#this also isn't lateral I have a more severe presentation of DID and am more disabled than SAS- SAS attacked me for this presentation

[bunn-iiii]

so many things happening in my life in the next couple months and it feels like my life is turning around compared to how I felt this time last year which was complete and utter dread and burn out in every sense of the word

[cawyden-gaming]

Rogue Trader - Party Banter

Unfortunately, party banter in the game is kind of broken - it hardly triggers and I had several cases where the timing/trigger was bad as I had already clicked on an exit or other item what then interrupted the banter. There is also banter for events that haven't happened (yet) or with companions not even present (or recruited).

But there is quite a lot banter in voiced and unvoiced form in the game.

For the voiced banter there are two videos online that you can find here:

Part 1

Part 2

I have gone through the videos and banters and wrote down the timestamps and dialog that features Heinrix (as speaker or if companions speak about him).

You can find it here. (-> opens excel in google drive)

Please keep in mind that I am not a native speaker and while I used the help of (generated) subtitles there were words that I did not really understand (especially with Ulfar). I added a ? in these cases.

Still, it should give you an overview about the (voiced) banter available and where to jump to in the video if you want to listen to it.

There is of course the unvoiced banter too, but that is not featured here.

There is a lot of romance related banter in video 1 and more act/main story related ones in video 2.

There is also a mentioning of absent Achilleas, a master of ceremonies with memory issues, Abelard scolding Heinrix for being interested in the RT, sassy Heinrix everywhere...

Some examples:

Party banter video 2 - time 00:08:09

Ulfar: *growling at Heinrix*

Heinrix:

Thank you, my Lord Ulfar. I'm in good health and I hope you are as well. I am pleased that we are starting to get along.

Party banter video 2 - time 00:41:40

Marazhai:

My mere presence makes you shake with rage – I do not even have to do anything to you... delightful.

Heinrix:

Yes, I … you... damn it! I'm so angry, I can't even speak! Enough! I'll deal with you later.

(-> the VA is evenf more incredible here, you can hear him shaking)

Regarding Heinrix in Commoragh / healing:

Party banter video 2 - time 00:24:32

Heinrix:

Lady Cassia, there is no need to look at me like that. I assure you, I am perfectly fine.

Cassia:

Do I not deserve the truth from you even in this place master van Calox? I can see the flashes of scarlet that accompany your every movement.

Party banter video 2 - time 00:35:12

Jae:

Why are you limping like that? Haven't you healed yourself?

Heinrix:

It is a long process. I could try to hide my infirmity I suppose, but I'm not as accomplished an actor as you are, Shereen

Party banter video 2 - time 00:35:25

Idirah:

Those crazy screams in the lab the whole time I was there, that was you, wasn't it iceman? How did you survive that?

Heinrix:

My fervent desire to boil a few hundred xenos in their skin on my way out of here, proved stronger than death.

So, while he says he healed himself and is fine, he really isn't...

[yonkokraven]

Am I the only one who thinks Ida does the "saving heroes" thing better than ochako?

Yes his role throughout the series lessened but it stayed consistent. After the stain arc we always see him helping his classmates . We don't see that with ochako tho. It doesn't feel like apart of her character but apart of her relationship with deku. I mean in the rooftop scene shoto was standing outside of ua and couldn't enter she didn't say anything then. She didn't say anything later when he said his presence would've caused problems, she didn't say anything abut ayoma she didn't even think about any of the heroes that got severely injured or died. She's never even had a thought about allmight (isn't it weird how little 1a interacted with AM) Nothing

Just deku thats it.

Which is why I prefer iida even if just in the background he's constantly checking up on his classmates and making sure their okay

(unrelated but hori def didn't make izuchako Canon to not displease bkdk shippers)

Well, honestly Uraraka works in this "saving heroes" thing because it more or less coincides with the core of her character which is essentially to make those around her happy, but that doesn't mean that yes, you're right and that Iida could have been part of that plot with Uraraka and Midoriya

Iida is the first Legacy Kid that is presented to us and he already has the concepts of heroism deeply rooted in his education, the main problem is that those concepts are completely aligned with the limits of the rules, that is, for a good part of the manga he is regal and incorruptible before the typical ideals of a hero in society, and on two occasions he deviates from this

-Selfishly: wanting to kill (not imprison or detain) Stain

-In a supportive way: Accompanying his classmates to save Bakugo.

After that Horikoshi could continue evolving Iida, but he doesn't, and we see him in action again in the Vigilant Deku arc and in the final war, where his job is to reach Midoriya, and then help Shoto reach his family.

I could start a rant here about how Horikoshi threw away the development of several characters just to give Gary Stu (Bakugo) of this manga his thousandth moment to shine.

But I can criticize him for other inconsistencies that you have pointed out:

-Shoto was able to enter the UA before and after the speech, people's biggest fear was that Midoriya would enter the academy

-Aoyama's scene and overall plot have no impact because we didn't have any focus prior to it (aside from the arc before the provisional exams). There's only an glimpse of an impact because it's revealed that he was quirkless, and we don't get a focus on class A in those types of plots and class A barely has any evolution outside of comic gags.

-Something to note on the subject of injured or dead heroes, is that the only considerable reaction we get from the class to this, is when Midnight dies, and a couple of chapters later they're in uniforms again, it feels like I missed out on about 90 therapy sessions here, but there's no acknowledgement of the deaths surrounding them or adverse consequences like heroes or students quitting.

-Uraraka and All Might... I seem to remember that there was an interaction between her, Iida, Tsuyu and Mineta between the rounds of the sports festival tournament, but I don't know if it is added to the anime only or also in the manga. There is a huge problem with this and that is that All Might was in skeletal form, the same form with which he begins to teach after his fight against AFO, could a plot arise here of how Uraraka or Iida discover the OFA on their own? If so, Hori did not do it because, surprise! Bakugo.

And as for the ships, I have to say, I much prefer Izuocha even though I'm more of a rarepairs fan.

I could make a post later about both ships, but responding to what you said, Horikoshi moves according to who is at the top of popularity, and this doesn't happen in stories with a gram of narrative stability (for example, One Piece).

Although the lack of confirmation doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, Uraraka wearing the Deku mask and focusing on Midoriya's hands (except the ring finger of his left hand) already gives enough of a clue, although I think Hori will leave those important details for the sequel or when volume 42 comes out in December.

[theblackcubeofdarkness]

WARNING THE FOLLOWING TRAILER FOR THIS HORROR GAME HAS THEMES OF BODY HORROR, BLOOD, HUMAN DEATH, ANIMAL DEATH, A FLIPPEN SPIDER GIRAFFE, AND SOME WEIRD CENTIPEDE PARISITE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Ok so first watch this.

Ok traumatized? GREAT! Then we can get started. First off this game hands down is AMAZING! Well from what we can see at least. In case you don't know Zoochosis is a real thing that can happen to animals within Zoos making them kind of go insane. The game description says that your a new night zoo keeper and a strange parasitic infection has been spotted in the zoo turning the infected animals into deadly mutants. Along with your duties as a zoo keeper you must make a cure for this infection and save the animals while keeping yourself alive. It also warns us that our choices in the game will effect the ending so we know its a multi ending game. Did I mention this is a body cam horror game because it is. Ok so zoo horror games are really rare and the concept is very unique making it feel like alien but at a zoo. I'm going to take this step by step and say what I think the game mechanics will be from the info given to us.

This is a screenshot given to us on the game page and its very simple. Just infrared vision most likely the same camera seen used at the start of the game. Something I noticed is that in the beginning of the game trailer the giraffe seems more red through the lens while this is more green. I think we are going to have to determine infected and subdue them (probably non lethally due to something I'll discuss later) if their in the green their good but if their red they may be infected. Now how do they get infected? I think there is going to be something like among us here and we must determine if an animal in the pen is infected.

One of the screenshots actually give us the layout of the zoo.

(And yes I am screenshotting the screenshots presented on a youtube video due to reasons)

Here we can see we got 8 animals to take care of and monitor. From what I can see we got Zebras, Kangaroo's, Elephants, Gorillas, Moose (or reindeer I don't know), Giraffes, and the all mighty penguins.

This isn't just a survival game cause it seems we're going to have to take care of the animals and I just realized that not a moose but an elk... MOVING ON we can see in the trailer after grind up the presumed human in the sack the player is seen using a meat cutter with a similar monitor like this in front of them before a strange parasites comes out of the meat and scuttles away suggesting that the human that we grinded up was infected. While making the food for the animals we seem to have to minter the food to make sure there is no parasites in it and keep them safe. This may be one of the way the parasites' can spread. I also think they can spread if a infected animal is in a pen for too long and infects other animals.

This is what I was saying we were gonna talk about later. There seems to be a shop in this game giving us several things. One is the tranquilizer darts which we will probably use to defend ourselves against the infected but we also seems to have Ampoules. A quick google search told me an ampoule is used to contain sample which probably connect to a screenshot that I show next stating to collect sample no doubt connecting to the goal of curing the animals.

We can see several takes such as collecting samples injecting cures and feeding. Thats all I have to say for this one.

Also I think each animal is named so thats amazing. Everyone say to to Fred who is despite in the middle of a chaotic situation is just chilling.

This seems like a generator that we may have to come back to in order to refuel it possibly exposing us to threats as we do so. This is supported by the next screenshot.

POWER SYSTEM! AND COMPUTERS! This is looking like fnaf kind of...

We also don't seem to be safe inside the infected traveling the zoo and stalking the halls hunting you down. They seem to be able to disguise themselves as original normal animals like with the kangaroos in the trailers only detected by the infrared or the strange device.

This game looks amazing but the fact that I just cant wrap my mind around is that face this game is being developed by Clapperheads the people who made Sparky Marky... AND I SUPPORT IT 100% They seem to take criticism and work to improving those parts so I think this game will a blast! (Not like im playing it im a coward).

The game comes out in Q2 of 2024 so we have to wait a bit but I am excited to see what this game will bring upon its release. Wishlist on steam today!

[faline-cat444]

An image of what seems to be the main cast for Wonderful.When it comes to the little bit of details being expressed so far it's a mix of weirdness but I generally have a good feeling over the upcoming season's theme and execution.The main idea is showing us that our leading Cure is actually a dog who gains the ability to transform into a human girl and of course a Pretty Cure.I can excuse her name being Cure Wonderful thanks to that,if anything thanks to the pun it might be better off calling her Cure Wan-Derful.

For past experiences her voice actor has taken credit for that's a character I know she's supposed to be Kanna from Dragon Maid.So using that for reference this isn't her first time dealing with what I think can classify as "Shapeshifter".Her dog genetics also say she's the Papillon breed which being more of a cat person I don't really have much experience to but a page on the American Kennel Club website did provide some handy statistics that might be worked into her character.

As I said already the naming scheme for the initial Cure Status Quo feels a bit weak compared to the motifs of previous seasons but I can excuse that when your team leader is an actual dog most of the time.

Bringing us to our next most major Cure we have a bit more info on,Iroha Inukai aka Friendy.Her name in magical girl form is likely rooted to how dogs get referred to as "Man's Best Friend".

Design-Wise I'm not quite sold on her default outfit and hope the fashion she'll get later on(When the seasons change or similar) and I think the hat would look better if it covered her whole head rather than being a tiny thing on the side.Her voice apparently being who does Anya [Forger] among a few other characters makes me really want her to be worthy of my ever expanding list of favorites and shows this isn't her first time being a magical girl or dealing with a weird dog.

Similar to the season we're closing off on we don't have true details for Nyammy and Lillian but it isn't too hard to put the clues together.

"Nyammy" contains Nya which is how Japan tends to express what English would call "meow".There is a white cat named Yuki present along with her owner,Mayu Nekoshiyama.

The pink ribbon placements sort of remind me how Blake concealed her cat ears in the first volumes of RWBY.With how order is place in the quartet Yuki is going to be the one who transforms first followed by her owner.Not too sure how much of a time skip this will be in the grand scheme but the little bit of info presently given on Mayu says she recently moved into the town."Lillian" might also be an odd choice of name considering the limited knowledge at the moment for it's a name that seems rather human instead of descriptive or constructive(Then again,Laura just used her last name) and seeing the meaning of it as a girl's name it's supposed to give a sense of peace and passion but at the same time it's based on lily flowers...Which I have seen several informative sources say are HIGHLY TOXIC TO CATS and it might be very telling that a cat is possibly implied to have assisted in her owner's Cure name.

Our last duo in the visual is currently more for the hypothetical theories right now than outright stated from initial visual choices.If it's going the way they're wanting us to think they're who I am really pinning the money on.

Glasses Boy is Satoru Usayama while his bunny's name is Daifuku

The former is definitely hinting to have a lot of those marks I said I'd want for a male cure successor for Tsubasa:

Classmate to one of the main characters(So he does attend the school)

Outfit hints he's going to fill the niche of the yellow/orange/gold member to the team

Ends up needing to be a secret keeper about the girls' being Pretty Cure

If he keeps his glasses or they turn into a monocle when the time comes and everything checks out that's perfection in my book.In regards to his rabbit...

Apparently that's one brave bunny not that I can read that going by the facial expression the first impression is giving.Need to wait for the show proper to truly see the loppy lapin in action.

Now for the final shreds of detail that more-or-less are "public"...

Whatever role these animals will be serving they very much seem a bit like an extended cast including recolors of the animals from Healin' Good

Lastly is our first shot at one of our monsters of the episode which this time around are starting out with the name of "Garugaru"

This might very well be best viewed as the Pretty Cure spin on some subject matters Animal Detectives Kiruminzuu dealt with and all we have to do is wait for the fourth of February to see it start to unfold

[cherry-flavoured-thot]

Hihi hope you’re having a great day! y, p, c for diavolo please 🙏💗

I am not accepting any more requests for this prompt list, any more of these I write have been sitting in my ask box for some time :)

c - courtship, what do they do to hint at wanting to get together? is it obvious they’re courting you or subtle? 

Diavolo finds it too easy to gift you things under the guise of friendship. And while part of him would love to present you with glittering gems or precious rings, treasures that don't even come close to your value to him. He needs to remember to demonstrate greater subtly.

A fact that Barbatos reminds him of quite often. And normally he intends to do so. It would make far greater sense to wait until in private to gift you with the little charm he saw that reminded him of you. But the anticipation of your reaction proves too much for him, and he ends up handing it to you the second he sees you next.

This is common with most things. He'll have already arranged to meet with you later, but will have the sudden urge to see you immediately and will set out to do just that. He often wonders to himself if you're aware of how tightly you've managed to ensnare him so strongly within his own impulses.

"You only last saw me an hour ago." You joke, with a smile that he adores.

"And it was one of the longest hours of my life." When you laugh, he concludes that you don't realise it.

And maybe it's a good thing. Especially considering his first thought when hearing your laughter was that he'd do anything to be able to keep hearing the sound.

p - pining, what is it like when they pine? is it obvious when they do it? do they keep it well hidden? how much will they pine before finally confessing? 

Diavolo feels so far away from you. That distance, however, seems to be of his own making. While he isn't outright avoiding you, he doesn't linger too long in your presence, especially when you're with someone else. He wants it to be him. But he's afraid of what may happen if he voices his intent so plainly.

You were his treasured friend before his heart became greedy, and it makes your presence irreplaceable. He could survive rejection. At least he thinks so. While yes his heart will ache for years to come, yearning for an arrival of a joining due to never appear. Your value to him would not diminish for it.

But if you were to retract. To completely avoid him all together. The strangling sensation of a new found loneliness without you around, may be an agony of which he wouldn't recover. Which is why for now he stalls from having to make a decision, and the easiest way is to do so, is by minimizing how long he is with you.

For every second he's with you, his heart demands an hour.

y - yours, what was it like when they realised they were in love? what were they doing? how did they react? 

It's such a mundane moment when it dawns on him. That Diavolo vows to himself that should you ever ask the question of when he realised he was in love with you, he'll lie and make it a moment far grander then what actually occurred.

He passed you by in the hall. As he had done several days before, stopping to greet you only for whatever conversation either of you were having to be cut short by Barbatos reminding him of the time.

It was as he headed to his next destination that differed from the other times. His thoughts were him hoping to enjoy a moment with you without the interruptions of others. To have you and your time all to himself, for as long as he could manage.

When he starts to plan out all the ways he could make it happen, he notices the way his heart races with delight at the thought of having you to himself. A grin had also firmly planted itself on his features while he mentally played out his schemes.

It's as the pieces start to all fit together he becomes aware of the lingering intent behind everything.

His love for you coming out into the open, leaving him to think on his plans further.

[softcitrus2345]

Hii!! This is the first time I have ever reached out to someone in this community because I am very scared of being 'found out' and I find it hard to accept myself for what I like 😓 But your account feels very safe, and ur art is so gorgeous bsjsbdj!!!. I read ur tips from a while ago about how to start an account and I would rlly like to share my art out there and connect with likeminded people, and present all my ocs to the world that I have hidden in a folder on my procreate HELP. If this isn't too personal of a question, do u have an tips on self acceptance when it comes to this niche?

Oh man, I totally feel you there, I'll do my best to help ya out!

I completely understand the struggle with self-acceptance with this niche, so many spaces both in the internet and real life have stigmatized this kind of niche and made it out to be something disgusting and perverted, and something to be ashamed about..

I struggled for years with myself, feeling guilty for being into these sorts of things, and for "tainting" my characters with these thoughts, and the occasional drawing I would make in a notebook and promptly rip out and hide somewhere out of shame-

It took me a long time to finally understand why I felt the way I did, and what specific things about this niche appealed to me.

The thing that has helped me the most with the self-acceptance aspect is having a sense of community. Whether it be with just one person, or with a small group, having other people with similar interests that you can talk to and feel comfortable with helps a ton.

Around the same time last year was when I started to get more comfortable with this niche. I joined the server of an artist who's chonky art I really liked, and I got to meet new people and explore that part of myself more. But the best thing for me was finding out that one of my closest friends was also into the same things I was. It was just such a huge sense of relief when I found out, and once I started talking with her about it and sharing ideas back and forth, it became a lot easier to talk about, and it helped me get a lot more comfortable engaging with these interests of mine. A few months later, I found another one of my friends also liked this stuff, and then a few more months later, I found even MORE of my already close friends were into this

I guess the universe was just on my side, I'm so fortunate to have such kind and understanding friends that I can share this stuff with, and explore my interests with

Without them, this account wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't be making this kind of art that I share here, so I will always be grateful for that.

The best advice I can offer you is to find that sense of safety and community, whether it just be one person or several

Joining servers of artists who's work you enjoy is always a good way to meet new people, as well as interacting with artists you admire or other people in the community!

It's never easy to start, and don't get me wrong, I still do struggle with this stuff on and off, but I promise you it does get easier. Try to be kind to yourself

Think of it this way. It's SUPER normalized in society to be into like. Buff guys, or big boobies or butts or whatever, right?? Well being attracted to fat can also be seen that way if you really think about it-

Not saying that fat people should always be objectified in that way but I'm just trying to put that into perspective-

Hopefully that makes sense lol

Also, I am so glad to hear that you can find comfort and a sense of safety in this blog, because that's exactly my intention to have a safe space for people to explore their interests without fear of outside judgement

It means the world to me that you like my art so much and that you felt comfortable asking a tough question like that. I hope my advice can bring you some hope and clarity involving your situation 💖

I sincerely wish you the best, anon, I hope you can find the confidence to share your art with the world someday! I'd love to hear your ideas and see what kind of stuff you put out there!

[aru-loves-krishnaxarjuna]

KaJu

Pt.2 -> Masterlist

A day before the departure, Arjuna recieved an unusual parcel, or rather, a gift. From the one and only Vasudev Krishna. That boy was older than him by two years, and was from the royal family of the oligarchy kingdom, Dwarka.

Arjuna opened the box, and saw atypical but adorable blue stones, along with a small letter and a peacock feather.

Hope you like the small gift, Parth!

—Vasudev Krishna

'Why did he send only me a cute yet unusual gift like this? Because none of my Bhrata have got one. And Parth? Is he referring to me? Either way, i really love the name!' Arjuna thought as he kept away the stones in a part of his dhoti, and rummaged through the seven-tiered Chakravyuha formation.

"Arju?" Came Bheem's voice. Arjuna perked up as he jumped on the twenty-one year old lad, who caught him and twirled him in the air ruffling his younger brother's hairs.

"Bhrata Bheem!" Exclaimed Arjuna cheerfully. "Let me guess, you want to eat sweets together with all our brothers and discuss plans about the war tomorrow, right?" Bheem pulled Arjuna by the shoulder and grinned wide. "You guessed right! Now come on!" Vrikodar pulled Phalgun along, who just laughed.

"Yesterday was impressive! You fought sooo well!" Nakul said excitedly.

"I think we should get to serious topics now, Nakul. We have to go to war tomorrow." Said Yudhishthir, being his usual serious self. "As me and the others were discussing, you would have to lead us in the war, Phalgun."

"I agree. Because Panchal Raj is most likely to use that formation. We will clear the way for you." Sahadev added, with a gentle smile.

_���_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–_–

It was a pretty windy day. It was still dark outside as he made his way to the stables to see his white pet horse. Arjuna had received him as a present just a few months ago; since he was a young warrior now, he could have a horse of his own. He had named him Vikramaditya — a rather fancy name for a horse. Vikram for short. Arjuna was really fond of him, and stroked and cuddled the animal as he drank water from his tub. As he headed towards the main halls, he heard raised voices coming clearly from a distance. Outside, in the main yard, Duryodhan was up bright and early before sunrise, having a full-blown argument with Drona, as many people looked on.

"But that is unfair, Acharya!"

"I am having none of it! He can not come!"

"But it will be much easier if he goes with us!"

"Then it means that you are not confident in your own skills!"

It was then that Arjuna noticed Karna standing beside Duryodhan, head lowered, jaw tightened in anger and shame. Drona hadn't initially recognised him at the ceremony, since they'd met after several years, but had known who he was the minute he'd introduced himself. Moments later, the argument was interrupted by Shakuni, who bowed before Drona. He already seemed to have something up his sleeve, like he always did.

"Respected Guru", he drawled, "Allow me to explain, if you please." He shoved Duryodhan aside and stepped in front of Drona. "I understand you do not wish to take along a man who isn't your pupil, but I assure you! You can most certainly take him along without letting him participate! You and your son are going as well, but neither of you are fighting. Similarly, you may take Angaraj with you. Let him stay back, but remember, Drupad is tough to defeat. Just in case your pupils find themselves in peril, you may send the King of Anga to their aid in an emergency. Not only would this benefit you, but also ensure that you have a second plan if your first one goes awry."

Drona hesitated. Shakuni had a point. After thinking for a few moments more, he relented. "Alright. He can come. But mind you, young man", he pointed a finger at Karna. "You can only join the battle of I order you to do so." Duryodhan and Karna nodded, looking pleased and relieved.

"What's going on?" said a boisterous voice behind Arjuna. He turned to see Bheem with Yudhishthir.

"King Karna of Anga will be joining us too." In response, Bheem scoffed and rolled his eyes. None of Arjuna's brothers took well to Karna, given that he was clearly on Duryodhan's side anyways.

As the princes arrived slowly and stood in front of their teacher, Drona addressed them. "Today is the day of the first battle of your lives. I want you all to do well. But be warned, Drupad is not an easy man to defeat, for he has the same knowledge of and training in warfare that I have imparted to all of you. It is my goal to defeat him with some of the greatest young warriors whom I have taught myself. If any of you are still a bit apprehensive about this, you are free to opt out of the Gurudakshina. Of those who choose to participate, I have faith you will not let me down."

Arjuna felt even more emboldened than before. He bit his lip, struggling to control the excitement from showing on his face. He would do it. They bade goodbye to the elders and set off. Panchal was not very far from Hastinapur, it was a journey of about nine hours on horseback and in chariot-cars. Since they had left in the early morning, they arrived in the middle of the afternoon. Panchal was comparatively smaller than Hastinapur but was blessed with picturesque landscapes worthy of portraits - sparkling lakes, long stretches of deep green meadows and rolling hills.

Without warning, the party marched into the capital of Kampilya. The citizens gathered on the street sides in astonishment and confusion, many shouted and ran out of their homes to watch what was happening. Drona and his pupils headed straight to the palace, and as they approached the gates, he addressed the royal guards in a booming voice:

"Hear, hear, guards of this gate! I hereby command you to call upon your Maharaj at this very moment! Tell him that his old friend, Drona, has finally come to fulfil his part of the bet!"

The guards had no time to protest: seeing a host of over a hundred young warriors all wielding various weapons sent them into a frenzy. They rushed inside at once, yelling out and within minutes, Drupad had come outside, a large army of soldiers in his wake.

Drona ordered the Pandavas, Karna and Ashwatthama to stand back, and sent the Kauravas inside first. All hundred and one brothers ran in like a stream of wild bulls, charging straight at Drupad, who stood back as his soldiers ran at the princes. Chaos ensued. Maces slammed into each other, arrows were shot from all ends, fearsome spears were thrown with great force and swords clashed all around. The fight continued for around twenty minutes. Karna waited eagerly, his bow ready, hoping he would be called, but Drona stood just as resolutely in front of him, watching the scene unfold.

The Pandavas and Ashwatthama stood to one side far from the huge gates, Arjuna and Ashwatthama gossiping like the old friends they were, with Nakul adding his two cents here and there between their conversation.

"Now is not the time to be talking or gossiping, Phalgun." Came Jyesht's voice, in response of which he gave a whine. "Why are you always ruining the fun!?"

The others nodded their heads and crossed their arms as Yudhishthir sweatdropped.

Drona turned to the Pandavas. "It is your turn now, Panduputro. Go." The five hadn't noticed when their literal hunded cousins came back; Duryodhan and Dushasan were the last ones to return, panting and out of breath. They were both a mess; Dushasan had a gash on his thigh and several bruises over his face; Duryodhan’s hair had become terribly untidy and dusty from having fallen several times, and he looked like he’d had the wind knocked out of him.

Bheem would have laughed at them if it wasn't for the serious matter ahead of him and his brothers. They all nodded and the five proceeded towards the gate as Drupad yelled something imperceptible at Drona again. As per the plan, Yudhishthir stayed at the gate, blocking it with his chariot; the twins stood far out on either side of him, preparing to jump on anyone who tried to attack their eldest brother or their teacher. Meanwhile, Bheem ran straight inside towards the army, clearing the path for Arjuna, who entered in his wake on Vikram. Bheem alone was enough to take a little over half of the army; he charged with full force, his mighty mace thrashing anyone who tried to stop him. Meanwhile, Arjuna started his work of breaking the Chakravyuha, while his brothers worked together to defeat all soldiers.

Arjuna repeatedly shot arrows that multiplied into hundreds at once, thus easily fending off the other half of the army. The seventeen year old rode with his head low; whenever his horse began to show signs of panic, he would rub his neck comfortingly, leading him in various directions away from any oncoming soldiers before turning round and shooting at them with impeccable aim.

Arjuna was almost near the center but that was when he saw the Panchal Raj outside the Chakravyuha. He was about to break the last layer and go but was stopped by a shout. "Return to your teacher, you insolent boy! Your Guru is as pathetic as he always was, using his students to fight this battle with me! What else can one expect from a coward? Return, I tell you! Or else you shall meet the same fate as the hundred who came before you!"

Arjuna felt his temper rising at hearing his teacher being insulted this way. He was now more determined than ever to successfully complete this task. He shot arrows at Drupad, who shot back immediately. They collided and fell lifeless to the cracked, sun-scorched earth.

As the fight continued however, many of Drupad's army personnel were left in awe as they looked on; they weren't going to intervene when their King was fighting another warrior; but what had surprised them was that, despite having a positional advantage of standing up high on an elephant (compared to the Rajkumar on the ground), their King was slowly but surely losing the fight.

No one could tell the small gap of a few seconds between Arjuna taking out arrows from his quiver and him finally releasing them. His movements were nimble, agile, skilful. At one point, Arjuna shot an arrow that grazed Drupad's shoulder. The force of it caused Drupad to lose his balance and fall off the elephant.

The former jumped off his horse and ran towards him. Now was his chance to trap Drupad. However, there was a flash of light and the next moment, there were five identical men standing in front of him. Arjuna's mouth fell slightly open. Drupad had used a spell of which he had no knowledge of, one that could create illusions of himself. The five Drupads all looked at him, each with a smug expression on his face, inviting him to capture one of them. There was no way he could tell the real Drupad apart.

And suddenly as one of the Drupad's slashed st him, he dodged at the last minute but the stone he had kept had fallen down.

Five pairs of eyes. The eyes. The eyes on the bluish pebbles…

And then it struck him. It was so sudden that for a moment he thought it was madness to believe it. But could it be? There was a tiny chance it was true. He stole a glance at the eyes of each Drupad. The man on the far left end was looking straight at the man to his own left. The three men from the right were also looking at the man to their right. All as if trying to imitate him. The man in question was staring right at Arjuna.

Then he knew. In a flash, he shot an arrow at the man standing second from the left. It transformed into ropes, which bound themselves around Drupad. The king let out a yell of surprise and stumbled backwards, as the remaining four illusions disappeared. Arjuna too let out an exclamation of triumph, "So there you are!" He couldn’t help but laugh. "You should have instructed your impostors not to make it so obvious that they were trying to copy you."

When Drupad was brought before Drona, he was fuming, humiliated at being defeated by a young boy. Drona was beaming yet again, both at Drupad's defeat and at his favourite student. The teacher and the king began a heated discussion, in which Drona agreed to let Drupad go if the latter gave him half his kingdom (as he had apparently promised to do several years ago before going back on his word). The raging king had to give in in order to be set free.

The Kauravas were sullen and grumpy at their inability to perform well, and at being outshined by their five cousins once again. Karna was dejected as he hadn't had a chance to take part, uet couldn't help but admire the younger archer. Bheem was elated as Drona praised him for his might and strength. Arjuna, Yudhishthir, Nakul and Sahadev each received hugs from Drona for their persistence and endeavours.

Though he was certainly happy at having successfully completed the Gurudakshina task, Arjuna's mind was far from praise and glory at the moment.

All he could think about were the five pebbles Krishna had sent him.

┏━━━━•❅•°•❈•°•❅•━━━•❅•°•❈•°•❅•━━━━┓

❍               ❍                ❍

┗━━━━•❅•°•❈•°•❅•━━━•❅•°•❈•°•❅•━━━━┛

Yudhishthir was crowned Yuvraj and Duryodhan wasn't able to swallow it down his evil throat. And that was again when Shakuni jumped in. They had planned about how they were going to burn the Pandavas alive and even convinced Raaj Maata Kunti, and Karna, still harboring Dharma in his mind, didn't take well to it. He excused himself. "Mitra, I am going to take some fresh air outside. I- I will meet up with you later on." And walked away without even waiting for Duryodhan's response.

As he walked down the corridors, Karna saw lotuses floating on the water of the fountains and remembered the Raaj Maata's face. He smiled as he took one and peoceeded towards the Queen Mother's room as it was the last time he would see her again.

Arjuna was the first one to arrive at his Kunti Maa's room, jumping all his way excitedly like the adorable child he was, because she had called them to talk and discuss about going to Varnavrat. As he reached outside door of her kaksh, he didn't notice Angaraj Karna behind him because he was coming from the other way and was almost there when they both heard voices and their conversation and it shocked them to the core.

Some lines have been taken from SuaveBlackSwan's book 'Mahabharata — a retelling' as well as inspired from my pyaari si Jiji @bharatiya-naari-sab-pe-bhaari :)

[sansa286]

Thoughts On the Baela x Corlys Conversation in S2E5

This scene has been a polarizing one for the fandom and has spawned many takes, so I'm going to address them and mention what I like about the scene/what makes sense to me and what I thought could be improved.

Takes I Disagree With

"Baela rejecting Driftmark is the writers trying to absolve Corlys of any misogyny that was present in F&B."

No it doesn't. Corlys is still the same man who pimped out Laena and scoffed at either of his granddaughters being named the heir to Driftmark up until Rhaenys died. This is even the reason that Bethany Antonia gave as to why Baela rejects Driftmark - Corlys ignored her and Rhaena for most of their lives and did not consider them viable heirs, she does not want to become the heir to Driftmark out of pity. The scene is also meant to parallel Viserys naming Rhaenyra the heir to the iron throne only after he lost Aemma and their son. These men were willfully misogynistic and ignored the women in their families, and only come crawling to them once they're desperate. Corlys misogyny is well intact rather Baela accepted this offer or not.

"Baela rejecting Driftmark makes no sense, she's nothing more than a Rhaenyra cheerleader."

It does when you remember that she thinks she will be the queen of Westeros one day, something that only became a reality when Rhaenyra offered she and Jace be married. Of course she wants Rhaenyra to take the throne. And another reason that I will elaborate on later. Baela is not merely Rhaenyra's lacky, she clearly disregards her orders back in S1E3 when she chases down Criston Cole.

"Baela Tells Corlys to 'Get Over' His Wife's Death"

No she doesn't. She tells him to stop acting as if Rhaenys was a possession that Rhaenyra snatched away from him. As someone who's been through a lot of grief as of late, I know all too well how people jump to playing the blame game and pointing fingers when someone dies tragically. It is very human, but it's not healthy or the correct way to process someone's death. Especially in this case, Rhaenys volunteered to go to Rook's Rest, knowing that it would be dangerous. No one on Team Black knew that Sunfyre or Vhagar were going to be there, as far as they knew, Vhagar was still patrolling King's Landing. And the Greens themselves didn't even know Aegon was going to ride on Sunfyre. As far as anyone on Team Black knew, Rhaenyra included, Rhaenys would fly to Rook's Rest, burn up Cole and his army, and then be back for supper.

We, the audience, know that Rhaenys turned back twice and knowingly fought to her death, but Corlys doesn't. So I'm not saying that Corlys' reaction here doesn't make sense, because it does, however Baela telling him to not be so quick to blame Rhaenyra isn't some harsh or cruel advice, and I'm sick of Greenies acting as if it is or that Rhaenyra is solely responsible for Rhaenys' death and that Corlys should be secretly plotting to assassinate her or get some sort of retribution. Newsflash: he's not Daemon.

You could even infer that everyone knows that Rhaenys chose to go out this way; Meleys is canonically the fastest dragon, so she could've escaped if she wanted to, as we see in the previous episode.

"Baela and Corlys do not speak to each other like a granddaughter and grandfather would."

Baela and Corlys hardly know each other. Baela spent the first ten years of her life in Pentos, and the last several on Driftmark while Corlys was away at sea. They are relative strangers to each other and these last few weeks have been the most time they've ever spent with each other, and most of that time has been addressing the war. Corlys has routinely only shown interest in whoever the heir to Driftmark is, which was Luke up until now. So no, Baela and Corlys interacting like that makes sense.

Now onto the main issue I have with scene...

Baela's Reasoning In the Show

The one we get, in the show, is lame. "I am blood and fire, Driftmark must pass to salt and sea." I get that the writers are trying to make her seem quippy, but this also unintentionally confirms that Rhaena's biggest concern is 100% right - she is disregarded by her family. If Corlys were to give Driftmark to a granddaughter, why not Rhaena? She was set to marry Luke and inherit it anyway until his death, even Rhaenys recommended it! I can buy that Corlys would offer it up to Baela, as he clearly sees her as more valuable due to her dragon, but the fact that Baela doesn't mention her sister? When they're supposed to be interpreted as having, at least, a somewhat close relationship, and she knows that Rhaena feels as if she is not respected by their family? Either the writers are trying to hint that Baela secretly feels the same as everyone else in regards to Rhaena or they gave her that weird pseudo-poetic line to feed the TikTok editors. Hell, that could've been the reason she gave Corlys - "I will be queen one day, so let my sister inherit what she was already due for" or something like that.

Overall the scene was fine. I'm still quite irritated at the lack of Rhaena being considered, but maybe that's the point and they intend on elaborating on that later. Who knows? We still have three more episodes left, but until then, this is my take on the scene.

[a-thousand-lives-lost-for-peace]

hii i saw you reblog that post abt like queer subtext in re and i am curious to hear abt the queer subtext u see w jill :>

hiiii, thank you for the ask !!

There's several things that I'll be discussing within my own personal view regarding this, and I'm super excited to get into it.

To start off with, I want to talk about a little bit of the inspiration behind Jill's character and how that also plays a factor into the queer subtext that I personally see - if I remember correctly, Ellen Ripley from Alien was a big inspiration for her character - which is where her tank top comes from, and also the namesake of Coffee Shop Sigourney in RE3. This inspiration is further reinforced by the fact that several scenes mimick the Xenomorph, Ripley's nemesis, within RE3 as well , such as when Nemesis kills Tyrell. It is almost uncanny how similar it looks to the way the Xenomorph kills some, and already having that conflict between Nemesis and Jill mimicking Ripley and Xenomorph is a big thing.

The impact of Ripley mostly surrounds the fact that Ripley was originally written to be played by any gender, and she was very strongly lesbian coded within the first film, and I believe there had been an intended romance angle between Lambert and Ellen.

Now , in regards to Jill specifically, she is inherently portrayed as more masculine, which in itself is a big factor when it comes to queercoding. She is someone who defies gender stereotypes and is also someone who made some great feats that were more populated by males within the time period, especially when it came to the fact that she was one of the only women within Delta Force before she was recruited to S.T.A.R.S. Both Ellen and Jill are similar in this regard, both of them heavily defy stereotypes and the typical casting of women or feminine-coded characters, being strong in their own right. Jill's strong, isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and has a mouth like a sailor's, as well as being fully capable of handling any situation on her own without inherently needing help, which is awesome to see when a lot of women in horror media tend to be the "damsel in distress."

Another big flag for her queercoding in my mind is her apartment itself, which I'm sure all of us know about. The posters on her wall are all of scantily-clad women, which in itself is an indicator that she definitely is queer in some way, further reinforced by her own clothing choices and manner of acting.

Jill has also never responded to male advancements or shown interest in male characters - she shuts down Carlos' attempts at flirting early on, even if she did warm up to it later. I also see her friendship with Chris Redfield personally as strictly platonic, as I haven't personally seen any kind of romantic interest between either of them - I think they rather see each other as brother and sister. Though however, when it comes to someone like Claire , Jill very obviously shows interest, especially shown in Death Island - where she's almost constantly looking at Claire, Claire gives her the coffee she was preparing for herself, and they're often pretty close together.

I will admit however I also see her being on the aro-ace spectrum along with her leaning towards others who are feminine-presenting , as I think Jill wouldn't be as focused on romance inherently, but wouldn't be opposed to it in certain situations. It just isn't something she seeks out.

Back onto the post as a whole, @highball66 mentioned in his post about Chris having leather outfits that are queer-coded in itself, and Jill has something similar with her Retribution outfit in Resident Evil: Resistance. For me, that was another big factor into considering the queer-coding of Jill, as those sort of outfits are mostly within the queer community.

[asherlockstudy]

um im just scrolling through the streamys tag and i saw your posts and i thought "oh they seem cool i wonder what the blog is like"... then i went scrolling and you mentioned link coming out??? huh??? (i haven't watched gmm in like years year years) you seem like a level headed person to ask.... link is... gay? did this happen recently??? i am so confused but i know that if i google im gonna get garbage results. so yeah

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, hope you get to see this.

The answer is... yes and no. While there isn't anything explicit / certain / definite over all this time, it seems there is some restlessness on their side, with several projects such as their recent scripted videos, but also as far back as Hazel, the GMEs and Ear Biscuits that point towards the possibility of them taking a very slow, long way towards this direction, especially Link. In fact it seems like Link can't stand being in the closet anymore but Rhett dreads leaving it. That's my general impression.

While I might be considered the most stark supporter of this theory around here (or at least the one who verbalizes it the most), a few days ago more people started considering it thanks to a moment during GME where Link did something very close to a coming-out.

In case you haven't watched any of the GMEs, GME (Good Mythical Evening) is a paid live show they do once a year, which is like the strictly adult version of GMM. There, strong references to sex are allowed and they also drink enough to get inebriated and foul language is also allowed to some degree.

All that on its own would be already a lot to consider, but GME has also strong homoerotic traits since Rhett and Link play a lot with their ship there. Last year, they re-enacted rhink fics where they were having sex (basically handjobs?), I don't remember exactly. And they acted LIKE they were doing it. This year, they took it up a notch and Rhett actually sucked Link's nipple, among other things. And I mean, he really did it. For a few seconds. But he did it...properly. Don't ask me why they do this stuff. I don't know. I think nobody knows. I am just presenting you the facts so I can give you an idea about what is going on.

So, during a game in this latest GME, this dialogue took place regarding what the act of "docking" is:

Rhett: I was right! It is a gay thing! Stevie: Whaaat? I mean, well, Link also agreed with your answer so... Rhett: We both get points! Hold on, though... one guy needs to be circumcised. Link: Yeah you only need one circumcision for docking. Stevie: Oh you're asking ME? Rhett: I think..... I don't know a lot about this but I think only one guy needs to be uncircumcised. Link: Do you think docking actually happens? Because I don't think docking increases pleasure. Rhett: I don't know, man. I can't do it, man. My parents didn't give me a choice. They just circumcised me, man. Link: I know, but even after you're circumcised, you can try. Rhett: With someone who's not circumcised...... And also, I am not gay. Link: Hey, that's okay. It's okay. Rhett: Yeah, I mean, it's cool to not be gay! Link: No, it's not "cool"- Rhett: No, it's "okay" to not be gay! By "cool" I meant it is "okay" to not be gay! Link: But just go ahead and explain yourself completely. Rhett: But I might do it for scientific purposes! Link: This is what I wish you would do when I say something stupid. Rhett: If they needed to figure it out, if two scientists wanted to figure out whether two guys need to be uncircumcised, I'd be like "okay", I mean, I'd check with my wife first. Link: Yeah, but just say it is equally cool to be gay. Rhett: It is cool to be whatever you wanna be. Link: Yeah. Exactly. It's cool to be whatever you need, you want to be, you are. It's cool to be who you are. That's what I am deriving. Rhett: Yeah, that's the coolest you can be, to just be who you are. Right, Stevie? Link: I, you know what, I feel like, Stevie, I feel like I have been on a journey. Stevie: Okay. Rhett: Yeah. Link: To know- to figure out who I am. Rhett (mutters): Yeah, yeah, right. Link: And it's extremely rewarding, challenging and- Rhett: But we won't be docking later... Link: And..... rewarding. And we wanna- Yeah... can you... I was saying something important. Rhett: Because we're both circumcised. Link: Yes, but we are not gonna be docking later. Rhett: Right, because we're both circumcised. Link: But you can be circumcised and still have enough of a skin left after the circumcision to dock... In Good Mythical More we are gonna answer questions from the crew and we 're gonna have conversations about - (meanwhile Rhett talks simultaneously and almost over him about unimportant docking musings) Link: ...Right, so if you are not gonna come to Good Mythical More, please you can still get a ticket, join us for Good Mythical More, but for now we're gonna move on. Rhett (sarcastically): Don't you want more of this? Link: In the More. Stevie moves on with the game.

So, what happens next, Link also had two-three more moments when he seemed to consider talking about something and Rhett explicitly told him "Whatever it is you want to say, just keep it to yourself" and also in another moment "You can tell your Uber driver on your way home but not here".

During the More, at which Link hinted, there was a red box with nosy questions asked from the crew. Rhett was the one taking the questions and reading them. He chose to not read loudly and thus answer at least two questions, even though he pulled them out of the box.

Link eventually did not make any more similar statements.

You should also know that a couple of weeks ago, during the GME promo, Link had said that one reason we should watch the GME show was that he might even make an emotional speech before its end.

Another thing, the last months Link has also expressed in interviews and even in a college graduation that it is important to find who you are and explore your identity, addressing this especially to young adults. He always seems emotionally charged when he does it.

That's it. To me it just seems like there's one explanation only, but I will leave you to your own conclusions.

And one last detail. Rhett did everything in his power to not let Link finish what he started - almost bullied him out of it. Despite all that, notice what he said. While Link was trying to say whatever he was trying to say, Rhett said:

But we're not gonna be docking later.................. because we're both circumcised.

And he repeated the explanation once more.

+++

[lewis-winters]

would love to hear more about the skinny/speirs confrontation 👀 (I'm sure other would too so feel free to answer publicly)

Ok I did not actually anticipate ppl being interested HAHAHAH but since ya'll asked nicely (@ep6bastogne and @hellofanidea mWAH to you too), here it is under the cut.

Ok so like. Understandably, people are more focused on Web and Lieb when it comes to the mountain top scene and that's perfectly fine. They're the ones I first thought about too. But then the more I watched that scene, the more I nyoomed in on two details: 1) It is implied that Speirs personally gave the order for Liebgott to go up there and deal with the officer, and 2) Skinny is the one who ends up pulling the trigger.

Which brings me to like. This fic I started planning in my head but couldn't quite write down because I am. Lazy. Anyway, it follows several plot points:

1) This is piggyback riding off my meta that Ron had ulterior motives to sending Liebgott up the mountain, which I have outlined in this post. TL;DR Ron used Lieb's anger (and to some extent, Web's too-- in my head, he heard about the incident with the baker in ep9, and he wanted to exploit that, not anticipating that Web's own self-preservation (of both his own person and morals) would get in the way) to do his dirty work, knowing that he wouldn't be questioned because of his position and because of said anger blindsiding all logic Lieb might have.

2) Skinny somehow knows this. He's more intuitive that people give him credit for. If Ron handpicked Lieb and Web because he knew, at least to some extent, that their anger would push them to do what he wants, then what the hell was Skinny doing there?

3) That question will haunt Skinny for awhile. Because why did Ron know, somehow, that Skinny would pull the trigger when either Lieb or Web could not? What anger and violence did Ron see in Skinny that made him think: "ah, yes, him; that's my killer of killers"? And most importantly, why did Skinny prove him right?

This is very much informed by how irl Skinny's PTSD was very much centered on the people he killed as a soldier (as opposed to people he lost). He's constantly cited in his writings and his letters that he felt unforgivable. So it isn't a massive leap for me to go yeah!! that boy killed an unarmed man (albeit a nazi, but I don't think even that could help him justify this) and then was later present when Web says "war's over, anyone would run" which no doubt would add to his already guilty conscience.

Add all of that together, and you have a recipe for a very traumatized lost boy wondering if maybe he's carrying a monster inside of him, and if maybe Ron could see it.

4) the answer, in the end, is that Ron couldn't see it. This was the dialogue I wrote first, and it has had me by the balls ever since:

"So why me? What did you see in me that was so twisted and cruel that you decided I should be up there, huh? Tell me!"

"... Nothing. I just needed a third man."

5) anyway. Ronald does, finally, admit to having used Lieb and Web to get what he wants. But Skinny doesn't care, because all he hears is that he's collateral damage. And that's not quite as comforting as Ron thinks it is.

soooooo. yeah.

**another plot point I have listed but couldn't really put anywhere in this weird ass list: there's also some cognitive dissonance sprinkled in there-- Skinny could justify Lieb and Web's reactions. He'd say Lieb has the right to do it. He'd also say Web's attempt at perserving himself as wise. it's important to note that Skinny went into this with the mindset that he was already unforgivable from the beginning. this just exacerbated it, but also gave him somebody who could probably answer his questions (i.e. am I really unforgivable? am I rreally a monster? am I a murderer? etc etc).

[jadelotusflower]

Rewatch: Stargate (1994, dir. Roland Emmerich)

What to do when there's so many shows and movies on the to watch list? Revisit shows and movies I've seen many times before of course! Maybe I'm just in need of some comfort viewing right now.

I can't remember when I first saw Stargate. It certainly wasn't at the cinema, but probably rented from the video store (yes, I am an Old) and was certainly keyed to my preteen interests: mythology and Soft(TM) male protagonists.

Over the years and though several rewatches, online fandom, and my love of behind the scenes featurettes, director's commentaries, and retrospectives, I've also gleaned quite a bit of background tidbits and trivia, and I have many thoughts! Most of them through the lens of nostalgia, but that can't be helped.

Are you ready to go back to Titanic Stargate?

The much maligned Pharaoh's head, but it makes for a symbolic opening, trying to find the meaning to the different patterns before the whole picture becomes clear.

David Arnold's theme remains a banger. One of the GOATs.

I'm watching the Extended Edition/Director's Cut, which opens in the North African Desert 8000 BCE to depict Jaye Davidson being abducted, which is only seen in flashback in the theatrical cut. It's atmospheric, but it does tip the hand of the narrative a bit. The stronger opening is probably:

Giza, 1928, where the Stargate is unburied. Even this scene is extended, where the fossilized head of an Anubis is also found. It reveals the sinister undertone far too soon, imo, and it was the right choice to cut it.

Present Day! Love of my life Daniel Jackson ruins his career by arguing that the Egyptian pharaohs of the IVth Dynasty did not build the great pyramids. He does not claim (as the show later does) that aliens built the pyramids. Important distinction!

"Is there a lunch or something, that everybody...?" lol, James Spader is great. This was the first role I ever saw him in, and didn't realise this was actually playing against type a bit, but I have been a fan of his ever since.

Shoutout to Viceca Lindfors, who plays Catherine with steely grace.

Jack O'Neil (one L) aka Kurt Russell (two L's), in a great character introduction that is ruined by some voiceover exposition. We get everything we need to know from his scene without it, except that Tyler shot himself with Jack's gun, but honestly it would have been more impactful if that detail was held back from the audience and revealed in the later scene with Daniel.

The great Richard Kind everybody! He will later appear in an extremely tone deaf episode of Stargate: Atlantis, but here he's Dr Gary Michaels, aka the guy Daniel gets to show up by swanning in and correcting his translation.

Daniel: That's a curious word to use, isn't it? Michaels: ...Yeah

Rae Allen plays Barbara Shore - you may remember her as reporter Gloria Thorpe in Damn Yankees. It's a shame neither of these characters ever turned up in the show, I like them both.

"You must have used Budge, I don't know why they keep reprinting his books." LOL, Daniel with his petty academic grudges. Although as I understand this is a valid criticism, as Budge's translation methods were very much outdated by the 90's. But Budge conceivably could have been a contemporary of Catherine's father, which is interesting to think about.

Jack arrives with his haircut to correct Daniel's assumption that the hieroglyphs are 5000 years old - they're actually 10,000 years old, which Daniel ironically finds ludicrous. To pick some nits, according to the opening Ra arrived on Earth in 8000 BCE which is presumably where the 10,000 number came from, but doesn't take into account Ra establishing a culture and ruling on Earth for however long before the rebellion, which is when the coverstones would have been carved.

Leon Rippy plays the General West and his utter disdain for Daniel despite him solving "in fourteen days what they couldn't solve in two years" kind of gives me life. His surly "any time" and passing over the reference materials without looking at them is so great. Fantastic performance in a tiny role.

Several people are smoking in this scene, including Jack and Barbara. It's easily forgotten just how common casual smoking was back in the day - 1994 seems a little late for it to be so prevalent, but it gives the room that atmospheric haze.

Emmerich was also a big smoker, so ...

Unrealistic that Daniel would be presenting his theory without running it past Catherine and the team first, but hey it's a movie, dramatic effect and all that.

Important to note that Daniel's contribution isn't only realising that the symbols were star constellations, but the purpose of the symbols, being a map to determine a course and destination. He also deduced that seven symbols were needed, realised that the seventh symbol was below the cartouche not inside it, and then identified the seventh symbol on the gate itself.

This is a really nice illustration to Daniel's core strength - he's not just a repository of knowledge, he's a puzzle solver.

Some small character beats - Michaels questions Daniel twice, while Shore reaches out to pat Katherine's hand in victory when West orders Daniel be shown the Stargate. Again, they should have been brought back for the show!

There's a star map in the control room, implying that they had at least an idea that the Stargate was a transportation device, making the team look even more foolish for not figuring out (in two years!) that a) the symbols were star constellations, and b) that seven symbols (address + point of origin) were needed.

Daniel assures West that he can decipher the gate on the other side in a stunning display of hubris - a character flaw that will stay with him in some form through all ten seasons of the show.

Although West doesn't actually ask Daniel how he will make the Stargate work for the return trip, so that's kind of on him.

Jack correctly deduces that Daniel's full of shit, then goes to look at the Anubis head found in the Giza sequence. Again unnecessary inclusion imo, Jack's motivation works better as ambiguous at this point.

Everyone has their own little character moment before going through the gate - Jack grits his teeth and raises his gun, Brown looks back to the others, Porro kisses a St Christopher medallion.

Daniel toying with the event horizon was a Spader addition (much to the chagrin of the VFX supervisor!)

Foreshadowing for the Abydos point of origin symbol.

"That's a nice tent! Oh, we each get a tent, that's nice."

A snarky Ferretti (the great French Stewart) throws Daniel's suitcase at him, scattering his books on the sand. Daniel is completely nonplussed, starts to gather them up and then sits down to munch on a 5th Avenue bar. I love original recipe Daniel. Don't get me wrong, I love show Daniel too, but the OG, man, just 100% unbothered when antagonised.

Although to be fair, Ferretti's frustration is justified (if not his reaction) so that probably is a factor in Daniel's (lack of) response.

Daniel feeds a mastadge chocolate and gets dragged across the dunes and slobbered on for his trouble. But he doesn't hold a grudge, because he goes from "get away from me" to patting the creature on the snout in about three seconds.

Sha'uri, my beloved!

Important to note that while the other water-bearers keep their eyes downcast, Sha'uri is the only one bold enough to look up and make eye contact with Daniel, who smiles at her.

Daniel, in return, is the only one to say thank you.

She's also very wary of Daniel at this stage, here and on the walk back to Nagada - she laughs at Skaara and Nabeh taking his handkerchief, but tenses up when he looks her way. Does she know at this stage that he has been earmarked as her husband?

It makes me curious, because I don't think that it's ever explicit in the film that Sha'uri is Kasuf's daughter and Skaara's sister (although it's implied), but it makes sense that she is the daughter of the chief and would therefore make a high status offering (ugh I feel gross typing that) for an emissary of Ra.

We know that Ra surrounds himself with child slaves (the creepy implications of which I don't want to think about), and it's unclear how old Sha'uri is meant to be (Mili Avital was 22), but I wonder if the reason why she was not married already is that this was always the role intended for her - to serve Ra in some capacity, perhaps (in tv show timeline) as a host for one of his underlings.

If so, it makes her fate in the show even more tragic.

Brown takes a picture on their approach to Nagada which is a nice little character beat - I wonder where that camera ended up? Derek Webster also had bit parts in Devlin/Emmerich joints Independence Day and Godzilla, fwiw.

"Ferretti, say again." Great line reading from Russell - he gets flack for being humourless/not being Richard Dean Anderson, but I think he has great presence in the role and character at this point - RDA!O'Neill is the product of Russell!O'Neil's experience in this film.

A sandstorm approaches and in the extended sequence there's a miscommunication that Skaara (Alexis Cruz) clears up. I like this addition, as it gives more scope to the connection between Jack and Skaara - he sees that Jack is the one in charge, but also that he's willing to listen, and Jack sees that Skaara is brave enough to face a threat, but also clever enough to diffuse the situation.

"Well that would have been an excellent reason to shoot everyone." lol, and people say snarky!Daniel was a show-only thing.

Trying to learn the word that means "sandstorm" from Kasuf and the incredulous/frustrated little laugh after is a nice touch too.

Erick Avari steals every scene he is - he was also in Devlin/Emmerich's Independence Day ("what's with the golf balls?!?" was an ad-lib), and of course he's great in The Mummy (the delivery of "Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" is perfection.)

He was only 42 during this movie! Hasn't aged a day since.

A great deal of Kasuf came from Avari as well - the role was only a few lines in the script and was mostly developed during rehearsals - the same was true for Alexis Cruz as Skaara.

While "tastes like chicken" was in the script, the clucking like a chicken came from Spader.

Pivotal scene, because it really shows Sha'uri's courage - her fear is palpable, first at her duty to offer herself to Daniel then at what his rejection may mean for her and her people. She is confused by his behaviour, delighted when they are able to exchange names, but guarded again when he draws in the sand. At this point she doesn't know if he is an emissary of Ra testing her resolve, but she takes the chance and fixes his drawing to make the symbol from Earth, then takes him to the hidden catacombs.

Sha'uri's leap of faith here is underrated I feel - she's been watching Daniel so closely and makes a very correct judgement about his character - there is something in him that she recognises, and decides that she can trust. At this stage she probably knows that she is safe with him, but she wants to go beyond that and actually connect with him.

Also she's wearing red here, the same colour as Kasuf and some of the other elders wear, which does imply it's a colour of status.

LOL, this scene would never happen today.

It was almost cut from the movie! The studio's focus was on the action and wanted to eliminate a great deal of the character stuff, resulting in the film testing very poorly. Devlin/Emmerich redid the cut to put everything back in and (surprise surprise!) the next audience screening was much more favourable.

Because Jack's character arc doesn't work without this scene! We need to see Jack actually bond with Skaara, to gift him the lighter, be amused when Skaara mimics him and takes a drag of the cigarette, then for things to turn when Skaara innocently reaches for Jack's gun and he blows up.

"I guess the word dweeb doesn't mean anything to you guys, does it?"

Too good! Too pure for this world!

The hidden catacombs fascinate me - the entrance is blocked with rocks so presumably Sha'uri hadn't been there for some time. Is it something she came across as a child? Was it secret information handed down through the generations, perhaps from her mother?

The symbol for Earth is only visible from inside so she must have explored the catacombs at some point, perhaps wondering what the paintings meant, and she must have been aware that at one point writing wasn't outlawed. I do like the idea that both Sha'uri and Daniel have this great curiosity and yearning to understand - they also share a great capacity for trust and willingness to take leaps of faith that makes them very well matched.

The backstory with Ra changed very late in the process - originally the Egyptian boy was merely appointed as a proxy for the alien creature to rule Earth, not possessed by the alien. This is unfathomable to me and really don't think it could have worked - where's the menace if Ra isn't the actual alien being but just some guy who works for him?

Presumably, it means Spader came back to do reshoots for the tale of Ra's origins, and if you notice he only mentions possession in a closeups where the lighting is slightly different. The frescos in the wide shots also don't match the closeups, which Emmerich himself did.

Brown is the one who gives Daniel a gun. RIP Brown.

Djimon Hounsou as Horus!

The Anubis/Horus/Ra disappearing headgear was one of the few noticeably CGI effects - most of the film was done practically and it shows (in a good way). I will take puppets and props and extras every day over CGI, there's just something more visceral about films made this way.

Daniel dies for the first - but certainly not the last - time.

The extended edition has Daniel walking through Ra's ship after being revived - there's a cat on Ra's throne, and we see more of Ra getting bathed and dressed by his child slaves just to notch up the creepiness.

Whatever happened to Jaye Davidson?

Apparently he had difficulty with the role, no doubt because as written it made no sense, which is why they had to change it in editing, adding the flanges and the glowing eyes.

Davidson was concerned he'd ruined the movie, and apparently was relieved rather than upset to see the final film. I actually think it's a great performance, and Ra has a menace that feels genuinely dangerous.

The Abydonian langauge was based on Ancient Egyptian as developed by Egyptologist Dr Stuart Smith, and apparently great care was taken to make it as authentic as possible. I...don't think the same can be said for the show.

Dr Smith also consulted on The Mummy, fwiw.

O'Neil, Kawalsky, Ferretti, and Guy Who Will Soon Die (Freeman).

Is is Kawalsky or Kawalski? The credits say Kawalsky, but his uniform at the beginning of the film says Kawalski. I personally prefer the latter.

The extended edition has an extra scene following the escape - Jack and Daniel jump on a mastadge which takes off and separates them from the group as Sha'uri and Skaara look on thinking "where are those idiots going?"

They get stuck in a sandstorm where Daniel collapses, and they're only found because the mastadge is so upset about his new friend he wails - this explains why Daniel is coughing and spluttering when they get to the cave.

Many a slash fic has started this way, I'm sure.

I really like Kawalski in this scene - "these kids don't have anywhere else to go" really hits me for some reason. He's bonded with them too.

"I don't want to die, your men don't want to die, and these people here don't want to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to."

The pivotal Jack and Daniel scene - this where the reveal about how Jack's son died should have been, so we find out when Daniel does. Then we'd think back on all the previous interactions - Jack knocking the gun from Skaara's hand, being unable to shoot the kids Ra uses as human shields - and be able to read new meaning into them.

A tender moment that I kind of wish they'd let play out a little more, although Avital captures Sha'uri's vulnerability so well. This was her first scene!

While I do love the Daniel/Sha'uri romance, I think she gets unfairly dismissed as just the love interest when she's so much more. Sha'uri is the one who starts the Abydonian rebellion - she's the one who decides that "we can no longer live as slaves" and rallies the boys to save Jack and his men - she's the one who passes on the knowledge of Ra's true identity.

At that point it's unclear if she thought Daniel is dead or just captured - her reaction following the massacre in Nagada perhaps implies the former. When Skaara tells her that Ra has called an execution she's been looking at the cave paintings, so clearly rebellion is already on her mind, and she's willing to go against everything she's been taught to try and save - maybe Daniel - but maybe only his friends, to help them overthrow Ra.

Interesting costume change for Kasuf here - he no longer has his outer robes or headdress, nor is he riding a mastadge - has he been stripped of his leadership role? Horus is now in charge.

Also nice little character beat - while the other have their guns pointed at Horus, Daniel is looking back at Sha'uri.

I do love Skaara's defiance - telling the others not to bow when Kasuf orders them to, and later he'll be the most reluctant to surrender, throwing down his gun in disgust before kneeling.

Sha'uri carries a gun into the pyramid, but I think it would have been better to at least see her try and shoot at the horus guard before she is killed.

Ostensibly this is a plot necessity to get Daniel up into the ship to give him a final faceoff with Ra and setup using the rings to deliver the bomb, but I think it's also needed for the Daniel/Sha'uri relationship - if he hadn't almost lost her and been willing to risk his life to save her, I don't think his choice to remain on Abydos with her at the end would have rung as true.

"I am no longer amused." idc, Davidson is great.

The first - but certainly not the last - time Daniel will get his brain friend by the hand device.

Ra's ultimate downfall is his hubris - if he'd never revived Daniel to make an example of him it's likely he never would have been overthrown, or at least not in the way he was. Yes he may still have had the public execution, and Sha'uri and Skaara may have still tried to rescue Jack and the others, but without Daniel to shoot his staff to set off the disturbance it may not have been successful. Jack wouldn't have been able to properly communicate with the Abydonians to form a plan, Daniel wouldn't be there to reveal Horus as a mortal not a god to Kasuf, etc.

It's interesting to me because as I said above hubris is also Daniel's main flaw, although it manifests differently, but that's what really draws me to these kind of characters - people who are a force for good but in such a way that their idealism and drive could easily tip over into ruthlessness/villainy in the right circumstances, and we definitely see this explored a few times in the show.

Also interesting is even though Kurt Russell gets top billing, it's really Daniel who is our protagonist - he's the one who is the true adversary to Ra, they share the relationship and confrontational scenes - Jack's antagonist is really Anubis.

Kasuf arrives with the uprising, and ultimately I do love that all three of our Abydonian family - Sha'uri, Skaara, and Kasuf - play a vital role in overthrowing Ra, even if Jack and Daniel get the credit for actually killing him.

We're meant to be la la la don't think about it re: the child slaves who were presumably still on Ra's ship when it blew up.

And I'm a sap! Skaara and the boys saluting Jack, and getting his salute in return always gets me.

Kawalsky and Ferretti too!

It's very important that Sha'uri is the one who instigates the kiss with Daniel, to balance the earlier scene where he kissed her.

Because it's a relationship that could very easily veer into problematic or feel unearned, but by this point having saved each other's lives, having communicated and bonded and come to understand one another, they do seem to be genuinely falling in love rather than there being any sense of obligation.

I think there might have been an alternate ending - on the bts there's footage of Daniel and Sha'uri walking with the Abydonians. Daniel looks back, presumably at the pyramid, as if reckoning with his decision to stay and a last look back at his life on Earth. Then he puts his arm around Sha'uri and they blend into the crowd as Daniel becomes part of the Abydonian people.

And then they both lived happily ever after and no one ever bothered them again! I choose to see the movie and the show as very similar but different universes/timelines, so hold true to my headcanon that this version of Daniel/Sha'uri got that long and happy life together on Abydos.

But as it is, we get our goodbyes - Skaara gets a handshake of respect from Jack, and Daniel gets some nice closure on his relationships with the three surviving members of the team:

Ferretti - goes from "Isn't there something you should be doing right now? Like getting us out of here?" (throws suitcase) to "I always knew you'd get us back"

Kawalski from - "You're a lying son of a bitch!" to "Thanks Daniel"

And Jack, from "He's full of shit" to "I'll be seeing you around...Doctor Jackson."

Of course this was setting up the sequel in the planned trilogy, but it works well moving on - as I will be - to the show.

[snifflesthemouse]

Remember waay back when I told you what would happen?

This author told you way back after that now-infamous Oprah interview how it would go, didn't this little rodent?

Like I have reiterated before, the ONLY way a divorce would go down is if KC3 wanted it. Those two will only officially separate with consent from BP, working royals or not.

My source has been right about several things, even if I've tested those things silently. If you hear of a divorce coming, it is because Charles has ordered it.

If you go back and look at all royal divorces, all of which really started with Princess Margaret for this modern era (centuries ago, divorce was traded in for a sharp blade at the back of the neck usually). Look at every single divorce that has occurred. They all happened at the behest of the orders of the monarch.

Whether the Monarch had a choice, or whether it was simply the only way to save face isn't important. The important thing here is to see the pattern present. The Monarch orders divorce.

And do you really think they want a divorce right now? Meghan isn't ready with her transition. She has only just begun to start the distancing.

She could take her dog to the market, which wasn't allowed... but she couldn't take her children that were? Do you really think for one second that she would risk demonitizing their faces by rolling them out to compete with Catherine?

Come on now. Think about what I said years ago. Once Harry and Meghan ran out of steam from the victim narrative, what did I say would happen?

This little mouse said that they would eventually turn on one another because they both would need the content to stay relative.

And I saw my dear friend mention me in a comment today on a video, and I appreciate those who always mention my blog. A lot of personal things are going on in real world, and I am so happy to see that some of you find enjoyment in reading me ramble.

But that video was suggesting divorce based on WME signing only Meghan, her distancing herself from him, all the nonsense about the book and Meghan saying she let Harry "get on with it"... Murky Meg is back with a new video btw.

My London source, who also knows Ashli's old source, too, says that an offer is being worked on for Meghan. Maybe, if this does come to fruition, this is why we're seeing her more alone. But, I have another thought to add to that.

Meghan will ONLY divorce Harry if the divorce would stand to make her better off than staying married to him would. Right now, what does Harry himself have to offer Meghan that she could potentially get from divorce?

Think about the house payment, the security bill, the upkeep, the clothes, the fashion, the cars, all of it. How is it REALLY paid for? They'd have to really be making a ton of money.

Spare allegedly needed to sell 1.7 million copies for the publisher to break even on the $20M advance allegedly received by Harry. But that was a multi-book deal, remember.

Oh, and according to Mercury News, that $10M Archewell donation came from SIlicon Valley Community Foundation. Remember, they donated $3M of the $13M they received in donations?

Money issues are always money issues when you live above your means. That is why they are known as grifters, they wanted freebies.

So, while I am very glad Murky is back with a video, and my dear, dear friend shouted me out to support my blog (that I may be ending sooner than later), I want to stress something from a conman perspective.

You will never cut off your only source of notoriety, money, fame, whatever... unless you already have another ladder to hop to. Which is really the true purpose behind the Flying Pasta Game. She's essentially looking for a backup for when Harry becomes too erratic to control (already is).

If the rumors of them living separately are true, then Meghan wouldn't have as strong a hold on Harry as she does.

And Murky, my friend was right... Meghan will allow Harry to look like a fool through every bit of this because it becomes her new cannon fodder.

I said it many, many times. When you run out of steam from one victim narrative, you must needs find water to boil for another. Harry is just like her. So imagine what a War of the Sussexes will look like when it comes.

The divorce rumors are strong, but we're all ignoring the other two couples being accused of being in straits. Have you all seen the articles coming out recently of how Catherine and William are strained, that Charles and Camilla are strained?

I read an article yesterday saying that Charles and Camilla almost separated in 2018, but there was a deal met. Funny, everyone says MM&H are the next Edward and Wallace, but it would seem that C&C are if you read some of these American papers.

Same with William and Catherine. My source says that people would really be shocked if they got to look behind the curtain and see these people in their element when they're not on camera. All of them. I kind of see it, too.

HI, SOURCE! LOVE YOU!!

[atthebell]

This isn't really prompted by anything but this fandoms obsession with angst I think it's from how dsmp ccs made their characters suffer to get idk the best reaction from fans even tho it didn't really make sense narrative wise

What gets me with the qsmp tho is you would get your angst but also be rewarded for it. Like for example cellbit focusing on a puzzle which eventually tells us more about the federation or bagi using clues to solve a mystery, fit and foolish having their own roles to play within too. Felps being kidnapped but saving him lets in the audience on what the feds are like (and tbf it was the first kidnapping so it felt p new)

Egg disappearance arc tho is where I've had enough angst (I don't think there was really a plan like why did eggs leave on their own, who's this guy with the single eye etc etc)

finally at my computer so i can answer this okay i disagree somewhat with your first point and i'll explain why. also this might seem more aggro than i mean it to be i just like talking and swear a lot

first thing: i dont think dsmp ccs were making their characters suffer just to get a reaction out of fans. i think this is a deeply pessimistic and just obviously untrue take on the server and the ccs. it is VERY clear that several of them just deeply enjoy sad stories and that's where they wanted to go with things.

also think about this outside the context of minecraft roleplay for a moment. the dsmp narrative is a story that, from the outset of genuine quote unquote lore kicking up, involved a war; everything that followed, as lore became more and more serious, had to then take the implications of that seriously. war is a deeply awful and traumatizing thing. do you want them to have not taken that seriously? do you want people to never tell dark or tragic stories and talk about the real effects of certain events on people's psyches and relationships? because while i am not an angst enjoyer, as i've said many times, i do think people have the right to tell dark and sad and raw stories. my issue is more the fandom obsession with angst that goes beyond my tolerable level and becomes overwhelming, which i'll get into later in this post; not an issue with sadness and tragedy being portrayed in mcrp (or any story) at all. do i like constant tragedy in my media? no. but for the dsmp and qsmp both that isn't the case, so it's not relevant here really.

i in part understand where you're coming from here, in that fans were SO obnoxious and because interactivity was so much more present in this type of medium, fans had way more influence on the narrative than is typical of fiction. so there were definitely times where people had to change their plans due to how they thought fans would react, although i would argue this was more common with like. women on the server trying not to piss off inniters rather than tommy deciding that fans would kill him if he didn't have c!tommy try and drown himself. like sure i think there were plenty of times that ccs went "ooh, fans will eat this up," but they probably would've done it regardless. i think it's just really uncharitable to assume that it was more due to wanting a good reaction from fans than ccs' genuine desire to take their characters in that direction.

and i'm gonna be real i don't think the fandom obsession with angst actually does come from the canon itself. i think these canons are not overwhelmingly sad, even dsmp, and that the idea that they are is due more to the tragic circumstances surrounding their endings and their controversies than about the actual events of canon. qsmp is not actually a tragedy, in terms of narrative (i'm ignoring the stupid final ending shit i truly don't understand why anyone accepts that as canon; they needed to write a send-off that would wrap things up enough but wasn't overly complicated. it worked for what they needed, which was a goodbye, but otherwise it's narratively stupid and irrelevant). the tragedy is more in how it all fell apart in real life than the story of the whole things itself. and individual ccs deciding to make their character's stories into tragedies does not make the larger narrative (which does exist and matters) itself a tragedy. and the dsmp also isn't a tragedy or an angst fest; there are certainly deeply sad moments, but it's not all doom and gloom.

again my issue is fandom obsession with angst, not the content of the smps themselves. and the biggest reason beyond personal annoyance that i'm confounded about the obsession with angst is that it's completely disproportional to how it works in other fandoms. if you're a longtime fandom person you're probably aware of this, but the angstier a story is, the more likely that the fandom is obsessed with fluff and magical fix-its that solve everything and make sure everyone stays alive. this is the case almost universally, but mcyt, apparently, is a huge exception. people are OBSESSED with ruminating on the tragic parts of canon and then creating even sadder situations to put characters through. it's bizarre and weird and i do not understand it one iota. where are all the fluffy everyone lives and gets ice cream together fics????? why are inniters addicted to putting that child through even worse torment??? why is no one writing happy endings for their ships????? what is with like insane amounts of DD:DNE fic where it's just the most miserable non-ending lack of catharsis imaginable?? THAT is what's weird to me.

and on that last point i've talked about it a lot before but catharsis is really what's missing for me when it comes to angst in this fandom. i'm not a huge sad stories/tragedies fan personally, but i am willing to read them, and when i do, what makes a really good one is catharsis. there is something to a sad story that hits all its beats and makes you feel like you've just cried it out and can finally breath again that does, on occasion, hit for me. but that's something completely missing from the angst in this fandom. there is no catharsis. there is no breath of relief. it's just stress and stress and more stress, all leading up to nothing, leaving you unsatisfied and depressed.

listen, people can do whatever the hell they want forever. i'm not telling anyone they should personally stop writing angst. i'm just baffled as to why so many people are obsessed with it in this fandom in particular and as a fluff enjoyer i am in constant misery.

anyway, on your other points: i think you're right on the point about reward, although i would frame it more as the catharsis that i'm talking about as missing from fandom angst. qsmp had sad moments, and frustrating moments, narratively, but those moments (when the writing was actually good) often led to bouts of information, new relationships, a shift in the story that would take it to new places. it was devastating but it was exciting. and the ccs knew what to do with those moments, as talented rpers, and how to dig their character into a hole and then find a way to get them out again. like, if qcellbit's whole story as a character had just been him getting nonstop bodied by the federation, that would've sucked. that would not have been fun to watch! but that's not what it was. he had moments of victory, even with losses he found out information, like you said, and that was important! even with the stupid fucking reprehensible minimes event, which is the MOST negative i ever saw cellbit about the server (still not that negative, he never complained very much and was very polite despite being, like myself, a serial complainer), he still learned a bunch of information! they learned what the federation did and didn't know about the eggs disappearance, about forever's trip into the nether, about some of the inner workings of the federation. AND despite how stupid it was, cellbit, as a very talented rper and writer himself, managed to spin it into a great character moment.

the eggs disappearance was just fucking evil i will never forgive all of that. i remember on fucking SEPTEMBER 10TH (2 days in!!) i was like hey do they have like. a plan, or what.... and then we found out later no they did not. so. that's a great example of angst via negligence and stupidity. at a certain point it was more tiring than sad because it was just ridiculous how little information anyone had. i will curse that arc til the day i die seriously

[tobiasdrake]

Do you hear that? What's the sound? Oh, that's the sound of the BESTIE TRAIN COMING THROUGH, CHOO-CHOO!!!

A day in the life of Fubuki Clockford, let's goooooo!

Aww! The fortune teller says we're going to have good fortune. ^_^

Hey, don't laugh. This world features genetically-engineered homunculi and shinigami detectives who remotely kill people. Who says divination can't be real too?

I mean, she's probably trying to upsell a nearby casino but I'm going to remain optimistic. This will be our BEST. DAY. EVER.

Good for you, Fubuki! With your spotty memory and distractibility, you're exactly the kind of person that casinos prey on. Someone who could easily lose track of how much they can afford to spend or get swept up in the theatricism and not realize how they're being swindled.

Like... like off a building or something?

I dunno, let's see what the title card thinks.

That's a resounding yes! Come on, Fubuki! Gonna be sunshine and roses today!

Well. Probably not sunshine. In Kanai Ward. In fact, I think that would constitute a tremendously bad day, all things considered.

...protective rainclouds and roses!

Okay let's go see what "Someone fell from the sky" is about. Maybe they brought presents.

Aww, but I want to know your lucky number. It might be important later.

Also SQUEE I get to play as Fubuki. Y'all, I have been wanting to dump Yuma and go play as Fubuki since chapter 3.

...okay, chapter 2. As soon as Yakou was like, "She has an ability that will let her evade Peacekeepers with no trouble," I wanted to forget whatever shenanigans Yuma's going to get up to and go with her instead.

IT'S NOT MY FAULT, FUBUKI'S GREAT. FUCK YOU.

Incidentally, the window sign reads "COFFEE EQUALS *ONE* HAPPY DAY" so I am thinking we should get some coffee. <.< Though that might just be me falling victim to marketing.

Oh shit. There he is. In the middle of the street. Feral Population +1.

He had to have fallen from a building, right?

Okay, thanks for that clarification. Anyone know which building?

I realize you may find this hard to believe, and maybe harder with each passing moment that we talk, but I am a trained professional.

Or we can go with that as our opener, sure. I figured we'd slowly whittle down their confidence in us over the course of conversation but Fubuki's a master at going from 100 to 0 in record time.

HOLY SHIT HE'S ALIVE

We don't know how long he'll be conscious. Ask him questions quickly and see if he can answer. Then if he passes out, we can turn back time and ask different questions, over and over until Fubuki passes out. Straight-up min/maxing this interrogation!

I mean. She isn't wrong. These buildings are several stories tall and he landed on his face. On cement. His skull should be chunky salsa right now.

Clearly, Fubuki's great fortune is keeping him alive.

Three? What about three? Three what? Three muggers? Three rungs on a ladder? Three-

IS THAT A FUCKING D6 NEXT TO THE BODY!?

Did this guy use his final breath to read off the value on his die?

Oh my god, we're going gambling, aren't we? This case is going to involve gambling. Oh fuck.

...

We should go find out what our lucky number is.

I. Don't. Think he can, bestie. It's okay. Your Lucky Day powers scored us a valuable piece of testimony, unassuming though it may seem. Could you cast a glance at that die on the ground? I want to confirm what value it's showing.

Guys, it's nothing short of a Lucky Day miracle that he lived this long. He doesn't need an ambulance at this point. He needs a coroner transport truck to move him into the Restricted Area.

We have our mission. We must solve the mystery of the number three. At this time, our suspect list includes:

1 - The fortune teller lady. She seemed interested in pushing a number on us, and three is a number. Seems suspicious, lady. 2 - The Count from Sesame Street. There may be more bodies lying around. ONE! TWO! THREE MURDERS, ah ha ha! 3 - Yomi Hellsmile. Because he sucks and should always be considered suspicious. 4 - Halara Nightmare.

Right now, I'm honing in on Yomi as my prime suspect. Because he's number three on the list. Three's a pretty suspicious number to be at, Yomi. What else do you know about threes?

Let's go! Maybe we can get a little more context for the three.

You know what, that's a much better idea. We'll call that Plan B.

Because we should try it B-FORE trying to hear his dying words more clearly! If Plan B fails, we resort to Plan A-lternative.

...okay but I still want to know our lucky number. We can spare some time, right?

Drat. But. The number. It might be three. That could be a clue.

Plan B was a good effort but we didn't hustle fast enough. That might be because I stopped to try and get our lucky number from the fortune teller lady. I'm sorry for that.

How's Plan A looking?

Rudimentary first aid says that in the event of a possible broken neck, jerking the body around is--

I can't even finish my joke because look at his face. He can't take his eyes off that fucking d6. I wonder if it's a three again?

Nope, this time came up two. That's interesting. It implies probabilistic differences between "runs" of the same time period. I'm getting flashbacks to Zero Time Dilemma.

Hm... Okay, let's try again and see if we can get there faster.