#this is really bad and rambly but i can't put it into any better order

[fictionadventurer]

I happened to see a good chunk of the Netflix Persuasion. I can't give a complete review or analysis or whatever, but I have thoughts.

This movie has some very pretty colors. I like cool color palettes, what can I say?

There was one shot of a purple sunset where I was like, "Oh, I could live in this picture."

The aesthetic was so trendy I couldn't take it seriously. The clothes were that 2019 Little Women cottagecore vibe with lots of poorly-fitted textures and layers and colors. I laughed out loud at the Big White Text announcing LYME or BATH, because it's such a specific vibe.

I tried to detach from any notion of it as an Austen adaptation, and just enjoy it as its own movie that just happens to take place in a history-flavored fantasy world where everyone uses modern speech. Because sometimes those stories can be fun. It still didn't work.

Because it mostly just confused me. It was this weird mish-mash of genres and tones that didn't really blend together. Oil and water. It was Pinterest and Hallmark and Austen and College Humor and Instagram and Feminism and it's all felt like it came from completely different movies.

It was trying to be a sincere period drama love story and a goofy parody at the same time and it just didn't work.

Like, there were some sweet moments in it. Anne talking about poetry to Captain Benwick was rather nice.

But then you've got things like the weird octopus-sucking-my-face story Anne tells at Lady Dalrymple's. Even that could have worked okay in context, because Mr. Eliot jumps in and turns it into a metaphor about identity, which helps to cover for Anne's awkwardness and shows that he's willing to help her out. But then they keep bringing up the octopus as a sort of pet name and it's just so weird and doesn't fit with the rest of the story.

I've gotten ahead of myself so I'm going to backtrack to some specifics.

Mary Musgrove was excellent. Spot-on. I love how she's visibly younger than Anne. First adaptation I've seen that emphasizes that.

It was interesting how they emphasized the Mrs. Clay storyline. It actually sparked some interesting thoughts about the differences between the male social climbing of the sailors (shown in a positive light in Austen) and the female social climbing of the marriage-seeking ladies (shown in a more negative light).

I've never had a clearer picture of why Mrs. Clay matters so much to Mr. Elliot. Even in the book, it's a bit muddy, but it's crystal clear here. Mr. Elliot telling us his schemes straight-out did have the benefit of making the story very easy to follow.

I've got to back up again.

They completely altered the Anne/Wentworth storyline by mixing around all the plot points.

After they go to Bath, Wentworth seeks out Anne, says that they haven't had a chance to talk, and tells her how he always admired how good she was in an emergency. And this was before the staircase scene. I was extremely confused, until it hit me--this is a dream sequence! This is how Anne wants it to play out, but then she'll wake up!

But no! This actually happened! Wentworth says all this very sincerely and passionately, leading up to him declaring...that he wants to be friends. (At least there's context for "We're worse than exes--we're friends.")

It completely alters the trajectory of their relationship. Instead of jumping from the passion of hatred to the passion of love, Wentworth has gone to the other end of the pole--friendly indifference. He likes Anne and is totally okay with her marrying someone else.

I think they changed it so Mr. Elliot could be a serious contender in the love triangle. Wentworth has let her go--can she find happiness with someone else? I'll admit it's an interesting change, even if it's not Persuasion.

But it also seems like they're trying to make Wentworth a Suitable Love Interest for the Twitter Generation. Wentworth gets weirdly bristly with Mr. Elliot. Then Wentworth apologizes because Anne is a strong woman who doesn't need his protection. He tells her she should have been able to be an admiral. He's being mature and letting go of his resentment and wishing her well and showing that he doesn't like Regency Gender Roles. It's like they're shaving away his character growth in favor of a bland Nontoxic Relationship (TM).

But then Anne likes Mr. Elliot because he's bad? He openly talks about how he's trying to wreck her father's relationship to get the title. He insults her family. And she likes it.

This version of Anne holds her family in contempt. She doesn't like them or how they treat her and she openly disdains it. So she connects with Mr. Elliot. But the book Anne seems sad for her family--she doesn't like their behavior because she wishes they could be better people. She has compassion while movie Anne is resentful.

Persuasion is all about restraint. This movie is all about lack of restraint. People speak bluntly and say what they think and openly insult people. It's a completely different culture from the usual Austen movie, because it's modern culture. Which emphasizes how little we value good manners and restraint.

It's also weird how in changing the story, they also turn it into a generic rom-com. There's a more blatant love triangle between the good boy and the bad boy. Wentworth is starting to fall in love with Anne, but he's got an opportunity to advance his career, and he has to decide within a few days, oh no! It's textbook romcom plot points.

There was another point that I'll probably think of later.

EDIT: Oh, I just remembered! I think it was that the movie was so interested in the vibes and emotions of each individual scene that it didn't bother to try to stitch them together in a coherent whole.

The ending kiss looked 1000% like the cover of a cheap romance novel.

And the final moral of "don't let anyone tell you how to live your life" feels so simplistic and selfish and weird.

Overall, I'm not angry. I'm just confused. It's not the type of movie to arouse any kind of emotion other than "Huh???" And maybe a bit of regret that they couldn't have done better things with the interesting bits.

[peppermintquartz]

from a post by @parrishjeanna

--

I shouldn't have left Evan on the curb. Tommy kicks himself mentally when he gets home, and slumps into his armchair. But it stung when Evan told Eddie that they were going to look for "hot chicks". Stung in a way that Tommy didn't expect it to. It's not as if he expected Evan to declare out loud and proud that he's into dudes now, it's just that Evan panicked so fast in the presence of his best friend, and Tommy doesn't want to make him feel bad about any of this. He doesn't want to be shoved back in the closet either. It's taken him a lot of work to be comfortable with being gay, and Evan hasn't gone through all that yet.

He sighs again. Evan had looked so adorable, too, all flustered and blushing, too nervous to eat much but still engaged in their conversation. Tommy almost wishes he had taken that one step further, got a farewell kiss, but he would have caved to those big puppy eyes and he would have taken Evan to the movies and then there will be a more painful heartbreak for him in the future because he hadn't been firm this time. He knows this for a fact; it's not his first rodeo.

Nonetheless, there is a sense of wistful regret. He really wants to have kissed Evan a second time.

--

Evan's sitting there in the sun, glancing left and right, and Tommy's heart leaps into his mouth at how charming - yes, that's the word - the scene is. He takes a deep breath and sticks his hands in his pockets and walks closer.

He sees the exact moment Evan notices him, the way the younger man's smile widens.

"Hey," Evan says, and he's still as adorable as he was the first time Tommy saw him, when Howie led him and Eddie to the helicopter and they made hasty introductions.

"Hey," Tommy replies, and cringes inwardly at how forced-casual his tone is. It's the talk, he guesses, the one the guys give when they want to let Tommy down easy, to let him know that they were mistaken about feeling like that about him.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me," Evan continues

"Of course."

Motioning to the coffee he ordered for Tommy, Evan smiles and says, (rambles, really) "I didn't know how you take it, so I, uh, just took a guess."

Tommy tries it. He debates for a second if he should lie, but puts that thought away. Better to be honest. "Mm. So, not like that."

"Seems like there's a lot we don't know about each other," Evan chuckles and Tommy's heart skips again. God, Evan is so good-looking, especially when his smile lights up his whole face like that, and Tommy braces himself for the letdown.

He meets Evan's eyes. "Practically everything."

"Well," says Evan, and Tommy steels his heart, and Evan continues, "I would like to change that."

What? Tommy suddenly is unable to breathe. He listens to Evan's apology, reassures him that there's nothing to apologize for (this part he has done three times in the past four years, and he means it - he doesn't want to force people out of the closet if they didn't want to be out), explains his reasoning.

Evan smiles wryly. "Still. The way I-I reacted was... not my proudest moment."

This part's new. Tommy nodded. "Noted."

"So you said before, um, th-that you don't think I'm ready."

Oh. Here it is. Tommy keeps his hands under the table, his fingers linked tightly. He's gonna say that he thinks I'm right. That he really isn't ready.

"And the truth is, I don't know what I'm ready for," Evan says, and it is unfair how sincere he looks in that moment, because all Tommy wants is to lean over and kiss the uncertainty out of him, and he can't do that. Not if Evan wants to just be friends. Oblivious to Tommy's internal struggle, Evan continues, "...but I am ready for something. And I think that something... could be with you."

Tommy's fingers clench together. His heart forgets how to beat. He forgets how to breathe. He takes a moment. He can't hide his smile.

"You already know that I'm interested," he manages to say, hoping it comes across clearly enough that it's not merely interest but also desire, yet afraid to be too blatant about what he really wants out of this.

Evan grins and breaks through all of Tommy's defenses. "Come with me to my sister's wedding."

"What?!" Tommy doesn't even know his voice can go that high-pitched, but the sheer enormity of what Evan is offering, just days after that date...

"I want you," Evan repeats, "to be my date for my sister's wedding."

"Evan." It's an Are you sure? and it's not just about the date, it's not just about being his date for his sister's wedding, it's about everyone knowing, and Evan has to understand, he must understand what a huge step it is...

Evan doesn't even hesitate. Tommy's still processing the invitation and finally hears Evan say, "...already know half the people there, and she wants to meet you."

His sister knows about me. He's told her about me. Tommy's never been thrown into the deep end like this. He can't remember being anyone's date to a wedding, let alone a family member's wedding, where his colleagues will also be present. Everyone in Evan's life that matters to him will know.

"Are you... absolutely sure about this?" Tommy asks, needing to confirm this.

Evan's smile is brighter than the sun. "Yes, I'm sure. There's gonna be free food, and I need someone to dance with."

How can anyone say no to that? As Tommy accepts the date, he feels a lot lighter and freer than he has done for a long, long time. This feels right, he thinks, gently squeezing Evan's hand tucked between his own. Let this be right for us both.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I also saw someone say Adrien getting turned into a pigeon in the same Mr. Pigeon 72 episode was also foreshadowing for the sentitheory, what do you think?

I'm gonna be honest, I sat here staring at this ask for a solid minute trying to make sense of the words on my screen because this is one of the most nonsense things I've ever read. Media literacy can't actually be this bad, right?

No, Adrien being turned into a pigeon is not foreshadowing unless you think him being turned into a Reflecta clone and a Style Queen golden statue also mean something, which I highly doubt is the case. Turning people into things is just a standard akuma power and Adrien gets to be one of the victims from time to time in order to make an episode's plot work the same way he occasionally gets mind controlled. The fact that one of the things he got turned into was a bird doesn't foreshadow anything because that's not how foreshadowing works. Foreshadowing doesn't mean "I can find a way to loosely connect these two things!"

[image: the "I've connected two dots, you didn't connect shit" meme]

For the pigeon transformation to have meaning, it would - at the very least - need to be unique to Adrien in some way, but it's not. He's one of many identical pigeons and I'm guessing that this person wasn't claiming that they're all sentimonsters, right? If not, then how is it foreshadowing? What makes this transformation different on a rewatch now that we know Adrien's status? Because that's how foreshadowing works. It should play different once you know what it was setting up.

If you want an actual example of akuma-based foreshadowing, look at Wishmaker, which showed us Adrien's childhood dream vs everyone else's. The fact that Adrien has no hopes or dreams of his own while all of the real humans do is pretty clearly meant to make you go, "Huh, that's odd." Then, on a rewatch, you go, "Oh, this is because he's not a human!"

That's the way that foreshadowing is supposed to work. It's subtle or blatant highlighting of an oddity that will come to have meaning later on. You may be able to guess the meaning before the reveal, but it should play into the reveal in some way.

Another example of foreshadowing is how, in the later half of season four, the camera starts focusing on the Agreste's wedding rings every time Gabriel or Nathalie gives a command that Adrien then obeys. It's meant to make you go, "Huh, that's odd."

A weird*, but ultimately solid example of subtle foreshadowing is the butterfly logo on Adrien's shoes, hinting at his father's villain status. We know that Adrien probably only wears his father's brand and butterflies are a big deal in the show right from the start, so why would you give Adrien a butterfly on his outfit if that doesn't mean something about his father? You wouldn't, so it's obvious that this is a clue that Gabriel is Hawkmoth or at least involved with Hawkmoth. Let's compare that to the pigeon stuff to really highlight foreshadowing vs grasping at straws.

"Gabriel put subtle nods to his villainy in his clothing line because he's an egomaniac" is a really logical thing to assume. Similarly, "Everything on Adrien's body was put there with purpose by the animators because it had to be custom designed for him, so that butterfly is not an accident," is solid logic. There is no reason for that butterfly to be there if it doesn't mean something.

"Emilie and Gabriel gave their magical designer baby a pigeon allergy to give viewers a subtle hint that he's a magical designer baby made from a peacock feather," sounds like the ramblings of a mad person. Do you also think that Adrien's inability to play soccer is going to come back to mean something outside of Penalteam? Or that him bragging about being good at physics in Evillustrator means that he's ultimately going to be a physicist*? You better or else you're cherry picking because the pigeon allergy is not given any more importance than those other little facts. Facts that were clearly only dropped for the sake of a joke.

This is the problem with trying to claim that a random joke from a random episode must have deeper meaning. It certainly can, that's how subtle foreshadowing works, but for a thing to be foreshadowing, it has to create a clear association between A and B. It also needs to be logical. The pigeon stuff is neither clear nor logical.

Pigeon-related things that would have actually counted as foreshadowing in Mr. Pigeon 72 if they had been included:

Adrien!pigeon not responding to Mr. Pigeon's commands because Mr. Pigeon doesn't have Adrien's amok and that's the only way to control a sentimonster no matter their form (this would go against established lore since Adrien has been able to be mind controlled in the past, but I'm just spit-balling ideas here, okay? Work with me people! Miracular and the Paris special let him get cataclysmed without breaking like a normal senti, so retconing the rules for the sake of the plot is par for the course in my book)

Mr. Pigeon being unable to have a sentimonster because they're allergic to feathers combined with Adrien!Pigeon constantly sneezing, making him standout and be useless

Kagami being established to also have feather allergies since she's also at the pool in this episode, making it really freaking easy to establish this since Marinette is listing off random ass things that Kagami and Adrien have in common

If it doesn't result in an "oh!" or "I knew it" moment later on, then it ain't foreshadowing. But it could be something else.

*Let's circle back to the physics thing briefly because you might have thought, "Wait, that could be foreshadowing if he goes into physics, couldn't it?" And kind of! You're thinking of foreshadowing's parent technique, setup and payoff (or, at least, I've never seen it called something else.) The difference between general S&P and foreshadowing is that foreshadowing should stand out as odd like Adrien's shoes or the rings. It's something that's there to make you go, "Huh." Meanwhile, many of techniques used for setup and payoff don't require a "huh" feeling.

Allow me to explain!

Adrien being good at physics isn't weird, it's just a fun fact about him and it's normal to develop your characters as a story goes on just to flesh them out and make them feel more real. Every little thing you learn doesn't have to mean something about their ultimate fate. But sometimes the things you learn do lead to something bigger. That's just crafting a good, logical story. Knowing Adrien enjoyed physics class at 14 means nothing for his eventual career path, but if he does go into physics, it's now no longer out of the blue.

But it's also not foreshadowed. It's just setup.

An actual example of this type of thing is Marinette's diary. Her diary has been used as a nice little character quirk throughout the show. Then we get to the Paris special and - suddenly - the diary actually matters to the plot.

This isn't foreshadowing. The diary was never presented in a way that would make you think, "Huh, that's coming back later" or "Hmmm, that's odd." But it's still a satisfying moment to see her diary lead to something since it's been around for so long.

If we were never told that Marinette kept a diary and we only ever saw her hiding this pink book, then that would have been foreshadowing as we'd be thinking, "Huh, that's odd." Then we'd get to the Paris special and go, "Oh! That's what the book was!"

In other words, foreshadowing requires a reveal. I'll also note that there's no hard rules for this stuff. I tried to pick good examples that were clearly foreshadowing and clearly not, but there's grey area here, so it's okay if you disagree about some of these being foreshadowing. (Except for if you disagree on the pigeon stuff. I will fight you about the pigeons!)

Another example of setup and payoff is Gabriel getting cataclysmed and then slowly dying throughout the season. His death isn't foreshadowed, it's just a thing that's happening. On the other hand, Nathalie dying via the peacock is used for foreshadowing because it leads to Adrien comparing Nathalie's illness to Emilie's, which is the setup for the reveal that Emilie used the peacock. Nathalie's illness is also just a non-foreshadowed setup for Emilie's reveal so that the peacock hurting people doesn't come out of nowhere, which is why setups are important. You can skip all foreshadowing and only use setups and still tell a good story.

The pigeon stuff was never foreshadowing, but if any of it had been revealed to mean something by the show, then it could be argued to be a situation where it was introduced as a setup for a later payoff. But the pigeon thing has f-all to do with sentimonsters, so once again, it's nonsense and people need to let it die! The pigeon thing has been used for its intended purpose: gags. That's why it came back in Mr. Pigeon 72! Mr. Pigeon 1 didn't foreshadow that, it just setup a gag that they decided to revisit because this is a comedy and little kids probably find Adrien sneezing and messing things up funny.

*One final note: the reason I called Adrien's shoes "weird" is because the butterfly logo was great subtle foreshadowing back when people thought that the butterfly was the logo for Gabriel's company. Now that the logo is a massive G, the butterfly raises questions about Gabriel's design choices since we never see it anywhere else. I've often wondered if this was originally meant to be Gabriel's logo, but they scrapped the idea for some reason. Either way, it's still foreshadowing, it's just slightly less good now that we have to ask, "Why did Gabriel put butterflies on these sneakers for teen boys and no where else?"

[cinnamonest]

I know nothing about Persona let alone Goro Akechi but after reading the bsf and yan profile post I want to give this man a hug (and my tits). His story seems so sad ;-; and he's so pretty and for what?? 💢

Honestly, as much as I enjoy genshin I never truly found it to have any meaningful or extremely well written characters (which is not a bad thing, I just can't take them seriously when they all look like that lmao). All credit to making me think twice about them goes to writers and artists in the fandom. So the change in content feels soooooo nice. Made me appreciate your writing in another way

I've heard about Persona a LOT for years, but I didn't have a huge drive to play it until your liveposting (p.s I love the LP so much) and especially the posts with that one insane policeman guy who is a loser (affectionate, also giving him my pussy). Any recs? 😅

HE IS MY BABY BOY you're so right he is so pretty 😖😖😖 Akechi is genuinely an excellently written character, and Persona 5 Royal is one of the few games I think fully deserves to be so hyped as it is.

Tbh I think the problem genshin and similar games has is that there's so many characters, you have to essentially go out of your way to dig into lore to get anything beyond surface level from them. This happens a lot in series with lots of characters — like with Danganronpa for example, your experience of a lot of characters completely changes upon playing their free time events. A lot of genshin characters get very little screen time on the main story, so all their characterization is in their quests, lines, and character profile content. Which to be fair, with a game of this nature that's kinda the only way to really do it, so, I'm just glad they give us that extra content tbh. I've played some gachas that would introduce new characters but give very little beyond a design and name which is kinda sad when you want to know more about the lil guy you're playing with.

But AAAAAAAAAAAAAA thank you so much anon I am going to ramble here, but I'll put a tl;dr at the bottom!

Soooo if you want to get into Persona, I'd recommend the series in a certain order with some notes. There's 5 main entries in the series and a lot of spinoffs.

A word of advice in general with marathoning a game series: with any series it's a good idea to play in order of chronological and thus technological progression, especially if you intend to play the series back to back, otherwise going from a more recent game to an older one can damper your experience due to the decrease in graphical quality, gameplay smoothness, and general content quantity.

However for this series, the ideal order to play really depends on the factors of 1) which version of Persona 3 you choose to play, and 2) if you want to play Persona 1 & 2.

Regarding Persona 1 and 2: These are some of those games where your enjoyment will strongly depend on whether or not you're a person who is okay with some of the frustrations, limitations and slowness/jankiness common to old games (they came out between 1996-1999). I know some people don't mind or see it as a sort of vintage charm, while others get very frustrated with that — if you're the latter, I'd recommend saving yourself the frustration and skipping them, but if you like old games or have a high tolerance for jankiness, you could start here. I will also say that, even amongst the vintage/90s games fan crowd, P2 is definitely more popular and considered better than P1. It's also much better on the aforementioned issues.

Also, unless you have an original PlayStation or PSP, you'll have to emulate these.

Regarding Persona 3: there's several versions — the original came out in like 2006, then there was a remake version called P3 FES which added an epilogue (which is being added to the recent remake soon anyway), then a PSP remake called Persona 3 Portable (which has ports on modern consoles), then the most recent remake, Persona 3 Reload, came out just a few months ago in 2024.

Obviously the newest remake has vastly improved graphics and added lots of gameplay content. However, one of the biggest differences is that P3 Portable had the option to play as a female protagonist — this altered a lot of aspects of the game and is exclusive to that version (which has disappointed a lot of people hoping she'd be in the 2024 remake), so you can't play as her if you play Reload (unless, I believe, you play PC, there's a volunteer team currently making a mod for her).

Personally, I bought P3 Reload, and couldn't get into it, so I dropped it. Then I bought P3P on a whim and LOVE it so far. Getting to play as the girl protagonist makes a massive difference in my opinion, and more than compensates for the older graphics/gameplay. It's not just the romance routes either, her dialogue options, interactions, music, and overall vibe is different enough that it changes the feel of the story.

It really depends on what you value more — 2024-tier visual quality/gameplay and the epilogue, versus the Female Protagonist experience, so just pick which you prefer.

For the order thing, if you choose to play P3P (or the original/FES for whatever reason), I'd start here, but if you want to play Reload, I'd play it either last or just before P5 Royal.

Moving on, Persona 4: Golden and Persona 5: Royal are both the definitive editions of their respective games. They're remakes of the originals with a lot of added content, and unlike Persona 3, there's no reason to play the older versions over these. Notably their themes/vibes are kinda opposite of each other (big city world-scale societal rebellion versus small rural town murder mystery), I wouldn't say either story is better or worse, they're not really comparable and more a matter of personal taste.

As for the stories, admittedly if you've read my posts, you've essentially already been spoiled on the identity of the killers, but honestly it's still worth experiencing the story, there's multiple big plot twists before and after the reveals regarding Akechi/Adachi.

I would play Persona 5 Royal last, largely because it's widely considered the best entry to the series and is by far the longest. However if you only intend to play one game, it should definitely be P5 Royal. The only real flaw to P5 is it's much easier than previous games.

From here, there's a few more spinoff games, whether or not you want to play them really just depends on if you enjoy the genre. There's a bit of lore in some of them but nothing critical.

Dancing All Night/Starlight/Moonlight - dancing rhythm games

Arena Ultimax - fighting game, acts as an epilogue to P3&4

Persona Q 1&2

These are Nintendo DS spinoffs with chibi style art. I haven't played these and admittedly don't know much about them, I think they're dungeon crawler genre? It's popular for the aspect of which it involves the characters of the different main games, so you get to see them interact with each other.

The downside is that these games are oddly expensive, I think because there weren't too many copies. I intend to get them eventually.

Persona 5 Tactica/Strikers:

These are P5 spinoffs that put the cast in alternate stories, strikers is the closest to a true sequel from my understanding, tactica is more of a dungeon-crawler. I didn't get them because Akechi isn't in strikers and is just minor dlc for tactica.

The Phantom X

This is upcoming I believe, it's going to be a mobile game with a new cast.

The TL;DR of my advice:

- Play P2 only if you're into vintage gaming

- Play P1 only if you're REALLY into vintage gaming

- Play Persona 3 Portable if you really value the female protagonist/male character romance experience, otherwise play Persona 3 Reload

- If you play the original Persona 3, FES, or P3 Portable: start with that, then P4 Golden, then P5 Royal

- If you play Persona 3 Reload: play P4 Golden FIRST, then both P5 Royal and P3 Reload in either order.

- Play the spinoffs just based on what type of games you like, if any.

[sysmedsaresexist]

Mod Quill with some feelings tonight as I scroll the syscourse tags in the usual pits of despair with a bag of popcorn and too little free time. As always, that show I sometimes stumble upon and leave running in the background while I do laundry is on, 24/7 it seems like. The TV station really loves running that particular producer’s re-runs.

I watch for a little bit, but the main character is just… painful to watch. She constantly pushes people away in some sort of way to get her goals each episode — but the series has never ended. It just is the same exact plot line each episode. It gets spicy sometimes when there’s a recurring plot line, or a story arc. They’re all a little… circular sometimes though. She gets sassy too, but that’s few and far between nowadays.

This latest arc, she’s clearly blue.

…

Okay so now that I’ve rambled enough on this metaphor about Sophie-

Her latest bait for trying to hurt a clearly traumatized person is just as painful to see as it always is. Just... god forbid she do something to actually further plural acceptance. I find it so ironic how she peddles that goal to her followers — The Future is Plural, right? — while consistently and actively working against it. She consistently tries to bait people who are against her in an attempt to prop herself up higher, never realizing that all the outside world is seeing is her stomping on others. 

Blue-Bubonic is very clearly fragile, at least in my eyes. I haven’t forgotten their (pronouns unsure, but please feel free to correct me) first foray into syscourse. And yet she sees it as more acceptable to continue needling them -- and taunting that fact and touting it as a badge of honor -- in order to... do what? She's said she's painting herself as a villain, she's being the Bad Guy, but genuinely, how is that helping plurals? How is this helping further her goals?

She is quite literally attacking her own with this and further aggravating an already clearly traumatized individual. And she constantly does this. From my perspective, it must almost be fun for her, and if I remember correctly, she's admitted it's fun. She revels in it. I can't condone people who sit and just... soak in other people's misery. I have literally been working on overcoming some doubts of mine today due to harassment I received, simply because I said I thought people deserved better than literal death threats. And here she is, just... spreading negativity for negativity's sake. How is that helping anything? Isn't it just putting more negative into the world?

The worst part is, I agree with her on so many things. I have to restrain myself from reblogging her posts to my real blogs (you’re welcome, SAS, this blog isn’t real anymore, you’re free) simply so I can avoid syscourse there as much as possible. I’m also scared too. I’m scared of her. I’m scared to reblog something, both because her eyes might be on me if I do, and because the entire system community on tumblr that touches tulpamancy with a 5 foot pole is watching too. Every single action I do is not only scrutinized by her; it’s scrutinized by the community.

I just… wish there was a better way to spread positivity. I wish there were more The Plurality Of… posts, ones that aren’t written with the direct correlation of “let’s stick it to those anti-endos!” I would love more plural headcanons with the goal, “let’s uplift all plurals!” I try to do this as much as possible, but I’m one man.

I see her with her 😈 rightful anger (and I do believe she is justified in that anger, please don’t think I am saying she shouldn’t be angry, she has gotten so much shit that was undeserved, something I regret deeply playing any part of in the past, and something I want to apologize for now again)… I see her with that anger, and I just wish there were a way to help. I wish there were a way to turn that negativity away. I’ve managed it! I’ve managed to escape it in little ways. What am I doing that’s so different? It’s not because I’m a DID system and she’s not — lord knows I’ve had my fair share of harassment for my existence. It’s not because we’re different syscourse stances — I’m as pro-endo as they come in everything but label. Hell, shocker of all shockers, I’ve come to accept I have willed-to-life alters, so I can even relate to her way of existence, at least to some degree.

And yet, I feel so different from her. And it’s sad to see someone you agree with, someone who you know is just doing their best, causing so much harm for the things you also believe in.

…

So I turn off the TV. And I try not to watch. But in my head, my stupid writer brain gets the monkeys and the typewriters out. And it goes to town.

In my head, I’ve written a story where I sit down with her. Sometimes it’s discord, sometimes it’s via tumblr asks back and forth, and too often to count it’s some nebulous cafe somewhere where I’m drinking hot chocolate and she’s drinking some sort of white chocolate coffee. Not sure why that’s what I imagine, but it makes sense to me.

And I just… talk to her. Like a person. We set aside syscourse entirely and have a proper sysconversation. We talk about plurality and our feelings about it; we talk about how my disorder impacts me in similar and different ways to her tulpamancy; we even discuss how this very fanfiction-like-dream is, in a way, plural in of itself, because i don’t control what she says, not willingly. I guess she got her dream, an anti-endo (in a way) with a Sophie introject (in a way).

And I laugh, and she laughs, and it’s good.

And then I go online and see the latest callout post about why Sophie is a bad person. And I sigh, because I know they never work, and I personally know how traumatizing it is to have a callout post detailing everything you’ve ever done wrong.

And then I write up this, feeling like a hypocrite. But I want her to know, I’m not trying to paint her as evil. I don’t think she is. I think she’s just… a person, trying her best, and this is me publicly saying I disagree with her methods.

I hope the show reaches a final season soon. Maybe a spinoff series will get made. Crossover episode when? I vote for Sophie Through The Looking Glass as a sequel series name.

[pregnantseinfeld]

Stream of consciousness political rambling. Because this is not fully thought through I'm putting it under a read more.

Something that bothers me about the typical social democrat 'tax the rich' suggestion (not that I'm outright opposed) is that it would make the most sense in a scenario where the wealth of the owning class is derived from their own countries proletariat, right? If you cannot overthrow that class, then reforms that attempt to squeeze some of that wealth back out into programs that could benefit the working class isn't an entirely bad idea.

But in a country like the US (UK, Canada, etc.), where is the wealth of our ruling class actually derived? What percent exactly is our labor versus that of other countries? You can't just fold your arms and tell capitalists they really should pay their fair share everywhere they do business. That they don't have to do that is kind of the point of this whole imperialism thing. But it certainly feels like 'how do we treat the loot of empire?' isn't being interrogated enough.

And I can already hear "Why talk reforms?! Tear it all down!" As much as I hate the way -progressive- liberals pull the covers up over themselves and mutter "But today isn't the revolution..." every morning to excuse their sloth, most of us know by now we can't will a revolution into being. So how do we reckon with all this if we're still attempting to engage with politics outside of the revolutionary moment?

And all types of chauvinists that don't like difficult questions will paint this as 'guilt' of course. But do we stand for anything at all if we don't have international solidarity? Can those who desire to get back that slashed welfare at any price actually call themselves Marxists? I'm reminded of how Marx and Engels talked of the English unions, or even Lenin on economism, etc... But it's so especially rotten here since, well, haven't you just wound up a Keynesian if your aim is reliving unsustainable post-war capitalist glory days?

On the one hand its dishonest to go about our business pretending none of this matters, but on the other "American lives (under the current order) should not get better" is not a political position with any legs here, for obvious reasons. It's tougher than the banana discourse because there you only had to put cheap year-round bananas on one side of the scale and all the rewards that could only be gained from liberation in the third world and the victory of the working class on the other and the banana defenders look super silly. But outside those hypotheticals, when we are organizing here and now, how does this factor in? Can it? AM I just moralizing over everything being blood money? Am I up my own ass?

So I'm left just bitterly rubbing my chin about it, like this is a crossword that I'm definitely going to figure out by myself if I ponder long enough.

[perplexingluciddreams]

General ramble update:

ME/CFS crash is the most shittest shitty thing ever to exist. and makes sensory so bad with the sweating and sweating and the temperature dysregulation and the pain and the flushing hot hot face ears neck chest bad angry bad.

and then can't properly regulate sensory OR emotional because swing is make sore and more tired and more flush face ears neck chest.

and in a weird weather point where my usual hoodie makes too warm and sweaty (Worst Bad Sensory Ever), but arms is cold with only t-shirt no hoodie...

AND can't do physio walking because of crash. i thought it got better for a day or two, then did too much (mostly swing), now it is worse than the first part of the crash.

fucking hate ME/CFS it is the cruelest most horrible disease and i so so fucking wish i didn't have it

Also, AFOs still give problems (so can't even wear at this point). we try to contact orthotics people, but honestly i don't know if they can do much different at this point. i don't know if they could edit the ones i have to be wear-able, and if they can't then i really don't want to go through the process of getting another pair made, just for it to not work (and have to struggle with disappointment All Over Again).

i know i said before positive things about these AFOs, but that is my usual mess up of following scripts (copy/borrow words from others) before i even know my own feelings. i mix up anxiety and apprehension and not-sure-yet feelings with excited, because they are all "high" feelings. like buzzy and tense and energy. similar body feeling, maybe? then it is only a while later when i actually process my own body feelings, both for emotions (like anxious and disappointed) and physical sensations (like the pressure-pain from AFOs). it is only then i can say accurate things about the subject. this applies to any subject for me.

and Mum and Dad ordered a recliner chair for me, to put my Recliner Support System (from Special Tomato) on. when the chair comes they will set it all up, then at some point i will try it. but i will learn from my mistakes with speaking too soon on AFOs, and wait a while until i process, then update on that.

i think i am getting very very gradually slower. definitely having more semi-stuck moments where i can still move my body but can't transition task - or can't even know what i am supposed to do next. it is taking me longer and longer each toilet trip, i get stuck sitting on the toilet and between each step. it is affecting all my movements, but i try not to compare the walking part too much since there is other factors in that.

i want to write much more about regression and (highly suspected) catatonia stuff. i have a lot to say.

more mood stuff like getting easily "worked up" and aggression, and more getting close to meltdown easily, more hit self without control when i get only a tiny bit upset. but that is also part of ME/CFS crash for me, so i will not judge that until i have longer time to compare it.

also mentally everything is just hard. (which is also partial explanation for the quick aggression and mood shit). i "clock out" or "shut off" most of the time, because i simply don't have the time, ability, energy, to even think about everything that is happening/has happened to me. whether due to health shit, past trauma, regression/decline... it is all too much. brain loud. and loud = takes more energy. so, i can't.

this post seems overall quite negative, i think. but that is just my mental place recently. it is not always quite this bad internally for me. but when it is bad, i can't pull myself out of it, i don't have that ability, i can't regulate like that. only suppress and ignore and avoid, in hopes of avoiding meltdowns. my only hope is swing swing swing, music, watch things, and shut off clock out brain. don't let myself think or feel or remember the reality. just live in the safe parts of my brain's inside world.

hopefully i will have more positive feeling soon, and maybe happier things to share. although it is important for me to share the shit stuff too, it gets out of my brain a bit this way, relieve some pressure. i just wish i could get more out (of past things and memories, mostly. that is what makes the most noise in my head).

at least i have sensory galaxy light projector, Downton Abbey, sudoku, and safe music playlist (called "fills brain just right"). 💚

[pyropsychiccollector]

Yuma Harem: Down Came the Rain 1/7

Time to begin the third series~... I wanted to make sure to do all of the poll winners first, so that's the initial reason for spreading the love between series. :3 And now it's Rain Code's turn~...

As always, this will be an AU. Rain Code killed off... a good half of this harem. And Guillaume might as well be dead for all that she drops off the map after Chapter 3... XD So Fubuki and Kurumi are the only canon survivors. And the game ends on a pretty somber note with Yuma just leaving after regaining his memories, moving onto the next adventure. Very typical in shounen series, honestly. It's not "bad", just...

I want to fix things. (人◕ω◕) Too much death. Too much hurting the Kokohead. The Kokomelon, as some fans might affectionately call him. (人◕ω◕) And moreover, the "Yuma" we come to know "dies" as he regains his memories. Sure, it's strongly hinted that his feelings and experiences are just integrated into his original self... But we don't know the former #1 of the WDO. We know "Yuma", the amnesiac. Maybe Yuma had principles before he gave up his memories, maybe he did have morals... But if Makoto showed us anything, he was frankly a ruthlessly cunning individual that crossed any line in order to reach the truth. You can see this in how he assigned a great many detectives to Kanai Ward, and most of them died.

... I know I'm rambling, but the point I wanted to make is that I'll be focusing on the Yuma that we know. Not that the former #1 isn't interesting to think about... But Yuma has heart, you know? I wish to reward that. Reward the nice guys. Reward the goobers. (人◕ω◕) It does mean Shinigami will be sticking around, and you could count her as an unofficial member of the harem (... I mean, c'mon. What? You want Shinigami to bonk her Master silly in the Mystery Labyrinth? Perverts. (人◕ω◕) Not that I'm much better.)... But as you'll see, I've tweaked the idea of Mystery Labyrinths. If Kodaka's going to have a game just short of Persona, I'm gonna go "all the way" with those ideas. Put my own spin on the concepts. (人◕ω◕) I regret nothing.

The Beginning

To absolutely no one's surprise... Kurumi won the poll. lol I don't mind, she's essentially "Detective Chiaki". Finally, a series where "Chiaki" lives... For those who played Danganronpa, they were just brutal with her, tearing out and stomping on our hearts. Again and again. XD As a consequence, though, Kodaka killed off just about everyone else. ... He just can't let us be happy, can he? (人◕ω◕)***

But this lets me get Kurumi-chan outta the way. Again, not that she's bad... She's honestly a really sweet girl, and I won't pretend otherwise. It's just that we know Kurumi's story, know her dynamic with Yuma. And I personally like saving my dessert - that is, the girls that I most strongly support with the protagonist - for last. ... Didn't completely work out for Fate, but aw well. (人◕ω◕)

... I'm rambling again. There's stuff I gotta elaborate on. The first thing to note in this AU is that through a miracle, the train gang - the detectives that Yuma first got to know before reaching Kanai Ward - are all spared, save for Zilch. What ended up happening is that Yuma passed out in front of the detectives, fell over and bumped his head. This allowed the detectives to figure out that he was drugged - likely by the coffee he drank - and the fake Zilch was left to improvise and have Swank and the Peacekeepers deal with the detectives after faking his death to pin on the detectives.

Yuma still goes to the Mystery Labyrinth and Shinigami executes fake Zilch at the end of it. Yakou still arrives to help get the Peacekeepers off Yuma and friends' backs, and they all successfully make it to the Nocturnal Detective Agency. I bring up this background information just so there's not any confusion about Pucci's survival, later on... And why I'll be bringing up the train detectives in subsequent Chapters. XD

Chapter 1 still goes the same way. So we'll skip right to the relevant bits: the Aetheria Academy arc. Chapter 2. (人◕ω◕)

Chapter 2 is... more changes. Due to a few more detectives moving around in Kanai Ward (Pucci, Aphex, Zange, Melami), the NDA is a little more known. Which is why one of the "Aetheria trio" (Yoshiko, Waruna, Kurane) approaches Yuma first, as opposed to Kurumi. Kurane-chan wanted to desperately explore one last non-violent option to expose Karen, and avoid blackening Waruna and Yoshiko's souls. (人◕ω◕)

... I won't go into full details just yet, save that for the appropriate posts. However, I will say that Kurane's actions do wind up saving herself, Waruna, and Yoshiko from becoming killers. It doesn't all go to plan, and they do throw Yuma under the bus when crap hits the fan... But they live, and are able to atone for screwing Yuma over. The Aetheria trio still has futures. (人◕ω◕)

With all this background explained... Let's talk about Kurumi~ Because Kurane was the first to approach Yuma, Kurumi is initially unaware of who "Yumi", one of the new girls at the academy, is. She doesn't know he's a detective looking into Aiko's death (Kurane is testing him, which is why she didn't give him all the details), just that "Yumi" cares enough to ask about Aiko and what happened to her. ... And "Yumi" is rather cute. Kurumi-chan totally fangirls over Yuma's female disguise that he got from Desuhiko. Fooled into thinking he is a girl, and just another student at the academy. (人◕ω◕)

Kurumi and Yuma hit it off pretty well. For the week or so leading up to the fateful rehearsal, Yuma pokes around, trying to pinpoint the truth behind Aiko's death, whether it was a suicide or if someone killed her. Initially, Kurumi tries putting the brakes on his investigation because Yuma's a "civilian", and she doesn't want him getting in trouble with the Peacekeepers... But after Yuma half-lies and says he has connections with the new detective agency in town, promising to get them involved if Kurumi lets him investigate... Kurumi allows it, and gives her all in supporting "Yumi".

... Then the rehearsal happens, and "Yumi" stands accused of Karen's murder. Kurumi is still kept out of the loop as Yuma, Desuhiko, and Melami give the Peacekeepers the runaround while investigating the new murder case. She does what she can for "Yumi" by asking the theater club members and comforting them, but unfortunately Kurumi's not able to do too much with all the Peacekeepers locking the theater hall down.

It's not until after everything blows over that Kurumi finds out the truth about "Yumi". ... I mean, she saw him exposed as a man when Martina cornered the detectives on stage, but she wouldn't get the full story until the case's bumpy resolution. Kurumi didn't take it very hard she was kept in the dark for so long; Yuma had his reasons, and while he couldn't keep a new murder from happening he did help expose the truth and bring closure to Aiko's death. And it was a relief that her doubts about Yoshiko, Waruna, and Kurane could be put to rest. All four of them were close friends of Aiko, and it hurt that Aiko is gone... But they're able to move forward now, even if the trio has regrets and feel they need to atone in their own ways.

Kurumi helps Yuma with his investigation into Kanai Ward, filling him in on the information her grandfather uncovered before he disappeared. That Amaterasu was dabbling in homunculus research. Kanai Ward is still a broken city in dire need of hope, but Kurumi feels more optimistic now that detectives have finally arrived. The perpetual rain feels a little less oppressing~

The Middle Act

Kurumi bonds with Yuma and the other detectives in the coming weeks. (人◕ω◕) Kurane does, too, clinging to Yuma pretty hard... And Waruna and Yoshiko come around at their own paces. The bottom line is, Yuma becomes a good friend to the Aetheria girls. (人◕ω◕) He can never replace Aiko... But he fills the role she left behind. Yuma's an earnest, kindhearted young man that won't stand for injustice. Yet he won't give into despair, won't stoop to murder or similar extreme methods. The ends don't justify the means. In his unwavering beliefs and how he slowly gains confidence the more time he spends in Kanai Ward, Yuma helps the Aetheria girls to remain grounded. He helps them to have hope once more. (人◕ω◕)

Of course Yuma's got a giant target painted on his back because of the Peacekeepers running everything, but Kurumi stands by Yuma. Not just because she's the city's only informant, but because Yuma is her friend. And he helped her connect with Yoshiko, Waruna, and Kurane.

... So when Yomi still nukes the sub, a couple of weeks after the Aetheria case... Kurumi is swept up into urgency by Kurane, who's the most worried about Yuma, especially after he gets spirited away by the Resistance... It's not like there's much they can do. Needless to say, Chapter 3 is pretty rough for the Aetheria girls. While Waruna and Yoshiko are still in the middle of reflecting and bonding with the detectives at their own respective paces, and while they have varying doubts about how much the detectives can really impact Kanai Ward's situation with Amaterasu... They still didn't wish harm on the detectives. Not after being given a new lease on life. Kurumi and Kurane are the closest with the detectives, and it hurts to see the sub blown up, to not know if the other detectives are alive... To know that someone kidnapped Yuma...

And later, events go further downhill. Yuma and the detectives get pinned as bombers, as terrorists... The Aetheria girls have to be careful with the Peacekeepers suffocating Kanai Ward more than usual in their hunt for the detectives, but they can't just stand by and not help Yuma find the truth behind the new case. Marunomon District doesn't get flooded this time around, but bombs going off and killing people is still... pretty bad... Kurumi does everything she can as an informant to glean as much evidence and testimony as possible. And Kurane looks to her, emulating Kurumi in her own way. Kurane's greatest strength is that people rarely notice her, even the bumbling Peacekeepers that are so dead-set on tracking down Yuma. It's an awesome investigative power, and Kurumi's grateful to have Kurane's help in gathering clues. Waruna and Yoshiko help in their own ways; Waruna's the fiery, overprotective girl, the "muscle"; and Yoshiko has... connections. Mostly schoolmates, but she's on good terms with people outside the academy, too.

Regardless of Kurumi and the Aetheria trio's help, Yuma, Aphex, and Fubuki still end up cornered. ... And then through some miracle, all the detectives come out of the woodwork, and they're saved and the Peacekeepers grudgingly stand down when Amaterasu's CEO shows up. Kurumi's not sure what to make of Makoto, he seems like a pretty laidback guy, but there are undertones of... something more, beneath the surface. He saved the detectives, saved Yuma, but Kurumi can't help wondering what Makoto's angle is. And she's even more baffled when the CEO gives the detectives their sub back, with everything inside pretty much the same as it was before it got destroyed.

About a month flies by before they all know it, after that debacle. The detectives are all reunited, Kurumi and the Aetheria trio can still hang around them, and even the Resistance leaders are coming around now... Kurumi was a bit intimidated by the Resistance before the detectives came to the city, only really having rumors to go off of. But really, the Resistance leaders are pretty goofy, even if they're capable in their own right. They're not as extreme as the rumors would have you believe.

With all of them coming together, it really feels like they can effect change in Kanai Ward. The Peacekeepers are still wary of the detectives, still want to arrest them... Or at least some of them do. Kurumi begins noticing that some Peacekeepers are, however grudgingly, allowing the detectives to look into cases. At least the small-time stuff. ... If Amaterasu is linked at all in incidents, they're still pretty defensive and ornery. But there's a lot of crime in Kanai Ward, and Amaterasu isn't tied in everything... Just the most serious stuff.

And with Vivia's latest intel, they've been trying to locate a secret lab where the homunculus research is being conducted. To no avail, but it's the best lead they have to go on. And so a month after that last debacle... Kurumi is anxious when the detectives go straight to Amaterasu and get wrapped up in another incident. She, her friends, and the Resistance can't do much but wait for the detectives to come back, and it's an agonizing wait...

Thankfully, the detectives do make it out of Amaterasu's HQ in one piece. And they bring good news: Yomi's been arrested, and it truly seems like Kanai Ward will change for the better after this. Kurumi's glad. The detectives still have their mission of discovering Kanai Ward's Ultimate Secret... But for the first time in years, Kanai Ward seems to have a bright future ahead of them.

... To Kurumi and everyone else's dismay, however, the tragedies aren't over yet. Apparently, after they see the news of the World Detective Organization getting bombed, everyone in the sub at the time is knocked out. And when they wake back up... Yuma is gone. Nothing else was taken, no threatening note was left behind... Yuma's just disappeared.

They all have a bad feeling about this. The detectives are determined to settle this themselves, to keep the "civilians" out of harm's way... But Kurumi, the Aetheria trio, and the Resistance absolutely refuse to sit this one out. While the detectives go straight to Amaterasu HQ to confront them about Yuma's abduction, the Aetheria girls and the Resistance scour Kanai Ward, just on the off chance that Yuma was taken by someone else...

To their great horror and discomfort, however... Yuma is nowhere to be found. They investigate hard over the next two days... The detectives return with their conclusion Yuma isn't in Amaterasu, they were even allowed free roam of the Amaterasu premises by Peacekeepers and researchers alike. And... he wasn't there. The Aetheria girls and the Resistance didn't have any luck, either - no one had seen or heard from Yuma. It's like he disappeared from the world completely...

And that's around the time that the detectives decided it was time to confront the one area they'd left untouched: The Restricted Area. If Yuma was nowhere in the Kanai Ward that they knew... Then he had to be there. Determined to save Yuma, everyone bands together to bust into the Restricted Area, rules and laws be damned. (人◕ω◕) They take one of the Resistance's vans and use it like a battering ram to plow through the electric fence around the perimeter of the Restricted Area. Then they take another van and drive on through the opening, not trusting at all what might be on the other side...

The Restricted Area is unlike anything they'd seen in Kanai Ward. It was rundown, and it seemed like an older area of the city, nowhere near as bright and illuminating as the rest of the city. It was like... darkness lurked in the Restricted Area. A deep darkness that made Kurumi feel anxious and worried, but they needed to take the plunge and find Yuma at all costs... He... He had to be there. There was nowhere left. No other possibilities. Kurumi and everyone else were unable to accept the possibility that it was too late to save Yuma... that he was already gone.

After finding that the Restricted Area was not an easy place to navigate by car, and that the people roaming about it seemed... strange somehow... the "Yuma Rescue Squad" got out to explore the area on foot. Servan and Aphex would stay with the van, driving around where they could and keeping an eye out. But the detectives, Kurumi, the Aetheria trio, and Shachi, and Iruka all split up to cover the most ground. They weren't dumb enough to search on their own, not in such unfamiliar territory; they formed pairs or groups. Kurumi stuck with her friends, and bravely forged on ahead.

... It was such a spooky, spine-tingling place. The locals were gruff and unresponsive to them, and not a single teenager was keen on approaching them more closely. They vaguely knew that this area was rumored to have had a gas leak in the nearby mines, and that Amaterasu labeled this town as uninhabitable... So maybe the locals were so strange because of that gas leak. Amaterasu might not have been able to do anything for the people here.

All Kurumi could do was keep searching for Yuma... He had to be okay. He had to be. Seeing this place so desolate and brought to utter ruination... A heavy weight was in Kurumi's chest and refused to go away. If Yuma was here, there was a good chance that he hadn't eaten or slept well... But they would save him. They wouldn't leave a single stone unturned.

To their immense relief, Kurane was able to find Yuma after what must have been an hour... He was holed up in a random house, after barricading the door and windows. Yuma... Yuma was bleeding. It looked like someone or something had tried gnawing his shoulder and neck, and his clothes were all roughed up. Kurumi and Yoshiko did what they could, scrounging around for any First Aid supplies in the home, bandaging Yuma up and sterilizing his wounds. He was horrified at seeing them in the abandoned village, fearfully asking if they'd encountered anyone... If everyone else had come here.

Yuma was not that relieved to hear that was the case. When asked what had happened to him, why he was holed up here, all Yuma could say was that the people in this village were wrong... They weren't normal. Weren't sane. He even went so far as to call them zombies... Yuma wasn't sure how or why he was brought here, but they needed to round up everyone and leave. He didn't want to endanger his friends...

He didn't feel that he was worth the effort to come here. Yuma had been prepared to just die trapped in this abandoned house. But now all he wants is to just get everyone safely out of the village... go back where they came. If they have to leave him behind, so be it.

Yoshiko and Waruna gave Yuma an earful about his self-sacrificial attitude, and Kurumi and Kurane just did their best to comfort him. They'd make it out... But Kurumi came to the realization that they should investigate this place. Yes, safety was paramount... But if they just left, Yuma could get dragged back here by whoever kidnapped him. Hell, the Peacekeepers might punish them for breaking in here, or they'd just seal off the Restricted Area again... This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to find out what this place was, what happened here, and why Yuma was brought here.

... Kurane doesn't like the thought of lingering somewhere that almost got Yuma killed, but Waruna and Yoshiko uneasily agree that Kurumi's right. They can't just... leave without answers. They'll look around while searching for the Resistance and the detectives.

In subsequent events, they skirt around the locals that Yuma's deeply fearful of. They investigate an old post office, and find the order to evacuate amidst papers left behind. Soon enough familiar faces show up, and the girls have no choice but to believe the "zombie" story that Yuma fed them. There's no other explanation for seeing Karen and her father approaching them sluggishly, moaning and groaning incomprehensibly. They make a run for it, and somebody outside shoots an arrow attached with a note that explained a little bit about defective homunculi... They don't have the time to sit and reflect on it, so they keep moving, and eventually run into the Priest from the church, as well as that Worshipper. And before long, more and more familiar faces emerge from the woodwork, none of them can be reasoned with so Yuma and the girls keep running.

Gradually, they hook back up with the other Rescue Squad members, who are thankfully in one piece, if not spooked by the seemingly cannibalistic residents. They eventually reach the ominous factory, and uncover more information about homunculi and the true nature of Kanai Ward. Some Rescue Squad members are already in the factory and surrounding areas, poking around. They learn the uncomfortable truth that the meat buns of Kanai Ward are made from human corpses, and they just keep learning more and more...

The final "stop" on their tour is an old bathhouse up high. They all can see this is where the unending rain originates from, and when they turn off the equipment... everyone but the detectives pass out, and the residents of the abandon village go berserk. Makoto arrives to restore the rain, but only after Yuma "lends a hand". Right after the rain is back, Makoto and the detectives have a tense standoff, and Yuma has no choice but to access the Mystery Labyrinth one more time to resolve everything. Thankfully, however, he's not alone as all the Nocturnal Detective Agency personnel join Yuma on this last eye-opening adventure. (人◕ω◕)

The Future

Players should probably know by now how the final adventure goes. (人◕ω◕) Yuma uncovers everything, and this time he's got his NDA friends supporting him, not just Shinigami. It's an emotional rollercoaster for all of them... But they get Makoto to change his ways, to leave the labyrinth and reveal the truth without killing him.

I haven't really mentioned up until now, but the chief difference with the labyrinths from canon is that it's possible to talk it out with the culprits' souls and have them reveal the truth to everyone outside the labyrinth. There's no need to execute the culprit every single time. With the soul returning to the culprit, changed, the labyrinth fades away on its own. So essentially, Yuma and co. won't have to use Shinigami's emergency exit. (人◕ω◕) Shinigami can remain contracted to Yuma.

Of course that means Yuma won't regain his memories... But he's fine with that in the end~ Because all the mysteries have been solved. Makoto is going to tell Kanai Ward everything, and he's going to strive to open their city up to the world and allow them opportunities to leave. Amaterasu will develop innovations to help them deal with their weakness to sunlight. Hearing the truth will be hard for the citizens, especially for the Rescue Squad... But the people of Kanai Ward will endure.

And the NDA... Well... (人◕ω◕) Yakou thinks he'll be on his own again, everyone else returning to the WDO for new assignments... But he's floored when he's wrong. Yuma, for one, resolves to stay and help the NDA. Kanai Ward still needs detectives... They're at a crossroads now, with Peacekeepers receiving a major overhaul, Amaterasu coming back from years of corruption. Yuma might not have the memories, but he knows that he used to be #1 of the WDO, and as he currently is... He can't lead the organization. Yuma would rather work here, where he knows he can still make a difference. (人◕ω◕) The train gang that he came here with pretty much agree to stay, too, for their own reasons. Desuhiko, Halara, Vivia, and Fubuki will at least go back to the WDO for the election to decide the new #1, but then they'll probably come back to help as detectives~ Their time here wasn't long, but they're loyal to each other and to Yakou. It's enough to make the poor guy bawl his eyes out. He's touched. (人◕ω◕)

Kurumi graduates from Aetheria Academy soon after everything resolves, and she remains the city's informant - although with the detectives' help, she may find new informants willing to step up, to learn from her~ Yuma remained here because of his bonds with the few people of Kanai Ward that he's gotten to know these past several weeks. He has an ever-deepening bond with Kurumi and her friends, and the Resistance.

Yuma still has plans to travel the world someday... He may or may not settle in Kanai Ward forever... But he's in no rush to leave. And even if he ever does depart, Yuma will have a bunch of... buddies... tagging along. (人◕ω◕) ... Alright, they're his girlfriends. No use beating around the bush. He can't deny that he loves them all, and they love him. ... A lot. (人◕ω◕) Sure, certain girls are more competitive and greedy... But Kurumi's one of the ones willing to share Yuma. Yoshiko, Waruna, Kurane, Fubuki, Pucci... They're all good people. She wouldn't keep Yuma from them~

... Guillaume is an interesting one, but more on her later. (人◕ω◕)

Surprisingly, Kurumi is slower on the "I wanna marry Yuma" campaign... She's content to just be with him. Yoshiko, Waruna, and Kurane are more ambitious. ... Or in Kurane's case, she just... needs him. Very badly. (人◕ω◕) Pucci is ambitious, too. Fubuki more goes with the flow. Guillaume is... Guillaume. There's no rush for baby Yuma's, either. Not for Kurumi, at least. Not to say Kurumi wouldn't like having a family with Yuma; the idea is very appealing. It's just... Kurumi's deeply flustered with that intimate stuff. The really, really intimate stuff. Hugs and kisses are great, she likes cuddling, but taking off clothes and doing..... that... Kurumi's not horny. It's too embarrassing for her. In the beginning, anyway. Kurumi is beaten out by her friends in this instance; each of them having their reasons for craving Yuma on that physical level. (人◕ω◕)

Nevertheless, Kurumi does form a family with Yuma someday. Makoto was gracious enough to give Yuma and his ladies residence in Kanai Tower, and later he also helps oversee the building of a proper "home" for all of them... Of course it has to be big. There's seven of them plus Yuma. And then you throw in their kids... Yuma's life is very busy with seven lovers, but he doesn't regret loving them. (人◕ω◕) Kurumi's one of the gentler, "fun" moms. And she's second in maturity, only losing out to Yoshiko on that front. ... But that's cuz Yoshiko's used to being a mother figure, even before her children were born.

The rain never stops in Kanai Ward... But now Kurumi and everyone else knows it's there to protect them. And with the NDA alive and thriving in the new Kanai Ward... With Yuma there... Life had never been sweeter for Kurumi-chan. (人◕ω◕)

[alta-et-astra]

I've been thinking a lot about how hard everything is becoming. Below are my very rambling thoughts.

In my 20's I was having a Hard Time(tm) what with the Depression and everything, but I feel like the general trend of my life so far has been that I've been putting in the minimum effort possible to do whatever it was that I had to do.

In school I did really well. It came easily to me and I worked hard, but because it came easily, it was more of a situation where I spent a lot of time making sure I did all my homework rather than working really hard to understand something that I didn't get. Maybe I'm doing my younger self a disservice.

When I was in college I originally majored in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (and also French). Liberal Arts things came really easily to me so while I worked hard in the sense that I spent a lot of time doing all my assignments, I didn't have to break my brain and work hard in that way in order to understand something.

Then I got disillusioned or I got spooked or something and I switched my major basically by throwing a dart at the wall and picking the major that looked the hardest: computer science. And I struggled SO HARD. It didn't come easily to me and all of a sudden school was really difficult and I had a hard time with everything. Of course throughout all this I was also still suffering from undiagnosed depression, but this extra mental load of not Getting It and needing to bang my head against a wall to get anywhere with my classes was an extra level of difficulty. It was very much a discovery of I'm a small sort of smart fish in a big pond of many larger, smarter fish. The experience rocked me and my academic standards slipped and I pretty much barely graduated, coasting along on my GPA boosting Liberal Arts classes. C's get degrees, after all!

After graduation I had a string of software engineering jobs where I was just barely putting in an effort, but it was enough. And then I had a baby and couldn't commute anymore so I got a remote job that I managed to hold down for four years. It was a good job but it was difficult and I learned a lot. At first putting in a bit more than the bare minimum was enough. And then it suddenly wasn't. Things got hard and I put in less effort. And then it all blew up in my face and I couldn't work there anymore.

After four and a half months of unemployment I got another job but I was falling into old patterns of barely putting in any effort. And then my whole department got laid off after two months and it didn't matter. And now once again I have a new job, now going on two and a half months and I'm falling back into barely putting in effort.

And I don't know how to change that. My bare minimum is clearly not enough. And yet between kids, work, hobbies, household, etc. I'm spread so thin I can't imagine putting more of myself into work or anything else. I'm so tired. I feel burnt out. Maybe I'm doing myself a disservice. Maybe I'm just looking to excuse my lack of hard work.

Soon I won't be the new person at work anymore and I won't be able to rely on that as an excuse as to why I haven't been finishing things quickly. Soon there will be another new person and it would look really bad if they start doing better than me who has been there for three months.

This lack of hard work is happening in my art too. I've plateaued in my skill level.

I should apply myself more.

For a long time I flailed around wanting to get out of tech and thinking I could run away to graduate school, though I didn't have a plan and despite applying and getting in a few times, I never actually went. But now I have a direction I think. I know what I want to study and why I want to study it. I have a goal.

I want to think that I am a wiser person than I was in my 20's having never needed to apply myself before I never learned how to. But now I need to apply myself. I can give myself grace where needed but my goal needs to be to not bite the hand that feeds me and my family. Try a little more at work. Butt in chair, stop letting myself get distracted by literally everything other than what I need to do for work.

With art, enjoy the process, do challenging things because they are interesting.

Stay curious in all things, even if they are hard, even if they are for my job and I feel like there's a wall between me and the thing I need to get done.

Work hard on my grad school goals. This is not a waiting period, this is my life and only I can build it in the direction I want it to go.

Do the hard thing. Climb the wall.

[dollsonmain]

Eh still in a rambling mood I guess.

I've talked to just about anyone that will listen about my frustrations regarding how the gas station is being run (I keep talking about problems when I can't fix them) and literally anyone with retail or retail management experience has been just as confused as I am.

Scott, who has managed at Waffle House, said that not ordering bread correctly was always a sign to him that the manager he was filling in for was bad at their job.

I think the best thing I can do is not try too hard, really. I won't be able to work to my own standards because that's not possible due to the way the store is being managed.

I don't feel like I'd be able to convince her to do things differently (though I did catch her watching me wrap sandwiches as though they were cheese and later reheated one for a customer that I know wasn't wrapped by me because it was very loose, but was wrapped in a similar way), or at least not so soon after being hired.

I do think she's also been annoyed by me finding so much expired product everywhere and that's brought to her attention both how much stuff isn't selling, how badly she's misordered bread, and how infrequently expiration dates are being checked. The things that are being ordered properly are things being ordered by the vendors.

By properly, of course, I mean ordering as much as is needed and only as much as is needed instead of having 30 bags of small dinner rolls 20 of which went bad before they could be used and then running out because no more were ordered, and only ordering enough burger buns to last two days.

I don't know if anyone was told not to use the bread I'd set aside because it was expired and I didn't think to leave a note on the bins. I don't have phone numbers for anyone that works there other than Manager and she's not there, and I know calling won't matter since no one answers the phone.

Will find out tomorrow. If they were put back on the shelf, I'll just have to pull them again and leave a note this time.

Will also find out if the cooler is still covered in rotten milk and if that Monster spill got moldy.

-

I did find my old name tag retractable lanyard from Walmart, which still works because stuff made a mere 20 years ago was drastically better made than stuff like that now, and I know every generation says that which really says something about how shitty things are being made now, and put the store key on it.

It's a little sticky, though, and the deco sticker is yellowed, so the plastic it's made of is certainly degrading.

-

Multiple people have told me I'm pretty at work and I'm an absolute gremlin with goofy hair at the time (I get little hair tufts around my glasses), so I'm not sure what they're on about.

That Guy says the dude that tried to convince me I need to get drunk wanted sex and I'm like bro, I don't think so. He said that's the only reason any guy would try to convince a woman she really should drink alcohol. Who knows.

[supergraphicultramoderngirl]

So thoughts on the STEM boys thing as a guy who was in Comp Sci in college a few years ago. I think many straight cis men (especially younger men)(especially less social men)(especially men in male dominated fields) fall into these shitty behaviors. I think it happens because they realize on some level at some point that they want a romantic connection, but they're so mind bogglingly far from finding that in any sort of natural way that they can't conceive of other ways to go about finding that kind of connection than by thinking about it the same way they think about all their other wants, like it's a game. A lot of them have only ever had male friends and so only know about friendship in the toxicly masculine way that a lot of those types of friendships are. They exist in a space where 90% of their relationships are competitive ones, so they learn quickly to try to out-game each other at everything in order to survive in their social bubble. Then they take that mindset and try to apply it to their soul-crushing romantic loneliness and it's like the fact that romance (and friendship!) requires mutual trust and self-giving doesn't even factor in. These guys have never really even experienced those things to begin with.

I'm not saying any of this to excuse their shitty behavior, but I think understanding bad patterns is the first step towards taking them apart as a society. Also sorry if this is utter rambling nonsense, it's very very late here as I'm typing this. Sorry about all the shit you've been through. I hope you find someone who treats you right. Anyway, I'm just here for the memes, sorry to get involved in your personal stuff.

don’t apologize i appreciate this!!! thank you for putting what i was thinking into better words!!!! and thank u for ur kindness in the last bit :)

now back to your regularly scheduled meme programming

[cloudbattrolls]

Digging Deeper

This drabble is preceded by The Waiting Game and followed by Dead Silent.

You can see her slip, can't you? Start to reveal how paranoid she really is? It's a wonder she holds together, but I can't say I admire her for it.

--

Ullane calls a woman who works for her once in a while, one of the few people she trusts who isn’t fully troll: Zanzul Varzim, who for various reasons is a better reason to call than her signmate to the clinic proper.

The violet comes in several hours later, fortunately not too far from the clinic at the moment, walking in quietly and going to the yellowblood’s office.

The medic has asked the horrorterror hybrid here to use her marvelous ears; her bloodline’s various abilities include hearing ghosts.

The violet closes her eyes, focusing, her iridescent fins twitching slightly as her spots softly glow. When she opens her eyes, they are glowing slightly whitish violet as well.

Zanzul, notepad at the ready, asks Calcit’s ghost if he remembers how he got injured and who attacked him, what tip he was investigating, and how he acquired the information.

Unfortunately, shades of the dead are not always coherent; few hold onto their minds fully in death.

The blueblood’s remnant rambles that they took from his veins what they could not take from his purse, his pockets empty when what they sought was silver. 

Riches flow toward those who copy, he says. This crime was slight, their others greater. He was led astray by promises of truth and justice, but was delivered only emptiness and invisibility.

Ullane has Zanzul question Calcit about his silver further, but he becomes more incoherent, yet still somewhat eloquent. 

Before he fades entirely, he asks what killed him, if her tools were not the cause? 

His lyrical speaking style reminds the medic of her ex auspicitice, and she tries not to think of Widsth Orpheo; there is work to do, and Zanzul has to go.

She returns to the information Yarrex give her about her employee, Halvir Urtyop; the nurse who was the last to see Calcit before he died.

He’s worked for the clinic for several perigees and is noted to be calm and good with patients, with a polite but distant mannerism toward his coworkers, with a perfect legal record and good references.

Ullane dryly comments that she can’t decide if it’s a false lead or if Halvir is way too good at covering his tracks. Yarrex remarks that she might want to decide before the trial, and Ullane deadpans that he’s so wise.

To rule out sabotage from one angle, though she knows it unlikely, Ullane checks the medical machines Calcit was hooked up to that night just to be on the safe side; they are all perfectly in order, her part-time mechanic Priori Poster keeping them well-maintained as always. 

She discusses her next course of action with Xrumon and Yarrex privately in her office, wondering if she should have Halvir followed as she did with Jixill instead of trying to talk to him. 

Luckily, both men point out that this is a bad idea and that if word of it got out, things would become very tense in the clinic. 

Yarrex asks her if she knows any fortune tellers or tarot readers, and as Xrumon wears a pained look Ullane tells the brownblood to go in a corner and put on a dunce cap.

To her surprise, he actually pulls a dunce cap out of his sylladex and does so, leaving the mediculler a bit flummoxed. She asks him why he has that, and he states that he needs to be prepared when working for her.

Ullane had no idea he had one and looks at him as if he fell through the ceiling. Xrumon points out, reluctantly, that she did tell him to do that.

The woman briefly covers her face with her hands and tries to continue onward.

To avoid seeming as if she’s singling Halvir out, the administrator asks all the staff on duty that night if they saw or heard anything suspicious, and receives a variety of answers: Halvir himself says he was surprised at how fast Calcit deteriorated, someone else mentions graffiti on the wall outside, yet another person mentions that the back door was strangely unlocked, and last of all, an entire cellphone was reported thrown away in a trash can.

The final scrap of news catches Ullane’s immediate attention, though she makes note of the others as well.

It may be nothing.

It may be a piece of evidence she sorely needs.

--

The phone, the phone.

If it weren't for me, it would have been useless.

Though I have to give credit elsewhere, too.

[seelestia]

Congratulations for the RESULTS YEAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! YOU DID ITTT!!!! GOOD LUCK FOR THE NEXT STEP OF YOUR LIFE!!

Since I'll be taking it(spm) this year with so little amount of time for preparation, I don't know anymore, especially a lot of things in life have been.. hueh.. I don't know if I'm ready for it, my first exam results for this year, yes good, but I am still not sure of everything, myself mainly.

Sorry for rambling, huwa, I'm so nervous it makes me want to escape school but in order to do that I need to go through that big thing first..! And I'm really sorry, but do you have any study tips? Preparation tips or any other tips for spm? I'd really appreciate them!

(and it's so nice I can have someone to talk about this, thank youuuu!!)

(oh and sorry if I talk too much about it, maybe I'm bringing some bad memories, I'm sorry)

THANK U !!! graduating from highschool has been the biggest relief i've ever felt... i still have more in store for me in the future but at least, that's one gone :') can't wait for u to get thru it too! just hold on a little longer T_T

also, it's ok to worry abt the future! i do that too and it's inevitable - but make sure it doesn't prevent u from staying stagnant in the present. ur future is a result of ur present and luckily, we are all in control of our present so u still have time. make the most of it, i believe in u! 🤍

this feels a little funny to write, but i do have tips! here are some of em:

identify, maintain & improve. in order to get a good grip over all ur subjects, u need to identify which subjects u do well / excel at and which ones u struggle with. evidently, u'll have to direct more efforts towards the latter - but make sure to keep maintaining subjects u do good/average at! as an example, i struggled with math so i focused more on doing more math exercises (which thank god, paid off 😵‍💫).

write ur own notes and by that, i mean: write notes in ur own way! there is no 'correct' way to make notes imo. don't pressure urself to make ur notes look 'pretty' or 'aesthetic' (but ofc if u want to or it makes writing notes fun for u, go ahead!). after all, we make notes to help us understand and simplify complicated stuff (it's giving catabolism /j) !! extra tip: i always add commentary to my notes so i laugh & rmbr them better. e.g. i was making notes abt the types of white blood cells once and i scribbled “we owe it all to u queens" LOL.

use ur free time well. if ur someone who already has a set schedule, all the better! but if ur like me and prefer a more 'free' style, i suggest allocate a tiny bit of ur free time like 15-30 minutes a day to do exercises for one subject. just a little smth to keep ur brain gears turning amidst it all!

ur efforts have to be more than ur teachers. if u really want to excel, u have to do beyond what ur teachers give bcs they only provide u the tools to success. if u want to get there, then u gotta pave the way urself! to put it practically, u can finish the hw ur teacher gave u and do more exercises after that to help sharpen ur understanding more. so, it's kinda like voluntarily giving urself more hw! i'd tie this to the point above bcs that one technically counts as giving urself hw but in a chill way ^^^

lastly, this is less general and more applicable to just spm (i think? i've yet to do my research on education systems in other countries) so i'll use some native language here - tgk soalan exam tahun yg lepas² !!! so u'll familiarize urself with how those yg menggubal soalan make the real deal. doing trial papers & more is the way to go ><

[owlsong74]

thoughts and opinions on the D23 parks announcements under the cut. it's pretty long and rambly, and written as much to get my own thoughts in order as to share them. That said, would gladly hear others' opinions.

(edit: this was written before monday's news, and I've soured on the announcements related to the upper left corner of MK since then)

TLDR: It's more good than bad. A few good things I'm genuinely excited for, and some bad things tempering them. The bad things would have hurt a lot 10 years ago, but Disney is getting predictable in their faults, and we didn't get the worst possible outcomes, so whatever.

The Good

New nighttime parade MK -- genuinely good news, and it looks lovely

Coco DCA -- happy to see this! very cute. I like the sound of focusing on animatronics and use of music. I'm glad its not going to Epcot as was rumored, so we can still have the Three Caballeros there, and enjoy a new, unique dark ride in California. may tip the scales in favor of me wanting to go to DCA every DL trip again alongside Ariel/Monsters/Cars for the dark ride goodness. Basically no notes. Just want to know location and more details.

Lion King Flume, WDS paris -- very weird that they announced that it would be based on the original movie while the concept art very clearly shows the "live action" version. maybe a recent change? It's a good change if so. (Although still very unprofessional to show a Live Action concept art when it probably could've been edited to show the Animated characters within hours of the event.)

This is the resort's first water ride and is badly needed both on that front and as another attraction in WDS' sad lineup.

Will be excited to see more art for this, based on the original movie this time, and especially of interior scenes-- imagine a dark ride version for "I just can't wait to be king"!

A surrounding land was announced with shops/restaurants and I'm curious how they plan on pulling that off, given the humanless, naturalistic setting and relatively less-anthropomorphized characters.

Good idea for park and resort and looking forward to it!

Mostly good with complicating thoughts

Pandora DCA -- as someone who has seen neither of the Avatar movies, but enjoyed Pandora in Florida, I'm looking forward to this, but with less excitement than Coco.

I do like atmospheric boat rides and this looks more impressive than the one in Florida, which I already enjoyed. It seems to be based on the Pirates tech in Shanghai, which will be cool to have stateside. I hope some of the monsters are animatronics.

This addition basically confirms that the California theme for the park is dead, but I really gave up on that several years ago; this was just the final nail in the coffin. DCA is an Everything Park, and that's fine. Whatever. Making it a dumping ground for whatever movie franchise Disney wants to promote in its parks acts as a buffer for the more historical and foundational park, Disneyland. In addition, the California theme was also never uniformly executed well, which makes its watering down much less painful than the watering down of Epcot or Animal Kingdom's themes.

I'm hoping this is slated for the Disneyland Forward land, but I'm hearing it may take over Hollywoodland as well. I'd personally miss the Monsters Inc dark ride and be nostalgic for things like the Animation building or stupid backlot puns, but I don't think there's any reasonable argument that this wouldn't be an upgrade.

Tropical Americas DAK-- the way they described it makes it sound like it should fit in well with other areas of the park, matching Africa and Asia better than Dinoland did, and more generally that the Imagineers are putting a lot of thought into its design. I'm glad Indy is not a carbon copy of the one in California, and the Encanto dark ride sounds cute.

On a more meta level, I'm glad they are still designing and building themed lands that have more than one IP applicable to them, and even the opportunity/necessity for original elements.

I'm personally sorry to lose Dinosaur. It was my favorite attraction on my first trip to Florida as a pre-teen and I love the dinosaurs and kooky premise. That said, we've thought it was going to close for years now, so I've had time to come to terms with it.

It still sucks that they are doing replacements instead of building real expansions when they have the space for it and DAK needs all the capacity it can get. I also hope someday the animal-themed park may feature non-avian dinosaurs again. Overall though, I was happily surprised with how they seem to be handling this.

One remaining question: where are the animal exhibits...?? Isn't this park primarily supposed to be about seeing animals?

Monsters Inc roller coaster DHS -- This has been a rumor on the internet ever since I was a child in the 00s watching Screamscape.net and Disney park fan forums like a hawk. It's a no-brainer and it'll be a fun addition to DHS.

Hoping they're killing the Animation Courtyard for this and not Muppets. Muppet*Vision 3-D isn't an E ticket by any means but it was one of the last major Muppet projects that Jim Henson himself worked on, and has already been evicted from DCA. It's a cute show and one of the better 4D shows at the parks. Its loss would be felt.

VillainsLand MK - YES. This has also been rumored since forever. Again, at least since the early-mid 00s when I first got online. We got basically no details on this, but the art looks cool, and the concept alone is an immediate sell! Very excited for this!

Two reasons why this is in this tier instead of the "good" tier:

1. We don't have any details. Like, for a detail-dry panel, somehow we got even less info for this than for everything else. trying to reserve judgement until we know more.

2. If this is going behind Big Thunder, that means the Cars attractions might be going in a much worse location within Frontierland, which will hurt MK's thematic integrity and atmosphere pretty hard. Admittedly, this is mostly Cars' problem, but it did temper my excitement for this pretty badly during the announcement itself. If we're lucky, both projects are beyond the railroad tracks, even if they shorten the River à la California.

i dont care

all the marvel stuff. Like Pandora, I'm not very familiar with the source material. unlike Pandora, I haven't been impressed with Disney's offerings so far (with the caveat that I haven't gone on Rewind yet, which does sound better than the DCA attractions).

If they blow my socks off, cool! Awesome! If not, whatever. I'm glad others are having fun, and unlike in the past, this time they aren't replacing anything I care about.

Non-parade nightime shows. I'm sure they'll be fine. I don't love Disney Animation sing-along format shows (especially outside of Fantasmic, where a lot of the interest comes in the form of props, actors, the use of the big river ships, and the dragon). However, I realize this is very much a me thing, and their mere existence doesn't bother me.

cruises and fortnite. I'm not the audience for these things and I don't even understand why fortnite costume announcements were part of this panel.

...huh?

Great Moments with Mr. Disney or whatever DL -- It's mere existence vexes me, but more out of an intolerance for corporate worship of the man than anything to do with my theme park opinions.

I wonder if they'll also update the Lincoln figure to match him in tech? That would be neat, at least. Keeping Abe updated to the latest Animatronics tech is a long-kept tradition, and the last update was back in 2009.

If nothing else, we'll probably get some banger memes out of it.

bad

Cars in Frontierland MK -- ?????????????? why are we doing this. are we really sacrificing the thematic integrity of the land, and for the sake of the Cars franchise, of all things?

I only hope that this is in the area behind Big Thunder. If it's back there, it may feel like a modern sub-land separate from the more traditional "Western" sections, with a transitional area in-between. It would even follow the already-established pattern of moving forward in time as you walk from Liberty Square through Frontierland. The Cars ride itself could even be cute and better than DCA's if handled well.

However, it doesn't seem like we are so lucky.

The announcement of Villainsland and the rumors of Tom Sawyer Island closure make it seem more likely to be taking over the Rivers of America, at least the back half of it.

Edit, with the new Monday announcement:

It's not only taking over part of the river, it's taking over the front half, with the back half probably being used by Villains. This is the stupidest, most short-sighted decision I think I've seen Disney take in a long time.

MK's river is very nice, especially at night, and the TSI is absolutely delightful, if simple, and a good place to beat the crowds and concrete found in the rest of the park. Neither are E-ticket extravaganzas, but they aren't meant to be, offering a different kind of low-key attraction, and adding a lot of atmosphere to MK.

That atmosphere also includes placemaking for the three E-tickets in the area: Haunted Mansion, Tiana, and Big Thunder. All three will be negatively impacted by this change.

These things might not sound like much, but they add up and make the Disney parks what they are, and why they are loved.

It'd be a huge shame to lose such an asset to the park, especially one that still a nearly untouched example of classic WED imagineering, between the sightlines, the river gags, the island caves, the riverboat, and everything else.

(And this not even reiterating the fact that Cars does not "fit" comfortably inside the bounds of the historically based lands around the river, which I already mentioned in my initial paragraphs.)

This decision is not easily reversible and wrecks the entire balance and design of the entire northwest corner of the park, all for the sake of selling cars merch. It's times like this where I wonder why I even bother being a fan of these places. Or, for that matter, of themed design in general.

Why can't this be its own separate land from Frontierland, as with Cars Land in DCA? Why not in DHS, which badly needs more capacity and already houses other difficult-to-fit-elsewhere Pixar movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and even Cars already?

/edit

I don't know. I hope the rides are fun, at least.

what we didn't see

Literally anything not based on a pre-established property would have been nice to see. Can we literally do nothing original anymore in these parks? Are the parks always going to be tied to movies from now on, like at Uni?

Where's this generation's Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain, Spaceship Earth, Sindbad, Country Bears, Soarin' Over California, Expedition Everest, Test Track, Etc Etc Etc? Let Imagineers create their own stories and experiences for us to fall in love with! Have some trust in the medium!

I'm of course not totally against rides being based on movies or TV. Indiana Jones, Snow White, Tower of Terror, and Rise of the Resistance are some of my favorite attractions, period. But it's disappointing as someone who got interested in Disney in general through the parks, and not the other way around, to see them do nothing but tie-ins.

It also makes it harder to defend themed design as an art-form unto itself when the industry leader in the US, and in many ways the main innovator in the medium for multiple decades, only seems to treat its parks as a merchandising and marketing arm for its film and tv properties and little else.

/fin rant

We also didn't see the announcement for a new Tomorrowland for Disneyland, which was heavily rumored. It's disappointing to see the land stagnate for another decade, but tbh, I would be happy to let the current moment pass before they completely redo this land again.

It certainly needs the help. Literally anything would be better for the Carousel Theater's plot of land or the Magic Eye Theater than what currently exists-- even if it's not my cup of tea, it'd be a use for dead space in a park short on expansion land. Autopia needs electric vehicles at a minimum (although I'd love to see some new, cool theming or landscaping along the track as well), the Peoplemover tracks either need to be reused or torn down, Astro Orbiter needs to be moved to open up the entrance bottleneck, and tbh Star Tours is outmoded by the new Star Wars land.

However, I don't trust them not to pave over the Submarine Lagoon, and this is important enough to me to let the husk of Innoventions rot for another decade in exchange.

I would honestly be fine if Disneyland and Disneyland Paris (the castle park from the second generation of Imagineers) were largely untouched until winds have changed in favor of a bit of respect for what already exists, original works, and coherent non-single-franchise-specific lands again. Luckily we have DCA and WDS, whose needs are still more urgent anyway.

Finally, we also didn't see the constantly rumored Imagination Pavilion update. Imo, this is fine for the same reason. Figment and Dreamfinder deserve better than an Inside Out reskin.

However, as far as Epcot goes, it would have been nice to get the Play Pavilion and Mary Poppins ride back on the docket. It's also weird we got a mention of Test Track 3.0 but no new details or art.

Conclusion

This panel could have been way worse than it was, and I'm excited for some of the new attractions.

The disappointments were more of the same-old things I've started to expect with Disney parks, with nothing original, and the continued disintegration of park-level (DCA, to a lesser extent DAK) and land-level (Frontierland) themes.

However, the things announced look to be quality in isolation if nothing else, and they're unique to their respective parks, which is a good change from copying everything verbatim from one coast to another. I'm genuinely excited for the Coco boat ride, Lion King Flume, Villains land, and new nighttime parade, and cautiously optimistic for much of the rest.

The downsides felt like nothing near the disappointments of the past, where they announced rides I didn't care about to replace classics that didn't deserve to die, and made the offputting decision to put Star Wars Land in Disneyland instead of saving it for a 3rd park or keeping it unique to Florida.

(Although, frankly, Cars for Frontierland might be worse than SWGE in DL, and the difference is simply that I'm used to disappointment now. Edit: with Monday's announcement, I'm sure of this. SWGE is a lop-sided, unbalanced, out-of-scale addition to Disneyland, but at least it leaves the original park largely intact, and feels like a Separate Thing beyond the bounds of the berm/railroad)

Overall, not a bad showing.

[eighteenoheight]

Baker Incident Report

I 100% believe this little piece of content in RE Village has massive implications for the next game and also started my main theory for what's going to happen in the future. But also upon rereading I have a lot more questions and I'm just excited about it leave me alone. Probably long so gonna put in the read more thingy.

I numbered all these screenshots but can't exactly remember why they're in that order and structuring stuff has never been my strong suit. I'll work it out as I go and probably do a lot of repeating. Let's get into this bitch. Only got screenshots of stuff that really stuck out to me so it's not everything.

I think this has at least two points of hmm resident evil 9 hints?? First is what's going on with the BSAA and/or other players in this situation which I'll go into later on but I think I'm starting with the second thing, which is Miss Zoe Baker.

My theory/wishful thinking that Zoe will be the next protagonist or at least have a role in RE9 is reinforced by this whole thing and ties in really well with what happened at the end of Village. Chris Redfield and Zoe Baker seem to be on the same page when it comes to the BSAA at this point. I'm pretty sure the corruption of the BSAA will be a big plot point, and perhaps this report is giving us an insight into who will be at the centre of this story.

Maybe I'm looking into this a little too much, but getting details on a character like Zoe who was a supporting character in the previous game is a little strange to me. Should probably dive deeper but RE has a lot of single appearance characters that are never brought up again, so why are we getting this info for a character who was only playable in a short DLC? Whatever, the detail of being a reporter gives me lightbulb moments like playing as a reporter would work so well in a Resident Evil game with gathering files and collectibles. I can imagine a lot of fun gameplay elements like writing information in a notepad or something, maybe more emphasis on finding certain files to progress. Also puzzle solving for someone whose job is investigating all the little details. If she's not the playable protagonist she could have a role similar to Ingrid Hunnigan where she's on call to find out stuff to help the player navigate through whatever nasty shit is going to happen in RE9. Outside of a new character, I could only imagine Zoe being the protagonist for the sake of the survival horror. A civilian with limited combat experience would be better than Chris Redfield who has plenty of experience and resources to fight.

Okay that's that on that for now until another ramble happens. Something I'm super ready to get into is what's the BSAA up to???

Initially I didn't pay much attention to this part, and due to bad reading comprehension I'm still unsure of the meaning. In my mind this is either explaining that the Baker incident was another outbreak to happen. Or... Something potentially darker, is that it was one of many coverups that we don't know about. I'm leaning more towards the latter because the BSAA is widely known for combatting bioterrorism so this would be a useless piece of information, and finding out that the BSAA has other indiscretions lets us know that something fishy is going on and has been going on for a while.

Oh great, back on the ramble. No I'll keep it brief. Another maybe hint that Zoe will lead the next game, she's going to see her investigation through to the end. Okay done.

The main point here is allegedly (don't sue me BSAA) someone doesn't want any of this getting out, and have tried to stop Zoe finding out the full truth. What I want to know is whom. The BSAA isn't the only bitch with something to hide. This could just be referring to them, but I can't help but wonder if The Connections have a hand in trying to cover up everything going on. Also would like to know HOW Zoe's been impeded in her investigation.

So what we can gleam from this report is:

The BSAA has been aware of The Connections for a while

They failed to prevent what happened in Dulvey despite having the opportunity

They covered up the Baker incident in an attempt to avoid responsibility

The biggest thing here is they knew The Connections were up to something in Eastern Europe, which brings us into the next thing, and also a huge red flag.

For added context because putting everything here would be a chore, which I'm glad for because Tumblr is struggling with these screenshots. This is Ethan being interviewed by someone from the BSAA, relocating the Winters' because of what happened in Dulvey.

Now bitch, we know the BSAA was aware of The Connections' activity in Eastern Europe. So WHYYY send the Winters' there for their "protection" when that's almost guaranteed to have negative consequences. That raises some questions, and none of the answers are particularly good. So either the BSAA planned on using Ethan and Mia as pawns to draw out The Connections. The other thing is a little conspiracy theory of me but I just realised what else could be happening. What if they were hoping The Connections would eliminate the Winters' so the BSAA wouldn't have to. It's less likely but it's been established that they are willing to do what it takes to look as clean as possible while getting their hands mega dirty. Something I believe needs to be answered is why this happened. Why send Ethan and Mia to Eastern Europe where you know The Connection are operating?

We already knew but this makes it clear that Chris is not involved in the questionable choices the BSAA is making. And it seems that he is actively disregarding the BSAA at this point. This I think is one reason why I wonder if the previous little conspiracy theory might have some weight. Why are they so concerned that Chris is in Eastern Europe? Is it because they knew he would do what it takes to protect the Winters'? Another little flat-earth moment from me is the one part of harsh language is in regards to Miranda. Keep it professional, especially with someone who basically created the BSAA. Did they already know who Miranda was perhaps? Were they shocked that Chris knew about her? This goes into my theory that The Connections and the BSAA are more... Connected... than we think. Pun not intended because I think it's a stupid one but what other word can I possibly use? I can't help but wonder if the BSAA was infiltrated by The Connections at some point, and that's why they "failed" to get rid of Eveline until she escaped the control of The Connections. In this report was a series of comments by civilians at points, and one did stick out to me. Probably could have added a screenshot of it but hindsight is four years ago. Essentially people knew about the shipwreck, though dismissed as conspiracy theorists. Apparently there were satellite photos of the massive cargo ship. In the three years of it being sat there in the bayou why was it never investigated, unless someone already knew about it and had it covered up... Who else has been involved in concealing the truth to the public? The BSAA. What if they already knew and were monitoring Eveline's evolution? May explain how they arrived so quickly when she turned into that huuuuge mold monster. Again conspiracy theory brain, maybe they were just inept? Maybe it was The Connections hiding this.

Great yet again, this also contributes to my belief that Zoe is going to reappear in the next game. Why else would someone send her a copy of the BSAA letter?

Bigger question for me here is who sent it. The actual answer is probably Chris but I don't really buy it. Especially looking at his actions towards Ethan from Village, he doesn't want innocent civilians getting involved. He would probably know that Zoe is desperate to uncover the truth, so why encourage her in a way that could endanger her life? I think there are plenty of options for who sent the letter. I don't have a clue who. Could venture Ada Wong because that seems like her vibe. Despite popular perception of being a self-serving villainous type, she's always down to help those in need (such as helping Sherry and Jake in 6 just because she could). Also I do believe she will be involved in The Connections plot as she was supposed to be in Village. There are also BSAA agents who may have access to their communications, such as Jill, Barry, Rebecca, a member of the hound squad. Perhaps someone close to Chris who could access his mail like Claire Redfield. Could be someone with an axe to grind with the BSAA, or maybe someone, perhaps a secret company or a counter-terror organisation, who intends on leading Zoe to her death to tie up loose ends......... Spooky stuff.

If anyone does read this I apologise. I've been stuck on stupid thanks to this series and desperately trying to work out what happens next even though I could simply wait until RE9 is announced. It started off as fun and now here were are looking like that meme of Charlie from Always Sunny in front of his conspiracy board. That's me. I already have a whole thought train about Mia Winters and wtf is going on with her. The fixation doesn't have an end in sight.

[viatagrinner]

Gilbert von Obsidian. Christmas. I give you my love.

Chapter 2

Gilbert brings lots of sweets for the children. The prince looks at Lucien.

Lucien, who was carrying a large number of packages, puts them in the nearest wooden box with an impassive expression on his face.

Boy: Wow...it's true! Thank you Gil!

Girl:  I love you! In the future you will be my husband.

Gilbert: Uh, really? I'm so happy.

Gilbert has been picking out gifts for these children since the beginning. The prince's red eyes, which are usually frightening, today are somehow good-natured.

The boy turned his attention to MC. He recognized her.

(Wait, this child lives next door.)

She needs to be careful not to give herself away.

Boy: Do you happen to know Gil?

MC: Uh-huh... Are we friends?

Boys: Cool. Gil is a nice guy, right?

MC rambles something affirmative and asks how often the kids hang out with Gil.

Boy: From time to time. I happened to meet him on the street and made him our friend.

Also, Gilbert knows a lot of things, and he taught the kids how to write.

.... Also, how to rip off a pickpocket in case of an emergency, how to protect yourself, how to get back at someone you hate.

MC is dumbfounded.

MC: Master Gilbert.

(What are you teaching!?)

The prince asked not to use titles and call him Gil.

MC: ....Gilbert...mister.

Gilbert: You're stubborn.

(As one might expect, even I can't behave like the children.)

The prince didn't force her.

Gilbert thinks that even if these are bad things, it is better to know them.

Gilbert: It might someday become a weapon to protect yourself.

He strokes the child's head. The kid is happy.

Gilbert: Most of the children here are poor. They have to dream.

Gilbert: Children in any country have the right to be happy because they haven't done anything wrong.

Maybe he says that because there are a lot of poor kids like that in his country.

━━━━━━━༻❀✿❀༺━━━━━━━

Gilbert beckons to the boy, who says he knows MC.

Because of her "shyness", the girl says little about herself, and the prince wants to know more.

Gilbert: What does she usually do?

(Oh, no... Not good!)

The residents have orders of secrecy. But the children are an exception.

The boy told Gilbert that the heroine works in a bookstore.

......No way to mislead.

Gilbert: Hey, isn't she the daughter of a nobleman?

Boy: What are you talking about? MC is my neighbor. She's on good terms with my mom!

Gilbert: I've never heard about it before. ....Hehe

The prince from Obsidian throws a meaningful look at the heroine. She averts her eyes.

She wonders if this was Gilbert's plan all along.

Gilbert wanted to ask something else, but MC cuts him off. She wants to tell a story.

The children are curious.

Girl: I love love love stories!

MC tells them about the prince and princess.

━━━━━━━༻❀✿❀༺━━━━━━━

City Square. Near the fountain.

MC spoke for a very long time to keep Gilbert from putting words in. She is tired, wants to pretend that nothing has happened and quickly leave.

However, the prince prevents the girl from escaping by grabbing her hand.

Gilbert: Aren't children obedient and sweet?

Gilbert: Adults can keep their mouths shut, but children can't lie.

Gilbert: And they're good at keeping an eye on the town. It's better than hiring a bad informant.

MC: ...Is it possible that you are using a child?

(Master Gilbert's good intentions weren't just good intentions... they were little spies.)

Gilbert observes, if chattering is "use," perhaps it is.

However, the girl lied. How she explains it?

(Even if you didn't ask the child, you knew all along.)

She can't even tell a bad lie.

MC: ...I'm begging you. Please don't tell anyone about me.

I had to admit defeat.

Gilbert: You're stupid.

Gilbert: When you "ask," you choose to be in subjection to me.

Gilbert: Now you're really mine, aren't you?

There's a holiday outside and people are cheering, but not the heroine, the atmosphere around her has changed.

Stroking her head, he lightly coiled her hair. There was a black ribbon in her hair.

Gilbert: Since you're mine, you'll listen to me, right?

MC: ....If it's not to Rhodolite's detriment.

Gilbert: Okay, then.

(...What should I do if I'm asked to do something outrageous?)

Closing her eyes, she feels his breath...

Gilbert: I'd love to visit your home.

Gilbert's Masterlist