#Active Record callbacks problem

[its-all-business]

MSMEs Gain Faster Credit Access with Poonawalla Fincorp Limited’s 24/7 Business Loan Offer

Poonawalla Fincorp Limited has launched a new business loan solution aimed directly at helping India’s micro, small, and medium enterprises. Called Business Loan 24/7, this product enables business owners to get instant credit approvals through a streamlined, completely online process.

The loan platform is designed with convenience in mind. Borrowers can apply, upload their documents, and receive a decision—all without stepping out of their workplace. For time-starved entrepreneurs who value speed and efficiency, this is a major step forward.

Also Read: Poonawalla Fincorp and IDP Education Partner to Simplify Overseas Education Financing

Digital Processing Without Manual Steps

Unlike traditional loans that often involve branch visits and paperwork, this system is fully automated. Poonawalla Fincorp has adopted a Straight Through Processing method, which means once a customer enters their data, the platform handles everything—validation, analysis, and decision—without delay.

There’s no waiting for callbacks or manual document verification. Everything runs digitally, which reduces processing errors and ensures that borrowers can move ahead with their plans quickly. This method removes unnecessary bottlenecks from the business loan experience.

Moving Past Traditional Credit Filters

One of the core strengths of Business Loan 24/7 is its advanced digital risk evaluation framework. Instead of depending solely on credit history or fixed scoring systems, the platform reads and evaluates financial data from source documents in real time.

This allows for a more accurate assessment of a business’s current financial health. By looking at present cash flow and active business performance, rather than outdated metrics, the platform gives fair opportunities to applicants who may have previously been denied by traditional lenders.

This model benefits those with limited credit exposure but promising growth. It opens the door to a larger section of India’s entrepreneurial base who are looking to expand operations or stabilise their cash flow.

Helping Small Businesses Where It Matters Most

MSMEs make up a large share of India’s economic activity but often face difficulties in getting credit. Many operate without extensive documentation or standardised financial records. Business Loan 24/7 directly targets this problem by offering an easier way to access funds.

With fast approvals and flexible repayment options, Poonawalla Fincorp Limited is providing a product that speaks to the real needs of small business owners. This helps them manage challenges without being slowed down by complex approval procedures.

An Inclusive Approach for Self-Employed Borrowers

The loan isn’t just for registered companies. Self-employed professionals and individual business owners also benefit from this initiative. People who might struggle with getting a loan due to irregular income or lack of formal credit scores now have a digital path to funding.

By evaluating applicants based on current business activity and verifying documents electronically, the system levels the playing field for self-employed individuals who were often left out of traditional lending networks.

Also Read: The Critical Role of Financing in Empowering India’s MSME Sector

Round-the-Clock Access and Zero Paperwork

A standout feature of this product is its availability at all hours. Business owners don’t need to worry about bank working hours or scheduling appointments. The platform runs 24/7 and can be accessed from a mobile device or desktop anytime.

Additionally, since there’s no paperwork involved, the process becomes smoother and stress-free. Uploads are done online, and verification takes place instantly. This is a major shift from older systems that required piles of forms, signatures, and follow-ups.

Promoting Smarter Lending Through Technology

With this product, Poonawalla Fincorp is not only offering speed but also smarter lending. The digital systems in place don’t just approve loans—they study risk patterns, repayment trends, and income flows to offer funding responsibly.

By applying these methods, the company ensures that credit is extended to businesses that are prepared and able to repay, reducing the chance of future financial stress for both lender and borrower. It reflects a practical and thoughtful approach to modern lending.

An Important Step in India’s Digital Finance Journey

This new offering fits into a larger shift happening in India’s financial sector. As more people use smartphones and become comfortable with online services, the demand for digital lending solutions is growing.

Poonawalla Fincorp Limited has aligned itself with this trend by delivering a product that’s digital from end to end. It not only improves user convenience but also enhances transparency and builds trust through accurate and fair assessments.

Immediate Utility for Everyday Business Needs

Quick access to funds can make a big difference for small business owners. Whether it’s paying vendors, buying inventory, or managing short-term expenses, being able to secure a loan within minutes is a valuable option.

With Business Loan 24/7, the path to funding is much shorter, giving MSMEs the financial tools they need when it matters most. This ensures they don’t miss out on opportunities due to funding delays.

Also Read: The Effectiveness of AI in Marketing and Compliance: A New Era of Smart Business

Conclusion

Business Loan 24/7 from Poonawalla Fincorp Limited represents a modern approach to small business credit. With instant approvals, a full digital process, and an intelligent evaluation system, it delivers speed without sacrificing quality.

By focusing on real financial behaviour and removing outdated processes, the platform empowers entrepreneurs to grow and stay ahead. It’s a step that combines innovation with purpose—helping small businesses across India thrive with simple, accessible funding.

[kenovateolutions]

Still Managing Sales Leads on Paper or in Personal Notebooks? Switch to Leadomatic - the Smarter Way!

In today's fast-paced, tech-driven business world, managing sales leads on paper or in personal notebooks is not just outdated—it’s risky. While jotting down contact details, follow-up notes, or lead sources may have worked years ago, it simply doesn't cut it anymore in a competitive market. If you're still relying on handwritten notes or Excel spreadsheets, you’re likely missing out on valuable opportunities, losing track of leads, and slowing down your sales process.

But there’s good news: there’s a smarter, simpler, and far more effective way to manage your sales pipeline. It’s time to ditch the notepad and step into the future with Leadomatic — a modern, intelligent tool that’s quickly becoming recognized as the Best Lead Management Software for small to mid-sized businesses.

The Problem with Paper-Based Lead Management

At first glance, using a notebook or sticky notes may seem convenient—especially for solo entrepreneurs or small sales teams. But as your business grows and the number of leads increases, managing them manually becomes chaotic and prone to costly mistakes.

Here’s what typically goes wrong with manual lead tracking:

1. Leads Fall Through the Cracks

Missed follow-ups, forgotten callbacks, or misplaced notes—these are everyday realities when managing leads manually. One small oversight can mean losing a potential customer forever.

2. No Centralized Access

Paper notes are accessible to only one person. If you’re working in a team, sharing updates or collaborating becomes inefficient and confusing.

3. Lack of Insights and Reporting

You can’t analyze trends, measure performance, or make data-driven decisions with a notebook. There’s no way to know which source brings in better leads, or what stage your prospects are stuck in.

4. Scalability Is Impossible

As you add more leads and grow your business, your notebook gets cluttered. Searching for information becomes tedious and wastes valuable time.

Enter Leadomatic: The Smarter Way to Manage Leads

Leadomatic is built for business owners and sales professionals who want a better way to capture, organize, and convert leads — without complexity or expensive CRM systems.

With Leadomatic, you can say goodbye to sticky notes, scattered files, and memory-based follow-ups. Instead, you get a streamlined, organized, and efficient sales process from day one.

Why Leadomatic?

Let’s break down what makes Leadomatic for modern businesses:

1. Manage Contacts

Tired of juggling spreadsheets and email threads just to find a phone number or client detail?

With Leadomatic, you can manage all your contact profiles in one place. The easy search feature means you can instantly pull up any lead’s profile, interaction history, or contact details—saving time and reducing friction.

2. Manage Leads / Cases

Each contact can have multiple leads or cases associated with them, and Leadomatic makes it simple to view, manage, and update them all.

You can log activities, track interactions, and schedule next steps without switching between tools. Everything is organized by contact and updated in real-time.

3. To-Do / Activities Tracker

Leadomatic gives you a clean, actionable To-Do list and activity manager so you never miss a follow-up. You can track what’s been communicated, who handled it, and what’s next—all within a few clicks.

No more guessing or second-guessing what needs to be done next.

4. Notes / References

Still scribbling down notes during calls and then forgetting where you kept them?

Leadomatic lets you record notes and reference content right inside the contact profile—and even share them with your team. It's perfect for passing on client insights, keeping everyone aligned, and building knowledge over time.

5. Calendar / Scheduling

Visualize your week or month using Leadomatic’s built-in calendar view.

Plan your calls, meetings, and follow-ups—and take action directly from the calendar. You can view day-wise breakdowns and never miss a step in your sales process again.

6. Dashboard / Reporting

For managers and team leaders, the dashboard provides real-time insights into sales performance, team activity, and pipeline health. No need for manual reports—Leadomatic auto-consolidates your sales data and delivers powerful metrics on demand.

What Happens When You Switch to Leadomatic?

Here’s what you unlock when you move from paper to Leadomatic:

A centralized database for all leads and contacts

A smarter workflow that helps you prioritize the hottest leads

Automatic reminders so you never miss follow-ups

Clear reporting to see what’s working and what’s not

Better collaboration across your sales team

Access anytime, anywhere—Leadomatic is cloud-based and mobile-friendly

Why Businesses Are Saying Goodbye to Notebooks

Thousands of businesses are now realizing that notebooks can’t compete with digital lead tracking. Here’s what they’re saying after switching to Leadomatic:

"I used to forget callbacks all the time. With Leadomatic, my follow-ups are sharp, and my conversions have doubled."

"We went from spreadsheets and whiteboards to Leadomatic in just one day—and never looked back."

"It’s simple enough for our team to use but powerful enough to track every lead. It’s a game-changer."

Who Should Use Leadomatic?

Whether you’re a solo freelancer, a growing startup, or a sales team with multiple agents, Leadomatic adapts to your workflow. It’s perfect for:

Real estate professionals

Marketing agencies

Financial advisors

B2B sales teams

Coaching & consulting businesses

Local service providers (plumbers, electricians, tutors, etc.)

If your business collects leads and wants to convert them effectively, Leadomatic is your new best friend.

Ready to Upgrade? Here’s Your Next Step

Let’s face it—relying on paper and memory in today’s digital world is holding your business back. Your leads deserve attention, structure, and follow-up. More importantly, your business deserves growth.

So stop letting valuable leads slip away. Replace your notebooks with Leadomatic, the Best Lead Management Software designed to help you capture, nurture, and convert leads—smarter and faster.

1. No messy setups 2. No complicated CRMs 3. Just results

Final Thoughts

The most successful businesses aren’t just good at generating leads—they’re excellent at managing them. Whether you’re closing 5 deals a month or 50, having a reliable system in place changes everything.

So, if you’re still managing sales leads on paper or in personal notebooks, it’s time to ask: Isn’t it time you leveled up your lead management game?

Try Leadomatic today and experience how effortless growing your sales pipeline can be.

Explore website: https://www.leadomatic.net/ Email: info@leadomatic.net

#BestLeadManagementSoftware

[musicchoe]

Just How To Decide On The Right Nutrition Supplement For Your Body System

Health and nutrition supplements are a terrific method to fill in any type of dietary gaps as well as assistance overall health as well as well-being. However, with plenty of possibilities readily available on the marketplace, it may be overwhelming to select the correct one. You may ask yourself which supplements are essential, which ones are actually secure, as well as which ones deserve purchasing. Within this blog, we will definitely explain the key elements to consider when choosing a nutrition supplement to ensure that you can produce a notified choice and find the most effective item for your specific necessities.

Quality Substances

The top quality of elements used in InstAminos supplement is a critical factor to take into consideration. Low quality or even synthetic active ingredients can easily lead to unfavorable results on your wellness, including allergies, gastrointestinal issues, and also lessened nutrient absorption. Look for products created along with all natural and organic components, which have actually been verified risk-free and also effective. Avoid supplements with sweetening agents, flavors, and different colors, as they might induce health problems and also threaten the impacts of the supplement.

Third-Party Testing

To make certain the security and also quality of a nourishment supplement, try to find 3rd party testing. Independent labs exam products for pureness, potency, as well as protection, delivering trusted and honest results. 3rd party testing also verifies the label cases of the supplement and also guarantees that it includes exactly what it professes to include. You can easily look for third-party seals on the supplement product packaging or go to the maker's internet site to check out the test leads.

Particular Needs

Consider your specific necessities when selecting InstAminos supplement. Depending on your grow older, gender, wellness conditions, and way of life habits, your physical body might require various nutrients and dosages. As an example, if you are a vegan, you may need a supplement consisting of vitamin B12 as well as iron, which are certainly not discovered in plant-based diet plans. If you possess joint ache, you may profit from a supplement having glucosamine as well as chondroitin. Seek advice from a healthcare specialist or even a registered dietitian to find out which nutrients as well as does are right for you.

Type as well as Shipment

Health and nutrition supplements are available in various types and also delivery systems, including capsules, tablets, grains, liquids, as well as gummies. Think about which form and also shipping procedure are one of the most practical and also successful for your lifestyle as well as inclinations. For instance, if you possess problem eating pills, you may prefer a liquefied or even viscid supplement. If you need to take your supplement on the move, a powder or even capsule might be easier. Consider that various forms as well as delivery methods might affect the absorption cost and also efficacy of the CarnoSyn supplement, thus select the one that ideal satisfies your needs.

Brand Track record

The online reputation of the brand is yet another variable to think about when picking a health and nutrition supplement. Search for brands along with a great performance history of creating top quality, safe, and also efficient products. Review customer reviews from customers as well as check for certifications and awards earned due to the brand. A reputable brand will definitely additionally offer transparent relevant information regarding its production procedures, sourcing process, and client service. Stay away from brands along with a record of callbacks, claims, or even sneaky strategies.

Verdict

Deciding on the appropriate nourishment supplement could be an intimidating duty, however by looking at the key elements talked about in this particular blog, you may help make an informed decision as well as discover the greatest item for your physical body. Don't forget to focus on high quality active ingredients, 3rd party testing, your details demands, type and also shipment, and also brand reputation when selecting a supplement. By accomplishing this, you may support your wellness and also health as well as accomplish superior nutrition. Do not hold back to talk to a healthcare expert or a registered dietitian if you possess any inquiries or worries about selecting a health and nutrition supplement.

[sachinaggarwalok]

Exactly How To Choose The Right Nutrition Supplement For Your Physical Body

Nutrition supplements are a fantastic way to fill in any kind of dietary gaps and assistance total wellness and wellness. Having said that, along with a lot of choices on call on the market, it may be mind-boggling to opt for the best one. You may question which supplements are actually essential, which ones are actually risk-free, and also which ones are worth buying. Within this blog, our company are going to review the key elements to take into consideration when opting for a nourishment supplement to make sure that you can easily produce a notified decision as well as locate the greatest item for your details necessities.

Quality Ingredients

The top quality of active ingredients utilized in Cognizin supplement is actually a vital variable to think about. Low quality or even artificial elements can bring about negative effects on your wellness, including allergies, gastrointestinal issues, and reduced nutrient absorption. Search for products produced with organic and all-natural elements, which have actually been proven risk-free and also reliable. Prevent supplements along with sweetening agents, tastes, and also different colors, as they may cause health problems and undermine the impacts of the supplement.

Third-Party Testing

To ensure the safety and security and premium of a health and nutrition supplement, try to find 3rd party testing. Independent laboratories test products for purity, strength, as well as safety and security, supplying reliable as well as honest outcomes. Third-party testing likewise validates the tag cases of the supplement and also makes certain that it contains precisely what it professes to contain. You can check for 3rd party tapes on the supplement packing or see the maker's internet site to see the examination leads.

Certain Needs

Consider your specific demands when picking ProHydrolase supplement. Depending on your age, sex, health disorders, as well as way of life practices, your body might require different nutrients and also dosages. For example, if you are a vegan, you may need to have a supplement consisting of vitamin B12 as well as iron, which are actually certainly not discovered in plant-based diets. If you possess joint ache, you might benefit from a supplement consisting of glucosamine as well as chondroitin. Speak with a health care professional or a registered dietitian to establish which nutrients and also does are right for you.

Type as well as Shipping

Health and nutrition supplements are available in a variety of types and shipment techniques, such as capsules, tablet computers, particles, liquids, as well as gummies. Take into consideration which form as well as distribution approach are actually the absolute most practical as well as efficient for your way of living as well as desires. For example, if you possess problem swallowing pills, you might prefer a liquid or even gluey supplement. If you require to take your supplement on the move, a particle or even capsule might be actually more convenient. Remember that various types and delivery methods may affect the absorption fee and also efficacy of the nooLVL supplement, therefore pick the one that finest satisfies your necessities.

Brand Online reputation

The reputation of the brand is one more element to take into consideration when selecting a health and nutrition supplement. Try to find brands along with an excellent record of making top quality, risk-free, and also efficient products. Check out customer reviews from consumers and also check for licenses and also honors made due to the brand. A respectable brand is going to also supply straightforward relevant information concerning its own manufacturing methods, sourcing practices, and customer service. Prevent brands along with a background of callbacks, suits, or even immoral techniques.

Conclusion

Selecting the right nourishment supplement could be an intimidating duty, yet by thinking about the key elements talked about in this article, you may produce a notified selection and also find the best product for your body system. Keep in mind to focus on premium active ingredients, third-party testing, your specific needs, type and shipping, as well as brand credibility when picking a supplement. Through accomplishing this, you can assist your health and also wellness and attain optimum health and nutrition. Don't hold back to talk to a healthcare expert or even a registered dietitian if you possess any sort of inquiries or even problems concerning picking a nourishment supplement.

[truecallerbusiness]

The Art of Customer Satisfaction: A Guide to Service Strategy

In the ever-changing world of business, the customer service sector is witnessing rapid growth and transformation. It has evolved into a pivotal division deemed essential for the success of every company. Prominent companies like Amazon, IKEA, and others have underscored the significance of excellent customer service, propelling them to the top of industry rankings.

Achieving exceptional customer service is not merely based on isolated incidents; instead, it is about maintaining consistency by prioritising the consumer while ensuring that the staff are not overburdened. This involves effective workforce management, employing necessary tools such as verified caller ID, and implementing thoughtful leadership strategies.

Understanding the Distinction: Customer Service vs. Customer Support

One common challenge organisations face is distinguishing between customer service and customer support. Due to a lack of clarity, crucial aspects often get overlooked. To truly master the art of customer service, it is essential to understand the primary distinction between these two facets. Despite their unique focus areas, both customer service and customer support ultimately aim to ensure customer satisfaction.

Customer service entails assisting the customer before, during, or after a purchase, going beyond simple issue resolution. It encompasses informing, aiding, and enhancing the customer experience throughout their buying journey. On the other hand, customer support involves providing problem-solving assistance to customers after they have made a purchase, focusing on delivering assistance in the most convenient and efficient manner possible.

Key Strategies and Technologies for Customer Service Success

To achieve success in customer service, companies need to consider important elements and continually adapt to changing consumer needs and preferences. Here are key strategies and technologies that modern businesses can employ to elevate their customer service experience:

1. Verified Caller ID

Displaying the authentication status of a call, known as verified caller ID, plays a significant role in boosting consumer confidence. When customers see that a call is authenticated, they are more likely to respond. However, it's important to note that while this feature enhances trust and engagement, not all consumers might be aware of or able to utilise this service. To assure customer happiness, outbound marketing and active client involvement are crucial. When customers receive personalised offers via phone calls and see authentic caller IDs, they feel valued, contributing to a positive customer journey. Businesses must prioritise having authentic caller IDs to encourage customer callbacks and maintain a high level of trust and engagement.

2. Conversational AI

In 2023, having a website with a live chat feature powered by conversational AI is essential for efficient and cost-effective engagement. Chatbots powered by AI technology have demonstrated their efficiency and availability 24/7, outperforming live agents. They provide instant responses and offer prompts that are relevant to the customer, enhancing engagement and satisfaction. Conversational AI is a powerful tool that enables businesses to interact with customers in real-time, addressing their queries and concerns promptly.

3. Omnichannel Approach

Perfecting the art of customer care is impossible without an integrated approach across communication channels—an approach known as omnichannel. When channels are not integrated, customers often face the inconvenience of having to repeat their information and issues across various channels. This can lead to frustration and a negative customer experience. Implementing an omnichannel contact centre solution can mitigate these challenges. An omnichannel approach ensures that the customer's conversational journey is recorded and remembered across platforms. When a customer connects via any channel, a representative will always have context or knowledge of the customer journey, enabling improved engagement and seamless assistance. The combination of omnichannel and chatbots creates a powerful mechanism for quick and easy customer support, aligning with modern consumer expectations.

4. Proactive Customer Journey Mapping

Providing excellent customer service amidst a high volume of daily customer interactions can be challenging. However, it is a skill that can be developed and honed. One effective approach is comprehensive customer journey mapping. Understanding and mapping the customer's journey allows businesses to anticipate pain points and proactively address them, ensuring a smoother experience. By assisting customers at every step of their journey, businesses can demonstrate a commitment to their satisfaction and enhance overall customer service effectiveness.

Conclusion

In conclusion, delivering exceptional customer service is a multifaceted endeavour that demands a strategic blend of understanding consumer needs, implementing cutting-edge technologies, and prioritising a seamless and proactive customer journey. Modern businesses must invest in verified caller ID, conversational AI, omnichannel strategies, and proactive customer journey mapping to stay ahead in the highly competitive landscape and achieve mastery in the art of customer service. Ultimately, by placing the consumer at the centre of their decisions and actions, companies can build lasting relationships and attain the pinnacle of customer service excellence.

[2eds]

UGHH YORU RESPONSE WAS SO GOOD i havent been able to nerd out over anticon like this yet.

anyways, i cant believe i forgot about my sole cd. heres what i have right now (i fucking love subtle too by the way!! im glad you brought them up!! look at that score.. 1 dollar ♥️♥️) 

soles selling live water in particular was an album ive been extremely familiar with since i was younger, before i even knew about the whole anticon thing. it took awhile for me to really warm up to his shit on my own, but i like what ive listened to so far. havent done bottle of humans in its entirety (ill definitely get to that soon.) 

with alias, ive only really heard one or two songs of his.. im thinking i should listen more later today.

for themselves, the no music is my favorite album and honestly it might be for the rest of my life. i am legitimately in love with the music. dose’s writing style is incredible. its that creative clever wordplay that piles metaphors on top of itself, with that combination of personal experiences, shit thats hard or weird to talk about, all while remaining witty and quick. deconstructing notions about social hierarchies, death and life, sexuality, the system itself, oh my lord. ive seen themselves get called pretentious, but i feel like that way of thinking undermines the effort put into it, creativity at its finest using rap to inspire introspection. 

how genuine the writing feels from dose in themselves while also being just a show of incredible skill from both dose AND jel is what i needed. that shit speaks to me. not to mention in jels producing, most often when him and dose work together, the reoccurring references to his previous shit, motifs and samples reused much later as callbacks.. you like you can hear the thought process behind it. i drool at the thought 

since i left the whole album, my favorite tracks are 

-Good People Check

-Paging Dr. Moon or Gun

-Hat in the Wind (♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️)

the no music loud asf on my speakers & being able to feel it thru the floor is one of the things that makes me feel alive. wish a comeback was fathomable. i think if i saw them live id die right there on the floor.

my favorites from the Them album

-grass skirt and fruit hat 

-Directions to My Special Place 

-Revenge of the Fern 

revenge of the fern is notable especially because of how well that unconventional beat works. this song feels so visual to me. i love the tangible difference between the.. emptiness..? of Them compared to The No Music. its like you can sense that progression in what they wanted themselves to be. 

i agree with your statement about dose’s stage presence. have you seen his old scribble jam shit? his energy has always been so upbeat and playful. i prefer this live version of square, the costume and his delivery add so much more to it.

confusingly, buck65s music is an enigma to me. i dont know anything about the guy either but that might be my fault for not looking into him. the untitled track from the Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop record-

-is the only song ive been able to like from him, his poetry is amazing *here*, but i havent been able to find ANYTHING in his discography that compares. (unfortunately, i actively dislike the album that i own????)(This right here is BUCK 65) though, if you found some shit youd fuck with from buck, id trust your opinion.

i feel like ive been missing out on cLOUDDEAD, since ive been at work i havent been able to listen yet, but ill totally put that on my list too. i know that shitll be good. ive ONLY listened to a few songs off of T.I.M.E. for odd nosdam, i love the energy there. id definitely love to own it on cd as well if i could find it. thank you so much for the recommendations. and no problem about the ask, ive been needing this c:

LISA and OFFs osts are WHOOOLE other subjects i could go into. dude. im obsessed. your art that ive seen is really cool as well. ive got an ancient fantroll that ive been meaning to rework.. maybe this is my sign to do it.

if you have any other recommendations or u wanna talk about other shit HMU this is probably one of the most enjoyable interactions ive ever had on tumblr 😇😇thank you

ok hi im off anon. ueghhhj dude 🤤🤤🤤🤤 i think for the last like… idk.. it definitely feels like over half the year? but relatively “recently” ive been obsessing over anticon. im specifically a really fucking big fan of doseone because. his writing and his voice feel like they cater to me in particular. jels tracks fuck so hard too i feel like i found gold

i think what got me into it FULLY was that. i found ropeladder 12 at a thrift for like 2 bucks which had early as fuck tracks from jel aesop rock and slug, and i recognized their names so i bought it. now that im looking at it again a TON of people from anticon r on this 😍. anyways

that reaching quiet track (113th clean) did something to me so i started looking into who worked on it, leading me to find out about deep puddle dynamics which i had a RECORD of already (rain men/i am hip hop that was a gift from my dad ages ago) which led to. me trying to find out who did each verse and their individual productions. and its driving me CRAZY. 

themselves and dpd are my favorite from anticon, ive also been getting more into why? ive got 3 themselves cds and elephant eyelash from why? and also a buck65 cd i found at a goodwill for some reason. digging in old record stores has always been an interest of mine but this adds a whole new level to it. sorry for the novel 

fuuuck. jel rlly is an insanely good musician. rlly rlly underrated. although i love odd nosdam to piece i think that overall i find jel’s beats more fascinating 2 pick apart in terms of like, what would b the word. just his prowess on a drum pad , his technical skill there. watching him perform live is like i can’t take my eyes off the screen. nosdam is 100% one of my fav composers you cannot find a single other musician coming even close to what he does. altho u can rlly apply that to all of em.

they stand out so hugely to me for their subject matter. some lyricists stand out a lot more than others, why? & doseone in particular, but the running theme among anticon members of just a deep dissatisfaction with western society just comes thru in such a unique way in their stuff. hyperspecific, introspective, reconstructive, super experimental, and rlly instrumentally delicious throughout. they’ve given me a lot to think abt abt just what it means to be alive & be a human being. the way dose & why? spin imagery into commentary in particular is unlike anyone else. combined w/ nosdam / jel’s production quality it just… i love it sm. i rlly do

i also rlly love dose’s lyrical style & how he experiments w/ his voice in singing, i found him thru his collabs w why? & nosdam on clouddead, personally. it’s rlly interesting to see diff ppls routes into anticon stuff. so it was only in the last yr for u right? i love ur route in. just feels like a very quintessential anticon experience to grab a cd and be like “dude who the fuck was that” roflmao

^ good ass song & the track on ropeladder 12 for anyone else readinf

i think i’ve said my route thru anticon before on ma blawg but for me it started with why? who i was introduced to via a family member, about 2008-9? & i got obsessed w him. overtime i noticed he kept mentioning other ppl in his shit, dose & nosdam particularly, so i looked into their collabs (clouddead, themselves) then onto nosdams solo stuff & his collab with serengeti (who i had alrdy found through why?’s collab album w/ him. but that’s a whole OTHER rabbit hole)… anyway serengeti was on anticon himself via his own stuff & the grimm teachaz which has a concept album i love a lot. huge rec on serengeti if u haven’t gotten to him yet.

i went thru doseone’s stuff after nosdam, which my main takeaway was his solo albums “ha” & “skeletonrepellent” which i got preeetty obsessed with, then his album “for hero/for fool” w/ jel under subtle. some fantastic tracks & lyrics from dose there. yk on that album he tried to rlly transcend genre, it was kind of an attempt to revolutionise music which is very on-brand for him. i also tried 13 & god but just didn’t really vibe w/ most of their stuff…

^ i come back to this vid a lot. dose’s stage presence is just cute to me. all the lil props. plus u can see jel going batshit on the side. hugely recommend listening to the studio version of the 2 songs performed here but that’s assuming u haven’t based on the artists u mentioned

w/ themselves i still feel like i’ve rlly just scratched the surface. my fav song i’ve heard from them is definitely “grass skirt & fruit hat”.

^ love the ramping tension on this song & the rambly lyrics from dose.

deep puddle dynamics is smth i have checked out, & theres some songs there i rlly like, but there’s a lot more i haven’t heard yet i think.

it’s rly hard to find info on a lot of the production end for so much stuff which is a shame. have u listened to sole & alias? sole is pretty interesting. i rlly like his album “bottle of humans” tbh. also, what are your thoughts on clouddead? for me clouddead is a major major anticon highlight, absolute musical genius goig on there & it’s a shame it didn’t work out long term. their title album is just… insane.

^ one of my fav songs of all time

nice find on the buck65 cd btw! which one was it soecifically? he’s an artist i need to dig into more still. for sure. same w/ pedestrian & i do need to look more into alias himself, rip.

i rly enjoy physical media but i don’t have much of it. i have “this is my element”, the skate comp with the ost fully composed by nosdam except for one song. otherwise i have a lot of shit pirated on my drive hahah. friend archer’s been going on abt burning cds. i feel like i should look into that myself

mentioning ropeladder 12 has made me realise that “stop (and listen)” by jel doesn’t seem 2 have its own dedicated upload on youtube. theres a full album upload but not that. i might wanna remedy that hah. it’s a rlly interesting track. i love his use of samples.

dj signify is also on ropeladder 12! he’s sick. i rly like his stuff. he has some sick collabs w aesop rock actually.

also i peeped ur blog. i see ur also a fan of lisa & off. those are two of my fav game osts of all time. i feel like we have a lot in common musically hahah 🙂

thanks for sending another ask. loooove having reasons to talk abt anticon, take care

[syndicode]

Commands Pattern for(in) Ruby on Rails. Callbacks Killer. Lifehacks on Rails with Syndicode

Meet the new video from our regular screencasts series on Syndicode’s YouTube channel! Great Ruby advice and tips will make you a better developer and will simplify your work! Prepared and explained by Paul Leoniuk, Rails code tips will bring you some interesting and useful knowledge. If you wil...

[tedturneriscrazy]

Through the Looking Glass Ruins. No preamble. Let's do this.

Oh, hey, I finally figured out how to do the "keep reading" thing! Neat!

So that's how they're explaining Willow not being in this, huh? Pixies must be a nasty piece of work.

Incidentally, I really hope we get a Willow-centered episode this season.

"What's the point of being good at this if I can't do anything good with it?" Helluva line

Gus lying on the floor groaning in frustration is a mood

Fuck yeah Gus has a Bad Girl Coven shirt

I don't know how King was talked into recording that "leave a message" bit, but I'm into it.

Hi Willow. Bye Willow.

Loving Luz's permutations of "Gus"

Okay but the whole library card bit implies Luz does this all the damn time.

I'd ask why not get her own, but then I remember who she lives with.

I must admit, it's somewhat jarring to see Gus so filled with self-doubt.

Braxus! (Not worried about his fate so I can just enjoy his presence)

So Construction = earthbending. I knew it!

I also knew that Warden Wrath and Braxus were related! Turns out Wrath is a single dad.

Yes, Gus, those are their tracks.

Mattholomule (God, I hate writing his name) simping over Bria, aka how some people are about Felicia Day. (No problem with her, for the record, I'm just being a smartass)

Gus is actually invited to the adventure rather than offering to come along? That's a refreshing change of pace.

How long was Luz holding her breath?!

It seems the call to adventure won't take no for an answer, Gus.

I know Gus crushing on Bria puts a damper on the Ace Gus headcanon, but consider: Ace Biromantic Gus!

Eda making headlines with her human market, we love to see it

Planet of Humans "Too implausible" lmao

Ah, there's hair down Amity! So good!

"Finally! I can learn how to summon the Dark Lord!"

Luz is yearning

Do Ed and Em just...go around like that?

"Nah, looks like you've got that covered." So everyone just knows, cool cool.

Ooh, they/them date for Ed!

In this episode: blushing, and lots of it!

Also Luz is such a bi disaster it's great.

The twins definitely know what's up. Then again, Luz and Amity are not in the least bit subtle.

¡Más español!

Amity breaking the rules to help her gf? Now that's character development!

(Although it seems to me they could've just tried asking Malphas about that diary, but whatever)

"You have to do everything I say" I'm sure this won't come back to bite them.

Man, Matt really is quite little. Even Gus is taller than him now.

HADOKEN!

(Not sure if he figured out it was a fire glyph or if he was just guessing)

I say the buffing properties of illusion magic are underappreciated.

Ooh, what if the Galderstones were made by illusionists? That might help explain why illusions aren't boosted by them!

Forbidden Stacks really going hard, huh?

More blushing, always nice

So that's how Amity has her own secret room in the library.

Potential future date in the human realm is a powerful motivator, I see.

That "Don't tread on me" snake never said anything about poking.

Make the butterfly boi lookout, sure.

Beginning to think Bria is not as...nice as she puts on...

Grave robbing is a perfectly wholesome activity for teenagers, right?

Yup, I was right about Bria.

"Who's that Pokémon?!"

"Deadwardian Era" I love this show's wordplay

Y'know, considering all these ancient books have their own separate area, they are not kept in the best condition.

This is still cute as hell.

So much for the being quiet part...

Of course Malphas talks like an old hippie. Why did I expect any different?

That whole exchange...I just...😭

The "doing stupid things," the dawning comprehension on Amity's face, Luz vowing in Spanish to make things right...so much to unpack here!

Also, I'm still waiting for Amity's turn to have a proper cry this season. That doesn't count.

"It's a faaaaake!" Callback to the Pokémon bit and a Star Trek DS9 reference? I am a master wordsmith!

(Disclaimer: I haven't really watched any Star Trek. Everything I know about it is through osmosis)

Strange, Gus seems less than thrilled by being hugged by a frazzled old man.

Illusionists guarding the Galderstones makes perfect sense, but unfortunately it does require that that fact not be widely known.

Call me crazy, but I think Bria was bullshitting when talking about "changing things for the better."

Wait, are they making Matt less of a shithead? I think I'm okay with this.

Oh, Angmar, a shame you have to hang with such a crowd.

Regardless of that development, I maintain that Angmar>Alador in the contest of butterfly bois.

Come on, Gavin, you can't seriously be falling for this. (Everything about this is hilarious. Big mustaches, man)

"I'm not dumb enough to fall for these tricks!" Give it a moment.

ANCIENT SINS ANCIENT SINS

Yeah, it's an obvious reference, but it's a good one, dammit!

Damn, Gus, going ham with all that. And the whole graveyard, to boot!

That's the thing about illusions, you can get super fucked up with them. Look what they got away with for a TV-Y7 rating!

Welp, Gustholomule just got some fuel.

Aw, sibling bonding moment.

"Is that so bad? You weren't happy before."

New hair color!

Luz is into it!

Ed and Em are us.

Time for lore!

Ah, conveniently timed wind blowing through Luz's hair, I see.

"Don't worry. You have a way of sneaking into people's hearts." This is some Kingdom Hearts bullshit and I am here for it!

I think I spent all my freakout energy last night, so no all caps for the kiss.

Oh who am I kidding AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Luz's turn for dawning comprehension!

Amity's whole reaction to what she just did is 100000/10

The way Luz just sinks to the ground

So yeah, that was something, huh? Gus adventure and Lumity development! What more could you ask for?

(Maybe a few things, but we can talk about that elsewhere)

Anyway, I'll be doing this again next week! Probably sleep deprived as usual.

[whenisitenoughtrees]

look me up and define me (please remind me) (part 1/2)

He is whatever puts Thomas first. But that changes so often that he doesn’t know what he is beyond that.

He is Janus when he is alone, but only when he is not someone else.

Janus has never minded the fact that his identity is fluid, ever-changing. He acts as whoever Thomas needs him to be in the moment, and if that means he doesn't know much about himself as an individual, well. It's never been a problem for him.

Until he gives away his name, and then it very much is.

Chapter Warnings: identity issues, non-graphic panic attack, references to self-harm

Chapter Word Count: 4,493

Pairings: platonic TDLAMPR, implied Moceit (though you don’t have to read into it)

Notes: This fic started as a oneshot but ended up being more than 10k, so I’m dividing it into two parts, the second of which will hopefully be posted Friday. Also, this fic as a whole was inspired by the awesome ‘The Record Player Song’ animatic by @turbovickii, which, 10/10 would recommend if you haven’t seen it

Chapter one podfic by @titheinironside

(part 2)

(masterpost w/ ao3 links)

Janus isn’t his name.

Or rather, it isn’t, and it is. He’s never had to think too hard about it before, has never had to struggle for the words to put it all into context. Janus is his name, yes, the name he chose for himself back when Thomas was young and they were all bright-eyed, foolish children, and his preferred moniker wasn’t Deceit but rather something entirely different.

Janus. Roman god of beginnings and of ends, of transitions, of doorways, of passages that lead on and on. God of time, and god of duality. He thought it a fitting descriptor for himself; he is sweet lies, lies that soothe and lies that heal, and he is bitter truths, truths that no one wants to hear, that he must keep to himself lest they do more harm than any lie could. If that is not duality, he doesn’t know what is.

But he is, at his core, whatever Thomas needs him to be. He is fluid in a way that the others are not, able to shift and change depending on the day, depending on what Thomas requires of him at any given moment. He is Thomas’ ability to lie, but only when it benefits him; when a truth would do the most good, he suggests that, instead. He wants Thomas to succeed, to do whatever it takes to better himself, to pursue his ambitions, but only until he pushes himself too far, works himself into exhaustion or questions himself too much. Then, he is the voice that tells him to relax, to take time for himself, to put his health above his goals.

He is whatever puts Thomas first. But that changes so often that he doesn’t know what he is beyond that.

He plays the part of the others, too, whenever it is necessary. They are used to it by now, so used to it that by the time he reveals himself to Thomas, they react with anger rather than surprise or alarm. But what they do not know is that for every time they catch him out, there are five more times he goes undetected, slipping in amongst them, a snake in the grass. He mediates arguments as Morality when the real Patton is nowhere to be found, uses Logic to pull them down to earth when Logan is too buried in his books and theories to realize there’s an emotional problem, uses Creativity’s bravado to advocate for Thomas’ dreams when Roman is busy dreaming himself.

He keeps the mindscape running smoothly. And when he is not one of them, when he wears his default skin, scales and all, he is known to them as Deceit. Nothing more, nothing less. A convenient villain, uniting them all in their distaste. It makes him sick, sometimes, their naivety, the knowledge that without him here, they would run Thomas into the ground all while professing their love for him. But he swallows it down, hides it within himself with all the other truths he hoards, and he carries on another day.

He is Janus when he is alone.

But even that is not true, not really. He is Janus in the snatched moments he has for himself, when there is no pressing crisis, nothing for Thomas to be doing or saying or making, when he can sit alone in his room with the jukebox crooning soft melodies. He is Janus, but only sometimes, because even alone, he draws on the traits of the others. Logan, when he needs a clearer perspective; Roman, when he needs an ego boost; Virgil, to indulge in his worries; Remus, to indulge in darker thoughts; Patton, when he is feeling weak and lonely and wanting, when he wraps his arms around himself and wants to pretend that he does not stand in solitude.

He is Janus when he is alone, but only when he is not someone else.

The Roman god Janus has two faces, one to look to the past and the other to the future. None to look to the present, and that is how he feels, most days, like there is none of him-as-Janus present at all, like every face that he wears is a false one, and his namesake has only two but he has far more than that.

He’s not sure he even knows who Janus is, besides the name, what he likes and what he dislikes, how he feels and how he acts when there is no pressure on him to keep Thomas well. He likes chess and philosophy, but he only ever plays as Logan, only uses that knowledge when he’s wearing the necktie and glasses, because otherwise he can’t get anyone else to listen. He dislikes surprises and stupidity and the ever-present knowledge that nothing in Thomas’ life is guaranteed, due to a society that actively works against most of its members, but are those his concerns or Virgil’s? He only indulges in stronger emotions when he takes Patton’s form, so who’s to say that the feelings are Janus’ at all?

And he almost never gets to act when there is no pressure on him to keep Thomas well. That pressure is always there, has always been there. Without it, who would he be?

In the end, Janus is just a name. Whether it’s his or not is difficult to say. And that has never been a problem for him; he exists to benefit Thomas, after all. He doesn’t feel the need for a solid identity beyond that, not like the others do. He only picks a name in the first place because everyone else does, because Creativity-that-is-Remus needs someone he can look up to, because Anxiety-that-becomes-Virgil needs to know that not everyone is out to get him. It’s a display of trust, in a way, but trust only leads to disaster, to angry two-toned words and pounding footsteps and a blank space in the wall where his best friend once lived, so really, what is the point?

Janus is his name. But he’s not particularly attached to it, and he’s content to leave it there.

But then, there is the callback, and the wedding. But then, he fights for Thomas’ desires harder than he has ever fought before, and when that turns sour, he returns to fight for Thomas’ failing mental health. He does so as Logan, and as Deceit when Logan’s form no longer suits the goal, and he’s not expecting them to listen but he still tries.

But then, everything changes.

But then, Thomas says, I don’t know that we are, and he believes for a moment that he is imagining all of this, that he has slipped into Roman’s face and has allowed a daydream to get just a bit out of hand, because to hear those words out of Thomas’ mouth is something he has fantasized about for so long.

But then, he has a chance at acceptance, a chance to change it all so that he no longer has to struggle to make his voice heard, a chance that all depends on using the right words at this exact moment, and in the split second before he begins to tug his glove from his hand, he panics. Because he is Deceit right now, and the amount of sincerity that he has allowed to spill from his lips has already been taxing. What else can he possibly say to earn their consideration, to earn a place among them?

And then he remembers the importance they place on names. From there, the decision is practically made for him.

He says the words as if on autopilot, an odd mixture of nervous and numb, and he has to check to make sure he has not accidentally shifted into Virgil’s hoodie rather than Deceit’s capelet as his fear thrums though him. Roman laughs, and he lashes out in return, though more due to offense at the idea that the name is stupid rather than because of a personal connection to it.

When Patton says it back to him, he can’t stop himself from flinching, just a bit, can’t stop the widening of his eyes, the stilling of every muscle. He should be glad, he thinks, because this shows that Patton, at least, is willing to give him a chance, is willing to let him in just a little. But all he can feel is a pervasive sense of wrongness, because he isn’t supposed to be Janus here. Here, he is Deceit, is acting as Deceit. Janus is for isolated, personal moments, and for the life of him, he cannot change that, cannot draw out what little he knows of Janus while there are others here, while Thomas is here.

It’s all wrong. And it only gets worse.

Patton wants to spend time with him, after that. Mostly, he’s glad to accept, is glad of the opportunity to endear himself, to cultivate a relationship that once would have been impossible. Patton invites him to bake, to watch movies, to play games, even to debate morality with him, and he does, and he finds himself enjoying both the activities and the company. But every so often, he catches himself, happiness curdling and souring, because these are all things he enjoys when he is Patton, when he is filling in the cracks that form in Morality’s absence. He has never done any of this as Janus, and every time Patton calls him by the name, he feels dirty, feels like the worst kind of imposter, because in these moments, he doesn’t feel as though he is acting as Janus so much as acting like a reflection of Patton himself, and if Patton knew that, knew that the person he thought he was befriending barely exists at all, he would be devastated.

For some reason, he thinks he would do just about anything to avoid that. For the sake of Thomas’ mental health, surely, and not because he cares about Patton as an individual. To do that would be to open a door that he wouldn’t know how to close. Better to leave it shut and locked, and to ignore the fact that the knob is already turning.

“You okay there, kiddo?” Patton asks him. “You seem a little distracted.”

He manages a smile, and he knows it comes off well, because that is what he is practiced in. “Perfectly fine,” he says. “Sorry about that.” He sniffs the air. “This batch definitely won’t burn if you leave it in any longer.”

And Patton gasps and bustles around, pulling the cookies from the oven, the redirection working perfectly.

Leave it shut and locked? Please. The door is open, he thinks. Perhaps it would be a disservice to both of them to pretend otherwise. Because he finds himself almost unbearably fond of Patton, these days, and guilty for feeling so. As soon as he has a moment alone, he has to shift into Patton’s form to get his emotions under control, to abate the itching tightness of his skin. Deceit isn’t made for these pleasant interactions, and Janus is about as tangible as mist, but he can hardly be Patton in front of Patton, so he wears a mask of scales and speaks past the acid burning in his throat.

The smart thing to do would be to stop. To retreat, to cut off these developing ties before they can do him any more harm. But for all the cognitive dissonance this is causing him, he doesn’t want to lose Patton’s friendship, his smiles and warmth. He’s not sure how he used to live without it.

The door is open so wide that it might as well be hanging off its hinges.

He can grin and bear it when it’s just Patton. For a while, it seems as though it will remain that way. Roman, at least, doesn’t want to see him, and when Virgil isn’t avoiding him, their interactions are far from cordial. And when he is tired, he can sink back into the dark side of the mindscape where Remus awaits him, and Remus, at least, has never expected him to be anything that he is not. He never calls him by his name, either, instead blurting out whatever obscene nickname pops into his head in the moment.

He has never been so glad of that.

But then, Logan invites him to play a game of chess, and for a full three minutes, he is overjoyed, because he loves to play chess, and Logan is the only one who could possibly give him a challenge, and the fact that Logan voluntarily wants to spend time with him is nothing short of amazing. The euphoria lasts until the board is set and they are facing each other, and he catches himself just before shapeshifting into Logan’s form. And he remembers: he has only ever played chess as Logan, learned to play in the first place so as to better imitate Logan. He has played against everyone in the mindscape but Logan at one point or another, providing a distraction and logical advice when Logan himself was unavailable, and none of them were any the wiser as to just who commanded the opposing set of pieces.

Except Remus, but he just thought it was funny.

It is all he can do to focus on the game. All he can do to put up a decent showing, though he loses. All he can do to prevent himself from mirroring Logan’s mannerisms by mistake, out of habit.

He doesn’t know how to do this as Janus. His face is frozen, but his hands are fidgeting, seeking release. Normally, he would copy Logan’s calm, his professionalism, but he can’t do that when Logan is sitting right across from him, sure to notice anything odd or out of place.

“It was a good game, Janus,” Logan says when they are done, and he wants to scream, because Janus doesn’t belong here either, doesn’t belong sitting by a chessboard. That has always been Logan’s place, and it disturbs him somewhere deep inside to be playing Logan’s game, wearing Deceit’s face, being called Janus. So much so that once the game is completed, he retreats to his room and stays there for a week, refusing to answer the door.

It should help. He is not Janus often, but when he is, it is here, in the sanctuary of his own room, his own bed.

It doesn’t help. If anything, it unsettles him even more, because the lines that hold his identities apart have been blurred so far that he spends the entire week uncomfortable in his skin, unsure of who he’s trying to be at any given moment. He shifts into the others, stares at their reflections in the mirror, but that doesn’t make things any better.

He needs help. He has to admit that, at this point. And there’s only one other he can think of to go to, only one other who might have experienced anything close to this tailspin.

He knocks on Virgil’s door.

Virgil opens it promptly enough, though his expression morphs from neutral to pissed off immediately upon seeing him. “Fuck off,” he snaps, and slams the door shut in his face.

He knocks again. And when he gets no reply, he keeps knocking, knocking and knocking and knocking.

“Don’t worry, I definitely couldn’t do this all day,” he calls airily, and Virgil jerks the door open again, face now firmly set in incandescent rage.

“What the fuck do you want?” he spits, all nerves and anger, all fight and no flight at all.

“Can I talk to you?” he asks.

Virgil stares at him, wordless, eyes narrow. And then, he holds the door open, allowing him to step inside.

“Make it quick,” he bites out, closing the door behind him. “What the hell do you think you and I have to discuss?”

He raises an eyebrow at that, because really? They have everything to discuss, and the longer they put it off, the more difficult it will be to start. Their relationship as it stands now is untenable; left to rot much longer, and it will begin to actively harm Thomas, which is something he absolutely cannot allow.

But that is not what he is here for.

“For both of our sakes, I won’t answer that,” he says. “I just have a question for you.”

Virgil glares. In his hoodie sleeves, his hands are balled into shaking fists. It hurts in an odd sort of way, to see how much he hates him. “Then ask it and leave,” he says, his voice threaded with trepidation. He already knows that he won’t like what he hears.

Well. That makes two of them. He knows he isn’t going to like asking this question.

“After you first told the others your name,” he says, “how long did it take for you to like hearing it?”

He has the dubious pleasure of seeing shock, pure and unfiltered, pass across Virgil’s face.

“How long--” Virgil starts. “What are you even--? I don’t know, I've never thought about it. I… I never disliked hearing it. I mean, I told them in the first place because I trusted them.” A barb, though not an undeserved one. “It was weird, but I wouldn't have told them if I didn’t want them to know it. Why are you asking me that?”

It’s exactly the answer he didn’t want. He knew that Virgil wouldn’t understand what he is going through, that Virgil, at his core, is exactly what and who he appears to be, unlike him. But he hoped that there would have been an adjustment period, at least, that there was a time when Virgil, so used to being called by his function, deemed the monster under the bed, would have found it disturbing or at least unnerving to be named so casually.

“Absolutely no reason at all,” he says, and turns back to the door. “Thank you for your time.”

“Nuh-uh.” Virgil catches him by the arm, and he freezes. “You’re not leaving.”

He breathes out slowly, tries not to show his growing fear. The effects of Virgil’s room are beginning to take root, but in his heart of hearts, he knows that’s not the only reason for the erratic pounding of his pulse.

“Oh?” he says, and fights to keep the tremor from his voice. “I thought you wanted me to ask and leave? Do continue with the indecision, it never ceases to delight me.”

“No,” Virgil says, voice hard. “You don’t get to do that. Not until you tell me what the hell you’re talking about.”

He should never have come here. He draws on Deceit like a cloak, like armor to protect him, armor woven of sarcasm and misdirection and misplaced confidence. Be what he expects, and he will never see anything different; that is a lesson he learned years ago. But the persona is shaky, muted by his confusion and by the bleed-through of every other guise he’s ever adopted. To give ground in front of Virgil is like diving into shark-infested waters with an open wound, but the smoothness he seeks to emulate slips through his grasp.

“It’s a question I need answered,” he says. “No more than that.”

“Bullshit.” Virgil tugs on his arm, and despite himself, he turns his head to face him. There is something odd flickering behind the irritation in Virgil’s eyes, something strange in the tilt of his head that he cannot place. It puts him ill at ease; to be unable to read Virgil is inviting danger, especially in Virgil’s own territory. “If you don’t like them saying your name, then why did you tell them?”

Caught.

He can feel all the blood draining from his face. His vision tunnels, focusing on Virgil’s face, on the expression that is anger and something that cannot possibly be concern, because they burned their bridges far too thoroughly for that. His head throbs, his breathing hitching, and he knows that he needs to leave, now, before he spirals further, because showing weakness in front of another is reprehensible but far, far worse if that someone is Virgil--

“Janus!” Virgil says, alarm threading through his voice, and that is absolutely the last straw. He rips his arm from Virgil’s grasp and sinks directly out, falling through the mindscape until he is in his own room, gasping for breath. His pulse races, his heartbeat roaring in his ears, and when he turns to look in the mirror, he finds that he has wrapped himself in Virgil’s form as his fears threaten to overwhelm him, hoodie and eyeshadow and all.

He curls up on the floor and tries to remember how to breathe.

It takes a long time for him to calm himself, and when he manages to look up again, it is Patton staring back at him. He likes being Patton, likes it more than being any of the others, because Patton is warm and soft and for all his flaws, fundamentally good in a way that used to repulse him but no longer does. Being Patton feels like the closest thing to a hug that he will ever get.

He forces himself to shift again, forces himself into Deceit before stumbling from his room and into the commons. Remus is laying on the couch, half-naked, watching some gory anime and eating ice cream straight out of the carton. He pauses for a moment, watching him, taking comfort in the familiarity; everything changes, but Remus, at least, is a constant, like the north star if the north star showed its love by threatening violence at random intervals. For the briefest of seconds, he shifts into Remus and then back to Deceit again, and for once, feels steady.

Remus takes notice of him eventually, sitting up and baring his teeth in a grin.

“How’d it go with Virgey?” he asks.

He decides not to question how he knew where he was.

“Right, because I want to talk about it,” he grumbles. “Can’t you tell?” He strides over to the couch, keeping as much dignity intact as possible as he shoves at Remus’ legs until he moves them, providing room for him to sit. “What are we watching?”

“Parasyte,” Remus offers, but there is an odd tone in his voice. When he looks, he sees that Remus is watching him now, rather than the screen, and something in the strangely level gaze is discomfiting.

“What?” he snaps.

“Nothing,” Remus says, raising his hands. “Just, are you good? I mean, we can switch it to something you wanna watch, if you want. Like, uh, that one show where everyone’s dead? You like that one, right?”

“The Good Place,” he mutters. “No, that’s alright. You’d be bored to tears.”

Remus frowns, but doesn’t respond. It takes another full episode-- he thinks; they must be in the middle of the plot, because he has absolutely no idea what’s going on-- for him to speak again, which is strange in and of itself. A quiet Remus never bodes well, because a quiet Remus means that either he is hurting, or he is seriously contemplating hurting someone else. No jokes, no disgusting gags, just a desire to inflict pain for pain’s sake. It doesn’t happen often, but it is never pleasant when it does. All too often, it is Remus himself who becomes the victim of these tendencies, Remus who tears into his own flesh rather than harming another.

But then, the silence is broken, and he almost wishes that it weren’t.

“If something was wrong, you’d tell me, right, Dee?” Remus asks, and he swallows, hard.

“Of course,” he lies, and of course it is a lie, a lie hissed out between his teeth, because there is nothing that Remus can do about this, so what would be the point in telling him about it? Remus cares, even if he shows it in odd ways, and it would only hurt him to be presented with a problem that he can do nothing to solve.

“Good,” Remus says, settling back in. “‘Cause you know, if anybody was hurting you, I’d smash their skull in. Like a watermelon. Bits going everywhere. Hey, have you ever seen those videos of people crushing watermelons with their thighs? Do you think I could get someone to do that to my skull?” He shoves a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, speaking around it. “I bet it’d be real juicy.”

“I bet,” he murmurs. He doesn’t have the energy to respond further.

What is he supposed to say? He has no doubt that he could set Remus on any of the others easily; all it would take is a sentence, a white lie, and perhaps not even that. Oh, so-and-so was a dick to me, Remus, don’t you think they would like to be introduced to your mace? Remus would jump at the chance for a bit of sanctioned mayhem.

But no one is hurting him but himself. He wonders what Remus would do if he told him that. Could he get Remus to bash his head in, to hit him until whatever is broken in his brain comes loose? Or until he can’t feel anything at all anymore, and wouldn’t that just solve every one of his problems? No more confusion, no more angst, no more churning in his stomach whenever someone calls him by a name or a label that feels no more like his than any other.

The idea is more attractive than it should be.

He excuses himself not too much later, and Remus’ eyes bore into his back as he returns to his room, telling himself that it’s a strategic retreat, that he’s not running away.

He knows it for the lie it is, little though he wants to admit it to himself. And as he stands there in the center of his room, trying to decide whether it is worth it to continue with the day or if he should go to bed now, avoid the world for a little longer, his reflection in the mirror catches his eye, and he turns to stare at it. A face stares back, and he supposes that the face must be his, but he doesn’t feel like it. It looks as though it is mocking him, taunting him with his unreality.

He shudders and turns away, but the name rings in his head. Janus Janus Janus. A person he should know but that he can no longer find, even here. Once his room was a safe haven, but now it feels like a prison, trapping him between identities that he no longer knows how to escape.

He has his back to the mirror, but the reflection is still there, he knows, and a shiver creeps down his spine, filling him with something like anger and something like fear.

He turns off the lights.

Writing Taglist: @just-perhaps @the-real-comically-insane @jerrysicle-tree @glitchybina @psodtqueer @mrbubbajones

[true-blue-sonic]

Also, Knuckles outright calls Silver rude in Rivals 1:

Silver: He certainly knows how to run, I'll give him that... Hey, you there! Did you see that guy carrying something strange? Knuckles: Actually... He has this weird camera that changes things into cards... Wait a minute... Who are you? Silver: What'd you say!? How did he get a hold of it? Knuckles: You...! What are you mumbling about? Silver: Got no time to explain it to someone like you... See ya! Knuckles: "Someone like me?" Hey, I'm Knuckles! Haven't you heard of me? How rude! Asking questions without having the gall to introduce himself! Silver: Like I said before, I don't have time to deal with you right now. See ya! Knuckles: You little... Get back here!

And in Rivals 2, Silver tells Knuckles to shut up in Knuckles' storyline, to Rouge's displeasure:

Eggman Nega: Well, well. Looks like you acquired my Emerald Detector. Now, what else do you require? Knuckles: We still can't find the Master Emerald and I think you know where it is. Eggman Nega: Maybe I do and maybe I don't. Knuckles: Stop these games, Eggman! Silver: Shut up, Knuckles. I need to talk to him so just get out of here! Rouge: Hey, watch your mouth, kid! Don't take that tone with us! Eggman Nega: Silence! All of you! I'll give you all a REAL reason to be upset!

I stopped reading IDW after issue 64, in part because I was incredibly done by Silver's portrayal in the comics. On the one hand, there's just a problem of bad writing: things like the girls not picking up on Duo's "I couldn't save Silver and now he's dead :(" two seconds later "I was going to get help!!!!! D:", or the writers seemingly completely forgetting Whisper has a recorder in her mask that thus goes entirely unmentioned, which got kinda handwaved in a later issue. But an IC Silver would not have folded to Lanolin like he did: I would say Silver only cares for the authority of people who've proven to be on the same page as him, like Blaze or Espio. What has Lanolin done to prove that? She picks Duo's side immediately, and Silver just rolls with it without arguing with her about it and goes off to sulk instead of being proactive (I guess maybe as a callback to '06? Except in '06 Silver's entire worldview got rattled for a bit there by Amy, which issue 63 really did not achieve to that level). Silver's a proactive guy! He doesn't sit around waiting for troubles to come, he actively goes and does his best to solve them. And it's also just dumb things like issue 64 showing him all clumsily tripping or his quills poking out of the bush all obviously, or him (aka Meteor Smash guy) being unable to catch Duo in a one-meter fall. I agree with the fact that it's frustrating to see; it feels like Silver just does not get taken seriously.

And on that topic, a lot of Silver in the comics seems to be written to be very... cutesy, I think is a good way to describe it. Very uwu baby cinnamon roll, I've used as terms before too. Must protecc him, he's got no social skills because everyone in his future is dead and he was always alone and he's never been rude to anyone ever. Except the problem with Silver as a character is that he's not meant to be cutesy, I would argue, and the previous sentence is rife with misconceptions. He's got a deep-ass voice in Japanese and uses rude language and rude gestures up the wazoo, he's 100% down to murder someone to solve his problems and save the world, in the Rivals games he's got an insult or just general obstinateness ready for basically everyone, in the fourth and fifth line of his intro in '06 he mentions other people in Crisis City and both Rivals games show what a jerk he can be... That's really not uwu baby cinnamon roll material, in my opinion. What could arguably be cutesy is his naivety, but then indeed what Siggie describes: him not realising that not everybody shares the knowledge he has and sees things in the way he does. Not whatever IDW is pulling with him. But as for a solution, I don't know; if the writers think Silver is inherently meant to be a cutesy socially awkward li'l guy, I presume that's what they'll keep writing him as. To that end, I hope the Sonic Channel medias and the video games will keep providing a more in-character Silver!

What’s your thoughts on idw silver, I personally think he is ok but I feel like the idw comic didn’t really do very well with his character.

I can't say I like him... at all.

American Sonic media already has a history of needless and quite frankly terrible changes, whether made out of ignorance, xenophobia towards Sonic Team/SoJ, some vague, made-up sense of marketability, or all three. So, I'm already wary of media like that. They always change fundamental aspects of Sonic's appeal and are supremely unenjoyable to me as a result.

To stay on track here - why do I dislike IDW Silver? The main reason is that I think he's portrayed as way too polite and nice to people. He has no backbone. It's as if he was just based off of popular fanon or Archie comics, rather than the source material. I don't blame anyone for thinking Silver is some timid, polite sweetheart if fanon and IDW/Archie is all they have consumed, but I'm doing my best to dispel that notion for the sake of conquering misinformation. As a casual fan, it is understandable to have misconceptions, but I'm going to be much more harsh to official media.

I need to hammer home the fact that Silver is rude and often talks down to people. Sonic '06, Silver's debut game, showcases this very well. In an '06 cutscene, he talks down to Sonic after attacking him when his guard was down. The casual stride over to a wheezing, incapacitated Sonic kills me. The disrespect is fucking crazy.

In the level Flame Core, he acts haughty and superior about his abilities, even letting out a light chuckle at how pathetic the enemies are. And, a detail that is easy to miss, he doesn't even apologize for trying to kill Sonic.

That's not even mentioning the Rivals games being a wonderful source of Rude Silver™, where there are too many snide remarks to count.

IDW Silver is a telltale case of Silver's nuance being stripped so that he only represents one trait of his- that trait being "naivety." Silver's naivety is mentioned twice by Blaze in Sonic '06 because this is relevant to the story. Naivety is Silver's fatal flaw that leads to him being easily manipulated by Mephiles. However, his naivety isn't due to some innocent, childlike outlook on the world. Silver takes everyone at face value and always assumes people are telling the truth to him due to a lack of social skills. This is why, when Silver mentions something outlandish or unbelievable to people, he is confused why they don't believe him. This is shown in both Rivals 2 and the Sonic x Silver wallpaper cover story.

IDW seems to completely miss this nuance and conflates "naivety" with childlikeness and innocence. When you realize this, decisions put towards Silver's characterization in IDW makes a lot of sense - his hyperactive excitement and adulation over Whisper is a good example, but how he doesn't talk back to Sonic calling him "flatware" in Issue 8 particularly bothers me.

Realistically, Sonic would immediately get thrown into a wall if he said this to Silver.

Portrayals like IDW Silver are just so utterly confusing. How in the world does Silver get misconstrued this way, into something entirely opposite of what he is, in both fanon and official media? To be completely honest, it makes me frustrated. I want things to change and I feel like I have to speak up. I ended up writing an essay about Why Silver is Rude. I'm sorry anon.

[usagi-mitsu]

Werlyt & Gaius - a bunch of thoughts.

I am a little late to the party. I know. But I just finished the Emerald weapon and before I go to try out the „not Zenos“ weapon as in „Diamond“, I need to get my thoughts on the story straight.

Perhaps I have been spoiled by 5.0s brilliant MSQ and cannot appreciate the inherent beauty of at least decent writing any longer. But this felt so wrong and out of tune with the rest of the game. I started writing this 2 hours ago! I wanted to one in bed by now! XD But I had to get it out of my system… so….

Spoilers for the MSQ and Werlyt incoming??? And no I did not re-read this so not just spoilers but also writing errors incoming. -.-

The good

These fights are epic! I have only ever cleared the normal versions, but I loved those. They are amazing. The callbacks to Eula (her being a woman here! When did they discover that???), Regula (may he rest in peace) and Gaius himself in his prime were delightful. But I could do with a little less rotating, ok? A dragoon has positional, you know? And being allowed to pilot my very own mecha was like *chefs kiss*. On that front? Well done Square Enix!

I am also glad they were able to get another use out of Porta Praetora! That place looks amazing with the wide open field and the lake – and Ala Mhigo across it. It was one of my favourite Stormblood areas and I am always glad to return there. And of course… being able to visit the allied camp again… And Werlyt itself. It’s simply a beautiful place. It reminds me very much of southern Greece. If you’ve watched the movie Mamma Mia you know what I mean.

The music too was really nice. But I don’t think I’ll… you know… listen to it on repeat as I am doing with other parts of the soundtrack.

I’ve also loved how much amazing lore we got about Garlemald and especially the garlean military. And the military abroad. The way soldiers not from the mainland get treated. I love learning about these things.

Gaius

The man. The legend. The guy yelling in Prae.

He’s so very boring here. He has so much potential as a character and maybe I’m missing something, but all throughout this story he has been nothing but passive. He’s a reactive character in this storyline. You know. The guy who made deals with Lahabread (the d is intended), tried to take over Eorzea, lead a whole army, stood idly by as the moon dropped, almost died but then decided just not to die and then though „hm… I’ve got so much freetime now. How about I go and hunt some ascians?“ That guy is NOT a reactive character. He is active. He goes out of his way to make shit he wants happen. And in here? He seems too starstruck and devastated by his adopted kids actions to actually have one clear thought.

The only explanation I have is that he might have gotten hit in the head by something on his way to the ruby weapon. I get why he would rely on Cid for help, but the WoL??? The alliance? If you wish to be an ally and help or something, fucking act like it. You were a former legatus and I expect you to live up to your name – even after retiring.

And yeah.. I guess it’s hard having to watch your kids willingly, knowingly dying. But you fucking raised them. You are a big part of the reason to why they are in that predicament. So like… Aside from that I don’t even get why you are in this story at all.

And for the record: I’m not sorry for him. I’m just flabbergasted by all the bullshit we’ve been learning about him.

To be quite honest, I think this story could have worked just as well or maybe even better, if we got another man as the „hero“ of the story. I am talking about none other than our engineering, hammer-swinging, ex-enemy - of course talking about Nero!

The MSQ has long established that his research into the Ultimate Weapon had been taken, twisted and turned – Estinien had to experience this first-hand. I’m not saying that Nero was in need of a redemption arc and I cannot remember if these weapons were of his creation or even stem from anything he did, but it would make so much more sense for me, to have him confront his past in the garlean military like this and be responsible for the death of his former colleagues. Soldiers that he served with, whom he faught with. Give me Nero and them working together to get the weapons going and him bonding with them as his pilots to a degree. Comrades. Not that strange familiar bond that Gaius appareantly has with them. … Scratch that: Let Gaius be the father figure. Him being that wouldn’t change Nero’s relationship with them, but maybe his with Gaius as his superior.

The story wouldn’t even need to try and redeem Nero: He has already gone through major character development with the MSQ and the Omega raid tier. It would simply be Nero, confronted with the things he created, hopefully instilling more morals and a sense of responsibility for his creations. Heck: Let Cid yell at the guy! Seriously! Cid sticking around to help out would make so much more sense if it was Nero instead of freaking Gaius! Cid hated the guy! He might be a professional, but he is not one to torture himself by staying around a guy he (as far as I know) detests.

Make Nero the central figure and give Cid and Gaius the roles of „angel and demon“: One desperately trying to reach out to his old friend, reminding him why they became engineers and trying to make him realise that he can’t just run around designing weapons and leaving the scematics for everyone to read; while the other has trouble letting go of his imperial past and is struggling to see the errors of his ways – if Nero was wrong, than he (Gaius) was wrong too -and of course they did all of this for their home, to further their cause, and to bring peace to the savage lands of Eorzea, who had been fighting amongst themselves for so long… You get the point.

And you could still have these gundam themed fights. But I think everything would make so much more sense in general.

But speaking of which-

The children

I do not truly care for any of them. And that is a shame: I do think there are great characters and dynamics hidden behind these very few cutscenes. When they were first introduced I was wondering why I was suddenly watching „heartwarming“ cutscenes of my foes as children – until I realised that I was supposed to care and that they were supposed to make me feel pity for Gaius. I was supposed to feel bad for him, because they died and he blames himself. But while their fates so far have been gruesome, I cannot say that I am sad they died. They chose to die as they did. There were a myriad more options. And they chose that.

Actually. Their whole story makes me feel like they were huge masochist from the very beginning. They could have just run away and gotten help from someone more competent than them, but they stayed in an abusive military arrangement just so nobody else got hurt?? Please. Use your brains next time. And for the Berserk-like torture scene? I mean. I get what was implied here. But was it necessary? As a writer myself I follow the rule that torture and sexual violence should never be used in a story, unless it must be in there for the story to work or to bring across a vital point important to the story or it’s moral (or if you are writing porn and you are into it – but we are talking official in-game content here). But the violence towards these „children“ seems unnecessary for the plot and the violence of their deaths by piloting the weapons is already gruesome enough. Sometimes it’s better to leave things like this out – the emotional torture of feeling stuck and having a martyrs complex would have been enough here, I think. If the rest of the story had been well written at least.

(I believe my utter lack of sympathy shows how little character developement they had. I love tragic characters, who choose to suffer for the good of other people – even better if those people don’t even like them. It’s just my thing. And those kids are just… well.)

Their reasons and especially why they were making Allie out as the one who would need to survive was also just… weird. Like. I feel like 75% of what happened would not have happened, if they actually talked to each other, used their brains and had done something about their problems. But no…

These characters are also so exchangeable with basic anime/j-RPG character tropes… I only remember Alfonse, Rex and Allie – because I just did the Emerald weapon. And right afterwards I thought, „huh. So… Fullmetal Alchemist?“ Which brings me to my third point …

…the story at large.

„Pacing is a virtue“ or was it patience..? Anyhow: The author of this story should have had more patience with his story and characters and taken a bloody break! And I am not talking about the obvious blunder of „How is Allie feeling?“, „she is in shock and you cannot talk to her“ turning to „oh yeah if you are careful you can talk to her now“. I mean. WTF. That was MAYBE 10-20 in-game minutes of dialogue.

But everything was moving so very fast – and not even in a good way. There are few things better than a fast paced, action rich story about a group of young people trying to safe (their) world. But if you try to cram in two expansions worth of character development and story telling into about two hours of content each patch.. Well, then you get whatever the hell this is.

Gaius is a very interesting character and while I did not understand why they needed to bring him back in 4.4 (?), I do see how he could be a good asset for endwalker. And his involvement in 5.0 with Estinien was just a dear delight. So I am not opposed to learning more about him, to watching his character grow and changed with time. But I am not ready for badly written content of which 50% get told by suddenly induced echo-sequences. I mean – weren’t there rules for the echo at some point???

I’m not sure which one of the devs said it, but the feature that let’s you play an NPC is super convenient for them to tell the story, because before they could only show what happened where the WoL was.

And that’s just it. Rule number 1 in writing anything is „Show don’t tell“. It feels like they literally turned this one around for these cutscenes. While Valens torture and diet-Fandaniel-routine were very much „show“, the rest of the story was one long cutscene of exposition: We get exposition by Cid, by Gaius, by echo, by Gaius and his crew again, then by Allie. Before having to watch scenes we are not there for.

BTW. Dear square Enix: Your writers are capable of writing amazing villains, antagonist and despicable assholes. You don’t have to write „asshole, must die“ on Valens name card. And I also think the „WoL, strike here“ sign above his head was a tad bit too much. Nuance, dear writers. Nuance. Or perhaps I just got spoiled by these last few foes in the MSQ.

When I said I wanted to just be able to punch a bad guy for once and not feel bad about it, I did not mean this! I meant that I just wanted to play training dummy with Danny-Boy.

(Oh! And as far as I’m concerned you can just… sideline Gaius … „would be killer“ and the lady? Make them targetable NPCs with Dialoge to read. Let them stand somewhere accessible and comment on the latest developement. But ffs don’t give me hour long speeches about how you are going to kill Gaius if he does something you don’t like. The guy could and would wipe the floor with you if he felt like it. -.- So. Please. Shut up.)

Conclusion

Basically. I have to finish the Diamond weapon. But I doubt it will change my perception of this story line even in the slightest.

To be perfectly honest though … bringing Gaius back, having this story with and about him, forcing a sort of redemption ark here. It feels like they are really „grooming“ him to be a morally grey ally in Endwalker, with perhaps a big part to play in the endgame. At this point I wouldn’t even be surprised if they pulled a GoT and made him „King in the North“. Or if they had him die a heroic death to save the world, but especially his country. And to do so they need us to think his sacrifice means something. Or that he is the right person to lead Garlemald into a new future (I don’t think he is). But: For one, neither we (the players) nor the characters need to find him worthy of throne or death by heroism for his sacrifice/ascension to work. To be a useful tool for the story, only the other garleans who might oppose the alliance and scions need to deem him or his sacrifice „worthy“. And only they. And Ishikawa-san has all of 6.0 to accomplish whatever the hell she needs him for. He did not need to be the center of his own botched redemption ark. If that’s what they wanted to do. Or maybe I’m looking at this all wrong and all they wanted was to give the writes in training some literal training grounds to test their abilities.

But! On a positive note: I have yet to be told that raids and other side content are canon to any degree. So when playing the next story quests I’ll blissfully ignore all that happened in Werlyt and if it get’s mentioned (because they do that sometimes when you’ve done certain content) I’ll just ignore it.

Happy ignoring! Also: GIVE ME MORE NERO CONTENT!

[lady-divine-writes]

Kurtbastian one-shot - “Different” (Rated G)

Summary: Sebastian tries to cheer up a melancholy Kurt, heartbroken by all of the changes the pandemic has brought about in their home rink. (1341 words)

Notes: I had plans of writing pandemic fics in all of my verses, so this is the start of that. This one-shot includes a callback at the end to 'Blessing the Ice in Westerville' so if you don't remember that one, you may want to go back and read it first ;)

Part 66 of Outside Edge

Read on AO3.

"Whatcha thinking?" Sebastian asks, plowing to a stop. He slides onto the bench beside Kurt and gives him the chastest peck in the universe behind his right ear. 

Cockblocked by his mask, it's the best he can do. 

Kurt misses his boyfriend's warm lips on his chill skin, but he smiles because there's something so sweet and dorky about it. Sebastian can tell he's smiling - the skin at the corners of his eyes wrinkling and the bridge of his nose scrunching. 

But it doesn't make him look happy. 

It's rare as hell to find Kurt sitting it out in the penalty boxes. He loves skating more than life. He needs to go, go, go - moves in the field, practice his routine, help a wall-walker find their way without their hands creeping along the boards. The entire time Sebastian has known Kurt, he's probably seen him sit for a grand total of fifteen minutes.

He's broken that record today.

"You know, almost every time you come to see me, you ask me what I'm thinking," Kurt says, stalling for a moment before he has to come clean. "Am I that much of an enigma?"

"Yes," Sebastian answers accompanied by an exaggerated nod of his head like a trained horse doing math. Kurt giggles. They've joked numerous times about how ridiculous everyone is going to look when they can finally eschew their masks with how vehemently they nod and emote with their eyes. It's going to look like living in an anime for a while until everything returns to normal.

Kurt sighs. 

If it ever does return to normal.

Sebastian rests a hand on Kurt's knee and gives it a squeeze. "Come on, babe. I know there are some deep thinkery things going on in that head of yours. Let it out."

Kurt leans to the side and settles against Sebastian's body but his eyes never leave the ice. It's a relatively busy day at the Westerville Ice-plex, the rink filled to capacity. But because of restrictions, that means there are only twenty people on the ice, including him and Sebastian. On a Thursday afternoon, they would usually see closer to fifty kids and a handful of coaches, EZ skaters and Bobby seals zipping around treacherously like Mario cart vehicles. With the rink packed, the talking and laughter would drown out the music.

"Things are so different," Kurt says. 

"I know," Sebastian agrees.

"We were lucky over quarantine. Me and you and Blaine had your rink to train in every day - rain or shine. Things didn't change for us all that much training-wise. But for everybody else, skating was impossible. It didn't even get cold enough this winter for my pond to freeze over so anyone who was relying on an ODR was SOL." Sebastian snorts and Kurt chuckles, the laugh they share more melancholy than amused. It fades quickly. "So many of our skaters had dreams of going to the Olympics. But they canceled Nationals, and then Worlds, and now... " Kurt's eyes trail the progress of a few freestyle skaters struggling with elements they had mastered six months ago. "It's heartbreaking to see them derailed."

Sebastian puts an arm around his boyfriend and hugs him. "Well, if you're looking for a silver lining," he starts in an iffy tone, "with the number of rinks that got shuttered over lockdown, Beiste is going to be up to her bushy eyebrows with business. This place is never going to close."

"And whereas that's good news for the Ice-plex, think of all the kids who have to give up skating because their rink closed down and they can't travel here."

"Yeah... uh... " Sebastian clears his throat "... I only thought about that after I said it."

"This pandemic changed everyone's forward momentum," Kurt continues, giving his boyfriend a pass. "We have pair skaters that have split up, Disney on Ice canceled auditions so that dream is busted for a few seniors, Blaine told me that the synchro and performance teams at his old rink are both no more... it's not fair."

"No, it's not fair."

"I just wish there was something we could do."

"I know." Sebastian sinks into his boyfriend, mourning the loss of Kurt's hair against his cheek with his mask keeping the two of them apart. He wants nothing more than to fix this for Kurt, bring things back to the way they were and put everyone back on track, but the only thing Sebastian is good at in the way of problem-solving skills is throwing money at things and, ironically, as rich as his family is, they don't have the kind of money necessary to solve this. 

In cruel, corporate terms, the pros do not outweigh the financial risks.

It's not just that missing out on months of steady business dropped rinks into the red. A lot of them were poorly managed. Shutting their doors revealed problems these facilities didn't admit they had - rotting pipes, faulty wiring, cooling systems holding on only because of the ice and grime that had built up inside them. Once the condensers were shut off to conserve energy, whole units fell apart.

And, as it turns out, they cost an arm and a leg to repair, not to mention replace.

If the Westerville Ice-plex was in danger of closing, Sebastian would talk his uncle into handing over a blank check. Unfortunately, they can't do that for everyone.

"I think the best thing we can do is focus on here and now," Sebastian says. "What can we do inside these walls to make things better, even if it's just for the next half hour or so?"

"Do you have any suggestions?" Kurt asks. "Because, for the moment, I'm tapped."

"Well... " Sebastian starts, drawing the word out, hoping brilliance comes to him "... one of the reasons I spent so much time here even though I have a facility of my own was because of my friends. We used to horse around, make up routines, compete with one another, race each other down the ice..."

"Okay, but there are strict rules against horseplay now."

"I'm not talking about roughhousing. I mean the stuff we used to do with the kids in skate school to make it fun. Things that we can do while staying six feet apart. I mean, everyone here loves us... "

Kurt snickers. "Ah, humility. Thy name is Sebastian Smythe."

"I bet you if we get something started, everyone would join in."

"What do you have in mind?" Kurt asks, recalling the things they used to do with the kids when skate school was still running - blowing bubbles, tossing balls, playing Sharks and Swimmers (which is kind of like tag while fully accepting that, if someone falls, they could potentially spear another player in the leg with their blade).

Sebastian tilts his head, going through a similar list in his mind, trying to come up with an activity that would work with their current crowd. There are mainly regulars on the ice - the freestyle kids daring enough to court possible contamination for the chance to get their Axels back. He follows two girls with his eyes, mirroring one another as they make their way down the ice. 

He gets an idea. 

A hilarious idea. 

"Are we expecting Blaine anytime soon?" he asks, shoving his hand in his jacket pocket and fishing around. Kurt looks around Sebastian's body, checking the time on the scoreboard.

"Yeah. Any minute now." Kurt's head snaps up. He peers suspiciously at his boyfriend's eager face. What plan could Sebastian have come up with that would include Blaine specifically? Is he going to tie him to a goal and have the kids take shots at him again? Thank God for foam pucks is all Kurt can say about that genius plan. "Why?"

Sebastian pulls his key tag out of his pocket and dangles it in front of Kurt's eyes. "Because I do believe it's time to bless the rains down in Africa again."

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 201

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 Go Go! 03 - “Syrup the Delivery Boy’s Friend” Date watched: 10 July 2020 Original air date: 17 February 2008 Screenshots Transformation Gallery Project info and master list of posts

MEH!

Last time I said I was pretty sure this episode was packed with more exposition.

I was wrong.

The Plot

Coco is writing a letter to Milk to explain what they’re up to and ask about the status of the Palmier Kingdom. As he finishes, Syrup shows up, and Coco asks him to deliver the letter. Instead, the delivery boy dumps a bag full of letters onto Coco’s desk, explaining they’re from Milk. Nozomi says that since Milk took the time to write them all, Coco should properly respond to them. Individually. Nobody stops to say that maybe he should write one long letter that responds to all her points, because making jokes out of Coco’s misery is more fun. Meanwhile the girls all decide to go to the store for snacks. Because.

this is Rin’s “I give up” face

Meanwhile, Syrup decides to crash on top of the clock tower when his partner Mailpo shows up. Mailpo, for the record, is just an LCD screen with arms and legs, but they are the best mascot in this show. They spit out letters from their face-screen, which Syrup then delivers to their destination. In this instance Mailpo summons another letter from Milk. Syrup is frustrated and decides he’ll just take a nap and deliver it later, because there will probably be more anyway. Mailpo just wants to be a good little toy, so they set off to find the recipient themselves. Mailpo eventually stumbles upon Komachi and presents her with the letter before disappearing into thin air.

Over in Eternal, Anacondy drills Scorp about Precure. He admits that they weren’t especially strong, but they came at him from all directions. Bunbee chimes up that he’s familiar with this strategy, and Anacondy requests that he write up a thorough report.

Back at the plot, Komachi (now accompanied by Nozomi) looks for Mailpo, and they run into Syrup who is also looking for his friend. They coax him into letting them ride on him so they can search from the sky. While this is happening, Mailpo continues wandering aimlessly around the city, when they are accosted by a shadowy figure (Bunbee) who gives them a special letter to deliver. While trying to find their friends, Rin, Urara, and Karen along with Coco and Nuts spot another Palmin and give us a refresher on how to use the CureMo to catch it. It’s an apple. The girls all meet up and find Mailpo, who has a special delivery.... for Nozomi! It’s a letter. They think it’s from Milk until they open it.

you were expecting a letter from Milk but it was ME, BUNBEE!

Then the man himself appears on a nearby rooftop and explains to the girls that he works for Eternal now. He informs the audience how he survived his seemingly fatal fall from Nightmare HQ: he caught a ledge and then remembered he can fly. Then he transforms, as do the girls, and they clash. Bunbee is surprised by how much stronger the Precures are now, so he turns a mailbox into a Hoshiina. It knocks the girls around for a minute, and Bunbee takes the chance to seize Mailpo, believing they have the Rose Pact, but this just pisses off Mint, who chides him for taking advantage and diminishing the friendship between Mailpo and Syrup, so she unleashes her new attack: Precure Emerald Saucer. She summons a ring around her waist, raises it above her head as it fills in, and then hurls it at her opponent. It’s an interesting change from last season, where she was a shield user (though we know she could use them offensively). I imagine there were complaints that it wasn’t exciting enough. Anyway, her attack misses but causes Bunbee to drop Mailpo when he dodges, and then Dream uses Shooting Star to destroy the Hoshiina, and Bunbee flees.

A few days later back at Natts House, Coco and Nuts collapse after finishing writing the last of their response letters to Milk (to say nothing of how many more may have come in in the intervening time). Karen comments that they apparently haven’t slept in 3 days while they wrote them. (side note: please do not do this, it is not worth it) They ask Syrup to deliver them and he refuses because it’s too much work, but Mailpo jumps on the table and starts sucking them up, to everyone’s surprise. Syrup tries to stop Mailpo, screaming about how he refuses to deliver this many letters, and the ending plays.

The Analysis

I must once again point out that the art quality on display here is uh..... not great. To be fair, it’s not awful or anything, my screenshot gallery will make it seem worse than it really is because close-ups tend to be better but they don’t tell the story as well. If I got all close-ups I’d have to take more pictures and I’ve had a bit of a problem doing that. This is the first time in a while I’ve had fewer than 100 screenshots and I kind of want to keep this energy. ANYWAY.

I don’t hate this episode, I want to emphasize that early. But it doesn’t do much for me either. It just... exists. The main point is to establish Mailpo, who had previously appeared with little fanfare in the previous episode, so little that I didn’t bother mentioning them because I knew this episode showcased them more. Also I am referring to Mailpo with the singular “they” because they don’t display characteristics of any gender. Mailpo is Mailpo.

So, Mailpo, moreso than most fairies, seems to be meant as a toy first and foremost. As I said they’re just an LCD screen in a cute casing with penguin limbs. (surprisingly though, I wasn’t able to actually find a toy of it) Nevertheless, they have an innate charm to them. They’re kind of like a Pokémon, all they do is say their name... or the first syllable anyway: MEH! They’re very endearing, they waddle around and just do their best. They suck up and spit out mail like nobody’s business. You can’t not like Mailpo. 10/10 best fairy in this show. We stan a legend.

Speaking of toys, there’s a slightly higher than usual emphasis placed on them in this episode. I mentioned that we got a repeat on how to catch Palmins with the CureMo, but there’s also the curious case of some kind of interaction between the CureMo and Syrup. When the girls are getting ready to board him, Syrup has Komachi touch her CureMo to his wing, similar to scanning a pass at a train or bus terminal, and his wing turns into a set of stairs.

I have to assume this is some kind of feature on the toy, but it’s hard to find information on 12 year-old Japanese toys.

The most notable theme on display is responsibility. It’s not pounded over your head or anything, just shown in a few places. If Syrup had taken responsibility and delivered the letter, Mailpo wouldn’t have gotten lost. Coco and Nuts dodge their responsibility to write response letters to Milk, and at the end they’re exhausted from trying to catch up. Ironically the most responsible character present is Bunbee, who faithfully pulls off his duty to study the Precures and actually comes up with a decent plan to lure them out. I don’t know if it was meant to even be a theme of this episode at all, but that’s what I picked up on.

Some passing thoughts: Mint’s new attack is badass, I wish she’d gotten to use it to actually finish off the Hoshiina rather than just attacking Bunbee but oh well, she’ll get her chance to shine. The comedy on display is good, and there’s a fun callback to the previous season when Rin jokes about Karen’s grape juice and Karen responds by threatening not to buy Rin’s orange juice. I could watch a whole episode of the two of them just playfully annoying each other.

And once again I have to point out the logical shortcomings on display: when they receive a mountain of letters from Milk, they decide to respond to each one individually instead of doing the sensible thing of reading them all, assessing common themes and points, and responding with a single letter that covers all the bases. Japanese culture idolizes working yourself to exhaustion and taking very few breaks, it’s a serious cultural problem and it manifests in their art as well because it’s just so commonplace. I do have to once again say: please do not sacrifice sleep for your dreams or goals, or even your obligations. It’s bad for you.

The main objective of this episode is just to develop Mailpo and Syrup’s relationship, since they’re the new characters, and it works well enough. I already said it makes Mailpo very endearing and Syrup warms up a bit as well. He’s still stand-offish but not as much as in the previous episode. Mailpo brings out the best in him, and when Mailpo goes missing, Syrup feels guilty and wants to find his friend again. However, a second, more subtle goal of this episode is to remind the audience that Milk is still out there, in active communication with the team. It would be easy to write her off as being away in the Palmier Kingdom, but they make it a point to physically show her, if only for a minute, ensuring the audience remembers she exists and is relevant. For..... reasons.

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Kettei!

[katerynree]

Blog Post 9/16

1.      How can technology be biased? How can it be racist?

In the article by R. Benjamin, they bring up an interesting study in which computer scientists found that a popular algorithm is potentially racist (Benjamin 2019). This particular algorithm is made to focus on writing, and it’s been exposed that it “thinks” Black-sounding names are unpleasant, while White names are pleasant (Benjamin 2019). Technology, as “neutral” as it is said to be, is manmade. Technology did not come to be out of thin air, humans created it and with it came bias. Technology was created with “data produced through histories of exclusion and discrimination.” (Benjamin 2019)

Humans hide behind a screen to abuse their freedom of speech, creating racially divided algorithms to push their own opinions onto others. Even if technology has no real consciousness, there are human thoughts put into creating it.

2.      Do names hold power? Why are names so important?

Names, in a way, define who we are. People associate personalities, feelings, beliefs, etc. into names. Just to give an example, what does the name Kyle make you think of? I have seen many jokes and memes about the name Kyle, saying that it belongs to a white fraternity boy who likes to party and punch walls.

R. Benjamin emphasizes the importance of names as they either have cultural influence or even have the power to escape injustice (Benjamin 2019). For example, White-sounding names could have just as much White privilege as the person themselves. Benjamin points out that White-sounding names are more appealing to employers and receive more callbacks than Black-sounding names (Benjamin 2019). The thing is, people do not typically associate a White-sounding name with crime or even ghettos. It is almost always a cultural-sounding name, whether it be a Hispanic name, or African American, etc. People associate certain names to races, and with that comes stereotypes. I have come across many people who have called me Ling just because I am Asian. It’s as if one look at my eyes and my skin tone makes them think my name must be Ling and I just have to be Chinese. It is appalling how names have to be associated with racial stereotypes and how many people are suffering through it.

3.      What role does Google have in “technological redlining”?

Technological redlining is a term S. Noble uses to define how technology reinforces racial and social divides (Noble, 2018). Now, what does Google have to do with this? Both articles by S. Noble and R. Benjamin have found problems with Google’s “neutrality.” Firstly, there was a scandal that Google employees supported a sexist manifesto, and not only that, the man who wrote this actually worked for Google (Noble, 2018). Not only that, but as Noble Google searched “black girls”, they were stunned as pornographic sites ended up being the most popular results (Noble, 2018). For R. Benjamin, Google-searching Black-sounding names brings up criminal records, which are not the same as the results of searching White-sounding names (Benjamin, 2019).

In the end, Google’s algorithms were created to learn of people’s preferences and to use them as a reference for the best possible search result. The employees do not care enough to look at these results and they do not bother to fix the problem without some sort of public critique. Google can be biased and a medium for racists, but does the company do anything about it? Maybe even some of the employees support it, we never know. So, what are we to do when companies like these feed into discrimination and social divide?

4.      If technology plays a hand in oppression, how can we rise against it?

Technology can be used for activism as well. For the past few months, you may have seen the Black Lives Movement go viral and marches spread to all states of America. How did it come to be? Social media, news, people spreading information and links to events; all of it led to technology. People use social media as a call-to-action and has it worked before? Yes, according to A. Everett, the Million Woman March was greatly helped by the Internet which spread the news to all women in America, gathering more supporters for the movement (Everett, 2002). What we need to do is fight fire with fire, technology with technology. We have to make it so movements like these, fighting for equality and peace, should be the number one search result, and what everyone needs to be thinking of.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code. Cambridge: Polity.

Everett, A. (2002). The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere. Social Text, 125-146.

Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.

[aion-rsa]

WandaVision Episode 9: The Big Questions We Need Answered

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This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

With just one episode left in the season – and technically the series – the finale of WandaVision has a lot of ground to cover.

Its penultimate installment was not just a heartbreaking retrospective of just how terrible Wanda’s life has been and how much she has suffered, it gave us an entirely new understanding of a character that’s been part of this universe for four feature films to date. Plus, there’s the whole thing where a secret government agency appears to have reanimated Vision’s dead body to use as a weapon, and Wanda herself is most likely a legendary, all-powerful witch. 

How the series plans to wrap up these dangling plot threads in addition to laying the groundwork for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and establishing what comes next is anyone’s guess. But there are a few things that WandaVision is going to have to tell us in order for this series to truly stick the landing as the MCU’s most ambitious – and best – project yet. (Which right now, with one episode to go, is a title it wins by a mile.)

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Here are nine burning questions we need the WandaVision finale to answer.

What is the Scarlet Witch?

In an episode filled almost to bursting with surprisingly rich callbacks to multiple MCU films, the biggest moment was still probably Wanda being directly referred to as the Scarlet Witch for the first time. But what that actually means is anyone’s guess. 

Sure, she’s powerful enough to literally rewrite reality and turn a run-down New Jersey town into a classic sitcom paradise. But that’s not exactly news – she did destroy an Infinity Stone and almost take down Thanos in the Avengers movies. Agatha bestows the name upon her as though it means something significant, as if Wanda’s some sort of magical harbinger that has a larger role to play in…something (and the Scarlet Witch costume Wanda sees in her vision would seem to back that up). But who or what is she?

What Does Agatha Harkness Actually Want?

Most of us have assumed that Agatha Harkness must technically be the Big Bad of WandaVision – I mean, the song says that she’s been pulling every evil string, c’mon – but “Previously On” hints that may not entirely be the case. The creation of Westview was clearly a result of Wanda’s chaos magic, so…what is Agatha doing there? And what is her ultimate goal?

Has she sought Wanda out simply to determine where her power comes from? To try and steal it for herself? To suss out another powerful witch to become besties with? (Agatha was Wanda’s mentor in the comics.) 

Are we meant to read Agatha as a true villain – or something more complicated? I mean, she does put Wanda’s kids in choke collar leashes, but whether that’s out of a desire to protect herself from the Scarlet Witch or to use her in some way is still unclear.

Is Vision Somehow Alive Again?

Well, there go our theories that poor Wanda has just been puppeting her dead boyfriend’s corpse around Westview (thankfully – that idea was always dark af). Instead, it appears that this is more of a Vision 2.0, a being created by a combination of an incredibly powerful dose of Wanda’s chaos magic, her memories of the man she loved, and the overwhelming grief she can’t seem to control.  But does that mean Vision is actually alive? Like, could appear in another MCU film, alive?  And if so, why can’t he leave the boundaries of the Hex? Does he even have a physical body, or is his form just a Wanda-powered projection?

What is Tyler Hayward’s Endgame – and Why Is He Trying to Blame Wanda for it?

One of the biggest revelations in “Previously On” was that Wanda did not, in fact, storm into SWORD headquarters and steal back her boyfriend’s dead body. Instead, she actually experienced a quietly shattering moment of grief in which she accepted that the Vision she loved was truly gone. So…why did SWORD director Tyler Hayward not only insist that she did, he literally put together a deep fake video to prove it?

Hayward has been a fairly shady figure since he first appeared on WandaVision, but this is some next-level mustache-twirling stuff. Has he just been trying to turn Vision’s body into a weapon – seemingly mission accomplished there – or has he been crafting a much larger and more nefarious scheme? 

After all, he is on record as hating the superpowered beings that he believes are responsible for both the Snap that erased half the population and the Blip that brought everyone back but ultimately devastated those left behind in the meantime. Is the White Vision his revenge on Wanda – and those like her – in some way? (Truly, so many problems could be solved in the universe of the MCU if people just got some help for their PTSD, but that’s a rant for another day.) Or is Hayward’s scheme more complicated in some way?

What is the Purpose of the White Vision?

The Dr. Manhattan-esque White Vision revealed in this week’s credits scene is both creepy and heartbreaking at the same time. The real Vision, after all, had specifically requested that he not be brought back or used as some kind of weapon after his death. And now he’s been made into what is likely some sort of soulless killing machine, using his soulmate’s magic and against his own wishes. How Hayward figured out how to reanimate Vision, what vibranium he was tracking in the Hex, and what he intends to do with this new weapon he’s made are all outstanding questions. But none of them likely have happy answers. 

Look, we probably have to start preparing ourselves now emotionally for the fact that Wanda is going to have to fight the reanimated body of her dead lover, who probably won’t even remember her name. And she’ll have to do it with the magical recreation of him she made in Westview at her side, in a battle that will more than likely destroy both Visions by the end of it.

And at this point, we’re going to need a WandaVision Season 2 in order to deal with Wanda’s trauma from all of that (that’s not a complaint, by the way).

Is Wanda a Mutant Now?

With the X-Men franchise officially part of the MCU, the question has to be asked: Is Wanda Maximoff officially a mutant now? Her exposure to the Mind Stone clearly triggered or otherwise activated some latent abilities – powers that the show implied would have vanished otherwise.

Wanda and Pietro appear to be the only two individuals who survived HYDRA’s attempts to create supervillains using the Mind Stone. Does this mean that Pietro’s survival also indicates that his powers were merely latent and then “activated” by their experiments?

Does this twist give Wanda back her official mutant roots, or is it just an origin story for witches in the Marvel universe? 

Where’s Monica?

When last we saw Monica Rambeau, she was getting busted for snooping by Agatha’s nebulously explained fake version of Pietro Maximoff. Since she doesn’t appear in “Previously On” we’re still not sure where she is, what’s happened to her in the meantime, or what role she has to play in the finale. 

One has to assume she’ll show up to fight at Wanda’s side – whether that’s against Agatha or the White Vision or both – but how? 

We also don’t know much yet about her superpowers. We’re all assuming she’s basically just inheriting her comics abilities as Spectrum, but will those abilities work outside of the Hex or without Wanda to power them?

What Does This All Mean for Pietro?

Though we journey back to the HYDRA base in which Wanda and her brother were experimented on, we don’t see any hint of Pietro in this episode (and, no, the child version doesn’t count). We know that the Evan Peters version is a fake conjured by Agatha to pry information on how she created the Hex out of Wanda – how is she powering that by the way? And how does Fake Pietro know so much real Maximoff history? – but what does all this new backstory mean for the Maximoff brother who died? 

What happened to Pietro when he encountered the Mind Stone? Were his powers also latent and only “activated” by the stone like Wanda’s (and thus making him a mutant)? And does any of this somehow open a door to bring Quicksilver back to the MCU?

Who is the Aerospace Engineer?

Yes, we’ve all apparently spent weeks thinking about a throwaway line from Monica back in WandaVision’s fifth episode, in which she references an aerospace engineer she knows who might be up for the challenge of figuring out the Hex. 

Maybe it’s nothing, but this is Marvel, so it’s almost guaranteed not to be nothing. 

Could Monica’s mysterious friend be Reed Richards and could SWORD serve as a way to finally introduce the Fantastic Four into the MCU? It’s more than possible – it’s practically likely at this point. There are other options – Victor Von Doom and Hank McCoy are also notable Marvel scientists we’ve yet to meet in the MCU – but doesn’t Reed just make the most sense?

How Will WandaVision  Lead Into Doctor Strange 2?

One of the few things we do know about the WandaVision finale is that it’s somehow connected to and will likely lead directly into the upcoming MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. At this point, it seems safe to say that Wanda is more likely than not responsible for both the multiverse and the madness parts of that title, and the finale will involve her somehow fully becoming the Scarlet Witch and unleashing some cosmic chaos powers. But where does that kind of ending leave  Wanda and Vision? Will Doctor Strange himself show up – either to defeat the White Vision or stop Wanda from ripping down the walls of reality? Will Vision have to die again? And how does Agatha Harkness fit into things? (At this point, she’s more than earned a place in Doctor Strange 2, if you ask me.)

The post WandaVision Episode 9: The Big Questions We Need Answered appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[sparda3g]

The Seven Deadly Sins Chapter 283 Review

The feud is over. Gowther has served his part in saving Mael from endless sorrow. He has returned home. Same cannot be said for Meliodas and Ban. They’re still trapped in purgatory; unable to defeat the Demon King. Not even the Great Wild can help. Literal years have gone by with no progress. We return back with those three in this good and interesting chapter.

If you’re hoping to see the follow-up with Gowther and Mael, you may have to wait for a while as the focus resume back to Purgatory. Right from the start, it’s abundantly clear that the three are still struggling to put a dent on the Demon King. It is comical how after getting blasted away, they casually discuss about the next tactic while eating. I know they have been there for a while, but it is funny how the Demon King is just standing there while they talk.

They have fought 6,093 and they have lost 6,093 times. I know this, thanks to Wild. I can’t believe he actually tallied it. If only they have the power to search all the possibilities and find the one where they win. Interestingly enough, they have been fighting the Demon King for 60 years already. Out of context, that would throw people off and wondering why those three still look young. “Anime logic” is what they will go with. Anyway, the upside is they’ve gain lots of experiences. Lucky for them to live long or forever.

Meliodas does have a second thought and start to think perhaps he’s not meant to go back to Earth. He thinks if he were return home somehow, Elizabeth is bound to activate the curse and die in front of him like an endless cycle. That’s disheartening to hear one man sacrificing for his love. This is literally emo Meliodas we’re talking about, so he’s bound to feel doubts and sadness. Luckily, good friend Ban is there to cheer him up. Always room for a bromance moment.

Ban lets him know the curse is already activated, even without his presence. Besides, Elizabeth wouldn’t want him to isolate himself from everyone. Ban got his own similar problem as well, so those two can relate in a certain way. They have someone to save back home and the Demon King isn’t going to stop them. It’s simple yet encouraging. Funny how Meliodas got smacked all the way to Wild like a safety cushion. But I do like Meliodas remembering his friends, Sins, fighting for them; leaving him feeling comfortable, literally and mentally.

It’s time for the Demon King versus the Three once again, and despite the early encouragement, nothing has changed. Three of them gets annihilated like no tomorrow. It’s like watching an Isekai series where the overpowered protagonist fights, which is pretty much every one of them. Is there a problem of level one hero story? It’s completely one-sided. Not even Revenge Counter works on him. The real interesting tidbit out of this is the hint of Meliodas’ actual power. His Revenge Counter is a joke compare to Chandler’s, but if he had his power, the battle could be different. He’s just afraid. Hm…

Meliodas got blasted really badly, but the damage was significantly reduced thanks to Wild, who took a bad landing. Pigs or boars in this series are true MVP. The one interesting development is Ban’s newest ability. After 60 years or so, he learns the ability to give, the opposite of his style. He basically did “Heal” (RPG reference) to Wild from using his own life point. Considering he’s immortal, that sounds broken. He’ll be the best medic ever, unless there’s a limit. While that’s great in the long run, it won’t change with the Demon King and his “Ruler.” Right?

Ban asks the same thing that fans would ask about his actual power. If Chandler taught him the Full Counter, what was Meliodas’ specialty before then? Surely, he’s already powerful before being trained by him, so there could be more than we have seen already. Of course, Meliodas jokingly brush aside, avoiding the question like an idiot. Ban clearly doesn’t buy his unawareness, but Wild breaks off the discussion while pondering on what to do next. Saved by the pig. After recapping their losses, Meliodas has an idea.

They step in to meet the Demon King to gain another loss into their record book; or did they? Demon King got tired of the same tactic over and over again; I mean it’s been 60 years, so who wouldn’t be. But this time, Ban doesn’t aim to steal, rather to give. He basically uses “Heal” on the Demon King, but instead of feeling good, he goes down like it gave him a virus. The truth behind that broken ability of Ruler is Inversion, which means anything bad is good and vice versa. I don’t remember which game, but I do recall one time using “Heal” becomes the most powerful attack due to the enemy’s status. It’s a nice callback.

You can’t blame Ban and Meliodas to come up with this idea so late. Purgatory’s time is hastened tremendously, so 60 years should be more like a couple of days or a week; maybe even less. Also, Ban recently gained this new ability to give, so it’s not like he always had it, yet they still didn’t come up with it. When he explained how his snatching only does the opposite to the Demon King, Meliodas has a hunch that perhaps the ability is to invert the effect. It makes sense why this happened now.

This was an interesting chapter with new developments in their ability and their dilemma. The action was the showcase of the Demon King remaining godly as ever. You got to appreciate the really nice artwork and the design of intimidation. You always get that sense of unstoppable force whenever he appears on panel. The bromance moment was nice. Ban’s ability made sense; greatly benefit the future. The end showed a sign of hope. The real fight begins now. It will be laughable if they still lose badly though...