#good job on this analysis op!

[sasukeflavor]

tag ppl you'd like to know better!

tagged by @autismsasuke (>⁠ω<)

last song: Lucky Star Opening, ahh it is one of my favorite anime ops ❤️ love the animation and the girls silly dances hehe

currently watching: Vinland Sage, yes...another anime. Its been quite awhile since ive watched anything and Vinland Saga is all i can remember..

currently reading: same as kyro/autismsasuke T_T well ..if you count sasuke fics and some splatoon then yes 👍

current obsession: SPLATOON!!! Ahhh its so fun much playing splatoon and esp doing side jobs from grizzo!! My fav things aside from getting spawn killed ^_^ (need them dead). OF COURSE, sasuke is still in my heart no matter what like i even drawn a splatoon octoling of him..

Tags: @cirrusin @hyuuga-neji @sapphic-sasuke

[autolenaphilia]

I talked about the problem of Windows system requirements being too damn high before, and how the windows 10 to 11 jump is especially bad. Like the end of Windows 10 is coming october 2025, and it will be a massive problem. And this article gives us some concrete numbers for how many computers that can't update from win10 to 11.

And it's 240 million. damn. “If these were all folded laptops, stacked one on top of another, they would make a pile 600 km taller than the moon.” the tech analysis company quoted in the article explains.

So many functioning computers that will be wasted. And it's all because people don't wanna switch to a Linux distro with sane system requirements and instead buy a new computer.

Like if you own one of these 240 million windows 10 computers, Just be an environmentally responsible non-wasteful person and switch that computer to Linux instead of just scrapping it because Microsoft says it's not good enough.

Edit: as have been pointed out multiple times in the replies. It's really not "all because people don't wanna switch to a linux distro." It's really Microsoft's fault for this form of planned obsolescence.

My original post was lacking in perspective at best. And of course, people who use computers for work are often made reliant on Windows by their job and employers and can't switch. Or lack time, resources, and information to make the switch. Which is also due to systemic issues, such as lack of education, and the culture of obfuscation about tech that tech companies create.

Edit 2: Making this unrebloggable: now I really know what reddit mods mean when they say "the discussion has run its course" Like there is absolutely no conversation anymore, just repeating of points already made and responded to, just endless repetition

To quote @mlembug

Source

If you can spend 5-10 minutes writing a reblog clowning on somebody, but you can't:

spend 10s to do a basic courtesy of checking the appropriate pronoun of the person involved

spend 30s checking the reblogs of a post to see if someone also decided to clown on the same person

spend 10s to click on OP's post to see if it was edited in the meantime (and guess what: the edits in OP's post does indeed blame Microsoft for planned obsolescence, which you decided to blame her for not doing in one of your reblogs)

THEN YOU SHOULD NOT BE MAKING A REBLOG. EVER.

[thesharktanksdriver]

Blood's Thicker Than Water (Platonic)

Made this cause I love assassins creed and I hate how they left the plot point about Desmond having a kid from a one night stand. Like sure there’s a comic for Elijah but let’s be real, who here has read that comic?

Sorry if any of them seem out of character, I haven’t played the games in a long while lol

Also thanks to my friend for streaming the games so I can get back into them lol

You never really met your dad but from what your mother described him as he was….a troubled soul

Now to be fair you’ve never exactly met Desmond Miles yourself but from the stories she told it’s obvious he had his fair share of demons

Some of which seemed to spill from the cracks of his soul from the short time she spent with him

A bartender is what he was, until he suddenly up and vanished from said bar in 2012 and died not too long after

It didn’t really make sense then even to your young mind

The gap between his sudden disappearance and death leaving too much unsaid for your mind not to be annoyed by

But as a child you eventually put the thought away

Eventually you forget

Instead going on to pursue your next whim as you focus on the present, or in your case Learning about the past in the present time

Unlike your fascination with your father that went away, your love of history never faded with time

It just seemed to grow the older you got

Your not sure why but something about history just clicked with you

It was somewhere within the range of middle school and reading national geographic that you had realized you liked it

That despite how some areas of it were bleak and disturbing it was interesting

And it got even more so interesting as you delved deeper into the depths of libraries

Nose buried in books lined with dust and old parchment

Yellowed pages and old ink that you carefully decode from centuries of lost meaning and metaphors lost to the modern age

You studied from the ancients all the way up to Victorian

Easing your way though literal centuries of historical records as you soaked up information like a sponge

And it’s there you vegans seeing an odd…repetition of events that seemed to occur

Odd assassinations plagued each era you looked into, all of which connected somehow by people in odd dress

In some journals that had luckily stood the tests of time you uncovered more eye witness accounts

A solider’s log back in the revolutionary war talking about an odd man meeting with his superiors in the dead of night

The diary of a log master who wrote of an odd frequent visitor that had an odd blade hidden beneath his sleeve

The drawing of a Victorian child being freed from a factory that had a hooded lady and man on the rooftop

I’m one you found a symbol, one created from the bottom perspective of an eagle skull, something also commonly associated with these hooded figures

What’s odd as well is that with these hooded assassins you also find traces of another group

One well know to historians such as yourself

Oddly enough the symbol of the Templar knights keep showing up even after their annulment

It’s odd, but what’s more odd enough is that both seemed to be tied to other historical artifacts

Ones well kept in archives and from the public eye

Ones you shouldn’t technically know about if not for you sneaking into sections your don’t have the status to enter

Their always gold with odd symbols. Somehow always pristine and polished despite the fact their dated to be from before ancient times

They for some reason seem to call to you specifically

Tempting you with forbidden knowledge you wish to taste like Eve

But for now you choose to wait until you can do proper analysis on them without the risk of punishment

So you lie and wait

Admittedly you didn’t think anyone expected for you to be this good at your job

In their defence you were a university student here on Co-op and not an actual full time historian

Hell you were in first year for gods sake

But somehow despite it all

Despite the fact you had actual historians and people in the history program years above you here you quickly began to become an outlier

A shinning beacon within the large archive, so much so that you began being allowed in the restricted sections you already snuck into

Mind you, now properly allowed there with some supervision of sorts gave you much more flexibility in research

You got to touch these artifacts

Hold them in gloved palms as silk covered finger glide across its edges and ridges

You study them extensively decrypting and decoding the ancient texts and hieroglyphs

Jotting down what you found in both a report and your own personal journal

Your not sure why you do so but you chock it up to making sure no one takes credit for your work

And this continues to the point your eventually allowed alone with them

It’s great

You dedicate yourself to this task as you learn more and more

Soaking up knowledge like a sponge as you find out more of what was previously lost

Find new angles and perspectives on events

For history isn’t just a set time and date, it’s interpretation based on what we know from sources

And even then sources can be biased

Sources can lie and silence another person’s view on the event

Your more than happy to try make your own interpretations

Admittedly when you were asked to study what looked to be a necklace from these unidentified ancient artifacts you were ecstatic

How could you not be?

Intricate gold woven in something akin to Grecian jewelry

Yet also had hints of something akin to Egyptian

It also…glows? Or at least you swear you’ve seen it glow gold and pulsate a few times but that could be the sleep deprivation speaking

Either way it’s an honour

One you don’t take lightly as you study it

Spending countless restless nights and days trying to crack its code

An unknown source has been funding the archive and your research quite a bit

Betting big money on it much to your surprise and suspension

You get that this is potentially something big but it feels out of left field

Especially since no one knows the name of the company

It’s just under an anonymous donation every month

It’s sketchy

But you aren’t one to argue about free money to further your and your colleagues pursuit of knowledge

Not when this beautiful place used to be underfunded

Not when most historical records were donated by people with a good conscious

Not when this place was almost shut down

With a sigh you continue on your work

Diligently tact checking and writing up a storm

Your writing looks like chicken scratch but that was a commonality between all history majors

Well, along with being giant nerds

And it’s there at that desk at 3 am in the morning, tired and only running on 3 hours of rest you find something peculiar on the necklace

A sharp jaded edge that you absentmindedly prick yourself on by accident

With a groan you wipe the blood away on your pants

Then going up to get a bandaid

You swore to god if you died of tetanus you’d be positively pissed

Unknown to you the necklace starts to glow

When you get home your more exhausted than usual

Your limbs feel like their kade of concrete and your head is stuffed with tissue

Eyelids trying to glue themselves shut

You practically kick off your shoes before tumbling to the couch

Not bothering in changing clothes or showering for the sweet relief of sleeps embrace

So you flop down face first into the old leather cushions of your couch

Only putting in the effort of fishing a hand to grab a throw pillow and blanket from nearby that you burrowed yourself into

A comfy cocoon/prison you couldn’t will yourself to leave even as you swore for a moment you heard something in the house

But your mind writes it off

Your too tired to question anything let alone get up

All you want is sleep

And that’s exactly what you get as your eyelids shut

You fall into the realm of dreams, odd ones playing out in your mind

Blurred images of odd men

A weird void-like realm

The cries of an eagle overhead

A single word appearing in your head

Kenway

And then your eyes snap awake when the sound of arguing fills your ears

Yelling of several male voices jumbling up your already fogged up sense as you practically fall off the couch in a mixture of fear and confusion

Curses escaping your mouth when suddenly the voices go silent and your left in a realm of fear

Hair standing on end as the creaking of the house makes you more alert

Despite the fact you’d never fought a day in your life you will up the courage to grab a baseball bat and cautious cross to where you heard the commotion

Careful steps on the non-creaky boards of the home that you’d luckily memorized

And there you find several men in old garb

Accents of Red tying them together like a string of fate

Or a trail of blood fainting their very existence

they turn to you with sharp eyes

It’s the one in modern clothes that surprises you the most

The face of your supposed dead father staring back at you

Ocher brown eyes that had long lost their life now rejuvenated as they seem to find familiarity in your own features

Some of which mirror his own along with some of the others in the room

The bridge of your nose

A all powerful spark in your eyes as they flick between everyone and escape routes

The way your lip slightly twitches when you try to keep a brave face

Your posture as you decided what to do

It’s all too familiar to him and them in a way that isn’t just coincidence

Especially not when all of them are Kenway

Not when he had been able to prove to them that fact through the experience of virtually living through their lives up until his death

“I’m not sure who the fuck all of you are but get out of my house.” Your fingers twitch and flex as your palms grow sweaty, the wood absorbing the pressure and moisture “especially my dead dad look-alike”

You all but confirm his suspicions

Their suspicions

And it looks Ike for you tonight will be much longer than you anticipated

Turns out that artifact you were studying wasn’t just as normal one

Neither were the other ones you looked at

The way they explained it as was their “artifacts from dead gods”, a fallen civilization that engineered humanity into being their slaves

It’s a lot to take in

Even more so when your suspicions of something bigger happening throughout global history with those odd deaths were real

Oh, and these were you dead ancestors and dad somehow back from the grave and now in your home

…..yeah safe to say that’s a lot to take in after an already very long and tiring shift

You sit there as they explain this, half asleep, and half exasperated

Cause how the hell are you supposed to believe all this bullshit that for some reason feels correct

Something in you tells you that their right yet your mind is fighting that logic

You’d always been a logical person, when it came to most situations you used your brain instead of your heart

And in those cases things ended up fine

But now your faced with this

A situation where your heart is screaming for you to listen as your brain tries to take this all in

Cause logic is completely out the window at the moment

For now you have to trust them even if your still afraid

I mean, how couldn’t you be?

But you get the sense that they understand

At least a little bit by how their also thrusted into a new environment without much say

Perhaps that (along with your own apprehension) is helping comfort them as well

So for now they’ll stay

Your just thanking (the dead) gods that grandma and grandpa’s old home is big enough for all of them

Altaïr Ibn-La’ Ahad

The oldest down the line of your dad’s side of your lineage finds himself often reading through your books in your study

It was a bit of a surprise one day entering it to find him sitting in a spare chair but you don’t mind the silent company

Especially as he seems to find interest in your studies

Occasionally he breaks the silence and asks you a question about the subject he’s reading about

He’s by far the oldest (even if he’s back in the body of his prime) of them therefore he’s the one who has the most figuratively to catch up on

So you indulge him

And also asks questions as well that he seems eager in answering

Knowledge connects you both, scholarly intellect being the bridge between the two of you despite centuries of time apart

Typically he asks about thinks such as modern life and what is know about his home, what happened to it? What it’s known of his era

You answer as best you can

Especially since that era of time isn’t exactly your forte

But he appreciates it anyways

Appreciates that you try, appreciates that you passionately care about history in the first place

Admittedly your mom was supportive but never understood your love of history

She’d listen to your rants and long conversations with a polite smile but you knew she never understood what you were talking about

But he does

He does and contributes whole heartedly in just as much passion

It’s nice

What’s also nice is that he’s studied the artifacts you now study as well

So now your both constantly coming up and developing ideas together

A constant back and forth

Hypotheses, discussion, and testing

Delving deeper into discovery like you’ve wanted

But with this he also helps you see where passion and obsession mix together

After the loss of his wife and son he delved into studying as a form of escape

It drove who was left away

Made the pit in his heart deeper

He doesn’t talk about it often but he seems to see how you may go down the same path

And he warns you of it

Unlike his younger self (that he now appears as) he’s wise if a little rough around the edges

He encourages knowledge but not to the point where it’s an all encompassing and toxic obsession

Within the household he seems to take a somewhat neutral but quiet role

He helps out and offers advice and guidance

Much like a teacher and grandfather of sorts

Speaking up when he has to and making sure the house doesn’t end up in disrepair

He seems to have a fascination with modern appliances, or at least holds a thankfulness for them

Like a few others he sticks to his robes most the time but you’ve seen him sport more modern clothes once awhile

Stuff still somewhat reminiscent of what he wore before but with a modern flare. Things with hoods and draping. Silks and wool. Something with an accent of red mixed in

Sometimes when you fall asleep in your studies you find a blanket draped over you and a cup of tea at your side

He won’t admit it’s him but he’s the only one who knows your tea preferences

He keeps his worry for you deep down but it’s somewhat relived when seeing that you take his warning of not taking the pursuit of knowledge too far

“It says here there was something called the “French revolution”. Would you care to explain what happened here to me?” He asks making you pause your work for a moment, when he sees your smile he knows your answer. Sure he read some of this book and got the gist of it, but something about seeing your eyes light up at his inquiry makes him feel at peace for a moment.

“Would I ever!”

Ezio Auditore da Firenze

This man is quite literally all up in your (and everyone’s) business

Not in an annoy way per say but he’s definitely curious about the lives his descendants have led (both good and bad)

Ezio is very clearly a family man and it’s somewhat ironic to see since half of this household has some sort of familiar issue

Most of which is some sort of daddy issue stemming from either Haythem or Edward that trickled down the line to you

Something that Ezio is seemingly trying to wrap his head around

Out of the others he’s the one who opens up the most

Partially because you think he misses his immediate family and friends

It must be a lot to handle being away from home, now in a foreign land where everything has changed

Despite that though he keeps a brave face

Almost always flashing a smile as he drags you from your study to have some “bonding time”

You won’t admit it to his face but you don’t mind

Especially as he gives your poor hunched over back a break

And treats your pallet to some good old fashioned (literally) Italian food and not cup ramen once again

He tried it once and threw your supply out, saying he’d be supplementing you with food from now on

You can’t exactly say your disappointment or upset from the heaven that is fresh baked garlic bread and pasta

He cooks not only for you but for the others of the house as well, saying his sister taught him lest he piss off his future lady

Taking in their suggestions and cooking foods from their homes as a way of him offering comfort

Whilst he does these tasks he often hums in his mother tongue of Latin

You don’t have the heart to tell him it’s a dead language

Especially when he seems so happy that you can somewhat understand it

He’s happily rambling and teaching you words

Helping you sound out phrases and pronunciation correctly unlike your Latin professor

Some of his songs he lightly sings under his breath get stuck in your head since he has a good singing voice

But despite the facade you see the cracks

Sometimes you find him looking at modern objects mumbling about how Leonardo would have loved to see this or made something similar

Or how Claudia would’ve liked this book

How Petruccio would have loved this toy

It….leaves a bitter taste in your mouth

Once upon a time you felt this same type of longing for family

Once a time you thought of you dad before going to bed and staring at his old Polaroid with hope

One that would never come to fruition (until now)

It’s why you indulge him, to keep his mind off the deeper plunge of melancholy

Compared to the others he’s relatively open to modernizing

In fact he seems somewhat excited in these things

Raiding your wardrobe like a damn fashionista and critiquing what’s good quality

He also has a wide variety of looks, not sticking to something similar to his time of dress

Versatile and somehow up to date? Your not sure how but somehow he’s in fashion?

Like he must’ve found a copy of vogue or something cause there is no way he just guessed that this was the new trend

When you pressure him on it he replies that he’s simply that amazing

You call bullshit but have yet to find evidence

But in the meantime you ask get him to tell you about Da Vinci and you furiously jot down what he says

Sometimes when he looks at you he sees flashes of Claudia’s quick wit

It makes him long for home yet as he looks at his descendants and ancestor he also feels….something

A small pit of warmth developing as he gets to know the inhabitants of this house longer

Meet Altair besides through a weird vision

His home is in Florence yet that feeling of comfort from the Villa is bleeding into these old (yet new) walls

“So this painting is his most famous work?” He asks looking at your computer with a bit of confusion, his scared lips quirking at the digital image.

“Yeah. This is actually probably the most famous painting in the world”

“Really? Of all his works this one is considered the best? I’m not doubting his skill but of all his pieces?”

“Believe me, I get it. It’s only this famous cause it was stolen”

“Stolen?!? Tell me who did it! I swear-”

Edward Kenway

For someone who was a feared pirate on the seas he’s surprisingly much less violent than you’d think him to be

Sure, he’s scary as hell still but at least he’s not stabbing you in the back and making off with your grandmas pearls or something

Still your a bit unnerved by him considering you did a project on him back in middle school and he’s now in your home

Munching on some god damn biscuits as if this was a normal situation

His son Haytham avoids his as best he can but he seems to bond with his grandson quite easily

Or more easily than he does with Haythem

It takes some time but you eventually go to him when you find him awake at the dead hours of night

A whisky bottle in hands as he occasionally takes a swig in silence as he stares out the window

You don’t talk

You don’t need to when he drinks in silence for awhile staring at the moon before eventually talking about the guilt

In his pursuit of power and gold he let people die

Greed woven into his soul as he sacrificed good men for his cause

He changed and did good yet his past haunts him

Hands stained red

Guilt eating away

A son who doesn’t want anything to do with him

At some point when he stops his rambles you speak

Reminding him that while his actions weren’t good he changed

It doesn’t wash the blood away but it stoped more from staining his hands

Though Haythem avoids him Connor is more than eager to fill his place

It doesn’t fix his overlying problems but it does help

In the morning he ends up talking with you more after this as your initial fear melts away

You end up seeing Edward Kenway, not the fiercesome captain of the Jackdaw

You see a man burdened by past mistakes and still wishes to do better

You see a human being at its core

With history it’s easy to forget the people your looking at was once alive and a breathing being

One who was just as flawed as you and I

But seeing a infamous pirate captain cry about issues pertaining not just time him made you remember that

He isn’t opposed to modernizing but seems to keep a certain sea-like touch to his appearance

Clothes for labourers and something loose is what he normally sticks to

He’s lucky though since he doesn’t exactly have traditional robes and can incorporate what he appeared in with a modern flair

Occasionally when he gets drunk he slurs out old shanties and talks about his epic tales

You might or might not have freaked the fuck out learning that James kidd was actually a woman

Mind blown

Ezio and Altair had to drag you away from your computer from writing an entire essay

Sitting on your countertop he holds a glass of whiskey in hand, one held out for you as you sit down beside him. The moon casts its gentle rays and lights the marble slab you both sit on. “I prefer Rum but this’ll do” it’s said in a playful tone that makes you nod and take a sip.

“I can grab some captain Morgan later…speaking of which, did you know him?

“No, but I did find a few of his things laying about “

“Care to tell?”

“Aye, sure thing”

Haytham Kenway

As the only Templar in this house it’s safe to say he’s definitely the outlier of the bunch

A relative lone wolf from the group that all hold some sort of Ill feelings towards him

From his father its confusion and sadness

The others it’s a mix of that and anger

From Connor it’s just plain…well your not quite sure how to describe it

The two’s entire family situation is just plain messy and thick with tension that their blades could cut through

But here’s the thing, in this house your also an outlier

A neutral zone so to say

Hell, the entire house seemed to be a haven of sorts from their whole Templar vs Assassin conflict

To be honest you don’t really care about this secret war

Well that’s a lie you are interested in these war of secret societies but you don’t specifically care to get involved in their politics

Not when you have business in interfering in it unless a fight breaks out and your telling everyone to calm the fuck down

So safe to say your kinda the only one who talks to Haytham

He is…well sometimes he’s a bit of an ass (in the British type of way) but at the same time he’s good conversation

Specifically when it comes to that of morals and philosophical beliefs

He is a conflicted man

A flawed one

But he holds his beliefs and morals despite the fact he’s been hurt and betrayed by a man he viewed as a mentor

He doesn’t talk about it much but he’s still hurt

Still seething with venom that burns his soul and flesh

Makes him want to lash out despite his upperclassman appearance and attitude

That despite it all he loves his son, so much so he willingly walked into what would be his death knowingly

That despite what happened he loves his dad yet can’t face him yet on account of what he became

What ideals and morals he still believes in even now

It’s perhaps he’s venting this to you rather than a journal because he knows you won’t judge him unfairly on the basis of what side your own

Your judging him as a flawed man and as an equally flawed person

It’s with him as well you open up about your own frustrations

How you still don’t know how to feel about this all

The fact that a lot of what you once knew was flipped on it’s head

Along with the fact your not even sure how to address your dad

It’s an entire mess but perhaps your both messed up together and that also draws you both to talking

To discuss your feelings of insucurity and confliction

To feel comfort that your not alone in not having your emotional shit in order

On some especially…emotional nights you both both have a cup of tea

He seems to enjoy that each time you use a different type, much of which used to be hard to obtain due to shipping and it’s prices

He hasn’t really yet grasped modern technology but your slowly helping him with it

It’s kinda like trying to teach a grandpa to figure out a phone, but now it’s him with the concept of a microwave

Like some of the others he’s yet to really also change his clothes to something modern

There has been a few times though he sported sweaters and vests

Your now working on helping his wardrobe since he prefers a sophisticated look

Occasionally he looks at the photos that line your walls, looking as you evolve through the ages

It’s…odd

With Connor he never had the chance to watch him grow

Never a snapshot to immortalize what he was like a child but now ones of you litter the walls like paintings

He feels melancholy

Yet at the same time he’s happy to get another chance maybe

One that is seemingly being helped by your gentle hand unknowingly

“I never thought about it until now but the stars are different” he says taking a sip of his matcha tea, he lets it pool on his tongue and experience the flavour. Not his favourite but not the worst

“That’s cause of light pollution here…though the stars do move so it it’s possible they’ve shifted position in the sky”

“Do they teach you about the stars in your schooling?”

“Yeah I took some. Not sure why, it just kinda spoke to me. Maybe it’s the Kenway blood”

Ratonhnhaké:ton/Connor Kenway

Of the group Connor is the most quiet and surprisingly the one whom you connect with the best for some reason

Perhaps it’s cause your both socially awkward in ways that let you relate

Or the fact you’ve both been ostracized by society for various reasons

His company is that of a quiet one but one you accept it with ease as you both sit and enjoy each others company

A quiet kinship made of unspoken but understood words from one another

The reminder that someone else is there and your not truly alone

He is perhaps the one you feel you can understand the most

And it’s the same likewise for him

Your both people deeply hurt and still bleeding internally

People raised by only their mother in a cruel and harsh world

People who were let down one way or another by their father

People who are still mad and angry but use that to further their determination

It’s odd but you feel truly understood

Like your soul was peeled back to reveal at your core your still a lone spirit lost in the world

One clinging to what they know as their only lifeline in this confusing and jumbled mess of a situation

The hulking 6 foot 2 man shows you trails near your home

Taking to the forest paths you’ve know your entire life and helping you discover even more about them

And while he does this he teaches you more about the world as you both walk the old beaten path

He tells you how to identify what type of tree is which, which stones are likely geodes and what tracks belong to who

It’s honestly petty interesting especially since he adds snippets of stories from his heritage

In return you talk about what you know as well

Snippets of your own knowledge that he seems to store into his mind just as you do with his stories

An equal exchange of sorts

On these walks you begin to notice he takes you out on these when your at your most stressed

The times in which your mind is overworking and consuming itself with anxiety

The times in which you need to breath

Connor doesn’t seem like one to vocally express his care but he does so through action

Small inconspicuous actions that mean a lot more than what meets the eye

It’s seems that his towards you is helping you when you need it most

Taking you away to just take a moment for yourself

To just breath in the fresh air and let the sunset coloured leaves of autumn crunch under your boots

Letting the cold breeze take away your worries

It’s perhaps better than any type of verbal support

Yet another unspoken action of care and compassion through knowing and watching

Of watching and knowing when you need a break

When you realize this and give him a small tired smile as a thanks he seems to know

Only giving a small nod with a minuscule smile of his own

It only grows bigger when you begin to ask him if his traditions, of the stories and practices of his people that he’s more than willing to tell when he knows you ask out of genuine curiosity and respect

Connor is somewhat 50/50 in modernizing

He adapts quite well but still needs help with certain things as he navigates the situation

But like usual he is anything but resourceful as he watches what you do and figures it out

He helps the others quite a bit with what he’s picked up and somewhat takes pride in the fact he can help them

Whilst he’s privy to wearing his robes he isn’t against more modern clothes

The only problem though is sometimes finding stuff that fits him considering he’s not only a giant but also fairly muscular

But your both eventually able to find some stuff for him to wear that he likes

He really appreciates though that you try to buy clothes and jewelry from nearby indigenous peoples

It might not be his but he appreciates the sentiment and familiarity that the beaded jewelry give him

“I’ve lived here my whole life and walked down these paths a thousand times yet it seems more like your the local here” you say with amusement as you follow Conner through an area you’d be never been before.

He smiles, it’s small but there as he adds “just a matter of perspective. You see the paths your used to and I see ones you hadn’t noticed”

Desmond Miles

Yeah so this is entirely awkward for you

Like how the fuck do you emotionally deal with this and the fact your very dead dad who didn’t know you existed till now is now very alive

And living in your house with his very dead ancestors that are also now alive

Case and point you don’t, specifically you ignore the problem and act like everything is fine

You lock yourself away and try to avoid him like the plague

Somehow Scurry past him and into the kitchen to grab something before returning to your abode to eat

But then things got complicated

Things change

You began talking to the others

Slowly coming out the darkness of your study and joining the dinner table

But you still try to avoid him

It feels like the sight of him burns your mind, all those nights as a kid coming back to you

The hope and then disappoint in learning he died and that he likely never wanted you

Your mother never said this but the other kids did. They always teased and picked at the fact you were a mistake

It’s why you push so hard now to be the best, To prove them wrong (to prove to yourself that your worth existing)

The fact is that now he’s here and you don’t know how to deal with that

How would you even start?

What do you even say to him?

You quiet down when he enters a room because you don’t know what to do

Whatever your about to say dying in your throat like a caged bird and all that came come out are garbled noises as you evade him

Eyes casting down to your hands like a child averting their gaze from their parent when in trouble (he is your dad so it’s the same thing right?)

Leaving the room he’s in as quickly as you can once a take is done

The others notice quick, I mean how can’t they? A damn butter knife can cut through the tension

The whole thing with Haytham and Connor is less tense than this

But what can you even do?

How in thick do you talk to him and how can he even talk to you?

Your 18 and in university, he’s 25 and was a bartender in New York before apparently sacrificing himself for the world

He’s closer in age to being a big brother rather than your dad.

But even besides that he’s been long dead and gone since 2012

It’s been years since that point and more importantly he’s someone important and your not

He’s an assassin born to a bloodline of other assassins

Someone who was raised in this tradition with greatness not only in his origin but also in his death

And your you

A child born from a one night stand who’s only achievement is being good at knowing about old people

It hurts but it’s true

If he’s a star then your a candle compared to his light

A mere blip or spark to the greater picture

There had been times he looked like he wanted to say something but you scurry away before he can say anything

Sometimes you catch the looks and small gestures Ezio tries to make as if to encourage him to go up to you

How Connor sometimes brings up to you how he wishes for reconciliation with his dad and that perhaps it’s possible with your own

Altair not beating around the bush and plainly telling both him and you to talk

But it all feels for naught and dies when those feelings and thoughts return

But eventually he corners you

Well not really corners you per say but he catches you as you leave your study after a talk with Altair

“Listen I don’t have any grudge against you. For one you died, I’d be a dick if I blamed you for that or your decision to save the world and whatever. Second you didn’t know about me in the first place” you say briefly looking up at him before averting your gaze, he looks like he wants to say something but he can’t get a word out before you continue “but you don’t have to act like my dad or anything. You never asked for me, it was a mistake, I was a mistake and I’m fine with it.” (Your lying to yourself)

You leave before he can get a word out, and he’s left alone in the hallway. When he returns to Ezio he just sits down in silence. It’s enough for everyone to know I didn’t go the way he wanted.

Admittedly when you begin to notice odd figures at the achieves you write it off

I mean it could literally be anyone plus the supervisors aren’t making a fuss about them here

If anything their welcoming them and looking at them with hopeful eyes

Small glances full of opportunities in them

It’s odd but maybe their just some non-profit here to support the archive

Or even private benefactors of sorts

But then they turn their attention to you

Plastic smiles on their faces, artificial pleasantries as their main spokeswoman sits in front of you in a slick suit

Her stilettos tapping against the ground as your eyes trail to her bodyguards of sorts

They stand not too close nearby

Watching

Waiting

And then she begins talking

And slowly you grow more and more uncomfortable

Hands playing with one another, fingers twitching in your palm as crescent are indebted in your skin

They apparently are interested in your findings

In your research

But more specifically you

They’ve researched you…a lot

Down from where your mother was born to her great great something grandfather

And your father

…but that’s not public knowledge

It wasn’t even on your birth certificate

This….this isn’t

She smiles though now the darkness melts away into something more knowing

Dangerous and sadistic of sorts

And it’s there on her little pin showing her name you recognize the logo

Within your house you’d vaguely heard whispers of the others talking in hushed tones

You didn’t mind

The less you know the better in that sense

Out of sight and out of mind

But sometimes you’d hear the mumbles of a name that you didn’t put together until now

One spat with venom just as they did with the word of the Templar

Abstergo

You barely have time to react before your black bagged and sufficiently knocked out

Mind drifting to that of panic

What would happen to you?

What will happen when the others find out?

But then those thoughts fade away into the dark void of sleep

When you wake up things are odd

Everything is a sterile white and too bright for your foggy sleep tinged eyes

The room is blurred as is your senses as you weightlessly drift

Everything feels odd

And then it happens sharp and pure pain that leaves you writhing and screaming into the void

And that’s when you notice that white light had left and your in a void of sorts

Empty glitching effects all around you as your left to look around in confusion until you see something

A memory? Specifically one of your memories

Your staring at a simulation of sorts of your past self

A 8 year old in their bed with chubby cheeks pulled up into a melancholy smile

You recognize this moment, your small hands holding a picture that had long been put away into a scrapbook and forgotten

Your left wordless and confused

And then that bitch’s voice appears again and she explains

This entire thing is a simulation of your memories

And essentially their gonna go through your head picking through them to not only learn what they want but then use you as their lab rat cause of your bloodline.

Cause apparently memories of your ancestors could be accessed that way and it was generally easier to have a descendant rather than finding objects and artifacts

And it’s there in that simulation it feels like your mind is being ripped apart

Memories ripped from your mind to play out in front of you as she makes comments and documents them before their forced back in and another is ripped out

Like book having pages torn out and then crudely stitched back in

It hurts so damn much

Over and over

Your just left in screaming again on the ground of this simulated world as she makes idol comments

Left begging for it to stop

For someone to help

For the love of god someone help you make it stop

Of course this would happen to you

You’ve always had shit luck despite your whole family motto being “make your own luck”

What utter bullshit

You can’t make good luck from bad

Can’t just change things when the scales are already tipped one way

But then like a miracle from above she goes quiet and suddenly the memory is gone

And your left in the void still reeling from it all

Still on the glitching ground before once more white encompasses your view

Blinding and bright as your still recovering

And then an unfamiliar voice tunes in

“Your safe” it’s heavily accented, in an Irish twang that’s soft as he says these words to you. A reminder that your ok now, it’s over. “Can you walk?”

You try to look at him with squinting eyes yet they still can’t adjust, your limbs feel heavy like solid rock. Unmoving even as you try. With some difficulty you shake your head

“Aight, I’ll have you carry you then. Are you alright with that?”

“Just get me out of here…please. I just want to go home, I miss my family” it sounds pathetic but as tears begin to fall the stranger doesn’t seem to think Ill of you.

“Don’t worry, I get what that’s like.” The tone is sympathetic and like before is soft “you’ll be home I no time, I promise”

You think for a moment before responding “I trust you”. For a second you feel him go still at that before he picks you up.

For awhile there’s buzzing alarms and panic as your saviour gets you out whoever’s you were taken too

There’s not a moment of silence as he sharply runs and dodges past what you think to be gunshots

Occasionally he grumbles something but for the most part he seems calm

Composed despite the chaos of it all

So much so that it makes you wonder if this is an average Tuesday for him

There’s so much shout and yelling for your already pounding head

But sometimes the yells are silenced as the sound of a blade cuts it short

Footsteps far behind eventually stopping

Sirens getting more and more distant and allowing you and the man to breath

It’s there in the pocket of silence you learn his name

Shay

It sounds familiar, like really familiar yet you can’t put your finger on it

Either way your grateful because how can you not be?

Your away from that place

Away from the torture of having your mind picked apart like a lab experiment

Having the privacy of your memories looked at and prodded

But now your somewhat okay

Your eyes feel weird, your vision feels weird like it keeps switching between something

Your at least somewhat able to walk though it’s unbalanced

but Shay doesn’t seem to mind

He offers an arm that you cling to for support

A kind smile on his face as he makes sure you didn’t injure yourself further

And then you notice his clothes are….old

Like Haytham and Connor level old

And…shit

It’s halfway home through the trails you recognize due to Connor that your vision changes

The world feels bigger as if your third eyes opened or something

Shays figure and presence is highlighted in a clover green

And perched nearby is another green figure, one waiting for a good moment

Shay follows your sight before promptly having to duck out the way from a knife that flies at his head

He pushes you back behind him, you stumble back vision switch between monochrome and normal as someone else grabs you

Instinctively you almost yell before realizing who was now helping keep you steady

And the other person now attacking Shay

“Connor! He’s good! He saved me!”

“He’s a Templar!”

“So is Haytham and you haven’t killed him…again have you!”

At that Shay pauses, turning to look at you with confusion as Connor stops his attempt as slitting his throat

Ezio on the other hand helps you up but keeps a firm protective grip

Watching Shays movements like Connor in apprehension before the two settle down and stare at you for more detail

Both waiting on your word

“He saved me and today has been a long ass day-“

“You’ve been gone for 4 days”

You pause momentarily at that before adding “long 4 ass days of having my mind literally ripped apart. Can we please head back to the house and settle this there? Thank you”.

The moment you get back your almost immediately tackled to the ground by a familiar white and red hoodie wearing absent (dead) father

It’s….odd but nice

Desmond (still feels too awkward to call him dad) is holding you like a lifeline and you notice bags beneath his eyes

He looks like hell

But none of the others are any better either

They all like positively exhausted yet light up when seeing your safe

Your home

It reminds you of your mom when you returned home from school

The long work day evident on her brow but her smile lighting up the room at the sight of your face

It’s no different compared to then except for the fact they all (except Haytham) then protectively pull you away from the nearby Shay who’s being glowered at by Connor

Safe to say it’s a little awkward until you somehow pull free of Desmond’s death grip hobble your ass between the two lone Templars and Assassins

A long discussion having to take place between them all as you not only explain what happened but also it seems you all forget one crucial thing

It seems you forgot about your mom’s side of the family

Whoop de Doo you have more things to process and so does everyone else here

Specifically Connor and Haytham Because before apparently knew (or know of) Shay

Great, another complex relationship in this household like there needed to be more of that

But with this entire situation it also highlights something bigger

Your not safe

None of you are safe

Perhaps you never truly were

And that in turns leaves you with the difficult decision of what to do next

Because In this difficult game of politics between two ever warring groups your a neutral force

You wanted to stay that way but unfortunately fate had other plans

as your drug into this game your left with limited options of sides for not only yourself but for the others who seem keen on following you

Even the two (former?) templars seem to follow your decision

So When Des…er your dad suggests finding his old friends it seems like the best option

It’s either that or be kidnapped and prodded again and who knows what abstergo will do to everyone else (even one’s that once upon a time we’re on their side)

Besides, he says you’ll get along well with someone named Shaun so It can’t be too bad

So he sends out a message and you leave the home you find yourself look at with melancholy

It stopped being a home when mom died but now it seemed like it was just that again

Only time can tell what will bring upon you next

But….you think you’ll be ready for whatever is thrown at you when you have this odd group of family at your side

The expression of blood is thicker than water never really held much weight since you only ever had your mom until she was gone

But maybe you understand it a bit better now

[swanjiwi]

Swanjiwi's One Piece re watch journey

(This is not an analysis or a critique. Just me pointing out things I like)

Masterlist<3

> Episode 30

lmao

And he probably did mean to say it to sanji too

Gin please come back

luffy really meant it, but his body is just a separate entity

and the moment he says he wants so go to the grand line he's back at it again lmao

it hurts so bad AHHHHHHHHHHH

(and *manga spoilers* but with what's happening in the manga, I'm confused. I really wish the All Blue isn't real only when the world is under water. That would be very sad)

I don't like scenes where characters lie and try to push someone away for their sake, but I always end up crying when it happens in OP 💀

Sanji are you chasing your dreams now or???? Has he searched for it at all? has he been paying attention or did he just go with them just to end up as the protector of everyone's dreams but his again???

that ladle is not for you 😭😭

"We both have foolish dreams" ;;;;;;

I think this is where I started to appreciate luffy even more than I already did

THEY'RE FATHER AND SON

(Zeff never was prepared to be a dad, and he never was the best, but comparing that to Judge, it's easy to see why Sanji liked him still even when he was so violent. and also, with him, Sanji became what he is now. I can't imagine what would have been of sanji if Zeff had perished on that rock. Tbh back then i expected Sanji to be even tougher, and when he wasnt i thought maybe is bc of zeff? but that didn’t make sense? and then WCI arrived and it makes sense 🥲)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(I think the LA made a good job, but this version still impacts me the most (most probably because the whole don krieg fight and all))

oh he does not fear death, believe me 💀

idk why I'm have so little hope when it comes to the all blue tho. probably bc so much has happened to sanji that I don't know if Oda is planning on making his goal a reality💀

[fallingyams]

(Sorry my Op.5 hype is off the charts: super long post up ahead with a bit of analysis into why Sherlock says the things he does to convince William to live)

Can I just say that Morimyu Op. 3 does a fantastic job at setting up the confrontation between William and Sherlock?

William sings, conflicted, about whether he can still find forgiveness. His mind is set on dying (alone), but there's a part of his heart that wavers.

AND THEN. AND THEN!!!!! SHERLOCK MEETS HIM IN DURHAM AND TELLS HIM

A crime is still a crime, no matter how noble the intention. He cannot forgive killing others and using the deaths of people, even despicable people. (Which is beautifully contrasted against the Jack the Ripper case btw). He will catch the Lord of Crime and punish him for his actions.

It's at that point that William turns a bit sorrowful and resigned (and Shogo's expression is so!!!! SO!!!!! wow his despair is palpable) almost as if he's thinking to himself 'as expected, there is no forgiveness for someone like me' and probably solidifies his idea that death is the only suitable recompense for him.

--

ANYWAY back to the manga itself

His sorrowful condemnation:

I think that it's precisely because of this, the only person whose forgiveness can change his mind is Sherlock.

It doesn't matter that Fred or Louis or what any others think. They can call him a good person all they want, but it doesn't change the fact that in his mind, he is already condemned.

(Besides that, his accomplices are all evil because their plan is inherently evil to him. Their words hold little weight. A sinner can't save another.)

That is, until Sherlock tells him this.

And suddenly his entire worldview is upended. Because all this time, he believed there was only condemnation to be found for someone like him.

Sherlock, his righteous actor in the stage of London's crimes, has deemed him worthy of redemption.

And if the one good person thinks that William can be saved...

But no! How can believe that? William James Moriarty is the devil incarnate. He is stained. His sins are unforgivable, no matter what Sherlock says. Murder is unforgivable, right?

So Sherlock flips the script.

He reminds William that HE is also a criminal and murderer. (It's a perfect crime in the eyes of the law, but William knows the truth)

He becomes the mirror reflecting William's image so that William can come to the realisation that they are all capable of good and evil.

The greatest evil is capable of good.

The greatest good (Sherlock - in Liam's eyes, at least) is capable of evil.

And if William can still think of Sherlock as good despite this,

And if William can forgive Sherlock for murder...

Then why can't William himself be forgiven for murder?

I think, in some ways, here Sherlock also confesses that he has lost the mandate or the right to catch William as a detective on the right side of the law.

He's not standing there as someone catching a criminal.

They're now standing as equals. Friends (or whatever you call that tension they have going on LOL), rivals, equals.

It's no longer "catch" in the criminal sense, but to "catch" a falling friend. A trust fall, if you will.

(It just occurred to me that the whole chapter is just a trust fall exercise on a large scale LMAO)

This changes the whole trajectory of what William believes in. That seed of doubt has been planted in him - that he could, perhaps, still find forgiveness.

More importantly, that he has Sherlock's forgiveness.

And that is what allows him to live on.

[bengiyo]

Step By Step Ep 11 Stray Thoughts

Last week on HR Violations, Chot got Pat together about respecting people's feelings, and then received news that his fiancé is finally taking him home to see the parents after eight years in a beautiful scene worthy of Bruce. Pat confessed to Jeng with a gross carrot cake, but Jeng was checked out of most responsibility all episode. Rumors started to already at work, Jeng waffled, and now Pat has resigned. Also, Ae and Khanun got married, and she gave Beam closure.

See, and this is why I felt the need to write last week. Rumors about Jeng end with him cornered in a meeting where executives tear him apart as his dad looks on. Even rumors that he's queer have cost this company money.

This is gross. They're worried about Fjord, who just hired them to use BL to sell their gas stations. This is what we're talking about with the underlying commentary in this show. The wealth class only wants marketable gays. Jeng is not allowed to be gay because of his position.

Jeng's dad has always known.

Not them using the gate as a barrier!!

It does make me really sad that Jeng has to admit that he can't protect Pat from any of this, because his judgement has been clouded. It's also sad that Pat had to do something drastic to force them to face this situation.

Oh, the hands fiends are gonna lose their minds this week.

Crying because they're all finally a team and Pat and Jeng aren't alone. Chot said, "Don't look at me like that. They have eyes!"

Oh my god a SWOT analysis.

So Put posted that picture huh?

Why does everyone have these loud conversations with the doors open?

I'm glad Pat finally handled Put, because dude needs to do his goddamn job.

SPIES AND THIEVES!!! Toh was the traitor all along!

We called it on Jeng holding the duties of heir so Jaab wouldn't be required to.

Ben and Saint have good scene chemistry.

Time for an Oishii ad break.

Okay, I love the office team. I don't mind Ying being a BL writer at all. I am enjoying everyone yelling.

Put and his conditions.

Hey, Put came through for them!

These hoes ain't loyal! Jeng bought their loyalty from Pat with a single meal!!!

Ope. Jen went all the way to Japan. The disappointments keep on coming.

Pat, that is clearly your father in a bad wig. What are you going to do with a broom?

We don't get gay boys and their dads that often. This is nice, even if the scene is a bit sad because the dad is foreshadowing the base conflict Pat and Jeng are facing.

The president is ruthless, and Jeng fell right into that trap when he used his own money for ads.

Pat isn't wrong. He can't stay here if his skills are always going to be in doubt.

Well, there's our breakup.

Okay! So Pat is going to work with Put for the next two years? This final episode is going to be messy. Still, I am enjoying this. Pat only seems to thrive in small teams. There's something to be said about how some of us just don't fit into corporate environments.

[izzyspussy]

there's a meta post going around that i disagree with heavily and i wanna say why but i don't wanna be argumentative in op's notes so i'm making a vaguepost instead

a) i don't really remember anything in canon that would provide evidence to say ted is untruthful or inaccurate by saying jamie is "getting good minutes" at city. the one (1) game we see him play for them he IS a starter, and not only that he plays for the entire game (and is also shown to be behaving well, encouraging his teammates, and playing cooperatively). jamie mentioning that he doesn't start every time or play the full 90 every game and is on the bench sometimes really doesn't indicate that he's unfavored as a player, due simply to the fact that Manchester City is a huge, well funded team with more talent to cycle through than it could ever manage to use all of consistently. we also have to keep in mind that TL is not the real world, and while 24 is not a young player anymore here on covid-19's Earth, it is said that jamie is at the beginning of his career several times in canon. it may be unrealistic, but it's not an unreliable narrative - some suspension of disbelief is necessary. jamie is still a junior player in the world if TL so it's not a snub to him or evidence that he's not doing well if he's not a permanent fixture on the starting lineup with more established players on a large and star studded team.

b) and honestly more importantly: abuse makes you crazy. it makes you irrational and/or emotionally unstable. it truly does not matter at all if the rest of your circumstances are "the dream" or not. it does not matter if you might even personally think that bad is worth putting up with for the sake of keeping the good. sometimes people do make that call I won't say that doesn't happen, but it is really unlikely to be a logical cost-benefit analysis of a decision. so like... even if james never treated jamie any worse than exactly what we saw in canon (which i would also say is already quite a bit worse than just "sucking"), there it is not even the slightest leap to think he'd "throw away the dream" to get away, whether he could ideally tough it out or not. sometimes you make choices that are the wrong choices! sometimes you do something irrational and based on emotional impulse! that's true even if your life is relatively easy and low stress and you have a strong support network and no mental illness or trauma responses to manage! and every new factor that contributes to stress makes it exponentially more likely.

say you have a high pressure job, and it's also very physically taxing, and also you have a restricted diet, and also you just made yourself vulnerable and were rejected with no explanation, and also you recently got dumped, and also your mom is disappointed in you, and also you don't have any close friends, and also your abuser can show up any time he wants even at your workplace and push you around and scare you and humiliate you and relentlessly insult you and make sure you never feel any sense of accomplishment or enjoyment from the activity that you love and spend the vast majority of your daily life working hard at and the entirety of your life maintaining your ability to perform. and yeah, you've got your dream job. objectively you're doing very well. but boy i tell you what with all that shit you can fucking bet you're crazy too! and when you're crazy you make decisions that are also crazy!! and btw self sabotage is one of the most common maladaptive behaviors of all time!!!

anyway in conclusion: sometimes coming up with a well reasoned explanation is not necessary (and may even make less sense) when the explanation of bad reasoning has already been provided for you

[ganymedesclock]

I will put this in a separate post from the one I just reblogged because it's a side tangent but to use OP's example, of, "you cannot really presume Usagi is evil on the basis of her destiny as a Future Monarch", this illuminates to me why it's so important to take media analysis as something where you divide up all the pieces of the work and your response.

In-universe. Serenity is not evil. Serenity is the future. she is benevolent. she is correct. she is beautiful. Crystal Tokyo is beautiful. She saved the future from total apocalypse.

Metatextually, at least to my personal read, Serenity embodies maturity. Sailor Moon is a story about adolescence. Usagi is basically given the power to embody her own older self- the cool, beautiful, sought after grown-up that she has the potential to become, but isn't yet. This is reflected in how much of her problems are related to childhood- childish things like being 'a crybaby'. And how much of her powers reflect positions of adulthood- things like the disguise pen that enables her to position herself as various adults who are already entrenched and have jobs, are respectable and respected. And, as encapsulated in a meme at least once, sometimes the effort of mantling as those people is overwhelming to Usagi!

Serenity embodies true maturity. The World in tarot. Serenity's graciousness, authority, power, she is not just an adult with a job she is the adult with the job. In many models or interpretations of monarchy, the monarch is seen as almost the parent of the entire nation. Serenity is Chibi-usa's rightful mother, who Chibi-usa respects, though she is annoyed by Usagi in the modern day who does not live up to this ideal.

NOW. Having this laid out and established, we can THEN turn around and ask: is it a good thing to see people this way? Does Usagi really Grow Up Perfect into Serenity? Does Serenity, really, never backslide or feel like Usagi? How does this parable of adulthood mingle with the actual realities of monarchy?

But at that point what we're messing with is basically, the discussion of the performance. WHY did the author use these symbols to communicate this context, and how do we feel about it. My read on this is going to be very different, because I personally believe monarchy is unethical and I also have some personal baggage about perfection, that leaves me uncomfortable with Serenity as an individual in her own right and a future impression of who Usagi WILL be.

This leaves me much more fond of Steven Universe ultimately using Rose Quartz and her history as an allusion to Serenity, and how, actually, it wasn't a good thing that Rose Quartz retreated behind such a perfect facade. That actually, it's not Steven's job to transcend into a perfect adult who has no problems. BEING that adult... is not a very good thing. It creates problems. We love Serenity. Serenity, probably, loves us, or at least tries to. But being Serenity is not good for her. Being Serenity creates a certain amount of insincerity and struggle in her personal life. In We Need To Talk, Greg demands that Rose actually talks to him "like a real person", to which Rose, visibly disquieted, says she's not a real person and she thought he knew that. She was serving him the fantasy of idealized Serenity and not the reality of an actual, flawed, struggling person- an "Usagi" who thought she had to put away all her childish things and grow up so she wouldn't be bad anymore.

But Steven Universe isn't directly a story about Rose Quartz. It's a story about Steven, the child of this Usagi/Serenity character, and subtextually, it is not a contemporary or peer to Sailor Moon- it is a successor. Rebecca Sugar experienced Sailor Moon, and felt feelings, and drew from those feelings. And this is significant, because Rose Quartz is not Usagi. She is, sort of, an echo of Usagi digested by Sugar and processed into a new entity entirely. Sailor Moon is not required reading for Steven Universe. We know who Rose is because the story tells us. It would be meaningless to take the context of Rose Quartz and put it directly back into Serenity.

And I could even be completely wrong about this connection. Ultimately the only versions of these figures I can talk about are the versions of these figures who I have, myself, 'digested', and warped a bit by the lenses I view them through. But I'd never be able to get there at all, if I didn't have some kind of conversation with myself about my feelings, and my relationship with both of these media, and what qualities they have, regardless of my feelings.

[romchat]

Your analysis of SOKP is amazing, can't wait for more. Also I haven't read the novel but lmfao I was under the impression that this was a love story between her and XW but I think I was sorely mistaken because how are we halfway through and she's in love with another man. I was all ready for my broken woman and even more broken man love each other enough to make up for everything because we don't get a lot of that but it seems it's going to be for him but not for her , the show is great nonetheless and I hope it stays that way until the end.

Thanks for the kind words, OP 🙏🏼

I haven’t read the novel either but I’ve been told it’s even more skewed towards Ning-er’s relationship with Zhang Zhe? So given the source material I think the drama has been doing an ok job at setting up her eventual shift towards Xie Wei because it’s clear he’s always been attracted to if not in love with her while she’s starting to clarify her own preconceptions about him and even sense his feelings.

And honestly I’m ok with the slow burn. Up until this point, Ning-er still remembers what happened in her first life and all the awful things that Xie Wei did. To me, she almost got too comfortable too fast given what she knows. It’s interesting how to a certain extent she must have always trusted Xie Wei in the original timeline because she believed he would honor her request to save Zhang Zhe after she died but outside of that we still haven’t seen flashbacks that would indicate she’d feel anything besides fear, disgust, or hate towards him. I’m enjoying the little nuggets of cute in the current timeline but as someone who LOVES angst I would have preferred seeing these two broken people rage at each other a little more before settling down as bantering partners in crime.

That said, I think the shift should happen soon. We’re going to get the rebel infiltration arc after Episode 20, which means Ning-er will not only have time to realize that she and Zhang Zhe might not be a good match but that she misses Xie Wei’s jawline and ruthless support. I’m also getting very bad in-law vibes from Zhang Zhe’s mom and we know how sensitive Ning-er is to maternal figures disrespecting her…

[theflyindutchwoman]

You’re my fav person to talk about things with cause I love your perspective and analysis. So I’m back 😂 as I finish my second rewatch

Can we talk about Lucy going to Harper after Tim had to shoot that guy in 5x19 and how worried she was for him 😭 her face when she was like “he’s still talking to IA” that was a worried wifey

And the way she wanted to sprint across the station to him 😭😭😭

ALSO I love that Harper has become someone Lucy can go to, for advice or guidance. She needed that.

And to think that it all started with a sleepy Tim and a teasing Lucy… With the softest kiss ever… Only for the episode to end like that! I was so not prepared.

But you're right, she was the epitome of the worried wife here, with her trembling voice and her fidgeting when she went to see Nyla… She barely even reacted to the potential roadblock regarding her promotion. The second she saw Tim, she forgot about it : his well-being was her priority - which is also why I'm so happy with Tim's suggestion to help her study. The way these two balance each other… And the way she was longing to get to him… I too really thought she was going to run to him. And honestly, she needed the physical reassurance as much as him : she must have been terrified when she heard the gunshot, not knowing if he was okay. It was all over her face and in how she was holding onto his arm when they left the station. It was like she was trying to ground them and to take the pain away from him. Also, when she was talking to Nyla, it was still daylight but when she left the station with Tim, I think it was dark outside… She waited the whole time for him (I seriously doubt she went back on patrol in between).

She was barely holding in together and I love that she went straight to Nyla for some comfort and advice. Their relationship is so underrated but it's so good. Harper started as this lone wolf, who underestimated Lucy at first, until she saw her in action and went straight to mentoring her. And not just for the job… Like here, Lucy knew that Nyla would be honest with her and not coddle her. Even when she wanted to sprint across the bullpen, she listened to her advice to wait. As much as I want more interactions between Lucy and Angela, these two are amazing together and it's great that she has someone who is on her side. And you know, it's interesting how Nyla has been in this position of having to calm and reassure either Lucy or Tim about the other several times already. Like when she wanted to ride with Lucy after Day of Death… She knew she had to convince Tim first - going as far as sharing something really personal, when she barely knew him. Or when Tim was badgering her when Lucy was on her first solo undercover op. He was asking for updates and all when really, he wasn't part of the op to begin with, so he didn't have any valid reasons. He wasn't even her training officer anymore. And yet, she agreed to loop in him and never even commented on it. She was so real for that. I truly hope we'll get to see more of Nyla and Lucy together next season - bonus if we get Angela as well!

And thank you 🥰 I absolutely love reading your messages and reactions, it's making this hiatus so much more bearable! I just need to catch up a bit on my rewatch haha.

[note-boom]

(abt ur tags on that fic rec list post) I'd love to know more gen bsd fics!!! if u don't mind pls make a list of them

OP, I hope you understand that you have unleashed a monster considering how many BSD fics I consumed. But that said, I'll try to keep it short and strictly gen for this ask, then just reblog with the rest (some do have implied ships, though). Most of them are just fluff and one-shots. And I haven't really read much fanfic recently, so most of these are my bookmarks from before I even really got into this blog and my memory on them might be shaky; generally, I either liked them because good writing, good characterization, good analysis, and/or it was just too funny/too interesting to not bookmark. Some might have Americanisms/Westernisms of things that probably don't really happen in Japan (probably?) and some might have slight character assassinations, but I don't think anything should be too gratuitously unforgivable. Also, all opinions are my own and do not reflect on either the writing or the author's original intent.

So under the cut are my absolute favourite of favourites.

Morning Light (18021 words) by FallenBrie (time loop, Atsushi character exploration, ADA!found family)

O expectations, stale and dismal airs, leave this body of mine! (20976 words) by aptlydapper (3 chapters, still my all-time favourite bsd fanfic for the writing and the concept and its execution, Chuuya joins the ADA basically but so much more than that to me)

Conundrum (23921 words) by AdmiralTDeVanto (hi, I love this AU so much, role-reversal where aku and atsu are the older figures and dazai and chuuya are the younger ones, some other au roleswaps happen but that's a surprise)

circle of praise (1898 words) by Oxalisalis (have a few by this author (love their works so much, they have some great BEAST things), basically compliment assault, ADA family, sweet and funny)

The Scent of Milk Tea (1343 words) by Sternstunde (Atsushi and Chuuya are housemates, neither is aware of the other's job, please let them meet in canon, 2 chapters and unfinished)

Reason To Live (1746 words) by Allwalkfree (time travel fic with a take on akutagawa's future character arc that left me DEAD, just...him being better than the people he was taught by okay? and him having a clearer picture of the stuff he went through etc)

hell is empty (all the devils are here) (1065 words) by Origamidragons (legit one of my FAVOURITE Gin character explorations, shoutout to the use of her character's irl short story)

in the end, you write your verse (6858 words) by Origamidragons (ADA and PM role swap and it's honestly SO GOOD that I desperately wish there was more of this (in a this fic is INCREDIBLE way, that is))

In The Choice, There's Peace (2561 words) by treetrunkdaddy (chill vibes, fic that explores Atsushi's character so nicely to me through how he copes with anger)

Mark of a Teacher (527 words) by Seito (Kunikida has been framed as a terrorist apparently and his students see the news headlines, it's hilarious and just fun)

A Study From Stripes (teach me to be loved again) (29684 words) by MidnighttWriter (beloved fic with beloved writing, Atsushi trauma exploration, might feel a little dark or emotional for bsd (in a different way, since BSD doesnt exactly shy away from being emotional or dark) but honestly beloved and SUCH a fascinating Atsushi character study to me)

would you believe me if i said i was blinded by the light? (1203 words) by elijay (half-blind Dazai real to me, but no its a really neat headcanon and that's all the fic is, which is all i wanted)

good bones (838 words) by Quintessence (I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, another Atsushi has a lot of trauma and the agency is flabbergasted)

5 Times Dazai Didn’t Understand Math And The 1 Time Kunikida Tried To Do Something About It (3746 words) by zededs (math is difficult, so is Dazai, Kunikida is stressed out, just a funny story)

how to get away with murder (10000 words) by magdalenes (11 chapters and unfinished, but it's SO SO good, the author is setting up the mystery so well, and it's basically just....detectives doing detective work but possibly also avoiding other detectives, more plotty than charactery)

what is a name (640 words) by Seito (guys, seriously, read this, im serious it has SUCH a good theory and the IMPLICATIONS of this to the larger bsd story????)

a secret for a secret (2302 words) by Oxalisalis (another of my FAVOURITE Gin fics, this author DELIVERED so well on their characterisation, slight canon divergence but perhaps not?)

But yeah. Because I somehow ended up opening over 130 tabs (that was after narrowing things down. i am so normal about BSD) for this ask, I'll just....reblog with more for those who are interested in gen fics. (It's why it took me a while, apologies.)

[ifreakforicecream]

COD MODERN WAREFARE 3 Predictions

Disclaimer: I have never played the games I am just doing this for my own enjoyment (I don’t have 70$ lying around) I am going off of cutscenes, the wiki and other people’s head cannons. I kind of wanna see how this list plays out once the new missions come. (This barbie has to draft 30 sheets of site analysis for a presentation but is doing this instead) I will probably update this with coloured text as it goes

also, lmao mw3 getting revealed by monster energy drinks has the same energy as the previous installments being revealed by Dorito Chips or when hero movies get early reveals from toy/action figure patents.

Graves does come back but only as an operator for the multiplayer games. Conversely, He could be an illegal arms dealer but in hiding (think MacAfee before they found him). Shepherd has a higher chance of going in that direction in my books. Update: he comes back completely unscathed and going by the new trailer he's siding with Farah and Alex? oooo this gonna get messy (28/7/23).

Price, Laswell, or Gaz dies. Sort of a riff off from the originals I’m guessing the writers are trying to find some form of subversion but this is where it's at (oof)

Farah or Alex dies and neither of them finishes what they started. My money is on Farah tbf.

Gaz dying makes sense in the way that he started with wanting to do right by people when he first met and would probably die that way too. or this being a red herring price jumps in for him and dies and then takes his place which seals his fate as the MC of this installment.

Laswell goes out of the way of aiding a mission when she was expected/advised not to.

Laswell gets a protégé that will replace her in a much later installment. It has a shot at being Gaz man just collects good intel.

more female ops? I like to think COD writes them pretty damn well. (at this point my standards are must pass the Bechdel test. which is not a bad benchmark considering its flaws but not great either)(this is also where I found out the first installment of Twilight passes the Bechdel test. go figure)

Gaz replaces Laswell and Ghost takes Price’s place.

Price dies while killing Makarov. or we get him smoking a cigar as he is introed making it a full-circle moment once more.

Ghost trades bullets with shepherd but only shepherd dies. Many have said the reboot plays it safe so I am going off of that assumption here slightly but ik a lot of og gamers of the previous titles would find that satisfying.

In the wiki, it states that the shadow company is disavowed but that might change. I didn’t check the established title (Like if it was private or public) of such a company but there might be a line of succession here. for what they have in assets it seems too big to be disavowed.

we get a partial face reveal of the ghost. It could be something mundane as smoking or a teasing jump cut. it’s just like barely there.

everyone gets promoted: It happened after the mission in the ghost's origin story. It’s a hefty mission they just survived. I would be surprised if they didn’t. with shepherd gone this swings either way. or gets buried under the rug as it is a mission hidden from the public.

Roach gets in the picture. he also wins the IDGAF wars or is second to Price in that regard.

regional operators? They were all over the place in past titles and with las almas this seems the least farfetched. (hoping for some Indian or Nepalis operators woo)

someone from 141 or affiliated gets kidnapped or “killed” but it’s that “lucky death” situation that COD likes to pull like it did with Alex. This happens towards the end or at a start of a mission season.’

Shepherd is the actual villain and they kill off Makarov pretty quick as a subversion of the original title. Again moot, if you consider the potential monster energy leak his face is in red behind price.

price dies, Gaz finishes the job.

this is more of an anti-prediction: the price isn’t gonna be the main character but the most prominent. (also going by the monster leak) ghost was the last game’s MC I don’t think they were married to his POV all that much even though it played a huge role.

ghost dies, and Soap finishes the job. “you wanna be better than me Johnny” or Johnny dies saving Ghost in the final moment.

Makarov operates the no Russian mission remotely and he acts as a clean nationalistic politician, making him more dangerous and will cause international trouble when apprehending him. (a lot of opposing politicians or figures “fall out of windows” in the process.

The ghost team carries over to Russian soil.

141 gets bigger and possibly with pre-existing operators within the game.

shepherd gets murdered by a more evil boi/girl

ghost’s tattoo design has a canonical refresh/update. The grey fleece jacket comes back.

Soap recovers while Ghost hunts for Shepherd solo. (this happens right after the final mission or the bar scene)

Every now and then a COD title comes out with a new game mechanic or a way to play. In this installment, I am predicting laser sights for night missions.

Heavier lean on digital/informational warfare.

we don’t get much about ghosts. RalphsValve said there might be a spinoff personally I don’t this will ever happen but it’s a tossup considering the original investor report saying mobile makes 40% of revenue but the Microsoft acquisition may change things ( also wonder where product collaborations are at on that investor report probably not that sizable but still worth a look). Conversely, he’s ghostie has become a character favorite and the market landscape has changed drastically in the last 10-20 years and he already has source material. BTW I read that Origin comic That poor fucker can’t catch a break. Brother looked so red-eyed when he hit the tarmac when he met Soap.

[vidavalor]

I bring you a humble offering of dark chocolate with raspberry today? I hope you like it!

And, I found something interesting and, of course, would love to hear your take on it!

https://www.tumblr.com/commonmexicanname/734305363759890432/good-omens-thoughts

This is a video comparing how Aziraphale lied about doing a miracle for Maggie & Nina to fall in love, with how he acts in the final fifteen. And also this post below:

https://www.tumblr.com/justhereforthemeta/744713357063585792/this-is-a-great-scene-and-blocking-analysis-i

Here, someone analyses the way Az keeps looking to the window. What struck me here is the final observation that Aziraphale goes to the clock, where Crowley stood earlier, and looks out the window exactly as Crowley did and Crowley now stands close to where the Metatron was a few moments ago. Foreshadowing much? I wonder if you can somehow tie that into your ‘The Metatron is The Devil in disguise’ theory as well.

I think the OP did a great job editing the video together and I think these are great bookending examples of what Aziraphale is like when he's anxious. I'm not sure it shows that he's lying. I think it's more just that he's on edge. You could also add into this Aziraphale lying to Shax in The Bentley on the way back from Scotland. It's what he sounds like when he's trying to justify something-- to himself or to someone else-- but he knows the other person is unlikely to buy into it or be super jazzed to hear it, imho. I was reminded from the way it was edited how big a role Jimbriel was playing in the background in the scene with the angels and how much I wish he was around at the end of S2 because that's the only character who would have been like "Aziraphale, srsly? You don't want my job. You literally just took care of me for a week after I had a nervous breakdown and now you're signing up for that shit? Go marry Crowley, ffs." 😂

[study-with-aura]

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Welcome to whirling Wednesday! I say that because it seems to whirl right by. It can feel like spinning for hours on end and then suddenly the spinning stops and everything is a blur until refocusing. Unless, of course one spots, then the dizziness is held to a fix. Always remember to spot. My spot today was looking towards my phone call with my brother tonight. In this sense, I consider spotting to be something to look forward to at the end of the packed day. It keeps me focused instead of spinning in many different directions and losing track or motivation.

I need to sleep.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Learned how to find areas of triangles and quadrilaterals + practice finding areas of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids on KA + practice finding perimeters and areas of rhombuses and kites

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed units 4-6 vocabulary + read chapters 1-2 of Emma by Jane Austen + read about content issues in discussion notes + worked on my biography writing assignment

Spanish 2 - Reviewed vocabulary + read my speech out loud to my dad

Bible I - Read Deuteronomy 13-14

World History - Added to my timeline + took three quizzes on the American Revolution (not for a grade) + looked over key terms for the new unit + read the introduction to the Industrial Revolution, Nationalism, and Imperialism in the 19th Century + watched 15 minutes of episode 1 of Victorian Farm on YT (I saved the playlist and I might watch the rest of it when I have time. It looks good)

Biology with Lab - Completed cats genetics lab + reviewed vocabulary notes

Foundations - Read the definition of obedience + completed Lumosity daily brain workout + watched a video on using openers in public speaking + watched a video on the presentations by Steve Jobs + wrote the opener and closers for my speech

Piano - Practiced for one hour

Khan Academy - None today (It was already assigned)

CLEP - Completed Module 6 reading "Age of Revolutions" 10.1-10.3.4 + watched the Module 6 introduction video 6.0

Duolingo - Completed at least one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Reading - Read pages 8-43 of They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso

Chores - None today

Activities of the Day:

Extracurricular robotics course

Ballet

Variations

Journal/Mindfulness

-

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful for my mom who agreed to help me with ideas for my literary analysis paper. (Sometimes there are perks to having a mom who is a university professor that teaches English and French literature.)

Quote of the Day:

You can’t get to know yourself if you can’t sit with yourself for a while.

-We Deserve Monuments, Jas Hammonds

🎧Six Idylles Op. 24 No. 5 - Agathe Backer-Grøndahl

[methaim]

This was originally going to be a post about literary criticism but bc the OG post was about Nimona, this is now a Nimona post lol

So let me start off by saying that I love literary criticism, and the reason I love it is because when done right, there's obviously so much passion behind the criticism and analysis. When done right, the spirit of "there are no right or wrong answers" you hear in English class lives on. But it's all dependent on perspective and the lens you view a piece of media through. That's why you can disagree with someone's literary criticism without them being entirely wrong.

I bring this up bc I was looking through the Nimona tag and saw someone's analysis of the film. As I was reading it, I disagreed with their analysis, but they weren't entirely wrong considering the evidence they used. I won't be linking to the post bc I don't want to start any beef with OP, I'm merely observing a phenomenon when it comes to literary analysis and criticism and why perspective matters.

Spoilers for Nimona under the read more.

So OP claimed that Nimona was misogynistic, and based on their evidence their analysis wasn't entirely wrong. They stated that one of the main characters was a man (Ballister), a gay romance between two men was prominent (Ballister and Ambrosius), and that the main antagonists of the story were women (The Director, who was nameless throughout the film save for her title, and Gloreth). They also implicitly claimed that the movie didn't pass the Bechdel test (which save for the backstory scene with Nimona and Gloreth, isn't entirely untrue, but it doesn't mean it wasn't a good movie). Given this evidence and only this evidence, then their argument isn't necessarily incorrect: in Nimona, women are antagonistic and the story primarily revolves around the story of a man trying to reclaim himself after being wronged by a woman. At first glance, this doesn't scream "feminist media."

However, this analysis would be what I would consider from a feminist lens perspective. In terms of analysis, OP did a great job providing evidence and explaining how that evidence supported their claim.

But I still disagreed with their analysis. And that's because I viewed the movie and analyzed it from two different lenses: a queer lens and a racial lens. Now, again, when doing literary criticism and analysis, it is important to choose which lens you're looking at the film from. Choose too many and you contradict yourself if you aren't trained to write a review (OP wasn't writing a review, they were writing a critical analysis).

The thing about Nimona is that, in my opinion, it isn't a feminist movie; it's a movie that deeply criticizes institutional violence while also being an allegory for transness. A feminist message isn't at its core, but that doesn't mean the movie can't be viewed from a feminist lens, especially if viewed from an intersectional feminist lens.

A lot of people have already pointed out that The Director is supposed to be representative of White women, i.e. the violence inflicted due to White women's fear of those they deem "dangerous"(i.e. non-White non-cisheteronormative individuals, sometimes even extending to All Men including White men but especially men of color). Not only does her fear wrongly villify a man of color (Ballister), but it also directly causes the death of a Black woman (The Queen). This could be seen as a criticism of the current radical feminist movement in which anyone who isn't a White women is immediately a target of White women's fear.

While this movie does explore racism and the role of race when it comes to intersectionality, I've seen most people describe the primary internal conflict as representative of the divide between cis queer people and trans people. This is the queer lens perspective I mentioned when it comes to critical analysis; while the role of race is a theme that is explored in this movie (and I'll try to get into it as much as I can in a Tumblr post), there is a focus on the queer—specifically trans—allegory. Ballister is a gay man and this is explicitly showed rather than implied; his romance with his love interest (Ambrosius) is an important plot point in the movie. He is implied to be cis (narratively speaking) given his initial treatment of Nimona and his inability to understand her and his initial rejection of who and what she is. Although he grows to accept her for who she is by the end of the movie, it's a learning process that ebbs throughout, and his progress reverts at the climax of the movie (when he calls Nimona a monster and reflexively grabs his sword when she shows anger). This is reflective of how even cis queer people can be insensitive to trans peoples' experiences and have much to learn. There's another great Tumblr post out there about how Ballister, although vilified, still has a chance at redemption if he chooses to reject Nimona (the bar/restaurant scene), but Nimona has been demonized and has no chance at redemption bc she has only ever been viewed as a monster. This reflects the divide between cis queer people and trans people in terms of societal treatment; while non-heternormative monogamous couples are being more widely accepted (in the United States at least), trans people are being further demonized as evident from the current political climate.

OKAY so this started as a commentary on the nature of critical analysis but now this is just my Nimona analysis and honestly I'm excited to talk about the racial implications in this movie bc they were apparently. Obviously Ballister is a Brown man (voiced by Riz Ahmed, most likely modeled after him as well) but I have been wanting to speak about Ambrosius for so long bc I have seen very little about his racial implications given that he is explicitly Asian (revealed in behind-the-scenes/making-of) and also modeled after Eugene Lee Yang, an openly queer Asian man (love him <3). Obviously we know the racist implications of Ballister being vilified for 1. being poor/a commoner (explicit reason in the movie and 2. a Brown man (implied). He's up against a White woman in power who is driven by fear (which is why I didn't agree with the feminist analysis of the movie). BUT AMBROSIUS. He's an Asian man, and I personally have not seen many explorations of racism faced by Asian Americans in popular media (not that it's not out there, I just don't think it's very common). There was something about Ambrosius being placed on this pedestal that he didn't ask to be placed on and also leading the search for Ballister. Obviously he did this so that he could bring Ballister in safely since someone else might try to hurt or kill him. But the fact that 1. Ambrosius was seen as an ideal knight and 2. he was being manipulated by a White woman made me think of the stereotypes placed on Asian Americans (there's a reason we're known as the silent and invisible minority). Ambrosius' race played as much of a role in the story's implications as Ballister's race did and as an Asian American person I was so drawn to it. I don't know if it was intended by those who worked on the movie but it just. I'm losing the words for it but it really did mean a lot to me as someone who constantly feels like I'm not allowed to talk about my experiences in any circles when it comes to regards to my race/ethnicity. It all boils down to "Asian person being set up as a model for others (i.e. other races) to aspire to by White society who only wish to use their Asian-ness as a tool." NOT TO MENTION the scene in the car with Ambrosius' meltdown, things he wanted to say but couldn't because The Director had certain expectations from him... THAT hit me hard as well. Someone else please do a deeper analysis about this because all I can do is scream about it without being completely coherent.

Anyway, if you read this far, thank you! Again, this started as an observation on the nature of critical analysis as a whole but spiraled into my own analysis about Nimona. I'm sorry if it seemed messy and rushed, this wasn't well thought-out, it was more of a stream-of-consciousness ramble. I would love to hear your own thoughts, or see other analyses of Nimona. Also if you know the OG post I was talking about PLEASE don't harass OP, from what I could see I don't think think they were a TERF or radfem I think they were just analyzing from a strictly feminist perspective.