#like not to sound controversial but i think things that we need to survive in this modern age should be free

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Controversial opinion among Dune book fans maybe, but I loved the changes they made to Chani's character. Making her a fedaykin who is already an experienced fighter before Paul arrives was a brilliant choice. Dune Part Two is a war movie, and this puts her at the center of the action, side by side with Paul, and gives her a much more active role than she has in the book.

We got a hint of where things were going in the beginning of Dune Part One. The first thing we ever know about movie Chani is that she's a fighter. She serves as a voice for the Fremen, telling us the story of their struggle from her point of view. I wrote here about the difference this change makes compared to other adaptations of Dune, what a perspective shift it is to have the world of Arrakis introduced not by an outsider, describing it as a dangerous but valuable colonial prize, but by one of its native inhabitants, who tells us before all else that it's beautiful, her home that she's fighting to liberate. I am so, so glad that the second movie followed up on this characterization.

I never found Chani and Paul's love story in the book particularly convincing, because why would this woman, who already has a prominent and respected place in Fremen society, even give the time of day to her deposed would-be colonizer, let alone fall in love and have children with him? Without a compelling reason for Chani to love Paul, she ends up feeling like a prize to be won, and "indigenous culture personified as a woman to be wooed (or conquered) by the colonizing man" is a trope we've seen and don't need to repeat.

But as soon as you tell me it's a barricade romance I get it. Cool cool cool, I know exactly what this relationship is now and it makes sense. Movie Chani doesn't respect or even particularly like Paul when she first meets him, and she doesn't think he's the fulfillment of any prophecy. She comes to respect him, and eventually love him, through his actions. He's brave--sometimes recklessly so. He fights well. He's willing to stick his neck out on the front lines with the other Fremen fighters. He can (after a little help) hack surviving in the harsh desert environment. He's not too proud to learn from others. He seems to genuinely want to be her equal in a common political struggle. All these qualities make sense as things she values.

Fighting side by side as equals is just about the only way I can see movie Chani falling for Paul. And it fits perfectly with the film's pattern of reversals that Paul's capacity for violence would initially be one of the things Chani likes about him, only for her to be repelled later when she sees what he becomes.

And as for Paul, well, he's had people deferring to him his entire life. Someone who doesn't take any shit from him is probably refreshing. He seems to like people (Duncan, Gurney) who challenge him and engage in a little friendly teasing--and aren't afraid to go a few rounds in the sparring ring.

It's easy to speedrun a romance when you're spending all your time together in mortal danger fighting for a shared political cause. Especially if you then start winning in a war your people have been fighting for decades. Are you kidding me? That is the perfect environment for intense battle camaraderie to turn into romantic love, and lust.

It makes sense that this version of Chani never believes Paul is any kind of messiah. Of course a character like movie Chani wouldn't believe in or trust some outside savior to liberate them. She's been working to liberate her own people for years. The more Paul invokes the messianic myth, the more he starts sounding once again like someone who plans to rule over them, and the more uncomfortable Chani becomes. In this way she becomes a foil to Jessica, the two of them representing the choices Paul is pulled between. It's a great way of externalizing the political and philosophical debates that often happen within characters' heads in the book.

And of course this version of Chani would leave Paul at the end of the film. It's not just the personal, emotional betrayal--although that stings. What common cause does she have with someone who just declared himself emperor and is sending her own people off in a war of conquest against others? Given the important role she plays in Dune Messiah, I am super curious to see how they get her back into the story, but girl was so valid for being willing to just gtfo. Given that she has the last shot of the whole movie, I'm sure she'll be back somehow, and I can't wait to see what they do with her character in any future installments.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

BB Season 3 Title Speculations

Just my theories as to what could happen based on the episode names.

"Confined"- This will be strongly Omega and Crosshair centric. I think a lot of clips, including the ones from the trailer where they see each other and the leaked clip, will take place in this episode. It's clear that Crosshair is at his all time lowest so it can only go up from here. We probably will see a glimpse of Hunter and Wrecker, but the name suggests a strong focus on Omega and Cross. This is pre-time jump btw based on Omega's hair. We might also get that Palpatine scene of him saying how important Hemlock's work is as well.

"Paths Unknown"- this gives me strong Hunter and Wrecker vibes. I think it's safe to say that this episode will focus on what the two have been up to since Omega's capture and Tech's "death." Hopefully, we'll see a bit of Rex and Echo as well. However, I feel like this will be more of the boys trying to pick themselves up and find out any info on Omega. We might also see the scenes of them talking to Rex.

"Shadows of Tantiss"- again, this sounds very Omega and Crosshair centric. The use of the word shadows indicate dark times for the pair as Hemlock's control tightens and Cross presumably retreats even further within himself. Maybe this is the episode where we get the time jump since the word "shadows" could mean that time has passed since we last saw the pair.

"A Different Approach"- This could mean two things: either Cross and Omega try a new way to escape or Hunter turns to bounty hunters to help. In the trailer, Fennec is visible with Hunter and Wrecker when they take that boat in the swamp.

"The Return"- this episode name could have a double meaning like the last one. The most obvious one is that it's the return of Crosshair. We know that he and Omega potentially escape and crash land in a ship. I have a theory that they'll both make it out, however, Omega gets captured again, sacrificing her freedom for Crosshair's. Another meaning could be the return of Ventress. It makes sense since she's a pretty big character within the animated shows. I think that we'll meet her on Teth. However, I'm unsure.

"Infiltration" and "The Extraction"- these two episodes seem to go hand in hand. I'm not sure what could happen based on the trailers. Maybe the Batch has to go somewhere to retrieve information or an item for a mission. Maybe that turbo tank chase is during these episodes because Phee comments "not exactly a stealth exit boys." However, I think that could actually be the episode "Juggernaut." Since this is a two-parter, I speculate that we might also see bounty hunters after the Batch.

"Bad Territory"- this episode feels more mission-y based because of the name. It sounds like the Batch are going to a planet where hijinks ensue and they wind up in trouble. It could also mean the return of bounty hunters like Cad Bane or clone assassins but who knows.

"The Harbinger"- now this is where things get interesting. At its most basic definition, a harbinger is person or thing that signals the arrival of something, a herald so to speak. I think this is the episode where we see the mysterious imperial take front and center. Maybe he's a harbinger of doom that the Batch have to out maneuver. Or maybe the Batch receive a warning that Omega's life is truly in danger and they need to act fast. It could also be the episode with CX-1. He does warn (the Batch I assume) that they're being hunted.

"Identity Crisis"- my theory for this episode only makes sense if Tech is the one under the mysterious imperial's mask. This episode could very easily apply to Cross and Ventress as well. However, if it's Tech that's under the mask, then it this title makes perfect sense. He's fighting the imperial programming while the others try to bring him back. But Tech's survival is controversial so I can't confidently say that this will happen

"Point of No Return"- this feels like an ultimatum type of episode. The Batch know that what they're going to do will lead to their demise or survival, including Omega's. On the other hand, this could be the episode where Pabu gets invaded. If that happens, then it tells the Batch that there's no turning back for them; they have to save Omega and stop Hemlock or else they will lose more of what they care about. The Empire took enough from them; now, the clones prepare their final stand.

"Juggernaut"- I think this is episode where we get the turbo tank chase. We know that Cross, Hunter, and Wrecker are together again along with Phee. Alternatively, someone suggested that Wrecker dies in a giant explosion based on the name "juggernaut," but I'd rather not think about that.

"Into the Breach"- according to Google, this phrase means that a person steps up to do a task when someone is unable to do it or there's no one else available. This raises questions: who's stepping up? What task is being conducted? I hate to be that guy, but it's possible we might see Echo or someone die. Think about it: one of the Batchers or an ally gets badly hurt trying to do something and someone else steps up. The episode is a big fanfare of things that go boom and epic music as the task is completed but at a grave cost.

"Flash Strike"- this feels very action heavy. There are many clips near the end of the trailer showing the Batch hijacking ships and troopers fighting/being shot at. On google "flash strike" can refer to workers going on strike without notice. This episode is probably where we see the clone rebellion truly begin to act out against the Empire and Tantiss.

"The Cavalry has Arrived"- the grand finale of it all. It's poetic that the final chapter in the story about a group of special clones is titled after their very first line in their very first appearance in Clone Wars. Like the Batch arriving on Anaxes to help the Jedi and Rex, I think this episode will be the full culmination of the clones' stand against the Empire. We will see the Batch reunited and Omega will be saved... but at what cost? If this show parallels the OT (which I think it is), then we probably will get a happy ending. However, I'm leaning more towards it ending with just Crosshair and Omega left.

Anyways, these are just my theories and speculations. Feel free to share any theories about the episode titles down below. And one quick note about the poster: Hunter's helmet kinda mirrors Jesse's in the final episode of Clone Wars. It's probably symbolizing the end of an era for the clones as a whole. Spooky.

[neopuppy]

What makes you like jeno so much apart from his godly looks?

I don’t know him personally so mainly just his looks.

other than that I think he’s funny, and I actually really enjoy his stage presence, its how he caught my attention in the beginning. I like how aggressive/powerful he dances and I’m one of the few hundred that really likes his rap style💀 I dare say…..I like his the most out of everyone in Dream. first time I heard GO I said ‘he sounds like Sehun’ and controversial but I always liked his tone too😂 dont let kpop twt convince you these guys arent talented…..the kpop rapper bar isnt that high lmao.

but yeah mainly his looks, even tho tbh he’s not really my type physically….I tend to like more like lanky/goofy looking(in the face). Jeno’s a bit🤏 sharper/masculine and shorter than what I typically am drawn to.

he is a puppy boy, like big time, and that is something I am also attracted to most of the time. *I* am black cat stereotype, so I think I fall for puppy guys super easily.

I find him very *cute* like one of the best smiles I’ve ever seen, super pretty eyes, nice skin, great nose, etc etc. he’s gorgeous ofc but I think how cute he comes off actually turned me off at first lmao, I was like hmmm……I dont like it! took me some time to get used to and now I cant imagine him not being this awkwardly cute guy that randomly makes sounds and doesn’t seem to understand how attractive he is compared to everyone else in this world.

so yeah, don’t know him like that, and tbh!!! I don’t even think he’s someone I’d vibe with much bc I’m kind of cold/come off mean and a bit reclusive. I do think there is some truth to him possibly doing better with someone more extroverted and that’s just nottttt me lmao. I’m as anti-social as someone can be(if not for the fact that I need to survive and make money). I nearly got voted ‘quietest’ in middle school💀

most of the time you are just physically attracted to someone…..and thats ok!!! in fact…..I get delusional as hell, of course! but when my friends start going on and on about their biases personalities I’m always like ???????? we are not children nor teenagers, lets be level-headed here ladies. we do not know these men! you like him bc you think he’s hot and lowkey would let him blast you into next year, if he’s even capable…..

good thing we have fanfic!!!!!!

[lansplaining]

idk, but I feel just because JGY needed to do what he had to survive doesn't mean that he's right persay? Like, Wei Wuxian could have easily just survived if he'd just hung around with the Jiangs and left the Wen remnants to die. He however was willing to die for what was right, and s I'm not sure if he'd sympathise with JGY.

I was gonna do this whole bit like ‘Mingjue, thank you so much for writing in,’ but then I realised that doesn't work because Mingjue doesn't think Wei Wuxian was right to fight for the Wen remnants.

Let's break this down backwards: would/does Wei Wuxian sympathise with JGY for doing what he needs to do to survive? In canon, he doesn't really-- though it's worth pointing out that in the novel he repeatedly draws parallels between himself and JGY as the whole Lotus Pier discussion with Sisi and Bicao is happening, and even in the show I'd argue doesn't seem horribly enthused by this rising tide of mob justice.

But would Wei Wuxian actually do what JGY did, in similar circumstances? Well, yeah. He killed and tortured hundreds of Wen soldiers as revenge. He used the corpses of Wen soldiers and their families to kill more Wen soldiers. He invented demonic cultivation to survive (alongside whatever else he did in the Burial Mounds the first time), and whatever you think about whether we're supposed to think demonic cultivation is actually bad or not, he used it to kill people.

If, one of the multiple times from the end of Sunshot onwards that NMJ physically attacked JGY, JGY whipped out a knife and somehow stabbed him, would we be saying that JGY was not justified? If NMJ locked JGY up to teach him a lesson, and from his cell, JGY invented the evil music and slowly destabilised NMJ in hopes of being freed, would that be justified? Or is the point that he, for some reason, doesn't have the right to defend his life? Or he doesn't have the right to defend it like that-- but if not, why not?

The question of WWX and the Wen is completely separate from the question of survival, in my mind. But if the point is that it was okay for WWX to act extremely, to kill a bunch of cultivators, because he was doing it in pursuit of the greater good... well, I think JGY saw himself as doing the same thing. He wanted to survive because he had goals and dreams and plans. He built watchtowers, he kicked the demonic cultivators out of the Jin, he helped rebuild Cloud Recesses, he helped raise Jin Ling. From the sounds of it, the watchtower project was almost as controversial and radical as what WWX did, to the point where a child was killed over it-- but JGY was operating within a different system. And, of course, we don't see it play out as a narrative, just as a passing anecdote, so we don't get the full impact.

The moral system of MDZS's society is inseparable from an extremely personal sense of justice, equality, and revenge. It's a world that says everyone has the right to kill to protect themselves... as long as they manage to persuade everyone else after the fact that it was a good idea. As long as the person they killed doesn't have more power and resources than them. As long as they get away with it.

[khaire-traveler]

please go off about the Zeus hate in the wider community some time because I would love to have this conversation

Oh gods, I'm not sure if you know what you're asking for lol. I could go on for a long time about it, for a variety of reasons.

(I can't add a cut because this is so far down in my drafts that I don't think I'll be able to find it again, even if I tried, so for those uninterested, I just recommend scrolling past this. I'm sorry. 💀)

***TW: MENTIONS OF SA, R*PE, AB*SE, AND OTHER SENSITIVE TOPICS***

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Where to even begin? There are so many faults and flaws within the argument that Zeus is just generally a "bad person". That's the argument I see most often, anyway.

I guess to start, I'll just get right into the controversial stuff: Zeus and sexual assault/rape. I'll start with me personal experience, as an assault and sexual abuse survivor. I can guarantee you that if I felt Zeus was a r*pist or an assaulter, I would not be worshipping him, personally. It would make me wildly uncomfortable, and I feel like it would seriously taint my view of him. So, when people claim that Zeus is a r*pist, or otherwise, I think it's important to acknowledge that you are talking about mythology. Just as the Christian Bible has been heavily influenced by the opinions and thoughts of its writers, Greek mythology works similarly. The surviving stories that was have were written by people who lived in a VERY different society than our modern one. Not only is mythos not meant to be taken literally (unlike Christianity, which is very mythos literal, most of the time), but Greek myths were often very metaphorical or served the main purpose of explaining an natural phenomena. It was also heavily influenced by the culture, at the time, so to understand why so many Greek myths discuss sexual assault, r*pe, and the like, you really need to take a hardcore look at the culture behind the myths. In not doing so, you make yourself look like an uneducated fool, honestly.

And I don't know how many times this had to be fucking said, but the gods are not their myths. Instead of making all these assumptions about them, maybe just, I don't know, talk to them yourself? Maybe do your own research into the behind the scenes of the stories they were featured in? Maybe stop taking mythos so damn literally? Like, even at the time, there has been some talk of historians believing that the ancient Greeks themselves didn't take mythos literally and interpreted the stories more as lessons to be learned. It's kind of obvious that many of these very impossible stories are most likely not what literally happened and are more metaphorical or sometimes even entertaining. The idea of mythic literalism feels like something that is very Christian - although I could be wrong, so do not take my opinion at face value - and frankly, Hellenic religion is not Christianity, it came before Christianity. Taking these myths of Zeus and interpreting them so literally does nothing but harm you as a worshipper and hinder your growth as a Polytheist, in my opinion. Plus, it makes you look bad. Why shit on an entire pantheon of gods? It's just dumb and disrespectful, even outside of mythic literalism stuff.

Another thing: cancel culture is heavily influencing this Zeus debate, in my opinion. People feel the need to "cancel" thousand year old deities who stem from cultures that were vastly different from ours - like, do they not realize how they sound? First of all, that shit was from thousands of years ago; do you not think that the gods have changed since then? Do you not think that they adapt to human culture as it grows and changes? Like, what? Second of all, cancelling gods from a literal ancient civilization is just plain ridiculous and very ahistorical, in my opinion. For real, I cannot stress enough that ancient Greece has a vastly different culture from our own. Shit was genuinely VERY different back then, and topics we now recognize as fucked up we're not recognized as such, back then. And there is nothing you, or anyone else can do, to go back in time and magically change the ancient Greek culture as a whole, so what's even the point of "calling out" this supposed behavior of Zeus? What's the point if he is very different now and interacts very differently with humans? What's the point if you are pulling your "evidence" from stories meant to be largely fictional? Like??? What exactly do you hope to accomplish by shitting on the King of the Gods in modern times with a very different cultural viewpoint? Tell me what you're hoping to achieve. Tell me why you're projecting all of this hatred towards Zeus, a literal fucking GOD, about fictional stories. Go ahead, I'm curious.

Along with all that, it's SO important to consider how Zeus was viewed in ancient times. It's not as though people saw him as a playboy and were like, "Ew, don't worship that god, he's doing all these bad things, blah blah blah." No, Zeus was actually HIGHLY respected. He was considered the King of the Gods, King of Olympus. He was worshipped for SO many different aspects of his and was extremely popular. He represented all kings, in a way, and was on top of everyone, in regards to hierarchical status. He was literally even considered to be the most powerful of all the gods, even instilling fear into the other gods with how strong he was! Like, Zeus wasn't someone to fuck around with or to criticize. I cannot emphasize enough how wildly disrespectful it is to call him shit like a r*pist (again, based on fucking fictional stories, y'all) - this literal King of Kings and God of All. He is ZEUS. He's not some celebrity that got into a scandal and deserves to be called out for their shitty actions. He is fucking ZEUS, people.

Honestly, my anger is very muted, on this topic. I have a lot of just "I'm so done with this debate" energy. Like, personally, I don't know how Zeus can be so patient with these people, especially after such a long time of them bashing him publicly for no good reason, treating him as though he's some celebrity or something that needs to learn his lesson. Human morality cannot be applied to non-human gods. It just can't. That's simply not how it works. They are not human, and I feel like it's very easy for people to forget that, especially when it comes to debates like these. Zeus - not a human, Apollo - not a human, Hermes - not a human. They are gods. Literal gods. Maybe instead of shitting on gods due to their mythical stories people should be focusing on the humans in today's world that are chasing actual harm - current harm, even. Because frankly, there are more important things to focus on.

I literally love Zeus. He is a fantastic god who literally helped me escape from a wildly abusive person. He is the reason I got out of that situation unharmed spiritually. Zeus is not some cruel god who doesn't give a shit about how other people feel. He is a kind, considerate, and thoughtful leader who holds much wisdom and knowledge from his thousands upon thousands of years reigning as King of the Gods and Olympus. He is not indifferent or disrespectful. He is not cocky or rude. And even with the flaws he may have (since everyone makes mistakes), he is still a god who deserves worship, praise, and acknowledgement for his great deeds. There is SO much Zeus does for humanity, outside of just lightning bolts and weather, and I'm just so exhausted from people who refuse to acknowledge that. Zeus is a damn blessing. He is a fucking King. He deserves respect.

That's all I've got to say for now. I'm not much of an angry person, so it takes a lot of energy for me to be mad about something. Thank you for letting me rant. May Zeus be with you, if you so wish. 💜⚡

[thistelltaleheart]

I'm going to say something extremely controversial, but it's something that's been on my mind:

Not all bodies are beautiful.

'Woah there! That's like, body shaming! You can't say that!!' you cry. But just... hear me out. I work with the general public and see them in fewer clothes than they'd probably like and/or realize (I'm a lifeguard). I have seen all kinds of people. Thin, fat, tattooed, weird old men, tiny babies, everything!! And listen, not all bodies are ones that are nice to look at. This isn't because of anything the person did, or even because of "conventional beauty standards". Bodies are weird, squishy things full of gross stuff and that bulge in weird places and don't fit nicely into swimsuits. Sometimes they're funny colors or make gross sounds or are wonkily proportioned. That's just how it is, not all of them look good while existing, and that's 100% okay!!

That's the thing, they may not be beautiful, but all bodies are incredible.

Every single person has things that are absolute pure magic about them because the human body is one of the most amazing things on this planet!! We all have skin that covers and keeps everything in! That has amazing sensors in it that can tell our brains about everything from pain to how soft that dog is! It's got little cells that tell it what color to be, and can even change color with sun exposure to protect the literal thousands of miles of instructions packaged inside every little cell! Sometimes, if you're lucky, your skin can be more than one color! And have cool patterns on it!! Awesome!! Then there's what's under the skin! Miles and miles of blood vessels! A heart that can both sustain the life of its owner and be a comfort to others and reflect the emotions of the person and respond to stress and..!!! We have fat around our organs because organs need protection! And it's a good place to keep extra nourishment if something were to happen because it can get broken down and mobilized fast! We have a liver that does so many functions we don't even know everything about them yet! They also casually regrow themselves like some kind of cool regeneration power from a comic book. But it just Does That. We have cellulite because lady bodies are made to hold more fat safely because we have the ability to create entirely new human life and it needs to survive even in times when you basically have an entire other life sucking the energy and calories out of you. Is it "beautiful" by the way it looks? No! But it's AMAZING by its function (even if it's super inconvenient now). We have a whole electrical system inside us!! That powers every single part of the body and takes messages everywhere and connects all the things. The same system allows us to move and speak and think complex thoughts and make up stories and read books and conceptualize the taste of chocolate and the color we call our favorite and helps us understand algebra and chemistry and the plot of Lord of the Rings and you're telling me this isn't magic?? I think you're lying.

Some other things that aren't "pretty" but are nevertheless super cool: - Varicose veins (you have VEINS dude!!! your own little O2 transport system!! and those veins have valves! and gravity had a bit too much to say about that! And now they stick out a bit, but, like, how cool???) - Scars (Sometimes they're super cool!! sometimes... not so much! But they're all signs you lived and did things that had a great enough impact to leave a mark?? Not to mention scar tissue is its own unique kind of tissue and its composition depends on the injury that gave you the scar (as well as some other factors)? That's because collagen is a thing!! So cool??)

We all have these things. These weird and fascinating and wondrously weird things about our bodies and you want to tell me that what matters is "all bodies are beautiful"? Absolutely not. Some bodies are not beautiful. Some bodies are downright ugly. That's just how bodies are. And that's okay.

But all bodies are incredible, miraculous, fascinating works of art!! That's what they are!

And they're even more special because, the one you have?? Is yours!! And we're creators at heart, friends, and our bodies tell the story of who we are and who we have been, and most importantly, who we are becoming. And guess what?? Not everyone has to understand your work of art! Because it's yours to adorn and change as you choose. And even if you're not satisfied with your own, you can rest assured that your body, no matter its "beauty" status, is one of the most amazing things in the entire universe.

TL;DR - Not all bodies are beautiful, but every single body is one of the most incredible things in the universe, and I think that is even cooler than what society thinks about "beauty".

[sharpchinsimp]

Hello!!

🔎2. What is your favourite mission? 💬9. What is your favourite quote from the game? 🔗12. Which character do you feel you are most similar to?

Hi, thanks for the questions!

🔎2. I absolutely love all of the FIB missions, I Fought the Law, Hood Safari and Bury the Hatchet, but if I had to pick one it would be By the Book. It is super controversial and shocking, it's unique, all my favorite characters come together, it reveals the essence of Michael and Dave’s deal and the plot of the game. This is the most memorable and interesting mission for me.

💬9. There are a lot of short funny memetic quotes in the game, they always make me smile. I love when Devin does a super evil thing and then says "Namaste", it's sooo funny, he's so awful with his fake spirituality.

As for the "deep" quote, I won't be original and say that "Surviving is winning, Franklin". This quote fully reveals the reasons for Michael's morally terrible actions, allows us to better understand him and maybe justify him. As opposed to the heroic position shown in films and imposed by morality, where you have to die for the sake of something, or you are a coward and selfish, where love or friendship is worth dying for, or where it is fashionable to live brightly and die young, this sounds more realistic and beautifully complements the deceitful world of the Vinewood dream shown in GTA V. Michael tells us that life is actually more valuable than we think, and the fear is stronger than we think when we are safe. We can condemn him and think that we would definitely have acted differently, but when we find ourselves face to face with death, the will to live can be stronger than all our beliefs, we do everything to survive and be safe, and only then do we realize at what cost this was given to us. Also this kind of philosophy is closer to the primitive order of society or the wild, where it doesn’t matter how terrible the things you’ve done, as long as you survive and can have children, you are a winner of evolution, and this is quite unusual for a person who likes to sit on the couch and watch movies, and also tries to be a good family man. This reveals Michael's wild nature, which may have attracted Trevor. This quote makes Michael a more complex and interesting character, whether we agree with him or not.

🔗12. I wish I could associate myself with some cool character, but no, I can't say "literally me" when I look at anyone in this game. But I would say that I am very similar to the typical Los Santos resident. I love lattes in a paper cup, coconut milk, yoga and meditations, talking about crazy conspiracy theories just for fun, watching stupid shows and pretentious arthouse films, buying things I don't really need, lying in my room all day and playing games, and all that. I'm a hipster, lol.

[fangirlandtheories]

lol aww. yeah I know about that steve headcanon post I'm the same anon from that day (I've been sending you most of your anon messages for the past week or two) so i asked for steddie headcanons this time to switch it up a bit!

So I don't have anything that I have prepared on the fly for hcs, but I am going to use some questions from this list to give some of my personal thoughts and opinions.

1: Who spends almost all their money on the other?

Steve is absolutely spending his sweet Harrington Hush money on little luxuries that Eddie never had. He's getting him conditioner that makes his hair fluffy, new strings for his guitar, tires for the van because 'Look at how low the tread is Eddie! You seriously want to drive my kids around in that?". He really charms Eddie by buying stuff for Wayne. It's difficult to find the things that Wayne will like, he's wary of charity from people, but Steve knows the way to the heart through the stomach. He buys them big steak dinners and treats them to beer that actually tastes like beer, not water.

2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap?

This is a tossup but I think Steve is a lap napper. Eddie is definitely a 'can fall asleep anywhere' kind of guy but Steve will actively seek out Eddie's lap, ESPECIALLY DURING CAMPAIGNS, and make like a cat. He snuggles in, lays his head against Eddie's shoulder, and lets the muffled sounds of Eddie's passionate rants lull him to sleep. He almost always wakes up groggy after Eddie tries to shift him to his other shoulder because his arm is asleep.

3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes?

Hmmm... you want to know between Steve "Stripped without being asked" Harrington and Eddie "For Your Modesty" Munson. I'm not quite sure.

4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway?

Controversial BUT Steve tells Eddie to go to sleep. Eddie is like the prototype for ADHD and he definitely gets into song writing and learning and just completely loses track of time.

5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies?

Eddie had a bag of pretzels and weed in his lunch box. He survived on spite and scrambled eggs. That man is not housewife material. Steve is the exhausted "I love you but please stop trying to boil water in a skillet, thanks."

7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes?

Which ONE? They just combined closets at this point. They both have public images to uphold, styles perfected long before their relationship, so they wear their own clothes in public, but they swap outfits behind closed doors constantly. Dustin bursts in once to find Eddie upside down on the couch, strumming his guitar, with Steve's sweater, shorts, and socks on, and Steve stirring a pasta sauce he was heating with nothing more than a pair of boxers and Eddie's Led Zeppelin T shirt.

8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says “You remembered [thing], right?”

Steve has head trauma and Eddie is Eddie. Neither one remembered the thing or that they even needed it in the first place. It isn't until tey go to make dinner that they're like "FUCK! THE THING!!!!"

9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions?

Steve is a one hand on the wheel, one hand on the thigh kind of smooth man. Eddie is a "We need to turn left." "When" "Two exits back" kind of navigator.

10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws?

Steve poses, Eddie draws. It's very serious and intense, think Titanic, but when it comes time to reveal the drawing it's just stick figures and penis doodles.

11: If they were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers and which one is strolling behind with a bag of chips?

This mental picture had me cackling because Eddie wants so much to be the calm, cool bag of chip guy as a backup to Steve's Mission Impossible LARPing ass but when Steve's back is to Eddie he's scaling the fucking walls.

13: Which one likes to surprise the other with a lot of small random gifts?

Eddie. He doesn't have a ton of money though so it's always little rocks, pictures he's torn from magazines, articles of clothing, rings, little acorns and blunts. When he does spend money it's a big thing. He's very frugal but he'd spend all of his life savings to see Steve smile. It means a lot to Steve because even though he spent his life lavishly, it was never anything that he wanted because no one really knew him.

14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last name instead of their own?

Eddie flashes the Harrington name with more ease than Steve does. Eddie bats his lashes and let's it roll off his tongue sweetly to get whatever he wants. He uses it sarcastically when arguing. He uses it angrily when he wants to punch Steve's parents. He uses it tearfully when Steve puts the ring on his finger at their wedding.

15: Which one screams about the spider and which one brings the spider outside?

Eddie is 10000% scared of spiders. He will squeal and jump and Steve will just be like (¬_¬) and get it out of the house.

16: Which one gives the other their jacket?

Dare I say both? They trade letterman and leather WHICH IS A FANTASTIC NAMEFOR A FIC. Letterman and Leather.

17: Who keeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older younger "sibling"?

Eddie's all smug about thinking he's the shit with the kids but that disappears real quick when Max's eyes pierce his. Suddenly he's surrounded by the world's most threatening 15 year olds who have are way too protective of their babysitter.

18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for the other?

It's Steve and boy is it an accident. They're arguing one night about why Steve's been so distant and in very dramatic rom com style he let's it slip.

19: How good would they be at parenting?

Fucking amazing. Between them they have the bases loaded with fun yet safe parenting. Eddie's a "If you talk to my child that way again I will unleash the gates of hell upon you, Sharon" type while his kid sits there with wide eyes and a smug grin. Steve is "The Gates of Hell"

20: Which one types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters?

Are you kidding? They're both looking at their kids homework with lost expressions, quickly calling Aunt Nancy and Uncle Robin.

21: Who gets attacked by a bully and who protects them?

Okay this could go either way. Steve getting sucker punched out of no where by some homophobes who figured him and Eddie out, Eddie getting shoved into a corner by some jocks. Both bullied, both protective. Either way, blissful. Now mess with one of the kids and see what happens.

22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun?

Steve is a dad joke connoisseur and Eddie makes fun of it relentlessly until, during one fateful campaign, Mike complains that he's hungry and Eddie responds with "Hi Hungry I'm Eddie" without any thought before he pales in realization.

23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought a puppy?

Steve is tired, he's had a long day of rude customers, he comes home to Eddie hastily closing the bedroom door. "Hey I just really love you. you know that?" before Steve pushes past him and sighs at the puppy. He comes around within minutes but sometimes he has to remember that his boyfriend is a little impulsive.

24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired?

Both but Steve's is never intentional. Eddie only carries Steve when things are really REALLY bad. Be it a migraine or a seizure, Steve insists he's fine until he absolutely drops. Eddie, on the other hand, plays up the drama. "Stevie that's just like... a really big hill. Uppie." While making grabby hands. Steve falls to the puppy eyes every time.

25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering?

Okay so I feel like Eddie is the kind that would seem like the overzealous cheerer but hear me out: Eddie who goes to basketball games and watches with glazed eyes until it's over and he's like "That was some quality... shorts wearing. You really wore... those shorts looked better on you than on anyone else, I'll tell you that. And that time that you jumped! Your shirt went up like two inches and when I tell you... That was the real game winning point." Meanwhile Steve is at Hellfire wearing a paper crown and a scowl.

26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder?

Steve is more sentimental so he definitely has photos of Eddie sleeping, but Eddie has a secret cherished photo of Steve in his wallet with his mouth hung open, drool dribbled down his chin, face smoothed for once, head on his shoulder completely out after a long day.

27: Which one would give the other a makeover if they asked?

Steve is itching to rid Eddie of the blasted 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, body wash that he's been sporting for his entire life. Eddie wants to teach Steve about the wonderful world of loungewear. They both get what they want.

28: Which one owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of?

Eddie owns a lizard which Steve resolutely stays away from. Dustin clued Eddie in to Dart and now Eddie instantly is like "Oh Sweet Slug Lord, tell me my future." While cuddling with his lizard and Steve just sits there regretting his life choices.

29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when it rains?

Steve. Period. Eddie forgets umbrellas are even an option half the time, choosing to shake out his hair like a dog. Steve is running behind him desperately trying to throw his coat down on puddles to prove his chivalry.

30: If they went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Who would take the pictures?

Steve is a vacation dad. He's a polaroid camera and sunscreen nose kinda guy. An itinerary man through and through. Eddie is a "Vacation is relax time, let's stay in bed all day." kind of guy. Steve spends all of ten minutes in bed before physically vibrating about opening times for museums, earning him a sleepy grin from his boyfriend. The first place they visit is California to visit their friends. Then it's to Boston for Robin and Nancy. It's about halfway there that they realize how much they enjoy the traveling and decide to invest in a proper camper, their home on wheels. They're two men who hate to be tied to anything other than each other.

Sorry this took so long omg, I'm terrible at coming up with headcanons so I was panicking trying to come up with an answer to this but then I realized that people like @otp-imagines-cult created questions like this that make it waaaay easier to come up with these.

[acorpsecalledcorva]

Did I ever write an essay here on Edward Bernays and propaganda? Dissociative amnesia go brrr so I'll see if I can quickly bash something out to distract myself from cramps. This post is going to be completely uncited and I'm barely gonna fact check myself so if any of this sounds interesting I strongly recommend looking this stuff up and if I'm wrong then yay! You'll learn something by doing so.

So who is Bernays? No he is not a sauce made out of butter, egg yolk, and white wine vinegar, he is the nephew of Freud and regarded as one of the most influential men of the twentieth century and the father of Public Relations.

He was very interested in his uncles work, and worked in the fields of psychology and sociology. His main schtick was that he viewed humanity as deeply and fundamentally irrational, illogical, emotional, and needed to be controlled lest they fall into chaos. Through Freud's work on psychoanalysis he devised a way to influence the masses by playing on their emotions and insecurities, something which we should all be very familiar today in politics and advertising.

Before Bernays, advertising was very, like, practical. "These shoes will survive up to a thousand miles of walking, they're comfortable and hand crafted with fine leather" kinda thing. People were interested in what products could do for them and made informed choices. Now though advertising is much more about lifestyle and aspiration. No joke in 2021 I saw an advert for a company that sells kitchens that said you needed to drop 20k on a new kitchen to prevent "zoombarrassment" when you work from home because all your colleagues will think you're a bad person and shame you for it.

Where we're at with this stuff today with algorithms and stuff is that engagement is key. If people are talking about you, if you're trending, then that's good. And the best way to get people talking about you? Controversy. Budweiser, Gillette, and I think a brand of coffee machine?, all jump out as recent examples of companies capitalising on a hot social issue to generate free advertising by whipping the masses up into a frenzy. Rainbow capitalism isn't only bad just because they hope that if they put a trans women in an advert that you'll buy it, it's also much worse because they're actively trying to piss off conservatives and fascists and incite flame wars as the official sponsor of transphobia. On the one hand, yay representation, but on the other, every time this happens I get to see just how many people in the world fucking hate me for existing. They're actively contributing to a global pandemic of deepening division and increased risk of violence.

And politicians cottoned onto this too. Boris Johnson is particularly good at this, and it's called the dead cat technique. If he ever feels like things might get tricky and might actually have to do a politics, he throws a dead cat on the table in the form of some inflammatory or bizarre remark because it shuts down the conversation. I mean, there's a dead cat on the table, how can you talk about anything other than the dead cat? His go to increasingly became trans people towards the end of his political career, just constantly talking about penises, absolutely obsessed with penises, but there's this really incredible interview he did where an interviewer asked him what his hobby is and he started talking about making London buses out of milk crates. It's absolutely nonsensical but you can also tell he's choosing his words very very carefully. Why? Because during the Brexit referendum he put a massive lie on the side of a bus and he wanted to manipulate the search results for when you search "Boris Johnson Bus".

Another technique politicians absolutely adore is being completely contradictory in your positions. Say you're committed to providing an inclusive and compassionate asylum system while actively dismantling said system. Say your committed to reducing wealth inequality while actively increasing it. Say you're committed to reducing national debt while actively increasing it. It keeps your opponents confused and unable to oppose you because they never know what your true position is and therefore what theirs should be, and it also provides you a get out clause. If someone accuses you of being against something? Just point to all the times you supported it. If someone accuses you of supporting something? Just point to all the times you condemned it.

So why am I writing any of this in the syscourse tag? Because a lot of syscoursers use these techniques to grow their own popularity and reach. It honestly doesn't even need to be a conscious effort, those who engage on syscourse over at Twitter are rewarded for doing this whether they know it or not, and then it gets brought here. Thankfully Tumblr isn't as bad, but we still feel it's effects. Whenever I see absolutely deranged "anti endos do this" or "pro endos do this" stuff I just assume it comes from Twitter because I struggle to find it here when I look, but the beefs and long standing arguments are still very twitteresque.

I do think it's important to be aware of this stuff though, because when you understand it all becomes deeply unserious. You may not be immune to propaganda but at least you can learn to recognise and step outside of it. When a syscourser admits to openly trying to be inflammatory to the other side and enjoying watching them get upset over it, or if you notice them restarting old arguments after not being talked about for a few days then you can finally give yourself permission to let go and not get involved. You can no longer take anything that person says seriously, because you can't ever know if they are being serious. They literally told you that they do it on purpose, therefore anything they say fails to be credible or sincere. If it pisses you off? It's meant to. If it's factually incorrect? It's supposed to be. Feel like writing a call out post to denounce them? That's exactly what they want you to do because you're talking about them. Keeping them fresh and trendy at all times.

[moviemunchies]

Do you guys remember that for years, this movie was the most controversial thing in superhero fandom? Back when it was cool to hate Zack Snyder? A lot of people really, really HATED this movie, declaring it the worst thing to happen to Superman. I found it weird because I thought that while it has noticeable flaws, it was fine.

Man of Steel is a Superman origin story–how Kal-El’s parents sent him from Krypton before the planet exploded, and General Zod’s coup attempt. How Kal-El was raised on Earth as Clark Kent, and he grows up different because of his abilities. As an adult, Clark becomes a drifter never staying in one place long enough to be identified. When Clark investigates a military dig site for a Kryptonian vessel, he learns about who he really is, and attracts the attention of investigative reporter Lois Lane. But the ship also activates a beacon that draws in General Zod and his rebels, who want to turn earth into a new Krypton–at the expense of the humans living here.

Something I thought about in this viewing was the Codex–basically, it’s explained that the Kryptonians grow all of their children in a specialized facility, and all children are genetically manipulated to fit different roles in society, like soldier, scientist, architect, or whatever. All of the genetic coding for Kryptonians was held in an artifact called the Codex. Kal-El was the first naturally-born Kryptonian in centuries, and his father Jor-El encoded the Codex into his DNA–he hoped that Kal-El would survive on Earth, and be able to choose his own role, rather than be predisposed towards it.

Of course, when Zod arrives on Earth, he wants the Codex to help him rebuild Krypton. Upon finding that it’s in Clark’s DNA, and that he doesn’t need Clark alive to acquire it, he’s pretty intent on killing the guy for opposing his plan to destroy Earth.

Here’s the thing I kept thinking: does a Superman story really need a Plot MacGuffin? I suppose if we want to go with the idea that Zod wants to rebuild Krypton, he needs some method of doing so, hence the need of the Codex in the Plot. And I will admit that I like the movie does some worldbuilding with Krypton other than ‘A utopian scientifically-advanced world that’s doomed.’ But it feels like such an odd addition to the Superman mythos, and it doesn’t come up in the later Snyder DC films (that I recall, anyway). Considering Superman’s body is a big deal in Justice League, maybe that should have come up?

Really, I don’t know how well, thematically, this fits with the following two DC movies with Superman. Jor-El says multiple times that he hopes Kal will not only survive on Earth, but lead and guide the world to become better. Essentially, he wants Kal to inspire a new, better world on Earth, better than what they had on Krypton. And that’s not what Superman does, really? He inspires, I guess, but we don’t get any indication that he will do more than protect the world and vaguely inspire more heroes. Especially given the random bits of information we’ve gotten about Snyder’s plans, which don’t indicate (from what I’ve seen, at least) that he was going to go in that direction at all.

That’s not a strike against this movie, because we can’t judge a movie on what came later and what might have come later, but I kept thinking about it. Regardless, the Codex feels like something…not tacked on, but not entirely necessary. I think that the worldbuilding could have been done some other way. Again, I like that he made Krypton so flawed–it’s not unusual to see it done as having some problems (I mean, it DOES blow up), but this movie makes it sound like a full-on dystopia. That’s different.

Then again, maybe this movie would have worked better if we didn’t see as much of Krypton as we did? The alien-ness of Clark and Zod would have been stronger, then.

[Also it’s a cool little bit of worldbuilding that Kryptonians really, really have to get used to their super senses when they get them, and it’s often pretty overwhelming to deal with. That’s an interesting little weakness to add in.]

The main complaint I’ve seen in regards to this movie is about the destruction of Metropolis, and the amount of violence. I admit that when I saw the movie, it didn’t really get to me? When I posted about liking it, one of my friends on Facebook immediately asked how I felt about the destruction in the movie. 

Look, guys, in superhero movies, stuff gets wrecked. I don’t know if you remember the “World of Cardboard” speech from Justice League Unlimited, but Supes punches Darkseid through several buildings, and then makes a crater with how hard he punches him into the ground. The reason that you don’t see worse things in superhero cartoons is the budget–the streets of Metropolis, Gotham, and New York City are all surprisingly lacking in people in these cartoons. Still, yeah, of course a lot of buildings are getting wrecked, and people are getting hurt in those scenes. You’d have to be an idiot to assume otherwise. The argument that Superman should have done more to move the battle out of Smallville and Metropolis does have merit, but given he’s new at being a superhero, and Zod’s forces keep beating him up, it’s actually not too bad that Superman can’t stop more harm from happening.

Apparently, though, many people did get worked up about it, given that there was a while in which every superhero movie afterward had at least a throwaway line about saving civilians in the final battle. I remember someone (io9, maybe?) had an article titled something like, “Guardians of the Galaxy did what Man of Steel couldn’t, which felt a bit silly, especially because in GotG, it amounted to… shooting down fighters who were approaching civilian areas. Which is better than letting them go, but keep in mind all that wreckage and debris is going to rain down on civilian areas anyway.

Still, I can’t exactly complain that superhero films, and audiences, want civilian casualties to be kept in mind. That’s an overall good development to our entertainment, I think.

[I’m also getting flashbacks to that one gifset of Iron Man saving a bunch of people from falling and someone saying, “This is why I prefer Marvel movies–the superheroes are more positive!” As if Tony Stark hasn’t explicitly and purposely killed a lot more people on screen than Cavill’s Superman.]

Nor do I have a problem with the ending, in which Superman reluctantly kills Zod. I’ve seen people argue that Superman should never kill under any circumstances, and I like the idea that he would avoid killing if possible; that being said, again, he’s new at this, and Zod doesn’t give him a choice. Pushing characters into situations where they go past their limits is kind of the point of a big movie like this?

There’s another controversial aspect of this movie, though, and one in which I agree with its harshest critics: Jonathan Kent in this movie… sucks. He sucks! He’s pretty terrible. He suggests that maybe kid!Clark should have let a bus full of school children die to avoid exposure, and while defenders point out he’s hesitant and unsure, he still says it. And then he refuses to allow Clark to save him for the same reason, when he easily could have. It’s just a terrible take on the character. I’m not saying the man can’t be flawed, but I just read Birthright, in which he has some resentment about Clark being an alien who he’ll never fully understand, yet he’s not stupid enough to suggest or force Clark to let someone die what the fudge.

Also, guys: we gotta talk about the Jesus thing. The Jesus imagery in this movie was way too over-the-top, especially considering that the parallels between Jesus and Superman are fairly superficial. I guess he saves the world, and his father sent him from above, and that’s… kind of it? More importantly, he’s not aiming for a spiritual or moral change of the world. It’s great that he stops the world from being destroyed! It’s fantastic! That’s not the same thing, though, and it’s a little weird that people want to keep turning Superman, made by Jewish comic creators, into an explicitly Christian Messiah figure.

[Okay, yes, Jesus was Jewishbut you know what I mean. His being sent from a dying race to a new family has more parallels with Moses than with Jesus, and that’s been remarked upon more than once.]

That being said, Snyder is really good at creating memorable imagery in his movies. Aside from the explicit “HE IS JESUS!!!” thing, there are really impressive shots in this movie! I think the movie doesn’t get enough credit for that.

It’s a good movie, I think, but not a great one. After how boring Superman Returns was, I liked seeing this as an actual action film, with its own visual style that didn’t even try to be the Donner films. I don’t think this movie works in all the ways it was meant to, though. I’d say Superman fans should check it out, but I don’t think that every superhero fan will find it enjoyable. It’s far from required watching if you’re not a Superman fan already, I think. You’ll definitely get something out of this movie; if nothing else, something interesting to discuss.

Random other things I want to note!

-“A good death is its own reward.” ←This is great. I loved this bit. -The cast is all great, but Amy Adams as Lois Lane is fantastic, and she is criminally underrated as an actress. -Zod’s motivation being explicitly tied to how he’s bred as a soldier, and that his role as soldier leads him to be limited in how he approaches any problem. -Krypton had rideable dragon mounts. That’s dope. - Random thing that’s not part of this movie–Swanwick. The Snyder Cut, and outside material, has Snyder claim that he always intended for Swanwick to have been Martian Manhunter in disguise. I call BS/retcon. There’s nothing in this movie that would ever line up with that idea. -Zod had a large-ish crew–I’m not sure I believe that they’re all dead.

[canmom]

L'aventure de Canmom à Annecy: Vendredi 3: Kaina of the Great Snow Sea

For Friday I spent my reservation walking right back into Bonlieu Grand Salle, on the premiere of Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: Star Sage. This film was not even out in Japan - I was one of the first people in the world to see it outside the studio that made it! Even though I knew absolutely nothing about the film, I was like, sounds sick, let's go.

It turns out that it's based on a story for TV by the great Tsutomu Nihei (accompanied by a manga, but it seems first conceived as a TV show). I love Nihei's work, but that comes with a wrinkle: this is another adaptation by Polygon Pictures in CGI, the same studio that adapted Blame! as a film and Knights of Sidonia as a TV show. These adaptations are... controversial I suppose, I know people who enjoy them, but I would say generally they are not loved by fans of Nihei's manga. That said, I haven't seen their take on Blame!, and I watched Sidonia so many years ago that I was basically a different person, so I resolved to give them a fair shot.

Also the director and producer came on the stage, both of them holding bottles of beer, and were really fun and energetic, getting us to cheer the film with three segments of the audience going か, い, な (I was in the 'い' group), so in general the energy in the theatre was pretty enthusiastic...

...which means it's truly a shame that the film ended up disappointing.

It turns out Star Sage is actually a sequel film to a TV series that aired in 2022. I did not realise this going in, but it explains a lot: we seem to be starting in the middle of the story, with a lot that happened beforehand. It was easy enough to pick up on the character relationships - most are quite archetypal - but I think it would probably work a lot better on the back of the TV show.

What I really liked about it was the imaginative setting. The 'Snow Sea' only loosely resembles snow; it is akin to a slow-moving fluid, transparent if you sink into it. Floatation is possible only with 'snowfoil sticks' harvested from the animals that live in the snow sea, which are used to create special boats that travel across the surface. There are some cool setpieces with this, such as a huge cliff where the surface of the 'snow' becomes vertical. This whole world is covered by an enormous solid canopy supported by 'orbital spire trees', with city-states built at their bases, surviving on the water that rises up through the trees.

The main characters of our story are Kaina, your standard heroic boy with the Nihei-standard long fringe, and Ririha, the princess of a certain nation. At the outset of the film, they have defeated a nation of invaders in a war by supernatural (or rather magitech) intervention, and they are now setting sail along with Amelothee, a defector from the invaders, on an expedition to the 'Great Spire Tree' where abundant water might be found.

Their mission successfully gets them to the tree, but there they find a technologically advanced nation led by a dictatorial young man Byōzan who enslaves the expedition. Amelothee and her people seem to defect and side with him. Kaina and Ririha attempt to infiltrate the project, and discover that Byōzan intends to find something called the 'Authorised User's Suit' with which he can order the big ancient robots to cut down the spire trees, believing this will save the world. They're captured; Ririha is taken to Byōzan, who needs her connection to the tech-spirits, while Kaina is sent underground to the mines where the workers are searching for the Authorised User's Suit.

Ririha is introduced to Byōzan's mother, who drops some of his backstory, and underlines that he has totally the wrong idea and is in part running on resentment at not being able to see the spirit anymore. Meanwhile, Kaina is for whatever reason immune to the ghosts guarding the old ruins, and finds the Suit, along with the big reveal: this whole thing is in fact a massive terraforming system, and it's basically finished, it just needs two people to give the instruction to complete terraforming to the spirit/AI governing the project (for some reason).

Kaina emerges with the suit, and the workers stage a rebellion against Byōzan. Amelothee was actually only pretending to defect, but despite everything, Byōzan gets the suit back and commands his robots to cut down the tree, but Kaina manages to climb up after him, rescue Ririha, and save the world. The humans start farming, and ever after is lived happily.

The influence of Nausicaa is very strong, if more so the movie than the manga. For example, we have a fantastical ecosystem (complete with bugs) that is actually a terraforming system; a vague prophecy; Amelothee is basically Kushana; Kaina carries a rifle not so different from Nausicaa's. I love Nausicaa, and I think there is a ton of potential in this film; sadly I just don't feel like it's realised. If I would compare it with anything it's actually a fairly obscure scifi anime film called Gin'iro no Kami no Agito, which has a cool setting of overgrown post-apocalyptic ruins but ultimately falls down to a massive ancient scifi machine that needs to be turned off by the right kind of boy.

So yeah partly this is because, for all the imaginative setting, this is just a standard 'boy saves the world' type of plot. Certain elements, such as the terraforming system requiring a final voice command, feel needlessly contrived. But that said, there's plenty here that I like. And the Nausicaa film is not so different.

So is it the visuals? Maybe. And that's probably worth examining...

I will preface this to say that I absolutely do not believe that is impossible to make good CG anime with present day tech. In fact earlier in the festival I watched The First Slam Dunk which was genuinely one of the best looking animated films I've ever seen. Even without the unique watercolour-like shader tech they used in that film, Studio Orange have been doing cel-shaded CGI like their Houseki no Kuni and that looks great, and from what I've seen of Trigun Stampede, it works pretty well there too.

CG should also be a pretty natural fit for the sort of grand scifi spectacle this film is going for. But it left me cold here. So why?

Partly we can look at technical stuff. For example, there is a lack of cloth and hair physics. One of the things that really sold Slam Dunk's CGI was that the characters' loose clothes swung and folded and generally moved naturally. In contrast, the characters in Kaina in their bulky snow outfits look decent enough in stills, but when they move, they move mostly as rigid dolls.

But also it's the way characters move in general. It is hard to really nail down where the problems lie without watching the film again, but it felt like there is a lack of weight, a lack of real impact, as well as a lack of emotion conveyed by the animated acting. The face rigs seem to be quite limited in how far they can really push their expressions, the body language just as much. And the camera is constantly in motion, too much so - which means that a lot of the tools of framing become unavailable.

Likewise, the lighting and composite tends not to use the powerful negative space and contrast that Nihei's manga is so good at. In this case since it's anime-first there's not a manga to compare with, but this is a setting that truly depends on selling a feeling of vast scale, and it just never quite sold it.

(Also... it's a small complaint but the particle effect used when the boats move through the snow sea, which consists of small spherical balls thrown up, just plain looks so bad, it bothered me so much. Like I don't know how this ever got to be the final effect used - it looks like a placeholder.)

All in all it felt sadly lacking in ambition. It's just too conventional; the setting ends up feeling less interesting for the big reveals. What I really like about manga like Blame! is how vast and bleak they feel; by contrast this movie felt small, this big strange scifi world just a backdrop for the usual hero story. I would have been much more interested in a smaller-scale narrative about how people survive in this Great Snow Sea than half-baked spiritualism and magic words that fix everything.

So that was a shame! Still, fun to attend a premiere all the same, and most of the audience seemed to enjoy it more than I did. The team from the studio were actually interviewing people at the exit to the theatre, but I missed the chance to tell them (more politely than the above lol) what I thought. Probably for the best though, they don't really need the advice of some British girl with no industry experience lmao.

After that I made my way back to my hotel to try and get an earlier night. Not a lot of food places were open, especially places doing decent vegetarian food, so I ended up getting a pizza, which was a huge mistake because I know too much cheese makes me feel ill. Next year I gotta make sure to eat earlier.

Saturday was a good end to the festival - besides Barry JC Purves, who I posted about already, I got to see Rintaro! But more on that in a bit~

[bookoftheironfist]

Luke Cage interviewed by Ben Urich for The Pulse Defenders (2017) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Justin Ponsor, Cory Petit, et al.

Full transcript below.

Luke Cage. Of the seemingly endless list of people who have taken on the role of protector of this city, this country, this planet and beyond...Luke Cage, for all of his in-your-face bravado, is actually one of the least controversial and most beloved members of the super-powered community. According to a recent Daily Bugle/Gallup poll, Luke Cage is actually the People's Choice to run for mayor of the City of New York--a role Cage is quick to reject. "Not my world" is all he had to say on the subject. Maybe it's because Luke Cage's story is, oddly, an American story of survival. Carl Lucas grew up on the mean streets of Harlem, only to find himself in prison for a crime it has since been proven he did not commit. In prison, as part of an illegal experiment, Carl Lucas, against his will, underwent a procedure that gave him what the government labels "omega-event-level super-strength" and his signature unbreakable skin. He left prison a changed man in every conceivable way, and has since dedicated each day of his life to doing everything he can for anyone who needs him. Some people even pay for the privilege. Luke Cage has been an Avenger, a Defender and, of course, a founding member of Heroes for Hire. A man has to eat. After a handful of recent salacious tabloid headlines, some perpetrated by this very organization, I sat down with Cage to talk about his career and what's next for those of us who live down in the mean streets of the five boroughs. BEN URICH: Luke Cage. According to my research, this is the first sit-down interview you have given in many years... LUKE CAGE: Yes. I'm not--a lot of people run to the press to ensure they're being heard. I get that. I guess it was the way I was raised--words can be cheap. All that matters is action. You see a lot of politicians saying one thing and doing another, and still, in this day and age where these lies are so obvious, people still fall for them. I can't stand it. I thought the best way was to not participate in the nonsense, allow my actions to speak for themselves. It works most of the time. BEN URICH: What convinced you to sit down with me today? LUKE CAGE: Well, a couple of things. Number one is... There have been some headlines about me and my wife, and they were painting a picture that was the direct opposite of the truth. A good friend of mine pointed out that no matter what I think my silence means, it is interpreted by most as non-denial... If I'm not denying it, it must be true. No one knows that I'm choosing to ignore it because it's stupid. So I thought I would come here and tell people that it's stupid. BEN URICH: So I take it you're here to say you're not having an affair... LUKE CAGE: Perfect example. I'm out on the street, speaking to a longtime colleague of mine, like a war buddy...we hug goodbye, someone takes a picture of the hug from a distance...and it looks like I'm macking on some lady in broad daylight. What bothers me about this is, of course, it's not true. I have a wife and child. It just so happens that I take my role in their lives very seriously. I take my role as an African-American man in the public eye very seriously. Someone else used me to make money...with a lie. I guess I can put up with people using us to make money if it's the truth, but this is the opposite. I don't like being painted as something that I find abhorrent. And the flip side is, I might sound guilty too. I know this. But I have to tell the truth. BEN URICH: You and Jessica Jones are still together... LUKE CAGE: Yes. BEN URICH: You have a lovely daughter. LUKE CAGE: Yes. Thank you. BEN URICH: How is fatherhood? LUKE CAGE: Fatherhood. True story, I once got into a good old-fashioned street fight with Dr. Doom... BEN URICH: And fatherhood is scarier? LUKE CAGE: You beat me to the punchline! (laughs)

BEN URICH: How is raising a family, doing what you do? LUKE CAGE: Ask me in ten years. Is it any different than a cop or a fireman, a federal agent or S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a family? It's a scary job. But I come home every day, so far, and if I've done it right, I've left the world better than I found it. So does my wife. So does my best friend. My feeling is, if we do that every day, then the world my daughter is going to grow up in will be far better than the one my wife and I grew up in, which, in fact, sucked. I'm not alone in this, but I live by the idea that if everyone woke up one morning and decided to actively be the best version of themselves, or just do their job exceptionally well, the entire world would shift immediately into something--well, frankly, something we all deserve. Right? BEN URICH: Fair enough. It's just a very unique thing for your community. LUKE CAGE: What's that now? BEN URICH: Other than the Fantastic Four, you don't see many public displays of family in the super hero-- LUKE CAGE: Well, that's not true. The Avengers are a family. The Defenders are a family. The X-Men? Most of the super hero community tends to gravitate toward each other, because we came from broken homes or disappointing homes or just bad homes. While we're pulling ourselves up out of the sludge, we meet other people like us and we end up really bonding with each other and helping each other, lifting each other up--then all of a sudden, you turn around and you have a family. I built my family. Danny Rand is my family. He is my brother. Daredevil is family. Literally, I'd do anything for these people. Anything. It's one of the great surprises of doing this--that you get to meet the other people who inspire you and you get to see how amazing they are in real life. These people understand me on levels that other people might not, because we share a common experience. It's cool to have super-powers, it is. I'm not ever going to be one of those people that complains about my power and the responsibility it brings. But, like everything, it comes with its own problems, and you still want to complain about work to your peers. Especially if that work includes getting punched in the side of the head by a cosmically enhanced Doctor Doom. You're going to want to have a friendly, trustworthy ear. It's nice to have that. I know I sound like one of those billionaires whining about tax reform, but when you have super-powers, there are still concerns. BEN URICH: The safety of those around you-- LUKE CAGE: Number one concern. BEN URICH: There's been a lot of talk recently about vigilantism and the role of the costumed hero-- LUKE CAGE: There always is. BEN URICH: So if you have something to lose--if you have family--why do it? LUKE CAGE: We need cops and we need firemen and we need agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And you know what? We need more of all of them. But we CLEARLY need more than that. There are really dangerous people out there eager to take advantage of everything and anyone because, dammit, they have it coming. I have seen this since I was a baby. I know this. There are people who will do and say anything to get "what's theirs" and they don't follow any kind of code. They run by rules the police cannot work with. BEN URICH: Sometimes very brazenly. LUKE CAGE: Right?

BEN URICH: Recently, a character that calls himself Diamondback has been making some bold moves. A blast from your past. LUKE CAGE: You mind if we don't talk about that? BEN URICH: Okay. LUKE CAGE: It's just, I'm inclined not to give that guy press. You know? BEN URICH: I do. I was more interested in the history between you two. LUKE CAGE: It's just that. BEN URICH: What? LUKE CAGE: It's history. BEN URICH: Okay, today then. Are you surprised to find yourself "married with children"? LUKE CAGE: Surprised doesn't quite cover it. BEN URICH: I'm sure. LUKE CAGE: I don't talk about it much because it is what it is and I have come to terms with it, but there was a time in my life where I thought I was going to die. First, on the streets. Then I thought I was going to die in jail. And for a long time, even after I got my powers, I thought I was going to just die from having something this unnatural done to my body. So for a good long period of my life I thought I was going to die. It's probably why I appreciate how lucky I am--

[Luke Cage pauses for over three minutes. In this time he does nothing but actively control his breathing and look out the window. Eventually, composed, he returns to the conversation as if no time has gone by at all.] LUKE CAGE: What was the question? BEN URICH: How has fatherhood been treating you? [Luke Cage laughs. He realizes the question got the best of him. An omega-level super hero done in by the oldest of concerns.] Obviously, this story is… to be continued.

[bitty-bits]

A Jolly SineTrismas

It surely was another year. Let's look back at some stuff, and forward to other stuff, in the final Bitty Bits edition of 2022.

First of all, happy holidays to all who celebrate. Yeah it is a bit late on the "more famous holiday" side of things, but there are still others going on, and... in general it's probably never wrong to be festive during all of December. (It's also not wrong to NOT be festive! Just pointing that out!)

Many things happened in this late half of the year, controversial things, stupid things, all things. Here I will talk about some that mattered to me, to some extent.

(Also, RIP bozo...naro! Good riddance!)

This issue is dedicated to @rick-666, friend and avid newsletter enthusiast who encouraged me to try to fix the broken ass email form thingy that should actually send these posts as newsletter things but just isn't working! I'll have it fixed next year, I promise!!!!

My Work - Where To Next?

So I've made and tried to make many things through the years, but as someone who pretty much does anything all the time, I'm finding myself often doing... nothing at the end of it.

In 2020 I basically started work on Ketchup Dreams by making its first characters, Bitty and Lake, with more to follow the coming years... but still nothing too substantial. Pondered with which medium to present these characters in. Comics? Animation? In the end I'd just continue adding some things here and there to the overall project, but it still doesn't seem like enough. I really want to build a good universe for these guys to live in.

So at the moment I feel kinda directionless. But hopefully that will change. I guess I won't know what sticks until I actually do stuff.

From Bitty also came the entire aesthetic, motif, symbol, meaning AND name for, I guess you can call my "indie" studio/group/label thing... which my future creative works will be released under, and who knows maybe even friends' creations. The "ᑎᐱ" thing was kind of accidental, but I liked it enough that I wanted it to mean something for me. Not to sound corny and dumb, but to me "ᑎᐱ" is kinda like another representation of the polarity we have in life, much like black and white, but in this case it would be something like... smooth and sharp. Yeah I'm not gonna try to give too much meaning to it, it's just for fun, mostly. Bitty's ears initially were meant to just be bunny + kitty ears (hence the incredibly original name) for an asymmetrical design, but that basically spiraled into everything else.

All that said I'm still doing stuff every now and then, I even have been experimenting with tweaking Lake's design slightly, you can even see a little bit of that in the header art here. More on that some other time...

You can check the current "roadmap" for Studio SineTri projects on the pinned tweet.

Why not "TriSine" instead? Because that just... sounds too normal. "Tri" is an existing and common prefix. Also the order matters.

The Tesla In The Room

I don't think I need to talk much about the whole thing with Elon Musk buying Twitter and everything that came with it. Mostly I'm just tired of it all. Billionaires, other than beings that shouldn't exist, are Boring and not even in a funny kind of way (except for Bill Gates, his mere existence is comedic to me probably thanks to early internet culture) I wish I just didn't have to hear about 'em. But I guess we can't.

Anyways this entire situation practically got me back into being on Tumblr daily, after I had left it in favor of Twitter in like 2015, and now... the opposite is happening, that's just how sick I am of Twitter. Not just the website itself but the people in it and the energy that usually comes out of there these days. Musk was simply a final nail in the coffin. The problem is... he just keeps adding more nails. Here's hoping Elon doesn't ruin the very last thing that made Twitter "fun" to me - TweetDeck, but chances it'll survive are slim.

I'm also on Mastodon btw. Juuust in case.

AI Art Discourse - What's Happening?!

"A Still of Klonoa in The Simpsons"

Speaking of Twitter, probably one of the least pleasing topics to witness over there lately will be this.

No doubt, "AI art" as a concept pretty much exploded into popularity in 2022, while it already existed in concept years before, this was pretty much the one year that, 5 years ago, we'd look at machine learning attempting art and say "now just think about how that'll be 5 years from now", and well, that time IS now. Kinda.

There's legitimate worry about whether or not the computer would be able to replace artists, but... personally I don't think it will ever BECAUSE... there will still always be a demand for humanity and human-created content no matter how good any sort of AI gets, and well, currently AI still struggles with "drawing" many things. But it's fine, earlier this year people were mostly memeing with AI generators, being impressed, confused, having a laugh, or everything all at once.

Until computers making drawings suddenly were no longer seen as cool but rather, bad!!! evil!!! problematic!!! etc. even though the reason for that all stems from... misconceptions and misinformation (sometimes on purpose, just because... I dunno. Internet rewards people who get angry at things.) about how the technology works to begin with. No, AI doesn't simply collage a bunch of pictures together, that just isn't how it works, even if it knows what a Mona Lisa looks like almost perfectly. It's hard to put it into words, but this thread I believe explains it a bit better in simpler terms (hopefully), even if you still don't understand, it's... best to not be too ignorant about it.

Of course, I DO think AI ethics is an important conversation that should happen, but not if it's... not gonna be a conversation in the first place. If it sounds too extreme, reactionary, or sounds just about as crazy as anything you'd hear coming from Alex Jones or like, your pro-life uncle™, then it probably isn't the way to go.

This made even people who think photography isn't art come out of their closets, if they even were in one.

There are good use cases for AI in art. One of them is allowing disabled individuals to also partake and experiment with visual arts. Yes, technically nothing "stopped" them from "really" doing it, but just look at how much that argument almost slips into ableism territory (and there is a surprising amount of that coming from some anti-AI folks.) Hell, I could've used AI to create a background for the art on my header as I'm mostly... a character illustrator, focused on characters, and just don't really enjoy drawing backgrounds much at all.

Anyways I recommend y'all check out AWAY (Are We Art Yet), a collective of artists and creators alike embracing AI but also fighting for more ethical AI usage (discussion about scraping images from the web, consent for works to be used as training data, etc.), without the reactionarism and sometimes ableism. They're a friendly bunch.

What I’ve Been Playing / Watching

Gravity Falls

Well, does it really?

Hey Kids, Have You Heard Of Gravity Falls? The show's 10th anniversary was this year and, having heard mostly only good things about it since then, AND as someone who had recently been sucked deep into the modern Disney TVA pipeline (DuckTales 2017, Amphibia and Owl House are also great and would also recommend), I made it a goal to watch all of it before the year ends.

At first I thought this, like other very successful shows, would have way too many seasons for me to really get into, so I was surprised when I found out that wasn't the case.

It's definitely a great show, even 10 years later. From what I saw very little of it comes across as dated when it comes to references or jokes, the characters being likable and interesting are about enough to hook you into it I think. Also Matt Chapman is in there a lot and as an avid Homestar Runner fan, you can just Tell not only through his voices, but his humor and vibes entirely in some episodes.

If there's one thing I probably can't get enough of is Disney cartoons made by some of the most... Non-Disney people on Earth.

The Dream I Had On December 25th

Usually I share my dreams on Twitter, but decided it might be neat to feature some of the more interesting ones right here. They are an essential part of one of my creations after all. This year though, for a reason or another, I had less eventful or weird dreams in general. But waking up on Christmas day this is what was on my mind:

For more of my dreams you can check out my dream journal with stuff since at least 2014, here.

I had a dream I can split up in three parts - first I was at an old house of mine but I could hear a new trailer for the Mario movie premiering far outside, a classic game song could be heard in it and things pointed to it being a Daisy reveal.

Second part was a Strong Bad thing, where I possibly interact with him directly and actually cause a change to homestarrunner.com "accidentally". He makes some sort of analog horror parody, and an old main page gets a new "feature" permanently. I felt a sense of realization since "I caused this". I really wish I remembered more cuz it was great

Third part is the one I can recall the most, it was what seemed like a weird Gravity Falls AU type thing, which is slightly mixed up with The Owl House - In what appears to be the first episode, Grunkle Stan is nowhere to be found, with probably Eda taking his place as the twins' "Graunt". The episode begins with Mabel just wandering around the forest, when she comes across several typically good luck signs all at once, things like four leaf clovers and such. Eda knowing better knows it's a trap and tries to protect Mabel, but she is convinced that Eda is a witch (which probably Should be a secret at first in this alternate timeline I guess, Eda Is Not What She Seems™) and EVIL!!! and ignores her, acting hostile towards her, even, so Eda locks her up in a shelter. Perfectly normal. In there she finds… a journal. It doesn't appear to be -the- GF journal but rather a mix of that and Philip's journal from Owl House. At first it looked like the journal could talk by itself but someone just happened to be there in disguise, it was Soos, who happens to know a couple things about the journal but probably not much. For some reason I was "watching" it in Portuguese and they'd give him a completely different name, likely starting with a hard C, but I can't remember now. Some weird magic thing happens too which I don't remember how it's triggered or when exactly in the episode progression it even happens but it would make food and candy "infinitely stretchy", where you could essentially have infinite amounts of something just by stretching them, and it caused children to go insane over it. Eventually Soos and Mabel made it out of the shelter, with the latter no longer feeling suspicious about Eda. That's about what I can recall.

Song of the Issue

I will now feature some cool music (probably just vgm) I like here, just because. Sometimes topical, sometimes not.

But today it might be.

A secret easter egg track, on the older 2008 MIDI version of the Charlie (the Duck) II soundtrack (that probably came into existence together with the 2008 Windows version of the game, as opposed to the original DOS version which much like other Wiering Software games only had sound effects, at most.)

It would only play on Christmas day, and was basically a slight arrangement of the proper theme, but with some classic Christmas tunes thrown into it.

The OGG/streamed version you hear on the Steam release cuts the song a bit shorter.

More Stuff

Audicons Fluent/2.0/Name Pending

Inspired by Microsoft's Fluent Design aesthetics and technicalities, this will be an update to my existing icon pack for audio formats, covering even more obscure formats that only 3 people know about! Just like the old pack, this will be fully compatible with probably any version of foobar2000. Very soon!

Ninjin on Archive.org

Yeah!

juke...box. AI. video.

yeah dude.

(no, seriously, it'll come out when it comes out. that's it.)

Miscellaneous Tumblr Side Things

I dunno, I just felt like... having a couple dedicated side blogs for specific interests, as some people do, cuz I have ideas. One of them will be about brazilian animation in general. Nothing fancy or scheduled, just things that will exist.

Conclusion

The more I write the more self-conscious I get that I might just be shit at writing Anything, but I still appreciate if anyone actually likes reading through!

Stay tuned for the traditional yearly dumb highlights collage pic™ on my main Tumblr (@lu9) and Twitter (if it's not completely broken by then...)

Bitty's Message of the Day

My new year's resolution is to Exist more!

[t0kidal]

Part 6, Return from Origins

Serious Talk. Obviously, none of you actually know how to raise a child. Was that going to stop you? Hell no! But... there are some controversial aspects that you'd like to address... and in your case, you saw this as especially necessary.

note: We'll get to see more Mom-Baby-Daddy(ies?) activities soon enough, but for now, momma's got some ground work to settle. Since you can't give Iruma the world in the way Sullivan could, you're damn well making sure he can survive in it. This means a trip to your old house for a bit of clean up (yes, you weren't always a stick chewing gremlin) as well as the territory you claimed as someone who Returned.

~~~

"You want to WHAT?!"

You don't flinch. This was a matter of Iruma's long term survival and growth in the Netherworld, and while you're a first time mother who was without a mother yourself for half you life, anything and everything you do is for the sake of your precious bundle of blue. Though you couldn't really blame the two for their reactions... After all, your definition of camping wasn't really a pleasant one. If the word "camp" had to be in there, it's better to call it boot camp. This was a matter of serious training, teaching Iruma survival skills that would stick with him till the end of time. And how did you plan on doing this? Starting at an early age.

"I want to take Iruma with me to my old house and eventually, my territory."

To say it was a whim wasn't true. You were thinking about going back to maintain the zones you set up and the thought came to you naturally from the mental back burner. Maybe it was a natural part of being a mother, planning and scheming ways to give your child the tools he needs to build himself up. And you had made that clear! You, Opera, and Sullivan were discussing this over tea while Shichiro put Iruma down for a nap, and you used the opportunity to make the suggestion.

Maybe you just had to hammer it in?

"I want Iruma to learn how to survive, if only for my mind's sake. You two might be able to say that you'll always be around for him but me?" You shake your head, unranked, the highest you ranked when you graduated wasn't high enough as is. "I can't make that promise, which was part of the reason I brought us here but... if you're just going to coddle him... I can't accept that."

At that, the air grew heavier as a shadow falls over Sullivan's face and a conflicted look crosses Opera's.

But between the two, it's Sullivan who speaks first.

"I see... well then... Ok~! It sounds like it'll be fun~! A nice fishing trip between grandson and grandpa~! Operaaaa~! Clear my schedule for the next week! We leave at once~!"

"Master... I don't think Y/n means right now..."

You don't correct either of them on the 'nice fishing tip' idea... Besides, it wasn't like you wanted to exclude them from this but you need to say one last thing.

"I should go set things up then... My territory has gone unsupervised for a while now... not to mention my childhood home... I need to go clean up this weekend."

There was so much to do... you weren't sure if you'll be able to settle it all considering the monsters to fight off... zones to set up... the local demon town to apologize to... Yeah, you were really in for it.

"Will you need help, Y/n?"

"No, Thank you, Opera I'll take care of it. For now I think I should go discuss tomorrow's outdoor lab with Shichiro."

As you leave the room, you chuckle. You could hear a faint chant of "fishing fishing!" no doubt coming from Sullivan. When you approach the doors to Iruma's room though, a different sound reaches your ears...

Rolling thunder, gentle like the tides, it goes into your ears as smooth as honey, and something in your heart twists. Shichiro never really explored any musicality he might've had in school, but you always thought his voice was soothing to hear in and of itself. This song in particular... was something you hadn't heard in forever.

It was something you taught him.

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me starlight and moonlight are waiting for thee sounds of the rude world, heard in the day Lulled by the moonlight have all passed away.

His eyes lock onto yours as you gazed from the door's threshold.

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song List while I woo thee with soft melody Gone are the cares of, life's busy throng Beautiful dreamer wake unto me Beautiful dreamer wake unto me

With that, he settles a sleeping Iruma into his cradle and joins you in the hall.

"..."

"..."

You start, "You remember..."

"Y-Yeah.. I do..."

You can only sigh... calm down... down girl... just... get a hold of yourself...

And all such thoughts vanish as a large hand comes up and gently holds your face, a palm coming up to cushion your cheek and after a brief moment, you just allow yourself... this.

What exactly this was you weren't sure.

Shichiro breaks the silence this time, "We have been dear friends for so long... in school, and I'd hope to continue our lives together outside of it too... Myself, Kalego, Opera, and you. Kalego and Opera expected the same... And it wasn't the same when you left."

You look at every other part of his face while fighting both the warmth bubbling up inside you and whatever guilt you had for your sudden disappearance, for making them worry, for making them prepare themselves for a day they'd have to eliminate you (should you get out of hand). Once again, Shichiro breaks the silence.

"We have always thought fondly of you. We will never stop thinking fondly of you."

You were a demon, and like most demons you made mistakes, as demons you deliberate to choose between what you want versus what you have. Shichiro, much like Kalego and Opera, would never easily forgive anyone else if they Returned to Origins, casting away common principles like how "precious" life was, so you regarded his behavior as him being kind, maybe for the sake of your relationship, he was always a little more sentimental in that way.

But you forget, the main difference between you and many demons like you, is that you repent.

Asking for forgiveness is not easy, it wounds the pride and torments people with guilt and shame, hence the intimacy whenever a demon does apologize. You being here now, trying to make things better, letting Kalego have at you on sight... You truly were a strange demon. You just needed a second to recognize that.

And as you look up at Shichiro, you can't help but wonder just what kind of demon were you? To have such unconditional affection from someone so good to you.

The next day at Babyls, you were supposed to work with Shichiro on an outdoor lab for his Magic History course...

So why weren't you?

Apparently, Shichiro had an urgent meeting with Opera and Sullivan. For now, you're stuck... with Kalego... Robin called in sick last minute and none of the other teachers were available to supervise a joint class familiar training so your task was mostly to make sure that the familiars and the students don't cause any trouble. Mask in place, you were ready... more or less.

"Silence."

"..."

"Today, we'll be having our familiar training session, it says training but what we'll be doing here today is establishing your bond with your familiar. Contrary to what some of you may think this isn't a play date. You're here to establish a relationship of mutual respect, if I catch any one of you letting them run rampant it's detention. Any questions or issues that arise will be addressed at the end of class and any problems maintaining control will immediately be reported to me or our assistant for today, Y/n-san. Now get to it."

You really couldn't help but be reminded of the value of life in the Netherworld as you watch the students in action, seeing their relationships grow and watching them learn brought you an almost unfamiliar feeling, pride in someone else.

You hope that Iruma, human he may be, would be able to flourish like these students.

A shout of panic interrupts the peace as you whip around to see two students trying to call back their familiars with little to no avail. You immediately run to the scene, pulling the two of them away to avoid being crushed under the flurry of fur and teeth.

"Whoop! None of that." You set them down, they're still in a panic but fall silent as you bring a finger to your lips in a 'shhh' motion.

With a snap of your fingers, the two familiars are silenced, and though they're still locked in combat, they're young and can recognize when something... is wrong.

"Now call them back." The two students look at you almost as if you're crazy. "Hurry up, if you don't they're gonna hurt each other, if you don't they'll always be looking for trouble at your expense, if you don't someone is gonna get hurt. Steel your nerves and face the chaos for both their sake and your own."

With that, the students hesitate but for one moment, before calling out to their familiar. Their stern, but frantic, tones were sufficient and their familiars as they bounded over, and you release them from your hold to reserve mana.

"Well done, next time this happens, it better not, try to remain calm. Perhaps they sensed your nervousness and reacted to each other in order to protect yo-"

Did they just growl at you?

Those familiars are more defiant than you thought. But rather than reciprocate the animosity you look expectantly to the students.

"Th-that's enough! Don't do that. That's a teacher." A combination of that could be heard as you walk away. 'Good, they're a bit more assertive.' You're sure that Kalego could reinforce that character in later lessons, or even Robin? Nah... good luck to him.

Kalego watches on, and nods in approval before turning back to the others.

Little did either of you know that you were being watched.

"Mo~! Why aren't they talking!?"

"Master, they're working right now, did you really think my underling would bring his personal affairs to work?"

"Hmph~!"

"Opera-senpai... is that why you called me here? And why is Iruma with you!?"

"We couldn't leave him at home alone..."

Yep, the whole thing was a ploy by Opera and Sullivan to get you and Kalego on better terms, Shichiro only agreed because he liked seeing you two get along, but not only did their plan (sort of) fail, they now had to worry about if you ever realize Iruma was brought to school.

Oh you're gonna be so mad if you catch him here.

[limetameta]

Kimblee: My sister has all of these gold necklaces and rings and earrings and what do I have? I got this suit. I love it, it's my favourite suit, but when you put that into perspective, I just look nice. But I'm not at all set financially.

Riza: Well, maybe if you liked to wear jewellery you'd get some.

Kimblee: As of today I will be wearing rings and gold chains. I need some stable income. Money? It can become obsolete at a drop of a hat. Gold? Gold's forever.

Edward: Yeah, you know he's right. We need to start preparing for the alchemical apocalypse. Money's going to be worthless then.

Kimblee: That's not happening during our lifetimes and you shouldn't concern yourself with it.

Riza: Dare I ask? *then a pause* Wait, is that that thing where alchemist believe sooner or later someone's going to invent a type of nuclear alchemy that's going to blow us all up and leave us in a frozen wasteland? My father would talk about that and make me do survival training. He even built a bunker.

Roy: Your father's a smart man. Everyone should be prepared for the alchemy apocalypse.

Kimblee: One man writes one controversial paper and starts a three generation long panic about a potential apocalypse. Alchemists are all truly paranoid people.

Roy: So, you're paranoid?

Kimblee: I have a healthy dose of paranoia, yes. I'm an alchemist. Why do you think we all code our research? Just for fun?

Edward: I did it because it's the norm. Also, yeah, it was kinda fun.

Kimblee: It is pretty fun, I agree.

Roy: Though, back to the topic of gold. My aunt has some gold bars with my name on it. So, I'm set.

Riza: I have a bunker. I'm richer than all of you. What will your gold do for you if you don't have any alchemy apocalypse-resistant shelter??

Kimblee: She's right.

Maes: What are you guys talking about?

Roy: The alchemy apocalypse. I told you about it.

Maes: Yeah, and that's not happening during my or Elicia's lifetime so I'm set.

Kimblee: The way I see it, non-alchemists are much more inclined towards developing nuclear weaponry than alchemists are. I see it's coming our way. But not on such a grand scale that the entire world will be wiped out.

Maes: What's that weird conspiracy theory that we're being run by stone people who seek to destroy Amestris?

Kimblee, who knows about the homunculi, sweating: That sounds so silly, Maes. What's next? Flat earth?

Roy, an ardent believer in making Kimblee's life hell: Hey, hey, Kimblee, hey, how can you really KNOW whether or not the Earth is round?

Kimblee, screaming internally: :)

[danielleee-x]

I love the people in my life. However small or big the interactions we have, and however regular or sporadic they may be. There's something to be said for building a community that loves you and shows up in either which way they do. One talks to me regularly with long texts, regular calls, a clear intention to be there for me through thick and thin. Another shows up once a year, almost in a passing by, moving motion and shares how often they remembered me and my soul. They may not reach out or talk to me often but they're there, orbiting my surroundings and sending me love on this planet or on another. One doesn't always need to love actively and intensely. A simple 'I know you're alive and you matter enough to me to say I love you, every once in a while' is enough to me. Not always but usually it is. Everyone gets lonely at times. I do struggle to see the love around me but that is okay.. Some things need to go away for us to notice the deepness and beauty of it in its absence.

I live for the people I love. The way my mom and I speak through all topics underneath the brightly shining sun. Even when the clouds hide the happiness - she is there. She is so beautiful when she laughs. I see her smile and touch as the strongest medicine I could get in this lifetime. She's truly something else. Ethereal at times. There's no moment of doubt in my mind that she is my soulmate in this dark and twisted little world. I love my mom and the way she sounds and looks within this body she chose.

And I love my dad so much that I can't express any of it without being in pain. We may have had some rocky times but he has always had my back, no matter how ungrateful my teenage self may have been. He's the funniest and sweetest human to walk this soil. Which is why I think he like plants so much. He himself is like a sunflower when he wants to be. He was neglected a little while but plants aren't as weak as one may think. The youngest of his bunch and the most controversial but the most special of the four. I think so either way. We're one and the same. Funny, rough around the edges but always the person to rely on when the tide gets too rocky. I can only wish people see him with the sparkling eyes that I see him with. One in a million.

I wouldn't know what to do without my sister. She's been one of the worst and best people in my life. Perhaps that feeling is universal between siblings but the trauma we have endured, individually and together, is indescribable. There used to be such a big push and pull but we've grown up a lot. When I look back and see how much she's changed for the better - I can see the whole mt.everest underneath her feet. All the while keeping up with her passions and talents. The moment she let me in and let me practice my love for helping my surroundings, we became unbreakable. The waves still come and go but I wouldn't know what to do in life without those. She's a diamond in the rough but so are we all. I love her laugh and how bubbly she can be. We're just sisters.. there's nothing that can come between that, not while we're still the same soul in the same old - broken down bodies.

Now we get to my brother and my confusing appreciation for him being in my life. We aren't as close as we once were. Our life used to be us against the rest. The fights we fought to just survive were so similar to eachother nd different all at the same time. He showed up for me against my bullies, even when being harassed by his peers himself. He was there when I needed him, all the while he was silently struggling on his own. I wish I could have done, and can do, more than I did. My hope is that he knows how deep my love runs for him and his quirks. I feel a huge wall between us now. It does break down at times by us being in a car together - those are the most special moments nowadays.. we just get to share our passion for music and talk and be ourselves. For a split second it feels like us against the world in those drives. I hope he feels that too. I miss us and I miss his horribly curly hair from back in the day. The tears we had together. The conversations we shared. And the way he always laughs at my jokes, no matter how bad they may be. He truly makes me feel like one of the most special people whenever we're in the same room together and I hope he feels that way sometimes aswell. I truly don't know him anymore. I wish he knew that all the trauma doesn't change my opinion of him. I'm still here waiting for him to open up his heart to people again. Until then I'll be here waiting. I'm sure he'll heal soon enough. I'm sure.

I love the people within my life. Wether they are happy, scared, sad or angry. I wish to experience all of their emotions and see them for who they are. Unzip your skin and let me have a little look at the way you tick. Let me be there for the good and bad times. But also be there when I fall back down. It doesn't always have to be the same person but atleast let there be one of them. I love you all. Even if I am shitty at showing it at times.

I live for the people I love.