#which ; if true; requires subtlety

[fideidefenswhore]

Anne Boleyn's personality was first remarked on after her return from France. In an apparent reference to the skills which she had mastered on the Continent, Wolsey's gentleman-usher, George Cavendish, speaks of 'her excellent gesture and behaviour', [which was] [...] a rare compliment to her, made in his Life of Wolsey, which centres on the catastrophe she was about to bring Wolsey.

Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn & the Marriage That Shook Europe, John Guy & Julia Fox

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

Viktor Nikiforov is an adult character with adult problems and anxieties. However, unlike for Yuuri, whose struggles couldn't be more obvious to the audience, Viktor's issues are portrayed with subtlety. Which is ironic since, of the entire cast, Viktor is confronted with the most drastic life-changing choices and changes.

We meet Viktor as a competitive figure skater who has reached a point in his life many people eventually end up. The initial excitement for your profession has long since withered away and you're stuck in a life that is making you miserable. You're only staying out of convenience, the fear of change, the fear of taking a risk, or due to a lack of opportunity—or a combination thereof.

That's where Viktor is in episode 1. You can read the misery in his fake smiles and in his empty expression when he skates—an activity that once has been his passion (we know because creating your own programmes demands a creativity that is the result of passion). There are rumours that he might retire, and when being asked about his future plans, we see again the empty expression of a man who has lost his purpose. He has accumulated quite a fortune through sponsorships if his expensive clothes are any indication of that, but money can't buy happiness.

For twenty years, Viktor has lived for his sport and neglected his private life over it. His body might keep up for a couple of more seasons, but his mind is weary and his creativity is running dry. Twenty years is a long enough time to make even a decisive person think that that one thing is all you will ever be good at.

When you're stuck like that, maybe even to the point that it affects your mental health, it's hard to make it out of the slump on your own. Having someone showing you an alternative can work wonders to shift your perspective and enable you to take matters into your own hands again. For Viktor, this shift comes in form of a cute and utterly drunk fellow skater who not only seems to have a crush on him but very explicitly voices his wish that Viktor becomes his coach.

Viktor is a master of his craft. He choreographs his own programmes, he has music composed for these, and he has twenty years of experience in figure skating. Before that fateful banquet, Viktor already showed low-level coaching tendencies like when he gives (unsolicited) advice to his younger rinkmate...

or when he encourages him to become junior world champion without a quad jump and agrees to choreograph his first senior programmes.

These examples indicate that Viktor has a hidden skill he might not have been aware of during his active career as a skater. He could build on that if the sets his mind to it.

While it's true that Viktor only decided to become a coach when he saw that video (see Sayo Yamamoto's episode commentary), his feelings for Yuuri played a major role his decision because he felt a connection. That's important because feelings ignite passion and provide you with new purpose. It's tempting to assume that Viktor went to Japan for a booty call, but this totally disregards the complexity of his situation and the key role feelings play in igniting passion in someone and giving them new purpose.

"People shine brightest when they understand what kind of love sustains them."

Turning your life upside down and leaving behind the safety and convenience of a job you're good at but that you learned to hate, comes with fears and requires a certain readiness to take risks. Many people don't go to such lengths unless 1) their current situation is insufferable and 2) they have a very strong motivator to start all over. Like love or passion. As both stem from the same place, I'm equating them in the following.

Taking your first step into the uncharted territory of your new future IS scary. It can be one of the hardest things you have ever done. Especially if it means a complete reorientation. But burning for this future—be it out of love for your new subject/field, a specific person you will work with etc.—is a truly inspiring experience that fills you with the confidence that you can actually do it. So far, Viktor has been on the receiving end of coaching, but his feelings for Yuuri, his experience as a skater, and his resulting dedication to the task ultimately turn him into a good coach for Yuuri and help him succeed where Celestino failed. And it's obvious that Viktor really loves being Yuuri's coach.

Viktor Nikiforov is a true inspiration for everyone who faces the choice of staying on in a life or work situation that is making them miserable or going full risk by following one's heart. I cannot thank Sayo Yamamoto and Mitsurou Kubo enough for creating a show with so many mature characters that are dealing with realistic adult issues and I'm happy that one of my favourite YOI characters is one of them. I wish that Viktor would receive more appreciation for this.

I want to thank the reader of Thousand Spotlights whose comment about my portrayal of Viktor inspired me to finally write this post 🩷 Also many thanks to @cecebeanie for reading over it in advance 🩷

Please note:

In some cultures, changing your job frequently is normal and thus not a big thing for people, but the concept I've discussed is the universal.

This meta doesn't attempt to be a comprehensive analysis of Viktor's situation as this would have gone beyond the cope of this post (I have written other metas that discuss some of these). Viktor shows signs of depression and/or creative burnout that might or might not have to do with focusing on skating for most of his life. Depression can manifest itself differently in different people and no one's experience is less valid than someone else's.

If you enjoyed this meta, please consider giving me a follow or checking out my works on AO3 (link in bio), which build upon my analyses.

[wordsaficionado]

Are you a writer constantly in need of cool, fancy sounding words to write about? Are you a person who just wants to expand your vocabulary? Do you just want words to use to make you sound smart? Well then, enjoy this list that took me a few months and tons of books and google searches to create of really good words.

All with the official spellings and definitions from the first result, alphabetically organized :)

Updated and featuring a word for every letter of the alphabet!

Abhor- regard with disgust and hatred

Abject- (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree

Adumbrate/Adumbration- report or represent in outline

Adage- a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth

Aftak (Scottish)- An easing or lull in a storm

Alizarin- a red pigment present in madder root, used in dyeing

Amalgamation- the action, process, or result of combining or uniting

Anchorite- a religious recluse

Anhedonic- inability to feel pleasure

Apocryphal- (of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true

Ardent- burning; glowing

Arduous- involving or requiring strenuous effort; difficult and tiring

Askance- with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval

Athirst- very eager to get something

Augur- (in ancient Rome) a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behavior of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action

Axiom- a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true

Baroque- relating to or denoting a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that followed mannerism and is characterized by ornate detail. In architecture the period is exemplified by the palace of Versailles and by the work of Bernini in Italy

Basorexia- the overwhelming desire to kiss

Bawdy- dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent

Beguile- charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way

Benignant- kindly and benevolent

Bier- a movable frame on which a coffin or a corpse is placed before burial or cremation or on which it is carried to the grave

Blunderbuss- an action or way of doing something regarded as lacking in subtlety and precision

Boff- have sex with (someone)

Boudoir- a woman's bedroom or private room

Bovine- an animal of the cattle group, which also includes buffaloes and bisons

Bucolic- relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life

Calamitous- involving calamity; catastrophic or disastrous

Callow- (of a young person) inexperienced and immature

Celerity- swiftness of movement

Cenotaph- a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war

Claret- a deep purplish-red color

Conglomerate- a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities

Consternation- feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected

Coppice- an area of woodland in which the trees or shrubs are, or formerly were, periodically cut back to ground level to stimulate growth and provide firewood or timber

Crépuscule- twilight

Covetousness- the feeling of having a strong desire for the things that other people have

Dearth- a scarcity or lack of something

Debutante- an upper-class young woman making her first appearance in fashionable society

Declamation- the action or art of declaiming

Declaiming- utter or deliver words or a speech in a rhetorical or impassioned way, as if to an audience

Demarcated- set the boundaries or limits of

Dichotomy- a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different

Dilatory- slow to act

Diminution- a reduction in the size, extent, or importance of something

Diocese- a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church

Diaphanous- (especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent

Dolichocephalic- having a relatively long skull (typically with the breadth less than 80 [or 75] percent of the length)

Dogmatic- being certain that your beliefs are right and that others should accept them, without paying attention to evidence or other opinions

Dutch Crocus- type of flower I thought sounded pretty

Encroached- intrude on (a person's territory or a thing considered to be a right)

Eleutheromania- a mania or frantic zeal for freedom

Encumber- restrict or burden (someone or something) in such a way that free action or movement is difficult

Epigram- a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever or amusing way

Ephemeral- lasting for a very short time

Erotomania- a delusion in which a person (typically a woman) believes that another person (typically of higher social status) is in love with them

Espionage- the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information

Expostulate- express strong disapproval or disagreement

Falchion- a broad, slightly curved sword with the cutting edge on the convex side.

Fallacy- a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument

Fervid- intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree

Floccinaucinihilipilification- the action or habit of estimating something as worthless

Foibles- a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone's character

Folichonne- (informal) slight, lightweight; mischievous

Forelsket (Norwegian)- The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love

Fungible- (of a product or commodity) replaceable by another identical item; mutually interchangeable

Funambulist- a tightrope walker

Galvanic- relating to or involving electric currents produced by chemical action

Gant- a yawn

Garrulous- excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters

Gloaming- twilight; dusk

Hedonistic- engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent

Hiraeth- (especially in the context of Wales or Welsh culture) deep longing for something, especially one's home

Idiosyncrasies- a mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual

Idyll- an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one

Intaglio- a design incised or engraved into a material

Incandescent- soft glow

Irrevocably- not able to be changed, reversed, or recovered; final

Jettisoned- throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship

Kalopsia- The delusion of things being more beautiful than they are

Keening- the action of wailing in grief for a lost loved one

Ken- one's range of knowledge or sight

Lackadaisical- lacking enthusiasm and determination

Logophile- a lover of words

Loquacity- the quality of talking a great deal; talkativeness

Magnanimous- generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person

Magniloquent- using high-flown or bombastic language

Meandering- following a winding course

Meliorism- the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

Mellifluous- (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear

Metonym- a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated

Midnightly- Taking place at midnight

Modicum- a small quantity of a particular thing, especially something considered desirable or valuable

Nihilistic- rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless

Obsequious- obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

Obstreperous- noisy and difficult to control

Occultation- An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them

Ochre- an earthy pigment containing ferric oxide, typically with clay, varying from light yellow to brown or red

Panoply- a complete or impressive collection of things

Pastiche- an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period

Petrichor- a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather

Pious- having or showing a deep respect for God and religion

Pithy- (of a language or style) concise and forcefully expressive

Portending- be a sign or warning that (something, especially something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen

Portmanteau- a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel (from ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’) or brunch (from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’)

Propinquity- the state of being close to someone or something; proximity or close kinship

Propitious- giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable

Pulchritudinous- beautiful (yes, that’s the full definition)

Pusillanimous- showing a lack of courage or determination; timid

Qawwalis- a style of Sufi devotional music marked by rhythmic improvisatory repetition of a short phrase, intended to rouse participants to a state of mystical ecstasy

Rapport- a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well

Recalcitrant- having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline

Repertoire- a stock of skills or types of behavior that a person habitually uses

Resplendent- attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous

Reverberated- (of a loud noise) be repeated several times as an echo or (of a place) appear to vibrate or be disturbed

Reverie- a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream

Requisite- made necessary by particular circumstances or regulations

Ricocheted- rebound one or more times off a surface

Rivulet- a very small stream

Rhododendron- a shrub or small tree of the heath family, with large clusters of bell-shaped flowers and typically with large evergreen leaves, widely grown as an ornamental

Ruched- (of cloth, clothes, etc.) sewn so that they hang in folds

Sablions- French plural word for sand (I’m 90% sure)

Salacious- having or conveying undue or inappropriate interest in sexual matters

Salubrious- health-giving; healthy or a place that is pleasant; not run-down

Sarsen- a silicified sandstone boulder of a kind which occurs on the chalk downs of southern England. Such stones were used in constructing Stonehenge and other prehistoric monuments

Scagliola- imitation marble or other stone, made of plaster mixed with glue and dyes which is then painted or polished

Sceptred- invested with a scepter or sovereign authority

Scintillating- brilliantly and excitingly clever or skillful

Sepia- a reddish-brown color associated particularly with monochrome photographs of the 19th and early 20th centuries

Sepulchral- gloomy; dismal

Sonder- The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it

Soporific- tending to induce drowsiness or sleep

Sumptuous- splendid and expensive-looking

Sycophant- a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage

Synecdoche- a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in Cleveland won by six runs (meaning “Cleveland's baseball team”)

Taciturn- (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little

Tangentially- in a way that relates only slightly to a matter; peripherally

Tantamount- equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as

Tenacious- tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely

Trepidation- a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen

Truculent- eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant

Ubiquitous- present, appearing, or found everywhere

Unequivocally- leaving no doubt

Valise- a small traveling bag or suitcase

Vaunted- praised or boasted about, especially in an excessive way

Venorexia- the feeling of romance that comes with the arrival of springtime

Verdant- (of countryside) green with grass or other rich vegetation

Wanton- (of a cruel or violent action) deliberate and unprovoked

Whelm- engulf, submerge, or bury

Xerically- of, pertaining to, or adapted to a dry environment

Yillen (Scottish)- shower of rain

Yoked- attack, especially by strangling

Yūgen- the beauty that we can feel sense into an object, even though the beauty doesn't exist in the literal sense of the word and cannot be seen directly

Zenith- the time at which something is most powerful or successful

I hope you enjoyed my little panoply of words!

Ily all, and ty for really amplifying the last post I made like this! I hope it helps someone out there and if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies PLEASE lmk!

[disturbingstar]

The last of us trivia

TV show

• Pedro Pascal agreed to play Joel within a day of being sent the script.

• Neil Druckmann (the writer and director of the games, and the co-creator of the HBO series) watched over 100 auditions for Ellie before seeing Bella Ramsey's audition, of which he said, “It didn't feel like I was watching someone acting like Ellie. I was watching Ellie.”

• The TV adaptation offered the opportunity to expand on characters' backstories like Marlene and Ellie's relationship - as they weren't limited to a first-person POV.

• Huge apocalyptic sets had to be made for the show that were only used once - like the interior of the Capitol Building, which was built on a soundstage from scratch. Matching the lushness of the game while making it more realistic was the end goal, and art books from Naughty Dog (the company that developed the video games) were used as a jumping off point.

• Tess is portrayed by Australian actress Anna Torv. She was aware of the games but had not played them and watched the cutscenes after her casting. Torv felt her performance required consistent truthfulness due to its subtlety.

• Anna Torv and Pedro Pascal who portrays Joel decided that Tess and Joel had been lovers for some time but, like in the game, were subtle about their relationship.

• Sarah is portrayed by English actress Nico Parker. Parker watched videos of the original game years before getting the role. She wanted to stay away from the game version and provide her own interpretation of the character.

• As the clickers were a “home run” in the games, prosthetic artists from Game of Thrones were brought on to make them look as close to the source material as possible.

• There was even a movement bootcamp to train extras how to move like infected.

• The art teams were given the direction to find the beauty in the fungus. As Neil Druckmann said, “When you see the beauty in these monsters, it somehow makes them creepier.”

• It was Bella Ramsey's suggestion to have Ellie sleep with a switchblade during her first night with Tess and Joel.

• Neil Druckmann always thought of Joel and Tess's relationship as romantic, and the TV show offered the opportunity to make that explicit.

• Neil Druckmann is open to a The Last of Us Part 3 game, but it depends on whether the team can “come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love.”

• Pedro Pascal was chosen to play Joel Miller because of his ability to portray a tough, tortured, and vulnerable character who suppresses his emotions until necessary.

• Pedro Pascal based Joel's voice on his own experiences growing up in San Antonio, Texas, paring it back from the Southern accent used in the games.

• Bella Ramsey was aware of the game before their audition, but was encouraged not to play it to avoid replicating Ashley Johnson's original performance, instead watching some gameplay on YouTube to get a sense of it. As of filming the series, they still hadn't played the game.Ramsey wanted their performance to be reminiscent of the games without copying them.

• Unlike his counterpart from the video game series, Joel is more vulnerable in the television series; he is hard of hearing on one side due to a gunshot, his knees ache when he stands and he also suffers from nightmares and panic attacks. Co-creator Craig Mazin felt Joel should be less resilient than in the game to show the toll that living in the post-outbreak world has taken.

• Tommy is portrayed by American actor and producer Gabriel Luna. About a month after the casting of Pascal and Ramsey as Joel and Ellie respectively, Luna was asked to submit an audition tape. He was familiar with the work of co-creator Craig Mazin and executive producer Carolyn Strauss, and had previously worked on HBO's True Detective. About a week after submitting his tape, he was offered the role and, according to Luna, they instantly knew he was the one. He was enthusiastic for the role, having lived in Austin, Texas—Joel and Tommy's hometown—around the same time as the show's setting. He was also given a PlayStation 5 during production to play the games as research.

[redlyriumidol]

My thoughts/headcanons about the different styles of magic across Thedas. I'm skipping avvar and elvhenan because... idk i don't feel like it (we also can't really comprehend the extent of elvhen magic yet. perhaps we never will.):

SOUTHERN CIRCLES: perhaps the one we've been most familiar with until now. Solas criticises Vivienne on a few counts with regards to her magic and I think this sums it up: "Your rigorous training lays a solid foundation, true. It also creates boundaries, limits, where none need exist." I think that's indicative of the Southern approach to magic in general. The Chantry needs to keep its mages under a tight leash, but it also has a vested interest in training them to be useful, especially in a military capacity. Within the Circles there is some room for experimentation and advancement, but it's always limited by fear and the harsh regulations imposed on their use of magic.

Therefore I think Southern Circle magic tends towards the practical, the utilitarian, somewhat of an inflexible, blunt approach. They likely favour elemental magic, though spirit healing seems to be reluctantly tolerated for its sheer usefulness. There's some variety, though, such as the Kirkwall Circle favouring Force Magic.

TEVINTER: obviously Tevinter mages enjoy a great deal more freedom in terms of magic, and can freely experiment and push the limits, in fact they're incentivised to do so. Leaving aside blood magic for now, magic is an intrinsic part of Tevinter culture, and Circles are regarded as prestigious academies-- I think magic there is viewed as an art, a science. Obviously from a banter between Solas and Dorian we know that Tevinter stole techniques from the ancient elves. There are likely some similarities although obviously Tevinter magic has evolved since then.

Imo Tevinter magic is about precision, skillfulness, refinement, elegance, subtlety. There's almost a certain poetry to it, though it is also showy, ostentatious. They appreciate magic for magic's sake, not just as a tool. I talked in a different post about how I don't like Necromancy for Dorian and I wish he'd had a specialisation that showcased an aspect of Tevene magic other than blood magic- like I said I think this could have been glyph-based magic, which is showy but also might require skill and dexterity.

DALISH: The Dalish mages we've met have been very capable and well-trained, so I think it's unfair to say their magic is inferior to anyone else's. I think it's simply different. Since they live so closely with nature I tend to think they have an intuitive, instinctual approach to magic, almost a natural ease. To Dalish mages, magic is like breathing, though there is a lot of study that goes into it as well.

Obviously we have direct examples of Keeper magic in both Velanna and Merrill, so apart from the typical thornblades-type spells I'd also say they favour primal magic (lightning, stonefist/petrify etc)- based somewhat on the fact that Merrill doesn't have access to the elemental tree in da2. Not that I don't think they can summon fire, but I think they view fire magic differently. This is my headcanon/inference but, like healers, Keepers follow Sylaise's Vir Atish'an, the way of peace. Sylaise represents healing, but also fire. For someone who lives in a forest, fire is useful, but can be destructive if it gets out of control. I believe they don't view fire as an offensive tool primarily, but as something healing.

QUNARI: again, Qunari magic is severely limited, even more so than in Southern Circles. I think the Qunari view their mages as basically walking rocket launchers, but magic is their blind spot. They're terrified of it, so they'll never get the most out of its possibilities. I mean, their mages can't even talk to each other, so what chance is there of exchanging ideas and advancing? This might be the reason why they haven't totally crushed Tevinter tbh. It does seem that Qunari/Vashoth likely make naturally powerful mages, it's just that their magic is unrefined, brutal, basic but destructive. I imagine they favour the most basic elemental or primal magic, hardly venturing into any other schools at all. The Saarebas seem to have lightning abilities in-game, which fits a society which is technologically advanced but limited when it comes to magic.

NEVARRA: so obviously we've got the Mortalitasi. Tbh I'm not as interested in the Mortalitasi as I could be, I think necromancy just doesn't appeal to me in terms of vibes lol. But anyway, it's clear that magic in Nevarra has a ritualistic importance, it's dark and secretive, subtle, and even though it can be used offensively that seems to be a secondary purpose. I think, like in Tevinter, magic is likely an intellectual or a scientific pursuit, but here it also has a religious significance. Obviously they favour spirit magic and necromancy. Unlike Rivain and the Avvar, though, they seem to view spirits as tools/slaves- in Tevinter Nights we see a Mortalitasi using a wisp to stir her tea for example.

RIVAIN: ugh my faves. There's a good chance we'll get to see this in the next game and I couldn't be more excited. We know that the women are trained as Seers and commune with spirits. The Circles there are really just a front to appease the Chantry, while the unique brand of Rivaini magic is a natural facet of life. I think it's probably witchy, obviously spiritual, intuitive, likely also ritualistic. Obviously a lot of it is spirit magic, probably spirit healing, but I like to think they also use Entropy magic (my beloved) because the idea of curses just kind of fits the witchy vibes of it all. Since their culture is so entwined with the sea, storm magic also might make sense.

[wanderinghedgehog]

The Confrontation in Les Mis (or Authority Gains Its Power as the chapter is called in the book) is such an interesting scene to me because so many adaptations present it in a way that I can’t decide if it’s wrong or just strange. Various adaptations add an element of physical aggression to it that is not present in the original scene. Essentially my problem with that is that I find it unnecessary. Exactly what any violence could communicate in this scene could easily be communicated without it. More specifically, it could be communicated more artfully without violence.

What’s intriguing about this scene is the power dynamic between Valjean and Javert and how it shifts throughout. It starts with Javert in complete control, not because he could physically overpower Valjean (which he couldn’t), but because he has the law on his side. It is fully within his rights to arrest a lawbreaker. He mostly maintains this control of the scene through the authority given to him by the government. But when control briefly shifts to Valjean, it isn’t gained through actual violence. True, he threatens Javert, but that’s the extent of it. We know he’s been able to fend off Javert because he is able to give himself a moment to address Fantine. Nothing else was required to communicate this. Additionally, a threat of violence from Valjean is intimidating enough on it’s own partially because he uses this tactic so sparingly.

Portrayals of violence in media have a very straightforward purpose, to show how an attacker gains power of someone else, even if that power is short lived. But that power is represented very plainly by physical strength, meaning that it doesn’t always effectively portray other implications and nuances of a situation. But whether this is the case for violence in Les Mis or not, I mostly don’t like it for its lack of subtlety. It often feels like action for the sake of action rather than because it would genuinely portray the themes of power and authority better. It ups the stakes to some extent, but not in a way that’s especially meaningful. The stakes of the scene were already high enough, in my opinion.

I’m gonna see if I can sum this is up succinctly. If you ask me, when a scene already effectively deals with themes of power, there is no reason to add an element that involves those themes but only in a more visceral and frustratingly straightforward way.

[ewrthings-race-repair-repeat]

The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection is a limited edition (25 world wide) that has been inspired by the seldom-seen wonder of a solar eclipse (the awe-inspiring moment when the Moon completely obscures the Sun).  

EXTERIOR: GOLDEN DARKNESS The mysterious, ethereal light cast by a total solar eclipse is captured in the Lyrical Copper exterior colour of the motor car. This stunning Bespoke finish incorporates powdered copper pigment, which appears darker until it catches the light when it produces a rich and dramatic iridescence. Mandarin adorns the inserts below the Pantheon Grille and brake callipers, recalling the intense pulses of sunlight witnessed as the eclipse progresses. The same Mandarin hue is used for the hand-painted coachline, which includes a delicate abstract representation of the transition from sunlight to darkness as the Moon approaches to cover the Sun.

ANIMATED STARLIGHT HEADLINER The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis features a fully Bespoke Starlight Headliner with a special animation that, like the eclipse that inspires it, gives those inside a true sense of awe and wonder. As the coach doors close and the engine is started, the ‘stars’ in the Starlight Headliner darken and a mesmerising sequence begins, replicating the totality of the solar eclipse, when the dark silhouette of the Moon completely obscures the bright light of the Sun. A circle of 940 ‘stars’ is formed, representing the bright corona of light around the lunar silhouette. This is surrounded by a further 192 illuminating ‘stars’, recreating the otherworldly spectacle of stars visible in the sky during daylight, which occurs only during a total solar eclipse.

The animation remains visible for precisely seven minutes and 31 seconds – the longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse. Once this time has elapsed, the full constellation of ‘stars’ in the night sky is restored. This highly technical feature required a year of painstaking development, in which the Bespoke Collective produced three complete prototypes to perfect the design and sequencing of the ‘stars’.

ILLUMINATED FASCIA AND ‘DIAMOND RING’ TIMEPIECE The illuminated fascia of Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis is adorned with 1,846 laser-etched ‘stars’ in a symbolic timeline of a total eclipse. A single Bespoke designer had sole responsibility for adjusting the individual size and position of each ‘star’ to create the mesmeric effect; a delicate and exacting process that took over 100 hours to complete.

The composition culminates in a Bespoke timepiece, which incorporates a brilliant-cut 0.5-carat diamond, recalling the ‘Diamond Ring’ effect, when a single, dazzling point of light can be seen on the Moon’s outline in the split seconds just before and immediately after it obscures the Sun. The bezel geometry has been modified to accommodate the precious gem, as this is the first time in Rolls-Royce history that a gemstone has been integrated into the clock’s bezel. The assembly underwent rigorous adhesion tests, which included climatic cell cycling from -30°C to +90°C, to ensure the diamond is robustly secured. The timepiece is finished with an etching on its dark aluminium surround, revealing the bright metal underneath. This beautiful piece of contemporary craftsmanship is the result of over 14 design iterations.

PANORAMIC SUNSET INTERIOR At totality of a solar eclipse, there is a moment when a golden twilight surrounds those viewing the eclipse, giving the illusion of a 360-degree sunset. In Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis, the beauty of this rarely observed phenomenon is captured in bi-coloured seats with a unique perforated artwork, made of over 200,000 individual perforations.

The bold Mandarin leather is tinted in a black shade that is then perforated to reveal the brighter contrasting colour beneath, creating a visual effect with extraordinary depth and subtlety. Using computational design tools, the Bespoke Collective developed a unique pattern, which was then manually refined over seven trials and iterations.

Bespoke finishing touches include illuminated treadplates, umbrellas with Mandarin piping concealed in the coach doors, and a unique indoor motor car cover bearing the Private Collection’s wordmark.

All 25 examples of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection have been allocated to clients around the world.

[onsomekindofstartrek]

Got my degree (German and Spanish with the capstone in Spanish) five years ago in December and in my head I’m still fighting the war over immersive second language instruction.

It doesn’t work, not as a holistic approach, and I think, but cannot verify, that this is a mostly-American folly.

You can’t learn a language without learning grammar, much as Americans in particular like to stomp their feet and whine about it. And most people cannot learn the subtleties of L2 without occasional or even fairly frequent use of L1 for clarification and explanations of difficult concepts.

Understand, I did five years of German with one professor who was in his seventies and eighties in that time span. English was the main language of instruction at first and he slowly transitioned the advanced classes to using German as the main language of instruction. It was NEVER 100%, because German grammar is actually really complicated and hard to grasp, especially in regards to the declensions of the adjectives and determiners. I learned the grammar by rote, but contrary to popular doctrine, I still learned it and can use it automatically and easily. The only reason I’m not well conversant in German now is because we never had enough students in the program to have conversation classes or clubs like with Spanish.

Whereas I did four years of Spanish and I’m decently conversant in it, improving all the time because I talk with Spanish speakers almost weekly. But that’s through no virtue of the immersive Spanish program. For one thing, they were under orders to have 100% pass rate, which is absurd, and for another thing, you still have to learn the grammar by rote, but hampered by the fact that you’re starting with people who do not speak the language at all, and instructing them entirely in the language! It’s not your first language! You’re not going to intuit the grammar! Of course it’s going to be by rote. Artificially adding a language barrier to that rote instruction is not a virtue. I learned Spanish grammar on my own time because I wanted to actually speak it and not just pass an un-failable class.

(Also L1 speakers of any language tend not to be effective at instructing speakers of other languages in the grammar, since it’s intuitive for them but not for the students. No, we can’t just “do what feels right,” we didn’t start when we were babies!)

And I think it gets into a lot of American hangups, like the idea that you should either be fluent in a language or not speak it at all, the way we treat L2 English speakers when they come here.

There’s no magic bullet for language and as my alma mater axes every language program except Spanish, and dilutes the Spanish program by requiring a guaranteed passing grade, that’s not going to get less true.

[hottakehoulihan]

Mutant Deviations

Characters behave recognizably canonically: No Not abandoned incomplete: Complete. Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Sometimes funny/clever. Do I recommend it: Y..es? It's insufferably self-indulgently 'cute' Curbstomp, Cuddles, Crack, Cyoot: All four

Premise: Taylor bumps into Amy early, and they become fast friends, then Taylor--while pretending to be two people at once by using a clone--ends accidentally (injuries, healing) sort of externalizing her unconscious and shard into a bug-body. ...and this has consequences that escalate. Also, this isn't pillbug or smugbug. This is ALL the buggy. This is one of those self-indulgent stories where the author is saying "ain't this cute?" and the audience is squeeing, and if I am not quite into it? well...who am I to deny anyone some indulgence?

The story sincerely has some creative approaches to many of the conflicts and the resolutions. It is surprisingly imaginative.

Also, there is no smut...though I read it on SV (linked) because AO3 required an account I don't have yet, and SB's version has all the fan/reader convo and I'm not into that but if you are I'd suggest reading it on SB.

Spoilers/lengthy after the cut, because these posts are also me leaving notes for future me whose memory is forgor

Skip to the end for a true summary:

Okay I considered typing Taylor TINO but then I'd have to type Amy Aino and Lisa and Vista and...most gals end up in the romantically semifrustrated harem. Which would be kind of gross and YMMV, but the any of them get is hugs, nuzzles, and kisses. No makeouts, no petting. There are a few sentences that only exist on the AO3 version--per the author--and I'm assured they don't add much except an additional joke here or there.

But yeah; the story has the "flaws" of assuming the characters know everything the readers of Worm know (like Sabah not being white--something that Taylor knows right away upon meeting Sabah even though masks are on) and also of Taylor having all the subtlety of advanced poweruse mastered at the start (she's talking and listening through her bugs like a pro on week one.)

Anyway, here's a summary: Taylor's dad is !Coil (his wife's death motivates him to FIX the CITY) and he's not quite the asshole Coil was (his 'surprise adoption' of Dinah was actually covertly with consent of all involved because they weren't equipped and she was going mad) but he's a lot more distant from her than even in canon and didn't visit her in the hospital, and also she's way more skilled at using her bugs, so she knows what he is and she's scared and won't go to the PRT because of Sophie and CoilMoles so she ends up shacking up with Amy and Amy helps her become two vigilantes--a case53 (Hive) made up of a swarm of bugs, and also a bug-controller (Queen) that is made up of Taylor in costume. And then Taylor gets badly hurt and Amy frantically heals Taylor a bit wrong and now Hive has some agency and autonomy.

Also, Amy gets mad at her home life and walks out and shacks up with Taylor. ...and starts making weapon bugs (carefully skirting things that'd get her a kill order) so Taylor begins curbstomping threats almost instantly.

(Amy gets a pre-approved not-active-but-just-in-case kill order ANYWAY, and this pisses Taylor off, and somehow this is important, but other stuff is going on.)

Madison is a computer hacker nerd who was playing along with the bullying because it's better to be on their side, and she's overwhelmed with guilt and hasn't been out of her room since The Locker and so she thinks Taylor died. ...but she doesn't trigger. Eventually she's recruited into the !harem and forgiven and becomes instrumental when Lisa (rescued from Coil by Taylor) also joins the !harem and the two of them connect with Armsmaster to unshackle Dragon. Yup.

Amy's shard sees that Hive has some autonomy and is getting to act as a person and also that there's a whole lot of creativity and potential for MORE creativity in this. ...and since The Cycle is kinda broken and stupid anyway, maybe this whole

STOMP STOMP

mutualism and symbiosis

is way better than just raising up a cluster of realities full of cattle and then digesting the entirety and moving on like a bunch of one-trick locusts.

(This is actually the theme of the story.)

So anyway, Amy's shard creates some more bugs and they take the acceptable targets from Amy's mind (the E88) and sneak off and start growing and building and killing.

Yay! Nazis become bugfood!

Except Amy and Taylor don't know about this, and since this rogue shard (Monarch) and its creations are sincerely a real potential world-ending threat...

Something super cool the author does is write what Adam Warren might call "counterfactual scenarios" that are also "bad ends". (Adam Warren wrote the best Iron Man comic ever, and also Livewires, and some other stuff that I hesitate to endorse but guiltily admit I enjoyed without one exception though I might enjoy some of it less now and his largest work is a thing that started as fetish art commissions because artists gotta eat but it got self-indulgently cute oh dear we've come full circle) ANYWAY Slider214 wrote down what would have happened if the heroes didn't respond appropriately, and basically Monarch ends the world. Later, Slider did the same thing for if Noelle wasn't handled correctly.

This is cool. Taking a chapter to show the bad end and then backing up and continuing with the story? I like that and haven't seen it in this medium before.

But Monarch gets tamed and becomes part of the new gang.

And then the story survives Leviathan, with Taylor (who now has a brain-to-shard connection that lets her talk to shards like they're children, on account of having so much practice with Monarch and Hive and also some weirdness with Amy's healing-of-her) participates in the battle as a brute because between Hive, Monarch, and Amy all working to make big bugs with novel abilities she's a threat.

Thing is, she gets so immersed in 'being in the head of the big bugs" that she loses herself a bit and now she's leveled up even MORE at talking to shards and she manages to piss off Levi and drag him away from the city.

Oh but they have to free Noelle and let her run from the town.

Things get quiet for a bit. Sophie gets put in jail. Piggot retires with a smirk. Emma has a breakdown and apologizes and has powers and is sort of adopted on probation because of power fuckery (by now the shards of everyone nearby are talking to Taylor's shard and making friends with it) We learn that Contessa is complicit in things working out the way they have with Taylor. Rune was redeemed and adopted. The surviving members of E88 agree to be on their best behavior or else.

and then the S9 show up. ...and mostly they're curbstomped. The exceptions are Jack and Siberian.

Super satisfied that Riley ends up smeared all over the pavement. I'll play along with redemptions--a fanfic AU is its own thing and even I try to disregard canon entirely when I judge a fanfic, just as I'd judge Disney's Hercules with zero consideration of which 'canon' Hercules it didn't emulate--but I like seeing her dead. They recruit/repair/redeem Burnscar tho. !Harem +1.

(and yeah it's flanderization but I think that's actually on the label of the box; this story doesn't have one character that is written true to canon and if it did it wouldn't work. Lung at one point smirks and announces he'll be lounging in his La-Z-Boy. This is CANDY. Not exactly my sort of candy, but I still appreciate the things it's doing well and acknowledge that many things it's not doing are things it's purposefully not doing)

And this is fun. Siberian's actually the important one here. They figure out that she's a projection right away, but it's the shard that is the villain here and they can't just kill the dude they have to keep him alive or the shard will just find a new host and keep being a villain.

So she gets away for now.

Madison takes the tame Monarch off and kills Jack, but Taylor rushes off to help and--whoops, Sophia was rescued and conscripted and she's rarin' to kill her a 'take that you worm'. ...and Sophia is introduced to electric bugs and long falls into pavement, but drags Taylor with her. Taylor experiences catastrophic deconstruction of her brain matter.

Amy arrives on the scene swiftly, and is nowhere near the useless handwringer she is in canon, but she doesn't know how to repair the mind within the brain. ...and Hive, who is still there somehow, decides that Taylor Must Live.

The Cycle Is Flawed And Stupid And Doomed. ...But Taylor's Way is interesting and has potential. Taylor MUST live.

So Amy and Hive meld shards a bit and work together and Taylor gets to walk off death.

Some of this is caught on video. This might be what led to Piggot laughing, taking a shot, and retiring.

Also, about now there are shards doing things in other universes and other star systems, like making dyson spheres and protecting alien life, all in keeping with what Taylor's desires would be. Because slash-and-burn is the old failed way. This is offscreen though so eh.

Alexandria shows up and asks for help. Time to deal with out-of-town Noelle, who has already got Eidolon swallowed whoops. Worse, Eidolon knows he's at fault for the endbringers, so now he's trying to do it On Purpose. He eventually figures it out, but just a bit too late. Curbstomping ensues. Lisa second-triggered earlier into a specialized weak-point-sniper during the S9 thing and snipes the fourth endbringer just as it forms. Eidolon's clones are murdered. ..but meanwhile, the three endbringers show up and...they're talking and Taylor can hear and participate on her shard network and it becomes Behemoth and Leviathan saying vs Simurgh because Simmy sees that the old cycle is pointless and that there's potential in the new, and the other two are stupid. Cut forward, and now Taylor is the boss of all three endbringers and gets them to work fixing what they've broken. Also Noelle's shard is destroyed and she's healed yay.

(Something I forgot to mention is Monarch and Hive--that is, the shard-managed-bugs--can eat the Corona Hakuna Matata in the brains of parahumans and give Taylor access to their shards. They don't do this for everyone; some shards are just assholes, but they did it for some of the E88 and S9)

(Also, during this Noelle fight, the folk that stayed home (to include Monarch) ended up doing that with Butcher. When you can just talk to shards, you can tell them "no" and so Butcher died offscreen like a loser and Taylor got extra powers during the Noelle fight)

Anyway, now Taylor's !harem includes a 72-inch "Simmy" angel gal wearing clothes and a black choker with the symbol of the !harem rogue hero team--to troll Taylor, as all the gals do, because "ain't we cute?"

Now to deal with Siberian. ...aaand Siberian kills Taylor by ripping her in half but Taylor walks it off and Foil+Lisa kill the Siberian shard because fuck you.

Now Alexandria comes back and says hey, gotta show you the garden of Eden grrl. ...and it's not actually dead and Taylor talks to it but it's stubborn so Taylor takes a big straw and...now Hive has all those shards and Eden is actually dead.

And Scion shows up and is like "WTF I finally noticed and you're full of shit what are you doing sure the system is broken but you're also broken you're doing it wrong" and Taylor's like "look it's my way or the not-so-hi-way because your way is stupid and broken and Eden was an idiot and I drank her milkshake she's dead"

And meanwhile all the guns were aimed at Scion and Scion throws a punch but Taylor says no...and the guns start to fire on Scion and Taylor says no...and things end with Taylor saying Look You Big Stupid I'll SHOW you it works and takes him to her house and shows him and he's convinced because his way really is stupid and hers at least has potential.

So she sends him out to make sure no other spacewhales are slash-and-burning, and tells him to call or visit anytime but "fish and visitors" (smell in three days you've been here too long get your ass moving)

and

TRUE SUMMARY: This was the story of Taylor creating a happy puppypile of...every likeable character and a few borderline ones and also shards, and using it to become the new Eden/Scion/Queen/galgod of not just Earth but the entire universe. Symbiosis with shards is the new way, and life after death is real now or will be once we have enough shards for everyone. The literal canonical Church of Taylor Hebert will make everything better forever. All hail.

and if that sounds "glurge" I totally get it. ...but it's an actually complete fanfic of significant length with consistently written (if non-canonically-written) characters who obey the internal logic of the story to do innovative things, and the story has its own innovations.

I had a good time. Even if the "ain't we cute' bits and the 'of course we all know [thing that nobody is supposed to know]' bits had me forcing myself to remember that 'this is not a perfect circle, but it is itself'.

I don't think I'll be rereading it, and I won't make any special effort to check out other things by the author, but this is a positive review. There was a story, it made sense, it was entertaining, and I am richer for having read it. Good times.

[acapelladitty]

Cutty Sark (Corintheus Fic)

Summary: The Corinthian and Dream find themselves having a conversation about poetry which raises an interesting revelation.

In the quiet of the throne room, the discussion between creator and creation rang clear as the latter clasped his hands delicately on the arm of the vast throne. His back crooked, the upper half of his body curved towards his master as though magnetised by his very presence. His focus in this moment was pure; utterly engaged in the playful debate which had garnered him the attention he so craved from his maker.

Seated as always in his throne, its swirling design in constant flux, the slender digits of Dream's fingers tapped against his thin arm while he awaited the next point from his nightmare.

"You seem to enjoy indulging it, my lord, but I still have no love for poetry."

The Corinthian shook his head and held up a single placating palm as he uttered the words, his natural stubbornness unable to quell itself as he continued to defend his unappreciative position.

"You have no love for most things." Dream countered, his stoic expression giving nothing away as his dark eyes followed the animated movements of his nightmare with ease. "Poetry requires subtlety, it demands a delicacy which I doubt you capable of engaging in given your preference for violent theatrics."

It wasn't an explicit criticism, but the sting of the words created a flush of irritable heat in Corinthian's neck and the need to defend himself rose in his throat like a serpent.

"If I had to choose, I would select the work of Burns. The Caledonian." Corinthian fought hard to ensure his tone was light and almost conversational, hiding the flash of irritation which plagued him to deprive his lord the satisfaction of it. "I encountered him in passing during my time in the Waking. He was a charming man and knew how to hold a drink."

"I wasn't aware you had met." Interest touched at Dream's tone and Corinthian latched on to it like a man starved.

"There's a lot of things about me that you may not know." Corinthian said. And it was a truth which they both knew, one which went generally unspoken to keep the shaky peace they held at times.

"Hmm." A loose noise from Dream's throat; one which served both as a encouragement to continue and a warning not to push.

"You're not then only one to have some influence in their creative pursuits. Dreams and nightmares inspire alike, a fact you know better than any." Corinthian continued. "Burns was no fool and after our meeting, a meeting in which he understood my true nature, he included me in one of his works."

"Is that so?"

"A winnock bunker in the east. There sat Auld Nick in shape o' beast. A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large, To gie them music was his charge."

His slight accent lent itself well to the brogue, the guttural intonation of the syllables, and Dream found himself enjoying the small taste of his nightmares culture as he wrapped his lips around the short poem. It was not often that he shared open conversation of this nature with one of his creations and the novelty of it refreshed him.

His beautiful Corinthian.

An immeasurably useful being who had developed a tongue almost as sharp as his blade, a sharpness which he honed with his unyielding defiance at every possible avenue.

Watching him carefully, a ghost of something approaching a smile touched at the corners of his master's lips as Dream appeared deep in thought and it created a curl of satisfaction deep within Corinthian's chest.

A silence reigned for a heavy moment.

In his time amongst them, Corinthian had come to terms with the fact that he was not a creature who overly enjoyed the academic pursuits of the humans. Rather, he much preferred their physical creations along the lines of automobiles and alcohols; tools which could be consumed and indulged in at his own fancy.

"I thought poetry was beneath you?" Dream asked. "You read that with a surprising enthusiasm."

"Hypocrisy suits me." Corinthian preened, tilting his head back to allow his ocular teeth to peek out from his dark glasses. "I wear it better than most."

"You wear the guise of a devil better than most." Dream said firmly, but the words were tainted with a faint pride. "Yet another chapter to expand the woeful tale of the Corinthian. An eternal ode to those who have the misfortune of encountering him and falling victim to his darkness."

His chest puffing slightly at the unexpected praise, a flood of some strange emotion the Corinthian did not wish to dwell on for too long made his wicked grin fade into something almost soft.

"You flatter me, my lord."

"Tam O' Shanter." Dream mused, his inky gaze pinning Corinthian into place with a sudden intensity. "A tale of a man who defies his duties to indulge his petty wants, resulting in him being pursued by the devil himself."

Immediate nervousness pressed at Corinthian's senses, a stark shift in the deadpan lilt of Dream's voice setting his many sets of teeth on edge.

"My lord?"

Dream tilted his head, matching Corinthian's earlier accent flawlessly as he completed the tale.

"Think! Ye may buy joys o'er dear. Remember, Tam o' Shanter's mare."

Also posted on AO3

[capucapo]

Legendary Heroes: The Tutorial (part 1)

( chatlog from my discord RP with @nameless-brand, based on the alternate version of the Legendary Heroes VR game created by the Kaiba Corporation in Sato, Lev, and Chi's current universe. )

It doesn't feel good, keeping secrets from his brother. But while the subtleties of Kaiba Seto's emotions usually go unnoticed by most, Mokuba's noticed his brother's spirits seem brighter. Maybe it was destroying Alcatraz, maybe it was their overseas adventure, maybe it was the beach trip. But recently, Seto seemed happier. Maybe when he'd achieved his dream of destroying the past, Mokuba's dream of seeing his brother smile again had come true as well.

Which is exactly why he can't drag Seto back into that past again.

So instead, he finishes up some final tasks and logs out of his computer before retrieving the helmets that Sato had sent over from where he'd stashed them inside his filing cabinet. The devices would hardly fit into his messenger bag, but luckily he doesn't exactly need to use the front door. A few button presses on his watch, and the office around him is instantly replaced by his bedroom at home.

Now, he can finally get to work.

He locks the heavy double doors to his massive bedroom, not that his brother or any staff would dare to open them without knocking anyway. Then he moves to his desk. The large L-shaped desk is mostly occupied with a multi-monitor gaming setup. He unplugs one monitor, moving it to the floor to make room for dismantling the damaged helmet. Moves aside his keyboard to set up an older, cheaper laptop in front of his main monitor. Once the computer finishes its start up, he plops himself into his gaming chair.

First, he plugs the USB into the laptop. He keeps it around just for times like these, testing mystery thumb drives, viruses, and exploring less trustworthy websites. A familiar box pops up, indicating the program attempting to run requires administrator permission, and Mokuba clicks okay with only a little hesitation.

He can work on taking the helmet apart while the intaller runs, he figures.

>> Installing ALTIMIT OS. Please do not shut down your computer.

As the install begins, Mokuba turns to the helmet on the other half of his desk. A few minutes is a long time for this boy to sit still, after all. He clicks on a task light, adjusting the beam to shine directly upon the task at hand. Produces a set of small tools from a drawer in the desk, and starts the delicate task of disassembling the device, making careful mental note of where each piece goes.

It only takes a few minutes to install the new operating system, and it immediately booted up upon running.

He doesn't get very far before the laptop to his side reboots, marking the end of the new OS's installation. He swivels his chair back to that side of the desk to examine this new system.

The reason for the near instant boot-up and quick install became evident. The ALTIMIT OS design was almost pathetically simple to the modern day computers.

All there was was "The World", "Mailer" "News", "Accessory", "Audio", and "Data" on the left side of the screen, their icons spinning slowly - and nothing else.

He'll start by poking around the surface first. The World must be a euphemism for the Internet, he assumes as he moves his cursor to double tap the icon, only to be presented with an error message. He frowns, and moves on to the next two icons with similar, disappointing results.

The World, Mailer, and News icons do not work, simply displaying a "Failed To Connect. Please check if you have a KC@Home Account." Accessory seemed solely dedicated for desktop wallpapers and nothing else. Audio naturally had the music files in a list with multiple folders for sorting and grouping.

The next two icons at least work, opening their respective windows, but they're hardly helpful. He changes the desktop wallpaper to one of the defaults offered, clicks a few audio files, then quickly moves on.

Data however is where things get interesting. The interface is similar to Windows Explorer, and the files previously presented on the Computer are listed as normal. However, attempts to load an executable program that isn't standard Windows, Apple, or Linux suite will display an "Incompatibility Error." Running viruses and malware directly from Data will also immediately fail, though part of that may simply be that the virus / malware is incompatible with the OS.

Loading an anti-virus or anti-malware program will prompt the following: "ALTIMIT OS does not require anti-virus or anti-malware due to its secure design and is incompatible with such programs. It is recommended you seek a refund of your anti-virus program."

There he finds familiar files from the laptop's last experiments, as well as some select media he'd wanted to save with a bit more privacy. Everything seems normal there. He tries to open a couple programs, with mixed success. Beyond the standard programs, nothing previously installed seems to run. Not surprising, they weren't coded with this third-party OS in mind. This does, however, prevent him from utilizing the sandboxing program he would typically use when testing potentially harmful programs.

Which could have been a real issue when he decides to test a malicious string of code.

The attempt at running malicious code within the OS does trigger something. A small packet is silently sent to a server KCAltimit ***.**.***.*** containing the following code XH1930ACD-0 despite firewall protections. and only detectable if one was watching closely.

Oh, now that's interesting. This being Mokuba's natural environment, of course he notices that, if there's a way to. However, for now there's little he can do with the information.

He spends a few more minutes poking around, attempting to explore any hidden or administrative files or folders before returning his attention to the helmets.

The OS is incredibly simple for an operating system, though that can be seen from the desktop display. No hidden or administrative files could be found in the clean install. Even at a glance, it was a very tight OS - one could say there's no room to inject bad code into the core components. Though the OS does display its files openly in the Data Explorer under the ALTIMIT folder, they do not open.

The attempts at poking around in the core files does send another packet to the KCAltimit server, except now the content is XH1930ACD-1.

Hm.

He's still in the process of dismantling the broken one. But as for the intact one.... He picks it up from its spot on the carpet beside his desk. Even with the operating system, would it even work without a KC@Home Account? Either way, he's not exactly eager about putting this thing on. His experiences with Virtual Reality haven't exactly been positive.

He turns the helmet over in his hands, brows knit as he tries to figure out how to activate the device, how to connect it with the system.

Simply palming the functional egg-shaped helmet and putting it near the laptop would cause the laptop to display a new window.

>> Genuine KaibaCorp NetGear Deep Immersion device detected. Would you like to Sync the NetGear to the ALTIMIT OS and start Calibration? Please note that playing Legendary Heroes requires a KC@Home account, and you will be able to make an account after calibration.

Faint cyan lines on the egg-shaped helmet glow like a futuristic helmet as if inviting the user to wear it.

He notices the new pop-up that appears as he holds the helmet, taking a second to read the text-- and to ignore the way those cyan lights make his stomach turn. It quickly becomes clear that the process can't continue unworn, either, and Mokuba's stomach sinks further.

He stares at the glowing helmet apprehensively. Gives the half dismantled one a glance. Maybe he should wait. Maybe he should finish poking around, get a better understanding of the tech before he dives right in.

Maybe he's in over his head.

He remembers his last two Virtual Reality experiences. Remembers the illusory egg-shaped capsule that Other Yugi had trapped him within, and the aversion to compact places he'd been left with.

Maybe he should just get his brother.

He remembers the last text conversation with Seto. That he's not careful enough. That he couldn't have saved them from Noa without help.

He takes a deep breath. Then he and clicks okay to begin the calibration, and dons the helmet.

[tmarshconnors]

The Laws Of Court Politics

Avoid Ostentation.

It is never prudent to prattle on about yourself or call too much attention to your actions. The more you talk about your deeds the more suspicion you cause. You also stir up enough envy among your peers to induce treachery and backstabbing. Be careful, ever so careful, in trumpeting your own achievements, and always talk less about yourself than about other people. Modesty is generally preferable.

Practice Nonchalance.

Never seem to be working too hard. Your talent must appear to flow naturally, with an ease that makes people take you for a genius rather than a workaholic. Even when something demands a lot of sweat, make it look effortless—people prefer to not see your blood and toil, which is another form of ostentation. It is better for them to marvel at how gracefully you have achieved your accomplishment than to wonder why it took so much work.

Be Frugal with Flattery.

It may seem that your superiors cannot get enough flattery, but too much of even a good thing loses its value. It also stirs up suspicion among your peers. Learn to flatter indirectly—by downplaying your own contribution, for example, to make your master look better.

Arrange to Be Noticed.

There is a paradox: You cannot display yourself too brazenly, yet you must also get yourself noticed. In the court of Louis XIV, whoever the king decided to look at rose instantly in the court hierarchy. You stand no chance of rising if the ruler does not notice you in the swamp of courtiers. This task requires much art. It is often initially a matter of being seen, in the literal sense. Pay attention to your physical appearance, then, and find a way to create a distinctive—a subtly distinctive—style and image.

Alter Your Style and Language According to the Person You Are Dealing With.

The pseudo-belief inequality—the idea that talking and acting the same way with everyone, regardless of their rank, makes you somehow a paragon of civilization—is a terrible mistake. Those below you will take it as condescension, which it is, and those above you will be offended, although they may not admit it. You must change your style and way of speaking to suit each person. This is not lying, it is acting, and acting is an art, not a gift from God. Learn the art. This is also true for the great variety of cultures found in the modern court: Never assume that your criteria of behaviour and judgment are universal. Not only is an inability to adapt to another culture the height of barbarism, but it also puts you at a disadvantage.

Never Be the Bearer of Bad News.

The king kills the messenger who brings bad news: This is a cliché but there is truth to it. You must struggle and if necessary lie and cheat to be sure that the lot of the bearer of bad news falls on a colleague, never on you. Bring only good news and your approach will gladden your master.

Never Affect Friendliness and Intimacy with Your Master.

He does not want a friend for a subordinate, he wants an assistant. Never approach him in an easy, friendly way, or act as if you are on the best of terms—that is his prerogative. If he chooses to deal with you on this level, assume a wary chumminess. Otherwise, err in the opposite direction, and clear the distance between you.

Never Criticize Those Above You Directly.

This may seem obvious, but sometimes some sort of criticism is necessary—to say nothing or to give no advice, would open you to another kind of risk. However, you must learn to coach your advice and criticism as indirectly and politely as possible. Think twice, or three times, before deciding you have made them sufficiently circuitous. Err on the side of subtlety and gentleness.

Be Frugal in Asking Those Above You for Favors.

Nothing irritates a master more than having to reject someone’s request. It stirs up guilt and resentment. Ask for favours as rarely as possible, and know when to stop. Rather than making yourself the supplicant, it is always better to earn your favours, so that the ruler bestows them willingly. Most important: Do not ask for favours on another person’s behalf, least of all a friend’s.

Never Joke About Appearances or Taste.

A lively wit and a humorous disposition are essential qualities for a good courtier, and there are times when vulgarity is appropriate and engaging. But avoid any kind of joke about appearance or taste, two highly sensitive areas, especially with those above you. Do not even try it when you are away from them. You will dig your own grave.

Do Not Be the Court Cynic.

Express admiration for the good work of others. If you constantly criticize your equals or subordinates some of that criticism will rub off on you, hovering over you like a gray cloud wherever you go. People will groan at each new cynical comment, and you will irritate them. By expressing modest admiration for other people’s achievements, you paradoxically call attention to your own. The ability to express wonder and amazement, and seem like you mean it, is a rare and dying talent, but one still greatly valued.

Be Self-observant.

The mirror is a miraculous invention; without it, you would commit great sins against beauty and decorum. You also need a mirror for your actions. This can sometimes come from other people telling you what they see in you, but that is not the most trustworthy method: You must be the mirror, training your mind to try to see yourself as others see you. Are you acting too obsequious? Are you trying too hard to please? Do you seem desperate for attention, giving the impression that you are on the decline? Be observant about yourself and you will avoid a mountain of blunders.

Master Your Emotions.

As an actor in a great play, you must learn to cry and laugh on command and when it is appropriate. You must be able both to disguise your anger and frustration and to fake your contentment and agreement. You must be the master of your own face. Call it lying if you like; but if you prefer to not play the game and to always be honest and upfront, do not complain when others call you obnoxious and arrogant.

Fit the Spirit of the Times.

A slight affectation of a past era can be charming, as long as you choose a period at least twenty years back; wearing the fashions of ten years ago is ludicrous unless you enjoy the role of court jester. Your spirit and way of thinking must keep up with the times, even if the times offend your sensibilities. Be too forward-thinking, however, and no one will understand you. It is never a good idea to stand out too much in this area; you are best off at least being able to mimic the spirit of the times.

Be a Source of Pleasure.

This is critical. It is an obvious law of human nature that we will flee what is unpleasant and distasteful, while charm and the promise of delight will draw us like moths to a flame. Make yourself the flame and you will rise to the top. Since life is otherwise so full of unpleasantness and pleasure so scarce, you will be as indispensable as food and drink. This may seem obvious, but what is obvious is often ignored or unappreciated. There are degrees to this: Not everyone can play the role of favourite, for not everyone is blessed with charm and wit. But we can all control our unpleasant qualities and obscure them when necessary.

“A man who knows the court is master of his gestures, of his eyes and of his face; he is profound, impenetrable; he dissimulates bad offices, smiles at his enemies, controls his irritation, disguises his passions, belies his heart, speaks and acts against his feelings."

Jean de La Bruyère was a French philosopher and moralist

Born: 16 August 1645, Paris, France

Died: 11 May 1696, Versailles, France

[monstersdownthepath]

Scourge Spotlight: Ephilates

CR 16

Lawful Evil Huge Outsider

Adventure Path: Council of Thieves: The Twice-Damned Prince, pg. 86~87

These hideous butcher-beasts are actually something of an unfortunate remnant from the time between Bestiary 1 and 3 where the entirety of the Kyton species--which would eventually become the Velstrac--consisted of exactly one creature: the Evangelist, referred to simply as “the Kyton.” When TDP came out, it would be another year and a half before the velstrac were anything other than the torture-happy sexy blue men and women who lived in the Plane of Shadow but frequently worked for Hell. It’s especially horrifically dated because the Ephilates were stated to rule the Kyton (aka Evangelist) society, which obviously is no longer true.

The Ephilates looks so horrifyingly unlike any other velstrac specifically because it was presented as something of an evolved version of the Evangelist, the result of an Evangelist becoming so saturated with violent, corruptive evil (specifically by way of damning 999 souls, one way or another) that their bodies simply cannot contain it and they require a special ritual to be performed on them in order to give them a shape capable of handling it. They are twisted and mutated by this ritual into something so utterly unlike any other velstrac that I hesitate to even call these creatures canon anymore, but for the sake of completion and my love of obscure beasties, I must. I will do my best to blend their existing lore into the current velstrac lore as it’s known, which is admittedly fairly simple, as the Ephilates are already the tireless hunters and retrievers of the damned.

Sometimes, velstrac need victims, but their usual tactics just aren’t cutting it. When subtlety and coercion do not work, when temptation and falsehoods fail, there is always brute force. The Ephilates are that brute force, the battering rams that smash in castle walls to drag victims screaming into the shadows, to rip open homes and kidnap victims for their masters’ experiments, and to retrieve the runaways and escapees, tracking their quarry with their 1/day Discern Location. They are the velstrac equivalent of dragons, being mountains of HP and AC with a flurry of natural attacks: a bite (2d6+8), two claws (1d8+8), a swat with its tail (1d8+4), and finally two whipping chains (2d8+8). They also have the Evangelist’s Dancing Chains, able to animate any chains within 30ft of them to let them make up to four chain attacks each round... but their chains are significantly more dangerous than their lesser kin’s, because whether it’s the two chain attacks they have normally, or any of the four attacks from their Dancing Chains, being hit by two consecutive chains in one round Rends the victim for 2d8+12 additional damage.

They also, like dragons, project a Frightful Presence, and even have a Breath Weapon that’s an important part of their kit! This 50ft cone of hooked chains fires out of their many maws, thankfully only targeting up to six creatures within the area instead of the whole thing. It’s not much mercy to anyone who fails the DC 27 Reflex save, as such victims take 2d8+8 damage and get grabbed by the chains. If that damage (and the damage from their natural attacks) seems low, there’s a reason for it: The Ephilates wants its victims alive. Any creature that fails to escape the chain before the velstrac’s next turn is pulled 10ft closer to it, and any creature that begins its turn grappled and adjacent to it can be subjected to its Entrapping Chains, pinned directly to the horror’s bulk. Once it has its subjects in tow--either because they’re knocked out and in its grip, or bound to its surface by Entrapping Chains--the Ephilates can use its 3/day Shadow Walk to abscond with its quarry, which will likely never be seen sane again.

Think you can stop it from skittering away? Not when it has Deeper Darkness at 3/day to make its own escape route, you can’t. Think you can get away from it? Not when it has Dimensional Anchor at-will, you can’t. It also does a wonderful job at shutting down spellcasters, able to use Silence 3/day; with no need to speak and no powers that rely on sound, it can slap the bubble on itself and either shamble forward or drag enemies closer. There is also the startling surprise of it having Silence applied already and using it in tandem with its +15 Stealth modifier to get the drop on the party, something a giant jangling dragon-shaped beast would never otherwise be able to do.

You can read more about them here.

[tricksheart]

Send “⚔” and I will list some tropes from TVTropes.org that describe our muses relationship.

( accepting )

@gloryseized said: ⚔ ( for Link )

Adoption Angst: Link was raised by a family of talking persona users after Akira's parents found Link as a baby. Though he loves his adoptive parents, Maya and Katsuya, Link also angsts over not knowing where he came from or who his birth parents are, all the more punctuated by the fact that he's never met any blondes like him until he meets Zelda later on.

Angst? What Angst?: Invoked. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that Link is able to face the trauma of everything that a seasoned veteran hero has faced, especially at his age. Joker: You just went through some outrageous beeswax with losing your favorite arm and etcetera. You can't just expect to bounce back to normal. Link (genuinely surprised): I can't?

Big Brother Instinct: He is fiercely protective over Joker, despite being the younger brother. In "Evicted", Ganon kind of killed Joker for a minute. Link's reaction was… not pretty. In "To Cut a Woman's Hair", the witch merely uses Joker as a piece of furniture (albeit in the context of Links requiring someone to be in "danger" in order to help her), and Link charges.

Colorblind Confusion: In "Red Starved", Link's shown to be red-green colorblind after he mistakes a green emerald for a red ruby. Strangely, Joker (a persona user) CAN tell the difference, and is the one to correct him.

The Conscience: Good grief yes. Link's heroic nature counterbalances his closest's friends amoral tendencies. While it tends to be played for laughs with Joker, it's played more seriously (and more subtlety) with Ganon and Princess Zelda.

Death Seeker: Downplayed as he's not exactly trying to get himself killed, but after Joker passed away, Link admits that part of him is waiting for his own death just so he can reunite with Joker again.

Evil Laugh: Non-evil example; in "What is Life?", Link mischievously does this, while thinking to prank Joker after he pranked Link himself, as a type of revenge.

For Happiness: When he and Joker aren't busy fighting evil, they're just trying to have a good time.

Idiot Hero: Why is Link missing so many teeth? The nintendos' answer: He bites trees and rocks and stuff. He's stupid. Which makes it that much more interesting when his brain works perfectly, like in "Morituri te Salutamus". As shown in "The New Frontier", Link occasionally forgets how the sun works, and is seemingly floored when Joker re-explains it to him. In "The Real You", Link himself says that he's "full of stupid." This is more of an early season character trait as he becomes more intelligent as the series goes on, especially emotionally.

Morality Chain: Link may be the protagonist, but it becomes increasingly clear that he's also the Morality Chain to… damn near everyone else. He consciously takes on the role of turning Midna good, but it's also strongly implied that without him Joker would still be a thief and conman, Princess Zelda might be much more of a not great ruler, Ganon would be the psychopathic troll he likes to see himself as.

Samaritan Syndrome: In "Memories of Boom-Boom Mountain", Link reveals his underlying drive to help everyone and everything with their problems because when he was a baby, he once sat on a leaf and got stuck to it, and went unaided for hours until Joker's parents found him (and eventually adopted him). Link helps people because someone helped him once.

Singing Voice Dissonance: Throughout the series, Link sings with an auto-tuned voice that supposedly comes from a tiny computer he swallowed at some earlier point. Subverted in 'What Was Missing', where he sings a heartfelt song to (and about) his True Companions Joker, Zelda and Midna. The Auto-tune singing returns in the Season 6 finale, though it appears to be a mix of this and his normal singing.

True Companions: With Joker, emphasized by both family bonds and loyalty, and with Zelda to a slightly lesser extent. As characterization has developed, he may possibly also have this with Midna, given how highly she regards friendship. All of them take some steps towards becoming True Companions in "What Was Missing", though with Joker being the Wild Card, and Midna and Zelda not getting along very well, it takes some considerable effort on Link's part.

[textual-deviant-blog]

How often does anyone do something with 'meaning'?

Ai generated work by me, titled: "The hands that feed you."

Earlier today, I was listening to the upbeat, lifting, somber, yet sometimes just plain depressing album BURN PYGAMALION!!! by The Scary Jokes. I somehow found myself comparing the music to another, much better known song, Rules of Nature by Jamie Christopherson- you know, the one from MGS?

I compared their depth- as in, the true meaning behind the song- and found Rules of Nature to be rather shallow. Even though, it's one of my favorite songs. Analyzing it more, it makes sense. Sure, not every lyric contributes something to the overarching 'narrative' it might be compelling, but it has emotion, and it has a beat. Both catch. Music doesn't need a real 'meaning' besides the one our ears attribute to it.

Even so, it makes you wonder. What if music artists as a whole began to give as much thought to the theme or narrative that The Scary Jokes does, despite their chaotic style? What if we applied this to other mediums?

Movies and TV shows are right out. Not because they don't, but because they already do to a major extent- I mean, story writing makes up a tiny sliver of the production budget, so it would make sense to get that right whenever possible as it's still something critical to the movie.

Art, meanwhile, is so individualistic it would be difficult to try to make a case for applying narrative to everything. There are subtleties, additions- always more to add, to give the piece it's own sort of environmental storytelling, but not every piece necessarily benefits from that. And that doesn't even touch how each piece of artwork could be interpreted in so many ways that gives it it's own depth by default.

So, with Novels being the default, I suppose this means that Music happens to be the only medium with this dilemma? It's perhaps to do with the reduction in the popularity of dance clubs and bars, which, as a result, reduced the amount of songs whose focus happened to be on making people dance, and instead just writing music that sounded good. Today's more 'zoomer' music can be considered almost unrecognizable if you compare them to songs from the 70's, even the 90's, such as FNF's soundtrack. Imagine attempting to dance on beat to music like that.

Another reason also comes to mind; the classic 'video stars vs. audio stars' conundrum. From Netflix to Steam, we've massively streamlined the process of watching movies and playing games, while, for much longer, we could listen to music on those same devices. The audio star is now much more inclined to make something marketable; usable in games, movies, and tv shows. That sometimes can be considered to be a song without vocals. Songs with an underlying 'meaning' become vastly harder to make without vocals, so far fewer even try. Due to the same reasons music artists have declined in net worth, software has become far easier to use than it is to actually sing.

'meaning' has lost focus in music because it's something that requires intent, when many just ride along. Focus has shifted from being interesting and steady enough to dance, into something far easier; just something that sounds good.

Music artists that continue to push narrative has become the minority rather than the majority, and we'll likely continue to see this trend as the years pass by. Perhaps another trend will join it, perhaps it will devolve, but most evidently, songs with 'meaning' will reduce in popularity as the older and older generations cease to be.

[stomp-that-ho-regard]

Just like always, Ashley didn't even remotely feel like she was playing an actual character. It felt like she was just saying random bullshit for no reason.

Ashley created Yasha to be this stoic badass warrior - a woman of few words, intentionally so, because she was raised in a might-makes-right culture of violence, where love was sentencable by death, but she secretly has a heart of gold underneath that she desperately wants to be able to show.

But Ashley is completely and utterly incapable of portraying that. Because it would require subtlety and nuance and it would require her to actually roleplay a fucking character. Because it would require her to actually make an effort, which she refuses to do. So instead, Yasha has been reduced to a stupid comic relief character, that just says the first random thing Ashley can think of, completely devoid of sense or meaning or characterisation. You know, just like EVERY SINGLE ONE of Ashley's characters. It's so fucking lazy, Ashley just shows up and plays herself every week, if she can even be bothered to do that. Shes playing a lifelong warrior, a barbarian that fuels her strength with rage, a woman who doesn't express herself much, but how does she greet her gf? "Hiya baybeeee, teehee i made you dinner uwu."

She's honestly playing Yasha like she has brain damage.

Well said.

She’s honestly the only player at that table that never got a true handle on her C2 character.

She seems to be better equipped to take on goofy, light-hearted characters.

I think Ashley bit off more than she could chew with Yasha. Her inability to play her well can’t be excused as, “well, she was away from the table a lot, so...”, because she's still making the weirdest decisions.