#17 because we took time off for the strikes

[heleentje]

So there's a take that crops up every so often in the Breath of the Wild fandom, and it goes something like this:

Windblight Ganon is such a piece of cake! If Revali were as talented as he claimed to be, he wouldn't have been defeated by it, so clearly he's just an arrogant blowhard.

I disagree. Because while Windblight might have been relatively easy for the player to defeat, circumstances conspired against Revali in every possible way.

Strike 1: The Blight Ganons were tailor-made to defeat the Champions

While it's not stated outright, the Blights seem to be custom-made to put their respective opponents at the worst possible disadvantage. So while Link can avoid the whirlwinds on the ground, they would be very disruptive to Revali's Gale (something he's only been able to do consistently for a short while). Arrows, too, can easily get blown off course by the wind even when using a heavy bow (so can a Rito, who is presumably lighter than a Hylian).

If, on top of that, it was raining (implied by memories #16 and #17), then Revali's favoured bomb arrows would have been useless. Not a great recipe for a fight.

Strike 2: Rito don't see well in the dark

Botw is a game that doesn't tell you a lot upfront, but you can find a wealth of information in every little corner. Case in point, in Gerudo Town there's a Rito named Frita. And she has a very interesting tidbit to share if you talk to her at night.

[Image ID: A Rito named Frita in Gerudo Town says: "Us Rito... We haven't got the best night vision, to be honest."]

When the Calamity emerged, an unnatural darkness blanketed the land. A darkness that persists from its appearance all the way through Link and Zelda fleeing and their final stand at Fort Hateno, up until Zelda temporarily sealed the Calamity (memories #15, #16 and #17).

That’s without even mentioning the laser show Windblight Ganon puts on. Ever encountered a car with LED lights on a dark road? Now imagine how Revali felt.

Strike 3: Revali had to fly non-stop for hours to get to Medoh

After sinking some hours into playing botw, you probably get used to warping all across the map via the shrines. Going from Lurelin to Rito Village is a matter of seconds. And if the Sheikah had been able to unlock the Sheikah Slate fully in the past, that would have been a massive boon to the war effort.

Unfortunately, they didn't. Which means that, when Calamity Ganon emerged, all the Champions had to take the long road to their Divine Beasts.

Now what does that mean for Revali? We can hazard a pretty good guess, but we don't have to, because the art book tells us: Revali flew straight from Lanayru East Gate to Rito Village. It's hard to tell exactly how long that would have taken him, but I'm estimating that would be about 8-10 hours flying non-stop.

[Image ID: A map of Hyrule showing the presumed routes the Champions took to get to their Divine Beasts. Revali's is a straight line across Hyrule.]

Which means Revali (like the other Champions) was probably already exhausted by the time he got to Medoh.

Aaaaaand that's three strikes, he's out!

But if that's not enough for you yet, here's one more thing. Admittedly, this is less solidly canon than the previous parts, but it's conjecture that, in my opinion, is backed up by the Champions' Ballad DLC.

Strike 4: Revali lacked his best weapon and may have been injured

The artbook shows us another salient tidbit. Revali could have detoured if he wanted to, but he didn't: he flew in the straightest possible line across Hyrule Field.

Hyrule Field, better known as the center of the chaos at the time.

Can we really expect a Champion, especially a Champion who's so eager to prove himself, to not stop and at least try to help? And while trying to help, what might have happened to him?

When you fight the Blights in the illusory realm, you gain a set amount of equipment, implied to be what the Champions carried with them at the time. And with Revali, something's missing.

[Image ID: The bow inventory during the DLC fight against Windblight Ganon. It includes a Falcon Bow, Duplex Bow and Phrenic Bow.]

Where's the Great Eagle Bow?

Would Rito Champion Revali, greatest archer in known Rito history, really not be carrying his signature bow, when every other Champion carried their favoured weapon?

This, combined with his route straight across Hyrule Field, makes me suspect that he did engage the Guardians, lost his bow, and may even have gotten injured in the process.

So there you have it. Just about everything was against Revali in that fight. And while Link, and by extension the player, may have had an easy time of it, they went into it at full health and with all the advantages of the Sheikah Slate.

Meanwhile, Revali arrived at Vah Medoh after a frantic hours-long flight only to be thrown into a fight he didn't expect against an opponent tailor-made to counter his every move, while he was unable to see properly and lacked his best weapon. And he still managed to put up one hell of a fight.

[satureja13]

Vlad's Therapy Game - Part 4

Good news: Both, Bunny and Vlad survived the night! (And of course Diablo too :)

Vlad slept like the dead (that he actually is) even though he only had a quarter of an inch hay between him and the hard, cold soil. After he woke up, he felt like he'd been hit by a tractor - twice. He moaned and crawled up like an old man. Apparently Diablo woke him.

Diablo: 'Omg, get up already! Finish your job and let's leave this foul place! They devour me with their eyes!' Vlad, barely awake and full of aches: "Sure, pal. Let's get this over with. Keep your distance to the village until I finish work."

Diablo: 'You betcha.'

Vlad shuffled over to the sculptor's shop. From what he sees, he is a master of his craft and he has no idea why no one wanted to work for him. Well, he'll soon find out. Not that he cared much. This is just a game and he dealt with harder tasks. He'd even been to hell and back. So one day working here won't kill him. It's for Ji Ho and Saiwa - and his best friend Jack after all. There was music playing in the shop, so the sculptor is already there too, despite the early hour.

'Enjoy what'chas got, not what you have not 'tis a weak heart lamenting with sorrow When the days seem cursed, it could always be worse Fight depression with sword and arrow'

The Sculptor: "Good Morning! You're early, that's great. Take off your shirt and let's start right away. The queen is eagerly waiting for her statue!"

'When the zeppelinous clouds of trouble abound And thunder is clapping and lightning strikes ground Just when yer thinking this may be your last Throw a lash 'round the mast, hold fast!'

Eh - take off his shirt? He knows this voice. It belongs to the very person who always demands him to take off his shirt!

'When the world ain't right, and it smithes ye with strife Ye can now buckle down, it's a test they call life Very soon you will see what kind of animal you'd be Taking the bite outta life'

Leander! Vlad's nemesis! The very man who never fails to make him lose his composure! The red-haired devil who wanted to marry him. Yeah - he only cursed Vlad and dragged him down to his hell to protect him - but that does not mean he'll ever forgive him that he touched Ji Ho and almost drowned him! (Which actually wasn't Leander's fault either...)

'When they're testing the gallows, yer hung like a dog Or they're marching us out to a firing squad We just smile and recall all the good times we had It's the best 'til tomorrow It's the best day 'til tomorrow'

But of course NPC Leander did not recognize him. Because this is just a game. A stupid game! He'll have a word with Tiny Can when he's back, that's for sure... Leander: "Ah the gods sent you! You're beautiful - the Queen will be pleased! Sit over there."

'No considering surrender when yer down in the dregs If ye look down and notice you still have your legs So stand up and fight you just might seize the day It's the best day 'til tomorrow'

The Real McKenzies - Best Day until Tomorrow If you happen to like punk: this song is really good! I just found it by chance and it fits so well!

And so Vlad took off his shirt (and his pride) for Leander - again... He grit his teeth and tried not to freak out and kill this annoyingly oblivious NPC. And he reminded himself over and over again that this is just a game. And for whom he does this. Ji Ho. Jack. Saiwa. Just. A. Game.

(It seems like NPC Leander ist just as full of himself and annoying as real Leander and therefore the village folks avoids him ^^')

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🕹️ 'Therapy Game' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[sarcasm-and-stiles]

A Girl hits on my Boyfriend

Percy Jackson x reader

A/N all characters are aged up to around 16/17/18. It won't follow the series events and just takes place during a peaceful summer at camp.

Key: y/g/p/n your godly parent's name

___________________________

Y/N pov:

As I exited the the y/g/p/n cabin I saw my boyfriend Percy talking to a new camper who had just arrived last week. She was beautiful with striking red hair and freckles. Unsurprisingly, she was immediately claimed by her godly parent, Aphrodite. As I walked closer I could see that she had her hand resting on Percy's forearm. I trusted Percy, so I took my time walking up to them. Once I was only a few feet away I saw her remove her hand from his arm and bring it to his face to brush back a lock of his hair. I smirked when Percy pushed her hand away, but she didn't seem to get the hint because she moved in a little closer. By this time I was standing slightly behind him. I was about to speak when she beat me to it.

She started to twirl her hair around her finger as she said, "Percy you've been so sweet helping me adjust to camp and getting me settled in," she had now moved her hand to rest on his chest, "and I was thinking, maybe you could take me on a date. What do you say handsome?"

Percy carefully took her hand off of his chest and said, "I'm sorry but I have a girlfriend she's-"

She cut him off, "Not around. Come on it'll be fun."

At this point I decided to make myself know. I walked up to Percy, grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. When we broke away, I said, "Hey babe, I was just heading to dinner, you coming?" Percy stared at me mouth open a little with nothing but admiration in his eyes.

"Y-yeah y/n. Gods you're beautiful."

"Thanks Water-boy, you're not to hard on the eyes either." I then turned around to address the Aphrodite girl. "Oh sorry! I didn't see you there, I'm y/n, and you are?"

She stuttered a little before letting out a "Kayla." She looked me up and down quickly before letting out a brief and mumbled, "Bye Percy." I smirked and turned around to look at my boyfriend, who was smiling and looking back at me.

"Baby, we're you jealous?" He said with a sneaky grin on his face.

"Not at all Perce, I was just letting her know who you belong too."

He grinned at me before pulling me in for a deep kiss.

A/n: sorry the writings all wonky. I copied this from my Wattpad account

[tav-marcio-leles]

BG3 RAMBLES #1

Starts with Gale epilogue commentary and quickly divulges into how feral of a man he is below the cut

I absolutely love how Gale becomes a teacher like he's implied he's always dreamed of. But let me just go off about what happens if you choose to marry him but not to live in Waterdeep.

He's a smooth talker as always, but his word choice implies he's been having the time of his life, like a social dog set loose in a dog park/doggy daycare kind of time of his life.

I haven't seen all the dialogue options yet, but I love how excited he is to loot books during adventures. Imagine going dungeon crawling, getting a kick from finding ancient tomes to trashy novels. Actually, me too my dude. He mentions that he has collected enough literature to fill a dozen libraries? Hello?! The Tav 100% got him a Bag of Holding at some point, maybe even as a wedding gift.

I know every playthrough with Gale is different, but everything I've gathered about him amplified by my own gameplay just makes him the ultimate orange cat of a man. I swear this man gets zoomies, but its never obvious until you're standing there, eyes wide open and jaw dropped, because he did something completely feral that you did not forsee.

When he said, "I always wondered what it would feel like to be nervous", I initially thought, "Oh, Gale, beanie baby man. You have been nervous though??? Everyone has at some point?". But then I think about all the things he has said and done and just wonder... "Okay, maybe he was completely dead serious about that".

Like for example, immediately after he says he's nervous and asks for advice on what to say to Mystra, of course Marcio tells him to not give away anything. We need more information right? That and Marcio wants to cuss her out, but he knows that might get Gale in trouble, but he also doesn't want Gale to apologize to Mystra, and he doesn't want Gale to become a god, so yah know.

Not two seconds in after being terrified of this lady, he finds out about the crown's abilities and says the equivalent of, "ha ha, you're afraid of me >:)" to the goddess who is like 5 inches away from his face. EXCUSE ME? SIR? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? GALE?!?! GALE!!!

Or how about when Raphael wants to make that deal, giving Raphael the crown and all that. Me thinking, "Oh, I wonder what Gale is thinking. Giving the crown to Raphael would sentence Gale to death, so—" and then Gale immediately going into attack dog mode yelling over Marcio's shoulder that Raphael is a bitch who shouldn't be given anything.

Oh! And don't forget! Lorroakan insulting Gale as being Mystra's lapdog, only for Gale to smile and calmly brag he's about to kick Mystra's ass and maybe take her domain. Gale. Sweet, sweet Gale. What the fuck are you doing?

Thank you, Gale. I never need to wonder what your opinion is.

His AI also feral (for me at least):

He's constantly climbing on top of things.

He's the only one who has managed to fall off of something and take fall damage. No idea how though. He was off screen. I just heard a scream and then saw he took 4 damage.

When he's blinded, he immediately takes out his staff like he's about to hit someone with it. No, not to feel around so he can move safely. He holds it like a baseball bat and aggressively wobbles it around ready to strike. SIR! PLEASE!

He can't spot a trap to save his life and always walks into the bombs.

Can't pass any of his history checks with a 17 in intelligence, but his boyfriend with a 9 can.

I'm sure there is more, but I only got 3 hours of sleep and wrote this after an paper for ethics. I'm losing my mind.

[commander-yinello]

Rangerlock Wyll Build

Theorycrafted how I'd make Ranger/Warlock Wyll in game. The idea is that once he knows he will be released from the pact at some point (at the end of act 2), which allows him to get acquainted with the ranger class while still using his warlock powers.

TL;DR: Fighter 2, Beast Master Ranger 5, Pact of the Blade Warlock 5. Hits nice and hard.

Light spoilers for the epilogue and my build under the cut.

We know from the epilogue from the Blade!Wyll ending that:

He became a ranger and has a wolf named Lily, which means he took the Beast Master subclass

He uses shortswords which means he is a Two Weapon Fighter

And he had to unlearn using his warlock powers, which means he kept using them till it was over.

With that in mind, the optimal build I think for Rangerlock Wyll is Beast Master Ranger 5, Fiend Pact of the Blade Warlock 5, Fighter 2. Here's how I would level him. (Note: Everything here is purely my opinion, you should definitely pick and rearrange whatever you like more.)

Level 1: Start with Fighter so you get access to heavy armor.

8 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 8 Int, 10 Wis, 17 Cha.

Take Two Weapon Fighting Style (or Dueling or Great Weapon Fighting if you prefer that more. Dueling allows Wyll to hold a shield) and whatever skills you fancy.

Level 2: Continue with Warlock.

Patron: The Fiend.

Cantrips: Eldritch Blast + Friends if you're the party leader, or Mage Hand if no one else has it.

Spells: Hellish Rebuke and Hex. Use Hex: Strength at the beginning of every fight. Use Eldritch Blast when you can't reach the enemy.

Level 3: Warlock 2.

Eldritch Invocations: Agonising Blast and Beguiling Influence if you're the party leader, or Devil's Sight.

Spell: Armor of Agathys.

Level 4: Warlock 3. Pact Boon: Pact of the Blade. From now on, always bind your weapon after every Long Rest (important!).

Spell: Darkness. From now on, use Darkness at the beginning of a fight, try to only cover enemies. (Darkness is stupidly powerful against enemies, and having Devil's Sight means you don't get blinded. You are now a force to be reckoned with. Give your allies anti-blind items and they can join you.)

Level 5: Warlock 4.

Cantrip: Blade Ward.

Spell: Misty Step or Hold Person.

Feat: War Caster so enemies don't smack you out of dropping darkness.

Level 6: Warlock 5.

Eldritch Invocation: Beast Speech or Repelling Blast if you like to knock things off ledges.

Spell: Counterspell (so good).

You now have Deepened Pact, which gives you an extra attack. Unlike other extra attacks from other classes, this stacks! (except on Honour Mode)

Level 7: Finally on to Ranger. (You can also get Fighter 2 here if you want, it's up to you.)

Get any proficiency you like.

Favored Enemy: Bounty Hunter.

Natural Explorer: Wasteland Wanderer Fire (other options are fine too).

Level 8: Ranger 2.

Fighting Style: Defence.

Spells: Ensnaring Strike and Longstrider.

Level 9: Ranger 3.

Subclass: Beast Master (Lily, finally!)

Spell: Enhance Leap or Cure Wounds.

Level 10: Ranger 4.

Feat: Dual Wielder or Ability Improvement (+2 Cha)

Level 12: Finally, Fighter 2.

Level 11: Ranger 5. We get an extra attack (which stacks with Deepend Pact which is soooo sexy) and Lily gets stronger.

Spell: Lesser Restoration.

All together, you should be a melee monster. You can hit 3 times in 1 turn, Darkness and high AC from heavy armor and your bonuses means enemies can't hit you but you can hit them quite well. Even without Darkness, Wyll and Lily can make mincemeat of monsters.

Other multiclasses you can try for Wyll are Paladinlock or Bardlock because of their matching stats, or Beast Master Ranger 11 Fighter 1 for a very strong wolf.

[liberty-or-death]

Yu Ziyuan - Character Analysis (Part 2)

I’ve discussed her name, and I’ll be moving on an analysis of her character. To fully understand Mdm Yu’s circumstance, you’d have to look at the historical context surrounding her. (We’ll be going back to the concept of Clans again ofc.)

The Yu Clan of Mount Mei.

Mdm Yu originated from the Yu Clan of Mount Mei (Meishan).   She’s well known for her martial arts, enough that she’s the only woman in the show with a 号 Hao, “The Purple Spider.”   Hence, we can safely assume that she has a rep in the Jianghu for her skills.  She also wields her own magic weapon that answers to who she chooses (Zidian), and her own sword. (The sheer act of carrying a sword was a sign of nobility) For the record, there aren’t many people who even have a magical weapon in MDZS.  And she was proficient with it too, as evident when she fought the Wens.  Her rank within the the clan was also high enough that she has two personal female body guards with her at all time.  Also she love to hunt at night so she could clearly take care of herself. 

This was a rather interesting observation as most cultivation clans are dominated by men in MDZS.  Granted, there are a few notable female characters but they mostly took a backseat when it came to cultivation levels as compared to the men.  In fact, the only other two female character who were famous for their cultivation was Baoshan and Cangse Sanren.  We can infer this as these two characters had cultivation levels that were so high they had titles. Sanren is a title given to prominent cultivators so we can guess that the two ladies were the GOAT of their time. (For the record, a Sanren is a respectable title used in real life and it does not refer to wanderer/rogue.)

Plus, we can surmise that this might have extended down to their common disciples as she has proficient female body guards.  So, it is likely that this clan gave women similar cultivation opportunities as men, even to those who weren’t highborn. 

(This clan was most likely based off Emei, a fictional  sect mostly dominated by women situated on Mount Emei. ) 

Just a reminder at this point, Clan 氏 were associated with military strength.  And a person’s cultivation levels were a sign of might and influence in most xianxia/wuxia shows.

Political Power

We are first introduced to her in Chapter 18 when Jiang Yanli’s arranged marriage was first mentioned.

“Jiang Yanli could have an arranged marriage with Jin Zhixuan was because her mother was from the Yu Clan of Meishan.  And the Yu Clan and Jin Zhixuan’s mother’s clan were allies. The two ladies grew up together were closed.”  - Translated by myself

This is not just any ordinary arranged marriage, this was a political power play to establish the Jin, Jiang Clan and Yu Clan as formal allies.  So she and Mdm Jin had a clear say in the future of their clan and were part of the decision making process  

in summary, Mdm Yu is a noble lady, who pulled her own weight during that period of time.

Arranged Marriages (Novel specific)

Before someone goes off in a rant about how arranged marriages are bad in this book, I’d just like to add a little pointer that political climate in MDZS was noted to be very unstable. 

In Chapter 17, the threat of the Wen Clan hung over everyone; they had the biggest man power, military might and land, and no one could match them.  They also clearly threw their weight around when they displaced the waterborne abyss into Caiyi City and expected others to clean up their mess.  This verse in the book summed it up

“If the Wen Clan did it, it wouldn’t help no matter how much you accuse or condemn it.  Firstly they would not admit it, and also, no compensation would be given.” - Translated by myself

It was also obvious that the Wen Clan would strike clans who showed signs of weakness and could get away it. (ie. Burning of Cloud Recesses or creating an aristocratic holding camp to keep nobility hostage (who were essentially successors to their Clan’s leadership) while the Wen Clan ‘educated them.’). So it would have been normal for the clans to establish alliances with each other.

Her Past - Why she would be resentful.

In a nutshell, JFM fell in love with Cangse Sanren, who then dumped him for his servant.  He was then pressured to marry Mdm Yu.  

From this alone, aside from obvious personality differences, it’s pretty obvious why she would be upset.  Firstly, Cangse Sanren was an orphan that was adopted by Baoshan Sanren.  She likely didn’t even even carry a family name at all.  And given Mdm Yu’s highborn status and prideful personality, word would have gotten around that she was likely JFM’s second pick, and it was likely a difficult pill to swallow.

Secondly, it’s also possible that the Yu Clan felt possibly slighted when JFM rejected them.  When the Yu Clan extended this proposal (hence, requesting for an alliance essentially), he rejected them, citing personality differences between and wanting to essentially marry for love.  And that might not have made sense in that era as his marriage might have been vital for the clan’s survival.  Cangse Sanren had nothing to give to the Jiang Clan so I personally felt wouldn’t be surprised if he stepped on a few toes. 

Related Meta

Yu Ziyuan Analysis - Her Name (Part 1)

The Differences between Clans and Sects | Sects and Clans with relation to Songlan and Xiao Xingchen

Jiang Fengmian - an ineffective leader

More MDZS meta

[ultraericthered]

Anime Update V3 17

From Me To You - Sawako and Kurumi continue their not at all firmly heterosexual friendship, where there's been purposeful attempts by Kurumi to dishearten Sawako and lead her away from Kazehaya that end up miscommunicated or misunderstood by Sawako as Sawako aspires to be as outgoing and friendly as Kurumi. Chizuru, however, is put off of Kurumi due to past experiences with her leading to her pimping out girls to Kazehaya in middle school. Sawako was also under the impression that "Kurumi" was her name. It's a nickname derived from her surname, Kurumizawa - her actual name is Ume, and Kurumi herself doesn't seem to like that for some reason. Kayli Mills in the English dub continues to perform the "snake in the grass" energy flawlessly, even though the voice she does will become a problem a bit later on. At the end Kurumi discards the subtlety regarding her feelings and tells Sawako she likes Kazehaya. Uh oh!

Hunter x Hunter - Ikalgo's cover has been blown and he's been trying to make good on his rescue mission while also surviving his lobster-like old colleague but realizing he's too much of a coward to strike efficiently or see any of this through. Pouf finally did away with the cocoon and revealed his true form while multiplying, and the way it looks is a bit Uncanny Valley to put it lightly. He cut his fight with Morel short in order to go to where Gon, Pitou and Komugi are.

SHUFFLE! - Woah. That was both the most viscerally uncomfortable I've felt watching something in a while, and not nearly as bad as I'd feared it was going to be. It's the one all about Kaede and giving us the backstory behind her and Rin living together. From the very start, Kaede's been the most vexing, boring "waifu" stereotype imaginable - the sweet, demure, faithful Good Girl who acts as the house wife for the male MC and whose exercising of agency is tied to her devotion to him rather than anything else she might want to do. But I couldn't bring myself to dislike her; I knew there was something up with her. And it's here that we finally get the shocking full context. Kaede lost her mother in the same accident that claimed both of Rin's parents when she and Rin were children, and as Rin took the fall to conceal the real reason for that trip, Kaede blamed Rin for her mother's death. And in response, Kaede bullied and abused Rin relentlessly and in horrific ways (I could not watch that boxcutter scene), even wishing death on him to his face! When she learned the truth, she was overwhelmed by regret for everything she put Rin through, so her current shtick is her perpetual atonement. Yet at the same time, she's developed very real loving feelings for the boy, feelings that have made her very...territorial. The episode plays out like a horror film as you're waiting for the big pin drop, the moment where all of Kaede's threads snap and she unleashes her yandere wrath. And oh, it comes. Right in front of Asa when Rin brings her back home with him after one of their dates. Carrie Savage's psychotic screaming as Kaede in this scene shook me to the core and it haunts me still!

On the other hand, I'd heard that this yandereification of Kaede had no basis in the original VN, so it was understandably infuriating to many fans in Japan. Because of this, I was expecting Kaede to do much worse, but physically striking and shoving Asa while screaming at her is all it amounted to. That shit is tame compared to most other yanderes in anime. Whatever it case, I think it worked for dramatic purposes and is probably one of the anime's most memorable bits.

The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II - The final episode obviously had to end things on an open note. Dr. Heartless and Faker were able to narrowly escape and are still at large. Adashino wishes to pursue Heartless as well since he's in fact her older half-brother. Reines and Olga-Marie meet and become girlfriends, which honestly feels like it was an inevitability. The holiday season begins in London as during a party, Waver privately laments to Gray about feeling inadequate as the current Lord El-Melloi, and decides he will not participate in the Fifth Grail War, and Gray finally gives him the present she bought from the department store several episodes back. Waver passes out and has a dream where he encounters Iskandar; even when it's just a dream (or is it?) and they're in different realms entirely, the bond between these two still manages to get me. It ends as Waver returns to start teaching his class again. Sorry Waver, you're no Korosensei.

KonoSuba - Kazuma's party dealt with those wild horses that were drawn out by Darkness' masochism, then later that night have to deal with undead that were drawn out by Aqua. Kazuma's conscience is actually getting to him when the party keeps getting showered with praise and rewards for cleaning the messes they caused, which is pretty rare for him. And then the story changes gears to being about a city where every asshole in town belongs to the Axess Church and are out to convert Kazuma and Darkness, which I guess is a famous part of the show especially given how it ends at a dark punchline.

K-On! - Ms. Yamanaka being a secret crazy punk rocker who was a member of the previous music club was a twist that caught me off guard, but her split personality behavior and antics are entertaining as hell, so I love that she gets to be the club's advisor now. Mio then writes a song that everyone except Ritsu seems to love and accept, but Mio is too shy to sing it herself, so Yui has to do it. Only it turns out that Yui sucks at singing and playing guitar simultaneously even when she's good at both separately. Yamanaka teaches her to do so, but at the cost of Yui's voice going hoarse, so Mio it'll be after all!

Eureka Seven - The final stretch is on as Gekkostate arrives at the Vodarac shrine near the Great Wall, with Renton and Eureka needing to infiltrate the shrine and meet with the Coaralian Maiden known as Sakuya, who was Eureka's predecessor. Through a strange lotus bud, Eureka finds a spirit library much like the one she found when she nearly merged with the Scub Coral and meets Sakuya, who's sort of a medium between Eureka and Anemone personality-wise. All while Norb also tells Renton the backstory behind he and Sakuya. When Eureka takes energy from Sakuya and comes back out the other side, she's finally rid of that stupid haircut! How did that work?

Air -AGAIN??? We're doing the "split personality based off on an unborn sister" thing that Shuffle! did here? Only this time Michiru is visibly manifested as a separate entity from Minagi, and Yukito can clearly see and hear her and has been interacting with her for quite some time now, so I think he should be more alarmed about the truth he's just now learned. And if this wasn't enough of a dark turn to watch, Misuzu randomly broke down emotionally because this tends to happen whenever she's made a new friend that she's spent a good amount of time with, as she fears she'll not be able to hold on to the friends she's made. Her "mom" has been her only constant.

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Stalemate

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

=========================

+ Jeremiah 17:7: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

=========================

VERSE OF THE DAY

========================

+ Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

=========================

SUBJECT: Stalemate

=========================

** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM NOT IN A STALEMATE

I AM TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY

I AM HEARING

I AM SEEING

********************************

THOUGHTS:

=======================

  We all feel guilty when we say something or do something wrong. When this happens, it's generally out of character or maybe in a heated discussion, but wherever the guilt comes from, we must understand what we have to forgive ourselves; we have to let go of what we did so that we can be free from it, as long as we are blaming ourselves over and overthinking the situation we will forever feel the guilt of what we have done.

   I can remember one time I said something ugly to someone , and immediately when I said it, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, you have to apologize, and I was so embarrassed about it. I was so uncomfortable about what I said that I couldn’t move past it. A few moments later, I went to that person and apologized. Did the guilt leave? No, I kept reliving and reliving everything.

Later that night, the Holy Spirit told me I must forgive myself. It took me a couple of hours before I could do that, but what we must understand is that guilt is felt when we have done something that we know isn’t right, and when we feel this, we must immediately go to the Holy Spirit and ask him to help us overcome this feeling of guilt. We can only achieve this by going to the Holy Spirit and allowing him to show us what we must do.

 Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

 When we conceal our transgressions or ignore what we did, we will not prosper, but when we confess our sins and ask God to lead us. We ask him to show us mercy for what we did. He will always show us the way, but we must go to him because we won't be shown mercy if we don’t ask God for forgiveness for whatever we have done.

  2 Samuel 24:17  When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”

    Look at what David did. He went to the lord and said I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong this is what we have to do when we sin: we must take accountability for what we said to someone, or if we sin, we must ask the lord for mercy, a lot of times some people after sinning or offending someone they will say oh well I'm not apologizing.

   Still, when we don’t apologize, we do not feel remorseful, we do not feel guilt, and we don’t take accountability, most of all. Have you confessed the sins you have done? Have you asked someone to forgive you that you offended? We have to understand that sometimes when we apologize with the right heart, the guilt will go away when we go to someone we hurt, and we apologize, we feel a weight off our shoulders because, as believers of Christ, we have to treat others the way we want to be treated.

  Nowadays , it's hard; a lot of people don’t treat us that way, and they don’t care what they do or say; they do whatever they like, and they don’t seek God; they seek the pleasures of the flesh, but as we look over our ways and we stop apologizing and confessing we become so numb so cold because we have allowed our flesh to speak then for the Holy Spirit to speak.

  We talked about this just yesterday, and we must listen to the Holy Spirit when he speaks to us and not ignore his voice. Do you remember the story of Cain and Abel? Cain was so angry that God didn’t accept his offering; he didn’t take what God had corrected him on and try to change no; he took his anger and pointed it the wrong way; sometimes we are wrong; we don’t see what we do, we don’t hear what the spirit is saying we immediately go into defense we have to start taking the corrections of God and changing what he’s trying to show us it could be an apology it could be something we did. Still, until we take accountability and forgive others and ourselves, we will be in this state of stalemate.

  Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities and remember their sins no more.”

  But when we confess our sins to God ANY SIN ,we don’t have to carry that burden. We don’t have to beat ourselves up. He doesn’t remember it now. People will sometimes remember what they did wrong, what they said, and how they used to be, but God is forgiving, loving, and kind. He has all these things that man isn’t. God will love and redirect you, but we must be ready to accept guidance.

  ***Today, we learned about guilt and how it affects us and how we have to be ready to forgive others and ourselves; a lot of times, we don’t like to look at what we do just at what others do because we feel that we did nothing wrong but every day we must learn from the moments we have and change by hearing the Holy Spirit and then taking accountability for our actions.

  We also talked about how accepting guidance from the Holy Spirit will help us improve on this road to Christ and that treating others how we want to be treated is the best and only way. Life sometimes isn’t fair, and what happens to us isn’t fair, but what we must know is that through it all, we have Jesus, and when we don’t hear him and we ignore him, we will be placed in a state of stalemate, and that’s when no progress can be made, and we can’t make progress without confessing and apologizing. If you think you’re in this stale state today, go to God and see what you have done so he can guide you. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

========================

PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, we come to you today asking for forgiveness; please show us how, we are sorry for what we have done, and please give us strength to go to anyone we have offended and ask for forgiveness. Lord, help us treat others how we want to be treated; lord, have your way with our lives. Be our shepherd and our guide. Lord, if we are dealing with guilt right now, show us how to fix it. Show us what you want from us, and we will follow , lord every day we thank you for mercy and grace; in Jesus' Name, Amen

========================

REFERENCES

========================

+ James 1:15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

 

+ Isaiah 3:10-11 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

 

+ Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

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FURTHER READINGS

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Proverbs 3

Zechariah 3

Jonah 2

Genesis 4

=========================

[beardedmrbean]

Following a viral video that captures an attack against a Muslim woman on a New York City subway earlier this month, a 33-year-old man has been arrested and charged with several hate crimes. 

Days after the clip made the rounds, showing a man who appears to strike a young woman and destroy her Palestinian flag, police arrested Greg Kutzin, a Manhattan-based finance director, on Nov. 20. The woman told NBC News that police in the subway station initially dismissed her claims and that it took the video going viral for an arrest to be made.

The 23-year-old, who is Yemeni American and Muslim, said she was on her way to a pro-Palestinian rally in Bryant Park on Nov. 17 when the man began to glare at her. He called her a “terrorist,” snatched and broke the flag she was carrying, and hit her in the chest, according to both her interview and a police statement. She said this led her to take out her phone and start recording. 

In the video, the man can be seen holding her flag and swiping at her as she yelled back and cried out for help. Fellow passengers can be heard gasping as he appears to lunge forward and she stumbles for a moment.

She continued to record as the two deboarded at Times Square-42nd Street, and she filmed him throwing her broken flag to the ground. In the police report, she alleged he threw it onto the subway tracks.

The young woman, who said she moved to the U.S. from Yemen when she was 15, asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

“I always felt safe, especially in New York City,” she said. “I was always aware of crazy people, but not that people were going to target me because of my beliefs.” 

Kutzin has been charged with six hate crimes including assault, robbery, grand larceny, petit larceny, criminal mischief and harassment, police said. He pleaded not guilty to all counts and was released on his own recognizance. 

His lawyer did not return a call from NBC News. 

When she first got off the train, the woman said she flagged down a police officer who dismissed her story, telling her the video didn’t prove anything. He questioned if she really wanted to make a police report and deal with the hassle, so she didn’t file one at the time. 

It was only after the video went viral that she was encouraged by viewers and friends to make an official report. A day after she visited the precinct and gave her statement to police, Kutzin was arrested, she said. 

“What if I didn’t have a video? What if it didn’t go viral? He would have never even got arrested,” she said. 

The New York Police Department did not respond to questions about the initial officer’s handling of the incident. 

Shared by civil rights organization Yemeni Alliance Committee, the clip of the incident has gained over 1 million views on X and TikTok. The woman who filmed her attack said it’s the first time she’s ever experienced Islamophobia with physical violence. Standing at 4 feet, 10 inches tall, she was scared when the man approached her, and she said when no one on the train stood up for her, she decided to take it into her own hands with the video.

“I don’t want to think that this is ever going to happen again, but if something ever do — because of what’s happening now with the increase in hate crimes — I’m always going to initially record,” she said. 

Kutzin’s employer, financial services franchise StoneX Group, put out a statement on social media saying it was aware of what happened, but it was not clear if the company was investigating the incident or had taken any action.

“We are aware of the social media discussions regarding a StoneX employee. This unfortunate incident occurred outside of work and has been turned over to the proper authorities,” the tweet said. 

StoneX did not respond to a request for comment. 

The young woman who was attacked said she’s deeply concerned by the rise in Islamophobia since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. More than anything, she wants full accountability for attackers and justice for other victims. 

“I have a lot of friends telling me, ‘Wow, you were brave,’” she said. “I thank God I was brave.”

[adakechi]

kinda interested in valor, any more info?

Anon, this is a marriage proposal I hope you know that. If anyone ever asks about my Star Wars OC we are getting married and I am on the floor in tears.

You opened this can of worms:

Major spoilers for Jedi: Survivor, obviously!

CW: Implied major character death, drug & alcohol abuse.

Vaalor Kestis was born in 5 BBY, to Cal Kestis and the Nightsister Merrin on Tanalorr. Originally, it was thought that humans and zabrak were incapable of crossbreeding*, or at the least extremely unlikely.

(*I know in Legends that zabrak/human hybrids exist, but I'm a silly little Canon writer.)

When Merrin had discovered that she was pregnant, there was a lot of conflict over whether or not it was a good idea to carry the child to term. The obvious fact that they were currently fighting a war, also paired with the unknown of having hybrid child were the major points of contention between the crew of the Mantis. They had been rebuilding Tanalorr as a safe haven for refugees for several years now, and while they were stable enough, Cal and Merrin didn't know if it was a good time for them or their future child.

Kata Akuna, who had become a somewhat surrgogate child/sibling to the couple had been helping out with the Path at just 7, reminded them lightly of her own childhood and circumstances, that if they wanted a child, hardships would come no matter what time they had them. Eventually, Merrin and Cal decided to keep their child.

Vaalor, named after the galactic basic word valor, meaning courage, and the Dathomiran word v'aayr,* meaning soft steps, was raised in the refuge community of Tanalorr, mostly spending her time with Kata and the other children. She was close to her parents, although they were frequently busy. When she was older, they began bringing her aboard the Mantis to see the galaxy. Even though the universe was still ravaged by war, she found great pleasure in exploring and learning new things about the planets around her.

(*this is just me making up Dathomiran words.)

Due to her lineage, Vaalor was incredibly force sensitive, along with inheriting her father's force psychometry. Because of the amplified concentration of midichlorians in her blood, it made encounters with these echoes incredibly intense and overwhelming, causing her frequent distress.

Both her mother and father showed interest in teaching her both Nightsister magicks and Jedi force training, but even with her strength in the force, Vaalor never took particularly well to either paths, to her parents mild concern.

When Vaalor was 5, the news broke that the Empirical superweapon, the Death Star, had been destroyed by the Rebel Alliance. The refugees of Tanalorr celebrated, and Vaalor spent the night in jovial festivity with her friends and family.

As the war progressed, she began to see less and less of her family, and put less time into her training. She followed her father's interest in tinkering and scavenging, often making makeshift droids and models. Although she knew her parents admired her intelligence, she sensed that they wanted her to utilize her abilities in the force more, but didn't wish to push her.

At 7, a tragedy strikes, causing Kata, now 18, to leave the crew of the Mantis and the Path, seemingly cutting off all communication. Kata's leaving, paired with the devastating loss in their family, Vaalor begins to question her own purpose in the war.

4 ABY, the Death Star II is destroyed, marking the beginning of the end of the Empire. For years, Vaalor sinks into a depression, unsure of what to do with her life. At 17, she decides to leaves her mother and the rest of the crew, opting to figure out her place in the universe, in a similar fashion to her father before her.

For about a decade, she finds odd jobs in spaceship engineering and mechanical planning. Eventually, she finds a more permanent job in a Corellian scrapyard and trading depot, still estranged from her mother, only keeping in touch rarely through Greez, so she knows that she's still alive. In this time, Vaalor becomes more dependent on alcohol and the occasional narcotic to both distract her from her own thoughts and the intense visions of the past she encounters.

Ashamed of abandoning her family and her fractured connection to the force, Vaalor spends her time working and keeping herself occupied, battling with thoughts to visit her mother, or find her surrogate-sister.

Her weapon of choice is a modified handheld type H railgun, with the standard battery replaced with one of her father's kyber crystals. The other is still in his other lightsaber, which her mother is in possession of. The minimal training from her parents allows her to conjure magick fireballs and force push and pull objects, but this is a great strain on her, and she prefers to fight without the use of the force.

Her closest friend is Gev Haruche, a human cargo pilot she meets on a supply run to Nevarro. She also meets an assasian by the name of Neon Noctura, a mysterious near-human who is hired to capture Vaalor by an unknown benefactor.

If you read all of this, I am kissing you right on the mouth.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

No One is Just

1 Walk around the streets of Jerusalem. Look around, and think about these things. Search the city squares. See if you can find anyone who does what is right and seeks the truth. Then I will forgive Jerusalem.

2 People say, "As the LORD lives…." Yet, they lie when they take this oath.

3 LORD, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don't feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.

4 I thought, "These are poor, foolish people. They don't know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands.

5 Let me go to important people and speak to them. They know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands." But they, too, had broken off their yokes and torn off their chains.

6 That is why a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the wilderness will destroy them. A leopard will lie in ambush outside their cities. All who leave the cities will be torn to pieces, because they rebel so often and they become more and more unfaithful.

7 "Why should I forgive you? Your children abandoned me. They took godless oaths. They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs. They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.

8 They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire. They neigh for their neighbors' wives.

9 I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.

10 "Go among Jerusalem's rows of grapevines and destroy them, but don't destroy all of them. Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD.

11 The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.

12 They lie about the LORD and say, "He doesn't exist! Nothing bad will happen to us. We won't experience war or famine.

13 The prophets are nothing but windbags. The LORD hasn't spoken through them, so let what they say happen to them."

14 This is what the LORD God of Armies says: Because you've talked like this, I'm going to put my words in your mouth like a fire. These people will be like wood. My words will burn them up.

15 Nation of Israel, I'm going to bring a nation from far away to attack you, declares the LORD. It is a nation that has lasted a long time. It is an ancient nation. You don't know the language of this nation. You can't understand what its people say.

16 Their arrow quivers are like open graves. They are all mighty warriors.

17 They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.

18 Yet, even in those days, declares the LORD, I won't destroy all of you. 19 They will ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?" Answer them, "You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn't yours."

20 "Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:

21 Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.

22 Don't you fear me?" asks the LORD. "Don't you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can't break through. Although they roar, they can't cross it.

23 But these people are stubborn and rebellious. They have turned aside and wandered away from me.

24 They don't say to themselves, 'We should fear the LORD our God. He sends rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain. He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.'

25 Your wickedness has turned these things away. Your sins have kept good things away from you.

26 "Wicked people are found among my people. They lie in ambush like bird catchers. They set traps and catch people.

27 Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit. That is why they become powerful and rich.

28 They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don't defend the rights of the poor.

29 I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.

30 "Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:

31 Prophets prophesy lies. Priests rule under the prophets' directions, and my people love this. But what will you do in the end?" — Jeremiah 5 | God's Word Translation (GWT) The Holy Bible, GOD’S WORD® Translation Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 11:7; Genesis 18:26; Exodus 32:25; Leviticus 26:16; Leviticus 26:23; Deuteronomy 21:18; Deuteronomy 28:48; Deuteronomy 32:15; 2 Chronicles 36:16; Job 8:2; Psalm 5:9; Psalm 10:9; Psalm 80:13; Isaiah 24:16; Isaiah 27:11; Isaiah 43:27; Isaiah 57:6; Isaiah 65:7; Jeremiah 2:7; Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 8:5; Jeremiah 9:2; Jeremiah 18:13; Jeremiah 30:11; Matthew 5:45; Matthew 13:13-14; Galatians 4:8; Titus 1:16; Revelation 11:5; Revelation 15:4

[adultswim2021]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! #13: “Forest” | December 17, 2007 - 12:15AM | S02E05

In this episode: Tim is out in the woods taking very bad photographs of nature. He has a disastrous run-in with chippy, resulting in a big burly mama Chippy (Eric in terrifying monster-man make-up) showing up and mauling Tim. It’s very dramatic and approximately cinematic, but it ends with Eric breaking character and smiling and striking a pose at the camera. It was probably a bit of footage that was not intended to be used. I feel like sometimes Tim & Eric went to that well maybe a little too often. The fourth-wall breaking “this doesn’t actually matter” thing happens pretty often on this show, and I can see how that would give certain people a bad first impression of the show who aren’t on their wavelength. I didn’t always love it, either.

The Married News Team are back! And Steve Brule is in tow! It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen the Married News; Brule showed up doing his own thing in a self-defense VHS tape earlier in the season. This bit is okay but not terribly strong; they are playing a mysterious video game (later in an interstitial we find out it’s “The Snuggler” video game) as a way to introduce Brule’s segment on video games. The joke here is Brule can’t think of the video game. Conceptually this is funny, but most of the sketch is Brule sitting in silence trying to remember the game.

You can’t help but feel a little robbed. Brule is a font of hilarious lines and turns of phrase, so it’s a shame to waste that. I do like little details in this sketch, like Wayne using a Game Gear as a controller for his video game. This almost seems like an intentional joke for how poorly video game hardware is accurately portrayed in television shows. There’s also the little take Wayne does the camera when Brule is mentioned, playing up the jealously he feels when he’s around. This dynamic would eventually take a really dark turn, but that’s a bit off from now. 

Back to Tim in the forest. He’s been left for dead by Mama Chippy, but he has no reason to fear, for the Snuggler is nearby. The Snuggler is played by Tairy Greene, who is played by Zach Galifianakis. He has a fox companion named Michael J. The joke is a reference to Micheal J. Fox, and for some reason this joke alluded me for years because I just thought the name “Michael J.” was funny, and don’t normally associate intentional cultural references with this show. There’s not a ton to this bit either, but it’s fun. Most of the humor comes from the incessant use of title cards and on-screen bugs for the fictional “The Snuggler” television program. His superpower is that he just snuggles people back to health. Sure enough, he immediately begins spooning the bloodied Tim, soothing him almost immediately. 

There’s an Uncle Muscles “classic” clip from 1993 starring Casey and his Brother. This is what I’ve talked about before; Casey is dead, so every time they do a new Casey and his Brother sketch they make sure to announce that it’s from the archives. Here they perform “Horse and Buggy Ride”. I like these bits fine. I may be repeating myself here, but I honestly think they perfected the formula with the “Right Way to Rock” promo, where Casey is at his least ill-seeming. They brought Weird Al in just to record an intro for this; unless they banked a few during the season one shooting session. I don’t remember how much Uncle Muscles shows up in this season. 

Video Match, A Dating Service is next. The joke here is mostly the absurd visual of the video subject appearing to have no nose. This is all through digital trickery. It’s funny enough! I wonder if the intent was to have this effect appear to be the result of a video tracking error sort of mad-fold-inning the image. For some reason it took me a couple viewings to realize that this is the same guy from the upcoming song “Petite Feet” even though he basically hits all the same bullet points. 

The true classic bit from this episode is “Petite Feet”. With the lyrics “petite feet, feminine step / sounds like a lady when he’s walking in the room”. It’s very catchy, and the characters Tim & Eric play are hilarious, a couple of lameoids who live for billiards and aggressively pursuing sexual encounters. They champ at the bit to fuck this piece of trim just based on the sound of the footsteps. The song continues “this is what a man sounds like when he walks” (a masculine-sounding instrument) “but this is what that dude sounded like when he walked” (a feminine-sounding instrument).

I remember my friend Andrew telling me about an awkward family gathering where he tried to show a family member this sketch, thinking he MIGHT appreciate it. They feigned interest, but they were just waiting to show Andrew his own viral-style internet video, which was just a bullshit Jesus PSA about how people who believe in evolution are heretics who are going to hell. Literally could not be further from Tim & Eric.

I also remember this bit being performed live. I don’t remember if it was because I saw it or if this was one of a few Tim & Eric live things I saw on video. In the live bit, they perform the song and the trading of masculine and feminine instruments goes on longer, with Tim & Eric becoming more and more frustrated by the failure of the instruments being handed to them by Jon Mugar. Eventually they become so angry with him that they slap him silly and storm off the stage. Mugar is holding a horn in his hand. He turns to the audience and seamlessly begins performing the hundred holiday honks: which is to say he just turns around and squeezes the horn 100 times without saying anything. It must’ve been extra baffling to those who were unaware of Tim & Eric’s Super Deluxe output. 

This one ends with Tim showing Eric a slideshow of his forest excursion. We get to deeper on his rescue by The Snuggler. Zach gets testy when Tim laughs at his pine cone puppet show because Zach feels it’s not meant to be funny. They casually devour Michael J. Tim owes his life to The Snuggler. Unfortunately Eric doesn’t care about this “at all” and the show ends with Tim & Eric pathetically waving goodbye to the camera. Their ad-libs during the credits are funny enough, but I have a pet peeve about this. VH1 had a lot of bad talking head shows where comedians would say lame jokes over repurposed footage of various things, and I feel like all too often a lot of these bits ended with a grinning Doug Benson sarcastically smiling and waving goodbye after delivering his stupid punchline. I can’t help but think of that when Tim & Eric do it here.

Honestly, this one is sorta weak, which seems like it’s always the way when Adult Swim takes it upon themselves to promote an episode of Tim & Eric heavily. Whatever I find annoying in a Tim & Eric show probably reads as “easily digestible” by the network. Detached irony is easier to take when it’s more obvious, maybe. I like detached irony, but I like it without the filthy tude. Oh yeah, I didn’t mention it yet, but Adult Swim promoted this one pretty heavily. Read on!

EPHEMERA CORNER

The Snuggler Stunt (December 16, 2007)

On the evening of the above episode’s premiere, Adult Swim went all-out promoting it by adding promotional on-screen bugs that were intentionally obnoxious, advertising “The Snuggler”. These bits included little video footage of Zach saying “I am the Snuggler” and stuff like that. It was meant to mimic a more typical network’s advertising methods, by covering the lower-third with garish advertising for upcoming programming during the show you were currently watching. They only did this during the repeats, if memory served. Xavier was spared of this. 

Unfortunately these bits aren’t on Youtube; I was hoping to find somebody had compiled the on-screen bugs. This stunt seems largely forgotten. I think I might have a recording somewhere. I’m a broken record, but I really need to find all that stuff and save it. Fuck.

MAIL BAG:

Vernon Chatman is a  nihilistic POC while you're just a  nihilistic POS. And we'll be right black.

Hey, you are right and I respect you!

[irondragonbread]

Today is the day the day I have gabby dawson the love of my life all to myself hi im mark im African American and I work at cpd as a intelligence medic (I made that up) I always had these feelings for gabby for years I stalked her took pictures of her even hacked her phone and stole the nudes she sent to casey even though me and Casey are best friends I always hated he got to marry her but today all of that will change I've been planning this for years "helloooooo earth to mark" erin said waving her hand in my face "huh oh sorry I was just thinking wassup" I replied to Erin "what I was saying was me and Jay got into a argument and I threw glass at him now he's mad" she said with a worried look on her Jay Halstead me and him are best friends also we served in Afghanistan together I was a combat medic "don't worry you guys are just gonna bang and be back together anyways" I said with a grin on my face then Jay fell on his ass laughing erin threw a pretzel at me "where you get pretzels from!!!!!" I said while still laughing "ugh men" erin said smiling *time skip to 10pm* we were at Molly's i couldn't take my eyes off gabby she was so beautiful her smile her eyes her perfect figure i needed to make my move soon some time later it was just me and gabby in Molly's I was helping close up when she asked me "hey mark can you walk me to my car pls" she said with those beautiful eyes "o-of course" I said grabbing my jacket that had a chloroform napkin in my right pocket when she walked in the front of the trunk I made my move I put the tissue on her face she fought before she went limp thank God it worked I put her over my shoulder and walked her over to my truck good thing its a Sunday night so it was basically dead outside I got zipties and zipped tied her hands together I grabbed her phone and texted casey "hey baby I'm to tired to drive and I'm staying with mark tn he's going to come by and grab some of my clothes" "ok love you" "love you more" you see when I hacked her phone I studied how they texted and how gabby replies so it won't strike suspicion then I broke open the back of her phone and broke the sim so they can't track it then I cleared her phone for extra measure I drove to caseys house and knocked he gave me the bag of clothes and told me to tell her goodnight I said ok and got in the car I looked in the mirror to see her woken up and with a scared look on her face and for some reason it turned me on I smirked and said "we can finally be together at last princess" she stared begging to let her go but I just kept driving "YOU FUCKING MONSTER" she yelled at me I pulled the car over I felt my heart break into pieces I grabbed my glock 17 gen 3 and got out the truck I opened the backseat and dragged her out by hair and sat her on the ground and put the gun to her head "im not a monster say it again and I will kill you " I said in a dark tone I use when talking to suspects" "ok ok im so sorry please mark why are you doing this" she asked crying "BECAUSE you kept treating me like a friend but now we will be together forever" I said before pistol whipping her she fell limp and knocked out and I just wanted to take her right there but I quickly shook it off and put her in that backseat and stared driving again now we are together. END OF PART 1

[incandescentflower]

17 18 27, 29, 30?

thanks anon for the ask!

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

Pran from Bad Buddy has been really fun because he has this really thick protective layer, almost even from himself. He can be snarky at Pat, he can be snarky at himself, but he is such a deeply caring friend and lover. But honestly, I love Pat just as much because of the way he can be the same in how deeply he loves and yet so different from Pran. It's hard for me to pick one character, because what I love about writing is the dynamics - how different personalities play off each other. You can have characters who are similar, but if they are in relation to completely different kinds of characters, it can come off different. Or even if the pairing has similar dynamics, I'm interested in what makes those two people feel different.

The character I love writing the most is always the one I am writing at that moment. I really don't tend to write anything unless I have absolutely fallen in love with them.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Ah, probably both Jaeyoung and Sangwoo in Somebody to You. And not because of their characters in particular, but because the characters in the fic know each other from when they were children, it took time to figure out where to place them on their relationship trajectory that parallels the original story. I also threw in a shippy relationship with Yuna and Jihye that isn't text, but obviously what we all wanted, and some more contrived plotty bits that has made it the hardest thing to write this year. But in my opinion, it has been very much worth it. I'm pleased with what I have so far and look forward to continuing.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I really enjoy bringing back plot pieces or references from a drama into my work, beyond the characterizations. Some of the moments I enjoyed was referencing Pran's watch and the handsome pick and having Pat notice them in Up the Ante.

I really liked how I used the line "Men go insane when they lose what's theirs" in the Devil Judge fic the love that returns is yours to keep because it was such a powerful reference in the show and when it was used in the fic, it was meant to be equally powerful in describing Gaon's feelings for Yohan.

IDK, that feels counter to the point of this question because it is more the preferred translation of that moment in the show that I reused, not choosing my own wording, but I guess I don't always feel the particular wording in my fic is all that striking. It's the whole is greater than the sum of its parts for me.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Oh probably anything that happened in Up the Ante. :)

I had a beginning and an end. The rest came as inspiration as the show went on. And for that reason, it was incredibly fun to write.

Special mention to how well sex pollen could work for Pat/Pran, lol.

I answered 27 in a previous ask here. :)

This is from ask games: AO3 Wrapped

[inkribbon796]

Egotober 2022 Day 14: The New Favorite

Summary: Janus is trying to run errands when he has an encounter he didn’t expect.

A/N: Janus’s whole theme is yellow. I couldn’t not have him in here.

Prompt: Yellow

Characters: Janus, Wade

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Being a supervillain had its perks, especially when you were as established and experienced as Janus was. People normally tended to leave him alone.

Normally at least.

Today he was coming from one side of town, wearing his yellow-lined cloak, to the other and someone stopped to harass him. Obviously because Janus hadn’t been doing a good enough job to make people fear him specifically. But that’s what happened when you were as regular of a fixture in town as the local park. Sometimes people forgot how dangerous he could be.

Janus was busy committing the man’s face to memory and trying to keep him from snatching his bag out of his hand when someone cleared their throat. Just before Janus could strike, maybe about a minute into getting yelled at, one of the city’s heroes, the hydrokinetic Drowned Man — Wade Barnes — was standing next to them.

“Finally,” the man said as Janus rolled his eyes and braced for a fight. “He stole the stuff in that bag.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m going to need you to back up, he’s actually a very dangerous villain and you shouldn’t be so close,” Wade said as he moved in-between the civilian and Janus.

What actually kept Janus from lunging at the human was the fact that Wade had turned his back towards Janus. He was still able to keep an eye on him but the way he was standing it was clear that he was trying to guard Janus from this random person.

“Didn’t you hear me? He stole something!” The guy shouted.

“I’ve been watching him, he actually paid,” Wade said, sounding and looking like the picture of professionalism. “I’ll take care of this, why don’t you go about your business.”

Janus looked up at him in surprise.

“Are you kidding me? If you won’t do something, then I will.” The man looked furious but the hero was almost half a foot taller than him.

“No, you go about your day, I’ll take care of this,” Wade said, not moving.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” he said.

Wade tilted his head a bit, “Well I guess I can’t but I’m basically like a mobile fire hydrant and I can just knock you right off your feet.”

“You’re defending a supervillain?” The man spat in Wade’s face as he was yelling at him.

Wade took the time to slowly wipe the front of his mask. “Civilians aren’t supposed to get near villains. That’s how people get hurt.”

“Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do,” he said. “I’m a lawyer.”

“Yeah? Well, so am I.” Wade said. “So back off before his friends show up because he’s got a boyfriend who’s all teeth and he doesn’t care if the police arrest him for biting people. I know because we arrest him once a week for it. So leave before you get an infection.”

The man continued cussing and yelling at Wade, but left once Wade started loudly calling for police back-up.

Janus was just watching the hero as the man left. Once he was far enough away Janus said, “You lied, you were not calling the station.”

“Yeah well, he didn’t know that,” Wade smiled.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Janus said. “I could defend myself.”

Wade shrugged as Janus began to walk. The heroes followed him. “Yeah, I’ve seen, but that’s the problem, some people think that they can be heroes too just because we do it. When you could have just full on melted that dude’s face and I probably wouldn’t have been fast enough to stop you. I’m not Jackie.”

Janus smiled. But his smile didn’t last long when he spotted Marvin using his magic to fly overhead.

“Everything good?” Marvin asked.

Janus braced for an attack but kept walking.

“Yeah, we got it,” Wade told him as Marvin moved a distance away so he could intervene but give them space so it didn’t provoke Janus to attack.

As they walked, Janus was quiet for a bit, Wade was just talking with Marvin.

Then Janus spoke up. “You said you were a lawyer? Are you practicing currently?”

“Yeah, but I don’t take every case that crosses my desk. Defense attorney.”

“Choosey with your cases, I’m sure,” Janus said.

“Not in the way you would think,” Wade said. “I’d rather defend someone like Wilford or Remus than that fucker because at least they’ll talk with you. I’ll tell you that much for free.”

“What’s the name of the firm?”

Wade laughed. “Not on my life. I have a family to protect.”

Janus smiled. “I had to try.”

“I guess.”

Janus looked at him. “So you were a lawyer before you were a hero? Or did you pass the bar exam afterward?”

Wade smiled. “Oh yeah, used to work in a clerk’s office in a courthouse. Gatling used to be a teacher. Silver used to build decks. We all did stuff before this.”

“What did you do there?” Janus asked.

“I worked in the mail room,” Wade answered. “Got a lot of crazy stories from there. The mail room was nuts. I got like twelve bucks an hour, which at the time was above minimum wage so at least there wasn’t that.”

Janus stopped and looked at him for a little bit. Wade couldn’t really read the expression he had very well. Then he looked away. “Well, I should get home before Remus chews up all the furniture.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a pet instead of a boyfriend,” Marvin called down at him.

Janus sprouted an arm and flipped him off.

“You know, you don’t have to work with the villains,” Wade said. “There’s a lot of awful, horrible people out there, but they’re not all bad. Some people are actually good out there.”

As Wade smiled at him Janus cast an illusion and threw down a smok bomb to help himself get away. He basically dropped it at the hero’s feet and used the chaos to get away and run home. Just because they were nicely talking to him, didn’t mean that they were just going to let him get away.

As he disappeared in the smoke and illusions, Janus looked back at Wade and decided he had a new favorite hero. One that he refused to let the identity leak out to any other villain.

Dark could have it over Janus’s dead body.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

15th February >> Mass Readings (USA)

Wednesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22 Noah saw that the surface of the ground was drying up.

At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark, and he sent out a raven, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth. Then he sent out a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. But the dove could find no place to alight and perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water all over the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark. He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark. In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth. He waited still another seven days and then released the dove once more; and this time it did not come back.

In the six hundred and first year of Noah’s life, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up.

Noah built an altar to the LORD, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done.

As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

R/ To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. or R/ Alleluia.

How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

R/ To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. or R/ Alleluia.

My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people. Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

R/ To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. or R/ Alleluia.

My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem.

R/ To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. or R/ Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Ephesians 1:17-18

Alleluia, alleluia. May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mark 8:22-26 His sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, “Do you see anything?” Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.