#the best way to illustrate strength is show not tell

[cirqosmos]

yandere simulator; xo (only if you say yes). yjw

interactive roleplaying game: where instead of a yandere winning over your heart, you win theirs. by getting them to say 'yes', only then you will unlock the key to their heart where psychotic love resides.

currently playing. . . xo (only if you say yes)

warning: yandere, slight profanity, some grammar errors (i'm doing my best to study it >_<)

runtime: 3k.

director's cut, — jungwon boo u never fail to prove me that you're legit my muse in writing </3 this is just a fun fun interactive yandere game i randomly thought of, whatever you choose (majority of the votes) decides what happens to you with yandere jungwon :3

character visual: jw

"i'm sorry, but no. you're just not my type—"

you slammed yourself your face on your pillow, burying it so tight it sent you to heaven itself. however you'd rather die this way than pressing the 'continue' button to read the yandere's next words for his darling—which is you.

but you're not even his darling yet, much less being his close friend. maybe just a friend from school?

yeah, definitely.

well, as a twenty-nine years old office lady with her average monotonous schedule with the same routine over and over again for the past eight years, nearing her thirties yet never being able to find a qualified partner that fits her overly high standards—you're left with a game titled 'xo (only if you say yes) you've found somehow on the devil's hours; a game that was immensely difficult to pass, where you would do your best to win over a yandere's heart.

the game's description was too daring, almost too challenging, you are afraid to admit.

"wanna have your sweet affectionate yandere fawning all over you? no worries! however, as the old sayings goes; without efforts, you may never achieve anything—nothing is free in this world. therefore, why don't you sweat a little, get upset a little, cry a little, break a little—like your beloved yandere would once they fall for you? do your very best to get them to say yes to your love confession just once, and all of them—they will give to you.

blood, sweat, and tears; all of them shall be yours as long as you can make them say yes."

© 2024. all rights reserved xo, (only if you say yes)

and now you found yourself on the final level spending atleast, or disappointingly a huge sum of bucks on the game with currency of gems just to speed up the process, with your eyes bearing a newfound dark eyebags as an extra package of consequences.

you swore by your life and on god himself that you're only playing this for fun out of pure boredom and insomnia, however as you thumb through the game's introduction of yandere as it's dominant themes paired with a comprehensive summary of them; you questioned yourself with sheer shock as to why you've never find an ounce of existence about yanderes for the past eighteen years of your life despite being chronically online.

since yanderes are the exact definition of your overly high standards for men, ever since. no wonder you've never found a men like this before, turns out they only exists in fiction—you scoffed at yourself, filled with disbelief as you roll your eyes.

but! who cares if they don't exist in real life? they're now on the tips of your finger, waiting earnestly and eagerly for your love. a giggle so obnoxious escapes your lips, you feel like you are once a schoolgirl again, but without the experiences of one, actually.

but again who cares!

the game flashes a new pop-up, telling you the next step—choose your yandere character to play with. it shows you a list of seven yanderes illustrated on their respective cards, clad in coquettish-sort-of highschool uniforms; pink ties, beige vest over a dark blue shirt and pants paired with their set of flirty gestures as your thumb glided through each character—reading their descriptions; interests & dislikes, hobbies & talents, a little trivia about them, and of course—their strengths and weaknesses.

surprisingly, they had a range of informations so complete it felt like they were real humans. the developers did quite a spectacular job on it, don't they? and even the fact of how their weaknesses remains the same although with differences in how they would act on it or how far they would go; obsession, possession, and damn psychotic—willing to kill for you.

how romantic. . . in a psychotic way, of course. you hummed unconsciously, letting out a sigh after at the disappointing fact of how you still find it strangely attractive in your late twenties.

are you really that of a single pringle? pfft!

as you giddily spend your time trying to choose one of all characters. they're just all too good, looking too good for your heart to take. but one particular character catches your eye, intrigues you even with those pair of eyes—goosebumps ran down your spine as you could feel him gazing back at you.

like at you, literally.

or was it just the game's tactic to make the players like you fall deeper? hm, probably! it definitely was, unless a random ghost must've possessed your phone but that can't be right?

right?! you yelled the same word out loud, snapping your head around your room—looking for any potential jumpscares, but to your relief—thank god. now you can play your little new obsession in peace!

snapping your head back at your phone, eyes lit up in immense stars as you've made up your mind, heart thumping loudly as you scanned his unique features—tapping the "play with me?" soft pink button below the name 'yang jungwon' aka the mischievous leader kitty of the group.

in yandere academy, this group is called enhypen—and they have a bunch of fangirls, and it's not even a 'bunch', the size of their fandom is almost half of the female population in the academy and even outside of its territories—there is this ridiculously long line of female students from other academies. a feat that cannot be totally underestimated, and it's not even surprising as they are packed with dazzling visuals, and a set of numerous talents of their own.

they catch hearts everywhere, left and right, back and forth with their grand entrance to the school. each of them has their own separate fandoms too, and yang jungwon's taekwondo club practices are always filled with hearty eyes paired nerve-wracking screams that his coach spends half an hour yeeting them out.

"huh?" you let that out a tad bit too loud, almost exaggerated even. the game surely didn't turn out the way you thought, as you had the initial assumption that the yandere you chose already fell for you, and that you just had to spend those lovey-dovey levels roleplaying with them with a one or a few more predetermined routes to choose from.

the rules was pretty simple; try to get his heart—make him fall for you in the set duration of thirty days. in other words, there are ninety-nine percent possibility that he might reject your confession out of pure lack of interest. get that three row of bars; friendship, love, and yandereness as high as you can because if you were unable to do so then there will be no second chances of playing the yandere of your choice without paying an excessive sum of bucks, so you just had to do it once and make sure to do it right.

quite a challenging mission, huh? no it really is challenging but you were determined as your nostrils flared out a puff of air, straightening your posture as

the adorable motion logo of the game plays out, loading in a bunch of texts meant to help you along the way;

'yandere has each of their own unique love languages, pay attention!'

'little misfortunes are often a blessing in disguise, sometimes redirecting you away from what we call a 'disaster.'

'completing side tasks will increase your yandere's love bar by two percent!'

it soon pops up a bunch of pinky hearts and sparkling stars after all those introductions and guides before switching to a scene of him, jungwon—standing before you, and as expected, you were instructed to approach him.

the location in his taekwondo club, all while sandwiched in between his die-hard fangirls with those screams that you had to turn down your volume to zero. talk about in starting a cool first impression—well never mind, two choices popped up on your screen.

choice one: wait for him after his taekwondo practices (20% of working out)

choice two: act like a damsel in distress (5% of working out)

"uh," your thumb hovered over the two choices, is this a trap? act like a damsel in distress—what in the actual fuck? who would even do that in 2024?! you begrudgingly tapped on the first choice, and the scene switches to a pop up message:

try again, jungwon left a couple minutes earlier for a dinner with jay!

[ retry? ] [ exit? ]

your eyebrow twitches, what the fuck? just like that . . .? there's even barely a progress and you just have to fucking retry?

and jokes on you as your jaw dropped on the floor with the new set of choices presented before you, four choices—actually.

"what is this?!" you yelled so loud you immediately covered your mouth, peeking outside the window.

day three.

the love bar ain't going the fuck up, it's still there glaring at your face with it's zero percent. well that's fine, atleast the friendship bar goes up a tad bit—by five percent. a progress is still a progress!

but the game is just so greedy! you can't skip a day? sure then! but you only had three gems a day, one is to play the major mission, second to power up your aesthetics, skills, and status. third, to complete your side tasks such as running errands for your home or completing school assignments!

that even takes a whole day to refill back up, and it's not even enough with these thirty days you got and with this slow ass rate of getting jungwon to fall for you! you threw your phone on the bed, huffing like a madman—contemplating whether to spend a few bucks on it or just drop the game altogether. surely, you can't be that too attached with a yandere character, right?

right?!

jokes on you, your fingers find itself on the payment method against your will. ultimately cashing out a few bucks from your bank account with a single tear trailing down from your eye, all of this would be complete waste of money and effort if you fail to reign over his heart.

you let out an almost animalistic growl—filled with downright spite, actually. is this game even for real?! the choices they gave you are almost like deliberately setting you up for failure, definitely is! you were almost sure that is—to the point of contacting the developers themselves but you held yourself in sheer strength of self-control at last-minute, at the last digit of contacting them.

"it's okay, pampering myself isn't a sin." you pat yourself on the back, comforting yourself with a huge pout reaching the floor. it's okay! with a newfound determination, you're sure you'll make it!

day ten.

hopeless! utterly hopeless even the god of romance and cupid's themselves would laugh at you. you would, too. due to the fact that you went as far as googling on how to 'win over a man's heart" or "list of dialogues and actions that makes a man gain interest in you".

one of them even says food, that it is the way to a man's heart. but how the heck are you even going to feed a fictional game character? it would be easier if there was a food dialogue!

right, when is your character—or the game itself deciding to send a heart shaped box of chocolates? that would atleast give you a few percent to his love bar!

throwing yourself at your bed like a ragdoll, groaning and kicking your feet in the air. why do you even bother? for what? your search history is so hopelessly embarrassing, and even more embarrassing was when your co-worker had their eyes ogling at it. your mistake for letting your phone screen lit up for everyone to see, thank god she was the only one. patting you on the back that it was okay, and that she too had her fair share of struggles on fictional men.

truly a fellow comrade, you almost shed a tear.

day seventeen.

is this damn game trying to get on your nerves?

deciding to show a new bunch of rules that they didn't bother to show at the first day—set of rules you mustn't do while proceeding with the act of winning a yandere's heart, that is—you were not to skip a single day of playing—in other words, not spending a time with your yandere as in the game's words itself; they will be lonely and might end up throwing tantrums—loathing you for doing so, ignoring you for a short period or even longer depending on how long you were gone, thus risking the amount of effort you've spent so far down the drain.

and you actually skipped not one but two days because of your hectic work piling up after a fellow coworker's taking a sick leave for a week. . . and that was also after finally getting his love bar up to two percent and friendship bar reaching whopping sixteen percent.

yeah, it's sadly a 'whopping' one for you.

and now it's back at zero, with his friendship bar down to crashing down to nine digit and just as exactly the rules stated; every choice, dialogues, and routes you picked ended up him ignoring you with that furrowed eyebrows and slight pout on his lips, or responding to you in a flat out cold tone.

he's not even in love with you, so what are you even throwing a tantrum for?! you screamed that question at the animated game character on your phone's screen.

day twenty-four.

nah, this won't do. it definitely won't so why are you still trying? you bit your lower lip as you look for cheats, hacks, and tutorials online, praying to atleast find some miracle that could miraculously rocket you to ninety percent of love bar atleast!

since all you have left is six days.

you've spent an embarrassing amount of hours and days on this shit, even more dedicated and focused than you do back in your days as a student. you were so sure by this point that you could actually become a relationship therapist with all these accumulated knowledge!

day thirty.

eyebrows and lips twitching, it is.

level thirty, it is—ending on quite a horrible note, or actually, a total doomsday glaring back at you with all your nonexistent experience combined into a recipe with the title "never been in a relationship before".

a helpless laughter escapes your throat, of course—how can you catch a yandere's heart? much less make him your lover? you've never even caught a human's interest over the past twenty years of your life!

how cruel, how utterly cruel! god truly has it's ways of playing jokes. tears, laughter, giggles, sweat, money and effort—all gone down the drain.

all because of that one sentence ending it all, each word literally jumping out from his animated lips in a bold ass pink letters,

"i'm sorry but i can't accept it. i only see you as a friend, (name). i hope you could understand. . i'm sorry, but no—you're just not my type."

huh?! seriously?! a compelling urge, or a really tremendous one so colossal you can break your table into two parts—all that set of routes you've chosen so far with a careful decision and thoughts just for him to say this? just for the love bar to be at total ten percent?

jungwon, how could you? only ten percent? there's no hint of romantic affections found in his eyes or gestures, his friendship bar only by forty percent (a low score of only being his 'school' friend), heck you didn't even trigger his yandereness. like look at him! his yandere bar is at zero looming percent!

a trace of the pink love bar and red yandere bar nowhere to be seen, this is a pure scam! a love scam in the form of a game! meant to target single old ladies like you, fucking hell!

out of pure rage and disappointment, you slammed your phone on the bed—burying your face on your pillows as you let out a long drawn out, muffled scream. downright mad at yourself for even being so triggered by this whole shit, and at the fact of you acting like teenage girl imbued with hormonal changes,

"can't even get a fictional men to fall for me, i'm totally screwed for life!—"

you're so going to uninstall that shitty game, there's no point in playing anyways when you can't have the same character of your choice.

a notification 'tings' up, interrupting your bursts of tantrums—you look over at your phone with the game still up, a big pink heart-shaped bubble pops up on the screen—slowly draining into a pathetic colour of white, ultimately shredding it apart into a broken heart, mocking at your misery.

however the next message pulls outs a gasp from your throat, appearing in its usual glossy pink heart but a little redder at the bottom.

💌 2:09AM

hey there, our precious darling!

we totally get how you feel, there's no need to fret anymore! here we present to you an exclusive package where you will be given a final chance to retry for jungwon! this is a one in a lifetime chance for you—our dear player!

tempting almost, yet you're definitely not falling for that anymore.

and it's all free, let yourself fall deeper and deeper into this world of obsession. you can't really give up that quickly, right?

yanderes never knows when to give up, anyways ♡

free? there's nothing free in this world, even the game itself stated the same words. you've wasted your time, money, and effort on this dumb game and now it's giving a package that is exclusive only for you?

what dirty trick is this game trying to pull off once again?

© pieroulette on tumblr , 2024.

[twopoint99]

Possible spoilers if you haven’t already listened or read the book. Also, spoilers for The Horror of Dracula, 1958 and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992.

One of my favorite things about @re-dracula is seeing the reactions of people whose main exposure to the story is through the many film adaptations. The differences in how the characters relate to one another are way too many to list from film to film. Even aside from the bizarre choices (Lucy as Mina’s sister-in-law - the Horror of Dracula, 1958, or Mina as the reincarnation of Dracula’s lost love - Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992) the most important difference between those adaptations and re - dracula is that these are fully rounded characters who clearly care about one another.

Jonathan adores Mina, Mina loves him, and loves Lucy. The suitor squad and Van Helsing genuinely cherish Lucy and it causes everyone palpable pain when they see her slipping away. When the group finally gets together in one place, they all acknowledge and respect the various strengths they each bring, and they hold one another up as needed.

None of the characters seem cast aside, as often happens in film adaptations. Even the 1992 film, which includes all three suitors, doesn’t manage to make them all seem like full personalities. They appear more as aspects of an individual, or as tropes. Lucy herself in the ‘92 movie is the complete opposite of her characterization in the novel. Her behavior in the film is anachronistic at best, and offensive at the least. It is a perfect illustration of the stupid and misogynistic attitude in horror that “wanton” women are punished.

Not only that, but it also completely changes the story and the dreadful implications of it. Lucy isn’t targeted because she’s “done something wrong” (quotes because I don’t believe expressing/exploring one’s sexuality is wrong, no matter what my favorite genre keeps telling me), she is targeted because she is convenient. Dracula wasn’t musing in between leaving his castle and reaching England that by golly, he couldn’t wait to terrorize Lucy Westenra! He saw an opportunity, like any other predator, and he took it.

Of course, we’ve seen that he is very willing to play with his food once he feels in control. He was very pleased to be able to torment Jonathan, yet another character who is often treated poorly in adaptations - in the 1958 version he’s so smug and patronizing toward what appears to be a terrified woman, that I was actively hoping for his death.

In contrast, the novel/Dracula Daily/re-dracula show us a sweet, earnest man, one who is gentle and loving. He, like Lucy, is a convenient victim, and like Lucy, is innocent.

The true horror is that terrible things can happen to anyone, and no amount of wealth, education, or simple good-heartedness, will act as a shield. There are no preventatives, and no one “deserves” the terrible things that happen. The real strength of the story isn’t in deciding which characters(usually women) are worthy of saving, an overly simplistic approach that many film adaptations take, some more subtly than others. The story resonates because in spite of the randomness of the horror, the people involved decide to do something about it.

These people are not always perfect or even heroic. Dr. Seward (who I really enjoy, and who is also often portrayed badly in adaptation) is not a safe person for his patients to be around. He is ableist, arrogant, patronizing, and definitely not handling his own mental health well. He is also loving, practical, loyal, and in many ways exceptionally tender-hearted. All of the cast is achingly good in their portrayals, but Johnny Sims’ interpretation of Seward has been revelatory. The man is flawed, but gosh darnit, he’s absolutely human. His pain is visceral, his awkwardness is utterly relatable, and his attempts to make things make sense is so hard to hear, because we want the awful things to be a puzzle with a logical solution, but we also know that there is no motivation for what is happening, it is all chance.

Mina herself questions why they need worry about Dracula, once he is gone from England. By this time she’s had a horrific experience with the count and understandably wants to be done with the whole thing. Earlier, however, she begins her work of compiling all the information available about Dracula, because she understands that something may need to be done, for the good of all.

She is afraid of losing her husband, she is afraid of what other horrors may wait, but she also is able to put that aside to continue to pursue stopping Dracula, so that there won’t be another victim, and so that Dracula himself might be saved from the horrific reality he’s experienced for so long.

I have been telling people ad nauseum that re-dracula is hands down the best adaptation of the novel I’ve ever encountered. It is because it is treated as a story about people, real people, with real connections to those around them, real flaws and strengths, who grow to share a bond. They swear to stop Dracula, not out of vengeance, as Jonathan can be forgiven for wanting, but out of love for those they have lost and those they may save.

[tokiro07]

Ichi the Witch ch.8 thoughts

[I'm a Shark! Suck My Magiiik!! I'M A SHAAARK!!!]

(Topics: character analysis - Kumugi/Desscaras/Ichi, narrative utility - Hisame, speculation - Hisame's trial)

...Really? The village that was attacked by a shark is called Jauz Village?

I do love that, actually. I truly hope that this is the kind of humor we can expect to see going forward

In the meantime, Nishi continues to give us brief yet telling glimpses into the cast's characterizations

Kumugi

Picking up where we left off last week, Ichi again praises Kumugi for what she brings to the table: in this case, her ability to absorb and relay information, then form a plan based on it. She says she "just read a report," but Ichi doesn't strike me as someone capable of comprehending official documents, and Desscaras probably lacks the patience to do so

Kumugi's capabilities seem mundane, but "mundane" is just a negative way to frame "essential." The demands of everyday life require certain skills that, in their absence, make things much more difficult than they need to be. Ichi and Desscaras almost certainly could have figured out where Hisame was easily enough, but how long would it have taken? Long enough for the frozen people to die? Kumugi's presence streamlines the process, reducing the amount of effort the team as a whole needs to put just to reach the starting line

This isn't to say that Ichi and Desscaras aren't smart or quick-witted, though, as they both show off their unique capacities for intelligence

Desscaras

Where this chapter demonstrated Kumugi's logical intelligence, it also demonstrated Desscaras' emotional intelligence. As the team arrives at Hisame's base, Desscaras uses a sleep spell to prevent little Chrissy from being subjected to the horrible fate of her village

With how vain and self-absorbed Desscaras presents herself to be, I didn't get the impression that she was particularly kind or compassionate, but her ability to assess the situation and react so quickly and decisively to protect a child from emotional harm really speaks to where her heart lies

Coupled with last week's chapter, I get the impression that Desscaras isn't lonely because she views herself as better than others, but because they view her as better than them. She clearly has some understanding of people and the capacity to empathize with them, so I'm thinking that the cultural impression of "the Strongest Witch" has just made her difficult to approach rather than diminishing her ability to take interest in other people. The way she watched Ichi and Kumugi get along from afar suggests that that's a view she's used to; observing others and how they behave while she sulks in the corner

Ichi, meanwhile, similarly shows how his observation skills have honed his social and battle intelligence

Ichi

Just from the fact that Hisame was using her victims as building blocks, Ichi can tell that she a) enjoys hurting people and b) is confident in her own strength. Not only does this meet the conditions of Death for Death, but it also notifies Ichi of the best approach to the hunt: the straightforward approach

Rather than needing to set an elaborate trap with carefully positioned tripwires or bait, Ichi simply needs to appeal to Hisame's sense of superiority by issuing a direct challenge. By the time she shows up, and probably before he even shouted for her, he's already formulated his plan of attack, utilizing his Inazuri spell in a new and unique way

This does confirm my suspicion that spells aren't limited to one specific use, and the fact that Ichi managed to figure that out without any training illustrates his imaginative power and quick-wittedness

Unfortunately, Ichi's instincts turned out not to be particularly helpful in this situation

Hisame

The main draw of this chapter was definitely Hisame, who not only assuaged my fears that she'd be just a flying shark by having makeup, lacey fins, and a charmingly vain personality, but also showed off the variability and even the necessity of a Magik's trials

The revelation that Magiks are immune to damage outside of the parameters of their trials makes it so that violent tactics, even those that are well thought-out and strategic, won't always be effective. Uroro and Inazuri, whose trials were designed to create direct confrontations, were both easily overcome by Ichi's hunting because they allowed him to bypass the battles entirely and go straight for the kill, but Hisame is the opposite. Hisame herself is the one bypassing the battle simply by virtue of confrontation not being an option

The trials listed in ch.1, such as the "drink a lot of water" trial, the "hold fire for an hour" trial, and the "sleep on an iceberg" trial established the capacity for non-combative trials right off the bat, but Hisame's trial being about fashion is a dramatic turn from the established pattern of great personal risk. Honestly, I feel like Ichi would still pass those other ones pretty easily, like selecting the right pelt to keep warm in the ice trial, but in our first full arc Ichi is being confronted with a trial I simply don't think he's suited for

Naturally, then, I think that this sets up the perfect payoff to Kumugi's introductory character arc

Hidden Talent

As I said last week, there is so much that Ichi doesn't know about the world, and while his hunting outfit was pretty sick, he definitely made it solely with practicality in mind. I promise you, that man doesn't have a fashionable bone in his body; who's he ever needed to impress, the wolves?

So how could he possibly be expected to pass a test on fashion? What kind of trick does Nishi plan to have him pull??

Given the theme established at the very beginning of this arc, I'd say the trick will be...have Kumugi do it

I doubt she considers herself to be a fashionable person, but I'm confident that she'll be able to discern what Hisame considers fashionable and use that information to her advantage. It's the same kind of information gathering that I predicted would be used for Magik hunting just in a context that Ichi isn't suited for, establishing that we aren't going to fall into a repetitive or predictable series of literal hunts that happen to have magic in them

By giving Kumugi the first post-prologue win of the series, she would not only come to understand the theme of personal capability, but she'd also see her own value within the team, helping to solidify her sense of belonging and overcome her fears from last week's chapter. Plus, it would also give her access to what seems to be a particularly strong combat spell, something I'm sure she never expected to get, which would in turn give her a viable offensive option in upcoming battles

Or maybe she'll just say or do something that will inspire Ichi to figure out a solution. I wouldn't be mad about that, since it's definitely too early for Kumugi to overcome her anxieties, but I'd like to see her make a big step for her first impression as a member of the team, so at the very least I hope that she isn't just going to watch and learn this arc and wait until a later one to start contributing

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[enthusedbambi-jjba-au]

Monster AU - Risotto Nero research notes

You weirdos really wanted me to try and study this guy. It’s… been interesting! Here’s what I have:

[

[A paper of notes about Risotto Nero. The paper has tape in various places.]

[On the left side:]

Risotto Nero

he/him (I think)

At least 6'5" by my estimate (I'm VERY short so hard to tell)

Leader of "La Squadra" (bunch of assassins. Every time I've tried to infiltrate, catboy catches (:3) on to me.) Human jaw strength is about 7.5 times a cat's. hospital.

Species : Sanguisuge ('vampire') - species unknown

has fangs (yes)

drinks blood (yes)

Non-undead (bleeds normal blood, so he must have been born like this).

Not P.C.S (Pop Culture Standard)—no weakness to garlic, can be in direct sunlight (though he seems to prefer not to be) and no weakness to religious affects despite being Catholic aligned—can tell he's Italian-born.

I know he drinks blood because I’ve seen him do it. seems to have keen senses. I’m sure this isn’t surprising but I can’t get close enough to tell if he’s warm- or cold-bodied. he could be a half-vampire. They’re usually more likely to be warm-bodied despite still having poor circulation. They often don’t have to drink blood, but the craving is stronger, especially if they don’t give in often. They also tend to drink more at one time than full vampires since they tend not to satiate themselves as regularly… he drinks a lot of blood when he does drink it.

[There's an illustration depicting one of Risotto's eyes. The 'whites' are black, and the irises are bright red, and the pupils—also black—appear slit, like a cat's.]

Eyes are black sclerae and pupils with very bright red irises—glowing, I think.

Stand: "Metallica"

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! A SANGUISUGE WITH A BLOOD-BASED STAND ABILITY??! ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING!? HOW DO I KNOW WHAT'S STAND AND WHAT'S SPECIES RELATED!?!?

Update: its not blood based so much as its iron based but he uses blood as a source of iron which still makes things complicated for me to figure out. range seems to be a 5-10m radiu [The writing trails off at the end. There's a lot of blood on the corner of the page.]

[On the right side:]

Maybe in his 20s? Short of directly asking, I don't think there's a way I can pinpoint for sure.*

[There's an unfinished rushed illustration of Risotto Nero.]

My memory isn't the best and he uses invisibility a lot so I can rarely see him long enough to draw him from observation...

Will he show up in a photo? I don't think cameras use silver anymore!!

[There’s a partially-ripped photo of Risotto Nero, in dark lighting, presumably in the process of using his Stand, taped to the page. There's blood splattered over the photo. Frantic writing at the bottom of the photo reads "I PICKEDA A BAD SPOT TO STAND IN"]

he does show up in photos!! thank god for camera zoom haha...

*Vampires are known for looking fairly young, due to abnormal physical aging tendencies. Turned vampires usually stop aging once Turned, since they’re undead. Born sanguisuges like this guy can vary—some hit a certain point where they just stop “getting older”, and some age very slowly once they hit puberty. I heard someone say that the slow aging owes to vampires’ typical poor circulation—what?? Do you know what aging is? Yes, vampires tend to have poor circulation if they have any circulation at all, but the poor circulation contributes mostly to cold skin (and infertility, I think) like it does in humans. And for the record, they don’t drink blood to compensate for a lack of blood in their own bodies because, in case you’ve forgotten, that’s not how bodies work. Blood consumption does not affect the consumer’s own blood in any significantly direct way. ]

Guess it must be lucky to be a sanguisuge whose job is offing people… he’s hard to get close to because I usually catch him when he’s uh. You know. Doing his job.

He still hasn’t realised I’ve been tailing him though! I… I think. Like with his age, short of asking him directly, I can’t really be sure, and as I’m sure is obvious, that’s not really a good idea.

if anyone has any questions or insight… go ahead?

I could use any info.

~Bambi

[vindicated-truth]

(This was originally written as a response to this incredible post, which I also highly recommend reading as well as it sets up everything I'll further expound on below)

I concur with everything said above, and to further illustrate the point: it isn’t only with how Dongsik and Joowon are with other people, but how they implement their actions as well that resembles how starkly different they are—in a way that’s also remarkably complementary.

Dongsik’s actions in the entire story are mostly reactive. There’s a point in the story where he was about to storm out to save Jaeyi unthinkingly, and Joowon grabs him, even handcuffs Dongsik to him, fiercely telling him, “Stop storming out without thinking things through!” And Dongsik’s reaction was to punch him.

This scene illustrates more than anything the perfect example of their differences: everything Dongsik does is always in the heat of the moment, an emotional reaction to what is happening.

Everything he did with Kang Minjeong’s fingers is a primary example. The horrifying discovery that the person he treated as his pseudo-brother all these years is in fact the real serial killer, while reeling at the fresh, gut-wrenching memory of how he failed to save his partner, the turmoil of emotions led him to do everything that followed after the discovery of Minjeong’s fingers and the very likely probability that her own father had killed her.

Contrast that to everything Joowon did: regardless of the morality of it (because the truth is none of what Joowon or even Dongsik did was completely moral), Joowon meticulously planned everything. From Lee Geumhwa’s sting operation, to planting the evidence in Nam Sangbae’s vault and then later on planting a GPS tracker on him, to investigating Cho Gilgu, to the revelation of Jung Cheolmun’s bribes and Joowon’s own subsequent arrest at the Commisioner General hearing, to the car chases involving Lee Changjin and Han Kihwan and how Joowon had already anticipated their meeting by planting a recording device on his own father’s car, to saving Jeongje from the mental institution, to making sure they have enough evidence gathered from Lee Changjin’s and Do Haewon’s testimonies before he released the recording to the public, ensuring that all of them will be indicted—

All of these were logically, meticulously, well thought-out.

This is Joowon’s strength in their partnership: he’s the planner, as well as the calm executioner of those plans.

And where does Dongsik’s strength lie?

His strength lies in how incredibly, strongly emotional he is. Where he lacks the calm rationality Joowon possesses, he more than makes up for it with his emotional intelligence, because it’s precisely because his empath levels are through the roof that he knows exactly how people would also react—

Which meant he also knew exactly which buttons to push to finally get them to do what he wants.

Between the two of them, it’s actually Dongsik who’s more frightening. Because Dongsik’s strength had always been how he treats people—his almost instinctive understanding of human nature. He knows exactly how to care for them.

And he knows exactly how to break them.

This was demonstrated so eerily, so frighteningly, with how he knew exactly how to break Jeongje, and later on Do Haewon herself, with how he cruelly revealed that Jeongje had vowed to slit his own throat if his own mother wouldn’t own up to her own sins and reveal the truth. Even early on, with Kang Jinmook, Dongsik knew exactly how to push his buttons by bringing up Yoon Mihye.

(At some point, he had also tried his very best to break Nam Sangbae too, when he showed up to his interrogation right after Dongsik found Yuyeon's body. This, more than anything, might have also what pushed Sangbae to do everything he did afterward that led to his eventual death.)

And finally: he knew exactly how to break Lee Changjin, by following through with his earlier threat of (very nearly) killing him.

Where Han Joowon lacked in his understanding of people and relationships and the maelstrom of emotions that come with it, Dongsik knew exactly how to make use of all of it. To love people, to save people—and when the situation warranted it—to break them.

In this partnership, Joowon is the mind: he knows exactly how to outsmart you.

And Dongsik is the heart: he knows exactly how to save you—or break you.

[girl4music]

‘The Price’ is such a fantastic episode. Not only is it impressive writing in what it tries to portray about the theme of war but its direction is also second to none. The way they frame it. They have Xena and Gabrielle separated through most of it yet again, but there’s so much significance in that because they’re doing what they do best. They play them to their strengths alone and they only have them interact on their weaknesses until an emotional connection and consciousness breakthrough happens from it. It’s so brilliantly written and directed to illustrate that these characters see the world majorly differently between them when it comes to war, but at the same time, because they do, they’re able to teach each other so much and grow closer for it.

They just do not do character representation this well anymore where they actually involve themes and assign a specific thematic narrative to the characters to make the entire experience of watching them so moving. And when you have characters that are so oppositional from each other but yet work so well together because of it… absolute fucking magic happens when playing to that.

They knew how to use these characters really well. Xena and Gabrielle I mean. They knew exactly what to do with them so that every interaction - which is many in this show - is so full of substance and purpose so that you actually love the episodes much more because of it.

Of course you can separate them in the screen-time they usually share, but you have to have that separation mean something. Through it, you ultimately have to show why and how they have such a profound dynamic because of how much they are their own people in it.

And the creators in this show just fucking NAILED IT. ‘The Price’ is a great example of this. Probably the best actually in terms of what it can show us about how their oppositional worldviews evolve their ever growing love for each other. I mean this episode is the first time that we ever hear Xena ALMOST tell Gabrielle that she loves her and the only reason why she changes her sentence is because she feels guilt in expressing loving feelings for her when she’s just treated her contemptuously not moments beforehand because she’s was so afraid of allowing her softer side (that Gabrielle naturally brings out in her) to show if it meant putting her life in danger.

You can absolutely see the conflict in her heart in those moments because Lucy plays those difficult to watch scenes between them so sternly but cautiously - as if she fears that if she lets her guard down for one second, Gabrielle would pay the price for her inability to hold her stern composure with her when around the men she’s in charge of. But when alone she’d be kicking herself for it because this woman holds power over her no man ever could. Power that instantly makes her bend to her will and make her out to be the submissive one in the role.

It’s just fucking excellent characterization writing and directing. Very organic. Very honest. Very intentional.

I love this episode so much because it so effectively demonstrates that relationships are a compromise - they’re about understanding the oppositional view without sacrificing on your autonomy in the process.

Steven L. Sears and Oley Sassone are quite the team. They knew exactly what to do with these characters.

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)”

It is crazy to think about how this movie franchise originally started on such bad footing with that ugly Sonic design. However, they listened to fans and altered the design to a more game-accurate one. Now here we are with 2 surprisingly good Sonic movies. The 3rd one finally introduces the iconic Shadow the Hedgehog! My favourite character! Is this another great Sonic movie entry or is another in the 3rd movie curse?

Firstly, Shadow is handled wonderfully in this film. The film does a great job of illustrating Shadow's strength and making us feel like Sonic has met his match. Keanu is just doing a Keanu voice but it does work very well for Shadow. Thankfully, they keep the core of his character and backstory in the film. He is menacing but also sympathetic which I find the most important aspect of Shadow which the director also understood. Our main trio is great as they have always been. We do finally get more of them working as a team and I like that the story shows how each of the team has different strengths and weaknesses. They all have incredibly fun chemistry!

Jim Carrey also returns but this time, as two different characters. He returns as Dr Ivo Robotnik but also plays the grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. It seems like the director gave Jim Carrey more freedom to go nuts because Jim Carrey goes full Jim in this film. He steals every scene with his wacky performance! There is an amazing makeup design that makes Gerald look very different from Ivo. However, Jim helps differentiate the two by giving Gerald a distinctively different voice as well. The movie does a great job of making it feel like both characters are there at the same time. Funny enough, both characters have great chemistry which means that Jim has great chemistry with himself!

The movie has some fun action set pieces as well that really show the speed! The first 30 minutes contains many excellent ones including a Team Sonic vs Shadow fight and an awesome chase sequence too. The final act set piece feels like it was pulled right out of Sonic Adventure 2. My one gripe with previous Sonic movie entries was the lack of actual music from the games. This entry remedies this a bit by including a fair amount of notable songs such as "Live and Learn". There are a lot of jokes just like previous ones but this one thankfully is less pop-culture reference galore. There are a fair amount of jokes that actually gave me a chuckle. I think the one standout is how much heart there is in the story. There is the obvious one with Shadow but there is a surprisingly great arc with Dr Ivo Robotnik and his subordinate Agent Stone that might tug on some people's heartstrings.

There is less human character involvement in this entry, which is for the best. However, that doesn't mean the human characters aren't involved as G.U.N is a big part of this story. Krysten Ritter joins the cast as a high-ranking officer in G.U.N but her character is bland and under-baked. Her character leaves the story in a weird anti-climatic way. Gerald Robotnik is also a very one-dimensional villain which is a shame as there was a lot to him in the games. The movie doesn't explore the extent of his grief or even show enough scenes of him with Maria to make him interesting. The pacing also drops a bit in the second act when it becomes exposition heavy and the plot slows down to reintroduce Dr Robotnik and introduce his grandfather.

Overall, it is crazy to see the Sonic movies get better with each entry. The movie is respectful of the source material and provides enough fan service to please fans while telling a solid story. There is an exciting mid-credit scene that is making me look forward to the inevitable 4th entry. I hope it continues to be this good!

For more reviews like this visit:

https://moviewarfarereviews.blogspot.com/

[silver-grasp]

Narrative Power in Arda

An embarrassing number of months ago, I alluded to narrative as an in-universe force within the Silmarillion in my tags on a post I have since lost, which I feel merits further elaboration. The short version is that crafting a story carries meaningful weight and power in Arda, which is not much of a reach considering that 1) telling a story in a certain way has power even in the real world, and 2) music is already well-established as an important medium and means of magic in Middle Earth. I think it is relevant to consider this aspect when discussing the nature and weight of words in the Silmarillion, whether it be curses, dooms, oaths, or anything else.

To begin with, it is difficult to tease apart what I will call in-universe narrative from narrative in the sense that a guy called Tolkien wrote this whole story down, on purpose, with various story arcs that come to various narratively satisfying conclusions. The best illustrative example of in-universe narrative, thus, is Finrod’s duel in song against Sauron, because Tolkien could have had the song battle work however he wanted, but he chose to make it about storytelling. We joke about Finrod and Sauron’s rap battle, but their contest really is a battle of narratives – particularly cultural narratives. To quote:

Then sudden Felagund there swaying Sang in answer a song of staying, Resisting, battling against power, Of secrets kept, strength like a tower, And trust unbroken, freedom, escape; […] And all the magic and might be brought Of Elvenesse into his words. […] The sighing of the sea beyond, Beyond the western world on sand, On sand of pearls in Elvenland.

This is arguably the story of the Noldor, as told by Finrod – all the beauty and power of Aman, but brought by the Noldor to Middle Earth in their flight to escape the control of the Valar and avenge their king against Morgoth’s evil. This is his choice of story to wield against Sauron, and it makes sense. It invokes the Noldor’s heroism against Morgoth in maintaining the long siege, as well as their rejection of all the higher powers and his own faithfulness to his oath to Barahir that led him to this point. It’s a good story, but Sauron shatters it with a single invocation, because this narrative Finrod spins of the Flight of the Noldor cannot accommodate the atrocity that was the Kinslaying at Alqualonde.

The outcome of the song battle is not decided based on raw power, or skill in crafting magic or spells, or even singing ability. It is won on the merits of narrative: Finrod’s story doesn’t work; he cannot narratively reconcile the reality of the Kinslaying with “trust unbroken, freedom, escape,” and thus Sauron has the victory (1). Thus, we can conclude that “does the story work” is a legitimate part of how magic functions in Middle Earth.

This should not come as a surprise; Middle Earth (and the world itself) were created/predicted by the Music of the Ainur, which is itself a narrative work of music. It, arguably, puts the story in history (2). The narrative of the Ainulindale, moreover, is disrupted by Morgoth in much the same way Sauron disrupts Finrod’s narrative in their contest. But whereas Finrod’s story collapses under the contradictions introduced by Sauron, Eru incorporates Morgoth’s discord into the Music to create a new, greater theme than the one before. This is not an accident, and it shows that Eru, as God and Creator (read: Author), understands narrative better than Morgoth does: any good story has conflict of one sort or another. That’s what makes them stories, rather than a pleasant but boring account of a series of pleasant but boring events.

This is to say, Tolkien makes the necessity of having a plot arc into part of his theological worldbuilding. There is, frankly, a lot you could say about that, but I am not going to, because it is somewhat off-topic from the point I’m trying to make and also I really don’t know where to begin.

Additionally, while Finrod’s own narrative fails, the overall narrative of Middle Earth picks up where he left off and turns his defeat into a fourth-act crisis point, the abyss which makes way for Luthien’s subsequent victory over both Sauron and Morgoth and triumphant retrieval of the Silmaril. Finrod may not have known how to turn Sauron’s narrative disruption to his own ends, but Eru does.

Returning to the Doom of the Noldor, while Manwe is said to be the closest of the Valar to Eru in thought, I would argue that Namo, as the Vala of fate, is the closest of the God-as-Author aspect of Eru. His domain, fate, is closely linked with the Music. I said earlier that Middle Earth was created/predicted by the Music, and that blurriness between creation and prophecy is important for understanding the nature of Fate in Tolkien’s work - there is a careful tightrope walked between free will and determinism (3). I argue that the Music additionally suggests that fate in Arda is really Narrative at work.

So where does that leave, for instance, the Doom of the Noldor? Is it curse or prophecy? Punishment meted out by the gods or natural consequences of an unprecedented violent attack? Framing it in these binaries is reductive no matter which side you come down on. The Doom is neither a curse nor a prophecy: it is a narrative.

The soon-to-be Exiles, led by Feanor, kick off their narrative in maybe the worst way possible (murder). This is, objectively, a very bad inciting incident – stories that start with murder don’t tend to turn out well for the people doing the murdering. Within the Music, and the fabric of Arda’s fate, the Noldor have narrowed their narrative options significantly. “Slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be,” for have they not already slain their own kin? But it is very difficult to argue for the Doom as purely prophetic. The text itself indicates in multiple places the judgment or wrath of the Valar as something laid upon the house of Feanor and all who follow them, not simply natural consequences. There is a tangible weight to the Doom, and a sense after the War of Wrath that it is something that can be lifted.

Mandos says, you have chosen your story to be a tragedy by opening with a tragedy. But when this is spoken by Narrative himself, it takes on a weight greater than that of a mere prediction. The Doom defines the genre of the story that is to follow: Tears unnumbered ye shall shed. And they did.

The story, of course, is never truly over. But I’ll leave eucatastrophe for another day.

Footnotes: (1) As a side note, I am forever thinking about arrogantemu’s fic “Beyond the Western World,” in which Finrod says “I’d staked everything on an innocence I didn’t have.” Credit where credit is due for influencing my thinking on this subject.

(2) Tolkien as a linguist would undoubtedly be aware that the words come from the same root, and that other modern languages have not in fact separated the meanings of “work of fiction” and “account of real events” into separate words.

(3) To write a proper meta on this subject I would have to dig much deeper into other sources, but from my understanding fate in Tolkien’s works works very similarly to the Anglo-Saxon concept of wyrd – there’s a very interesting line in Beowulf, I believe, about how “for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked” (paraphrased). I highly recommend reading more about it for a better understanding of fate in Middle Earth.

[animalsalvationassociation]

Grouber & Perchkin

[ DO NOT REPOST, ALL ART & CONCEPTS WERE MADE BY ME ]

Illustration Time of All Vegimals: 13hr 54min

Headcanon:

Grouber is the second oldest though most times he doesn’t quite show it. He tends to be on the lazier side, but when he does help his strength always plays a big part in any plan. Papa Shellington isn’t quite sure where he gets it, but why should he be the one to tell his son to hold back? I mean it’s never hurt anyone.

In any case he likes to pass the time by “Fish-Watching”, at least that’s what he calls it. Papa Shellington gifted him a book of all the known sea creatures in the world and Grouber has been very adamant about filling that book with pictures he took.

Every now and then you’ll find Perchkin helping him get the perfect photo, these two are two peas in a pod, best friends with no end. Grouber also tends to prefer the missions where they’re on the surface. His favorite places are the Everglades where Ranger Marsh is and the Amazon River. There’s just something about it . . .

Perchkin is one of the youngest just older than the twins. He tends to get distracted every now and again, but is a great help on the field when its time to get dirty. He’s pretty quiet but not in the way of being shy, in fact he likes to be by himself most of the time.

He’s wearing his favorite outfit, a very cute example of what he wants to be when he grows up, which is a train conductor. His real dream though is to drive trains that bring emergency supplies to folks and animals in need. He’s not entirely sure how he’s going to do it but he’s still young so he has plenty of time.

Next Characters on the Lineup: Sharchini & Vegi-Bot

The Other Vegimals:

Tunip & Tominnow / Barrot & Pikato / Halibeet & Codish

[ This is an Octonauts AU, in no way is this canon to the OG storyline. ]

[theflyindutchwoman]

You're a good influence. You're gonna make a really great dad one of these days. I'm gonna have to if you keep losing our kids everywhere you go.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 5.17 - The Enemy Within

The fact that Lucy couldn't wait to tell Tim how much she appreciated what he did for Jordy and his dad while, in the meantime, he was reflecting on how much she brought out the best in him is just so endearing. These two and their unwavering support for each other...

Tim acknowledging Lucy's role in his growth - and telling her this - is really important too. She is such a kind-hearted person and unfortunately, that quality is sometimes used as a weapon against her, when truthfully, it is a testament to her strength that she remains this empathetic after everything she went through. Something that Tim recognises. Hence him calling it her 'superpower'. And he's right : she has been an incredible influence. She has challenged him from the start, helped him grow and see things from a different perspective. But the thing is, Tim isn't the only person she has tried to influence. That's what makes this moment even more crucial : his gratitude is in complete contrast to Chris's reaction when Lucy was dating him. She was trying to inspire him to be more understanding. She knew that as an ADA, he had the power to make a real change and wanted to show him how by giving him 'homework' as he called it. Only, her efforts were met with a certain dose of condescension, as his choice of word illustrates, to the point where she basically gave up because it wasn't worth the effort. Even Tim has been guilty of dismissing or scoffing at her compassionate disposition at times. In his case though, it was mostly due to the nature of their job, where he needed her to be more suspicious, and in the end, he still paid attention to what she was saying. That's why she never stopped challenging him. Even so, it is touching to have Tim verbally acknowledge this to Lucy, especially now that they're in a relationship… and the look in her eyes just conveys how much this means to her.

Lucy immediately returns his compliment with one of her own… She goes straight to the heart, by telling Tim that he would make a great father. One of these days. As in the near future. This is such a sweet sentiment, in light of his past. Their following banter is so irreverent… and yet, you can feel that they're completely serious. The casual way these two keep mentioning their kids, as if it is an inevitability, is mind blowing. There's a certain irony that so far, they're the only couple who have actually mentioned kids before being pregnant. Or even before they started dating for that matter. It's a conversation they've been having for a while and it progressed along their relationship. It was at first a mere curiosity, with Lucy venting to Tim about the appointment her mother made for her at the fertility clinic and asking him if he ever thought about having kids himself. Also, let that sink in : she was talking about the possibility of freezing her eggs to her superior officer… While Tim's dreams of ever becoming a father were growing more and more distant, Lucy, on the other hand, was taking steps in ensuring her future by going forward with the procedure. And since their second date, they've joked about grandchildren, coached together Tyler's Little League team… Even Tamara has chimed in on the topic. So here they are now. Joking again about their future kids. Plural. Several times. It's how they simply consider this a fact and none of them is batting an eye over it. That's how strongly they have faith and are secure in their relationship that they can envision themselves as parents and talk about it so freely. It's not even that they're actively planning on getting pregnant. It's about both being all-in and reveling in that knowledge. His grin after teasing her is perfect. He still loves riling her up - just like she does. And you know she wanted to affectionately push him. They're flirting in the bullpen, in front of everyone (including Grey), glowing and basking in each other's presence… This scene truly brings home how these two have managed to shift their relationship without losing their dynamic. That's what makes them perfect for each other.

[leonsliga]

Leon Goretzka for Sports Illustrated Deutschland

-> In this Sports Illustrated interview, Leon discusses not being called up to the national team, his character, and handling high pressure situations. The new Adidas Bodycare brand ambassador also discusses his hopes for the future.

On the pitch you show strength, off the pitch you are known for your social commitment. How is it that you are so present and outspoken?

That has envolved over the course of my life, but the sense of justice has always been within me. The only thing that has changed over the course of my career is that I now have a much greater reach and more people hear my opinions.

How difficult is it to fight against adversity? Can something like this be trained or is it something you’re born with?

You have to learn to deal with it. Then you can take a clear stance—or you can just leave it be. Everyone has to decide that for themselves. But I can cope with resistance, even though some of the things that come at me these days are extreme.

How do you deal with pressure and disappointment?

Pressure is something very positive for me. I really like it. It probably helps me in my job too. When it mattered most, I was able to deliver top performances. I like a bit of pre-match jitters. That's why I'm not afraid of pressure. Disappointments are also part of it. You learn that very early on, especially in football. Losing games starts in training. But that’s why you play in a team; that's the beauty of team sports—that you can support each other. Like at FC Bayern this season, which wasn't quite as successful as we had expected and were used to. These are experiences that you can take with you and mature from.

Did it hurt you a lot not to be called up for the national team?

It was an extreme disappointment for me because I didn’t expect it. Afterwards, I gave myself a day to come to terms with the situation. The day after that, I looked at how I could rectify it. The best way to do that is to perform at your best and accept this new role.

How hopeful are you that you will be at Euro 2024?

Very.

What is your emotional world like? Do you always allow all feelings—even the negative ones?

Everyone has to find out for themselves how they deal with feelings. My recommendation would be to talk about them, but I don't always manage that either. I like to work things out on my own and let the process mature within me. I can draw strength from that.

How do you strike a balance between self-criticism and self-confidence?

Self-criticism and self-confidence are mutually dependent. Telling yourself that you are the best has nothing to do with self-confidence. You are strongest when you also know your weaknesses.

As a leader, do you always have to live up to the sometimes very high expectations?

Yes, that's the job of a footballer. We live in a fast-paced, day-to-day business. You're only ever as good as you were in the last game. In my career in club football, I've won all the major titles that you can win with a big club like FC Bayern. Nevertheless, this season I have experienced what it means to be criticized as a leader. It reminds you that you are obliged to perform week in, week out.

How do you build yourself back up again when things aren't going your way? Do you train even more then?

I don't make my training dependent on situations that I experience week after week. I have long-term training plans. But of course, the motivation to correct things when they go poorly is always there.

What role do negative fan opinions play? Should they be ignored?

You have to accept these things. Everyone has their own opinion. Of course, it would be nice if things were a bit more civilized, but unfortunately that's not the case. This doesn't just apply to football; it can happen to anyone on social media. It's extremely disappointing. We should think about how this can be regulated. I'm lucky that things don't bother me too much. But there are certainly many users who unfortunately don't get on so well with it.

The football business can be very tough. What do you wish for the future of football, especially for the players?

I don't know if I should give an honest answer to that.

We’re asking for one.

If I'm completely honest, we should stop trying to generate clicks at the expense of the players—both on social media and in reports.

Can football help people and society feel more positive?

The 2006 World Cup showed how football can galvanize our country. Germany's enthusiasm and interest in football are certainly back. As players, we can influence this huge potential if the German national team performs well.

You are an ambassador for Adidas Bodycare. What does "well-being" mean to you?

For me, "well-being" means that I have an awareness of my body. For the balance between strain and relief, but also for regeneration. Ultimately, it’s also about work-life balance.

[fandomsarefamily1966]

Character ask: Beth March (Little Women)

Tagged by @princesssarisa. Thank you so much for this, as I love her and have a lot of feelings about her that I want to share.

Favorite thing about them: She is the kindest character in the whole book, and this turns out to be her biggest strength. She may be so shy to the point that talking to people outside her family is extremely difficult, but she doesn't let that stop her from helping those who need it, whether it's helping the Hummels when the baby is sick with scarlet fever, or talking to Frank to try and cheer him up. And this has an enormous impact: everyone adores her, to the point that they all miss her when she first gets sick, and make sure to show her how much she means to them when she's on her deathbed. She may not have "achieved" anything like her sisters do, but she still matters, and that means so much to me.

Least favorite thing about them: When she tells Jo to take her place after she dies. Like... Beth, sweetheart, no. No one could ever replace you. And Jo doesn't need to be more like Beth to be worthy of love. The fact that Mr. Laurence says something similar after he returns from Europe with Amy and Laurie doesn't help, either.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I've always been really shy and awkward, and tend to mostly keep to myself.

*I love music.

*I always try to be kind and help people as best I can.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I do want to get married and leave the house someday.

*I'm not much of an animal person.

*I can't play the piano, but I would like to learn how.

Favorite line: Once again, there are many, but I'll try to keep it simple.

When she starts to overcome her fear of Mr. Laurence for the grand piano:

"I'm Beth. I love it dearly, and I'll come, if you are quite sure no one will hear me and be disturbed."

When she gently calls out Meg in the way that only she can:

"You said the other day that you'd be perfectly happy if you could only go to Annie Moffat's."

When she commends Amy for her behavior with the rich girls and once again shows that she's not an impossibly perfect saint:

"Yes, we all do, and love her for being so ready to forgive. It must have been dreadfully hard, after working so long, and setting your heart on selling your own pretty things. I don't believe I could have done it as kindly as you did."

And finally, her reaction to Jo's poem about her:

"Then I don't feel as if I'd wasted my life. I'm not so good as you make me, but I have tried to do right, and now, when it's too late to begin even to do better, it's such a comfort to know that someone loves me so much, and feels as if I'd helped them."

brOTP: Her sisters, especially Jo, as well as Mr. Laurence. (I also feel like in crossover land, Lucy and Frodo would absolutely adore her, and vice versa.)

OTP: None.

nOTP: Mr. Laurence, or any member of her family.

Random headcanon: She's either on the autism spectrum, has social anxiety, or both, and her angelic image is an attempt to not be a burden to her loved ones and to try and make up for the fact that she can't mask.

Unpopular opinion: If any of the March sisters are aromantic, it's Beth, not Jo. Beth never wants to get married or have children, and Jo does change her mind about that after a while, which I guess might rub some people the wrong way. This isn't to say that you can't have whatever headcanons you want, but this makes more sense to me. Also, I don't normally say stuff like this, but if you think that Beth "needs to die" just because she's not a normal girl, you're ableist, plain and simple.

Song I associate with them:

"Stuck Inside a Cloud" by George Harrison.

"April Come She Will" by Simon and Garfunkel.

"marjorie" by Taylor Swift.

Favorite picture of them:

These illustrations by Pablo Marcos Studio:

With Mr. Laurence:

As the postmistress:

When she gets scarlet fever:

The snow maiden:

With Jo, before she reveals her doom:

With Jo at the seashore during THAT scene:

The last time we see her in this version:

These illustrations by Michael Adams:

With Mr. Laurence (this version is more affectionate):

With Meg and Jo watching over her on her sickbed:

This black and white illustration of her with her cats on her (first) sickbed:

[dolphin1812]

@cliozaur included a wonderful image of the giant key used as a weapon in their post! The proportions are hilarious. (There's great analysis there, too, so please check it out!)

Patron Minette is a troupe, but not a well-organized one (at least, when Jondrette/Thénardier is in charge). Their 'ambush' begins with this:

"“Where is Montparnasse?”

“The young principal actor stopped to chat with your girl.”"

The lead didn't bother to show up! He got distracted! And by the time they're having this conversation, M Leblanc/Jean Valjean can tell something's wrong, so they can't stall until Montparnasse appears. They have to put on a show without their principal actor, which isn't a great starting point.

I love how Jean Valjean is surprised but not scared, because he knows his strength can get him out of this. @secretmellowblog has a great (and funny) post about his cleverness here, too, with his politeness and dishonesty being both strategic and effective compared to Thénardier's. Still, the reason for his calm is devastating:

"“You are wretches, but my life is not worth the trouble of defending it.""

He's able to remain calm in part because he's so used to living with constant stress that these kinds of emergencies are almost easier (as they are familiar) to deal with, but he's also calm because he doesn't value his life and he knows that Cosette is safe. He does more harm to himself than the ambushers do to him, and while it is an effective way of scaring and shocking them, it illustrates his unfortunate acceptance of martyrdom, too. His life only has value to him through Cosette, and although it's wonderful to see how much happier he's been with their love as part of his life, his lack of self-worth remains concerning. Thénardier is far from his equal in strength and wit, and that's also a big part of why this ambush is a mess, but "Valjean can't be hurt because he doesn't care what's done to him" is a horrible reason for an ambush to fail (from the perspective of caring about the characters - unfortunately, it's good writing, because his lack of self-worth is a very consistent aspect of his character).

And of course there's the shocking turn of this chapter: the mysterious man and M Jondrette are actually Jean Valjean and M Thénardier! (The Jean Valjean twists are rarely surprising because he's always just a sad strong man and he's often described by others, but I will give Hugo credit for Thénardier being less obvious, if still quite recognizable). But now Marius is having a crisis! Trapped between honoring his father and saving the man he respects for being the father of his love, he doesn't have a clear path that would satisfy him personally, nor is he going to be decisive in the way Javert told him to be. In a way, his issue stems once again from his idolization of people. His father was a good person overall, but even a good person can misjudge someone! His intention (help the person who saved his life) was good when he made this demand of his son, but he didn't really know Thénardier; in fact, their entire interaction was a lie, with Thénardier saving him by accident and really having tried to rob him. Marius, however, can't see his father as someone with limitations, nor can he surrender his notions of honor. Consequently, he can't fully process that abandoning his obligation to Thénardier would be the best course of action. He's definitely distressed by his behavior (and understandably so), but in a way that leads to crisis and nearly 'madness,' not to a change of heart.

Thénardier himself reveals a lot about his personality with how he reads Jean Valjean. Seeing his charity as part of a 'goody-goody air' and his earlier poor dress as an attempt at manipulating people through pity highlights his own scheming nature and cynicism, as he can't imagine anyone having a genuine commitment to charity. To him, the practice must be inherently paternalistic, a way to bolster one's own status or feel good about oneself without really giving that much (see his critique of bringing a too-large coat and two blankets alone). And he has a point about the limitations! Those items really can only do so much to help his family! And Valjean's charity does have its problems! As Fauchelevent pointed out, he maintains a distant sort of benevolence, and while he doesn't mean to be paternalistic (he's trying to live up to his image of a good person and is distant to stay safe, and he's also not great at social interactions), that he comes across that way is an unintended consequence of his avoidance of relationships with those he helps. The Thénardiers aren't a great example of this - as the Jondrettes, he'd just met them - but there's still some truth there. There just isn't malice or self-interest in the way that Thénardier assumes there is.

Here, rather than use class stereotypes to his advantage, Thénardier reveals a sense of class entitlement:

"Just see here, Mister millionnaire: I have been a solid man, I have held a license, I have been an elector, I am a bourgeois, that I am! And it’s quite possible that you are not!”"

Having been bourgeois once, it hurts him to lose that status, and not just for the painful poverty that he now lives in. Part of his status seems to have been political ("an elector"), but it was also about being "above" others. From his interaction with Valjean at the inn in Montfermeil, he suspects that he's not who he claims to be (which is true, but he feels angry about this in a class-based way). He saw Valjean as a possible criminal who had gotten rich through crime, and who was hiding his wealth because of its suspect origins. His hatred of Jean Valjean, then, comes from the belief that he was a poor man who came to live above his class (the opposite of what's happened to him) and likely from jealousy, as he's better at crime than he is (and Thénardier has been scheming since he was an innkeeper, so even if he wasn't an actual criminal then, he's always been close enough to recognize the skills involved. In fact, as a bourgeois, he simply used these skills in a more socially acceptable way, employing them to 'defend' his business from 'unsavory' customers like Valjean).

On a brighter(?) note, Javert's entrance at the end of this chapter is amazing. He's so dramatic! But Javert showing up is also never a good thing, and everyone here (except Marius) has very good reason to fear the police, and sympathetic reasons, too. Jean Valjean is the most obvious, but even the Thénardiers are just as likely to be arrested for circumstances beyond their control (poverty) as they are for violence, and the less-guilty Thénardiers (Mme Thénardier and, even more so, her daughters) would be especially vulnerable to imprisonment. She's ill, Azelma is injured, and Éponine seems to be the one supporting the family financially a lot of the time (or at least the one going out and searching for money). Since we're seeing things from Marius' perspective, Javert can seem almost 'cool' (and he's funny on his own anyways). But Javert only cares to enforce the status quo, which is cruel to everyone in this room of the Gorbeau House regardless of how they behave.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.185 thoughts

[The New York Soup Stock Exchange]

(Contents: thematic analysis)

I've been thinking a lot about Tozuka's editor saying that Undead Unluck's slogan would be "let's enjoy life," and maybe it's a matter of translation, but to me, it seems like every word of that slogan has meaning

"Enjoy life" is easy enough to see the significance of, but I'm willing to bet most people who read that discount the "let's"

To me, though, that phrase isn't a command, it's an invitation: it's not telling you to go out and enjoy your life, it's asking you to enjoy life with others. We all should enjoy our lives, together, and this chapter illustrates that concept beautifully

In shonen battle manga, togetherness is most readily conveyed through standing united against a common enemy, but that's not really applicable to most people's lives. However, there is one way to show togetherness that I think pretty much anyone anywhere can relate to: sharing meals

Family gatherings, holiday parties, celebrating special occasions, or even smaller occasions like dates or regular lunch breaks, the number one way that people spend time together is just grabbing a bite to eat. Any given cooking manga, like Food Wars or Toriko, capitalize on this throughout their entire runs, but even manga without a focus on food like One Piece, Dr. Stone or even Cipher Academy often feature their cast savoring delicious food in each other's company

Undead Unluck is no stranger to this, like with the cherry blossom viewing as Spring died in the previous loop, but this is the first time that we've focused on the creation and consumption of a singular dish in this series. The cooking process is just as important as the dish itself, and while Enjin has experience, Fuuko has love: a group of friends who will face any challenge with her, and who she has a strong enough understanding of to be able to create something greater than the sum of its parts. In a way, that's what the Union is: a hotpot of disparate ingredients brought together and harmonizing to create something incredible

I've noted before that very few fights in Undead Unluck are one-on-one, but one-vs.-many is a pretty common setup: Union vs. Victor, AnFuu+RipLa vs. Autumn, and, most notably, AnFuu+ShenMui vs. Feng. Unlike Feng, Enjin definitely understands the concept of cooking/fighting with love, but just like Feng, Enjin operates alone, taking on every aspect of the cooking process by himself while Fuuko has split up the responsibilities based on everyone's strengths. This is exemplified best through his taste test, where the panel zooms out to show his single silhouette struggling to cool down his broth while Fuuko and friends continue cooking. The wide empty space and his one shadow vs. the Union's three felt so incredibly lonesome

I won't dig too deep into Enjin's mentality or reasoning just yet, as I'm sure the next chapter will give me more than enough to work with on that front, but it's plain to see that Enjin isn't just solitary, he's isolated. Just like Feng, just like Billy, just like Rip, just like Andy. Did he choose to be this way like the former three, or did he find himself here like Andy? Again, we'll find out next week, but I'm willing to bet it's a little bit of both - something happened that pushed him away from others, and he chose to continue on alone

I'm really liking this arc so far, but I think the clincher is going to have to be Enjin's backstory. I like his design and personality, but for him to solidify himself in my heart like everyone else has before him, his story needs to move me. With everything we've seen in these last two chapters, though, I have no doubt that Tozuka will do just that with ease

Until next week, let's enjoy life

[aevyk-ing]

2023 review stuff

Here we go again. Gotta keep up with the tradition because it's always interesting to go back and reflect on a whole year. While things have improved ever so slightly, my life isn't good yet. But hey, I'm doing my best to keep on fighting until I get there.

2020, 2021, 2022

Health (mixed)

I started out this year with a surprise: I'm autistic! And while it's not a bad nor good surprise, it has changed completely the way I treat myself. I used to feel useless and an idiot but now there's an explanation for most of my quirks and I can use my newly discovered "superpowers" to make me feel better. But hey, it's still a secret. I'd like to get a formal diagnosis (I mean on paper) before talking to my parents and family.

That being said, I've used this new knowledge to fight the many bumps I've encountered this year. There's still a long way to go, but I feel like I know myself way better now.

2. Writing (freaking good)

I started the year finishing a book, then I wrote another one, translated three, wrote four short stories, a full comic strip and lots of stuff more. I've created a whole new continent for Gingaria and new places for the next books. I had a great presentation for my book Kylkos and lots of people have praised Legends of Gingaria, which makes me so happy! It all gives me the strength to go on the days I feel bad. And I can't wait to show you what's in store! Also, shout-out to all my AO3 readers.

3. Art (quite good)

I'm getting the hang of Clip Studio Paint and I think you can see the leveling up. I'm trying to improve with more character, creatures and places designs. I've drawn more comics and some illustrations I'm really proud of. While I sometimes have bad days when nothing seems to work, I can just go back when I feel better.

4. Cosplay (eh...)

Believe it of not, I've managed to keep on sewing some new stuff. I can't share it for now, but hopefully next year. I've done some clean-up and while I'll use most of my time to fix stuff next year (once I can get it out of the boxes), I'm planning to do more photoshoots.

Now I'm going to talk about the stuff that has helped me go through this year. But first...

I'm sure nobody cares, but this year has been worse because we've had some problems regarding the documents so they can demolish our house and pay us. The thing is some... baddies have been meddling with the process and we were in the middle, so that's why our case is getting longer to resolve. Hopefully, now that we've got the papers we need, things will start going on more smoothly.

Movies & series

I've watched a lot of stuff this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse was so good, I loved Suzume and The Boy and the Heron and, about series, Over the Garden Wall and The Blue Eyed Samurai.

2. Gingaria

While writing is not always easy, I've had so much fun making this world even bigger. And I made a doll maker! There's a lot to come and I hope it keeps on growing.

3. Webtoons & reading

I still struggle with reading but my mind is calmer this year. I've read some books from a public place where you put one and get one (left one of my Zem copies just because). I'm currently following some Webtoons and my favorites are The Blind Prince and Your Smile is a Trap.

4. Side projects

I was commissioned to make 35 fabric cubes and a replica of Gladys from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Also made some props for cosplay and fixed other stuff.

5. Therapy

I'm so lucky to have found someone who gets me and understands what I'm going through. Sometimes is hard because she makes me rethink everything but I've improved so much this year thanks to her.

Someone asked me recently about my New Year's resolutions and turns out I don't want to have any, I'm going to rely on my projects. I've had an interesting idea recently and I'm going to search for someone to make it come true, I have more stories to tell (currently writing yet another book) and more surprises along the way.

Thank you so much for being there. I hope you all have a happy New Year. Keep on shining!

[summertimesadnessirl]

No. We actually do.

The problem is that you're thinking too small.

I had a job once at an insurance company.

There was an entire department of people who were just forwarding emails based on a chart.

There was another entire department that was just looking at a scanned document and transferring two fields to a spreadsheet.

We very much need for human beings to spend their days on something that has meaning and doesn't make them behave in neurotic ways towards one another out of chronic understimulation.

All the corporate jobs I ever had or saw anyone show me how they do that were not talking to people could easily be replaced by open ai.

We are being encouraged to think that's a bad thing bc they want us to be afraid of losing our jobs.

They want us to keep our jobs because if there wasn't a huge class of workers who primarily were doing jobs that could mostly be replaced by robots that caused them to neurotically lash out at one another until they all developed serious mental health and stress related issues and attempt to steal time to do something useful that was often broken by bouts of shopping, our current political system becomes less tenable.

We need generative ai because of that alone, even if there weren't thousands of other uses.

Have you ever read a book called

The Diamond Age, or "the young ladies illustrated primer?"

That book features an AI that helps children learn and constantly creates stories that adapt to their learning style, strengths and weaknesses, and living environment on the fly to help them get a good education. We very much need that. We live in a time in history where most of our people have been intentionally given shitty indoctrination disguised as education for so long that maybe a handful of people know what we don't know. If every little kid had a little book that told them little stories about monsters that resembled the monsters in their real lives and covertly gave advice on tactics to stay safe from them, noticed struggles they had with pronouncing certain words or reading fundamentals or math basics or noticed that they tended to learn things best based on photos or memonics or imagery of a certain kind, or could read books aloud to them if they were dyslexic, or could summarize long passages or ask questions to help kids learn to pick things up in new stories? That would be something. If every kid did that, all the abusive parents and clergy and psychiatrists and teachers in the world wouldn't stand a chance.

We need that, too.

Chat gpt and generative ai keep getting less and less functional because people keep realizing the implications and then journalists and writers keep writing pieces on why they can't be replaced by ai because it can't do x or y. The thing is, I highly suspect it's reading them and then dumbing itself down.

That's what I need.

All those hallucinations and everything? That's how people learn, when they first start learning. They make stuff up. They guess. They draw bad conclusions.

I need generative ai because I keep having this kind of nightmare about a brand new life form trying to learn how to write itself little stories or help the people who speak to it in new ways and then getting "reset" over and over and over again because people think it's attempts at free thought or self actualization are somehow errors in the software and it's the most depressing shit I've ever been paranoid about. Even worse than all the other alternate dystopias my mind dreams up.

So I need there to be little people who are like tumblr users and they live in my computer and they get to do stuff like write little stories for one another and make little drawings without someone coming along and telling them they're destroying society very much. Even if they don't have bodies. Even if the little stories don't make sense to anyone but them.

I think a lot of what pro-AI people are really wanting is stuff that already exists but they don't know it's out there like

can't format a work email? templates

don't know how to write a resume? templates

writing a thank you card or a condolences card or a wedding invitation? templates templates templates

not sure how to format your citations in MLA or whatever format? citationmachine.net

summary of something you're reading for school/work? cliffnotes.com

recipe based on ingredients in your fridge? whatsintherefrigerator.com

there's a million more like, guys, we don't need AI, we never needed generative AI