#this is the most inefficient way of doing literally all of this

[saintdelys]

Fall mood. I'm making an ask/RP/fan comic blog and this the intro image.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Hello!! I'm back for: more whining about TotK Quest Design Philosophy

I can't reblog a really great post I just saw for some reason (tumblrrrr *shakes my fist*), but hmmmm yeah not only do I completely agree, but I think I might expand on why I feel so much annoyance towards TotK's quest design philosophy at some point, because it does extend past the fundamentally broken setup of trying to punch a pseudo-mystery game on top of BotW's bones, where the core objective was always explicit and centered and stapled the entire world together; or the convoluted and inefficient way it tells its story through the Tears, the somehow single linear exploration-driven quest in the entire game.

Basically: I'm talking about the pointless back-and-forths. There were a lot of them, a lot that acted against the open world philosophy, and almost none of them ever recontextualized the environment through neither gameplay abilities nor worldbuilding nor character work.

I'll take two examples: the initial run to Hyrule Castle (before you get your paraglider), and then the billion back-and-forths in the Zora questline.

I think?? the goal of that initial quest to Hyrule Castle is to familiarize you with the landmark, introduce the notion that weapons rot, tell you about the gloom pits, and also tell you that Zelda sightings are a thing? But to force any of these ideas on you before giving you a paraglider is, in my opinion, pretty unnecessary. I think the reason it happens in that order is to prevent Link from simply pummeling down to the gloom pit under Hyrule Castle and fight Ganondorf immediately while still introducing ideas surrounding the location; but genuinely, the Zelda sighting makes the next events even more confusing? Why wouldn't you focus all your priorities in reaching the castle if you just saw her there? Why lose time investigating anything else? Genuinely: what is stopping you from getting your paraglider and immediately getting yourself back there, plunging into the depths to try and get to the literal bottom of this? (beyond player literacy assuming this is where the final boss would be, and so not to immediately spoil yourself --which, in an open world game, you should never be able to spoil yourself by engaging with the mechanics normally, and if you can that's a genuine failure of design)

I think, personally, that you should not have been pointed to go there at all. That anything it brings to the table, you could have learned more organically by investigating yourself, or by exploring in that direction on your own accord --or, maybe you think Zelda is up there in the castle, and then the region objectives become explicitely about helping you reaching that castle (maybe by building up troops to help you in a big assault, or through the Sages granting you abilities to move past level-design oriented hurdles in your way, etc). Either way: no need to actually make you walk the distance and back, because the tediousness doesn't teach you anything you haven't already learned about traversal in the (extremely long, btw, needlessly so I would say) tutorial area.

But to take another example, I'll nitpick at a very specific moment in the Zora Questline, that is honestly full of these back-and-forth paddings that recontextualize absolutely nothing and teach you nothing you didn't already know. The most egregious example, in my opinion, is the moment where you are trying to find the king, and you have to learn by listening in to the zora children who do not let you listening in.

So okay. I think Zelda is great when it does whimsy, and children doing children things guiding you is a staple of the series, and a great one at that. But here? It does not work for me on any level. Any tension that could arise from the situation flattens because nobody seems to care enough about their king disappearing in the middle of a major ecological crisis, except for children who are conveniently dumb enough not to graps the severity of the situation, but not stressed out enough that it could be construed as a way for them to cope about it and make anything feel more serious or pressing. It feels like a completely arbitrary blocker that isn't informed by the state of the world, doesn't do anything interesting gameplay-wise with this idea, doesn't build up the mood, and genuinely feels like busywork for its own sake.

This is especially tragic when the inherent concept of "the zora king has been wounded by what most zoras would believe to be Zelda and is hiding from his own people so the two factions do not go to war over it" has such tension and interest and spark that the game absolutely refuse to explore --instead having you collect carved stones who do not tell you anything new, splatter water in a floating island, thrud through mud who feel more like an inconvenience than a threat or, hey, listen to children playing about their missing king less than a couple of years after being freed from Calamity Ganon's menace. It feels like level designers/system designers having vague technical systems that are hard-coded in the game now, and we need to put them to use even if it's not that interesting, not that fun or not that compelling. It's the sort of attitude that a lot of western RPGs get eviscerated for; but here, for some reason, it's just a case of "gameplay before story", instead of, quite simply, a case of poorly thought-out gameplay.

Not every quest in the game is like this! I think the tone worked much better in the sidequests overall, that are self-contained and disconnected from the extremely messy main storyline, and so can tell a compelling little tale from start to finish without the budget to make you waddle in a puddle of nothing for hours at a time. It's the only place where you actually get character arcs that are allowed to feel anything that isn't a variation on "very determined" or "curious about the zonai/ruins", and where you get to feel life as it tries to blossom back into a new tomorrow for Hyrule.

But if I'm this harsh about the main storyline, it really is because I find it hard to accept that we do not criticize a structure that is at times so half-assed that you can almost taste employees' burnout seeping through the cracks --the lack of thematic ambition and self-reflection and ingeniosity outside of system design and, arguably at times, level design-- simply because it's Hyrule and we're happy to be there.

There's something in the industry that is called the "wow effect", which is their way to say "cool" without saying "cool". It's basically the money shots, but for games: it's what makes you go "ohhhh" when you play. And it's great! The ascension to the top of the Ark was one of them --breathtaking, just an absolute high point of systems working together to weave an epic tale. You plummeting from the skies to the absolute depths of hell is another one; most of the dungeons rely on that factor to keep your attention; the entire Zelda is a dragon storyline is nothing but "wow effect" (and yeah, the moment where you do remove the Master Sword did give me shivers, I'll admit to this willingly) and so is Ganondorf's presence and presentation in the game --he's here to be cool, non-specifically mean, hateable in a non-threatening way and to give us a good sexy time, do not think about it too hard. What bothers me is that TotK's world has basically nothing to offer but "wow effect"; that if you bother to dig at anything it presents you for more than a second, everything crumbles into incoherence --not only in story, but in mood, in themes, in identity. This is a wonderfully fun game with absolutely nothing to say, relying on the cultural osmosis and aura of excellency surrounding Zelda to pass itself off as meatier than it really is. This is what I say when I criticize it as self-referential to a fault; half of the story makes no sense if this is your first Zelda game, and what little of that world there is tends to be deeply unconcerned and uncurious about itself.

And no, Breath of the Wild wasn't like this. Breath of the Wild was deeply curious about itself; the entire game was built off curiosity and discovery, experimentation and challenge (and I say this while fully admitting I had more fun with the loop of TotK, which I found more forgiving overall). The traversal in Tears of the Kingdom is centered around: how do I skip those large expanses of land in the most efficient and fun way possible. How do I automate these fights. How do I find resources to automate both traversal and fights better. It's a game that asks questions (who are the zonais, who is Rauru and what is his deal, what is the Imprisoning War about, where is Zelda), and then kind of doesn't really care about the answers (yeah the zonais are like... guys, they did a cool kingdom, Rauru used to run it, the Imprisoning War is literally whatever all you have to care about is who to feel sad for and who to kill about it and you don't get a choice and certainly cannot feel any ambiguous feelings about any of that, and Zelda is a dragon but we will never expand on how it felt for her to make such a drastic and violent choice and also nobody cares that's a plot point you could *remove* from the game without changing the golden path at all).

I'm so aggravated by the argument "in Zelda, it's gameplay before story" because gameplay is story. That's the literal point of my work as a narrative designer: trying to breach the impossibly large gap between what the game designers want to do, and what the writers are thinking the game will be about (it's never the same game). And in TotK, the game systems are all about automation and fusion. It's about practicality and efficiency. It's also about disconnecting stuff from their original purpose as you optimize yourself out of danger, fear, or curiosity --except for the way you can become even more efficient. And sure, BotW was about this too; but you were rewarded because you had explored the world in the first place, experimented enough, put yourself in danger, went to find out the story of who you used to be and why you should care about Hyrule. I'm not here to argue BotW was a well-written game; I think it was pretty tropey at large to be honest, safe for a couple of moments of brilliance, but it had a coherent design vision that rewarded your curiosity while never getting in the way of the clarity of your objective. There is a convolutedness to TotK that, to me, reveals some extremely deep-seated issues with the direction the series is heading towards; one that, at its core, cares more about looking the part of a Zelda game than having any deeper conversation about what a Zelda game should be.

[blasphemecel]

Michael Kaiser — Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

PAIRING: Michael Kaiser/Reader WORD COUNT: 1.3k TYPE: Angst, Post-break up WARNING(S): Don't read if you're sensitive to medical stuff, also tw for KAISER-TYPICAL MELODRAMA

“Are you fucking kidding me? That just sounds made up.”

“Sir,” the doctor, who’s been having to deal with Kaiser acting like the hospital is a debate club for the past fifteen minutes, says. Then he lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. In all honesty, he does not want to deal with this. “While there’s an existing argument about the classification of broken heart syndrome, it is a real thing that happens. And you have it as we’ve deduced.”

“I don’t have health problems,” Kaiser says. Of course, those words fly out of his mouth without trouble even when Ness had to call an ambulance on him and everything, since he looked like he was on the brink of death today at practice. “Much less from bullshit reasons like a broken heart.”

“You don’t need to take it literally. That’s just the name. The trigger for the stress varies from case to case.”

Kaiser hopes his defensive statement didn’t reveal anything too personal, and decides to throw off any suspicion by staring down at his lap while frowning like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. At least the doctor doesn’t seem to care because he’s not prying for unnecessary details. Not yet, anyway.

“For how long have you been ignoring the symptoms?”

“I haven’t been ignoring anything,” Kaiser says.

Sure, he was dizzy a few (many) times and short of breath, and disregarded it. And while he can sense the tightness and pain in his chest each time, a recurring physical and tangible ache, Kaiser interprets the experience as some kind of metaphor for the figurative stabbing he was a victim of. The arrhythmia is a natural indignant response to whenever your irritating face pops up in his imagination, since you’re the perpetrator.

All this over some shitty break up. While it’s stupid for someone whose career is in sports to shrug off such obvious signs, until today Kaiser never truly thought it was serious enough to warrant such an overreaction from his body. You shouldn’t have this much power over him. He’s going to kill you next time he sees you for doing this to him.

He’s deep in denial and the grave he’s been digging with his stupid lies is shallow in contrast, inefficient. Can’t even deceive himself.

“It’s most common in people over fifty.”

Kaiser rolls his eyes. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”

“What I’m saying is, I assume you’ve been ignoring this for some time and it escalated to a bad attack. So, do you recall if you’ve gone through severe stress recently? Anything traumatizing even, either physically or mentally? When was it? If you could be exact, that’d be helpful.”

Traumatizing? Traumatizing? Is this man fucking kidding him right now?

Kaiser stares at the doctor as if he’s the stupidest person alive. Forget a person, he is a bug for such a suggestion. Through grit teeth, he relents, “There was something two weeks ago. By the way, it wasn’t traumatizing! That’s ridiculous.”

What’s even more absurd is the notion Kaiser wouldn’t know how much time has passed with perfect accuracy. Fourteen days he hasn’t been sleeping well, hugging his pillow and crying like a loser, cursing you, wanting you back, both a worshipper and a heretic.

What was he feeling at that moment, when you broke things off? Was it overwhelming anger which got him to this point? Though he’s been reliving the moment over and over, Kaiser still can’t identify it. Just something intense zapping him through his veins, a devastating shock, a surge of adrenaline. But surely it was resentment at your audacity to throw him away like disposable trash? He doesn’t like the thought that he’s been so pathetically sad, he got sick because of it, so this is what he’ll go with.

Thinking about it is enough to make him start picking at the skin on his neck like he’s trying to peel the ink off. It’s almost vile. At least he retains the common sense not to squeeze it in front of a medical professional who can send him away to a psych ward with ease.

The doctor, too, looks at Kaiser like he is an insane person. Good thing they pay him enough for this — otherwise, he doesn’t know how he’d deal with having a strange man with a bizarre haircut give him attitude over his diagnosis when it should be reserved for his barber or whoever is responsible.

“Two weeks ago, okay,” he says, writing it down. “Lucky for you, this is temporary and reversible unlike most other things we checked you for. You’ll be fine in about two months with the treatment.”

“So, like I thought, it’s not a big deal. I can still play football, right? Don’t need to lay off or anything?” Kaiser asks.

The doctor sighs. Again. He wants to measure the circumference, thickness and density of Kaiser’s skull. “You’re not listening,” he says, clearly exasperated, but still trying to exert patience. “Your heart is weak and not functioning properly at the moment. You can’t immediately jump back into living the way you usually do. It’s still serious no matter what you say and it can cause complications.”

Kaiser makes an annoyed expression like this is all one big inconvenience rather than a threat to his quality of life. “Are you serious? You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“I’m honored you seem to think I’m a hilarious comedian, sir, since this is your nth time asking, but it’s not the case,” he says levelly.

“Don’t get clever with me.”

A sharp inhale through the nose and the doctor’s back on track, maintaining a feeble grasp on his inner peace, at least enough not to snap. Then, after this brief recollection, he reaches out to grab something, then holds it up. It’s a picture that looks either like an abortion-to-be or a black and white photo of lasagna… maybe. “This is your heart.”

Kaiser almost forgot about the ultrasound or whatever since he was strung out and sedated- relaxed throughout that whole ordeal. At the sight of it now, always theatrical, he decides the best course of action is to wrinkle his nose and say ‘eww,’ even though he’s not squeamish. But treating the matter seriously means admitting he has a problem, and he can’t have that.

The doctor pretends he can’t hear anything and points at the relevant area with his finger to illustrate the crux of the matter better. “You have apical ballooning. Do you get it? Even if it’s temporary, you can’t treat it lightly. So-”

Kaiser tunes out the rest of the explanation. Blah, blah, he could harm himself, very original. His gaze is stuck on the echocardiogram, though, and this time he’s nauseous for real, the tiniest bit. It strikes him as particularly ugly and deformed. Organs are repulsive to begin with, anyway, but this… thing is his, and he’s seeing it now. In any case, nothing so disgusting is worth loving or treating with care.

Is this how you’ve come to see him? What does Kaiser look like in your eyes? Ugly and maladjusted on the inside? Someone who likes laughing at other people’s misery, but can’t take even the slightest puncture? So out of touch with his emotions — and of his own volition —, he’s started experiencing them in the most visceral way possible. His desire for you: torment, a disease.

Would you find him dramatic? Maybe, but at least you’d make him laugh and smile and anything else his troubled mind has decided he needs at the moment, from you alone. Doesn’t matter, though. He’s not privy to that kind of thing, not anymore.

There’s a sting in his eyes and Kaiser wipes away his tears with a hasty swipe, though a few more stream down his cheeks. He doesn’t even know what he’s crying about again.

The doctor observes the display with the distanced apathy of someone who’s watched people die and shit themselves.

He gets discharged with a prescription and elaborate instructions on how to go about his physical activities until it’s deemed he’s fully healed at the later check-ups.

Great. Pitiful.

___

What's funny is that Y/n's probably having a good day while all this is going on

[ceaseless-watchers-special-girl]

can we talk about the ending for a second??? i feel like we're all still in shock.

disclaimer these thoughts came to me at 11:30 last night it's just that i didn't write them down. trying to remember.

i don't think they've created a killer army. why would they need to kill people?? like iirc they're primarily a pharmacorp. they might want to kill their competitors, but even that seems like an inefficient and frankly stupid way to deal with them, and now that they can literally bring people back from the dead they have a product no-one else does, so they don't really need to compete with anyone.

as far as i know they don't have beef with anyone either?? they're not trying to start a war i don't think. there's no need for them to have a killer army.

something about the way the first zombie shot her lover in the head feels like the way melee's dad was shot in the head. someone has been killed again just so they can be revived and made into a cog in the dokana machine. i don't think these zombies are primarily programmed to kill. i think they're programmed to work.

i think dokana is going to kill most of the present human workers they have and bring them back as mindless zombies to work alongside the people whose lives they were fighting for. double their workforce, double their profit, zero the chance of uprisings/unions/people trying to get out.

and anyone who they deem smart enough to be worth more as the human they were than as a mindless zombie is being kept for the "very special project". dokana need these "very special" brains to function properly, so they're taking their time to make sure that they can bring these people back exactly as they were. once they do, they're going to find a way to make them comply so they can use them to create products which will put them way ahead of their competitors, while a mindless zombie factory makes them steady profit down in vivopolis.

fuck capitalism fr

[max1461]

Like I guess, what's the point of this discourse?

The anarchist community gardening enthusiasts talk about various motivations. Yeah, some of them say they want to bring all of civilization down, man! But it seems like most of them talk about stuff like, as I mentioned, "food autonomy". They want to have greater control over their food, where it comes from, and what's in it. And they want to acquire it by their direct effort, rather than indirectly through a production chain and so on. Are these invalid things to want? Yeah, a lot of the rhetoric that goes along with it can be silly, and I'm not saying we shouldn't correct people's factual errors. But, at a basic level, are these unreasonable things to want? No, they're fine! Maybe you don't want them, but they're fine.

A while ago everyone in this sphere of tumblr was taking turns dunking on the anarchist community gardening enthusiasts and I thought that was unfair. They're out there living their life, you know, self-actualized and doing something that makes them feel fulfilled and empowered, and everyone is dunking on them because it's an inefficient production method.

Ok, I get it. They're proselytizing the community gardening thing, saying everyone needs to do it in order to stick it to the man, and that can be annoying. And they're wrong when they say the whole economy can work this way, so if they say that it should be corrected. But they're not wrong when they say that it gives them more control over and knowledge about their food, in the sense that they care about. That claim seems reasonable! And if they value having that, it's good they can have it!

Right, so, my post was like. Well you can go read it. Basically "I think we're being unfair to people who complain about living in industrial society".

And the response to that post was much to the effect of "well, they shouldn't complain, because they can still go live in the woods and do all this pre-industrial stuff within industrial society, so the complaint is invalid".

Right, right, I agree they can do this stuff. They are doing this stuff. But you all complain when they do it! You all dunk on them for doing it! Even when they respond to their sense of dissatisfaction/alienation in precisely the way you prescribe! You see why that feels sort of annoying.

So, it's fine. You are 100% entitled to be a hater on your blog. If you want to dunk on the anarchist community gardeners that's not wrong. But this is part of why I feel alienated on tumblr. It's this feeling of like "the only valid lifestyle to want is the Bay Area programmer/STEM academic lifestyle, everything else is dumb". Well I am literally an aspiring STEM academic, but there's also more to me than that, and I don't like the dunking on everything else. It makes me feel bad. And it's not justified—as I said, these anarchist community gardeners are in fact getting the thing they want to get out of their activity. At least it seems to me. So the dunk feels aimed at the desire itself, not the efficacy of the act. It seems like an expression of "have my preferences or you're dumb".

We don't all have the same preferences!

[squeiky]

I think my favorite part about Neo Metal Sonic is the complete and utter abandonment to the formula- in the form of his "clothes".

He transformed himself to look as far apart from Sonic as he possibly could- and in some ways more intimidating (and superior(?) )

but then there's the clothes. The cape, the fore-arm sleeves- the giant boot-looking spiked legs...

Every one of that design makes fighting and speed much more harder for Metal. Its a complete defiance of his original design, the original intent.

Having a cape could mean he get it stuck in his engine- or someone could pull it- hell he could just trip over it. Having such big sleeves and legs could make it hard to maneuver. it could get caught on things, on himself, it could make it his uhh.. "hitbox" bigger.

his freakin' quills are bigger and extended giving him even MORE places to hit.

aka hes not very aerodynamic (lol) and the look completely subverts everything that he was originally intended for. Speed.

He had other transformations into giant creatures before- but the key difference in Heroes is that he no longer even looks like himself anymore.

In all the other transformations it was like "oh metal turns into a giant more powerful metal sonic" but in this transformation it completely eradicates any recognizable traits.

Though I think his "transformation" started long before he became Metal overlord. Long before his Metal Madness- but at the very beginning.

He learned that what he was before was inefficient, so he became something more. He figured that who he was wasn't enough-literally taking parts of OTHER PEOPLE and copying them. Turning himself into something so unrecognizable, that he is described as a "monster" a literal amalgamation. He literally went mad. He abandoned all previous ideologies of speed or this constant back and forth of loosing and winning. He completely rewrote himself from the inside and out. All to defeat sonic.

yet, he still lost. and thats the tragedy of Metal Sonic. It's that he always looses.

LIke, that is it. that is his one reason for existing. To defeat Sonic. Yet he will never accomplish it. This game is just the extreme form of him giving it his all. Loosing everything that made him "Metal Sonic" just to do this ONE goal. its rutheless, its determination.

Its almost uniquely horrifying in a way. To be obsessed in such a way that it kills you.

since he's a robot.. it keeps killing him. again and again and again. And since he's based off of sonic- everytime he sees himself he's constantly reminded of that. Constantly comparing himself to sonic, constantly analysing sonic, constantly trying to be BETTER than sonic. Then every time he tries- upgrade after upgrade he fails and tries again- until he just goes insane.

A good analogy is school i think? See, If he was a school kid he'd be the one kid trying to get the A++ grade- but he has like 6 different mental and parental issues and ends up with a F- every fucking time. And no matter how hard he tries- no matter how much he studies, or works, or doesn't stays up all night trying, or doesn't enjoy his life, doesn't do anything other the fucking hustle to get the good old "im proud of you son" from the Eggman dad. Yet he NEVER will get it.

Then he has too look at golden child Sonic the hedgehog with the A+ grade (because again A++ isn't an actual grade but thats what Metal is trying to achieve) and he gets it so easily. And he hates him for it with all his might. Then you're telling me he has to look in the mirror and see the reflection of the guy he hates the most? the guy he can't win against? too look at yourself and only see the being you resent? To have the ending of your name be his name. it's "metal SONIC" not "sonic METAL"

Then, your parent- is constantly making you compare yourself to the goldenchild. Not only that but they're just as obsessed with you getting that A++ grade (a literal unachievable goal) and making the family look good. So everytime you fail you compare- and compare- and copy and comapre- and compare untill you loose whatever made you.. yourself.

of fucking COURSE he's going to have to cope with that by calling him the "real sonic. the true sonic" because if he isn't then WHAT IS HE? JUST A COPY? You spend your entire life trying to be better than someone- to the point where you fucking give up and try to BE them. because being BETTER is fucking impossible!!!!!! IF that person IS the highest goal that BECOME the highest the goal.

Then one day you just loose it ALL. you crack. you BREAK. You say "Fuck it!" You buy clothes, accesories, makeup and jewleries, and ANYTHING that seperates you from that goddamn golden kid. It doesn't matter if your dad is upset about it- because you don't care about what he thinks anymore. Prove to yourself that by the time your done copying everyone else's homework you'll finally get an A++. Then you can turn around- look better than him in any way. Cause then if you fail now- you'll have nothing to loose.

It is a rutheless transformation. Scrap the past, define the future and become the thing you hate. Loose your self and fear nothing. Cause theres nothing to loose.

Tell yourself that at your worst that you are better. Then laugh and cry at the same time.

then, at the end of it all. You've done everything you've could. You've copyed everyone in fucking classroom- then standing on the goddamn roof of school building the teacher gives you A FUCKING F. YOU ARE STANDING ON THE TOP OF A SCHOOL BUILDING (A ROBOT ABOVE A SEA?!?! HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT HAPPENS TO IPHONE IN WATER???) AND YOU GET A GODDAMN F AGAIN.

and then your dad didn't even look at you proudly. In fact he was clapping at the golden child for recieving another FUCKING A. Because THATS what put you in your place. THATS what brings you crawling back- then he just leaves you.

..

you loose your voice, and your looks. and then after that? you go back to looking just like him. and its a never ending cycle of torment.

So yeah. I think Metal sonic is pretty tragic character but idk y'know?

[zedif-y]

Who is this Zedaph you speak of?

anon, i don't know if you wanted a long answer to this, but you're getting it anyway

So, who is Zedaph?

Zedaph, (AKA ZedaphPlays) is a minecraft youtuber that's a part of the Hermitcraft SMP. He doesn't just make hermitcraft content, however.

He's also a part of a Create mod series with some other hermits! (Tango, Bdubs, Scar, and Keralis)

Patron supporters (tier 3!) gain access to the Zedcraft servers. The Zedcraft Community Twitter can be found (HERE)! There's a java survival server, a creative world, and monthly events for those involved, though he does stream some of them! Currently, Zedcraft is in its fifth season.

Speaking of streams, he has a second channel where he posts his VODs. He streams non-minecraft games as well! (A more recent stream I recommend is his The Past Within stream with Tango, where they play a puzzle game)

Here's a link to his Twitch<3

Okay, but... Why watch him?

This'll get ramble-y.

I don't even know how to describe Zedaph's brand of content. I really don't. And I don't think that's a bad thing- it's really unique! Here's what I mean:

In season 7 of hermitcraft, his theme was, basically, contraptions. Silly ones. Stupid ones. Inefficient ones! Basically, for every situation, the question is: "How can we make this LESS efficient?"

It's BRILLIANT.

(Also, I recommend watching at least the first minute or so of that episode I linked. Gives you a glimpse of what he's like!)

In season 8, it was all about experiments. (Analyzing and testing fellow hermits, mad scientist vibes, and dangling sheep. Because why not)

In season 9, the current season, it's all about Zedvancements. (These aren't your typical minecraft advancements. No, they're stuff like getting killed by every single mob in the game, longest death message, most mobs stacked on top of each other, giving Tango advancements while he's AFK)

I have literally never seen anyone else do what he's doing. His content is UNIQUE!!

And not just that, have you SEEN his timelapses? His editing??

HERE and HERE's an example of what I mean . Come on now . That's SO COOL? (Also: follow @/curse-of-watch-zedaph for zed clips :>)

TLDR: Zedaph's specific brand of content falls outside of what you'd normally expect from minecraft content, sometimes it's strange, sometimes it makes you go "Why?", but it's always entertaining.

Or, put simply: he is so so funny im not even kidding . his mind is an enigma and yknow what even if i havent sold you on him entirely , please just give at least one video a chance because there is no way to capture the zedaphplays experience without just diving in and seeing for yourself<3

[arachnxphobe]

random miguel hcs

will not admit it but he has cried to multiple animated kids movies

definitely the classics like toy story 3, the iron giant, and inside out

but he also BAWLED at the end of finding nemo because he was thinking about gabriella

he thinks that toothless from how to train your dragon is cute

no i will not elaborate on that

secretly celebrates st patrick’s day

likes to wear something green under his suit or have one piece of decor hidden in the depths of his office

has really low spice tolerance BUT really likes it and also he has a reputation to keep up as the big and tough guy so he WILL try and hide how much water he is chugging

he likes the dad ice cream flavours like pistachio and rum raisin

but hates dad hobbies like golfing or collecting stuff like antique coins or dioramas

he just doesn’t have the patience for it

can cook and bake!!!! actually scratch that he can do all of the chores and is basically a househusband but is simply unwilling to do it

peter b may or may not have gotten him a kiss the cook apron that may or may not be the only apron he owns…

he could 100% have gourmet meals every day but he doesn’t have anyone to impress but himself so most days he just lives off of the sealed, pre-cooked chicken breasts from the convenience store and reheated rice that he makes in a big batch once a week

because yes chicken can be store bought but microwaved rice tastes too much like chemicals, especially for his heightened taste buds

is a shower guy

he thinks that baths are too inefficient and most tubs can’t fit him

but if you somehow manage to find one that’s big enough…oh boy he’ll act like you are waterboarding him but honestly he’s having the time of his life

competitive as hell, even when he acts like he could not care less

like he does not understand the concept of letting somebody else win, why is he handicapping himself and letting them think they’re better than they actually are?

he doesn’t mean it in a way to establish dominance or superiority

he just thinks that it’s weird to let someone win because wouldn’t lying to them be worse? now they can’t even improve

designed his own suit and probably gets a little bit self conscious when someone comments on it because he really isn’t an aesthetics guy but he worked really hard and is proud of his suit 🥺

was perhaps a little bit salty about the dark garfield comment but you didn’t hear that from me

please never trust him with naming or decorating though because if left on his own, it’s either going to be the most disgusting combination of items ever known to man or quite literally the bare minimum

don’t even think about a bed frame, there’s a chance that he doesn’t even have a mattress

he’s good with personal hygiene though

a slight germaphobe in the sense that he wants everything to be sterile (a habit he picked up from always being in the lab) but is more than okay with getting his hands dirty, just as long as he can thoroughly sanitize them afterwards

a terrible movie watcher

he either does not understand the movie whatsoever and keeps on asking questions that they just answered a minute ago

or he’s ripping them apart for their weird pseudoscience

honestly his ranting ends up being more entertaining than the movie at times

be prepared for a full lecture if you don’t stop him at some point though

i’ve heard a lot of people throw out spanish songs that they think he would listen to but might i suggest some non-spanish songs

he gives me doja cat vibes, don’t ask me, i just feel it

personally, i don’t think he would actively listen to kpop or be into the fan culture but he probably enjoys some songs without even realizing they’re kpop

i’m thinking newjeans and maybe epik high??

ABBA

mitski and hozier (where are my depressed wlw at) because you know that when he’s in his brooding self hating mood that he needs suitable bgm

HATES cruises

something about being on water does not vibe with his spider-catness

neither does the overall cruise ship experience

hot tubs and buffets just don’t really do it for him

there’s not much space for privacy except for your own room but even then the walls are fairly thin

so it’d be nearly impossible for him to get any sort of peace

me and the rest of the internet all seem to have agreed that he has insomnia and i feel like a cruise ship would not help whatsoever

would complain about how the mexican food is just what americans think mexican food is like

is too much of a workaholic to take an extended break, and it’s too difficult to jump back into work should there be an emergency

[centrally-unplanned]

(Reposting from the twitters)  There is this "admin bloat" fact going today, which is always positioned as a problem at US universities and an explanation for their high tuition:

Which, well Harvard has 20,000 students, its 2/3rds grad students - that is a very selective figure to quote. But anyway it comes from this MRU post quoting a Harvard Crimson editorial, which follows with this framing:

Yet of the 7,000-strong horde, it seems that many members’ primary purpose is to squander away tax-free money intended for academic work on initiatives, projects, and committees that provide scant value to anyone’s educational experience.

For example, last December, all Faculty of Arts and Sciences affiliates received an email from Dean Claudine Gay announcing the final report of the FAS Task Force on Visual Culture and Signage, a task force itself created by recommendation of the Presidential Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging. This task force was composed of 24 members: six students, nine faculty members, and nine administrators. The task force produced a 26-page report divided into seven sections, based upon a survey, focus groups, and 15 separate meetings with over 500 people total. The report dedicated seven pages to its recommendations, which ranged from “Clarify institutional authority over FAS visual culture and signage” to “Create a dynamic program of public art in the FAS.” In response to these recommendations, Dean Gay announced the creation of a new administrative post, the “FAS campus curator,” and a new committee, the “FAS Standing Committee on Visual Culture and Signage.”

Regardless of your stance on the goal of fostering a more inclusive visual culture, the procedural absurdity is clear. A presidential task force led to the creation of an FAS task force which, after expending significant time, effort, and resources, led to the creation of a single administrative job and a committee with almost the exact name as the second task force. I challenge anyone other than the task force members themselves to identify the value created for a single Harvard student’s educational experience.

This approach is very obsfucating in a way typical of this genre. The 'task force' thing here is a Gish Gallop - 24 members! 26 page report! 500 people meetings! Bureaucracy run rampant!

Which, yeah true lol, but not due to this. The use of "task force" here is meant to sound all formal, but at universities everything is a task force, its just what we call a recurring meeting - a bunch of people meet a few times w/ free lunch, that is it. 500 people polled? Harvard’s population is ~40,000, these ‘meetings’ we 20 minute zoom calls, on people & time spent that is a rounding error. That 27 page report is 50% copy-pasted appendixes, easy, it took someone maybe a day to write.

And the culmination is they hired a full time staffer. So ditch the jargon and reframe: a large org met multiple times and surveyed stakeholders before creating a new role. Literally all big orgs do this! This is standard procedure, if you gonna expand a team you need buy-in + role definition. Unis are overrun with this task force stuff, they are inefficient, but it is almost no one's job to do only task forces. They are 5% at most of every fac-staff's time, bullshit provost agendas or overwrought due diligence that you shake your head at and suffer through before getting back to your real job. Stupid, but nowhere near an explainer for 7k admin roles.

When you look at the Crimson source article, it really tips its hand on the analytical error:

Wrong. Harvard has instead filled its halls with administrators. Across the University, for every academic employee there are approximately 1.45 administrators. When only considering faculty, this ratio jumps to 3.09. Harvard employs 7,024 total full-time administrators, only slightly fewer than the undergraduate population. What do they all do?

Most administrators have a legitimate function. I will happily concede that the University does need administration to operate effectively. No professors want to handle Title IX compliance or send institution-wide emails about Covid-19 protocols. Yet of the 7,000-strong horde, it seems that many members’ primary purpose is to squander away tax-free money intended for academic work on initiatives, projects, and committees that provide scant value to anyone’s educational experience.

Oh, ~most~ have a legitimate function? How much is most? 65%? 85%? ...99%? Big world of difference there, if its 99% this article doesn't make sense any more. Of course it never says...just 'many'. And it names...one, the new FAS role. Lets look at that role, from the famed 27 page report:

That is...a public art manager. Harvard has a metric ton of public art! You think wall murals and statues and banners paint, hang, and rotate themselves? Its Harvard, its 30% museum, its a high prestige venue, its in demand from artists, it *trains* aritsts. This is a real job!! Its not fake at all. Harvard wants to expand how diverse its public art is so its expanding its team.

Now you might think universities should be bare-walled office buildings, which you can think...except you don't, if you had to send you *own* child there and are the running to pick Harvard as that option. Suddenly all this 'bloat' is a beautiful campus with facilities to provide happiness and status for your kid. Suddenly...the branding makes sense. Suddenly this role generates value. That is the issue all the 'admin bloat' arguments run into; when you actually have to spec out the numbers, you see 95% of the staff increase is because what unis *do* is different. Harvard wasn't an art museum in 1950, but it is today. It *makes money* from that role. 

What I am not saying is unis don't have an org problem - they absolutely do. It stems from unis serving this three-tier job as status/credential certifier, teaching institution, and research facility, which we only pretend aligns, they don't really.  Which is the frame admin 'bloat' must be understood through - as unis changed faculty pushed back on having their job change to meet it. But there was way too much money at stake, so admin were expanded to fill the gap the old ‘faculty-as-owners’ model was exposing, and that gap has grown over time. The bloat model doesn't capture this dynamic at all. It just holds up fig leaf arts/humanities roles as synecdoche for all admin when they are the exception. Unis could be massively restructured, absolutely, but as of now only 2-3% (at most) could be fired before revenue, operations, research, etc. were impacted.

The ‘problem’ at US universities is baked into their core structure and incentives - if it was trivial to fix, they would have done it.

[pianocat939]

Okay so I like really like your writing style and I would like to make a request!!

Can we see the boys with a reader that had drastic changes in temperature really easily? Like one second they’re burning alive and then the next their bundled in blankets.

Thank you in advance if you write this!!!

-👻

As someone who lives in a place where it's winter literally 7-8 whole months, I totally do not get this *cue awkward smile*. So most of the stuff written here is geared towards winter.

I split this into parts because I felt there can be both platonic and romantic reactions to this.

The Turtles with a Temperature Vulnerable MC

(There isn't much of a difference between romantic and platonic for Mikey + Raph. It's more for Leo and D'Nello)

Raph

- Platonic

Sorry guys I have to go back to his trauma again.

He worries a lot. It's obvious considering his Eldest Child Syndrome™

So much so that he carries around a bag filled with jackets/layers, ice packs, fans: and all that stuff when you guys leave either of your homes.

He tries to keep the temperature indoors as mild as possible, but it can get hard during the summer and winter months (winter especially 'cuz he's a reptile).

Will ask if you want hugs whenever you're cold. He may be a reptile, but I think he retains some warm-blooded traits from Splinter.

Learns how drinks are a great way to regulate temperature and asks Mikey to teach him how to make delicious beverages.

During winter he doesn't let you out until you have a coat and a light jacket on (trust me you get hot in winter coats really fucking easy).

"Nope. Not letting you out until you have them layers on."

Worried parent 1000%

- Romantic

Not too different from platonic, just more prone to be touchy.

Holds your hand(s) and cuddles if you if you're cold. And also because he's a cuddlebug.

He gets really pouty if you have to separate because you're too hot.

"If I were to cover myself in ice packs will you cuddle me?"

Leo

- Platonic

He will laugh whenever you have to change your surroundings/position because of temperature issues.

He might try to piss you off by stealing all the blankets or turning the heater/cooler to insane settings.

"Um, excuse me, I need all of these."

If he feels nice, on some days he'll hand you the things you need directly; might even teleport steal extra machinery for you.

Honestly, I think he would relate to your problem, but be the biggest drama queen about it. Like complaining extremely loudly.

Flaunts the number of blankets he has.

- Romantic

Is less snarky, but can be a little bug sometimes.

I think if we're speaking in a romantic sense he's more likely to expose his true feelings/intentions. I know it's not explicitly stated within the canon series/movie but based on my own interpretation I think he doesn't like exposing his feelings unless he really trusts that person.

So he'll express worry in a more intimate way.

He won't be all mama bear like Raph but does show some concern. He'll ask if you're alright and if you need he'll bring it right to you.

As I said before I do think he has a similar problem so he'll suggest you guys share a blanket or something to conserve as much heat.

"As soon as you get out I'm not letting you back in. This is my heat reserve."

Othello Von Ryan

- Platonic

Out of the three has the best assistance for temperature regulation.

He can easily construct a device that changes surrounding heat based on blood and heartbeat regulation.

He's iffy when it comes to helping you out that isn't biology or just in general science related. It's not that he doesn't understand it, he finds it inefficient that's all.

"Why waste time doing things that could maybe help when you know that the studies of science are more credible?"

No touch. Maybe robot arms with heating, but no actual touchy.

It's hot? Don't worry he got his beautiful ice maker in his battle shell.

He does not stand for complaining. Just tell him you're uncomfortable and he can fix it.

- Romantic

In a romantic sense, I think he's more likely to try to help in a non-scientific way. Again, it's not his preferred method but it can also be a data-collecting experience for him.

He'll ask more questions, trying to understand your individual biology.

"Is there a certain time interval when you feel you're personal comfort change?"

He really doesn't like it but if you need it very badly then he might give you a stiff hug or two. Awkward back pat gang

If you spend time in the lab with him then he'll make sure the environment is to your liking.

Asks Sheldon to watch over you if he's not able to be there at the moment.

I totally see him as a trench coat guy. Gifts you a matching one.

Mikey Wazowski

- Platonic + Romantic

Quite similar to Raph but has some distinct traits.

Will go overboard with everything because he's not entirely sure what you exactly need. Ex. 4-5 blankets or more than enough electric fans

Found frozen foods and used them in replace of ice packs once.

"I'm gonna find who stole them all because I am disgusted at myself right now!"

Uses his culinary skills as an advantage. Is it 3 star Michelin course shit? Indeed it is.

"I present to you my Ganache hot chocolate~"

He absolutely loves physical touch so keep that in mind. You'll have to pry him off you if you get hot though.

Donnie has to teach him how the thermostat works (it's not hard, he's just never used it before).

If you're ever under a blanket he'll try jumping on you.

(Sorry Mikey's is short I'm pulling all my brain cells trying to think of any possible ways)

——————————————————

I tried. I really tried.

Also, I don't ever want to call Mikey "Mikey" ever again. He's "Mikey Wazowski" now.

- Celina

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

I'm really glad to ask some (a lot, lol) question~ 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12 for Es 2, 5, 11, 12, 14 for Amane and 3, 5, 6, 19, 20, 21 for Kazui ❤

Yay questions!

CW Cults and indoctrination, child abuse, internalized homophobia

Es

1- Favorite song lyrics?

They don't have a lot to pick from, huh? But from Undercover, it's probably:

The fine line between "Hate" and "OK" Shouldn't you look beyond your EGO, before it all ends?

The first line, to me, really encapsulates how black and white the judgement system in Milgram is, and thus how horrendously inefficient it is. There's very little we can actually do to convey nuance in our voting, it really is a choice of just "you're perfectly okay and have done nothing wrong" or "we hate you and think there is no way you could ever be Forgiven", with only the 50% voting line separating the extremes. Sure, we can try to communicate with the voices in their head, but that's highly unreliable and unpredictable, so in practice "hate or ok" are really our only options. And Es' by extension.

Then the other line, asking to look beyond our own experiences to understand people with lives extremely different from our own, and how we have to do it fast because we don't exactly get unlimited time to come to our conclusions.

Though of course, this isn't just about us. Es is the one singing to themself in a way, and seeing how these things are phrased, it really helps show that despite how Es always act in control and on top of things, they still have their doubts and worry about how their judgement can affect the prisoners.

There's also Hibana, and for Es (and in general) my favorite lyric there is:

I don’t want to love a weak-minded love Come on, make it hurt more properly Going so far it’s no longer funny, is surely much more enjoyable come on, melt me more properly

Going by my personal interpretation of what the hell is going on in this cover, this line really ties together the meaning of Es wanting to make decisions with confidence, when it actually gives them extreme anxiety. Which, I do realize makes no sense when you look at the line by itself but I swear it works in the context of the wider interpretation.

2- Favorite MV moment/frame?

They have like three scenes what am I even supposed to say. Anyways it's probably this one.

It's definitely the most intriguing thing related to Es themselves in my opinion, only really challenged by the time they show up after all the smiles. The reason I'm not using that one is that it's difficult to tell whether or not it actually is Es even though contextually it's the only thing that makes sense.

Anyways about this spotlight scene. I like that Es isn't wearing all their uniform; they're missing the cape, the hat, the 'reciffO nosirP' (Prison Officer) and 'tse mudnatibud subinmo eD' ("Everything must be doubted" in Latin) band things... The point is to show that there is a person under all that, Es is not just the Warden. It's still a heavy part of their person, as they're still wearing most of the outfit, the gloves, and the keychain thing, but it's not all they are. Plus the spotlight and their expression, because again, as much as Es tries to confidently judge others, they themselves can get nervous when confronted, when there's a 'spotlight' placed on them.

Anyways I like it :D

3- Favorite non-MV official illustration?

This question made me realize I really don't know how many non-MV illustrations there are lol. Anyways here's the Tumblr compressed version of the third anniversary artwork.

I just love how this looks, and there's two Es'! That's double the fun! Plus them literally trying to grab at the prisoners' minds like grabbing at sand; it always falls off, Es literally cannot grasp what's going on in all their lives. Love it.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

You'd think it would be difficult to pick considering the guy shows up in literally all the VDs.

It isn't.

[Of Blessedness and Punishment] Amane: You're a child, too! Es: Wrong. I'm fifteen, so I'm an adult in Puerto Rico and Haiti. You're twelve, so you're a child no matter the country. Amane: ...!! Es: Hehe. You look angry. Amane: I don't. Es: You do. Amane: I don't!!

The siblings ever. The fact Es completely made up the fact is even funnier.

For something more serious:

[TASK] Es: What is this shit about being a companion? I exist to judge your sins - as a guard! I don't have the need to shake hands with you!  Kotoko: Es? You don't see yourself as the executioner, right? Es: ...!? Kotoko: I've said it before, there are a lot of sinners which the law cannot punish. On the reverse, it is the same, there are also innocent people who are wrongly accused due to unsound laws. You also have the duty to forgive these people, no? Es: Haaah… Kotoko: You are not the executioner who convicts people for their sin. The person who offers to save the murderers who deserve to be forgiven.. It's also you. Es: Aaah.. Mm.. *shallow gasping* Kotoko: Come, Es… then, listen to my sin… Es: *gasp* Prisoner number 10.. Kotoko.. Come..! Sing… your… sins… *sob*

Es angst inject that shit in my soul-

[Imposter Boulevard] Es: It’s a personal dislike of mine. People who act based on their sexual urges like that, that is. Kazui: It’s personal? Es: Yeah. That’s right. Kazui: That’s strange. I did think that, despite being neutral as a Warden, you had some things you dislike, but… Es: … Kazui: Isn’t it unusual to openly reveal a personal dislike as a personal dislike? Es: You’re splitting hairs.

In case it's not obvious, I love when the mask slips a bit and we can tell Es as a person is more than just an extension of the audience. Look! They have personal dislikes! And of course it's Kazui who gets to see a bit of the "real" Es surfacing, because who the hell else would it be?

There's way more of course, but I have to limit myself a bit.

6- Favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

Amane. Again, the siblings ever.

More seriously, it's not just that I love their interactions when they're fucking around, I also love all the parallels and the ideological clashes. The undying devotion to an extremely harmful system. The view of themselves as an extension of a group rather than as an individual ("we? what's we?"). The way they both hate being seen as children, forced to grow up too fast. The way they both try to convince themselves they're happy with their life and condition, to the point it's almost convincing, until you look closer and see the cracks. How Amane hates Es because of what they've done to her, because they're the same as her abusers in her eyes. How Es goes dead silent when Amane brings up their similarities, when usually they'd lash out at the mere idea of the Warden being like a prisoner, because they understand to an extent. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

I also love Es' dynamics with most of the prisoners, but Amane is something else.

7- Favorite relationships with another character if they weren't in Milgram, the way you'd imagine or would like them to be?

Honestly, this one's kinda hard because so much of Es' character is directly linked to Milgram. Imagining them outside the Panopticon in general is sorta difficult.

I think they and Amane could still be besties, but other than that, maybe Yuno? I think she wouldn't feel the need to put up a front next to the "I hate everyone anyways" vibe Es gives off, so they'd be judgmental buddies! Just imagine them doing each other's makeup while shit-talking everyone they can think of. Maybe throw Muu in for extra shit and giggles.

12- What do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

I mean, literally anything? Es isn't discussed very often, which I guess makes sense, but it's unfortunate. More specifically, I wish people discussed the more concrete things we know about their personality a bit more. There's plenty of posts speculating on what is going on with them; where they came from, whether or not they're related to the prisoners in some way, what is their connection with the eleventh cell, that kind of stuff. And that's all very fun, I love those posts! But I have never seen an Es character analysis the same way I've seen analyses for practically all other characters (<- also hasn't written a proper analysis of them beyond the Hibana cover post). Still, I do understand why people don't, there's a lot of interesting characters in Milgram!

Amane

2- Favorite MV moment/frame?

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child what do you mean. I love her MVs too much why would you do this to me.

Anyways here's my favorite child moment.

Look at her!!! She's going to fucking destroy her mother let's go girlie fucking kill!

I just love how happy she looks here. Plus the eyes, the eyes. This entire part of the MV is great, it just makes me happy to see Amane happy you know what I mean? Plus the whole rainbow and rain and umbrella symbolism, and the fiction bleeding into reality (the eyes!), it's all awesome. I love her so much, she should smile like this when she stabs Shidou in the stomach I think he'd understand.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

I could be cheap and tell you it's the same as Es', but it's really not.

[Apostle and Death] Amane: Okay! I’m kind, so I shall forgive you. That’s nice, isn’t it? If my parents were in my place, you would have been lectured for another hour. [...] Amane: ...isn’t it condescending of you to assume that just because I happen to be a child, I am incapable of hating someone enough to kill them?

Amane Freudian slipping into admitting she fucking despised her mother will never not be extremely entertaining to me. Yes, talk about how much you fucking hate her, kill girl kill!

[Of Blessedness and Punishment] Amane: You fool. Isn't MILGRAM trying to enforce a new standard of judgment precisely because laws cannot guide this world onto the right path? Are you still being weighed down by the law? [...] Amane: "We"? What's "we"? Are you not just "I"? Es: ... I...? Amane: Aren't we the same? Me and Guard-san.

PARALLELS

Also when she attacked Es with scissors. I think Milgram should have allowed it, it would have been funny if the Warden just fucking died before Trial 2 ended.

11- What are your favorite points about their story and the narrative surrounding them?

What aren't my favorite points of her narrative? Again asking me to pick a favorite child here.

If I had to pick one, probably the way the line between her cult's beliefs, Amane's interpretation of her cult's beliefs, and Amane's own desires blurs to a point it's really hard to figure out what she's actually thinking at any given time. Especially because of how Amane views all these things. Her cult is unquestionable but also she subconciously hates a lot of its aspects and twists its beliefs to justify her actions to herself. Her desires are sinful and animalistic (Animal cover and cat parallels go brrrrrr), but she still wants to follow them so so badly. Ugh, internal conflict my beloved.

And also I love how desperate she is to endure everything that's happened to her. Her unrelenting will to survive and go against the people who hurt her, the way she's still glad to have been born, the way she still tries so hard to be happy and make others around her happy. Holy shit this kid is the strongest (in terms of willpower) character in Milgram and no one can tell me otherwise, it's so unfair she has to be that way it makes me immensely sad augh-

And also I love how angry she gets occasionally. How spiteful and rage filled she can be. I will never get tired of seeing Amane in pure, unfiltered fury. Yes, girl, stab Es with scissors, kill your mom, stab Shidou, do it!

And also (could keep going for several thousand words)

12- What do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

I think Amane is discussed pretty well here on Tumblr, much as I've heard horror stories about what the Discourse looks like in other sites. But if there's one thing I wish more people brought up is how despite everything, Amane is motivated by the desire to make everyone happy. Positive Parade cover go brr.

Especially in things like the Fuuta situation. I feel like some people see it as just her trying to recruit for her cult or something, when really she's just trying to help him. Same with warning Mahiru against medicine to "save her soul" in a way. Healing the cat. Becoming the "perfect girl", the March Leader with the cloud ribbon, to make her abusers happy. Trying to make the best of the situation by attempting to turn Milgram into an ideal world. Trying to stay happy because that's the one thing she's worked towards her entire life.

In fact, I personally believe this is why Yuuri is depicted in Magic as maybe "kinder" than the others (might make a post about that at some point). Its ordainment is "Thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in", as in, "help those you believe deserve it." This is the one ordainment which is actually kinda in line with Amane's desires, so she imagines Yuuri as less angry at her and more compassionate than the others.

My point is that a lot of the time I feel her actions are talked about as either just motivated by her cult or just motivated by Amane's """sinful""" desires, be it her anger at her abusers or her cravings like wanting to eat cake, when really I think the happiness thing is the main motivator behind those things and it's not quite talked about as much. Does that make sense?

14- Any headcanons on their appearance?

Huh, I usually don't have many headcanons on appearance, but I can try.

I think my favorite is Amane having really sharp fangs. Like, talking anime style unrealistically sharp fangs that make her a terrifying hisser. Cat Amane my beloved.

...

Also she has small (say, 0,5 cm diameter), red circular scars all over her back. Stun gun injuries (no picture on the link) basically. Listen things with Amane can't stay very wholesome for very long-

Kazui

3- Favorite non-mv official illustration?

Uh... Maybe his door?

(That's kinda small lol)

It looks nice as it is, plus it has some nice symbolism as does every door image. I just think it's neat.

5- Favorite voice drama line/moment?

[Imposter Boulevard] Kazui: I despise myself for lying, too. Being a liar, you see – it’s painful. Es: Heh. Then just– Kazui: So I’ve tried to change! I’ve tried to change. I have tried to stop lying to myself and others! Es: … Kazui: I’ve confided in others. I’ve tried to be myself! I’ve tried to just be the way I was born! Es: …Hey, Kazui– Kazui: It’s not my lies that killed her. She’s dead because I stopped lying to her! If I had just kept lying- She wouldn’t have died…! Es: Kazui… Kazui: I can’t live unless I lie. That’s how I was born… I’m pathetic, aren’t I?

I mean, come on. It's the basis of his character and crime, and the voice acting is fucking insane in this section. Apart from how emotional it is, I also like that it still ends in the same somewhat performative self-loathing Es calls him out for in the first VD.

[Gouging in the Night] Es: Showing a hint of weakness and trying to get on my good side like that… Is that another one of your "adult techniques"? [...] Is there anyone who lets themselves get fooled by a specifically prepared "weak" side of yourself? I see, I see… So these are the kinds of skills that you gain when you've lived for a long time.

Gotta love it when a character regrets something bad enough not to be able to forgive himself for it, but he's so afraid of facing consequences and social reprimand because he's built his entire worth around others' opinions that he still heavily plays up the self-loathing to be pitied.

Timelines [23/9/2] Yuno: Haha, we both lie, don't we? The difference is the reason for lying. Kazui-san, you lie to protect yourself, because you're important to yourself. For me, no one is particularly important. That includes myself as well.

Unlike Yuno, who explicitly doesn't want to be pitied. Love these two.

I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but that's what I get from the whole mess.

6- Favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

I love his interactions with Yuno, of course, the Liar Duo. Yuno is such a little bitch to him all the time, I adore it. However, I also love his dynamic with Es, if they count for this question. Kazui's VDs are great.

But honestly Kazui has a lot of good options here. The smoking group with Shidou and Mikoto is fun, his interactions with Mahiru and Amane are also always nice, etc.

19- What do you think their childhood/teenage years were like?

Extremely closeted homosexual, of course. Probably tried to """compensate""" in some way by acting as traditionally masculine as possible, I imagine he was quite the dudebro. With how much emphasis his parents seem to have put on his strength and tradition, I get the feeling he may have been a somewhat stereotypical jock.

That's why I think he may have done a lot of really stupid shit as a teenager and tries to distance himself from them now, which is why he puts so much emphasis on his age despite being less than forty years old. He feels like a completely different person than who he was as a teen, and while he was always self-concious about a lot of shit, he's maybe especially self-concious of the shit he did when he was younger.

Don't take any of that very seriously, though. All of that is practically headcanon vaguely guided by the text!

20- What do you think their social life was like before milgram?

Going off the previous idea, I imagine he only kept a few connections from his teenage years, which is why the one childhood friend he brings up is so notable to him. It's the only one who Kazui really wanted to stick around.

There's obviously Hinako and Kazui's other coworkers, fellow policepeople. The way I interpret the bar scenes in half is Kazui meeting with friends, the bartender being the childhood friend and the woman being someone he met as an adult.

Other than that, I imagine he was pretty closed off and didn't talk to many other people. He seems like the type to enjoy a mostly closed off friend group, but I don't really have anything to support that claim other than vibes alone so.

21- Do you have any similarities with them/relate to something in them?

Uh... I guess personality-wise we're not too different. In real life, I'm quiet and reserved, don't express much emotion, mostly have a "well this is happening now I guess. We vibe though" attitude to most of what goes down in my life, and don't like talking about myself much which yes is making this question sorta difficult.

Thanks for all the questions! This took a while lol.

[syntia13treeman]

Case files 10.02

what I think happened in:

Case 10.02, the case of "The Trapdoor Opens" or "Releasing ancient evil – a guide."

One might say it's cheating, making a file for an event that technically isn't a case yet, in that it hasn't been noticed and recorded by OIAR. (Yet). Buuuuuuut… I don't care. :)

So. What we know: Nearly 25 years ago, in December 1999, a paranormal research facility in Manchester, Magnus Institute, burned to the ground. Reportedly, there were no survivors.

However, this might not have been true. Let's put a pin in it for the moment.

On a dark and rainy night on 09th of March 2024, two OIAR employees (on their own time) entered the ruins and conducted a very soggy and inefficient search.

The instigator of the expedition, Samama Khalid, as a child was part of some (rather shady) program for gifted children conducted here. His hazy-yet-unsettling memories of the place had resurfaced recently, and he was determined to find some answers. The resident voice of reason, Alice Dyer, assisted him by way of holding the umbrella and trying to talk him out of the whole thing.

Before she succeeded, the following things happened:

Sam found a mystery key among the debris.

Sam successfully (eventually) broke through the door to an old office (probably owned by someone named Archibald. Ha ha.)

Sam was not careful enough walking around the rotten floor, and part of it collapsed under him.

Sam did not fall into the hole, thanks to quick reflexes of Alice, who pulled him back.

Sam did, however, drop the hard-won key into the newly created hole.

Sam gave up, and agreed to leave.

And now we return to our pin. Because down below the rotten floor of the office, something did survive. It heard the key falling down. It managed to find it, and fumbled in the darkness to fit it in the lock. It unlocked the padlock. It opened a trapdoor. It breathed free air for the first time in decades.

After 25 years of imprisonment, the Ę̴̊̆R̶̗̟̝̒͛̈́̍R̵̛̯͍̠̗Ö̴̮̤́́R̴̞͍̲̞̐̓́͠ͅ ̸̡̫̣̟̏̊̇̍͜ ψ walks free.

Unnoticed by all, a lonely tape-recorder hidden somewhere in the office keeps spinning its tape.

Thus concludes the thrilling Saturday Night adventure.

I... Have Questions. Not many, but pressing ones.

The most pressing one is WHY did you crazy kids go to explore literal crumbling ruins at night? Urbexers do it for 'vibes' and 'clout' (and they don't always come back with the same number of eyes they went in with), but why would you? What made you think it was a good idea to look for clues in the feeble light of torches? Why? Just… WHY? (And why a work night? Did you take a day a night off? Are you exploring on company time? Couldn't you wait till Sunday morning?)

Another good one: does Alice really believe this is a dead end (haha) and can't be bothered with it, or is she dragging Sam away because she knows something's there, and doesn't want her baby shrimp anywhere near it?

And finally – what did they just unleash on the world? My first thought was "one of those gifted kids did not make it back home," and that's as far as I'm willing to let that thought go for the moment. Another one was: "what magical monstrosity did they create in the Artefact Research"? And another: "holy shit, it's been 25 years. How sane is ERROR after all that time (assuming it was sane to begin with)? (I know there are clues on RQ's backstage page, where the casting calls dwell, but going there feels like cheating, so I won't. Today).

[mariana-oconnor]

The Empty House pt 2

Last time on Letters from Watson: a gambler was shot in a locked room, a detective rose from the dead and brandy once more proved itself the true panacea.

This time, we are eagerly awaiting the explanation for Holmes' miraculous reappearance.

"He drew no weapon, but he rushed at me and threw his long arms around me."

So romantic.

"We tottered together upon the brink of the fall."

Look... tottered is not an ominous word. It just isn't. It brings to mind small children, the elderly, and drunk people. 'Tottered' is an amusing word. It amuses me. Usually these descriptions are very visceral and dramatic and moving, but the word 'tottered' just throws me right out.

"I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me."

Or maybe you're referring to bartitsu? Which is an 'actual' martial art. Or... at the very least the British approximation at one.

I always thought this was made up, honestly, until not very long ago when I learnt there was an actual thing made up for English gentlemen. the pictures are very silly.

"With my face over the brink I saw him fall for a long way. Then he struck a rock, bounded off, and splashed into the water.”

"So rapidly does the brain act that I believe I had thought this all out before Professor Moriarty had reached the bottom of the Reichenbach Fall."

I see being dead did nothing for your ego, Holmes. It has survived completely intact.

"I might, it is true, have reversed my boots, as I have done on similar occasions"

I want to know how this works. Feet are very much... feet shaped. Ankles are definitively at one end of the foot. Boots are designed with this in mind. How does one put on a pair of boots backwards. Walking backwards, I can see, but putting your shoes on so the toe is at the heel? Maybe if you're wearing ballet pumps or something like that with a very wide opening. But walking boots?

How?

"There I was stretched when you, my dear Watson, and all your following were investigating in the most sympathetic and inefficient manner the circumstances of my death. “At last, when you had all formed your inevitable and totally erroneous conclusions, you departed for the hotel and I was left alone."

Not even death can prevent Holmes from throwing shade at other investigators. 'inefficient'? "Erroneous" They're coming to the conclusions you arranged for them to come to.

"I took to my heels, did ten miles over the mountains in the darkness...,"

Don't try this at home, kids.

No really... do not attempt to make a ten mile trek over the alps in the dark. Just don't. Mountain rescue will not thank you.

"As to Mycroft, I had to confide in him in order to obtain the money which I needed."

You mean with your prodigious skills and intellect you couldn't work out any other way to make money. Like... get a job? Also, literally the first thing everyone knows about faking your own death is that you don't contact anyone from your old life. It's rule number one. Don't do it. This is basic stuff, Holmes. I expected better of you.

Always nice to get a Mycroft reference, though.

Florence, Tibet, Persia, Khartoum, Montpelier, Holmes really was out there doing the world tour on his family money while Watson thought he was dead. Classic. It's like canoe man all over again.

"I came over at once to London, called in my own person at Baker Street, threw Mrs. Hudson into violent hysterics, and found that Mycroft had preserved my rooms and my papers exactly as they had always been."

Let me get this straight.

You're in contact with your brother the whole time, who is sending you money

You do high profile things that are relevant to your previous interests (visiting the Dalai Lama/exploration under the name of Sigerson/short but interesting visit to the Khalifa of Khartoum that the foreign office needs to know about/scientific research in Montpelier)

The first thing you do when you're back in the country is go to your former residence with no disguise and reveal your not-dead status to your landlady (poor Mrs Hudson does not deserve this).

There is no way anyone other than Watson thinks you're dead at this point. You have literally checked every box of the 'How Not to Survive Witness Protection' checklist. Congratulations, Holmes. You are bad at being dead. Just casually putting up posters everywhere you go that say 'Sherlock Holmes woz ere'.

I don't know how he survived three years, smh.

Also, the fact that he had already thrown Mrs Hudson into 'violent hysterics' and then went and made Watson faint makes that whole thing worse. I get that it's at least in part misogyny, but did you really need to repeat that experiment, Holmes?

In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was shown in his manner rather than in his words.

RIP Mary Watson (nee Morstan), we hardly knew you. And honestly, neither did your husband.

I observed that as he stepped out he gave a most searching glance to right and left, and at every subsequent street corner he took the utmost pains to assure that he was not followed.

You literally went to Baker Street, Holmes. This is too little, too late. The horse has already bolted, stop locking the doors. I do know that this is all part of your master plan, but given that you were stupid about secrecy the entire time you were away, it's difficult to tell where you started laying a trap and when you were just being dumb.

As my eyes fell upon it I gave a gasp and a cry of amazement. The blind was down and a strong light was burning in the room. The shadow of a man who was seated in a chair within was thrown in hard, black outline upon the luminous screen of the window.

“The credit of the execution is due to Monsieur Oscar Meunier, of Grenoble, who spent some days in doing the moulding. It is a bust in wax.”

Sherlock Holmes here to remind you to always credit the original artist.

"You must remember that they knew, and only they knew, that I was still alive."

And yet they somehow did not keep track of Mycroft sending money overseas? I get that the Holmes boys are geniuses, but still. As previously mentioned, Holmes has not been subtle here. The bad guys are bad at their jobs. Shame on them. Shame on their cows.

"But I cared a great deal for the much more formidable person who was behind him, the bosom friend of Moriarty, the man who dropped the rocks over the cliff, the most cunning and dangerous criminal in London."

Who knew you were alive, but still somehow couldn't put together the myriad clues you were joyously dropping all over the planet for him. Full offence, but he's not that cunning.

"That is the man who is after me to-night, Watson, and that is the man who is quite unaware that we are after him.”

Anybody have a kernel of suspicion about who that might be?

[justatalkingface]

Bonding Over Burns

You know, like you do when your part of the Endeavour Family.

You remember when the relevant Todoroki was Shoto? Good times, good times.

I've talked on and off about Endeavour, and how soft the story has gone of him, and to a lesser extent Dabi, and how things should be harder on him as well, if for different reasons, but I just want to talk... broadly a bit. This is going to get a bit rambly, and mostly focus on the clusterfuck of the latest chapter.

Hmm. Let's start here: I actually like Dabi. He's insane, and I wouldn't want to be in the same room with him in real life, but he's a fun character who can drive great plot. In all honesty, I want him to win, even now, and I'm not even guilty about it, because unlike Shigaraki, his goal is literally just, 'Fuck Endeavour', and that's something society could survive, and honestly should.

So, with the background of me being a long-time Dabi fan, I say this: this is shit. There's been so much Todoroki content recently, so much of it focused around Dabi, and yet this is what we get.

A lot of the discontent is around the Quirk Awakening, and while I have problems with the ice part of it, which I will get to in a sec, but the Awakening itself isn't a problem. Rather, with how the story is arranged now I don't see a problem with it, but in the first place I think he should have gotten it way back when when he lit himself on fire.

In any normal circumstance, there's no way Dabi should be alive. As the story is, that's being explained as AFO's interference... but that goes into the problem of AFO being everywhere, and everything, that Hori has been thrusting at us since Kamino. Making AFO the cause of every damn problem in the story is a problem in itself. So, how would he be alive now?

*jazz hands* Quirk Awakening.

Not ice, but something tailored to his situation, something that to solve the problem of, 'how in the ever loving fuck are you alive?', because even before he started cosplaying Skeletor Dabi was living with a level of burns that would have serious day to day life consequences, if he even managed to survive getting them. To be blunt, Frankenstein's Monster, which is made out of corpses, is better put together than Dabi's body is. If Dabi's Quirk is too strong for a human body, then give him something to let him survive it; advanced regeneration, the ability to just shrug off burns, being fueled by his fire, something.

You see, Quirk Awakening themselves are... acceptable, as a concept. They're something that makes sense in a manga like this, as a power up, and especially as the 'lore' of it has developed and it's become clear that Quirks themselves can change over time, even if the logic and science of the setting has become softer and softer as time passed. The fact that, as people have put it, Dabi awakening because of how Endeavour treated him 'proving him right' is kind of missing the point, because, well, he always was.

In the coldest, brutalist, most devoid of mercy or empathy kind of way, Endeavour has always been right about this. Quirk marriages are objectively horrible, but they're also the path to stronger Quirks. Like, hell, look at Bakugou. By the logic of the setting, Bakugou might as well be from a Quirk Marriage for how well it was set up for him, because he is the exact sort of multiplicative product Endeavour desired, but he happened by sheer dumb luck instead of primitive, inefficient, and cruel eugenics. We damn well know that his parents wouldn't have kept going for another child if his Quirk was just really slimy skin or something.

Dabi getting a Quirk Awakening doesn't prove shit about Endeavour's methods because Shoto already exists, the very product he desired. Hell, Dabi already unlocked super blue flames by pushing himself to limit, because again, while the mental, social, and ethical consequences of pushing someone to their limits and beyond are very valid, in a manga like this going beyond your limits is exactly how you get a power up, something we've seen time and time again in the story; Endeavour isn't making anything new, he's just tainting an already known phenomena with his abuse. It's not worth the price, but the result itself can happen under this kind of logic.

But, do you know what the first thing I thought was when Dabi started shooting ice?

How convenient it is, that it happens just in time to save Endeavour. Because that's what the ice is ultimately for: to protect Endeavour from the consequences of his actions because, without that, at the very least his arm would probably be gone by now. The ice literally appeared just in time to protect Endeavour from any career ending injuries. Dabi would die without being able to be redeemed. Endeavour himself would be dead, which is seeming more and more unlikely to happen at this point.

Making Rei 'important'? This HImura clan stuff? Please, don't insult me; it is dead obvious that all of that is nothing more than yet another last minute justification to push what narrative Hori wants to tell against the actual story he's made.

How is anyone alive now, when Dabi is literally a giant bomb radiating lethal amounts of heat? Rei is randomly strong enough to counter that, an actual suicide attack with smidgen more of Dabi's ice being used against him to help everyone else at his expense.

Actually, let's talk about Rei: can we replace her without a cardboard cutout with the catchphrase of, 'Endeavour isn't that bad!' yet? Because this isn't a character with agency. This isn't even a proper character. She has never been, on screen, shown with any real agency as a human being. Actually, let me put it like this: do you know when she was shown with the most respect as a human being, as a person with her own will and desires?

When she was burning Shoto. That is how badly her inclusion in this manga is; Rei's best showing is her having a psychotic break.

Sweet burning fuck that is pathetic.

Let's be blunt here: does Rei have any culpability? Technically, yes. Realistically? Honestly? Fuck no. Rei is a broken woman who was sold to Endeavour. He spent his entire marriage growing more aggressive, more dominating, to the point where the only time she did something of her own free will, without the approval of Endeavour, is have a psychotic break. He was the one with power in the relationship, who made the choices, who made the Todorokis into this. And, just to be clear? He did, in fact, hit her.

The lion share of blame for Dabi is with Endeavour, followed by Dabi himself. Rei's share is fucking miniscule. And yet she has to run into the death fire to apologize to the mad, suicidal terrorist for everything.

Meanwhile, why is everyone else here? Why is Natsuo and Fuyumi here? Why are they, the people who were literal children at the time, feeling guilty? Their father had all the power, all the control, wh fuck could they do then? Or even now! They're even weaker than Rei, and Rei needs a pointless, out of nowhere power up just to survive. They should be dead long before the point they could even have this conversation. Actually, could we even have a real talk if they want their 'big brother' back, instead of it just being assumed that of course they want their crazy, murderous relative back, who they were seperated from as different, inferior, in childhood, who didn't know how to interact with them, and who they grew up without their entire lives? Them ultimately settling on wanting him back is fine, in theory, but it shouldn't be this assumed thing, they should be conflicted over this, and have had long talks about, in the same way they should have about Endeavour himself.

Hell, from the other end, why does Dabi care? Why is he going, 'Fuyumi-chan'? They were never more important than him than his ambition to live up to his father's dream, it was all that he lived for. There's every indication he's left all that behind for his hate; let him. Let Dabi be evil, let him be unredeemed!

But that's the thing: it's not about Dabi, and what he should think. It's not about Natsui, or Fuyumi, and what they should think, and we damn well know it's not about Rei, because nothing is ever about her. It's still about Endeavour. All of this, all of this, is still about god damn Endeavour.

Dabi being an actually unforgivable person makes Endeavour look bad. If Dabi dies, gloriously filled with his incandescent hatred, it means that Endeavor can never 'fix' what was done to him, he can never be redeemed from his crime, his apology can never be accepted. This is, of course, exactly the reason why Dabi is trying to do it at all, to rob Endeavour of the peace that could give him, and why Hori won't allow him to do it, to let him succeeding in taking that away from his father.

Everyone being here to claim responsibility for making Dabi who he is? Is taking that much blame away from Endeavour, lightening the guilt he bears. Even if they're logically wrong, when the whole family is there, working together to 'fix' things, it gives the impression that they 'broke' it together, and thus Endeavour's sins are lessened in the eyes of the viewers.

All of this, all of them; Shoto, Dabi, Fuyumi, Natsu and Rei, all of them exist for one thing only at this point: to tell the story of the great and glorious Endeavour. His rise to success, his overcoming of the odds, his wonderful redemption story. Everything they do is to prop up the man who abused every single one of them, and it's sickening.

[orchidrene]

What's next for you in love for you?

꒰🌸 welcome to orchidrene's cottage”♡ᵎ꒱ˀˀ ↷ ⋯

✎ ☕ . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ please check out my paid readings (1) and paid readings (2) if you liked this reading and contact me if you wish to purchase one or donate. You can send me custom paid requests too! Also, every reblog is appreciated. Thank you for reading :)˖♡ ˎˊ˗ ꒰ 🥀 ꒱

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3

✁・・・

Pile 1

Maybe you're still pretty young or inexperienced when it comes to relationships? I'm picking up on a very naive energy here. I feel like you're open to new ideas right now. You might be a particularly optimistic person too (you might not even know it yourself.) I feel like you're someone extremely forgiving and easy going. Right now, you might have a tendency of rushing into things though. You youthfully idealize and romanticize your life, I'm getting a child-like energy here, I'm not calling you child-like, you just seem to have an energy where you don't hold grudges, dream big and you know how kids believe that everything is possible and anything can happen at any moment, that's how you tend to think too. If you're not like this, pick a different pile please. You might have a hard time making decisions though, I feel like in the past you might have ignored a lot of decisions that you should have made, I feel like you could've chosen between two people or whether or not to date one person and you didn't make a choice or that's what will be happening to you soon, you'll be paralyzed by indecision. I'm getting you might be very young again, you're definitely very inexperienced though, you might get really attached to people, not know how to create healthy boundaries and you might also be co-dependent. To be able to form a healthy relationship, you'll have to form a sense of self sufficiency and sustenance. You'll be spending a lot of money on this person who comes into your life. Your temptations will win over your judgement and you might have a hard time with finances. I feel like even though you do want a relationship, you aren't exactly willing to work about it, you might have an idea about love being something that comes to someone by luck or you won't be able to change things in your daily routine to adjust for the relationship, whoever this person is, you'll have a very restrictive approach to them, you won't trust them but I feel like you'll have already rushed into dating them or maybe you live with parents or guardians who don't allow you to go out often and don't allow you to use gadgets very often either, so communication will be ineffective. You'll be really restless and inefficient, even though you won't trust them, you'll feel like they see through you and love you for who you are. I'm getting you both craving for one other in a mental and emotional way. They'll see you to be a very rigid perfectionist 💀. I'm getting you being a mentor and trying to take care of your person but your own emotions might be unbalanced. I feel like you will have a weird and uncharacteristic way of showing affection to them, might be arguing with them and bossing them around. I feel like you'll be having a really painful seperation with them, for some of you they'll literally make you fall in love with them through the phone. They might be a libra moon or rising or have a lot of libra/pisces placements. You both might not have met a lot (or not at all) but when the both of you seperate, it's going to be really hard for you. You'll be thinking that you should have let your guard down, you didn't do enough and took them for granted. I'm getting you feeling betrayed. Maybe all of this already happened though 💀. Too many energies here. I feel like things ending with this person is a blessing in disguise. New chances will be arriving for you, for most of you, even when you move on, you'll be clinging onto this relationship for a long time, might be years or even decades. You'll be missing not only them but also how innocent, pure and bright you used to be until this person came along. This person was probably the first and only person who ever took your emotions seriously, they made you feel understood and cared about.

I feel like you always tried to be the best that you could to people and they still put you off to be either extremely rude or extremely naive but you were still a very forgiving and big hearted person, you forgave people for things very easily which made them think of you to be cold hearted, like I'm not sure how to put it, you weren't even rude, you just came off cold hearted because you didn't take things to your heart and chose to forgive people but you still roast your friends once in a while and since you have that cold hearted image, they see you to be rude and some other people see you to be naive because of your forgiving nature. You might have a resting bitch face too. Some of you might be cancer suns, cancer midheavens, leo Venus or libra rising. Some of you might have gotten into a lot of relationships or people thought you got into relationships with everyone you ever talked to, so they see you to be a heartbreaker. I'm sensing you not feeling the same way you feel towards this person with anyone else. The relationship was very significant and intimately important to you. Other people will probably affect your connection a lot too. Some of you might have a 10th or 11th house Venus, people are always into who you are dating and want to know about what's going on in your life. This seperation and connection will completely change you, you'll be a lot more mature and not be as naive or pure anymore. You might even turn to be pretty money minded and femme fatale-ish. If this has already happened, this person will contact you for some reason.

Pile 2

I feel like this this pile is out of sync with their own surroundings, you might be disconnected from people in your life, you might barely talk to anyone. I feel like you should focus more on your interpersonal connections. I feel like you wish to be alone most of the times these days. You might feel like your life is boring or that it sucks and wish for things to completely change. You might need to learn how to communicate properly and have a lot of mental energy, in order to form a healthy relationship. I feel like the person coming towards you and you will desperately want action but either the action doesn't take place or is all over the place. I feel like you're pretty open to love, might be inexperienced too. You might be longing for a heart to heart connection right now. Something I can assure you is that it's someone new. I feel like you'll just be making decisions regarding this relationship with the opinions of other people, you'll completely lack personal insight and I think it's mostly because you seem to be very detached from life in general. You might trust them too much, something sexually intimate might happen too. I think you'll suddenly start socializing a lot. I'm not sensing the purest energy, for some of you, they might want to sexually or socially use you. Not to scare you but they might abuse your generosity, I'm getting them being an f-boy/f-girl. They will be displaying a false act of power and promise in front of you. I don't feel like you're the most naive person though, I feel like this person is someone who you find familiar, for a very selective few of you, you already know this person. Some of you will meet them when you go back home or in an easy Asian restaurant or event. You should be sure to choose a good thing over a good time. You might laze around a lot after this person enters or leaves your life because you'll be too distracted by them. Your person does find you very adorable. This might be a friends with benefits situation that never really develops too. I'm getting the male lead, Park Jae-eon from nevertheless as their energy. They will probably have the same effect on you as Jae-eon has on Nabi. I don't think this relationship is worth investing into unless you want a friends with benefits situation. This person might be manifesting you 💀. I feel like at some point you'll decisively (on impulse but-) cut them off and not look back.

Pile 3

I feel like you're the pile who's been hurt in the past. Right now, you might be really in your feelings but there will be a transition away from your grief soon, but with emotional baggage. There are memories and regrets but also a lot of hope. You might have been indecisive or had indecisive partners in the past. You'll be very openly curious due to your past mistakes or your past partners having frustrated the shit out of you. You'll need to be courageous, persistent and a little more straight forward in order to form a relationship. Right now, you're being tested, how powerful are you? How much longer can you stay resilient and persist in trying to stay positive? There will be two or three options for you when it comes to love, you'll probably meet them or have already met them in a social setting of some sort. You probably have to work with one or both of them. You don't want a fling relationship anymore and I feel like you might have prominent Earth placements. You'll be achieving stability by avoiding desire, you'll be acting responsibly, calculate everything and try to consider everyone's (including your own) emotions. Are you rich or good with money? I'm getting you not wanting to spend money 💀 you might spend one penny and overthink about how you risked your financial stability for temporary pleasure 😭. You'll make sure not to let your partners threaten your productivity because you will finally be productive after a long time. You'll be really confident at that time, you might end up entering a connection in a rush and regret it later or you'll enter the relationship in a rush but still not regret it, it'll help you to be in touch with your inner voice and understand what you want and need in a relationship regardless of whether or not you regret it. But you know, you haven't healed from the past, you'll be in denial of your feelings for someone from the past. On the outside, you'll be acting really different from how you are actually feeling. You'll be acting like you're fully over it. Your first option is going to be someone who works really hard to finish anything they do and finishing it well. They are a good team player. I feel like you'll be way more focused on your finances and ambitions at the time when you meet them or get romantically involved with them. They see you to be assertive and bold. They appreciate how focused you seem to be. You might communicate very well with them (regarding your goals.) I feel like you'll come off really organized and independent which makes them really admire you.

They see you as the 'queen of swords' who'll use the sword on anyone who comes between her and her goals (not in a negative manner ofcourse.) You'll meet them once you start seeing hope for a better life, they'll see you as their star which might cause them to idolize you a bit. If you choose them, they might break your heart, the seperation will be painful for them too, they'll leave you questioning everything, maybe this already happened and the person here is actually your ex partner and they might be coming in again. The second option is someone who will be taking time to heal. They'll have a calmer aura, they are the type to reflect, contemplate and regrow. This person will see through your 'I'm over the past' act. I feel like you'll be choosing this person since 'the lovers' came out. You'll have a very pure bond where you'll feel like they see right through you and it might make a uncomfortable. The fact that you have a lot of emotional baggage might be hindering the relationship. They'll help you gain clarity and connect with yourself. I feel like you'll be feeling like you're literally merging with this person. This person will help you explore and see parts of yourself that you never knew existed. You'll be exploring new ideas together. You might feel like you're in a whole different dimension when you're with them. They might pick up fights with you a lot though after you start dating, verbally I meant, they'll feel like you might betray them because of your past baggage. Somehow, things still manage to turn out fine in the end. You'll both be emotionally secure and calm after you manage to win their trust. Both of your compassion towards each other might have brought the both of you together. Both of you are very supportive of the other. You'll both act like teachers and mentors to each other. You will be neglecting your healing which will bring about issues again and again, please work towards your healing and the relationship will turn out really fruitful to the both of you.

[give-grian-rights]

Mika you are a Joe main, please expand on how to write him I'm begging (does he say "isn't" or "ain't" etc?? Is he more reserved or does he like to be the one talking in a crowd?? stuff like that) ((only if you want to ;;w;;)) - M

OK

i think he mostly says "ain't" but he DOES say isn't. i mean. the man's a poet and a writer and he writes songs. i think it depends mostly on the tone. he mostly will like, say "this is NOT the time to be messing around". generally speaking he is... very frazzled person. they'll do that thing that's like they're laughing but it sounds seconds away from turning into crying.

very eccentric for no reason. last i saw his latest streaming look irl is... chroma green classes. lime green fingerless fishnet gloves. his usual green tanktop (which will probably turn into a hoodie soon if it hasnt already) . and thats WITHOUT mentioning his props and Beetlejost just. very theater kid

he CAN take control of a situation but he usually avoids it. for example ! he single handedly saved Hermitcraft from only being one season. when GenerikB left and no one else really stepped up, Joe found the seed, organized the date, updated the server, invited Cleo because god damn it if he's doing this he's inviting a friend. and then once the ball got rolling he siad he wouldn't do it again and luckily did Not have to become head admin, though what a funny world it would be if he did.

related, when he still had admin powers, and i DONT know what season this was but i think after that he didn't let himself be given it anymore, he...accidentally cleared his entire inventory .

so he normally lets other people take control, you'll see him in a lot of the major events being kinda quiet and letting other people talk and only adding small comments and his off-handed jokes and references half the people dont react too and he's just . vibing

i havent been able to watch a stream in MONTHS and all his streams are mostly just..extended episodes. since he uses them to record his videos in, so its that and also fun behind the scenes song writing nad mishaps.

tldr

-vocabulary is situational. casual: ain't, isn't. stressed: is not.

-startles kinda easily and in the face of CRAZY STUFF or something bad happening, is VERY rarely angry. gamer rage does Not exist within him. his reaction is usually cry-laughing. throwback to that clip of him losing a BUNCH of diamonds in lava to a trap by Jevin, when he was trying to give those diamonds to Jevin. that was season 6 demise.

-roundabout explanations for why he's doing something the most inefficient way possible. (no diamonds season 7)

-taking things entirely literally in the most stubborn way possible. i cannot give you any good explanation just... watch a stream and watch him interact with chat for like half an hour and you'll understand. "why is your face in your hotbar?" "because anywhere else and it would be hard to see"/"why is your face on the screen" "where else would it go?" and then sometimes. when someone will ask a serious and legitimate question he'll still answer it in a sarcastic but matter-of-fact way that you cannot tell if he genuinely misunderstood or if it's a joke. again hard to give explanations