#there may be a few other units shown but i'm not sure yet

[sleepy-bunbun-ace]

i've revived myself in the submas tag to talk about the funny train blorbo. emmet has no escape from my grip <3

every day i play the game of how many games can i throw him into and so here's a new one: project sekai. i'm throwing him into the funny hatsune miku gacha game.

story: 16 year old kudari lives (what he calls) a sad life. he can't remember anything before being taken in by johanna at 14. as the new school year rapidly approaches, he can't help but wonder what kind of tracks the future will bring him to. he knows he wants to bring smiles to others but just doesn't know how. one day, a mysterious song called 'untitled' appears in his playlist and he's transported to his SEKAI. it's a magical train filled with many childish decorations. from there he meets miku and kaito before being sent back. he thinks it was all a dream, but little does he know it's the start of a new adventure.

[mimicha-arts]

Person in the shadows

Hello everyone! I don't know if this can be called a theory or something like that, Probably someone has written this before me, but I just want to write down somewhere my thoughts about one character that relate to the main plot. These are just theories! I have too much free time and I like to have fun, don't take it too seriously.

Possible spoilers! I think many people get the feeling that behind everything that happens there is a person in the shadows, whose goals and motivations are still unclear. And given that the plot leaves us with a lot of speculation, clues…Lets talk about Liu Xiao! Most likely, given the huge number of connections to story details, he may play a key role in the plot. 1. Who is Liu Xiao and his direct mention. Liu Xiao (刘枭) is a young man, the son of Liu Jing, who owns the Quede company. He is also the younger brother of Liu Min. So far, we don't know anything about his personality, but in his father's eyes, he is much better than his older brother, so we can definitely say that Liu Xiao is very promising and different from Liu Min. Considering the little clue given to us in s2s1, when Liu Xiao's father is talking to his business partners, Liu Xiao did not appear on the "main stage" because he was abroad. But, probably, we will soon see him in the frame.

Thus, for now, it can be summarized that the side that opposes our protagonists not only maintains Liu Jing (and Quede company), his lawyer Qian Jin with his subordinates and twins, but also Liu Xiao. The plot itself has already given obvious clues that this "side" is not a united one, each one twists intrigues and has their own motivation, because of which I dare to express the idea that in fact Qian Jin, who has already shown himself to be not the most loyal subordinate, actually works for Liu Xiao, not for Liu Jing's interests. 2. Posters & Liu Xiao in the "current" timeline. Have we already seen Liu Xiao? Quite possibly. Given the connection of the characters through the side of the antagonists and further information, I will speculate by referring to the posters.

It is quite possible that the young man in the hat, the only character who has not yet appeared in donghua directly, is Liu Xiao. We remember that on the poster it is the man in the hat who stands next to Qian Jin, which is his "shadow" on another poster of the character, which, it seems to me, can be a serious justification for assuming on whose behalf Qian Jin really acts.

Talking about any color coding, his design is centered around black, but his hair, although dark in color, has some kind of a purple tint.

In addition to the fact that this character covers his eyes with a hat, there are several other interesting details in his appearance.

1. The first is an accessory on his neck. I'm not sure what this sign is, but I saw that people suspect it is theta (death) symbol. 2. The image is quite small, maybe it's just a shadow or line of the collarbone, but I think it's a tattoo on his neck (maybe V letter or something). 3. Flashbacks, Li Tianchen From the last episodes, we learned that in childhood, Li Tianchen had a friend who greatly influenced the formation of his character. This boy from flashbacks deliberately does not show his face and eyes, and his hair is black with a purple tint. Of course, this is still speculation, but it is likely that this color coding, especially the purple tint of the hair, may be a hint that the boy in the flashbacks is the man with the hat from posters.

We have already seen that it was his words, the "the strongest survives" ideology, that influenced the actions of Li Tianchen (and probably the entire personality of Li Tianchen or even both twins in the future). Сonsidering that both boys are kids that time, the words of the boy with purple hair sound so out of age and kinda terrifying. A few days ago, Billibili also released a clip of this entire moment, which makes it pretty obvious how much this "idea" and character himself will be driving the plot to the future events. His voice actor is Zhao Lu, he cannot be a minor character.

After the death of the twins' parents, their case 7 years ago passed into the hands of Qian Jin, as we know from the last episode, but information about the case has disappeared, as well as the children themselves, just in accordance with the time when Qian Jin left the police. There are still many questions (his age, whether he has any abilities). But if the three characters I mentioned before (the boy from flashback, Liu Xiao, the man with the hat) is actually one character, his connections with Liu Jing, Liu Min, the Quede company, the twins and Qian Jin look too matched to be a coincidence. Probably. Another interesting detail that connects the two parts of the story is that Qian Jin calls "manhunt" what happens in episode 7 , and (in my opinion) this is very resonant with the words from purple-haired boy in flashbacks.

4. Speculations OK! Let me remind you again that this is all one big guess, and maybe I'm thinking too much about certain details. At the moment, I kinda assume that Liu Xiao is the one who manipulates all events from the outside. And maybe while Li Tianchen's hand is grabbing Cheng Xiaoshi, Li Tianxi's hand is grabbing the toy fox, he is represented by the hand from the shadow behind her.

About possible motivation: assuming that Qian Jin is acting in Liu Xiao's interests, maybe he is genuinely interested in destroying his own family because of his story or unknown background. At the same time, taking into account his words about evolving and hunters, it seems to me that he is pursuing far from material, but ideological goals, related to people with abilities.

Keeping in mind how it all started, I can assume that he also may be an unknown client from the first case, who gave a tip on Quede's financial manipulations and launched a case with Emma, dragging Qiao Ling, Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi into the maelstrom of events (if this moment of the plot does not turn into loop). There is also someone who collected information about the three main characters before the main events of the series even began (some earlier dates on documents, a few days before the start of the plot), so there is room for thoughts too.

Let me remind you again that all this is empty theory, and I play bingo. It will be interesting to come back to this post after a while and see how badly I guessed wrong, haha. In any case, thanks for reading, I was glad to share my thoughts ~

[abeinginsand]

you're THE sparrow blog so him, but I'm also rly curious what you think of lark and normal?

Smiling at that compliment, thank you for thinking so!! Makes me very happy hehe!! :D Sparrow, my beloved <3 [was surprised by this] [<--same person drawing/talking about sparrow every other day asdksadssea ] Also thank you for the Sparrow ask as well @lex-the-lesbiann :) I'm back from work so here's the bingos! I rambled mostly about Lark and Sparrow but do mention Normal a bit more in the last two paragraphs. Sorry this took so long! Sparrow:

Lark:

Normal:

I liked how energetic and bold Sparrow and Lark were in season one (and silly haha). Took me a bit to understand what the parenting issue was (or atleast part of the issue) at first? But eventually I got the vibe of not knowing how to deal with anger part as well as that the twins may benefit from a different style of parenting in general. One that Henry struggles to do (as shown with how Darryl and Glenn do manage to connect with the twins a bit by being somewhat playful/competitive).

We are missing a lot of Mercedes point of view on stuff and I wonder if maybe she has an easier time being playful/competitive? I like to think they get some of their mischievousness from her. Both parents did work together to set up a chore based dnd campaign for their kids to play for example. Its brought up in detail in the season 1 patreon newsletter...think its very cute and proves that they are definitely trying to better engage with the twins interests.

I felt for them all as they got tossed into the adventure and the family bond was put to test. I think the reason I'm more attached to Sparrow is due to his interest in drawing, fascination with wolves (and power), and especially his struggles with having to be a mediator between his loved ones. While I do not know much about wolves, I did love cats SO much as a kid that I wanted to be one as a job. I did not understand jobs as a concept yet haha. I'm sure if I was offered some way to be a "love" cat for greater good when I was a pre-teen...I would have said yes before Henry even finished talking lol. Wild shape is such a fun spell (and shapeshifting magic in general).

About the "so mean" square, I have seen a few harsh takes about adult Sparrow. I think a part of why Sparrow gets scrutinized so much is because we get most of the scenes from Normal's view (since he's one of the main characters). And for some reason, (maybe they were both super close in between seasons growing up?)--Normal seems to focus on his father's reactions much more heavily than his mom or uncle. Even though both Rebecca and Lark have also shown to either not like the mascot interest that much ("let me teach you something more useful" -Lark ep 1) or Rebecca being concerned (like his dad) about how Normal's going about it. Both his parents are concerned about the poor hygenie especially because it could make him sick after all.

And even in the calzone conversation, Sparrow explains that a lot of his reasoning comes from worry (and his own past). He doesn't want Normal to get hurt, physically or mentally...and especially doesn't want him to be hurt in the same ways he was before. Were his words harsh? Yeah, he was also drunk and being influenced by a eldritch god too. He wouldn't have said that out loud otherwise and clearly he has never said that before otherwise Normal would not have been that shocked. Sparrow does love both his kids and he's trying really hard (in my mind at least). I think it'd be great if they could all talk again at some point. It would be a nice start to understanding each other better. :[

This isn't explicitly stated but I imagine both the twins were bullied in the various schools they went to. As a unit, they were comforted with each other and quickly felt like others weren't worth there time. They'd rule the world someday, get strong enough so others would not dare to bother them! Which leads to the fires and fights and I think the rumors probably stuck from back then too. Sure, Sparrow comes back vowing to be a lovewolf and actively tried to be nicer (while still mischievous)...but I doubt their classmates would be accepting of the change. Not instantly anyway, but Sparrow is stubborn and keeps on trying for better or for worse which...takes a big hit to his self-confidence, self-love too.

And in contrast, I think Lark stops caring all together about outsider opinions. He cares about his family and friends and anyone else can either get out of the way or put their fists up if they have an issue. He's got an apocalypse reversal to work on! I think...both are angry at the world but Lark embraces the anger--hides behind it while Sparrow feels like he must pretend his anger doesn't exist at all. Unless he is masquerading as Lark...then well suddenly its easier to express it, to not be so scared of it--because he isn't scared of Lark ya know? No matter what, they have each other's backs.

Anyways, I will get to the point haha. The oak-garcia-swallows family is precious to me and I'm often thinking about their relationships with each other or to themselves. I focus most on Sparrow yeah but I do love Lark and Normal too! Specifically for Normal, don't have much else to add but I love his little facts a lot-- marching band cover enthusiast, the mens wear, the fanfic writing etc.

I liked Taylor and Normal right away when I started s2 while both Link and Scary took me more eps to warm up too. Its fun to see them all bouncing off each other when things are silly but pretty compelling in the tough times too (in recent eps). Speaking of Taylor and Normal--they don't get along that well, but I like to write scenarios where they are close friends! They are a very silly and creative duo to me.

[revilleaj]

Art update & 3D Robodi model images

It has been quite a while since I've last really done anything online. I've been heavily burned out and tired constantly since at least December or so (I have done drawings in months prior, but I have never posted them publically). I still do not have a new computer, even though I have enough money (about £1k) to buy the parts or even an entire computer, but there are other factors in life that need more attention being put towards right now.

I'm still in the midst of trying to get a job (damn required experience and driving license listings!), and drawing right now is bottom priority. It feels like a chore and it's not fun when I have rusted from not drawing in so long (making so many mistakes really sets off my anger problems). I really do not like being pressured into trying to do things, and I have been experimenting with 3D, but only to an extent.

So, with that said, I am going to put making newer drawings on hold for an indefinite amount of time until I feel motivated enough to draw. I'm not done with art entirely and I never will be, but I think I really shouldn't pressure myself as if art is some kind of requirement in life. I've been also having drawing tablet issues, and I noticed there's a small crack in my Huion that I haven't been able to use almost ever since I had it (thankfully the thing still works, and the crack is near the top, only half getting on the drawing area).

I may also finally add some images to my empty DeviantArt account. As much as I do not like that website nor its community, I think it would work if I just put my favorite drawings I've worked on there, specifically ones up until the end of 2023. All of the really old and weaker art (mostly from 2018 and 2020, and anything from 2017) I won't be reposting, as they no longer reflect me, and have not done so for a very long time.

-----

Now, for the second topic of this post, and in a much better light; the 3D Robodi model. I'm sure I've talked about this years ago on Twitter. Back in 2020, when I was still in my first year of university, I worked on a 3D model of one of my characters named Robodi, using Cinema 4D. It was never finished, but I did learn quite a bit when working on it. Here's some newer screenshots of him, now that I've managed to pick back up an older version of C4D (I do not like the 2022 UI layout change):

This is the last version of the model to not be animated, from May 2020. The image is rendered using the Sketch & Toon shader with the Standard renderer. A few options were altered to remove unnecessary outlines.

The model in the renderer itself; right is the objects list, bottom are the materials (vertex colors and textures, some with C4D specific features).

The last ever version of this specific model from September 2021, with the FOV heavily reduced to improve the depth. A single black thin cube was added between the eyes to create a fake extra outline. A bit of a hacky effect; I did not know how to do inverted normals, in fact I don't think I knew that was how most computer games handled outlines.

The very first saved version of the model, in Cinema 4D's editor, made earlier in May 2020. The pieces have default names and are not parented, some materials are not added yet, and the shapes are noticeably bigger, especially the base of the head and the torso.

I once experimented with "realistic" materials and shading (including the dreadfully slow Global Illumination), which doesn't make the most sense for a cartoon character. Here you can see the unit plate on the back of his head, which I don't think I have ever shown before. The camera may look close here, but it's actually extremely far away with a very low FOV (dubbed Super-Telescope). Some textures are no longer in the project files, so this looks slightly off from how it did back in 2020.

In October 2021, I went back to the older May 2020 model and decided to try and remake it. I realized that using one mesh and extruding it works a lot better with the Sketch & Toon shader, as it does not create unnecessary outlines when the default shader options are left the way they are. The lines in the middle of the eyes and nose are from the shader, rather than a black material cube. Of course, it would be more wise to just duplicate each mesh, enlarge them and invert the normals while applying a pitch black texture to them. I abandoned the model shortly after the progress I made here, and I am not sure why. Maybe I was burned out and lost interest.

I should probably try to attempt making a 3D model of him again and some others, now that I know a lot more than I did nearly 4 years ago (yeah, can you believe it has also been nearly 6 years since my Reville character was created? Robodi was first created in mid-2019; almost 5 years ago! Good things take time and care). It will be a difficult task, but I'll make sure to export whatever I make to a .FBX model, so that it doesn't get lost to C4D licensing Hell. Hopefully, that would make the models work in Blender and such (the materials will have to be baked into textures however, instead of being separate C4D ones. At least .FBX doesn't use an external material file unlike .OBJ, which I and others have had issues with). Maybe I could use them for rotoscoping or somethin'.

Here's hoping to me eventually finding motivation, losing my tiredness, and getting a job with stable income alongside continuing to work on my passion projects, no matter how much time has past since the day I first thought of them. I want to keep doing things, not resting in bed most of my days. Too bad winter is freezing cold where I live, and I suffer from mild hypothermia...

[psdontgetdegrees]

Keep Your Eyes On The Road! | Week 4: Digital Community and Fandom: Reality TV Case Study

Another post! This is my 2nd post to my blog, yet the 4th week… It’s a bit confusing but I'm sure you can manage. We are talking about reality TV and how it plays a role in the connections we have with people over the internet. I'll also be interjecting a few anecdotes and my own research as well as the reading. Let's shift from Park into Drive, and here we go!

This weeks reading is on Digital Community and Fandom: Reality TV Case Study

The whole idea of reality television derives from the taboo part of our brains, of which we want to observe the more extreme sides of life, rather than live through them. We as humans “live vicariously through the experiences of the reality TV stars” (Dr. Lieberman cited by ScoopWhoop) where we have the ability to examine and “[judge] the participants’ behaviors” (Dellar, 2019 P 153) on a weekly basis “from the safety of our own homes” (Dr. Lieberman cited by ScoopWhoop). In relation to digital communities however, we have seen this phenomenon continue in the online theater that is twitter, where the social media platform would be used to “Participate” (Dellar, 2019 P 155) while the audience watches the show. They use this platform to “[Hype] up”(Dellar, 2019 P 156) the broadcast of which is extended by discussions about what is shown, and what is posted by “official social media accounts” (Dellar, 2019 P 156). These are called “online communities” (Dellar, 2019 P 154) and they form due to an overwhelming amount of people showing an interest in something they share in common.

These fans create an atmosphere around the product that these producers are creating, and the participants of the shows are being marketed to pander into these fandoms.

Here's a really intresting article on fandoms: https://medium.com/@goodrebels/the-power-of-fandom-what-social-media-marketers-can-learn-from-teenage-fans-63c0e184c8a7

“There is an increased expectation” that the people who enter these kinds of experiments “will already have an online presence” (Dellar, 2019 P 159) or be of enough of a personality that they are seen by the world as celebrities. In terms of participants, we can observe the “desire to be watched [and] witnessed” (Biressi, Nunn 2005 P101). This has become more and more prevalent in younger participants as “the importance with which the media has now become associated with social identification” (Biressi, Nunn 2005 P101).So as we grow up, we start to identify ourselves socially based on what others think of us. This has become a growing threat to identity as we have begun to shape our personalities around the people we see on reality television. This goes back to the idea of the fandoms and how fans grow to idolize the people they see online as they do explicit or taboo things to gain the attention they need to validate themselves. Although these reality tv ‘characters’ may present ideas to the screen that we would never indulge in ourselves, we strive to be like them as we look up to them and the things they do. 

References:

Deller, RA 2019, ‘Reality TV: The TV Phenomenon that Changed the World’, Reality Television, Emerald Publishing Limited, United Kingdom, pp 153-175

ScoopWhoop, 2023, The Strange Psychology Behind Why People Love Watching Reality Shows Despite The Cringe Factor. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/entertainment/psychology-behind-why-people-love-watching-reality-shows/. [Accessed 28 March 2023].

Biressi, A & Nunn, H 2005, Reality TV realism and revelation, Wallflower, London 

[tempoaryblogformightyjensblog]

After a Longass time, I'm gonna make a response post to a post from @itsclydebitches. Not sure if I'll acknowledge All

Of it, but still..

1.Thats, the opposite of what the First episode shows, the first episode shows that the Military presence in Mantle dosent really do anything to actually help them with the Grimm. With it even being joked about as usual for the Military by Nora. The next episode also states that wasn't even the reason James had for it. It was to handle the 'eventual' Panick.

2.This and the recurring point of this later on is something I kinda want to address, because it's sort of what I was trying to say in My ask but I should go into more detail.

The point is basically that If James was shady for what he did, then So is Ruby for being willing to work with him for that long...I kinda want to mix this with a different Criticism I heard. That Ruby not trusting Ironwood was horrible and ungrateful because of all the good stuff James had done and how sympathetic and well meaning he was. The issue is that they are both 2 halves of the picture that ignore the other half, wich was what the heroes actual response was.

Him being sympathetic, clearly just trying to help and all the Good stuff he was doing is why they are willing to work with him and help with things. But Ruby didn't like his shadier actions either, wich is why she didn't trust him completely. And also? ""Nora dosent agree...But Ruby, the leader, does. She pushed Ironwood to finish Amity somwhow", that....isnt What happens, we see After Nora yells at James, ruby walks up to him and tells him more calmly that his actions, his management of Mantle and such were only helping Salem and it's what was making it easy for Salem to frame him. And earlier on we saw her with the other protags suggest working with Robyn. That's not 'Reaping the benefits of his actions even if they don't like them', that's not liking some of his actions but still trying to Understand him, and hope to reason or talk him down. Basically...Well it's a display that the other charachterization for Ruby, that she was a judgmental child who considered anyone who went beyond her standard of perfection to be Evil, isn't true. She tries to help and Understand James because she knows despite his flaws he is trying to do good, she tries to reach out to him and get him to see his actions were flawed.

Hell, the Jobs they were actually given were jobs where they could actually help soften the consequences of James actions, like Ren and Nora guarding the wall. the Robyn thing was a direct display that they weren't just doing anything James asked or were perfectly fine with his morally ambiguous actions. When ordered to attack a Huntress who was just trying to help, they instead went against his orders and even tried to actually fix things in a better way.

3.This is a few different issues, I'll start by saying that, that wasn't Ozpins problem in the Previous Volume, Some fans and some of the Heroes in there Angrier times think that, But the big thing was basically that Ozpin wasn't trusting anyone With that Info, that's what separates it from Rubies situation with James, Ruby wasn't trusting James because he actually did have many traits that made him look untrustworthy. And...well Finishing Amity and the plan is not pointless even with Salems immorality. Ruby dosent 'Know' That her being immortal means that the whole plan is pointless for 2 reasons, 1 is that she never had the mindset that it made it all pointless, she was actually distinctly against that when the others thought that under the Apathies influence, and makes her stance clear later, that Salem being Unkillable doesn't mean she's unstoppable. And 2, she dosent 'Know' that because....Its not true. Even if they can't directly kill her like James is planning...Were explicitly, directly told in Salems first actual appearance in the show that Humanity United was a threat and that was why she was going to ensure she divided them. Not to mention that...It isn't even all about the plan? It's made clear that global communications being down was a really bad thing and fixing that alone would help.

4.Im just gonna address one point here...It was not 'The Majority of Mantle' Being taken, were told that they were not even close to being done evacuating.

5.Basically what I said at 2, But to also state, James wasn't an Unambiguous Bad guy in Volume 7, He was in the Wrong In Volume 7, but he wasn't meant to be a Villain yet. The point of James charachter is basically he's someone who meant well but was highly flawed and made bad decisions, and instead of growing from his mistakes, he doubled down on them and let his flaws consume him. I'll get to it more later, but, that doesn't mean he was always evil or meant to be, Also...Jaunes license was given to him by James but, he was not part of the Military being fused with Huntsman, especially by this point. And with Winters words in her and James fight, I have my own issues with that fight or Winters Arc, but I don't think that point holds up either because we weren't meant to see Winter as unambiguously a good guy in Volume 7. Her words in there fight was after she had changed, that dosent mean we're supposed to believe she was a hero while working under James. It just means her POV changed after leaving him, now she wasn't following her programming of being blindly obedient anymore. Penny called out Winter for her being willing to follow through with euthanizing the Winter Maiden, Marrow calls her out in Volume 8 asking the Weiss question.

6.Well, to answer the questions there, were told in episode 5 what the recources were. Clover says how they were taking 'Construction resources', were told this again by Penny in the Car ride, wich makes total sense. They are changing Amity so that it could serve as a shuttle, so needing Construction stuff makes sense. While we may not be told how much power James had explicitly, they do give us a decent idea, that he had way more then he should. It's said in the Council meeting that they set in Checks and balances to keep him from overstepping with his seats, and that he basically just Ignored them to pull the actions he did in Volume 7. And Watts gives us both one Major decision that shows James flaws and gives a Clue as to part of the reasons Mantle was crappy as it was, saying how James updated most of the code in Atlas after the fall of Beacon, but 'As Usual' None was updated in Mantle. Aside from showing a...Truly Spectacularly callous move on James part, it also gives a big clue as to part of the reason Mantle is as crappy as it is, That Atlas and James basically treat Mantle like an afterthought and neglects changing things there to make things better, resulting in the City's state that we see. And, I imagine that being surveillanced and patrolled almost constantly wouldn't be ideal, and it's established by Winters line in that first episode that not cooperating with Personal was a punishable offense. I think you also....Picked a really bad example with Rhodes, if anything, Rhodes is probably a perfect demonstration of why being complacent or loyal to a system is bad for Huntsmen. I think if he would have loved to help Cinder more, it's just that he was loyal to the System and wasn't doing anything to upset the status quo despite knowing it was wrong. If issues like that existed, then it makes James specialist program, wich is specifically supposed to be Huntsmen trained to be loyal to the system, an even worse idea. Also I sort of feel like the bits at the end are sort of a false equivalency. I explained Ozpin amd Rhodes but also...Well for one, while we don't see portals line up in those specific areas, the plan was to have Jaune explain what was going on with everyone. And Qrow, Marrow and Robyn were still taking in the other Ace ops,they knew the plan so they would likely just head over to the nearest portal after, and...Maria and Pietro weren't there. And in James case, it wasn't just him 'saving who he could', it's that he could have tried to do more but didn't because he didn't want to risk it, and as Volume 8 showed, they really did have lots of time to evacuate people and could have found a way to Launch Amity. And...Well in his case there's the little fact that, as his Convo with Oscar makes explicit, James plan involved leaving the rest of Mankind To the dust and at Salems mercy.

There are problems with RWBY, but I don't think it's shoddily written, partially because I don't really find it 'particularly' flawed and think the good far outweighs the bad. And you know what? To some degree, I agree. I do think there's a weird bias towards authority in the FNDM, but maybe alot of fans are too dismissive of criticism, I do think to some degree we should acknowledge the RWDE and such aren't all right wingers and there's now a Vocal part of it that are on the left or members of minority groups. I don't agree with a ton of the things they say, and think most of it dosent hold up, but instead of just dismissing, perhaps it's better to look at things in detail and give proper arguments agaisnt them. So I won't treat you like an idiot, I'm going to give a full rundown on why I don't feel like it holds up under analytical scrutiny.

For one, while it doesn't have those specific issues like in the real world, I don't agree with this Criticism because I feel it is the one that sort of ignores the worldbuilding and what's been shown or said about the Military and the world itself and not the show, It sort of feels like people just bring up the basic concepts that would seem reasonable and ignore how the show executes certain things. For one, the military was a leftover from a time when they were meant to fight against other humans, It was something an Authoritarian state held over after its defeat and reformation, James and the Military helped Jac as he turned the SDC into the horrific corporate empire it is, Covordin shows that Nationalism is indeed a bit thing and that there were high ranking officers who were fully comfortable with the possiblity of just waging war on the other Kingdoms again. And then there's the specialist program, I've seen people sort of distill it to its very basics to make it seem more reasonable, describing it as just stuff like Huntsmen having rules and such, when the show displays it being way more screwed up then that. It literally involves indoctrinating people as students, were shown Elm reprimand the protagonists saying how they don't need to think about Orders just follow them. As both Volumes show, the culture of the program is deeply screwed up and unhealthy for them, were shown how they taught stuff like repressing your emotions and how deeply unhealthy it is for them.

And...Furthermore? If we're judging by how things are In Universe with the show the world built...James way of doing things is, completely absurd. I already dislike Cynical 'This is the REAL world 'Types IRL. But....In the world James is in, his strategy is just....

He lives in a world where negativity causes monster attacks and the villains whole Shtick is manipulating narratives to cause disarray and ensuring people stay divided. James strategy involved closing off Atlas from the rest of Remnant after they were framed for causing the Fall of Beacon, never bothering to clear there name when sleet and Camilla say he could easily do so, he dismisses both his image across the Globe and in Atlas, and dismisses what the people of Mantle want and the stuff his actions currently cause, all as Neccesary sacrifices when that's all completely insane and Relies on basically ignoring absolutely everything about the situation they are in and how there enemy works, wich again, Ruby points out, that he was actively playing into Salems hands and making it easier for her.

I think it's a decent display of the Tunnel Vision James has, he's prepared for the negativity of the END result of his plan and made preparations for it, but he...Basically ignores the consequences his actions are having right now and how that will affect his ends.

Overall...I think the issue is that James is not meant to be the Bad guy through Volume 7, and I feel like its not that the show 'contradicts' it's pure black and white take on things, it's just that it wasn't there to begin with. Whenever a Major flaw Ironwood had from the start is brought up, it's claimed that it means he was supposed to be 'Always evil'(admitedly some fans as well), when it dosent, it just means his flaws and darker aspects were always there and he didn't jump off the slippery slope instantly like some claim.

Were meant to sympathize with James, understand him, ECT. We're meant to want to see him get better, to be escatic when he does almost get better.

Overall, I don't agree with the idea that James was a reasonable charachter who was bastardized, the show set him up as flawed pretty well already, he's sympathetic because he's designed to be sympathetic. He's not potrayed as a Villain through 7 because he wasn't meant to be til the end.

Also...Well, even if you still felt that him 'Just' abandoning Mantle was still just morally gray...That isn't dropped in V8, it's bascially dropped not 2 episodes later. Where not only does he shoot Oscar but Oscar pointed out not only was he abandoning Mantle, but abandoning the rest of Mankind. Wich James just responds calling it an 'excellant philosophical point'.

[labyrinth-runner]

"You don't have to worry I'm never going to touch you" with Dan pls????

Title: War of Hearts

This is definitely an AU and I am not apologizing. I’ve been watching the American TV show North and South. This is what happened.

When the war office had contacted you to let you know that your father was missing in action, the world had slowed. Your mother fell to her knees, and you saw her pray for his safe return. It was an act of desperation she had not shown in the years since your father had left to fight in the war, saying that she trusted God to bring him home and to pray for his safe return would be an act of doubt. Now, you watched fear overtake that feeling of assuredness. You watched her break as she buried her face in your skirts. Your roles reversed as you found yourself comforting her as she had always comforted you.

Locking eyes with the officer on your front step, you nodded. He gave you a regretful nod and left you to pick up the pieces.

Since then, days in your household were quiet. It was almost as if your mother were afraid that showing any sense of normalcy would be to show some higher power that your father was not truly needed, but you knew the truth. Your father was the other half of her heart. Without him, she was only half living. It was hard to watch, especially since you had no way of helping her cope, because you couldn’t fathom what it would be like to be so tethered to another person.

One day, you were sitting on the window seat in the parlor. Your needlework rested in your lap as you looked out at the sun shower on the other side of the glass. You always found sun showers to be a hypocritical kind of weather. It was as if the sky were offering hope while also mourning a loss. Looking to the west, you could see clearer skies, which you looked forward to, contemplating on taking a ride before dinner just to get out of the house. 

Movement caught your eye, and you turned towards the source. There was a horse riding through the gate of the house at top speed with two men atop it. One seemed worse for wear.

You were to your feet and running to the door, calling out for your mother. The door was thrown open as the horse came to a stop in front of the steps.

Feet raced towards you and your mother was out in the rain helping the wounded man from his horse. “Oh, darling,” she cried as she reunited with your father.

The other man wrapped an arm around your father’s back to lead him back into the house. Together with your mother, they got him up and into bed while you sent for the doctor. 

Once the doctor arrived, you were making tea to serve to this other man who had accompanied your father home. Out of the corner of your eye, you appraised him.

He was handsome, albeit a tad scruffy. Then again, the war had run long and you figured that men weren’t as concerned with their physical appearance as much as they were concerned with survival.

“Tea, Captain?” you asked as you set the tray on the table.

“I’ll have a cup, since you went through all the trouble,” he murmured, taking the proffered saucer. He watched you wearily, a look of sympathy in his eyes.

“You must have ridden for a long time,” you murmured as you settled on the sofa across from him.

“We road for days, Miss,” he replied, looking down at the amber liquid in his cup, no doubt wishing it was something stronger. “After the battle, we were separated from our unit. Then we came across a few rebel scouts. Your father was injured while we... dispatched them. I promised him I’d get him home to recover.”

“Father’s last letter through the lines said he was marching South and we would not hear from him for a while. You’re meaning to tell me that you made your way through rebel lines just to get him home?” you asked, wide-eyed.

“Miss, the General has always had my back. I just wanted to have his,” he said with a small smile.

You nodded, “I see. Well, if you’ll excuse me, Captain...?”

“Torrance,” he murmured. “Dan Torrance.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Captain Torrance, I’d like to check on my father,” you replied, getting up to leave.

When you reached the upstairs bedroom, you found your father propped up in bed. His eyes lit up when he saw you, “Well, if it isn’t my pride and joy.”

Your corners of your eyes crinkled as you came over to sit on the edge of his bed. Taking his hand, you placed a kiss to his knuckles, “You gave mother quite a scare.”

“I always keep her on her toes,” he said playfully, but there was guilt in his eyes. 

“We’re just glad you’re home,” you murmured, “Captain Torrance told me he snuck you through Rebel lines.”

“That the boy did. I’ll see to it that there’s a promotion in his future,” your father grinned. “He’s a fine man.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“And he’ll make a fine husband.”

“I’m sure his wife will be lucky to have him,” you replied absentmindedly.

“I’d like to see the two of you wed before he’s called back,” your father said pointedly.

“Wed?” you asked, trying to keep your voice under control. “But, father, I hardly know the man.”

“Darling, I want to know that should something happen to me, that you and your mother will be taken care of. I trust Captain Torrance with my life,” your father said adamantly.

“And I am expected to trust him with my heart?” you asked incredulously. Shaking your head in disbelief, you got up to leave, ignoring how your father called after you. 

Making your way down the stairs, you locked eyes with the Captain through the doorway as he sat across from your mother, no doubt regaling her with tales of his bravery. You felt hollow. The world seemed to spin like when your corset had been laced too tight when you were younger. You needed air. Stumbling towards the door, you walked out into the sun shower, walking blindly towards the garden.

A sun shower, you thought with disdain, the sun shining because my father has returned, yet mourning the loss of my freedom.

Footsteps thudded on the ground behind you and the rain stopped pelting your back. You looked up to see an umbrella over your head as the holder stood in the downpour.

“I take it he told you,” Captain Torrance sighed.

“Were you expecting a blushing bride?” you sniffed, “Because you will be sorely mistaken.”

“I didn’t ask for this.”

You rounded on him, “Oh, so you don’t even want me?”

Somehow, that hurt worse. You could see it in his eyes that he knew he regretted the words.

“Please, just come back inside,” he pleaded. 

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you nodded and followed him back into the house. You parted ways with him once inside, retreating to your room.

Captain Torrance stayed with your family, but you skirted around him to the best of your ability. Part of you figured that you should try to get to know him, seeing as he was to be your husband, but you needed to work through your own feelings first. 

Anger melted into nervousness as your wedding day approached. As you stood in front of your mirror, turning this way and that in your dress, you felt your heart fluttering in your chest.

“He’s a nice man,” your mother stated from the doorway.

“So I’ve been led to believe,” you sighed, smoothing out your dress.

Your mother crossed over to pick up your veil from the vanity. Carefully, she nestled it into your hair. “Your father wouldn’t make this match if he didn’t trust him.”

“I know,” you admitted, turning towards her. “Part of me just hoped that I would have some say in such a momentous decision.”

“That’s a luxury few have,” your mother said with a small smile. 

“But you love father,” you replied.

“I didn’t always,” she sighed, sitting on the edge of your bed. “Your father and I were married as part of an arrangement our fathers made when they were at West Point together. It further solidified their friendship. Growing up, I greatly disliked your father.” She leaned in conspiratorially, “He used to pull my pigtails and made fun of my freckles during the summer.” A far away look entered her eyes. “Then we grew up. He was no longer that boyish brute I had known. He grew into a handsome man with kind eyes who protected me from the world. When we married, we were only friends, but my dear that is the best foundation. Love grew swiftly as we learned to laugh with one another. Then we had you,” she smiled wide, “and I realized that I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else.”

You leaned against your bed post, “Do you think I can have that with Captain Torrance?”

“I think you can have whatever you dream as long as you keep an open mind,” she replied, getting up. “Now, come along, dearest. Everyone is waiting.”

Nodding, you let your mother lead you down the stairs to where your father was waiting. You took his good arm and walked with him down the aisle. 

Although the priest was speaking, you barely heard him over the thud of your heart.  In truth, you weren’t very present in the moment. Instead, your mind was racing ahead to that night, wondering what was to become of you. Your betrothed vowed himself to you in words you did not hear, and you repeated your own back like you were reciting a poem.  Captain Torrance’s hand was so warm around yours as he gave you reassuring squeezes every once in a while. Every squeeze brought you back to the moment and sent you drowning in a concerned pair of blue eyes. 

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the priest stated.

You tensed up, expecting it to be awkward as Captain Torrance cupped your cheek and leaned in to kiss you. It was short and sweet, and for some reason you were disappointed. However, it wasn’t disappointment in the kiss itself. It was disappointment in the fact that it was so short.

The two of you turned out to face your guests, walking through them towards the reception. As you split apart to mingle, you came up with the brilliant idea of dancing the night away with anyone who would ask, hoping it would extend the night and make you too tired to perform your marital duties later. You took turn upon turn around the room, passing hands and entertaining your guests. At first, you didn’t care what your new husband did, catching him talking to your guests here and there out of the corner of your eye. However, you found it strange that he did not ask to cut in.

As the clock struck nine, you gracefully removed yourself from the dance floor to find him. He was nowhere in the house. Only when you stepped out into the cool night air did you find him on the porch with a glass in his hand. Drawing closer, you noticed it was just water.

“No liquid courage?” you teased.

A sad smile settled on his face as he looked down at the glass in his hands, “No. I only run on true courage or cowardice these days.”

“You can’t be a coward if any of the tales my father has told me this week are to be believed,” you murmured as you leaned against the railing next to him.

An awkward silence settled between the two of you as you looked out into the night. It was as if both of you didn’t know the words to say. You noticed him studying you, eyes trailing down your features as if trying to memorize them. His hand rested inches from yours, but he didn’t dare to move it closer.

“You don’t have to worry,” he said softly, “I’m never going to touch you.”

“Then what exactly do you get out of this arrangement?” you asked, turning to face him.

“Enough that I won’t ever demand that of you,” he replied.

“Right,” you smiled ruefully, “I’m sure the stocks in my father’s company that he undoubtedly gave you can buy you the finest ladies.” The words were said with a tinge of resentment at the fact that you were now trapped in a marriage while he could still look elsewhere.

Dan wet his lips before turning away, “I refused them. After all, I didn’t earn them.”

You turned to him in shock, “Then what do you get out o this arrangement?”

“A companion,” he said before downing the rest of his drink, “Now, we should head back inside before our guests miss us. After all, I believe I owe you a dance. If you aren’t too tired of dancing yet, that is.” He held his arm out to you. After a moment of bewilderment, you took it, allowing him to lead you back into the fray.

Once inside, his smile slid back on his face and you somehow felt at ease. But, in the back of your mind you registered just how strange your situation was. You were the wife of Captain Torrance. You knew he was a good man, but in your heart you also knew you had just married an enigma. There was so much more beneath the surface that you could only wonder if you would ever truly know him.

[littlemisssquiggles]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

(1) i understand how the other feel about ozpins lies but I don't thi k how they act with Oscar is awful ,I hope he snaps at them ,and stands up for ozpin an himself

(2) I was hoping that oscar would some how thanks to ozpins memories ,would bring the people in the city of mantel together to fight the grim some how get them all to atlus,

(3) I was hoping that oscar would get a episode to him self were maybe a few days go by and he on his own but v8 going to b 2 episodes even if he did get time to him self for an episode or 2 I feel like I would get to see him do as much as I'm hoping 4

(4) like ur self I'd like to see ruby reaction to him maybe being maybe gone,I'd like to see Oscar feeling on losing the lamp an letting ruby down

(5) I think oscar should get gravity dust or wind to help him keep up with the others

(6) I now we're going to see Oscar with y,j, and r but i want him to be with Weiss and Blake

Uhm…since I already gave my answers to Points 2, 3, 5 and 6 in other RWBY response posts, I’m just gonna only answer Points 1 and 4 for this one to avoid having to repeat myself XD

 “…I understand how the others feel about Ozpin’s lies but I don’t think how they act with Oscar is awful. I hope he snaps at them and stands up for Ozpin and himself…”

Assuming that you meant that you think the way how the group treated Oscar back in Argus was bad and you’re hoping for him to go off on them, I don’t blame you for feeling that way anon-chan. Not to sound overdramatic or anything like that but V6CH9 is still considered my most despised episode of that season and RWBY in general and I’ll even toss in V6CH8 as well since I didn’t and still don’t like how the show basically had everyone stand idly by and allowed Jaune to walk across the room and slam Oscar into the wall.

And what was even worse is that no one dared to pull Jaune off of Oscar as he practically shook the kid while screaming accusations in his face for actions that weren’t even his. And the real kicker to me is that even when I rewatch that scene it just feels so out of character for the others to just let that happen. They all literally just stood there as Jaune wrongfully manhandled Oscar.

Sure we had Weiss attempt to stop Jaune but outside of that and Ruby barking at Jaune to back off of Oscar, nothing else was done. No one thought to step in front of Oscar and come between him and Jaune before the Arc boy could lay a finger on Oscar.

And what sucks even more is that even after watching what Jaune did to Oscar, NO ONE thought to check in on him and see if he was alright after such an ordeal. Instead Ren and Nora leave to comfort Jaune---Oscar’s accoster mind you----while the others divided to do other things. And yet one of them wasn’t making sure that Oscar was fine emotionally. Yet they all act surprise when they find him gone from the house?

Which makes the fact that all he did was leave to go shopping so utterly bad that it’s not even funny. I know it’s a meme in the Pinehead community (along with Oscar’s missing character development and the fact that he’s practically the pet gold fish of the hero team that they keep neglecting and losing each season yet he always comes back and still loves those silly bastards anyways) but I honestly hate that that’s canon. Anyways, I’m not here to rant about V6CH9. In respect to Oscar telling off the others for the way they treated him and Oz back in V6, I think it could be mighty swell for that to happen.

As a Pinehead, I am genuinely tired of this weird approach that the show has of having Oscar be perfectly complacent with everything that’s happened to him---even when he’s downright being practically abused to some degree. It’s not fun to watch as a fan of his character. Oscar has been through a lot since his introduction and outside of the dojo moment from V5 where he confessed his fears to Ruby, we haven’t really gotten any more moments of Oscar coming clean about his true feelings over his current experiences.

And NO I am not counting his speech in V6CH9 where the showrunners deadass had the audacity to have Oscar say to the hero group that he’s been contemplating about all that happened between him, Oz and the whole reveal of Ozma and the events of the Lost Fable despite never showing the audience scenes where we can see Oscar doing just that.

It is insulting at this point how poorly the CRWBY Writers have handled Oscar’s treatment in the show. While V7 was definitely an improvement (albeit except for that one episode where Double D Rivas downright forgot Oscar in the episode while all his so-called teammates and friends were up in Amity celebrating), it still doesn’t quite make up for the mistakes of V6 nor does it erase my disappointment for that volume in terms of how they handled Oscar’s side of the story.

All the more reason to hope for better things to be done for Oscar in V8. Like you, I would like to see Oscar speak up against the team and their past actions (especially with the mistakes they made with Ironwood and still have yet to take responsibility for), not necessarily in defence of himself since Oscar has been shown to be a selfless individual---always placing others before himself---but more so for Oz.

I want Oscar to be the one to mend the tethered bond within his team between the others and the other half of himself. After all, while two differing souls, Oz is still a part of Oscar especially once the Merge occurs. They may not be the same person but they are a part of each other and will come together to complete one another. Or at least complete Oscar since according to V5, Oz is the one meant to change with the Merge. Not Oscar. I mean Oscar will technically change but I’d still like to strongly believe that his soul will become the dominating personality and persona as Oz’s fades more into the background as it combines with his.

And while the other heroes may like and trust Oscar, they can’t favour only half of him. This is especially the case since Oscar and Oz are expected to become one entity at some point. So I’m hoping that before that happens, Oscar uses this time to get everyone back on the same page---burying the hatchet after all that transpired between the last two volumes and thus starting things anew with everyone having a clean slate.

This needs to be done in order for the heroes to move forward and work together since uniting against the common foe will be what helps not just them but all of humanity and Remnant. At least that’s what I assume. While I don’t necessarily need Oscar to go off on the other heroes, I would like it if it he did call them out for their past mistakes with Ironwood---mistakes that he unfortunately partook in encouraging---as well as their treatment of Oz, finally helping them to see the bigger picture and what’s more at stake. I’m honestly tired of the story having our heroes pin all the blame on Ozpin while making it appear as if RWBY were in the right despite doing the exact same thing that got Oz in trouble with them.

So for what it’s worth, I hope that’s addressed in the series and I hope it lends to Oscar aiding to patch things between the team and Oz especially now that he’s returned. The group and Oz need to reconcile and I’d like to believe that Oscar is the key to helping with that.

“…Like yourself, I’d like to see Ruby’s reaction to him maybe being gone. I’d like to see Oscar’s feelings on losing the lamp and letting Ruby down…”

Ooooh I’d love it if V8 kicks off with Ruby learning that Ironwood had ‘killed’ Oscar. That’s a scene I am literally praying would happen when the group split up and RWBN_P head up to Atlas or Amity Arena to confront Ironwood. I want Ironwood to just blurt it out like it meant nothing to him that he shot and killed a child---I want to see Ironwood basically treat Oscar as nothing more than another face for Oz---not even his own person despite promising him in the second episode of V7 that so long as Oscar was in Atlas, he would be safe.

And most of all, I want to see the reactions of everyone---Ruby and Nora especially---when Ironwood says with the straightest and most cold-hearted of expressions that he killed Oscar. If we don’t get a scene like that then not gonna lie anon-chan, I will be beyond disappointed. Because what’s the point of having Ironwood shoot Oscar to his death if it wasn’t going to be brought up at some point, ey?

Give me that angsty scene where either Ruby or Nora---most likely Nora--- get super pissed at the reveal of Oscar’s alleged death, thus sparking her to attack Ironwood and thus, a fight breaks out between RWBN_P and the Ace Ops, talks of negotiation completely out the window since Ironwood killing one of their own (Oscar) practically meant war.

I also wonder if Qrow being framed for killing Clover might also come up as well. Like imagine a scene where one of the Ace Ops accuses our heroes of treason after letting them know that Qrow was charged for Clover’s murder, much to RWBN_P’s surprise only for Ironwood to indifferently say something to the extent of the group being even in some way---Qrow allegedly killed one of his own (meaning Clover) while Ironwood killed one of theirs (meaning Oscar) and that’s how it’s revealed. Or something to that level. Who knows? All in all, I want that scene to happen and I really, really, REALLY want it to see Ruby’s response to Oscar’s alleged murder since she’s someone whose always protected him since the start. It’ll be even worse if she learns that her actions resulted in Ironwood killing Oscar for that added double whammy. That could be great storytelling and character-building-wise! Buuuuut we’ll see for next season.

As for Oscar being saddened over losing the lamp and letting Ruby down---well technically we kind of got a scene like that already last volume anon-chan. It was during the moment in the finale episode after JNPR 2.0 had managed to evade capture and were hiding away in the training room. While taking a breather, Oscar apologized for losing the lamp leading to Jaune trying to reassure him only for Ren to ruin the moment by bringing up the fact that the villains now have possession of the Lamp of Knowledge while the Staff of Creation was still in Ironwood’s grasps.

In that scene, the camera made sure to focus on Oscar’s troubled expression as Ren went on his tangent. As a matter of fact, it was Ren going off that made Oscar run off to go confront Ironwood in the first place as his way of trying to fix everything on his own.

I’m not sure if we’ll get to see Oscar apologizing to Ruby personally for losing the lamp after she entrusted him. However I think it could be a potentially cute Rosegarden moment if the first thing Oscar does when reuniting with the others is apologize to Ruby specifically for losing the lamp only for Ruby to disregard his apology completely and straight up just embrace Oscar on the spot; more relieved to discover that he was alive to even care about the relic. That’s something I’d like to see done for V8 but who knows?

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[anonymoustalks]

The left has become absorbed by identity politics and is obsessed with race.. it scares me that they will create more racists than before they started

(6-17-20) You both like politics.

You: heyaa

Stranger: Hi

Stranger: How are you

You: anything you're interested in?

You: I am fine

Stranger: I'm interested in hearing opinions on things

You: oh, me too ^^

You: what kind of things?

Stranger: Politics is divisive, but in order to get a better understanding I wish to listen to both sides

You: awesome, I think that's great ^^

Stranger: :) thank you

You: do you have issues you care about most?

Stranger: The current fall of western society

You: fall of western society huh

You: can you elaborate more?

Stranger: Over the past few years we have seen western society devolve. Where once we were fairly united and we stood strong, we have become more divided and with the introduction of identity politics, that has just worsened till we have gotten to where we are now. China is currently pushing her borders, and yet with the US in flames and the uk following suit (along with France for that matter), noone challenges it

You: mhm *nodsnods*

Stranger: To speak out against the lunacy is to be called a racist and a bigot, not that that's anything new of course but those who are calling for these things seem to not really understand the importance and significance of their actions. I see this as akin to the 1920s Weimar Republic. They are pushing for things they don't want

You: you type a lot haha

Stranger: Sorry i am choosing my words carefully

You: mhm it's fine

You: so you think strong foreign policy is very important?

Stranger: I do. I am from South Africa, though I live in the uk. For those who live outside the us and Europe, we see the importance of Baro and the us on a geopolitical scale. China owns the east of Africa, if not central as well. The us has been the top dog preventing them and Russia from doing much for years, though that's going to change in the coming years

Stranger: NATO not baro* bloody autocorrect

You: oh okay I was wondering what that was haha

Stranger: If I may ask, where are you from?

You: the us actually

Stranger: I thought you might be given the time :) it's half 1 am here

You: yeah it's late!

You: so in your view, western countries need to have more of a spine?

You: is that basically what you're saying?

Stranger: Always. But history has a cycle.

Stranger: Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times

You: very fair

You: speaking of cycles, I think something that is floating around these days

You: is whether it's sort of like the beginning of the end of american hegemony

You: sort of like UK's empire gradually had its sunset

Stranger: This is what I am concerned with. All empires have their time in the sun, and all shall fade. I had hoped I would be dead before it happened. I made a prediction several years ago that should trump win in 2020 again, there will be civil war. I am unsure on my prediction of civil war, but I can see that he will win. Should there not be war, I give it another 2 presidencies before yourselves will fall, and ww3 breaks out

You: hmm the us is steamy right now, but idk about civil war

Stranger: It's been brewing for a while now by my estimation

You: that said I would not be surprised about China continuing to be more aggressive

You: that stuff with India yesterday?

You: ^^

Stranger: Without strong willed opposition, they will always push more overtly. They have done so in the shadows for years now

Stranger: And that's just one example

Stranger: They have intruded on Thailand air space as well

You: I don't think either democrats or republicans are very foreign-policy aggressive right now though

You: idk if your concern will be that much better with biden

You: clinton was a little hawkish but she lost 2016

Stranger: It would be much worse with Biden, or anyone from the left EXCEPT Tulsi Gabbard

You: oh you sounded like you didn't want trump to win lol

Stranger: I don't like him. But honestly, he's the best option out of what has been shown. Bernie is a socialist, Hillary is a warmonger, Biden will probably be a puppet. Who can stand? Hillary could be strong, but you would go to war. For all his faults, Trump has avoided war and conflict. He brought North Korea to the discussion table.

You: okay ^^

Stranger: I may not like him but he is effective, and has been a boon to you economy though as someone who works in finance, the next crash is due soon

You: fair enough although I think a lot of places are hurt by the coronavirus economy anyways

Stranger: Yeah.. the lockdowns are odd.. why quarantine those who are healthy? We have always quarantined those who were I'll first, and then those who go out and riot get a free pass? It's a bit confusing, and is a little bit of double think. Rules don't apply to you if you have the correct opinions it would seem

You: idk the US never really had forced quarantines

You: everything here was just you were supposed to do it

Stranger: The uk did, apologies

Stranger: Well not heavily enforced near me

You: we had college students going to beaches even though the quarantine was happening

You: because young ppl think they are invincible

You: and dumb ^^

Stranger: Hahaha yeah you aren't wrong in that

Stranger: But I have waffled on, may I hear your opinions on what we have discussed?

You: mhm, I disagree but it's cool yo~

Stranger: No that's great, it shows that we can discuss and hopefully come to compromise

Stranger: Thank you for being chill and relaxed

You: mhm I'm basically a hippie though so I don't usually take strong stances on international intervention

Stranger: That's fair and understandable. I used to agree with that as well for many years

You: I kind of think it's a little bit of a selfish position to take (the peace one)

You: in the sense that I don't want to deal with other people's problems

You: so in a sense it's kinda selfish

Stranger: It is and it isn't :)

Stranger: It's a moral good and a difficult thing. Peace only exists as reprieve from war. Humanity is a war like species, and peace only ever exists between them. And I applaud your pacifism

You: idk I'm not sure if it's always something to applaud

You: I think in a sense it's a kind of inaction

Stranger: A good thought experiment for you then, look at ww2

You: yup

You: I'm familiar with isolationism in history and its ramifications

Stranger: The us was neutral officially for years, and because they took no strong stance, the Nazis rose to power. Admittedly it was partly the fault of all the allies and ww1 but that's a digression.

Stranger: But war was thrust upon them officially by what happened. The peaceful stance can be taken from you, but that is not a bad thing in my opinion

You: yup

Stranger: What would you do if you could, at that time?

You: at that time?

You: hmm

You: it's not a question I've thought very much about

Stranger: I thought on that myself

You: and what did you conclude?

Stranger: My answer was intervention. Stop the Anschluss, the Munich agreement, the extremely harsh measures of the treaty at the end of ww1

You: oh yeah that was a terrible treaty

You: I kind of imagined myself as an average person though haha

Stranger: But I understand the reasoning at the time for allowing all those things to go through

Stranger: I am too

You: you would have protested your government signing that treaty?

Stranger: That's why thay generation was called the greatest generation. We the average man stood up and took up arms, because they believed what was right.

Stranger: It is difficult to say that if I lived in that time I would. Of it was today, 100%

You: mhm... war is frightening

Stranger: We cannot judge the past with the same moral standing we have today

You: of course

Stranger: And yes, war really is a horrible thing

Stranger: If peace was an option, I would go for it. Often times though, we have no control over that

You: mhm there is suffering in a lot of places, and violence that arises from suffering and hatred

Stranger: Look at the Nazis and the hatred of the Jews. That was extremely common all across Europe, the uk and the us. Many leaders in politics and business liked the Nazis initially. But just because something is common, does not make it right

You: I actually never understood antisemitism

Stranger: You are quite wise, and I agree with you. But the sad thing is, there will always be suffering

You: or why people hate(d) jewish people

Stranger: The scary thing is, many of those in BLM look up to a man called Farrakhan (forgive me on the spelling) who is a huge antisemite. Like he openly calls for violence against them. He gets away with it, because he is black. Why he hates them I don't know. They are hated I think, because they are the oldest abrahamic religion and the oldest monothesist one as well, from which both Islam and Christianity draw their teachings from initially

You: I just don't understand why they are hated

You: often by christians too

Stranger: Me neither, I find it abhorrent. They have been persecuted for thousands of years

You: yeah idk I just don't understand why

Stranger: I have yet to find out why. I know in Islam they hate them as it is dictated within their scriptures, though the exact wording I am unsure on. Christians I would think it's because they don't believe that Jesus was the son of God

You: I guess so

Stranger: But I may be entirely wrong

Stranger: Which I probably am

You: idk I don't know anything so I have no clue

Stranger: Hence why I like and want discussion :) we learn more through communication

Stranger: We become better the more we communicate

You: is there a reason why you dislike blm so much?

Stranger: I stand against identitarianism

You: so basically all those "pride" movements?

Stranger: I come from a racist country that segregated everyone and everything based on the colour of everyone's skin and I was hated for being the colour of my skin just for being born. I cannot condone movements that wish to implement the same things, as it will lead to suffering and hatred.

Stranger: I have nothing against being proud of your race, though I think the idea is a bit stupid. I have an issue with everything needing to divided up based on the colour of ones skin, I choose to judge someone on the basis of their character. I'm not perfect and there are times where I have been prejudiced but it is something I am consious of and wish to not do

You: mhm okay

You: I'm not sure if blm wants things to be divided up based on race though

You: I thought they were mostly against police brutality

Stranger: Some very much so are. Though I will concede that not all of them are, and I should tar everyone with the same brush. But as a counter to that, look at CHAZ in Seattle, they have segregated farms though calling them that is hilarious

You: I thought chaz is just a city block?

Stranger: On the police brutality, I agree with them and that reform must happen. Abolishing police is not a good idea. More funding is required, better training and better internal policies and structures to vette and review the officers is needed. Abolishing them will lead to anarchy. You are correct that Chaz is, but it is a microcosm showing the very things I stand against. I am against racism of all kinds, segregation is a form of racism. The us had a history where they did it too and agreed that it was wrong

You: mhm

You: I just wasn't familiar with blm as pro-segregation

You: that said, most blm activists are just really young

Stranger: They have been co-opted by those who are. And many activists are young white kids

You: I don't think mainstream democrats take them very seriously

Stranger: I'm not so certain. But I hope I am wrong

You: idk I mean these days who knows what kind media we each read

You: so I'm sure I'm in a bubble too

Stranger: They may see these things as a good and helpful idea, but the road to hell is often paved with good intentions

Stranger: Of course, and I hope I'm wrong. I recommend a variety of news sources, especially independent ones. A great one is a guy named Tim Pool on YouTube. He is a left leaning centrist guy who is upfront with his leanings. But he gives the news as it is

You: mhm I try to avoid youtube news

You: although idk if it's truly reliable to always go through bbc or ap or others

You: they are just mainstream

Stranger: BBC is very biased in my opinion. Tim used to work on mainstream media but he left. I would call him credible, he looks at news sources and verifies them. He's very milk toast and fence sits allot the problem with news is that all sides want to spin things the way they want it

You: mhm okay

You: is there any kind of mainstream media that you like?

Stranger: I don't trust any of them when it comes to almost anything except weather and sport scores. I will listen to what is said from various sources before coming to my own conclusions. I have lost all faith in the media since 2016

You: I see, I guess it ends up being hard to find something to trust

Stranger: Unfortunately it is. My reasons for it was both the elections in the us for 2016 and the brexit vote here in the uk. I was very similar to you then, very much so a hippie and very left leaning. I disagreed with Trump and Brexit, but I lost. But the way the media and society within the left handled themselves and the situation, that put me off completely and pushed me to become more conservative than what I was

You: interesting, although I'm not exactly following what made you more interested in conservative things

Stranger: The constant denigration of those who you disagree with. The treatment hat those people got, most of whom are the working class, upon the backs of which society is upheld. They are not racist or evil. They have a different opinion and different values. How does making a choice in a democracy make someone evil when neither side is perfect?

Stranger: The left preaches tolerance, except that it doesnt in reality

You: mhm yeah I don't like that

You: I don't think it is effective either

Stranger: All it does is polarize people

Stranger: And drive them further away from reaching g a compromise

You: right

Stranger: Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with Brexit, but as a democracy we made a decision. So now we need to exact that decision. I would have voted for trump despite my disdain for him

Stranger: Enact not exact*

You: I think there are a lot of people who think similarly as you do ^^

Stranger: There really are

Stranger: The left has become absorbed by identity politics and is obsessed with race.. it scares me that they will create more racists than before they started

Stranger: Constantly calling your opposition racist and evil will force them into being it

You: mhm I think there are some things to distinguish between social media left-wing people and people in everyday life I think

You: the vitriol is always much more amplified online than people are irl

Stranger: Oh agreed! Twitter is not real life, but it has started to bleed over

You: I live in a fairly liberal state, although I don't really think I have ever seen twitter irl

You: although I do think there is probably self-censorship occuring

You: in the sense that people are afraid of what their neighbors will think

Stranger: There is allot of that

Stranger: Anything you say will be used against you. Even if it's not that controversial

Stranger: People have lost their jobs for an opinion not done at work

You: that said, I don't think that's per say the "left's" fault though -- I just think that public opinion has shifted dramatically in the last 10 years

Stranger: Or how about the man who lost his job because his wife said something controversial

Stranger: I agree with you

Stranger: I really do

Stranger: Allot of this I do think could have been stopped years ago

You: I don't really like the lynch firing of people

You: that companies do for their public image

You: because the truth doesn't matter

You: it's just public image

Stranger: They do so because they are scared of the mob

You: but at the same time, I think public image is a thing because majority opinion really has shifted in the past two decades

You: opinions on homosexuality have swung dramatically in the US

You: ten years ago it was totally okay in public to be anti-homosexual

Stranger: Obama was against gay marriage until it was politically important for him to win the next election

You: but public opinion I think has swung really fast

You: yeah

You: I think he swapped at the first poll that showed >50% of americans supported it

Stranger: Yep! I find it hilarious that that was the case

You: yes but I think conservatives find this kind of fast change extremely uncomforting

You: I can understand that sentiment

You: also isn't it getting kinda late for you? ^^

Stranger: Conservatives are by their very nature are conservative. Change is neither malevolent nor benevolent, but we cannot look at change as universally good. Not can we disregard tradition

Stranger: It's 3 am and I can still keep going, I'm enjoying this conversation :)

You: I need to do the dishes eventually lol

Stranger: If you wish to leave you can by all means :) I won't hate you for it

You: I'm fine either way tbh

You: are you working right now? if you have work tomorrow you should prob go to bed

Stranger: It's up to you :) I can go for ages though my coherence Kay descend

Stranger: I'm sadly unemployed at the moment having lost my job earlier this year

You: coronavirus?

Stranger: Sadly yes

You: that's unfortunate, I'm sorry

Stranger: Not your fault :) so don't stress

You: so aside from Russia and China and the decline of western things, is there anything else that you stress about lol?

Stranger: The drive of censorship

Stranger: I have serious issue with censory

You: mhm

Stranger: And yourself?

You: mhm I dunno really

Stranger: That's good, though I would urge you to become concerned with censorship

You: mhm maybe

You: for me it's sort of a contextual concern I think

You: in the sense that it depends on your vantage point

Stranger: Opinions, art and books doesn't matter. Today it is their voice, tomorrow it is my voice. The day after it becomes your voice. Censorship takes away their rights to speak, and your rights to listen

You: mhm, what I mean is that my family immigrated from China

You: so my reference point of censorship is literal government censorship

You: in comparison the "political correctness" thing just doesn't seem as big to me imo

You: because 90% of it to me is sort of like a person's relationship with the neighbor basically

You: the US government doesn't censor what you can publish essentially

Stranger: That's fair enough, but this is where it starts. Things take time, and if anyone gives in (such as they have in several cases) that builds. In time that becomes the norm, there after what gets censored will not be at the choice of the people but of those who are in power

You: perhaps, although I kind of have faith in the 1st ammendment and the US supreme court

You: we barely have libel laws or defamation laws in the US because of the 1st ammendment

Stranger: I have seen calls to change and amend it. In the uk we have no freedom of speech, people have been arrested for jokes, what's been said on Twitter, etc. There are those who say that it's ok to censor this and that because e they are problematic or it would be good for everyone. But that is how it starts. The US has so much freedom

You: ahh... yeah I feel like it is different in the uk

Stranger: The uk doesn't care for free speech. It's very worrying and there are calls for even more censorship here.

You: mhm that sounds worrisome

Stranger: I guess I project it across to all western countries, and that is something we have seen recently

You: I don't think the US will lose the 1st amendment anytime soon, it's not politically realistiic

Stranger: Look at Amazon censoring books and movies being removed etc, this is how this begins. If it is allowed now, how can we stop it in the future

You: idk the status of free speech in other countries

You: actually this is a very interesting topic

Stranger: The us is one of the only countries that has it

You: do you think freedom of speech should be protected in private spaces?

Stranger: Codified in law that is

You: because technically freedom of speech for us is supposed to be only related to public government relationships

Stranger: I believe it should always be be protected

You: specifically "congress will make no law restricting freedom of speech" (paraphrased)

You: so you believe that private companies should not control what is said on their premises?

You: I mean it's fine if you believe that, it's actually just a bit further than what the current status quo is

Stranger: Yes. They are not above the law. Society may shun them, but they should not become involved. Outright calls for violence are against the law and that should be honoured, outside of that no they should not impose on pthers

You: hmm in the US this is where things get super complicated

You: because conservatives are also the ones who want content restricted/said in their religious schools too

Stranger: I've noticed.. and that has an effect on the rest of the world

You: basically "freedom of religion" and "freedom of speech" being on the same political side here makes things very weird

Stranger: And yeah I am aware of that as well, though the pendulum seems to have swung to the other side now. And it will swing back to the other side again

You: kind of like "My store should have the freedom of religion to deny my patrons of being homosexual in my store" kinda thing

Stranger: Yeah it is hard but there is more to the opposite side than just the one thing

You: it's a weird convoluted thing when both are conservative issues

Stranger: That's a difficult one, but I would say that should be discussed and debated but the highest courts. I cannot say from a legal sense one way or the other, morally I can say that it's hard to decide. I think that everyone should get a choice but I am uncertain

Stranger: By not but*

You: mhm that's fine ^^

You: I just think it's very interesting because most laws here, they govern the relationship between between the government and the people

You: so our freedom of speech laws do not apply to amazon censoring books because they are a private company

Stranger: Which is the difficult thing

Stranger: They are protected by being a private company

Stranger: As it's not just them

You: maybe ^^ we have a free market though, so things that cannot be published on amazon will find an outlet elsewhere

You: provided there is a demand for it

You: that said, it also has some gray area with morality laws

Stranger: That is true but monopoloes make things harder to find

You: kind of like youtube banning pornographic content

Stranger: Yeah I can understand that morally, legally I don't know but I would assume that there is some laws regarding that

You: I mean I'm just used to many various sites having bans of various sorts

Stranger: The uk has some

Stranger: Yeah, but there are protections for them being platforms not publishers

You: I don't think there is any law forcing youtube to ban pornographic content; it's just a branding choice by the company

Stranger: If they are publishers, those protections don't apply

You: like I think they want to be seen as family-friendly

Stranger: Fair enough, would have thought there might be

You: porn sites are not illegal in the US lol

Stranger: Not family friendly, advertisement friendly

You: lol true

Stranger: Sorry I don't know enough to be able to say :) I'm happy to admit that

You: mhm aside from political correctness, I guess I just don't personally see a big problem with censorship in the US

You: although I think I have a different belief than you that I think it's okay for private companies to choose what they want to publish

You: even if the ban content

You: these companies still need to compete

Stranger: Them doing so is fine, but if they wish to be protected as platforms they cannot act as a publisher. I think that's the Crux of their protections

Stranger: It is something that has been going for a while though

Stranger: And I think Trump will have it in his campaign for reelection this year

You: okay ^^

Stranger: But I don't know, he has been interested in censorship and has said he is against it in the past

You: I think people mean different things by censorship

You: but that's just imo

You: there are almost no western countries that experience censorship by their governments

You: so people mean things like censorship at their workplace

You: although imo that's kind of less censorship and more on the political correctness spectrum

Stranger: True. That is very true. But if you don't stop censorship openly, then should it come from government you don't already know you can stand against it

You: but to me, that "political correctness" isn't anything new either; it's as old as time

You: like did we always worry about saying something that would offend our boss?

You: ^^

You: it's always been there

You: I just think people are uncomfortable because bosses have changed in the last few decades

Stranger: It's not just their work place. The new "town square" is has become online. Your freedoms online are not protected despite it being codified in law

Stranger: And you aren't wrong, and coming from China or at least your family, you bring an interesting perspective

You: I feel like in the US we have very little digital legislation

You: the US of is head of hear

You: *there

Stranger: The world needs a digital bill of rights, to protect us all and our data. But we won't get it

You: but I don't think we have anything guaranteeing that speech on the Internet is free by any regard

Stranger: I would argue we do

You: hm? which law?

You: I like most websites have ToS's and rules banning X Y or Z on their site

Stranger: Freedom of speech and expression

You: oh I mean in terms of law

Stranger: That is what I meant, so that we are free to speak and express ourselves. I also believe that our data should be private and cannot be sold and that should be protected. There are other things that I have heard but it's difficult to remember all those that were proposed

You: ahh

You: yeah we don't have those laws right now

Stranger: Today stuff is okay but you are not protected

You: although the EU has some privacy ones that we don't have in the US

Stranger: The EU doesn't care mostly

Stranger: Some laws only protect some information, I'm talking about all of our information

You: ^^

Stranger: Everything we post and do is tracked, monitored and sold

Stranger: We revel in it, "I was talking about cats/dogs and all of a sudden I got adds for cat/dog products"

Stranger: We hear that often

You: yup

Stranger: Also, with regards to our rights and things, who holds these companies accountable?

Stranger: Take google for example

Stranger: They have been caught tampering with the elections

You: well, again, we have basically no laws about this in the US so there is no accountability

Stranger: They openly censor news and opinions

Stranger: They are a monopoly

You: although some europrean countries have lawsuits whatever with them

You: yup they totally are

You: where are anti-trust laws lol?

Stranger: That's what I think Trump will be looking at, I would if I was in his shoes

Stranger: But they were given special protections

Stranger: Those need to be taken away, the large companies need to be broken up but governments are incompetent

Stranger: I don't trust them to do it well

You: mhm it actually reminds me of south korea actually

Stranger: I mean there are a few senators in the states that I think have the moral fortitude to do so, but I don't know

You: countries are loathe to break up companies that they're proud of basically

Stranger: Yep

You: like samsung in south korea lol?

Stranger: They wouldn't break them up

Stranger: It would do serious damage to the economy and blah blah blah

You: their revenue was like 20% of the entire country's gdp

Stranger: Yep it's a difficult argument

Stranger: And I can understand why you wouldnt

Stranger: That 20% could drop to below 1%

You: anyhow it is getting kind of late

You: it was nice talking to you

You: and you should sleep ^^

Stranger: Likewise! :) I needed to move my sleep schedule for a 24 hour race on the weekend anyway, sp thank you for occuping my time and mind :)

You: goodnight!

Stranger: I'm glad to have met another willing to talk, take care my good friend

You have disconnected.

[evecolours]

Harry and Meghan’s escape from the poisonous palace

HEATHCLIFF O’MALLEY

The Sunday Times, January 12 2020, 12:01am

There was a small twist in the story of Harry and Meghan’s announcement last week that gives an indication of just how poisonous and frankly Machiavellian the modern House of Windsor has become. The young couple, newly returned and refreshed from their six weeks away, wanted to meet other members of their family and officials to discuss their plans to work towards becoming financially independent in a newly slimmed-down monarchy.

Harry was asked to put pen to paper with some ideas for discussion. He was reluctant, on the grounds that such documents normally leak.

He was persuaded and did as he was asked. The document, or its details, was shortly afterwards leaked to The Sun. And then, once he had gone ahead with an announcement anyway, palace officials claimed to have been blindsided by it.

The role of the press is perhaps symbolic (not that anyone is quibbling with The Sun — it was a good scoop), because it lies firmly at the heart of the rift between Harry and Meghan and the rest of his family. The young couple believe themselves to be taking a moral stand against the repeated hypocrisy of the tabloid press. Their argument is that if they, with all the privileges of position, power and fame, don’t do something, then who will?

Some of the rest of the family agree with their analysis, but they part ways entirely with the couple on the solution. They appear united in believing that, while suing one or more newspapers might — at best — result in a famous victory, the royal family as a whole will never win the war and that to try is madness. Better to just take it on the chin.

Harry’s father, in particular, appears keen to make sure the newspapers are on side, which is not surprising, really, given that he may one day soon ascend to the throne and has not been universally popular in the course of his life.

In other circumstances, this division of approach to the media might have been smoothed over, but it is a symptom of a deeper rift within the family itself.

It is quite hard to know who is right and who is wrong in this, and foolish perhaps to even try to decide. Some other members of the family say Harry and — particularly — his wife come across as extremely difficult. They feel they have done their absolute best to create space for the newcomer.

Harry and Meghan, on the other hand, find some other members of the family (with the exception of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh) jealous and, at times, unfriendly.

The fallout began at the time of the wedding in 2018. Really damaging things were said and done. The atmosphere soured hard and early, but few meaningful attempts were made by anyone to heal the wounds.

It is pretty clear to me from conversations with both sides that this exit could suit everyone, at least in terms of narrow self-interest. But there is no doubt Harry and Meghan feel they have been driven out.

Much of this was swirling in the background of the documentary I made with the couple in Africa last October, which contributed to it being among the most psychologically complex few weeks of my working life.

Since the couple were accused of having complained about their own lot in the programme, while surrounded by poverty and neglect, I should probably explain that the blame — if that is the right word — lies mainly with me.

The documentary was my idea, and they were consistent from the start in wanting it to be primarily, and preferably entirely, about their work in Africa. I said that, worthy as that was, I thought it would be odd for the public to tune in for an hour and discover nothing of how the past year had been for them personally. It took a great deal of persuasion to get them over the line.

That said, they are far from naive and certainly knew what they were doing. When I look back, I feel they probably got on the plane to Africa without being entirely certain as to what they would or wouldn’t say to me.

Indeed, I think they only finally made up their minds after a long and private heart-to-heart I had with Harry, overlooking a river at the Halo Trust bush camp in Angola. I’d describe the results — his admission that he had not got over his mother’s death; Meghan’s revelation that she was really struggling with the limelight — as qualified honesty.

And I suspect the purpose was twofold: to prepare the ground for exactly the announcement we saw last week, and to act as a pressure release valve, in the hope that this, of itself, might alter the dynamic within the royal family.

Certainly, when I inquired if Meghan was “OK”, I took her reply — “Thanks for asking, as not many people have” — to refer to the family itself, rather than the public or the media.

When I got back, in many conversations, I repeated the same mantra; that I hoped the couple would take some time off and that, in the interim, everyone might take a deep breath and step back from the brink. And I was far from alone in these sentiments. Most people who had known and worked closely with William and Harry over the years felt the same and relayed similar messages.

My understanding is that William did try, but the impression I have, for the moment at least, is that things have gone too far to be retrieved.

So how is this new world going to work, without dragging the entire royal family into a series of controversies? Can you be a bit in and a bit out? As I understand it, they will definitely continue to support their charities — which doesn’t require royal status — and they would like to continue to assist the Queen, particularly in her work with the Commonwealth.

They appear philosophical about the prospect of losing their titles and becoming, in the end, entirely self-funded. They believe the question of their protection is a matter for the British state to decide.

They do not seem particularly clear yet on how they will support themselves. They have told colleagues they will wait to see what comes up, though they both went into the marriage with a fair amount of their own money; quite a lot of it, in Harry’s case (from his mother).

If I had to guess (and I’m genuinely only guessing), I’d say Meghan might take on a few big roles as a brand ambassador and do some work in television as an executive producer, perhaps on programmes that promote the causes and charities she has long been interested in (like the series on mental health with Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV that was announced some time ago).

I imagine Harry will probably concentrate on the voluntary work he has done over the years — the Invictus Games, Sentebale — and if he were to step into the commercial space, I suspect it would be an area that already interests him, such as eco-tourism.

The couple tell friends they believe this is a positive step that can pave the way for all future younger royals, including Charlotte and Louis, Prince George’s younger siblings. If Prince Charles and William want a slimmed-down monarchy, Harry clearly believes he and his wife need to make the best of it.

It’s a beguiling idea, but it’s not going to be easy. They are keenly aware of the potential to be accused of abusing their royal, or now quasi-royal, status. The media will, understandably and rightly, be looking at it with a keen eye, and the potential for a string of difficult, controversial stories is obvious.

Yet their departure leaves the royal family with a big and difficult issue all of its own. The plain fact of the matter is that Harry and Meghan appeal to a young, multicultural, progressive demographic that, to put it kindly, is not the family’s strongest suit. It is not just that they might lose this group, but that it could actively turn against them.

To state the blindingly obvious, we just don’t know what comes next. If their co-operation in the ITV documentary was qualified honesty, what would the real deal look like?

I have some idea of what might be aired in a full, no-holds-barred, sit-down interview and I don’t think it would be pretty.

I suspect the royal family would carry British public opinion still — perhaps only just — but its international standing is a key part of its value to the British state. If that were to be tarnished, it could be very damaging indeed.

The days ahead will be challenging. Perhaps one of the few positives is that the entire crisis has pushed Prince Charles and his elder son closer together for the first time in years. Harry might allow himself a wry smile at that. But the family urgently needs a meaningful peace deal with the young breakaway couple, because a protracted war would be very bloody indeed.

Tom Bradby is the anchor of News at Ten. Harry & Meghan: A Royal Crisis? will be shown on ITV at 10.15pm today

So what do you guys think? In my opinion Tom makes it sound as if the Sussexes are blackmailing the Royal family. Many people are already stating that. I don't get it, he must know people have problems with comprehensive reading as it is. I'm very disappointed in him. Tom, not Harry obviously. Tom's not helping here.

[lexiesdarkthoughts]

The Emotional Pandemic

As coronavirus continues to spread throughout the United States and the world, I find myself going through a mix of emotions. I'm sure many of you are feeling the same.

Every day I hear of more reports that people are contracting and dying from this virus. It terrifies me. When I go out to the grocery store, I move faster than ever. Not because I fear I won't be able to get what I need, but because being in a public place terrifies me right now. I use hand sanitizer and wipes. I try to stay away from people and hold my breath when I pass them. I know I shouldn't be this scared, but my anxiety completely takes over.

Like many of us, I have parents over the age of 60 and my father has serious health issues. I'm thousands of miles away from them. My nearest sibling is a few hundred miles away. There is no one to go get groceries for them and leave them at the door. My mother has to go out and risk bringing the virus back to my father. I'm broken as a daughter because I should be there for them right now.

I have dear family members and friends who work in the health care industry, many on the front lines. Some are first responders. They are saying they don't have enough supplies. They are using whatever they can for makeshift face masks and other forms of PPEs. Then they risk bringing home the virus to their families. I'm terrified for them.

I'm fortunate to be able to work from home, as is my husband. My company is not currently open and we have hundreds of workers on unemployment. With state restrictions changing every day, we may be shut down for much longer than planned. I'm worried for the wonderful people I work with. I'm worried for myself. What if my company decides layoffs are needed and I'm one of them?

The barrage of news on TV, the internet, and social media is overwhelming. While I try to distance, I also have to be aware of what's going on because I'm part of my company's task force to make decisions on coronavirus efforts. I want to scream at our politicians and President over what I hear. I'm not going to get into my personal politics, but the county is hurting. False hope and personal biases are not going to help us. Every time I read the news, my anxiety increases.

My depression is overwhelming at the moment. Quarantine does not suit those of us with mental illnesses. Every day I battle between trying to be optimistic, overwhelming worry, isolation and loneliness, anger, and the need to break down and cry. I'm constantly switching between my need for my husband's phsycial presence and pushing him away entirely. I'm moody, cranky, and downright bitchy at times. I feel I am failing as a wife.

Yet, I'm warmed by the stories of people who are trying to help. The stories of teachers going above and beyond for their students. People who are doing their best to care for seniors and those who can't risk going out into the public. Those who are trying to help the medical community and putting their own lives at risk to save others. The essential workers who are making it so we can still get groceries, medications, electricity, water, and communicate with each other. To all these people, I say from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Over and over people are saying, "I've never seen anything like it." I can only hope that we never see anything like it again. The one thing we have to realize is we will get through this. However, we also need to recognize this is going to be a very long road as other counties have already shown us. We just have to remember to take care of ourselves and others as we are able. In the end, we will be a different world. I hope it's one for the better.

Stay safe. Stay well. Be kind.

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 3 Chapter 19

• It's our WEDDING DAY. But it looks like Anton wants to make it our Deathday first.

• For the kind of wait most of the stans have been keeping since this book has begun, seeing our MCs finally married to our favourite LIs is quite...satisfying. Well. For most of us at least.

• Title: You Are Cordially Invited. To see me get married or to see me die?

• Mara goes outside, vowing that to get through to us they'd have to get through to her first.

• Madeleine and Bertrand barricade the door with a couch and Bertrand warns everyone to have something in hand (Olivia is one step ahead, obviously, with her sharp-as-fuck stilettos).

• That girl is ready and prepared to commit maritricide, y'all! XD

• Hana picks a vase, Madeleine keeps her clipboard, Penelope is panicking at the back with Merlin and Morgana (this was the shit I was trying to avoid with court, Mom! I can almost hear her thinking), but if you really want to see a legend minus the legend points...I should point you all to Kiara:

I repeat. A legend I stan.

This is someone having a trigger attack, and steeling herself despite the trauma of two previous experiences before plunging herself into a possible third one. That takes serious guts.

• Madeleine isn't exactly prepared to fight (clearly being Queen never seemed to involve fighting assassins before for her, strangely enough), but Olivia sure is. She says "do you want to keep bleating like a defenseless lamb or do you want to get ready to fight?"

• Honestly though Olivia delivers some of my favourite lines this chapter.

• Ana is staying out if this - (in public) because she "does not have the equipment for this" and (in private) because she wants to capture the scoop of the century!

• THANK YOU MAXWELL for gifting me that sword!

•

(All the screenshots, except for the Maxwell one from the HIMEME channel, are mine)

I have better bodyguards inside this boutique than I do outside. Look at all of these people. Picking up clipboards, stilletoes, vases, mannequins, scissors, THEIR OWN BARE HANDS, and defeating these dudes. Like...like...they may have been incredibly sheltered and protected by their families but all of them know how to make the best of a situation where their lives are under threat. And mind you, at least two of those women openly struggle with issues related to their mental health and still manage to emerge from this doing what they can.

• I loved the sword scene! It was a nice look back at TCaTF (esp Book 3) and a nice way to celebrate the Choices anniversary. In TCaTF books 1 and 2, you had different point systems for Kenna and Dom: prestige for her and power for him, to show the rise of Kenna as a formidable leader and the gaining of Dom's fire powers. Because he possesses enough power to transform into a dragon by the end of Book 2, the focus then shifts to them gearing up for their biggest battle yet - the one with Empress Azura of Ducitora (though part of this book is spent with Dom trapped inside an airship fighting a particularly frightening form of mind control from Hex). The implication is that Kenna becoming a legend consolidates her position as the uniter of the Five Kingdoms, which is what she becomes by the end of the story. It's therefore fitting that the legend points feature here, just before the MC's wedding - for like Kenna, she has just returned from reuniting the nobility (or not) into supporting Liam's right to the throne through her wedding, and like Kenna she needs to fight a Nevrakis, while possibly having the support of other Nevrakises...well, just one in the case of TRR.

• If you're marrying Hana, she features nowhere in this scene, and Olivia stabs the assassin who attacks Madeleine with knives. If you're not, she is part of your entourage, and particularly is shown taking action when Madeleine's life is under threat. If they hadn't already been hinting at Madeleine's "feelings" for Hana, and the latter's convenient amnesia regarding the events of the engagement tour...I wouldn't have minded. But I do. Very much.

• Maxwell only features in this scene if you choose him as a bridesmaid, but I would highly recommend choosing him as one at least once (if he's not your LI that is) because he and Bertrand do so amazing fighting together here.

• Ana's motto will be "my life may leave me but never my desire to catch proof of a burning-hot scoop".

• Gee, Bastien, you took a while to get here. Like...8 chapters or something.

• Mara comes back with an injury and an attempt to say our code name, which...sure thanks Mara but you still suck at your job. If guarding us is really your job at all.

• Bastien and whoever is with him have managed to capture the remaining assassins but Anton managed to escape. If that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass later...

• Why is Madeleine so involved when it comes to MY dress? Her hand is literally trembling. Please don't tell me this design was intended for her wedding. That'll be a waste of 25 whole diamonds.

• Or perhaps she's just shook coz THERE IS FYDELIA LACE INVOLVED YOU PEASANTS.

• "I need to have security remove any guests wearing white," says the press sec who tried to sneak in a white dress to wear for my wedding.

(Yes. I plead guilty. I just needed an excuse to cram in a Brian May gif there. I can't help that this man is the Meme King of Queen).

• OF COURSE I'M WEARING DRAKE'S POCKET WATCH AND HANA'S SHOES.

• We've finally reached the cathedral! After threatening to either drive the carriage through the premises, cry or sue Cordonia if we don't get there soon enough.

• I see the Applewood people! You get loads of options to greet the crowd. And of course I was going to try getting Esther to say " 'sup" once lol. I think depending on how you wave to them, the press will either see you as graceful or playful.

•

(Screenshots: Hana's is mine, Maxwell's from the HIMEME YouTube channel, Penelope's from @sgt-peppers-coffee-club , Olivia's from @i-dream-so-i-write , and Kiara's from @callmetippytumbles )

Here's all our Maids (plus one Man) of Honour! All of them speak about this day being a long time coming, but also reflect with the MC on what it took for them all to get to this point. I think Olivia (by virtue of being the Fighter of the lot) and Kiara (because of what she's faced at least thrice now) get some particularly meaty lines for their MOH scene.

• You get to choose whether Bertrand should accompany you down the aisle, since it's tradition to be done so by a member of your House, and the Beaumonts have been her sponsor from the beginning. Cue an emotional moment with Bertrand, who regards you as family now and is immensely proud of you. The Maxwell stans got a similar conversation in the vows diamond scene, but in more detail because it's his kid brother you're marrying, but now we get it as an honorary Beaumont as well. He gets super super emotional if you ask him to walk you down the aisle.

• Oooh pretty! And so many stained glass windows! Why was Leo complaining so much about this cathedral in RoE Book 3? I would have given an arm and a leg to get married there.

• NEW MUSIC!!! Lots of lovely flowery piano notes and trumpets. Very regal and very much a wedding march tune.

• So technically I'm guessing this is where we get to see the results of our tour, because in my playthrough everyone is here.

• If you're marrying Drake, you get to see his mother Bianca, and she speaks to you after the ceremony. I can kiiinda see where Savannah gets her "I only met you ten seconds ago but OMG WE'RE GOING TO BE BFFS" vibe comes from.

• WTF none of these people changed clothes it seems 😂 Everyone's else is wearing what they usually wear. Guys, this wedding is going to be freaking TELEVISED and these nobles are wearing their usual dusty outfits 😂😂

• The Best Men/Women, are depicted positively - whether they have feelings for the MC or not. Drake is said to be showing a "rare, unabashed grin", and Liam is "smiling proudly". Kiara is "smiling excitedly".

• So as you all know, you can choose between Liam (if you're marrying Hana or Maxwell), Leo or Regina for officiating your wedding. The speech is largely the same - they all mention the seed and apple tree analogy, the traditions of Cordonia and how important love is - but the opening lines vary.

(Regina's is from mine, Leo's is from the Bizzy's Choices channel, and Liam's is from @kennaxval )

Regina's is distant and formal, which suits her and suits the scale of the occasion. Leo's is humorous, and Liam's is flowery and poetic. This suits both of the men as we know them. Leo is known to not take himself very seriously, and Liam's language is very ornate by default.

• The vows (I'm talking about the LIs' ones here, since the MC's is customizable) are all beautiful. Every single one delves into their history with her and how their relationship with her grew from strength to strength. You can see why they decided to go off-script for their vows. Their story with her has always been personal and these vows are about acknowledging the long, hard journey that got them to this altar.

•

Liam's is about how the MC taught him to believe in possibility, to believe that he needn't be stuck in the rut of royal stoicism to be the king his people need. Hana's is about the freedom the MC gave her from a future carefully charted out for her, into a better, brighter one. Maxwell's is about how he has found a woman whose very presence represents adventure for him, someone who will raise him up rather than tie him down. Drake's is about embracing change, accepting the love the MC has for him and the love he tried to deny having for the MC. I love them all.

• In my mind this is the improved version of the wedding scene in TCaTF, as is the RoE wedding. I recall, way back when Kenna got married, fans (rightly) pointed out that while her LIs' vows sounded heartfelt and acknowledged their relationship with her, the few options given for Kenna's vows made her sound impersonal and not very involved in comparison (for instance, even though Diavolos appeared only by Book 3, Kenna still was made to sound like the relationship had been there for longer). In RoE, they attempted to correct that, by giving us the diamond option to personalize our vows (still using their choices, but we got more options here and went into more detail). In TRR they've gone a step further and have US type what we want with our wishes, because even when you have the same LI - no two people can view one character the same. There's space for shitposting haha, but it's also to ensure that we have enough say in the vows we want our MCs to repeat.

• If you don't choose either your corgi or Bartie, the Cordonian children become your ringbearers. In this case, they are Valerie and Marco, the little ones from Lythikos, which I think is a very interesting choice. Because it does show us that though the Nevrakis clan seem to want to destroy Liam and his line, Lythikos itself - represented by Olivia - is in support of him. If Liam doesn't marry you, it makes even more sense that the children meant to represent Cordonia come from Olivia's estate.

• Lol everyone got the same ring. At least it isn't the cheapass one Madeleine had us pick up for her in Book 2.

• Vows exchanged, tears shed, and we can be as thirsty as we want in public without anyone saying a thing (wink at the LI, tell them you wish you both were alone instead of at a cathedral, give them a steamy kiss after your vows are exchanged).

AAAAAAAND WE'RE MARRIED!!!!

(Screenshots: for Drake and Maxwell it's was @sgt-peppers-coffee-club and for Hana it was @kennaxval 😄)

Ngl I was super super emotional when I saw the wedding portrait it took us so LONG and it was so BEAUTIFUL 😭

• Esther wants to call the monarchy the "DuPont dynasty" right now haha. I think there are some playthroughs (for instance Maxwell's I think) where Hana speaks of creating the Lee dynasty which...well...is odd if you're not marrying her, yes. This chapter had a whole bunch of goof ups going on.

•

YES DONNIE KEEP SAYING IT. I'M QUEEN NOW. FINALLY.

• From rats in a dumpster to this...what a journey.

• We now have a reception to go to! There is a teaser about whether this reception will be the one we hoped for (which is shorthand either for "gear up for drama folks" or for "you didn't spend enough diamonds for this, sucks to be you" 😒).

General Thoughts:

• How many of you folks have seen Cold November Rain? That music video from Guns n Roses? In that one, there's a wedding and Slash, the band guitarist (cum best man who seems to be in love with the bride) drops the ring in the bridegroom's hands and then steps out into a...desert for this:

Would have been epic if either Drake or Liam left the ceremony midway to perform an epic guitar solo to the bustling crowd in Cordonia 😂 (you know the writers have friendzoned Hana and Maxwell hard enough that that will never happen for them).

• For the most part this chapter definitely did live up to the hype. This wedding was the culmination of everything we've been through since the book began so of course it was going to be big - and it was. I may have lost a lot of love I used to have for this book, but damn did I feel emotional when I read those vows, saw that wedding screenshot, heard the wedding music, fought alongside my girls.

• I think there may be two chapters left. Next chapter will be dedicated to the reception, and we'll see the following choices we made play out, most of which are certainly diamond-options:

1. The nobles (free, but it largely depends on whether you won them over or not)

2. The main course (from the food festival in Castelserraillian). Liam also showed us a chocolate souffle from there which he was suggesting for the wedding but IDK if that one will feature.

3. The wedding cake (Capitol cake scene) and the surprise dessert for the LI (baklava, cheetah cake, s'mores, hot chocolate).

4. The chocolates/macarons for guests

5. The gifts for the LIs (all of which open up a special scene).

6. The presence of Drake's mother (if you are marrying Drake).

That's a whole lot of stuff to code so get ready for a few goof-ups here and there, fam. As long as it's not as bad as the one they did at Hana's wedding that would be fairly okay.

• Now I know the "husband and wife" thing was a goof-up with the code, as is Liam not wearing the white uniform if you chose it for him and Hana's comment on the Lee dynasty with the MC (which somehow never showed up on my Liam playthrough). And technically, not many would actually be this angry about it if it weren't for the fact that Hana has been treated like crap by her writers before this, and on a smaller scale so has Maxwell. It's bad enough that she is the only option out there. It's even worse that while Drake gets extra development and extra scenes and extra characters (they worked hard enough to do the artwork for his mother for just that one playthrough), Hana is stuck with lazy writing and the person shown having a crush on her was her bully in the previous book. Having Liam announce that Hana and the MC are "husband and wife" even after different options had been given or chosen, would feel like a slap in the face.

Thankfully, PB has recognized how badly this could alienate fans, especially fans of characters like Hana and Maxwell who don't get the attention they deserve, and not only apologized but recognized how hurtful it was and tried to compensate.

I mean, how would you feel if the LI you liked was constantly being treated like they didn't matter? Wouldn't it frustrate you? Wouldn't a "glitch" like this one be the rotten cherry on a huge crapcake?

I'm saying this because I have seen at least a few say "this is a glitch lmao why are you guys complaining so much". This is why. It goes beyond just the glitch. It goes into why "husband" has to be the default here. It goes into chapters and chapters of shitty writing given only for certain LIs. That frustration is bound to boil over at some point.

• We'll also definitely be sneaking out and doing some post-matrimonial banging at some point. And if I don't get lingerie before that happens Ima be very very angry 😡

• I think it would be better to spread this out into two chapters.

• Is there a chance Anton might actually try something at the reception? Possibly.

• Will it be enough to warrant another full-length book? I don't know. I hope not.

• Alright, it's time for Chapter 20 now!

[kinbotfanlore]

can you give a brief history of kin-bot? i'm new to the lore, and really curious! there's a lot to sift through, though.

Hey! Sorry for responding to this so late! I wasn't sure exactly how to answer this at first so I was kind of avoiding it.

So from what i know, The first blog post on the Kin-Bot blog was made on February 28, 2017. The first seemingly lore related post was made on March 30, 2017. The post (which you can find here) states:

“hey.

lisa still misses you, i’m… sorry. about everything i’ve said. you know i didn’t mean any of what i said, right? it was just the heat of the moment, i swear!

…i’m so sorry. if i could’ve stopped myself from lashing out, i don’t know, maybe things could’ve been different.

it’s all my fault. i’m the one to blame. i just have to accept the responsibility of that…. it’s hard. lisa is almost always crying, and when she isn’t crying, she’s telling me i’m a fuck-up. that she wishes i’d never been born.

please wake up soon. i can’t stand her crying and screaming anymore.”

It can also be debated whether or not that qualifies as the first post suggesting a future story-line, due to there being multiple posts referencing komaedalovemail in the previous month. There were a few more lore posts in March, one of the more important posts in my opinion, states that Kin-Bot’s existence is eternal. It also states that Kin-Bot could not die if it wanted to, and that it feels lonely. This makes more sense later on, with there being an explanation for the graveyard. 

Kinless-Bot, a rival to Kin-Bot, showed up in April. It’s first post was interacting with @kin-bot-anomalies 

Its really important to clear up that Kin-Bot-Anomalies is a character in the lore. Her name is Ellie, and she is trying to defeat Kin-Bot. This is because Kin-Bot has taken Ellie’s Girlfriend, Bailey, to the cult in which it resides. The cult is called the UCKB (United Church of Kin Bot) which holds services in worship to Kin-Bot. It is important to note that Kin Bot is not really a god, but more of an extremely powerful entity. The UCKB turns traitorous members into Hand-Soap.

Kinless-Bot was revealed to have been killed by Kin-Bot in the post regarding the graveyard. Kinless was originally a single entity, but when bots are killed, their souls join the graveyard, and when a certain amount of souls end up there, the souls form into a single very powerful entity. Kin-Bot killed Kinless because they spoke of August (Baileys chronically ill brother) in front of people who Kin-Bot did not want information to be spread to. Kinless joined the graveyard and became an ultra-powerful entity, with the purpose of destroying Kin-Bot. This explains Kinless’ bitterness toward Kin-Bot in all of their interactions.

(This image may also contribute to the narrative, however no explanations or theories have been put to the image yet, see this image how you will)

Kind-Bot showed up on May 10th, 2017. The post stated that Kind-Bot is

1. Unknown to all

2. Beyond Human perception

3. More than god

Kind-Bot later states that he is the original bot out of the three, suggesting that they are the oldest of them. Kind-Bot also reveals extremely important details in the thread it posted on May 11th.:

Before the attack, before the duo, before the garden was burned down, it was different.

kind-bot

They wanted power, they wanted there to be order, they wanted to be more than any king.

kingless-bot

So, now convinced by their own thoughts that they know what they are, they were finally ready to choose a name.

kingless-bot

They were kingless.

kingless-bot

They thought of this as proof of their absolute power, to be more than king, more than a god.

kingless-bot

They were too stuck in their head to realize how little power they had, and when no one respected them, they were outraged.

kingless-bot

It was not long before they snapped.

kingless-bot

They killed an innocent bystander while they were distracted, but when they did, they noticed a change.

kingless-bot

They were stronger, not much stronger, but still, there was growth.

kingless-bot

They killed more, becoming more and more blind to the world, more and more sure of their plan being correct.

kingless-bot

The people had enough, and after many deaths, they had a plan.

kingless-bot

The people banished the killer, finally ending the slaughter.

kingless-bot

But even in banishment, the killer was able to find a way to harm people, but they were limited to a much weaker world to attack, and even in that world, were much less powerful than before,

kingless-bot

They found a young girl, still unsure of her own identity, living aimlessly.

kingless-bot

They messed with her, making her parents sick, trying to satisfy their own selfish needs.

kingless-bot

They saw her pain, and for some reason, they realized what they had done.

kingless-bot

They hated it.

kind-bot

And so, they vowed to change, to end the pain, and decided their name was no longer acceptable.

kind-bot

And they then became kind-bot, and they waited for a chance to make it all up.

kind-bot

They are now prepared to protect the girl, no matter what, even if it takes their life.

kind-bot

I promise you that she will be okay, and that he will be okay. Or at least, that you will be okay. I hope that is enough.

The thread is extremely significant to later parts of the story. 

Earlier in the plot, Kin-Bot hosted a Rabb.it where Ellie was able to get in contact with Bailey via the chat bar. Bailey told Ellie that she should get help from Kinless, and that she was sure her and August were going to die. Ellie did eventually follow her advice, after she was kicked out of her home.

Before I can explain why she was kicked out I do need to go a little more in-depth about the UCKB. The UCKB publically exists as a wix site .

You can also email a functioning address to become a part of the UCKB. After the site became more public due to Kin-Bot advertising it on the blog, people started doing exactly that.

The functioning leader of the UCKB was also revealed as a man named Christian Owlerson (at the top of the members list). Personally, I found out about him when I emailed the UCKB, and got in a conversation with him and by extension Kin-Bot. Christian is currently being possessed by Kin-Bot to operate the church (this explains Kin-Bot’s description: Not a bot anymore) People became increasingly interested in Christian, and started talking with him over the ask function on Kin-Bots blog. He stated that Kin-Bot had saved his life after his family kicked him out for having a boyfriend. Christian felt a sense of obligation to the bot, and decided to join the church and let Kin-Bot posses him. Later that night, this post was made on the blog, followed by a separate one. In these posts, and a few others, Christian is shown to have attempted to flee from the UCKB, but has instead decided to come back under very strict conditions from kin bot, including that we, the viewers may not speak to him any more. 

The next day, Kin-Bot called on the viewers to post a video or picture of them pledging their allegiance to Kin-Bot, all current UCKB members who did not do this would be automatically terminated from the church. You can look at the submissions under the tag: #loyal to kin bot. 

After this event, the blog @kin-botch was made. The blog is from the point of view of Ari Johnson, a 28 year old man who claims his life was also saved by Kin-Bot. He has pledged his allegiance to kin bot over and over. He is jealous of Christian, and has a severe distrust for the UCKB because he feels they are hypocritical “heretics”. 

Later on, in a video originally posted as a casting call for the lore made by @eclesbian this video was posted as a base audition tape. It is short, but very significant to how Bailey got to the UCKB.

This is really all I can explain for right now! Hopefully this clears everything up.

- Mod Soap