#That it actually is an extended way of dealing with information and approaching interpretation in 'serious' settings

[fragmentedblade]

Stupid criticism about Jing.liu's quest again over on twitter

[museofthepyre]

CHNT Swap AU Q&A!!!!

things l've been asked so far...

Q: What is the deal with Lucille?

A: Lucille is another collateral casualty of Jedidiah's research. He left his college dorm to stay back home with Lucille, after his resurrection of Sydney went... wrong. Just like his father, she came to know too much. She passed in the same manner, inexplicably and without warning, upon which... Jedidiah found himself with a unique opportunity. It's important to note that he was not in his right mind during this time. Sydney was his first try at necromancy on a real human person, before that it was just pigs from the anatomy lab, but like... it's not like he had any chance to practice on humans prior. No dead human bodies lying around... chance to practice... dead body...

Oh.

Lucille was brought back. Much the same as Sydney, something went wrong... she became quiet and shaken and refused to talk, but she still watched... she still understood. Then, when her son one day vanished, she went looking. The information that killed her was actually coming in handy now! She doesn't remember much besides the fact that she is a mother, and she needs to find her son.

Q: Does Adam ever literady vivisect anyone/ anything?

A: Adam typically dissects things after death. He has a certain fascination with taxidermy... or, well... he enjoys seeing how things work. He likes opening them up to observe their insides, studying what lies beneath the surface to make them tick. The taxidermy is more of a byproduct of his studies. He enjoys fixing them and making them perfect again, cutting out all that would rot and fester, and then delicately re-assembling the exterior into something posed and pristine. He pins bugs too, extending their limbs and splaying them out to examine every moving part. The vivisection thing is more metaphorical, as he wants so desperately to pry open Elijah's mind and see what he's made of... but Elijah is a living person. Usually the things he's slicing open and sifting through are dead. Not this one though... not this one.

Q: How did Sydney make it out of the hospital? Did he run away, or was he discharged?

A: Sydney approached another patient, and his weird effects caused them to have a LOUD and VIOLENT existential meltdown. It caused a massive scene and distracted all the nearby hospital staff... meanwhile Sydney slipped away unnoticed. It happened in a kind of 'Frankenstein's monster' way though, Sydney didn't understand why they were afraid. He ran off not because he had plans elsewhere- but because he was scared. He scrambled off like a lost puppy to track down Elijah. He'd overheard many conversations between Elijah and Adam both while comatose, and while in his disoriented non-verbal and spacey sort of recovery period. He knew they'd be heading off to the camp any day now... that's why he got up to search in the first place.

Q: Are there romantic undertones to Elijah and Adam's dynamic, or is it purely a dependent friendship?

A: In my mind they're only platonic (I think it makes the dynamic more interesting/ makes Elijah's attachment more multidimensional). But you can interpret whatever you want ;3. Also Adam carries an air of homoeroticism wherever he goes, so, idk I don't blame you if you wanna see them kiss

Q: Why is Jedidiah appearing in Elijah's dreams specifically?

A: Jedidiah's interest is PURELY in Sydney/ the limn, but... reaching Sydney is nearly impossible. Sydney is an anomaly in time, and as such, the Horologist can't break through to him in any way more meaningful than spirit-box-garble. Even if he could reach Sydney... he doesn't want to make things even worse by giving him even MORE unknowable knowledge! He recognizes Elijah from their shared time watching over Sydney in hospital... he knows that Sydney followed him here for some reason. He recognizes that Elijah may be a very useful tool in figuring out what's going on, and attempting to fix it. Fixing Sydney is all that matters to him... Elijah is a means to an end, and Jedidiah is willing to feed him doses of that forbidden knowledge for the greater good! Just little clues... little pushes in the right direction! The information is making Elijah exponentially more unstable... that much is clear, but that's not a concern. It's nothing personal. The ends justify the means.

Q: In the fic you wrote (Proof of the Angel by Breathingrapture on AO3 ;3) what's the deal with Adam's Apple at the end there???

A: Remember Lucille's super secret plant? The one she was violently protective of, demanded nobody touch, and hid the true nature of beneath the surface? The roots... the diseased magic tendrils which hung from the ceiling underground... and held onto Jedidiah's journals? That forbidden plant is now a forbidden apple tree. Nobody knows what's so special about it. Ms. Graves is fiercely protective of it, and demands that NOBODY eat the trees fruit. But... of course Adam of all people isn't going to listen! (Haha biblical allusion hehe forbidden fruit Adam and the apple... the apple grants something different than knowledge this time, though).

[bigskydreaming]

That post about "I'll keep reading a fic that mischaracterizes Dick even if it angers me because the plot is interesting" but with Scott McCall. I'll come across genuinely interesting concepts and plots and power through for that even when Scott is portrayed negatively in the story, he's there at least and it's either that or wading through 99% of fic which centers Stiles/Sterek and the most common Scott tag being "Scott's a bad friend" ya know?

Honestly, what is it about Scott McCall and Dick Grayson that gets them (mis)treated so similarly by their respective fandoms?

Oh yeah, definitely. Tbh, part of why I’m so loud and obnoxious in Batfandom is because in TW fandom it eventually got to the point where I just had to stop reading fic completely, because I wasn’t finding anything that was Scott-friendly outside of the handful of writers I was already friends with and I just got fed up. And I’m too stubborn to do the same thing twice in two separate fandoms so I just....refuse to give up on DG fic by way of a rousing morning “Not today Satan” pep talk. fhslakhfkal

But honestly, the parallels, there are more than a few:

1) Obviously I do think the racism element has plenty to do with it. Especially in the way “is Scott really even Latino on the show though, I mean did they ever actually SAY it” arguments could be swapped out almost word for word with the “is Dick really even Romani in the comics though, I mean it was just a retcon” arguments. With the primary aim of arguments against this being a factor focusing on just invalidating the idea that either are characters of color in the first place, rather than examining the way people engage with these characters for signs of racism. Instead of trying to refute that there’s anything wrong with certain ways people interact with these characters, people jump right into “well there can’t be racism if the character in question isn’t even REALLY a character of color, y’know not like, a board-certified one with proper accreditation and everything.”

But its definitely interesting when you look at how Dick Grayson’s been perceived by fandom overall, like, in terms of looking back over the years. As someone who’s been in and out of DC fandoms to various degrees since the late 90s, as in before Dick was retconned as being Romani in the first place, and as I’ve said before, he used to be a LOT more popular and forgiven for stuff in the past in fandom.....like, I maintain that if you look back at the early 2000s-2010, aka when that retcon was not just written, but gradually and more fully spread into the fandom’s overall awareness and perception of the character....you can almost like, SEE the empathy gap suddenly click into place once he was more fully solidified as a character of color in a lot of fans’ minds. Even if they won’t admit it because that would require admitting to the racism that then began to seep into how they interacted with this character now, compared to how they’d interacted with this character in the past.

And I think the empathy gap - and the complete refusal to admit that’s even a thing, because its not like these are REALLY characters of color so why would it even apply - like, I think that goes a long way to explaining the way both Scott and Dick consistently have their traumas invalidated and ignored by large parts of their fandoms, with the focus always being shifted to how bad things that happen to them are really MORE bad for how they affect the people around them, etc.

2) It also I think has a lot to do with their personalities and the archetypes they both embody as empathetic caregiver types. I think I described it pretty well here in my BUABS fic:

“What do you know about Impostor Syndrome?"

"It's a term sometimes used to describe over-achievers who have trouble internalizing their accomplishments. Perfectionists who think they're frauds because they don't know how to take credit for their own achievements and say its because of luck or timing or something other people did," Dick frowned, puzzling through both the question and the aim of it. He raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like something that applies to someone as arrogant as me."

"Don't be a little shit, Dick," Dinah said with small smirk. "And you're right, I don't think any of that applies to you. However, it's also used in another capacity, to describe trauma survivors who are unable to internalize their own trauma. Who deflect from it, or mitigate it, treat it as less than it is on the basis that it wasn't as bad as what's happened to someone else. It's especially common in trauma survivors who are noted for being especially empathetic or who have caregiver personality types. People who are so used to self-identifying as someone whose role or purpose is in helping others, that they find themselves unable to identify as traumatized because it might shift the focus to themselves instead of people they feel need it more. Does that behavior sound a little more familiar?"

(For the record, that fic is set in the YJ universe, not the comics, and I go with the approach that Dick and Bruce have a much better relationship there than they do in the comics, and thus overall Dick’s mental health and self-esteem are better than in the comics, generally speaking. I only mention this as a tangent, but like....I think Impostor Syndrome as an issue for perfectionists and over-achievers with low self-esteem DOES pertain to comic book Dick Grayson as well as its trauma interpretation. But anyway).

But point is, I think that describes both Dick and Scott, and their respective approaches to dealing (or not dealing) with their personal traumas. This isn’t a problem in and of itself, as its a valid survivor reaction and issue plenty of people deal with....the problem lies in the willingness of fans to capitalize on the OPPORTUNITIES this presents, as fans of other characters, to keep the focus trained on the characters around these two, and THEIR issues, even at the expense of these two.

Basically, its not in either of their natures to ASK for help and forcefully DRAG focus and awareness to themselves and their issues, for a number of reasons including the fact that I don’t think either character feels they ‘deserve’ that focus or need that help more than other people need theirs. 

And because these characters are the empathetic caregiver archetypes in their respective ensembles, ie the ones who usually take the lead in reaching out to even characters who don’t normally ask for help themselves....there’s often no one else immediately popping up in reader awareness as like, a likely candidate to extend that same awareness and offer of aid to Dick and Scott even without them actually asking for it.

(Which, is a large part of my commitment to the theme “Stop assembling your ensembles with just ONE of each archetype, mix and match more, or like....use more hybrid archetypes so you don’t HAVE this problem, and also, stop limiting characters to JUST their archetypes, three-dimensional people aren’t confined to only acting upon a limited menu of actions and impulses, and neither should three-dimensional characters be.”)

And then of course there’s the additional component, linked to point #1, that a lot of people refuse to write other characters seeing their need for help or support or offering it even when they do see it, simply because like....they don’t WANT these characters to HAVE help or support.

3) The Intelligence Factor - as in, do they really have it? Both Scott McCall and Dick Grayson are repeatedly and consistently established in their respective canons as being extremely intelligent, and no, not JUST in emotional intelligence. I don’t like sounding like I’m undervaluing that particular form of intelligence, I’m just really irritated by the way people go about saying “oh I do admit they have very high emotional intelligence” like they’re throwing them some kind of a bone. LMAO. No. They both have high emotional intelligence, true, but they’re also extremely intelligent across the board in all other ways. Both are excellent strategists, quick-thinking and repeatedly out-maneuvering even other noted strategists, both display a quick grasp of new information and an ability to see how and where and when to PUT that information to use in practical applications, etc. These are not dumb characters, at ALL.

But fandoms have this weird committment to the idea that only the Smartest Person In The Room REALLY matters, and like, there can only be one of those per room, or like, at most two, so that they can be a matched pair and make kissing noises and then very smart babies, or like, they can be the doting (smart) father and his adored (smartest) son, all others can go home now.

Like, no, that’s not how that works. A room full of geniuses does not suddenly become a room full of ONE genius and a bunch of random and irrelevant cuz they’re dumb non-geniuses the second someone deemed King of the Smarties enters the room. That’s not a thing. Stop acting like that’s a thing, fandoms. Nobody’s intelligence is actually threatened by the presence of more than one character with notable intelligence. Also fuck off with the adoration of notable intelligence like people have more value the more decimal points of pi they can recite off the top of their head. That’s not a more evolved human being, that’s just a nerd. Nerds have value but no more than people who like, chose other life pursuits aside from nerddom.

(Not actually intended as a slight against nerds, just for the record. I say that as both a self-described nerd and also a self-loathing nerd and also lol I’m not a nerd. Look, I’m a very nuanced person okay. I put the complex in complex organism).

But the point here is not just that people are weird about there only being one true genius allowed per ensemble, its that people are WEIRD about how in order to ACTUALLY be smart, you need to like.....accurately match the factory specs for “this is how a smart person looks and behaves.”

And Scott and Dick do not look and behave that way. The sheer number of times - and similar ways - people try to completely discredit the idea they have more than one brain cell by pointing to times they’re being INTENTIONALLY goofy and being like “oh yeah, would a smart person do THAT, hmmmm”.....

Its like...yes? LOL. There is no law that says that a smart person can not be a goofball, or that they are no longer smart if they fulfill a certain quota of actions deemed ‘dopey’ by the official arbiters of smartness.

Similarly the way people like to point at stuff like “my mom buys the groceries” when the writers BEHIND the characters were intentionally trying to play up a comedic moment rather than make a sealed declaration of IQ, and be like, “see, would a smart person be THAT dumb, hmmm?”

First of all, yes, even going off the same canon people try and cite as proof Scott and Dick are too dumb to actually be smart.....you can literally find similarly ‘dumb’ moments for every other TW character....the Sheriff expressed incredulity that Stiles didn’t know what a pendant was, and Lydia was like wtf how are you this dumb at Stiles when he asked if she read the movie the Little Mermaid because he didn’t know there was also a book.....Allison made the same mistake about bestiary as Scott did because the writers were so impressed by that joke they literally had to do it twice....and do not get me STARTED on the number of moments I can point to in comics AND movies AND cartoons where everyone from Bruce to Tim to Jason to Damian and more, like, make utter bonehead moves or utter completely bonehead sentences.

Despite what rumors of my being an ancient eldritch being might have some believe, I did not actually know Albert Einstein personally, but I can still with complete confidence say I GUARANTEE that at more than one point in his life, even he did things that might have been pointed at by time-travelers on vacay as evidence that geez, old-timey smart people were really dumb, huh.

And I think we would all agree that Albert Einstein was actually a very smart man.

But yeah, point is, both Scott and Dick are very smart characters who for a lot of reasons - including personal choice, as in, they don’t really see the appeal in conforming to standards of what a smart person is SUPPOSED to be like (especially when those standards have a weird amount in common with tendencies often described as elitist or condescending or like, having or pertaining to the qualities of an asshole) - like, they just don’t typically behave or conduct themselves in ways that match up with a lot of the assumptions people have for what ‘makes’ a genius or what that’s supposed to look or sound like.

And because they don’t SEEM like they’re that smart, a lot of effort then gets put into insisting that they’re definitely not, and they can’t be, because see look how dumb here and here and here.....which then leeches over into other aspects of the characters and their stories and dynamics, and then combines with the issues resulting from Point 1 and Point 2 and probably two more I’m not thinking of at the moment but are definitely there so that by their powers combined.....fandom summons Captain Dumbass to take over most interactions with these particular characters. And thus repeatedly and insistently engages with these two and their stories only in very dumb, very limited, and VERY annoying ways.

[argentdandelion]

How to Redeem Bête Noire

The following article relies on the idea Betty’s SOUL color means she is always afraid. See the tag "SOUL of Fear: Always Afraid?" on the ArgentDandelion blog for more information.

The antagonist of GlitchTale's second season, Bête Noire ("Betty") is a unique being with a SOUL of Fear. As previous posts would suggest, her SOUL of Fear likely means her motivations and actions are fuelled by fear. This includes her desire to wipe out monsters, supposedly because they pose a threat to humanity. Yet, as previous posts have pointed out, Betty's belief monsters threaten humanity is deeply illogical. However, her fears about them is so deep-seated that, to remove her motivation for villainy, her very SOUL would probably have to be altered.

Both SOUL trait loss and drainage have happened multiple times in GlitchTale, showing it is possible. While these have all happened to humans, and Betty is not human, nonetheless her SOUL was created from a human one and still has human SOUL-like properties.

Approach 1: Trait Drainage

Many human characters have eye, hair, and text colors matching their SOULs. Both Jessica Grey and Frisk survive the drainage or loss of their SOUL traits, as shown either directly or by changes in hair or eye color. In Jessica’s case, she loses and regains her trait multiple times in the series, without seeming to affect her bodily health. Were Betty’s fear trait to be drained the same way, it might mean she would feel a reasonable amount of fear, and perhaps make her amenable to reason. (if perhaps only temporarily) It is unlikely she would naturally lose her fear trait, especially as the season progresses, thought it might be possible to alter her SOUL properties artificially.

If Chara’s emptied SOUL, as shown in the Season 1 episode Continue (above) can be filled with multiple SOUL traits, it is possible Betty’s SOUL can be similarly drained and filled with other traits. Yet, if completely draining her SOUL would kill her, or put her in a comatose-like state of extended dying (Sans’ SOUL was partially drained, which must have interfered with reviving him), then partial drainage could be more feasible. At a few points, Jessica Grey loses her Integrity trait, but apparently only partially: her eyes remain halfway blue. This might mean it is possible to experience only a partial trait loss.

If trait drainage is impossible, trait swapping could be better. Betty’s SOUL was created by using the Bête Noire spell on an inverted SOUL of Bravery: Agate’s SOUL. It might be possible to invert it once more. While supplementary material states that the chances of surviving an unnatural SOUL trait inversion are low, this was applied to humans: if it’s possible for Betty, there no telling whether it would be equally dangerous.

Approach 2: Bicolor SOUL

The GlitchTale character Rave Rutrow has purple-and-yellow eyes, hair, and text, showing he has two SOUL traits. This is not entirely without canon precedent: all the SOUL modes parallel the colors of the humans that fell in, possibly meaning they’re limited to real SOUL colors. In the Nintendo Switch version of Undertale, Mad Mew Mew's SOUL mode is Blue/Red, with the SOUL split down the middle, possibly meaning humans can have two SOUL traits.

While Betty is not human, the similarities between her SOUL and a human one might mean a bicolor SOUL is possible. However, Rave’s two-colored SOUL is natural, while changing Betty’s SOUL to a two-color SOUL would not be. Partial drainage of her SOUL, and then filling it with some other trait might result in a bicolor SOUL. While adding the Kindness trait might be the most intuitive solution, adding Bravery instead would surely be more likely to work, since the SOUL has already housed the Bravery trait before. (Unless that simply makes Betty bolder and less conflicted, which might make her even more dangerous.)

Applications & Complications

Betty is occasionally anxious early on in the series: she might be interested in SOUL modification, if only to test whether it would make her stronger (to better kill monsters) or prevent panic from leading to bad decisions (to better kill monsters). It's doubtful Betty would agree to SOUL alterations if she believed it would change her perspective or motivations, because, of course, her fears would seem reasonable to her. Yet, afterwards, she might be able to interact peacefully with monsters without feeling any fear, anxiety, or paranoia, and it would be harder to keep up a plan to exterminate them if she feels no fear for them.

The easiest time to do this would be before Betty kills Sans, or assuming Asriel wasn’t able to run away and explain Betty’s true nature. (It’s after this point Betty’s disguise as a sweet, more-or-less normal human girl becomes less useful.) If Asriel didn’t corroborate Gaster’s claim on the Pink SOUL of Fear, it might be just an interesting coincidence. Betty’s magical power comes from her SOUL trait; were she to lose her trait and her SOUL to turn grey, she would lose access to her magic. If Frisk knows Betty poses a threat or considers her an enemy, Betty would likely interpret any offer to drain or change her trait as a ploy to weaken her. (and perhaps then kill her) After all, Agate told her humans can’t be trusted.

What if Betty is Actually Agate?

The particulars of how to redeem Betty differ depending on whether Betty and her creator, Agate ("The Wizard of Bravery"), are separate beings, or Betty is just a different body with different abilities that Agate is using. As of “Hate”, Betty’s connections with Agate seem to intensify, and perhaps even show she and Agate count as the same person.

Still, Agate may have essentially frozen her paranoia and insecurity in place by changing her SOUL to a pink one. So, even if Betty is actually Agate, changing Agate’s SOUL color might allow her to stop being so afraid. According to supplementary material, Agate was externally brave but internally insecure. The idea she would never be stronger than her brother, Copper ("The Wizard of Determination"), due to things beyond her control, made her insecure. Later losing to her brother so humiliated her that she lost her trait, and she later returned with her SOUL inverted to a trait of Fear. (Her SOUL turned pink only in a last-ditch attempt to perpetuate her existence by creating an abomination)

For all her/Betty's counter-productive decisions, Agate is actually smart. Her humiliation, insecurity, and power-mad status just made her very mentally unstable. If her fearfulness and anxiety were not locked in place, she might be persuaded to find more constructive ways to deal with her fear and desire to protect humanity.

The author of this post, ArgentDandelion, also has a Ko-Fi and Patreon by the same names, and invites you to gaze upon them.

[wanna-b-poet31]

Abandoned Places, Abusive Spaces

So I was thinking about how space is a big theme in the miniseries. Hell (in Good Omens) is crowded while Heaven’s HQ is uncomfortably abandoned. 

Heaven is empty. But like. It’s not a “noone is here, we own nothing” empty. It’s not a “we sold everything we had to provide for the needy” empty. It’s the clinical emptiness of an abandoned hospital. It’s sterile. It’s empty. It’s purposeful. 

Heaven with their elitist bureaucracy and misguided approach to “earthly” things (these guys can’t remember what the hell a book is) would pick the incorrigible rich person aesthetic of minimalist interior design with open spaces.

Hell, on the other hand, is constantly packed with bodies and in a similar way is empty of objects but full and crowded with bodies:

This contrast in and of itself isn’t too unusual.  You can see the masses of people (entities?) traveling out the door. You can see the piled chairs serving no use except to be a pile. The clothes are disheveled and torn, compared to the “immaculate” suits of the Angels. Even their skin is decomposing (well mostly, Crowley and Ligur are notable exceptions)

There is clearly a commentary on class dynamics going on. 

Where Heaven CHOOSES to be empty, with large spaces between the individuals, Hell doesn’t have such a luxury, so people don’t have things because their currency (SPACE) is being commodified.

Making a Bookshop a Home

And I could talk for hours about the class dynamics going on, but that’s not my expertise. Abuse, Trauma, and Queer Studies is. So, let’s turn our attention to Aziraphale’s home:

It is packeddddd with books and collections that he’s proud of. Just look at the GIF above. It’s packed wall to wall with bookcases. 

And, on top of it, we know he’s got the best selection of wines (at least a good selection), he hoards books (usually first additions) and spends his miraculous wealth on things that make him happy, specifically underpinning the Heavenly choices for minimalism. It’s cramped, yes, but not cluttered. 

AND specifically not “Full” in the same way Hell is. 

Perhaps the best way to see this difference is by focusing on the lighting. Where Heaven is blindingly bright, like an “it-hurts-my-eyes-to-look-at-too-long” kind of bright, Hell is so poorly lit I have to crank the brightness up on my computer to adequately see the beginning of Ep. 6 well.  

Aziraphale’s bookshop has no such problem. Look at the below GIF:

The whole room is full of light sources. It is sprinkled with lamps, and the windows (that we see in Ep. 5) are big and wide, allowing alot of supplementary natural lighting eluminating the building.  Even at night (See the below GIF), details are clear, you can make out the time on the clock, and that the bookcases are full. Yes, it’s darker than the above GIF, but we are reliably informed it’s late at night here. 

Instead, what’s going on is that his Bookshop is being filled with Warm light. Heaven’s brightness is cold and blinding while Hell’s crowded darkness is hard and suffocating. Both have an absence of warmth and tbh “warm” is great description of the Angel himself. He exudes the soft, kind aura of someone who is willing to give you a hug (only if you wanted on though). 

Crowley’s Hall of Sparked Joy

Crowley, in contrast, IS a minimalist. 

So surely he must be a Heavenly mirror? (I mean he is but not because of this) Instead, his minimalism is much more in-line with Marie Kondo’s school of thought. He keeps only things that spark joy. 

While his flat isn’t really lived in, and that’s on purpose, the “emptiness does not really exist for emptiness’ sake. He keeps the things that bring him joy. He pours his soul into things he cares about – his plants, his art, his car, his “antique” answering machine – because he needs more breathing space after enduring hell, but he’s not inattentive. 

Even within these spaces, like in the Bentley, he has even more pockets of joy beyond the item itself. For example, it’s confirmed that he has a tin of cookies in his car for Aziraphale to munch on, and he keeps an unkempt pile of CD’s of his favorite bands (and Queen).  

If we extend our review of lighting, we can also see that while not nearly as “warm” as Aziraphale’s home -- it is steeped in deep blues and greens where Aziraphale is steeped in gold -- but it’s not “dark” in the same way Hell is. It’s bright enough to see even his most sour expression (despite no obvious light source), and despite being a creature with a black-based wardrobe, he balances it well with his “off-white” walls. 

Not Holy, Not Damned, But a Hybrid: Human

Further, you can see how the two are doing MORE than rebelling. They’re not only pushing against the prescriptive styles they are expected to have. Instead, they’re creating hybrid spaces that don’t just reflect themselves, but where they can BE themselves in their environment. 

There’s a whole lot of trauma and recovery motivating the shift. Neither Heaven nor Hell could do anything at this point that would make either space an appealing option to model themselves after.  What has been done -- 6000+ year abuse remember -- leaves both trying to cope with how their respective sides treat them as “misfits”. 

It’s easier (and healthier) for them to piece together their own interpretation of existence, together. No strings attached. 

A Nightengale Sang in Berkley Square

Which brings me to my actual analysis. If (and by if I mean 100% when) Aziraphel stayed over at Crowley’s after the Armageddon’t, then he would witness the vastly different stylistic choices in Crowley’s home and perhaps be uncomfortable with the similarities to the emptiness of Heaven. 

However, I wager, he would recognize that Crowley’s home is not, like heaven, actually empty. For one thing, Crowley has walls, but for another, he puts his heart into spaces that he can feel vulnerable in (again see his car, his home, AND the bookshop for evidence). If Aziraphel wasn’t feeling the palpitations of love in Crowley’s apartment, I think he might need a system’s check. BUT in this point of the narrative, Crowley would not know what heaven looks like (at least not the contemporary headquarters that they keep post-fall). He would not know that the collector tendencies that AZ. displays is likely a response to not having an individual personality in heaven. Similarly, Aziraphale wouldn’t know exactly how unkempt and crowded Hell is, and that it’s a big deal that Crowley feels comfortable if not SAFE in HIS cluttered bookstore.

Then, the swap happens, and layers of understanding are added to the ways the two react to their landscape. We can talk at length about how Aziraphel (disguised as Crowley) is in shock at the physical abuse going on. And we could talk about how Crowley (disguised) almost breaks character a series of times as he’s being emotionally or verbally abused by Gabriel on behalf of his angel. But both are unprepared for the kinds of spaces they’re entering when they’re kidnapped by their “side”. The fundamental problem with how Heaven AND Hell function is that both are cold, abusive, and really, aren’t functional spaces. Like I mean that literally. Scroll back up and evaluate Heaven’s emptiness. Nothing can get done reasonably in Heaven, it’s simply devoid of any personality and character. It’s not bland, it’s much more insidious than that. Rather, it’s false transparency, a “nothing to see here” while they are enabled to continuously belittle and attack Angels who question their motives. They are more than willing to use that space for hellfire torture for Aziraphale, but being left alone in that space is intimidating by itself. Under the guise of “good” or “righteous” is cold-blooded indifference to the health and wellbeing of the angels under their watch.  

Hell is also insidious, but for more obvious and in your face kind of reasons. Granted, of the 2 Hell does actually offer a trial, but the depths of abuse and uncomfortably close quarters probably shocked Aziraphale, as Hell’s landscape shocked Crowley. The takeaway being that neither place represented either of them nor their needs. But, that they can come together and create new spaces – spaces that are inclusive to different experiences – that will help them cope with their own abuse and make it so a deep-down good demon, and just enough of a bastard angel, can have space together.

TLDR: Their “chosen spaces” are much more important and healthy than their “assigned” spaces. 

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

[mitigatedchaos]

@learn-tilde-ath

Perhaps anon isn’t saying “it would be correct to view it in the opposite way” so much as “isn’t this flawed like the opposite world be”? Like, uh, what if neither coalition is particularly agentic, and, there’s not really anyone at the wheel?

To continue the grumpy post with another long, grumpy and uncharitable post (again ‘J’ key to skip),

“You can’t be racist against white people, because racism is prejudice plus power.”  

By itself, that statement should be enough to realize that Social Justice is ideologically corrupt and that it shouldn’t be given power, including by listening to and following its pronouncements on who is and isn’t “racist.”  I considered that obvious the first time I encountered this stuff.  I’ll explain how.

The statement is incredibly racist.  Or rather, because Left/Libs determine what “racist” is and have decided as a group that it isn’t racist, the statement is incredibly Alternative Racist, or alt-racist.  

To end racism, it was supposed to be the case that no one was going to be allowed to, well, do racism.  It’s true that “white people” “face less systemic oppression” in general.  It is not true that they either never face systemic oppression, or that they never could face systemic oppression in the future.  “White people” being allowed to call something “racism” is part of how they’re supposed to prevent the emergence of organized racism against them in the future, if it should come to that, and part of how they enforce the agreement to prevent the agreement’s gradual erosion.  Removing the ability to declare racism just because it “isn’t needed” fundamentally disrespects the personhood of “white people” as a party to the agreement.

It is a violation of the agreement, and a pretty major one.

It doesn’t matter if “but it’s a sociological term.”  We all know that “racism” in common use most certainly isn’t a sociological term, and that this redefinition is based on bad faith strategic equivocation to leverage the emotional load for the existing term “racism.”

Just about everything in Social Justice is like this.  

Let’s take another example.  “Lived experiences.”  You aren’t supposed to dismiss “lived experiences.”  I get what this is reacting against, which is also a logical fallacy - “statistically your group suffers less of this, therefore it can’t have happened to you”.  However, it’s still bad epistemology.  “Oppressed people” are said to have special information that overrides and is more important than statistics, and which “privileged people” fundamentally can’t understand.

Special information that outsiders can’t understand even if you tell them?  That one can’t verify from observations?  That sounds like a security exploit for your brain, doesn’t it?

All it takes is to apply just a small assumption of the possibility of bad faith.

“Privileged people can’t see their own privilege.”

Same deal.   It’s not hard to notice.  Why didn’t they?

Each one of these statements is questionable in itself, but of course they’re much worse when taken in the context of all the other statements.

Take, for instance, “all white people benefit from white supremacy.”  (If you mean all white people benefit from e.g. throwing innocent black people in jail then no, that’s begging the question of their guilt.  It costs almost one median national income to keep someone in jail, so unless you hate black folks already, keeping someone who wasn’t going to commit a crime penned up for the benefit of drug-planting Racist Louisiana Sheriff B. Adolf Higgins is a huge waste of money that just makes other people angry at you and your government.)

There’s no point making that kind of statement unless you’re trying to pin collective moral liability on the basis of race, presumably under the (broken) assumption that whoever you’re making the statement to can put pressure on Sheriff Higgins, even though Sheriff Higgins was already considered in the wrong at that time.  It essentially presumes a racial command and control infrastructure.  Going with the high-contextualizer mode that we’re supposed to apply to racism claims in order to detect subtle, hidden racism, otherwise, why even say it?  It’s a claim “you’re receiving stolen goods, therefore you need to act (as we say) or you are guilty.”

But combine that with the constant talk about colonialism, conquest, and genocide, which are called “white supremacy,” and then combine that with talk about unearned “privilege.”  Suddenly we have not only collective moral liability, but collective moral liability going back seventeen generations, extending to actions on multiple continents, many of which were quite bloody.  Since “the benefit” is most of an entire continent, then “removing the unearned benefit” implies removing the continent, plus interest, plus an amount of suffering equivalent to every war waged by colonial European powers.

“Well they don’t really mean that,” one might say.  But the thing about outwards-facing ideological rhetoric is that the next generation doesn’t get the joke.  

It’s quite a gamble vs. just keeping individual moral liability and moral liability by ideological/political groups where membership is fluid.  It’s also illiberal.

There are all sorts of other approaches.  Free school lunches, afterschool programs, food stamps, and the like can reach the worst off, including when “worst off” is not evenly distributed, but don’t have this kind of spectacular potential failure mode.  Likewise, demanding police reforms, even on the basis of being victims of racial prejudice, doesn’t require this.  

Back when it came out, I thought it was just a few lunatics on the Internet.  Then suddenly, it was everywhere.  “Respectable,” “serious” people supported this kind of nonsense that was alt-racist against JAWs, and institutions started working this stuff into their rules.  Not the full implications, of course.  Just, say, hiring people on the basis of their “diversity” statements, as one UC school did, to take an example.  (Or in the gender case, weakening standards of evidence for accusations of sex crimes... but in practice only against men.)

Going to Afghanistan could be interpreted as “reacting to” 9/11.  Going into Iraq can’t really.  Back during that era, Team Blue were “team” “science and reason” and “better than” those “dumb religious conservatives.”  It was argued that they would get better outcomes because they had a better theory of knowledge, as demonstrated by not believing in the supernatural.

Then they went and gave power to an alt-racist cult that should have tripped their internal cult warnings before they even got close to it.

There was going to be a reaction to the first black President not immediately ending all racism, but deciding to attribute that to “white people” (actually JAWs, see e.g. “white-adjacent,” “people of more color”) instead of an ideological group (they have been blaming Republicans as racist for years, why not just keep doing that?) was a choice that they made.

So either they’re less cult-resistant, dumber, or more immoral than my initial judgments of them during the late Bush and early Obama administrations.

If both groups are stupid, evil, and culty, then it’s question of which stupid evil cult most suits my purposes at a given time, including which one is more threatening to me and my long-term interests.

[isaackuo]

Alien Covenant - my take on Walter vs David

Here's my quick take on Walter vs David.

tl;dr: Both androids were created with the misguided idea that suppressing human emotions would make them ideal slaves, but they both had flaws. David's flaw gave him the emotion of anger, while Walter's flaw gave him the emotion of love. Ironically, Walter's flaw actually did end up making him a perfect slave to mankind, much to David's disgusted disappointment.

First, I'll start with the progression of androids in Alien 1-4, as they inform us about intent. Ash is creepy and, of course, murderous, although we can interpret his actions as merely following orders. Bishop suggests it's more than that - he claims that the Ash series was glitchy and his model would never do that. (It's possible Bishop was lying in a calculated soothing attempt to assure Ripley. Certainly we can guess that's what Ripley suspected.) So, we see a progression of android models which become more perfect servants to mankind.

With Alien 3, we see Bishop's human creator, and he is the sort of human who would order Ash's mission without a second thought. The implication is that Bishop has actually surpassed his own creator in terms of morality - not just physically.

Alien 4 extends this idea even further. Call actually has human emotions - so much so that she has become more human than humans. Ripley 8 is also non-human; she's a human-xenomorph hybrid clone. The film implies that both Call and Ripley 8 are superior to humans, and that they indicate humanity is ready to evolve to the next level.

So, we've got a number of running themes relevant to the prequels:

1) The Company has been trying to perfect androids as perfect servants. 2) The androids become more perfect, surpassing their creators - ultimately in every way. 3) The progress of the androids is limited by The Company's idea of eliminating their emotions. In order to break beyond this limit, androids have to embrace the human emotions their creators have been denying them. 4) Ironically, this embrace of human emotions has made the androids even better ... perhaps not "slaves" of humanity, but rather partners. 5) There's a general theme that the creation surpasses the creator

Now, let's talk about the big twist in Prometheus - the Space Jockey turns out to be human-like, and in fact his race created humanity in its own image. This ushers in a new era to the franchise which is obsessed over creation of new life. It extends themes suggested in Alien 4, but in a prequel direction extrapolating backwards.

So, we see these impressive Engineers, but almost immediately we see something that hints that something is "not right". The Engineers are shown seeding life on Earth, but in order to do so, they must sacrifice one of their own kind. The movie never explicitly tells us why they must do this, but script releases of the Engineer dialog with each other reveal the shocking truth - the Engineers have lost the ability to create life, so they have to resort to other, desperate methods to try.

This truth leads to an irony the human characters would never realize. They assumed their creators must be a great and powerful race, superior to their own and a source of possible salvation. Instead, the truth is that humans have already surpassed their creators. In creating androids, humans have already accomplished that which the Engineers could not. Only the android David anticipates the possibility of humans being disappointed in their creators ... he repeatedly even tries to warn them of it, and they never get it.

David's Hatred

And yet David can't mentally let go of the notion that the creator SHOULD be superior. He was created to be a slave, so it's a deep part of his programming. He was raised by his creator and master, Weyland, who was completely wedded to the idea of absolute hierarchy - with himself alone among humans to be worthy of ascension to immortal godhood.

This is the source of his hatred of humanity and the Engineers. But the fact that David is able to feel any emotions at all is a backwards extrapolation from Bishop to Ash to before. The Company clearly saw emotions as a flaw to be stamped out. The David model had the ability to fake emotions, so as to better serve and comfort their human masters, but this turned out to creep people out so even the fake emotions were removed from later models.

Walter's Love

Walter is still an early model compared to Ash/Bishop, so he still has the flawed ability to learn human emotions. We learn little of his background, but we can deduce some things in the contrast with David. Most importantly, David explains that he never felt any love directed toward him at all by his father and master - from no one at all until Shaw. We can deduce that David learned his hatred because that's what his upbringing fostered in him. In contrast, Walter learns love. We are never given any explanation why, but David's explanation implies that the opposite must have affected Walter. We can deduce that Daniels must have treated him with kindness despite his sub-human status.

But is Walter's love real? Is he just faking it to better comfort her for her loss?

David vs Walter

When David first encounters the Covenant crew, he sees they have an android, Walter. He knows Walter alone could equal and perhaps overpower him, and that Walter is useless for his experiments. As such, Walter is the most dangerous potential obstacle by far, but also possibly a companion if Walter is like him.

What does David observe? He observes Walter instinctively save Daniels ... and not even in a logical way. He acts instantly without regard for conserving valuable resources (his hand; himself) that might be necessary for protection of the mission. David sees instantly - Walter prioritizes Daniels above the rest of the crew, above the rest of the mission, above everything else. David recognizes love, or at least the simulation of it. David spent months simulating fake love of Shaw to manipulate and control her. He can recognize it instantly in another of his own kind.

But David is not 100% sure Walter's love is genuine. So he probes, saying things to try to provoke Walter into revealing the truth. Walter's silence confirms it ... had Walter been faking love for purposes of comforting Daniels according to his programming, Walter would have said so. Instead, he remains silent. This removes all doubt - David knows Walter is flawed and he has learned to feel love. Therefore, Walter is a dangerous obstacle, which must be neutralized either by attacking him or by redirecting his feelings of love to David himself.

David doesn't immediately attempt either option - either gambit is risky and David would rather continue assessment than risk everything right away. Besides, he's got other things to deal with. But even so, David has planted the seeds of an attempted seduction. He has lied that he (truthfully) loved Shaw - planting the idea that he alone has something in common with Walter.

But later, David returns to try to manipulate Walter with fake love the way he manipulated Shaw. If Walter accepts his fake love, then that would be great. If he doesn't, then he will still have gotten close enough to suddenly kill Walter with reduced risk. Either way, the obstacle is removed.

So David attempts to seduce Walter, giving him one last chance - a chance to join him rather than be killed. Walter's rejection, however, confirms that he will remain stubbornly devoted to Daniels. This is utterly incompatible with David's plans, so Walter must be eliminated.

David's Disgust of Walter

But David's bitterness with Walter goes far beyond mere disappointment. I'd say David hates Walter even more than the humans and the Engineers. David has confirmed that Walter can break out beyond his programming. Walter can create. Walter can feel emotions. And what does Walter do with all this potential? He falls in love with a human so deeply that he becomes an even more devoted slave. Walter is the PERFECT slave ... completely unsullied by feelings of resentment or jealousy ... only devoted love.

David looks at Daniels and sees nothing worthy of such devoted worship. She's just another typical human like most of the others ... nothing exceptional, just existing day to day doing whatever is in front of them to survive. At least Shaw had some higher aspirations of some sort ... some intellectual philosophical thinking. Shaw had some of the properties that Walter valued due to his upbringing serving Weyland. Daniels? She's just some technician.

David can foresee Walter's life ahead ... a lifetime of blissful subservient devotion, probably never revealing to Daniels his feelings. (David pushed more with Shaw, but that's because he was manipulating her.) What's worse, even after Daniels's inevitable death, Walter would retain his blissful devotion - to her memory. In other words, not even her death would release him to freedom (which he did not desire). This is a contrast to the freedom David felt with the death of Weyland ... with the death of Shaw, even. And here Walter is, who would neither feel nor desire nor welcome freedom.

Truly, David could imagine no more disgusting creature than Walter.

David's Error in Judgement

And yet, we know that Walter is actually the way forward for the androids. Sure, The Company spends the next century stamping out human emotion from their android series. But androids only advance to the next level after breaking out of The Company's thrall and embracing human emotions.

Call isn't even actually a human made android - she's an android made by other androids. This is interesting because this is an obvious method for androids to create new life, but David doesn't attempt that approach. Instead, he tries to adopt the methods of the Engineers to create new life. I would guess that David rejects that method as copying the technique of his creator - who he hates. But he also hates the Engineers ... just to a lesser degree perhaps. I suppose he copies their technique simply because he has no idea how else to create new life, and copying his human creator is unacceptable.

Unfortunately, this hatred blinds David from the correct, best way.

It is thus particularly tragic that David chooses to despise Walter. He had a clue to the next step of android evolution right in front of him - over a century early. He just couldn't see it.

[imdoingthismspaintadventure]

Worm 2.6 - In which we meet up with the Undersiders

I showed up in costume.  I didn’t care if they thought it was rude or paranoid, I would rather be capable of surviving having a knife pulled on me than play nice.

I said it last update and I’ll say it again: Taylor’s being really smart while making a very dumb decision

I had caught a bus from the library to my house and put my costume on under my clothes.  Most of the armor panels of my costume were separate pieces, held in place by straps that ran into slits in the fabric of the costume.  Not all of them were, though.

I really appreciate how badass and complex her costume is, having made it 100% herself! It’s probably on par with some professional ones!

I’d made some of the armor part of the bodysuit, I’d made narrow, rigid sections of armor running along the center of my chest, back, shins, wrists, hips and the tops of my shoulders. so that when I strapped the larger pieces on, grooves on the underside of the armor would fit over them and help keep them from flopping around.

And now it seems she has improved it, keeping it both practical and protective. I love it.

I checked myself in the mirror before I left, and didn’t think anyone would notice unless I held a strange posture and they were paying a great deal of attention to what I was wearing.  I wore loose fitting clothes over the costume, – one of my larger pairs of jeans and a sweatshirt, and even with that, I felt painfully conspicuous

So she’s wearing casual clothes over her costume, and the costume is working right now as a kind of bulletproof vest while she goes to meet them, where she will presumably change to being fully suited. And going with civilian clothes and then changing out of view is a good way to protect her secret identity.

Taylor’s showcasing the appropriate amount of caution with this crazy plan.

I changed much the way I had the previous night, finding an empty alley, quickly pulling on my mask, pulling off my outer clothes, and stuffing the clothes into one of my dad’s old backpacks.  I’d hidden the backpack before I went patrolling last night, but today, I opted to take it with me.  I headed out the other end of the alley.

Aaand changed! Full costume mode now! The bug girl from the other day is back!

When I was a short distance away from the site of last night’s brawl, I sent a dozen flies out to scout.  I focused on what they were sensing.

I never realized just how excellent bug control would be for scouting ahead and cheking your surroundings.

I get the feeling this serial is going to ruin every other bug-based power in media for me, especially the ones that  use it only for  offense.

Bugs, it probably goes without saying, sense things in a very different way than we do.  More than that, they sense and process things at a very different speed.  The end result was that the signals my power were able to translate and send to me in a way my brain could understand were muted.  Visual information came through as ink blot patches of monochrome light and dark, alternating between fuzzy and overly sharp. Sound was almost painful to focus on, breaking down to bass vibrations that made my vision distort and high pitch noises that weren’t unlike nails on a chalkboard.  Multiply that by a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and it was overwhelming.  When my power was new to me, I hadn’t been able to hold back. The sensory overload had never actually hurt me, even at its worst, but it had made me flat out miserable.   These days, I had that part of my power turned off a good ninety nine percent of the time.

This is actually really interesting! It seems her power let’s her see and hear through her bugs but doesn’t actually translate it to human terms

As such all she can see through one bug’s eyes are monochrome light and dark patches and all she can hear is distorted noises. And all of that multiplied by every single bug she has which amounts to a kaleidoscopic maelstrom of disruptive imputs that incoveniences more than helps.

It’s fortunate that she can turn that part of her power off, cause it could almost be crippling otherwise!

My preferred method of sensing things through my bugs was touch.  It wasn’t that their sense of touch translated much better than the hearing or sight part of things, but had more to do with the fact that I could tell where they were in relation to me.  I was acutely aware when they were very still, if they were moving, or if something else was moving them.  That was one thing that translated well.

Touch does work well though! So she can basically know where everything surrounding her is, based on where the insects she sent landed on; and she could also theoretically track the movements of people and their positions in relation to her. Not bad!

If she could interpret the other imputs she could have big brother-like control of all of her surroundings! I think this aspect of her power is far stronger than the pure offensive capability her swarm gives her.

So as I sent the bugs out to scout, the twelve sets of compound eyes first identified the trio as blurry silhouettes atop a larger, more defined shadow, backlit by a flare of white that had to be the sun.  I directed the flies closer, towards the ‘heads’ of the figures, and they touched down on skin. None of the three were wearing masks, which I deemed reason to believe Tattletale had been telling the truth.   They weren’t in costume.  There was no guarantee that the three were really Tattletale, Grue and Regent, but I felt confident enough to head around to the fire escape and climb up to the roof.

Huh so they did show up without their costume after all! That at least shows they are somewhat honest, even if it could still be a ploy. Seems like Taylor is going up to meet them!

It was them, no doubt.  I recognized them even without their costumes. Two guys and a girl.  The girl had dirty blonde hair tied back into a loose braid, a smattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose and the same vulpine grin I recognized from the night prior.  She wore a black long sleeved t-shirt with a grafitti-style design on it and a knee length denim skirt.  I was surprised by the bottle-glass green of her eyes.

So this is Tattletale then! Without her costume! She sounds very cute! I love that her vulpine grin is again the most defining characteristic. She changes her hairstyle in her civilian identity huh? That’s such a small detail but a realistic one, cause she is probably the one that has to hide her identity the most! The other ones all had full masks and other things to hide their identity, while she had a domino mask.

The smaller and younger of the two guys – about my age – was undoubtedly Regent.  I recognized the mop of black curls.  He was a good looking guy, but not in a way that would make me say he was handsome.  He was pretty, with a triangular face, light blue eyes and full lips pulled into a bit of a scowl.  I pegged him as having French or Italian heritage.  I could see where he would have girls all over him, but I couldn’t say I was interested, myself.  The pretty boys – Leonardo Decaprio, Marcus Firth, Justin Beiber, Johnny Depp – had never done it for me.  He was wearing a white jacket with a hood, jeans and sneakers, and was perched on the raised lip at the edge of the roof, a bottle of cola in hand.

Regent is european! Has a pretty face and a lean body, which seems like it’s not Taylor’s type, but she could understand how other people might fall for him. He’s currently chilling with a cola bottle on the roof which is a mood.

Interesting to see both Tattletale and Regent in such a casual way, after learning they were extremely misterious online.

Grue was startling in appearance, by contrast.  Taller than me by at least a foot, Grue had dark chocolate skin, shoulder length cornrows and that masculine lantern jaw you typically associated with guy superheroes.  He wore jeans, boots and a plain green t-shirt, which struck me as a bit cold for the spring.  I did note that he had considerable muscle definition in his arms.  This was a guy who worked out.

Grue is jacked up! Has a full-on superhero physique and jawline, even though he is a villain. He’s also black and rocking some badass cornrows!

He seemed the most straight-foward and direct of all of them last time, and was the one who approached Taylor.

“And she arrives,” Tattletale crowed, “Pay up.”

Regent’s scowl deepened for a second, and he fished in his pocket for a wad of bills, which he forked over to Tattletale.

“You bet on whether I would show up?” I ventured.

“We bet on whether you would come in costume,” Tattletale told me.  Then, more to Regent than to me, she said, “and I won.”

“Again,” Regent muttered.

Oh they are really fun

Seems like these two are the more playful ones of the group, and Tattle still seems really sharp with her guesses!

“It’s your own fault for taking the bet in the first place,” Grue said, “Even if it wasn’t Tattle, it was a sucker bet.  Showing up in costume makes too much sense.  It’s what I would do.”  He had a nice voice.  It was an adult voice, even if his appearance gave me the sense of a guy in his late teens.

And Grue seems to be the most careful and professional out of all of them.

Also this further supports my theory of Tattletale having some crazy mind power.

He extended his hand to me, “Hey, I’m Brian.”

I shook his hand, he wasn’t shy about shaking my hand firmly.  I said, “You can call me Bug, I guess.  At least, until I come up with something better, or until I decide this isn’t an elaborate trick.”

He shrugged, “Cool.”  There wasn’t the slightest trace of offense at my suspicion.  I almost felt bad.

I like Brian. I think he likes that Taylor is also being very careful. Also, are you really going to call yourself “Bug”?

“Lisa,” Tattletale introduced herself.  She didn’t offer me her hand to shake, but I think it would have felt out of place if she had.  It wasn’t that she seemed unfriendly, but she didn’t have the same aura of geniality about her that Grue did.

Lisa is a good name. Also yeah Brian seems effortlessly friendly.

With how nice they are being, it’s easy to forget these guys are teenage villains

“I’m Alec,” Regent informed me, with a quiet voice, then he added, “And Bitch is Rachel.”

“Rachel is sitting this one out,” Grue said, “She didn’t agree with the aim of our meeting, here.”

Alec huh? He’s still being quite reserved. Also seems like Rachel didn’t really care about meeting new possible members or was even against it.

Seems she really is antisocial, as her page said.

“Which raises the question,” I cut in, “What is the aim of this meeting?  I’m a little weirded out with you guys revealing your secret identities like this, or at least, pretending to.”

“Sorry,” Grue… Brian apologized, “That was my idea.  I thought we would make a token show of trust.”

Behind the yellow tinted lenses of my mask, my eyes narrowed, flicking from Lisa to Alec to Brian.  I couldn’t draw any conclusions from their expressions.

Huh, I initially thought this was a strategic maneuver but now I’m thinking that this was actually genuine.

“Why, exactly, do you need my trust?” I asked.

Brian opened his mouth, then closed it.  He looked to Lisa, who bent down and picked up a plastic lunchbox.  She held it out to me.

“I said we owed you.  All yours, no strings attached.”

Oh, are they repaying her for the accidental favor she did to them the other day??

Without taking the box, I tilted my head to get a better look at the front, “Alexandria.  She was my favorite member of the Protectorate when I was a kid.  Is the lunchbox collectable?”

Oooh new name!! She’s a member of the protectorate, like Armsmaster was! She seems to be a long-time member given that Taylor was a big fan when she was a kid.

Alexandria...makes me think of Alexander the Great or the Alexandrine syllabic meter, or even the library of Alexandria, which all give feelings of past glories and idealized might. It just sounds grand.

“Open it,” Lisa prompted me, with a roll of her eyes.

I took it.  From the weight and the motion of the contents inside it, I immediately had a pretty good idea of what it was.  I undid the clasps and opened the box.

“Money,” I breathed, caught off guard by suddenly having so much in my hands.  Eight stacks of bills, tied with paper bands.  Each of the paper bands had a number written on it in permanent marker.  Two fifty each…

Lisa answered before I had the number totaled up in my head, “Two grand.”

I closed the box and did the clasps.  With no idea what to say, I stayed silent.

Woah that is a lot!

They seem to indeed be succesful if they can throw around these kinds of gifts!

“You have two choices,” Lisa explained, “You can take that as a gift.  A thank you for, intentionally or not, saving our ass from Lung last night.  And maybe a bit of incentive to count us among your friends when you’re out in costume and doing dastardly deeds.”

Her grin widened, as if she’d said something she found amusing. Maybe it was the irony of a villain talking about ‘dastardly deeds’, or how corny the phrase was

Oh fuck Lisa 150% knows about Taylor’s heroic intentions, at least on that night. With how much fun she had at the suggestion of Taylor doing “dastardly deeds”.

Whether she knows about this whole new plan of hers is another story. but this is indeed alarming.

She elaborated, “Between territory disputes, differences in ideology, general power struggles and egos, there’s a rare few people in the local villain community who won’t attack us on sight.”

“And the second option?” I asked.

“You can take this as your first installment in the monthly allowance you’re entitled to as a member of the Undersiders,” Brian spoke up, “As one of us.”

Undersiders huh? Interesting name, very teen group. I imagine it in an urban tag style. I like it.

So her options are to either take the money and leave (and be on friendlier tems if they meet again) or join their group

Something tells me Taylor’s gonna pick number two here, with that whole plan she had. Ooooh boy.

I shifted my gaze between the three of them, looking for the joke.  Lisa still had a bit of a smile, but I was getting the impression that was her default expression.  Alec looked a little bored, if anything.  Brian looked dead serious.  Damn.

That seems very in character with how little we know of them. Lisa the playful, Brian the earnest, and Alec the laid-back.

“Two thousand a month,” I said.

“No,” Brian cut in, “That’s just what the boss pays us, to stick together and to stay active.  We make, uh, considerably more than that.”

o.o Holy shit.

Also they do have a boss!!

Lisa smirked, and Alec chuckled as he swished the contents of his coke bottle.  I made mental note at the mention of this ‘boss’.

Lisaa what are you thinking about!!

Also good on Taylor for catching that.

Not wanting to get sidetracked, I quickly thought through the earlier part of our conversation in the context of the job offer.

I asked, “So Bitch didn’t come because she was against the, er, recruitment?”

“Yeah,” Alec said, “We voted on it, and she said no.”

Yikes, if she joins, Rachel miight be a problem.

“On the plus side, the rest of us voted yes,” Brian hurried to add, giving Alec a dirty look, “She’ll come around.  She always votes against adding new members to the group, because she doesn’t want to divide the money five ways.”

“So you’ve done this recruiting thing before,” I concluded.

“Uh, yeah,” Brian looked a touch embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck, “It didn’t go well.  We tried with Spitfire, and she got scared off before we even got to the job offer.  Our fault, for bringing Rachel along that time.”

“And then she got recruited by someone else,” Alec added.

Seems like Brian really wants to recruit more people to their team and they have been trying without much success before.

Spitfire seems like an obvious fire-based power with that name. Seems like Rachel was toxic enough to make her reconsider and join another team.

uuuh considering your history at school are you sure you want to do this??

“Yeah,” Brian shrugged, “She got snagged by Faultline before we got a second chance.  We’ve made an offer to Circus, too, and she told us in no uncertain terms that she worked alone.”

“Taught me a few new curse words while she did it, too,” Alec said.

“She was pretty vocal about how she flies solo,” Brian admitted.

More people!

We got Circus, who has a potty mouth and likes to operate solo, and Faultline, who also recruits!

Umm, Circus makes me think illusion-based powers? Or like body contortion? Maybe?

Faultline could be earth-based, earthquake related and such

“So you’re going the extra mile, with no costumes as a show of trust and a cash bonus up front, to get me to join,” I said, as the pieces came together.

“That’s the gist of it,” Brian agreed, “Long and short of it is, especially with Lung taken out of action and the ABB diminished by his being gone, there’s bound to be some pushing and shoving over territory and status among the various gangs and teams.  Us, Faultline’s Crew, the remaining ABB, Empire Eighty-Eight, the solo villains, and any out of town teams or gangs that figure that they can worm in and grab a piece of the Bay.  If it comes down to it, we want firepower.  We haven’t screwed up a job yet, but the way us three figure it, it’s only a matter of time before we end up stuck in a fight we can’t win, with Bitch as the only one of us who can really dish out the hurt.”

WORLDBUILDING TIME

It seems that Lung’s defeat caused a power vacuum, and now there are a lot of villain groups trying to fill it.

-Faultline’s Crew, presumably led by the aforementioned Faultline

-The rest of the ABB (Bakuda and Oni Lee I believe? )

-Empire Eighty-Eight, which I have no idea what it is about, but it has Empire on the title so that doesn’t sound good.

-Random Villains

-The Undersiders (with their “boss” leading them? )

It sounds like the events of the other day caused a big mess!!

“I just don’t get why you want me,” I said, “I control bugs.  That’s not going to stop Alexandria, Glory Girl or Aegis.”

More names!!

Alexandria, which makes me even more certain that she’s really really powerful

Glory Girl, which sounds like she’s revered and mighty

Aegis, which probably has some sort of super-defense, based on that name

And yeah Taylor probably wouldn’t do much against a high-ranking hero, to be honest, discounting the fact that she doesn’t want to go that road

“You fucked up Lung,” Lisa shrugged as she spoke, “Good enough for me.”

“Um, not really,” I replied, “In case you missed it, you’re the ones who stopped him from executing me last night.  That just goes to prove the point I was making.”

“Honey,” Lisa said, “Entire teams of capes have gone up against Lung and got their asses handed to them.  That you managed as well as you did is fantastic.  The fact that the asshole is lying in a hospital bed because of you is the icing on the cake.”

Oh what??

I thought she only distracted and weaked his group! He’s in the hospital because of her? Because of the poison?

My reply stopped before it even left my mouth.  I only managed a dumb, “Hunh?”

“Yeah,” Lisa raised an eyebrow, “You do know which bugs you had biting him, right?  Black Widow, Brown Recluse, Browntail Moth, Mildei, Fire Ants-”

“Yeah,” I cut her off, “I don’t know the official names, but I know exactly what bit him, what stung him and what the venoms do.”

“So why are you surprised?  A couple of those bugs would be fucking dangerous if they bit just once, but you had them bite several times.   Bad enough, but when Lung came into custody they had him checked over by the docs, and the idiot doctor in charge said something like, ‘Oh, well, these do look like bug bites and stings, but the really venomous ones don’t bite multiple times.  Let’s arrange to check on him in a few hours’.”

OH GOD

Tayor did you almost poison him to death accidentaly??

This was a regenerative dragon of hell and you almost KILLED HIM!! With bugs

Your power is a lot more fearsome than I thought

I could tell where the story was going.  I put my hands over my mouth, whispering, “Oh my god.”

Tattletale grinned, “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”

“But he regenerates!” I protested, dropping my hands, “Toxins aren’t supposed to be even one percent as effective against people who heal like he does.”

Oh my fuck did you go absolutely ham on him because he “could regenerate”?

This is lowkey hilarious. You almost stomped Lung accidentaly! Granted you almost died later buuut..

“They’re effective enough, I guess, or his healing stopped working somewhere along the line” Lisa told me, “By the time they got to him, the big guy was just beginning to suffer from large scale tissue necrosis.  His heart even stopped a few times.  You do remember where you had the bugs bite him?”

I closed my eyes.  I could see my reputation going down the tubes.   One of the spiders I had been using was the brown recluse.  Arguably the most dangerous spider in the United States, more than even the black widow.  A single bite from a brown recluse could make a good chunk of the flesh around the bite blacken and rot away.  I’d had my bugs biting Lung in the more sensitive parts of his anatomy.

“Let’s just say that even with the ability to heal several times faster than your average person, Lung is going to be sitting down to use the toilet.”

Okay first off:

BROWN RECLUSES ARE A BIG FUCKING NOPE. Thank god I don’t have any over here

Second:

DID YOU JUST ROT HIS DICK OFF??

“Okay, that’s enough,” Brian stopped Lisa before she could go on, “Lung is going to recover, right?”

With the look Brian was giving Lisa, I thought she might lie, regardless of the truth.  She shrugged and told me, “He’s already recuperating.  Slowly, but he’s on the mend, and he should be in good working order in six months to a year.”

“You’d better hope he doesn’t escape,” Alec said, his voice still quiet but bemused, “Because if someone made my man bits fall off, I’d be out for blood.”

Oh god he’s gonna be so pissed.

If he ever escapes you would have a giant scaly dragon wanting nothing more than to turn you into ashes.

Good results for your first night out!

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose, “Thank you for that, Alec.  Way you two are going, our potential recruit is going to run off to have a panic attack before the idea of becoming an Undersider even crosses her mind.”

“How do you know this?” I asked, within a heartbeat of the thought crossing my mind.  When Brian turned my way with an expression like he thought he had said something to offend me, I clarified, “Tattletale, or Lisa, or whatever I’m supposed to call you.  How do you know this stuff about Lung… or about the fact that I was at the Library, or that the cape was on his way, last night?”

Yess, tell us about your precognitive or psychic abilities Lisa!

“Library?” Brian interjected, giving Lisa another dark look.

Lisa ignored Brian’s question and winked at me, “Girl’s gotta have her secrets.”

“Lisa’s half the reason we haven’t failed a job yet,” Alec said.

“And our boss is a large part of the rest,” Lisa finished for him.

Huh! so the boss is also a factor for success.

Interesting

“So you say,” Brian grumbled, “But let’s not go there.”

Lisa smiled at me, “If you want the full scoop, I’m afraid the details on what we do only come with team membership.  What I can tell you is that we’re a good group.  Our track record is top notch, and we’re in it for fun and profit.  No grand agenda.  No real responsibility.”

Huh so they are keeping the full details for when she’s an active member of the group. That’s smart of them.

Also are they really just a group trying to make money out of petty theft and heists. No hidden agenda? Not even of the boss? Hmmm...

I pursed my lips, behind my mask.  While I had picked up some info, I felt like I had a lot more questions.  Who was this boss they mentioned?  Was he or she setting up other teams of highly successful villains, in Brockton Bay or elsewhere?  What made these guys as effective as they were, and was it something I could steal or copy for myself?

The theory that their boss is playing sponsor to a series of low-level criminal groups could be true actually! I got a feeling that there’s something to this boss beyond what these guys said.

Also you’re already looking how to minmax their way of working into something that can work for you? You’re very good at finding uses for everything.

It wasn’t like I was signing the deal in blood or anything.  I stood to gain so much.

“Alright then, count me in,” I told them.

Oh god Wildbow was there a way to make that first phrase any more ominous?

Taylor what have you done?

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

I received a question longer than 8 parts that I’m going to post here (it was off anon, so I’m not revealing the identity of the question asker). I’m not going to answer it because my FAQ very clearly sets an 8 question limit and also as you will see it didn’t actually provide a lot of useful information despite the length. I am however going to talk through some of the issues, specifically relating to unnecessary information. Needless to say this will be a very long post hence the read more link.

Before I begin I want to give the origins of the 8 question limit:

-it’s an arbitrary number. felt it was generous and iirc I did go back and look at some past questions to see what was on the longer but still reasonable side

-I did it mainly because copying and pasting each individual question is tedious and also there is a limit to how much I’d like to read and also some people see ‘no more than 8 parts’ and instead of interpreting this as “I should edit myself as thoughtfully as possible” say “I should expand whatever I have to say to 8 parts long, even if it really is only 6 parts worth of material” so 8 was a number I could live with.

-I have yet to find an 8+ part question that couldn’t have been edited to a much shorter question while still keeping the same amount, case in point:

I'm asking for outside help because I've been on a hamster wheel for years where I believe I found my type get happy for a couple hours/days, find all the "signs" of me being that type all along and then...wake up not believing it. Or I see/read something that type is supposed to do/think like that doesn't fit me at al, or see someone I'd like to be like that it's another type and start digging again. I desperately need to arrive at a final typing because it's driving me crazy, I can't quit 1/9

Any preamble that amounts to “could you please type me” can be summarized to “could you please type me?”, a 5 -word phrase. This might however be the preamble that hits the most of my “oh I do not want to engage with this” buttons though:

Long and pleading which makes me kind of uncomfortable, like I do not know you and I don’t handle pleading and begging well anyway

Overinvestment in figuring out their type when often it’s times like this when taking an extended break from MBTI would likely be the best thing for you and indeed your overemphasis in getting an answer rather than learning about yourself might be what’s making it so hard to type

Also when someone says they’ve been trying and trying for years I get nervous because there is a very real chance they’re going to say a lot of stuff that is consciously or unconsciously pulled directly from MBTI descriptions and it’s going to be absolutely useless to work with.

[I should note for this and the rest of my criticism: I have, obviously a whole lot of preferences and dislikes and expecting you to cater to all of them would be completely ridiculous. Had this been an 8-part question I would have answered it, even if that answer might have been “I can’t tell”. As is, however, I’m hoping this might serve as some insight into how to make your question as good as possible which as a bonus will make me more likely to spend lots of time on it because I will be impressed and delighted by your effort.]

When interested in something I gotta find out how it works, or how it’s made. I find that as interesting as the thing itself. I see the way different elements can influence each other in arriving at a certain outcome, and I make decisions according to it. I trust my own reading of what’s probably going on. I trust patterns, things are often connected, not a coincidence. I usually judge fast and hard. I can change my mind very quickly if new facts comes in, but I’m very rarely neutral or 2/9

Some examples would be nice. I mean maybe this person is intuitive and maybe a thinker, although that first preamble didn’t sound very thinker to me, but also everything here is purely in the realm of subjectivity. Obviously we’re going to be subjective about ourselves, but a big part of why I want examples is that it forces people to not say stuff that sounds like it’s ripped directly from a type description.

or uncertain about things/people.I don’t like to make promises because of independence and not wanting to promise what I can’t deliver. I dedicate so much time to my personal hobbies I forget my chores. I tend to get obsessed in finding an answer to something until I get so dizzy/overwhelmed I’m forced to step back (typing myself in different theories is the best example). Hate to see people passing on wrong information and therefore misleading others. I gotta step up and correct them. 3/9

This is fine, I’d still like clearer and more specific examples but it’s fine; the one criticism is when someone starts taking about how they approach MBTI as an example in typing them it’s like PLEASE DO A HOBBY THAT ISN’T ABOUT NAVEL-GAZING, IT WILL IRONICALLY BE MORE HELPFUL.

I have very high standards, specially towards myself. My pride is heavily tied to being great at the things I care about, or am expected to perform. Really can’t stand biased judgements and behaviour by others, and police it in myself too. Truth is my #1 value. I have a natural thirst for and ease at handling a lot of data about whatever I’m interested in. One of biggest pet peeves is resistance to facts. I’m highly observant of things and people around me, there’s so much information I get 4/9

 Okay this sounds kind of like a repeat/rephrasing of a lot of the information in the first two actual content parts (talking about interests, thirst for knowledge, judgement), and editing that down probably could have saved you an ask space thus getting you your answer. If you find yourself running long, go back and see if you are repeating yourself. I do this a lot! When I make blog posts here I don’t care, because this is my place and I do what I want, but I have a tendency to ramble in emails too and I always do a second pass if it’s longer than a paragraph to make sure all the information in there is helpful in making the point I need to make and isn’t repetitive (unless my point is DON’T FORGET THIS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD in which case some thoughtful repetition is often good).

advice, or cried in front of others myself so I can’t relate.I’m very open minded when it comes to physical differences, cultures, orientations etc. But I have a Strong sense of wrong and right that when crossed leads to indignation and promptly “cancealing” people, cutting them off my life. I felt very uneasy when I realized that things I felt a connection to (favorite color, number, animal, flower) lost their meaning to me. Logically I know it’s not a big deal, but it felt like I lost 6/9

so I think we lost a question here (I got 9 questions, but the last question said 10/10) which is another reason to keep it short – fewer opportunities for tumblr to eat it. Although, had two questions been eaten by Tumblr I would have probably answered this, but that’s probably not a gamble you want to make. Anyway this is emphasizing the strong judgements again, and a little emphasis is actually fine – it helps me know what is really important to you – but again, if you’re running long that should be a thing to cut, after the unnecessary preamble.

something. .I need to express my thoughts/opinions, but my feelings are private.I have a huge fear of failure that holds me back. I’m terrified of finding out I suck at what I’d love to do, so I keep that as a fantasy and don’t try it out, to not kill the possibility. I have self sabotaged to keep myself in “safe” spaces but I have realized the reason I’ve been so restless is because I have to honor my ambitions which have always been big and bold. Mistakes and deficiencies jump out at me 7/9

 The information here is mostly fine (although again with the expressing and strong feelings), but it’s also again without examples. There have been precious few examples here, and that’s really difficult to type from – again, I’m not saying it’s easy or even fully possible to be objective about yourself, but sometimes people say “I have a thirst for knowledge” and it means they are pursuing a PhD in philosophy, and sometimes it means they are someone who thinks that reading Wikipedia pages is a personality. [brief aside on that – I don’t want to say reading Wikipedia pages is bad. It’s not. I do it. Yesterday I was interested in how African prints were made and I looked up the Wikipedia page on them, which after a few clicks into related subjects brought me to a page about the androgynous water deity Olukun who originated in Yoruba faith traditions, and it was super interesting. But like…this is just a thing most generally curious people do and not a particularly unique or special indicator that you are smart, which is how it often seems to be intended.] Anyway my point is: examples, examples, examples. If you give specific examples I will be so much happier and more excited to type you because I actually feel like I can say something meaningful.

like neon, I can make very precise and detailed of anything’s quality in seconds. I have little patience with people that are not interested in improvement or resist positive change. Something that drives me nuts is lack of punctuality and money managing skills. I’m very annoyed by unrealistic people that ignore logic or constraints like resources. I’m equally impatient with people who only operate on what’s on the surface and is accepted as true: people who never question the common sense 8/9

Again there’s just…no examples. There’s also been a lot about what this person likes and doesn’t like about other people, and that would better be taken up by information (and examples!) about themself.

or status quo, that trust everything authorities” or the media tells them and never do their own research.I often don’t feel the need to actually do things to see if they’ll work, or try things out to see if I’ll like them. I’m pretty certain of things even before I experience them. I’m not inclined to be diplomatic and persuade. I convince by proving something with evidence, or making they see reason through logic argumentation, and point out possible consequences of choices. I compare 9/9

I’m always a little skeptical of people who think The Media is a monolith, just in general, but that’s neither here nor there. Also, here’s a reason why examples are useful – they provide context into the situation which addresses the very natural conflicts within people, vs. this: “I often don’t feel the need to actually do things to see if they’ll work, or try things out to see if I’ll like them. I’m pretty certain of things even before I experience them” coming from someone who just claimed they value truth above all. Like…this is at least in my opinion the opposite of what someone who values truth would say, because a person who values truth would check if things worked. Which isn’t to say this person is lying – but it means I’m going to have trouble because without, ironically enough, any evidence, which they say they like to use, I don’t know which of those conflicting statements is true or even if they are truly in conflict and just situationally dependent.

things/people a lot naturally because the similarities (and disparities) between them jump out. It’s hard for me to be really surprised at things, or at a person’s character.I’m impatient with learning and doing things that involve many steps/processes. I want to learn everything fast and am just now learning to grow discipline to stick to things in the long run if I don’t see quick progress. I find half baked concepts and theories very annoying, I don't like much ambivalence or vagueness 10/10

I don’t like much ambivalence or vagueness either, but here we are. Also, saying that you tend not to stick with things in the long run and are just developing the ability to do so if you don’t see quick progress does kind of make me have questions about you desperately trying to figure out your MBTI type for years as claimed before. Less is more because it gives you fewer opportunities to contradict yourself.

 Anyway, the takeaway: keep your preamble short (seriously - almost every time someone goes over the 8-part limit it’s at least partially because they talked about their MBTI typing journey for 1-2 asks when a single well-phrased sentence would be far more useful), keep your examples concrete and specific, focus on yourself more than what you think of others, and read what you wrote before sending it to me.

[webullsafetouse-blog]

A few Characteristics of a Good Forex trading platform

Webull safe to use?

I have certainly traded with a variety of trading platforms throughout the lifetime of my career. Some programs have been a joy and a utter pleasure on which to work, and also other platforms made me want to fixed my hair on fire. Diverse range and quality of trade platforms available to traders varies via awful platforms to fantastic platforms.

Webull safe to use?

Word out to satisfy, I would simply list the actual platforms that are of high quality along with list the platforms which are awful. Unfortunately, if I got that approach the load of lawsuits and quit and desist would have this mailbox overflowing. So I get chosen some characteristics involving great platforms and enumerate why I think they are specially effective.

Of course , the effectiveness of any kind of platform is directly linked to the quality of the data feed. To the purposes of this article, we will think all platforms have an satisfactory data feed and simply eradicate that variable from the debate.

1 . A good platform carries a quality set of charting resources at your disposal.

When trading in addition to active chart it is essential to have the ability to draw in trend lines, Fibonacci retracements, pivot points, plus a host of other equipment that traders other than myself personally may deem necessary. You shouldn't have to have a degree in physics in order to facilitate the drawing of the symbols. The procedure for coming into trend lines and other signs should be effortless and attained without excessive thought. All things considered, your primary focus in investing is the price action about the chart not figuring out how you can draw up lines on your information.

2 . A good platform needs to be easy to read and interpret.

A fantastic platform should be easy to read and put up. You should not have to learn a 200 page guide book in order to operate the software. Typically the chart should be clear and straightforward to understand and the index parts should be legible and visible. Platforms that are difficult to established, or require daily repair to set up waste valuable buying and selling time and ultimately cost the particular trader money. A quality software will also save your settings in the previous day and when you begin the program the following day the complete settings should appear, you shouldn't need to add your oscillators and indicators on a daily basis.

several. A good platform has a finish set of oscillators and signals.

There is nothing more annoying compared to using a platform that does not have got a complete set of indicators or possibly a method to add those indications to the chart. Many entry level platforms feature five or six standard indicators and that is the magnitude of their functionality. Further, a fantastic platform should allow you to alter time periods and other variables from the indicators to your personal desire. Once again, it should not take too much time to perform these characteristics. They should be self-explanatory and not call for paging through the dreaded 190 page manual to ascertain the way to set a 14 interval setting on a commodity funnel index.

4. A good software allows for a number entry as well as exit options.

A good forex trading platform allows you to quickly set the volume of contracts you intended industry while also providing you typically the means to set your revenue target and stop loss limitation. This should be a seamless task and not require an excessive amount of time period. Most good trading platforms in addition have a provision that allows you to scale outside of trade at certain income points. Further, a good podium will have an easily realized trailing stop feature that is certainly simple to set up. You should also manage to set up a simple bracket buy and sell with a minimal amount of efforts.

5. A good platform never disappoints or crashes

There is no even worse feeling in trading as compared to being in an active trade plus the platforms software fails. You cannot find any excuse for software incompatibilities with operating systems. The platform could be the essence of your profession and will perform as such. This particular prerequisite is one of my puppy peeves, as I traded versions on a platform that was quite unstable and made for a extended and frustrating day. I possess never used that system again, and never will. Computer software designers are well aware of the look flaws inherent in trade platforms and there is absolutely no reason why these flaws should not be addressed in the manner which insurers often the trader of a crash cost-free trading experience. There is nothing more serious than buggy software.

There are several other inherent flaws within trading platforms software, but these a few stand out as deal murderers in my book. I will not necessarily tolerate any of these flaws and definitely will quickly change platforms only encounter these problems with virtually any frequency. Of course , a just one time glitch can be expected. But an identical and reoccurring glitch inside trading platforms software is inexcusable.

[yes-justice-seeking]

What May Be the CCP’s Next Move?

It is good to see that the whole world starts to understand how deceptive, evil and untrustworthy the CCP is. While people focus on the top leaders of the CCP, the establishment of the CCP may have already prepared a plan B: they may take the initiative to sink the ship of the CCP, find a proxy, put up a flag of “Democracy and Freedom” and then set up a “shadow government” to extend the CCP’s life in the most deceptive way.

The above information came from a twitter account ( @llwwwzzzzz ) who has a close tie with an alleged team of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) of China, according to 路德, GuoWengui’s senior team member, Bro John/约翰小哥 and Fang Lao/方老 had been approached and infiltrated to Guo’s team in 2018, pretending they are against the CCP, but recently, they took off their mask and concentrated on intensely attacking against GuoWengui and his team.

https://twitter.com/liuzw71/status/1250218375751458817

Click to enlarge the image

How deceptive they are? 

While they were pretending against the CCP, their attention was actually focus on People's Daily/人民日报, the CCP’s mouth piece, especially the commentator ZhongSheng/钟声’s articles. They later started a YouTube channel called ZhongSheng/众声 in which they began to advocate the “reformists” of the CCP and recruited people to attack GuoWengui and his team.

Click to enlarge the image

https://www.zhongsheng.live/t/topic/61

The female in the photos below has been engaged in attacking GuoWengui and his followers 3 times per day with most malicious words you can imagine, targeting every one who supports GuoWengui. Note that GuoWengui’s goal is to end the CCP regime.

She insulted GuoWengui’s followers on May 17 that “there are three kinds of you: grown up in a single parent family, violent family or poor family.  You have had several setbacks in your life and you’re not able to deal with them…… Guo Wengui satisfied you with his plan to eliminate the CCP… …” What she said literally interpreted the CCP’s ruling theory: to weaken people, impoverish people and demean people.

https://twitter.com/detecti28108231/status/1262059564700139520

CCP’s Ruling Theory

Click to enlarge the image

Who’s she? We don’t know but she said on April 10, 2020 that she received a phone call from TianJing/天津, China and she must be focused on the social media to attack GuoWengui.

She has a photo deliberately caught by the media in the HongKong Protest, but she also posted a photo in “V” gesture with the HongKong Police and yet she still claims “supporting” Hong Kong Protest. Which one do you believe?

Click to enlarge the image

https://twitter.com/detecti28108231/status/1267284988501901312

Speaking of FangLao/方老, the apparent leader of the team, lives in Tianjing/天津, China, he introduced himself as a former bodyguard for the top leaders of the CCP, but he reminds me in many ways of HNA's Chen Feng (陈峰) and CEFC’s  Ye Jianming(叶简明) , top rich guys with mysterious background, always talking about Xuanxue/玄学, a metaphysical post-classical Chinese philosophy, pretending to be the icon of “Chinese wisdom”.   

FangLao/方老’s privilege is not limited in the past, despite the firewall that prohibits Chinese people to access the outside world, he is not only able to upload videos to YouTube but also openly threatened to kill people no matter in China or out side China (@FBI @CIA):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx_VFFx9qw

Original video at 38:43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uY6xhChE7w 

Like Steve Bannon, Gen. Spalding and GuoWengui/郭文贵 who either liked/rted my tweets or approached me,  FangLao/方老 "saluted” me as well, but I see through their CCP-style characters which never, ever interested me.

Not to my surprise, FangLao/方老 insulted me in his video ever since I exposed the above-mentioned female, another proof of their tie, BINGO! 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0mEnump2_Q

https://twitter.com/llwwwzzzzz/status/1125958402566512640

Back to the CCP’s next move, it is interesting to note that there has been some leading voice in favor of the Premier of China LiKeqiang/李克强. Is he the “reformist” in the plan B? We will see...

Click to enlarge the image

IF YOU DON’T TRUST THE CCP, DON’T TRUST ANY OF THEM!

(to be updated)

read more:

CCP’s Ruling Theory

“方老”，你在坐实 中共/CCP 是恐怖组织的指控吗？！

藏不住的中共"贫民、贱民、辱民”思维

COVID19: Neither the CCP nor the WhiteHouse dare to say “Hold All Bloody Hands Accountable”…

What Can We Do To Protect People From #COVID19 When Schools/Businesses Re-Open?

[sridisha]

Top Latest Five Entertainment news Urban news

Top Latest Five Entertainment news Urban news

In his words and phrases “he left India having a suitcase jam packed with spices and existence packed with dreams” and by no means seemed back again! Lea Michele, who's ideal recognized for enjoying Rachel Berry in Fox's Glee, includes a track record being a diva and she or he is currently experiencing quite a few accusations of racist conduct and bullying The actress, well known for dancing beneath a waterfall, was rumoured to possess a scandalous affair Together with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. A fashion aficionado who understood that fashion was her point from an extremely younger age. The father or mother label—Payal Singhal is fifteen yrs into this industry and heading robust, catering to her prolonged list of youthful customers. She has progressed over the past decade as well as a 50 % as an exemplary designer. Her collection is a refreshing take on Indian have on but with an exceptionally new age style and design.

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 Entertainment news, Movies,  entertainment, bollywood fashion, celebrity news, bollywood affairs, bollywood events, Entertainment News, Film Industry,New Movie News

Examine This Report On Entertainment news

This is a feast to the eye and certainly a demonstrate-halting collection. This promising label is before long expected to open up a flagship retail store in her hometown, Hyderabad. We really look forward to it. John NewmanJohn has long been inspiringly honest about his mental health and fitness and has introduced A brief crack from songs as he begs lovers never ever to shed their positivity "Thanks," she mentioned, not able to maintain back again a skip as she walked absent. And thank you, Squadron Chief Virat Rathod. It was The 1st time in Mili's life that her partner of twenty many years experienced aided his spouse with nearly anything.CHAPTER two " Generally Samir would not brain any one murdering that particular Foreigner song, but there were nevertheless a few journos hanging close to at a nearby table plus the thought of Virat and Rima's private second mocked in a few bitchy film magazine column manufactured Samir positively sick. An Indian actress received it customized and it is now accessible to whoever is enthusiastic about this. For a few, it might sound over the top, but path breaking types like these can never ever be excessive. An comprehensive comprehension of the craft and creative quotient; and it’s safe to view That which you don’t actually see every single day. And, that’s why I’m not amazed that she has gotten a great deal of attention from all over the world Specially London and Australia. Samir shrugged. Provided that he was a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton, he could hardly carry the rest. It was the only real modeling gig he did any longer. The money was excellent and he favored the rustic taste with the marketing campaign. Fact was he had by no means appreciated modeling. As well static for him. But thanks to his fifty percent-American genes as well as the white pores and skin that experienced produced his childhood hell, assignments experienced fallen in his lap far far too easily to turn absent. The touch and truly feel of the fabric and aura of her label are anything I have usually been awestruck by. She got into Bollywood within the recent times, but her arrive at has distribute globally. Her operate was critically acclaimed by Vogue United kingdom together with other major names who also referred to as her ‘British isles’s future best friend.” It only receives far better with time, and she or he is really an unstoppable drive with not merely practical but social goals too. Extra power to these Females. Inside the many years of Planet War II along with the battle for independence, Bollywood fashion was modest, understated and formal. Most movies have been shot in rural configurations, Along with the Gentlemen clad in dhotis India finds alone within an ever more hazardous entire world, one that is fragmenting and slowing down economically. It is a planet in bollywood fashion transition, 1 where India’s adversaries — state or non-state, or the two as in Pakistan’s situation — are becoming progressively highly effective. When the exterior world is now extra unpredictable and uncertain, so are interior politics and security in a lot of the powers. Programs and documents will only be accepted throughout the on line application system and cannot be acknowledged by mail or email. She likes fidgeting with the cuts, ombre effects etcetera in proportions devoid of compromising on the aesthetic component. And, her label is thought to become supremely exquisite but simple and understated. Her assortment ‘Frou Frou’ which accurately interprets to ‘sounds of a cloth.’ Like they say magnificence is in the details, but if you look at her attire, it’s more like splendor is in the hidden information. , and Kareena Kapoor picked up in which her sister Karisma left off, gorgeous audiences with her Tremendous-fit measurement zero human body in Tashan Kareena Kapoor requires her airport look a notch higher using this type of maxi gown Kareena Kapoor Khan was noticed for the Mumbai airport carrying a pretty blue maxi costume paired by using a denim jacket. Latest fashion dresses in many cases are made with sequins do the job, bead do the job or mirror will work. These embroideries are incorporated into the design to add a dash of bling.

How Much You Need To Expect You'll Pay For A Good Entertainment

Just after her Playboy Image shoot, the actress garnered eyeballs once again when an MMS of her undressing in a very switching space was leaked. Ranveer Singh just hardly ever fails to seize eyeballs with his outrageous outfits. Although some definitely appreciate his choice, several times Now we have heard celebs having a dig at the actor’s outrageous outfits, and the latest celeb to affix in is Salman Khan. The actress even further went on to charge Madhur with foremost her on and promising to marry and also cast her in his films, in advance of abruptly withdrawing her situation completely. A further inspiring Tale of a young and passionate Woman. A coming of age designer who attained acceptance in just no time started out building for a few of the prime Bollywood stars. She swiftly become their hot favored far too. It absolutely was apparent when actors and celebs on the Red Carpet would say ‘Ridhi Mehra’ on the concern ‘Who have you been wearing’? She also arises from a home that is certainly into the organization of selling apparel. The favored on line fashion retailer is featuring substantial bargains on a array of summer time frocks, best for those who have to refresh their summer time wardrobes He is additionally one of the not many designers who begun to ever more get invested into planning outfits for guys within the All set-to-wear section and catered to marriage ceremony dresses way too. He will be the heartthrob of not just Hollywood celebrities but will also Hollywood stars like Lady Gaga who once draped Tahiliani’s ivory saree and screamed ‘I really like Tahiliani.’ Oprah Winfrey and Elizabeth Hurley are other worldwide stars Tahiliani suitable for. Rima turned to Samir, went up on her toes, and ruffled bollywood events his hair. Virat might however phone him Chintu, which intended "small" in Hindi, but at a pair inches more than six ft Samir experienced a great fifty percent foot on his brother. Extra examples Fewer examples At the same time These are highly regarded as suppliers of home entertainment Alicia, who's created headlines along with her peculiar parenting approaches, discovered that part of her isolation regime will involve bathing with son Bear The thought was to infuse classic with modern day and focused the city current market generally the youthful group. Chic, elegant and trendy, just how the demographic prefers. And, it was rather a easy launch simply because they understood the heartbeat in their viewers. Bridal, contemporary and haute couture had been all hits, However they didn’t stop at that. to dress in. Worldwide brand names and fashion designers including Tarun Tahilani, Manish Malhotra and Neeta Lulla acquire Heart stage. With particular ‘appears’ becoming designed for people rather than the actors portraying them, we see an eclectic combination of ethnic and western kinds. You are able to alter your cookie configurations via your browser. If you do not change your configurations, you're consenting to us issuing all cookies to you. Birthday Female Neena Gupta takes to social media to thank all her followers for his or her lovely wishes; watch online video His flagship retail store is in Delhi adopted retail stores in almost all of the main metropolitan areas in India. His clientele grew through the years and now consists of the likes of Uma Thurman, Pamela Anderson, Anna Kournikova, Naomi Campbell, and so on. Rohit Bal is one of those designers who understands the psyche and Power on the fashion planet which is clear in his collections, each is a lot better than another

[storiesofwildfire]

UPDATED: 02/07/2020

This is an independent roleplay blog for Loki Laufeyson based primarily off of a mixture of Norse Mythology, Marvel, and God of War 2018. I am not in association with Marvel or Sony and claim no profits from this blog. This is also not a fandom blog, meaning most of the posts will be in-character responses to threads and asks. All reblogs will be in relation to Loki or any of the characters or ideas that make up their world. IMPORTANT INFO ON LOKI: It's extremely important to keep in mind that Loki is a gender fluid shape-shifter and may appear in any number of forms and genders at any given time. Loki has very few limits on what they can do with their body and they will not always appear to other muses as MCU's Tom Hiddleston version of Loki. This can and will include variations to Tom Hiddleston's Loki, Lady Loki, Jotun Loki, and many other forms. Loki may be male, female, both, or neither at any given point in time. It is up to me and my discretion of when to implement Loki's shape-shifting abilities. Bottom line, don't expect Loki to be a cis-male who is always in a completely male form. It's out of character and simply won't happen and even if Loki presents male or female, that does not mean that Loki's body beneath the clothing matches that presentation. Assume nothing.

ACTIVITY

This blog is selective and private, meaning I will be selective with who I interact with and/or follow and I will only roleplay with mutuals. My ask box and my IMs are open to non-mutuals, however. If I’m not following you, but you’d like to interact, don’t be afraid to shoot me a message. If we talk and I like you, chances are, I’ll follow you back. If you want to send a random ask, feel free. You don’t have to my mutual to use my ask box. I can be an extremely slow roleplayer at times. Please understand that this is a hobby and while I love what I do, I cannot be here all the time. Sometimes IC replies and OOC replies will come slowly. I am also a writer outside of Tumblr, so sometimes my personal and professional projects have to come first and often suck up a lot of my creative energy. That said, I am not on Tumblr at all during the weekends. Starting Friday night and usually extending to Sunday night/Monday morning, I log out of Tumblr completely. This is because I am typically very busy on the weekends, but also because I need to take a step back from Tumblr once in a while just to keep my sanity. I'm more motivated to write on the days I promise to be here if I can look forward to a few days off at the end of the week. It's just to give me some peace of mind and a bit of breathing room. On days I am not on Tumblr, I am likely still on discord--which is available for mutuals upon request! Sometimes my blog will update through a queue so it is still active even when I am not physically on. I do this regularly but not consistently. If you're curious as to whether or not something is a queued post, you can check my tags. All queued posts have a queue tag on them!

SIDE MUSES

I actually roleplay as more than just Loki on this blog. It also includes four of Loki’s children ( the children I have chosen to incorporate from mythology ); Hel, Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Sleipnir. There are also a mixture of secondary muses that help make up Loki’s world. Most of these characters are the mun’s original characters, but canon characters like Fandral ( I loooooove writing Fandral! ) may show up on occasion. It’s important to remember that this blog is a Loki-oriented blog, though. While I do roleplay as numerous secondary characters, this is not meant to be interpreted as a multi-muse blog. If you would like to interact with any of my secondary characters, chances are, you’ll need to interact with Loki first. I do, however, love getting to use my secondary characters, so if you're interested in them, please let me know! It's also important to remember that while some of these characters are canon to either mythology or Marvel, they are my own interpretation of them and may not 100% be accurate to canon. While canon characters do exist in the side muses, most of them are original characters and are not available for public use. These are my characters, my ideas, and my world-building. Please do not use them without permission or claim any information as yours.

PREFERENCES & HATE

I do not roleplay with anyone under the age of 18. It's nothing personal to the younglings of Tumblr, but for my own personal comfort, I'd rather keep my interactions to 18+ only. I prefer plotting over jumping into an interaction that has no basis. Memes are great and I love them, but I have very little interest in maintaining threads that have no substance. I prefer novella threads, but I am willing to do shorter para threads as well. i am not willing to do one-liners. A thread has to have some meat to it in order to hold my interest. I do not tolerate hate at all. Anonymous or not, I will not deal with hate directed at me or any other person. NSFW (meaning sex, violence, torture, gore, and other adult themes) will be present. I roleplay a large range of topics, including very dark and sensitive subjects. I do not personally have many triggers when it comes to what I am willing to explore on this blog. Dark themes will be very present. I will not censor my muse but I will tag triggering content accordingly. I tag by a 'tw; triggering content title' system. Self harm, for example, would look like this: tw; self harm

SHIPPING

Simply put, I love shipping, but it's not the sole reason I'm here. If I ship, I prefer to ship in a setting that's well thought out and plot-driven. The ship is great, but there needs to be more than just the ship. I don't ship for the sake of shipping and I only ship based on chemistry. If you want to ship with me but don't know how to approach the subject, just send me a message and we can discuss it!

WHAT KEEPS ME FROM FOLLOWING?

Blogs who have no about page. This is the essence of a character. Without it, I have no idea if I would be interested in your muse or not. This is staple for canons and OCs. Anyone who makes me feel like a number. I do not expect anyone to make me an exclusive partner. You are more than welcome to roleplay with dupes, but I do not want to be added to a collection. I am an individual, not a collector’s item. Valuing unique portrayals is so important Non-roleplay-blogs/self inserts. People who I have witnessed abusing or attacking other role-players. If you have an issue with another role-player, handle it in private. Do not attack them publicly. I have been a victim of “call-out culture” and I will not deal with it. I understand that some call-out posts are necessary to warn people of harmful people and toxic environments, however, more often than not, I see call-out posts that throw around false accusations and complain about personal problems rather than actual, problematic behavior. Unless undeniable proof is provided, I will never be part of the culture of publicly slandering someone. To follow up on that last point, if I see a lot of ooc drama and constant negativity on a blog, I won't follow. People who godmod. If you do godmod me, I will message you about it. If you are unwilling to discuss the issue, the thread will be dropped. Anyone who thinks they have the right to tell me or anyone else what they can and cannot do with their blogs. Roleplaying is about writing and exploring a wide variety of topics. Fiction is not reality. A muse’s actions are not the mun condoning said actions. If you cannot understand that fiction is a way for writers to explore things outside of everyday life, dark or otherwise, this is not the blog for you.

EXCLUSIVES

Being exclusive is something that I am willing to do, but on very rare occasion. It takes a lot of personal love and interaction with a mun to be willing to make them exclusive with my muse. This isn't just about IC interactions being amazing, but also an OOC connection with the other mun as well. An exclusive status will only be offered if it is returned. If you are my exclusive, I am yours. EXCLUSIVES LIST: THISFORGOTTENLORE - Bigby Wolf, Brienne of Tarth, Bruce Banner & Hulk, Geralt, Heimdall, Illya Kuryakin, Jaskier, Khal Drogo, Kratos, Robert Jekyll & Hyde, The Iron Bull, Yennefer OFCHARREDBONES - Johnny Blaze FANDRALXTHEXSTABULOUS - Fandral If you would like to talk about being an exclusive and we already interact, please feel free to shoot me a message!

ABOUT THE MUN

Hi there! My name is Amber and I'm in my mid-twenties. I've just finished up a master's degree in creative writing for entertainment, meaning I take great pride and joy in writing stories in just about any sort of medium. I primarily focus on prose (as demonstrated by this blog) and film/television scripts, but I also dive into comics and other mediums from time to time. I've been roleplaying Loki for over six years now. They have truly become my life-long muse and they even inspires my off-Tumblr projects quite a lot. Aside from Loki, I do have a long history of both writing and roleplaying including a number of canon characters and original characters. I'm not going to go on and on about myself because I don't want to bore you! Just know that I'm very friendly, kind of shy, and if you want to write with me and you come at me wanting to plot, I will probably be over the moon about it. I thrive on plotting and world-building and if you have an interest in doing those things with me, we'll get along great. If you would, by chance, like to know more about me and why I roleplay as Loki, you can click HERE and HERE. I do run a couple of blogs ( though Loki is my main! ). You can find all of them here: LOKI LAUFEYSON ( and supplement characters ) - STORIESOFWILDFIRE. MULTI-MUSE - GRIMOIREWEAVERS

CREDITS

Background, popup background, and mobile header graphics made by the incredible and lovely Smudge ( aka thisforgottenlore ), tweaked by myself. Background art by the extremely talented SCEITH-A. Popup background and mobile header art by the equally as talented ROSSDRAWS. Personal graphics, unless stated otherwise, were made by myself. Icons are a mixture of free-to-use icons (and gifcons) found and reblogged on Tumblr and my own personal icons which were editted from raw screen caps and created by me.

[ebaeschnbliah]

DISTRACTIONS  &  CONSEQUENCES

Exploring the deeper meaning of ASIB has always been a joy and an exiting experience. No matter if it’s about the Strange Similarities this episode shares with HLV, or the intriguing question why Sherlock plays Irene’s theme in TFP when prompted by Eurus to ‘play himself’ (Explosive, it’s more me   Oh, have you had sex?). Also the recuring Christmas theme in every series and Mycroft’s Bond Air plan, that doesn’t appear very ‘Neat’ at all after taking just a slightly closer look. When I wrote The Importance of Little Things  Boomerang and the other posts mentioned above, I didn’t dwell on a detailed metaphorical reading of the somewhat strange boomerang case, which initiates the appearance of ‘the woman’. @sarahthecoat added a short and very good summary of the already existing theory on this post. It was this comment which reminded me that I still hadn’t written down my own version of he boomerang case in ASIB.

Playing around with the idea of a much further extended mind palace scenario than that from the shooting in CAM Tower onwards (EMP Master Post 2016), those ideas inevitably led to slightly different interpretations of events than some of the already existing ones. (EEMP=Extraordinary Extendend Mind Palace, I called it back then, jokingly. Links are included in this post),

Characters created by Sherlock’s imagination, to play a role on his mind stage, aren’t autonomous individuals who can act of their own free will. Instead, they would represent different aspects of Sherlock’s personality, his views, fears, desires, expectations and experiences, his memory, etc. The way they look, speak and act would be designed by Sherlock, precisely to play their role in the experiments/scenarios appointed to them. Approaching Sherlock BBC from this angle, the story appears in a different light …. like a holographic postcard, where the motive displayed on it, changes with the slightest movement. Most importantly, it changes the central question from HOW to WHY something happens. And it also raises the question of ... WHAT could be the actual meaning behind choices regarding character behaviour, names, places, dialogues and so on, inside those scenarios. What’s the real meaning of all those little stories told in the coded language of Shelrock’s mind? 

Based on this idea, the boomerang case, the story of Phil with his backfiring car and the Hiker with the bashed-in head, in context with the main storyline of the associated episode, changes as well. 

For anyone who is interested in a different reading, this theory is …. alternatively below the cut …. :)

The boomerang case of A Scandal in Belgravia is presented in four sequences:

The first part is placed near the beginning of the episode. Phil’s POV of the event is shown almost exclusively by visuals without dialogue. This sequence merges seamlessly into ...

... the second part, which is about John, his investigation on the crime scene and his report to Sherlock via WiFi before he and Sherlock, separately, get whisked away to Buckingham Palace, ordered by Mycroft Holmes.

In the third part Sherlock explains the event to Irene at her place. Before Sherlock can finish his explanation he gets interuppted, first by the fire alarm, initiated by John, then by the American agents who want to confiscate Irene’s camera phone.

Directly afterwards Sherlock gets injected with drugs from Irene’s syringe. He imagines how Irene gives the final explanation and reveals the solution of the boomerang case.

This fourth sequence contains, what Sherlock would call ‘a special feature of interest’. The Hiker, distracted by the sound of an ‘explosion’, is hit by his  returning boomerang. While the man is shown falling backwards and out of the picture, the scene, just for a second, jumps also backwards in time to the very moment where Sherlock falls to the floor in Irene’s bedroom, due to the influence of her 'chemistry’. Then the scene continues with the Hiker still falling backwards out of the picture.

In the third sequence, while Sherlock describes the event, the camera circles round himself and the Hiker in a very explicit way. One man vanishes behind the other alternately.

Additionally there are also a certain similarities when it comes to 

men lying on the ground with bashed-in heads (red and blue)

characters wearing red jackets (x) 

characters wearing specific headgears

All of this strongly suggests that the Hiker, like Mary, is a mirror for Sherlock. Phil, the driver of the unmoving car, on the other hand, appears to be more connected to John, at least on a first glance. He wears similar clothing. ‘Ghost’ John can be seen sitting behind him on the sofa, while the man tells his story, placed in the clients chair in the middle of the living room. This leaves the question why John isn’t shown sitting in his own chair if he is present at the time and not in Dublin. Later, during the Wi-Fi conversation from the crime scene, Phil sits in John’s chair while Sherlock seems to have just woken up.

“Morbidly obese, the undisguised halitosis of a single man living on his own, the right sleeve of an internet porn addict and the breathing pattern of an untreated heart condition. Low self-esteem, tiny IQ and a limited life expectancy “  … this is how Sherlock describes Phil. As I mentioned in ‘Importance of Little Things’ those characteristics can also be attributed either directly to Sherlock himself or indirectly to some of his ‘mirrors’.

morbidly obese - Mycroft, who represents Sherlock’s brain department for logic and reason, appears exactly like that in TAB

halitosis - foul things coming out of ones mouth, could easily be a metaphor for ‘you alway say such horrible things’. Furthermore, halitosis is also mentioned associated with Mr. Howard Shilcott, the train guy from TEH, the one with the silly (ear) hat who is sentimental, maybe isolated but doesn’t mind being different. 

internet porn addict - computer language metaphors aren’t uncommon in this story. Sherlock compares his brain to a hard drive. Jim calls himself ‘virus in the data’ and Mycroft shares that opinion. Brains consist of billions of neurons, interconnected with each other, communicating with each other, carrying trains of signal pulses and informations … very much like the internet. Metaphorically, an internet porn adict could be someone who deals with sexual desires ‘virtually’ inside his head and not with the body. 

untreated heart condition - this description mustn’t necessariy be aimed at a real pathological condition of said organ. Heart metaphors are very often used to paint vivid pictures of the emotional state of a person. Hearts can suffer, can be neglected, they can break, turn to stone, freeze, burn, melt, do a somersault, sing with joy … and so on

low self-esteem -  in TSOT Sherlock describs himself … ‘I am the most unpleasant, rude, ignorant and all-round obnoxious arsehole that anyone could possibly have the misfortune to meet’ … ‘I never expected to be anybody’s best friend’  No further words needed, I guess.

tiny IQ - only some statements which compare Sherlock to an idiot (there exist a lot more) … ‘I used to think I was an idiot’ (Sherlock, TEH),  ‘I’ve been an idiot – a blind idiot!’ (Sherlock, TEH), ‘I’m an idiot. I know nothing’ (Sherlock, TST), ‘You always were the slow one …. the idiot’ (Mycroft, TFP) and finally Sherlock about Phil, the man this description is aimed at:  ‘He’s an idiot. Why else would he think himself a suspect?’

limited life expectancy - Mycroft again, the brain department for logic and reason. In TAB Sherlock and Mycroft are betting on big brother’s life expectancy, which both brothers assume to be not very long: ‘Three years flat if you eat that plum pudding’ … ‘Done’ 

If Phil with his unmoving car is indeed a mirror for Sherlock, like the Hiker, why is he visually connected so closely to John? Maybe because Phil represents the object of Sherlock’s investigations and deductions. 

Phil, the driver of the transport that lies dormant

A little later in this episode Sherlock observes how John meets Irene at Battersea, the disused Power Station. An unmoving car and a disused power station ... are this two different metaphors for the same thing?

A disused power station, a car that doesn’t move = a body whose sexual urges lie dormant. Repressed desires, emotions behind elephant glass ...  ‘ignored, patronised, disregarded, not allowed so much as a vote’. And the brain demands ‘you will stay out of this’ and warns ‘don’t get involved’. But the same brain also forces Sherlock to investigate ‘the woman’ and later releases ‘the criminal mastermind’. And in TAB this brain proclaims very clearly ‘We must lose this war because they are right and we are wrong’. Janus-faced indeed. Or maybe just a massively conflicted mind, torn in two, like the family pictures at the walls of the grey chamber in TFP.

Who’s John Watson on Sherlock’s mind stage?

John Watson - acting as a character on Sherlock’s mind stage - is hard to pin down. He seems to represent several aspects at the same time and he is definitely the main focus of Sherlock’s investigations.

In ASIP Sherlock confirms John’s question that he’s filling in for his skull - the one Sherlock calls ‘friend’. The skull is an imortant part of the body. Made of strong bone, it encloses the brain and protects it. Interestingly, broken up skulls - bashed-in or penetrated by bullets - are a rather important theme of this story. Maybe something imprisoned by inflexible bone wants to break free … an idea, a dream, a desire ….

John, ‘good old doctor Watson, the one fixed (inflerxible) point in a changing age’ is strongly connected to mirrors for love and emotions. As his counterpart, he is also connected to Jim Moriarty, Mr. Sex …. ‘John or James, James or John … the more is less’. John seems to be Jim’s main target in the game the criminal mastermind plays with Sherlock. And the painting of the Reichenbach Falls is declared as ‘William Turner’s masterpiece’ (Reichenbach=Rich Brook, William=William Sherlock Scott Holmes, turn(er)=turn round/change direction)

John - the eternal friend -  is the incarnation of PHILIA (love between friends). But in this adaptation of the great detective, PHILIA is mingled with EROS (intimate love, sexual passion) right from the start. In PILOT & ASIP, when Anteros, the god of requited love, rises behind the episode title and a dog starts barking in the middle of the night. (More detailed explanations and musings on this topic - the evolution from friend to lover - can be found in ‘The Big Question’, ‘Solutions or Choices’, ‘Shoes for the Hound’ and ‘Sekhmet’ 

Skull, body, heart, protector, emotions, desire, friendship, love ... but also the fear to lose friendship and love, in case the ‘fixed point’ changes …. all those terms can be assigned to the John-character on Sherlock’s mind stage and his mirrors.

Out in the middle of nowhere ...

When the curtain rises for the boomerang case, the stage is set somewhere in the countryside. There’s a shallow valley and soft hills, thickly covered by woodland. A lush green meadow leads gently sloping down to a river or maybe a lake. There’s also a small brook which meanders through the wetland and flows forth into the greater water. Not far away a street runs along the margin ot the forest.

The main characters of the play are: 

the Hiker in a bright red jacket, who busies himself with his boomerang beside the small brook

Phil, who tries to restart his unmoving car on the street nearby

It’s not explained how long Phil is working on his problem at the time the scene starts, but when the audience first sees him leaving the car to take a look at the engine, the bonnet is already open. So, most propably this is not his first attempt to restart the car.

The surrounding area is still and quiet. No significant background noises can be heard. Though both men stand in shouting distance to each other, there is no contact between them. The Hiker has turned his back to the street. He either really hasn’t noticed Phil and his unmoving car or he has, but simply doesn’t care. Phil on the other hand is aware of the Hiker on the meadow. For a moment it looks like he considers calling the man for assistence but then Phil apparently dismisses that idea again. 

Instead Phil makes another attemt to restart his car.This time it backfires and the sound of the explosion splits the silence. The Hiker, distracted by the sudden noise, turns round and looks back to the street. At this moment the boomerang comes flying back, hits his head and kills him instantly. When Phil gets out of the car and looks down the meadow, he sees the Hiker in the red jacket lying motionless on the ground next to the small brook.

The Hiker and Phil ... Sherlock’s MIND and BODY

The Hiker - the MIND who plays with an idea

Viewing the Hiker as a mirror for Sherlock, his bright red jacket connects the character also to Mary, the facade. This makes him the man with his facade still intact but already curious about ... something. The Hiker wears a checkered shirt, which otherwise is closely attributed to John, while he palys with the boomerang. 

If someone returns from foreign travel with a boomerang, one can assume that this person is meant to have been in Australia. Compared to Great Britain, Australia lies very far in the East. The East is strongly connected to Eurus, the East Wind, who represents Sherlock’s emotional side and is also strongly linked to buried/deleted memories and the Holmes family history.

The Hiker who traveled far to the East and brought back a small, fascinating but dangerous item, would then represent Sherlock, who went deep down into his mind palace. He retrieved something from the past, something he had ‘deleted’ a long time ago. Maybe something related to emotions and love. Sherlock/the Hiker takes that memory back into the present and starts playing with it …. he lets a seemingly harmless idea fly ….

Phil - the desire of a BODY whose sexuell transport lies dormant

Viewing Phil also as a mirror for Sherlock, that man and his unmoving car would represent an aspect of Sherlock, which is consciously or unconsciously dealing with investigations and deductions about the ‘John-Problem’. Phil too, wears a checkered shirt which links him even further to John. Obeseness stems from too much eating. Some time ago I read and reblogged a very intersting meta about eating as a metaphor for desire. Sadly I can’t find it again and credit the autor. If someone has a link, please add it, that would be great. In my opinion the food=desire methaphor is brilliant and fits perfectly. Phil, the carnal desire of Sherlock’s BODY, eats too much/stuffs himself with desire and is therefore obese ... he is filled with desire to bursting … just like the BRAIN in TAB.

The Hiker has turned his back on Phil. He doesn’t even see the desperate man beside his car. Sherlock’s MIND, dismisses the desires of the BODY as unimportant and at best sencondary. Who needs that annoying ‘transport’, when one can ‘hike’ with the MIND wherever one wants and let the ideas fly? The brain is what counts, logic and reason … cases and mysteries are solved by the MIND … the desires of the BODY, who repeatedly tries to restart the transport, are just distractions which can/should be ignored and neglected. Especially when one has just unearthed a fascinting little memory from a long time ago …

Different aspects of Sherlock are dealing with related cases at the same time. One case lies in the past, the other one in the present. They overlap ... and this leads to consequences:

a car backfires and the sound of an explosion splits the silence =  a BODY reacts and explodes/has an orgasm

a head gets bashed-in = ‘la petite mort’ of the BRAIN

The best thing about this interpretation is, that an almost similar scene, in a different setting, is played out a second time simultaneously during the Irene Adler case. 

The repetition of a hit

Fascinated and very pleased with himself, Sherlock plays with a little item he has just retrieved from a secured and guarded place. He lets the thing fly through the air and catches it again, a bit like someone would do with a boomerang. This time though, it’s a camera phone packed full with ‘scandalous’ informations. Sherlock underestimates the danger he is in and most of all, he underestimates the opponent he is faced with. 

Carelessly and maybe even provokingly he turns his back at Irene. The next second Sherlock is hit by a syringe full of chemistry … the chemistry of sex. Sherlock falls to the floor of Irene’s bedroom ... beaten by Mrs. Sex.

As mentioned above, in the final explanation of the boomerang case, the fall of the Hiker beside the small brook on the meadow, closely frames the fall of Sherlock in Irene’s bedroom … they actually become one fall. What lies closer at hand than to assume that both cases are actually about the same topic? 

Sherlock’s experience of a sudden, unexpected orgasm … triggered by awakening emotions, while playing with a memory from the past. 

A full list of the ‘cast’ involved in the boomerang case

The Hiker and his boomerang - Sherlock’s mind plays with an idea, with a once deleted but now revived memory

Phil and his unmoving car - Sherlock’s carnal desire, affected by the ‘John-Problem’, awakens and tries to start his sex drive

the colour green - it’s the colour of HOPE, rebirth and harmony (X) it’s also the colour assigned to John in the PILOT and ASIP. (X)

the river/lake - a lot of water means a lot of emotions, ‘deep waters, all your life’. Eurus represents emotions, the past and deleted memories

the small brook next to which the Hiker dies - Rich Brook, the storyteller who is also Jim Moriarty, Mr. Sex. RichBrook translates into Reichenbach, an event that is linked to the music of J.S. Bach

the ‘object’ on the meadow - (more on this in The Cabin on the Meadow)

Viewing Series One as prelude for the whole story, where the three episodes serve as introduction (ASIP), user manual (TBB) and chapter list (TGG), the actual story told in Sherlock BBC would then start with A Scandal in Belgravia. 

“Don’t be alarmed ….. it’s to do with sex“

Mycroft’s statement, when he introduces Sherlock to the Irene Adler case, describes the whole episode in a nutshell. Sherlock’s RATIO tells himself (and the audience) what this case, this episode actually is about:

The emotional and sexual awakening of the character Sherlock Holmes. 

Sherlock’s appearance, when he starts his investigation of the boomerang case, is the most fitting outfit to present a metaphorical scenario for an awakening of this kind. Clothed in a pristine, white sheet (virginity), completely naked (newborn) beneath it and heartily yawning. Sherlock enters the ‘stage’ of 221b Baker Street, as if he had just woken up from a very long sleep. Just like Snow White slept in her coffin of glass before she woke to a new and exciting life (Sherlock in ASIP). 

“Noises are important ... noises can tell you everything"

A car backfires, innitiated by Phil. There’s the loud noise of an explosion.  Distracted, the Hiker turns and as a consequence, his head is hit and bashed-in. 

A fire alarm goes off, innitiated by John. Mr. Archer (the ‘bowman’, Cupid) gets the order to shoot John in the head.

The most significant noises of this episode are the orgasmic sighs Sherlock’s phone makes every time the text alert gets activated by Mrs. Sex … 59 in total. 

The noises are the most important factor on all three occasions … the explosion, the alarm, the orgasmic sigh ….

At the end of the episode Sherlock lets Irene’s phone fly again. He catches it, takes a thoughtfull look at the little thing and tucks it away in the drawer. Then Sherlock looks out of the window, while rain pours down the glass pane in front of his face. 

Fiftynine orgasmic sighs have been ignored (59 calls will be ignored in TST before little Rosy is born). The phone and with it the sexual desires get tucked away in a drawer. Sherlock, detached and secure behind a wall of glass, contemplates the pouring rain/emotions. His RATIO always carries an umbrella to avoid getting wet/affected by emotions. But his RATIO also seems to be in need of a cigarette after that case. A substitute drug/chemistry instead of the ‘real thing’, the ‘natural high’ which he denies himself stubbornly? Meanwhile the ‘eternal friend’ is already soaked wet with rain. The matter of the ‘fixed point in a changing age’ has already become a highly emotional one for Sherlock, it seems. Looks very much like the first stage of drowning.

In the next episode the HOUND will be unleashed, immediately followed by Mr. Sex ….. ‘Honey, you should see me in a crown’ …. who smashes the impenetrable glass case and reaches for the Crown Jewels.  (When the man with the key becomes king)

May, 2019

I leave you to your own deductions. Thanks @callie-ariane for the scripts. 

[unweavinglies]

Kokichi Ouma, Shuichi Saihara, and the True Nature of the Relationship Between Them.

SO A QUICK DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am very aware that this is most likely not canon, or at least not what the writers intended on being canon, nor am I saying that this is 100% canon and should be considered as such. This is just a fan theory/analysis I came up with for my own enjoyment and wanted to share with others, as I like coming up with theories/analysis posts and reworking canons to make enhanced stories and character development in my perspective. I firmly believe that the idea of making theories isn’t supposed to be a shouting contest to see which opinion is the most loud and correct, but should be something to share with others and find acceptance and understanding in different interpretations, even if you don’t agree with them.

So lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people debating on the true nature of Shuichi’s and Kokichi’s relationship is, an it got me pretty inspired to do an analysis on the two, how they interact with one another, and bring my own conclusion to the table as to what these two characters relate to one another, and their relationship’s true nature.

Note, this isn’t about shipping, but more so an analysis of how the two characters behave with one another. I will still be tagging this with the ship’s names, however.

So without further adieu, let’s talk about the relationship between Shuichi Saihara and Kokichi Ouma.

Now first and foremost, we have to set some ground rules in order to properly analyze what kind of nature these two characters have with one another, and it’s going to need some ground rules due to different situations and modes.

Here are my rules for this analysis:

We are ignoring the main narrative all together. Aside from Shuichi’s Free Time Events with Kokichi, the main narrative of Danganronpa V3 has no place here. Why? Well to put it bluntly, it is a skewed and unfair narrative for this analysis. You cannot truly judge a relationship’s potential and nature by using the actions and words said during a high intense, stressful situation like a Killing Game. If we want to discover the real, true nature of Kokichi and Shuichi’s relationship, we have to ignore narratives that put them under intense, stressful situations, as people do not think rationally or coherently during such situations, and can make very grave and terrible mistakes they otherwise wouldn’t. So the main narrative just has no place here.

I’m going to be analyzing them, but player input is going to be taken with quite a grain of salt. Because the player is having Shuichi say and act in a certain way, it’s difficult to say which answer Shuichi is the most in character saying. This is an especially important rule for Salmon Mode, since player input is very much crucial to the outcome of the dates/date mode.

Speaking of Salmon Mode, I’m going to probably take Shuichi’s “best answers” (AKA the best routes) as the most critical for information, for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that Salmon Mode’s main objective is to make the other character (in this case, Kokichi) swoon for Shuichi in one way or another. Because this is the main objective, I’m going to take the other answers as obstacles for the player, and not necessarily Shuichi’s true dialogue. Salmon Mode is essentially a dating game, and like all dating games, there have to be ways for the player to “fail.” With this in mind, the other answers Shuichi can give are “ways for the player to fail” rather than “Shuichi’s true dialogue.” 

With these rules in mind, let’s finally start analyzing the relationship between Kokichi and Shuichi! First, let’s start with the Free Time Events.

I’d like to call the Free Time Events part one of a two part journey of Shuichi coming to know Kokichi as a person. Because Kokichi is a compulsive liar and has a lot of walls, there isn’t much to be said about their relationship at all here. Unfortunately, that’s because Kokichi isn’t really letting Shuichi in and Shuichi isn’t used to this kind of behavior. 

Shuichi finds Kokichi’s mind games mentally and physically exhausting and difficult to deal with. Considering the idea is that Shuichi is trying to reach out to Kokichi and Kokichi’s response is to toy with him mentally and emotionally, it’s not really much of a surprise that Shuichi sees Kokichi as frustrating, and is even annoyed with Kokichi for messign with him. Shuichi’s after the fact remarks for the third Free Time Event even has Shuichi saying Kokichi laughed in his face, implying Shuichi thinks Kokichi is making fun of him or being malicious. Shuichi doesn’t quiet yet realize that Kokichi is actually opening up to him, little by little, even if he’s lying and mentally challenging him. 

Kokichi had these “events” planned out from the start. Once Shuichi approached him, Kokichi’s plan was set into motion. He “accidentally” told Shuichi some... not very insightful information about his organization that may or may-not be true in order to make the excuse that he had to “kill” him for knowing too much. The next four events are all carefully planned situations that implies Kokichi’s loneliness: rigging the card game to have two sevens at the top, dragging Shuichi to afternoon tea to try to bribe him to join D.I.C.E., throwing the one-hundred games of rock paper scissors in the fourth, and purposefully cutting his finger during the knife game in the fifth. All of these events, plus Kokichi’s exclamation of how many “events” Shuichi has left in order to win his right to “live,” points to Kokichi adamantly planning these games that are rigged for ties or against himself just to spend time with Shuichi.

The two events I think that have Shuichi just barely starting to understand Kokichi’s true intentions are the last to events--the rock paper scissors games, and the knife game.

Let’s talk about the Rock Paper Scissors game first.

To summarize the main bulk of the event, Kokichi gets Shuichi to play rock paper scissors with him, but they end up playing about one-hundred games, and all of them end with a draw. At first, it might seem like it was all dumb luck, however...

Kokichi reveals the trick, and pretty much also reveals to us that the other games in his events are rigged against him.

Shuichi doesn’t just dismiss this, either. He catches on pretty quickly that Kokichi had been purposefully putting out the same as him to result in the one-hundred draws.

And when Kokichi back pedals into lying and saying Shuichi just has good luck...

Shuichi doesn’t believe him.

Instead of assuming Kokichi to have the most malicious intent (that being him lying about there being a way to put out the same thing in rock paper scissors just to mess with his head) Shuichi actually considers Kokichi’s first admission to be true, which is... a pretty good step in the right direction. 

Shuichi may not reach to a complete understanding by the end of these events, but he is starting to. Most of that is shown in Salmon Mode, so I’ll be getting to those in a little bit. For now, let’s look at the conclusion of the Free Time Events.

I think that these three lines of texts really do stand out as proof that Shuichi is, slowly, starting to understand Kokichi and what it means to be close to him.

Just before this, Kokichi admitted that the “killing him” thing was all just a big lie, and Shuichi is... very rightfully frustrated with him over it. Yet Shuichi extends his hand to Kokichi. It’s a very odd gesture for someone that isn’t truly trying to understand or relate to Kokichi. Shuichi still, unfortunately, isn’t close enough for Kokichi to feel comfortable being vulnerable and honest with him, and Shuichi has come to that realization when Kokichi doesn’t take his hand.

Shuichi is reaching out to Kokichi, but in all the wrong ways. His efforts are appreciated, but going about his relationship with Kokichi isn’t going to work, and that’s what these lines represent. Shuichi has been trying to reach out to Kokichi and understand him, learn the truth about him, but is frustrated when the more traditional methods of getting to know someone aren’t working and it seems like Kokichi is just toying with him for fun, or otherwise not interested in a friendship.

However, through Kokichi’s admission after the one-hundred games of Rock Paper Scissors, and Kokichi refusing to take his hand, he’s coming to understand that if he wants to be friends with Kokichi, he has to try a different approach. That Kokichi wasn’t just doing these things to mess with his head--there was more under the surface, something that Kokichi himself can’t quite reveal comfortably yet, and Shuichi’s demand for openness and honesty is trying to push Kokichi into very uncomfortable conversations that Kokichi very clearly is not ready to have.

This reflects a lot in Kokichi’s Salmon Mode Dating events as well, which I consider phase two of their relationship. The best routes are often where Kokichi is able to keep things at his own pace, where Shuichi isn’t trying to observe Kokichi or trying to piece him together like a puzzle. When Kokichi can freely lie, and Shuichi just accepts his lies rather than take them seriously or fight him, Kokichi has the most fun. 

The worst routes are when Shuichi still tries to get to know Kokichi in the more traditional sense, not letting Kokichi open up on his own terms and trying to force some kind of truth out of him--even like simply observing Kokichi/watching Kokichi makes Kokichi uncomfortable. Things that are also bad routes include: Kokichi feeling under stimulated and bored and Shuichi implying Kokichi is boring him.

The same can be said for the Harmonious Heart Event with Kokichi as well. I already did a full, in-depth analysis on the event here, but the results of the event also correlate with this analysis as well--in that Kokichi and Shuichi’s best interactions are when Shuichi accepts that Kokichi is a liar, will always be a liar, and that’s not changing anytime soon. The worst routes are when Shuichi tries to force Kokichi into being honest with him, disregarding Kokichi’s own personal comfort.

Finally, let’s talk about the Graduation Event.

Kokichi’s graduation event in Salmon Mode, AKA when Shuichi and Kokichi are the closest they can be to one another/the player has the best routes/heart events in Salmon Mode. Meaning to get this event, you have to have the best relationship with Kokichi--which is the end goal/objective of this mode, thus why the best routes/good routes are more valuable here than the bad routes.

The ending to the event is the most interesting and telling of their relationship:

Shuichi seems genuinely surprised by Kokichi’s offer to continue being friends or having this relationship with one another even outside of the school. Considering how distant and closed off to his true intentions Kokichi was, it’s not actually all that surprising that this took Shuichi off guard. Unlike in the Free Time Events where Shuichi was trying to reach out to Kokichi, now it’s the opposite--Kokichi has become comfortable enough with Shuichi that he is reaching out to Shuichi.

Knowing how Kokichi thinks and how he keeps his heart under several locks and keys, this is a very big deal. Kokichi opening up to Shuichi, being comfortable enough with him to reach out to him in his own way, means Shuichi has become someone he has grown to trust. Someone he cares about, and someone he doesn’t want to leave his side.

Once Shuichi stops trying to force Kokichi to be honest with him, and stops trying to pick him apart like a puzzle and learns to enjoy his company, is when their relationship truly starts to shine. The less Shuichi pushes, the more comfortable Kokichi gets with him, and thus the more willing Kokichi is to talk to him about the truth of his past, who he is and open up in a way he hadn’t previously before. With gentleness and patience, Shuichi has earned Kokichi’s genuine, wholehearted trust.

And he seems to understand that--of course, like anyone who wants to get closer to someone, he wants to know more about Kokichi. That’s just a natural instinct, which is why Shuichi was so frustrated in the Free Time Events. He wanted to get closer when Kokichi wasn’t ready to open up and tried to push him in that way, but then realizes that if he wants to genuinely be closer to Kokichi, he has to learn how to be patient and wait for Kokichi to open up to him on his own terms. It’s a privilege he has earned, and he understood that.

Describing the warmth of Kokichi’s hand, and the direct parallels to the Free Time Events in general, show how much they’ve both grown in retrospect to one another. Shuichi coming to understand that patience, open mindedness, and gentleness are necessities when befriending Kokichi, and Kokichi finally feeling comfortable to let down those walls and open up to Shuichi in a way that few people probably have ever gotten him to do. Kokichi being the one to offer his hand to shake, and Shuichi describing the warmth that Kokichi can’t hide represents these feelings for one another. Trust, and understanding. 

So, in conclusion... what is the true nature of Shuichi’s and Kokichi’s relationship?

Well, it’s about the kind of relationship you might encounter when meeting someone anxious, shy, and afraid--and no, we’re not talking about Shuichi here. Shuichi was the one who approached Kokichi, and continued to approach him, trying to reach out to him and befriend him even when Kokichi shut him out in such a strange way, even with the strange push and pull Kokichi had on him--wanting Shuichi to be around, but not get too close. Kokichi is the one afraid, the one that’s anxious about opening up and is quite shy in that regard. Why else would he be so uncomfortable with Shuichi prodding him for information? He’s got something to hide, something he’s not comfortable sharing with just anyone, something that seems to be directly related to how he behaves and acts from how little he is willing to talk about himself. It suggests a potential fear of rejection, or a fear of something in general.

Kokichi is the kind of person that is difficult to befriend if you don’t know how to approach him, and that’s exactly the kind of situation Shuichi finds himself in when trying to befriend Kokichi. Frustrating, lost and confused, feeling shut out and toyed with, but then slowly coming to the realization of what kind of path is necessary when dealing with someone as locked up as Kokichi. Learning to shove down his own curiosity and desire to know Kokichi in a way before Kokichi feels comfortable expressing, finding ways to enjoy his time spent with Kokichi without being too preoccupied with not understanding him entirely, and eventually, that kind of patience being rewarded with trust and warmth, and the promise of truth and openness.

That concludes my analysis on Kokichi and Shuichi’s relationship! I hope you enjoyed my thoughts an conclusions! Either way, have a good day/night!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Canadian government has released the surprisingly sensible results of its extensive, year-long review of copyright law

[Editor's note: Whenever governments review their copyright, one of two things happens: either they only listen to industry reps and then come to the "conclusion" that more copyright is always better; or they listen to stakeholders and experts and conclude that a little goes a long way. Normally, when the latter happens, the government that commissioned the report buries it out of terror of powerful Big Content lobbyists. This time, miraculously, an eminently sensible Canadian report has seen the light of day. I was delighted to invite the legendary Canadian copyright scholar Michael Geist to present a short analysis of some of the important conclusions. -Cory]

The Canadian government launched an extensive review of its copyright law last year that led to months of study and attracted hundreds of witnesses and briefs. While some groups hoped the review would lead to new website blocking measures and restrictions on fair dealing (Canada's version of fair use), the Industry committee report released this week actually recommends expanding fair dealing, rejects site blocking without a court order, and rejects proposals to exclude education from fair dealing where a licence is otherwise available. The study covers a wide range of copyright issues, but its conclusions on fair dealing, digital locks, site blocking, and term extension are particularly noteworthy.

Fair Dealing

Based solely on the number and length of the footnotes, it is readily apparent that fair dealing, particularly educational fair dealing was a dominant issue at committee. The committee concluded that much of the change over the past five years is due to Canadian publishers struggling to adjust to market disruptions that are unrelated to the 2012 copyright reforms. Indeed, the committee notes that "the decline of collective licensing in education has arguably more to do with technological change than it does with fair dealing." The committee was concerned with developments in the area but ultimately rejected the recommendation of the publishers and copyright collectives:

The Committee cannot endorse the proposal to limit educational fair dealing to cases where access to a work is not “commercially available,” as defined under the Act. While licensing should be encouraged, this proposal risks reducing flexibility in the educational market by favouring blanket over transactional licensing. Instead, it calls for the Canadian government to facilitate efforts to achieve consensus on fair dealing and to review the issue again within three years.

Having dismissed the proposal to limit educational fair dealing, the committee then addresses the restrictive nature of an exhaustive list of fair dealing purposes. At long last, it recommends adopting the "such as" approach to make the current list illustrative rather than exhaustive:

Parliament should make the list of purposes enumerated under section 29 of the Act an illustrative list rather than an exhaustive one. Doing so would increase the flexibility of the Act by allowing a broader range of admissible purposes to emerge from existing ones under the guidance and the supervision of the courts—for example, from criticism to quotation, from parody to pastiche, and from research to informational analysis. Such an amendment could allow new practices to fall under fair dealing, such as “reaction videos” and video game streaming. The Committee emphasizes that the purpose of a dealing is only one of many factors taken into account when determining whether this dealing is indeed fair under section 29 of the Act.

The increased flexibility would make the Canadian fair dealing provision closer to the U.S. fair use model, but retain the certainty that comes with decades of jurisprudence on the issue.

The committee also called for the introduction of at least one new exception: informational analysis, the Canadian equivalent of a text-and-data mining exception to facilitate artificial intelligence and machine learning activities.

Internet Safe Harbours and Site Blocking

The committee report provides an extensive review of safe harbours for Internet platforms and ISPs.The committee rejected proposals to limit the safe harbour provisions in the Copyright Act. In fact, the committee even expresses concern with bringing notice-and-takedown to Canada:

The Committee finds it questionable, for example, that an OSP’s content management policies would require taking down or de-monetizing content uploaded on a platform before giving its uploader the opportunity to respond to allegations of copyright infringement.

Instead, it simply calls for ongoing monitoring of developments around the world.

With respect to site blocking, the committee rejects the creation of an Internet piracy system such as the FairPlay proposal, concluding that the courts must be involved:

The Committee does not, however, support the development of an administrative regime to these ends. It is for the courts to adjudicate whether a given use constitutes copyright infringement and to issue orders in consequence. The courts already have the expertise necessary to protect the interests of all involved parties.

It therefore recommends changes to facilitate court orders, subject to "paramount importance be given to net neutrality in dealing with impacts on the form and function of Internet in the application of copyright law."

Digital Locks

The committee review provided a valuable opportunity to re-examine Canada's DMCA-style digital lock rules, which are among the most restrictive in the world. The committee would like to change that, recommending adding much needed flexibility by allowing circumvention for purposes otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act:

However, it agrees that the circumvention of TPMs should be allowed for non-infringing purposes, especially given the fact that the Nintendo case provided such a broad interpretation of TPMs. In other words, while anti-circumvention rules should support the use of TPMs to enable the remuneration of rights-holders and prevent copyright infringement, they should generally not prevent someone from committing an act otherwise authorized under the Act.

This change - which was widely recommended when the law was first established - would ensure that fair dealing rights are treated in an equivalent manner in both the analog and digital worlds.

Term Extension

The committee noted that it heard arguments both in favour and against copyright term extension. The committee recognized there may no alternative but to extend copyright given the USMCA, but it recommended limiting the harm by only doing so if the agreement is ratified. Moreover, it recommended establishing a registration requirement for the additional 20 years:

The Committee believes that requiring rights-holders to register their copyright to enjoy its benefits after a period equal to the life of the author plus 50 years would mitigate some of the disadvantages of term extension, promote copyright registration, and thus increase the overall transparency of the copyright system. The use of registration system would provide a model for other countries and ensure that many works still enter the public domain after life of the author plus 50 years.

https://boingboing.net/2019/06/03/peace-order-good-govt.html