#This should mitigate most of the issues though

[newkiqx]

Installed a sensor on my girl so i know when

[lucelute]

Arcane's real villain

It isn't Viktor, Jinx, Silco, or even HexTech.

It is Piltover, more specifically Piltover's council.

Because everything that went wrong would have been different if they actually did a good job as the government that Zaun had.

Vander and Silco's fight? It only happen after the failed riot, if they had been better there would have not been a riot.

Vi and the others going to steal? Did it to survive and have more, without the oppression they wouldn't have felt the need to do it.

Jinx creation? Depends on the 2 firsts points.

Viktor dying? If Piltover had done its job, they could have A) find a cure or B) not have been sick altogether, as his sickness came from the Grey, which is both a horrible contamination and biological weapon.

HexTech? If Viktor who had limited time to watch it happen, so in consequence he tried to see the results faster, and Jayce who was consumed by the greed of Piltover upper class, didn't have that feeling of urgency, I actually think they could have done a lot of good.

Every issue came down to Piltover's upper class, the ones who controlled, managed, and had influence over the government.

While I loved both seasons, I would have liked for the conflict of both cities to have been the focus.

[citygirlyuno305]

As a lawyer, who I think would be charged with murder under American law vs who I think a prosecutor wouldn’t pursue

I’ve been a criminal lawyer for a little while now and thought I’d come at this from a different angle than I usually see just for fun and to make a note to myself of just how similar or different people’s primary concerns are going into t3 than what the law is concerned about.

This is going off of only their base crime, not anything that occurred after T1/T2.

I’ll preface by saying that murder charges kind of start when probable cause exists to arrest- cops arrest suspect and send the matter to the prosecutor, who usually has about 30 days to decide whether they want to pursue action, or otherwise, issue a DTP Notice (Decline to Prosecute). So, based on their info as of now, this is who I think would have probable cause to be prosecuted vs who a prosecutor would likely decline to prosecute:

(BTW this is different from my view of how they’d be found after a trial, so it does not factor in their defenses or any factors in aggravation or mitigation. Maybe I’ll do another post on that if people want)

*Committed Murder:*

Haruka- first degree murder with lesser included possibility of second degree.

I’m pretty sure he killed an actual child, not just an apparition or metaphorically killing himself. Tack on additional charges for animal cruelty.

Muu- First degree murder with lesser included possibility of second degree.

Being 16, with a public murder, she’d probably be tried as an adult.

If she brought the box cutter to school it would suggest premeditation or planning. It should be noted that premeditation and deliberation can form, and be legally argued of forming in a mere second- so even if she didnt bring that cutter to school or plan it out intensively it could still be premeditated and deliberate under the law. 
However second degree murder is likely more appropriate and would ultimately be an easier trial strategy to pursue in the absence of any additional evidence of premeditation.

Amane- First degree murder with lesser included possibility of second degree at worst, potentially pled down to voluntary manslaughter

Mind you she’d be adjudicated in Juvenile court as a minor below the age of 14; in some places she’d be tried as an adult, but if she had a defense attorney that was even slightly good it’d be transferred to juvenile court. So her potential punishment and sentencing would differ from everyone else’s because the guidelines differ.

Her charges would be the same though. Premeditation could be established by viewing her at the point she found the evidence that the cat died, walking home with the smile and promptly beating her mother to death. Its also usually pretty easy to establish premeditation and deliberation when the method of murder is beating to death.

Her background however would likely make a prosecutor think twice about going for first degree. Coupling that with the nature of her relationship with the victim, I think if the case wasn’t already resolved on insanity (because of the delusions and hallucinations she seemed to suffer leading up to the murder), a prosecutor would strike a plea deal for voluntary manslaughter.

Amane’s is likely the most complicated legally with both the nuances of juvenile adjudication and the specific facts of her case so this is far from comprehensive.

Mikoto- First degree murder, multiple counts because I think he murdered multiple people

Even though it seems random that he’d just murder some people he saw on the street its likely that the jury would buy into the premeditation forming quickly here. Especially if he murdered multiple people. Plus that scene in MeMe where the one guy is crawling on the ground and Mikoto smashes his head with the bat, its easy to argue premeditation formed when he lifted the bat to swing down.

I want to point out that at the moment I’ve isolated, which is the initial pressing of criminal charges, whether he is legally insane is not of consequence. There’s a lot going into this but a competency or insanity hearing wouldn’t occur until charges were filed against him. Plus, DID is not among the disorders recognized as rendering someone incompetent to stand trial or to establish legal “insanity”. I’m getting ahead of myself but absent any element of delusion or hallucination he is incredibly unlikely to succeed on an insanity defense anyways. He is also very unlikely to get a guilty but mentally ill verdict (which just sits between insanity and flat out guilty) for the same reasons but I suppose its more likely than insanity.

Kotoko- First degree murder. She planned it meticulously. Premeditation is obvious. And prosecutors love taking the opportunity to deter vigilante justice. With no obvious defenses this is the easiest case to make.

*Did not commit murder:*

Kazui- He definitely ruined her life and acted selfishly. But, he did not commit murder.

Mahiru - She was an overbearing and potentially toxic partner. But toxicity alone doesn’t make her a murderer when her partner commits suicide.

*Maybe committed murder depending on location and additional circumstances:*

Yuno- LET ME BE CLEAR, to ME, its not murder. But unfortunately whether she’s charged with murder now depends on her location. No California prosecutor would charge her. A Texan prosecutor would. Were it up to me, she’d be in the unambiguous not charged section.

Shidou- He confuses me. If he violated the standard protocol for organ donation and removal of life support (judging by his voice line of “youre in my way, die already”), a prosecutor would potentially charge him with criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter. There’s nuances to this but under the law we treat braindead people as people for the purpose of crimes committed against them. for instance, raping someone in a coma (JUST AN EXAMPLE) is still charged as rape of another person, despite being brain dead. Another example, someone random coming into another person’s hospital room and pulling the plug is still murder, because they lacked the authorization and consent to remove life support. So if Shidou acted outside of the scope of his professional duties and the standard protocol for removal of life support and organ donation, it could still be charged as murder, notwithstanding whether the victim was braindead.

BUT, if he followed the standard protocol, and was simply callous about the concept of brain death and organ donation until his wife/kids died, then it’s not murder.

*Would be charged with something else:*

Fuuta - He wouldnt be charged with murder outright but the facts of his case-stalking, doxxing victim and encouraging online hate campaign leading to suicide- would support an involuntary manslaughter charge.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

I’ve seen your post on how to compromise in romantic relationships, do you have one on how to compromise in platonic and familial relationships?

Writing Notes: Compromise

in Platonic & Familial Relationships

People with a compromising conflict style often try to resolve conflict by proposing seemingly equal compromises, such as meeting in the middle between two extreme positions or making a significant compromise just to move forward. Although a compromising conflict style can move a conversation forward, the solution may not address root issues, making this style unstable over time.

Compromise is essential in any relationship, particularly during conflict. Each partner must consider giving something up of similar value so that they meet somewhere in the middle (Grieger, 2015).

Encourage bouncing ideas off each other until both parties find a win for both of them. Capture the following:

What is the disagreement about?

What does a win for each person look like?

Brainstorm ideas that could lead to mutual satisfaction.

Often, resolutions to conflict and disagreement feel like a win to both parties; this is a win–win situation. The goal should be for mutual satisfaction.

The more individuals have a relational focus (i.e., a greater use of “we”) while narrating their experiences of compromise with family, the better psychological health they will experience (Lin et al., 2014)

The Conflict Management Styles

Include accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing and compromising.

People tend to have a dominant style.

The Thomas Kilmann conflict mode instrument, or TKI, is frequently used in conflict resolution training and identifies 5 distinct modes that people use to handle conflict (Thomas & Kilman).

Understanding your conflict handling style may help you handle future conflicts more effectively.

Compromising - usually indicates the person who is compromising is at the mid-point on the assertiveness scale and the mid-point on the cooperativeness scale.

That means that the compromiser tries to find middle-ground by taking care of his/her needs as well as the needs of others.

The compromiser does try to cooperate but not at his/her personal expense.

The compromising style shows a moderate concern for self and others.

Even though you may often hear that the best way to handle a conflict is to compromise, the compromising style is not a win/win solution but a partial win/lose.

When you compromise, you give up some or most of what you want.

The conflict gets resolved temporarily, but lingering thoughts of what you gave up could lead to a future conflict.

Compromising may be a good strategy when time limitations or conflict prolonging may lead to relationship deterioration.

Compromise may also be good when both parties have equal power or other resolution strategies have not worked (Macintosh & Stevens, 2008).

Compromising may help conflicting parties come to a resolution, but neither may be completely satisfied if they each had to give something up.

Compromising Style: This style aims to find an expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties in the conflict while maintaining some assertiveness and cooperativeness. “This style is best to use when the outcome is not crucial and you are losing time; for example, when you want to just make a decision and move on to more important things and are willing to give a little to get the decision made,” Dr. Barbara Benoliel, a certified professional mediator and mitigation specialist, says. “However,” she adds, “be aware that no one is really satisfied.”

People often get accommodating and compromising confused.

Accommodating means sacrificing your needs/wants/desires for what the other wants without them giving anything in return.

When you compromise, both parties give something and gain something.

A negative of compromising is that it may be used as an easy way out of a conflict.

The compromising style is most effective when both parties find the solution reasonably agreeable.

Example: Rosa and D’Shaun could decide that Casey’s allowance does need to be increased and could each give her $10.00 more a week by committing to taking their lunch to work twice a week instead of eating out. They are giving up something, and if neither has a problem taking their lunch to work, the compromise is equitable. If the couple agrees that the 20 extra dollars a week should come out of D’Shaun’s golf budget, the compromise is not as equitable, and D’Shaun, although he agreed to the compromise, may end up with feelings of resentment. Dialogue may assist this couple to find a win-win outcome.

In the Workplace. Compromising is a conflict resolution strategy in which you and the other party willingly forfeit some of your needs to reach an agreement.

It’s known as a “lose-lose” strategy, since neither of you achieve your full goal.

This strategy works well when your care for your goal and the relationship are both moderate. You value the relationship, but not so much that you abandon your goal, like in accommodation.

Example: Maybe you and a peer express interest in leading an upcoming project. You could compromise by co-leading it or deciding one of you leads this one and the other the next one.

Compromising requires big-picture thinking and swallowing your pride, knowing you won’t get all your needs fulfilled.

The benefits are that you and the other party value your relationship and make sacrifices to reach a mutually beneficial resolution.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing!

[withleeknow]

Can I req something for the milestone event with lee know using this prompt „time passes slower without you.”? ✨

navigation / masterlist / ko-fi

patience is a virtue, everybody knows that.

you know it too. the only issue? patience is a virtue that you don't have.

you're an impatient person by nature, born with an inherent restlessness within your bones that keys you up more often than you'd like to admit. in school, you were always thinking about your next degree. with work, you're always thinking about the next big thing, the future position you'll hopefully land once you gain enough experience. you're always waiting for something else, constantly looking forward to the days ahead instead of living in the now. it's a personal flaw, you're well aware of this.

it happens when it comes to even the most mundane things. what cafe should you try next weekend, even if you're not even half done with the caramel macchiato you're holding in your hands? what movie should you watch next, even if the one playing on your tv screen hasn't gone into its second act yet?

your impatience already flares up on a daily basis, but it's even more amplified and unbearable whenever minho is away. it doesn't help that he's often gone for weeks, if not months on end. you're always counting down the days until he's back before he's even out the door.

"just one more week, yeah?"

his words hang heavy in the silence of your bedroom. your phone is on speaker, set against the pillow next to yours so you could pretend like he's here with you when you close your eyes. you try to facetime every day even if it's only for fifteen, twenty minutes. just to catch up on each other's day and at least see each other for a while before you go to sleep. it's bittersweet, being able to look at him and hear him talk but only from the digital void of your phone.

even though you tend to hide from him how you really feel, how much you actually miss him and wish for him to be back by your side, you think it must still bleed through from time to time. be it the subtle way your voice drops during conversation or how your eyes glaze over with sadness just a little bit when you stare at his handsome face for too long on video call.

you know minho is trying to comfort you. he wouldn't be a very good partner if he can't tell that his own girlfriend is having a hard time without him, would he? and it's not like you bitch and moan any chance you get. no, you always try to hide it from him because it's not his fault that he has to be away sometimes, not like he's choosing to leave you just for the fun of it.

you know his gentle reminder is meant to mitigate your ache, but it only makes you be more aware of how time doesn't seem to pass when he's not here. the clock stops ticking the second he's gone, and you feel like you have to drag yourself through every minute of every hour and repeat the process for days and weeks and months.

"one week is too long," you say quietly. "time passes slower without you."

seven days. one hundred and sixty eight hours. ten thousand and eighty minutes. it's practically nothing compared to the time that has already passed, but that doesn't mean that you get to miss him any less even though it's only a two-hour flight away.

minho doesn't really reply directly to what you said. instead, he tries to distract you with anecdotes of his day - like a funny looking pigeon he saw on the street earlier or a cute photo of soonie that his mom sent him. it works a little. he considers it a success when you crack a smile and giggle at his theatrics.

he keeps the conversation light until you're biting back a yawn and he knows it's time to let you get some rest. even when you're saying your goodnights, neither of you mention what day it'll be tomorrow. you're sure that in the morning you'll wake up to messages from him - not entirely poetic because it's not his specialty, but they'll still be infinitely and wonderfully sincere. you don't bring it up in case he feels guilty, and you think he doesn't bring it up because the reminder that he won't be here might make you sleep restlessly tonight.

you fall asleep with a little bit of a heavy heart, and wake up when the sound of your doorbell ringing fills your apartment at precisely 7:06am. the other side of the bed still cold and devoid of your minho, but it's not the first thing that you notice like you do every morning.

no, the first thing that you register today is the vivid discomfort of having your peace disturbed so early on when it should be a day that you get to spend feeling nothing but comfort and contentment. or at least, as content as you can get without minho here. you carry that irritation with you all the way to the front door, wild bedhead and all.

the door swings open.

you're a deer in the headlights and suddenly your displeasure is vanished, gone in a second like it was never there to begin with.

"surpriseee!"

a sheepish greeting.

you rub your eyes, then pinch yourself on the arm.

you're not really sure what happens next. it's all just a blur of tears and ugly sobbing as you launch yourself into his arms, almost making him knock into the suitcase that's still perched right beside him. the bouquet of peonies in his hand becomes an unfortunate victim as it falls to the floor after the impact, but minho leaves it be, in favor of holding you as tightly as you're holding onto him.

his fingers tangled in your hair, your arms wound around his neck securely like you're afraid you're still dreaming and he'll disappear if you let go. you don't question why he's here; you just accept that he is.

minho peppers warm kisses to your cheeks, your jawline, your forehead and your lips. it's graceless and it's damp from your tears but neither of you could bring yourself to care. he murmurs with an upward quirk of his mouth where he's pressing his smile to your lips, all affection, all love. "happy birthday, baby."

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all rights reserved © withleeknow. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted 28.03.2024]

[iviarelleblr]

I just feel like this is something that ought to be shared. For WOT in particular but for a lot of other stories as well.

I know my feelings are still very chaotic about the whole thing in 3x08. A lot of people, myself included, have entirely valid trauma (and no I'm not exaggerating by using that word!) related to multiple things that came up in that episode. You can't help what your triggers are, you can only control how you act in response.

I will say, most of the counterpoints I've seen here aren't trying to invalidate the feelings of people who are upset about certain things in the episode, but some of them feel invalidating anyway. It feels like you're saying, "why are you even upset, there's [mitigating factors]".

And it's true that not a single one of the issues happened to a tokenized character, nobody is the only person who looks like them, who loves like them, in the show. There are other women of colour, there are other *queer* women of colour even, right there.

But when you've seen a pattern play out a dozen times, when the very same writer was a writer on the show that may have even given you that initial trauma,* and was hailed by the showrunner of this show as the premiere writer for these two particular characters especially... People who remember all that, consciously or just in their bones, were always going to be upset, even if we weren't just here for the Siuaraine of it all.

I'm not threatening to quit the show or anything over this. I'm not suggesting anyone else should or shouldn't keep watching. It's something every individual will have to decide for themselves: they've got other queer characters and ships to sail, but there have been an awful lot of dead beloved characters of colour this season. Colorism isn't an automatic argument-winning word the way some people on Xitter treated it last week, but it is a problem the show has struggled with.

I'm just asking for a little compassion for those of us who are working through a lot, y'know? Like, this is where a lot of us are coming from. It may very well lead to a better story, I've seen plenty of very convincing arguments, but that doesn't stop my heart from hurting in an echo back along all the queer characters I've lost along the way so that their partners could go on being main characters. It doesn't stop me from feeling how similar this could be to those, even if it doesn't end up being the same at all. I think all sides of these discussions could use a little more nuance and thought and a little less reflexive responding (hence my posting this the day after, to make sure I'm not jumping the gun or making an ass of myself), but that goes for everything, always.

Bonus * note: The 100 wasn't my first buried gay, but not only was JJG writing on it in the very season the Clexa controversy went down (though not the same episode), that show's showrunner had also been overpromoting the queer relationship between Clarke and Lexa, had been hyping them up in interviews and promotional stuff, all season leading up to Lexa's tragic pointless death so the actress could go work on another show. I WAS THERE, GANDALF! I don't think it's overblown or exaggerating to say a lot of people are having extremely large feelings right now over this, especially if they were in that fandom in 2016, especially if they're a little younger than I am and were that little bit more impressionable at the time. We are feeling a lot of parallels and it fucking sucks, to put it lightly.

[drdemonprince]

Ok sanctimonious covid anon. I guess "sanctimonious" isn't great and yes shame is only one tactic that is not uniformly effective (but also not uniformly ineffective). When does this become a respectability politics issue with disabled people though? Idk, when the public health response is transparently eugenicist and many supposed fellow radicals don't care to mask (some cannot due to access but i promise plenty just dont Wanna) to stop chains of transmission for a still relatively novel airborne virus, is it the responsibility of disabled anticovid organizers to be super nice all the time during covid education, when even when we are, plenty of our supposed comrades don't mask with us and leave the onus of organizing accessible events all on us? Obviously not all your responsibility to shoulder lol, you just have an open askbox + what feels like disappointing covid minimization/denialism next to the rest of your politics or other elucidated points of view.

No, like the burden of public health messaging and advocacy should have never been placed on the shoulders of disabled and high risk immunocompromised people, that's the whole issue and that's the whole point. because of the context collapse of the internet there are a lot of different types of conversations all happening in the same place at once. disabled people have the right to grouse about being left behind by others and to be enraged, and to not have to tone police themselves, but what someone is emotionally or morally entitled to is not the same thing as what's rhetorically effective. it's just not. it's not fair and it's not right and none of what's happening here is. and I don't think that even the most judicious careful motivatingly worded advocacy on the part of disabled people on the internet would be enough to change the tide at this point. there's simply not enough people doing that work and none of them have any power. what we need is some kind of organized public health apparatus that actually empowers people to make the correct decisions by doing things like paying people to stay home, requiring buildings to update their ventilation, handing out free masks, requiring masks in public spaces, and continuing to make vaccines free. we don't have any of that. we can exert some soft social pressure on our closest associates some of the time, and organize events that reflect our principles and understanding of risk mitigation, but we don't have the systemic force necessary to get done what needs to get done, and in the absence of that, people tend to revert to shame fueled rhetoric that is not super helpful and in fact, fairly or not, puts a lot of people off. but like, I get the despair at this point. I really do. i feel it about almost every large scale change that id like so see in the world. so like, say what you want. I think as long as people are clear with themselves with why they are doing the messaging they're doing and are okay with impact it might have, however minimal, like go off. because I don't think the cheery infographics that are more patiently telling people to wear masks are doing a whole hell of a lot at this point either. Don't think we're going to post our way out of this one one way or the other. It sucks but that's how I'm feeling right about now.

[shini--chan]

Hi, hello!! If possible, would it be ok for me to request the first yandere character sheet for america?? I absolutely love the way you characterize him!!

Yandere Character Sheet I

1p America: Alfred F. Jones

Trigger warnings: neglect, starvation, white torture, abandonment, forced assimilation, murder, physical and verbal abuse, mind games

Attributes - What sort of Yandere is he/she?

The problem with Alfred as a yandere would be how his base personality affects his yandere tendencies. Fundamentally, he wants to be a hero, he wants to help people and be selfless, but it is ruined by his self-centred worldview and his egoist ideology. At the end of the day, he is far more concerned about how you can benefit him, rather than how he can ensure and protect your happiness and health. America would only really be willing to change his actions if he faces negative consequences or it ruins his glorious self-image. Though, by putting you in a position where you are powerless in relation to him, he’ll be able to brush off/mitigate many of the negative consequences that could arise. Even if there is something that he wouldn’t be able to simply flick away, he would likely frame somebody else than engage in any soul-searching. To synthesise a few concrete characteristics out of all of this, he would be arrogant, self-righteous and in denial about any wrong doings on his part. 

That being said, Alfred would be perfectly capable of being a gentleman. Should he put some effort in it, then he’ll be the roguish and handsome boy-next-door to you. It would even feel very off or false since it would be partially true and not just an act. America is absolutely capable of being decent. All in all, it would just make everything more difficult, though. Since you wouldn’t be dealing with a pure sociopath, but a complex, layered person, he would be unpredictable in the worst way possible. No pure evil, but no pure good either - if anything, he would nourish any conflicting feelings you have about him. So, he would really take the phrase from Machiavelli, that it is best to be feared as well as loved, very much to heart. America would take you on dates, shower you with gifts, compliment you and take you home with him. He is so desirable, isn’t he? Above everything, he would want you to be smitten with him, since it would stroke his ego. 

He is also delusional, so he wouldn’t take much offence should he have to drag you to his side kicking and screaming. At the end of the day, what Alfred believes in most is his own hype. If he was a religion, then he is his own god, or at very least, the Chosen One. Any criticism would simply be water off a duck’s back and he’ll laugh at you. Here, he would also bring one of the worst of Christian traits to the fore and claim that you know the truth, know that he is good and moral and heroic, and that you’re just trying to lead him astray. So, rather than him having to repent, you should. Alfed would prove to be hard headed in everything, though on minor issues and things he would be more inclined to listen and admit that he’s wrong than on major ones. In total, he wouldn’t be extremely communicative on things he doesn’t like, excluding it is something that is tied to his idiosyncrasies, since he would think that rules of the game are clear to you. So, from a certain point onwards, you’ll find yourself walking on egg-shells around him, unless you figure him out and fast. 

Additionally, he is a very busy man. This is a person that can’t sit still for even an hour and has a mind that would constantly race from one train of thoughts to the next set of ideas. Life with him would never be boring (unless you are bad and don’t obey him), so you yourself might end up being too busy to notice all the red flags in the beginning. The start would also be the get-to-know-you phase, where you would have considerably more freedom, so life with him in it would feel exhilarating. While luring you in his fold, he would also be very indulgent towards you and take you where-ever you wish to go. A holiday to Tuscany? Booked and the luggage packed. Need help with your bills? They are already paid. Advise on some future life choice? His lecture/prep talk is going to be over two hours. 

Though, he is also calculating. Not only in the scheming, villain manner, but also in the most literal sense of the word. His actions regarding you, and even just the choice to engage with you is weighed against a set of internal scales. Like any savvy businessman, he wants the costs to him to be as minimal as possible while making maximum profit. To him, this is how the world works and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. So, you would have to bring something to the table as well. Should he help you, then we’re supposed to help him in return. Get a loan from him, then pay it back full and with interest - should you have troubles with that, then he’ll have no problems in … tweaking you or also parts of your life to achieve the desired end result. 

Alfred is also manipulative, and to a horrifying extent. He’d not shy away from restricting your access to information, and sculpting your views to his liking. Even the information that you would be able to get your hands on would be framed to influence you and play on your emotions. He would know a whole array of psychological tricks and shortcuts that he wouldn’t hesitate to use on you. However, if you would do the same to him, he would scream foul. Rules for thee, but not for me indeed. That is a further problem with him - his own perceived exceptionalism dictates that he is above everybody else, and the other’s are just chess pieces on his game board. 

Cornering - How would they get you?

With the carrot and the stick. Ideally, you should never be aware of the stick, though if you put a toe out of line, the stick will become very noticable. In the case that you cooperate, then it would be a Hollywood romance (and like those protagonists in movies, he’ll be similarly incapable of accepting rejection). The future with you should be white and fluffy, akin to a picture-book perfect fantasy. He would also use promises and allusions to such a fate to get you where he wants you. If you have doubts, or if you are a not-so-willing bride, then some pressure would be applied - he would convince your relatives and friends that he’s the best option for you, and have them press-gang you into marrying him. 

Else, he’ll appeal to your naked self-interest, if you have such inclinations. He’ll present himself as the ideal protector, or a way to grant you financial security, or find some other way to awaken your interest. Perhaps you’ll even be convinced that you want the union more than him, that you’re the one using him to your advantage. 

Of course, if push comes to shove, then he would simply abduct you, break you down and rebuild you to his liking. To make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs - that would be his line of thinking if the. Asides, it would all be your fault for not having the right values. 

Expectations - What do they expect of you?

This is the tricky and controversial part. You see, part of Alfred’s expectations, ones that he isn’t even conscious of since he takes them as given, would be that you fit in his world view. What that would entail would be that you hold capitalism and liberalism to be the most progressive forms of politics, that the world must strive towards more freedom and more democracy to reach the end of history, that people are selfish and vainglorious and every interaction between people is nothing more than a transaction. That your lines of thought run on the exact same structures as his do - a liberal, faustian worldview. The matter here is, if you have a different outlook in that regard, then he wouldn’t accept it as valid. You would be declared evil or stupid, or both, by him and he would strive to “save you” and bring you to the light. 

One trait that he would consciously want of you, would be that you’re entertaining. If there is one thing that he wouldn’t tolerate well, then it would be boredom. Don’t induce that in him, don’t let him become bored with you - if you are already in his grasp and he grows disinterested in you, then you’d have a cruel fate ahead of you. Be unpredictable (but not too much, he wants to keep you under lock and key) and challenging to him. In the show that is his life, be either the villian that he must defeat or the love interest that he must save and conquer. . Hence, you'll always have to find ways to be novel and exciting to him - not an easy feat with such a capricious individual. Challenge him, change the rules of the game, make him suffer to have his pleasure. Not too much though - harm could befall you if you make matters too difficult while not having the upper hand. 

Whatsmore, he would expect you to heed him and look up to him. Let him up your knight in shining armour, your shining city on the hill. The trick would be finding the right balance of relenting and resisting; the tricky part would be that this balance would change over time and not in a very predictable fashion. Still, laud and lionise him, make him feel special and wanted. Should he have the feeling that you understand him like no other, then he would be less inclined to throw you away. This could be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on how your overall standing to each other is. 

Further, he expects you to be of a cheerful disposition. You don't have to be sweet as sugar and everything nice, you are allowed to have a temper and swear and rage from time to time. Blazes, your niceness and optimism is allowed to be very selective. Though, it would have to be in the range of what he would deem as normal. That being said, if you don't entirely fulfil his expectations there, then he wouldn't see it as a dealbreaker. He can "fix" you after all. The end result should then be a person who is committed to him, who greets him at the door and reciprocates his affection. Him and you against the world. Shake your fist at everybody else; it is alright if he is the only one you give your smiles and heart to. 

Beauty is another characteristic that he would seek in a partner. You wouldn't even have to be conventionally beautiful to fulfil his expectations, or even healthy. That being said, he would want you to be pretty in a sense that sickness wouldn't tarnish your looks, like the Victorian ladies that suffered from tuberculosis. In a way, you should be the sort of person that could be cast in a movie. 

Faded - Would they let go of you in any way?

In the case that he would find somebody more enticing, then you would just be casted aside like a ruined doll. Not that he would necessarily throw you out onto the street; it would be more likely that you would be “stored” somewhere, withering away since that you wouldn’t be the centre of his attention anymore. Chances are that he would forget about you, forget to give you sustenance or maintain your hygiene - most likely he’ll only remember you when the stench of your decomposing body reaches his nostrils. That, or he would just drop you off in the middle of nowhere and leave you to fend for yourself. What happens to you beyond that, won’t be his business, or so he would insist.  

On a less macabre front, you could also just slip away in such a scenario and he wouldn’t really care, unless you divulge state secrets and/or sic the police on him. Aside from that, if something else would take up all his attention and commitment, you could actually have a fair chance of making a break for it and staying free forever. By the time he could spend time and attention on you, the trial would have gone cold. Maybe he would even give up on you then. 

Another possibility would be if he would be forced to let you go. Say, if his actions actually lead to negative consequences for him and his power wanes, third parties could intervene and rip you away from him. It could be that he would even become so powerless that he would be forced to live with the outcome. Other than that, there are some lines that even he (or especially he, depending on how you look at it) wouldn’t be able to cross. Should one his rivals take you under their wing, or a weaker person/nation even just successfully hide you, then there would be little he could do about it. 

Punishment - How would they proceed if you do something they disapprove of?

Oh, he can be very harsh. The tricky part with Alfred would be, that he takes a set of ground rules to be self-evident. So, should you break said rules then it wouldn't be because of a misunderstanding, a lack of knowledge or even just an accident. Instead, he would view it as you being purposefully disobedient. That's why you might find yourself spontaneously hulled away and locked in a closet, or tied to the bed. America wouldn't be above giving you a "time-out" in the corner either. 

Else, he would be a fan of white torture. Repeated violation of the ground rules would land you in the white room. You'd stay there for some time, living a very colourless life. Your meals would be white, just like your clothing and bed and overall surrounding. There wouldn't be anything in the room with which you could entertain yourself, just a bolted down bed and a waterless toilet. Other methods that would fall in the same category would be depriving you of sleep, waking you up at random times, or also exposing you to noises that are of very low frequencies. 

Or he would make you live the same day on repeat. The same food, the same books/movies, the same clothes, the same music - those parameters would be fixed, and none of your actions can change anything about it. It would only stop when he decides you've been punished enough. 

Alfred wouldn't resort to physical or sexual abuse to teach you a lesson. Not because he is such a decent person, or because he respects you so deeply, but to keep up appearances. He wouldn't be able to show you in public if you're black and blue, and you should spread your legs for him without him having to pry them apart. Though, if you ask him to lay you over his knee and spank you, then he'll gladly indulge you. And he'll make you ask him or trick you into signing a "permission slip". It would let him punish you as he would deem fit, without ruining the picture of a picture perfect relationship. That being said, if you gain the upper hand, then it would be a different picture. 

Aside from the aforementioned ground rules, there would be variable rules that he would introduce, implement, or discard at will. America would inform you of some of them. However, he is a busy man, and would forget to tell you about changes at times. You'll still be punished, no matter how much you'd protest, though he would be a bit more lenient here from time to time. So it could be some yelling and insults, or it could be him putting you on random medication so that you can suffer from the side effects, and from the intended effects as well. 

Reaction - How would they react to you escaping?

For a short answer - look at all those Hollywood movies. 

For a long answer - shouldering a rifle with a tranquiliser dart and hunting you down like a deer. He'll be tracking your phone and constantly looking into your bank transactions. A missing person report would be put out with a finder's fee or he would have you declared a wanted criminal on some trumped up charges. 

Various surveillance cameras will be monitored and followed, and he'll have agents stationed at airports and the like to intercept you should you appear there. If that wouldn't work, then he'll call in some favours to have somebody stab you in the back and return you to him. 

Should all that fail, then he'll issue an ultimatum to you in a way he would sure that you'll notice. 

Turnabout - Scenario: You have the upper hand? What would be different from their usual MO?

There is a way you could turn the tables without him realising it, or protesting against it too much. The interests of individuals as well as collectives don't always oppose each other, sometimes they align. So, you could manipulate him into doing your bidding by pulling his heart strings or playing on his fears. Since power isn't a zero sum game, and since he has a very skewed view of reality, chances are that he wouldn't even notice. Furthermore, he might be so engrossed with his own "supremacy", that he'll willingly turn a blind eye. 

Though, should he feel threatened or that you're gaining more power over him, then all hell would break loose. Defamation would ensue, and he would do anything to drag your reputation through the mud, with tactics and assertions that would seem straight up ludicrous the longer this situation would play out. Should matters escalate, then he would resort to even graver tactics right up to killing you. With his status under threat, he would pull guns out on you, break your bones, or even strangle you. 

Vengeance - What would they do in the face of competition?

If the person can be bought, they will be bought. Alfred would just through some meaningless things their way to get them to pipe down, make some empty promises, make them sell their soul to him. He would love the opportunity to pull the rug from under them, and he would surely find a way. The despair that they would display is something that he would live for. 

Naturally, there are other methods he would apply. Such as threats and physical intimidation. In those cases, he might end up acting too much like a Disney villain. Funny how the heroes become the villains, eh? As such, he wouldn't have any guilt in swinging his fists and granting his unfortunate opponent a trip to the hospital. The whole affair would be depicted as him defending your honour. 

And if the person goes missing to never be seen again, then what can he do about it? Any and all clues that would point to him being involved would be purely coincidental. 

[grasshopperdoingdogpaddle]

In your opinion, what made Chase set his sights on Omi?

Initially, it's risk mitigation.

"One day Omi will grow strong enough to defeat me. If not delivered to the side of darkness soon, I will have no choice but to destroy him."

That's the conclusion he's drawn after his early assessment of the monks. Though Omi's not actually there yet, Omi has the type of potential that Chase wants to either use for himself or eliminate before it's used against it.

It's a framework Chase approaches most things with initially. Is it worth taking notice of? If so, is it exploitable? If not, it should be disposed of before it's an issue. That's his Modus Operandi.

While he continues to assess how to move forward with the threat he senses in Omi, he finds himself surprisingly amused by his antics and genuinely impressed with him. He even starts having fun and growing a bit fond of this little mark. That, combined with their personalities are similar enough that Chase leans towards the possibility of not only recruiting Omi, but "ruling the world at his side for eternity" --Chase even decides that that must be destiny, because Chase says so.

Though you can still see at the start of The New Order that Chase is testy about it which suggests he's not fully certain, but by the end of that same episode, his heart's pretty much set on it. After Omi goes out of his way to stage this big rescue for Chase, and sneakily hides behind the "favor" he owed for it.

It's a display of this particular view of "honor" that Chase doesn't come across many other who subscribe to. And even more than that, it's a gesture Chase appreciates. It sparks a modicum of trust in Chase that he hasn't placed in anyone in centuries.

So it's around this point that Chase has firmly set his sights on Omi as someone he'll definitely make his own and hopefully won't "have" to resort to destroying.

[city-of-ladies]

"The most notable players in Palaiologue politics were the empresses Yolanda-Irene of Montferrat and Anna of Savoy, and on the whole their record is woeful: Yolanda-Irene of Montferrat, second wife of Andronikos II, was unable to comprehend the succession rights of her eldest stepson, Michael IX, and since her husband remained obstinately unmoved by her representations she flounced off with her three sons to Thessalonika where she kept a separate court for many years from 1303 to her death in 1317. From her own domain she issued her own decrees, conducted her own foreign policy and plotted against her husband with the Serbs and Catalans: in mitigation, she had seen her five-year-old daughter married off to the middle-aged Serbian lecher Milutin, and considered that her eldest son John had been married beneath him to a Byzantine aristocrat, Irene Choumnaina. She died embittered and extremely wealthy.

When Yolanda’s grandson Andronikos III died early, leaving a nine-year old son John V and no arrangements for a regent, the empress Anna of Savoy assumed the regency. In so doing she provoked a civil war with her husband’s best friend John Kantakouzenos, and devastated the empire financially, bringing it to bankruptcy and pawning the crown jewels to Venice, as well as employing Turkish mercenaries and, it appears, offering to have her son convert to the church of Rome. Gregoras specifically blames her for the civil war, though he admits that she should not be criticised too heavily since she was a woman and a foreigner. Her mismanagement was not compensated for by her later negotiations in 1351 between John VI Kantakouzenos and her son in Thessalonika, who was planning a rebellion with the help of Stephen Dushan of Serbia. In 1351 Anna too settled in Thessalonika and reigned over it as her own portion of the empire until her death in c. 1365, even minting her own coinage.

These women were powerful and domineering ladies par excellence, but with the proviso that their political influence was virtually minimal. Despite their outspokenness and love of dominion they were not successful politicians: Anna of Savoy, the only one in whose hands government was placed, was compared to a weaver’s shuttle that ripped the purple cloth of empire. But there were of course exceptions. Civil wars ensured that not all empresses were foreigners and more than one woman of Byzantine descent reached the throne and was given quasi-imperial functions by her husband. 

Theodora Doukaina Komnene Palaiologina, wife of Michael VIII, herself had imperial connections as the great-niece of John III Vatatzes, and issued acts concerning disputes over monastic properties during her husband’s reign, even addressing the emperor’s officials on occasion and confirming her husband’s decisions. Nevertheless, unlike other women of Michael’s family who went into exile over the issue, she was forced to support her husband’s policy of church union with Rome, a stance which she seems to have spent the rest of her life regretting. She was also humiliated when he wished to divorce her to marry Constance-Anna of Hohenstaufen, the widow of John III Vatatzes.

Another supportive empress consort can be seen in Irene Kantakouzene Asenina, whose martial spirit came to the fore during the civil war against Anna of Savoy and the Palaiologue ‘faction’. Irene in 1342 was put in charge of Didymoteichos by her husband John VI Kantakouzenos; she also organised the defence of Constantinople against the Genoese in April 1348 and against John Palaiologos in March 1353, being one of the very few Byzantine empresses who took command in military affairs. But like Theodora, Irene seems to have conformed to her husband’s wishes in matters of policy and agreed with his decisions concerning the exclusion of their sons from the succession and their eventual abdication in 1354.

Irene and her daughter Helena Kantakouzene, wife of John V Palaiologos, were both torn by conflicting loyalties between different family members, and Helena in particular was forced to mediate between her ineffectual husband and the ambitions of her son and grandson. She is supposed to have organised the escape of her husband and two younger sons from prison in 1379 and was promptly taken hostage with her father and two sisters by her eldest son Andronikos IV and imprisoned until 1381; her release was celebrated with popular rejoicing in the capital. According to Demetrios Kydones she was involved in political life under both her husband and son, Manuel II, but her main role was in mediating between the different members of her family.

In a final success story, the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, owed his throne to his mother. The Serbian princess Helena Dragash, wife of Manuel II Palaiologos, in the last legitimating political manoeuvre by a Byzantine empress, successfully managed to keep the throne for her son Constantine and fend off the claims of his brother Demetrios. She arranged for Constantine’s proclamation as emperor in the Peloponnese and asserted her right to act as regent until his arrival in the capital from Mistra in 1449.

Despite the general lack of opportunity for them to play a role in politics, Palaiologue imperial women in the thirteenth century found outlets for their independent spirit and considerable financial resources in other ways. They were noted for their foundation or restoration of monastic establishments and for their patronage of the arts. Theodora Palaiologina restored the foundation of Constantine Lips as a convent for fifty nuns, with a small hospital for laywomen attached, as well as refounding a smaller convent of Sts Kosmas and Damian. She was also an active patron of the arts, commissioning the production of manuscripts like Theodora Raoulaina, her husband’s niece. Her typikon displays the pride she felt in her family and position, an attitude typically found amongst aristocratic women.

Clearly, like empresses prior to 1204, she had considerable wealth in her own hands both as empress and dowager. She had been granted the island of Kos as her private property by Michael, while she had also inherited land from her family and been given properties by her son Andronikos. Other women of the family also display the power of conspicuous spending: Theodora Raoulaina used her money to refound St Andrew of Crete as a convent where she pursued her scholarly interests. 

Theodora Palaiologina Angelina Kantakouzene, John Kantakouzenos’s mother, was arguably the richest woman of the period and financed Andronikos III’s bid for power in the civil war against his grandfather. Irene Choumnaina Palaiologina, in name at least an empress, who had been married to Andronikos II’s son John and widowed at sixteen, used her immense wealth, against the wishes of her parents, to rebuild the convent of Philanthropes Soter, where she championed the cause of ‘orthodoxy’ against Gregory Palamas and his hesychast followers. Helena Kantakouzene, too, wife of John V, was a patron of the arts. She had been classically educated and was the benefactor of scholars, notably of Demetrios Kydones who dedicated to her a translation of one of the works of St Augustine. 

The woman who actually holds power in this period, Anna of Savoy, does her sex little credit: like Yolanda she appears to have been both headstrong and greedy, and, still worse, incompetent. In contrast, empresses such as Irene Kantakouzene Asenina reflect the abilities of their predecessors: they were educated to be managers, possessed of great resources, patrons of art and monastic foundations, and, given the right circumstances, capable of significant political involvement in religious controversies and the running of the empire. Unfortunately they generally had to show their competence in opposition to official state positions. While they may have wished to emulate earlier regent empresses, they were not given the chance: the women who, proud of their class and family, played a public and influential part in the running of the empire belonged to an earlier age."

Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204, Lynda Garland

[max1461]

Two takes I see that don't make much sense are as follows:

From SWERFs, "sex work is exploitative to women, therefore it should be illegal".

From pro-lifers, "abortion is exploitative to women, therefore it should be illegal".

Never mind that the pro-life argument which says that abortion is exploitative to women doesn't make sense on its own. The more essential point is: if some group is being exploited by a given practice, you want to solve that by criminalizing the activities of the exploited party? That just seems odd; it's unclear how that is supposed to help. "Sorry, we're here to arrest you for getting exploited". What is the logic here?

For my own part, I think that sex work probably is exploitative most of the time, but I can't imagine that making it illegal and forcing it underground helps much with this. Sex work is still widely practiced even in places where it isn't legal, this much is obvious enough, and the illegality impedes effective strategies of combating exploitation such as unionization, which is an imperfect but extremely powerful tool, tried and true in a wide variety of industries.

I know that SWERFs resist comparisons of sex work to other industries, but their arguments mostly seem to focus on the idea that sex work is uniquely harmful to practitioners and never really seem to answer the substantive question of why the tools developed to combat exploitation in other industries should not be expected to be useful also to the sex worker. I think this is because they are guided by this feeling that all discussion of mitigating exploitation is small potatoes, since sex work is so harmful that it should not exist at all. But even if this is true, that is clearly not a feasible situation to bring about via criminalization, as the widespread practice of sex work even where it is illegal should make obvious! It's like these people are more interested in officially registering their viewpoint that "sex work should not exist" (giving it legal codification and therefore legitimacy) than they are in actually reducing real exploitation in the real world. For a comparison: I think heroin addiction should not exist, but I do not think that throwing heroin users in jail is probably the best way to achieve this, nor do I think that it constitutes particularly just treatment of said heroin users!

I guess this is the same conversation that the left has been having with the right about drug decriminalization and harm reduction for many years. You need to make an argument better than "this thing is bad, therefore it should be illegal". That's like, a child's understanding of how the law should work, it's more complicated than that.

Now I will say that I know that there exist people out there who do sex work and enjoy it, and do not consider themselves exploited, just as there exist drug users (although probably not heroin users) who enjoy it and either are not addicted or are addicted but view this as an acceptable trade-off. To these people I say that I do not have any interest in telling you how to run your lives, and if you genuinely do these things voluntarily I think that is fine and good. You are also my allies on this front. I think that very probably the majority of sex workers are exploited, and very probably the majority of hard drug users are trapped in a vicious cycle that they would be better off escaping from, and in policy discussions around these issues I think these concerns should take highest priority. Still, though, if you just have some deep passion for fucking people for money or whatever, a priori I desire a world in which you can do that; my discussion of sex work as something to which harm reduction is a reasonable sociopolitical approach should not be construed as opposition to your ends.

[theborzoiarebackintown]

What would be your advice to a prospective first time noodle horse human? I am looking to get a borzoi when I get my own place and wanted to ask your advice.

Woops idk how long this was sitting in my inbox but I missed it!!!

Okay I apologize if this becomes a novel. (It will)

First piece of advice, get a big ass yard, and strongly consider getting litter mates or two puppies around the same age. You’d be doing yourself a huge favor :P

Familiarize yourself with the breed’s health issues and decide what you’re okay with, because there isn’t a single line of borzoi anywhere that doesn’t have bloat or heart issues. There are levels to these health issues though. Some heart issues can seem scary but dogs live to old ages with them with no problems. Sudden death is the big bad, but isn’t as prevalent as some would have you believe. Every borzoi alive has relatives with bloat. Direct relatives (parents, siblings, I consider parent’s littermates direct as well) bloating are the riskiest, and multiple direct relatives is probably something to avoid. There’s a certain subjectiveness to all this as well, many people may not agree with what I consider okay and vice versa, so do your research and decide what YOU find acceptable.

A breeder with dogs/lines that have health issues isn’t inherently irresponsible at all, it’s what they’re doing to try and mitigate those issues that matters. It’s important to remember a lot of the testing we have now wasn’t available even 10 years ago, and a lot of people breeding borzoi have been doing it for 20-30+ years. They have generations upon generations of dogs bred long before echos, holters, or DM tests, were a thing, and have to balance pedigrees with health and structure. Don’t get caught up in what the internet says responsible breeding is, there isn’t a magical list of good or bad and every breed is different.

A breeder can also do all the health testing required by the OFA and not be responsible at all, health testing doesn’t mean they’re making responsible choices with the information that testing provides. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Don’t do a co-own. I have tried and failed at co-owns with people I thought I could trust, but words are free and anyone can present themselves however they want and flip the script at any time.

Have patience!! Start following kennels and learning structure now. The longer you look at borzoi and the more you learn, the more you’ll know what style of dog you want. The dogs I started out liking when I was brand new are NOT the style of dogs I enjoy today. Understand that borzoi are a rare breed and getting rarer, but pet homes are incredibly important to most breeders and if you’re an appropriate home they’ll want to place a dog with you.

Coursing ability in borzoi is an absolute crap shoot and anyone who tells you differently doesn’t know shit. You can breed the top two coursing dogs alive and get zero puppies that’ll course. That being said, there are definitely show lines that do zero coursing and like what even is the point then lol but a lack of a field championship isn’t much of a negative in my book. If you want a dog that consistently courses, get a whippet. It’s even normal for borzoi that can and do course to not get their field championships. It’s very common for them to learn the game and start cheating, and be unable to finish. Bastards. So my advice is don’t get hung up about it I guess.

Uhhh what else umm Ivanhoe is a BYB even though to a normal dog person they seem pretty good, even titling their dogs in conf. these days.

You can spend lots of time with borzoi but you won’t know what they’re really like until you live with one. They’re hard to describe. Like every breed, there’s a range of appropriate temperaments. They should be quietly confident, neither overbearing or shy. I’ve found the average borzoi will seek out attention from strangers without forcing themselves on anyone, but it’s not rare for them to be aloof and not care about other people at all.

They communicate subtly, and it’s really important to approach borzoi with a patient, but firm, hand. They’re not necessarily soft, but normal temperaments won’t tolerate harsh treatment. They WILL hold a grudge and can absolutely sulk and pout lol They need consistently enforced boundaries but usually a stern tone is enough to communicate they shouldn’t be doing something. On rare occasion they will need a strong correction, but usually only once rofl oh something a lot of people don’t talk about is most males go through an asshole phase around 18 months and you need to be ready to nip that shit in the bud. I’ve seen males ruined because their owners didn’t work through it with them appropriately. They basically need you to take the lead, and prove you’ve got their back and they don’t need to be a jerk to protect themselves. Clear communication and consistent positive public outings are key 👍🏻 (that doesn’t mean every outing must be incident free, but that you work through any shitty behavior and set behavioral expectations while showing them nothing bad is ultimately going to happen)

They’re somewhere between a cat and a “normal” dog temperament, and I consider them to be primitive breed adjacent. A lot of people don’t get them, and don’t take the time to learn how they talk. A lot of people find them flat and lacking personality, but I find those are the same people who don’t have the patience to really learn their language.

Is any of this good advice??? Rofl good luck!!! I’m willing to discuss individual breeders privately, so feel free to DM.

[actualmermaid]

It's been three months since I made this post about Saints Sergius and Bacchus, John Boswell, classical Western homoeroticism, and Christian homophobia.

Since then I have read both of Boswell's books on the history of gay/queer people in premodern Christianity (Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality and Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe), familiarized myself more fully with the spectrum of charges against Boswell and his scholarship, and realized that he's been the subject of ideologically-motivated smear campaigns by just about every political/religious/academic faction you can imagine. My conclusion: Professor Boswell is a saint, martyr, and important queer elder who does not get the respect that he deserves, and I'm in awe of the sheer volume of the massive genius brain that was somehow crammed into his little blond head.

ANYWAY. This is an official followup to my original post, now that I've read Boswell's work.

I take back my hunch that Boswell's work was not intersectional. He was, in fact, a pioneer in the field of medieval social history, and utilized a wide range of critical lenses in his work. He was inhibited by the lack of documented evidence about some groups (for example, he was frequently criticized for not writing more about lesbians, but he was open about the difficulties of researching lesbians in history and explained what he was doing as a scholar and as a teacher to mitigate this) but he constantly called attention to issues of class, gender, and other social factors wherever they were relevant.

I was RIGHT in noticing that the slight difference in rank between Sergius and Bacchus seems to be an erastes/eromenos indicator! Boswell spoke at greater length and with greater sensitivity about erastes/eromenos dynamics in history, so if you want a deeper look into that, you should read his books.

I was also probably right in noticing that the legend of Sergius and Bacchus is seeded with various forms of Byzantine propaganda! I really wish that I could talk to him about it. :(

Both secular queer theorists and religious queer theologians seem to be most uncomfortable with the fact that Boswell was reporting on historical facts and observable social forces, not idealized concepts of queer people as somehow being more ethical or spiritual than the straight majority. He included evidence of things like abuse, prostitution, and exploitation not because he thought they were cool, but because they were part of the material reality of queer people's existence in the past, just like they were part of the material reality of his own 70s-80s gay subculture.

That was his bottom line: gay/queer people are a normal human variation, and as a historian, he could provide hard proof of their existence and what their lives might have been like. If his work seems "shallow" or "dated" to some more modern queer researchers, it's only because so many people were willing to dismiss his scholarship, reject his work, and abandon his research leads after he died. But, he was actually super smart and his scholarship was actually meticulous, so even his most dedicated critics have been unable to "debunk" him. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality most recently had a 35th-anniversary reprinting, and he is still being cited as an authority by more recent scholars.

Even though the full strength of the Church and the Academy were leveled against him, his work has proven its own worth. He still deserves to be read and discussed by both professional scholars and enthusiastic hobbyists. And, the Open and Affirming movement in Christianity wouldn't be as strong as it is without his confirmation that "gays and lesbians are normal," as he put it, and not simply a construct of modern society.

Rest in power, Professor Boswell. We won't forget you.

Since I made that post, I have also opened a sticker shop with a bunch of queer Christian saint icons, including Boswell and some of the queer saints he discovered/wrote about. They're pretty cool. You should buy one.

[flame-of-tar-valon]

ok so santa's elves aside, i would love a review of in from the cold from you

Short answer: I loved "In from the Cold" (for what it was)! I only wish it were a longer section of the game.

Medium answer:

I am completely neutral about "In from the Cold". Thinking about it in the context of your ask generated a whole list of complaints in my head, but almost none of them are actually about "In from the Cold" itself, and I can't blame "In from the Cold" for the issues of the template-based expansion development structure. But it does show the cracks in the formula where Endwalker is concerned.

Endwalker in particular needed to deliver on two fronts: it had to geographically tie up the loose ends that were constantly alluded to in past expansions from ARR onward, and it had to conclude the story on a cosmological level that surpassed what Shadowbringers accomplished. The Garlemald arc succeeds at the former; the fight against Zodiark accomplishes the latter. "In from the Cold" does its job to transition between these points.

I would even argue that "In from the Cold" does an amazing job at selling a few important story beats that the game needs you to pick up on. It brings the Garlemald arc, in a story sense, back to Zenos and Fandaniel; in a gameplay sense, it breaks from the slower and trudging (I've compared it to siege-based) feeling of the Garlemald arc in order to build tempo heading into the Tower of Babil. The gameplay is clunky, and I disagree that the clunkiness is intentionally supposed to be frustrating for the player. It's just meant to force the player to interact with the gameplay in a different way than usual. It's definitely subjective how well the gameplay is executed, but I'm willing to forgive it. I thought it was engaging.

However, Garlemald (as a zone) only gets so much screentime, and most of it is devoted to the incredibly-executed "find and rescue survivors!" arc. That means that the cutscenes surrounding "In from the Cold" feel a bit rushed as a transition. That could have been mitigated if Garlemald had been a larger section of Endwalker's story, but they had to shove Sharlayan and Thavnair in as well, which means none of these regions feel adequately fleshed out. Garlemald is the best of the three (so far!), though. I don't think "In from the Cold" contributed any positive points to my assessment of the arc, but it didn't detract, either. Therefore, I am, essentially, of a neutral opinion about it.

Long Answer: The FFXIV Formula and its Failings

Overview

"In from the Cold" is ok. I liked it as a duty with cutscenes. I'm neutral on it as a part of the Garlemald arc of Endwalker. I'm... discontented with its place in the broad scope of Final Fantasy XIV. It feels like a vestige of something that was supposed to be something else. Or somewhere else. Or somewhen else. The more I dwell on it, the more negative I become. So maybe I should really go with my immediate gut reaction and say it's great! Maybe I just didn't like the santa's elves arc so it looks better by comparison. Or maybe I didn't like the santa's elves arc which is making me really negative today! Who knows? Either way, dwelling on my opinion has brought up an urge to complain, so I'm going to try to be objective about things and break it down into analytical points.

Before I can fully give my thoughts on "In from the Cold" and the ways it either contributes to or detracts from my enjoyment of the Garlemald arc, I need to establish a baseline: what is such an arc, how does it function in terms of a typical formula, and what factors contribute to my enjoyment of story arcs across various expansions? This may not be a typical response to "In from the Cold," but for me I can't help myself from noticing story in everything. The unique gameplay features during the solo duty will also be addressed below, but if you were hoping for an in-depth (or even surface-level, tbh) answer about how the gameplay felt, I apologize in advance. I think of gameplay moreso in how it contributes to the cinema of the storytelling experience.

Ahem. Anyway. Something that never escapes my notice in games with content released intermittently is the way different releases either adhere to or abandon old design philosophies. I've complained at length about this in regards to the music composition for the various expansions. (Why do Sharlayan and Radz-at-Han share the same theme?! No, it's not because they're the only two locations where the Final Days are going to be relevant; that's stupid.) Everything about the game has changed dramatically since the ARR days. Back in ARR there were a lot of comparatively smaller and irregularly-shaped zones with ill-defined level boundaries, inconsistent dungeon/trial pacing, and a whole host of other issues that itch at me to no end.

From Heavensward onward, these things have been standardized. Each expansion has six zones included in it, all of which are large and typically conform to the rough shape of a square. These zones frequently consist of a single level range, or they might have a geographical split between two different level ranges, meant to be accessed at two different points in the story. Each base expansion includes 5 or 6 mandatory dungeons and 3 mandatory trials: a dungeon at every odd number level, plus one at the level cap; a trial at the levels ending in 3 and 7-9, plus one at the level cap. In this way, an expansion can roughly be divided up into six segments, typically every two levels.

Ideally, these segments slot fairly easily into what can be thought of as three discrete "story arcs" -- but perhaps that's naive idealism on my part. I am not, by and large, someone who dislikes things being formulaic. I'm incredibly formula-minded. My entire outline for HtGHA is based off of a very formulaic template that I repeat for each of my protagonists. But before you think this means I won't complain, think again. The only person more likely to complain about formulas than a formula hater? That's right: a formula fanatic.

So what is this formula, anyway?

Level X0-X1: Beginning with a split-path choice that lets you see part of two different zones, the paths reconverge before the mandatory first dungeon. In HW, Dusk Vigil is optional, to the detriment of the early story. (I feel like one drawback of Heavensward's story is the fact that ARR and post-ARR both have substantial Coerthas arcs, but that's a topic for later.) Ideally, the split path shows two substantially different settings and tones that the expansion will take. FFXIV perfected this step with Shadowbringers.

Level X2-X3: A new zone is accessed, usually as an intermediary point in between the start and the mid-objective: Dravania lies between Ishgard and Hraesvelgr; the Ruby Sea separates Kugane from Yugiri and Hien. ShB is a chain of Lightwardens, so Il Mheg isn't that special as an intermediary point, but it still is one, so. Yeah. The trial here is usually just a relevant but not-actually-that-special combat from the journey; Endwalker is unique by comparison. In Endwalker, this trial is unambiguously the end of the first Act. I talk more about how Garlemald functions in Endwalker's story down below. Overall, I think Garlemald is the best execution of this part of the formula.

Level X4-X5: The party arrives at the zone and works on the quest that secures their initial, mid-objective. This generally feels like the midway point, the meat of the expansion: Churning Mists, Yanxia, Rak'tika -- things are serious, the task is a committed one, lore is being revealed, but the pace is slow, plodding, trundling along. Typically this is one of the bleakest sections of the story. I feel like this was best executed in Heavensward -- the Churning Mists was HW's strongest arc, and Rak'tika was on the weaker end in ShB. Note: I just finished the Mare Lamentorum arc entirely, but have not made it to the level 85 dungeon yet, so I will only be discussing up to the quest "Returning Home".

Level X6-X7: The previous progress in the midgame has been insufficient, in a variety of ways: in HW, the vaccuum post-Aery has created fertile ground for unrest leading to The Vault, and true motives are slowly revealed. In SB, the momentum post-Bardam leads up to the crowning achievement of Doma Castle. In ShB, the steadily worsening Light Corruption and the now explicit war against Eulmore lead to the conflict with Ran'jit and Ryne's transformation. Frustratingly, the level X7 trials in HW and SB are not related to this at all; after the turning points of The Vault and Doma Castle, these trials are just primals in other zones unrelated. ShB moves the second trial to level 79 instead of 77, imo to the detriment of the pacing of late-ShB -- but that's a topic for another time. There's bits and pieces I like from each expansion here, but also bits and pieces I don't like. I would probably give this one to Shadowbringers by default.

Level X8-X9: Now solidly in the final act, the party has witnessed what stands between them and the end goal, and must complete one final detour to get to this end location. This is usually a "seeing the theme of the expansion from a different perspective" detour: While I don't think the Dravanian Hinterlands were used to their full potential due to the patchwork nature of HW's storytelling, the inspiration is clearly there. I think the one I like best here is Stormblood's march through the Peaks (and the Lochs) of Ala Mhigo. In this case, it feels less like "one final detour" and more like a slow, determined march towards the city itself.

Level X9-X0: Yes, level X9 is on there twice. That's because most of the time, this final zone lingers at the penultimate level for longer than it feels like it should. But this isn't "Dravanian Hinterlands" level 59, this is Azys Lla! This isn't "Mt. Gulg" level 79, it's the Tempest! It's Amaurot! Earlier expansions were really afraid of making substantial chunks of the MSQ require level cap. These zones usually feel distinctly otherworldly. They are (usually) completely thematically divorced from more mundane areas. Mor Dhona falls into a similar category for ARR. SB doesn't get one: the Lochs may be epic, but it's too natural.

Problems with the Formula: Zones and Geography

So, each expansion adds six zones. No problem. But how are these zones divided? Each expansion takes a different view of how the geography for the new content should be laid out.

For the most part, Heavensward is the most similar to ARR in terms of geography. Both are locked to Eorzea (unless you don't count floating islands, in which case half of Heavensward is not, in fact, locked to Eorzea). ARR explores zones in La Noscea, the Black Shroud, Thanalan, Coerthas, and Mor Dhona. Heavensward explores more of Coerthas, then Dravania, and chains of floating islands across Dravania and Abalathia's Spine. The final section, Azys Lla -- like Mor Dhona, the final section of ARR -- is teeming with Allagan, Garlean, and Ascian obstructions to eliminate. It is very visually and tonally different from the rest of Heavensward, but it ties the themes of war between dragon and man back to the Allag-Meracydian war.

Heavensward's immediate successor, Stormblood, takes a different route entirely and situates half of its zones in Gyr Abania, and the other half in the Far East. Here's where that works well: Stormblood makes a big point about parallel suffering of the conquered lands under Garlean dominion. Ala Mhigo has been haunting the narrative since 1.0, and it deserves, imo, the bulk of attention here, lest Stormblood feel like it's focusing instead on an entirely new setting. However, the disconnect comes from the fact that the Far East is a lot more culturally and geographically distinctive than anything in the Gyr Abania zones we get to access. This means that at some point, the Ala Mhigo arc starts feeling repetitive and monochromatic. The East gets the nations of Hingashi, the Ruby Confederacy, Doma, and the tribes of the Steppe, while an equal amount of land in Gyr Abania is devoted to just former Ala Mhigo.

What's wrong with the proportions of focus these two regions get, you may ask? Well, nothing, really; it's just evidence of a shift in design philosophy. Everything in Heavensward covers an essentially contiguous area, while everything in Stormblood covers two such areas, separated by an enormous and logistically improbable distance. Stormblood marks the shift toward the global, extending the Scions' reach beyond Eorzea for the first time.

Looking back at Heavensward and Stormblood, I don't think all of the zones added are used to great effect in the storyline. Especially considering how other relevant nations that exist could have been incorporated. Sharlayan could have been added in Heavensward, as the Scions flee the ravages of the Bloody Banquet and seek safe harbor, or as a tie-in to the ruins left by their exodus from Dravania, or in any way to offer a sharp rebuke of war as pointless and barbaric during the expansion whose theme is the pointlessness and barbarity of war.

Stormblood could have featured Thavnair as a more interesting and more relevant pit stop than the Sirensong Sea, especially because Thavnair's neutrality toward Garlemald is a significant point in Hingashi. Stormblood could also have condensed the Fringes, Peaks, and Lochs into two zones, with the split path at the beginning being between, say, going through the Fringes (like normal) or to the coast of Werlyt. Either or both of these changes would shift the focus from pure geographical continuity on a small scale, to large scale geopolitical involvement and thematic focus on Garlemald.

Why Garlemald, though? The Garleans are the main antagonists on a tangible, geopolitical level throughout 1.0 and ARR (even while they're being manipulated around by Ascians), and, though largely absent from HW, they are central to SB. I don't think SB needs to feature actual Garlemald in order to be good -- but I think it needs to do more setup in advance of EW's Garlemald arc in order for "In from the Cold" to be good.

Zones and More Geography: How Norvrandt Changed Everything

Unlike Heavensward and Stormblood, Shadowbringers takes a macro level view of geography. Instead of saying, "Ok, here's two zones for Coerthas, two zones for Dravania, and three zones for the floating islands above the Coerthas-Dravania area," it says, "Here's an alternate universe. The equivalent for this northern region, which in Heavensward has enough land for a major city and several wilderness zones, is all shoved into one single zone with three aetherytes."

I used Coerthas/Il Mheg as the basis for comparison because that's the only Shadowbringers zone equivalent that was developed during an expansion following this formula. Of course, the Dravania analogue was consumed by the Flood of Light, so it's not completely accurate. But based on the drawn/painted maps, my point stands: the five zones of continental Norvrandt are extremely small. They are also very distant. Not as distant as Kugane and Rhalgr's Reach -- Norvrandt is still just a reflection of the continent of Eorzea -- but travel time on the First is not something that the story reflects on the nitty-gritty.

And what a difference it makes! In Heavensward, the substantial middle portion of the story focused on the Alphinaud-Estinien-Ysayle road trip to talk to Hraesvelgr and/or slay Nidhogg. The road trip only took the party across two zones, the Dravanian Forelands and the Churning Mists, and yet even that was enough to carry the weight of travel, the sense of destination, and the uncomfortable truths of lands riven by war. Meanwhile, in Shadowbringers, every zone is its own dead end: there are no road trips through a zone. This goes hand in hand with the scope of the mission. This is no longer a small group on behalf of a city-state, nor a military alliance fighting an oppressive empire: this is a hero attempting to thwart a magical apocalypse.

This works for Shadowbringers for two reasons. The first is that these areas are reflections of zones the player is already familiar with. There is no required time to spend acclimating to the geographical environment of Amh Araeng. The player still needs to get to know the cultures there, of course, but even at a glance, its role as a blighted reflection of Thanalan is apparent. The second reason is that these zones are geographically contiguous, just on a larger scale. It just makes sense to go from Lakeland to Rak'tika. And, for the zone split choice at the beginning, it makes sense to choose between Kholusia and Amh Araeng -- they aren't too far apart.

This is where the geography of Endwalker falls apart for me. It reads like fanservice. The final* expansion of the original FFXIV plot arc revolving around Hydaelyn and Zodiark culminates here, and we haven't traveled to Sharlayan or Garlemald or Thavnair yet! Aaah! And, being of course beholden to the formula, that means three out of six zones must be mundane locations on the planet of Hydaelyn. Two of these have to be visited by the split-path arc at the very beginning. Not a whole lot of options there!

But on the other side of things, the power-scaling needs to continue at a logical pace. From saving the continent of Eorzea to liberating two-ish continents from colonial occupation and single-handedly shattering Garlemald's tenuous hegemony, where can our hero go? Why, to save an alternate world from an apocalypse! But since that wasn't the end, Endwalker needs to introduce a new threat: an existential, universal threat that predates the creation of the gods and the fall from Eden. Something so amazing that it takes the Warrior of Light to (as far as I've been spoiled; I could have the details slightly wrong) the extremely distant past before the creation of said gods, and to the edge of the universe itself.

I've heard a lot of really good things about Endwalker's story, so I'm going to assume that, post-santa's naughty elves and their lack of fashion sense, the pacing gets smoother and the story more cohesive. I don't have a problem with the disparate nature of these zones, all told. What I do have a problem with, though...

Breaking Down Endwalker: The Intro

...is the pacing at the start of Endwalker.

(Honestly, my problems with the pacing start in the 5.x patches, but dissecting that would make this exercise take even longer than the *checks clock* three hours I've already spent on this response.)

Now that tempering can be cured, surprise! Here's Fandaniel with an apocalyptic death wish! Here's some Telophoroi towers all around the world. Time to head to Sharlayan to ask them for help, because that sounds so logical, right? And of course then we have to be warped across the world to Thavnair, because that's incredibly relevant, isn't it?!

I don't have a problem with the branch split... in theory, and isolated from other context. What we see of Labyrinthos and Thavnair is only the first half; based on the levels of the FATEs in the unrevealed portions of the map I'm guessing we return to these locations for Level 78 and 75 respectively. That's all fine, I don't have a problem with it.

What I do have a problem with is the way the game is so blatantly including these regions because it has to. Having just finished the santa's workshop-ark arc, the thematic consistency between it and Labyrinthos is very clear. (Maybe too clear. Maybe a bit redundant.) And I'm definitely not saying they shouldn't have included Thavnair in the game. But the geopolitical situation going into Endwalker has been, up to this point, entirely predicated on Garlemald and its former colonies, its civil war, its tempered, its discontents.

There's way too much baggage with Garlemald to be summed up by one ice ambush, one high-stakes hostage situation, "In from the Cold", and the Garlemald Express.

In order for "In from the Cold" to shine, Endwalker needs to lead with Garlemald. Garlemald needs to be in the forefront of everyone's mind during at least one of the split path branches. The tough feelings about an incoming army, the nationalistic pride, the bitter survival, everything -- that all needs breathing room. It can't be condensed any further. I contend that "In from the Cold" needs breathing room as well for it to hit.

As a single solo instanced duty, with a fairly strict timer, there's not enough of a chance to linger on the impact of "In from the Cold." In some ways, that's a good thing. It's a sobering slap-to-the-face that, as important as siege tactics and emergency response and peace treaties and reparations are, there are more immediately pressing matters. It's presented as a tough choice -- you have to be the hero, because every second you waste feeds into Fandaniel's plans.

It also allows "In from the Cold" to conclude with little to no dwelling on material repercussions.

(Btw, my suggestion for what the new zone alongside Labyrinthos should be instead of Thavnair? Corvos. It's a Garlean colony, with a direct link to one of the more directionless-as-of-now Scions, situated near to Thavnair, and is considered as (one of) the ancestral homeland(s) of the Garlean people. It would be the perfect place to get a first view of the Garlean Empire's collapse from a more neutral or diplomatic point of view before heading to Garlemald proper.)

Ludonarrative Harmony: Why "In from the Cold" Works

So, my biggest critique for "In from the Cold" itself, which I have wasted several hours of my life not talking about yet, in favor of instead going on unnecessarily detailed tangents, is the lack of consequences in its aftermath.

These consequences stem from the fact that the Warrior of Light arrives just in time to prevent their Zenos-piloted body from harming their friends, and then Fandaniel says, "Alright, playtime's over, bye-bye! Catch me if you can!" and then you head to fight Anima and that's that.

The commands that are available to the Warrior of Light within the Garlean soldier's body are extremely limited. There is an attack buff, a defense buff, and a single melee combo button. Later, the player obtains medicine packs for healing.

This is a perfect encapsulation of the struggle that you are supposed to face in this moment. It's not supposed to be harder to win than other content, it's still supposed to be well-balanced. But winning vs losing is supposed to feel different. The win conditions have changed.

FFXIV as a game chassis isn't the best equipped for stealth or stealth-adjacent missions. Also, the lack of control over character building that the player has during these controlling-other-people scenes can be very disruptive. The system is a bit clunky and can be frustrating. I don't think that form of frustration is intended, and I disagree with the assessment I've seen in various places that this frustration is supposed to mirror the WoL's emotional state after the body swap.

But the point of the gameplay is to represent the cinematic challenges that the script is pointing to. So, what challenges are the gameplay mechanics trying to replicate?

By the time "In from the Cold" starts, the Warrior of Light has defused an extraordinarily tense political situation involving hostages with shock collars, an attempted ambush, suicide of an extreme nationalist, and begrudging acceptance of provisions by a tired, hungry, injured civilian populace thoroughly used to war as the only state of reality. This incredibly hard-fought peace deal was not without its losses -- yes, there are former veterans with pride who cannot conceive of their identity should they accept aid from the peoples they fought to enslave, but there are also sick children who would rather take their chances against megafauna than risk having their wounds tended by strangers they know only as an enemy invading force. There are precious few survivors anyway, so every life saved is worth noting here.

The Warrior of Light distributes warm soup, and suddenly the tower springs to life again with its tempering shockwaves. This peace was always precarious -- you were trying to save the few downtrodden who somehow escaped with their lives, and you put so much energy into that goal, ignoring all else, that the big picture threat remains unaddressed. You've treated symptoms but not the cause.

"In from the Cold" serves, first and foremost, as a chastisement of the Warrior of Light for being kind and thoughtful and doing tasks for people. FFXIV hammers home again and again, in every expansion, that the WoL is canonically the type of person who does tasks for others out of generosity and selflessness. Fandaniel has bought himself time doing nothing other than putting people who need help in your way and trusting you to stall.

So, why bother with the kidnapping and the body swap? Amusement. For himself and for Zenos. I don't have a good enough read on Fandaniel to break this apart just yet, but Zenos craves the hunt, not the butchery. He complains that the spark would be absent were the two of you to rematch now, since you've already bested him and think him beneath you. What's important here is that he's not upset that you think him beneath you, he's upset that you wouldn't be putting your all into the fight as a result. He's not trying to turn the tables in order to cut you down while you're weak -- he's trying to turn the tables so that you struggle and sweat and bleed and feel the feral desperation that drives the climax of any good fight in his eyes.

This is summed up, very well, by the crawling scene at the end of "In from the Cold."

So, what about everything in the middle? The parts where you have to avoid fighting whenever possible, scavenging for limited heals, using dilapidated warmachina just to buy yourself some time, allying with Garlean civilians fleeing for their lives who see you as nothing more than a faceless, nameless Garlean soldier? That's the part where I think the solo instanced duty fails to achieve all of its potential. The reason, in my opinion, is due to the time limit and the lack of checkpoints. This should be a slower section of the game in multiple segments, where progress feels slower but with less risk of immediately dying if you get spotted. It should feel more like a survival section than a stealth section.

As for consequences -- it doesn't have to be a "Zenos kills one (or more) of the Scions" level consequence. I would have enjoyed seeing a situation where you have to find, identify, and take care of the Garlean whose body you were possessing. Something where you have to go back and explain things to any of the surviving civilians from the fight. Anything that makes you recontextualize your actions in someone else's body against your own.

I think this scene especially should be longer and have more of an aftermath moment as a parallel to the other instances of Ascian possession in the game, and possibly even to Fandaniel hotwiring the vessel of Zodiark for his own ends.

Santa's Workshop: Why "In from the Cold" Doesn't Work

But if "In from the Cold" is the bridge between the Jullus arc and the Babil dungeon, the perfect parallel to the possession that happens at the moon, the scathing indictment of the WoL's predictable selflessness, and the view in the mirror of all the helplessness and hope driving the untamed beast that Zenos yearns for...

...then why does the game immediately have to jump to weird little mice and their carrots and their control complexes and subterfuge? Why does everyone suddenly have all the time in the world once Zodiark kicks the bucket? Why does Urianger think he's a model in that #toxicslutch outfit???

Tone shifts appear all over the place in FFXIV, this isn't the first time and won't be the last, I know. But the issue here isn't the tone shift, it's the excruciating slow-down of the tempo of the game. "In from the Cold" takes the plodding pace of a serious-but-bleak environment and ramps it up to a fevered beat, just for it all to die down?

Returning to the formula I discussed above, expansions usually take the form of three-or-so Acts, roughly split at each of the trials. This division would place the entire Garlemald segment squarely within the first Act. I don't think this works very well.

Why? Because of pacing. We've spent the first Act trying to convince heads of state to act, and then we led a global contingent to help aid the very nation that had put the entire world under threat of the sword. This is all rising action, this is all introductory, this is all the premise. That cinematic structure is only reinforced by Fandaniel's various threats urging us onward to the Tower of Babil, and, eventually, the Moon.

What this is missing and desperately needs is fallout. That's not me repeating my earlier comment that "In from the Cold" needs consequences -- I'm talking more broadly, the Garlemald arc needs to foreground what happens in the absence of the Telophoroi. And it needs to do so immediately. Maybe the MSQ does head back to Garlemald again at some point. But I know it doesn't do so on a large scale, because I've already unlocked the ability to fly there. And it definitely doesn't do so promptly.

Please don't misunderstand -- I absolutely don't think it all needs to be tied up with a bow. I also don't think Garlemald has to be the focus of the expansion to the exclusion of everything else. But the reason "In from the Cold" doesn't work (or, perhaps more accurately, the reason Endwalker isn't shaped well enough to contain "In from the Cold") is that it is a fierce crescendo leading immediately to being shunted off-world. The action is interrupted in a very unsatisfying way for the reader.

I think, based on my tentative analysis of typical expansion story arc segments, that it would be possible to rearrange things to give "In from the Cold" the resolution it deserves. But I'm going to save that sort of thing for when I've actually finished Endwalker.

So, Is It Good? What's Your Review?

Mmm, yeah, it was enjoyable. The gameplay was a little clunky but nothing prohibitive. And it felt inventive enough to keep me engaged without being too foreign or immersion-breaking due to grappling with the controls.

My brother also says that it was fine.

It definitely didn't steal the show, though. The Garlemald arc is #1 in my book entirely because of putting Alphinaud and Alisaie through the horrors.

Now, I think I've been typing for about four and a half hours now and I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm too tired to edit this, so you'll forgive me if I ended up rambling on and on, or repeating the same two points with different wording and thought I was saying something new.

All opinions are my own. Despite superficial similarities to an essay, I actually didn't research anything for this except the geography of Dravania, Gyr Abania, Corvos, Sharlayan, Norvrandt, and many other things. All of the information I got was from one of the several publicly editable wikis about the game and could therefore potentially be inaccurate.

Ok that's all. Good night.

[fateinthestars]

Okay I'm hoping I'll have a very long fic to share with you all shortly but in the meantime I was just thinking on...

Which of the Gods would cope the most with falling from grace and no longer having access to their powers?

Thoughts (plus some spoilers for certain stories) under cut:

Tauxolouve : Let's get the one who actually tried that out of the way first. He was clearly having some trouble adjusting but he probably could have continued had it been necessary. The only problem would be, and as was proved in his route, was if MC ended up in danger he would feel like he was unable to protect her without them. Perhaps if it had happened and they weren't being pursued by another god then in time he would have learnt some form of human combat/self defence to mitigate that. As he was still clearly at odds with being a demigod at this point it's almost as though he's unsure he fits in either world anyway, which may give him an easier transition than some of the others. Though speaking of easier transitions...

Karno: Oh absolutely, no problem. He already hates how sometimes he can do nothing even though he has these almighty powers, at least without any access to them he can then do whatever he feels he can as a human to help, and he was perfectly happy to stay with MC at her apartment during his Promise of Infinity at the detriment to his own health... THAT SAID: Can you imagine Karno, someone who is already rather down on himself internally, no longer being able to hear what MC is wishing for? I think perhaps he might worry more over decisions if all he's got to go on is instinct, but he's still probably the best placed of the Zodiac Gods to live without powers. Which leads me onto...

Huedhaut: Whilst I'm sure he would do anything for MC, there is something that bugs me with Hue (and was what I was thinking on that made me decide to write this post): In Huedhaut's Fantasy story it seems like he can still at the very least summon alcohol with a snap of his fingers. So it's as though he can't quite fully let go of who he really is. That said, I feel like whilst Karno's overthinking would get worse, Hue's would get better - because of no longer being able to see the future, you'd no longer get issues like trying to avoid x because he thinks it'd to do with y when it's really z like in one of his White Day stories.

Leon: Don't be stupid. He'd not give up being a god unless he was forced to. He'd rather overthrow all of the heavens then be a goldfish. If we're talking about the Leon that is in a relationship with MC though... well lets say finding a way to disable his powers to hide them from someone was necessary... I think he'd do that. If they were just subdued rather than gone completely, he could access them if they ended up in trouble. Actually fall from grace though? I'm not sure how many meatballs MC would have to cook before he stops sulking! Talking of sulking...

Teorus: I'm sure he'd find things less stressful without having to control time but he's one of the gods who seems to simply use his powers to try to fix things without thinking. He does at least apparently have a lot of interest in the Earth so he should know more about some stuff compared to the others, and he did show in one of his epilogues that he can actually fight someone off without using powers, but as he had no qualms about summoning a giant potato in front of other people for example, he's going to be one of the hardest to get out of the habit of snapping his fingers and expecting something to happen I think. And I'm also not sure what this would do to his already terrible sense of direction. (Hey do you think Teo ever gets so lost he activates his time freeze power to try and avoid being late for something?). Also, you remember his reaction to the mere thought that MC would die one day? Imagine if that was himself...

Aigonorus: Aigo is probably the closest to Karno, at least in Wishes, of not actually needing powers at all (Plus his original reaction in his Promise of Infinity was immediately to say 'I'll become human then' without even thinking about it and the implications of it), but... Aigo can take things a little too literally and he may well be the one that would struggle the most to understand how humans do things and why. He may also be put off by how much effort some stuff is - as a god he could just snap his fingers to clean his clothes off, now he has to get changed, put them in a weird machine, wait ages, and then when they come out they're all wet? I'm also not sure whether his habit of sleeping would get better or worse as a human. As a god he technically doesn't need to do it but as a human he would: I dunno, I guess I'm just a little concerned he could sleep for a whole day straight and wake up and wonder why he's hungry...

Zyglavis: Well we know the Minister of Punishments was one of the last gods to leave the Earth, so he should at least be familiar with some things (see how he knows all the rules of French fine dining in his Heavenly Pleasures story for example) and you see in stories such as Sweet & Spicy that he is careful not to use his powers in front of humans and would rather walk over to a vending machine to fetch MC a drink than risk summoning one (which even Karno would have done the opposite of). I think possibly more the issue with Zyglavis than adapting to life without powers would be that it would probably take a long time for him to stop fretting about how things were going in the heavens without him - plus I'd also imagine if there was a crime being committed in front of him, he wouldn't be able to stand back or even just call the police, he'd try and stop it somehow, which could potentially put him in danger. Which leads me onto the other point: There's several stories where he himself in his Point of View knows that he cares about MC to the point of overprotectiveness. If they are together one of his main concerns about no longer having powers will be how best to keep her safe.

Scorpio: Scorpio already has experience of being a human of course, though not in a nice way and he also wanted to forget all of it. Even without that, though, if you look at his fantasy story whilst he is still working in Punishments and as such must have his powers, his fantasy seems to be to have a normal life, in a normal home, with MC, on Earth. There's also a story where he fetches a glass of water normally and MC is surprised he didn't use his powers and he gets all embarrassed because he didn't even think of doing that. So I think he probably could adjust to life on Earth, though he may find certain things a struggle like Lou was at first.

Krioff: The only other one (other than Aigo) where it is bought up about becoming human instead of MC becoming a goddess in his Promise of Infinity, though they of course decide against it, Krioff probably wouldn't mind the lack of powers. For a start it would stop any worries about how overpowering his fire ability can be. That said, like Aigo, he's a bit too literal at times and as he got concerned about 'the box with little people in it' and thought MC was trying to prank him when a box of ice cream fell out of the freezer... despite his interest in watching Earth and having Earth magazines due to his sister, his knowledge of appliances at least doesn't seem to be there. He probably could make the effort to learn though, and he's already shown he can follow instructions extremely easily as in Scorpio's To the Victor Goes the Spoils story he is an excellent cook simply by following a book.

Dui: Dui is the one where we've seen stories where he actually wants 'human dates' with MC where he doesn't use his powers for any reason whatsoever. He'd probably be able to make the adjustment pretty well, though his other side might be a bit impatient with how long some things would then take: Who actually might be Dui's main concern - if he fell from grace a) would Shadow Dui actually still be there and b) if he was, how would other humans react to the fact his personality can switch (even if it is now a more conscious choice if we're talking Dui when he's with MC near the end of his route).

Ichthys: I'm sure Ichthys could switch to human style pranks with relative ease but I'm unsure how he'd feel without being able to rely on powers at all. As he's the one of the twelve who is already mortal, the thought of death isn't going to worry him so much, but you see the way he would rather make people happy than think about the logical consequences... with his powers when someone got hurt that he cared about he'd heal them despite knowing what that did to his health... can you imagine how he'd feel if MC got injured somehow and there was nothing he could do to help? Also his lack of wanting to read and his impulsiveness to try things straight away I could envision causing problems. He could probably accidentally flood the apartment, worry about what MC would think, try to cover it up... think that he was right to be worried because of the look she gives him when she finds out even though she's not annoyed about the accident but annoyed that Ichthys didn't just tell her in the first place, and he'd probably hide just how hard he is finding it to adjust until he's got himself in such a mess that MC ends up making a wish so that Teorus can appear and try to calm him down. Though once that has happened, perhaps he will be a little more hesitant to try things immediately and let MC tell him how to use certain human appliances - because I'm sure he'd rather listen to instruction then try to read information.

Partheno: I've left Partheno until last because I'm not sure how he'd react cos technically he's already had experience of not having god powers at all - instead he had demonic ones. I'd imagine as someone abandoned by the underrealm and never really feeling accepted in the heavens, he already feels like he doesn't belong anywhere, which may be a positive or a negative for trying the Earth - on the one hand would he really want to try a third world, but on the other would it give him more of a fresh start than staying in the Heavens would? Imagine if at the end of his Main Story the King of the Heavens had given him a choice to become a god or become a human rather than just immediately making him a god, would he have taken the latter? At that point MC was the only person who he could know for sure had been treating him the way she viewed him because his demonic powers didn't work on her, so I could potentially see the appeal of starting completely afresh, especially as there are a lot of negative memories in the heavens, but he's also going to have the inner-turmoil that Tauxolouve would have in that not only does he not feel like he fits anywhere but if he tried to start afresh as a human what if the underworld became active again? What could he do to stop that? And if any of the gods he had wronged in the past managed to find him, they could try to get at him through MC as per later in his route and without powers that might be a big problem. On the other hand he seems one of the more intelligent at times and would probably be able to work out appliances given time.

I'm not really sure what this ramble is and no doubt I've forgotten something without going and re-reading stories but hopefully this somehow makes sense and is interesting. 😅

I shall attempt to order who I think would cope with falling from grace from most to least here:

Karno

Scorpio

Tauxolouve

Zyglavis

Dui

Huedhaut

Ichthys

Aigonorus

Krioff

Partheno

Teorus

Leon

I reckon Hue goes right in the middle because whilst he seems to keep his powers to a certain extent in fantasies, and it is said that he uses teleporting whilst on dates with MC, he is also willing to take the train with her if she asks and he has far more patience than a lot of the gods and would be willing to just sit and read if there is something he does not understand. Plus, he has more knowledge of Earth and its events and history compared to most of the others.

Karno is the obvious top of the list whilst the other Wishes' Minister is the obvious bottom of the list - the rest can kind of move around a little, and at least some of them are probably dependent on where they are in their routes as well.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Do you have any advice for someone who has most of an archaeology degree, but following some health problems during covid foricng me to withdraw from some classes, I didn't meet pace of progress and lost my financial aid and now owe my university $13k for the semester i didn't complete. I'm a 3.8gpa student and was deans list, but I have an enrolment and transcript hold until I pay them back. I will never have $13k at my disposal to pay that off without haivng my degree to make me employable, so I'm not sure how I can ever go back and finish my degree.

Do you have any advice for how someone in my position should proceed? I thought about merit based financial aid/scholarships with my high gpa, but I've never had any success finding those.

This is a tough one, since I don't really have any direct experience with a similar situation. If anyone has specific advice, please let me know.

Education loans/debt are special legal creatures, and perhaps the most important thing you can do is educate yourself on the legalities of your particular situation and what options are available to you. Here's a page I found that talks about the legal precedents for certain types of education loans. From what little I understand, the school is not looking for you to pay the $13k back all at once. There may be payment plans or settlements available to you.

The first thing that comes to mind is to contact your school's ombudsman. This is an office whose single purpose is to help students navigate institutional bureaucracy and pursue grievances against the institution. They are probably the best bet for finding ways to mitigate this debt, set up options for payment, etc.

Similarly, I would recommend making an appointment to talk with someone in the financial aid department if you haven't already. It might be painful and embarrassing, but I can guarantee you that you aren't the first person who has had this exact issue, and you won't be the last. They might also be able to help you navigate ways to deal with this debt.

Some schools have policies that if you have to withdraw for health reasons before X point in the semester, you can get your tuition refunded. This is what my family was able to do when I had to drop out during my sophomore year. Whether that would be an option for you depends 1) on your school, and 2) on if you have to apply for that forgiveness within a certain window. Still worth a shot though—this is something you can ask the ombudsman about.

If you were registered with your school's disability services (provided that you're in the US, which is where my experience comes from) before you had to withdraw, they may also be able to help you advocate for yourself based on having a disability. If this is something that applies to you, it's possible that you have some protections based on the ADA, although this will depend on the nature of your financial aid, and whether you were registered beforehand. Accommodations are not retroactive.

Finally, I hate to say it, but working in archaeology—with or without a college degree—is going to make it difficult to pay off these loans. Entry level archaeology jobs pay notoriously poorly, and other positions generally require some sort of postgraduate degree. You are employable without a degree, but it may not be in your chosen field. That's shitty news, I know, but it's something you need to consider in order to start dealing with this.

Best of luck, -Reid