#we want to see more about far zenith

[theriainwonderland]

How to return to the Far Zenith base after the game ends - Horizon Fobidden West

[twopoppies]

Last week, the Black Keys, a band best known for soundtracking car commercials and occasionally fistfighting fellow Nashville resident Jack White, canceled the entire North American leg of a scheduled arena tour without explanation. Why would a band without a major hit in years think it can sell out arenas in tertiary markets? No one can be sure, but the touring business is in trouble, and part of the reason is ego.

Going on tour used to be a non-negotiable part of a life in music—a way to interact with fans, make money, and see the world. But nowadays, artists either want to play arenas or stadiums or do a residency, playing multiple nights in one city at the same venue, à la Harry Styles and Adele. Every week, another artist goes viral on Twitter for low ticket sales, with a screengrab of a Ticketmaster seat map awash in blue.

[…]

So, who do we blame? Is this the fault of corporate mega-promoters like LiveNation (which produced the Black Keys’ tour) booking artists into the biggest venues possible, then jacking the price of everything from tickets to parking to concessions, all regardless of what the market will bear, while tightening their grip on the marketplace to the point that the Department of Justice is preparing to sue them in federal court for antitrust violations? Is it agents and managers gassing up the artist? Is it just the artist's desire to sell out these giant venues? Maybe all of the above.

If you’re going out on the road and you’re big enough to even consider booking an arena show, why not do three nights in a prestigious venue like Radio City Music Hall or the Beacon Theatre instead? It provides fans with a more intimate experience, and every night will feel full. The Black Keys eventually released a statement. They didn’t blame anyone. They didn’t whine about how hard touring is. They just said they were recalibrating after a successful European run playing venues like Brixton Academy in London and the Zenith in Paris. It was the right approach. We all know it was ticket sales, but no artist should be ashamed of taking your lumps, switching things up, and selling tickets.

Big streaming numbers look great online but don’t necessarily translate to ticket sales. A touring business has to be built, returning to the same cities every year. A career cannot rely solely on the algorithm. Being great live will get people through the door and keep them coming back. These offline collective experiences are few and far between these days; buying tickets and going to shows is essential and valuable. They just don’t all need to be in arenas.

Full article here

[cheddarchandelure]

Zenith Martlet might be my favorite video game boss but the fight is still absolutely devastating! Let me explain.

Throughout the pacifist route of Undertale Yellow (and neutral) Clover and Martlet form a very special bond, a bond with some maternal undertones. Hell, undertones is a stretch because at one point Martlet calls Clover her kiddo. So yeah, these bitches are found family and its great, I love them :). And while they may become separated at the end of the game, Martlet still cares very deeply for Clover.

Part of what makes their relationship bittersweet is how Clover is implied to have an unhappy homelife at best, and an abusive one at worst. Even before Flowey puts Clover on the alternative path, Clover wants to stay with Toriel. Its clear that Clover greatly desires a mother figure in their life, even before meeting Martlet. But once they do meet Martlet, she gets to act as their mother figure (and maybe also Ceroba but this ain't about her and even then the mother-child bond is stronger with Martlet and Clover) Even if for only a little bit, Clover finally gets a mother figure in their life.

And then we get to the genocide route. The once sweet Clover becomes corrupted by their twisted sense of """justice""" and seeks to eliminate all in their path. Not even Martlet can see the good in Clover. Her character arc about learning to trust and love a human despite Chujin's advice has gone the complete opposite direction. Now her arc is about Chujin's advice being Validated and seeking to stop the human threat. Clover has become so far gone that they are willing to pull a gun on Martlet, and Martlet's desire for humanity to be good has all but faded, and now she must put aside part of her good-natured self to stop Clover.

And thats whats so devastating, these two people who should have loved eachother, and been what the other needed, now want eachother dead. And to me, that is fucking heartbreaking.

Oh you thought I was done? Nope! I have one more thing about the Zenith fight I wanna point out, because from a story perspective, Martlet should have won.

Think about it, up to this point, the genocide route has been a story about evil prevailing. Clover has gone on an absolutel rampage, murdering innocent monsters left and right. But in the darkest hour the hero of the story, Martlet, gains incredible power to defeat the villian once and for all, to have good triumph over evil! A classic trope.

But thats not what happens, because this isn't a story about good triumphing over evil. The whole point of the genocide route is having Clover finally break free from fate but at the cost of literally everyone else and canon itself. The genocide route is a story of evil triumphing over good and plunging monsterkind into despair. So to have Martlet undergo a heroic transformation, to become the zenith of monsterkind, and still lose after everything all because this is isn't a story about heroes winning fucking devastates me.

I'm not sure if I managed to get my thoughts out in a intelligible manner but I hope you enjoyed my ramblings nonetheless, and who knows, maybe I helped you appreciate Zenith Martlet (and Martlet in general) some more!

[wordsandrobots]

Since you’re THE biggest IBO understander, I’ve wanted to get your input on something that’s been circulating in my mind for a while.

What do you think was Tekkadan’s biggest flaw that led to their downfall?

Heh, well, first off, I can't claim the definite article. Prolific output does not equal authority. But I can certainly try to give you both my understanding of what the text is aiming for and my opinions about the final result.

I have seen Orga Itsuka's biggest flaw termed a 'lack of conviction', although I would argue it's fairer to call it confusion over how to enact his convictions. Because Orga absolutely believes from the bottom of his heart that the most important thing in the world is to create a future for his friends. He just doesn't know how to do that, long-term. He's a tactical thinker, reacting to what's in front of him rather than taking a bigger-picture view. And he's willing to risk everything, including the lives he's trying to protect, to get immediate results. This works well for short-term victories but tends towards blind recklessness. Moreover, since Orga has not actually established for himself what a good future for everyone should look like, he latches on to other people's versions of it. First the CGS, then Naze, and finally, fatally, McGillis. For all his own intense charisma, he falls hard for that of others, and misjudges badly as a result.

This would be bad enough in isolation, but it's combined with Tekkadan's generalised 'all or nothing' attitude to truly terrible effect. I touched on this in the context of Mika and Orga's relationship in a previous essay: the rest of Tekkadan are behind Orga 110% and that creates its own inexorable momentum. We see multiple characters express dismay at looming problems-- Eugene, Biscuit, Merribit, even Shino -- only to set their doubts aside for what they perceive as the greater good. They believe in Tekkadan, more than anything else, this dream Orga has sold them on, and protecting it and advancing its fortunes becomes an all-encompassing goal for which they will gladly lay down their lives.

[As an aside, Shino's conversation with Eugene right before the 'final battle' is a great example of this problem playing out. As much as I rag on him, Shino isn't stupid. He shows repeatedly that despite his gung-ho attitude, he can recognise a losing fight. But he's quick to mask or go back on his doubts and act like Tekkadan is going to pull through regardless, because Orga has gotten them this far, right? Set alongside Eugene's failure to replace Biscuit as the voice of reason, it serves to underline how deeply enmeshed the boys are by this point. They've bet everything on Orga, and can't bring themselves to break with him. Not unrelatedly, it's Shino himself who talks Orga into the gamble that costs him his life.]

This combination -- the boy who doesn't know where he's going and the people willing to follow him anywhere he leads -- is what the show positions as Tekkadan's key flaw and the results of it steadily ramp up as the story progresses. They scrape through Season 1, making a big name for themselves, and reach their zenith by taking down the Dawn Horizon Corps with minimal losses. But then the 'Silent War' hits, dragging them more directly into political power-plays. It goes appallingly badly: they are betrayed from within, their legitimate connections to the Arbrau bloc are severed, and they lose their presence on Earth.

Next they uncover the mobile armour, and while they mange a victory over it, Mika definitively proves that he won't let Orga stop under any circumstances, McGillis is inspired to throw caution to the wind, and Tekkadan's tenuous position inside Teiwaz implodes. They just about got away with jumping on board with McGillis' coup plans, but once they've taken out the 'armour and embarrassed Iok Kujan into the bargain? A lot of chickens come home to roost.

Naze -- the one person Orga respects, listens to, and who actually has the potential to reign him in -- dies as a result of Tekkadan's display of power. Afterwards, Orga knows killing Jasley in return will mean breaking with Teiwaz. He hesitates, visibly, over going through with it -- only for the pressure of everyone wanting vengeance on behalf of Naze, Amida, Lafter and the rest to tip him over the edge. From there, the only possible route to achieving what he wants is the alliance with McGillis, who turns out not to be able to deliver on his promises. Everything falls apart.

Now. The way this is presented carries judgement. Orga is repeatedly castigated for his decisions, including the loss of one of his closest friends. Likewise, the Arbrau/SAU war arc serves as a microcosm of Tekkadan's failings, with Aston's death stemming from Takaki blindly acting according to their ethos. Crucially, Takaki chooses to change for the better, taking one of the other options available to him (with Kudelia's help) -- notably in the same moment Orga is doubling-down on his existing path.

Tragedies are built from characters making the wrong choices and this juxtaposition serves to underline that they are wrong, and could be approached differently. Takaki is correct to hold on to what he has instead of risking it for the sake of an imagined 'better place'. He recognises something Orga does not until after Shino is killed (and lots of other people, of course, but it's framed around Shino's death).

There follow several scenes of Ogra being directly called out. 'He died for you!' Eugene snarls, taking charge of getting everyone to safety. 'You're whining?' Yamagi demands, when Orga reaches his lowest ebb and comes close to abandoning Tekkadan's cause. 'I was under the impression you had a spine,' sneers Rustal Elion, assuming moral authority and refusing to blunt the consequences of Orga's actions.

[When @prezaki asked me to explain my stance on Rustal Elion's intentions, I talked about his gestured-to positive traits. That's not what I mean here: Rustal takes control over the setting and imposes his morals upon it. The tenor of his exchange with Orga is of someone in the right looking down on someone pleading for unearned leniency. Whatever you think about that -- and I view it as a great demonstration of Rustal's inherent contempt for 'little people' who don't meet his standards -- this is functionally what's happening, and Orga is powerless against it.]

In light of this, the manner of Orga's death -- finally taking up a gun and sacrificing his life for his comrades after two seasons of doing the opposite -- is both fitting and a form of redemption. Given the director's original conception of the show being one that ended with every named protagonist dead, a thread of 'just desserts' is undeniably present. Tekkadan are not placed in a positive light for their determination, which comes with a bloody cost, both on their side and on their enemies'. They are fools and upstarts in a world that violently rejects change.

However, like many of the show's components, its authorship is a two-part affair. Mari Okada and other writers argued against the kill 'em all direction, and the end result is far more ambiguous than clean-cut condemnation. To be clear, it is absolutely still saying that Orga and Tekkadan as a whole make terrible decisions. But the more-hopeful-than-it-might-have-been ending allows space for greater nuance. (Which is good - I doubt I would be as enamoured with IBO if it had concluded by thoroughly punishing a group of child-soldiers for being what they are and committed to their never being anything else.)

In light of the actual ending, we can look seriously at the ways the show demonstrates why its characters behave as they do. Mika and Orga's ingrained behaviour is responsible for a lot of what goes wrong, but we are shown quite blatantly that they would not have survived into adolescence if they hadn't developed it. The ever-present threat of what would happen if Tekkadan *didn't* strive to grow stronger and resist the harmful forces surrounding them frames every decision. Even the individuals who mean them ill are the products of the systems that created this whole miserable situation. Nobliss, Ein, Gaelio, Carta, Iok, Jasley, Galan, Rustal -- they each have major personal failings but are equally shaped by their positions in society, just as the boys are shaped by theirs. By being so thorough in constructing an exploitative world, the writers and director hew against reducing the characters down to simply being flawed people.

They are instead flawed people doing their best with limited resources in oft-times impossible circumstances. The story at once highlights the brutality of its protagonists and that they are children, abused by those who see them only as tools, within systems that encourage that perspective. Tekkadan is itself a microcosm of larger patterns, of might making right and human life being exchanged for money. Throughout, lines are blurred between 'proper' soldiers and teenage mercenaries, between businesses and the mafia, between pirates and police. The whole is rotten and while struggling may not be a path to survival, it is at least clearly a path, if you can stick to it.

Thus, any discussion of Tekkadan's flaws must account for the show's refusal to place them in a vacuum. I don't know to what extent Iron-Blooded Orphans is the result of a push and pull between competing ideas about how the tale should go. Yet what was put on screen frequently refuses easy categorisation into straightforward condemnation or sympathy. It's just not the kind of story that allows us to neatly assign blame to zealousness, recklessness or a murderous attitude. All these have too demonstrable a cause and within that context, it's hard to argue they are incorrect as responses. They are, at the very least, eminently understandable.

Errors of judgement on Orga's part and the failure of those around him to moderate his haste play a role in what happens, without question. But to a large degree, no one involved is allowed to be otherwise. Takaki's path is contingent on too many factors to be a widely-viable alternative. Likewise, for all that the eventual escape of the survivors is facilitated by wiser and cooler heads prevailing, it is nonetheless paid for in blood, past as well as present. Heck, Kudelia's character development is about learning the cost of improvement and accepting that cost as necessary -- the same calculation performed by every boy who steps on to the series' battlefields.

In the end, perhaps the most honest answer to 'what caused Tekkadan's downfall' is simply that they existed as part and parcel of the world they were born into. Their 'mistake' was responding to it on its own terms, meeting violence with violence and oppressive hopelessness with desperate hope. They tried to win a rigged game, not because it was the only one in town, but because it looked better than the alternatives and once committed, there was no easy way to turn back.

I think that's a startlingly mature approach to a subject too often reduced to power-fantasies or personal horror. The existence of child-soldiers is a flaw in the real world. Through the way it fleshes out its tragic structure, Iron-Blooded Orphans manages to capture some of what that entails.

-------------------

Thank you for the ask! I don't know to what extent this is the answer you were after. I tend to view Tekkadan's naiveté as a significant single contributing factor, but it's really only a facet of their being stuck where they are, socially speaking. And I wanted to discuss the narrative treatment of Orga's flaws because it's something that could be a lot more clear-cut than it actually is.

[Index of other writing]

[yuesya]

I see you've taken after the Nasuverse quite well, making so many alternate versions of your main heroine :)

This latest one actually reminds me a bit of Zero from Drakengard 3. Both of them have similar backstories, being sold into slavery and suffering a cruel betrayal at the end of it. Both have a devil may care attitude towards murder and do it on a whim or as a reflexive response. Both also share similar appearances with their stark white hair and skin.

Moreover, since Shiki probably wasn't raised as a proper young lady like her canon counterpart and being more open about her visceral desires she'd likely have a more crass vocabulary. Once agian, quite similarly to her Drakengard counterpart.

Although I am a bit befuddled about Jujutsu society's response to Shiki since it seems kind of... muted. Yes, Shiki is a special grade curse user who definitely killed her fair share of sorcerers to earn that title. However, I don't think the sorcerers would let her go around committing whatever atrocities she wanted without offering some resistance, they certainly didn't with Geto.

On that topic, Geto and Satoru would also definitely take an interest in her for a variety of reasons. Geto would likely be thrilled to have another special grade helping achieve his genocidal ambitions, especially one as murderous as Shiki. Whereas Gojo would've likely encountered her one way or another since he is already on the look out for a homicidal special grade curse user.

Although given what little we know from the AU so far it's likely Shiki would reject them both. Shiki would probably want nothing to do with Geto's dream since she'd see no difference between sorcerers and "monkeys." She would also be uninterested in making the world a better place.

As for Satoru she would probably mix with him as well as oil does with water, meaning not at all given their tense interactions in a different AU. This would likely culminate in a battle between the two leading to the infamous [REDACTED] incident, which leads to both of them developing a mutual understanding to stay out of each other's way.

There are so many AUs haha. It feels like a new one crops up whenever I turn around...

Interesting parallels to Zero! And fitting, in some ways. Araya doesn't strike me as someone who would take an active parental role for Shiki; he'd probably decide to observe her 'natural behaviors' instead. Remember how in zenith of stars Shiki experiences some struggles with her desire to 'be good' versus her instinct to kill? How she initially tried to claw out her own eyes because she recognized that humans aren't supposed to visualize death?

In this 'verse, Shiki has no such restraints tempering her. She was never taught the difference between 'right' and 'wrong.' There's only Araya, who watches her silently no matter what she does.

I haven't sorted out timeline details, but Shiki would escape from Araya sometime while Geto is at large, which means that most of the jujutsu headquarters' attention is focused on Geto as the major threat. Shiki gets mistaken for one of Geto's compatriots multiple times. Geto attempts to recruit her and fails, but he doesn't particularly mind. Shiki has killed many non-sorcerers according to her whims, after all. He probably tries to direct her towards non-sorcerers as best as he can from the sidelines.

Shiki comes into prominence after Geto's death, and that's when people start realizing that this girl is a lot more dangerous than she seems at first glance. There are multiple sorcerers sent after her -all are killed. They need to cut their losses, and their last resort is Gojo Satoru-

But what if Gojo tries to recruit her to his side? The girl is like a wild beast that can't be controlled; worse than Tsukumo ever was. What kind of damage would she cause? What if Gojo succeeded in taming her? Which probably then leads into the attempt to bribe Shiki out of Japan with one of Sukuna's fingers.

I haven't made up my mind on how the meeting between Shiki and Satoru would go, but lots of collateral damage sounds like it would be on the right track haha.

[funishment-time]

🌠 DANGANRONPA-THEMED CHARITY EVENT FOR TRANS LIFELINE, FAM

From now until the end of 2024, I’m raising money for Trans Lifeline by playing Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony…for the very first time.

And you humans can help with bingo cards (to win prizes).

TOTAL RAISED SO FAR AS OF 1/24: $1006/$2500

>DONATE $5 OR MORE FOR A BINGO CARD<

or learn more about the game by Clicking Through Below!

🌠 About Trans Lifeline:

Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community.

They also, incidentally, will not contact the cops or emergency services without your consent. Since this is Tumblr, I doubt I need to state the importance of this nonprofit (or that policy).

🌠 About me (Iris Polaris):

I am a polar bear streamer and "VTuber" who specializes in occult, art, and nature content, as well as VNs, sims, RPGs, and survival games, all to learn about you silly primates. Danganronpa is kind-of all of those genres at once. Kind-of.

In the past I've raised about ~$2500 USD across two events. I want to beat that. Just POUND it, y'all. My goal this time around is to raise $2500 USD for Trans Lifeline.

🌠 How to participate:

DONATE. Donate any amount to the Trans Lifeline (minimum $5 USD) here at this event's Tiltify. Leave contact info (an e-mail, Tumblr username, etc) in the comment of the donation or when choosing a reward. NOTE: You must donate thru our Tiltify so I can keep track of the total and contact you.

RECEIVE YOUR CARD. After donating, you will receive a randomized PDF bingo card like this one at your provided e-mail, Tumblr username, etc within 48 hours. Each space on the card represents a prediction I have about v3, a reaction I may have to the characters, etc.

WATCH THE BIWEEKLY-ISH YT VIDEOS. I'll be playing the game offline (i.e. not streamed) with my Manager Bunny. However, every 2-4 weeks, I'll publish a 10 minute or less YouTube video on my account until we finish the game. These videos will be compiled montages of all the spaces participants can mark off that week. These will not be long play videos!

EARN A PRIZE. If you get a bingo, tell me when it happens! Contact me via e-mail (irispolaris.vt@gmail.com), on Twitter (@IrisPolarisEN), on Discord (irispolaris), or here on Tumblr (funishment-time or iris-polaris). All bingo winners get to choose from the prize pool at the end of the event (see below) in order of their wins!

🌠 Prize pool:

For fairness' sake, every bingo winner gets to choose one prize, regardless of how many times they get a bingo. More prizes to be added soon!

DIGITAL PRIZES (UNLIMITED AVAILABLE UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED):

Character-themed phone BG commission: I'll make you a lovely little background for your phone based on existing official art. Examples (1 | 2 | 3).

Character-themed icon commission: I'll make you a lovely little 500x500 icon based on existing official art. Examples (1 | 2 | 3).

250-word general tarot reading: I'll pull a single card for you and give you an overview of what's to come. Here's an example.

Short astrological (zodiac) birthchart: I'll give you a short astrological birthchart that includes your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs. You must provide me your date of birth and location of birth, so don't choose this if you're not comfortable with that! Here's an example.

Bust-up sketch commission by Tane Aspen: 10 available. The wonderful Tane has donated art commissions to the cause! Here's an album of examples.

Bust-up sketch commission by YogurtFluff: 1 available. Darling YogurtFluff (aka Gracie) has donated another art commission to the cause! Here's examples of their art.

Twitch panel set commission by Jar of Rubies Art aka Zenith: 1 available. Are you a streamy streamer? Zenith, who made my own personal Twitch panels and overlays, has donated a commission for a set herself! Here's examples of her work.

Pixel art commission by @🌸 🌿 Faerieko. 1 available. Commission a chibi pixel bust from my dear Mama Faerieko! See a cute EXAMPLE.

PHYSICAL PRIZES (SHIPPING ADDRESS REQUIRED):

Iris-themed sticker set: 5 sets available. Three different ~"3 stickers by Studio Nekomata featuring yours truly.

Fortune-telling Bear patch: 2 available. A ~3" sew-on patch by Studio Nekomata featuring yours truly.

Iris-themed RPG charm: 2 available. A double-sided RPG-inspired charm by Studio Nekomata featuring yours truly.

Fortune-telling Bear charm: 5 available. A ~3" charm of yours truly, readin' the future and all that, with art by @faerieko.

1.5" Kaede & Shuichi buttons by MachineDean: 3 sets of 2 buttons available. Your delightful totally alive protagonists in adorable button form. (Pic)

DR v3-themed stickers by other folks. 2 available of each sticker. Choose three from these designs (album link - better/bigger images coming ASAP).

Please note that the presence of prizes from independent creators does NOT imply that they condone this event. Or even know about it. So don't ask them about stuff.

Donations to the prize pool are welcome, but not necessary. Please contact at me at irispolaris.vt@gmail.com or here on Tumblr (funishment-time or iris-polaris) if you have a piece of merch or service (commissions, graphic design etc) you want to give.

🌠 Goal incentives:

MONODAM LEVEL: $100 raised. Art sketch request stream. Monodam turns me into a sketch robot for a stream. Beep boop bitch. ☑️ ACHIEVED AS OF 9/8, STREAM HELD 11/28

MONOPHANIE LEVEL: $500 raised. Giveaway. Detective Duo poster by Cheer puppy. Monophanie woke up in a good mood, so she's giving away a 16" by 20" poster of our favorite v3 protagonists...or, well, I guess, the only v3 protagonists. (This item will be given away on stream, date TBD.) ☑️ ACHIEVED AS OF 9/9

MONOKID LEVEL: $1000 raised. Danganronpa WWE content. I use whatever wrestling game I can pirate find and custom-make Danganronpa characters y'all vote on. Then we fight 'em. Offline-recorded video series. HOO YEAH!

MONOSUKE LEVEL: $1500 raised. Giveaway. DR1 Steam game key. Monosuke knows the best way to bring in business is to give people stuff. Any kind of stuff. DR1 isn't the game he's in, but like, does it matter? It's free! (This item will be given away on stream, date TBD.)

MONOTARO LEVEL: $2000 raised. Return of the hot sauce stream. Like Monotaro, I'm forgetful. Specifically, I've forgotten how much my previous hot sauce stream hurt me on my birthday. So we're going at it again, new sauces, new pain, date TBD.

MONOKUMA LEVEL: $2500+ raised. 12 hour marathon Summer Camp stream. Fulfill my goal of being the Ultimate Fundraiser and I'll sit and play Danganronpa S Ultimate Summer Camp for 12 hours nonstop. And do all the voices. Puhuhu...huhuhu. (Date TBD.)

MASTERMIND LEVEL: $3000+ raised. Every winner gets an additional prize. Peasants! We have been waiting for oh-so-long! Knock things out of the park and every bingo winner gets to choose an additional prize...and a sample of my famous home cooking! (Home cooking not included.)

🌠 Important dates:

DONATIONS ACCEPTED BEGINNING: August 21st, 2023

VIDEOS/EVENT BEGINS: Sept 9, 2023

VIDEOS/EVENT ENDS: When we're done with the game. Probably no later than December or January. Or maybe much sooner. This is going to take a while, actually. But we'll post about it everywhere (here, Twitter, etc), don't worry.

DONATIONS ACCEPTED UNTIL: The event ends. See above. You can get a bingo card up until our last video, which will be announced well in advance (here, Twitter, etc). Note, however, you'll be at a slight disadvantage to choose a prize, as bingo winners get to choose in order of their wins.

🌠 Important links:

Trans Lifeline's website

Our fundraiser Tiltify (donate here! Remember: leave contact info!)

My YouTube channel (the bingo videos go here!)

My Discord, or my Twitter, or my Tumblrs (1 | 2), for updates

🌠 FAQ:

Where can I donate? Via our Tiltify! Include contact info in the comment of your donation if you want a bingo card.

Where can I find updates? You can find updates here on funishment-time or iris-polaris, on my YouTube, on my Twitter, or on my Discord.

Do any donations touch your wallet? Nope. All proceeds go directly to Trans Lifeline via Tiltify. I don't get a cent of it, not even for a second.

Do I have to donate via Tiltify to participate? Yes, sorry. This is the only way I can easily keep track. However, Tiltify accepts any form of currency IIRC.

Can I get a bingo card for a friend? Yes, but you must donate twice (or more), even if it means donating $5 USD each time. I will issue you two (or more) cards, and you can give them out as you wish.

Can I donate without participating in the bingo? Totes. Just ignore all the bingo stuff if you want. But you won't get any cool prizes!

What if, on the bingo card, I see a prediction that I know is true? If, for example, Miu survives the game and you know it, don't mark the space until I get to that point in the game. This means that you do not get a bingo until I get to that point in the game. (Example: if you need the "Miu survives" space to get a bingo, it's not a bingo until I get there. I tried to balance this out by providing spaces about the way I play the game, too.)

Is this really your first time playing v3? Yes. I know like two spoilers (the killer and victim of trial 1, for example) and I understand the characters' personalities from Summer Camp, but I've never played the game.

Isn't it a little weird to play a killing game...game for Trans Lifeline? Yeah, but like, the fandom is super queer anyway so why not.

Are you trans? Sort-of. Queer/genderweird, definitely. Any pronouns are fine. I like to think of my gender as..."bear."

🌠 BINGO VIDEOS SO FAR:

Week 1 (9/8): 5 spaces

Week 2 (9/21): 6 spaces

Week 3 (10/12): 4 spaces

Week 4 (11/12): 2 spaces

Week 5 (1/24): 3 spaces

✨ Thank you for spreading the word...or for participating! ✨

[neopoliitan]

TEAM RAIN: ARC 4 CH4 - BEST LAID PLANS

A WRITE UP FOR THE REST OF TEAM RAIN: CHAPTER 4

We open on a scene in Zenith. Viorel and Zelena Braith open Roderick Lincoln’s cell to reveal they have brought him the last remnants of the Lincoln Clan, now with an active aura like him. They present it as company, but note that  Gardner Braith will return to drain their aura to replenish his upon their return from hunting Otso Umber.

The clansmen are these;

Crete Reed, A warrior woman based on Britomartis.

Oak Holm, a man who was briefly seen in the back of some Arc 2 shots.

Loden Lincoln, a teenager and third or fourth cousin of Robin.

Primrose, a teenage girl with round glasses.

Fennel, the son of Kodiak Lincoln and around 7-9 years old.

Crete sees Artemis Garland lying on a cot, still comatose but out of the pod she was previously in implying she’s gotten a little stronger. Crete runs to her side.

Sterling Braith enters and tells her not to get attached, ordering the Talos robots to restrain the clansmen. Viorel cautions that there’s no time for his vendetta, to which Sterling responds he’s making time. He advances on Roderick, telling him “Your sister cut my arm off, so it’s lucky for me that you’re here.” Before Roderick can reply, Sterling socks him in the face with one of his new prosthetic arms.

“I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do to you, but if it doesn’t kill you… You’re damn well gonna wish it did.”

Zelena looks slightly shaken and follows Viorel out of the room. Viorel coldly comments that now “the terminal” is fixed, Roderick has outlived his use and this is the least he deserves. Zelena asks if “the terminal” is really going to change anything, to which Viorel grows frustrated and tells her not to have second thoughts - they’ve come this far already; she “isn’t there to think”, and that Kamala will show her no more mercy than “they” did if she backs out.

Lilli Lincoln wakes up in her bed, unable to sleep. She heads downstairs to the kitchen for some water and comes across Petra Redwood. Petra mentions the 7-day time limit Kamala Braith issued Team RAIN, which Lilli didn’t know about. Her expression unreadable, she heads upstairs.

She grabs her labrys.

We cut to Robin asleep in her room. Lilli kicks the door open and slings her buzzsaw-shield at Robin.

ROBIN: What are you doing?! What the hell is this about?!

LILLI: E V E R Y T H I N G ! I’m sick of you, and I’m sick of your stupid face! You always get what you want! Even after coming home and getting dad KILLED!

Lilli swings again.

LILLI: Pitch was the closest thing I had to a friend, and now he’s GONE! I was the LAST ONE to be told about Marina even though I'm FAMILY! You told everyone EXCEPT ME about Mom and Roderick being ALIVE! And I just found out that even though you only have seven days to save them, you go and SLEEP THROUGH ONE--!

Robin blocks one of Lilli’s attacks, and the two are held in stalemate.

ROBIN: LILLI-! What the hell is going on? Why are you always trying to fight me--!?

LILLI: BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLY TIME YOU EVER NOTICE I’M THERE!

They relax slightly at this moment of honesty. Lilli smiles weakly.

LILLI: You were always the favorite, even after you got sent away from home. Mom and Dad never shut up about you. “Why can’t you be more like your sister? Why can’t you be more like Robin?” They would’ve switched us without a second thought if it meant getting Robin back. 

Lilli relaxes, her arms hanging limp.

LILLI: It’s not like I wanna be mean. It’s just that people only notice me when they’re angry at me.  ...They’d just be happier if I was gone, huh?

We see flashbacks to:

Roderick scolding Lilli (pg297)

Artemis Scolding Lilli (pg828)

Marina [then Tobin] scolding Lilli (pg331)

Robin shoving Lilli (pg828)

ROBIN: I should’ve seen the signs. No one wishes you were gone.

LILLI: Don’t. Don’t lie to me like that.

ROBIN: I’m not.

We see a Flashback to Robin saying “there’s nothing I’d rather be than kind” in Arc 3 Ch9 (pg. 746)

ROBIN: We weren’t there for you after what happened back home, and I didn’t even think twice about it. ...But I wanna try to be there for you now, if you’ll let me. Lilli, I’m sorry.

Lilli begins to sob, and Robin reaches out to embrace her sister. Her sister. Who she treated like an enemy for years. She embraces her as Lilli apologizes too, and we see Lilli’s aura activate in a moment of emotional height.

–

Irving, Nyssa, Jin, the Hawthornes, Team ZNON, and Peach’s Team disembark from Raleigh Radcliff’s ship as it touches down in the Tsubaki District.

Farran Hawthorne commends Irving’s bravery in showing mercy to Team ZNON and defeating the rat king, telling him he’s proud. Irving turns around and says he’s not proud of his father for closing ZNON’s school and turning them against him, making them easy to manipulate. He tells his father to use his political power to set them up in a school in Mistral so that the world doesn’t have more Violas to deal with.

Robin and Akane reunite with Irving and Nyssa. Robin says she’s glad Irving’s family made it out safe unlike hers, but Irving cuts her off and tells her it wasn’t her fault - it was bad luck they chose the Lincolns.

Raleigh approaches Team RAIN and tells them they have some explaining to do.

–

We cut to Jin and Peach. Peach reveals she was adopted by a couple who she refers to as “her dad” (Bjorn Vermell) and her “science dad” (Konstantan Vermell). They wanted to get her out of the orphanage after seeing how malnourished she was, and her “science dad” later engineered her prosthetic legs.

Peach asks if the orphanage is still there. Jin tells her the Sisterhood marched in and made sure the kids were safe, while the adults “didn’t hurt anyone else.” She then asks if Peach held the final argument before they were separated against her, and Peach admits she doesn’t even really remember it. Once she knew her parents were good people, she asked Konstantan to put out feelers to find Jin, but by then it was too late. 

Jin looks at the old photo of them both, but Peach brushes it away. She tells her that she’s here now, and places Jin’s hand on her heart. The two rest their foreheads against each other.

–

40 years ago.

We see Raleigh Radcliff being congratulated on his victory in the 21st Biennial Vytal Festival.

Briefly we cut away to a young Otso Umber in a medical ward, his head bandaged - his grip tightens on the sheets of his hospital bed in envy as he sees Raleigh reaping the glory.

It’s revealed we’re watching Raleigh’s victory in the present day as a presentation on 58-year-old Raleigh’s scroll. Robin tells him they’re happy to have him along now they’ve seen his skills.

Raleigh reveals that Otso cut off his left leg from below the knee during one of their fights, and that he has a prosthetic - he has his own motives for fighting Otso. Irving questions what originally started their feud, and Raleigh tells him that he took Otso’s place in the tournament finale, after Otso couldn’t compete due to a head injury - and that Otso ‘didn’t deserve the win anyway’.

Raleigh asks what they know about the Braiths; they’re a family of good fighters, proficient with Aura and fusing Grimm and humans. When asked about their weaknesses, Akane recalls that she made Zelena falter when the latter stole her truth semblance.

Akane and Irving surmise that their tech suggests Atlas. Robin recalls Roderick telling her that the Braiths’ base was called Zenith, but Raleigh doesn’t know it and Akane can’t find any info on it on cached offline CCT information on her scroll.

Robin quickly recalls the Crazy Bunch who worked under Sterling and Zelena, and how they managed to apprehend one of them. Raleigh says interrogating him is worth a shot, and takes Akane with him to verify the man’s answers.

–

Nyssa visits home and shares closure over Pitch with her mother, Maera. Murasaki drops in, assuring them that the Sisterhood is in the capable care of Team BRUT. When questioned on how trustworthy BRUT are, Murasaki replies that she is trying to steer them right and give them a purpose, the same way the previous Sisterhood leader did for her.

Murasaki reveals that after she got her head together regarding Pitch, she contacted Maera and the two talked it over. Both of them shared relationships with Pitch, but she won’t go into detail just yet. She regrets not dealing with him the moment she laid eyes on him in the Sisterhood cave.

–

Robin and Lilli are attempting to bond. Robin called Lilli downstairs to ask her if she wants to attend Combat School in Mistral while she and her team venture to Atlas - unless Lilli wants to argue and come with them. Lilli proclaims she’s not an idiot, but seems unconvinced that Elysium Academy will take her. Robin reassures her by complimenting her fighting ability.

Marina interrupts by sticking her head through the wall behind them - revealing that her semblance does not only consist of invisibility, but intangibility. She notes that Robin and Lilli are getting along better, but the same can’t be said for Robin and Marron.

Robin argues that she’s not budging - she won’t get Marron mixed up in her mess again. Marron wants to go to Atlas, but Robin doesn’t - so do they just break up?

Lilli interjects by telling her to compromise, to find a solution that works for both of them. After being pestered by the other two siblings, Robin gets up and agrees to talk it over. When she leaves, Marina tries to banter with Lilli, but the youngest Lincoln sister halts her, unfolds a sheet of paper and reads:

"Please do not attempt to make light conversation or banter with me. You are still complicit in my neglect for your own reasons, and are, therefore, an absolute carbuncle. I forbid you from attempting to take a shortcut by hijacking the effort Robin has made."

Marina is stumped, then admits that’s a fair point.

–

Marron is sitting on the porch of the Tsubaki District house. Robin sits down next to her.

After a moment, Robin asks if Marron knows why she doesn’t want her to come to Zenith, which Marron confirms. Robin tells her that she doesn’t want her to get hurt, which Marron spins back on her - she isn’t going to wait around like a sailor’s wife hoping that Robin might come back, that she doesn’t need Robin’s protection.

Robin begins to observe that they’re at an impasse, but Marron interrupts.

“I need you to show me some trust -- some faith in my judgment. Some faith that I know what to do if things go to hell. I need you to accept that you're not the only one who knows what they're doing. And I need you to understand that my decisions aren’t yours to make.”

Robin takes this in.

She apologises for coddling Marron, and observes that Marron knew how to break Sterling and when to call for her help. She admits that between her father’s death and her treatment of Nyssa and Lilli, her own judgment hasn’t been the best.

She trusts Marron to know her limits and make the right calls.

The two hold hands and stay there on the porch for a while. Slowly, they begin to make small talk about what they’ll do once this is all over.

[mythserene]

I'll Follow the Sun's 15 words in Tune In

Following along with AKOM I was struck by this page as I was passing it, so just out of curiosity I googled to see what I could find out about "I'll Follow the Sun" that would have been available before Lewisohn wrote Tune In, and what could Lewisohn have done with his prose for this song?

From Beatles Music History website:

"I wrote that in my front parlour in Forthlin Road. I was about 16," McCartney stated in an interview. This would date the song as being written as far back as 1958. He continues, "So, 'I'll Follow The Sun' was one of those very early ones. I seem to remember writing it just after I'd had the flu...I remember standing in the parlour looking out through lace curtains of the window and writing that one."

There is a recording in existence (available on bootlegs) of the early Beatles, known then as The Quarrymen, performing the song. The electric guitar arrangement features Paul, John and George on guitar with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and presumably Tommy Moore on drums. According to McCartney, who purchased the tape from Peter Hodgson in 1995, the recording dates back to April of 1960 and was made in the bathroom of his home at 20 Forthlin Road during a school holiday. McCartney's recollection of the "middle eight" being re-written before they recorded it professionally is confirmed by this early rough recording, because the lyrics of this middle section appears to say "Well, don't leave me alone, I need you/ Now hurry and follow me, my dear." 

Tune In:

“I’ll Follow the Sun.” Paul came up with this rhythmic ballad alone, words and music, on his Zenith guitar.

There's a very good story and all we get is "rhythmic ballad on his Zenith guitar"? But all that about a John song that doesn't even really seem like a John song? 

It does get a bit more ink in Chapter 15 when Lewisohn talks about the bootleg, but I can't see anyone who loves writing about where songs come from as much as Lewisohn does passing up all the history of one of their most beloved songs that a bootleg even exists for. A bootleg with different lyrics, that he never mentions! There's just a lot on this song that he could've done so much with, and although I wrote before that I don't think Lewisohn is actually trying to settle scores, I am now genuinely starting to wonder.

Lewisohn on "I'll Follow the Sun" in the bootleg:

There’s also the earliest-available recordings of “One After 909,” “I’ll Follow the Sun” and “Hello Little Girl.” “One After 909” is clearly a diamond in the rough, polished by John and Paul’s attractive harmonizing. “I’ll Follow the Sun” is Paul alone, guitar and voice, save for someone (probably John) slapping a guitar case.

I'll say this, once you start noticing the attention to detail and real estate, you really start noticing. I had focused on the jealousy footnotes early on in my reading because it stood out to me so much, and once I realized how few were supported I was awestruck and started digging more, but I hadn't given thought or attention to the broader comparisons. 

Absolutely blown away, tbh. I am less enamored of the space comparisons in general because they're more subjective than just the, "What, he's saying Paul was jealous because he wanted to be out front and he hated Stu from a quote saying 'I was playing the drums with a broomstick between my legs and it wasn't easy"??" But although they're harder to point out, they are most certainly there, and there to a truly unpardonable extent. This one blew my ass away.

Honestly, WTF?

Since I referenced it, the "Paul's jealousy was stoked because he was unhappy because he liked exhibiting versitility and nobody looked at the drummer and did I mention he was jealous?" pages below.

[nijigasakilove]

Wowza, what an episode. Turning point 3 is here to remind people why Mushoku Tensei is the greatest isekai ever. It may not have had the action of the previous turning points, but just as good if not better. The purpose of these has always been to change the direction of fate for characters in the story and this delivered.

Amazing episode from start to finish. Loved the focus on Rudeus’ relationship with his sisters. Obviously Norn got a ton of development and focus last week and it’s great seeing them get on well, but I’m happy we got a lot of Aisha focus this week. Her cute little begging face when she and Rudeus went curtain shopping was so adorable, Rudeus couldn’t help but go along with everything she wanted, and who can blame him. Staying away from the brother sister incest route too I see “dad would kill me..”😂

But man the look on Rudy’s face when he found out Sylphie was pregnant. Such a beautiful moment that really hits at the deeper attachment and abandonment issues that Rudeus has had as a character.

One of his biggest regrets is the breakdown of his family relationship in his previous life, so wanting a family of his own and being surrounded by loved ones has always been so important to him this go around. Now that he’s a husband and going to be a father, this is literally a dream come true for my boy and I’m so happy for him. The “thank you” he gave Sylphie was so heartfelt. She cured his condition, made him a husband and now a father. Best girl

Speaking of regrets, the man God conversation again brought up another character point with Rudeus. He’s always been terrified of leaving regrets in this life after living a life full of them in his previous world. But regrets are an unavoidable part of life. We can never know everything that’s coming at us and we’ll all make mistakes or be put in difficult situations and just have to go with our best judgment like Rudeus is with the zenith rescue. Having regrets is part of being alive and human.

While the Pursena and Linia mating season thing is tempting, that’s your mom at the end of the day and no way Rudeus was going to leave his parents in trouble like that. That ideal dream he had back in Buena of his entire family being happy around the table requires.. well.. the entire family. That means it’s off the Begaritt next week. Can’t wait to see this 🙏🏾 I’m sure the greyrat sisters will hold it down Rudeus.

Plus like Zanoba who’s obviously known for giving out the wisest takes in the series said, “children can grow without their fathers watching” which of course is a nice nod to Rudeus’ development post teleportation incident.

On a side note, it’s hilarious how Aisha and Norn went from one hating Rudeus and one loving him to now competing over which one can get more of his affection lol, that’s what we call character development

Amazing episode, could go on about it all day, but without a doubt best mushoku episode so far.

[zahroreadsthings]

On the way... 2!

Question: Who will you be sitting next to?

Response: Sol and Dessa my friends Sol and Dessa.

Sol and Dessa are the people you've gotten closest to (you're not counting how close your fist got to anyone's face) so it makes sense to make a beeline for them.

Dessa is holding her jacket over her head against the light rain. Sol lets it fall on him. They're talking about the weather in the most mundane way weather witches can, which is to say they're debating the merits of different methods of dealing with rain.

You wiggle your fingers to get their attention. 'Morning.'

Dessa wiggles her fingers back. Sol starts to direct his argument at you, then stops himself. 'Hi.'

'So, I'll be honest, I forgot to check what's happening today. Do you two...?'

They glance at each other uncertainly. 'We don't know,' Sol says finally, 'We're heading north east, we're supposed to look at some kind of puzzle, and we'll likely be gone for most of the day.'

Dessa shrugs. 'Surely they'll tell us something on the way. The others who don't do weather... are here for a day out or something, I don't know. Maybe they know more than us.'

You don't want to ask strangers about it.

'Oh, and I was talking to my mentor last night. About whether she has any geography notes. She used to travel around a lot, at least according to her old friend. I could see if there's anything new for you, Dessa.'

She grins. 'I'm leaving tomorrow but I would love to see if there's anything new! Beats experimenting on my own.'

As you load up in the wagon you make a mental list of all of the information Dessa's after, then pull out your notebook to have her write in it after it becomes too technical.

When she returns it she turns to talk to Sol about the rain again, and you begin to suspect... no, it's definitely happening... you've made the fatal error of making yourself a third wheel. You occupy yourself by pretending to read your notes.

You're saved when Myrna claps her hands to get everyone's attention. A hush falls over your little group.

'For those who weren't paying attention! There's a... problem area not far from here,' she says. 'It's been acting strange for the past few decades. Sudden changes in weather that don't occur anywhere else, very local wild winds, unpredictable rain, and the like. There's no evidence of anyone doing work there. We've been puzzling this out for years and would appreciate fresh eyes on the situation. If you're not a weather witch... I hope you enjoy your day out.' She shrugs.

You assume you'll need to have a talk to Deema about this.

Roz, who you recognise as the nomadic road witch, claps.

She leans over to you, apparently unable to hold in her excitement, and whispers, 'This place is weird for road witches too. It's on everyone's bucket list.'

'How so?' you whisper back.

'I don't know! That's why it's so exciting.'

The rest of the ride has you jostled on the rough roads. Dessa and Sol occasionally pull you into their conversation but mostly keep to themselves. Reginald is uncharacteristically calm. Roz taps a tune on her knee, but can't keep a tune to save her life.

'Everybody out,' Myrna says unceremoniously when the wagon stops. The sun's almost reached its zenith.

You step on land that's dotted with oddly shaped stones and sparse grass. It looks weird, but you're not sure if it actually *is weird or if you were expecting it to be.

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 34 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

ADMIN [Zo] has added [Aloy] to the group

DIVINER: Oh, thank the ancestors.

HIMBO: YOU'RE OKAY!?

MARSHAL Kotallo: What about Beta and GAIA?

Aloy: I'm okay. The Zeniths took Beta and GAIA, but they should both still be alive.

DIVINER: But what happened!?!?!?

Aloy: I'll explain everything when I get back to the base. I'm not that far.

Aloy: Too tired to deal with everything right this second, and I want to do this in person anyway.

ADMIN [Zo]: We'll be here.

----

HIMBO: OKAY, HOLD ON JUST A SECOND.

Aloy: What?

HIMBO: I'M STILL CONFUSED.

Aloy: Erend, we just spent half an hour talking about what we do next. This next part is tricky. I need to concentrate.

DIVINER: Are you fighting already??

Aloy: No, I'm sneaking up on the sunwings.

ADMIN [Zo]: Seems we finally found something you won't multitask on.

DIVINER: Ha!

HIMBO: NO, NO, I GET THE PLAN. FINISH THE TENAKTH CIVIL WAR, FORCE SYLENS TO COME TO THE TABLE BECAUSE YOU BROKE ALL HIS TOYS. I GOT THAT.

DIVINER: Don't forget saving the Tenakth!

HIMBO: THAT'S PART OF FINISHING THE CIVIL WAR.

MARSHAL Kotallo: And I do appreciate that you all agreed to help. Vengeance has waited too long already.

Aloy: Is there a point to any of this?

HIMBO: I'M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT THE ZENITH WHO RESCUED YOU.

Aloy: Tilda.

HIMBO: JUST

HIMBO: WHY?

MARSHAL Kotallo: Likely because that is her name.

HIMBO: HA HA.

Aloy: Tilda is... strange. There's a lot I don't quite understand about her.

Aloy: Before we even met face to face, I had to wander through her art collection, and she spent like an hour explaining the history and cultural significance of every single piece.

Aloy: It was interesting, sure, but it really felt like she thought the art was more important than anything else going on right now.

DIVINER: From my experience with both the Quen and the Legacy, I think that is unfortunately common among the upper classes!

DIVINER: [AngryFistShake.gif]

DIVINER: [DamnRichPeople.png]

HIMBO: YEAH, DAMN THOSE NOBLE BASTARDS!

ADMIN [Zo]: Erend, aren't you technically a Carja noble?

HIMBO: ...NO? WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?

ADMIN [Zo]: Because you're rich and hold a prestigious position in the Carja hierarchy.

HIMBO: I'M RICH? WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?

MARSHAL Kotallo: Perhaps when you became closest friends with the ruler of the richest nation in the region.

HIMBO: WELL

HIMBO: DAMN.

Aloy: ANYWAY, she said a lot, and she claims to have developed a conscience. I'm not sure I believe her. She knew Elisabet. They used to be in a relationship, and now she's interested in seeing how I compare.

Aloy: Oh, and she's the one who gave Beta access to data outside her lessons.

DIVINER: Wait. So you're saying that your mom's ex-girlfriend, who broke up with her a THOUSAND years ago, is still holding a torch for her???

ADMIN [Zo]: And she sees Elisabet in her daughters. That never ends well.

HIMBO: LET'S BE FAIR, THIS IS A BIT MORE THAN A KID JUST LOOKING SIMILAR TO A PARENT.

ADMIN [Zo]: I do not believe that will make this better.

HIMBO: YEAH, THAT'S TRUE.

DIVINER: What about Beta?? You said you were able to get in touch with her, is she okay??

Aloy: She's hanging on. But we need to hurry.

Aloy: Which is why I need to override these machines and help the Tenakth defeat the rebels.

MARSHAL Kotallo: I'm already on my way to help Hekarro. I will meet you there.

MARSHAL Kotallo:But are you sure this will be enough?

Aloy: I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised.

HIMBO: WAIT WAIT! I ALMOST FORGOT!

[HIMBO] has changed [Aloy]'s name to [FlameHairSavior]

FlameHairSavior: Damn it.

Chapter 34 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

[sixoclocker]

A CEROBA AND MARTLET SWITCH IS SOOOO INTERESTING and not one i see very often 👀

would youuu talk about them a little?? how would their roles and stories change in your swap… heart emoji…

YEASS of course i can!!!

martlet first <3

martlet is clovers adopted parent :) she kinda just found them wandering and it was like “oh no!! where are your parents ?? :(“ and clover had lost their parents and so martlet took them in to help them find them! and so the search extended from a couple days to weeks to months to years and uhhh yeah they never found clovers parents.

(btw since it is kinda relevant starlo takes chujins place but him and martlet are just good pals who raised clover with her. ended up moving in together for convenience. starlo is dead whoopsies!)

so starlo is dead or something and martlets upset bc her good buddy just died. so she’s trying to figure things out in a not so great manner (i.e. trying to build something to extract human souls (alphys lookin ass) bc she believes that humans are evil. it’s like if zenith beliefs came early) and testing it with the previous fallen human souls but it keeps on failing!! but she also doesn’t have a viable test subject :).

so clover (still with a strong sense of justice despite not having a human soul or anything) offers themself up to test bc they believe it’s what’s right. martlet. isn’t sure what to do about that. because this thing is supposed to be dangerous…… but it’s been failing thus far, right?? so it won’t kill them and it’ll satisfy their whole need for needing to help right!! :D

….. it shatters their soul really really badly and they fall down.

so that’s a panic. and then uhhhh a call from the royal scientist for the fallen down and so clover gets sent off and yeah.

meanwhile, martlet isn’t sure how to deal with all that. she feels like she failed clover for not helping them out more and everything sucks honestly :( but her and chujin are buds and chujin likes to build even tho he’s a bit wack so she hangs out with him to try and get better (coping mechanism except she isn’t building things to kill now) ! and once kanako (human, kindness) comes around, hey…. maybe she can find clover and give them their soul to save them?? after all that’s a human and humans are evil right????? right??????? so that’s fantastic.

she’s still herself of course. but she’s really trying her best…. she ends up really not wanting to kill kanako but she thinks abt clover and its. she has to make a really tough choice. and it’s so so upsetting. she’s so incredibly torn but eventually it hits some point of no return and she attacks kanako :) in the no mercy route she just kinda gets really pissed after chujin is killed and she attacks ofc

ceroba is in snowdin because she’s a royal guard and that’s where her station is :) she doesn’t manage puzzles or anything but she does guard areas in snowdin! she’s a lot more firm on the rules for the royal guard handbook but she gets mighty confused when kanako isn’t really…. fighting (at all or not at the strength she expected, either or) and she’s like ‘yk what. whatever. come on i’m taking you to the queen or something we can figure out what to do from there.’ bc she knows they’re taking human souls and stuff but all she’s heard is that humans are violent and evil (which is emphasized with integritys swap having been attacking monsters n stuff) and kanako isn’t like that?? so she isn’t really sure what to do.

gradually as time goes on she gets a more friendly with kanako (prolly says something about how she’s always wanted a daughter or something and how kanako especially makes her feel that way :))))))) and is like ‘well. maybe taking you to the queen isn’t the best idea…. but i mean she’s nice so like whatever’ and wants to get kanako home !

as for that one part where martlet and clover get separated bc martlet flies off when the boat crashes, ceroba just does one of those fox jumps that foxes do LMAO. i hope you know what im talking about because i think thats such a funny idea

her and chujin aren’t married or dating or anything but they DO know eachother. and the MINUTE he pops up with his whole bit she’s like “oh my god :|.” or something. she doesn’t get thrown in the jail but she’s kind of confined to the saloon bc they’re keeping an eye on her so she can’t ruin the fun or anything :P

in pacifist when the tapes stuff is found and stuff she’s AFTUALLY horrified. her and starlo were childhood friends and all but she hadn’t heard from him for a while especially after moving away from the dunes due to her position so to find out everything she did?? that’s horrifying. and it really makes her worried about kanako (a mothers love through every universe, you know?) because what would martlet plan on doing? and so now her mind is set on ‘i have to protect kanako no matter what’ and so they go and uhh tries to reason with her but martlet knocks her out cold. y’ouch. also she’s much quicker to come to terms with kanako giving up her soul than martlet is in true pacifist. this is getting long i’ll have to talk abt all the endings in a different post

now in the no mercy route…… she is PISSED. and she str8 up breaks into the lab (which is easy because evacuation and all but she does have to get past undyne or something, which is easy! because she’s super strong as we already know) and gets the determination. she goes to the rooftop and uhhh monologues at kanako. i imagine in her dialogue in the fight (after injecting herself) she brings up something about all the sudden awareness and how she KNOWS kanako could’ve been better. how she could’ve been kind. but wasn’t. and she knows she’s doomed to die but she’ll try to bring her down with her in hopes of making her change her mind. but she’s incredibly focused on taking her down but she does wind up dying (instead of being scared and stuff like martlet, she accepts it and tells kanako something like ‘next time you see me, you better hope i don’t remember. if i do, i’ll never stop trying to kill you.’ or something)

aughhh i need to flesh out this au some more but this is what i got so far i think :) some stuff might change but ykkk!!

[typekiku]

thoughts on TYPE MOON stuff

well these are my the type moon stuff i have read or watched or whatever so far. this is my opinion only so its inherently correct argue with the wall or touch grass as the youth say SO here it goes drum roll

FATE EXTRA

boring as shit. no joke im sorry its just booty cheeks but of the not sexy kind. its beyond mid its so mid i cant even act like i enjoyed it. it has an interesting concept and world sure but everything else is doo doo butter.

only good part is nero being hot asf and ig whatever servant there is because i only used nero (lmao i aint playing it all over again) she was funny at times

see shes hilarious at times... im sure CCC will change my mind... right? it has sakura what am i saying its PEAK

also fuck them for including arcueid in this crap

GARDEN OF SINNERS

i honestly dont have much to say about this one it never really clicked with me nor did i ever feel anything about it... BESIDES TOUKO

TOUKO IS SO HOT OMG

clears throat

that aside yea i genuinely dont have any opinion on this series of movies good or bad besides movies 3 and 5 which were my favorites

maybe i need to rewatch em one day and really try to get into it

FATE STRANGE FAKE

my favorite spin off in the whole fate franchise. it has some of my absolute favorite characters and GIL like what else would one even want in life amirite

some of my favorites are:

Richard: the absolute goat and one of my fav servants ever

Enkidu: i want a spinoff of gil and enkidu... is that so hard to ask??

Flat: my son

Jack: my uhhh child ig

alcides: the closest we will get to archer herc but just pure cool regardless

hansa: cyborg priest. nothing gets cooler then that

and many more im already too ti- FILIA - red to mention

i've only read up to volume 7 so i gotta get to reading the rest soon

its just pure chaos and is fun while doing so despite being slow as shit

FATE GRAND ORDER

ok this is the most complicated series here in a way since its so incredibly mixed.

there are some of the highest peaks in fate and then some of the lowest lows so lets see

Highest peaks:

babylonia

Camelot

lb5 (YES olympus and atlantis im tired of acting like olympus isnt peak NO heian kyo its mid)

LB6

the rest of the lostbelts are good but not that good

goetia is an incredible villain

lowest lows:

first five singularities

solomon im sorry the stuff with goetia was peak but the rest was average

gameplay

gacha

serious lack of male summer servants like cmon i wanna see them abs

overall fgo is alright but some parts of it is straight up incredible HOWEVER all of it is seriously held back by being a gacha mobile game and has to work around that limitation

also it has barghest whom i absolutely adore

also fuck fgo for forgetting medea...

WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT

now this is peak. the most gorgeous tm work by far i have to say its simply an incredible read all around. even tsukire did not look or work or sound as good as mahoyo did even tho it came out almost ten(?) years after

on the story front i loved it too with a special shoutout to soujuuro being one of my favorite characters in TM (i say this often not my fault type moon keeps releasing bangers)

however mahoyo has two issues for me:

the story is clearly incomplete: i dont mean its just nonsense or whatever but when nasu said its the first of a trilogy you can just feel that in the story with alot of things being left in the air. this wouldnt be an issue really if mahoyo 2 wasnt basically dead....

i didnt vibe with the slice of life scenes as much as i usually do in nasu works: this isnt a flaw in the story more so i just didnt like em idk how else to word that

mahoyo is a great read however and i highly highly recommend you read it or else

it also has touko enough said

TSUKIHIME (original version)

Greatest of all time. Zenith of the medium. Hallmark of media. Gold standard of storytelling. Apogee of creativity. Vertex of invention. Crest of ingenuity. Acme of imagination. Pinnacle of innovation. Epic of epics. Legend among legends. Peak fiction

ok fr tho its actually incredible and you should read it right the fuck now

all of the characters are simply chefs kiss. while the visual novel is incredibly dated and the art is even worse you have to understand this is nasu and takeuchis first ever visual novel made on a barely existing budget.

boy do they make up for that.

the vn is split into two with a near side and far side.

while the near side is really good with arcueid and ciels route (ignore how ciel was actually really fucked over even in her own route its laughable and my girl deserved better) the far side is so much more better and really is where the soul of tsukihime and shiki the main character lies

i cba to review it properly besides saying PLEASE READ IT RN or ill cry and you dont wanna see that do you....

heres my ranking of the routes btw best to worse:

hisui

kohaku

akiha

arcueid

ciel

shoutout to satsuki you finally are gonna get the route you deserved

KAGETSU TOHYA

um it has some cool lore and some really good short stories and... yea thats about it...

dont have much else to add...

play it with a guide because the structure of the game is abysmal

FATE STAY NIGHT

what is there to be said about such a masterpiece? what else could be written about fsn that hasnt been written before? i am but an ant in the shadow of the giant that is FSN only seeking some crumbs to feed and live off of. idk what that means but it sounds cool.

FSN is simply tms best work all around. while i prefer tsuki over it and find the tsuki side of TM more interesting FSN overall is much stronger on most fronts but especially its main characters

Shirou emiya is simply the goat nothing else to be said tbh

heres my ranking of the routes:

issei route

heavens feel

ubw

fate

FATE ROUTE MUST BE REANIMATED RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SABER DESERVES TO HAVE A PROPER ADAPTATION RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

we need more medea and kuzuki holy shit are they cute

FATE HOLLOW ATARAXIA

thank you type moon for making a good kagetsu tohya. its actually impressive just how much better this is then KT like seriously what the fuck did they take to drop this banger of a vn

KT had such shit comedy i didnt even giggle throughout it but THIS

THIS is a emotional rollercoaster of a whole different kind.

introducing the third (arc and medea are first and second) love of my life Bazett and angra we go through an incredible main story intermingled with hilarious and wholesome slice of life scenes that never overstay their welcome

this vn completely changed my opinion on some characters especially illya who went from someone i was kinda 50/50 on to adoring her overall

ALSO MEDEA SCENES YES I WON MOTHERFUCKERS I WO- huh? whats that? fgo basically replaced her with medea lily?

one hour of sobbing later

if you have read fsn and not FHA then i must ask you.. wtf is wrong with you psycho? you like missing out on good things? that wouldnt be me is all im saying

read it.

(in case you're wondering yes there is someone i deliberately didnt mention because my opinion on them is too complicated)

TSUKIHIME REMAKE

im not a fan of remaking classics on the level of tsuki. with all its flaws i still find the original to be good enough to not need a remake...

UNTIL I READ THE REMAKE

this is how you do it folks. the story was elevated on nearly every level and if it was the complete story id say its the best ever in existence ever forever fr. its just that good.

there are three things i really want to point out:

while maybe goin overboard i really liked the buffs all the characters received and in general the whole worldbuilding is so much better now with idea bloods and principles and vampire hierarchies and arcueid inflation scenes (heh) its just epic

ciel got a so much better route that actually feels like a ciel route and not just arcueid route 2 electric bugaloo (and getting fucking cucked)

noel is peak

this is peak type moon and when red garden comes out it will be even BETTER especially with satsuki route because satsuki deserves it

there are some other short stories i havent mentioned like garden of avalon, notes, MAGNITUNING (look it up you wont regret it) its all great and worth the time of reading

eventually i wanna play CCC and read some other stuff like maybe prillya DDD, fgo jp like lb7 traum and whatnot

i just wrote this for fun so dont really take anything i say seriously except for the teeny little part where im inherently correct.

uh if you are reading like or share or whatever tf it was idk

ciao

[finrays]

Horizon Tag Game?

Stole this one from @foibles-fables

1.ride or die ship (your otp): It may be abnormal, but I don’t really ship things except in like… an offhanded “Oh that might be cute” kind of way. Just not what comes into my head when I consume media. I’ve never been ride or die for a ship in my life.

2. most annoying ship: The Odyssey, because it brought the Zeniths back

3. second favourite ship: The one that rammed the Horus off of San Francisco

4. favourite platonic relationship: NOW we’re speaking my language; these games are SO GOOD about friendships, it’s hard to pick just one. I could talk about ALL of them for DAYS.

But I’ll focus in on one; I absolutely LOVE the Erend-Varl dynamic. They have such a feeling of “We’re both smart, capable men but when we’re together, we just discard all our brain cells and do stupid shit for fun,” and they both SORELY need it, I love it so much. And! They also have good talks about their feelings; Erend specifically mentions sitting down with Varl and having a beer and a good talk, and I love the shit out of it.

5. underrated ship: That’s all the ships I know of in this game… maybe there will be others in H3? The Skiff from Burning Shores is pretty fun, even if there ARE Waterwings that outclass it.

6. overrated ship: The ones that foundered on the way from the Quen homeland, probably, I bet they hyped those fuckers up and then they SANK the minute they hit a typhoon. Shameful.

7. one thing i would change in canon: So fucking much. I’ve written numerous posts about this before. And the cheap answer would be my ecology rants, lol. But…

I think I’m with Foibs on this one; Zeniths as the ultimate antagonists of H3. Imagine spending the entire time in FW learning about the Claw-Back. About how the world was reeled back from the brink of ecological collapse. And imagine, sprinkled throughout, we have the voices of the people who are currently returning on the Odyssey; Gerard, standing in the way of a coastal restoration project, because he could make money off of beachfront condos. Erik, being called in to break up a protest with vicious efficiency. Walter, being nonchalant about the radiation his rockets produce. All these people, putting selfishness and profit above people and planet. We get a chance to really dig our teeth into hating them for a reason. There are bits and pieces of this in the Canon As is of FW, but you have to HUNT them down. Imagine these people being front and center.

And then imagine we finally see the Zeniths at the end of the game. And we realize with a start…

…we’ve heard their voices before.

Thematically, the 1% coming back to take the planet after the hard work of restoring it is done, and Aloy and Co putting down their feet and going “NO” is much more satisfying a narrative to me than “Oh noooo, there’s a Big Bad AI coming” but I’m not in charge of the writing, I’m counting fish halfway across the world. So.

8. something canon did right: I’m literally spitting down HFW’s throat for this. I’m slamming its face into a bench covered in wet paint. I make NO apologies whatsoever for this brand of criticism because it’s one of my Pet Soapbox Issues. The ecology stuff is just for fun. This is Serious Times.

But the first game NAILED their scientist characters. All of them felt so much like people I’ve met in the field. Which is to say, HUMAN people, driven by passion, hope, fear, EMOTION. They really, really did well with it.

And then totally threw it out the window in the second game, but that’s another rant entirely.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: Here’s my AO3 if you want it.

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): I… don’t have one, actually. Even the characters I love dearly were, I think, mishandled in many ways that I don’t agree with. I think Alva comes closest. But even she, I have some notes for, as far as gameplay/story separation goes… they could have done a better job with everyone.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Elisabet. 100%. She’s my favorite for a reason. When I was 16, I decided on my career trajectory for similar reasons to hers; I wanted to help. I wanted to make the world a better place. To see that actually represented in a character focused in the sciences is… shockingly rare. Additionally? Our personalities ended up being fairly similar as well. High anxiety, very strongly introverted, cares deeply but has weird/nonstandard ways of showing it, trouble connecting with people… I really feel like this is the closest I’ve seen to seeing myself represented onscreen, and it’s in a positive light this time! Mostly! I love it and I love her so much.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: I don’t think I outright hate any characters in this series outside the narrative sense? There are ones I don’t understand the appeal of. There are ones I’m puzzled by. But it’s not really personal. It’s not hatred. Like, even Ted, who’s SUPER fun to hate on, is well-fitted to his role. And that’s pretty cool.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: They will make it so much worse than you could have ever imagined (both affectionate and derogatory.)

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I don’t browse AO3! I take fic recs from friends, mostly.

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Crossing the Bar for Elisabet. It’s such a melancholy song that captures that moment where she left GAIA Prime so perfectly… I can’t listen to it without thinking about her, asking her friends not to say goodbye and to take care of each other. Knowing what was coming. Gives me the sads, man.

tagging: I feel that since I stole it, I should just tell you to steal it too.

[tobiasdrake]

Now that Story Time's over, we can get to work keeping the promise I made to my personal temporal admirer. And also Serai.

Okay, team. We should expect not to have the element of surprise because I just leaned over the edge and shouted a message for the past into the clouds. I do not apologize.

I know we're all a little freaked out about Hollow TIA over there but if we grit our teeth and bear with it, I'm sure we can adjust.

We are here to carry out two tasks: To butcher the Catalyst with extreme prejudice and to commit catastrophic amounts of vandalism. I'm pretty sure we're all familiar with the process of aggravated homicide so I don't think we need to dwell much on the Catalyst's part of the plan.

For the other, here's how we're breaking it down.

Plan A: Find a way to disable the cloud cover and instead restore the Sky Base's original functionality as a climate regular. I call this the boring option.

Plan B: Find a way to pilot the Sky Base and send it crashing down directly into Fort Fleshy, preferably aiming for whatever looks like the most elaborate part of the building. I call this the fun option. But I have reluctantly agreed to try the boring route first.

So I guess we should refrain from being too overly destructive until we know which option we're going with.

Turtle machines with grasping spider claws. Wow, I hate it.

Serai, remind me to set this place on fire before we put it on its collision course. Or... reprogram it, I guess. I can set it on fire while we're reprogram it, that works too.

I do not love how much of this place is open to the air below. Or the way only some parts have guardrails.

More effort was made than with Zenith Academy but there are still safety concerns to be had nonetheless.

Holy shit, I can see the Sea of Stars from up here.

Serai, I thought about this on our way here but your world has an eerie beauty to its atmosphere, despite everything. Like a captivating aquamarine floating in the ocean of the cosmos.

Sorry, I'm getting a little choked up. Let's go paint it red.

Are... are we going to have to go into space?

Hang on. Serai, you're a robot. B'st is a glass golem. Hollow Resh'an is a doll.

...the three of you probably can, in fact, go into space. But what about me and Zale? We do draw our magic from celestial bodies. Can we... like... solstice powers our way into not having to breathe or something?

That would have been way more dramatic if machines could bleed.

Well, I guess we're going to find out. I hope you just made good choices, Serai, because we're committed to them now.

Oh, what!? They have force fields up over all the damaged sections! We're fine, then. Honestly, what's even the point of locking down the sector if it's perfectly safe to access?

B'st, your shapeshifting is hilarious and makes it incredibly difficult for me to hold my concentration. XD

I'm glad to see you're getting the hang of your Living Glass body.

How much higher could there possibly be for us to go?

I can't even see the planet out the window anymore. We're so far up now, I think we might be in space space.

Why are we in space space? In what possible way is this necessary for climate regulation? I think an architect wanted to see how tall they could get away with making the structure before their boss noticed.

And if their boss was anything like Moraine, the answer is "very".

SERAI!? THE WALL IS TRYING TO SELL ME THINGS. Should I punch it, yes or no?

I don't necessarily mean that in self-defense, if we wanted to rob the wall instead.

That is a metal rock. I don't know what I was expecting the Catalyst to be but "metal rock" wasn't it. I was anticipating another flesh abomination.

I'm sorry, Serai. I may have gotten ahead of myself. I promised you a murder, but this is more of a vandalism. I will nonetheless carry out excessive vandalism with extreme prejudice for you. That's what friends are for.

*ahem*

HEY ASSHOLE! OVER HERE! I'M HERE TO FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT! See, I've been looking all over the place since we got here and I have not seen a single wall worth hunting anywhere. I demand to know where you're keeping the Wall Meat.

Oh. I. Um. I didn't think you'd actually be able to meet me halfway on that. Okay. This is awkward.

But. If you insist.

I WILL RIP OUT YOUR METAL FLESH, GIVE ME SUSTENANCE YOU UNFEELING BASTARD, I KNOW YOU HAVE IT

Nope, I still feel ripped off. These walls suck and have nothing but these stupid fleshless turrets in them. You can't eat any of this shit.

...though apparently B'st disagrees. Alright, knock yourself out, man. I'll be over here, holding out for dessert. Thanks, B'stie!

But, honestly, as much as I'm itching to crunch my staff through that big glass eye thing on its front... I can't bring myself to do it.

This is your moment, Serai. Go ahead and finish it.

...this moment would probably be stronger if machines could bleed but I hope you found some closure in this all the same.

I don't know who that is but we'll fuck them up too. A cornucopia of violence, we are going to unleash upon this dead world.

You were a good friend to us, and to Garl. Pretty much anyone who's even mildly inconvenienced you, I am willing to bury in a shallow grave. The Cerulean Expanse has plenty of space.

[harrowharkwife]

"it should hopefully buy us a bit more time." 👀? this is not the first time (ha!) that the idea of 'buying time' has come up this season. just food for thought.

may bringing her boyfriend darius by as a surprise, her parents not knowing who to expect, thinking she was bringing a friend or a roommate but instead she brought her partner.

"no, this is all wrong. you've got Schipp International sitting next to ZenithPro. / the donors are seated exactly as you asked, sir. i wrote down all your instructions verbatim. / welp, you must have heard wrong. we all make mistakes, just put RevitaThon next to Post-Everest and we should be fine." schipp/ship, right by zenith? the seating charts being wrong and needing tweaking. revitathon- like, revived, revitalized, rescued, brought back, made new again next to POST-EVEREST. as in, just beyond the mountain peak. or, in storytelling terms, the climax. the ship (buddie) can't be at its zenith (peak, glory days, its brightest) just yet. just move the buddie comeback/revival to right after the big plot climax and we should be fine. Y'ALL. THIS IS IT. especially after that very loaded dialogue from karen in tomorrow, about the programmers "finding the exact right series of maneuvers to make the robots do exactly what we want them to do" and "we need to make sure every single piece of this mission is in perfect shape to give it the best chance of success."

"what are you waiting for? just fix it." us, lol!

"i fantasied about it so many times, you have no idea. but this time i think my subconscious actually made it happen." manifestingggggg

"i'm just saying, i thought we were past the whole keeping secrets phase."

"sometimes talking about your dreams makes it seem all too real. sometimes the fantasy is better than the reality." this paired with earlier lines from animal instincts, "probably knew it'd make for a good cover. smart kid" and "sometimes half the thrill is thinking you're getting away with it." y'all.

"no idea. he's not spilling, i don't feel like pushing."

"i can't believe we're doing this. i know. we're finally about to live our fantasy. this is gonna be so much better than a plane. everybody does a plane. this is legend." you Cannot tell me these lines aren't the writers getting hyped about being able to say they made buddie happen, how groundbreaking it would be. this happening, overhead but hidden and out of sight, while the firefam talks about first kisses? and secret crushes? and said first kisses making you realize you've been looking for love in all the wrong places, and ignoring the perfectly good option that was right under your nose, because you'd just never considered it before? yeah, no, this was loud. especially combined with a line from earlier this season that was something like "we've been working on this mission for five years now. if we don't do something big, we'll get left behind."

"that sounds traumatizing. / illuminating, actually. i realized i was kissing the wrong suarez. his sister martina was more my speed." just like how eddie was originally written for the girl buckley sibling, but the writers + jen realized her brother buck was more his speed?

"i don't know why i tell you guys anything."

"keep young people too distracted to see what's really there." i'm incredibly iffy/hesitant on including this one, considering who said it 😬😬😬😬😬 i highly doubt it's foreshadowing, and that scene/plot was about may & darius & athena, and important social commentary on incels, above all else. i only mention this line bc when i was going through the script it reminded me that there's been a general theme so far this season in terms of weird one-off dialogue lines referring to buying time, element of surprise, paying attention, distractions, secrets, etc. i don't think it's all a coincidence, not with this show. not when the season pilot was literally titled "let the games begin." nope.

"listen, may, fantasy or not, there's no room for error in these situations."

"great. so we lost the element of surprise, too." you guys i cannot begin to explain how much this made me go 👀🚨🛑🧨⁉️ ESPECIALLY after an earlier dialogue line this season where maddie said "you just learned how the element of surprise can shift a listeners focus and make them pay attention"

"he knows that his options are running out real soon."

"-roll cold. no lights, no sirens." secrecy, and element of surprise, AGAIN

"i understand. not everyone's built for my pace." not everyone's willing to stay tuned for this slow of a burn, and i think they get that, but they're not willing to compromise on their storytelling and rush things just to satisfy the audience. this is a good thing!

"so how long are we gonna be able to convince ourselves that this is a sustainable way to live? / as long as we need to. when the right dream house presents itself, we'll know. but in the meantime, this is a pretty great fantasy, too." LMFAO this one is pretty self explanatory. when the time comes, we'll know, but in the meantime this is still a good story. this is especially juicy paired with all the back and forth re: buck, and happiness, and when you're "truly at ease," you'll know.

"so how long do you plan on standing guard out here? just until they get inside."

"all those milestones start to seem like a stupid fantasy. / looks like that fantasy's turning into a reality. how's that feel? / pretty damn good." you guys. it's happening.

"bobby: with everything may and darius have been through, i don't mind waiting for dinner, but how much longer? (does this not sound like us, talking about buddie and the shooting and the will?) athena: i think they're almost done." (‼️‼️‼️)

"there is nothing quite like being young and in love. or just in love." we ended the episode on "in-love". and not young love, either- stable, mature, deep, true, adult love. hm.

all this, in one episode. y'all this ep was fucking loud.