#Not complaining about Jack doing va work but its like

[ethereal-feline]

How are Sonic Prime episodes simultaneously so fast yet slow

Not complaining but I'm constantly going "oh it has to be close to the end" but its still in the middle

[hecksupremechips]

Replaying p3 is such a frightening experience because it forces me to remember Ikutski is a real character that exists

[hashtagkairideservedbetter]

My main issue(s) with KH3

Spoilers abound, so please don’t read if you haven’t beaten the game or don’t want any negative opinions influencing how you see the ending/ the game. I did enjoy several parts of KH3, but this post is focused on things I had issues with, and if you don’t want to see criticism of your media please look elsewhere. 

This is how I interpreted the game as someone coming into KH3 with KH2 being the last game I played, and a playlist of youtube videos spanning lets plays, summaries, and humorous deconstructions as a codex. 

Here’s the thing. I’ve seen several people already break down how KH3′s story and pacing could have been handled better. Specifically, to more comprehensively tie in the 10,000 plot points that needed to be covered in a way that actually helps connect the main characters. I’m not going to get into all of that, because frankly I can’t fake knowing enough about the background lore of Kingdom Hearts to know how to better juggle all of the intermediary games into KH3. 

Most of my grievances honestly lie with the handling of the Destiny Trio and the Disney Worlds. 

I’m going to do a read more on this because it’s gonna be a long one. (Also very much a train of thought, so disorganized, sorry). 

So. Sora. Protagonist of the game (mostly. kind of?). 

A cheerful ray of sunshine.

A Keyblade wielder who has overcome traumatizing ordeals that tore him away from all he loved and knew at least twice now for over three years. 

A continuity disaster stuck being pinballed back and forth between happy goofs and hollow tragedies every thirty minutes in between busywork battles and off-scene disney films for 85% of KH3. 

I understand that Sora’s greatest power is supposed to be his optimism, as it’s sort of the prerequisite for going through disney worlds where people sing about their problems. I get it.  

However, there’s a difference between, “I’m naive and happy and oblivious and that’s why I’m a guardian of the light,” and “I have battled true darkness and felt true loss and decided that choosing to be kind, choosing to embrace joy in new experiences and relationships, is a bigger middle finger to the darkness than anything else.” Guess which one I prefer. Guess which one I was thinking would finally be Sora’s character arc. Instead he’s happy, happy, happy, happy... and then suddenly in the eleventh hour having a mental breakdown. 

Sora is written into a loop every game of kind, naive, but unchanging (”Don’t ever change, Sora”). That was endearing when we were both 14, but after almost twenty years it gets tiring to watch Sora get hit with a reset button every time you meet up with him again. There’s a scene in the gummi ship early on in the games where Donald asks Sora to “take this seriously,” and Goofy remarks that they seem to be stuck in a rut as Donald and Sora have the same conversation over and over again before entering the first series of Disney worlds. Sora knows he needs the power of waking in order to help his friends and free those trapped in his heart, but seems content to just drop into various worlds and wing it, and hope that it all sort of works out. 

And then when it does work out, and Sora uses the power to save everyone, he’s immediately told he’s doomed now? Like, what was the point of him being able to use this to connect with people if he’s doomed. Why did they want him to have this. What’s the point then of Sora having these strong connections. 

Each world makes a big scene about the friendships and connections that Sora makes so easily, but in KH3 there never seems to be enough time for Sora to actually pay them any attention unless the person is right in front of him. Sora seems to make connections for the sake of making connections in KH3, and the ones he has, he does very little to advance or reconnect with.  

Like, the whole point of 100 Acre Wood this time was apparently that Sora’s connection to Pooh was weaker for some reason. I honestly didn’t understand the reason or how it was magically resolved just from Sora showing up and saying hi? But whatever. 

My two least favorite worlds were Corona and Arendelle, for the same reason. There was no believable connection between Sora and the characters there. For fuck’s sake, the combat ally you get in Arendelle is the snow monster, not even a main character.

Sora is like the living embodiment of the B99 clip of Rosa with her dog. He just met Elsa and spoke a whopping five sentences to her, but damn if he won’t climb a mountain five times just for her to save herself without ever talking to him again. Like, literally that is the only interaction Sora has with Elsa. Same thing with Anna, and in her case I literally had to mute my tv so I could track what she was actually saying since they decided to shove two songs from the movie into this game.  

You spend the majority of your time in these worlds trying to play catch up to the leads as they have their movie play out around the bend in the road in front of you, out of your sight. Props to Disney’s ego that they think I remember the beat by beat plots of their films when they came out 9 years ago (Tangled) and 6 years ago (Frozen). I actually had the thought of going and watching Tangled just to remember what Flynn and Rapunzel got up to while Sora wandered around a marsh and had a pointless conversation with Marluxia. 

(Also, getting real tired of the “Good to see you Sora” “Who the fuck are you?” “Oh that’s right you don’t remember that game haha it’s fine it was a gameboy game nobody even knows what those are anymore.” That shit was getting old midway through KH2.) 

To be fair, the PoTC world suffers from the same problem as the other two. Sora shows up, sees everyone for thirty seconds, gets separated, and while we’re dicking around trying to find white crabs on the islands there’s a whole movie going on that we don’t see or participate in. I feel really bad for anyone who did not keep up with that franchise because I only watched the third movie the once and I was confused as hell. Also, the whole time I was finding the crabs in Port Royal all I could think about was this ProZD video. 

I just. I’m 26 years old. These movies hold no nostalgia for me, and maybe that’s the problem. I already had a connection to Aladdin, Peter Pan, etc, so I was maybe more willing to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the interactions. But those Disney worlds also felt more tied in to the plot. You can make the argument of Marluxia and Larxene putting pressure on Sora to find the Wayfinders so that six princesses of heart aren’t used as backup... but where are the other three? Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Kairi make four. Where’s Merida, Tiana, Moana? Mulan or Pocahontas even, since Moana was probably too recent. (But probs not, as it was probably starting development in 2014). If that’s going to be yet another subplot, shouldn’t you at least see it through?  

My point is, I can distinctly recall prior games mostly keeping to the established script in the disney worlds, but still letting Sora really get in there and interact with the characters. The heartless, nobodies, etc were a real wrench in the works for the plots, and had an actual effect on how the story was told and the order of events. Sora felt more involved in cutscenes and was an active participant in the world’s events instead of just a bystander. 

In KH1 and KH2 there was a dialogue happening between the villain of each world and a greater evil. Hell, in KH1 they were a unified council! In KH3 they’re puppets who don’t even talk to the bigger bad like Randall or Mother Gothel, or are there for a whopping thirty seconds like Hans. It makes it more and more obvious that the Disney worlds are just being shoehorned in as a contractual obligation than for any real purpose anymore.

 The only world that’s appeared in all three games, Olympus, was especially jarring. Like, you could tell there was a lot of corners cut on what VAs they could get for this game, as Phil does not speak once. Meg spends more time making eyes at Hercules and nodding than showing any of the sass she has from the film. (This was a thing in KH2 as well tho so I can’t complain about them continuing to drop the ball on even background women characters-- Oh wait, I can, because they’ve had T H I R T E E N YEARS to get it right.) 

Which I guess is as good a segue as any into Kairi Time. 

Listen. Did I mention I’m 26? Yeah. I started reading fanfic on livejournal. I was there when AO3 first got its start. I’ve seen the shipping wars. I know the dark past of Soriku vs Sokai.

I couldn’t give less of a fuck. 

These characters are still 16 and I am now 26. I’m fine with them trading noogies and maybe being able to kick back and play some Mario Kart. Kairi would wipe the floor with both of them because she had time to get good enough to beat Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie combined between KH1 and KH2. 

The point is, I don't care one way or the other about shipping. If my 15 year old self were here, they would be horrified I wasn't over the moon when Kairi and Sora finally shared the paopu fruit. As it is, I kind of stared blankly at my screen and went 'huh, there's gonna be a lot of fanfic fixing this moment.'  From both sides, I think, because even if you're into Sokai you gotta admit that moment did not feel romantic. It felt forced. Like "Oh hey, we've been putting this off, huh. Welp, here we go!" 

It doesn't help that I really, truly, don't like whoever Kairi's VA is in this game. Like, she sounds so ditzy and soft. Get that shit out of here. The dialogue and voice acting in this series has never been its strength, but honestly, I cringed my way through every interaction between Kairi and Axel because of how stilted and bad their conversations were! I’m definitely not saying that Kairi’s voice was stellar in 1 and 2, but at least her voice was clear, and had personality, and by the end of 2 was actually fairly strong. She sounded strong, and determined to be fighting with Sora and Riku, green as she was then, in the World That Never Was.

Whenever she talked in the third one I just sort of grit my teeth and wondered why someone on the production team wanted Kairi to sound so weak. 

Then they killed her at the labyrinth and I said, ‘Ah, that tracks.’ 

I played FFXV, so I guess shame on me for not seeing the signs when the girl love interest is about to be capable and not needing the hero to save her. She gets taken! And killed. Fool me twice, shame on me. 

I actually saw people excited about that Verum Rex thing and after seeing the Noctis ripoff reaching for the Luna ripoff covered in purple light I laughed, and laughed. And then sighed and reached for a stiff drink. 

All this to say that while I’m angry but not truly surprised that Kairi was once again shafted, I’m all the more pissed that they did it in the laziest, most insulting way possible by hinging it all on Sora needing a reason to fight Xehanort. Like, really???? Really. That’s your angle. The man-pain trope is so painfully overdone. Please. It’s 2019. Come into the future with us, Nomura. 

And I feel bad that all of the stuff I just wrote mostly revolves around Kairi being Sora’s romantic interest. But that’s because that’s all this game allowed her to be! Princess of light what? Bequeathed Keyblade wielder in her own right who??? Every battle she and Axel share with Sora they get their asses kicked in 30 seconds flat, so maybe Merlin should have left them suspended in time a little longer. Maybe long enough to convince someone out there in the universe that these two deserved to be competent. 

Hell, not just competent. Amazing. Kairi deserved to be able to stand on her own two feet and hold her own. To be running alongside her boys and not just be an object for them to tussle over or save. As Aqua’s somewhat successor, she deserved to be a terrifying wielder of battle magicks and flurries of light magic. 

To be replaced by Xion was just insult to injury. Like, I’m very happy that Xion got her heart back and was reunited with Roxas and Axel, but she didn’t need to be brought back at Kairi’s expense. The world won’t implode if the replica and actual person inhabit the same space. 

Which is leads us to our third member. 

Riku. To be fair. Riku got the most growth as a person out of the three of these kids, easy. We finally see a Riku who is confident in himself and his journey, and willing to take everything he learned along the way to help Mickey, Aqua, and even his own replica. However.... 

He doesn’t seem to give two shits about Kairi anymore? Did they even talk, like, once during the whole game? I can’t recall a single instance where Sora, Kairi, and Riku were in the same place together where it was just them, and they held an actual conversation. Hell, where they even said “Hi, how’s it going? What have you learned, had any good food lately?” 

God, even when Kairi was taken, and then when she was killed, Riku had one moment of anger, and then was completely, like, chill again, and back to talking Sora down. Like, what? I don’t want any love triangle bullshit, but Riku and Kairi were friends as much as Sora and Kairi and Sora and Riku are friends. 

And that’s what bothered me the most about the disappearance of Kairi introducing this bullshit narrative of Sora abusing his power of waking. He spent two games trying to get him, Riku, and Kairi together. But he doesn’t want Riku to help him get Kairi back? And Riku’s just going to let him go?! After all Riku has done and learned about falling to darkness and clawing yourself back to light and peace, he’s just going to let Sora do the same?

I call bullshit. 

And this is why when Sora suddenly faded out of view on the beach next to Kairi I slowly leaned back in my chair, dropped my controller into my lap, and flipped off my tv screen with both hands.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Standing Still

Not My Gif

Vasquez x Reader x Faraday, Female Reader, Polyandrous Relationship

AO3 Link/ Support Me on Ko-fi

Requested by Anonymous:  Maybe “Just go away” and “Why didn’t you tell me?” With Josh and Vas?

A/N: This is my first time writing a poly relationship, so I apologize in advance.

Word Count: 2.7 K

           A woman being in a relationship with two men was not something one would consider normal, and yet, that was how your life had decided to go. 

          You weren’t going to complain, but there was no shaking just how odd it all was. Faraday was always quick to point out Mormons had been doing it in reverse for years, and considering the scarcity of women west of the Mississippi, it would be downright selfish of him and Vasquez to take one each for themselves.

           The three of you met when Mrs. Emma Cullen went out in search of gunmen to protect the small town of Rose Creek.  You and Vasquez hit it off right away with Faraday not far behind as the week went on.  After the battle, Sam, Goodnight, Billy, Jack, and Red all went their separate ways, but you, Vasquez and Faraday all ended up going in the same direction and hadn’t split up since.

           It took time, but your feelings grew stronger and stronger every day for one another, until finally it exploded in a mix of booze, shouting, and sex. Once you sobered up, you were finally able to talk it out like reasonable adults, and confronted the simple truth they you all loved each other and there was no sense in trying to hide it.

           It wasn’t always easy.  Faraday had the uncanny ability to drive Vasquez to the point of insanity. Vasquez’s temper at times got the better of him and your own stubborn streak could lead to not talking to either of them for days on end until one of you cracked. But you still managed to balance each other out, and none of you could truly be whole without the other.  

           You loved them, and you knew they loved you right back, but there was no avoiding who they were.  Faraday was a drinker, a gambler, and overall scoundrel.  Vasquez as a wanted man, constantly looking over his shoulder. Neither was the type to settle down. You tried to never let that fact bother you.  You didn’t mind the idea of being on the move forever, but you knew, eventually you would have to stop.  

           Faraday and you took the lead as you rode into town, scouting out the area, or more specifically, the sheriff’s office.  You started making a habit of watching the wanted posters whenever you came into an unfamiliar place.  Luckily, none of the posters mentioned Vasquez by picture or name. Faraday offered to give Vasquez the all clear while you checked in with the local doctor.  

           You hadn’t been feeling well as of late.  Most of your mornings were spent bent over a rock puking.  You waved it off as nothing more than hard riding combined with something you ate, but both men insisted you see a doctor.  You reluctantly agreed, but for your own reasons.

          You had a sinking feeling you had something much more permanent than an ailment of the stomach.

           You found the doctor easily enough and allowed him to run as many tests as he could.  You bobbed your knee anxiously as he took your temperature and checked your pulse.

           “How long have you been feeling this way?” the doctor asked.

           “About a week,” you said.

           “And it always happens in the morning.”

           “More or less.”

           The doctor nodded his head, as he took his hand away from your wrist.

           “Ma’am, this is going to sound rather crude, but rest assured it is purely in medical interest.  When was the last time you bled?”

           You didn’t answer right away, trying to remember.  You hadn’t exactly been keeping track considering your life style, but the more you thought about it, the longer ago it seemed.

           “I’m not sure,” you admitted.

           “Well, it seems to be you don’t have a stomach flu at all,” he said with a smile. “You’re pregnant.”

           Your breath stopped in your throat as you felt the color drain from your face. You thought it might be possible, but the reality was something entirely different.

           “I’d say you’re about a month along,” he continued, oblivious to your thoughts. “I’m sure your husband will be thrilled at the news.”

           You nodded, unable to form a coherent thought.  

           The doctor continued to rattle off instructions to which you were only half conscious of.  You smiled and thanked him in a daze as you walked out the door.

          You were pregnant.  You were going to be a mother.  Vasquez or Faraday was the father.  

          You didn’t bother to get back on your horse.  You just unhitched him and walked down the street trying your best to delay the inevitable.  

          The sun was starting the set by the time you reached the inn.  You took your time leading your horse to the small stable alongside it before making your way inside.

          You made you way up the stairs, and stopped in front of the door, listening closely. You hoped Vasquez and Faraday had already found their way to the gambling hall, but no such luck.  You heard both their voices through the door, talking about something you couldn’t make out. Steeling yourself, you walked in.

          Vasquez was standing by the mirror, washing his hands and face while Faraday sat on the bed, buttoning up his only clean shirt.  Both looked to you as you entered, each with their own looks of concern.

          “Hey darlin’,” Faraday said.  “What’d the doc say?”

          You pushed aside your dark thoughts giving the best easy smile you could.

          “Ain’t nothing bad,” you said.  “Just told me I should rest up a couple of days.”

          Vasquez walked over to you, taking a gentle hold of you and pressed his lips to your forehead.  

          “How are you feeling now?” he asked.

          “Honestly, a bit tired,” you said, sighing for effect. “I think I might just stay in bed tonight.  You don’t mind, do you?”

          “I think I can manage without my good luck charm for at least one night,” Faraday said.

          “You sure about that guerro,” Vasquez countered.

          “Hey, have some faith.  I made it long enough to meet you two didn’t I?”

          “A miracle on its own.”

          Faraday only smirked as he stood from the bed and walked over to you.  He pressed a quick peck on Vasquez’ lips before turning you and kissing your cheek.

          “Take care of yourself sweetheart, alright?”

          You gave a small nod.  

          He smiled in return and walked out the door.

          “He’s going to be impossible tonight, isn’t he,” you said, just as the door closed.

          Vasquez chuckled lightly.

          “Probably,” he said. “Do you want me to keep you company instead?”

          You shook your head giving him a reassuring smile.

          “No, you have fun tonight. You haven’t had a chance to loosen up in a while.”

          “You sure?”

          “Yeah.”

          Vasquez looked you over carefully, checking for the lie, but he couldn’t find it. He placed a soft kiss on your lips before pulling away.

          “Beunas noches cariña.”

          “Beunas noches.”

          He gave you a soft smile, and walked out the door leaving you completely alone.

          You walked over to the bed and sat down. You knew the lie wouldn’t last you long. Eventually they would start to notice your stomach growing and how you wouldn’t be able to drink with them and a number of other facts leading to the truth. You couldn’t face it though.  You knew what the truth meant.  You didn’t even consider the option of giving the child up.  It was made from the truest love you’d ever felt.  You couldn’t bare letting go of something made up of each of you.  But a simple fact remained.  They would leave.  They would have to, at some point or another, they would leave you.

          You felt the tears starting to form in your eyes.  You knew this day was coming, you just didn’t expect it to come so soon.

          Holding you head in your hands, you allowed your emotions to run rampant as the tears started burning down your cheeks.  You knew what you had to do.

          As quietly as you could, you started packing your bags.  There wasn’t much to pack.  Faraday has learned from experience you didn’t like other people touching your stuff and so only unpacked the things that got in the way of his own clothes and essentials.

          You worked slower than you normally would have, stopping every so often to cry or look around the room, or listen to the stairs almost hoping they would come back up, just in time to stop you, but no one came.

          Sooner than you would had liked, you were packed.  You paused a moment to look around the room.

          You should leave them a note, something to explain your actions, but you couldn’t think of what to say.  You didn’t want to lie to them with some made up excuse, but you knew the truth would lead them to follow you.

          You shook your head, grabbed your bags, and made your way down the stairs and towards the stables.  You didn’t stop until you reached your horse.  

          “We’ve got to go boy,” you said walking over to your saddle.

          Suddenly a loud bang came from the pin beside him.

          You jerked your head to see Jack pacing the stall, kicking and neighing as loudly as you ever heard him.

          “Jack,” you scolded, walking over to him.  “Jack, quiet, will you?”

          He didn’t let up, shaking his head and jerking away from you as you tried to calm him down.

          “C’mon boy, it’s alright. It’s just me.”

          “Y/N!”

          You turned around, your stomach dropping to see Faraday standing in the doorway in the stables panting.

          He didn’t even get you time to respond, as he turned his head over his shoulder.

          “Vas, I found her,” he yelled just before walking further into the stable.

          “Sweetheart, what are you doing,” he asked.

          “Just go away.”

          He didn’t stop, reaching out to you.

          “Y/N…”

          “Don’t touch me!” you snapped.

          He stopped in his tracks, retracting his hand immediately.  It was then he noticed your bags on the ground, and your saddle sitting just beside your horse.  He then looked back to you, as realization took over his features.  

          You felt the emotions starting to build back up pressure to your eyes and throat as you tried desperately to keep the tears at bay, but to no avail.

          It was then Vasquez entered looking between you and Faraday in utter confusion.

          “What happened?”

          You couldn’t answer.  You weren’t even sure how you were still breathing as you choked on the air.

          “I think she was planning on leaving,” Faraday answered for you, not bothering to look as Vasquez.

          The other man stood stalk still.  Disbelief, confusion, hurt, anger and all the rest played across his face as he finally settled his eyes on you.

          “Why?”

          You shook your head, wiping away your tears as best you could.

          “Don’t ask me that,” you said hoarsely.  

          “No, I think we outta,” Faraday said.  He made no effort to hide his bitterness.  You couldn’t blame him.  

          “I can’t.”

          “Can’t what?”

          “Please!” you begged, finally turning your eyes to look at him. “Please, just let me go.”

          “Not until you tell us what’s going on!”

          You shook your head.  You couldn’t say the words.  You looked away from them as another sob wracked through your body.

          Faraday let out a groan of frustration, turning his back and walking away from you.

          Vasquez didn’t say anything.  He looked to Faraday, meeting his eyes.  There was a small series of looks back and forth in a silent conversation ending with Faraday giving a tired shrug.

          Vasquez then turned to you. With all the caution of one approaching a spooked horse, he stepped towards you.

          “Y/N,” he said softly.  

          You didn’t look at him, but you didn’t pull away either.

          He took a chance, reaching out to place and gentle hand on your arm.

          “Look at me.”

          You did as you were told, regretting it instantly.  

          Faraday was a poker player in every sense.  His face barely gave away anything when he didn’t want it to.  Vasquez was completely different.  For all his practiced machismo, his eyes always gave away what he was really thinking.  

          Guilt tore through you as you saw the pain you had caused him.  The pain you caused both of them.  You hadn’t meant to, but it was obvious your methods had been in vain. They needed to know.  You owed them that.

          “I’m pregnant,” you said weakly.

          Vasquez froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at you in complete shock.

          “What?”

          Faraday turned back to you then, looking at you with the same expression.

          “I’m pregnant,” you repeated, a little louder, leaving no room for doubt.

          Vasquez glanced back to Faraday as if to make sure he had just heard the same thing.

          Faraday didn’t look at him.  His eyes stayed right on you.  You almost wanted to laugh.  It took a lot to take the words right out of Joshua Faraday’s mouth.

          Vasquez turned back to you, looking down your body to your stomach.  He reached his hand out to touch it, but retracted it at the last second before meeting your eyes once more.

          “Are you alright?” he asked limply.

          “Yeah,” you said, smiling slightly.  “I mean, I do have a person inside me, but yeah.”

          “But you sure?” Faraday asked, regaining his voice. “You’re absolutely sure.”

          You gave a small nod.

          “The doc said I was probably about a month or so along.”

          Vasquez cursed something in Spanish under his breath while Faraday ran a hand over his face.  Both of them seemed at a loss as to what to do as they processed the information.

          “Why didn’t you tell us?” Vasquez finally asked.

          You looked down at you boots.  A part of you was ashamed, but another part knew you were right, or at least, thought you were.  

          “I didn’t think you would want it,” you confessed. “I thought it would just be easier on all of us.”

          “Why would you think that?”

          “Do you want this baby?” you asked him plainly. “Either of you?”

          Neither of them said anything.  They each looked at each other, as guilt and uncertainly spread across their faces. It was all the answer you needed.

          “I know you two,” you said simply. “You’re good men, but you’re not fathers.”

          “Is that what you really think of us?” Faraday asked.

          “When was the last time we stayed anywhere more than a few weeks?” you asked. “How long is it until someone runs us out of town or the sheriff starts to get suspicious?  Me, I don’t mind it, but I can’t do that to them.”

          You looked down at your stomach, placing a hand over it tenderly.  For a moment, you could see them.  A red haired little girl, a dark-haired boy, brown eyes, green eyes, all playing in front of you.  A child you could call your own with the perfect mix of all of you.

          “I have to stand still,” you said softly, “and I can’t ask you to do the same.”

          “We could try,” Vasquez said.

          You shook your head, feeling the tears come back into your eyes.

          “For how long?” you asked.

          “As long as you want us,” Faraday said.

          You looked up at him in surprise.

          Faraday stepped back towards you taking a place besides Vasquez.  You had never seen him so serious before. You waited for a crack, a smirk, something, but it never came.  

          “We won’t leave you Y/N,” he said. “You or the baby.”

          You looked between the two of them, feeling a small bit of hope beginning to swell inside you.

          “I want to believe you…”

         “Then believe us,” Vasquez said. “We’ll make it work.  We’ll prove it to you.  Just give us a chance.”

          You could feel the determination behind his words.  Both him and Faraday.  

          You felt yourself nodding, giving in to the love you had for them.

          Faraday quickly took you into his arms, hugging you tightly.  You returned it tenfold wrapping your arms around him like a life line.  You felt Vasquez come up behind you holding you close effectively enveloping you in the warmth of the two men you loved.

          Maybe it was a bad idea.  Maybe it would end in heart break.  But for the moment, you had them, and they had you.  Your child would be loved and that was enough.

[orbemnews]

Jack Ma Seems in Public After Difficult Beijing: Reside Enterprise Updates Right here’s what that you must know: Jack Ma showing at a livestreamed occasion on Wednesday. Jack Ma has filmed motion scenes with big-time martial artists, sung duets with pop stars and appeared at company rallies dressed as a glam rocker and as a masked Michael Jackson impersonator. A wallflower he isn’t. So hypothesis ran rampant after the outstanding entrepreneur and co-founder of the Alibaba Group vanished from public view late final yr. He had criticized Chinese language regulators for what he referred to as their overly cautious angle towards the nation’s monetary system, and the authorities cracked down on his enterprise empire shortly afterward. After that he started to skip beforehand scheduled appearances, prompting questions in China and within the international information media about his destiny. Mr. Ma now seems to be making an attempt to place the hypothesis to relaxation. On Wednesday, he made his first public look since late October. He spoke at a livestreamed occasion honoring educators in China’s village faculties. He didn’t tackle his troubles however mentioned he would spend extra time in philanthropic endeavors. “On this time, my colleagues and I’ve been studying and pondering,” he mentioned, based on a transcript of his remarks revealed within the native information media. “We’ll throw ourselves extra resolutely into academic philanthropy.” Mr. Ma, a former English instructor, mentioned that it was the accountability of enterprise executives of his technology to work towards widespread prosperity by revitalizing rural areas and growing village schooling. His speech was per his current efforts to step away from Alibaba’s day-to-day operations and focus extra on philanthropy, although he retains appreciable sway over his enterprise empire. His remarks have been extensively lined within the Chinese language state-run information media, suggesting on the very least that Beijing’s censorship machine permitted of his remarks. His look relieved some buyers, who drove Alibaba’s Hong Kong-traded shares up about 9 % in afternoon buying and selling. Mr. Ma, who ran Alibaba from its founding in 1999 to its rising as one of many world’s greatest and most dear expertise firms, has lengthy been cautious across the Chinese language authorities. Like many entrepreneurs within the nation, he has solid ties with Beijing officialdom to go off any regulatory troubles. However the rise of Alibaba’s sister firm, Ant Group, put him more and more at odds with China’s state-dominated monetary system. Ant Group, which was as soon as an Alibaba subsidiary and affords providers like digital funds and lending, now performs an enormous function within the monetary lives of many Chinese language folks. It had deliberate an preliminary public providing for late final yr in Shanghai and Hong Kong, in what was extensively anticipated to be the most important fund-raising of its type. However in October, at a public occasion, Mr. Ma accused Chinese language state-run banks of behaving like “pawnshops” and the nation’s monetary regulators of limiting innovation by obsessing over danger. A couple of week later, the federal government halted Ant Group’s I.P.O. and later ordered it to shake up its enterprise practices. Then it started an antitrust investigation into Alibaba. Amid the official blowback, Mr. Ma started to bow out of beforehand scheduled appearances, together with as a choose on an African entrepreneur-themed expertise present that he had created. That ignited hypothesis, particularly after different entrepreneurs who challenged Chinese language officialdom have been dealt heavy punishments. Janet Yellen seems earlier than the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Credit score…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Instances Republicans foreshadowed their opposition to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s financial plans on Tuesday, urgent Janet L. Yellen, his nominee for Treasury secretary, to defend a $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal that would offer extra direct funds to people, expanded jobless advantages and cash for states and cities. The opposition from Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee throughout Ms. Yellen’s affirmation listening to underscored the problem that the incoming Biden administration will face in making an attempt to push its proposal via Congress given the slim management it has within the Senate and Home. “We’re taking a look at one other spending blowout,” mentioned Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania. “The one organizing precept I can perceive, it appears, is to spend as a lot cash as doable, seemingly for the sake of spending it.” Mr. Toomey took concern with Mr. Biden’s plans to ship extra money to states and cities, a measure that Republicans have opposed for the final yr and that was dropped from the final spherical of stimulus talks as a way to win passage of the $900 billion assist bundle. He additionally expressed concern about Mr. Biden’s proposed tax will increase and his name for elevating the minimal wage to $15. Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, seized on Mr. Biden’s name to lift the minimal wage from $7.25, arguing to Ms. Yellen that doing so would harm small companies whereas they’re weak and would result in extra job losses. Different Republicans complained that the Biden financial plan is fiscally irresponsible given the nation’s rising debt load and the federal price range deficit, which topped $3 trillion final yr. Senator Invoice Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, mentioned that Mr. Biden’s plan is just not sufficiently focused and that giving an extra $1,400 in direct funds to some individuals who haven’t misplaced jobs is just not an environment friendly use of federal sources. Ms. Yellen rebutted their arguments level by level, making the case that doing too little to stimulate the economic system could be extra expensive in the long term. She mentioned that financial analysis have proven minimal job losses from elevating the minimal wage, pointing to research of neighboring states when one imposes a rise and the opposite doesn’t. She additionally argued that jobless advantages, which beneath Mr. Biden’s plan could be supplemented with an additional $400 per week, should not ample to handle the monetary struggles going through households and that the $1,400 stimulus checks are essential in conditions the place one particular person, typically a girl, has left a job to care for youngsters who’re out of faculty. “There are a lot of households which can be bearing distinctive monetary burdens that aren’t addressed by unemployment compensation,” she mentioned. Ms. Yellen did supply some assurances to Republicans who’re fearful that Democrats will repeal the complete 2017 tax regulation, which slashed taxes for people and firms. She mentioned that whereas Mr. Biden does need to make adjustments to the regulation, together with elevating the company tax charge, such actions should not a right away precedence. “The main target proper now’s on offering reduction and on serving to households hold a roof over their heads and meals on the desk, and never on elevating taxes,” she mentioned. The revived Paycheck Safety Program is off to a smoother — and slower — begin than it had final spring, when determined debtors deluged banks with mortgage purposes and overwhelmed the federal government’s pc programs. This system opened broadly on Tuesday because the Small Enterprise Administration, which manages the reduction program, started accepting purposes from all lenders. The company allowed a small subset of group lenders and tiny banks to begin submitting their purposes final week. In this system’s first week, the company permitted round 60,000 purposes from practically 3,000 lenders, the it mentioned on Tuesday. These purposes totaled $5 billion, consuming round 2 % of the $284 billion this system has out there to lend. These figures don’t embody mortgage purposes despatched to the company on Tuesday, the primary day most lenders have been allowed to ship in mortgage requests. New fraud checks and different safeguards imply that the majority purposes will now take no less than a day to realize approval. This system is open to each first-time debtors and to some returning ones: The toughest-hit small companies, these with a drop in gross sales of no less than 25 % for the reason that pandemic took maintain, are eligible for a second mortgage. Lenders mentioned they have been making ready for vital demand, particularly for second-round loans. John Asbury, the chief govt of Atlantic Union Financial institution, in Richmond, Va., mentioned he anticipated that no less than 60 % of his financial institution’s 11,000 debtors would return for one more mortgage. Officers from the Treasury Division have mentioned they anticipate that this system’s funding will likely be ample to satisfy all requests. Mr. Asbury hopes that’s true. “We merely don’t know the way a lot of a rush we’re going to get,” he mentioned. “We’re getting plenty of calls.” Mike Lindell, the chief govt of MyPillow, with President Trump at a White Home briefing in March.Credit score…Al Drago for The New York Instances Mattress Bathtub & Past and Kohl’s mentioned they have been dropping merchandise from MyPillow amid a backlash to feedback made by Mike Lindell, the bedding firm’s chief govt, who has been selling debunked conspiracy theories involving the election on social media. Mr. Lindell mentioned that Kohl’s and Mattress Bathtub & Past acted after folks on social media began pressuring them, based on an interview posted Monday on a pro-Trump website referred to as Proper Aspect Broadcasting Community. Mr. Lindell, who mentioned that he had spoken with Mattress Bathtub & Past minutes earlier than the interview, claimed with out citing proof that the criticism was coming from pretend accounts. Mattress Bathtub & Past mentioned on Tuesday that its resolution was rooted in MyPillow’s efficiency. “Now we have been rationalizing our assortment to discontinue various underperforming gadgets and types,” a consultant mentioned in an announcement. A spokeswoman for Kohl’s mentioned that “there was decreased buyer demand for MyPillow,” and that the chain didn’t plan to purchase future stock after clearing out its provide. Mr. Lindell, whose firm is a serious advertiser on Fox Information, has grow to be a outstanding supporter of President Trump. He drew a wave of consideration final week after {a photograph} of partially seen notes he was carrying into the White Home confirmed a point out of the Rebellion Act. MyPillow additionally provided a “FightforTrump” low cost code on the day of the Capitol riots. On social media, teams like Sleeping Giants, which was created to choke off promoting {dollars} to Breitbart Information, have been asking distributors about their help for MyPillow merchandise. Mr. Lindell railed in opposition to Sleeping Giants within the interview. “These guys don’t perceive, they’re scared,” Mr. Lindell mentioned of Mattress Bathtub & Past and Kohl’s. “They have been good companions. The truth is, I instructed them, you guys come again any time you need.” Supply hyperlink #Appears #Beijing #Business #Challenging #Jack #Live #public #Updates

[ramblingcj]

Tali not being a romance option for female Shepard wouldn’t have bugged me so much if Bioware hadn’t been so lazy in “removing” it from the game. Tali was originally supposed to be a romance option for female Shepard, but BW decided not to include it. Same with Jack and Miranda....

But Bioware didn’t bother having the voice actor record any new lines for some of the dialogue and even kept the suit link dialogue in (which male Shepard can point out is Tali flirting with him). 

There’s also her downloads in the dossier that the Shadow Broker has on her:

- Downloaded education vid, "Understanding Body Language: Human Edition" - Downloaded education vid, "Human Courtship and Mating"  

The first one is fine as I can imagine reading body language can be difficult for a species who lives their entire life inside a suit. And human body language? WE have problems figuring that one out. But the second one? Why is that still there if you’re playing as female Shepard? Sure, you can headcanon that its because you’re romance Garrus and he asked Tali for help...bla bla bla....But its there regardless of who you romance and what Shepard’s gender is. So that doesn’t work. 

Side-note: It does amuse me that she keeps installing and uninstalling the “nerve stim pro”

Basically you’re playing through the game feeling like Tali has a massive crush on you, but nothing comes of it. 

Saying its because quarians are so few that every quarian child is precious and thus a wlw relationship makes no sense isn’t an excuse that works either (and, yes, that is an excuse I’ve seen people use). Since Shepard is human and thus nothing will be gained for the quarians by Tali being with him. Even if they somehow have children. The “Flotilla first” excuse simply doesn’t work. 

I’ve also heard the rumor that Tali’s VA was uncomfortable with the wlw romance, but I have no real option of it. If its true, then it fucking sucks that her personal prejudice got to impact the game like that.  But its also a bit silly, since the voice lines exist. For both ME2 and ME3. So that excuse implies that the VA recorded lines for two different games and then decided against it after she had already done it? She couldn’t tell right away from the script that she wouldn’t be comfortable with it? That’s really stupid. 

Then there’s the fact that both Jack and Miranda were intended as LIs for female Shepard aswell, but were cut from the game. Yet I haven’t heard any excuses about why that was cut. They just cut it out. 

But, anyway, I wouldn’t be as annoyed by it if they hadn’t been so damn lazy about it. 

Its not the first time Bioware has done such a stupid thing either. I can barely speak to Jacob because of the way Shepard talks to him. Like they used all the “flirty” voice lines and nothing else. 

Another example is Varric saying “where’s Hawke” in Dragon Age Inquisition. They clearly used the same line twice and the scene loses a lot of its impact because of it. 

Like I won’t complain as much about animation (beyond joking about it) because I do understand how a lot of it works. But I will complain when its just pure laziness or just stupid mistakes that someone should’ve caught. Like using Varric’s line twice or having fShep flirt with Jacob no matter what option you pick.

[theconservativebrief]

Lawmakers spent several hours on Wednesday grilling top executives from Facebook and Twitter on Russian misinformation online, whether Twitter is biased in how it monitors online accounts, and a few other topics for good measure.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey first answered questions about what their sites are doing to prevent Russian and other foreign actors from sowing discord on their platforms during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. Later, Dorsey faced down lawmakers during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in which they accused Twitter of showing political bias in how it promotes and monitors accounts.

The marathon day of hearings didn’t yield too many revelations — Facebook and Twitter are apparently working hard to take down fake accounts foreign operatives, but there’s still a lot to do. Some Republican lawmakers hounded Dorsey with questions about anti-conservative bias on the site; others asked about harassment, bullying, and hate speech.

But more than the substance of the hearings, the day seemed to be defined by drama on the sidelines, including a bizarre confrontation between conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Here’s a recap of what you might have missed.

Russian interference was the main focus of the first hearing, though lawmakers and tech CEOs didn’t offer many new revelations about attempts to spread false information by Russia or other foreign actors.

Instead, they focused on what social media platforms have done in the past year to help combat foreign interference and fake accounts online — and what’s still missing.

In her opening statement, Sandberg acknowledged that Facebook had been slow to act, but was now investing heavily in people and technology, including artificial intelligence, to help “find bad content and locate bad actors.” She cited shutting down accounts, increasing transparency for ads, requiring documentation for political ad buys, and collaborating with partners like law enforcement to root out problems.

Dorsey, who tweeted his opening statement, also acknowledged missteps on Twitter’s part, but said they were now taking similar steps on his platform.

We‘ve made significant progress recently on tactical solutions like identification of many forms of manipulation intending to artificially amplify information, more transparency around who buys ads and how they are targeted, and challenging suspicious logins and account creation.

— jack (@jack) September 5, 2018

Lawmakers acknowledged their efforts, but said more had to be done. Among the areas that came up: protecting users’ privacy; alerting users so they know they’re interacting with bots; and alerting users that they’ve interacted with inauthentic accounts.

“This problem is not going away,” Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. “I’m not even sure it’s trending in the right direction.”

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

An empty chair played a starring role at the Senate hearing.

Google’s top executives declined an invitation to appear alongside Twitter and Facebook, and lawmakers made their ire known by leaving an empty chair and placard to represent the tech company.

“I’m deeply disappointed that Google, one of the most influential digital platforms in the world, chose not to send its own top corporate leadership to engage this committee,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said during the hearing.

The tech company had reportedly offered to send its senior vice president of global affairs, Kent Walker, but Burr and Warner weren’t satisfied with that substitution, leaving the empty chair instead.

Google chose to release a statement online instead of attending the hearing, saying it’s “committed to working with Congress on these issues.”

Come for the policy discussions about foreign interference, stay for the bizarre confrontation between Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Infowars’ sAlex Jones.

Jones and other conspiracy theorists and alt-right figures who have been banned for violating rules on various social media platforms showed up at the hearings, in an apparent protest of what they see as censorship.

Jones accosted Rubio as he was answering questions about foreign interference and misinformation on social media, interrupting the senator and shouting at him. Rubio tried to ignore Jones’s comments, until Jones tapped Rubio on the shoulder, as Vox’s Emily Stewart detailed:

“Don’t touch me again, man. I’m asking you not to touch me,” Rubio told Jones.

Well, sure, I just patted you nicely,” Jones said.

“I know, but I don’t want to be touched,” Rubio said. “I don’t know who you are.”

Jones talked over him, saying he wanted him to be arrested, and Rubio said he didn’t know who Jones was.

“You’re not going to get arrested, man. You’re not going to get arrested; I’ll take care of you myself,” Rubio said.

Jones, surprised, looked at reporters and said, “Oh, he’ll beat me up.” He told Rubio he wasn’t “going to silence me” and called him “a little gangster thug.”

Wow, this video. Alex JONES calls RUBIO a “frat boy” and touches Rubio on the shoulder. Rubio tells Jones not to touch him and that he won’t be arrested because I’ll “take care of you myself.”https://t.co/AGRMrDBMGa

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 5, 2018

Rubio later claimed that he thought he knew of Jones, he didn’t know what he looked like until their encounter this afternoon.

The incident served to highlight the strange Republican coalition that has developed under Trump. As Vox’s Jane Coaston has written, while some Republicans are sympathetic to conservative claims that they face bias on social media platforms, “most mainstream Republicans … prefer their support to be at least one step removed from characters like Jones… all of whom have made a living off blatant racism and accusing mass shooting survivors of being paid actors.”

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on Wednesday afternoon devolved partisan finger-pointing — a markedly different tone from the largely bipartisan and cordial Senate hearing this morning.

Republicans asked questions about whether the social media platforms’ attempts to monitor content on the site was unfairly biased against conservatives, an issue that Trump has complained about in recent weeks.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) told Dorsey that: “We wouldn’t be having this discussion if there wasn’t a general agreement that your company had discriminated against conservatives.”

Democrats, meanwhile, criticized Republicans for wasting a hearing on a fake controversy, rather than tackling the actual problems with social media, from foreign influence to bullying and trolling. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the committee’s ranking member, complained in his opening statement about the purpose of the hearing.

“Over the past few weeks, President Trump and many Republicans have peddled conspiracy theories about Twitter and other social media platforms to whip up their base and fundraise,” Pallone said. “I fear the Republicans are using this hearing for those purposes instead of addressing the serious issues raised by social media platforms that affect American’s everyday lives.”

Another House member, Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) read a list of White House controversies that Congress should be investigating instead of grilling Twitter about alleged anti-conservative bias.

Dorsey, throughout the hearing and in his opening statement, said Twitter is working and studying accidental bias in its algorithms to ensure impartiality, and trying to correct any unintentional bias.

Our technology was using a decision making criteria that considers the behavior of people following these accounts. We decided that wasn’t fair, and corrected. We‘ll always improve our technology and algorithms to drive healthier usage, and measure the impartiality of outcomes.

— jack (@jack) September 5, 2018

In one of the most bizarre moments of the day, Laura Loomer, an alt-right activist, interrupted the House hearing to protest Twitter censorship. But rather than drown out the proceedings, she got interrupted — by a congressman doing an auctioneer bit.

Loomer began shouting in the middle of the hearing that Dorsey was “trying to influence the election, to sway the election, so that Democrats can steal the election!”

House members called for order, and in the confusion that followed, Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) decided to do a quick, comedic turn as an auctioneer. It’s something he’s done before, but here’s the video from Wednesday’s hearing:

Original Source -> 5 things you may have missed from the Facebook and Twitter hearings on Capitol Hill

via The Conservative Brief