#ANYWAY I am by NO MEANS a twitter expert but I'm getting better

[xoxoemynn]

For OFMD Tumblr friends who want a S3 and are scared of Twitter

First, no judgment from me. I very much get it. I resisted Twitter for a long time, and even though I'm now a bit more comfortable on it, it's still not my Fandom Home. There are a TON of valid reasons not to be on Twitter, but if you REALLY want to keep OFMD visible right now and help its chances of returning for a third season, Twitter is the best place to do it. Like it or not, Twitter is still the best social media platform for raising awareness and for instant news updates.

Tumblr posts don't make headlines. Topics that have been trending on Twitter do. And if we want this show to come back, we need to make OFMD impossible to ignore.

By now you've probably seen just how close we came to a S3, and if you're like me, you are RAGING and donning your battle jacket. But I get it can be intimidating to get on Twitter for the first time, so I thought I'd address some common anxieties I see. I'll put below a cut because this got a bit long, but I promise it's a quick read.

I don't know what to say! Where do I even start? That's okay! You don't have to create your own tweets (although it's great if you do). Amplifying other people's posts is also important. Go ahead and like/retweet/reply to other people's posts. This may also help you get an idea of what you may like to say in your own tweets.

Hashtags...yes? Yes! Although don't use too many or you may get flagged as a bot. The biggest one that seems to be emerging is #SaveOFMD. Other popular ones are #RenewAsACrew, #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath, and of course, #OFMD and #OurFlagMeansDeath.

Should I just be tagging all the streaming services? Per @renewasacrew, no. It's counterproductive. You'll want to tag one streamer at a time and be specific. Below is an example of a tweet I made the other day -- use specific reasons why that that particular streamer may benefit from picking up OFMD.

I'm scared. People are mean. Yeah, people are mean. But I will say the vibes over at OFMD Twitter are currently the best I've ever seen them. People seem to have united for the greater good and are being overwhelmingly positive and just trying to do whatever we can to save the show. (That said, again, I already had a pretty curated feed, and was very liberal with blocking users/terms I didn't want to see, but I've been able to spend so much more time in the For You tab than I ever have without being jump scared by something.)

But I don't know anyone there! Wouldn't I just be shouting into the void? Not if you use the hashtags! Fans are being really good about following those and engaging with the tweets. Plus, [Stede voice], I'm your friend. I'm xoxoemynn over there as well, I'll follow you back and engage with any of your posts that I see. Plus, what's been REALLY lovely to see is that SO many lurkers have come out of lurkerdom to support the efforts, and they are being welcomed with open arms, so you will not be alone. Again, I am telling you, vibes? Best I've ever seen them.

I can't get sucked into another social media platform, I don't have the time. The beauty here is you don't need to spend a lot of time. I've been on Twitter more in the past week than I have in the entire year I've had an account, and I'm still only on for maybe an hour total the entire day? I open the app, I check a couple accounts, I engage with a handful of posts, and I close the app. It takes all of five minutes. It's an extremely small lift that can have a very big impact.

My bet is on Zaslav expecting us to be upset, and that there may be a day or two of outrage, but then we'd move on. I'm sure right now he's trying to convince everyone that this is a fluke, and that it'll blow over soon. Don't let him win. Keep OFMD in the news. Be loud (but polite) and make Max and other streamers take note of what a passionate, loyal fan base this show has. Make their stocks continue to drop. Make it clear this is NOT just a fluke, it is NOT business as usual. It's a BIG fuck up with lasting consequences.

Twitter, for all its sins, is the best place to do this.

Now let's get our damned show back.

[khaleesiofalicante]

So I was coming in here thinking about my hello gif when I saw your new description and now I am feels about David too!!

Anyways... Hola Dani, how are you?? How are things in your country??? I'm dealing with a very bad case of tonsillitis and the high fever is making me delirious hopefully this chapter will give me some Sarah and Tony 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Older Brothers are Fucking Annoying

Song rec for this chapter: Surface Pressure by Jessica Darrow from Encanto

Banger!!! This is my favorite so far!!

THE BEGINNING

“But you should like it, mom,” Alec says firmly. “If you are going to live there, you should like it.”

What happened to my twin??

Magnus had suggested that maybe he has met someone but if that’s the case then why didn’t Jace tell Alec anything about her?

Why didn't you tell him about Magnus? Oh I know...!!!

Sometimes that’s what it means to be a son. To make sacrifices for your parents.

I see where Rafe gets it from 😭

“No more pushing or I won’t let you babysit any of my future children,” Alec threatens.

🤣🤣 lies!!

“I’ll call you back, babe,” Izzy says into the phone. “My room got invaded by an asshole.”

Why is she so angry?? Alec what did you do??? Also... Simon 🥰

She doesn’t understand how politics or bureaucracy works.

I hate politics!!!

I’ve always been sappy.

I’m just not afraid to show it anymore.

Magnus did that.

Aww Alec!! I want this in my life!!

“Being an adult sounds exhausting,” Izzy points out.

It is!! 😭

Alec smiles reluctantly. “She kinda has a point, you know. We’ve lowered the bar for you.”

Look who you're dating!!! THE bar has never been higher!!!

“Bitch,” Alec says. “You better be joking.”

🤣🤣 this has such Max vibes!! Also the meme 🤣

“I love her,” Jace says simply. “She is it for me. I know it.”

This siblings have no chill!!

“I want in!” Izzy yells and jumps off the bed, trying to hug them both at once.

Me too... I need hugs!!

“At least his dad is not a psychopath,” Jace hums.

THE MIDDLE

Rafe!!!! 😍 lo amo demasiado!!

And there is of course the fact that Rafael’s father is a governor and Anjali’s father is a senator.

Details!!

Anjali wants to be a lawyer. A civil rights lawyer to be specific.

This queen can do anything!! Where do I have to sign for this two to rule my life???

These two take sexy nerds to a whole new level and I am love it!!

Good. They all should be.

We all are babe!! And a little turn on too 😈

Rafael doesn’t know what happened.

Is this about that asshole designer??

“That’s…That’s it?” Rafael asks in surprise.

I'm very surprised too

“Oh no! Rafe! Don’t leave me! How will I live without my first born!”

I was laughing at this and then I remembered 🥲

Bapak and dad have been together for twenty years now. Rafael supposes you get used to some things after a while.

20 years... 20... and then Dani attacked!! 😭

He doesn’t know why he is even disappointed.

This happens to me all the time 😣 is like "great what do I do with all this accumulated stress now?

It was selected and organized and presented after a lot of thought and effort.

Go to therapy!!!

But for some reason he can’t. There is something buzzing inside him.

Is the accumulated stress, trust me I'm an expert!!

Ay no, no, no, no 😔 bad shit is happening!!

“When people want to destroy, they’ll find a way,” dad says darkly. “It doesn’t matter how they found out. These kinds of things are not hard to find if you have friends in the right places.”

What the fuck is wrong with people?? 😭😭 leave Magnus alone!!!!!!!

You know what? It's incredibly sad and I've cried a lot about it but I'm glad Magnus got out!! He doesn’t deserve any of this, it'll be too much for anyone but a person suffering from depression?? Magnus is strong as fuck 😭😭😭

Rafael, against his better judgement, goes on Twitter.

No Rafe that's the internet's shit hole

Oh Max no!! I don't like where this is going 😭

“So what? Let him hear me!” Max spits out. “What’s he gonna do? Kill me too?”

MAXWELL!!! Take that back!!!

He feels so angry at everything and everyone and all at once.

Go to therapy!!! Why do these bitches have so much money for if they won't use it to take care of themselves???

How do you make someone feel better if there aren’t feeling anything at all?

He comes to Rafael’s room that night and tells him he is going to ask dad for a divorce.

I wonder what would have happened if instead of a divorce Magnus had asked Alec to quit politics??

Not me making AUs of an AU in my head 🤦🏻‍♀️ is the fever 🤒

THE END

MAX!!! 😍 I feel the Mavid glow healing my body!!

He knows what he wants to do. 

Rather, who he wants to do. 

Those texts are the greatness 🙌🏼

[From: David]

I think of you everywhere 💛

Because at this point the rules are a little blurry and he likes it when David says nice things to him.

Max stop pretending, you're in love, go propose to your future husband!!

Note to self: You are so fucking close to getting caught.

You know what? at this point Alec doesn’t know because he doesn't want to... he's brain is refusing to process the data!!

“White ones,” Elyaas points out.

“I heard they are made in France,” Tian notes.

🤣🤣🤣 see... He doesn’t want to get it!! It's obvious!

Dad almost drops his coffee. He raises an eyebrow. “You want to come to church?”

Come on Alec!! Wait... no, is fine, I reconsidered, keep being oblivious!!

“You said you’ll reach out to him,” dad says again. “Have you?”

Ooh he has!! 😈

Max at church is the pinacle of comedy 🤣🤣

They literally saw each other last night. But whatever. What the fuck is time anyway?

Where is Rafe???

What. The. Fuck.

That’s it?

That’s all he had to do?

Ask?

Yep... that's all it takes!!

Note to self: Get this backstory. Asap.

And share it with me!!

Max being in a group chat with the staff *chef kiss*

“Dad,” Max says. “Tell bapak about Hodge.”

I thought we were going to keep that to ourselves I'm pleasantly surprised

Maybe they can just cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie.

Or that... I like that

I feel like Max is going to tell Alec about David just to break the tension at some point

Note to self: Talking to people and telling them what you want really fixes a lot of problems, huh?

Is what I've been saying!!

Note to self: Post a thirst trap on behalf of dad later.

Yes, please!!

“You smell like booze,” Max elaborates.

No, please 🙏🏼 😢 let's stay in the awkward but happy mood!

Max doesn’t know why but he feels like he is going to cry.

Me too!!

What is happening with Rafe??? I don't like it!!! Dani!! Make it stop!!!

Rafael sighs. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m stressed about some work stuff.”

Go to therapy!!!

Max doesn’t know what dad was sorry about.

And we don’t wanna know!!

“I love him,” Max says.

He said it, out loud and it hurts 😭 it wasn’t suppose to hurt

This whole conversation hurts, but I'm also relieved, Rafe needed to get that shit out and Max needed to hear it and they all need THERAPY!!!

“David,” Max says, revealing his face. “Why do you do this?”

Because he loves you!!

“Hello, Blanket Max,” David whispers. “I’m Blanket David.”

They own me!!

Thank youuuu Dani...!!! ❤❤❤❤ this chapter made me both grateful and sad about being and only child 🥺

I SCREAMED AT SOME OF THESE REACTIONS PLS-

That last comment made me very uwu. I've always wanted to be the only child but I think I won't be alive (literally) if not for my siblings lol.

Here is a fun headcanon/canon: Mavid doing tiktok dances together :)

PS - Thank you for helping me with the Spanish translations!!!!!!!!!

[placegrenette]

You Probably Should Not Be Getting Your Kazakhstan Information From Tumblr, But In Case You Are, Here's Your FAQ

Introductory note: as I write this it is ~10 am New York time (GMT -5) / ~9 pm Astana time (GMT +6) on Friday 7 January 2022. This post will go out of date very quickly but hopefully the links will still be useful.

What's been happening in Kazakhstan?

Protests began in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen on 2 January and quickly spread to a whole bunch of other cities. In Almaty, the largest city, protests were quickly accompanied by violence and looting, including destruction at city hall and the airport. In response, the current president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has condemned the protests as the work of outside foreign agents and is using both internal security forces and forces provided by CSTO, a network of allied states spearheaded by Russia, to regain control and suppress dissent.

Wait. Are you Kazakh or Kazakhstani, or otherwise certified as an expert on Kazakhstan?

No.

So why should I be listening to you, anyway?

Excellent question! Let me suggest to you a bunch of alternatives. My two favorite English-language Kazakhstan news sources are Eurasianet and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (which is US-state-funded). The Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs just published a big roundup of background resources on Kazakhstan. And here is a (non-exhaustive) list of links to the Twitter feeds of actual experts:

Erica Marat

Diana T. Kudaibergenova

Assem Zhapisheva

Assel Tutumlu

Aigerim Toleukhanova

Paolo Sorbello

Nargis Kassenova

Joanna Lillis

Some of those tweets will not be in English, but on a lot of mobile devices now you can highlight text and Google or Apple will give you the option to translate. (Note that this works more easily, in my experience, with Russian than with Kazakh or Turkish.)

Thanks. But I already did some reading, and I saw some people saying that the CIA had a hand in this. Is that true? It does seem awfully convenient that problems would start in Kazakhstan just when Vladimir Putin seems to be gearing up to invade eastern Ukraine.

I don't think so. Again, I'm not an expert (though none of the experts I linked above seem to be taking the CIA idea seriously). But let me explain why I don't think so:

The initial kickoff for the protests was a doubling of gas prices. The doubling of gas prices, in turn, was caused by the Kazakhstani government's efforts to liberalize the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry, since a lack of investment has meant that the infrastructure is deteriorating and it's becoming more and more expensive to subsidize LPG, which is what a lot of Kazakhstanis use to gas up their cars. Those efforts started in January 2019, which means that if the CIA was behind this, they would have had to see three years into the future.

Even if the CIA was capable of that, which I doubt, they probably wouldn't have wanted to focus their efforts on Kazakhstan, which has arguably been the most stable of the former Soviet states in Central Asia. Not that there hasn't been discontent--there has been, over inequality, corruption, and more recently a tanking economy--but the Kazakhstani government has been historically pretty good at shutting down protests, jailing protestors, keeping speech decidedly unfree, and generally not allowing any popular movements to keep it from going its usual authoritarian ways. If you were a CIA agent looking to get ahead by destabilizing central Asia, Kyrgyzstan would be a better place to start.

And even if the CIA did plan for all that, the move seems to have backfired mightily, as Tokayev's calling for the CSTO to come in (the CSTO has never, in nearly thirty years of existence, actually sent in troops before) has resulted in Putin apparently being able to buy a lot of influence in Kazakhstan at a very cheap price, fewer than 4,000 troops total.

So either the CIA didn't do it, or the CIA is simultaneously all-seeing and very stupid. I'm going with the former as more likely.

Okay, so if the CIA isn't involved, how did the protests get so ugly and destabilizing so fast?

That's the big question that no one can answer yet. There's a lot of reports going around of peaceful protests, especially in Almaty, being suddenly swamped with groups of violent men who want to smash things, including stores, cars, and anyone trying to photograph or videotape them. Apparently a similar dynamic was observed in Ukraine in 2014, where the groups were dubbed titushky, and Krygyzstan in 2020. But there's just not enough information out yet to tell who's in this group of violent actors right now in Kazakhstan, and who might be funding them, and whether they're trying to discredit the protests or accelerate them or just taking the opportunity to wreak some havoc.

Why is it so hard to get information? Kazakhstan has Internet, doesn't it?

Normally, yes, but the country's been under a government-imposed countrywide Internet blackout since Wednesday. (NetBlocks is tracking the blackout.) This has meant, among other things, that a lot of Kazakhstanis can't buy food, since they're used to mobile payment systems, but now the stores are only taking cash, but the ATMs aren't working because the Internet is down. I've seen scattered reports that it's coming back in some places, but it will probably remain down in Almaty for a while.

So what's the state of things right now?

The short, short answer: not good.

The longer, more complicated answer: first understand is that Kazakhstan is huge, territorially speaking. It's got fewer people than New York state or Burkina Faso, but it's one of the largest countries in the world. Throw in the lack of Internet connection, and it's pretty easy to imagine that people in different parts of the country wouldn't be able to coordinate, and the protests would develop differently in different cities. (If you've listened to your Mike Duncan, you know that the French Revolution was a different experience if you were in Paris than if you were in, say, Grenoble, Lyon, or Toulon.)

So what's happening in Almaty is not necessarily what's happening everywhere in Kazakhstan. Almaty, from the little footage that's gotten out, looks like a war zone. But I've seen reports that in western cities such as Zhanaozen and Aktau, protests are continuing, relatively peacefully. There was footage circulating earlier in the week of police officers in Aqtobe seeming to ally with the protesters but I haven't seen more recent reports and that may not have held up. Astana, the capital, has been relatively quiet but under heavy guard.

But I want to emphasize: when you see headlines along the lines of "Protesters loot buildings in Kazakhstan," realize that's not the whole story: a lot of protesters are acting peacefully, and it's not even clear yet that the looters are actually protesters. (I've even seen one report, which I can't verify at all, that parts of Kazakhstan are actually much more peaceful than is being depicted by Russia media outlets.)

This is important, because President Tokayev is basically conflating the two, denouncing everyone as "terrorists," and has given orders to shoot protesters to kill on sight.

So this has not been a week for the advancement of freedom of expression and reform and ordinary people's lives getting better in Kazakhstan.

Sadly, no. And hopefully such a week will come, but I don't think it's coming any time soon.

Understood. Well, it's nice of you to have provided this explainer and all, but let's get down to brass tacks: how are your faves doing?

I don't know. (If you're seeing this as a reblog and have no idea who I am, bless you for having stuck with this whole post, and here are the guys I'm talking about.) I wish I knew. As best I've seen--and I'm not good at seeing, since I don't have an Instagram account--no one from Ninety One or Juz Entertainment has posted anything since the mess started. They're presumably all in Almaty and would thus be affected by the Internet blackout, and also I would also presume that communicating with international fans is not their highest priority right now. If information does emerge, Sara, who runs the @ninetyonekz Tumblr (also @bbcblackjack, and bbcbabyz on Twitter), will be a better source for it.

I know this is tacky: people in Kazakhstan are suffering and dying, and here I am worrying about a bunch of pop stars. But I've written before: the whole reason I started learning about Kazakhstan in the first place was because of a bunch of pop stars. I'm an American; I don't speak Russian or Kazakh, or have any relative or close friend who does; I don't have any ties to Kazakhstan, or a job that would require me to study the place; I like to think of myself as a curious person, but I'm not so open-minded that I thought to myself, hey, let's learn about Kazakhstan today. It took the prompt of some guys willing to sing and dance and be goofy and likeable, and then eager to talk about their country and some of its discontents, onscreen. And now, tacky as it might be, I care about those guys, and every time I see a report along the lines of dozens killed and more than 3,000 detained in Almaty, my heart seizes a bit. (It does not help that historically, death tolls from mass protests in Kazakhstan are usually undercounts.)

This all sounds fairly awful, and I feel helpless. Is there anything non-Kazakhstanis can do?

Not really, I don't think. The only suggestion I have at the moment is this GoFundMe fundraiser by a group led by Akbota Karibayeva, who I believe is from Kazakhstan but is in graduate school in the US at the moment, where the money will eventually be used to support NGOs once the banks re-open fully and Karibayeva's group figures out how to get money to NGOs without the government seizing it (or detaining everyone in the NGO on the grounds of it being foreign-funded). If you've got a few spare bucks and donating makes you feel better, it's worth a shot. Also if you're the praying type, pray that as many Kazakhstanis make it through this as unscathed as possible. I wish I had more to offer.

[ga-yuu]

I thought I would have some fun! Since IkeGen’s 2nd anniversary is just around the corner, and mostly likely the next route would of Kagetoki. I was just scrolling through twitter to pass time,(because that’s my life now, since the lockdown started again!) I found something interesting!

Yeah! I missed it. So I decided to translate it now. So basically, this is the reward for making Kagetoki, the 9th best man in the Genjiden 1st anniversary election. Its called ‘Kagetoki Kagekini News.’ The newscaster, Kagetoki, will be reporting on the events of the Genji Den. So let’s start!!!!

Breaking News!! Suspect Yoshitsune and two others have been detained by a certain Karasu Tengu!

Kagetoki: “The suspects Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Nasu no Yoichi, and Musashibo Benkei have been taken into custody by a certain Karasu Tengu, the victim. The three are suspected of breaking the victim's incense burner and were planning to cover up the crime. Let us hope for a swift and severe punishment.”

Yoshitsune: "There is no room for apologies. I'm sorry, Kurama. I had no idea that an incense burner was so fragile. --Instead, let me prepare a new shiny object that you like. I don't know if I have the discernment to choose such a thing.”

Yoichi: "Hey, how come they even know that we were trying cover-up? Where did you see it?　No, actually I feel bad too. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one. ......But I underestimated Yoshitsune-sama's honesty.”

Benkei: “ Yoshitsune-sama is pure and innocent. More importantly, Kagetoki, your desire for severe punishment is entirely your own personal wish!　You should be more impartial in your reporting. ...and Kurama. I'm sorry. I'll make you some tasty snacks, so please forgive us for now.”

Kurama: "You thought you could pull the wool over my eyes, you fool. I will have that new shiny object and those delicious sake and snacks. But if it's not to my liking, you'll have to know that I won't let you get away with it. ...First of all, Sueharu, bring me a list of the items you're offering.”

Sueharu: "Yes, yes, you're a product expert, aren't you? If you ask me, I'll prepare first-class products for you (at first-class prices, of course.) Oh, you're ordering everything from here to here?　That's Yoshitsune-sama and Kurama!　--Thank you again for everything.”

........................

Breaking News!!! The Two Minamoto brothers has been arrested. An epic sibling rivalry led to an explosion!

Kagetoki: "Suspects Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune have been arrested. According to eyewitnesses, the two were staring at each other with their swords drawn when suddenly a vacant house in the vicinity exploded and scattered. They are suspected to be related. ...Is this a case of involvement due to an epic sibling quarrel?”

Yoshitsune: "I didn't expect to be arrested every day. But this time I plead not guilty. It is true that I myself and Yoritomo-sama were pointing swords at each other, but the explosion that followed is beyond my knowledge. ...And please don't call it a brotherly quarrel.”

Yoritomo: "You've got some nerve arresting me here. But I'm not guilty either. I ran into Yoshitsune, who was scouting in Kamakura, and I drew my sword. I saw a black shadow just before the house was blown up. I think we should investigate him first...... And don't call it a sibling rivalry.”

Shigehira: "--and why is Yoritomo-sama being arrested!　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's something that's going to be a big deal for the Shogunate.  ...... A mysterious black shadow, then. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.”

Morinaga: "What is this feeling? When I heard that Yoritomo-sama was arrested for fighting with his brother, I naturally smiled. ...Oh, I'm sorry, can you please edit out that sentence?　I think Yoritomo-sama is going to say something to me. And I understand about the investigation. Let's do our best, Shigehira.”

..................

Further News. The real perpetrator of the explosion has been arrested.

Kagetoki: "Continuing news. The real culprit in the bombing of the vacant house yesterday has been arrested. The suspect is Abe no Yasuchika, as most of us expected. He is suspected of releasing demons throughout Kamakura. The suspect made a joking statement, saying that he had no ill will toward the demons.”

Yasuchika: "Oh no, I really didn't mean to offend you.　I was just going for a light walk and because the newly captured demon wanted to play outside. But when I saw Yoritomo-sama and Yoshitsune-sama having a sibling quarrel, I got scared and accidentally popped him!”

Ibuki: "You accidentally popped it. ...That looks like a pretty interesting toy. Hey Yasuchika, let me borrow that demon. You need a walk, don't you?　I'll take you out somewhere more exciting and with a better view.”

Akihito: "Oh dear. I don't know what kind of "exciting" walk we'll have if Ibuki is in charge. Anyway, Kagetoki, what do you mean most of us were right?　Yasuchika is such a good and honest boy. ...You think so too, don't you?”

Tamamo: "Kagetoki, you're completely right about this. If something happens, it's usually Yasuchika's or Ibuki's fault, let's just say that. ...Hmm?　You think I'm going to cause a scene?　I don't think so. Whenever I mess with you, it's always out of love, right?”

...............................

Latest News!! Kajiwara Kagetoki, the suspect has been caught red-handed. .....Huh?

Kagetoki: "Is this the last news? Well, let's end with a spectacular revelation. In fact, Yoritomo-sama looks like a *beep*, Shigehira is a *beep*, and Morinaga is a *beep*, excuse me, there seems to be some kind of regulated sound. And then came the breaking news. The suspect, Kajiwara Kagetoki, has been arrested. ...Huh?”

Kagetoki: "It seems that I am suspected of leaking confidential information. It is a shame that I am a whistleblower for the Shogunate. I am indeed a member of the Shogunate, but in this moment, I am a man who lives to report the truth. Don't worry, I will keep my revelations to a level that will avoid social extermination.”

Shigehira: "Nothing is safe!　Such an embarrassing secret of mine... I mean, why did Kagetoki-san know about that thing in the first place?　I'm afraid of his normal information gathering ability. Up until now, I've been able to rely on him because he's on my side, but I can't believe how troublesome he'll be if someone gets in his way...”

Yoichi: "Wow, this is interesting. I'd like to say ......, but I'm wondering when the target will turn on us. I'm sorry for Shigehira, but I'll pray that he doesn't get caught up in this. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that.”

Yoritomo: "I told you to go make one last splash, but here you are. Now you are angry that Morinaga touched the glasses you dropped this morning with his bare hands and put his fingerprints on them. I'll forgive you if you want to take revenge on Morinaga personally. The only thing I don't understand is why you revealed it to me first.”

Morinaga: "Isn't it because Yoritomo-sama blew it out loud when I picked up his glasses?　But it seems that I was lucky enough to avoid being exposed. Oh, by the way, Kagetoki, here's an apology for you. Here are your new glasses!”

Kagetoki: "I will also request additional precious books from the Song Dynasty for Morinaga. ...Well, I guess it's time for me to finish. If my dog can wait properly, the news may come back to me again someday. You can wait until then, right?　--I'll see you back here someday.”

[trashahime]

So this theory is crazy and I expect no one to believe me but I feel very confident about it. I'd even bet real money on it.

Some of this just occurred to me in a discussion in one of my posts but I've been thinking this for awhile.

Jaken's VA made a remark to Rin's VA about how he never knew she had it in her. A lot of people took this to mean Rin was the mom. This never made sense to me because the statement implied she did something out of character. My personal feelings about Sessrin aside, it was expected by a majority of the fanbase and would not be considered OOC.

But sweet kind Rin turning evil would be.

I'm serious. And I know some people will take this as me being a big bad anti who not only wants Kagura to be the mom but is turning Rin into the bad guy. But actually, Rin being the villian ups the probability of her being the mom for me. I think Yashahime has an underlying theme of defeating one's parents.

I posted my theory that Rin is a yukionna a while back. There's still not a lot of evidence but I have found more since then. To summarize:

Rin has the appearance of one. Google that shit, it's dead on.

I think she is trapped in ice and surrounded in melting snow, not just water. Sunrise has hinted at the idea of being trapped in ice by releasing two different photos of Takechiyo from the polar bear episode. And I have found they often use the website and twitter to post extra screenshots of something they want us to notice. Interestingly, Takechiyo is posed like a buddha. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else noticed and thought it was relevant to this theory. I don't think so, but it probably is a clue to something unrelated.

In close ups of Rin you can see similar facets of a crystal-like structure, and I think it's ice.

I think Towa calling out Who is this onna? was also a clue. In speaking to a few Japanese fans, I learned some were also struck at use of "onna" and are researching the various youkai "onnas". Them being Japanese doesn't make them experts, of course, but they would be more familiar with the nuances of the language used.

There was a call out the "Yuki" part of her name in a clue everybody noticed. In Towa's english class on the white board, it says Yuki is going to Kyoto.

The polar bear demon has crystals embedded in forehead similar to the ones on the beast minion of another yukionna in Inuyasha. I think this was a callout to that episode.

There was a parallel made between Riku and Rin. Riku said he was forsaken by his master. Treekyo asked Sesshomaru if he would forsake Rin. I believe Riku is going to be portrayed as a Satan like character. So he can be considered a fallen angel. In this case, Rin is also a fallen angel. But I don't think Sesshomaru has forsaken her. I think she is in that ice structure to save her from herself and prevent her from harming others.

I think this is why Treekyo said it may be better for Rin to stay that way.

So how did Rin become a yukionna. She could have been the victim of one and was possessed. Or maybe they are treating it as something that can transfer like vampirism. A yukionna does have some vampire like qualities.

At the moment, I am inclined to think this was something she might have done to herself or was tricked into doing so she could get her "forever with Lord Sesshomaru".

The next episode has a sage that has turned into a demon. This is partly a Naraku parallel but there's a difference. I think this is the same sage that fixed the lake in the new episode. I think he will be presented as a good person who was corrupted by a demon. This will be a foreshadow of what has happened to Rin.

Ultimately, I think the girls will have a confrontation with Rin, and instead of defeating her, she will be freed of whatever has corrupted her.

Yashahime has been using the Wuxing 5 phases a lot to provide clues and associations. I think Rin will be associated with the water element which is connected to the color black. I think the girls will discover the existence of a black pearl and everyone will assume it's Inuyasha's. But it's not. It's Rin's and when she is uncorrupted, it will turn into the missing orange pearl. Kinda like how the corrupted shikon jewel is a dark purple instead of the purified pink. Rin would also be considered a hanyo, and a big deal was made over them having rainbow pearls.

Now, as many of you know, I think Yashahime is a illusion and nothing is "real". The battles are manufactured to copies of conflicts the OG crowd already faced. I think the story with Rin is the same but in "reality" it was Sesshomaru who sacrificed his sleep for Rin. And call me crazy but I think the entire point of the merch where the characters are sleeping was to make this connection. Sesshomaru and Setsuna are the only ones awake. I think they did similar things with other merch but that's for a different post.

Another crazy theory I recently posted was that Kagome was "playing" the role of Treekyo. I read a theory from a Sessrin fan that maybe Kagome used her spiritual powers to save Rin. And maybe they are right and Kagome had a big role in saving Rin in reality.

Anyway, that's it for now. I will update this post if more info confirming or detracting this theory comes to light.

Here's a follow up about the orange/black pearl and it's connection to Kohaku

[vnsomnia]

This is a little bit of a weird q, so please feel free to ignore! I dunno if you've seen DC's Idol House clip on twitter where they're doing "archery," but if you have -

From what I remember, you're a pretty avid archer, so I was wondering if you had any comments about their "technique"? 😉

No worries anon, it's not weird! I'll give it as honest of a breakdown as I can! It was honestly what I expected, and I'll explain what I mean. If you or anyone has any more questions I'm always happy to take a crack at it! Though I must say I am definitely not a professional or an expert, just a gal who likes archery a lot as you'll see 😅

(I'll also put this under a read more bc it ended up being extremely long and rambling jfjejd)

To preface, for a competitive archer: form, technique, and equipment go hand in hand. An archer without capable and familiar equipment won't be able to shoot their best; at the same time, an archer who doesn't have the form, strength, and stability won't be able to use their equipment to its fullest potential, even if the equipment is "top-tier".

Now obviously with this video, it's pretty easy to see that the girls don't really have decent equipment (it's not even really equipment, more of a toy 😅) but that's okay, nothing wrong with that! It's for a game on a variety show, and I totally get that. That being said, I think they do a good job of adapting to using the bow and arrows that they have.

They each take a relatively wide, squared-off stance (ie. shoulders facing more towards the target), bringing the arrow up to eye-level. This makes sense in the context of their equipment. Normally, an archer lines up their body (and by extension their shoulders) perpendicular to the target, drawing the string to anchor below their chin. This is because 1) the bows we (Olympic recurve style) use can have anywhere from a 35-50+lb draw weight, and aligning our body like this provides stability and control over such a heavy weight because of various factors like skeletal alignment and efficient muscle use, and 2) we (again, Olympic recurve style) use sights on our bows so anchoring below the chin brings our eyes closer in line with the sight. Here's one of my favorite archers, Olympic medalist Ki Bo Bae, demonstrating:

(god, just look at that...... beautiful...... anyways moving on)

Now, another factor is that the string on the toy bow is not long enough for a full draw, and combined with the fact that the girls don't have to deal with a heavy draw weight, they can afford to square their bodies off more with the target. This also allows them to bring the string and arrow closer to their eyes to aim better, because again, the toy bow does not have a sight. Aiming using the arrow shaft and tip is actually a common technique among barebow archers, known as string-walking. This currently isn't my personal area of practice, so that's about all I'm comfortable with commenting on that 😅

And one final note, I'm definitely not saying the girls thought of all this; it's most likely that they're making all of these form adjustments unconsciously, as they adapt to handling the bow. This is just my interpretation for why they might have naturally settled into this particular form.

This is probably waaay too long and rambling and unorganized because I don't quite have the time to proofread all of it, but I hope it slightly answers your question anonnie 😅 thank you again for sending it in, and for anyone who makes it to the end of this mess, if there are any terms or concepts you'd like clarified, or if you're curious about anything else, just send in an ask and I'll try my best to answer it or direct you to someone who can!