#anyway that's a topic for another time

[seventh-district]

Making Incorrect H:SR Quotes Until I Run Out of (hopefully) Original Ideas - Pt. 4 - Nuthin' but Boothill Edition

[Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] [Pt. 5] [Pt. 6]

[avocado62524]

[tei-to-tei]

December 9 - Solidarity (The Accidental Sequel)

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ...

[themyscirah]

Complaining abt Suicide Squad yet again but the fact that they have Waller exposing the alien community to space racist attacks and talking abt how she got to her position through deceit and being a terrible person and stuff is just. Ahsfiwueh JUST SAY YOU DONT KNOW WALLER.

Anyways literally the 3rd mission of the Squad ever (and the first framed as smth Waller picked and not orders from above) was the Squad discrediting and stopping a rogue vigilante who was only arresting POC and funneling white people into white supremacy groups (of which he was the most prominent member) in SUICIDE SQUAD #4. and it's explicitly framed as this mission being personal for Waller that she's hiding from the government bc its illegal like. Guys. Please why are we having her incite (space bc comics) racist attacks now

Also the whole "Amanda got her position through deceit and being a terrible person" NO. she KEPT her position through being shitty and playing complicated political games!!! She wasn't always that way like there is a difference and it is IMPORTANT ppl PLEASEEEE. In Secret Origins #14 we learn Amanda's backstory and she used to be a normal, caring person! Like even after she entered into working in government and politics she wasn't automatically morally bankrupt like please people. She was originally given control of the Squad by Reagan (*sigh* 80s comics...) to distract and get rid of her because she was so successful at pushing progressive social policy in Congress. Acting like she's this static pillar of evil is such a waste of her character and so fucking uninteresting and disrespectful to her arc it drives me MAD.

Like I am NOT saying Waller is all sunshine and rainbows, she fucking SUCKS (said w love <3) but like there's a human being there. It's a progression, she has a character arc like please, DC, please!!! They've fucked up Waller so bad and made her so opaque and uninteresting she can't even be the protagonist of her own story for fucks sake!

Like I don't know how many times I have to scream it until DC hears me or remembers but WALLER IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF SUICIDE SQUAD. ITS HER BOOK. yet right now she's a cutout to be used as the villain wherever the writers please. Even in her book we get none of her perspective really displayed, no exploration of her thoughts with any kind of understanding of the role she traditionally has played and was made to play in the story.

[mourn-and-watch]

i know that aveline's condolences scene is supposed to be about understanding of other's grief but oh boy does it feel completely utterly wrong when you remember how she has treated the white lillies killer situation at the beginning of act 2 and how she just. never mentiones it if hawke doesn't call her out. and if they do her only response is "well people always blame the guard".

i believe she's genuine when she tries to comfort hawke by relating to their pain and telling about her father and how he died and how she'll miss leandra too but. the thing is. she knew about these murders as the captain of the guard and even asked hawke to help her with this. by shutting the guy who tried to investigate it up. because he talked nonsense. or did he.

hawke feels like shit and is consumed by guilt because they couldn't save their mother but aveline kinda should share the sentiment. there was a serial killer in the city and she did absolutely nothing to stop him and gave up on investigation because all of it seemed random and therefore couldn't be solved. it was literally her job but she decided not to act on it. consciously. so people died and if that wasn't enough, her friend's mother died, horribly too. is there really nothing to be said besides "well my father died too you know. it's okay to grieve. take your time" or "well the guard can't save everyone. blame the killer not me"

[noirandchocolate]

I mentioned my Master Kohga's father in tags on another post, so now this post is my headcanons about how succession to the position of Master works in the Yiga Clan.

The short answer is, it's inherited, but it isn't automatic/doesn't have to be.

The Clan is not a monarchy (ewww, they would say!), and while they do have great "allegiance to their Master" according to Creating a Champion, the Master isn't thought of as a ruler. (I also do not hc that the Yiga are a "cult," and mine are certainly not a cult where they worship Master Kohga (either the specific guy in AoC/BotW/TotK or the "Master" as a concept/post held by many.)) They absolutely do not believe in a divine right to rule (that's stupid annoying Hylian nonsense and one of the things they rebelled against in the first place), and they also don't think that simply because a person is the scion of the particular bloodline/family that currently holds the Master position, they must necessarily be the best candidate for the job. I dunno, I just really don't think that a group that formed in opposition to an oppressive monarchy that betrayed them would keep a family in power forever in a similar monarchical system just because they're that family, or would let someone keep the position indefinitely if that person was genuinely horrifyingly bad at the job.

That said, the Master also can't be said to truly be a "first among equals" or "democratic"-type position. The Clan does treat its Masters special. They follow them, they protect them especially, they'll do their bidding loyally according to each leader's personal style (some like to be pampered--*coughcurrentKohgacough*--while others are more austere--currentKohga's father's mother's father for example). A Master Kohga expects orders to be followed. They ("Master" is a gender-neutral term and position) have a Right Hand and certainly take advice from others within the Clan, but ultimately they hold the final say on things, with all the power and all the responsibility that entails. Basically, what the Master says, goes.

Until it doesn't.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, ha! Better go back to the "usually inherited, but isn't automatic" part, because this post is about succession headcanons!

So, there typically will be a presumptive "heir" to the position and name of Master Kohga, and it is usually the current Master's first child. However, a subsequent kiddo might distinguish themself in a leadership/martial prowess/etc.kind of way and surpass their sibling into the heirship. If the Master doesn't have a child yet, the presumptive heir might be a sibling or other close relation. "Child" includes adopted kids, too, if that isn't obvious. Yiga children are raised communally, and it's considered a huge honor (/understatement of the century) if the Master thinks your kid is amazing enough to officially adopt and train to take over. A Master may also consider their Right Hand their heir. Nevertheless, traditionally it's the Master's first child, and barring one of these more unusual circumstances (and others I could go on listing--keep in mind the Clan has existed for 10,000 years), that's who'll be getting raised and trained up to take the position eventually.

Still, unlike with Hyrule's monarchy (and arguably most Earth monarchies), the Master position doesn't immediately pass to the heir upon the previous Master's death. As I said, there isn't some magical divine spark or quality that the Yiga believe transfers from one Master to the next. Instead, there is an interim period during which the Clan prepares for and holds funerary rites for the old Master and the heir...undertakes several trials and rituals to prove their worthiness for the position.

These include multiple types of challenges from hardcore meditation (as in, no food or water, very ascetic like the old Sheikah monks trained), to arcane skill demonstrations, to a trek up through the Highlands to retrieve a hidden object (somewhat similar to Blademaster candidates' journey to place bananas at the frog statues), to successfully leading a stealth raid on a Gerudo or Hylian settlement, to...well the big showy one is slaying a Molduga solo. That's the final test, a literal and symbolic showing that the heir is capable of protecting the Clan from even the biggest of natural threats. So, with all of that, it's not completely a given that the heir will succeed at becoming Master! Most do. They're raised for it, as I said. But they're not just handed the leadership role because they're a very special baby, like Hylian monarchs and nobles are. They earn it. Ultimately, what all of the tests show is that the heir is willing to go to great lengths of various types for the Clan--the underlying message beyond the shows of strength, fortitude and skill is "I do this because I am dedicated to all of you."

Once all those trials are complete, the now fully-realized heir is tattooed with a giant, red Inverted Eye on their back. (The upper "teardrop" starts at the base of the neck and from there the Eye spreads across the shoulders and back--it's big. And while most Yiga will have the Eye tattooed somewhere on their person, only the Master can have it, or any other tattoo for that matter, in red.) Their new mask is crafted, and unlike all other Yiga masks that are purely smoothed-down wood, the Master's mask has a thin overlay of bone--from the Molduga they defeated. Following that, there's an Ascension ceremony during which the title of Master and name of Kohga are officially conferred.

That's how it was with the current Master Kohga; his father was Master, he was the heir and (briefly) the Right Hand, he received all kinds of special training starting in childhood in addition to the usual martial arts stuff most Yiga learn, he completed all the trials, and he ascended to the position upon his dad's death just as expected. He "inherited the name Kohga" as stated in Creating a Champion, just like his father, grandmother, great-grandfather, and every other Master back to the very first Chief.*

Anyway, next for the "what the Master says goes until it doesn't" part I was cryptic about at the start of the post. You might think the kind of system I've described where the "heir" isn't always a Master's first child and that first child can be replaced etc., would cause just as much resentment and strife as a monarchy (I mean think of how many kings assassinated heirs to take their places irl). But again, the Clan is not a monarchy and they in fact have a formal method for those who want to assert a claim to the Master position against the heir.

As a culture, the Clan tends to be very much about maintaining internal peace because it's them against the whole rest of the world basically. So while sure, we see individual members in the games (TotK especially) complaining and having rivalries and being a lil' bitchy, ultimately they're quite cohesive and "ride or die" with each other and the group as a whole. So since the idea is to have a Master who will take care of and lead the Clan, a first child who'd rather do something else or who's a total klutz with a weapon is in most cases unlikely to be vendetta-level mad if their parent chooses their sibling as the heir. The fact that the heir doesn't have to be the Master's child at all also takes care of situations where a Master dies and their kid is still...a kid. A sibling to the deceased Master can step in and take the position, or someone else entirely can...okay here's the procedure.

The heir and even the Master can be Challenged.

Most instances of this happening occur in the above scenario: the old Master's chosen heir is still a child, and there's a sort of stylized "challenge" where that other relative or the Right Hand or someone else the Clan would agree is better than a literal ten-year-old (or whatever) to lead, declares their intent to take the tests instead and ascend to become Master. Less frequently, it can occur where the chosen heir is of-age but can't complete the requisite tests and someone else steps forward who can.

Least frequently, because as previously stated the Clan is pretty harmonious internally and generally loves its heirs and trusts its Masters' judgment, someone can Challenge the heir by attempting to undertake the tests as well. If both succeed, they will then battle it out. Not to the death! But to the defeat.

Similarly, at any time, anyone can attempt to Challenge a Master. This is incredibly rare, even across a history of 10,000 years. The Yiga are very loyal to their Masters! I was being clickbait-y with that ominous sentence before my readmore cut! However, they have the Challenge as a failsafe procedure for when a Master is, let us say...really shit at it. Acting like an utterly abusive despot, completely shirking all responsibility, repeatedly and unnecessarily/stupidly getting a lot of Clan members killed, that kind of thing. Generally a complete failure to the spirit of being a Master. The Challenge in that case consists not only of a battle, but also of a referendum in which all Clan members (anonymously) vote. If the challenger wins, they'll still have to undertake the trials to become Master. As I said, this is like, vanishingly uncommon, especially in more recent times.

For all that they're a bunch of shadowy assassins, the Clan prefers a peaceful transition of power because that kind of cohesion keeps them safest. The current Kohga's bloodline through his father has held the Master position for 800 years (keep in mind though, Sheikah-blooded folk live a long time), and his bloodline through his mother held it for several hundred before that. Still and all, every individual Master accepted the risk of the trials and the responsibility of the position. They've all been considered special, and been adored and waited on and obeyed by their Clan, but they all...

Well, one of our dear Best Guy Master Kohga's clearest, most impacting memories from his childhood is his Nana's final words to him and his father, on her deathbed:

"Go, and be Masters, my children. They will serve you, and they will love you, if you will serve them, and love them, and lead them."

As much as Kohga is theatrical, and hugely self-confident with a moon-sized ego, and loves napping and delegating chores...even with all of that window-dressing type sillygoofy personality stuff... He does care deeply for his Clan and his allegiance to everyone in it is just as great as their allegiance to him. As we see in AoC, when things get serious he will put his life on the line for them.

Just as expected of any great Master Kohga.

And he is certainly beloved for it.

[dixidin]

Me after hearing the outro to the amazing digital circus:

[thatcheeseycandle]

Okay I FINALLY FINISHED IT

No one knows who you are

They don't know you could never forget

You've got so much to regret

Soul of Steam - leo.

Anyways it took me awhile (due to other things I had to do) but I'm glad I finally FINALLY got to post something on time, so HAPPY 4/4 TO THE galloping sausage aka shooting star THE ICONIC NUMBER 4 HIMSELF!!

[happyendingsong]

fuck every other 5star prediction i need saya vs syuri in the semifinals to get footage for an olivia rodrigo obsessed amv

[icewindandboringhorror]

I have a big google doc thing where I keep track of media and stuff (putting everything in loosely ranked categories), which is mostly just for my own reference so I know what tv shows I've already seen before, etc. and I never really look back through it, typically just a quick "okay, watched two movie in the past 8 months, need to quickly slap them somewhere in the lists. okay. done. save document. exit". But today I was actually reading through some of the old notes and there are like... MULTIPLE places where my comment is basically "It would have been good if it were about elves" or "I wish there was a fantasy show made in this same style" or "It's well made, but I just keep thinking about how I would like it more if everyone was an elf or was in old 1700s costumes" or etc like...... lol.... Most biased media ranking system on earth blatantly made by someone with an extremely hyperspecific range of narrow interests. It'd be like if a food reviewer only had 5 foods they actually liked, so they'd just go to a pizza place and be like "eh, the pizza was okay, but I just think it would be better if it was cereal instead. :/ ...2 out of 10"

[vimbry]

"nanobots" the song is this deconstructed view of child development and parenthood where it's like, 'wow have you ever thought about how weird producing offspring is. like, it's weird, right! we make these little people and they quickly grow into their own individual personalities with their own lives and autonomy and I've lost all authority and there's so many and you've gotta be responsible for them all the time, what did I do !!!'

but as well as approaching it with this slightly overwhelmed perspective, there's a sort of affectionate optimism in there, too. that even tho the concept's intimidating, there's a sense of wonder in how humans develop and raising them and watching them grow up. hey this kid thing's fun actually, yeah I wish they'd leave me alone sometimes, but look at how cute and resilient they are look at what they can do. and then "replicant" is like jesus parenting a teenager is hard.

[festivalofthe12]

mannnnnnnn IDK if it's just because I never fully finished the manga myself (sorry everyone;;) but I just. don't. really understand how Akito being just another one of Tohru's friends is supposed to. work. in practice. with Yuki.

Not because Akito is an ~irredeemable person who never earned her redemption~ or whatever. People being good is good!!! If Akito is legitimately a better person now, that's awesome!!! And frankly I love stories where legitimate kindness breaks through to save people who are shitty but also deeply deeply sad!!!!!

But to most of the cast, Akito was a pretty distant enemy. Yes, she'd show up in person now and then to be chilling and mysterious, but her primary source of contention was Being God. The way she ran the family and the rules she set up around it. Other characters might have spent a lot of time seething at her, but mainly to blame her for indirectly causing things to happen in their lives. Apart from a very small number, most have never actually had much experience just... talking to her.

Which is not true for Yuki.

Yuki has spent more time with her than almost anybody. By the end of the manga, she's still probably the person he's spent the most time in contact with, total, over his life. He literally could not get away from being in the same physical space as her.

His reactions to Akito aren't based on him blaming her for what she did to the Sohma family. His reactions to Akito are based on a very simple 'if I can see her, things about about to get very bad very quickly for me personally.'

At that point, it's not even really about whether he blames or forgives her, or what he thinks she 'deserves'. It is an immediate anxiety (let's be real: PTSD) trigger. It's neither conscious nor logical. He spent endless amounts of time waiting with horror for her to show up, unable to know or control when that would happen, and then having that horror fully justified. He was trained on it, endlessly.

I fully believe that Yuki would want to trust Tohru and respect her friendship with Akito and believe that everything has changed and it's all good now. But I just can't see him being him able to actually... act on that. In practice.

He never even really properly got to process it. Ayame did the classic oblivious parent thing of trying to override Yuki's negative emotions with happy ones before he was actually ready to move on. (Not critiquing Ayame; he's just a flawed human being in his own right!) Tohru comforted him and told him he didn't deserve it, and now she's friends with his abuser asking him to say everything's fine. If Kakeru ever fully found out what happened, it was off-screen, and not all that much time before this all went down.

I just. Really think that what Yuki needs is at least some time to just be better and angry, or at the very least openly mourn his lost childhood. And he needs to be able to do that without those constant triggers of anxiety from interacting with Akito. All things being equal, I think it would be for the best if he could just tell Tohru straight-up that he's fine with their friendship and he's not going to intervene but he just does not want to be in the same room with Akito ever again.

And... if I were to stretch this a bit further, and potentially really betray my unfamiliarity with endgame canon........... it is kind of hard for me to imagine Akito being okay with that.

Yes, Akito has changed. But surely she still needs time to grow and learn and figure out her new place in this world? And Yuki deliberately avoiding her would... be a difficult thing to accept. Firstly because she's still getting used to giving up that selfishness (especially towards Yuki), but also because it's a reminder of some of the awful shit she did. Which, if she's a changed person, should make her feel bad. Which again, she isn't qualified to process!!

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Akito twisted it around in her head to where Yuki really was her friend. Like they were in this together and Akito didn't always handle it well but at the end of the day, they're the only two who can really understand each other. Because Akito really didn't have that, either. (Kureno being... idk man he always seemed more like a guardian, or at least older brother figure than someone who was 'in the trenches' so to speak with her.)

Either way, it'd all place Tohru in such a deeply complicated position. Akito is hurting badly and needs Tohru to be on her side if no-one else is, because to be fair, that's not all wrong? (Kureno has always been there, but Tohru is her saviour.) But she can't really do that if she's enforcing Yuki's boundaries for him. I feel like Akito would really want Tohru to tell her that she's forgiven and that everything's good now, and if she hesitated even a little, it wouldn't go well. Because Akito only knows how to understand two things: obedience and manipulation. So having others set healthy boundaries - and dealing with the resulting feelings of rejection and shame and guilt - is something she still has to learn how to do.

It just sounds. A bit like a clusterfuck tbh. A clusterfuck that could, eventually, turn out okay!!!!!! But one that would take a LONG time and continued process of reflection and self-awareness (and, ideally, HEAVY THERAPY, but of course we all know nobody in the Fruits Basket universe ever gets that, so). Obviously like that's the happy ending and we don't need to extend it out for four more volumes of like 'Yuki and Akito undergo cbt separately via Tohru's infinite patience' lmfao but. Idk. It just seems to imply a lot in that happy ending that has not really set up by the story to be all that easy.

Unless I'm completely wrong and the last volume or two does in fact set this up perfectly. In which case never mind!!!!!!!!!!

[moonstandardtime]

i want to put link in isat. im sure hed do fine. the heros spirit endures

[emmodii-mode]

Just finished my first playthrough of BG3. Romanced Lae'zel, but ending up turning into an Illithid because the idea of making Orpheus or Karlach do it didn't sit well with me (or my character).

I told Lae'zel to leave with Orpheus in the end (I heard she wouldn't stay with a ghaik anyway, which she's valid for, but also, it doesn't feel right to ask her to stay when I know how much her people mean to her). And like-

Her face before she flies off---

She looks so heartbroken and sad.

[lexicog]

traitor to the cause forgets national holiday every year KILL HIM

[laomelettedufromage]

In my experience the best way to find other apsec people in the wild is to first admit you are aspec. Obviously not a safe and open option for everyone but if you have the means and the confidence it’s fun to unlock more aspec friends from the wild unexpectedly