lachica-deloslentes-deaumento

[fideidefenswhore]

there were cases of suicide/s/attempts in tudor times, but it is a little...off that the only people hirst wrote them for were one where it was only rumored by one source (and with quite the different method...wolsey was rumored by one source to have killed himself, but by poison) and another where the historical counterpart (elizabeth darrell) lived for another twenty years (hirst, when i get you--)

[yourheartonfire]

"Hello! If you are receiving this, [medic] has missed their daily deadman switch check in. All client information will be released in 12 hours."

For a second villain stared dumbly at the text on her phone. Then she bolted from her desk towards the door. It was 10:17 - a taxi would be faster than the metro at this hour to get to midtown -

"Hey!" their coworker said, pulling out her airpods. "Where are you going?"

"Medical emergency," the villain snapped and slammed out the office door.

A precious 29 minutes later the villain arrived at the medic's apartment to find a motley gathering of capes and masks shuffling and looking suspiciously at each other in the hall. There was an air of a 2am fire drill - few supers operated on daylight hours, especially not the low to mid-powered supers the medic took on as clients, and the whole event had the awkward feel of meeting your neighbors in their pajamas.

The vigilante wore their normal black of course, but in the daylight the denim was faded and the jacket obviously cheap pleather. On the villainous side there was that grimy little clown themed duo in plain white face paint instead of their full make-up. For the heroes there was that kid goody-two-shoes try-hard - of course she'd rolled up in full uniform, minus the normal tracker camera the Hero Agency mounted on all its people now. And hero, the villain's nemesis, was there too, having jammed on the cowl and gloves over his t-shirt and jeans, just like villain had over her business clothes. He was standing in the doorway, and visibly sighed in relief as villain turned the corner.

"Oh thank God you're here," hero said and wasn't that terrifying that he had nothing flirty or snarky to say about villain's suit.

The goody-two-shoes did a double take. "Her?!" she snapped, even as she rocked her weight nervously from leg to leg. "You were waiting on her?"

"We sure weren't waiting on you to do something useful, cupcake," the female gremlin drawled from where she slouched against her partner on the hall floor, flicking her knife through her fingers.

"Yeah, didn't realize medic was a pediatrician too," the male gremlin giggled.

"Knock it off." The hero stepped aside, opened the door. "I kept them out, kept the scene clean for you."

The goody-two shoes groaned, buried her head in her hands. "This can't be happening."

"Quick, did someone bring a pacifier?" one of the gremlins stage whispered.

The vigilante pointedly stepped over the two clowns, forcing them to jerk backwards or take a combat boot to the face. "We're assuming this is about us," they breathed to the hero and villain. "What if they got hit by a bus? Dropped dead of a heart attack?"

"No reports from the hospitals or morgues of unidentified persons matching medic's description," Villain said curtly. "Checked on the way here. No communication to or amongst medic's friends and family about an emergency."

Goody-two-shoes blinked. "You... know [medic]'s real identity?"

"And that is why we were waiting on her," hero said patiently. "Now everyone shut up."

The villain curtly nodded acknowledgement, stepped into medic's apartment though it would not be necessary. The medic had disappeared from the street, at some point after they'd used their debit card to buy their usual black coffee at 7:04am and at some point before they'd failed to badge in at work by 8:15am. Still, the villain did a quick scan. The little homemade exam/treatment area had been freshly cleaned, the trash emptied. The tablet and laptop were missing from their docking station, but the go-bag was still in place under the desk.

"Y'all are gonna give me a minute with [medic] when we find them," the male gremlin drawled. "This 12 hour deadline is bullshit. They said we'd have 24 hours if they missed a check-in."

"You're not getting shit," the vigilante growled around the toothpick they were chomping.

"And they shortened the deadline because I told them to," villain said, breathing in the smell of antiseptic and bleach. She'd also told the medic to set the deadman switch to every 8 hours, not every 24, but the others didn't need to know that.

"You what?!" said the gremlins and the goody-two-shoes in unison. The vigilante choked. Even hero looked startled.

"I advised them to consider how long they could hold out under torture to reveal the abort protocol," said villain, using a tongue depressor to lift a latex glove from the kitchen trash. "I'd say medic was pretty generous. Speaking of generous, I've seen enough." She pointed to hero. "Last person you referred to medic and when?"

Hero tilted his head, realization blooming. "You," he said to villain. "Nine months ago."

One of the gremlins pointed to vigilante. "We did you! We did you last Arbor Day!"

Vigilante sighed and jabbed a thumb at goody-two-shoes. "The kid," they sighed. "I dunno when. Summer?"

The goody-two shoes swallowed. "Um," she said very quietly.

As one, the group turned to the kid. She froze, eyes going wide behind the mask. "It was - I didn't mean to!" she cried, backing up. "Just - he noticed the scar and realized it wasn't sanctioned medical care and I - and I - !"

"Okay, slow down," said hero gently, shooting a warning look to the gremlins who were both holding knives and on their feet now. "Who did you tell?"

The goody-two shoes' shoulders collapsed. She looked miserably at her toes. "Superhero. Yesterday."

Everyone flinched.

"You idiot," the vigilante breathed.

"We're going to kill you," the female gremlin said to the goody-two shoes. The male cracked his knuckles. The hero took a deep breath and pushed the goody-two-shoes behind him -

"Save that for 12 hours from now," villain said briskly and dropped the glove back in the trash. "We've got just under 11 hours to find where Superhero's got medic stashed and mount a rescue before our identities and medical records are splashed all over the internet. And frankly, I think it's going to take every single one of us to meet that deadline."

The six of them looked at each other in the shadows of the hall. The hero mustered a grin. "That's why we're all here, right?" he said. "Instead of hiding or running. Medic's saved all of us- now we save them."

"They didn't save me, I wasn't dying," one of the gremlins muttered. But no one walked away.

"Right," said villain. "Let's do this."

[elekinetic]

mike,

hey asshole. maybe that's a shitty way to start a letter, sorry. i'm pretty on edge. obviously. getting stalked by a psycho maniac with powers will do that to you.

this is weird. i don't really know what to say. not exactly a letter i thought i'd ever be writing, but—despite it all—we're friends, so you deserve closure.

i don't think you and i ever really clicked. not the way i thought we might've when we met. and i get it, between will and el and everything that was happening with the mindflayer, i get why you didn't want some random girl coming in and messing everything up. i think we're the same in that way, with change. i don't like it. i can tell you don't either.

i don't know how to say this without sounding pathetic, but. hey. if you're reading this, i'm dead, so you if you think i'm lame then you're a total shithead.

i wanted you to like me. and that's so stupid because like, you're you. c'mon. but i wanted to be a part of what you had. i think it was because i was jealous of you. you had this like, perfect family with a perfect older sister and perfect friends and not in that like, superficial-high-school-way, like, actual, real friends who care about each other. and you just walked around like you didn't know how lucky you were. like, i know why now, i do. i get it. it was just so hard to watch you get everything i wanted and not even think twice about it, and then slam the door in my face every chance you got.

and calling me annoying was kind of a bitch move.

whatever.

i know this year has sucked for you too. i don't know everything about your relationship with el, and you and will are a web of shit i don't even want to try to untangle... but i know it's been hard. i'm not exactly in a position to be giving life advice (ha), but again. i'm dying, probably, so. listen up wheeler.

you have to talk to her. and shut up, i know what you're thinking. it's different. or maybe it's not, but it doesn't matter. i don't have time to fix my shit. you do, so you better fucking do it.

i know you love el. and i know i don't talk to her as much as i should, and she knows i'm sorry. (for what it's worth, i'm not gonna stop being sorry) but she deserves better than whatever bullshit is going on between the two of you right now. and you'll get through it, because you'll finally talk to her and actually say what you're thinking instead of assuming you already know how she'll react, because you don't. but someday you guys are gonna have another argument, and you're gonna fix it before it gets out of hand, do you hear me? she deserves honesty.

you have to trust her. you have to trust her. you think you're protecting her, and sometimes it works, but it's not fair. she's not someone who needs protecting or hiding or teaching. and listen to me, its not because she can do shit with her mind, okay? it's because she's her own person who is smart and capable and strong in like, a human way. you have to know that, you have to understand that.

just... understand that.

i haven't done the best job of showing it, but i do care about you. you're my friend, and i hope... i hope you're able to find happiness. like, real, lasting, forever-type shit. you deserve it. seriously.

okay. i'm running out of space and i still have like, seven letters to write. i don't know why i thought it would be a good idea to do separate notes for everyone. I should've just done one page that said "see you later, assholes." that would've been smarter. quick, sweet, to the point. i mean, i was never the writer of the group. maybe if i'd done that, you guys would just know what i needed to say. four easy words. maybe you guys would understand the shit that i can't write down.

anyway.

see you later, asshole.

— max

p.s. watch out for lucas. please.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

its been itching my brain for a while so if you could please give me something to chew on—do you have any headcanon's for A, like what he (she?) might've behaved like or looked like? I'm really just asking for a nice sandwich and I love the ones you've made (Alphard) and would appreciate another

That time @therealvinelle and I made a character out of fucking nothing.

I assume you mean A from the Death Note universe? Sorry, I've got nothing for you.

The thing about what @therealvinelle and I did with Alphard, and why it worked, was the single solitary detail we did get, along with a few others, paints an incredibly detailed picture to work with.

I only have about five things on hand, but good god, do I get to see that man's entire fucking life.

We just don't have the same for A.

What We Know About A

A is introduced in Death Note: LABB, for those super Death Note nerds who read the novel like I did. There's no mention of either A or B in the manga or in the anime.

A and B were the first gen successors to L, before Mello and Near, and the premise of the novel is that "wow, that successor program was a really shitty idea even before it was a shitty idea!" in that of the two a) A couldn't handle the pressure and killed themselves b) B couldn't handle the pressure and turned himself into a physical clone of L, then sought to make a case so complicated L couldn't solve it, culminating with lighting himself on fire. The great irony being L had so little interest in dealing with it himself, he makes Naomi Misora do all the work/all the talking to 'Ryuzaki' without supplying any pertinent information or saying anything more than "uh huh, wow, such detective, such good, Misora" and only at the end admitting, "yeah, that wasn't me, that was my rampaging successor, but good job catching him."

A is years dead before the novel begins, and gets a one-off mention by our totally unbiased narrator Mello, totally, as being B's rival for the position of successor who at some point before it could be decided killed himself.

But let's try to bullet point it.

A Was Chosen: Nationality

First, we know A is at Wammy's.

We don't know exactly how Watari/Roger recruits for Wammy's, how you are selected to enter the 'successor' program, or even the scope of just where they draw successors from.

(I don't have vol 13 on hand at the moment, but I believe it only went into the ethnicity breakdown for L, not even nationality, and it's...

When asked about L's ethnicity, creator of the series Tsugumi Ohba responded, "I think of him as a quarter Japanese, a quarter English, a quarter Russian, a quarter French or Italian, like that." Ohba said that L is the most intelligent character in the entire Death Note series because "the plot requires it." He added that he personally views L as "slightly evil." - from the wiki

Rock on Ohba, rock on with your.... "quarter Russian, Japanese, French/Italian, English".

I also love "slightly evil" from a man who has multiple "torture X character" arcs.)

Given we only see four characters who went through some variation of this program in the manga/anime (L, Near, Mello, and if we even count him Matt), it's really hard to judge. We know Beyond Birthday, by the time he meets Naomi, looks similar enough to L that the entire premise of the book is "oh wow, that's totally L and Naomi doesn't know, oh wow he's doing all the things you--TOTAL SHOCK IT WASN'T L AT ALL"

But if we have to choose, and we have to do this in a way that fucking makes sense given how borders work and that "no, Roger, you can't just take random orphans from any country you like and stick them in your Batman orphanage" then A is either from Britain, maybe Ireland, or if we're really stretching things maybe Western Europe.

Other places are possible, and they could bullshit their way in getting A to England, but there's also the fact that A is chosen for this program. It's unclear just how much searching Wammy's does for talented orphans who will fit the role of L (having the level of intelligence Watari and co. are looking for, the drive and desire, and being the world's most super genius to recreate the success of L).

Now, the manga/anime implies that they had very high standards. L is the greatest detective in the world, Near as his number one successor to is eventually able to defeat Light and is an extreme deductive genius.

If you want to play that game, you can't just use the orphans that happened to be in your orphanage to start with. You have to look for them and either a) wander around orphanages/newly orphaned children and test them for their suitability b) pick up orphans that they've heard of who have nationally/internationally been so impressive they meet the criteria.

Now the thing about b is that doesn't happen often (and probably not at the impressionable ages that Wammy's needs to both a) give the orphan the training b) convince a near adult "YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BECOME BATMAN WOULDN'T THAT BE SUPER COOL?!")

...

To sum this up, A is probably from Britain, maybe Ireland.

A Was Chosen: Age

Alright, A was selected, as gone in above from what we see of Mello, Near, and Matt, they got roped into this when they were very young. They're very young appearing AFTER the six-year time skip when they've been doing this long enough that a) this is their major goal in life and the only thing they can think of b) they have an intense and bitter rivalry c) Matt has already been weeded out. L, too, we have a brief image of him as a six-year-old or so (possibly metaphorical), implying he and Watari have been doing this for... a while, and that L was set on this path very early in life.

Both A and B were very likely young children when they started this program in earnest. Personally, if I had to write a fic... I'd say ten at most.

Now, this doesn't tell us much about when A dies, but we know that B is an adult man by LABB, Naomi never remarks upon him looking like a teenager. We also know he's able to impersonate L, and more (and this is important), the L we see in canon.

The entire L gimmick of the book is that we, the readers, are given the impression this is L (except for the weird eyes, that's weird). It's important that this isn't necessarily L at the time, but what we the readers would recognize him as years later during the Kira case. We, in canon, see L in his mid 20's. This means that B in the novel was at least passing as in his mid 20's. Could be he's younger, could be he's older, but what it does mean that A, if at a similar age only either reached a) very young adulthood b) teens.

Personally, given the pressure, the suicide, and the fact that the rivalry had been bitterly ongoing at that point, I'd say A was likely a mid/late teenager when they killed themselves.

A Was Chosen: Intelligence

A must have been good enough at whatever tests Wammy's did to gauge whether they had an initial aptitude for becoming an L candidate.

Now, we've seen the types of things Near is good at and that are heavily implied put him above Mello. Near is very good at intelligence tests, puzzles, and so on.

It's not unlikely that A was tested with very similar things and that A must have reached some threshold to be considered a promising candidate in the first place.

A Was Chosen: AMAB

Now, this one's more headcanon, but I go into this here. I think, either through overt or unintended bias, Watari/Roger would gravitate towards selecting AMAB individuals as opposed to AFAB.

I don't think A would be an exception.

Also, Viz translated the gender into English as "he", so take that as you will.

The Eternal Prince/Eternal Rivalry

Now, the trouble with A and B, being so early in, is that L was a very young man at the time and either not much older than they were or even younger.

L had already by this point reached international acclaim as the detective L, continued to gather for himself detective personas surrendered by rivals, and was showing no signs of stopping or slowing down.

So, how exactly are A and B supposed to become L? Either they somehow prove they're better than him, when he has the benefit of a) experience in the field b) connections with law enforcement and a working relationship with Watari c) all the resources in the world or L miraculously dies.

Not to mention we know, canonically, that L is vicious and would tolerate no competition for his title.

Mello notes this himself (though is a... biased... narrator) that the first gen were throwaways, they were the trial training run for the REAL successors, Mello and Near.

Regardless of what Mello thinks, the fact remains that A and B were both aware that to be L themselves, L had to go, which showed no signs of happening.

Not to mention they're still infighting with each other, quite viciously, so that they can at least be next in line.

Not only is this a tremendous amount of pressure, but it's utterly pointless pressure.

B was the type of person to react to this with a "FUCK YOU DAD", in that he tried to make a case L couldn't solve to finally prove he was superior to all of them.

A, for this or perhaps other reasons, killed themselves. We don't know if this was the sole reason, but it would certainly be a large factor.

TL;DR

A was likely born or at least orphaned in Britain, A was young when chosen and young when they died, A was likely good at logic puzzles/intelligence exams at a young age, A was highly likely to be AMAB, and was in a doomed competition where their entire self-worth/point of their existence hinged on a pointless struggle that neither they nor B could ever conceivably live.

But considering, that's really not much/what you were asking for.

[possiblylando]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 139 'Early' Analysis

Finally we're back into the fun chapters.

So this is a bit of interesting confirmation as to what happened at the end of Part 1. As a recap Pochita separated from Denji and become the Black Chainsaw man.

This confirms that the Hybrids that fought Pochita all retained the memories of the events. It also makes the weird Makima self insert fanfiction even more weird. Based on what Miri (Sword Man) says about regaining his freedom after Makima's death, they all seemed to be completely aware of their actions but unable to fight against them.

He MADE them say this shit. They are all aware of this having happened. THEY WERE AWARE WHILE THEY WERE FORCED TO PLAY THIS SHIT OUT! Fucking Nightmare scenario. Glad Denji ate her.

We get a name of Sword Man, Miri Sugo. We also get some more of his personality. I'm sure there will be speculation as to his sexuality because he's a character in chainsaw man.

What I do wanna touch on is this. I've seen a few interpretations of this line. It's a weirder one because it's clearly referencing the fact Miri's design is a reused version of Denji's beta versions.

But it could also mean they find Denji attractive. BUT it could also be a meta reference to the fact they're both hybrids, So they have similar "Auras" or something like that. I actually didn't remember who the student council president was so I had to look it up, And it's fucking Iseumi.

and honestly, I can kind of see how a combination of him and Denji would make Miri. Miri took Iseumi's eyes and hair color while he took the hair and head shape from Denji. Sorta interesting.

This whole scene strikes me as weird from a fandom perspective. Either people use it to say, "Miri is gay" or "Miri hates women". When in reality it doesn't seem to be either (for now). He literally stated moments ago that he didn't want to be bothered by anyone and these three girls come up and start bugging him with questions and requests he doesn't want to deal with. Most people would be annoyed as hell if this scenario happened to them. Denji obviously doesn't get this and is just mad that he's getting female attention.

I'm going to assume that this is still Denji hustling and this SEX OFFENDER paid him. I REALLY hope that he didn't just let her do this for free. We get full confirmation that the Weapon Hybrids are alive. We don't have confirmation as to which, Just that some of them are. I assume this probably means all the hybrids that fought against Pochita are alive.

oh I HATEEEEEEE how she gets along with Denji.

This woman needs to get the fuck off this MINOR

As much as I despise this woman, She has a point. Fami and some unknown figure have been puppeteering the Church (how realistic) for at least the past few days. It's likely been going on since the church was founded since we see Fami with the devil hunter club.

We get a look at Denji's full speed. This means Denji was able to perception blitz Miri to appear in front of him without him noticing. This means that Denji was able to move at approximately Mach 32. All of this is real look none of this up Denji solos demon slayer or whatever fuckin power scaling bullshit.

Looks like the next few chapters will be built around the church. It also likely means we'll be seeing Reze soon. If Asa is also there, I hope this doesn't turn into some wack love triangle shit. I REALLY hope Reze isn't like "You were trying to date other girls while you thought I was dead??". I have faith Fujimoto will handle it well but it has an un-ignorable chance to becoming fucking awful.

[gffa]

To clarify, I didn't mean that ask as defending her BS. I more meant actually remembering that mess was surprising. I thought it was dead, buried and forgotten when her stories were pretty much erased and she hasn't come back to the franchise since

Haha, apologies for any snarkiness that you got blasted by then! And I hope everyone else sees this clarification, because you don't deserve to get blasted any further! And, like, I get that sometimes Star Wars fandom gets way too bitter/hateful about some things that shouldn't matter anymore (so I get where you're coming from!), but I'll defend that this one is warranted and that it's still relevant because her work does still have influence in the fandom and a lot of us have run into people still supporting her takes. She hasn't written anything new since she flounced, but the books she wrote are still quoted and moments from those books still get woven into current fandom, just like pretty much all of Legends does. I mean, the JA/JQ books are just as old and they are still VERY much going re: being assumed background canon for a big portion of fandom, you know? Traviss' stuff is kinda like that in a lot of spaces. So, coming down on Traviss' bullshit is motivated by the really heinous things she's said/supported and that she does still have an affect on today's fandom. I mean, people are free to like her stuff if they want, we're not your parents, we're not going to come over there and make you clean your room or whatever, but when her work contributes to some of the comments we get, as well as the stuff she was up to on Twitter (liking pro-Trump/BLM-critical tweets) is something I think is fair to still keep bringing up, since I'm not aware of her having moved on from any of that. (I'm not asking that anyone has to join us in this endeavor, you're fine to just scroll past it and forget that she exists at all, and I hope that you don't feel too raw from the frustration a lot of us feel over this topic, it's not about you, you're not defending her or anything! And I hope I can explain a bit more where some of us are coming from here.)

[sm-baby]

Still Alive

HEHE ON MY MINECRAFT SHIT

Word count: 1,859 words 9,861 characters

Not gonna give many things away... just.. cool concepts... angel shit.. I got a cool person to draw 👀 with that being said,

⚠!!MAJOR DISASSOCIATION/ DEREALIZATION/ EXISTENTIAL CRISIS WARNING!!⚠

this does not affect much story stuff so you can sit this one out if you struggle with that kind of stuff! You stay safe, and know that I love you <3!!

ok!! For the other awesome people that still read my indulgent bullshit, I hope you enjoyyy!! Wahh!!! \(@^0^@)/

┌──═━┈━═──┐

  Gasp!

  Eyes wide open and panting that threatened to clog his throat, Sheldon sprung awake in a cold, bright room.

  He had on a gown in white, just reaching below his knees. a light source, not made of fire or lanterns, hung from the ceiling, letting out a deafening buzzing sound.

  The walls were… white, and… unfamiliar. It was blinding.

  The room was empty, except for the strange devices in some corner, and a room behind glass high up on a wall. From behind the glass, Sheldon would spot figures with white coats, forms not far from his own.

     "⍑ᒷ----, ⋮╎ᒲ. ⊣𝙹ℸ ̣ ᒷリ𝙹⚍⊣⍑ ᓭꖎᒷᒷ!¡ ꖎᔑᓭℸ ̣ リ╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ ?"

     " ⊣𝙹↸ リ𝙹."

  Their words were muffled and far away, he couldn't hear or understand them.

  He would call out to them, but everything about this situation made them feel like authority, and he was taught not to grab attention when taken hostage.

     " ᔑꖎ∷╎⊣⍑ℸ ̣ , ℸ ̣ ᒷᓭℸ ̣ 𝙹リᒷ ᓵ𝙹ᒲᒲᒷリᓵ╎リ⊣ ╎リ 3….2…1."

  A zombie groan would be heard from strange devices around the room, and Sheldon's immediate instinct was to look and hide, but he had nowhere to go. Adrenaline in his knees, all he could do was cower at the sidelines.

  What he couldn't see was that the figures who watched over him observed his reaction, and wrote it down on a piece of paper.

  This would go on for a few more minutes.

  They summoned an actual zombie and when he cowered, they wrote it down

  They dropped food from the ceiling and when Sheldon picked it up, they wrote it down.

  They gave him a lecturn and when he picked up a book, they wrote it down,

  They had him fall from a short drop, and when he got hurt they wrote it down.

  It was all too much, and Sheldon could barely remember any of it.

  They typed a few buttons and placed a bed. Suddenly Sheldon was tired, and when he went to sleep, they wrote it down.

He woke up and the light was blinding, more than it usually was. For a moment, he was happy to seemingly wake up from such a nightmare, only to realize that he was still asleep.

     The patient tried to sit up to no avail, his hands and legs were strapped down to the bed, though, admittedly, he put up quite the fight. He turned to his right, and when his eyes adjusted, he saw another form.

  It was a villager,

  raven hair, fair skin, and …

  Sheldon sighed mentally.

  …White coat.

     From what Sheldon could assume was a she, was tapping on buttons on a strange device. And for a split second, her eyes turned to the patient before turning back to him completely. In her eyes, surprise and almost… annoyance?

    " Oh god, you're awake." She sighed and put a palm on her face, lifting her glasses momentarily. " I could get coders to make it so it’s night but we don't have time… hm.. "

   " Wait! Where am I?? " Sheldon asked, the restraints keeping him in bed. " W-who are you??"

  The woman replied as if she answered this a thousand times before. " Im employee number 14 9 3 8 15 12 5 , but you can call me Dr. Claud. Your name is Sheldon Birch, I don't know your number currently, but you were brought to heaven because your form is no longer available, and are being tested for a new one. We're just here to see if your code is compatible. "

  Sheldon shook his head, brows heavily furrowed in confusion. She seemed to have taken note.

  " Ahh, I don't know why I bother, you'll forget this when you wake up anyway."

  " No-- wait- so… im .. dead? "

  “It's complicated. Basically, every time you die, you’re brought here for a new chance of life, but you won’t remember it in the morning. You’re still the same character, so.”

  " C.. character? Code? Hah! Oh lady you have no idea what you’re talking about." Sheldon couldn’t help but laugh, but to his surprise, her laugh seemed to have surpassed his.

  She answered so casually as if a coworker told her a little joke. “ Alright, Ares. "

Silence.

  "...How did you..? "

  " You’re not a person. You’re code. The only reason why you think you have memory is because you were written to have one.”

  “ You’re talking nonsense..”

  “ You’re talking nonsense!” She said, almost in a playful manner. “Did you really remember the wars? Or do you much clearer remember just-- waking up one day, and all those things happening in the “past”?” When she saw the disbelieved and speechless look in the man's eyes, she shook her head satisfied. It annoyed her to be called nonsensical by beings lower than her, and she was happy to wipe that sure look on his face. 

     This goes on for some time, and the woman seems to be looking over the computer to see if everything was running fine. Sheldon, however, could not believe his ears.

     “ God damn it…” Sheldon whispered to himself. “ … god damn it.”

      To think that his life was fake. All the things that happened to him, all the shit he went through, were all for nothing. The wars, his death, his injuries, the disagreements, and-- not only that-- the sorrow of losing love, life, and family, all for nothing.

     They were all not real.

      While strapped in a room he had no familiarity with, he was forced to rethink his life, questions swarming through his head and answered quickly and brutally, the doctor not even bothering to lay it easy on him; it was as if she’s dealt with this situation once, twice, tens of times before--

     And what could he do? He was forced back into an existence that meant nothing, apparently. And if he fought there would be nowhere he could go. He would be strapped down, and even if he was successful, he’d be brought back until he was ready again.

     Sheldon closed his eyes and let the restraints take him. In his shut eyes were dread and disbelief, lying softly on the bed with a loose body that no longer found a reason to fight on.

     “ If anything, Your friend fought more than you. Your identity as commander was not actually experienced, but with her, the story demands that she’s still at war. “

     “ Erma…”

     “ You got it.”

     A shaky breath escaped him. The thought of Erma being in the same situation as him, her herself being a vessel... They did not actually experience all the things that happened in their past, but they both lived as if they did.

     and with a weak breath, he asked a question, as if already knowing the answer, “ Hey. Even if things are all... fake... do you think that, at least, the love she feels for me is real?”

     " That depends on you, honestly.” The Doctor shrugged. Sheldon’s head tilted over to her, confused. Of all the things she told him that day, he was most unsure about that one.

     “ What..?”

     “When everything in your life is as fake as you are, does that make your experience any less real? " She said so casually, dropping bombs on the poor man without even looking away from the screen.

     Sheldon… thought about that response. So it seems that even the doctor didn’t have all the answers. And after a moment of thinking about it, the patient sighed and put his head down, as if a weight was lifted by her words. "... That’s a nice way to look at it, actually.. Perhaps I’m not any less real than you. We’re just… different. "

     The woman paused, and with a slow turn, looked at the patient on the bed. That was a different response from the usual.

     She shrugged it off though and turned back to her screen. "Exactly. What truly defines real or fake? Are you any different from me because your made of code and im made of skin? " She laughed. " Perhaps Im not even real. Perhaps Im just a bunch of words on a screen."

     The villager laughed, and the doctor smiled that he saw the light of the situation. And as the smile continued on her face she rolled her eyes as a relieved chuckle exited the character’s lips.

     " All my friends, Player, Erma… my son.” He almost choked on the last one. “ …They’re still waiting for me back home… "

     " Oh, Erma was an angel. Always thinking with her head, that one. Strangely she's easy to accept that all her experiences were not real. Never fought us. ‘At least no one's actually getting hurt’, she says. "

     “ Oh, Erma…” Sheldon said with a chuckle and a tear in his eye.

     In silence, the doctor’s eyes turned to him, then back to her work. “ You really made me think this time. Usually, you’d be-- a lot more defensive.” she chuckled and pointed at the restraints.

     Sheldon chuckled back,“ It seems I’m capable of change. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

     “ I suppose so…” She shook her head and finished off the last bits of code before he was officially good to go. “ It’s a shame that you won’t remember this. You were of nice company.”

     “ Oh don’t worry doctor,” He winked and then laughed, bracing himself. “ You’ll see me next time.”

     A small nod and a loading screen later,

Sheldon was generated off,

and into a familiar plain.

and the universe

said....

.

.

.

.

.

Wake up!

     Gasp!

    Eyes wide open and panting that threatened to clog his throat, Sheldon sprung awake in a dimly lit room. That's how it always was in the morning. No light would hit his face as he force his curtains shut for every time he was off to sleep.

    It was a day like any other, his son knocked at his door to make him coffee, him kissing his forehead to thank him, and invited him to join him for the morning.

    As he sat in bed and held his son, random… unexplained.. thoughts went to his head. Of all the memories he had of being a witch, one came to him that was seemingly out of nowhere.

     When his father retired from his position, he was forced to take his place, and to officiate it, he would need to have a ceremony that guaranteed a “long-lasting life”. Every coven head would need to go through one to officially take their position, and the queen as well as her late father would bless them during the festivities..

      “ a gift from heaven” they call it…

      He wonders if that was the reason why he’s lived as long as he did, if it even counted anymore, or if he even deserved it. The concept of God and Heaven, he didn’t fully believe in, but somehow…

  He’s heard that his sister would be taking his position the way he did his father.

  And he can’t help but feel like she’d be seeing them soon.

[kyogre-blue]

This awful nightmare month had FOUR paralogues. So tiring. And they don't even let me kill Flayn or Seteth! Or let me see Rhea murdering those two NPC imperial suckups. Disappointing all around.

To get my notes under the char limit, I'll put the part about the first paralogue here.

Immediately after Claude's death/deportation, we get invaded by Almyra. Holst "fell ill" but big doubt.jpg, since he does not show his face to either Hubert or Edelgard (Hubert can only comment that "it's said" that Holst looks and smells awful). The Alliance supposedly can't cooperate enough to muster forces to support the Locket, even though we just spent lots of time playing up how Claude maneuvered everything to go down with the least amount of damage possible and how the Alliance has been extremely peaceful and cooperative to our occupation and invasion. The Goneril soldiers book it immediately when we arrive, no green units for us. And at the end, Holst politely passes the duty of guarding the Locket to the Empire. Which is another way of saying he refused to do it anymore, possibly on account of the dead little sister. You know, just maybe.

This is hilarious in general, and you can read all kinds of funny things into it, especially since this is the route where the game lies to you all the time with a straight face, so you are free to interpret practically all things you're told as complete bullshit (and you'll be provably right at least half the time).

Personally, I think it's very funny to assume everyone who says the Alliance occupation is going oh so well is either wrong or lying. I mean, sure, Claude supposedly arranged it so things would go peacefully whether he won or lost, BUT he was wrong at least twice about his allies surrendering peaceably and his dying words are about how he misread the entire situation. Yeah, logically this is all structured to contrast how the Kingdom and the Church won't go down as peacefully, but it's funnier if the Alliance is also not peaceful about this at all.

Almyra certainly is not looking like a future friendly neighbor, despite Edie's optimistic outlook.

Live blogging:

Hubert reports that Thales has started collecting the Relics from the Alliance (cool! definitely not a problem! Hilda wasn't casually able to oneshot everyone with that awful axe!)

He also suggests that we have one of our Lions recruits pretend to be a hostage to force their family to betray the Kingdom. Lovely man, so practical.

Byleth: you're using too many Proper Nouns, I can't keep tracks :( Edelgard: don't worry about it, kitten

Nader's in good spirits, at least. The Almyran forces have a lot of wyverns, mounted archers and also giant birds.

Edelgard thinks we can befriend Almyra, she would even consider a treaty. It's not a land ruled by blind fealty to the goddess (lol), so as long as communicate openly and respect the differences between our cultures... OK. We're not gonna mention Claude at all, which is funny.

Next paralogue! Hubie is investigating Solon, Kronya and Arundel. He wants to know their identities, their origins, their numbers, their base of operations, their plans, and where they acquired their dark powers, how they disguise themselves. He calls them "those who slither in the dark."

Now, working backwards from this, it means that he doesn't know these things in early war phase (where we are now), unless we assume he got further in his investigations in other routes.

Also, as has been pointed out, although this is a descriptive name that Hubert came up with, it's also used by Rhea for some reason.

It's a shame that Arundel is just Thales, he has a pretty nice design.

Hubert calls Arundel "Regent" even now. Weird!

We're sent to help some Agarthans who were experimenting in the Sealed Forest but their demonic beast subjects ran wild. Hubert later suggests that this was all a setup to make Edie's faction feel powerless in the face of the Agarthans' experiment (because they are aware Hubert is investigating them), but it backfired because Hubie isn't intimidated at all. He's looking forward to when Edelgard finished uniting Fodlan, and then House Vestra will fight the Agarthans in the shadows. (Hilarious from a narrative standpoint.)

Incidentally, you only need to save more than half the mages to get Arrow of Indra. The "Mysterious Mages" that you save also do not have Agarthan Technology abilities unlike the shapeshifters. Ladislava is popular with the citizens of the empire. She doesn't put up airs, is talented and also beautiful. She's known as the Scarlet Warrior.

There isn't much unrest in the former Alliance territories, perhaps thanks to Caspar's dad's strength (aka keeping them in line by force).

Riegan was once a branch family of Blaiddyd, which is very mysterious given their different crests.

Ladislava's troops depart at the end of the month (February) to the western front. They have high mobility. iirc she's a wyvern rider.

It's a bit funny to get the quest for the Almyran merchant same month as the Almyra invasion paralogue.

Claude told Lysithea roughly that she shouldn't focus too much on whether they win. Unlike Judith and Hilda, she listened lol.

Hubert hanging out in the Deer classroom, thinking about Claude. Relatable. He says that Claude has a compassionate exterior, but underneath is cold and calculating. Harsh! Also, not really in line with Claude's behavior toward his allies.

Linhardt says that there's a passage from the Holy Mausoleum to the Holy Tomb, but he can't figure out the mechanism. It's not really clear where the Holy Tomb is, and I've seen the speculation that it's under the amiibo gazebo... but the Holy Mausoleum is in the cathedral, so the two being connected... it's possible both are true, but kinda weird if so.

Dorothea: They'll write operas about this... I'm sure a pretty actress will play you :) And Edie :)) Maybe they'll throw in a love story :)))) hahaha (extremely awkward laugh)

Just realized you steal Zoltan's idol from the advisory room in the cathedral. Nice.

Hubert and Edie A: He emphasizes again that he's devoted to her due to personal feelings but also that he's not loyal in the sense of following her orders. He does what he thinks is best and if Edie disagrees, or doesn't like it, or is kept in the dark for her own good, well, that's how it is. He also mentions that his devotion became personal after Edie returned from the Kingdom, which calls back to how he and Ionius treat it as some kind of malicious kidnapping.

Petra paralogue: Church is threatening Brigid :( Well, per the Empire's perspective. Catherine is here <3

Jokes aside, Petra's perspective is interesting. Brigid is trapped between the Empire and Dagda, and they don't have the ability to stand against either one. They were dragged into war with the Empire by Dagda, which they then lost, and Petra's father was even killed. So they became a vassal state of the Empire, but given the whole racism issue, they probably were not in a good position. So Petra is focused on basically proving that Brigid is a useful and valuable ally for the Empire. Which is a rather practical approach.

Leonie paralogue... Interesting details that you need recommendations to get into Officers Academy. In the Alliance this means paying nobles to get them. Raphael mentions that his family sold their business to pay for him, iirc, since he wasn't up to running it anyway. Ignatz's parents are more successful, so perhaps they could just afford it. Leonie's entire village had to chip in to buy her way in. Presumably Ashe was sent by Lonato directly (though interesting choice given that the uprising happens very early in the year, so he must have already been planning it). I think the only other commoner is Dorothea, who... well.

Linhardt brings up the crests perpetuate the nobility angle and says to take it up with the Goddess for handing them out like that. But given where Leicester crests actually came from... sigh

Linhardt read about the legend of Saint Indech, so it's free real estate for any other character to read in an AU. Very nice.

Lake Teutates... Indech is a giant turtle. Man, these "dragons" are all kinds of shapes lmao. He attacks with water spikes.

Leonie calls the Immovable One a "magic beast" which we haven't seen so far, only wild beasts and demonic beasts.

Linhardt immediately caught on that the Immovable One is Saint Indech.

Petra has been in Fodlan for 9 years as of the war phase, so she came 3 years before the Academy.

Garreg Mach can be entered from the north by following Aillel, the Valley of Torment.

The map this time is a modified version of the monastery defense map from end of Academy Phase and second battle of the other routes. Previously, I didn't realize that the right hand third is gone. Presumably, this is the gorge that Byleth fell into...

We're fighting an expeditionary force led by Alois, while Rhea and Catherine hold off the rest of our army at the Sealed Forest. Aaah, they're so cool <3 They're also set up an ambush.

OK, so the situation with Flayn and Seteth is that they just retreat when defeated, regardless of who fights them. I thought there would be some scene about specifically sparing them, but nah. They just leave on their own. You don't even have any unique dialogue with Seteth, and Flayn just talks about how she won't kill you since she owes you her life.

Rhea murdered the heck out of Ladislava and Randolph off-screen. Shame, I would have loved to see it.

We killed Alois tho! He felt that, since we betrayed Rhea, Jeralt would not have approved.

[tobiasdrake]

Finally, we're off to sea. If that's what you call this.

You know, this just occurred to me. If Patches has to keep his eyes shut to use his magic, how do we navigate? Like. Is it someone's job to rotate him? Take him by the shoulders and turn him left or right?

In any case, at least we're on our-- Hey, where the hell is Teaks? Did she miss the boat or fall overboard? Or was she the only one of us with enough good sense to go, "Hahaha nope, I'll wait for the next one."

I'd heard that no one ever returns but I'd just assumed the Dweller of Woe was eating them or something. Are they. Like. Community building instead? That'd be weird.

Kind of, then. It's like a psychic ranch. She keeps people as livestock and occasionally takes them out to slaughter.

Oh shit yes. Can we board it now? Trade in this dinghy for the spoils of our conquest? TELL ME we can do this side quest!

Aww, I wanted it to be ours now. But okay. Fine. We can do my thing first. Pout.

Hold up, how can the night be everlasting if we're expecting an eclipse? Night isn't what happens when the moon is present; It's what happens when the sun is absent. The moon has no authority over the night and day cycle, and is in fact frequently in the sky during day.

You cannot have an eclipse without a sun in the sky. The sky doesn't work that way.

Is the eclipse going to, like, magically pierce it somehow? Because, again, you can't have an eclipse during perpetual night.

Well, I guess if it's a lunar eclipse, you can. Those are pretty common.

You know, I kinda expected you guys to pull up close and make us swim the rest of the way while you hightailed it away from Psychic Cattle Farm Island. Surprised you were willing to stick your necks out like this.

Means a lot to me. I will try not to let you get eaten by the Dweller.

T_T I'm sorry I made fun of your stupid raft. This is really touching and now I want to be besties forever.

Guess we should set up camp and figure out--

TEAKS!

She did wait for the next boat. Or she swam. One or the other.

It's great to have you with us, Teaks. I'm sorry if you end up doomed forever because of it.

There are illusionary treasure chests hiding ghost ambushes. I hate this--

Oh. Pardon me. These are woodland spirits. Illusionary treasure chests hiding gaea's vengeance. The metaphysical consciousnesses that guide the natural order of our world want me dead for some reason. Can't imagine wh--

...okay, so perhaps I have not always been the most reverent of Solstice Warriors. We may have gotten off on the wrong foot. But. It doesn't have to be that way. I believe that, with maturity and grace, we can learn to understand each other and-- RANDOM BULLSHIT GO.

HAHAHA GOT 'EM. Test me, fuck-os.

You know, this is a nice little town the cattlefolk have made for themselves. We've got electric lighting. Nice homes. You almost don't even notice the gloom.

There's even transparent ghost people wandering near their graves! That's great. It means when the Dweller eats once of your loved ones, they come right back to you lickity-split.

You know, I was wondering. I figured there was some sort of low-level psychic barrier that just convinces everyone to stay, but no. It's threat of force. Everyone lives here in uncertainty wondering when the Dweller will summon them to be devoured, but if you try to leave then you're summoned immediately.

Denial? Your bar is denial? That's pretty clever, honestly. Points for that.

GARL NO

Do not give these people hope. They have no ability to influence what's about to happen in any way. If we win then they'll be free to go whether they knew it was coming or not, but if we lose then they'll be crushed by false promises. Hype is an insidious monster that strangles reality in its bed.

Let's just kill what we came to kill, and then we can start talking about it. It isn't news until it actually happens.

There's something about this place. Like. A commentary on the way we use escapism to distract from the hopelessness of living in a world that seems to be getting worse by the day. People meeting at The First Stage of Grief to share fictions of what they want their lives to be like, it resonates with our moment in time.

This place is really interesting.

Hold up, the squiddy on the end of Patches's staff is alive? I honestly thought that was a woodcarving.

Yeah, I have nothing to add to that. This place is a sobering reminder that action and glory are meant for something. In all seriousness, the end-goal shouldn't be the enrichment of the self, but of society.

An organization that claims ownership of violence for "the greater good" must always be cognizant that what they are doing is for the betterment of people's lives. Not of "society" as a whole even, but specifically, "Is the service I'm providing making people happier?"

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Patch/Hotfix Cycle

So ... okay, much as I love Larian, and how much they've grown and developed as a studio between Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 ... does anyone else feel like we're still somehow in early access, just because of the Patch/Hotfix Cycle?

It's like ... they do a patch. And these patches are huge, with big quality of life improvements, and that's great and everything? But the more they tinker with the code, the more chance you're going to have of coming out with a game-breaking bug somewhere along the line. Patch 6 in particular, with all of its significant QOL changes, somehow brushed up against a change in ... *checks* ah, yeah, Patch 5 ... and completely broke the game for some of us in the process.

See, there's a condition that you can pick up - "Enemy of Justice". It's supposed to be for killing a guard or something. I'm assuming some kind of criminal activity. Thing is, even if you're not doing any criming, you can pick this status up - specifically if you want to try to recruit Minthara on a good playthrough. Because if you kill anything before you knock her unconscious (including, apparently, the 5hp Scrying Eye which'll get you everybody's attention if you're not careful, and the low hp goblins everywhere), whoever struck the knockout blow gets Enemy of Justice. Which I guess makes sense. You assaulted her and killed her guards. She's going to take issue with that, and probably know that you're not as devoted to the Absolute as you pretended to be early on. (Though why anyone should believe her at that point, no idea.)

The problem is ... apparently Enemy of Justice doesn't discriminate. If you killed any kind of guard, anywhere, and left a witness ... everyone will be after you. Look, I first found this out because Lady Esther over in the Rosymorn Monastery literally attacked me on sight. She doesn't know jack from shit about the whole Absolute cultist bullshit, and probably doesn't care because it's not her assignment. So she has no valid reason to attack me. However, Enemy of Justice says that I am Public Enemy Number One for ... killing minions of the big bad, okay. And somehow everyone in Faerun knows this.

And I mean that literally, as some people have gone into Act 2 and found that everyone in the entire zone wants them dead. The Harpers at the Last Light Inn and the Absolutists at Moonrise Towers will both auto-aggro if you've got the bug that sticks that fucking Enemy of Justice to you. It's a pain in the arse, and basically makes the game unplayable. I mean, the worst part is, this only seems to really come into force when you come out of the Underdark and into what's ostensibly Act 2-adjacent content, so you go through the Underdark thinking all's cool and then boom! Just ... everyone hates you. Apparently it all goes away when you kill a certain Big Bad at the end of Act 2, but ... I mean, how do you get to that point if everyone wants to kill you?

So ... yeah, sometimes it feels like we're still in early access, because we're still seeing such massive patches that, just because of how much the code's being tinkered with, is an open invitation for more game-breaking bugs. I do love Larian trying to polish the game to make it the best game it possibly can be. But ... I mean, I would like to be able to play it at some point. And I can't do that if I'm stuck just a bit before the Grym fight, unable to continue because if I'm going to kill Lady Esther (and make no mistake - I am going to kill Lady Esther), I want Lae'zel approval for it. Which I don't get if she just runs at me screaming.

Larian ... please. Make it actually playable, and then stop trying to polish it. Let it be finished. It's a great game. Stop breaking it trying to make it somehow better. We can't play it when you do this.

[antianakin]

Okay, I have seen 1x03 of The-Show-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, here's some thoughts all in one post again.

So... my feelings on Crosshair are very negative and my feelings on Cody are very positive which made this episode a little bit of a rollercoaster ride to have to watch. I have literally zero interest in watching Crosshair keep being a fascist and being wow kinda not happy with the way his dumbass selfish bullshit choice is working out for him. I have zero sympathy, he had other choices, he's been given options by people who claim to care about him, he's continuing to be the asshole he's been since season 7 of TCW, I do not care, someone just shoot him and put him out of his misery please. I'm NOT happy that they used Cody for this, a character they knew fans were attached to and interested in, a character who got pulled OUT of the Kenobi show where he seemingly had a bigger role to play, just to be part of a catalyst for Crosshair's story. If we never get to see Cody again and continue to follow his story now that he's AWAY from Crosshair, it will be a complete waste of this character.

That being said, I DO like that Cody ultimately left the Empire and isn't dead. My assumptions for how Cody would be treated in this show was pretty low and quite honestly, they still are. They could still bring him back to kill him or just never show him again and we never find out where he went or what happened to him. I'm also realizing that Rampart could've lied and Cody MIGHT be dead or undergoing torturous experimentation and we only discover this later and that could end up being a final straw for Crosshair or something.

My expectations are in the GROUND here.

I liked the parallel of the moment where Cody is ordered to execute Governor Ames and Palpatine telling Cody to "execute Order 66" on Obi-Wan. This seems to allow Cody to CLEARLY put some things together as he stares at the body of this woman who trusted him, who recognized that she was probably going to be murdered either way whether she let the new governor go or not and chose to go out as the person who tried for peace one last time. She decided not to go out as a murderer. Cody just standing there with his weapon down, his helmet OFF, a direct contrast to how he puts his helmet back ON after Obi-Wan leaves and he gets the call from Palpatine, so he's a faceless drone when he makes the order to blast Obi-Wan off a cliff.

I don't know what this is supposed to imply about the chips at this point, quite honestly. Is Cody's chip still active, but there aren't any Jedi actually nearby so its effects are sort-of lessened? Is Cody's chip mostly INACTIVE now that it's been over a year and so its effects are lessened? Were the chip's effects ALWAYS sort-of laser directed at the Jedi but Cody kept his critical thinking skills which has now led him to sort-of think AROUND the chip? I have no clue. The chips were a really cool introduction to the franchise's lore because it allowed the clones to be individuals, but the more they do with the regular clones in this show, the more confusing they get and the stupider the chips have become. They should've left it as just "the chips overrode the clones' wills and personalities to force them into basically acting like the droids they prided themselves on being better than" rather than whatever this is.

The only other interesting part of the episode to me were Governor Ames' comments about Dooku and Mina Bonteri.

Before TOTJ came out, I PROBABLY would've assumed that we were intended to see Ames saying "Dooku was right" as an ironic untrue statement. That sure, the Republic was corrupt, but we know that Dooku was also a MAJOR part of being the reason it stayed corrupt, the reason it fell and became an Empire. That he probably didn't even truly intend for the Separatists to win the war because it just wasn't a part of the Sith Plan.

But after TOTJ and the way it chose to present Dooku, I'm a lot less trusting of Filoni's shows. I think we're maybe intended to see a certain level of truth to this, that yes, Dooku WAS right, the Republic WAS corrupt and look what it became because it was so corrupt! That the point is not that Dooku was ALSO corrupt as shit, but that the Republic maybe COULDN'T have been saved.

Ames also brings up Mina Bonteri and the events of "Heroes on Both Sides" and "Pursuit of Peace." Which... we can assume from in-context clues that the Separatist leadership (i.e. planetary leaders and senators who aren't involved in anything military) have exactly zero clue what's actually happening during the war. They have no idea what Dooku truly is, they don't have any idea that the Corporate Alliance is LEADING THEIR ARMIES, they don't have any idea what their armies are DOING OUT THERE to innocent civilians in their names. They're so entirely brainwashed that Lux can literally walk up to them and say "Dooku assassinated my mother, a Senator you all loved and trusted" and get declared a liar for daring to speak out against Dooku.

So when Ames says "Mina Bonteri and I tried to put forth a peace proposal and Palpatine just rejected it" it makes sense within universe for her to believe something so vastly untrue. For her not to KNOW that Mina was literally assassinated by Dooku before that proposal could really go anywhere, that Dooku and Grievous attacked Coruscant itself to scare the Republic Senate into believing that the peace proposal was a trap so they would reject it. It makes sense that she would've been lied to about all of that and kept so insulated that news of those events never would've reached her.

But again, I have lost all trust in Filoni's ability to portray things in a nuanced way, and so I can't tell if we're supposed to remember that or if we're just supposed to think the Separatists were right and totally good people and it's the REPUBLIC who was evil the whole time.

It would be an interesting moment if I thought we were supposed to understand that Governor Ames has been lied to just as much as Cody has, that her belief in Dooku and the Separatist government is as blind as Cody's was in the Empire. Cody promising peace only for Crosshair to shoot Ames from behind him, just like Mina promising peace only for Dooku to attack Coruscant, killing all chance of peace ever happening. It was never going to happen in either situation because neither Cody nor Mina nor Ames have enough power to be able to anticipate the betrayals from their own sides striving to keep peace from being an option.

But I don't know if I believe that. And so then it just becomes a flat, half-assed mess of a moment. Which feels a lot more in character for this show, let's be honest.

[marvel-ousmondays]

The Avengers (Avengers Assemble)

So it took me a week to finish watching The Avengers.

It wasn't the movie's fault. It's a great film, especially if you are into the action-packed, fighting scenes. The dynamic between characters is great, and it has one of (if not my absolute) favorite quotes of the series.

But it is 2 hours and 23 minutes long and I had a weird week in terms of work, plus I wasn't actually feeling like watching a bunch of fight scenes. So it took a hot minute. Also, I had just finished season 2 of Loki not that long ago and going back to really bad Loki was a bit hard. He has few if any redeemable qualities in this one.

I'm not going to attempt a standard review given my less than standard watching procedure. I'm just going to call out things I liked.

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow will forever be flipping incredible. In the Battle of New York where she's jumping on the flying Chitari and such- epic. But also her clear care for Barton and her emotional manipulation of both the criminals at the beginning and Loki later on- chef's kiss. I'm so glad she's the one to close the portal.

(Quick side note/small spoiler- there's a fan theory going around that her "feelings" for Banner in Ultron are all fake, just a method of control. I call bullshit. She is clearly fascinated by him throughout this film. If anyone's feelings are fake, it'd be Banner's, but Mark Ruffalo is too genuine for us to ever know.)

Erik Selvig and Barton both under Loki's control and then when they come out of it did incredible jobs. I particularly like the writing of Selvig under Loki's control- the science fascination unbridled, versus any actual desire for power. I think this hits the Tesseract's power and Loki's manipulation abilities dead on- they don't project what Loki would assume others would want onto them- they magnify the worst parts of anyone's desires and abilities. Barton is a master strategist and Selvig wants to understand every aspect of the cosmos. Generally these are traits they've put to good use. But under Loki, they're manipulated into awful acts.

Samuel L. Jackson's line "I recognize the council has made a decision, but as it is a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it" could be emblazoned on my tombstone and I'd be happy. The delivery was pitch perfect and always makes me laugh, while also being deadly serious.

Coulson- Clark Gregg's best role by far and the small amount of fanboying here just humanized his normally very stoic disposition so well. So glad they did opt to bring him back and in style.

I'm a huge Mark Ruffalo fan, both as an actor and just as a human being. It was incredibly difficult to come in after Edward Norton to fill this role but he nailed it. The moment when he tells about how he tried to commit suicide and the Hulk spat the bullet back out breaks my heart every time. There's obviously a lot of parable here about learning how to channel your anger. I personally think anger has gotten a bad rap, especially among women and activists. Righteous anger, as Starfire might say (yes, I know, I'm daring to mix DC and Marvel again, fight me later), is a powerful motivator. Anger can fuel us to change that which needs changing, but it has to be directed. Hulk shows that well enough. But I also appreciate the slow realization by Banner throughout the film that the Hulk is less crazed, destructive monster and more protector. We're not *there* just yet by the end- there's still some concern, but he's beginning that process of acceptance and understanding.

Captain America is mostly well written here, particularly in demonstrating he doesn't just follow the U.S. or orders blindly any more. He still sees himself as a soldier, but when Tony and Bruce alert him to the smell of fish in the air, he goes looking for answers. This is key character development for him as there was a time where he would have considered himself more bound to higher-ranking officials. However, I would wager Marvel regrets the one "God" comment they made in there as it doesn't really fit him overall.

Stark and Thor perform well, I just don't have a lot of commentary for either. Their rivalry is solid, though the idea that Thor would leave his brother unattended, even in remote mountains, seems unlikely.

I will also argue for more women sooner but that ship has sailed. I had forgotten about Thanos in the post- credits scene, so that was a good addition.

Note for me

Directed by: Joss Whedon

[kitkatnerds3]

BSD CHAPTER 109

Warning spoilers ahead

WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED :D

Ok, so first off we've got Fyodor and Sigma.

Fyodor has transferred his 'truth' to Sigma, and seeing as Sigma nearly immediately fainted it's safe to say that Fyo's got a lot of stuff going on, I have a picture of the page that I thought looked cool.

This looks cool, right? This looks cool, there could be symbolism. I'm not fully sure.

So, Sigma faints and that's the last we see of him in this chapter. Next thing I wish to talk about is the skk reunion!

Hahahahahaha- FUCK

So, as it turns out Chuuya has not entirely broken out of the vampireism, I think he has slightly broken free seeing as he did respond to Dazai's taunts, but he still had the blur eyes and fangs so the vampireism definitely still has some hold over him. One of the main reasons why I think that he still has at least some control over his actions is because I refuse to believe that he actually

Shot Dazai

THROUGH THE

FUCKING FOREHEAD

YEP THATS RIGHT FOLKS! DAZAI WAS SHOT THROUGH THE HEAD! WE SAW THE BULLET WOUND!

But you know what we didn't see? A bullet hole in the wall behind him!

For more information, Dazai was shot a grand total of three times this chapter, once in the shoulder by Chuuya which, more evidence that Chuuya is slightly in control of himself, he didn't have to do that, once in the forehead, as i already mentioned, and one last time in the other shoulder right after he shot him in the head. Both of the shoulder bullet shots left an impact on the wall behind him, but the forehead shot had no such impact. This leads me to believe that Chuuya did not actually shoot Dazai, maybe he removed one of the bullets as he was walking to Dazai? I also don't think that he killed him because, Dazai? Dying? Pfft, bullshit. He ain't dyin yet, if died now it would be narratively unsatisfying, plus, Asagiri loves him too much to just let him die.

Oh, also, on the Shipping side of things. Right before Chuuya 'killed' him Dazai went on a little talk about how he can't kill him cause they're 'destined' to do some shit. look I saved the page

Homosexual

Anyways, last thing I wish to talk about is Aya and Bram! Aya is being an absolute girlboss, she has tied a table to the sword and is planning on pulling it out of Bram by shoving the table of the building. The chapter ends just as the table falls off the building and also as Fukuchi actiVATES THE FUCKING ONE ORDER! THERE ARE TANKS AND MISSILES EVERYWHERE!

THE WORLD IS GONNA FUCKING DIE

When I say that I'm not entirely sure how this is gonna turn out I am being totally honest. I mean, it's fair to assume that Fukuchi isn't actually gonna win. Aya pushing the table off the roof will probably work, Chuuya is probably semi-conscious and only pretended to kill Dazai, Akutagawa probably won't actually rip Atsushi clean in half, cause we also saw the happening for a bit. But I honestly am not entirely sure how we're gonna get to that point. What is the sword coming out of Bram actually gonna do? How is Dazai gonna reveal that he's not dead and fix stuff? When are we gonna see what Sigma learned about Fyodor??

Anyways, I am very excited for the next chapter! I have my theories as to what will happen and I can't to see what will actually happen!

[heimdallsram]

hi ! do you have any thoughts about kratos and heimdall together? i love your writing and am very interested on your take on this interesting n odd pair!

Hello! And my, this is a hard one, isn't it?

No matter how you slice it, this would be a difficult pairing from the get-go. Heimdall is... very much a representation of a younger Atreus that never grew up, in a sense. At least that's how I see it! I've noted his vanity, shallowness, and superiority/inferiority complex before, so I'll move past that, and say that Heimdall is a foil to and for Atreus.

That said--it could work. But Heimdall would have to go through some serious personality and mental growth before Kratos would ever, presumably, entertain even the thought of something more than pity and/or hatred regarding him. You could also say he may feel some regret for the way he lost control during their fight that had resulted (as thought) in Heimdall's death and, in his own way, may make it up to him.

Or... perhaps, Heimdall develops something of a death wish. Why should he have survived if he failed? Odin was dead, he has no purpose in life without him, so he deliberately seeks Kratos out to force him to kill him permanently this time.

You could easily draw parallels to Baldur, here.

But since we're talking about the relationship aspect and my thoughts on it, I'll stop rambling about how I think it could work canon-wise. 😅

• They're dysfunctional at best, polar opposites at worst. Kratos is stern, gruff, takes no bullshit; Heimdall is all bullshit, mouthy, defensive--it would be the first thing Kratos would have to train out of him to expose the deeper issues he has. Being a father would mellow him out enough for him to understand where Heimdall's coming from, but only just.

• Heimdall runs his mouth. Kratos would barely tolerate it before his temper would get the better of him, especially in the beginning stages.

• Kratos would no doubt see Heimdall as a way to right the wrong he committed in almost killing him and losing control. Despite how unbearable the man can be, I think Kratos would see the benefit in returning him to something worthwhile that does not depend on his now dead father's approval.

• Loneliness. Assuming Mimir takes up his torch with Sigrun, Kratos will be alone for the majority of the time post-Ragnarök. With Freya only able to join his journeys every so often due to issues within Vanaheim, this would be the perfect place to introduce Heimdall as a sort of growth experiment. He would have to learn to do things he never had to when in Asgard, and the hard way.

• Without his arm, Heimdall's esteem would tank drastically. His foresight would be of no aid to him there. Kratos could bond with him through these things, teach him to use a weapon, as he would no doubt have experience teaching maimed warriors to fight in some way. (And if not, perhaps he takes on a particular side quest regarding just that.)

• But, when all is said and done, you must consider Faye. She was a large part of Kratos' restructuring within the Norse lands and it cannot be easily brushed aside. Heimdall would be snide about her existence, expressing distaste of her giant heritage. Kratos would, without a better phrase, need to show him who's in charge. And no, that's not an innuendo haha.

• This relationship has a high chance of turning toxic. I'd throw a guess out there and say around 90% if Heimdall doesn't change his ways and 100% if Kratos starts slipping, because Heimdall reminds him too much of a certain Greek God he had killed long ago.

• I really don't think it would be sunshine and rainbows. There would be happy spots, yes, but Heimdall does not seem to be able to coexist in a family unit, especially one so heavily marked by those he considers wronged his father. And if he did try, he would have periods of running away, but would return.

• It's a very complicated question of: will he? Can Heimdall change enough to be something better for himself and not just Kratos? Enough to keep a relationship with the man, to boot?

• Heimdall would struggle with the idea of a non abusive fatherly figure, especially through the lens that he sees Kratos interact with Atreus. He would need to get over that quickly or any chance of this working implodes fantastically.

• Don't get me wrong, Kratos would have to put in a lot of work alongside Heimdall to make it somewhat stable. And I think it could be, with time and effort, and eventually be something based on love, but truly... I think we all know it would be sparked by the sexual tension that arises between the two.

So, with all this in mind, I think it could work! But anyone who writes it would have to have some consideration for Heimdall's issues, his new existence as a disabled god, and Kratos' slip up. 🤔

I hope this was helpful! This was actually a really tough question for me and I enjoyed it immensely. And thank you for being a fan of my writing 🥰

[colourful-void]

alright good morning. Ive had some time to sleep. review. and ill be booting up vlr in a few moments to hopefully finally finish the game.

before i do here's my summary of thoughts as we stand

im not actually clear on what the resonant event was that allowed akane to know to recreate the whole of the ambidex game

speaking of akane, uh 999 characters! we heard from clover about snake, who is presumably dead as the ambidex game takes place, (thats why she couldn't contact him) as is assumably Lotus and Seven. Hopefully Ace too. Junpei, Akane, and Clover are all accounted for. Which just leaves Aoi? Like... Clover made it clear they were running together. And Aoi's still an esper so like. Where'd he go. if Akane was doing all this shit then where's Aoi

Phi. just. all of her really. but in paticular like I know us being on the moon justifies her stunts but like. does no one else jump.

i kind of wish tenmyouji had a bigger reaction to seeing akane when she came out of k's suit. just a bit.

Also, with everyone having had Radical-6 the whole time i call bullshit. I mean like. in theory and a lot of the explanation its a really good explanation and it works quite well. EXCEPT FOR ONE THING. two things actually! Alice and Quark. Who both. get Radical-6 during the game depending on the route. Neither of them would be lying about it or what they were experiencing. And if it was just the mania part, then i could see it as progressing in them faster than everyone else, but NO. Alice specfically says in her route that it felt like everything around her sped up like it was being fast forwarded. If her processing is already slowed down to the root of one sixth or whatever the math is then how does it get slowed down to the root of one sixth of the root of one sixth??? or what??? huh?? and then the cure works on her like. is she DOUBLE infected?? same for quark!! Explain!

Luna's necklace remains a mystery. Who gave it to her.

Time paradoxes. Lets talk about time paradoxes okay cause first off. in vlr as we play it clearly the plan did not succeed. and if it does work (which. whats the plan anyway beyond 'we're going to brain slingshot phi and sigma to the past'. like even if we get old sigma to the past what's he gonna do. but putting that aside, the goal would be to change the world so that hings dont explode and i think stopping radical 6 from getting out as well. which. yes this is a good idea. and if we do it: at minimum 3 characters from vlr die? in some capacity. Luna and K just. Cease to exist. Because Sigma will never create them if he doesn't need to use them to make the nonary game. Quark also likely ceases to exist, or if he is born his life is so different he's essentially a different person. Sigma himself will probably be fine, but he'll be himself as he remembers at the beginning of the game (22 yr old sigma), God knows about Phi, Clover and Alice will probably be better off, Jury is out on Tenmyouji. like even if we like. time teleport luna's brain on a flashdrive or something, the rest are screwed.

fuuuunding. just in general.

but i think in the end theres just like. one question that really matters to me. Even if nothing else gets solved I just wanna know Is there really any world where everyone can make it out alive?

we continue playing.

[misquigleya]

hi hello, back on my bullshit that is misty fucking quigley. could have had much more of her but it's okay...i fully expect to see more of my unhinged baby in the coming episodes. as usual, thoughts under the read more <3

sure you can look and look and look for someone that you actually love but you can also find you someone that will listen to, with the windows down, fuck tha police in your minivan while you're inside being questioned about your totally not dead but def missing boyfriend....we stay stanning jeffrey sadecki in this house and i love him so much. but also rip that dash and steering wheel 'cause it got sticky af from that spit take. like shauna please...he's gotta clean that now before you go off to cult camp with your besties

i wasn't a callie stan until just recently ( annoying teenager pls forgive me for side-eyeing the fuck outta her ) but miss ma'am gO OFF MAKE THEM QUESTION EVERYTHING DET. CREEPO SAYS 'cause goddamn that man needs to go. he needs to be fed to whatever the fuck they all brought back from the woods. also "does this mean we're going to jail???" i love the sadecki family so much.

VAN AND TAI PLEASE STOP PUSHING EACH OTHER AWAY but also please explain what happened for y'all to split up 'cause i'm no longer thinking it was 'cause of the "wicca bullshit" anymore seeing as tai is leaning more into it ( though that was kinda obvious from the fact that adult tai has her little alter #ripbiscuits )

i know they all got beef / tension with lottie but what was up with lottie and misty upon lottie seeing her. like please...what happened out there other than hottie lottie being diagnosed as schizophrenic and being institutionalized and that could ya know....'cause some tension and questioning of what had happened out in the woods, bUT STILL WHAT HAPPENED. 'CAUSE WHAT DID MISTY DO SEEING AS THEY'RE ALL MEH WITH HER. aside from her general weirdness and slightly off-putting personality.

that jackie bit when shauna passed out had me clutching my pearls like sHAUNA BABY DO NOT GO INTO THE LIGHT. and also, i might get shit for this but whatever, eat my ass; thAT DREAM SEQUENCE HAD MY ASS BACK IN THE THEATER WATCHING TWILIGHT BREAKING DAWN PT. 2 like goddamn...okay this one wasn't THAT GOOD but they really had me there in the first half like i full blown thought i was gonna be able to tick off the eating of the...well you know off my bingo card. but nope, they played me, they said "yOU THOUGHT YOU SICK FUCK" so i'll give 'em that. four for you glen coco, four for you.

natalie bby do you need a hug?? yj writers...have you forgotten and or completely disregarded the whole mistnat setting up of season one and telling us to eat your asses now like ha-ha you really thought we'd give you those two?? hahahaha...i hate them and i need them to stop toying with my emotions. LET. THEM. BE. HAPPY. AND. TOGETHER. 'cause that "he was the only one i loved" and "he was the only one who cared about me" like mmmm...mmm...m'kay, i'm gonna go lay in the highway. but like i get. still going through some shit. bUT FUCKIN' RUDE.

deep breath

can we talk about misty's little goodie bag and how it was given carol in twd unloading all her shit when they got to alexandria and just...kept putting more and more on the cart? 'cause i loved that and i fucking lost it aND WALTER BUDDY BOY, YOU WAS GONNA DIE or i'm at least assuming as i don't know what was in the vial that misty had in her purse with the syringe like ma'am please. she was ready to beat the fuck outta whoever, handcuff them, and possibly do some light torturing....so i once again sAY WHY ARE YOU DICKING ME AROUND WITH MISTNAT YJ WRITERS?!?!!??! fucking hell...

anyways....

the episode was good but lowkey...they need to stop hyping them up so much or i need to lower my expectations. either way...felt there could be a bit more and feel like they're taking too long with the story and they're dragging it out to an almost annoying length. like we get it, you're hoping for five seasons but i don't want to wait 'til the last season to have all questions asked or if the worse outcome happens, they get cancelled, i don't want any room for no questions being answered. so...if they could stop dragging it out and get to the point, that'd be super. but that's just me.