#he essentially creates a world that he would want and projects those wants into everyone in the world lmaoooo

[kayssweetdreams]

The Perfect Finale Ch28

To hear those words escape from Balan's mouth, was like a gut punch and a knife to the heart, all at once. To think that the all powerful maestros of Wonderworld, the ones who could literally make anything happen with a snap of their fingers, reduced to being at a ultimate loss of what to do now, was more heartbreaking than anything that Lance could have done

Mei however, snapped out of her own funk. "We can't give up just yet. We do and Yin wins." She said. Lance gazed at her with sad eyes "He's already won. We have no power, and The Balan Theater is destroyed." He said. "But Yin doesn't have Wonderworld's heart. THAT'S what he's looking for." Kaylo reminded. "Yeah. But what good does it do us?" Balan asked.

"If Yin realizes that the heart isn't in Wonderworld, then he's essentially trapped WITHIN Wonderworld instead of OUTSIDE of it. And that gives us time to figure out what he's truly planning." The pink haired girl said. The maestros looked at each other. She had a point. If they couldn't get in, then Yin couldn't get out, and that gave them an advantage What did Yin truly want with Wonderworld's heart?

"I grabbed this before the Theater fell." Trisha Jane said, holding up a file that was only named "Project X" "This was also in Yin's hideout. Maybe it has something to do with the heart..." Leo added. "Well. Let's see what's inside-!" Balan started before Lance grabbed his wrist. "No. Not here...we need somewhere a little less...open." He said. Balan sighed, but Lance was right, a alleyway next to a big pile of rubble wasn't the greatest place to look over something called "Project X".

Aria snapped her fingers. "I have an Idea!" She said.

A Few Moments later...

The large group had arrived at the Montgomery as Emma knocked at the door and was greeted Mr and Mrs Montgomery. "Hello there Emma! What are you..." Roy's words faded from her mouth as he caught sight of the costumes "It's a Long story..." Emma said. "U-Um...Come in?" Esme said in a unsure voice. Emma lead all of Wonderworld's inhabitants in.

The Negabosses shrunk themselves down so they could fit into the door, while the Tims made themselves comfortable on...pretty much all of the furniture. Once everyone was in, Trisha Jane opened up the file, as they saw everything relating to Project X. The kids gasped as they saw the blueprints for the Purifier from PPP, and the Pill that was created at the Perfect Getaway. "This is all the stuff that Prim used! I knew she had help!" Kaylo shouts.

"Yeah...but look at this." Rebecca said, picking up a blueprint of the Purifier, but inside of the machine was not a person...it looked to be a costume from a past inhabitant of Wonderworld. "It's a costume! But why would Yin use the Purifier on costumes?..." Lora Jade said "Same here with the pills...These look like things found in Wonderworld" Aria said, finding an ingredient that reads "Everglow Lily" in the list of items needed for the pills creation.

Kaylo's eyes landed on another paper in the file, one that read "Project X" on it as well, but when she grabbed it and read it, she gasped in horror at what she saw. "What is it Kaylo?" Iben asked. "I...I think I know what Yin wants with the heart now..." she whispered. She showed the group the document so that they could all see, and they all gasped in horror as well.

The document read:

Project X

Find a Suitable Replacement for Yang

Find the Bruno Child

Re-enter Wonderworld

Find Wonderworld's Heart

Obtain the power of Wonderworld's Heart

Create an army of Negati, Negabosses and Costumes

Combine the Real World with Wonderworld

8. Show the World what a Maestro can do

Mei belongs to @sundove88

Rebecca belongs to @thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane belongs to @lovelyteng

Aria, Roy and Esme belong @shadowqueen402

Lora Jade belongs to @alex-frostwalker

[klonnieshippersclub]

How would Elena and Caroline react to Klaus and Bonnie? Bonnie’s their bestfriend.

Negative at first. This isn’t an anti-Elena or Caroline moment at all. I do think they'd warm up to Klonnie in their own way. Let me explain.

Elena’s arc is about grief, keeping those close to her and finding a way to be happy again after lost. So, in return Elena grows attached to people that essentially wouldn't leave like vampires or Bonnie. I'm going off S1-2 was the strongest that Bonnie and Elena were. They shared secrets with each other, texted every day, did cheerleading, sleepovers, and viewed each other as sisters. Elena wanted Bonnie to be close with Stefan because they both were important to her. When Elena is upset, she goes to Bonnie for comforting. When Bonnie is hurting Elena wants to be there for her. The writing doesn't allow that though. Elena certainly doesn't like being cut off from Bonnie or finding out she's hurt. Elena loved that Beremy was a thing. It kept Bonnie close and her brother happy. Now include everything that goes on in S1-3. My point is Elena is very dependent on Bonnie.

Caroline's issues with Elena were insecurities and projection but even then, when DE became a thing, she didn't mind frequently bashing their relationship as she saw fit. Keeping Elena informed on who she was dating context does matter because the series ignores how Damon treated her. But with that in mind, she'd do the same about Klaus just venting about how terrible he is and how much of a problem he creates for everyone. The series doesn't consider Bonnie someone Caroline has to be jealous of for obvious reasons but if Bonnie was being given a great amount of attention, I do think those patterns could repeat with Bonnie. In general, Caroline does exist in her own world but still depends on or expects Bonnie to be there. We've seen Caroline venting to Bonnie often.

Klonnie would be a lowkey thing for a while. Bonnie would feel conflicted in her feelings and trust for Klaus, she wouldn't take him seriously while keeping up the mentality that she has to be there for everyone. Klaus have to do way more than giving her gifts to win her over. Bonnie wouldn't try to make Klaus suddenly like her friends either. She wouldn't allow a relationship to persist if he's harming them. Klaus would be so determined on making Bonnie believe him. Adding in Klaus will claim he doesn't care if Bonnie bonds with his family but he's lying. She'd get closet to Kol and Rebekah in the meantime since they wouldn't go tell the MF about Klonnie imo. Bonnie would want to confide in her friends about her relationship as it grows. When it all does come out, I do think Elena would only once mention Jenna's death in an argument out of being hurt that Bonnie kept this secret for so long. Or not knowing where their friendship stands if Bonnie continues to be separated from her since she's been holding onto that secret relationship for who knows how long. Same, for Care completely I do think she'd slip up and imply once why would Klaus take an interest in Bonnie, that he's using her for magic or how it all is some bad idea. Which would be all fears Bonnie has had and wanted to share more than anything else, but I do believe once Elena and Caroline see how happy Bonnie is and lets her confide in them about her relationship, they would love that Bonnie is happy that's all that would matter to them. If she was happy, and getting the love back she was given then they're okay. Would they like Klaus for her? Nah, and certainly not going to enjoy getting used to not being so dependent on Bonnie cause Klaus would break that up.

To sum it all up they'd be negative and very critical at first still wouldn't like Klaus for Bonnie long-term. They may say the wrong things initially but they'd both apologize talk out why they said or feared things with Bonnie being with him. Most of the hurt would be not understanding why Bonnie didn't come to them about Klaus. Then they'd go interrogate Klaus demanding he'd treat her right. I can see Carolena stalking Klonnie on their dates just to see how this relationship was going. Bonnie would just have to catch her bestfriends up at a sleepover that's all.

Hope this helps!

-Rikki

[drplantboss]

I think that Sonic media could benefit somewhat from an approach to canon similar to what the SCP Wiki does.

For those who don’t know, the SCP wiki uses a “choose-you-own-canon” style of universal consistency. This makes sense for it in particular because it’s a community writing project. It’s hard to get everyone on the same page when “everyone” encompasses literally thousands of writers. What this has done is created a system where there are general elements that will almost always be internally consistent — the SCP foundation itself, the other groups of interest, the containment classes and danger levels — while still allowing people the freedom to bend the rules in order to make their stories work. Some entries are written from the perspective of the foundation hundreds of years into the future. Some of them take place in alternate realities or the places in-between. As stated, this works very well because it allows authors to craft their own stories, and it also allows readers to choose what kind of story they want to see.

Obviously, this can’t have a 1-to-1 translation to Sonic. There have been a whole lot of Sonic writers through the years, but nowhere near the level that the SCP wiki has. It’s also an official product, licensed and produced by a company that pays people. Nevertheless, I think some elements of this fluid canon approach could still be applied to Sonic given the right execution.

At this point in time with Sonic “lore” for even just the games, there’s a whole lot of confusion about what the timeline of events is, what events actually happened, and whether they even happened to the characters we think. Generations and Forces did a lot of this because of the introduction of the “classic” timeline, which is apparently separate and distinct to the “modern” timeline — essentially, the timeline splits after Sonic 3&K. This is something that has been extremely unclear, and even what I just said is still just the idea that has been most widely accepted from “official” tweets. The problem is that this makes understanding what is happening, when, and to whom very nebulous.

This is something that was an issue for one game in particular, 18 years ago: Shadow the Hedgehog (2005). Shadow has 11 different endings, and 326 possible ways to get to each of the 10 primary endings. Each of these paths is a pure hypothetical; the game is posing the question and then answering: “What would Shadow do if this happened?” Only the final, “true” 11th ending is a concrete addition to canon — the rest is up to speculation. Obviously, some chain of events leads to Shadow betraying Black Doom, remembering his memories, discovering he isn’t an android, and quieting his inner turmoil. We just don’t know what those specific events are.

While this has been infuriating to some Sonic fans who want to have a concrete canon, I think this might actually be a fairly good approach to use for basically every Sonic story. Does this take place in the same universe as [other piece of Sonic media]? Unless it otherwise states it, that’s up to you! This would give each writer the freedom to choose what aspects of the Sonic world to bring with them into the narrative they want to tell — universe consistency be damned. It would also allow fans to interpret the works as they see fit; something a lot of Sonic fans already do in spite of blatant contradictions. This would make the differentiation of the “classic” and “modern” timelines pointless, and it would allow for integration with external media. References to the IDW comics, Sonic Prime, or other adaptations of the character could be mixed and matched.

One of the main issues I see arising from this would be a bit of an increase in difficulty when writing a Sonic story. While having rules may be restrictive, having the freedom to do what you want can be a bit of a headrush when writing. It’s easy to trip over your own narrative coils when you don’t have a neatly laid out thread with which to start. I wouldn’t envy being a Sonic team writer in that instance. But, hey — if fanfic writers can do it, I’m sure they could make it work.

The other issue would be fandom reception. Sonic fans are notoriously fickle, and I don’t really think this would “help,” per se. The key to success would come with the fandom’s willingness (or unwillingness) to accept that not everything is canon to everything else. I know that the infamous tweet “everything is canon” gets a lot of mileage, but I don’t think it was meant to be interpreted the way many people do. I think it’s more meant along the lines of what I’ve been saying here — even if the events aren’t consistent within the universe as a whole, the events that are meaningful in that interaction are true to themselves. In Shadow the Hedgehog, the events of those 10 endings and the buildup may not have actually come to pass, but that is how Shadow and the other characters would have behaved if they were to happen in that order. Getting over the hurdle of simply not having a defined canon would be very challenging for a lot of people.

To summarize my thoughts, I think it boils down to this:

Sonic struggles with canon because of a multitude of inconsistencies already, so the writers should embrace the inconsistency and let the individual writers and fans determine how they wish to perceive the events of the world as they see fit.

[nedlittle]

I will never not be unwell about your post about Alyosha that you tagged “when you lose someone you love like that you have to create a way for them to never die” because HE. Also where did the whole idea of Alyosha kills the tsar come from? I read the book over a year ago so there might be some stuff I’m forgetting

i had to go back and find that post bc i was shocked that i was coherent enough about fedya d to articulate a single thought

in the author's preface, dostoevsky says "that while i have just one biography, i have two novels. the main novel is the second one--about the activities of my hero in our time, that is, in our present, current moment." (page 3 in the p&v translation)

the first novel is tbk proper, which takes place 13 years ago, placing it in 1866. our main source for tbk 2: alyosha kills the tsar comes from an article by james l. rice called "dostoevsky's endgame: the projected sequel to the brothers karamazov" which references a letter dostoevsky wrote during the novel's serialization:

"i can only say that aleksei in time becomes the village schoolmaster and, influenced by some sort of special psychological processes at work in his soul, he actually arrives at the idea of assassinating the tsar."

of course, dostoevsky died months after tbk was published in its complete form, at a time when people were trying to assassinate alexander ii, like, every two weeks. so that's our source for tbk: electric boogaloo existing. the other big source is from a guy named aleksei sergeevich suvorin, one of dotoevsky's friends, whose diary was published in 1923. here's him on the subject:

"he [alyosha] would commit a political crime. he would be executed. he would have sought the truth and in those seekings he would, naturally, have become a revolutionary."

we also know that the provisional title for tbk 2: who gave the baby a gun was "the children", referring to the titular boys of book 10 of tbk. according to dostoevsky's widow anna, alyosha "was to endure a complex psychological drama with lise [...] marry [her], then leave her for grushenka"*. there's more about how this sequel would work on a thematic and psychological level in the article and its sister article "foreshadowing the karamazov sequel" (also by rice). this isn't relevant but rice essentially diagnosis alyosha with victorian woman disease by calling him a "textbook case of male hysteria," which i enjoy.

so that's all we know about the hypothetical sequel, and i think about it a lot regarding a biographical reading of the novel because i think it's so interesting to take a character, based on your son who died of a hereditary disease you gave him, who you say is "like an angel, nothing touches [him]," and then plan a sequel where he is not untouchable and undergoes the same disillusionment and trauma as you experienced as a young man, only he dies in the end. and that's not even getting into the other biographical details like dostoevsky's own father dying under mysterious maybe-murder circumstances in 1839! or the fact that he looked at the loathsome father-figure he created for tbk whose hereditary "stain" he passes down to his sons as a black smear over their name and was like yeah i'm going to name him after ME. fyodor what was going on in your head.

i don't know, i sort of want to make a whole other post about this. he created a world in which his son survives and is loved so desperately by everyone he meets, but even still cannot save him, even in fiction. something something sons doomed to become their fathers.

tl, dr:

*this is from the rice article but is specifically referencing nina hoffman's interview with anna in 1898.

[theoreticallysensible]

The Hell Without Poetry

I started reading Proletarian Nights by Jacques Rancière, about contradictory aspirations held by artisanal workers in early 19th century France. One of the most interesting points so far are the fact that some workers had a culture of emulating bourgeoise fashion and not saving money, both to differentiate themselves from the domestic servants they felt they were superior to, and to signal that they deserved the same privileges as the bourgeoisie but rejected capitalist ethics of accumulating in order to exploit others.

I’ve just gotten into the famous Gauny section, where Rancière goes off an a tangent about this philosophical joiner (someone who makes wooden building components). The first of his books I read was The Ignorant Schoolmaster, which similarly takes up a single historical figure in order to develop their ideas into a universal, ahistorical frame by blending his voice with theirs. I find the idea really interesting, and it makes me wonder if I could do the same for the people I interviewed for my dissertation. I like how it deconstructs the boundary between historical actor and theorist, emphasising that all people are both, but it only works of course if the people you’re quoting are doing a substantial amount of philosophising. I also don’t want to lose marks for a stylistic gambit.

One of Gauny’s ideas is that work is work, always demeaning no matter what its content is. Rancière points out that this is similar to the philosophy of a preacher at the time, who valorised work for its essential self-sacrifice (Max Weber pricks up his ears), because it allows our body to fulfil its debt created by the wage given by the employer. This is obviously ideologically beneficial to the status quo because valuing just particular aspects of work rather than work it and of itself would suggest that those parts should be expanded i.e. that work can be better or worse and might be improved.

However, Gauny twists the message by separating the effect it has on the body from the effect on the soul. He admits that there is a pleasure to physical self-sacrifice - even though hard work of the sort he was doing can have awful long-term consequences, there’s pleasure in the oblivion you can reach in the arduous routine of it - but he emphasises that it kills the soul by not giving you breathing time to sit and contemplate, discuss ideas, and make art. There’s a beautiful section where Gauny says

“Ah, Dante, you old devil, you never traveled to the real hell, the hell without poetry!”

This speaks to the ideas at the heart of Rancière’s entire project: that everyone aspires to critically engage in the arts, and that the extent to which do is not overdetermined by class position. His project in this book in particular is to demonstrate that there is no pure working class - there is frequent infighting within and between professions and genders, and their morality is often inspired by the bourgeoisie.

In fact, one of the most interesting parts is that many of the workers start seriously questioning the status quo only after they’re visited by bourgeois do-gooders, but rather than take on the ideas of these champagne socialists uncritically, they use them to inspire new ideas. Rather than expecting a new world to come from one place, we should recognise that novelty is always a result of the melding of difference. It actually makes me think of the fact that so many of the progressive ideas developed in Europe, from Rousseau to Marx, were inspired by Native American philosophies (David Graeber & David Wengrow’s book, The Dawn of Everything, has a great section on the possible influence on Rousseau).

The aspirations of people like Gauny to write poetry, to come up with new ideas based on a variety of sources, was largely unrecognised or dismissed when Rancière wrote this in the ‘80s. He was frustrated that not only did capitalists view working people as beneath of that sort of thought, but Marxists saw it as counter-revolutionary and therefore unbecoming. Rancière was disillusioned with Althusser, who’s structuralist Marxism he saw as not leaving any space for people to resist their circumstances, instead being overdetermined by class. I don’t know Rancière’s stance on free will, but as a rather dogmatic determinist even I find that frustrating, as if we aren’t influenced by so much else which can give rise to disruptive convergences. Basically, people are more complicated than that! Any supposedly emancipatory philosophy with a single vision of what the working-class should be is doomed to failure, as Rancière well knew from witnessing the dismissal of the student protests of ‘68 be dismissed as “not real revolution”.

Rancière saw in Gauny a way out of this structuralist trap, where by taking on the high-minded ideas of the more romantic bourgeoisie and reinterpreting them with a personal need to act against the system, new ideas could be created and used to disrupt the distribution of the sensible, or the matrix of acceptable ideas - most important of which was the idea of who is capable of having such ideas. This concept is actually where my name comes from!

I wonder if we’re losing this time to contemplate even more today, with the spectacle invading so much of our lives - social media being the quintessential example. This is not such a danger if we’re using it to chat to people, but if we’re just scrolling… there’s not much thinking going on there. 😅 Guy Debord, in the ‘50s, was already talking about capital colonising our everyday life, and this stealing of attention, our time to think and talk and create and have ideas, seems to be the worst consequence of it.

[typically-untypical]

I posted 492 times in 2022

140 posts created (28%)

352 posts reblogged (72%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@thecrowslullaby

@naminethewitch

@selfdestructivecat

@arya-skywalker

@candied-peach

I tagged 291 of my posts in 2022

Only 41% of my posts had no tags

#untypical creations - 104 posts

#sanders sides - 87 posts

#sanders side fic - 85 posts

#fanfic - 84 posts

#reblog - 78 posts

#remus sanders - 66 posts

#logan sanders - 62 posts

#virgil sanders - 53 posts

#janus sanders - 51 posts

#patton sanders - 51 posts

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

The Logical Exception Photo Gallery

Art by @dillydallydove

Logan closed his eyes and though he was still angry at the situation, angry at himself, he wasn’t angry at Roman. He knew he had hurt his brother, and he would never be able to fix that. There was a resignation in his soul. He had already given his life up for his brothers once, what was a second time?

The Logical Exception: Chapter 32 on Ao3

The Logical Exception: Chapter 32 on YouTube

53 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#4

The Logical Exception!

Hello Everyone! I semi-recently reached 1,000 subscribers on YouTube 🎉 As a thank you to everyone who supported me I recorded one of my longer stories! It was a lot of work but I'm excited with the way it turned out. Not only did I record this story but I also commissioned some amazing artists to help with a few scene pictures! I will be releasing those sporadically tomorrow with the quotes that inspired them but if you want to check them out now please check out my video!

Thank you again to @yourmypenguin @treeni @birdsongisland @dndndrawings @cephy-the-squid @lickoutyourbrains @asofterfan @dillydallydove @thepastelpeach @dragonjadearts @leconcombrerit

Please pay the artists some love as they are fantastic!

72 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

#3

Looking for artists for quick turn-around commissions! I need the piece before the end of May 30th!

I'm working on a voice recording project and looking for a specific number of pictures from different artists, each one of course paid for, but I still have a few spots to fill. Please contact me if you are interested and if not, please repost so I can reach artists who might be!

I'm so excited for how this is going to turn out and thank you all for your help!

73 notes - Posted May 21, 2022

#2

New Year Old Trope - Fourth Wall Break

Logan's Letter

To Whom It May Concern,

I am not sure how you are able to see this, or even if this is coming through properly. Afterall, this is uncharted territory in terms of scientific thought. It shouldn’t be possible for a fictional character to address someone from the material world, yet here we are. If I am to be given this chance, I want to make the most of it and clear up some misconceptions that I believe may exist. Some of you may not need this message, and if that’s the case, I am thankful. However, some of you have gone far too long without hearing these indisputable facts.

You are enough. No matter where you are in your life right now, you are enough. You may grow and change in the future, and that growth will be needed, but who you are right now is still enough.

Self-Care looks different for different people. What fulfills you won’t always fulfill others and vice versa, you must find the things that bring you joy and peace. Self-Care is essential, do not deny yourself something you need.

You deserve to be listened to. Your thoughts, ideas, likes, and interests are valid, and you deserve a space to be heard.

Progress is inevitable. Your days, months, or even years of dedication, work, and practice are not for naught. You have progressed, and you will continue to do so.

I am proud of you. Each task you accomplish is an accomplishment, celebrate them, no matter how small.

All that is to say, you are a wonderful human. I appreciate having you as a fan. Keep going.

Sincerely Yours,

Logan

Tag List: @tsshipmonth2020 @simplestoryteller @fantasticfangirl21 @joylessnightsky

99 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

The Logical Exception Photo Gallery!

Art by @yourmypenguin

Now Anxiety would attack. Logan had their moves memorized just like the periodic table of elements. He slid quickly to the wall, pushing himself flat against it as the shadows shot towards Morality instead. Anxiety was also slower than normal. Was this a side effect of the Creativity twins' disappearance? Again, another question for later. Logan reached up, moving the lock on the fire escape with his powers, it barely hung on. That was move two.

The Logical Exception: Chapter 1 on Ao3

The Logical Exception: Chapter 1 on YouTube

163 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lgckiha]

project origin◞ ✰    — audition solo.

there was absolutely no apprehension about the dancing or singing section of the audition for the upcoming musical for kiha. whatever it was that legacy expected of or wanted him to showcase, he would do so with ease. yet— the need to create a character hadn’t been as easy as kiha had initially hoped it would be. he considered himself to be somewhat of a creative person. perhaps not as creative as some of the people he knew, like sejun— but he was interested in storytelling. as an avid reader and gamer, it was easy enough to get lost in a world that wasn’t this one. yet— anyone who knew kiha would think such a statement was crazy. after all, he seemed grounded to this reality. but kiha had spent countless hours absorbed in books and games growing up, all which had become an escape of sorts for his troubled mind. it was an easy distraction for kiha.

and while it took some time, kiha found a character worth presenting for his audition. 

the charismatic, cool and effortless stage persona— or at least the one kiha was trying to uphold when performing, melts away. and in it’s place stands yoo kiha. most knew kiha to be quiet and reserved, stoic even. seldom did he act out or raise his voice, although last quarter surely tested him. he bows towards the panel he stands before, offering them a small, awkward smile before he begins his spiel. “my character, my knight—” kiha begins. "he is noble and just— he has a moral compass. he plays by the rules and does right by others.” historically, at least within the western world, knights were vassals of monarchs— they offered their swords and in turn, their ruler bestowed them with a title and land. however, within a post-apocalyptic world like the one the musical is set in, he wasn’t entirely sure how that would play out. “he doesn’t say much. he keeps to himself, even within the group. he doesn’t want to become the center of attention. nor does he want fame, fortune or to be overly successful. he just— he exists comfortably, as is.” kiha continues, walking the panel through this character and his thoughts slowly. “despite this— he is also kind and he loves very deeply— he wants to protect those he cares about the most.” he says finally with a nod.

"his power—” the options for powers were limitless, it could be anything— something simple or game changing. and kiha didn’t want to be the guy who presented a character to the panel with the most out of pocket, game breaking power. so kiha decided to try and keep things simple, and perhaps slightly poetic— opting for something valuable within the proposed universe. “my knight — he’s skilled fighter. he’s athletic. his power—” kiha pauses, wondering how to best phrase his choice. “within reality, this reality; it would be perseverance. he gets knocked down and he gets back up again. within that reality, though— uh, it would be... regeneration.” his voice softens at the reveal, unsure of how the panel was taking this character presentation. despite his distaste for talking aloud, kiha reminds himself how this was just one necessary step towards keeping everyone off of his back. but part of him thinks that this musical, although out of his realm of interests, might actually be good for him. “he takes hits but... he keeps on coming. essentially, he self heals...” he explains. “without his skills though, regeneration wouldn’t be much use. i mean, the enemies within games and that who have regenerative abilities always tend to be a little more annoying and tedious to get rid of.” kiha adds with a chuckle, alluding to his nerdier side, which he seldom revealed to people who weren’t in his immediate circle.

“overall, my knight— he wants to do what is best for others. he is a force of good.” kiha finishes his presentation with a nod of his head before giving the panel of judges one final bow. “i hope my presentation on this character was... adequate. i look forward to the outcome. um, thank you for listening.”

[polycharismas]

ok fully /gen here i know nothing about charisma house. All i know is that "oh. polycharismas likes that." and nothing more. it is like Naruto to me in that way ig

please tell me what the fuck goes on in the Charisma House

THANKS FOR REFERRING TO ME AS POLYCHARISMAS MY DEAREST ANON i should add that to my list of names . OKAY . CHARISMA HOUSE ALL ENDINGS EXPLAINED + EASTER EGGS BELOW

CHARISMA HOUSE media project created by evil line records aka the same people that created Hypmic And if you know hypmic you would know it SUCKS ASS and unfortunately charisma house sucks one thousand million times more ass than hypmic . you are in for a ride anon .

it follows the epic stories of these 7 guys that fucking SUCK and thats why no one likes them so they just went and started living together because once again . they suck . the aspects of them that fucking suck are their "charismas" its like if your worst traits had a name Its like personality disorders to me i aint even gonna lie . anyways . sometimes when they get So Charisma ! they have a magical girl transformation and put on their slutty ass outfits and then they sing and then they collapse . its hilarious . this is essential to the plot in season two btw . its funny as hell to me also . anyways HERE ARE THE SEVEN IDIOTS THAT RUINED MY LIFE BEYOND REPAIR

starting off with fumiya ito the guy that brought them all together in the first place . he is the charisma of good and evil . take a good look at him first before i explain anything . doesnt he look so normal . on his little chair . sitting there . well thats because hes a master of PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION AND HES ACTUALLY SICK IN THE HEAD or at least thats what everyone else in the house thinks . no one knows for sure . not even us as the audience . the funny thing about fumiya is that you never quite know what goes on in his mind . you never know if its completely absolutely empty or full of neverending thoughts of violence and crime . thats the scary thing about him . his sense of morals is also completely fucked . when he wants something he will do anything to get it . when anyone else questions him he will either put up these complicated schemes of like actual manipulation to get them on his side or be completely clueless . but you never know for sure if hes actually clueless . fumiya ito is a mystery of a man . also he likes sweets and candy and cakes and stuff . hes so funny to me i think hes autistic

this is kei sarukawa . hes the charisma of rebel . what is he rebelling against well The Entire World . one day he went IM GONNA BE A BITCH FOREVER and then he did . he was a bitch forever . you can never ask anything from him because he immediately either does the complete opposite or just outright refuses . whichever causes more problems for you . he applies that logic to almost everything in his life and it always gets on everyone else's nerves . he also gets into street fights and gang fights a lot and hes always losing those because hes kind of a loser . he's lowkey so tsundere also but hes a grown ass man and not an anime girl . he is to me though . hes childhood friends with one other guy from the house btw Look forward to that ! if you notice i didnt say much about him thats because his character arc throughout the series is lowkey beautiful and you just have to see that for yourself . hes not what he looks like on the outside i can say that for sure .

this is rikai kusanagi . self proclaimed most normal ever forever but errrm no . hes the charisma of order . you would Think someone like this would be a valuable addition to the house . after all we just went through a man with a possible criminal record and whatever the fuck saru has going on but unfortunately . hes no better . perhaps he might be worse . in rikai's ever eternal pursuit of complete and absolute order hes basically annoying as fuck . no one can oppose him or he'll go insane . no one can go against what he says or once again he'll go insane . he's always carrying this stupid fucking whistle that everyone hates because hes always using it for every little thing he might find wrong . hes always looking for everyone else to praise his contributions to the house but much to his dismay everyone else finds it . well . annoying . even then that doesnt stop him from going on and on about how great he is . hes so sucks and so loser despite that though . hes scared shitless of romance as an example it's like the one thing that can totally make him go coo-coo . once again his whole thing isnt as fledged out but you can still put the pieces together and know theres a lot more going on with him . thats for YOU to find out because i refuse to give this series and these characters any credit when presenting it to other people .

oh this is one of my favorites to talk about (if you know me . well . heh . yeah .) THIS IS IORI MOTOHASHI ! remember when i said saru had a childhood friend well THIS IS HIM!!!!! the funny thing about that relationship is that hes the complete polar opposite of saru . hes the charisma of Obedience . he does the chores he does the cooking He Serves The House . that may sound nice at first but by now you should realize there's a catch . hes actually completely absolutely obsessed with serving others . to an unhealthy degree . to a creepy degree . his desire to be useful goes above and beyond . he made everyone (except one .) sign a slave contract . yes you heard that right thats just something he does . when anyone in the house decides to do anything without his help he gets so fucking mad . even if its some really small chore he will fight to do it himself . he also . carries a . collar . like . like a dog . uhm . yeah . hes crazy coo-coo . he believes completely that there's no other use to his life than being a tool for others to use so Thats What He Does ! yeah ! once again . theres a lot more to him than meets the eye If i talk any more i will start going on a full analysis on everything about him and why he makes me insane but ill not do that . Moving on !

this . shivers . this is ohse minato . remember how there was One person that hadn't signed iori's slave contract well This Is Him ! hes the charisma of internal punishment . if that doesn't sound concerning enough well HERES THE VERY FIRST THING ON HIS WIKI PAGE !

🙂 . thats it . thats his whole thing Hes deeply depressed . he barely gets out of his room like at all and when he does he puts a plastic bag on his head because he doesnt think anyone would even bare looking at his face . yeah hes crazy . even if you successfully manage to make him happy he immediately attempts to kill himself . because at least he wants to go while experiencing happiness . Yeah . despite all of this he has a lot more . hes really good at art and crafts which is unfortunately an ability he barely puts to use . notice how im saying even less about him Thats because he actually destroys me . hes like the one character the series treats even a Bit seriously sometimes and those moments Hit . i could once again go on a full analysis on why hes so sucks and why he destroyed my life beyond repair but . im not doing that No One would hear the end of it . MOVING ON !

this is terra . that's his whole name yeah i doubt its even his real one . hes the charisma of self-love . that . might sound like a good thing . oh he has good self esteem Great ! well No . it goes much more beyond that hes completely Obsessed with himself . he looks into the mirror for two hours every single day . he also has like a bajillion mirrors in his room He cant get enough of his appearance . everyone else finds it annoying as fuck . if you once again notice im saying a lot less thats because SPECIALLY HERE the contrast with how im describing him and the amount of stuff hidden beneath the surface is like crazy . hes also like transgender coded . or weird gender coded . its so fucking awesome to be quite honest . once again you should just see it for yourself

and . sigh . amahiko tendo . hes the charisma of sex . straight up . no innuendo no nothing It's just sex . sexo . hes a fucking freak basically but not in the ways most animes go about it which is really interesting . hes the self proclaimed World Sexy Ambassador FUCK IF I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS NO ONE ELSE KNOWS which means hes spreading Sexiness (?) around the world . almost everything is sexy to him . hes weird about it . he finds everyone in the house sexy and hes a huge freak about it and that's why no one likes him . this is also one of those Theres more hidden beneath the surface cases . hes so interesting as a character which is hilarious because its the literal sex guy .

the funniest thing about charisma house is realizing that all of these people have so much more outside of these traits and that they are actually People . which turns this series from silly to absolutely soul crushing sometimes . which is once again hilarious to me . its something truly worth experiencing for yourself .

theres also side characters except some of them are Not so side characters like the two main villains from season two but thats something for another time because No Spoilers ! if you plan getting into it be careful the first charisma break of rikai fucking sucks it has . really uncomfortable n*zi imagery unfortunately . but thats really the only case something like that happens so Yay ! just avoid the end of drama track 27 and you should be alright since you arent missing out on much . aside from that uhm Fuck idk ! help me ! how do i finish this ! aa !

[aisyahstateofmind]

Artistic Vison/Social Engagement

My design strength is photography and recently I’ve been into typography. In 5 years, I want to become a degree holder and an independent designer. I’m not sure if freelancing will be in the cards for me, but I would definitely like to try it. I also want to expand on my photography. I want to travel the world and visit countries like Monaco and Indonesia and take pictures there.

Outdoor photography is my favourite. What do I want to do between now and then? For now, I’ve been working on lots of passion projects while I have the time. This gives me the chance to expand my portfolio and also acquire new skills along the way. I’ve also been spending a lot of my time uploading pictures to my photography Instagram account. 

Some things to remember as I go through all this- have resilience. I’ve learnt the hard way that resilience is the key to build a strong foundation for myself. I can’t be demotivated easily simply because of feedback I receive, or if my design doesn’t turn out how I want it to. In Year 1, during Studio, there were many instances where we had to go around and look at other students' works and give them feedback. To my disappointment, barely anyone came up to my work and gave opinions on my work. I went home feeling distraught that day. “Was my work not good enough?” That was the only thing I thought of.

Now, in Year 2, as my work and design skills have progressed, I begin to receive more and more feedback from my peers. A project I’ve worked on lately was the highlighting of tradition/lineages through design. I chose David Ho’s ‘Pasaraya’. ‘Pasaraya’ essentially means supermarket in Malay. Ho states that supermarkets were a prominent part of his childhood. He noticed how across all the supermarkets he’d been to in Malaysia, one thing that stayed the same over the years was the signages that usually indicated a major discount or a ‘buy 1 free 1’ promotion. The iconic black and red writing against a striking yellow. 

Those signs inspired Ho to create a typeface named ‘Pasaraya’. I’ve seen these signs for myself actually. More often than not, I see them in wet markets and even the mini ones under a HDB Block. I chose this project because while it touches on culture, a lot of people can relate to it. It’s not tied to a specific race whatsoever, because everyone visits hypermarkets. I think it’s nice that since more people can relate to it, it makes the project more meaningful. Knowing that your work pleases an audience is the most rewarding experience ever.

As I mentioned in my CTS B manifesto- to design is to have a purpose! Like the project mentioned, David Ho’s intention was to bring back nostalgia for Asian designers. Hence, the last thing I would add to my artistic vision is this: Design to reminisce! Remind people of the good times, be it something from our childhoods collectively or moments that bring us joy.

495 words

References:

“Pasaraya Is a Typeface Embodying the Spirit of the Malaysian Hypermarket.” Www.itsnicethat.com, www.itsnicethat.com/articles/david-ho-pasaraya-graphic-design-100619.

[the-shoemaker-report]

The Great Reset vs. the Great Awakening

A couple of weeks ago, we were having a conversation at the Shabbat table that centered on the question, If you had the opportunity to go back in time to when you were 18 years old and live your life over again, but with the advantage that you would be able to retain all of the knowledge and wisdom that you had gained throughout your current life, would you go back? Further, if you had the opportunity to repeat this procedure, would you repeat it? And if so, would there be a limit to the number of times you would be willing to return to age 18 and live those years over and over again, trying to perfect them more and more each time you re-lived them?

Similarly, Elon Musk revealed an interesting fact in a recent interview with Bill Maher. He said the following about the motivation driving the development of artificial intelligence (AI): “Some people want to live forever or for a much longer period of time, and they see digital super-intelligence as the only thing that can figure out how to get them to live forever…to figure out longevity.” The word ‘longevity’ is rather flexible and can include biological or sentient longevity (some form of uploading of human consciousness and merging it with advanced hardware and software).

Either way we look at it, the question becomes (and perhaps always was), If it were possible, would we want to live forever in this world, either biologically or digitally?

Let’s frame the question with a little perspective. What is the purpose of this world, known as Asiyah, the World of Action? Was it created to be mankind’s abode or inheritance forever? As is known, Adam ha-Rishon was not even created in this world. Rather, Adam (male and female) was created in a higher world known as Yetzirah, the World of Formation, currently the main abode of malachim [מלאכים, angels]. Adam and Chavah only began to inhabit this fallen world as a result of the sin committed in Gan Eden. Therefore, le’chatchilah [לכתחילה, from the outset] this world was not supposed to have been our world. It only became that way bedi’eved [בדיעבד, after the fact]. Therefore, from the Torah’s point of view, the purpose of this world is clear: to give us the opportunity to rectify our original sin, to repair the damage done by that sin, and to be worthy of ascending to the state wherein we were originally created—essentially getting back to the beginning. Once we accomplish that goal, then, and only then, can we continue on with the ascent to even higher worlds and states of consciousness that Hashem desired of His most prized creation from the very beginning.

Therefore, the goal of our existence certainly doesn’t seem to be perpetual life, in whatever form, in this lower world. By design, it exists only to satisfy a temporary need. That being the case, why would anyone set as a goal eternal life in this lower world? To answer that, we need to consider the beginnings of human civilization.

Shortly after the flood, mankind came together on a project so monumental in scope that if they had have been successful, nothing would have been outside of their reach. What were those in charge actually trying to accomplish? Let’s read the account together.

It begins (Bereshit 11:1): וַיְהִי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים (And it came to pass that everyone had one language and unified words). Why mention both language and words? Aren’t they the same thing? Although different explanations have been given, Rashi’s first explanation is that ‘language’ refers to Hebrew and the ‘unified words’ refers to a common plan. He says that the essence of their plan was: לֹא כָּל הֵימֶנּוּ שֶׁיָּבֹר לוֹ אֶת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים נַעֲלֶה לָרָקִיעַ וְנַעֲשֶׂה עִמּוֹ מִלְחָמָה (He has no right to select for Himself the upper realms; we will ascend to the firmament and make war with Him). Don’t misunderstand. They weren’t so naïve to think that they could reach Heaven literally and fight a war against G‑d literally. They were sophisticated people, much like many of the global movers and shakers today; they speak and act through symbols. As an example, why do you think that the European Parliament building in Brussels was designed and built to look like the Tower of Babel as depicted in the famous painting by the Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder?  

They found a valley in the Land of Shinar which they felt was suitable and began their project (11:3): וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ הָבָה נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים וְנִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה וַתְּהִי לָהֶם הַלְּבֵנָה לְאָבֶן וְהַחֵמָר הָיָה לָהֶם לַחֹמֶר (And they said to each other, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them in fire’—and the bricks were for them stone, and the bitumen was for them plaster). If would have been better had they been able to use stones, but they didn’t have any in the valley; therefore, they created simulated stone out of brick. Rashi says that the purpose of the plaster was to plaster the walls. It wasn’t mortar to cement the bricks together (perhaps they fitted the bricks together so tightly that they didn’t need mortar); rather, it was used to make everything look good. Perhaps they wanted to hide the fact that the structures weren’t actually made of stones. Keeping up appearances is important, right?

Supportive of what Rashi said was the essence of their plan, it is stated in the next verse (11:4): וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָבָה נִבְנֶה־לָּנוּ עִיר וּמִגְדָּל וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם וְנַעֲשֶׂה־לָּנוּ שֵׁם פֶּן־נָפוּץ עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ (And they said, ‘Come, let us build for us a city, and a tower with its top in Heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered throughout the world). If they just wanted to live together in peace and harmony, why build the tower? All they really needed from a practical point of view was the city itself. So what was the point of the tower? The tower was to be the tangible expression of the project, the symbol of their global strategy for centralized power and control. Their desire to reach Heaven meant that they wanted to be in place of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Continuing on in the account (11:5): וַיֵּרֶד יְיָ לִרְאֹת אֶת־הָעִיר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּל (Hashem came down to see the city and the tower). Hashem coming down ‘to see’ speaks of hashgachah [השגחה, surveillance, supervision, monitoring, inspection], as it says elsewhere (Tehillim 33:13): מִשָּׁמַיִם הִבִּיט יְיָ רָאָה אֶת־כׇּל־בְּנֵי הָאָדָם (From heaven Hashem looks down; He sees all the sons of man). And this tells us a lot about what the city and its tower were really all about. Those in charge wanted to keep everyone in one population center for purposes of control and surveillance (much like a gigantic prison or ‘15-minute city’), even as they themselves said: פֶּן־נָפוּץ עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ (lest we be scattered throughout the world). But what’s so awful about being scattered throughout the world? After all, the world was created to be inhabited (Yeshayah 45:18): יֹצֵר הָאָרֶץ וְעֹשָׂהּ הוּא כוֹנְנָהּ לֹא־תֹהוּ בְרָאָהּ לָשֶׁבֶת יְצָרָהּ (He formed the earth and made it, He established it, He didn’t create it to be desolate, He formed it for habitation). The problem from their point of view was that a dispersed population would have been too difficult, if not impossible, to surveil and control. Unlike today, they didn’t have the technology to implement a plan which they felt would work if the world’s population was scattered all over the place.

What was Hashem’s response to this attack against His kingship? It is written (11:7): הָבָה נֵרְדָה וְנָבְלָה שָׁם שְׂפָתָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ אִישׁ שְׂפַת רֵעֵהוּ (Come, let us go down and confound there their language so that they won’t understand the language of the other). What exactly does confounding their language mean? It doesn’t say that Hashem created a bunch of different languages, and that’s why they couldn’t understand each other. No, it says that Hashem confounded their language. Rashi informs us: זֶה שׁוֹאֵל לְבֵנָה וְזֶה מֵבִיא טִיט וְזֶה עוֹמֵד עָלָיו וּפוֹצֵעַ אֶת מֹחוֹ (This one would ask for a brick and the other would bring him plaster: and this one would rise against him and split open his brain). That sounds extreme. It could be that they continued to speak the same language but for some reason, their ability to understand each other was impaired.

Finally, we read the outcome of Hashem’s disruption (11:8): וַיָּפֶץ יְיָ אֹתָם מִשָּׁם עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ וַיַּחְדְּלוּ לִבְנֹת הָעִיר (And Hashem scattered them from there over the whole world, and they ceased building the city). That which they feared, in spite of their best efforts, befell them after all. But notice, the verse doesn’t say that they ceased building the tower! They might have been dispersed, but they didn’t cease building the tower. What’s the meaning of this? They’ve been working on building that tower ever since.

Let’s go back and summarize the story, seeing its essence being played out in our world today. In so doing, we will answer our question why some of the global elites advancing AI today want to live forever.

Now, the ‘one language’ is not Hebrew but rather computer language, bits and bytes, 0s and 1s. This is the common language of mankind today. However, the ‘unified words’ can have the same meaning as Rashi explained, i.e. a common plan to enslave the world population and rule over everyone with their own rules instead of G‑d’s laws. Just as the leaders in Nimrod’s day resented G‑d’s rulership and sovereignty, the same is true of many of the globalist leaders in our world today. They wish to build their own tower to Heaven because they resent the fact that ‘Heaven’, i.e. true eternal life, is the exclusive domain of G‑d. They want to live forever, but they can’t because true eternal life is only outside of this spacetime. So they began to build a substitute for it, but even so they don’t have the right ingredients. This is the classic irony of man’s best efforts, always having to find substitutes and cut corners and then cover up the truth of the matter. They build their hardware and software systems, but they are far from ideal, and they know it. Their systems don’t work right; they consistently crash and produce outputs that are wrong. (If you don’t think so, just try ChatGPT as an example and you’ll see for yourself.) After all, they are programmed by people, who themselves are error-prone and biased. Why would anyone expect that their outputs would be flawless? Instead of considering their ways, they seek to hide the problems and hope that the masses, whom they are desperately trying to enslave, won’t notice. In the end, Hashem will come down and let them know what He thinks. And what is the result of this coming down to see? It is the confounding of the language. This is like a computer virus that Hashem injects into their system so, even though they are still using the same language, the whole system begins to malfunction even worse than before. And this causes them to turn upon each other, figuratively referred to as splitting each other’s brains open, essentially deflecting blame wherever they can.

Shlomo ha-Melech in his wisdom said (Kohelet 1:9): וְאֵין כׇּל־חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ (There is nothing new under the sun). The globalist master plan, known as the Great Reset, is the same as it has always been. The good news is that G‑d will intervene and the criminal masterminds will destroy each other. In fact, we are already beginning to see effects of G‑d’s computer virus. So don’t get discouraged, the Great Awakening is taking place, and mankind will be freed from the prison planet being constructed by its overlords. Worldwide peace, prosperity and happiness are just around the corner.

[rodeboye]

Simple Decor Recommendations Any Home owner Can Use

Interior design can seem to be quite difficult to many people men and women. With a bit of information, this subject may become something you turn out to be at ease with. This content listed below shines some gentle on the unexplainable world of decor. When making cửa gỗ , everyone ought to look at the disposition. Have got a mood or style under consideration when you pick components to the area. For instance, if you need a relaxing area, then select warmer and less heavy paints for your personal surfaces. Think of mixing in several colours and habits for your design and style to make the area far more vibrant. You may attract a great deal of focus on spaces inside your space when you use this suggestion. To acquire a modern-day fashion, you may absolutely want to target designs and composition. Ensure you have the space for storage you require. https://thietkenoithat.com/tin-tuc/articleid/19387/top-6-thuong-hieu-da-nhan-tao-uy-tin-va-chat-luong-nhat-viet-nam 'll never ever get a area that appears want it became available of a magazine if there's mess almost everywhere. Try to find desirable storage units protected in a textile that suits all of those other area. When you make storing an integral part of your style, it's simple to make a area seem amazing. If you are planning on using a baby, attempt to set-aside a room nearby the learn room to secure your kid. This is significant as you do not want to have to walk quite a distance to reach your little one during the evening when he or she is crying. Don't forget about the importance of consistency and design in producing an interesting interior-style undertaking. Both of these components help to increase and highlight any attractive layout attributes of your room and give a exclusive effect for your area. Additionally they will help you to stability the numerous smooth surface areas, such as timber and cup, typically found in each space. Combine brilliant colors into your the location of established a very gentle feeling for your close friends, household and visitors. This can be done by placing a vibrant couch or bedroom pillows inside your living area. These can be any dimension that you desire and then in any color to fit your particular area. A great interior-layout idea for spending budget minded folks would be to swap the rooms entirely. Turn your office in the master bedroom and your bedroom in the new workplace! With very different functions, furnishings and adornments, every new area takes on a completely change and persona. It's another complete and pleasurable change up for yourself, that costs practically nothing. When designing a child's space put yourself in their boots. Get downward and look at the design and style strategy using their standpoint. This will help once you hang shelves or hooks to allow them to use. You don't want to place these furnishings so higher your little one will struggle to rely on them. Pedestal kitchen sinks are wonderful alternatives in small restrooms. These kinds of sinks use up significantly less space, and so they create a small restroom appear bigger. They likewise have an elegant interest them that is certainly traditional and works jointly with any design. You can get them in your local redesigning store at numerous price points. They saying, "much less is a lot more" could not really much more correct when it comes to interior decorating. As opposed to satisfying your living area up with a lot of distinct parts, you will be better served to select much less sections that enhance each other magnificently. By doing this, you avoid providing your room a messy appear. If you're experiencing burned out concerning your approaching interior decorating project, don't sense by itself! Many people think a professional is essential but, this in incorrect. The key to effective home decor, nonetheless, is placed with knowledge. You may enhance your own home into a thing of elegance by simply adding some of the tips that were presented to you above.

[thebrightsessions]

Entertainment Spotlight: Briggon Snow

Briggon Snow is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer and creator, originally from South Portland, Maine. He is known for voicing Caleb Michaels in The Bright Sessions and The College Tapes, and roles in The Big Loop (Podcast), Seal Team (CBS), Game Shakers (Nickelodeon) and Masters of Sex (Showtime).

Can you share any fun facts about the making of The Bright Sessions and/or The College Tapes that fans would be surprised to find out?

Oh boy. I was just wracking my brain on this and struggling™. “Should I mention the obvious: That we did this remotely? Talk about those challenges?” And then moments ago my husband stepped out onto our balcony where I was staring at my laptop, read this question, and made a very cheeky suggestion. So here we go:

Everyone loves kissing in audio, right? *crickets* No? Only some of you? Well, I know it’s a hot-button topic, but when it comes to squishy romance feelings I’m here for it, I’ll admit. And well, we recorded this in a pandemic, so...no kissing allowed. And how did we get around that? Well, as one of our illustrious and poor defenseless audio designers got to e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ suffer through...I sent over “roll-the-tape” recordings of me pulling my husband into my home recording booth to - essentially - makeout for all of your enjoyment/cringes. Now...who’s kissing in The College Tapes? You’ll have to wait and hear (again sorry) because...well...reasons...

If you could have a conversation with Caleb, what would you want to talk about?

I’d love to go on trail with him or go camping and just talk about...feelings. I know the feelings/emotions thing is a constant for him so this is a little on the nose - but in playing Caleb and now writing for him too - I was challenged to submerge myself in my heart and mind and body and meditate with the emotions that pass me by every day. Lauren’s writing gave me a roadmap to identify and place things within myself outside of recording (a gift I’ll never be able to repay). And in these last five years I’ve found myself endlessly fascinated with human emotionality and our awareness or lack thereof and how we move throughout life in relationship with the things we feel. I’d love to look Caleb in the eyes and have us be unabashedly open with each other; the good, the bad, the everything.

Do you have a memory from college or young adulthood that you think would make a good College Tapes scene or episode?

It’s funny. I pulled on so many memories and feelings from my time at college. There’s one particular story involving greek life and my freshman roommate that I absolutely stole when writing my episodes. But I have one memory that’s so...nothing really...but so powerful in my life that I’d like to share...

My best friend in college ended up showing me Avatar: The Last Airbender, and when we’d watch it in his dorm, we would naturally smoosh up on his bed and cuddle under a blanket. And for me, a gay kid - just cuddling up with my straight best friend because we loved each other - and it not being weird or joked about when our friends were around - meant - like - everything to me.

Again, not a big crazy college memory. But let’s hear it for the straight boys out there dismantling toxic masculinity one soft action at a time!

If you could be Atypical in real life, would you want to be? If yes, what powers do you think that you would have?

I want to be an Atypical! I’d love to be able to communicate with anyone (+ animals) regardless of language. I want to know people. I love meeting people. I think one of the greatest privileges of being an actor is that we’re thrown together with other folks who (if it’s going right) open themselves up to you and participate in a created intimacy to seek understanding. More than anything, I’m curious and want to be influenced by other perspectives in this life - and the idea of being able to connect with and learn from a person in Morocco or even an Orca Whale off the coast of Washington is *heart eyes*.

Do you have any headcanons (something that you believe to be true that isn’t explicitly stated) about Caleb?

I don’t know if I’m going against actual canon here. After 5 years it’s hard to keep track of what’s in what episode in The Bright Sessions universe. But I’ve always imagined Caleb as a closet master chef of sorts. I think he learned to cook out of necessity growing up; odd hours for practices and games and his parents being a little scattered. And I think by college, Caleb is super impressive in the kitchen. The kitchen - like the gym or sport or nature - is one of his churches.

Can you share your favorite piece of The Bright Sessions fan art?

There have been so many incredible pieces of fan art over the years and I’ve loved them all. It’s wild how transformative fandoms can be. You never know what aspect of a character or a story is going to take hold in a person’s imagination, and all of the different headcanons and pieces of art our strange and unusual family has shared over the years continues to be my favorite part of being in the cast of The Bright Sessions.

(Grayson, ghostcribs)

I’ve always adored Grayson’s imagining of Caleb and Adam. Grayson is one of my very favorite artists ever; so much so that I eventually - nervously - reached out, and now he and I have started work on a little project of our own. And I love that. We all get to (and I think have the responsibility to if we can) inspire each other with what we put out into the world. It’s call and answer and it makes for the best stuff.

Thanks for taking the time, Briggon! Catch The College Tapes, only on Luminary. 

[snifflesthemouse]

Harry’s the Problem. His wife is the symptom. He is the real Diana 2.0 Wannabe...

         Since the Oprah interview aired, my whole perspective regarding the spare and his spouse has shifted. It would seem that I’m not alone in my thought process as more and more media outlets start reporting similar stances. Just recently, there was an article suggesting Harry didn’t change; but rather, he is only finally revealing his true self. The more I think about it all, the more I’ve come to the realization #6 is the real culprit behind everything.

         I’m not saying that his wife doesn’t have her own agenda or shares responsibility for her part in all this. Her hands are far from clean. What I am saying is it’s finally time for all of us to consider the cold, hard truth. Harry is his mother’s child. Harry is the bad egg, and his wife is only a side effect of the real problem here.

         Had it not been for the Oprah interview, I would have never put it all together. The problem with oversharing is too much information gets put out in the public. Most assume PR firms would worry about oversaturation in the press, but the real problem comes from personal interviews they cannot control in real-time. Puff pieces can be edited before publishing so facts and statements align; live interviews cannot. Over time, one of two patterns form from this oversaturation. Consistencies, repetitions, and similarities can be found in oversaturated truth-telling. Inconsistencies, changes, and huge differences result from those like Harry who prefer their trousers scorching hot from bursting into flames from deception. When you consistently lie, the only constant is the inconsistencies. 

         Now, those of us who have been following these two already know by now inconsistencies and changing stories should be expected. But the Oprah interview really highlighted some interesting things I had previously missed. The interview with Dax Shephard only solidifies my theories. Up until lately, those two have been together through most everything. Very seldom have we seen Harry alone in an interview or speech. There’s never a time where the missus isn’t popping up. James Corden proved that. Then we have the Oprah interview where she was supposed to be the star of the show. But, that was the moment it all changed. That interview was the moment she became the understudy. 

          Think about it. Who is the one being used in the media lately? Most people would suggest that the impending delivery of child number dos is why the missus is absent. One would then argue the Apple + special with Oprah started production well before the second child was a topic for discussion. The missus is being used less and less on camera or in the media. Everything is all about Harry. Forget about when Harry met Sally; Harry Met Hollywood! 

         Harry is the one doing the interviews, dropping projects, and talking with big Hollywood names. Even their announced Netflix projects are focused on one of Harry’s pre-married concepts. All the wife has going for her is a book that’s only number one in the “Books written by ex-Royals who couldn’t hack it” category. Seriously though, as of this posting the Bench is #2130 on the Amazon Books list, #12 in Children’s Black and African American Story Books, #73 in Children’s Emotions Books, and #167 in Children’s Family Life Books. Being pregnant isn’t a disqualifier for being interviewed. But, apparently being just the wife is.

         So, if it was his wife’s plan from the beginning to marry Harry, get him to abandon his family, move to California, and become a big star with a Prince for a husband, her plans have been ruined. And if you think about what she said in the interview with Oprah, you can actually see the moments she told us all exactly that. She clearly tells Oprah Harry was her direct link and source to the Royal Family and everything she needed to know. She didn’t misspeak or misunderstand a thing; she was telling us that Harry’s next to be markled. In every weird answer or revelation where she gave her versions for why their child(ren) were without title, saying they wed three days before the chapel, or having to cry out to HR since Harry failed to help her while she was so depressed she wanted to kill herself and her unborn child... all of it. It was all just the beginning. It may seem like she is attacking her husband’s family, but Harry’s the real target now.

          In just a couple sentences, she managed to reveal who Harry really was. Harry, of all people, should (and does) know how to navigate the press. Clearly, he failed to not only help her acclimate to Royal life, but it could also even be argued he set her up for failure for the get go. Let me give you an example. When my husband introduced me to his family for the first time, he told me little tidbits of information he found important for me to know. He essentially prepped me for the meeting so things went well. He wanted his family to like me because he loved me. I wanted them to like me because I loved him, too. So, I took to heart everything he told me. Yet, Harry’s wife shared with the world how little Harry cared about that. She credits Fergie with teaching her to curtsey, google for teaching her the National Anthem, and even said Her Majesty made her feel especially welcomed. So how did Harry not do more? If they started seeing one another in the early Summer of 2016, how is it Harry failed to teach or explain anything to her prior to meeting his grandmother, the Queen, when he had months and months of time to do so? How is it he failed his wife so miserably, she didn’t even understand basic UK custom, laws, or protocols? Why might you ask?

         Simply put, Harry is so much like his mother, all he knows is how to play the victim narrative while using the link to the Royal family as a nonstop ATM machine. Many people aren’t honest with themselves when it comes to Diana. She wasn’t the Mother Theresa everyone makes her out to be. Mother Theresa wasn’t a Mother Theresa either, though. Did Diana do some great things? Absolutely. Did she do them only because they were nice or great? Absolutely… not. Diana’s PR team would even have her switch up her charity causes whenever they felt it was getting to martyrdom level. They’d refer to her PR stunts as flavors. Does that sound like an innocent woman?

         Not to me. This whole time we all have seen his wife as the root of all issues, but she’s the side effect. It’s becoming more clear by the day that Harry searched out her. He wanted someone with the basic Hollywood connections that he could capitalize. Someone that seemed so controlling and ambitious it would be easy to believe they were controlling him, too. Of course he knew she would invite all the celebs she did. He probably inspired that guest list. Instead of guiding her in the press and in British society, he leads her to slaughter. He hides behind her repeated gaffes and wokeness to keep on his own mission.

         You see, Harry is obsessed with his brother eventually becoming king, being the “Second Son of Diana” and being the misfit. He is obsessed with his brother and father. They are all he talks about. When you obsess on something like that, it is more revealing than anything you say. Harry’s true motives aren’t protecting his wife and children. His real motive is making a name for himself like his mother did. If he can manage to get some revenge by making the Firm feel some backlash, hey that’s a bonus. 

         While his wife may think in her mind she will be the next Diana 2.0, the truth is we all missed who really will be. Harry is the one wanting to be Diana 2.0. If that’s the case, then that means the much older spouse for whom there are two children with, aka the wife, would be his Charles. Remember, Diana lost her HRH and titles. And we have Harry being very aggressive and pushy, to the point it seems he is trying to get ahead of a Palace announcement of them losing their titles. But it makes sense now.

         They aren’t trying to lose anything, but instead Harry keeps opening his mouth to create pressure in the media. He knows his wife does not want to give those titles back. But if he himself keeps saying outrageous things, then it would put everyone in ultimatum mode. Either Harry will push hard enough that Parliament and the Queen will have enough, or the press will get so critical of the two, Harry will push his wife to agree to returning the titles.

         Harry is following the Diana business model. While in the Royal Family, they both were seen as rock stars who had more star power the the Sovereign, which was an issue. Then, they couldn’t take all the abuse, coldness, and inhumanity, so they bolted for freedom. Instead of putting the past behind them, they use the past to monetize grief and trauma in such a way, they become their own brand. Right now, the trauma being monetized comes from the past, but the problem will soon come when that trauma is tapped out. He will need a source of new pain or victimhood. Enters the wife stage left.

          The wife is a tool. She of course has her own plans and thinks she is the one in control or the genius. She thinks she is the one everyone wants to work with. But it’s becoming clear to her that isn’t the case and she’s been played by her elite buddies. They all want him, not her. They all duped her for him. If I can see it, and I can see her already finger pointing that Harry is the failure here, then she can see it. And that means paradise will soon be lost in those Montecito hills. His wife won’t go down without a serious fight here. I wouldn’t even be surprised if she eventually causes him to lose his special visa. 

         Overall, Harry hides behind his wife like a beard or shield protecting him from the press’s glaring lens. He lets her do and say whatever she thinks is great so he can keep plotting his own plans. He allows her to take the fall, look stupid, pull stunts people can see through, etc. for a reason. He isn’t completely sure he can make it in his new California life. He knows he can’t if he keeps her for too long, but he also knows he needs an exit strategy in case it blows up. So, he pins the press to attack her as the true culprit. If they split and he has to, he can return home and play the victim of her. If they split and he is doing okay in Hollywood, she can be the reason he plays victim to big named people like Oprah and Gayle. 

         I can see it now. An Oprah Special with Harry tonight on Apple +. Something cheesy or corny that is almost plagiarism. Like Narcissus and the Prince or something. Watch. Mark my words. Oprah talking to Harry about surviving the marriage while trying to rescue two small kids, being in the spotlight as a Royal while being gaslit by a narcissistic wife… yes I can see the green screen set up now.

         I know this is difficult to digest, but I do ask you to try. While his wife is not innocent, she clearly is guilty for her own part indeed, his wife isn’t the true problem. The true problem here is a man who has a serious issue with living in the shadow of his future-King father and future-King brother, and his future-King nephew, that he has chosen to use the same exact attack model his own mother used to merch and marginally disrupt the institution that made her a star. Harry and his mother both wanted the entire spotlight, but both knew they could never have it the way they wanted it. So, they wrote their own victimhood narrative.

         And here we are now. Mark my words. Harry will keep pushing until those remaining titles are removed by them forcing the hands of Parliament and the Queen. Or, they’ll push and push in the press so much the outrage and hypocrisy will leave them no other option but to renounce and re-gift those titles and rights to the line of succession. That is what he wants, even if his missus doesn’t. Also make no mistake about it. Harry is the real Diana 2.0 wannabe, not his wife. Keep an eye out. I have this gnawing feeling that soon enough, there will be plenty leaks from the wife about the husband. She won’t go quietly into the Beverly Hills… but neither will he.

[killmebythebeach]

A bunch of head cannons (Maybe too much). Also in talking about the characters.

I think Dream is that one design where his skin is just the static tv screen. He just constantly emits that fuzzy noise, Sam crafted him the smile mask that he can see through so he doesn't scare people.

George is just kind of the server itself. He's the same species as Hannah, but a mushroom and more powerful. If he stays awake too long, the server just kind of freezes. This is also a reason XD keeps him sleeping, it's his way of talking to George and he thinks the server is like his soap opera of mortals.

Callahan is sort of like the person who makes sure George doesn't get killed or dies while asleep, making sure he's surrounded by mushrooms and such. Deer hybrid <3

Alyssa joined the server because she knew all her friends were idiots and didn't want them to die immediately. But once the elections rolled around, she felt the pressure of choosing sides and ran away to the desert, only keeping contact with Ponk. She actually lives just a couple miles from Foolish's summer home. Her communicator actually died after a couple months and she had no way of charging it, so she lost contact with everyone.

Sapnap is a magma cube hybrid and can jump higher than most, his natural temperature runs hotter, and is fire proof. Bad found him in the nether when he was maybe 10-15 years old.

Sam was actually a normal creeper, but gained player like sentience from being struck by lightning. Instead of becoming charged, he gained intelligence and met the others on the server. Callahan taught him some Redstone, but from there he figured out a lot on his own. He's also a creeper centaur.

Ponk is actually a descendant of a fairy, a lemon tree. Their mask was also a gift from Sam because after the second or third time their tree was burnt, their immune system was weakened a considerable amount. Alyssa also wore her mask for them.

Bad is a size shifting demon from the nether, more specifically soul sand desert. He uses soul fire to gain strength, so because the egg died when near it, he was just a little weaker than normal. Because he's a demon he needs a tie to the overworld to stay there, he tied his soul and lives to Skeppy.

Tommy was grown in a lab to be a hero, project: THESEUS. The lab gave him small enhancements, like slightly stronger and just a bit more resilient, to make the Above Average Boy (TM). He then ran away to meet Wilbur. When Dream asked Wilbur if he wanted to come to the server, he asked if Tommy could go first to see what it was like. He also actually really likes gardening and making up funny songs to Wilbur playing guitar. He also made funny lyrics for his discs, but he's still a bit scared to take them out of his ender chest. Other than bringing attachment, Dream also exiled Tommy to see what his lab enhancements could do.

Tubbo is an adaptive hybrid! His hair was blond, shifting to brown when Wilbur found him, getting blue eyes from Tommy, growing small horns under Schlatt, parts of his skin being static when Dream was "helping" him with his presidency, and parts of his scars tinging black and green from Ranboo and Micheal. Tubbo also helped Wilbur write part of the anthem. He likes living in the snow because the Manberg flag had magma blocks on it, casting a heatwave over the country, and after L'Manburg blew up it got really hot from the exposed stone in direct sun.

Fundy can actually hold his breath for a very long time and swim very well because of Sally teaching him and his salmon genes. The yellow things on his hat are actually shells, and the stripes on his jacket are trans colors. Also with his dreams, he saw Eret was going to betray them but didn't think it was real, or didn't want to. He also saw Wilbur blow up L'Manburg but chose not to believe it, thinking his father could still be saved. He actually saw pretty much everything, but didn't quite understand what they were until after doomsday.

The necklace Punz wears is one of those picture lockets, but he lost the picture and can't remember what it was. The first time Dream paid him was when Dream asked for help and Punz made an off hand joke about getting money, and then Dream thought he was being serious. Him, Dream, and Sapnap were like brothers, and Punz got sadder every time he saw Dream pushing people away and diving deeper into darkness.

Purpled is an aliensent to see if the planet was colonizable, but then crashed and was stranded, all his communications down and his ship barely able to hover fifty feet off the ground. When Quackity blew it up, he essentially got rid of his chance of ever going home. Purpled's species can shapeshift, so he turned himself into the first person he saw, Punz. Eventually before trying to communicate with the native life forms, he edited his form a little so they weren't identical, keeping purple eyes and antennae, changing the colors slightly, and changing the voice up. When he moves away from the main SMP, Ponk makes sure to check up on him and that he has a way to check his communicator.

Wilbur came a month after sending Tommy. His father being a patron of life and his mother the goddess of death, he met in the middle being born as a human. The only reason Ghostbur was as active and present as he was was because he was so connected to both life and death. Since his corpse was decaying for as long as it was, Wilbur is now super weak, his flesh is thin and his eyes are rotted and gone. Much like Ghostbur, Wilbur in limbo saw what people said about him, and Ghostbur could hear that from the back of his head. Now Wilbur can hear what people say about Ghostbur and he hates it, not wanting to be connected to what he thinks like a shell of himself.

Schlatt is a ram (duh) and actually does the fainting goat thing. So when he died of a heart attack, no one knew at first if he was actually dead or not. His alcoholism stems from the revive book, as the possibility of tampering with death made him existential and scared, so to cope he drank. There are also a ton of other stuff other than revival in the book, but it's in galactic.

Skeppy was just a normal human, but after making the pact with Bad, Bad put a spell on him. Parts of him turned into diamond, protecting both his and Bad's lives. He however, is unaware of this. With the egg, he would just sit on it, the diamonds chipping away to make room for the vines.

Eret was cursed by the Wither Cult, giving them white eyes and a slowly deteriorating memory. Not sure what to do, Foolish dropped them off at the SMP. Sometimes they would dream about old memories from before the curse, but it was just glimpses so he could never tell what they meant. Once they were king, they made the Herobrine shrine subconsciously, not really sure what it was after. They also had a strange affinity of beacons and resurrection, some of their memories resurfacing when they tried to help Phil and Ghostbur revive Wilbur after doomsday. The reason people are more scared of their eyes than any other wierd eyes was because he generally looks like a normal human, but the wither along with their Herobrine origins creates an uncanny valley that people are shocked by.

Jack had red and blue irises before crawling out of hell, but after coming back the whites of his eyes also turned red and blue. He always wears 3d glasses so no one noticed, but he just thought no one cared enough to mention it. He also has a bunch of scars and burn marks that no one but him can see, therefore no one asks about them or thinks something is wrong, cementing the idea that no one cares about him.

Niki is a blaze hybrid (stole this from @/420technoblazeit) whose fire hair color changes based on strong emotion, something she bond with Tubbo for as a fellow shifter. A soft yellow in L'Manburg, brighter orange in Manburg, hot pink on Doomsday, a soul fire blue with the syndicate (which Techno hates), and a dead grey when she found out Wilbur was alive. She was also old child hood friends with Ranboo and Eret, leaving Ranboo for the SMP. Ranboo, unfortunatly, doesn't remember much more than her name. She also knows galactic from Ranboo, so she talks about her troubles to Shy the Enderman. She doesn't really know how to talk to Puffy anymore after Doomsday or finding out how she wants to protect Tommy.

Quackity can perfectly replicate someone's voice and, with a lot of effort, can completely change his form to another player. He also has very small yellow wings, too small to fly, so he almost always hides them. He used to constantly change his voice for jokes with Karl, Sapnap, and George, but he doesn't like doing it now in Las Nevadas, as he sees it as unprofessional. However, sometimes he uses when he visits Dream, changing his voice to people like George and Sapnap to make torture more effective.

In the In Between and Other Side, Karl actually looks like his old skin, or his natural state (the big purple one that inspired his sweater). But most of the time in the normal world, he looks human. With effort he can bring out the interdemential being thing, something only Quackity and Sapnap know about. The more he time travels, the easier it becomes to change, and he's even started defaulting to the other form.

HBomb is actually just a normal news reporter, sent to interview and record what's going on in the server, his first big story being the election. Upon Doomsday, the stress of seeing everyone alone, fighting, and disconnected, he ran away from the world, essentially becoming a cat lady. His undercover reporter persona is actually the cat maid. He eventually came back to the server to see how he could help after Doomsday, befriending Niki again and living with her in the underground city.

Techno is a piglin, so he's scared of soul fire. He forgot to tell Phil before he decorated the syndicate room, so he just suffers in silence. He also does better when around a lot of gold, like in the nether, and he feels drained and slightly weaker without it. Instead of just putting gold around the area (it would ruin his property value), he just hibernates. He has an emerald earing, like all of the syndicate, but his is a locket that unfolds into pictures of the syndicate.

Ant always wears a red hoodie, now ruined by the egg, that used to be Red's. On Red's death anniversary, him, Bad, Skeppy, and Sam would make cake and put flowers on his grave. He missed the last one because it was during the egg, but for a brief moment after Puffy killed him he saw Red. Red then promptly and bluntly told him to stop being a pussy (haha, cat) and that he shouldn't do all this just to get him back, one of Ant's motivators to make amends with the people he hurt while with the egg. Ant is also a shapeshifter, but can only turn into a cat.

Phil actually used to work under Foolish as a patron of life but then he had a son with the goddess of death, so his title was removed so he could be with her and he became an Angel of Death. Kristin noticed how sad he was after being released, so she gifted him wings. They were however, destroyed on November 16th. His chat also serves as messenger pigeons, which were used to send letters to Wilbur.

Connor is actually just a hedgehog who somehow befriended Schlatt. Even before the haunted mansion, Karl vented to him about his time travel troubles, not knowing he was a sentient player. As a hedgehog, no one really cares where he goes, so he goes outside the server limits to meet his friends from the haunted mansion.

Puffy is a distant relative of Schlatt, but instead of politics she went into piracy. With her mom, she went travelling the seas. One say, a storm came and wiped out her ship, her crew, her mom, everything but her. The reason she survived was because Foolish saw her and saved her. Unfortunately, Puffy hit hee head in the crash and doesn't remember anything.

Vikkstar is the equivalent of a big time celebrity, so of course his endorsement of POG2020 was a big deal.

Lazarbeam is literally just a ginger bread cookie.

Ranboo has actually met a lot of the smp before actually joining. He's met Niki, Fundy, Eret, Punz, and Dream at least. He also sees the inverted colors Enderman see. His suit was actually a gift from Eret before they forgot how to tailor. He got the crown from Techno after joining the syndicate, claiming he didn't want any syndicate members to look like trash.

Foolish came to the server most recently to check up on Eret, but he couldn't bring himself to leave again. When Puffy adopts him, he can't say no because he remembers saving her. His initial goal was to kill an ender dragon to claim the XD title and become a full god like DreamXD, but after realising someone already killed it he went into his totem if death phase. Upon meeting Eret, he got over it and they went on some silly adventures, Foolish now taking a more peaceful route.

Hannah is essentially a weaker George, as her power is tied to the plants themselves and not the entire server. She however has a lot more physical power because rose dryads like to fight because they have thorns. Since roses can be taken out a lot easier, she is essentially a glass canon. Also when around any plant, she can make it grow faster than normal.

Any guest on the server? Corpse, Pokimane, Lil Nas? They were all Slimecicle. That's how he knows where everyone is from, even outside of Las Nevadas. No one else knows this. He's also ancient, if he met Phil they would probably recognise eachother. There was an actual Charlie Slimecicle who was not a slime, but after being launched into orbit this Slimecicle decided to impersonate him.

Michael Mcchill is a sort of bounty hunter. He came to the server after hearing of all the crime, assuming there'd be a lot of bounties to collect. However, he soon learned that no one really cares if you commit a crime. He then took to reading news articles made by HBomb to see if there were any past open bounties. But after reading for a while about the server's wronguns, mostly Dream, he began to sympathise with them. And he's also a speedrunner, so maybe he could help with some bounties across other servers!

This was a very long post and i apologize, but it was so fun to finally write all these thoughts down! I hope you liked them! I can't even fit all the tags I want.

[blockmengobrr]

Been thinking about how c!Techno and c!Quackity are both narrative and character foils to each other. I have no idea of how much of this was intentional on the part of the creators, but MAN are these two opposites in a lot of really important thematic ways. Here’s a list!

Techno’s character was initially isolated and incredibly paranoid towards his presumed allies at the beginning of his story, but gradually learned the value of having friends who he can trust. On the other hand, Quackity’s character used to be surrounded by allies and friends (and husbands?) alike but became more and more isolated with every tragedy in his life, to the point where he flat out states that “you can’t trust anyone”. After losing everything time and time again, Quackity has become incredibly paranoid and distrusting of even the people he outright recruited for his country.

Strengths & weaknesses: Techno’s greatest strength is his fighting prowess, planning, and physical intimidation. However, his character is socially awkward and has a hard time convincing people of his ideals and getting them “on his side”. Quackity is the polar opposite — while he is terrible at fighting and doesn’t know much about battle strategy, his greatest strength comes from his high emotional intelligence and social skills. He understands what motivates other people, and is skilled at using this information to manipulate them. Additionally, he is great at connecting with others and has the charisma to organize people in favor of a cause.

Values: Techno has always been deadset in his belief of anarchy and despise of institutional tyranny (government). He believes that governments bring nothing but unnecessary suffering and conflict. His ideal world would be stateless, where everyone has full autonomy over their actions, rather than basing them off of loyalty to (or fear of) a country. Quackity, again, is the exact opposite. He believes that a political hierarchy is instrumental to providing safety and security for those who do not have the strength to do so for themselves, and is necessary for punishing those who have done injustice (the Hit List). Rather than focusing on individualism, Quackity prioritizes creating a legacy and creating something greater than himself.

Over/under estimation: People overestimate Techno to the point where they view him as a force of nature, or a weapon, rather than a person. Most of the server inhabitants are incredibly fearful of him, even when he doesn’t want to be feared. Quackity, on the other hand, is consistently underestimated. Practically nobody sees him as a real threat, which in recent arcs, has shown to be their downfall (the egg, the Las Nevadas crew that were manipulated, etc).

The Syndicate vs. Las Nevadas: These two organizations are just such opposites, wow! While both can act as their characters reaching out for collaboration in supporting their ideals, there are some key differences. The Syndicate is basically founded off of the concept that no member is obliged to do anything (other than not reveal that they are in the Syndicate). It is Techno’s passion project where he can bond with people that share his ideals, and the members are all people he has formed a genuine friendship with. Essentially, they are a group that wants to promote anarchism across the server (but secretly I guess?). Las Nevadas will punish any of its residents that step out of line, and at the end of the day, is Quackity’s project to exploit and manipulate people to gain maximum profit (and therefore power and safety). Unlike the syndicate, Las Nevadas very much does NOT want to expand serverwide (at least at the moment) out of fear of danger from other factions of the server. The citizens of Las Nevadas have all been coerced by a very paranoid Quackity into joining, and they definitely don’t have healthy relationships with each other.

Planning (similarity): They both prefer to plan things carefully rather than rush in (unlike characters like c!Tommy). I know fanon Techno is sometimes portrayed as exclusively reliant off of brute strength, but the REASON why canon Techno is so overpowered is mostly due to his preparation and strategy. He never joins a fight unless he: a. Can plan out a strategy to outsmart his opponent and/or b. Has items and gear that completely outclass his opponent(s). The reason why he executed Tubbo wasn’t out of malice, but out of being overly cautious of an opponent who’s strength he hadn’t gauged yet (the whole purpose of him attending the festival was information gathering, he had no idea of what Manburg’s forces were capable of). Quackity is also a planner, however his greatest strength is through planning how he interacts with people, predicting their behavior, etc. although he is capable of planning battles. He is clever and adaptive. Some examples of this are his pooling his votes with Schlatt’s when he realized he likely couldn’t win on his own, or how the butcher army had a pretty high chance of working if it weren’t for c!Dream, how he coordinated the surprise attack on the egg at the banquet, or just literally All Of Las Nevadas.

Anyway if you got to this point, thanks for reading! If these two aren’t “worsties”, then I don’t know who is.

[theseerasures]

a yearning nation’s blueeyed pride

honestly there is just like. no point as of Witch (if not earlier) in thinking about Marrow and Winter as following along the same defection path, and downright facile to compare the two in terms of who is “closer” to defecting and therefore “less problematic” (even setting aside that making value judgments along those lines in fiction is...never that straightforward), when the narrative has emphasized REPEATEDLY how they are on entirely separate tracks in terms of character and role in the Atlas military.

seriously, it’s like saying “this orange is bad because you can’t eat the peel like you can eat an apple skin”

so like, yes, Marrow is the one who has verbally expressed his misgivings, and has clearly articulated scruples (as opposed to just the dial-up noise) and will blurt them out any second now as soon as he gets a word in edgewise. but also: Marrow HASN’T gotten a word in edgewise (except with Winter, fancy that), and has done approximately fuck all to actually subvert the system that he is growing to hate. both his theory and lack of praxis are tied into Marrow’s relatively low, overlooked position in the Atlas system, and feed into the fact that for Marrow the project of Atlas is not personal.

Marrow joined the military on ideological grounds. he clearly does want personal connection, but that has been denied him at every turn, largely by his teammates, largely by his partner, all of whom use him to enforce their own struggles with the clash between political duty and personal grief. he has been alienated by the system he upholds, which started even before we meet him. this makes it much harder for him to rebel in deed, because he doesn’t have a lot of power to begin with and he knows the system will not protect him if he does; at the same time, that relative powerlessness and isolation keeps his investment in Atlas abstract, uncomplicated, and much easier to dispel. Marrow is still with Atlas because he has a job to do, because it’s his duty, because he is still clinging to the Atlas military’s illusory altruism. he wants Penny to come with them so she can save Atlas. his protestations at seeing Team FNKI, that they are “just kids,” comes from the belief that it is categorically wrong to send children into battle. what is keeping Marrow from defecting is belief, and once the belief is shattered--like, say, when his boss’ new ingenious plan is to Nuke the Poors--there is nothing keeping him around.

and once his path is set he will not waver, because Atlas, by design, has no hold on him materially or personally (outside of his own life, which he was already happy to dedicate to a cause). Marrow then, is the limit case of Atlas being hoist with its own petard: an exemplar for how it gives its people nothing while demanding everything, but also an exemplar for how quickly the entire system folds in on itself when the veil is lifted. when Marrow defects (and it IS when) it will represent Atlas as a whole defecting from itself, even if we don’t see it visually--from the civilians, to the enlisted soldiers, to perhaps even members of Marrow’s own team.

NONE of the things i just mentioned really apply to Winter, because there is nothing about Atlas that is not personal for Winter.

i have no doubt that Winter is in some ways invested in same abstract principles that swayed Marrow, but that is constantly overridden by the fact that Winter has family at all sides of this, even before everything fell to shit, and the narrative will not stop reminding her.

“what about your sister?” “would you say the same thing if it was your sister inside?” her father was gunning for a seat on the Council. the man who took her in is essentially Head of State. Penny has made herself Public Enemy Number One, and Weiss is actively abetting her. even Whitley has now thrown himself into the fray, unbeknownst to her. and another person might be better at compartmentalizing all this the way Winter clearly wants to, and stick to the party line, but Winter cannot, because the more i watch her the more i’m convinced that the current crisis in Atlas is just a microcosm of the real issue, which is to say: everything is personal in Atlas for Winter, because everything is personal for Winter.

at a moment-to-moment level, and especially when backed into a corner, Winter defaults not to ideology but her tightly coiled lattice of personal relationships. and this makes perfect sense, because Winter grew up in a household where she had to perpetually crisis respond, and then she never stopped. Marrow does what he does because he believes in the dream, in making the world a better place, and therefore it is more difficult in some respects for him to defect, because it involves taking a long hard look at and then rejecting the structures he bought into and made himself complicit in. once lines are crossed and he DOES do that, though, he’s home free. for Winter, there are no lines to cross, because all Winter wants in the end is to throw her arms around everyone she cares about and drag them to safety. to keep them there, closely held, where she can see them and make sure that they stay safe.

but what’s tricky about Winter--what’s fascinating to me, what Jacques tried to beat out of her, what James alternately capitalizes on and tries to quash, what she resents about herself--is that in times of crisis (which for Winter is again ALL THE TIME), “everyone she cares about” becomes everyone, so that suddenly she takes a shine to the General’s war machine, so that she’s risking her life to give Penny and Fria a few more seconds of time, so that she’s stepping in front of Elm’s incoming fist, so that she’s letting JYR go rescue Oscar. Marrow has ideals he values, but at her core Winter has nothing but the people, who are real the moment she sees and feels them--real enough to defend, or defend against.

Winter jealously protects her web of people, but that web will also spiral out to infinity if she lets it--so she doesn’t. she has adamantly refused to move out of the mode where she lives present-by-present, only reacting to what is right in front of her, what she has been told, weighing her own life against the people who are closest, and no more. this is unquestionably a trauma response, but it’s also reinforced by 1) her choice to become a career soldier, and 2) the fact that Winter actually HAS quite a bit of power, and she knows that. but she has never trusted herself with any of it, largely because her hypervigilant response to situations has only ever been chastised instead of rehabilitated. Winter knows the weight of her name and her position, but she constantly tries to ignore it, or run away from it, so that she is only ever the heiress, the second-in-command, and never the Queen. she cannot be a leader until she is Good (that is to say, perfect and rational), so she tries to obliterate her power the same time she obliterates that pesky personhood: remaining still for as long as possible, avoiding situations that she knows will prompt action and choice, and when absolutely pushed to think through her power, moving the pieces around with extreme caution, hoping that the world won’t be burnt black by it.

Marrow and Winter are fundamentally at opposing ends of the personal-political bleed, and the story could NOT telegraph it any more clearly than their conversation in Witch, where Marrow makes a personal plea to Winter so that she can make a call far beyond just that, and she refutes him, by reminding him of his obligation to Atlas in the form of impersonal duty.

i’ll conclude by pointing out that there is something very interesting happening with Winter right now, that exceeds her power in-universe. because even as a Schnee, as Ironwood’s protege, what Winter can do is limited (partly because she limits herself), except for how the story has resolutely centered her actions and MADE them significant. in the course of this war Winter has let herself make exactly two choices--both of them noninterventionist, easily justifiable, and not meant to take any ideological stand--and they ended up altering the entire fabric of the war with Salem. all because she loved her sisters more than her duty. all because she was shown a slim chance to save the kingdom and a fourteen-year-old boy, and she thought just for an instant, what’s the harm

(and James Ironwood will never know. that even with his plan, his bomb, all his ships, all his soldiers...he was no match for her. his loyal lieutenant. the only child he will ever have, who has only ever called him “sir.”)

it is not about what Winter COULD have chosen in those moments, if she had the ability to stop Penny and Weiss from leaving, if JYR were even Oscar’s rescuers, in the conventional sense. it is about the fact that she DID make those choices, and the story has made them reverberate, in spite of the fact that she did not mean for them to. Marrow’s story is about being neglected and overlooked by the system, the moment of recognition that it needs you more than you need it, that there are so many more of you, and together you can stop chasing the dream and make your own. Winter’s story cleaves to the heart of not just Atlas, but the RWBY monomyth, which goes something like: stars are like us. the world was created because two brothers could not get along, and sundered because a woman could not cope with her grief. just because you move closer to the elite, to the center, to the top, to the sublime, it does not mean that you move farther from the fallible. we are all, at our deepest layer, people.

but the world does not tremble any less for it.