#because i've had Several instances of people coming up to me like

[magicalmanhattanproject]

two messages for the people who are determined to interpret everything phil says to sunny in the worst light possible

he's not a mind reader. if he says something that hurts them, it's not with the intent to hurt them. because he is not a mind reader and he is not intending to hurt them, he will continue behaving in his typical manner to them until someone (IN CHARACTER DO NOT TTS HIM) tells him not to. he is a boundary respecting king if he knows what those boundaries are but he does need to be told them. right now, his intent is to reassure sunny that it's not their fault tallulah doesn't like them. if that's not how sunny feels like he's coming across, he doesn't know about it.

sunny is not shy about telling their papa when something is wrong. tubbo is not shy about telling phil when something is wrong. tubbo has not made any effort whatsoever to tell phil that something is wrong. please open your heart to the possibility that something can bother You, Dear Reader and not bother sunny. we don't have a good idea of what the eggs are thinking unless they tell us. just because you interpret sunny's body language as them being upset at phil doesn't mean they're actually upset at phil

this is qommunication smp. communication requires actually communicating. phil is doing his best to communicate to sunny that it's not their fault tallulah doesn't like them while also respecting tallulah's boundaries. stop treating him like an evil stepmother because you think sunny is uncomfortable and neither sunny nor her parent are bothering to let phil know.

[pumpkinhimiko]

"Mistranslations" that are not mistranslations

Now with an additional part 2.

NISA has made plenty of mistakes while translating the Danganronpa series (and I've complained about them before), and so they have a reputation of being untrustworthy. But because of this reputation, I feel like fans are too quick to trust whatever anyone that isn't NISA states as absolute fact. So, I want to examine some instances of fan translators claiming NISA has mistranslated something, when, no, actually, they didn't.

Kokichi's last words

人にやらされるゲームなんて…楽しい訳あるかよ… A game you're forced to play... how could that be fun...

This is probably the most widespread myth in terms of "mistranslations that aren't", with the original post that makes this claim having over 2k notes: that Kokichi in the original Japanese actually says, "How could a game where you're forced to kill people be fun...?" Unfortunately, it's just not true. Fortunately for me, there's a reddit post here that breaks the line down in detail, so I don't have to do any work.

Anyway, I really wanted to make this post because of this thread, which makes several false claims.

 Kokichi says he's afraid of friends in general

オレは、そういう『仲間』が他人よりも怖いけどねー。I'm more afraid of those kinds of [friends] than strangers.

So... souiu, meaning that type of/that kind of is right there, directly before nakama (which can mean friend, especially if it's in a shounen anime, but can also just mean companion/member of a group). I don't understand how you can miss this. Not only is it right there, this claim on its face doesn't make sense. Why, in this context, would Kokichi suddenly blurt out that he's afraid of having friends? It has nothing to do with the conversation they're having.

Shuichi's words to Kokichi after the 4th trial

王馬くん、もういい��ろ ? Ouma-kun, isn't this enough? その話を聞かせてくれよ。Tell us about that.

Okay, you've probably heard the phrase mou ii a lot if you watch anime, and it's almost always accompanied by a frustrated huff. Because it is, in fact, something you say when impatient, fed up, what have you. It literally means "good already", carrying pretty much the identical meaning of the English phrase, "that's enough" or "I've had enough". Shuichi does not say it's okay as in it's daijoubu, which is the word you use when trying to comfort someone. He is very much frustrated here and telling Kokichi to fess up.

Citation needed

I couldn't find a line like this in Kokichi's FTEs, but maaaaaaaybe I missed it? Shuichi's narration comments quite a few times on Kokichi acting childishly throughout the game, but I couldn't find anything like this in specific.

EDIT: Correction, I did find it, and it's covered in part two. Suffice to say, the OP got this line completely wrong.

That Kaito thing

Yeah this is patently false. It's also already been touched on in this thread with comments backing it up, so there’s another thing I don't have to get into. I'll put the text here though.

オレはテメーみて一に胸クソ悪い真似までして、If I have to mimic your sickening behavior, 生き残りて一とは思わねーんだよ。I don't think I want to survive.

Shuichi's words to Kokichi after the 4th trial part deaux

I've seen varying claims on how these lines were translated, from them being slightly tweaked, to the claim they were completely butchered to make Saihara too aggressive. I'm just going to leave it here and let you come to your own conclusions.

ダサいのはキミの方だよ…王馬くん。The lame one is you... Ouma-kun.

百田くんの周りにはいつも人が集まってくる… Momota-kun always has people around him... でも、キミの周りには誰もいないじゃないか。But, there's no one around you.

キミは…その程度のヤツって事だよ。That's... what kind of person you are.

This is snappy in its own way, though, if you consider that 程度 is closer to meaning grade/level/degree rather than simply "type of". "That's the level of person you are," basically.

And if you doubt me on any of this, I encourage you to do your own research, get second opinions if you can. I know not everyone knows Japanese, in which case you can't really help but rely on someone else and hope their translation is accurate. That said, at the bare minimum, I think people should provide screenshots and the original Japanese text if they're going to claim something is a mistranslation. Like, I don't think you should be able to say "actually in Japanese Kokichi says he volunteers at animal shelters in his free time but NISA cut it!" and have half the fandom believe you with no proof.

[graffitibible]

genuinely confused wdym by gerard way white saviorism

you asked me this about 3 weeks ago, and i'm sorry it took me so long to get to it. i had to think very hard about how i was going to answer this one, because i want to be transparent in just how frustrating i find this issue without drawing a lot of fire from really pissed off my chem fans who hate the idea of my daring to speak up against their perfect white fav (which has happened often, and continues to happen often. fortunately i'm pretty immune to this by now but i do find it very annoying)

i want to be very transparent in that i think that pretty much everyone can benefit from the idea that their favs are flawed. i'm very aware of the flaws and missteps that people i admire, both personally and professionally, have committed in their lives, and it is down to my own sense of morality over whether that's a dealbreaker for me. i don't like the idea of calling out bad behavior for the sake of clout or whatever. but i do care about not people being spoken over when they point out a legitimate criticism, and that is the bottom line here.

below the cut, i'm going to be discussing some very heavy topics: racism of all flavors is the most prevalent one, but i'm also going to touch (briefly) on topics such as antisemitism, incest, and abuse.

and i am also, in general, going to be saying a lot of very unkind things.

when it comes to criticisms of the scene, of narrative writing, of mistakes that people make...my chemical romance, and gerard way in particular, are consistently rendered immune. when we discuss misogyny in the scene in the early and mid aughts, my chem's name never comes up (despite the fact that bullets, their first album, most certainly has lyrics that certainly evoke the same violent misogyny present in a lot of works from that era). when we discuss racism within the scene, my chem is never really discussed at length except perhaps to point out that ray toro is a latino man who is either ignored or sexualized (or both) by a deeply racist fanbase. there is a tendency, within these spaces, to give my chem the benefit of the doubt where the same grace is not extended to others.

this is what i mean by "white saviorism." because gerard way's whiteness in particular protects them from a lot of this. and i say this because of all the things that has made it deeply uncomfortable to interact with broad swathes of my chem's fanbase, the racism has unquestionably been the number one deterrent. there is a very unique brand of racism present within my chem spaces - and i know i am not the only person of color who feels this way, because i've spoken to many who can say the same - that is particularly violent, particularly virulent, and particularly ingrained. experiences with this, along with my own growing distaste for gerard way as a writer, has soured my experience with the music so tremendously that i can no longer really interact with it at length.

i am not, however, above citing my sources. so. let’s talk about racism in gerard way’s writing, shall we?

i have always been up front about the fact that i do not find gerard way to be a particularly inspired, interesting, or good writer. i find most of their work to be aggressively mediocre and highly derivative. but my own personal opinion of their work has very little bearing on the extremely racist rhetoric that upholds a distressing amount of it. here is where i'm going to link a pretty informative twitter thread that outlines a lot of these instances in detail, but it is by no means exhaustive.

it's in the umbrella academy comics, wherein the main characters are all white despite being children taken from "all over the world." it's in the orientalist racist caricatures of the vampire viet cong group that the heroes square up against. it's in the casual instances of slurs that have cropped up several times in their works without any understanding of the impact those words have (an anti-indigenous slur in the umbrella academy comics, an anti-romani slur in the killjoys national anthem comics - which, i should state, came out in 2020). it's in the appalling writing decision to, in national anthem, make the sole black character the character with "animal powers" who rips out adversary's throats on all fours. it's in the frequent and persistent sexualization of women of color, particularly asian women. it's in the colorism involved in the interplay between mike milligram (a white man), code blue (a latina woman), and jaime ramirez (their mixed child), wherein jaime's skin tone shifts at the drop of a hat depending on which of his parental figures is in the frame (code blue is dead by the time the story picks up properly, but her sister, code red, effectively raises him...and he ends up staying with his father).

and it is unquestionably, overwhelmingly present in danger days. this is a danger days blog so this is the area in which i have the most research, so i want to be very clear when i say this:

racism is an insidious, incontrovertible, and inextricable foundation of the very conceptual underpinnings behind danger days and all its associated works.

the orientalism is baked into the very aesthetic of the album. better living industries is a japanese mega-company that takes everything over, the big bad of the franchise. the asian "aesthetic" is all over the canon in the music videos and comics: non-asian characters are seen wearing it, it's in all the marketing and even present on the album itself, wherein a woman is clearly heard speaking japanese on the "party poison" track. there was also the baffling inclusion of the "clown monk" character that was cut from the music videos back in 2010, wherein a white man is wandering around wearing buddhist robes (they inexplicably liked this concept so much that they brought it back for the national anthem comics which, again, i will reiterate: came out in 2020).

this is not surprising. danger days is deeply derivative in concept (up to and including the name itself), and because most of its influences come from cyberpunk dystopia fiction from the 80s, most obviously the 1980s film blade runner. works of fiction in that vein frequently draw from the idea of "yellow peril," and are rooted in the extremely racist and xenophobic rhetoric that western civilization will be invaded and dismantled by the evil, scary asians. the end result is a concept of a "dystopia" that is mired in the very stereotypical fears of the time: fears of an east asian surveillance state invading the west, fears of the all-powerful homogenized "other," and so on.

this did not stop gerard way from exotifying and fetishizing the fUCK out of all their asian characters though!!! the director of better living industries gets to be the primary major asian character in the killjoys california comics, and she spends a good chunk of it in dominatrix gear, with a whip to boot - both villain and sex object. the comic’s sex workers, referred to as “pornodroids,” are all asian-coded and, although we get one of the comic’s two same-sex pairings (3/4 of the characters involved in said pairings are dead by the comics’ end), the characters of red and blue spend the entirety of their screen time in the highly sexualized apparel of their occupations. there’s also the character of korse’s boyfriend, who does not get a name and spends all of his screen time lounging around shirtless in korse’s apartment. nice of gway to reduce the only  asian dude to eye candy fridged for korse’s manpain. i guess.

also, i should not fail to mention - the killjoys california and danger days sections of canon are INCREDIBLY white for pieces of fiction that take place in california, which is one of the most racially diverse areas in the states. in terms of latino characters, we get jet star (by virtue of being played by ray toro in the music video, though i should point out that there is no guarantee that this is actually reflective of jet star’s true appearance, since none of the killjoy appearances are necessarily 1:1 with those of the band in the comics), and we get...POSSIBLY vaya and vamos, who are ambiguously brown and have names in spanish which implies they might be latine (but given that this is california and most of the population speaks spanish, is not necessarily a given). we also get volume, the sole black character, who gets a handful of lines before being unceremoniously killed off within moments of meeting him. the girl’s mother is definitely drawn as a woman of color, but she gets one line, no name, and the girl herself is drawn as very straightforwardly white and considered to have a “fair complexion” in the comics.

this trend unfortunately continues into national anthem, wherein there’s certainly a more diverse cast, but unfortunately, very little of that cast actually gets concrete development. mike milligram is our central protagonist, our sole white character (gerard way basically only ever commits to writing white protagonists)...and he’s also the only one of them who gets an arc of any kind. code blue (a latina woman, and his girlfriend) is fridged for his manpain. code red, blue’s sister, does not get nearly as much focus on her grief despite losing someone she knew for much longer than mike ever did. jaime, mike and blue’s child, resents red for raising him and chooses to stay with his birth father once the events of the comics are over. i’ve touched on how animax, our sole black character, is given “animal powers” and is pictured several times brutally ripping apart his enemies, but i should also point out that his big character motivation is - no joke - rosa parks. as in, rosa parks being erased from history, and he wants to stop it (these comics were weird, and also incredibly bad). everyone else has a deeply personal motivation save for animax, whose motivation is basically that he wants people to not forget that the civil rights movement like, happened.

there’s also the instance of kara jeong, or kara 100%. this is the one that really makes me grind my teeth, because she’s frequently praised as a cornerstone for trans representation. and i agree that having more trans women of color in comics is great! but this does not erase the fact that, like literally every other asian character gerard way has ever written, she is very much sexualized. her job as a model means that “it was essential that she was good looking” and it is not as egregious an example as, say, the director in the california comics...but it’s an unsettling addition to a constant pattern. there are a lot of shots of kara’s bare neck and shoulders and long legs, and all that on top of the fact that, like anyone who isn’t mike milligram, she gets very little characterization at all...well, it’s not a great look.

these are the issues in gerard’s writing that are the most frequently dismissed and ignored. this post is horribly long to begin with, so i don’t want to carry on (ha...ha....), but i want it on record that i very much could. this does not even begin to touch upon the bizarre inclusion of a constant incest undertone in almost everything gerard way writes (the umbrella academy is the most obvious here, but even in the killjoys canons...red and blue are lesbian lovers in california while being sisters in national anthem, and that’s kind of a little uncomfortable, all things considered), nor does it address gerard’s insistence on including very homogenous abusive backstories for no reason besides, i guess, character angst (and these abusive backstories all involve a physically abusive male figure, because i guess this is the only kind of abusive relationship gerard way can visualize).

[EDIT: just remembered, because i forgot to mention it (knew i was forgetting something) - there's also quite a bit of antisemitism present in the umbrella academy comics that is further exacerbated in the show. i'm not the best equipped person to talk about that (i've only watched the show up to s2, at which point i kinda got sick of that garbage enough to just tap out of it), and i also have only looked over the tua comics a few times as opposed to the show, which is not run or primarily written by gerard way. that being said, he's definitely a creative consultant on it, so...i think maybe they should've reconsidered making reginald hargreeves a baby-stealing lizard man and having the bad guys all speak to each other in yiddish, possibly.]

let me be the first to say...none of this surprises me. these are all pitfalls i’ve seen white writers (and writers of color with internalized issues) commit as well. and i also, as well, want to make it clear that i imagine very little of these appalling writing decisions were committed with active malice. i sincerely doubt that anyone involved in these writing processes steepled their fingers and cackled wickedly over what crimes they would commit to their many brown fans.

i want to be very, very clear here. i lay all of this out not to “shame” gerard way or write a “callout post” or anything to that effect. i want to be utterly transparent in that i think gerard way’s racism is as mediocre and unremarkable as their writing is: derivative, lazy, shallow, and incredibly commonplace.

and that is where the idea of “gerard way white saviorism” comes from. because these are all, individually, acts of horribly insensitive, damaging, and deeply racist rhetoric that would unquestionably be addressed if it were anyone else doing them. but because it’s gerard way, and the internet loves gerard way, and everyone has decided that gerard way is their white liberal fav who can do no wrong...like the case with everything else surrounding my chemical romance, they get a pass. they are exempt.

this is far from everything. it’s just what i can remember at the moment. i am not the first person of color to point this shit out. i imagine i will be ignored, much like every other fan of color who has made these points in the past. people don’t like to imagine that gerard way can be capable of these sorts of oversights. they don’t like to think about it. they want to persist in painting their very ordinary, centrist, white liberal fav as someone whose every word is deeply progressive and insightful and flawless. because, consistently, they get the benefit of the doubt where others, especially folks of color, do not.

so no one talks about it. no one talks about how gerard way’s writing is consistently racist in a very clear and distinct way that no one wants to address, making it more insidious. no one wants to talk about the mind-bogglingly racist conceptual underpinnings holding up the entire danger days album. no one wants to talk about how gerard, and all of my chemical romance accepted, or at the very least tolerated, bob bryer’s overt antiblack racism for years, for nearly a decade, and never said a word.

no one wants to talk about it. because that would mean they’d have to come to terms with their white savior not being so perfect.

so they don’t.

and shit like this is why i find the overwhelming majority of my chemical romance fan spaces to be deeply unwelcoming to someone like myself: a brown person who tries to call out racism when i see it. and i know i’m not the only one.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

You are not ACAB. You're an asshole

SO this post has been a long time coming and I have sent a rant to several people to look over it for me just so I could get opinions. And most agreed with what I had to say. However it was mean, callous, and too "I'm ok being an shithead" for my taste.

If I am being 100% honest, people hate cops just to hate cops. It's not because there are cops that do wrong. It's just because they are told to/programmed to hate cops. Ok, so why do I say that?

Well a few reasons.

For the past 40 years *minimum* it has been a point of the media to showcase any time a cop does anything bad. Because what better way to "Reach the people" than to assuage them with a "Hello fellow Americans. Doesn't it suck with cops get on our ass about stuff".

Social media has been using bait for years in order to get more traffic to more links and articles. This alone has made rage baiting as an entirety more of an issue.

Because of both of the above, there was a time when alt media *at the time* and social media worked in tandem to constantly show off instances of cops being assholes or outright doing things that were illegal.

So what does this mean. Well it means that you are under a notion that is already provided to you. "Cops are ruthless bad guys that don't do anything for anyone at all".

Except that's not even remotely true. What is true is that often, any positive stories involving cops is buried or glossed over and only ever talked about in very local reports. What's more a cops job is to do the right thing. So when a cop does do the right thing, the understanding is that they are not meant to receive praise. However, that is lopsided in how it works. It more or less means that you are under the LARGEST of microscopes, and if you fuck up at ALL, then you end up as a youtube video that reinforces that "Cops are bad guys" or "Cops are stupid and annoying". Rather than the truth which is that cops themselves are human beings.

Now. I can already see the comment from the shitheads. "ACAB EXISTS BECAUSE-" Shut it. I don't care. Unlike most of you I understand nuance. And more than that, I've had poor run-in's with cops. I have also had to work along side them as private security as well. And my mother, who's not shy about telling people they fucked up, worked as Dispatch and as a Secretary for the PD in the small city we lived in. "Oh well then your brainwashed", you can say that but it does not make you right.

Unlike you, clearly I'm able to think critically about subjects where as you are not. Am I a "Back the Blue" cultist? Absolutely not. I'm solely in the camp of Abolish Unions and hold officers to account for what they do wrong.

However, having said that, Cops duty to uphold the law sometimes manifests in ways that we don't like. Like Uvalde. The cops were in their rights to stop the shooter, but the top brass would have decimated any officer that decided to not follow his order of standing down. I don't think that's ok. Hell that entire chain of command should have faced a lawsuit. But where they DID properly enforce the law, is stopping parents from going in. Because had a parent gone by cops in order to stop the shooter, at that point, it legally could have been considered vigilantism.

Regardless of the moral implications of that, fact is, that's the truth.

So why am I making this post? Mostly because ignorant people exist in this world and their only reason for living at all is just to hate. "All cops are bastards"? Are you so sure? I wonder how many people in the US over the past 100+ years have been saved by cops. I wonder how many kids have been rescued from abuse. I wonder how many women have been saved from rape. I wonder how many kids have been save from gang violence or drug dealing.

Saying, "All cops are bastards" is no different than saying, "Yes all men". Functionally you are saying the same thing. And while you may say, "Hey that's not the same one is an immutable trait and the other is a job", to which I'll say, sure. Except you are making a gross generalization. Which IS the same. And ignores every single decent, good, great cop that exists out there. And every single good cop that has ever existed.

In my last post talking about this, I stated that people that are ACAB don't really hate cops. They just hate that they can't break the law without consequences. And I still believe that, but let me add a bit of nuance to that.

Most of the people that hate cops are programmed to hate cops. Because, like the media does, it picks something that will engage you, and will put it in front of you any way it knows how to. There are also a lot of people out there that hate cops because they can't break the law. That's also very true.

However there is another group that exists and it's Anarchists. Now, I have followers and people that I follow that are Anarchists. And while I view them as different from Tankies, Fundamentally they share the same, "Ideal Utopia" idea. Which is that, "Under my ideals, the world would be better". Except it won't be. It will be warlords and dictators forming groups. Assuming that we don't get taken over by Islamic Extremists, China, or the UN. Their ideals aside, they hate "The State" in all it's forms. And if you are fine with any form of "State" they will quite literally go off on a tirade of why you are a bootlicker. *Sigh*

Now, the last of these groups is just people that either 1) Do not understand what goes into being a cop and just hates them based on baseless notions, or 2) People that have had bad run-in's with cops and take that notion out on ALL cops.

So for these last two sets, things are difficult to deal with. Because they will go out of their way often to not care about how hard it is to be a cop. What do I mean?

Well for starters, cops are expected to be perfect at all times.

Perfect Aim

Perfect knowledge of all laws both federal and local

Perfect judgement at all times

Perfect execution of force at all times

Perfect response at all times

Perfect awareness of surroundings at all times

Perfect ability to listen to the law but also not piss off people breaking the law

And I could go on. Humans are fundamentally imperfect. They always will be. So expecting a cop to be perfect is like asking your SO where they want to eat every day for a month and them knowing right away. Unless you're a LIAR it's not going to happen. Same such, cops can't be perfect. Combine that with having to both uphold the law AND be sure to follow the law at the same time, then combine that with the dangers of the job, the fact that human beings are ANIMALS that are violent by nature, and unpredictable on top of which, with use of force laws. And yeah. You don't have a good time. It becomes a huge issue of people that are like, "Why didn't just just tase him?" or "Why didn't you just shot the gun out of his hand" or better yet, "He only had a knife and was threatening to kill someone. Why'd did you have to shoot him, you are not judge jury and executioner."

And that's where you are both right and wrong.

Right in the fact that they are not a Jury. Wrong about the fact that they are not acting in their capacity to judge a situation, and execute those that are too great a risk to subdue. And if you ever talk to a person that does MMA, subduing a person is not as easy as you think. More over, Tasers are not considered, "non-lethal". In a lot of cases they are considered lethal because you are delivering a shock, meant to incapacitate someone. Meaning that you have the risk of permanently injuring them, OR killing them if their heart stops. Hell you could also in theory turn them into a vegetable.

But sadly no one considers all of these things. And only people familiar with cops and how their jobs work, know any of this.

Am I justifying bad, or even evil cops with this post? No. I think cops fundamentally need more training. I also think that they need frequent psychological evaluations to see the effect of the work on them. Because some of the things you see in your capacity as an officer can be gruesome. Dead bodies. People that have been mutilated. Dead kids from drugs or gang shootings. And the list goes on and on and on.

Recently I made a post talking about how since the summer of 2020, there have been less good cops. And fact is, because of the 2020 riots, a lot of good cops did quit their jobs. That's a fact. Many actually put in for early retirement. And not because "They were being held to account". No. It was because they were told, "If you do your job, we will riot outside your station. Firebomb your cars and homes, and we will find a way to railroad you into prison".

So what do we see in NY and LA? Car break ins. Looting. Beatings in the streets. Cops that will literally stand down while people are being hurt. Why? Because why the hell would anyone be a cop when you are under a microscope SO LARGE, that even the SMALLEST twitch in the wrong direction could end your career and possibly your life.

It's easy to say, "Yeah I'd stop those looters and assaulters". Sure. Right up until the are a protected class. Then enjoy your media crucifixion, loss of work and likely stint in jail. As well as your family getting death threats for years to come. So given all this, I made a point that a lot of hires over the last 3 years have probably been scraping the bottom of the barrel. Because in truth, knowing all the above, why WOULD anyone be a cop? Certainly there are still good cops. But a lot of the good ones quit.

What's more, Now a days it's better as a cop to just NOT enforce the law. Because why risk everything I mentioned. You protect the law and you make the conservatives happy but piss off the woke. And the woke currently more or less control law and media. Good luck getting shanked in jail. If you don't uphold the law, you piss off people who want you to enforce it but you probably get to live another day.

At that point you may say, "OK so why be a cop at all then", and the answer is easy. It's a job. And it pays. Why excel at all when you are expected to be a bastion of perfection? What's that? Didn't use the PERFECT amount of force? Death Penalty. Oh? You shot a guy that pulled a gun on you and you didn't just take the shots to the chest? Well clearly you deserve to be put in jail for the rest of your life.

Cops are treated like they are supposed to be absolutely perfect at all times and it's stupid. I HATE police unions mind you. But you know what I hate more. People that have no idea the risk to their lives that cops are put through day to day just for putting on the badge. The fact that cops NEED wiggle room within the law in order to enforce it.

Remember "Hands up don't shoot"? Yeah. So do I. I also remember that it was a fucking lie, and that there are people to this day that still believe that lie. And if not for Police Unions, he might have rotted in jail for the rest of his life. There is no PEFECT in this life. Not for cops, not for anyone. Cops are not superheroes. They don't swing in on a web shooter and punch the bad guy JUST hard enough to knock him out without killing him. And with morality as fucked up as it is in the west, even just in the US, Law enforcement is in a no win situation. At all times.

But I want to find every person that has ever been saved by cops, and force you to tell those people that all cops are bad. And tell them about how whatever they were saved from doesn't matter because "ALL cops are bad". Tell the women that were possibly saved from rape, "You should have just been raped. Cops are all evil." Or tell the kid that was saved from the person that kidnapped them, "Yeah no, you should have just been a sex slave. Cops are bastards and clearly they didn't WANT to help you". Stop making assessments about ALL of any group of people. Because the likelihood that you'll be right is near zero.

There are good cops. And there are bad cops. Police Unions need heavy reformation. Accountability needs to actually be able to happen. And people need to understand how hard cops actually have it. All of these things can be true at the same time. And none of it is justifying evil or bad cops or even ones that don't enforce the law. It's a nuanced topic. And as such, it should be treated so.

[roman-and-azathoth]

tell me about the Ganondorf/Link ship 👀

Hi anon!

So I ship Ganlink in many of the canon universes, but the one I'll talk about here will be Twilight Princess, my favorite iteration of Ganondorf as well as Link. I'm putting a lot of the Manga's backstory onto Link. In this instance, Ganondorf's invasion of the castle is successful, and Link is captured.

Ganondorf makes the first move, with Link in a cell a la Peach and Bowser and just kind of talking at him. He doesn't hurt him because where's the gratification in that? He won. He had exiled the princess to the desert and sent the ruler of the Twilight packing back to her realm. There wouldn't be any pleasure from torturing the hero any further.

Link learns that Ganondorf's motivations are entirely centered around saving his people from the harsh desert. He learns that the King of Hyrule denied him and his people asylum as well as supplies to keep them alive.

Link doesn't speak at all (I headcanon him as selectively mute due to a combination of gender dysphoria (he's trans) and a HORRENDOUS stutter that people made fun of) and he's shocked that Ganondorf appears to respect that.

Ganondorf at least attempts to get him to speak, but it's surpringly not that forceful. "You are not much of a talker, are you, Chosen?" And a shake of his head gets Ganondorf thinking.

Ganondorf starts learning Hylian Sign Language in the hopes he can get Link talking.

The first thing Link asks him once he realizes Ganondorf understands his signing is if he's the last of his people. Ganondorf seems angered by this, but the anger ebbs away quite quickly to a somber sort of look, and he sits down in a chair outside the cell. The conversation goes something like this:

"You're the last of your tribe... aren't you?"

"... Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"It is no fault of yours what happened to my people."

"If it helps... I'm the last of my tribe, too."

"Your small village in the forest would suggest otherwise."

"They aren't my tribe. They took me in several years before this all happened."

Link shares what happened in the city he destroyed by pulling that sword. Ganondorf appears to be sympathetic. He opens the cell door and releases Link's limbs from their chains. He fully expects the smaller male to strike him and run, but... the hero merely sits on the stone instead. Ganondorf sits across from him.

"Why did you not run?"

"What's the point? I've got nowhere to go."

"Your village?"

"They think I'm dead. Besides, nobody would want some washed up hero who failed the one task he was given."

Ganondorf winces at this. It is his fault, after all.

"Was it even your choice to begin with? This task?"

"No."

"If given the choice, would you have done the same?"

Link's sign is much more snappy this time. "No."

So... not only had this boy failed in his goddess-ordained task, but he hadn't even wanted to do it in the first place.

"The goddesses have a cruel way of pawning about their chosen."

"Could've figured that out on my own." A bitter glare from the hero.

"Come." Ganondorf stands up, gesturing Link to come with him.

And so, Ganondorf outfits Link in something OTHER than green, he puts him in blue. Gives him his own room in the castle. Allows him to come and go as he pleases. And when Link inevitably leaves the castle, the people swarm him and ask him how he escaped. And they're shocked when he says,

"He let me go."

[aihoshiino]

"On the trip to sample the new orange sweets, she stunned everyone. With a dead straight face, she went, 'Oh, this tastes like oranges!' That's a whole other level of airheadedness."

Thinking about this part of Spica and between this and the burger wrapper part in Viewpoint B, I feel like a lot of what they call Ai being an "airhead" is just... her not being treated well as a kid. Like not getting to try orange sweets, never getting taught how to eat a burger 🥺

YEAH IT'S SO MISERABLE... There's a lot of moments on OnK like that of Ai being flawed and human and people treating it like some bizarre 4D chess move on her part - they're so obsessed with the ideal image of her as a flawless idol that even when she does, in fact, display even the most harmless flaws, people have to explain them away as something she was doing on purpose and was in full control of the whole time.

But it's just like you said - a lot of this stuff is the result of Ai being so severely neglected as a child that she basically had to teach herself how to be a person from scratch. She lacks "common sense" because a lot of what we call common sense is passed down to us by our peers and guardians and Ai didn't have anybody to do that for her. I've said this before but this is quite literally and explicitly why she dies - nobody ever taught her what a door chain was or why she should engage it because making sure she was safe in her own home was not on anyone's list of priorities.

Something that's interesting when you start lining a lot of this stuff up side by side though is how often the topic of food comes up in relation to Ai. There's the two instances you've pointed out but it reoccurs so often it's really hard for me to not read it as an intentional theme: there's the horrific incident of Ayumi putting glass in Ai's food as a child, Saitou bribing her with a fancy drink to talk to him when they first meet, Ai being so enamored with the free food at the TV drama shoot that we get multiple moments of her gushing about it and that mention in the Da Vinci interview of her dad. That last one always really stands out to me because not only is it really kind of pathetically sad that Ai's happiest childhood memory something as mundane as "my dad took me grocery shopping once" but the food she specifically mentions he bought for her is natto which like... it's one of those foods that is stereotyped as something kids hate to eat so it's very [discord thinking emoji] inducing that it's what her dad got her. Obviously this could just have been what Ai herself wanted to eat but even if that's the case, it still feels like it echoes that sense of, as you said, Ai not being allowed to be a kid - even to the extent of the people around her not accommodating for her having a child's palate when they fed her.

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: Heaven's Felt

I have finished Heaven's Feel (all three films)

And hot damn what a story that was. As early as the first movie I found myself enjoying the route more than I did with Unlimited Blade Works.

It wasn't that strong a notion at first due to the first movie having to set up the story which means it had to retrace some moments from Fate or UBW. I was even disappointed that it just skimmed over Shirou meeting Saber for the first time.

I did expect it to skim some moments due to the nature of Fate/Stay Night. I said it previously but Fate/Stay Night was originally a visual novel (one that is getting a remaster for Steam/Switch as of me writing this) with multiple routes and endings. A staple of the visual novel format.

As a result each route has the same starting point. Some may feel it wear on them if they watch these back to back like I've done since last year.

Even so, I can't say it bothered me that much. Yes, Skimming over the summoning of Saber let me down a tad but the rest of the first movies opening act was decent. I liked seeing the different perspectives of the scenes I had saw in Unlimited Blade Works just a week ago.

It is also fair to mention that movies of a series typically expect you to have seen the thing it's based on to begin with.

Then the second half of the movie kicks in. The changes began rather quickly which I was thankful for. As soon as Kirei mentioned Kiritsugu's previous occupation and the 4th war I realized the story would shift- THEN BAM!

That Berserker battle. It was brief but that movie budget made it so good. It was then that I also noticed another change, the movies are more graphic than Zero or UBW.

In this movie, when Shirou takes a hit for Saber from Berseker, you see his guts fly out as he rolls around like a busted toy. It doesn't escalate to high but you do see inside of large cuts or severed limbs. And I am only praising it because it actually added to the horror-like atmosphere Heaven's Feel has.

All three movies feel like they were drawn to be a horror film in many scenes. The way the shadows bend or literally come alive, the way servants are mercilessly hunted by Angra Mainyu, or even the Sakura dream sequence only to learn she's eating people.

The gore just makes it hit harder how terrifying the situation is in Heaven's Feel.

Down 'n Dirty

The gore and horror presentation aside there was another factor I was curious about, the romance. Now some reading this may wonder why and others will think they know why and that has to do with Fate's reputation of hentai.

The original visual novel had hentai scenes in it, that is an objective truth. So did its canonical sequel Ataraxia. This was done because Nasu thought it would help sell the story and...well they were right.

The whole initial reason King Arthur was gender bent into a woman was also for this logic. He knew his native Japanese market and appealed to it.

Once Type-Moon got going those hentai scenes were removed. Later stories lacked it at all. Yes, the artwork and designs for characters is definitely made with sex appeal in mind but it's a far cry from where it started.

To be honest I find the whole thing fascinating because the series tendency for gender bending and "coomer" art is based in a writer just trying to appeal to the broadest audience.

They even use this for in-lore jokes quite often. For instance, the original draft of Fate/Stay Night, the world in which King Arthur is still a man, was reworked into Fate/Prototype years later.

They even do this fun thing where the voice actors for Merlin and female Artoria swap roles in Fate/Prototype. Female Arthur voices the female Merlin and the male Merlin now voices the male Arthur.

Some gender bends are literal jokes such as the female Nero Claudius (seen in the gif above^) who was gender swapped just to trick Fate fans into thinking Saber (Artoria) was in Fate Extra.

And others are that way because that historical figure was believed to be a woman or it was left ambiguous such as Nagao Kagetora.

Aka Nasu is very self aware of the Fate gender bending and porn jokes and plays into it.

Back to Romance

I went a bit off tangent there but I needed to explain that bit to focus on why the romance between Shirou & Sakura was a curiosity for me. In my desire to learn Fate lore I saw more than one video or fan comment quoting Nasu and others at Type-Moon.

One thing that stuck in my mind was that the initial Saber and Rin scenes were added just to balance it all but the scenes with Sakura were considered crucial to her plot.

I now understand why. No, before you ask, you do not get a hentai scene in Heaven's Feel. However, Heaven's Feel does fully commit to the physical nature that Sakura & Shirous relationship grows too.

Yes dear reader, Shirou gets laid. Get your middle school snickering out of your system, I'll wait.

The whole film just hammers home just how much Shirou existing means to Sakura. For them to go that far only seems natural, for her to hold on despite her horrible life makes sense.

This poor girl was violated years on end by crest worms as Zouken warped her into a fake grail. Her adoptive brother raped her for years on end just because he's a little shit with inferiority complexes.

Hell, Sakura is still traumatized by her father giving her to the Matou's in Fate/Zero.

Despite all that, even though she believes Shirou wouldn't want her for being so...um "damaged", he sticks by her side anyway. All together it makes that bond very genuine.

There's no forced melodrama or silly misunderstandings, just two kids trapped in a mess with no idea what to do.

A more complete Continuation

Even now I sit here in awe of it. I have sit through Fate 2006 and Unlimited Blade Works, two works in which Sakura is barely a passing note. Hell, even in Fate/Zero she's barely there but Heaven's Feel made me care.

It goes beyond that though. I found Heaven's Feel to be a better or more complete resolution to the mess left behind by the 4th Grail war depicted in Fate/Zero.

There are some questions I had throughout such as;

Why did Zouken summon Assassin in this route but not others?

Did a fragment of the grail survive in every route or is that a Heaven's Feel thing only?

Why didn't Rin have Shirou make the jeweled sword in UBW?

Why did Gilgamesh attack Sakura? Is he not for Kirei's plans in HF?

Small things like that. They don't break anything at all but I felt that I should mention them because I still think Heaven's Feel is a better continuation of Fate/Zero than Unlimited Blade Works despite such questions.

There is no grand reasoning for my feelings. I just liked that Heaven's Feel addressed things left behind in Fate/Zero more than Unlimited Blade Works did.

Such as Illya. She got so little time in UBW that I was a bit shocked. Even Fate 2006 gave her some attention. I mean, know each Fate work is a timeline of it's own but UBW and Heaven's Feel both heavily reference Zero.

All three were made by ufotable after all so it makes sense. Anime only fans may even see ufotable's adaptions as their own pocket in the Type-Moon multiverse.

I was sad her happy ending was to die but I can't help but feel slightly happy for her since she was shown running to Irisviel who's soul has been in the grail since Fate/Zero ended.

They even went out of their way to animate a scene that I can only assume was a minor one in the visual novel. It's a scene in which Illya over hears Fujimura talk about Kiritsugu's many trips to Europe. He failed her in many ways but he never stopped trying to see his daughter.

Then there was Rin. The story gave her less attention as I'd expect but I feel that it compliments how she's portrayed in UBW or even Fate 2006.

It was a nice touch that the one who made it possible to save Sakura was Rin. She has her own baggage about Sakura's life and while blunt and unable to relate to her trauma (by her own admission) she still got through to Sakura and all it took was letting her know that she loved her.

That's fucking beautiful man. Shirou even mumbles that they won due to Rin's actions.

There's also the aforementioned Kiritsugu. Shirou gets more insight into his fathers life and previous actions than other routes. It played into Kirei's obsession with him and Shirou's.

Shirou himself has a much more compelling arc in Heaven's Feel than UBW or even the Fate Route. Thanks to what he learns about his father he focuses on being a hero of justice but this time for Sakura.

His ideals aren't as foolish, they're focused. When he is focused on being one person's hero over everyone's he becomes a much more interesting character to me.

Hell, Zouken tries to convince him to kill Sakura at one point thinking that he'll do it because Kiritsugu would but no. Shirou acknowledges that he would betray his ideals for her .

That not only helps Sakura later but grows him way further than his fight with Archer in UBW did.

Seeing this I can understand why the "Miyuverse" Shirou is so loved.

I know I'm comparing routes but I can't help it. I'm sitting here conflicted because I liked this more than Saber's route. I am a Saber shill/simp at this point but I can't help but feel that Heaven's Feel is a better narrative conclusion.

Shirou is more compelling, I was made to like an ignored character, the story tackles some remnants of the 4th Grail such as Angra Mainyu whom we only saw hints of at the end of Fate/Zero, the grail system being destroyed at the end, etc.

It just feels tighter as a narrative to me. Although the reasons listed aren't the only explanations as to why.

No, the biggest contributing factor by far was Kirei himself.

Opposites

This man, this fucking monster, once again became far more interesting than he should be. I talked about him when I finished Fate/Zero which I'll link here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/post/737296248042815488/fated-rantings-ground-zero#notes

This man's obsession with Kiritsugu persisted for ten fucking years. Even now he can't accept him nor can he seem to accept the fact that they weren't as parallel as he believes.

All Kirei really gained from the 4th Grail War was realizing that he enjoys making others suffer. He's known from the start that he was broken inside but was cursed with the common sense to know it.

That contradiction is shown in his occupation. His whole tussle with Zouken and Assassin is badass to be sure. A 500yr old mage and a heroic spirit are fended off by this man, this fucked up preacher.

A badass to be sure but what caught my eye was him using scripture to harm Zouken. As far as I know, you can't just throw around scripture in Fate, you have to fundamentally believe in it to some degree.

Kirei is shown often genuinely reading his bible or kissing his cross. Actions that seem stupid when he makes it a hobby to ruin lives.

He goes on about how Angra Mainyu deserves to be born or about how something is neither good nor bad until it's gained knowledge. A solid argument but only when normal life is concerned.

Angra Mainyu is a man-made god, a devil, a focus of humanities evils into a spirit. All at the sacrifice of some unnamed boy centuries ago.

It was active during the 3rd Grail War, it's been very self aware within the Grail since then, and it's shown tormenting Kiritsugu and Illya.

Angra Mainyu is very much aware. It has knowledge, it is evil.

No, what Shirou calls him out on here saying "that's bullshit" is Kirei just wanting to see Angra Mainyu cause as much harm as possible...or so he thinks.

Personally I think that's half of it. The other half is Kirei's question. Although he should logically see that Angra Mainyu is evil by it's nature alone he still wants to know it's thoughts.

How does it feel to be born this way, how will it feel once it's fulfilled it's purpose, does it consider itself evil when humanity made it evil.

He feels compelled to know these things because he himself was born broken. Kirei knows deep down that nature is very much as real as nurture. No matter what he's done he's been broken.

He tried to love a woman but only cried because he felt that he should've killed her if she was meant to die. He had a loving father for whom no tear was shed when he was murdered.

He killed his mentor and aided Kairya just to see their torment. He told Shirou about Kiritsugu to see his reaction because he, like Zouken, thought Shirou was the same.

He fully believes that witnessing Angra Mainyu be born will answer his own burning questions about his nature when there is nothing to answer.

Angra Mainyu is man-made, nothing it can say can truly rectify Kirei's broken soul.

His Parallel was a Boy

The point, as I understood it, was that Kirei couldn't get his answers from Kiritsugu. His obsession, how he talks about him to Shirou, he never got over that.

Then he saw the grail. It even revived him from death but that won't give him the answer either. Even if he had witnessed its birth.

It is only at the end when he fighting a child that Kirei finds his true opposite. Shirou has nothing due to the 4th war, he considers his survival a sin.

Kirei considers his entire existence a sin yet he says it himself. They're opposite extremes of that same emptiness. I was frequently reminded of Fate/Zero because Kirei was.

Kirei died in that last war and was stuck in time in more ways than one. There is no way to answer or fix him.

It's damn poetic that both Kirei and Shirou realize something by admitting how unlike Kiritsugu Shirou has become. A fitting finale to a compelling monster.

This whole time Kirei's true opposite was a boy.

Finale

I'm sure I had more to say but I don't think this can get much longer. Plus some things weren't worth whole paragraphs. Such as my love for the battles and animation.

The small things like Shirou calling Archer a dick when he chucks him down like a sack of potatoes. Hell, Archer's entire arc this film is neat to see due to how passive he is. When Shirou is willing to be Sakura's hero or save Illya Archer's attitude changes on a dime. To the point that he'd even give up a literal arm.

I loved seeing Rider get more lines and screen time. She has a decent character that I now wish I got more of in other Fate works.

Then there's the whole Saber Alter and her battle....I can't. The fight is fucking amazing but just picturing Shirou ending her hurts me. TuT

Oh well, I'm ranted out now. Bye~

=======================

For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[photogirl894]

I can't believe I have to do this yet again...

Stop! Making! Hunter! The villain!!

He didn't give up looking for Crosshair because "he doesn't care". He wasn't hesitant going after Crosshair because "he doesn't care".

He DOES care and that's exactly why he wanted to go back to Pabu!!

They had ONE lead on Crosshair and it failed and they have no other ways to find him, if he's even still alive (as far as they know). They were all severely injured and in mourning over Tech...what the hell else is he supposed to do?!?! He has been trying SO hard all season to protect his family and even though he was talked into taking a big risk, it cost him his brother! He is in PAIN!!

There's nothing else for them to do and the only option left is to just quit while they're ahead. He can't lose anyone else. Besides, he also said "Wrecker and I" in regards to the decision of going back to Pabu. It wasn't just his decision!! Wrecker agreed, too!!

They have NOTHING to get them to Crosshair!! They tried and they failed.

Hunter DOES care and he cared enough to try. STOP SAYING HE DOESN'T AND HE'S JUST GIVING UP ON CROSSHAIR AND THAT HE'S NOT HONORING TECH'S SACRIFICE BY WANTING TO MOVE ON!!

I know we're all hurt and mourning a terrible tragedy; believe me, I was almost inconsolable last night and I cried myself to sleep...but I am SO SICK AND TIRED of Crosshair fans or even Tech fans always trying to villainize Hunter and not actually thinking about the situations!! I'm not saying this as a "biased" Hunter fan. I'm saying this as someone who understands the situation and actually thinks about things, not just hyperfocusing on one character and hating everyone! Hunter is justified in wanting to turn away and there's nothing wrong with that!!

Maybe I'm more angry cuz my emotions are all over the place, but this has also been something that's built up all season over several instances of people trying to make Hunter the bad guy when he's literally done nothing wrong!! And I'm just done with it. I'm not saying Hunter is perfect; I'm a fan who can admit he has his flaws, but he's not this terrible person I've seen some people try to make him.

I just...I can't. I'm tired of the negativity surrounding his character from certain sides of the fandom. I'm too broken right now and this is only adding to my heartache.

And if anyone wants to come at me and speak against Hunter or call out his actions or get after anything I've said, I'm warning you right now: DO NOT. I am highly emotional and I am on the verge of snapping and I don't want to end up saying something to someone I'll regret or hurting anyone's feelings. I'm not normally like this, but this finale has devastated me more than any show ever has and I'm not okay. So do not test me right now. I'll gladly cry over the finale with anyone, but if it's anything else that's negative, I will warn you to think twice before hitting that "send" button.

I'm sorry, I'm done. I just had to get all that off my chest and that's about all I can say without getting really riled up. I love you all and I'm thinking of all of you who are hurting as well.

[audiblehush]

*I've edited this a few times as more thoughts have come to me... like, a lot. People’s reactions to that S3 clips have me just… perplexed and distressed and banging my head against a wall.

People are happy Pen is “dragging” Colin for his one, ONE thoughtless comment the season prior. And I’m like… why do y’all want to see him in pain so much? Why?? We’ve all made mistakes like this and the PenStans are being really unfair to him. His errs pale FAR in comparison to the stuff Pen has done.

Meanwhile, Pen haters are furious and calling her a hypocrite for what she said and want to Colin flip the fuck out at her down the line after the LW reveal.

Both of them have in been wrong and done wrong in multiple instances, again - with varying levels of severity. Pen has done some awful shit (even if she had her reasons) and imo is CLEARLY shame spiraling while ripping into him, in a way that he does not deserve. While Colin has admittedly not only put his foot in his mouth in a pretty public way, and (a much more minor scale) has also been either willfully (doubtful) or naively / innocently (more likely) playing with Pen’s reputation, esp. in S2 in a way that, intentionally or not, lead her on a smidge... NONE of these things justify Pen not giving hi a chance to explain himself. (Though, a reminder that book Colin was always aware of Pen’s crush and careful as a result- we don’t know about show Colin, but I almost hope he’s not aware because that makes some of his choices YIKES... but my instinct is just that he has not felt romantically about her and is hella naive to her feelings).

They can BOTH be wrong!!! We can hold space for both of those truths!! They are both allowed to express that hurt... to a POINT.

I’m tired of people thinking that Pen grappling with her choices has to be a) just… not doing that and pretending she’s perfect (I'm looking at you PenStans) or b) Colin or others screaming at her in punishment or to get on her knees and crawl and repent.

Mind you, this doesn’t mean Pen doesn’t deserve to be called out, she TOTALLY DOES and it is NEEDED for her development and accountability, but why does it need to be done in a way that’s cruel? Two wrongs make a right?? This isn't enemies-to-lovers!!! Eloise already tried an angry outburst and all it did was fan the flames and hurt and made things worse... because Pen lashed RIGHT back out. That exchange started with the intent of causing pain and even when the two inevitably make up, things were said that cannot be unsaid or forgotten. That fight was so painful because they were both hurting and trying to hurt... and they were both partly wrong and both partly right.

The Show!Colin I love is not someone who revels in a righteous anger. He has every right to be hurt by Pen’s choices and to express that hurt, but it’s distressing to me that people want him to blow his top at Penelope in return because she “deserves it.”

1) To me it's OBVIOUS she’s clearly already fucking hurting and NOT COPING WELL and has a lot to grapple with this season regarding her fuck ups and lack of confidence. That doesn't lessen his hurt, but Would Colin really want to do that when his friend is hurting? I don't want a vindictive, smug Colin, not matter how justified he would be in acting that way.

2) In reality, an angry blow up would be so fucking vindictive and unhealthy to BOTH parties and I hope the show doesn’t go that route. I hated angry!book Colin and hope he his “let me grab Pen’s arm and knowingly hurt her as I squeeze because I’m angry so there” stays far away from Show!Colin. He can express his hurt and pain and disappointment ("You're my friend, how could you do that to me?") without a vicious a screaming match (or godforbid manhandling her). In fact, I think it would be less effective for Pen AND less healing for Colin himself.

Pen is hurting and Colin is hurting and I’M hurting because I want my babies to figure it out without harming each other further in shortsighted anger. At least this happens early… I hope Colin gets his say early on too, even if the LW stuff has to come later. I need them to start working shit out.

Why the fuck do people want them to continue hurting each other? Why do you want to see these already suffering characters suffer more?

Who does that benefit?! EDIT: Now I'm seeing takes that they think Pen's mad at Colin for not returning her feelings?! How on earth is that a valid reading when A) she knows that he's in the dark about her feelings? Even when she's snipping at him in this clip, she doesn't say the reason it hurt is because feelings she has. She CERTAINLY doesn't want him to know now B) it's clear that Penelope's self-esteem when it comes to feeling being worthy of love is practically non-existent? Do we think maybe she's angry about the fact that barely an hour after he promised to look out for her he said a phrase that the people around him clearly took in a way that was mocking to Pen? And didn't see him immediately contradict the cruel laughter? Even if it's a large misunderstanding (which I hope it is), it's easy to see why Pen would take that that way if you extend some basic empathy for her. She is not DEMANDING he return her feelings; she was was expecting a friend who wasn't (seemingly) talking about her behind her back. That's not unreasonable (even if she should have confronted him right away about it to clear the air, she was reeling after her friendship with Eloise imploded... she wasn't exactly thinking clearly).

I'm so confused; why do these people who claim to love Polin refuse to try and even remotely understand why Pen is the fucking trainwreck she is right now (or has been since the end of S1 tbh)? Understanding is not endorsement. Empathy is not endorsement. I'm so tired...

[hyperanaemia]

Sorry, I don't mean to disappear for months, but I've been getting back into reading comics after taking a super long break to play bg3. So, I've finally gotten around to reading the Knight Terrors: Robin issues that have been sitting in my 'to read' box months after they've been relevant. I’m sure everyone else had a bunch to say when it came out but here’s my two cents. 

The issues just really fall flat to me. Like, I wasn't expecting a two-shot to be a deep dive into Tim's dead-dad trauma or anything, but I do feel like it misses what the core fear/horror that surrounds Jack's death is. 

Like, the KT issues posset that what Tim fears the most is failing to save people, with his dad's death being the figurehead of that. That this failure is what makes him unworthy of being Robin. I'm not going to say that isn't true, that reasoning definitely factors into Tim's trauma. But it also just feels basic to me.

Like, 'failing to save a loved one' is one of the most basic superhero tropes at this point. I'd be hard pressed to think of a hero who hasn't failed to save someone they know. It might as well be a rite of passage.  

(In fact, here's a panel of Tim thinking as such about his parents in an issue literally called Rites of Passage.) 

Also, Tim has already had a 'crisis of faith' arc after failing to save someone with the character of Eldon Adams (Young El). It had a very big impact on Tim and the fallout of that lasted for several issues.

Identity Crisis certainly has its flaws and at times I question the need to kill off Jack in the first place. But, to me anyway, Jack's death is beautifully written and manages to tie his and Tim's decades-long storyline off in an interesting way. 

The important point to make about Tim in relation to all this is that he chooses to be Robin. He was never picked, he was never fated, he was not born to do it. Robin is something he actively chooses to be. At first, it's an easy choice to make. Tim reasons that since his parents are off doing their own thing it won’t be an issue if he’s gone all the time. But, as time goes on, Jack starts spending more time at home, wanting to spend more time with Tim. The issue "resolves" in this instance by having Jack's time get taken up when he starts dating Dana Winters. But this tension continues to be a major subplot throughout Tim’s series. Tim and Jack’s already strained relationship is constantly made worse by Robin.     

Tim feels guilty that his duty as Robin keeps getting in the way of his relationships. Tim's friends like Ives and Ariana are constantly stood up or brushed aside. Anything that ties Tim to the normal life he used to have is always being balanced against Robin. And for as much as Tim tries to maintain it, for as much as he says his normal life is what keeps him grounded when push comes to shove Tim always ends up choosing Robin.  

The thing that makes Jack's death different from all the other parental deaths in the Batfam, and the Identity Crisis did right, is that they made it a direct consequence of Tim choosing to be Robin. Bruce's parents were killed at random. Dick's were targeted in a situation outside of his control. Jason's mother was killed for her involvement with the Joker, which started before he even met her (and his dad with Two-Face).  

Jack was killed because his son was Robin. In Identity Crisis, Jean Loring targets the family members of heroes. She never would have hired Captain Boomerang to kill Jack if Tim wasn't Robin.  

(Obviously, none of this is to minimize any of these characters' pain or to say one is worse than another.)   

The added twist of the knife is that Tim had been spending that week with Jack instead of helping everyone find the killer. It's the one night that Tim chooses to go out as Robin again that Jack is killed. If Tim had stayed just one more night, even just one more hour, he could have saved his dad. And Jack lets him go because he knows how important Robin is to Tim.

This is more of an aside, I love this sequence of Tim ripping off his Robin uniform. Like obviously the intention is that Tim can't be seen wearing it when the police arrive. But the subtext to me reads that Tim is ripping Robin off, this thing that's come between them at every moment. Tim, before he even knows if Jack is alive or dead, doesn't want Robin to come between them anymore.

And Jack's death is something of a 'point of no return' for Tim. Before this, many of the people who know Tim is Robin have pointed out that he could always return to a normal life if he wanted to. Tim himself believes that he'll probably retire being Robin at some point. (I have my own thoughts that aren't relevant here about how that's more about him being practical as opposed to his genuine wish for his future, but I digress.) But after this, Tim is locked into the vigilante life. There's nothing normal he could return to. If he can’t be good at this, then what was the point? 

KT Robin just feels uninspired. It doesn't try to extract what makes Jack's death unique or interesting. It just picks the most surface-level takeaway you could have from it. Like, it's not just about being not good enough for the job. It's losing everything because you chose to do this job and you still don't know if you're good enough to do it.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Okay so I've been eating your art for a few days? Weeks? Months? Ever since I found you through my Welcome Home hyperfixation help it has me in it's death grips and just, admiring all the details you put into your pieces?

Like, I can't tag every little detail I come across and like from what you post, because I would be too distracting from the contents of the post and my gushing and speculating derived from that alone, but I see and like them even if I don't say too much about it.

For instance, don't think I didn't see the grime at the edges of Frank's frown and mouth in your Lights Out AU post! It is such a small detail to notice, but it really sells the idea of the puppets becoming grimy, scruffy, and dirtier as time goes on and they are stuck in the dark with little to nothing to clean themselves. I feel like it is most noticeable with their hair, as my gosh do they all need a hair brush by the time we see the group interactions of the unlikely four, but I enjoy seeing their disheveled selves as they try to go through life in the dark. While I won't pick up on every little detail, the stuff I do see is really interesting a think about, that you didn't need to add it but you did because you enjoyed making it l, and it's pretty heartwarming in a way for me you know?

Anyways, as a fellow artist, it's both cool and concerning because I get the gist of how much time and energy it can take to make stuff! I enjoy and adore your art and thoughts a ton, just remember to take care of yourself and not to push too hard on yourself to make stuff! Stretch and drink water, etc etc etc, and remember there are always people who will like what you make, be it dragons, welcome home stuff, and oc thingies!

AH IM

WHY ARE ALL OF YOU SO NICE!!! MY STUNTED EMOTIONS CANT HANDLE IT!!!! no but seriously i had to take a break reading this to walk through my house and Simmer Down bc man... the reaction pic is accurate.... i made Several dying animal noises!

i'm beyond happy that the details are being Noticed and are Enjoyable! i like to include as many as i can (when i Think of them, which happens less often than i'd like). i rarely have it in me to scribble Full Things, so i try to make up for it with the little things! it seems to be working, yippee! and it Is fun to include them, yeah <3

you take care of yourself as well! actually, get some water as soon as you read this. All Of Ya's. im takin a hefty sip rn so you all better get hydrated with me. no diedrating on this blog no sirree!! but yes um thank you so much for the very kind ask! mentally i am printing it out and pinning it to my wall! i will be thinking about it every time i Add Little Details!

[m0nost4tic]

someone's gotta hear me out here;

octopath traveler ii apocalyptic au.

it has SO MUCH raw potential, no matter which route you want to take for it.

soooo.... prepare yourself for a ramble on potential ideas. do keep in mind i divided it up by sections only after writing most of it though 💔

-- general concept //

i've mentioned the idea to a handful of friends, and most of them assume i mean an apocalyptic au placed in a more modern setting. that in itself is interesting and a whole other concept to explore, but what i've *really* been thinking of is one set in solistia.

at first, i wanted to use the stereotypical zombie virus. but when i further thought on it, that wouldn't really make sense in ot2's context. i mean, yeah, it could be a situation like castti's - but how would a mutated virus tie back to an overlooming shadow the same way trousseau's poison does?

there were a billion different ways to create or sever that tie. the virus' mutation could have been caused by the darkness, or the virus itself originating from a creature of it, or something else among the lines of that. i couldn't really settle on just one solid idea - until i remembered osvald's final chapter.

osvald's final chapter features people who are "possessed" by this shadow magic. they are unable to speak and appear violent to *some* extent. plus, after you're able to free them from this trance, they seem to be unaware of what had only just taken place.

in addition to this, while playing the game, you have a set chance of encountering a monster who looks *just* like one of the others, save for its darker palette and shadow-themed battle scenery. this also appears in ochette's final. and temenos' final, when that magic mutates kaldena into some sort of monster? AND the darkblood blade causing a similar instance with mugen?? ANDDD the dark akala/mahina for ochette's final???? and not to mention trousseau using "poisonous shadow energy" to cause fatal illness. the perfect set-up for a zombielike concept is literally all RIGHT there

-- hikari //

HOWEVER. using the shadow as a direct cause of it brings up a few questions that need solving. if we go with a "the last of us" sort of concept, where the people who are infected are *alive* but serve as "hosts," then what would that mean for hikari??? there's a bunch of different ways to explore that. would he technically be born infected and, therefore, have partial immunity?? if so, how would his infected state affect not only him but the other travelers as well??? i imagine it functions pretty similarly to the original curse, maybe with a few sickly symptoms?

i think one of the key differences with hikari and other forms of the shadow is sentience. with the people from osvald's ch. 5, they're reduced to just making animalistic sounds in place of speaking. in hikari and temenos' finals, both mutated versions of bosses have a VERY limited speech pattern and seem to entirely lose themself. in ochette's story, it afflicted animals. on the flip side, when it comes to hikari's curse, we have this shadow within that can speak and think for itself. while it is a possibility this sentience is limited because most (if not all) of what it thinks about is violence, it's perfectly capable of interacting with people (...if it ever wanted to without hurting them)

so...maybe it wouldn't act like the other infected whenever hikari loses control of it? but it probably still has a strong lust for blood. PLUS, being that this is set in an apocalyptic setting, being around violence is going to be an incredibly common occurrence. hikari'll have to be dealing with it. a LOT. i feel like at some point the other travelers start to notice that something's up, depending on which representation of the curse you wanna go for. like, if it's just partial infection immunity, hikari could be bitten at some point, start feeling a faint bit sickly, and everyone's grieving and preparing for his loss, and then...it just. doesn't happen. or, if you wanna go for something like the shadow being recognized as something similar to the infected, there could be an instance where hikari is struggling against it, and the infected they were in the middle of fighting charge toward him, set to attack, and— then they just walk around him, as if he didn't exist at all. this would probably act similar to the whole smell disguise thing in the walking dead or like the zombies ignoring the ill in world war z

-- throné //

the shadow's relation to the apocalypse would also raise a few questions for throné. for instance, if this widespread infection is marking the beginning of vide's return and the end of time, what would this mean about throné being a 'vessel?' what about her own blood ties to d'arqest (and the ones she shares with hikari)?

since throné doesn't have 1-to-1 interactions with her dark ancestry (the shadow), i wouldn't go quite as far as hikari's concepts. like, i don't think she'd be immune to them. buuuuut, as she was born as a potential candidate as vide's vessel, i can see her being better at handling the infected. maybe it'd be something like a heightened sense or intuition of their actions. there could be more of an understanding that's beyond just empathy of the tragedy. after all, these things are technically vide's creation, and she's not so far off from being considered one too. i wouldn't go off into fantasy land and say she can talk to them or something, but i can see her predicting some of their behaviors. if they ever try to sneak up on the cast, both because of her assassin/thief history and this trait, she'd be the first to notice them and spring into action-- even before they're actually near the group. it's like a feeling of paranoia except, most of the time, it's true

ochette could perhaps possess a similar ability (though not quite the same) due to the orign of the beastlings, and because of her being basically pure light LMAO. even vide couldn't find a way to corrupt her

another note- i feel like traveler stories relating to vide would be much more rooted in cultism than they were originally. you've probably seen films or shows of post-apocalyptic scenarios. cults spresd FAST. and, speaking of which...

-- the moonshade order //

THESE GUYS. eugh i both love and hate them sm i'm gonna throw them

anyway. so, in this version of what i'm describing, the only main world change is the timeline order. long story short, these guys managed to pull a lot of the big bad strings way back, maybe even before some of the travelers were born (glances at agnea) but i haven't fully arranged it out yet

ALTHOUUUGH, as we know, there are circumstances that were only capable thanks TO the travelers. (ex. kazan using the ku civil war to retrieve the blade). i think this is EXACTLY why vide has yet to fully return. maybe they've managed to get 2 or 3 of the flames out (i'm not completely sure which ones are possible and which ones aren't. i'd have to look back at it later... it's currently 12 am at the time of me writing this, so there's zero way i'm checking atm </3). in this csse scenario, i see this like a weakening on the seal, and hence, allowing for the beginning of the end to start

otherrr than that, post-apocalyptic, i see them functioning as a cult. ..well, they technically already are, but a more influential one. like, let's take kazan, for example. he would definitely use the apocalypse as an opportunity to 'advise' the king and general mugen. ...iiiin other words, basically manipulating them.

!! subsection about ku because i rambled a bit //

since ku's so war-heavy, after the kingdom falls (and, geographically wise, they'd likely be one of the last standing), i envision them having a survivor group ran by the royal family. kazan would use the chaos and conflict to paint himself in to a higher, more influential role in this group. as hikari would be pretty young when the apocalypse began, i can picture kazan becoming his mentor in this au. he'd probably speak to hikari and other people of ku about vide and the end of the 'cruel and ugly world' and such, and, because most people are willing to listen to just about anything in this stats of emergency, they start believing in it, too. maybe not as deeply as kazan, but it might influence them in behaviors or habits, like serving to only worsen ku's war-thirsty nature or people of the group beginning to adapt a more "ah, well, it is what it is. this cruel and ugly world will end soon anyway" mindset

also, on kazan mentoring hikari, this would definitely be another manipulation tactic. enough people of ku know about the curse (and, in mugen's case, about hikari's mixed ancestral bloodline) for it to be expected that kazan is fully aware of it. i wouldn't even be surprised if part of the plan was to use hikari to, at last, fully free vide. orrr, maybe kazan treats hikari as if he's vide's intended vessel? either way, this would cause much deeper rooted psychological problems for hikari. like...ku's violence meter probably went WAAAY up due to the stress and panic of the apocalypse. and then you add in the blackouts associated with the shadow within that he's not fully aware of until adulthood. and also a lot of the similar event sequences to his original storyline.

i just really quickly fetched a few small hypothetical concepts i sent to a friend about post-apoc ku late october;

" hikari's upbringing would therefore likely have a lot more of kazan's involvement in it, as well as all those bad behaviors.

ofc, just like he strays from his family's history of violence in canon, hikari often strays away from the path kazan tries to set up for him. he disagrees with all the violence and a good amount of the questionable behaviors clan ku exhibits

in facctttt

one idea i had for this version of ku, was that they sometimes keep others hostage for bargaining, torturing for information, cult-like related reasons, etc. but this would be pretty rare because ku would fucking murder most of their hostages

there was one scene i imagined would perhaps make a tie between him and another character (most likely partitio due to ku and oresrush's proximities)

in this case, lets say there's been a group near their area that they've been struggling to "sniff out," and they finally happen to find one of the members of that group. if this was as a tie to partitio, then this would likely be one of his friends - nikki, joe, maybe even alrond, etc.

young hikari realizes he's roughly the same age as the hostage and, ofc, feels super fucking bad. and hence sneaks out at night to bandage the captive's wounds and maybe try to free him

during that whole interaction, i imagine him saying something along the lines of "it's okay," offering out his hand to show the bandages and his intent to help, "...i'm not like them."

if/when he frees this person, kazan would definitely have the suspicion it was hikari and eventually find the evidence it was (likely through manipulating hikari to spill), and young hikari would get *a ton* of shit for it

to mimic a lot of things that happens in hikari's story, another thing i did sort of want portrayed was his mother's death;

but i thought it more similarly to a twd character, where his father clings onto a zombified version of her (and this could serve as another reason for the occasional captive and excessive bouts of manslaughter)

until, one day, she's found fckin dead. wound indicates a sword to the head and all. hikari personally felt a sort of peace with the fact, because he saw it as her *finally* being allowed to rest properly. he knew and recognized that the walkers were anything but human, and while they once were, the person they were before was most definitely *gone*. (hence he'd be the type to go out of his way to put an end to walkers that're trapped or hung, because he wants those people to finally feel a sense of peace instead of being trapped in whatever sort of hell that was. if the shadow was to have a big hold on him, it would also contribute to this sympathy because he'd *know* some of the hell they'd gone through)

....however, the rest of clan ku would *not* see it that way and treat it as an assassination. and that's another pointer to hikari that things around him are kinda lowkey fucked up

....and because of the way he viewed it, and him being young and not yet really knowing that view was VERY frowned upon, a lot of the clan ends up thinking he was the one who carried it out. henceee more of the shit hikari receives. the shit w/ jin mei would also be connected 2 this "

!! back to moonshade //

mindt may cause something sort of like that among the church, or be able to spread the word of vide under the disguise OF the proper church of the sacred flame. people are 10x more likely to listen to official clerics instead of some rambling lunatic, right?

okay i'm getting too tired to keep writing tjis it just turned 1 in the morning and i didn' sleep yesterdah. 😭😭. i MIGHT come back and revisit this if anything else comes to mind!!!! most of my thoughts have pertained to hikari and thr ku kingdom, so if this post somehow manages to pique anyone's interest at all, i'm really open to hesring any ideas you might have for any of tje travelers or ot2 chatacters! orrr any input about things i've already thought up. i really wanna find some way to implement ships into this too but i haven't gotten to think on it much. i'm personally a sucker for partikari, castthroné, and knightlight/crimenos. but also just relationships in general, like the close-knit friendship between throné and temenos. .....this is making me realize how much more thinking and planning i have to do 😭

ps i'm newer to tumblr so i'm sorry if the formatting in this is god awful💔. i wanted somewhere to rant about my silly little slow work in progress apoc au in the middle of the might and thought you guys would be best suited lmfao

[gffa]

Did the Senate ever address the fact that the use of clones to fight in a war that they were bred for against their will, was in violation of the Republic's anti slavery laws or is that what Bail was referring to, that the Senate wouldn't approve the use clones?

No, the Senate never addresses the clones as slaves, which I think is because they can't view them that way, because the narrative doesn't view them that way. The narrative of Star Wars views the clones as having been drafted into the war more than as slaves, that's why no narratively reliable character really ever frames them as such, that it's always about how they were drafted for the war. Take the episode "Shattered" for example, when Ahsoka and Rex are talking about the war 

REX: “Well, I've known no other way. Gives us clones all a mixed feeling about the war.  Many people wish it never happened. But without it, we clones wouldn't exist.” Their reactions are about the war being the reason for their existence, so they’re kind of glad for it, there’s nothing about them being slaves here, despite that it would have been easy to put it in there, given they were addressing their conflicted feelings. Or the episode with Cut Lawquane, where Rex explicitly frames him as a deserter: CUT: “My name is Lawquane. Cut Lawquane. And I'm just a simple farmer." REX: “You're a deserter.” Or their conversation about their choices: CUT: “I like to think I'm merely exercising my freedom to choose. To choose not to kill for a living.” REX: “That is not your choice to make. You swore an oath to the Republic. You have a duty." CUT: “I have a duty. You're right. But it's to my family. Does that count, or do you still plan to turn me in?”

REX: “So what was it?” CUT: “What made me decide to leave the corps?  Shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, our troop transport got caught between two Separatist gunships. They fired on us with everything they had. We crashed. Most of us were either dead or severely injured. So when they started working their way through the wounded, killing us off, I knew there was no hope. I ran. It still haunts me.” REX: “I'm sorry.” CUT: “It's the day I felt my life didn't have any meaning. Everyone I cared about, my team, was gone. I was just another expendable clone waiting for my turn to be slaughtered in a war that made no sense to me. Can you understand that, Rex?” Or this conversation: CUT: “Come on, Rex, admit it. You've thought about what your life could look like if you were to also leave the army, choose the life you want.” REX: “What if I am choosing the life I want? What if I'm staying in the army because it's meaningful to me?” Later, at the end of the episode: REX: “You're still a deserter, Cut, but you're certainly not a coward.” Or look at Padme’s speech to the Senate about how “buying more clones is making us poor ):” doesn’t address that they’re slaves and you can’t tell me that Padme Amidala wouldn’t bring it  up, if the narrative meant for that to be the takeaway. These instances would have been perfect places to insert mentions of the clones as slaves, but the narrative never does with any character that is acting in good faith, because the narrative sees them as drafted into military service, so none of the characters around them or the characters themselves can react to the idea that they’re slaves.  The Jedi can’t react to them as slaves. Bail and Padme can’t react to them as slaves, the clones themselves can’t react to them as slaves, because the story didn’t see it that way.  And it’s not a fair criticism to inject it into the story when the characters are barred from reacting to it. Now, let’s be clear, that’s not to say the clones’ situation is totally okay then, because it’s not and we can criticize the writing on a Doylist level and I’m absolutely on the hill that the clones should not have been written this way, I’ve planted my flag firmly on it, because it is slavery when we the audience look at it and it’s horrific, which I think was meant to be at least sad, but given that even characters like Bail and Padme and the Jedi don’t ever bring it up, characters who are the good people and heroes of the story, means that it’s just not part of what the story was trying to tell.  It’s a failure of the writing, not a failure of the characters.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

It was mentioned several times that vestige AFO had some card up his sleeve that he hasn't used yet. And the fact that Shigaraki still could use AFO meant that the vestige was still there, too. Thinking he wouldn't appear again as a way for Tomura to confront his grooming by AFO and the fact that AFO is the one who created his villain persona and with AFOFA plotline and his relationship with Yoichi being unresolved is more stupid than him returning. Also, can people please start using their eyes and actually read because Horikoshi literally confirmed that Tomura is still inside and screaming in AFO's head 😭

Like I said previously, it's not that it doesn't make sense or that it is bad writing (putting that in bold just for you, anon), it's that I feel it's repetitive.

You need to differentiate between analysis of the story and personal opinions, meaning you need to use your eyes and read what people writes and not assume their intentions.

Every story is only what the writer wants that story to be. The way Horikoshi solves his story only follows the rule of what he wants to tell through it. It doesn't mean that the story had only one way of being told— that's what fanfiction and original fiction exist, to tell a story with the same or different characters in a new way.

Writers are just writers and people can like or dislike their art for multiple reasons. Even the big names through history were subjected to sooo much debated it's funny to remember. A shonen writer is not the exception sjdjjdndjdj

I don't like being rude if I can avoid it. It's just that asks like this made me angry. You could have told me that you don't agree with me and mention all you said in the asks. You could have said that you don't think I'm interpreting things correctly, but don't come at me with passive aggressive asks.

Or at least don't use the anon feature, coward.

Finally, it doesn't annoy me when people come to me in order to understand better the manga or to get my opinion on something. Even when they're wrong and I can point out why, I don't think the right way is to send asks crying about "guys don't you have eyes omg". Don't speak through my blog if you can't make your own posts.

It really didn't cost you anything to be polite.

Btw, for other people to understand what made me mad about this posts:

This anon (let's call them Anon #1) is calling a previous anon (Anon #2) stupid for not liking a bnha plot point.

The problem is that I asked for the personal opinions of the bnha fans. I never said

"I want a literary analysis to determine if that plot point fits the narrative of the story, if it had been addressed in previous instances through the foreshadow and what do you think about bnha fans who ignore those instances".

Personal opinions can be anything. You can decide you don't like something based on vibes alone and it's fine! I'm not asking you to be the most rational person alive, just to tell me how you feel about something.

Here's the posts I'm talking about.

I even mentioned that my opinion about this very subject is biased. It doesn't make sense to be passive aggressive to me to prove a point that I've already admitted too, you know?

Here's the ask of Anon #2.

Anon #2 was never rude to a real person, just called a plot point in a fictional story "bad". I'm the first to admit that AFO coming back makes sense for the story and that it is not bad, that I disagree with Anon #2 about it.

I clearly stated all those things at the end of my ask to Anon #2.

I don't like when people use their knowledge about something fictional to feel superior to others. I don't like when people have something to say and they know it's rude, so they say it hiding behind the anon feature, sending an ask to someone else's blog instead of making their own post about it.

Maybe Anon #1 never meant to offend me, but does it make it better if it was directed towards Anon #2 and not me?

Complaining about people not being able to comprehend what they read is ironic when Anon #1 didn't read correctly my answer to Anon #2 in the first place.

My answer to this asks is just about how every fan of an art piece is entitled to think whatever they want, be them right or not. If you're gonna disrespect them, be responsible and don't hide behind others like some sort of bully.

The worst part is that Anon #1 has great points that totally went to waste because they wanted to be an asshole soooo bad.

This is how it's done. I'm saying to Anon #1 what I think about them directly, I take all responsibility for my words and I'm not afraid to acknowledge what I've said.

Is the situation clear now?

[dearweirdme]

I think the analysis of sounds in the background of lives goes way overboard, and there are a several sounds that Taekookers yell about that I think have mundane explanations. Like, I think the one where everyone said Tae said "Tan-ah" is a noise Jungkook is making. I think the fridge in Jungkook's live was...a fridge. It sounded like water running for an automatic ice maker and the the ice dropping. The cough in the background of Tae's live in August is undeniably another person there. The Brazil live, probably the first instance of this kind of thing, is definitely someone in the room with him. I believe those are both Jungkook. Brazil, of course they were on tour and they had just had a scare with Jungkook collapsing back stage. I believe they wanted to be close to each other. The cough- we know Jungkook was sick. I can't deny that one. The person breathing next to him in bed...I can't deny it either. It's there. The breathing sound is there. It's not Tae. It sounds like Jungkook. I believe they're dating, so of course I believe they sleep together. So I don't know what else there is to say. JK just got back from a trip. We know Tae was missing him. He was probably missing Tae. It makes sense for him to be there. I don't need to question anything beyond that. Tae said he'd go live later and he did. I'm not someone who thinks "why would they do that..." because I'm not them. I was at Citi Field when Tae kissed Jungkook on the back of the neck, and even though he hid it from the official cams, he was still on stage. They're young. Younger than me. They're human. I've felt what I think they feel, and not everything we do makes perfect logical sense in every way all the time. Especially when you feel like that. So- *shrug* 😂 It is really funny how most people listened and immediately found themselves in the position of not being able to deny what they heard. The few who tried caved eventually and admitted it.

Hi anon!

You and me both! The fridge.. is a maybe for me, but there’s also many instances where I’m like .. meh. Especially when people say that on the base of them ‘looking’ at someone.

But this… I’ve seriously been holding back posting about it, because I was actually trying to see if I could come up with some other explanation, but I can’t. It’s weird, because we all basically believe they’re together so this shouldn’t surprise us. It’s just that usually it’s less clear and we do have some debunking to do 😂

[hillbilly---man]

what is your favorite part of a grocery store to organize, and why? i wonder if people who do your job like giving the best spots to their favorite foods or if it’s like, the size of something that makes it more or less a pain in the ass

Ahhh I love this question!

[To clarify my job in case anyone is new here or confused: I sit at a computer in an office and design planograms, the diagrams that grocery stores use to stock their shelves and standardize where items go]

At work, I've got several sections assigned to me (box dinners/mac & cheese, baking needs, Asian, flour/meal/coatings, sugar, pasta sauce, and a whole bunch more). So whenever it's time to redo one of those sections, either as part of a whole store remodel or to cut in a new item... I get to do it.

It's hard to choose a favorite section. I like doing the bottled juice section because there are always things getting removed and added. It's more interesting when I get to change the products! Box dinners are fun too for the same reason.

I also had to create a huge Asian aisle for a store several weeks ago and that was kind of fun.

We had some existing planograms for Asian foods, but nothing nearly as big as what this one particular store was asking for. It was a lot of work (I have to pull the list of all the Asian items from the warehouse, run the sales numbers, pick the products based on high sales and variety, decide where on the shelves the items go, and then send for approval)... But it was fun having that kind of creative control. Most of what I do is finding space for a new flavor of cheez-its so it's a big change.

For similar reasons, I also really like when I get instructed to do one-off special displays. I had to design planograms for a Tampico rack and a new bread aisle recently.

I don't normally get to favor things I like when designing the planograms, sadly. Usually they want certain brands to be in a certain place: the store brand along the right/bottom, the most popular brand often eye level and to the left, premium stuff in the middle and to the top. But every section is a little different. Sometimes, if two items are the same brand and have similar sales, I might give the one I prefer an extra facing though. 😈

[Quick definition: A "facing" is basically an instance of an item on the shelf. For example, if you're looking at the soda aisle and there are two rows of 2 liter orange fanta (which would look like two bottles sitting next to each other, with several lined up behind them) that's two facings]

Sizes are a pain in the ass! If I have a lot of products and a very small section (4 feet is our standard "small" size) then it's so hard fitting them in there. We are supposed to make sure there's at least one full case worth of product on the shelf at a time, which is tough when items are bulky or come in huge cases. This is why sometimes I'll joke that I'm the only person in the world happy about shrinkflation; when these companies make their packaging smaller it makes it easier for me to fit more products in the planogram.

On the flip side, if a planogram is HUGE (24 ft is a big one we have often) and I don't have very many items... It's easier but a different challenge. Sometimes I have to try to find items that would fit there. For a while, we had Yoo-hoo in our juice boxes section because there was so much space and the warehouse quit stocking a bunch of Capri-sun flavors. I guess I can just give everything a ridiculous number of facings, but that's lazy and it looks bad. Plus, if the products don't sell well you run into the problem of them expiring because the stores have to stock too many to fill the shelves.

This got really long lol. You can tell I'm really into this stuff hahaha