#personal skills gap analysis

[smithlee1221]

Mastering Skills Gap Analysis - Your Complete Guide to Workforce Development

Wonder how to conduct a comprehensive skills gap analysis? Find proven methods to identify your skill gaps and develop effective workforce development strategies.

[comicaurora]

Hey, firstly I just wanted to say I’ve been consuming your content for years and thank you and Blue for being the only thing that kept my academic brain from turning to mush during online COVID middle school!

But I’m entering a new academic era, notably Junior year of my very rigorous collage prep program at my high school. I’ve always thought I would go to collage after high school but I’ve recently stumbled into some very interesting ways of making a living only perusing my creative passions (some very scary publishing opportunities). So I’ve been wondering if I actually want to go to collage or not, since going to collage just to be a published writer is an objective waste of money and I don’t want to spend the rest of high school breaking my neck earning collage credits I’m not going to use.

So I was wondering, if you had known you could make a living only perusing your creative passions, would you have spent the time, money and academic energy going to collage for something you didn’t end up doing professionally?

(I would ask my advisor but he’s too obviously pro collage and doesn’t have any experience making a living creatively).

(Sorry for the long ask)

No problem about the long ask! This is a very good question!

I'll start with the short answer, which is that nobody can make this decision but you, and if you decide not to go to college right now, that does not mean you are deciding to never go to college. Especially with Covid, plenty of people are taking gap years, and plenty of full-on adults go to college later in life, simply because the mood strikes them, or they now have income to burn, or they're interested in a career change, etc. This is not a coinflip that will decide the trajectory of the rest of your life.

For the longer answer, for me personally? Knowing I'd be able to earn a living doing art would have no bearing on my decision to go to college. Setting aside that a ton of the literary analysis my job is based on is skills I learned in college, I liked college because it gave me the opportunity to learn a wide swath of things, from anthropology courses to dinosaur science. I like learning new things! College was an opportunity to learn a ton of new things, and even if it was very challenging in places, I thrived in it. I didn't go to college with the goal of becoming qualified for a Real Job - because of who I am as a person I think I'd seriously struggle at most Real Jobs, and I knew that even back then. I was in college to learn, and to learn how to learn. I got my degree in mathematics, a thing I do not use in my Job, but the functionality of mathematics - to logically reason through problems, step by step, comparing it to known problems to map the way to solutions using operations that preserve truth - is an invaluable skill that I apply everywhere there are problems to solve, especially literary analysis. I learned a wide swath of tools with surprising applications, and I couldn't have known when I started how I might use them in the end.

However, there's a big caveat there. This was my personal experience of college as a playground where I could work towards a solid major and also branch out to take weird one-off electives and summer courses when anything struck my fancy. But I was in on a scholarship to cover a good chunk of my tuition, and one of my relatives very kindly paid for the rest. I got to do college without accruing any college debt, and that is an enormous factor. I can only share my personal take, but I'm not going to pretend that things would have been the same if I'd had to enter adulthood finding a way to quickly pay off a six-figure sum.

I've been extremely lucky to get to the point where I can navigate life in a way where money is very rarely something I need to worry about. It was certainly not always like that, and I do not miss those times, but it invariably shapes the way I see the world and the steps I took to get here. For me personally, I do not consider college in any way a waste of time; I think the opportunity to learn is one of the most exciting things out there. But my experience cannot be pretended to be universal.

This decision is yours, and it is also not final. Whatever choice you make, you can always choose again later. You have time.

[thomamaru]

Brushed Numbers and Lingering Words

Synopsis: You were always admired by others by your sharp analysis in English. Rin itoshi, on the other hand, was known for his swift math solving skills. So what would happen if you both ended up on the same team for a quizbee? Chaos.

Tags: Rin Itoshi x gn!reader, sarcastic Rin, academic rivals trope, lotssss of teasing from Rin, fluff

The announcement came abruptly during homeroom, and with it, a new responsibility you hadn’t expected.

“The school has chosen two representatives for this year’s quiz bee,” the teacher began, her tone as bright as a fresh cup of coffee. “(Y/N), for humanities, and Rin Itoshi, for mathematics and sciences.”

Your head snapped up. You glanced around, wondering if there’d been some mistake.

Rin Itoshi? Seriously?

Rin sat across the room, perfectly composed as though the teacher had just complimented him on his haircut rather than volunteered him for a major academic event. His teal eyes met yours briefly, his expression unreadable, before he returned to scribbling in his notebook.

When the bell rang, your curiosity got the best of you. You hesitantly approached him.

“So… looks like we’re partners.”

Without so much as glancing up, Rin replied, “Partners? That makes it sound like we’re splitting the work evenly.”

Your brows furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’ll handle the important stuff,” he said, finally looking at you with a faint smirk. “You know, things that don’t involve reciting poetry.”

“Wow,” you deadpanned, crossing your arms. “Do you always have this much charm, or is it just for me?”

“Depends,” he replied casually, closing his notebook with a light thud. “Do you always take everything personally, or is it just because you know I’m right?”

You blinked, momentarily stunned into silence. This was going to be a long partnership.

---

The first training session in the library was about as smooth as you expected—which was to say, not smooth at all.

“You know, you could try to take this seriously,” you said as Rin flipped through a set of sample questions, barely paying attention.

“I am taking it seriously,” he replied, setting the packet down. “I’m just not panicking, unlike you.”

“I’m not panicking,” you snapped, though the furrow in your brow betrayed you.

Rin tilted his head, regarding you with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. “Right. You’re completely calm. That’s why you’re holding that pen like you’re about to duel someone.”

Your grip on the pen immediately loosened, and Rin chuckled under his breath.

The two of you fell into a rhythm of reluctant cooperation. Despite his irritating sarcasm, Rin was sharp, dissecting complex problems with ease. And despite his dismissive attitude, he listened—though he rarely admitted it—whenever you pointed out gaps in his reasoning.

But it was the accidental touches that threw you off.

Your hands brushed when you both reached for the same sheet of paper, and the contact sent an unexpected spark through your chest. A quiet “sorry” escaped his lips, and for a brief moment, you thought you caught a flicker of hesitation in his usually confident eyes.

It was nothing. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself.

---

As the day of the quiz bee approached, you found yourself pacing outside the classroom, clutching your notes nervously. The responsibility of representing the school suddenly felt much heavier than you’d anticipated.

“Are you planning to wear a hole in the floor?”

Rin’s voice startled you out of your thoughts. He stood a few feet away, hands tucked casually into his pockets.

You opened your mouth to retort but hesitated, glancing at the water bottle in his hand. “What’s that for?”

“For you,” he said, holding it out. “You look like you’re about to faint. Can’t have you passing out before the competition.”

“I’m fine,” you muttered, crossing your arms. But when he didn’t move, you reluctantly took the bottle.

“Thanks,” you said, your voice softer. After a moment, you added, “Good luck, by the way.”

Rin’s lips quirked into the faintest smirk. “We don’t need luck,” he said. “We’ve got my brains and… whatever it is you bring to the table.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at your lips.

---

The auditorium buzzed with anticipation, and you felt your nerves coil tighter with every passing minute. As the participants were seated, Rin leaned closer, his teal eyes sharp with amusement.

“You’re shaking,” he observed, his voice low enough for only you to hear.

“I’m not—”

“Yes, you are,” he interrupted. “Relax. We’ve got this.”

His voice was steady, almost calming, and you found yourself nodding despite the teasing.

When the questions started, everything faded except the two of you. Rin handled math and science questions with a precision that left you momentarily speechless, his solutions flowing so naturally it was almost mesmerizing.

“Focus,” he murmured, nudging you lightly when a question in your area came up.

You answered confidently, earning an approving nod from him. “Not bad,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

The quiz bee continued, the two of you working together seamlessly despite your differences. Each small interaction—a shared glance, a subtle brush of hands—felt like a thread tying you closer together.

---

When the results were announced, you and Rin were just one point shy of first place.

“We were so close!” you said, laughing despite yourself.

Rin’s brows furrowed as he scanned through the score sheet, his analytical mind already dissecting what might have gone wrong. “One point,” he muttered, his tone laced with frustration.

“Hey,” you said, nudging him lightly. “It’s not the end of the world. We still did great.”

He glanced at you, his expression softening. “You’re taking this a lot better than I expected.”

“Maybe because I enjoyed it,” you admitted with a small smile. “Working with you, I mean. It was… fun.”

“Fun,” he repeated, as though the word was foreign to him. But the faint smile tugging at his lips told you he didn’t disagree.

---

The week following the quiz bee, you expected life to return to normal. To your surprise, the school had other plans.

By Monday, posters of the quiz bee results were plastered in the hallways. Your names were printed in bold letters—Rin Itoshi and (Y/N)—Second Place Winners! Teachers spoke of it during class, while students congratulated you both whenever they passed by.

“Looks like we’re the new school celebrities,” you joked to Rin as you walked together toward an assembly.

Rin shrugged, unbothered. “They’ll forget about it in a week.”

“I don’t know,” you teased. “Some people are really excited to know you’re good at more than soccer.”

“Don’t push it,” he said dryly, but there was a faint, amused glint in his eyes.

When you reached the auditorium, a staff member gestured for the two of you to come up onstage. A podium had been set up with a banner behind it that read, "Congratulations, Quiz Bee Participants!" The school wanted to make the most of your achievement.

As you walked up, Rin let out a barely audible sigh. “This is unnecessary,” he muttered.

“It’s just a picture,” you whispered back. “Smile, and we’ll get this over with.”

Once onstage, a student photographer directed you both to stand beside the podium. You positioned yourself on one side, with Rin on the other.

“Ready?” the photographer called out, adjusting the camera.

You turned toward the camera but hesitated when you caught a glimpse of Rin in the corner of your eye. Unlike his usual aloof self, he actually looked… relaxed. He even had a faint smile on his face, which somehow made you look longer than you intended.

That’s when Rin noticed.

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” you said quickly, redirecting your gaze. But the teasing smirk creeping onto his lips made it clear he didn’t believe you.

As the photographer called for final adjustments, Rin suddenly reached out and brushed something near your temple.

“Your hair,” he said simply, fixing a stray strand with surprising gentleness.

The soft touch sent a jolt through you. Your breath hitched, and before you could react, Rin looked back toward the camera.

The photographer clicked the shutter just in time to capture the aftermath—Rin, standing tall with a small but confident smile, and you, completely flustered as you looked up at him instead of the lens.

“Great shot!” the photographer exclaimed, unaware of the flurry of emotions in your chest.

You climbed down the stage after Rin, trying to gather your thoughts. “What was that about?” you asked, slightly out of breath.

“What was what about?” he replied nonchalantly, glancing at you with feigned innocence.

“The hair thing!” you blurted, your cheeks warming.

“Oh, that.” He shrugged. “It was bothering me.”

“You could’ve just said something,” you muttered, still flustered.

“Would you have fixed it yourself if I did?” he countered, smirking. When you stayed quiet, he added, “Didn’t think so.”

Despite his usual teasing, there was a subtle warmth in his voice. You couldn’t tell if he was doing this on purpose or if Rin Itoshi really was this obliviously charming.

---

Later that day, the photo from the assembly was pinned on the school’s bulletin board. It didn’t take long for students to notice the details.

“Is (Y/N) looking at Rin in this picture?” one whispered.

“And Rin’s smiling?! I didn’t even know he could smile,” another chimed in.

You buried your face in your hands as you overheard the gossip. Rin, on the other hand, seemed unbothered as usual.

“What’s the big deal?” you mumbled when you caught up to him after class.

He tilted his head, smirking. “You’re overthinking again.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“Relax,” he said, his voice unusually soft. “It’s just a picture. Besides…” He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “You didn’t look bad.”

Your heart stuttered at the unexpected compliment, but before you could say anything, he added:

“Just try not to get a big head over it.”

And with that, Rin walked away, leaving you to wrestle with the mix of emotions he always seemed to stir.

---

Days passed, but the memory of the quiz bee lingered. In class, Rin couldn’t help but steal glances at you, his mind replaying moments he thought he’d brushed off.

You were just his partner for a school event.

That’s all it was.

And yet, when your laugh echoed across the hallway, or your hand brushed his while passing a note, Rin found his thoughts straying in ways he couldn’t quite explain.

And though he would never admit it, the memory of your shared moments during the quiz bee was one he wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

Note: this story might be based on my own experience,,, :P

[penguwastaken]

Nobody Understands Mukuro Ikusaba (aka Mukuro Character Analysis)

...except for the people that do (lol).

But first I want to clarify what I mean by this title and why I even wrote this thread in the first place. Mukuro is my second favorite Danganronpa character, only beaten out by Kyoko. There's a lot of reasons why I really like Mukuro, but one of them is her writing.

I think she's one of the best written characters in the series. But unfortunately, she also happens to be one of the most misunderstood characters as well. Not even by the people who don't like her, but also by her own fans.

"Mukuro has incestuous feelings for Junko" "Danganronpa 3 retconned her character" "Mukuro was just a plot device" These are all claims that baffle me because simply just consuming the media will say otherwise.

To many, Mukuro is either a one note incest freak or a pure innocent cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong and both of those interpretations are wildly incorrect. I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but we're finally here.

Nobody understands Mukuro Ikusaba (a ""🧵"") (Spoiler warning for the entire series)

Story Overview

We don't actually know too much about Mukuro's backstory aside from the fact that at a young age, she was separated from her younger twin sister Junko. Before being taken away, she claims that she was homeless and after she was taken she was forced to become a member of the military group Fenrir.

So clearly Mukuro never really had the chance to have a normal life, and more importantly: never had a chance to feel the care of another person.

Her sister, who Mukuro had not seen in years, suddenly got in contact with her and called Mukuro over to participate in her plan to overthrow Hope's Peak Academy (and the world). Mukuro, who already felt bad for losing her sister and was desperate for any kind of affection, accepted and began working for Junko.

Junko took advantage of Mukuro's desperation and had her basically work as a servant to her plans. She started by having Mukuro wipe out the entirety of a middle school in order to prove Mukuro's skills and how far Mukuro would go for her.

With that out of her way, Junko made Mukuro obey like her servant in order to overthrow Hope's Peak and cause the tragedy. Mukuro did so without batting an eye and disregarding any second thoughts she might have had, all while facing Junko's abuse.

During her time attending Hope's Peak, Mukuro met Makoto Naegi. Unlike most of her classmates, Makoto was friendly to her and showed her compassion. This confused her as we already established that Mukuro wasn't used to affection. Because of this and her tendency to latch onto anyone who shows her even an ounce of care, she began to develop feelings for Makoto (that even Junko acknowledged).

"In the past two years, Ikusaba had gained an interest in the world beyond her sister. And in that world, Makoto Naegi--the first person who smiled at her and bridged the gap between her and the world--had become like a sapling of sincerity taking root in her heart." -Danganronpa IF confirming Mukuro's feelings for Makoto

"Upupupu… I wonder what kind of fun you were having in the infirmary? Did you take care of your rival in love, or did you wish them a happy marriage? Either way, don't you think our nice guy Naegi standing side-by-side with Kirigiri makes for a wonderful picture? If this were a thriller, they'd be the last surviving couple!" "Upupupupu… Or how about just killing all of the others? If everyone but you and Naegi die, then the two of you can spend the rest of your student lives together! After all, we can't even hold a trial if there's only two people left. Maybe it'll be best if you just hole up here, safe in the building forever!" "And what're you going to do once he goes back to his old self? It's not as if you were dating Naegi, right? You were just watching him from afar all this time! Now this is a shock. You can shoot right through people's heads and hearts without even blinking, but you can't even steal away some skinny little boy's heart! You want me to tell you who Naegi had a crush on before his memories were erased? Upupupupu…" -Junko teasing Mukuro about her feelings as she aids Makoto in Danganronpa IF

Once the tragedy occured, Mukuro was locked inside of Hope's Peak with Junko and the rest of their classmates and she helped orchestrate the killing game. She disguised herself as Junko, under the impression that Junko would fake her death and they could spend the rest of the game together.

This is when the seeds of doubt began to sprout inside of Mukuro. I wouldn't say that she necessarily began to go against her sister, but she definitely was starting to get a little more hesitant.

"It was only recently that she began to question her mindset. Hearing about this plan from Junko and watching the world burn at the hands of people in Monobear masks did nothing to sway her, but when she heard that Junko was intending to plunge Naegi and the others into a game of murder, something within her began to move. The seed of doubt soon took root, sprouting into a thorny vine that twisted around her feet. And the moment she met her friends for the first time under the identity of Junko Enoshima and realized their memories were truly gone, the vines quickly tightened around her ankles." -Danganronpa IF describing Mukuro's feelings when the killing game began

To Makoto and the player who are under the impression that this is Junko, they assume that she's referring to not wanting to be a model anymore. But given her backstory of never being able to live a normal life and always having to fend for herself or follow the orders of others, we can infer what she actually means. She expresses disappointment in the fact that she never really had a chance to do what she wanted.

This all culminates in the moment where Junko was supposed to fake the death of Mukuro, but that isn't what happened. Instead, Junko killed Mukuro and betrayed her. To say that Junko felt no remorse from this action would be a lie, however. Junko only did this because she knew it would hurt both of them.

...but what if that wasn't what happened? What if Mukuro wasn't killed? What would happen then? That brings us to:

Danganronpa IF

Danganronpa IF answers the hypothetical question of what if Mukuro survived Junko's attack. Of course this means it isn't canon, but due to Kodaka being involved with its creation and its existence as an event that hypothetically could have happened, it is canon compliant. This means that while the events didn't happen in canon, they could have and things like characterization are all accurate. Think of it like an extended free time event. While the events themselves aren't canon, the things they say and imply are. I'll also be referencing Danganronpa IF a lot because since it's told from Mukuro's perspective, it gives a lot of insight on her thought process.

After regaining his memories, Makoto recognizes and rescues Mukuro seconds before her would-be death and he gets impaled by one of the spears. Mukuro rushes to save him, abandoning her disguise and goal.

During this time, Mukuro does a lot of thinking. Why did Junko try to kill her? For all the time they've been working together, Mukuro always assumed that her job was to prop Junko up and help her achieve despair.

It turns out that Junko didn't want Mukuro to obey Junko's every order, Junko wanted Mukuro to retaliate. She didn't want Mukuro to submit to her, but instead to fight back.

With this Mukuro changes her mind, choosing to fight Junko instead of assisting her. Not because she's on the side of hope, she never cared about hope or despair, but because she only wants what's best for the only person in her life who cared for her.

"'That's why… I'll take responsibility. I'll make you happy, Junko . I'll make youdespair. I'll save Naegi-kun… I'll make sure none of our friends die. I'll get them all out of here. And I'll kill every last one of the ones on the outside. You planned this for years and killed so many people to make this work… so I'll destroy every last trace of it.' She was not driven by resentment at the sister who abandoned her. Ikusaba would do all this for her sister's sake." -Mukuro changing her approach to making Junko happy in Danganronpa IF

Who is Mukuro Ikusaba?

Now this is the part where I finally exit the synopsis phase and finally get into the character analysis, explaining why Mukuro acts the way she does in all entries.

Now, I want to begin with a common critique of Mukuro's character, specifically one that's attributed to Danganronpa 3. The one that says that Mukuro's behavior is not only out of character, but also claims that she has romantic feelings for her sister.

First point out of the way, Mukuro's blushy and flustered attitude is nothing new when it comes to her character. It's been an aspect of her since the very beginning of her characterization.

"'I don’t know if… she attracts despair, or despair attracts her, but… she’s lived her whole life with despair by her side. She lived while immersed in despair. That’s why she began looking for despair in others; she began to enjoy pushing people into despair. But you know… that’s normal. It’s no different than someone cursed by misfortune falling into hatred for those who are better off than them. But what’s special about her was that… she learned to enjoy inflicting despair upon herself. That’s how the link to despair began: as she chased down despair, she pushed it onto others along the way. Doing so caused her to crave falling into despair even more… and because of that chain to despair, the Ultimate Despair was born.' While she spoke, it was like she fell into a fever; the expressions on her face slowly turned into ecstasy. It was so completely absurd that it would have been difficult for anybody to think of it as anything but a joke, but I could tell that this was real. It might have been the hazy memories of Junko Enoshima inside me that led to that conclusion. 'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged." -Mukuro describing Junko in Danganronpa Zero

The second (and more important) point to address is the one that Mukuro holds some kind of romantic feelings for her sister. Now, in all honestly, I can't hold this against anyone for thinking this even if I think it's a wild misinterpretation of her behavior. Danganronpa has a track record of using incest for comedic effect (to always poor results). However, Mukuro's relationship with Junko is not used to comedic effect and it's portrayed in a negative light. Not only that, we know that Mukuro does not enjoy behaving that way.

"'She hoped that, perhaps her sister on the screen would say something like 'Not! You seriously thought I'd say something that sappy? Jeez, you're annoying! Can't you just disappear forever or something?'. She hoped that Junko might criticizeher and call her useless. Ikusaba was no masochist, but she would have preferred to hear scornful laughter and be shot at rather than continue to endure this pain." -Danganronpa IF explaining Mukuro's "masochism"

Mukuro doesn't behave the way she does because she has feelings for Junko, she does so because she believes that's how Junko wants her to behave. Danganronpa Zero and IF makes it clear that Mukuro was wrong about how Junko wanted her to behave.

“'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged. 'Only I’m able to understand her… That’s why she needs me. She still hasn’t realized it, but… maybe she’s only pretending not to. Ufu… It’s because she’s so shy. Ufufufu…'” -Mukuro explaining that Junko needs her in Danganronpa Zero

"Ikusaba knew that not even she herself was her own ally. After all, despite the fact that Junko had betrayed her and very nearly killed her, Ikusaba still believed that she was the only one who could understand her little sister. And that was why she felt that she had to protect her. That's right… you were just being you, Junko. You just wanted despair, right? It's because you love me. You wanted to kill me and fall into despair. That must have been it" -Mukuro in denial in Danganronpa IF

"Ikusaba believed that she alone could understand the despair known as Junko Enoshima. It was a ludicrous notion. The moment Junko said, 'I love you', Ikusaba realized--to her agony--that she never truly understood her sister. Only now had she come to realize Junko's feelings." -Mukuro realizing that she didn't understand Junko in Danganronpa IF

Because of Mukuro's incorrect interpretation of understanding Junko, Mukuro believes that Junko expects her to respond to her abuse with acceptance and masochism. Even if she was uncomfortable to, as long as it made Junko happy, that's what mattered. Of course, we learn that Junko wanted Mukuro to respond her abuse with retaliation, and as soon as Mukuro realizes that her behavior immediately shifts. Mukuro holds a great deal of admiration for Junko, so much so that she only wants to do what would please Junko the most.

She does not have romantic feelings for her sister and to say so misses the point entirely. She isn't behaving that way because she's a masochist, she behaves that way because she believes it's how she's expected to, even if she's visibly uncomfortable. Once she learns this isn't what's expected, she immediately changes course.

Danganronpa 3 also has official relationship charts that depict the relationship between characters. In this chart, crushes or explicitly shown romantic feelings are labeled with a heart (as seen with Kazuichi's attraction to Sonia or Toko's attraction to Byakuya). Mukuro's relationship does NOT feature this heart. You would think that if Mukuro's very obvious admiration towards Junko was romantic it would have a heart, but it doesn't because it isn't. If what I said before didn't convince you, I think this itself is proof enough.

Mukuro's admiration doesn't extend to just Junko though. Due to her unfortunate upbringing, Mukuro has a tendency to get attached to anyone who shows her the affection she's desperate for. So much so that her behavior changes completely around the people she cares about.

"The mass of monochrome spun round and round, making it look as though they were projecting a hypnotic image from three directions, but Ikusaba remained expressionless. In fact, the bizarre sight unfolding before her compelled the Super High School Level Soldier to regain her focus. She was an entirely different person from the girl who had panicked at Naegi's injury in the gymnasium." -Mukuro while fighting in Danganronpa IF, behaving completely differently from when she panicked over Makoto's injury

"Not only that, if anyone who knew her as the Super High School Level Soldier and mercenary were to see her now, the difference in her attitude might even make her look like another person altogether. And Monobear continued to drive the girl into a corner." -Mukuro panicking over Makoto's injury in Danganronpa IF

"The mask of ice she wore around others was entirely unlike the face she showed her sister, making it almost seem as though she had multiple personalities." -Danganronpa IF explaining that Mukuro's behavior around Junko is different from her typical icey expression

This is why around most people, Mukuro has a pretty blank expression. However when she's around Makoto or Junko, the two people who she cares about, she displays a much more soft and emotional side.

That being said, an often overlooked aspect of Mukuro is that she actually has a slight ego and is proud of her skill. This is especially obvious in her fight with Peko in Danganronpa 3. Of course, if I spent years in the military without getting a single scratch, I'd probably have an ego too.

Mukuro is also capable of turning off her feelings and going into a "killing machine mode" whenever the situation demands it, mostly when she's carrying out some mission. It's not because she doesn't feel bad for what she's doing or isn't having any second thoughts, it's that she pushes any doubts to the side to focus on getting the job done.

"In battlefields, where she made her home, her main mission was to kill and survive. And in that setting Ikusaba was invincible. She could put her own emotions on a leash in order to become a killing machine." -Danganronpa IF explaining how Mukuro is capable of ignoring her own feelings

"With a single whisper that was drowned out by the sound of gunfire, Ikusaba went completely silent. Thanks to her status as a member of Super High School Level Despair, her heart was filling with joy. And as if to offset the sudden surge of emotions, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared." -Mukuro turning her emotions off while fighting in Danganronpa IF

So Basically...

Due to her upbringing Mukuro is someone who gets attached to people easily, particularly those who give her attention. Junko took advantage of this to make Mukuro essentially act as her servant. Believing that Junko expected her to return the abuse she faced with enjoyment, she forced herself to do just that. Even if it made her uncomfortable, making her sister happy at her own expense is better than being alone. She's capable of turning off and ignoring her emotions to following orders when necessary and is generally a proud and skilled soldier, though she has a softer side that she only shows to people who she cares for.

That is who Mukuro Ikusaba is.

Conclusion

There's a lot of reasons I really like Mukuro. I think she's silly and cute and I like her singing voice. But I also think her characterization is really good in all of her appearances. I think a lot of the critiques made towards her (especially towards her appearance in Danganronpa 3) are misguided or just a result of her being misunderstood.

She's not a plot device or a character exclusively there to act as an extension of Junko. She's filled to the brim with character depth and interesting writing and has plenty of characterization on her own. I'll admit that her presence in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a bit limited, however she doesn't just become an important character in four other entries without getting some kind of development.

Many think her characterization is inconsistent or different across entries, but I honestly think it couldn't be any MORE consistent. The only times where I'd say she acts out of character is in the comic anthologies, but those are non-canon media that's kinda known for flanderizing characters for the sake of comedy.

Basically, I like Mukuro. I hope I managed to change some minds or shed a new light on her to anyone who didn't before. And if you already liked her, I hope maybe I could make you appreciate her a bit more or just help you explain her in some way.

anyways follow me on twitter cough cough

Also special thanks to Twitter user @LKSixtyfour for their tweets about Mukuro's characterization, many helped me organize my thoughts to form the thread that you just read.

Edit: didn't make any changes to the post, just fixed some typos

[blackbird-brewster]

✨Celebrating #MultiamoryMarch with Fooled Around (and Fell in Love)✨

Thank you to @polyamships for all you do to promote polyam in fanworks. As part of #MultiamoryMarch I wanted to hype my ongoing Criminal Minds fanfic series. Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) is a queer rom-com AU exploring queer identities and relationships.

This series focuses largely on the relationships between Tara Lewis, Emily Prentiss, and Jennifer Jareau, but it also delves into all types of relationships (platonic, romantic, and polyam) between the ensemble of other Criminal Minds characters.

Primed For Your Love: Prelude

Rated: Teen || WC: 15,800 Ships: Jennifer Jareau/Will LaMontagne, Tara Lewis/Doug Fuller, Emily Prentiss/Linda Barnes

Set before Part 1 of the series, 'Primed for Your Love' focuses on the defining moments in Will, JJ, Tara, and Emily's lives that led them to where they are at the start of Part 1.

Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 1

Rated: Mature || WC: 80,800 Ships: Jennifer Jareau /Will LaMontange, Jennifer Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Tara Lewis/Emily Prentiss

Jennifer Jareau had the perfect life. She worked in an elite sector of the FBI known as the behavioural analysis unit. She had just married the love of her life, Will LaMontagne. She had everything she could have ever dreamed of—

Or so she thought. JJ’s personal trainer, Emily Prentiss, managed to upturn everything JJ had thought she wanted.

So what will JJ do about it?

Ready For Your Love: First Interlude

Rated: Teen || WC: 25,000 Ships: Derek Morgan/Luke Alvez, Luke Alvez/Spencer Reid

Set between Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) Part 1 and Part 2, the first interlude of the series features all of your favourite Fooled Around characters from a new point of view. Largely focusing on Spencer, Luke, Derek and Penelope, 'Ready for Your Love' tells the story of how Derek came to realise two very important facts:

1. He has a massive crush on Luke. 2. Perhaps, he isn't as straight as he originally thought.

Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 2

Rated: Explicit || WC: 88,000 Ships: Emily Prentiss/Tara Lewis, Jennifer Jareau/Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau/Tara Lewis, OT3: Je T'Emily (JJ/Emily/Tara)

It's been nine months since Emily Prentiss began dating both Tara Lewis and Jennifer Jareau.

Tara and JJ work together and have always been friends, but now they also share a girlfriend. The three of them have become incredibly tight knit but JJ and Tara realise their friendship has been shifting towards something...more.

There are plenty of reasons why they shouldn't journey into this new territory but the heart wants what the heart wants.

[Untitled Second Interlude] COMING SOON!

The second interlude will bridge the gap between Part 2 and Part 3 and include backstories of Beck Wilson and Elle Greenaway.

Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) - Part 3

Rated: Explicit || WC: 219,000 Ships: OT3: Je T'Emily (Jennifer Jareau/Emily Prentiss/Tara Lewis), Tara Lewis/Rebecca Wilson

When JJ/Tara/Emily decide to buy a house together, Tara volunteers to renovate it into their perfect dream home. In order to follow through on her promise, Tara enlists the help of a general contractor, Beck Wilson -- but Beck's construction skills aren't the only thing that garners Tara's attention.

JJ, Tara, and Emily, must find a way to navigate all of the changes in their lives while keeping their relationship afloat. Will unexpected feelings, secrets, and jealousy threaten the foundation of everything they've worked hard to build?

[EXTRAS]

A collection of add-ons for Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) including: art, playlists, author's commentary, screenplay mock-ups, character bios, and more

All art for Fooled Around (and Fell in Love) was done by the incredible @artcake

Tagging: @polyamships

[tokiro07]

Ichi the Witch ch.19 thoughts

[I'll Get You Next Time, Magik! Next time!!!]

(Topics: narrative analysis - arc progression/world-building, character analysis - World Hater/Ichi, speculation)

Aww, the ceiling battle's over already? Maaan...

It makes sense, though. You gotta save something for later, otherwise you can't escalate and everything is either stagnant at best or a deheightening at worst. Zoro vs. Mihawk didn't explain what Haki was, it just showed how vast the gap in power and skill was between the early-game Straw Hats and the One Piece world's strongest fighters

Looking at it through that lens, Desscaras vs. World Hater accomplished its goal quite well. Like I said last week, what took everything out of Ichi was a casual attack for Desscaras, World Hater still comes off as a viable threat because they were able to harm Desscaras despite her overwhelming power, and both still have room to impress and surprise us because we only got a small sample of their capabilities

It also establishes that brute force isn't enough to contend with World Hater. We already knew that since they're a Magik and can only be defeated through their trial, but at least now we know that their trial isn't related to hitting them in any one target spot. As they say, "merely being the strongest isn't nearly enough to effect me"

What this means is that, while being strong may turn out to be a prerequisite to pass, another element will be vital for defeating World Hater. I think it goes without saying that Ichi will be the key to determining what that element is, since his entire role in the narrative so far has been to defy conventional wisdom and tradition, but whether that means that only Ichi can acquire World Hater or will simply facilitate someone else doing so (personally I'd bet on Kumugi) remains to be seen

The odd thing about this, though, is that if Desscaras couldn't hope to beat World Hater, why did World Hater leave?

This Calls for a Tactical Retreat

Theoretically, World Hater's strength should be inexhaustible, while clearly Desscaras was starting to run out of steam. Sooner or later, no matter what Desscaras threw out at them, World Hater should have been able to overtake her and eliminate her as a threat

Perhaps it was because Togeice showed up? Togeice is more analytical than Desscaras, so perhaps World Hater assumed she might be capable of figuring out their trial?

That doesn't seem very likely, since I don't think World Hater has any way of knowing who Togeice even is. If they aren't familiar with her or her abilities, they shouldn't be able to assess her threat level so easily, and given how nonchalant they've been against their other opponents so far, it's not like they're a generally cautious fighter in the first place

In fact, it wasn't Togeice's appearance that prompted World Hater to retreat - it was the disappearance of their target, the villagers. It was only upon noticing the villages leaving the barrier that World Hater decided there wasn't a point to combat any longer, even if it would have meant, again, eliminating major threats

I have two guesses as to why that might be the case:

World Hater can only exist in the world for so long consecutively, and didn't have time to chase down his targets after they'd escaped his barrier

Facilitating the escape of World Hater's targets is related to their trial

The first is supported by the fact that World Hater isn't just constantly warping towns day after day, but instead only appears once in a blue moon to target one or two at once. However, as far as we can tell, it's been years since their last appearance, but we know they're going to come back much faster this time simply by virtue of the story requiring it to advance, so a consistent hard limit on their presence seems somewhat unlikely

The second would definitely explain why he'd be in such a hurry to go, as even if there were another step to take to actually pass the trial, it would certainly be much easier to do once the first hurdle was cleared. However, nothing about World Hater's demeanor seemed to indicate that they were actually worried about that possibility, but this might be a matter of World Hater's character acting and lack of strong emotions

Either way, the incongruence of World Hater's decision to leave seems to carry some interesting implications about them that I hope will bear fruit later, but that really isn't the main draw of this chapter

No, the much more important element of this chapter is the new piece of world-building: the Magic Circle, or a Witch's inner world

Domain Expansion Lite

When we enter Ichi's inner world, we learn two things:

That it resembles Ichi's ideal form of a mountain forest

That all of Ichi's acquired Magiks currently reside there

I'm ecstatic that Inazuri and Uruwashi are both still around and not just completely dormant in their magic stones, as this means that there is still a method for both of them to still function as characters without necessitating that every acquired Magik be everpresent and crowding the narrative. It allows Nishi to use them on an as-needed basis rather than needing Usazaki to have them constantly and uselessly taking up panel space

I am curious how Nishi is going to use this concept, though. Ichi only ended up in his Magic Circle because he was knocked out fighting World Hater, but this is his third time passing out from using Uroro, and yet he didn't end up here before? That's a little odd. I assume he'll be able to come and go as he pleases once he has a bit more training and familiarity with magic, but to what end?

Does time move differently in one's inner world like it does in Bleach? Will he be able to train with his Magiks in there? Will he be able to manifest his inner world like a Jujutsu Sorcerer? Or is it just a way to let Witches commune with their Magiks and reflect on their characterization?

That last one is certainly the case if nothing else, as Ichi's is, again, based on his ideal scenario. It's his world, and it's shaped accordingly - crisp, clean air that's easy to breathe, rich soil that supports bountiful flora, and presumably any creature that Ichi could dream of hunting. It's everything Ichi could ever want

But will that be the case for every Witch?

Is the inner world always one's personal paradise, or does it depend on the circumstances? Ichi certainly didn't always consider mountain life to be his ideal, so perhaps does the inner world reflect one's state of mind?

What would we see in Desscaras' Magic Circle? If it's based on one's self-image, we might see a lavish palace surrounded by adoring fans, the way Desscaras seems to think people view her

If it's based on one's mental state, we might see the warped remains of her old life, informed by her drive to take revenge on the World Hater

Or, if it really is based on one's ideal, we might see what once was. A mundane little house in a mundane little town, and a mundane little family living their mundane little life. Would this be the only way that Desscaras could see them again? The only way she could talk to them and hold them as she once did? Or would it just be a mirage, a video on playback that she can't interact with in any meaningful way, merely a cruel reminder of all she's lost?

Depending on how Nishi chooses to play it, this might even be how Witches get their titles. Monegold's may be lined with gold, Togeice's may be a glittering tundra, and Desscaras'...well, I think you can imagine

I also have to wonder if perhaps this will play some role in the fight against World Hater. Perhaps retreating into one's inner world is a way to evade them? Or they'll be able to enter other people's inner worlds with their portals? They were the same design as the one Uroro pushed Ichi into to send him back to the real world, so maybe World Hater spends their time in their own inner world?

I don't want to read into this too much since...we literally haven't seen anything of it yet, but it provides such an interesting narrative opportunity that I can't help but look forward to how it develops further

And it seems that the same can be said of Ichi

You Haven't Seen the Last of Me

Ichi accepts his loss with shocking grace, believing himself to be the hunted rather than the hunter in this case. I suppose the fact that he doesn't have any grand ambitions helps, as he doesn't have anything to regret, but the fact that he doesn't even seem frustrated is a very interesting angle for his character

Instead, he seems more determined than ever. I know that's pretty standard shonen fare, but the transition is just so...seamless. Like it never occurred to him to be even the slightest bit downtrodden about the loss, he just calmly analyzed it and moved on to thinking about his next steps

Knowing that he's lucky to have lived to fight another day, Ichi presses his hands to the screen that he's watching the World Hater through and vows to gain the strength to one day hunt them down. World Hater, sensing Ichi's bloodlust just as Ichi could sense theirs at the beginning of their battle, turns to his unconscious body...

And smiles

Fellas, is it still yaoi if one of you uses "they/them?"

A few chapters ago I suggested that World Hater may see something in Ichi that they've been looking for, the missing puzzle piece in their life that would make them whole. This doesn't necessarily confirm that, but the World Hater is clearly pleased that Ichi is coming away from his near-death with the resolve to come back better than ever. Possibly for the first time in his life, World Hater has something to look forward to, a way to spend his time other than going through the motions of his usual raison d'etre of mindless destruction

And by the looks of it, I'm not the only one who noticed that

Lamb to the Slaughter

As the World Hater vanishes through their portal, Uroro offers Ichi a warning: "you're gonna end up a sacrifice," and then refuses to elaborate further, passing the buck onto Desscaras

Now, I won't say for sure that this is related to World Hater smiling, but my guess is that everyone has reached the same conclusion: whatever World Hater's trial is, Ichi is their best bet at figuring it out

As Desscaras pointed out last week, World Hater took unique measures when dealing with Ichi, as if they were scared of him, and in comparison were surprisingly casual in how they dealt with Desscaras. This suggests that Ichi has something that Desscaras doesn't, something that makes the World Hater actually consider the possibility that he might be in danger of being acquired

And so, just as Ichi is going to be willing to learn more about being a Witch, Mantinel is certainly going to be willing to teach him, but for completely different reasons: whereas he wants to get stronger, they want to fatten him up and use him as bait for the World Hater

Or at least, that's the impression that Uroro is giving. His word certainly can't be taken at face value, as he's already tried to get Ichi to turn against Mantinel a number of times, but if Mantinel is going to dangle a carrot in front of Ichi that Uroro thinks is actually a stick, then pointing out the stick to Ichi is a win for Uroro whether it's really there or not

Personally I think it would be interesting if Mantinel has a double motive, both trying to bolster Ichi as one of their own and raise him up as a scapegoat to take out one of their biggest threats at the cost of his own life rather than any of theirs. Putting a little bit of political drama like that might be a fun way to up the complexity of the narrative and potentially create a schism within the Witches Association as a whole, but again, I may be getting ahead of myself

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[thestarwriter777]

Virgo North Node / Pisces South Node Analysis

My own observations, take what resonates.

18 y/o and over due to sensitive topic nature. Thank you.

Soul color: Orange

Your Destiny point: find the meaning of forgiveness and peace. Be your own authentic self and embrace the warrior within.

What you have to overcome: forgive, let go of the inner critic, know that you are not meant to live in someone’s shadow, you are not parts of other people. Learn to care and be compassionate. Overcome perfection issues. Be strategic and logical in approach. Let go of ideas and patterns that don’t serve your best self.

Note****this does happen quite often for this placement, may toggle energy in life from Virgo NN and Pisces NN until finding the healthy balance of both. This journey isn’t as linear as other placements.

Childhood: This placement was born being told how perfect they are. They may have special skills, be an athlete, or a genius, or just wildly beautiful in the classic sense of the word. But, it was really never enough because it didn’t stop everyone around you from fighting and putting their needs over yours. This placement’s agency was heavily dismissed as a child by either the family unit or something social and cultural. There was a lot of tension in the house growing up. Persecution & the martyr Pisces being a big theme in this placement. You may have went to defend someone only to feel the same rejection they felt and it scared you to be so emotionally vulnerable and so much in the other person’s shoes that empathy wasn’t a lesson you wanted to learn again. You internalized the drama around you believing you needed to be perfect in order to be seen. Maybe even going to great lengths to conceal the craziness at home. It may have been tough to navigate the emotional drama around you, staying away from anybody in a position to yell at you, fight with you, etc. but don’t be mistaken, you definitely knew who’s bad side not to be on. There’s a lot of Astro critique that this placement needs to stop being so judgmental and critical, however in childhood the experience with, habitual fighting, constant struggle (possibly even financially), & the emotional volatility of others around them may have brought out the overtly objective Virgo making this placement quite numb and indifferent to others (key note for adulthood.)

This placement relied on the observation of patterns in behavior as tools needed for survival in such a competitive environment (home, school, extra curricular etc.) & Probably had siblings who were just as unique and magnetic as them (possible big gap in age forcing one to mature faster in order to stand up for oneself.) Parent may have fed off of this and used your assets to triangulate drama with you.

(Triangulated drama hypothetical ex: Your sister told me your dress looked bad, let me see the photos, maybe this color isn’t for you. ((Instead of raising your confidence in anyway)) —Placement then goes to sister and asks why that was said and sister says no I mean I said it didn’t photograph well but it wasn’t bad.) This type of drama fed into your need for perfection and could very well still be continuing in adulthood.

(***may translate into navigating the social media world and the expectations of perfection for younger generations with this placement. Plastic surgery or body altering aspirations)

Lots of piercings??

Adulthood: This placement remembers everything. Patterns of behavior in people you recognize from childhood are draining and you don’t have the time for it, making you look critical and judgmental. To move into Virgo north node, forgiveness is essential. It’s really the only way to give up the Piscean martyrdom. You don’t have to die over every slighted offense or every situation that brought you emotional pain and vulnerability. This placement may feel that in forgiving those that hurt them, they lose the armor they buried themselves in. Let go of what doesn’t serve you, but give it to God and practice forgiveness. Virgo is here boldly saying, “let’s look at this practically instead of allowing ourselves to get so emotionally worked up.” Looking at things from a practical approach and using the Pisces intuition from childhood will help you to dodge dramatic events more effectively rather than allowing yourself to become so embroiled and so enthralled. Learn to let go and live more authentically. Channel the Piscean qualities of mental compartmentalization into Virgo’s methods of actively organizing one’s life towards a more healthy one.

For this placement, I like the reference to the Bible that friendship is the ultimate goal but if that can’t be established at least forgive as you were forgiven. Don’t let the heart grow cold. I know it was a dog fight to get here.

How to overcome: forgiveness, forgiveness. You are not expected to be perfect. Nobody is. && understanding that you are your own person and not a lesser version than your siblings or friends will help you find authenticity. Finding out who you are instead of who someone made you out to be will help you to build confidence. Avoid the replay of childhood and refrain from losing all of yourself in a romantic relationship. That can get exhausting because you need to focus on constantly building yourself with love and peace. Silence the inner critic in you that wants to remind you of every mistake. We learn from life’s lessons. Don’t compare yourself to others. They ain’t all that. You absolutely were truly born gifted and everyone around you knows it. So allow that to be the stepping stone into being more confident and don’t forget that. Couple the Pisces that is charming, loving, and a real beauty with the Virgo that is logical and calculating and success will be abundant. Brush off the drama and walk through fire like you are dancing in the rain!!

You were born with a special gift and you don’t have to have the anxiety of looking for it, it’s already perfectly there. Be present, meet oneself where they are. Virgo NN wants you to know you have a fiery light that is to be loved and nurtured by you. Warrior.

— Casper

Aries NN next

[somebodys-nightmare]

Understanding Cloud's Identity Crisis

I've originally posted this on Twitter, but this work-up is an analysis of Cloud's identity crisis, false persona, and his real psyche as we see in in FFVII/FFVIIR.

Throughout Final Fantasy VII, Cloud's true self is buried, trying to reach Tifa. Deep down, he knows that she is the key... Because Tifa is his one true love.

Up until the Lifestream scene in FFVII, Cloud’s true identity is hidden or ‘sleeping’ beneath a false persona. This false persona- the “EX-SOLDIER First Class” persona, is built on a combination of three things:

-his ideal self

-Jenova cells

-His true self/memories/experiences

𝙄𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛: Cloud’s ideal self is constructed primarily through his personal desires to be a 'cool hero' who can save Tifa. This construct is rooted in his childhood experiences & his feelings for her - being unable to save her on the mountain when they were children and being unable to break past his introversion & prejudice against her friend group to spend more time with her & express his true feelings.

This becomes his motivation to join SOLDIER & invite her to the water tower to share his intentions with her leading to his promise to save her one day if she ever needs him. With that in mind, Cloud’s ideal self is cool, tough, and strong - someone who made it into SOLDIER, possessing the characteristics of a man who can keep that promise to Tifa.

𝙅𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨: The Jenova cells Cloud has from the experimentation 5 years ago glue together & fill in the holes of his false persona via its mimetic abilities. Jenova alters Cloud’s memories to ‘prop’ up his ideal self & provide the gateway for Sephiroth’s manipulation of Cloud & to push him towards the Reunion.

These cells read Tifa’s memory for her image of Cloud upon their reunion, & finding her memories of him - the boy who made her a promise before he left for SOLDIER- reinforce Cloud’s ideal, the cool hero who can save her.

𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙡𝙛: Cloud’s true self makes up part of his false persona by filling in gaps in his memory & experiences so he can function & maintain the facade of his EX-SOLIDER persona. Cloud’s cold, aloof, & sometimes aggressive or confrontational behavior is informed by his real introverted, surly, indignant, & independent nature.

Cloud’s real memories & experiences as an infantryman & the second-hand experiences he heard from Zack, combined with abilities granted to him by the Jenova experimentation, allow him to demonstrate skills and knowledge consistent with that of a SOLDIER.

His true memories and experiences as a participant in the Nibelheim Incident allow him to weave a complete fabrication that suits his ideal self, especially in conjunction with Jenova’s ‘help’.

This elaborate persona acts as a coping mechanism to help Cloud navigate the world upon awakening from severe trauma & mako poisoning when Tifa finds him in Sector 7. But beneath this persona, Cloud’s true self is dormant & trying to break free, notably, to reach Tifa.

While the construction & maintenance of this false persona occur through a combination of dissociation & delusion, Cloud’s true identity sleeps beneath, trying to find a way out. Internally, Cloud knows there is something wrong with him - he isn’t sure what to do about it.

Cloud’s true self is attempting to rectify this with spontaneous attempts to surface. Most occur in connection with Tifa, showcasing not only her importance to him, but his belief that she is the key. subconsciously realizes he has to be there for Tifa for him to find himself.

Cloud is constantly fighting back the effects of his trauma & the manipulation of Sephiroth & the Reunion. He repeatedly tries to reconnect & reclaim his psyche via his interactions with Tifa - by protecting her, listening to her, comforting her - by keeping his 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚.

Cloud’s true persona even goes so far as to try to get him to connect the dots by urging him to ask Tifa why they never got a chance to spend time together 5 years ago - a conversation that unfortunately, in Junon, cannot happen yet.

Note: In Rebirth, this interaction is massively upgraded to Sephiroth's intense gaslighting of Cloud by trying to convince him that Tifa is Jenova, more dramatically driving a wedge between them throughout the game.

By the time the party reaches the Northern Crater, Cloud is completely unstable from the events leading up to the Reunion, & his true self is at risk of being completely shattered. Sephiroth’s gaslighting of Cloud & Tifa & his use of Tifa’s memories against them are the final straw, resulting in Cloud’s complete loss of himself. But it is because he loses Tifa’s faith & belief in who he truly is that Cloud breaks.

Cloud’s sense of self is restored in the Lifestream not simply because Tifa can help him reclaim his memories, but because Tifa affirms who Cloud is - his real self - & his feelings, the ones that made him feel inadequate & need to impress her in the first place. Tifa not only affirms that she noticed Cloud, but that 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚. These are Cloud’s true desires - because he has always been 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧.

The events in Mideel are critical to all of this. Although Cloud is unaware, Tifa selflessly devotes herself to his care. Such a display of unconditional love proves that Tifa returns Cloud’s deeply held inner feelings, even if he doesn’t know it. When Mideel is attacked, Cloud emerges briefly enough to warn her - once again keeping his promise to protect her, as he does again when they fall into the Lifestream and she calls out for his help.

This is the pattern of Cloud and Tifa's relationship throughout FFVII- a constant call-and-response of protection & care that culminates with mutual understanding in the Lifestream and mutual affection under the Highwind.

Cloud, at his very core, is driven by his love for Tifa. The multifaceted depths & complexities of his character are underpinned by this very human, empathetic notion of love, and it is one reason he is my favorite character in any form of media.

[dngrcpckwithmurdericing]

BTS Suga helps fund Korea's largest artist-backed autism center at Severance

Severance Hospital said on Monday it has partnered with BTS member Suga, whose real name is Min Yoon-gi, to establish a pioneering treatment and research center for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The “Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center,” named after the artist himself and funded by his 5 billion won ($3.6 million) donation, held its groundbreaking ceremony at the hospital on Monday.

The new facility will provide long-term, multidisciplinary care for individuals with ASD, offering integrated services such as language, psychological, and behavioral therapy.

It aims to fill a significant gap in Korea’s mental healthcare landscape by supporting not only clinical treatment but also research-driven, individualized care models over the course of a patient’s development.

Suga, known for his ongoing philanthropic activities and interest in mental health -- especially adolescent depression -- was inspired to initiate the project after meeting Professor Cheon Keun-ah, a leading authority in child psychiatry at Severance Hospital, in November of last year.

Through a series of follow-up discussions, the two agreed on the need for a dedicated, mid-to-long-term center that could provide sustained therapeutic support for ASD patients, beyond the short-term interventions currently available.

The donation marks the largest contribution ever made by an artist to the Yonsei University Health System, which oversees Severance Hospital.

Building on these discussions, Suga and Professor Cheon co-developed the MIND program -- a group-based therapeutic model that integrates music into social communication training for children with ASD.

The name MIND stands for Music, Interaction, Network, and Diversity, reflecting its core mission, which is to enhance sensory experience through music, foster social interaction, build relationships in group settings, and promote understanding of individual differences within a community.

From March to June this year, Suga personally participated in weekend sessions with ASD patients to test and refine the MIND program.

He played instruments, encouraged children to express themselves through rhythm and melody, and helped them develop interpersonal skills through group musical activities.

The pilot sessions produced notable results. Children who had previously shown limited verbal communication began expressing their thoughts and emotions through music and lyrics.

Some of the participants displayed musical talent by selecting and keeping rhythm on their chosen instruments. Notably, a patient, who previously showed minimal verbal and emotional expression, began responding to praise and interacted more openly with peers during ensemble play.

Professor Cheon emphasized the importance of these outcomes, noting that the program enables children with limited language ability to build meaningful social connections.

“Suga’s involvement went far beyond financial support,” Cheon said. “His sincerity, consistency, and intellectual engagement throughout these past months deeply moved all of us involved.”

Through music, the Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center aims not only to help children with ASD grow into independent and socially integrated individuals but also to challenge public stigma and reshape perceptions around autism, Cheon added.

Following the center’s completion in September, Severance plans to scale up the MIND program and launch additional music-centered therapeutic projects for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Traditional services such as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and speech therapy will also be expanded. To ensure clinical rigor and sustainability, the hospital will conduct trials to validate the program’s efficacy, publish academic papers, and train specialists across disciplines.

“Over the past seven months of volunteering and preparing this program with Professor Cheon, I’ve come to realize just how powerful music can be as a bridge between people and emotions,” Suga said. “Being part of these children’s journey has been both humbling and fulfilling, and I will continue to support their integration into society with everything I can.”

Source: Lee Han-soo for Korea Biomedical Review

Published 2025.06.23 09:34

[philomelas-tongue-says]

okay but also this is where to come to complain about grad school so (under the cut it goes)

so I'm in this one seminar this quarter on thursday afternoons which I was so profoundly looking forward to -- it's about post- and de-colonial classical receptions, which is a combo of "something I don't know a ton about and would like to learn more regarding" (post- and de-colonial thought and theory) and "something I feel very strongly about" (reception), so I was like okay, amazing, perfect, no notes.

except. except. in practice it has been such a profoundly frustrating experience on like every level.

it's a grad seminar but some upper-level undergrads are also enrolled, which is theoretically fine but like ... some of the undergrads are, I think, still kind of making the leap from undergrad-level thinking to graduate-level thinking, and so it sometimes feels like there's this -- gap, in terms of knowledge and analysis, between those populations, and it's not always clear to me what level the class is trying to cater to.

but the big thing currently bothering me is an issue that arose yesterday that a major part of our work for the course is a pair-work discussion-lead activity where we, in pairs, are responsible for leading theoretically an entire class (which is, to be clear, a three-hour seminar) about the text we're assigned for the week. but in practice, it's been actually more structured like "some weeks we do an activity or prof gives a mini-lecture, and then we do a discussion; some weeks, it's an entire three hours of discussion" and typically we have absolutely no warning in advance of the actual class. my week I and my partner went for the full three hours, but next week's duo is only being expected to do an hour and 15 minutes, so that we have time for a workshop on our final project for the class. and if this were like a "undergrad vs. grad student expectations" thing I would totally get it and it would not be an area of complaint, but it's not. there's no regularity to who gets asked to do the whole class and who gets asked to do less. and also most weeks we have zero warning in advance if something else is happening, which makes it extremely difficult to plan out an appropriate amount of material for the class! and it feels wildly uneven to me that another pair's 1.25 hours of discussion is going to be evaluated with the same weight as my pair's 2.75 hours of it, frankly!

and added to this that we received absolutely no real guidelines about how to structure or run these discussions, things we had to hit upon, etc. or even really any guidance on How To Run A Three-Hour Discussion (which is a fundamentally different skill than "running a 50-minute discussion" which is the standard TAship section, and even then, not all of us have yet taught, and some of us are undergrads still) and so it's just like - I don't know what the expectations are, I don't know how to appropriately meet them, and when I got my grade back for my week (a 95, so like, nothing to complain about but it’s the principle of the thing) it was not accompanied by any actual feedback about what went well or badly, or what we could have done to improve, so it sort of feels like -- well, obviously we get to evaluate and analyze the text, but what is the point of doing this whole discussion lead thing. what skills am I supposed to be learning from it.

and I really do like this professor as like. a person. she's lovely. but her teaching style and I perhaps just do not mesh and it's making a class I was super excited for into something that I actively dread every week and regularly depart from feeling actively bad about myself. and like okay yeah only three more weeks of it whatever but. I was hopeful! I was optimistic! augh

[whentherewerebicycles]

hm. for some reason i am having a huge wave of "not qualified for my job" feelings today and i want to unpack that a bit.

let's see if we can untangle the threads of what i am feeling.

i still feel... so insecure... about not being a STEM person. i feel like the juniors and seniors i work with regularly know so much more than i do about their fields and have a much more complex understanding of the scientific research process. fortunately they are working with mentors who can provide the technical expertise i lack. but then i think i start feeling some uncertainty/insecurity about what i have to offer them. i often don't understand enough about what they are doing with their mentors to be able to see where the gaps are. and i worry that what i can provide is so basic that they experience it as a big waste of their time.

i think i am just feeling some general Humanities Person insecurity too... just that old feeling that my field is less "real" or rigorous than other fields. like what did i even do in grad school you know. just spent six years reading a ton of literature, critical theory, and history, and writing papers on subjects that do not ultimately like, move the needle on human progress or whatever. i also am not entirely sure that i feel like i was "well-trained" as a graduate student... like i think we had pretty sub-par mentoring a lot of the time and i would not say that many of our faculty were amazing teachers, and so idk, i'm just grappling with these feelings of like, what is rigor, and is my field rigorous, and even within that field was my training rigorous, and has all of that time and effort really equipped me with what i need to train others.

and like idk. to the above question: yes and no? if i step back from the question and just answer from my emotions, my gut feeling right now is no, i'm not sufficiently equipped to instruct others in the conduct of research. but i think that is because of the swirling insecurity feelings and the working with STEM students stuff. because if i step back in, and actually drill down into the speciifc skills that i was trained to use in my field, of course i am equipped to do those things. i can recognize what a good, focused research question with lots of potential threads to explore looks like. i can train a student to read academic articles in my field and do thorough literature reviews. i can prepare them to work with archival materials and construct informed interpretations based on fragmentary records. and i can obviously provide a LOT of support in articulating themselves in writing and supporting their claims with evidence. it's just that sometimes those things feel like, not "real" research because every field involves asking questions and reading articles, but my field does not additionally engage in experimental design or intensive data collection and analysis in the way that STEM fields do. and maybe that is the crux of the issue honestly... i feel like since i don't work with data, my work isn't real, and therefore i can't claim expertise. again i think that is the most ungenerous reading of my field and probably not what i actually believe! but a lot of my insecurities are rooted in that feeling so i do have to reckon with it.

part of me is like ok i wonder if i need to get back into research myself so that i feel more connected to my field and more able to do this type of work. and perhaps i could also seek training in the areas of research i would like to learn more about - like, i think i would really benefit from having more training in qualitative social science research methods. i think that re-immersing myself in the work (and maybe even working directly with students on projects) would really help me feel more like i was a practitioner instead of just an administrator, and that would likely go a long way towards assuaging some of these insecurities.

but then: i have to reckon with the fact that i am an administrator, and that i was hired to be an administrator and not a practitioner. that said my direct counterpart at a nearby university is still active in research but now studies the work we actually do - like, her background is in STEM but she now studies student success / experiential learning stuff. so maybe that's a model for me of how i could pivot... drawing on my humanities background but also developing new skills and learning new methodologies. but that's a bit scary to think about doing without a mentor - like how do i know if i'm doing it right? do i have to take classes? what would 'credential' me as knowledgeable enough to conduct this kind of research? but maybe this is a place where i could partner with faculty here once i know them better... idk. i need to think about this more.

ok. so if longer-term goals might be to explore ways that i could get closer to/more engaged in the research process itself, maybe in the short term it's also possible to think about why i was hired to do this job and what i can bring to the table if it's not STEM expertise. i think direct student support/coaching experience was a big piece of it, and since my work is supposed to focus on engaging first and second years early, it probably actually doesn't matter that the juniors and seniors are so much more advanced... like they don't need me as much and a lot of them already have highly involved mentors. (also i should remember not to overestimate them or generalize... just because i am meeting a handful of highly engaged students who have exceptional support from their mentors does not mean that every junior and senior at this institution is positioned in the same way.) i think i can think about how to focus my work on engaging the students who are not as well-connected, whether that's first and second years or transfer students who don't know anyone yet. i also think that i was hired for the background in community-engaged projects, and that is a part of the role that i set aside for a good long time because R was so hell-bent on dismantling the former director's work in that sphere, and anything i did to try to advocate for that work was interpreted as more evidence that i was on the former director's "side" and was deliberately "undermining R's leadership." but now R is gone (hallefuckinlujah) and i think this would be a great time to revisit that body of work and think about the role i could play there in sustaining and building community partnerships. finally i also think that you can have a good organizational and administrative mind even if you don't have subject matter expertise. like for example if we are focusing on curricular integration and we want to train faculty in how to embed research projects in their courses, i don't have to know that much about mechanical engineering to be able to curate a range of ME projects and resources for other people. i can do a lot of the legwork that brings people together, or connects people with new ideas and resources, or helps surface ideas/models for the people who are subject matter experts to discuss. i think the tl;dr version of this entire post is that i just need to get out of the headspace that i have to know everything in order to contribute, and instead i need to think about what i can bring to the table (and then what i might want to do or learn to help me do those things even more effectively).

[smithlee1221]

Skills Gap Assessment | Skills Gap Analysis

Through skills gap assessments, organisations can identify specific skill gaps within their workforce. By focusing on improving these areas, businesses can optimise performance and growth. A procurement consulting Brisbane service helps organisations in assessing and refining their procurement strategies. Skills Gap Analysis aids in aligning team capabilities with business objectives.

[finalbossanalysis]

WARNING: Spoilers for the Final Boss of Another Crab's Treasure. Go play it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Boss Analysis #4 Firth, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl Another Crab's Treasure

"That's the cool part about being a GOD, I don't need you to let me do anything! It's just gonna happen!"

What seems like the weirdest decision for a final boss from a story standpoint actually fits perfectly within the games themes. Let’s dissect what makes Firth such a great final boss.

Firth is an asshole (Foreshadowing, also)

Among the sea critters Kril meets on his journey to get his shell back, Firth might be the worst and most despicable type of person: A cryptobro.

It's not surprising if you picked up on the themes of Another Crab's Treasure, being mostly a critique of capitalism and those who perpetuate it. Being an aspiring adventure crabitalist, Firth is seen multiple times throughout your journey, and by god is he never stopping that grindset. Every time you see him, he gets progressively shinier and cooler shells, which foreshadows something very important later.

Let’s kill god (Then do it again)

Shortly after telling Kril to KILL HIMSELF (Yes, he says this)

Kril fights basically a metaphor for the oceans pain and pollution. Somehow, he wins.

So we killed God, basically. That was the final boss. The macguffin, The Perfect Whorl, is afoot, which will turn whoever wears it into basically a god, which Kril will use to solve all of the oceans problems. Freaking sweet.

However, while Kril is distracted by his dying friend (Anti Grindset Behavior) Firth, ever the entrepreneur, takes this opportunity to yoink it for himself, unaware of it's power.

The Crab Who Stole The Whorl

Empowered by the Whorl, Firth basically becomes a God.

While he is now capable of fixing everything in the ocean, he instead plans to dump literally all the trash in the ocean directly onto the city in an attempt to revive and revitalize the economy there. Of course, this would just cause everyone to get polluted faster (And Kril needs the shell to save his friend (Anti Grindset Behavior)) so now we need to fight him.

Moveset

Firth's first phase is a mirror of Kril's fighting style and abilities he's gained throughout the game, since they're both hermit crabs. The difference being that he fights with a spoon, the inferior cutlery. It's a test of knowledge, not of your enemies abilities, but your own. He can hide in the Whorl and parry you as well.

His second phase has him pulling out all the stops, summoning tendrils and tornadoes while throwing projectiles at you. One thing I love about this phase is the sound the tendrils make as they swing, the reversed piano chord really puts into perspective the godliness aspect of him.

Soundtrack

His 1st phase theme, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl, is a fast paced mostly electronic theme. It's a stark contrast from the laid back vibe of the previous songs, while also sounding (And I cant find a better way to put this) Amateur in nature with its use of simplistic soundfonts, which show the gap in skill between Kril and Firth. (Kril actually working for his strength, while Firth just Stole The Whorl. (Took Another Crab's Treasure. (If you will.)))

His 2nd phase, Avatar Of Waste, showcases the finality and intensity of the battle. Long, drawn out notes backed by an intense drum section.

His Purpose and Symbolism

Firth symbolizes two things.

The literal embodiment of the phrase "Don't attribute malice to which is adequately explained by stupidity." While the economic boom seems well meaning, he's too self justified to consider the long term consequences of doing so. In general, he doesn't really seem to care about actually helping people, just that he's the one doing it.

2. Perpetuation of capitalism. Imagine If you could take out all the support structures, somehow demolish the ideology, and wipe it from the map. Kill god, if you would. Nonetheless as long as greedy people still exist in the world unopposed, the risk of capitalism being built again stands. Kril's fought all matter of embodiments of greed, so it makes sense that the final hurdle would be the embodiment of what builds it up and keeps it going.

Conclusion

Well, it wasn't Iwami but I'll get to him. (Sorry for lying.)

Mirror matches are pretty much the coolest trope in history, so the only way you could make that better is if its the final boss. He's also just got such an asshole personality that I can't help but like him. Helps that he's voiced by Micheal Reeves, the perfect voice actor for an asshole.

Another Crab's Treasure is just a great game. I was already a fan of Dark Souls, but the art direction just sucked me right into it. Leave a note if you'd like to see a specific boss covered in the future.

[rewritingcanon]

( hi is the person who sent you those next gen hcs. Sorry if this bothers you but I decided to make a part 2, hopefully better formated of more hcs or just expanding on the past ones. My interpretation of them!)

About the teddy lupin hc with his teeth- yes! He would most likely mess up his teeth worse then they already were so Andromeda had to get him braces despite his protests and begging. After being straped to the chair and wearing them for like 2 years his tooth gap was still there SO HE DID ALL THAT FOR NOTHING. (biggest L he's ever taken)

Lilly wears lots of colorful and wacky earrings just like aunt luna. They probably trade pairs or something.

James sirius is really into cinema especially horror. He loves being scared and most of the time he just laughs at the jumpscares. I also feel like he has written entire analysis in his head on the things he's fixated on but doesn't have the energy to write them down so he just rants about his favorite stuff to his family.

Victoire was the one making moves on teddy not the other way around. This made bills distaste for teddy even worse cause he wasn't even the one doing anything 🙄

Albus's room is filled with action figures, stuffed animals, posters ect of all the stuff he enjoys. Like people always talk about how much of a loser scorpius is but not so much albus. Trust me though he goes to bed reading fanfiction and was most definitely "the weird kid" at school. Probably grew up watching markiplier and jacksepticeye.

Teddy gives me those vibes where every time something happens teddy just goes "don't worry, I know a guy" and proceeds to fix the problem.

Victoire is really close to her maternal grandpa because everyone on the weasley family had lost stuff to the war including her parents so her grandfather was 1 of the only people in her family that didn't have any tragedy on her birthday so he was one of the few people who celebrated it without any sadness about the day. Then later teddy did as well.

Albus likes to draw and several pages of his sketch book is dedicated to just scorpius.

So when it comes to scorpius's appearance I kinda wrestled with it because on one hand there's no way he's not attractive because his mother is Astoria. Not even draco too just Astoria is enough to make that kid divine looking but if he was super pretty then there's no way he wouldn't be asked out even if it was just for shallow reasons. So in my head he is pretty but looks like a corpse. He has eye bags, beauty marks all over his body he's pale and skinny too so he doesn't look human. Albus of course thinks he looks like a sculpture but others think he looks uncanny.

Teddy loved being in the woods/forest cause he loved running around and getting all that energy out. Probably met a old man named Charles who taught him how to fish and scavenge or something. Nobody knew teddy was being fr when he talked about Charles because Charles was probably some urban legend. He was being real though.

(Anyway hope you don't mind me sending you these! if I wrote a fanfic I would include all this stuff but unfortunately I don't have the dedication or skill to do that)

aw ted babe noooo (little does he know a beautiful person without a tooth gap is like an angel without their wings so in truth he was saved).

i agree with all of these lmfao. i feel like luna makes lily earrings for her birthday every year like a tradition. i also heavily fw assertive victoire— i like to think teddy had always been the flirty, confident one in his other relationships and victoire had been shyer in her other relationships but the roles are just reversed when they actually get together. and james being a horror movie freak is soooo real to me, he laughs at all the western films and only genuinely gets kicks out of asian horror movies. victoire with her maternal grandpa is so cute man, its canon to me now. and i have ALWAYS said this about teddy but he is the definition of “i know a guy.” he could get you any job, get you out of any situation ever, “everybody’s got a cousin who can hook you up with something” type. and charles bro 💀💀 yeah you’re so right nobody believed teddy when he said he mastered muay thai until he whipped out martial moves, or when he learnt tagalog when rooming with this old lady in the phillipines until he started rapping a song in it 😭 the only person who would believe him immediately with no questions asked is andromeda. hes so freaky, now he could tell people he was the first one to set foot on mars and everyone will be obligated to believe him.

“not even draco too just astoria is enough to make that kid divine looking” this is the truest yeah 😭😭 ok ok you’re actually so right about this, scorpius would be attractive but unconventional-looking. i feel like his uncanny years is only in school though, no one saw the vision but albus and it paid off sooooo well in the end.

[xyzikxyz]

the wicker kid ages (and the implications around them) are making me insane. analysis time

because, like, pre timeskip, we know some of their ages. jocelyn had turned 17 recently, joel is 13, and jed is 10 (127)

some of the ages are a bit shakier, but with the power of context clues, we can come up with a range

jacob is described as "could hardly be counted as [a child]" (130) which puts him at a late teens-young adult range. 18-20 is where i put him. johannah is younger than jed, but still old enough that russell and al, both about 10, are peers to her. im thinkin about 8-9ish. joshua is the third oldest, after jacob and jocelyn (bonus story 147) and considering kellyanne had him driving her around, he was probably 15-17. jessica is a baby, and not a fresh one persay, so maybe in the 6 months-1 year range?

jemimah is only mentioned offhand in a bonus story, but we know she doesn't go the school with joel and jed. she is addressed at the same time as joel, and expected to have the same motor skills and hygiene standards (bonus story 126) which tells us functionally nothing.

14 years pass, now we're here.

we learn that jemimah is 10 years older than jessica, which puts her around 24-25, the same age as jed about. her not going to school with her brothers might either be a "girls learn different skills than math and english in ff" or a "girls dont go to school in ff period" both of which seem equally likely

BUT but but but. this solidifies that the largest gap of ages in living wicker children is somewhere in between 7 and 8 years. its possible that bob and kellyanne had more kids in those years that just didn't make it, but if not, and all or most of those dead kids are older than johannah, thats a huge time for people who Clearly Want A Lot Of Kids to not have any kids.

on to kellyanne.

post time skip, shes honestly kind of pathetic. its a far FAR cry from the political machinations we saw in seasons 1 and 2. and for the average person, 14 years would show a decline of sorts, but the contrast is STARK. its also potentially exacerbated by her being an empty nester when one of her kids isnt even an adult, especially because despite all her issues shes still very family oriented

if she had jacob in her very early 20s, which is the most likely because. i mean. the mormon-esque-ness, shed be in her late 30s-early 40s when jessica was born. generally not the ideal age to have a baby. johannah being born when kellyanne was in her early-mid 30s would've been the perfect time to say "okay, thats the last kid. 7 total, and im getting into advanced maternal age territory"

maybe johannah was supposed to be the last kid. at least to kellyanne. she certainly wants no role in raising jessica, as seen by her leaving the baby in jocelyns care Literally All The Time. the only time we see her holding jessica is in season 1, which is at least half a year before we see jessica again in season 3, which with my estimated ages could mean jessica was born recently, and would need that closeness with her mom to live.

we dont know what the final straw was before kellyanne killed bob. we dont know exactly when she killed him. but i think i get the idea of what mightve went down and when

[utilitycaster]

…so I decided to check out Polygon’s D20 coverage, and frankly I think you were entirely too kind to them. Good. GOD, some of that stuff read like they’ve never watched AP that *wasn’t* CR, D20 or the first season of TAZ. And have somehow made it thru the 2010s without encountering urban fantasy…

Anyway, to further nudge you towards your destiny of AP journalism (and with the understanding that you have a Real Job and a life outside TTRPGs and the internet); can you please expand on what you think D20 brings to the table?(pun unintended, but I stand by it) Because speaking as someone who has watched a handful of eps and enjoys the concepts, the praise PG were offering was damningly faint.

Hi! Thank you, and for what it's worth I don't think most of them have listened to the first season of TAZ either, given the way they talk about WBN as inventing the actual play longform podcast. I do want to note: I like writing longform stuff about actual play but I am adamantly not a journalist. I am not investigating or interviewing or reporting; I'm doing analysis and editorial. Amateur critic is the most I can claim to and that's a stretch (and even there I have a particular privilege in that I'm writing all this for free, anonymously, by choice, and don't need be be nice or maintain relationships with actual play performers within the space because I could burn every bridge and still make rent.)

Anyway. I think a major flaw of Polygon is that it's so focused on novelty and subversion that it forgets a well-worn concept, executed with skill, is actually great and for many people, preferable. Brennan, from everything I have heard him say and from how he actually runs games, has a deep respect for fantasy as a genre, and the stories he tells in D20 are ones he is clearly familiar with and loves. I also think to subvert things you must be a fan, and when D20 does successfully subvert or twist a genre, it's coming from a place of respect and understanding.

Anyway, just covering a few Intrepid Heroes seasons: I think Fantasy High (and I haven't gotten to the latest episode of Junior Year) is actually increasingly a brilliant deconstruction of D&D as a game by making the world aware that it's in a D&D game. What does it mean to be in a D&D party and be an adventurer and have that be a significant part of who you are? What does it mean to be a commoner in this world? What do you do when you're sort of a broke teen in generic suburbia but also you need the loot that an adventurer would theoretically get from dragon hoards? Why do you have to know what your life's calling will be when you're 14? One of my personal favorite things, as a lover of mechanics and TTRPGs as a system of storytelling and more generally as someone who believes that your medium of choice should be informing the story you tell, is when people engage with character roles and classes instead of treating them as just a set of cool things you can do, and Fantasy High very much pushes the players to do this. I also mentioned elsewhere that the downtime stress mechanics are a brilliant addition to one of the genuine gaps in D&D, namely, while downtime is a time for open RP, there's not a good way to handle things like stress or crafting or prioritizing well.

The Unsleeping City is one I like, honestly, just because I lived in New York for a few years and Brennan lived there far longer (as did much of the cast, though not all) and his love for it is apparent. I don't think it's groundbreaking; I just think it's really good. The characters are excellent and the story is fun. It's true that, for example, it allows you the satisfaction of making Amazon's and its attempted move into Long Island City the BBEG and smiting its ass instead of having to harangue your senators and councilpeople (as I did, and I wasn't even living in Queens) but really it's just a good story. It doesn't need to be more than that. It did not invent urban fantasy or the idea of a secret magical version of a real city or "most myths are real"; it's just a good story!

I think A Crown of Candy is also just a fun setting and, by making everyone food, emphasizes how petty and arbitrary the alliances in a Game of Thrones-esque milieu can be. It casts a scathing eye on religious interpretation as a tool for conquest without clumsily proclaiming the mere concept of religion is the problem. It has one of the best explorations of character death I've seen and Brennan's acting as Caramelinda remains a tour de force for him. Bringing the entire story of succession and war down to a final choice between two half-sisters remains a brilliant decision, the setting is supported by the mechanical limits Brennan imposed upon character creation, and it's overall beautifully done.

Even Neverafter, which I think have openly said didn't live up to its initial promise, had that promise with the fantastic handling of the TPK; I have a love for metanarrative and honestly my issue is that it was the wrong place to do metanarrative, but it was a bold choice to do in the unpredictable medium of actual play.

That's really only covering a fraction - I think some other standouts are Mentopolis, A Court of Fey and Flowers, Coffin Run, and Escape from the Bloodkeep, and while Shriek Week is just not a genre I'm personally super drawn to, I think the Mythic system is a great system for the story being told and Hicks does a great job running it.

Really what it comes down to is that D20 falls in between what a lot of shows are. It doesn't have the freedom but also the burden of a very long-running campaign (indeed, WBN exists because its performers, all of whom have featured in D20, wanted to be able to do longform actual play), nor is it quite as rushed as an all-miniseries or one-shot show. It has space to explore one or two things really well without having to carry a thousand different threads (and believe me, Brennan tries to put in as many as he can in that space - I actually wonder if the reason Fantasy High Junior Year feels a little more streamlined to me is that WBN was by that time in full swing). But it's not the first edited actual play, it mostly uses very widespread systems, the production values are high but not unheard of elsewhere (and I think that production values in AP beyond the basic 'can you hear and, if relevant, see things clearly and does the set look nice' are overrated though that's a personal preference), the cast is strong but not the first group of professionals or even comedians, and they didn't invent the concept of filming remotely or scrims or having an anticapitalist message.

My issue with the journalists, to reiterate that, is that they're not really doing much journalism, actually; and that their bias is horribly apparent. There's little analysis - just shallow reviews that show little understanding of actual play as a medium, fantasy as a genre, or TTRPGs as a system. And while being entirely free of bias is unavoidable - we are people, and we will bring our own interpretations and experiences in, and there are people who will love D20 and dislike Critical Role without doing so in bad faith - the fact that several of the journalists have openly crowed and preened about their special access to the D20 cast really makes it apparent that they like D20 because Dropout gives them early access and says nice things about them. And it's a feedback loop; Critical Role is going to keep saying "well, you constantly shit on us, so no, you don't get early access" and they'll keep writing bad reviews because they don't get early access.

But to return to the point, D20 is legitimately great and yeah the bias in my mind is only hurting them because, speaking only for myself, if there's two things I like and people heap fawning and inaccurate praise on one and nitpick the other? I'm going to start looking into that praise and find more flaws, and I'm going to start defending the nitpicked one. I really love Fantasy High Junior Year but the Polygon article is so bad I have to remind myself that it's just because the person who wrote it is an idiot. I probably would have gone into Kollok much more neutrally if people didn't act like it was the fucking invention of television. Do give D20 a try if you can! Don't read the articles.