually been seeding those rumors since before Shepard even woke up on the operating table. (see this panel in which one of TIM's Citadel operatives gets caught pre-ME2 trying to steal classified info about Shepard. TIM is pointedly not too bothered about it.) when you talk to Anderson and the Council at the Citadel, they both already know you're with Cerberus. how? you certainly didn't tell them. it was TIM, and he confirms this himself as well after Horizon. (Joker also says "[Horizon] was probably a set-up" if you talk to him after the mission.)

so the VS hears these rumors pre-Horizon. Kaidan says he asked about Shepard, and Anderson stonewalled him. by the time they're posted on Horizon, Kaidan/Ash have been hearing "Shepard's with Cerberus" for weeks, possibly months. if you’re the VS, you probably don’t want to believe someone you trusted to lead you into hell, maybe even trusted enough to break fraternization regulations with, would 1) lie to you about being dead, and 2) work with a terrorist organization. but then they get there and find out not only are they fucking alive and didn't contact you (not knowing they COULDN'T contact you because THEY were also stonewalled by Anderson); not only that, they're now trying to recruit you to said terrorist organization. they’d be questioning everything they thought they knew about their old CO.

the VS meeting Shep on Horizon after Shep saves the colony is not a "holy shit, you're alive!" moment like it was for Garrus's rescue. it's a "fuck, you're alive, and you have a Cerberus crew with you just like I hoped you wouldn't" moment. a "the rumors were true, I just didn't want to believe them because that means you're either a traitor or compromised" moment.

imagine after Anderson dies at the end of ME3, he suddenly shows up in ME5 going “Hey Shepard I’m back, also come join my team in my mysterious quest, let’s talk it out together in this private room over here and you’ll see my reasoning.” do you think I’m an idiot, Leviathan? we-as-Shepard saw Anderson die ourselves—like the VS was on the SR-1 when it crashed. the player would be 100% in the right to think the real Anderson was dead and this was a mangled copy of his corpse the Leviathan or some new fucking thing was puppeting from afar.

for Garrus, who was just told "Shepard's dead" after the fact but didn't see the crash, Shepard being alive is an unexpected miracle he doesn't want to think twice about. (Garrus was drowning on Omega, but Shepard arose from the dead just to save his life; Shepard knows what to do; Shepard can save him from his fuck-ups. Garrus is finally free from the burden of being a poor leader and can fall back on following someone else; everything is right again in his world if Shepard's at the helm.)

but for the VS, some small part of them may even be hoping the rumors aren't true, that Shepard's NOT alive, because if they are, it means Shep lied to them, or isn't who they thought they were.

then, for the VS to be told on Horizon “you’re overreacting, of course working with Cerberus is the only logical conclusion here!” honestly? sounds like radicalization.

“I was dead for two years!” = of course you were, that was Cerberus brainwashing time, baby. Shepard, how do you really know what happened those two years? was it really just "reconstruction"? maybe the real Shepard IS dead. (especially after the Citadel DLC confirms Cerberus did make a Shepard clone, we know the VS actually has a point.)

“fine, but then why doesn’t Shepard just explain stuff better?” this is less into characterization (because Shep is a player character and people can headcanon their Shep's rhetorical skills differently) and imo gets more into what the narrative is telling us. I see this criticism of Bioware's writing on Horizon (and I can't believe I'm defending Bioware writing) but I personally like that the player isn’t given decent, successful counterarguments in this situation. because let’s face it, the VS’s concerns are valid, and nothing Shepard can say or do on Horizon really can placate any of them. sometimes you just get outplayed; sometimes fights or arguments are just unwinnable even when people are trying their best.

would a persuasion check have helped? maybe, but that's not the point. it goes against our RPG brain where we're often wired to think every path is open to us with the right attitude or enough red/blue points. the Horizon reunion is two hurt people who are upset at each other, not realizing/acknowledging they've been put in an inconsolable scenario. they're both victims of stonewalling, one by Anderson and another by TIM. the Horizon convo was never going to be a “victory: squadmate acquired” scene because the deck was stacked against Shepard + the VS before they both even set foot on the colony. Shepard never got a chance to control their return narrative: Cerberus controls their team, their ship, who knows what, who they recruit, and when. TIM also knew that the VS was stationed on Horizon, as he confirms in the post-mission talk. the VS reunion was always going to be a car crash. and that works out great for TIM—Shepard is cut off from former Alliance allies, painting Cerberus as their only path forward to beating the Collectors.

but even if, for RPG purposes, Shepard had been able to reach out to the VS first… it’s still completely valid of them to question the situation lol. Liara had a hand in it so she ofc she wasn’t surprised at the return; Wrex adopts a typical krogan attitude of “you’re not dead? well that’s weird, but I’m a thousand years old, I’ve seen weirder.” there’s a reason Garrus accepts Shepard returning so readily and Tali/Ash/Kaidan take time: they’ve got healthier coping mechanisms and better support systems. Garrus cut himself off from his friends and family and is living out a Spectre fantasy on Omega. they others have moved on; Garrus hasn’t. he’s desperate for Shepard to come back, and why wouldn’t he be? Shepard was there when he felt like a hero for the first time in his life. if Shepard's back, he can be a hero again. but for the VS, Shepard returning means something is awfully, awfully wrong.

[softweb-solutions]

A complete guide on cloud-based applications for technology leaders

As a software engineer, cloud engineer, DevOps engineer, SRE engineer, or tech leader, you’re likely familiar with the terms ‘cloud-based applications’ and ‘cloud-native applications.’ But what do these terms really mean, and how can they transform your organization’s product development and management? This article is not just about buzzwords. It is a comprehensive guide that will equip you with the knowledge to enhance scalability, high availability, and speed up your solutions delivery.

Let’s get started.

Traditional applications vs. cloud-based applications vs. cloud-native applications

Let’s start with understanding the differences between traditional, cloud-based, and cloud-native applications.

Traditional applications

Architecture: Monolithic, tightly coupled with underlying OS

Development duration: Longer development cycles, released as one package

OS dependency: High dependency on the underlying OS

Scalability: Requires additional hardware and complex processes to scale

Cost model: High upfront costs, requires investment in hardware

Release time: Slower release cycles, updates and bug fixes take longer

Transition: Handoffs between development and operations teams, creating silos

Development / Operations cost: High setup and maintenance costs, less efficient in resource usage

Automation: Limited automation, more manual processes

Downtime: Higher downtime during updates and maintenance

Backup and recovery: Low backup capabilities, manual and error-prone

Modularity: Tightly coupled components, harder to update and scale

Flexibility: Limited flexibility, changes require significant effort

Efficiency: Lower efficiency, manual processes and limited resource optimization

Testability: Manual testing processes, slower feedback cycles

Disposability: Long startup and shutdown times, less robust to failures

User experience: Potentially slower, less responsive, dependent on hardware capacity

Resource allocation: Static resource allocation, often under or over-provisioned

Security: Security managed in-house, potentially higher risk of breaches

Innovation: Slower pace of innovation due to longer development cycles

Cloud-based applications

Architecture: Often migrated from traditional architectures, can be monolithic or modular

Development duration: Faster than traditional due to cloud integration, but slower than cloud-native

OS dependency: Reduced dependency, often uses virtual machines or managed services

Scalability: Easier to scale than traditional, uses cloud resources but may face some limits

Cost model: Pay-as-you-go model, more cost-effective than traditional

Release time: Faster release cycles than traditional, but not as quick as cloud native

Transition: Smoother than traditional, but still may involve some handoffs

Development/Operations cost: Lower costs than traditional, utilizes cloud resources

Automation: More automated than traditional, uses cloud services

Downtime: Reduced downtime compared to traditional, but not as minimal as cloud-native

Backup and recovery: Improved backup capabilities using cloud solutions

Modularity: More modular than traditional, but may still have some monolithic aspects

Flexibility: More flexible than traditional, but less so than cloud-native

Efficiency: Improved efficiency, better resource management with cloud services

Testability: Improved testability with cloud-based tools, but may not be fully automated

Disposability: Improved disposability, but not as fast as cloud-native

User experience: Improved user experience, faster and more responsive than traditional

Resource allocation: Dynamic resource allocation, better utilization of cloud resources

Security: Enhanced security with cloud provider’s tools, but shared responsibility

Innovation: Increased innovation potential, faster deployment of new features

Cloud native applications

Architecture: Microservices, containerized, loosely coupled

Development duration: Faster development with iterative releases using CI/CD pipelines

OS dependency: Abstracted OS layer, allowing flexibility and easier migration

Scalability: Easily scalable, auto-scaling capabilities

Cost model: Pay-as-you-go, cost-effective based on usage

Release time: Rapid release cycles, continuous integration and delivery

Transition: Smooth transition from development to production, DevOps practices

Development / Operations cost: Lower operational costs, only pay for what you use, optimized resource usage

Automation: High level of automation, infrastructure as code

Downtime: Minimal to zero downtime, seamless updates

Backup and recovery: Automated backups, robust disaster recovery mechanisms

Modularity: Highly modular, independent microservices that are easier to update and scale

Flexibility: Highly flexible, easy to deploy and redeploy resources as needed

Efficiency: High efficiency, automated processes, and optimal resource utilization

Testability: Automated testing, continuous integration, and delivery pipelines

Disposability: Fast startup and shutdown, resilient to failures, quick recovery

User experience: Optimal user experience, highly responsive, seamless updates

Resource allocation: Optimal resource allocation, automatic scaling based on demand

Security: Built-in security features, continuous monitoring, and updates

Innovation: High innovation potential, rapid experimentation, and deployment of new features

It is evident that cloud-native applications, with their microservices and CI/CD advantages, are ideal for large enterprises. Mid-sized companies may find cloud-based applications a more manageable and effective step in modernizing their operations.

Cloud-based applications vs. cloud-native applications in the simplest manner

Think of it this way: Cloud-based applications are like moving traditional businesses to modern offices and utilizing new facilities. Cloud-native applications are like designing businesses from scratch to fully exploit the features of the modern office, ensuring optimal efficiency and growth potential.

In short: Cloud-native applications: Built for the cloud, leverage microservices, containers, and CI/CD for maximum scalability and agility. Cloud-based applications: Traditional applications adapted to run in the cloud benefit from cloud infrastructure but do not fully utilize cloud-native features.

Why is cloud-based application development a good way to go for mid-sized companies?

The cloud has undoubtedly changed the way businesses operate. That impact is going to grow with two main reasons:

As more organizations lock on its transformative power, and

As new technologies emerge to deliver even more services and functionality.

How an organization recognizes the cloud’s power is not in anyone’s control. However, how a cloud-based application developer or a SaaS provider integrates emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), or machine learning (ML) into cloud-based solutions is the key differentiator. Such integration drives a new wave of innovation and spawns a host of exciting opportunities in business, for example:

Instead of building a recommendation engine from scratch, e-commerce companies can now easily access and integrate an off-the-shelf engine.

Using readily available video intelligence modules, developers can now extract actionable insights from video files. This eliminates the need to develop their own ML or computer vision models.

Subscribe to modules that provide a fully managed service for connecting, managing, and analyzing data from globally dispersed IoT devices easily and securely. Such modules can support a wide range of services, from developing a system that detects pipeline cracks automatically to sending alerts to maintenance engineers to attend.

Most of these solutions are data-intensive and require massive processing power, making them ideal for the cloud. The cloud acts as a key enabler for building sophisticated new solutions. What matters is how a cloud-based application developer identifies your needs, understands the native capabilities of the cloud, and makes the best of the cloud for you.

Cloud strategy and assessment workshop

The adoption of cloud-based infrastructure by enterprises is increasing greatly. However, a lot of enterprises are still reluctant to adopt a cloud strategy due to lack of skills or knowledge.

Download

What sets any company apart in cloud application development?

The cloud undoubtedly provides many benefits, but it has cloud migration challenges and risks. From deployment costs to security and operational challenges, the challenges and risks range in nature and scale.

During cloud migration or cloud application development, a company should advise clients on which processes or operations are best suited to migration or cloud app development with reduced risks and which cloud model is most appropriate – private, public, or hybrid.

A company shall take care of the following challenges and risks during cloud migration or cloud application development:

Technology risks:

Implement robust security controls and procedures to safeguard data from cyber attacks. Careful analysis ensures the right aspects of the client’s workload migrate to the cloud for optimal cloud resource use.

Security risks:

Develop comprehensive security strategies for the client’s technology and data since the cloud does not ensure it automatically. Implementing the proper security measures is as crucial as implementing the cloud-based solution.

Operational risks:

Plan meticulously to integrate the client’s current infrastructure with cloud-based solutions to prevent data leakage or loss.

Financial risks:

Proper usage estimation and accurate configuration help avoid costly mistakes in cloud utilization.

Regulatory risks:

Stay vigilant about compliance with data protection laws to avoid financial and reputational risks.

Strategic risks:

Formulate coherent cloud migration strategies to ensure expected ROI and responsibly manage dependence on third-party service providers.

Also read: Which are the best steps for on-premises to cloud migration – step-by-step guide?

Benefits of cloud-based applications across different functions within organizations

Cost savings, security, scalability, flexibility, accessibility, and efficient data management are some of the traditional benefits of cloud-based applications. Since this is a complete guide on cloud-based applications for technology leaders, we have compiled real-world examples of cloud benefits and how they impact different organizational functions.

Product

Accelerated speed to market: By partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Salesforce expanded globally without building its data centers. This partnership also ensured compliance with local data laws, streamlining their international growth.

Enhanced product testing and development: Stanford researchers developed a digital method to test new drug compounds before physical trials. This innovation speeds up the development process and reduces costs associated with physical testing.

Operations

Lower time and process costs: An insurance company processes routine claims automatically using computer vision and text analysis. This approach significantly reduces time and costs compared to manual processing.

Higher return on assets: An industrial conglomerate optimized its wind turbines with IoT and real-time analytics. This adjustment led to a double-digit increase in energy output, maximizing asset efficiency.

Finance

Dynamic pricing: A heavy plant manufacturer uses cloud-based dynamic pricing tools to improve dealer relationships. These tools also help increase profits and sales volume.

Focused allocation of resources: A farm machinery manufacturer allows farmers to apply herbicide only to weeds. This method reduces herbicide usage by up to 85%, cutting costs significantly.

Marketing

Better customer segmentation: A healthcare company analyzes data from various sources to find trends. This detailed analysis improves customer segmentation and targeting.

Extended customer reach: A private equity fund moved cattle auctions online, hosting data in the cloud. They use computer vision to automate health evaluations, expanding their market reach.

Talent and collaboration

Improved employee performance: A US bank uses AI algorithms to give real-time advice to its sales team. This guidance helps them sequence product offers more effectively, boosting sales performance.

Reduced siloes and collaboration barriers: A life sciences company connected its global research departments via cloud data storage. This connection allows seamless collaboration on shared data sets, enhancing research efficiency.

Undoubtedly, the cloud is driving a wave of innovation across various business functions. This transformation revolutionizes businesses. Next, we will explore the impact of cloud-based applications across organizations.

More on the impact of cloud-based applications

For much of its history, many business leaders saw cloud computing as a way to quickly gain new capabilities without having to work with – and be bogged down by – the internal IT department. That’s why they opt for cloud services.

Cloud services enable organizations to hire the computing power they require flexibly without owning or managing the IT infrastructure directly. Below are some examples of how enterprises use cloud-based solutions:

A fast-casual restaurant chain’s online orders surged to 400,000 a day from 50,000. A pleasant surprise? They were able to achieve this by migrating their online ordering system to the cloud.

A biotech company used cloud computing to deliver the first clinical batch of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate for Phase I trials in 42 days. The scalable cloud data storage and cloud collaboration, which facilitate real-time access, editing, and sharing of files, boosted productivity and creativity among team members.

An Automaker uses a common cloud platform to manage data from machines and systems, track logistics, and offer insights on shop floor processes across 124 plants, 500 warehouses, and 1,500 suppliers. This cloud adoption is expected to reduce factory costs by 30% by 2025 while fostering innovation.

With the rise of cloud computing services such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, the Cloud and the cloud applications have become integral to daily life. The cloud extends beyond tech circles into mainstream use. The ubiquity of cloud-based applications is undeniable. Hence, knowing the best steps for building cloud-based applications will be helpful.

Best six steps for building cloud-based applications

Navigating the journey of cloud-based application development can be complex, but it becomes manageable and rewarding with the right approach. Here are the essential steps to ensure your cloud-based applications are robust, efficient, and aligned with your business goals.

1. Build a strong business case

We assist in developing a compelling business case highlighting the benefits of cloud adoption, such as cost savings, increased agility, and improved efficiency. This includes calculating potential ROI and aligning cloud initiatives with business objectives. Additionally, we identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and ensure your investment in cloud technology drives tangible business value.

2. Develop a comprehensive cloud strategy

We help you create a clear cloud strategy aligned with your business goals, identifying the suitable cloud service model (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) to meet your needs. This includes evaluating your current infrastructure and planning for future scalability. We also ensure that your strategy consists of a phased migration or cloud app development approach, minimizing disruption and maximizing benefits.

3. Conduct thorough risk management

Our team assesses potential security, operational, financial, and regulatory risks. We implement robust security controls and procedures to protect your data and ensure compliance with relevant laws. We also develop a risk mitigation plan that addresses data backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity to safeguard against unexpected challenges.

4. Compose and automate deployment

We help compose your application using a monolithic or modular architecture, ensuring flexibility. Our team automates the deployment process, utilizing CI/CD pipelines to facilitate seamless integration and continuous delivery. This includes setting up automated testing environments and implementing infrastructure as code (IaC) to ensure consistency and repeatability.

5. Test and validate the application

We prioritize thorough testing and validation to ensure your cloud-based application is robust, secure, and performs well. This includes automated testing to quickly identify and address issues, providing a smooth user experience. We also conduct performance benchmarking and load testing to verify that your application can handle peak usage scenarios.

6. Optimize for continuous improvement

Post-launch, we provide ongoing support to monitor application performance and implement updates. Our approach ensures your application evolves with your business needs, maintaining optimal efficiency and growth potential. We leverage analytics and user feedback to drive iterative improvements, ensuring your application remains competitive and aligned with market demands.

Join hands with the best cloud-based application development company

Get Started

Final reflections

Indeed, over the years, traditional applications have significantly improved how businesses operate. Nonetheless, cloud computing takes this further by enhancing scalability, high availability, and rapid solution delivery, ensuring businesses reach their full potential.

The key takeaway from this guide is the profound impact of cloud-based applications on businesses. Summing it up, the current state of tech space and business demands constant innovation and quick solution delivery, the most significant benefit of cloud-based applications. Traditional apps struggle with modular architecture and automation, slowing feature releases. In contrast, adopting cloud-based applications boosts efficiency and flexibility.

The breakneck pace of business innovation driving digital transformation can no longer be supported by traditional, legacy application development methodologies. Instead, organizations overhaul their strategies and philosophies toward application development to align with a cloud-centric approach.

At last, if you look for a leading cloud app development company or want to hire cloud application developers to address any skillset gaps, we can connect. We are happy to help you address any of your challenges in cloud application development.

Originally published at https://www.softwebsolutions.com on June 7, 2024.

[dragonballalltime]

DRAGON BALL ALL-TIME: EPISODE 1!!

Welcome to DRAGON BALL ALL-TIME! An improvised story, written by two different writers! Please enjoy, if you follow along!=== [BEGIN] [WRITER 1] Years after the events of the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE games, the Time Patrol was still a thriving group telling off all time-bending baddies! Due to the ever-changing operation though, the patrol was always expanding, so Conton City has since been made larger, and a new city is even in the works! You can already see some additions that have made their mark, such as...

The God of Destruction of Time

Like the Supreme Kai of Time, there too exists a God of Destruction of Time. There's much more to discuss about that, but... Today, we introduce ourselves to the newest to take on the mantle! 

The God of Destruction of Time must go undercover as an ordinary Time Patroller in order to properly dictate what timelines need to be destroyed, vs. ones that simply need their distortions cleared as usual. So, the newest god, Daquiri, is tasked with the same, currently on her way to being introduced to her brand new Time Patrol team!

But... Will she get along with them? Her team leader is quite strict and astute, so the surprisingly meek destroyer god may not be able to keep up her cover for long... Daquiri isn't too comfortable letting others know of her position yet, since if other Patrollers knew that the God of Destruction of Time was among them on missions, they may grow too intimidated and mess up their tasks! So, Daquiri must be the one to survive being intimidated instead... It's a cruel world.

A cruel world that's about to be burst open... Now! [WRITER 2] "So you really don't have any books related to Time Manipulation...? Asking for safety reasons, of course."

"I'm afraid that information is well kept in the Time Vault, or the Capsule Corporation database, depending on the manipulation method."

A pair of patrollers would be discussing matters inside of a lonely library.

One of them appeared to be a Kai, her pointy ears and attire being strong indicators. She wore a badge over her uniform, indicating that she was an 'Elite-ranked Patroller'.

On the other side, a Frieza Clansmen -or rather, clanswomen- listened to her leader.

"I understand that, thanks for clearing it up. In any case, I believe our new team member should be arriving soon." The purple-skinned Kai says, changing the topic.

"Hm? The one that Magma assigned to us himself?" The other woman inquires.

"That would be correct. He didn't rely much information to me, so I expect that they are able to give us more details about themselves." [WRITER 1] Soon, the library wouldn't be as lonely since a new lady walked in during the two's conversation.

The first thing you could tell about her is that she was tall, almost comically so, as she had to bend underneath entryways to not bump into them. The second key factor of the lady's appearance was that she had the face of a dog - not as in she's ugly, but a literal dog! Of course, the God of Destruction Beerus is a cat, so now we have a dog. "... O-oh, yoohoo!" But... The final inkling of her appearance was probably the most important of all. Despite being a big dog, her expression might as well have been a puppy's, her shaky figure joining her soft frame. She gulps a little, keeping up a polite smile.

"I-i'm Eireni, your new teammate!... Wait--" The lady smacks herself immediately. "No, you're Eireni, I'm Daquiri! Uhm... Hi!"

"..."

She sweats. Not only was she feeling nervous about being out of her God of Destruction attire and donning casual clothes instead, but she even botched her greeting! 

“....................”

Daquiri keeps a big smile as she screams internally. "I hope we can be friends!" [WRITER 2] Eiréni and her teammate exchange glances, and then they both reply with a similar smile.

"Welcome, I'm Ava! Please, have a seat." The Frieza clanswomen gestures to a third chair awaiting next to their table.

"Welcome indeed, I am Eiréni, as you have already pointed out. I'll be your team leader from now on." The Kai replies, nodding to the chair as well.

"We can get on all that technical time patrolling stuff later on. But for now, we rather know more about yourself, if you're willing to share." [WRITER 1] "U-uh, thanks!"

Daquiri smiles, smiling and dying inside all the way towards the chair. She sits down, and... Crack! "!!" The chair snapped a bit beneath her large body. However, she just tries to hide it, using her long skirt to cover up the broken leg as she never lets up her intensely sweating smile. "Thanks for the warm greeting!" There was something else she was trying to 'cover up', too. "Oh, me? Well, like I said, my name is Daquiri, and I'm the new God of--" She immediately puts a hand in front of her mouth, thinking, "O-oh, shoot...!"

She almost slipped up already!

"...G-god of... Sewing...!" "I don't even know how to sew??" "Yeah!" 

“........... . . .. . .”

Daquiri kept shaking.

[WRITER 2] "God... of sewing? Can't say I have ever heard state something so daring." Eiréni comments, glancing at Daquiri's chair momentarily after hearing it snap, but continues as if nothing happened.

"Mhm. You must be really good at it, hm? Come to think of it, I could use a new suit, this one is a bit worn out after all these years." Ava pulls at her white suit. [WRITER 1] "Oh, I see! Well, it is quite the suit! I could help you fix it sometime!" Not unless Ava wanted it to be ripped to shreds.

"U-uhm, uhh..." Daquiri clears her throat. "Sooo... Magma, the head of the Elite Time Patrol! He told me some stuff about you two before sticking me in your team!" She says. "Ava, you're... One of the city's librarians, correct? That explains the surroundings then, haha!"

"Aaand... Eireni..." Daquiri began to shake a little more. Something about that Kai's gaze felt so critical... "...O-one of the newest Elites, right?" Gulp. She hopes she didn't get that wrong.

[WRITER 2] "Correct. I'm glad Magma took that into account when arranging our meeting. It would've been somewhat of an issue if you had come here on a busier day." Ava explains.

"Certainly one of the newest, I was ascended not too long ago. It almost caught me off-guard, I thought it would never happen at this point." Eiréni replies. [WRITER 1] "Oh, I see! That's good to hear." Daquiri smiles. "I'm a new Time Patroller myself. I joined because..." She racks her brain. "...N-no particular reason..." She gulps again.

But, then she clears her throat. "Sooo, Ava, got any reading recommendations?" She asks. "Anything on the God of Destruction of Time position, perhaps?" She almost couldn't get more obvious. "It better not say anything weird!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm? Oh, I'm sure there must be some volumes speaking about the topic on the Deities section. Don't expect much though, the position is still fairly new, after all." Ava points out, as she glances over to a specifc aisle.

"That's true. I wonder if they've even appointed anyone yet." Eiréni comments. [WRITER 1] "W-well, there have been a few in the past, but... They all seemed to..."

She shakes her head. "N-not that I would be too studied on the topic, eheh!" Daquiri adjusts her seating.

...

And that makes her fully break her chair. "GAAAH!" She looked like a spilled plate of spaghetti, laid out on the floor among wood chips.

[WRITER 2] "Erm, are you okay?" Ava goes over to Daquiri to help her stand up.

"Do you have any other chairs around here that aren't made of cheap wood?" Eiréni asks, not as concerned as her teammate. "They can't just go breaking down because someone is shaking nervously on them..." [WRITER 1] "I-I'm oka--" Eireni's final sentence almost made Daquiri burst out and cry. "I-I'm not shaking...!" She was.

Her eyes dart around the room. She wanted to find something to take the attention away from her. "U-uhm, I know!" Spotting a board game on one of the shelves, a thought comes to her immediately. Without giving it much mulling over, she spits out, "H-how about we play '2 Truths 1 Lie'? That'd be a great way to get to know each other!"

She smiles.

...

And she also sits on her knees in front of the table, there not being much of a difference between that and a chair due to her height. "S-sorry about the chair, by the way! You can take it out of my paycheck!" The God in hiding tries to quickly move past it.

[WRITER 2] "A childish game as a method for an interview? Just who does she-"

"That sounds nice, Daquiri. May I ask you to go first?" Ava interjects, having noticed a subtle annoyance in Eiréni's expression. [WRITER 1] "E-eh? Uhm... Sure! I can try!" She was hoping to have time to think while they went first. Oh no.

"...Eeehm... Uuuhhhh..."

Why was Eireni looking at her like that?? She gulps, trying to think faster.

"O-okay!" Daquiri takes a deep breath. 

"I... Know how to sew."

"I've played basketball with Lord Zen-Oh before."

"I, uh... Like 'Skooby Snacks'."

She exhales. "N-now, you both have to pick which you think is the lie!" Nervous smile.

[WRITER 2] Both Patrollers squinted at Daquiri, carefully processing each statement.

"Hm... I'd say it was playing basketball with Lord Zen-Oh... I've never heard of him interacting with any mortal, outside of a certain incident." Ava replies, then glancing at Eiréni, who seemed deep in thought still.

"What is a 'Skooby Snacks'...?" [WRITER 1] "Oh, uh... They're, uh... Uh... Dog food..." Daquiri mumbles, before scratching the back of her head and laughing while saying, "E-ehehe, yeah! It sounds quite silly, but, uh, I did! He thought I was tall!" She looks around nervously. "No other reason he'd play with a mortal, haha!"

"And, oh, uh, yeah, I lied about being able to sew." She says. "I, uh, wasn't telling the truth earlier when I said I could... Uhhh..."

Death.

"Y-your turn!" Daquiri randomly points at one of them, wanting to change the subject. When she found her finger landed towards Eireni, she shook, and changed to Ava. "I-I meant you!"

[WRITER 2] "Oh? Alright." Ava nods, taking a minute to think.

"Let's see... I get my hair done often, I've taken books out of my own library without paying, and I can speak around 20 languages." She listed.

"Hm. You made it quite easy." Eiréni comments. [WRITER 1] "Oh, uh!--" Daquiri goes to comment immediately, but she hears Eireni's remark. "She made it... Easy?" Oh no! What if she gets it wrong??

She panics. 

"Uhm, uhh... Uhm!!..." Not knowing what to do with her hands, she flails somewhat before pointing a finger up and claiming, "Uhh, the lie is about your hair!"

"Wait, no--"

"You've taken books out!"

"No, that would be wrong--"

"20 languages!"

She stiffens. She ended up picking all three! "Aah...!" "U-uh, just go with the last one I said! Final answer!" [WRITER 2] "Wrong, I'm afraid. I would never take a book out without paying its respective value. I might the one in charge of this library, but that does not put me above the rules." Ava corrects.

"Polishing her hair also counts as getting it done, and last time I checked, she knows 19 languages, to be exact." Eiréni clarifies.

"yeah but twenty is a prettier number and makes me sound smarter-"

"Uh-huh. So I take it that it's my turn now, correct?" Eiréni asks, now slightly amused. [WRITER 1] "Wait, so I was right...?" Daquiri looks around, stunned. "Yay!!" She smiles gleefully, all tension from her fading for a moment as she claps her hands excitedly. "W-wow, Ms. Ava! That's wonderful! I only know one language, ehehe!"

She returns to panic. "U-uhm... Yeah!" Daquiri responds to Eireni, finding herself scooting closer to Ava.

[WRITER 2] "Hm." Eiréni places her hand under her chin, thinking.

"I like women." She states.

Dead silence.

"Uhm, Eiréni... You're supposed to state three different things." Ava remarks, nudging her leader.

"..."

"My contribution to this game has ended." She replies with a deadpan tone. [WRITER 1] "U-uh--"

Looking like a dog, one might assume that Daquiri was 'not too fond of gay people'. However, she only really seemed shocked by the suddenness of it.

"...Uuuhm..."

"Is that the lie??" Daquiri dimwittedly asks, having never had an intelligent thought. "I don't get it..." She looks at Ava for help.

[WRITER 2]

Ava merely tilts her head. "Why do you seem so confused?"

[WRITER 1] "I, uhh... Uhh..."

"I didn't know girls could like girls."

"So it's the lie, right?"

"But she didn't say anything else..."

"Uuuhm..."

"..."

[WRITER 2] "Perhaps we should leave it at that, lest you get further confused." Ava recommends with a slight chuckle.

Eiréni remained silent, just listening to the two while dying inside. [WRITER 1] "Uuuhm.. Okay??"

"Uuh, I guess it's my turn now..."

"..."

Daquiri puts a hand on her chin, thinking.

"Hmm... I should saaay... I should say that I'm a god! Then say it's a lie, because then they won't suspect me..."

"But, that would be an actual lie! Aw!"

"Then maybe I should saaay... I don't like Ms. Eireni's hair..."

"But that would be the lie!"

"But I'm supposed to come up with a lie!"

Before long, birds were spinning around her head. She was trying to figure out how to not feel guilty in a game about lies.

"O-okay, I have them!"

"...Uuh... I... Played basketball... With Whis..."

"I like Ms. Eireni's hairstyle."

"The sentence I'm saying right now... Is the truth!"

She smiles with flushed cheeks. "U-uh, guess!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm... You really like playing basketball, hm? However, this time I am certain that it's a lie. I doubt any Angel would dedicate themselves to sports when they have many other important matters to be concerned with." Ava guesses.

"A-and...!" Ahem. "And, should the sentence were you claim to be saying the truth not be true, you wouldn't have been able to state it as fact." Eiréni ends up re-joining the game. [WRITER 1] "Well, uhh... People just like playing it with me since I'm tall!" Daquiri says. "It was on the same day, too! Mr. Whis walked up to me like 'My, my, I had no idea that gods could be so ballin' then he--"

"--I mean, not that I would be a god, uhh--"

"..."

Eireni... Proved why Daquiri's lie didn't make sense. That was going to be the lie. "...U-uhm..." Trying not to look dumb, she blurts out, "T-the hair thing was the lie!"

"WAIT, I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY IT'S BAD--"

Daquiri holds her head in her hands, wanting to scream as she tries to incoherently murmur an excuse. "I-it's a lie because... I love the hair, not like..!" She really should have thought this game out before picking it...

[WRITER 2] Ava and Eiréni exchange glances once again.

"So we are expected to believe that deities approach you merely for your ability to be 'so ballin'?" The Kai inquires.

"Why not?" The other woman interjects.

"Ava, you should know well at this point that gods do not 'ball', did you forget?"

"Maybe you are the one that doesn't 'ball'?" Ava suggests, snickering. [WRITER 1] "U-uhm, well, I'm sure they would let you, if you wanted! The Supreme Kai of Time shows up for the games sometimes!" The god says. "...Though, uh, she's not very good because she's short... And, uh..."

"..."

"Y-your turn!" Dodging any other criticism, she nudges Ava. Despite it being just a nudge, she was so nervous that she couldn't control her strength, so it hurt quite a bit... "O-oh, sorry!!" [WRITER 2] Ava winced slightly, but she just nodded, accepting the apology. Where does all her patience come from?

"Hm..."

"I have more hobbies outside of reading."

"...My shirt size is between S and M."

"My favorite color is a very specific shade of blue. ...There you go!" [WRITER 1] "...Hmmm..." Daquiri puts a hand on her chin, inspecting Ava. She tugs at her shirt a little. "No, not it..." She looks at Ava. Daquiri gasps, having an epiphany. "Oh, I know it! You're blue, so clearly, you must like blue! The lie is about your hobbies!" 

She sounded very confident. "I-I don't have very many hobbies myself, ehehe..." She scratches her head shyly, blushing.

[WRITER 2] "uhm"

"Well, at least she didn't make fun of me for it, I guess...?" Ava sighs, nodding to Daquiri.

"You are correct. If I'm not reading or working, I usually find myself without nothing else to do." She admits, somewhat embarrassed. [WRITER 1] "Oh, well, uhm, maybe I could read with you, sometime!" Daquiri suggests, smiling gleefully. "I could show you some of my hobbies, too!"

"Like basketball."

"Which sometimes involves gods... For no particular reason!"

"..."

Sweat.

"U-uhm, your turn, Ms. Eireni!" Her cheerfulness began to fade into stiffness yet again.

[WRITER 2] "Oh, uhm, sure thing!" Ava smiles back.

"...Me again?" Eiréni scratches her head. 

"I thought I had lost the game." [WRITER 1] "Y-you did?" Daquiri asks. "I didn't know you could lose..."

"But, uh, I'll go instead, then!" In actuality, she took the chance to not accidentally end up saying something off kilter about Eireni.

"...Uuuhm..."

But now she has to rack her brain again!

"Aaagh... I-i can't keep lying! I'm running out things to say..."

"...Maybe I can..."

"..."

Daquiri began to hold her head, looking quite unsettled.

"I don't want them to judge me...!"

[WRITER 2] "Hm... I didn't know that either..." Ava comments, glancing at Eiréni.

"..."

They both turned their gaze back at Daquiri, expectant. [WRITER 1] "...!!"

She notices immediately. Her heart pounds!

"U-uh, just say something!"

"Uh, I just peed myself!"

"......"

"I also played basketball with the Grand Priest once."

"......"

"I am the God of Destruction of Time."

She began to shake like a cartoon skeleton, making chattering noises.

[WRITER 2] "Uh..."

"That is... disgusting, if true..." Eiréni speaks up. "However, I must assume that is the lie. I'm inclined to believe that you have at least enough dignity to be able to handle yourself in such a situation. Following your previous statements of having 'balled' with other higher ranked deities, I doubt you would lie about someone like the Grand Priest. Being the God of Destruction of Time would explain why you are able to meet up with said deities too." She analyzes, staring directly into Daquiri's eyes as she broke down her thought process.

"That's true, but maybe she did pee herself...? Sometimes you are a bit... You know..." Ava interjects.

"a bit what" [WRITER 1] "............"

With each passing word, Daquiri shakes more, her pupils dilating. There was some kind of strange puddle under her, too...

"Uh no I havent played basketball with the Grand Priest he doesn't like it"

"...."

"I peed and also I'm the god of destruction of time"

She screams internally.

"I-i didn't want them to look at me differently...! But... It feels worse to lie and try to be someone else!"

"......"

She looks at her wrist. "Oh, wow, would you look at the time!" She didn't have a watch. "Gotta go bye"

Within seconds, she was gone.

[WRITER 2] "!!!!?!??!?"

The duo was utterly shaken, to say the least.

"WE HAVE BEEN SEATING IN FRONT OF A GOD THIS WHOLE AFTERNOON?!" Eiréni exclaims. Ava merely replies with a sigh. "A god that peed on one of my chairs..."

[WRITER 1] Actually, she peed on the floor. She broke the chair a while ago!

[END]

[anilbhatia]

MANAGEMENT FROM HEART TARGETS LEAD TO UNDER-PERFORMANCE "Instead of restricting the progress by using targets to define the finishing line, it is more progressive to define the base line and continuously upgrade it. This eliminates all limits and restrictions on the growth..." FINISHING LINE: Targets define this finishing line. It is the line where the race ends. BASE LINE: Base line is the starting line. From where the journey begins. Building over the existing best. History reveals that all breakthroughs were achieved by breaking the barriers of goals and targets. Goals and targets are useful only till the time they are not achieved... Life is continuity. A series of growth steps big & small. The prospects and potential are limitless. Putting restrictions of targets limits the horizons & so the possibilities. Target is: Growth deterrent, Thinking restrictor, Waste generator, Individualistic, Limiting, Insensitive word. Let us build great Organizations AB-MFH (#managementfromheart) BASE LINE Vs FINISHING LINE CASE I In the review meeting of our new manufacturing unit I asked the Operations Head... "What is the capability of the new process now?" "We can make 200 units per day" "What is your next month's Target?" "We are targeting 4000 units"... They made 4133 units. CASE II In the review meeting of our new manufacturing unit I asked the Operations Head... "How are the things moving on?" "Fine. We are improving every day" "What best did you achieve so far?" "We were able to do 200 units per day" "Great. Go ahead. All the best"... They made 5342 units. In first case the Target (200 UPD) was the "FINISHING LINE" of the day and all strategies and plans were restricted to 200 units per day. While In the second case 200 UPD was the "BASE Line" and the upper limit was not defined... AB-MFH 🙏😊🌹 #management #leadership #leaders #entrepeneurs #entrepeneurship #managementfromheart #quotes #managementquotes #motivation #inspiration #coaching #team #mindset #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipskills #managementskills #managementdevelopment #peoplemanagement #leadershipqualities #managementstyle #success #teamwork #happiness #mindfulness https://www.instagram.com/p/CoUQ-J3LZ-2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[worckie-review]

Worckie is a project management system that allows you to take back control of your projects. With Worckie you have the power to manage projects, departments, tasks, and deadlines.

Most people have a general idea of how many businesses fail. Let’s take a look at some real numbers and data. According to Entrepreneur magazine, 70% of all business will end up failing. ZenBusiness lists two reasons for failure as “poor management: and “lack of planning”. To have the best chance at longevity and growth, it is important to regularly study, organize, plan, and control all activities of your business operations. Your success depends on a complete project management system to manage and plan for your business. Worckie is a complete project management system that helps you effectively manage your business.

It is as simple as:

Add your company

Add your departments

Add your members

Create projects and tasks

Analyze progress and final results.

WORCKIE FEATURES

ORGANIZE YOUR COMPANY: Create departments, projects, and tasks. By creating an organized system to monitor tasks and projects, you will better be able to monitor whether a task will be completed as expected and if your staff are meeting deadlines and productivity expectations.

USER/MEMBER ROLES: Delegate leadership to administrators and leaders to carry out your vision. By creating company adminstrators and department leaders, you can delegate authority and leadership to your managers so they can carry the vision to all levels of your company.

Their EASY AND SIMPLE TO USE DRAG AND DROP TASK MANAGER: 1. Add members, 2. Create a deadline, 3. Rank task dificulty, 4. Track productivity!

PRODUCTIVITY MONITORING: Track your projects, tasks and work productivity. Sometimes hours worked don’t mean you or your team have been productive! Use our point system to track to learn how to better organize and deliver tasks on time.

TIME TRACKING: Track time from any Department, Project, or Individual Team Member. With Worckie you able to manage just. work time, you can manage everything from Clock in/Out to Breaks and Pauses. You have 100% control over your productivity!

ONLINE CHAT: Be faster and more productive with Worckie Chat and Calls. Send messages, Images, videos, make calls, assign tasks, create groups with worckie messanger!

REPORT AND ANALYTICS: Get Daily, Weekly and Monthly reports on tasks, projetcs, URLs accessed, points and activity. Review and analyze performance at the company level with the ability to drill down to the department, project, task, and member levels.

WHAT WORCKIE CAN DO FOR YOU

Alignment: It is critical that your goals are aligned throughout the entire company. Communication of these goals can be accomplished through a solid project management system. It allows you to establish with leaders and members as you create projects and set tasks that clearly identify your goals and expectations. Through the entire process you can evaluate and communicate the progress and results at the company, department, project, task, and member levels.

Efficiency: Gone are the days of multiple meetings to schedule meetings to decide what everyone is going to do. With Worckie’s project management system, leaders can create projects and assign tasks with ease. Team members can access their projects and tasks quickly and without the wasted time of multiple meetings.

Productivity: It provides the ability for company leaders to evaluate the productivity levels of employees at the project and task levels. With the timer feature, analysis can include time spent on a project vs how much time was expected to be spent on a project. Activate a reward system for your most productive team members.

By using the Worckie project management system to establish alignment, efficiency, and productivity, you will be setting your company up for exciting results.

WORCKIE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many companies can I add with Worckie? With Worckie, you will be able to add one company.  You will have the opportunity in the funnel to add additional companies and users/members to your account to manage for personal businesses or agency clients.

Will my company employees have their own login credentials? Every member that you add to your company will have their ow  login credentials including username and password.  All members will login through the same portal.

Can I assign roles/permissions to company and department leaders? It gives you the ability to assign members the following roles: 1.  Administrators – this role gives editor permission across the entire company. 2.  Department Leaders – this role gives editor permission across a department.

Can you explain Pay once, no monthly payments? PAY ONCE…ACCESS FOREVER means you will be able to use the software and its features under the plan you purchase forever.

[pannimanagementteam]

Magento + Sage Integration: 5 Issues Each Magento Company Must Learn About Integrating With Sage Erp : Pixafy

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Sage X3 is the most effective enterprise administration resolution of option to develop and run a lean, agile group. Duration of implementation of every solution is only four months and contains top sage x3 partner all basic ERP functionality within the selected path. The Russian version of Sage ERP X3 conforms to requirements of accounting and tax accounting of the Russian Federation.

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Sage currently lacks a powerful, energetic user group for the X3 product line in North America right now. He did state that when he attended the Sage Summit a number of weeks ago, numerous North American X3 clients had been exchanging cards with one another to create a much less formal, extra virtual consumer group. Partner with geographically dispersed channel companions to help them in configuring and implementing vertical options for native plants, divisions, and so forth. It’s great to see distributors like Sage making greater than transactions obtainable to their respective software users. [newline]Users can also define how they want to lay out their screens and might export content material behind gadget shows to Microsoft Office apps. The data connection behind these Microsoft Office exports is maintained so that information can all the time be refreshed.

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[whump-cravings]

Mars, hi! Your writing is amazing and I'm in love with your prompts so much, your mind *-* I visit your blog all the time and it's always so interesting to see what you're up to next. I hope you keep up the good work! Best of luck with everything you want to do!

Only if you want to answer - I was wondering if you had any ideas for a Bodyguard Caretaker taking care of Whumpee? Pretty much anything you want, I don't have anything specific in mind like why Whumpee needs Caretaker as a bodyguard anyway or what exactly would happen to Whumpee... I just love the basic idea of a Caretaker being a Bodyguard to a vulnerable Whumpee who needs protection (maybe you can include some ideas for who the Whumper is, I'm thinking Whumpee would be trying to protect themselves from Whumper but again I don't have too many of my own ideas besides the basic set-up).

Go wild with this and have fun taking it as extreme as you feel like, I'd love to hear whatever drama, plot twists, and other stuff you might have in mind for this :D have a great day!

Oh NO this is so sweet, it makes me so happy to hear people like my stuff 🥺🥺😊

ohHHoHo Bodyguard Caretaker is so good

Fragile whumpee:

Disabled whumpee: they have less ability or energy to do things, or they just regularly get sick

Young or old people have similar limitations

Magical whumpee: they have a magical ability that has drawbacks like fatigue, pain, hunger, weakness, etc

Whumpee regularly overextends themself and Bodyguard has to put a foot down to make sure they get enough like, food and sleep

Traveling:

Could be plain man vs nature

OR whumpee is on the run from whumper with Bodyguard as their only protector and confidant. Maybe they are delivering an important message/item, maybe they're escaping an abusive situation, maybe they're the last surviving member of the royal house after a coup

Bodyguard has experience traveling rough terrain, toughing it out, going hungry... but whumpee has never gone hungry or cold.

Whumpee might be the sort to complain (which could lead to irritation and eventual explosion from a stressed-out bodyguard, for angst drama), or...

...they might try to silently tough it out (which could lead to a Hidden Injury or similar flavored trope (hidden fever?) because they were trying not to put any more stress on Bodyguard / they can't slow down). They might be ashamed of their weakness and upbringing, that they can't be as strong as bodyguard.

Snowstorm cuddling?? :3c

Broken limbs, gashes from a tree or rock (infection risk), dropped in a river (hypothermia risk), etc

The double agent:

Bodyguard is undercover to get close to whumpee, gaining the trust and respect of everyone close to whumpee and whumpee themself

Bodyguard has been told, of course, not to fall for the lies these people present but xe can't help the growing feeling of respect for everyone else too... Along with a growing sense of guilt and wondering if xe's on the right side

Bodyguard is instrumental in letting the whumper's group get in and take down or capture everyone, including whumpee.

Bodyguard might, in desperation, offer up reasons why "it would be a bad idea" to kill people, possibly leading to everyone being tortured instead of killed

It nearabout kills xem when the others realize their part in the takeover and turn betrayed eyes onto xem. Bodyguard tries to tell xemself that what xe did was necessary and good, and that this would have happened even without xir help, and that xe's making it easier on whumpee & co, but... The guilt builds.

Xe cleans up after the whumpers as much as xe can, tending wounds of whumpee & co despite possibly having to endure (justified) vitriol directed at xem from the team xe betrayed

If xe becomes more vocal about mistreatment of the captives, xir leaders may pull them from the operation based on xem getting too close and developing sympathy (something that frequently happens to double agents)

Finally, xir guilt drives xem to do something stupid like get whumpee and everyone out.

This could get xem put in a cell right next to the whumpee's team without any sympathy to be found from either the whumpee's or whumper's teams. No one likes a turncoat.

Or xe gets whumpee's team out and 1) whumpee's team takes xem along because now xe has nowhere else to go but a) dubiously or b) as a prisoner, OR 2) xe's the only one that doesn't escape and gets in deep shit with whumper's team. Xe will probably think that's the end for xem

This kind of strayed away from being bodyguard caretaker but shhh. If whumpee has no team then it could be that bodyguard is the only one they have to rely on, even though the trust is no longer there

Gotta hit the hay now so I'll leave it there but I love this. Hope this was along the lines of what you were thinking, anon!!

[viktorenthusiast]

actually my tags on this post had me thinking and i think it’s really interesting dividing the siblings up into more emotion driven vs more utilitarian esp in season one and looking at the main conflicts of that season. i think 1, 3, 5, and 6 tend to be more on the pragmatic/logical/less emotional side and 2, 4, and 7 are largely driven by their emotions and you can kind of see how that plays out throughout the season.

the conflict between luther and diego is driven by the fact that luther operates by the idea that #1 = leader, which puts him at odds with diego, who it seems takes being number 2 personally. while i don’t think killing is necessarily a super personal thing to diego, he does spend the season trying to avenge patch. he lets his emotional attachments get in the way of arguably better judgment (the argument to keep grace on, leaving his siblings to fight cha cha, attacking hazel when he came to se five). whereas luther would argue he should put the team first and that’s why he’s not number 1.

the allison/viktor conflict revolves a lot around leonard, and you can really see how they each view each other’s actions completely differently. of course it was wrong of allison to break into his house and look him up with the the express purpose of finding dirt on him. but to her it’s a means to an end, just like rumoring is. it’s just something that must be done to achieve the desired results, which will ultimately benefit her. however we do see too in season one that she can be more emotion driven—she did argue to let viktor go, and didn’t shoot him when she had the chance. maybe it’s because it’s viktor, maybe that’s her trying to change, which is a big part of her character in season 1. viktor on the other hand takes literally everything personally he’s so emotion driven it’s not even funny. can we please bring back the fact that his emotions literally control the weather please i’m begging. anyway. he’s literally spent his entire life being left out, neglected, put on what’s most likely pretty strong benzos or just straight up barbiturates i mean can you imagine the emotions he must have felt once he finally stopped taking those. but his killing is always personal (he’s the one who always cried when they stepped on ants as kids!), it’s just his power is so strongly tied to his emotions that it’s an apocalyptic world-ending kind of thing.

ben spends the whole season with klaus, and we never really get to see what he was like as a kid. we know he hated killing people, and his power, and actually id argue that he was more emotion-driven as a child (just a little quieter emotion than others) but as he’s stayed stuck with klaus has become more detached from that emotion and has played a more pragmatic role. he is not exactly the gentlest when it comes to klaus’s addiction, and sometimes i’d call him mean. while i do think his issue with klaus stems from personal feelings, his approach is very much you should be grateful to be alive, i died as a teenager yet you sit here and waste your life as thought it means nothing, without much acknowledgment of what klaus has also been through. klaus is also one of those characters that’s so emotion driven it’s almost weird to think that yes he also grew up training with the academy. i mean in the story allison tells claire, he’s over making friends with the museum ghosts. but really the scene of him with reginald is exactly the difference in pragmatic siblings vs emotional siblings. it’s klaus’s “we were just kids” to reg’s “you were never just kids”.

finally fives conflict is pretty much him vs everyone. if viktor is the extreme end of emotion, five is the extreme end of utilitarianism. the handler literally says herself that he’s a first rate pragmatist, and he is. he’s ready to up and kill random people if it means saving the world his family, which even luther is against (which makes sense, as again luther operates on #1 = leader = everything must be for the good of the team, and a good leader wouldn’t let a member of his team go rogue and kill someone because some math said it would save the world). you can argue that him being hell-bent on saving the world has more to do with his family than the good of humanity, and i don’t think that’s an incorrect argument, it’s just that ultimately his pragmatism wins out. he does just what the situation calls for. he does say that they need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to stop viktor, but would he have argued in favor of keeping him in the basement? was it necessary in that specific situation? or was it unnecessarily making an enemy? who’s to say? not the writers i guess i think it’s interesting that he actually has the idea to take viktor with them and “fix him”. because this is where i think the handler was wrong about five—yes he’s killed, but he’s not a killer in the way that she meant it. killing is a last resort. he was willing to kill for the commission to escape the apocalypse, he killed when he was cornered at griddy’s, he was willing to kill someone if it meant the apocalypse would be averted, but (and we see it in season 2 and 3) he doesn’t want to. if the apocalypse can be avoided, but viktor can still be alive, he will take that option—and it’s basic utilitarianism. viktor surviving and the apocalypse being avoided is the outcome that is the most good for everyone.

and one last thought from me: the scene of viktor being locked in the soundproof basement room—look at who’s arguing here. diego and klaus, two emotion-driven siblings, against luther, the pragmatic one. like i said earlier allison is a little bit of a variable; with her power, she’s pragmatic, as she tries to live without it, she becomes more emotional. and in this scene, she has no voice, no power, so she operates on emotion (and as the show progresses, she does seem to have become more emotion-driven, and it’s interesting to see how she’s changed a lot as a character, but that’s an essay for another day)

[curlsofsagesmoke]

TMNT (2012) DID DONNIE DIRTY WITH THE HALF-ASSED LEADERSHIP PLOTLINE AND HERE’S WHY

not to turn into a tmnt blog or anything but I've been watching the 2012 version and I have some Thoughts about the weird leadership conflict subplot between Leo and donnie that the writers started going for and then abandoned. admittedly I've only seen up until a few episodes of season 3 so I don’t know if they ever do go back to this, but from what I've seen this plot had amazing potential but it was handled in a truly awful way!

keep in mind also that I really love this show. I watched it as a kid, I think it holds up pretty well even now. it does have its flaws (many, many flaws) and the worst flaw is the writing imo, which can be lazy, ignorant, or just straight up bad at times. 

with that out of the way, buckle up and hold on to your butts cuz here the heck we go!

you cannot talk about leadership in tmnt without starting with the leader, Leo. the writers gave him a really interesting arc at the beginning of season one where he was really eager to become leader (splinter gave him the job because he asked for it, after all) but then he started to realize the burden that came with the title and started to crack a bit under the pressure. the most well-known character conflict in the entire tmnt multiverse is the tension between Raph and Leo, and this iteration of the show is no different. Raph is very obviously upset about Leo becoming leader and he (and donnie, but we’ll get to him in a bit) tries to argue that he should be leader instead. ultimately he fails and this does create tension throughout the rest of seasons one and two.

this tension comes to a head during an episode where Leo, tired of Raph always questioning his decisions and needling him, decides to fuck off for a little bit, leaving Raph in charge (”New Girl In Town”). from a writing standpoint, this episode is important for many reasons, but in terms of this subplot it is a moment of crisis for Leo which he inevitably overcomes by accepting the burden and responsibility of leadership; and for Raph it is a moment of realization where he finally accepts that he wouldn’t be a very good leader and he doesn’t want the burden that Leo carries all the time. after this episode, Raph and Leo do have their arguments, but overall Raph is much more accepting of Leo’s position as leader and only calls him out when Leo starts to go on little power trips.

which brings us to donnie. donnie also argued that he should be leader in the first episode, but it wasn’t treated as seriously as Raph’s argument, and after that there wasn’t much conflict between Leo and donnie (except for the technology vs. tradition thing surrounding metalhead, but I’ll get to that later). donnie and Mikey are presented as generally pretty laid back. when Raph becomes leader in “New Girl In Town”, they exchange a lot of “yikes” looks in the background but are willing to follow his lead and give him the opportunity to actually be leader. of course, this comes to a head when they confront the villain of the episode, snakeweed, in the sewers. they’re getting their asses kicked, Mikey is knocked out, Raph is having a panic attack, and donnie is left to fend for himself against snakeweed.

instead of having that little “I must meet this challenge and overcome it” moment that you’d expect, Raph gives in to the panic and it’s donnie who not only incapacitates snakeweed to give them time to escape, but also snaps Raph out of his panic attack and tells him what to do (namely, get Mikey out of there and retreat to safety). it’s not given any more attention after this so it’s kind of blink-and-you-miss-it, but this is the first instance we see donnie reveal a bit of his potential as leader.

this is in direct contrast to “Mousers Attack!” which came a few episodes before New Girl In Town. that was the episode that introduced the a-team/b-team dynamic, and in that episode we saw that donnie, while attempting to lead him and Mikey, was able to come up with a bunch of plans to infiltrate dogpound’s operations but wasn’t decisive enough to actually commit to anything. thus in New Girl In Town, we’ve already seen very obvious growth in donnie and the way he approaches leadership, but it’s very much pushed to the background, and for good reason. this is simply laying the foundation for the big showdown between Leo and donnie.

the next significant moment of leadership potential we see from donnie comes in the episode the Pulverizer. donnie gets stuck with Timothy in the lair but soon  becomes willing and even eager to teach him the basics of self defense, because, as he tells splinter, he knows Timothy is going to keep putting himself in dangerous situations and he’d rather Timothy be able to protect himself. splinter tells him that anything that happens to Timothy will be donnie’s responsibility, and donnie accepts this and begins training him. at the end of the episode they all make it out okay, Timothy goes on his way, and donnie seems to have become just a bit fond of him.

significantly, this is the first time donnie is given full responsibility over the fate of another person, and we see that even though he doesn’t really like Timothy, he takes this responsibility seriously. here he shows great leadership potential, as well, though again, it’s not really commented on narratively.

the next significant moment is, as you might’ve guessed, The Pulverizer Returns. in this episode we find out Timothy has joined the foot and is willing to pass information on to the turtles. Leo and Raph jump at the opportunity, Mikey is ambivalent as usual, and donnie is the only one who shows any concern. this is most likely because the last time he saw Timothy, splinter told him Timothy was his responsibility completely, and he obviously takes that seriously still. the entire episode, he tries to get Timothy to leave the foot and his brothers to take this seriously, but his worries are brushed off until they find out the shredder is about to mutate Timothy as an experiment.

so they race off to save him, and donnie ends up in a warehouse without his brothers to help, weaponless (because of some bullshit lesson splinter is trying to teach them, and as a side note, this was the first episode where I started to seriously dislike splinter as a character, because the way he was written here is just awful). the villains of this episode are dogpound and fishface. if you’ll remember, these are two serious villains, and up until this point they’d only ever been subdued, never defeated, and even then the turtles had to double team them in order to win. so it was of course surprising and incredible to see that donnie, armed with literally just a broom, was able to hold off a squad of foot ninjas, dogpound, AND fishface by himself for a good while, all while keeping Timothy away from the mutagen.

then Timothy IS mutated and a bomb is activated, and in just two minutes donnie comes up with a plan and executes it, getting them all out safely. when he starts barking orders at his brothers, they don’t even stop to question him. they listen immediately and that’s part of the reason why the plan succeeds. so what does this tell us? it tells us that donnie has a very strong sense of responsibility, protectiveness, and determination; that he is extremely capable when he’s focused and is good at thinking under pressure; and that his brothers trust him enough to follow his orders when he does give them. these are all incredible qualities for a leader to have!

notably the episode after this is Operation Break Out, where donnie goes off on his own to rescue April’s dad from The Kraang and they only make it out because his brothers followed him and intervened. clearly, then, donnie’s not really ready to be a leader and still lets his emotions cloud his judgement, which is a narratively sound writing decision. the big donnie-as-leader showdown doesn’t come until the end of season two, anyway.

and then season two. the tensions between Leo and donnie aren’t as obvious as the tensions between Leo and Raph, but they’re there, even if no one explicitly challenges Leo’s position as leader any more. here’s a quick rundown of the two significant episodes:

“Follow the Leader”--> Leo wants to stick to the old, traditional ways, but his brothers insist on unorthodox methods of fighting. Leo eventually comes to accept this to a certain degree when he admits it’s a good strategy to use against the footbots.

“Metalhead Rewired”--> donnie upgrades metalhead’s AI and Leo is suspicious of it. on the trail of The Kraang, Leo blames donnie for a few of metalhead’s mishaps, but apologizes when they realize that metalhead was leading them to a Kraang mutant prison. metalhead sacrifices itself to save them. Leo is sympathetic here because donnie is really upset, but it’s clear that these two are still fighting over the tech vs. tradition thing

and then we get to The Invasion, the season two finale. the synopsis makes it clear that this is where all of these moments that I've been discussing come to a head: “Leo and Donnie disagree about their plan to stop The Kraang invasion. When Leo makes a critical mistake, he is separated from the team and Donnie must step up as leader.” So we’re off to a good start as far as concluding this character arc goes. I was excited to finally see donnie live up to his leadership potential (and I thought this could be a good way to give Leo some closure regarding his issues with holding the world on his shoulders/blaming himself for every mistake/basing his self worth on his position as leader).

but I was sorely disappointed! in the episodes, donnie’s and Leo’s tech vs. tradition conflict comes to a head when Leo wants to flee the city (this seems very out of character for him) but donnie wants to stay and fight in his new combat robot, the turtle mech. this disagreement lasts until they are attacked in the tunnels and donnie is injured; Leo draws the Kraang robots away (I assumed this was his critical mistake: separating himself) to give the others time to escape. they go to April’s apartment to hide and regroup while Leo is hunted down and almost killed by the shredder. Raph and Casey rejoin the others, then shredder throws Leo through the window of the apartment, and they escape but barely. donnie then makes the decision to fight Kraang prime in the turtle mech (which is, I assume, his big leader moment, though of course it doesn’t even happen on screen). they fight Kraang prime and almost die, but Casey arrives in the van, saves them, and drives them out of the city. donnie apologizes to Leo’s unconscious body and says that Leo was right, and then the episode ends.

so. let me first say that this was quite possibly the worst way to end this really interesting and nuanced character arc that the writers had set donnie and Leo on. first of all, we barely got to see donnie act in any kind of leadership role. in Leo’s absence, they made most of their decisions as a team, where I had expected at least some sort of “I need to overcome my fears and anxieties and lead my family to safety” moment from donnie. secondly, Leo wasn’t entirely correct. yes, they ended up evacuating the city anyway like Leo wanted, but he was wrong about the turtle mech; it ended up destroying Kraang prime’s robot body thing. and donnie wasn’t entirely correct, either: the turtle mech was a great weapon that did some significant damage, but it wasn’t enough to stop the invasion. so we have these two characters who were both wrong in their own ways, both face the consequences, but no one ever discusses it.

so not only did we not see any significant character development from Leo; and not only did donnie not really get to act in any significant leadership role; but also worst of all, these two characters never got any closure! I'm a good handful of episodes into season three, and not one single character has even mentioned the tension between Leo and donnie during the invasion. everyone acts as if it never happened, so now as a viewer I'm stuck here waiting for the other shoe to drop or for one of these characters to finally snap, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, which sucks. in other iterations of tmnt (like the 2007 movie or the show from 2003) we get to see Donatello act almost like Leo’s second in command. I think that’s a really, really interesting direction the writers of the 2012 show could’ve gone in and I think it’s a waste of this subplot’s potential to just abandon it the way they did. I'm not sure what’s going to happen in season three, but I think a good conclusion of this arc would’ve been donnie and Leo confronting the argument they had, doing a little more maturing, and eventually donnie becomes Leo’s second in command. instead I'm really worried about how the writing of this show is going to devolve as I get further into the later seasons.

(as a side note: I'm currently working on a series of tmnt fics that addresses this issue, as well as the sometimes shitty ways the brothers treat each other and the stupid-as-fuck donnie/april/casey love triangle. so if that floats your boat, keep an eye out! I'll be reposting this with the link attached once I upload the first fic, so give my blog a follow or keep an eye on my ao3 account, heyassbuttimbatman)

[freddiekluger]

Why Cap Being Internally Closeted Is Not Only Possible, But Valid Representation 

i wrote this to a lot of mitski and onsind, so you can’t blame me for any feelings that bleed through

now i don’t know if it actually exists, but i’ve heard of there being a lot of discourse surrounding the captains story arc regarding his sexuality- i believe the general gist is that having a queer character that remains closeted to themselves is either unrealistic or ‘bad’ representation, and as someone who really treasures the captain and relates to his story so far a lot, i thought i might break this down a bit. 

i’ve divded up every complaint i’ve heard about this into four main questions which i’ll be covering below the ‘keep reading’, because this is gonna be pretty comprehensive. full disclaimer i reference my experiences as an ex-evangelical non binary butch lesbian a couple times, and i spent a year studying repression and the psychological impacts of high demand sexual ethics for my graduating sociology paper, so this is coming with some background to it i swear

the big questions:

can you EVEN be gay and not know it????

but isn't this just ANOTHER coming out arc, and aren't we supposed to be moving beyond those?

but if cap can't have a relationship with a man because he's a ghost, what's the point?

since cap's dead, isn't this technically bury your gays, and isn't that bad? 

1. "but is it really possible to not know? Isn't that bad representation?"

short answer: no and no.

before i get into the validity of the captain's ignorance about his own orientation as 21st century rep, let's break down how the hell the captain can be so clearly attracted to men and still not even consider the possibility that he might be gay, as brought to you by someone who literally experienced this shit.

the captain's particular situation is both a direct result of the lack of information around human sexuality he would have had (aka clear messaging that it's actually possible for him to be attracted to men. i don't mean acceptable or allowed, i mean physically capable of happening- the idea that orientations other than heterosexual exist and are available to him, a man), and a subconscious survival mechanism. the environment in which he lives is outright hostile to gay people, while the military man identity he has constructed for himself doesn't allow for any form of deviation from societal norms, let alone one so base level and major. as a result of this killer combo of information and environment, instincts take over and the mind does it's best to repress the ‘deviant’ feelings until a. one of these two things changes, or b. the act of repression becomes so destructive and/or exhuasting that it becomes impossible to maintain. the key to maintaining a long-term state of repression of desire is diverting that energy elsewhere, and a high-demand group such as the military is the perfect place for the captain to do this (this technqiue is frequented by religions and extremist ideologies worldwide, but that’s not really what we’re here to focus on). 

while the brain is actively repressing ‘deviant’ feelings (aka gay shit), this doesn't mean you don't experience the feelings at all. when performed as a subconscious act of survival, the aim of repression is to minimise/transform the feelings into a state where they can no longer cause immediate danger, and something as big as sexual/romantic orientation is going to keep popping up, but as long as the individual in question never understands what they’re feeling, they’ll be able to continue relatively undisturbed. you know how in heist movies, the leader of the group will only tell each team member part of the plan so they can’t screw things up for everyone else if they get caught? it’s kind of like that.

this is how the captain appears to have operated in life AND in death, and it’s a relatively common experience for lgbtq people who’ve grown up in similar circumstances (aka with a lack of information and in an unfriendly-to-hostile environment), and accounts for how some people can even go on to get married and have children before realising that they’re gay and/or trans. 

personally, while i can now identify what were strong homo crushes all the way back to childhood, at the time i genuinely had no idea. there was the underlying sense that i probably shouldn't tell people how attached i was to these girls because i would seem weird, and that my feelings were stronger than the ones other people used to describe friendships, but like-like them in the way that other girls like-liked boys? no way! actually scratch that, it wasn't even a no way, because i had no idea that i even could. i even had my own havers, at least in terms of the emotional hold and devotion she got from me, except she treated me way less well than cap’s beau. snatches of the existence of lgbt people made it through the cone of silence, i definitely heard the words gay and lesbian, but my levels of informations mirrored those that the captain would have had: virtually none, beyond the idea that these words exist, some people are them, and that's not something that we support or think is okay, so let's just not speak about it. despite only attending religious schools for the first couple years of primary, until i got my own technology and social media accounts to explore lgbtq content on my own- option a out of the two catalysts for change- the possibility of me being gay was not at all on my radar. don’t even get me started on how long it took me to explore butchness and my overall gender, two things which now feel glaringly obvious. 

when shit starts to break down, you can also make the conscious choice to repress which can delay the eventual smashing down of the mental closet door for a time (essentially when the closet door starts to open, you just say ‘no thanks’ and shut it again by pointedly Not Thinking About It). in the abscence of identifying yourself by your attractions, it becomes quite common to identify with a lack- in my case, this meant becoming proud of how sensible and not boy crazy i was, and in the captain’s case, this means becoming proud of how sensible and not sensuous/wild (aka woman crazy) he was, identifying with his LACK of desire for women and partying (which, even in the 40s, involved the expectation of opposite sex romances and hook ups). i’m not saying that’s the only reason he’s a rule follower, but i think the contrast between About Last Night and Perfect Day pretty much support this. (the captain getting on his high horse about general party antics that he inherently felt excluded from because of underlying awareness of his difference & his tendency to project his regimented expectations of himself onto others, vs. joining in the reception party, awareness of how the environment supports difference in the form of clare and sam, and relaxing his own rules by dancing with men- the captain doesn’t mind a party when feels like he has a place there.)

so the captain was operating in a high demand, highly regulated environment (primarily the military, but also early 20th century England itself), with regimented roles, rules, and expectations. working on the assumption that he wouldn't have had out/disclosing lgbt friends, he would have had little to no exposure to lgbt identities, and what information he did receive would have been hushed and negatively geared. while my world started to open up when i started high school was allowed to have my own phone + instagram account, resulting in me realising something wasn't quite 'right' within a few years (making me a relatively early realiser compared to those who don't come out to themselves until adulthood), in life the captain never had that experience. he didn't receive the information he needed, his environment didn't grow less hostile. with the near-exception of havers related heartbreak, his well disciplined and lifelong method of repression never became destructive/exhaustive enough to permanently override the danger signals in his mind and allow him to put his feelings into words. neither of the most common catalysts for change happened for him, so he continued as usual, even after his death.

BUT, and here’s where we come to why this is actually great representation, arrival of mike and Alison represents the opening up of new world. for the first time, the captain is actively made aware of the fact that his environment is no longer hostile, and better than that, it’s affirming. he’s also getting access to positively geared information about lgbtq people and identities, so option a of the two catalysts for change is absolutely present, and resoundingly positive. 

the captain’s arc is also relatively unique as it acknowledges the oppressive nature of his environment, but actually focuses on the internal consequences, and the way that systems like those that the captain lived in succeed because they turn us into our own oppressors. for whatever reason, we repress ourseslves, and often can’t help it, and i find that the significance of the journey to overcome that is often overlooked in more mainstream queer media. perhaps it’s just not very cinematic, or it remains too confronting for cishet audiences, but ghosts manages to touch on it with a lovely amount of humour and hope. Jamie Babbit’s But I’m A Cheerleader is another favourite piece of queer media for the same reasons.

not only does it show this, but as the captain continues to get gayer and lean into some of his less conventional traits (like an interest in fashion and the wedding planning), it shows lgbt people who have been or are going through this that there CAN be a positive outcome. it takes a lot to unlearn all the things that have painted you as wrong, especially when a massive institution is desperate to continue doing so, but you can do it, you can be happy, and it's never too late. (i've been meaning to say that last point for ages for ages, but a mutual beat me to it here)

2. not just another coming out arc

i absolutely support the demand for queer stories that don’t center around coming out (it’s like shrodinger’s queer: if you’re not coming out on screen, do you really even exist?), but i don’t align with the criticisms that the captain should already be out. for the reasons mentioned above, the captain’s particular story is fairly different to the ‘young white teenager who mostly knows gay is fine, it’s just everyone else that’s got the problem, but have a unremarkably straight sounding soundtrack, a trauma porn romance, and a cishet saviour’ that we keep seeing. the captain’s ongoing journey with his sexuality emphasises the overaching theme of the show: recovering from trauma and humanity’s endless capacity for growth, and i think that’s worth showing over and over again until it stops being true.

additionally, while the captain’s journey regarding his gayness is a big part of his character and story, ghosts makes it clear that it’s not the ONLY part, and being gay is far from his ONLY characteristic or dramatic/comedic engine. the fact that i’m even having to congratulate ghosts for doing that really shows how much film and television is struggling huh.

while all queer media is, and should be, subject to criticism, i think if it helps even one person then it absolutely deserves to exist, and i can say i’ve found the captain’s journey to be the lgbt story i’ve found that’s closest to my own, which says a lot considering he’s a dead world war 2 soldier who hangs out with other ghosts including a slutty Tory, a georgian noblewoman, and a literal caveman. 

3. if captain gay, why he no have boyfriend???? 

another complaint that’s been circulating is that since the captain doesn’t, and likely won’t, have a boyfriend, that makes him Bad Representation because it follows the sad single gay trope. i kind of get the logic from this one, and a lot of it is up to personal interpretation, but part of me really enjoys the fact that the captain’s journey towards accepting himself is separated from having a relationship.

coming out is often paired with having romantic/sexual relationships (either as the reason or reward for doing so). my own struggle with repression didn't end the second that came out, and i still struggle with letting myself develop & acknowledge romantic feelings as a result of actively shutting them (and most other feelings in general) down for years, and statistics show that lgbtq youth in particular tend not to live out their 'teen years' until their twenties. by not giving cap a relationship straight away, ghosts separates the act of claiming identity and sexual orientation from finding a partner (two things which are, more often than not, separate), and also provides some very nice validation to folks who have yet to have the relationship they want, especially when lots of mainstream queer media is now jumping on the cishet media bandwagon of acting as if every person loses their virginity and has a life defining relationship at sixteen. it’s essentially a continuation of the earlier theme of “it’s never too late”, and who’s to say the captain won’t get a gay bear ghost boyfriend to go haunt nazis with??? people die all the time, it could happen.

(also, i think him and julian will have definitely shagged at least once. it was a low moment for both of them and they refuse to speak of it.)

lots of asexual/ace spectrum fans have come out to say how much they’ve loved being able to headcanon cap as ace, and while that’s not a headcanon i personally have, i think it’s brilliant that ace fans feel seen by his character- we’re all in this soup together babey (and sorry for cursing everyone still reading this with that cap/julian headcanon. i’m just a vessel)

4. “okay, but cap’s a GHOST- doesn’t that make this Bury Your Gays?”

this is a bit of a complex one, but i’m going to say no as a result of the following break down.

Bury Your Gays (BYG), aka the trope where lgbtq characters are consistently killed off (and often with a heavy dose of trauma, while cishet characters survive) is probably one of my least favourite lgbt media tropes. BYG has two main points:

1. the lgbt character is killed, thus removing them from story entirely- hence the use of the phrase ‘killed OFF’ (killed off of the show/film)

2. the character’s death reinforces the perception that lgbtq people’s lives must end in tragedy, instead of being long and fulfilling, or are inherently less valuable. bonus points if the character is killed in a hate crime or confesses same-gender love right before they die (that one implies that queer love genuinely has no future!)

not every death of an lgbtq character is bury your gays, and i personally feel that the captain is an example of an lgbt death that isn’t. 

first of all, while the captain is dead, so are the vast majority of characters in ghosts. the premise of the show means that death is not the end of the line for its characters- for most of them, it’s the only reason we get to see them on screen at all. as such, the captain being dead doesn’t remove him from the story, so point one is irrelevant.

at the time of posting, we don’t know how or why the captain died, but we've had nothing to suggest his death was in any way related to his latent sexuality, so his mysterious death doesn’t actively play into the supposedly inherent tragedy of queer lives, nor the supposedly lesser value. that’s as of right now- since we don’t know the circumstances of his death it’s a little tough to analyse properly. while the captain’s life absolutely features missed opportunities and it’s fair share of tragedy, hope and growth (which seems to be the theme of this post) abounds in equal measure. the captain may not be alive, but we DO get to see him growing and having a relatively happy existence, that for the most part seems to be getting even better as he learns to open up and be himself unapologetically- that doesn’t feel like BYG to me.

while writng this, it’s just occured to me that death really is a second chance for most of the ghosts, especially with the introduction of alison. from mary learning to read, to thomas finding modern music, they’ve all been given the chance explore things they never could have while they were alive, and hopefully grow enough to one day be sucked off move on.

in conclusion,

i love the captain very much and i hope his arc lives up to the standards it’s set so far. i don’t know where to put this in this post, but i’d alo like to say i LOVE how in Perfect Day, the captain wasn’t used as an educational experienced for fanny at all. i am very tired of people expecting me to be the walking talking homophobe educator and rehabilitator, so the fact that it’s alison and the other ghosts that call fanny out while the captain just gets to have fun with the wedding organisation made me very happy.

here’s a few other cap posts that i’ve done:

the captain’s arc if adam and the film crew stayed

a possible cap coming out 

the captain backstory headcanon

if you’ve read this far,

thank you!

also check out @alex-ghosts-corner , this post inspired me very much to write this

[out-of-this-dimension]

Hypothetically Rewriting Assault’s Story + Some General Assault Opinions

There’s a game my husband and I like to play when we watch a movie, play a game, or read a book that has a story that we don’t really enjoy or we enjoy certain parts of but not others.  We look at things we’d keep and things we’d change and we build a story from there-- sort of like an AU but we don’t really go into the writing part, we just stick to theorizing and mapping a general story.

I decided to play that game with Star Fox.  Not because I think Star Fox has a bad story but because sometimes I think the stories could have been handled better.  Note: for the rewrite game, I only really look at story, even for video games, I don’t really look at gameplay mechanics, but I do understand those have a lot to do with story potential so I do take it in as a factor... I just don’t bother to “rewrite” the mechanics, if that makes any sense at all.  Some of my list today will include boss encounters but I wouldn’t necessarily say those are mechanic-related... more like “event-related”.

I’ve mused a bit in the past about rewriting Adventures and Command and I do have plans to do a mock up of an Adventures remake eventually.  However, today I was thinking about how I would go about handling an Assault re-write in particular.  Much like Command and Adventures, I don’t have any beef with the core story but I do think there’s a few things that could’ve been better about Assault’s storyline-- like they had good ideas rolling but they didn’t quite refine them.

Under the cut because SUPER long.

My basic feelings on Assault are pretty positive.  I think the game is generally just fun and I like that it feels like the natural progression from SF64.  I liked getting to see planets we haven’t seen since the N64 era in better graphics and I liked seeing Star Wolf return.  I also just thought the aparoids were neat enemies. 

Generally speaking, though, when it comes to Assault, I think it suffers from the thing it tries to push the most-- the story.  I think a lot of people get caught up in thinking the story is better than it is because it’s the first game since SF64 that really follows the same Star Fox vibe without retelling the Lylat Wars.  Don’t get me wrong, the overall plot is great but the execution and pacing are... wonky.  Certain characterizations also take a hit in some regards but no one really talks about that when Command exists. That’s something we’ll talk about later on with this post.

That being said, Assault really does have a lot good going for it.  An absolute banger of a soundtrack, some great dialogue, a neat story synopsis, the introduction of cool characters like Panther and Beltino (who existed but was always off-screen), and just good levels.  

So, here’s what I would add, I suppose, if I were to somehow have the ability to rewrite Assault.  Originally I had this in paragraph form, but I’ve made it into more of a list under topic segments with main points bolded for your viewing pleasure.  Some of these points might be considered nitpicky and while I do understand that yes, this is a game about space animals, I do hold the developers in high enough regard to make a game with a continuity that makes sense.

The Story Changes

- Reduce Pigma’s storyline in Assault.  This is the biggest one for me because a bulk of the plotline feels like a giant chase to just get at Pigma and it feels like it derails from the actual plot with the aparoids.  We only go to Sargasso because of Pigma.  We only go to Fichina and then back to Meteo again, because of Pigma.  That’s 3 levels in a 10 level game devoted to just tracking down Pigma and chasing him.  While it makes the build up to fighting Pigma kind of nice, I personally feel like the plot could be reduced to 2 levels.  If Assault overall was a longer game, I could see them making it 3 levels.  Overall, though, in its current state, I feel like the side plot overstays its welcome and the aparoids promptly get shoved to the side in favor of “Oh no, we gotta get to Pigma!” And I get the main motive here is to show how the aparoids affect people and because of the build up, it does a good job at showing how utterly terrifying the aparoids are.  But it’s still too long given the length of Assault’s story. The only alternative to this is make Assault longer, which... honestly, it should be.  

- Revise the scene with Tricky.  I’m obviously not well-versed in dinosaur biology but I’m pretty sure dinos didn’t grow that fast from what studying I HAVE done.  And why is he suddenly king now?  Did his parents die?  He seems not affected by this at all?  Like it’s a funny scene with him, Fox, and Krystal, but it’s odd if you really look at it.  Give us, as players, more context because I’m still not even sure what happened to make Tricky suddenly the leader and... big.  As a note, you’re gonna hear me gripe a lot about the Sauria level in this post.

- The Star Wolf + Peppy sacrifice is a low effort way to raise tension/stakes and then cop out.  Oldest trick in the book, imo, is to act like you’re going to kill off important characters only for them to be alive miraculously.  And let’s face it, as an audience we all know they aren’t going to kill those characters because it’s Nintendo and those characters are too beloved.  I would’ve forgiven them for only doing this with Peppy or Star Wolf, but when you tack them both together and throw in the fact they make it seem like you’re going to have to kill General Pepper too... yeah, it’s just a bit much of the same trope over and over again.  I wanted to put a note in here about how I’m fine with the Great Fox being “sacrificed” but overall, it needed to return to the series because of it’s icon status, but I think that’s more of a gripe at Command instead of Assault.

- Keep Pigma alive.  This will conflict with a point I have later on about the game consistently having characters cheat death for easy drama points but with Pigma, I would’ve kept him fully alive... but maybe with some physical damage from the aparoids.  I understand he’s semi-alive in Command and tbh I don’t know where I stand on that.  Why keep Pigma alive, you might ask?  I feel like his character has a lot more potential than being “just the greedy guy”.  Like he’s got good potential future villain material for future games and... if I’m honest?  I just don’t see Nintendo wanting to keep Pigma dead so why even bother killing him off?  They couldn’t even commit to him being dead in Command anyways so it seems very moot.

- Bring Bill and Katt back.  Assault is acts a bit like a big reunion of all of our SF64 favorites but our two favorite side characters are suspiciously missing.  Wouldn’t Bill be out on the front lines fighting against Andrew in the beginning?  Or maybe back in Katina?  And wouldn’t Katt inevitably show up in the midst of the invasion, maybe to pointedly check in on Falco?

- Bring Andrew back for the final fight. I think Andrew being defeated early into the game is fine overall but I think bringing him back in for a reunion final fight against the aparoids would serve to really solidify that it’s really everyone vs the invading aparoid force.  It would show that not only is Star Wolf willing to put aside their differences but so is basically everyone in the Lylat System in the name of survival.  Imagine the Venomians and Cornerians working together against an aparoid fleet, giving Star Fox and Star Wolf time to attack the queen?  I just think it’d be neat and it’d open up the potential for some fun banter mid-mission.  I do understand that quite a few people consider Andrew canonically dead after Assault but personally, I feel that his defeat left his fate questionable (I’m a staunch believer that unless there’s a body, they’re probably alive, especially for Nintendo games because, again, they never like to kill people off) so him returning in Command never really bothered me.  

- In general, reconsider some of the character portrayals.  Unfortunately, when a series has a different studio for each game, character portrayals will inevitably have inconsistencies.  While I give Namco a lot of credit for putting in oodles and oodles of detail into the game (particularly the levels), I think they failed in their portrayal of Fox, at the least, and Wolf is a considerable offender as well.  While it’s obvious that Fox in Adventures was effectively modeled off of Sabre even in terms of personality, Rareware was at least able to justify Fox’s newfound jaded attitude with the passing of many years and a distinct lack of steady income, resulting in the team being in disarray.  Assault’s Fox is a stark contrast to his cynical interpretation with seemingly no explanation other than maybe “Oh, I have more money and a gf, maybe I should behave myself”.  As if the sudden change in personality wasn’t random, Fox also just seems very blah, like a blank slate stereotypical shooter game protagonist dude with little to no emotion.  Wolf is less obvious but gets slated into a mentor-like role midway through the game and ends up in a respectful rivalry with Fox... which there’s nothing inherently wrong with that except for it happening abruptly (and, I mean, Peppy is right there).  But I take less issue with this and more of an issue with the fact that there’s an entire level establishing that Wolf now runs a crime den with effectively what seems to be an army and no one bats an eye at this.  He doesn’t even call on them to help with the aparoids.  Did they all die when the aparoids attacked Meteo?  Are they safe somewhere else?  Where do they go?  How was Sargasso able to operate without the CDF being on their doorstep with warrants for arrests?

- Don’t kill all the dinosaurs.  A bit of a dramatic statement but the ending screen that showed all the damage to Sauria really bothered me.  While I understand that the dinosaurs had less of a chance against the aparoids than a more technology-focused society like Corneria, I was a bit disappointed that the decision was made to just state that a lot of tribes had been wiped out.  I know this could easily be retconned in a future game and I feel like it should be.  “But why, Amalia?  Why are you disappointed by that?”  1) It’s a little too grimdark for my tastes.  2) The fact it all happened off-screen felt very hand-wavy.  And 3) It brings into question the entire point of Adventures.  Why did we bother to save this planet if it was going to be reduced to rubble and ash 1 year later?  Where were the Krazoa in all of this?  Why did they not make an appearance at all to try to stop the invasion with their alleged powers?  It just raises too many weird questions and I feel like Namco didn’t think it through too much.  Which I mean, sure.  Family, kiddo game.  I’m not asking for bigbrain plot and lore but I’m squinting at this bit because it does feel very contrary to the lore from the previous game.

- Make the aparoids more relevant.  As nice as it is to have a random bad guy from another galaxy, I feel like there was more that could be done with the aparoids in terms of their origins.  Tiny things, mind you, not huge revelations.  Off the top of my head, they could have been tied into Krystal’s backstory to help alleviate some of the complaints that she was too random to be added to the series’ main cast.  Alternatively, they could have been a product of Andross or even a weapon prototype from Corneria that fled the lab (I actually thought the game was leaning in that direction for a bit then just Nothing Happened).  I get that the vagueness of their origins leaves room for people to speculate and speculation is nice but... when you leave too many things unknown, it starts to feel less like giving fans room to interpret and more like just doing random things for the sake of it.  I think a lore tidbit here or there would work wonders for the aparoids instead of leaving them as just borg/zerg clones.

Level-Based Changes

- Add either Aparoid RedEye or Aparoid General Scales as a boss to Sauria.  Given that this level mysteriously lacks a boss, which is just weird compared to the other levels, I think that they had the opportunity to add something cool to go along with the cinematic feel they were going for with Assault.  Assault’s cutscenes do play in a movie-like fashion and it’s clear they’re trying to make the game as epic as possible.  It’s a shame they had so much fodder for a great boss here but they failed to go through with it.  Alternatively: Add a Krazoa-Aparoid fusion.  Why?  Because Star Fox is about cool epic sci-fi and that would be cool epic sci-fi incarnate.

- Add a boss to the Aparoid Homeworld Level, aka the penultimate level.  Another one I felt was personally weird that there was no “final defense system” to challenge the team.  Would be cool to do an aerial battle over the aparoid planet with some giant flying aparoid.

- Be kinder to Sauria.  The level had some good homages but overall was incredibly small and incredibly short.  It felt like a bone tossed to Adventures fans but was not entirely true to the setting built by Rareware.  I’m... not even sure where the Sauria level is supposed to take place?  I presume it’s Walled City but it doesn’t really have the same color scheme or aesthetic?  Also where is my revised Adventures music?  Why do all the other levels get it but Sauria doesn’t? 

- Put some of those funky items from the multiplayer into the main campaign.  I don’t know why some of these things, items especially, were omitted unless it was purely due to time constraints.  I remember having missile launchers and jetpacks in the multiplayer and was a bit sad that they were not in the main campaign.  Retuning the levels and adding those in would be a nice breath of fresh air for the more tedious on-foot missions.

- More levels.  Self-explanatory.  Still sad we didn’t get the Zoness or Titania levels in the single-player mode.  

I think all of the above changes would improve the game, though I recognize all of this is being said 16 years later after lots of time to contemplate Assault’s weaker points.  I’m not entirely certain how long Star Fox Assault took to develop but given that there’s obviously quite a bit scrapped from the game (an entire arcade mode was scrapped as well), I’m going to assume that the studio felt pressured to shove the game out the door and into the hands of customers.  It’s a shame, really, because I think a little bit longer in the oven would have done a lot of good.  Still, the product we got was good in its own right and a game that many people look back on fondly.  I haven’t gotten to replay it in years but I hope to quite soon.

You might wonder why I bothered typing this all out and I guess my point was this-- Assault was great but it wasn’t perfect, and while a lot of other games fall under a crushing amount of scrutiny, Assault seems to dodge it.  And don’t get me wrong-- I adore Assault.  But given that not many takes exist out there about rewriting it, I decided to give it a shot.  For variety’s sake.  

I do want to a mock up of a revised Assault story, which I think I will get to work on after completing this while all my ideas are still fresh in mind.  So stay tuned for that sometime in the near future.  I will also be doing my Adventures mock up at some point but probably not for a little bit as I do wanna focus some of my free time on actual fic-writing.

Anyways, if you stuck around this long, thank you for reading!  Have any changes you’d like to see to Assault if you could time machine your way back to the early 2000s?  Feel free to post in the comments, I’d love to read your ideas!

[disfordevineaux]

Character Parallels: Chase vs Julia

First off, let me start with:

SEASON 3 SPOILER WARNING.

This is somewhat a continuation from my original Chase Devineaux Case Study I did a while back. Feel free to read it to fully understand the context behind my opinions and thoughts on Chase, Julia and such discussed below. Let’s begin.

Although Season 3 was short, it was still a season that provided us with a new potential story catalyst to propel the plot in the form of major character development.

A bit of context:

Throughout the series, Chase Devineaux was always sceptical and often outright against the idea that Carmen Sandiego could have ulterior motives (due to his ill-fated meetings with the said person driving that home and on the surface she literally is stealing), an idea his previous partner, Julia Argent, was the spokesperson for. To quote a long story short, Chase was not too pleased or in agreement with the idea proposed by Julia: Carmen Sandiego isn’t the real enemy. Others shunned this idea too (Zari & Chief) and consistently was never outright ‘proved’ from a physical evidence standpoint. Both stood on opposite ends of the ‘who really is Carmen Sandiego’ spectrum. This was the major theme of division between Chase and Julia, a plot point further driven by the unlucky streak he suffered when dealing with Team Red, and VILE. Mostly he, and ACME, could not separate the entities completely, even up until the end of Season 3.

In the S03E04, ‘The Masks of Venice Caper’, after 3 seasons of being moments away from Carmen Sandiego at every step, Chase succeeds. After a long and clearly exhausting chase throughout the streets of Venice, he is able to finally catch up.

He leaps aboard after making the jump and officially bears witness to the handing over of goods, something which Julia was only ever afforded. Chase is blindsided at her easy surrender, simple innocent explanation and instantly clean escape. He does not go after her, instead stands bewildered at what she said, leaving him with the important line of: ‘Jules would understand’, (because she would with her prior knowledge and experience), to digest what just occurred.

This was not what he was expecting, as on other occasions they met him with hostility or evasion without explanation. Instead, he is treated as if he were Julia, filling the role as a substitute, as she is no longer on the scene to be the recipient of the ‘handoff’. At this moment, thanks to Carmen’s finale line, it all clicks. Previous conversations run through his mind, visibly questioning, as he makes the connection before being interrupted by Agent Zari, congratulating him on stopping the robbery.

The confirmation that he finally gets it is reaffirmed by a theme of a ‘silent partner’ which he now uses himself with commenting, awkwardly, that ‘I did not do it alone’ (A call back to S01E09, see below). This is the formal affirmation that he now understands that Carmen is not the enemy. There was no way he would have ever connected the dots without visual verification, experiencing it for himself first hand, a situation Julia experienced multiple times by fortune, something people forget when watching him grapple with his inability to detain the ‘thief’. Julia was provided with many chances throughout season 1-2 to work with or in situational coincidence with Carmen and aid in the protection of potential goods in harm’s way. (Most notably S02E04)

Julia’s departure, though disappointing to fans (and myself), was a crucial plot device to enable Chase to be finally exposed to the events which would lead him to change his mind for the better. Unless by some miracle he was chosen as the recipient of Team Red’s well wishes with Julia on the scene and/or in tow, it would have taken far longer for the realisation to be made. An understanding that is only able to be fully recognised by Julia and Chase. The only two people around long enough and familiar enough with Carmen Sandiego and the entire case to be in any position to come to the right conclusion about her intentions.

As many may say, seeing is believing. And seeing was what he needed to believe, both Chase and Julia needing that direct witnessing to understand. Seems the red lining of his original coat meant something after all.

(Do note: Julia was more inclined and susceptible to a conflicting opinion due to her heightened observation skills from the get-go but still needed visual confirmation, which she got, to stand strong with her diverging opinion on Carmen Sandiego.)

The Parallels:

In the next and final episode of S03E05, "The Jolly Good Show Caper", we are greeted with a callback to S01E03’s episode "The Sticky Rice Caper". Instead of Chase and Julia being on their way to interrogate Gray in the Paris Interpol office, Agent Zari and Chase are walking through the halls of the Italian Interpol office to interrogate their latest captured VILE operative, Neal the Eel. From a clearly visual standpoint (see below), the makeup of the scene and placement of characters is a direct callback to the dynamic between both Chase and Julia, and now between Chase and Zari.

S01E03 VS S03E05

Chase now takes the place of Julia, physically and mentally, who listens to a rundown of the situation, proposes a vague counter-argument which is disregarded by Zari. Chase is now wanting to look beneath the surface of the robbery or incident (like Julia always did), unlike before. Similar to the situation in S01E03, Zari is unwavering in her opinion that Carmen and the new detainee are in cahoots, Chase stating that his previous statement was merely ‘entertaining all possible angles’, a comment he further elaborates on to Chief at the end of the episode.

S03E05:

S01E03:

After coming to the interrogation room, Zari dramatically pushes it open in the same style as Chase did seasons earlier, halting her statement to reveal the suspect has ‘escaped’. Zari is stumped, Chase not too phased at this revelation and quickly checks the documents to understand what has occurred, once again.

S03E05

S01E03

Chase again, takes the stance of the ‘Julia’, all-knowing and proceeds to correctly recount the possible scenario that they have found themselves in, having experienced this once before. This ‘recounting of events’ is confirmed to the audience by Chase’s voice monologuing of sorts over an escaping by boat, Neal.

S03E05

S01E03

This scene is interesting for obvious reasons: it’s a direct call back to a later episode and the dynamic within. It is also a pivotal moment we see that Chase was always fully aware of what is happening around him, and really only required the correct pieces to fall into his lap at all the right times to now be the new ‘Julia’ in the dynamic. That style of a sequence of events is what helped Julia see the truth in Carmen’s actions in the first place. Chase has always been cognizant of the events around him, even if they could be contradictory to his main beliefs. Actively choosing not to present it to the audience, in favor of the popular opinion presented by and through ACME, their agents their leader that Carmen Sandiego is the enemy. Half of this being pressure, wanting to succeed in his work, gain praise for it and lack thereof witnessing first hand some sort of ‘positive’ reaffirmation of Carmen’s good intentions and that he really thought he was right. We see this through his sheer self disappointment and embarrassment when facing Chief after mistakes he had no true control over.

Towards the end of the same episode. Carmen is ‘captured’ in London. Agent Zari and Chase receive this development while travelling, Chase jumping out of his seat surprised, shocked, concerned that she was detained saying ‘that is terrible!’. Zari is notable taken aback, Chase quickly tries to collect himself and adjusts his statement and ends with ‘that. we were not the ones to make the arrest.’ Time has passed since the escape of Neal, Chase left to stew with his changing opinions and it clearly appears as if he no longer wishes for Carmen’s capture in the traditional sense, knowing that what she has been doing, is not criminally based. It’s unsure what his plans are when facing Carmen once again, but it at the very least no longer her capture.

Not only are Chase and Julia’s mindsets on the same path, but Chase is also no longer the driver between the pair. A fun nod to how Chase always drove, if dangerously at times.

After events unfold, Chase and Zari soon discover the planted crown jewels in Roundabouts office after a tip off, they run to retrieve them and Chase stops to glance out the window, witnessing Carmen Sandiego flying away from the scene. This is important, if a small detail, in once again showing us he has changed. He is far more observant and is the new candidate to witness the usual things Julia would if she were there. He stopped, was in the right place at the right time, recognised first hand the role Carmen plays in the grand scene of things, as a protector who runs interference.

When things have seemingly been resolved, Chase and Zari are in conference with Chief who details how she deems that it was all an elaborate plan where Roundabout and Carmen were in cahoots. In what is shown to be his first moment ever displaying his new and differing opinions to Chief on the events prior, he details how, maybe, Carmen left the items here for them to discover purposefully. Chief glares at him silently, Chase displaying an awkward reluctant smile, then ignores his opinion moving on. She informs him that it is his job to interrogate Roundabout for answers on how Carmen is connected to him, disregarding his prior though they are not united until Zari receives a phone call. They are informed that Roundabout never reached the destination and has escaped.

S03E05

A Sum Up:

In conclusion, Chase has officially changed opinions on Carmen Sandiego and has fallen into the role Julia left for him when she departed from ACME. Even with the pre-existing knowledge of the hacking by Player and all other indiscretions against him perpetrated by Team Red. He has been through a journey and come out the end with a new perspective

Agent Zari has now acted as both Julia’s and now Chase’s, well ‘Chase’, when it comes to the dynamic of the pairing. In many instances when consulting Chief, Julia has been informed to essentially ‘do her job’ or is only half-listen too, in a subtle way, instead of coming up with theories that don’t necessarily correlate with the majority. This all comes ahead in S03E02 ‘The Day of the Dead Caper’, where Chief is finally blunt with Julia (see below). The same thing has now befallen Chase (see below), except with little to no lead up to instant rejection. All of Chief’s patience for differing opinions was used up, all on Julia it appears.

S03E05

S03E02

The summation of all this produces a new defender of Carmen Sandiego; Chase Devineaux. The likely future outcome will be Chase attempting to contact, seek an audience with Carmen as Julia once attempted, and would succeeded in part from time to time. It is unlikely how well this will go considering Chase and is usually outwardly expressive with his determination to arrest her. One can only hope he is given a chance to rectify his past miscalculations and is able to further support these new set beliefs to ACME, Carmen Sandiego and himself. 

One can also hope Julia returns, maybe by a proposition from Chase, who will no doubt have trouble enacting his new purpose of true justice, and seeking answers/help from Carmen Sandiego. This would also promote a chance for an adult discussion, an apology, one sorely lacking in Season 3 between them. With this new air of familiarity between their opinions on Carmen, a rare opinion it appears, a chance for a reformation of a proper team dynamic is possible.

They lacked a connection throughout season 1 and 2 which aided in their bitter union, both full-heartedly, if not realised or intentional, determined to have their opinion victorious over the other to themselves and to those around them. Chase far more openly critical and cynical, Julia keeping such comments more hidden and modest, but also far more willing to stand up for herself to and in front of Chief. (Prominent examples seen in S02E02,4 & 8, S03E02) Chase was aware of his poor behaviour but found it justified in a sense that he truly believed she was misguided, that he was correct about Carmen Sandiego, now knowing she clearly was right all along. (This does not excuse/justify his rudeness in any sense, but can explain it.)

They would be a great team, now finally on the same page but unfortunately separated. Julia has the nohow and Chase possess the drive to make it happen. They do share those traits, each more natural at one over the other. Neither are willing to give up without a fair fight, and proudly declare and justify themselves at every turn, both proud individuals. (Julia far more modest in comparison). If they worked together, who knows the possibilities, if they can change ACME’s stance on Carmen Sandiego or if they decide to abandon it altogether and aid the other fighter of VILE, Team Red. Either way, it was clear Julia could not do it all on her own and I’m sure we will see Chase realise and suffer the same fate. Hopefully reasoning that he needs help, not getting it to form anyone else, remembering Julia, seeking her out and bringing her back to ACME.

Her reason for leaving ACME was that her heart was no longer in it, her passion snubbed out. Her work now directly contradicts her beliefs which are doubted by all those around her at every turn.

A sad but visibly true thing as no one else in ACME was willing to consider her way any longer, her opinion not shared by anyone else, a very demoralising thing to go through. She was always fighting and standing up on her own.

With Chase now sharing this opinion, the burden of seeing and knowing the truth, it will be easier to stand behind with full conviction, to attempt to highlight the innocence Carmen Sandiego has hidden in plain sight, together. Only time will tell how it all plays out.