#gate equivalent ig?

[checkadii]

mfs do anything but finish their wips . like startign another, for example

[dykekingofhell]

i’m fully aware that the show likely won’t go on long enough to adapt the trinity gate era, but it’s material i’d love to see the writers work with. armand and louis’ relationship while complex and in flux throughout the series is very much in the periphery after interview, with just scraps eluding to what the deal is (everyone being in miami together post qotd, armand’s complicated fondness towards louis in tva, the establishment of trinity gate). like it’s already fascinating that the extended cast of vampires of lestat’s circle continue to care for each other and maintain close bonds in spite of everything they’ve done to each other, but for louis and armand in particular, it’s wild that they end up specifically end up cohabiting and romantically involved again when their first relationship ended with such utter coldness. i think the books left a major gap here for the show possibly to explore; how did they come together again? how does louis view armand after years of largely distance? i’d love to see an arc equivalent to the establishment of trinity gate a few seasons down the line with an armand that’s gone through character development that brings him to a state of minimum self awareness and a louis who’s still secure in his vampiric nature. and they can come back to each other again and rediscover the original spark of paris, though without the restriction of the coven as institution looming (but of course there’s still scars left from the trial and claudia’s death and some lingering fear and mistrust on both ends) i’d be particularly interested in combining this era with the aftermath of armand’s suicide attempt in memnoch; maybe louis is somewhat begrudgingly assisting benji and sybelle in nursing armand back to health out of a sense of obligation after a smaller reconciliation in season 3 or 4 as part of queen of the damned, and the whole time is conflicted by feelings of lingering fondness that he’s rediscovered and bitterness born out of specifically the knowledge of armand erasing the memories of his own attempt, and it grows from there, first volatile then (somewhat) easy but in a genuine way, no performance like in dubai, just them seeing each other wholly for the first time. falling in love again, but also for the first time without masks. also daniel and lestat can be around ig. polyamory!

[cosmogyros]

Still thinking about that topic I was rambling about yesterday, and I think I've put my finger on the weirdest part of the whole "making it as an artist" thing.

If you want to be able to make even a humble living in that field (music, art, writing, whatever) - to make enough money from your art alone to live comfortably - you pretty much HAVE to become extremely successful, often even straight-up famous.

This isn't the case with any other kind of job (afaik) - you can study or get training as a computer programmer, a plumber, a teacher, an administrative assistant, a carpenter, you name it - and then do that job full-time and earn a steady living from it. (Note I'm not saying a DECENT living - for instance, I've known many teachers who couldn't afford their own place and had to have roommates, and even some who went through periods of having to live in their cars, but I don't think that's the norm).

And the main point is: you don't need to be a FAMOUS programmer or whatever in order to make a living from it! You don't need to be a celebrity plumber with a million IG followers! You can live in happy obscurity and still have a steady income. But this isn't possible, as a rule, for artists of most kinds. For artists, you have to be either big-time famous, or else get some other job to pay the bills and only do your art in your free time.

From what I understand of history, this situation wasn't always as extreme as it is now. I hear that, in the first half of the 20th century, it was not uncommon to be able to scrape together a humble living as a lounge singer or a portrait painter or whatever. Even in the latter half of the 20th century, Billy Joel, for example, was able to find steady work as a bar pianist when he wasn't famous at all yet.

And that's what I want. I would love to make a living - just enough to pay the rent on my tiny apartment and eat out at a café once a week - as a musician, with a band, performing in bars or clubs as simply "the entertainment". I don't need anything more glamorous than that. I certainly don't want to live in a gated mansion in L.A. and have the paps tailing me every time I step outside and have my body and relationships scrutinized pitilessly by Internet comment sections.

I just want to be the musical equivalent of a plumber or an administrative assistant! Not the GOAT, just somebody filling a niche and satisfying my customers and bringing home a paycheck I can live on. And it makes me so sad that this world is not set up to allow that.

[resident-problem]

***Spoilers Ahead***

So I'm reading the Chant of Light, as one does and this might be prophesy of the events of Dreadwolf? This is from the the Canticle of Exaltations by the way, which I guess (to all my former and current Christans/bible knowers) is basically the Thedas equivalent of Revelations.

This section of the Canticle is specifically signs of the Maker's return, so that's cool ig

"Seven times seventy men of stone (Titans?) immense

Rose up from the earth like sleepers waking at the dawn,

Crossing the land with strides immeasurable,

And in the hollows of their footprints

Paradise was stamped, indelible. (The Rumbling Part 2, now with more Titans)

And I heard from the East (Par Vollen/Seheron?) a great cry

As men who were beasts (outdated and gross referrence to Qunari?) warred with their brothers,

Tooth and claw against blade and bow,

Until one could no longer be told from the other (Qun and Tal Vashoth?),

And cursed them and cursed their generations.

And those who slept, the ancient ones, (reference to Old Gods? Or maybe Evanuris) awoke,

For their dreams had been devoured

By a demon that prowled the Fade

As a wolf hunts a herd of deer.

Taking first the weakest and frailest of hopes,

And when there was nothing left,

Destroying the bright and bold

By subtlety and ambush and cruel arts.

The ninth (there are more? Anyone know ehat this is referring to?) sacred mountain (Temple of Sacred Ashes, also location of Breach) upon which rests

The mortal dust of Our Lady ascended

Whole into the heavens, to be given high honor

In the Realm of Dreams forever.

And around it, a chorus of spirits sang:

"Whatsoever passes through the fire (Holy Andrastian rite, essentially baptism which is practiced in the Chantry, so I wonder what this is actually referring to)

Is not lost, but made eternal;

As air can never be broken nor crushed,

The tempered soul is everlasting!"

(Don't know where else to put this, but in Origins, if you bring Oghren along during the Temple of Sacred Ashes quest, he essentially confirms that there is a large amount of Lyrium present in the Temple. Which (and this is speculation) could be the cause of the Ashes curative properties. Not to mention in the beginning Inquisition, Cassandra mentions that the mountains in the area are full of old mining complexes. And Varric also points out the Red Lyrium in the Temple. So there may, potentially be a corrupted titan beneath the temple?)

And I looked up and saw

The seven gates of the Black City shatter,

And darkness cloaked both realms."

(If you're one of those who also believes that the Old Gods are some sort of lock (seven "locks", seven gods) keeping the Evanuri at bay, this could be a reference to that.)

The previous prophesy appears to loosely be the events of Inquistion, excluding the part where Andraste herself rides forth and proclaims the return of the Maker. So they are possibly coming true, just not exactly as written.

After having read that, I can see why so many thought that the Inquisitor genuinely was a servant of Andraste, and that it actually was Andraste in the Fade instead of Divine Justinia. Would've been neat to hear that verse in game, maybe as a way to convince the Inquisitor that they are an agent of the Maker's will. I feel like it would've made some of the religious fervor surrounding the Inquisition make more sense.

[fetabathwater]

so is amma a changeling/dopplerganger? or is she actually a tiefling? and like how old is she did she study away was she always in the cult like sorry im really interested in her... bewitched me body and soul etc

okay i rambled and took like 4 days to answer this so UNDER THE CUT

she is a tieflingggggg and that's what she's sticking with! if/when she does 'change shape' or w/e its a uhhh . spell. i forgot the name of it. disguise shape spell LMAO. but its only got a handful of variations compared to like. the mask of the shapeshifter yknow. okay so my like concept of amma and the winding water is that when "amity the first" is sent to investigate some like bhaalist pop up, bc its been a while since theyve been active but hey you cant trust a bhaalist. the first however convinces these like weeping devoted weirdo bhaalists that shes one of them, dives into the water and retrieves a babe from the like long dead watery remains of bhaal, but it's not really a child. like just some sort of . ok im losing words i was gonna say jellybean LOL but like equivalent of holding a very warm piece of light in hand. like divinity. and it's the weirdest thing for the first because bhaal literally wrecked personal havoc for a good few hundred years, pre and post death, and he's technically still dead by this point too when like they shouldn't be finding anymore spawn really popping up (or at least ones with enough divinity to warrant watching over in case of death and then resurrection of father dearest). but the divinity is warm and small and sweet, nothing like what the first had experienced with the crisis. and when the first like breaks through the surface of the river with a child pulled from bhaal's remains, it more than anything puts a good amount of fear back into them.

because the gods are Very Real, still, apparently, despite the spellplague and troubles causing all kinds of havoc around them. the first gets to the shore with this child who is not a child but is all at once, just a formation of river remains, bone, blood, weeds.

but this not-child opens its eyes and looks at her and as it grows, the first starts to notice it resembles her. not completely, there are some things that even the weirdness but also lack of magic can't replace when someone is created from their father's bones. yet horns grow, and a tail, and the child is a tiefling, by all accounts. the child is kind of hers.

as for like. how amma gets Educated™ and shizz, raised by the first and primistresses. introduced to maiming biting killing etc. definitely comes into her magic girl moment early as well, divine soul and all that (but evul!). amma is a weird quiet kid, takes well to like. everything outside the bhaalist attempts to foster their perfect little bhaalspawn considering it failed the last few times. attends like idk random ass colleges or like academies for one yr or smth. just randomly appears in the back of a class, learns, leaves. i would think it would be hilarious if she was at blackstaff academy in neverwinter and gale was there too at some point LMAO like lets start that rivalry off early. as far as like 'adopted' by another family goes, that did happen kind of, but she was also introduced to other bhaalist peers like torlin silvershield (who assisted with bringing back bhaal rip to gorions ward ig), thalamra vanthampur (funded the dead three when elturel was pulled into the hells), nysene eomane, rillyn family and other mostly devil worshipping families because its baldurs gate. you can throw a stone and like not 3ft from you hit someone who rly shouldnt worship a dang devil or god like.

granted she's not living this upper city lifestyle - these people are coming to the lower city, her domain. not an assassin for hire, but like, easy to bait and intrigue. is Known™ to some people but like do they want to know about her? probably not. especially when they see her collection of preserved. idk. eyeballs? spleens? choose a body part?

but amma is mostly just idling her and studying and picking up skills around the place, doing some sightseeing, maybe some unfortunate stabbing. the first kind of does try to get her into like. a family or two while amma is a wee child but there are uncontrollable urges and then combined with the blend of a child's emotional reaction and sharp objects and loud noises, it just becomes best for this kid to not be fostered. THERE WERE GOOD TIMES but there were also more bad than good. which is unfortunate and the first adds it to a long list of regrets. but amma pretty much starts going to these places and doing these things in her teens, well until what she remembers as like her late 20s early 30s, before returning to the temple of bhaal in baldurs gate. taking over. you come to me on the day of my daughter's wedding (has no daughter). freshly slaughtered class blood all over her and then like takes control of the bhaalist temple.

fucks around. finds out. in her downtime honestly still finds herself picking up books and whatever - debates attending lectures and the like at public forums. goes to a museum. looks at the sculptures. uses one for a weapon. moves on. culture !

[vermanaward]

dawntrail msq, 95-97

tuliyolal, evenutally

okay so that was the end of disc one i guess

i would ask 'why couldn't she have asked him earlier' but. the drama.

everyone seems remarkably unconcerned about first promise and/or the dickhead trailing around after him. counting down the minutes until one or both of them causes problems on purpose

why are the hyper capitalists in xiv always short. lalas, pelupelu, mord.

...oh okay here we go, disc two commences!

shaaloani

bison!!

swear words?!?!

how come npcs get to have guns without shitty lunchboxes. ANSWER ME YOSHI P

"saddle up!" [proceeds to make me ride bareback]

WHALAQEE MENTIONED

somewhere between "my poor boy erenville being deadnamed to heck and back" and "ah. yeah. immigrant adopts local name to not stick out, resulting in Complicated Feelings when they go back home and people use their native culture's name"

oh. a bent cop. whoever saw that one coming

i would ask 'why are there dinosaurs in north america' but. you know what. it makes a pleasant change from them being in africa

"hey, remember shadowbringers. you guys liked shadowbringers, right? everyone loved the bit with the trolley?? right????"

at least there isn't a dead wife this time ig

the design of this train is offensively bad. like it's a stream train, fine, except it has a ceruleum (ie. petrol/diesel) engine, fine. except it's a steam train but instead of steam coming out the top its?? burning ceruleum? what???

welp

tuliyolal

man i was just thinking to myself this morning. 'we haven't seen yshtola all expac. it's been so nice not having to constantly brace myself for her biannual death fakeout.'

oh and she brought the allagan fanboy too. yay.

>!?!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!!?!??!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!?!

at least it's not the fucking allagans ig

(obligatory: ok so shtola is here so she can reprogram the gate and go get some ronso booty)

rofl though. so okay if this is a 9 parallel, then who is garland here, and when will necron come haring out of the left field wait that was endsinger nm

unrelated but the more i think about it the more :\ i am that the girl is The Emotional One and the dude is The Logical One. like bruh

estinien is determined to be Sir Not Playable This Expac and honestly i can't blame him

"don't do anything reckless" what like pick up both eyes of nidhogg while soaked in his blood? that kind of reckless?

haha see the joke is that in the First his wife is dead aren't dead wives funny

heritage found

alexandria, huh [chinhands]

man. this is extremely the "hey, remember shb?!" expac. and not in a good way.

honestly this is a gripe for another day but i really hate the way this game just goes [handwave] ~time dilation~ any time they want something dramatic to happen with shit on reflections. time always passes at the speed of drama. it bugs me.

actually ykw. this expac is so actively pro monarchy it's kinda nauseating. there i said it

erenville's mom is dead isn't she. .-.

heavensward: let's kill the pope and install democracy! shadowbringers: let's kill a dictator and install a democracy! stormblood, dawntrail: let's, uh. install and uphold monarchies! yay royalty! yay bloodlines!

do i expect progressive politics from final fantasy? hell no, i'm not delusional. does this mean i'm going to let this slide? also no!

ooh namika's going to be euthanised isn't she

ha ha he's wearing armour from the alex raids ha ha

in a robot? no just piloting a robot.

okay i take it back this hellhole is worse than amaurot. good job a+

that said: it's absolutely a fragment of a world consumed in a rejoining that somehow managed to avoid being rejoined, yes yes? from the calamity of lightning, for obvious reasons.

which would make oblivion that shard's equivalent of the scions/ardbert and his gang

which unrelated but would mean there are people on the source at 6/14 aetheric density. (and would put krile at 1/14, for that matter)

...hm. are we supposed to take from this then that alexandria and 'the golden city' are two seperate places?

oh. yeah i found rowena's shard from the lightning reflection. lel.

100 scrip vendor unlocked finally, time todo what i came here for: FISH

[cepheusgalaxy]

[ID: A comment by @i-eat-worlds made 20h ago that says: Yessssss I dooooooooo /end ID.]

Anyways, (one day later) bedtime truly is ruthless, but:

(and @aromanticsky ^^^^^^)

Ok, so, as I said, yesterday I was quite bored at English class so I started doodling and long story short I have two new ocs.

[ID. Two pencil portraits in a school notebook along some assignements. The first one is of a girl with very short hair and long sidebands with a black kimono collar and eyebags. The second is of another girl with a similar kimono, a more determined expression and her hair tied back in a small bun, her bangs tied back and two thick sidebangs falling from her face. /end ID.]

These are Yoru (left) and Yami (right).

They are now a part of the Venera & Clou wip, which is still not on the oc masterpost lol. I was playing with the idea of having it be paranormal mystery and now I decided to get a lot of different organizations in there too. More ocs = more lore ig!

Both Yoru and Yami are from a cult-like organization like those. They probably go on some sort of missions together. Yami is more determined and less smart than Yoru, and Yoru is smarter, more apathetic, and protective. Them BOTH are loyal to their organization, but they are even more loyal to each other.

[ID. Two full body doodles of the same girls, wesring black kimonos with inverted collars and determined expressions. They are surrounded by messy notes, like their names written in kanji, notes on the kimono's color and a "probably dies" nesr Yoru. /end ID.]

I also decided that their kimonos are inverted. Usually thats like Not how you wear one, but inverted collars are something worn by ghosts or the dead, so they probably have some relation to them.

I've also came up with a small character death :) which is unusual but WOULD be pretty cool. I imagine it being like, Yoru (eyebags) is dying and she does something to free Yami (bun) or tell her to run away from the organization, and with her dying breath, she uses some magic trick (?) to burn a part of Yami's name that is tattoed on her skin.

Now, Yami and Yoru are japanese words (闇 and 夜, meaning darkness and night) and they are kanji characters, right? In Japanese, there are three kinds of characters: the Hiragana characters, the Katakana and the Kanji. Hiragana and Katakana characters are phonograms, and represent sounds like "a" or "shi". Each Hiragana character has a Katakana equivalent and vice versa, but they both have different functions (which im gonna let slide here). Kanji characters don't represent sounds, but concepts, like "woman", "sun" or "door". Depending on how and where they are used, they can vary in sound. Ie. The "sound" kanji, 音 is usually pronounced "oto" on its own, but when it's used as a suffix sometimes it sounds like "ne". Like in 初音ミク (hatsuNE miku).

Anyways, yoru and yami are kanji, and like a lot of them, they are composed by simpler simbles. Idk if its an actual distinction, but some kanji are composed by pairing two or more together like tree (木) and forest (森). The darkness (yami) kanji for example, is composed by "gate (門)" and "sound (音)".

In my scenario, Yoru is dying right, and burns away the "sound" bit of the kanji, turning "darkness" into "gate".

AKA symbolic stuff, she is freeing Yami by getting rid of the "darkness" and opening a new "gate" (or door).

:)

Bonus: Yami and Yoru portraits I did today

[ID: Two portraits in notebook sheets. One is of Yami, and the other, of Yoru. They both have their names in Kanji written below them. /end ID.]

Does anybody wanna hear about my new ocs (i was bored in english class) my other ocs or my little red riding hood cyberpunk story?

[dapper-nahrwhale]

Fma 2003 Ed gave up himself, and his existence in his world, and technically also alchemy because the other world doesnt have it. Just. Fmab ed gave up alchmey intentionally to save al, and it worked because his ability to use alchemy is something that's a real price to give up, but to fma 03 ed it was just another side effect of his sacrificing himself to save al. Giving up himself is easy for ed, but giving up alchemy is something that costs more to him.

In the end, ed gave up alchemy to save al, but for fmab ed it was the conscious choice to use that to pay the toll, and for fma 03 ed it was an added on price because sacrificing himself wasnt enough to pay it.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

Sept 2021 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bite Me Ep 1 (Viu & Viki) - A BL DRAMA ABOUT THAI FOOD IS OFFICIALLY THE GREATEST THING EVER TO HAPPEN TO ME. AND OMG IT’S GOOD! Chef Aue spots the boy/cook of his dreams, Aek, and wants to make Aek his protégé (and husband) but it’s not that easy for the boy in question. I think this is going to be a Korean-style slow burn, low heat, with strategic use of tropes. Sophisticated for Thai BL. Also, everyone wave at Gameplay! (We love him, okay?) Here are my thoughts on ep one. I won’t be doing a full recap because it’s on Viki (too hard to screen cap).  

My Boy the series Ep 10 fin (Line) - I jumped back in to finished it out, seems to end on a cliff hanger and still has all the issues I dropped it for, so I’m happy is didn’t bother. Still, I feel pretty safe in saying NOT RECOMMENDED. (note there might be 2 more eps.) 

- Love Area Ep 6 (is now being uploaded officially to Gaga at 2 eps a week) it seems to have become hard to find elsewhere as a result. I certainly couldn’t get hold of it. Still I’m happy it got distribution. 

Siew Sum Noi ep 3- 10 eng sub 11-12 unsubbed (Drama Cool) - two fistfuls of tiny disasters, better then we have a right to expect, especially if you can make it to ep 4 (trust me, skip the singing). I like the northerner baggage and how the different characters handle the classism of it. IG is great at pining. The side couples (especially in the north) are super cute. There’s even an out gay character. Still, we are in major pulp territory with ALL THE TROPES including some homophobic and problematic ones. RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS. 

The Yearbook Ep 8 fin (Line) - thank goodness that’s over. Honestly this could have been 4 eps instead of 8. Frankly, it could be one of Y-Destiny’s minisodes. And what the hell with that stinger? Just gah. It’s getting a 6/10 from me, RECOMMENDED IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO. And I really mean NOTHING. This is the BL equivalent of watching paint peal and feeling sorry for the wall getting exposed. 

Don’t Say No Ep 5 (Line) - now this one I AM trash watching. We are in TT2 territory where it’s all a whole riot of nothing happening. DSN is like eating jello salad. I’m like...What’s going on here? Am I enjoying this? Sadly I think i might be. Do I hate myself for that? Wait, WHAT was that? Leon reminds me of Mark from Gen Y while Pob reminds me of Kaow from Brothers. This is a good thing, cute combination. Full on discussion of jello salad meets BL in the trash watch recap. 

7 Project Ep 1 “Would You Be My Love” (iQiYi & YouTube) - it was fine, as expected SantaEarth delivered decent acting, great chemistry, and good kiss. Bullying isn’t a trigger for me so I thought this one was perfectly serviceable if not groundbreaking. I guess each one is going to be 1-2 hours (one couple) like the Close Friend series. So I’ll only be watching the BL & GL ones. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

- Friend or Lover (YouTube) Ep 6 - Taiwan’s quirky indie piece didn’t drop its final ep so far as I can find, but they don’t seem to be on a fixed schedule. 

Love is Science? (BL sub plot Viki) Ep 11 - Taiwan finally brought back everyone’s favorite confident gay meets disaster bi and we are so grateful. OuWen, my love, I missed your adorable suits. Although, to be fair, I love Mark’s arty looks too. Anygay, other stuff happened to other people but we got another desperate confused grab and kiss from the disaster bi. Now we are all waiting to see what confident gay will do. Gonna be good. 

Love Is the series (YouTube)  Ep 1 - a cute soft new Pinoy BL I picked up because it looks like it might be sweet. Liking it so far but these ones can go askew easy. Still it seems like a fun indie studio. There is a poor seme/rich uke thing going on that I enjoy. 

Peach of Time Ep 1, 2, 3 (WeTV & Viki not USA, I’m finding it on YouTube & DM) - Korean/Thai BL It’s sad out the gate so we know what we’re in for. Language is both Thai and Korean. Even I, who do not speak Korean, can tell that Jimmy’s accent is ADORABLE. Tommy plays a ghostly fairy godfather. Basically: Two boys, one of whom is dead, have to solve the sorrows that lead to that death as well as past family trauma. It has a very He’s Coming to Me feel that i (of course) like a lot. Although I am not banking on this one ending happily. 

In Case You Missed It

I thought Thai BL Love Advisor was going to be a series but it turned out just to be a microfilm (c. 30min). It’s stylish, has a very Wes Anderson feel, and queer aura (rather than BL) and the subs are decent. It’s basically a pretty one act play with very few cuts and good production values. I got Nampu (Top Secret Together) vibes from one of them (a very good thing) but I found it a little dull. Good acting but a slow pace. Interesting twist ending and a more Korean feel than one might expect from Thailand right now. 7/10 RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Thai mafia BL KinnPorsche dropped a new teaser from its new studio. Much lower production values same main couple. 

Red Devil and Heroine Su available with eng subs on youtube. It’s a microfilm Chinese GL version of Word of Honor. 

Gossip

Any My Engineer RamKing fans out there? Anyway Perth (who is the sweetest cinnamon roll) has a two part series reacting to the RamKing scenes. Talay joins him for the second half. It’s great. They talk about BTS stuff like workshopping and acting with animals. Perth speaks in English, Talay in Thai, but there are good subs (Perth did ‘em.) 

Korean BL My Sweet Dear that I reported on last week seems to be restaurant set. YES! 

Queer Korean production studio Strongberry has a new microfilm coming out called A First Love Story. Trailer here. I’m looking forward to it.

There’s another new Korean BL in the works, The Tasty Florida. I’m a mite suspicious of this one, while it seems to be university meets food themed (my fav) the description and title do not inspire optimism. Will this be Korea’s first BL pulp? Maybe... Will I watch it? OF COURSE. Oh and Yoo Hwan, former leader of the Kpop group SPEED, is one of the mains. Does this make me happy. YES VERY. Here go watch SPEED do one of the greatest tricks in the history of k-pop at the END of Don’t Teese Me when they should have been exhausted. I’ll wait. Our boy is one of the three acrobats (white shirt or black shirt with white on the sleeves in that big trick, or pink hair high-flipping at the very end). 

In other news, was that Korean actor in a kpop band a decade ago? I WILL NEVER LET IT GO. Never. 

Thai BL Unforgotten Night (adapted from the y-novel Mafia's Bad Love) as been listed as in production. Office grunt Kim has been pining after his senior for a long time. To forget about him, he decides to have one night stand with a random stranger. That stranger becomes obsessed with him. Mafia man Kamol is kinky and (I’m assuming a Dom) and no one is able to satisfy him until Kim. I’m assuming this is a KinnPorsche knock off, but hey if that doesn’t get made who are we to look down on the Golden Bloods of the BL world? Stars Yoon (YYY) as the mafia Dom and Choke (Y-Destiny, he was opposite the boy who time-slipped) as the sub. Honestly the poster makes me think this might all be a joke: 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons.

Slim pickings this week, @heretherebedork is doing a September V-BL rewatch and I’m IN, if any of you want to join us. My V-BL list is here. HTBD’s is here and is better. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

This week’s best moments?

Just them, being back. Smooching. 

[hellguarded-moved]

≥  INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM:  anonymous_

he has 2 mates? what do they represent as "cerberus"? do they have to have specific traits? does he or his father know as much, and sought it out?

//  yes!  it is nothing more than a simple development of the plot of his canon  ( which i currently have closed off to other romantic ships and it’s smth i need to update my carrd on i kno i kno )  not rly something that was planned beforehand...  not for ig at least.  it was later just pointed out to me as a funny parallel coincidence.

sirius,  ignis’ father and the current hound of hades  ( i.e.  cerberus—  in my canon it is an inherited title, a namesake to the original cerberus that died by heracles’ hands ), is someone for whom it was planned.  like an arranged marriage.  since the guardian breed of the hellhounds was near extinction, hades wanted to repopulate them again, and so he closed alliances with some faraway underworlds  ( or their equivalents )  and obtained two consorts for his hound.  one originating from mexico and the other from china, named  xolotl  and  tiangou  respectivelly  ( they’re written by @hellhunted​! )  who then later accepted the  titles  of  sol and luna.  they’re sirius’ sun and moon, respectively, while he is the star which was.  not really planned despite it being the name of the brightest star, i was simply looking for some fire-related name for ig’s dad, and found that sirius means  ‘blazing’  so i was like yeah thats cool.

either way sirius is like the main, middle head, while luna and sol are the other two heads, symbolically speaking.  they’re their own persons, the whole head thing is not neccessarily meant to somehow indoctrinate them and brainwash them, if you wanna call it that.  it is simply a symbolic tradition hades likes to keep since he is an old sentimental man and he misses his big puppo.

sirius is aware of this tradition!  and compared to ig, he accepted it with great honor.  he is saddened by the fact that his son does not want to follow in his footsteps, honestly ignis has a very warped perception of his dad, the main influence being his mother  ( who honestly fed him a lot of lies )  and him having developed a fierce need for independence, so the fact that apparently his fate was long since written out for him?  that he was meant to take up the mantle of  cerberus  eventually?  did not sit well with him.  which is why he ran away from the underworld and all his duties, and is now considered an exile.  he is generally not liked within its denizens.  sirius loves his son tho!  he’d love to somehow reconnect and show him the ways, but he does not pursue him because he is dutybound to guarding the gates of hades.

and as i mentioned though, ig isn’t aware of this symbolism.  thanks to persephone  ( he visits her on ocassion )  he is aware that his father had been put into an arranged marriage, but nothing more.  he doesn’t care, so he quickly shut her down from trying to tell him anymore about it.  so he remains oblivious to many customs regarding the role of  cerberus,  including the fact they are meant to be mated to two other hounds and  ‘rule’  together.  and rule is a very loose terms because, while they’re  technically  the kings and queens of the hellhounds, they hold very little power in the underworld as a whole besides just that.

[skaald-of-the-hearth-fires]

Hm, okay, I can see that.

I'd argue Logan was in jail in Lion's Arch, an independent city from Kryta, and what his actual motivation was was 'retrieval of a holy relic' (Sohothin), so that rather recommends him for Seraph Captain than otherwise :P (mostly joking btw). But I don't think a foreign arrest has any bearing on whether you're hired for head of the army in your native kingdom. In fact, as head of the army of a kingdom, being in jail in foreign countries sounds like part of what you might be signing up for, depending on how that goes. Also he totally cleared his record with LA anyway, completely legit and above-board, AND came back to save them from Morgus Lethe. Extremely friendly relations all around, I'd say.

I'd also argue he DID work hard to get where he did. He was a hero. He killed dragon champions. He got the whole asura gate to Ebonhawke set up that way. Then, when Dylan FAILED to protect the queen by being a typical best-and-brightest fighter, Logan SUCCESSFULLY protected the queen by leveraging his international contacts AND by proving that he'd BECOME a best-and-brightest sort of fighter. He also proved his loyalty to the reigning Krytan monarch OVER other, foreign interests (DE). Sounds like a perfect shoo-in for Captain, although I'm sure it disgruntled Caudecus, a few high-rankers who were hoping for the job, and perhaps made civilians scratch their heads a bit.

He totally worked hard to get where he is. As I'm showing in my fic, Logan being a hero (in his own right, not just bc he's a Thackeray) and Captain of the Seraph make him just BARELY, at a STRETCH, eligible for marrying the queen. That's why Caudecus' opposition is so significant. Logan worked hard to be an internationally-acclaimed hero, and now he has to work even harder to in this specific goal.

He's a commoner who now has access to the queen - that's social mobility based on merit, which is something pretty rare in medieval-style cultures but by no means a bad thing, and 100% something I'd expect from Anet.

However, I do agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY that this love story didn't make much sense AT ALL (at least for the attention they gave it) since Logan's win condition in the game is "LEAVE the queen and convince Rytlock he won't run away again" which... wow OK, Anet, make sense much? Now in the book, Jennah says "I don't need another polished courtier", she likes having a rugged hero. So SHE actually AGREES with the narrative saying Logan has to leave, and she tells the player she wants Logan to be able to make his own decisions (aka... won't call Logan away again). The problem is resolving... whatever it is that keeps Logan glued to Jennah's side. Overprotectiveness, co-dependence, sexism (as is implied in S3, that he's realized she can take care of herself, as if he didn't know before)... it's not REALLY explored, especially not in the PS, why he wants to stay as Seraph Captain when the whole narrative is pushing him to leave. If there was more time + resources to address this story so that could be explored and Logan could have an actual emotional arc about it, yay, but there wasn't (or it wasn't used on him).

THATS WHY (OR 1 REASON) IM WRITING FIC ABOUT IT.

Like I rather PREFER when Anet fudges a story bc then I can apply logic-brain to "how SHOULD this have gone" and write fic about it. Which is my happy place, so yay. (Anticipating maybe perhaps having a lot of fic ideas when I play SotO, lol.) But that doesn't apply so much to structural things like "Logan's whole entire backstory should have been different because it's OOC for him" like... a backstory defines what's OOC and what isn't. My fic is about saying "here's how EVERYTHING EVER actually DOES line up and look pretty and be a good story, at least if they'd bothered doing it justice and not counting the stupid retcon the one time".

And that's why I keep arguing with you ig lol 😆

Re: DW again, I'd argue that HOT for DW was the equivalent of the book for DE. Highly functional time for everyone. Then DE has their PS era, which matches DW's S3 era - divided, falling all over themselves, failing left right and center. There was a discussion in the GW2 reddit discord recently about what was S3/POF about, and yeah everyone agreed it was all a big hot dysfunctional mess, the Commander is suicidal, nobody sticks around for longer than 3 minutes and the Commander has to run off to Elona to face the god of WAR by THEMSELF. Basically, yeah, the group of nobodies was functional in HOT... but they fell apart quite wildly too after the fact.

In fact, I'm tempted to argue that DW mirroring DE in this way was done on purpose. Rather than being an unfortunate repetition or redundancy, it tells the same story again, and honestly that has value. People read the same stories again and again. Humanity has liked that for thousands of years.

Also that's a really good point abt the parallels between the Commander and Braham, I really wish that had been explored more (in the same vein as wishing his guild got more attention, or Braham-Logan dynamics and differences and similarities).

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Guild Wars 2 is a story about UNITY. It's message is "yall guys stick TOGETHER or it won't go happy for you, and if you do you can literally slay Elder Dragons" and telling us in different ways. So we see it in DE - when they stick together and work together they Do Things (book), when they don't the world falls apart (PS) but other people step up (Comm, Pact, DW), and when THEY stick together it goes well (S1, S2, HOT), and when they don't it's awful (Pact in HOT, Comm in S3, DE/DW in S3, Comm in POF, Braham in POF), and when they do its good (S4), and even when OTHER people get into fights and disagreements it doesn't go well for them either (IBS) and when you bring them together it goes well (IBS, EOD).

Sticking together and playing nice is Tyria's SUPERPOWER. Its what enables them to rise to level of dragons, gods, evil dictators, and The Literal Void Itself, and WIN.

Which makes healthy, respectful, mutually enjoyable interpersonal relations THE most important thing in the world!

AND IM BAD AT THAT. I'm autistic, social interactions are HARD for me! Keeping and maintaining friends is stressful! So that kinda hits hard! That's why my protagonists (other than Logan) who KNOW that's what the story is STILL HAVE A HARD TIME WITH IT. BC THEY'RE AUTISTIC TOO.

See look at that, there's me also getting off track lol :P don't worry about it I'm fairly sure this is the getting-off-track website lol. ITS ALL GW2 IDC LOL.

anyway yeah: the story of DE getting together again in the PS mirrors the story of the Pact getting together and that all is what enables them to fight.

You said it "doesn't lend its self to the story they need to tell. Which is the races need to come together to beat these elder dragons. But their differences come between them. Even the best and brightest couldn't do it. What hope is there? They are inspired by the pact sure and help take down Zhaitan but they just helped."

I think it massively does. Logan's love for Jennah is directly what comes between him and Rytlock (and by extension, the rest of DE). Resolving those differences is the primary angle of the story Anet is trying to tell - that their differences come between them but you REALLY need to work through those because that's the win condition of everything ever.

And that's goes into Anet's IRL message of, like, equality and diversity and accepting people who are different from you, and not being toxic, and figuring out how to interact on a level, friendly, polite field with everyone else, because that's the secret to world domination peace.

Anyway it all goes back to my original point in my OP, which was ANET PLEASE ACTUALLY TEACH US *HOW* TO DO HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS VIA THE COMICAL TRAGEDIES OF DESTINY'S EDGE.

I mean, Anet even does it in LOOT MECHANICS. Your resource nodes aren't competitive! There's no kill-stealing! Everybody gets event participation! You get rewards for rezzing ppl! And so GW2 is noted for having one of the most friendly playerbases ever!

They embedded the moral of the story into the game mechanics, this is why I say video game development is an art on par with literature and music and art! They can pretty please show us DE getting along and learning non-toxic relational behaviors 🥺🥺🥺

Anyway /endrant lol

Anet does a lot of cool stuff and has an amazing vision and an awesome game, I'm just. ALWAYS rooting for them to do it better. I have unfailing hope (like Trahearne) and I guess they just have to hit their 23-year mark first ;) and I'll keep writing fic in the meantime bc honestly they have the best game on the market. I may be biased but hey :P Trahearne my beloved ♥️ though shadows fall, still the stars find their way :))

Anet could have done SO much with the Destiny's Edge split-up. How to deal with toxic friendships, how to healthily respond to blame and guilt, how to distance yourself if necessary...

Not necessarily by PORTRAYING those things (DE is as dysfunctional as it gets), but by showing the opposite, the bad habits and thoughts we fall into.

The sheer contradiction of "I miss them but I'm glad they're gone."

Like those relationships were SO GOOD and then they got SO BAD and like. That should be talked about more.

Anyway there's another chapter of Reforging the Edge coming out today, so stay tuned!

[renaer-is-allegedly-hot]

session 10 notes

oh wow yeah the layout of these will just forever be trash now bc it’s a lot of formatting work like a LOT sorry

• Presentation prep

○ Jacob is doing a tier list of every smash character in the world ever

• Apparently picchu was really busted

○ Idk who picchu is tho

○ Peechoo

○ I think it's picchu bc I think I've seen that before

• Are waterbenders ghostbusters

• R we starting

A few my little pony quizzes real quick

• When we last left off

• We were using medallions or whatever to search for stuff

• Broke into the city of the dead

• Were ambushed but interrogated one of them after killing the others

• Adam convinced that one that we chucked the stone

• We let him live but adam took his pants

• Not midnight but it's raining a lot

What are we doing

• As we leave the graveyard adam is getting chains out of george bush and putting it back on the gate

• Nvm we're just gonna follow naya

• Put chains back on 

• Squelching through mud

• Make way back w little trouble

○ We were able to set up the stuff?

○ Looks like some ppl r patrolling

○ Still hard to see bc rainy so we haven't been noticed

• Keep following naya

• Make way out safely

• Naya varies the pace every now and then

• Rain dies off later in the night

• Start approaching poorer area of the trade ward; fewer shops and businesses, more poorer housing

• Naya looks like she's leading us towards a windmill in the distance

• Just a towering windmill

• Not much wind so not spinning

• Cel makes perception check at disadvantage, can't see anything

• Naya runs up and stops in front of the windmill then vanishes

○ The second time we used naya's scry power? Maybe? Nvm?

• Does ur wifi ever poop itself

○ Nice

○ Ok I'll just keep sitting here ig

• Ok we're in a dark room and can't hear any sounds of a bloodbath

• There's a door

• Adam puts his ear to see if he can see anything, perception check

○ 8

• Door is solid wood

• Adam opens ground floor door

○ There r two doors

§ One on the side and one on the top

§ Ok we're in the windmill

• Cel pulls out lantern

• Adam opens door and sees a lot of people who look like they're sleeping on the floor

○ 5ish

○ Look like squatters

• Adam rolls 22 perception to see if he recognizes anyone, no one looks familiar

• Sneak by them ? Try to ?

• Adam can see another door that goes further in

• Adam snaps tiny flame on finger and rest of us follow the flame

• We walk over to next door

• Not locked

• Quietly go through

• Asyna is going to stay in the first room w ppl to watch them

○ In case they wake up / as guard

○ "hehe . Shillelagh"

○ "whack 'em with your 'forget-me' stick"

• Proposition for asyna to pretend she's sleeping

• Enter next room, just as dark as other

○ A few doors leading to left and right in front of us

○ In distance can see more people sleeping but only two

○ Looks empty

○ Lights lantern

• Adam pokes head through closest door

○ There's just more people

○ Strategy to burn entire building will not work

○ Cel can't tell if anyone looks like they're armed

• Do I want banana bread

• Going to peek into all the rooms

• Every room marked w2 has ppl sleeping

• What's happening in w3

• "so I look outside bc I heard somebody blasting despacito… there's a pickup truck towing a boat and there's a bunch of teenagers on it raving" - dom, 2020

• W3 is a wc a water closet as in a bathroom

• W4 is a closet w some cleaning stuff and grains

• Some ppl have woken up but they don't bother to like really watch us suspiciously

• Upstairs we go

• Three doors leading out of the room but also a large millstone in the center of the room

• Under debris, soaking wet from a hole in the ceiling

• Adam tries to move debris

• Cel rolls 15 perception, can't hear anything

○ Adam rolls nat1 and the stone resists adam's efforts

○ Technically a 0

• What's behind door w6

○ Caved in sections

○ Floor littered w bird droppings

○ Adam investigates "that's a 12 for eggs dominic"

○ There are eggs but they are fertilized eggs

○ Adam has to b careful

§ Gently picks up pigeon egg

§ "I have a plan if combat starts"

§ Adam is now carrying a pigeon egg

• What's in w8?

○ W7 first

○ W7 is locked

○ Adam tries the key; theo makes perception check first

§ Nat1 so can't hear anything

§ Adam tries the key

□ "I'm gonna stick that key into the lockhole"

□ It doesn't fit

§ 14, can't unlock

§ Aerana tries, 22

§ Lock clicks open

§ Cel peers inside

□ There's an open window, the room is cold

□ There's a door leading into a separate room

□ Armoire

□ Also two human males holding shovels

□ "congratulations - you're free" - adam

□ "what the hell r u on about"

□ "we unlocked your door that was previously locked presumably from the outside but now the door's open and you can walk through it"

□ "we locked it on purpose"

□ "none of ur business how we do ours what do you want"

□ "why did you lock yourself in here"

□ "bc this is our apartment"

□ Smth abt a rock

□ A tiny boulder ?

□ Rolls 20 for insight

□ Guy had a flash of recognition but he doesn't have it

® But what r they wearing

® Indiscrete, utilitarian clothes

® "can we search your room or will you tell us all you know"

® "is that a thweat"

® "a thweat? O thorry sorry a threat"

® Adam rolls for intimidation

◊ 9

□ "we could just lasso them"

□ "how much health do they have combined"

□ "ok so you guys aren't gonna tell us anything"

□ As adam turns around to leave he casts sleep

® 5d8 

◊ "is their combined health equal or less than 22"

◊ "together they had 8"

□ Asyna moseys on upstairs

• I try so hard

○ And then things like this happen to me

○ It's fine, I say, albeit wholly unconvinced

○ Wow ok it really b like this

• Adam makes investigation check for anything in the bed

○ 18

○ There's a cut in the side of the bed w a bag of coins

○ "we shouldn't rob these people"

○ Apparently it's not a lot so we leave it

• Going to check other room

○ W8

§ Try to open door but immediately hit smth blocking it

§ Aerana and cel try opening the door

□ 14 strength check; doesn't budge

□ Peeking inside can make out a lot of heavy stones

□ 3 in gap

□ "so we can't fit through it . But a much smaller animal could probably fit through it"

○ Would b asyna's second wildshape

§ Investigate room wd40 but it's w4b

○ Asyna and cel r gonna go to w4b

○ Adam sticks arm through crack

§ Adam gets sense roof has collapsed

§ Feels beam of wood blocking door

○ Dom thinks we're too weak to hammer the door

○ Cel goes first

§ Dexterity save

□ 19

□ 2 damage; steps inside side closet and floor collapses

□ Falls down into w4a on first floor

□ Picks self up and goes back upstairs

○ Gonna try n shimmy over, 10 for acrobatics

§ Starts making way over then falls; dex save 11

§ 2 damage again

§ "uh hearing cel fall from the second floor twice , I come out"

□ Cel is gonna try and jump to w6

□ Adam gets crowbar from cel

§ Adam uses mage hand to open the door

□ Cel can just see a bunch of pigeon nests in w6

□ Cel jumps into w6

□ More pigeons

® Investigates; 20

◊ Finds the odd shiny thing a crow might've brought in; for the most part looks like a bird's dwelling

◊ Some fish bones in one of the nests

◊ Nature check, 5; can't tell what kind of nest

◊ They look like pigeon eggs tho

◊ Whisper yells to asyna "pet pigeon ?!"

◊ "are you gonna throw it?"

◊ "let me just tell you guys right now . You have more than one chance"

◊ Both have to make dexterity checks

◊ There are at least 5 eggs

◊ Cel rolls 22, asyna rolls 16

◊ The egg made it across successfully

◊ Cel just jumps back

○ Adam lightly pats down the two sleeping dudes

§ Some money, small utility knife

§ Gonna crowbar w8; strength check w advantage

§ Adam tries using the crowbar on the hinges, 8

§ Warhammer ? 15

□ 11 damage

□ "ok. Bonk"

□ "screws were invented in the first century so there WERE screws in the renaissance"

® Oil the door, adam tries to pop out the bolt with a dagger

® Two 4s

□ The people we cast sleep on are still asleep

○ Nat20 for athletics check to go onto the roo

§ You go to top of the windmill

§ Drop down into the room

□ Huge collapse of stones from the ceiling, beam of wood propped up against the door

□ Nat20

® Positive there is nothing in the room, just ceiling debris

○ "I'm gonna give their hands a little bondage"

§ "and then jerry seinfeld walks in like 'what's the deal with airplane food'"

§ Adam shakes the more serious-looking guy awake

§ Takes out key and asks if he's seen it

□ Wakes up and says "wot"

□ Other guy wakes up and is flailing

□ Cel rolls athletics check to tie him up

® 14, is able to tie him up

□ Looks at it and says it's his

□ "what's it for?"

□ "none of your business"

□ "you guys have a hobby of graverobbing?"

□ Adam says he's with the citywatch

® Deception check at disadvantage

® 9

® "yeah we're from the watch . Watch your back"

□ "why were u in the mausoleum"

® Jacob makes intimidation check w advantage

◊ 16, more serious one says "well u know we don't normally do that sort of thing"

◊ "we was paid to do it"

◊ "by whom"

◊ Lorsa morclav

} Losser mirklav paid them

– Asdjdmaf nice

® "what's the key for"

® "it's private"

® "can you make it public? For money ?"

® "45" adam puts knife closer to throat "I'm guessing that's a no" "I'm guessing that's a less please"

◊ Asks if we've played the dnd equivalent of poker

} Adam says he wants names first

} Younger one is urlaster

} Older one is volkarr

□ Threaten to bludgeon toes

® "how connected r u to ur toes"

® "rather intimately"

§ Says he buried his treasure

□ 10 to hit, slams ground

® Adam asks to see where loser mirklav is

◊ Southern ward

◊ By a bunch of apartments

◊ Half elf guy - cellar street ?

◊ Lives in an apartment

◊ "wig shop"

◊ "a weed shop"

◊ "a wIG shop"

§ "did u guys steal anything else from the tomb"

□ "we was hired to steal bones"

□ "losser's a necromancer"

□ Did they pick up a stone ?

® Losser saw a really thicc rat

® Losser kills the rat but it just vanishes, leaving the stone

® Losser took the stone

◊ Insight check, 8; can't tell if he's telling the truth

} "u guys broke into the tomb of a noble family for a necromancer for how much gold"

} 10 gold

} "we're keeping the key"

} "is loser the type of person that stays up at night"

} "well he's a mostly nocturnal fella"

} "yeah he likes his beauty rest during the day"

} "he's a strange little fellow"

§ "how badly do you want this key back"

□ "that's my life savings I want it back"

□ "what does losser look like ?"

□ Halfling fellow w long gray ponytail, he's wrinkly and smelly

® Is it bad that every time I hear the word necromancer I think necrophilia not necromancy

® "yeah I'm licking your life savings right now buddy"

◊ Adam fake swallows

} Performance check, 8

} "you're the worst actor I've ever seen"

} Actually swallows it

} "oh fuck"

} Key is made out of rusty iron

} "alright . Bye"

◊ "do you want your key back within 1-2 business days"

} "why don't you just puke it out"

} "I don't want to"

} "you guys keep quiet, I'll return the key to you in 1-2 business days"

} "that's disgusting"

} "alright . Bye"

– We’re leaving them tied up 

– "wow we're being judged" - marguerite, 2020

– We take their shovel

– "say what was your name"

– "reginald"

– "deception"

w Rolls a 20 total

w "that's shilanda shilanda brilanda and tiffany"

w Nat1

® "it might come out less rusty than it was before"

◊ "hey dom when should I roll for that poison"

§ Cel takes knife, toss the shovels

□ Barricade door ?

○ Going back to mirt's to rest ?

§ Go back to mirt's

§ Fog has settled in over streets, early early morning

§ Make it back no problem

§ Past midnight

□ Rest with watches

□ During adam's watch reads book

® Investigation check, 20

® Details house growlund and their lineage

◊ It's a genealogical book

} A lot of the pages are blank bc it's continuously added to

} At some point it's described that some of the children were born with tails

– "I look at my tail . Then look back at the page"

– But then those tails were amputated

} Any inbreeding ?

– Investigation check, 13

– There was inbreeding

□ Cel keeps pigeon egg warm

§ Morning arrives, daytime mostly spent in fog until noon

□ 8 a.m.-ish

□ "do I have to uh use the bathroom dominic"

□ "is there any key"

□ "oh I thought you were talking about real life"

® "does the key come out"

® "oh my god no it does not"

® "this is a great disaster"

◊ "it was a large key"

◊ "then how did I swallow it?!"

◊ "oh god whatever"

◊ Key was small enough for adam to swallow without choking

} I didn't say this but I thought it: what if he had practice tho

• Renaer is up

○ Cel grabs asyna and adam to go ask renaer to watch their pigeon egg babies

○ He is incredibly confused but he affirms he won't eat them

○ "ey what's poppin mirt"

○ "how's it going"

○ "groot is chunky" - aerana?

○ "groot is the best kind of chunky" - cel

○ "mirt, I'll buy you a wig" - adam

○ "make it purple"

§ Purple like ���. : - D ahahahahahahahahahhahahhahahhahaAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAA

• We bust our way down to cellar street

○ Southern ward is the one where a lot of ppl move to from foreign lands

§ Eclectic

§ We find a small shop w some wigs in the front

○ There's a young half-elf woman running front desk

○ Headstands w wigs in the front, some r purple

○ Adam walks up to the half-elf woman asking for a special order w loser

○ "sorry we don't have anyone by that name"

○ "losser?"

○ Adam wants a private meeting to place an order

§ Insight

□ 16, she looks surprised n confused

○ There was not an apartment above the store

§ This corner is mostly businesses

□ Nat20 wisdom saving throw

® She is uncharmed

○ Has gray hair, smells like an excessive amount of lavender, 

§ Says his name is val

□ Mirklav backwards

○ "is your boss here right now"

○ Lets himself in sometimes to say hi and to check in like once a month but he has a key

§ "how do you know him"

§ "uh do u remember how I said I was throwing a bar mitzvah ? He's invited"

□ 15 deception, works

□ She goes to the back

○ Nothing suspicious looking in the shop aside from the normal weirdness you'd expect from a wig shop bc it's just head mannequins

○ An elf walks in

§ "hey . Yo"

§ He nods

§ Doesn't necessarily look like he needs a wig

§ Wearing a tricorner hat like gwash

□ Makes idle conversation

□ "interesting things happening in the city, eh?"

® Heard abt the house that got blown up

® "oo . What's the juice ? What's the juicy gossip my guy"

® They say some kind of explosion

® Says he's more into politics

◊ "of course he is"

® "well I concern myself w the affairs of princes and princesses"

◊ Talks abt making deliveries

® "well many of them r comfortable . Of late I was able to make a v special acquaintance who essentially helped me w smth I needed doing"

◊ "I'm adam nice to meet you . Is it impossible to explain or "

◊ What's this guy's name tho

◊ Says he's good at making ppl happy or sad ???

◊ "you're like a performer"

◊ "do smth for us"

} He lost his silver handkerchief

– Can turn silver into gold, flicks it

– Admits puppetry is not his particular area of expertise

w Name is Jamboreal

w Nat20 insight check

w Looks different but it's the other guy

w Oh it's the guy the disguise guy your handkerchief bruh you really forgot about your own doings n stuff

w AHAHAHHA I SEE IT NOW OOPS wow I was really off

• Clerk lady comes back in

○ Brings back note of smth

§ We'll just sneak back later at night ig

§ Adam gives her a gold and says he'll take her purplest wig

□ Brings out a fluffy purple toupee

○ Wig shop closes around dusk

○ "do you want this wrapped"

○ "do you want to come to my bar mitzvah ? I'm turning 14"

○ Jamboreal is haggling a price down

§ Concept: take asyna to the zoo

□ Adam runs intelligence check for a 

□ Uh are we going to the zoo ? We're going to the zoo

□ There's a bunch of animals

Pause; next time we’re going to the zoo

[faeshifter]

yall heard of the upcoming reworks/changes/buffs/nerfs for ~40 perks, yeah?

I just watched this video going over them (I don't like the general Killer buffs mentioned in the beginning...) and I thought I'd post my thoughts. Some of these things definitely SHOULD NOT go to Live. :/

BBQ: no. Give us back the BP bonus.

Ruin: Don't like the ramped-up damage… but "deactivates when a Survivor is killed"? That sounds good, even if I don't understand it...

Pop: It's like the Boil Over changes they made… I guess it might end up good in the long run? idk

Corrupt: So basically, if someone gets downed early on, the gens unblock. Ok, nice.

NoED: This is not the change we asked for… Change the PERK ITSELF, PLEASE. People are just going to run Plaything + Thrill with this!!!

Pain Resonance: I don't even know what the perk does anymore…

Dead Hard: I.. I guess? I want to say this is an ok change?

DS: No. It's already nerfed into the ground, you only made it WORSE. I don't even use DS and I can tell you that for sure.

BT: This is the equivalent to what ZOS did to Rapid Maneuvers in ESO… they took the effect, made it base-game, and now the ability does… what, exactly?

Iron Will: Everyone is in agreement that the perk is ruined. Great job.

Self-Care: Same here. This plus the CoH nerf… yall just don't like self-healing, huh?? :/

Spine Chill: Three ruined perks in a row. Wtf BHVR.

Overcharge: Nobody needs that much destruction power. :( It should at least have a cooldown.

Eruption: Now it's even more annoying, ig… not much beyond that.

Knock Out: It… it already did that, I thought????????

Coulrophobia: Icky… but I guess it's just there now.

Dark Devotion: Makes some sense.

Jolt: …ok then?

Lethal: It can be used more than once!!!!! sweet!

Gift of Pain: Oh, wonderful… >:/

Thanatophobia: It really doesn't need a buff…

Monstrous Shrine: Like the comments on the video say, it's gonna get abused, esp by Killers like Nurse and Hag.

Calm Spirit: Ok, that's funky… guess it makes sense, too..

Saboteur: Makes sense; it's a nice buff.

Botany: Sweet!

Off the Record: icky! too long of a duration, esp when all it does is give you Endurance. Only good use for it is getting away and hoping the Killer doesn't tunnel, or wait until you go to touch a gen for 0.5 seconds (like DS) and THEN tunnel you.

Lucky Break: usable more than once, like Lethal! BHVR's learning! :D (it still seems a lil OP, tho)

Pharmacy: "Only when injured" sucks, but the fact that it can be used more than once! YES!

Sole Survivor: Works like old Left Behind? makes sense, is on-theme with the perk..

Distortion: CAN BE RECHARGED BABY LETS GOOO

Lightweight: Just a minor buff for a perk that doesn't really get used… oof.

Deja Vu: Another minor buff, but that's ok.

NoLB: Nice!!!! works when Gates are POWERED now!

Dark Sense: Actually got a mini-rework, not just a buff/nerf, which is nice.

Tenacity: Nice!

Hope: NICE!

Overzealous: Nice, and it makes sense!

WGLF: NO NO NO NO NO! GIVE US BACK OUR BP BOOSTS! ;-;

[mangakafang]

Lag is the protagonist in the story Idols Gate. Becoming an Idol in Idols Gate(the first virtual reality social media) is the equivalent of a blue check on Instagram #artbydilan #idolsgate #Lag #memory #ig #instagram #mangaka #anime #manga #art #artistsoninstagram #インスタグラム #アニメ https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ3VG5IA1Of/?utm_medium=tumblr

[myallywynn]

The beginning of the end for the Paper Bill of Lading

Many things have changed in the last 30 years in shipping and freight..

Many positive new developments have taken place with things from the vintage days of shipping either obsolete to almost obsolete now..

If you look at many of the news items about the industry recently, there has been a certain buzz and intensity around the electronic bill of lading..

I am fairly confident that people entering the shipping and freight industry in the next decade will be told that 2020 was the year that saw the beginning of the end for the paper “Bill of Lading” and the year in which the switch to “Electronic Bill of Lading” (eBL) began in earnest..

While this buzz and hype may seem novel to those who are new to the industry, the electronic bill of lading as a concept has been around since the 1990’s and there have been several discussions surrounding this..

The beginning

CMI – The Comité Maritime International, is a non-governmental organization established in Antwerp in 1897 with the objective of unification of maritime law in all its aspects..

In 1990, the CMI adopted the Rules for Electronic Bills of Lading in order to establish a mechanism for replacing the traditional negotiable paper bill of lading with an electronic equivalent..

These rules are voluntary, not legally binding, and work on the basis of a “communication agreement” between trading partners for their application..

These rules also do not interfere with the laws applicable to the contract of carriage, such as the Hague, Hague-Visby or Hamburg Rules and the rules clearly states that “the contract of carriage shall be subject to any international convention or national law which would have been compulsorily applicable if a paper bill of lading had been issued“..

This opened the doors for anyone with an eBL technology platform to create an electronic equivalent for the paper bill of lading..

  BOLERO (Bill Of Lading Electronic Registry Organization) was launched in September 1999 as an electronic trade community to provide a common and open system for businesses to exchange trade data and documentation electronically without the involvement of paper..

Bolero was jointly owned by the TT (Through Transport) Club, which represented container carriers, ports/terminals and logistics companies and S.W.I.F.T (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) the international banking cooperative.. The TT Club subsequently wrote off its investments in Bolero in 2004..

The Bolero Project, which was the first commercial attempt at creating an Electronic Bill of Lading was set up as an electronic central registry system to enable the transfer of title between users..

The Bolero system (Rulebook/Operating Procedures) was one of the first two electronic trading systems approved by the International Group of P&I Clubs in 2010 alongwith the trading system administered by Electronic Shipping Solutions (essDocs)..

This approval meant that the P&I Clubs under the IGP&I umbrella will cover liabilities arising in respect of the carriage of cargo under such approved electronic trading systems in the same way as it would for a paper bill of lading..

Today there are 6 electronic systems approved by IG P&I :

Electronic Shipping Solutions (essDocs) ;

Bolero International Ltd (more specifically the Rulebook/Operating procedures September 1999.) ;

e-Title solution ;

Global Share S.A. edoxOnline ;

WAVE ; and

CargoX Smart B/L (“CargoX”)

  So why the renewed buzz and hype around the electronic bill of lading..??

Well, the current buzz surrounding the electronic bill of lading (eBL) can be attributed to a virus – the COVID-19..

Due to the restrictions in human and transport mobility that COVID-19 has brought on, many containers are stuck at various ports, terminals, depots and warehouses around the world due to the receiver not receiving the original paper bill of lading required for the release of goods at destination..

The trade is already losing millions of dollars due to lockdowns, slow productivity at ports, port congestion, overpriced trucking costs, reduction in carrier’s TEU capacities etc.. Delays in receiving this paper documentation and the resultant delays in cargo delivery is creating further losses and stretching the budgets of the traders..

Although shipping lines have assisted with releasing the goods against LOI without insisting on the original bill of lading, this is one lesson that no one is going to forget and there is no going back..

Whatever doubts or hesitation that the trade had, whatever concerns they had on the issue of safety, security and acceptability relating to the transmission and receipt of electronic bill of lading, whatever concerns in terms of readiness of the carrier and country to handle an electronic bill of lading – it is all on its way out..

The electronic bill of lading is quickly becoming a thing of NOW..

If the 90s was the decade for the seeding and development of the eBL and the 2000s was the decade for its incubation (or hibernationa), this decade of the 2020s could see the growth and establishment of the eBL with possible full maturity in this decade itself..

  Standardisation of the Electronic Bill of Lading

Although there has been a lot of interest and research into the eBL, there is still a question of its acceptability and global usage because not everyone is using the same data and communication standards..

Only the setting of digital standards will enable seamless communication and data transfer between all the role players in the chain..

Recently, DCSA which is a nonprofit, independent organisation established in 2019 by some of the largest container shipping companies has accelerated its efforts for the standardisation of the Electronic Bill of Lading..

As per a DCSA research, the container shipping industry stands to save an estimated annual savings of about US$ 4 billion based on a 50% adoption of electronic bill of lading.. The research using a financial modelling exercise showed that the processing costs for a paper bill of lading were 3 three times much as an eBL processing and that the actual process cost for a single BL can vary widely..

DCSA believes that if the eBL standardisation process is started now, the industry can achieve an adoption rate of 50% by 2030.. They are basing this on IATA’s e-Air Waybills (e-AWB) for airfreight which was adopted in 2010 and is sitting at a 68% adoption rate in 2020..

The organisation’s objective of achieving these standards is also buoyed by the fact that its members (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen, Yang Ming, HMM and ZIM) are all high profile container lines – all of them within the top 15 container lines in the world already with state of the art electronic systems themselves..

“DCSA’s mission is to drive alignment and digital standardisation to enable transparent, reliable, easy to use, secure and environmentally friendly container transportation services. Digitising documentation, starting with the bill of lading, is key to the simplification and digitisation of global trade” says Thomas Bagge, CEO of DCSA.

“The transformation that has taken place in the airline industry is an example of what’s possible if we work together. The e-AWB is now the norm rather than the exception among air carriers. We invite industry stakeholders to work with us to create standards that will make the eBL maximally useful and relevant for ensuring their goods are delivered safely and seamlessly to their final destination.”..

  The reason for the adoption of Electronic Bill of Lading

COVID-19 notwithstanding, advances in new technologies such as Blockchain, IoT etc has enabled the world of trade to communicate, collaborate and continue business at a much quicker, safer and easier pace than ever before..

As mentioned above, although the eBL concept has been around since the 1990s, regulatory issues surrounding the acceptability of this bill of lading was a major dampener restricting its commercial usage.. Not just governments, but banks and insurers were also loathe to accept this form of trade documentation..

COVID-19 changed all that and many of these establishments are now looking at ways of changing the way they do business and the eBL has seen a sudden resurgence in interest..

André Simha, Global Chief Digital & Innovation Officer for MSC and DCSA Chairman recently noted, “The COVID-19 situation is bringing the core strengths of a standardised eBL to the fore. Cargo in ports cannot be gated out because of paper that is stuck elsewhere due to airfreight delays caused by the pandemic.”..

In fact, in a recent survey done on the impact of COVID-19 on supply chain, one of the most important trends unearthed was that a whopping 42% said they would change their shipping and supply chain strategy based on their experience with the Coronavirus pandemic..

67% saying they would invest in technology as part of their recovery efforts post the pandemic..

    If you want to check your readiness to invest in freight technologies, you can take click here to take a short 5-minute survey..

  Conclusion

The change in mindset in the market with regards to the eBL (albeit driven by a dark force like COVID-19) could just be the accelerator or push that the market needed in adopting the eBL..

Apart from the above, the recent improvements in technology and the collaboration within the industry is knocking down barriers for the adoption of the eBL..

The eBL is about to make a strong entry into the container shipping industry and the sooner everyone welcomes, adopts and accepts it, the better for all.. There are still a lot of doubts about the efficacy of the eBL, especially among small to medium business.. In fact, last week one of my neighbours who is a small scale exporter asked me how this eBL works and if it is worth looking into for businesses of his size..

The setting of standards for the handling and transmission of the eBL will greatly enable interoperability and acceptability among everyone involved in the documentary chain including BCOs, Banks and regulatory authorities and make the eBL a viable replacement for the paper bill of lading..

Will the year 2020 be the beginning of the end for the paper bill of lading..??

  The post The beginning of the end for the Paper Bill of Lading appeared first on Shipping and Freight Resource.

from Moving https://shippingandfreightresource.com/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-the-paper-bill-of-lading/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[martinfzimmerman]

Are tech stocks in danger?

If you don't remember the speculative frenzy behind the dot.com bubble in the late 1990s, it is hard to convey the scale of what happened.

The sheer excitement as technology stock valuations spiralled was a wonder to behold. Companies popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly valued at billions, even if they hadn't made a cent. Share prices doubled, tripled and quadrupled in months or in some cases weeks. The technology-focused Nasdaq index quintupled from around 1,000 points in 1995 to more than 5,000 in March 2000.

The tech bubble infected people who had never even considered investing before. Taxi drivers were dishing out share tips, I remember a London cabbie telling me how his stake in fashion retail website Boo.com was going to fund his retirement.

UK fund manager Tony Dye became known as "Dr Doom" for shunning internet stocks, which he considered overvalued and was duly sacked in February 2000. The following month, the bubble burst. Dr Doom had called it right, just too early.

The crash wiped 50 per cent off global stock markets after investors lost their nerve and venture capital dried up.

The dot.com boom and bust was a shocking event, dwarfed only by the financial crisis of 2008. Now people fear it could be happening all over again. So are we heading for another dot.com bomb and should you run for cover?

Look back at 2000 and the fallout was huge. In the US, the Nasdaq technology index tumbled from a high of 5,132 in March 2000 to barely 2,300 in late December. Companies worth billions at their initial public offering (IPO) were suddenly worth nothing at all. US dot.com top dog Pets.com was put down, losing US$300 million of venture capital. Boo.com burned through $135m in 18 months before going bankrupt (taking my cabbie's retirement dreams with it). Online retailer Amazon's stock plunged from $107 to just $7, but it survived, as did eBay. More than $1 trillion was wiped off global stock values. Within a year, the world was in recession.

Tech is back

It took the best part of a year for the dot.com bubble to deflate, and many more years before the recovery properly set in, but it got there in the end. The Nasdaq is now booming again, with a total return of 125 per cent over the past five years. It has beaten its all-time high more than 20 times this year to stand at 6,247 at time of writing.

Amazon stock hit $1,000 in May, up 44 per cent in the past 12 months alone. If you had invested $10,000 a decade ago, you would have $160,000 today.

This is making analysts increasingly suspicious. Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett warned in May of a speculative frenzy as the sector hit highs last seen during 2000, warning that "we are in the very early stages of an overshoot".

Another Dr Doom, Marc Faber, editor of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, has warned that the meteoric rise of Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google, collectively known as the FANG stocks, has left markets dangerously overvalued and share prices could fall 40 per cent from here.

The bull market has been running for more than eight years but the show is being kept on the road by a small number of US-listed technology behemoths. The FANG stocks plus Microsoft are responsible for almost 40 per cent of the gain in the S&P 500 Index in 2017.

They have added a total of $600 billion of market capitalisation this year, the equivalent GDP of Hong Kong and South Africa combined

News that Jeff Bezos, who is now worth almost $80bn and the world's second wealthiest person behind Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, sold one million Amazon shares worth $941m in May, which added to the climate of fear.

Fawad Razaqzada, a technical analyst at foreign exchange specialists Forex.com, warns that bull runs like this have a habit of ending abruptly. "If technology falls, it will undermine investor confidence and drag almost every major global index lower."

Then on June 9, the long-feared sell-off began, sparked by Goldman Sachs' chief investment officer Robert Bouroujerdi's warnings about inflated tech valuations. Apple's shares fell 4 per cent, knocking more than $30bn from the market cap of the world's most valuable company. Google parent Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon each fell 3 per cent, while Microsoft dipped 2 per cent.

There was a brief panic - then markets settled, and started climbing again. Mr Razaqzada says the question now is whether this is the start of the correction, or merely a pause in what remains a strong bullish trend. "If we see further breakdown of support levels things could get ugly really quickly. So far, it has held up well."

Beware the bandwagon

Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, which has offices in the UAE, warns that tech stock latecomers are vulnerable to a slowdown or dip. "However, those rushing to proclaim the demise of the tech rally need to be careful - there will be plenty of dip buyers out there who have been waiting for a pullback," he says.

That is exactly what happened after the June 9 stumble. "Buyers rushed in to defend the Nasdaq 100 lows around 5640 which then quickly rebounded above 6000 to hit today's highs."

Peter Garnry, head of quantitative strategies at Saxo Bank, does not expect a technology crash. "You need a trigger and currently it's not there."

The sector has outperformed year-to-date and looks overextended on the charts, but there is positive news too. "The earnings momentum is there and the alternatives are unattractive for long-term investors. As a result, the rotation into technology stocks remains strong."

Calling a market crash is near impossible at any time and in this case you would be betting against strong momentum in biotechnology company share prices and earnings, as well as healthy investor inflows, Mr Garnry says. "It doesn't look like a winning bet to me."

The big technology stocks are also making big money, so their forward valuations look far from stretched. "Alphabet trades at only a small premium to the S&P 500, whereas Apple is actually trading at 25 per cent discount," he adds.

Facebook may trade at a 20 per cent premium but that can be justified by forecast revenue growth of 40 per cent over the next 12 months, against 5 per cent across the S&P500.

Mr Garnry notes that Amazon is trading at 50 per cent premium to the wider market and is in danger of having bubble-like valuations: "However, the key issue is that the alternatives to technology are not that attractive as most other stock market sectors and industries have lower growth. "Government bonds offer around 1 per cent and investment-grade corporate bonds offer around 2 per cent. So what's the alternative?"

Though he admits some parts of the technology sector could suffer a setback. "Cloud-based companies, IT security and software companies are trading at very high multiples which may likely not be sustainable if we see a slowdown in the global economy."

Growth story

Tom Stevenson, investment director for personal investing at Fidelity International, says there are worrying parallels with the original dot.com bubble. "Nasdaq is outperforming the broader market, just as it did in 1999. Also, growth is concentrated in a narrow group of companies, a typical sign that we are near the top of the market."

The dot.com bubble saw massively over-subscribed IPOs, similar to what we are seeing today. "Investors have lost interest in traditional valuation metrics," says Mr Stevenson. "Witness Snapchat's recent flotation, and subsequent volatility. Netflix combines strong subscriber growth with big cash outflows."

However, Mr Stevenson sees notable differences too. "The euphoria of 1999 is almost wholly absent. Today's enthusiasm for technology stocks is not really rose-tinted optimism but a grudging belief that in a sluggish world the sector is one of the few places that investors can find reliable growth."

Another key difference is that in the 1990s, there were just 300 million internet users. Today, there are more than three billion, 10 times the amount, many of whom could not live without their smartphone. The big players are making huge sums of money, for example, Apple posted quarterly revenue of $52.9bn in the three months to April 1 this year. In its latest quarter, Alphabet's revenues totalled $24.75bn.

Valuations are high but nothing like the 1990s. "Apple trades at around 17 times earnings, which is close to fair value whereas during the bubble, Oracle, for example, traded at 140 times earnings. It lost 86 per cent of its value in the crash. Disruptive technologies deserve high valuations."

Technology companies can enjoy massive growth while working through relatively small amounts of capital. "It took hotel chain Marriott 70 years to get to 700,000 rooms. Airbnb has 1.5m in just seven years," Mr Stevenson adds.

Finally, Mr Stevenson says there is little of the froth that we saw last time round. "The mood music is more subdued and sceptical than 17 years ago. Tech provides growth in a low-growth world."

Global stock markets are nearing exhaustion after a lengthy bull run and it is clearly a concern that investors are effectively gambling on the fortunes of just five major companies: Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Netflix.

This is not the time to throw large sums into the market, expecting it to repeat its magic. However, calling a crash is a thankless task. Even if you are right, you are likely to get the timing wrong.

The key is to make sure you are fully diversified, by spreading your investments between stocks, cash, bonds, property and other assets, and only invest in shares you will not need for at least five or 10 years.

Technology stocks could bomb again, but just like last time, they will also bounce back.

pf@thenational.ae

from Personal Finance RSS feed - The National http://www.thenational.ae/business/personal-finance/are-tech-stocks-in-danger