#guest-writeup

[romanceyourdemons]

following in the tradition of his first collaboration with klaus kinski, aguirre, the wrath of god (1972), werner herzog's epic and gruelling (in product and production) fitzcarraldo (1980) places kinski back in peru as a european colonist with a god complex and an ambition to shape the land to his interest and vision. and yet, in the vein of woyzeck (1979)'s departure from herzog's first two collaborations with kinski, this film frames kinski's manic, obsessive, at times dangerous and yet quintessentially visionary character not as a focal point and leading bellwether for the characters around him, but as ultimately out of sync with and therefore isolated from them, his vision that in the first two films would have gripped his compatriots fiercely enough to unravel the threads of society instead suspended in the realm of the absurd. his vision does come to pass, and he does indeed hold--or seem to hold--near-divine power over hundreds of indigenous peruvians. like aguirre, wrath of god (1972), this film enters play with the myth that the coming of the conquistadors coincided with an aztec prophecy and the invaders were therefore regarded as gods. in the former film, aguirre's god complex is such that he rejects any narrative, even narratives of godhood, that he did not dictate and cannot precisely control; in this film, fitzcarraldo wishes to "take advantage of" the myth, and yet comes to find that he never had any control of that myth and was indeed controlled by it instead. the forces of nature are filmed with all the respect and awe they are deliberately denied in herzog's earlier film, and the forces of men, especially colonizers who hope to put those forces on a leash, are nothing beside them. fitzcarraldo (1980), staggeringly ambitious, spittingly intense, and visually gorgeous, is the kind of production a director can manage once in a career and for good reason, and i enjoyed the product deeply

[chocodile]

Thought it would be fun to illustrate some Amaranthine cuisine from various regions (and time periods). Long writeups under the cut!

Western Kingdom Cuisine: Northern Upper Class

The cultural cuisine of the northern part of the Western Kingdom is shaped by the region's harsh, snowy climate. The cold meant that it was easier to keep food from spoiling, but hard to find it in the first place. During the warmer spring and summer months, food would be collected and then salted, dried, pickled, or otherwise preserved in order to last through the winter. Red meat is their primary dietary staple, and is served in a wide variety of ways, including raw and engastrated. Dairy is also common in all forms -- cheese, butter, milk, and as a component of common sauces and chowders (another cultural favorite, and great way to use up leftovers). Alcohol is also common, with a favorite cultural drink being a spiced, warmed fermented milk with a flavor similar to eggnog.

Northern dishes prioritize making use of all parts of the animal, especially nutrient-rich organ meats and fat. As a landlocked region with few rivers, fish is somewhat uncommon, but not unheard of, especially salted or pickled fish shipped in from the south. Also, as mentioned before, eating animals, including "one's own kind", is not taboo at all in this region. In such harsh climates, turning one's nose up at a filling meal is seen as ridiculous.

When good meat is available, though, presentation can get a little… creative. Or, as some might describe it, obscene. Feasts for nobles often involve whole roast hogs stuffed with turkeys stuffed with game birds stuffed with exotic, imported pickled fish, ground meat sculpted into strange and creative shapes, and other ostentatious displays. If a nobleman's chefs can do something artistic with the meat that his guests have never seen before, it's considered very impressive. Of course, to foreigners, a western kingdom noble's banquet can look rather nightmarish and grotesque. Such displays of excess are generally the realm of the wealthy, but most families will still celebrate with a "turducken" or similar engastrated roast once a year during winter feast.

Fresh fruits and vegetables make up only a small component of northern dishes. Berry preserves and pickled vegetables are prepared during the summer months, but the only "fresh" vegetables accessible during colder months are hardy root vegetables and tubers harvested from geothermal caves. Mushrooms, also harvested from the caves, are eaten in many forms.

Bread made in this region is typically very hard and dense. This "thickbread" is intended to be soaked in gravy, milk, or soup to soften it and make it more palatable. Attempting to eat the bread without softening it is a clear indicator that someone is a foreigner, or perhaps so poor that they can't afford a proper meal. Some "thinbread" is baked slightly softer and intended to be eaten in slices, but culturally, it's still expected that you put some sort of gravy or spread on it so that you don't look like a confused foreigner or destitute peasant.

For dessert, northerners often eat dessert breads soaked in sweetened, spiced cream and topped with berry preserves and candied mushrooms. Berry tarts are also made with preserves during colder months and fresh fruit during summer months, and are associated with spring, celebration, and hardship ending. These berry tarts are often eaten at celebratory dinners at the end of winter and given to students after finishing exams.

Many residents of other territories find traditional northerner food a little overwhelming due to how rich and dense it is. It can certainly take some getting used to. Eastern Kingdom residents tend to find northern cuisine especially nightmarishly grotesque and barbaric due to their cultural views around meat. However, with increased trade and travel over the last few decades, northerner food is beginning to look more like the food from the rest of the Western Kingdom, and some of the more offputting cultural practices like the ostentatious engastrated meatcraft and inedible-unless-softened bread are becoming somewhat less popular.

Eastern Kingdom Cuisine: Coastal Citydweller

The Eastern Kingdom's cuisine is similarly influenced by their climate. The desert that spans much of the region meant that, aside from its sparkling oasis cities and rim of fishing towns along the coast and major river, many residents traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle. Additionally, unlike the Western Kingdom, they absolutely do view "eating your own kind" as tantamount to cannibalism, which meant that most red meat was only consumed during times of desperation or occasionally during holidays/rituals, though the latter is mostly seen as a weird unsavory rural thing.

The Eastern Kingdom's meat taboo generally does not extend to fish, shellfish, and insects. Fresh fish and shellfish are routinely consumed near the coast, often seared in olive oil and spices and served over a couscous-like grain base, and a salty paste made of fermented fish is smeared on bread in interior regions. Beetles coated in chopped nuts and chili powder and dried, and honeyed crickets are also popular snacks.

Eastern Kingdom cuisine also involves a lot of nuts, beans, and seeds as major dietary staples. These foods are long-lasting, spoilage-resistant, nutrient-rich, and grew easily along the banks of the kingdom's major waterway and oases even before cities settled there. These three food groups are found in nearly all of their cooking. Nuts and seeds are baked into bread and desserts but also mixed into stir fry-type dishes to add protein. A common dessert and trail snack consists of dried dates mixed with walnuts. Dates and figs are also made into jams and eaten spread over bread or as a component in sauces.

Vegetables and fruits, as well as olives, were grown in grand, sprawling, aqueduct-fed gardens in oasis cities and on riverbanks. Cacti, once cultivated extensively by ancient nomads, are served chopped and glazed with honey, another dietary staple.

Dairy, derived from pack animals used by nomads, is also somewhat common, though difficult to transport without spoilage. It is paradoxically seen as a practical, basic food by nomads and farmers, who can milk it directly from its source, something of a luxury by city-dwellers.

Additionally, the Eastern Kingdom's sprawling coastlines mean an extensive seafaring presence. As a result, they have brought back many novel plants from far afield to be cultivated in the Eastern Sultan's personal palace garden. Among these: cocoa beans, which are refined into a spicy energizing herbal drink similar to coffee. "Chocolate houses" serving this drink can be found throughout larger cites, sometimes mixing the cocoa drink with more familiar sweetened cactus juice to stretch the expensive cocoa powder further.

Post-Fall Cuisine: Ironfrost Middle Class

The society that eventually emerged after the fall of the Old Kingdoms was quite different from what came before. Though discovery of ironworking led to the rise of industrialization--processed food and automated canning, among other innovations-- the harsh, permanent winter that eventually consumed most of the continent meant that cuisine never reached the levels of decadence it had in the Old Kingdoms. This is especially true of the working class in Ironfrost, whose rather dreary cuisine is shown here.

Limited accessibility of fresh fruits and vegetables--grown in engineered greenhouses or shipped in from the far south over increasingly long distances as the cold spread southward--meant that nearly all vegetables are eaten canned. Many, especially those in rural northern towns that lacked greenhouses, may have never even seen a fresh tomato or head of lettuce before. (The City of the Sun produces fresh fruit and vegetables for the far north--including exotic apples in nigh-extinct Old Kingdom varieties--but cutting a trade deal with the reclusive city-state can be difficult due to the whims of its elusive cultish leader.)

The one exception? Mushrooms. Like the Western Kingdom northerners that lived there before them, Post-Fall societies came to rely heavily on harvesting edible mushrooms from the geothermal caves below the tundra. Mushrooms are a crucial dietary staple and can be roasted, pickled, fried, pureed, or even candied. Many of the more specialized cooking styles such as candying were passed down by survivors of the fallen Western Kingdom, thought the passage of time and changing availability of spices and other ingredients have rendered many recipes quite different from their ancestors.

Fresh meat is easier to access and easier to preserve with minimal loss of taste or texture thanks to the frigid weather providing easy "refrigeration" by way of outdoor iceboxes. However, a whole, freshly-cooked roast is still considered a rare treat for most, especially for the mine and factory workers living within the dense industrial labyrinths of Ironfrost. Canned and dried meats are popular due to being less sensitive to spoilage when kept indoors or transported across different climates.

Overall, the heavy reliance on dried and canned food means that most available ingredients are ugly, mushy, and lacking in natural taste due to the extensive preservation process. As a result, stews, loafs, and casseroles are common, as well as jellied aspic dishes. Any manner of preparation that can hide the appearance of limp, shriveled vegetables or disguise the taste of eating the same salted meat every day is useful. Creative meat presentation, such as sculpting ground meat into fun shapes, decorated meatloaf, and ornate aspic molds is another cultural holdover passed on by Western Kingdom survivors, though in the current day it's associated more with the middle or lower middle class rather than nobility. It is now more of a way to make the most out of poor circumstances than to impress fellow nobles at parties.

(Side note, not pictured: Modern day Ironfrost elite tend to favor very plain dishes made out of fresh food, garnished with sliced fruit--the mere fact that they can access such exotic fare makes their wealth self-evident! An aspiring elite with limited funds can choose to rent a bowl of Sun City apples or even an elusive pineapple to impress party guests instead.)

One of the few pieces of Eastern Kingdom food culture that survived to the present day is chocolate, though like Western Kingdom dishes, it is now quite different from its original form. These days, cocoa is blended with fat and sugar and eaten as a dessert: chocolate. This has caused its popularity to explode. Chocolate bars are incredibly popular for their delicious taste and portability, and cakes and cookies made with chocolate are coveted by the poor and wealthy alike. Of course, the cold climate means that cocoa beans can only be grown in specialized greenhouses, and the owners of these greenhouses are keen to charge a premium for access. Ironfrost and The City of the Sun are the two major cocoa producers and it's not unheard of for Ironfrost soldiers to bully smaller cocoa growers out of business to maintain their near-monopoly. Still, hidden cocoa grows scattered around the tundra ensure that a large supply of "bootleg" chocolate remains on the menu--just don't get caught with it in Ironfrost territory.

[fujimusume]

Everybody Say Thank You to the Father of Thunderbolt Fantasy

Who is the father of Thunderbolt Fantasy?

“That’s easy!” you say. “It’s Gen Urobuchi!”

Well yes, sure, he created Thunderbolt Fantasy. But if you ask the Taiwanese side of the TBF fandom, the father of Thunderbolt Fantasy is…

… this guy next to Lin: Baili Binghong from Pili’s long-running main series.

(Photo taken by me from the official cheer screening of Thunderbolt Fantasy: The Final Chapter in Taipei on March 30, 2025.)

Why, you ask?

Gather round for the lore…

It all started when Urobuchi, who was invited to guest at an event in Taipei in 2014, checked out a Pili exhibit that was also being held at the same time out of curiosity.

Impressed by what he saw, he bought some Pili DVDs to watch despite not understanding the local language (Pili’s shows are in Taigi, a.k.a. Taiwanese Hokkien) and resolved to introduce budaixi to Japan somehow.

Anyway, while watching Pili Xia Ying: The Wulin Warriors (霹靂俠影之轟動武林; no relation to the Pili season that was butchered then marketed by Toonami as the infamous Wulin Warriors) , Urobuchi was so shocked by the sudden gruesome death of a certain character, Baili Binghong, that he just had to tweet about it:

Translation: What? Wait—?! Baili Binghong… whaaat?!

(This tweet is still up, by the way.)

This was such a pleasant surprise to Taiwanese fans on Twitter that it went viral, and supposedly even Taiwanese media outlets covered it.

In any case, word got around to Pili, so they reached out to Urobuchi, and the rest is history…

…And it’s all thanks to one Baili Binghong, as a running joke among Taiwanese fans goes! As a result, he’s earned the nickname 東離之父 (“the father of Thunderbolt Fantasy”).

The joke has also gotten the nod from Pili, as the emcee at the fan appreciation event I attended in February (my writeup here) joked about thanking Baili Binghong.

Then, on March 30th this year, Pili took things a step further by holding an official cheer screening of Thunderbolt Fantasy: The Final Chapter, during which you could cosplay, have your puppet on your lap, use lightsticks, cheer for your fave(s), etc. all while enjoying the film!

Also in attendance were several puppets. If you were lucky enough, you could find yourself seated next to one of them! (I didn’t, though I brought my Jun Po with me!)

And guess who one of the guest puppets was?

None other than the father of Thunderbolt Fantasy himself!

(They gave out this print as a freebie to those who posted pics from the event to social media with the designated hashtag 😂)

But what’s even more hilarious (albeit in a morbid way) was how two versions of Baili Binghong were in attendance at the event:

His regular version…

…And his skeleton version ohmygod 🤣😭

(I don’t know how exactly Baili Binghong died, as I didn’t watch the Pili season he appeared in; all I know is that he was instantly reduced to bone.)

They even briefly fought each other btw 🤣 Please enjoy this Baili Binghong vs. Baili Binghong catfight 😂

Oh Pili… this is why I love them. Although they take their craft seriously, at the same time, they don’t take themselves too seriously.

Anyway, I thought this was a fun in-joke/bit of trivia worth sharing to TBF fans who haven’t heard of it!

Now that you know, everybody say “Thank you, Baili Binghong,” for without him, we may have never gotten Thunderbolt Fantasy!

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s8 episode 15 “deadalive” thoughts

somehow, i survived waiting 24-ish hours between watching the last episode and starting this one. no idea how i found the strength.

but here we are. and i think i’m probably going to cry again today. 

i am interested to see if we’ll get doggett and reyes time or if this will be scully and skinner only. and i am interested to see, uh… well… how this stuff happens.

it has the plot RIGHT THERE in the episode description, so it’s hard for me to feign surprise 💀 i know what happens, but i don’t know how!!

oh, i can feel my tears kicking into gear already. 

let’s go.

(post-episode thoughts: waughhhhh…. waughhhhhh…. awooooooooo <- those are the sounds of me howling and moaning

actually, vague noises of pain aside, i tried to really articulate WHY everything hurt so much in this writeup, so i hope you appreciate that 🙏

certain parts of this episode made little sense, but overall, there was some REALLY good stuff. REALLY, REALLY good stuff.

and while all of our characters had very important moments in their journey here, the one who sticks out to me the most is skinner. he did not hesitate to do either of those Very Risky Things he did for a SECOND. there was no doubt in his mind at all. he would throw everything away for them. and, wow… that’s just…. so much. he’s so much.

and doggett, too……. we got the whole range of him in this episode. he was so sweet!!! and then he was in a rage because he’s so worried about scully and thinks she’s off the deep end, making everything worse for herself. and he’s reliving his worst moments, thinks she’s trying to get rid of him, leaves in a fury… then he goes back, gets roped into the krycek nonsense, slammed around in the car, comes back for scully, always… walks away from a career, from a FUTURE…. and then the last scene. him standing there. walking in. and then realizing it is a private moment and leaving. WAHHHHH.

and scully…. where to even begin? her collapsing into skinner, then bursting into the hospital, slamming her hands into his chest, yelling, i need to see him, i need to see him… doggett trying to protect her but Setting Her Off. going into Doctor Mode. sitting by his bed, holding his hand………..

also, i will never hear you krycek apologists out AGAIN. that is a SICK FUCK!!!! before he was evil, but it was kinda camp, but now??? i’m putting a bounty on his pretty head. we need to hunt him with lasers and stun guns and all other methods of cruel and unusual punishment. i want him eviscerated AT ONCE!!!)

“previously on the x files” <- girl, i don’t think we forgot what happened last time, LMAOOOOOO

are we getting more absalom lore? because he is featuring heavily in this recap

okay, back to the current plot.

oh my GOD, mulder really is getting buried in raleigh with his mother. we open at a winter funeral. winter… how long after may is this… (doing mental calculations) eh, i can’t do math rn.

doggett is here too, as are the gunmen. OHHHH MY GOD, the gunmen…. them being here makes it feel real

whoever is doing the funeral is asking for them to pray for his eternal soul and all that, and i’m not sure he would want that, but it might bring the guests some peace, i suppose. i doubt he had any funeral plans arranged in terms of like, who would do the talking and the burying and all that. just his headstone and plot.

and scully’s mom is here, too :( scully closes her eyes as they pray. takes a deep breath.

i was hoping we would see mrs. scully soon… but not like this :(

and then everyone else has left- it is just scully and skinner, watching the casket.

“he was the last” she says. “his father and mother… his sister. all gone” <- oh my god. i’m just gonna keep saying that a lot today.

“i think the real tragedy… is that for all of his pain and searching… the truth that he worked so hard to find was never truly revealed to him” her voice breaking, oh my god. 

“i don’t truly believe that mulder’s the last” <- oh my god. can someone please hit me with a truck? skinner coming in with the one hit KO. oh my god. fuck me. 

he said “i know he’s the father of that baby”, i’m cryingggggg. jokes aside though. wow. him trying to hold onto hope for her, give her something to cling onto… wow.

she kneels down. sprinkles some dirt over the casket. crying. oh, SHE FALLS INTO SKINNER’S CHEST LIKE A TON OF BRICKS… OH, THIS HURTS.

(the way their relationship has changed over these last few months has been absolutely fascinating. both bound together by grief of different kinds… and again, him being the very first to know about her big secret…

i assume she told him before her mother, because we see her call her later and say she has things she needs to talk about… and boy, i wish we could have seen that conversation…

but the red string of fate tying them together in ways only they can understand. going from being one of the very few people the other could trust in this terrifying world to much more than that, an actual lifeline… their mutual grief and guilt opening up doors that previously both of them would have kept boxed up and locked away. wow. so impactful)

and then the intro. BITCH! i don’t want the spooky song right now!!!

i need time to process this……. poor scully… poor gunmen…. 

allegedly mulder is here today 🤨🤨

so what now? where do we go from here? just… another case or something?

chris carter, when i catch you…

THREE MONTHS LATER. 

(BIG ASS TIMESKIP!!!!)

doggett comes into kersh’s office with skinner. “smile, john. you look tense” <- now, what is kersh planning…. and why is doggett his favorite?

he’s getting something? “a letter to the director citing your meritorious efforts in the recovery of agent fox mulder”

oh no…. he’s going to lose it…

“AND a recommendation that you be considered for advancement” damn, skinner was right about him being on a fast track to the directorship… what is he going to say!

skinner is quiet. doggett looks at him. “sir, the assistant director here deserves more credit than i…” <- oh :( a gentleman :(

but skinner says he wrote a letter too, transferring him off of the x files and “to a division more suited to your talents” <- which one?? violent crimes or something? idk the FBI areas 💔

skinner won’t look at him, but kersh smiles. says he is a man of his word. but doggett wants to give any transfer some thought. “fish while they’re biting, john”

omg…. what will he do???

scully is in the office, looking for a file, and there is no hiding her secret now, because she is very visibly pregnant. i thought she was going to go on leave, but i guess that plan changed, because she is still here.

i wonder what all the coworkers think… i bet all the gossip is very isolating.

and doggett comes in. OHHHH, he says good morning, asks how she’s feeling… she says she’s fine and asks him the same: “me? good. but then i don’t got a little j edgar to lug around” <- SCULLY :( doggett :( he’s such a dork…

she is not smiling. says skinner just called. “well, whatever he told you, i’m still going to be here to drive you crazy with questions and nagging doubt” <- he SMILES, AWWWWW, once again i point out: he likes her!!!!!!!!!

she tells him he’d be crazy to stay, but he says it’s not his career kersh has in mind. “in six weeks, you go on maternity leave. kersh transfers me out, guess what? he gets to lock that door over there for good” <- oh………. and his glance at her while saying that…

“you don’t owe me anything, agent doggett” <- OH…….. does she think he feels guilty that mulder was found dead... or like he has to protect her in some way???

“they put me down here to find mulder. i found him. so what? we still got an open file on this case, and i got big questions” 

i just had to look up from taking notes and sigh really deeply. just wanted everyone to know. he is a Good Man. a little cocky. but we'll keep him around.

she laughs a little. “what?” “i heard the same speech come out of my mouth 7 years ago” oh, way back in s2 when they shut the x files down for the very first time :( and things still felt so new and possible

she sits down… “get out while you can, agent doggett… or you may never get out at all” OHHHHHHHHHHHHH

implying that the x files bring only pain and suffering and death. wow.

i wish i could see those photos on the side of the wall better…….. 

he does not seem pleased she said that. perhaps he is pondering….

so much to unpack there already. doggett trying so hard to be gentle with her. aughhhh, she looked like it hurt to walk around :( and she still has to be there for 6 more weeks! that is fucked up.

although, something tells me that she would keep working no matter what, physical discomfort and emotional agony be damned. she has to keep moving or she'll break down.

it must really extremely suck to be a pregnant FBI agent. damn. pour one out for scully.

and he really thinks they might shut down the x files… so he says he’ll stay. scully seems like she doesn't want him to stay and throw away his career for her sake. like she thinks she's a lost cause or something. like she hates his gentlemanly pity. i wonder what she plans on doing if they shut the x files down. 

okay, let us jump to a ship off the coast of north carolina. loud rain and thunder. it’s fishing time. guys in bright yellow slickers haul things up. and then someone screams they have to stop. something is in the net!

but what? probably not a dolphin. i don’t think they have those in north carolina. lemme look that up real quick. oh shit, there are dolphins in north carolina!!! the more you know.

well, it doesn't matter, because it is not a dolphin we are dealing with today. it is... a body? they call for the coast guard. a floating naked body.

and someone comes in to do an autopsy. the doctor notes linear pattern scarring on the cheeks. BLEH, the assistant sees the mouth move?? the doctor starts to joke, but then he sees it, too!!!

doggett gets a phone call in the middle of the night! answers with a groggy “yeah?” it’s skinner, who wants him at the bureau right now. but i want to analyze his bedroom.

well, there isn’t much to look at. very wooden. blankets look cozy, though. seems like the type of guy who would be into living in a cabin in the woods.

(i didn't even see any decor, like his racing posters downstairs... if redrum gave us one thing, it was the gift of analyzing doggett's interior design prowess or lack thereof)

the fisherman found a dead body and it was billy miles!!! doggett doesn’t know who that is, so skinner explains. what is the big hurry? “now he’s alive” <- OKAY! now we're cooking!!!

what happened to our friend billy????

he gets in the car with skinner and asks if he’s told scully. doggett strongly recommends that he doesn’t. it’ll reopen old wounds and she’s had a difficult pregnancy.

aughhhhh :( poor scully... the fact that he knows this, and you KNOW she did not want to tell him about that... with all the damn spine slugs and hospital visits... it must have been pretty fucking rough considering one of her trademark catchphrases is "i'm fine" (which generally means she is Not)

skinner says he wouldn’t have told her anyway… not where we’re going. and where is that??

the graveyard??? are they gonna dig mulder up?

doggett does NOT want to do it.

“i’ll say it again, we’re opening up more than a grave here”

“i respect that, agent doggett, but under the circumstances, i think not digging it up would be far more regrettable, don’t you?”

“NO!” LMAO, he has strong feelings on this. “i think this is insanity” <- the boston came out on that line!!! he’s pissed!!

“yeah, well, personally, i couldn’t live with the doubt” <- skinnnnneeer :( willing to do anything, absolutely ANYTHING, to make sure his agents always get a chance... trying to avoid more of the guilt that already haunts him... and his ability to recognize that. damn. i'm having many thoughts.

remember when i thought he was evil in like, s2? LMAO. how wrong i was… sometimes i like being wrong, though. this was best case scenario. now that is my friend skinner

“we saw da same body!” yells doggett, his accent continuing to vex and intrigue me

but there is a crew of people here digging the body up. and they take it in for an investigation. where a whole bunch of people are watching. skinner declares he wants them gone. 

doggett gets ‘em gone: “alright, listen up ladies and gentlemen. as much as you’re here to see the horror show, i’m not letting that casket open up until we get some privacy. it’s a private matter. thank you” <- love a man that gets results!!!

skinner is staring like he might have made a giant mistake. also, he asked for a specific pathologist…. who could that be?? we only really know of one…

this must be the doctor that analyzed billy. and it is! along with his assistant. he tells skinner it’s a totally different situation. doggett reminds skinner again that he is insane. they lift it open. 

he looks dead… but so did billy. who knows? skinner peers in.

OH! they’re at a new hospital now. and scully is here. how did she hear about this? she is striding in with purpose.

“is it true?” skinner tells her to slow down. “no. i want to see him” he gets closer. “i know you do”

“no, i need to see him, damn it!” she slams his chest. ohhhhhhh....... the physical manifestations of grief... i cannot imagine how she feels

he grabs her: “you’re not going in there! scully, you can’t”

“tell me it’s true. tell me” 

doggett is standing next to mulder’s bed, where he is hooked up to a machine. a doctor remarks that it is so improbable “i would have said impossible before this” 

doggett must be thinking: damn. wtf. 

and frankly, so am i. bro had no food or water for 3 months. hello?

his tissue and all other systems are in a state of decomposition, the doctor explains. effectively, he’s dead. 

scully is waiting outside, her hands crossed- is she praying? doggett steps out.

she sees doggett. steps closer. says she needs to see mulder. “i know, but i wish you wouldn’t” <- WAUGHHHHHHGGGHHHH

him recognizing her need but wanting to shield her from the pain. yeah.

she slips by him very slowly while skinner stares. she approaches the hospital bed, also very slowly. is that a smile? yes, she’s smiling. touches his arm. feels his chest move up and down. rests her head on his heart. cries into his chest. 

at 5:35 am, kersh summons doggett. i think he’s about to get yelled at. kersh says something about not having seen the sunrise from his office yet. “i believe the sunrise isn't for another hour and six minutes, sir” <- now, why does he know that?

i love that for him. love it when a character knows weird facts.

kersh is being spooky….. “i know you look forward to a future at the FBI, john” <- OHHHH he seems to be making a threat….

he got a call about this mulder thing. he wants him to drop it. “you know the tune: if it looks bad, it’s bad for the FBI” <- HUH??? he wants him to just ignore it??? or leave him to die?? can you imagine that happening after he has spent MONTHS trying to find him? doggett, the loyal one, just walking away??

kersh says he’s throwing him a rope. tells him not to hang himself with it.

uhhhh…. okay. idk what to do with that information.

scully comes back in the hospital room. did she go home at all? wait, different hospital room! is this billy? covered in dead and peeling skin? yes, it is!

but he starts thrashing about! the monitor has a question mark on it! and then he goes back to normal?!! what is that about?? 

a nurse comes in, looks at scully, and asks who tf are you, LMAO. she says she was just looking in and he went into seizure (?) but he’s fine… and then she says she’s a doctor with the FBI. bahaha, awwww. poor thing got caught sneaking about and has to explain herself on the spot. you know she struggles with that!

“the man down the hall was my… is my partner” <- OHHHH, THAT CORRECTION.

she says they knew billy. she hoped there was some indication he was doing better. and then she leaves. but before she does, she says to tell the doctor about the seizure and also check the equipment - it might have malfunctioned. and then she is gone. the nurse is probably so confused, lmao.

skinner is back at the office…. is kersh summoning him??? WTF, he stumbles and falls over?? AUGH!!!! is it his digital disease that krycek controls?? some people pick him up, but like wtf..…

IT IS FUCKING KRYCEK IN THE ELEVATOR, OMFGGGGG THE RAT BASTARD… 

he tells him that he doesn't know how he got in this building, but he can to go to hell, LMAOOOOOO as he should!!!

but then krycek makes the thingy go off again. and skinner’s on the ground grasping his shoulder. so he comes back to krycek. who says it's time to take a ride

krycek is sitting in mulder’s desk, perverting it with his foul presence. says he heard mulder came back from the dead - he’s a regular houdini. he claims he’ll give skinner a chance to save his life. you never want something that simple, devil boy. and skinner tells him as much. 

oh. he says he wants to use his robot tech that is in skinner right now to save mulder? uh... that sounds like he'll just use it to manipulate him the way he is currently with skinner. seems like a terrible idea

“i don’t think his life can be saved” oh :(

and now krycek claims he has a vaccine. mulder's father developed it. “you found him, and you don’t even know what you’ve got”

skinner lunges for the remote. but krycek is quicker. 

man. i really dislike that guy. is he the head of the syndicate now? or is he doing his own thing? maybe a little bit of both? fuck him though, fr.

billy looks nasty and dead. but he opens an eye! and his mouth! takes out his mouth tube! how did they do all that makeup?!

he gets up…. starts to walk… the monitors are going crazy. he’s showering?? AUGH, the dead flesh falling off of him is disgusting, oh my GOD. all the blood in the drain. BLEAUGH, the little THUNKS it makes at it falls off. man, i don’t wanna see that shit. but underneath is… clean skin?

that makeup looked thick and nasty af; shoutout to the makeup team and the dude playing billy for enduring that

doggett comes in to find scully sitting with mulder, one hand holding his and one on her belly. “you can’t do this to yourself” “you asked me not to come in here, agent doggett. i hope you’re not asking me to leave” <- she'll sit there forever...

ohhhh, he set her off. “concern’s for your well-being, agent scully. that’s all it’s ever for” he is worried about her :(

he tells her he was against the idea of digging him up, worried about what effect it might have on her, what mulder’s chances are, and she shoots up.

“agent doggett… however i felt about you when we first met, you changed my opinion with the quality of your character and of your work. now, i am thankful to know you, and i am thankful for your concern… but no matter what mulder’s chances are, the choice not to open up that grave was wrong”

he opens his mouth to say something, but stops. “and not because of me personally, but as my partner on the x files. now the truth may hurt, but it’s all that matters.”

“what truth?”

“about what caused this” 

she must feel frustrated by his concern but the fact he said he was against the idea was Not the best move on his part. BUT! she said she respects him :( and is glad to know him :( and her opinion of him changed :(

at the end of the day, it is all about the Truth... he needs to be initiated into its search...

the nurse comes to fetch scully, saying she has to come quick, it’s billy miles!!! he’s just… standing there…. menacingly!!!

then he turns to look at scully and doggett! all his dead skin seems to be washed away!!! he's totally naked!!!

he says he doesn’t remember much of anything. he's wrapped in a blanket while scully talks to him. he says he remembers water. and being on the ship. “you were found on a fishing boat”, doggett explains. but scully interjects: “that’s not what you mean, is it billy? you mean… a spacecraft”

he says they took so many, but now he understands: they’re here to save us. and he smiles. 

doggett says that’s great news and he’ll let them talk. he walks away.

“agent doggett, where are you going?” ohhh, the girls are fighting!!! “back to the real world. why?”

“you just won’t believe it, will you? not even for a minute. not even with it staring you right in the face”

“is that so important to you? what i believe or don’t believe?” OHHH… “i’m not really up to this assignment anyway, as you so gently put it” <- THAT’S NOT WHAT SHE MEANT AND YOU KNOW THAT… he's sensitive

“i underestimated you, agent doggett. i thought this was just simple resistance to extreme possibilities, when, in fact, you’re just downright bullheaded” <- well, scully, you have done some time in the bullheaded trenches yourself... but i understand her frustration with everything on the line

“do you believe it, agent scully? i mean, that stuff he said about aliens coming to save the world?” this, in fact, shuts her up. 

he leaves. ohhhh, he can be a menace when he wants. 

but he won’t really go to kersh and get reassigned… right?

so she’s marking up prints of brain scans now when in comes skinner. no one told him about billy. she says she’s sorry.

but it’s too incredible. everything about him is normal. it doesn’t make sense. there should be something wrong with him. it’s like he became a new person… and not the same one. 

skinner asks if this could be alien- a virus. does he know something? 

he says there may be a vaccine. “it doesn't come without a price” “this is about saving a man’s life” “yes…. it is”

what…. is krycek going to bargain skinner’s life for mulder’s? i feel like he'll take that deal and then scully will hate him for it...

jump to... somewhere else. doggett is at a prison. visiting absalom! who greets doggett as brother.

“how they treating you?”, he asks. like a prophet, absalom replies.

which is why doggett came: to ask about the prophecies. about the men and women left for dead. “you’re here to receive the word…. and yet you can’t bring yourself to say my name. say it.” 

doggett smiles. “absalom”

(the vibes here were crazyyyy, omg)

i am the resurrection and the life. do you know the words? “they’re from the bible” <- yes, doggett, this is true 👍

(this made me laugh in a way i cannot quite articulate. yeah, they are from the bible! you did it, buddy! he may not know which book, but he knows the source text! i appreciate that he isn't giving this dude an inch, though)

what is the bible? this dude is craaaaazy. doggett wants to know how he healed those people. he needs his help. “you ask for my help… but you refuse to believe in me”

bro, you didn't even heal those people. how are you gonna take credit for it? that's stolen valor.

skinner walks back through the hospital. stops outside a room. peers in. sees mulder hooked up to all those tubes. and krycek stands next to him!!!!!!! “i need the vaccine, alex”. he asks what he has to do. 

“oh, it’s simple, really: make sure scully doesn’t come to term” <- WHAT?????

that is NOT what i thought he would say, omfg…. yeah, he is not doing that shit dawg. can you imagine…? the mere thought is impossible to comprehend.

and how is that SIMPLE? wtf is skinner gonna do to make that happen? is this something krycek has done before and can give him a tutorial on? i don't even WANT to know.

he says she can’t have that baby. WHAT IS IT TO YOU, ALEX?

skinner flatly says no. krycek points out they all have a life in their hands: mulder's is in skinner's hands, skinner's is in krycek's, and scully has the baby. it’s all about who is willing to sacrifice. 

we need to kill that guy. with roach spray.

doggett walks by krycek in the hall, then eyes him suspiciously. he detected his terrible vibes. looks in at skinner. then he sees scully. 

doggett asks where she’s going. “look, i don’t have time to waste debating our differences, agent doggett. i strongly believe that agent mulder is infected with a virus” <- fair enough

now hold on, i’m still comprehending: why the actual fuck does krycek want to keep her from having a baby???????????????

how is skinner gonna tell her that?

anyway. she thinks that this virus he has will keep him alive just long enough for him to transform into an alien.

and doggett replies that he isn’t here to argue. absalom said the same thing would happen: that if he hadn’t resurrected them, they would have come back as aliens and taken over the world.

ohhhh, so that is why the aliens are doing that. i guess that sort of makes sense? idk, they left them mostly for dead though! if they’re dead, how does that help anyone? billy recovered, but gary didn’t. there is very little a dead-dead, actually, fully dead, guy can do to help the alien cause. unless, of course, he was actually still alive somehow, too.....

scully remembers that she saw the two heartbeats on the monitor while billy was having a seizure, but she thought it was a glitch. it must have been an alien taking over...

she is off to get a surgical team and needs to keep mulder's body stabilized to administer the vaccine. the one he asked skinner to get.

doggett is confused af. he is locked out of the room he just saw skinner in. pounds on the door. tells him to open up. the monitor starts to beep.

DOGGETT KICKS DOWN THE DOOR and SKINNER IS TAKING MULDER OFF OF ALL HIS VARIOUS LIFE SUPPORT TUBES!!!

doggett SLAMS him against the wall: “you’re killing him!”

“i had no choice! he wanted me to kill scully’s baby” oh my god. doggett just walked into something extreme.

“where is he?” 

i appreciate that his first reaction isn't even "who" or "why" or "wtf does scully's baby have to do with any of this" and "who would gain anything from killing it", all of which are very good questions. but he simply does not have them time for them. as such, he goes straight to find him on his own. i have immense respect for that.

krycek is waiting in a car in a parking garage. doggett has his gun... but krycek sees him in the mirror on his car door.

krycek BACKS INTO HIM, but doggett gets up and PUNCHES HIM IN THE FACE, telling him to stop the car. he climbs in the window!!! doggett is being whipped around!! krycek knocks him out of the car window!!!!

and krycek speeds away!!! but he comes back!! shows him the vaccine. he's gonna drop it, omg. and he does. it shatters. the liquid spills on the ground. i half wondered if he'd go find a pipette somewhere and try to suck it up.

krycek kinda looks turned on by this whole thing. i'd say "new crack ship just dropped", but i don't even want to give krycek the pleasure of shipping him with anybody. he wipes the blood from his lips. doggett charges, but he zips away. his face covered in bruises.

back in the hospital, skinner asks him for the vaccine. mulder is in the OR. he tells him he wasn’t wrong: krycek wasn’t to be trusted.

he peeks in as the doctors get ready. asks scully if he’ll make it. OH! she says that by keeping him on life support, they were incubating the virus. when skinner pulled him off of life support, his temperature dropped without impacting his vital signs.

WAIT, so she knows skinner tried to kill mulder to save her???? she knows krycek said she can't have her baby? and she is just moving on with surgery??? or was that not explained to her and she thinks skinner just went sicko mode on mulder for no reason?

damn. either way, that’s impressive. i would have broken down. but she has to be working to keep it together.

“you mean skinner saved him?” she nods. 

they’ll give him some antivirals. it might work. 

doggett’s phone rings. he steps out of the operating room. kersh has summoned him. doggett stands before him with his bruised face. tells him he was with scully. “it’s going to be awful crowded down in that x files office”

kersh sits. puts on his glasses. “maybe you didn’t hear me. i said you’re on the wrong floor” “yes sir”

so he’s letting him stay on the x files???? why would he do that???? what is kersh’s motivation???

i have sooooo many questions about this guy.

mulder is back in a hospital bed post-treatment. scully grabs his hand. runs her thumb over it. it jerks. he moves his head. she calls his name. he opens his eyes!

“hi!” she says, sounding so happy. he asks who she is. her face falls. but he smiles. “oh my god. don’t do that to me!” she laughs, and tears pour down her face.

she asks if he knows what he’s been through. “only what i see in your face” (OUGHHHHH, that is arguably the most painful response. he can tell she is Suffering Immensely)

she brushes his hair. sets her head on his chest. “anybody miss me?” she laughs. 

doggett starts to come in, but he sees scully crying into mulder. he looks like he’s seen something he isn’t supposed to. and walks away.

AHHHHH (rips my shirt off in grief)

the end.

presses rewind.

doggett…………… 

i need to go lay down.

this episode was CRAZY. we need to hunt alex krycek DOWN. what the fuck does he want with her baby? what kind of SICK FUCK?! i mean, i knew he was sick, but that is supervillain evil shit. i will NEVER hear y’all out about that man again. he wanted HER BABY DEAD??????

so skinner said fuck that and was gonna KILL MULDER!!!!! he said ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! ripped all those life support tubes out himself!!!! if someone had to die, he knew who it would be. which is... wow. scully always comes first.

and doggett coming to stop him, KICKING THAT DOOR DOWN, WHEW. i'll say it: it was kinda hot.

but poor skinner explained why he was doing it, and even though everything he was saying sounded like the ramblings of a madman, doggett said okay. i’ll go kill him myself. unfortunately, krycek is a slippery weasel and cannot be killed through normal means. he’s gonna have to die by solving some sort of riddle or a prophecy technicality.

okay, some favorite parts of this episode:

doggett arguing to skinner that he shouldn’t tell scully because it’ll be too hard on her, because he WORRIES ABOUT HER

scully coming in at the hospital and slamming her hands into skinner's chest because she needs to see him. he says she can’t, and sends doggett in instead. she tells him she needs to see him, and doggett says he knows... he just wishes she wouldn’t. because he recognizes that no matter how much he worries over her or sees himself in her grief, he can't control her

when scully shows up to work and doggett asks how she is feeling ☹️☹️☹️☹️ that man is uncle material

and then he says he plans on staying on the x files because if he doesn’t they’ll close them down ☹️☹️ which scully says is foolish because he'll be throwing his career away 💔💔 how far would his loyalty and sense of duty to her extend when his future is on the line? does he miss life before all of this? does he know there is no life after?

i didn’t like their fight, but it was thematically interesting. her calling him bullheaded; him saying he’ll leave like she told him too… it all makes so much more sense now in the context of losing his son. having a new skeptic on the block is frustrating, but positioning it within the context of his grief makes it a lot more interesting. i guess i wish they had revealed that a little earlier. without that context he kinda just comes off as a hater, lmao.

and then he sees mulder and scully at the end, reunited, and it is like he walked into something he shouldn’t have seen, so he just… walks away.

Mulder and Scully. Scully and Mulder. back together. after he has heard so much about them. after they have ascended to myth. their reunion has very strange implications for him. i wonder if he'll feel he can leave now if they're both back, or if he'll feel like he has to stay because he is invested and loyal to scully, and maybe if he stays on, kersh won't shut them down, since he is kersh's golden boy...

scully telling him she appreciates him and is glad to know him, but also telling him off because they need to find The Truth, whatever that may be, because it is the only thing that matters… it hurt my heart.

i still cannot fucking believe krycek said “kill her baby” to SKINNER, like what the FUCK??????? and i assume she knows that because she knew he ripped out all of mulder’s medical equipment??? how is she going to react to that when there is time to process it?

and mulder being a little BASTARD and asking who she was, LMAOOOOO, oh her poor face… but she she starts to laugh and rests her head on his chest…. 

and god, at the beginning, when she said the saddest thing was that he never got answers… maybe now they can get answers. and how she collapsed into skinner, like her body just couldn't stay upright any longer……….. fuck.

maybe now he won't be the last one. maybe now they can start over. and start a family.

so doggett is allowed to stay on the x files. but for what purpose? what cards is kersh holding? i assumed he was in line with krycek somehow… is he hoping to keep him on as some sort of a spy, like scully originally was? or is he actually a decent guy deep down and we’re just now seeing that?

i don’t even want to try and unpack the alien lore, because it doesn’t make sense. they test on the bodies and then drop them nearly dead. and then jeremiah heals the ones he can for… what purpose? out of guilt? or is he actually aiding the alien mission? no, that can’t be it, because they took him back… unless that was also a cover story.

but gary died, so why did billy live? because he was dropped in the ocean? then why wouldn’t they drop everyone in the ocean? because why would some of them live and get better through the power of the virus and some of them just die? it doesn’t make sense to me… unless, of course, gary is also alive, just buried in a coffin somewhere and waiting to be dug up... but if they just leave him there what will happen?

doggett seeing scully and mulder reunited and knowing that he will never be reunited with his son. yeah. that’s fucked up. 

wow. my brain…

the roadtrip with skinner and doggett where doggett tells his boss over and over again he is insane for digging up their dead coworker... i wonder what doggett was thinking in that moment.

i mean, we do kinda need a straight man (in the comedy sense - i don’t claim to speak for doggett’s orientation) in these sorts of things, which scully served the role of for a while (although she had her moments of making everything crazier, which i love about her!!!).

we need a guy to look at the camera and be like “isn’t this plot fucked up? we’re catching dracula and also robbing graves. that’s fucked up” to ground us, the non-supernatural audience. so now that scully is more open to extreme possibilities… maybe that will be his role.

i can’t wait to see how he gets along with mulder, omg, or if he’ll feel terribly left out as some sort of third wheel… or will there be some awkward dance as the rhythm scully and doggett got into is disrupted… will they even like each other?!

oh my god, mulder’s gonna be so sad when he learns she is pregnant and he wasn’t there for the majority of it, but also he is just going to be GAGGED in general.

that is going to be an interesting conversation because… he is still mostly pretty dead at the moment and probably not very observant, but the minute she stands up he’s gonna realize and be like hey. scully. wtf.

and then she’s gonna have to explain that it might actually be an alien, and also krycek wants to kill her. and it’s been really hard in the normal ways that these things are hard as well, with normal non-slug related complications and her grief and being alone. he’s gonna feel all guilty for being dead and not being there for her, and it’ll probably take them some time to get back in a rhythm, and also now doggett is here… 

what about reyes? where was she today? will she come back? what for? i want to see her more often!! let me see her with mulder, too

and now he will be an x file, omg…

i feel like doggett will be really weirded out being the metaphorical third in this and like he might end up leaving, but idk… maybe i’m all wrong. he’s sensitive!!!!

i want to know what happened in those 3 months. so yeah, full disclosure, i did know this was going to happen and that there is the three month time skip WHICH i found out while looking at the fics by my fave txt author and accidentally coming across a blurb for a fic that explores this exact premise.

but the good news is i already know that person wrote a fic on the exact thing i want to read, which means tomorrow there is plenty to look forward to.

fuck. can’t believe we have to deal with krycek again and scully is in danger. maybe they can run away and live in a cabin in the woods and be happy. well, maybe not THE WOODS, as in an actual cabin and hunting moose and stuff... but maybe some sort of rural area. somewhere quiet. without aliens. where scully can be a doctor and mulder can get a PhD and teach at a local community college, or a masters and go into practice, or whatever it is that mulders do in an alternate reality where things are safer. although, i somehow think the aliens and ghouls will continue to find them forever. they have an aura the aliens love. and raise a spooky little kid.

i told you, i’m brainstorming the “they all lived happily-ish ever after” au. i’m serious about it… if i could draw, i already know what i would be drawing. but i can't. so here we are. me, stuck imagining things in my head.

oh man, i just realized we didn't get to see the skinner and mulder reunion... i CANNOT WAIT for that. it'll be so charged. ahhh!

as always, i ask that you please tell me EVERYTHING about your initial reaction to seeing this!!!!!!! where did you cry/scream/yell the most? whose arc made you the most emo? did you have a feeling he was coming back? did you also want to beat krycek with a brick? share it all! i love hearing your reactions!!! it makes me so happy!!!

[thiscityneedslessfog]

Yukiko’s Castle of Escapism

I really love Yukiko’s dungeon and want to talk about it. I think the imagery in it is great and conveys her character very well. This writeup was honestly long overdue, I should’ve written it back in like February.

I’ve said it before (major spoilers!), but I believe the crux of Yukiko’s story is her relationship with power and how she originally feels she has no control over her life, before learning she has more agency than she believes.

I want to drop a lot of context first, though.

Contextualizing the Amagi Inn

So, one of the first things we learn about Yukiko is that she is the heiress of the Amagi Inn. But what does that mean to her? What is the Amagi Inn and why does she feel so much pressure to inherit it?

Well, the Amagi Inn is a ryokan. Which, “inn” is a pretty good way to translate the word, but ryokans have a lot more diversity than most Western inns do. They also have hot springs, called onsen (温泉)!

Chris McMorran, in his book Ryokan: Mobilizing Hospitality in Rural Japan, discusses the difficulty of the job of the family that owns a ryokan.

This convergence of home and workplace in time and space, along with its relative lack of privacy, makes some ryokan owners feel trapped. Managing a ryokan is a twenty-four-hour a day, year-round commitment. Most of the face-to-face hospitality occurs between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., but someone needs to answer late-night requests or emergencies. These calls typically go directly to the owners’ residence. They answer the 2:00 a.m. request for an extra blanket or the occasional desperate plea from a woman fleeing an abusive spouse and begging for the physical safety that will come with a job (see chapter 7). Busy inns like Yamazakura close only a few days a year for maintenance and major family events like weddings or funerals.

[Source] located on page 62

As for Yukiko's role, she is in training to be the okami of the ryokan. Which is easily the most important role in the ryokan in total. The Japan Ryokan Association's website describes the role of an okami in the ryokan pretty well.

The okami not only bears the greatest responsibility for waiting on and taking care of guests but also acts as the chief service manager on behalf of the ryokan. The okami's role corresponds to that of a general manager in a Western hotel. In many cases, the okami is the owner of the ryokan or the wife of the owner, which means that the okami, as the representative of the ryokan, attends to all external affairs such as business matters and cooperation with the local community. [...] In the majority of ryokans, the role of the okami is handed down from mother to daughter or to daughter-in-law. In either case, the younger generation studies under the older generation, and devotes herself to mastering the responsibilities and principles of the position of okami.

[Source] page 62

In Yukiko's case, the implication is mother to daughter, as she is the only child of the owner of the Amagi Inn and her husband.

Furthermore, Chie calls the Amagi Inn “the pride of Inaba,” and describes it as basically what’s keeping Inaba economically afloat in the first place, and with the advent of the Junes competition, there’s even more pressure on the Amagi Inn as a bastion of Inaban culture.

Traditional Japanese femininity and the Amagi Challenge

Yukiko also is seen by her peers, male and female, as a personification of traditional Japanese femininity, a "Yamato Nadeshiko." Now, if you don't know what that is, it's the traditional ideal of a Japanese woman. Satoko Kakihara in her dissertation about Japanese femininity titled Flowers in Contradiction: Japanese Imperialism and Gender Construction Through Women’s Writings, 1895–1945 succinctly describes exactly what that is.

Another common label in Japanese discourse is the cliché of the Yamato nadeshiko (大和撫子), a phrase that describes the figure of a beautiful woman, the kind of elegant, flower-like beauty that has become naturalized and idealized in Japanese society. Nadeshiko (撫子) is Japanese for the genus of flowers called Dianthus, which includes more commonly known species such as the carnation; Yamato (大和) is another name for the nation of Japan, used also in phrases such as Yamato damashii (大和魂, the Japanese spirit), which essentialize and valorize Japanese nationalism. Yamato nadeshiko thus literally indicates a flower that belongs to, or is native to, the Japanese nation, embodying its positive and requisite characteristics. This standard of female beauty points to a particularly Japanese female beauty that is found only among the “Japanese”, perhaps even recognized or appreciated by only the Japanese as well—a beauty prized in a society that places significance on nature, the passing of seasons, the grace of flora that enriches the Japanese environment.

[Source]

This leads to her being distinctly sought after by the male students around her. Even older guys who don't actually have any romantic interest in her, like the reporter who interviews her before she's thrown in the Midnight Channel, comment on how beautiful she is and how she must have many suitors. But when it comes to the male students, she has had approximately zero interest in any of them. Even her best friend Chie comments on it.

Which... only makes them more determined for some creepy reason. They made a game out of it, the "Amagi Challenge," to see who the hell is going to get Yukiko as his actual girlfriend, and if he gets rejected, how brutally?

So Yukiko just constantly gets thrown around and hit on, much to her understandable aggravation.

The Castle Itself

So let’s start with the layout of Yukiko’s dungeon. It’s a castle. But an odd detail about it and the aesthetics of the shadows within is that it looks nothing like Japanese castles you’d see all over, well, Japan, which is Yukiko’s home country. It looks very European, resembling more specifically Mediterranean architecture. The shadows within also keep this trend of Western Renaissance-era clothing rather than anything that a Japanese person would be familiar with in their history, such as her fifth floor miniboss, the Avenger Knight, or her post-dungeon boss, the Contrarian King.

Part of the image Yukiko presents from her physical appearance is that of a traditionally feminine Japanese woman. Her hair is in a princess cut. And she states herself that she has never left Inaba.

Yukiko’s Shadow, Konohana Sakuya, keeps saying throughout her dungeon that she wants a prince to take her far, far away, to run away where nobody can find her.

Notably, Yukiko’s own breaking point leads to her admitting she wants to run the hell away herself, which is in Floor 6 of her dungeon, features an interview from a reporter that touches on two huge sources of stress for Yukiko: namely the unwanted attention she gets from her male peers and the fact she is the heiress to the Amagi Inn--in this scene she's recalling being asked about the Amagi Inn by a fellow student

When it comes to the stress on her from her male peers, she understandably doesn’t like the idea of just being seen as a prize to be won, which they clearly act like she is.

She sees everything in Inaba and her association with it as a cage, and uses the idea of this Western castle as an escape because it’s so starkly different from everything she knows—there’s no way Yukiko would be recognized here.

The music in the dungeon has almost no traditional instruments either. It's full of chaotic synths, incredibly modern instruments. It has a slower, gentler side, but still nothing like a shamisen or a flute is audible in the music piece.

Konohana Sakuya, Yukiko’s Shadow

Now let’s move on to her shadow. Her Shadow, later her Persona, is named Konohana Sakuya. If you don’t know who Konohana Sakuya-hime is, she’s the goddess of Mount Fuji, and has some pretty significant impact on Japanese culture—her presence is hugely important to Yukiko’s character. But she is not just the goddess of Mount Fuji. She’s the maternal great-grandmother of Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan, and she is considered the goddess of motherhood and one of the most beautiful deities in existence.

There’s a pretty good summary in the Encyclopedia of Shinto in Kokugakuin University.

Konohanasakuyahime became pregnant in a single night, and asked Ninigi to make special preparations, since she would be giving birth not to an ordinary individual, but to a child of the heavenly kami (amatsukami). Ninigi, however, was surprised at her claim to have become pregnant in a single night, and suspected that the child was actually the offspring of an earthly kami (kunitsukami).

Shamed and enraged at Ninigi's accusation, Sakuyahime entered a doorless parturition hut, setting fire to it with the vow that the child should not be injured if it were truly the offspring of the heavenly kami. Ninigi. Inside the hut, Sakuyahime gave birth to three kami, including Hoderi, Hosuseri, and Hoori (according to Kojiki; the names differ somewhat in the various other accounts).

[Source]

Sound familiar? Yukiko’s often sought after for her beauty, and actually, much like Konohana Sakuya-hime, is associated with transience because of the latter’s association with cherry blossoms, which only bloom for a very short time before giving way to leaves.

Right before we meet Tomoe, who is Chie’s Shadow, Yukiko’s thoughts talk about how little she thinks of herself and how much she hates her name precisely because of its association with transience, as her first name (雪子) literally translates to “snow child” or “snow girl.” Yukiko states she believes that because of that short lived nature of snow, that she's only meant to inherit and continue the inn as the okami and nothing more. She believes that is the only fate for her because of how low her self-esteem is.

I spoke about the pressure on Yukiko from the expectation to be the next okami of the Amagi Inn. But I didn't quite talk about how that ties into her relationship with her status as a woman, which is actually much more tied with the Amagi Challenge than you'd think. Something I didn't mention about the role of the okami is one specific detail: the fact she's also to create a successor and train the next manager and okami of the ryokan, as mentioned in McMorran's book.

This ideal of the eldest son as successor places intense pressure on ryokan families to produce a male heir and on eldest sons to accept the duty. However, a disproportionate burden falls on the emotions and bodies of okami. Ryokan owners, male and female, current and retired, frequently told me the most important job of an okami was to bear a son.

[Source on page 83]

It's pretty related to Konohana Sakuya-hime's importance as one of the ancestors of the Imperial dynasty of Japan, as her display of loyalty was to set the house she was giving birth in on fire to show that the kids she was having were actually fathered by Ninigi.

But it's a clear display of the pressure on Yukiko to marry a guy in order to head the Amagi Inn. But according to both herself and Chie, Yukiko hasn’t even had any male friends, let alone a male lover.

And furthermore, you know how I mentioned she’s considered the goddess of beauty and Mount Fuji? That’s a pretty huge piece of Japanese cultural identity, which further ties Yukiko to her status as a Japanese person who is deeply tied with Japan's traditional culture.

Now let’s look at Konohana Sakuya, the Shadow’s, design. She’s a princess, just like her mythological self. But she’s not portrayed as a Japanese one at all. Much like the Shadows and the castle’s layout, Konohana Sakuya adorns herself in a Western princess’ clothing.

Note, princesses are the female children of the royal family according to history. But normally, a princess is not going to be the heir to the throne despite the power she’s supposed to have as a daughter of the most powerful family in the kingdom. Instead, princesses tended to be married off as ways for kings to consolidate power, and usually she never had a say in this situation. So Konohana Sakuya being portrayed as a Western princess represents two things:

1. The perceived denial of power that’s supposed to belong to Yukiko as princesses were denied power for being women despite being royalty

2. The sense of desiring escape from her life by visually rejecting everything she associates with the inn, which includes the traditional Japanese architecture and fashion she’s used to in her life.

Now let’s analyze her Midnight Channel Episode, very clearly based on the idea of the Amagi Challenge, where people have to win “Yukiko’s” affection to be her prince. And it’s pretty clear Yukiko’s basically considered the princess of Inaba, from Chie’s words about her family’s ryokan being the economic backbone of the city. It’s also highly sexualized, which is going to be a theme in the Midnight Channel Episodes, but in Yukiko’s case this sexualization comes from the Amagi Challenge and how she is seen as a gold standard for traditional Japanese femininity. She doesn't feel like anyone can see her as anything else whatsoever, so Konohana Sakuya is, in a sense, giving into what she sees as her fate by sexualizing herself.

Also, the way she presents herself once actually in her dungeon is very clearly meant to invoke the damsel in distress archetype so common in folklore and in video games. Nintendo, even, has frequent damsel in distress stories, and their video games are a modern creation despite they themselves being made in 1889. Damsels in distress frequently do not have much in the way of agency, only meant to be rescued by male protagonists, like how Pauline is rescued by Mario from Donkey Kong in the Donkey Kong games, and Princess Peach (sometimes) in the Super Mario games. These damsels by game mechanics are just destinations, prizes to be won, just as Konohana Sakuya portrays herself to be in her Midnight Channel Episode.

Konohana Sakuya is meant to show how Yukiko feels she has so little control over her life, that she feels she has to meet the expectations of everyone around her, even if she doesn’t want to. Not only that, but she represents Yukiko's relationship with loyalty and connection through her being drawn to Yu, Yosuke and Chie as her "princes," methods of escape from her perceived fate.

Yu and Yosuke are obvious. Yu is a guy from the city and has seen tons of things that Yukiko has never seen before due to living in Inaba all her life, so he represents a life she's interested in living. And Yosuke is the son of the Junes manager, and Junes is seen as an enemy to Inaba, so being with him, likely by working at Junes as she rejects him when he asks her out, would be an active sense of rebellion. But Chie is special. Chie is someone she's known for a long time and therefore trusts the most--and aside from that, Chie is not a guy. She's a girl. Which means unless they adopt (or Chie is transgender without bottom surgery, which is not implied to be the case), there is absolutely no way for Yukiko and Chie to produce a child together. But Konohana Sakuya has eventually come to the conclusion that despite how much Chie means to Yukiko and by extension herself, Chie cannot save her from this situation, likely because Konohana Sakuya realizes her and Yukiko's bubbling jealousy of Chie means that can tear the two of them apart and make Chie a less viable or stable option of escape.

How much or little power does Yukiko have?

Yukiko is the only daughter of the Amagi family. Zero siblings are mentioned whatsoever. So all eyes are on her to lead the ryokan because there's no other known heir, and it seems that everyone just assumed Yukiko would take over the Amagi Inn. Furthermore, Yukiko cannot escape the sexualization of the boys around her despite her repeatedly rejecting their advances, the sheer fact they make a challenge out of it shows how little she is truly respected.

All of this on top of the fact that the job of a ryokan worker can lead to very little privacy, from childhood to adulthood, can lead to the working family members such as Yukiko feeling trapped. And considering Yukiko is an only child, if she does not inherit the inn, who will? The inn might be forced to close, putting more pressure on Yukiko.

And this culminates in Konohana Sakuya's rant:

Yukiko believes that she has no control over her life, and a bitter resentment is growing from that perceived lack of control. Tomoe, Chie's Shadow, points out the bubbling jealousy that Yukiko feels over Chie Satonaka, her best friend, for not having so much unwanted male attention on her.

And Konohana Sakuya insults the inn, as she sees it as a source of stress and a prison. This Western portrayal of a princess is her rejecting this perceived cage that her status as a traditional Japanese heiress gives her. Konohana Sakuya implies that she believes the only way to get out on her own is to sever ties with her family, especially since when she initially starts seeking various jobs, she starts out hiding this fact from her family.

But, there’s actually way less pressure on Yukiko than she initially believed, as shown by a little detail: Konohana Sakuya’s berserk design. She’s a bird in a gilded cage. (One friend pointed out she actually could be considered a lovebird considering the heart on her chest, symbolizing how she's tired of being pursued by the male students around her. I thought that the heart represented how she wanted help from loved ones outside of the inn to escape her situation.)

Of course the sexualization of her because of her femininity is something out of her control, but something she learns isn’t is whether she inherits the inn or not. She doesn’t have to at all. There were already hints other than Konohana Sakuya that her family is more open-minded than she thought, simply because Yukiko is an only child and therefore has no brothers, and sons are seen as the ideal to head ryokans as we've established. But she’s a daughter and she was considered a satisfactory heir. But at the epilogue of her social link, she confirms it.

Her family and their workers are totally okay with her doing what she wants, because they love Yukiko. No strings attached, they just straight-up adore her. They want her to be happy and if that happiness can't come from the inn, that's fine. Yukiko’s the one in control of her life. And she doesn’t need to burn any bridges at all, she’ll be supported all the way through.

Yukiko doesn't really have to escape from anything, at least not related to the inn. She can leave it entirely if she so pleases, and she has Chie and the rest of the Investigation Team by her side. And now she's realized she has everyone at the inn, too.

[crownedinmarigolds]

A Golden Opportunity! - A Gary Golden writeup for @laughatlocksmiths!

A fly flits its way into the den of the spiders. A little red drop of blood cut straight from the vein, slipping down a white arm into his warrens. It’s probably not even aware of how futile its efforts are. Gravity dragging it forward by the toes, a shambling joke in its death throes. Hah. Well, the uninvited guest had managed to shake off the Sabbat abominations that kept he and his trapped. An impressive enough feat, he’ll give the little morsel that. It’s just too bad that the circumstances for meeting are so… tedious. Oh, he knew exactly why this freshly dead fledgling was here. The hotshot young Prince that decided to take a chair, put it up in the tallest tower and declare himself king, was throwing himself a little tantrum. A decorated old box with a dead body inside went missing on the car ride over, a common mistake! Can’t trust any delivery men these days, especially ones that aren’t paid well. Just because he’d been the one to set up the delivery, suddenly it was his fault the product got lost? He'd been tucked in at home, watching old films and having a good cry at the time of the crime! It was frankly insulting to be once again fingered for a burglary they have no proof he was involved in… though we can all be honest as we sit and chat in our heads, can’t we? Now, old Gary didn’t know what use LaCroix had for a corpse (a non-locomotive one at least) but he didn’t expect them to be playing tea party together. So when opportunity knocks, Mr. Golden likes to answer and give it a seat at his table. So he may’ve let slip (through a few channels and voices that weren't his) to a few mafiaso types where the box may be headed, and they made a pick up. These kinds of Kindred were always into the old things, thinking they can scrape off some spirit mumbo jumbo from it, of which he couldn’t care less about. The Prince throws a fit over a lost artifact for a while, but the city will swallow his complaints up and he’d move onto the next dusty object to obsess over. There's some extra funding for his kin to keep the lights on, as well as the added pleasure of annoying some pompous little young Ventrue. Unfortunately the box has been more trouble than its initial face-value worth. The Prince really into whatever it had inside like it was a lost Christmas present - and not to even mention the Kuei Jin and their underlings also starting to feel around with their nasty little tendrils. It makes his clammy skin get clammier to imagine what could even stir their attention, so he had a trustworthy and capable man try and take a look into what is really going on in Chinatown. His man was snatched up, something he should’ve expected to happen given the circumstances. He felt something awful about it, considering this merry band of freaks were his responsibility. There's no safety out there for his kin, and with how hard Los Angeles and its surrounding cities were becoming to navigate in modern nights, old Gary was needing someone to get into Chinatown for him. The Kuei Jin weren’t going to take snoops lightly, and he was already greatly unpopular over there. No no boss, this is a golden opportunity walking down their little tunnel hallways right to his room. The fledgling gets his glory by rescuing the old box from the evil thieving necromancers… with information so generously given by Gary as soon as his man is rescued from the clutches of the Kuei Jin and their kine help. It’s not the most multi-dimensional chess way to go about it, but a classic is always worth a rewatch in his book. Dirt makes way to cobbled stone, then to tile. Ruined shoes tracking mud into his party space. He is cloaked from the mind in the corner, a sharp smile in the dark as the little morsel has no idea what he’s looking for. Theatrics were his specialty, and it was time to make it worth the wait. “By the clack-smack cracking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

Thank you so much to @porcelainseashore for putting together the VTM Writer's Secret Santa event! It was challenging to get into a non-OC character's mindset but it was also very fun once the flow came! I love to write and don't get to do it often so this made me sit down and get to it. I hope I did Gary some justice!

[copperbadge]

Hello! I recently moved to Chicago for a job. As a local, do you have any recommendations for which museums and/or attractions to check out, and which to skip or leave for later? I’ve only been to the art institute so far, but I had a really nice time! Also, your resume tips helped me out a lot, so thanks for that!

Sorry for the delay in reply to this! I definitely wanted to respond sooner but some answers take longer than others :D

I did a bit of a writeup here recently so that's some starter reading, but let me just do a quick rundown of the big museums...

Art Institute -- you've already been so you know it's world-class! Make sure that when you're in the modern wing (as you enter) you look left, there's a whole bunch of galleries to the left that often go unexplored. Also in the original wing, at the main staircase, make sure you go downstairs to explore, the Thorne rooms are down there and so is the paperweight collection if they ever open it again.

Museum of Science and Industry -- always a great time, still has lots of weird old exhibits, but it's also easy to get lost in, so don't plan to see everything your first time out. This is especially fun to take visiting guests to. Don't miss the daily chick-hatching!

Field Museum -- even older and weirder than the MSI, but you can get a little trapped in exhibits (sometimes the only way in or out is to walk a long ways) so conserve your energy. The new Sue exhibit is kind of tucked back on an upper floor but DO NOT miss it, the light show is super fun.

Chicago History Museum -- you know I still haven't been? They have a great cafeteria, I've eaten there :) I'm given to understand it's a really fun museum.

Shedd Aquarium -- I like the Shedd but eh, it's an aquarium. The tickets on the website are pricey but if you buy in person there's a "just the fishes" option for like $8, problem is you usually have to stand in line for a while to get it.

Adler Planetarium -- it's fun, but unless you're a nut for outer space, the highlight is the planetarium show; I'd save this one for a rainy weekend when you just want to wander somewhere.

I truly love the dumb little Money Museum at the Fed, but I think it's still closed. If it isn't, it's a great way to spend an afternoon, lots of fun money to look at, but you will need legal ID and you have to go through a metal detector on your way in, so be prepared for that.

The Garfield Park Conservatory is a fantastic botanical garden; go in summer so you can enjoy the large outdoors space. If you go in the morning, they sometimes let you help feed the koi fish in the indoor ponds.

Lincoln Park Zoo is a lovely mainly-outdoor zoo, and has a lot of events, even in the colder months (zoolights, for example, and they have a summer 5K where I personally almost died from running but refused to let the camels witness that).

As you settle into the city you'll become more aware of what there is to see and do; you pick up a kind of rhythm of the place, so I do think just getting out and looking around the city is a good way to find fun activities. Chinatown (red line Chinatown stop) is fun to shop and eat in, and a great way to learn about the parks is to attend some movies in the parks this summer.

Welcome to the city and I hope you love it here!

[nerawrites]

Chapter 25: The Lineup

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Ships: The bear x Fem!oc

Warnings: none (i think)

Song:Angel-Massive Attack

Masterlist

The official competitor lineup for La Toque d’Or dropped on a crisp Wednesday morning. A clean, minimal webpage. Black text on white background. No frills—just the names.

Carmy was the first to see it. He stood by the back office computer at The Bear, one hand clutching a half-eaten granola bar, the other scrolling.

His eyes locked on one name, halfway down the list.

Lloris.

He blinked. Re-read it.

No first name. No team. Just Lloris.

Sydney wandered in mid-scroll, sipping her coffee. “What’s up?”

Carmy didn’t answer. Just stepped aside so she could look.

Sydney leaned over his shoulder, reading down the list—Chef Luca, some Michelin-starred solo entries, a few high-profile restaurants… and then—

“Wait. What the fuck?”

She jabbed the screen. “Is that—?”

“Yeah.”

“Lloris?” Her voice dropped into something half-awe, half-panic. “That’s not a real name. That’s like—an alias. Like Banksy for chefs.”

“I know.”

“Aren’t they—gone?” Sydney asked slowly. “They were in that one article a while ago but no one’s heard anything else.”

Carmy nodded slowly, the weight of it starting to settle.

Richie walked in, half-eating a pastry. “Yo, you two look like someone died.”

Sydney spun. “Richie, Lloris is competing.”

Richie paused. “Lloris? Like, Lloris Lloris?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, fuck me sideways,” Richie muttered, dropping into a chair. “That’s like finding out Jesus is doing a guest pop-up at your local deli.”

Marcus appeared next, drawn by the rising chaos. “What’s going on?”

Sydney just turned the screen toward him.

He blinked. “No way.”

Sugar came in last. “Okay, why are you all acting like you just saw a ghost?”

Sydney pointed. “Because we did.”

Sugar squinted at the screen. Her brows lifted. “ Weren’t they that chef who vanished after…?”

“Yeah,” Marcus confirmed. “After that steak thing.”

Everyone went quiet.

Carmy cleared his throat. “They’re back. And we’re up against them.”

Meanwhile, in New York…

David slid the article across the kitchen island toward Alicia.

She didn’t need to look. She already knew.

“I’m assuming this is your idea of morning entertainment,” she said dryly.

David grinned. “Just wanted you to see how famous you are. Mystery chef reappears. Everyone’s losing their minds.”

Alicia scrolled through the article with detached curiosity. The writeup was professional, vague. The return of the elusive chef known only as Lloris… anonymous by design, her presence marks a shift in this year’s competition. Rumors swirl. Speculation runs rampant. Who are they? Where have they been? And why now?

She handed it back.

David gave her a look. “You okay?”

“I think I hate this.”

“Yeah, but you also love it.”

She didn’t argue.

Across the Atlantic…

Luca stared at his phone, rereading the lineup in the quiet of his apartment.

He hadn’t expected to see that name again. Not ever.

He muttered something under his breath and picked up the phone, already dialing Marcus.

When the call connected, his voice was low. “You saw the list?”

Marcus laughed nervously. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

Luca paused. “You think it’s really them?”

“I don’t know. But it’s gotta be.”

A beat of silence.

“Shit’s getting serious,” Luca said.

Elsewhere…

In quiet corners of other kitchens, reactions echoed the same:

“What the fuck—Lloris?”

“Didn’t they quit?”

“No one even knows what they look like…”

“Their gonna win.”

“They always do.”

A/N

Sorry for not being able more consistently college has been beating my ass.

[cressida-jayoungr]

So I Saw This Costume...

Dr. No / Ursula Andress as Honey Rider and Sean Connery as James Bond and Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder

I've started a project of watching the Bond films from the beginning (though I may bail when I get to Daniel Craig, we'll see). Bond and Honey are provided with these Asian-inspired clothes when they are "guests" of Dr. No.

It's an interesting choice to not put Honey in an evening dress, but perhaps they felt that territory had already been covered in the movie with Sylvia. Also more practical for the amount of running around Honey later does. Her sleeveless top is decorated with flowers and fastens up the front with frogging. The matching pants are close-fitting, more like leggings, although they have a slight pleat in front.

There's a good writeup of Bond's rough silk jacket, beige slacks, and espadrilles here. I think Sean Connery looks great in this jacket, which strikes a nice balance between formal and casual. I always wince at how thoroughly it gets destroyed during his escape from Dr. No's base.

More costumes from Dr. No:

Bond's shawl collar tuxedo

Sylvia's red off-the-shoulder evening dress

Honey's white swimsuit

Dr. No's "villain suit"

Miss Taro's blue dress

[redrockbluerock]

Meant to draw out a little chart of Balan fatigue levels but I was too fatigued (how funny) so now I’m doing a little writeup so i remember the stuff/sneak peek

Level 0- no pain/fatigue, usually tries to get it so that he uses most/all these days directly working with guests.

Level 1- low pain or low tiredness that fades with rest, he’s a little less active, more subdued. Will rest whenever he’s out of sight.

Level 2- low pain/tiredness that persists despite rest. Uses a hip brace/cane in this time. Rests whenever he can, even if not hidden.

Level 3- moderate pain/fatigue or weak migraine. Usually not seen this way by guests. Uses cane more, has a different band on his hat to help with light/ or uses sunglasses. Slower moving and still rests whenever he can- there’s a ton of chairs in the theatre for a reason.

Level 4- High pain/fatigue or full migraine. Avoids leaving his room if not required. Spaces out a lot due to the pain.

Level 5- High pain/fatigue with full migraine. Cannot get himself out of bed.

On average he’s at level 2-3

0 or 5 days are rare.

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 4/7/2024

Lots of stuff to listen to this week. I really need to stop starting these writeups at 11:30pm on Sunday evening.

Loved the new Dear Liisphyra this week. I thought that the sponsor for this episode was really funny. I laughed out loud and looked like to an insane person to some guy I was walking past when they said that every weapon box comes with 50 feet of hempen rope.

Season 2 finale of @backagainpodcast! Man I love the themes of this show. It's such a well written tragedy, the dramatic irony is so good. Also I desperately want to know more about the other Soldier. We know several very relevant details about him but very little else.

New @spoutlore-blog was fun. Billie is such a good character, Jessica plays the "immortal child" trope so well. This show really puts the coolest worldbuilding you've ever heard with the dumbest dick jokes in existence. I still haven't gotten over the spider and the hummingbird.

Speaking of Spout Lore, the new Rude Tales of Magic episode has Abdul Aziz as a guest. He was a great guest, his style of humor fits perfectly with the setting of Piss Harbor. Are all the characters he plays street rats with a heart of gold. Excited to see who they bring on as guests in the future. They had Zac Oyama a few episodes ago, I would be excited to see more Dimension 20 people.

The new @midstpodcast was super interesting! Every episode in this season they've introduced another way that the Trust is incredibly fucked up. Why can't we go back to the Mother's Merciful, they were so nice.

Somehow I fell behind on @storiesfromylelmore. I'm not sure how that happened, I think my podcatcher didn't update or something, because I've been listening to new episodes of this show immediately. The second most recent episode was great, with Rion going through werewolf puberty. The most recent episode had some really good character work, with character development for all 3 main characters. I love this show so much.

New episode of SCP: Find Us Alive. A new Dash Two being created is really interesting, we've only had Dumptruck and Hiway Robbery for so long it's weird for there to be a third one. Where did they even get a bird?

I reached the crossover with Forgive Me in @kingmakerpod. Forgive Me is such a grounded show, especially by audiodrama standards, which tend to be way out there, so it's so funny when they cross over with shows that have such a wildly different tone and premise. The character interactions were on point though.

@camlannpod the fairy world! This show continues to have really cool takes on myths. The idea that you can shed a Name simply by going by something else is interesting. Could some random person start going by Lancelot and gain magical powers? The reveal at the end was great too, both from a worldbuilding standpoint and a character perspective.

Man that really was a lot. Lots of stuff to look forward to next week as well!

[paradoxcase]

@eye-lantern:

The "good, die for her" is still Kiriona replying but with such hate and anger her voice is almost unrecognizable to Nona in her state. It's also a nice lapsus because she is accusing them of surrounding her by death and decay her whole life, but it also become about herself expressing her love in the exact same way that Crux is. Dying

Ahh, I figured it couldn't be her, since her like whole thing was dying for Harrow, and she also literally just offered to die for Harrow again, but it does make sense if she's also angry with herself here. Like, is this her turning point, where she sees Crux sacrifice himself for Harrow and finally realizes how little Harrow would actually appreciate people sacrificing themselves for her, and has now figured out how her assumptions about her own sacrifice were wrong? Or she just sees someone she hates doing the same thing she did and gets a new perspective on it? Now I'm interested to see how she thinks about that whole thing in the next book

For John as Jesus, Jesus was God made man, creating a link by wich humans could approach the divine, through his teachings and example. But Jesus dies like a man because while humans should strive upward, they will never touch God. John was proto Jesus and failed in his mission, eating God. Gideon is the second version, that is closer to the religious Canon in most ways. The advent of "false" messiahs is a thing and multiple have taken that coat in history. I mean Judaïsme does not recognize Jesus as the messiah. Ironically Jod is Alecto's "bad first draft dream". Which may make a bit more sense after the uninvited guest

Oh, yeah, from a Jewish perspective Jesus is basically just the ancient Roman Lubavitcher Rebbe or thereabouts

John being a false messiah makes sense from a Jewish perspective, since the messiah in Judaism is all about fulfilling the prophesies, etc. and if you fail to do that you're not really the messiah. But in Christianity, Jesus is the messiah not because he fulfilled the prophesies (because he didn't actually do that, hence the whole second coming mythology), but because he is literally God in some way. And John literally was given god-like power by Alecto, like from that perspective he did meet that metaphysical requirement, didn't he? I guess if we're looking at it that way, though, Alecto herself also satisfies the general description of "God who became human", maybe even better than John does. And Gideon isn't God at all, she's just John's daughter, but like, she doesn't have any of his powers other than her body can't die. Maybe my assumption was wrong. Like what are the actual requirements in Christianity for being the true messiah?

I have read the Uninvited Guest at this point (writeup incoming) but I'm not sure what you actually mean by the "bad first draft dream"

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Major fails in trying to sell her jam. by u/goldenbeee

Major fails in trying to sell her jam. 1) Meghan Markle showed us how she elevates her dishes for her friends and guests on her show. She doesn't care to make authentic food. Just slobs. She takes Trader Joes Pretzel and Whole Foods popcorn and puts them in an another plastic bag for her guests. That gives away her whole plan of mass producing cheap jam and marketing it as her special jam. If she doesnt care about her friends, why would she care about common ppl's health?2) Next, she does the mistake of showing how her jam is made. All this while she tried to imply its a small batch from her garden. But then yesterday she puts up the video of her jam being mass produced in a factory which probably makes $3/ jar jam. Yet she wants her foolish fans to pay $25(not sure) for her jam because of keep sake packaging. Her video incase ppl missed it : https://ift.tt/qQwha3z) Keepsake packaging looks like a box in which perfumes or beauty products are sold. It has an hexagonal cutout. Am not sure what it can be used for or why its important. 4) Its not organic. At a price point of over $20, why wouldn't you expect an organic jam?5) Its not a jam. Doesn't look like the nutritional value is written on the label, I spy one paragraph of writeup . But I could be wrong. Looking at the video, the jams will drop in couple of days, probably April Fools day. Since she is fooling her fans into buying shitty jams at an exorbitant price.One good thing about the jam though is, its produced in a sanitary place. No one has licked it. It won't have Meghan's long hair in it. post link: https://ift.tt/2xurGWI author: goldenbeee submitted: March 28, 2025 at 08:36PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[karaloza]

Legend of Zelda Theme Park - Lost Woods (UPDATED)

The Lost Woods covers the southeastern corner of the park (corresponding to the Triforce of Courage) and, to suit its role as a vibrant enchanted forest, is the most lushly planted area of the park. Roughly a third of its footprint is devoted to planters filled with live trees, shrubs, and flowers, represented by the stippled shapes on the detailed map below. The artificial structures housing attractions, shops, and eateries are dressed to resemble hollow trees and caves. Most dramatic of all is the Great Deku Tree himself, rising well above the rest of the features in the area. A playful yet mysterious music loop of “forest themes” plays throughout the area.

Attractions

Spirit Train (Forest Station): One of the stations for the Spirit Train (see the Castle Town writeup) can be found here.

Picori Picnic Park: Inspired by The Minish Cap, this is an ideal spot to take a break from all the running around and eat lunch (and let the kids do more running around). A well-shaded area of picnic tables and benches sits alongside an elaborate playground, and everything is in the shape of giant flowers, leaves, mushrooms, and other objects to make you feel as though you’ve shrunk to Minish-size! There are also statues of Minish that guests can pose with for photos, and giant stumps and logs with windows to peer into to watch Minish going about their lives at home.

Koroks in Concert: Inside a huge hollow stump is a tiny theater-in-the-round where dozens of animatronic Koroks put on a musical revue! Some of the tunes in the 15-minute program will be familiar to anyone who has played the right games, but others are unique to this show. Guests are prompted to sing along with the grand finale and in so doing, encourage the Deku sprout in the center to grow!

The Great Deku Tree: He’s not a ride, nor exactly a show, but the guardian spirit of the Lost Woods is an impressive sight all the same. He continually grumbles and sighs and makes different expressions as he watches over the forest, and his spreading crown (the dashed outline shows its rough extent) is made from a system of hollow twigs and retractable artificial leaves in a variety of colors, so that his foliage can shift with the seasons. Moreover, he serves as the entrance to another attraction entirely…

Lost Woods Labyrinth: The largest attraction footprint in the Lost Woods belongs not to a ride, but a walkthrough—a “maze” that you can’t actually get lost in. Entered through the base of the Great Deku Tree’s trunk, the labyrinth winds in a convoluted fashion through a fantastical landscape of forest groves and small caves, with occasional branching paths that encourage repeat visits. The majority of the maze is located inside an enclosed show building, though ample skylights keep the ambient light levels synced with the outdoors for that extra bit of authenticity. The path takes guests through a variety of whimsical, mystical, and eerie forest scenes, from simple wild animals going about their lives to spider webs with scuttling Skulltulas to a Great Fairy Fountain. Some scenes include interactive elements–motion sensors cause Deku Scrubs to pop up and spit water, or a scene of Koroks at play includes a pushbutton that makes more of them descend into view on their little leaf-propellers.

The Grove of the Master Sword: At the exit of the labyrinth, guests have the choice to return to the main area of the Lost Woods…or take a picturesque but unlabeled path that leads to a quiet grove with a marble dais in the center, carved with the symbol of the Triforce and the emblems of its three virtues of Power, Courage, and Wisdom. And in the center of that is the pedestal where the Master Sword waits to be claimed by the Hero. You can try to draw it if you like. Do you think you’re worthy? (Is this basically a ripoff of Disneyland’s Sword in the Stone? Yes. Is the whole Master Sword stuck in a pedestal already a ripoff of Arthurian legend anyway? Also yes.) Another unlabeled path leads directly between the grove and the main area, and a third connects it with Epona Ranch. There are many ways to discover the Master Sword if you’re willing to explore the unknown.

Skull Kid’s Dash-n-Twist: This “mad mouse” style roller coaster is themed around the concept of chasing the mischievous Skull Kid through the forest treetops, with dangerous forest monsters popping up at every turn! Is he leading you to safety or hoping the Babas and Peahats will dispose of you?

Deku Gliders: This is a carousel-type ride with suspended cars shaped as if made from leaves, flowers, and twigs. The central mechanism is shaped like a huge flower, and the “stalk” extends upward when the ride begins, giving riders an elevated view of the surrounding area.

Shops

9. Outfitted For Adventure: If you didn’t manage to pull the Master Sword, never fear—this shop has you covered with toy and prop weapons (including replica Master Swords, we’re not stupid, we know what the people want), as well as souvenir clothing, hats, fanny packs, pouches, canteens, walking sticks, and other simple gear items for outdoorsy and adventurous types. Themed as a small, torchlit cave in honor of the one where Link was gifted his first ever sword at the very beginning of the franchise, the shop has that scene’s famous slogan painted prominently on one wall in the classic NES lettering: “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this!”

10. The Fairy Fountain: Found one cave over from Outfitted For Adventure, this shop carries all things fairy-related, from books and art prints to dolls and “shoulder pet” fairy toys.The shop has its own background music, consisting of various versions of the famous “Fairy Fountain” theme alternating with other fairy-related music in the franchise.

11. Figurine Gallery: Another feature inspired by The Minish Cap, this kiosk built into the side of a tree (the structure is artificial, but the roof is basically a big planter for real shrubs), sells hand-carved wooden figures and decorative items, no two identical! Limited customization (color stains, a name etched or burned into a figurine base, etc.) is available on some items and can usually be completed while you wait.

12. Flower Cart: This is also a small retail location, selling all kinds of silk flowers and flower crowns. Many of them are generic, but others are made to resemble the fictitious flowers that occur in certain LoZ games—many colors of Pico Blooms (The Minish Cap), Silent Princess (Breath of the Wild), and even Bomb Flowers (various) with light-up “wicks.”

Eateries

13. Minish Mini-Nosh: If you didn’t bring your own lunch to the Picori Picnic Park, you can pick up something tasty at this fast casual eatery specializing in “miniature” food—bite-sized sandwiches, “baby” vegetables, “Minish-kabobs,” and more! Get them a la carte for a quick snack or mix and match a combo for a full meal!

14. Hollo’s Hollow: A callback to the potion-making Korok in The Wind Waker, this is a beverage shop much like Castle Town’s Potion Hut. Also on offer are healthy snacks such as whole-grain crackers, trail mix, and fresh fruit. Conveniently located right next door to Koroks in Concert so you can have something to wet your whistle while you enjoy the show.

15. Saria’s Bakery: Named for Link’s sweet and spunky childhood bestie from Ocarina of Time and located inside a huge hollow stump, this bakery offers a wide selection of rolls, buns, muffins, cookies, cupcakes, and other baked goods. Specialties include Kokiri Fairy Cakes (frosted pale blue and adorned with sugar wings) and a honey butter blend that’s terrific on all kinds of savory bread. Everything is made on-site and guaranteed fresh!

Miscellaneous

You might notice some unlabeled circles on the map. These are artificial tree structures that don’t house any publicly available feature–instead they are used as storage sheds, small employee break rooms, and general ambience.

[thenexusofsouls]

{i am the caretaker of souls} So the poll results are in, and it seems like most people want me to add all three Farscape muses I am pondering: Aeryn, Pilot, and Rygel. However, a couple people seem weirded out by Rygel, heh. My internet issues kindof ate up the time I would've had to write these guys up properly, and I'm still not 100% sure I want to add them as full muses, so I'm going to take @superboyandtheinvisiblegirls advice and kindof throw them out there as test muses for a bit?

I really hate doing the test muse thing because I don't like wasting time writing up muses that I don't end up using, and I also don't like using muses when I don't have a proper writeup to offer to my writing partners. BUT... what I'll do is... if anybody would like a thread with any of them, that's possible, and I'll write them as guest muses in some threads, but in the meantime... feel free to ask questions if you aren't clear on what/who these muses are or how they might interact with yours. My inbox is always open or you can pop in messages and be like WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH RYGEL or whatever other questions you might have. That way, you'll still have the info you need if you want to send a starter or have me write one for us, or if you just want to understand the characters better. Then if I decide to add them fully, I'll do my usual writeups for them.

Be prepared for some Farscape gif spam, haha, and then I'll get to some of Zhaan's replies! =)

[thiscityneedslessfog]

Desirable Masks: Yukiko Amagi and Rise Kujikawa

I was talking with some friends about this, but man, Yukiko and Rise’s stories are a lot more similar than I thought. Both of them have stories about feeling they have to keep up masks or they’ll be cast aside as defects, and how much that messes with their agency and senses of self.

This time I’m actually going to start with Rise, because hers is more obvious. She’s literally an idol, after all, and one of her biggest grievances with being one is the fact she has to constantly put up a mask in order to be accepted by the masses, as shown in her dungeon where there are eye designs all over the floors, as if everyone is watching her at all times. And she’s insanely lonely, which is part of the reason why her dungeon has hearts everywhere—she desperately wants someone to connect to and not see her as a doll. I’ve mentioned it in the writeup about her dungeon and Himiko before, but I’ll still bring it up here. Himiko, who is meant to be the embodiment of what Rise represses, portrays herself as a performer to the end. Even during her boss fight, she calls the Investigation Team her “guests” and refers to them like they’d be in her audience.

It’s to the point that Rise doesn’t know what she “normally” acts like, as shown after she recovers from awakening to Himiko. She’s so used to hiding her emotions for the sake of others that when she tries to be sincere she’s… not really sure if it worked.

Himiko, during her rant, explains that she feels outright chained by the masks, and hates how she has to keep it up. Because Rise being forced to keep up these masks is another way Rise has no power over her life. She can’t eat at the places she likes, can’t have privacy in her own home due to stalkers, is utterly isolated with nobody to vent to about her worries or even just speak her mind with. She just feels like a toy.

this rant is so good, it encapsulates so much about why Himiko exists and portrays herself the way she does Another thing that a commenter mentioned on my writeup about Rise’s dungeon that I agree with is that one of the reasons Himiko uses her Navigator analysis skills on the Investigation Team is a way of lashing out against stalkers and tabloids who try to look into every detail of Rise’s life so she has no privacy whatsoever, so now it’s her turn to know everything and other people’s turn to have zero privacy. Thought their observation was very astute.

Yukiko’s arc is even more keenly about power than Rise’s is, with her relationship with power and the fact she had more control over her life than she initially believed being the centerpiece of her arc. And much like Rise, one of the reasons for this sense of powerlessness is the weight of people’s expectations on her, as seen in her dungeon.

The main one, obviously, is the expectations weighed on her by the fact she is an Amagi and therefore expected to inherit the family inn, and Konohana Sakuya’s rant reflects Yukiko’s (in this case mistaken) belief that she does not have any choice in the matter for her life, and that because everyone just thinks she will, that she has to inherit it, which unnerves her.

But another is Yukiko’s femininity. Yukiko almost perfectly fits the outward image of a “Yamato Nadeshiko,” which, in summary, is the image of a perfect traditional Japanese girl. This leads to many of the boys in Yasogami High being attracted to Yukiko, but Yukiko hasn’t been interested in any of the guys who have asked her out. This, paradoxically, leads to Yukiko being sexualized by the male students around her because she seems to meet this feminine ideal. The students even make a game of people asking her out and betting on whether they’ll get her as a date or not.

It’s actually bad enough to the point that older male reporters make some really creepy comments towards her. Her resentment comes to a head as shown on the sixth floor of her dungeon, showing memories that eat away at her psyche.

And Yukiko feels deeply isolated by her perceived lack of agency, too. She’s treated as a prize to be won by the boys around her and develops a sense of jealousy of her best friend Chie over the fact she doesn’t get the unwanted attention that Yukiko gets, which leads to Yukiko self-imposing even more isolation than she was already subject to.

Both Yukiko and Rise are deeply isolated by this feeling that they’re forced to put up masks and both desperately want a way out. Both Konohana Sakuya and Himiko ask for relief from this sense of crushing expectations on them to come from somebody else, too, and make fun of their full selves for wanting this. Konohana Sakuya asks for it from a “prince,” who can whisk her away from her home, because Yukiko has convinced herself she cannot get out of this situation on her own, and Konohana Sakuya explicitly calls her out on it.

While Himiko is more representing Rise’s fear that she truly is what the masses make her out to be: a doll. A toy. I mean, hell, Himiko in Shadow form looks like a doll with a reflective face. That she'll never find anyone to connect to and only ever be treated as an object. Which leads into the fact that both girls’ treatment as sexual objects is internalized to an extent, seen in their Midnight Channel Episodes. (I mean hell, Himiko outright calls Rise a skank when you confront her, which made the entire group I was playing with (including me) do a double take.) And Konohana Sakuya mentions she's wearing lingerie in her Midnight Channel Episode.

The point of Yukiko’s story is she really does have more power over her situation than she believes, while Rise’s story is more about the power exerted on her by the masses messing with her ability to know who she even is. But both girls become more self-expressive after they confront their Shadows because in both cases they finally have people they feel they can feel confident in confiding in. This allows Yukiko to help stabilize her relationship with Chie, and it gives Rise an actual support network in the first place. And this freedom from their mask-induced isolation helps them learn more about who they really are and helps their different arcs progress—Yukiko learning that she does have more power than she originally believed and Rise learning more about herself, like realizing how passionate she truly is about acting and singing and how she’s way stronger than she’d believed she was.

It’s really neat.