#this is so fucking hard to color this isnt even the full image

[shimaiitsoh]

[correctproseka]

So @queer-prosekai told me to do my own top 10 list of the sets + my favorite card of each, so here's some rules i set for myself

1- i have to REALLY like the full set, not just really like a card but a little less to the others (cough Saki in no seek no find, for one example. Though other sets have also triggered this rule)

2- i also am judging by card only, not the story, however. I am not completely good at this because a lot of the cards that are already good get to be way better because of the event behind it.

3- only counting the trained cards, not untrained, it would be a very different list.

ANYWAYS. LIST STARTS NOW:

10: LIGHT UP THE FIRE

Oh my poor child are you okay??? Going past how much i like this event. Which would get me here writing for hours mind you. I also just really like the set. The dark colors and the fact that in all 3 cards you can barely see color- its black and then each has their own color showing up, An has red, Toya has blue and Rin has white. It just gives a fucking impact on you looking at them. Would not change a thing, really.

9: WISHING TO THE BLUE SKY FOR YOUR HAPPINESS

Anyone else remembers qhen this set just totally broke us? Oh my god. I do. Shizuku in a suit. An in this pretty ass dress. I just cjsjcjsmcjsncjdj. It was mainly those two that really hit for me, specially An. But when it hit it hit hard man

8: SMILE OF A DREAMER

It was the first lim set, so it was really simple compared to what we get now. But simple doesn't mean bad. I really love the colors and idk man i have a soft spot for it i cant defend everything my brain is a dvd logo bouncing around😭

7: HEAR ME HOPEFUL SHOW

Angel Minori is one of the prettiest sets ever, it just isnt higher because personally i like some others more, doesn't mean this shit isnt fucking gorgeous. The lightning, the setting. I love this mmj card with everyone in it bc this is such a beautiful place???? Just. Licks this set like an ice cream then cries bc i ate the pretty ass set.

6: Someday, from the depths of despair

Lowkey i did not expect this one to be this high before i made this list. But it is just gorgeous setting, gorgeous lightning. It just makes my brain go brrrr looking at it.

5- What lies behind lies ahead

The hermit set has people in a chokehold for years, and for good reason. The hairstyles are pretty, the au ideas one can get out of it are yummy. AND THE CARD THEMSELVES ARE SO CKSJFKDK. All of them having this golden thing around as if hermit was a story told to us by images. It just could be a poster. Its certainly pretty enough to.

4: Our escape for survival

Sorry for the amount of niigo here. It will happen again. Niigo never misses. Anyways i just love this set sm. The lightning, muffled colors and backgrounds just hit so fucking hard. The rain shared on the 3 cards from the set is so symbolical and so is the clock and the engines on Mafuyu's and Luka's card. It tells us a story before we even read the event and that is beautiful.

3: Close game offline

I had to skip this set and i am still sad about it. Man the the the cmsucksjcjx aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa viddygame and neon.

2- Unnamed Harmony

I like silly, your honor. I also like water. Saki's card has both /hj. No but really i just really like the outfits and colors and just everything in this set it would be a CRIME to not have this here as a Saki stan. Just look at it!!!!

1: Draw your bow in this white world

.. so, who's surprised? I can barely even find a favorite card in this set. From Kaitos . Kaito. (Does he need more?), Shizuku's gracefulness and beautifulness and Mafuyu just pretty and badass breaking the "screen"/mirror/window with an arrow. Its just soooooo ancjamvjsjchsjxncnsicjsv chomps.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Knock the future, which light up the fire took it off on a technicality (i like 3/3 cards on light up the fire and 2/3 on knock the future bc Honami is very meh compared to the others to me)

Anyways if anyone else wants to do this as a challenge id love it. And @probably-not-niigo i challenge u to do the same

[3liza]

talking about flters and real beauty vs fake beauty and cultural standards etc always makes me think about all the victorian and edwardian novels i read, where the things that people thought about beauty were recorded at length. recently ive been reading a lot of Thomas Hardy (best known for Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure) and there’s so much discussion of the beauty of people, particularly love interests, both men and women. and these writers, and their eras, and the culture of the eras, was of course obsessed with beauty and youth and also artificial beauty (being the eras of the really transformative corsets, not to mention some of the earliest industrialized or modernized beauty products or processes), as all human societies are to a greater or lesser extent in their own ways, but the thing that sticks out to me in reading these books is how beauty is not the singular or even the most important aspect of a person’s overall attraction. if someone has a beautiful face or figure, it is mentioned, but never to the obsessive, fixated extent that physical beauty is isolated from and elevated over all other features in modern american/western culture. there are plenty of protagonists or love interests in these books who are described as not young, or not remarkable, or not pretty, or even ugly or frightening, but nevertheless compellingly sexy and attractive, or simply interesting, or worthy in some way. 

its weird that the cultural consciousness has become seemingly ignorant of non-physical attraction. like that anon that was in my inbox talking about how they were “normal looking’ and therefore “needed” filters in order to “compete” with attractive people. it’s a weirdly mercenary and capitalist view of the social economy, first of all, which absolutely is not zero-sum no matter how badly the social networks want to convince us that it is. but there was never a single mention from that person about their ability to charm or entertain or attract using anything except a fake photo of themselves. wild. im fuckin worried about them! im worried about every young person how has brain worms

when i was about 4 and starting to become aware of how much adults were obsessed with my appearance because i was dainty and blonde and could do a passable shirley temple imitation, my parents gave me a very serious lecture about what physical beauty actually meant: i didn’t work for it (yet, i mean i do a lot of work now as an adult), it was given to me genetically. and someday, maybe sooner or more suddenly than anyone could predict, it would be gone. if accident, illness, or hardship didnt get me, old age eventually would. so with that being a certainty, i had better build a life and a personality on something other than my looks. and i said, ok. every day i get older im more grateful for that advice and the fact i decided to take it to heart instead of trying to gamble on Being Hot for long enough to get job security. which is also a valid career choice but it’s a risky one. always better to have a fallback just in case.

im of an age rn where a lot of women in my peer group are starting to get a very hunted vibe about the impending end of their youth, which is valid. theres nothing foolish about it, its not their fault, theyre not stupid or somehow lacking because this is an issue in their lives. but im noticing that i am significantly less freaked out by, idk, how long ago the 90s were or whatever, because i have been expecting to get old since i was in kindergarten. and i had adults around me who were just like “hey this is what old people look like and what bodies do over time. its not a big deal. everything on tv is fake btw”. i didnt get out unscathed, ive had eating disorders and all sort of weird brain-body problems. 

my advice i guess if i have any is to go outside and really look around you. notice how almost every single woman, and most men, has at least some cellulite, even if its just when theyre sitting down or whatever. notice how everyone has blemishes and zits. most people have some dandruff. if someone is wearing makeup, it’ll be cakey or balled up or smeared or uneven or clumpy even if it’s just a bit. everyone over the age of about 20 will have stretch marks somewhere, even if they aren’t visible except in certain light. i was under the impression i didnt have many until one time seeing a picture of my butt in FULL natural light and finally saw the entire surface of both cheeks was covered in straitions, they just were hard to see most of the time because im the color of drywall and scars tend to be light. it’s really easy to spot hair extensions and wigs and fake nails and fake tans and shapewear once you figure out how to see it. and none of these things take away from someone’s character. 

there’s a strong argument to be made that when corsetry was the norm, no woman was expected to simply be the shape of the corset unless she was actually wearing it. photographs and drawings of women in the 19th and early 20th century were retouched a bit as all photos have been, yes, but they were not retouched to make naked women appear to be corset-shaped. THAT is new. people are now getting surgery to be corset-shaped. and like, i dont think anyone should not be able to look however they want if they want to have that surgery. that is one meaning of cyborg feminism, probably. what i dont want, is for anyone to ever think that’s a normal way to look (except for veryvery tiny mathematical outliers, the Barbie Hips Georg of instagram) WITHOUT surgery or shapewear. which i see a lot now. i saw an instagram fashion designer with a very obviously surgically-altered body answer a question in her inbox about how she maintained her figure with some nonsense about diet and exercise. so now some (probably young) person out there is thinking that if they just do intermittent fasting enough, theyll look like a woman with butt and boob implants, a BBL, fillers, etc. that person probably thinks that if they arent able to diet and exercise good enough, they will fail at looking that way through their own laziness and lack of work ethic or whatever. i see that mindset constantly, especially in young women.

the surgery isnt the issue. the look itself isnt the issue. the filters themselves arent the issue. the issue is that on none of these images, is there an indication of what has been changed or how. the brain damage effect of filters would be lessened, i think, if everyone KNEW which images had been altered and how. so maybe thats the answer? mandatory labeling? i dont know. what’s terrifying is that the average adult human in america cant tell from a glance what has been altered in a photograph, no matter how clumsily, because they simply dont have a template for what a real human looks like anymore. the false images have supplanted the real images, the actual memories of alive humans that you know and have met or lived with. 

if you go into any of the shittier men’s spaces online you will find threads for posting pictures of “beautiful girls”, and it is page after page after page of teenagers in full makeup, hair extensions or wigs, circle lenses, facetuned, bodytuned, surgery, etc, and then hundreds of men yearning and fanning themselves over her “natural beauty”. dont go looking for this stuff, it will permanently fuck you up to know what a basic guy on the bus is thinking about women every day. dont do it

but i also seriously predict a backlash into “natural” looks after this current madness, similarly to how the 1960s saw the rise of the hippie girl with swingin titties, pit hair and no high heels after the consumer beauty madness of the 50s. of course the 60s beauty ideals were in some ways just as fake, but there was some authentic yearning towards a freedom from capitalist bodies as well. so when that happens send me $20: paypal.me/3liza. should be in like the next 4 years or so. thanks

[frosted-night]

Jack Frost Designs Review

Yes it’s finally his time. This is going to include his book designs including previous incarnations in said books. There are more movie concept designs than book so, let’s dig in shall we?

This was in fact the first ever Jack Joyce designed while he came up with The Guardians Of Childhood. He even comes with his own backstory! (Which was cut. Sorry Joyce posts walls of text so it’s a girthy read.)

So instead of a young mischievous trickster, we got a much more depressing story of Jack. (Jack by default is sad obviously) but this one... It kind of hits differently and almost reminds me of the story he crafted for Pitch. A dad who tried to defend his family but through tragic events was ripped from them and changed completely. Design wise, he’s a lot more tree than snow. There doesn’t exist a colored version of this so we’ll never know if he sported winter and dull dead leaf colors rather than grassy greens.This Jack has a weird presence to him, I can’t put my finger on it. Rating: 6/10 He’s really neat! Just a little too Autumn feeling rather than a blend of both Autumn and Winter.

Nightlight feels like the baby evolution if Jack was a pokemon and that's what I’m gonna stick with. Below is a more recent version of him colored.

In all honesty that one is easier on the eyes proportion wise because sometimes Joyce has ��interesting’ anatomy choices but we aint going into that today. It’s interesting how his hair somehow looks shorter and longer than Jack’s at the same time. Could be because the longer strands float seamlessly but star boy hair physics what can ya do. It’s a little hard to tell what is his skin and what is his armor, so that is a casuality in making a character only have one or two colors in their color scheme. I love other artist’s depictions of Nightlight but the canon one feels a little weak color wise. Rating: 5/10 Sorry, get some better LEDs and then come back.

Here we have a book Jack but I can’t entirely recall if this was used in the books or not. I digress. This design looks like him still wearing very Nightlight-esque armor/clothing and slowly growing into his new persona as Jack Frost. The intricacies are hard to make out but we’ll work with it. This one is very interesting to me because he very much looks like an older teen close to young adult. His hair looks very fluffy too. Not many complaints about this one but not much praise either.

Rating: 6/10 Not great but doesn’t stand out that much.

Remember when I said Joyce had ‘interesting’ anatomy decisions? Jack looks like he has half a head here and it bothers me GREATLY. This is the adult Jack design he went with. Supposedly he likes the opera and he sure looks it. This! Exists!! Kind of wish it didn’t. The outfit is nice but it just doesn’t fit Jack as a whole. This just screams to me that it’s someone else with a similar-ish hairstyle.

Rating: 3/10 Guess he’d be the...Phantom Of The Opera. (I’ll go home and so should he.)

And finally the final Jack. This is the one that almost exactly resembles the Jack we got in the movies(Probably because it was made after the movie but w/e) but just add a cape on him. I can’t really tell if hes got a hoodie and a cape, or just a cloak+hood on top of a sweatshirt. It isn’t too important because my thoughts on this one are obvious. Rating: 10/10 Edna Mode would have a field day with you boy.

MOVIE DESIGN TIME

Joyce claims this is a design he drafted when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered to voice Jack and I can kind of see that with how his face is drawn here. This Jack looks a lot more like a warrior and less of that trickster look. I can’t say I’m a fan of the weird antenna his hood has but his sword is really cool looking.

Rating: 4/10 Nice bow and sword but it can’t save your fashion choices.

This looks like a lanky 11-13 year old who would put rocks or slugs in my shoes and relish in my disgust. He has the exact look of a snot nose kid and I’m unsure how to feel about it.

His various hairstyles drafted here sort of make him softer looking or just more of a snot nose, no in between. Maybe even an Anime Protagonist.

The top right one almost looks like Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon if you squint. It’ll be a little hard to rate them all as one individual but why not.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate them but they aren’t my cup of tea.

AH- IS THAT A FUCKIN GREMLIN?

Oh wait no it isn’t he looks like a 10 year old. Whatever don’t feed him after midnight. The staff’s design of not being shaped like a G is an interesting tidbit but the whole design looks like he’s really young or like a troll etc. This Jack looks like he thinks girls have cooties uses outdated slang.

Rating: 4/10 This is me being generous.

It honestly looks like he hiked his pants up all the way to his chest. A late teen with horrid fashion choices once again. Not many other thoughts here.

Rating: 2/10 Get a sweater on or something.

This is one is very interesting looking to me. His clothes looked a lot more leather based and very human-like. The tatters, tears and frays all make him look like he was a victim of an accident that never changed his clothes. It makes me wonder if this Jack had the same death as the final movie Jack or something else entirely. Either way, this one looks like hes a mid to late teen which really adds to my intrigue.

This was another image that greatly resembled the design so I included it here. It almost looks like his skin is blue here which is pretty neat to me at least. He’s also got leaf motifs here, which from the first Jack design Joyce made, we can see a pattern here.

Rating: 8 /10 I was originally weirded out by his head but now its not so bad.

This Jack is definitely dressed more like a nature boy rather than him having human influenced fashion and it’s an appealing touch. The tiny leaf sprouting from his staff is also kind of cute since the designers seemed to want to put leafs somewhere on his designs. His hairstyle is also very cute but it reminds me of Sasuke Uchiha in a sense. (Not a setback for me at least)

Rating: 7/10 13 year old Jack is going thru a phase.

I thought this Jack didn’t show up again in story boards but I was wrong!

They look a little different from each other but just similar enough to pair together, so bare with me. The first one obviously has looser pants, slightly longer sleeves and got his leaf motif going. This second Jack is a VERY green. It gives the impression that this Jack made his clothes out of plants and natural materials. Again I’m not wholly sure if greens fit his color scheme but they sure went for it for a while. I can’t say I’m a fan of it because it heavily reminds me of Peter Pan.

However a very similar looking Jack could be found in this storyboard. It doesn’t look as green as the other storyboards made it out to be and looks more like dead grass. Which is a pretty nice touch.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate it but it just doesn’t vibe yknow.

Speaking of a vibe...hoo this certainly has one.  This Jack isn’t old but certainly doesn’t look very young, maybe in the 20-30 range, thats just me. He has facial features that remind me of Pitch but resembles the Jack Frost of Santa Clause 3

That being said, I wondered if him looking similar to Pitch was in the storyline of them being brothers.(Which was a scrapped thing, who knew.) He’s a bit more menacing in this design but certainly seems like he relishes in his work.

Rating: 4/10 I’d make it a lower score but I gotta give it props

NOW THIS JACK IS KINDA INTERESTING. This one looks like he’s 16 and going through a grunge phase. He’s gonna play Nirvana loudly and not turn it down even if you tell him too. His staff itself has mini icicles hanging off of it and leafs look stuck to his shirt. Did you glue or staple those on Jack? His hair also looks much longer than his other designs and I kind of dig it( Shut up I’m bias.) I’m not wholly sure why else this design has stuck with me but it just has something about it that I just love. I wish there was a full body drawing of it.

(He also kinda has the same hair as the Jack Frost in Runescape but I wont go on about that hoo hoo)

Rating: 9/10 *Bad Boy by Cascada plays in the distance*

This one definitely feels like middleschooler trying to be in a band. His sticks just resemble drumsticks to me what can I say. I’m a big fan of his shoes and his color scheme screams a hibernating tree in winter. His hair also looks like it’s covered in frost rather than it being wholly white, which is very neat!! He looks like he wants to fight but has slight hesitance. Overall a very balanced Jack.

Rating: 8/10 He’s ready for band practice

Not many thoughts here, I just found these tiny Jack designs cute. His hoodie being a jacket instead just adds to the charm of this one.

No talk to him he angy.

Rating: 6/10 fun sized boi

Now this Jack resembles the one earlier that dressed entirely in leather brown colors, however he clearly is different than that one. I’m gonna say it, he looks like a zombie or undead in this design and its pretty fucking gnarly. I don’t know whats going on with his hair but I’m gonna assume it’s just the wind making it look like that. He just has the vibe that he was once human but was turned into something else entirely. It isnt in uncanny territory but borders that. This version of Jack meeting Pitch and the others would have been *very* interesting. Rating: 7/10 Eat a twinkie Jack you’ll feel better.

The final design! I can’t complain much about this one. The way his staff subtly has a G shape and a hexagon(his signature shape) is a wonderful touch. Additionally, the way the frost is gathered mostly where his hand is such an intricate detail. His signature hoodie is iconic at this point so I can’t bad mouth that either.(I can’t anyway because there's no complaints from me here.) Although, I never understood the leather straps that his pants had or their functions. I couldn’t find any colonial outfits that resembled Jack’s pants so its a total mystery to me at least.

And I can’t go on about this design until I mention the snowflake pattern in his eyes

Pure beauty. It’s at a hue of blue that almost looks impossible to have, combined with the electric blue color of the snowflake in his eyes. The amount of detail in this movie amazes me to this day. Rating: One Great Blizzard <3/10

[barryjeanblues]

taako meets death (again)

(also posted to my ao3)

taako has met two raven queens in his life before now.

well, close enough, at least. most - though not all - of the worlds the starblaster had traveled to had gods, and surprisingly enough, those gods were usually - though not always - strikingly similar to their homeworlds gods. (this was useful, because one of the crews number relied very heavily on a certain nature god for his magic. luckily, the nature or life god of each world always seemed to have a soft spot for little old merle, even if they werent merles traditional cloven-hoofed pan.)

twice, taako had met the death god - someone equivalent to faeruns raven queen. 

this had led to taakos understandable trepidation upon kravitz finally putting his foot down and insisting taako meet his mother boss. 

the first time taako had met a raven queen, she had been… overwhelming. the light of creation had fallen into a forest dedicated to her and her followers, and the head acolyte refused to give the wandering crew the light unless they first received permission from the queen.

the crew had agreed, with no other option, bracing themselves to firmly explain the direness of the situation. surely a goddess would be intelligent enough to understand. 

that raven queen had burst into a forest cleaning in an explosion of black feathers, half illusion, half steel, so that when lup brushed the smoky feathers from her eyes they blurred and dissipated, but when magnus tried the same thing he yelped and brought his hand back bleeding. 

that raven queens laughter had been eerie and echoing, almost but not quite mocking, almost but not quite infectious, almost but not quite joyous. the crew had stood firm and offered their argument, and the queen had given them tests and tokens and bargains and tricky promises with too many clauses and loopholes and at the end of it all the ipres numbers had been halved and the rest were weary and worn as they caught the light of creation and fled with only minutes to spare, the faelike laughter of death following them terribly even through the overwhelming cacophony of the hungers assault. 

that laughter had trailed after them longer, if only in their heads. taako would be making stir fry, planning outfits, swapping merles shampoo for hair-loss potions, when hed have to sit down suddenly and breathe through the musical trills of the raven queens cruel pleasure. it had seemed to bounce in his head the way a rubber ball might, ricocheting off thoughts and feelings until it rolled under a couch to be forgotten about, till some slight movement sent it rolling and bouncing about once more. 

davenport had died in an illusion, thinking he was saving his crew. poor merle had been choked by his own plants, betrayal writ across hos face. barrys skin had grown sickly purple with poison - ten to one odds arent very good odds. taako doesnt forget easily. he decides the goddess of death can go fuck herself. 

the second raven queen taako had met much later in their journey, and taako had met her alone. 

lup and barry had become liches a few cycles back. it was something taako had still been coming to terms with. 

taako loves lup. this is an immutable fact of any and every universe. taako loves lup and lup loves taako and not death or memory or space can separate them, not for long. but seeing your sister die, and then… go beyond death, to twist herself and latch on to a chance that she may never return except in madness and spite - thats a hard thing to grasp, even when she succeeds. taako had still found himself shivering when his sister forgot she had a body again and grabbed a hot pan off the stove, crying out in pain. taako still woke sweating from nightmares in which his sister and his friend flew apart and reformed as cackling red robed horrors of insanity and cruelty, too far for him to reach. 

until that cycle, though, barry and lups choice had only been an asset. 

but some raven queens do not take kindly to anything they see as a perversion of their domain. 

barely a week into that cycle, taako had awoken from the guilty non-elven pleasure of a nap only to find himself in some cold, hard court, fashioned seemingly of steel and silver and concrete, onyx lining the floor and the only color coming from sparse sapphires sparkled throughout the long echoing hall. 

at the end of it - and taako had known his eyes must have played tricks on him, because at first the being at the end of the hall seemed, while large, not much larger than a giant, but when hed called a nervous greeting his voice had echoed so awfully he knew the hall stretched much farther than hed thought and the goddess at the end of it must have been unimaginably huge. 

her eyes had glinted a flinty sapphire in her carven steel face when she ordered him to defend the existence of his sister and his sisters lover. 

taako had tried. he truly, truly had. but while taako is a being of preservation and caution, full of intelligence and cleverness, he is not one of cold hard logic. perhaps lucretia could have convinced this raven queen, the only of their number who had ever been able to grasp true hard reason… but taako doubts it. he had doubted it then and he doubts it even more these days. 

the point is, taako, for all his love for his family and his brilliant wit and devotion (probably, in fact, because of it) taakos arguments couldnt convince that raven queen. she saw past his genuine belief that lup and barry had made a good decision, and into his fears for her, and the goddess of death had based her own argument on those. she won. taako never had a chance. 

he, lup, and barry had woken up in the next cycle, newly resurrected. taako never stops feeling guilty about it. 

so. yes. 

taako is more than a little nervous about meeting the goddess his boyfriend serves so devotedly. but, and youd be hard pressed to convince him to admit it, taako would do anything for kravitz. and despite it all he does actually want to see what the deal is with his sister and his best friends boss, and his patron gods… friend? lover? girlfriend? taako isnt quite sure what fate and death are to each other, but its definitely something.

kravitz lays a warm hand on taakos shoulder, but taako squares them up. he can do this, for fucks sake - hes died a shitton of times, he can meet death. 

the doors open and taakos breath - the only breath in this realm of the dead - catches in his throat.

taako is a die hard istus fan, and shell always be his goddess. but if taako wasnt a taken elf, hed follow the raven queen, he realizes with a startle.

shes beautiful, yes. shes gorgeous, and taakos always been weak for beauty, but hers isnt the cold hard beauty of gemstones and gold, thinks his nimble fingers snatch up and hoard in his endless pockets. the raven queen is beautiful in a way that taako cant describe as anything other than simple.

he cant pin down any features. she has a kind face, gentle hands, bright eyes, but taako can tell she is a goddess because despite staying still the image of her flicks and shifts in his head. at once she seems to have every kind face hes ever seen, even if he doesnt recognize anyone. her hands reach out to comfort him - no more than comfort - but she stands without moving in front of taako and kravitz. her eyes glitter and sparkle and crinkle up with cheerful laughter, except taako isnt entirely sure she has eyes at all, or maybe she has too many. 

he thinks… he thinks maybe she has wings, or maybe theyre arms, or maybe theyre black fabric, draped around and behind and below and above her, shifting with the last breaths of every mortal in the universe. its darkness but its not scary, taako realizes, its solacing, healing, the way that he feels when dusk passes to night and the sky is huge and warm and the brush of lups hand against his as she says goodbye for the night is a relief and a love. 

hello, taako, death says. its lovely to meet you. 

she means it, taako knows. he can tell, somehow. shes just happy to meet him. nothing more, nothing less. 

'oh,' taako says aloud, and kravitz laughs his quiet sweet dorky laugh, and the raven queen laughs too, and its just that. its just a laugh, and its a nice one.

'oh indeed,' kravitz says. 'taako, did you really think id serve a monster or a cruel master?'

'well,' taako replies hesitantly, 'honestly, homie, i kind of thought you were, and id, like, have to start some quest to slay death itself and rescue you.'

the anthropomorphic personification of death laughs again, a note of delight in her tender voice. i like him, my kravitz, she says, good job.

kravitz does the dead-reaper equivalent of blushing. taako grins a little because its very cute. 

'death is different here,' taako hums. 'its… it wasnt like this anywhere else i went. it was cold, or cruel, or empty. i dunno why its different in your world.'

'then i guess we're the lucky ones, huh?' kravitz asks. taako leans up against him and murmurs an agreement. 'its why i love my job so much, why it means so much to me. its not that im some hardass, i just…'

'yea, cha'boy gets it now,' assures taako. 'still.' he looks at the ever-shifting, ever-stable face of death again. 'you better treat my boy kravitz and my lady istus well, capiche? or we will have issues.'

its a deal, taako, the raven queen says, smiling. 

when taako opens his eyes, hes in his home in the material plane, and kravitz is next to him, and theyre both smiling. 

[th3okamid3mon]

[SPOILERS] Review/Ramble on Roma (2018) Dir. Alfonso Cuarón

So i just watch Roma, a movie around the 1970´s (1971 to be precise) in México, Ciudad de México

For anyone who doesn´t know, there´s this suburb called Roma, that´s why it has that name, its not in Italy or anything jaja. 

By now, probably everyone has seen it or has been like ¨OH, SPANISH! i don´t want to read the english subtitles ¨ (i hope that´s not the case because SO HELP ME DOG), in my unprofessional and cinema student-ish opinion, I like it. 

The movie is recorded in black and white, not sure with what camera or why the decision was to make it that way but the image has great quality and it makes the focus more on the story and characters than the surroundings (not that the art wasn´t important, in fact, it must have been a hell of a work to make certain pallets of colors to make it contrast different to each, also to not make everyone blend together into a weird spot). Cuarón direct, write and was in charge of the photography (which is what he is known for) , his writing was actually really balanced between the serious main parts of the movie, the common daily basis humor and interactions between the characters. 

Most of the shots were master shots with panning, there were no medium shots nor close ups (At least not until the end of act 3) . Doing this type of shots gives the viewer a chance to see the surroundings of the characters and to view whats going on around. I think this is because, even if we follow the main family and the protagonist Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), the main point could be that they aren´t the only ones with a life and with problems. We can see other people, we can see them doing their own thing, it gives the film a more genuine feeling about a really busy street, city or town, we can see there´s more life outside the house of the protagonists. 

The whole story has a lot of tragedy, in fact there´s 2 whole stories full of tragedies: Cleo´s (the maid) story and Sofia´s (the employer or ¨patrona¨) story. Cleo is working like a maid and nanny for a family, she doesnt seem to be miserable, just indifferent about that job. It doesnt mean she is uncaring towards Sofia´s children or anything, its just her usual routine that she already knows. It is really nice to watch 2 people which share the same language talking like a usual common thing, other than just spanish. In this case, Cleo and her friend talk in mixteco a native language of México, im glad to see it treated as something usual for them and not like a surprise because there´s still a big community of indigenous people that still practice certain traditions and still talk languages. This includes more people and shows the diversity in the country as well as introducing more talent to the filming industry (not just certain type of people). Cleo isnt mistreated by anyone at the house, which is nice to see (other than the usual racist comments and mistreament), however she has this impotence appearance when her employer gets angry at her (obviously anyone would be terrified, specially if you lived with them and you could be potentionally thrown out). At some point, Cleo gets pregnant and its horrified when she: a) cant convince Fermín (motherfucker 2) that he is the father, and b) isnt sure wether her boss will throw her out of the house or not. 

Sofia is the employer, her children are Sofia, Paco, Toño and Pepe. Her husband Antonio (motherfucker 1) is a doctor which she loves, but once the story starts developing you get to know in the background that their marriage is crumbling. He goes on having adventures with other woman and lying to Sofia, meanwhile Sofia tries to keep it together while her children are acting like children and pre-teenagers. 

One thing i found interesting is the decision the writer (Cuarón) took when he made almost every male character an asshole. You have Antonio which lies and cheats her wife and then you have Fermin who bails on Cleo once she tells him she´s pregnant, also he threatens to kill her and her unborn child with martial arts (it...got a bit weird...). I would add the kids Paco and Toño because they were acting like disrespectful asshats, but I´ll pretend it was the hormones of teenage years and the whole situation between their mother and father. There´s also el compadre (i think its brother in law) of Sofia who tries to ¨comfort her¨. In general, this movie has certain violence towards female protagonists. 

Another thing i found interesting was how everything was according the era, like everything around the characters was moving independently of the characters. Everyone had to move according to the circumstances around them which they didnt had control over. Most notorious example: 1971, 3 years after Tlatelolco 

[NOTE: the image above is a real picture took from the protests from 1968]

The characters move around while events like the protests of students are still going around, the children are talking in one scene bout someone who got shot and in another sequence we see Cleo and her patrona going to a store to buy a crib which is interrupted by the screams of horror from the students, then a pair gets inside the store screaming ¨They are killing us!!¨. Then a group of porros (people who are paid by the government to start riots and make the opponent side the responsible of the excessive force used by the police, AKA, making them the guilty ones) get inside and shoot them. That whole scenario is independent of the characters, yet they are involve in it because they are there, and they cant do anything because thats what a person would do in a stressing situation: nothing, besides, Cleo is pregnant at that point so she would obviously wouldnt make any dumb move, specially when she sees that one of the porros is Fermin. 

[NOTE: this shot is from the actual movie, AKA: ITS NOT REAL]

Including social and politic events in the movie gives it a more authentic atmosphere, it makes the viewer get inside the story and give a view and let us appreciate how México (my country) looked back then as well as giving us a look to everyones personalities during this different time period. 

The interactions of the children and Cleo was the sweetest most adorable thing i have ever seen. Cleo is looked like a human being and not like a third type character, she has a voice and a personality, which is something we dont usually see when it comes to maids. She shares fun with her friends, she has dates, she laughs, she cries, she is human. She also shares part of her culture, with the children and Sofia isnt bother at all. Cleo sings lullabies in mixteco to the little girl Sofia, who gleefully sings with her. Making it so common, so normal and such a nice moment normalizes it; in the shot Cleo and Sofia says prayers first and then Cleo sings her lullaby. Its great to see the interactions and intersections of cultures like that, both are mexicans but come from different homes and cultures, yes, cultures because at the end of the day México is very diverse, it doesnt have just one way to live. There are different cultures within the country. It is really important that we see it as the normal, our normal because we need to include more people, to make it ok for everyone to feel included in the same place, we are from the same place after all. 

Other important point is the fact that this women have each others back in some sense and in most of the movie. Cleo helps Sofia during her times of need when she is stressing over her husbands infidelity and economic state, while Sofia helps Cleo during her pregnancy. Teresa, Sofia´s mother, also helps Cleo by getting her to a store to buy a crib and Cleo´s doctor is actually a woman, so most of the movie is woman helping woman. NOTE: Im not saying the men in the whole movie are awful people, SOME of them are, the one who have more interactions with the main protagonists. I dont want a radical feminist group to take this movie and twisted like they usually do with EVERY fucking thing. The main point of the movie is looking the hard and tough lives of women from different cultures and how they move on, some man do help like the guy who drive them around or Ramon (a side character which i think it was Adela´s boyfriend, Adela is Cleo´s friend), END OF THE NOTE

CONCLUSION: 

It is a good movie that shows a common part of life which involve good and bad things, from tragedies like infant death or civil massacres to the hopefulness of a better way to live, because the end of the movie comes full circles with everyones life but with hopefulness of a bright future. In this case the saying ¨What doesnt kill you makes you stronger¨ fits perfectly. 

The photography and art departments did a great job making the ambient from the 70s and giving the atmosphere to each scene and sequence a heavy and light feeling depending on what was going on. My mom was delighted to see certain places during those times because she remembers during her childhood looking at those different signs and streets, so the ambience was on point. For some reason I feel Netflix sold their soul or something to make this movie cause THOSE CARS LOOK EXPENSIVE, or maybe it isnt as expensive as i thought (should look up that later). The only complaint i could think of is that it should have pass to movie theaters a bit longer or at least project it again cause it can be more appreciated in those places than in your home with a faulty internet (my internet went out at least 7 times); also the effects of the babies were... really awkward to the point of being distracting and funny. They really looked like dolls, they bounce a bit, specially during the scene where Cleo gives birth to the death child (I shouldnt have laugh to that scene...but that damn doll look so plasticy... ) 

All and all, it was enjoyable to watch, the acting was good, even for the children. They did a great job, some of the lines were spoken awkwardly by the oldest kid, as to sound more mature? i guess that was the direction they went for. The characters were likable, they could make you laugh or cry during different times and make you feel for them. 

I think anyone could watch this but it is, what everyone could consider, a slow movie. So make sure to have everything you got and take time to appreciate everything around them, because i think this is like a candy you need to look around, everything they put its meant to be looked at. I give the movie 8/10 

[LOOKATTHATDAMNFUCKINGSHOTHMMMM!!!!GOODSHITRIGHTTHEREIFIDOSAYSOMYSELF!!!HOLYSHIT!!!NOMAMESESTASUPERCABRONALABERGA!!]

[calcifermovesthecastle]

Reapers meeting the reincarnation of of their late s/o? Also, your portrayal of Ronald is adorable!!! (Fangirls)❤️❤️

Thank you! Ronald is my favorite reaper. Also, got 2 of these, so it’s all going to be in this one!

Also Disclaimer: I’m writing these as if you had strong, close intimate relationships with them in the past because I doubt you would have remembered something casual

William-

-just kinda passes you by at first

-pauses and looks back a moment, because you’ve been dead for years now

-and he hasn’t aged of course because shinigami dont age

-and all of your memories aren’t in tact but when he passes you you feel a swell of affection that you don’t fully understand

-(Oof this is gonna be so good)

-and he studies you and apologizes for it.

-”Sorry, you just look like someone I used to know.”

-He looks sad and your heart reaches out to him because you can tell he doesn’t wear emotions on his face too much

- “Sorry…what was their name?”

-He sighs because the pain of losing you is still so fresh when it’s talked about but he tells you because you look so familiar

-”y/n y/l/n”

-and you just freeze because you remember him.

- “…Will?”

-he drops whatever he’s holding.

-doesn’t want to believe it at first but you tell him something only he knows

-and he crushes you in a hug and breaks down

-you, of course, don’t remember everything but with his help everything slowly comes back.

-And he’s so ecstatic to have you back and shows his affection in the best ways

-(And I’m going to be a tease and make you ask for them if you want to know ;) )

Grell-

-i’m sure he finds you in a shop or something

-and you look like the you that’s been dead for years and he’s not shy in the slightest so he goes up and asks if your related because he misses you but wants to keep you alive in memory

-and you kinda stop and squint at him because there’s something so familiar about this man who somehow got his hair to be the exact same color as his coat

-(you know it’s fucking true don’t even deny it)

-”…You know, camera’s are getting much better. if you want a picture, you can just ask.”

-”Sorry… you just seem really familiar for some reason. I can’t put my finger on it. What was that person’s name again?”

- “Hm. I think I would remember meeting someone as lovely as yourself. Their name was y/n, y/l/n.”

-And your jaw literally drops.

- “That can’t…that’s my name.”

- and then you blurt out your death date.

-and his jaw drops but you’re too confused as to how you know that you, or apparently someone who looks like you and has the same name died on that specific date.

-And you look down confused because you’re starting to get a headache

-He stares at you shocked and then squeals

- “I knew you didn’t leave me forever!”

-Picks you up spinning around with you

-Your relationship wasn’t a casual one in the last life so he just plops a kiss right on your mouth.

-and spends the rest of the day bringing you up to speed on your memories

Undertaker-

-This man doesn’t leave the shop much

-so you go in because something seems so like home about this undertakers shop and you aren’t sure on what it is so you go investigate

-”Can i interest you in one of my custom made coffins?”

-You hold up a finger in his direction, peering around the room, and then look at him

-his hair is covering his eyes but you think you can see tears tracking down his face.

-”Sorry? What’s wrong?”

-”Nothing. Someone I held very dear to me used to do that all the time. You look like them.”

-”Used to?”

-”They’ve been dead for about twenty years. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you in here for today?”

-”I don’t…I don’t know. It just seemed really familiar. I’m only visiting London, but I swear I’ve seen this place before.”

-He studies you and shrugs, plastering on a wide grin.

-”Who knows, strange things occur around the best and worst of us.”

-And this man as well seems so familiar and you can’t put a finger on it.

- And you don’t want to be confused for the rest of the day so you get ready to go.

-”Sorry, it was nice meeting you. I’m y/f/n”

-He bolts to the door and stops you before you can leave.

-”That was their name. You….Do you have a birthmark that goes over your bellybutton?

- “What?”

- “Do you?”

-”Yes? Why is that relevant?”

-He wraps you in a big hug, and it’s the warmness of his body that brings back memories of him holding you like this before

-He keeps asking you questions like your birthday and others just to verify that it is you.

-Only visiting London, his ass. You’re staying forever this time

Ronald-

-You’re out walking in a park in the evening or something and he passes you, going the same way.

-and he looks so sad because even though he doesn’t wear it on his face, you can see every emotion in his eyes.

- he seems so familiar, but you walk in this park a lot so you brush it off as seeing him on one of your walks before.

-But you feel a strong urge to make him feel better so you catch up with him and ask if he’s okay

-He smiles at you, but it falters because you’re the spitting image of you so he clears his throat

- “Sorry. I used to take walks in this park with… it doesn’t really matter. They’ve been dead for a while now.”

-”Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. You just… you seemed really familiar, I must’ve passed you before. What was their name?”

-”Hm?” He stops and looks at you, his hand’s in the pockets of his suit jacket.

-”That person you used to walk with? What was their name?”

-His heart thumps in his chest and seems to fall because he loved you so much and talking about you still hurts.

-So he just shrugs and you walk in silence for a while, and he notices you’re rubbing your arms and shivering so he, being a gentleman, gives you his jacket, draping it around your shoulders.

-”They used to get cold all the time, so I always wore a jacket, so I could give it to them. I loved seeing them in my jacket.”

-His voice breaks and he clears his throat again.

-You seem to walk forever, the street lights coming on and the sun setting, before you ask again.

-”They were important to you, no? What was their name?”

-”Um… It was y/n y/l/n.”

-You stop in your tracks and he turns to look at you, looking so sad and heartbroken

-”Are you Ronald Knox?”

-He blinks at you, nodding. You press on because you want to get this straight as fast as you can

- “and did you lose them on” you say your death date aloud and he swallows and nods.

-”How did you know?”

- “Because I remember being stabbed on death day/month/year and I remember you and my name…my name is y/n y/l/n and I remember singing you are my sunshine with you and I’m so sorry you had to finish the song alone…”

-You’re both crying now, because there was no one else around to see that besides on of the other reapers and he embraces you tightly

-And he doesn’t let you go for the longest time

Eric-

- Probably out in a pub or something along those lines

-and he sees you and smiles because you look like you so he comes over and starts a conversation

-And he seems familiar and friendly so you give him your attention.

-And he’s good-natured and makes you smile.

-he would have dated around after you died but he still loved you I promise.

-It wouldn’t have been the same with anyone else anyways, because when he loved you, he loved you hard and strong. (Emotionally shut up)

-And he comes right out and says that you remind him of you and states your name, birthday, and all of this other personal stuff, and then he says the day you died.

-And you stop and stare at him with a weird look on your face

-”What is it?”

-”….Two gunshots and a stab wound in the small of the back?”

-He gives you a weird look this time.

-”How did you know that? Nobody else was there…they died in my arms. How did you know that.”

-Now it’s your turn to tell him your name, birthday and all of that other personal stuff and you remember him kissing your right ring finger right before you died

-And he stares at you in shock for a moment before picking you up and kissing you

-leans his forehead against yours and murmurs

-”No one else could ever amount to you. Ever. I’m so glad to have you back.”

-and suddenly everything’s right in thee world again.

Alan-

-He’s reading in a library or at a cafe

-and you see him and he looks so familiar but you can’t place it

-so you go up and ask what he’s reading, pulling out a chair and sitting across from him

-He looks up and smiles at you

-”It’s nothing, really. I held someone close and they died a few years ago. This is their diary, I read it sometimes so I can see their handwriting and remember them.”

-”I’m so sorry. What was their name?”

-He shows you the front of the book, and It’s got your name written on it in your handwriting

-and you blink at it because 1-why would he have that and 2-you have the same one at home.

-so you ask him how he got that because that’s your diary

-and he blinks at you.

-”My name is y/f/n. My birthday is Y/b/d. that’s my handwriting and my diary. How did you get that?

-and then you pause, because yours isnt that full and he’s at the end of the book.

-”wait… you said they died a few years back? how many years ago?”

-”O, erm… they died in [your birth year]”

-he’s staring at you now, looking confused.

-”You know, you look exactly like them, down to the way you hold your mouth and-”

-you cut him off

-”Alan?”

-”How do you-”

-”How did they die?”

-”Oh, um…” He’s really flustered now, because none of this is making sense

-”was it asphyxiation?did somebody slit their throat?”

-”Yes??”

-You stand and rush over to him, hugging him.

-”I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you I love you…I’m sorry I died before you got there. I’m sorry you had to walk in on my body in the bathroom…”

-you’re pouring out apologies and he just pulls back and puts his finger over your mouth

-”You don’t need to apologize. I got you back. I got you back.”

-both your faces are a little wet but you’re both so happy you found each other again.

Sascha-

-He misses you, but he’s still his bubbly self.

-and that’s how you recognize him.

-He’s got the biggest smile on his face and his eyes are alight behind his glasses and you timidly approach him

- “Hi! how are you?” He asks and everything that comes out of his mouth is so genuine

-”You look really familiar. What’s your name?”

-your voice is quiet and he studies you for a moment, saddening a bit inwardly because you’re you

-”You look familiar too. I’m Sascha.

-”…I’m y/n”

-His eyes widen and he stares at you.

-”Y/n y/l/n?”

-Yes, How did you-”

-You’re cut off by a hug.

-”But you died. You died seventeen years ago. You can’t be here.”

-”Hold up, I’m seventeen.”

-You’re so confused for a moment before everything clicks

-And you remember him and he knows you do because you wrap your arms around his middle and he’s so happy.

-”You’re back! You’re back and you found me I’m so happy!”

-you’re too shocked to say anything, because you don’t understand how you could have died and been reborn with the same name, on the same day, looking the same and finding him again

-but you gladly go with him and get your memories back

Rudgar-

-He’s probably sitting on a bench in the park or on the side of the street

-just watching people go by

-and you’re walking to work or somewhere and he sees you and stands up super fast

-you notice it out of the corner of your eye but brush it off because you have to get to wherever you’re going on time

-but he catches up with you and taps you on the shoulder

-you turn and give him a look

-”I’m running late and I don’t have time to chat so-”

-He asks you breathlessly “Are you related to Y/n y/l/n?”

-You look at him in shock and confusion and mild familiarity

-”um….” Even though you want to walk away you don’t because it seems normal to you that he knows your name and you want to understand why

-”How do you-”

-He cuts you off, thinking that your going to ask how he knows that person

-”I…I was going to marry them but they died some years ago.”

-When he says marry, you freeze, because suddenly you remember him slipping a ring on your finger

-”….Rudgar, right?”

-He nods, and your heart pounds.

-”Did….was the death date day/month/year?”

-Now his heart pounds

-”You asked me if I knew my own name. You…” you laugh a bit “You fumbled with words when you asked me to marry you and asked if I could marry myself. I…”

-your head hurts and he’s staring at you like the messiah came back to earth

- “I was shot by a rogue police officer on the corner of Henrietta and Bedford and you were with me. You kissed me on the forehead right before I died.”

-And he stares at you and stares before speaking in a whisper

-”j-just to make sure…What did I whisper in your ear while you were dying?”

-you think long and hard

-”You said ‘you can go, we’ll get married later’”

-And he kisses you full on the mouth and doesn’t break for the longest time

Othello-

-You see him from behind or something and his name pops into your head

-so you go over to him and steal his attention from whatever he’s doing and casually bring it up

-”Your name’s Othello, Right?”

-He does a double take and frowns slightly before smiling at you

-”That’s me! How can I help you-” He’s a sly mf and sneaks your name in there because he totally knows it’s you you. “-y/n”

-And you pause and Look at him confused and he’s very patient with a sneaky grin on his face

-”…you’re smiling at me like you know something I don’t.”

- “Maybe I do. Let’s see if you can figure it out”

-you squint suspiciously before shrugging.

-”Or you could just tell me.”

-He chuckles and gently touches your arm with his hand. “Trust me. You can think this through.”

-You ponder him for a minute

-”I know your name and you know mine, but I can’t remember meeting you in recent years.”

-He grins and nods, urging you forward.

-”Nut I remember you looking exactly the same because for some reason or another, I don’t know why, you told me that you weren’t….really alive? And that you couldn’t age?”

-He nods again, because he isn’t going to tell you, he want’s you to remember for yourself

-”We lived together…. For…two years? But that…that doesnt make sense. I’ve been alive for (age) years and I feel like Ive kown you for longer.”

-He steps in with “How much longer?”

-You think for a moment. “Seven years longer?”

-He grins and chuckles his hands still on your arm and it comes back to you slowly

- “Did I die? Did I die (Age) years ago? I was at a bar with you….someone, some big burly jerk…put too much of something in my drink and I died…. “

- “You did. And you’re back.” He’s all grins and hugs you, continuing to coax your memory out for the rest of the day

-and you’re comfortable enough with him to move back in and continue where you left off

[many-gay-magpies]

MAGS YOUR ART IS SO GOOD WTF. WTF. YOUR SUNGHOON ART I AM SCREAMING ON THE FLOOR IN TEARS. THAT JUNGWON PIECE FROM RECENTLY OH MY GOD. i love how soft your artwork looks !! and VERY NICE WOLFBAT I THINK HE IS VERY NEAT

i actually used to hang upside down from monkey bars and things bc it felt nice on my back tbh its so nice and my posture is ALSO shit! my friends tell me i look like a human question mark! THE IMAGE OF SOLON STARING DOWN AT THE PILE OF LIMBS AND TWIGS AFTER JAKAH AND NOA FALL DOWN IS PRICELESS. HED JUST “i don’t believe in god but i believe that’s karma”

truly pretty privilege is So Real because exactly the boys would get pardoned for so much weird shit just bc they’re cute- see the previous headcanon of jino with burn scars. if we’re being honest that would freak the hell out of anyone (i wish it didn’t, people should be more accepting of scars </3) because it’s jino suddenly he’s got a tragic heroic past that makes him ~so romantic.~ no one questions that noa is literally draped over the rafters in the hallways. solon just straight up disappears for a week every month bc of the full moon (he’s under the blankets trying to not go full wolfy all week). jaan literally bodyslams his brothers when they get annoying like these bitches are WEIRD

i love the idea of them having glowing eyes as they pace in the hallways at night- i can see it creating an urban legend that decelis’s administrators hires these Creatures to catch students who leave their dorms past curfew. i wonder if anyone would be able to figure out one of the “phantoms” is solon- since he’s odd-eyed, it can’t be That hard to put two and two together

-vrvr anon

AAAAAA THANK YOUUUUU I AM. ALSO CRYING. i really like working in that sort of color-blocky, soft, lineart-less style, so it makes me so happy that you like that about it shfjbfjfng ;v;

im vv proud of that jungwon one i think (conceptually and process-wise at least) it may be one of my favorites ive ever made .. it was just so FUN and i made it in a complete creative fever at like 2 am or something after very suddenly drawing a connection between that jungwon shot and the fallen angel painting. like i wasnt even planning on doing anything artistic that night but then all of a sudden i Had To Make Art Out Of It.

also ill tell you a secret (that isnt really a secret because ive told multiple people and made several posts about it already): i am currently working on a far more detailed heeseung art piece ... its coming along very well so far and im very happy with it !! all the facial features and clothes are done and im just stuck on the hair now—im determined to actually FINISH it and not just abandon it like i have some pieces in the past (theres this one sunoo piece that i started and got pretty far into last year in may after carnival era... and i have not touched it since. i WANT TO. but i was new to digital art at the time and used a strategy that took, to put it plainly, Way To Much Fucking Time, and in order to complete the piece with consistent style id have to keep using that same strategy and im honestly going to avoid that for as long as possible)

okay now on the subject of vampires . omfg LITERALLY the vamps probably do so much shit that would not fly if they were your average growing, acne-ridden teens... they are, fundamentally, the weird kids of decelis, but nobody notices because they're both jocks and attractive and i bet it drives all the people that ARENT attracted to them up the wall to no end. like maybe theres a scenario where a new student transfers to decelis like sooha does, except theyre some variety of aroace and completely immune to the brothers' "charm". and they come into the school with basically all their classmates aggressively simping for this group of seven dudes and it piques their curiosity a bit, because what's so special about these guys to get the entire school population in love with them? then they actually SEE the brothers and theyre just like. what. because yeah they ARE objectively pretty attractive and theyre good at sports and stuff but also theyre just. DORKS. and the student is like these guys? really? yall are simping for these guys? damn. okay

in a world where the decelis authority ARENT aggressively anti-vampire and actually let the brothers into the school to PROTECT THEM... maybe the staff are all perfectly aware of who the "phantoms" wandering around the school after hours ARE but they dont do anything to stop it because it discourages the other students from breaking curfew. and i imagine someone figures it out at some point—either a student comes across one of the "phantoms" for the first time after only hearing rumors of them and screams a little out of fright, only for heli to step out of the shadows and be like "omg im sorry i didnt mean to spook you im just taking a walk." or yeah like you said a student sees a phantom with one yellow eye and one blue... then sees solon in class the next day... and cue the "oh yeah, its all coming together" meme LMAO

[onenettvchannel]

#OneNETnewsInvestigates: American Netizens & Bashers are Boycotting the Nintendo for Skipping All the Independent Games and Caring for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

KYOTO, JAPAN -- A partner showcase presentation of Nintendo Direct Mini was not in good shape for the bashers around last Thursday at 10am (Eastern local time) for skipping all the Indie Games (which affects the Undertale and Jackbox Games). Miko Kubota (Radyo Patrol #20's Veteran Reporter) was on the scene for our Investigation to OneNETnews.

In case you're wondering on both of these... What is Nintendo, Nintendo Direct & Indie Games? According to the information database from Wikipedia, "Nintendo Co. Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics & video game company headquartered in Kyoto City. The company was founded in 1889 as Nintendo Karuta by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards. After venturing into various lines of business during the 1960s and acquiring a legal status as a public company under the current company name, Nintendo distributed its first video game console, the Color TV-Game, in 1977. It gained international recognition with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985".

On the other hand adds, "Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began in Japan and North America with the first edition on October 2011. While a shorter version of the main type of Nintendo Direct that showcases information about software and hardware across all Nintendo platforms. There is also a separate vertent of this type of Nintendo Direct, named Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase that feature games from Nintendo's developing and publishing partners".

And for the Independent Games however... "An independent video game or indie game is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most (triple-A) games".

#NintendoDirectMini: Partner Showcase | September 2020https://t.co/Nfzd8zXfzF

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 17, 2020

Just a few hours before the Partner Showcase, these bashers are deadly unhealthy. This happens before...

Yeah, I hate how nintendo fans begging for more newer nintendo games like Mario anniversary collection for example, than indie games and Third party games treatment which is don’t care about.

— Mat 💫 (@Iczer07) September 1, 2020

personally im skipping these partner showcases and staying uninformed about anything announced in them until Nintendo at least stops calling these streams Direct Minis

— snakehugz (@snakehugz) September 16, 2020

calling these filler streams "Direct Minis" tarnishes the reputation of the Nintendo Direct, please stop referring to it as if it is an actual Direct or Direct Mini

— snakehugz (@snakehugz) September 16, 2020

Nintendo fans thinking smash will be in the mini direct pic.twitter.com/tHiYRjbIhQ

— reyn time (@blackwidow2234) September 16, 2020

Really, Nintendo? Another partner showcase? If this is what you think of your fans, this is what I think of you. pic.twitter.com/QjYFG60Pql

— robothing (@MarioToenails) September 16, 2020

I'm not, and I'd say the same for indies who don't deserve the hate they've got in the last days. I'm just arguing that these last non-first party showcases had a bad timing. It doesn't help on anything with Nintendo's eternal silence.

— DoE (@DevilOfEdginess) August 27, 2020

i canot bleieve nbtendo didn’t give me my mario 64 remastered revengEan e at the indie game showcase!!!!!!!!!! fuck u nintendo idiot sitpid AAAAA AI HATE NINRENDOahahahaaaaaaa stipud idiot ocompany!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HJ5QxJ7qNU

— mindfloww (@mindfloww_) August 19, 2020

And after.

Example: Smashers LOVE to hate nintendo for every decision in any smash game. But then completely ignore or make fun of indie platform fighters. They'll go to great distances to play like....project m, or melee on an emulator. But won't touch Icons, Brawlout, or RoA.

— Jamison (@Ggjeed) July 22, 2020

>Nintendo indie direct >No smash announcement Wow Nintendo do you just like hate money or something? fuck you Nintendo, I'm never purchasing another game from you for the next 26 seconds you hate your fans and you just lost another one

— |VRG| Rusty! (@JohnExodiaWick) March 17, 2020

To be quite honest, I kinda hate watching #NintendoDirectMini and #NintendoDirect because it's usually filled with a lot of toxic fans who hate it even if it has FANTASTIC announcements because "Duh, no Smash means bad Direct, duh."

— Yaboichipsahoy (@YaBoiCh43658878) September 17, 2020

I'm unfollowing #Nintendo twitter. The past 6 months have been nothing but hate against Nintendo, and they had me convinced Nintendo was really doing us wrong. After today's #NintendoDirect, I know they just take their time and do it right.

— Tanishq Kancharla (@moonriseTK) September 3, 2020

STILL NO HOTEL MARIO ON SWITCH??? IM DONE FUCK YOU @NintendoAmerica #Nintendo #NintendoDirect I HATE YOU. THIS IS YOUR OWN FAULT I AM NEVER BUYING NINTENDO AGAIN NO ONE CARES ABOUT 3D MARIO!!!' pic.twitter.com/Xbp4pOuQfg

— lucia ⛓ (@GDDR6X) September 3, 2020

Just a thought, but gaming fans should either A. Appreciate the indie titles that get announced and find the ones that look fun to them OR B. STFU 🤷🏼‍♂️#NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/VdPwJKP3XC

— 𝔻 𝕒 𝕧 𝕚 𝕕 𝔾 𝕚 𝕝 𝕥 𝕚 𝕟 𝕒 𝕟 (@DaGiltyMan) August 26, 2020

Another crappy showcase. Great job Nintendo. You're the king when it comes to crappy showcases

— Robyn Wolph (@LegendOfZelda77) September 17, 2020

Worst direct ever, there wasnt even a reveal for the rest of the smash dlc 2, botw 2, splatoon 3, super mario galaxy 3, not even smash dlc 3 and 4 😡😡

— Dnamssdup (@DnaDan6) September 17, 2020

THERE WILL NOT BE SMASH BROTHERS IN THIS DIRECT!

— Jaedon Daniels | SirPeelz (@JaedonDaniels1) September 17, 2020

Nintendo: We're going to showcase titles from our developing partners. Twitter: BOTW 2! Every Smash Reveal! PRIME 4!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like you people can't read.

— Stormageddon222 (@Stormageddon222) September 17, 2020

Most of these reveals are old ones so that’s a bit shitty to do to us. 2.5/10

— Jaxon Skye (@WiiMusicDevil) September 17, 2020

These tweets are subject for boycotting with the honest shameless retards at the moment, in skipping all the Independent Games and caring for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

I hate indie games, leave that for Nintendo’s man!

— Jigen (@yesdimeji) September 16, 2020

Imagine being an indie game developer and working hard on your game for it to be released in the switch. And you have to deal with hate from nintendo fanboys just because you aren't a direct or new smash bros character. Atleast try their games out before assuming its bad. pic.twitter.com/8IqS6VH3RY

— 🖤Andrea Chan🖤 (@real_andreachan) August 31, 2020

I hate Nintendo fans. Count the indies & third parties in 2020 just like the 2017 image, or fuck off with your inaccurate comparison that you're posting just for clout. https://t.co/XTWYOrvL1n

— Billy (@Billybae10K) August 22, 2020

"WHERE WAS SMASH!?!?! I HATE NINTENDO!". Not everything has to be about Smash DLC and stuff like that. Just be happy with what we get. If you can't do that, then just don't watch the Indie and Third Party directs.

— Ruby (@ruby52986) August 26, 2020

YOU MEAN THERE ISNT GOING TO BE 10 NEW MARIO GAMES ANNOUNCED?!? WHAT ABOUT SMASH >:(((TYPICAL NINTENDO, TAKING THEIR TIME AS USUAL. GOD I HATE NINTENDO. I HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS DIRECT, AND THE FACT THEY MISSPELLED NINTENDO AS "INDIE" SHOWS THAT THIS DIRECT IS GONNA SUCK https://t.co/Aq7MUIUifG

— Cryptik (@PhantomCryptik) August 17, 2020

I understand why people are upset about the absence of a full #NintendoDirect but the Mini Partner Directs and the Indie Worlds are allowing the third party games to have room to flourish while Nintendo just relaxes and rides the #AnimalCrossingNewHorizions wave.

— Stephen C (@theday) August 26, 2020

You are funny. I imagine you do the same to every person you find that has a different opinion than you. I did not started this conversation to insult you nor boycott or call you a faggot. I just been incredibly underwhelmed with Nintendo recently.

— Hollowboy (@Koukunari) September 17, 2020

SHUT UP THE GAMES RUINED IM NOT BUYING IT BOYCOTT NINTENDO HHH!!!!1!!!1!!!!!

— sour (@sour_yoshi) September 16, 2020

How dare Nintendo draw a red circle around Mario's sexy mustache BOYCOTT THIS FUCKING GAME!!!!! https://t.co/ynnZk8BU3g

— Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος (@TheCutePyro) September 16, 2020

Sucks huh? Hahaha Nintendo fans should boycott this game and play Devil May Cry 2 (Now available on the Nintendo Switch) instead. pic.twitter.com/2n6b0pXzkT

— shhhh (@terukhoe) September 15, 2020

Mfw the entire internet tells me that Mario 3D All Stars is an absolute rip off with a stupid selling window and that I should boycott Nintendo for it pic.twitter.com/gACXQFJBHe

— Alek (@Trail_txt) September 13, 2020

#BoycottZelda #BoycottNintendo #STOPPERREO https://t.co/SUsGYyWNw9

— Маrshall [#AviciiForever ] ◢◤/⚫⚫⚫ #CowboyBebop20th (@MarshalAfterAll) September 11, 2020

Although this happens for Undertale & Jackbox Games are up for boycotting issue on Nintendo.

DON'T GET THE "UNDERTALE" OR "DELTARUNE" THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE COVID Their made by Toby "Radiation" Fox, yes you read that right, the same radiation as 5G!! BOYCOTT UNDERTALE NOW!

— Thomas (@thomasnet_mc) May 2, 2020

Why not cancel @tobyfox ? And boycott undertale while we are at it pic.twitter.com/Yq4sAeOyx1

— Angel Simp Ara (@karikoritene) August 29, 2019

were playing 1 of the jackbox games n i hate this 1

— 🍔 cheese 🌻 erasermic brainrot (@GargoyleHouse69) September 5, 2020

After however many months in quarantine I truly, from the bottom of my heart, hate Jackbox games. I cannot stress this enough.

— Katie Burke (@senicRTKate) July 24, 2020

ALL MY IRLS ARE BORING MEANING THERE IS NO WAY RHEY WOULD GET JACKBOX GAMES HATE IT HERE

— strawberry 🍓 ophie month (@loonacatgirIs) June 25, 2020

NOBODY EVER WANTS TO PLAY THE DRAWING JACKBOX GAMES AND I HATE IT

— Rinzy 🖌️🖋️ 💙 (@RinzyArt) March 25, 2020

The Jackbox games are fun. The Jackbox community is hot garbage. Your experience is a cut of the same cloth from every Jackbox stream I've seen. Inevitably, some shithead will drop in and ruin the fun for everyone. I hate people sometimes.

— G O Λ T S (@lordofgoats_) October 7, 2019

We speak with Justin Smith (@JBN029) on Twitter's Direct Message (a small affiliate from YouTube Gaming) told exclusively to OneNETnews for this response:

Basher tweets are close to unfair for boycotting all the Nintendo products and games with the Hate Speech in a political way. His private response that only handles for the Hardcore fans of Nintendo with the newest games today. That doesn't mean the company of Nintendo has no shame to do and forced to shut down originally in Japan and worldwide.

Nintendo does not have a comment to OneNETnews as unfornate but... No apologies was made for this controversy at the Nintendo Direct Mini's partner showcase except for the hidden voiceover to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, takes over to Monster Hunter Stories 2.

Special Thanks to DJ Unikitty (formerly ColeThePony from Canada) for sending us a news tip.

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Direct https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCod83ilJ3jwkkOxSS8yNw/about?disable_polymer=1 https://www.shacknews.com/article/120427/monster-hunter-stories-2-wings-of-ruin-will-let-us-befriend-rathalos-on-switch-in-2021

SEVERELY HONEST DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed from this news article are not necessarily those from the Nintendo Co. Ltd. Furthermore, the assumptions of this news article will NOT state, intervene or reflect those of our Radyo Patrol reporters. The station, management, interwebs and the network. Thanks for reading everypony!

-- OneNETnews Team

[samanthasroberts]

The First Black Bachelorette: Rachel Lindsay Breaks a Ridiculous Color Barrier

After 14 years and 33 seasons of white people chafing their constituents together for Americas amusement, The Bachelor dealership lastly has a pitch-black lead: Rachel Lindsay, who was announced Monday evening as the next Bachelorette. Its 2017, baby! We might have an orange pussy-grabber in the Oval Office and an arguably prejudiced us attorney general, but Lindsay, a pitch-black advocate, was in the process of make a live full of potential boyfriends her bitch.

The Bachelor franchise had been playing a decades-long tournament of chicken with ethnic equalitya will-they-or-wont-they of diverse image. For all of the franchises tanning-bed followers, diversity on the ABC stalwart often simmers down to a rainbow of registered nurse practitioners, unregistered nurse practitioners, and aspiring nurse practitioners. Of route, The Bachelor is a highly inclusive struggle, with arms wide open to personal managers from all 50 states, maidens and divorcees, heavily accented rivals, and deep polarizing assholes. As long as youre a Size 2 noblewoman or a Grade A beefcake, you can be in the running to take home that Neil Lane diamond. That tell me anything, whiteness has always been an unstated requisite for going all the way. And when the next bachelor or bachelorette is announced, theyre never the token pitch-black contestants “thats been” dropped during the previous season. In its own history of the dealership, the most diverse bachelor-at-arms was the American-born Venezuelan Juan Pablo Galavis, and he was a total dick.

The announcement of Rachel Lindsays upcoming gig destroys from tradition in more methods than one. Typically, ABC wouldnt making such revelation while a contestant was still in the running for engagementby taught us that Lindsay will be the next bachelorette, theyre effectively bungling their own indicate. Throughout Nick Vialls season, love and ardent admirers have favored Rachel Lindsay as the next bachelorette. From the premiere occurrence, when Lindsay tallied the first-impression rose, the 31 -year-old Texan has wowed gatherings with her( relative) maturity and gumption. Shes beautiful, down to soil, and shockingly utilized( unlike most opponents ). Even more endearingly, Lindsay seems like the kind of woman who would not be here for Nick Vialls leather armband-wearing, pseudo-sensitive bullshit. So its not a huge surprise to hear that the still-looking-for-love Lindsay didnt find her happily ever after with Andi and Kaitlyns clumsy thirds.

The rumor mill began working in earnest a few weeks ago, when founder Mike Fleiss started tweeting about a historic Bachelor happening. On Sunday, Fleiss received information that the aforementioned historic notice would be going down on Monday nights episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live . Reality Steve was the first website to report that Kimmel would be sharing the news of Lindsays long-awaited throwing. LA Times reporter Amy Kaufman too vouched for the notice, tweeting on Friday that, I exactly found out a piece of information that draws me 100% certain that [ email protected] is the next Bachelorette.

Fleisss breathless social media razzes has severely tone-deaf, generated how ridiculous it is that The Bachelorette is just now shedding a black extend. For all of his self-congratulatory pomp, you may have thought that Fleiss was about to announce an all-queer season of The Bachelorette . This is the glittery Resist armband of historic announcementsthe absolutely un-radical revelation that you actually dont need to be a white-hot girlfriend to get participated on actuality TV.

In addition to the simple knowledge that its been over 50 times since the Civil Rights Act, this seems like the perfect age for The Bachelor dealership to fully integrate. After all, The Bachelor , The Bachelorette , and its drunk cousin Bachelor in Paradise have been slowly and steadily revamping over the past couple of years. Nick Viall, our current unemployed software engineer turned bachelor-at-arms, isnt precisely a cookie cutter contender. His extreme sense and predisposition to moan at the slightest provocation differentiates him from the silent and stoic romantic leads of seasons past. Plus, he wears jewelry and might even have a sense of humor. If Viall is the believing females bachelor, hes likewise the closest weve ever be coming home with a professional contestant. After multiple sequence on the franchise, Nick is highly aware of, say, what makes a good revise and what the fuck is provoke Bachelor Nation backlash. On a not-unrelated mention, his season boasts the most diverse reserve of Bachelor contenders in dealership history2 2 lily-white and eight non-white girls. As a point of comparison, previous bachelor Ben Higgins deigned to date five non-white players, and Chris Souless season featured merely one.

Theres an argument to be made that Nick wants to appear instructed and salvage his historically compromised reputation. That would explain why so many black girls have remained in the running this season, despite the fact that Viall doesnt actually seemed to be engaging a romantic relation with them. Last-place week, Jasmine met her would-be fianc, confessing that his complete disinterest in spending one-on-one time with her shaped her feel unwanted and insecure. Uncomfortable and called-out, Nick politely indicated/ told her to parcel her containers. Loyal viewers will recollect a similar interaction earlier in the season between Nick and Dominique. Dominique felt underappreciated and stuck in her own brain; Nick felt like he really didnt need to be talking to Dominique anymore. While boozing unlimited Chardonnay and claiming to fall in love with person might sound like an easy gig , non-white Bachelor/ Bachelorette opponents have historically had a hard start of it. Its telling that these crises of confidence so consistently afflict rivals of pigment. Of trend these women are in their own headstheir premiers are telling them that pitch-black ladies dont find love on The Bachelor franchise.

The Bachelor / Bachelorettes whitewashing has been blamed and parodied, most exhaustively by UnREAL , the scripted Lifetime send-up of the dating demonstrate phenomenon. On Season 2, UnREAL imagined what it would look like to shed the first pitch-black suitorand all of the exploitative clickbait and ethnic tension that would unavoidably follow. Of trend, the fact that it only took this Bachelor lampoon two seasons to stimulate that so-called historic announcementone that the real franchise had yet to tacklewas truly shameful. In a 2016 interview with The Daily Beast, host Chris Harrison demurred on the topic, saying that questions of diversity were path above my compensate point. He was indicated that, Anyone has the same chance to end upand I hate to say triumph because its not a game show. It has to do with your connection with person. But everybody has a chance to fall in love, it doesnt stuff who you are.

According to Beyonc, black girls can increasingly find their own thinkings in the news and onscreen. But while this surge in image has been vital for aspiring actresses and senators, it had yet to reach the little girl who fantasy of growing up to find love in a televised world competitionuntil now. As Americas very first pitch-black Bachelorette, Rachel has a huge amount of responsibility. In addition to finding the cherish of their own lives, shes tasked with proving to the world that black wives can serial date just as convincingly as their lily-white counterparts. But as certain as we are that Nick Viall will die alone, have every confidence that Rachel Lindsay will make a lovely, charismatic bachelorette.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-first-black-bachelorette-rachel-lindsay-breaks-a-ridiculous-color-barrier/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/the-first-black-bachelorette-rachel-lindsay-breaks-a-ridiculous-color-barrier/

[adambstingus]

The First Black Bachelorette: Rachel Lindsay Breaks a Ridiculous Color Barrier

After 14 years and 33 seasons of white people chafing their constituents together for Americas amusement, The Bachelor dealership lastly has a pitch-black lead: Rachel Lindsay, who was announced Monday evening as the next Bachelorette. Its 2017, baby! We might have an orange pussy-grabber in the Oval Office and an arguably prejudiced us attorney general, but Lindsay, a pitch-black advocate, was in the process of make a live full of potential boyfriends her bitch.

The Bachelor franchise had been playing a decades-long tournament of chicken with ethnic equalitya will-they-or-wont-they of diverse image. For all of the franchises tanning-bed followers, diversity on the ABC stalwart often simmers down to a rainbow of registered nurse practitioners, unregistered nurse practitioners, and aspiring nurse practitioners. Of route, The Bachelor is a highly inclusive struggle, with arms wide open to personal managers from all 50 states, maidens and divorcees, heavily accented rivals, and deep polarizing assholes. As long as youre a Size 2 noblewoman or a Grade A beefcake, you can be in the running to take home that Neil Lane diamond. That tell me anything, whiteness has always been an unstated requisite for going all the way. And when the next bachelor or bachelorette is announced, theyre never the token pitch-black contestants “thats been” dropped during the previous season. In its own history of the dealership, the most diverse bachelor-at-arms was the American-born Venezuelan Juan Pablo Galavis, and he was a total dick.

The announcement of Rachel Lindsays upcoming gig destroys from tradition in more methods than one. Typically, ABC wouldnt making such revelation while a contestant was still in the running for engagementby taught us that Lindsay will be the next bachelorette, theyre effectively bungling their own indicate. Throughout Nick Vialls season, love and ardent admirers have favored Rachel Lindsay as the next bachelorette. From the premiere occurrence, when Lindsay tallied the first-impression rose, the 31 -year-old Texan has wowed gatherings with her( relative) maturity and gumption. Shes beautiful, down to soil, and shockingly utilized( unlike most opponents ). Even more endearingly, Lindsay seems like the kind of woman who would not be here for Nick Vialls leather armband-wearing, pseudo-sensitive bullshit. So its not a huge surprise to hear that the still-looking-for-love Lindsay didnt find her happily ever after with Andi and Kaitlyns clumsy thirds.

The rumor mill began working in earnest a few weeks ago, when founder Mike Fleiss started tweeting about a historic Bachelor happening. On Sunday, Fleiss received information that the aforementioned historic notice would be going down on Monday nights episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live . Reality Steve was the first website to report that Kimmel would be sharing the news of Lindsays long-awaited throwing. LA Times reporter Amy Kaufman too vouched for the notice, tweeting on Friday that, I exactly found out a piece of information that draws me 100% certain that [ email protected] is the next Bachelorette.

Fleisss breathless social media razzes has severely tone-deaf, generated how ridiculous it is that The Bachelorette is just now shedding a black extend. For all of his self-congratulatory pomp, you may have thought that Fleiss was about to announce an all-queer season of The Bachelorette . This is the glittery Resist armband of historic announcementsthe absolutely un-radical revelation that you actually dont need to be a white-hot girlfriend to get participated on actuality TV.

In addition to the simple knowledge that its been over 50 times since the Civil Rights Act, this seems like the perfect age for The Bachelor dealership to fully integrate. After all, The Bachelor , The Bachelorette , and its drunk cousin Bachelor in Paradise have been slowly and steadily revamping over the past couple of years. Nick Viall, our current unemployed software engineer turned bachelor-at-arms, isnt precisely a cookie cutter contender. His extreme sense and predisposition to moan at the slightest provocation differentiates him from the silent and stoic romantic leads of seasons past. Plus, he wears jewelry and might even have a sense of humor. If Viall is the believing females bachelor, hes likewise the closest weve ever be coming home with a professional contestant. After multiple sequence on the franchise, Nick is highly aware of, say, what makes a good revise and what the fuck is provoke Bachelor Nation backlash. On a not-unrelated mention, his season boasts the most diverse reserve of Bachelor contenders in dealership history2 2 lily-white and eight non-white girls. As a point of comparison, previous bachelor Ben Higgins deigned to date five non-white players, and Chris Souless season featured merely one.

Theres an argument to be made that Nick wants to appear instructed and salvage his historically compromised reputation. That would explain why so many black girls have remained in the running this season, despite the fact that Viall doesnt actually seemed to be engaging a romantic relation with them. Last-place week, Jasmine met her would-be fianc, confessing that his complete disinterest in spending one-on-one time with her shaped her feel unwanted and insecure. Uncomfortable and called-out, Nick politely indicated/ told her to parcel her containers. Loyal viewers will recollect a similar interaction earlier in the season between Nick and Dominique. Dominique felt underappreciated and stuck in her own brain; Nick felt like he really didnt need to be talking to Dominique anymore. While boozing unlimited Chardonnay and claiming to fall in love with person might sound like an easy gig , non-white Bachelor/ Bachelorette opponents have historically had a hard start of it. Its telling that these crises of confidence so consistently afflict rivals of pigment. Of trend these women are in their own headstheir premiers are telling them that pitch-black ladies dont find love on The Bachelor franchise.

The Bachelor / Bachelorettes whitewashing has been blamed and parodied, most exhaustively by UnREAL , the scripted Lifetime send-up of the dating demonstrate phenomenon. On Season 2, UnREAL imagined what it would look like to shed the first pitch-black suitorand all of the exploitative clickbait and ethnic tension that would unavoidably follow. Of trend, the fact that it only took this Bachelor lampoon two seasons to stimulate that so-called historic announcementone that the real franchise had yet to tacklewas truly shameful. In a 2016 interview with The Daily Beast, host Chris Harrison demurred on the topic, saying that questions of diversity were path above my compensate point. He was indicated that, Anyone has the same chance to end upand I hate to say triumph because its not a game show. It has to do with your connection with person. But everybody has a chance to fall in love, it doesnt stuff who you are.

According to Beyonc, black girls can increasingly find their own thinkings in the news and onscreen. But while this surge in image has been vital for aspiring actresses and senators, it had yet to reach the little girl who fantasy of growing up to find love in a televised world competitionuntil now. As Americas very first pitch-black Bachelorette, Rachel has a huge amount of responsibility. In addition to finding the cherish of their own lives, shes tasked with proving to the world that black wives can serial date just as convincingly as their lily-white counterparts. But as certain as we are that Nick Viall will die alone, have every confidence that Rachel Lindsay will make a lovely, charismatic bachelorette.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-first-black-bachelorette-rachel-lindsay-breaks-a-ridiculous-color-barrier/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/179129802317

[allofbeercom]

The First Black Bachelorette: Rachel Lindsay Breaks a Ridiculous Color Barrier

After 14 years and 33 seasons of white people chafing their constituents together for Americas amusement, The Bachelor dealership lastly has a pitch-black lead: Rachel Lindsay, who was announced Monday evening as the next Bachelorette. Its 2017, baby! We might have an orange pussy-grabber in the Oval Office and an arguably prejudiced us attorney general, but Lindsay, a pitch-black advocate, was in the process of make a live full of potential boyfriends her bitch.

The Bachelor franchise had been playing a decades-long tournament of chicken with ethnic equalitya will-they-or-wont-they of diverse image. For all of the franchises tanning-bed followers, diversity on the ABC stalwart often simmers down to a rainbow of registered nurse practitioners, unregistered nurse practitioners, and aspiring nurse practitioners. Of route, The Bachelor is a highly inclusive struggle, with arms wide open to personal managers from all 50 states, maidens and divorcees, heavily accented rivals, and deep polarizing assholes. As long as youre a Size 2 noblewoman or a Grade A beefcake, you can be in the running to take home that Neil Lane diamond. That tell me anything, whiteness has always been an unstated requisite for going all the way. And when the next bachelor or bachelorette is announced, theyre never the token pitch-black contestants “thats been” dropped during the previous season. In its own history of the dealership, the most diverse bachelor-at-arms was the American-born Venezuelan Juan Pablo Galavis, and he was a total dick.

The announcement of Rachel Lindsays upcoming gig destroys from tradition in more methods than one. Typically, ABC wouldnt making such revelation while a contestant was still in the running for engagementby taught us that Lindsay will be the next bachelorette, theyre effectively bungling their own indicate. Throughout Nick Vialls season, love and ardent admirers have favored Rachel Lindsay as the next bachelorette. From the premiere occurrence, when Lindsay tallied the first-impression rose, the 31 -year-old Texan has wowed gatherings with her( relative) maturity and gumption. Shes beautiful, down to soil, and shockingly utilized( unlike most opponents ). Even more endearingly, Lindsay seems like the kind of woman who would not be here for Nick Vialls leather armband-wearing, pseudo-sensitive bullshit. So its not a huge surprise to hear that the still-looking-for-love Lindsay didnt find her happily ever after with Andi and Kaitlyns clumsy thirds.

The rumor mill began working in earnest a few weeks ago, when founder Mike Fleiss started tweeting about a historic Bachelor happening. On Sunday, Fleiss received information that the aforementioned historic notice would be going down on Monday nights episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live . Reality Steve was the first website to report that Kimmel would be sharing the news of Lindsays long-awaited throwing. LA Times reporter Amy Kaufman too vouched for the notice, tweeting on Friday that, I exactly found out a piece of information that draws me 100% certain that [ email protected] is the next Bachelorette.

Fleisss breathless social media razzes has severely tone-deaf, generated how ridiculous it is that The Bachelorette is just now shedding a black extend. For all of his self-congratulatory pomp, you may have thought that Fleiss was about to announce an all-queer season of The Bachelorette . This is the glittery Resist armband of historic announcementsthe absolutely un-radical revelation that you actually dont need to be a white-hot girlfriend to get participated on actuality TV.

In addition to the simple knowledge that its been over 50 times since the Civil Rights Act, this seems like the perfect age for The Bachelor dealership to fully integrate. After all, The Bachelor , The Bachelorette , and its drunk cousin Bachelor in Paradise have been slowly and steadily revamping over the past couple of years. Nick Viall, our current unemployed software engineer turned bachelor-at-arms, isnt precisely a cookie cutter contender. His extreme sense and predisposition to moan at the slightest provocation differentiates him from the silent and stoic romantic leads of seasons past. Plus, he wears jewelry and might even have a sense of humor. If Viall is the believing females bachelor, hes likewise the closest weve ever be coming home with a professional contestant. After multiple sequence on the franchise, Nick is highly aware of, say, what makes a good revise and what the fuck is provoke Bachelor Nation backlash. On a not-unrelated mention, his season boasts the most diverse reserve of Bachelor contenders in dealership history2 2 lily-white and eight non-white girls. As a point of comparison, previous bachelor Ben Higgins deigned to date five non-white players, and Chris Souless season featured merely one.

Theres an argument to be made that Nick wants to appear instructed and salvage his historically compromised reputation. That would explain why so many black girls have remained in the running this season, despite the fact that Viall doesnt actually seemed to be engaging a romantic relation with them. Last-place week, Jasmine met her would-be fianc, confessing that his complete disinterest in spending one-on-one time with her shaped her feel unwanted and insecure. Uncomfortable and called-out, Nick politely indicated/ told her to parcel her containers. Loyal viewers will recollect a similar interaction earlier in the season between Nick and Dominique. Dominique felt underappreciated and stuck in her own brain; Nick felt like he really didnt need to be talking to Dominique anymore. While boozing unlimited Chardonnay and claiming to fall in love with person might sound like an easy gig , non-white Bachelor/ Bachelorette opponents have historically had a hard start of it. Its telling that these crises of confidence so consistently afflict rivals of pigment. Of trend these women are in their own headstheir premiers are telling them that pitch-black ladies dont find love on The Bachelor franchise.

The Bachelor / Bachelorettes whitewashing has been blamed and parodied, most exhaustively by UnREAL , the scripted Lifetime send-up of the dating demonstrate phenomenon. On Season 2, UnREAL imagined what it would look like to shed the first pitch-black suitorand all of the exploitative clickbait and ethnic tension that would unavoidably follow. Of trend, the fact that it only took this Bachelor lampoon two seasons to stimulate that so-called historic announcementone that the real franchise had yet to tacklewas truly shameful. In a 2016 interview with The Daily Beast, host Chris Harrison demurred on the topic, saying that questions of diversity were path above my compensate point. He was indicated that, Anyone has the same chance to end upand I hate to say triumph because its not a game show. It has to do with your connection with person. But everybody has a chance to fall in love, it doesnt stuff who you are.

According to Beyonc, black girls can increasingly find their own thinkings in the news and onscreen. But while this surge in image has been vital for aspiring actresses and senators, it had yet to reach the little girl who fantasy of growing up to find love in a televised world competitionuntil now. As Americas very first pitch-black Bachelorette, Rachel has a huge amount of responsibility. In addition to finding the cherish of their own lives, shes tasked with proving to the world that black wives can serial date just as convincingly as their lily-white counterparts. But as certain as we are that Nick Viall will die alone, have every confidence that Rachel Lindsay will make a lovely, charismatic bachelorette.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-first-black-bachelorette-rachel-lindsay-breaks-a-ridiculous-color-barrier/

[sagebodisattva]

The Enlightenment FROM Jim Carrey?

So, a noteworthy event is transpiring in the mainstream, which is surprising in itself… Jim Carrey, famous mainstream comedic actor, best known as a regular on the 90’s hit TV show “In Living Color”, and for his many roles in a variety of Hollywood films, including “Dumb and Dumber”, “The Truman Show”, “Man on the Moon”, and “Yes Man”, has been raising eyebrows as he makes rounds on talk shows, media broadcasts and entertainment television newsmagazines, spewing speech that could possibly be interpreted as enlightenment talk. So the question is: Is this the real thing? Is this a bit of “method acting”? (a dramatic technique in which actors identify as closely as possible with the character they are playing by correlating experiences from their personal lives to the character, wherein, the actor will often remain in character long before or after the cameras start or stop rolling.) Or is he simply losing his mind and going insane? Most of the fluff in the entertainment establishment seem to be hoping for either of the latter; attributing his recent words and behaviors to either the preparation for an upcoming role, or a mental breakdown due to a deep bout with depression...

Wow, that’s a pretty big dose of either some blissfully naive hope, or disdainful condescending cynicism, depending on which you believe.

I tend to lean towards the former theory: that the reality behind Jim Carrey has moved into lucid awareness, and that the old fake Jim Carrey is not coming back. I mean, one cannot be absolutely certain… as, rumor has it that Jim is preparing for an upcoming role as Terrance McKenna in a soon to be released film bi-op… and, of course, there was the unfortunate situation with his now deceased ex girlfriend, who committed suicide after a breakup marked by dark undertones, including sordid details of mental illness, prescription drugs, and STDs… but, all that aside, let’s listen to some of the highlights of his recent words.

( CLIPS of Jim Carrey speaking. )

Huh! So what to make of all this? Is Jim Carrey the first mainstream figure to have undergone an awakening? Has Jim lost his mind and gone crazy? Is this about creating distractions to ameliorate his image? Or is he simply getting into character for his next movie? All of the above? Time will tell.

And I know that some of you may be a bit surprised by the topic of this video, as it’s not very often that we delve into the shallow waters of the mainstream, but the specifics of the circumstances fall into the general range of the channel’s usual subject matter. The real self behind this persona seems to have undergone a liberation from the character known as Jim Carrey. A lot of people cannot make this distinction and get confused. They’ll say things like “Jim Carrey has awoken”, or “Jim Carrey has left the matrix”, but this idea doesn’t follow.

There is a lot of difficulty in grasping this. People talk about “reaching enlightenment”, or that they “hope enlightenment happens TO THEM”… but it’s these types of thoughts that prevent an awakening; as, it isn’t about a character reaching a destination. Enlightenment isn’t an existential configuration that happens to a persona. And Jim’s words seem to reflect this nuance. Indeed, it’s these kinds of words that might lead one to believe that there is authentic lucidity actually taking place. The real life circumstances of the character Jim Carrey probably played a significant role in this enlightenment, but what has awoken isn’t Jim Carrey. More accurately, there has been a liberation FROM Jim Carrey.

So why does any of this matter? Well, for the Meta Sage, and the philosophy of Pure Potentialism, this is a significant event; as it signifies the first time in our recent world’s make believe history that an imaginary major mainstream figure has spoken words resembling the truth! Holy shit! Damn, I hope they don’t destroy him. I mean, with the beard, the scars of old age, and the all the cryptic language, you know they’ll want to label him a mad man. I’m sure most of the mainstream herd is rooting for depression and mental illness… or maybe even drug abuse. Anything, but to contemplate what he’s alluding to with those words. Isn’t that right, Charlie?

( CLIP of shallow TV skank’s remarks )

That’s right, Charlie.

“Dude… To get ready for his role as Terrance McKenna, Jim Carrey dove head first into DMT dude!… And he’s never been the same since.”

Better that then to consider his words seriously.

“Healthy people don’t talk like that. It’s cringe worthy. Am I right?”

“Please, force him into rehab, and don’t let him out until he’s back to being the same ole rubbery slapstick clown we all know and love. We don’t like this new Jim Carrey. He’s not welcome. Turn him back the way he was,… even if you have to BEND him against his will. Do it… or we’ll slander and shame his character with unsavory insinuations.”

( Lord Palpatine: DO IT! )

So if it’s true that Jim Carrey is woke as fuck, this is a great omen for humanity. If we can have someone as high status as Jim Carrey speaking the truth, it means there is a greater chance of enlightenment for all consciousness. See, he’s able to reach into the orafice of mediocrity and orate to the mainstream’s inaccessible grazing herd, and, for the first time in their lives for many of them, expose them to the truth! And most of them don’t like it… Because they can’t digest it. No more then a 6 month year old baby could eat and digest a 3 pound hot pastrami on rye with spicy mustard. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. But that’s why many people will have cynical reactions… as, they have no clue as to what any of this alludes.

“Oh, Jim Carrey is a rich man. He has the luxury of letting go and acting irresponsibly. The rest of us have to go to work and struggle to make ends meet.”

That is like one of the biggest justifications for spiritually laziness that I have ever heard in my entire life. You know I don’t quote from the Bible often, and with good reason, but there’s one verse that is apt as a response to this assertion. And it’s Matthew 19:23-26, the eye of the needle, in which Jesus said, quote:

“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Yeah, most of the Bible is full of shit, but there are still occasionally proverbs, nuggets of wisdom or kernels of truth to be found scattered throughout. And this is one of those cases. It is much easier for a stoic man who has nothing to lose by self sacrifice then it is for a self indulgent man who has everything to lose by self sacrifice. And by easier, I mean less attachments as a heavy burden weighing us down.

So stop contriving reasons for your procrastination and your fear of letting go. You have it much easier then Jim Carrey. He has so much more to lose. So what’s your excuse? As if there is something else to do here then free your mind and awaken. There is no greater cause. There is no higher ideal.

So I congratulate the spirit that has transcended Jim Carrey. If awakening is authentic, it’s a welcome calling card to the philosophy of Pure Potentialism.

[despairstation13]

The SpaceX Factor || Day Two

Once again, you had all been pushed into the Restaurant, and once again you all were being forced to watch another couple performances. This time, there was a pungent scent in the restaurant. Something was definitely cooking. Or was it already cooked? You weren’t sure, but your attention was grabbed away as the lights dimmed.

Shirokawa stumbled up onto the stage, holding two buckets and what appeared to be a giant canvas. She set down the two buckets, and rested the large canvas against the back of the stage. She turned to the others, and tried to figure out how to formulate her words.

“So. Making wine would take. Too long. So I’m not. Gonna do that. I’m gonna paint instead. With, uh. Wine. I’m gonna paint with wine. So that’ll be … something.” she spoke slowly and softly. She pulled a paintbrush out of a pocket on her cape, and stared at it for a moment. “….Yeah.”

With that, Shirokawa turned around and began to work on her painting. Her movements were rather choppy and disheveled, but she didn’t seem to care. She only had two or three shades of one color to paint with, but she was managing alright. You were pretty sure, anyways. She didn’t speak to the audience, simply focusing on her painting. She wasn’t generally one to speak much in the first place, so it made enough sense.

Finally, after upwards of 15 minutes of just watching Shirokawa paint, she stopped and stepped aside. The painting was rather sloppy, and depicted in different shades of red and pink. However, if you squinted, you could tell that it was supposed to be a painting of the assistant. Shirokawa sort of gestured to it, trying to look proud.

“I painted Mr. Assistant Dude. Mostly because. I wanted to test something.” she gave everyone a few more seconds to look over her painting, and then suddenly kicked the center of the canvas as hard as she could. She wasn’t able to actually break through the wooden backing, but managed to make a solid tear in the canvas itself - directly in the stomach of painting-Assistant. Shirokawa looked around, namely at the Assistant, and sighed. “…Damn. Voodoo doesn’t work after all. Okay. This, then.”

Shirokawa picked up the bucket of wine, and carried it over to where the Assistant was standing. With some clear effort, she hoisted the bucket up and splashed-slash-poured it all over him. A little bit of it got on her, but she didn’t seem to care.

“…There. Now you can beat him up. And pretend it’s a painting. Since no one wants to ack-know-ledge he exists.”

And with that, she walked off. See you space Shirokawa.

Ciel may be relieving her most traumatic memories, but she knew one thing for certain - There was a talent show, and she was going to bake a pie. She walked up onto whatever stage was in front of them, stumbling only a bit, over to a counter already prepared with ingredients - She supposed the Assistant at least had the decency to give her that - and she set to work. She was going to make a blueberry pie, so she set all her ingredients into categories. Dry, wet, filling ingredients and the like. Ciel didn't speak as she baked, just set about losing herself in making the dessert. Despite her wavering hands, and how she stumbled about ever so slightly, Ciel’s movements were precise and knowing.

She kneaded the pie dough, cut out a top made of a braided pattern, put the crust in an oven and set to work making a filling with blueberries, lemon zest and sugar. She boiled it in a pot until it was soft, and took it off the heat. She pulled her crust out of the oven and filled the crust - which she had only half-baked - with the blueberries, and placed the top on, then set it back in the oven. When Ciel brought the finished pie out, she cut it into pieces and pushed it forwards, placing a dollop of whipped cream on each slice - there was enough for everyone. And Ciel, who had been so silent while she was baking, said only one thing; "There's enough for everyone." And she took her own slice, a fork, and took a bite.

The next person to come on stage was Kuukai. Two by Two, he had silver platters in his hands, setting them down next to each person sat at a table in the restaurant. In and out the doors to the kitchen he goes bringing more and more platters. Judging from the context clues, its increasingly likely that he seemed to have cooked something for them. Despite being a reserve course student, surely he had to pick up some kinds of redeeming talents. He seemed to be hurryingly speaking as he ran back and forth.

“Uuuh… Today… I decided… to make… you all… a classic dish… from my childhood!”

Eventually, all of you had your platters. It seemed that Kuukai had created one of these dishes for himself as well. He looked really proud of himself, but he was also very visibly nervous. He gestured towards the platters, urging you all to lift up the lids.

“Behold, Torus et Gnocchi au Beef du Tomato Carbonara!”

You all lifted your platters to see… something that was quite more disappointing than the fancy words he had said led you to believe. Little ringlets of pasta in a thick, watery, red paste. You wanted to like it, you really did, but it was all so… mediocre. You weren’t entirely sure what to say until Toki, from the back of the room said what was on everybody’s minds.

“Kuukai this is Spaghetti-O’s”

Kuukai immediately snapped back at Toki. “NO IT ISNT!”

Candela snickered from the back of the room. “And what was with that name you gave it? Nice little chimera of Italian and French. Gold Star. You didn’t even make it sound convincing.”

Ciel poked at it with her spoon. “Its… Its already gone cold. I'm not eating this.”

Kuukai was starting to get visibly worked up. “I made it! You have to believe me! I did!”

If you looked to your right, or left, or back depending on where you sat. You would see Kitao, already with an empty bowl and a satisfied look on his face. “Wow Kooky! Your Cooking is Amazing!”

Kuukai had a surprised look on his face. “W-Wow… You… You think so?”

Mi was also eating some at a slightly lower rate. “Subarashiiii!” Mi cried out. “Onii-chan’s cooking is good!!”

Dexter, also took very slow, reluctant bites. “Hmph, These people uuh… Don't know… How to be as good of a friend and as lovely as a person as I am.” You could tell he didn’t like the Spaghetti-O’s at all, but was trying to fake a smile in order to make himself look better.

Kuukai’s smile however, was everything from fake. He was beaming, even blushing a little bit. 

“Th-thank you… I know my cooking is… its kinda garbage but… i'm glad you like it anyways…” And with that, Kuukai returned to his seat to eat his own Spaghetti-O’s

Well. It was time for Saruhiko’s act, and boy was he ready. It was actually kinda thrilling, being able to do whatever he wanted. Most people would probably expect him to just model some sunglasses, but he had a background in theater and so he figured he would put on an act from a random musical. And the one he picked just so happened to be Heathers.

Strutting out in front of everyone in a trenchcoat and a sinister grin, he was ready to go.

“Hi! I’m gonna be performing Meant To Be Yours, with a little help!”

 Saruhiko beamed. He gestured to his left, and upon doing so, out walked the Assistant in full Veronica Sawyer costume, even wearing a wig. Saruhiko took the foreground while the Assistant was more towards the back.

“All is forgiven, baby! Come on, get dressed, you’re my date to the pep rally tonight!” 

Saruhiko’s cheerful demeanor was replaced with a wicked grin as he got into character.

“You chucked me out like I was trash, for that you should be dead! But, but, but! Then it hit me like a flash, what if high school went away instead? Those assholes are the key! They’re keeping you away from me! They made you blind, messed up your mind, but I can set you free!”

From the way he was singing, and his on-the-spot improvised choreography, it was apparent that he had been in a number of productions before. He wasn’t entirely the best, it’d be his talent if he were, but he was solid enough to sell the role and make the performance enjoyable. And of course, it was certainly odd to see him singing this at a Veronica Assistant.

“I was meant to be yours, we were meant to be one! Don’t give up on me now, finish what we’ve begun! You were meant to be mine, I am all that you need! You carved open my heart, can’t just leave me to bleed!”

He was getting way too into this.

“Veronica! Open the, open the door please. Veronica, open the door! Veronica, can we not fight anymore please? Can we not fight anymore? Veronica, sure, you’re scared, I’ve been there I can set you free! Veronica, don’t make me come in there I’m gonna count to three! 1, 2, fuck it!”

Honestly, it’s kinda surreal to hear Saruhiko cursing like this. This performance is ruining his good boy image. Regardless, the stage is dark as he approaches the back. Then the lights return and “Veronica” is very clearly faking a hanging. Saruhiko falls to his knees.

“Oh my god… No… Veronica..! Please don’t…leave me alone… You were…all I could trust… I can’t do this alone… Still, I will if I must!”

He’s suddenly cut off by another voice from stage right, when out walks Ciel with a blueberry pie in hand. “Veronica? I brought you a snack!” Saruhiko turns and flees the other direction. “Veronica?” After one last call from Ciel, she spots the hanging Assistant and SCREAMS. The Assistant yanks off the makeshift noose and begins screaming too until eventually the performance ends with one last line from Ciel.

“That’s not funny!”

Saruhiko jogs back out and bows, all bright smiles, the previous maliciousness of J.D. no longer there. Afterwards, he motions towards his two helpers, letting them bow before helping Ciel off stage.

Well, out of all the things one could expect from this talent show, a corpse certainly wasn’t one of them. The corpse of the Assistant most certainly wasn’t one of them. The truth was, at the announcement of the talent show, Himori came up to the assistant with a once-in-a-lifetime request. 

“Kill yourself so I can put it on Liveleak.”

While said streaming website was unavailable to the students, she amended her statement to “Kill yourself so I can figure out your cause of death and display it to the audience for the talent show.” At the very least, the sight of the assistant dead would win the hearts of some of the audience members.

So, the stage opened up to a crime scene. Excellent. It’s not like any of these people are still recently recovering from seeing the corpse of a murdered acquaintance. Excellent job, Himori.

“Well, whatcha see now here is a case waiting to be solved! By taking pictures of the crime scene and pieces of evidence, I can put together exactly what happened before!”

Where was she during the trial, you may ask? Dissociating probably. Gee, her skill sure could have been useful.

After taking a bunch of pictures and posting them in an “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” conspiracy theorist pinboard style, she spoke to the audience.

“Judging from the puncture wound in his arm and the weird… residue along his gas mask where a mouth should be, I can deduce that he most likely injected some substance in an attempt to overdose or poison himself. The empty bottle of pills makes me believe he crushed and diluted them, though not enough to kill him. The evidence would be more severe. Besides, he had time to dispose of the syringe.”

Himori paused for a second and looked closer at her photographs.

“Judging from the chafing and the bruising on his neck, in addition to the mild discoloration on his face, I believe the proper cause of death is strangulation from a cord or rope. The marks are consistent with a rope of medium width that created friction and caused rope burn as well as bruising when it tightened around his neck. Judging from everything, a knocked over chair and whatnot, it appeared he attempted to hang himself but failed at that too. Eventually he just let the rope choke him to death. Tragic.”

The girl bit her lip in contemplation.

“The real question is, however, who removed the rope if that’s what killed him? And the answer? A different clone of the Assistant! If I’m correct, the rope used to kill him should be in his possession. So… am I?”

The Assistant, once again, clapped as he walked out on stage.

My My! Someone’s brushed up on the rules! Thats correct, if one of me dies, then another will come and replace me. Of course, since im running this game, I can’t be punished or tried for a murder I commit,even if said murder is killing myself to help with a talent show. I’d be careful though. With that kind of deductive skills, I’d say you painted a nice target on your back. Figuratively, of course.

Now Scram! All of you! You did quite a number, and once again I have to spend the night tidying up! I even have to clean up his corpse, and I don’t get a trial out of it! Don’t you have some dying to do? Out! All of you! Out!