#both the questions/answers and the results

[afloweroutofstone]

Something new I learned today about the special treatment which the Israeli government gets from the US government: there's a completely unique process within the State Department to evaluate their human rights violations in such a way that military aid never gets cut off.

The US has what's called the "Leahy Law," which bars US security aid from going to military units identified as having committed major human rights violations. While this law has successfully prevented the transfer of security aid to some human rights abusers, it is also notoriously left unenforced in certain circumstances, including when it comes to Israel.

I'll leave the rest for an insider to explain.

Charles. O. (Cob) Blaha, "Israel and the Leahy Law," Just Security, June 10, 2024:

For seven and a half years, I served as director of the State Department office that leads Leahy vetting of foreign security units. I have seen how even and fair application of the Leahy law is key to U.S. foreign policy and credibility abroad. But when it comes to Israel — the story so far is about a lack of application.

U.S. State Department spokespersons assert that the department complies with the Leahy law via “ongoing processes,” and that treatment of Israel under the Leahy law is the same as for any other country.

Both assertions are incorrect...

Israel receives large quantities of untraceable assistance. In an attempt to develop the required list of ineligible Israeli security force units, the State Department established the so-called “Israel Leahy Vetting Forum” (ILVF), which first met in 2020. Department bureaus and Embassy Jerusalem spent months before that negotiating standard operating procedures (SOPs), the text of which has not been published, for the ILVF. The SOPs created a unique, complex, time-consuming, high-level Leahy process. In over four years, the ILVF process has failed to approve the identification of a single ineligible Israeli unit.

There are similar processes for other countries where assistance cannot be traced. But unlike the ILVF, those processes are informal, performed virtually at the expert/working level, and most importantly — they work. Unlike the ILVF, they have resulted in agreed-upon lists of ineligible units.

The ILVF is an entirely different beast. While preliminary work happens virtually at the expert/working level, the ILVF requires periodic in-person meetings at a higher level, slowing the process. Each succeeding step of the process often involves even higher, senior-level department and Embassy Jerusalem approvals, which further slow the process.

The IVLF SOPs require that a determination that any Israeli unit is Leahy-ineligible rests with the Deputy Secretary of State. This is true for no other country in the world. Such determinations are routinely made at the working level, by experts versed in the Leahy law and knowledgeable about the foreign security units in question. Disputes are resolved at those same levels; few even rise to the office director level. During my tenure as an office director, not a single Leahy ineligibility determination in the approximately 200,000 cases my office vetted annually worldwide went above my level for decision.

But even before all this, before a case even goes to the Deputy Secretary for a decision, ILVF SOPs require that formal requests be made to the government of Israel for information about allegations against any unit. Again, this is true for no other country in the world. This requires drafting, clearing, and delivering a written demarche to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, a process that takes weeks at best, often months. After that, it often takes as long as three months for the government of Israel to answer the request. And after receiving Israel’s answer, the case returns to the ILVF for yet another in-person meeting...

According to the Leahy law, a unit is ineligible for U.S. security assistance if there is “credible information” that it has committed a gross violation of human rights. The credible information standard is intentionally low, due to the difficulty of getting information from victims and witnesses, foreign government efforts to cover up misconduct, and the importance of making sure assistance does not go to human rights violators. As the State Department’s own training guidance makes clear, the credible information standard does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, nor clear and convincing evidence, nor evidence that would be admissible in court. The key is that the information “should be deserving of confidence as a basis for decision-making.”

However, in actual ILVF practice, the standard for ineligibility is almost impossibly high. Information that for any other country would without question result in ineligibility is insufficient for Israeli security force units.

Political considerations, including the possibility of criticism from a foreign government, are not relevant to Leahy law eligibility decisions. But in actual practice, some ILVF members include concern about criticism from the government of Israel as a factor in determining whether a unit is ineligible and deciding which cases to send to higher levels for action.

[lessi-lover]

sneaky II c.foord x k.mccabe

katie mccabe x caitlin foord x child!reader

★ ~ k.mccabe x c.foord

caitlin knew that for a normally well behaved kid like yourself, you were picking up an awful bad amount of scrappy habits from both your parents and their teammates.

it started of simple, with you resulting to repeating some not so child friendly words that you had heard mam say whilst she was trying to put together your new big girl bed, since your old one had grown to small for a newly three year old you and caitlin had been begging katie to put it together for months now.

then came the sneakiness that you had likely picked up off your mums teammates, as teyah and vic always counted on you to steal them extra gummies from the lolly jar, until kim had seen you climbing up on the counter and put them a little too high up for you to reach.

still you made the older scot promise she would keep it a secret from you mum, even offering her a gummy as a way of hushing the arsenal captain. and although she took it regardless warning you she shouldn't see you climbing up again without an adult.

even katie wasn't quite sure how in the six months since she brought you a pre - season training for the first time that you'd decided that not only were you allowed to repeat every little thing she said, but you also apparently had the right to take as much chocolate from the kitchen at home as you wanted.

it had gotten a few weeks into you smuggling chocolate that was only as a special treat into your bedroom, when katie found you lifting your small body up onto the kitchen counter and hoisting yourself up to open the top shelf.

if only you hadn't been singing to yourself whilst doing it, you may have noticed the way your mam crept up behind you and tugged you into her arms. "what are you doing ya little cheek?" she giggled, tickling your stomach, laughing at your attempt to escape her arms and call for help from the cat who only purred and snuck away.

"nofin," you replied instantly. a poker face on that you were maybe too young to have mastered, but still catching your breath, you wheezed and pushed her prodding fingers away.

katie shook her head at your accent, your voice a complete and utter mess of the australian and irish accents of your parents which you seemed to have adopted into a mush of different words and phrases you had picked up from the pair.

she had noticed that you had integrated a few australian words that she hadn't heard even caitlin say before, but she blamed it on the fact that they kept letting kyra babysit when they needed a night off.

"sure about that cheeky? cause the chocolate all over your face says differently." she questioned and you give her a fowl look in return, shocked at why she would think you would take chocolate, even if the incriminating evidence was smeared all over your cheeks.

"not chocolate!" you try to convince your mam, who you think slightly believes you before she leans her face down and kisses all over your face. "hmm. maybe it's not chocolate." she says sarcastically, lowering your body to the ground and chuckling as you immediately run off in search of your cat.

katie thinks it's kind of funny that you think you got away with it and she's sure caitlin would have had something to say about you taking the chocolate you're only meant to have on special occasions. but she let it go because she really did think you looked cute with the chocolate melting on your small face, even if it was her favourite kind.

you're still smiling when you return to the kitchen with cooper in your grasp, the grey cat seeming to be licking the evidence of your face as you fed him cat biscuits and showed him to his water bowl next to the counter.

"who taught you how to get onto the counter cheeky?" she questions finally, amused by the game you seem to be playing with the cat, waving a feather toy around in your hand as his eyes follow you eagerly.

"viccy." you answered, completely distracted by the way cooper seems to try and swat the toy out of your hands, which you lifted above your head to make him jump higher.

katie sighs, she knew of course it had to be either kyra or vic who had taught you how to get up on the counter, and it only proved her point further that she had walked in on the three of you whispering away the other day during break time.

katie checks the time on the stove, caitlin should be home soon, she had been in town with the aussie girls and had left the two of you to make dinner at home for when she got back.

katie lifted you off the floor and back onto the kitchen counter. "got up myself mam!" you complained, trying to lift yourself back down as katie kept you stable on the marble top.

"i know cheeky. you going to help me make dinner for mummy?" and you were immediately distracted, completely forgetting that you wanted to get down and instead interested in what was for dinner.

"what food mam?" you asked, waving your hands in her face as she read through the recipe caitlin had sent her, raising a brow when she realised half the recipe was most definitely not in the fridge or pantry.

looking puzzled for a minute, katie weighed the possible dinner she could make in her head, and leaning more towards takeaway she turned to meet you with a matching grin.

"you know what cheeky, i reckon we order in some nandos." she chuckled, pulling out her phone to look at the menu. "yay nandos!" you shrieked in excitement, you had been there enough times after games that you loved the resturant.

it was just as your mam was about to call, that you heard your mummy's key twist in the doorknob, sliding of the counter next to a distracted katie and running towards the door.

"mummy!" you smiled, the australian lifting you up into her arms and kissing your cheek. "hey lovie." caitlin sighed, resting your body on her hip as she put her bags down by the door and hung her keys on the rack.

"did you have fun with mam?" she asked you, listening as you described the movie you had watched that afternoon. caitlin couldn't count how many times you had watched frozen, it seemed to be your favourite movie and you always convinced them to let you watch it again some way or another.

"and then elsa saved the forest people!" you exclaimed, using your free hand to show your mummy how she freed the elements from the forest. "missed you." you grinned, kissing your mummy's cheek just as she you had seen your mam do this morning before you got ready for preschool.

"honey i'm home!" caitlin laughed, walking into the kitchen to a katie on the phone as she kissed her lips softly, walking past with you still in her arms to grab a glass of water.

"mummy can we pretty please bake brownies!" you asked hopefully, having quickly seen them on the menu katie was looking at when caitlin carried you past and now that was exactly what you wanted.

"maybe cheeky, ask your mam." caitlin responded, a usual for the couple as they always passed on the permission to the other when they didn't know what to say to you.

"mam pretty please can we make brownies!" you whined, putting on your most best angel eyes like lessi had taught you when you wanted to get something from someone.

sure enough, katie couldn't say no to your face when your lip gently jutted over the other and you looked almost to tears if she hadn't allowed you sooner.

"yes cheeky. we can make brownies whilst we wait for the food." she gave in, her hand tickling under your chin as your frown converted into a bright smile just as she knew it would. your mummy doesn't like when katie just allows you to reign terror, but she doesn't think she could stop you herself either.

delivering you back into your mam's arms, you resulted to playing another game you had made in which you would put your hand on the counter and katie would place her own over your smaller hand and so on until she would grab you and tickle you until you were in a fit of giggles.

"katie why is there no chocolate in the pantry?"

[greens-spilled-tea]

My non-plural and non-CDD partner has recently started doing an interesting bit of introspective work on themselves which involves what they call "Department Reporting". They've started conceptualizing bits of themselves as belonging to specific departments: Cognition (related to thinking and logic), Somatics (related to the body), Emotions (related to feelings), Memory Recall (related to short and long-term memory), and Abstraction/Creativity/Synthesis (related to creative output and abstract thought). They will do a nightly check-in with each of these aspects of themselves, seeing if any of these particular departments are in any need of help or support and making plans on how to address any needs each department has for the next day.

And this has been absolutely amazing for them. They've struggled with various forms of dissociation for a while now which has made addressing their needs difficult. Talking to me more has helped them realize that though they do experience themselves as a unified whole singular identity, it may be helpful to break down specific aspects of themselves into categorized parts in order to gain a better understanding of themselves. And the results have been fantastic. They're so much more grounded, they're better able to communicate what they want and need from me, and they're able to just generally take better care of themselves.

I was genuinely worried that having them separate out these aspects of themselves into specific groups may be harmful for them. After all, I have DID and I know exactly how maladaptive separating these parts of myself out too much can hurt me. And so I started asking them questions. Are they feeling disconnected or dissociated from the other parts of themselves? Do they sense any amount of "becoming plural" throughout all this?

And... the answer has been, no, not at all. In fact, they feel even more integrated than before as they can now feel connected to more of themselves compared to before. Their memory has improved, their energy levels have improved, their emotional regulation has gotten so much better. And I think it's just absolutely wonderful and fascinating that conceptualizing themselves as having parts/departments has actually ended up with them feeling even more like a unified whole than before.

It's definitely really interesting comparing our experiences, and seeing how my final fusion journey both mirrors and also differs from how my singlet partner experiences their self and identity. I think, in the end, having DID and/or being plural is ultimately not so different from what being a singlet is like, and maybe it'll be beneficial to sometimes find those similarities to help us understand and relate to each other more.

[midnightkolrath]

Looking over the results of the Capcom Super Election held awhile back and I'm happy to say...

Devil May Cry holds two Number 1 spots, with Dante holding the crown for favorite character and DMC5 for favorite title.

But, I'm gonna dig more into the details of the results, because it amuses me.

For example, the top 10 for the world has DMC5 as number 1, while Japan has Okami as number 1...which still makes me happy because I also LOVE Okami.

Dino Crisis clocked in at 2nd with RE4R taking 3rd generally.

Dante won the hearts of both the world AND Japan for that number 1 favorite character spot. Its universally agreed Dante's the coolest.

I will say though that the Male vs. Female top 10 details make me laugh abit because Dante and Leon really do be fighting for 1st and 2nd there.

The nicest thing I like to see though? This.

Dino Crisis, Megaman and DMC holding the top 3 spots for interest in sequel/new game. Not the Remake specified question, but this is p big in letting Capcom know that there IS interest.

For the 'which would you like to see a remake of' question, the top answer was 'Nothing on the given list' basically, with fans tossing in their personal desires.

All in all, you can check the full results here along with more details on World vs. Japan votes and comments based on those who did the survey. Its had around 254k votes total which is still alot of vocal input from fans all around. Hopefully they carry onward with what was given in the future!

[latinare]

How do we, in the modern day, know how Latin is supposed to be pronounced?

There are two answers to this question, because there are two different systems of Latin pronunciation in use.

Ecclesiastical Pronunciation was handed down. Latin died as a regular spoken language but transitioned into the language of scholars and clerics without a break in its use. Teachers taught students how to pronounce it, right up to the present day. Because people don't transmit knowledge perfectly, however, the pronunciation has shifted over time.

In the early 20th century there was an effort to correct this and reconstruct the way Latin might have been pronounced in Ancient Rome. This is known as Classical Pronunciation, and is the result of scholarly research. Here's a link if you'd like to learn more about it.

As a wannabe medievalist, I favour Ecclesiastical pronunciation, but I'll try to be objective for the moment and say both have their merits. :)

[ericshoney]

Mean Prank ~ Brothers!Sturniolo Triplets

Summary: Your brothers ask you to be in a car video, only to prank you by being really mean.

Warnings: Usual swearing, being mean (for the prank), crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick, Matt and Chris were home in Boston for a while, which you were very happy about. They were there to help you with some school work and let you rant about stuff they would understand more than your parents. They were also there for you to joke around with.

Which resulted in a small prank war.

It started with you and Chris pranking Nick whilst he was asleep. You both put fake birds around his bedroom, much like the one Matt and Chris pranked him with in their earlier YouTube career.

Nick was pissed, so he wanted to get you back. This continued until all of you had something against the other. That was until you pranked all three of them at once. The guys then stepped up their game.

"So what's the prank?" Chris asked.

"We're gonna pretend to film a car video, she's been wanting to do one for a while, but we're going to be really mean to her to see how she reacts." Nick replied, reminding him on the prank.

"Will she get upset?" Matt questioned.

"We'll see if she notices it's a prank or not. If it goes too far we'll stop." Nick answered.

Matt and Chris both nodded as Nick went to find you. All of you then headed to the car, going to the guys usual car park to start the prank. You sat on your phone for a bit while they set up the camera and whilst you were distracted, it gave them the chance to start.

"Kid, get off your phone it's so rude." Chris started.

"I was waiting till we started to film." You mentioned, placing your phone down.

"The camera is all set." Matt said.

You nodded as Nick intro the video, you gave a small wave as he said you were here and what the topic was about.

"Today we have our little sister Y/n here! And today's topic, yes there is a topic, is about sibling fights and disagreements." He said.

"Will be fun." You said.

"Yeah cause you caused most of them." Matt mumbled.

"What?" You called.

"Well your the youngest, always thinking you can get your own way." He responded.

"Fuck off." You grumbled, a small smile on your face, thinking he was joking. Which he was, but held the laugh in for the prank.

"I remember when this motherfucker was born. I had a day planned with mum and she had to ruin it by being born early." Nick mentioned.

"You remember that one time she broke a Wii remote and tried to blame Trevor?" Chris called.

"Or that one time she stole your favourite hoodie and blamed Justin." Matt added.

"What is this, pick on Y/n video?" You called.

"Shut up." Nick replied.

The guys continued, their comments getting ruder and meaner. What broke you was Chris throwing an empty Pepsi can in the back, which hit your shoulder. You sighed and got out the car, walking across the car park.

"Kid get back in the car!" Matt shouted.

"No! Fuck off!" You shouted back.

The three shared a look, whilst also watching you. They noticed how you just went and sat by the store which was closed.

"We better tell her it's a prank." Chris said, making his brothers nod.

The three of them got out and came over to you quickly, Matt holding the camera. As they got closer, they noticed you were crying, but as you saw the camera, you covered it up.

"Sweetheart, it was a prank." Nick said softly.

"Real funny." You muttered.

"We're sorry kid, it's supposed to be a harmless prank. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, we love you so much." Matt said.

“Why say all that stuff?” You asked quietly.

“We didn’t mean it, bub. It was all for a prank. We’re so sorry.” Chris said.

“We’ll make it up to you. Tomorrow we’ll take you out all day and do whatever you want, deal?” Nick suggested, holding his hand out. You smiled a bit and nodded, shaking his hand.

The guys smiled as they ended the video and you all went back to the car. Each of them saying sorry for the bad prank and knew they had to make it up to you.

[dogtoling]

oh tumblr user dogtoling, blease, impart unto us your wisdom of drawing really good fat cephalopods

I think i've answered this exact question before and it's kind of a tall ask... the best advice I can always give is to just study how to draw fat people first (granted, easier said than done in regards to finding references). Once you have a hang on how that works and how fat sits on the body and how it usually accumulates, that basic knowledge goes a pretty long way when drawing non-human characters too. for people who are completely new to drawing fat, the best off-the-top-of-my-head tips i can give are:

1. don't just draw A Circle. you won't get very far with that most of the time. if you really want to start with a shape, i'd recommend a rectangle and working out the shapes from there (more balanced than a circle + you're less likely to mess up in the gravity part)

2. fat =/= JUST the belly. I think this is pretty commonly talked about but a lot of people that are new to trying to draw fat people will just try to add a belly to an otherwise thin frame. And don't get me wrong, that IS also a body type that exists, but especially when you go higher in weight it's about filling out the whole body. add some width. study which areas accumulate more fat and which don't!

3. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE DOUBLE CHIN. Skinny Face on Fat Body is pretty common to see and again while you can also have a body type like that, it just seems like a lot of people are scared to draw double chins or not sure how they work. Don't be afraid to give fat characters fat faces, it makes a huge difference!! (though, also pay attention to not go overboard with this part, because it can also end up looking really off.)

4. remember that fat has weight, so if you think you've done everything correctly but the drawing still looks off, it's often because the GRAVITY is off. Fat Has Weight. So while you draw, try to visualize where that weight rests organically. (also this specific step will come back to haunt you every single time you draw a fat character sitting down or in any non-standing position)

5. Fat can change shape in different positions (for example rolls can appear or disappear depending on how the torso is bent). consider this when doing different positions - but don't go overboard here. Fat still usually has a general shape, it's not some kind of freely shape-shifting jello with the consistency of some goop. And again, body type matters here, some people are more firm than others.

6. At bigger sizes, pay attention to subtle differences in positions and posture that both the weight and the space it takes up might cause. For example, with bigger bodies you'll often see the arms angled slightly to the side rather than straight down the sides (collision with chest/upper body fat = arms Cannot just go straight down). you probably get the point. The keyword most of the time is SUBTLE, but also if you skip this part, the results might look strange and again you have no idea why.

this list is Not comprehensive because as i've added a disclaimer in like every part, there is a huge variety of body types. So the best way you can learn in the end is, unsurprisingly, just seeing and drawing different body types! but i tried to think of and include a lot of common pitfalls that people (including me) tend to fall into when learning and how to Skip the extremely frustrating "why does this look Wrong" part to at least some degree instead of having to stare at the art for 5 hours and just try to work it out.

anyway NOW TO THE CEPHALOPODS PART - if you draw Inklings with human anatomy you're basically done already. Just, doubly study real-life fat people in that case. But in the case you don't, practicing on real fat bodies is still useful because as I said before, understanding the basic rules is widely applicable even for other creatures! My approach to inkfish is that they're generally pretty human-shaped, but because they have no joints or bones, I try to avoid rigid segments in most areas and thus make them generally more smooth. that means less rolls (pretty much none until actually larger sizes) and more just, idk, smoothness.

This is more or less the mental map i work off of:

While you'll usually look at the inkfish torso and view it as mostly A Singular Cylinder, it becomes more obviously segmented with more weight. The arms, legs or tentacles don't have any shape other than Noodle, so they just get thicker overall for the most part. Go above a certain weight threshold and you start seeing more texture and rolls. In humans you would definitely have to consider stretch marks, but I omit those from Inkfish because that's scarring that I feel wouldn't occur in a species that's got flexible enough skin to drastically stretch and change form unscathed all the time anyway.

I have to point out that fat tentacles are a game changer in my opinion! They're a part of the body too, so as a very inkfish-specific tip, just add weight to the tentacles if you have a fat character. It adds a significant amount of immersion and just looks more sensible I guess. I'll use Engel's old hairstyle as an example because he's a very good example of this specific aspect...

yeah i feel like that illustrates my point.

(This isn't really relevant to DRAWING fat inklings, but someone is probably going to wonder about it so I'll answer it: i'm ignoring the logistics of a fat inkling being able to stand or walk without any kind of internal support structure. It's definitely notably difficult for them because as opposed to humans with skeletons, they have to support the weight mostly using JUST muscle. However from a realism standpoint, inklings being able to stand or walk at their size EVEN WHEN NOT FAT wouldn't work in the first place, and Splatoon is full of creatures like Cohozuna or the Great Zapfish, or even Mr. Coco, which would crush themselves and suffocate and die under their mass if they came out of the water... and they're constantly out of the water, so TL;DR no one in Splatoon gives a shit about the laws of physics anyway. If you can have the suspension of disbelief to accept Crusty Sean walking on two legs as a whole ass bipedal giant prawn, that should be able to extend to a fat inkling.)

I don't really know what else to write so hopefully this helped somebody. Lol

[tvckerwash]

@joltning I present to thee the elaboration requested:

When broken down to the bare essentials Wash and C.T fulfill the same function within the story, and the differences between them as characters mostly results from how the story was executed when it came to them fulfilling that function. 

For example, everybody (myself included) complains about how C.T exists solely as a plot device in the Freelancer Saga, but nobody complains about how Wash also exists solely as a plot device in Recovery One and Recollection. I mean Reconstruction is literally the ‘omg theres a plot!?!?!?!?” season of RvB, and without Wash there is no story. 

The main reason Wash isn’t perceived in the same way as C.T is due to the level of freedom the writers had when it came to telling the story they wanted to tell. The Blood Gulch Chronicles and Out of Mind set the foundations for Recovery One and Recollection, but it was through Wash that the lore of RvB was reconstructed into a cohesive story. The unexplainable was explained, the unelaborated was elaborated upon, and all the wacky hijinks and random bits and bobs of the previous seasons were tied together in a way that answered the question asked in episode one: Why are all of these idiots stuck in a canyon in the middle of nowhere while being separated into color coded teams that are fighting each other?

C.T however did not have the same level of freedom as Wash, and this is because of pfl’s nature as a prequel combined with the pacing of those seasons. We pretty much already knew everything about her that there was to know, so there was no point in hiding anything or taking it slow because of that, hence the painfully obvious foreshadowing. This approach to the Freelancer Sage, and C.T’s story is what leads to her essentially having the same arc as Wash, just reversed—or more accurately described; mirrored, like Chief and Arbiter in Halo 2.

A majority of the reversal and/or mirroring between them manifests in their personalities, which I actually talk about some here, but some examples of the phenomenon in regards to actual plot points are:

They are both introduced as recovery agents (or rather fake C.T, who was the real C.T at the time, was introduced as a recovery agent). Wash is a single agent recovering human technology from dead Freelancers, and he uses explosives to destroy the rest of the equipment to prevent information leaks. C.T is attempting to recover alien technology from a long dead civilization with the help of other aliens, and he uses explosives to make sure anyone who knows of their operation and presents a problem will be destroyed to prevent information leaks. 

We knew exactly who Wash was, who he worked for, and why he was reassembling the blues. We didn’t know who C.T was, who he worked for, and why he was fighting Tucker in the desert. 

Wash was shot in the back and survived, but failed to subdue the enemy. C.T was shot in the chest and died just as they were going to subdue the enemy.

In regards to the real C.T, some examples include:

The Meta was portrayed as the primary conflict for Wash, but in reality he had always been aiming for the destruction of Freelancer. On the flip side, C.T’s fight to take down Freelancer is portrayed as the main conflict, but in reality, while poorly explained, tracking down the alien artifacts seemed to be her real goal (which is not as insane as it sounds when you remember that Charon Industries was more aligned with the UNSC proper than pfl was). 

Wash never hinted towards his plan of taking out the Meta in Recovery One to South, or his plan for destroying Freelancer to the Reds and Blues until he had the perfect opportunity to strike, and by then he had built enough trust that they were willing to help him out despite his secrecy. If they weren’t, well, he knew what to say to change their minds. C.T however wasn’t exactly subtle with her thoughts and feelings, and she didn’t build any trust with the people around her, so when she finally defected—which didn’t take a genius to see coming—no one was willing to listen to her or take her at her word, and there was nothing she could say or do to change their minds except offering concrete evidence. “I’m starting not to trust you.” vs “I can’t trust you.”

This one isn’t a plot point, but I’m going to mention it anyway because I think it’s a nice example of this subtle yet obvious mirroring I’m talking about, and shows what I was trying to replicate in my blurb that spurred me to finally write this analysis:

Counselor: Agent Washington? Agent Washington? Washington: Sorry, what were you saying? Counselor: Were you thinking about Epsilon again, Agent Washington? Washington: No. Counselor: What happened with Epsilon was not your fault, Agent Washington. Washington: I didn't think it was. Counselor: We have safeguards for the unstable emotional patterns of an artificial intelligence. Sometimes these algorithms fail. Washington: Oh. So then it's your fault. Counselor: We prefer to think of it as no one's fault.

Vs:

Washington: It wasn't your fault, Connie. Connie: Easy for you to say. You didn't drop the ball. Washington: The ball got dropped. We were all there, it's everyone's responsibility. Connie: Dammit, why are you doing that? Washington: What am I doing? Connie: Making excuses for me. I'm not making excuses for myself...why are you?

All I've mentioned above is also why C.T’s relationship with the leader and the plot twist that the C.T in the desert wasn’t the real C.T are disliked by so many, as there was nothing to justify the sudden bait and switch like there was at the end of S6. I mean, considering we see both Tex and South use voice mods to sound like men, it reads as though that was supposed to be the case with C.T as well, which makes it feel like it was changed at the last second because everyone saw it coming.

This is an issue because A) There's nothing inherently wrong with being predictable—a good plot twist always has foreshadowing, even if it won’t be registered as foreshadowing until the twist happens in certain cases—and B) The story of the Freelancer Saga as a prequel was confined in a box created by the previous seasons, and all they were doing was connecting the aforementioned events to tie up a few loose ends and properly establish Carolina's driving force in present day S10.

[brookheimer]

I just need to let u know I literally have my x-coded y-girl quiz results tab permanently open on my phone, it’s a more accurate glimpse into my soul than anything I’ve ever read (and I’m used to uquizzes being rude so no hard feelings there). You are a psychic and I’m scared of your immense powers

Also I’m your opposite type, hiiiiii

ahahhaah omg i am honored <3 glad to be of service! my psychic skillz know no parallel

[sonknuxadow]

oh my goddd i just searched something on google and theyre experimenting with ai generated answers to questions being pinned to the top of the results. i just know this is going to spread so much misinformation

[brother-emperors]

your art is so cool!! I’ve never seen anyone who makes the kind of historical art you do and I love your research, I’m so glad I found your blog :)

thank you!! 💕

I do want to say, tho, that there's a lot of other people (whether it be prose, art, or other adaptive media. shout out to france for all the fun stuff they do with rome) out there who are ALSO making stuff in the same genre as what I'm doing, it's just that most of them tend to be on twitter, but there's a whole library of comics set in the classical world that are also responsible for any kind of confidence I might have in doing my own shenanigans

[red-dyed-sarumane]

listening to laboratory again just now and noticed the embryo silhouette in the portal....!!!? I dont remember if u have mentioned it or not (tried searching ur tags but tumblr is not the greatest at that) but do u know what is that doing there???

THERES A WHAT

holy shit there is. yeah theres something going on there similar to the lights in tenshis window unfortunately i do not have the time nor brain power to go searching for answers tonight but this is going to be plaguing my mind for the next until i can get answers thanks

[tsururoach]

i was so curious about what yjh’s description said since i saw a few say they got him in your orv poll but no one was posting screenshots, and i am so glad i apparently had enough of a grasp on him to get his result first try

as for what i actually got beforehand; it was kdj, as expected

If other people are curious, this is the result... Honestly I'm super relieved that when trying to get him you managed to! While I did general tests for the Kimcom to see how accurate my answers were, that obviously has innate bias as I was the one who made the quiz.

If you wanted some elaboration... with some spoilers that I couldn't include on the quiz description:

As a general disclaimer, I don't think my quiz is anything final. Not even close to be honest. It's my personal belief that the ORV that we've read is all a different story. Not because difference in translation or distributors, but because of the different readers.

Each of us had our own meaning and our own belief of the characters- and that means we all got a different 'story' from ORV. Clearly, there is some character aspects that are relatively unarguable to what is canon, but there is going to small differences based on how we see Kim Dokja's perspective of the world... and our perspective of him.

Yoo Joonghyuk is a strong, strong character. No, a strong person. He is someone who cares too much, and I feel like it's something not noticed enough. Or, perhaps, can never be noticed enough.

"It is because he is weak that he is strong." or is it "Because he is strong, he is so undeniably weak."

Even before the apocalypse in TWSA, he held this kind of responsibility as well. He had to be steadfast and reliable. He has a sense of responsibility and by god he's not going betray that. But to what cost? What could he rely on?

From the very beginning- from the very start, did Yoo Joonghyuk have anyone to rely on? It was only a man and his younger sister, what could possibly be there for him?

I feel like a lot of people tend to think that YJH is more aloof than he actually is. That nothing matters so long as he achieves his goals. I beg to differ, and I'd do it on my hands on knees.

YJH 'caring about his image' may seem far off... but it really isn't? Perhaps my phrasing was poor, but I don't think YJH knows how to feel weak. Well, he has to learn how to be weak in front of others. And for the record, I don't even think it started because of the apocalypse. YJH is someone tied to responsibility. Not that kind of cold apathic responsibility, but the one made delicately out of love.

YJH's sacrifice and KDJ's sacrifice is kind of funny in that way. YJH tries to save his family by living. KDJ tries to save them by dying instead. YJH needs to live, needs to continue, needs to find the solution, so he can go back to the family and bring them with him.

I'd be hard pressed to call YJH simple, but he definitely defines himself in a way you would call simple? He definitely knows himself enough to know what he wants and what he should do- even if KDJ calls it into question more than he should... I guess you can say he can think well? Even when it's difficult for him to verbalize as such.

Is it too much to say of the main trio, YJH is definitely the one who loves the most. YJH... I feel like probably couldn't handle that 'empathy' or kindness he offers to those he trusts being 'weak.' Which I suppose is why it's such a big deal that he has trust issues. It's honestly why the 1st turn is the one I'm the most curious about (not the 0th!) Because it's the turn that we assume YJH started off of. Which in hindsight, isn't that clever? Starting at 0 instead of 1?

How is that YJH who went through the apocalypse for the 'first' time with little help and no knowledge? How did he cope? Just how much did that infallible protagonist change? Not only that... remember that the YJH we start off is supposed to be the '3rd' turn. What happened to get from point 1 to 3?

Anyways, as for the quiz... Since this has run a bit long, let me review the questions that had YJH in mind. (also to note, since it's been a while, I did actually make sure the results are relatively equal save for the minor minor characters.)

4-5. Love language

YJH to me... It's definitely words of affirmation? Like all things aside, no ship nothing like that- but isn't that what helped him become the YJH we meet at the end of the novel? KDJ talking to him?

The affirmation that he could and should go on? That his life- no, this life matters? That just because he could theoretically continue, doesn't mean 'this' life is worthless?

That there is hope to go on the next day?

While love language isn't absolute- he absolutely could find it in simply just presence alone, it's definitely the most important. It's important for him to hear all of these things and more.

As for the expression of love language... YJH expresses it the most through acts of service, and I kind of expect that to be obvious enough... Though I can see him thinking his words matter a lot as well... Even if it's rougher than he intends, I think that the acts of service is more.. instinctive? While the words are intended.

8. Webnovel prompt

To be honest this question was mostly something to lay off of the tediousness of the quiz. Something on the sillier end even though I looked through it... Yoo Joonghyuk.. Definitely is someone who craves normalcy though. Okay. Like I get he's a gamer and all that, but he's just so tired. He deserves it- and that... is kind of what he was looking for, wasn't it? Like Yoo Sangah, even if it didn't have KDJ originally, didn't he crave family and a peaceful way of living?

18. Pick something in the future.

'To keep the future my own'

Yoo Joonghyuk wants to control his own life- his own future. Isn't that why the fact he is the one responsible for writing part of ORV so important? He did it, he escaped the story and became his own person out of the bounds of the constellations. He is a hero, but most importantly, he is himself.

He made that decision and that is what makes him, him.

21. Fanfiction cliffhanger

This one is the one that makes me wish that you can make the questions be worth more or less (though I ended up balancing it out a little.)

However, I will stand by my answer for YJH.

"It'd be fine, to sacrifice mind and soul, if it meant I'd die knowing the love for you."

I... Can see how it's a bit weird, and maybe too romantic for him? But I mostly brought it up here because I think... Yoo Joonghyuk would hate to lose his emotions and care? I think the thought of forgetting who he cares for and forgetting what he did to and for them, is something more painful than dying. It's more painful than regressing so much- because that is a loss that sticks with him more?

I could elaborate more on this, but I'm not the most eloquent person out there.

75. Safe Emotion

For Yoo Joonghyuk, I think he finds anger is a safe emotion. Not because it's the one he's most familiar with nor is it the one he adheres to most- but because it's the one he understands best? Not understand as in he's felt most often, but because it's the most straightforward of emotions to him. He knows when to be angry and what it means to be angry.

83. Does the End Justify the mean.

This is one of the questions where I wish I separated YJH more than just SP, simply because it really is more than that? And honestly I feel like if I'm going to be wrong about characterization, this one would be the question I feel like it's most fair for.

YJH does not think the end justifies the means... I think SP does...? But I also feel like that changes. But I really can't just separate those iterations of YJH in any clean way anyways, so this is what it will be.

84. (not YJH but I'm adding it) Isn't it fucked up for the superpower question I put 'flight' for OD. Isn't that messed up. Looking over the quiz again that's soooo fucked up of me.

95. Boundaries

I feel like YJH is willing to let go of his boundaries but it's not as easy as he can let it seem? I feel like the consequences of him overstepping his own boundaries are definitely a lot more than he exposes, but if he's allowed the time to process the decision, he's willing anyways.

99. Which one is strongest to you?

Hope. YJH is a character who embodies hope. He is hope and he is always in an endless journey to chase it. He is OD's hope. He is KDJ's hope. He is the hope of HSY and the others of the apocalyptic world. In the Epilogue... he's willing to be Kimcom's eternal hope.

He is innately a hopeful person. He faulters, but anyone would. He's human. And humans will hope before they despair- they will hope in despair. Yoo Joonghyuk is hope.

And it makes sense he would understand that.

[teethgrabber]

5 and 28 for durara? 👀

[mariatesstruther]

I think Tess and Maria would have a hard time getting along when it comes to certain topics. Like what's best for Ellie.

Tess might be a bit repulsed by the whole memorial board for Kevin and Sarah since she never brings her own child up, and Maria might find her far too lax in what she'll let Ellie get up to.

It'd be a while to find common ground that isn't mocking the Miller boys.

i lovingly and respectfully disagree!! i personally think tess and maria are incredibly similar and would think/act tbe same in terms of prioritizing ellie and her safety. of course there would be that initial period of mistrust and maybe even dislike because maria is overprotective and a lil bit overstepping in her efforts to look out for ellie and tommy, and meanwhile joel/tess together would likely be a very closed off and on edge regarding what maria thinks of them because she has power over their access to jackson’s resources and ellie

i think once trust is built (which i know a lot of people imagine to be slow but i really think would i least feel somwhay quick because, let’s be real—personalitu wise, joel and tess would both be great friends with maria. she is practical and takes no shit and can handle someone like tommy; the main thing that puts them at odds with eachother are their circumstances and lack of being open familiar with each other’s pasts. in jackson their circumstances are different, and in my experience, you can get to know the truth of someone’s past enough to change your perspective on them or deepen your respect within a matter of a few conversations. joel and sam knew eachother only for a short time but undoubtedly developed a bond as parents within however many days, and they were strangers. i think both joel and tess (who i already imagine would be trying to make peace with maria at least for practical reasons) would warm to maria quickly once she sees how much they care for ellie, which would be obvious from the start. i think @hypnotisedfireflies work “the ensemble” maria pt. 1 chapter explores this dynamic so beautifully, it’s one of my favorite depictions of maria and tess

i also think tess would actually be the more strict parent between her and joel, just as maria is the strict one between her and tommy. as tough as the killer boys like to say they are, they’re both a suck for puppy eyes and are far more likely to fall for ellie’s teenager tricks. i think they’d have a lot of fun getting together for coffee once a week and bonding over the beautiful chaos of having the millers in their lives

[misterghostfrog]

I need to remind everyone getting mad at people clicking buttons on polls not aimed at them or wanting see results buttons on polls that tumblr only lets you know the poll is over so you can see the results if you voted in it and there's no neat way to save a poll to see results otherwise, curiosity is not a crime and a Tumblr poll is not a consistent method of data collection no matter how rude you are telling people not to vote in the description.