#incorrect answers only please btw

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why'd he do that ©mad_at_UoY ©taktek ©hyunjine0320

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[reikorun]

KlubOutside Q&A 101-200 [Translation]

Translated by @reikorun

Q101.

2021.05.10

Renji is my favorite character, but my surprise exceeded my delight at seeing him as Ichigo's counterpart on the cover of the JET illustration collection. I would like to know if there is a reason why you chose Renji as the paired character?

A101.

On the contrary, I've never once thought of Ichigo's counterpart as anyone other than Renji.

Q102.

2021.05.10

Are there any recent Jump manga that you find interesting?

A102.

Jump manga have been interesting lately huh? My absolute favorites are Undead Unluck and SAKAMOTO DAYS. And recently, High School Family: Kokosei Kazoku too.

Q103.

2021.05.17

Are Harribel-sama's Fracción (Apacci, Sung-Sun and Mila Rose) modeled after Nocchi, KASHIYUKA and a-chan from the music group "Perfume"?

A103.

A long time ago, I was asked the same question by the individuals in question themselves. It's an incorrect assumption, however I like Perfume so I don't mind.

Q104.

2021.05.17

I have a question about the illustrations published in the Gallery's Guidelines on KlubOutside. Are the numbers noted on the side the Copic color number?

A104.

This is the screentone number (a polka dot pattern film that is cut and pasted onto an analog manuscript.)

Q105.

2021.05.17

Have you ever watched professional wrestling?

A105.

I used to watch WWE (known as WWF back then) quite often around the time The Rock was at his peak.

Q106.

2021.05.17

Did someone give Rōjūrō the nickname "Rose" because it was difficult to call him "Rōjūrō"?

A106.

Rose gave himself that nickname because he thinks it's cool.

Q107.

2021.05.17

Why does Ninny wear suspenders in the BTW anime?

A107.

When they saw her wearing it in the color spread for the one-shot, the anime team said "it's cute so is it okay if she wears it the whole time in the anime?"

Q108.

2021.05.24

I think the illustrations from Brave Souls at this opportune time captures the essence of the original work and is incredibly cool, as the original author, what sort of impressions do you have of the Brave Souls illustrations?

A108.

I think it's getting better with each passing year. The design roughs that are submitted for supervision are also excellent.

Q109.

2021.05.24

Where do you start from when making a drawing?

A109.

When I'm not doing a rough underdrawing, I start from the bone around the eyebrows.

Q110.

2021.05.24

I'd like to know about what you've purchased and found useful recently, or something that you're enjoying.

A110.

A Yogibo Pod, Tom Ford sneakers, JINS PC glasses.

Q111.

2021.05.24

Is the playlist on KlubOutside the list that Kubo-sensei is listening to?

A111.

I'm uploading the songs I often listen to in real time.

Q112.

2021.05.24

Did Kubo-sensei decide the OP and ED songs for the anime?

A112.

Basically that doesn't involve me. Occasionally, I'd receive a demo version, and there were also times when I gave a little input when it didn't feel like much of an opening theme.

Q113.

2021.05.31

Will you ever publish a continuation of your one-shot stories like Rune Master Urara.

A113.

Urara had a story prepared for the purpose of serialization but it didn't get past the serialization meeting because it had a female protagonist in a battle setting and the story was hellishly dark. I'm not interested in drawing dark stories right now, but I might do it if I get a lot of free time.

Q114.

2021.05.31

Kubo-sensei, please tell us your favorite font (like Ming typeface or Gothic typeface etc.)

A114.

During BLEACH's serialization, I liked Impact.

Q115.

2021.05.31

Byakuya-san said that Ichigo was only the second person to ever bear witness to his Senkei, but who was the first person to have seen it?

A115.

I can't answer this here.

Q116.

2021.05.31

Regarding the animation production, you mentioned that it would make your stomach hurt while watching it at home due to discrepancies that arose from your lack of involvement in its early days. But, from approximately what episode did Tite-sensei get his hands involved in the production?

A116.

Starting from the Bount arc, I began to do only dialogue checks in the script for the characters belonging to the original work, just before recording.

Q117.

2021.05.31

Old-man Zangetsu tried to reveal his name while in Kurosaki Ichigo-kun's inner world, but it was blocked out with black ink and he was unable to convey his message. Was this the work of Hyōsube Ichibē.

A117.

That's correct.

Q118.

2021.06.07

Is "Rondanini's black dog" Kotodama originating from the West Branch of Soul Society? ×[1]

A118.

That's right.

Q119.

2021.06.07

Your photos of Uni-chan are very beautiful, did you take them with a digital camera? Or was it a smartphone?

A119.

A smartphone.

Q120.

2021.06.07

Did Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku-san realize that Ichigo is Shiba Isshin's son when they came to the Human World as part of the Hitsugaya advance team?

A120.

Both of them realized.

Q121.

2021.06.07

It's come to be that Gin's Special Move in Brave Souls is "Shukyoku - Kamishini no Yari, Butō: Renjin." Is this "Shukyoku" an established concept in the original work?

A121.

That's heart Gin isn't it? It's a game original expression.

Q122.

2021.06.07

When you listen to a character's theme song, it can heighten the depth of each individual considerably, so I enjoy having the opportunity to listen to them. At what stage in the development of a character are these theme songs decided?

A122.

It depends on the character. Some characters change midway through the drawing process.

Q123.

2021.06.14

What kind of thoughts went into the name "Tite", Kubo-sensei's pen-name? The alphabetical notation has always been "Tite" rather than "Taito", but is there some reason for that? Furthermore, I'm also curious as to why the unusual character "帯" is used in your name.

A123.

It means something like "one's head is always filled with many people." ×[2]

Q124.

2021.06.14

When Kurotsuchi Mayuri's bare face was revealed for the first time, his skin color was dark, but was that the case from the beginning? Also, will Kurotsuchi Mayuri's bare face never be seen again? He was more handsome than I expected.

A124.

This is about the anime? I recall watching the broadcast at the time and saying to my editor "his skin color is different!" The request for editorial supervision didn't come to me.

Q125.

2021.06.14

Which organization assigns names to Hollows?

A125.

There's a guy in charge of naming in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

Q126.

2021.06.14

In the final chapter, Orihime appeared as Ichigo's wife, but there was no ring on her left ring finger. Did Kubo-sensei forget to draw it? Or is it establishing that she's pregnant with her second child and her body is swollen, therefore she intentionally took off her ring?

A126.

Huh? You're right! I forgot to draw it.

Q127.

2021.06.14

Why were two Hyōrinmaru born?

A127.

I'd be happy if you could watch the movies as a parallel story rather than considering it part of the official canon.

Q128.

2021.06.21

How do you come up with the subtitle for each chapter? In BLEACH especially, most of the subtitles are in English and occasionally there is Japanese, but is there a particular emphasis placed on that? Additionally, I would be so glad if you could also tell us about any subtitles throughout your entire body of work that you are particularly fond of or any that evoke some special memory. 

A128.

At the time, there was no other work yet which combined Japanese style clothing with the English alphabet, so I deliberately added English subtitles, and in special chapters I made a point of adding Japanese subtitles in order to leave an impression. In that sort of sense, many people may prefer the Japanese subtitles.

Q129.

2021.06.21

I was interested in manga artists' fan clubs and joined one! I started reading BLEACH for the first time last week and am currently on volume 22. I'm looking forward to getting to the final volume! I would really like to know who exactly is sensei's favorite character!?

A129.

Eh? You joined without reading BLEACH!? Is this person real…. I don't have a favorite character. On the whole, I like them all about the same and am equally uninterested in them about the same.

Q130.

2021.06.21

To what extent is Kubo-sensei involved with Brave Souls? Did you ever get to play it again?

A130.

The gameplay mechanics don't concern me, but I oversee the design for the anniversary characters and characters who appear to affect the main story similar to the novel variants. I returned to the game after a long hiatus during BTW, but I was surprised at just how much easier it has become to play.

Q131.

2021.06.21

How did you decide the names of your characters? Do you have some kind of image in mind when you come up with names like "Bambietta Basterbine" and "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez" etc.?

A131.

Everything is named based on how it sounds and my own intuition. I genuinely love naming things, so I always have a list of names belonging to (or sound like they belong to) various nationalities, enough to accommodate several hundred characters. I often draw out names from there.

Q132.

2021.06.21

A fair amount of difference can be observed in Kubo-sensei's art style when comparing the first volume with the last volume, but did you intend for this change at the time the manga was being serialized? Or did it change over the course of drawing a large number of illustrations?

A132.

It's not so much a conscious effort, but more like a perpetual feeling that this isn't the best style for portraying my characters, and I'm trying to explore that while drawing. In the case of BLEACH, of course the final stages are closer to the ideal, and at present I'm even closer to that ideal compared to back then.

Q133.

2021.06.28

I believe Tōsen can Hollowfy → activate Resurrección, but can Ichigo and members of the Visored do this too? Does this mean that both Bankai and Resurrección are possible if they are in a Hollowfied state?

A133.

It's possible.

Q134.

2021.06.28

Is "Top of Horns" a metaphor for various genres of music? For example, I think Bruno represents rock and roll and Roy represents R&B.

A134.

It's different for Top of Horns, but it was actually like that for the Visored.

Q135.

2021.06.28

Please unveil the mystery behind "Ururu" and "Jinta". Who are they?

A135.

They are both Artificial Souls created by Kisuke.

Q136.

2021.06.28

In the illustrations for BLEACH, the characters are seen wearing western style clothes with various designs, but were these designs drawn independently by Kubo-sensei himself.

A136.

All illustrations in the original work are my own designs, all illustrations from the anime do not concern me.

Q137.

2021.06.28

Sensei, when you draw an illustration, do you draw the figure and such without using any references, like an artist's mannequin?

A137.

I once went to check out an art supply store because I thought it would be cool to have a drawing mannequin in my workplace, like one of those skilled painters, but in the end I didn't buy it since I couldn't figure out how to correctly use it as a reference.

Q138.

2021.07.05

I like Senju Kōten Taihō and often chant it, does sensei have a favorite incantation to chant too?

A138.

I generally always like the newest ones the best, so right now it's probably Blue Spark or Supernal Jail.

Q139.

2021.07.05

Was the BLEACH logo sensei's idea?

A139.

That's correct. I had a logo which I drew myself brought to life by an acquaintance, Shueisha bought it and are using it. By the way, the logo on the first chapter spread of Zombiepowder is hand-drawn, and I had BTW use my hand-drawn logo as is.

Q140.

2021.07.05

When you were contemplating the map of Karakura Town, were there any places that you used as reference?

A140.

I sort of used my local town as reference but it turned out completely different.

Q141.

2021.07.05

If it's okay, I would like to know Hinamori Momo-san's name before the change. Also, besides Hinamori-san, are there any other characters whose names have been changed since the initial stages?

A141.

I changed it because it wasn't very good, so the original is a secret. Additionally, Hitsugaya had a completely different first name too until the very last moment of the manuscript. This is also a secret.

Q142.

2021.07.12

I have a question regarding Kira Izuru-kun's healing abilities and the history of his affiliations. He was first assigned to Captain Aizen's 5th Division, while there he was found to have an aptitude for Kaidō and was recruited to the 4th division, but does that mean that he was later poached by Ichimaru Gin of Squad 3? 

A142.

When he was a member of Squad 4, it was Aizen who recommended the transfer to Unohana.

Q143.

2021.07.12

How was it that Kuna Mashiro came to be appointed as "Super Vice-Captain"? Is her armband official? (Personally, I think it's something she wilfully made on her own, or perhaps someone in her Squad prepared it just to placate her.)

A143.

When Kensei returned to the position of Captain, Mashiro pestered Kensei alone saying it's "unfair", so it's a post that Kensei made up himself without consulting anyone. The armband is also a complete fake made with shiny material in the hope that it would please Mashiro. Though, with a single glance Mashiro was satisfied.

Q144.

2021.07.12

In volume 31, when Grimmjow tried to break Loly's leg clean off, she says "if you stop, wait! We can make this our secret!" What was she trying to say next? I haven't spoken openly about it much since being told that I have a bad personality, but the scenario before and after that scene is one of my favorites!!

A144.

It was "I'll let you have your way with me." Loly's the kind of character who would deliver a line like that when she's in a desperate situation. A famous manga artist friend of mine once told me that he loved that scene too, so I think it's fine to openly discuss it.

Q145.

2021.07.12

I thought that the 5 members of the Bambies from the Wandenreich looked similar to Momoiro Clover Z, but what are the facts actually like? 

A145.

The very first design motif I used for them was indeed Momoclo, but after I had finalized the characters I thought "well then, who is Gigi?" So I decided not to say anything. (I just said it.)

Q146.

2021.07.12

I'm really looking forward to the Ninny-chan and Noel-chan figurines, when will the news be updated?!

A146.

I'm looking forward to it too. I wonder when!?

Q147.

2021.07.12

Kubo-sensei, do you drink alcohol? If so, what kind of alcohol do you like?

A147.

I recently discovered that I'm able to drink if it's "Horoyoi*." I like the white one. (*Horoyoi is a brand of canned, alcoholic beverage in Japan.)

Q148.

2021.07.12

Do you have a favorite YouTuber?

A148.

I don't know if I can classify them as YouTubers, but I sometimes watch YouTube videos of people free diving then catching and eating strange fish.

Q149.

2021.07.19

Why is the Shihakushō, which can also be called the Shinigami uniform, black? Is it so that the Monk can enlist their help in case of an emergency?

A149.

The color was decided upon in the days of first Gotei generation, the reason was "so you wouldn't have to throw it away every time it gets stained with blood." However, your idea about the Monk would also make a good backstory.

Q150.

2021.07.19

How do members of the Sternritter perceive Giselle Gewelle's gender? Are they not aware of it, are they aware but pretending not to notice it, or are they just not interested in it? I would be glad if you could tell us.

A150.

It depends on the person.

Q151.

2021.07.19

I have a question concerning Kusajishi Yachiru. Is it a result of the fact that she was called by the name "Yachiru" that she herself possessed a Zanpakutō called "Sanpo Kenjū", while also being "Nozarashi" - the Zanpakutō of Zaraki Kenpachi? 

Like Hihiō Zabimaru or Fuji Kujaku, there are many scenes where a Zanpakutō not called by its true name was unable to demonstrate its true power. I reckon "Nozarashi" bore the essence of a Shinigami and materialized as a consequence of being called by the name "Yachiru" - a Shinigami who actually exists, and perhaps because it was the name "Yachiru" (*Yachi = eight thousand, Ru = flows/styles), she acquired Sanpo Kenjū which was specialized for the act of cutting. 

I'm quite curious about the true identity of Kusajishi Yachiru, so I'd be overjoyed if you could give us an answer.

A151.

Wow, amazing! It's not even written that Yachiru is Nozarashi, yet you managed to find your way here. You are mostly correct within the scope covered by your question. To go further, Yachiru is a form of Nozarashi's Bankai manifestation separated from its main body, and having received her name from Kenpachi, she harbored the power of a Shinigami. The embodiment of Nozarashi itself takes the form of a grown woman. I think it's easier to understand if I got you to imagine Zangetsu and Tensa Zangetsu.

Q152.

2021.07.19

Why are the names of Chad and Orihime's Fullbring not in English unlike the members of XCUTION? I was intrigued because sensei used different languages for naming depending on the faction. 

A152.

Since these two are in a special category, their abilities were given names in their respective native languages.

Q153.

2021.07.19

With Madarame Ikkaku's appearance in the Fullbring chapters, attached to his right shoulder we see some kind of gold plated equipment with the kanji for "dragon" printed on it, is that his own work? I'm curious because it's established in the lore that he's good with his hands.

A153.

It's Ikkaku's own work.

Q154.

2021.07.19

What kind of person is the manager of ABCookies where Orihime worked?

A154.

I have the concept art for him. I ended up having so much fun while drawing him that he became a creepy old man, but he's a good person.

Q155.

2021.07.26

Did Baraggan not reveal his own rank, nor refer to himself as "Espada" due to his rivalry with Aizen?

A155.

That's right.

Q156.

2021.07.26

Please tell us your favorite places in Hiroshima!

A156.

I don't get to go back that often, but I like Soleil (now Aeon Mall). It's huge and exciting.

Q157.

2021.07.26

Is it intentional that the number of English words used in the subtitle from BLEACH chapter 679 "THE END" up to 683 "THE DARK SIDE OF TWO WORLD ENDS" increases with each chapter? 

A157.

Yes.

Q158.

2021.07.26

Aizen said "From the very start, no one has stood upon the heavens," and while looking at Ukitake he said "not you, not I, nor even gods," but was this "you" here hinting at the connection between Ukitake and the Soul King? 

A158.

That is correct.

Q159.

2021.07.26

The haori, jinbei, and hat which Urahara Kisuke wears in the Human World can probably be described as his only good clothes, did Urahara Kisuke himself purchase them at a Human World draper or something?

A159.

Those are all items Kisuke made himself.

Q160

2021.07.26

To what extent does Kubo-sensei supervise the color scheme of the digital color tankōbon? 

A160.

I'm supposed to give them all a look over around the time of their debut, but since I'm making my checks while busy with other things during serialization, I sometimes find myself wondering "did I really choose this kind of color!?" In Brave Souls, occasionally the color of the skills just happen to change, well that is the reason why. I'm sorry!

Q161.

2021.08.02

Spanish is used for words related to the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo, German is used for words related to the Wandenreich and Quincy, but I would like to know why you chose these two languages? Does Kubo-sensei have a special attachment to both languages? 

A161.

I think Spanish has a devilish charm, German has a hard-headed sound to it. By the way, when I told this story at an event in Germany, it was amusing to the Germans. It seems that the German people themselves consider the German national traits to be "idyllic and easygoing", apparently they found it amusing because of the disparity between this and my "hard-headed sound" assessment.

Q162.

In the 13BLADEs. "Frank Questions!" segment, you said that you haven't actually drawn a certain character's Bankai up to its final form yet, was that referring to adult Hitsugaya? If so, from what point in time did you decide you were going to draw the concept of a "slightly aged up" Hitsugaya?

A162.

I was talking about Hitsugaya. It was decided when Hitsugaya was designed therefore it was already decided by the time he debuted.

Q163.

2021.08.02

Kubo-sensei, please tell us the reason why you named your dog "Uni".

A163.

It's an anagram of 'inu'. Just kidding. I named my dog "Uni" because it was expected that her fur would become orange as she grew. It turned out to be a burnt mochi-like color though. ×[3]

Q164.

2021.08.02

Taking into account Isshin and Masaki's origins, it seems to me that Ichigo's grandparents do not exist in the Human World, but is "Grandpa Rin", whose name was mentioned in the Lost Agent arc, an individual who actually exists? Is he a relative of Tsukishima-san? 

A164.

Tsukishima Rinshirō. He's Tsukishima's grandfather.

Q165.

2021.08.02

In the past, there was a "Love Bleach" film featured at a BLEACH event, but would you consider launching the actual product for sale in the future?! 

A165.

"Love Bleach", wasn't that supposed to be some kind of dating simulation game? I guess, If a game company can make a profit, I don't see why not. ×[4] 

Q166.

2021.08.02

I went to the opening day stage greeting for BURN THE WITCH! I saw on social media that sensei also came to see it, but where did you watch it from?

A166.

The seats on the 2nd floor are like cozy sofas. It was awesome.

Q167. *Deleted entry from KlubOutside*

2021.08.09

This is a question regarding the origins of the name "Yhwach". In the original work, it was derived from being called "Yū", "ha", "vē", "ha", but does this have its roots in the monotheistic God of Judaism and Christianity, "YHVH" (Jehovah, Yahweh)? 

A167.

Originally the spelling of "Yhwach" itself was like that, but I was asked to change it because it would 100% cause controversy overseas so it's come to be this current spelling.

Q167.

2021.08.09

Has the status of the Shinigami Men's Association improved since Iba-san, its President, became Captain?

Q167.

Isane also became a Captain, so….

Q168.

2021.08.09

In the earliest iterations of BLEACH, the Shinigami wear Western-style outfits and are armed with guns. It seems that in this universe, Rukia was the only one among them to use a scythe, but what was the reason for making Rukia the only one to wield a different weapon?

A168.

The lore was that Rukia was the only one who continued to use an old-fashioned scythe due to a difference in ideology. Also, at the time, the Shinigami characters were all foreigners.

Q169.

2021.08.09

I would like to know the origin of the name "Macy Baljure" (it's my favorite). If possible, please by all means, let us know!

A169.

I don't know the origin, but Macy's name was the one I struggled with the most and I made alterations within the name alone like three times.

Q170.

2021.08.09

Is there any difference between a short release call for a Zanpakutō and a long one like in the case of Kyōraku or Ukitake?

A170.

Basically, the longer ones are often older Zanpakutō.

Q171.

2021.08.09

When drawing manga, do you tend to forget details in the costume blueprints for characters who, for instance, you haven't drawn in a long time?

A171. 

I forget things very easily. Even during the series, I forgot the location of Rangiku's mole.

Q172.

2021.08.16

Did you devise the opening and ending of the BLEACH anime together with the anime staff? I was wondering if sensei's ideas were incorporated as well.

A172.

I'm not involved with the OP & EDs. Each one is good in it's own way.

Q173.

2021.08.16

Why did Hisagi fail the entrance exam for the Academy twice? 

A173.

Because it's Shūhei.

Q174.

2021.08.16

Regardless of whether they were in a higher or lower position, members of the Visored have been quite casual since their days as Shinigami, using informal language and addressing each other without honorifics. Just because they're all together, I don't think that necessarily means that they were at the Academy at the same time, so what could be the driving force for them to have become this close? 

A174.

All of them are diehard individualists, or rather, the type to follow their own rules, so people of that type get along well with each other, and I get the impression that because they're the same type, many people don't care how informal they are with one another. Rather than a 'driving force', it's more like "for some reason, I feel like I talk to this guy a lot."

Q175.

2021.08.16

I love Sado-kun. I would like to know if there is a backstory regarding Sado-kun's tattoo such as when and how he got it inked.

A175.

When his Abuelo died, Sado got it inked in order to keep his spirit strong.

Q176.

2021.08.16

What is sensei's shoe size in cm? Also, if you have any favorite shoes, please let us know!

A176.

My ankles are big, so it's 27 or 27.5. I like shoes but I don't particularly have a favorite brand.

Q177.

2021.08.16

Are you reading what your fans are writing in the comments in the [DESKSIDE] section of your website?

A177.

I'm reading them all.

Q178.

2021.08.23

This isn't really a question, but I hope that the Radio Kon letters segment, which appeared in the early Tankōbon, makes a comeback.

A178.

I didn't want to do that anymore because I had to draw the cutout faces of characters, every volume, just for that segment which was quite exhausting. I planned to do this myself though.

Q179.

2021.08.23

Will sensei's illustrations mainly be done digitally from now on? I'm curious because I love the illustrations that were colored with sensei's Copic markers. Also, which one do you prefer, sensei?

A179. 

Right now, I'm having fun with digital. I'm still not very good at using digital, but going forward, I'd like to be able to switch back and forth between both depending on my mood.

Q180.

2021.08.23

I would like to know what your favorite buildings are?

A180.

"The National Congress Palace, Brasília" by Oscar Niemeyer and Louis Kahn's "Salk Institute for Biological Studies". Oscar Niemeyer is the origin of Nimaiya Ōetsu's name.

Q181.

2021.08.23

Why does Tatsuki want to become stronger? Her name seems strong, though there is some backstory which revealed that Tatsuki herself doesn't like it, so I'm just allowing myself to imagine that perhaps her parents work at a dojo or do something related to martial arts. I'm also very interested about Orihime in her middle school days, viewed from Tatsuki's perspective. Ichigo and Orihime's pasts have points of similarity, being bullied because of their hair color and experiencing the death of a family member, so I wonder if Tatsuki noticed that they have these things in common?

A181.

The karate dojo that Ichigo used to attend is attached to Tatsuki's home. Additionally, in a flashback which I had to cut due to page limitations, there was a scene where Tatsuki draws a parallel between Ichigo and Orihime. You're quite the reader, huh?

Q182.

2021.08.23

I want to be able to draw illustrations like Kubo-sensei so I'm practicing, but whether it be male or female characters, please let me know if there are any points you pay particular attention to when drawing people.

A182.

There isn't much difference in how I depict men and women. I get the sense that I draw each character with a feeling that's like "this aspect of this character is good."

Q183.

2021.08.23

I have a question about the feathers around Yumichika's eyes. When he appeared in the story about Ikkaku's past, and also 10 years later, it doesn't appear that he's wearing any accessories, but is that sort of like ‘his thing’ these days?

A183.

All the things Yumichika wears are fashionable items, so it varies depending on the season.

Q184.

2021.08.30

What is your favorite Doraemon movie?

A184.

It's "Little Star Wars." It's because I like the theme song.

Q185.

2021.08.30

I would like to know the details about the relationship between Mask De Masculine and James. Is it correct to infer from Yhwach's line "James, so you have died?" that Masculine is like a false manifestation and James is his true form.

A185.

James is the true form, and Masculine is James's ideal hero.

Q186.

2021.08.30

Regarding the subtitle of BLEACH volume 6 "THE DEATH TRILOGY OVERTURE", if literally translated, it becomes "prologue to the Shinigami trilogy", I think perhaps this means the prologue of the series is about facing the Shinigami, the second chapter is about facing the Arrancar and the final chapter is about facing the Quincy. Is it that you decided on the overall structure of the story from the early stages, resulting in a title like this?

A186. 

That is so. Since the Lost Agent arc initially wasn't about Shinigami, it was my plan to mix elements of both preceding and upcoming chapters for a smoother transition.

Q187.

2021.08.30

I know this is a terrible question, but I would like to know Kuchiki Rukia's bust, waist and hip measurements….

A187.

It's a secret. All the people asking about BWH measurements and other boob related questions are women…. Well, it's fine then I guess.

Q188.

2021.08.30

Some time ago, I watched you begin to draw an illustration on a Shikishi board by hand and without a rough sketch too for Jigoku no Misawa-sensei, I was in shock thinking "you must be kidding…." When you draw a picture, are you drawing with a clear image of the whole composition already in a completed state in your head? Also, where do you usually start from when drawing a character? I was all the more astonished because I saw Kubo-sensei's craft in a character that was not sensei's own. ×[5]

A188.

From the time I was an elementary school student, I have been drawing Kitarō starting from his toes, so ever since then, the order in which I draw things has always been chaotic.

Q189.

2021.09.06

Ichigo's attendance score is 13 overall and 6 for male student attendance score, these are also the respective numbers of the squads to which Rukia and Renji belong, that is, two Shinigami with whom he shares a particularly close bond. Was this something you set up intentionally?

A189.

It's just a coincidence. 6 is my lucky number so it makes a frequent appearance within the story.

Q190.

2021.09.06

When I look at illustrations, I often look at the fashion designs of the characters, but I am always impressed by how meticulously Kubo-sensei's illustrations depict the structural lines and details of the clothing. I would like to know if there are any fashion brands and the like which you associate with a certain character's image?

A190.

I was about to say that for every character I've never thought "this character would probably wear this brand", but there was actually one individual alone. Äs Nödt would wear Rick Owens. 

Q191.

2021.09.06

Your pen-name in the past was Kubo Noriaki, but why was your name changed to Tite?

A191.

That's because that 'pen-name' is actually my real name and on top of that, it was a misprint.

Q192.

2021.09.06

How old is Ikumi-san from Unagiya Shop?

A193.

She's 33.

Q193.

2021.09.06

In the original story and the novels, it is mentioned that Soul Society has a one million year history, but of the Four Great Noble Houses, if Byakuya is the 28th generation and Yoruichi is 22nd generation, it seems this falls short of one million years, what do you think?

A193.

The history of the Nobles is the history of the Seireitei, not Soul Society.

Q194.

2021.09.06

I remember that Kubo-sensei frequently used an au talby A5508SA cell phone for many years. Is that the same cell phone model that is hanging from Ichigo's waist on the cover of WJ issue 23, 2005, and the same one that Rukia is clutching in her hand on the cover of chapter 298

A194.

That's right. I still have it at home. I love Marc Newson.

Q195.

2021.09.13

Kubo-sensei, do you prefer raw eggs, boiled eggs, or hot spring eggs?

A195.

I like raw eggs. Isn't this dependent on one's eating habits?

Q196.

2021.09.13

"PIPERS" WOVEN JACQUARD MUFFLER was sold on Whiskrs, but does sensei own serial number 1? (*These were sold in a limited number of 99)

A196.

I have it. Personally, I thought it would have been easier to use if it was a little longer.

Q197.

2021.09.13

Ganju who reappeared in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc has, from where I'm standing, gained a butt-chin, but did that just happen over the course of his growth? Or was it the discipline he received from Kūkaku, or perhaps he was influenced by Shiroganehiko who similarly has a butt-chin? I would be grateful if you could tell us.

A197.

Huh? Wait, Ganju wasn't supposed to have a butt-chin!? Well then, let's go with growth!

Q198.

2021.09.13

The name Nīhashi = 15 → 2+1+8+4.

The names Nīha and Ninny = 15 → Nīha: 2+1+8 and Ninny: 2+2.

Is this something you were setting up as a goal? ×[6]

A198.

I happened to see this on Twitter and surprised myself. The person who spotted this is amazing. However, it's just a coincidence.

Q199.

2021.09.13

Hitsugaya always wears something that looks like a brooch, it appears to be a marigold, is this correct? 

A199.

You mean the clip on his sash which held his sword in his earlier appearances? That's a sun motif. 

Q200.

2021.09.13

I would like to see that school parody with the BLEACH cast (the one that was in JET), will it be released somewhere?!

A200.

I want to see that too, but it would be hard to draw the manga myself, so I'm thinking of sharing character profiles and maybe someone will draw it for me.

Translation Footnotes:

×1. "Rondanini's black dog" is part of an incantation for a Kidō spell. See BLEACH chapter 21.

×2. 帯 = to wear/ to carry/ to bear | 人= people | 帯人 (Tite) = to bear people

×3. The joke is: Inu = dog in Japanese. Uni is sea urchin, in Japan we eat sea urchin as sashimi or sushi and it is orange in color.

×4. Back in 2005, a BLEACH dating simulation game parody video, known as "Love Bleach" was made by staff for a BLEACH event. The gag involved teasing a TBA dating simulator. The video is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0cA-jySdzYE?si=-5OX0MQX1bZKsqws

×5. Tite Kubo drawing for Jigoku No Misawa: https://youtu.be/xRAfswhrQC4?si=6rgKaPK94EbzcBY1

×6. Based on Japanese numerals, Ni = 2, i = 1, ha = 8 shi = 4. 

[numberonetacostan]

Okay so first of all- I really really liked your post about Taco’s Friendship tier list since it was so so so in character for her omg-

Tho tho, as an autistic girlie myself, I can’t help but ask, what’s your hcs on Taco being autistic ???

Like omg- I can already imagine some like her getting sensory overload from touch & like you said, vocally stimming whenever she’s nervous- but yeah- like what I’m trying to basically say is that I’m really curious on your take on it XD

Hi Loopy!!!^^ Welcome, and thank you for sending in an ask!!!! :] AND THANK YOU FOR COMPLIMENTING MY TIERLIST. IT IS MY FAVOURITE POST HENCE WHY IT'S PINNED I WORKED SO HARD ON IT!!!!! :D

Well as yet another person who does quite a bit of autism, I'm happy to answer this one!!! Very happy!!!!! I think of Taco as rather good afab autism rep!!! X) Sorry if this one sucks btw. I feel like I kind of just exploded all over this one.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not only dumb but also probably projecting hard. This is a matter of my view on the character, you can view her however you'd like! Though, if I say something incorrect or offensive, please know it is unintentional and please correct me! I am not an expert, just some guy. I am some autistic guy, but still, just some guy.

Taco is constantly masking!! I feel like this one's obvious. Chameleon behaviors, yeah? She changes how she acts based on who she's with to her advantage as well as . It also shows in how she acts with Mic and Mepad. With Mic, she's unable to be very genuine with her, even once she's accepted Mic as a friend and equal. Not only does she have trouble recognizing and dealing with her emotions, but she's so used to masking constantly that it's really hard for her to unmask in front of someone!!! She likes Mic a lot, but it's still hard for her to be herself since even she doesn't really know how to act "like herself" with someone. She never does it!!! Even with Mepad, when he gets some more of her genuine thoughts/feelings out of her, she's doing in under the guise of her persona as well as quickly trying to change the topic the second she realizes.

With masking, I think a lot of her stims whether they be vocal or physical are more subtle. She does it much much much more openly in season 1 when she's flanderizing the parts of herself she sees as weak or childish (something that can often come esp. with afab autism!!!!!), but things like fiddling with her teacup or invisibow or tapping her hands together reading to me as stimming!!! Hooray for stimming.

Limited social interaction/close friendships. Y'all Taco has had 3 friends ever. And we see that after season 1, she doesn't really care about anyone else but Pickle!! She hung out with Paper and OJ during s1 too, and was technically in an alliance with Bomb as well, but none of them matter to her. She picked her person and stuck to them! Season 2? She and Mic go from partners to friends, and Taco doesn't care about anyone else. She loses Mic, and despite that rousing Mepad had no advantage for her, and was frankly more like to be disadvantageous, she wakes him up. She's lost her social outlet yet again, and coming off of such a loss is the only time we see her reaching out to someone she doesn't have an established relationship with!!! You'd think that when she's getting reintroduced to the group in episode 17, she'd be trying to make them feel less wary of her presence from the moment the doors open, especially with how nervous she was about seeing them all for the first time in so long, yeah? But no, she stands there with a big dumb grin <3 and lets Mic talk. She knows she's supposed to be acting genuine like Mic wants her to, but does not know how to do that. Her first line once is doors open is her clarifying that she's being genuine, but beyond that? Quick topic chance to get the attention off of her and the fact that she hadn't been genuine in the past. And also!!! Taco has been living in the woods alone for years. For a lot of people, having no interaction for that long would be really difficult!! But Taco's only really ever wanted one or maybe two friends at a time!! She doesn't need to be around a lot of people, at least to the degree that other people do, so she's able to get by on her own better!!!! Like I said, only missing her one actual close friend. This goes more into how I think she wouldn't enjoy larger groups/crowds, since not only autism headcanon, but she's been alone for years!!! It would be really overwhelming for her!!!

Intense/possessive tendencies in friendships. The many letters sent to Pickle after season 1, her self-destructive streak after losing Mic in which she wants to, and I quote "burn [the game] down in Mic's image." Her watching them from outside the hotel. Those are all intense and possessive tendencies towards her friends!!!

Pedantic speech. This one is pretty obvious. She speaks very formally, so much so that even Mic questions if that's how she really talks in episode 11!!

Difficulty speaking when upset/emotional- She is silently staring at Mic the entire time they're in the void. She could be defending herself, arguing, explaining herself, but she is silent. She's gone from happy and proud to hurt and devastated in a single moment!!! That's a lot of strong emotional whiplash, that results in her going quiet! Yes I am projecting thank you for asking.

Constant analysis + Planning things carefully + Distress when plans are disrupted. It's Taco. She's always planning! She has a plan for when Knife discovers them right away! But when she doesn't have a back-up plan, and something goes wrong? You get incidents like the season 1 finale's aftermath and her shooting Fan & Test Tube in episode 14! Impulsive outbursts of violence and/or anger because it's genuinely difficult for her to deal with plans going awry, and she lashes out!! Strategically, it would have been better for her to keep acting after the s1 finale, yeah? But she's too distressed by her plan being thwarted and not having a back up plan to help her to keep up her act, and she snaps!! She didn't promise Mic she wouldn't be violent, but what she said did imply that she wouldn't use violence! And by episode 14, Taco genuinely really likes Mic, she wasn't dancing around agreeing because she was wanting to be violent against her wishes, yeah? She was trying to reassure Mic, even if she didn't actually understand why Mic was upset!!

Takes criticism/judgement very personally. After Mic cuts things off, mentioning Pickle and that she'd gained nothing by working with Taco is when we finally see Taco snap and start spiraling, expressing that she finds herself to be monstrous and defective!! Now, that's not to say that Taco didn't feel this way before, but that Mic openly judging her to be such a way really opened the flood gates for that self-loathing to overwhelm Taco as we see it does in the show, to the point in which she's uncaring of the inevitability of her own death due to her injury!!!!

Difficulty understanding/expressing her own emotions. Taco adamantly refuses to taco 'bout her own feelings, even if it's to her own detriment and the detriment of her relationships. She keeps accidentally getting attached to people, and didn't even realize until it was too late with Pickle!!! She pushes her own emotions down so hard that she herself doesn't even recognize them!! In the end, having someone like Mepad who has learned to understand their own emotions is what really helps her understand her own, and what helps us see a lot of progression from her after they meet!! She wants to apologize and reconnect with Pickle and Mic, despite her having not done so before because she had trouble understanding her own feelings on the matter!! She writes letters to Pickle, yes, but from what little we know about them and the apology she gave Pickle in the finale, it's her trying to logically explain and/or justify her actions, rather than any understanding/expressing of her own feelings. And this gets into my next point!!!

Difficulty understanding others emotions/Low empathy. I think Taco is a great depiction of a low empathy person!!!!!!!!! At least according to myself!!!! She canonically has trouble understanding other people's perspectives!!!!!!!!! It never crossed her mind that Pickle would be upset about her betrayal!! She didn't think Mic would be so upset at her over her shooting Fan and Testy in episode 14, despite having noticed that Mic was uneasy before!! She knew relatively explicitly from Mic's diary that she wanted recognition, and keep going with the assumption that that's what mattered most to Mic! She hadn't known that Mic's priorities had changed and that her moral compass was more important to her than accomplishing her goal, because that's not how it is for Taco!! She has trouble seeing things from others' points of view, even those important to her!!! She's not intentionally hurting them, it just genuinely doesn't occur to her that what she's doing will upset them!!!! It can also be seen in how Taco initially acts towards Mic as well before she starts putting effort into their relationship rather than just their partnership. She's pretty critical towards Mic for listening to her heart/emotions when making a decision, like when giving back the taser! She responds with anger to Mic's emotional distress when being given the taser in the first place, yeah? And this lack of empathy leads to problems in her relationships!!!!! Aaaaaaah, sorry, I love her as low empathy rep so much. She feels remorse once she realizes she's hurt people she cares about!! She just doesn't think about how her actions will affect them, yeah?

I'm going to cut it here since I typed a lot but maybe I'll come back to this if I have more thoughts. I once again apologize if this is bad because I think I just word vomited for over an hour. Thank you for sending in this ask though!!! I like thinking about autistic Taco.

[ginhaku125-offical]

A third party gen 9 Pokemon au?

Do tell me more...

hi youve given me way too much power im about to infodump so much.

This randomly fucking came to me yesterday as I was doing my Eeveeloutions only playthrough of Violet and I got to the Rika's Interview. On the question where she asks you what schools you're enrolled in, I couldn't help but notice one of the incorrect answers

Manzana huh...

Knowing that Naranja meant Orange in Spanish and Uva meant Grape, I assumed this meant something in Spanish too and lo and behold I was correct!!

This got me thinking about if there was a third gen 9 game, perhaps something to do with the present.

I immediately got to work and did a small edit on Arven's official art, which led to me making the uniforms

(you can probably tell which one I thought was better)

The idea was that red and green were the 'main' colours as those are usually the colours of an apple.

I had a few extra ideas that I very hastily sent to my friends and also got from said friends, but to list a few:

- New regional variants for Paldea, Kitakami and maybe even Unova this is just an excuse for me to draw regional Eevee actually

- (Kitakami specifically) More masks can be made for Ogerpon (except Grass, Water, Fire and Rock as they're part of the Teal Mask quest)

- The ability to actually wear casual clothes outside of the academy. Upon entering the academy, you're made to wear whatever uniform you chose, but outside you can wear whatever

(On that note, Penny's school uniform from the original post is only added AFTER finishing The Way Home. Until then, she wears her usual outfit)

- Skirts added to the academy uniform and more customisation in general for the uniforms

- More Rotom Phones, because I can

- At the start of the game, you get both Miraidon and Koraidon and can ride either. They both have certain pros and cons so you don't just stick to riding one of them the entire game.

There's also more things story wise I have but I have fears of making blog posts really long constantly, so if you want to ask about anything specific, please please ask!!!! Just note this AU is VERY new (I literally came up with the idea yesterday) so I might not have a clear answer for everything lol.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING ABOUT THIS BTW!!!!!

[burningrosesbythesea]

More incorrect quotes as I try to plan out the rest of my fanfic

Akira: Are we fighting or flirting?

Damian: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-

Akira: Your point?

. . .

Robin: Go fuck yourself.

Green Reaper, smugly: Sure, but only if you watch

. . .

Robin: How the hell are you still alive?

Reaper: Honestly, I’m just as confused as you are.

. . .

Akira: Relationships should be 50/50. Damian cooks us dinner while I sit on the kitchen counter looking pretty.

. . .

Damian: What’s your body count?

Akira: Do you mean sex or murder?

Damian's talking about murder btw-

. . .

Terry: Good morning. As you begin your day, remember that violence is always an option and often the answer.

Milo:

Terry:

Milo: …Please, go back to bed.

. . .

Cindy: Listen, in the wild wild west there is always a woman in the saloon and nobody messes with her even though they all have guns.

Terry: That's because she's a prostitute.

. . .

Magpie (Milo), turning to Phoenix (Cindy): Stop calling yourself hot, the only thing you can turn on is the microwave.

. . .

Matt: Your smile looks forced.

Terry: That’s because it is.

. . .

Milo: Oh man, you have any shaving cream?

Matt: No, I don't like the way that it tastes.

Milo: Wait… you eat shaving cream?

Matt: No. Why would I eat it if I don't like the taste?

. . .

Robin (Matt): Oh, here’s my award for the most rules broken!

Batman: That’s not an award, it’s an angry letter from our boss.

Robin, hanging it on the Batwall: Well, it has the word ‘most’ in it, so I’m calling it an award!

. . .

Bruce: What’s something you guys are better than Matt at?

Terry: Mario Kart.

Milo: Yeah, video games.

Cindy: Emotional vulnerability.

. . .

During a stakeout

Robin: If I punch myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong?

Phoenix: Strong.

Magpie: Weak.

Batman: An idiot, is what you are.

[shmisky]

There is something that is bothering me... If Judaism is passed between mothers within families, then why Stan and Ford are jews? I mean, Filbrick is jew, not Caryn, since her maiden name was Romanoff, which is Russian. Actually, why did Caryn take the name Pines? Women don’t take men’s last names in Jewish tradition and are instead referred to as ‘the wife of so-and-so’.

Anon, my knowledge about Judaism isn’t very extensive and I don’t trust Google when it comes to delicate matters such as religion (because I do know a lot about Christianity, for example, and I often see lots of misinformation online), so I’m not the best gal to ask 😭

That said, of course I’ll try to answer anyway!

The first thing is... Even if Judaism can be only be passed between mothers within families and Caryn is of Russian origin, why does that mean Caryn isn’t Jewish? Russian is a nationality, while Judaism is a culture/religion. Caryn doesn’t have to an Anglo-Saxon American and Jewish, because USA doesn’t own Judaism, hahah. In fact, the most common religion in the US according to Wikipedia is Baptist Protestantism! So she’s already being a minority in USA, and could very well be a minority in Russia, too, where the most popular religion is Russian Orthodoxy. Caryn could be, for example, French and Jewish, Brazilian and Jewish. She could be a convert, instead of inheriting her religion from her family! I think USAmericans tend to confuse ethnicity/race and culture and religion, to the point of frequently assuming Latino(a) is a race instead of a culture and being confused when a Latino looks white (as a Latina myself I see this one all too often 😭), and that mindset is actually spreading to a few other areas. (Btw, I’m not saying you’re American, anon, but that this confusion is pretty common and can be rooted in that subconscious tendency of mixing those things.)

Also, about Caryn being of Russian origin... Honestly, I think the “Romanoff” was chosen because it sounds cool 😎 Doesn’t sound like much thought was put into it... Probably even inspired by Marvel’s Natasha Romanoff or something. I mean, Romanoff is another spelling of Romanov, and Russian surnames are... gendered! So Caryn’s surname, belonging to a woman, should be Caryn Romanova (the feminine form), for example, while Ford as her male child inheriting it would be called Ford Romanov/Romanoff (the masculine form). If any of my followers is Russian (I know at least a beloved mutual that is!) and sees me spreading incorrect information please correct me 🤡 It could be just Caryn... rejecting tradition? Making a feminist statement? Ooor it could be the fact our beloved TV show is a bunch of gnomes stacked on top of each other inside a trench coat, hahah!

And, finally, about the “wife of so and so” custom... They might be Jewish, but they’re also Americans, and in American culture the woman often takes the surname of her husband. I think their Americanism is just as part of their identity as Judaism is!

[static-errorcode]

incorrect quotes with my friends

Featuring

@darkleafblack, @bobateablue, @the-random-creechur, @toffeechad, @sleepypillowynight, @demondevilevil, @coolkiwiyummy

Btw mp mean mechanical pencil

Bobatea: I just want someone to take me out.

Demon: On a date?

Nightmare berry: With a sniper gun?

Mp: Both if you're not a coward.

Kiwi : I have issues.

Demon: Finally, you admit it! The first step to redemption is accept-

Kiwi : With you.

Slimebottle , after getting a job as a life guard: Hmm... I wonder what those things at the bottom of the pool are..

Bobatea: THOSE ARE PEOPLE DROWNING!

Slimebottle : If you got arrested what would be the charges?

Demon: Theft.

Bobatea: Disturbing the peace.

Mp: Aggravated assault.

Nightmare berry: Arson.

Static: All of the above. In that order, probably.

Slimebottle : Nightmare berry won’t wake up, what do I do?

Static: Did you try kicking them?

Slimebottle : Yes.

Static: I’m out of ideas.

Pillowy: Static, you need to react when people cry!

Static: I did. I rolled my eyes.

Kiwi : You know you've made it when you see your picture everywhere you go.

Nightmare berry: Those are wanted posters!

Pillowy, to Demon: Why is Static not talking?

Demon: I'm playing the silent game with them.

Pillowy: Well, then you just lost.

Demon: I lost two hours ago. I gave them ear plugs and told them to close their eyes. It was the only way I could think of to get them to shut up.

Kiwi : Are they stupid?

Slimebottle : Yes, but they prefer to be called Bobatea.

Bobatea: What’s something you guys are better than Pillowy at?

Nightmare berry: Mario Kart.

Mp: Yeah, video games.

Demon: Emotional vulnerability.

Static: Twilight Sparkle was the main character because she represented the element of friendship—

Kiwi , tied up: PLEASE, I JUST WANT TO SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN!

Static: I'M NOT DONE!

Static: And Rainbow Dash was the sporty girl—

Static: Pillowy, I know you snuck out to see Demon last night.

Pillowy: If you tell Kiwi or Bobatea, I swear I’ll murder you, and they’ll never find the body.

Static: Five bucks?

Pillowy: Fine.

Slimebottle : Are you the big spoon or the little spoon?

Pillowy: I'm a knife.

Demon, from across the room: They're the little spoon.

*The gang's thoughts on stabbing*

Bobatea: Would never stab anyone.

Demon: Would stab someone in retaliation.

Nightmare berry: Yells "I won't hesitate, bitch!" first.

Static: Would stab without warning.

Pillowy: Would stab as a warning.

Mp: Hey bro, what do you want to eat?

Static: The souls of the innocent!

Pillowy: A bagel.

Static: No!

Pillowy: Two bagels.

Pillowy, handing a balloon to Static: I have no soul. Have a good day!

Static, walking off: I don't have one either.

Nightmare berry: Don’t be sad!

Kiwi : Why not?

Nightmare berry:

Nightmare berry: I don’t have a good answer.

Slimebottle , on the phone: Uh. . Hey, Demon, i uh, I’ve been stabbed.

Bobatea: WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU?

Slimebottle : Wait- You aren’t Demon. Sorry- I didn’t mean to call you-

Bobatea: NO, WHERE ARE YOU? IM COMING THERE. IM NOT GOING TO LEAVE SOMEONE ALONE THATS BEEN STABBED.

Mp: Not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid of Nightmare berry...

Slimebottle : As you should be.

Mp: No, for real, they're kind of-

Slimebottle : As. You. Should. Be.

Kiwi : What do you have?

Static: A KNIFE!

Kiwi : NO!

Nightmare berry: I'm bored.

Static: Wanna commit first degree murder? Nightmare berry: Sure!

Mp, hearing them: No- Stop, don't do that! Put that knife down! Put Kiwi down!!

*Kiwi and Mp are texting*

Kiwi : Who are you? Someone changed the names in my phone.

Mp: What did they change my name to?

Kiwi : Chosen One.

Mp: Don’t change it back.

Kiwi : BUT WHO ARE YOU?!?!

Mp: I’m the chosen one.

Mp: Team A will consist of myself, Bobatea, Demon, and Pillowy.

Mp: Team B will consist of Static.

Hope you enjoyed

[cocoscurios]

The Hour, the Spot, the Look, the Words Chapter Commentary

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tale as Old as Time

Elizabeth had not yet gone to sleep. Her visit to Pemberley had certainly been a momentous one; she wondered just how momentous it would turn out to be, and why she felt a little squirm in her stomach when her thoughts strayed too fancifully.

She could not stop thinking about Mr. Darcy, his behavior towards her, his improved manners.

His genuine kindness today.

The report from his housekeeper, that this was always the way with him. As ever, I beg Tumblr to stop sleeping on the Mrs. Reynolds portion of the book. 

With all the benefit of hindsight, and all the knowledge of her own prejudicial and premature conclusions, she reviewed her previous interactions with the man.

All of those times they had argued at Netherfield, Elizabeth had interpreted his manner as both combative and contemptuous. But he had never really acted derisively towards her at all, had he? Elizabeth is so dramatic about how ~*unpleasant*~ Darcy is at Netherfield, where he is... not really unpleasant there at all, actually. 

He had almost seemed… well, pleased to be debating intelligently with someone.

Elizabeth stifled a laugh. It was flattering, in a way. She's getting it, you guys!

Before today, he had not been warm and inviting; that much was true. But with a few notable exceptions (and they were large ones, to be sure), he had rarely been rude to her. And once was before he even knew her. She may not have found his comportment agreeable or to her taste, DING, DING, DING but his manners had usually been more reserved than incorrect. She had been so determined to dislike him that she had not seen or heard him clearly; she had misrepresented him, even to herself.

He had solicited her opinions, valued her thoughts, sought her company. Those walks in the park in Kent, when he had learned it was a favorite spot of hers and had repeatedly joined her, asking her questions and really listening to her answers - had he not, in his way, been trying to get to know her? When had any other young man of her acquaintance tried to do that? They enjoyed her liveliness and her charm, but they had never truly attempted to understand her. I'd argue that a big chunk of fandom never truly attempts to understand her either. I said what I said. 

Mr. Darcy had. What a thing to have missed!

Oh, they had each misunderstood the other, of course. She had made him out to be a monster, and he had mistaken her playfulness as interest. But even in the midst of her dislike, she had always been aware of him, curious about him, even to the point of preoccupation. He had kept her interest in a way very few people were able to. She brings him up in unrelated conversations ALL THE TIME. It's so Mean Girls. She spends about 80 percent of her time talking about Regina Mr. Darcy, and the other 20 percent of the time praying for someone else to bring him up so she can talk about him more. She's always about two seconds away from saying, "He's not even that good-looking if you really look at him."

She had never paused to consider why that was. Because he's complex and interesting! And we're explicitly told that she likes studying people! And she's obviously not always good at it, but he captured her attention from the word go, and it's only because of her own prejudices that she never wondered why that was (I'm not arguing that she secretly never hated him, BTW, because that's ridiculous. But while I'm thinking about it, it's also ridiculous to brand P&P as enemies-to-lovers because Darcy never once hated Elizabeth). 

Yes, she had been feeding her antagonism… but she had never eagerly striven to find out more about Miss Bingley, had she? Mr. Darcy had always been a particularly special (and intriguing) case.

And all that time that she was inventing reasons to dislike him, he was finding things to love about her! Another thing, because I'm apparently on my soapbox today, is that much of Elizabeth's dislike of Darcy comes from things that are either entirely fabricated or things that she's exaggerating. In fact, I'm just going to come out and say it: Darcy behaves better in his book than Captain Wentworth, Edward Ferrars, and Edmund Bertram behave in theirs. And Elizabeth behaves worse than every heroine but Emma.

All of those occasions where she had said something saucy or pert or bold, he had never looked offended. He had smiled; he had enjoyed it. One of my favorite things about Darcy. It's hilarious. 

He smiles at me all the time, Elizabeth marveled, and I never noticed. 

He had not just loved her. He had liked her, too. He did still, which was a greater wonder.

It made her feel vain, and humble, and powerful, and grateful, all in one.

And she wasn't sure what that meant. Aww, she's so stupid. <3

She wished she could go back to the beginning and be reasonable from the start. She wished she hadn't been so convinced by her own judgment that she had unfairly condemned a man who, it was becoming increasingly clear, was an uncommonly good one. She wished she knew what he was thinking now.

She wished she knew what she should do next.

It was some time before she got to sleep.

[chaotic-good-vampire]

a glimpse of us 

Pairing: Jonathan Levy x AFABreader (she/her)

Summary: Trying to deal with her husband’s affair, our protagonist takes a glimpse at their story, wondering if he ever loved her or if he just liked the idea of being loved.

“That's the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings, it's born from just one single glance but it dies a million little times."

Word count: 3,500

Warnings: Angst, cheating, mentions of sex, no use of y/n, non-descriptive reader (but it’s kind of implied reader isn’t Jewish). Also, I'm not Jewish, so if anything related to their tradition is incorrect, please correct me.

Inspired by: Basically Taylor Swift's entire discography.

Other chapters: Chapter 2 · Chapter 3

Chapter 1: Shock & Denial

“I don’t understand.” The words come out of her mouth with a nervous giggle, the smile on her lips intact. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, don’t you find it a little suspicious?”

“No, why?”

Her confusion is legitimate because, at first, the idea of Jonathan and Mira even being in the same room together is absurd. Sure, they don’t hate each other– and for the most part– any kind of resentment is long gone, but they tend to avoid interacting unless Ava is involved. Whenever they face each other, there’s always a palpable tension in the room and, more than once, she’d feared their sarcastic and ironic remarks towards one another would turn into a screaming match or worse. Therefore, the only logical reason she can come up with as to why they’d willingly walk into a room alone, let alone a house, is that they had founded a secret underground Fight Club of something.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing.” Winona, her best friend, sounds as confused as her, but for another reason. “I didn’t mean to bother you; I Just thought I had the responsibility to tell you, that’s all.”

“Oh, it’s okay, no problem. Thanks.”

And for a couple hours after she hangs up, as she goes up and down the house cleaning and organizing, trying to figure out how to deliver the good news, it’s genuinely not a problem at all. She goes on with her night in a peaceful ignorant bliss, blinded by her excitement and good faith.

By ten, when she sits on the living room's couch with a cup of cocoa in hand and the biggest smile on her face, the weight of Winona’s words hasn’t quite settled in yet. She opens her messages with tingling fingers, a corny romance movie playing in the background, and she texts Jonathan with enthusiasm bubbling up her chest and hot cheeks.

«Thoughts on Italian? I have something very important to tell you.»

«Was thinking about that restaurant near Ava’s school, the one with the fettuccini you so much like. Maybe tomorrow night?”

«btw, I miss you. The house is so quiet without you and Ava :(»

Normally, she wouldn’t expect him to answer right away, especially considering he’s supposed to be mourning with his family. Still, she's so happy that she can't help but be a little impatient. So, after some minutes of scrolling through social media to distract herself, she ultimately gives in and calls him instead, heart on her sleeve. 

The phone rings for a while, much to her dismay, and she's about to hang up when his singing voice greets her from the other side of the line:

"Hey, sweetie." 

"Hello, handsome." She sings back, giggling, a mushy warmth blossoming deep in her chest. 

"Hi, baby." They both chuckle, and she can perfectly picture him smiling, messy curls falling over his glasses, a vision that makes her smile. 

"Why are you whispering? She whispers back jokingly. "Am I interrupting something?" 

"Oh, my mom fell asleep already, and I don't want to wake her up." He clears his throat, nervous, and while she knows he tends to do that when lying, she lets it slide. 

"Sorry for calling this late, my love, but I miss you horribly." 

"It's no problem." 

"How's your mom?" 

Even though she had offered to take some days off work to accompany him to his father's shiva, Jonathan had insisted on going alone. It bothered her a little, feeling it was her duty as his wife to be by his side in such a delicate moment. But ultimately, she accepted it after he told her he didn't feel like dealing with his mother's snarky comments toward her for seven days straight. However, she still called each family member to express her condolences and spent an entire night baking kichlach for Jonathan to take with him. When it came time for the funeral, she asked again to go with him, but he refused once more, claiming his mother only wanted her children and herself to be there. It hurt, but she wasn't about to disrespect the widow's desires, especially since she kinda abhors her. 

"She's fine. It's just... You know, the whole thing at the ceremony was really draining for her.

"Oh, my dear." She feels guilty for leaving him alone in a moment like this. Maybe she should try harder to build a relationship with his mother for the sake of their little family. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, don't worry, darling." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah. Well, you know how it is. It's like the... Being at the cemetery and then going to an empty house. It was a lot for her." 

"Of course, it must be terrible to lose your life-long partner." God knows, even if she had only been with Jonathan for three and a half years, she couldn't imagine a life without him now. "I'm so sorry, my love. Don't you want to stay a little longer? Maybe your mom would like that." 

"No, no, I gotta go back to work." 

"Okay." A huge smile creeps on her face at his words. "So you're coming back tomorrow?" 

"Uh, yes. Taking the 6:30 train out of Valley Stream, then the Amtrak from Penn Station." 

"I wish I could pick you up, but my shift starts at seven." 

"It'll be fine, sweetheart. I'll see you at home when you come back." 

"Ugh, fine." She bites her lip, trying to hold her excitement to not spoil the surprise. "Did you see my messages?" 

"No, I'm sorry. What they say?" 

"Can I facetime you? I want to see your gorgeous face." 

He laughs, but there's something hidden in the way in which he stutters before answering:

"Okay. Yeah. Just, uh..." She can hear him panting as he walks hurriedly, then a door closes. "Trying to connect here."

She hangs up, and not even a second later, his phone starts buzzing, her name displayed in big white letters on the screen. 

"Oh, look at you, such a marvelous sight." Her cheeks heat up, something she'll always be surprised by. No matter how many times he complimented her, he always managed to turn her into a giggly schoolgirl with his sweet-talking. "I love how that sweater fits you." 

"Only because it makes my boobs look bigger." 

"Oh, I like your boobs just the way they are, honey." There's an eco in his video. "I'll show you just how much tomorrow night." 

As she laughs at his flirty attitude, her eyes divert to his background, where she can see a strangely familiar tile. 

"Where are you?" A strange uneasiness suddenly overcomes her, a sign that her brain has already caught something her mind has yet to figure out. 

"I'm in the bathroom." 

"What?"

"I'm in the bathroom." 

"Oh." She tries to match the tiles to a room in his parent's house, but nothing comes to mind. 

"What did you want to tell me?" 

"Ah, yeah... Um..." She can't focus on her words, distracted by those damn tiles of unknown origin. "I have great news, amazing actually... So I thought we could celebrate in that Italian restaurant near Ava's school." 

"Basile?" 

"Yeah, there." 

"Uh, they have the best fettucini." He licks his lips, and she forces a smile, her mind rushing. "Seems good to me. May I have a hint of what we are celebrating?" 

"No, it's a surprise." 

The whole situation feels like a deja vú, from the way he's whispering to how he stutters every three words, anxious voice rushing through the conversation. It all takes her back to three years prior.

«Hey, how did it go?» 

«Are you okay?» 

«Hope it wasn't too bad.» 

«Wanna have breakfast together? I think I can make it before you leave for work.» 

Four innocent messages were all it took for Jonathan to blow up at her, even if she had only sent them because she was worried. 

When Jonathan had told her Mira was going to stop by their house to discuss the divorce, she became wary, but only because he'd been doing so well for the past few months, she feared her presence would trigger him. It took time, money, therapy, tears, and some inebriated late-night conversations, but his eyes had finally regained their light, and his lips remembered how to smile. It irked her to think a conversation with his ex could throw so much effort out the window in a matter of minutes. 

Thus, when he didn't call or text like he'd promised to, she immediately assumed the worst. And, as much as she wanted to drop everything and check on him, she had a duty at the hospital, so for now, she could only hope for him to answer the texts. 

Just as she was putting her phone away, it started buzzing, his name and photo illuminating the screen, making her smile. Even after months of dating, she felt like a teenager every time they talked or were together, a dozen butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the mere thought of him. 

"Hey." 

"Hey, hi!" She walked outside the emergency room and stood beside the entrance, watching the rain, to avoid getting in the way of doctors and patients. "How are you? I was dead worried–"

"Good, uh, yeah." He interrupted her, whispering in an irritated voice. "But, listen, it's not cool to, like, bombard me with–"

"Bombard you?" She tried her best not to match his tone, thinking he may have had a terrible evening and was just tense. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you; I just wanted to know how you were." 

"I told you I'd call you when she left." Suddenly, she went from a teenager to a scolded child with how he talked to her like she was stupid.

It took her by surprise, really; he'd never been anything but a gentleman with her since the day they met a little over a year before. He'd never been rude or condescending, not even in his worst days, and he always spoke to her with such tenderness she just melted on the spot. 

Why he's acting like a complete imbecile out of nowhere? 

"Yeah, I know, but it's almost midnight, and you–" It clicked then. "She hadn't gone yet?" 

"No, she hasn't. She's still here, okay?" 

"Oh, is everything all right?" Her blind fade was present there since day one. "Where is she?" 

"She's..." Out of all the possibilities, she certainly wasn't expecting him to say the next. "She's in bed." 

"She's staying in?" She really wanted to keep calm and be mature enough to not let jealousy invade her, but then a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, whose bed?"

"My bed." 

"And where were you before you called?" 

The line goes silent for some seconds in which she can hear him calmly breathe with nothing more to add. She waited for an explanation, anything that could soothe the turmoil of emotions tearing her apart from the inside out. Tears were already forming in the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them away as she bit her lip, troubled. 

"Why?" She inhales deeply, passing back and forth. "Jon, baby, I'm trying to understand you here, but you're not helping much. What happened? You were supposed to talk about the divorce and..."

"Listen–"

"Why is she in your bed? The same bed you made love to me just this morning..." He called her name, but she was so distracted in her ranting that she didn't listen. "And then you have the audacity to call me and complain about four text messages as if I was trying to control you or something." 

"We... we need to talk, 'cause this is–" 

The phrase sent her on a panicked rambling because nothing good ever came out of those words. She was shaking, the hem of her uniform getting wet as she mindlessly stepped on puddles. Her friends had warned her; they'd told her numerous times that dating an older married man wasn't the greatest idea, but she was already head over heels for him when all these happened. His gentle touch, sweet words, and ease with which he made her laugh and feel cared for; he was her safe space and vice versa. Or so she thought. 

"Yeah, of course, we need to talk. We're in a relationship, Jonathan, you kind of owe us some respect, you know? That means establishing certain boundaries with Mira..."

"This is really just not, uh...–" She kept talking over him, between upset and scared for what he had to say.

"We can talk about this over breakfast, alright? I'll pass by Starbucks on my way to your house, I'll be there by seven–" 

"I'm trying to tell you we should take a break because this is just not..." That's all it took to leave her speechless, a shaky sight leaving her lips as the first tears fell down her cheek. "Not working out for me right now." 

"What are you talking about?" Her voice cracked, anger boiling down her throat. "It was working perfectly fine this morning, Jon." 

"No, uh, uh..." He didn't know what to say, a part of him breaking at the sound of her crying, the other just wanting to hang up and go back to Mira. 

"Jonathan, what the fuck!? When I left this morning, you swore she would only be there an hour or so to start the divorce arrangements. You kissed me, we had sex, we ate together. Everything was fine, and now you just decide it's not? What the fuck is wrong with you?" 

"Okay, you know, let me just... Let me stop you here before you say something that you're gonna regret" It only made her angrier, the way he was avoiding talking about the subject and treating her like a child. "Look, I'm... I'm really sorry it has to end like this, but, uh... Honestly, I've been feeling for a while that–". 

"Bullshit, Jonathan!" Some staff turned to see her as she yelled, and her cheeks heated up at the undesired attention. She was a crying mess, and she felt ridiculous for falling that hard for someone in only a matter of months while he just pretended to feel the same. She breathes deeply and lowers her voice, trying to control herself. "Jon, listen to yourself. Five seconds ago you wanted some time, now you're breaking up with me over the phone?" 

"Well, you know, that–"

"Jonathan, I love you." He immediately goes silent. 

Neither of them had said it before, but she had been tempted to more than once. As she lay on his chest, intertwined bodies under the covers; as he drank his coffee in the morning, wet curls fell over his glasses; as he talked about his students and his job; as he and Ava played. She knew she could only suppress it for so long, but she was scared of freaking him out, of it being too big of a sentence for his heart. 

"I love you, I really do. I love you so, so much." She sobbed, internally hitting herself for her bluntness in a moment like that. "Please, we can talk about it, please."

"I'm not..." He wasn't sure of what to say, caught off guard by her confession and the pain in her voice. 

Did he love her back? He had thought about saying it more than once, but the words always died out on the tip of his tongue. Sure, he was scared of loving again, but mostly he didn't even know if he was ready or completely over Mira. He felt terrible because she was perfect: Clever, funny, gentle, and caring, and the sex was the best he had had in his entire life. Then why couldn't he bring himself to tell her what he was sure he felt? 

"You don't have to say it back, it's okay." Her heart was being ripped open inside her chest, but she wasn't going to guilt trip him for it. "I, just, um... Please, please, don't leave me." 

He pronounced her name in a breathy voice, blinking his own tears away. "I'm sorry, it's better this way." 

"Jon–" Her beeper goes off, and huffing, she checks the message as she roughly wipes the tears from her face. "I have to go, they need me here." 

"Okay, bye." He swallowed the lump in his throat, resisting the urge to take back his words. How could he after everything he just said? "I'm sorry." 

The tile is the same as the downstairs bathroom in his old house, the one he shared with Mira for over ten years. She comes to the realization with trembling hands, a tight pressure on her chest making it difficult to breathe. 

"I love you." Jonathan says with a smile, not noticing her entire world is shattering right beneath her because of him. "Can't wait to see you tomorrow." 

It took him so long to be able to say those three simple words that every time he pronounced them, she treasured them in the deepest of her soul. But not today, today they feel like the worst of burns. 

"I love you too." The words are bitter on her lips. "I'll leave you, you must be tired, and you still gotta travel tomorrow." 

"Okay. I'll see you at the restaurant at 8, is that okay? 

"Yeah." 

"Great, love you. Laila tov."

"Laila tov." 

He hangs up, leaving her alone with the TV voices and her inner turmoil. Her previous excitement is gone, and all she can think about now it's Winona's words:

"I saw him entering his old house with Mira, and they've been there for a while." 

“No.” She whispers for only the wind to hear. “Not my Jonathan, not him.”

My Jonathan, a conjunction of words so familiar to her tongue, it almost feels wrong to say one without the other. Yet, as she absently fidgets with the gold band on her finger, she wonders if they were ever true or if it was just her turning a blind eye to the obvious. She wants to laugh and brush the whole thing off as her being sensitive, but her inner voice keeps telling her there's something terribly wrong. 

Surely, this all has to be a misunderstanding, right? Jon, sweet loving Jonathan, wouldn't betray her trust and lie straight to her face with no remorse. Not when he knows how much it hurts and how much she loves him. And even if he did, he wouldn't be as stupid as to do it in his old house and with his ex-wife. Not when her best friend lives just down the street, with a perfect view of the master bedroom from the second floor. 

It's Jonathan, her Jonathan, and he'll never hurt her like that. 

She doesn't even realize what her fingers are doing until the dialing tones sound beside her ear. One, two, three, then a female voice picks up:

"Hello?" Elisheva, his sister, greets her softly. 

"Hi, Shevi" She's holding her breath, livid and a little nauseous. "I'm sorry for calling this late, I just wanted to check on you and your mom." 

It isn't a lie, she truly cares for them even if Myriam sees her as an intruder in her family. Besides, she doesn't take it personally; Mr. Levy's hostility isn't directed at her as a person but rather at her status as his son's second wife.  

"Oh, no worries. We're as good as we can be, thanks for calling." Shevi's always been friendly with her, making an effort with Arie to integrate her into the family after getting engaged. "Although, it's a shame Jon couldn't stay longer, you know? Maybe that could have cheered up mom a little."

"He's not at your house?" The surprise and distress in her voice confuse Elisheva. 

"No, he left right after the funeral, at four." No, it couldn't be. Jonathan had told her he'd stayed with his family until tomorrow, and even if he'd decided to leave early, he should have been in the house hours ago. "He isn't home yet?"

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered." She lies, holding her tears and embarrassed. "He said he was going to stop by a friend's house, he probably lost track of time." 

The conversation pretty much dies there, and after wishing her goodnight and promising to call in the morning again, she hangs up, feeling a hole in her chest. 

She blankly stares at the TV for some minutes, dismayed, convinced she'll wake up any minute, and he'll be beside her. Messy hair, soft lips slightly apart, and his chest rising slowly in rhythm with his light snores. She'll cuddle him, bury her face in the crook of his neck and leave a trail of kisses from his jaw to his lips; he'll wake up and return the gesture, and they'll have morning sex and have breakfast together, and everything will be just fine. 

This was all a nightmare. 

Just a nightmare. 

A nightmare. 

Then, as a bucket of cold water, the cuckoo clock on the wall chimes, and her inner hell unleashes. 

[fukasenanairo]

How to do this....

Thank you for taking time to reply. I apologize for not being able to keep this short - it seems I have more to say than I realized. I'll take a best efforts to organize this into sections and pray the rambling does not get too out of left field.

However, it seems that I'll end up doing something unexpected again. I do apologize beforehand.

-------

TO ANSWER, yes, I've read most of the arguments on PDB. Only for Neuvillette now that I think of it, and maybe Cyno. Unsurprisingly, I'm not interested in any other type. So I have read the ones you have up there, and I've read Jung and Pierce and everything else, but I must confess sometimes my eyes glaze over at the theories. Regrettably, I also often find my eyes glossing over the specific Character Story you mentioned, since that's one of the ones with (in my view) more allegories and metaphors. So I understand your arguments in principle, but I will unfortunately not be able to add much to them.

(It's not that metaphors are difficult. Metaphors simply require an additional layer of deciphering that most often turns out to be incorrect - or at the very least, not a faithful representation of the intent, because each person perceives meaning in a different way. In short, they are difficult. I have a problem with words.)

However, there must be something I can do. So this is my efforts to take note of things that 'make sense', and try to explain WHY they make sense in a personal capacity. I'll try to avoid arguments that were already brought up on PDB.

Let's go back to the Character Story you brought up:

"In that case, why don't you just watch over the Fontainians? They were born from the Primordial Sea, after all. That makes them part of this planet's native life, too, and a form of life that requires your care."

The previous paragraphs clearly define "the human realm" and "fate" as systems belonging to the present rulers of the world, and the (natural) conclusion is that Neuvillette has no need to concern himself over them. This quote does not overturn this principle (which would be ridiculously difficult), but uses his own definitions to argue that unlike "the human realm" which is perceived as alien for reasons et al, "Fontainians", as 'the planet's native life', are under his purview. Hence, it makes sense. This is partly what was meant in my ask.

(I would desperately want to see who said this, btw. The kind of person who can get the Hydro Dragon to care for Fontainians on a logical technicality is nothing short of a genius. And clearly he is convinced! For all he says about 'pleasing rhetoric'.)

(In case that was not obvious, I was the person who sent the ask. Forgive the rudeness - I have not returned to Tumblr in upwards of seven years.)

-------

ON THE DIFFERENCE OF TI V. TE. I've worked with several (assumed) Te doms in my life, and a consistent pattern I have noticed is that, the conclusion being equal, the path each of us uses to rationalize it is completely different.

Clearly I'd need an illustration to my hypothesis - simple abstract theory drives me nuts. Let us take for granted that Ti is present in Neuvillette's judgement in Callas' trial (incidentally, I agree). Thus here is a thought experiment: What if, for example, it had been a Te-dom (say, Wriothesley) presiding over Callas' trial?

In this thought experiment, we have the following pieces of information:

A: All evidence points to Callas being guilty. Callas himself does not contradict this accusation.

B: The judge feels a hunch that something is amiss.

For convenience's sake, let us assume that the end result does not change; B is discarded, A is taken as the truth, and the judge does not stop Callas' duel. I'm modelling the Te course of action based on the incident where Wriothesley has 'a hunch' that Lyney and co. are up to no good in the Fortress of Meropide, thus in this hypothetical situation I would imagine:

Te: Gathers information to ascertain the validity of B. (The method of information gathering, Si or Ni, does not matter). "All I care about is the answer." In this case, no usable information comes up, and B is discarded.

Ti: (May also gather information). In addition, B, which implies that Callas is innocent and thus willingly walking to his death (a point against Ne, since he does not bother entertaining possibilities like Callas being suicidal or having a terminal disease - which in this case is the truth), is tested against the principle, "Nothing is more important than one's continued survival". B does not follow the principle, and is thus discarded.

While the end result does not change, the paths used to get there are different (almost an extra step for Ti). Incidentally, we see the pitfalls of each type: Te relies on an incomplete presentation of the facts, and Ti dismisses the truth based on a false premise.

On a side note, this is why Ti is more troublesome than it's worth - it has a stunning lack of respect for fact-checking. From a Ti-Se perspective, all information is taken in as is, therefore all information is (if not already taken as fact, ignored of their "factualness") "data points". Data points are used to draw, test, and extrapolate against, a line-of-best-fit (the principle).

To make it worse, extrapolation against this line-of-best-fit are usually wrong. Take Neuvillette's story quest, Carole's case. A very simple description of the facts are:

A Melusine, Carole, is harmed.

Carole takes her own life. Neuvillette learns of a conspiracy.

Neuvillette internalizes the principle that 'Factions against him will harm Melusines to get to him'. The implication is that 'If a Melusine is harmed (A), then it is possibly a conspiracy to get to him (B)'.

Now, at the beginning, we have the following:

A Melusine, Kiara, is threatened (this is not even A - simply a precursor to A!)

Armed with the principle, Neuvillette immediately assumes there is a conspiracy targeted at him and acts as if this is the likeliest possibility. (Precursor) A equals B, with stunningly little room to consider other possibilities, actual contexts, or even to withhold theories and judgments. Obviously in the end Wriothesley calls him an overthinking idiot in not so many words. (Poetic justice, that a Te-dom is the first to do so! Certainly brings to mind the many painful occasions being told 'Have you considered this instead?? Have you checked your sources??' by the various Te-doms in my life).

In his (or dare I say mine?) defense, what constitutes a "fact"? Consider the below exchange:

Neuvillette: "Distinct differences exist between the waters of each area. You'll appreciate their intricacies once you taste them carefully." Paimon: "Really? Let Paimon try..." Neuvillette: "What do you think?" Paimon: "Nope, Paimon couldn't taste any difference at all! Isn't this just normal water?" Neuvillette: lol skill issue "How regrettable. It seems like you still have a long way to go in refining your tastes."

Paimon: the audacity of this lizard

Here the taste is taken as a natural fact. He is convinced that Paimon would understand once she tastes it - it is, after all, fact - and is genuinely flummoxed that she doesn't. Obviously none of us are Hydro Dragons or water nerds, but that's an us problem.

I posit that it is also why there is, in general, almost a devaluation of what I called "factualness" earlier - facts to one are not facts to others and vice versa. Hence there are no real facts; all facts are data points. With enough accommodation to the speaker's perspective, all data points are equal in the eyes of the beholder.

Neuvillette: "This bears a striking resemblance to the Fountain of Lucine. Sadly, the water here comes from a different source, so there is, of course, no way to replicate the taste. Nevertheless, prior experience tells me that to most people, the visual similarity alone would be enough to prompt them to say a phrase such as: "This area has a very Fountain of Lucine flavor." ...My cup is empty. May I avail myself of your fountain?"

To me it is all very obvious, and so I find reiterating the point to be not only redundant but also dangerous. I'm also at significant risk of trying to fit a square peg to a round hole. But here goes.

The fountain resembles the Fountain of Lucine (an objective, dispassionate observation, almost a point against Si)

However, the water comes from a different source (again, an objective observation) -> therefore the taste is not the same (implication).

Nevertheless, here he hypothesizes (in the weirdest way possible) that visual similarity may imply flavor similarity.

Test out the hypothesis, also with the weirdest excuse possible. (As if the Hydro Dragon cannot conjure water out of thin air!)

-------

IT IS, to me, infinitely amusing that a character that follows law and order is typed Te almost by default. While empirical, almost all the Te users I know skirt the law in the name of convenience, or some other rationale I cannot comprehend. It is the Ti users who evaluate the reasonableness of the laws and, should they pass muster, hold themselves to these laws with little to no exception (to our detriment). Why? Because once these laws pass muster, they are considered a principle. Principles, which imply that they are applicable to people at large and are for the greater good, must be followed. To do otherwise is to undermine the entire framework, to say much less of social good, and that just won't do.

Speaking of social good:

Neuvillette: "And by the way, I should probably let you know, even though I would prefer not to... There's someone sitting up there in the VIP seats that has been striking a pose for quite a while now... I believe she's trying to give you a most elegant and impressive first impression. So I think you should take notice of her (Ti) sooner rather than later, otherwise she may become flustered (Fe)."

I really do wonder what a Fi or Te user makes of this paragraph, whether they would question it. To me there is no question - another thing that makes sense.

'I'd rather not bring this up, but you should take notice of her'. Not because 'Disrespecting the Hydro Archon is a big deal' (hi, Wriothesley), not because 'it is rude not to pay attention to her' (and in the first place he'd rather not!), or anything else. It is because 'she will become flustered'. It is about her feelings, her responses would be a deviation from the current (social) atmosphere; and therefore it would not do.

Neuvillette: "Very good, that is for the best. No need to pay her any more attention, we may now enjoy the show."

The beautiful simplicity of Ti. It considers a problem Fe brought up (she may become flustered and that's bad), posits a solution (pay attention to her) then once solution is carried out -> problem is solved. Clean as a chemical reaction, if not for the fact that this exchange is completely absurd in reality.

(Incidentally, much as I've learned to conduct myself in social settings, this is basically what my social principles boil down to. Clean and simple; 'tell a funny story', 'focus on this and that part', 'remember to have a conclusion so they remember what you were saying', et cetera. Almost mechanical in nature. It even works.)

-------

CONCLUSION...There is none, perhaps, hence there is no need to reply if you'd even read this far. Maybe simply take this as an empirical account, or more likely an endless, unscientific ramble. I find myself trying to explain processes that feel as simple as 1+1=2 over and over, so I can't even say that the entire exercise has been helpful - other than being a puff piece I can look back and firm up on my vagueish ideas with from time to time.

I hope this was at least interesting to read and mull over a little. If you managed to get something out of this blurby, vague, inexplicable fever dream, all the better.

(Incidentally, my personality in real life is impulsive, slightly (rather?) lazy, a bit careless, but notably chirpy - not a social butterfly, but a social something. A cosmic comedy, no doubt, how THIS character out of all is the mirror to which I'm comparing my thought processes!)

(I hope you understand now why 500 characters were not enough)

Just wanted to pass by to tell you that I loved your analysis of Neuvillette's type on PDB! Full disclosure, my opinion is subject to intense bias since I'm an ISTP myself (~90% certainty) however I hope this is at least some validation for your part. It's amusing since his behaviors are significantly different from mine, and yet his words all 'make sense', for lack of a better word. Contrast to Wriothesley, who elicits a 'well he's right, buuuut...' feeling. Difficult to describe in 500 charas.

Hello kind stranger ! This was a very unexpected ask i'll say, even though I suppose my username IS exactly the same on PDB as it is here, making me quite easy to find in practice haha

I'm really happy my comment made sense to you ! Even now, I still firmly believe everything I wrote, and particularly that Neuvillette is a high Ti user. I don't know if you've read it, but I think there's another very good example of his Ti in his character story 5; when he describes his opinion on constellation and "fate"

One as great as he should have no need for a constellation to shine over him. After all, "fate" is merely the manner in which the present ruler of this world plays with living beings. Now that he has obtained one part of seven of the authority over the mortal realm, and reforged the throne and title of a "Fully Fledged Dragon," he is one strong enough to equal and rival "the human realm," and logic would dictate that he need not subscribe to this system known as "fate."

I think this is another good example that, at the end of the day, Neuvillette's thinking process is closer to Ti than it is to Te. There is a lot of "If Y, then logically following from this premise we can conclude X" when we're actually given the opportunity to delve into his mind. Pierce made the distinction between Ti & Te this way:

→ « Introverted Thinking — judgement based on what is subjectively denoted; i.e. a priori analysis; e.g. “If you accept my definition of 'murderer', then you must conclude with me that Colonel Mustard is one.” »

→ Extraverted Thinking — judgement based on what is objectively denoted; i.e. empirical science; e.g. “We all see the evidence (bloody hands, scene of the crime, etc.) therefore, we must all conclude that Colonel Mustard is Mr. Body's murderer.”

And I think that if we look at how Neuvillette thinks "for himself", beyond his role of judge where he is supposed to follow the laws, he really does fit the former more. Another example I developed somewhere else on his page that even Vautrain's trial shows this tendency imo ! Forgive me for this copy-past and ramble haha, this was in answer to someone asking how exactly Neuvillette could be "impartial" but have a subjective function as dominant, & my answer went like this:

This impartiality & "objectivity" while being subjective is further shown in his story quest. Despite Vautrain being one of the people he is closest to, he does not treat him differently from others in the court. but his judgment is still subjective, as evidenced by the ease with which he considers "different kinds of justice" during the trial. Te users, due to their "inherent" objectivity, often think that everyone with the same information should come to the same objective conclusion, while Ji users do not. Pierce described… Te : “We all see the evidence (bloody hands, scene of the crime, etc.) therefore, we must all conclude that Colonel Mustard is Mr. Body's murderer.” Ti : “If you accept my definition of 'murderer', then you must conclude with me that Colonel Mustard is one.” The way Neuvillette approaches that trial shows that for him, laws are simply a "definition", a logical premise from which a logical conclusion follow in the context of a trial.

Neuvillette: I acknowledge your arguments. Vautrin, your revenge could be seen as a form of justice. Neuvillette: I understand your decision. Which is why I cannot help but feel regret… and even grief about the judgment I must now impose. Neuvillette: However, personal justice does not equate to justice as defined by the law. To execute your plan for revenge, you abused your authority and conducted informal executions. Your actions have thus violated the law. Neuvillette: Therefore, you will be declared… guilty.

Neuvillette personally understands Vautrain's actions, and even "agrees" that depending on your definition of justice, his actions can be seen as just and right. However as the chief's justice, his job is to follow the established laws. And the way he describes that decision is how we can see the use of Ti despite his "following of the laws". Because the way it describes it pretty much echoes the colonel Mustard example. -> Personal justice does not equate justice as defined by the law. If we can agree that this court judges whether actions are just or not depending on whether they follow the law, then we can see that your actions have violated it. This makes Vautrain, according to the law, guilty. This is basically what Neuvillette says, in subtext. And he stays impartial by holding strong to these kind of decisions despite personal feelings on the matter. It's his job, so he follows the rules of his job. What he personally thinks and how he takes decision outside of it though is a whole other matter.

I feel like Genshin has become much less stereotypical & much more interesting in his character writing as of late so Neuvillette is very dear to my heart on that subject ! And he's, as you implied, a very good reminder that MBTI is first and foremost a system that deals with COGNITION and not behaviour. Thus it is how a character thinks, and not its actions, that should be examined to determine his MBTI type. Thank you again for taking the time to tell me here what you thought of my argument, it was unexpected but very much welcome <3 Hope these additions also make sense to you !

[sourwormsaresour]

idk if anyone has talked about this but I feel like no one has pointed this out yet. 

So, this fucker right here: 

Do you know why he’s named “chocolate” and how this food is associated with this character? 

Let’s start with how chocolate is made. The cocoa tree that produces cocoa beans and ultimately chocolate is very finicky with the environment it needs to thrive in; you need a very warm, humid climate year-round where it can also be protected from strong weather like harsh sunlight and heavy winds. That’s easily done within the rainforest where the weather is naturally maintained and surrounding trees can protect the cocoa tree from weather or in farms where these trees will be grown with other trees that will provide them with the protection they need. Alternatively, you can create a warm and humid greenhouse instead where the tree can be under constant surveillance to maintain its environment. The greenhouse approach is often seen in research to find ways of growing chocolate in other places around the world and hopefully making the approach affordable and sustainable enough to use over traditional methods. 

Here’s what the lab used to cultivate cocoa trees looks like. It’s called the “International Cocoa Quarantine Centre” and is based in Britain. 

Another factor in growing a cocoa tree is elevation. Ideally, you should be between 30-300 meters (about 100 to 1000 feet) above sea level or at least under 600 meters (about 2000 feet), which is considered low elevation. In general farming, lower elevations will create sweeter fruits that can ripen faster; the downsides of farming at such a level is everything being prone to rot faster, including the plants that bear the fruits themselves (specifically their roots). Farmers in low elevation need to consider factors like lower ventilation and lack of natural drainage, which can cause rotting.  Because of how complicated the conditions for cocoa trees are, it can get costly to grow and maintain them. One way to alleviate the cost of maintaining cocoa trees (besides exploitation of workers and unsustainable farming) is by tree grafting. This technique is commonly used in creating more trees in general and especially common in the chocolate industry. Grafting involves simply taking parts of a tree and attaching it to a tree that is genetically similar and doing so helps grow new cocoa trees, control the quality of the cocoa beans, and reduce cost of production overall. 

Here are some of the things that can happen if you don’t grow your cocoa tree properly. Unfortunately, some of these issues are unavoidable; why they happen and how to prevent them remains unknown and researchers are still trying to find answers that can explain why it happens and how to prevent or resolve them. 

After years of growing and waiting for the tree to mature and produce pods, we finally have cocoa beans to harvest and make chocolate. Creating chocolate itself involves a controlled form of rotting we know too well: fermentation. Disclaimer: some say fermentation is the opposite of rotting because it prevents decay but others say fermentation is defined as a controlled form of decay while rotting is defined as uncontrolled decay. For this post, I’ll stick with the latter definition. Fermentation allows us to get stuff like alcohol, yogurt, and kimchi by breaking down items, essentially making them decay and rot, to create new items by using microorganisms like bacteria and yeast to perform the process. Before cocoa beans turn into chocolate, they need to be fermented for a certain amount of days- no more and no less than necessary. It’s not going to be like wine such that aging the product will make the quality better. Over-fermenting leads to a waste product that’s just completely rotten, moldy, and just unusable in the end. And like any type of fruit, the cocoa pod will ultimately ripen and rot after it falls off the tree if it’s not used over time. Improper fermentation will also cause mold to occur, causing the beans to rot than ferment. Mold can also be caused by moisture coming in contact with the beans. Unlike cheese or meats, the mold on cocoa beans can cause long-term health issues if consumed. What we end up getting after fermenting, roasting, and grinding the beans is a pure cocoa paste or “pure chocolate.” Once the chocolate is made, it cannot get moldy; it can develop a mold-like appearance called bloom but that’s safe to eat and technically not mold. However, if you separate the cocoa powder from the paste, that can mold if it comes in contact with water.

Look at how moldy these cocoa beans can get: 

Pure chocolate has health benefits like providing antioxidants, being a major ingredient in skincare as cocoa butter, and reduce health issues. However, the chocolate we’re all used to eating is some cocoa paste with added ingredients (milk, nuts, fillings, etc.), and these ingredients are the things that end up turning chocolate into unhealthy food. You can eat pure cocoa paste, but it wouldn’t be defined as chocolate and it won’t be as tasty; even bars labeled "70% cacao" have added ingredients to it. One particular ingredient in chocolate that is a great example of how it makes chocolate unhealthy is processed sugar. Sugar itself has addicting properties and is unhealthy for many reasons, yet it’s a huge part of why we love to eat chocolate. It’s also why we have to eat chocolate with added ingredients in small quantities despite the health benefits chocolate has- the benefits and the downsides cancel each other out (i.e. pure chocolate prevents tooth decay but sugar causes tooth decay, chocolate lowers blood pressure yet sugar contributes to health issues that can cause higher blood pressure). The development of chocolate as a sweet candy in today’s world rather than a healthy ingredient also plays into this.

Based on this info, we can see how chocolate shaped Cioccolata as a character and his Stand’s abilities. The mold and rot aspect of Green Day is easily explained with the fermentation process and how the process of chocolate is susceptible to mold up throughout. Green Day’s functionality working only when victims are underneath Cioccolata is because cocoa trees require lower elevations to thrive and how lower elevation increases chances of rot in produce. The constant surveillance and maintenance of cocoa trees in a laboratory setting can reference Cioccolata finding pleasure in recording his victims’ misery, his “research” in torturing their bodies, as well as the intense and detailed work that comes with studying and practicing medicine. The tree grafting in the chocolate industry connects to Green Day’s second ability that allows it to dismember and reassemble Cioccolata with mold. It also connects to Ciccolata’s sadistic nature when it comes to manipulating his victims’ bodies and the brutality of his Stand’s mold being able to break people’s limbs apart (think Sorbet’s 36 frames, Gelato’s possible taxidermy when he was discovered by Formaggio, and how bodies affected are easily snapped apart when mold gets on them). The dichotomy of chocolate as healthy food and junk food also relates to Cioccolata as a character who should have been good (because he’s a doctor) but does more harm instead. The role of sugar in chocolate plays into that as well, but it’s especially related to how sugar cubes are used to control Secco and Cioccolata full name in JORGE JOESTAR is Dolcio Cioccolata (literally “sweet chocolate”). Hell, I can go on about how Secco’s name has a connection to chocolate too. 

I’ve seen how characters in VA are shaped by the food they’re named after, down to their Stand abilities, so it’s nice to see that Cioccolata follows this too. Let me know if you guys have other information that can add to Cioccolata’s characterization. :)

Btw this is based on some Googling I did, which involved reading a few papers that came up on search and a Chocolate tour that I did when I was in Guatemala last month, so please let me know if the information is incorrect or add with your findings to correct it. 

[this-is-my-jaam]

Cultural Representation in Dragon Age/Fantasy in General pt.1

So I made a post not too long ago about my gripes with the aesthetic design with the Dalish in Dragon Age. A user by the name of fallowhearth then introduced me to the work of Bret Deveraux and his breakdown on the historical inaccuracy and generally racist design of the Dothraki in got, which got me thinking about something that bothered me, but I hadn’t been able to figure out why until I read the essay.

A lot of people claim to have based fictional races/societies off of real cultures, but the actual representation of said cultures, mostly non-white cultures, is based more on stereotypes of a culture than the real culture. The steppe peoples and nomad societies tend to be the most insultingly incorrect from my own observations. Really, any culture that lives in away that the modern western society would consider unconventional.

So I’ve already done a dive into Dalish fashion, but it occurred to me that practically nothing of the original aesthetic design for the Dalish seemed to have any relation at all to the cultures that the Dalish were based on. In fact, I can’t really place where any of the design is pulled from apart from the medieval fantasy chainmail (which is a European style chainmail btw). There are plenty of cultures that wore fur throughout history, but none that I could find use it exclusively for pauldrons. Which makes sense because what would be the point even. I know I already complained about it but the fur shoulder pads are so truly baffling to me. We’ll get back to this later, but the main point is that just throwing together random tidbits of a culture together without any understanding of the original purposes of literally anything that you are ‘representing’ sits really wrong with me. 

So lets dissect the cultural designs of Dragon age and their presumable real world design inspirations. Strap in again folks because this one’s going to be long and in multiple parts or else you’ll be scrolling for an hour to get past this post. Again, this is all my opinion and I mean no offense. I don’t intend to speak for any of the ethnic groups to be mentioned in this rant, only to point out a commonality in fantasy worldbuilding that really bothers me. You are under no obligation to agree with me, constructive criticism is awesome, but please keep it civil.

The Dalish  

Since we’re already here, let’s break down the Dalish. I’m going to approach this from a few directions: 1) The Jewish, Romani, and Native American people that the Dalish were based on, 2) Cultural bias and stereotyping in pop media and 3) Fantasy design tropes.

Just to clarify, this isn’t meant to be criticism directed specifically at Bioware’s art team. Artists build the image of the game, but ultimately answer to an Art Director who answers to Corporate. I’m sure the artists that worked on these games and designs are lovely people, and meant no harm in any way. They just worked with what they were given, which was not a whole lot if we’re being really honest. I think this was in part because the Dalish were already present in DA:O before a lot of the lore was super established and they only had so much money for development. You can clearly tell that a lot of thought was put into many of the other cultures’ designs for DA:2 and Inquisition, but the Dalish were in DA:O so they had to design around that to keep the canon somewhat consistent. So no beef to Bioware’s creative team, I’m going to place the blame on EA because they ruin everything that they touch. The writing team however, I have some questions for. Namely, why? Actually, I know why and it’s also EA. Moving on.

1) Jewish, Romani, and Native American Culture

Now, I am by no means an expert in Jewish, Romani, or Native American history/culture, so I apologize for any inaccuracies that there might be in this post. If you see something inaccurate or you know of any other parallels that you want to talk about, feel free to add to the conversation. I try to reply to all of the comments that I get and I appreciate learning new stuff and being corrected on things that I am wrong about. Again, please be civil.

None of these cultures exists in the aesthetic design of the Dalish. At least not that I’ve been able to tell. The writers claim that the original inspiration for the Dalish are the Roma and Jewish people. I’m pretty sure that this is because of both the nomadic lifestyle of the Dalish, and the persecution they face in lore. The Romani people are believed to have originated in India and migrated Westward, the rich culture unique to the Romani people being a melting pot of cultural elements as people married into the culture and it expanded. I don’t think too much of the Dalish was inspired by the Romani people aside from the travel culture, the persecution and ostracization they faced, and their mysterious historical origins. We’ll get into my beef with westernized views on minorities and mysticism later though.

As for the Jewish people, I’m not entirely sure which parts of Jewish culture the writers were using for inspiration, but I definitely see the historical parallels. I think that the early Elven Kingdom was probably inspired by the creation and fall of Babylon and/or Jerusalem. And the current treatment of Elves within Thedas and the Exalted March itself is likely inspired by the Church endorsed Crusades, where the Jewish people were the target of mass genocide for ‘killing Jesus’ because the Church is fucking awful and war makes money. The ‘leaders’ of the crusades were usually religious nobility, committing war crimes because religion. Both offending armies even used the Templar name. Fucked up history fact: Pretty much all of the crusades weren’t actually about religion so much as stealing territory or making money. Just look up the Children’s Crusade. So the clearest common thread that I can see is the blatant discrimination and persecution, so if that’s all that the inspiration is, then Y I K E S. I was already unimpressed with the alleged Jewish inspiration in the Dalish culture but holy shit.

To be clear, I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with using history to inspire your writing. Some of the best stories are the ones inspired by real historical events and figures. But when you’re building a culture for a story and you chose to pick only the darkest parts of the culture’s history and none of the beauty of the culture itself, it rubs me the wrong way. This is all speculation seeing as how I was not in the writing room for these games, but I honestly can’t find any other parallels to the Jewish people with my limited knowledge, and if I dedicate myself to fully researching all of the potential parallels then this project will never end. Anyone who knows more about the Jewish culture and history, feel free to share your own opinions and thoughts. I really hope that I am just too uneducated in Jewish culture to see better parallels but all the ones I’ve found so far are not great. I’ll get back to this later, but I need to move on to discussing Native American cultural parallels because this post is already way too long.

My assumption is that the clan structure, philosophy, and spiritualism is inspired by the Native American people. The clan structure of Keeper > First > Second > other professions is probably based on Chiefdoms. Many tribes also hade roles specified to individuals, like hunting or weaving or building and so on, and others were more loose. Philosophies like the Vir Sulevanin or the codes of living based on individual gods are probably inspired by various religious practices and law structures. It’s hard to tell specifically where any inspiration was taken because there are a lot of nations that exist under the term Native American and as far as I know, the writers never specified any tribes. I don’t take much issue on the clan structure and the idea of the Dalish cultural lifestyle being loosely based on Native American culture. The execution is ass. For one, we barely get to see any of this stuff in practice, in game. You get to do a little with Hawke and Merrill in DA:2, and you get bits and pieces from DA:I, but overall, It’s a lot of tell, not a lot of show. What bothers me the most is how the culture is presented to the player. Most of your companions and NPC characters treat Dalish culture as lesser or too different to even bother trying to learn anything about it. If you play a Lavellan in DA:I, your own character acts very surprised that Josephine knows even two words in Dalish, and yet all of the Dalish that we meet speak the King’s language (I think that’s what English is called in DA, but I could be wrong). It makes me uncomfortable on a number of levels to have the culture presented this way to the player, especially when your responses usually make you complicit or an active participant of this problem. Sounds a whole lot like the oppression and discrimination that Native Americans deal with today and have been dealing with for centuries now. The biggest problem that I have with creating a parallel between the Dalish and Native Americans is how Dalish history is presented, particularly through Solas.

If Solas didn’t exist, I wouldn’t really have a problem with how the Dalish culture was built around lore and oral tradition. A downtrodden but proud elven people is kind of a refreshing inversion on the typical High Elf fantasy trope actually. Until you introduce the High Elf himself and he shits on the entire culture for reasons that I still can’t fully understand. If you talk with him in Haven as a Dalish elf about the Dalish people, he relates them to ignorant children. This does not change throughout the game. The only time he actually expresses that he might have misjudged the Dalish has nothing to actually do with the Dalish, just that he likes hanging out with your Inquisitor. Um, what the fuck? Solas’ whole guilt over the past thing translating into ‘I hate the Dalish because they’re not like the old elves wah,’ fucking pisses me off. I get that the Vallaslin bother him because they were originally slave markings and unnamed Dalish clans chased him off for trying to tell them ‘you’re whole culture and history is wrong,’ but if that’s all there is to him hating the Dalish then I have problems. He acknowledges that his actions led to the elves suffering, but he isn’t willing to accept the elves as they are now. He’s mad at the victims rather than the problem which is ridiculous. But now, because the game decided that Solas is a tragic villain and most of the elves side with him, it validates his belief that the Dalish culture is wrong. And if that don’t scream Manifest Destiny then I don’t know what does.

So, the thing that all of these groups have in common, and the thing that shows up the most often in media, is that fantasy minority groups are based almost entirely on real life minority groups and are depicted almost always as victims in need of saving or extinct. I’ve got a fun fact, minority groups weren’t always minorities, and weren’t always persecuted. I’d like to see that in media for like at least five minutes or something because this sucks. And framing these groups as victims for a western coded player character to rescue is the classic white savior shit that I can’t stand. Again, I’ll go deeper into that later, but I’ll end it on this last note because I need a nap now.

Culture is not defined by suffering. The Jewish people and Native Americans have faced trials and persecution for centuries, but their culture is not defined by that. The people within a cultural group are more than just their hardships. It isn’t inspiration from a culture to fantasize only about their abuse. And choosing to focus explicitly on the hardships and then turning those oppressed people into the ‘bad guys’ bc of some forced grey morality bs makes everything so much worse. If you create a society ‘based on’ existing ones, you need to actually address the positives of a culture as well. Do not present the people in a way that implies ‘less than’ to the player character. And most importantly, Do not write an oppressed people based on an oppressed people only to try and justify any part of their oppression. 

And this is only part 1. Send Help. I haven’t even finished with the Dalish Art History project I already started.

to be cont.

[shreddheir]

Ninjago Analysis: How powerful was Zane’s original power source? this is a VERY long post I wrote late at night, so I apologize in advance for being probably incoherent

The short answer is Pretty Damn Powerful. I know he probably absorbed some golden power but still,the explosion absolutely DECIMATED and Obliterated the OVERLORD. What was even in him that could absorb the golden power? It’s not just Bc he’s a nindroid, one of them touched the golden weapons and literally disentegrated on the spot. So it has to have been his power source.

Zane was capable of powering a small spacecraft, and just barely avoiding overusing his power source. How much energy did that take? I’m going to find out. It’s math time. There’s a lot to be taken into account. I’m ignoring most of that that, and only focusing on the size/weight of the spacecraft and it’s passengers to figure out its likely energy consumption.

According to math I found online (please correct me if it’s BS) it takes 5.4 megajoules of energy for a 1lb object. to leave earths orbit. Assuming the 4 humans on the craft are all around the weight of the average young human male(this is probably a very iNCORREct number but I am so tired sorry), which is like 150-160 pounds…. That’s 620 pounds.

We have to use irl numbers to figure out how heavy Zane is Bc yknow he’s a robot. I’m Going by the headcanon that he’s goddam TALL btw. In 2013 Boston Dynamics created a 6’2” humanoid robot called Atlas. It was like the most advanced irl robot in 2013 it’s very cool. Anyway back on track. It’s 290 pounds.

All together, the combined weight of the passengers is Very Roughly 910 earth pounds I’m not counting the spacecraft. I’m assuming the asteroid the golden weapons landed on is the size and also has the gravity field of the moon, so that’s 152.7 moon pounds.

To get that out of the moon atmosphere is MORE THAN 824.58 megajoules. That’s a lot of energy. Oh yeah, and Zane only had half of his power source.

At full power that would be (again more than) 1649.16 megajoules. That’s A LOT. I’m going to stop doing math now. And of course, i haven’t even calculated how much energy would be put out when the power source explodes.

in Conclusion: Zane’s original power source is extremely powerful, like Nuke level powerful. I probably did this math wrong.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

okay I'm curious. poll for the láeg enjoyers. in third person in case it spreads and people don't read blog URLs lol.

when I say "care about" laeg i mean "become invested in laeg as a character" rather than "become aware of his existence" so like. even if you'd been reading UC texts for years and knew who he was, if you didn't care about him then that doesn't count; what changed your mind and made you start to pay attention to him?

if you don't care about láeg then don't answer the poll. no "show answers" option. please don't choose secret eighth thing unless there's an actual secret eighth thing. we are a small minority and would be overwhelmed by non-laeg enjoyers so you'd skew the results too much.

this is not me trying to take all the credit or assuming i'm the reason btw i'm just extremely aware that when i first got interested in láeg there was practically no mention of him on this site and now i have láegfriends, so they feel connected, but perhaps there was some other cause at the same time that coincidentally joined up timing-wise! or perhaps i only influenced like two people and then they influenced everyone else!

(btw for the purposes of this poll "modern" v much includes 19th century works not just recent publications)

i do love how the tumblr nerds care about láeg. i like to think i've played a significant part in making this happen and it's wild to think there are probably more people alive right now who a) know who láeg is and b) care about him than there have been for at least a few centuries, because he has NOT had this level of attention in the past. seriously. i can't stress enough how fleeting most references to láeg are in scholarship from the past 150 years. he does get a look-in in some 19th and 20th century novels but there's no sign that his characterisation there had a massive impact or sparked a lot of attention; he's not in the super late ulster cycle tales so then you're having to go back to the early 18th century and he's barely in coimheasgar na gcuradh; that means toruigheacht gruaidhe griansholus (1679) is the last time anyone really focused on him and given that that only survives in one manuscript i don't think it had a massive impact/audience, etc; so then you're probably going all the way back to the 15th-16th centuries, and remember this is all manuscripts so it's not mass print media, though there's gonna be some oral trads too... it's been a while, is what i'm saying, and the scale of the internet means higher numbers of people can be reached by the same things

tumblr really went "anyway this is our guy now" (of course we did. he's the loyal sarcastic best friend with homoerotic tensions. we were never not going to) and plucked him from obscurity and now people are drawing him!! there has been virtually no art of láeg before!! especially not art outside of illustrating a specific story for the purposes of a retelling!! (he gets drawn sometimes in graphic novels and there are like, two depictions of him and cú chulainn in their chariot, but that's p much it) and people make jokes about him! and know how to spell his name! etc

[dammit-neal]

I Don’t Understand Buck Begins.

PSA this is a bit of rant. Not a hate-rant or anything like that, but I do express frustration and if you’re not here for that right now, please skip this. It is complicated and ended upa bit long. But if you’re up for it, I’d LOVE to know your thoughts.

I actually want to talk about this with people. I’m not here to drop a statement like a microphone and walk away. The first time I watched Buck Begins, I loved it. I still do. But as I think back on it and rewatch, there are some major issues I’m spotting:

1. Buck in his whole life has been endangering himself in order to get the attention (dare I say LOVE) of those around him. I feel like the Firefam’s (very OOC) responses to him recklessly endangering himself again only enforced these destructive habits?

2. Firefam’s OOC reaction: In literally every other episode, when Buck recklessly endangers himself the firefam immediately put the brakes on, tell Buck to treasure himself, not to be reckless, to think things through, to realize that the victim got out because of sheer good luck (as well as hair-brained thinking on Buck’s part, but some of Buck’s decision making also really endangered him, more on that later.) The fact that Bobby let Buck work that fire at all in the state of mind he was in is odd. The fact that Hen told him he was for whatever reason correct in choosing to split from the party and go on his own in his current state of mind was beyond odd. Looking back, it doesn’t feel like real moments, but rather contrivances dressed in nice words like “I don’t this often but you’re right” (NO HE’S F**KING NOT!!) so that we wouldn’t question them immediately. Was Buck correct that the other team needed anotehr man? Yeah. Was he right that it should be him? NOPE. Anyone could see that, we could see that, the Firefam could see that. but they let him go anyway. This is OOC, they’re smarter than that, and they’ve known Buck for long enough to know when he’s triggered and more likely to make poor decisions. During it, when Buck disobeys orders and Bobby is calmly just like “Yeah he does that sometimes.” I’m sorry, did someone put Xanax in Bobby’s coffee? Why on earth would he be so calm?? In a normal situation he would never be calm about that--add to it the fact that he KNEW Buck wasn’t at his most stable at the moment? He should have been shouting into his radio and hauling ass, not shrgging and smiling with pride like “Yup! It’s cool with me” like what?? Then afterward, nothing but kind words and praise. Good job risking your life like an idiot, good job risking the other guy because you were so determined to get him out asap you didn’t stop to think. That’s what you do, Buck. 

Like did they really just say that!?

The only nuance that I thought was right here, the only thing that was given emphasis that felt RIGHT, was not that Buck stays behind, not that he makes reckless decisions sometimes, not that he jumped into a fire while unstable, THE ONLY THING that should have been emphasized here, that the episode should have been based on? Is that BUCK DOESN’T GIVE UP. There’s a quality in him that we’ve seen before. one that Buck doesn’t seem to realize about himself. Athena’s moment was the only moment that looking back gives me any kind of cathartsis, because it is the only healthy reaction from the firefam that I saw (aside from them all running in after him--still love that moment.) they should’ve been gentle baout it, but nonetheless should’ve told Buck to treasure himself more, not be like “And here’s our most rekless memeber, pat on the back, kid, we love that you throw yourself into danger without thinking, in fact that’s what we love most about you!” Thinking back, I could SCREAM that that’s the message they left Buck with.

3. The victim: Let’s face it, the only reason the victim didn’t die is because the writers didn’t want him to. They made sure the tank landed somewhere non-fatal so that Buck could still get a win, even though many of his decisions thus far had been hare-brained and ill-advised, driven by a mad need to prove himself, and to never leave people behind, even if stopping and waiting and thinking might be more advisable at some points. In fact, when the victim first falls, and buck wakes up and he looks at him and I thought the victim was dead, first of all I was really sad for the victim, but I also felt like that was the right way to go. Buck’s decision making wasn’t sound, he wasn’t thinking straight, he went in anyway, by all rights the only reason the victim stayed alive after everything he went through was because the writers wanted him to stay alive which they followed with a big and in my opinion inappropriate Pat on the back Moment. The victim dying would’ve been tragic, but it would’ve driven home a lesson for buck, that hurting himself, endangering himself isn’t the answer, won’t always save the day. It would’ve taught Buck (harshly yes, but) that he needs to get his head  on straight in this job. And if he had lost teh victim and the firefam had been there for him anyway, it would’ve been a whole different scenario.

In the episode, while it was super sweet and had some incredible moments, Buck learns nothing, his relationship with the Firefam doesn’t actually change at all, and his relationship with his family doesn’t appear to have actually progressed. He’s still prioritizing them over himself (bringing the parents into therapy since well, they’re trying which is apparently enough now), he’s now been encouraged to continue the reckless streak of self-sacrificing decision making that he’s been on in the past in order to gain teh love and recognition of the poeple around him.

I wish the writers had placed focus, not on Buck being accepting, not on Buck being restless, but on Buck not giving up. We saw bits of that yeah, but it wasn’t as highlighted as Buck ebing reckless and feeling overall like he’s not enough. I wish the episode had been centered there, and they had created an entirely different scenario start-to-finish that (like in Eddie begins, where there were no contrivances, the only reckless thing he does--cutting the line--is something that there isn’t a quetsion in a single brain he WOULD do and should do) where Buck is level-headed, where he’s in some kind of scenario where only he could uniquely succeed in because he never gives up. This episode had bits of it here and there, but ultimately what was running teh day was buck vulnerabilities, not his strengths. Insead of pointing out where Buck shines (like the other Begins episodes), they really only further highlighted what his weaknesses are and then proceeded to have the people around him encourage those weaknesses. Like, what?!

I also think this was the moment to solidify the firefam as his family. Instead, we see Buck retreating back toward a very unhealthy family situation and the firefam remains where they always are. What they did for buck in this episode was something incredible, but it’s also something they would do for any member of the firefam. What I wanted was for the firefam to show up for Buck in a way that he uniquely needs. How, I don’t know--perhaps taking a jab at his loneliness, surprising him with a dinner party at the loft, whatever. Something that told Buck “we see your pain, we see how tough your parents are, how you and Maddie need family who will show up and treasure you no matter what (WHICH BTW INCLUDES YELING AT YOU WHEN YOU’VE BEEN AN IDIOT AND TELLING YOU TO PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CRAP DON’T ENDANGER YOURSELF LIKE THAT AGAIN, PLEASE VALUE YOURSELF), that’s what Buck needed. An episode that would help him learn to treasure himself, believe in himself more, love the fact that he never gives up about himself, learn that dangerous stunts and running into things without thinking because he bleives that’s what gets him love is incorrect and unecessary. We didn’t get any of that. The episode was also trying to kill two birds with one stone, which brings me to my last point:

4. Framing Buck Begins around the sibling’s relationship, while GORGEOUS (seriously LOVED these moments they did and the casting was amazing, and both JLH and OS played their younger selves to perfection) I wish had been placed in a completely different episode. They didn’t belong here in an episode of Buck learning about himself. And because of the amount of airtime they took up, we ended up with an episode where Buck doesn’t really learn about himself in the end. Everything remains largely external instead of internal.

All in all, I feel like we need another Buck Begins episode to right the wrongs of this one. Nothing has been solved or fixed. Buck’s relationships remain pretty much the same going in as they do leaving. He has found no peace, no resolution (except in confirmation that Maddie loves him, which is nice, but largely external) he is still fuled by the belief that reckless behavior is what wins him teh love and attention of those around him.

This frustrates me to no end. If you feel like Buck Begins did scratch every itch for you, I’d love to talk and see your perspective as well, because I hate this itchy feeling of dissatisfaction and I dearly hope I’ve missed something here.

Anyway sorry this got so long. Didn’t realize I had QUITE so many thoughts until I started writing and then shit happened. If you made it to the end, thank youa nd I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree.

[ofdeathandspring]

Gender was created but not by a pedo. The terms she/he/they have existed for centuries long. Sex has nothing to do with Gender, sex is gentiles while Gender is identity. You have pronouns whether you like it or not. People use them without even thinking about it. I learned pronouns in kindergarten English. No matter how much they hate it transphobes(not saying you are btw) use them. Teaching children pronouns and that some people don't look or feel like the sex they were born with should be a requirement (in children friendly terms ovi) . You don't have to answer my pronoun questions (I assume from "female" you go by she/her?) but please treat people with basic respect and use the ones they give. (Mine are she/they)

The first point is incorrect. The second point is also incorrect.

I never said pronouns are not a part of speech. They are. There's the feminine "she" the masculine "he" the plural "they" and the neuter "it".

Third point is incorrect.

I did answer the question. I'm human. I'm an adult. I'm female. There's only one correct pronoun to use.