#the use of the word drama to refers to human right issues

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The real AI fight

Tonight (November 27), I'm appearing at the Toronto Metro Reference Library with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

On November 29, I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

Last week's spectacular OpenAI soap-opera hijacked the attention of millions of normal, productive people and nonsensually crammed them full of the fine details of the debate between "Effective Altruism" (doomers) and "Effective Accelerationism" (AKA e/acc), a genuinely absurd debate that was allegedly at the center of the drama.

Very broadly speaking: the Effective Altruists are doomers, who believe that Large Language Models (AKA "spicy autocomplete") will someday become so advanced that it could wake up and annihilate or enslave the human race. To prevent this, we need to employ "AI Safety" – measures that will turn superintelligence into a servant or a partner, nor an adversary.

Contrast this with the Effective Accelerationists, who also believe that LLMs will someday become superintelligences with the potential to annihilate or enslave humanity – but they nevertheless advocate for faster AI development, with fewer "safety" measures, in order to produce an "upward spiral" in the "techno-capital machine."

Once-and-future OpenAI CEO Altman is said to be an accelerationists who was forced out of the company by the Altruists, who were subsequently bested, ousted, and replaced by Larry fucking Summers. This, we're told, is the ideological battle over AI: should cautiously progress our LLMs into superintelligences with safety in mind, or go full speed ahead and trust to market forces to tame and harness the superintelligences to come?

This "AI debate" is pretty stupid, proceeding as it does from the foregone conclusion that adding compute power and data to the next-word-predictor program will eventually create a conscious being, which will then inevitably become a superbeing. This is a proposition akin to the idea that if we keep breeding faster and faster horses, we'll get a locomotive:

https://locusmag.com/2020/07/cory-doctorow-full-employment/

As Molly White writes, this isn't much of a debate. The "two sides" of this debate are as similar as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Yes, they're arrayed against each other in battle, so furious with each other that they're tearing their hair out. But for people who don't take any of this mystical nonsense about spontaneous consciousness arising from applied statistics seriously, these two sides are nearly indistinguishable, sharing as they do this extremely weird belief. The fact that they've split into warring factions on its particulars is less important than their unified belief in the certain coming of the paperclip-maximizing apocalypse:

https://newsletter.mollywhite.net/p/effective-obfuscation

White points out that there's another, much more distinct side in this AI debate – as different and distant from Dee and Dum as a Beamish Boy and a Jabberwork. This is the side of AI Ethics – the side that worries about "today’s issues of ghost labor, algorithmic bias, and erosion of the rights of artists and others." As White says, shifting the debate to existential risk from a future, hypothetical superintelligence "is incredibly convenient for the powerful individuals and companies who stand to profit from AI."

After all, both sides plan to make money selling AI tools to corporations, whose track record in deploying algorithmic "decision support" systems and other AI-based automation is pretty poor – like the claims-evaluation engine that Cigna uses to deny insurance claims:

https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims

On a graph that plots the various positions on AI, the two groups of weirdos who disagree about how to create the inevitable superintelligence are effectively standing on the same spot, and the people who worry about the actual way that AI harms actual people right now are about a million miles away from that spot.

There's that old programmer joke, "There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't." But of course, that joke could just as well be, "There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand ternary, those who understand binary, and those who don't understand either":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/11/the-ten-types-of-people/

What's more, the joke could be, "there are 10 kinds of people, those who understand hexadecenary, those who understand pentadecenary, those who understand tetradecenary [und so weiter] those who understand ternary, those who understand binary, and those who don't." That is to say, a "polarized" debate often has people who hold positions so far from the ones everyone is talking about that those belligerents' concerns are basically indistinguishable from one another.

The act of identifying these distant positions is a radical opening up of possibilities. Take the indigenous philosopher chief Red Jacket's response to the Christian missionaries who sought permission to proselytize to Red Jacket's people:

https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5790/

Red Jacket's whole rebuttal is a superb dunk, but it gets especially interesting where he points to the sectarian differences among Christians as evidence against the missionary's claim to having a single true faith, and in favor of the idea that his own people's traditional faith could be co-equal among Christian doctrines.

The split that White identifies isn't a split about whether AI tools can be useful. Plenty of us AI skeptics are happy to stipulate that there are good uses for AI. For example, I'm 100% in favor of the Human Rights Data Analysis Group using an LLM to classify and extract information from the Innocence Project New Orleans' wrongful conviction case files:

https://hrdag.org/tech-notes/large-language-models-IPNO.html

Automating "extracting officer information from documents – specifically, the officer's name and the role the officer played in the wrongful conviction" was a key step to freeing innocent people from prison, and an LLM allowed HRDAG – a tiny, cash-strapped, excellent nonprofit – to make a giant leap forward in a vital project. I'm a donor to HRDAG and you should donate to them too:

https://hrdag.networkforgood.com/

Good data-analysis is key to addressing many of our thorniest, most pressing problems. As Ben Goldacre recounts in his inaugural Oxford lecture, it is both possible and desirable to build ethical, privacy-preserving systems for analyzing the most sensitive personal data (NHS patient records) that yield scores of solid, ground-breaking medical and scientific insights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-eaV8SWdjQ

The difference between this kind of work – HRDAG's exoneration work and Goldacre's medical research – and the approach that OpenAI and its competitors take boils down to how they treat humans. The former treats all humans as worthy of respect and consideration. The latter treats humans as instruments – for profit in the short term, and for creating a hypothetical superintelligence in the (very) long term.

As Terry Pratchett's Granny Weatherwax reminds us, this is the root of all sin: "sin is when you treat people like things":

https://brer-powerofbabel.blogspot.com/2009/02/granny-weatherwax-on-sin-favorite.html

So much of the criticism of AI misses this distinction – instead, this criticism starts by accepting the self-serving marketing claim of the "AI safety" crowd – that their software is on the verge of becoming self-aware, and is thus valuable, a good investment, and a good product to purchase. This is Lee Vinsel's "Criti-Hype": "taking press releases from startups and covering them with hellscapes":

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

Criti-hype and AI were made for each other. Emily M Bender is a tireless cataloger of criti-hypeists, like the newspaper reporters who breathlessly repeat " completely unsubstantiated claims (marketing)…sourced to Altman":

https://dair-community.social/@emilymbender/111464030855880383

Bender, like White, is at pains to point out that the real debate isn't doomers vs accelerationists. That's just "billionaires throwing money at the hope of bringing about the speculative fiction stories they grew up reading – and philosophers and others feeling important by dressing these same silly ideas up in fancy words":

https://dair-community.social/@emilymbender/111464024432217299

All of this is just a distraction from real and important scientific questions about how (and whether) to make automation tools that steer clear of Granny Weatherwax's sin of "treating people like things." Bender – a computational linguist – isn't a reactionary who hates automation for its own sake. On Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 – the excellent podcast she co-hosts with Alex Hanna – there is a machine-generated transcript:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2126417

There is a serious, meaty debate to be had about the costs and possibilities of different forms of automation. But the superintelligence true-believers and their criti-hyping critics keep dragging us away from these important questions and into fanciful and pointless discussions of whether and how to appease the godlike computers we will create when we disassemble the solar system and turn it into computronium.

The question of machine intelligence isn't intrinsically unserious. As a materialist, I believe that whatever makes me "me" is the result of the physics and chemistry of processes inside and around my body. My disbelief in the existence of a soul means that I'm prepared to think that it might be possible for something made by humans to replicate something like whatever process makes me "me."

Ironically, the AI doomers and accelerationists claim that they, too, are materialists – and that's why they're so consumed with the idea of machine superintelligence. But it's precisely because I'm a materialist that I understand these hypotheticals about self-aware software are less important and less urgent than the material lives of people today.

It's because I'm a materialist that my primary concerns about AI are things like the climate impact of AI data-centers and the human impact of biased, opaque, incompetent and unfit algorithmic systems – not science fiction-inspired, self-induced panics over the human race being enslaved by our robot overlords.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/27/10-types-of-people/#taking-up-a-lot-of-space

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Nacli, Naclstack, & Garganacl

Nacli (#932)

Naclaeus familiaris

General Information: Nacli are Pokémon who’s bodies are entirely composed of rock salt. When they move, they scrape their bodies against the earth leaving behind little bits of salt wherever they go.

 Nacli average at 1’4 feet (0.4 M) tall and 35.3 pounds (16 kg).

Habitat: Nacli can be found in mountainous regions of the world or where large deposits of terrestrial rock salt can be found.

Life Cycles: Nacli are born deep underground, where their parents kept the eggs there for protection and safe keeping from predators and poachers alike.  Not many Nacli are born at a time, often a batch of a handful every few years per parental pair. Nacli are typically born to Naclstacks and Garganacls, rather than other Naclis. This is not because of any issues with Nacli’s reproductive abilities, but rather they are often more focused on survival to evolution than they are on making more of themselves. Nacli are not eaten by much, but they are eaten by very specific types of Pokémon, namely those who eat rocks. As such, Larvitars, Tyranitars, Steelixes, Mawiles, and even the occasional Lairon or Aggron will help themselves to a Nacli. Weirdly, Sabeleyes are not a problem for Naclis, as their Purifying Salt ability deters ghost-type predation. Still, predation on Naclis is limited, and most Pokémon want to keep them alive for their delicious salt-producing benefits.

Their primary predator, Larvitars and Tyranitars, tend to leave Nacli eggs alone—they eat rocks and dirt, not eggs!

Nacli do not have a known upper limit on their lifespan. This isn’t to say one doesn’t exist, so much as they tend to evolve for their own protection before that limit can be found.  

Behavior: Nacli are rarely predated upon and generally well-liked by the fleshier organic Pokémon in their environments, so they have not developed fear responses to other Pokémon—well, except to their predators of course! Because of this, Nacli are rather friendly sorts who live in colonies with each other, and are readily accepted into any habitat that they choose to live in. Even the most aggressive of Pokémon, like Rhydons and Nidos, will allow a Nacli into their territories, knowing that they’re harmless little guys that make delicious life-saving salt.

Diet: They eat dirt! Just get them some nice potting soil 😊 They’re eating the vitamins and minerals found naturally in soils.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: Nacli are beloved Pokémon by humans since time immemorial. They’re little portable Pokémon that make salt. And that means, humans have been using Naclis for millions of years. The Nacli is rarely mistreated, because a well-loved Nacli will stick around of its own accord, but countless family dramas and inheritances and even violent conflicts have been fought over access to Naclis and their evolutions. People go nuts for these little guys, and as such long-ago developed mining techniques for stealing Nacli eggs from the earth, thus forcing Naclstacks and Garganacls to bury their nests deeper and deeper underground in an evergreen Red Queen Hypothesis, leading to the modern day issue of Nacli nests being immensely difficult to track down. Wild Naclis are getting harder and harder to find as the centuries go on, for more and more are being brought into captivity to be cared for by humans.

In days gone by, Naclis were so coveted by humans that dowries would include a Nacli if applicable, and that was often worth more than gold or livestock, and could see a peasant family jump to middle class if their cards were played right.  

Classification: The genus “nacleus” uses “NaCl” (sodium chloride/table salt) as its base word, much like Nacli and its evolutions use it for the base of their names. “Familiaris” refers to the friendliness of Naclis.

Naclstack (#933)

Nacleus fortis

General Information: Naclstack is the evolved form of Nacli. They are able to compress its rock salt into hardened pellets that are then shot out with enough force to puncture sheets of iron! Contrary to population notions about their names, Naclstacks and family contain more than NaCl in their bodies, they contain other varieties of salts, too, based on what minerals they’re able to extract from their food and the environment around them, NaCl just happens to be the most common one.

Naclstacks average at 2 feet (0.6 M) tall and weigh 231.5 pounds (105 kg).

Habitat: Anywhere Naclis can be found.

Life Cycles: Once a Naclstack evolves from a Nacli, its chances of survival increase tenfold. There is very little that will even try eating them, reserved for hungry Tyranitars and risk-taking Aggrons. They will mate sporadically every few years with other members of the Mineral egg group, then bury their eggs deep underground where no one can find them or hurt them. After that, their parental care is incredibly minimal, but they will protect any Naclis that they happen to come across.

Behavior: Naclstack are patient Pokémon with little fear of other Pokémon. They are slow-moving creatures of the mountains and hills and salt beds, with ways that are mysterious to those around it. They don’t form the colonies that Naclis form, but also won’t deter Naclis from following them around for safety and familiarity.

Diet: Naclstack are scavengers. They no longer eat dirt (well, they do a bit, old habits die hard), and instead will happily eat the leftover rotting carcasses of other Pokémon, the parts that no one else wants, including the bones. They are immune to the diseases carried by rotting flesh, both because they use their body salt to cure their food and because as a Living Rock Pokémon (Vivogaiaformes) they don’t have true organic bodies, thus not susceptible to the diseases of organic life.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: If you thought Nacli were obsessed over, wait until you meet Naclstacks. They’re bigger, stronger, and produce more salt than Naclis! A well-loved Naclstack was/is a family heirloom, someone who was invaluable to the preservation of meat, household cooking, and trade with others. A family with a Naclstack was a family that would survive winters and plagues.

Classification: They were originally named by Linneaus, by he had erroneously placed them in the same genus as Geodudes, when in fact they are largely unrelated to the other Living Rock Pokémon (Geodude, Rogenrola, Rolycoly, etc.), who are all under the Order Vivogaiaformes.

Evolution: Naclstack evolves from Nacli starting at level 24.

Garganacl (#934)

Nacleus giganticus

General Information: Garganacl is the final evolution of Nacli and Naclstack, and is known as the Rock Salt Pokémon. Their salt is rich in a variety of minerals and is known to have medicinal properties, powers so strong that even severe wounds are known to heal—whether this is a result of the salts themselves or something magical inherent to Garganacls, is unclear. Other Pokémon are known to lick up the salt that Gargancl leaves behind when it walks.

They average at 7’7 feet (2.3 M) tall and 529.1 pounds (240 kg).

Habitat: Wherever Naclis and Naclstacks can be found and beyond. Some are stationary, some are roamers. Their ways are mysterious indeed.

Life Cycles: Garganacls are known to live for centuries as patient and gentle behemoths of the forests and mountains that they call home. Long ago, there were thousands of Garganacls, even tens of thousands the world over, but these days there are perhaps only a few hundred left in the wild, a natural consequence of humans gradually taking more and more from the wild than can be replenished.

Behavior: Garganacls are finally able to stand up to their predators, Tyranitar and Aggron, and will squash Mawiles with a vengeance that is rarely seen elsewhere. They get along well with Tinkatons, likely because of Tinkaton’s proclivity toward hunting steel-types like Aggrons and Steelixes. Other than this, they are gentle giants.

They are known to rub their fingertips together over wounds, healing the injuries of Pokémon and humans alike.

Diet: Garganacls eat the heavily-decayed bodies of other Pokémon, as well as berries and nuts as seen fit. They are omnivores through and through, but do not hunt, only scavenge.

Conservation: Endangered (in the wild), Least Concern (Captivity)

Relationship with Humans: Garganacls are the gentle protectors of forests and mountains, the bringers of life-giving salt to all they encounter. But though they know no fear of predators, they do know fear for their offspring, and will go to great lengths to stop humans and Pokémon alike from stealing their eggs before they’ve even had a chance to hatch.

In ancient times, royalty and religious orders sought to have a Garganacl for themselves, an unmistakable sign of wealth and prosperity understood by all.

There are Garganacls alive today who saw the rise and fall of entire Empires, wars, and countless generations of humans. Some cultures worship Garganacls as life bringers, blessings from the gods, and so forth.

Classification: Garganacls and their pre-evolutions are in a clade all to themselves in the Vivogaiaformes.

Evolution: Garganacls evolve from Naclstack at level 38.

~~~~~~~~

Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

[k7l4d4]

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 18

Here we are, time for the "Emotion" review! Oohh boy... this is gonna be an annoying one.

Overall, beyond the issues with this episode in how it tries to shill Marinette and Zoe's friendship, Felix literally trying to wipe out Paris and all of humanity just because he can and the show framing it as "him having no choice" and "just doing what he needs to," the biggest issue with this episode is it's criticism of "the rich."

Like, I know, "eat the rich" is a thing, and there are a LOT of exploitative jerks who take advantage of the lower class in the world. But this? What this did was try and present a bunch of teenagers just being spoiled brats and doing nothing but being uncomfortable with a "poor person" around them as deserving of Felix's pointless rampage. It tries to have Zoe critique them by labeling them as "braindead zombies," which if anything makes Felix's actions WORSE because it makes them come off as not a threat, just annoyances. And what really sinks it home how shallow this episode's "message" is... is how it doesn't criticize the biggest Rich Hate Sinks in the show, Andre and Audrey. Oh it takes a stab at Gabe, but he's meant to be sympathetic later on (emphasis on "meant to be"), but the series has already downplayed how much of a corrupt official Andre is and ignores how horrible Audrey is as a person in favor of making her toxic control over Andre a joke and blowing off her emotional and verbal abuse of BOTH her daughters. It's aimless, weak, and just doesn't seem to have any overarching POINT to it.

Anyway, that's my two cents in hindsight. Onto the review!

Episode 18: Emotion 

And we start off with Andre giving a "couples' ice cream" to Adrien and Marinette, and aside from acting like a bit of a brat and demanding that there's no drama going on, he doesn't look like he'll go Akuma for once. 

And another near kiss between Adrien and Marinette got killed. Albeit this time it doesn't look like supernatural BS by Gabriel, just regular BS. 

Marinette is worried at how "weird" Adrien is being lately, and tries to get intel from Nino about what's happening to him... and we more or less get yet another case of the show trying to act as if Marinette's stalking was some big joke they could wink and nudge about. 

And now we have Marinette learning about the Diamond Dance. From Alya. Which, granted, wouldn't be so bad since Alya is a journalist... but she apparently didn't even do the research, she just "knows about it" and used Alliance to pull up the info for Marinette. 

Now we get a scene of Kagami training in swordsmanship with Tomoe, before...ughh... Lila shows up. Nope, not gonna mention how royally idiotic her still believing anything Lila says is, I'm not gonna do it. 

...PFFFT. Wow, I genuinely cannot tell if Kagami is that fucking dense or she is genuinely throwing shade at Lila. "You're not a precious stone, you're just a stone." Best line in this mess. 

If this is meant to be Kagami having an "autism" moment, though, I'm not impressed.

Zoe making a "joke" comparing the attendants of the Diamond Dance (the sons and daughters of Paris' elite) to a party of brain-eating Zombies is gonna set the tone for things. The unironic description of the children of the 1% in such a way is all kinds of toxic and obnoxious to me. 

We get a tiny reference to Zoe's life in New York (no real details beyond the "rich brats making her life a nightmare at school"). 

And a moment of Zoe shilling how "Marinette taught her not to let her family control her life" despite the fact that, by all accounts, THEY NEVER DID. 

I honestly just have no words at the moment. I can barely follow along with whatever thought process the writers are having Marinette go through right now. All I can get is that Marinette thinks she needs to "save" Adrien from his dad... again. 

Also, the masquerade masks acting as the invitations just screams obnoxious to me. 

Oh, and yet more proof that Gabe is a fucking hypocrite who puts his need for control over whatever alleged "love" he has for Adrien as his son.

The one upside is that we are getting more signs that Gabriel is gonna cut Lila loose... which is both one of the smartest and dumbest things he could possibly do. Smart since she's a manipulative troublemaker who isn't nearly as useful as she presents herself as, dumb because she's far too close to his operations at this point. 

Although the fact that Lila is genuinely dumb enough to think she can dictate terms to the guy who is literally HER BOSS makes his decision even smarter. This level of arrogant self-assurance and ignorance of reality is one of the biggest reasons her being so successful baffles me. 

Now we get a "funny" moment involving Andre, Audrey, and Chloe arriving at the ball.

Chloe describing Adrien as "the traitor" just sounds so completely and utterly WRONG to me. Like, it adds nothing and just sounds awkward with her voice. It's the issue with the lead-up to her becoming Sole Destroyer all over again. She just DOES NOT SOUND RIGHT when they try and put words nastier than kindergarten grade bullying in her mouth. 

Marinette's reasoning for why she's even going to the party screams of plot contrivance. She's literally forcing herself into a party she wasn't ever invited to... just to tell Adrien that it'd be okay if he told her about it and that she wouldn't have minded if he had to go but didn't want to. All things she could literally have just TEXTED HIM ABOUT. IT IS NOT THAT FUCKING HARD!!! 

There's one big fucking hole in Marinette's plan to infiltrate the dance: even if she has an invitation, she's walking through the front-door. While paparazzi are mobbing the entrance for photos, and unlike in Inside Job, they aren't just going to conveniently lose all ability to notice her. 

And we get Adrien's arrival and then his staring weirdly intently at Kagami's ring. THAT doesn't mean ANYTHING at all, I'm sure. /s 

And now Amelie is on the scene. And we get a scene of Amelia accusing Gabriel of having "changed" since whatever happened to Emilie, which doesn't make a lick of sense since Adrien, consistently, has described Gabe as ALWAYS having been this much of an ass.

And NOW we get a scene of Amelie criticizing Nathalie for going along with the "different" Gabe... and Nathalie going, sorry but I have no choice. The FUCK YOU DON'T WOMAN!! This, shit like THIS, is why them trying to make Nathalie redeemable DOES NOT FUCKING WORK!!! 

"There's always a choice, Nathalie," AMELIE IS THE LAST PERSON WHO SHOULD BE SAYING THIS!! She KNOWINGLY harbored her son from the heroes, CHOOSING to shield him from the consequences of his actions!! She does not get to say shit like this!! 

I'm honestly just baffled that the security detail isn't concerned on any level by how out of place Marinette is. Not to be classist, but literally EVERYONE looks dressed up, whereas she's... casual. Granted, so would Zoe, so maybe they somehow knew that's the kind of style Zoe likes? Who knows. 

And now, after using the mask/invitation to get in, she's just "suddenly dolled up to the nines," in the same ritzy style as the rest of the guests are. HOW!? Is, is it some kind of super-tech or something?? That would honestly be believable, IF we were given ANY kind of explanation at all!! 

And now we get Chloe shoving her face in the disguised Marinette's, with Marinette using Zoe's name... I'm honestly baffled on why Chloe doesn't recognize her, since she should know damn well that Zoe had an invitation and recognize Marinette's voice... nope, not gonna think about it, that way lies madness. Also, they are really hitting all the "shallow, vapid brat" stereotypes with her today, huh? 

The way she more or less implied that all rich kids have underlings makes me want to drive my head against a wall. Like, this is just obnoxiously stereotypical. THIS is what Astruc is dead set on implying is the deepest evil humanity can sink to!? THIS!? Also, her stating that they make fun of their "underlings" doesn't make a lick of sense since Chloe hasn't really ever made fun of Sabrina. She, at worst, just takes advantage of her.

We get a few brief muffled snippets of conversations of the other rich kids and, again, they are basically just cardboard cutouts of Chloe's post-flanderization personality. This is literally a "party" of walking stereotypes. Kagami and Adrien then have a conversation, with Kagami questioning why Adrien kissed her hand "because he's in love with Marinette," which is the kind of thing that's really shoehorned in. At a big fancy event like this, I'm pretty sure he would be expected to do that REGARDLESS OF HIS FEELINGS. 

Adrien, who I'm "suspecting" is not Adrien, asks Kagami if she's jealous. Kagami honestly answers, and I'm just... why? WHY!? Why would EITHER of them CARE enough to talk about this!? Is this meant to be a set-up of some kind?? I don't get what this is meant to introduce!! WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS AWKWARD CONVERSATION!? 

Also, the way Kagami phrases her reaction as "shutting off her feelings" feels icky to me. If this is meant to be some kind of neurodivergence wink and a nudge, MY ANGER RISES. But even if it isn't, the set-up, treating emotions like something you have to "turn off for other people's happiness" DISGUSTS ME on so many levels!! You don't have to stop loving someone to want to support their happiness with somebody else!! God fucking DAMMIT I thought we were past this shit!! And now we get "Adrien" calling Kagami "his Queen." I am creeped out on so many levels, since he's not even pretending to talk like Adrien by now. 

Kagami saying things like "I am the descendant of Samurai women, we follow orders because we choose to" makes me want to puke. THIS is the kind of shit that I find infuriating, because they are all but blatantly stating that she is being emotionally abused and gaslit, and that's not even going into the implications she's a fucking SENTIMONSTER!!! God dammit does this infuriate me. 

"Let's leave." "Are you insane, we can't do that!" "Of course we can, I can." Well THAT isn't ominous at fucking ALL.

The way they frame Kagami realizing "Adrien" is serious as something interesting weirds me the fuck out. It comes off as kinda predatory, like him being someone who knows something deeply personal about another and intending to exploit her over it, with her being none the wiser. 

And after the remainder of that awkward "conversation," we get the sight of them before the guests of the Diamond Dance... and Marinette immediately rushes for Adrien. ...She's supposed to be SMART, right? RIGHT!? 

Honestly, even if she HAD been invited, her basically shoulder-checking her way past the other guests to get to Adrien SHOULD HAVE gotten her kicked out of this idiotic ball. 

And now she's in front of "Adrien" rambling like an idiot. Telling "him" things that she could've just fucking TEXTED HIM. Deep breathes... deep breathes... And now we get Marinette and Fadrian dancing together, nothing uncomfortable about that at all, while Chloe tries to rally the guests... who all can't bring themselves to touch Marinette for the most superficial reasons imaginable. Astruc really wasn't even TRYING. 

Also, for once? Chloe's basically entirely in the right about all this. While her elitist attitude is deplorable, not only does Marinette not have permission to be there at all, she had already massively disrupted the entire (boring, dull, unoriginal) party. I'm just wondering why the HELL none of the fully human security detail members from outside the ballroom itself haven't been called in to kick her out!? It's not as if she (in her civilian form) has any kind of powers that would let her get the drop on things!!

Also, I'm mildly surprised that Gabe hasn't tried ordering F-Adrien to pull away and stop dancing with her... but that would spoil the surprise, now wouldn't it? It's not as if he's had any problem using his power over Adrien in as unsubtle ways possible BEFORE today. 

"They're all looking at me like I'm a monster," Marinette, please shut the fuck up. They aren't looking at you like you're a monster, they are looking at you like you are someone who broke into a party you had no business being at under false pretenses (and being too much of a bunch of whiny brats to want to remove by their own power). Also, it's really "funny" how the only adults present are Gabe, Tomoe, Audrey, and Andre. 

For a so-called gathering of the Elite. 

"Look closer Marinette, THEY'RE the monsters." Why? What have they done, IN ANY WAY, to be described that harshly!? Adrien's a fucking shut-in, so it's not as if he knows any of these people, the worst you can say about them is that they are spoiled!! They aren't monsters, they are just people, people who don't yet know better, and whose only crime is being part of a group you don't fucking LIKE!!! GET THE ABSOLUTE FUCK OVER YOURSELF ASTRUC!!! 

Of fucking COURSE it's fucking Felix!! All it took was him saying something totally out of character within earshot of Marinette for it to make any kind of sense!! Also, I kinda just "love" how Marinette instantly thinks Felix "did something to Adrien," which doesn't make any sense given his track record. Even at his worst up until now, all Felix really did was impersonate Adrien and tried to damage his reputation. So her thinking he "did something to Adrien" just... feels insanely stupid.

Now we get Chloe literally JUMPING on Marinette to tear off her mask... instead of just calling in security from outside. Because WHY THE FUCK NOT!? Oh, and Felix is transforming in public, I guess. 

Wait, NOW I see the other adults, they were just out of most of the shots. 

"I can wipe out anyone bathed in the light of the Red Moon with the snap of my feathers!" Question: When did Felix get the fucking Rooster Miraculous? You know, the one that is supposed to grant people any superpower they can imagine so long as it doesn't violate some utterly arbitrary rule? 

And also, WHAT THE FUCK DID ANY OF THOSE PEOPLE DO TO DESERVE GETTING WIPED OUT AT ALL!? 

Argos honestly works fairly well as a delusional villain, honestly. He talks like he's "wiping people out" for some kind of moral basis, but literally EVERY TIME HE HAS SHOWED UP, he has done nothing but torment Adrien, damage his social life, enable Gabe's cruelty, so on and so forth to utterly idiotic degrees. Him acting like what he's doing is for the sake of others is BULLSHIT. He just wants to be the one doing the controlling. 

Kagami screaming in horror at the sight of her mother being wiped out is honestly the most believable part of this whole episode. As much as Tomoe has been shoehorned into the role of being a villain, Kagami genuinely CARES about her, which makes Felix's attitude even more stupid. Literally all of this is just him power-tripping over getting to do whatever the fuck he wants to the people around him. 

"Adrien is the last person I would want to hurt" LIES!! FUCKING LIES!! YOU LITERALLY DID NOTHING BUT TRY AND DAMAGE HIS REPUTATION THE LAST FEW TIMES YOU HAVE BEEN AROUND!! HOW DO YOU THINK THAT ISN'T HURTING HIM YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!?

Now we get a cringe-inducing musical number. Like, the lyrics alone basically spell out that Felix is a selfish hypocrite who only cares about anything so far as it relates to him getting what he wants. 

Also, while he's right in that he isn't working for Monarch/Hawkmoth/WHOEVER THE FUCK HE IS, him acting as if he needed to hand over all the Miraculouses "for his plans" when he literally had the perfect Miraculous for stealing the Peacock without any problem at all just reeks of self-serving hypocrisy. 

And now we get to the root of his hypocrisy. His wish wouldn't even be BAD if he hasn't been consistently a self-serving hypocritical douche-canoe all this fucking TIME. The fact that he's labeling Marinette with the "controlling others, deciding others' fates" BS just spells that out. He doesn't know what he's talking about, and he doesn't fucking CARE. He just wants free rein to do what HE wants and fuck the consequences towards anyone else. Also, he can't realistically use snapping her away as a threat because he's already revealed he needs her to stick around. 

Also, them trying to make him sound sympathetic by acting like he has "nothing to lose" just screams "PITY ME!!" at max volume. It falls flat with how much of a selfish and despicable tool they've made him out to be. This isn't revealing someone previously thought bad has depths no one had considered (like what it looked like they were doing with Chloe in Season 2), this is them trying to ignore how blatantly hypocritical this idiot is. 

Like, he literally just admitted he would rather wipe out EVERYONE in the world if he has to if it means getting his way. 

"The whole world has been bathed in the light of the Red Moon." Seriously? Like, seriously. It's a spherical object hovering over the sky of Paris. It's not even covering ALL OF FRANCE, let alone the world. 

"All of humanity will disappear if you don't hand it over!" BECAUSE OF YOU!! YOU ARE TRYING TO PIN THE BLAME ON HER FOR YOUR FUCKING CRIMES YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!! 

And we get some scenes of Felix wandering an empty Paris before getting confronted by Kagami. Ugghhh....

And he reveals he can bring people back, fantastic. 

If the transformations are meant to block people from realizing someone is transformed, how did Adrien notice that Argos is Felix? HOW!? Also, we literally fucking SAW Red Moon get created during the ball, so just... did he make TWO OF THEM? AND USED A SMALLER ONE IN PRIVATE OR SOMETHING??? 

Him calling Adrien his "favorite cousin" is a bad joke. Adrien is his ONLY fucking cousin, and he routinely treats him like shit. Unless Felix is delusional beyond words, this comes off more as him mocking Adrien for "not having the guts to stand up to his oppressors." 

Seriously, them framing the wholesale slaughter of the entirety of Paris as "saving Adrien" and conveniently ignoring how literally NOTHING Felix has ever done or said to Adrien prior to this has been anything other then malicious really makes me feel sick to my stomach. 

Okay, so he DID make the stupid thing earlier. Still doesn't explain how he made it disappear and reappear, OR how Adrien could see through his transformation. Also, he's apparently been stalking Adrien for WHO KNOWS how long, yet the knowledge that Adrien is in Love with Marinette came as a SURPRISE TO HIM!? WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THIS!? 

Wow, how convenient of him to ignore how he tried to ruin Adrien's social life. And tormented his friends pretending to be him. And all the other times he's done nothing but make life harder for the people he allegedly cares for to satisfy his personal whims. This... this is just some delusional psycho throwing a tantrum. I think I'm gonna throw up. 

I just... I just cannot take this seriously. Felix has been consistently utterly malicious and self-serving all this time. Trying to reframe that as him giving a shit about Adrien (who he hasn't properly seen in years and tried to ruin the life of) and Kagami (who he doesn't even fucking KNOW) just doesn't WORK. 

"Do you really think I'm that evil?" Yes. Yes they do. Because you literally ACT that evil. You literally threatened to WIPE OUT THE WORLD just to get your own way.

Something's wrong, I can usually bring back whoever I want!" How would you even KNOW THAT!? HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU BEEN TESTING THIS FUCKED UP POWER ON IN SECRET!? 

Again, them trying to make him sound remorseful DOES NOT FUCKING WORK when he didn't have any problem wiping out ALL OF FUCKING PARIS. 

"I never meant to hurt you two," THAT IS FUCKING NEWS TO ME!! CONSIDERING YOU LITERALLY TRIED TO RUIN ADRIEN'S PERSONAL LIFE YOUR VERY FIRST DAY BACK IN PARIS!!! 

If him talking so remorsefully to the non-sentient orb in the sky he made is supposed to be touching, it fails. He just looks unhinged. 

And now we learn that Amelie knew all along about Felix being Argos and what he was planning. Mother of the fucking year people!!! You can't make her come across as sympathetic when she's the accomplice of the guy who tried to genocide Paris. 

And it's done. I'm just... drained by this. I don't hate this as much as the prior episode, even if I am infuriated by it, since my anger is more inflamed by... things going on in the world being carried over to the writing here. These writers are fucking HACKS.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: A Long Time Dead by Samara Breger

4.5/5. 5/16/2023.

For when you're vibing with... Victorian vampires, good ol' sapphic love triangle drama, romance over decades, and a shock of humor that's practically whimsical.

Twenty-year-old Poppy is a sex worker in Victorian England when she wakes up to the discovery that she's been transformed into a vampire. Shepherding through her new existence is Roisin, an older, cooler vampire--whose complex relationship with her predatory sire is the reason why Poppy was turned in the first place. Despite her attempts to remain remote, Roisin is drawn to headstrong, wild Poppy--but their simmering attraction to each other could spell their doom.

I just loved this book. It's not a take on Carmilla--it's its own thing, equal parts romantic and tragic and funny.

Quick Takes:

--I am very much a sucker for "uptight meets wild" romances. The person with the biggest stick up their ass gets bowled over by a whirlwind of an individual? You can't go wrong with it. Poppy is a true whirling dervish of a heroine, funny and irreverent and seductive and both a bit childish and quite emotionally wise. Roisin has--by nature and through awful experience--become this removed, distant creature who's lost touch with her humanity in an effort to keep from robbing others of their own. I wouldn't say Poppy saves her, because their relationship is quite layered and the book makes a point of both of them having to do personal work... But Poppy does make her want to live again, and their interplay is hilarious and sexy and extremely touching.

--This book... is quite angsty. These are vampires, after all. Roisin in particular is defined by guilt and shame and a desperate wish to go back in time and right her (perceived) wrongs. But there's a lady of the Gothic and shadows across the entire story. What keeps it from being maudlin and depressing, aside from the passion between Poppy and Roisin (make no mistake, this is a true romance) is the humor. The voice of the novel is comedic, Poppy is a riot, you get a lot of "but why" over the various quirks and oddities of vampirism. One particularly pointed question had me laughing within the first chapter or two, and that doesn't happen to me easily.

--I was kind of skeptical as to how potent the romance would be compared to the vampire's story. I saw this compared to Interview with the Vampire a lot, and while that's an interesting vampire story with a romantic throughline (more so... later) it's not a romance by any means. Here, the vampirism isn't skipped over or downplayed, but nor is the love story. Roisin wants Poppy, Poppy wants Roisin, but there are very serious issues that keep them apart... to a point. Don't worry, not for too long; there's a bit of a slow burn, but it's not sloooow, it's compelling, and the payoff isn't too late in the story at all. Plus, the issues between them? Are serious ones, and there isn't a single character in this book that makes the right call every single time. They're vampires! They're messy!

--The queer found family among these vampires... Obviously, queerness is an inherent part of the vampire mythos, but often we see it danced around, not referred to explicitly. It is explicit in this novel, in terms of actions and words. Poppy is also a sex worker when she becomes a vampire, and she actually like.... enjoys sex, and doesn't hate her work. There is trans rep in a strong supporting character (and a refreshingly frank scene in which that character's sexuality is discussed). Poppy is not expected to sit there and wait for Roisin to make it happen; she has sex with someone who isn't her one true love before they get together. I really liked that. I'm so tired of characters--heroines especially--just sitting there and letting cobwebs collect while they wait for their one true love to get their shit together and make it happen. Plus, the sex scene is used to illustrate Poppy's love for and obsession with Roisin in a really interesting (hot) way.

The Sex Stuff:

Segueing from that... the sex is really good in this one. Here's the thing--the sex scenes are poetic, and they could've been more explicit, but they really didn't need to be. And you get everything. There's some praise kink stuff, there's some domming, there's a very very good strap-on scene. And what I liked most was the way these characters acted during sex. You may have an idea of roles and what they like... but the way a person lives their everyday life doesn't necessarily reflect their preferences in the bedrooms and that's illustrated so well here.

I enjoyed this vampire romance so much. You really get this sense of the Victorian era, while at the same time time luxuriating in a very classical sort of vampirism--and all through it, you're rooting for Poppy and Roisin to just get their shit together and work it out. So glad I read it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Samara Breger for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[astroponcho]

Astro Poncho Mission Statement - Version 1

What is Art?

I spend a lot of time thinking about Art, Entertainment, and Culture. I see them as three(?) sides of the same coin. Art is the human ability to express emotion, made manifest. Entertainment is the art that is made not only for the artist but for the audience. An accessible, designerly, art. Culture is the confluence of influence from art, geography, society, and the myriad of other ways in which humans permeate the world. Culture informs the art and entertainment made, and that art and entertainment feed back into the culture that it touches. Let’s call the intersection of these disparate parts Pop Culture. For reference…when I use the word art, I’m talking broadly about the conception of creative production broadly, from mass media to fine art.

Franchise Entertainment’s Impact on Art

Modern pop culture is influenced greatly by franchise entertainment. On any given day, massive communities are discussing new episodes, announcements, or content from and about the Disneys and the Warners of the world. The commercial success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has changed the way that audiences interact with media. Just look at how long people stick around after the credits start to roll in any given movie theater. More than 10 years in, and multiple phases later, not to mention the bungles of other IPs such as Star Wars (also Disney, hmm), there’s an undercurrent of fatigue with the franchise model. People love these stories and worlds, as evidenced by the continued box office success, but the discussion around franchises tells a different story.

Some see these franchises, especially Marvel, as creatively bankrupt, templated cash grabs. This has also led to what is a resurgence (or emergence) of the mid-tier movie, decently budgeted films that give the feeling of high-budget outings, but are more targeted, focused, and intimate. Generally, you have two camps: the people that love the Marvel outings and see the smaller movies as pretentious, or the fans of “cinema” that think that the MCU has ruined movies. This doesn’t have to be an either-or situation. I know that I personally love a lot of the MCU, and I also love my Sundance darling, neo-mumblecore movies, and my mid-budget thrillers, horrors, and dramas.

Many people bemoan franchise-based content, and due to their extreme commercialization, I can’t necessarily blame them. It can be tiring to get (what is perceived as) a remix of something that’s been seen before, over and over again. Franchises could be so much more. They could be one of the best ways to tell immersive, communal, and equitable stories, creating the avenue for similarly impactful experiences that connect to those stories.

This isn’t to say that all “franchise-style” storytelling and experience-building is in the Marvel, Star Wars, or DC styles. SCPs, Assassin’s Creed, and Unkown9 are reasonable steps in the right direction and have excellent audience engagement, but varying levels of story quality and intertextuality, and don’t necessarily tackle equity AND community at their cores.

The Problem with Pop Culture and Art

The world of art is in a weird spot, across the spectrum. I’d say that much of the issue comes from the current infrastructure, which is in need of some innovation. There’s a tug-of-war between the three main stakeholders: Creatives, Audiences, and Patrons. Creatives want to express themselves, audiences want familiar but fresh and exciting experiences, and patrons want returns on their investments. Intersecting with this is the ever-important conversation of representation, where those in the margins are held there in no small part by the very institution of media, creative production, and distribution itself. We have to figure out how to solve the issue of creating work that is financially sound, creatively-lead, and audience-loved while showcasing the humanity of people that don’t usually get that luxury.

How Might We create art and entertainment that gives creatives freedom of expression, allows them (and any “patrons”) to make good on their “patronage”, is socially-minded with an eye on inclusion and sustainability, and is appealing to pop culture audiences, by allowing them to have meaningful interactions with those stories and experiences?

Where AP Fits

Enter Astro Poncho (later referred to as “AP”). An entertainment label that zooms out from specific mediums, looking at storytelling and experiences as opportunities for innovation. We’re looking to meet the desires of the audience, of the creatives, and of those who invest in the projects getting made. To do that, we gotta think outside of the box.

Participatory culture / co-creation of media

If you think of any famous artist, from a filmmaker to a painter to a game designer, they represent one of the greatest misnomers of art; an individual auteur, a lone ranger, making their way through the tumult and toil through to a finished masterpiece. Even in obviously collaborative mediums like filmmaking, the person at the helm is credited for the project. By flipping the script and focusing on creating art that highlights collaboration through its production, the hope is that more people will get their due credit in meaningful ways and that more people will get to have meaningful contributions to the creation of the art. Essentially, changing the dynamics of a very gatekept space to include those on the margins.

Cooperative Governance

To strengthen the ownership of the art created, the enterprise would be owned by the workers. So, the artists would decide how the enterprise would be run and would work with the communities that the art appeals to have a more cooperative relationship. The importance of creating with instead of creating for can’t be understated. From the facilitation of creating user-generated content, to constantly listening to the community and understanding what they want, allowing the art to be owned by everyone involved can create a more active and meaningful connection. It can also lead to better art.

Human-Centered, Equitable, Liberatory Design

I went to school for design, so I’m very biased, but I see design as an amazing creative framework for solving problems. Being able to explore a problem from all sides and have a process that centers on those who’ll directly benefit from the problem being solved is the ideal way to address the issues we find in our world. Historically, both as I’ve seen in my learnings in school and in the world at large, design is a tool that is wielded by the elite, furthering their interests. It doesn’t have to be this way, and I definitely see design as a tool to unlock the potential of the future; we can use design as a way to work toward liberation, and AP’s work will be centered on this idea of equitable, liberatory design practices.

Transmedia

One of the benefits of living in the modern era is unfettered access to art, thanks to the internet. This means that the barriers to enjoying different art are lower than ever. Even with this, a lot of the ways that art is made don’t tune into the possibilities afforded by the time period that we live in. By breaking down silos and focusing on story worlds and experiences instead of specific mediums of art, AP can innovate in the art space, providing evolutions of what audiences, creatives, and patrons want while being flexible enough to find creative revolutions to art production.

Diversity

I see many paths to liberation. While some people write off art, and especially entertainment, as being commodified escapism, I see so much more potential than just that. Many people talk about and use art as activism, and I’d want to continue that tradition with AP’s work. I think that art that has “political” messaging has the strongest resonance, and can lead to change in the real world, for better or worse. Some of my personal favorite pieces of art are inherently political: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rosie the Riveter, Princess Mononoke, HBO's Watchmen series, and the list goes on. Art imitates life, and life in return imitates art. If we can use the power of accessible art that connects people with very intentional messages that showcase the humanity of all, helping us imagine more equitable futures, more progress can be encouraged in the real world.

To summarize: AP’s strategy for art creation plans to innovate by centering equity, inclusion, participation, and shared ownership to lead to more awesome art that helps inspire action towards a positive future.

This is a pretty complex nut to crack, and AP’s solution will probably change a bunch before it’s all said and done, but that’s the name of the game. To date, a lot of the advances that the creative industry has made have been based mostly on feasibility, as in how much the tech can do. Think VR, AI, the Metaverse, Blockchain, etc. The pieces that these advancements are missing are viability and desirability. The humans a lot of these advances are for don’t seem to be as interested in the tech as the makers do. AP is looking for that balance. By creating art with a focus on community, expression, and inclusivity, we want to be able to create a real impact in the space on the people that are touched by it.

The initial project that I have in mind with AP is a semi-frequent collection of works in a zine that focus on sustainability and the solarpunk genre and movement. It’d include fiction that encourages working towards positive futures for people and the planet, information on the current advances and movements being made, conversations with those people who are working in sustainable fields moving the needle, and things that you can do right now to help create a positive future.

I’m looking for more creatives, collaborators, and entrepreneurial spirits that are interested in going on this journey with me. If that seems at all interesting to you, I have a pitch deck with more info. It covers some similar but different information about our conversation here. It also doubles as a window into how AP might tell stories; you get the picture through one channel, but by going to a different channel you get more context…a fuller picture.

Thanks for sticking through to the end. Again, here’s the deck for more information, and a place to sign up for a chat with me about the project. Hope to talk to you soon! thx :) - Dip

[kryptonitecore]

Reread: All Hail Megatron, Part 2

This series is very variable in terms of art, especially as it gets into later issues and the mini-stories, each of which brings someone new. I don’t loathe the art style for the most part and I don’t love it either. A recurring issue, however, is the way human characters are drawn, with specifically darker skin tones having been put through the wringer, emerging with this sort of dark green tinge? I’m not knowledgeable enough about art or comics production to say why this is happening, but it’s very noticeable. The look of certain characters is also inconsistent - Sarah is another big example, as her facial features, hairstyle, and hair colour change between issues.

Otherwise, the book tends to go into a few moments where it comes across as a bit daft. Admittedly, this adds to the entertainment value, but not necessarily in the way the author might have intended. McCarthy’s books tend to be a bit… cinematic, I suppose, might be the word for it? As in, there will be moments where you can tell the writing and art are working together very hard to try and convince you that something is very, very, and this will either work or trip and fall into funny instead. Sometimes you can imagine where characters are supposed to be moving in slow motion or with epic music blasting and depending on your temperament and mood I think that might just bounce right off you. For sillier moments that work, see Cliffjumper’s ‘show time’ panel, for ones that don’t… I mean, for me that was quite a lot of the book. One of the generals referring to Megatron’s quite basic plan of ‘dump a bunch of soldiers in the middle of a city and cut off easy access routes, so that it’s difficult for the opposing side to reach us or use heavier munitions’ as ‘facing off against a sadistic military genius the likes of which we’ve never seen before’ was… certainly something. I can only assume this man has not met a lot of people.

A saving grace of this series is the directions that it sets a lot of the characters off in. For example, McCarthy seems to have been the one to really kick off the Thundercracker-Earth connection that recurs throughout the rest of the continuity. Although I have some mixed feelings about that whole thing, some of McCarthy’s takes on these characters end up having a lot of influence on later canon. His takes on Ironhide, Mirage, and Sunstreaker all hold on, as does the dynamic amongst a lot of the Decepticons, or between the Autobot teams of the Wreckers and Special Ops. Jazz and Prowl also gets some interesting moments here, but admittedly Prowl’s personality is about to whirl between McCarthy’s version, Costa’s version, and Roche’s version, so that ultimately doesn’t come to much. Interestingly, McCarthy’s Bumblebee is a bit of a dick and he really, conspicuously does not like Drift, bringing up how little he believes in Drift’s change of heart: ‘True to [who we are] - where do you get off saying that? The last thing we want is you being true to what you are?’. Although I complain about posturing, I actually found a fair bit of the Autobot infighting pretty engaging. I’m not a fan of this series’ human side, particularly, but some of the interpersonal drama is interesting and it occasionally produces a nice character moment.

[callsign-mimic]

Meet Mimic!

(My CoD OC, not me lol)

Lieutenant Renee "Mimic" Foster

(Edit because I forgot to tag @charliemwrites so that Captain Castle Alistair has some idea as to why this creature is so skittish around him. And also so Charlie can squee about her more.)

Name: Renee "Mimic" Foster

Rank: Lieutenant

Aliases: Mimic, Bunny, Maus, Fawn, The Bard, The human equivalent of a Capybara

Official Callsign: Mimic

Age: 34

Gender/Pronouns/Sexuality: AFAB Agender, she/he/they (predominately uses she/her because it's easier and she doesn't actually give a fuck), Pansexual, Panromantic (Gender is meaningless to a mimic).

Marital Status: Officially Single, Unofficially has enough partners to start several sports teams.

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 250lbs of combined fat and muscle. Don't let her plush exterior fool you, she can and will throw down if she has to. She has plenty of thigh, tit, tum, and ass to be the perfect pillow as well. Built for cuddles, but can and will kick your ass.

Hair: Dark brown bordering on black, length ends just between shoulder blades, soft natural waves

Eyes: Pale blue, almost grey in color. Needs corrective lenses to see. Whether she uses contacts or glasses depends on mission requirements.

Personality/Quirks:

AuDHD. Inattentive and hella quiet. Loud, boisterous, and super expressive when hyper.

Wears a choke chain collar outside of missions. Is it a kink thing? No. She likes the weight of it and the sounds it makes when she moves. Can it be a kink thing? Absolutely.

Uncannily laid back and unbothered by most things. It takes a lot to make her angry. Rusty started comparing her to a capybara and often affectionately refers to her as "Capy".

Was in drama, choir, and band. Could definitely have gotten a considerably safer job as that voice actor that surprises you by being the voice of multiple completely different sounding characters.

Terrifyingly perceptive. Her peripheral vision is good enough that she can be sitting right next to a mark and not have to turn to look at them to give updates on their movements.

Practically a shape-shifter. Specializes in infiltration and espionage because she has the energy of an NPC and can integrate herself into most settings so well it just seems natural for her to be there. Need her to be sweet and bubbly? Done. Need an aggressive, short king with a Russian accent? She's got you. Surprisingly androgynous for someone with almost hyper-feminine features.

Fluent in English (native language), German, Russian, and Spanish. Teaching herself Japanese because she is an easily bored millennial weeb.

Sub leaning switch who can dish it out until her targets are puddles, but gets sheepish and flustered the minute she's given a genuine compliment (Stripper likes to make her a squirming mess by whispering praises into her ear while he has a tight hold around her waist. When she can't form proper words anymore is when the kisses start).

A ruthless, efficient killer on missions. Total prey animal off duty.

Sweet as. Will give you the shirt off her back if you need it. Always down to provide cuddles for comfort, a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to vent to.

Mom friend. Somehow ends up being the unofficial den mother of every team she works with (except her own, because Big Papa has the parenting handled for the three little goblins ❤️). She has zero issues with this.

The type of person who thinks being low maintenance is a good thing. Very rarely asks for help or support. Big Papa is the only person she (currently) trusts enough to let him take care of her. If you try to take care of her, she will make up some lame excuse to get away, or try to redirect your attention to something else.

Has all of the hobbies of a grandmother. Can knit, crochet, cross-stitch, embroider, sew, cook, and bake. Also does woodworking, works on cars, and makes weapons (yes, doing the forging and smithing herself). As previously stated, she gets bored easily.

Already has arthritis in her hands because she uses them pretty much nonstop.

[awanderingmuse-ficrec]

shu 

Two Drama Queens Loose on a Shirshu (Series)

Fandom: Aavatar the Last Airbender

Author: mindbending, 

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Child Abuse, Major Injury, Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Alcohol Use, Violence towards Animals

Word Count:  42,822

Characters: Zuko, June, Nyla, Original Characters, Iroh, Chit Sang, Combustion Man, Toph Beifong

Tags: Mental Health Issues, Zuko's Scar, Trauma, medical treatment, Hurt Zuko, Alcohol, Past Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, but june's doing the comforting, so it involves theft, and fistfights, and impersonation, june adopts zuko au, Podfic Available, Injury Recovery, Humor, Angst, now featuring arm wrestling, some light poison, and taxes, Animal POV, shirshu paws as security blankets, also?this fic is the angstiest one so far, there’s a full-blown tragedy going on in the background, though nyla wouldn’t know, nyla just wanted a snack, also, light references to humans being tasty, also!, there’s an honor jar, like a swear jar but for honor, Angst and Humor, Firebending & Firebenders, zuko: STOP TELLING PEOPLE I'M DEAD, azula: sometimes I can still hear his voice..., light references to underage drinking in that zuko shouldn't try it, he's bad enough sober, also featuring baby’s first attempt at makeup, emphasis on “attempt”, Libraries, saving the world one scroll at a time, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Presents, Cultural Differences, not pictured: zuko buys himself a thesaurus, Bounty Hunters, Secret Identity, Makeup, Detectives, Violence Towards Animals, violence towards nyla's poor nostrils, can you spot the memes, Circus, Animal Abuse, Excessive Drinking, june and kyoshi have the same voice actor and i think that’s cool

June (plus Nyla) adopts Zuko AU.

Like a Baby Shirshu

Despite the fever and the barely-healed burn scar, the boy’s fast. June avoids his blade, but still he jams his limbs into her, desperate to scratch and kick and bite off her hand…

(Just like a baby shirshu, spitting poison from behind the bars of its cage. The comparison shouldn't be so endearing.)

Or: the AU where Zuko flees the palace after his Agni Kai, running right into Nyla and June.

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

“So,” the nurse says with a murderous smile, “you obtained a recently traumatized twelve-year-old child.”

“He really might be older than that,” mutters June.

“Then you gave him a long lecture on how the world’s full of dangerous opponents who might commit violence against him at any time.”

“That’s nothing he didn’t know already...”

“And then, to initiate combat practice, you tossed a knife at his face.”

“I said ‘catch!’”

Okay, so maybe someone should’ve stopped June from adopting a kid.

The Shirshu Adoption Process

Humans are a marvel. They come in a million different flavors.

(A shirshu’s viewpoint on adopting a firebender.)

The Firebending Masters

“So,” June observes casually, “you just waltzed in tonight and declared yourself king.”

Turns out Kuzon isn't a half-bad dictator.

Library Drama

Chit Sang didn’t lie to June, when he said he’d angered the Fire Lord simply by misfiling a library scroll. But under the neat words, there’s more to the story. There always is.

3 Times Zuko Gets a Gift (+1 Time He Gets One)

Kuzon doesn’t like his present.

June’s never giving anyone anything ever again.

She pulls herself off that cliff to inspect his expression more carefully. He doesn’t dislike it, necessarily; he’s just staring at it like it’s terrifying beyond his comprehension.

(Which is the reaction it should inspire in strangers, sure, but not in him.)

Dead Hawk: Do Not Eat

Kuzon's first hunt will be a safe, sensible affair. Really.

The Biggest Payday

When the Beifongs’ young, fragile daughter is kidnapped, it’s up to June and Zuko to stage a dramatic rescue.

Panda Dragons

June has good luck with strays.

[garylancs]

Discussing ‘ A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen.

Image: Wikimedia, 2017.

‘A Doll’s House’ is arguably Henrik Ibsen’s most famous and celebrated play. First performed in 1879 the play shocked, horrified and delighted in equal measure. Written in the middle period of Ibsen’s writing career, ‘A Dolls House’ is the most famous of the writers ‘social’ or ‘problem’ plays. What was highly innovative about ‘A Doll’s House’ was the importance Ibsen placed on the stage setting and the highly detailed description of the setting, each piece of furniture and even the ornamentation is described in intricate detail, also determining the exact position of each item on the stage as follows; ‘A comfortably and tastefully, but not expensively furnished room. Backstage right a door leads to the hall, backstage left, another door to Helmer’s study. Between these two doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, with a window down-stage of it. Near the window, a round table with armchairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, slightly upstage, is a door; downstage of this, against the same wall, a stove lined with porcelain tiles, with a couple of armchairs and a rocking chair in front of it. Between the stove and the side door is a small table. Engravings on the wall. A what-not with china and other bric-a-brac; a small bookcase with leather-bound books. A carpet on the floor; a fire in the stove. A wintry day.’ By using such detailed stage directions, Ibsen foregrounded the stage setting because he wanted his middle-class audience to realise that the set was a mirror image of their homes, and lives, they were coming to watch a drama which was effectively set in their own homes. The predominant style of the time was melodrama, by this radical shift from melodramas spectacular staging, Ibsen was making a huge and often shocking statement to the audience by saying this is your lifestyle, this play is about people like you!

The play belongs to the school of theatrical naturalism or naturalistic drama,  more often referred to as Ibsen’s ‘Social plays.’ Theatrical naturalism began to appear in Scandinavia and France, it then spread to Germany, Britain, Russia, and the United States and began to influence drama in the 1880s through to the 1890s. It became the modern approach to drama at this time and represented a move away from the previously popular melodramas. The themes used in ‘A Doll’s House’ explain the importance of Ibsen’s painstaking attention to detail in his stage setting, they create a claustrophobic atmosphere which is reflected in Nora’s marriage to Helmer. Naturalism attempted to mirror ordinary life, and to highlight contemporary social issues. Most importantly, the genre wished to show the flaws in ordinary humans. Ibsen’s depiction of women aimed to project a more realistic and contemporary point of view, his depiction of Nora attracted a huge amount of both praise and criticism on its release. The ending was so controversial that in Germany the ending was altered, Nora taking her children with her when she left. (https://doi.org/10.1080/15021866.2017.1324359 ).

Returning to Ibsen’s stage directions, the first scene is incredibly precise and detailed. It is obvious that Ibsen felt that such intricate stage settings were incredibly important in ‘A Doll’s House.’  The first line of the play, ‘…Room furnished comfortably…’ gives the theatregoer the impression that the Helmer’s are a comfortable, middle-class family, in other words a family with a great deal in common with the audience. The play is structured tightly in one room, perhaps Ibsen was suggesting the restrictions placed not only on Nora but on women of the time. It could also hint at the claustrophobic nature of the relationship between Nora and Helmer.

Image: Wikimedia Commons – A Doll’s House (6940143319).jpg

It seems quite probable that the highly detailed stage directions are a tool Ibsen consciously  used to depict the women of the time and their struggles for identity, both inside and outside of marriage. The nature of the stage setting, rather than being pedantic, show Ibsen realised the importance of such detail, to garner the understanding of his audience.

Image: Mihaela Bodlovic, 2022.

‘A Doll’s House’ continues to be popular to this day and it is often performed with its original stage setting and direction. The play has also been performed in ways which move away from Ibsen’s original vision. A recent version starring Jessica Chastain has been performed at the Hudson Theatre in New in New York ( https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/a-dolls-house-review-jessica-chastain-broadway. ). It is minimalist in stage direction when compared to the original, however, the story remains as powerful and innovative as it did in the late 19th century.

‘A Doll’s House’ – Examining Act One.

Image: ‘Life in Norway,’ 1964.

The cast consists of Helmer Torvald a lawyer, Nora Torvald his wife, Dr Rank, Mrs Linde, Nils Krogstad, Anne-Marie a nurse, Helen a maid, a porter, and the Helmers three small children. All the action takes place in the Helmers’ apartment.

‘A Doll’s House’ is performed in three acts, I am sure everyone has their favourite, mine is Act One and particularly the opening scene and the interaction between Nora and Helmer which we will take a closer look at. The scene interests me for a number of reasons, it presages the conflict between Nora and Helmer, however, Ibsen does this in a very clever way by portraying Nora as a ‘Spend-thrift,’ a frivolous woman who lies easily to her husband and a woman whose main interest in life is the pursuit of money. Helmer on the other hand is depicted as a sensible, sober, and conservative man who struggles to control his wife’s spending. Ibsen skilfully weaves their interaction with each other and then slowly reveals the true nature of their relationship which people who are familiar with the play know, is one of conflict and identity. The play is set a few days before Christmas and commences with Nora returning from a shopping trip with her children. The dialogue between Helmer and Nora soon turns to the topic of money. Nora is initially portrayed as a selfish, self-obsessed character, desperate to get her hands on ‘Helmers money’ by any means, the dialogue even portrays her as a liar due to concealing her purchase of a few macaroons. In the opening dialogue between Nora and Helmer the subject matter soon turns to money, Helmer using endearing terms to describe his wife such as ‘ Is that my skylark twittering out there?’ and ‘Is that my squirrel rustling?’ As the dialogue continues Helmer uses increasingly firm language when lecturing Nora about matters of finance, though he tries to diffuse this by his use of endearments. Nora questions her husband in this scene and the conversation is once again skilfully engineered by Ibsen to portray Nora as an avaricious woman. The dialogue comes close to conflict between the characters, but both draw back from it.

Anyone who is familiar with the play knows that the initial assessment of Nora is completely wrong. Nora is a selfless, intelligent, strong, and loyal woman, this is revealed as the reasons for her pursuit of the money become apparent. Helmer, initially seen as the ‘victim’ of Nora’s avarice is revealed to be a coercively controlling man, he is desperate for social status and to use a modern term, ‘gaslights’ Nora at every opportunity, a passive-aggressive man. The way he deals with the conflict surrounding the loan, which was beneficial to him, reveal him as a weak character, willing to sacrifice his wife rather than damage his social status. Everything which occurs later is hinted at in this early stunning scene, even though it is not revealed fully until Act three, culminating in the famous ‘Door slamming’ finale. Ibsen was roundly criticised on the plays release, especially for the fact that Nora left her children behind. The public found this hard to countenance and critics dismissed the play as a ‘Feminist tract.’ The play was shocking for its time, but surely Ibsen wanted this reaction. In hindsight Ibsen was years, perhaps centuries ahead of his time by highlighting such matters as coercive control, misogyny, and a woman’s place in society, how fragile it was for a woman when navigating marriage, family, and her place in society. For me, none of this is better highlighted than in that early scene and dialogue from the play. The play questioned a woman’s place in society by exploring the conflict in a marriage and the issues of identity a woman of this time had to consider. If you are not familiar with the play you should read it or watch a performance now, you will be surprised how a play first performed a hundred and forty years ago is as powerful and relevant today. If you wish to learn more about Henrik Ibsen and his life and works, please visit this website at the ‘Norwegian Ibsen Company - https://www.norwegianibsencompany.com/henrik-ibsen/

Image: Ventura County Star,2016. (Nora and Helmer.)

Bibliography:

Bryony Lavery, Howard, N., Tonje Gotschalken and Henrik Ibsen (2004) A doll’s house. London: Oberon Books Ltd.

Feng, R. (2023) The Minimalist Remodeling of ‘A Doll’s House’. Frieze. Available online: https://www.frieze.com/article/dolls-house-review-2023 [Accessed 10 Apr. 2023].

Henrik Ibsen (1879) A Doll’s House. S.L.: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

Ibsen, H. and Watts, P. (2003) A doll’s house and other plays. London: Penguin Books.

Janss, C. (2017) When Nora Stayed: More Light on the German Ending. Ibsen Studies, [online] 17(1), 3–27. Available online: https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/65456/IbsenStudies%2bNoraStayed%2bAccepted%2bManuscript.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.

Oladipo, G. (2023) A Doll’s House review – Jessica Chastain captivates in minimalist revival. The Guardian. [online] 10 Mar. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/mar/09/a-dolls-house-review-jessica-chastain-broadway.

[bitchpleasebitchthankyou]

Miss Manners on: Wait Staff Politeness

Q: After enjoying a Thanksgiving meal at a restaurant, I was shocked to be scolded by my elderly and generally very well-mannered mother about the way I interact with waiters and others in service positions. It has always seemed to me that the world could use a bit more kindness and respect, and people whose job it is to serve the public probably need more than most. Moreover, I have never seen the people working in service industries as in any way beneath me. I have great respect for anyone who is honest and hardworking. So, I called the waiter "sir" when I needed his attention. I spoke to him in full sentences, made eye contact when addressing him, said "please," "thank you" and "if it is not too much trouble," knowing full well that it was his job to go to the trouble. At the end of the meal, I returned his cheerful wish that we have a nice holiday. There were brief pleasantries, but no chatting about anything personal, and certainly no flirting. Apparently, my mother feels that I am inappropriately treating waitstaff and salesclerks as if they were hosting me in their homes, rather than providing a paid service, that I am making them uncomfortable by blurring boundaries, and that I am wasting their time by using too many words. If this is the case, I am missing it completely. I always seem to be given excellent service, and the service providers seem relaxed and pleasant enough. Is my mother correct that I am too polite in these circumstances?

Miss Manners says: The custom to which your mother is referring dates from when servants were considered robots. When Miss Manners once waited on a table at a charity event, then socialized with the guests afterwards, they repeated much of their dinner conversation -- imagining that she had not heard it when standing silently behind their chairs. The presumption of invisibility is now recognized as rude. Even period dramas about aristocrats show them chatting with their domestic staff during dinner, which they would never have done. If you were interfering with service or getting personal, your mother would be right to object. It is also patronizing to assume that waiters are available for friendship, much less flirting. But simple courtesy is always welcome.

Your Head Bitch says: This is a generational issue and I’ve encountered it myself. I’m not sure how it happened, given that these people raised us, but somehow older people generally think it’s not necessary to show basic courtesy (please, thank you, hello) to service workers and younger people do. I often say “May I please have...” when ordering at a restaurant, to which my parents will jokingly reply “no”, implying that it’s not necessary to say. Of course we know it’s the waiter’s job to bring us what we ask for and are paying for. But speaking politely and not coming across as brusque or entitled makes the whole social interaction much, much smoother for all involved. Just because someone is doing a job does not mean that we should assume they have no agency - if indeed you are rude enough they can and will rightly deny you service. This is not the 1930s. Perhaps, having lived through the great recession, and seeing friends and loved ones loose jobs and struggle to find work, the younger among us look at those jobs and think “there but for the grace of god go I” and react accordingly. However, the ability to see humanity in those in service jobs should exist regardless, and regardless of age. Everyone deserves the same kindness and respect, and as long as you are not keeping them from doing the work they need to do by being overly chatty, you are unequivocally in the right. Everyone else can fucking fight me.

Try it.

[thegreyhavens]

Soooo....we’re all going to ignore that interview from yesterday where Daniel literally said it wasn’t in his nature to care about woman’s right/human right issues and that the most important things in racing in Saudi Arabia was that the fans were happy ???

Other drivers would have said half of what he said and 2 seconds later people would already plan for their execution :)

Here, if you want to listen him bullshitting his way out of the question =>

https://twitter.com/VIGNERONGAETAN/status/1467053029975281664

[shihalyfie]

Appmon and Ghost Game’s respective takes on “the near future”

(I may make a more expansive post on this if I remember to do so when Ghost Game finishes up, since right now I’m writing this with incomplete information.)

Appmon and Ghost Game have a lot in common, but one particular thing is that they both take place in approximately the same time period. Other Digimon series had either implicitly or explicitly taken place in around the exact same time they aired (with 02 being the only one to explicitly take place later than its airing date, but only by two years). Appmon and Ghost Game, on the other hand, are explicitly speculative, with Appmon taking place in 2045 (hinted by Haru’s opening blurb every episode, but with the precise year confirmed by the calendar layout in Appmon episode 13), and Ghost Game prominently making use of “7G”, which, assuming the current rate of mobile network development, would also put it at approximately the 2040s.

Other than the development of AI, one of Appmon’s biggest recurring themes is the prevalence of the Internet of Things (IoT), or, in other words, “that thing where you hook everything up to the Internet beyond reason to the point where something going wrong in the network causes everything to go haywire”. In fact, one might be surprised to learn that Appmon’s predictions of tech development are rather grounded in reality, including the problems with IoT prevalence, the idea of an AI-manned city, Pepper robots (referred to as “Sugar” in-series)...even the 2045 prediction is based on one by Ray Kurzweil, who’s of course our namesake for Katsura Rei.

Ghost Game’s view of the future is a little more aggressively speculative, since it relies on the assumption we’ll have developed standard commercial use holograms by then. Compared to Appmon’s predictions, the concept of 3D projection holograms that can be out in the open air has been a bit difficult to predict, because they involve dealing with that pesky thing called light physics. (Current “holograms” are usually just 2D projections, or at least require something like smoke or a glass screen to “catch” the light; moreover, to reach the level of application that’s seen in Ghost Game, the technology would have to be made affordable enough for everyone to use it, instead of being used as an industry specialty.) Given that, Appmon’s kind of didactic “let’s talk about technology!” theme isn’t as upfront, and it seems to be more of a backdrop than upfront and center, but it’s only natural that there is some overlap, and Kiyoshirou outright namedrops the concept of IoT in Ghost Game episode 5 (in an episode with a premise that wouldn’t be out of place in Appmon).

On the other hand, Ghost Game seems to be taking more of a sociological/cultural angle, and interviews have touched on the concept of social media and communication quite a bit; you can already see this with with the prevalence of different communication methods for different parts of life (LINE, Twitter, and 2chan archetypes already making their appearance), their roles in casual communication and rumor spreading, and Ruli being more of a “casual” social media influencer than Astra’s content creation-focused AppTubing. This is also tied into the theme of Digimon coming from a way of life very different from that of humans, meaning that their interactions with humans will naturally be communicated through those outlets. Social media was covered somewhat in Appmon episodes 27 and 41 in regards to social media drama, but it wasn’t as pervasive of a concept as we’re seeing in Ghost Game -- so in other words, there’s definitely a distinct angle each series is taking, but there’s also some overlap due to the fact both are being speculative about real tech issues and how they may impact society from here on out.

[lovee-infected]

So Merlin the goddamn great, smh but no ROOK LORE I AM FURIOUS! I STILL WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS

Warning: Spoiler alert!

Oooooofff the final episodes of chapter 5 did seriously explode the fandom I see, from the overblot Grim to our twst Merlin, everything literally everything about the end of this chapter was a big surprise but... This chapter has also brought up a considerably huge wave of drama along with it, which is basically because of Rook voting for RSA instead of NRC. I, personally, considered it to be just a reason to laugh and make a meme or two about this chapter and all. But looking at the fandom, I can clearly see that it's been causing some serious consequences, some fans/creators are leaving the fandom, there has been a couple of offensively worded Rook hate posts (small memes and jokes aren't counted) and there's ever a #RookIsOverParty on Twitter now.

Okay but, it was all cool and chill until it was just a joke. Can't you see? This happens in many fandoms! And is often a good chance to laugh! But...This is getting serious. A huge majority of this fandom (even Rook/Vil shippers and Rook stans themselves) are hating on Rook/Rook stans and fans are leaving, therefore I believe the situation needs to be clarified before it leads to more dramas.

Many of you had also requested a Rook analysis before sooooo- here we go!

First off, this episode did eventually give us a considerable amount of Rook lore although it wasn't as perfect as we wanted it to be. Most of us wanted to get to know him more, but I'd say focusing on all we've got already would do for now. But before that, let's talk about what exactly happened in chapter 5 and why are fand hating on Rook rn:

after the performances are voted on, it’s revealed that nrc lost to rsa by just a single vote. that vote turned out to be rook, who voted for rsa in favor of their own team as he was moved by their spirit. the whole nrc team is shellshocked (of course) and vil faints

it’s also later revealed that rook is one of neige’s biggest fans, possessing albums full of his bromides, going to each meet and greet, and even writing him anonymous fan letters.

Okay okay I know this was quite unexpected and resulted in NRC's loss, but before you say how much of a shitty character Rook is consider this:

1) He was totally honest with his opinion and thoughts.

One of the interesting facts regarding Rook's character design and presence in chapter 5, is how he played the role of both the huntsman and the mirror.

He was honest with his beliefs and decision, although it was against his friends. Just as how the mirror introduced Snow White as the fairest one of all although Evil Queen didn't want to hear of her.

This is also what Rook did, he judged based on his idealistics towards beauty. NOT because he's a screaming Neige fanboy and NOT because he disliked Vil.

Honestly, if there's one person whose judgement would be strong and on point, that'll be Rook and only him; in parts (2) & (4) we'll explain why.

2) His decision has nothing to do with his personal relationship with Vil!

Yes, he voted for RSA, but to assume that this means he secretly preferred Neige over Vil all this time and call him a betrayer now, that's wrong.

Look, if there one person who could judge NRC's process through the training sessions fairly, that'll be Rook. He's been there all this time, watching each and every second of Vil's coaching and team's progressing, note that he also helped Vil the most, this performance would've been impossible without his help!

But, he was also there when Vil lost it, when Vil's fear of not being the winner took over him and made him even try to poison Neige. At some point Vil was nothing like the perfect coach he was at the very beginning, and if Rook hadn't told Neige to escape who knows how terrible the whole think might've gone.

His decision, on the other hand, was HIS decision. He was asked to choose one performance, and he chose what he liked; that's all, no big deal. Note that the silly thing with the whole issue isn't mainly how Rook voted for RSA, it's also about how half of the audience as well voted for RSA which makes it sound almost stupid, this point will be explained in part (5)!

3) Have you all really forgotten what Rook is like?

I mean, come on this is what he is in general! This is Rook Hunt we're speaking of, one of the rarely known characters of the game and mister of surprises and unpredictable decisions!

Him being a Neige fan is no big deal, and I assure you, he probably stans a lot of other people else than Neige too. Don't forget that this is the same monseiur Rook who gave 100 points! to anyone who participated in NRC's VDC test, so there shouldn't really be a panic taking all over the fandom just because we know he stans Neige, Rook is one to greatly appreciate the concept of beauty in general, and Neige is one of the most famous and beautiful people in the whole twisted wonderland, so other than this being much of a snow white reference, it was totally expected to see him stanning Neige as well. Keep this in mind that just because he's a fan of Neige, it doesn't mean that he hates or he has betrayed Vil.

In Rook's point of view, there is no such thing as rivals in beauty, he just appreciates both Vil and Neige's beauty regardless of what's going on between them.

4) This chapter proved that Rook is indeed a perfect friend for Vil.

While there hasn't ever been a mention of a canon relationship between Vil and Rook, shipper may be happy to know that this episode didn't sink the ship at all. And if you judge and see through what happened in the right eye, you'll see it even shows how strong their friendship is.

Note that this wasn't the first time Rook criticizes Vil either, back in Vil's SR lab coat story he openly criticized Vil and said he's gonna get fat if he continued to eat like this. See? Rook never the once lied to Vil, he openly judges him, and his judgements are logical and on point.

Vil on the other hand is always working his hardest to improve, to become better and completer by each and every day that passes. He needs such a friend by his side to judge him nonetheless, a friend to judge him just like the mirror judged the Queen. But there's a difference, Vil accepts and appreciates criticism BECAUSE, he wants to improve.

A friend like Rook is seriously what he needs, Rook supported and helped him all the way as RSA was getting prepared for VDC, he could've just made them lose and by ruining their training sessions if he wanted to! Can't you see? He helped Vil more than anyone else, but didn't lie to him when it was the time to judge. Vil still has a long way to go, and Rook is aware. He wants Vil to see that he isn't yet complete so that he can become better than he already is.

That's it, that's what a real friend would do.

5) Twst needs to be more considerative toward story line and sudden reveals.

On the one hand, it's mainly fans who are exaggerating the whole issue and starting drama over a simple voting and all, but twst itself as well is partly guilty. This is such a huge and active fandom, each and every detail about the story can be super effective (ex: Sebek being half human, Malleus being an orphan, etc). After making RSA's Yahoo performance look super silly they worst thing they could do was to make NRC lose like this, meaningless, silly and helpless. Why?

Twst seriously needs to take details more seriously as they could've AT LEAST made this comparison sound reasonable by choosing a better and stronger song than a twisted version of Heigh-Ho.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rook voting for Neige, but seriously? Rook voting for Neige had to be a symbol of honesty and Rook's loyalty toward the concept of beauty itself and not Vil, not an stupid decision to make Rook prefer a childish song over NRC's wonderful performance and look like a helpless Neige fan boy.

-Sigh- Well, I guess that's all I had for now, hope I didn't miss anything. But anyway, the Rook drama is slowly getting overwhelming. There's nothing wrong with memes and jokes AS LONG AS THEY'RE JUST A JOKE- offending characters with clear intention and causing drama because of it is not okay. I know that was unexpected please remember not to exaggerate the story too much either!

[nileqt87]

Ramblings about Lucifer referencing Bones, “Close your eyes.” and shows influencing each other

That was never just a Bones reference being made and the season finale admitted it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv_1dJk5yEM

David Boreanaz played the ironically-named Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series. His character has *so many* parallels with Lucifer (far more than Booth outside of the law enforcement/crime procedural connection).

Angel's spinoff also has noir crime drama aspects mixed with the supernatural starring an immortal protagonist with a dark past and infamously villainous reputation fighting evil as a supernatural private detective in the City of Angels (a city known for its dark underbelly juxtaposed with fame and glamor, broken dreams and chasing eternal youth) and navigating human law (including the LAPD and evil lawyers) while not legally existing.

Angel also fell in love with a blonde human heroine (Buffy Summers) after lifetimes of self-destructive, not-so-heroic behaviors (getting his soul back did *not* make Angel a hero and human Liam was a lecherous drunk with unfulfilled ambitions and father issues) who inspired him to become a better man and make human connections.

AtS made heavy use of sprawling nighttime Downtown L.A. cityscape shots, which Lucifer also shared an abundance of.

During both of their first cases, they failed to save the troubled blonde girl they were trying to help (Tina and Delilah, respectively). They also have a connection inside the LAPD through a blonde cop who also takes their identity secrets pretty badly (Kate Lockley in Angel's case).

Note that Buffy not only screamed (twice, given it repeated during her memory loss in Halloween), but also came after Angel with a crossbow when she thought he'd attacked her mother (it was Darla), so Chloe taking the Devil face reveal (Monster Reveals are iconic old horror imagery) poorly to the point of considering poisoning is par for the course. However, it only took Buffy seven episodes instead of three seasons to get the identity reveal via seeing the horrific second face (arguably also an accident on Angel's part).

They are metaphorically or literally Hell's angels. They also had long stays in Hell or a hell dimension.

Lucifer and Angel are also both Prodigal Sons with long-held grudges against their long-absent fathers (patricide in Liam/Angel(us)'s case) and they're later faced with a situation where they have unexpected, thought-impossible offspring who show up as adults (neither got to raise their miracle child) wanting revenge. Yup, major Connor/Rory parallel there.

Angel is also in a constant struggle with the Powers that Be manipulating his fate and free will (like Lucifer, he's a champion of free will no matter the cost) and making him prophecy's bitch.

Bones famously got jokes about how Booth is Angel getting his Shanshu (made human), since the character is given constant Angel-isms like references to a dark past having killed people (Booth is also named after a historical murderer, in addition to having been a sniper), both being Catholics full of Catholic guilt (note that the Buffyverse is most accurately polytheistic, though Angel does face off against a take on the antichrist--Angel has constant biblical imagery/themes and not just because of vampire iconography), kicking down doors (just not off their entire frames--LOL), turning on a dime and threatening people up against walls, constant wink-wink references to the Buffyverse (familiar casting, references to the Hyperion Hotel, etc...), etc...

The Lucifer finale used the words "Close your eyes." right before Lucifer is sent to Hell. This is literally the BtVS season 2 finale where Buffy kisses Angel and sends him to hell for a century with a stab to the gut (see the season 5 finale, not to mention Lucifer giving up his life for Chloe's à la I Will Remember You).

Note that D.B. Woodside was on BtVS (playing Robin Wood, whose Slayer mother Nikki Wood was killed by Spike). Aimee Garcia was in both episodes of AtS (Birthday--she's older than she looks!) and Bones. See her also playing a cross-wearing religious girl on Supernatural who was slaughtered in a police precinct by Lilith. Kevin Alejandro was also in an episode of Bones.

Tricia Helfer was in an episode of Supernatural playing a ghost who reenacts the night of her death every year. BtVS also had an episode along those lines, but with Buffy and Angelus possessed (not to mention Phantom Dennis!). Lucifer having Dan as a ghost is yet another thing they all have in common (ditto referencing Ghost, Patrick Swayze and/or Unchained Melody--Vincent Schiavelli a.k.a. Ghost's subway ghost was Jenny's uncle Enyos, whom Angelus killed).

Lucifer name-checked Castiel and Supernatural referenced Lucifer using their Lucifer (crime-fighting angel in L.A. made it a double-reference whammy). Supernatural returned the favor again by having Castiel forced to sing in Enochian. Lucifer's reference to his singing voice was already a zing about Misha Collins having to put on that monotone gravel voice and Enochian being far from melodious.

Russell T Davies was quite heavily inspired by the Buffyverse when he revived Doctor Who and spun off Torchwood, so there are absolute tons of Buffy, Angel and Spike respectively in Rose Tyler, the 9th/10th Doctors, Captain Jack Harkness and Captain John Hart (right down to the actor). School Reunion is the episode where the Buffyverse inspiration is most on the nose, complete with Anthony Stewart Head saying "shooty dog thing" in a school setting and a Mayor/Angel-esque speech about the curse of immortality. The Time War gave the Doctor a huge genocide-level guilt complex. Note that the creator of DC comics' version of Lucifer, Neil Gaiman, has also written for Doctor Who and is also the co-creator of Good Omens (the show is brimming with Doctor Who Easter eggs thanks to David Tennant). A barely-recognizable Tom Ellis played Martha Jones' ex-fiancé Tom Milligan during the Year that Never Was, as well.

A lot of shows take inspiration from the Buffyverse and you've probably seen some of them. It isn't just the copycat vampire romance stories either.

Angel's forerunners in turn were a mix of guilt-stricken, rat-eating Louis de Pointe du Lac (his Jekyll/Hyde-esque alter-ego Angelus is closer to the pre-retcon, fully-evil Lestat de Lioncourt, who got woobified into an antihero rocker not unlike Spike--the entire Fanged Four mirror Anne Rice's character lineup), sword-wielding, immortality trope-influencers Connor/Duncan MacLeod of Highlander fighting for the Prize of humanity (akin to Pinocchio becoming a "real boy"--see also Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows, though he was before vampires became antihero superheroes, not just sympathetic antivillains) and Nick Knight of Forever Knight (vampire detective).

Additionally, Tom Welling was famously the longest-serving Clark Kent of them all (Smallville) on the old WB (there's that DC comics connection, too), so it's not just a Fox shows thing (though Fox, not just Warner Brothers, did indeed own the Buffyverse). One of the least-known things about Clark is that he also has an immortality problem where he wouldn't age parallel to Lois (they wouldn't be able to have kids either) without a workaround. The Kryptonite line directed at Cain/Pierce by Lucifer was quite on the nose! Lucifer and Smallville sort of crossed over even further in Crisis on Infinite Earths, so Tom is canonically the face of both Clark and Cain in parallel universes of the DC multiverse.

Supernatural had quite recently had their own takes on Cain (played by Timothy Omundson, who also played God Johnson) and the Mark of Cain when Lucifer did it. Dan's killer Le Mec was, of course, Rob Benedict, who was God a.k.a. Chuck Shurley, the ultimate villain of Supernatural. Richard Speight, Jr., who was archangel Gabriel/Loki the Trickster, directed a lot of Lucifer's later episodes in addition to being a prolific Supernatural director.

Supernatural and Lucifer use the exact same font for their titles (Supernatural Knight).

The X-Files (which Supernatural referenced constantly) and Supernatural also had stories about nephilim (see the apocryphal Book of Enoch). Lucifer ultimately had two nephilim (forbidden interspecies offspring of angels and humans), even if not saying so as a known concept. Connor can also be compared to the vampire equivalent of being something like a dhampir, though he's not quite that (mostly-but-not-quite-human offspring of two vampires instead of a human/vampire hybrid--see Blade for an actual dhampir). Supernatural has also covered the even rarer cambion species (human/demon hybrid).

[tonystarktogo]

Last part of the time travel crack ‘verse for now (and sorry for making you all worry about the scepter, I didn’t mean it that way, it just seemed like a good cut-off point tbh):

"The scepter! Did anyone keep an eye on the scepter?"

"I assure you," Agent Agent, who looks a little singed and has a bandage wrapped around one ear, yet continues to rock the personality-free drawl that tricks people into thinking he’s not worth paying attention to, speaks up, "that the scepter is still safely in SHIELD custody, Dr. Banner."

Banner scoffs.

Rogers grimaces.

Barton winces.

And oh, all other issues aside, the vindication of this moment is glorious. Tony feels fully justified in the doubtful look he aims at the screen. You know your show sucks balls when even your own operative doesn’t buy what you’re selling.

"That’s great," Banner says in a painfully droll voice. "But I’ll feel a lot better when we hand it over to our resident Asgardian prince for safekeeping rather than put it into a secret high-security facility and hope for the best. Like the one you stored the Tesseract in took Loki what, five minutes to take over?"

Woah, talk about burn. Tony doesn’t bother muffling his snicker. Who’d have thought Banner has it in him?

[continues under the cut]

"Hang on, wouldn’t it be better—" Rogers interrupts before Fury or Coulson can come up with an excuse, which judging by their sour-slash-carefully-blank expressions isn’t as easy as they’d like it to be.

Banner raises one hand. It shouldn’t be a power move on part with his green counterpart squashing a car in his fist, isn’t even particularly aggressive but for some reason Rogers shuts up. Immediately. The bright, eerily green eyes might have something to do with it. 

"If you’re going where I think you’re going, I advise you to reconsider," Banner growls, the vocals deep enough that Romanoff reaches for the nearest weapon. "Even setting my personal issues aside, it’s not worth the risk."

Barton sighs with what sounds less like exhaustion and more like sad resignation. "Hate to say it, Cap, but he’s right. Sending the scepter off-Earth with the Tesseract is probably the safest course of action we can take right now. We can’t count on being that lucky again."

"Agent Barton," Agent Agent’s words drip with such a pointedly polite friendliness, it’s a wonder he doesn’t spear his own tongue on it. "Please desist in trying to hand off objects that pose an immediate threat to global security to an unvetted alien who, while a valued ally, is in line for the throne of a foreign world."

And wow. Tony’s not gonna win a prize for his sensitivity any time soon, but there’s some things you just don’t say to a guy who got brainwashed into doing an alien’s bidding less than forty-eight hours ago. Going by the way Romanoff has gone rigid, she agrees.

Luckily for everyone present, Barton doesn’t bat an eye at the dig. He leans forward instead, elbows placed on his tights, the picture of relaxation. As long as you ignore the expression on his face that could possibly pass for a smile. If you catch sight of it out of the corner of your eye. Through a dirty mirror. 

"Not that I’m not glad to see you alive and well, Phil, because I am. But getting my head rolled once was already one time too many and if the Tesseract is powerful enough to draw fucking aliens to it then it’s too fucking powerful for us to protect." Barton’s voice becomes progressively lower as he continues his little not-having-any-of-your-shit rant. "More people are gonna get killed over that thing. Good people. Because we don’t have the damn resources to keep it safe. So if we gotta bet on Asgard for this, then that’s what we’re gonna fucking do because to be frank with you sir I’d rather lead the hostile aliens to a world ready for interstellar warfare than my own."

Thor straightens from where he’s been fixated on Loki for the past hour or so, trying to crawl into his brother’s skull through willpower alone by the looks of it, and dips his head in Barton’s direction. "Thank you for your faith," he says gravely, as though Barton hasn’t straight up told everyone in this room he wants to use Asgard as a shield-slash-sacrificial-offering. "I hope my people will prove worthy of it."

"Should be fine." Banner shrugs with a nonchalance Tony envies. "’s long as we take care of your murderous sibling first."

Thor winces. Loki’s face loses whatever expressiveness it had left and it already was at state zero: emotions not welcome here to begin with. 

But. Tony tilts his head. Why not just call Loki by his name? Unless, of course, Banner isn’t referring to him. But how would the infamous Hulk-slash-brilliant-scientist have gotten himself wrapped up in alien family drama? And is there a form Tony can sign? Because he hates being kept out of the loop.

"Avengers!" Fury snaps before things can get any more awkward. Which, good for him, but in Tony’s fine opinion he should have taken the win and be done with it. There’s just no winning against whatever type of madness — not to mention feelings — these people are so inconsiderately spreading inside his walls. "You’re not bartering off our best chance to defend ourselves against alien invaders, have I made myself clear? That’s an order."

Rogers scoffs at the screen and damn it, Tony’s determined not to like the guy but the way he just smirks humorlessly as he stares Fury down, all aww shucks did you want the pretty, glowy thing too and well too damn bad for you makes it hard. Especially when Rogers goes that little extra mile and asks with a plain as day air of who fucking cares: "Whatever gave you the impression that this is a negotiation, Director Fury?"

It’s just too great a line to resist and Tony is only human. He makes a sharp gesture with his hand and JARVIS disconnects the call before they witness Fury pop a blood vessel. Let that be Agent’s problem for the time being.

"So," Tony states after a moment. "Besides all but declaring war on SHIELD, the organization two people in this room are officially employed by, for the record, and dealing with Reindeer Games over there, what’s the plan?"

Nervous shuffling. Awkward grins. Badly-hidden glances going back and forth. 

Perhaps most notably, nobody protests the declaring-war-on-SHIELD part. Tony would ask but frankly he’s still on his first glass of scotch — meaning way too fucking sober for whatever madness the answer to that question will undoubtedly raise. It’s a sad, sad day in the history of mankind when Tony is the voice of reason in a room filled with one-person-armies.

"What about Shawarma?" Rogers, apparently the most uncomfortable with the pressing silence, blurts out.

Tony gives that pitiful attempt to change the subject the nice try, have to admit I didn’t see that coming but you’re gonna have to give me more than that look it deserves. As it turns out though, he may have been overestimating his present company’s average ability to read a room.

"I could go for a bite," Barton pipes up, earning himself a soul-shriveling, dead-eyed, where the fuck did I go wrong with you and how have I not killed you yet stare, courtesy of Romanoff that he brushes off with admirable ease. Still not moving an inch away from her either and if Tony’s noticed the way her hand’s been edging ever closer to the knife strapped to her calf, there’s no way Barton hasn’t.

"Sounds good," Banner chimes in with a twisted amusement that makes Tony want to scratch his eyes out. "I know just to the place."

*

They do eat Shawarma together. [All of them, even Loki, because Thor insists his brother is far too thin. Considering Barton doesn’t protest and the only person Loki tries to stab with his salad fork is Thor himself, nobody comments on it.]

As if to add insult to a very long list of injuries that Tony is dying to poke and prod at, the food tastes delicious.

*

Okay so the whole antagonizing SHIELD thing wasn’t planned, but I figured in this AU there was no drawn out battle and no bomb and so there was no ‘thank fuck we’re even alive right now’ relief to take the edge of. Instead everyone is pissed off and frustrated (if for very different reasons) and not outright attacking the helicarrier right now is about all the diplomacy Steve has the patience for at this point.

[marmarparadoxa]

Have u seen the uproar that's going on regarding Levi's monologue? Some people actually think "Levi doesn't care much about Hanji's sacrifice, that's why he didn't mention them in a separate panel". Some others are disappointed in "Our role may have ended there. We took those brats to the sea" and think it was only directed to Erwin while Levi and Hanji were the ones who took them there. "At last Levihan was all about Hanji's feelings" is what others say. And lastly "Levi considers Hanji+

(Same anon) ++ just like his other comrades while Erwin's the special one for him". The arguments are endless :(

Hello! Yeah, I actually saw some of those arguments flying around here on Tumblr as well as on Twitter. What an unprompted and passionate drama :)

Let’s start by saying that although initially it may have sounded a little rushed and confused, ultimately I love this Levi’s monologue! I’m so happy we finally get to see his point of view (I didn’t dare hope so at this late stage in the story), and I appreciate it.

But getting back to your ask. I don’t think Levi’s monologue proves or suggests any of that. I don’t know why this always happens, but it looks like readers (do love ship wars and) have a special way to forget all of what they’ve read before every time a new chapter drops out.

After the battle of Shiganshina, after Erwin’s death and Hange was appointed as commander, we’ve seen Levi doing nothing but staying by Hange’s side. He  always watched over them, backing them up in their meetings with Marleyans and the Volunteers, staring at them admiringly when they proposed the trip to Marley, and then following their plans, thus postponing the moment he’d get his revenge. He’s always been supportive and caring of Hange, valuing and trusting their judgement too, and he kept on being so. In the forest scene in chapter 126, he encouraged them, he said the right words they needed to hear to keep going and fighting, because he knew them so well. When Hange went to sacrifice themselves, he couldn’t stop them, he respected their decisions, and then he said those words he never said before. The light went out of his eye, and for the first time from what we know, he sought for a dead comrade’s guardianship (“Keep watching us”).  I think that’s enough to show the profound connection Levi shared with Hange, and the way their relationship developed in those last four years. But even putting aside all of that, I can’t see how his last monologue would suggest what some people are saying. Erwin is indeed special to Levi, and there’s no denying it. He’s the man Levi followed for so many years, the one he looked up to, and the first which inspired him to choose another life, who gave him a purpose to fight for. He’s his “liege”, and as I said once is a previous ask, for Levi fighting for a free world for humanity and fighting alongside Erwin were one thing, and for this reason, he must have felt somehow lost, aimless, after he chose to let him rest. But he doesn’t regret his choice nonetheless. Levi’s monologue opens with him searching for Zeke, and thus remembering Erwin and the promise he made to him. And narratively speaking, I think it was time to tackle this issue. I never thought revenge was the major drive of Levi’s actions, but in any case, Levi sought to take down Zeke and fulfill his promise eventually, and now that they’re supposedly so near him, this issue needed to be brought up and resolved somehow. So it was done, as Levi seems to have finally let go of his vow.

  Overall, however, I think that the main object of Levi’s musings was not Erwin, nor Hange. I agree with @tundrainafrica‘s ask in that Levi refers to all his comrades in the SC in his thoughts. He saw in Armin the same look they had in their eyes, the spirit of the Survey Corps, and he remembered the dream they all shared of a brighter future, of an idealized, peaceful world rid of titans and suffering. Levi cared about them all. But returning to those people’s concerns, we also have a special panel dedicated to the two closest persons to him, his dearest ones - Hange and Erwin. Thus, I cannot see how this whole Levi’s monologue, and this panel in particular, could suggest anything other than fairness and balance in the veterans trio, and Levi equally caring about them both. They were both special to him.

For all of these reasons, I’m not particularly concerned that Levi didn’t mention Hange’s sacrifice. We’ve seen their goodbye, and we could tell how much he cared for them, we could tell the pain he was going through. Now, he’s not allowed to properly grieve their loss, as they’re in the middle of humanity's annihilation. Anyhow, trying to not be too depressed and end this answer with a brighter thought XD, I really love the scene Levi chose to remember, and - from my shipper point of view, I guess - I especially loved how he remembered Hange. They’re all radiant and sparkling, their eyes are shining, as they’re most likely enthusiastically ranting about some titan-science stuff and theories they developed, while the rest of them quietly listen to them, sitting around the campfire. It's so heartwarming and bittersweet, to see them all like this.

Last thing. There’s one aspect of Levi’s thoughts I’m not sure I’ve understood correctly though, and it’s about what he meant by their role ending up there, in taking those brats to the sea. I’m not sure whom he was referring to with “our”. It may be Erwin, figuratively, since with Erwin’s death, it also ended their role as they used to understand it. It may be Hange, matter-of-factly, since it was with Hange that Levi actually took the kids to the sea. Or it may symbolically be the old generation, the “veterans”, as a whole, as if by choosing Armin, Levi was entrusting the future to the new generation, thus ending their collective role (and sadly Isayama seems resorting to that cheesy cliche of eliminating the old to make the young shine). And this is what I find somehow debatable. I don’t know whom he was exactly referring, but that’s not the point, for Levi’s role has not ended yet. He may be basically unable to fight now, but as the most recent chapters clearly showed, the kids still need him, they need his guiding and judgement in the situation they’re now. And, after all he’s gone through, Levi deserves to live, and to see that world they all dreamed of. Hopefully (though it’s a tiny hope I’m talking about), he’ll live to see it.